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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #109091] |
Fri, 20 August 2004 19:00   |
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spreegem
Messages: 1755
Registered: March 2003
Location: Ellington, CT
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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86 - 89
86
They stopped the truck in the washboard gully just south of the base, and geared up for the mission ahead. He was glad to be out of the grimy shirt finally, and back into his uniform. The team re-assembled to hear Valdez’s instruction. He called into Nod command once more to advise their situation, and received orders to disable c-4 that may have been spread around the temple, and he also received command override codes for blast doors guarding something they were supposed to secure, and protect. It had the code name Valkyrie, and that was all he could ascertain. He also asked command about the feasibility of using the underground APC, and was advised it would take too long to tunnel from the nearest track considering the speed the front was moving at to the south. Apparently, the GDI rout was almost complete, and Nod had achieved complete surprise and chaos reigned among GDI units in the city. He thanked the commander, and turned to his men.
“O.k., here’s how we’re gonna do this.�
He unrolled a schematic of the Temple, and an outlay of the grounds surrounding it. He pointed to a Black Hand access tunnel to the underground complex. It had an access in a rock formation about one kilometer away.
“I don’t know what state it’s in. It was a mess at the end, and we barely made it out in time. It took three of us 72 hours to sneak out with all the GDI activity. We lost many good comrades that day…�
Valdez drifted off in memories, and his eyes glazed over as he remembered the events of the last 12 hours inside the temple. He remembered watching a camera feed of Kane inside the temple, hands outstretched and receiving the punishing Ion energy seemingly welcoming it, as it slashed the building in two. His face twisted in hatred, and he snapped back to reality. “Move.� was all he could get out through gritted teeth.
The formation wasn’t difficult to find. Nothing had been disturbed since valdez’s exit those years ago. The explosives had been set off long ago, but they found out why soon. A bear’s scattered and shattered bones were spread over the cave. They picked through the rubble, and had to move a mountain of stone to get access to the tunnel finally.
When Vigo came back to them reporting he had found nothing except dust, and critters they proceeded into the tunnel darkness. Valdez ordered a stop, and moved a fake rock panel to access a basic breaker box. He flipped a switch hoping for the best, and was greeted by intermittent lights flickering on. The ones that still functioned were dim, indicating that the emergency power supply was just about dead after years of no recharging from the main power feed. The tunnel was a clean cut rock hole in the ground, and the floor had been covered with metallic grating for traction against the water that drizzled down through the ground to make the rock slippery. Vigo was already moving down the tunnel, and Sergei could feel the dampness increase as he followed.
87
The trip down the tunnel was eventless, and quick thankfully. Valdez ordered a quick bite to eat as they came upon a platform illuminated by the barely functioning lights and the stairs leading up to the Temple ruins. They did a weapons check, and then Vigo started up the stairs and what lay beyond. He stopped when he came to large doors with the Nod emblem on them that didn’t appear to have a way in. He looked over his shoulder at Valdez for an answer to the dilemma.
“They were electronically locked, and hydraulically operated. With power down, that’s no longer an option. Ventilation ducting recon Ustinov. I know you love doing it.�
After some scouting, they finally found a duct grate about ten feet off the floor. They took his weapon for him, helped him in, and handed up the MP-5. As he was wiggling in, Valdez risked a communication with command for his status.
“Eagle one to nest; We are about to enter the temple. What’s the sit rep upstairs Nest?�
“We have been slowed by some unexpected mutant resistance, but will be at the site within 2 hours.�
“Affirmative. Eagle one out. Hurry up Ustinov.�
Cursing under his breath, he wiggled through the dark, grimy duct. The MP-5’s light showed an access plate about ten feet in. He wiggled up to it, and gently popped the cover open not knowing what to expect. Darkness greeted him thankfully. He dropped into the room, and scanned his surroundings. He was in a storage room of sorts, and everything was coated in dust. No one had been in here in a long time. His feet left impressions in the dust as he moved towards the door in the dark. He had to use the emergency crank to get the hydraulically operated door open, and he hoped the door to the team would have the same.
He scanned to his left and right once out in the hall. Nothing moved, or made a sound. It was eerie to hear nothing except his heart beat, and breathing. This place was a tomb.
He estimated the direction to find the door, and did in fact see the large door ahead. He passed an old ammo locker, and saw it hanging open as Valdez and his team had left it so long ago. He knocked on the door, and received a confirming knock in return. No crank existed on this door. He removed the access panel to the motor controlling the door, and tried to find a way to get it open. Explosive were an option, but he would prefer not to alert seismic detectors above.
The motor assembly was in good working condition, just without power. All he needed to do was get it powered somehow. Nothing presented him with an option, and he brainstormed for the answer. Suddenly it hit him. The extra ammo for the prototypes. He pulled a square box high energy power supply for the laser rifle from his upper vest pocket, and looked for the pole connections. He then clipped the wires that used to be hard wired to the generators, and connected the negative, then touched the positive lead to the wire. To his satisfaction, the motor started turning in its idle mode, awaiting instruction. Above him, the panel cycled red to green as the team on the other side pushed the now live access panel.
The pump took the strain of opening the door and it took a second before enough hydraulic pressure had been built up to pop the door open. It slowly creaked open on the dirt coverered tracks, and squealed as it hit resistance and rust. The power cell was losing energy fast, but the door was open enough for the team. As they passed through, valdez looked at him, handed him his weapon, and said:
“Creative as ever I see.�
88
He had Vigo stop ahead at the intersection of hallways. “Alright, straight ahead is the way into the rest of the temple. Whatever you see out here, is classified secret, Black Hand level 1. You deny ever seeing it, and if you ever tell anyone, you will die painfully and slowly. These are Kane’s personal items we will be near. Touch nothing, and defend it with your life.�
This door had a crank, and Drubnov was tapped to slowly open it as valdez peered through to see what the threat level was. He wasn’t ready for what he saw. The temple he remembered was a pristine, and beautiful place full of stained glass, columns, and rows of mahogany carved benches on a crimson carpet facing the altar, and the screens that relayed information during services. He remembered how the vaulted ceiling was so beautiful, and allowed the sunlight to come in during evening services through the red tinted glass. The front doors had been massive creations of gilded metal work and red stained glass with scenes from the brotherhood history in them. The onyx pillars holding up the roof had held golden chalices, and candles and incense had created a lovely smell of burnt cedar. This was his home in the old days, and he longed to be here once again.
But not this way. The Ion cannon had torn the building in two from its entrance to the altar, and a jagged rip now existed where the fine mahogany benches has once been. The benches had long ago been consumed in the fires after the strike, and the red carpet with Nod logos was all but a tattered remnant now. The golden chalices had all been removed by enterprising young GDI soldiers, and the screen above the altar where he had watched so many sermons projected were now burnt, and askew. The whole assembly had crashed down onto the altar, and ruined the fine marble.
The roof had been rent open and he could see jagged red glass and then the sky beyond as the storm moved away. The sun peeked through a cloud briefly, and hit a remaining red glass pane flashing him back to the old days, and a tear came to his eye.
He grimaced, and wiped it away, as the soldier in him came back to the surface. Kane lived, and they would rebuild this temple to its former glory. His friends would be avenged. He saw GDI had placed a conveyor in the center of the gaping hole, and had been removing artifacts from the temple for a long time. Currently, they were stripping it as fast as possible ahead of the advancing forces of Nod. The EVA link announced over loudspeakers: “Attention. All GDI personnel report to the evacuation area. Brotherhood of Nod forces approaching. Estimated Time of Arrival is one hour, thirty minutes. Orca transports inbound on vector 213. All personnel evacuate immediately. Brotherhood of Nod air units inbound at this time. Time until temple destruction, 10 minutes.�
They went through the door, and started firing at any GDI left in the area as they scrambled to get into the transports now landing. Sergei zoomed in on a technician attempting to finish wiring the fire box for the charges. They had caught GDI just in time. Ten minutes later, and the place would be smoking rubble. He fired, and the technician slumped to the ground. A running firefight now consumed the upper level of the temple, and GDI soldiers tried to evacuate to the waiting Transports. With no time to load the remaining artifacts now that they were under fire, they ran straight for the transports, and attempted liftoff.
Three of them succeeded, but Becker’s heavy Laser, and three other lights sliced into the fans of a fourth, and brought it crashing down. The Titans in its hold crashed through the side of the transport as it tilted before crashing, and the ground trembled as they hit, and smashed to pieces. The transport crashed down on top of them in flaming wreckage. The temple belonged to Nod once again.
Valdez called command to let them know the Temple was secure, and he was going to check on “Valkyrie� and secure it. He called Becker, Parker and Ustinov to his side, and led them to a hidden door in the rear of the altar. He left Sanchez in charge of finding the c-4, and disarming it, and they bolted down the stairs behind the altar.
89
It became clear quickly that someone had already been here. The door at the end of the hall opened, and they saw that the room beyond was disturbed. They entered carefully, and looked around. The room was a computing center with wires running to a central chamber. Everything was still functioning but the chamber was empty and the lights were already on. Valdez growled under his breath, and queried the computer as to how long ago the chamber had been violated. 4 minutes, 13 seconds was the text reply. He seemed shocked, and started looking around for evidence of where they had gone. Disturbances in the dust showed they had gone out the door across the room.
He motioned the other two to follow, and Valdez took point himself. He burst into the other room which was full of destroyed artifacts, and across it towards the ramp up to the surface. Sergei looked behind him, and the wall they had just come through appeared solid again. Holographic projection maybe? The other two followed not knowing what to expect, and they proceeded up into the labs. It was here that they caught their first glimpse of the culprits.
Mutants.
Valdez laid down a nasty barrage of laser fire, and caught it in the back. The others with it, ran for it, and laid down cover fire as they backed out. Valdez alerted the guys upstairs, and had them try to squeeze them from above, but the mutants knew this place well. They must have been searching for this thing a while under GDI’s noses. They took a little known route through the experimentation labs, and came out in a kitchen under fire all the way by Valdez in his fury. Another mutant died by Valdez’s rifle, and he leaped over the body in his raging pursuit. He burst through the door the mutants had gone through, and was met with small arms fire peltering his position, and body armor. It was no match of course, but served to knock him off his feet. The other two burst through the door in time to see a civilian truck careen out of the lot, and into the hills. They emptied their entire clips into the rear of the vehicle, and managed to get one more, but the vehicle got away, and Valdez screamed curses at the sky.
“When they got back to him from dragging the body back to the temple, Valdez was just getting his composure back, after destroying the kitchen in his fury. He looked at them with madness in his eyes and said through gritted teeth: “Does he have it?�
They didn’t know what he meant, but after a search of the body, they confirmed he had nothing but body odor and a massive crystallic poisoning of his body from the Tiberium.
Valdez got on the radio, and said: “Nest, this is Eagle one. Mutants have stolen the Tacitus.�
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #111914] |
Mon, 30 August 2004 09:24 |
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Crimson
Messages: 7427
Registered: February 2003
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Karma: 0
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General (5 Stars)
ADMINISTRATOR |
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“Nest confirms. Secure temple site until Brotherhood arrival. Nest out.�
Valdez ordered the team to stand down from mutant searches, finish c-4 disarming and meet inside the temple. Sergei and the others followed their ill-tempered leader back to the inner hall in silence. Once they arrived in the hall, Sanchez reported that all c-4 had been disarmed, and that no activity had been detected within the temple. Valdez ordered them to sweep the lower levels in two man teams, and report back in 45 Minutes on the upper level. He sent Sergei with Drubnov down the right side furthest away, and the others to their various ramps downward.
They trotted towrd the ramp, and entered the semi darkness. Items were half packaged, and scattered around the ramp, and they ignored them for the most part. Many of them were ancient artifacts seemingly from Nod’s ancient involvement in conflicts throughout history. The next level down was a sub-hall of sorts. It appeared to be some sort of meditation room where one could contemplate the finer things. It had been stripped, and not much remained except the gash where the temple had been split. Off to their left, they noticed the other teams also entering the sub level, and proceeding beyond. They did likewise, and took the next ramp down.
Now they were somewhere unique. A sort of propaganda room of sorts, as well as a museum of past events. It had also been stripped of anything useful to GDI’s understanding of Nod, except for the one mummy in repose in the center of the room. Labeled under the glass was the name “Ramses King of Egypt, Leader of the armies of Nod�
This stunned Sergei, and he realized how far back the brotherhood really went. Another urn nearby carried the label “Nero, Emperor of Rome and leader of the Black Hand of Nod�.
Incredulous, he could barely ponder that these remains might carry the DNA of two of history’s &mightiest.
Next they came to the labs that used to house the Brotherhood’s experiments in DNA research, and Tiberium. It had of course been stripped of everything and only wires now protruded from empty terminal boxes, and data storage units. The Tiberium storage tanks still stood full tiberium sludge. The room was all white and still gleamed despite disuse.
It was the same wherever they went, and they finally returned to the surface level. The other teams were there as well, and Valdez ordered them to fall in out in the courtyard to await turnover of the temple to Brotherhood forces, and reassignment. As they did so, the first advanced party of Blackhand arrived via helo, and started to file from the passenger compartment as the helo spooled down. They met Valdez where he stood, and they exchanged salutes as Valdez made report to a dour looking man with a grim expression. The others fell in line, as they were trained to do in the presence of senior BH staff. They couldn’t hear the exchange, nor did Sergei want to. He didn’t enjoy being in the presence of upper level staff. He was a warrior, and nothing more.
Rapidly, helos descended on the place, dispersing regular troops, and support staff. They immediately secured the area by setting up antiaircraft, and defensive laser turrets and awaited the arrival of the ground troops not far behind them. Nod Harpy class Apaches circled the area on patrol, and scoured the desert he assumed looking for the mutants. The brotherhood had arrived back home once again.
I'm the bawss.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #113221] |
Sun, 05 September 2004 12:43 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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As the initial teams moved in and set up, valdez seemingly was wrapping up his report in the cacophony surrounding them. He saluted, and turned from the officer to speak to them. The officer was already moving in the direction of the temple surrounded by junior Blackhand members. He shouted at them over the helo’s rotor wash and turbine noise.
“Alright, we are taking this helo back to base. Move out.�
They did as ordered, and assumed the empty seats left by the officer corps. Valdez lept in and spoke over the mic in the helmet offered to him by the load master. “We are ready pilot. Take off at your discretion.�
Almost instantly the craft lifted upwards, and moved south toward some R&R hopefully. As it achieved cruising altitude and pitched forward, picking up speed he chanced a look out over the landscape. Clearly the Temple was alive with activity now, and in the distance away from the temple in the direction of the mutants he could see Harpys unleashing hell on some unknown target. It would most likely be every Mutant settlement in the area that might be housing the escapees.
Then as they traveled south, he could see the truck they left in the ditch, and then he saw the advance units from the ground forces moving toward the temple. Nod recon bikes enmasse zoomed past destroyed Titans, and wreckage from their skirmish. Behind them in the distance was Nod’s army moving along at a crawl, but steady as the wind. It was in various states of readiness now after the breakneck pace, and running battles that had consumed it for the last 4 hours. Many of the tanks were smoldering or had armor plating crumpled by near misses. The APC’s that had survived the assault were covering them from GDI sniper attacks that would intermittently occur. There was still a lot of mopping up to do by the infantry in the city. As for the city itself, fires raged on, and armored units lay in ruins everywhere although there was a definite disproportionate amount of GDI armor in pieces. Nod had hit hard, and ruined the GDI advantage of firepower, and battle lines by using speed, stealth and superior tactics. He could see the facility in the distance, fully engulfed in smoke. It had been burning since they had left it, and not much remained now that the fires had nothing left to burn. The soot coated aluminum dish lay half melted on the wreckage.
The trip was uneventful, and he dared to snack, and doze before they touched down. He awoke when the craft bounced down, and the load master yelled at them to exit. Valdez mustered them away from the departing chopper, and smiled a half grin as he said:
“Someone wants to talk to us, boys.�
92 They filed into a familiar looking room. It was the one used for indoc when they had first survived the trials to get into the black hand. The squad leaders took the front seats, and the other sat down behind them. Weapons were still in their possession, so Valdez had them unload, and stow the weapons against the wall. They were grubby, and tired. Sergei hoped this wasn’t anyone special because the way he felt he wasn’t going to be good company.
Regulus entered the room, and as they rose, he motioned for them to sit.
“No need to worry about that men. Save it for Kane and General Slavik.�
He spoke to Cabal: “On screen, Cabal.�
Kane’s image appeared side by side with Slavik’s. They were clearly in different places, and judging by how Slavik was slightly bounced, he surmised the Montauk was on its way to the temple.
Kane spoke:
“Brothers, you have liberated this city, and the Holy temple site. You have indeed proven valuable to General Slavik and I. Well done. Major Valdez, you have redeemed your past lack of faith in my sight, and returned to me what you had lost. Enjoy your promotion to Captain.�
“Thank you Brother Kane. Redemption is all that I ask for.� Valdez replied.
“Indeed. And you shall have it. The new weapons performed well I trust Commander Regulus?�
“Yes sir, they are most powerful.�
“Excellent. We have need of your services again, and you will need their firepower. The technology of peace serves Nod well. Your vision for the Black Hand has been vindicated Regulus. May you strike hard and fast.�
“In the name of Kane.� And with that statement Regulus bowed to Kane.
His image faded out, and Slavik filled their field of view.
“You have served Nod well. Rest today, tomorrow I will have need of you again. New facilities will be built at the temple for your unique needs. Until then you and your team will be stationed here Regulus, on call. Is this understood?�
“Yes sir. We will be ready for the call to serve.�
“Good. I have issued the Medal of Brotherhood Service to each of you for what you have done this day. I will call on you later in the day Regulus. Slavik out.�
With the session over Regulus took control of the meeting.
“Gentlemen, Enjoy tonight. Beer and entertainment have been provided in your old barracks where you will be staying. Muster tomorrow at 0600 for orders. Dismissed.�
The men gave a hoot of appreciation for the beverages, and picked up their weapons on the way to the door. Tonight would be a welcome change of pace.
93 The trudge back to barracks was where the tiredness really hit him. The adrenaline had worn off, and it felt like he was carrying the entire world on his shoulders. He was glad to see the barracks, and plunked his gear on the floor. Valdez had moved into the room next door and seemed equally tired as he went through the door to his room. Sergei collected half empty clips at the door to the barracks, ordered the weapons cleaned prior to R&R and sent a request via CABAL to Weapons Division to collect the empties, and provide new ammo clips.
Sergei took 30 minutes to clean his weapon thoroughly, and by the time he was done, a knock at his door proved to be the Weapons division folks, with a cart of new clips, and they took the old ones for recharging. He took 5 minutes to hand out ammo, and check that the men had cleaned the weapons. His last stop was Valdez’s room. He knocked.
“Come in.� the door snicked open after Valdez cycled the lock.
“ Sir, new clips.�
“Thank you Ustinov. The men performed well, don’t you think?�
“Yes sir. They are good men.�
“They respect you Ustinov. That’s something you have to earn, and you seem to have done so. Even Becker seems to be coming around.�
“I try to do right by them, sir.�
Valdez sensed something wrong in Sergei’s reservedness. “Cat got your tongue Lieutenant? Speak freely. What’s on your mind?�
Sergei paused thoughtfully before continuing.
“Sir, no offense, but what happened at Sarejevo at the end of the last war? What was Kane talking about?�
Now it was Valdez’s turn to pause.
“Alright Ustinov. Fair enough question, but you are sworn to secrecy. At the end of the last war, I was in charge of Black Hand temple security for Kane. When GDI was closing on the temple, we watched the monitors as our forces were defeated division by division. It seemed as if the fury of the whole world was being poured out on us, and all we could do was watch. I had assumed command of all conventional forces surrounding the temple as it was being bombarded when General Riga and his command staff were killed en route to the temple by Orca attack.
I ordered the armored units to fall back to the temple, and create a defensive perimeter to stall GDI in static lines hoping for reinforcement from the southern Egyptian units that were still left after the general rout. I ordered Kane protected at all times by Black Hand members only to avoid assassination attempts, and sent a general request to all Nod units world wide for aid with our current situation.
And then we watched and waited as the aid never came. The temple defensive structures crumbled under repeated orca attack. Only the defensive armor ring was left, but it was succeeding in holding back GDI ground units. Then GDI armor broke through the western sector, and things started happening rapidly. I sent down all units to repel a temple penetration, and left Kane with two men while I oversaw the repulsion. We barely succeeded in repelling the attack, and managed to close the breach in the defensive ring, but it took too long. I turned back to look at the temple in time to see the Ion beam starting to form above the temple. I called the men I had left behind for a status, and general evac order, but the Ion interference denied communications. I brought up the inner cameras for the temple, and could only watch in vain as the Ion beam sliced through the temple, and seemingly Kane as well.
In my shock, I failed to see that GDI armor was breaking through the line everywhere, and my unit was torn to pieces as we tried to do a fighting retreat. Only three of us made it out alive by using the escape tunnels after having to fall back to the burning temple. I tried to find Kane, but the fires were too much, and tracers were cutting our hair for us.
I failed to protect that which was most important.�
Sergei seemed rooted to his position as he imagined the scene, and the utter chaos and destruction of the end. All he could say was “You did what you could sir.�
“Did I?� Valdez said. And dismissed him with a cursory “See you in the cafeteria Ustinov.� And waved him out of the room.
94 Party time had arrived, with the finishing of the weapon and personal cleaning. Vigo had been first to arrive, and was already hoisting a pint of the ever present Guiness. No matter where in the world one went, they couldn’t escape the last vestige of the old British empire. He hated the stuff personally, and fully believed what the English said about a pint being a meal unto itself. He browsed through the buckets of ice and beer until he found something close to what he wanted. American Coors. Almost the equivalent of water, he knew he could have 24 of these, and still be in full command of his faculties. For taste though, his favorite was Samuel Adams, although they tended to leave him inebriated far quicker. The others came pouring in as Sergei sat beside Vigo and struck up a conversation about how well Vigo had conducted himself in battle.
Becker naturally grabbed a Heineken. The stuff was horrible to anyone not from that part of the world, and had earned the name formalde-hieneken for good reason. The stuff dried you out quicker than formaldehyde, and probably preserved organs just as well. James joined Sergei in a coors, and smiled and hoisted it in salute to Sergei across the room. Drubnov on the other hand was drinking Fosters. How he had come to like the taste of something so far from his home was a mystery, but Sergei found out later that it had more to do with the size of the container than it did with taste.
They swapped war stories, and told tall tales as the noise grew in their celebration of their first successful mission together. The room grew silent though as Valdez finally made his appearance and sidled up to the cooler. All wanted to know what the enforcer drank. His hand came out with a Zima of all things, and the men started to laugh loudly.
For the first time ever, he smiled, and put it back. He then pulled out an Israeli beer with a patch of wheat on the label. He had never heard of the stuff, but if Valdez was drinking it, it must be potent. Then he started into a Brotherhood song about GDI which got the room rolling with laughter as he danced on the table in mockery of the inept GDI soldiers.
The night passed without incident and Becker even proposed a toast to Sergei’s ability to be as he called it a “duct rat�. That brought laughter from everyone including Sergei, and as he headed towards his room that night, he finally felt like he had family for the first time since his father had died.
95 Festivities over, Sergei laid out his gear for whatever tomorrow would bring. This brief moment of fun was welcome, but he found he couldn’t really enjoy it knowing there was something big on the horizon. He wondered if he should ask Valdez, but knew the answer before he completed the thought. He surfed the net for the latest in Nod and GDI news, and was surprised to see that for once, they were both reporting the same thing about the Sarejevo battles. Solomon was promising his usual counteroffensive to recapture what had been lost, while Oxanna’s broadcast focused on the absolute defeat of GDI, and the recapture of the Temple. Statistics showed a 15 percent gain in Nod recruitment following Kane’s speech regarding the re-capture, and his future plans. Pictures in the broadcast showed an MCV already in position, and reconstructing the temple to it’s former glory, while Nod technicians described their plans for beautification of the grounds. Kane concluded by offering all brethren an open invite to worship once open.
Their mission had had far reaching consequences second only to the re-emergence of Kane, and he found great pride in a job well done. It was no wonder Kane himself had addressed their success. The Brotherhood had regained the initiative, and money and recruits would soon pour in as a result.
He logged off, and settled in, feeling the tiredness envelope his battered body. Had it not been for Valdez’s preparatory training, they would be in rough shape tomorrow. He turned the light off, and laid on his back for a while staring into the darkness. All he could see was the door lock panel’s yellow light signifying it was locked. He focused on it as he fell asleep, and dreamed.
Tonight in the dream he returned to the Tiberium field. As usual the dream focused on the sky’s green hue, and the lightning. He heard the crunch of the crystals, and the hydraulic whine. Subconsciously he knew what was next, and expected fully to wake as he started to look at something in the puddle of green slurry on the ground. This time, he didn’t wake up. He looked into the pool, and saw a half human face reflected back at him. It was covered with cybernetic components on one half, and the other stared blankly at him. The one red eye seemed to narrow its iris as if examining him for termination.
Was this him? Or was he observing a memory from someone else? The dream continued by looking at the cyborg’s right arm which had been replaced, where it was snapping something into a large cannon like arm. It seemed to be preparing for a battle of sorts. The dream became even more real as a HUD now displayed in his vision, and assessed the landscape for threats. It identified a GDI patrol moving in his direction. The cyborg moved forward toward the threat taking no pains to conceal itself. It stopped in the middle of the road after leaving the field, and raised the cannon like arm as the HUD displayed a targeting reticle. Energy levels were displayed for the cannon, and he heard a distinct shrill whine as it charged up and released a bright green ball of concentrated energy. As it left the cannon, it set the surrounding grass on fire, and disturbed the air enough to make tree limbs nearby move slightly. As if in slow motion, the ball of energy moved towards the patrol, and just as it was about to hit, the HUD switched to Wolverine coming over the hill, and the cannon charged again.
“THEY SHALL KNOW NO MERCY.� The disembodied voice stated flatly.
He awoke to the alarm.
96 He held his head in his hands as he sat upright. The sense of invulnerability, and power he had felt were scary. He had been absolutely sure the cyborg would win. How had he known this? As the alarm continued its tirade, he pushed the thoughts out of his head, and prepared for whatever the day would bring. He dressed as usual, and grabbed his insignia, attaching them to the Velcro strips. He had never really felt like he lived up them, but today was different for him. With a success under their belt, and Kane’s personal stamp of approval, their existence as a new type of unit within the brotherhood had been validated. And with that validation came his personal self confidence in being able to lead battle hardened men into combat.
After sliding on the combat boots, and lacing them up all the way, he triple knotted them, and flipped his socks over the laces. This would prevent any possibility of them unlacing in combat. A minor detail, but one that could give the edge in battle. The boots were comfortable, and well molded to his feet after months of training. These little assurances were all he had for stability in an environment where everyday was different. His morning rituals were the base of stability that allowed him to deal with everything else. He rolled his sleeves up, and tightly rolled the cuff to prevent them from interfering with reloading, and catching on anything. Lastly he shaved. His attention to perfection in everything carried over to this as well. There was something therapeutic in the attention to detail.
Now ready, we left his room, noticing that the others were also filing out. Discipline was high, and it showed down to the timing of basic things like muster. He men were the elite, and he drew great pride from them. Together they assembled in formation, and Sergei stood between them, and Valdez who faced them and made muster report to valdez.
“All men present and accounted for sir.� He said as he saluted.
“Very good, thank you lieutenant. AT EASE GENTLEMEN!�
The men went to the at ease position immediately, their arms behind their backs, legs at a more restful position.
“O.k., this is what we have on the agenda today. We are to attend a briefing in a special room created to prevent eavesdropping. The room has been electronically, and physically isolated from the surrounding environment and lays below us. Nothing you hear in there will go beyond us, and Senior Black Hand staff in the loop. Violations of this protocol will be punished by death. Understood?�
They all muttered their understanding.
“Alright. Follow me ladies.�
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #113459] |
Tue, 07 September 2004 11:46 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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97
The underground rail system that Nod used was the central artery for each base. Essentially the best, and most secure method to move around large bases quickly while still being able to evade the scans of the ever present GDI satellites They accessed it through the entrance located at the base of one of the Obelisk towers, and caught a rail car going to command central. It didn’t take long for the high speed rail car to get there, which was unfortunate for Sergei. He was trying to check out the architectural feats that Nod had accomplished in this massive cavern, and how the supports were interweaved. The drop off for Command was protected 24-7 by standard Nod Troopers who came to attention upon seeing Valdez’s new captain insignia gleaming on his uniform lapel.
They breazed through the checkpoint, and came to sliding glass doors with the words “Command and Control. Visitors must be escorted.�
Their escort was waiting for them. He was of the same rank as Valdez, but clearly the Black Hand commanded more respect, and was outside regular channels. The officer seemed to know it too, but avoided any chatting, stating only: “This way please Black Hand.�
They turned right down an obsidian hallway which gleamed and reflected them in it’s highly polished black surface. Red Nod scorpion tale emblems were imbedded in the black rock, and were also created out of some kind of rock as well. Laser engraved details were high, and they knew they were in a special part of this base. This was where everything started and ended that was important to the brotherhood. They passed other officers going about their business, who made room for them as they proceeded in lockstep to wherever the bean counter in front of them was leading them.
They came to a set of heavy blast doors and the officer cycled it open after verification through retinal scan. Beyond was the neat, and orderly command unit that ran the base, and local Nod operations. The duty officer sat in the middle of the room surveying everything within his sight. Screens flickered information, and pictures of current events in the media as well. The local Cabal core interface was on the other side of the room, behind locked blast doors. Nothing short of an Ion strike, would be able to take him offline at the location. To their right was a briefing room, and they were motioned into it to sit. The officer went to the center of the command room, and notified the officer on duty, and assumed the watch as the General moved towards them. They were also joined by members of the standard intelligence division of the Black Hand.
“Well this looks good.� Drubnov said sarcastically.
He entered the room, and they rose as he said “At ease. Be seated gentlemen.� He pushed a button on the desk, and the windows surrounding the conference room became opaque. No one could see in or out.
“This briefing is classified cosmic secret. The people in this room are the only authorized members to view this material. A lower ranking intel officer handed out briefing documents with the words “Scrin Analysis�
“Let’s get started shall we?� And the lights dimmed to near darkness as an overhead projected the image of a large saucer shaped ship imbedded in the side of an ancient temple of unknown origin.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #113523] |
Wed, 08 September 2004 10:47 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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"This is file footage of the saucer the Brotherhood has been protecting outside Sarejevo for approximately 15 years. Kane ordered it locked down during the soviet conflict, and it had remained under our protection until a major GDI offensive was launched to capture it at the end of the first Tiberian war. Their victory was a hollow one for the most part. While they captured the vessel, anything of use had been stripped out 10 years prior and relocated to the temple nearby."
The general looked the room over to gauge the reaction of the Black Hand team. Training had overcome their disbelief, and blank gazes returned to the general allowed him to continue.
"A little history for the uneducated. The brotherhood is old. Older than many of you realize. We have known of the scrin for some time, but have waited in vain for their return. The temple of Nod you see in this footage was built as a contact point for when they did return. Its geometry, and number of columns were all created specifically to let them know we knew of their existence and were waiting for their return.
That day came about 15 years ago, and this scout ship was descending for a rendezvous with senior Brotherhood staff. Something went wrong. We still don't know what, but the ship crashed into the temple, and despite our best efforts to enter it, we were stymied.
The ship was impervious to any and all attempts at entry, and for five years we could do nothing more than study it, and hope for a break in technology. The base and new temple situated nearby were created to draw attention away from the crash site, and allow us to cover it from prying eyes, and defend it from capture."
"It wasn't until the arrival of the Italian Tiberium meteor that the vessel showed signs of life once again. The doors opened, on an automated sequence and after all the manhours spent trying to open it, we simply walked right in. What we found was a dream for the brotherhood, and revolutionized our role in the affairs of this planet."
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #113655] |
Thu, 09 September 2004 11:13 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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99
This had gotten the attention of just about everyone in the room, and a palpable silence lingered as the General paused for effect. He hit the button on the remote for the holographic projection unit, and a video of the inside of the craft appeared. In the image Kane could be seen standing in the middle of the expansive flight deck, one arm holding a glowing crystalline ball. In the background panels glowed with flowing color, and the walls seemed to be pulsating with energy. Other than the alien technology, the place seemed abandoned.
“After years of analysis, we were able to retro-engineer the stealth, Tiberium based, and cybernetic technologies that we currently use. The object in the photo that Kane is holding is called the Tacitus. This is what the Elite Cadre was trying to retrieve when the mutants stole it. It is essentially a large data bank of Scrin architectural and engineering knowledge encrypted in a binary language.�
“Cabal and the mutant known as Tratos worked on de-ciphering it together under the treatise of “curing� tiberium poisoning. The more translation that occurred, the more clear it became to Tratos that cures weren’t what the Tacitus was all about. It was about transformation to a higher plane of existence through the use of Tiberium. When faced with the prospect that humankind was about to go through an evolutionary breakthrough to energy based life forms, he rebelled from the cause, and escaped from the research facility after contacting sympathetic mutants, namely Umagon.�
“While they were able to kill the guards, and escape, they were unable to prevent Cabal from locking down the Tactitus. Once our teams arrived, it was moved to the temple research facility for better protection, and so Cabal could finish translation. Once translation was completed, Nod engineering teams were tasked with trying to build a vessel of our own based on the engineering and technical data. This was accomplished in 2011.�
There was an audible gasp from some in the room.
“In the interest of preventing GDI capture and translation of the Tacitus, it was split into two pieces. This leaves us where we are today gentlemen, and brings us to the issue at hand. The main piece of the tacitus is missing, and we need it to control the ship which houses the second piece. The Elite Cadre members we have invited today are the best Nod has to offer, and will be tasked with retrieving the Tacitus, and returning it to the ship.�
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #114683] |
Tue, 14 September 2004 14:13 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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Valdez raised his hand.
“Yes Colonel?�
“Sir, Two things. First, where is the Tacitus now? Secondly, what is the status of the ship currently?�
“We can track the Tacitus easily enough, and know where the mutant is that stole it. It emits a unique signature on the EM bands. We have tracked the tacitus to a facility in Southern France’s Pyrenees mountains on the border with Spain. We have captured a mutant by the name of Umagon, and she led us to it, upon her “escape� via a tracking device. The answer to your second question: It is under the protection of General Vega in Spain on the island of Palma de Majorca. GDI has no outposts in the area, and Nod has firm control of the area. Once the tacitus has been acquired, you will cross the border where you will meet up with General Slavik. You will then be taken to Palma for rendezvous. Any other questions?�
An intel officer raised his hand.
“Sir, our latest intel says this Mutant area is heavily protected, and contaminated. How is our team going to get by all this?�
“Good question. To the south is a small GDI facility. General Slavik’s second, Commander Regulus, will be infiltrating, capturing, and then using GDI resources to attack, and draw their focus from the team. We will be using the GDI APC to come in the back door over the river as the strike hits them on the front doorstep. This will serve two purposes. Swaying mutant opinion to us, and allowing the team to get in, hit them, and get out. Our team will of course be going in using GDI gear, and uniforms to complete the image. Leave survivors valdez. We need these mutants to believe GDI is responsible.�
To this order his face grimaced, and he rumbled out a “Yes sir.�
The next two hours were spent going over the details of the ruse, and logistics of it all.
When they were done, they knew their role, the landscape, the layout of the base, and how to beat the hodged together defenses the mutants used. They would be fighting Nod and GDI tech, as well as some left over tech from the last war.
The last thing said to Valdez as they stood up to leave:
“Bring it back. No excuses valdez. Much depends on this Tacitus.�
“Yes sir.� He said with great seriousness, and turned to exit the room. The glass resumed its usual translucence, and he opened the door.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #114896] |
Wed, 15 September 2004 11:59 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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101
The men filed out after him, and they got into the transport back to barracks. Once back, they received a message that they were to report to weapons division for special uniform and weapon issue to match the mission, and received notification to turn in the laser rifles.
The men gathered their rifles, and all ammo, and trudged over to Weapons division where Seemus met their approach.
“Good day Black Hand Elite. I have just received notification you were coming, and that you have ‘special needs’. Please follow me.�
They followed Seemus into the Weapons division and he brought them to the part of the facility they had never been to before. Inside was every conceivable weapons past and present, and Sergei felt like it was Christmas.
“What will it be Colonel?� Seemus asked.
“We need GDI outfits, and weapons. Heavy calibers.�
Rather than question, Seemus headed to the back of the underground hangar, and into a small dusty room housing captured uniforms, and rifles. The men took their pick, and selected their weapons. Sergei picked a standard auto-rifle. No need for anything fancy this mission. If they were found out before the general attack, no weapon was going to save them anyways.
Next up was the ammo dump, which seemus took them to after locking the cage back up. It was on the other end of the weapons division, and in a concrete bunker. There were blast doors for this facility, and Seemus ordered the door unlocked by the guard.
Inside, florescent lighting snapped on as they moved past the threshold. A flickering light gave an eerie effect as they moved down the dusty shelves. Everything was labeled, and the GDI ammo was just to the right of the older 7.62, and 5.16 Nato ammo left over from the Soviet conflicts. Valdez ordered them eight clips a piece, and told them to get a brick of c-4 with det timers on the way out. Drubnov only found enough grenade rounds for one drum, and his exasperation showed. Seemus winked and said:
“Put those back. I have something special for you.�
He moved over two rows and handed three drums of seemingly similar rounds to him, and let him load up on enough to stuff his vest pockets.
“Those babies aren’t just standard rounds. These have mini-bomblets that scatter over the targeted area, and create a secondary explosion over a wider area. A very nasty anti-personnel weapon.�
Drubnov smiled an evil grin, and turned to follow the others who were moving away from the armory.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #115734] |
Mon, 20 September 2004 17:26 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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102-104
They assembled at the entrance, and Valdez thanked Seemus, who smiled and moved off to the stairs leading up to his office. They trudged out of the underground bunker into daylight which was waning already. That was something he noticed lately. Daylight didn’t seem as long now that the sky was starting to take on the greenish tint from Tiberium. It was almost as if the stuff was leeching sunlight as well.
A helo was waiting at the barracks for them, and they hopped in. Regulus’ army was lying in wait until the team could bring down the radar facility. They needed to capture the GDI MCV, and wep factory intact for this mission to work. An alerted base commander would never allow the MCV to be captured for the very reasons they were trying to do so.
They used the trip to outfit themselves, and get into the fatigues of the enemy. A strange feeling for him and the others he was sure. He had only used this type weapon in training. He wanted more time with it, but that wasn’t going to happen. The ride was longer than he expected. It took an hour, and the temperature was chillier than before. Winter would soon come to Bosnia.
“Five minutes to drop off.� Announced valdez.
The helo came down hard and fast. It used twilight to its advantage, as well as landing in a clearing. If GDI troops were in the area, they would have a hard time discerning who was doing the drop. He leaped out, and immediately formed his part of the perimeter. The helo lifted off as quickly as it had arrived, and as they all kneeled in a semi-circle, they waited for the natural sounds of the woods to return. That was the best gauge for determining if humans were nearby. The natural night sounds returned, and Valdez motioned for them to move towards the east. The trees were larger here than further south where he used to live. The contamination was evident in the small green glitters he saw in the moonlight. In a year, this place would be green, and devoid of trees, he knew.
20 minutes later, Sanchez picked up the first signs the base was near. A humvee rumbled by on a patrol. The spotlight wasn’t even on, and the guards clearly didn’t expect resistance. This was “friendly� territory as far as they were concerned. Two months earlier the base had been set up to evacuate civilians from Tiberium contamination. After they had been moved north to colder areas, the base was left as a liaison for the nearby mutant facility. An uneasy truce existed for GDI with the forgotten. That was soon to change.
After the humvee passed, they approached the perimeter fence, and Sanchez cut his way through the links. They were behind the Wep factory, and no activity could be spotted in the darkness. Sanchez put the fence back together as best he could to prevent alerting the patrol, and they moved toward the radar dish
103 Vigo resumed point and the squad kept close. They didn’t expect traps inside the perimeter. The only real danger was enemy troops, and if Vigo was spotted, he would need backup instantly.
The layout of the base was a fairly simple one. The west side was where the Tib factory, and Wep factory were, which was where the team currently was. The barracks and power plants were deeper into the facility, and centrally located. The western and northern borders of the base were natural cliff barriers that prevented vehicular attack, and were thus undefended. The eastern end of the base more fortified. It had guard towers scanning the night, and RPG launchers stood on automatic standby, their mini radar assemblies turning in silence. A concrete wall barrier surrounded the facility on the southern and eastern edges where natural barriers didn’t protect.
The terrain was a rugged one. Eastern reaches were divided by a large river with swift currents. Mountainous and hilly terrain was the order of business here, and a natural canyon in the far south eastern corner was the only method of reaching the centrally located Mutant base via land bridges. The satellite rip that Nod had got from GDI, showed widespread tiberian contamination, with the strange new blue crystals each combatant was desperately trying to find for its net worth in tripled stored energy. No one knew anything about it, except that it was cropping up in areas that were already well overgrown by the standard green tiberium vineferas. Dr. Ignatio Mobius had been on the wire talking about the new transmogrification of the species, and was as mystified as others. The only insight he had been able to provide was that terran plant life was being changed to actually create these new and highly volatile crystals.
The darkness was their friend, and they transited to the radar facility easily. It glowed in the lights that shown in the entrances, and on the dish itself. The team hid behind a row of parked MRLS’s that needed repair. The burn marks seemed to indicate a lightning strike had hit them while in an Ion storm. Sergei surmised they had been transiting a Tiberium field when the storm must have started. Hover and air technology was virtually useless in an Ion storm, and they were grounded until it passed.
Vigo pulled out a silenced pistol, and took aim on the lights shining up the entrance. In a quick burst, three exterior lights had been eliminated. Darkness consumed the area. They could still see from the light from the towers, and the buildings behind them, but it was far reduced now.
They moved towards the facility, and as soon Vigo they got to the door, they met a GDI officer exiting.
“Report.� he said to Vigo, and the men behind him.
104 “Uh, we are investigating the lights going out sir.�
The officer looked up, and said: “Hmm, Indeed. Anything suspicious soldier?�
“No sir, nothing yet. Looks like a power surge is all.�
“Again? That’s the third spike this week. I’m tired of this. I think I will have a talk with the duty commander. Keep looking. Report anything suspicious.�
“Yes sir, will do.� Vigo said in disbelief.
As the officer strode away muttering something, Valdez walked up beside him and with a sideways glance and said “I would have shot him personally, but this works too.�
He cycled the lock as he pushed past him, and Vigo rolled his eyes in resignation. Inside the facility was the ever-present hum of the giant rotating dish’s gears working below their feet. They had heard this sound before, and Sergei flashed back to Sarejevo. They were a long ways from there now. Romania was colder, and less hospitable despite the lack of warfare Sarejevo had endured.
The hall they were in had unlit rooms behind doors on each side. The only one that remained lit was the duty officer’s and he had just gone to complain the duty officer about fictional events. Just past the duty officer’s desk, was a large room of machinery. Catwalks surrounded the pit that housed the dish’s rotisserie. On the outer periphery of the catwalks were readouts, and computers of all kinds, as well as more offices. During the day, the place would be alive with people, but tonight, there was only a lazy officer in dereliction of his duty. They wired the shaft with shaped charges, painted it black to match the shaft and set the receiver to await the signal from Valdez.
Next up was the power plant. Right next door, it would be easy to get to. The men rushed out into the night again. In the distance was the Humvee on patrol still. It was no where near them, and passing under the RPG tower.
They were able to make it all the way to the central computer core before being questioned. The engineer came up and asked: “Soldier, are you lost?�
“Not by a long shot.� Vigo said, and shot him dead. No one heard the silenced Walther and Vigo turned to look at Valdez and said: “Happy?�
“Touche’� was his reponse.
Valdez then called in to the Nod forces waiting at the base periphery.
“Romeo 1, this is Victor 1. 5 minutes to showtime.�
“Romeo one acknowledges.�
He wired the core, and put the engineer behind it to hide the body for five more precious minutes. After that, the Globalists would be far to busy protecting themselves to worry about anyone else.
Casually, they exited the way they came, and even had technicians wave as they walked through. The irony of it all was lost on their hidden urgency to leave.
Finally free of the plant, they made haste to the parked MLRS lot.
“Can you drive these?� valdez asked Parker.
“You know it sir.�
“Everyone on. We’re out of here.�
They climbed onto the craft as Parker started up the fans. This got the attention of the command post in the MCV, and the hummvee turned from it’s patrol to spotlight them.
As the light fell on them, Parker went to full power, and the craft turned towards the fence, moving behind the wep factory to avoid RPG’s, and the humvee. He launched a barrage into the fence at the same time Valdez hit the remote once. The lights flickered, then dimmed in the base. He hit it again, and the charges on the shaft went off. No one outside would ever even know it in the dark, but for a second the dish resisted its partially severed shaft. Then it leaned ever so slightly, and gained speed as it headed for the cliff wall at the back of the base.
The barrage Parker had launched had destroyed any semblance of a fence, and they picked up speed heading for the gap. Rocket bikes rushed into the base and the RPG never had a chance to try to target them. As it tried, Tick tanks and APC’s rolled in. The tanks obliterated the RPG tower, and headed to finish whatever resistance was offered by the sleeping base. With no communications, and with complete surprise achieved, GDI knew only that a power failure had happened on the orbiting Philedelphia. The reality was far different as infantry rushed ahead of the engineers to capture the building before generators could be switched on, and self destruct sequences initiated. The team watched it play out from above on the cliff edge. Some of the teams were successful in capturing the buildings, other died in massive explosions generated by more astute GDI troops inside.
It was over in 20 minutes, and over the wire they heard: “Nest, Romeo 1. Mission accomplished.�
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #116217] |
Thu, 23 September 2004 11:08 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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105
Immediately, the swarm of engineers began repairing the structures left, and getting the damaged War factory back into production. Regulus ordered the Nod vehicles hidden in the back of the base, and sent probes in Hummvees to scout out the Mutant stronghold.
The team reported in to him, and he stopped in the middle of directing efforts to build his GDI army.
“Good show men, take a load off, and hang in the radar facility out of sight. The spy sats will want to know what happened here. All I want them to see is a happy little base with comm. problems. Once I get this under control, I will have the Amphib delivered to you.�
“Affirmative sir.� Valdez motioned them back onto the MRLS, and they made their way to the facility. Engineers were already craning the damaged dish back into the semblance of the position it had formerly held. One turned towards him and said: “Must you guys break everything so fully?�
“Occupational hazard. Sorry.� Sergei said with a smirk.
They occupied an office in what was left of the main gear room of the facility. The door had blown in spraying glass, and minor fires had burned out, but the room was largely usable. They replaced the door to block out the noise of the techs trying to get the dish to functioning status. Some of the men tried to sleep; others wrote letters to loved ones in the Nod protective areas. Valdez spent his time with Becker Parker, and Ustinov planning their next mission. For leaders, rest was a luxury they didn’t have.
He brought out a portable link to Cabal, and showed them the topographical of the mutant stronghold. It was rough terrain, and Becker said as much.
“That’s why this is going to work.� Valdez replied.
Patrols had been posted at every access in the area, but Valdez pointed out a cliff face that could be turned into a ramp with a little c-4.
“Right there is the way in boys.�
The base had a conglomerate of defenses from the various wars fought in the last 20 years. They were primarily concentrated in the south west corner to address the sole access to the base. It would be a deathtrap for any army to traverse it with power still up. Anti-air defenses were high, and the mutant life forms so prevalent as of late seemingly were being tamed to defend the mutants.
Valdez tried to get an update on the operation from Cabal, but a blackout had been imposed to prevent GDI code breakers from finding out. He next checked the networks and found that there was almost nothing on the Romanian theatre of operation. They would just have to wait it out until regulus’s scouts reported back, and the operation could begin.
Three hours later, the engineers were done. The dish had been re-attached to the gear works below, and while not functioning yet, it would appear on the satellite run that the dish was just un-powered. They now had a moment of quiet, and the men were sleeping soundly when the alarm went off in the base. Over the speakers came Regulus’s voice:
“Man your battle stations. Incoming mutant forces. Wolverines man the ramps into base. Titan force, stand back 500 meters.�
The squad was now running for the door, and jumped onto the Hovercraft that some enterprising young engineer had repaired with his molecular re-arranger. The damaged armor plating now glistened in the morning light, and only needed a paint job to complete its refit. Parker got the fans up to speed, and tilted the craft towards the base entrance. He noticed that the army of engineers had done a fine job on getting the base back to GDI specs. From orbital space, there would appear that only a power plant issue was at hand.
The craft slowed as they approached the line of assembled troop formations. Hydraulic whine was the only thing that met their ears as 155 mm howitzers tried to bear on whatever was approaching from the northeast. Over the hill roared two old humvee scouts and as they zoomed past the line the team could see bullet holes, and tattered armor plating flapping on the side of one of the vehicles. They had been fired upon for sure.
About 2 minutes went by before one of the leading Titans opened up. The others followed suit, and even though the rest of the line couldn’t see what was coming, the Titans did. The restored RPG tower started lobbing grenades in the direction of the phantom offenders, and they knew that at any minute they would come.
He almost laughed at what came over the hill. Seven sedans, 3 motorhomes, and 4 pickups crested the hill. As the wolverines opened up on them, he wondered at the civility of firing on Chevrolets until one of them brought a chain gun to bear on a wolverine. It was attached to the hood of the car, and started tearing into the wolverines’ right cannon. A titan landed a round directly under the vehicle and it flipped into the air in an explosion. A motorhome with improvised rocket launchers from a Nod rocket bike fired 4 rounds at the Titan, and sheared its left leg off at the knee. It toppled, and fell into another Titan before landing on its back on the ground. The other titan regained it’s footing, and fired back. Its round landed on the windshield armor plate, and punched straight through it. It blew up somewhere inside, and the Motorhome ruptured liked a bratwurst that has been in the microwave too long. It showered pieces of vehicle over the area, and got the attention of the remaining mutants. They swiftly retreated from where they had come from, Parker took parting shots at them and the line of armor started to follow them back to their base.
“Valdez, get back to the Wep factory. We have your APC waiting. It’s showtime.�
“Affirmative sir.�
They turned the Hover craft over to a sergeant in a humvee who seemed happy to trade. He followed the general advance, and the team took the hummer back to base. The apc awaited their arrival. It was the first vehicle constructed by the newly renovated wep factory that was now cranking out Titans as fast as possible. They parked the hummer, and an engineer took it out back for scrap to supply the need for raw materials. They hopped in, and Parker took the controls, while Becker took gunner duties.
Regulus came on to the screen at the pilot controls, and spoke to Regulus as Parker made his way out of the base in the due north position.
“We are fully committed ready or not. Get there get it, and get out asap. Once your mission is complete, we will pull back and call in an airstrike to level the base. Regulus out.�
“Understood sir, we are approaching the river crossing now.�
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #116806] |
Mon, 27 September 2004 11:20 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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106
The APC hit the river at about 10 miles an hour. As it nosed down into the river, it temporarily submerged, and water washed over the view ports. More than one man seemed tense as the behemoth seemed to keep going down. Finally it started its ascent, and breached the river surface. The water was swift, and Parker cursed more than once as the 8 ton monster tried to traverse the powerful current. The vehicles low posture in the water allowed the swift water to keep flowing over the vehicles view ports and caused Parker even greater difficulty in seeing where to come ashore. The engine whined as was spooled up to counter the current.
Valdez spoke to parker over his shoulder, and said “There.�
He was pointing to a small inlet where the current was causing a whirlpool. He maneuvered the craft toward it, and was swept downriver 20 feet. The craft smashed into a rock, and lurched to the right.
“Move you fat pig!� Parker shouted over the noise. He gunned the engine for every spare revolution it could give and unpinned the craft from its watery trap. It hesitated, and then slowly fought the current headed for the inlet’s relative safety. Once it reached the inlet, the whirlpool created by the current meeting the rocks at its mouth grabbed ahold of them. It started spinning them around, and Parker cursed again.
Valdez spoke again: “Let it take us around once, then once the beach comes into view, gun this tub with all she’s got and use the pool’s own momentum. We only get one shot at this.�
If they failed, the whirlpool would eventually pin them on the river bottom, where they would remain to die a slow death.
Against his better judgement, Parker did as told, and let the beast get sucked into the pool’s movement. The craft picked up momentum, and when they were halfway through the pool’s circumference valdez said “GUN IT, NOW!�
“Let’s go you fat motherf….� Parker started to say. The motor’s noise drown out the end of the comment, but they were all thinking the same thing, and finished his comment mentally.
Parker’s piloting worked, and the vehicle escaped the grip of death. The motor was still at full power as they sling shotted out of the inlet, and hit the rocky beach full tilt. The vehicle lurched onto land, and bounced over the boulders throwing occupants around they cabin. Parker stopped the vehicle, and idled the engine. He then turned, and said to the occupants in a mocking voice: “This is the captain speaking. We apologize for any turbulence. Please place your trays in their upright, and locked positions prior to arrival at our final destination.�
Valdez snorted a sarchastic laugh looking over the men trying to pick themselves off the floor, and pointed to the GPS. “Alright, the cliff face is here. Move out.�
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #117055] |
Tue, 28 September 2004 11:32 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
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General (1 Star) |
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107
The bumping continued, and despite the group's best efforts to stay in their seats, they were still bounced around quite a bit. It was about a five minute drive to the cliff face, before they arrived. The vehicle slowed, and they then stopped, and they all got out. Valdez ordered the junior men to wire the cliff face, and put Parker in charge of them, then both he, and the other two checked the vehicle out for damage. The massive impact with the boulder in the river had clearly dented the side of the craft. Paint had been removed over most of the impact zone, and the armor was heavily gouged. They checked the middle wheel for damage that may hinder their exit from the area. They had been very lucky. If the impact had damaged the drivetrain they would have had to find another way in.
The others returned to the group, and they returned to the APC. The loading ramp closed, and they resumed their seats. Parker noticed a button marked "Restraints" and started chuckling.
"Sit back in your seats ladies, I have a treat for you."
He pushed the button, and plastic shoulder harnesses slid out of the inner wall. It was apparently a way of saving space in the cramped compartment, and was why the men hadn't noticed it earlier.
"About time Parker. It's a good thing we aren't airborne." Drubnov quipped as the men snapped the harnesses in.
"Blow it." Valdez ordered.
The cliff face erupted and avalanched as expected. They waited until the dust cleared, then Parker gunned the motor, and proceeded to tackle to unsteady mess they had created. The vehicle did exceedingly well, and even Valdez was forced to admit to its sturdiness. As they crested the hill, Valdez consulted the GPS again, and told Parker to follow the ridge to his left. Sergei looked over his shoulder out the view port to the vehicle's starboard side. In the distance he could see smoke pillars rising in the direction of the gdi base. He wondered what they were from.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #118132] |
Sun, 03 October 2004 14:40 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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108-109
What he didn’t know was that back at base Regulus was having an extremely difficult time getting the offensive organized due to mutant attacks of an unconventional nature. The main Titan line had progressed towards the mutant outpost guarding the way in to the base.
Destroying the observation tower had been easy enough, as had the mutant resistance that had cropped up, but what they hadn’t been ready for was the mutant fiends being stored on site. As soon as the attack started, they had been released, and had cut a hole through the line of Titans. Mutant vehicles had swarmed through the gap, ignoring the Titans, and headed for the base. With only a small core of Titans built up due to Tiberium processing delays, they were prey for whatever cobbed together weapons the vehicles had.
The RPG tower got most of the slower moving vehicles, but a sedan had gotten through and rammed the Weapons factory at high speed. It carried a tactical nuke warhead, that had disabled the power grid, and had scrambled all electronic intelligence or signals for what wasn’t destroyed.
Scrambling for control of the situation, Regulus ordered CBR teams to the site, to get the fires out, and decontaminate the factory. Next he ordered the engineers still alive to repair the power grid, but at best the situation wouldn’t be back to normal for at least a few hours. He ordered a scout out to tell the units on the offensive to hold position, and destroy any civilian craft with extreme prejudice.
With comms down, he couldn’t even tell the team to hold off until they could resume the offensive. They would be slaughtered if they didn’t take realize the situation in time, and rolled into a fully armed and attentive base.
Regulus swore he would slaughter every last mutant in that base. There would be no mercy this day.
Meanwhile across the river the men continued towards the fully ready base, and seeming certain death. Sergei continued to wonder what the smoke was all about ignorant of what they meant for his team.
109 Parker followed the ridge for about a mile before they got their first view of the base from the cliff top. Valdez ordered the vehicle stopped, and id a quick reconnoiter with the binoculars. A light fog obscured his vision beyond the leading edge of the base facing him. He could see mutants on guard, and the gate that lay beyond, but not much else.
Good, he thought. Some nice cover for the infiltration. He couldn’t see what he hoped to though, and it worried him, that smoke pillars weren’t coming up through the fog.
He entered the vehicle again, and brought up GPS again. If only it could see more than topographical, and cartographical information. He would kill for a sit-rep right now, but blackout had been imposed once they crossed the river. He had Parker slow the vehicle as they descended into the shroud of fog that the base was in.
“Lock and load ladies.� Valdez said.
All conversation died, and only the whining Diesel engine, and ratcheting rifle bolts could be heard. The fog started getting heavier, and Parker was tempted to turn on the lights. The ethereal atmosphere down here in the bowl shaped valley was much darker than the open areas on the cliffs above. They ran into the first mutant guards about 500 feet from the base. The infrared picked them up, and parker idled the engine.
Sergei stood, and motioned to Drubnov to come then looked at Valdez.
“We’ll take care of this. Once the gate is down, we will flash a light.�
Valdez acknowledged, and said in reply:
“Take Becker as well. You’re going to need him against those mutants. They aren’t exactly a pushover.�
Becker wouldn’t have been his first choice. He still didn’t completely trust him. He didn’t question the order though as Valdez was right. Becker was 230, and nothing but muscle. If it came to a close in brawl, he would need him. The ramp was lowered in the front of the vehicle, and they stepped out into mist.
Sergei took point on this one. He creeped forward until the observation tower came into view through wisps of heavy mist. He ordered them to drop behind a rock outcrop, and surveyed the outpost. They were going to have to do this right the first time. The outpost was so close to the base gate, that any shots would bring down the rest of the base on them. He surveyed the area, and couldn’t see the mutant they had picked up on IR.
Not a good development. That meant he couldn’t snipe. They crept towards the concrete bunker, weapons ready. Sergei and the team approached the bunker from the east, and still saw no one. He pointed to his eyes, then pointed ahead. A signal for the men to be extra alert while he checked out the bunker. They covered him from the rocks to the immediate right. He entered the outpost, and was shocked to find that it really was empty, and not a trap. A steaming cup of coffee sat on the table. He would be back. Sergei took up position behind the door, and waited.
The other two watched as the mutant came from the bushes. Nature had called and he had answered at the worst possible moment for a sentry on guard. Becker trained his rifle on him, but didn’t take the shot. He would wait to see if Ustinov was clever enough to solve the problem without alerting the entire base.
Sergei heard him coming. His steps were heavy as if he was wearing lead boots. The door opened, and he headed for the coffee. Sergei jumped from behind, and brought the knife across his throat. If it had been anyone else, they would have been dead. He knew as the knife traveled though, that by the crunch noise it was making, and the resistance he encountered, that he had hit a patch of tiberian contamination. The crystals that wear feeding off his jugular vein, also protected that vein from Sergei’s blade. He felt the softness of the other side of the neck give way to the blade, and threw the mutant’s body towards the desk.
The mutant was clearly stunned, and was bleeding profusely from the side that had been deeply cut. He brought his hand up to the wound, and covered it. Blood flowed between his fingers as he dropped to one knee, and dipped his head making a gurgling noise. Then to Sergei’s amazement , he stood, and started towards the alarm panel. Before he could get there Sergei landed a flying kick in the small of his back, and threw him forward past the console. He then jumped on his back, and twisted the victim’s neck horribly left.
The sound of crunching crystals was louder than the crack of bone. He was finally dead. Sergei stood, and yanked all the wires from the console panel, then moved towards the door. He exited, and motioned for the others. As he motioned them, he noticed the small crystal pieces imbedded in the red blood on his sleeve. He momentarily felt remorse then cleared his thoughts.
They needed to get that gate down.
110 The others looked him over, and Becker said flatly:
“Had a little trouble I see.� Motioning to the bloody sleeve of his uniform.
“No trouble. Keep focused.� Sergei replied.
Becker chuckled lightly, and followed him towards the gate.
As expected the barrier was up, and the guard was non-existent. Becker fired a piton into the guard shack’s lower supports, and Drubnov was sent up first. As he approached the bottom of the shack, he listened for voices. Hearing none, he climbed in the shack window, and helped the others up. Along the wall in the mist they could hear voices to their left. Drubnov moved towards them, and the others followed. Ahead, they could see two mutants having a swig of something, and talking about the action in the south of the base.
“I just can’t believe they attacked us. I went to the base just last week for treatments. I just don’t understand. Why help us, then attack us?�
“I don’t know. All I know is that Reggie is a splatter in a Titan footprint right now.�
“Well they ain’t getting in here, that’s for sure. Tratos has got them licking their wounds trying to save their own base right now. They messed with the wrong people.�
That brought a chuckle from the second mutant.
“Don’t be so sure.� Drubnov stated, and the surprised mutants looked at them in horror. He pulled the trigger on his silenced Glock twice, and the two collapsed in dirty heaps.
What did that mean? Sergei wondered. What could cause the Nod forces to worry about this rabble?
Already Becker was moving towards the shack again. When Sergei got there, he was already bringing the barrier down.
Once it was down, he went to the shack, and flicked on the spotlight in three rapid flashes. His response was the sound of a diesel firing up, and he ordered the others down the inner ladder. They waited in the cool mist for the APC to pick them up. It rumbled into view, and the ramp lowered enough for them to get in, then locked back into position.
“Alright, we have surprise, and cover. The lab is centrally located in a porta-shack just north east of here.� He touched the screen, and an exploded view came into focus. “Right there.�
The porta-shack looked like a million others that inhabited the earth in these perilous times. Their benefits were they resisted Tib poisoning, and were mobile by helo for ease of placement. They were a favorite of the mutants that now had assumed control of the badlands in the equatorial zones. This one was distinguishable by its location on a plateau, and it’s isolation from the others.
Infrared picked up a group moving in their direction, and they pulled off behind a row on solar collectors. The patrol of pickups rolled past, and they moved toward the plateau in the fog. It wasn’t long before they arrived, and valdez contemplated his next move.
“Ram it.� He said.
Parker gunned the motor, and they moved quickly towards the Dome of the plasteel shack. They hit it hard, and the vehicle lurched to a stop.
“Drop the ramp! Get in there, and kill anything that moves. Find the lab, and secure it. Move!�
The ramp slammed down, and they entered the ruined mess hall before them. The APC had managed to penetrate far enough in, that tables were scattered, and fires had started. The mutants in the mess hall were already dead from flying debris. They moved as one into the next module, where a mutant by a radio was trying to get up after the impact. He got one hand on the radio before the bullets ended his efforts.
The light in the hall was flickering, and making it difficult to focus on which way they were to go. Finally they found the lab, and after eliminating surprised mutants armed with fire extinguishers, they entered the main lab. A row of computers was in the center, and a table was located in front of them. In it’s center was a glowing orb with some kind of writing on it. Valdez scooped it up, and motioned for them to leave. Sanchez left a rucksack full of c-4 behind to ruin any info in the computers, and then ran after the others. A firefight erupted by the radio shack, and they spent 5 precious minutes trying to suppress the resistance. Finally Drubnov fired a grenade scatter round in that direction, and it did indeed level everything in there.
Parker jumped back into the driver’s seat, and closed the ramp. As the others tried buckle in, he jammed it into reverse. The APC zipped backwards, and down the plateau, skidding sideways as Parker jammed it into forward, and gunned the motor. The base was coming alive now, and the c-4 blew the research lab into pieces alerting the rest of them. In the mist they didn’t see the APC until it was too late, and they ran over a group of soldiers in rag tag uniforms. Many thuds could be heard, and the men winced as cracking bones yielded. An Obelisk came to bear on them, and fired. The beam sliced into the upper hatch, and burned into the compartment. Becker’s upper thigh burned as the edge of the beam caught him. He screamed in agony, and Sergei flew to his side. He nearly burned himself on the interior plastic seat that was now melted into goo. The beam had stopped there after it’s travels through three inches of steel. Parker sped up, and zipped through the gate as rounds from a mammoth tank bracketed the damaged vehicle. Part of the gate crumbled, and blocked further pursuit.
Parker could be heard yelling “yeeha!� up front. They were away. Valdez tried to raise command:
“Romeo one, Victor one. Over.�
Nothing but static.
“Romeo one, Victor one, over!�
More of the same. “Get us home Parker, I’m not sure what’s up.�
“Yes sir.� The APC finally broke into sunlight after ascending out of the valley. That was when Valdez saw the smoke from the base, and knew the answer to his problem.
The base had been rolled hard.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #118484] |
Tue, 05 October 2004 12:03 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
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General (1 Star) |
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111
Back at base Regulus had started to get things under control. Engineering had given him a preliminary damage report, and while not the most desirable of circumstances, it wasn’t quite the disaster he had feared. Surely GDI knew what the truth was by now. Their satellites would see the observation post in ruins, and would have seen the mutant tactical nuke going off. Most of the structures in the immediate area of the blast had been significantly damaged, and half his base personnel outright killed.
Thankfully, most of the engineering staff had been on the southern end of the base re-organizing the walls surrounding the southern tiberium field. It was an aggressive patch of Viniferas and any ground not covered by pavement was being sown with new fast growing crystals. They were finishing the wall, and pavement, and collecting samples of the new crystals when the nuke had gone off. Many had been peppered with crystals, and needed treatment of the poisoning that would consume them if untreated, or not managed properly by the bio-chemical engineers. Tiberium was a useful agent for the next step in man’s evolution, but needed to be augmented by current technology to keep the mutation from going wild in the candidates.
The engineers had now started decon, and repairs, and the Weapons factory was back in automated operation. Power wouldn’t be restored for a bit, but generators would see the automated assembly lines had enough power. It was a risk to push the factory to full production with the power so sketchy due to parts getting jammed on assembly lines, but if the Titans weren’t available, there would be no factory left once the mutants broke through, or GDI tried to reclaim the base.
He was desperate for communications of any sort. That was priority number two once the factory was back in production. He had no idea if the team was alive. Without that knowledge, they were going to have to go in and make sure the tacitus was secured in case they had failed. He received word back from the front that the line was holding, and he ordered all Titans in base to head for the front. He needed air support, and anti-air MRLS vehicles as well to eliminate the Obelisks and harpies that had been reported. He ordered production started on two new harvesters, and a new weapons factory. This assault needed to succeed.
All preparations were ready in about an hour, and with the added income of the new harvesters, and the new weapons factory cranking out Titans and Wolverines they were ready. Communications had finally been re-established, and he ordered a measured, and steady assault on the base. Only the central porta-shack was to be spared. Air units were on standby for instant defense nullification as the Titans advanced.
Lieutenant Sanders was in the command unit for the front line. Upon receiving orders to move out, he sent two columns of Titans right up the line towards the defenses. There was no easy way to do this, and he ordered the men to advance no matter the cost. To turn back was instant death from the units following them. The ground shook as the mass of mecha moved forward. The mutants would know they were coming. He linked up with the air commander: “Standby. 2 Minutes to contact with base.�
“Affirmative. Orca one acknowledges.�
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #118681] |
Wed, 06 October 2004 17:12 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
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General (1 Star) |
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112
On the western end of the Mutant base by the raging river the team was attempting to make it home in one piece. Something had broken on the underside of the vehicle, and while it still operated as it should something was starting to protest with a grinding noise.
“Stop the pig here.� Valdez ordered.
They did, and he ordered a rear guard set up to prevent the mutants from sneaking up while they tried to effect repairs on the beach. Becker dressed his wound as best he could. It was already cauterized from the burning laser beam, so there wasn’t really much to do except spread anti-bacterial cream into the wound, and wait for base. A two inch deep wound scourged his upper right thigh. It was fortunate that his physique was large, and his thighs as well. A lesser man would be crippled for life.
Valdez and Ustinov looked the craft over, and saw the problem immediately. The laser had burned through the cabin, into the top of the differential sending power to the middle set of wheels. It had partially breached the pumpkin, and the molten metal had been ingested into the spider gears inside. It would only be a matter of time before powdered metal ruined the differential, and if that didn’t do it, the water and silt would, once it got in when they crossed.
“Parker, can we disengage this axle once it goes?�
“No sir. Full time six wheel drive. Once that goes, we need a new ride.�
“Well, that figures. Becker should have been in the way more.�
Becker turned and scowled as the other men laughed.
“Get back in ladies. Ustinov, Plug the hole in this pig so it doesn’t sink when we cross. Get ready to row if this thing tanks boys.�
Another laugh, and as the ramp closed, Parker backed up for a running start.
“All or nothing boys!� and he gunned the motor. The pig lurched towards the river and gained speed, the noise getting louder with the additional stress.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #118825] |
Thu, 07 October 2004 14:06 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
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General (1 Star) |
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113
Sanders’ onslaught was going as well as could be expected. The Titans were receiving a heavy beating, but for every one that fell, two more would push through. That was the greatest fault of the Obelisk tower, and these were older designs that didn’t have the new capacitors with a higher recharge rate.
The orcas were signaled, and came in as expected, but what wasn’t expected was the SAMs that blew them out of the sky before they could attack. He cursed as he watched the fireballs fall from the sky, and pepper the landscape with wreckage. They were going to have to do this the old fashioned way.
As they proceeded to the base, the mutants attempted a similar tac nuke attack as a last ditch effort. His men saw the impending attack, and fired in front of the oncoming SUVs, and Mobile Homes. The dirt thrown up in front of them obscured their vision, and they smashed into the holes left by the airborne turf. Once trapped, the concentrated fire of every weapon Nod had that could bear on them obliterated any hint of the last attempt at a rush. It didn’t take long before the Obelisks were out of action. 155mm rounds had punched holes through the superstructures of the defensive structures, and it was only a mater of time before the armored shaft guarding the power conduits to the focal lenses were pounded to flattened junk. One entire upper half broke in two, and landed on the technicians attempting to keep it operational. The other just plain shut down after a capacitor discharged, and fried the entire inside of the “tail�. There were cheers on the circuits as they watched the Obelisk cook in its own power discharge.
A new threat materialized now. Old style GDI mammoth tank now confronted the newer Titans. They were firing at unusual rapidity for a mammoth, and it suggested improved reloading methods. He ordered them to focus all fire on each individual tank, from left to right. They couldn’t hold up to the beating, and despite doing the same to the Titans, lost the war of attrition.
The Titans were now unchallenged, and started systematically destroying what was left. They had orders to spare nothing, and no one except the lab.
As they approached the lab, Sanders knew the answer to whether the team was successful or not. It was burning heavily, and abandoned. The last vestige of resistance took refuge in the northern part of the base underground in a cavern. A mutant named Tratos was on the circuit asking for mercy, and begging them to spare his “children�. Sanders requested instruction.
“Leave them alone, except Tratos. We need survivors to tell the world GDI did this, and we need Tratos for a special reason.�
“Understood. Sanders out.�
He ordered Tratos out, and let the others go in whatever scrappy vehicles they had. Sanders ordered the wolverines to escort Tratos’ sedan to base.
As the Titans walked back to base, they finished off anything of use to them, and stomped their way home. Regulus had snatched victory from defeat, and smiled inwardly. It was suddenly muted by the realization that the primary mission hadn’t been accomplished yet. He ordered APCs north in search of the Team, and hoped Kane wouldn’t ask before they found them.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #119637] |
Mon, 11 October 2004 10:27 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
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General (1 Star) |
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114
Further northwest, the Team was in for round two of the river crossing. The vehicle had reached the best speed it could manage, and launched into the swift current. Armed with better knowledge of the river, Parker was able to navigate the current better, but the noise was getting louder, and he knew time was running out for them. They had just about made half the crossing before the hole in the APC started leaking badly from both top and bottom of the Beam strike. Every time the vehicle was submerged by a swift current, and pushed around, water would leak past Sergei’s temporary plugs. Finally the bottom one gave way as they smashed into a submerged rock, and almost tipped over. As Parker fought for control again, the water shot up, and hit the roof of the craft, which effectively showered every one inside with cold river water. Sergei leaped onto the leak, and tried in vain to stop it up. He shouted at Parker: “Get us ashore anywhere. I can’t stop this leak.�
“I’m trying!� he said through gritted teeth as he navigated yet another perilous boulder. The noise directly below sergei’s hands changed from grinding to a series of banging clunks as water, silt, broken spider gear teeth, and melted metal destroyed the differential. There was one last clunk as the drivetrain locked up forever, and Parker announced: “That’s it. Abandon the pig!�
Almost simultaneously, the pig rammed an outcropping, and lodged itself into the hollow it formed. They were finally stopped, but the water was now rising quickly. Valdez popped the hatch, and started to get out, but a gush of water met him, and he sputtered. He finished climbing out, and the others followed, standing on the deck of the pig as it slowly took on water. Their surroundings didn’t lend them much help. They were pinned by the outcrop at the hairpin curve of the river in a canyon with steep vertical walls. Sergei saw only one way out, and announced it. “We need to climb.�
A groan came from becker, and Valdez followed Sergei up the outcrop, and onto the wall face. Inside the pig, water was now getting into the electrical systems and despite their waterproof nature, they were succumbing. One last “ZZZZT� let them know the pig’s demise was complete. The water started to overflow the top deck as the men left it behind, and as they started their climb, drubnov looked down as he heard water rush into the open hatch. Now filling with water, and no longer buoyant, the craft sank deeper into the river, and was loosed from the outcrop. The swift water pushed it down river, where it struck one last boulder, and sank like a stone.
Sergei never looked back. He was not going to die like this. His renewed energy now drowned out the cold that pervaded his body from the river water. He climbed with renewed fire.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #119932] |
Tue, 12 October 2004 15:24 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
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General (1 Star) |
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115
The three APCs headed north at fastest speed. When they came to the river, it was decided to scout along the bank north and south rather than tempt the river unless needed. The southern scout found the team resting at the ledge top after a tough climb. They were wet, cold, and frustrated, but cheered up when the APC arrived. Its driver radioed in tell command the good news, and Regulus requested a private line with Valdez.
“Yes sir?�
“Tell me you have the package.�
“Affirmative.�
“Finally, good news. Get here ASAP.�
“Roger that sir, Victor one out.�
Valdez looked at the pilot, and said: “Home Jeeves, and on the double. Mom says we missed curfew.�
The pilot laughed, and lifted the ramp, as the medic dressed Becker’s wound, and bound it. The ride to base was uneventful, and as they arrived at base, he could see the engineers setting the Tactical nuke to make it appear the mutants had nuked the base. The titans left were being sent back to base for use in other psych operations globally. The more pictures seen of GDI Titans destroying villages, the better for Nod.
Regulus waved them over to waiting Orca transports, and ordered the driver into the magnetic latches for transport. As they approached, the driver dropped the hatch for Regulus.
“We are going to Palma boys. No rest for the wicked.�
“Can we get some decent clothes when we get there then?� Sergei asked.
The men laughed, and they filed out, to get into the cabin for the transport.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #120189] |
Thu, 14 October 2004 14:00 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
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General (1 Star) |
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116
The Orca transport had been stolen prior to this operation, and Nod used it only for special occasions. GDI was especially jealous of their technological edge with airpower, and if Nod was found to have captured it, they would surely hunt it down. The goliath of the air was able to carry anything in the GDI arsenal, and take a fair amount of punishment before crashing. It’s greatest weakness was Ion activity. Once the excited atmospheric particles started interacting the polarity of the electrical systems would erroneously reverse, or arc to ion clusters in the atmosphere, and rupture their casings, and destroy components in their path. No degree of insulation could stop it for high energy vehicles, and both GDI and Nod were unable to fly in the Ion weather. GDI had the added disadvantage of having their hovercraft fail as well due to the electrical distribution to the fans. They used so much power, and were prone to the same thing.
As they entered the large superstructure of the craft, Sergei noticed the use of aluminum. He found that odd considering the heavy lift capabilities. He found the answer in the girder structure. Each and every girder was carefully counter balanced against its opposite number, and the craft’s hunched back sported a spine that suspended the whole thing from it. He noticed hinged joints at some girder intersections to allow the craft to flex under heavy stress as well.
That would explain its ability to take such punishment, and still stay flyable. Becker said something about watching one these limp into a free fire zone with a Titan under-slung. The craft had been badly beat up, yet was still flying, and he had watched it fly off with most of its innards dragging under it. He had been impressed, and stated such.
They entered the fairly spacious passenger cabin just above the command deck, and settled in after securing weapons in provided lockers. Above them, were panes of armored glass with a tinted effect. It gave the cabin the appearance of a purple hue, as the Tiberian Sun blazed bright and high above them.
Down on the command deck, Regulus had buckled into the command chair, and given the order to go.
“Air command, this is Romeo one, we are a go. Have escorts standing by. We are departing on vector 273 towards Spain. Send any and all intel to my attention at this time.�
“Affirmative Romeo one. Escorts inbound. GDI patrols are non-existent in this theatre. We will alert General Vega of your arrival, and to check IFF transponders prior to lock on as you arrive.�
“Understood command. Alert General Slavik of our route. Romeo one out.�
Regulus then looked over at the flight deck officer and said, “Palma, best speed. Alert me when we are 10 miles out.�
“Yes sir.� They could feel the engines powerful fans vibrating everything in their domain. The amount of power being expended was enormous. The craft silently lifted off the ground as Orca fighters with Nod pilots zipped overhead to assume a patrol as they achieved height. Any GDI patrols would consider them one big happy family, and leave them be hopefully. If not, the second of hesitation in identifying them as hostile would cost them their lives. Slowly they left the ground. Then the aircraft moved toward Spain as one unit. Outside, the noise was horrendous as the combined VTOL fans of 7 aircraft blasted the landscape.
“Time to detonation 5 minutes. Timer started now commander.� The lacky on the right stated flatly, then returned to his station.
The pitch changed, and they were now moving forward at best speed to Palma. Maybee he would get some beach time, Sergei thought, and drifted to a half sleep.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #120402] |
Fri, 15 October 2004 16:24 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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117
As he slept, the escort ushered the behemoth to Spain from the Baltics, and the planet groaned under the force of yet another massive Nuclear explosion. All GDI would ever find of the base would be pieces, and a crater. Regulus received a text message from the Montauk stating they were 15 miles out from Palma. Slavik had got a head start when word had been received the Tacitus was safe, and gone on to assume Vega’s command. Regulus had been ordered to follow as soon as possible while preparations were being made. A communications blackout was in effect which meant no contact with Vega’s forces to avoid drawing attention from GDI.
The trip was clear, and pleasant for all. No GDI aircraft bothered them. This was a fitting end to a hard fought mission and Regulus allowed himself to enjoy it. It was right about then that the uplink with Montauk flickered to life. Oxanna’s face appeared and stated that they were at the site, and about to enter the cavern. As he watched, the tunnel’s doors unlocked, and allowed them access to the underground cavern.
To everyone’s horror, the video feed showed nothing except an empty cavern with sodium lights abounding focusing light on nothing at all now that the craft was missing. Almost simultaneously vega’s image appeared, and his explanation of taking the craft to settle old scores resounded in their ears. Slavik stated in a barely controlled seething anger: “Idiot!�
Then came the mayday, and the feed cut. Slavik quickly ordered a response. "Cabal alert Battlegrid response, we’re going to North America. If vega’s lucky he will have died in the crash.�
His tone of hatred caused Regulus to hesitate before asking for new orders.
“Um, sir where do you want us?� he asked.
“Stay in Palma. I will handle this personally. Vega will wish he had never been born.�
“Yes sir. We will await your command.� Romeo one out.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #120924] |
Mon, 18 October 2004 17:08 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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118
Regulus was glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of Slavik’s wrath. People usually weren’t heard from again once they crossed the head of the Black Hand. He ordered the ship down on Palma inside the hangar. It would be best to avoid any GDI surveillance of errant Hovercraft, and since the hangar wasn’t going to be used again anytime soon, that was their best bet. He ordered the escort to also set down inside with them in case they had to scramble.
As they came in to land, the island in the bay opened up to accept them into the underwater cavern. The entire island had been carved out, and was shielded by stealth new stealth technology to prevent locals from knowing what was going on at the island. The stealth field covered them as they approached from the ocean, and descended into the hole in the ocean. The escorts did a flyby of the beach resort further inland to generate enough noise to prevent anyone from asking about where the noise was coming from, and then went back out to sea, where they vanished mysteriously behind the island.
The team knew something was up. The ship was no where to be seen, and Regulus wasn’t talking just yet. He took the tacitus, and told them to get some r&r topside under the guise of vacationing tourists, but there was no mistaking his tone. They were still on guard duty irregardless. They were glad to get out of the GDI outfits, and were surprised to see the supply locker actually had vacation wear as standard gear here.
“We are just your friendly local vacation spot. Keep folks away from the seaward cliff. If they find out we are here, we are toast.�
“Geez, not bad duty fellas. I want to be stationed here!� Drubnov said as they headed for the surface, and some well deserved R&R.
Meanwhile Regulus was in the command center following Nod’s assault on Vega’s impromptu base in The American southwest. Now with no options, Vega was attempting to smuggle the Tacitus piece he had, out of the wreckage to South America. Slavik would have no mercy on this fool. GDI was all over the crash site of course, and Nod’s greatest asset had been compromised. We watched in disbelief as the globalists and vega’s forces fought, and Slavik’s forces annihilated both indiscriminately. How had it come to this?
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #121053] |
Tue, 19 October 2004 14:46 |
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rm5248
Messages: 1156
Registered: November 2003
Location: USA
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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119
The men were glad to be free of their weapons, and gear for once. They organized shifts of men to watch the locals that may try to visit the island, while others rested, tanned, or went swimming to the mainland for a run at the local beverage stand. Sergei pulled first shift voluntarily, and perched on top of the small island’s mountain. The breeze, sun and fresh air made him feel new again, and he felt the absolute joy of doing nothing for the first time in many months. No one tried to come to the island this day so there was nothing to be on guard for. The locals were convinced a rich news anchor owned the island, and that it was private property so they didn’t bother coming out. It was the visitors that always violated the signs, and tried to “explore�.
Stories about the local “Daiquiri Palace� surfaced, and despite his desire to go see the girls working the booth, and have drink, he resisted and fell asleep under the Spanish sun. He found he was very tired every time they stopped operating, and he already wanted to go back, and do something productive. But for now, he was happy to sleep, and be warm.
Regulus meanwhile was watching the annihilation of vega’s security as Slavik’s units pressed into the base. They were outnumbered, but Vega was too busy fighting off GDI units at the same time, that Slavik’s surprise had been complete. The train had been captured, and the second portion of the Tacitus found. It was already en-route to Palma, and Vega had abandoned the small impromptu base for his main base in South America. GDI was already pursuing, and Slavik had made sure to place an anonymous tip to GDI command about the Dams that powered Vega’s base. If they went, the base would be unpowered, and GDI could easily destroy Vega. Nod had cut its losses with Vega and his men. The Brotherhood had no tolerance for failure. As GDI dropped units in to finish Vega, the tacitus was spirited away by Slavik across the pond. Palma vacation was about to end for the team in about 6 hours.
w00t?
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #124827] |
Mon, 06 December 2004 23:15 |
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exnyte
Messages: 746
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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Colonel |
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120
Sergei was awakened by Drubnov hastily. "Hey, get up. We have a mission."
He lazily stretched, and surveyed his surroundings. Soldiers from the base were now stationed in their place, and the rest of the team was already heading down, grumbling all the way.
The briefing stated only that they were going to escort the "package" back to Kane at Sarejevo Temple. They were going with Slavik in the Montauk as escort to ensure its arrival.
"Arrival will be in 30 Minutes. Get ready. Your laser weapons are here. Take them." Regulus stated.
"You going with us sir?" Valdez asked.
"Yes. We have no need for Blackhand presence here anymore. The engineers will be cleaning out the tech. This place will be a listening post for GDI's Gibraltar operations."
They spent the next 30 minutes checking weapons' status, and moving to the central cave area where the orca transport bringing in Montauk was scheduled to arrive. It did so in grand manner, and they filed into the passenger compartment of the Orca again. This time, Slavik, and his guards were already in there, and they were forced to take the back row of seats. Valdez was motioned to the front with Slavik where they conferred for most of the trip.
Arrival in Sarejevo was different than the last time they had been there. Now the newly repaired temple was being finished, and defensive structures ringed the complex. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and spoke of everything that the Brotherhood could achieve. He felt pride he hadn't had before, and knew that something this beautiful came from the mind of the messiah, and no one else. It glinted in the sun, and seemed to be a sun all to itself. Armies were massed around it, and moved in unison and with purpose.
This was the home of Kane.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #124828] |
Mon, 06 December 2004 23:15 |
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exnyte
Messages: 746
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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Colonel |
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121
The Orca dropped into the marked landing zone, and was met by a large assembly of standard black hand. They escorted Slavik away into the temple but not before checking out their elite cadre they had never seen, leaving Regulus and the team alone with the Tacitus, and orders to get it back below. They marched in formation ensuring the box was out of sight in the middle of the assembly, and well protected by their bodies. As they arrived at the temple entrance, Regulus ordered a halt, and contacted someone below via his cabal link. Receiving his instructions, he told them to follow him, and moved towards the giant doors. They were opened by temple servants, who bowed low to their presence. Troopers inside also snapped to attention as they passed the iner doors into the sanctuary.
A beautiful cascade of red and gold light filtered down into the temple from the overhead tinted glass. The scorpion emblem was proudly emblazoned on banners hung from every marble pillar. The front altar had been reconstructed, and the monitors replaced, displaying sermons to worshippers in the sanctuary 24-7. What impressed him most was the black onyx floor that had been polished to a gloss. It reflected all the beauty from above, and Sergei felt surrounded by the most beautiful sensation he had ever felt from a structure. He hadn't known mankind was capable of such things.
They moved down the right side of the pews, as worshippers prayed and entered a door cut into the side of the hall after Regulus did a hand scan. They were met by a scientist a short stature who simply said: "This way, Elite Cadre."
Down they went , and although they had been here not long ago, the place looked alien to them, except for Valdez. After 15 minutes of mind bending turns, and descents they finally came to a large laboratory gaurded by troopers behind their expressionless masks. They opened the doors, and the scientist motioned to the center of the room, where a concave depression in the center console awaited the Tacitus. The men moved towards the dias, and regulus opened the locks on the box. The two pieces lay in form fitting foam, awaiting reassembly. Behind them a voice strong and sure said: "Commander, allow me. I am most …..anxious.. to hold it." They turned and snapped to attention as the messiah entered the lab.
Silence met his every step as he approached the box that laid open before him. He looked far different than the vids out in the sanctuary. Valdez could see the damage that had been done to him from the Ion strike so many years ago, and bowed his head in shame. Kane stopped in front of him, and said in a calm voice: "You see the fruit of your failure, do you not? No matter now Valdez. With what you have returned to me, I can forget this inconvienience. Divination will render this form obsolete."
He returned to the path to the Tacitus, and picked the pieces up gingerly. "Let what was rent, be renewed!" as place the pieces together. They fused instantly in a blinding light, and he placed the complete Tacitus on the dias where it spun hanging in air above superconductors that held it aloft. On a screen in front of the Dias, information displayed, and the as a beam hit the Tacitus, it lit up in glyphs of unknown language. The screen displayed them rapidly as a computer attempted translation.
He turned to the team, and placed a hand on regulus' shoulder staring at him intently. "You have served me well. Take your men and follow this trooper to your new headquarters. My gift to you regulus for faithful service."
"I live to do your bidding master." And he turned from kane. "Elite Cadre report!"
"In the name of Kane!" they shouted in unison.
"About face, …….March!"
The men marched out together in unison, following regulus and the trooper. A small show of respect for their service for the messiah.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #124829] |
Mon, 06 December 2004 23:17 |
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exnyte
Messages: 746
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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Colonel |
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122
The were led to the back of the temple. The walk wasn’t far, but seemed to take forever with technicians always in the way and hurrying to some unknown destination. It would take Sergei time to know his way around. The polished onyx floors were ever present, and occasionally red stone fashioned as the Nod emblem was imbedded in the onyx. Pristine white walls were now present, and spoke of this areas’ research purpose. Ahead at a T in the passage, they saw a sign with an arrow pointing left. It stated simply: “Security area 7-Authorized personnel only� It was a rather non-descript way of describing the elite warriors of Nod’s living quarters and base of operations.
He found that he loved it that way. The arrow going the other way had a sign that said “Mutagen storage�. He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that too much.
They tromped down the left most passage, and came to large doors of reinforced glass that were hydraulically operated. Regulus’s guide said to everyone present: “Optical scans are required to access this area. Only Elite cadre members, and their direct superiors can access this area. Commander, if could please let us in..�
Regulus allowed the scan, and the door opened inward. Hydraulics whined, and their guide said : “Nothing short of an antitank missile will get through those doors. Only the best protection for the elite. You will notice the silver half globes recessed in the roof. They contain cameras mounted to machine guns firing explosive rounds. They are keyed into your DNA sequences, and will fire on anyone not matching the data banks.�
They walked down the corridor, and came to a second set of glass doors which opened automatically for them. “Welcome to your new home blackhand elite.�
Centrally located was the communications area. It was linked into every command in the brotherhood, and screens reflected current video feeds from troops in the field. Suprisingly, Sergei could see GDI feeds coming through as well, and the guide noticed as he walked over to one the screens. “We have spies eevrywhere in GDI. When they move, we know instantly. Over here you have direct access to a Cabal interface, and every one of you has Omega 1 clearance to his data banks.�
A 3D image of the blue face of Cabal looked at them and said: “AH…..COMMANDER REGULUS. YOU HAVE A MESSAGE FROM GENERAL SLAVIK.�
“I’ll take it in my quarters Cabal. Speaking of which, where are they?�
The guide motioned to an open area just to the left of the command area. This was apparently their recreation area, and just beyond each member had a private room. Regulus’s room was separate from thiers and adjacent to a door labelled “Valdez�. He moved towards the door, and it closed behind him.
“Take some time to get familiar with your rooms while the commander is communicating.�
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