While following in a singular line, Wein and the squad jog-marched behind Derek, their similar suits providing a present uniform sight. Behind he could sense other squads following them.
The boots thudded in rhythmic sounds against the floor as the marching commenced, all the Troopers had on their very own rifles in their arms. Under the suits and helmets, they were all identical like clones.
After moments, they reached the hangar.
In front were other Troopers who had long since arrived in front of their own squad leaders heads down, weapons in hand, and waiting for orders. Separated, the many groups were lined up facing the same direction: the dropships.
The low hum from the dropships' engines reverberated through the metal floor of the hanger, vibrating against the boots of Wein and the rest of the squads.
"Alright, listen up," barked Derek, his eyes scanning the faces of the squad members. Let us begin our mission. Enter, go…go…go!"
As he gestured in Angela was the first to lead the team, march-jogging up a platform ramp inside the dropship. In front of the other dropships, the other squads did as they did and began filling in the empty ships.
…
The dropship itself was a hulking machine compared to the Transporter. Reinforced with thick, weather-resistant plating designed to withstand the brutal conditions of some of the planets in the galaxy, it was a beast.
Compared to the Transporters, which were shoe-like ships, the dropships were bloated machines.
In front were two cannons for firing, and on the corners of the back were thrusters that helped propel the ship through the tough atmosphere of most planets in the galaxy.
Unlike the Transporter, the dropship had small wings sticking out on the side that it used to glide through the air.
…
The sirens on the ships rang as the squads entered the dropship, Derek was the final one to enter, holding his gun in one hand he pressed on a panel on the wall, and the ramp platform reclined and closed the entrance shut.
Darkness befell the whole inside which was replaced by red lights that allowed the Troopers to see each other and the inside.
Inside the air was stale and heavy with the scent of recycled oxygen rushing through all corners of the ship.
The Troopers had already gone to their seats in front of them, on the sides were hooks that they could secure their heavy weapons on. After securing their weapons they were all seated.
The seats on the dropship unlike the Transporter which were normal, here were much different, they were more like personalised hooks that locked and secured the Troopers together with the ship.
The Troopers had to stand in the opening and a large mechanic harness would lock them in place. All that was left was for the ship to disembark and leave for Thalsaris.
Derek sat at the door of the ship, while Angela was on the other side. The dropship could fit nearly twenty people, so that was some free space but as leaders they had to be closer to the entrance.
Because of the big dropship, there was a significant distance in-between the two sides, resulting in a clearing in the centre. The 'aisle' went up to the front where there was a door that led to the cockpit of the ship.
Derek observed the squad, they were all identical in their suits and helmets. Because they were going into hostile territory, they all had worn their masks and goggles. What was reflected back to Derek was the same face.
After everyone had settled, they felt the ship shake slightly and its engine revved as it powered up in preparation for lift-off. With a slight jolt, the squad could feel that the dropship had lifted off from the hanger and moments later it began moving forward.
…
The dropship moved seamlessly through the air and not long other similar dropships followed in the same path flying to the clearing in front leading outside. Soon they all exited the see-through force field that protected the hanger and crew from the cold uncaring outer space.
Like a line of ants, the dropships emerged from an invisible object their destination the planet Thalsaris.
Thalsaris was a big planet but compared to most in the galaxy it was average, the ships in the fifties had clear destinations and as they were flying in a linear line they suddenly dispersed to separate locations of the planet.
They all moved at great speeds, blitzing to their predetermined locations and began entering the atmosphere. Surprisingly, all the locations were in places where the sun had not yet risen, so it was darker.
…
The dropship blitzed into the atmosphere of planet Thalsaris like a missile, resulting in the occupants experiencing some rumbling vibrations.
Outside the view was great, they passed through the grey clouds and calm winds. The front of the ship had some droplets gathering on the windows obscuring the sight that the pilot had to wipe clean.
The descent was done at great speeds as if slowing down would alert the enemy and put them in danger of being shot down. The engines roared as they pushed the ship through the limit and like a jolt it suddenly slowed to a halt, and it was revealed they were at the surface of planet Thalsaris.
The dropship hovered stably above ground, its big presence obscured by the darkened night sky. It moved forward in the silence of the night sticking as low and close to the surface as possible to avoid any chance of detection.
Inside the Troopers were stabilised and ready to spring into action, based on the movement of the passing trees outside the windows they surmised that they had not reached their drop point coordinates, so they could only wait.
The ship flew passed the trees that were found everywhere in that area. Just like the plan, they would infiltrate from the forest under the cover of the trees where it would be hard to see them coming from.
Most of the places in the planet had been levelled by the war with most intact and firm buildings they could infiltrate from being too far from each other so, the squad would be coming from the forest which luckily was not too far from their target.
After a few minutes, the dropship came to a stop and began descending, they had arrived.
It was silent as it landed on the ground hidden by the trees, the ground was dusted by its thrusters that scared the small animals that were roaming away. Fortunately, there was no loud sound made and it landed safely undiscovered.
Slowly the ramp door was opened and landed on the grassy ground. Derek was the first one to go out making sure that there were no enemies or hostile forces in the vicinity. With his hand in his gun ready to fire he ventured forward and then stopped.
"Clear!"
His reply was confirmation for the rest of the squad leave the dropship, all hands on their weapons ready to fire. They were careful in their walking, making sure their attention was spread in all directions looking for possible dangers.
Wein was the last to get out, as soon as he set foot on the ground, he assumed his position aiming at the distance.
"There are no hostile forces near, sir" spoke Mark.
"Alright, ease up" replied Derek.
The squad eased up and retreated closer together, Angela went back to the dropship and closed the door.
"You can go back." She told the pilot.
The ramp reclined inwards and closed. Then the ship went back up in the air and turned direction then flew forward as if backtracking its steps. The squad was only left with the sight of the dropship zooming away as fast as it came.
"Where are we?" asked Harlan.
"We must be near the base" replied Kol, as he spoke Wein was busy inspecting the environment with his eyes trying to get as much information as he could from what he could see. From the trees, the spot they were on including the ground structure, and any noticeable structure to the sky and clearing of the forest.
"What are you doing rookie?" asked Lara who noticed this behaviour. Mark was the first to chuckle, he knew what Wein was doing.
"The newcomer is just doing what he was taught. Observe the environment and identify everything before you make a move, right? That's what they taught you during training?"
Lara and Mark were the only ones to laugh, they found it funny how Wein was too by the books. The team had already observed everything that might put them at a disadvantage when they first stepped on the planet, from their point of view it was unnecessary for Wein to do that.
It was funny because Wein was doing it again mostly because before he would have always been required for him to do it himself during the simulations.
"Enough! Kol, Lara do your jobs" instructed Derek.
Like that Lara took off with great speed from the group. She was fast, far faster than anyone Wein had ever seen, even during his training. Her swift speed and agility took her soaring through the forest all with her gun in her arms and determination.
Meanwhile, Kol had remained and took off his backpack, inside was a big box with a seal he opened. Inside the box were four small drones and a controller which he equipped on his arm.
"Drone deployment set."
Four fly-like drones emerged from the box flying high up in the air and sprinted away in an instant. Kol closed his backpack and re-equipped his gun while the controller was fixed on his left arm.
"Ready to move sir."
"Alright everyone, let's go."
****
Not far from where they landed was one of the bases the insurgents had established. Much like the infrastructure of the planet, it was rundown but still functional. The base was established alongside the broken-down homes and facilities of the Nol'vs people.
Before the settlement was a deserted area with wreckages of ship parts and other metallic objects long since fallen. From the forest to the base was quite some desert land that would reveal their location if they stepped up too lightly, so they had to be careful.
They all assembled at a cliff that looked down on the settlement, albeit it was small and did not provide them a layout of the whole base.
"How does it look?" asked Derek, his hand on his ear taking to the comms.
"Hostile enemies ahead" replied Lara. She was lying on a rock at a higher altitude than the group which gave her a great overview of the whole area. She could see the settlement, the base and neighbouring structures from her vantage point and on her hands was a sniper rifle similar to the MA-25.
The thing that made the MA-25 popular was that it was a weapon that was easily customisable, so you could make other weapons using it as a base, obviously, you needed other components to assemble the new weapon, but you could easily customise it.
Lara had done that, using the equipment and tools in her backpack she made a makeshift sniper rifle and took up position scoping the area.
"I have located 25 hostile forces, no civilians yet" spoke Lara, her eye glued to the scope of her rifle and finger ready to fire.
"Be patient. Kol, scan the land from here to there and provide an optimal path to take" replied Derek.
The drones spread over the land scanning to see if there were any mines or enemies hidden.
"Clear, sir" Kol replied.
"Lara what is the status?" asked Derek.
"The hostiles are leisurely and unaware, you can attack I'll provide cover" replied Lara.
"Rookie, at training what was your best firing proficiency?" asked Derek.
"89% sir" replied Wein.
"Not bad. Alright everyone, let's begin. Angela, take Mark, Sienna, and Kol, move on the left, Rookie, Mace, and Harlan with me on the right. We will flank them and Lara, make sure our positions are not compromised along with yours. Let's go, go, go."
The two teams separated down the cliff moving as fast as they could with their weapons. In the darkness of the night, they could only see a path thanks to their googles and Lara who was rested with a sniper rifle scope in her eye over the enemy combatants.
The two teams moved forward over the desert area and reached the settlement. In front, they could see two squads with rifles of their own patrolling.
"Silencer"
Derek's voice was transmitted to all the members through their comms, and they equipped their silencers on their MA-25s. After he aimed his gun at the men ready to fire.
"Lara?"
"No chance of detection"
They knew if they started, they needed to move fast to not let the enemy get a firm standing and fight back, besides other teams were about to cause their own ruckus, and the enemy would strengthen their base when alerted of an invasion.
"Second team ready sir" spoke Angela, her team was also ready to fire.
"We move together, quick, and not let the enemy recover. Three… two… one…" spoke Derek. In that instant, beams of energy flew heading to the two squads and in seconds they all fell, their heads blown off.
"Six down" noted Lara on the comms.
The two teams moved and invaded the base.
They were careful, always interchanging when one was searching one served as cover, and behind Lara was the eagle that could see the whole picture. They went through the corridors of the makeshift base looking for a path through and when they encountered enemies, without wasting time they fell them.