Road Rovers: The Iron Fist Episode 8: Soviet Connection By Gerhard Naudé All Road Rover names (c) Warner Brothers and rightful owners. Striker, Illanov, and all others related to the KH Army (c) Gerhard Naudé Strayers (c) Steven Today Nitro, Dixie, Prowler (c) Amanda Stephenson Alethia, Chavaleh (c) Kylen Miles Ricky (c) Ricky Galahad Huntress, Silver (c) Greywolf Lupous Cleo, Ramses, Sheba (c) Katalin Bakonyi Star (c) Kathrine Gore Sierra (c) Elista Atkins Any question, comments, complaints, feedback or suggestions can be sent to gnaude_@hotmail.com. Somewhere in Siberia, Soviet Union, 12 August, 5:29 PM, 30 years ago (that's 210 in dog years): A military truck convoy is busy making its way through the dense forest, carrying nuclear warheads to a base. The convoy is well guarded with troop carriers following the trucks. In one of the trucks sits a soviet captain and his son. Son (Russian):"Papa?" Captain (Russian):"Yes, Alexander?" Son:"When I grow up I want to be just like you." The captain smiles. Captain:"You will get that chance, son. You will get that chance." The convoy drives on, with little knowledge of what’s going in the forest ahead of them. A large number of wolf-sapiens with AK-47's and Bazooka's have assembled along the road. Five T-34 tanks also stand ready. They all have the KH insignia. A soldier sees the convoy approach through his binoculars. Soldier:"Here they come. Get ready!" The troops get into position while the tanks aim their barrels at the convoy. The convoy keeps coming closer and closer. A tank has its barrel on the truck the soviet captain and his son is in. The tank commander takes aim. Tank C.:"Ready?.....Aaaaaand...FIRE!" The tank fires. Southern Colombia, 16 July, 8:09 PM, present day: This is a hilly part of the countryside with farmlands left and right of the road. A railway line runs through. It is very quiet. Voice:"YEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAA!" From behind the hill where the road disappears headlights appear. Three Cycle Rovers and the Rhino appear, soon followed by Ortega's troops in four tactical pickup trucks with mounted machine guns in close pursuit. Hunter and Colleen is on one Cycle, Exile and Star on the second, Ricky and Alethia on the third and Striker in the Rhino. Exile:"Comrade Hunter. Would you pleaski not shout like that? It hurt my ears." Hunter:"Sorry, Exile." The pickups fire at the Rovers. Ricky:"Seems like they are not happy that we blew up their drug processing plant." Alethia:"Actually, I think they're not happy that we blew up just about every one of their installations in this area." Striker:"Everyone, look to your left." They look left and see a train running along them. The road crosses over the tracks a few hundred meters away. Hunter:"Pedal to the metal, guys!" They speed up, and so do the pickups. When they get to the rail crossing they quickly pass over. The pickups break through the barrier in front of the train. The last one doesn't make it and the train smashes into it, pushing it on the tracks. Star sees this. Star:"Seems like somebody did catch the train." Colleen:"I hope they have tickets ready for the conductor." Exile looks back and fires his heat beam at one pickup's tires. They burst from the extreme heat and the pickup driver loses control. The pickup goes in a field and into a large pile of hay. The troops appear, spitting hay out of their mouths. Alethia takes out a red frisbee with the Road Rover symbol on it. She throws it at one of the pickups and it flies straight into the engine. It explodes, sending the engine flying through the air to land in a tree's branches that are over the road up ahead. Ricky:"Nice one, love." Alethia:"Thanks." They continue onward, the last pickup still following them. The branches that was holding up the engine break and it falls. The Rovers pass under. Just as the pickup comes under the tree the engine falls onto the hood, smashing it. The pickup swerves out of control into a tree. The force of the impact sends the driver and gunner flying through the air into a pool of mud in a pigsty. Two nearby pigs talk to each other. Pig 1 (pig language):"And they say we are the dirty animals." Pig 2 (pig language):"Si. These humans are REAL pigs." Striker looks back at their pursuers. Striker:"That's it. Our pursuers are no longer following us. We're clear." Hunter:"To the power of the pack!" They all howl and drive back to headquarters. CNN Newscentre, 9:00 PM: A CNN news anchor was busy reading the day's news. Anchor:"Following the recent retreat of the KH Military the UN forces have made rapid progress. More than three-quarters of Colombia is now under UN protection and the drug armies are beginning to suffer massive casualties, but the notorious drug lord, Francisco Ortega, is still refusing to surrender to the UN forces." UN Peacekeeping Headquarters, Bogota, at that moment: The Rovers have just pulled up and parked their vehicles. Striker goes to the briefing room while the others goes to the recreation area. When striker enters Cadwell walks up to him. Cadwell:"Ah. Striker. How did it go?" Striker:"Went off well, Major. We destroyed all the objectives so you can send in the necessary forces to secure the area." Cadwell:"Good. Well done." Cadwell goes to a UN Commander and puts his finger on a nearby map. Cadwell:"Take your troops and secure the area around here." UN C.:"Yes, sir." In the recreation area the Rovers were refreshing themselves and chatting about the day's events. Ramses was talking to Ricky. Ramses:"How'd go? Ricky:"Went off without a hitch. We blew up a drug processing plant, a tank and fuel depot, a counterfeit factory and the regional command post. We can now have the area secured." Alethia:"Striker says that if all goes well, we should be able to go home in a week's time." Silver:"We spoke with the Master over the radio a while ago. He says that it is pretty quiet up there. The villains are all safely behind bars and the others are right behind Parvo's tail. He will also soon be arrested." Hunter:"Any news about Prowler?" Bear:"Not a sign. That anonymous tip turned out to be a wild-goose chase. Chavaleh and her group went to Rome, but Prowler wasn't there. The tip was probably from a KH officers." Hunter:"Boy, they're good." Sierra:"But just like all other villains they'll also find themselves behind bars." Cleo:"How do you put an entire army behind bars?" Sierra:"I meant just their leaders. The ones in charge." Blitz:"Yah. The question is: which leaders?" Exile:"Weird Boy is rightski. We still don't really know who head wolf baddest guy is." Dixie:"Sure we do. It's that General Black that led the KH strike force. He's the top brass." Nitro:"Of the Epsilon Squadron, yes, but there is still the commanders of the Omega, Delta and Alpha Squadrons. I think that the Supreme General is one who commands the Alpha Squadron. He's the one we should go after." Colleen:"Huntie, what was that general's name in that nightmare you had?" Hunter:"Stalker. The large one. I think that he maybe the Supreme General everyone has been mentioning about." Shag:"Rhar rhaaar rha rhar rha." Amani turns to Puffball. Amani:"Translation?" Puffball:"Shag says that Black mentioned Striker being human." Everyone but Shag, Hunter, Colleen, Blitz and Exile look confused at Puffball, then at Shag. Cleo:"Human? What are you talking about?" Hunter:"He's right. At the end of our mission in Brazil Black said that Striker was a human. Of course, he might have said that in anger, or it may be that Striker was lying to us." Dixie:"Seems like the further we progress against the KH Military the more questions pop up." Huntress:"Yeah, those we answer just raises more questions. And Striker isn't very keen on telling us." Alethia:"Well, he has been a Road Rover for only a month now. I think as time passes he'll possibly become less unfriendly to us and open up his feelings." Bear:"If Lydia caught wind of this she would stop at nothing to learn the truth about Striker. You all know how she is." Ricky:"I think that if Lydia does try to do that she will get in trouble. Striker has connections with the Pentagon and if she pokes her nose in his affairs he will have the Pentagon officials all over us." Silver:"The Master also thought about that and he has ordered us all not to tell Lydia about it. He knows it's for the best." They all sigh. Ortega's villa, somewhere in Colombia, at that moment: This is a large, luxurious villa in the jungle. Everywhere there are soldiers guarding it along with several tanks, helicopters and pickups. A Russian transport helicopter approaches the villa and lands. The door open and out climbs a Soviet general. He is in his thirty's and wears a general's uniform. Some soldiers escort him through the villa to Ortega's office. Francisco Ortega is tall South American with a black moustache and hair. He is wearing a white shirt and blue denim jeans. There are several women dancing around him. Ortega:"Ahh. General Illanov. I've wanted to see you. Have a seat." Illanov:"Thank you." Illanov sits at one of the armchairs. Ortega:"I'm pleased with you. Your delivery of Soviet technology has been orderly and on time." Illanov:"Thank you, comrade. This has profitable transaction for both of us, neyt?" Ortega:"And the gainfuls? I trust they are safe?" Illanov:"They are being delivered to your underground snow fortress as we speak." Ortega:"Good. Go oversee the operation and make sure that nothing goes wrong. If all goes well you will receive your payment." Illanov:"Consider it done, comrade." Illanov gets up and walks to the door. Just he exits Ortega stops him. Ortega:"One last thing. If these Road Rovers appear..." He lights a Cuban cigar and smokes it. Ortega:"...bring me their heads packed in snow!" Illanov:"Right." Illanov walks back through the villa to his helicopter. He climbs in and it takes off for the snowy mountains. Sleeping Quarters, UN Headquarters, 11:11 PM: The Rovers and Strayers are getting ready to tuck in. Some are already in bed while others are getting dressed. As soon as they're all done they all go to sleep. Everyone except Alethia and Ricky. They look out the window at the briefing room where Striker was still working. Alethia looks at Ricky. Alethia:"Ricky?" Ricky:"Yes?" Alethia:"Striker isn't the dog I expected when he first came to Mission Control. I sense great pain within him." Ricky:"Me too. He's a great asset in battle, but in social life he's hostile towards us and Will. He takes his job too seriously. I just hope that you're right about him becoming more and more open towards us." Alethia:"I hope so too. Good night, Ricky." Ricky:"Good night, Alethia." They both go to sleep. Meanwhile, in the briefing room Striker, Cadwell and others were still working on future mission. An officer runs up to Cadwell and hands him some satellite images. Officer:"Here is some latest satellite images of a harbour near the mountains, sir." Cadwell looks over them, then at the officer. Cadwell:"Thank you, officer." The officer walks off and Cadwell walks to Striker. Cadwell:"Look at this." Striker takes the images and looks at them. The images show a convoy which consists of trucks, jeeps, tanks and missile launchers. On a close-up image of one truck several large missiles can been seen through an opening in the truck. Striker:"Soviet Gainful launchers with SS-10 missiles. Any clue how Ortega got these?" Cadwell:"The CIA has sent this profile of a suspected supplier." Cadwell hands Striker a file. He reads it. The photo is that of General Illanov. Striker:"Alexander Dimitrovich Illanov. Former Soviet General. Suspected of selling Soviet technology to various terrorist organizations. Has not permanent home, no family." Cadwell:"Up till now the CIA has tried to capture Illanov, but he's always on the move, so its made it difficult to track him." Striker:"Where is he?" Cadwell:"Our intelligense report that he's going to oversee this weapons transfer." Striker:"Any idea where they might be heading?" Cadwell:"The mountains. We suspect that Ortega has an underground snow fortress were he hides most of his weapons." Striker:"And we have to go and stop Illanov. Is that correct?" Cadwell:"Right. You, Ricky, Alethia, Star, Cleo, Ramses, Sheba, Huntress, Silver and Sierra have to handle this and, if possible, try to capture Illanov and bring him to stand trail." Striker:"Consider it done. Good night." Cadwell:"Good night." Striker leaves the briefing room and heads to the sleeping quarters. He quietly gets dressed, climbs into bed and goes to sleep. 17 July, 7:09 AM: Striker gets up, goes for a shower and gets dressed. He heads back to the sleeping quarters. Striker:"Wake up! Alethia! Ricky! Star! Sierra! Cleo! Ramses! Sheba! Huntress! Silver! Time to go to work!" Those who Striker called wake up. The others also get woken by the noise. Colleen (to herself):"I hate it when he does that." Ramses:"What's going on?" Cleo:"Yet another mission, I guess." Striker:"On the mark." Huntress:"Can't I sleep a bit longer?" Striker:"No, this can't wait." Silver sighs. Silver:"All right, let's hear it." Striker:"A number of Soviet weaponry is being delivered by a Russian General called Alexander Illanov. They are being taken to an underground snow fortress. We have to go in and destroy the weapons. Get up, get dressed and get your weapons and equipment." Striker exits the building while the others get up. Huntress:"I'll be clad when we get back to Mission Control. This is starting to get nasty." Blitz:"Well, at least I can go back to sleep." Striker comes back in. Striker:"Cadwell says he has two other tasks for the rest of you." Striker leaves again and Exile looks at Blitz. Exile:"You are saying?" Blitz:"Ach. No. Not again." Colleen:"Terrific. At this rate I'll never get my beauty sleep." Bear:"This sucks. Big time." Nitro:"I agree." The others also raise their discontent. Outside Striker has overheard was they were saying. He walks to the briefing room and towards Cadwell. Striker:"Major." Cadwell:"Yes?" Striker:"How much longer are you going to keep the Rovers and Strayers here? I mean, the KH Military has left Colombia. That was their mission here. They should be back at headquarters taking a warm bath or sleeping or something in that line. Instead they are here doing commando raids that your men could easily accomplish. Why?" Cadwell:"Because it's orders from the UN secretary-general. They must stay here until Ortega is captured." Striker:"To h*** with orders! They are low on morale. They cannot continue for very much longer." Cadwell:"What about you? You don't seem to mind doing this." Striker:"That is because I am EDF agent. A soldier. One who has faced the KH Military in the past. One who can stand the pressure. The Road Rovers and Strayers are not soldiers like I am." Cadwell:"Hmmmm. I see your point. After these three missions I will try to have you all reliefed from duty." Striker:"Thank you." Cadwell:"But what about Ortega?" Striker:"He is a drug lord. That is up to the DEA and the US Justice Department to handle. He is your problem. We have done our part." Cadwell:"I guess you're right." Striker heads outside to the Pack Rover, where the Ricky and his unit was waiting inside. They are all wearing the snow uniform (from "Where Rovers Dare"). He gets onboard to the cockpit and gets seated. They then take off and head for the mountains. Snow Fortress, Mountains, Colombia, 7:31 AM: Illanov's helicopter goes to a secret hangar opening in a mountainside. It then lands on a helipad. There is a large number of soldiers on watch. A tunnel leads to the other parts of the fortress. A train-like vehile appears with the fortress commander. On his pocket reads in Spanish "COMMANDER CARLOS". He gets up and walks over to Illanov, who has just climbed out of the helicopter. Carlos:"General Illanov, I presume?" Illanov:"Yes. You're the fortress commander, am I right?" Carlos:"Si. I'm Commander Carlos." Illanov:"Give me a report on the Gainfulls." Carlos:"They are all now in the fortress weapons depot." Illanov:"Good. Take me there. I want to see for myself." Carlos:"Si, senyor Illanov." Illanov:"One more thing: alert your troops. The Road Rovers are probably on their way here. They must not be allowed inside the fortress." Carlos:"If they come anywhere near here, they'll be shot on sight." Illanov:"They better be." Carlos and Illanov head to a jeep, get in and drive into one of the tunnels. Meanwhile, the Pack Rover was making a low pass over the mountains. Inside Ramses was scanning the terrain. Ricky:"See anything suspicious?" Ramses shakes his head. Ramses:"Just miles of snow and mountain. There is no sign of an entrance of any kind to the snow fortress." Alethia:"I'm picking up a signal just up ahead." Huntress:"I'm scanning now...it's a power station." Star:"Out in this wasteland?" Huntress:"Well, it's there, no doubt about it." Cleo:"That plant must obviously be supplying power to the fortress." Striker:"Thus, if we destroy the plant it might force them to give themselves away." Sierra:"Like when they lose power to the heating system?" Striker:"Correct." Silver:"So what are we waiting for?" Everyone but Silver and Striker looks around confused. Star:"Err...milk bones?" Striker:"Very funny. Let us just lock and load." Ricky:"Err...yeah. Right." They land in a clearing and get their guns. The front hangar door opens and the Tank Rover (from "Were Rovers Dare") appears. Sierra is at the controls. Just a few kilometers away is the power station. It is a large plant surrounded by an electric fence. Nearby is two M-1 Abram Tanks patrolling in a circle around the plant. A grid runs for a short distance, then the cables disappears under the snow. There are two soldiers at the gate. The Tank Rover comes into view of the tanks and drives past them. One tank goes into pursuit of the Tank Rover. As soon they both disappear from view a sonic blast blows the second tank up. Ricky, Striker and Alethia appear on the Ski Rovers while Huntress runs super fast to the soldiers at the gate. She makes a face at them. Huntress:"Nyaa! Nyaa! You can't catch me!" Soldier 1:"Oh? Really? Let's get her!" Soldier 2:"Si!" Huntress runs off, the soldiers running after her as fast as they could right behind her. In the mean time Ricky, Striker and Alethia go into the compound and get off the Ski Rovers. Ricky:"Striker, you take out the power grid. Alethia and I will take care of the plant." Striker:"Affirmative." Striker runs to the grid, Ricky and Alethia head to the plant entrance. Ricky puts his ear to the door. Ricky:"Two soldiers. Get ready." Alethia and Ricky get on either side of the door. The soldiers run out. Ricky gives the one soldier a right hook while Alethia bangs the door in the other soldier's face, knocking him out. They run inside to the generator room. A soldier challenges them, but Ricky grabs him. Some soldiers appear on a catwalk above them, but Alethia takes the Puppy Blaster and shoots the catwalk out from under the soldiers. The soldier struggling with Ricky begins to shoot wildly, accidentally killing two of his comrades. Ricky them punches the wind out of him. The technicians run out of the plant in terror. Alethia and Ricky go to a control room. A technician is cowering under a table. Technician:"Please! Don't kill me!" Ricky:"We won't. Just tell us how to shut the generators down and we'll let you go." The technician calms down and gets up. Technician:"I wish I could, senyor, but that requires ten people at various controls. We alone cannot shut it down." Alethia looks over the control panel, lightly touching the buttons with her finger. Alethia:"What do these buttons do?" Technician:"Don't touch that! They prevent the generators from overloading! You want to blow the plant up?" Alethia and Ricky look at each other, then at the technician. He quickly realizes his mistake. Technician:"No! No! No! I did not say that!" Alethia and Ricky begin to push the buttons. Soon the plant begins to shake as the generators overload. An alarm goes off. Technician:"It is going to explode! Get out!!" Alethia, Ricky and the technician run out of the plant. Just as they get to cover the generators explode, the plant blows up with an enormous roar. Nearby Striker pushes a button on a detonator. The bone-bombs attached to the pylons explode, bringing the entire grid crashing into the snow. In the snow fortress the lights go off. Illanov looks at Carlos. Illanov:"What is this?" Carlos:"I...I don't know. Something must have happened at the power station." Illanov:"I hope for your sake that you have back-up generators, Commander. Otherwise I will be very displeased." Carlos:"Don't worry, senyor Illanov. Power will soon be restored." Illanov:"It better be." Outside the smoke has cleared. Where the plant used to be was nothing but a large crater in the ground. Debris is scattered everywhere. The technician and his friends appear from cover and look at Alethia and Ricky. Technician:"Do you Road Rovers always have to destroy every building you get into?" Ricky:"Just doing our job." Meanwhile the two soldiers were still following Huntress. She then suddenly runs into a dead end, the only way out being barred by the soldiers standing under a snow covered tree. She picks up a stone and throws it at the soldiers. It misses and hits the tree. Soldier 1:"Ha! You missed, Rover!" Just as they are about to fire the snow on the branches of the tree falls on them and buries them, leaving only their heads. Huntress runs over and takes their guns. She grins at the soldiers. Huntress:"Told you you can't catch me." A distance away the Abram Tank was still in pursuit of the Tank Rover. They approach a cliff looking down the mountain. The tank fires a shot at the Rovers. The shot falls short behind them, but the shock sends the Tank skiing out of control to the cliff edge. It stops just inches away from the abyss. Star:"I hate hights!" Silver:"Uh oh." Ramses:"What?" Silver:"That." Silver points at the tank. It is coming towards them very fast. Cleo:"They're going to push us over!" Ramses:"Not if I can help it." Ramses pushes a button on the control panel. The Tank Rover reveals its helicopter rotors and it begins to activate. In a flash it takes off, the tank driver looking at it amazement. When he looks down he sees they are almost at the cliff. He tries to stop but the tank just slides on the ice. The crew jump out just as the tank becomes airborne. It falls to the canyon floor and explodes. Star:"If tanks were meant to fly they'd have wings. And a parachute." Ramses:"Come on. Let's go get the others." They fly back to the destroyed plant. In the snow fortress power has just been restored. Illanov was waiting the officer's quarters when Carlos comes back in. Carlos:"Power restored, sir." Illanov:"Well done, commander. I trust there will be no further incidents." Carlos:"Don't worry, sir. I've taken care of it." Illanov:"Though I wonder why use a surface power station when the backup generators can supply power to the fortress." Carlos:"Well, the generators can't supply power to all of the fortress' systems." Illanov:"And what systems might that be?" Carlos:"The heat and ventalation systems. We have to use furnaces and surface vents." Illanov:"What???" Carlos:"Is there a problem, sir?" Illanov:"Yes, there is a problem! Those furnaces and vents will give away our position! Shut them down immediately!" Carlos:"Why, sir? It is going to..." Illanov:"NEYT! That is a direct order! Carry them out!" Carlos:"S..si, sir." Carlos runs out of the office. On the surface the Rovers were atop a hill overlooking snow-covered plains. Sierra was scanning the plains with a binocular. She sees a group of the furnace vents. It is billowing out black smoke. Sierra:"Got it! Several vents. Right over there." Ricky takes the binoculars from Sierra and looks in the direction she is pointing. At that moment the smoke stops coming out of the vents. Ricky:"I see it, too. Seems to me their heating systems is off-line." Ricky lowers his binoculars and turns to the others. Ricky:"Okay. Let's go." The Tank Rover makes its way to the vents. It stops a few meters away and they all climb out. Cleo looks down one vent. Cleo:"They've put out the flames. We can climb down it." Ramses looks at Sheba. Ramses:"Sheba, fly down and keep watch for any enemies." Sheba takes off and flies down the vent. She climbs out and looks around. She is in a room with furnaces lining the walls. There is nobody here. Topside, Silver had lower a rope down the vent and was climbing down, followed by Huntress and Star. Huntress, Star:"Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Chrismas!" Silver:"Will you two shut up? Both of you will get us all caught!" Huntress:"Come on! Were's your Chrismas spirit?" Silver:"Huntress. It's mid July, not December." Ricky appears above Star. Ricky:"She's right. This is a snow fortress with a furnace vent, not a house with a chimney." Striker appears above Ricky, followed by Alethia, Cleo, Sierra and Ramses. Striker:"Will you all stop talking and keep moving?" They continue to climb down. When they reach the bottom they climb out of the furnace and ready their weapons. Ricky puts his ear to the furnace room door. Ramses:"Any movement?" Ricky:"No. It's all quiet." Ricky tries to open the door. Ricky:"Locked." Huntress:"I'll open it with my tennis ball bazooka." Striker:"And risk alerting the entire fortress of our presence?" Alethia:"I have a lockpick with me." Alethia walks to the door and begins to pick the lock. Soon she opens the door and walks out into a corridor. Alethia:"No one. Come on." They all follow and begin to walk down the corridor. Suddenly Ricky stops and listens. Ricky:"Footsteps! Coming this way!" Sierra sees an open door. It is dark inside. Sierra:"Let's hide in there!" Sierra runs in, followed by Silver and the others. Silver smells the air. Silver:"Phew! Let's find a different room!" Ricky:"There's no time! Just get in!" Cleo is the last to go in and closes the door behind them. The room is completely pitch dark. Huntress:"Awww man! What's that stench?" Cleo:"Yuk! Something died in here!" Striker:"I have to admit: this room does not particulary smell very fresh." Alethia:"I know that odor, but I cannot remember what it is..." Ricky:"Quiet down. They're coming." Down the corridor two soldiers walk up to the door. They stop and one of them take out a pair of cigars. They each take one, light them and begin to smoke. Inside the Rovers were becoming sick of the smell. Star:"I can't stand it anymore." Ramses:"I think I'm going to throw up." Outside one of the soldiers looks at the door. Soldier 1:"I'll be glad when they clean that storage room out." Soldier 2:"Si. Those fish have been in there for two months." Inside everyone is filled with shock. Alethia:"That's what it is: fish from the sea." Striker:"A long since fish smelling like THAT saw the sea." Silver:"Oh no. I'm feeling faint." The two soldiers then walk onward and disappear from sight. Ricky:"All clear." They all run out of the storage room, breathing deeply. Ricky:"Aaah. God's air." Huntress:"I nearly died in there." Star:"So did I. The air in there is a health hazard." Everyone looks at Sierra. Sierra:"Come on, guys. How was I supposed to know?" Cleo:"You have a nose. You should use it." Striker:"Will you all stop arguing? We have a mission to carry out." Ricky:"He's right. Let's go." The Rovers walk on down the corrider. Meanwhile Illanov was busy inspecting the missile launchers in the weapons depot. Carlos is next to him. Illanov:"Everything seems to be in order here." Carlos:"Si, sir." Illanov:"And the missiles themselves? Were are they?" Carlos:"They're in the next hangar, sir." Illanov:"Show me." Carlos:"Si, sir." As they begin to walk to the hangar a soldier runs up to Carlos. Soldier:"Sir, scanners have detected some biological signatures in sector D." Carlos:"What kind of biological signatures?" Soldier:"That's the unusual part. The scanners cannot identify them." Carlos:"You take some troops and check the signatures. I want a report soon." Soldier:"Si, sir." The soldier goes to a group of soldiers, says something to them and then they head for sector D. In that sector the Rovers come to a map of the fortress. Ramses points at a sector marked in spanish "WEAPONS DEPOT". Huntress takes out a translation book and finds out what the words mean. Huntress:"It is weapons depot. Is that were the weapons might be?" Striker:"The probability is high. The sector is anyway not far." Ricky:"I hear footsteps! Several of them! Hide!" They all duck into a corridor. The soldiers appear and begin to walk to where the Rovers were hiding. Cleo takes a gas-tennis ball and throws it down towards the soldiers. It rolls to their feet and releaces the sleeping gas. Soldier (Spanish):"What the?" The soldiers sniff at the gas and quickly fall asleep. The Rovers walk past them. Star:"Too easy." The Rovers continue onwards until they come to the depot. They are on a catwalk overlooking the depot. They hide behind a stack of crates. Striker:"Too many soldiers. We need to remove a large number of them." Alethia sees something. Alethia:"I got a plan." Alethia gets up and starts running down a flight of metal stairs. Ricky:"Alethia! No! Don't!" Ricky tries to get up, but Silver stops him. Silver:"Leave her alone. Trust me." Alethia runs to the door of an empty hangar. She turns to the soldiers. Alethia:"Cooooooeeeeeeeee!!! Over here!" All the soldiers turn and look at Alethia. Illanov and Carlos also notice Alethia. Carlos:"Intruder! Get her!" Alethia runs into the hangar, the soldiers following into the hangar. She runs out again. Alethia:"Help close these doors!" Huntress:"Hold on, Al! We're coming!" The others run down to Alethia and help close the hangar doors. They close them just as the soldiers run back. They bang and shoot at the door, with no success. Carlos smiles at them. Carlos:"Well done, but I have more soldiers." He takes out his walky talky. Carlos:"All troops to sector E! Now!" He puts it away. Suddenly all the doors leading into the depot close. From various doors the sound of soldiers trying to break in. They, too, are unsuccessfull. The Rovers grin at Carlos, who is completely shocked. Ricky:"Seems like your 'more' has become 'none'." They then turn to Illanov. Striker:"Surrender, General Illanov. You got nowhere to go." Illanov:"Not so fast, Road Rovers. I still got one last surprise for you." Illanov takes out a strange device and activates it. Illanov:"Try to shoot me." Striker:"Nothing easier." Striker readies his Sonic Rifle and aims it at Illanov. Striker:"Say goodnight, Illanov." Striker pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. He tries again with the same affect. He looks at it, confused. Alethia tries to fire the Puppy Blaster, but it too does nothing. The others try as well, all their weapons are dead as well. They look at Illanov, who is grinning at them. Illanov:"This, comrades, is a EMP jamming device. I know all your weapons electronic, thus you are now all unarmed." Carlos takes out their pistol. Carlos:"Die, Rovers." Just as Carlos is about to fire Striker takes out of one his pockets a Colt revolver. He quickly shoots Carlos' gun out of his hand, then shoots the EMP jammer. It shatters at the force of the bullet. The Rovers aim their weapons back at Carlos and Illanov. Striker kisses his revolver. Striker:"My trusty revolver. I can always rely on you." Carlos turns to runs, but Silver throws a metal ball at him. It ejects a net and he is entangled in it. Illanov just raises his hands. Illanov:"I misjudged you. I surrender." Ramses:"A cooperative villain. I like that." Cleo:"Me too." Ramses and Cleo run to Illanov and take him into custody while Alethia and Ricky go to handle Carlos. Striker looks at the others. Striker:"Right. Let us destroy these Gainfulls and the missiles." Ricky looks at Carlos. Ricky:"In which hangar are the missiles?" Carlos:"I'm not talking!" Illanov:"Well, I am. Hangar A, other there." Illanov points at the Hangar. Sheba flies to the door and rips it apart with her sharp claws. Huntress and Star fire their weapons at the missiles while Striker fires a powerful Sonic Blast at the launchers. In a few seconds the Soviet weaponry is destroyed. Cleo:"Thanks, General. You're the first villain we met who is willing to talk freely." Suddenly there is a loud bang at the massive tunnel doors. A large dent can be seen. A second bang follows, the dent becomes bigger. Silver:"We'd better get out of here. That door won't hold long." Another tunnel's doors open. There is no one there. Illanov points to the transport train nearby. Illanov:"Comrades! To the train, and fast!" Striker:"He's right! Quick!" They all climb onto the train. Sierra is at the controls. She guides the train into the tunnel just as two Abram tanks break through at the other door. The tanks go into pursuit of the Rovers. Alethia turns to Illanov. Alethia:"Illanov, is there a way out of this fortress?" Illanov:"My helicopter is on the helipad not far from here." He then turns to Sierra. Illanov:"Turn right at the next intersection and continue until we reach the helipad." A large door closes behind the Rovers. Striker:"What is it with us and doors these days?" On the other side the two tanks fire, blowing open the door. They drive through the opening just as the Sierra turns the train into the right tunnel. Striker then sees a stack of oil barrels ahead of them. Striker:"On my mark, shoot the barrels full of holes." As they pass the barrels they all open fire, shooting holes into the barrels. The oil leaks out onto the road. The first tank dodges the oil patch but the second slips on it and slides into a stack of crates. Huntress:"One down. One to go." The tank fires a shell at them. Cleo quickly shoots the back window of the train while Ramses shoots the front window. The shell travels right through the train and out the other side. The shell blows a crater into road ahead of them. Sierra just dodges the crater. Sheba gets up and flies to the tank. She lands on the drivers viewport, obscuring his view of the road. Driver:"Get off, you miserable creature! I cannot see!" Sheba flies off, clearing the view. The driver looks ahead, horrified. Driver:"OH S***!!!" The tank drives into the crater and becomes stuck in it. Sheba flies back to Ramses and lands on his arm. Ramses:"Good girl." Huntress:"Look! Up ahead!" They all look ahead of them. Light can be seen at the end of the tunnel. They appear into the open onto the helipad, where Illanov's helicopter was standing by. The Rovers climb out and into the helicopter. Once they are all onboard they take off, soldiers firing at them. Soon they are back at the Pack Rover. Huntress runs off to fetch the Tank Rover while Illanov and Carlos are taken to the prison cells by Ramses and Ricky. Once the Tank Rover is onboard they take off and head back to base. Ricky:"Mission accomplished, guys." Star:"Easy one, this mission." Alethia:"General Illanov was very helpful. I think he might get a lighter sentence." Ramses:"I agree. He certainly does know when his days are numbered." Down below, however, Carlos was busy fiddling at his boot. He takes out an EMP jammer just like Illanov's. He activates it and turns off the cell beams. He then runs over and picks up the Puppy Blaster. Illanov:"What are you doing?" Carlos:"I'm going to kill these Road Rovers and take their aircraft. That is what I'm going to do." Illanov:"Neyt! I will not allow that!" Illanov runs over to Carlos and begin to fight for the gun. As they struggle a bottle of dog scent falls from a cabinet and onto Illanov. In the cockpit the others hear the noise. Striker:"Hello, what's going on down there?" Ricky:"We'd better check it out." Below Illanov kicks the gun out of Carlos' hand and throws him to the floor. Carlos kicks Illanov in the chest and he falls backwards into the Transdogmafier. Carlos starts looking for the gun, and finds it in Ricky's hands. Ricky:"Hands up, pal." Silver:"LOOK!!!" Everyone looks at the Transdogmafier with Illanov in it. It begins to activate. Ramses:"Get him out of there!!!" Transdogmafier:"Pure canine subject detected. Beginning transformation." Huntress:"Too late!" Illanov is hidden in a cloud of smoke. Transdogmafier:"Warning! Subject unstable!" Illanov begins to scream in pain. After a few moments the machine stops and the smoke clears. Everyone gasps at Illanov. He is still wearing his uniform, but he is now a male German Shepherd Cano-sapien. He gets up, still a bit dazed. Illanov:"Wha...what happened? I'm feel...strange." Star:"Damn right! Look at you." Illanov looks at his hands, or rather, paws and becomes distressed. Illanov:"What the? What has happened to me??" He looks for a mirror and quickly finds one. He picks it up and looks into it. When he sees his Cano-sapien face he screams in terror. He runs to Ricky and shakes him violently. Illanov (frantic):"CHANGE ME BACK! CHANGE ME BACK, PLEASE!!!" Ricky:"I...I'm sorry, but we can't. You're now permanently a Cano-sapien." Illanov goes to his knees, crying. Alethia tries to comfort him. Striker (from cockpit):"What is going on down there?" Striker climbs down and sees Illanov, who has stopped crying. Striker stares at the sight. Striker:"Ai yai yai yai yai yai yai! What happened?!" Sierra:"Illanov suffered the same fate as Bear. He is now a Cano-sapien." Star:"What's the Master going to say about this mess?" Striker:"Forget him. What about Major Cadwell, the UN, the US Justice Department and the Russian Government? What are THEY going to say about this?" Ricky:"We'd better get back to HQ pronto." UN Peacekeeping Headquarters, 10:01 AM: The Pack Rover lands, the Rovers climb out and walk to the briefing room. The other Rovers and Strayers were debriefing since they arrived a few minutes ago. Ricky walks in. Cadwell:"Ah. Ricky. You're back." Ricky:"Mission accomplished, Major. And I have good news and bad news." Everyone turns to face Ricky. Hunter:"What's the good news?" Ricky:"Good news is that we destroyed the Soviet weaponry and captured General Illanov and the fortress commander." Bear:"And the bad news?" Ricky:"When we coming back Illanov and the commander got into a fight in the cargo hold and...well, see for yourselves." Ricky looks out. Ricky:"Bring him in." Striker walks in, followed by Ramses, Cleo, Star, Sheba, Sierra and Huntress. Striker:"You all better be prepared for a huge surprise." Nitro:"Oooh. I love surprises!" Alethia and Silver then appear help Illanov in. When the others see Illanov their jaws drop in shock. Nitro:"But not THAT kind of surprise!" Cadwell:"This is a joke, right? I mean, this isn't Illanov, is it?" Striker shakes his head. Striker:"Sorry to say, but this is Alexander Dimitrovich Illanov." Hunter:"Yet another unexpected twist. Bummer." Colleen:"Blimey! How did this happen?" Ramses:"During the fight Illanov was pushed into the Transdogmafier. I don't need to tell the rest." Cadwell:"Well...er...um...he must be taken into custody to stand trail." Striker:"What? In this form?! You must be mad. We will be a laughing stock if he goes to stand trail." Silver then looks lights up. Silver:"Wait! Hubert has plans of a transdogmafier that can change Illanov back!" Illanov gets up, excited, but Bear and Nitro hang their heads. Bear:"Sorry, Silver, but Nitro and I asked Hubert to destroy those plans." Silver:"WHAT?? How could you?!" Nitro:"We thought it was for the best." Illanov goes to his knees and cries again. Alethia and Silver comfort him while Shag gives him a tissue. Blitz:"Well, this is a fine mess! What are we going to do?" Hunter:"We'd do best if we call the Master." Shag takes out a laptop and hands it to Hunter. He calls the Master, his face soon appears on the screen. Master:"Ah. Hunter. Good to see you." Hunter:"Master, we have a little problemo." Master:"What kind of problem?" Hunter:"Well, Ricky and his unit were supposed to capture a Russian general named Alexander Illanov. They did get him, but then he had a little accident. Illanov." Illanov walks up and faces the Master, who is dumbstruck at the sight. Master:"Don't tell me he went throught it like Bear." Striker:"I'm afraid so, Proffessor. He is also a Cano-sapien. The bad part is that we cannot turn him over to the authorities." Illanov:"If I may, comrade, can I ask something?" Master:"Sure." Illanov:"Can I join your crusade against the KH Military?" Master:"For what reason, General?" Star:"Not another flashback!" Flashback, Truck Convoy, Soviet Union: The trucks are still driving to the KH ambush. Illanov:"I was about five and riding with my father when a shell blew up the troop carrier behind us." The troop carrier explodes. The KH soldiers attack the convoy. The captain tries to evade them, but a missile blows the truck on its side. Illanov:"My father picked me up and hid me in the forest. Then tried to fight back but he was killed." The captain is shot down. Soon all is over: all the Soviet troops are dead and the nuclear weapons are gone. Illanov:"I swore that I would track down those who killed my father. I've been searching for years, while selling weapons to gain money for my search." The flashback is over. Striker:"Let me guess: you sold those Gainfull missiles to Ortega so that he could destroy the KH Army, right?" Illanov:"Yes, I did. When you attacked I hoped that I could join you in the fight against the KH Military. Now, there is no chance that I alone could win against them." Bear:"But what about your family?" Illanov:"My father was the only family I had. I have no one left." Striker:"I know how you feel." Illanov:"What?" Striker:"Proffessor, what about it? Will you take him in?" Amani:"Yeah. I'm mean, look at him. He's a dog, no money, no family or friends. And he can't go back to being a normal human." The Master thinks for a moment, then smiles. Master:"Yes, I will. Welcome to the Road Rovers, Illanov." Illanov smiles broadly while everyone else shakes his hands. Cadwell interrups them. Cadwell:"But what are we going to say to UN command?" Striker:"That Illanov was killed in the mission. I deny everything that this German Shepherd was the REAL Alexander Illanov. Any objections?" Everyone:"None at all." Striker smiles and shakes Illanov's hand. Striker:"Welcome aboard, Illanov." Illanov:"Thank you! Thank you! Let me give you a Russian bear hug, comrade!" Illanov hugs Striker very hard. Striker:"Ai yai yai. Exile is bad enough, but this is too much." Illanov stops hugging Striker while Exile walks to him. Exile:"A fellow Russian! Welcome, comrade Illanov." Illanov:"Comrade Exile! It is great to meet you." They hug each other. Dixie:"Great. Now there is going to be more broken bones with those two around." Hunter:"To the power of the pack!" The Rovers all howl. With Illanov now on their side and the Soviet weaponry now only a memory it is only a matter of time before Ortega is brought to justice. THE END.