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STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #124830]

Mon, 06 December 2004 23:18

exnyte
Messages: 746
Registered: February 2003

Karma: 0

Colonel

123

Twenty minutes later, They had reassembeled in the common room.
"We are finally in a standdown. A small mission the day after tommorow, but until then you are free to do as you please after musters. Musters will be at 0700, 1200 and 1700. Dismissed!" Valdez said.

Standdown. Sergei wouldn't know what to do with himself. He supposed he could check out the temple and its architechture, but for now he found he wanted to sleep again. He turned towards his room, and after closing the door dropped everything where it was, and crashed onto the bed.

The dream returned again. This time it was a snowy day. As the cyborg stood in the field of green tiberium, he watched snow gently fall, and hiss as it hit the crystals. He found it odd they weren't being covered like the landscape around him. Again he moved forward without control of the scene being played out. Just as he remembered from before, the cannon fired, but this time he was firing at a control tower at the edge of a prison complex. It erupted, and disintegrated before the cannon, and then he saw a figure appear on the HUD. The words "Primary Target" appeared, and he fully expected to see green fire erupt once again. It didn't. He moved forward and stomped over the wall. Two titans loomed into view, firing on the escapee that had passed him. He turned, saw the APC arrive, and the escapee dissapear, then resumed his attack.

Green fire lanced out and struck the Titan on the left, burning through half a leg. The other one returned fire, and the cyborg reeled from the 155 mm round's impact, but stood its ground, and fired back. The ball of green burned into the cabin of the titan, and it fell backwards with no pilot, or computer balancing to help it stand. The other tried to turn to bear, but the damaged leg wouldn't respond. The cyborg finshed the mech off, and started destroying every building in sight. GDI alarms sounded, and from somewhere he heard "Withdraw, and await the APC."
"AFFIRMATIVE." Was the cyborg's reply, and it stomped back out to the tib field. There it stood, and Sergei watched the HUD numbers climb for energy levels. Apparently the borg was Tiberian based.

He woke again just in time for muster.

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STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #124831]

Mon, 06 December 2004 23:20

exnyte
Messages: 746
Registered: February 2003

Karma: 0

Colonel

124

The days passed for the men slowly. Combat proven warriors seldom take well to inactivity, and it was no different for these men. He found the scientists strange, and was uncorfortable with the way they looked at him. Always as if they were surveying what they were. He had made the mistake of trying to venture to the lower levels. He found that despite their security clearances entry was still forbidden to them.

The third day of R&R he was laying in his room reading up on the current global situation when the Battle Alarm went off inside the temple. he leaped up, and ran to the command station where Drubnov had pulled duty this shift.

"What's going on?"

"Incoming Bombers. Coming in on Vector 197. It looks like a good sized strike. Nod HQ has scrambled the helos, but it looks like there are too many to handle."

Valdez appeared half dressed and demanded a sitrep.

"Sir, 32 incoming Orca type bombers on an intecept with the temple. Nod HQ has scrambled Harpies, and the defense grid is on full alert. We have orders to defend the Temple, but nothing specific at this time."

"Patch me in to the Commander."

Regulus' image appeared and a hive of activity buzzed around him.
"Sir. What are our orders?" Valdez asked.
"I want your men on the temple roof with Stingers. If any get through the defensive net, you are the last line."

"Understood. Heading up now sir."

The image cut out, and Vadlez started bellowing orders to gear up, and "Move your worthless carcasses".

Sergei took the stinger, and his heavy laser, and got the men together.

"Let's move. I want you in a 360 degree spread. protect your quadrants. Don't miss."

They ran through the glass doors, and into the nearest maintenance elevator. They rode it all the way up, as in the background Cabal's disembodied voice stated in flat mechanical tones that all personnel were manned and ready.

"BOMBERS INBOUND. ETA FIVE MINUTES. ENGINEERS TO DEFENSIVE RING POSITIONS ALPHA, CHARLIE, TANGO AND WHISKEY."

The doors opened onto the roof of the temple, and as strange as it was for him to do it, they ran across the glass arches towards positions along the roof covering the full perimeter. He spoke into his lip mike:

"Report!"

Each man reported manned and ready and then Cabal's ever present voice announced: "BOMBER ETA 3 MINUTES. HARPY ONE REPORTS CONTACT."

In the distance he could see the explosions of the ensuing air battle as Orca fighter escorts kept the harpies off the bombers somewhat unsuccesfully. They steadily advanced, coming in low and fast. the defensive perimeter initiated its firing, and tracers and SAM missiles lanced towrd the offending aircraft.

He saw the telltale signs of an impending Ion strike forming above one of the SAM banks. Static discharges increased and the blue death rained down on the site. The bombers saw it, and headed for the hole in the ring.

The men raised their launchers, and waited as aircraft were swatted from the sky mercilessly.

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STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #124832]

Mon, 06 December 2004 23:21

exnyte
Messages: 746
Registered: February 2003

Karma: 0

Colonel

125

Sergei noticed one thing that was unusual about this whole scene. Everything seemed to slow down. He was impressed by the precision flying despite heavy antiaircraft fire, and the absolute deadly precision with which CABAL was dropping bombers from the sky despit losing the SAM sites to the east to Ion cannon fire.

The bombers were now well within the defensive ring, and started climbing to get enough elevation to clear the Temple. Their steep ascent caught the Harpies off guard, and Sergei's men prepared to fire.

"Now! Kill them all" valdez screamed into their ears.

Almost simultaneously, seven stingers leapt from their tubes. The men didn't wait to see how the rockets tracked. they immediately reloaded, and fired again at different targets. The rockets streaked to thier marks and seven Orcas either blew up outright or were damaged enough to lose altitude. the second volley took out four more before the bombers were over thier goal. By now, only eight of the original group were still flying. The damaged ones that couldn't make enough altitude due to damaged fans crashed into the side of the temple causing almost as much damage as a bombing run would have.

"Take cover!"

Time now seemed even slower to Sergei. A concussion wave hit him, and threw him against the nearest steel support. Glass flew everywhere, and the temple shuddered as orca pieces burst through the temple's reinforced glass, and shredded on the steel support beams.

He looked down, and saw he had absorbed much of the glass that had flown toward him. He was bleeding heavily, but looked to the sky to determine how succesful they had been in deterring the Orcas.
He knew the answer immediately. They were in the process of releasing thier deadly High explosive payloads directly onto the Temple. He saw bombs rain down slowly as he sat slumped against the support. From across the Temple's ruined upper dome, he could see a defiant Drubnov firing his heavy laser into the lead Orca. I'ts pilot cabin disintegrated, and the craft nosed down.

Drubnov, and most of his team disappeared in fire as the first bombs hit. He couldn't breathe now, and as shock waves hit, and the bombs moved toward him. There was something broken about his body and he laid still.

He looked toward the red and orange hued sky trying to find some small measure of peace before the end and saw the suns rays as the it set behind the mountain. Behind him, the temple shook and shattered under the bombs that pierced it.

He didn't look back. It was too late for that, and he focused on the setting sun. It was a fitting tribute, and he shed a tear as the glass and beam gave way under him.

Slowly his broken body fell through space, and through it all he finally knew peace as the day's last rays warmed his face. He would never feel the impact as he hit the temple floor. His broken body would die just before, but he had time for one last thought:

He thought of his father, and that oh so long ago trip they had taken together. He saw the warmth in his face, and love in his eyes in a similar sunset from that day. He was going home to see dad, and he was happier than he had been for a long time..............

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STORY: The Scorpion's tale. [message #124834]

Mon, 06 December 2004 23:25

exnyte
Messages: 746
Registered: February 2003

Karma: 0

Colonel

126 This is the final segment. You can download the full story in PDF format >here<.

Darkness.

Lonliness.

Cold.

A flash of light, and a vision unintelligible, and unrememberable.

Sound. A deep voice.

"Interface is online. Attach synaptic links here, here and here."

A sizzling sound, and then a female voice.
"I'm reading cerebral activity."

"Shut it down."

Silence again.

A scene appears. A white room, abandoned except for a lone scientist hunched over a desk of components, and a touchscreen PC. The picture is tinted blue, and a HUD readout is in the bottom right of the field of vision. It simply states: "Operational status: 30 %".

Where is this? When is this? A sense of uncertainty prompts an automatic diagnostic. The results display "Operational status: 30 %"

The scientist rasies his head, and notes his presence. He walks slowly over, and stands directly in the field of view. He then says simply:

"Soon. Be patient young one."

He then walks to the PC, and taps the screen.

Silence and darkness again.

Noise, and the deep voice again.

"Bring the full interface up now, except for the threat assesment and movement subroutines."

"Standby." The female voice says.

Again there is the room. This time the female is here. The uncertainty arises again, and a diagnostic states: "Operational Status 100%. Error line 601, 1052, 9875 and 15,640. Re-routing primaries......Negative. Weapons system ..........offline.
Hydraulics....................offline."

Somehow he knows exactly what the error codes mean, and knows the diagnostic pathways that have just been denied use. A query is automatically generated to somewhere.

The response is a powerful mechanical voice in his mind.

"PHASE SEVEN IN PROGRESS. OPERATIONAL CONTROL DENIED. STANDBY...."

For some reason he is satisfied with the answer, and knows he is subject to the voice's authority.

The female speaks again. "All diagnostic subroutines functioning perfectly. Ummmm, sir? It tried to re-route control."

"Excellent. Regulus was right. This is an exemplary specimen. Shut down the cognitive relays, and test the hydraulics."

"Affirmative. Powering down."

Darkness.

Awareness, and light. A different room, darker and more people. No scientists, only armed men in red and black gear. He attempts to do a threat assesment and fails. Then the mechanical inner voice speaks:

INITIATING PRIMARY STARTUP.....

CEREBRAL INTERFACE ONLINE......

HYDRAULICS ONLINE..................

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ONLINE.

He is flooded with awareness of many things. He now knows who these people are, thier ranks, their alignment and has three dimensional awareness. Several diagnostics simultaneously display and he reports their results to the inner voice.

A different mechanical voice sounds. It comes from him.
CYBORG COMMANDO ONLINE........

He is ordered onto the APC in front of him. He knows its capabilities, and that it can burrow through the earth. men follow him into the craft. they are several feet shorter, and seem insignificant to him, yet he knows they are mission critical.

DOWNLOADING MISSION OBJECTIVES

1. SECURE GENERAL ANTON SLAVIK
2. ESCORT TO RENDEZVOUS
3. ELIMINATE ALL GDI AND CIVILIAN FORCES
4. PROTECT ELITE BLACK HAND COMMANDERS
5. SECURE LIEUTENANT OXANNA CHRISTOS
6. ESCORT TO RENDEZVOUS

He has maps, coordinates threat assesments of GDI current armor expectations at the facility.

The APC fires up, and from below him one of the passengers looks at him and says to Regulus: "He was a damned good soldier."

Regulus looks at the severly burned face of the Elite Black Hand member, and says: "He still is, Valdez. Ustinov is better than ever."

The other man scoffs a bit, and says "I still prefer the old fashioned commando."

The trip is long, and then the inner voice states:

STANDBY. ARRIVAL IMMINENT IN THREE, TWO, ONE.....

He is in motion, and moving out the APC now.

There is a Tiberium field ahead, and he stomps through it on the way to the GDI facility ahead. Halfway through he stops, and looks down even though he isn't ordered to. A reflection greets him, and he sees himself.

A cyborg.

A memory tries to come to the front of his brain, but cannot. the Nod scientists cut that part of his brain away long ago.
Without emotion, and without feeling he returns to the task at hand.

General Slavik must be released. The GDI base must be destroyed.

The first threat appears and he fires. Green death launches from his right cybernetic implant, and the wolverine explodes and ammo starts to cook off.

GDI is unable to stop him..............

LE FIN

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