Chapter One

"ROOM A-TEN-SHUN!" Someone barked out as the general strode purposefully into the large stadium seating briefing room. Hawk quickly took his place on a podium to the side of the stage.
"At ease." The general called out, projecting his authoritative voice out into the room. "You've all been assigned to take place in a mission code named Operation Barricade." As the general spoke, he pressed a series of buttons on a small remote control in his hands, dimming the lights of room while a map was projected onto a screen placed on the back wall of the stage. The shading and contour of the map indicated a desert environment. Several spots on the map were marked with simple, color-coded symbols. "What you're looking at is a terrorist camp in a north western section of Saudi Arabia. This organization is a group of Muslim Extremists that are intent on carrying out anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli terrorist actions within the Middle East. Recently the leaders of this organization have stuck a deal with Cobra to be supplied with several high-end weapons from the few remaining MARS facilities that Cobra has left. We cannot allow such a destabilizing group to get their hands on these weapons." Before continuing, Hawk pressed another button which animated three red trucks moving towards the cluster of red tents. "At some point within the next few days the Cobra convoy will move through this area. This is where we will spring our attack. A two-man forward observer team, SPYGLASS, will have moved into this position once the convoy is detected. SPYGLASS will then call in artillery on the convoy. The artillery, THUNDER, will be made up of two Sluggers and two artillery configured Wolverines. Once THUNDER has weakened the convoy, an armor group will move it and finish off the convoy. The armor group, JACKAL, will consist of four MOBATs, six Maulers, and eight VAMP Mark-Twos. At exactly the same time that these groups attack the Cobra convoy, an air strike will be taken against the Terrorist camp. The air strike, GOD, consisting of two Ghoststrikers, will make a single pass on the camp before two infantry teams are fast-roped directly into the camp via several Tomahawks. The first infantry team, HUNTER, will seek out and eliminate any and all remaining hostiles in the camp while the second infantry team, KILLER, will destroy any remaining structures and equipment. Likewise, HUNTER and KILLER will be supported by GOD and later, JACKAL once their original objectives are complete. The entire operation will be tactically commanded by a temporary base in the theater, known as NESTEGG." Hawk waited for the map's animations to finish and then watched as various pencils throughout the room slowly stopped moving, wanting all of his people's full attention for his next words. "I can't stress this next point enough. This operation is a clean sweep. I want absolutely zero survivors from either Cobra or the Terrorists to leave that desert alive. Does everyone understand?" Hawk asked rhetorically, his voice slightly more intense than usual. No one answered. Silence was compliance. "All right," The general started, the dark look on his face fading somewhat as he pressed a button, changing the map to a list of names. "NESTEGG will be the tactical command base for this operation. All vehicles and supplies are already on site as is Psyche-Out, who will be the theater commander for this mission, in addition to Sparks and half of the listed reservists. Law and the remaining reservists must transport there." Hawk's finger hit the button again, causing the list to change to new set of names each time a new detachment of the operation was listed. "HUNTER will need to take their own weapons and equipment with them for transport and will consist of Falcon, Leatherneck, Repeater, Long Arm, Hardball, Fast Draw, Flash, Grunt, and the following reservists. KILLER will need to take their own weapons and equipment, however demolitions material will be procured at NESTEGG; its makeup will be Ripcord, Zap, and the following reservists. JACKAL will need to take their own personal weapons and equipment however your vehicles will be waiting at NESTEGG; it consists of Steeler, Hotseat, Cross Country, Back Stop, Clutch, Crankcase, Heavy Metal, and the following reservists. THUNDER will need to take their own personal weapons and equipment however your vehicles will be waiting at NESTEGG, its makeup is Long Range, Thunder, Grand Slam, and Covergirl. SPYGLASS will need to take their own weapons and equipment and consists of Spirit and Downtown. GOD is already onsite at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Any questions you have can be answered by Psyche-Out once you're on site, additionally he will explain your mission in detail once everyone is on site. Once this briefing is over you'll gather your gear and report to the helipad to catch one of the UH-60s that's headed for Pope AFB. Once everyone is at Pope you'll board a C-141 bound for King Khalid where you'll then switch over to several UH-60s to be taken out to the operational area. Remember people, the convoy could arrive at any time during the next week so stay alert over there. Good luck."
"ROOM A-TEN-SHUN!" Someone again call as Hawk raised the lights before strode off of the stage and out of the room.


"Good old Wolverine." She said to herself, as the team exited the briefing. She was glad the Rogues were paired up. Zap would watch Ripcord’s back, Ripcord could watch for Zap. Fast Draw and Repeater. Hotseat and Heavy Metal, and she had the Wolverine, twin gas turbines running 352 horsepower each and 50 tons of steel and missiles. The team would be fine. Still, it made her uneasy, the fact that it would be more than just the seven... well, eight of them, if you counted the Wolverine. She planned on leaving Murphy at home. Not that she was cocky enough to think Rogue Force could handle an assignment of this scale on their own, but Long Range, Thunder and Grand Slam? She was supposed to trust them? How do you trust someone right off the bat, she questioned. Were they even at A10? A few of the reservists names she had recognized, people she'd seen at A10 or around the motor pool at various points, but still, that wasn't trust. She shook her head to try and clear it of the negative thoughts. She caught sight of the M.P. who’d covered for them with Courage as he was gearing up, throwing him a quick wink, before motioning for him to come join them. She acted before catching sight of the officer standing beside him, quickly dropping her gaze and straightening her ALICE gear, not wanting to run the risk of making eye contact with an officer. She was still getting used to seeing them, getting used to the more relaxed atmosphere of the base. She smiled as she remembered armor AIT, the lengths she and her squad would go to avoid officer contact, from faking tying a shoelace, to dropping books, to actually changing direction. She winced when she saw the young officer had joined him and popped up a quick salute, before the three joined Fast Draw and Repeater, who had already assembled on the tarmac.
"Me and you big guy! Just like old times!" Fast Draw kidded, punching Repeater in the arm. She shook her head as she approached the two. "Krieger!" He called out, turning his attention towards her. "Damn, Babe," He said, eyeing the olive drab vehicle crew jumpsuit she was wearing. "I still prefer the bikini, but if I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?" She gave him a puzzled look as he chucked her under the chin. "Would you hold me against it?" He finished, giving the female tanker an adrenaline-induced bear hug, picking her up off her feet, putting her down and releasing just as quickly.
"Obnoxious..."
"You know, I notice you tend to say "fuck around me a lot... subconscious maybe?" He interjected.
"Obnoxious Shit." She finished the phrase with a smile, causing him to laugh as well, before he and Repeater caught sight of the officer, both throwing a salute in his direction.

The rest of the team had almost finished meeting up at the helipad after grabbing their gear and requisitioning their weapons. Like most other things with the team, it was unspoken, just a fact. They would meet up first, they would take the same transport over. They were still a team. She smiled when she saw Ripcord's figure looming towards them, his confident gate undaunted. His arm lightly brushed hers as he came to a stop next to the tanker, causing her to stifle another smile in front of the team. It was a 'hello Courtney from Wally' gesture disguised as a nonchalant move from Specialist Weems. He was wearing desert BDU's, the lighter color bringing out his broad shoulders and chest, plus it highlighted the light green in his eyes. The stiff government issued fabric always made him stand a little straighter, look even more self-assured. Her smile faded when she noticed the gauze bandage peeking out from his forearm, unsure if the harsh jungle conditions were responsible for the delay in healing, or if it merely looked that bad that he felt the need to keep it covered.
She noticed a few other jumpsuits besides her, Heavy Metal and Hotseat, congregated in an area not too far off, waiting to board their own ride. One of them nodded and smiled in her direction starting to give her a hand signal. The movement caused her to instantly shift her gaze back to her own team.
"All right, people," Hotseat told them, making the final count to make sure they were all there. "Let's mount up and head out." Without skipping a beat he pointed to the young soldier about to open his mouth. "Fast Draw, keep the comment to yourself."

The seven boarded the rotary wing craft, followed by Law, and the officer who simply called himself Falcon. Fast Draw's typical banter was toned down, but he still sniped imaginary targets with his imaginary weapon. The familiarity was comforting. Across from her sat Zap, staring at the more current picture of his family, taken on the same set of steps. She turned her attention away when he began showing the photo to two of the other soldiers on the transport, one she recognized from A10 as Clutch, the other who introduced himself as Spirit. Repeater, as always, was Repeater. She stared at him for a long moment, thinking back to... what was her name? It wasn't important, the woman who'd known him at the beach. What happened to him back in 'Nam. She remembered his face back in Brazil, when Zap was almost impaled, and how he'd protected both her and Heavy Metal in the minefield. He sat stoically, staring into nothing, either unaware or uncaring that someone was staring at him. Hotseat and Heavy Metal, dressed similarly to her and Clutch were carrying on a conversation about marriage, Heavy Metal discussing his plans about his soon-to-be bride, Hotseat offering his now typical fatherly advice. Next to her sat Ripcord, his deep green eyes more serious, his face taking on a slightly harder edge. She imagined he was doing the same, replaying the general's words about the operation being a clean sweep. 'I want absolutely zero survivors from either Cobra or the terrorists to leave that desert alive.' He caught her staring at him, offering a quick wink, his face for a brief second retaining its softer features. She gave him a faint smile before closing her eyes and leaning back against the hull. Her smile faded as she replayed more of the General’s briefing in her mind. He and Zap were demolitions. Team KILLER. Even the name alone was disturbing. She thought back to the Viper he killed, the one he felt he'd murdered, to his words back at his mother's house, about pulling the trigger, about losing himself, about the promise she'd made to him. "I won't let you down." She whispered, mainly to herself. "I don't make promises I can't keep."

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