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Recon is a 2017 short story written by Dayton Ward, published by Titan Books as part of the anthology Predator: If It Bleeds. Set in the midst of the Vietnam War, it follows a five-man Marine Corps recon team that runs into both a determined Viet Cong ambush and a lone Yautja on Earth to determine mankind's worthiness as prey.

Plot[]

January, 1968. In response to persistent rumors of a Viet Cong POW camp somewhere in the jungles of Quảng Trị Province, a Marine Corps Force Recon squad is dispatched to sweep area for signs of enemy activity. The five-man squad consists of Lieutenant Matthew Byrne, Sergeant Daniel Roland, Lance Corporal Scott Pearson, John Coffren and Bill Leisner.

36 hours into their two-day patrol, the group is ambushed by a much larger Viet Cong force. In the midst of the ferocious firefight, Pearson is killed by a strange energy bolt. The remaining Marines overhear the Vietnamese likewise coming under attack, before the VC retreat and the jungle falls silent once more. In the aftermath, the Marines discover Byrne has also been killed, his skull and spine torn out from his body.

As the Force Recon squad come to terms with the horrific and baffling events, they are watched from the treetops by Nk'mecci, a Blooded Yautja dispatched to Earth to determine whether humans would make for suitably challenging prey. While his mission is primarily to observe and report, he has gladly taken the opportunity to hunt when he can, although the most recent confrontation has left him wounded and destroyed his Cloak. Nonetheless, he considers the slaying of both the American and Viet Cong commanders a worthy action, as it will now offer him a chance to see how the survivors adapt to the loss of their leadership. To this end, Roland takes charge of the Force Recon Marines. During a quick search of their fallen enemies, they discover plans for a major, seemingly nationwide upcoming offensive. While they don't understand the coded papers, they recognize their obvious importance and take them with them as the head to their prearranged helicopter extraction point.

Nk'mecci follows the Marines, watching as they walk directly towards another VC ambush, unseen in the dense jungle. However, the branch on which he is perched suddenly breaks under his weight, revealing his position to the VC before they have engaged the Marines. In the ensuing three-way confrontation, the Marines and the Yautja wipe out the VC force, while Leisner is killed by Nk'mecci, who in turn is hit in the chest by a buckshot round fired by Roland from the squad's M79 grenade launcher. Severely wounded, the Yautja retreats, while Roland and Coffren make for the clearing from which they are due to be extracted, having heard the helicopters approaching. Considering his options, Nk'mecci realizes he needs to return to his ship to treat his wounds, but doing so would deny him the chance to hunt the two surviving Marines. Concluding that there is only one choice for a worthy hunter, he takes a stimulant to keep his pain at bay and sets off after the Marines.

As the two Hueys approach the clearing where the pick up is to be made, Roland and Coffren make a break for the choppers. However, Nk'mecci emerges from the jungle and opens fire on them, killing Coffren before destroying both helicopters. Roland wounds the rampaging creature once again with a grenade fired from the M79, before he is forced to take cover from one of the exploding helicopters. When he looks up, he sees the Yautja standing over him.

Nk'mecci later departs Earth in his ship, but realizes that he is dying from his many wounds. Despite this, he takes pride in the fact his mission is complete, satisfied that the information he has gathered will safely reach home, informing others that Earth remains a fruitful hunting ground. As he contentedly awaits death, he admires Roland's skull, sitting cleaned and polished atop the control console in his vessel, inwardly commending his adversary's worth.

Trivia[]

  • Recon is one of several stories in Predator: If It Bleeds to feature real historical individuals or events as a framework for its tale — although never explicitly stated, the detailed attack plans that the Marines recover from the dead Viet Cong commander are almost certainly for the Tet Offensive, a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian command and control centers that the North Vietnamese launched on January 30, 1968, widely considered to be the turning point in the Vietnam War. The story is dated as taking place in January 1968, further supporting this.

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