Road Rovers: Chaos Computer Episode 4: Factory Fracas By Gerhard Naudé All Road Rovers names © Warner Brothers and rightful owners Unit STRIKE, Norwood, Cadwell, Tanarus, Elexis, GONV, DeathRanger, NME, Xealot, Melanie, Ozari and all related to the KH Military © Gerhard Naudé Strayers © Steven Today Nitro, Dixie © Amanda Stephenson Maddogs, Dula Brothers, Sergey Talinsky © Greg Williams Zenith, Warwolf © Marc Weinstein Wild Kats © Greywolf Lupous Renegade © Kylen Miles Moffet © Kitson Paws de Lioncourt Trouble © Katalin Bakonyi Alley Afghan © Becky Fedun Any question, comments, complaints, feedback or suggestions can be sent to gnaude_@hotmail.com. Autobahn 30 Kilometres East of Berlin Germany 8 September 11:23 AM: This is a long piece of highway running through some woods towards the German capital. The sky overhead is covered with clouds and rain is falling to the ground. On the highway a group of GONV Laser Tanks and Warhorses is moving towards Berlin. Just as the group reaches a cross- road section several of the Laser Tanks and Warhorses explode into fireballs. From the wods appear German Leopard 2 tanks, infantry carrying G11 rifles and RPG-16's and several Fuchs APC's and Marders vehicles. The GONV group stops and the drones climb out of the Warhorses while the Laser Tanks return fire. The two forces begin to battle it out. Farmlands On The Frontlines Western Russian Federation 9 September 3:21 PM: These are large plots of farmlands covering the open country, but instead of farmers and farming vehicles there are two large military forces slugging it out with one another. Coming from the west is a large line of GONV tanks, mechs and drones. Coming from the east is an evenly large line of Russian T-80 and T-72 tanks and infantry carrying RPG-16's and AK-74 rifles. Everywhere there are remains of destroyed vehicles, robots and killed men. In the air there is a vicious dogfight between GONV fighters and Russian MIG's. In the distance various plumes of smoke rise from other battles taking place. CNN Center Atlanta, Georgia United States Of America 10 September 9:02 PM: The anchor is busy reading the headline news. A map shows the European continent and all the various countries. It also shows the various areas of control by the United Nations(in blue) and the GONV Forces(in purple). It currently shows the GONV having control of most of the countries in Eastern Europe with GONV Forces advancing into Russia, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Turkey with attacks appearing as far as Spain and Scotland. Anchor:"As United Nations forces are being dispatched to Europe the few small units that the UN forces have in Europe are strugg- ling to keep the overwhelming force of GONV robots from advan- cing all over Europe. However, these forces are being forced to give more and more ground in order to avoid being annihila- ted completely. We now cross over live to the United Nations' forward headquarters near Amsterdam in the Netherlands with Melanie Malloy." United Nations Headquarters 10 Kilometres from Amsterdam The Netherlands At that moment: This is a NATO base that has been converted for use by the UN Forces. Everywhere there is military soldiers, tanks, APCs, helicopters, jets, trucks, supply vehicles and other military equipment. UN flags fly from the various buildings. On open fields nearby are various tents to serve the UN. Standing by the tarmac near one of the airfield hangars is Melanie, who is holding a microphone in her hand, and Samuel, who is holding the camera and aiming it at Melanie. Melanie begins to give her report to the camera. Melanie:"UN reinforcements have been arriving non-stop here at this airfield ever since the first GONV attack. They've been flown in from all over the world to help combat the GONV Forces. The GONV, which started the Techno War when they dropped a nuclear device upon the Greek capital of Athens, has been almost undefeated by any UN, NATO or European army. UN Secre- tary-General Markus Norwood, who is also leading the United Peacekeepers, says that humanity will not surrender to the whims of a genocidal computer without a fight and that every- thing has been brought in to combat this threat." Just then the Jumbo Rover comes in to land, it's landing gear out and and the flaps ready to ensure a safe landing. Melanie spots the Jumbo Rover, then signals Samuel to point the camera at it. Melanie:"And now you can see the Jumbo Rover, the official transport aircraft for the world-famous dogs, cats, wolves and humans: the Road Rovers. The Road Rovers, who have succeeded in stopping the GONV from destroying the Hawaii nuclear power station and prevented several other European cities from meeting the same fate as Athens, have been called to aid. Various Rover units are now arriving in force to help the United Nations combat Matrix, the Artificial Intelligence who leads the GONV forces." She continues reporting. War Room Jumbo Rover United Nations Headquarters 10:11 AM: This is a large hall with many tables and chairs facing towards the main podium (which has it's own table with chairs). On each table is a computer built into it. On the wall by the podium is a large screen surrounded by smaller others. Seated at the podium is Hunter, Cadwell Renegade and Norwood. On the small screens are the images of the Master, Hubert and Bear and Nitro (in their cabin near Bear's village in Washington State, United States). At the other tables are dozens of Rover units, individual operatives and agents of various groups. Their leaders are sitting at the front. On the main screen is the same map of Europe like the one at the CNN Center, only it shows many icons which represent units, bases and others of both forces. Norwood begins his speech. Norwood:"I thank you Rovers for coming to help us out. It is a real mess out there. The German front is collapsing, almost all of Eastern Europe is overtaken and the Russian front is one bad vicious mob scene. We are busy bringing in literally hundreds of reinforcements from all over the world, but until they arrive we are pretty much on the losing side. You Rovers will conduct various small scale raids and attacks against important GONV targets throughout the occupied territories. Those of you who had joined the UN Peacekeepers during the War In Colombia know how things work, but for those of you who are new to this, Major Cadwell and Hunter will help you all out from here on out." He stands up. Norwood:"Now, I must apologise for leaving so abruptly, but being the UN secretary-general can be very busy. Good luck, Rovers." Norwood walks out of the war room, followed by his bodyguards. Hunter resumes the session. Hunter:"Right, guys and gals. You heard Norwood. We must go out and teach the GONV that we organics can butt too." Several "yeahs!" come from the crowd. The Master begins to speak. Master:"Professor Hubert and I will aid you all by providing you all with necessary information about your missions, Rovers." Hubert:"We will also give information about any new GONV weaponry that Corsair's hacker friends can gain. And they will also try and counter the GONV's Hacker drones." Everyone in the war room look confused at Hubert. Cadwell:"Hacker drones?" Hubert:"Oh, sorry. You don't know what they are yet. I'll give all the information to you all now." Hubert's image disappears and is soon replaced by that of a hacker drone. A hacker drone is a robot with a shaft-like head that has two smaller shafts on the sides and two antenna's on the rear-end of each, mechanical arms, body and legs, the letters GONV written on it's chest (above two plugs) and four-pronged feet. It is has mixture of dark and light blue colours. Hubert's voice from the screen describes it. Hubert:"The hacker drone is a robotic version of the common hacker like Corsair, except they are used to gain access to government and military computers. They are very good hackers, but are prone to getting caught or being invected by virusses from rival hackers." Nitro adds her comment. Nitro:"Thanks to Corsair's buddies, the GONV hacker drones have been kept largely at bay." Bear:"Since it is our turn at speaking, I might need to point that Nitro and I will also help at getting info for you guys. We will also aid the Grizzlies during the war." Dixie raises her hand. Dixie:"But Bear. Our unit is only three members: Amani, Puffball and me. It isn't actually a large enough unit now to take on the GONV." Bear:"I know that, Dixie. That is why I am sending two of the most promising Strayers available: Zenith and Ranger. Sergeant Andreas will bring them to you shortly." Dixie:"I know Zenith, but who is Ranger?" Bear:"He is a rookie Strayer, but he has more proven that he is among the best of the best. I highly recommend him for I have seen him in action." Dixie:"Sounds like an okay guy. He should do well with us." Trouble, one of the Wild Kats, leans over to Moffet (another member) and whispers in his ear. Trouble (whispering):"With her ANYONE will do more than well." Dusty (whispering):"You're right, Trouble." Cadwell then speaks up. Cadwell:"Now that we got the basic formalities behind us, let us turn to back to the problem at hand. I now call upon Corsair and Illanov to give us more details about the GONV." Corsair and Illanov get up while passing stern glances at each other as they walk up to the podium. They turn to the rest of the groups. Hunter:"You first, Corsair." Corsair clears his throat before speaking. Corsair:"I've managed to find out a bit more about how the GONV works. The GONV Forces are divided into four divisions: Aquarius, Zeus, Cephius and Hesphaestus Divisions. All of them are equally strong and there is no real head division. Each division is lead by a Force Commander, a special robot which relays orders and commands from the GONV computer to the rest of the forces. The catch is that I don't yet know that, if we take out the FC robots, the division's robots will go dumb or not. That is as much as I have dug up so far." Illanov:"That all? I was expecting a bit more from an American." Corsair gives Illanov a cold look, but he just smiles. Hunter:"Er... thanks, Corsair. Now your turn, Alex." As Illanov speaks Corsair mimics Illanov's speech by making his mouth move silently in a very funny speaking way. Illanov:"As you all know, Matrix is the Artificial Intelligence who controls the GONV and thus the GONV Forces. From my previous encounters with him I can tell you that I CAN SEE YOU FROM THE CORNER OF MY EYE!!!" He turns to Corsair and growls at him. Corsair stops what he is doing. Some of the Rover operatives and unit members chuckle at this scene. Illanov keeps a cold stare on Corsair for a few moments, then resumes his speech. Illanov:"From my previous encounters with him I can tell you that he is not scared of anything and won't have any second thoughts of using biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. He is very militaristic and treacherous. He won't hesitate to use living creatures to his advantage and then destroy them. This makes him extremely dangerous and unpredictable." Corsair (to himself):"And he calls me dumb. That isn't much either." Illanov:"I heard that!" Illanov and Corsair look coldly at each other. Renegade leans over to Hunter. Renegade:"What's wrong with them?" Hunter:"Cold War rivalry." Renegade:"But the Cold War is over." Hunter:"Hey. Some habits die hard." Renegade nods as Hunter turns back to the crowd. Hunter:"Thanks, Corsair and Illanov. We now call in someone with whom some of you, in particular the Maddogs, know. He worked, in a small way, on the GONV computer. He is Sergey Talinsky." Illanov's ears perk up when he hears the name. Sergey Talinsky then walks into the warroom and onto the podium. Illanov shakes his hand. Illanov:"Comrade Talinsky. Good to see you." Sergey looks confused at Illanov. Sergey:"Do I know you?" Illanov:"It's me. Alexander Dimitrovich Illanov." Sergey looks at Illanov, then he smiles widely. Sergey:"General Illanov! I know that voice anywhere. I just could not imagine you being a cano-sapien." Illanov:"Some things change, comrade." Everyone else look confused at the two. Outlaw:"You know each other?" Illanov:"Dah, comrades. Comrade Sergey and I met while I was still in the Soviet Military." Sergey:"I was a freelance Soviet scientist at the time and Comrade Alex was smuggling arms." Illanov:"Dah. He helped me to defeat Matrix the first time around and save Russia." Everyone else nods in understanding. Hunter:"Speaking of help, can you help us out again, Mr Talinsky?" Sergey:"Sure, comrades. The GONV have destroyed my home, have taken over Malcoria and are busy killing my fellow countrymen." The Maddogs gasp. Saphire:"Has Malcoria been taken over?" Cadwell:"Lock, stock and barrel. Her small army was annihilated before it could even get ready for battle." Outlaw:"What about King Alexander and his family?" Cadwell:"They've been evacuated to a safe location in Canada, Outlaw. They are well out danger." The Maddogs relax and Sergey begins speaking. Sergey:"I don't know much about the GONV except that is one of the most powerful military computers ever built. It can 'play' battles and try to improve it's 'score', so to speak, and learn from its mistakes. It has a very powerful CPU that runs at 3500 megahertz and has about 50 different programs, both military and civilian in nature. In the control of Matrix, it has now turned into a computer that can handle numerous commands and programs and allows Matrix to better control his war machine. That is what I know." Cadwell:"Thank you, Sergey Talinsky. I'm sure that you have provided enough information than you possibly could." Sergey:"My pleasure, comrades." Sergey, Illanov and Corsair leave the podium and take their seats. Cadwell begins to speak. Cadwell:"Right. Now we get serious. We must begin to hit the GONV at it's crucial points and bring it's offensive to a halt. As of now, all of you are now going to begin your very first missions." The main screen's image zooms in on Romania and a large number of factory icons flash all over the map. Renegade:"These icons represent GONV military factories. Some are what the GONV bought, the others have been recently built. These in Romania p rovide the GONV offensive with brand new robots each day." Cadwell:"Your missions are to destroy each of these sites shown on the map. Each unit will receive one site to destroy as is shown on your computers. You must destroy these sites because their destruction will severely dent the GONV's ability to reinforce its frontline forces. Once you all have gotten the needed info from your computers, you may leave and head for Romania." The Rovers all check their computers and read the information. One by one each group leaves the warroom. Tarmac 11:01 AM: This is the tarmac in front of the hangar where the Jumbo Rover is. On it are some of the Rover vehicles that have not yet left for Romania, among them the Grizzlies' cyclborg and Sylvia. The Grizzlies are busy getting themselves ready to leave. A UN soldier runs up to Dixie and salutes. UN Soldier:"Excuse me, Ma'am. Your unit's reinforcements have just arrived." Dixie, Amani and Puffball turn to the soldier. Dixie:"Thank you. Where are they?" The soldier turns around and nods at the two individuals behind. They step forward as the soldier walks away. They are Zenith and Ranger. Ranger is a male Border Collie cano-sapien who stands at 6 feet, has an eye patch over the one eye and his other eye is green. He has mainly black fur, but his arms and paws; the tip of his tail; the streak between his eyes; the area around his patched eye and his muzzle is white. He is wearing fingerless gloves, a vest, shorts and boots made of a strange rubbery/metallic material, all bearing the Strayer symbol. They both stand to attention and salute. Zenith:"Strayer Zenith reporting for duty, Ma'am." Ranger:"Strayer Ranger reporting for duty, Ma'am." Dixie:"At ease, you two." They comply. Dixie:"Welcome to the Grizzlies, Zenith and Ranger. I'm sure you will both like it with us." Zenith:"It is an honour for me, Ma'am. I've always dreamed of becoming a Grizzly Strayer." Ranger:"I really appreciate this opportunity to be a part of the best Strayer unit there is, Ma'am." Dixie smiles. Dixie:"Good. Are you two ready to face-off against the GONV Forces?" Zenith:"Yes, Ma'am." Ranger:"We are ready to kick these robotic freaks' butts." Dixie:"That's good. Did you bring extra equipment along?" Ranger:"Yes, Ma'am. Zenith and I have brought an additional cyclborg unit along for our transport." Ranger points behind him. Standing nearby is another cyclborg. Dixie looks at it, then back at Ranger and Zenith. Dixie:"Okay. That's good. In fact, we are just about to leave for our first mission." Zenith:"What is the nature of this mission, Ma'am?" Dixie:"First off, Zenith, don't call me Ma'am. You call us by our real names: Dixie, Amani and Puffball." Zenith:"Yes, Ma... er... Dixie." Dixie:"Good. Now, our mission is to go to Romania and destroy one of the GONV's robot factories we've been given by the brass. It will help our UN pals to stem the tide of robots attacking." Ranger grumbles something, but the others don't notice it. Dixie:"Right. We've got a mission to complete." She holds out her paw. Dixie:"Leadership!" Amani puts her hand on Dixie's paw. Amani:"Intellect!" Puffball puts her paw on Amani's hand. Puffball:"Courage!" Zenith and Ranger put their paws on Puffball's. Zenith, Ranger:"Endurance!" They raise their paws above their heads. All:"Strength through diversity! Strayers!!!" They lower their paws and begin to climb onto their vehicles: Dixie on Cyc, Amani and Puffball in Sylvia and Ranger and Zenith on the other cyclborg. They get themselves ready, put their vehicles in flight mode and take off, heading for Romania. Industrial Zone Bucharest Romania 1:12 PM: The industrial zone of the Romanian capital, which is normally very busy, looks more like a warzone. Most of the factories in the zone have been either damaged or destroyed safe for those controlled by the GONV Forces. Walking through the ruins of a bombed-out textile factory is Unit STRIKE, along with Tanarus and Elexis. Beyond the ruins one can see a high-tech factory surrounded by an electric fence, Plasma Turrets and Guard Towers. GONV drones and mechs guard and patrol the factory. Tanarus looks the factory over. Tanarus:"They are not taking chances. That factory is well-defended." Striker:"Then we have two options: either fight off all the robots or find a way in that the GONV has overlooked." Corsair:"Can I suggest a third option?" Everyone looks at Corsair. Striker:"What that might be, Corsair?" Illanov:"Dah. Let's hear what your burger-infected brain has thought of." Corsair gives Illanov a cold look, he just smiles. Corsair turns back to Striker. Corsair:"Well, I can use my laptop to transmit one of my special virus programs into these tin-cans' CPU's that will make them go bezerk for a few minutes." Elexis:"Sounds like a good idea." Phoenix:"I agree with Elexis." Striker thinks for a moment. Striker:"You have a good option there, Corsair. Try it..." Suddenly several street thugs appear from the ruins and surround unit STRIKE. They all have weapons such as knifes, sticks, chains and sledgehammers. The gangs' leader, Ozari Del Figulo, has a retractible knife with him. He stands at 6 feet, has black hair, a goatee, thin moustache and green eyes. He wears a black, long-sleeved shirt, a red bandanna around his head, black pants and boots. He has a knife holster attached to his hip and is somewhat muscular. Unit STRIKE take up defensive positions, weapons at the ready. Ozari speaks up in a Portugeese accent. Ozari:"Well now. What do we have here, boys? Some new visitors." The other gangsters chuckle. Striker turns to Ozari. Striker:"I must warn you, Mister...?" Ozari:"The name's Ozari Del Figulo. I'm a mugger and these boys are fellow muggers as well. We've come here to take your money." Shephard:"Just try it, punk!" Striker:"I'm warning you, Ozari. We are members of the Road Rovers and we can easily defeat you." Ozari:"So what? I've never been defeated and besides, with the GONV occupying all of Romania we have to mug anybody who crosses our path." Corsair:"But why?" Ozari:"We have to eat too, you know." Phoenix:"Why don't you help us instead? You can become national heroes by helping us get rid of the GONV." Ozari:"No deal!" Shephard turns to Striker. Shephard:"Sir, I vote we frag these punks." Striker turns to Shephard. Striker:"You are right, Shephard. If we are to proceed we must defeat Ozzy and his friends." Ozari growls. Ozari:"My name's Ozari! I hate being called Ozzy!" Phoenix:"Sorry... Ozzy." Ozari screams and signals the other muggers. Ozari:"Let's kill these freaks!" The other gangsters agree and charge down on unit STRIKE, Ozari lounges at Striker with his knife. Striker jumps out of the way, then grabs the arm that has the knife. Ozari struggles to break free, but Striker holds his grip as he twists his arm. Ozari screams and drops the knife. Striker then punches him out and throws his into a pile of rubble. He then turns to help the others, but they have pretty much taken care of the other gangsters. They begin to run away in fear. Ozari gets up and looks at Striker. Striker turns to him and points into the direction the other gangsters have fled. Striker:"Now leave, Ozzy." Ozari:"You will pay for this! I will get even with you, you mutant cocker spaniel! I will kill you one day!" Striker:"The name is Striker, Ozzy." He turns to Phoenix and nods. She smiles and her hands begin to glow. Suddenly Ozari begins to jump like mad, the ground under him has been heat by Phoenix. Ozari:"OW! OW!! OW!!!" He frantically jumps away while unit STRIKE chuckles. They all then turn back to Corsair as he resumes telling them about his virus. GONV Weapons Factory Industrial Zone of Constanta Romanian Coast 1:23 PM: This is a GONV manufacturing plant similiar to the one in Hawaii, only it is much larger. Inside, everywhere there are robots being built while GONV Combat Drones move on catwalks and the floor. Combat Drones are tracked robots with a body, but no head. Instead, it has a camera lens built on the body. Mounted on the sides are two pulse cannons and om the chestplates are the letters GONV. Behind a large piece of machine in a power room is a drainage grate. Suddenly Zenith's paws appear from the darkness below and grip the grate. She forces them loose hard enough to make her move it off the hole, but soft enough not to make too much noise. One by one, the Grizzlies climb into the room with their weapons at the ready: Dixie, Zenith, Amani, Puffball and Ranger. They look around. Dixie:"Look's like were in. Amani, where are we?" Amani takes out a GPS scanner and scans the room. Amani:"We're in luck. We are in one of the GONV Factory's power rooms. We can just set the charges here and detonate them. The blast should do enough damage to take out the factory, or at least put it out of order for weeks." Dixie:"Well, it seems things are going our way. Let's plant the bombs and get out of here." Amani and Puffball take out several bone bombs and begin to place them against the machines and walls. Just then the only door to the room opens and a robot walks in. It stands at 7 feet, has a high-tech humanoid body which is green/black/white and three-toed feet. It's head is triangular with a rectangular speaker, and its eyes are also triangular. It has one four-clawed hand, the other being a device that resembles a firehose end. A pipe leads from it to the tanks attached to it's back. On it's chest are the letters GONV with a red radiation hazard symbol below it. This is Xealot. The Grizzlies look at it in shock, Xealot looks at the Grizzlies in surprise. Xealot:"Living things!" Dixie:"Open fire!" The Grizzlies raise their Petri weapons and fire at Xealot, but the shots don't do any damage, nor do they bounce off. They seem to disappear into Xealot. Amani takes out her scanner. Amani:"Uh oh." Dixie:"What is it?" Amani:"This scanner says that this robot is called Xealot and that he is an experimental drone." Dixie:"So? How does that help us?" Amani:"Xealot is the robot who has the special ability to absorb the shots fired from energy weapons and to convert it into a plasma shield to defend itself." Zenith:"So basically our weapons are useless against Xealot?" Amani:"Yes. But that's not the bad news." Puffball:"What is bad news, Mistress?" Amani:"The bad news is that, according to my scanner, the tank on it's carries radioactive liquid plutonium that he uses as a weapon." Ranger:"That is bad news." Xealot:"Living thing clever. Xealot congratulate living thing. Now living things die!" Xealot raises his radiation cannon, but Zenith and Puffball jump him, forcing him to the ground. Dixie signals the others. Dixie:"Amani, set the charges and let's get out of here! Zenith! Ranger! Clear the way for us!" EFV:"Warning. Biological forms detected in power sector 5. Terminate immediately." Amani, Zenith and Ranger nod. Amani types in the time on the countdown timer of the bombs while Ranger and Zenith go back down into the pipe. They climb out again very quickly. Zenith looks at Dixie. Zenith:"They've blocked the tunnel, Ma'am! There's no way out again that way!" Dixie:"Then we'll have to find another way! You two run out ahead of us and try and find an exit!" They both nod and run out the room, shooting at the GONV robots. Amani finishes setting the charges. Amani:"Five minutes before she blows!" Dixie:"LET'S GO!!!" They all then run out the room into the main production room. As Puffball gets of Xealot he gets up and fires a green liquid at them, but he misses as they exit the room. The combat drones see the Grizzlies and open fire. The Grizzlies dodge the shots and fire back, hitting some of the drones. Robots appear from other rooms as well as straight off the production lines and join in the fray. Dixie:"These things are swarming us like army ants!" Just then a combat drone flies from a large corridor which has monorail tracks running in the middle into a group of light drones. They collide and explode. Zenith then appears from the corridor, fires a few random shots, then calls the others. Zenith:"This way!" The Grizzlies run to where Zenith was, firing at the drones who are now everywhere and firing at them. As they run past Zenith she pushes a few buttons on a nearby console and the door closes. She then joins the others as they run down the corridor which lead to an outdoors storage area. Suddenly, just as they are about to exit, steel bars block their means of escape. Puffball:"What going on?" Dixie:"That's what I want to know too! Who closed this?" Amani:"Whoever it was, it was someone who wasn't a GONV robot." Everyone turns to Amani. She points at the control panel of the door. It has been destroyed. Dixie:"That's bad. But if it wasn't the GONV, who was it?" Realisation comes over their faces. They run up to the bars. Dixie:"Ranger! Where are you?" As if to answer, Ranger suddenly appears on his Cyclborg in the storage area. He rides up to the bars. Ranger:"Feeling comfortable?" Amani:"Open this gate, Ranger! The bomb is going to blow in two minutes!" Ranger:"Thank you. That will give me enough time to escape." Puffball:"What about us?" Ranger:"Simple: you die along with all the robots here." They all gasp. Dixie:"Why are you doing this, Ranger?" Ranger:"First off, my name is not Ranger. It is DEATHRANGER." Amani:"Cheery name. That still doesn't explain your actions." Dixie:"Yeah! If the Master found this out, they'll kick you off the Strayer program." DeathRanger:"That's good. I don't want to part of the authoraty that helped destroy my family!" Dixie:"What do you mean?" DeathRanger:"I was just a carefree father raising a happy family with my wife. Then came along the GONV and took it all away from me. Now the GONV and all who are evil must pay!" Amani:"Very noble, but then why do we have to die? We didn't do anything wrong." DeathRanger:"On the contrary. The authoraties are to blame for the fact that they refused to protect my family from the GONV. Now they must be destroyed as well." He puts on his helmet and looks to the Cyclborg. DeathRanger:"Go to flight mode, Vengeance." The Cyclborg, Vengeance, responds. Vengeance:"Done, boss." The Cyclborg sprouts wings and and a V-shaped tail and jet engines appear from behind. He looks at the group and waves. DeathRanger:"Enjoy the short time you have left to live." Vengeance then fires up the engine and takes off. The two fly away under fire from missiles and flak fired from Flak Tanks and cannons. Flak cannons are a high-tech version of the World War II flak cannon. Flak Tanks are chaingun-like flak cannons mounted on a tank body. On the sides are the letters GONV. The group watches them fly away. Zenith:"This does not look Ma'am. We have GONV robots trying to kill us, a bomb that is about to explode and now this treachery." Dixie:"We have to get out here! Puffball!" Puffball goes up to the bars and tries to bend them, she fails. Suddenly the door behind them smashes open. The Grizzlies look behind them and gasp. Xealot and several GONV drones are standing here, weapons at the ready. The one robot that the Grizzlies are really focusing on, is the one standing ahead of the group. It is a large, four-legged robot of 10 feet with a large body, a head that is mainly square with only two cameras for eyes and two morph-weapon devices attached to it's sides. Under it's body are tank treads should it lose it's legs and also attached to the sides of his body are two arms with large claws. This is the NME. It walks up to the Grizzlies, who have their weapons aimed at it. The NME then raises one of it's claws. The Grizzlies' eyes widen in horror as they see the bomb and timer in it's claw. The timer is only a second away from detonation. Just as it reaches zero, it beeps to explode. The claw then crushes the bomb before it can explode, then opens and drops the crushed device to the floor. The Grizzlies sigh with relief, but it is again replaced by fear. NME:"Checkmate." The NME walks closer to them, Xealot and the other robots right behind it. NME:"Drop your weapons, Grizzlies." Dixie:"And die without a fight? Never!" NME:"We are not going to kill you, period. There is someone who requires you alive. Now, drop your weapons." The Grizzlies look at each other, then let their weapons drop to the ground. Several Maintnance Drones then pick up the weapons and take them away. Dixie looks at the NME. Dixie:"All right, you... whatever robot you are. What do you want with us?" NME:"I am the European Corporation experimental warfare robot called the NME." Puffball:"Enemy? Why that name?" NME:"Not enemy, as in opposing force, but NME: New Military Electronics. I was built by the European Corporation, but now I serve the GONV." Amani:"I've heard about EuroCorp. It's that new corporation that has been formed by various companies and is now the most powerful corporation in the world after Malcolm Industries." NME:"You are well informed, Amani Wolf. I am impressed." Amani:"Thank you." NME:"However, that will not spare you from you fate once your final duty has been completed." Zenith:"What final duty?" NME:"The destruction of the Maddog Bounty Hunters." Dixie:"Why just them?" Voices (behind robots):"We'll answer that." From behind the group of robots two more appear and walk up to the Grizzlies. Amani's and Puffball's eyes widen when they see what shape the robots were: they were in the shape... of Huran and Hanjo, the Dula Brothers. Amani:"Huran and Hanjo Dula! It can't be!" Huran:"So. You recognise us." Hanjo:"That is so sweet." Puffball:"But your minds is scrambled! You dead!" Huran:"Technically, yes. But Matrix rebuilt our minds and bodies, bit by bit." Amani:"Impossible! It would take more computer power than there ever was to do something like that!" Hanjo:"That's why he had made copies of our brains just as Parvo was about to scramble them and stored them for later use." Huran:"That later is now. He gave us new bodies which have anti- scrambling shielding. Now we can finally, with the help of the GONV Forces, we can get rid of the Maddogs, Parvo and King Alexander of Malcoria." Dixie:"What do you want us for?" Hanjo:"We're going to use you as bait to lure the Maddogs here and destroy them." The Grizzlies eyes widen. The NME turns to Xealot. NME:"Secure the prisoners." Xealot:"Obeying orders." Xealot signals several other drones and they walk up to the Grizzlies. They begin to escort them back into the factory. Warroom Jumbo Rover 6:11 PM: Almost all of the Rover teams and operatives are here debriefing their day's mission and talking among themselves. The main screen is stilling showing Romania, only now the icons indicating the GONV production sites have been replaced by crossed-out factories. Except for one. Bear and Nitro are on another screen as is the Master and Hubert. Hunter then clears his throat and gathers everyone's attention. Hunter:"Good work, guys and gals. We've successfully busted nearly all of the production sites in Romania and have given the GONV's ability to reinforce it's troops a nasty setback. This should releave a lot of pressure on the UN forces and especially the Russians." Everyone smiles and congratulates one another. But then Hunter turns grim. Hunter:"Unfortunately there seems to be a snag..." Everyone looks back at Hunter. Hunter:"The Grizzlies have still not reported from Constanta for more than five hours." Dusty, the Wild Kats's leader, smiles reassuringly. Dusty:"Don't worry, Hunter. I'm sure the Grizzlies are on their way here right now to tell us that they too have blown up their factory." Announcer:"Incoming transmission. Stand by." Everyone listens to the announcement. Cyc's voice can then be heard over the speakers. Cyc:"This is Cyc to HQ. Cyc to HQ. Can you read me?" Bear answers. Bear:"We hear you loud and clear, Cyc. What's going on over there?" Cyc:"We have a problem, Bear." Everyone becomes slightly worried. Bear:"What kind of problem?" Cyc:"Dixie and the Grizzlies went into the factory five hours ago, but still haven't left it. My scanners show that they are still inside except for Ranger." Bear:"Where's Ranger?" Cyc:"That is something unusual: he left on his Cyclborg, heading east, and he left the others behind." Everyone is shocked. Hunter:"I smell something wrong here." Striker:"I smell a traitor." Bear:"But Cyc, why did it take you so long to call us?" Cyc:"The GONV has been jamming communications throughout Romania and it took me quite a while to find an open channel." There is a slight pause. Cyc:"Bear. I am picking up a transmission coming from the factory." Bear:"Put it through, Cyc." Everyone looks one of the static screens. It then goes black and the letters GONV appear. It then vanishes and is replaced by the image of the factory's interior. It shows a large room with molten steel held in large tanks. Hanging above one of the tanks in a cage are the Grizzlies. Master:"Grizzlies! Can you hear us?" The NME appears on the screen. NME:"Yes, they can hear you." Dixie yells from behind. Dixie:"Guys! We need some help!" Xealot shouts from off screen. Xealot:"Silent, living thing!" Dixie shuts up. The NME resumes speaking. NME:"We are addressing the Road Rovers, right?" Master:"Yes, you are. I am the Master and you are?" NME:"I am the New Military Electronics or NME. As you can see we have caught several of your comrades and will execute unless you accept several conditions." Master:"What are they?" NME:"You must send the Maddog Bounty Hunters here in exchange for the release of the Grizzlies. If we see any other unit along or instead of the Maddogs, we will execute the Grizzlies." Outlaw:"But why just us specifically?" NME:"The answer, or rather answers, are standing nearby. I think I will let them address you, Outlaw." The image pans from the NME to the Dula Brothers. At first the Maddogs look confused at them, then their eyes widen in horror. Maddogs:"THE DULA BROTHERS!!!" Huran:"They remember us." Hanjo wipes away an imagnary tear and acts as if he is emotional. Hanjo:"That is so sweet." His face turns grim. Hanjo:"Not!" They both laugh. Silver:"It's impossible!" Outlaw:"You guys are supposed to be dead!" Wesley:"Parvo had scrambled your minds!" Huran:"Yes, he did. But the GONV Computer managed to make copies of our minds before that. He then rebuilt us bit by bit and as you can see, he has done a great job." Beowulf:"Hold on! The GONV only existed for half a year and you guys were killed before then. How can Matrix rebuild you?" Hanjo:"Matrix may not have had the GONV, but he still had the ability to cut and paste, so to speak. He copied our minds into the former Soviet Union's phone lines and placed us in a special computer located at an isolated weather station in Siberia until he had the means to rebuild us." Sergey Talinsky, who had been sitting at the back of the room, buries his face in his hands. Sergey:"Why? Why? Why did I rescue those two from the air crash?" Everyone looks back at Talinsky. Some of the Rovers try to comfort him. Illanov:"It's all right, comrade. It wasn't your fault." Hunter:"Yeah. As I always say, I would not have predicted this." Outlaw:"Hunter's right, Professor. How could you have known those two you rescued from the plane were the Dula Brothers?" Sergey nods, a bit more releaved. Everyone turns their attention back to the main screen. Outlaw:"We will come and get the Grizzlies and kick your tin-can butts for the last time, Huran and Hanjo." The Dula Brothers grin. Huran:"Very good choice." Hanjo:"We will be waiting for you." The screen goes blank. Cyc:"Transmission ended." The Master looks at the Maddogs. Master:"Maddogs. Go to that factory and rescue the Grizzlies. Be careful over there. The Dula Brothers have the support of the GONV and it's forces." The Maddogs get up and salute. Outlaw:"Yes, Master. We're on our way." Bear:"Nitro and I will try and provide assistance for you guys via Cyc. The GONV may be watching for other units, but it hasn't touched Cyc, yet." Master:"Good luck, Maddogs." The Maddogs nod and leave the room. Parking Lot Near GONV Weapons Factory 7:34 PM: This an abandoned parking lot save for the burnt-out remains of a few vehicles near the factory. The TurboJet Rover is here. Behind one of the burnt-out vehicles are the Maddogs, weapons at the ready. Saphire is busy peeking over the vehicle at the factory with her x-ray vision, looking inside the factory. Outlaw:"What do you see, Angel?" Saphire:"I see the Grizzlies, the Dula Brothers and a large number of nasty-looking GONV robots." Outlaw:"Any way in without raising the alarm?" Saphire looks a bit more, then shakes her head. Saphire:"No chance, Honey. The GONV has clearly learned from their previous encounter with the Grizzlies: every and any way is blocked and or guarded." Wesley:"Cloaker belts, then?" Outlaw:"Yes sirre. Out and on with the belts." They take out their belts and put them on. Silver:"I just hope the same bad luck doesn't befall us again with the belts." Everyone looks confused at Silver. Beowulf:"What do you mean?" Silver:"Remember when we used these belts to get into Buckingham Palace a year ago? When the KH Military took London over?" Outlaw:"Yeah, I do. They just got lucky in finding us out." Wesley:"Not really. One of the troopers must have seen the depressions made by our feet in the Palace carpets. That's what Silver's worried about. The GONV might catch us in a similar way." Outlaw thinks. Outlaw:"Hmmm. Good point." He turns back to the others. Outlaw:"Okay, listen up. While we are walking make sure you don't step in anything that can create a depression. If one of the robots catch us we're dead." Everyone nods. Outlaw:"Let's go." They get up and activate their belts. They immediately become invisible and begin to walk towards the factory. They make their way past all the GONV guards into one of the storage areas. They soon enter a tunnel similar to the one the Grizzlies had been captured in. About halfway Outlaw smiles. Outlaw:"These robots don't know what is going to happen them." Suddenly the doors on both ends of the tunnel close. The Maddogs look back and forth in shock. Outlaw:"Then again, they just might." Suddenly electrical sparks begin to fly off the Maddogs' weapons. They yelp in pain and drop the weapons. Then the door leading into the factory opens and a number of drones, lead by Xealot, run up to the Maddogs and surround them, weapons at the ready. Xealot:"Surrender, living things!" The Maddogs put their hands in the air, though they are still invisible to the eye. Xealot:"Appear! Now!" They deactivate their belts, making them visible again, and take them off. Wesley:"How did you guys see us?" Xealot:"Living thing dumb. Living things seen not. GONV detected heat from living thing's body." Outlaw looks at Wesley. Outlaw:"What is he talking about?" Welsey:"It seems the GONV detected our body heat. That's how we were caught." Outlaw:"But we were wearing the belts." Wesley:"The belts make us invisible. It cannot disguise our body's heat or smell." Xealot:"Living thing smart. Now living things prisoner. Xealot take living things to robotic living things." Saphire:"He must mean the Dula Brothers." Xealot:"Move, living things!" The Maddogs do as they are told and begin to walk into the factory, closely guarded by Xealot and the GONV drones. Outside, on an empty field by a bombed-out factory, is Cyc and Sylvia. Cyc is busy talking to Bear over the radio. Cyc:"Bear, I'm afraid the Maddogs have been caught." Bear:"You sure, Cyc?" Cyc:"I'm sure. My sensors show that they are walking into the factroy surrounded by GONV drones." There is a moment of silence before Bear speaks again. Bear:"Cyc, run scans over the factory. I think I have a plan to save our friends before the GONV gets them." Cyc:"It's done." Cyc begins to do his scans. Meanwhile the Maddogs have been taken into the melting room, where the Grizzlies are still hanging in the cage over the tank of molten steel. Xealot and the drones still surround them. The the Dula Brothers are standing on the catwalks above the Maddogs, looking down at them. The NME is nowhere to be seen. The Maddogs look up at the Dula Brothers, who are smiling smugly. Hanjo:"Look what the drones dragged in." Huran:"Stray mutts? Or just plain old roadkill?" Outlaw:"You two are not bad yourselves." Huran:"Very cute, Maddogs. I think the time has come to finally be rid of the whole lot of you." Hanjo:"Both you and the Grizzlies will be lowered into the molten steel and melted down to nothing. That way we'll get rid of two of the most important Rover units in one stroke." Silver yawns. Silver:"That's SO original. Like a bad horror movie." The other Maddogs nod their agreement. Huran:"Oh, but it doesn't end there. With the help of the GONV we'll then go after General Parvo for scrambling our minds. Then we shall go after the Malcorian royal family." Saphire:"You will never find them. They are well out of your grasp." Hanjo:"For now, but not for long. Since the GONV now occupies all of Malcoria, we can force King Alexander to show himself. We know that he would not abandon his people in their hour of need, so we are going to tell him to either show himself or the GONV will begin killing off the country's inhabitants." Wesley:"What difference will that make? King Alexander knows that the GONV will massacre his people if he surrenders to you or not sooner or later." Huran:"Perhaps, but we know how soft a heart he has. When the GONV starts the killing he will give in sooner or later. That we guarantee." Hanjo:"But enough chatting. It's time for you Maddogs to die. Xealot." Xealot signals the other drones and they begin to urge the Maddogs forward. EFV:"Warning. Incoming enemy craft." Suddenly a section of the wall blows apart, throwing the Maddogs, the Dula Brothers and the Grizzlies to the floor. The GONV robots remain standing and turn to the new opening. Through the smoke appears Cyc, in flight mode. The Grizzlies look up at him. Dixie:"Cyc! Good to see you!" Huran points at Cyc. Huran:"Destroy that bike!" Drones:"Executing command." The drones begin to fire upon Cyc, but he manages to dodge the shots. The Maddogs then jump the distracted drones and wrestle their weapons away. They fire upon their captors, destroying them. The Dula Brothers each take a laser rifle and begin to fire on the Maddogs. The Maddogs quickly dive for cover. Hanjo, in an attempt to get a clear shot at Beowulf, stands too close to the cage in which the Grizzlies are held. Zenith and Puffball reach out to Hanjo and grab his rifle. They try to wrench it away from him, but he is just as strong (since he is a robot) and a tug-of-war ensues between them. Outlaw and Saphire run up the stairs to the catwalk, shooting at enemy drones and taking an occasional shot at Huran, who is shooting at them. Wesley follows them up while Silver and Beowulf cover the rear. As they reach the top of the catwalk Huran appears and aims his rifle at Outlaw, but Outlaw jumps him before he can fire and they begin to wrestle. Saphire and Wesley run up behind Hanjo, who is still struggling to free his rifle, and pushes him hard. He falls over the railings towards the tank of molten steel. Hanjo:"NOOOOOO!!!" He falls in with a large splash. He resurfaces, but his body quickly melts and his screams fade as Hanjo Dula completely melts. Wesley then goes to the controls and brings the cage down on the catwalk. Saphire then shoots apart the electronic lock and frees the Grizzlies. Dixie:"Thanks for letting us out!" Saphire:"No problem, Dixie." Just then Xealot appears on the opposite side of the catwalk along with several combat drones, aiming his radiation cannon at the group. Beowulf sees this and quickly claps his hands together to create a sonic boom. The blast hits Xealot just as he fires a jet of liquid plutonium. He loses his balance for a moment, then steadies himself again. The jet of plutonium flies over the group. Zenith and Puffball rush up to the robots and tackle them, tossing them into confusion. The jet flies further on until it splashes over the struggling Outlaw and Huran. They stop immediately as the liquid leaks into Huran's robotic body, causing many malfunctions. Outlaw watches as he shudderds, then falls down the stairs past Silver and Beowulf into a group of drones at the bottom. Outlaw watches him fall, then as he twiches for a few moments and after that become still. He smiles and turns to the others. Saphire and Wesley are smiling, but Amani and Dixie are shocked. Outlaw sees this. Outlaw:"What's up, Amani? Dixie?" Amani:"Do you know what that stuff is what you are covered with?" Outlaw:"No. Not really." Dixie:"It's liquid plutonium!" Outlaw's eyes widens, then he begins to wipe himself trying to get rid of the liquid. Saphire tries to run up to him, but the others stop him. Amani takes a shot at GONV drone who was firing at them, destroying it. They then worry about Outlaw. Saphire:"How can I help my husband?" Wesley:"I think we don't need to. His healing abilities might help slow the effects of the radiation. Unfortunately that means we cannot go anywhere near him. He'll have to be decontaminated back at headquarters." Dixie:"So what are we waiting for?" Suddenly the scuffle behind them between Zenith, Puffball and the drones die down. Dixie looks towards them and gasp. Held by their necks with powerful mechanical claws are Zenith and Puffball. The claws belong to the robot surrounded by other drones, among them Xealot: the NME. NME:"Surrender, organics, or I crush your friend's necks." The others look in horror, unsure what to do yet. A sonic boom from Beowulf suddenly hits the NME in the head. The blast doesn't move him, but it causes his electronics to malfunction for a few seconds. He drops Puffball and Zenith. They then begin to away from the surrounding drones while the others help keep the tide of robots away. Leyte Gulf 100 Kilometres from Romanian Coast The Black Sea At that moment: This is a Ticonderoga-class cruiser (or more commonly called an Aegis cruiser) surrounded by several smaller Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. On the bridge the captain is busy reading a transmission from his superiors in Amsterdam. His SIC stands nearby. SIC:"What does high command say, sir?" The captain reads a bit more, then turns to the SIC. Captain:"UN command has ordered us to destroy a specific GONV factory in Romania in support of the Road Rovers over there. Prepare to fire on these coordinates." He gives the paper to the SIC. The SIC sends out the orders. After a few minutes one of the missile launchers turns to Romania and fires a cruise missile towards the factory. It flies low at super sonic speed over the sea towards it's target. GONV Weapons Factory: The battle is still on with the Grizzlies and Maddogs holding their ground, but the numbers of GONV robots are increasing as more and more are being produced by the factory. Cyc takes a break from the action and lands by Dixie. She turns to him. Dixie:"What's up, Cyc?" Cyc:"I just got a transmission from UN command. They say a cruise missile is on its way to destroy the factory." Dixie's eyes widen. Dixie:"When will it get here?" Cyc:"ETA is 5 minutes and counting." Dixie runs up to Outlaw who, along with Saphire and Silver, are busy shooting at the NME, who's arms have now morphed into huge laser cannons, and several drones. She calls to him, keeping a distance from him to avoid contamination, and gets his attention. Outlaw:"We have to get outta here! The robots will swarm us if we just keep our ground!" Dixie:"There's also anothr reason for not staying here: cruise missile fired from a cruiser is on it's way here to blow the factory up in less than five minutes!" Outlaw:"Another good reason!" He shouts out loud. Outlaw:"RETREAT!!!" The others nod their agreement and begin to fight their way out. Cyc strafes a clear path to one of the exits while the Rovers are running towards it more than fighting. The NME, Xealot and the drones give chase. Amani takes out a remote and activates it. Puffball looks at it. Puffball:"What that, Mistress?" Amani:"I'm commanding Sylvia to go into flight mode and come to our location, Puffball!" Puffball:"Mistress have good idea!" Amani smiles and shoots at the same time. The Rovers run out the factory as Sylvia comes flying into the storage area under flak fire. Dixie and Zenith climb onto Cyc and Amani and Puffball climb into Sylvia and take off, covering the Maddogs as they rush towards the TurboJet Rover. Behind them the NME, Xealot and the robots are shooting all they got at them. The Maddogs climb into the TurboJet and quickly take off before the GONV can do any serious damage. They all then fly away under heavy flak fire. As they disappear into the one horizon the cruise missile appears from another, heading towards the factory. The flak tanks and cannons turn and prepare at the missile. Inside the factory Huran has gotten up, shaking and struggling to keep standing. He then hears the flak fire and looks out one of the windows. He spots the missile as it closes in on the factory very quickly, it's nose pointed at Huran himself. Huran:"Oh no. Not again." The missile smashes through the factory window, into Huran Dula and explodes, taking out Huran, the factory and a large number of GONV robots. The heatwave from the blast knocks over Xealot, the drones and several large GONV robots and tanks that were facing the wrong way. The NME, however, remains standing and looks at the spot where the Rovers have disappeared into the sky, completely oblivious of the destruction behind him. NME:"We will meet again." Then turns his attention to the ruined factory and begins to scan the damage. Assembly area Unknown location 7:30 PM: This is a high-tech room with many machinary and assembly robots. Sparks are flying everywhere, illuminating the otherwise darkblue room, as something is being assembled. On some kind of treadmill is a mechanical body from the wraist down. It is attached with many wires who are taking readings. The legs are running on the treadmill, going faster and faster until it goes incredibly fast. After a few moments the legs stop running and the body is taken by mechanical claws to another part of the room. Medical Room Jumbo Rover Amsterdam 8:57 PM: This is a large, clean room filled with medical equipment and racks containing medical supplies. Inside a sealed chamber that resembles a shower and dressed only in their underwear are the Grizzlies and Maddogs. They are being heavily washed to get rid of the radiation. Watching the process are Alley Afgan, Elexis, Colleen and Hunter. Hunter turns to Colleen. Hunter:"Will they be okay?" Colleen:"Sure, Huntie. Outlaw will take a bit longer because he got drenced with the plutonium." Alley turns to Hunter. Alley:"But they should be up and running in no time and with no fear of getting radiation sickness." Hunter:"Cool. Because we still have a lot of work to do, for this war is just beginning and we've only scratched the surface." Dixie looks over her wet self and frowns. Dixie:"Look at my beautiful fur. All wet and messed up. It will take me ages to get it back to normal." She sighs. Dixie:"I wish Bearie was here. He would have loved seeing me like this." Amani turns to Dixie. Amani:"Don't bet on it, Dixie. Bear wouldn't do such a thing, especially when Nitro is with him." Dixie:"So? I'm not scared of the big bad wolf." Amani rolls her eyes. Outlaw just shakes his head. Outlaw:"Some things never change." Saphire leans against him. Saphire:"Oh really, Honey?" Outlaw looks at Saphire and smiles. Outlaw:"Really, Angel." She giggles. They then kiss passionately, causing the other Maddogs to groan. The GONV factories have been destroyed, the Grizzlies have been rescued and the Dula Brothers are now finally dead. But the war drags on and the Rovers must do as much as they can to help defeated the GONV computer and it's hordes of robotic killers. THE END