Hot Toys MMS 72 ~ The Predator : Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer.

"If it bleeds, we can kill it".
- Dutch.

A (mis) interpretation :

Name : Alan "Dutch" Schaefer.
Age : 38 years old.
Rank : Major, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta.
Armaments : M16A1 assault rifle mounted with M203 40mm grenade launcher, Colt M1911A1.45 pistol, M67 "Baseball" hand grenades, combat knife, machete.
Current status : Classified.

 

Summary from CIA case file #228970 - classified. 
June 11th, 1987
2100 - A helicopter carrying two CIA Special Activities Division agents on surveillance was shot down by a splinter left wing guerrilla revolutionary group near the border of Val Verde. The pilots were killed in the crash. The guerrilla took the two CIA agents hostage. The agents carry vital information on the group plans for a cross border assault into Val Verde within the next three days. The KGB was suspected to have acted as military advisers for the paramilitary group.
2200 - A team of six Green Berets from the 7th Special Forces Group was assembled for a covert rescue operation.
2230 - The team arrived at the site of the transponder. They picked up trail towards the guerrilla base camp.
2300 - All communications were lost from the team.
June 12th, 1987
0300 - Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer and his team of five operators from the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta arrived at the base. They were ordered in by Major General Homer Phillips of Joint Special Operations Command under strong recommendation from CIA Special Activities Division Senior Advisor, George Dillon. Schaefer and his elite forces team have had distinguish track records of numerous successful covert operations and rescue missions in Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central and Southeast Asia. To avoid any bureaucratic and political issues, Dutch was briefed by the General and Dillon that a Presidential Cabinet Minister and his close aide had strayed off their flight course and subsequently captured by the guerrillas. The General ordered Schaefer and his team to undertake a twenty four hours rescue operation with Dillon acting as joint commanding officer.
0600 - Two UH-1 Iroquois carried the team and inserted them two miles from the transponder beacon. Their rendezvous points were fixed with AWACS contact on four hours interval. At the crash site, Sgt. William "Billy" Sole deduced that twelve guerrillas had taken two hostages. The two pilots had been killed in the crash. Sgt. Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez reported that a heat seeker shot down the helicopter.  Schaefer and his team found six individuals with US issued military boots were on the same trail as the guerrillas. Tracking the trail, they found an area recently engaged in a fire fight. The pattern indicated open firings at all directions. Apart from the US boots tracks and the guerrillas, there were no other tracks on the ground.
0645 - The team found three bodies identified as the Green Berets. Their corpses were reportedly skinned, eviscerated and hung up onto tree branches using tree vines. There were no signs of the remaining three Green Berets.
0715 - The team arrived at the guerrilla jungle base. The two hostages were witnessed by the team being executed by the guerrillas. Dutch and his team engaged and eliminated all the  guerrillas, including the two KGB advisors, confirming Soviet involvement in the planned cross border political coup into Val Verde. A brief confrontation occurred between Major Schaefer and Agent Dillon pertaining to the actual objective of the operation. A lone female guerrilla was captured as prisoner for interrogation by Agent Dillon. Techcom Sgt. Richard "Rick" Hawkins informed Dutch that air surveillance reported the surrounding guerrillas were moving in from two miles away. Request for retrieval was denied until the team was out of the border. Major Schaefer and his team tracked along the densely forested and rugged terrain of Eastern Ridge valley to cross the border.  
1020 - The guerrilla prisoner, Anna Gonslaves attempted to escape. Hawkins disappeared after re-capturing the prisoner with traces of his bloods and entrails found nearby. His body was not found by the team. Hawkins equipment and weapon were not taken. Gonslaves was interrogated but gave incomprehensible answer. She was reported to be in the state of shock. Major Schaefer ordered a fifty meter sweep across the area.
1215 - Sgt. Blain Cooper was shot and killed at the top ridge along the valley. His chest was burst opened and the wound cauterised. Sgt. McKinney "Mac" Eliot was the first the arrive at the scene and began to shoot his M60 and then Sgt. Blain's modified M134 Minigun. Major Schaefer and the others joined Sgt. Elliot and fired at all directions. Major Schaefer questioned Sgt. Elliot, whom was reported to be in the state of shock. Sgt. Elliot reported he saw "something" and tried to shoot it. Sgt. Ramirez returned from a sweep and reported they did not hit anyone nor anything. Major Schaefer instructed Sgt. Cooper's body to be put into a poncho for burial later. Agent Dillon was informed by air surveillance to proceed to extraction point Sector 3000 with next contact at following day 1030. The guerrilla prisoner was tied and bound. Major Schaefer ordered a defence perimeter to be setup.
1245 - One of the trips set off. Major Schaefer and his team prepared to engage the intruder from their dug in foxholes. Sgt. Cooper's body was reported missing. Sgt. Sole came back from a sweep and reported no tracks were found. Agent Dillon and Major Schaefer deduced that the stalker could be using the trees as movement. Agent Dillon ordered to move out but Major Schaefer refused, instead proposed that a trap be set. The Major interrogated the guerrilla prisoner once more as she was bound and placed beside Sgt. Cooper's body bag. She gave the same answer. Major Schaefer observed a dim fluorescent stain on her combat pants. Against regulation, Major Schaefer unbound the guerrilla prisoner much as Agent Dillon protested. The team proceed to set up traps to capture their stalker.
1300 - All communications from the team was lost.
June 13th 1987
1030 - Sector 3000 extraction point. Gonslaves the guerrilla prisoner, was picked up at the rendezvous point alone. She was shouting in Spanish, incomprehensible. It was noted that Gen. Phillips thought it was strange the prisoner did not escape and instead waiting to be captured.
1035 - Gen. Phillips observed a massive bright explosion from the valley on board the extraction helicopter. As shockwave hit the helicopter, all electronics were temporarily disabled. The helicopter nearly crash. The pilot managed to get it under control a few seconds later. Gen. Phillips ordered the pilot to proceed towards the site of explosion.
1040 - Major Schaefer was retrieved from the site amidst a 20 miles radius of flattened and burnt out trees.


With the planned coup against the government of Val Verde prevented, the entire operation is deemed a success. General Phillips was commended for his effort and would continue in his position until his death in 2001. The explosion occurred is officially reported to be a form of weapon of mass destruction which intensified the military involvement in the area. Val Verde and its borders continued to be hot spots for guerrilla activities, covert and black ops.

Confirmed death related to the operation - two CIA agents, Charles Santiago and Hector Rodriguez from Special Activities Division; Sgt. James "JIm" Hopper and two unidentified Green Berets of the 7th Special Forces Group, Sgt. Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez and Sgt. Blain Cooper of the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta. Unconfirmed death, listed as missing or captured - three unidentified Green Berets, CIA Senior Agent George Dillon, Sgt. William "Billy" Sole of 75th Ranger Regiment, Sgt. McKinney "Mac" Eliot and Sgt. Richard "Rick" Hawkins of the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta. As of 1988, the status of these individuals have been revised to as confirmed death, killed in action. Female guerrilla prisoner, identified as Anna Gonsalves, is currently incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp. Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer was brought forward to the Board for the actual details of the incidents. His last location was at a unidentified military hospital. Current status is unknown.

Summary from National Security Agency case file #90891778A "Predator" - classified. Filed by Special Agent Peter Keyes, NSA.

3rd September 1988.
Under NSA's Special Order 928, an interview is carried out with a former Major of the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta, Alan "Dutch" Schaefer at one of the "complexes". Under the watchful eyes of two MPs and camera surveillance as well as NSA's own video recording in the room, Dutch seems to be regressive in behaviour. Behind the two way mirror stands several CIA advisors, military representatives and NSA's senior agents. The physicians said Dutch is suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and survivor guilt. I have read through his files. Dutch is now a shadow of his former self. He was initially reluctant to talk about the entire operation. After all he had went through - the "Val Verde Incident", the interrogations, the suspicion of his account on the event - who wouldn't? When he was put before the Board, it was alleged that Dutch could have perpetrated the entire incident. It was also alleged that he could have gone rogue and collaborated with the guerrillas. The charges were dropped but he was discharged from service and committed to a sanatorium. Dutch agitatedly said this would be the last time he would be talking about the incident. He got nothing else to lose. I pulled out a cigar and offered it to him, explaining how and why this interview is important. Dutch proceeds to re-count the incident.
He admits that he is suspicious from the start about the true objective of the operation. The anxiety shown on the face of Gen. Phillips, the eagerness of Dillon to participate in the operation, Poncho quietly informing him that the shot down helicopter is actually a surveillance vehicle and the US military boots tracks fuels his suspicion further. Dutch doesn't buy it when Dillon said there could be another separate ops in the area. What he did not see coming is when they stumbled upon the skinned, mutilated bodies of the Green Berets. He identified one of them from Fort Bragg through a dog tag, Sgt. Jim Hopper. And then there's the fire fight of which Billy reported that the Green Berets fired in all directions. As if being attacked by an unseen enemy. They all thought the guerrillas did it. After all they have had their fair share of seeing such horrific acts carried out in various hot zones around the world. But those Green Berets were trained good. A bunch of mountain boys could not have done it. They are enemies due to different political ideologies, not psychopaths and would not waste time to carry out such acts of brutality. Seeing those bodies, Dutch couldn't help but feels that they were killed in manners such as a hunter would kills a game. Those brief thoughts would come back and haunt him forever.
After the engagement and neutralisation of the guerrillas, Dutch confronted Dillon about the truth of the operation based on the papers he found at the place. Dillon justified the act by saying they had just averted a major cross border invasion into Val Verde. Dutch was furious that they were being used at the expense of his team's lives. As the entire area were swarming with other guerrillas coming for them, they had no choice but to trek through the Eastern Ridge valley. The place was a nightmare of dense foliage, towering trees with canopies blocking out the lights and un-even terrains with streams full of leeches and bugs. Despite Dutch warning, Dillon insisted on taking a lone surviving female guerrilla prisoner back for interrogation. Along the trail towards the extraction point, Billy suddenly became spooked and stopped in his track, eyes transfixed upon a tree. Dutch asked what he was staring at. Billy, face pale, said nothing and moved on, looking highly disturbed. The female guerrilla later attempted escape, with Hawkins succeed in re-capturing her but that was the last time Dutch would see him, only hearing several short bursts round from his MP-5. He didn't see it happen. That, he told me, I would have to ask guerrilla prisoner herself, wherever she is right now. Dutch and the rest find a trail of bloods through a thick foliage. There were no visible tracks. It was as if the Earth itself opened up and swallowed Hawkins. The female guerrilla didn't run, was in a state of shock, traumatised. Hawkins' MP-5 and radio equipment were left un-touch, stained with bloods. Dutch gut feel was that this was not the work of the guerrillas. Poncho later showed him a pile of innards and they all remembered the Green Beret bodies seen earlier. The prisoner could not utter any words, only shaking in fear. Dutch ordered an immediate sweep across the area. Suddenly he heard Mac screaming like a madman and shooting from his M-60. Blain, mountain of a man, was dead, chest cleanly blown through with no traces of gun powder, cauterised. Mac continued to fire. The rest joined in and shower the entire area with everything they got.  Mac's M-60 ran out of ammo, he grabbed Blain's modified Minigun and continued firing at maximum 6000 rounds per minute. When it was over, Poncho went to check and comes back, saying they hit nothing. No one could have survived that. Unless it is not from this planet. Dutch asks Mac, who is in shock, keep saying he sees something. Since the place has become too "hot" for aerial extraction, they are ordered to proceed to Sector 3000 right outside the border for evacuation at 1030 the next day. They put Blain's body in the bag to be buried later. They digs in and mined the entire defence perimeter. Dutch asks Mac once more what he sees. His reply is the same. Then one of the trip wires go off and just like that, Blain's body is gone. Two hundred pounds of human body. The prisoner is gagged and bound beside the body. She didn't even attempt to escape but shakes like she had seen a ghost. Dillon and Dutch discuss their situation. Dillon has become uneasy by then. Dutch and him had served together under a commando unit prior to Dillon application for transfer to the CIA's Special Activities Division. Both reach a conclusion that what ever that is stalking and killing them, the stalker is using the trees. Dutch shares that he decides to camp in and set up a trap of which Dillon protests. Dutch retorts there would be no one left for extraction if they don't make a stand there and then. He asks the prisoner her name and she says Anna. He asks Anna once more about what she sees. Anna, more coherent that time, said it is an invisible thing, chameleon-like which blends with the jungles. She shows him the stalker's blood, fluorescent bright on her combat pants which Anna says they might have had injured it. That is all Dutch wants to hear.
After setting the net trap, they wait but without avail. Dutch says he decides to bait the stalker out. Moving pass the net trap, it suddenly springs. Something is inside the net, roaring out an inhuman sound. There is so much trashing around that no one could see anything tangible within the net. As Dutch and the rest about to open fire, a bluish bright light shot out, blasts the net apart and whatever within escapes. Another blast is shot, severing a massive branch entwined in vines which swing and slam Poncho squarely in the chest, ribs broken, puncturing his lungs. In the ensuing melee, Mac loses control, shooting blindly, screaming and chasing after the stalker with his M-60. Dutch order Billy and Anna to carry Poncho with Dillon leading the way to the extraction point while he would go after Mac but Dillon stops him and offers to go instead. Dutch tosses him a spare MP-5. That is the last time he see both Dillon and Mac. As they proceed towards the extraction point, they hear several burst of gun fires, follows by a human painful scream echoing across the jungle. Dutch doesn't say anything but all know that it is the sound of Dillon's death throes. Crossing a ravine upon a fallen tree, Billy, whom is providing cover, stops, casts away his weapon and draws out his machete. Dutch orders him several times to come along but Billy refuses and decides, in Dutch own words, to make a last stand. He doesn't see Billy's death but his scream confirms that. The stalker catches up with them immediately. Clinging at a tree it shoots Poncho in the chest, killing him. Instinctively, Anna reaches for Poncho's MP-5 but Dutch kicks it away while shooting at it with his  M16A1. He shouts at Anna to run to the extraction point while still firing at the stalker on the tree. Another burst of light is shot at Dutch whom manages to dodge it but cut and burnt deeply across his left arm. Summoning all his strength, Dutch desperately ran across the dense foliage as the stalker chases him relentlessly. He is losing ground with the stalker coming ever closer when he slips and falls off a canyon, through several tree canopies and finally into a swift running river. Dutch swims and crawls across the muddy banks. A sudden splash is heard. Dutch, covers in mud, quickly hide himself amongst the entangled roots of a fallen, dead tree. What he sees emerging from the water is something not of this world. Rising from the river with electricity crackling across its body, the stalker, which Dutch describes as humanoid and reptilian looking, begins to scan across the river banks for Dutch. Dutch observes that the creature is wearing some form of mask helm. On one of his shoulder is mounted a form of weapon which moves in accordance to the creature's head movement and line of sight. The helm has a red triangle laser sight. To his surprise, the creature seems unable to see him, even when standing across right at him. Perhaps in frustration, the creature shoots at a scurrying jungle rat and kicks a tree trunk into splinter. Dutch deduces that the mud has somehow conceals him from the creature's vision which could be based on heat emission from a living body. He decides to confront the creature once and for all. As the sun set, he begins to setup improvised traps and weapons. He covers himself with mud and upon lighting up a bonfire, gives out a scream as an invitation.
Dutch confesses that he would not know if it would work. It did. The creature responds with a roar and come, invisible, blending into the surrounding. Yet Dutch could see its simmering, ethereal silhouette as he concentrates his sight. He uses his self-made bow and an arrow tipped with explosives quietly and carefully, shoot it at the creature. Dutch says he misses but the explosion is closed enough to damaged the creature's camouflage device which was crackling with electrical patterns. Dutch uses the creature's own tactic by swinging from tree to tree, clinging upon each one without any movement nor sound. The creature roars in anger and begins to shoot in every direction with its weapon. The entire site is lighted up with sparkles from each blast like midnight sun. As Dutch is about to lured the creature through the terrain into the final trap, the creature retaliates, manages to pinpoint Dutch position and injures him in the abdomen by grazing it with a blast from its weapon. He tries to escape but the creature shoots the branch which Dutch has clung onto and he falls into a stagnant pond. As Dutch swims up, the creature stabs through a log with its double wrist blades, pinning Dutch's head in between. The water has washed Dutch off the muds. The creature could see him and retracts the blades. It holds Dutch by the throat, lifting him up as easy as a man lifting a child. It observes Dutch's face, studying its facial structure. It then dropped Dutch whom was coughing from its grip.  The creature began to detach his shoulder weapon, tube attachments which gives out hissing sounds and finally its mask helm. Dutch has a good look at the creature's face - reptilian, with two yellow eyes, mandibles-like mouth, lined with tusks and serrated teeth, and flowing dreadlock hair-like tentacles. The creature roars and begins to make encircling movement. Dutch immediately understands. A hand to hand combat challenge. He goes at it first, a right hook straight onto the creature's face. The impact causes Dutch's knuckles to crack. He swiftly uses a thick branch and swings at the creature's neck.  It simply shatters upon impact. The creature does not even flinch and retaliates by back slapping Dutch's face. He feels as if a freight train has hit him. Dutch's jawbone dislocates. The creature punches him in the ribs. Dutch could feel his ribs crack and moving freely. He tries to deliver another punch but is blocked by the creature. It continues to hit Dutch. Severely battered and disorientated, he retreats and summons every last strength in him and runs. But the creature easily catches up with him and tosses him across the area. Dutch tries to crawl towards the final trap. The creature toys with him. Finally Dutch reaches the trap and goads the creature to come for him. The creature hesitates and moves around the trap instead but Dutch takes the opportunity to drop another trap of counter-weight made of a large tree trunk onto it. The tree trunk hit the creature with a crunching sound. An enraged Dutch lifts up a large stone to move in for the kill but stop. He sees the creature is dying, regurgitating out large amounts of bright, fluorescent liquids, presume to be its bloods. Dutch curiously asks what the creature is. Staring at Dutch, it replies eerily by mimicking Dutch's voice and same question. It then struggles to activate something on a device attach to its left wrist. Dutch instinctively recognises it is a countdown and makes a run for safety. He could hear the late Billy's voice laughing which echoes throughout the jungle. A sudden bright light envelopes the entire area, as Dutch lunges and drops behind a large granite rock for cover. He passes out for a while, until he hears the sound of a helicopter arriving. Staggering up on his feet, covers in ashes and debris, Dutch said he is extracted from the area. When I asks Dutch what is his last thought, he says mankind, for ages, is considered the apex predator but now he knows there are things out there, beyond this world he knows, which looks at mankind as a mere game and Earth, its hunting ground.

6th September 1988:
Guantánamo Bay. US military prison. Anna Gonsalves seems to have gone through a lot. She seems haggard with eyes staring into the distance. There are fading bruises on her face and arms. Under the watchful eyes of the guards within one of the interrogation rooms, Anna said when a bespectacled US soldier subdued her in her escape attempt, an invisible entity appeared from the foliage, slashed opened his throat and dragged him away.  The entity is not entirely invisible she clarified, but more like blending into the surrounding jungle. The entire incident happened very fast. After the fire fight, she saw some substances on a leave which glowed like fluorescent in green colour. She touched it and rubbed it off on her combat pants. Later Anna heard a roar echoing across the jungle, like an animal in pain. She believed the US soldiers may have injured it. When she was bound and tied up beside a dead US soldier's body, as the rest of the team's attention was diverted by the trip wire, she saw an opportunity to escape once more but the thought vanished as an invisible entity opened up the body bag and grabbed the big soldier's body off as if it was as light as feather. The entity's eyes glowed for a moment at her before disappearing. She shared those information with the commander of the US soldiers once the shock subsided. She personally doesn't know whether she would survive the day. The commander decided to release her from the bound. Anna said the US soldiers decided to set up a trap. They succeed in trapping the invisible entity but it escaped from the net. She observed two US soldiers running into the northern direction, perhaps to capture the invisible entity. Anna later heard several burst of machine gun firings, followed by a blood curdling human scream. She helped carry an injured US soldier across the ravine but one of the remaining US soldiers decided to stay and confront the entity. She heard his death scream. Moment later, a bright ball of light hit the injured US soldier chest, bursting it open. Anna wanted to immediately grab one of the machine guns but was stopped by the US commander whom shouted at her to run to the extraction point. She ran and ran while hearing several burst of machine gun fires which later stopped. Anna reached the extraction point and passed out from exhaustion. By morning, she was awakened by the sound of helicopter where several US soldiers took her into custody. Inside the helicopter was another elderly looking US military man, whom she believed to be a general. Suddenly a loud, massive explosion was heard and seen. It was a ball of light. The helicopter nearly crashed as the shockwave hit it and electronics temporarily went out. The pilot succeed in bringing it under control after a few seconds when the electronics came back online. The older man ordered the pilot to fly towards the explosion. There, amidst the scattering debris and ashes, Anna saw the commander of the US soldiers whom captured her, covered in mud and ashes. She looked at him inside the helicopter and said that his eyes seemed hollowed of any hope, staring only at the jungles below with grief. Anna added that the invisible entity could be a demon of the jungle which makes trophies out of men. This was based on her understanding of old wives tale where aboriginal hunters were sometimes found dead without their skins and heads during hunting trips into the jungle. According to the folklore, this would occurred only during the hottest time of the year.

A NSA investigation is carried out at the site of the explosion which revealed traces of foreign metal particles not registered on the periodic table. A forensic team checked by retracing back the trail from the original crash site and revealed traces of human remains. A pile of human skulls carefully hidden within a crevice of a large tree was also found. Forensics revealed the skulls matched all of the missing US military personnel. The pattern of the explosion and leaving no traces of crater has a similarity to the Tunguska Event, occurred in Siberia in 1908. The stalker has since been re-designated "Predator". It is suspected that the creature, however plausible its existence viewed from certain quarters due to non-existence of concrete evidence, may have been linked to the ancient Mayan and Aztec mythology of sun deities. Attempts to further gather proof of this extra-terrestrial hunter existence remains futile. Although many convert operations continued up until the restoration of a democratic government after the toppling of the military regime dictatorship of Val Verde, no reports of such encounter were received anymore.