Chapter One

As Hawk's watch struck 09:00 he strode out of the small side room and into the large auditorium-like briefing room. Someone called the room to attention and instantly the room went quiet right after a large number of boot heels snapped together. Hawk headed for the stage and told everyone to take their seats as he came to a halt. As soon as he was behind the podium he began to speak, "As most of you know, a large Cobra database was raided two days ago. Each of you has already sat through the briefing yesterday concerning Cobra equipment and operatives. Now I'm briefing you on taking action. Among the data was several references pointing to an attack of some sort on our weapons production and storage facilities." As Hawk continued he pushed several buttons on a remote control that dimmed the lights in the large room and brought up an aerial shot of the complex. "Since we don't have any specifics we're going to set up assuming the worst. A multi-pronged attack involving air, armor, and infantry assets. Our defensive force will be divided into three sections, an air support and combat air patrol unit that will be ready to launch at a moment's notice out of Nellis AFB, a combined arms armor and infantry team outside the complex, and a team of infantry and EOD personnel inside the complex in case they revert to sabotage." Hawk switched slides, causing a list of names to appear. "The aerial team, Alpha, will consist of Skystriker, Ghostrider, Slip Stream, Dog Fight, and the following reservists; every two will team up to form Skystriker or Ghoststriker crews." The thought of the reservists went through Hawk's head. 'No Names' many of the key Joe members had coined them, that phrase ate at Hawk sometimes. After losing men under your command, there were no 'No Names' everybody had a name, a face, a story, and loved ones...you never forget that after you write a letter home. Mentally shaking himself he continued with another slide of names, "The Outside team, Oscar, will have these vehicle crews: Sleeter, Hotseat, Armadillo, Back Stop, Cross Country, Crankcase, Rumbler, Grand Slam, Heavy Metal, Covergirl, Skidmark, Clutch, and the following reservists; each will perform crew duties for what ever available vehicles or weapons platforms they are rated at. The vehicles that we have on stand by are the following: AWE Strikers, Maulers, MOBATs, VAMPs, and Wolverines." Hawk switched to another list of names. "These armor assets will be backed by the following infantry: Drop Zone, Salvo, Repeater, Mirage, Rock N' Roll, Back Blast, Barricade, Heavy Duty, Bazooka, Roadblock, Downtown, Hardball, Rampart, Short Fuze, Fast Draw, and the following reservists." The slides switched to yet another list of names. "Should any direct assault fail and the Cobras try to sabotage the facility with explosives, these demolitions experts, India, will be inside to counter any saboteurs: Static Line, Effects, Tunnel Rat, Ripcord, Tripwire, Zap, Light Foot and the following reservists." The slides then switched to the picture of a captain in full Class A's. "This man is Captain Grid Iron. He will have full operational control of the facility, as he is commander of this mission and he is already on site putting the defense together." The slides then returned to the map of the facility. "Your action will be backed by the Army MPs who normally guard the facility as well as a full Army Ranger company." Hawk then took the time to get into the specific tasks of each group; after his long winded outline, he made his final remarks. "Grab your gear and head to the Tomahawks waiting on the helipad as soon as this briefing is concluded. Once on site assume the facility to be an active battlefield. Stay alert, be smart. Good luck." With that said he exited the room as it was called to attention again. Once Hawk was gone, the group broke and left to gather their gear.


As the briefing dismissed Ripcord headed back to his quarters. He hastily scooped up his olive drab ALICE gear and woodland camouflage ballistic vest. A small smile was brought to his face as he noticed 'WEEMS' stenciled in black along the back shoulders of the vest and memories of his time with the 82nd came to mind. The 'good 'ole days', he let out a small laugh as that thought came to mind. He was only in his mid-twenties and already referring to times less than a month ago as the 'good 'ole days'. As he put the equipment on he tried to banish the thoughts of the UK mission but to no avail. With a heavy sigh he scooped up his woodland camouflage Kevlar helmet and headed for the door. "Ignore it Weems. It's over and done. Suck it up and drive on soldier." After he had grabbed the gear from his quarters he headed down to the armory and checked out his weapons. One of the brand new M-16A2 rifles with 9 magazines, an M-1911 pistol with 3 magazines, six anti-personnel fragmentation grenades, plus the defusal equipment. With the exception of the defusal kit and the lack of an LC-2 ruck it was a standard combat load out. No need for stealth on this mission. Once this thing blew up in their face, it would just be a matter of who died first. He made his way to the helipad where several Tomahawks were warming up. He spotted Covergirl sitting in one of the helicopters, dressed in an olive drab jumpsuit that was characteristic of all army vehicle crews. He climbed aboard the twin rotor aircraft and slid into the web seating next to Covergirl. The two sat silently in a sharp contrast to the rest of the helicopter's passengers. Ripcord looked around the cabin at the others. Up front were the two pilots Lift Ticket and Manning. From the sound of it Lift Ticket was explaining the operations of the Tomahawk to Manning. Directly across from Ripcord was Tripwire. The poor kid looked almost terrified. In addition to the normal BDU and ballistic equipment he wore goggles, heavy gloves, knee pads, elbow pads and was praying in some language Ripcord had never heard; the paratrooper couldn't really blame him...if he'd known what was going happen before the UK mission he would've done the same. Next was Tunnel Rat, he had his legs sprawled out across the deck, his ballistic vest hanging open with two belts of 7.62mm rounds draped across his torso. The sleeves of his BDU top were rolled up in a haphazard way, his helmet was discarded in favor of a bandana tied around his head, additionally his face and arms were covered in camouflage paint. Then there was Heavy Metal in a tanker's jumpsuit but had a brown leather jacket on over the standard uniform. Next to him sat Clutch, he wore BDUs with the ballistic material but he had just a pistol as weapons went, he drove one of the VAMP vehicles, maybe that's why he didn't wear the normal jumpsuit. Then there was Heavy Duty, a monster of a man whose muscles showed clearly through his BDUs and currently had a black baseball cap on backwards, his build suggested a heavy weapons operator without a doubt. Next was Bazooka, pretty standard looking solider, Ripcord didn't know much about him, the guy had fallen asleep the second he hit the webbing. Additional twelve men from the Ranger detachment had boarded the large helicopter on while it was at a refueling stop. Tunnel Rat keep looking around like he was just hopping a bus to just another day at work, Ripcord knew that look, it was the look he had in the RAF C-130 before the HALO. Tripwire kept squeezing his hands around the pistol grip and barrel of his rifle; Ripcord imagined his knuckles being whiter than snow under his thick gloves. Heavy Duty and Heavy Metal keep talking about the mission and how much ass they were gonna kick. At one point the two were actually taking bets on who would kill more. Clutch was trying his best to impress Covergirl but she remained almost as silent as Ripcord. Bazooka just slept the whole trip. The twelve Rangers stuck mostly to themselves, as if trying to ignore the Joes. Finally the massive structure of the facility loomed in the horizon. Ripcord could see hurried activity as the Tomahawk started to come down. As soon as they touched down he heard a man yelling.
"Disembark! Disembark! Get into positions! We have multiple incoming!" The man stood out in the open in neatly pressed BDUs and spit-polished boots. He held no weapons and wore no ALICE gear or ballistic vest. The man even defiantly wore his softcap instead of his Kevlar. The sun reflected light off of one of his fingers. More than likely a West Point ring Ripcord guessed as he already started disliking the officer. Ripcord reached over and gave Covergirl's forearm a reassuring squeeze and flashed the warmest smile he had mustered since the before UK mission had started.
"Make it through this thing in one piece Courtney." Despite the awkward wording of the one of the longest non-military sentences he'd mustered to her since the flight to the UK his eyes revealed the seriousness and heartfeltness of the comment. Without waiting for a response, he leapt from the Tomahawk and jogged between Tripwire and Tunnel Rat as the trio headed for the building in front of them. Along the way his switched his M-16 from 'safe' to '3RB' and charged the weapon. As he came closer and closer to the building he tried to reassure himself. 'Don't Think. Just React. It kept you alive last time it can keep you alive now.' Ripcord disappeared into the building. Once inside he saw one of the Rangers, a sergeant first class, calling the EOD and other 'India' personnel forward. He starting pairing people up and assigning them certain buildings around the complex to defend. Ripcord was teamed with another Joe by the name of Zap. Tunnel Rat was paired with Tripwire, who looked twice as bad now that they were on the ground. Tunnel Rat gave the Ranger NCO a nasty look before he sneered at Tripwire. As the two headed towards the exit of the building, Tripwire's foot caught on a loose drainage grate; sending him sprawling across the concrete floor. No one doubted that under the layers of camouflage paint that Tunnel Rat's skin was red with anger. He gripped the M-60 that he carried tighter and shook his head as Tripwire stood up. After the spectical Zap approached Ripcord.
"Ripcord? Hey man, I'm Zap." The Joe said with a smile and extended hand.
"Nice to meet you." Ripcord said as he shook hands. Zap was a pretty average looking Hispanic soldier that was dressed almost identically as Ripcord. He had to smile, it was nice to know there was another sane, practical demolitions expert on the team. The biggest difference was the M-72 LAW rocket tube that Zap had strapped to his back. The other differences were minor but revealed a lot about the man's personality. First was the gold wedding ring on his hand and the cross that could be partially seen through his half open ballistic vest, dangling from his neck. The two walked towards their target, the control facility of the complex and exchanged small talk, Ripcord actually opened up to the other soldier. He needed to take his mind off of the coming events. The two basically talked about what they had done, who they were, until Zap hit a cord.
"I heard you and Covergirl did quite a job over in England." The Hispanic soldier said but without the obvious excitement that others had displayed upon bring it up.
"I don't wanna talk about it." Ripcord said with a slow shake of his head.
"Don't worry man, I know that it's rough, I lost my big brother in '72...Nam." Zap said in a lowered tone. "I know war is hell, but I fight for what I believe in. So no matter how ugly it gets. I'll stay in. I'll more than likely do some things I'll regret but I know in my heart I'm doing the right thing and saving lives." The comment took Ripcord aback and was silent for a long moment before putting a hand on Zap's shoulder and smiling.
"Thanks. I really mean that. I needed to hear that." Ripcord said with a renewed sense of pride. Sparking the first time since the UK mission that he felt better about what he had done. Within a few more moments, the two had finally reached the control center. Thankfully the captain was in a different part of the building. The two sat down against the walls in the central corridor and waited. After what felt like an enternity, their personal radios sparked to life. The enemy was in sight. Zap said a quick prayer in Spanish and crossed himself as he and Ripcord stood. "It's game time." Ripcord said as his face dropped into a mask like the one he wore during the UK mission. As explosions and the roaring of aircraft engines began to be heard; Ripcord let a grim smile cross his lips as he mumbled to himself. "No rest for the wicked." Zap nodded in agreement as the duo begin to watch the halls.


"Operational briefing." Cover Girl replayed Law's order from Hawk in her head. She couldn't help but outwardly smile, mostly from exhaustion, being "punch drunk" as her grandfather used to call it. "This is not good." She pulled to attention with the others, trying to focus her eyes on the slides the General was showing. She caught her name as part of Oscar team, the vehicle crews, and smiled again. "Good old Wolverines."

"Grab your gear and head to the Tomahawks waiting on the helipad as soon as this briefing is concluded. Once on site, assume the facility to be an active battle field. Stay alert, be smart. Good luck." General Hawk finished, as the room was called once again to attention. Cover Girl looked down at her rucksack contemplating for a second, before she shook her head and decided to go repack. She wanted to tell Ripcord to take care of himself as they headed out, but quickly lost sight of him in the sea of uniforms. "Was an honor, Skyboy. I'm glad you were okay." She said quietly, fearing her tired state would let her become over emotional and she veered left once in the main corridor towards the barracks. She repacked quickly and changed, pulling on the standard drab jumpsuit, still needing to hit the armory to turn in her old weapons, requisition new ones, then headed topside to take her second Tomahawk ride of the day, this time to some remote weapons factory. She managed a half smile when she saw Ripcord climb aboard and take the seat next to her. A fellow driver sat to her left, Clutch he said his name was, but she couldn't catch much else of what he was saying. Her ears detected a 'Why the Wolverine?' question, but she was in no mood for idle talk. Once the helicopter arrived at it's destination, Ripcord reached over and gave Covergirl's forearm a reassuring squeeze and flashed a warm smile that almost brought tears to her eyes. Almost.
"Make it through this thing in one piece Courtney." He'd said, but she couldn't answer. As he released her forearm, she thought more about his being burned. She had winced at the sight of it, back in England, he should be home watching television, she told herself. Not heading back into another war zone. She watched as he disappeared into the building, pausing for a second before the Captain on the helipad lit into her.
"Quit your daydreaming, Missy!" The officer said degradingly. "Move it!" She rolled her eyes in anger, more at herself than at the officer, then ran to the motor pool with the rest of the gear heads. The motor pool was empty, just a decoy as they found out upon arrival. All of the heavy equipment, the Maulers, the AWE Strikers, her Wolverine had previously been moved into position and camouflaged. A corporal was waiting with one of the unit's specially made 'Bigfoot' transport vehicles to drop them at their prospective locations. Filing in the back of the cattle truck, she once again felt the adrenaline rush she had experienced before.
"ALMOST SHOWTIME!" Someone whooped, as more and more vehicles came into site. A sergeant rattled off names and vehicle assignments. As she'd hoped, she was issued a Wolverine, and given it's call sign numbers. The large, cat-tracked vehicle was a sight for sore eyes, and she ran a gloved hand over the United States sign on the walkway, before performing the standard vehicle safety check. She climbed up past the driver's seat, spot checking the wiring behind the maintenance access panel between the modular missile racks. They were in order, as were the firing systems. Some wise guy called out some sort of sexist comment that she completely ignored as she secured a few bolts on the drive and idler bogies. Funny how before she would have ripped into him herself, but now the words just rolled off her back.
"Careful, Morgan." Someone else called out. "You know what they say about women drivers! Her Wolverine is parked right on your tail!" That statement alone was enough to spark laughter and comments from almost half of the peanut gallery.
"Don't pay 'em no mind." A blonde officer clad in a jumpsuit told her. "It's just we're not used getting women in armor."
"Hey, Steeler!" Someone replied. "You don't GET a lot of women, period!" That set them off into another fit of hysterics. The young soldier blushed, and headed back to his MOBAT tank. A few days ago, Cover Girl would have joked along side them, she could always hold her own with a sarcastic comment. She knew when she fought her way into Women In Combat program then into the armor branch, a field normally closed to females, that she'd get flack, but it was just what she wanted to do. She could have used the fifty ton missile platform the other night. Finishing her safety check, she unstrapped her helmet, and ran a hand through her hair, stopping to grind her eyes. She realized she was getting really hungry, the sandwich Ben brought on the plane was long gone. She was about to tear into one of her MRE packs, when a call from the front came out.
"INCOMING VEHICLES!" The Shirt in charge called. "Nobody moves until my mark, repeat, hold fire, hold position until I call it. We want to flank them, boys, get them surrounded so hold position, just let them pass." She forgot about eating, and climbed into the Wolverine's cockpit, prepping the large craft to turn over at a moment's notice.
"I promise." She said to herself. "I won’t let you down this time. I got your back, Skyboy, no matter what, I got your back." .

<THE ARCHIVES______________________________________________________________ NEXT >