Chapter Two

The gigantic superstructures of the A10 Complex stood proudly in the middle of nowhere. The gray of the steel and concrete drew a sharp constant between the surrounding woods and plains. The activity was fairly standard for the time of day, men in orange jumpsuits and yellow hard hats moving around like ants at their hill. Every now and then a faded yellow or gray forklift or truck crawled along the roads scattered throughout the complex. The facility seemed completely oblivious to the threat that loomed just beyond its horizons. From all sides legions of strange black vehicles with equally strange soldiers were closing in. Finally the radio transmission was sent out and the faster units broke ahead as the order was given to charge the facility. A battle cry split the night as the fanatical legions cried out as one "COBRA!!!!!" Alarms began to sound and regular Army MPs armed with M-16A1s and driving HMMWVs started to rush out of their barracks. The Cobras surged forward, confident that they could take care of a few glorified security guards. However unknown to the Cobras, a force equally as impressive as theirs was lying in silent wait hidden among the complex itself. As the Cobra aircraft began to start their runs on the facility a group of Joe aircraft were speeding along at treetop level just minutes away, headed to counter the Cobra planes. The seconds seem to extend into small eternities as the Cobras rushed to reach firing range and the Joes waited till the last possible moments to spring their ambush.
As soon as the facility came into range the Cobras began pouring fire into the complex. The civilians ran for cover as the MPs began to do what they could to defend the facility. In the command center Captain Gridiron stood watching the monitor as he calmly sipped on a cup of coffee, seemingly without concern for the sounds of battle raging on outside. He still wore no combat gear, save a web belt with a M-9 riding on his hip. He didn't need to, he told himself; his logic was simple, 'this isn't the thirteenth century, commanders should stay back, let the squad leaders be the battlefield commanders.' Waiting patiently for the right moment he repeated the simplicity of his plan 'It's a simple ambush, just like at The Point, only bigger. And as soon as we destroy these Cobra upstarts we can leave this god-forsaken piece of nowhere and get back to the base. Plus, this will bump my standing with the General up quite a bit.' A bead of sweat rolled down the temple of one of the Ranger communication people that were manning the huge control board.
"Sir, the MPs and civilians are taking heavy loses." Meyer, one of the operators said in a hurried tone.
"If the enemy hasn't reached the chokepoint yet then don't commit our troops, no need to lose the element of surprise." Gridiron said with a shrug. He continued to watch the screens as a few of the Stingers started to enter the base. As he slowly set down his coffee cup he spoke in a slow, even voice. "Give the command."


A Stinger hit the fence at almost full speed, tearing the chain link apart in a shower of sparks. The Motorviper inside launched one of his missiles at a nearby HMMWV and smiled as it exploded. With a screaming of tires he turned the Stinger nearly on a dime as he raced the jeep down one of the canyons created by the buildings. He mused over the simplicity of the operation as the Stinger accelerated. Everything was going according to plan until it happened. Something burst through the aluminum wall of one of the buildings. The soldier slammed on the brakes as the camouflaged behemoth of a tank came onto the roadway. He started to line up his shot on the MOBAT. The last thing the soldier saw was the flash of the tank's massive cannon. The shell impacted on the Stinger's side and literally blew the vehicle apart. The MOBAT moved forward and drove right through the fire and secondary explosions left by the Stinger. The sight caused another Stinger to freeze, as the MOBAT speed forward like a demon stepping out of the gates of hell. All around the complex vehicles and soldiers began to come almost literally out of the woodwork. The Cobra's state of mind immediately began more serious by a thousand fold.


At eight miles and closing fast, the group of Skystrikers and Ghoststrikers screamed along at tree top height. Suddenly the channels came to life with reports that facility was under attack. Then came the report for the ground forces to attack. "Full afterburner people! If we don't get there soon the Cobra air unit will tear apart our ground units." Skystriker, who lead the air operations, said. Almost immediately the forest below them was suddenly free of the noise of jet engines. The planes shot across the sky without a sound, until seconds after their passing, a bone shaking explosion tore through the air. As the aircraft approached a small line of hills they pulled up and powered up their active radars.


The Rattler pilot smiled in satisfaction as Joe Mauler exploded under his HUD after raking the tank with fire from the aircraft's massive 30mm cannon. As he turned to make another run his radar shot to life. His eyes widened as he called out over the air group's channels "Contact! Mult-" the transmission was cut off as the Rattler disappeared in a fireball from an AIM-7 missile that had leapt from the lead Ghoststriker's launch rail and impacted with the radar housed in the nose cone of the Rattler. The battle had now begun.


When they could hear the roar of enemy engines, the Sergeant gave the signal to ready the vehicles. "Engine Check. Engine check," She said aloud, flipping various switches, "Right track, right track. Left, left, platform, check.." it was all set. She took the torn snake insignia from one of her pockets, squeezing it once again in her palm. For the first time she noticed the dried blood which had crusted over on it, which sent a shiver up her spine as she returned it to her pocket. At least it was some feeling, maybe not remorse, but something.
"HOLD POSITION!" The Sergeant yelled into the radio, as some of the vehicle drivers were getting antsy. "HOLD POSITION, DAMNIT." She closed her eyes for a second, concentrating on breathing. They jerked open when she heard the first rocket fired, their side, not hers. By now, she knew the enemy had a name, Cobra. She twitched her one knee impatiently, clenching and unclenching fists, ready to go on the first signal. More shots fired, still no word to move.
"C'mon, C'mon, C'mon..." She whispered, focusing on the clearing beyond the trees. The snakes were all over the complex, crashing through the gates. "Send us in, boys.... Give the word...." Seconds dragged on, the sounds of battle becoming more evident. This time the sounds weren't coming from the building below, but from the ground in front of them, the kind of fighting she had trained for. The image in her mind flashed back to seeing the Stinger fire a missile into the building, hearing the explosions. "Keep it together, Krieger, keep it together." She started feeling dizzy, almost lightheaded, until she finally remembered to let the breath out she was holding, concentrating again on breathing. One final explosion, and the call came through the communicator built into her helmet.
"GO, GO, GO, MOVE IT!" The AWE Strikers, being the lightest and fastest of the vehicles were in first, followed by the VAMPs. Once the smaller vehicles were out and had tied up the enemy, the larger MOBATs and Maulers started out. Then, topping out at 60 mph, the Wolverines were to come out last. A dark blue jet, much like an A-10 'Warthog' only with misplaced engines flew over head with the tell-tale sign of the snake near the cockpit, and more weapons than she could count. Freefall bombs, air to surface missiles, and what looked like a rapid fire, multi barreled anti-tank gun mounted under the nose. Bullets streamed from the pair of dorsal mounted weapons, ripping through one of the VAMPs, which stopped dead in its tracks. The barrage tore up the vehicle like it was a ragtop. She could see the driver inside slumped over the steering wheel, blood spraying the hood of the vehicle. On the back, Morgan's body twitched as he still clutched the 7.62mm machine guns. She cursed and looked away, not wanting to see the shocked faces of the soldiers, the first ones of her own she lost. Another stream of bullets started hitting the ground dangerously close to a MOBAT, snapping her back to reality.

"Air-Bandit 1 is mine!" She called into the communicator, while checking the pop-up display and carefully aiming one of the 12 anti-tank. The MOBAT commander abandoned his vehicle with seconds to spare, one more lost to the aircraft. He began running towards a nearby tree cluster for cover as his driver was shot while trying to escape the forward hatch. The sounds of battle ceased as she lined up for firing, "Easy.... Easy..." She told herself, lining up to hit the jet's left wing. "On target, on target..." Her right thumb flipped the covering on missile 12, and her index finger fired the single shot. Hitting the wing meant her missile would connect with the heavy arsenal of weapons the jet was carrying, exploding immediately on impact, not giving the pilot a chance to bail out or crash. She shielded her eyes as the jet exploded in a fiery ball, much like something you'd see on the 4th of July. There was the pilot, and there had also been a gunner seated in the turret. Two more kills added to her list. "CONTACT! Air-Bandit 1 down." She called. That's when she saw the pieces of the MOBAT commander scattered in the ground to her left. He didn't make it. "Fuck!" She cursed, slamming a fist into the side of the Wolverine. She blinked hard as the sounds of the battle returned to her, and she noticed the AWE Strikers taking a pretty bad beating, as were the armory buildings themselves. She launched two more missiles, one taking out a HiSS, one missing its target completely as the Stinger she aimed for launched it's own counter. On the horizon, she could see the approaching jets, hoping they were the Skystrikers and Ghoststrikers, not more Rattlers. Never before had she seen one craft carry so much destruction, she hoped she wouldn't see it again.

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