Rover Strike: Vanguard

Episode 1: Corsair's Capture

By Gerhard Naudé

All Rover Strike names © Gerhard Naudé
All Road Rovers names © Warner Brothers and rightful owners

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

Office
United Nations Headquarters
New York City
United States of America
14 May
10:15 AM:

This is a typical office that has a good view of the East River. There
is a desk, some chairs and file cabinets, potted plants, a computer
screen with keyboard and mouse and other small items like pens and
notepads. A few unpacked cardboard boxes are stashed out of the way in
the corners. Seated at the table is a handsome Caucasian man in a grey
suit, blue tie and polished black shoes. He has dark hair that is neatly
cut. Right now the man is leaning back in his chair, talking over the
Internet with a headset on. On the table is a name plate that identifies
him: Ian Macmillan.

Macmillan(into com):"Yes, I'm almost finished settling in. Just a few
         more items and I'm all set... Oh, they've already approved my
         position. All they're going to do is throw the usual cocktail
         party in my honor... No need to worry, sir. Once all these
         little formalities are over I'll begin with my mission... I
         already made my position clear to the General Assembly. Once
         you start your side of the operation, I can begin swaying them
         over into our camp. I'm thinking of starting with that upcoming
         conference Norwood has announced... Sure thing... Thank you, 
         sir. I do appreciate it... All right. Good day. Oh! Its night 
         there where you are, eh?... In that case, good night then."

He clicks the mouse and ends the call. He takes off the headset, then
swivels the chair around so that he looks out the window. Macmillan gives
a smug, satisfied smile.

Kindergarten
Road Rover Headquarters
Somewhere in New Mexico
United States of America
16 May
10:28 AM:

One of the newer buildings at Road Rover Headquarters is a pair of small,
hydrant-shaped buildings surrounded by a playground. Under the watchful
eye of either their parents or teachers, a number of pups are playing
here. Some are riding the swings or going on the merry-go-round, while
others are playing games with each other or digging about in the sandbox.
Among those pups in the sandbox is Firefly, who is busy building a sand
castle using a pink bucket and spade with two other pups. Sitting close
nearby is Striker and Phoenix. Phoenix is wearing some thick bandages
around her midsection under her shirt.

Phoenix:"Can we see your castle, Firefly?"

Firefly lifts the bucket, revealing a small tower of sand. She places
a small pebble on the top and then proudly points to it. Her adopted
parents smile.

Phoenix:"Very lovely! Isn't it, Strikie?"

Striker:"Ja, it is a good castle you got there, Firefly."

Firefly barks proudly, tail wagging. As she turns to fill her bucket
with sand again, Illanov comes onto the playground and approaches the
couple.

Illanov:"Morning, comrades."

Striker:"More, Alex."

Phoenix:"Hey, Alex! Good morning."

Illanov:"How are you feeling today, comrade Phoenix?"

Phoenix touches the bandages around her midsection carefully.

Phoenix:"I'm healing up nicely. Collin and Hubert said that I should be
         back on the job within two weeks or so."

Illanov:"That is excellent news."

The German Shepherd then goes and pats Firefly on the head, eliciting a
giggle from the pup.

Illanov:"And how is the little comrade? Having fun?"

Firefly barks again before resuming building her sandcastle.

Phoenix:"And soon you and Vicki will have a little comrade of your own,
         Alex."

Illanov smiles proudly.

Illanov:"I hope so, Phoenix. And so will Elexis and Tanarus."

Striker:"Firefly will soon have lots of friends to play with."

Illanov:"That she will, comrade. However, I'm not here to talk about
         puppies. The Master has called for all available members of
         Unit STRIKE to the briefing room."

Striker:"Oh? What is it about?"

Illanov:"It's about the Elite Guard civil war. Seems it is escalating
         and threatening to drag in innocent civilians. Comrade Oso's
         tribe being one of them."

Phoenix:"Oh dear. Has anything happened to them?"

Illanov:"Not yet, but the Master is still concerned."

Striker:"Reg. I'll be right there."

Striker turns to his wife.

Striker:"Look after Firefly, Dear."

Phoenix smiles and nods.

Phoenix:"Of course. Give me a kiss, Strikie."

Striker grins and kisses Phoenix, eliciting a murr from her. Striker
then turns to Firefly and pats her head.

Striker:"Have fun, Firefly. Pappa needs to go to work."

Firefly nods, lifting her bucket to reveal another sand tower. The spaniel 
gets up and then follows Illanov from the nursery towards the main head-
quarter buildings. Phoenix watches them go and then turns her attention 
to their pup.

Briefing Room
Road Rover Headquarters
10:49 AM:

In the briefing room the Master is standing on his podium while seated
around the main table is Striker, Illanov, Corsair, Tanarus, Shephard and 
Merit. On one of the screens is a map of South America, specifically the 
Amazon area. The Master looks around.

Master:"All here? Good. Let's begin."

The Master gestures to the map.

Master:"As you all know we've been monitoring the ongoing civil war
        between the two factions of the Elite Guard. Most of the fighting
        has been going on within the Amazon, fortunately far away from
        most civilian areas."

Striker:"Has there been any changes to the balance of power?"

Master:"Nothing significant yet. Diehard and Seneschal's factions are 

        still evenly matched despite the losses they've inflicted on one 
        another."

Corsair:"Then its no big deal. All we just got to do is sit back and eat
         popcorn while the Elite Guard tears itself to pieces, then let
         the regional governments mop up whoever wins the crumbs."

Master:"As tempting as it is, Corsair, there is still significant danger
        from the Elite Guard. In fact, that's why I called this meeting."

The Master uses a remote to zoom in on one part of the Amazon. A blue
dot appears on it.

Master:"This is Luka's village."

Corsair:"Who's Luka?"

Illanov turns to say something snarky at Corsair, but Striker jumps in
before him.

Striker:"Luka is a young man whom we Rovers have helped out in the past.
         He has a dog named Oso, who has also joined the Road Rovers as
         a field operative in the Amazon."

Corsair:"Oh, okay."

Corsair grins at Illanov, who just glares and settles back in his seat.
The Master continuous.

Master:"Now, Luka's village has remained far and untouched by the Elite
        Guard civil war. But recently..."

The Master uses the remote again. A number of smaller yellow dots appear
along a river that passes by the village, leading up to a big yellow
dot.

Master:"... forces loyal to General Seneschal have taken over Parvo's
        old base in the jungle, upgrading it and fortifying the river."

Striker:"Parvo's old base is still standing?"

Master:"Yes. After the KH Military left it during the Colombian War, the
        base has fallen into ruin and the jungle was taking it over. But
        now the Elite Guard has occupied it. According to Oso, they seem
        to be expanding the docking facilities there, most likely to
        serve as a harbor for Seneschal's naval forces."

Tanarus:"And that river runs all the way to the ocean. A good channel to
         smuggle arms and goods through."

Master:"That's right. Hence why I am concerned for Luka's village. The
        Elite Guard might decide to remove, or even outright kill, the
        villagers."

Striker:"And we are to help?"

Master:"That's right. I want you to go to the Amazon and investigate the
        old Gen-Par base and see what Seneschal's troops are up to. Then

        we will decide what to do to help Luka's village."

Illanov:"Maybe this time we will blow up the base for good."

Master:"That is an option. But for now, the safety of Luka and his village
        is our priority. Help them in any way possible and protect them
        from the Elite Guard if it comes down to that. Scout out the base
        and relay any and all information back here."

Striker nods.

Striker:"Reg, Professor. When do we leave?"

Master:"Preferably later this afternoon or early tomorrow."

Striker nods and stands up.

Striker:"Very well, Professor. Unit STRIKE will get to work immediately."

Master:"Good luck, Strikers. And be careful down there in the Amazon. The
        civil war is a very unpredictable mess, and we all know that 
        despite this internal strife the Elite Guard still poses a threat."

Striker:"Understood, Professor. Come on, Strikers. Let's go and get ready."

The other members of the team stand up. As they leave, a figure moves 
away from the doorway where it had been listening to the briefing.

Luka's Village
Amazon Jungle
Brazil
16:42 PM:

The Stealth Rover is flying over the Amazon, coming in lower and lower as
it approaches its destination: Luka's village. The village is located near
a large river that cuts through the jungle. It consists mainly of huts
around a large fire pit. While primitive, there are signs that modernity
has crept into the village: a few satellite dishes adorn the roofs of
the huts and the villagers themselves wear a mixture of traditional
clothing and shirts and jeans. Some of the villagers have set up torches
in a clearing not far from the village to serve as a landing zone for
the Stealth Rover. The Stealth Rover slows down and goes into hover mode
before touching down. Once the engines are cut, the Strikers disembark
from the aircraft.

Corsair:"So this is the Amazon, huh?"

Merit:"My sensors show a remarkable amount of filth in this Amazon region."

Shephard:"Its a jungle, Merit. Of course its dirty."

A group of villagers approaches the Strikers. They are led by Luka, who 
is now a young man, and Oso, who is currently in cano-sapien form and 
dressed in the Road Rover field uniform. Some of the villagers are armed
with KH-50 rifles. Luka smiles as the Rovers approach.

Luka:"Ah, Rovers! Good to see you all again.

Striker:"Goeie middag, Luka! Its good to see you again."

Luka and Striker shake hands. Striker and Oso then shake paws.

Striker:"And you too, Oso. Haven't seen you in years."

Oso:"The same here, Striker. You seemed to have taken good care of your-
     self."

Striker:"Dankie."

Striker then introduces the others one by one.

Striker:"This is Illanov, or Alex as we call him, Corsair, Sergeant
         Andrew Shephard, Tanarus and the robot is Merit."

Luka turns to them.

Luka:"Greetings to you all, and welcome to our village."

Shephard notices the KH-50 rifles cradled by the villagers and points
to them.

Shephard:"Those are KH Military weapons, aren't they?"

Luka nods.

Luka:"Yes, they are. When the KH Military left their old base they had
      left behind some of their weapons. We took them for our own, but
      we never had to use them until the recent troubles with this Elite
      Guard."

Tanarus:"Speaking of the Elite Guard, what is the latest information on
         their activities?"

Oso:"They're still busy fighting each other from my recent observations,
     but one of the factions is stepping up activities at that old base.
     And recently some of their patrols have started going up and down
     the river."

Striker:"Then we need to get to work immediately."

Luka:"I agree. Come, let us welcome you to our village with one of our
      banquets and then we can discuss our problems."

Shephard:"Banquet, you say?"

The two groups walk back to the village, exchanging some small talk. A
few of the villagers stay behind to begin spreading some camouflage
netting over the Stealth Rover. However, they are not aware of a pair
of binoculars staring from a tree not far off. There is the sound of
a radio being switched on.

Voice(into radio):"Capture Team Lead, this is Eagle Eye."

Lead(over radio):"This is Lead, Eagle Eye. Report."

Eagle Eye(into radio):"The Road Rovers have arrived at the village."

Lead(over radio):"Is the primary target there?"

Eagle Eye(into radio):"That's confirmed."

Lead(over radio):"Excellent. Our friend's information was right again.
    Observe them and report any actions by the Rovers immediately."

Eagle(into radio):"Confirmed. This is Eagle Eye, out."

The radio goes dead and the figure in the tree continues to observe the
village.

Former Gen-Par Base
Amazon Jungle
15 May
9:03 AM:

General Parvo's old base from "Gold and Retrievers" looks very run down,
with the jungle having retaken large parts of it. Much of the infra-
structure has decayed or collapsed since the KH Military abandoned it.
However, the base now has new occupants: Elite Guard forces are in the
proceed of rebuilding and upgrading the base. Patrols of Alpha Soldiers
and the occasional Paladins are on guard duty while workers use both
light and heavy equipment to work on the base. Galt Heavy Cannon and AA
batteries have been set up or are being constructed around the base. A
few battery buggies and a few Templars are here to guard the facility as
well. Occasionally a Skylift Helicopter comes in to deliver materials,
construction equipment or a new Galt turret. Some distance down river,
covered by the jungle at the edge of the shore, is the Strikers (minus
Corsair), Luka and Oso. Striker, Illanov and Tanarus are scanning the
base with some binoculars while Merit is acting as a live feed camera.

Illanov:"A considerably large garrison here. Are we sure they are General
         Seneschal's troops?"

Oso:"They are. I spotted him once while scouting the base."

Tanarus:"Probably made a routine inspection visit."

Oso points to the base.

Oso:"Over there is some new construction."


The Strikers swing their binoculars over to where Oso is indicating. The
base's old docks are being replaced with more permanent concrete struc-
tures while some new cranes are being installed.

Tanarus:"New port facilities. Seems Seneschal wants to get a foothold on
         the river."

Luka:"Which means they could threaten my village and that of others down
      the river."

Striker, still keeping his binoculars focused on the port, calls Corsair
on his Watchcom.

Striker(into com):"Corsair, can you see the port?"

Cockpit
Stealth Rover
Near Luka's Village
At That Moment:

Sitting alone in the cockpit is Corsair, who at his usual spot with the
computer terminal open before him. He is wearing a headset while working
on the terminal. The screen is showing him a live feed from Merit of the
base. Right now he can see the port facilities and answers Striker into
the mike of his headset.

Corsair(into com):"Yup, I see it boss. I'll take a few screenshots of
       them."

Striker(over com):"Be sure to get goeie pictures, especially of those
       machinery the workers are using to build it. I think we might have
       to destroy those."

Corsair(into com):"Gotcha, boss."

Corsair, with Merit's aid, begins to take still shots of the port and of
the equipment used by the Elite Guard workers. Through the cockpit one
can see the Stealth Rover is now under a camo netting. A pair of men
from the village, carrying KH-50s, are slowly walking around the net as
part of their guard duty. But from the jungles around the site, several
sets of eyes were observing them.

Voice 1:"Only two of them. Throw the pack."

Voice 2:"Yes, sir."

One of the figures tosses something towards the villagers. The object
lands with a soft thud on the grass nearby, getting their attention.
Curious, the two men approach it. The object is a packet of cigarettes.

Villager 1:"Is that yours?"

Villager 2:"No, it is not mine."

Villager 1:"Nor mine."

The one villager picks it up and sees that it is open, with a full pack
of cigarettes in it.

Villager 1:"And its full too."

Villager 2:"How about we smoke a pair? I got a lighter."

Villager 1:"Why not? It be a shame to waste it."

While the second villager digs around in his jean pockets for a light,
the first one begins to take out a cigarette. This triggers a hidden
device in the packet that spews out a small cloud of gas. The villagers
jump in surprise and drop the packet, but it is too late. The gas takes
effect immediately and within seconds the two men fall unconscious to
the grass. Seconds later a group of six men emerge from the jungles:
they are dressed in green jungle camo uniforms, but with some noticeable
differences from standard outfits. While their combat boots, heavy pants
and jackets are commonplace, they are wearing armored vests, shoulder
plates and gloves that look more advanced. On their backs are backpacks
with some wiring and several thick plates. Their helmets are a cross
between a combat helmet and a motorcycle helmet, two tinted eyeholes and
a mouth filter. On the shoulder pads is the insignia of the old Earth
Defence Force. Further, the men are armed with EDF sonic rifles and
EDF E-12 automatic rifles, which resemble the FN-2000. The soldiers 
slowly approach the Stealth Rover, two of them checking on the villagers.

Soldier 1:"This one is down."

Soldier 2:"This one too, we're clear."

The group's leader nods and points to the Stealth Rover. He speaks in a
British accent.

Leader:"Good. Let's get on the plane, lads, and make sure we take the
        primary target alive."

Soldiers:"Yes, sir."

The soldiers lift the net and go under it. They then go up the ramp and
enter the Stealth Rover. Up in the cockpit Corsair has just finished
taking some screenshots.

Corsair(into com):"Okay, boss. Got the pictures."

Former Gen-Par Base:

Striker nods his head and gestures to the main Gen-Par buildings.

Striker(into com):"Get some shots of the base itself too."

Corsair(over com):"Sure thing, boss. Just have Me... HEY! WH..."

There the sound of a loud thud and then silence.

Striker(into com):"Corsair? Hello? What was that?"

The others look at Striker, wondering what is going on. Striker is
listening carefully to his Watchom. There is no response.

Striker(into com):"David?"

Still no reply. Striker looks at the others.

Striker:"Something has happened to Corsair. He gave a shout, then I
         heard something like a thud and now nothing."

Luka:"Wait, let me call my people at the Stealth Rover and have them
      find out what's wrong with your friend."

Luka takes out a two-way radio and uses it.

Luka(into radio):"Andre, Sula. Come in."

But like with the Watchcom, there is no answer on the radio besides some
static. Luka tries again.

Luka(into radio):"Andre? Sula? Are you there?"

Shephard frowns.

Shephard:"Sir, I believe we have a serious problem back at the Stealth."

Striker:"I think you're right, Shephard. We'd better go back to the
         village."

Oso:"Could it be the Elite Guard?"

Striker:"I hope not. Come on, take us back as quickly as possible."

Oso:"Yes!"

Guided by Oso and Luka, the group retreat into the jungle and begin to 
head back to the village as quickly as they can.

Stealth Rover
Luka's Village:

The soldiers emerge from under the camo netting, two of them carrying
Corsair. Corsair is bound, gagged and unconscious.

Leader:"Careful with him. He needs to be in good condition when he wakes
        up again."

Soldier 3:"Sir, we got company!"

The leader immediately turns his head. One of the soldiers is pointing
towards the village, where a group of the village kids are watching the
soldiers with wide eyes.

Leader:"Oh b****r. Let's move, lads!"

The soldiers quickly make a dash for the jungle while the children flee
back to the village, shouting for help. The group of men disappears into
the jungle, carrying their prisoner with them.

Hidden Camp
Somewhere in the Amazon
9:31 AM:

Located under the canopy of the jungle trees by a small stream is a small
camp consisting of several green canvas tents. One of the tents has a
solar-generator with its panels set up high in a tree alongside a satellite
dish painted in green. Set up around the perimeter of the camp are a few
tripod-mounted automatic turrets. The turrets slowly scan the jungles for 
any intruders. A few more soldiers similar to the ones who raided the
Stealth Rover are on guard duty here. The turrets suddenly pick up move-
ment in the dense foliage and swivel to face their gun barrels towards
the source. The mysterious group of soldiers, carrying Corsair, emerge 
from the jungle. The turrets identify their insignias and stand back down 
to normal scanning mode. As they come into the camp, a young man wearing
a black t-shirt with a smiley face on it and denim jeans emerges from the
tent with the generator and dish.

Man:"You got him, Thomason?"

The leader of the group removes his mask, revealing a British man in his
late forties, with a crew cut hairstyle and black moustache. There is a
burn mark on the left side of his face. This is Frank Thomason.

Thomason:"Yes we have, Reggie. Right here."

Thomason steps aside to allow his men to bring Corsair to the man called
Reggie Vanderberg. Reggie looks at Corsair, and then at Thomason.

Reggie:"You hit him over the head?"

Thomason:"No, that would cause a concussion. Some chloroform on a rag
          works the best."

Reggie:"How long will he be out?"

Thomason lights a cigarette and takes a draw from it before speaking.

Thomason:"Not long. 15 minutes, thirty at most."

Reggie:"Good. The quicker I'm done with him the faster we can get out of
        this jungle. I'm sick of all the bugs."

Thomason looks mockingly at Reggie as he directs the soldiers to bring
Corsair to his tent.

Thomason:"You're a soft city lad. A bit of outdoor activity will do
          wonders for you."

Reggie:"I may not have been in the Royal Marines like you, but while you
        were playing around in the mud I was making a ton of money off
        the internet."

Thomason:"Before you got caught. You're lucky Hawkins brought you in, or
          you'd be serving time in prison for what you did at Lehman
          Brothers."

Reggie sighs and grumbles, going back inside his tent. Thomason goes and
sits down on a rock to enjoy his smoke.

Stealth Rover
Luka's Village
9:42 AM:

The Strikers have returned to the village and are standing by the Stealth
Rover. Many of the other villagers have gathered around them following the
earlier commotion. Illanov and Luka are busy talking to the young child 
who saw the kidnapping.

Child:"And they all had guns! There was a whole army of them!"

Illanov:"So you couldn't see their faces?"

Child:"No sé, but they did not look like all those animal soldiers."

Illanov:"Humans?"

Child:"Si."

Luka:"Maybe they're mercenaries hired by the Elite Guard?"

Illanov shakes his head dubiously.

Illanov:"Nyet. The Elite Guard hates humans and wouldn't even consider
         them for mercenary work, especially since both sides can use
         it as a propaganda tool against the other."

Luka:"Then who was it?"

Illanov:"That we need to find out quickly, comrade."

Meanwhile, Shephard emerges from the Stealth Rover and goes to Striker
and Tanarus. The two of them are watching Oso as he kneels down and
sniffs the ground for a scent.

Shephard:"Corsair's computer is still on, and I noticed some dirty boot
          marks on the steps into the Stealth, sir."

Striker:"Any clues to Corsair's abductors?"

Shephard:"I'm afraid not, sir. Whoever did this is good at hiding their
          tracks."

Oso:"But not from me."

They all turn back to Oso, who has gotten up and is still sniffing the
air.

Tanarus:"You got a scent?"

Oso:"Yes. Not exactly sure what it is, but it is human and not Elite
     Guard. And I can faintly pick up Corsair's scent."

Striker:"Can you follow it?"

Oso:"Yes, I can. Shall I follow it?"

Striker:"Ja, let's go!"

Sniffing the air and occasionally the ground, Oso goes into the jungle
with the rest of the Strikers and Luka right behind him. The other
villagers stay behind up to guard the Stealth Rover and the village more
properly.

Reggie's Tent
Hidden Camp
9:46 AM:

The inside of Reggie's tent consists of a foldable bunk, a foldable table
with a laptop on it, a cooler and a backpack. Next to the laptop are
several cans of soda, mostly empty. Reggie is sitting on the bunk and
drinking a soda. Corsair is lying on the ground, his arms and legs tied
and bound. Corsair groans, recovering from his drugged state and opening
his eyes.

Corsair:"Uggghhhh.... oh man, I feel... so dizzy..."

Reggie:"Chloroform will do that to you, yeah."

Corsair blinks, focusing his eyes on Reggie as the latter takes another 
chug from the soda can.

Corsair:"What... who are you?"

Reggie:"Name's Reggie. The big boss wants me to play interrogator today."

Corsair:"Inter... wait, what...?"

Corsair is now fully awake and alert. He looks around and realizes he is
tied up.

Corsair:"What's going on here?! Where am I?"

Reggie"In our camp."

Corsair:"Who's camp? Who are you guys?"

Reggie:"We're the Vanguard, Corsair. That's your alias, right?"

Corsair's eyes widen with surprise.

Corsair:"The Vanguard? What are you guys doing out here in the jungle?"

Reggie:"Simple. We're here for you."

Corsair:"Me?"

Reggie:"Yup. The big boss wants something from you, and like I said I 
        need to get you to provide us with what we need."

Corsair frowns.

Corsair:"What? You expect me to help the Vanguard? No way. You guys are
         bad news."

Reggie takes a sip from his soda.

Reggie:"I knew you'd say that. Which is why I was given this."

Reggie puts the soda down and reaches into one of his backpacks. He digs
around in it while Corsair watches. After a minute he pulls out a bottle
and a medical needle.

Corsair:"What's that?"

Reggie:"I'm not exactly sure what it is, but Suchong told me it should
        help get you to cooperate."

Corsair:"A truth serum? Oh, come on. Those don't ever really work as 
         advertised."

Reggie:"This isn't a truth serum. It's venom."

Corsair:"Wait, what?"

Reggie:"This stuff is poison extracted from a geographic cone snail, an 
        Australian inhabitant and one of the most poisonous creatures in
        the world."

Corsair:"Hold on! You mean you're threatening to kill me if I don't do
         what you asked?"

Reggie:"Nope. If you don't do what I say, we'll not threaten to kill you.
        Instead, we're going to give you a little bit of this venom."

Corsair:"But if you're poisoning me how will I be able to help?"

Reggie:"We got medics to keep you alive while the symptoms do their thing."

Corsair:"What symptoms?"

Reggie grins and goes to the laptop.

Reggie:"Let's see what Doctor Wik E. Pedia says. Sweating, headache, ataxia,
        weakness, lethargy, vomiting, abdominal pain, respiratory failure..."

As Reggie rattles off a list of very unpleasant symptoms, Corsair becomes
more and more alarmed. By the time Reggie is done, Corsair is sweating and
on the verge of panic. Reggie turns back to his captive.

Reggie:"Of course I'm not going to let you do all that in my tent. The
        troops outside will take you into the jungle to let you and this
        lovely little cocktail do your thing."

He waves the bottle around. Corsair gulps.

Corsair:"What do you want me to do?"

Reggie:"Oh, you want to cooperate now?"

Corsair:"What must I do?!"

Reggie:"No need to shout. I'll show you."

Reggie types something on his laptop. A window appears with some lines of
code on it. He holds the laptop so that Corsair can see it.

Reggie:"These lines of code are what you are going to use to crack open
        the Road Rovers' communication channels. The Vanguard wants to
        listen in on your chats."

Corsair:"So you want me to program you a way in?"

Reggie:"That's right. Unless you're more interested in having your whole
        body exploding from every opening..."

Corsair shakes his head quickly.

Corsair:"No no no! I'll do what you say! Just untie my hands a bit."

Reggie:"Good. I'll untie your hands, but just enough to let you use my
        laptop. I'm not going to let you sucker punch me. And don't bother
        trying to make my laptop crash. I can easily clean up the mess
        with a spare I brought along."

Reggie puts the bottle and needle on the table and begins to untie some
of the binds on Corsair's wrists. Once Corsair is free enough to work,
Reggie puts the laptop in front of him. Corsair sighs and gets to work
while Reggie takes out another soda can from the cooler and cracks it
open. As Corsair starts to work, Thomason sticks his head into the tent.

Thomason:"Ah, is the lad cooperating?"

Reggie:"You bet. That little horror show I told him about got him to see
        my point of view."

Thomason:"Let me know when he's done."

Reggie:"Roger."

Thomason goes back out. Reggie sips the soda while watching Corsair on
the laptop.

Somewhere in the Jungle
9:49 AM:

Within the jungles of the Amazon, Oso is leading the Strikers through the
jungle. He is sniffing the air and ground for Corsair's trail while Luka
is busy cutting a path for them with a machete.

Striker:"The trail still strong, Oso?"

Oso:"Yes, I can still follow your friend's scent."

Striker:"What about his abductors? Can you tell who they are and how many
         of them there are?"

Oso:"They are all human, but I can't figure out the numbers."

Shephard suddenly notices something on the ground and kneels down to look
at it. He then calls the others.

Shephard:"Sirs! I got something here!"

Striker and the others stop and go back to Shephard. Striker, Tanarus and
Illanov kneel down next to him.

Illanov:"What have you got, comrade?"

Shephard:"A footprint, sir. Look."

He points to the ground. In the surface of a small puddle of half-dry mud
is the imprint of a boot. Tanarus examines it.

Tanarus:"Looks like heavy duty, even military grade. Don't recognize the
         make. Is it US Army, Shephard?"

Shephard:"Nothing I've ever seen, sir."

Tanarus:"What about you, Alex? Russian? Chinese?"

Illanov shakes his head.

Illanov:"Neyt, this is not ours."

Striker, however, does recognize the boot print.

Striker:"I know who it belongs to."

The others look curiously at Striker. He turns around and lifts his own

boot up so they can see the underside of it. The pattern on his boots
match that of the one in the mud.

Merit:"The footwear requires cleaning."

Shephard(rolling eyes):"Smarta**."

Tanarus:"They've the same. Maybe its Striker's footprint we're looking
         at here?"

Shephard:"No sir. I checked and Striker wasn't the one who made this."

Illanov:"Comrade Striker, this boot print not yours?"

Striker turns back to them and shakes his head.

Striker:"Nee, Shephard is right. This was not my footprint, and yet it
         was made by a boot made specially for operatives of the Earth
         Defence Force."

Tanarus, Shephard and Illanov are surprised.

Illanov:"But the EDF is defunct! Comrade Norwood had the organization
         disbanded years ago."

Shephard:"Maybe this is surplus stock that was sold after the EDF was 
          disbanded?"

Striker:"Nee, and I think I know who this is now. Remember those people
         who abducted me and Firefly in Santa Fe?"

Tanarus frowns.

Tanarus:"The Vanguard."

Illanov:"That group of former EDF agents?"

Striker:"Ja. They're the ones who abducted Corsair."

Illanov chuckles.

Illanov:"What a shame..."

Striker glares disapprovingly at Illanov, who realizes what he's done and
quickly changes his tone.

Illanov:"Er, what do they want with the American?"

Tanarus:"Corsair is our tech expert and knows the ins and outs of our
         technology. The Vanguard might interrogate him for information
         about our systems."

Striker stands up.

Striker:"Ja, I think those ex-agents are still upset that the Road Rovers
         had basically taken over the role that the EDF once had and are
         now trying to settle the score."

Shephard:"Then we had better track them down and teach them to let go of
          the past. With some heavy butt kicking if needed."

Striker turns back to Oso and Luka.

Striker:"How far do you think we are behind those men?"

Oso:"Not far. The scent keeps getting stronger, so they may have a camp
     ahead."

Luka:"You know who they are, Striker?"

Striker:"Ja, and they are likely to be very hostile towards."

Luka:"We'll be careful and help you get your friend back."

Striker:"Dankie, but be careful. These men have the same training as I
         had."

Oso:"We will, Striker."

Oso resumes leading the group through the jungle to the Vanguard.

Hidden Camp
10:18 AM:

Inside Reggie's tent Corsair is still busy working on the laptop while
Reggie himself is sitting on his bunk and reading a book. He quickly
glances at Corsair.

Reggie:"Hey, you making progress there?"

Corsair:"Yeah, yeah. I'm almost done here."

Reggie:"Good. I'd like to get back to my air conditioned room as soon
        as possible. I hate the humidity around here."

Reggie turns back to his book. But he barely has time to read further
before a Vanguard soldier pokes his head into the tent.

Soldier:"Thomason wants to see you."

Reggie:"Can't he come here?"

Soldier:"He's busy, and he says stretching your legs will do you good."

Reggie groans, but he puts the book down and gets up. He then goes out of
the tent, leaving Corsair alone. Corsair looks behind him to make sure
he is really alone, and then begins to type furiously on the laptop.

Corsair:"Okay, this should really help the Vanguard out. Heheheh."

He keeps working on the laptop. After a few minutes Reggie comes back 
into the tent, with Thomason coming in shortly after.

Thomason:"How far is he?"

Corsair:"I'm pretty much done here. You can check my yourself if you
         want to make sure."

Reggie:"I'll sure do that. Stand aside."

Corsair shrugs and moves away from the laptop. Reggie comes up to the
laptop and starts to go over Corsair's work. While he does this, Thoma-
son keeps an eye on Corsair. After a few minutes, Reggie turns back to
Thomason and gives the thumbs up.

Reggie:"That's it. He's cracked all the com lines for the Rovers."

Thomason:"Good. Call headquarters and inform them that our mission is
          completed. I'll go outside and handle this lad."

Reggie:"Gotcha."

While Reggie talks out a satellite phone, Thomason grabs Corsair by
the shirt and drags him up to his feet.

Thomason:"March outside."

Corsair:"Easy with the shirt!"

Thomason forces Corsair out of the ten while holding on to his shirt
collar. He looks to some of his soldiers idling about.

Thomason:"Three of you, come with me."

Soldier:"Yes, sir!"

Corsair:"Hey! What's going on? What are you guys going to do with me?"

Thomason:"Quiet and march."

Forced on by Thomason and the three soldiers, Corsair marches into the
jungle under close guard from his captors. As they head into the jungle
one of the turrets spots something moving and swivels over to make a
scan. One soldier hears this and looks up at the turret, expectantly.
The turret scans the jungle a bit, then it resumes its normal scanning
procedures. The soldier sighs.

Soldier:"Must be the tapirs again."

However, hidden away in the jungle, someone releases a deep sigh of relief.

Voice(whispering):"That was close."

The figure begins to follow Thomason's group, taking care to go through
the jungle growth without making too much noise to alert anybody. Corsair
is marched through the jungle with his hands on his head while the
soldiers stand close by with their guard up. Thomason is right behind
them.

Corsair:"I'll ask again. What are you going to do with me?"

Thomason:"None of your concern."

Corsair:"Hey, I'm the prisoner here! It's all my concern!"

Thomason:"Just keep marching, lad."

But Corsair simply stops, bringing them all to a halt.

Corsair:"No way! I need answers here!"

The soldiers shove him with their boots, almost causing him to fall on 
his back. They continue further into the jungle, unaware of the figure 
who is following them a short distance away. Meanwhile the Strikers are
approaching the general location of the camp not too far off. Oso is
still in the lead, sniffing the air.

Oso:"We're getting close. The scent is very strong."

Striker:"Better get your weapons out, everyone."

The team gets their weapons out and ready and their pace slows as they
get closer to their target. Soon they are slowly crawling through the
jungle, trying not to make too much noise. Illanov is the first to make
a sighting.

Illanov:"I see movement up ahead, comrades."

Striker(whispering):"Goed. Nou, keep it quiet and try not to alert the
       them."

Approaching the camp as carefully as possible, Striker and his team try
to get a look at their objective. Striker carefully takes hold of a firn
leaf in front of his face and lowers it to get a clear view of the camp.
But the moment he does that one of the turrets spots him on the scan and
swivels in his direction. The turret lets out a loud, double beep.

Striker:"Ai yai yai! Get down!"

The turret opens fire. Striker and the others drop to the jungle floor 
and crawl to any nearby cover like rocks or thick tree trunks. The gun-
fire alerts the guards at the camp. They jump to their feet and get their
weapons out. Striker swears.

Striker:"Bliksem! I should have remembered those turrets!"

Tanarus:"What are they?"

Striker:"They're ADT 5 turrets. They are EDF weapons created as a personal
         defence system. Their scanners are very good and can easily spot
         and identify enemies within a large radius."

Tanarus:"Like us?"

Striker:"Like us."

The Vanguard soldiers scan the jungles for any sign of the intruders. The
turrets also scan the jungle, seeking their targets.

Soldier 1:"Maybe it was an animal that got too close."

Soldier 2:"Then let's see if we can't chase it away. Bangs out!"

The Vanguard soldiers take out several small canisters, pull the pins out
and toss them into the jungle where the turret had fired. The canisters
fall close to the Strikers.

Striker:"Quick! Toss them back!"

They act quickly: grabbing the canisters and tossing them back towards
the camp. The soldiers' eyes go wide when the see their grenades come
flying back.

Soldier 1:"Incoming!"

The soldiers drop to the jungle floor as the canisters explode with
white hot flashes in mid-air. The turrets return fire and force the
Rovers to take cover again. This time Shephard returns fire, trying to
shoot one of the turrets with his M-249. Further into the jungle,
Thomason and his troops hear the gunfire back at the camp.

Thomason:"What the h*** is going on?"

Soldier:"Do we go back, sir?"

Thomason:"Negative. Stay here and deal with the prisoner. Then return
          to the camp immediately."

Soldiers:"Yes, sir!"

Thomason rushes back to the camp and gets out his E-21. Corsair grins.

Corsair:"Looks like the cavalry has arrived."

One of the soldiers hits Corsair against the back of the head with his
rifle butt. Corsair collapses to the ground, clutching his head in pain.

Corsair:"Oh d***! That hurt!"

Soldier 1:"Wait until you see our next trick. Ready, everyone!"

The soldiers set their E-12s to single fire and take aim at Corsair, who
is still lying in pain on the ground. Suddenly there is a twang somewhere
in the jungle, followed by a thump and a gasp. Two of the soldiers look
as they see a crossbow bolt sticking out of their third friend's chest.

Soldier 1:"What the..."

The third soldier topples over. Before the soldiers can recover from the
sudden shock, a second bolt strikes the other soldier in the back. The
man collapses to the ground. The last soldier panics and aims frantically
around.

Soldier 1:"Wherea are you! Show yourself, you bas..."

A third twang and a third bolt strikes the soldier, who immediately falls
to the ground. Corsair is still rubbing his sore head, unaware of what
had happened around him.

Corsair:"Ugh.... the pain... geez, its worse than it looks like in the
         movie... ow..."

Voice:"It could have been much worse had I not saved you."

Corsair:"Huh... ow... what?"

Corsair tries to sit up and look at the figure coming out of the jungle.
His eyes are out of focus due to the blow to the head, but he can make out
what appears to be a wolf-sapien coming out of the jungle. He is holding
a crossbow in his paws. Corsair is still able to make out some basic
features of the wolf in question.

Corsair:"Wait... General Stalker?"

The wolf chuckles.

Wolf:"Not quite. Here, chew these."

The wolf hands Corsair a pair of white pills. Corsair tries to examine
them in his hands.

Corsair:"What's... this... owweee..."

Wolf:"Painkillers. They should ease the pain until your friends arrive.
      And judging from the gunfire back at the camp, I say they are here
      already."

Corsair looks back to where the gunfire is coming from, then back at the
wolf. But the wolf is already gone.

Corsair:"Great, pulls a disappearing act too... oh well..."

Corsair swallows the two pills before trying to pull himself back up to
his feet. Back at the camp, the gun battle between the Strikers and the
Vanguard is now in full swing. The Vanguard soldiers and their turrets
keep on firing into the jungle, suppressing the Strikers from returning
fire. Lying flat on the ground behind a rock, Striker turns to Illanov.

Striker:"Alex, can you get behind them and draw their attention?"

Illanov:"It will be difficult, but I can try, comrade."

Illanov waits for a brief break in the battle before getting up, turning
invisible and rushing through the jungle. At the same time Thomason
comes running to the camp, his weapon ready. He ducks down and grabs the
shoulder of one soldier to get his attention.

Thomason:"What's the situation?"

Soldier:"We got an unknown number of hostiles in the jungle to the east!
         It might possibly be the Road Rovers!"

Thomason:"Where's Vanderberg?"

Soldier:"In the tent, sir!"

Thomason rushes into the tent and finds Reggie quickly packing his things.

Thomason:"What are you doing?"

Reggie:"I'm getting ready to leave. No point in us sticking around now
        that we got what we need."

Thomason:"You sure about that?"

Reggie:"Absolutely! We can get out of here."

Thomason:"Good. Make sure you leave nothing important behind."

Reggie:"No worries there."

Thomason goes out the tent. Reggie packs in everything he has into a large
backpack, but he fastens the laptop Corsair had worked on with straps to
the backpack. Outside Thomason uses his radio to contact another unit.

Thomason(into radio):"Extraction, this is Groundpounder. You read?"

Extraction(over radio):"Loud and clear, sir."

Thomason(into radio):"We're mission accomplished but under hostile attack.
        We need to leave immediately."

Extraction(over radio):"We hear you, Groundpounder. We'll take off and be
          at the rendezvous point waiting for you."

Thomason(into radio):"Excellent, lads. Be prepared to pick us up and get
        out of here in a hurry. The Road Rovers are on to us here."

Extraction(over radio):"Roger that, Groundpounder. We'll be ready."

Thomason switches the radio to a new channel and contacts all the Vanguard
troops in the area.

Thomason(into radio):"All units, this is Thomason! We're pulling back to
        the extraction point. Take all essential items with you. Leave
        the turrets behind; they can pin the Rovers down for us."

The soldiers all acknowledge Thomason's orders and spring into action.
They start to quickly gather what they need to take while also making
sure to keep the Rovers pinned. Reggie emerges from the tent and goes
up to Thomason.

Reggie:"Ready to go! You?"

Thomason:"We're pulling out here as well. The helicopters will be waiting
          for us."

Reggie:"Great! Let's get out of here!"

Within minutes the Vanguard soldiers have all gathered their things. Led
by Thomason, they abandon the camp and head into the jungle opposite from
where the Rovers are. All that is left are the tents, a few worthless
items and the active turrets. But with the soldiers gone, the suppression
fire from the turrets is now limited. Oso sees the opening.

Oso:"This is my chance!"

He takes a deep breath and jumps to his feet. The turrets notice him and
swivel to aim and fire, but Oso releases his breath, unleashing a strong
gust of wind that knocks over the turrets. Unable to react, the turrets

simpy shut down. The Strikers come out from cover at last. Luka pats Oso
on the head.

Luka:"Good work, Oso!"

Oso:"Thank you."

Tanarus:"Good work, but it looks like the Vanguard have decided to leave
         us."

Striker:"After them, gou!"

The Strikers rush forward towards the camp. Further ahead, the Vanguard
soldiers are spreading out as they flee. One soldier, who is farther out
than the others, suddenly collides with something. There is a loud grunt
and yelp, followed by two bodies landing on the leafy ground. Illanov
reappears, struggling to regain his breath. The soldier recovers first
and sees him lying nearby.

Soldier:"A Rover! I'll have your hide!"

The soldier jumps to his feet and readies his rifle. Suddenly he is hit
in the head with a heavy tree branch. The soldier drops to the ground,
clutching his head in pain. Standing over him is Corsair, holding the
branch in one hand and rubbing his head with the other.

Corsair:"Just payback for my own headache..."

Illanov sits up, finally managing to catch his breath. He sees Corsair
and notices the fallen soldier.

Illanov:"You finally decided to stop being kidnapped, American?"

Corsair:"You weren't exactly stellar there either, Russian."

Illanov struggles to his feet while Corsair throws the branch away, still
rubbing his head. The other Strikers manage to catch up to them a minute
later.

Striker:"David, are you reg?"

Corsair:"I'm okay, boss. Just got a bad headache, courtesy of our Vanguard
         buddies. Luckily for me some wolf helped me out of a bind."

Striker:"A wolf?"

Corsair:"Yeah, a wolf-sapien really. He startled me because when I first
         saw him I thought he was General Stalker. His fur markings looked
         very similar anyway."

This surprises Tanarus.

Tanarus:"You sure about that, Corsair? The fur markings, I mean?"

Corsair:"Positive, Tan. I couldn't miss 'em. Lucky for me he wasn't Stalker
         or else I'd have gone from one frying pan to another."

Striker:"We will worry about him later. First, we must pursue the Vanguard.
         Come on!"

The Strikers continue into the jungle after their enemies, but Tanarus has
a troubled look on his face.

Tanarus(to himself):"What is HE doing here?"

Tanarus continues to follow the others, looking back briefly before he
focuses his full attention on the job.

Extraction Point
Hilltop
Amazon Jungle:

Rising up from the thick jungle is a large hill with a flat, rocky top
covered mostly in moss but devoid of bushes or trees. Approaching the
hilltop is a flight of Vanguard helicopters: two Condors escorted by
four Mosquitoes. The Condors go and land on the hilltop while the smaller
choppers fly in a defensive circle around their larger counterparts. A


number of armed Vanguard soldiers get out of the Condors and form a
perimeter around the helicopters. At the bottom of the hill Thomason,
Reggie and their Vanguard escorts come out of the jungle and start to
climb.

Thomason:"Hurry, lads! We're almost there!"

Reggie:"Geez, after a run we gotta climb? I'm tired here!"

Thomason:"Maybe if you spent more time exercising than lounging in front
          of a computer this wouldn't look so steep."

Reggie grumbles as they climb up. Halfway up the hill one of the soldiers
spots movement in the jungle behind them.

Soldier:"It's the Rovers!"

Unit STRIKE apppears at the edge of the jungle.

Striker:"Hold it!"

At the top of the hill the rest of the strike force appears and begins to
fire at the Rovers. The Strikers take cover in the jungle again while
Thomason's team keeps heading up. While Illanov, Tanarus and Shephard 
try to shoot back, Corsair spots the laptop dangling off Reggie's backpack. 
He taps on Striker's shoulder.

Corsair:"Boss!"

Striker:"Ja?"

Corsair:"See that laptop on that guy's backpack?"

Striker looks up at Reggie and spots the laptop.

Striker:"Ja, I see it."

Corsair:"That guy had me cracking access to our communications on that
         laptop. I'll bet it won't be good if they get it out of here."

Striker:"Nee, it won't be. Let me take care of it."

Striker takes out his revolver and checks where Reggie is. Reggie and
the others are reaching the top of the hill. Striker waits for a break
in the gunfire. He jumps out, takes aim and fires. The single bullet
flies up and scores a bit on the laptop, blasting a big hole into it.
Reggie gives a startled shout.

Reggie:"Ack! They're shooting at me!"

Thomason whips around and fires back at Striker. Striker jumps back
behind cover with Corsair as the ground explodes around him.

Corsair:"Good shot, boss! You got it!"

Striker:"Dankie, that should keep them from eavesdropping on us."

Up on the hill Thomason's team boards the Condors, followed by the rest
of the extraction team. Now loaded, the Condors lift off the hilltop and
take to the skies, followed by their escorts. The Strikers rush up the
hill and come to the top, only to watch the Vanguard helicopters fly
away over the Amazon.

Luka:"Oh no, they got away."

Striker:"Ja, but at least we prevented them from completing their mission."

Illanov:"And we got our American hacker back too."

Corsair:"Hey! You know I got a name."

Illanov smirks. Tanarus is looking back down into the jungle.

Tanarus:"Where are you?"

Merit comes up to Tanarus, notices he is looking into the jungle and then
looks into the jungle.

Merit:"Sight something of interested?"

Tanarus jumps a bit in surprise. He shakes his head quickly.

Tanarus:"No, nothing. Just some wild animal I noticed."

Tanarus joins the others as they head down the hill. Merit looks back
into the jungle.

Merit:"Curious. I was not aware that wild animals could be capable of
       being equipped with crossbows. Interesting observation."

Shephard notices Merit is lagging behind and calls to the robot.

Shephard:"Oi, Merit! Come on!"

Merit immediately stops scanning the jungle and proceeds to follow the 
rest of the team down the hill and back into the jungle. Watching them
leave is a figure hiding in one of the trees.

Figure:"I don't think this will be the first time we cross paths."

The figure begins to climb down the tree once the Strikers are out of
sight.

Extraction Flight
At That Moment:

The Vanguard helicopters are flying over the treetops of the Amazon at
high speed. Inside the Condor Reggie is busy checking the laptop that
Striker had shot while Thomason looks on. Reggie looks through the hole
made by the bullet.

Reggie:"Yup, this laptop is shot through."

Thomason:"What about the data on it? Any chance of recovering it?"

Reggie shakes his head.

Reggie:"Not a chance. The hard drive is wasted."

Thomason:"Then the data is lost?"

Reggie:"Definitely. But no need to worry."


He tosses the laptop out the open side door of the helicopter, much to
Thomason's shock. Reggie just grins.

Reggie:"We still completed our mission."

Thomason:"What are you talking about? We lost all the data on their
          communication channels!"

Reggie:"Actually, we haven't. See, here's the thing. I can easily break
        into their systems without their help, but I can't figure out
        which one was theirs amid the din of global communication. Our
        buddy Corsair thought he was clever in faking his cracking of
        their satellites, when in fact he just confirmed which was which.
        So now, knowing which satellites are theirs, I can easily break
        in and make it easier for our contact."

Thomason:"You sure?"

Reggie:"Absolutely. And the Rovers will be none the wiser."

Thomason smiles and pats Reggie on the shoulder.

Thomason:"Good thinking, son. I'm sure Hawkins will be pleased with that
          bit of good news."

Reggie:"Thanks. For now, I'll just be glad to be out of this jungle."

Thomason nods in agreement. The Vanguard flight continuous on towards a
destination unknown.

Cockpit
Stealth Rover
Luka's Village
17:45 PM:

All the Strikers are now gathered inside the cockpit around one of the
terminals. On its screen is the face of the Master. Through the window
one can see the villagers making a big fire to cook the food for the
night.

Master:"And how are you feeling, David?"

Corsair:"Doing okay, chief. The pain from that blow to the head is a
         little less now, and I don't seem to have suffered any perma-
         brain damage."

Master:"That's good to hear. And I'm glad you managed to stop the Vanguard
        from getting into our communications."

Striker:"Ja, but they are becoming a bigger threat each time we confront
         them. We really have to start tackling the Vanguard, Master."

Master:"I agree. Once you finish your mission in the Amazon I want you to
        return home along with the other Rovers so we can discuss this
        new threat."

Striker:"And soon."

Master:"Absolutely. For now, focus on dealing with the Elite Guard threat
        to Luka's village. I'll try and get another Rover unit to take
        your place so you can focus on the Vanguard as soon as possible.
        How goes the mission against the Elite Guard?"

Striker:"So far so good. Thankfully the firefight with the Vanguard did
         not draw their attention. They are, however, threatening the
         village's access to the river and possibly the village itself.
         But I think we can infiltrate the base, blow it up and put the
         blame on the other faction."

Master:"Excellent. Carry on with your mission and keep your eyes open
        for the Vanguard in case they come back. Good luck."

Striker:"Dankie, Master. Unit STRIKE, out."

The screen goes blank. Striker turns to the others.

Striker:"Before we join the villagers let's first check the Stealth
         Rover's security systems again. We don't want the Vanguard or
         the Elite Guard to come sneaking in here again."

The others agree. Striker leads the group out of the cockpit, but Tanarus
stays behind. Illanov looks at him.

Illanov:"You coming, comrade?"

Tanarus:"In a minute. I just want to call Elexis and find out how she is
         doing."

Illanov smiles and nods.

Illanov:"Ah, that's all right. I should call my wife later as well. We'll
         see you at the village."

Tanarus:"Yes, see you all there."

Illanov leaves the cockpit after the others. Tanarus waits until he is sure
he is alone, then goes to his terminal and makes a call. Elexis' face comes
up on the screen.

Elexis:"Tanarus! How are you doing, Dear?"

Tanarus:"I'm doing all right. How are you holding up?"

Elexis:"I'm good, but uncomfortable. The little one in my tummy is kicking
        about a lot."

Tanarus:"Heh, sounds like we will have a healthy pup soon. Listen, I need
         to talk to you. We had another run-in with the Vanguard again
         today."

Elexis(surprised):"The Vanguard again? What were they doing in the Amazon?"

Tanarus:"They were trying to break into our satellites by kidnapping Corsair.
         We stopped them, but..."

He looks around. Elexis frowns at him.

Elexis:"But what?"

Tanarus looks back at the screen.

Tanarus:"HE was there."

Elexis:"He? Who's 'he'?"

Tanarus:"You know him. The relative of our... charge."

Elexis' eyes go wide.

Elexis:"What! What is he doing all the way down there?! He's crazy!"

Tanarus:"I know. I was shocked as well."

Elexis:"Did the others see him?"

Tanarus:"Corsair saw him, but he was knocked on the head so his vision
         was too blurry to see him. But he definitely made out his fur
         pattern."

Elexis:"What was he doing there?"

Tanarus:"Not sure. He rescued Corsair from the Vanguard, but I'm sure
         that wasn't the only reason."

Elexis sighs with frustration.

Elexis:"That fool. He's going to get himself killed."

Tanarus:"I agree. I'll keep my eyes out for him and try to talk some
         sense into him."

Elexis:"And I'll call his family. They surely must know what he's doing."

Tanarus:"I agree. I'd better go. They're expecting me to help secure the
         Stealth for the night."

Elexis:"All right. I love you, Dear. And be careful."

Tanarus:"I love you too, Dear. Take care."

The two of them kiss the screen before Tanarus switches the terminal off.
He then gets up and leaves the cockpit. Corsair has been rescued and the
Vanguard driven off by Unit STRIKE. But the Vanguard appears to have
succeeded in their mission. What are they up to? Who is their contact?
And who is the mysterious figure Tanarus and Elexis know about?


THE END