Chapter 1: Alpha Six
/64 Years Later, Pacific Ocean; June 5th 2018:

A lone cargo freighter bobbed up and down in the calm waters. Anchored down, she slowly drifted with the current until the anchor chair pulled taught, keeping the ship somewhat in place. The throbbing of helicopter rotors echoed across the hull of the cargo ship as a CH-46 Sea Knight swooped past the ships' midsection. Doors open on both sides, the helicopter came to a stop, hovering just above the ships' bow as ropes descended from the helicopter.

One they hit the deck, tiny figures began to emerge and slide down the ropes onto the ship, surrounding the control room. Suppressed weapons coughed and glass shattered. Collecting at the doorway, one of the figures opened it and they swarmed inside, rifles pointed in different directions as they swept the deck.

The lead figure was Master Chief Petty Officer Cade Matkovic. A man in his mid-thirties, he was young for an officer of his rank. Standing around 6'2 he had tanned skin and messy reddish-brown hair tucked under his helmet. Keeping his HK416 level, he extended an arm and flicked two fingers at a nearby doorway. One of the other soldiers flung the door open and shone a flashlight down it, revealing the glint of steep metal stairs onto the lower level. In close formation, the team descended down the dark staircase, green laser pointers glaring.

Spilling onto the next deck, the team fanned out again, their silenced weapons sputtering again. Feeling the recoil in his shoulder, Cade fired another burst into the wooden target and it exploded into tiny splinters before they moved on. Taking point, Cade advanced through the cramped corridors with his teammates on his back. Entering another chamber, they cleared the room before spreading out into a circle.

"Boone, I want you to take Team Two. Head to the bridge and clear it." The operator nodded and took off with half of the squad. The others remained with Cade, all staring at him with their four-lensed L-3 GPNVG-18–ANVIS night vision goggles.
"Everyone else on me. I want a clean dispersal this time." He explained before heading onwards with the others in tow.

The weapons' scope up to his face, Cade slowly crept around a tight turn, bending round one side to make sure it was clear before moving up.
"Check those corners." He said aloud to the others as they explored deeper into the maze of almost pitch-black corridors.
"Check those corners!"

Up ahead, two more targets stood outside a doorway. They were standard training targets –a wooden outline with a generic black and white print of a terrorist pointing an AK-47 on the front. Stopping, Cade and the others opened fire and quickly splintered the targets before closing on the door.
"Is this it?" He asked.
"This is the one." A voice replied from elsewhere in the squad. "They're in there."

Nodding, he took position on one side of the door as 'Dusty' took up on the other. Lowering his weapon, Cade clenched a fist and tapped it on the top of his helmet; issuing the order to breach. Dusty acknowledged and dropped to one knee as he took out his kit. Taking out a long striped stick, he planted it on one side of the door and taped it on, followed by another and finally a small square package in the centre. Pulling a cord, he stepped back and got into position.

The door exploded inwards and hit the deck with a loud CLANG as the team burst into the room. Rifles fired and empty shell casings pinged off of the floor. More targets crumbled and in seconds, the room was clear. All that remained was a large dummy tied up to a folding chair, a sign hung around its' neck reading:
Someone Important

"Team Two this is Alpha Actual." Cade spoke into the comms, "We've secured the HVT; moving to extract, over." The radio crackled for a moment.
"Solid. Bridge is secure, all hostiles eliminated. Pushing to evac site. Team Two Out."

….

A door to the main deck swung open and Cade's team filed out, weapons still pointed as they formed a protective circle around Dusty who had the dummy slung over his shoulders as if he were a fireman carrying an injured person. Moving up to the bow again, they halted as the Sea Knight hovered back from the bridge and began to lower down for them. Placing their dummy aboard, they each hopped inside one at a time, greeting Team Two who were already on board. Cade was the last one on, climbing onto the ramp, he banged his fist against the hull, indicating to the pilots that they were good to go.

The rotors began to hum loudly and the helicopter lifted off of the deck, quickly leaving the cargo ship behind as the ramp closed. Flipping up his night vision goggles, Cade turned to the rest of his team, who sat talking quietly.
"Nice job, folks." He said confidently. "Haven't seen a drill go that smoothly before."

….

Fort Letchi was a costal fortress. Hidden far out in the Sea of Japan, it was the central hub for all special operations in the region. Several platforms based around a small island, it was a busy nexus of activity, all of which was entirely off-the-grid to the civilian world.

The Sea Knight began to lift her nose as she came into land on one of the several pads ready for helicopter arrival. The ramp opened and Alpha-Six spilled out with Cade in the lead. They were a US Navy SEAL unit appointed to covert operations in the Korean Peninsula. All tried and true DEVGRU Operators, the team consisted of the best of the best.

Dusty patted Cade on the shoulder as he stepped off the ramp.
"We best drop into brass soon." He said. "Let them grill us on things we missed."
"Sure thing, brother." Cade replied. Dusty was a close friend of Cade outside of the military. Towering over the Master Chief, Dusty was a large man with a rough, unkempt beard and almost never seen without a baseball cap and shades. Born and raised in New York, he may as well have had the dammed Statue of Liberty tattooed onto his forehead. Hailing from a military family, his father fought off the Tet Offensive in Vietnam and his Grandfather stormed the beaches at Normandy; There was no way he was not going to become a soldier.

As the rest of the team headed to the barracks to drop off their equipment, Cade and Dusty headed straight for Major Gordon's office. As they approached, the man was waiting outside for them. Sandy hair and a pair of aviators, Major Gordon was a familiar face that everyone looked up to. Despite not being the highest ranking NCO on the base, he was the most respected. Hands in his pockets, the Major walked over to them, looking off onto the horizon for a moment first.

"Welcome back." He greeted them. "You beat the par time on the course." He explained. Gesturing to the door of the command building, he asked the two SEALs to follow him in.

….

In the background in the office, a series of small television sets played, each one playing back footage of the Cargo Ship raid from various security cameras aboard the ship. Cade leaned back casually in his chair as Major Gordon towered over him behind his desk. Dusty was off to one side, arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the back wall next to a large painting of the USS Nimitz.

"After securing the High Value Target what did you do?" Gordon asked.
"Once Stitch finished patching up his injuries, we carried the target to the upper decks for evac, just as planned."

Gordon leaned in, his palms planted on his desk.
"Did you check the entire ship for any other important materials? Munitions, records or other things of importance? There were three rooms nearby that your team did not check"
Cade shrugged, "I had Dusty run through the ship's manifest and grab any paperwork considered important. We didn't have time to dick around."

The Major then turned his attention to Dusty.
"Is this true."
Dusty nodded,
"One hundred percent, sir. The manifest was lying nearby on a desk among some other papers. I went through and grabbed everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything but the onions." The Junior Lieutenant chuckled.

Major Gordon acknowledged, taking a seat back in front of his desk.
"I'm putting another drill together. I'll be teaming you up with Alpha Nine for a land-based operation." He looked around at the two SEALs, "I'll buzz you when we're ready to begin a briefing."

Sighing, he began to sift through the stack of papers reporting on the drill.
"Dismissed." He said in a tone that was clear he hated the excessive bureaucracy his rank had him work on.

Dusty and Cade saluted before leaving the office.

Walking out into the hot afternoon sun, Cade groaned, shielding his eyes from the bright orange glow.
"I guess Gordy wants to keep us on our toes." Dusty remarked. "I'm sick of drills already."
Cade agreed. They had been running training missions nonstop the past few months. Despite how tempting it was, a live combat op probably wouldn't be the best solution.
"Don't forget what happened in Kabul." Cade warned, thinking back to their search-and-destroy mission back in 2013.
"That was a shit show if I ever knew one." Dusty remarked, grumbling.

Back at the barracks, the two began to unload their equipment. Ripping open the Velcro on his front plate carrier, Cade took the heavy armor out of the vest and placed it down on a table, taking off the webgear to do the same for the one on his back. And took out the spare magazines from their pouches, stacking them up nearby. Unbuckling the chinstrap, he took off his helmet and ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair. Walking over to the lockers, he stuffed the equipment into the pigeonhole and lifted out a large plastic case.

Slamming it down on the table, he flicked open the buckles and opened it. Taking the magazine out of his HK416, he double-checked the safety was on and placed the weapon into the box, fitting it neatly into the foam cut out of the weapon next to the shorter CQB Barrel configuration. Closing the case, he started off to put it back when he whistled out to Duty, pointing to the magazines.
"Could you take them back to the armory?"
"Sure thing." The man replied, "Gus won't be happy when we bring back bullets."

Cade laughed as he put his rifle back and headed to his quarters. Walking down the corridor, he looked at the room numbers on the sides of the doors, eventually finding his own and walking inside. As commanding officer, he had a room all to himself unlike the others who were paired in bunks. Lifting a duffel bag out of the nearby closet, he dumped it on the bed and started to get changed.

Tossing the dirty clothes aside when he was finished, he looked down at the olive drab t-shirt, checking there was nothing on it. Walking over to his desk, Cade grabbed a laptop off of the top and turned to leave, smirking at the large Virginia flag pinned above his bed. His team had gotten him it as a gift, at the time unaware he was from West Virginia. Turning off the lights, he headed out and back down the corridor with the laptop tucked under his arm.

Entering the lounge, he found most of the team loudly talking away.
"Hey boss!" Stitch called out, grinning as he held another squadmate in a headlock, "Turns out Rooks' gonna be a daddy!" He said, nodding to the man he had his arm around. That was unexpected, Cade thought. Rook was a newer member to the team, hence the callsign, so it was somewhat of a surprise that he would have a kid of his own before Cade did. Then again, he wasn't much older than Rook.
"That's great." He called back smiling. "You mind passing me one?" He asked, pointing to the case of beer resting on the coffee table. The Medic shrugged letting Rook out of his hold before tossing the Master Chief a bottle.
"I won't be long." Cade said as he caught the beer, "Don't start the party without me."

….

Finding a secluded place outside, he put the laptop down and turned it on, popping the beer open as he waited for it to power up. In a blur of motion, he typed in his Skype login and scrolled through his contacts, finding the one he needed before pressing call.

As the laptop hummed away waiting for an answer, Cade took a swig of the drink and set it to one side. The black screen came alive to a woman's smiling face. It was his wife Rachel Matkovic.

"Hey, beautiful!" He greeted her, an ear-to-ear grin on his face. "How you doing?"
"Okay I guess." Rachel replied, "Did I tell you that Larry is thinking about making a 2020 bid?" Cade shook his head, perplexed,
"Really? Then again, who could blame him? I imagine the Oval Office would be really tempting if its' just outta reach."

Rachel sighed, clearly stressed out by her work.
"Yeah so we're starting to put the campaign together today. He's going to give a speech while we're here in San Francisco, tease it out to the public. There's a lot of work to do."

Cade smiled,
"I can imagine. Things ain't too peachy over here either." He explained, holding back on specific details. "Remember Jeffrey?" He asked, referring to Rook's real name. "He's going to have a kid soon. Just found out a minute or so ago. The guys are giving him the special treatment."
Rachel laughed, looking down to some papers off to one side before checking her watch.
"I've got to go, I'll call you later. Stay handsome"
"I will. Love you, baby." Cade finished before ending the call.

Pushing away from her desk slightly, Rachel checked the papers a second time. She recently had her people put together some drafts for letters to send to Larry's potential future donors. She was Chief of Staff to Lawrence 'Larry' Meechum; the current Vice President of the US.

The door clicked quietly as it opened and a head stuck through the door.
"Did Jessica give you the drafts?" Larry Meechum asked curiously. Rachel nodded, holding up the papers with a smile.

Larry beamed like a child, fully entering the office. He was the polar opposite to the President. A young first term senator from California, many compared him to the likes of Joe Biden as the quirky off-the-rails one who was popular amongst young voters, which stood out when compared to President Keyes' calm, collected and policy-driven demeanour.

Hands in his pockets, he began to set out his ideas for his San Francisco speech.
"I wasn't thinking anything too over the top," He began, "Maybe just sticking with platitudes for the most part. Just treat it like an ordinary speech and leave people hanging as to whether or not I'm actually running." He went over and took a seat by the window, "If I run, I don't know who to approach for contributions."

"Denny Hoyt just lost support from Danatec after his last blunder." Rachel said, "That should give you a major advantage if he's you're biggest primary threat." Meechum shrugged,
"That makes sense. Do you think Hawkstone-Marigold would cough up some coins?" He asked her curiously. "If I shoot straight down the middle I could win them over."

Rachel stood from her desk, walking out around the front to sit on the front of her desk as the two brainstormed.
"I would have thought they'd donate no matter what, Larry. They've helped out Republican candidates for twenty years. They only flipped to Kerry in '04 because they wanted to give Bush the finger." She explained, "They've always been on our side. Its' Danatec that you're going to have to sweeten up to."

Meechum planted his head in his hands and moaned aloud.
"Christ if this keeps up its' gonna be a long campaign…"

Hey, MrWorthARead again. Thank you for waiting on this chapter there's way more to come.
While part of this story is based heavily in US Politics and elections, I just want to clarify TOTAL NEUTRALITY. Deciding which party Vice President Meechum was part of was actually done through eenie meenie miney mo and has no connection to or relation to any Administrations, past or present, blady-blah.

Anyway, as for in terms of the series as a whole; Landfall is really going to set the scene in a way very similar to G14, establishing a lore and background to build on. My end goal is a Marvel MCU style universe with all kinds of human and non-human characters.
Also on a side note, the character of Dusty is pretty much identical to the Dusty in the two Medal of Honor games set in present day. So there's that.
Stick around and stay awesome.