[center] [img]https://img00.deviantart.net/00e8/i/2012/284/7/f/mountain_base_by_klauspillon-d5hh3wy.jpg[/img] [url=https://youtu.be/lt7AvpAbRJk?t=24][Mood Music][/url] [h2][b][u]Chapter 1[/u][/b] Falcon Squad[/h2] [/center] [color=gray] Morning. The air was frigid and the sun was still obscured by the surrounding hills, leaving the surrounding still quite dark. Every breath Sara exhaled was greeted with a mist. She could see dew forming on plants and grass, and frost forming on the very tips of everything. Sara had found herself pulling her scarf up over her face more than once during their tiring trek. But finally they had made it. Resistance reports had lead Falcon squad to this place, and ADVENT blacksite. ADVENT used these blacksites to hide valuable projects and store expensive equipment, equipment that Falcon squad needed. They managed to get quite close to the base, and were forced to approach prone. The crawl to the rocky ledge was slow and grueling. Nobody wanted to make a noise, but every time they shuffled forward, something would always give and make a sound. The sound was never extremely loud. But when a group's goal is to be silent and undetected, even a pebble dropping would cause the entire squad to freeze their motion. When Sara reached the ledge, she looked over the blacksite. The low light meant that, at this time in the morning, ADVENT still had to use their floodlights to keep the base lit. Here and there, duos of troopers patrolled the base. Whenever they spoke, their voices would echo in the ravine the base was situated in. There was only one true way into the base, a road guarded by a checkpoint, which was flanked on both sides by tall watch towers. The troopers in the towers were armed with marksman variant mag rifles. Despite being an active blacksite, activity seemed quite low. Sara figured that perhaps most of the troopers were in the barracks prepping for shift change. Her suspicions were only confirmed as she saw some groups of troopers all making their way to one single building on the far end of the base, while others came out looking fresh and ready for the day. Sara looked back to the team and whispered, [color=white][b]"We came at the perfect moment. The base's guards are either tired from the night shift, or haven't completely waken up yet. They aren't prepared for an attack."[/b][/color] She was right. But beyond that, most ADVENT recruits that found themselves assigned to blacksites grew complacent. Why should they be on alert? The bases technically didn't even exist. It was the flaw of recruiting humans to an alien cause. Sara surmised that these troops had likely not even seen combat. They were green, and when pitted against a veteran squad like the Falcons, they'd break easily. Sara studied the rock face and looked down, spotting the laser fence that normally would have forced the squad through the singular entrance. But not from here. With some quick rappel work, the team could kick off from the rock face and land on the opposite end of the fence. Their insertion point would be obscured by the shadow of the large building, and in this light, they'd go practically undetected. [color=white][b]"This is the spot,"[/b][/color] Sara said quietly, [color=white][b]"Rope up."[/b][/color] Sara unclipped her rappel rope from her kit and secured it to a strong looking tree. She then clipped her carabiner to the rope and gave it a tug before backing over the ledge slowly. Her eyes followed the silhouettes of her squad mates as they did the same. [color=white][b]"Jimbo, I want you to keep an eye on that barracks. Let me know who comes and goes."[/b][/color] When the rest of the squad was prepared, Sara gave a hand motion, and ordered the four infiltrators to go down the sheer rock face. Rappelling down a rock wall in low light was dangerous, incredibly so, but it was a far better alternative than to walk through the front door. When going down the face, one had to be careful where they put their feet. Kicking a stone loose would not only make a lot of noise, but chances were high that it'd bounce at the bottom and pass through the laser fence, and trigger an alert. Sara and the other traveled down the wall as fast as they could, which was still rather slow. They were forced to feel their way down before committing to the next step. But the team had done this before, and they were confident in their approach. Before long, they hung over the laser fence. Sara moved her weight around to start swinging a bit, and kicked off the rock wall when she had enough speed. She quickly dropped down the rope, and landed on the concrete foundation of the base as quietly as she could. To avoid the slack in the rope from dropping into the laser fence, Sara held it tight while unclipping herself. She looked to the other Falcons to check up on them, and then tossed the end of the rope over to the other side of the fence. Sara then pulled her MP7 from her thigh holster, and quickly screwed on its suppressor. [color=white][b]"This is Lancaster. Boots on the ground. We all went over the plan half a dozen times on the way here, team. Lets stick to it and get this over with as quickly as possible."[/b][/color] Sara switched on her MP7's laser sight and pressed the extending stock against her shoulder. [color=white][b]"Fiona, on me. Stay low and watch my six."[/b][/color] She took point, moving quickly and quietly in the shadow of the large building. Sara stopped before reaching the corner, and waited for a spotlight to pass. When it left, she peered around the corner. A single trooper stood guard at a normal sized door, likely just an access into the warehouse instead of entering through the large garage doors at the front. Sara looked back to the fireteam that had infiltrated the base, [color=white][b]"We're going to have to ghost this trooper once the spotlight passes again. David, you're up. Take him quick and drag him back here. Once we're clear, you and Carlotta break off and head to the power station."[/b][/color] [/color]