Starlink Deepmind and the Hostage Rescue Operation
After finalizing his contract with Dae-A Motors, Taesik reached out to Vice Chairman Jeon Hak-soo of the Misung Group for the first time in a while to request cooperation in purchasing large quantities of electronic components necessary for navigation and parking systems. Upon hearing that Taesik had secured a contract to supply navigation systems and software to Dae-A Motors, Vice Chairman Jeon readily agreed to cooperate, promising to supply any components produced by the Misung Group whenever needed.
As the number of business areas requiring facial recognition technology and software continued to grow, Taesik called Department Head Cha Young-jin to his office. Cha entered with a puzzled expression, wondering why Taesik had summoned him so suddenly, and Taesik addressed him as soon as he sat down.
"Department Head Cha, what kind of research are you working on these days?"
"With the arrival of the supercomputer, we are developing an AI-based anti-hacking program."
"And the employees from Daehan University?"
"Lee Sang-hoon and the others are finishing the development of the target identification and tracking system, and they are focusing their research on pushing autonomous driving functions up to Level 3."
Watching Cha, who wore a curious expression as he tried to grasp the intent behind the questions, Taesik asked, "Department Head Cha, do you have any desire to strike out on your own?"
"...Excuse me? Are you telling me to leave the company?"
"Hahaha. No, not at all. It feels like the work of you and the other software engineers doesn't quite align with the core business of Starlink Communication, so I'm thinking of spinning you off. I want to entrust the management of this independent company to you."
"So, you mean I would have to leave and manage a separate company?"
"Yes."
"I want to stay at Starlink Communication. While the importance of software is being highlighted these days, the projects we are currently researching are structured in a way that they will inevitably always operate at a loss. We have no revenue and only expenses—how can you talk about independence...?"
"You clearly understand the nature of software, Department Head Cha. I’m not spinning you off because I’m expecting immediate revenue."
"Then...?"
"I want the engineers to have autonomy and think creatively in a free environment. If you stay at Starlink Communication, you'll always feel the pressure from other departments about not generating revenue or results. I want to set you free to pursue autonomous research projects."
"Are you saying you'll remove the restrictions on revenue and performance?"
"Yes. Starlink Deepmind only needs to research the technologies required by each of our subsidiaries."
"Starlink Deepmind... I assume it's fine if there's no revenue?"
"Yes. Think of it as an independent research institute."
"I understand. So, does that mean I become the CEO?"
"Yes. I want you to take the lead as the representative and manage the company."
"Heh heh. I’m becoming a CEO before Department Head Park Kyung-hoon."
"More importantly, you should be receiving a CEO's salary now, not a department head's."
"Yes! I hadn't even thought of that."
Taesik decided to move the software personnel, who were currently a separate department within Starlink Communication, to a new company, and he arranged to lease a separate building nearby to relocate them. While preparing for the collaboration project with Dae-A Motors and the establishment of Starlink Deepmind, he was shocked to see a news report coming out of Iraq.
Eric, the leader of SEAL Team Alpha, frowned as he received orders from his superiors. "Another American kidnapping? Who is it this time?"
"Intelligence indicates that three journalists and one local Iraqi interpreter have been abducted by rebels."
"Where are the hostages being held?"
"They are believed to be detained in a civilian village in the Kirkuk region of northern Iraq. Intelligence officers are currently pinpointing the exact location, but we need to start preparing for the operation immediately."
"We don't even know the exact location of the hostages..."
"We've narrowed it down to the village level, but we haven't identified the specific building. If we can't pinpoint the location, we'll have to search for them ourselves."
"Is it just our Alpha team being deployed?"
"The other teams are currently on active operations. Delta Force has agreed to provide support nearby, so coordinate with them according to the local situation."
"Understood. I'll start establishing a movement plan with my team members."
After receiving the orders, Eric gathered his team to establish an operational plan. Moving by helicopter to a nearby U.S. military base, Eric began the journey to Kirkuk in a vehicle provided for the mission. Upon arriving near the village where the hostages were believed to be held, Eric contacted headquarters again.
"This is Alpha Team. Has the exact location of the hostages been identified yet?"
"We've only identified the village; the building is impossible to pinpoint. Satellite imagery analysis shows a lot of movement in a building in the center of the village, so please keep that in mind."
Eric checked the location of the central building provided by the command center on his operational map and gave orders to his team.
"Delta Force has agreed to handle the perimeter security, and we are in a situation where we have to find the hostages ourselves. Given the movement in this central building, we suspect the hostages are there, but we won't know for sure until we search it."
"So, are we searching the building with the movement first?"
"Correct. James and Rookie, you're on rear support. We'll enter in two-man teams. Operational time is 03:00! Set your watches!"
Eric assigned the team members into two-man squads, explained the specific operational plan, and then caught some sleep while waiting for the darkness to deepen. When the operational time arrived, the soldier on guard duty woke the team members, and they checked their communications while equipping the radios supplied by Starlink. Before Starlink's radios were introduced, they had suffered from many inconveniences due to one-way communication, but with the new equipment, two-way communication was possible, leaving no issues with coordination.
After tapping their headset microphones twice to confirm communication, the SEAL team began entering the village. The members lowered their night-vision goggles to search the dark, silent streets. As Eric walked along the main road and spotted the building mentioned by headquarters in the distance, he gave the order.
"Spread out and surround the building!"
The team members scattered and began to surround the building from their designated positions. Eric, who had decided to approach from the front, waited for his team members to reach their spots.
"Team A, position secured!"
Once the reports came in that all teams were in place, Eric began to approach slowly. Seeing two armed rebels in front of the building, he radioed each team.
"Report if you have visual on the rebels in front of the building!"
From Eric's position, the rebels' movements were obscured by a truck parked in front of the building, so he was looking for a team with a clear line of sight.
"Team B, visual confirmed!"
"On three, we open fire and approach the building. Three, two, one!"
As soon as Eric finished, Team B fired with precision. The two rebels in front of the building collapsed from the single-shot fire of the suppressed rifles.
"Commence entry. Prioritize securing the hostages during the search."
The teams began entering the building from their respective directions, and Eric approached the entrance after confirming the rebels were dead. When he gently pushed the front door, it opened, suggesting there was no lock. Covered by his team, he entered the room. The first room was a living room and was empty, so Eric began searching the rooms along with Team B, who had entered after his squad.
While quietly opening each door to check for the hostages, Eric heard snoring coming from the innermost room. Receiving hand signals, he pushed the door open slightly. Fortunately, it wasn't locked. After exchanging signals with his team, Eric confirmed the identities of the people lying inside; realizing they were rebels, he immediately pulled the trigger.
After neutralizing the rebels, a team member reported seeing a small side door inside the room. Eric immediately raised his rifle and fired at the lock. When he opened the door, he saw one woman and three men huddled inside. He spoke to them.
"I am Captain Eric of the United States. Are you the ANN journalists?"
The people presumed to be the hostages nodded. "Are you really the U.S. military? Oh God, thank you."
Eric immediately radioed his team that the hostages had been secured and began preparing for extraction.
"Is anyone having trouble walking?"
The hostages shook their heads, indicating they could walk. Eric placed them in the middle of the team and exited the building. As they were retreating, they suddenly heard gunfire and chaotic noise. An urgent message came over Eric's radio.
"Team Leader. Our movement has been exposed. Rebels are gathering in our rear."
There must have been quite a few rebels in the village, as numerous movements were observed around the building they had just entered. Eric made a decision.
"Team B, take the hostages and retreat. The rest of you, cover the rear and pull out."
As Team B left with the hostages, Eric and the remaining team members began to retreat while covering the rear. Suddenly, the headlights of vehicles shone from behind them.
"Enemy! Return fire from your current positions and retreat by squad!"
Before long, several vehicles appeared. The team members fired at the drivers in an attempt to disable their mobility. The lead vehicle lost control under concentrated fire and crashed into a nearby house, and rebels began pouring out of the trunks of the remaining vehicles, opening fire.
As the fire from the rear intensified, Eric gave another order to his team.
"Throw smoke grenades!"
Following his instruction, the team members threw their smoke grenades. As the area between them and the rebels became thick with smoke, Eric ordered the retreat.
"Retreat immediately."
Using the thick smoke as a shield, the team members began to pull back. When the rear support squad radioed that the hostages had arrived safely, Eric increased their speed and radioed back.
"Rebels are pursuing us from the rear. Support squad, prepare the Switchblade!"
As the village exit came into view, Eric looked back to check the position of the pursuing rebels. They were no longer in ordinary trucks; they were pursuing them with armed technicals.
"There is a gun truck in the rear. I repeat, there is a gun truck in the rear."
The rebels were pursuing them with trucks fitted with steel plates around the trunks and mounted machine guns. When the rebel manning the machine gun spotted Eric's group in the distance, he opened fire.
Forced to abandon the retreat due to the machine-gun fire, Eric dove behind cover and immediately radioed.
"Are you still far away? We're taking machine-gun fire!"
At the same time as Eric spoke, a low-pitched hum of a propeller was heard, and something fell inside the armed truck, causing an explosion.
"One armed truck neutralized!"
As the anti-personnel Switchblade struck the truck and took out the machine gun, Eric emerged from cover and resumed firing, with his team members joining in. With the machine gun neutralized, the team members, now breathing easier, retreated toward the rear while eliminating the pursuing rebels with single shots. However, the rebels continued to advance, relying on their superior numbers.