Post by Nemo on Jul 3, 2007 19:12:27 GMT -5
Part II
Chapter 9
The premier and his advisors were visibly agitated as they sat down to begin the meeting.
The premier spoke first. “I think we all know why we are here.” He said, looking displeased. “Would anyone care to explain to me how two thirds of all Russian ships crossing the Pacific Ocean have been lost? Well? Anyone?”
The advisors looked quite fearful, but one young man spoke up. “W-we believe that a section of the American m-military is still active.” The advisor said nervously.
The premier raised an eyebrow with inquisitorial displeasure. “I suppose this renegade military division is led by a pair of dead American generals as well?” He asked angrily.
Each and every one of the advisors seemed ready and willing to bolt from the table, but the premier’s burning gaze held them fast. “We believe so, sir.” Said one man defeatedly.
“We may still be able to salvage something from this fiasco. What have they been attacking our ships with?” The premier asked, much calmer now, since he was not a man to hold grudges.
“We aren’t quite sure, sir. The attacks occur so quickly that we only recently figured out what was going on. All we know is that the attacks either come from under water or the attacker is hidden behind a smokescreen. Some ships have reported objects slamming into their undersides or either their bows or sterns rising high into the air.” Explained another advisor.
“I see.” Said the premier slowly. “I suppose that they are almost impossible to attack or defend against. The only options are to either surround each ship with a military convoy or restrict trade over the Pacific dramatically. Either course seems drastic to me. Any suggestions?”
“I don’t think a military convoy would do much good, considering the forces that we have observed, or rather haven’t observed.” Said an advisor. “The logical course would have to be cutting Pacific shipping to almost nil, putting more pressure on the Atlantic.”
“I guess so. In the meantime, FIND THEIR BASE!” The premier said, shouting the last three words.
Chapter 10
At the volcano fort, morale was a good deal higher than at he Russian premier’s headquarters. Despite this fact, they had run into another small problem. Vorian and Xavier were discussing this problem as they ran a “routine inspection” of the lush and beautiful topside hydroponics garden. “I’m not debating the fact that this is a problem, I’m just saying that it’s also a good thing.” Xavier said defensively as they walked between two rows of corn.
“Xavier! We haven’t looted any vessels for a month! Understand? There hasn’t been a single Russian ship on the entire Pacific Ocean in all this time! We’re back in the same rut as we were on the North Pole.” Vorian exclaimed in frustration.
“Vor, calm down! All this means is that we’ve destroyed so many of their ships, they’re afraid to set sail across the Pacific. Their transportation of goods to Eastern Russia is crippled.” Said Xavier soothingly.
“You have heard the other bad news too, I presume?” Asked Vorian darkly. Xavier sighed.
“Yes, I have gotten the news that agent Beowulf was apprehended in Russia.” He said grimly. “But, I have confidence that he won’t say a thing about our base’s location or abilities.” Vorian stopped.
“He’s been brought in for questioning, Xavier!” Vorian snapped. “We both know what that means!” They entered the elevator to the lower volcano levels and rode partway down in silence. Suddenly, Xavier spoke up.
“One thing that you may not know is that we have gotten a message, escape plan, and necessary weapons to Beowulf.” Said Xavier sounding faintly smug. “His message should be here soon.”
“By the gods Xavier!” Exclaimed Vorian. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?! Let’s get to Headquarters ASAP!” When they got there, Vorian jogging all the way and Xavier following leisurely, the message was waiting for them. It read:
“I have gotten your message and supplies. By the time you receive this I will already have escaped. I have decided to remain in Russia on account of some disturbing information I have found. I have learned of a secret research base on the Kamchatka peninsula. I’m not sure what they’re developing there, but it’s so important that the Russian premier of America has come to observe it personally. I suggest that you do the same.”
“I, for one, think we should take his advice.” Said Xavier after finishing the letter. “Besides, wouldn’t this give us a chance to do something again, as you so pointedly stated that we have not?”
“I agree most completely, my dear Xavier.” Said Vorian with a grin. “Do you like your Russians fried, boiled, or scrambled?”
“I really couldn’t care less, so long as they have been blackened to a crisp.” Responded Xavier.
Chapter 11
Both the generals agreed on two things about the upcoming mission. One that it was finally time to show their true power and two that it must happen soon. They decided to release the new corncob cruiser prototype into battle on this mission. The aircraft was so named due to the husk-like outer shell, which protected the inner core. It used a number of robotic fighters, each with a large number of high explosive missiles. All of these combined fighters along with the cruiser’s giant magnet made it a truly formidable weapon. An overwhelming force of mammoths would handle the rest of the battle. “This time, we’ll come in as slowly as possible, to give them time to observe us and our weaponry – not much of course, but long enough to let them transmit the info to someone else.” Said Vorian over the intercom from his command mammoth. “We’ll give the Russians a glimpse of what they’re up against.” He felt great being back out on a battlefield and out of the stuffy caves in the volcano. He also felt a twinge of pity for Xavier, but suppressed it. Besides, he’d had his turn out of the base!
“All mammoths halt and fire nuclear waste at will, artillery position.” He ordered, all business. The Russians are probably scared out of their wits right now, he thought. He thought quite correctly too. All the Russians watched fearfully as ten giant, lumbering machines appeared on the horizon with an equally large egg shaped something floating effortlessly just above them. If they hadn’t been so scared, they may have found it amusing when the mammoths turned 360°, stuck their rear ends in the air and appeared to moon them. Even if they had been amused, it would have been short lived because of the greenish matter that spewed from their rear-mounted turrets and flew high into the air. It landed on metal or flesh and sizzled like acid. The people it landed on screamed in pain, breaking the awed reverie of the rest of the Russians and letting the battle begin.
Chapter 12
Before the mammoths turned around, the new corncob cruiser careened into action, and its fighters attacked like a swarm of hornets. The cruiser swung open like a giant mouth and its magnet turned on, pulling out the armored portal to the base with such force that it looked like an explosion had blown it open.
Even Vorian was amazed at how tactically perfect it was, the fighters blew the enemy base into looser fragments, then the magnet cleared away the rubble, allowing the fighters to continue, unimpeded. “Man!” Vorian said, amazed while watching the cruiser work. “That base must have roots as deep as Mount Everest. How deep does it go?” At that moment, Vorian realized the cruiser’s one critical flaw, but before he could say anything, the Russians did too.
As soon as the corncob cruiser activated its giant magnet, the Russian turrets let loose a volley of rockets directly at it, knowing that the magnet would increase their speed exponentially. He should have expected this since, after all, it was a base filled with Russia’s leading scientists. He watched helplessly as missiles slammed into the unprotected magnet and core of the cruiser at mach speeds, completely obliterating the bridge.
The cruiser careened around above the base for about a minute, smashing into both base structures and its own fighters like a blind giant until its ammo storage blew up, shattering the entire rear end and sending the machine smashing into the ground in the middle of the base with a bone jarring reverberation that Vorian could feel, even in the bridge of his flag mammoth. Sighing at the loss, Vorian declared over the comm. System “Alright, mammoths, move in. We’re gonna use the old standby method again.
Chapter 13
The premier waited impatiently in the lower level apartment he had been given. It sounded as though a battle was going on above, but he had been ordered to remain in his quarters. He was unable to determine quite what was going on at this depth, though. At eh sound of a large “thump” from above, the premier decided something wasn’t right and went to investigate. As he got closer to ground level, the halls became filled with scared and scurrying people and his sense of foreboding became more intense as he went along. On the third level down, his fears were confirmed. Light shone through the stairwell to the next level up and he stuck his head to see what had happened to the base. As he stared across the destruction, his eyes fell on the derelict hulk of the cruiser. His fears confirmed, he looked up slowly and saw a ferocious force of four-legged forms coming methodically toward their base. Although he was afraid, he still thought logically because of his extensive military training. This must be the renegade Americans, he thought, if that’s what we’re facing I need to get a look inside of one. With that thought in his head, he ran as fast as he could out of the ruined base and toward the oncoming machines. He decided that his best chance of getting inside was to climb up the maintenance ladder on the rear leg. He ran around the right flank of the walker, giving it a wide berth. He waited behind a boulder till he saw the back leg of the walker. He ran back out, but missed the leg and had to jog to the next position where it landed. He leaped upon it and started climbing, not believing his luck. Unfortunately, as he climbed, his luck didn’t hold, and neither did he. Regrettably, the premier had never heard the old adage about never standing behind a horse, as saying which applied quite strongly to his present situation. The leg made a sudden forward movement, bucking him off much like a horse would in the same situation. The premier fell to the ground, relatively unhurt, but a bit dazed. Due to some unknowable whim, the mammoth’s leg moved back, accidentally kicking a large boulder backward. He had enough sense to dodge the rock, but the hapless premier could never have avoided the giant foot that came down a fraction of a second later, smashing his frail body like a bug. In the last second before the foot fell on him, the premier truly regretted having believed two young generals to be dead.
Chapter 14
“Dang!” Exclaimed Vorian when he heard the telltale “ding” of a foot hitting a large rock. “We have to find a way to keep from hitting rocks with these clumsy feet!” I hope the Russians never find out how much damage their terrain causes our vehicles, he thought, they could really use it to their advantage! “Send a maintenance team down to make sure it hasn’t compromised our stability.” Vorian ordered. “In the meantime, detach our mammoth’s head so that we can have a closer look at their base. I don’t think that any major defenses survived that cruiser’s crash.” As he ordered, the mammoth’s legs bent as though bowing before a king, its head resting on the ground. With a hiss or air as the umbilical connections to the mammoth’s body detached, the head rolled away and the body metaphorically went into rigor mortis, standing still as a statue. The head, still about the size of a large house, trundled sure-footedly over the rubble till it found an unblocked entrance to the lower levels. The head stopped above this and extended a ramp from its underbelly to the entrance of the base, allowing them to enter it easily. As Vorian walked down the ramp, he felt both pride and sadness when his gaze fell upon the silent heap of twisted metal that had once been a ship powerful enough to level this base. These thoughts abated immediately, once he entered the base. They entered and found themselves in a maze of underground hallways. Several scientists gave themselves up right upon seeing their captors, for it seemed that a good number of them had little affection for Soviet Russia. One, however, seemed to either have gone insane or was strongly loyal to the Soviets, judging by the fact that he took a laser cutter and nearly cut off Vorian’s hand, not to mention giving him a bad haircut, before Vorian’s guards could subdue him.
After going down about a hundred floors, Vorian exasperatedly said, “This base is almost like the Empire State Building, upside down! How much farther do we have to go?” “We’re almost there, sir, one more floor.” Said Dr. Miens, a scientist who had offered to navigate. “Here is the room, sir. Shall I go in first?” They stood before a metal door that was about two men tall and the same width. “Not necessary.” Said Vorian. “I would like to go in first.”
“Sir,” said Dr. Miens urgently. “I don’t know what you will find in there. I am only a junior scientist and was never allowed in there.” Acknowledging the scientist’s worry, but proceeding anyway, he opened the door and looked into the largest room he had ever seen. It was as large as a cathedral and full of delicate machinery. “Shouldn’t this all have been broken when the cruiser fell?” said one guard wonderingly. “No,” replied Dr. Miens, flipping through a book of notes. “According to this, the equipment protected itself. I understand this now; these machines comprise a new shielding device! Their field absorbs all the force that hits it, stopping shock waves, bullets, and other projectiles.”
The scientist began to pace nervously. “Stop that!” said Vorian. “We need your help to understand how to operate these things!” “I’m afraid that that’s impossible, sir. They appear to have either taken or destroyed the key component. I can’t rebuild it and those who can, have probably all committed suicide by now,” said the scientist. Vorian suddenly became very, very still. “Wait.” He said slowly. “We gave them plenty of time to transmit info about us to someone else. What if they also sent designs of this?” Everyone stood in silence, all thinking the same thing: if they use this, we have some big problems. “Let’s get back to base.” Said Vorian.
Chapter 9
The premier and his advisors were visibly agitated as they sat down to begin the meeting.
The premier spoke first. “I think we all know why we are here.” He said, looking displeased. “Would anyone care to explain to me how two thirds of all Russian ships crossing the Pacific Ocean have been lost? Well? Anyone?”
The advisors looked quite fearful, but one young man spoke up. “W-we believe that a section of the American m-military is still active.” The advisor said nervously.
The premier raised an eyebrow with inquisitorial displeasure. “I suppose this renegade military division is led by a pair of dead American generals as well?” He asked angrily.
Each and every one of the advisors seemed ready and willing to bolt from the table, but the premier’s burning gaze held them fast. “We believe so, sir.” Said one man defeatedly.
“We may still be able to salvage something from this fiasco. What have they been attacking our ships with?” The premier asked, much calmer now, since he was not a man to hold grudges.
“We aren’t quite sure, sir. The attacks occur so quickly that we only recently figured out what was going on. All we know is that the attacks either come from under water or the attacker is hidden behind a smokescreen. Some ships have reported objects slamming into their undersides or either their bows or sterns rising high into the air.” Explained another advisor.
“I see.” Said the premier slowly. “I suppose that they are almost impossible to attack or defend against. The only options are to either surround each ship with a military convoy or restrict trade over the Pacific dramatically. Either course seems drastic to me. Any suggestions?”
“I don’t think a military convoy would do much good, considering the forces that we have observed, or rather haven’t observed.” Said an advisor. “The logical course would have to be cutting Pacific shipping to almost nil, putting more pressure on the Atlantic.”
“I guess so. In the meantime, FIND THEIR BASE!” The premier said, shouting the last three words.
Chapter 10
At the volcano fort, morale was a good deal higher than at he Russian premier’s headquarters. Despite this fact, they had run into another small problem. Vorian and Xavier were discussing this problem as they ran a “routine inspection” of the lush and beautiful topside hydroponics garden. “I’m not debating the fact that this is a problem, I’m just saying that it’s also a good thing.” Xavier said defensively as they walked between two rows of corn.
“Xavier! We haven’t looted any vessels for a month! Understand? There hasn’t been a single Russian ship on the entire Pacific Ocean in all this time! We’re back in the same rut as we were on the North Pole.” Vorian exclaimed in frustration.
“Vor, calm down! All this means is that we’ve destroyed so many of their ships, they’re afraid to set sail across the Pacific. Their transportation of goods to Eastern Russia is crippled.” Said Xavier soothingly.
“You have heard the other bad news too, I presume?” Asked Vorian darkly. Xavier sighed.
“Yes, I have gotten the news that agent Beowulf was apprehended in Russia.” He said grimly. “But, I have confidence that he won’t say a thing about our base’s location or abilities.” Vorian stopped.
“He’s been brought in for questioning, Xavier!” Vorian snapped. “We both know what that means!” They entered the elevator to the lower volcano levels and rode partway down in silence. Suddenly, Xavier spoke up.
“One thing that you may not know is that we have gotten a message, escape plan, and necessary weapons to Beowulf.” Said Xavier sounding faintly smug. “His message should be here soon.”
“By the gods Xavier!” Exclaimed Vorian. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?! Let’s get to Headquarters ASAP!” When they got there, Vorian jogging all the way and Xavier following leisurely, the message was waiting for them. It read:
“I have gotten your message and supplies. By the time you receive this I will already have escaped. I have decided to remain in Russia on account of some disturbing information I have found. I have learned of a secret research base on the Kamchatka peninsula. I’m not sure what they’re developing there, but it’s so important that the Russian premier of America has come to observe it personally. I suggest that you do the same.”
“I, for one, think we should take his advice.” Said Xavier after finishing the letter. “Besides, wouldn’t this give us a chance to do something again, as you so pointedly stated that we have not?”
“I agree most completely, my dear Xavier.” Said Vorian with a grin. “Do you like your Russians fried, boiled, or scrambled?”
“I really couldn’t care less, so long as they have been blackened to a crisp.” Responded Xavier.
Chapter 11
Both the generals agreed on two things about the upcoming mission. One that it was finally time to show their true power and two that it must happen soon. They decided to release the new corncob cruiser prototype into battle on this mission. The aircraft was so named due to the husk-like outer shell, which protected the inner core. It used a number of robotic fighters, each with a large number of high explosive missiles. All of these combined fighters along with the cruiser’s giant magnet made it a truly formidable weapon. An overwhelming force of mammoths would handle the rest of the battle. “This time, we’ll come in as slowly as possible, to give them time to observe us and our weaponry – not much of course, but long enough to let them transmit the info to someone else.” Said Vorian over the intercom from his command mammoth. “We’ll give the Russians a glimpse of what they’re up against.” He felt great being back out on a battlefield and out of the stuffy caves in the volcano. He also felt a twinge of pity for Xavier, but suppressed it. Besides, he’d had his turn out of the base!
“All mammoths halt and fire nuclear waste at will, artillery position.” He ordered, all business. The Russians are probably scared out of their wits right now, he thought. He thought quite correctly too. All the Russians watched fearfully as ten giant, lumbering machines appeared on the horizon with an equally large egg shaped something floating effortlessly just above them. If they hadn’t been so scared, they may have found it amusing when the mammoths turned 360°, stuck their rear ends in the air and appeared to moon them. Even if they had been amused, it would have been short lived because of the greenish matter that spewed from their rear-mounted turrets and flew high into the air. It landed on metal or flesh and sizzled like acid. The people it landed on screamed in pain, breaking the awed reverie of the rest of the Russians and letting the battle begin.
Chapter 12
Before the mammoths turned around, the new corncob cruiser careened into action, and its fighters attacked like a swarm of hornets. The cruiser swung open like a giant mouth and its magnet turned on, pulling out the armored portal to the base with such force that it looked like an explosion had blown it open.
Even Vorian was amazed at how tactically perfect it was, the fighters blew the enemy base into looser fragments, then the magnet cleared away the rubble, allowing the fighters to continue, unimpeded. “Man!” Vorian said, amazed while watching the cruiser work. “That base must have roots as deep as Mount Everest. How deep does it go?” At that moment, Vorian realized the cruiser’s one critical flaw, but before he could say anything, the Russians did too.
As soon as the corncob cruiser activated its giant magnet, the Russian turrets let loose a volley of rockets directly at it, knowing that the magnet would increase their speed exponentially. He should have expected this since, after all, it was a base filled with Russia’s leading scientists. He watched helplessly as missiles slammed into the unprotected magnet and core of the cruiser at mach speeds, completely obliterating the bridge.
The cruiser careened around above the base for about a minute, smashing into both base structures and its own fighters like a blind giant until its ammo storage blew up, shattering the entire rear end and sending the machine smashing into the ground in the middle of the base with a bone jarring reverberation that Vorian could feel, even in the bridge of his flag mammoth. Sighing at the loss, Vorian declared over the comm. System “Alright, mammoths, move in. We’re gonna use the old standby method again.
Chapter 13
The premier waited impatiently in the lower level apartment he had been given. It sounded as though a battle was going on above, but he had been ordered to remain in his quarters. He was unable to determine quite what was going on at this depth, though. At eh sound of a large “thump” from above, the premier decided something wasn’t right and went to investigate. As he got closer to ground level, the halls became filled with scared and scurrying people and his sense of foreboding became more intense as he went along. On the third level down, his fears were confirmed. Light shone through the stairwell to the next level up and he stuck his head to see what had happened to the base. As he stared across the destruction, his eyes fell on the derelict hulk of the cruiser. His fears confirmed, he looked up slowly and saw a ferocious force of four-legged forms coming methodically toward their base. Although he was afraid, he still thought logically because of his extensive military training. This must be the renegade Americans, he thought, if that’s what we’re facing I need to get a look inside of one. With that thought in his head, he ran as fast as he could out of the ruined base and toward the oncoming machines. He decided that his best chance of getting inside was to climb up the maintenance ladder on the rear leg. He ran around the right flank of the walker, giving it a wide berth. He waited behind a boulder till he saw the back leg of the walker. He ran back out, but missed the leg and had to jog to the next position where it landed. He leaped upon it and started climbing, not believing his luck. Unfortunately, as he climbed, his luck didn’t hold, and neither did he. Regrettably, the premier had never heard the old adage about never standing behind a horse, as saying which applied quite strongly to his present situation. The leg made a sudden forward movement, bucking him off much like a horse would in the same situation. The premier fell to the ground, relatively unhurt, but a bit dazed. Due to some unknowable whim, the mammoth’s leg moved back, accidentally kicking a large boulder backward. He had enough sense to dodge the rock, but the hapless premier could never have avoided the giant foot that came down a fraction of a second later, smashing his frail body like a bug. In the last second before the foot fell on him, the premier truly regretted having believed two young generals to be dead.
Chapter 14
“Dang!” Exclaimed Vorian when he heard the telltale “ding” of a foot hitting a large rock. “We have to find a way to keep from hitting rocks with these clumsy feet!” I hope the Russians never find out how much damage their terrain causes our vehicles, he thought, they could really use it to their advantage! “Send a maintenance team down to make sure it hasn’t compromised our stability.” Vorian ordered. “In the meantime, detach our mammoth’s head so that we can have a closer look at their base. I don’t think that any major defenses survived that cruiser’s crash.” As he ordered, the mammoth’s legs bent as though bowing before a king, its head resting on the ground. With a hiss or air as the umbilical connections to the mammoth’s body detached, the head rolled away and the body metaphorically went into rigor mortis, standing still as a statue. The head, still about the size of a large house, trundled sure-footedly over the rubble till it found an unblocked entrance to the lower levels. The head stopped above this and extended a ramp from its underbelly to the entrance of the base, allowing them to enter it easily. As Vorian walked down the ramp, he felt both pride and sadness when his gaze fell upon the silent heap of twisted metal that had once been a ship powerful enough to level this base. These thoughts abated immediately, once he entered the base. They entered and found themselves in a maze of underground hallways. Several scientists gave themselves up right upon seeing their captors, for it seemed that a good number of them had little affection for Soviet Russia. One, however, seemed to either have gone insane or was strongly loyal to the Soviets, judging by the fact that he took a laser cutter and nearly cut off Vorian’s hand, not to mention giving him a bad haircut, before Vorian’s guards could subdue him.
After going down about a hundred floors, Vorian exasperatedly said, “This base is almost like the Empire State Building, upside down! How much farther do we have to go?” “We’re almost there, sir, one more floor.” Said Dr. Miens, a scientist who had offered to navigate. “Here is the room, sir. Shall I go in first?” They stood before a metal door that was about two men tall and the same width. “Not necessary.” Said Vorian. “I would like to go in first.”
“Sir,” said Dr. Miens urgently. “I don’t know what you will find in there. I am only a junior scientist and was never allowed in there.” Acknowledging the scientist’s worry, but proceeding anyway, he opened the door and looked into the largest room he had ever seen. It was as large as a cathedral and full of delicate machinery. “Shouldn’t this all have been broken when the cruiser fell?” said one guard wonderingly. “No,” replied Dr. Miens, flipping through a book of notes. “According to this, the equipment protected itself. I understand this now; these machines comprise a new shielding device! Their field absorbs all the force that hits it, stopping shock waves, bullets, and other projectiles.”
The scientist began to pace nervously. “Stop that!” said Vorian. “We need your help to understand how to operate these things!” “I’m afraid that that’s impossible, sir. They appear to have either taken or destroyed the key component. I can’t rebuild it and those who can, have probably all committed suicide by now,” said the scientist. Vorian suddenly became very, very still. “Wait.” He said slowly. “We gave them plenty of time to transmit info about us to someone else. What if they also sent designs of this?” Everyone stood in silence, all thinking the same thing: if they use this, we have some big problems. “Let’s get back to base.” Said Vorian.
