Chapter Two
"According to our intelligence, that world is practically the birthplace of the Lucian Alliance," Carter said after hearing what the target was.
"And their most strategic hub. The place is packed with every high-value target you can think of. Troop bases, factories, shipyards, even some Kasa fields."
"Pretty much anything and everything worth blowing up."
"Exactly," O'Neill replied. "Before your taskforce was launched, we loaded a special cargo onto the Paul Emerson and we just cleared Colonel Clyde to release it to your ship and the others. Give your weapons bay a call. They should have it by now."
"Yes, sir," Carter replied then activated her earpiece. "Weapon bay, this is Carter, did you receive a special cargo from the Paul Emerson?"
"Affirmative, Colonel. It's an extra Horizon. It just beamed in right next to the one we already have."
"Thank you, Carter out." She contacted the Phoenix and the Pendergast and they both confirmed that they now had two Horizon weapon delivery platforms onboard. A BC-304 usually flew around with one in case a situation came up that called for its usage but that number could be upped to two or even four in the event of a special occasion. In Carter's mind, this was shaping up to be a very special occasion indeed.
"Alright, Carter. Your task force has the mission and the means to complete it. With this strike, we hope to force the Lucian Alliance to come to the table and end this war once and for all. Happy hunting, Taskforce Hammond. O'Neill out."
Hammond conference room
One hour later
As the Taskforce traveled through hyperspace, Colonel Carter was holding a meeting with her fellow ship commanders and their 308 squadron leaders about their mission. Among the pilots that beamed over was Major Nancy Emerson, a stone-faced thirty-two-year-old and the sister of the late Colonel Paul Emerson who was executed by the Lucian Alliance when they hijacked the Odyssey back in 2007. When she beamed aboard with Colonel Clyde, Colonel Carter spoke very highly about her late brother saying that he was a good commander to his crew and a good friend of hers. Nancy only nodded at the Colonel's kind words but her face only displayed one emotion, rage. Some say it was the only emotion she walked around with after her brother was killed.
"As part of Operation Boomerang, we've been tasked by Homeworld Command to launch a massive nuclear counterstrike against Lucia, a former Goa'uld occupied planet that went on to become the birthplace of the Lucian Alliance and now serves as their most strategic hub.
"So it's pretty much their capital world," Phoenix Commander, Colonel Archer commented.
"Affirmative," Carter replied. "And as such we can expect to face heavy orbital opposition in the form of Ha'tak vessels, Gliders, and Al'kesh."
"I'm looking forward to mopping the floor with their attack craft should they decide to send them out to play. To be honest, I hope they do," said the leader of the Hammond's 308 squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Sullivan. A man who was always looking forward to a fight with the bad guys. Hence his tac-name, Bull. His eagerness was even more evident by the wolf's grin on his face.
"Do we know how many ships we'll be facing?" Pendergast commander, Colonel Catherine Womack asked.
"The latest imagery from our stealth probes currently shows five Ha'taks in orbit along with a former Goa'uld space serving as the headquarters for the Lucian Alliance's Central Council. As the loss of their forward territories increases due to our gate-bombing. They will probably bring in more ships to boost their defenses. Hopefully, the Odyssey and the Churchill can keep the number of reinforcements to a bare minimum.
"So our mission is pretty straightforward. We drop out of hyperspace, smash the orbital opposition, blow the enemy central council out of existence, and then we nuke the planet."
"Not exactly, Colonel Clyde. We will disable the station's defenses and let them watch us burn their planet. After that, we offer them a chance to surrender and if they reject it, we destroy them."
That sounds even better," Clyde said.
"Remember people, this is the biggest strike of our war with the Lucian Alliance. One I and Homeworld Command thinks stands a very good chance of ending it if it succeeds. No matter how much opposition the Alliance throws at us over Lucia, I am confident that we will break through and exact our revenge not just for the attack on Earth which thankfully failed, but for all of the other attacks they've launched against in years prior like the ones on our ships and off-world bases. Any questions?"
When all she got back was silence, Carter concluded the meeting and cleared everyone to beam back to their ships.
By the time the meeting ended, the amount of Lucian Alliance territories destroyed by gate-bombing stood at sixty-five.