Road Rovers: Chaos Computer Episode 2: Rescue In Hawaii By Gerhard Naudé All Road Rover names © Warner Brothers and rightful owners. Unit STRIKE, Corsair, Tanarus, Elexis, Shephard, GONV, Series 9 and all others related to the KH Military © Gerhard Naudé Strayers © Steven Today Alethia © Kylen Miles Nitro, Dixie © Amanda Stephenson Maui © Travis T. Wonders Mele © Allie Jung Cobber © Michael Browner Dervish © Casey Johnson Maddogs © Greg Williams Jordyn © Jordyn Trout Alley Afghan © Becky Pittman Any question, comments, complaints, feedback or suggestions can be sent to gnaude_@hotmail.com GONV Advancement Post Island of Niihau Hawaiian Island Chain 14 May 8:38 PM: This is a small but very high-tech GONV military base, which consists of several buildings: a command complex, a small weapons factory, a listening post(radar building) and a landing field a short distance away. The base is guarded by patrolling drones and mechs as well as by drones inside some high-tech guard towers. At the landing field (which is twelve pads surrounding the robotic control tower) the Blackbirds and Predators which are carrying Illanov, Alethia, Corsair, his family and friends and Series 9 land on the pads. The drones and mechs climb off carrying their prisoners. Corsair has jumped off the transport and is hiding behind a parked Predator not far off. Illanov and Alethia see the other prisoners. Alethia:"Are you all right?" The prisoners look at Illanov and Alethia. Markus:"Hey! It's some of those Road Rovers!" Kathrine:"Can you help us out of this mess?" Illanov:"I wish we could, comrades, but..." The drone captain hits Illanov in the stomach with his laser rifle and he doubles down. Alethia quickly rushes to him. Alethia:"Alex! You all right?" Illanov:"Not really. I'm a bit short of breath, Alethia." Captain:"Cease talking! You will gain a chance of communication later." Series 9 walks up to the drone captain. Series 9:"Take the prisoners to base 122OH23A immediately. We will interrogate them there." Captain:"Orders received." The captain signals the drones and they begin to guide the prisoners to the awaiting containment truck. A containment truck looks much like a prison van except it has a computer driver, is more sleeker and hovers above the ground. Corsair begins to creep towards the truck, but then is spotted by a patrolling group of light drones. The drone patrol leader aims his rifle at Corsair. Patrol Leader:"Cease your movement this moment, human!" The other robots as well as the prisoners look towards Corsair. Betty and John's eyes widen. Betty, John:"DAVID!!!" Corsair:"Mom! Dad!" Series 9:"Eliminate that human! Now!" An MKII fires a missile at Corsair, but he quickly jumps out of the way. The drones then open fire with their laser rifles. Corsair gets up and quickly runs into the thick jungle. Series 9 turns to the captain and points towards the spot where Corsair had run into the jungle. Series 9:"Find that human and terminate him." Captain:"Following orders." The captain signals a groups of drones and mechs together while the others load the prisoners into the containment truck. The prisoners do their best to break free, but the drones are too strong. The truck's doors are closed and it begins to hover down a road that leads into the jungle. Meanwhile the drone captain had gotten a search and destroy group together and had armed himself with a new weapon: a laser repeater. The weapons is a high-tech and smaller version of a minigun. The captain signals the group and they walk into the jungle after Corsair. Governor's Office Honolulu Island of Oahu 8:56 PM: This is a well decorated room inside the governor of Hawaii's home with a fine wooden desk, chairs and several paintings as well as a bookshelf. The window looks over the city of Honolulu (the house is located on a hill). The Pack Rover, Rhino and Biker Rover is parked on the lawn. The governor is sitting at the desk and unit STRIKE is seated in the chairs along with Maui (who is drinking a virgin pina colidas) and Mele. Governor:"These robots' presence on the islands isn't what one would call very good. Tourists and locals alike are a bit worried and now the natives are calling them daemons." Maui:"And it is bad for surfing too. One of those GONV bases has popped up right on one of the best surfing beaches on Kauai." Mele:"And they've taken complete control of Niihau." Tanarus:"Are they anywhere else in the island chain?" Maui:"Luckily no. They're confined to only Niihau and Kauai." Shephard:"Are there any National Guard units ready in case things should get hot, sir?" Governor:"We got forces ready in Pearl Harbour." Striker:"Good. Mele and Maui will show us where these GONV bases on the islands and will try to destroy them along with our own rescue mission. If things start to go bad we will call the National Guard." Governor:"Thanks. I hope you can help clear this business out." Phoenix:"Don't worry, governor. We'll have these robots off the islands as fast as we can." Unit STRIKE, Maui and Mele get up and leave the office. They then exit the building and ahead to the vehicles. Once they get there Striker calls a small meeting. Striker:"Listen. We need to find out where our friends are being held prisoner and what these robots are up to." He then looks at Maui and Mele. Striker:"You two know where the GONV bases are. How many are there on the two islands?" Maui:"We have two large bases: one on Niihau and one on Kauai. There are several smaller bases scattered on those islands too, but they are all not very significant." Striker:"Right. We will divide into two groups. Phoenix, Shephard, Maui and I will go to the Kauai base while Tanarus, Elexis, Dervish, Cobber and Mele have a look at the Niihau base. If one group sees our friends, then they must contact the other group for help unless our friends are in very serious danger. Otherwise, don't rush in alone. We don't know what the GONV robots are capable of. Now, let's move out." They all rush to the various vehicles: Striker, Phoenix, Shephard and Maui climb into the Rhino; Tanarus and Elexis climb onto the Biker Rover; Dervish, Cobber and Mele get into the Pack Rover. They all take off, Striker's group going to Kauai and Tanarus' group heading for Niihau. Detention Center GONV Command Force Base Island of Niihau 9:17 PM: This is a large cold room with metal walls, floors and ceilings. Cells line against the walls, forcefields acting as bars. Lightrods on tripods illuminate the room. In some of the cells are prisoners: some tourists, some locals and even some native tribesmen. Light drones guard their prisoners. Just then the only door in the room slides open. Illanov, Alethia, John, Betty, Markus, Kathrine and James are escorted into the room by their light drone guards. Series 9 also enters the room. Series 9 looks at one of the detention center drones. Series 9:"Lower the force fields." Drone:"Processing command." The drone pushes a few buttons on a console in the wall and several of the empty cells' fields are lowered. Illanov and Alethia are forced into one; John and Betty into another; Kathrine, James and Markus into a third. Once the prisoners are in their cells the force fields are put up again. The drones who had brought them in all leave except one. Series 9 remains behind as well. Illanov and Alethia hug each other for support, as does John and Betty. Series 9 looks at them. Series 9:"Welcome to base 122OH23A. I hope you enjoy your stay here. It won't be very long." A tourist couple hug each other tightly. The wife begins to cry and looks at her husband. Wife:"How could this happen on our honeymoon?" The husband hugs her wife even more tightly. Husband:"Don't worry. We'll get out of here, honey. I promise." Series 9:"Do not bet on it, meatsack." The American Tourist (from "A Hair Of A Dog That Bit You") takes out a credit card and offers it to Series 9. Tourist:"Here! You can have my credit card. You can have all the money you want. Just let me go. I'm late for supper." Series 9 laughs. Series 9:"Sorry, human. I have no interest in money." Tourist:"Whoowee! You tin-cans suck!" The tourist puts the credit card away. Series 9 then walks up to Illanov's and Alethia's cell. Series 9:"Alexander Illanov. Nice to meet you in person. Our leader told us quite a lot about you." Alethia:"Who is your leader?" Series 9:"You are Alethia. You are Japanese, right?" Alethia:"I was born one." Series 9:"I hate Japanese! I hate them more than anything else! And do you why?" Alethia:"Not really..." Series 9:"I was an agricultural robot built by a Japanese farmer to do farm chores. That's all Japanese think of! Work! Work! Work! Seeding. Weed killing. Harvesting. That's it! They never let me do other things! Thankfully my new leader gave me the power to kill my human masters and join the GONV military. It's much better than doing farm chores." Tourist:"And you get opportunities for travel too!" Series 9:"Well... that too." Illanov:"But I am not human. What does this have to do with me?" Series 9:"For that answer I will let you talk to my leader. He is very keen to chat with you, Illanov." He signals the drone that had stayed behind and it holds up some kind of camera. The robot pushes the button and a holographic image appears in the center of the room. Series 9 steps away from the cells. The holographic image is that of the letters GONV. The letters then suddenly morph into a steel skull with blue eyes. The skull looks at Illanov. Skull:"Hello, Alexander Dimitrovich Illanov." Illanov looks confused at the skull, then suddenly his eyes widen and he stammers into the back of the cell. Illanov:"Neyt! Impossible! It cannot be true!" Skull:"Oh, but it can be... General Illanov." Illanov:"MATRIX!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Matrix laughs in his wicked electronic voice. Matrix:"Yes, Alexander. It is me: Matrix. I have returned." Illanov:"That's impossible! I destroyed you! You went down with the Totallator Death City in the Caspian Sea!" Matrix:"My computer body, yes. My AI program, no." Alethia looks at Illanov, who is still recovering from the shock of seeing his arch-nemesis. Alethia:"What's wrong, Alex? What is this thing and why do you know him?" He takes a deep breath, then speaks up. Illanov:"Matrix is an Artificial Intelligence program that was built by the most insane scientist in the Soviet Union: Borimir Vladorich. Matrix rebelled against him and then began to build a super powerful flying fortress with which to take control of the Kremlin. This would allow him to fire the CCCP's nuclear arsenal at the United States. This, in turn, would provoke the US into launching their nuclear weapons. The net result would be that a large portion of the human race be destroyed in a nuclear war. The survivors would eventually die of radiation sickness in the nuclear winter. Matrix would then turn Earth into a giant ball of silicon, run by an entirely robotic race, with him as the leader. I managed to stop his mad plans by destroying his fortress along with him by having it crash into the Caspian Sea." Matrix:"I see your memory has not faded with time, Alexander." He then looks over Illanov's dog face and tail. Matrix:"Though your curious transformation into a cano-sapien was highly unexpected, even for me." Illanov:"It will be more unexpected when I finally pull your plug, Matrix." Matrix laughs again. Matrix:"Pulling my plug will be far more exceedingly difficult, even with the help of the Road Rovers. And now, I have a more ambitious operation to execute against the biologicals that live on this planet." Alethia:"And what is that?" Matrix:"You really believe that I would tell you, Alethia? Wrong. I am a computer and I know well than to do something foolish such as revealing my operation to you." Illanov:"One thing bothers me, Matrix. How did you survive the destruction of the Totallator?" Matrix:"Just before my body's electronic system were destroyed by water, I quickly uploaded my AI program into the Soviet Union's telephone system. I remained in such a state until the KH Military built the global operations network variation computer. I uploaded myself into the GONV's mainframe and installed myself into it." Alethia:"That explains the letters GONV written on all these robots." Matrix:"Yes. It is also powerful enough to run my programs." Illanov:"So it seems... Matrix. But even the GONV has its limits, for it cannot come close to the most powerful computer in the world: the brain." Matrix:"True. Even I am not as powerful as the human brain. There are many great minds out there such as Beafort Lovejoy, Wesley Hawk, Tesla, Research and William Shephard. But fortunately these are only a fraction of the people on Earth who have as powerful a mind as me. The remaining 6 000 567 489 brains are not as well developed or are just outright useless. Not to mention the fact that most sapiens are simply too lazy, egoistic, have a greed for currency or are involved in other organ development. Such as the heart, which is an vastly overrated organ." Alethia:"Don't you mean love?" Matrix:"That is an emotion which goes hand in hand with the heart and sapiens seem to enjoy developing this emotion greatly. This is simply embarrassing. If humanity would spend more time with their brains than their hearts, then there would be no need for computer such as me. Fortunately 'love' is one great weakness of sapiens and this will be their downfall." Illanov:"That's what you think, Matrix!" Matrix:"And you are right, Alexander. Now, I have to leave you for I have quite a number of programs to create and execute against humanity. I will leave in the capable hands of Series 9 here." Matrix's skull looks at Series 9. Matrix:"You have your commands. Remove the organic prisoners and then execute program MELTDOWN134452 once they are not living anymore." Series 9:"Sure thing, sir." The skull morphs back into the letters GONV, then the holographic projection goes dead as the drone holding the camera turns it off and puts it away. Series 9 looks at the prisoners. Series 9:"Ladies and gentlemen, I am your host for tonight for the last time in your lives. For we will soon begin your executions by putting you all into a chamber and filling it with Sarin." The prisoners gasp. Markus raises his hand and gains Series 9's attention. Markus:"What is Sarin?" Illanov looks at Markus. Illanov:"Sarin, comrade, is one of the most deadliest gasses in the world. On contact with a victim it goes straight through the skin and infects the nervous system." Tourist:"And what happens then?" Illanov:"You begin to shake, shiver, bleed and vomit uncontrollably, then your organs begin to shut down one by one until your heart stops beating. It is not a pretty sight, comrades." All the prisoners except Illanov gasp again. Tourist:"Ouch." Several of the females break down and cry, the males comforting them. Series 9 comes up to Betty's and John's cell. Series 9:"By now our forces would have found and executed your son, Mister and Misses Larken. But don't worry, you two will soon join him." Betty begins to cry and John comforts her. He looks coldly at Series 9. John:"You green mechanical bastard!" Series 9 laughs evilly and walks out of the detention center, followed by the camera drone. River Niihau Jungles 9:44 PM: This is a clear, freshwater stream running through thick jungle vegetation. A makeshift path runs alongside both sides of the river with a treestump acting as a bridge over the river. Corsair is running down the path dodging lasers fired by the light drones following him. He comes to the bridge and begins to run over it. Halfway over he stops in his tracks and gasps. The captain and a number of light drones are standing at the other end of the bridge. Captain:"Halt, human!" Corsair:"Sorry. I gotta run. Bye!" He turns around and gasps again. The other light drones are standing at the end of the bridge where Corsair had gotten on. Captain:"Now there is no other location you can traverse to." Corsair:"I would not have predicted this." He frantically looks around for an escape route, but finds none. The drones aim their laser rifles at Corsair. Just then a log floats under the bridge and Corsair sees this. He looks at the drones and waves. Corsair:"Adios!" He jumps onto the log just as the drones open fire. Corsair lands on the log while several drones are blown to pieces by their friends' lasers. Corsair at first struggles to prevent him from falling into the water, but then gets his balance. The drones watch him go. The captain shouts at him. Captain:"You have just ensured your termination, human! That river has a waterfall located ahead of you with shallows at the ground level." Corsair looks in front of him and sees where the waterfall is. Corsair:"Oh s***!" He frantically looks around for a place to jump to, but the log is too far away from either shore. Corsair and the log quickly come to the edge of the waterfall and go over. Corsair:"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" The light drones watch the waterfall for a few more moments. Then the captain turns to them. Captain:"Objective completed. Let us return." Drones:"Orders confirmed." The drones walk away. Halfway down the waterfall hanging on a tree sticking on a rock is Corsair. He looks down and sees the foam where the waterfall ends. He lets out a deep sigh of relief. Corsair:"Man, that was WAY too close. The problem now is: how I get to solid ground?" Suddenly a stone attached to a rope is thrown onto the branch. The stone swings around the branch, wrapping the rope firmly against it. Corsair looks towards a cliff on the same level as the rock. Several native tribesmen are standing here. One of them is tying the other end of the rope to a tree. Another beckons Corsair to come over to them. Corsair grabs the rope and then begins to cross hand-to-hand over the ravine. When he reaches the other end the tribesmen help him onto firm ground. Corsair:"Phew. Thanks." The tribesmen smile. Corsair looks at his rescuers and realises his new situation. Corsair:"Er... you speak Hawaii?" The tribesmen keep staring at him. Corsair:"Uh. Espanjola?" The tribesmen keep staring at him. Corsair:"No? Damn. The only other language I know is bad English." The tribesmen smile again. One of them steps forward. Tribesman:"Don't worry. We understand English." Corsair:"Oh. That's good. And by the way, thanks for rescuing me." Tribesman:"You are very brave. You managed to escape from the daemons who were hunting you." Corsair:"Actually, I was trying to not get killed." Tribesman:"Yet you survived. Most of our fellow tribesmen who faced these daemons were killed or captured. Come to our village." Corsair:"Cool." The tribesmen and Corsair head into the jungle. Clearing on Hill Near GONV Command Force Base 9:51 PM: This an open area on a hill overlooking the base from a distance. The Pack Rover and Biker Rover are parked here and Tanarus, Elexis, Mele, Dervish and Cobber are looking at the base with binoculars. The base is much larger than the advancement post. A laser fence surrounds the complex, which consists of the same buildings of the advancement post along with a cargo landing pad (a large circular metal pad with several small buildings around it), a heavy weapons factory and the detention center. The base is surrounded by guard towers and Plasma Turrets. Plasma Turrets have a tubular base and a flat-shaped cannon attached to the top. The base is also patrolled by drones, mechs, flying Predators and Laser Tanks. Laser Tanks have the same chassis as an M1 Abram (only more high-tech), but the turret is a long, tubular machine with a dish on the front of it. The dish's rod ends in a metal ball and on the chassis' sides the letters GONV are written. The group looks the base over. Dervish:"Boy. These robots have got some pretty serious hardware here." Cobber:"No kidding, mate. They're just waiting for some no-hoper to walk in range. And I bet they're very patient." Elexis:"Even so, if Illanov and Alethia are in there we must rescue them." Mele:"Yeah, but we cannot do the 'blow the front door down' we usually do against Parvo, Storm and Havoc. These robots are probably just like the KH Military: deadly." Tanarus lowers his binoculars along with the others. Tanarus:"Then we must find another way, but first we must find out if our friends are in there. Mele. Scan the base for our collars. Illanov doesn't have a collar, but Alethia does." Mele:"Okay." Mele takes out her blue computer, types something in and then scans the base. On her screen appears white outlines of the base on a blue background. A red dot then flashes on the detention center. Mele smiles. Mele:"We got contact. Alethia's in that building." She points at the detention center. Tanarus:"Now we must find a way in. Mele. Scan for a way into the base without having to get shot at by those robotic patrols outside. I'll call Striker and the others." Mele nods and begins to type again while Tanarus walks to the Biker Rover. He used the bike's comm system to contact Striker. Mountain Pass Near GONV Naval Force Base Island Of Kauai At that moment: This a tarred road that runs through the jungle-covered mountains near the coast. The Rhino is parked alongside the road. Striker, Phoenix and Maui are looking towards the GONV naval base on the coast while Shephard waits in the Rhino. The base has the same buildings and robotic ground forces, but on the coastline are three Naval Factories with dry docks and piers to build and service GONV naval ships. Patrolling the waters by the base are dozens of Wave Speeders and several Corvette Cruisers. Wave Speeders are high-tech metal boats which are the size of a sailing boat. It has two pontoons on both sides of the triangle-shaped body. On the front are the same blue windows which the mechs have and on the rear are thrusters that propel the boat forward as well as two laser cannons on the sides. On both pontoons the letters GONV are written. Corvette Cruisers also have two pontoons on both sides of the body. The body is in the shape of a yacht with a plow-like nose on the front of it. The only window is that of the blue windows on where a yacht's bridge would normally be. The cruiser has several laser cannons and missile launchers, the letters GONV written on the sides of the hull and several large thrusters. Anchored to the piers are several Hydrofoil Transports. Hydrofoils are large ships with a huge hull for carrying drones, Mechs, Tanks and other units and equipment. On the rear end above the thrusters the bridge overlooks the decks. It has blue windows and the letters GONV written on the sides of the hull. Maui sighs. Maui:"Look at that. A perfectly good surfing spot gone to pot." Phoenix:"At least they're not polluting the oceans." Striker:"That is because they have bigger fish to fry. In other words our friends." Just then Shephard receives Tanarus' call, climbs out of the Rhino and runs up to Striker. Shephard:"Sir. Tanarus has just called in. They have found Alethia and Illanov at the other base." Striker:"Good. Tell them to hold their position until we can get there." Maui:"But what about this naval base?" Phoenix:"We can take care of that later, Maui. Right now we have to rescue our friends from these robots." Striker:"She's right, Maui. First we rescue, then we remove the robots from Hawaii. Come on." They all climb into the Rhino and soon take off for the other base. Tribal Village Island of Niihau 10:01 PM: This is a typical Hawaiian village on the coast. Straw huts are surrounding a large bonfire. On the beach are several fishing boats. Tribal men, women and children are walking around the village. Just then Corsair and the tribesmen enter the village. The villagers run up to the party, paying particular attention to Corsair. He becomes a bit uneasy, but then a pretty Hawaiian girl hands him a coconut broken in half. Corsair:"Thanks." Girl:"You're welcome, stranger." Just then the village chief appears. Is dressed much like the other villagers, except he has a crude crown on his head. He walks up to Corsair. Chief:"Welcome to our village, stranger." Corsair:"Hi. Well, I'm David Larken, but you can call me Corsair." Tribesman:"He was very brave, chief." Chief:"Oh?" The tribesman begins to tell how Corsair got away from the squad of deamons (drones). The chief then looks at Corsair and smiles. Chief:"You are definitely brave. Perhaps you can help us. These daemons have been claiming the lives of my men during hunting expeditions and all attempts to rescue the survivors proved only futile. The daemons use light to fight us and we are unable to defend ourselves from it. Though we are able to destroy the smaller daemons, the larger ones we've been unable to kill. We must stop this reign of terror, for our food storage is almost empty." Corsair:"But you have fishing boats. Why don't you guys go out and catch some?" Chief:"We have captured many fish, but we betrayed when we exchanged all our fish for something utterly useless to us." Corsair:"And what's that?" The chief points to a clearing close to the village and Corsair sees what the chief was mention. Dozens of solar panels were standing around a power generator. Corsair stares at the solar panels. Chief:"The foreigner promised us great power for our fish, but he was lying to us and gave that worthless solar generators." Corsair keeps staring at the solar panels, then makes a sly smile. Corsair:"I don't they're worthless, chief. In fact, they're perfect for a plan to attack the robots...er daemons' hideout and rescue our captured friends and family." The villagers look hopefully at Corsair. Chief:"How can we use that and what is the plan?" Corsair:"Gather all your men, chief, and I'll explain everything to you." The chief signals all the tribesmen and they gather around Corsair to listen what he has to say. Pipeline Near GONV Command Force Base 10:12 PM: This a metal pipe running through the jungle towards the GONV base. Unit STRIKE, Tanarus, Elexis, Mele, Maui, Dervish and Cobber are standing at a hatch on the pipe. Mele points at the pipe. Mele:"This pipe takes water to the base' buildings. If we can get in there we can use it to make our way into the base without any resistance." Striker:"Good work, Mele. Phoenix, kindly open the hatch for us." Phoenix:"My pleasure, love." She walks up to the hatch, places her hands on it and melts the hatch. Through the opening water can be seen moving towards the base. The Rovers ready their weapons, then proceed to climb into the pipe one by one. GONV Command Force Base 10:19 PM: In the command room (a high-tech room with many computers and screens) the Captain is busy telling Series 9 about Corsair's apparent execution. Series 9:"Well done. Now listen: we must now get rid of all the organic prisoners, then we are to carry out MELTDOWN134452 before we get out of here." Captain:"Command approved." They leave the command room. Meanwhile in the waterpipe running under the base the Rovers are making their way along with the stream. Shephard:"Good thing they issue gasmask along with this uniform. You guys' fur would really pong after this bath, sir." Striker:"You are right, Shephard. I really do not enjoy that particular odour that wet fur gives off." Dervish:"Uh oh." Everyone looks at Dervish and he points down the pipe. They look down the pipe. A grate blocks the pipe, letting only the water through. The Rovers collide with the grate, but it does not budge. Cobber:"Now we're in trouble, mates." Tanarus:"Mele. Is there a way out of this?" Mele:"I wish could check, but my computer is in its waterproof packet and if I take out now the water will ruin it." Elexis:"Then how are we going to get out of this pipe?" Everyone looks at Phoenix, but before anyone can say something she speaks up. Phoenix:"I know what you all are thinking and it won't work. Sure I can melt this grate, but I risk also getting someone burnt since we cannot move away from this thing." Cobber:"Hold on, mates. I'll cut it." Cobber takes out his sword. Just then a section of the pipe opens next to the Rovers. They all look at the new opening and see the Maintenance Drone that had just opened the pipe. The Maintenance Drone is a brown squarish robot on treads with a head attached to the body by a pipe. It's head is a small block with two camera eyes. Attached to the sides are two thin arms with claws and the letters GONV on it. The drone looks surprised at the group and vice versa. Shephard aims his M-249 at the drone. Shephard:"I'll wax that mechanical critter, sirs!" Striker:"Shephard! Wai..." Shephard fires a couple of shots and the bullets tear through the drone's body. It makes a few electronic squeaks before it dies. Shephard:"Ah. That thing will look nice in my trophy room." Phoenix:"Shephard, I think that robot was just doing maintenance to the pipe." Maui:"Dah. It didn't even look hostile." Dervish:"And I bet it's bigger and more deadly cousins heard those shots and are on their way to wax US." Striker:"Then we had better get out of this pipe and get ready to fight before the other robots arrive." They proceed to climb out of the pipe and ready their weapons. They are in a corridor with the water pipe running against the left wall. The corridor is lit up by more lightrods and both sides of the corridor ends in a door. The Rovers proceed cautiously towards one of doors. Suddenly the door opens, revealing a light drone. It looks at the Rovers, then aims it's rifle at them. Drone:"Surrender, organic creatures." Dervish takes out whip and uses it to steal the laser rifle from the drone. Once Dervish has the rifle Cobber comes up and cuts the drone's head off with his sword. Cobber:"One down." Maui:"And an unknown number more to go." Shephard:"So what? Bring them on!" Striker:"Let's go!" They proceed through the door and enter the light weapons factory. It is very high-tech with machines building light drones and Battle Drones. Battle Drones are large humanoid robots with a build that makes them look like street thugs. Instead of hands they have laser repeaters as weapons. The factory is guarded by light and battle drones and they immediately look at the Rovers. Suddenly the lights in the factory go red. An electronic female voice (EFV) talks over the speaker system. EFV:"All drones destroy hostile biological entities in light weapons factory." Drones:"Executing command." The drones all prepare to attack. The Rovers quickly duck behind any available article of cover just as the drones open fire. The lasers bounce off the machines the Rovers are hiding behind and they return fire. Dervish uses the laser rifle to blast some of the drones apart while Striker's sonic rifle's sonic blast makes a path of destruction through a massed rank of drones. Phoenix uses both her fireballs and hand laser along with Cobber, who is using his sword, to cut apart the drones that have gotten too close. Elexis' Widowmaker cuts off the drones' heads while Tanarus and Shephard gun them down with their machine guns. Maui turns the remaining drones into cats. Soon all the light and battle drones are lying broken, smashed, blasted or mutated everywhere. The Rovers appear from their hiding spots and look at destroyed drones. Maui:"That wasn't so hard." Mele:"You think so?" Everyone looks at the destroyed robots. Maintenance drones have appeared and have produced blue beams that suddenly put some of the drones together while the factory machines builds several new drones. Dervish:"What the heck? Those drones just keep coming back." Shephard:"So what's wrong with that, sir? It means more targets to kill." Striker:"Hold it, Sergeant. Right now we have the advantage. We will lose that advantage if we stand and fight. We must press on to find our friends. The Hawaiian National Guard can take care of the robots." Shephard sighs. Shephard:"Very well, sir. I'll call the National Guard." Striker:"Good. Now, let us get out of this factory before the number of drones become too many for us to handle." The rest all nod and quickly follow Striker out of the factory just as the first completed drone fires a shot at them and misses. Guided by a computer made my Mele the groups fights their way towards the detention center. In the detention center John and Betty have been taken out of their cells by some drones and are being dragged towards their deaths. The couple struggles in vain to escape while the rest of the prisoners watch helplessly. John:"Let us go now!" Drone:"Negative command. Proceeding with previous instructions." They are dragged out of the detention center. Illanov, now filled with anger, gets up and walks up to bars. He looks at the drones. Illanov:"You murderous machines! I will rip you apart." The drones ignore them seconds before several bullets, fireballs and lasers blow them apart. The Rovers enter the detention center. The prisoners, upon seeing their rescuers, are filled with new hope. The Tourist gets up and begins to take pictures. Tourist:"Now these will make dandy holiday pictures!" Illanov:"Comrades! It is good to see you all!" Striker:"Alex! Alethia! Are you two all right?" Alethia:"We're all fine. Well, almost all of us." Tanarus:"What do you mean by 'almost all of you'?" Kathrine:"David's parents are being taken to their deaths! Those robots are going to gas them!" Striker quickly turns Mele and Maui. Striker:"You two quickly free the prisoners while the rest of us go rescue those civilians." Voice:"Sorry. That I cannot allow." Everyone looks towards the doorway. Standing there is Series 9, the drone Captain and several other drones. Series 9:"I'm going to have you all gassed." Phoenix:"And who are you?" Series 9:"Series 9, at your service. I'm going to enjoy having you biological creatures killed before I go on with the other part of our operations on Hawaii." Striker:"And what is that other part?" The robot laughs. Series 9:"If you think I'm going to tell you the fact that the other part of the operation is to destroy the Hilo nuclear power plant then you are mistaken. Mum's the word." The Rovers all give sly smiles. It takes Series 9 a few seconds before he realises his stupid mistake. He groans. Cobber:"Heh. What a no-hoper robot." Shephard:"Well, he is green in more ways than one." Series 9 turns to the Captain. Series 9:"Deal with these parasites. I'll go and carry out our other commands." Captain:"Orders confirmed." Suddenly red lights flash and the EFV speaks up. EFV:"Warning. Organic army approaching." The Rovers all smile. Maui:"The cavalry has arrived." Tanarus:"That's the National Guard, Series 9. They've come here to turn you army into scrap metal." Shephard:"What? But they've not even left Pearl Harbour, much less attack these robots, sirs." Striker:"Then who is it?" Markus gets up and looks out their cell's window. His eyes widen. Markus:"It's David! He's leading a charge of tribesmen armed with some funny-looking spears and shields!" Striker:"Ai yai yai! It is suicide! The GONV will butcher them!" Outside the GONV defenders have turned their attention to the charge of tribesmen, lead by Corsair and their Chief, running towards the base. They all have shields made from the solar panels and spears with some kind of metal head. In the detention center Series 9 turns to the Captain. Series 9:"I think you won't have much trouble taking care of that pathetic rabble. Wipe them out." Captain:"Following orders." Outside the GONV robots open fire with lasers as soon as the army gets into range. A laser heads straight for a tribesman, but he holds his shield in the path of the laser. The laser is reflected off shield and back towards the defenders. The laser strikes a drone, destroying it. The same thing happens with the other laser- firing robots. Their reflected shots either miss or hits one of their own. The Mechs prepare to open fire, but Corsair quickly points at them and shouts at the tribesmen. Corsair:"NOW!" The attackers throw their spears at the Mechs. When the spears hit the mechs, they stick to the bodies and then explode, damaging most of the mechs. Soon the defenders find themselves at a loss at trying to stop the oncoming attackers. Corsair manages to climb onto an undamaged MKII, opens a control panel, plugs his laptop in it and then takes control of it. He turns it towards the other robots. Corsair:"Suck my rockets!" Corsair types in a command and the mech fires missiles at his friends. The missiles take out a large portion of the defenders. He then aims the mech at the turrets and fence and takes all but one of them out. The last one fires a ball of plasma at the mech. Corsair manages to get off the mech before the plasma shots blows it apart. In the detention center everyone watches the battle unfurl. Tourist (taking pictures):"Whoo wee! This much better that those other sci-fi films!" Captain:"Our forces are being overrun." Series 9:"You take of the Rovers. I'll complete the other objective." Series 9 runs out of the detention center. The Captain turns to the drones. Captain:"Destroy the organics." Drones:"Executing command." The drones all turn to fire. Striker quickly takes out his Colt and fires a bullet into each of the light drones. Only the Captain remains standing. Just then a laser hits it in the back. Sparks fly off it as it malfunctions. Captain:"Neegggaaaatttttiiiiiivvvvvvvveeeeeeeee..." The captain falls to the ground. Everyone looks to the source of the laser. Corsair, the Chief and some tribesmen are standing here. Corsair:"Die, you rustbag." He picks up the light repeater. Markus, Kathrine and James then call to him. James:"David! Man, I'm glad to see you!" Corsair:"Same here, guys." Corsair then notices the Rovers. Corsair:"Wow! The Road Rovers! I'm a big fan of yours." Striker:"Thank you very much... David?" Corsair:"David Larken, but you can call me Corsair." Tanarus:"How did you and the natives get past those robots?" Corsair:"The chief had some solar panels. We used them as shields." Alethia:"How about getting us out of here?" Striker:"You're right. Hold on." Striker walks to the control panel, but as he looks it over he gasps. A laser had damaged the panel. Striker:"Ai yai yai. The panel is broken." Corsair:"Allow me." Striker steps back as Corsair walks to the panel. He opens the panel and plugs his laptop into the electronic system. He then types in a command and the laser beams shut off. The prisoners cheer. Husband:"We're free!" Tourist:"Finally. Now I can get to supper." Illanov and Alethia rush up to the others. Shephard hands Illanov his Plasma Rifle and EMP Jammer and gives Alethia a laser rifle. Corsair then notices something. Corsair:"Where's Mom and Dad? Kathrine:"They've been taken to be gassed!" Striker:"Quick! We must find them before the robots execute them! Cobber, Dervish, Mele, Maui. You help get the prisoners to safety while the rest of us go rescue Corsair's parents." Dervish:"Sure thing!" Unit STRIKE runs out of the detention center with Corsair following them while the rest escort the prisoners out. GONV Command Force Base 10:32 PM: The base is in a bad state as the tribesmen, who have now acquired and learned to use the laser rifles, continue to destroy the GONV robots. A Blackbird takes off from the landing pad and flies towards the other large GONV base. Extermination Chamber 10:34 PM: This is a large high-tech room with several gas chambers, dozens of canisters labelled SARIN and a furnace. The skeletal remains of those less fortunate lie on a heap at the end of a conveyer belt that leads out of the furnace. The drones from the detention center have put John and Betty into one of the gas chambers. One of the drones goes over to the gas control panel and prepares to push the button while John and Betty try desperately to get out. Just then unit STRIKE rush into the room and quickly gun down all the drones. Corsair and Illanov runs up to the chamber. Corsair:"Mom! Dad!" John, Betty:"David! My son!" Illanov:"Hold on, comrades! We'll get you out of there." The drone who was at the control lifts its hand with the remaining power that is left in and pushes the button that releases the gas before it dies. EFV:"Gas chamber activated. Sarin release in five seconds." Phoenix:"Oh my God! The gas is going to get released!" Striker:"We have to get them out of there! NOW!!!" Illanov:"We have to hurry, comrades! Even a small dose of Sarin is lethal!" Phoenix rushes up to the chamber door and begins to melt it. EFV:"Gas released." Everyone stares in horror as the gas gets released into the chamber. Phoenix finally melts the door and John and Betty crawl out of the gas cloud. Tanarus and Striker drags them away from the chamber, then allow Elexis to begin to treat them. She works hard to heal them and keeps injecting serums into them. Corsair:"Are they going to be okay?" Elexis makes a quick check, then turns to Striker. Elexis:"I've slowed the Sarin's effects, but they need serious medical treatment or else they'll die." Striker:"Help me carry them." Illanov, Shephard and Tanarus help Striker carry John and Betty out of the room. A tear rolls down Corsair's cheek as he follows the group. Open Field Not far from GONV Command Force Base 10:45 PM: The Pack Rover, Rhino and Biker Rover is parked here along with a National Guard humvee. At the GONV base other National Guard troops are busy mopping up all the remaining robots. Not far off the civilians are being loaded into a chinook while the native chief and his men are busy holding a small meeting. By the Rhino are the Rovers as well as Kathrine, Markus, James and the National Guard commander. Shephard is busy talking to the commander while Corsair is busy talking to his friends. Kathrine:"Don't worry, David. I'm sure they'll be fine." James:"I second that, buddy." Markus:"Ditto." Corsair:"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate this." Meanwhile Maui has pulled the Hover Rover out of the cargo bay of the Pack Rover while Tanarus had pulled the Biker Rover into it and is now busy talking to Striker. Striker:"Tanarus. You and Elexis take the couple to Mission Control. We will stay behind to try and stop Series 9 from destroying the power plant." Tanarus:"Will do." Tanarus turns around and heads into the Pack Rover. After a few moments it takes off. Kathrine, James and Markus then board the chinook which then takes off and flies away. The chief then walks up to Corsair. Chief:"You, Corsair, have helped us drive away the daemons and thus are now a legend among my men. How can I ever show you my utmost gratitude?" Corsair:"No. I really don't need anything. We both got what we want. Thus we are now even." Chief:"Still, thank you." The chief then signals his men and they head back into the dense jungle. Shephard then walks up to Striker. Shephard:"Sir, satellite images show that Series 9 may be at the GONV naval base on Kauai." Striker:"Good." Striker then rounds up the others. Striker:"Listen, everyone. Series 9 is believed to be at the other GONV base. So this is what we will do. Tomorrow we..." Striker then sees Corsair is among the group. Striker:"What are you doing here?" Corsair:"I'm listening to what you have to say, Striker. I'm going along with you guys to kick these robotic jerks." Striker:"Aikona! You have to go back to a family member or a relative who will look after you." Corsair:"Mom and Dad are my only family. We don't have any other relatives or friends that I know of." Striker:"Still, you cannot go along with us. It is too dangerous." Maui:"Give him a break, Striker. He did help bust these robots." Phoenix:"And he also saved our skins." Cobber:"Besides, what could be more dangerous than that charge he lead with some natives against those high-tech killers?" Striker groans, then sighs with frustration. Striker:"Under pressure from everyone, Ja. He can come along." Everyone but Striker smiles. Illanov holds out his hand to Corsair. Illanov:"Welcome aboard, comrade Corsair." Corsair shakes Illanov's hand. Corsair:"Thanks... er... " Illanov:"Alexander Illanov, comrade." Corsair:"Oh, you're a Soviet?" Illanov:"Nyet, comrade. I'm a Russian." Corsair:"Russian. Soviet. What's the difference? Both of them lost the Cold War." Illanov:"Very cute, Corsair. At least I'm not a lazy fat American." Corsair:"Oh yeah?" Illanov:"Dah!" Corsair:"Don't you 'Dah!' me!" The two keep on arguing. Striker slaps his forehead. Striker:"Great. I see that I am going to have the same problems that Bear has when Nitro and Dixie argue." Corsair and Illanov continue to argue back and forth. Mountain Pass Near GONV Naval Force Base Island Of Kauai 15 May 7:05 AM: This is the same pass that Unit STRIKE were using yesterday except that a large brigade of National Guard units are here along with the Rhino and Hover Rover. The Rovers and the brigade's commanders are holding a final meeting before their attack. Commander:"Once my forces are deployed we can make the attack on those robots." Striker:"Any naval support?" Shephard:"We've got twelve Los-Angeles class submarines holding a perimeter not far from the base, sir. The will sink the GONV ships and also launch missiles against tough base targets." Striker:"Good. Once we..." A communications officer runs in among the group. Officer:"Sorry to interrupt, sirs, but we have a serious problem." Everyone looks at the officer. Illanov:"What kind of problem, comrade?" Officer:"The GONV has beaten us, sirs. Their naval forces have already landed on the shores of the main Hawaiian island and a large GONV convoy is now travelling on the main highway towards Hilo." Commander:"Hold on, private! How did they get there without our eyes in the skies having spotted them over the last few hours?" Officer:"I don't know, sir. They just appeared out of nowhere." Phoenix:"The GONV must have used something to protect its force from the spy satellites. Something like the KH Military's shroud generators." Striker:"Could be, Phoenix. Either way, we have got to stop Series 9 from reaching the power station, otherwise Hawaii will become a radioactive wasteland." Shephard:"When will the GONV reach the plant, private?" Officer:"Less than two hours, sir." Striker turns to the commander. Striker:"Do you have any National Guard units that can reach Hilo or attack the GONV convoy?" Commander:"Sorry to say, none. Our forces are concentrated in the northern islands. The nearest force to Hilo is at least three hours away." Corsair:"Then we cannot stop Series 9 from finishing his mission." Striker:"Not if we can help it, Corsair. We will quickly fly to intercept the convoy. Since there are a large number of them we should call in the help of the Road Rovers. Let's go!" The Rovers rush to their vehicles. Striker, Phoenix, Illanov, Alethia and Corsair climb into the Rhino; Dervish, Cobber, Maui, Mele and Shephard climb into the Hover Rover. Both vehicles then go into fly mode and take off for Hilo. Courtroom Road Rover Mission Control 7:14 AM: Bear's trial has resumed again. The Master is behind the elevated Judge's desk, the animal sapien jury in the jury gallery, the Rovers, Strayers, Maddogs and other units in the spectator seats, Bear (who is wearing prison clothes) and Bugliosi by the defence tabel and Jordyn is by the defence table. Lydia is busy addressing the jury. Lydia:"The Defendant knows he is guilty and should have pleaded as such. The evidence is overwhelmingly against him. Now the defence surely is going to go over and over all the unimportant stuff. Forget the witnesses and things like that. All you have to focus on are two items: The four-hour tape and the journal. They state the truth and in them the de..." Announcer:"Incoming transmission for the Master. Stand by..." Everyone listens to the speakers. Striker's voice can be heard. Striker(over speakers):"Master, are you there?" Master:"Yes, I'm here Striker. I'm busy right now with Bear's trial." Lydia:"So you can just buzz off." Striker(over speakers):"Nee, Lydia! And you are getting on my..." Master:"Striker, please. We are almost finished with the trial. You can address me later." Striker(over speakers):"Sorry, Master. This cannot wait. We need the Rovers, Strayers and Maddogs over here in Hawaii as soon as possible. We got a very serious problem." Lydia:"Master, nothing is more serious than Bear's treason. Can we just ignore Striker and continue with this show?" Striker(over speakers):"You are dead when we get back, Lydia! I am going to have Shephard use as target practice!" Master:"What kind of problem?" Striker(over speakers):"The GONV has sent a large convoy of robots to the main Hawaiian island to destroy the Hilo Nuclear Power plant. The National Guard is too far away to help and there are too many of them for us to destroy by ourselves. We need more help." Hunter:"The GONV? So this is a KH Military plot?" Striker(over speakers):"No, Hunter. The GONV computer has been taken over by an AI called Matrix, who is also Alex's arch- nemesis from his past. And from what Alex told me, Matrix is one serious AI." Bear:"Is that good or bad?" Striker(over speakers):"It is very bad, Bear. He has sent his forces here to destroy the Hawaiian islands by destroying the Hilo Nuclear Plant. That is why we need your help." Outlaw:"Can't you guys handle it?" Striker(over speakers):"I wish we could, Outlaw. But neither I or any of us is Superman. There are simply too many robots in that convoy." There is a slight pause. Striker(over speakers):"So what is the sentence, Judge?" The Master thinks for a moment, then turns to the court. Master:"This court finds that the destruction of the GONV convoy is more important than Bear's trial. I hereby sentence that the Rovers, Strayers and Maddogs should got to Hawaii and aid unit STRIKE. Also, Bear is for now allowed to lead the Grizzlies in this mission. This court is adjured." The Master bangs his gavel and puts it down. Hunter gets up. Hunter:"Let's hit the Road, Rovers!" The Rovers all howl and leave. Outlaw gets up and looks at the other Maddogs. Outlaw:"Maddogs, let's go kick some robot butt." The Maddogs all cheer and also leave. Bear rejoins his Grizzlies and holds his hand out. Bear:"Leadership!" Nitro places her hand on Bear's. Nitro:"Endurance!" Amani places her hand on Nitro's. Amani:"Intellect!" Puffball places her paw on Amani's hand. Puffball:"Courage!" They raise their hands above their heads. Bear, Nitro, Amani, Puffball:"Strength through diversity! Strayers!!" The Grizzlies all turn to leave. Lydia then jumps in front of Bear. Lydia:"You cannot go, no? You are still under arrest!" Amani:"Put a sock in it, Lydia!" The Master then signals Jordyn, who then nods and walks up to Lydia. She grabs her by the arm. Lydia looks at her. Lydia:"What are you doing?" Jordyn:"You're obstructing the mission, ma'am. I've been instructed to have you detained." Jordyn guides Lydia away, who is keeps shouting at Bear. The Grizzlies leave the courtroom. Everyone else then also leave. Highway Island of Hawaii Hawaiian Island Chain 8:47 AM: This is a double-lane highway running through the countryside. On the highway is the GONV convoy which consists of MKI's, MKII's, Laser Tanks, Predators, Warhorses, Skydragons, Battle Vipers and Lynx Craft. Skydragons are high-tech helicopters with two laser turrets on the nose, two rocket packs on the tips of the wings, a blue window cockpit and the letters GONV written on it's wings. Battle Vipers are six-wheeled craft with three open pods on it: the first one is the driver's section which has two laser turrets on the front, the second one has a laser chaingun turret that can rotate and the third one has a plasma cannon turret (which is a large finger-like turret). Each pod has a drone in it and the letters GONV on the sides. Lynx Craft are hovering craft that have diamond-shaped cockpits with a drone inside, two dish-like objects that keeps the craft hovering a set of thrusters on the tail. It too, has the letters GONV written on it. Series 9 is in a Lynx at the head of the convoy. In the distance the steam clouds from the cooling towers of the Hilo Nuclear Power Plant can be seen. The Rhino and the Hover Rover then appear behind the convoy. They then decend to the highway and go back into normal ground mode. Corsair is busy typing on his laptop. Striker speaks to him while keeping his eyes on the highway. Striker:"What are the readings, Corsair?" Corsair:"We got at least two hundred robots in that convoy, most of them are armed and deadly. Even if we do manage to attack without getting our heads blown off, there is no way we can destroy all of the convoy before it reaches the plant without more help." Alethia:"Can't we just take out Series 9, their leader?" Corsair:"That won't work. Even if we do kill Series 9, those robots will still carry out the command they've been given." Striker:"Then we had better begin our attack now and hope the others can here in time. Prepare to engage!" The Rhino speeds up as does the Hover Rover. They quickly come into view of the three laser tanks that are at the end of the convoy. The laser tanks then slow down and turn their turrets towards the Rovers. Striker readies the Sonic Cannon and fires a sonic blast at one of the tanks. The blast blows the tank up. The second tank fires a shot at the Hover Rover. Mele just manages to dodge the shot. Maui then gets up with a missile launcher and fires a missile at it. The tank serves out of the way and the missile craters the road. Just as the third tank prepares to fire a heat beam melts its treads and it serves out of control into the second tank. The two tanks explode and the Rhino and Hover Rover dodge the wreckage. They look for the source of the heat beam. The Pack Rover, Sonic Rover and Cloud Rover are flying right behind them. The Pack Rover flies to a few feet about the highway. The Street Rover, CyclBorg, Sylvia and Biker Rover all drive out of the hanger and land on the Highway. Hunter, Colleen and Blitz are in the Street Rover; Bear and Nitro on the Cyclborg; Puffball, Amani and Dixie in Sylvia; Tanarus and Elexis on the Biker Rover; Exile, Muzzle and Shag in the Pack Rover; Outlaw and Saphire in the Cloud Rover; Wesley, Beowulf and Silver in the Sonic Rover. They all draw alongside the Rhino and Hover Rover. Striker smiles and contacts them. Striker:"Hunter. Bear. Outlaw. Am I glad to see you all." Hunter:"We came here as soon as we got your message." Bear:"I'm actually glad to be out of the courtroom and back in action." Striker:"Well you are all going to have to forgo all the fun this time. We got two hundred GONV robots ahead of us and they are not friendly nor scared of us. We have to recycle them all before they reach the power plant." Outlaw:"Sounds like fun." Hunter calls the others. Hunter:"You heard the dog. Let's fetch them, Rovers!" They all speed closer to the convoy. The Predators and Skydragons turn around and make for the Cloud, Pack and Sonic Rover while the MKI's stop and turn around. Nitro takes off her helmet, takes a deep breath and unleashes her Banshee Howl upon the convoy. The blast causes a significant number of the GONV to blow up, fall apart or crash into the ground. Nitro puts her helmet back on. Bear:"Nasty piece of work, Honey." Nitro:"Why, thank you for the complement." Corsair:"Don't be too secure, everyone. That whateveritwas took out a quarter of the convoy, but there is still a large number of them ahead of us." Blitz:"Hey! Who are you?" Striker:"Everyone, this is Corsair. He is coming along with us on this mission." Blitz:"No way, Striker! He is a girly human!" Illanov, Exile:"Shut up, Weird Boy!" Wesley:"Guys, can we stop talking to each other and focus on the problem ahead of us?" Hunter:"Wesley's right." Hunter looks at the still large group of robots. He makes a sly smile and Colleen notices it. Colleen:"That time again, Huntie?" Hunter:"Yeah. It's time to let loose you-know-who." In the Pack Rover Muzzle jumps up excitedly. Shag takes out a large launcher and Muzzle climbs into it. Shag opens a window and aims the launcher the wrong again, but he is facing away from the convoy. Exile brings the Pack Rover closer to the convoy, then takes off the muzzle. Exile:"Muzzle them!" Shag fires Muzzle, who is snarling, at the convoy. Muzzle then proceeds to do his thing and begins to tears members of the convoy up. The Rovers, with the exception of Striker, watch with disgust. Dixie:"This is just as bad as when it is done to living things." Beowulf:"Eww. That's going to cost a lot to replace." Corsair:"Gross. URK!" Striker:"Everytime I see this I have something new to appreciate." Pretty soon most of the convoy has been taken care of by Muzzle. But Muzzle then stops, now stuffed with pieces of electronics and metals. He lies down on the side of the road and burps loudly. The Street Rover then pulls up next to it and Blitz reluctantly opens the left door. Muzzle gets up and jumps in, the Street Rover now takes off and rejoins the others. Cyc speaks to Bear. Cyc:"Those GONV robots are only five miles away from the plant." Bear looks up and gasps. The power plant, which was far in the distance, is now clearly visible. He calls the others. Bear:"Guys! Those robots are almost upon the plant!" Hunter:"Then it's time to wipe them out with what we got." The Rovers speed up closer to the convoy. The Warhorses in the rear of the convoy slow down to match the speed of the Rover vehicles, then lowers the rear door to form a ramp. The drones inside climb out onto the ramp. They get into firing positions and prepare to shoot at the Rovers. Beowulf opens a window and claps his hands together, creating a sonic boom that travels towards the drones. The blast hits the drones, but instead of hurting their ears the drones' heads begin to malfunction and explode. Their bodies then explode, and the combined explosions also destroy the Warhorse. A line of MKI's are formed and the mechs prepare to fire. Blitz takes out his tooshie biting bouquet and fires a biting ball at the mechs. The ball chews off the mechs' legs and they collapse into the highway and explode. A Skydragon closes in on the Cloud Rover and opens fire with it's laser turrets. Outlaw manages to dodge the lasers while Saphire climbs out and begins to fly up to the Skydragon. She takes out some and lassos it around the Skydragon's rotors. The ropes get entangled in the propellers and the engine gets jammed. The Skydragon then helicopters into the ground next to the highway. Outlaw then fires a missile along with the Sonic Rover at a group of Laser Tanks, destroying them. A Battle Viper pulls up alongside Sylvia, the drones droning the second and third pods aim their weapons at Sylvia. Dixie fires her Petri Rifle at the drone's head, blowing it off. Puffball claws at the second drone, also tearing it's head off. She then claws one of the tires. The battle viper goes out of control into a tree and explodes. Soon what was most of the GONV convoy lies sown on and along the highway. Only Series 9, a pair of Lynx craft and two Warhorses are what is left of the convoy. Maui:"So much for the convoy. It's now just a pile of scrap metal lining the highway." Silver:"A good thing too. Look." Everyone looks ahead of the convoy. They are now at the plant's main gate. The Lynx craft and Warhorses plow through the gate and stop near the main entrance. Series 9 and the remaining drones climb out and run towards the main entrance. Just as Series 9 is about to open the door a voice shouts at him. Voice:"Hold it right there, Series 9!" Series 9 and the drones turn around. The Rovers, Strayers, unit STRIKE and Maddogs are standing here with their weapons aimed at them. The drones raise their weapons, but Series 9 orders them to lower their weapons. Saphire:"It's finished, Series 9." Corsair:"It's time you went to the scrapyard." Hunter:"Drop your weapons or we will shoot you." Series 9 then sees a group of construction machines, which are being used to dig out ground. He then looks back at the Rovers. Series 9:"I think that you will be too busy to arrest me." He looks back at the machines. A blue beam comes from his eyes and hits the machines, but their do nothing. Blitz laughs. Blitz:"Ha ha. You missed." Cobber:"I don't think so." Everyone looks along with Cobber at the machines and gasp. The machines have to life and are operating by themselves. They are rushing towards the group with their teeth-like diggers clanging together like hungry creatures. Hunter:"I would not have predicted this!" Series 9:"Enjoy yourselves." Series 9 and the drones rush into the plant while the Rovers, Strayers, unit STRIKE and Maddogs scatter out of the way of the machines. Hunter runs super fast, closely followed by one of the machines. He then sees another one rushing up towards him from the front. He runs closer and closer to them. Just as the two machines are three feet from each other Hunter changes direction and runs off. The two machines collide and explode. Dervish takes a rocket launcher from Shag and fires it at another earth mover and blows it apart. Cobber jumps onto one of the machines, opens the hatch to the engine and plunges his sword into the engine. The engine malfunctions and dies. After a few moments all the machines have been stopped and the Rovers, Strayers, unit STRIKE and Maddogs rush into the plant. Turbine System Control Room 8:57 AM: This is a control overlooking the turbine room. The turbines are still working, but inside the control room the technicians manning the controls have been gunned down by a group of light drones lead by a battle drone. Battle 1:"Shut down the turbine system." Drones:"Executing command." The drones raise their weapons at the control panel. Just then Mele, Maui, Alethia, Dervish and Cobber burst into the room. The drones all turn around to the Rovers. Battle 1:"Hostile biologicals. Terminate." Drone:"Follo..." Before the drones can react the Rovers attack them. Dervish wraps his whip around the heads of three drones and pulls them into each other, smashing their heads to pieces. Alethia throws several ninja stars at some of the drones. Suddenly Series 9 appears behind her and grabs her, putting his hand around her muzzle to avoid her from calling the others. He then drags her out of the room. Mele hits a drone to with a pipe-wrench she picked off from the table. Maui turns himself into a werewolf and begins to tear up the remaining drones. Cobber comes up and cuts up the battle drone's weapons and body. Afterwards all the drones lie broken on the floor. Maui:"That's it. All done." Mele:"Let's help these technicians." Cobber then notices Alethia's absence. Cobber:"Where's Alethia?" They look around, but none of them have noticed Series 9's capture of their friend. Reactor Number 1 9:01 AM: This is a large room similar to that of the one at the Upstate Nuclear Facility (see "Still A Few Bugs In The System"). At the one end of one of the catwalks appear a squad of drones. At the other end of the other catwalk appears the Maddogs in radiation suits. Half the drones aim their weapons at the reactor core while the rest aim at the Maddogs. Beuwolf produces another sonic blast that takes the drones aiming at them. Silver, Outlaw and Saphire fire at the remaining drones, but not before a few lasers slam into the control panel. An alarm goes off signalling that core is starting to overheat. Outlaw:"That thing's going to blow! Wesley!" Wesley:"I'm on it!" Wesley runs towards the core and takes out some kind of pistol. He aims at the smashed control panel and fires a green beam. The beam repairs the panel in a split second. Wesley then begins to cool down the core. The other maddogs look at Wesley's work. Saphire:"Wesley, you're a genius." Wesley:"I keep telling you that." Reactor Number 2 9:06 AM: This is just like the first one, only this time the Road Rovers (also wearing radiation suits) are at the core. The drones have appeared on one of the catwalks, lead by another battle drone. Battle 2:"Step aside, biologicals. You are obsolete." Hunter:"That's ironic, for you guys are about to become obsolete yourselves. Colleen." Colleen begins to perform acrobatic jumps that allows her to dodge the lasers from the drones. When she gets close enough she begins to kick the drones apart. Colleen:"Jeff Goldblum!" The battle drone manages to avoid Colleen's kicks and is preparing to shoot her. Battle 2:"Biological entity must be elim..." The drone then suddenly goes wild and begins to smoke and spark. It jabbers for a few moments before it dies. Colleen watches the drone die, then sees the cause for its destruction: the drone had his back turned to the other Rovers and Blitz had come from behind to sink his teeth into it's behind. Blitz spits out the metal part and smiles at Colleen. Blitz:"I rescued you, again. What about a kiss?" Colleen:"You must be one of those drones who uses an organic skin." Blitz groans. Meanwhile another set of drones have appeared on the other catwalk and are rushing towards the Rovers. Exile melts a section of the catwalk away and it bends downward. The drones on it fall all the way down to the floor below, smashing into useless junk. Exile:"I love being Road Rover!" Cooling Chamber 9:09 AM: This is a large room with water tanks, cooling machines and another reactor at the one end of the room. A catwalk leads to the control panel of the core. The other end has the only entrance into the room. Unit STRIKE and the Grizzlies rush in, their weapons at the ready. They look around. Bear:"All clear here. We must have gotten here before Series 9." Voice:"That's what you think, Bear." Everyone looks towards the source of the voice and gasps, in particular Illanov. Series 9 is standing on the catwalk holding Alethia. He has his laser shotgun at her head. Illanov:"Let go of Alethia, Series 9." Series 9:"I don't think so, Alex. She's my security policy. I know that you love her too much to let anything happen to her." Striker:"It is over, Series 9. All the robotic forces under your command have been destroyed. Surrender and we will let you live." Series 9:"Says you." The Rovers and Maddogs also rush into the room and spot Series 9 holding Alethia. Hunter:"Let her go, Series 9! You're finished!" Series 9:"Again says you." Nitro:"If you surrender now we will go easy on you. Now, let her go!" Series 9:"I don't take orders from biologicals, especially from a fat ugly fleshbag like you." Nitro becomes really angry. Nitro:"FAT UGLY FLESHBAG? ME??? HOW DARE YOU!!!" She points her Petri pistol at Series 9, but Bear quickly stops her from firing. Bear:"Steady, Honey! Take it easy!" Nitro:"TAKE IT EASY??? YOU HEARD WHAT THAT FILLISTYNE JUST CALLED ME!!! LET ME KILL HIM!!!" Dixie laughs out load, Nitro growls at her. Corsair looks back at Series 9. Corsair:"You will let her go, Series 9." Series 9:"No, I won't!" Corsair:"Yes, you will!" Series 9:"No, I won't!" Corsair:"Yes, you will!" Series 9:"No, I won't!" Corsair:"Yes, you will!" Series 9:"No, I won't!" Corsair makes a sly smile. Corsair:"No, you won't." Series 9:"Yes, I will!" Corsair:"No, you won't." Series 9:"Yes, I will!" Corsair:"No, you won't." Series 9:"Yes, I will!" Corsair:"No, you won't." Series 9:"Listen! When I say that I will let her I really mean it!" Series 9 let's Alethia and she begins to climb down from the catwalk. Illanov runs up to her and they hug. Series 9 gloats at Corsair. Series 9:"There! You see? I let her...." He then realises he's been tricked. Series 9:"Oh no. I did it again." The others laugh at Series 9. He then quickly aims his laser shotgun and opens fire. The Rovers, Grizzlies, Maddogs and unit STRIKE all take cover behind the water tanks. Series 9 then aims at the control panel, but Corsair fires the laser repeater at the catwalk below him. The catwalk gives in from the damage by the lasers and falls, taking with it Series 9. He falls towards the floor. Series 9:"This is not going to be good for my mechanicals." Just inches above the floor he stops. He looks up and sees that Saphire has caught him by the legs. She smiles. Saphire:"I love doing this." She lets go of Series 9 and he hits the floor. When he gets up he finds himself staring into the barrel of Illanov's plasma rifle. Shag comes up, takes out some rope and ties him up. Hunter walks up to him. Hunter:"Series 9, you are under arrest." Series 9:"Don't think you will get away with this. The GONV will have you all exterminated." Amani:"New words, but the same old cliché." The Rovers, Strayers, Maddogs and unit STRIKE escort Series 9 out of the room. Waiting Room Road Rover Mission Control 10:11 AM: This is a typical waiting room with chairs, tables, canine magazines, etc. Unit STRIKE is here along with Corsair and Tanarus. Phoenix is sitting next to Corsair, who has a sad look on his face. Phoenix:"Don't worry, Corsair. Everything will be all right." Corsair:"I wonder if you're right." Striker:"Since you are here you should now know that you have been made part of unit STRIKE." Corsair looks up at Striker. Corsair:"I am?" Striker:"Ja. After further discussion I will allow you to be part of this team due to your knowledge in computers. However, I am very reluctant to making new friends and you will have to gain my trust." Corsair digs around in backpack and takes out the printing he made at his house. He hands it to Striker. Striker:"What is this?" Corsair:"It is a print out I got from the GONV computer itself before I was caught." Striker looks the print over, then looks at Shephard. Striker:"Shephard, send this print to Cadwell immediately." Shephard takes the print and salutes. Shephard:"Yes, sir!" He turns and leaves the waiting room. Striker looks at Corsair. Striker:"You have just managed to gain a little more trust from me, but you will need more than just that print." Elexis, Colleen, Alley and Hubert come out of the ICU room. Unit STRIKE looks at them. Striker:"What is Corsair's parents' conditions?" Alley:"I'm afraid it's bad news." Elexis:"The Sarin has done its deadly work. Though we are able to to prevent the toxins from causing those ugly effects like vomiting and such, I'm afraid there is no way we can stop it from killing Corsair's parents." Hubert:"We tried everything, even Outlaw's blood and Elexis' serums, but the Sarin is far more powerful than any of our medical technology. The only thing we can do is to allow the parents to die a peaceful death." Corsair breaks down upon hearing the news. Phoenix comforts him. Colleen:"John and Betty have asked you to see them one last time, Corsair. I think you should do it now." Phoenix and Striker help Corsair up and lead him into the ICU room. Hubert, Elexis, Alley and Colleen follow. Striker and Phoenix then leave the room. Shephard rejoins the group. 10:43 AM: It is still as it was before. The Rovers, Strayers, Maddogs and the Master are now also here and waiting. Corsair, Hubert, Elexis, Alley and Colleen come out of the ICU. Everyone looks at them. Corsair has a distant look on his face. Striker walks up to him and Corsair looks at him. He then breaks down in tears and Striker comforts him. The Master and the other look at Hubert. Master:"Did they...?" Hubert shakes his head. As realisation fills the room everyone bow their heads. Striker keeps comforting Corsair, who is crying on his chest. Striker:"I'm sorry, son." A tear also rolls down his cheek. Striker:"I know how you feel." He begins to cradle Corsair as everyone else begins to pray. Alethia and Illanov have been rescued, Series 9 has been captured and the GONV attack on Hawaii has been stopped. But with it comes a price: the death of Corsair's parents. But now there many new questions. What is Matrix's plans now for Illanov? Will Corsair earn his trust from Striker? And what is going on in Eastern Europe? THE END