The War I Fought

The Decapitated Army, Part Two

January 27th, 2029
7:02 PM
Atlanta, Georgia
Numero Private Militaries Headquarters
803 Operatives Remaining

Sky Cobra sat in the cockpit of her stealth bomber, patiently waiting on a signal. She circled the outside of Numero's Headquarters at a high altitude, unable to be distinguished from the night sky.

Out of all the Double-F's she was the gentlest. She never picked fights with her fellow Fauna Force Members, and encouraged team-bonding exercises between Rocket and everyone else. She was bubbly and almost seemed innocent. However, when she entered a mission she became steadfast and serious, unable to be daunted from her task. She became even more stoic once she saw that Bobcat had been tortured, since it assured her that Numero was the enemy, a terrorist organization plaguing the United States.

She leaned back in her chair, dozing off before the explosion of red light penetrated through her closing eye lids. Becoming completely alert once again, she flipped a few switches above her head and pressed her radio button, becoming connected to a large group of hundreds of LIF soldiers sitting outside of Numero's Headquarters. "Attention, L-Battalion. Attack flare has been fired repeat attack flare has been fired. You are cleared to engage."

Having heard "yes ma'am" from the many squad leaders below her, she began her personal mission. Cobra regained control of her aircraft, flying quickly away from the building and far from the city. She flew until she was hovering over the edge of Atlanta. Once she had entered an incredibly far distance she veered the plane back in the direction of Headquarters. She radioed herself to Lamina. "Ma'am, I am prepared to enter Lance Configuration."

Radio fuzz played for a second before Lamina appeared on the radio, clearly. "Noted, begin the course and activate the armor ten seconds before impact. Good luck." She answered, before switching off.

Cobra sighed, closing her eyes and praying before she tilted her steering handle forward, causing the stealth bomber to accelerate. She continued to hold the handle down, causing the aircraft to accelerate to a speed reaching towards the speed of sound. She pressed a glowing white button to her right, and looked ahead to see Numero's Headquarters growing in size from the distance. She angled her plane so that it flew low to the ground, just above the fourth floor level.

With the press of the white button, the outside of her plane began to unfold several pieces of a strong metal alloy, until the aircraft was covered in a thick sheet of the nearly impenetrable material.

With the skyscraper seconds from impact, she closed her eyes and began to scream, her plane tearing through a majority of the fifth floor until she plowed out the other side, flying high into the air. She opened her eyes to see scratches and blood along her windshield. She panted heavily, still in shock that the armor was able to withstand an impact of this sort. She slowed the plane down, veering to her right until she could see the effect of her work, a skyscraper with a hollowed out fifth floor, covered in smoke and flame.

"Phase One complete, standing by for the clear for Phase Two."

*****

7:43 PM
Ma Wo's Chinese Cuisine

George, Chase, and their father, Judson, exited the restaurant together, laughing with one another. They spent their time eating and reminiscing on childhood memories. George and Chase both turned their heads to look at Numero's Headquarters, the building glowing from far down the road.

Judson sighed, placing a hand on each boy's shoulder. "You two miss it, don't you?" He asked.

George turned around. "What do you mean?"