Chapter 5 - Rebirth

The initial month passed quickly. The HAWC unit moved from landmass to landmass, atoning for their past by helping nations reclaim their independance. Although they were helping these nations pro bono, most of the time the countries were more than happy to share what they could with the HAWC pilots. Giving them a place to stay, food, and even sharing some of the local culture with them, participating in rituals and even ceremonies that honored the pilots that had come to their aid. They most recent country that had chosen to be liberated was that of Australia.

Mathison found himself very happy in this place. There was a little of everything to be shared here. New Zealand had chosen to remain with the British Expanse, however, tourism from the island shot way up when it was announced the HAWC's would be on the island. The unit had decided very early on that hiding like bandits or gurellas would most likely be a very bad idea, since it would promote conspiracy theories around the world about their actions. There were some nations, China in particular, that were calling the groups defection a massive American plot to make themselves look like the good guys.

The negotiation with the British took approximately a week, and ended without a single shot being fired, which was always a good sign in terms of a peaceful transition. As the group was preparing to depart, Mathison recieved a call over his radio from Omni. "Boss, we've got another country that is requesting aid... but they are offering something a little... different. You might want to come up here and take over for me, since I don't want to be the one to make the call on this."

Mathison was a little confused, he'd left Omni in charge for a reason, and he'd shown no problems in the past dealing with countries that wanted to be free, so whatever this was, it was most likely very sensitive. "Be right there Henry."

Anchor made his way over to the command tent where there was a growing crowd, apparently the news of the next job was spreading pretty quickly, as there were about 50 people, mixed military and civilian, gathered outside the tent, trying to leer inside. He made his way through the crowd and inside the tent. Henry was staring at a moniter with about 10 people huddled around him. He glanced over at Joe. "You're not going to believe this one sir."

He walked over and took a look at the moniter everyone was fixated on. All that was on it was the economic and landmass data of the island of Sri Lanka, off of the Chinese coast. "Okay... so Sri Lanka wants independance... what's the big deal?"

Henry said nothing, and instead offered him the headset he'd been wearing, and his seat. Mathison took it and sat down. "Henry... what's going on here, we don't have time for this."

Henry reached down and tapped a few different keys on the keyboard. "Yes, we really do sir."

The image of what would be a Sri Lankan local female appeared on the screen. Mathison looked over towards Henry, shrugged his shoulders, and put the headphones on. "Yep, she's cute. And she's asian which means she's probably an awesome lay. Good job Henry, you found yourself a keeper." Mathison shot him a confused thumbs up. "Just don't tell Ruthers I said that."

"Commander Joe Mathison, I presume? Yes, I can hear you loud and clear." The voice came over the headphones. Mathison immediately realized she'd been listening.

He looked back at the screen and the lady had an amused look on her face, but was attempting to remain serious. "I'm here as a representative of the Sri Lankan Freedom Movement to propose an offer from the our people regarding the HAWC's and a permenant stronghold from which you can operate from."

Mathison was in the middle of recovering from his fou pax but couldn't suppress a muffled choke. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't misunderstand Commander, there will be requirements from your end as well before we're willing to agree to something like this, but the long and the short of it is that we're open to talks about the HAWC unit taking up a permenant residence here, as well as recieving supplies from the locals and the government here in exchange for protection, as well as liberation from China." She paused to let the information sink in.

Mathison was a little surprised by the offer, it's clear why Henry brought him in now. "Helping you gain freedom from the Republic of China is something we're always willing to do, however, we're not looking to be controlled by any government. The last time we took orders, the world was supressed in a blanket of Imperialism, and we have no interest in doing anything like that again. I'm sorry, but I don't think that's something that will work out for anyone. Please continue speaking with my Executive Officer if you'd like to make arrangements to liberate the island. Thank you."

"You'll have full control of military operations." She quickly added.

Mathison paused in the middle of standing up.

"We have no desire to give the HAWC unit any orders, nor do we have any desire to expand our influence outside our island. All we want is freedom and security, something I believe you can respect, given the nature of your operations over the last month. What we are offering is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both sides. The HAWC's will have the benefit of having a place to call home, you won't have to jump from place to place, wondering where your next supply is coming from. And the island will no longer have to worry about coming under fire when we withdraw from the Chinese Republic. All operations the HAWC's undertake will not be subject to and form of inquiry, nor will your unit have to worry about reprisals from the Sri Lankan people. Think of it as a joint business venture, commander."

The wheels inside Joe's head started turning at a frenzied pace, weighing out the positives and negatives of agreeing to the proposal. "I didn't catch your name Miss.."

"Sao Xi" she responded.

"Well, Xi, give me a little time to talk this over with my command branch and we'll get back to you. I assume this frequency is secure?" He added.

"Yes, it is. Get in contact with me any time, day or night, please. We are very eager to move forward with the specifics, and look forward to hearing from you in the near future."

Mathison nodded, and the profile of the asian woman dissappeared from the moniter. He sat back in his seat and folded his hands in front of him. All eyes were on him, waiting for some sort of response. "Henry."

"What's up Boss?" He asked quickly.

"Get in touch with the Austrailian Prime Minister and request that we stay here for a few days longer while we come to a decision regarding the proposal the Sri Lankan's have put forward. After that, get the commanders of all divisions together for a briefing in one hour."

Henry quickly saluted and went to work.

Mathison got up and walked outside the tent, people were looking towards him, for some sign of what was going on. "Alright people, there's been a development in our plans. We're in talks with another nation to assist in their independance. The command branch is going to have an emergency briefing to discuss the specifics, but rest assured, in just a few days, everyone will know exactly what's going on."

Everyone in the crowd started whispering to each other, contemplating where things were headed. Some people suspected that it was a country in the Middle East, while others were convinced that South America was finally going to reclaim it's independance. Mathison decided that allowing people to speculate would most likely not be a good idea. "Without divulging the name of the country, as that would put them at risk of a pre-emptive strike from their dominant nation, I can tell you that this country has offered us a very unique set of conditions that will allow us to take up a permenant base of operations, without interfering in our command structure. We've just started talking about this, so please understand, nothing is set in stone, and this may not even happen."

With that, Mathison walked back to his barracks, and gathered his things. A brisk jog would allow him to clear his head before going to the meeting.

*******

"Alright, we've gone over this a few different times now. We won't know anything else until we talk more with the Sri Lankan representative Sao Xi, but at this point, we need to come to a decision on whether or not we want to continue talks with them and start going over details." Mathison was tired. They'd been going over this for the past two hours, and some people were having a hard time coming to grips with the idea that they didn't know much of anything about what the government was proposing.

"Sir, with all due respect, if we take up a permenant residence anywhere on the planet, we run the risk of becoming exactly like the American Empire, and we leave ourselves vulnerable to reprisal from whoever is giving us the base. Whether it's in the form of hostilities in the streets from the citizens, or, the government denying us supplies in order to get us to do something for them. This is a bad idea, sir." The man speaking was one of the Senior Mechanics for the unit.

Henry joined in. "Look, for at least like... the 10th time now... we don't know anything. We're just trying to figure out whether or not we're going to go through with the talks. Nothing more, nothing less. We can always back out later before agreeing to anything once we hear exactly what it is that's being proposed."

"Due respect Wallace, it sounds like we're going to go through with these talks no matter what. So much for a democratic military system." the mechanic was sneering now.

Mathison was rubbed the wrong way by that statement. "This is my command, soldier. I am doing everyone in this unit a charity by including all types of people in the talks and discussions. I could simply make a decision and run with it without consulting even a single goddamned person in this unit, and there's not a thing that would be done about it. Let me make something very clear. This is my show. If you want to be a part of it, you're more than welcome to stay, but anymore comments like that, and I'll remove you from these discussions and have the mechanics elect someone that is a little more tactful in their approach. Are we clear?"

The mechanic said nothing.

Mathison slammed his fist on the table, pissed off, and now yelling at the man. "I said are we clear?"

The mechanic was startled by the much louder sounds that were invading his auditory canals now, and managed a very timid "Yes sir."

Mathison looked over the rest of the people gathered here. "Listen, you all made a choice. That choice was to follow this unit wherever it goes. To follow me wherever I go. I warned you all before we started that at times we were going to have to make hard decisions. That there would be rough times ahead. You all came with me anyway. Now, I'm telling you all to suck it up, and start acting like fucking soldiers and not politicians. That's my job, not yours."

Joe sighed and calmed himself. "Now, I don't care what your reasons are. Not one bit, I really don't. But we're going to see a vote, right now, on whether or not to continue talks with the movement in Sri Lanka. Everyone stand up."

Those seated at the table all rose. "If you are in favor of continuing talks, sit back down." All but two sat down. "Gentlemen, your votes against have been noted. We will continue talks with them. Understand that continuing the talks doesn't mean we're going to do anything. Just means we're going to get a little more information out of them. You are all dismissed, thank you for attending."

Everyone rose, began talking amongst themselves, and walked out. Omni remained behind. "You seem stressed Joe."

Mathison put his face into his hands. "Try to do one positive thing to keep people involved and all of the sudden everyone feels like they're a victim of something. At least I understand the reason some nations laugh at democracy."

Henry shrugged. "That's the way things work. Let's get back to talking with Sri Lanka, at least that way we'll have an idea of what we're dealing with, and we can put this headache behind us."

Mathison slowly got up, and walked out of the command tent, Wallace close behind him. They moved slowly to the communications tent, where Mathison intended to contact Sao Xi to talk about details. Mathison sat down and put the headset on. "Get her on the horn, Henry."

After ten minutes of waiting, she finally showed up, clearly not expecting to speak with the HAWC's for a bit yet, she was dressed in a very causal way that suggested she was on her way to a nightclub of some sort. Mathison's fatigue instantly dissappeared. "Well this was certainly worth the wait. Are we interrupting you Xi?"

"Yes, you are, however, this is far more important, so I'm more than happy to take the time to speak with you." She seemed to be in good spirits.

"Alright, let's start talking some details Xi, we need to be absolutely clear on what it is you guys expect from us, as well as what you're offering us."

*******

"To all of those who have tuned into this broadcast, we thank you. Tonight, we deliver some very important developments and plans for the HAWC unit." Mathison was elated. No more running from place to place, no more wondering, and most importantly, a sleeping pattern that was at least going to be stable. "We have recieved an offer from a nation that is currently not free, but seeks to be, that will give the HAWC's a permenant base of operations." He paused briefly, choosing his words carefully, as not to alarm the entire world.

"What this means is that we will have a place to conduct business from, and we will be in no way assossiate with, or answer to, the nation in question. We will not be recieving any orders from them, we will not be providing them military assets for personal ambition. In exchange for the base, we have a defense contract to protect their borders from any that would attempt to sieze control of the country. In less than twenty four hours, we will be taking control of our new home, on the newly freed island of Sri Lanka, off the coast of China."

"To the Chinese Government," Mathison continued, "Sri Lanka has transmitted it's request for freedom to us, and in keeping with our practices, we have answered it and we will assist. As stated before, in less than 24 hours, we will be making landfall in Sri Lanka, and we expect to see a full withdrawl in effect. Any hostile actions towards the people of Sri Lanka will be met with extreme force. Approximately two hours ago, the contract for the nations defense was signed and went into immediate effect. Please understand we have no desire to engage the forces of the Chinese Military, however, we will do what is necessary to protect our newfound home. Thank you all for tuning into the brief announcement. Have a good day."

With that, Wallace cut the feed. "Alright, it's all done. This tent is the last thing to go as well, we need to get moving."

Mathison nodded and took off towards his C-130. They'd already recieved initial reports that the Island was in chaos and that the Chinese weren't likely withdraw without a fight. The unit had been ordered to be on high alert as they entered Sri Lankan airspace. It would take them 12 hours of flight time to get there, and they'd likely be fighting as soon as they arrived. Preparations were made to deploy as quickly as possible once they entered the requisite airspace.

*******

"Spectre wing is go for launch on your order commander." Ghost's voice came through the communications. The Chinese had managed to lock the entire island down in a matter of hours, anticipating the arrival of the HAWC's. They'd also stepped up their Ariel Defenses, believing that if they could shoot down the planes, they wouldn't have to deal with the MT's, which was a good move, but ultimately flawed, since this plan was concieved and prepared for weeks ago by the HAWC think tank. They outfitted one of the C-130's with the same radar cancelling skin the high mobility MT's were equipped with, making it virtually invisible to all that might be watching a computer screen.

"Copy Ghost, stand by to deploy, two minutes." There was a definate tension with the three pilots that were about to hotdrop into Sri Lankan airspace. Their primary objective was to disable the power grid for the entire island, effectively eliminating all lighting. From there, they were to move to the local airfield, which was under heavy guard, and wipe out all anti-aircraft installations, and pave the way for the remaining units to land.

Once they were over the drop zone, Mathison gave the go ahead. "Spectre Unit you are cleared for hotdrop, godspeed."

One by one they dropped out of the plane, instantly reaching breakneck speeds as they plummetted towards the earth. The idea here was that the units would wait to engage their fusion boosters until they were exactly 750 feet off the ground. This would slow their descent dramatically and allow them to land without damaging the MT's in the process. "Command this is Ghost, engaging fusion boosters in 10...9...8..."

Anchor was audibly nervous as he listened to the voice over the comm system count down. This was only theoretical, they'd never actually practiced this before. "Engaging boosters now.." the voice came back. He watched the indicators on his screen, seeing all three units engage their boosters as they hit the 750 mark, and subsequently slow to speeds that wouldn't kill them on impact. One by one, the all clears came across the com.

"Copy that Spectre Unit, move and eliminate the targets." Joe sat back and relaxed a little. Now that they were on the ground, there was little to worry about. It might take a little longer, given none of the current MT's carried anything that packed a decent whallop as far as firepower goes, but they still had enough fuel to circle for a few hours.

Many of the people still in the air were watching the island carefully as the planes circled it like hawks they were, waiting to descend on their unsuspecting prey. As they were all transfixed on it, the entire island went black. The Spectres had neutralized the power grid. Against the black backdrop of the island, fires could be seen, as well as the occasional explosion lighting up the island in a swath of destruction.

It took the Spectre Unit 50 minutes to neutralize the power, and get to the airfield, which was guarded by an array of tanks and light armor vehicles and personel carrying rocket launchers and RPG's. They were actually a lot more effective against the MT's than the HAWC's ever let on. Several machine guns were being jammed by random sharapnel that was getting lodged inside their barrels. But the light MT's still had many tricks up their sleeve, including one pilots personal favorite.

Mathison closed his eyes, and counted down. 3....2....1.... "BURN BABY BURN" the familiar voice rang out across a wide array of frequencies. Back when the unit had been dispatched to reign in Canada, Ruthers had learned a unique trick that allowed her to clear out entire lines of infantry, jeeps, well, anything short of heavy armor in one fell swoop... and she'd subsequently taught that trick to her two buddies on the ground.

Like clockwork, Mathison looked outside, and saw a very familiar design on the landscape. Three red, burning lines, all side by side. This was referred to by the rest of the world as the claw of the hawk. Using their fusion boosters, the units would charge forward, jump up about 10 feet, and engage their boosters, allowing the forward movement of their run to carry them across the field. By engaging the boosters so close to the ground, there was a very, very gruesome side effect for anyone caught in the wake of destruction. Instant incineration. The boosters generated an incredible amount of heat, and being caught underneath it was no place anyone wanted to be.

Infantry and Jeeps were instantly incinerated, and anything else caught underneath it that had any electronics onboard whatsoever, including tanks, were instantly neutralized. Ruthers knew this, and this is why she loved her light MT so much. The Chinese Guard had apparently not studied the tapes of this maneuver, and it's consequences, as the entire line of tanks were turned into immobile, steel coffins. The Airfield was clear of hostiles, and would shortly be clear of anti-air weapons.

"HAWC's, prepare to land and take control of the airfield." One after the other, the C-130's landed on the base, and quickly unloaded their cargo, ammunition, and of course, the MT's that were waiting to join the fray. Once Mathison and the eight other pilots had offloaded, they immediately went to work, setting out for the Chinese Garrison on the island. "Spectre Unit, hold the airfield, you've done your job, get scratch repairs done, and move to patrol. Good work."

The remainder of the MT's set off, their ominus movement sounds echoing across the land to the Chinese that the liberation force was on it's way. The HAWC's avoided moving through any of the cities to avoid dragging civilians into any sort of engagement. The attacking force stopped about a mile away from the base, and Mathison sent out a wide frequency broadcast allowing the Chinese an opportunity to surrender. Only silence was returned.

"No go on the surrender people. Move out and level the base. At this point, we have clear indication that any Chinese presence on this island will be a gun aimed at the heads of the locals. Eliminate all targets of opportunity. Consider this an Erradication Notice." Mathison sank into his seat. Even if they are the enemy, I don't like the idea of wiping them out, but there's no choice. If they remain here, then they will continue to cause problems. C`est la vie.

As soon as the HAWC's moved up the hillside, the entire Chinese Garrison erupted in a hailstorm of firepower that would make any General giddy with destructive glee. Howitzers, short range surface-to-surface missiles, heavy machine guns, and even flak cannons were brought to bear on the MT's. Thankfully, the cover of night gave them the concealment they needed to avoid the brunt of it. "All units, spread out for this, there's a lot of firepower in there, and while most of it poses little threat to us, no need to be brazen in our assault. Watch the friendly fire."

The unit fractured and moved off towards seperate portions of the base, bullets could be seen glancing off of the towering black structures, as if hitting a wall of indominable strength. The HAWC's opened fire at intermittent times, as to confuse the enemy and instil panic. The whole thing lasted a mere 10 minutes before the last signs of resistance were extinguised from the base as it lay in ruins.

"HAWC's, return to base and prepare deploy in full force."

*******

Sao Xi was on site for the trasferrance announcement to the Sri Lankan public. Cheers could be heard all over the island. The community was now entirely free of the Chinese Imperialism that had dominated their land for the longest time, and before that, the British. The celebrations included a large party, and a feast in honor of their liberators. Many of the mechanics and ground techs for the HAWC's were enjoying the company of the local women, while others were taking in the place they could now call home, and just making general idiots of themselves, getting familiar with the local drinks.

Xi took the time to personally thank Mathison after things had settled down. "You've done us a great service that we can never repay. We have our homeland back, and we are for the first time, free. Hopefully, this is a great sign of things to come in the future." She hesitated. "We're going to be redesigning the flag of the island. We would like to decorate it with a Hawk. Would there be any objections to that?"

Mathison, who'd had a few too many at this point, laughed. "It's your flag sweetie, do what you want with it. It'sh none of our business. Ash long ash you don't expect us to fight a war for you, we're golden."

Xi couldn't surpress a smile. "You're drunk."

"And you're increasingly attractive, not that you weren't before."

She raised an eyebrow. "Care to give me a tour of your facilities commander? I'd like to get familiar with the intimacy of it all, you know, it's inner workings."

Mathison took this as a completely neutral request. "Shure, Shure. We might have to wait until I get this shit out of my system though, I'd probably screw up the technical specifications of everything."

She stood and took his hand. "That's what I'm counting on."

Mathison wasn't seen again for two days.

The rebuilding of what was previously the Chinese Garrison took approximately a month to complete. The HAWC's had devastated the place, and had to invest a lot of time and manpower into salvaging it into a working base, but they had little choice, as there weren't any other suitible sites on the island. There was one bright side to the complete destruction of the base though, the HAWC technicians were able to completely redesign the area, and make it suitable for their needs, including a complete underground facility.

Nearly everyone on the island, it seemed, turned out for the ribbon cutting ceremony, and subsequent speeches that were made when the base was reopened. Sao Xi spoke first, reminding everyone that the HAWC's were not here to fight wars on their behalf, and they were not here as subjects of the island. They were here as an independant group of people that would protect the sovreignity of the island for as long as they remained. Mathison wasn't really paying much attention, as he was going over his address, which was likely to be broadcast to the entire world. He was shook out of his preparations by a large roar from the crowd and glanced up to see Xi motioning him to address the crowd.

Admittedly, he was a little nervous. Addressing military personel was something he'd grown accustomed to, civilians on the other hand... he had no idea how to deal with them. Sink or swim. "When the HAWC's decided to pursue interests elsewhere in the world, we had little idea of where we were going, or what we'd be doing. We only knew that the status quo where we were was no longer worth fighting for. Thanks to the people of this great nation, we now have a place where we can call home." Mathison paused for applause. "We have been called many things in our time. The Horsemen of the Apocalypse, foolish idealists, and more specifically and technically, HAWC's. The hawk is a majestic bird. It flies high, it's great to look at, but it also has a very deadly side. Today, thanks to you fine people, we have come home. We have our nest. And we will fight to protect it, and the tree this nest resides in." Mathison looked over his notes. "Among other things, the military is famous for abbreviating complicated terms to make them easier to say in casual conversation. HAWC stands for Heavy Armor and Weapons Contingiant. We take this to mean we're the birds soaring high in the sky."

"The NEST however, represents a different set of ideals. Ideals that we stand for, we epitomize, and we project across the barrier to those that do not understand us. The Neutralist Establishment of Security and Technology will be availble to -any- nation in the world for a price that we will talk about later. The goal of this organization is to ensure that the countries that wish to employ us have the means to do so. The communications array for the Nest is already active, and is standing by to talk to anyone. Details will be worked out later, however, understand that, for now, we will not engage in offensive measures, only defensive." Mathison again, paused for applause.

"There are many out there that would tell us we're changing our views, or that we're disgracing ourselves by being willfully labled as mercenaries or guns for hire. To those, I say this. We have extreme operating expenses. Expenses that are insurmountable without a steady income. No movement is able to sustain itself without having a means to provide for its people. It is at this time that I announce the creation of the Hawk's Nest, a private security company." Cheers from the crowd again erupted.

The creation of this company is a milestone in history, one long forgotten, as it marks the rise of Corporacracy, as well as the return of a highly trained, highly compentent mercenary army, available to any nation willing to pay the bill. The entire makeup of the world is about to change, in a way that would lead to it's rise, it's fall, and rebirth. Those however, are different stories.