The following RPG session is based on characters created and/or copyrighted by SEGA! Enterprises, DiC Productions, Archie Comic Publishers, Fleetway Comic Publishers, and the Taki Corporation. Other copyrights are held as follows (characters - author): Edward Markus - Scott Reese, Carmen Rosemary and Barren - John Roberts, Ryan "Chief" Scott - Paul "Chief" Scott, Kaige The Dragon and Tamara deClaws - Bryan "Kaotix" West, and Sir Maximillian "Wildfire" Starlite - Wildfire. All other characters were created and copyrighted by Roland "Jim Doe" Lowery.
Note: This is an RPG session held online on two different message boards over the stretch of nearly one full year. It has been checked over for spelling and major grammar errors and slightly reformatted from its original version, but is otherwise in the form that the original authors intended.
Intelligence and war are games, perhaps the only meaningful games left.
If any player becomes too proficient, the game is threatened with termination.
-William Burroughs
The Lieutenant Series RPG - Master Version
by The Lt. Series Players
Jim Doe
Nack the Weasel sighed as he stepped off his hoverbike and shook the dust from his coat. Another job, another batch of supplies . . . another escort set on him from people who didn't trust him. The fox that had been riding with him all the way from Knothole Village stepped from the back end of the vehicle and looked around.
"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Nack said by way of conversation, not really expecting an answer nor getting one. "Right . . . well, I wonder where the local FF have gotten themselves off to . . . "
Kaotix
From the top of a nearby hidden sentry tower, a red claw lowered a pair of binoculars. "Control, the bounty hunter has arrived," a deep gruff voice proclaimed irritably into a commlink.
"Understood, Kaige. He's right on time. Does he have his escort with him?"
A few seconds went by as Kaige gazed through the binoculars to spot the fox that was to escort the bounty hunter. "Affirmative, Control." A snort followed that statment. "Tell me again why the Princess chose to send this bag of purple fuzz to us?"
The voice on the commlink spoke with patience, "Kaige, I know you don't like bounty hunters-"
Hmph... You don't know the half of it.
"-but remember he is on our side. The Princess wouldn't send someone to us she didn't trust."
"I know, I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Good. Now be a good dragon and bring them into base."
"Yeah, yeah . . . " Kaige closed the link and placed it in one of the pouches on his belt before heading down the ladder to "greet" the bounty hunter and his fox escort. "I just hope we all don't regret this . . . "
Wildfire
Max got off of the hoverbike. He had no love for bounty hunters, they worked only for themselves. That was why he volunteered for this escort mission.
"Looks like we're here."
"Finally, he talks. After that whole ride, that's all you got to say?"
"Would you have liked me to tell you what I really thought of you?"
"Let's see you open that mouth of yours. You'd do well to keep your comments to yourself. Remember what the princess said, you wouldn't want to disappoint her after all."
Max thought back, it was only a few days ago that Project: Lieutenant had been uncovered. And of course, Sally had to send in for reinforcements. He could remember well what it was she said . . .
"Now listen Max, this is important. I want you to work together with Nack. He may be a bounty hunter, but he's the absolute best. We need to need to know what this project is all about and we can't have this mission compromised because you won't work with him."
"I understand the severity of the situation, Princess. But how can you be sure that he's even going to help at all?"
"That's what you'll be going to do."
"Wha-?!"
"I want you to make sure Nack completes his objective. I'd hate to invest all this time and energy into something that may end up not being worth the effort. I want whatever's out there found. And I want you to do it."
"Uh, you gonna move or what, Mr. Escort?"
Max snapped back to the present, his thoughts disrupted by the weasel's bickering.
"Whatever, you waste of fluff. I'd keep your eyes to the sky though, as we have company."
"What are you talking about? Speak Mobian and not riddles if you could be so kind."
"Look up. There's a dragon up there watching us."
"Dragon? I thought Robotnik took them all out."
"It appears he missed a few . . . "
Kaotix
After a few seconds of walking, Kaige now stood before the bounty hunter and the one Control identified as Max "Wildfire" Starlite, who was the purple fuzzball's escort. He ignored the bounty hunter for now and addressed the escort. "Welcome to Centerpoint Village, home of the Centropolis Freedom Fighters."
"What kind of stupid name is that?" The bounty hunter sneered derisively at the dragon. "Couldn't you have have come up with something a little more original, Scale Belly?"
"Nack . . . " Max spoke up but was cut off as an irate Kaige stepped in front of the weasel and looked down at him with a glare that could melt steel.
"Listen, Bounty Hunter! For starters, my name is Kaige, not "Scale Belly" And Second, this village is all that is left of the sister city of Mobotropolis before Robotnik turned it into Centropolis! It's original name was Centerpoint City. We have kept that name for this village to remind us for what we are fighting for! Not to entertain you and allow you to make sarcastic comments." A huff followed the outburst as Kaige calmed himself down. "Now if you would be so kind to follow me, I will lead you to base."
"Thank you, Kaige," Max offered as he took up the rear to do his escort duties as assigned to him.
They stepped onto a make-shift elevator that lowered them into a well hidden meadow surrounded on every side by protective rocks and overhead a huge canopy of trees.
"Hmm . . . Your village is well hidden from the outside it seems," Max offered up as Kaige led them toward the Control Hut. Even Nack, although he would deny it to the day he died, seemed to be quite impressed with the village's location.
"Yes, we have been her for little under a year. For the longest time we've had to be on the move constantly to avoid patrols of Stealth and SWATbots. You will notice that the huts are highly modular. We can break down and move the village in under half an hour if our scouts spot any patrols heading our way. But since the time we located this place we have had few problems being spotted by air or ground patrols. We have basic technology and it is highly movable also and well guarded against would be thieves." The last statement was directed at the bounty hunter as they made it to where Nack and Max would be sleeping while they were here.
Nack didn't respond but just grinned toothily at the dragon who fumed at him and pondered the pro's and con's of gutting the purple weasel right then and there.
Kaige continued on while glaring at the bounty hunter, "This will be your hut for the duration of your hopefully short stay here. You will meet the others in a few hours. Here is your chance to get the purple fuzzball's fleabitten hide clean and try to get him somewhat presentable to the others."
Max Wildfire smirked in response to the dragon's statement but otherwise didn't say anything.
If Nack was insulted by the remark, he didn't show it but instead anwered,"I hope it is a short stay as well. I don't want to stay in this poor excuse for a barnyard anymore than I have to." Nack grinned as he entered the hut to put away some of his gear. Max followed him sighing heavily.
Oddly enough, Max and Kaige's next thoughts were the same, "This is gonna be a looooong mission."
Wildfire
"Well, you heard the man."
"Dragon, Escort Boy, the prick's a Dragon."
"You never know if he might be listening. I'm not going to tell you if I notice him again. I wonder where this group's leader might be."
"Why in the Hell would you want to know that?"
"Because it's a big part of my mission, you idiot. I need to meet with this group's leader in order to recieve my breifing on this village's situation."
Max looked around the simple hut the two were staying in. In it he found only the bare essentials, two straw mats, a table and two chairs. He assumed the showers were located around the back.
"You better go get in the shower if these guys are gonna go look you over. I'm going to go try to find a console."
"I thought you weren't supposed to leave me alone."
"I'm to inform the Princess of our safe arrival."
"Whatever." Nack removed his jacket and looked around the room. "Not much is there?"
"Not when you need to move. I lived with nothing for most of my life. That's the kind of thing that happens when your city's hit by a tyrant. Not that you'd know much about that kind of life or anything."
"Don't get started with me fox boy. My life hasn't been all fun and games for the past ten years either."
"Whatever you say Nack. It would seem to me that all your bounty jobs would rail in the money for anything you needed."
"Exactly how many uses do you think creds have right now? All they do is take up space. Can't buy shit with 'em."
Wildfire walked out in search of the afforementioned console. He soon located one near a mobile hut.
"Lesse, the frequency on this thing is a little off. Let's hope Sally picks up."
In Knothole . . .
The mobile communications console in Princess Sally's hut showed an incoming message. Sally saw the incoming message light and recieved the video feed.
"Princess? Are you there?"
"Max? Is that you?"
"Yes, Sally. I'm awfully sorry about the feed. This village is very mobile and picks up at a moment's notice. I called to notify you of our arrival."
"Our? So you managed to get all the way there without killing him and stealing his hoverbike?"
"Don't get me started. I don't see why I couldn't take my own bike."
"We needed it at the moment he arrived. Besides, Rotor decided to make it up to you by modifying it for you."
"Rotor's going to die if he breaks my bike."
"Don't worry, we're going to have Sonic test it for us first."
"You keep him away from my bike!"
Sally laughed at that remark. "I was kidding Max. Just keep an eye on Nack untill he gets the job done. Have you met anyone in charge yet?"
"Just a rather take-charge dragon. Not anything like Dulcy."
"They're not all as young as her, and they can accurately remember what happened. Dragons are a very proud race. We had just struck an alliance with them at the time of the takeover. Needless to say, they weren't too happy with the situation."
"That's understandable. I wouldn't like it too much myself."
"You better get back to Nack. Call me when you get more information."
"Of course. Wildfire out."
Jim Doe
Nack grinned as the water from the shower ran through his fur, carrying away all the grime and sweat from several weeks of hard travel. It had been a shame he couldn't have stayed in Knothole long enough for a quick bath, but this well made up for it, even with the shit-all water pressure.
What can ya expect, really? he thought to himself. I should count myself lucky they even have basic running water at all . . .
The grin turned into a momentary frown. Even as rustic as these villages all were, often they seemed much more promising than the wandering life he led. Occaisionally thoughts of settling down somewhere would pop into his head, but he knew well enough to shake them out before they took hold. He didn't belong in a village . . . just the fact that he was annoying people here in Centerpoint within the first few minutes of his visit told him that much.
Thoughts of the looks Kaige had been giving him brought the smile back to Nack's face. It was good to know that long stretches without talking to anyone while out in the wilderness hadn't dulled his Trash Talk any. The Talk was a basic bounty hunter tool, one that had been passed around for centuries among his kind . . . it was used primarily to put skips and marks off center during a scuffle, or to make non-talkative contacts accidentally let slip remarks and information they shouldn't have let slip. Nack tended to use it all the time, however . . . he liked to keep everyone on their toes at all times, even if it meant every hated him for it.
Not that he really cared what they thought, anyway. All he cared about was having a roof over his head for a few nights and enough food to fill his belly for the next week or two.
Finally clean, Nack reached up and turned the valve to stop the flow of water. He was going to be damp for hours, but there was really no helping that . . . sonic showers had unfortunately gone out of style when Robotnik confinscated them all along with the cities that held them. After hastily drying off as well as he could with a towel and smoothing his fur down, he stepped into the hut's main area.
Sir Escort was still hunched over his communicator, probably still talking with that sweetcheeks princess of his. Nack was about to lay the Talk on him to see about getting a little entertainment before the main meeting when there was a knock at the door.
"Are you gonna answer that?" Sir Escort said without looking up.
Nack arced an eyebrow and grinned lopsidedly . . . the only way he could grin really. "Jawhol, mein commandant!" he yelled out with a mock salute. "And would you like me to go get you some tea and cookies while I'm at it?"
"Just answer the door," the fox said through clenched teeth, obviously failing to keep Nack out from under his skin.
With an inward chuckle, the weasel stepped forward and pulled the door open. "Welcome to Casa de la Tightass!" he said with a flourish towards Sir Escort. "May I interest you in-" He stopped short and gaped in amazement when he realized who the visitor was . . .
"Ryan?!"
Chief
"Good day, Nack," said Ryan. "You seem a little surprised at seeing me," Ryan says with a sly voice. "Its been - what? Two years . . . 8 months. Yes. We were at Marin staying at the local hotel. You left for a job and I stayed behind. You said it would only take you a week or a bit more. I waited for 2 months." Ryan took out a cigar and lit it. "Then I left for Lang, thinking you were dead." Ryan took a drag of the cigar. "But . . . it's nice to see our paths cross again. What are you doing here, anyway?"
Kaotix
Inside the Control Hut, Kaige stood looking out the window toward the bounty hunter's hut. Behind him stood the leader of the village, a lovely female calico cat named Tamara deClaws, who the Centropolis Freedom Fighters affectionately called "Patches." She was the brains behind the group and planned their missions flawlessly. Currently, she was reviewing SWATbot deployments in Centropolis.
Kaige huffed as he saw Ryan walk up to Nack and Max's door. "I don't like this, Patches. What if the Bounty Hunter decides to sell us out to Robotnik?"
Tamara just sighed as she walked up beside him and looked out the window as well. She stood at 3' 4" but was dwarfed by her second in command's massive size. "It's in his best interest that Robotnik ultimately falls. Think about it, he won't have many clients if Robotnik continues his reign. Besides, Robotnik would more likely send him to the roboticizer instead of paying him. He may be a little rough around the edges but I don't think he will cause us any problems. I told you earlier that the Princess wouldn't send someone to us she didn't trust."
"Trust is funny that way, Patches. Trust can take years to build between two people but only a moment can rip it away."
Patches looked up at the big red dragon who had a far away look in his eye. "You had someone betray your trust once, Kaige?"
"Not just mine, Patches, but the whole clan's . . . " Kaige said no more and Tamara knew he wouldn't. Kaige didn't talk much of his past before joining their group. Although she had been able to draw a few things out of him, she still missed large pieces of the puzzle.
Kaige, she thought, why do you distrust Nack so much?
Wildfire
In the hut . . .
"He's here on orders from Princess Sally. What does it matter to you?"
"Hey, back off!!! This guy happens to be a friend of mine."
"I trust I can leave the two of you to yourselves without any trouble?"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Get lost already."
Max walked out of the hut in search of Kaige. He looked across the patch of dirt that served as a main plaza for the mobile village. He saw a medic hut, supply huts, and other commodities that were necessary for a place to be secure these days.
"It's a sad world we live in now. What I wouldn't give to just walk down the streets again without having to worry about being spotted by an incoming patrol."
"Excuse me, can I help you?"
Max spun, slightly startled at the remark. Upon turning, he found Kaige, and, to his surprise, a smaller feline Mobian.
"I asked you a question, you could at least stop standing there with your jaw hanging out and grace me with an answer."
Max read the remark and instantly straightened. "No no! It's nothing like that. I was just caught off guard, that's all."
"So what exactly are you trying to say? You got a problem with thinking i'm pretty or something?"
"No, not at all, I'm spoken for. I meant no offense . . . Um, Kaige?"
The large red Dragon just stood there, smirking at the fox's dimbfounded expression.
"Allow me to introduce the leader of the Centerpoint Freedom Fighters, Tamara deClaws."
Max shook the feline's hand. "I am sorry about that. I am Sir Maxamillian Starlite of the house of Acorn, and I have come here on official business from Princess Sally as an accompiniment to the bounty hunter Nack the Weasel."
"And how might I help you, Sir Knight?"
"As I said, I have come with Nack regarding the information you obtained on Project: Lieutenant."
"I'll be happy to present you with that information as soon as we find Nack himself. I'd like for the both of you to start on the same footing."
"Nack isn't going to be too hard to find. I left him with an old friend of his back in the hut."
Kaige looked down at the tiny vulpine. "It would seem that he stepped out for a moment, for when we arrived he was nowhere to be found."
"Where the hell could he have gone?"
Jim Doe
With Escort Boy out of the way, Nack and Ryan had sat down at the hut's small fold-out table to talk.
"Hell, man," Nack said, "you oughta know what I'm doing here . . . trying to get by any way I can. I'm gonna be hanging around for the next few days helping out the locals in exchange for some food, folks, and fun. Or at least the food, anyway," he added with a grin. "But what about you, Chief? You haven't gone native on everyone, have ya?"
Ryan raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Hardly," he said. "I'm just passing through, but you have to admit . . . these people are pretty tight. The Freedom Fighting thing isn't the greatest deal around, but this wouldn't be a bad place to settle down, after all that."
Nack shrugged expansively at this. "Yah, well . . . anyway, you said, what, that you thought I was dead?"
"You never came back," Ryan replied, "and I know how dangerous your business can be."
"The thing is," Nack said, shaking his head, "that I had thought you were dead. Just a few days after I left Marin, I got news that it had finally fallen to Robotnik's forces and the entire populace had been roboticized."
"Really? As far as I know, the place is still standing," Ryan said. "Surrounded on all sides by SWATbots and just barely functioning, but still there. If Robotnik's ever going to do anything to it, he'll simply bomb it into the ground and be done with it."
"That's probably true," Nack said with a nod. "Well, hell, either way we're both here now, so maybe these backwoods bumpkins actually stand a chance on this mission they're going on about!"
Ryan laughed and said, "Is that a request for help coming from the great Nack the Weasel?"
"Now, now," Nack mock-admonished, "you know better than that. I'm not asking for help, I'm just giving you the high honor of joining me on this venture!" The two of them chuckled as they shook hands over the table. "Alrighty then, Chief," Nack said, "let's step out and see if we can find where everyone got off to, shall we?"
Chief
Ryan looks around "Yeah, let's go find the rest of them," he said in a calm tone, "before they get themselves killed." They both laughed.
"We have a small team already made," Nack said while walking outside with Ryan just behind.
"How many?" Ryan asked in a concerned voice.
Nack looked at a small fox walking down the road playing with a plane. "We have four . . . trying to get five, but it looks like it'll just be four. It would have just been three if you hadn't popped up."
Ryan lit a cigarette. "Whats the main plan here, anyways? You can't get al ot done with just four of us and whoever from the village. We might be able to get some small raids in, but nothing big. And Robotnik has better security now. And we'll need someone with some computer skills. I don't have those, and if things havent changed a lot I know your not much better than me," Ryan said with a smirk on his face.
Kaotix
Kaige calmly grabbed the fox's shoulder. His talons dug into the fox's hide. Not enough to hurt him but enough to let Max know that they were there.
"So let me get this straight . . . Your job was to always keep an eye on the bounty hunter. Yet you left him alone with an old buddy of his, and now you don't know where they are?!" Kaige glared at the fox, who felt really small standing in the shadow of the dragon. The only sound Max made was a small gulp.
"Kaige, you're scaring the poor dear," Tamara sighed as she grabbed Kaige's arm to try to calm him down. "Where can Nack go, anyway? He knows he won't get paid until the job is done. Look, here he and Ryan come now. They didn't go very far. Now let him go."
Kaige just let out deep breath and released the fox who rubbed his shoulder vigorously.
"Kaige . . . " Tamara looked up at him with a look only a female could give. "I believe you owe Max here an apology."
"Yeah, I know. Look, Max, I'm sorry for grabbing you like that and yelling at you. You know what your job is and you don't need me to beat you over the skull with it."
Tamara looked at Max with sympathetic eyes. "You'll have to excuse Kaige. He has some issues with Nack it seems."
Wildfire
Max looked back at the feline leader. "I'm definitely in agreement there. Believe me, I'm not too happy that Nack was chosen, myself."
"And yet you chose to allow him time away from your eyes? For what reason did you temporarily lose your sanity?"
"Back off, big fella. I may not look it, but if you keep it up, you're gonna be a set of alligator luggage."
"I'd like to see you try it, little man."
"Boys, boys, honestly, you ought to be working together on this. You're not enemies. We're all allies here."
Kaige looked down at his leader, and then back at the escort sent to prevent Nack from getting out of hand. "I agree. Just make sure to do your job from now on."
"Definitely not a problem there. Did you think I was ignorant or something? I need the information you have, and we don't have a lot of time. We must attend to this matter as soon as possible."
"Then let's find Nack and perhaps we can get started."
The group looked across the length of the village, and soon found the two sitting in a mobile drink shack enjoying conversation. Upon their arrival, Nack chanced to look up from his drink. "Oh goody, look who decided to come looking for us, Ryan."
"What the hell possesed you to leave the hut without notifying me of your intentions?"
"I think that I'm still a free Mobian here. What I do is still my busniess."
"Not so long as you're under my watch."
"And what a dilligent watch it is my friend. You've managed to not only not do your job, but to not do it in record time! We haven't even left yet and you already lose me."
"That wouldn't happen if you told me where you were going."
Ryan looked over at the bickering twosome. "It's all good, Escort Man, he was with me."
"Shut your hole. As if I trust you enough to leave you both to your own devices."
"Hey, man, you better watch what you say to me."
"All three of you shut up." Kaige looked down at the group. "We have work to do. If you would all accompany me to the Command Hut, we can begin the breifing."
Chief
Ryan looked around and took the final drag from his cigarette before he flicked it on the ground "Well, what are we going to do anyways?"
Kaige looked up. "We'll get everything sorted out at the breifing. And its nice to have you with us, Ryan. I've heard quite a bit about you.. Although I thought you were dead . . . "
Ryan looked up, then back at Kaige "Yeah. Well, Marin is still standing too, nothing happened to it." Ryan took out another cigarette and lit it. "Well, we better get going to the hut if we want to be done before dark. Something tells me it will be a long time to get everything said."
Jim Doe
"The Command Hut".
Nack laughed inwardly at the obvious misnomer when he saw the large "hut" that served as Centerpoint's main center of operations. Everything in the village was modular, but there were a few actual huts here and there. This, however, was nothing more than a large tent with camoflague netting spread across the top. If not for the size, the tent would have been the most easily broken down and moveable structure in the entire village.
This Nack respected . . . obviously, the villagers would want their primary base of operations to be the first thing to go up should they have to move everything. It was the name itself that actually goaded him. Calling it a hut rather than a tent seemed to signify that these Freedom Fighters held out some elusive hope that they'd never have to move. Such hope made them impractical, a trait that Nack despised. Hope was fine in its place, but not if it blinded a person so much that they weren't mentally prepared for the worst.
Still, it wasn't his place to shake these people out of their complacency. At least, not on such a general area. On a person to person, basis . . . that was more his speciality, and he was already planning out how to do that with the two new arrivals . . .
Once he, Chief, and the three Freedom Fighters had entered the Command Hut, he had been introduced to a cute little koala chica - the local doctor - and a rather unassuming wolf, who was apparently some kind of mechanic from what Scaley had told him. With slit eyes and a lopsided grin, Nack shook their hands and already started profiling them for just the right nicknames. In the meantime, there was a meeting to attend.
"Approximately one week ago," Tamara, the group's leader, started without any preamble, "we were contacted for the first time by another group like ours, the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Specifically, the message came in from Princess Sally Acorn, the daughter of our rightful King. Her message was brief, but conveyed more information than we could have possibly hoped for. First, that there are others out there like us and that an alliance between all the Freedom Fighting groups is being formed. Second, the heir to the throne is alive and seeking to reclaim her place by overthrowing Robotnik.
"And finally - and most unfortunately - that we are in grave danger. Through a spy network that the Knothole FF have set up in Robotropolis, they have determined that Centropolis is to be the center of operations for one of Robotnik's highest level experiments, known only as Project: Lieutenant. Since that message, we have been in contact with Princess Acorn on three more occaisions. Though she was able to glean little further information, she had decided to send us help in figuring out just what this project is and, if possible, shutting it down.
"To those ends, we are being joined by Sir Maxamillian Starlite and Nack The Weasel. Now, Sir Max, you said that you have further information regarding the Lieutenant Project?"
"Yes," Escort Boy said as he stood up. "And please, everyone, if it would make you feel more comfortable, you may call me 'Wildfire' rather than 'Sir' anything. I've been told by those who'd know that out here in the forest, titles don't mean much."
Nack snorted softly to himself as he pulled his hand down over his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He had already been told all the information that Sir Escort was blathering out in a much longer than needed speech, so he decided it was time to catch a few winks before actual important business re-entered the situation.
The long and short of the whole deal was that the Knothole spy hadn't been able to figure out much more than they had when they'd first contacted the Centerpoint FF. They had linked the Lieutenant Project with Doc Bolts' tip-top-highest-of-high-profile Doomsday Project, but didn't know exactly how they went together. They'd also found out that several containers marked as necessary to the project had been shipped into Centropolis several days ago and stored in a old hollowed out Plasteel, Inc., warehouse. But the way Sir Escort was putting it, it sounded like an entire war had been fought over those precious scraps of info and that hundreds had lost their lives just to ensure those scraps made it back to base.
When the puffed up lecture was finally over, Nack tipped his hat back up and yawned. Tamara was finally handing out mission objectives and assignments.
"Kaige is going to be in command of this mission," she said. "I want all of you to follow his orders just as if you were following my own. That does include you Mr. Weasel, if you really have any hope of being paid at the end of this."
Nack grinned at being singled out. "No worries, Miss Tamara," he said. "I may not be good at following orders to the exact letter, but I still get the job you want done as done as it can get."
"Very well," said the calico cat. "As team leader, Kaige, you have your choice of targets. I would suggest hitting the Plasteel warehouse to check the containers as well as the central command center so Ed can break into the main computers and check for any unusual activity."
The dragon grumbled deep in his throat. "I believe we'll take the central command first," he said. "We can look into any activity records concerning the warehouse. If the containers have been moved elsewhere without our notice, it will save us from wasting time looking there."
"Agreed," Miss Tamara said with a nod. "Hopefully you will be able to make it in without seeing any resistance. I want you to utilize Nack's rogue abilities to every advantage in this respect-"
"Nice to hear I'm appreciated," Nack piped up.
"-and Wildfire's capabilities to help you fight in case stealth fails," she continued, ignoring the weasel. Ed, we're counting on you to grab as much information about the project as you possibly can, and Carmen . . . " Miss Tamara smiled hopefully at the koala. "I sincerely hope that no one has need of your medical services on this mission. Now, if there aren't any questi-"
"Hell, yah, there's a question," Chief suddenly spoke up. "What the hell am I supposed to do then?"
Miss Tamara shook her head helplessly at him. "Whatever it is you do," she said, "as long as you can manage to do it quietly."
Chief grinned and rapped a knuckle on the wooden table he was sitting at. "Gotcha," he said with a wink.
"Now," Tamara continued, "if that is all, go make your preperations. You all leave for Centropolis at 20 00 hours."
John Roberts
"Okay, I'm nearly finished. Just sit still for a little longer," Carmen gently said, her voice calm and soothing. She wrapped the bandage once more around the young kit's ankle and tightened the ends down. The fox grimaced as she softly patted his foot, signaling she was finished.
"Now, Barren, please be a honey and listen to me this time." Carmen smiled, ruffling the young boy's head fur. "I want you to actually stay off your feet for a few days. Your ankle will never heal if your always out and about, okay?"
Barren leaned forward from his bed, looking unsettled. "But miss Carmen, it's sooooo boring in here, nothin' to do," he protested. "And besides, my ankle doesn't hurt all that much anyway."
Carmen stood up. "Oh really?" she giggled. "I tell you what. If you can stand up and do for me a perfect cartwheel across the floor, I will let you go out and play."
Barren scowled as he leaned back into his bed, arms crossed against his chest. "That's not funny," he murmured. "Stupid ankle."
"Well, you should be more careful next time you decide to go jumping out of trees. You're lucky you didn't break anything else." Carmen added, "Your neck, for instance."
"I didn't jump . . . " Barren looked away embarrassed. "I . . . I tripped. Stupid tree," he grumbled.
Carmen giggled again. "What were you doing up there, anyway?" she queried.
Barren looked up at her, his face brightened up into a smile. "I was looking for SWATbot patrols just like Kaige does." He sat up with excitement and said, "He's so cool, he could take on a whole army of 'bots all by himself without breaking a sweat. Big Red rules!"
Barren started moving wildly around his bed, thrilled at the thought of his hero. "I wanna be just like him, Carmen, big and strong. Yeah, then I could kick some serious . . . Owwwww!" He cried out in pain as he tried to stand up, putting pressure on his ankle.
Carmen was quick to his side and carefully helped the young kit lay back in his bed. She did all she could to fight herself from breaking out in laughter at his situation.
"Stupid ankle . . . " he grumbled.
She smiled at him and patted him on his head. "You'll never learn, will you, sweetie? How many times have you hurt yourself from trying to be like Kaige? The fragile body of a fox is not suppose to do what a thick scaled body of a Dragon can do. Do you understand what I mean, little Barren?"
Barren slightly sat up, his face serious. He looked as if his mind was thinking over Carmen's words. A few short seconds passed and Barren nodded his head. "I understand, Miss Carmen," he hung his head down low and then suddenly lifted it up with a mischievous smile across his muzzle. "I understand fully. I need a body of scales just like Kaige does! Yes!"
Carmen just groaned and rolled her eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Tree bark! I could use tree bark!" he laughed out in joy.
Carmen turned and started walking away, then she stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "Just promise me one thing . . . please give your ankle time to heal before you go out and hurt yourself again, okay, honey?" She gave him a wink and a smile as she stepped through the doorway and walked out into the adjacent room.
Kaotix
Knowing that each mission could be his last, Kaige made a point to spend some time with each of the members of his "clan." He had already spoken with Patches after the breifing and now he was heading to the medical hut to see Carmen and a little friend of his.
As he stepped into the hut, he saw Carmen putting together her medical gear for the mission. She looked up at him with a warm smile which he returned. "Hello, Kaige. Can I help you with something?"
Before Kaige could open his mouth to respond, an excited yell came from one of the small rooms. "Big Red!?" Barren hobbled as fast as he could on his crutches to greet the big dragon who was his idle.
With a huge grin, Kaige picked up the young kit, who let the crutches fall forgotten onto the floor, and set him on his shoulder. Barren immediately wrapped his small arms around Kaige's neck and gave him a tight hug. "I missed you, too, little guy. Miss Carmen tells me that you had a little accident today."
"Yeah . . . I twisted my ankle on a stupid branch. I was out hunting SWATbots just like you do, Kaige!" Kaige grinned and ruffled the young cub's head fur. Barren would often go on little "adventures" in the forest around Centerpoint Village, hunting down SWATbots. More often than not he would come back with a bruise or a bump from a trip or fall which Carmen would always kiss and make better.
Carmen looked at the two with a warm smile on her muzzle. Little Barren had idolized Kaige ever since the dragon had found and rescued him from a squadron of SWATbots. The two have been inseperable ever since. Barren even fancied himself a dragon just like Kaige and has wanted to grow up to be just like Big Red. They're the best of friends, she thought. Kaige has been there for Barren ever since he brought the cub to the village. Kaige always seems the happiest when he is with Barren.
"So, Kaige," Barren finally spoke up again. "Can I go on the mission with you?! Can I?! Can I?! Can I?!"
Kaige laughed heartily as he put the cub back on the floor and helped him get his crutches. "Not yet, Barren. Remember that even a dragon must grow in mind and body before he can take on the enemy. You've still got a lot of growing to do."
"I know . . . " Barren replied glumly, lightly kicking at the floor with his good foot.
"But, tell you what. How about after the mission, I take yuo for a flight? Just you and me and nothing but sky and clouds?"
That brought an even more excited squeal from the kit. "You promise?!"
"You know a dragon never lies, Barren. My word is as best as they come. Now you go back to bed and let theat ankle heal. You'll be tracking SWATbots again soon." He gave the fox's head fur another good ruffle and chuckled as Barren headed back to his room giggling with excitement about the chance to fly with Kaige.
Carmen shook her head and smiled as she addressed Kaige, "I don't know who the bigger kid is, you or Barren."
He gave her a small wink. "You're only as old as you feel, Carmen." His voice then went low so that Barren wouldn't be able to hear him. "You ready for the mission tonight?"
"Yeah. I almost have my gear ready."
"I'll let you finish then. I still need to get my gear ready and make sure everything is in working order. Everyone will meet in front of the Control Hut when it is time to go." Kaige turned and headed for the door. Before exited he turned his head and spoke again. "See you there, Carmen."
John Roberts
"I'll be there Kaige." Carmen called out as the dragon made his exit, her expression darkened.
I wouldn't miss it for the world, she thought.
She wasn't afraid to admit to herself that she was worried about this mission. Any mission that involved going back into Centropolis worried her a great deal. After all, they were going on this mission with three other companions that she didn't even know or trust, especially that weasel. She heard he was a bounty hunter.
A bounty hunter? she thought. How could we fully trust someone who would easily stab us in the back for a small profit?
Carmen didn't trust him - at least not yet, anyway - but she would give him the benefit of the doubt, she would at least give him a chance. After all, she was not one to judge someone merely on their appearance.
She returned her attention towards her medical pack, double checking that everything is there, making sure that she was well prepared for any possible scenario. The pack mainly consisted of make-shift bandages and band-aids and a small batch of aqueous antiseptic fluid that she managed to salvage from previous missions, it wasn't much to look at but it could very well save someone's life if need be.
Satisfied, she zipped the back pack up and flung it over her left shoulder and stood up. She was about ready to leave when two figures entered the hut.
"Hello boys," she greeted, feeling uneasy when she realized who they were, "what can I do for you?"
Nack smiled at her, his large toothed grin making her feel even more uneasy. His companion, Ryan, disgustingly sucked on a cigarette while looking her slim body up and down, a sly grin on his face.
"We have come for our check up, miss, before the big mission." Nack replied, "Well, that's what my friend here said."
Carmen frowned at the two of them, "You both look fine to me," she started, looking at Ryan, his gaze was now fixated below her neck, a puff of smoke escaping his lips, "but you tell your friend here that if he doesn't get rid of that cigarette he |