The Terran Alliance: A Changing World- Crosspost

Chapter 6- First Strike

Chapter 6- First Strike

(March 10, 1995)

Hall pulls on his gloves before bending down to tie the laces on his combat boots. As he finishes, he stands up, and sees Fives and Echo just a few feet away, gearing up themselves.

After the incident in New Lessu and the interrogation of the terrorist they captured, Hall had been given authorization to launch an assault on the hideout of the Terran Liberation Militia that Mr. Callahan had revealed. Their goal was to kill or capture the terrorists remaining in the hideout, gather intelligence on the TLM, and then destroy the hideout.

The hideout's location was revealed to be a compound in the mountains some distance from Las Vegas, miles from any other habitation. Hall had been assigned to conduct the attack. Aayla Secura had been ordered to accompany him. For the mission, Hall had been given command of Clone Force Five and two squads of men from the 2nd Ranger Battalion. Several Pave Hawk helicopters from the Nevada National Guard had been sent to fly them to the compound.

Hall looks around at the rest of his team. All of his men are finishing going over their gear, checking that all of their weapons are ready to go. Hall looks over at Aayla, who has her game face on.

"Ready for this?" he asks.

"Yes. I want this world to be a free world for all races. These people must be dealt with," Aayla says firmly. Hall smiles a bit and nods.

"Sir." Hall turns and looks at Fives, who had spoken. The clones and the Rangers are all standing looking at him, their weapons in hand or strapped to their bodies. Fives looks at Hall and says, "We're ready, sir."

"Good," Hall says. He picks up his M4 carbine before he says, "Let's go."

Hall walks out of the building, Aayla right behind him and their strike team following close behind. They head out to the flight line of the Las Vegas International Airport, where the four Pave Hawks are already waiting, their rotors spinning. The team divides into four groups and board the helicopters. Once the pilots confirm they are all on board, they power up the engines fully and lift the helicopters off the ground. Once off the ground, they set their course north.

As the helicopters pass outside the city, the men in the backs of the choppers hear a roar. Looking up, they see an F-15E Strike Eagle soar overhead. The Strike Eagle is one of a number from the 4th Fighter Wing who are in town at Nellis AFB for the Red Flag combat exercise. The Strike Eagle, flown by a veteran of both the Gulf War and and the Terran campaign, had been assigned to assist with the mission. He would fly over the compound before the helicopters, then come back in and strafe the garrison if necessary. He would then wait for the raid to be done and the strike team to pull out, after which he would level the compound with 2000 pound bombs.

Even though the Pave Hawks are only flying about 150 miles per hour, it doesn't take long for them to reach the compound, which is only about 40 miles from the borders of Las Vegas.

As the Pave Hawks approach the compound, the Strike Eagle dives down to investigate the place. Streaking low over the compound, the pilot sees there are a number of guards standing outside, and that the compound is not well fortified.

Streaking past the compound, the pilot loops around and comes in for another pass. Switching to his 20mm cannon, he squeezes the trigger, firing off 314 rounds of ammo. The rounds tear into the ground all around the outside of the compound, killing all of the guards outside the compound.

Inside the compound, members of the TLM watch as the Strike Eagle pulls up into another climb, stunned at the sudden appearance of the fighter. Then, they hear another noise, and someone standing atop the main building spots the helicopters coming towards the compound.