Stonehaaryn outpost, surface of Luna Seven, March of 163 AL.
A quiet whirring sound signaled the Phantom's departure as it rose up above the trees and took off into the sky, leaving five people alone in the dark forest clearing. Salem looked around at the others, flipping his night-vision visor down as he pulled the charging handle on his rifle.
"Demon-actual to all teams, radio check," Salem said over his headset, "Team leaders sound off, how copy?"
"Metal-actual reads you loud and clear, sir."
"Solid copy on grizzly team's end."
"Noble team hears you just fine."
"Glad to hear it, all teams move on your AO; we're going dark, maintain radio silence unless absolutely necessary," Salem turned to look at his family, "Everyone ready to move? Alright, let's go."
Task Force-296 marched into the forest in the direction of the outpost, forging their own trail as they went. Salem and Augustus led the way, then came Soluna and Korana, and Briarios brought up the rear; he was a support gunner, his weapon was a larger, belt-fed machine gun. He served best at the back of the pack.
After several minutes of hiking Salem stopped, pushing aside several branches to reveal the outpost; a tall, glowing blue dome glittered above a relatively small compound with concrete walls.
"Demon-actual to grizzly-actual, how copy grizzly-actual?" Salem called over his headset.
"Solid copy, sir," a familiar voice replied; Salem recognized it as the man with the mohawk.
"What's your ETA to the insertion point?" Salem asked, pushing ferns and tree branches out of his way as he went.
"Four minutes ago, sir," Mr. Mohawk answered, "We have visual of the outer walls, we're just waiting for the shields to drop."
"Excellent, sit tight for the time being," Salem smiled to himself; Jaeger had chosen well. "Eagle-Four, are you prepared to drop off metal team?"
"Yes sir, we are in position and ready to approach," the Phantom pilot responded, "Just waiting on an opening."
"You'll get your opening, believe me," Salem almost chuckled, "Noble team, are you in position outside the walls?"
"Absolutely, sir," noble leader called over the radio, "We're ready to scale the walls and breach as soon as the shields go down."
"Glad to hear it," Salem smiled to himself, "Dagger-zero-one, you are cleared for flyby; start the show for me, and make it loud, would you?"
"Dagger-zero-one happy to oblige," an eager voice replied. The woman said something else, but Salem couldn't hear it; he was deafened by a sonic boom as a pair of fighters roared by overhead.
As the ships passed over the apex of the blue dome a pair of objects dropped off of them, colliding with the shield and sending tendrils of electricity arcing across its surface. The shield glowed brighter, flaring then suddenly dying; a hole appeared in the top of the dome, then quickly widened as the energy field receded to the ground.
Salem heard shouting from inside the compound and saw half a dozen spotlights flicker on, pointing skyward in search of their attackers. They didn't have to search for long; a Phantom swooped in from above the forest, chin gun barking at anything that moved as it hovered over the center of the courtyard. Ropes dropped from the back of the drop ship, and soldiers quickly followed. Salem lost sight of the men and women as they dropped below the top of the walls, but he heard eager, almost gleeful shouting followed by further gunfire he recognized as UCAM rifles; metal team had their full, undivided attention.
