After what felt like a long time but was really only five or so minutes, the New Zealand Special Air Service, or NZSAS, was ready to move. The sixteen members of his team and the three US Navy SEALs accompanying them were about to pull off one of the most dangerous missions of the war for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZACs.
In preparation for the ground invasion of Java, the NZSAS had been tasked with neutralizing a series of Chinese anti-ship missiles batteries and surface-to-air missiles in and around the Karimunjawa Airport. It was the last major threat to the invasion force that needed to be destroyed before the fleet could sail any closer. Because of the close proximity of so many civilians to the military targets, it had been determined that this mission should be conducted by Special Forces rather than left to cruise missiles or high-altitude bombing. Enough civilians were being killed in the war as it was; if they could minimize the casualties while still accomplishing the mission, then it was a risk worth taking.
Fifteen minutes went by as the underwater special operators made their way to the beach, then slowly left the cover of the water and waded ashore.
Sergeant Shang Ha was doing his best to stay awake when one of the motion sensors on the southeastern side of the island suddenly detected movement and an alarm sounded, startling him.
“Probably just another animal,” he thought, “or maybe, if I’m lucky, a young couple looking to get busy on a deserted beach.” He remembered back a month ago, when the beach sensor had picked up a young couple making love on the shoreline.
Turning the monitor over to inspect the source of alarm, Shang spotted something. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a bird or a romantic date — a small cluster of soldiers was emerging from the water. They appeared to be carrying a number of heavy bags with them as well.
“I better get the lieutenant in here ASAP,” he said under his breath as he lifted the telephone receiver on his desk.
It rang three times before he heard the very sleepy voice of his lieutenant on the other end. “This had better be good. You woke me out of a wonderful dream,” he said.
“Sir,” said Sergeant Shang. “One of the ocean sensors picked up some movement a few minutes ago. When I checked it out, it showed images of soldiers emerging from the water and heading up the beach on the southeastern side of the island. I believe we’re under attack!”
The lieutenant, who had sounded nearly drunk from tiredness just a moment before, must have sat up in his bed, because his voice now sounded like he had been hit with a quick jolt of adrenaline. “Alert the base commander, but do not sound the alarm. Let’s see if maybe we can lay an ambush for these guys,” he ordered. “I’ll be right there. I just need to get dressed.”
As the SAS teams split up and headed toward their targets, Major Warden couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight up. It felt like they were walking into a trap.
Everything inside of him screamed to get away, but he also knew they had to accomplish this task. The invasion force was set to sail through this area in the next few hours, and if his team didn’t take out the anti-ship missile launchers, hundreds, maybe even thousands of soldiers’ and sailors’ lives would be at risk.
“No, we need to press on and deal with whatever danger may be lurking ahead,” he told himself.
Ahead of him, his point man raised his right hand in a balled fist and then lowered it slowly, indicating they needed to stop and get down. The seven-man team immediately took up a defensive position as they waited for Major Warden to move forward and find out what the point man had found.
“What do you see?” he asked. His point man had his rifle aimed at something ahead of them.
“I found the first launcher site. It’s right past that cluster of foliage in front of us, maybe thirty meters. Do you see it?” he inquired.
Looking more closely, Warden saw through the camouflage and found the hidden structure. “I see it,” he said.
“There’s a guard just to the right of the entrance. I think we should fan out and advance forward. I can take the guy out with my knife, and then we can move into the area where the launchers are set up,” the point man offered, not taking his eyes off the guard.
“Copy that, let’s do it,” said Major Warden. He turned and signaled with his hands what he wanted everyone to do.
Slowly and methodically, the SAS men and the lone SEAL crept up on the sentry that was guarding the launchers. The guard appeared to be half-asleep. The point man looked at Warden one last time for the go-ahead, and then lowered his weapon and reached for his knife. Creeping slowly forward, he moved to within a couple of feet to the right of the guard, who still seemed unaware that he was about to die. In one swift move, the SAS man darted with lightning speed and had his hand tightly around the man's mouth as he thrust his knife into the guard’s throat, severing his arteries and windpipe in one violent move.
As the sentry was dragged to the ground and bled out, the rest of the SAS team moved in. Approaching the entrance, one of them pulled out a small electronic camera that was on a snake cord. He turned it on and moved the head of the cord around the corner to see what was on the other side. Major Warden walked up and looked at the small video display as well. With the night vision scope on, they saw one additional guard sitting on the opposite side of the wall from them.
Slowly, his teammate pulled the cord back and put it back in his pack. Warden moved his rifle to behind his back and retrieved his silenced pistol from his leg holster. Motioning for the others to follow him, he stacked up on the wall with the rest of the team falling in line behind him. Raising his hand with three fingers extended, he slowly counted down from three to one and then moved quickly around the wall.
Major Warden leveled his pistol at the guard, who nearly jumped out of his seat. Before he could yell or alert anyone else, Warden had already fired two quick shots into the guard’s chest and one to his forehead, dropping the man where he stood. In a flash, the rest of the team pushed forward with their rifles at the ready as they fanned out into the structure. When they came out of the hallway, they saw rows of rail launchers with anti-ship missiles on them aimed out to sea. Taking these missiles out was their primary objective.
As the team fanned out into the room, they spotted twelve soldiers and moved quickly to take them out. Ten of them were asleep in their cots near the back wall of the missile room, while two more were looking at what appeared to be a radar screen, probably watching to make sure no surface contacts came within range of their missiles.
Within seconds, the six SAS men and the lone SEAL had opened fire with their silenced pistols, killing everyone before they had a chance to activate the alarm or go for their weapons.
With the hostiles neutralized, Major Warden got the attention of his demolition expert. “Rig the area to blow,” he ordered.
Looking at his watch, Warden realized the others should have reached their positions by then and wondered how things were going on their end.
With the explosive charges set, the SAS team exited the facility and made their way back to the rendezvous point, where they would wait for the others and then slip back into the water and head back to the waiting submarine. Thirty minutes went by as the men stealthily made their way through the jungle, doing their best to leave no tracks and make as little noise as possible. Suddenly, there was a series of loud noises nearby.