The first steps onto the rocky surface of Loki had initially felt uneasy for Jason. A huge part of him felt like the ground would cave in under him, making him plummet to the floor below. Yet it never happened.

Even the flight to the spaceport was without incident, the descent from the USM Athena direct to the planet's surface was smooth, a far cry from the perilous descent he experienced on his last visit to the planet.

Travelling throughout the rocky wasteland to the F.O.B had been uncomfortable. The dense, almost suffocating clouds made travel via the air impossible, therefore, transportation was through old fashioned armoured personnel carriers, or Beetles as the soldiers named them due to their hardened, round plated exterior.

Despite their impressive robust suspension, the Beetles could not make the ride across Loki's perilous surface comfortably. Each bump rocked the inside of the Beetle, causing groans from the usually sturdy Ravens.

It was at this time that Jason realised how much he enjoyed the comfort of urban environments and the home that he had left behind in Europa. The realisation of how the adventures that he sought as a young man now seemed to drain him of the enthusiasm that fuelled his decisions as a teenager. He was foolish then, yet even now, as he sat like a strapped in ragdoll, his levels of wisdom were far from what he sought them to be.

This conspiracy, the politics, the manipulation, all of it was disconcerting and frustrating. The more Donnelly and Jason had delved into it, the deeper the chasm appeared to go, and as they were both being dragged further in, the less likely it appeared they would see the light at the end of it.

Remembering the smoke billowing from the Kremlin and the complete silence from his godfather, Vladimir Proviski, had left a deep scar in Jason's mind. Proviski was untouchable, or so Jason had thought, but just like his father, Proviski had been removed from the game board. Yet, unlike his father, Proviski's removal was brazen and rash, in broad daylight with news crews and civilians within a mile radius of the attack.

The forces of General Richard von Striken had little regard for their enemy, they were strong, they were forceful and they were winning. Yet now they were becoming arrogant, confident that victory would be within their grasp.

Confidence or arrogance, which was it? There was a thin line between the two, something Jason's father had often said, and it was only determined by success or failure.

Jason's masked helmet flicked its focus to the armoured soldier next to him. He couldn't see her face, but he knew it was Donnelly who sat almost lifeless at his side.

After completing her psyche evaluation, she looked even more devoid of life than before the events that took place just a week or so ago. On officially receiving her orders to assist with the advance on Loki, she was convinced that it was a death sentence, and nothing Jason could say or do would convince her otherwise.

He knew, as well as Colonel El Hadji, as he placed the orders in her hand, that there was no way she was fit for active duty. Donnelly was a risk to herself and her unit, and the smile that El Hadji maliciously swang in her direction meant he had complete awareness of the fact.

The more Jason evaluated the situation, the more he realised that General von Striken was steering towards confidence, not arrogance. He was winning and now he cared little for collateral damage or for anyone that was potentially in his way.

The Beetle came to an abrupt halt, encouraging the Blue Ravens to look towards the exit ramp as it slowly descended from the body of the vehicle.

As always, Loki's surface and the dense cloud hovering effortlessly in the air produced an unusual light throughout the canyons and mountains that the team found themselves near. Jason's visor adjusted to the light difference, causing it to darken at first, before gradually returning to the natural light allowing his eyes to embrace the new surroundings.

Stepping out into the dusty ground, Jason examined the F.O.B that they had entered. The ground shook violently as several bursts of energy hurtled to the sky, zipping through the clouds and causing them to turn a vicious shade of red. The base was so large that he could not see where the weapon fire originated, yet the sound and the laser beam immediately allowed him to recognise their origin. AR-768 Mandalay Cobras were some of the most advanced and most powerful mobile artillery that the USM had in their arsenal.

The scores of tanks that littered the ground along with hundreds more Beetles meant that there was more than enough firepower to conquer a city.

With that in mind, then why would they need special forces to assist?

The ground viciously shook once more, the sky turned red, and the soldiers ran around like insects scurrying to their objectives. Everyone was preparing for the final assault. It was unlikely that the Ravens would have much opportunity to gain rest, they would need to prepare for battle, and prepare for it soon. Normally that excited Jason, yet as he glanced over to Donnelly once more, the only thing that gripped his heart was fear.

While his eyes were focused on the expansive army around him, all eyes were on him and his fellow Ravens.

For some of them, they had never seen a member of a SORu unit, the elite of the USM. For others, these were the very people that they yearned to be.

Jason remembered the butterflies in his stomach when he first met one. It angered him now how naive he was to think that to be the best of the best was something to be proud of. If he had known what he would do as a member of the Blue Ravens, and also what they stood for, there was no way he would have taken the role.

If the soldiers that were in awe of him knew half of what he had endured, they would likely revile him rather than emulate him.

Colonel El-Hadji took the lead, with Elijah Turner closely following him. El-Hadji walked past a plethora of saluting soldiers with purpose, ignoring their shows of respect. As the Raven's followed him earnestly, it appeared that El-Hadji was determined to revel in his rank and superiority.

As they quickly made their way to the hastily established headquarters in the F.O.B, Colonel El-Hadji pushed his way past the guards despite their protests, with Turner following him in, he beckoned the other Ravens to stick closely behind.

Stepping into the headquarters, the lights were dimmed as the table in the centre of the room glowed blue and displayed a 3d map of the area. Almost as soon as the Ravens stepped into the room, a swipe of a hand flowed over the table, instantly making the map disappear and the lights within the room brighten.

"Colonel, what on heaven and earth is this intrusion for?" the man who disabled the briefing module complained.

Jason looked at the star on the man's shoulder, a Brigadier General, and likely the man who was in charge of this final assault.

Several other officers stood around the table but glanced awkwardly towards the Colonel and his unwelcomed introduction.

El-Hadji screwed his face up at the Brigadier's response before staring at the other Colonels and Brigadiers who were planning their next steps. "I'm here because I have been ordered to, just like you were ordered to take this outpost weeks ago. At least one of us is competent enough to complete our orders"

This was why the Ravens had followed him into the room, it was simply another intimidation tactic.

The disgruntled Brigadier frowned before straightening his jacket as if his feathers had been ruffled by the insult. "How dare you speak to a superior officer as such?"

"Simple," El-Hadji responded, without a care for the potential consequences of his actions, "Brigadier Voskov, you have been relieved of command of this operation and I have been instructed to complete the task you have failed to do so with haste."

"On who's authority?" Brigadier Voskov responded, confused by El-Hadji's impudence.

"Major General Richard von Striken, commander in chief of the forces in Alpha Centuari"

Jason felt sick to the stomach hearing that name and everything it meant.

"I... uh... well..." The Brigadier stuttered, "This is highly irregular."

El-Hadji soldiered towards the centre table, placing his hand on a scanner to take command of the briefing. "Orders are orders, are they not sir?"

The Brigadier looked at him angrily but refused to respond to the arrogant tone of his voice.

"So what is the reason for the delay of our forces advancing towards the stronghold?" El-Hadji asked.

The Brigadier waved his hand again causing the room to dim and the map to reappear. With a flick of a wrist, the map swang around towards the entrance of a deep canyon where a large metallic wall stood high and glowed orange.

"The Ceti's have control of all of our weapons emplacements at the entrance of the canyon," another flick of the Brigadier's wrist swang the map to the large gap between the canyon base and the F.O.B. "Any forces we send across no man's land are wiped out before they can get close to the gates. We were just discussing ways to deactivate the weapons when you entered. Our artillery is making little impact on destroying the emplacements and the clouds are making air support impossible."

"And what attempts have been made to destroy the power supply to the facility?"

A middle-aged female Colonel responded to the question. "Without a line of sight, the artillery can not destroy the power supply, and even if we were fortunate to achieve that feat of accuracy, the base has numerous redundancy."

"What about sending a team up the ridge to gain line of sight?" Jason asked, causing El-Hadji to glare angrily at him.

"Thank you for your irrelevant contribution Lieutenant, but we have attempted it several times. The Ceti's have forces dug in deep on the ridges around the canyon. Our attempts have all been unsuccessful." The Brigadier responded, harshly putting Jason back in his place.

"Yes, but they haven't been up against the Blue Raven's," El-Hadji responded arrogantly. "Major Turner."

"Sir?" Elijah responded, standing to attention

"Arrange for the team to scale the ridge within the next couple of hours. Clear out the enemy forces on the western ridge and get me that line of sight that everyone else in this room appears incapable of achieving. As for the rest of you, prepare your forces. My team will deactivate the gun replacement while we prepare to launch a full-scale assault on the facility." Colonel El-Hadji growled.

Without receiving any feedback from his peers, El-Hadji had turned and briskly exited the room causing the other Blue Ravens to scurry along behind him.

With the whole team outside of the headquarters, El-Hadji had stopped, his face and eyes like thunder as they glared at Jason.

"When will you learn to keep your mouth shut, Lieutenant Scharn?"

"Apologies, Sir, I only meant..."

"I have no appetite for your meanings, opinions or desires. Perhaps you should concentrate on why you're here, to follow orders!" without skipping a beat, El-Hadji had already turned his focus towards Major Turner, "Major, send the troops to the western ridge and clear the route to the canyon. Obtain a line of sight to the power station and its redundancies and call in an artillery strike."

"Sir, with all due respect, we have no idea what forces are on the ridge, or how well they are dug in. We are heading in blind." Elijah responded.

"What is this?" Colonel El-Hadji responded with venom, "Is there some sort of democracy that has been formed within the Blue Ravens since our esteemed Lieutenant Scharn and Donnelly returned from their respective medicals? Or perhaps, more accurately, there is a feeling of 'I don't give a damn' about your opinions? Major Turner, you will send the Ravens, you will complete your objectives, or you will die trying, is that clear?"

Elijah seemed to look around at the other confused Blue Ravens, either for support or pity, before nodding slowly, "Yes sir, Ravens, grab your gear, we move out in sixty."

El-Hadji was the first to leave the group, walking away with pure determination and fury, before the other Ravens slowly and sheepishly disbanded until only Jason and Elijah were left.

"What was that all about?" Elijah asked, causing Jason to shrug with little conviction.

"This almost feels like a suicide mission," Jason responded.

"Well, it wouldn't be our first, yet, this one doesn't feel right, almost as if there's a desire for us to be put in harm's way."

Jason recalled Donnelly's words on how she didn't expect to return from the chaotic world of Loki. The clouds would cause havoc to their sensors, while the enemy had plenty of time to dig in and prepare for any attack from USM forces. The Blue Ravens were never ones to shy away from any form of engagement with the enemy, but the tension since they arrived on the planet could be cut easily with a knife.

"What of Donnelly?" Elijah asked, his large frame hulking over Jason like an overprotective bear.

"What of her?" Jason replied.

"I've read her report, investigated her recent psyche eval, watched her closely since she returned, everything screams at me that all is not well there," Elijah responded diligently. "I know you two are close, and for the safety of the entire unit I need to know she's not going to put everyone at risk?"

If there was one question that Jason didn't want to answer, it was this. Perhaps by revealing the truth, Elijah could recommend her withdrawal from the mission, take her out of harm's way and keep her away from the claws of General von Striken, but there was also a downside to the truth. The potential end of her career, and as a result a breach of trust that would obliterate any respect she had for Jason.

"Jason, I need to know," urged Elijah.

"If she was, what could be done about it?" Jason replied, hoping to expertly dodge the minefield of a question.

"Nothing," Elijah sighed, his frustration echoed by the pounding artillery, "I have strict instructions for Donnelly to be part of the offensive, just in case we need her technical skills."

"Who gave the order?" Jason inquired.

"Colonel El-Hadji insisted, despite knowing that this mission will unlikely require the expertise of that ilk, insisted that she be a part of this deployment." Elijah sighed once more, "Nothing about this mission adds up at all."