The National Guard soldiers left behind had already been alerted by the noise of the helicopter and the convoy, and they were nervously holding their positions behind the fortifications.
The helicopter landed first on a relatively flat patch of open ground nearby.
As the convoy slowly drove through the crude gate of the abandoned logging camp, more than a dozen National Guard soldiers could hardly believe their eyes.
They gripped their weapons tightly, watching the unfamiliar convoy with tense faces. Only when they saw Lieutenant Welles, Franklin, and Sean jump down from the helicopter unharmed did they relax a little.
"Lieutenant! Are you okay?"
"Who are these people…?"
Lieutenant Welles raised a hand to quiet the commotion, his gaze fixed firmly on the members of Calista's team as they stepped out of the convoy's vehicles.
They moved quickly. The moment they got out, they instinctively took advantageous positions and established a perimeter, sharp eyes scanning the camp's surroundings. That combat instinct, almost carved into their bones, made them look even more professional than the soldiers under him.
Lieutenant Welles took a deep breath and walked up to Calista. "Ms. Norton, are your team members former military too?"
He paused, as if searching for the right words, then asked with a trace of caution, "I've only seen this level during exchange exercises with professional tactical units."
The air went quiet. Every National Guard soldier who heard him held their breath, their eyes turning in unison toward Calista, Leah, Carver, and the others around her.
Delta Force?
Rangers?
Those were legends in the military.
Calista smiled inwardly. This was exactly the effect she wanted.
She neither confirmed nor denied it. Her face carried a faint, inscrutable calm, as if it were nothing more than an irrelevant label.
Calista looked at Leah, and Leah immediately understood.
She stepped forward, standing tall and straight, and picked up where Welles had left off.
"I'm Leah, former Navy SEAL."
Leah named the unit she had served in, and that alone was enough to impress these regular troops.
Her gaze swept over Welles and the soldiers behind him, who were now looking at her with obvious awe, before she continued, "Most of us served in different special operations units."
Leah did not specify which special units the others had belonged to, but that vagueness only made them seem more mysterious and intimidating.
A low murmur of surprise spread through the soldiers.
Special forces.
No wonder they had that kind of combat power.
Any doubts that might have remained disappeared in that instant, replaced by an instinctive respect for superior strength.
The last trace of hesitation in Lieutenant Welles's heart vanished completely.
A survivor organization led by former special forces elites, with a complete base and stable logistics?
In the apocalypse, that was practically the ideal group to join.
He had previously worried that they might just be a lucky local force. Now it was clear that their foundation was far deeper than he had imagined.
Lieutenant Welles's gaze became firm. He looked at Calista and said solemnly, "Ms. Norton, on behalf of myself and most of my brothers, I am willing to join Rock Fortress."
He turned back to his soldiers and raised his voice. "Guys! Our days of wandering are over!"
Calista watched the scene and knew the show of strength had been enough.
She nodded slightly and said to Welles and all the soldiers, "Welcome. You've made a wise choice. Rock Fortress will not betray your trust."
Calista pressed while the iron was hot. "Lieutenant, have your men count and pack all portable equipment and supplies as quickly as possible. We'll rest here tonight, set out at dawn, and return to Rock Fortress. This logging camp is no longer worth defending."
"No problem, Ms. Norton!" Lieutenant Welles immediately turned around, full of energy as he began assigning tasks.
A moment later, everyone gathered in the center of the logging camp.
Calista did not give a long speech. She went straight to the point.
"Everyone, as the leader of Rock Fortress, I promise you that from this moment on, you are members of Rock Fortress. You are indispensable brothers in our larger family."
Her words were crisp and decisive. The National Guard soldiers instinctively straightened their backs.
"Our base is in Tennessee. Get ready. Tomorrow, we go home!"
"Copy that!"
Calista stood off to the side, watching the camp come alive, then looked at the military vehicles and the helicopter. Her emotions surged.
Without shedding a drop of blood, she had gained an entire fully equipped remnant of the National Guard.
...
Early the next morning, the team began to move. Turner walked over to several National Guard soldiers who were refueling the vehicles.
"Hey, bro, where were you guys stationed before?" His tone was so familiar it was as if they had known each other for years.
A young soldier patted the military transport truck beside him. "Infantry regiment. Used to deal with these vehicles every day."
"Infantry regiment? Then you guys are pretty damn good with helicopters," Wells said as he walked over, referring to Franklin.
An older noncommissioned officer smiled. "We 'borrowed' Franklin from Army Aviation. Most of us still run on the ground."
He looked at the tactical gear and weapons on Turner and Wells, which were clearly customized, and asked curiously, "Judging by your setup, did you work as… contractors after leaving the service?"
Turner and Wells exchanged a glance and chuckled without answering directly. Turner only said vaguely, "Something like that. Been all over the world, doing some dirty work."
That vague answer only made the soldiers look at them with even more awe and curiosity.
The soldiers asked about Rock Fortress, and under Turner and Wells's enthusiastic bragging, they grew more and more eager to see it.
Not far away, Shane leaned against his car, his gaze sweeping over the interactions between the National Guard soldiers and the old Rock Fortress members.
This team was even more professional than he had first imagined.
Especially Carver and Mike. Based on his observations over the past few days, those two were probably the strongest fighters under Calista's command.
That realization stirred a faint trace of unwillingness in Shane.
Franklin circled the Black Hawk helicopter, inspecting it carefully.
"The avionics are mostly intact, but the backup battery pack has aged badly."
"We're also low on fuel and the specific type of hydraulic fluid it needs…"
After hearing the initial report, Calista could not help sighing inwardly. No wonder the helicopter crashed next year in the original storyline. It turned out it had this many small problems.
She made her decision. "The helicopter can't stay here. Franklin, you'll take Bossie and Jenson with you. The three of you fly the helicopter directly back to Blackberry Ranch first.
Bossie, tell Rickson we're heading back. Your priority is a safe landing and basic maintenance. Put together a list of needed parts as soon as possible and have Rickson send people to look for them."
"Understood!" Franklin's face lit up. Being trusted to personally fly this treasure back to the new base was a huge honor to him.
Bossie and Jenson nodded as well. With them along, they could make sure the helicopter would not be mistaken for an enemy and shot down.
Not long after, under everyone's watchful eyes, the Black Hawk roared up from the ground, circled once in the air, then flew toward Tennessee, quickly disappearing into the blue sky.
"Cali, everything's ready." Leah walked over to Calista to report. She watched the helicopter fly into the distance, then looked over the huge, newly transformed convoy before them, pride in her voice.
"Let's go home!"
...
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