Authors Note: Alright everyone! Here I am again with another chapter for all you awesome readers. I want to take a brief moment to apologize for an error I have committed with an earlier chapter in this story. I was looking back at Chapter 18 and I noticed that I had posted chapter 19 twice. I have fixed the issue and the real chapter 18 is now posted. Again I apologize for my simple mistake. Now, please enjoy this new chapter, titled Chapter 25: A New Plan.
"Alex! It's really you! When we lost connection with the Leonhard, we presumed you to be dead, but no, you're alive and back home!" Dr. Ranger shouted in pure disbelief.
"Yes, Dr. Ranger, it's great to see you too. I am glad my safe return brings you such pleasure, but sadly I wish I could say the same about seeing "Home"." Alex said; he wasn't really in the mood to be all cheery and happy.
"Right, not with all the unexpected series of events that has come about. I completely understand. Please, allow me to escort you lot to the situation room. I am more than positive that you would like to be filled in our current standings." Dr. Ranger said as he swung the door to the prep room wide open, and gave a way for Alex and McRanger to enter.
"Thank you, Doctor." Alex, McRanger and Nick said in unison as they began to walk into the prep room.
"Oh and who is this?" Dr. Ranger said as he took notice of Nick presence.
"My name is Sergeant Nick Davis, of the Cornerian Defense Force. I am the one who carried out the mission of returning Major Simmons back home safe and sound. It is a pleasure to meet you." Nick said as he introduced himself to Dr. Ranger, extending his right hand.
"Ah I see, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well. By the way, thank you very much for returning him to us in one piece. Now please, right this way." Dr. Ranger said as he firmly grasped the wolf's hand and shook it, before gesturing with his left hand to follow along.
"As you can see gentlemen, after the events of what happened a fortnight ago, the president of the united states and what remained of the United states military decided to relocate in a area that was least damaged by the kinetic energy missile strikes. As it turns out, this space center was the best they could muster. This place serves as a base camp now, so to speak." Dr. Ranger began saying as he led the group of three through the prep room.
Alex looked around the crowded room; there was military personnel working diligently in front of old computer screens, shuffling through stacks of files left and right looking for some information as to what was going on in the outside world. He could hear people surfing through different radio frequencies and speaking into machines that looked rather antique, hoping to establish some sort of communication. It sort of reminded Alex of the movies he had seen of the Vietnam War era, movies where technology was not at its peak as it was now.
"What exactly are those people speaking into?" Nick asked as he too noticed the antique looking boxes.
"They're radios, or rather, past generation radios. Those people are using old land lines to try and contact other military bases nearby. When the strikes happened, the missiles destroyed every possible radio tower alongside our eastern coast. We've also learned that any modern form of communication is being monitored by the Russians, so not much information is able to be spread about. To fight this issue, we decided to take a few decades back and use those horrible static boxes." Dr. Ranger said; his dislike for the loud static like noise from the radio made itself known by the small group.
"Anyways, the main building serves as a shelter for those who survived the strikes, as well as a hospital for the injured. The preparation rooms inside this building are used for mission briefings and makeshift barracks. Here, the U.S military works twenty four seven to try and find a way to regain control of our eastern coastline. Sadly, we have not been able to do much in that aspect." Dr. Ranger continued saying as they kept walking deeper into the jungle of people working inside the first prep room.
"The Russians have control over our air and sea. They've positioned multiple aircraft carriers alongside the coastline and are using some sort of cloaking tech to hide their fighter jets. This makes things extremely difficult since we cannot see them, even with our most advanced fighter jets in the air." McRanger said as he turned his head over to Alex's direction.
"Indeed, that's why the president has ordered for all air and sea operations to cease, including civilian traffic. We cannot risk the Russians shooting down any civilian aircraft and endangering the lives of innocent people." Dr. Ranger added on.
"So we're basically chopped and screwed then?" Alex said as he continued walking behind Dr. Ranger.
"Unfortunately…" Was all Dr. Ranger said as he began to lead the group of three over to a set of double steel doors, where two men dressed in black suits stood guard.
Alex, Nick and McRanger stood back as Dr. Ranger approached the two men; he leaned over to the one on the far right and whispered something in his ear, before leaning back into a straight position and waiting patiently in front of them. It didn't take too long before the men finally separated from the door and granted the group access to what was behind the doors.
"Gentlemen, I present to you the President of the United States." Dr. Ranger said as he gestured for the three men to walk inside the rather dark room that served as the president's office.
Alex walked inside the dark room, there was only a shimmer of light coming from a huge monitor in the left side of the room displaying a map of the United States. In the center of the room stood two tall figures, one was leaning on top of a small wooden desk, while the other sat patiently behind the desk. In the far side of the room, stood two flags in the opposite corners that were barely noticeable due to the dark lighting. Alex made his way over to the figure resting on the desk and gave a sharp salute.
"Major Alexander Simmons. It is an honor that I get the chance to meet one of America's greatest war heroes." President Whitley said as stood up straight from resting on the desk and turned to face Alex in the face. He returned Alex's salute and extended his right hand out for a handshake.
"The pleasure is all mine Mr. President. I am glad to be home." Alex responded back as he accepted the president's handshake and gave a firm and solid shake.
"As am I, I believe I have you to thank for that. What's your name my friend?" President Whitley said as he acknowledged Nick's presence.
"My name is Sergeant Nick Davis; it is a great honor for me to meet you, sir." Nick said as he walked forward from his spot behind Alex and shook President Whitley's hand firmly as well.
"Thank you so much for returning Alex to us. I wish we could commemorate you for the trouble but as you've probably noticed, my people are dealing with a situation that has gotten out of control." President Whitley said as he let out a sad sigh at the mention of the ongoing problem.
"It's alright sir, I understand the situation. I am more than willing to help in any way I can." Nick said as he waved off President Whitley's worry.
"Thank you Sergeant, I appreciate your concern in helping out. However, I am afraid to say that just your help alone will not be enough to save us from the threat at hand." President Whitley sighed again. Alex and Nick could tell that President Whitley was going through a lot. They could only imagine the huge amount of stress President Whitley had on his shoulders, the sense of helplessness and frustration of not being able to do anything do defend his people and country.
"Mr. President, if I may, what exactly do you have at your disposal, in terms of troops and resources." Nick asked.
"I can answer that question…" The second figure said he stood up from the chair behind the desk and made his way over to the center of the room next to him.
"My name is Commissioner Cross; I'm the head of Joint Special Operations Command, or at what's left of it. I guess you consider the general of the jumbled mess of a military we have now." Commissioner Cross added as he introduced himself to Alex and Nick.
"After the Russians attacked, we lost a third of our US army infantry, all of our Air Force fighter pilots have been ordered out of commission, we lost two thirds of our Marine infantry and all modern ground equipment is damaged beyond repair along the east coast. We still have a few spec op forces here and there but at the moment not a single unit is considered stable enough to carry out any covert op missions." Commissioner Cross continued saying as he stood next to the president, his arms locked at his side.
"Is it true? Are we really that crippled against the Russians?" Alex said as he was sort of taken back by the condition of the United States.
"I am afraid so. It doesn't help that all other forms of communication are offline either. All we can do is use the old landlines to contact local military camps. We've tried forming up some sort of resistance, but we are just too outgunned and outmanned to carry out such a risky task. As long as the Russians control the Pentagon and Washington D.C, There's nothing much we can do." President Whitley sighed depressingly.
The five men in the prep room maintained a heavy silence in the room. The severity of the situation added more and more weight to Alex's conscience and clouded his train of thought. He could not help but feel responsible for all of this, for some odd reason. His mind began to torture him, saying that if he had only been on earth sooner, he could have helped defend his country and prevent this entire disaster from happening. It bothered Alex that his mind did these things to him. It bothered him that he was losing everything he had gone through such extreme measures to protect, and it bothered him that the Russians believed that they were going to get away with the atrocities they had committed to his country.
"There must be something we can do. I refuse to just sit tight and let Andrew and the Russians take everything I have ever known away from me." Alex suddenly said, his voice sounded cold and angered.
"Alex, we cannot risk losing any more men and women doing missions that won't…" President Whitley began saying.
"I Prefer to lose my life fighting for the ones who died and try to wipe the enemy from this land than to sit locked up in a building filled with innocent people wishing things could go back to the way things were before. I can still pick up a gun, I can still fly a plane goddamn it, and I can still avenge my brothers and sisters who died on the field!" Alex interrupted the President mid sentence.
"When I joined the Marine Corps, twelve years ago, I swore that I would defend my country until I breathe my last breath. I swore on my country and I swore on my grave. I don't care if it's me against the world, I will not stand idly by for a miracle to appear out of nowhere to save the lives of my people. So yet again Mr. President, I ask you, is there anything we could do? Yes or no?" Alex yelled out in anger.
Dr. Ranger and Nick were taking back by Alex's sudden outburst While McRanger and Commissioner Cross continued looking down at the floor. President Whitley did not say a word as he let Alex's words settle in his mind. Alex was right. President Whitley could not keep the men and women of the American Military waiting for a miracle to happen. Nothing was ever done that way and it wasn't going to start right now.
"…There is one thing we can do. A few years into the Russian-American Conflict, My cabinet of defense and the pentagon formulated a plan just in case the Russians decided to bring to war to our mainland. They called it Operation S.A.M." President Whitley said as he began to talk about the secret defense plan.
"Operation S.A.M, What is that?" McRanger asked curiously.
"Secure. Assault. Mobilize. SAM. The operation consisted of securing Washington D.C using EMP missiles built by the Air Force, designed to knock out enemy vehicles within the D.C area. After D.C is secured, all our forces would wait for my authorization of a full out assault, laying siege to the city and wiping out all enemy contacts inside. Finally, after taking back D.C, the pentagon would mobilize all available forces to pursue and destroy the Russians. We never reached the point where we needed to carry out this secret operation, since we beat the Russians before they could come close to our borders." President Whitley described the contents of the operation.
"But now they are within our borders, we can carry this mission out." Commissioner Cross pointed out.
"Meaning, we now have a plan of action." McRanger added in as well.
"Exactly, the only problem is we might not be able to pull this off. The Russians control the air over D.C with heavy air patrols. Anything that gets within a hundred and twenty miles of D.C get's shot down." Dr. Ranger said as he stated that important fact.
"That's where I can help. I have a spacecraft from the Cornerian Defense Force called the C.M.S Primordial. What If we used the Primordial to fire the E.M.P missiles and then your guy's could fly in after. The Primordial could also work as a way of communication, allowing us to talk to each other in an untapped line." Nick said.
"That would work perfectly. All we need to do now is gather up the boots and birds to carry out the order." Commissioner Cross said. Things suddenly began to feel brighter for the five men in the room.
"And I think I know someone else who could give us a helping hand, someone who would even out the odds in our favor." Alex said as he suddenly felt his anger turn into determination, as he put on his exo-suit pack on and pressed the middle of his chest, his metallic white exo-suit morphing around his body completely.
Alex hoped that what Slippy had told him was true, that he could call Star Fox at anytime using his exo-suit. Alex knew that this mission was going to take everything he had for it to go well; he knew he was going to need all the help he could get.
(Over in Corneria)
Fox found himself back in the same situation he was in exactly two weeks ago; dying of boredom and sitting alone on the bridge of the Great Fox. After Alex left, nobody felt like really doing much of anything. After a hard long hour of mopping about, Falco decided that he was going to go out for a few drinks by himself, Slippy ran off to go do some more tech stuff at the Cornerian Defense Headquarters, and Krystal returned to her room to rest for the afternoon. Fox had to admit, He had grown quickly attached to Alex during the two weeks he had spent over with the crew. His absence made itself present amongst the pair of mercenaries and his mind would constantly reply all the fun memories he had made with their new friend, leaving Fox with a feeling of wanting more.
"Sir, There is a signal coming from a far location; do you want me to connect with the caller?" R.O.B'S voice suddenly rang in Fox's ear, bringing the vulpine back to the world around him.
"Try and see who it is first, if it's from the Cornerian Defense, say I am not available at the moment." Fox sighed; his mind was already expecting to hear General Pepper's voice call out from the video hologram display.
"Sir, it's from Major Alexander Simmons." R.O.B replied. Fox's ears suddenly stood up straight at the mention of Alex's name.
"What are you waiting for, patch him through!" Fox said, he somehow couldn't wait to hear from Alex, even though it had only been three hours ago since they had last seen each other.
"Roger sir, patching him through." R.O.B responded back as he began to connect Alex's call to the Holograph display. In a matter of minutes, Alex's face was displayed over on the display and Fox let out his signature grin as he saw Alex's face.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Space Marine. How have you been, Alex?" Fox greeted happily.
"Well, I'm doing ok Fox; I finally made back home safe and sound." Alex responded as he tried to maintain a smile on his face.
"That's good to hear, brother. I'm glad you made it back safe and sound." Fox replied back; however he could tell that Alex was holding back something, and his mind began to wonder what it was that he was hiding.
"Something's wrong, did you miss us already?" Fox joked as he tried to see what was going on with Alex.
"Oh I wish that was the issue. Unfortunately no, that's not what's wrong." Alex replied as he gave an upsetting sigh.
"Then what's wrong?" Fox asked, his happiness suddenly changed to worry.
"Andrew Oikonny is here and he's formed an alliance with my countries enemy. He helped correlate an attack on my country and now things have turned for the worst. We're seriously outmanned and outgunned. My countries commander and chief has proposed a plan for us to fight back, but since we are lacking in resources and troops, we aren't guaranteed to survive the mission." Alex said as he threw away his smile.
"I know you guys just finished fighting a war not too long ago, and you all want to take a break from all the action, but I need help. Nick has offered to help with our counterattack and use his starship to aid as well, but it won't be enough to fight the alliance between Andrew and my countries enemy. I understand if you choose not to come, I'm doing this with or without your help. I also wanted to tell you that it was an honor and a privilege to have met you, Falco, Slippy and Krystal. I want you to know that incase I don't live to see the end of this mission." Alex said sincerely as he laid out the truth of his call.
"Relax; you'll see the end of your mission. You're one of us, and as such, we will come and help you out. You can count on that." Fox said, he quickly made his decision.
"Thank you Fox, I appreciate everything your doing." Alex said as he gave Fox a thankful smile.
"No Problem, pal. Just do me a favor, will you? Stay safe until I can get to you with the cavalry." Fox said, his concern for Alex's safety showing in his face.
"Will do, pal. See you on my side…" Alex said as he cut the connection, leaving Fox alone to accomplish his new found task.
And there we have it, another chapter has finished in this tale. How will Alex, Nick, McRanger and the rest of the of American Forces do against the Russians while Fox gathers up his crew and arrive with reinforcements? Can Alex keep his word and stay alive, will Operation S.A.M come out as a success or an utter failure. Find out in the next chapter of Operation S.A.M.
Authors Note: I want to say thank you to everyone following and keeping up with this story! I am very proud to see the positive feedback I am getting from everyone reading! I can truly say that this story has given me some awesome opportunities to meet some really great people and hopefully continue meeting new people in the near future. As always leave a review if you have any questions or concerns and keep an eye out for future updates. Stay safe everyone and Happy Early Halloween!
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