Ch. 38: Alaska: Clear the way

A.N.:

Well, I feel like a dick. Sorry about the wait. See, the story was officially a year old on the 29th and I wanted to do a special chapter. However, I could not think of anything, and when I looked up, it was Monday.

Sorry. Thank you guys for reviewing! I appreciate it.

Still can't get over that this story is a year old already. Doesn't feel like it.

Yes, the part at the end is a Star Wars reference. xD In this universe, it doesn't exist...

Read and review if you want.

"What's so important about this damn place again?"

Leading the way through the blinding ash storm that must have taken the place of the area's snowstorms, I replied through my com link, "Holiday, this place is vital to the Americans."

Morales's image appeared in my HUD as he asked, "So, why aren't they here taking it back instead of us?"

I sighed before I replied, "Manny, you know the American Military runs on two things: the hormones of young adults and oil. This pipeline is vital to the Americans."

Foxtrot 813 asked, "So? That's their problem..."

I sighed again before I stopped. I turned and looked at the two teams behind me. Through the driving ash, I saw their black silhouettes with, in the Replicas' case, glowing visors. I explained, "Look, Sparta, the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico are all that remain free now. This is not the time for leaving each other to twist in the wind. This is the time for standing as one; for drawing a line in the sand and saying to the Devil herself, 'You shall advance no further demon'. The American Military is the second most powerful military in the region. We need their help."

Morales said through his com link with a bitter tone, "They fucking betrayed us, Becket. When the wolves came for us, they were nowhere to be found."

I replied, "Exactly, Manny. That is why we are doing this."

Stokes said, "I don't understand, Becket."

I explained, "Without imported oil, the Americans are all but paralyzed unless they can get the oil from this pipeline. So...we recapture this...shit hole of a place...and take control of the oil. We sit on it and find it in our hearts to supply the Americans with their oil on the grounds that they continue to honor our agreement that Sparta is a sovereign country. I no more trust them than anyone else outside of Sparta...they fucking stabbed us in the back when they left us to rot in Fairport...so now it is time to repay the favor."

Standing in front of Alpha 1, Alma asked, "What was that about standing as one my love?"

I replied, "We are standing as one. The rest of it is politics."

Foxtrot 813 suggested, "We could just take over the Americans. It wouldn't be that hard, their military is in complete chaos and their government is weak because of the transition to a single government body. Now would be the time to strike, sir."

I shook my head before I explained, "No, waste of time and resources. There is more than one way to rule a country, Foxtrot. Alma and I have been planning this from the beginning...well...since I remembered who I am."

Alpha 1 nodded but the rest were confused. Holiday asked, "What do you mean?"

I explained, "Remember the cultists? Alma has a way of...touching...those who encounter her. The American government is all but ours since Alma 'enlightened' their president when we rescued him from the ATC cruise ship. Their military is all but ours since Alma 'enlightened' Betters and F.E.A.R. when they encountered her those separate times. We control their mind and muscles. Now, we will control their desires."

Foxtrot replied, "Wow, didn't think you had it in you, sir. Fucking ruthless on the battlefield and in politics...I have a whole new level of respect for you."

I shrugged before I said with a sorrow-filled tone, "Have to be sometimes...don't you understand what it is at stake Foxtrot? Just look up at the sky if you don't." Then, I looked down at Alma, who was in her child form and making an ash angel in the ash-covered ground out of boredom, "Sorry about not having a honeymoon. Once this is all over, I will make it up to you. Just...I didn't think that you would want one."

As she finished making her angel, she giggled and then replied, "Aw, you know me so well. It's alright Michael. We will be living for a very long time...so...you know...no worries."

I looked at the rest of them and then asked, "Any more questions?" They shook their heads in response. Turning back to face forward, I said, "Alright, let's move out. We need to clear the way for the main invasion."

They, except for Point Man and Juggernaut, replied, "Yes, sir!"

The plan, called Operation: Blood Oil, was to retake Alaska from Akira's Forces and capture the oil pipeline that ran from north to south in the area. The American Military was running off the country's oil reserves. They were between a rock and a hard place with their energy, and they knew it.

Unlike Sparta, which was self-sustaining, the Americans were still reliant upon imported resources as they had been since the later part of the 20th Century. Since the other countries literally no longer existed, the Americans had consumed what they had recently imported and were now reliant upon their dwindling oil reserves. While in reality, I had no real feelings of resentment or hatred for the Americans and even still felt a strong sense of patriotism for my old country, I had my own country's welfare to protect now.

There was not any bad blood between Sparta and the United States but one can never be too careful. It was almost a Sparta/Athens type relationship. Sure, there were stereotypical remarks about each other but for the time being, there was no reason for us to fight each other because it was not profitable for either of us to destroy each other. Alma and I wanted to make sure that it stayed that way.

With her influence over their president and military, and now with our control over their oil lifeline, they would have no choice but to do what we told them to do. I noted a sense of irony that we, Sparta, had stolen a page from Ancient Persia's playbook. Basically, we were allowing them keep their government and military intact but made it clear to them that they were now a province of Sparta and therefore ultimately now answered to us.

In a few hours, the main invasion of twenty battalions of Spartans with supporting armor and air support would commence. The Canadian Military had pitched in by already securing the border between them and Alaska. Athena and the First and Second Fleet had taken up station off the coast to prevent reinforcements and to prevent the escape of the ones stationed in the area.

Being a vast expanse of land, Alaska's harsh terrain was a hindrance even for Akira's Forces. Though she had transformed the landscape as she had to every other area under her control, everything was a twisted rusted metal version of itself, Akira could not completely control the land. It was the middle of winter and even though the bitter cold had been replaced by the hot, ash-covered conditions of Akira's firestorm, the blinding snowstorms had become blinding ash storms.

According to the sensors of the orbiting Ishimura, the majority of Akira's Forces were concentrated at Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. The Invasion Force was already blitzing across the eastern areas of Alaska; annihilating everything their path. We were currently roughly east of Fairbanks somewhere on one of the low-lying hills that surrounded the city. Being in the center of a valley surrounded by a swamp to the south and a hill-chain to the north, west, and east, Fairbanks was the second largest city in the area only to Anchorage.

It was located roughly in the center of the vast area. We needed Fairbanks as a staging area for the assaults on the oil field and on Anchorage. Akira's Forces had fortified the transformed city with pillboxes, barbwire fences, and trenches. There was an estimated 3,000 strong group of soldiers inside the city. While the Invasion Force would have little trouble retaking the city itself, the main concern was the network of trenches that overlooked the Alaska Highway just before it entered the city.

Akira's Forces had locked the highway down with huge artillery batteries that would destroy the Invasion Force before they could ever reach the city. The batteries were out of range of Athena's mighty main guns. The Spartan Air Force could not touch the trenches due to the extensive anti-air defenses, which ranged from ground-to-air missile sites to flak cannons to a random grunt wildly firing his weapon into the air. Long-range cruise missiles had proven to be ineffective because Akira's influence in the area interfered with the missiles' guidance systems just before they could strike their targets. The artillery pieces were placed brilliantly to shield them from everything except pinpoint accurate airborne strikes.

Due to these things, Dark Signal and the First F.E.A.R. Team were now hiking towards the trenches through the blinding ash storm. We had to clear the way for the Invasion Force by knocking out the artillery pieces and the anti-air emplacements. According to my HUD, after hiking for three hours in an ash storm in the middle of the night, we were finally approaching the outskirts of the trench network. Luckily, Alaska had only been occupied for five days and thus Akira's Forces had not had adequate time to beef up their trench network's defenses against small groups of Special Forces.

Running parallel to the highway, the network ran for about six miles starting from where the highway entered the city. It consisted of a single main trench with small side trenches that occasionally branched off to anti-air emplacements or artillery pieces. We were approaching the outermost side branch located nearly seven miles from the city. I spoke into my com link, "Ghost Rider, we can't see shit in this storm. Do you have eyes on?"

The overhead AC-130U Spooky II, which was the only aircraft that could risk being so close to the anti-air emplacements thanks to its high operating altitude and countermeasure systems, replied, "Affirmative, commander. Electronic surveillance is proving to be problematic but we have visual eyes on the trench network, sir."

I said, "Sitrep."

Ghost Rider replied, "Entrance to the trench is approximately two hundred yards to your north. We have eyes on ten enemy contacts around a SAM. SAM appears to be a cross between the Western MIM-104 Patriot and the Soviet S-300 weapon platforms...likely a S-300 repaired with parts from the MIM-104. Commander, the bastards are sweating us. Our hull's countermeasures are preventing them from locking onto us but there is no telling how long that will continue. You mind getting them off our backs, sir?"

Concerned, I asked, "Are they buzzing you?"

Ghost Rider replied, "Negative, sir. They know that we are here but their sensors cannot get enough of a lock. We look like a small dot to their systems so they don't know what we are exactly. Good thing that it is not an S-400 or else we would be KIA already."

I advised them, "Maintain station and continue recon but the second they get a lock, break off and return to friendly airspace. Track targets but do not engage unless authorized. We will neutralize the SAM."

The AC-130U replied, "Roger that, sir. Go get 'em. Remember, you say the word and we will light them up for you."

I smirked briefly before I replied, "Copy, Ghost Rider. Keep updating sitrep."

Ghost Rider said, "Roger that, sir."

The gunship's image left my HUD and I informed my teams, "SAM target two hundred yards to the north. Weapons live. All targets are to be eliminated. No quarter given."

They replied, "Yes, sir." With my suppressor equipped PK470 in my grasp, I led the way towards the SAM site. The driving ash prevented me from being able to see clearly more than three feet in front of me so I continued traveling to the north until I made visual contact with my target. The ash storm was localized and was predicted to move out of the area about the time that the Invasion Force reached us, so it provided the perfect cover for us as we neared the enemy positions.

Moments later, I heard the strange grunts that the Hell soldiers used to communicate with each other. Bringing my rifle's muzzle up, I prepared to fire my weapon. I was approximately fifty yards away when I first saw the semi-fixed tube-like launchers mounted to the massive semi-trailer truck of the SAM. The tubes were raised up in their launch position as the enemy soldiers attempted to lock onto Ghost Rider.

The AC-130U had been correct about our fortune that they were not using S-400 weapon systems. Alma asked in my mind, "Why? Is there no way to counter...S...400...weapon thingies?"

I replied, "Oh yeah, sure there is."

She asked, "How's that?"

I sighed quietly before I replied, "Attack the site with more aircraft than they have missiles."

She said with a somewhat shocked tone, "Oh..."

I replied, "Yeah..."

As I got closer to the SAM, I could make out the silhouettes of the enemy soldiers with the glowing eyes of their gas masks but I held my fire until I got close enough to ensure that there was not an emplaced machine gun guarding the truck. Luckily, being at the rear of the fortifications, they did not intend for the SAM site to be able to defend itself against a group of soldiers.

I was ten yards away from the SAM before I was able to fully make out where the soldiers were. Around the truck was a defensive line of sandbags shaped in a "U" that was approximately five feet tall. In front of the truck, I saw one soldier armed with a PK470 Assault Rifle though he was casually holding it down against his chest. From my vantage point, I could only see the right side of the truck. There, I saw five unarmed soldiers. The first, third, and fifth were doing various things to the truck while the second and forth were simply acting like they were working as if to make themselves appear useful.

Ghost Rider had reported that there were ten combatants around the SAM. The rest either must have been on the other side of the truck or were to the rear. I quickly motioned with my right hand for the F.E.A.R. Team to take the left side of the truck. They silently moved off through the driving ash. Aiming through my scope, I targeted the first soldier at the front of the truck.

A second later, I squeezed the trigger. I fired a single round into his head. My round hit its mark and the soldier burst into a cloud of ash, though it was harder to see due to the ash that already surrounded us. I snapped my aim to the five that were around the truck. I took aim at the closest one and dropped the oblivious soldier with a three round burst. The one beside him twisted around as he attempted to locate the attacker.

I heard the telltale click of Alpha 1's suppressor-equipped Vollmer as he engaged the soldier. The hellspawn burst into a cloud of ash moments later after taking a blast to the head. The third man was eliminated by Foxtrot 813 moments later. I eliminated the second soldier with a single head shot. Juggernaut eliminated the last one with a head shot from his Hammerhead.

As we made our way around to the rear of the truck, I heard the telltale signatures of F.E.A.R.'s suppressed weapons as they eliminated the other soldiers. I cringed slightly as a brief stab of pain shot through my body from the wounds that I had received at NATO Headquarters. I ignored it and focused on the task at hand. These SAM sites had several supporting units including the radar directory and control unit. This SAM must have been part of a battery since we had not encountered any other vehicles. The others were likely in other side trenches.

As I reached the end of the truck, Point Man and the rest of the F.E.A.R. team appeared coming around the other side of the truck. I ordered Holiday, "Plant a charge on the SAM." Then, I addressed everyone else, "The rest of you, on me."

They replied, "Yes, sir."

I took point as I made my way over to the gradual sloped entrance to the trench network. Despite the snowy illusion of the ash on the ground, I could still fell the hot rusted metal surface through the soles of my boots. The inner walls of the trench were lined with wooden boards and the floor consisted of simple metal grates lined end to end to make a continuous barrier to the ground beneath. The trench was as deep as the height of the average man and was wide enough to fit a large pickup truck.

As I moved through the trench, I was hyper focused. Every little sound was a possible enemy lying in wait. The side branch was about a mile long but we did not encounter any further resistance until we reached the end of it. There, through the obscuring ash, I made out the silhouette of a round concrete pillbox standing guard at the end of the main trench.

Ghost Rider's image appeared in my HUD as the gunship informed me, "Commander, infrared sights show five enemy contacts approaching your position from further down the trench. Appears to be a patrol so they don't know that you are there. Cannot determine enemy strength inside the pillbox from our current position. Recommend...what?"

I heard a loud buzzing warning tone through my com link, which indicated that the AC-130U had been locked onto by a SAM. Concerned, I paused and then crouched down to remain out of sight. Then, I said, "Ghost Rider, report."

The gunship replied, "Son of bitch, we're lit up like a Christmas tree, sir!"

A feeling of intense cold washed over me as I heard the pilot barking orders at the co-pilot and crew. Before I could reply, the area was lit up as a thunderous roar rocked the air. From a site further into the trench network, a massive S-300 warhead screamed up into the air. Three seconds later, a second warhead launched. Finally, three seconds after that, a third warhead was launched. I ordered the lone gunship, "Get the Hell out of here!" I watched in quiet despair as the potent rocket powered warheads vertically climbed into the sky before turning over and taking aim at Ghost Rider.

Just when it seemed like the AC-130U's fate was sealed, I heard the pilot say, "Eat this you bitches!" In an amazing light show, the blood red sky around the gunship was suddenly lit up by a massive amount of white flares as Ghost Rider deployed her AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispensing System. As the white flares streaked through the air towards the ground, the white light they gave off illuminated the AC-130U's grey hull and white belly. The ash in the air that was being churned up by Ghost Rider's props gave the gunship the appearance of a speedboat plowing through blood red water.

As I watched filled with a macabre sense of excitement, the first and second S-300 warheads veered off independently to chase one of the flares. However, the third warhead remained locked on the AC-130U as it screamed through the night sky. The Soviet-era missile was surely about to kill the survivor of the Mogadishu nuclear explosion. Beside me, I heard Alma gasp quietly as she too feared the worst. However, at the last second, I heard the pilot laugh darkly before he said, "Hey, watch this you hellspawn pieces of..."

Seemingly defying the laws of physics, the massive gunship somehow managed to bank hard to the left while also diving almost straight down. I was certain that if the G-Forces had been any greater, the maneuver would have torn the gunship's airframe apart. The last second maneuver caused the S-300 to run along the top of the gunship's wings, its warhead narrowly missing the surface of her wings by inches and giving off sparks as its non-explosive hull scraped along the surface. The warhead continued on its flight path for a moment before detonating beyond the AC-130U.

Beside me, Alma said, "Wow..."

Still in shock, I replied, "That's...one way to put it."

After the gunship righted itself, my com link activated. Ghost Rider reported, "HA! That's why we call her Ghost Rider! You can't kill a ghost! Let's see a nimble Raptor or a B-52 do that! We're okay, sir. Wait...what?! They scratched the paint off the top of our wings! We just repainted her a few hours ago! Oh Hell no! Commander, SAM site locked. Requesting permission to retaliate with shock and awe, sir."

I replied, "Granted."

Erupting like a volcano, the infuriated AC-130U fired her response at her would-be killers. Seconds later, the whistling call sign of a large caliber projectile traveling through the air filled the area. Shortly afterwards, the AC-130U's 105mm howitzer round slammed into the offending SAM site, causing a fireball to erupt into the sky briefly before it dispersed. The 105mm round was followed up by a barrage from the gunship's 40mm cannon. The cycle repeated for a few minutes, during which the ground beneath us vibrated as if there was an earthquake. After the fireballs finally dispersed, the gunship reported, "Targets destroyed. Fifty confirmed kills. Returning to recon altitude, sir."

I replied, "Ghost Rider, you were ordered to return to friendly airspace in the event of a lock."

Ghost Rider informed me, "Commander, we just eliminated the SAM control and radar units. The SAM's are all brain dead and blind. The only remaining anti-air on our scopes is flak cannons and they cannot see us with this ash. Requesting permission to remain on station."

After thinking for a moment, I replied, "Very well, Ghost Rider. Permission granted to remain on station."

Ghost Rider said, "Thank you, sir."

The gunship's image left my HUD. With the drama now over, I began to move towards the pillbox. With the anti-air SAMs now eliminated, we just had to clear out the pillboxes and artillery pieces. The end of the branch came to a "T". To the left was the pillbox and to the right was the main trench. I could hear the grunts of the soldiers as I neared the "T". When I came to it, I ordered, "Juggernaut, Point Man, Stokes go right and engage the approaching enemy patrol. Alpha 1, Foxtrot 813, Morales on me we are clearing the pillbox. Miss Kwon, Bravo 2 hang back."

Silently, they carried out their orders. I stopped by the hatch-protected entrance of the concrete fortification. The heavy oval metal door was the only exterior feature of the pillbox other than its loophole slits on the front. The hatch was sealed from the inside so I had to improvise. A red aura enveloped my left hand as I placed it up against the center of the hatch. I forced my will into the lock mechanism and unsealed the hatch. After returning my left hand to my rifle's grip, I looked back to the men behind me. Though I could not see them clearly, I could make out that they nodded in response.

I moved to the opposite side of the hatch and then slowly opened it just enough to allow Alpha 1 to toss in a shock grenade. As the tactical grenade entered the pillbox, I quickly closed the hatch back and then used the weight of my body to keep it closed. The surprised soldiers inside could not escape and seconds later, the grenade detonated. I heard the sound of the electric arches as I opened the hatch all the way open.

Alpha 1 charged into the pillbox with his Vollmer at the ready. As I twisted around to enter the pillbox, I heard my Brother firing his suppressed shotgun. I rushed into the pillbox with my rifle at the ready. Foxtrot 813 followed close behind me and Morales followed close behind him. However, we found an empty pillbox as Alpha 1 had already cleared it out.

The dome-like interior of the pillbox was small, having the diameter of maybe fifteen feet at the most. Mounted on a tripod just behind the loophole that looked out over the highway below was a M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun. An enormous amount of ammunition was nearby. It was a good thing that we had decided to take the precaution of clearing out this trench because already we were encountering weapons that would have easily cut down our soldiers.

Looking at the machine gun, I remarked, "Weird, when they are defeated, they simply burst into ash. However, their equipment does not. Interesting..."

Alma materialized before me in the center of the pillbox. She was in her child form though I had noticed that since we had become married, she had altered her appearance to be less otherworldly and more human-like. The dark circles around her eyes had noticeably lightened to look as if she had not slept in a while. Her skin had changed from being light grey to pale white. Even her eyes had changed. Instead of being devoid of anything except raw anger and power, they were now softer in a way. However, the hauntingly beautiful glowing orbs were still practically oozing power and superiority.

She smiled slightly as she sensed me memorizing her new appearance. Then, she suggested, "Perhaps, like us, they cannot spawn equipment, Michael. This is good."

I nodded before I replied, "Agreed. That would explain the mix-up of their equipment. They are using captured equipment...still a Hell of a lot of firepower to face though." She nodded sadly in agreement. I turned to look at Alpha 1 and said, "Outstanding work, Brother."

He replied, "Thank you, Michael."

Holiday's image appeared in my HUD as he reported, "Becket, I am finished."

I replied, "Copy that, Holiday. Regroup on us."

He said, "Roger, I am on my way."

His image left my HUD. I motioned for everyone to form up on me and we exited the pillbox. Outside, I motioned for Bravo 2 and Jin to form up on us before I proceeded down the main trench to regroup with Point Man, Juggernaut, and Keira. Thirty yards down the trench, I finally located them. Moments later, Holiday joined us and we began to make our way through the trench network.

For the most part, the rest of the mission was lack luster as it turned into an agonizingly repetitive cycle of clearing bunkers, knocking out flak cannons which were what one would have expected from old war movies, burning through ammunition to eliminate Akira's soldiers, and destroying the artillery pieces which usually took the form of M777 155mm howitzers though a few times they may have been Russian or Chinese artillery pieces, but I stopped paying attention after a while.

As we were clearing out yet another bunker about four miles into the trench network, Morales broke the monotony by commenting with an unenthusiastic tone, "I never thought that I would say this but damn, this shit is getting old man, for real."

As I reloaded my rifle while I was behind the cover of a concrete wall a few feet ahead of Morales's position behind the cover of what remained of the recently destroyed artillery piece, I replied, "Manny, you are preaching to the choir man."

From where he was beside Point Man next to the opposite wall, Holiday commented, "Five days and they have this much shit here...fuck man I can't wait to see how much they have in store for us in other places."

Suddenly, the Hell soldiers shooting at us from the emplaced machine gun nest further inside the bunker burst into clouds of ash. As we stood to move forward, Alma materialized before us in her normal adult form. The look on her face was borderline ominous as she was clearly bored absolutely out of her mind. She turned towards the nearby concrete wall and started beating her forehead against it. As I approached her, I asked, "Sweetie, wha...?"

She stopped me by grabbing me around my throat with her tiny right hand. Though to an outside observer it would have seemed impossible, she easily lifted me up into the air as high as her arms would allow. As she held me there, she said with an accusing tone that was comically broken like someone that was at his or her wit's end, "I don't feel a rush from killing them anymore Michael! I've killed too many today...I am bored with killing." She tightened her grip as she continued, "I am bored with killing Michael. ME! BORED! WITH KILLING!"

I managed to gasp, "I'm...sorry..."

She calmed herself and then gently lowered me back down. As she let go, she morphed her body into her child form. Clutching my throat with my gloved left hand, I coughed trying to get air. After I managed to breathe, I said, "What the fuck, sweetie? You get bored and so you choke me?"

She giggled and then remarked after she gave me a knowing smirk, "But I thought you liked it when I choke you."

Standing, I sighed before I said, "Only when I am almost there otherwise it doesn't do much for me."

She pouted before she asked, "Oh...well...do you not like when I do the naughty femme fatale serial killer that you, being a veteran detective with a dark side because of all the bad things that you have seen on the job, manage to catch and punish but then fall in love with because I'm the only person that you feel like you can relate to since your wife was killed by a murderer that you couldn't put away at the time because you were new to the job?"

I laughed nervously as I tried to ignore the snickering behind me. I replied, "You know I like it when you do that. I especially like the black outfit and dark accent that you do."

She winked before she said, "Aw, you know that I only do it for you, my dirty little boy."

As if the situation was not awkward enough already, Jin asked, "Your kinks have plots?" In perfect synchronicity, we all looked at her and then at Point Man.

Foxtrot 813 commented, "Well...that's just horrifying."

I reminded everyone, "We've got a job to do. Come on, only two more miles to go."

The next two miles of fighting were so soul-crushingly boring that I really do not remember actually doing any of it. The next thing I do remember is looking up at the sky just as the light of dawn was beginning to illuminate the landscape. I spoke into my com link, "Ghost Rider, confirm all targets and hostiles eliminated."

The gunship replied, "Affirmative. Visual confirmation of all targets and hostiles being eliminated. The highway is clear for the Invasion Force."

I said, "Copy, Ghost Rider." Then, I telepathically contacted Spartan Command, "Invasion Force, the way into Fairbanks is clear."

The Commander for the Invasion Force replied, "Copy that, Commander. We will reach your position shortly as planned."

I said, "Copy that. Warthogs, pave the way."

The pilot of the lead Warthog replied, "Roger that, Commander. Initiating attack run." Moments later, the screech of jet engines filled the air as the formation of olive green A-10 Thunderbolt IIs appeared. Below us on the highway just before the city was the last defensive line of machine guns and pillboxes. As we watched, the Spartan Warthogs took aim at the enemy line with their 30mm nose mounted cannons and rockets mounted beneath their large fixed straight wings.

Flying low and in a line, the five green Warthogs with decorative open tiger mouths painted on their noses unleashed their firepower on Akira's soldiers. The asphalt surface of the highway exploded as the 30mm rounds pulverized the defensive line. As the Warthogs continued to fire their cannons, they fired their AGM-65 missiles into the pillboxes. By the time that they roared over the defensive line with their distinctive twin engines mounted at their rear by their distinctive large ailerons, they had reduced the line to rubble.

With the defenses around the city compromised, all that was left was the liberation of the city itself. Less than an hour later, the first group of Spartans appeared. They moved down the highway like a sea of olive green towards the city with their assault rifles raised up before them. In the middle of the soldiers, Leviathans stomped their way towards the city. Further back, EPAs and REV6s were also in formation with the foot soldiers. In the sky above them, Apaches and Black Hawks filled the air with the sound of whirling blades as they flew towards the city.

Alma asked, "You know what would be fun?"

Without looking away from the advancing clone troopers, I replied, "Hmm?"

She said, "We should give them all white armor with black visors...maybe a few with different colors, different attachments, or even stripes on their armor to signify their unit or specialist status...like...we could have a group called the 501st that have white armor with blue stripes and is your personal legion that we call Becket's Fist or something. Uh...maybe another that is an elite group called ARC Troopers that have white-blue armor except their badass leader has white-red armor...or something like that."

Intrigued by the idea, I replied, "Huh...you know, that's not a bad idea. There's something to that..."

Alpha 1 commented, "White would make us stand out too much on the battlefield, Brother."

He was right and, regretfully, I said, "You're right. We will keep the olive green...for now." At that moment, the hellspawn soldiers from inside the town began to engage our advancing troopers. Though occasionally one of our troopers was killed and fell to the asphalt surface of the highway, the disciplined Spartans continued their coordinated advance as they returned fire. The Leviathans began to fire their lasers at the defenders inside the city.

I laughed as a realization came to me. Alma looked up at me with an expression of curiosity on her face. Grinning, I said, "Clone Wars...get it? Clones vs. Clones."

She giggled in response before she said, "This would make an awesome movie...or maybe even a series of movies."

I replied in disagreement, "Na...no one would like it."

After thinking for a moment, she said, "Yeah...you're right."

Reloading my rifle, I began to make my way down to the highway. As I did, I said, "On me, we've got a town to liberate." Dark Signal and the F.E.A.R. Team followed behind me as I led the way to the sea of advancing Spartans.