Chapter 5
Once they were on the Bridge, everyone moved to their positions immediately, going through their pre-flight checks twice, to ensure that everything was operating within normal parameters. Thanks to a sabotage attempt onboard a couple of months ago, this now included checking through the computer files to ensure that nothing had been altered, and performing visual inspections of all wiring at their individual control areas.
"All clear, Commander!" Princess called out, as she received the check results from everyone's workstations.
"Tiny, initiate departure sequence." the Eagle ordered.
"Initiating." came the Pilot's response.
The P2 slowly pulled out of its Docking Bay, moving toward the exit as she had done so many times before. But this occasion was different. Unlike their previous training flights, they were now flanked by two dozen Red Ranger Jets and followed by a seeming endless trail of Federation Space Fighters and Troop Transports.
And every one of those aircraft was counting on the P2 to show them the way to freedom.
They had to succeed today. Operation Homefront was a do-or-die proposition. They needed to show the Spectran Empire, and the citizens of the Federation, that they had not been defeated; that Earth did not belong to the Spectrans.
And it was all up to them.
Mark looked around the Bridge at the faces of his teammates. Unlike in his memory-dream, this time they exuded an air of excitement and quiet confidence, each of them secure in the knowledge that victory would be theirs.
And it would be, if the G-Force Commander had anything to say about it.
Of course, there was also a sense of sadness present. An image of Keyop at his station from Mark's memory-dream flashed through his mind, and the Commander could tell by looking at Jason, Princess, and Tiny that they were remembering their fallen comrade as well.
They would make the Swallow proud, this day.
Their journey to Earth went as expected. The ships all entered Hyperspace at the same point, moving toward their target together. The Federation Forces hung back, letting the P2 and the Red Ranger jets surge ahead, clearing the way for the ground operations that were to come.
It seemed like no time at all before they were nearly within sensor range of the Spectran defense net around the planet Earth. The vessels all exited Hyperspace, coming to a standstill, waiting for the Eagle to begin the next step of their Operation.
"Princess, initiate transmission." the Commander ordered, and the Swan's fingers flew over the control panel, sending an encoded hail to the Earth's surface. Mark held his breath. This was the one part of their Operation that could not be predicted. The process of making contact with the Galaxy Security Agent on Earth was fraught with difficulties, and it couldn't be done from Riga at all. They had to simply hope that the agent was able and ready to answer the hail at this exact moment. If not, they would have to…
"Clytac here."
The audio response resulted in a number of relieved sighs around the Bridge as Princess responded.
"Clytac, I am initiating authorization code 69435GS2. Do you copy?"
"Copy. Authorization code verified. Response code 78493GS1."
"Verified. Clytac, we need a complete listing of Spectran aerospace bases on the planet, ranked in descending order of size."
"Transmitting the data now."
"Receiving."
"There aren't many large bases." the Agent revealed as the transmission was coming through. "Pretty much only five or six around the planet. The rest are small airstrips for local operations. The biggest two are Fallon in Nevada, North America and Ramstein in Central Europe. I guess Moffett Field in California used to be the largest base, but a good friend of mine destroyed it right around the time I got here."
Out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw Tiny grinning from ear to ear. What was that all about? Mark was about to ask when a sharp cry from Princess brought his attention back to their communication with the Galaxy Security Agent.
"We've lost it!" the Swan reported. "The data stream has been terminated!"
"Shit, they've found me…"
Clytac's voice cut off, and the communication stream ended abruptly with a hiss of loud static. Everyone's eyes turned to the Commander. Mark's stomach lurched, but he knew that this was no time to panic. He had to make sure that Operation Homefront succeeded.
"Princess, what have we got?" the Eagle asked the Swan.
"The two bases he mentioned over the communication channel," she replied, "along with co-ordinates and other relevant data. Also one other: Kadena in Okinawa, Southeast Asia."
"What about the rest?" Jason asked in a tight voice.
"They're not there." Princess told him. "The transmission just cut off."
"Then we'll have to move to our backup plan." the Commander announced. "Andie, contact the Red Rangers and inform that their target is the Fallon base. Transmit all associated information. And tell them to begin the first stage of re-entry."
"I'm on it, Commander."
As the Harrier carried out the Eagle's orders, the Commander turned to the rest of the team.
"Tiny, after we take out the planetary defense net, you will set course for the Ramstein Base. Andie will give you the co-ordinates. Princess, you and I will be carrying out Beta Plan once we arrive. Jason, we'll need your expertise in weaponry to do the most damage in the least amount of time."
Even as the Commander spoke, dozens of Red Ranger Jets streamed past them, entering the scanning range of the Spectran ships surrounding the Planet Earth. Immediately, the Spectran Fighter Jets swarmed toward the Red Rangers' position, initiating a firefight. The P2 watched from just outside of the planetary scanning range, waiting for their moment to strike.
It didn't take long. Less than a minute after the Red Rangers had made their presence known, a huge wave of reinforcement Spectran Fighter Jets appeared, gravitating toward the Rigan spacecraft.
"Commander, are you ready?" Colonel Rigel's impatient voice came through the Comm Channel.
"Initiating now." the Eagle replied calmly, terminating the communication and turning to the Owl.
"Fiery Phoenix, now."
Tiny nodded, and everyone buckled up as the Pilot initiated the maneuver. The giant Firebird came screaming out into the open, tearing through the bunched up Spectran Fighter Jets as if they were made of paper, eliminating the vast majority of the Planetary Defense Force while the Red Rangers cleaned up the few enemy craft that had escaped this fiery offensive.
The G-Force Team gripped their seats. They gritted their teeth, unable to breathe properly until the Owl ended the sequence and the warship returned to its normal state.
One way or another, Operation Homefront was going to reach its ultimate conclusion.
88888
The P2 approached Ramstein Aerospace Base, the Bridge filled with a tense anticipation of the battle to come. There was no subtlety other than speed. The Spectrans now knew that they were coming, and had to have guessed what the Federation's main objectives would be.
The only thing they could do at this point was to continue the basic strategy behind this entire Operation: to not give their enemy enough time to prepare.
And that was exactly what they were doing. The P2 hurtled out of the atmosphere at top speed, only slowing down once its target was in sight; effectively coming to a screeching halt as it approached Ramstein Aerospace Base.
They could already see hundreds… no, thousands… of tiny green troops scurrying around the base. Mark just hoped that their movements were the result of panic, rather than an organized response. But they had to react as if this were the worst case scenario possible.
"Princess, time to go." the Eagle told her, and the Swan nodded, following the Commander to the elevation platform.
"Jason, you're in charge." the Eagle informed the Condor. "Take this place down."
"Funny, that's exactly what I was planning to do." the Weapons Officer smirked.
Mark simply grinned as the elevation platform rose up and reached the outer hull of the P2. The clear dome retracted, and he and Princess leapt into the air, spreading their wings and gliding down to the ground, heading toward a building with which they were all too familiar.
Even as they approached, they saw soldiers running toward them, shooting wildly into the air. Between the enemy troops' poor aim and the Eagle's gliding skills, he had no trouble avoiding their fire. Smiling, he noticed that the Swan wasn't too bothered by this attack either. Mark was fairly certain that she was already thinking about their task ahead.
They moved closer to the ground, and in the distance, Mark saw the P2 firing at the main hangar, setting off a series of explosions that frightened the green-uniformed guards below them. As they milled about in confusion, a flashing silver bird sped through their midst, and they dropped to the ground before they were even aware of what had occurred. The Commander caught his Sonic Boomerang neatly as he landed on the tarmac, re-holstering it while the Swan shot her yo-yo at the entrance to the small building in front of them.
"The door is unlocked." she announced sweetly, before plunging through the smoking metal archway and into the damaged structure.
The Commander quickly followed, the two of them running down the halls of the building without pause. This was one part of Mark's memory that didn't fail him, and he remembered every twist and turn, including the elaborate door at the end of a long hallway.
Two soldiers were guarding the ostentatious portal, but when they saw the two white-winged figures approaching they threw their guns to the floor, clearly moving to run away. But their feeble attempt at surrender was met only with the harsh mercy of the Swan's yo-yo weapon, and their lives were extinguished even as the devil-head logo on the door was obliterated.
"You know, they were surrendering…" Mark murmured.
"They might have gone for help." Princess pointed out.
The Commander nodded, agreeing with the Swan's assessment.
Behind the door was a familiar office, including a toilet chamber with which Mark was all too familiar. However, the flabbergasted man standing up behind the desk was not the same person who had occupied this room during their last visit.
The Swan immediately headed for the wall-mounted computer terminal with which she was most familiar, confident that the Eagle could deal with the unwanted company.
"Co… Commander!" the man stuttered. He was wearing what looked like the regular green Spectran uniform, save that its color was brown, and it bore Captain's markings. "I thought… I hoped… you were dead!"
"Then I guess I'm the White Ghost." Mark growled, raising his Sonic Boomerang. He grabbed the man by his collar and prepared to strike…
Something about him was familiar.
"Where do I know you from?" he demanded of the enemy Captain, shaking the man until his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
And then, it came to him….
He was staring at a pair of brown shoes.
Mark lay crumpled on the filthy stone floor, his body curled into the fetal position, one eye trained on the shoes in front of him, desperately hoping that their owner would just go away, yet knowing that such a thing was not about to happen.
The brown shoes stepped forward, and suddenly he found himself yanked upright, being forced to stare into the sneering face of the Snakehead Commandant.
"So… Commander…" he spat into Mark's eye. "Let's see if you're wiling to talk to us today…"
And now, the owner of those brown shoes was in the Commander's grip.
"I remember now." the Eagle said coldly, slicing the man's neck with a sharp flick of his Boomerang. He pushed the Captain's lifeless body away with disgust, moving over to where Princess stood, her fingers flying across the controls of the Spectran computer.
"How's it…?"
"I've got it!" she crowed, turning to him with a smile before he could even finish his sentence.
"Then let's get out of here." Mark grinned. "I don't know how long Jason will be able to hold back his natural instincts, and I'm sure this building is due for demolition any time now."
They didn't even bother to look back as they ran out of the room, hand in hand.
88888
They returned to the Bridge of the P2 just in time to hear an incoming transmission from Colonel Rigel.
"Fallon's gone." he reported. "What's next?"
"Princess?" the Commander turned to the Swan.
"I'm transmitting that data now, Colonel." the Intelligence Officer responded, moving quickly to her workstation and sending the information to the Red Ranger Leader. "Red Ranger Forces, your target is the Pirassununga Aerospace Base on the South American continent. I am transmitting co-ordinates now."
"We're looking forward to it." Rigel ended the transmission. The Commander could almost hear the Colonel's grin in his words. The Harrier immediately contacted the Federation Forces waiting in orbit, instructing them to move in to Fallon and Ramstein, clean up any remaining enemy troops, and initiate ground infiltration.
"And we're going to…?" Tiny asked.
"Kadena." the Swan replied as the Harrier closed her Comm Channel to the Federation Forces. "After all, I know Jason's always wanted to blow up an entire island."
"Aren't there civilians on that island as well?" Mark asked as the Owl laid in their course for Okinawa.
"Not according to the data we received from Clytac." Andie answered. "The Spectrans apparently loved the place so much that they eliminated all Terrans living there in order to take over the entire land mass."
"That seems odd…" the Commander said.
"The Spectrans also built some kind of large factory there." Andie added. "A… processing plant…?"
"They're probably just manufacturing weapons." the Condor shrugged. "Whatever it is, it'll be gone shortly." The gleeful look on his face was enough to make the Harrier laugh.
"You're just a boy with toys, aren't you Jason?" she observed.
"Oh, no." Princess replied. "As a boy, he was much more serious." The Swan glanced over at the Harrier, and they both began to giggle.
The sound was infectious, and shortly the entire Bridge was laughing. The mood had lightened, and looking around at his team, the Commander knew that the success they had achieved at Ramstein had been more necessary than he could have guessed.
They were confident.
Not that they hadn't been confident before, but the initiation of Operation Homefront had carried a large element of risk. They hadn't had any idea how prepared the Spectrans would be. But as the Commander perused over the quick battlefront reports he had from the Condor and Colonel Rigel, it appeared that they had caught the Snakeheads with their pants down.
At that moment, the Eagle knew that victory was assured.