Home » Hall of Fame » The Hall of Fame » STORY: The Scorpion's tale.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #95488] |
Tue, 15 June 2004 09:58   |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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The plant-thing was absolutely huge in the amount of territory it was consuming. It apparently was centered in the middle of this former township. The nearest building to him were in the same state of destruction, and actively falling apart as well. He could see military vehicles spread throughout the area being consumed as well. Whatever battle had occurred here had been a serious conflict, and certainly helped the destruction along. There was a large tank with two turrets to his right. The turret had been knocked off it’s bearings, and the treads were infested with the vines. He could see the turret cupola was open, and vines crawled out the hatch. Its armor was apparently very tasty to the plant, and he could see where the vines had almost cut through in places. And in the center of the mess was the creature which had generated the destruction. It was large, and seemed to be located in a depression about the diameter of a small crater. Maybee that was their origin, he thought. Everything wrong with this planet now seemed to have come from extra-solar origins, so why not. He could see the creature occasionally give off a puff of green gas, and the clouds floated through the area, destroying anything they came in contact with.
He looked for a way out. The only places the plant hadn’t spread to yet was the outskirts of the town. He headed for the nearest safe building to figure out his next move. It looked like a power plant, and it was heavily damaged from the fighting. He saw wreckage from a GDI flying vehicle sticking out of the dome the reactor, its tail hanging by hydraulics, and swinging in the breeze.
He ran for it, and contemplated his next move.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #95679] |
Wed, 16 June 2004 10:14 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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A laser turret fired from his left. He instinctively dropped at the sound of the turret turning, so it did no damage to him. He belly crawled towards a toppled Titan with one leg blown clean off. The pilot's compartment had been jarred open on impact, and the pilot still rested behind the controls, his neck snapped by the impact of 70 tons of mech armor hitting the ground at 30 mph. His skeletal grin showing from behind the visored helmet he still wore. The laser fired again, and took a chunk out of the windshield as Sergei took refuge behind the half opened compartment.
How was he going to get out of this nightmare of a ghost town? The whole world seemed wrong, and Sergei was smack dab in the middle of the mess. He waited a bit, and the sun started to go down. This was not the position he desired to be in. Stuck with a dead guy, being fired upon by a laser with no functioning IFF transceiver, and alone in the dark, as a creepy orange plant ate everything in sight. He noticed a flashing light in the compartment and took a closer look. It was a button labeled "Ignition". A lot of good that would do he thought. Figuring he had nothing else to lose, and after watching the laser fry a creature that wandered into the area, he was motivated to at least try SOMETHING.
The generator took two or three tries, but it did fire up. Instantly the cabin lights came on, and about 1,000 warning lights started flashing. The EVA uplink tried to establish contact, but stated that the antenna array was out of alignment, and damaged. It promptly suggested moving to a repair facility.
No kidding. The cabin air fans started up, and he felt refreshing air flow over his face in the oppressive summer heat. The HUD display on the windscreen displayed targeting information for the offending laser, and tried to target, but couldn't bring the weapon to bear. He heard the hydraulic whine of the 175 mm howitzer try to come to bear upon instruction from the computer. Each laser blast set off alarms denoting that the Titan was taking "damage".
He shifted his weight to reach over and shut the damn thing down, but hit a control with his knee. The giant mech moved its' stump, and the remaining leg in response. The mecha caught the ground, and shifted slighty to the left. The laser loomed into the targeting reticle.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #95787] |
Thu, 17 June 2004 08:21 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He was off guard from the movement, and looked out the windscreen, to see the HUD displayed in red, stating "Target in range". While the computer thought it was, Sergei could see that the position of the mech was in alignment from left to right, but the gun was a lot higher off the ground than the laser was tall. How could he use this to his advantage? Another shot burned into the windscreen, but this time broke through, clipping his arm, and cauterizing the wound as soon as it hit. He hissed in pain, and rage flooded him. He saw the building behind the turret, and looked for the fire button. It was still in the skeletal grip of the pilot. He knocked the bones away, and pulled the trigger.
Without being stabilized by an upright position, and the wide pads of the feet of the mech, the whole Titan was propelled backwards about five feet. This threw Sergei into the windscreen, and threw the remains of the pilot all over the inside of the compartment. The 175mm round speared through the air and hit the building labeled "Westwood Stock Exchange" on about the second floor. It exploded, and disintegrated the central vertical support beam, which caused the other supports in the front of the building to experience stress levels they weren't designed for. The building collapsed in the front first, and the rear followed suit. The structure avalanched into the turret, and silenced the rogue defensive structure permanently.
He picked himself out the debris, and left the compartment of the Titan just as sparks started to fly from the console. Apparently the titan had had enough abuse, and caught fire in the cabin as the soldiers ratty uniform caught fire. A fitting end for an old warrior he decided, and turned and walked from the scene.
Twilight had soundly arrived, and he was having difficulty seeing. In the distance was the greenish glow of Tiberium field. Behind him, the glow of the fire now roaring in the cockpit of the Titan. He looked over at the power plant, and decided there was no use in entering it, other than curiosity, and headed for the wall the surrounded this town. There had to be a way out, and he was going to find the gate.
After walking about a half a mile, he found the source of the green light. The Tiberium field was beautiful in the moonlight, and glistened like a Christmas decoration. Just beyond was the gate. A formidable looking structure, which oddly enough had a Nod scorpion's tail emblem on it. He pulled out the sniper rifle, and zoomed in on the gate structure, and the associated mechanisms it used. He looked for a weak spot, and found it. A hydraulic piston the size of an APC was holding the gate up. He zoomed on the cylinder, and fired three rounds into it. In the sights' eerie green glow, he could see Hydraulic fluid spurting out, and saw the gate slowly lowering. He headed for the city exit, and was unprepared for what he saw, but after all of this nothing much surprised him anymore….
Regulus and the psychological profiling officer stood at parade rest on the other side of the gate with two troopers apiece beside them. The troopers dropped to one knee upon seeing him with weapon in hand, and Sergei instinctively dropped the sniper rifle, and leveled the shotgun.
Regulus said in a clear voice: "That won't be necessary. Troopers stand down." They did as ordered, and stood at attention beside them, rifles at the ready.
"Sergei Anatoly Ustinov, you have done well. Lower your weapon, leave it with the troopers and come with me." He didn't even wait for Sergei's response, but turned on his heel, and started issuing orders to a subordinate regarding fixing the gate, and monitoring the progress of the "vein hole creature".
He sighed, and shrugged his shoulders. He walked past the trooper that stood waiting for his weapon with an outstretched hand, and a smirk on his face. He handed the shotgun over, as well as the TAZER, and trotted up to Regulus' side.
"Sir, may I ask what the hell that was all about?"
"You may, but if you are patient enough, all will be explained shortly in full."
"Yes sir." He muttered in resignation.
They approached the Pysch profiling building again. This time instead of a cell, he was brought by Regulus to a debriefing room. Upon entering he saw two other men already seated facing the front of the room where a neatly dressed staff officer stood at parade rest. The men were as ragged as he was. One had blood all over him, and the other was in obvious pain. Regulus pointed to a seat in the front, and walked to the front of the room.
Sergei sat down as ordered, and the troopers took positions in the rear.
"Welcome to the Black Hand of Nod Brothers."
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #95966] |
Fri, 18 June 2004 09:51 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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In an hour, General Anton Slavik Nod’s greatest and brightest tactician will arrive in this facility to speak to you. Use this time to get patched up by the medics, and get outfitted by the supply representative that will arrive shortly. You have been chosen out of a very tight field of candidates to lead the brotherhood, and become part of the elite. I congratulate you. We will speak again once the meeting with General Slavik is over.�
The door opened, and as promised the medics, and the supply officers arrived. They immediately started treating, and outfitting the recruits. Regulus set a timer that appeared on the front screen, and it started counting backwards from 59:59.
“One hour gentlemen.�
With that he left. Sergei’s wounds were superficial with the exception of the laser burn. The man with dried blood all over him was fine except a broken nose. Turns out the blood wasn’t his, and Sergei didn’t want to know how he came about getting it.
The third man was wounded in many places. It appeared he had taken a round in the upper thigh, and something had cut him badly across the face. While the wounds were being dressed, measurements were taken of their sizes, and uniforms selected from the inventory. The Black hand uniforms were Black BDU’s, black jungle boots, and black berets all imprinted with the signature Black hand logo of a Black fist with the globe in it’s grip.
He liked the uniform, and its simplistic approach. The emblems were also tear away, which denoted missions which didn’t want official Nod recognition. They were shown the shower facilities in the next room, and he took them up on their offer. He then had the wound re-dressed, and got into his uniform. He liked the look. It fit him well. The barber was next, and they were all given high and tights. All in all, a very good match to his expectations that hadn’t been fulfilled until now.
He went back into the other room and saw the timer. 14:33.
He helped the wounded man into his uniform, and laced his boots for him, as he couldn’t really bend very well, and they all proceeded to the next room where Regulus had taken a seat in the newly cleaned room. He turned upon hearing sergei, and said: “Now that’s more like it. All of you, sit up front. General Slavik will be on shortly. When he appears, rise, clench your right fist, and plant it on your left pectoral smartly. You will also speak only when spoken to, and respond with “Sir, yes sir.� This is the way to greet a senior officer in the Black Hand. Understand gentlemen?�
“Sir, yes sir!� they responded in unison.
“Very good gentlemen.�
The door swept open, and in rushed an advanced guard. All blackhand men, and their gazes swept the room for threats to the precious prize they protected. Then in stepped general Anton Slavik, The Serbian Wolf. The bane of GDI, protector of Kane and commander of the ultra secret and almighty Black Hand of Nod.
His gaze was fierce, and he walked to the front of the room, and stood at parade rest.
“I am the Black Hand of Nod.� He stated in a commanding, and silencing voice.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #96564] |
Tue, 22 June 2004 06:09 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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Everything about this man struck him as purely military, professional and dangerous. The way he carried himself, the way he stood, dressed, and spoke all denoted a life of dedication towards order, and structure. But the one thing he noticed more than any other was the anger that ran just below the surface of his controlled tone. It was as if he could kill with just words.
“Today you have proven yourselves worthy of becoming Black Hand members. I commend you. Out of a field of 10 pre-selected candidates, you are the only ones to have survived. This means that you have what it takes to excel under threat of death. You have conquered that fear, met it eye to eye, and stabbed it in the heart.�
“The Brotherhood needs us. We are the elite. We are the finger that pulls Nod’s trigger, and controls where the bullets go. Without us, the Brotherhood would fall. I am the right hand of Kane, and I am responsible for projecting Kane’s vision of peace through power. I will take it very personally if I find out betrayal is in your heart.
Do not fail Kane nor I. We will not tolerate incompetence or failure.�
At that, he stepped aside and spoke to the comm. panel. “Cabal, video feed.�
The screen came to life, and Kane’s presence was suddenly in the room.
“General Slavik, well spoken as always. And Regulus, very well played against GDI yesterday. You serve Nod well.�
Anton bowed at the hip slightly in deference to his master. “I live and die at your command sir.� Regulus spoke as well: “As do I brother Kane.�
“Yes, you do.� He said with a wry little smirk. “As will these candidates for my elite hand of justice.�
Still at attention, the candidates didn’t dare make eye contact with Kane. Except Sergei. He couldn’t help it, and wanted to look into the eyes of his new master. He wanted to see what was in those eyes, and judge the soul of the man he was committing life itself to.
Kane sensed the probing, and stopped talking. He looked back, and Sergei was suddenly gripped with fear. In that exchange of only 5 seconds, it seemed like he had just lived lifetimes of pain, and seen the unfathomable. There was something different there. Something alien, and very frightening. Something he couldn’t understand, and wasn’t prepared for. He broke his stare with difficulty, and caught a glint of fire in the eyes of the ruler of Nod.
Kane, apparently satisfied with Sergei’s response, continued.
“I have watched your testing with great interest, as has General Slavik, and Commander Regulus. Each of you possesses qualities I will need in this battle against the globalists. Serve me well, and you will be treated well in the new order. Fail me, and you will taste something worse than death.�
The screen blinked out. Slavik turned and walked brusquely towards the exit. He stopped by Sergei, and whispered in his ear: “Share what you have seen with no one.�
He then exited. The guards met him at the door. And they left as quickly, and stealthily as they had come.
Regulus assumed the lead once again.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #96573] |
Tue, 22 June 2004 07:32 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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“Gentlemen, let us begin. Today will be rest and recuperation. BH representatives will escort you to our personal facilities, where the rest of your gear is located. You will be issued many things, some of them highly classified. Most important of these will be your personal link to Cabal, and his library of resources on Nod. I highly suggest browsing this library prior to, and during mental acclimation to the Black hand.�
“Get some rest, get some chow, and be ready at 0600 hours tomorrow.�
He walked out, and sent in two BH lieutenants. They took them to the BH barracks which were much different than the Hand of Nod he had seen in the other base. These were personal rooms, with private wash facilities, and a private chow hall. As promised, they were provided a full complement of uniforms, weapons, PAD link to CABAL, and interestingly enough, a battle grid simulator for war games in their free time. He helped the injured man to his room, and received thanks and an introduction.
“I am James. I served in the American theatre under General Vega. You?�
“Name is Sergei Ustinov. I was a civilian. Just got caught in the crossfire in the attack on the base north of here, and helped out Commander Regulus. Next thing I know, here I am.�
There was an audible gasp from behind him as the third man stopped in the doorway to james’s room.
“You are a civilian?�
“I was.�
“How did you get pre-selected? The Black Hand doesn’t just recruit off the street.�
“I told you already. If you don’t believe me, ask Commander Regulus.�
The man turned on his heel, and gave Sergei a scowl that let him know that this man thought him inferior. Wherever he had come from, he didn’t feel Sergei was worthy of such an honor. Frankly Sergei didn’t either, but he wasn’t going to fail. And he wasn’t going to let this pompous loser tell him different.
“Take it easy Jim. I am going to study up a bit. I will stop in in the morning, and see if you need anything.�
“Night, Sergei.�
He returned to his room, closed the door, and started to study CABAL’s database. No way was he going to be a let down or embarrassment to Regulus.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #96802] |
Wed, 23 June 2004 06:26 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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First on his list was Nod history. He researched in-depth to find out Brotherhood origins, leaders, battles, technologies, ideologies and prominent advances. His photographic memory served him well, and he knew Nod very well inside three hours. He was still puzzled by references to Kane as far back as the Great War. A man that looked 40, but was apparently almost 100. There the pictures were though. Kane with Stalin during the Soviet offensive whispering something in his ear. The image was grainy, and taken by an internal camera, but it was clearly him.
He took a break, and went to the chow hall. The food was good, and he ate his fill alone in the empty chow hall. He looked up at the clock: 22:30. Still time to try out the battle simulator, he though to himself.
When he got back to his room, he fired up the simulator which looked like a table, and was roughly the same size, but projected as an overhead command level view of a battle field. He was requested to log in, and did so under the name "Recruit", and was given the option to review a dossier on units, and stratagem. He reviewed the units, and then clicked on "Engage" at the bottom of the screen. The screen changed to a loading display that told him it was waiting to match him with an opponent. He had to wait about five minutes, but was then notified that player "Centurion" had been matched up with him.
The display then changed to the overhead simulator, and the game started.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #96840] |
Wed, 23 June 2004 10:35 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He situated his base on a mesa with resources about 50 yards away. He had been assigned the unhappy task of guiding a mutant faction in rebellion against a nearby Nod facility. This threw him because they utilized a conglomeration of units from the great war, Nod and GDI, as well as civilian vehicles. One ridiculous option was a mobile home with rocket launchers. He set up defenses quickly, preparing for the invasion to come from the other more experienced player, knowing that any attack he mounted would be useless against a well defended Nod base with an experienced commander.
He decided to use treachery, just as the mutants would. With limited means he knew that his best and only bet was deterrence, and defense followed by surprise attacks on an unprotected flank due to overconfidence.
He developed a nice anti-air defense, built with the weaknesses of the real Nod base he had come from prior. They would get one or two, but only at the cost of their entire force. Then he built individual fire teams stationed in Tiberium fields. Each unit was comprised of three rifle men, with 3 rocket soldiers backed up by Nod based rocket bikes. They wouldn't last long, but would allow his deception time to work.
He then developed a strike force based on great war style mammoths , mobile home rocket vehicles, and followed up by apcs loaded with a rail gun equipped mutant, and engineers. He then had a specialized unit steal one of the enemy scouts. All these specialized units he moved to the northwest quadrant, and braced for the onslaught that would come. The artillery hit him about the same time the air units attempted to penetrate his defensive grid. The air units dropped like flies, and the enemy commander knew they were toast before they even got to the target. He redirected them to kamikaze into the nearest power plant in an attempt to power down his hodgepodge forces. The tactic partially worked, as harpy after harpy crashed into the dome.
Power went offline as Sergei desperately attempted to repair his plant.
His command and control structure went away as the radar went out, and he was forced to direct fire by line of sight. His defensive squad stuck together, and hit the lead elements hard now that they were moving to break into his base, as he attempted to kill the artillery. Power came back on in a flicker and he saw his situation laid out.
It didn't look hopeful at all. The enemy had stripped his base of every useful fighting unit, and sent them pell mell into the fray. He used this opportunity to strike. He used the captured scout to sneak into the Nod facility, which he then crashed into the nearest power plant. The hijacker the swiftly hopped into an abandoned light tank as he pounded what was left of the structure. The mammoths hit the weak northern wall hard, and took the bulk of laser turret fire that was now being brought to bear. Then the power went down, and the Mobile homes streaked through the gap in the wall. They went to town on the MCV, and the APCs rolled in behind them. The ghost stalker jumped out, and blasted what units the enemy was mustering at the weapons factory. Now it was the engineers turn. They charged into the Refinery, the barracks, and the nearest power plant. He immediately started up the cyborg production bay in the hand, and created a defensive perimeter around his captured buildings. The mammoths limped into the center of the perimeter, and lobbed shells into the Weapons factory, and it's surrounding units, as the Mobile homes zipped in and out of buildings denying a line of fire to the meager defenders.
Sergei wasn't faring much better at home though. His defense core was rolled over quickly by a legion on Cyborgs, and rocket bikes, backed by lights. They had pounded down the wall, and destroyed the defenses guarding it before the enemy realized he needed to split his force to save his base. They drove hard into his inner defensive ring, which sergei had cleverly interwoven with the three technologies to create a nasty little trap. Sergei knew this was the last gambit. He ordered his remaining mutants out in the field to hit the artillery , and then move inward to hit the rear flank, once the divided force rolled past to save their base.
The artillery died quickly, and they lashed into the rear guard hard. They couldn't have done it themselves alone, but Sergei's defensive ring was holding out better than anticipated now that the artillery was no longer a factor.
Back at the Nod base, cyborgs were now raising havoc, and destroyed most everything useful. They finished the northern structures off, and Sergei ordered them south to brace for the coming battle. Then he thought better of it. With no structures left for production, the enemy was forced to rely on what remained in his arsenal. He ordered the buildings he captured rigged for destruction, and focused all units on taking out the weapons factory which they did with little effort.
Then he ordered them west after destroying anything useful including his catured facilities. If he couldn't win by numbers, he would win by attrition. If he could draw them into the Tiberium fields, his cyborgs would have the advantage of the regenerative properties of the stuff.
That was IF he could survive the destruction in progress at home first….
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #96869] |
Wed, 23 June 2004 12:50 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He sent everything he had in the north into the tiberium fields, and then brought them home through whatever fields he could find on the way. As he was retreating, the Nod commander arrived in what was left of his base. There wasn’t much but unpowered defensive structures, and tiberium silos. He realized he wouldn’t be able to create any more units, and abandoned the base, taking every unit he had left, and pursuing the enemy south. Sergei noticed the enemy was withdrawing from his base, having lost the initiative, and taking horrendous losses. They would regroup he assumed with the advancing northern army, and probably try to squash his groups coming south. He had no option left except to smash through the southern front, before the northern caught up. He pushed straight for his base, and encountered them. Focusing all his firepower on each unit individually, he was able to degrade them to the point where they withdrew to meet up with the northern force, but Sergei had a hard fight of it.
His inferior forces were hurting, and were down by 50%. They arrived at the base with the Northern force close on their heels, regrouped in the hole in the inner defenses and the melee began again.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #96973] |
Thu, 24 June 2004 06:13 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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The commander hit him head on, and in the center. Nod was taking horrible losses, and Sergei started to believe he would win. It was just about then that the second front opened in his rear flank out of no where. With the RPG launchers and laser turrets busy on the other front, the base defenses crumbled under the onslaught.
He was going to lose. He decided that if he was going to lose then, he was going to make the enemy pay dearly for it. He pulled every remaining unit out of the base, and they pushed through the rear flank, and dug in in the Tiberium field. The Nod forces decimated the base and left him alone temporarily, which allowed his soldiers, and cyborgs to heal a bit. While Nod was enjoying its hard won killing spree, he hit them hard in the rear again which earned him the attention of the Nod commander for the last time. He dedicated every last unit to wiping out his remaining forces.
The final battle was costly for both, but Nod did win in the end. The display changed to a statistical display of losses, kills and time played along with charts depicting production level spikes, and points earned.
He logged off, pleased with the performance. He had been dealt a bad hand, and done fairly well against a superior player. He replayed the battle in his mind as he drifted off to sleep.
He dreamed the Tiberium dream again.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #97123] |
Fri, 25 June 2004 05:56 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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When he woke, he was glad. The dream was extremely disturbing, and he could never remember what he saw in the reflection. Some kind of mental block perhaps to prevent extremely disturbing images from conscious thought? He didn’t want to know.
He dressed, and shut the alarm down. He groomed and changed into a fresh pair of black BDU’s, ensuring that he got the tear away Nod BH emblem placed squarely.
He stopped by Jim’s room, and knocked. No answer. Oh well. He headed for the chow hall where Jim was already seated and eating, while a medic chatted with him. He grabbed some chow, noticing that the food was good for military standard. He sat down, and ate. After he was done, he went back to his room to grab his CABAL interface, and strapped it to his forearm. It was nothing fancy, just a black screen, and a mic / speaker about the size of a pack of cigarettes. He locked his room, and headed for the sign marked EXIT in red letters.
Outside the door a BH rep met him standing beside a humvee. The other two weren’t there he noticed, as he approached the officer. He stopped, and saluted.
“Candidate Ustinov. Take a seat.� He said as he returned the salute. He did as he was told, and Jim and the other schmuck approached. The officer gave them the order to pile in, and took the wheel as driver. Nothing was said as the three were escorted to the communications facility for whatever Regulus and the BH had in store. As they traveled, he noticed the base layout, and how many more defenses there were here. Clearly this was an important base, and also noticed the size of it. Immense was the proper word. As they rolled own the main avenue, they saw armor columns being rolled north through the gate. He assumed they were amassing for the push on Sarejevo as he had heard. There was also the harvester rolling slowly towards the gate. A ponderous beast, and fully automated it appeared, as there was no pilot in it.
They rolled to a stop by the comm. facility, where they were ordered to follow the officer. He stopped at the door, and scanned his palm. The security was tighter here, as the IFF transponder alone wasn’t good enough. They entered the darkness of the facility, and it took his eyes a second to adjust.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #97145] |
Fri, 25 June 2004 08:04 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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This center was far different than the one he had come from in the other base. The room they entered was basically a security checkpoint with two VERY serious looking thugs behind blast screen barriers. As they were cleared to enter, he noticed the hidden roof camera / gun in the can light. If they weren't cleared they would have been dead by now.
They passed through the checkpoint, and proceeded downstairs. There were ceiling guns everywhere now. Clearly this was the nerve center of everything Nod in this theatre.
The people working this facility were regular Nod, but wore special badges denoting their status as intelligence. Their bosses were, of course, Black Hand. The room they entered at the bottom of the stairs was a duality in the senses. So much was going on on the screens, but there was virtually no noise. A senior Black hand officer sat in the middle of the horseshoe of screens, receiving updates, and giving orders.
Sergei and the others were told to be silent, and merely observe. He watched one screen showing the cabin view of a tick tank that was on fire. Its pilot desperately trying to escape, and failing. Another was a commander level view of a battle field in progress. He could clearly see a column of Titans being mercilessly destroyed by artillery in a river plain. The Titans, clearly out of range weren't going to escape, and wouldn't get a chance to fire back.
Another showed a vein-hole plant behind barriers by a GDI facility. An airstrike was inbound to hit the barrier wall, and he knew what was in store for the base after the wall was down.
Yet another was showing an attack by GDI units on a mutant facility. He thought this odd, until he saw that the officer driving the lead Titan was reporting to this senior officer. A trick, but why? Sergei surmised it was to sway mutant opinion to Nod. They were the great third party. Allegiance unknown, and known to help both sides. They were also a great asset, as they were the only ones that could still live in the equatorial regions due to Tiberium contamination.
They were ushered out, and into the bowels of the facility.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #98076] |
Tue, 29 June 2004 06:21 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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They were guided to a small vehicle like a cart that swept through tunnels, and turns via an underground transit system. So many that he couldn’t find his way out if he had wanted to without difficulty. They went past rows of computer data banks in one area that was kept at a cool zero degrees Celsius to prevent over heating. Another area was an apparent shooting range for exotic weapons. Labs were also present, and scientists could be seen shuttling about without any concern for him.
It was then that he realized the entire base was connected underground. They were entering other areas of the base, including tiberium production, communications, science, weapons and associated base equipment. They finally stopped at massive blast doors, where their guide punched in access codes, and the doors slowly opened.
Regulus awaited on the other side conferring with a man in a suit and tie. They turned at their arrival, and Regulus stated “I will contact you in a day or two with my answer then, after I speak with Kane. Goodbye Mr. Prime Minister.�
The minister bowed slightly at the waist, and turned to be ushered out by his armed escort. Regulus turned to them, and looked each one in the eyes as he walked up and down the line they had formed at attention.
“Gentlemen. In the weeks following this happy little meeting of ours, you will getting basic, and advanced training in your areas of expertise. What areas of expertise you may be thinking.
Brother Slavik and I have overseen your “qualification testing� personally. For the most part we did not interfere, but at times we introduced stimuli to see if candidates had specific traits or assets. In the case of candidate James Parker we introduced mutant species into the equation. For candidate Sergei Ustinov we introduced the Flooding room, and cipher lock scenario as well as the laser turret. And for candidate Hans Becker here, we introduced a hostile GDI commando.
These stimuli were introduced because we saw specific traits in you. Candidate Becker, you will be placed in the assassination corps. Candidate Ustinov, you will be placed in infiltration, intelligence and psych warfare, and candidate Parker, you will trained for the leadership cadre to lead brotherhood units in battle.�
Sergei found himself smiling at his assignment. He liked the idea of getting the job done without even being detected. A big messy fight was not his forte, and he didn’t feel like he had leadership qualities like Regulus to lead entire battalions.
“I have representatives standing by from each of your respective divisions standing by to show you to your departments. Until you finish basic, you will live together where you are, and then from there you will be placed with your units, wherever your mission needs fulfillment. Remember Gentlemen, despite your different branches, you are all Black Hand. Do not fail us. That is all.�
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #99834] |
Tue, 06 July 2004 06:44 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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The three representatives came forward in lockstep, standing in front of their new recruits, and he noticed that the three of them bore different insignia in their BH patches.
While the leadership care had the standard Black Fist clutching lightning, the assassination division had a red targeting reticle, and the intelligence/ psych warfare division had a red eye.
The all seeing Eye of Nod.
His rep introduced himself as Pavel, and led him to their part of the underground complex. Seeing as he wasn’t cleared for area yet, and hadn’t passed Basic, he was shown only his room, and his preliminary acclimation manuals which Pavel loaded him up with.
“While in basic, study these. They will guide you in Intel indoc before you get here. I can’t tell, or show you any more until Basic is done. I will bring you back to your temporary quarters now.�
When they arrived at the barracks, he was told that on graduation from Basic, he would be picked up and brought to the complex for advanced training, and assignment after.
Then he was gone.
The others, he noticed weren’t there yet. He put his manuals in his room safe, and got some chow. It was burgers today. He liked them, and had three, and went back to his room. He checked his link to Cabal for messages. He had one from the basic commander telling him to report at 0500 in front of the building. No problem. Considering it was now only 1500 he decided to read some of the manuals he had been provided. How long would he have to study these he wondered.
“Cabal.�
“YES� his wrist link spoke from the speaker.
“How long is basic training for the Black Hand?�
“TYPICALLY IT TAKES A CANDIDATE FROM 6 TO 8 WEEKS. CONSIDERING YOUR UNIQUE STATUS, I WOULD ESTIMATE 4-5.�
“Cabal, clarify. What ‘unique status’?�
“YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO ACCESS THIS INFORMATION.�
“That will be all Cabal.�
“AFFIRMATIVE�
What did that mean, he wondered. A sense of foreboding was at the edge of his senses.
The first manual was entitled “Analysis of Current Theatre�
A quick perusal of the index showed info on current GDI leadership castes, units, communications facilities, large bases etc.
There were also stats on Mutant leadership, and bases as well as studies from the lab folks about their abilities. What he found most intriguing was the fact that the manual had a section on civilians, specifically one “Dr. Mobius�.
The second manual was a thorough study of all weapons used since the dawn of time, as well as some that were stamped as experimental. One of particular interest to him was the “Personal Ion Cannon�. How could anyone carry such a device, and what potential did it have? There was no information other than a sketchy picture, and the name.
He would browse the other manuals when he had time, but for now he would go check on James if he was in. he pushed the communicator button. It was a sick yellow color and it reminded him of GDI armor. James met his query with an opened door. “Come in, come in.�
Sergei saw that James had also been provided with material from his department to study while in basic. “What did they give you?� He asked.
“ Battlefield theory, and strangely enough a copy of Tsun Zhu’s ‘Art of War’. A little light reading, and orders to get on the combat simulator and match up with others from my unit. What did you get?�
“I haven’t looked at all of them yet, but it looks like standard stuff so far. No orders to get on the simulator though. How’s the wounds?� Sergei asked.
“Well enough. They seem to be healing faster than I had expected them to. Good Medics I guess.� Sergei saw he was right, and was also wondering at the speed he was healing at. “What did they use?� He asked James.
“I don’t know exactly. It was a green paste, that seemed to absorb right into the skin. The medic said it was tiberium based. Hey, how about a walk around base tonight before we get into full fledged training tomorrow? I want to take a look around.�
“Sure. Let’s get some food first and head out.� Sergei replied.
They ate swiftly, and saw Becker on the way out the door. Parker said hello and gave him a smile, but it was met with silence, and an angry stare at Sergei. Sergei said nothing, and returned the stare. The man had a dangerous look in his eyes, but he wasn’t afraid of him. Instead of fear he felt his own anger rise, and a desire to seriously hurt the other candidate overtook him.
Once outside, his mood returned to normal. They walked around base checking out various structures, and their functions. Sergei had a particular interest in defensive structures after watching the other base fall to GDI forces. The giant laser was of interest to him, and they stopped at the entrance to the structure where they were met by a technician working inside. He saluted them, and they returned it and the technician seemed overly nervous at having two Black Hand representatives in the room.
“Relax. This isn’t an inspection. Tell us about this facility’s inner workings, brother.� James said.
Sergei found himself admiring the way James carried himself, and how he was able to talk to the ground troops as an equal while still presenting himself as in charge. An excellent choice for the leadership cadre, and a very wise placement on the part of Regulus.
The Technician rattled off some specs, and stats about his structure with a more relaxed tone now.
“Well sir, this is a BDS 2500 “Obelisk� laser tower. It has two capacitors in the upper level here that store the electricity generated down below from the generator. The capacitors release the power simultaneously, which is directed upwards to the laser generator on top of the tower. The lasers’ 360 degree range, and ability to hit targets 1000 meters out makes it an excellent choice for defense. It has a limitation though with airborne units. The ability to fire skyward is severely degraded due to the blue spectrum of the upper atmosphere. We can fire at airborne units, but typically don’t as the capacitors take about 15 seconds to generate enough power to fire the laser, and that can be a lifetime in a battle where every shot counts. Especially when you aren’t guaranteed a hit, as is the case with airborne units like the GDI orca. We rely on the SAMS for that, and we typically have four deployed around a laser at any one time.
The laser has the ability to punch through 6.75 inches of high grade steel, and as was the case at the base north of here, they accounted for approximately 75 percent of initial GDI losses to heavy units, and gave our forces time to hit back before losing power.�
“Very good. Thank you brother for your thorough briefing. In the name of Kane!�
They returned to the barracks after the brief tour, and said good night to each other.
“Good luck in training James.�
“You too Sergei, and watch Becker. I think he likes you.� James said with a grin.
Sergei laughed in spite of the inferred danger, and closed the door. He prepared himself mentally before going to bed. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.
Deleted
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #99914] |
Tue, 06 July 2004 12:35 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He was out on the field in front of the barracks well ahead of 0500. Standing at attention at 0430, he figured he could beat any indoc hazing new recruits usually got by being woken early, accused of "missing roster", then being punished the rest of the day by twice as much torture as usual. The base was alive even at this hour, he noted. Rumbling machinery idled past him, and soldiers in the back of trucks heading to the front looked at him with vacant expressions. They were young, but the look on their faces spoke of age past their young years. He surmised they had seen their share of everything bad that life had to offer, and were ready for more.
The air was cool, and damp. He glanced out of his peripheral vision, not daring to move a muscle while at attention. He saw flashes of light on a mountain side off in the distance. The truck the soldiers were on rumbled in that direction, and Sergei felt guilty for his special treatment. He should be with them, fighting alongside them, and dying with them if need be. Maybee the schmuck Becker was right. No, he thought. I was chosen to serve in a different capacity. Maybee I can save a few of them by using whatever talents Nod leadership thinks I have.
The training officer showed up as he expected at 0445. He looked at Sergei with a raised eyebrow, and walked over in front of him. "Who told you to be out here now, candidate?"
"No one sir!"
"I find that extremely hard to believe candidate. Drop and give me 50. That will give you some time to think about your sources of information, while I get the other slackers out here."
"Sir, yes sir!"
Sergei dropped, and chuckled slightly to himself. The officer saw the smirk, and said over his shoulder, "Make it 60, since we're feeling so intelligent today." In a sarchastic tone.
He sighed inwardly, as he continued his count. In the background he heard the shouting, and laughed as the others, almost dressed and ready, were surprised by the sudden appearance of an angry training officer claiming they had "missed roster, and were going to be sorry mother f**kers very shortly".
He finished as the officer arrived again.
"Who told you to stop, Smart ass? Drop and give me 20 more!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #100448] |
Thu, 08 July 2004 12:43 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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The other two came out at a run, and stopped and stood at attention by Sergei who was still doing pushups. Becker looked down at him and grinned. The instructor, not missing a trick shouted: "Does that look like fun to you?"
"Sir, no sir!" Becker snapped, and stared straight ahead.
"Get up scumbag!" He shouted at Sergei.
Sergei stood, and stared straight ahead, sweat dripping off him from the exertion.
"Today ladies, we are going to go for a little run. I figured it would be a nice thing to do for such fine gentlemen as yourselves to introduce you to our little brotherhood within a brotherhood. I am Captain Valdez, and you ladies belong to me for the next month and a half."
"Let's go on a little tour of the brotherhood's fine facilities today, shall we? Move!"
He started off on a fast trot, and the recruits fell in behind him. He led them through the main gate, and into the woods surrounding the facility. Activity was everywhere, and helos circled above awaiting landing instructions. After 15 Minutes of running, Sergei was hurting. He saw that Jim wasn't enjoying himself either, while Becker was a monolith. Neither he, nor Valdez seemed to mind. They ran for what seemed like forever and he didn't know how much more he could take. Keep going he told himself, lungs burning.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #100575] |
Fri, 09 July 2004 06:06 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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The running continued, despite his wishes to the contrary. He needed to find a way to cope, and focused on the problem at hand. The burning in his lungs. He tried different breathing methods, some better than others, and settled on timing his breathing to coincide with his stride.
Two shorts breaths in, two short breaths out. It seemed to quench his lungs desire for air, and he found that he was fairing much better now. Jim seemed to be doing better now as well. He started to focus on the scenery to distract his mind until this hell march was over. They were apparently near the ocean. He could smell it in the air, and the horizon was opening up as well. He found he was happy about it, and thought back to his vacations with his father many years ago. Their Yugo had been old and barely ran that day, but they arrived in the morning as the sun came up. Sergei could remember seeing the sunrise for the first time ever over the ocean. Breathtaking was the only word for it.
They had spent the day and played in the water, and he had always wanted to go back, but hadn’t ever made it. Apparently today he would.
He snapped back to reality as they approached the rocky coastline. Nod cargo ships unloaded cargo to supply the war effort, and the shore was a hive of activity. Not a day at the beach he had imagined. They ran past a cargo ship whose bow opened up like a mouth. The cavernous opening was empty now, save the crew who was preparing to seal the bow, and head out. It was the same all along this mile long drop off zone. Some were still in the process of unloading MCV’s, and their escorts. Others were apparent troop carriers, or helo carriers. It was an impressive logistical display to say the least.
The unloaded vehicles and troops formed columns and moved swiftly offshore. All seemed headed north to the embattled capital of Sarejevo. Judging by this deployment, Nod still hadn’t taken the capital.
They turned with the column moving north, and he watched their movements. A disciplined and determined army. He didn’t figure GDI would be able to hold out much longer. The troopers noted their passage with only a slight turn of their heads. They then turned off to the right, and headed back home via a broken down road with destroyed homes along it.
They had apparently been destroyed long ago, prior to this conflict. The crumbling ruins were overrun by Tiberium deposits scattered throughout this coastal township. He found himself wondering at the people who had lived here. He could imagine children playing in the abandoned playground, now nothing more than rusted metal, and old plastic swaying in the breeze from the ocean. They ran past a statue of a long forgotten warrior from some unknown conflict long ago. It was leaning, and the rider and horse were being decayed by the salt air, and pigeons. Such a sad state for a once proud statue.
Leaving the town behind they came to untended fields, overgrown in years of disuse. These fields lasted for awhile until the defensive structures of the base loomed into view over the horizon. He looked back over his shoulder, and saw laser turrets cleverly concealed and camouflaged. Had he been a GDI patrol he would be dead now. They passed the main gate, and came back to where they had started. It had apparently been awhile. The sun was higher now, and the heat of the day baked them as they fell into a ragged line of men heaving for air, and trying to stand at attention.
“One half hour for chow. Fall back in and do not be late ladies.�
The instructor headed for the chow hall himself, and they followed.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #100615] |
Fri, 09 July 2004 11:06 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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"Alright Ladies, now that we have finished this morning's brisk walk we will be doing a little combat simulation. The winning candidate will get the dubious honor of standing at parade rest while I cycle the hell out of the rest of you for being lazy."
"You will get your choice of one of three weapons. A pulse rifle, a shotgun, or a sniper rifle. All three weapons are modified versions of their real counterparts, and will fire paint rounds. A hit anywhere is a kill, and the losing candidate will report back here for some special attention from one of my assistants while the other two finish under my oh so watchful eye. Rules are you don't go out of the yellow boundary line. If you do, you get some quality time removing my boot from where the sun doesn't shine. Each of you will be taken to a drop off zone, and given the pick of weapon. Let's see who gets bragging rights today girls." He finished with the sarcastic tone, and an evil grin.
They were picked up by buggies, and dropped off at a replica GDI base. There were paint splatters from previous battles, and cameras at every intersection for watching the action. Some, he noticed had been hit by paint either intentionally or unintentionally.
He chose the sniper rifle. He had no intention of getting into a close range melee.
"When you are done, report to the command bunker in the middle of the town. If you get hit, raise your weapon above your head, and get there."
"Understood." Was all he said.
He trotted off into the cover of a barracks, and planned his next move.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #100627] |
Fri, 09 July 2004 12:49 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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A quick assessment of his surroundings showed the facility as a small one, only about the size of ten buildings. He wouldn’t have much setup time. He climbed on top of the barracks for a better vantage.
Silence reigned here. The sky was starting to cloud up quickly. Sergei was surprised at its suddenness, and almost forgot where he was. He returned his attention to his task. He was in the open too much. He needed higher ground, but which building to use? The radar dish would be an excellent spot, but difficult to get to, and if seen, he could never get cover.
The hospital perhaps? Yes, that would be perfect. He could hide in the ventilation ducting on the roof, and still have a good field of vision for roughly 270 degrees. There was no way he was going to travel in the open though. He saw a manhole cover in the alley beside him, and headed for it.
It took some effort to get the cover off. It was old, and was from the town that was here before this GDI facility had been set up, captured and stripped of all hardware for use as a training facility. He did manage to get it up by using a metal rod from a burned out nearby car. He slid the cover as slowly and quietly as he could, and dropped down into the old tunnel. He carefully swept the disturbed debris into the manhole and slid the cover back into place from below. He turned on the flashlight at the end of the rifle, and proceeded roughly in the direction of the hospital. If he couldn’t get to it, at least he would get behind the others, and surprise them.
He was in an old electrical cable run inspection tunnel. The way was fairly clear except for the occasional collapsed wall or whatever. He traveled about 50 meters before coming to where he saw a sign labeled “Hospital emergency generator supply�. He was there. Now all he had to do was get up there. After some looking around, he found a metal rung ladder inset into a vertical shaft. He took them up, and gave the manhole a nudge from below. It moved, and he slid it as slowly as possible to avoid noise.
He looked around, and saw that he was in the Hospital E.R. ambulance garage. He lifted himself out, slid the cover back on, and sprinted for the E.E doors. They of course had no power, and he had to force them open. Darkness greeted him in the deadness of the abandoned facility. He moved into the hall leading to the stairwell, and moved up rapidly.
Now on the roof, he set up between two giant A/C unit ducts, and slowly scanned the area. He was going to run out of daylight soon. The sky was angry, and it looked like they would soon feel its wrath.
He waited for the first victim.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #101016] |
Mon, 12 July 2004 06:25 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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It was half of an hour before he saw any movement at all, and that was only an errant animal running through the compound. He laughed when he saw paint balls splatter all around it, and hit it several times causing the animal to flip, and squeal in pain, as it changed direction, and scurried away.
Someone was exceedingly nervous, he thought while still chuckling to himself. He zoomed in on the area and noticed that he couldn't see as well as before. This was going to be a real challenge now that the sky was darkening. And if it started to rain, he was going to be real sorry he picked this rifle.
As if in answer to his thought, it started to rain as predicted. Looking around, he found a flat piece of sheetmetal that was used as an access panel for the giant ducts. He took it off, and bridged the gap between the two ducts. An impromptu shelter emerged from his efforts, and kept the majority of the rain off of him as he tried to settle back in. Sodium lights suddenly snapped on in the compound. They slowly warmed up, and grew in intensity as they got warmer. Rain spattered off the tops of the lights, and created a strange looking halo, as steam, bouncing rain drops sodium light combined to create them. Pretty, but not his focus right now.
Because of his daydreaming, he missed the opportunity to take Becker out. He ran from the left side of the main street, and dropped in the middle of the road, doing a roll, and coming to rest facing the opposite direction with his autorifle firing as it came up. He didn't see James anywhere, but the response was a flurry of paint aimed at Becker's chest. Becker dove out of the way, the area he was just in covered in running paint, mixed with water.
He kept trying to track becker. It was exceedingly difficult, as he zigged and zagged attempting to avoid the ever persistent James. He crashed through the door of an office complex, and Sergei lost him. He muttered a curse under his breath, and saw james zip across the road in pursuit.
He decided Becker would be first to go. Not only did he hate him, but he was too fast for Sergei to defeat in close combat. He ignored James for the time being. He could keep Becker off guard for him. The building Becker was in was a small square building, and he assumed that Becker would try to escape James via the back door. He zoomed on where he thought he would exit, and waited as the two battled inside the dark building. He clicked the safety off, and got into the prone stance, awaiting Becker's inevitable exit.
Rain danced off the end of his long barrel. It was protruding past the shelter, and the building by 4 inches and he hoped the water wouldn't cause issues with the trajectory of the paintball. He decided to aim a bit high to account for the driving rain and adjusted his scope quickly. He then focused, and settled his breathing into a rhythm. A tactic he had learned in civil defense corp. Serbians were very good at sniping. A tradition passed down from the wars of the 90's as Sebrenica, and Sarejevo had been turned into wastelands. The stalemate had turned into a nasty sniping war in the once proud capital. Every high rise, and open window had the potential to have snipers there, and many civilians had fallen to them.
Becker emerged by crashing through the back door. Sergei instinctively fired two shots in rapid succession. The first missed his right ear, the second hit him square in the forehead, and knocked Becker back in disbelief. He stood there, dazed beyond comprehension, looking for where the blow had come from, while trying in vain to erase the offending paint from his eyes as it ran down.
Realizing his situation, and knowing the cameras were watching, he slung the rifle, and locked his hands behind his head as he started the long walk the compound at the center of the base. James blasted through the door expecting to confront Becker in the alley. He rolled, and brought the weapon up to fire, and saw Becker in the submissive position, walking away. Disbelief crossed his face, and Sergei saw it in the scope. James looked up in the direction of the Hospital. A smile crossed Sergei's face as he pulled the trigger two more times. James knew it was too late, but tried to move. Both rounds struck him. One caught his neck, the other his upper arm, and he crashed into the water of the alley in disappointment. Sergei kept aim, as James lay in the water, and slowly pulled himself into an upright position. He slung the autorifle, and locked in his hands behind his head, which was moving back and forth in disbelief, and followed Becker who looked behind him, and smiled an evil grin.
Deleted
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #101087] |
Mon, 12 July 2004 11:13 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He remained in position despite having won. He was enjoying the moment, and needed to come down from the tension. He watched the rain come down, and enjoyed the sound of it hitting the sheetmetal. His wrist unit spoke in the voice of Cabal:
"INCOMING TRANSMISSION."
It was the voice of training officer Valdez.
"Ok hotshot, let's see how you do against some real soldiers. All you have to do is get to the command bunker."
"Affirmative" he said, and hit the "off" button. He didn't need distractions like Valdez if he was going to pull this off. He rose, and sprinted to the stairwell, and down the stairs. They would have him pegged by now, and he needed to get below ASAP. He wondered what kinds of BH members he was going to use against him, and tried to anticipate the attacks. Once he was on the lower level, he took stock in the surroundings. He didn't dare use the light at the end of the rifle, until he was away from windows or anything that would allow light to transit it.
The bunker was north of his position. He knew the most intelligent thing to do would be to take a roundabout route, but they were professionals who would anticipate that. He decided on trying the most direct, and unpredictable method. He also figured that with the rain outside, visibility would be bad for all parties unless they had Infrared. In that case, he was in trouble anyways.
The sewers were his best bet. He looked for anything marked maintenance or basement. He found an indiscrete door marked "Facilities area. Authorized personnel only." .
This was it he figured, and crept past the rusty door, careful to not leave any traces of his passing behind. He closed the door, locked it, and turned the light on. The stairs had rusted through long ago due to a leak from in the overhead. The lower section lay at the bottom of the well. He took the stored firehose in the wall unit and flaked it out over the edge of the precipice. He quasi-rapelled down, and landed on the remnant of stairwell with a soft clang.
The entrance to the boiler room lay ahead, and he entered. Long unused machinery hulked over his head. Compressors, boilers, piping of all sorts lay ahead. As did the skeletal remains of some poor soul with a nametag stating his name was "Bubba".
Bubba, while dead had some very useful tools, and Sergei thanked him for his generous offer. The crowbar, micro-torch and key ring would come in handy he was sure. Beyond Bubba lay the sewer access, a non-descript little manhole long rusted closed. He moved toward it.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #101110] |
Mon, 12 July 2004 12:40 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He could hear the rushing water down there. No doubt it was fairly clean, as the base hadn't been used in ages, but he hadn't expected rushing water. No doubt it was due to runoff from the torrent falling from the sky. He pried it open using the bubba-matic 4000 crowbar, and slid down into the drain, closing the grate after him.
It was dark, wet, and cold down here. Below him was the rushing water, and he was thankful at least that it was moving in the direction he wanted to go in. On the edge of the concrete drain was a walkway in various states of disrepair, but for the most part useable. He figured he was going to have to drop into the water, then swim to the walkway, and hope he could get to it before the water swept him on a long dangerous journey to the ocean.
No time like the present he mentally shrugged. He dropped into the water, and felt coldness, and darkness seized the area as the rifle submerged.
He bobbed up into air, but he could only see about a foot ahead of him as the rifle was still under water. He struck out for the walkway, and seized a metal railing, pulling himself up onto the platform. The water had only been about three feet deep, and he was thankful. He sat and caught his breath for a minute, listening to the cascading water. He then started down the path, and was careful to keep the light from obstacles. If it broke, he was going to have to work twice as hard to get out. The cool mist flowed almost like a river around him, and felt a chill, while the roar of the rushing water went on.
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #101203] |
Tue, 13 July 2004 07:44 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He moved as rapidly as he could. It wouldn't take them long to search the hospital, and if they were good they would see the traces of his passing. He estimated it would be about five man hole covers before he could even be near where he wanted. The drain was about the diameter of a bus, and the passage on the right side that he was using was about three feet wide, so travel was fairly easy. Occasionally he came across parts of the path that were eroded, or damaged, but they were fairly easy to transit. In the water's path he would sometimes see objects lodged in grates, or pieces of the roof that had fallen. It was an eerie place of darkness, and he was thankful he was alone down here.
He counted the passage of four of the ladders leading up. He was careful to always look up to ensure a BH member wasn't waiting for his passage. So far, nothing. And nothing behind him either. He was concerned by the lack of showing on the part of the BH team. He hoped it didn't mean they weren't pursuing, just waiting near the bunker in hiding. That would make things difficult. He could take one at a time, but not multiples.
Ahead of him was a collapsed section. He wasn't going to be able to go any further, and surveyed his situation. The road above had collapsed as if on a hinge. He found that he was able to climb out of the drains by simply walking up the collapsed section like a ramp. Water swirled around the base of the collapsed section, and he could see a civilian cars' roof in the maelstrom. Above him , the storm raged and the rain pelted him. Lightning flashes illuminated his world of darkness and he could see only dark forms of buildings through the screen of rain. The sodium lights either weren't working or had been shut off. He crept to the top of the ramp, and got on one knee surveying the surroundings he could see.
Where was he?
Deleted
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #101215] |
Tue, 13 July 2004 09:41 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He couldn't ascertain where he was from down here. He moved to the building closest to him on the right. It was so dark he couldn't see the entrance until lightning flashed. Not only did he see the door, but a BH member in a balaclava, apparently scanning the area in the opposite direction with night vision glasses, and apparently having trouble in the rain.
Sergei couldn't move, he was so surprised. He clearly had the advantage, but was frozen in the moment of sudden awareness. He regained composure, brought the gun level, and waited until the fellow turned. Four paint balls hit his chest in a diamond fashion near his left upper torso.
"Dammit!"
"I'll take your pistol, thank you very much." Sergei said.
The defeated assassin handed it over, locked his hands behind his head, and looked him in the eyes.
"Everyone gets lucky sometimes."
"Everyone except you. Now hand over the night vision, and lip mic too." Sergei replied.
He did and moved towards the bunker area, cursing the whole way. Now armed with a silenced pistol, night vision, and coms between the others, he was feeling far more confident about his chances. Over the lip mike came: "All units report."
"Alpha one here. Search negative. Hospital clear. Proceeding to rendezvous point whiskey"
"Bravo one. Search negative. Nothing to report in Wep factory area."
"Charlie one here. Search negative, but I did find two rats getting it on in the Factory."
Silence now met his ears.
"Delta one, Command. Report."
He could only assume his latest victim was Delta one. He spoke into the mic, simulating static as he spoke.
"Delta one nega…….earch of ….area clear….riencing comm. troub…."
"Affirmative DELTA ONE. Area clear, comm. trouble noted, Get a new mic ASAP."
"Aff…mative, command. Del……one out."
Sergei chuckled as he climbed to the top of the building he was in. He set up an outpost hidden in the shelter of the smoke stack he was behind, and scanned the horizon for who was next. He was starting to enjoy this now.
Deleted
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| STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #101354] |
Wed, 14 July 2004 06:16 |
KIRBY098
Messages: 1546
Registered: February 2003
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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He now knew what he was up against. Three active hostiles with a central command post somewhere in the area. If he could locate that outpost, and capture the comm. link, he could isolate them from each other, and would stand a better chance. He had gotten lucky earlier, and gained the initiative. He didn't plan on losing it. Where would the command post be though, he wondered. Somewhere safe, yet able to scan the base to assist, and coordinate their response.
There were three options that afforded the ability to oversee the base. He was on one of them. This was an old ore smelting factory that the base apparently used to refine raw materials for vehicle production. He could see the hangar door slightly off track below him. It had been a long time since any shipments of metal had left here on its way to the Weapons factory. He wondered how many weapons of war had started their existence right here, and how many of them were left.
The other two locations were the stack of the power plant, and the main construction building. Considering the stack of the plant was bathed in sodium lights, and a large hole was torn through it by an errant round long ago, he guessed that the MCV was his best bet. He didn't know much about these unique buildings other than they were the center of each mobile base, and were initially set up based on mobile platforms that were slowly rolled into position on massive treads. Quite a feat of engineering he surmised, but irrelevant to his necessary task at the moment. He spoke to his CABAL link:
"Cabal, give me a breakdown on the layout of GDI MCV structures, post deployment mode. Specifically I need information regarding interior layout of MCV's in the style used in the facility I am in right now."
"AFFIRMATIVE. GLOBAL DEFENSE INITIATIVE MOBILE CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE, CLASS MCV ZERO ZERO ONE DASH BRAVO.
THIS MCV IS THE SECOND REVISION IN GDI'S CURRENT INVENTORY OF THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE. NOTABLE ENHANCEMENTS OVER PRIOR DESIGN INCLUDE VOICE RECOGNITION, AND KEYCARD LOCKS AT ALL ACCESSES AS WELL AS IMPROVED CRANE STRUCTURE ALLOWING FOR HEAVIER CARGO LIFTS. THE CONSTRUCTION YARD IS ALSO 20 % LARGER ALLOWING FOR QUICKER SUB ASSEMBLY OF KEY STRUCTURE COMPONENTS.
INTERIOR SPECIFICATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS: TWO LEVEL STRUCTURE. FIRST FLOOR IS PRIMARILY A LARGE HANGAR WHERE THE SUB COMPONENTS ARE BUILT IN AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY LINES. WELDING, AND CUTTING ROBOTICS ARE CONTROLLED FROM THE UPPER LEVEL CONTROL ROOM, WHICH OVERSEES THE CONSTRUCTION FLOOR. THE FIRST FLOOR HAS A CENTRAL ELEVATOR FOR ACCESSING THE CONTROL ROOM, AS WELL AS A SECONDARY EMERGENCY ACCESS IN THE REAR OF THE FACILITY. ACCESS TO THIS STAIRWELL IS GAINED THROUGH THE HYDRAULIC PUMP ROOM.
UPPER LEVEL ROOMS ALSO INCLUDE DINING FACILITIES FOR GDI PERSONNEL, AS WELL AS BUNKING FOR THE TWO MAN MAINTENANCE CREW."
"That will be all Cabal. Thank you."
"YOUR GRATITUDE IS UNECESSARY, HUMAN."
"So are your commentaries, machine."
He scanned the area before leaving the roof top. As expected no movement could be seen. He figured the MCV would be close, as the raw materials were based here. He found his target 200 yards away after a lightning flash. He moved from the roof, and exited the building.
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