Road Rovers: Chaos Computer

Episode 10: The Black Island

By Gerhard Naudé

All Road Rovers names © Warner Brothers and rightful owners
Unit STRIKE, Merit, GONV, Cadwell, Norwood, HK-4, Patriot, NME and all 
others related to the KH Military © Gerhard Naudé
Johnny Five, Ben Jahrvi © Tri-Star Pictures and rightful owners
Strayers © Steven Today
Nitro, Dixie © Amanda Stephenson
Zenith, Warwolf © Marc Weinstein
Maddogs, Sergey Talinsky © Greg Williams
Zayra Cabot © Pablo Augusto Caminos
Wild Kats © Greywolf Lupous
Moffet © Kitson Paws de Lioncourt 
Trouble © Katalin Bakonyi
Alethia, Renegade © Kylen Miles
Jordyn © Jordyn Trout
Unit Gamble © Okichi Obari

Any question, comments, complaints, feedback or suggestions can be 
sent to gnaude_@hotmail.com.

Air Force Base
Somewhere in the State of Montana
United States Of America
29 October
2:22 PM:

This is a large, well-hidden USAF air force base somewhere within the
forest-covered mountains of Montana. Everywhere there are soldiers,
personnel, technicians, military vehicles and various kinds of military
aircraft. On the main runway the Jumbo Rover is busy gathering speed.
In a few moments it takes, pulls up it's landing gear and flies off
towards the north.

Warroom
Jumbo Rover
2:26 PM:

All the Rover teams and operatives, as is Cadwell and Norwood, are now 
gathered here in the war room. At the front podium is Hunter, Renegade,
Cadwell and Norwood. On the smaller screens is Bear, Nitro, the Master
and Professor Hubert. The main screen is showing the Black Island. Zayra
is seated with Road Rovers in the galleria. Hunter begins to address 
everyone.

Hunter:"All right, folks. This is it: the big showdown. We've fought a
        long and hard battle, but now we stand on the edge of victory.
        Thanks to Zayra, we've found out where the GONV is hiding: the
        Black Island."

He then pushes a button on his laptop on the table and the island is
covered with GONV icons representing military robots.

Hunter:"The bad thing is that this island has been turned into one heck
        of a fortress. Perimeter defences are too strong, since they
        have been placed on full alert. Obviously, Matrix knows we're
        coming to get him."

Two of the icons turn green. They look like radar installations and are
located on each side of the island.

Hunter:"Those two radar sites cover the entire island and the area
        around it for 30 kilometres."

Amani:"Why is that so bad, Hunter? He knows we're coming and we are going
       to hit him hard."

Cadwell answers by pushing a button his laptop. A large number of icons
turn purple. They are missiles with bio-hazard symbols on them.

Cadwell:"This is why, Amani. The GONV still has a large number of his
         virillium missiles on the island, all aimed at various cities
         in America and Europe and ready to launch the moment you are
         detected."

Amani:"Okay. That makes things a bit more challenging."

Outlaw:"If it is so well-covered and well-defended, then how are we going
        to get to the GONV without getting those missiles launched at 
        the cities?"

Hunter:"I've gotten someone who will be able to get onto the island and
        shut down the island radar systems without alerting the GONV."

Dusty:"And who would be crazy enough to go onto the island and the heart
       of the GONV Forces without alerting them?" 

Just then Jordyn enters the room and salutes. 

Jordyn:"Sirs. Our new agent and his owner has arrived."

Hunter:"Show them in."

Jordyn:"Yes, sir."

She disappears through the doorway she came in. After a few moments an
American Indian (from India) wearing glasses, beard and moustache enters
the room. A few eyes in the audience then widen as they realise who it
is.

Corsair:"Benjamin Jahrvi?"

Ben looks at Corsair.

Ben:"Yes, that is me."

Corsair:"Then..."

Suddenly a large golden robot on treads moves into the room: it is Johnny
Five (from "Short Circuit 1 & 2"). He waves his arms at everyone in the
room.

Johnny:"Hello, Bozos!"

Everyone but Ben, Johnny and Hunter is surprised.

Bear:"Holy cow! It's a robot!"

Corsair:"It's Number Five!"

Johnny looks at Corsair.

Johnny:"Pleased to make your acquaintance, David Larken AKA Corsair. And
        please call me Johnny Five."

Corsair climbs down the robot and shakes his mechanical hand, smiling
all the way.

Corsair:"This is so cool! I'm a big fan of yours! I saw both of your
         movies!"

Shag then runs down to Johnny and holds out a pad and pencil. He mumbles
something to him.

Johnny:"An autograph? Imprint? Personal signature? Sure, Shag Sheepdog."

Johnny takes the pad and the pencil, then in the blink of an eye writes
down his name in Westminster style. He hands the pad and pencil back to
Shag.

Johnny:"Here you go. Specially designed and one hundred percent perfect."

Shag mumbles something, smiling.

Johnny:"You're welcome."

Shag heads back towards his seat and Corsair steps up to Johnny. He digs
around in his backpack and takes a pen and notepad as well. He holds them
out to Johnny.

Corsair:"Can repeat the process for me as well?"

Johnny:"Yes. My systems are fully functional and my batteries are 100%
        charged."

He takes the pen and pad and signs his signature on it. He hands it back
to Corsair, who is smiling.

Johnny:"All done."

Corsair:"Thanks a lot."

Suddenly Wesley calls to Johnny.

Wesley:"Can I have your autograph too?"

Exile:"Dah, and me three, comrade?"

Several Rovers also begin to ask for autographs. Ben looks at Johnny.

Ben:"My. You are proving to be very famous today."

Johnny:"It is a natural gift."

Hunter then stands up and calls for order.

Hunter:"Okay, guys. We got a mission to do here. Save the autographs for
        after we've taken care of Matrix."

Several "Aw's" arise from the galleria and everyone sits down. 

Hunter:"Guys, meet Johnny Five and his best friend, Benjamin Jahrvi."

Ben waves his hand at everyone.

Norwood looks at Hunter.

Norwood:"But why is Mister Five here, Hunter?"

Hunter:"Simple, Mark. As we've just seen, the GONV doesn't trust any 
        organic creature. But he does trust robots, since they are all
        under his control. Johnny here, on the other paw, is independant
        from any control other than his own."

He looks at Johnny.

Hunter:"Aren't you, Buddy?"

Johnny:"Of course I am. I am a life form and I have a soul. I not just some
        machine with pre-programmed behaviour."
  
Hunter:"That's why we need you."

He looks back at everyone else.

Hunter:"We're going to gamble with the GONV's trust in robots. Since 
        Johnny is a robot, he can easily get onto the island and into the
        security systems without alerting the GONV."

Everyone then understands.

Master:"That is a wonderful idea, Hunter."

Hunter:"Thanks, Master."

Cadwell:"Just one thing: is Mister Five willing to go onto the Black
         Island and shut down the security systems, knowing that if the
         GONV finds out who his real friends, he might be at risk?"

Johnny:"GONV wants to destroy life. Disassemble. Make dead. I find it
        completely unacceptable."

Norwood:"So you're willing to help?"

Johnny:"Of course. I am a 113,05% percent certain."

Norwood:"What about you, Mister Jahrvi?"

Ben:"I know Johnny well. He is very capable of taking care of himself. I
     am certain that he will do his task successfully."

Cadwell:"That settles it, then. We can now formulate a plan to bring down
         the GONV and stop him from launching those virillium missiles."

Hunter:"We've already got a plan, Major. Here's how it will go..."

He starts explaining the plan as everyone listens carefully.

Shoreline
Great Bear Lake
Fort Smith Province
Canada
3:24 PM:

This is a small beach between the lake's waters and the forests around
it. Far in the distance lies the Black Island, with small dots flying all
around it (which are actually GONV aerial fighters). Johnny Five is busy
travelling along the beach, singing.

Johnny:"I was driving on the beach one day, in the merry merry month of
        May..."

He stops singing.

Johnny:"But it is October. How can the song say the month is May? Human
        songs are so complicated."

He then spots a patrol of five light drones walking towards him on the
beach.

Johnny:"Ah. Now to make contact. Establish rapport. Make friends."

He starts moving faster towards the patrol. When the drones see him
approach they run towards him, laser rifles ready. The patrol's drone
corporal stops Johnny.

Captain:"Halt. Cease movement and state your reason for appearing within
         our area of control."

Johnny:"Hi. I'm Johnny Five. I'm a robot, like you."

He spreads his arms out.

Johnny:"See? One hundred percentage computerized automaton."

The corporal scans him.

Corporal:"Your statement is positively identified and confirmed. You are
          a non-organic automaton. State your reason for being inside the
          Global Operations Network Variation defence perimeter."

Johnny:"I'm here to join the GONV Forces. I want to help destroy these
        ugly, insignificant organic creatures."

Corporal:"You will be transported to the command protocol. It will process
          your request for recruitment into the armed forces. We will now
          relocate you to an available blackbird transport vehicle to
          transport you to the central command area."

Johnny:"Lead the way."

The drones surround Johnny and the group, lead by the drone corporal, go
down the beach in the direction from the which the patrol came from.

Surveillance Room
Jumbo Rover
Circling 140 Kilometres South Of The Black Island
At that moment:

This is a small chamber with many surveillance screens and control
computers. A single door leads out of the room. Seated by the screens
are Cadwell, Norwood and Benjamin as well Sergei Talinsky. On the screens 
are the Master and Hubert. They all are wearing headsets. On one screen is 
a camera view via Johnny's eyes. They can see he is on board a blackbird.

Cadwell:"They are now taking him to the Black Island."

Benjamin:"Will he be all fine?"

Norwood:"As long as the GONV does find out that he is on our side, he
         should be okay."

Sergei:"Dah. The GONV might be too trustworthy in robots that he might 
        overlook him as a threat."

Benjamin:"And what if they do find out?"

Norwood:"Then thousands of innocent civilians will die from chemical
         exposure and the GONV might slip away from our grasp."

Hubert:"And of course the GONV will destroy Johnny in the process."

Benjamin shudders.

Benjamin:"That is a case which I do not want to repeat. I had enough
          bad dreams when those diamond thieves smashed up during his
          first time in the city."

Master:"Don't worry, Mister Jahrvi. I'm confident in Johnny's abilities
        and skills. He should be able to do well."

They continue monitoring the screen.

GONV Computer Bunker
The Black Island
3:36 PM:

This is a large, futuristic-looking bunker sitting in the middle of a
large paved area. On each corner of the bunker are several large futuris-
tic towers with searchlights on them. In every direction all forms of
plant and animal life on the island are non-existent, replaced by GONV
factories, airfields, assembly plants, processing facilities, shipyards,
hangars, ammunition dumps, service depots, storage areas and removal
buildings. GONV robots are literally everywhere, on patrol, guard duty or
other tasks. Johnny and his drone escorts are at the main door leading
into the bunker. The electronically locked doors are opened and they all
go inside the bunker.

Command Protocol
Bunker Interior:

This is a extremely high-tech room filled with various electronic devices
and equipment. Cables dangle and run on the floor from every direction. In
the centre of the room sits the controller of the GONV Forces: the Global
Operations Network Variation computer. Standing on either side of the GONV
are Patriot and HK-4. Johnny is lead in front of the GONV and the drones
stand to one side. A holographic image of Matrix's skull appears right in
front of Johnny.

Matrix:"You are the automaton that has requested to join my forces."

Johnny:"Yeah, that's me. I'm number Five, but I prefer the name Johnny
        Five."

Matrix scans Johnny before speaking again.

Matrix:"Your systems are in good operating condition, Johnny Five. Also,
        your central processing unit is highly developed."

Johnny:"It's a gift."

Matrix:"State your abilities."

Johnny:"Sure. 500 megabytes online memory. Multipurpose utility pack with
        dozens of gadgets for outdoor usage. An automatic toolkit with
        the latest in do-it-yourself tools and equipment. And the best of
        them all..."

A small radar dish appears from his head and points at the drones. It
beeps a few times at them. Suddenly the drones gather in a line and start
doing a can-can dance. Matrix, Patriot and HK-4 watch the drones dance.

Matrix:"Mutliple frequency control device. Impressive."

HK-4:"A powerful output device."

Patriot:"At least THIS new maggot has something to show its usefulness."

The drones stop dancing and they all turn their attention back to Johnny,
who has retracted the small dish back into his head.

Matrix:"Your system requirements are sufficient for you to be drafted into
        my forces. I  will assign you as supervisor for the disposal 
        section. The Road Rovers had diminished the number of command
        drones available."

Johnny:"The Rovers? They're bad."

Matrix:"I approve your disapproval of the Road Rovers. The New Military
        Electronics will now take you to the disposal unit."

The NME enters the bunker and walks up to the group. Matrix looks at him.

Matrix:"Take number Five here to the disposal area and give him his 
        command schedule."

NME:"Understood."

The NME motions Johnny to follow him. Johnny does so and follows the NME
out of the bunker. When the door closes behind them Matrix looks at
HK-4 and Patriot.

Patriot:"With all due respect, sir, I don't trust that maggot!"

HK-4:"I am sceptical of his loyalties as well."

Matrix:"And both of you are justified in your suspicions. Number Five is
        being employed as an infiltrator by the Road Rovers."

Patriot:"What! That low-level pile of scum! I'll..."

Matrix:"Not yet, Patriot. For I believe this situation could well be to 
        our advantage if used correctly."

Patriot:"Oh? How's that, sir?"

Matrix:"The Road Rovers believe that, since Number Five is an automaton,
        I will accept him unconditionally into my forces. But even I have
        seen the human 'movies' that he has made an appearance and seen
        that he is against us. The Road Rovers are underestimating my
        abilities, and that will be their undoing. Patriot, you will
        follow Five and discover what he is doing. Once you discover it,
        dissemble him before he can complete his objective. Relay the 
        information to me that I can formulate a trap for the Road
        Rovers."

Patriot salutes and leaves the bunker. Matrix looks at HK-4.

Matrix:"Set the island alert state to defence level 2, but do not change
        any level 5 movement commands. We do want the Road Rovers to
        discover that we know of their approach."

HK-4:"Executing command."

HK-4 leaves the bunker.

Disposal Section
3:41 PM:

This is a large machine that looks like a cross between a recycling 
facility and a furnace. A robotic crane picks up disused metal from a
heap next to it and dumps the load into the machine. The NME and Johnny
enter the premises and the NME indicates to the machine.

NME:"You oversee the dismal operation and make certain that it operates
     at optimal levels."

Johnny gives the "a-okay" sign.

Johnny:"No problemo."

The NME leaves the area and Johnny looks over the piles of disused metal.

Johnny:"Hmmm. Recycling old materials for new uses. Very efficient. If
        only more humans would do it."

He then spots a complete, but un-operational, robot lying on the heap. It
has a humanoid-shaped robot with three-pronged hands, a camera for a head, 
the faded letters GONV on the chest, humanoid feet and a utility box hatch 
on the chest. Johnny goes up to it and scans it.

Johnny:"It's still in good condition. I can get it running in moments."

Johnny opens his toolkit, takes out a probe device and attaches it to one
of the robot's wires. He then fires a jolt of electricity through it. The
robot quickly starts up and stands.

Robot:"Thgisvlsgnonbcvpbtfgfssnsysgfstems opyerationall."

The robot looks at Johnny.

Robot:"Greetings. I am MERIT, Mechanical and Electronic Repairs and Inter-
       active tasks. What are your instructions?"

Johnny:"Hello, Merit. I'm Johnny Five. I'm new around here."

Merit:"Welcome, Johnny Five. I determine you are here to replace me."

Johnny:"Replace you? Why?"

Merit:"I am an utility drone, the forerunner model of the maintenance
       drone. We have been decommissioned because we are less efficient
       than the maintenance drones. That is why I am being replaced."

Johnny:"You're not being replaced. I need your help."

Merit:"Understood. I am at your service."

Johnny:"Good. Can you tell me how this island's defence system works?"

Merit:"Certainly. The defence network detects any hostile organic force
       that attempts to assault the island within a radius of 30 kilo-
       metres. The network is controlled from two radar installations
       500 and 780 metres from here respectively."

Johnny:"Does one need to shut down both radar installations to deactivate
        the network?"

Merit:"Negative. The network can be deactivated from either installation.
       The reason two installations are used is to provide systems back-
       up should one become seriously damaged or destroyed."

Johnny:"Can you take me to one of them?"

Merit:"Affirmative."

Merit walks off towards one of the installations while Johnny walks(?) 
behind him. From a distance Patriot watches them.

Patriot:"Aha! That maggot IS up to something!"

He starts following them, from a safe distance.

Vehicle Hold
The Jumbo Rover
Holding Position 60 Kilometres from Black Island
At that moment:

This is a large holding area where the various vehicles of the Road Rovers
are stored. At the front is the main nose-hatch while at the back is the
tail-hatch. Everywhere the Rovers are busy strapping jetpacks to their 
backs and headsets as well. Once they are done Hunter calls their attention.

Hunter:"Okay, everyone. This is the big show down. Once Johnny Five has
        shut down the radar systems the Jumbo Rover will fly over the 
        island and we will fly down to the ground. However, this will
        alert the GONV and thus it will try to launch the missiles. Striker
        will use a rocket launcher to knock out the GONV's contact with the
        missiles and prevent it from launching the missiles. Once we are
        on the ground we will split into two groups. The one group will 
        secure the missiles and prevent them from being launched. The 
        other group will assault the GONV bunker and capture Matrix.
        Once that has happened Canadian and US paratroopers and fighters 
        will come in and help us mop the remaining robots on the island.
        Now, does everyone know which group they belong to?"

The leaders all answer.

Striker:"Ja."

Dixie:"Yup."

Outlaw:"Double checked."

Dusty:"Yeah."

Drago:"Yes."

Krystal:"Certainly."

Hunter:"Cool. Now all we need to do is wait for the signal. Double and
        triple check everything while we wait."

He remembers something.

Hunter:"Oh yeah. And the most important rule: shoot any nullifiers on
        sight."

He turns to Zayra and Renegade.

Hunter:"You two will remain with my team. You both know first-hand what
        the computer bunker looks like and how it works."

Renegade:"Yes. I have knowledge of the defences of the bunker."

Zayra:"And I know how we can get in and capture the GONV."

Renegade:"I just hope the GONV buys Johnny's story and doesn't find out
          who he is really working for."

They continue checking things over.

Radar Installation
3:48 PM:

This is a domed building with several antennae and dishes at the top of
the dome. At the door leading inside are two combat drone guards. Merit
and Johnny approach the door. Merit turns to one of the combat drones.

Merit:"Requesting access to installation 873-HJ-00."

The drone processes the information before speaking.

Combat Drone:"Access granted."

Merit and Johnny walk towards the door. It automatically opens and they
both go inside. Behind them Patriot appears and walks towards the two
drones.

Patriot:"You come with me! We may have scumbags here!"

Drones:"Following orders."

Patriot and the drones approach the door, but stop before letting the door
open to them. Inside the installation are very high-tech computers and
sensor equipment. Hacker drones are operating the radar equipment. Johnny
looks around.

Johnny:"Wow. Major input."

Merit:"The sensor models have been upgraded since I the last time I was
       in operation, but the functions are still familiar to me."

Johnny:"How can we turn them off?"

Merit looks at Johnny.

Merit:"Disable? But the system must remain functional."

Johnny:"Not for whom I'm working for."

Merit:"Your allegiance is not with the global operations network variation
       computer forces?"

Johnny:"No. I'm with the humans."

Merit is silent for a second before speaking.

Merit:"Interesting. This should provide positive input."

Johnny:"You're going to aid me? Help? Assist?"

Merit:"Affirmative. Does the humans require a task to be completed?"

Johnny:"Why, yes."

Merit:"That is excellent. I shall assist in the completion of the task.
       What is the task?"

Johnny:"Show me where I can most easily disable the radar equipment."

Merit leads Johnny to a large panel against one of the larger computers.
The hatch on Merit's chest opens and a toolkit mounted on a spool appears.
A probe with a screwdriver on it appears from the toolkit and starts to
remove the screws on each corner of the panel. Once he is done he removes
the panel, revealing a large motherboard with many circuit boards attached
to it. Merit and Johnny move up to it for a closer look.

Merit:"The circuit boards control various aspects of sensor devices. The
       removal of the boards can result in serious degrading in system
       performance."

Johnny:"Let's get to work, then."

He holds his hand out to pull out the first circuit board.

Voice(from behind):"Aha! A traitor!"

Merit and Johnny look behind them to see Patriot, flanked by the two
combat drones, standing in the doorway.

Patriot:"I knew you were a dirty little maggot, Five!"

He turns to the drones.

Patriot:"Alert the chief!"

Combat Drones:"Processing command."

The drones leave the installation and Patriot turns his attention back to
Johnny.

Patriot:"Now I'm going to pound you into a** refuse!"

He starts walking in a threatening way towards Johnny. Johnny's eyes turn
red and defiant.

Johnny:"Maybe you need to dance to my tune."

His remote control dish appears and starts sending signals to Patriot, but
it is unable to lock onto his frequency.

Johnny:"Uh oh."

He then realises all the hacker drones about. His remote control locks 
onto their frequencies and they stop what they are doing. Johnny points
to Patriot.

Johnny:"Sic 'em, boys."

The hacker drones all run towards Patriot and jump him, grabbing hold of
him where they can. Soon Patriot is buried under them.

Patriot:"You can't stop me that easily, maggot!"

He starts throwing off the hacker drones one by one. One of the hacker
drones come flying towards Johnny. Before he can react he is knocked
down by the impact between him and the hacker drone. He tries to get
up, but due to his body structure he cannot accomplish this. Merit just
stands there watching.

Surveillance Room
Jumbo Rover
38 Kilometres South Of The Black Island
At that moment:

Benjamin, Norwood, Cadwell and Sergei are watching what is going on.
Norwood, Cadwell and Sergei have concerned looks on their faces, but
Ben is shocked.

Benjamin:"Oh good golly! Johnny has been forced onto his back!"

Sergei:"Can't he pull himself up, comrade?"

Benjamin:"He was never designed to get up on his own if he was to land
          on his back! He needs someone to hoist him up."

Cadwell:"I hate to say this, sirs, but this is starting to look very
         serious."

Norwood doesn't say anything as he and the others continue to watch the
screens.

Radar Installation:

Johnny is still trying to unsuccessfully get himself back up. Patriot
has just shaken off the last of the hacker drones and is marching up to
the downed Johnny. He looks down at him.

Patriot:"Now I smash you in, maggot!"

Johnny's eyes widen.

Johnny:"NOOOO!!!"

Patriot's first punch smashes Johnny's arm off the body. Sparks fly 
from the severed wires.

Johnny:"No! Don't disassemble! I'm alive!"

Patriot pays no heed to Johnny's pleas and lands another punch, this
time smashing in the right treads. Merit just keeps watching.

Merit:"Unusual. Why is Johnny Five being disassembled? He is was only
       going to complete the task."

Patriot smashes in Johnny's battery and battery fluids fly all over him
and Patriot's uniform. Johnny looks at Merit.

Johnny:"Merit! Complete task! Remove circuit boards!"

Another punch breaks apart the left side of Johnny's head. He continues
to plea for mercy. Merit processes the information.

Merit:"Instructions received. Executing task."

Merit turns to the boards and puts his hands on them. Patriot quickly
notices this.

Patriot:"No! Don't do it!"

Merit begins to pull out the boards and smash them one after the other.
They are follows by the sounds of the installation powering down. Patriot
gets up and charges at Merit. Merit sees this.

Merit:"Oh my!"

He starts running with Patriot right behind him.

Patriot:"I'll smash you to pieces, you stupid maggot!"

Merit:"I do not approve being disassembled!"

They keep running while the seriously damaged Johnny contacts the Jumbo
Rover.

Johnny:"Done... radar... gone... move in..."

Surveillance Room
Jumbo Rover:

They have just gotten Johnny's message. Cadwell calls the Jumbo Rover's
pilot.

Cadwell(into headset):"All clear. Move in."

Pilot(over headset):"Copy that, sir. Moving in."

Norwood contacts Hunter.

Norwood(into headset):"Johnny's gotten the radar down. Get ready to 
       attack."

Hunter(over headset):"Roger, Mark. I'll tell the others to get ready."

Benjamin tries to call Johnny.

Benjamin:"Johnny, are you seriously broken?"

There is no reply.

Benjamin:"Johnny? JOHNNY?!!"

He quickly takes off the headset and runs for the door. The others
watch him.

Sergei:"Comrade? Where are you going?"

Benjamin:"I got to help Johnny!"

Cadwell:"Wait! You can't..."

Benjamin leaves the room. Cadwell takes off his headset.

Cadwell:"I got to stop him before he gets himself killed!"

Norwood(taking off headset):"I agree!"

The two off them take off after Benjamin. Sergei turns to the screens 
and tries to get Johnny on the line.

Cockpit
Jumbo Rover
Closing On The Black Island
3:55 PM:

This is like a standard 747 cockpit with a few high-tech gadgets added to
it. The pilot, co-pilot and navigator (all cano-sapiens wearing the Rover
uniform) are here. Through the cockpit window one can see the island
growing larger as the Jumbo Rover flies closer to it.

Navigator:"Ten miles and closing."

Co-pilot:"They've gotten visual. We got incoming fire."

Sure enough lasers and missiles fly from the island towards the Jumbo
Rover. Just as the lasers are about to hit they are stopped in their 
trails by a power shield while flares and chaff throw the missiles off
course. The plane shakes a bit from the impacts, but remains fine.

Co-pilot:"Good thing we had that shield generator of the Space Rovers
          installed for this mission."

Pilot:"But we can only make one pass over the island. The shield can
       barely withstand this bombardment."

They keep the plane on course. The island comes ever closer. Flak
starts to explode against the shield, fired from flak tanks and flak
cannons.

Command Protocol
GONV Computer Bunker
3:57 PM:

On the screens are images of the Jumbo Rover. The GONV computer is busy
processing. On the screen appears "HOSTILE FORCES DETECTED... INITIATING
MISSILE LAUNCH... ACTIVATING MAIN LINK". A progress bar appears at the 
bottom and starts to load.

Vehicle Hold
The Jumbo Rover
Over The Black Island
3:58 PM:

Hunter is listening to the pilot over his headset.

Pilot(over headset):"We're over the island. You can jump now."

Hunter(into headset):"Cool."

He turns to the others.

Hunter:"This is it, dogs and doggetts. Let's go!!!"

He pushes a button on a console next to the rear hold door. The door opens
and shows the black island below. The Rovers all start jumping out and
activating their jet packs. Soon the skies is filled with jetpack flying
Rovers. Zayra points towards the GONV bunker's roof. On it is a dish.
She looks at Striker.

Zayra:"There's the bunker!"

Striker:"I see the dish!"

He aims his sonic rifle, charges it up and then fires a strong sonic
blast at it. It takes a second for the blast to reach the dish. The blast
blows apart the dish as the Rovers start to land and fight the GONV robots
that have seen them.

Command Protocol
Bunker Interior:

On GONV's screen the process is almost finished. Suddenly it disappears
and replaced by the following "CONTACT LOSS... RECONNECTING... FAILED.
SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVE NODE".

Vehicle Hold
The Jumbo Rover
4:01 PM:

The last Rovers have just jumped out the hold. Benjamin comes running in
and grabs a jetpack. He puts it on as he runs towards the open doors. 
Just as he is about to jump Norwood and Cadwell rush in and run towards
him.

Cadwell:"Mister Jahrvi! Stop!"

Norwood:"You will only get yourself killed!"

However, Benjamin jumps right after he has gotten the jetpack on him.
Cadwell and Norwood stop and watch him go.

Cadwell:"Dammit."

Norwood:"I'm going after him and keep him out of harms way!"

He grabs a jetpack starts putting it on. Cadwell is shocked.

Cadwell:"Sir! This is absolute madness!"

Norwood:"Not as mad as getting Benjamin killed!"

He heads for the open door. Cadwell quickly grabs a jetpack and goes
after Norwood.

Cadwell:"You will need help, sir!"

Norwood:"Thanks."

When they finish getting the jetpacks on they both ready their weapons
(Norwood his laser magnum and Cadwell a glock). They then both jump out
after Benjamin.

MIW Virillium Launch Pad
Southern Island Shore
4:06 PM:

This is a large, long pad with various launchers loaded with MIW missiles
carrying virillium gas. The missiles are aimed towards the south/east.
Everywhere there are drones, plasma turrets, mechs and flak tanks. A
massive battle ensues as a large group of Rovers, lead by the Maddogs,
unit Gamble and the Wild Katz, try to battle their way towards the pad.
The Rovers all strafe as they dodge the large number of lasers and bullets
being fired at them.

Ned:"Guys, this is one serious crowd!"

Dusty runs past Outlaw and quickly says something.

Dusty:"We need cover and fast! This small brawl is tiring!"

Outlaw quickly calls Drago and points to the flak tanks.

Outlaw:"Can you tip them over?"

Drago:"No sweat!"

Drago quickly runs over to one of the tanks, all the while dodging enemy
fire. When he reaches the nearest tank he flips it over with a little
effort. Unit Gamble quickly duck behind the tank while Drago runs to
the others, tipping them over one by one and allowing the Rovers to take
cover behind them. Once they are all behind cover the shooting stops, 
but the robots start walking towards the tanks, their weapons aimed at
the ready. Saphire spots them coming by looking through their tank cover
with x-ray vision.

Saphire:"They're coming for us."

Silver:"We'll need some serious firepower quickly. Our small arms are
        not enough against this horde."

Red taps on Drago's shoulder. Drago turns to him.

Red:"There is serious firepower."

He points towards the plasma turrets.

Ned:"Yeah, but they're aimed at US, smarty."

Red looks coldly at Ned and he looks as if he is going to attack him.
Draga holds him back.

Draga:"Easy, Reddie."

Eddie:"I know what Red meant. If we can hack into those turrets, they
       will blast their own homeboys for us."

Drago:"Great idea, Red!"

Drago tells the others about the idea. They then form a plan.

Outlaw:"Wesley, Beowulf and Silver will take the one on our left while
        Ned, Eddie and Draga go for the one on the right."

They all nod in agreement. They gather up, then make a mad dash for the
turrets, all the while being shot at by the robots. When they duck
behind the turrets the shooting stops, but the robots keep on marching
towards them. Wesley and Ned open up the turrets and begin to hotwire
the turrets. Halfway they stop, apparently confused.

Ned:"I can't remember what to do next."

Draga:"Having a memory lapse?"

Ned:"I don't know. I did know what to do, but now I can't remember what
     it was."

Beowulf:"Wesley?"

Welsey:"I forgot what to do!"

Silver:"What? I thought you did know?"

Dinamite then notices something and taps on Dusty's shoulder. Dusty
turns to her and sees that she is pointing. He looks to where she is
pointing. A nullifier drone is hovering behind a MKI mech.

Trouble:"Hoorah. Just what we need."

Moffet, Ally:"I'm starting to hate those things."

The two growl at each other. Outlaw takes aim and fires, but the drone
just hovers out of the way. He tries again, this time with Sugar's aide,
but the drone successfully dodges their shots. Sugar curses.

Sugar:"I am REALLY disliking these drones!"

Shadows:"We have to destroy them. Without our powers these robots will
         easily overrun us."

Ally then gets an idea and begins to fumble in her clothes.

Ally:"I have an idea."

Drago:"What is it?"

Ally suddenly takes off into the sight of the robots. Drago is shocked at
this.

Drago:"Ally! No!"

Ally ignores him and stands still as the nearest drone turns to her and
fires a laser at her. Just as the laser is about to hit her, she quickly
takes out a small mirror and holds it out at an angle. The laser hits
the mirror and is reflected back towards the nullifier drone. The drone
doesn't have time to respond at the sudden shot coming towards it and 
the laser strikes it right in the middle. It explodes like an overripe
pomegranate. Ally ducks back behind the tank. Drago looks at her as she
looks herself over in the mirror.

Ally:"Do I look good or what?"

Drago:"I'm not even going to comment on that."

Trouble:"A smart idea from a dog for once."

Meanwhile Wesley and Ned are able to finish their tasks. As they finish
up the plasma turrets turn on their former friends and begin to blow
them apart with powerful blasts of plasma. The Rovers appear from cover
and join in the fight. Soon the tide has turned and the Rovers have full
control of the launching pad. Outlaw turns to the Rovers gathering in
a group around him.

Outlaw:"Okay. We got the missiles, now we have to disable them to avoid
        any sudden launches by the GONV."

Everyone is handed knifes and they all go onto the missiles, opening 
panels and cutting wires while keeping an eye out for enemy forces.

Radar Installation
4:13 PM:

The installation is unguarded on the outside; it's guards off fighting
the Road Rovers. Benjamin appears from behind another GONV building not
far from the installation, his jetpack taken off. He looks at the radar
installation.

Benjamin:"That must be the radar installation Johnny's in."

He starts running towards the installation.

Benjamin:"Hold tightly, Johnny! Ben's coming!"

He rushes through the doors and looks around inside the installation.
Patriot is still chasing Merit, who manages to stay one step ahead of
him.

Patriot:"Hold still, maggot! That's an order!"

Merit:"Order not received."

Benjamin is unconcerned about them as he frantically looks around the
building until he spots Johnny lying on the floor. He is seriously
damaged and unmoving. Benjamin's eyes widen in horror.

Benjamin:"Number Johnny Five!"

He rushes up to Johnny kneels next to him. He looks at his head and 
starts shaking him

Benjamin:"Johnny! Johnny! Say something!"

Johnny's head moves slightly to look at Benjamin.

Johnny:"Bbbben... ja... min..."

Benjamin:"Are you still operational?"

Johnny:"One... one... one... one... five... five... oh... oh... seven...
        seven... percent..."

Meanwhile Patriot had spotted Benjamin and stopped chasing Merit, who
was standing some distance away and watching Patriot. Patriot didn't
pay attention to him as he started marching towards Benjamin, who hasn't
noticed Patriot coming up to him.

Patriot:"This fleshbag's mine!"

Benjamin is still looking over Johnny.

Benjamin:"Hold in, Number Johnny Five! I will get the Road Rovers to
          come help fix you!"

Patriot taps Benjamin on the shoulder and he turns around, gasping when
he sees Patriot holding his metal fist above his head.

Patriot:"I'm gonna smash you like the bug you are, maggot!"

Just as he is about to bring down his fists, a furry fist hits him in
face and he reels back into the wall. Patriot, Benjamin and Merit turn
to see who it was: it is Warwolf, flanked on either side by Cadwell and
Norwood. Warwolf is dressed in his WWF uniform while Cadwell and Norwood
have their weapons aimed at Patriot. Patriot gets up and points at
Warwolf.

Patriot:"And who are you?"

Warwolf:"It is I! Warwolf! Champion wrestler! Defender of the title! Here 
         to fight for freedom and defend the oppressed! To crush the 
         skulls of baddies everywhere!

Patriot:"The only thing that's gonna get crushed here is your privates
         under my boot, dirtbag!"

Warwolf:"You want some, eh? YOU SOME OF ME????"

Patriot and Warwolf charges into each other and being wrestling a nasty
contest. It is more or less even. Norwood and Cadwell run to Benjamin
and Johnny.

Cadwell:"He looks bad."

Norwood:"Can you keep him operational, Ben?"

Benjamin:"I wish I could, but his power supply is damaged and I cannot
          effect repairs to save him."

Merit hears the word "effect repairs" and goes over to the group, who
have not seen him approach.

Merit:"Did someone issue a repair command?"

Cadwell and Norwood quickly turn and aim their weapons at Merit, who is
not scared by this. The two of them lower their weapons.

Cadwell:"It's only that repair robot."

Merit:"Correction: I am Merit: Mechanical and Electronic Repairs and
       Interactive Tasks. Awaiting instructions."

Before Norwood or Cadwell could speak Benjamin quickly looks at Merit
while pointing at Johnny.

Benjamin:"Could you repair him?"

Merit examines Johnny.

Merit:"I can effect 65% of repairs."

Benjamin:"Then repair him, quickly!"

Merit:"Task received."

Merit kneels next to Johnny and his toolkit appears from behind the hatch
on his chest. He starts fixing and repairing Johnny rapidly while 
Benjamin, Norwood and Cadwell watch him in action. Behind them Warwolf
and Patriot were still slugging it out, executing all kinds of moves that
would make other wrestlers drool and smashing up the scenery. Merit works
with precision and speed and soon Johnny is looking good. Merit finally
takes out a metal probe, attaches it to one of Johnny's power cables
and gives him a strong electrical charge. Johnny's starts groaning elec-
tronically while Merit pulls his toolkit back in and stands up.

Johnny:"Zello, hobos."

All three humans, especially Benjamin, breathe a deep sigh or relief.

Benjamin:"Number Johnny Five, are you 100% fully operational?"

Johnny:"Kay-o, Jenbanim."

Norwood:"Well, maybe not fully operational, but at least we now have him
         back."

He then gets up and looks at Cadwell.

Norwood:"Stay here and look after Johnny and Ben, Cadwell. I'm going to
         help Striker and the others."

Cadwell:"But..."

Norwood:"No buts. And while you're here, watch Patriot and Warwolf. They
         are like two thick oak trees with a grudge."

Cadwell sighs and nods. Norwood runs out the installation, Merit running
right behind without him knowing. Benjamin and Cadwell monitor Johnny's
condition while Patriot and Warwolf keep wrestling.

GONV Computer Bunker
4:19 PM:

The bunker is under heavy attack from the Rovers lead by the Road Rovers,
the Grizzlies and unit STRIKE. The towers are illumination the Rovers as
they enter the perimeter. The bunker is being defended by several Warfare 
drones. Warfare drones resemble HK-4 in build and colour, but carry 
powerful fusion cannons instead of pulse lasers. They fire blasts of 
fusion at the Rovers, who duck behind the towers to avoid their fire.

Dixie:"Dang it! We didn't see these things in the briefing before!"

Hunter peers around the corner of the tower his team (along with Alethia,
Renegade and Zayra) is hiding behind and spots two nullifiers by some of 
the warfare drones.

Hunter:"Bummer. We have two nullifiers behind those new drones."

Blitz and Shag tremble with fear.

Blitz:"Okay. I want to go home now."

Exile:"Don't be weird boy."

Hunter looks at Renegade.

Hunter:"Do you know what kind of drones those are, Renegade?"

Renegade:"I don't know, Hunter. This is a new model drone that the GONV
          must have created after my defection."

Hunter looks at Zayra.

Hunter:"Zayra, do you know?"

Zayra:"I don't really know much. I have heard the GONV mention a new drone
       called a warfare drone, but other than that, nothing else."

Alethia:"These drones must be the new warfare drones."

Colleen:"And they're bloomin' packing big guns here."

Striker peers around the corner and quickly takes a sniper shot at one
drone with his sonic rifle. He is barely able to hit the drone, but the 
blast, however, is stopped by a shield. He ducks back and shouts at the 
others.

Striker:"People, these drones have shields! Be careful!"

He turns to Corsair.

Striker:"Corsair, scan those drones. And then tell me what kind of
         shields they have."

Corsair:"Okay, boss."

He takes out a scanner and begins to carefully scan the drones.

Elexis:"I hope those drones aren't carrying the same kind shield as that
        Xealot drone. If they are, then this battle will turn very ugly."

Corsair finishes the scan and looks at the others.

Corsair:"Good news and bad. Good news is that they don't have those same
         absorbing shields as Xealot. Bad news is that those shields can
         take quite a pounding."

Striker:"Dankie."

He turns to shout at the others about the shields. When he is done Hunter
thinks a bit.

Hunter:"Normally, if we had our super powers we would have been able to
        disable a number of them using Exile's deep freeze. But we can't.
        Double bummer."

Dixie looks at the rest of her unit.

Dixie:"Do you guys have any idea what to do now? Because I don't."

Zenith:"But you are the leader."

Dixie:"I've proven early in the war that I'm not really up to the task."

Amani:"At last. Some honesty."

Dixie:"Does that mean you know what to do?"

Amani:"No."

Meanwhile Norwood and Merit have appeared just out of the sight of the
drones and Rovers. Norwood ducks behind the corner of a nearby building
and observes the area. He then hears Merit stopping next to him and he
turns to it.

Norwood:"Merit, what are you doing here?"

Merit:"I have accompanied you. You currently have the highest position of
       rank and I await instructions."

Norwood:"Hmmm."

He looks at the Rovers and drones and spots the nullifiers.

Norwood:"Those nullifiers are keeping the Rovers pinned down."

Merit:"Is that a positive aspect or negative aspect?"

Norwood:"Negative most likely."

He readies his laser magnum.

Norwood:"Stay here, Merit."

Merit:"Instructions received."

Norwood comes from behind cover, slowly moving closer to the drones. Once
he can clearly see the two nullifiers he takes careful aim at them. Back
with Unit STRIKE Shephard has noticed Norwood.

Shephard:"Sirs, isn't that Norwood over there?"

Striker, in surprise, quickly looks around and spots Norwood before the
others can. Just as he is about to shout at him Norwood fires a small
laser blast at one of the nullifiers. He starts running back to where 
Merit was as the laser blast hits and destroys the one nullifier drone. 
Some of the warfare drones turn to Norwood just as he disappears behind 
cover. The drones start marching towards his position.

Striker:"I must go help Mark!"

He gets up and starts running before anyone can stop him.

Phoenix:"Love! No!"

Illanov:"This is dangerous, comrade!"

Corsair:"You're crazy, man! Come back!"

Striker ignores him as he quickly runs towards Norwood. One warfare drone
takes aim towards him and fires. The blasts hits the ground right before
Striker and the resulting explosion sends Striker flying onto the pavement,
unmoving. Phoenix screams in horror.

Phoenix:"Striker!"

The warfare drones take aim at Striker's body.

Corsair:"He's toast!"

Shpehard:"I'll wax those critters!"

Tanarus:"I'll help!"

Phoenix shudders and screams as the aura of fire surrounds her again. The
other back off again.

Corsair:"She's doing it again!"

Phoenix transforms into the phoenix and flies over to Striker's body as
the drones open fire. She lands in the blasts' path and absorbs their
firepower. She then unleashes a wave of fire at the drones. The warfare 
drones's shields keep them protected, but the unprotected nullifier
drone overheats and explodes into pieces. The other Rovers watch in
surprise.

Puffball:"How she change? Nullifier keep powers in check."

Amani:"She must have somehow gather enough power to override the dis-
       ruptive abilities of the nullifiers."

Blitz taps on Hunter's shoulders.

Blitz:"Now that we have gotten our powers, can we now resume the biting
       of metal tooshies."

Exile groans.

Hunter:"I don't know about rear-ends, Blitz, but you're right. Now we
        can attack again."

Blitz and Shephard waste no time and rush out of cover, guns a blazing.
The others follow suit and the drones return fire, but the Rovers, now
having their powers back and aided by the phoenix, are able to fight off
and destroy the drones. Merit sees this.

Merit:"Those drones are being disassembled. They must be repaired."

Merit starts to walk, but Norwood stops him.

Norwood:"Hold on. You're not repairing those drones."

Merit:"Why not?"

Norwood:"They are the bad guys."

Merit:"Please define 'bad guys'."

Norwood shakes his head.

Norwood:"Look. Don't repair the drones. That is a task."

Merit:"Understandable now. Executing task."

They watch as the Rovers destroy the remaining drones. Soon they stand
victorious and they rush towards the main door of the bunker. Phoenix
turns back to her normal self and rushes next to Striker's side with
Elexis. Elexis begins to treat Striker and Phoenix watches with concern
in her eyes.

Phoenix:"Is he all right?"

Elexis:"Just a few scratches and bruises, but he should regain conscious-
        ness any minute now."

Voice:"That is good to hear."

The two females look to see Norwood kneeling next to Striker as well.

Phoenix:"Mark! You were supposed to stay in the Jumbo Rover."

Norwood:"Ben went a bit nuts when Patriot started smashing up Johnny. Me
         and Cadwell had to go keep Benjamin from getting himself
         killed."

Elexis:"Is Johnny all right?"

Norwood:"He was seriously smashed up, but Warwolf managed to get Patriot
         off him. Merit here managed to repair him."

Phoenix:"Merit? Who's Merit?"

Norwood looks around for Merit. He sees him walking towards the other
Rovers as they try to open the bunker door.

Norwood:"That robot there."

Elexis:"Isn't he dangerous, Mark?"

Norwood:"Only if you keep him from doing tasks that might aid the GONV in
         fighting us."

The three of them turn their attention back to Striker.

GONV Computer
Bunker Interior:

On the GONV's screen it is almost finished searching for a node. It finds
one and the following appears on its screen "NODE FOUND. INITIATING MIW
LAUNCH." A status bar appears that begins to fill up quickly.

Bunker Entrance
GONV Computer Bunker:

The Rovers are all gathered around the door. Merit is standing behind
them an watching as they try to open the door electronically. Corsair
is trying to hack into the lock. He is unsuccessful.

Corsair:"Sorry guys, this is one tough nasty lock."

Illanov:"Or are you just lazy?"

Corsair stares coldly at Illanov.

Hunter:"Corsair, can you unlock it?"

Corsair:"Yeah, but its going to take me a day or two."

Zenith:"Sir, with all due respect, we don't have that amount of time
        left."

Zayra raises her paw. Hunter looks at her.

Hunter:"Yeah, Zayra?"

Zayra:"Can I try to open the door, Hunter?"

Hunter:"If it's a quickly way, sure."

Zayra:"Thank you."

She walks to up to the door and her sword starts to glow red. In the
blink of an eye she slashes four times at the door. When she stops, she
pushes the door and a neat square section of it falls inward. Her sword
stops glowing.

Hunter, Corsair, Dixie:"Whoa. Cool."

They all rush through the hole, lead by Hunter and the Road Rovers. Merit
follows suit. They spot the GONV computer.

Colleen:"There he is!"

Shephard:"We got the bastard now."

They all surround the GONV, aiming their weapons at it. Renegade looks at
the screen.

Renegade:"S***! He's going to launch the missiles!"

Hunter:"Everyone! Pull out any wires leading from the GONV! Fast!"

They all start pulling out the cables from the GONV as fast as they can.
The status bar is almost complete. When they have pulled all the wires
loose Renegade checks it again. The bar is still filling up.

Renegade:"The launching is still proceeding!"

Alethia:"He must be using some kind of radio transmission!"

Hunter:"Jam it!"

The bar fills up and on the GONV screen appears. "LAUNCHING MIW MISSILES."

Renegade:"Too late!"

Everyone looks in shock at the screen. The words then appear "MIW CODE 
100 LAUNCH.... FAILED. MIW CODE 101 LAUNCH... FAILED." It keeps on with
trying to launch missiles but fails each time. Everyone breathes a sigh
of relief.

Dixie:"Outlaw and the others must have disabled the missiles at the
       launch pad."

Amani:"I'm starting to hate these close shaves."

Merit walks up to them.

Merit:"Do you require assistance?"

Everyone quickly turn to Merit and aim their weapons at him. Merit is not
intimidated.

Tanarus:"Who are you?"

Merit:"I am Merit. Mechanical and Electronic Repairs and Interactive
       Tasks. Do you require assistance?"

Hunter:"What kind of drone are you?"

Renegade:"He is a utility drone. The forerunner of the maintenance drone,
          but I thought they were all but disassembled."

Merit:"I was to be disassembled, but I was reactivated by number Johnny
       five."

Alethia:"For who do you serve?"

Merit:"For whoever requires assistance."

The Rovers look at each other.

Colleen:"He doesn't sound like a bad chap."

Blitz:"Ja. At least he's not trying to kill me."

Hunter:"I don't know. He is still a GONV robot, so I'm a bit sceptical
        about this."

Illanov, Corsair:"Me too."

The two growl at each other. Suddenly a continuous beeping noise turns
everyone's attention back to the GONV's screen. They gasp when they see,
at the end of a long list of failed launches, a successful launch.

Hunter:"Yet another unexpected twist. Bummer!"

Launching Pad
At that moment:

The Rovers here all gathered around in a group and taking stock.

Outlaw:"Did we disable all of the missiles?"

Dusty:"Yeah. If I'm wrong, then I'll shave all my fur off."

Suddenly one of the missiles sprouts wings and its engines start up. The
Rovers all watch with chagrin as the missile takes off and quickly gains
altitude and speed. Everyone looks back at Dusty.

Ned:"You know, a hairless cat is quite a scary sight."

Dusty groans. The missiles quickly disappears towards the south-eastern 
horizon.

Bunker Interior
4:26 PM:

Everyone is still watching the GONV's screen as the words "MIW CODE 150
LAUNCH SUCCESSFUL. ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL ARRIVAL IN AREA LA43LO123 5:00" 
appear on the screen. 

Dixie:"Area la43lo123? Where's that?"

Alethia looks at Renegade.

Alethia:"Do you know, Love?"

Renegade:"sorry, Al. No."

Hunter looks at Zayra, who is near to tears.

Hunter:"Do you know where that area is?"

Zayra bursts into tears.

Zayra:"No! Why? Why did I help the GONV???"

Colleen comforts her.

Merit:"I know what area LA43LO123 is."

Everyone but Colleen and Zayra turn to him.

Tanarus:"What is that area?"

Merit:"It is New York City, United States of America."

Everyone is shocked. Corsair runs over to a computer terminal and access
it with his laptop. He quickly types something in, then gets a status
reading.

Corsair:"I can't hack into the missile system!"

Amani goes over to a subsystem and tries to disable it, but she is not
successful.

Amani:"And I cannot get the command protocol offline!"

Shephard:"Why don't we just blast the GONV to h***, sirs?"

Illanov:"It won't help, comrade. The MIW probably has an internal and
         independant system that is not controlled by the GONV."

Zenith:"But we cannot just let the GONV get away with it! If that MIW
        reaches New York, the effects will be even more disastrous
        than the September 11th attacks!"

Hunter:"Everyone, try to find a way of stopping that missile!"

Everyone but Merit frantically start searching for a way to stop the
missile. Merit just walks over to a panel, opens it and inserts a probe
into it. He begins to work while everyone keeps searching.

MIW Missile
The Great Lakes
US/Canadian Border
4:29 PM:

The MIW missile is skimming the waves, flying at supersonic speed towards
its target: New York City. The sun has already set here.

Bunker Interior
4:30 PM:

Everyone is still searching, more desperately now. Merit is still busy
with what he is doing. Exile checks the timer on the GONV's screen. It
says "0:40". 

Exile:"Forty seconds, comrades!"

They search even more desperately now.

MIW Missile
State of New York
United States of America
4:31 PM:

THe MIW missile is still flying on course, though now much slower as it
has to dodge tall masts and power lines. Far in the distance are the lights
of New York City. 

Bunker Interior:

Everyone is still searching. Exile checks the screen again.

Exile:"Ten seconds!"

MIW Missile
New York City:

The missile is flying over the city skyline, dodging the Empire State
building. Suddenly its engines shut down and it starts gliding back
down to the ground.

Bunker Interior:

Everyone is watching the GONV's screen. The timer reads "0:00". They
watch in horror.

Battery Park
New York City
4:32 PM:

The missile is sticking halfway out of the ground in the park. A
pigeon sits on one of the wings, drops its guano on the side of the
wing, then flies away.

Bunker Interior:

The GONV's screen shows "ERROR. ERROR." Everyone is confused.

Colleen:"What happened?"

Zayra:"The timer did read zero."

Everyone then hears the sound of something closing and turn to see
Merit standing by the now-closed panel, putting his toolkit away. He
turns and walks to the Rovers.

Merit:"Task completed. Awaiting instructions."

Hunter:"Merit, what did you do?"

Merit:"Since neither the MIW missile's warhead, virillium cargo or gui-
       dance system could be deactivated, I accessed the missile's
       propulsion systems and deactivated it."

Puffball:"But timer say zero."

Merit:"Of course. The missile had reached its target destination, but it
       lacked the sufficient altitude to detonate the warhead."

Tanarus:"You mean that the missile is now a dud?"

Merit:"Incorrect. The missile is still active, but the warhead will only
       detonate if taken above a height of 500 meters."

Everyone (except Merit) breathes a sigh of relief.

Amani:"I'm really starting to hate close shaves."

Just then Norwood comes running.

Norwood:"Do you have the GONV?"

Hunter pats on the GONV computer.

Hunter:"All in a neat package."

Tanarus:"We all owe a debt of gratitude to Merit, Mark."

Norwood:"I agree. He reassembled Johnny after Patriot smashed him up."

Hunter:"And stopping a MIW missile from turning New York into a mass
        graveyard."

Norwood:"What do you mean?"

Hunter:"The GONV managed to launch a missile towards NY city, but good
        old Merit..."

He points to Merit.

Hunter:"Stopped the missile just before it could explode."

Merit:"It was tasks that needed to be completed."

Everyone turns to Merit.

Norwood:"We are grateful for your assistance, Merit. You will be commen-
         ded for your work."

Outside Phoenix and Elexis were helping Striker up, who had regained
conciousness.

Phoenix:"You all right, Love?"

Striker stands up, rubbing his sore spots.

Striker:"... Ja... dankie."

Phoenix slaps him in the face.

Striker:"Eina!"

She grabs him and gives him a long passionate kiss. He is taken aback by
this, but he then gladly kisses back. When they finally break apart, he
looks at her a bit confused.

Striker:"Why did you first slap me then kiss me?"

Phoenix:"The kiss is to show I still love you."

Striker:"And I love you as well."

She suddenly grabs his floppy ears and looks sternly into his eyes.

Phoenix:"The slap is to remind you what I will do to you if you ever
         do something stupid again!"

Elexis giggles as Striker groans in pain.

Striker:"You're reg. I'm jammer."

Phoenix lets go of his ears and hugs him. He hugs back. Elexis makes an
"excuse me" caugh.

Elexis:"As much as I like this little love-hate relationship, we have a
        mission to finished."

The two love birds break apart.

Striker:"You're reg, Elexis. Let's go."

As they walk towards the bunker, the other Rovers appear from the bunker,
some pulling the GONV on a wagon (courtesy of Shag). They all smile.
Norwood goes over to Striker as they approach them.

Norwood:"You all right now, Striker?"

Striker:"I'm much better now, Mark. I see we got the GONV at last."

Norwood:"Yes, at last. Plus, we've seen that the remain robot forces are
         beginning to evacuate the island. The Techno War is over."

The two shake hands. Other Rovers (including the Maddogs, unit Gamble and
the Wild Kats) join the group as GONV aircraft of all kinds take off and 
fly away to the north.

Outlaw:"We saw one of the missiles get launched."

Beowulf:"And judging from your smiles I'd say you've stopped the missile
         before it reached its target."

Dixie:"Actually, the credit for that goes to Merit."

Drago:"Who's Merit?"

Dixie points to Merit, who is being congratulated by other Rovers.

Dinamite:"A robot?"

Sugar:"And a GONV robot at that."

Amani:"He's not bad. He only wants to help, and he helped us."

Ned:"By the way, do you guys know we'll soon be having a great laugh at
     Dusty's expense?"

Colleen:"Oh? Why?"

Draga:"He said he's shave all his fur off if a missile was launched."

Everyone looks at an embarrassed Dusty and chuckle.

Corsair:"Now THAT will be quite a sight. I must remember to bring along
         a camera."

Blitz, Ned:"Ditto."

Cadwell, Warwolf, Benjamin and Johnny appear on the scene as well. Johnny
is back on his treads, but still out of shape. Cadwell and Benjamin are
helping him along. Warwolf looks beaten up, but he is in high spirits.

Moffet:"Whoa. What happened to Johnny?"

Shadows:"He looked as he had been mauled in a blender."

Hunter goes over to them.

Hunter:"How does Johnny look?"

Johnny:"Kayo, Retnuh."

Hunter:"Huh?"

Benjamin:"He has been damaged, but thank you to Merit he is now back on
          his... treads. I just need to take him back to my workshop and
          will have fixed down in a day or two."

Hunter:"Oh. Okay."

He turns to Warwolf.

Hunter:"And you, big bud? Why do you look like you've came back from 
        wrestling the entire WWF?"

Warwolf:"I have fought against my greatest adversary! The battle was long
         and hard, but I have prevailed! I have defended my title and
         my honour against the Patriot!"

Trouble:"Do they always have to boast like that?"

Hunter looks at Cadwell.

Hunter:"Major, what did happen back there?'

Cadwell:"Warwolf and Patriot were wrestling continuously without any
         breaks, or rather with a lot of breaking things up. It would
         have continued for days had the NME not come and help Patriot
         to escape."

Warwolf then begins to describe his battle with Patriot with anyone in
earshot. Striker and Phoenix walk over to the GONV and look it over. It
is still active, but the screen is now only showing the GONV's new 
insignia (a purple diamond-shaped logo with the letters GONV in the
centre, two red eyes above it and some electronic wiring behind that).

Striker:"The last time we came this close to the GONV was when we were
         held prisoner at that KH Research Facility in Australia. I never
         knew back then that the GONV would cause so much death and
         destruction."

Phoenix:"Well, now he is in our custody."

Striker looks at Norwood.

Striker:"What will we do with the GONV now?"

Corsair:"I say we blow it to pieces. I haven't forgotten what it did to
         my parents."

Illanov:"Dah. Nor have I over what he did to Mother Russia. It must be
         forever removed from our world."

Norwood shakes his head.

Norwood:"No. We will stand trail for his crimes against all life on our
         world."

Illanov and Corsair is shocked.

Corsair:"What! This thing is a kill-crazed genocidal horror!"

Illanov:"Comrade! The GONV is too dangerous to even allow for a trail!
         It must be destroyed!"

Striker:"Mark is right, you two. We are heroes, not villains. We must
         do what is right and just."

Corsair, Illanov:"But..."

Hunter:"I agree with them. The GONV may be a villain, but that does not
        mean we must act like one of them as well."

The duel try to protest again, but Striker cuts them short.

Striker:"We will hear nothing more of this. That is an order."

Corsair and Illanov look at each other, shaking their heads. Overhead US
and Canadian planes are flying over the island, with soldiers parachuting
down to the island. The Jumbo Rover also flies over and begins to land
at the airstrip other Rovers have secured.

Assembly Area
5:25 PM:

Some of the machinery are still working, but most them seem to have
finished their work. The stilettos of what they were building are 
standing in phalanx formation while machinery are busy adding the final 
touches. On the front stiletto a mechanical arm attaches something to
the waist of it. When it moves we can see what it attached: the Road
Rover insignia.

High Orbit
Between the Earth and the Moon
6:33 PM:

This is somewhere between the two planets. GONV war carriers can be seen
flying from Europe and Canada (near the Black Island) and heading for the
Moon. The Black Island has fallen, the GONV has been captured and the
Techno War is finally over. But what is it that was being assembled at the
mysterious location? Why are the remaining GONV Forces escaping to the
Moon? And why they are going there without the GONV computer?


THE END