A few hours earlier

Darkness filled Kikata's vision as she finally came to. She tried to move, finding that her body seemed to be compressed on all sides. The movement however was enough to reengage her hud, illuminating the white substance that encased her visor. "I'm alive." She whispered, her senses slowly coming back to their full strength. A throbbing pain pulsed through her right forearm, though other than that she seemed to be okay. As she continued to squirm the impact foam that the ship released during the crash started to give way, as it was designed to do. Eventually she was able to move her limbs freely, pushing away the sand like substance as it fell apart. 

She groaned again as she clutched her forearm, the throbbing pain worsening as her senses returned to her. A dark shadow suddenly loomed over the cockpit window, it's thick glass cracked down the middle. A figure appeared over her, it's masked face staring down at her before it lifted its large boot and crashed it down on the already fractured window. A few powerful stomps shattered the window, and to her further dismay a weapon was pointed towards her.

"Get out." It demanded, "Slowly."

Kikata was in no shape to resist, she put her hands up as her shaking legs lifted her out the shattered hole in her cockpit. Her eyes fell on a crowd of about ten similarly dressed soldiers, a mix of Neko and Marleks, all standing outside of a small black transport ship. 

"Move." The voice commanded again, swinging his weapon in the direction of the vessel.

Kikata had to fight the urge to not lower her hands so she could grip her pain stricken arm, her blood ran cold through her vains as she wondered what fate they had in store for her. She was roughly guided into the ship, a large marlek pushing her down into one of the seats. 

"Your helmet, remove it." He ordered with a snarl.

Kikata did so, eyeing the marlek bitterly. She followed his hand as it lowered towards his belt, his furred claw lifted a short black device. He reached it up towards her neck, a sudden shock filling Kikata's existence. She screamed in agony before falling unconscious once again.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Richard tumbled around within a white canopy. "Son of a bitch." He grumbled, finally finding a spot where his feet touched snow. He pulled the parachute over his head and shrugged the pack off his shoulders. The five other soldiers were already busy collecting their gear from a large black crate that had been dropped with them.

"Here." Nathan called, tossing Richard one of the long weapons. "You will ride with me. Now that we are running with Six, Three you tag along with Five."

"Ride?" Richard asked, approaching the crate as the men pulled out three large, oval shaped containers.

"That's right." Bacan called over his shoulder. "These here are the Harley of the black ops."

Richard looked on as the containers were opened, the team quickly assembling what could only be described as two seated motorcycles without wheels. Within minutes the three ships were ready to go. Richard followed their lead and sat on the rear facing seat while nathan climbed onto the front seat, their packs touching as they sat down. The seats were comfortable, a gap was left in the middle of the back rest to allow their packs to squeeze through, so they wouldn't have to arch their backs forward and throw off their center of gravity. 

The engines ignited, a quiet hum filling the air as the metal frames lifted the six soliders a good two feet off the ground. 

"Alright. If we get into some shit I need you to lean with the turns, but not too much otherwise we'll get into a barrel roll that will probably end up getting us killed, you understand."

"Yeah." Richard called over the roar of the engines as they headed off towards the base. He watched as a narrow cloud followed their vehicles as they raced across the icy ground, the hot air of the engines scattering any loose ice or snow. 

A large black shadow raced across the white earth, a dark ship soaring over their heads. More and more of these low flying ships roared over them, they were getting close. A large mountain of white earth was soon just barely visible against the gray backdrop of the sky. The station was there, mostly under the frozen tundra. 

A map appeared on Richards visor, "Alright." Nathans voice called through the radio, "We are going to slip in right under their noses through the front entrance to the docking bay. We're not going to take any chances so we will take a sharp left, there is a small ventilation system that will act like our spiderweb to the entire station. If everything goes well we figure out where they are hacking the base computers from, revert the system to its original functions and we open the defenses to the big guys."

Richard arched his back so he could see the oncoming base, a large black rectangle growing in the distance. Waves of black ships were racing over head, all of them heading back towards the base.

"What the hell is going on?" A voice called through the radio, "They falling back?"

Nathan shrugged, "Probably. The reports say they are fighting with outdated ships, and probably limited ammunition. They are desperate, which makes them dangerous in a tight spot. Who knows what they will do once they are bunkered in."

"Well why don't we just blow the whole damn base up? It's theirs now aint' it?" Two pressed.

"They got hostages. Anyone trapped in that station before the attack is still there now."

The loading bay was soon looming over them, the structure stood a good couple thousand feet at its highest, and the station itself was dug in miles below the icy surface. As they neared a loud alarm echoed over the white landscape, followed soon by a thunderous grinding sound.

"Their shutting the gate!" Someone yelled through the radio.

Nathan ducked his head downwards, pushing his bike to maximum speed as he watched the titanic metal doors slowly lowering before them. "We'll make it."

The large opening filled their view, a massive dull gray door slowly descending towards the earth. The three vehicles raced across the frozen earth, their small size dwarfed even more by the sheer magnitude of the door they were racing against. There was a collective scream through the radio as they were encased by the titanic shadow, the riders nearly had to duck their heads as their vehicles slipped into the station. The massive docking bay made the humans appear no more than tiny insects zipping across the dull gray floors. Massive ships glided overhead while the mountainous creatures ran back and forth from the ships that had already landed. 

"Bank right!" Nathan shouted. Richard watched from his rear facing seat as the two other vehicles filed in behind them. Suddenly another ceiling passed over his head as they entered a small entry on the wall. The three vehicles came to a stop once they were about fifty yards inside the dark tunnel, a constant breeze blowing over them. 

"Alright." Nathan said once the two other vehicles pulled along side of him. "About half a mile down this line there is an up shaft. We'll take that up, and then cut along the top until we get to a down shaft about two miles deep, we'll drop down to where the control room is from there.

With the plan set before their eyes the party continued forward, the bright white lights of the vehicles head lamps just barely illuminating the wide tunnel of the ventilation system. It was a strange environment, the ceiling, walls and floor were all exactly the same, metallic shade of silver. 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Marcus rubbed his chin as his eyes scanned the holographic display emitted by the one of the ships computers. 

"They made it inside, sir." A female voice said.

"Yeah, yeah I see." He grumbled. His old eyes flickered over towards his young assistant, she had recoiled slightly from his grumpy remark, her eyes downcast towards the screen. He sighed, he had no intentions of spreading his qualms to the innocent, but he was frustrated. He hated the desk job, he wanted to be down there in the fight. It had been a long time since he had felt the rush of battle, since he felt as if he was actually doing something. 

"Tell them to keep the ship over the base." 

"Sir?"

"Just do it." He continued.

The blonde haired woman swallowed nervously, but nodded, "Yes sir." 

Marcus smiled slightly as he watched her make the call in to the cabin. He glanced towards the screen one last time before making his way towards the hallway. 

"Sir?" A voice called from behind him.

"Yes, Mary?" Marcus asked as he strolled down the hall.

The woman, Mary, fidgeted in the doorway for a moment before following him, "Where are you going?"

Marcus shrugged, "Just taking a walk, you've got things under control?"

"Sir?"

Marcus sighed, "Yes?"

"Sir...you...you are leaving the station during the mission?"

"You are competent enough. Go on and take the head on this one."

"T-Thank you sir. But, I don't think that is a very wise move."

Marcus halted, "You second guessing me?"

Mary's cheeks ran hot as he eyed her down, "O-Of course not...s-sir...but...but.."

"Mary." Marcus sighed, "You are a smart lady, but uh...how do I say this...you need to grow a pair and stand up for yourself from time to time."

Marys cheeks grew even redder, "Oh..." She lost herself in thought for a moment, hardly realizing that the General was already heading back down the hallway. "Wait!" She called, running after him, "You can't leave me in charge. That would be against direct orders!" 

"And?" 

Mary huffed in frustration as her superior continued his odd stroll away from his station, "Sir! Please! We have men in the field!"

"Well you better go back and check on them." Marcus said as they entered the wide cargo bay of the ship. It's ceiling stretched high above their heads, a large mass stood at the far end of the room, covered by a green tarp.

"But sir. I am not yet ready to take command!"

"Can't know until you try." Marcus said approaching the tall green hill . 

"Sir. I am begging you. What are you even doing?"

Marcus gripped the green tarp with a grin and pulled it away. "Getting myself some action." He said, his eyes brighting as they fell on the massive piece of machinery.