Summary: Traveling through the desert in a G.I. Joe APC, Dusty, Outback and probationary Joes Lightfoot and Mangler are ambushed by an Abysmal Liberation Army patrol. The mission was meant to be a simple evaluation test for the new recruits. Despite the protests of Abysmian Captain Yusif, the unit’s political officer Aman has Lightfoot beaten, then shocked by a generator to learn the goal of their mission. After hours of torture, Lightfoot admits the Joes intended to destroy a hidden weapons cache left behind by the nation's previous government. Aman goes on to find the cache, leaving Yusif behind to kill the Joes. Instead, Yusif lets them go with no weapons and just enough water to reach the east coast, and freedom. The Joes instead head for the cache on foot at Lightfoot's insistence, with Mangler carrying the injured Joe on his back.

The next night, the Joes sneak past the Abysmians guarding the cache and Lightfoot rigs improvised explosives that destroy the weapons inside. While the Joes escape into the desert in a stolen vehicle, Mangler stays behind to allow the others to evade the pursuing Abysmians. The Abysmian’s vehicles collide while trying to avoid Mangler's machine gun fire and the new Joe is killed in the crash. The Joes eventually reach the coast, as Outback vows to recommend Mangler for a posthumous commendation.

Reprinted in:

• G.I. JOE: Special Missions, Volume 2 (November 2010). A trade paperback from IDW Publishing collecting issues #8-14.