Rover Strike: Vanguard

Episode 9: Calling In A Favour

By Gerhard Naudé

All Rover Strike names © Gerhard Naudé
All Road Rovers names © Warner Brothers and rightful owners
Casa Lupo & Residents, Valjean © Kirsten Coughlan

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

Vorster Estate
Eastern Cape Province
South Africa
7 July
19:31 PM: 

The sun has set and it is quite dark over the countryside, but the
Vorster Estate is lit up. The lights can be seen for kilometers.
The Stealth Rover is coming in for a landing on the pad set up on
one of the lawns of the estate. Waiting outside is Karen, Collin,
Aydrian, Elissa (who is holding Firefly) and Maska. They wait until 
the Stealth Rover stops and Unit STRIKE climbs out of the aircraft. 
Striker is looking worn and tired, while Phoenix is smiling widely. 
Merit notices this.

Merit:"I am detecting wildly differing emotional states between
       Striker and Phoenix."

Corsair:"That's because the boss still hasn't quite gotten over 
         the fact that Phoenix is pregnant."

Merit:"Ah! His programming needs to be updated, then?"

Corsair:"You could say that, yeah."

Striker looks back with a growl.

Striker:"Will you stop talking behind my back like that?"

Corsair immediately shuts up, but Phoenix chuckles and rubs his
shoulder.

Phoenix:"There there, Strikie. You will get used to it."

Striker:"I suppose I should."

The estate group walk up to them. Aydrian and Elissia go over to
their daughter.

Aydrian:"We got the news. We're so happy you're finally going to
         have your own pup."

Phoenix and her father hug, followed by her mother.

Elissa:"You have no idea how happy I am for you and Striker, my
        dear."

Phoenix:"Thanks, Mom and Dad. It was a real shock too, but I'm so
         happy about it."

Elissa:"And Firefly here will soon have a new playmate too."

Phoenix takes Firefly from her mother. The pup begins to lick her
adoptive mom. Phoenix smiles and pets her daughter. Maska goes to
shake Striker's hand.

Maska:"Wonderful news, Baas Striker! You will be very happy happy!"

Striker:"Dankie, Maska. I don't feel very happy right now."

Maska:"Oh, the first time is always difficult. But you can believe
       me: it gets easier the more children you have. I have three
       children and seven grandchildren."

Striker:"Asseblief Maska. I already have enough difficultly handling
         one and a second on the way."

Maska just laughs. Collin is next to shake Striker's paw.

Collin:"This is great news! I'm sure it will be a healthy pup."

Striker:"And you will make sure of it, Collin?"

Collin:"Oh, I will. Colleen would kick me around like Blitz if I
        didn't."

Aydrian is next to shake Striker.

Aydrian:"Congratulations, son. Your family will be happier for the
         new addition."

Striker:"I hope so, vader."

Aydrian chuckles, noticing Striker's mood.

Aydrian:"Still in shock, I see?"

Striker:"Is it that obvious?"

Aydrian:"Don't worry about it, son. I was a bit taken aback too
         when Elissa told me she was heavy with Phoenix."

Elissa raises an eyebrow at her husband

Elissa:"Taken aback? You nearly tried to run away."

Aydrian is embarressed, but Striker smiles a bit.

Striker:"It does comfort me a little."

Karen is next. She gives Phoenix a hug, then goes and gives a hug
to her uncle.

Karen:"Congratulations, Uncle Striker! I told my parents and they
       told me to give their congratulations to you. My father was
       especially pleased."

Striker:"Dankie Karen."

Karen:"I also told him about Jaco. He was so proud of him, and so
       am I."

Striker:"Ja. Jaco really proved himself in helping capture the
         Vanguard mole. The Master is planning to promote him to
         a full member of the Road Rovers."

Karen:"Wonderful. I'm so glad he has completely shaken off that 
       anti-mutant attitude of his. Where is he?"

Striker:"He remained behind at Mission Control to help fix the
         damage that Sleek caused."

It is at this point Striker notices something.

Striker:"Where are Tanarus and Elexis?"

Karen:"Oh! They left yesterday morning."

Striker:"Did they say where they were going?"

Karen:"They said they had some business to do in Alaska. They
       didn't say what it was about."

Striker frowns.

Striker:"Alaska? Why are they going there?"

Elissa:"How about you all come inside? Maska, Karen and I have
        prepared some delicious hot meals for us all."

Shephard rubs his stomach eagerly.

Shephard:"Sounds like a great idea, Ma'am."

They all head into the mansion for supper.

Cabin
Somewhere in the Cascade Range
Washington State
United States of America
20:32 PM:

Blake's cabin is quiet and dark. The only source of light comes
from the half-moon shining through the clouds in parts. A lone
figure comes walking towards the front door. It is Blake.

Blake:"Finally home. I'm dog tired."

He takes out a key and unlocks the front door. He goes inside
and locks the door behind him. The wolf then goes to the kitchen
area and reaches for the switch of the LED lamp here. But when
the light comes, he is caught by surprise by the two figures
seated by his kitchen table. It is Tanarus and Elexis.

Elexis:"You're hard to get hold of, Blake."

Blake relaxes and frowns.

Blake:"I have my reasons, Elexis. What are you and Tanarus doing
       here in my house like this?"

Tanarus:"That was my idea. Sorry about that, but we were worried
         that the Vanguard or KH Military might be watching your 
         cabin and we didn't want to raise any alarms."

Blake:"There is nobody out there. I made sure of that after...
       after last time."

Elexis:"You still haven't gotten any word about Tank or Allison?"

Blake folds his ears back sadly and shakes his head.

Blake:"No, I've gotten nothing. How's Chester?"

Elexis:"He's doing okay, even though his teleporting does alarm
        us alot."

Blake:"He does tire one with that. He really needs training."

Elexis:"At least he and Striker's daughter are getting along. They
        play a lot together. How's Sneaker?"

Blake:"He's doing all right. I'm having him stay with Jude for the
       time being until this whole affair blows over."

Blake points to Elexis' swollen belly.

Blake:"Should you really be travelling around like that, Elexis?"

Elexis:"The doctors say I'm still several weeks away."

Blake:"Are the pups doing all right?"

Elexis:"According to the last ultrasound I had, they are healthy
        growing nicely."

Blake nods, then goes and sits by the table.

Blake:"Enough small talk. Why are you here?"

Tanarus:"Its about your mother, father and you."

Blake:"What about them? Is mother still okay?"

Elexis:"Tosca is still in good physical health, but her mind is
        still far from being her old self."

Blake nods sadly.

Blake:"I doubt you will have any more success than I did in
       helping her recover."

Elexis:"We'll see. In the meantime, Blake, we need your help with
        regards to Stalker."

Blake frowns.

Blake:"Yes?"

Tanarus:"We need to get him back from the Vanguard. Right now the
         KH Military is paralyzed because of them holding him as
         a hostage."

Blake:"So? I thought you would be happy about that."

Tanarus:"In other circumstances, yes. But not this one. The 
         Vanguard is using him for a propaganda tool rather than
         any real attempt to stop the KH Military. They want to
         show the world that it needs them, and not the Road
         Rovers."

Blake:"You're both fighting the same enemy."

Tanarus:"Yes, but the Vanguard's methods are highly questionable
         and legally dubious at best. At worst, they're no better
         than some of the villains we've faced before. They
         cannot be allowed to supplant the Road Rovers."

Blake:"So you got a fierce rivalry. What does this have to do
       with me?"

Elexis:"From the Vanguard videos we can clearly see that Stalker
        is being given the same chemicals that left Tosca in that
        coma. They keep this up, and he will be just as bed-ridden
        as your mother. He and I may not see eye-to-eye much, but
        he is still my father and I don't want him to end up like
        that."

Blake:"What can I do about it?"

Tanarus:"Elexis thinks that you can help snap Stalker out of it
         and break free of the chemicals' influence."

Elexis:"He still remembers you, Blake. He remembers Tosca. You can
        break him free of the Vanguard's grip, maybe even finally
        convince him to turn away from the path the KH Military has
        been on since its birth in World War II."

Blake scoff incredulously at her.

Blake:"Who do you think I am, Elexis? Do you think I am Luke Sky-
       walker, who can turn my father, General Stalker, the Darth
       Vader of the KH Military, away from the Dark Side?"

Elexis(sincere):"Yes."

Blake stares at her.

Blake:"You really want me to help?"

Elexis:"If nothing else, think about your mother and what it would
        mean if Stalker is reunited with her."

Blake:"Even with everything that has happened between us?"

Tanarus:"Yes. And don't forget, it was the Vanguard who raided your
         cabin and took Tank and Allison as prisoners. Chances are
         that they are being held in the same prison as Stalker."

Blake looks away, ears folded back again.

Blake:"And you're right about that."

Tanarus:"How come?"

Blake:"I... I've been speaking to Trigger."

The couple are surprised.

Elexis:"You've been talking to Trigger in secret?"

Blake:"Yes. I've used that number you once gave me years go for
       emergencies."

Elexis:"And it was for emergencies, Blake."

Blake:"I know, but I couldn't hold myself back any longer. I had
       to reach my relatives."

Elexis:"And what did Trigger tell you?"

Blake:"I admit I couldn't help but learn more about Stalker from
       my uncle. This is top secret, but the KH Military have a
       spy inside the Vanguard. Among other things, he confirmed
       what you suspect, Tanarus: Tank and Allison are being held
       prisoner with Stalker. Why, they don't know yet."

Tanarus learns forward, ears perked up intently.

Tanarus:"What else has he told you?"

Blake:"While he obviously refused to tell me much else, he did say
       that Stalker, Tank and Allison are due to be moved to a
       Vanguard facility somewhere in Nepal within the next few
       weeks."

The coyote couple look at each other.

Elexis:"We need to follow this up with the others. Maybe Sleek
        knows where the facility is."

Tanarus:"I will let the Master know about. Apparently Sleek has
         been very talkative during interrogation."

Blake:"Who is Sleek?"

Tanarus looks at Blake.

Tanarus:"Sleek is a Vanguard spy who was masquerading as a Road
         Rover and sabotaging our op..."

A loud yelp startles the two males. Elexis is panting heavily, her
eyes and clutching her stomach. Her seat and the floor below her
is wet. Tanarus is alarmed.

Tanarus:"What's wrong?"

Elexis:"Tan, I.... aaaaargg!"

Elexis snarls in pain, clutching her stomach more tightly. Blake
jumps to his feet.

Blake:"She's going into labour, Tanarus!"

Tanarus:"What! She isn't due yet!"

Elexis yelps in pain again. Blake rushes over to her and grabs her
arm.

Blake:"I'll take her to the living room! Tanarus, get the first 
       aid kit and a towel from under the sink! Hold on, sister!
       Breathe slowly."

Elexis:"I'm trying... AAAAH!"

Blake helps Elexis to her feet and leads her to the living room
while Tanarus frantically looks for the items in a cupboard under
the kitchen sink. Blake turns on another light in the living room
and helps Elexis to lie down on the carpet in the middle of it.

Blake:"Easy! Easy!"

Elexis:"It isn't easy! GRRRR!"

Blake lays her down, grabbing a pillow off a nearby chair to prop
up her head. Tanarus returns with the first aid kit and blanket
and gives it to Blake.

Tanarus:"I'll get her medical unit!"

Blake:"Go, I'll handle this."

Tanarus:"You've done this before?"

Blake:"Yes. Don't ask how. Now go!"

Tanarus rushes out the front door. Blake throws the blanket over
Elexis' lower body and then proceeds to remove her pants.

Elexis:"Are.... AAARG!... are you... sure you know... gasp...
        ... what you're doing?!.. Yipe!"

Blake:"I've had to midwife a few times! Just breathe deeply..."

Elexis:"I'm trying! YIPE!"

Blake:"Easy, easy..."

At that moment Tanarus comes in carrying Elexis' KH Medical
Unit. He kneels next to her and grabs her paw. She clutches his
paw back tightly.

Tanarus:"How are you?"

Elexis:"In pain! AAAARG!"

Blake:"Give me the unit!"

Tanarus(giving the unit):"Can you use it?"

Blake:"Yes, Elexis taught me how."

Blake straps it to his arm before ducking back under the towel.
He begins using it on Elexis.

Blake:"Okay, that will ease the pain but not by much. Now push!"

Elexis clenches her teeth while Tanarus holds her paw. She whines
in pain, but Blake simply nods his head.

Blake:"I see them! I see them! PUSH!"

Elexis howls in great pain as she pushes, Tanarus becoming even
more concerned. Blake just keeps on encouraging her and using the
medical unit to try and ease the pain.

Blake:"Almost there! Come on, Elexis! Come on, push!"

Elexis is crying in pain, her whines nearly ear-splittingly loud.

Blake:"Okay, here we go! Just need to clean this... there!"

From under the towel comes the sound of mewling. Blake pulls the
towel off. Elexis is panting heavily, exhausted and worn out.
Tanarus comforts her while looking at Blake.

Tanarus:"Blake?"

Blake wraps up the towel and smiles, holding it out.

Blake:"Congratulations."

Wrapped neatly up in the towel is a pair of coyote pups, one male
and one female. Both pups share the same combination of fur
markings of their parents. Their eyes are still shut, but they
are crying and mewling. Elexis takes both the pups in her arms.

Elexis:"Open my top, Tan."

Tanarus does so. Blake gets the cushions off the chairs and use
them to prop up Elexis. Once in place, Elexis begins to breast-
feed the newborns. Both pups immediately start suckling. Tanarus
smiles, a tear in his eyes.

Tanarus:"They're beautiful."

Elexis:"Yes, they are."

The couple kiss. Blake smiles at them.

Blake:"I'll leave you two alone and make some coffee. You look
       like you'll need it. Then I'll prepare a bed. You can
       spend the night here."

Elexis:"We don't want to impose..."

Blake holds up his paws in a stop-gesture and shakes his head.

Blake:"I insist. You are exhausted and not going anywhere in that
       state. You and the puppies will need the rest. Tomorrow
       we can talk about that favour you're looking from me. Now,
       how about some coffee?"

Tanarus:"I could sure use a cup."

Elexis:"Me too, please."

Blake gets up and walks to the kitchen. Tanarus and Elexis turn
their attention to their new son and daughter, watching the pups
drink their fill.

Central Control
Eta Squadron Headquarters
Unknown Location
23:01 PM:

Eta Squadron technicians are hard work at various terminals
around the circular room. Sky is standing the middle, looking at
one of the overhead monitors. He is tugging his chin fur.

Sky:"Interesting idea, Tanarus. It will certainly be beneficial
     to my organisation if it works. And it should. I'll make
     certain of it."

Just then the main doors slide open. Major Twilight comes in
and walks up to Sky. Sky turns towards him. Twilight salutes.

Twilight:"Sir. Reporting in."

Sky:"Welcome back, Major. I trust you return without incident?"

Twilight:"Yes, General. Our mission had proceeded as planned."

Sky:"Excellent. Major Dusk still in Brazil?"

Twilight:"Yes, sir. She remained behind to monitor the activity
          of the three groups."

Sky:"Ah yes. Tell me about them."

Twilight:"General Diehard's position hasn't changed at all. He
          remains a Franco Loyalist, as have the troops under
          his command. There are some who are worried about the
          effect of the civil war on the Elite Guard, but they
          wouldn't dare voice their opinions to him or to his
          more fanatical followers."

Sky:"A lost cause. Even I wouldn't be able to change his mind.
     The war?"

Twilight:"Still stalemated. Both sides have inflicted a lot of
          casualties and damage upon one another, which they
          can ill-afford. They keep this up, the Elite Guard
          will destroy itself within a year."

Sky:"All our analysts have come to the same conclusion. And what
     about the rebel faction?"

Twilight:"Much more promising. Seneschal, unlike Diehard, knows
          that this civil war is bleeding the Elite Guard and
          wants to end it soon. His troops agree, and they have
          been conducting propaganda operations to try and force
          defections. With little success."

Sky:"With Diehard still in power, no surprise."

Twilight:"Correct, sir. But two weeks ago a new factor has come
          into play."

Sky:"Ah! Our third group has finally made a move?"

Twilight:"Indeed, sir. The Vanguard operatives managed to tap into
          Seneschal's communications and send him anonymous
          offers of assistance. Seneschal at first rejected these
          approaches, thinking they were Diehard's plots. But
          after one of Seneschal's supply convoys was ambushed
          the Vanguard's A-Ops forces rushed in and completely
          wiped out Diehard's ambushers."


Sky:"Diehard doesn't know?"

Twilight:"No, the Vanguard was thorough. And so were we."

Sky smiles.

Sky:"Miss D made contact?"

Twilight:"Directly, but only with the Vanguard. We're not yet
          sure how good Seneschal's memory is, considering that
          many of the Elite Guard still despise me for betraying
          Franco."

Sky:"Better to be safe. Has there been any meetings between the
     Vanguard and the rebels?"

Twilight:"Low key, but there are now open channels between 
          Seneschal's forces and the Vanguard."

Sky:"Have they moved beyond that?"

Twilight:"The talks are still ongoing. Both Seneschal and the
          Vanguard upper echelons want to sure they have the right
          partnership here before making further commitments."

Sky:"And Diehard knows nothing."

Twilight:"Very much. All he cares about is crushing the rebels
          and making the Elite Guard as strong as they were before
          their ill-fated invasion of South Africa."

Sky:"Not in their current state, they won't."

Twilight:"And the Vanguard know this. They are getting ready to
          provide enough assistance to help the Elite Guard back
          to their feet, at least."

Sky:"Ah! The plot thinkens. The Vanguard would want something very
     important out of this. Are they trying to keep this all a
     secret?"

Twilight:"Yes. Dusk says they are making very sure not to leave
          any paper trails that could lead from the Elite Guard
          back to them."

Sky nods in satisfaction.

Sky:"Interesting. Good work, Captain. And give my congratulations
     to Captain Dusk when you speak with her again. Dismissed."

Twilight stands straight and salutes, then turns around and leaves
the centre. Sky remains standing there, deep in thought.

Laboratory
Vanguard Complex
Unknown Location
8 July
7:01 AM:

Hawkins is back inside his chamber, this time with a number of
electronic syringes filled with unknown mixtures stuck into his
body at various points. Scientists are monitoring each syringe
on their computers. Meanwhile Hawkins is busy handling calls on
his headset.

Hawkins:"So Sleek is definitely compromised?... Dammit... No,
         don't bother with her anymore. She's no longer any use
         to us and to rescue her now is a waste of time... Yes,
         make sure we can still keep their communications under
         our control as long as possible... Good. Keep me up-
         dated."

He ends the call and switches to the new call.

Hawkins:"Thomason?... Hawkins here. Do you have any updates on
         that special mission? ... Ah, Miss D has managed to
         arrange us another meeting. How did it go?... Very good.
         We are close to a breakthrough, Thomason, so keep the
         pressure on and make them as good an offer as you can...
         Absolutely. Keep me posted."

He ends the second call and goes to the next one.

Hawkins:"Suchong?... Hawkins here. Are you at the Nepal Facility?
         Everything normal there?... Excellent. Stalker's flight
         has just departed. His flight should arrive within six
         hours. Is everything ready for his arrival?... Good. And
         the defences?... Good, but make sure the garrison captain
         keeps his forces at full readiness. This is a high-value
         captive we got here and I don't want the KH Military to
         stage a surprise rescue... Excellent. Call me when he
         gets there. Goodbye."

He ends the call, takes off the headset and then relaxes to let 
the scientists do their work.

Vanguard Stronghold
Himalayan Mountains
Nepal
13:02 PM:

The Himalayans stretch as far as the eye can see in all directions
with snow-covered mountain peaks reaching high up into the sky.
Located at the edge of a small valley nestled between the ranges
is a sprawling complex of buildings. Most of them are concrete
military structures like helicopter hangars, barracks, bunkers,
AA placements and radar stations. The other structures, which are
all high-tech, white-walled laboratories with solar panels and
dishes on their roofs, stand in stark contract to the dark grey
military buildings. A series of bridges and walkways connection
the entire facility while two roads lead from the stronghold
downwards. On heads towards the nearest Nepalese town, the other
to an airstrip in the valley itself. Vanguard forces wait at
the strip, where an Airdromeda has just landed. Operatives,
supported by Dustkickers and HECUs patrolling the area, are
surrounding the aircraft. Waiting by a Vanguard Rhino is
Suchong. He is watching as Stalker is brought down the ramp of
the Aidromeda. Stalker is in chains with a collar around his
neck, while H-Ops escort him. He is looking drowsy and is walking 
a bit unsteadily. Trotting alongside the group is Rebound. She is
also wearing a collar. Suchong gets out of the Rhino along with 
his bodyguards and walks over. The H-Ops captain leading the 
escort salutes Suchong.

Captain:"Sir!"

Suchong:"I trust the passenger hasn't been misbehaving?"

Captain:"No, sir. We kept him under sedation per your instructions
         the whole flight and woke him up only as we approached
         for landing."

Suchong:"Excellent. Hold him still for a moment."

While the operatives hold Stalker steady, Suchong approaches
while taking out a syringe from his pocket. He removes the cover
and checks the needle. He checks under Stalker's shoulder fur for
a vein and then pushes the syringe in and makes the injection.
Stalker barely flinches. Suchong removes the needle and nods to
the soldiers.

Suchong:"There. Get him into the jeep before he passes out."

Captain:"Yes, sir! Come, move it!"

The H-Ops push Stalker towards the Rhino. He begins to sway about.
They shove him into the back seat, where he promptly passes out.
Rebound goes and sits down on her haunches next to Suchong. He
notices her.

Suchong:"Oh, you're Slade's wolf, right?"

Rebound barks at him once and nothing else. Suchong just shrugs.

Suchong:"Can't see why they sent you here, but if that is what
         they want and they keep paying me to do what I like,
         then I can't really complain. Come on, into the jeep."

Rebound barks again and follows Suchong to the Rhino. She hops
into the passenger seat next to Suchong's driver, while Suchong
gets in the back with Stalker and another bodyguard.

Suchong:"Driver, to the labs."

Driver:"Yes, sir."

The driver starts to drive up to the labs. Rebound scratches
at her collar for a bit, triggering the signalling device hidden
under it by Spectre. She then watches through the window as the
Rhino travels up along ramps and bridges towards the labs. After
a few minutes the Rhino pulls up to a big pair of white sliding
doors. Here stands several N-Ops and Operatives along with some
orderlies with a gurney.

Suchong:"Right. Get him out."

Everyone disembarks. The orderlies, under the watchful of the
operatives, taking Stalker and putting him on the gurney. Rebound
jumps out with Suchong and sits down next to him while he looks
over the transfer. As Stalker is wheeled into the labs, he sees
Rebound.

Suchong:"You still here? Run off and do something to keep you
         busy. I got work to do."

Rebound tilts her head, then stands up and walks off to go around
the labs while Suchong follows the gurney through the sliding
doors. When she looks around and sees she is alone, she sits down
and paws the collar on her neck.

Rebound(into com):"Spectre, you there?"

Spectre(over com):"I hear you, Madamoiselle."

Rebound(into com):"We've arrived at the stronghold. Stalker has
       just been taken into some laboratories under Suchong's
       watch."

Spectre(over com):"And yourself?"

Rebound(into com):"Suchong is letting me walk around on my own. 
       He is more interested in his new captive than looking after
       me."

Spectre(over com):"Excellent, Madamoiselle. Scout out ze base
       and report back to me at the agreed time. And be careful,
       non?"

Rebound(into com):"No problem. I love stretching my legs after so
       much time in the cages."

Spectre(over com):"Merci. Take care!"

Rebound(barking):"Over and out."

Rebound stops pawing the collar, gets up and runs off to not
only look at the rest of the base, but also to stretch her legs
after her long captivity. The base personnel pay her little to
no heed.

Meeting Room
KHA Alexander
Somewhere Over Papa New Guinea
9 July
09:00 AM:

General Trigger is the only one present in the meeting room, but
he has a laptop on the table where he is holding a video con-
ference. Wolfeye, Sky, Thrax and Black are all on separate video
windows on his screen. On a seperate window is a satellite image
of the Vanguard base in Nepal.

Sky:"Combined with the formidable defences and the mountainous
     terrain, this Vanguard fortress will be very difficult to
     attack. Nearly impossible if we are to recover Stalker 
     without the Vanguard executing him in reprisal."

Wolfeye:"Then what about a stealth raid? Our Covert Troopers could
         get in and rescue Stalker before the Vanguard are aware
         of it."

Sky:"Possible if we didn't have informants in our midst."

Black:"Why haven't you taken care of them yet, Sky?"

Sky:"Because, General Black, it takes time to root out these
     informants without raising the alarm to the Vanguard. We
     need to properly neutralize them."

Black:"I think we should just shoot them and be done with it."

Thrax:"What about other forms of attack? Perhaps a covert raid
       combined with a massive chemical attack I can arrange
       for."

Sky:"Again, too risky General Thrax. That requires us to get
     rid of the informants first."

Trigger:"So what else can we do?"

Black is about to say something, but Sky speaks first.

Sky:"We need to wait until I've removed the informants. The
     Vanguard still need Stalker for the propaganda value, so
     his life isn't in immediate danger."

Black:"Wait? Is that all you recommend, waiting?!"

Sky:"Yes, and I believe Supreme General Trigger will agree."

Black looks quickly at Trigger.

Black:"You don't seriously think we should keep sitting on our
       tails, Trigger?"

Trigger is thinking for a minute before finally nodding.

Trigger:"I think we should wait until General Sky has gotten rid
         of the informants. Then we can rescue my brother. Sky,
         tell Spectre to find out who the informants are and have
         his own agent in the Vanguard stronghold keep an eye on
         my brother's welfare."

Sky:"It will be done, General."

Black snarls at Sky, who is frowning at him.

Black:"You have far too much sway, Sky. You can't just run this
       whole affair on your own!"

Sky:"That is General Trigger's decision, not mine."

Wolfeye:"I'm afraid he's right, Black. Trigger is following his
         recommendations, and we have to follow it too if he 
         does."

Thrax:"I have to second that."

Black is stunned. He tries to argue, but then decides against it.
Trigger then speaks.

Trigger:"We wait, but do hurry, General Sky. I want my brother
         freed as soon as possible."

Sky:"As you wish, Supreme General."

Trigger:"Thank you. We will meet again in two weeks time. This
         meeting is now closed."

The other generals close their video conference programs. Trigger
closes his program last, then shuts down and closes the laptop.
He gets up, takes it and leaves the room.

Black's Office
Epsilon Headquarters
Somewhere In The Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
At That Moment:

The office of the squadron leader is a triagle shape with a door
in the one corner facing towards a large window looking out into
an overgrown jungle cavern that is lit up by sunlight coming
through a hole above. The office itself is threadbare, with a
single desk by the window, monitors on the walls and a pair of
KH Military banners on opposite sides of the door. General Black
is angrily pacing back and forth on the carpet before his desk.

Black:"D*** that Sky! I know he is manipulating Trigger and the
       others, doing as he please! And I know that he doesn't
       want Stalker back so eagerly, either! And I can't do
       anything about that!"

He stops pacing, pinching the bridge of his muzzle before he
resumes pacing again.

Black:"I got to find some way of getting around Sky. Some way
       he wouldn't see coming."

He stops again, thinking.

Black:"A crazy idea. The others would have my tail if they found
       out about this. But then again, if it helps get Stalker
       back..."

The wolf thinks some more. Finally he throws his paws into the
air.

Black:"To h*** with it. I had enough of Sky, and its time to
       tweak his tail for once."

He marches back to his desk and begins to work on his computer.

Vorster Estate
Eastern Cape Province
South Africa
10 July
10:03 AM:

In the main living room of the Vorster Estate, Corsair and Illanov
are seated on a couch in front of a plasma TV. On a table in front
of them is a bowl of chips and two soda bottles. They are playing a
fighting game on an XBox, each clutching a controller.

Corsair:"Ha! Eat my hadouken, Russian!"

Illanov:"Not this time, American!"

They keep playing, when suddenly there is a loud shout and the
sound of screaming. The two of them look away from the TV to the
source. Striker suddenly comes running in, his tail on fire. He is
trying to put it out.

Striker:"Eina! Eina!"

Corsair:"Hang on, boss!"

Corsair grabs a bottle of soda, rushes to Striker and pours the
contents out onto his tail. He quickly puts out the fire, to
Striker's relief.

Striker:"Ai... dankie, David."

Corsair:"No problem, boss. But what happened?"

Illanov:"Dah, what is going on comrade?"

Striker:"It's Phoenix. She..."

Suddenly Phoenix comes storming in, anger on her face and two balls
of fire in her paws. Corsair and Illanov look in alarm at her while
Striker steps back.

Phoenix:"How dare you!"

Striker:"Phoenix, asseblief! Calm down!"

Phoenix:"Calm down?! CALM DOWN?!"

Phoenix prepares to throw the fireballs, but Illanov quickly steps
in front of her.

Illanov:"Comrade Phoenix, please! What is wrong?"

Phoenix:"What is wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! That b*****d
         called me fat!"

Illanov(blinking):"What?"

Corsair looks in surprise at Striker.

Corsair:"Did you do that, boss?"

Striker:"Nee! Nee! I just asked her when her belly will begin
         showing signs of her pregnancy!"

Corsair:"That all?"

Striker:"Ja!"

Illanov:"Comrade Phoenix, did he really call you fat?"

Phoenix:"Yes he did!"

Illanov(sceptical):"Really?"

The Pomeranian hesitates.

Phoenix:"Sort of."

Illanov(sceptical):"Sort of?"

Phoenix stares at him for a minute. She then folds her ears
back and extinguishes the flames in her paws.

Phoenix:"No, he didn't. He was just asking when my belly would
         begin growing with the pup."

Corsair:"You threw a fit over that?"

Illanov:"Shush, American!"

Corsair holds up both his hands and steps back. Illanov looks
back at Phoenix.

Illanov:"Comrade, that wasn't very nice of you. Now apologise
         to comrade Striker. I'm sure he didn't mean to insult
         you, did you comrade Striker?"

Striker quickly shakes his head, still a bit wary. Suddenly
Phoenix bursts into tears, rushing forward towards him. Stunned
by this sudden change in behaviour, Striker doesn't move as she
roughly embraces him and cries into his chest.

Phoenix:"Oh Strikie! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Striker puts his arms around her, a bit warily.

Striker:"It... it is all right, Firefly. I forgive you."

Phoenix keeps crying for a moment, then suddenly she pushes him
away.

Phoenix:"You don't care! You don't care at all!"

She suddenly storms out of the living room. Striker is left
flabbergasted.

Striker:"But... but..."

Corsair:"What the h*** is going on with her?"

Illanov approaches Striker and puts a comforting paw on his
shoulder.

Illanov:"Calm down, comrade. This is not your fault. This is
         comrade Phoenix's first pregnancy, so she is bound to
         do this. I've been here before with Vicki."

Striker:"What do you..."

At that moment Aydrian and Ellissia come rushing into the living
room.

Aydrian:"What's wrong? We heard screaming."

Illanov answers them first.

Illanov:"It is nothing. Comrade Striker here has just experienced
         his first mood swing with a pregnant comrade Phoenix."

Both parents immediately recognise what he means.

Ellissia:"Where is Phoenix?"

Illanov:"I think she ran back to their bedroom."

Ellissia:"I'll go talk with her."

Aydrian:"I'll talk with Striker."

Ellissia leaves the living room. Aydrian walks up to Striker.

Aydrian:"How are you feeling, son?"

Striker:"I... don't know what to feel."

Aydrian nods and smiles.

Aydrian:"You need not worry, son. Phoenix's body is having a
         little trouble adapting to the pregnancy, so she will
         have these... highly emotional moments. Trust me, it
         will pass."

He then notices Striker's burnt tail.

Aydrian:"Though you might need to still be careful, I see."

Corsair stifles a laugh. Striker glares at him, but Corsair just
turns around to hide his amusement. The spaniel then sighs.

Striker:"It was just so sudden, Vader. I am not used to this."

Aydrian:"Neither was I when Elissia was with Phoenix. I learned
         the hard way that you need to have patience, compassion
         and tough fur to get through this. This is a new thing
         for her as well, so you need to understand this and
         not overreact no matter what happens."

Striker:"What can I do?"

Aydrian:"Just keep your head and always love her, understanding
         what she is going through and stand by her. It will be
         worth it in the end, and your marriage will be even
         stronger."

Striker simply nods.

Striker:"I will try, Vader."

Aydrian smiles and pats Striker's shoulder.

Aydrian:"You will get through this, trust me."

Illanov comes over and holds Striker's other shoulder.

Illanov:"Dah. You are strong, comrade. And you have a big heart
         for comrade Phoenix. These little outbursts will do
         nothing to it if you don't let them get to you."

Striker:"Dankie, Alex. I feel a little better."

Corsair:"And a little toasted too."

Illanov glares at Corsair.

Illanov:"Don't you have games to play, American?"

Before Corsair can respond, Phoenix, followed by Elissia, come back
into the living room. Striker turns expectantly to her. Phoenix
walks up to him, then gives him a tight hug. Striker returns the
hug, but still looks concerned.

Phoenix:"I'm so sorry I overreacted, Strikie. I didn't mean to set
         your tail on fire..."

Striker hugs her more tightly.

Striker:"Its nothing, Firefly. I still love you, and I'll support
         you through this no matter what happens."

Phoenix:"I love you too..."

Just then Shephard comes running into the room.

Shephard:"Sir, I..."

Everyone immediately look at Shephard, some more cross than others.
Striker is particularly annoyed.

Striker:"What is it?"

Shephard:"Sorry for interrupting, sir, but you will not believe who
          is currently contacting us on our communications channel."

Striker:"Who?"

Shephard:"It is General Black, the leader of the KH Military's
          Epsilon Squadron."

Annoyance is immediately replaced with surprise. Striker and
Phoenix break the hug as they, Illanov and Corsair rush over to
the soldier.

Striker:"You serious?"

Shephard:"Follow me and see for yourself, sir."

Shephard leads everyone through the house to the study, which has
been converted into a makeshift communications and intelligence
hub. Merit is here, doing maintenance on one of the computers.
Shephard leads them to another one, where the screen is showing
a video window with General Black on it. Striker and the rest of
the team is really surprised.

Striker:"Black?"

Black:"Glad to see your memory hasn't faded with age, Striker."

Striker sits down in the chair in front of the computer with a
frown on his face.

Striker:"Why are you calling, Black? How did you find this channel?"

Black:"I'm not answering the second question, but I will answer the
       first as simple as possible. I'm calling you because I got
       no other options. You know that Stalker is being held by the
       Vanguard, your rivals?"

Striker:"Ja."

Black:"Right. We know where he is being held. The Vanguard have a
       facility up in Nepal where he was taken to not long ago.
       But we can't rescue him."

Striker:"The Vanguard might kill him if you try?"

Black:"Perhaps, but the main reason is because Sky is convincing
       Trigger and the others not to. I know he is using his powers
       to prevent them from taking action. I'm not swayed by him,
       but with the others under his thumb, the KH Military is
       paralyzed."

Striker:"So you are turning to us nou?"

Black:"Yes. I don't want it, but Sky is leaving me with no choice."

Black holds up a piece of paper with GPS coordinates on it.

Black:"This is where the base is."

Phoenix quickly grabs a pen and notepad to write the coordinates
down.

Black:"I'm letting you decide what to do next. This goes against
       my very fibre, but I'll be d***ed if I'm letting either Sky
       or the Vanguard control the agenda."

Striker:"We will see."

Black:"So will I. Goodbye."

Without ceremony, Black ends the video call. All the Unit Strike
members look at each other, unsure of what has happened. Finally
Striker takes the paper with the GPS coordinates and offers it
to Corsair.

Striker:"David, check these coordinates and see if Black was
         really telling the truth. Then we will decide what to
         do."

Corsair:"Gotcha boss."

Corsair takes the paper and goes to his laptop, which is set up
nearby, to get to work.

Dining Room
Vorster Estate
13:22 PM:

The dining room has been converted into a makeshift conference
room. On the dining table the one end has several computer screens
set up for video conferences with their cases pushed under the
table. Seated around the desk is Unit STRIKE. On one screen is the
Master and on the other Tanarus.

Master:"So the location is authentic?"

Striker:"Corsair managed to get a shot of the base from a foreign
         satellite. It is definitely a Vanguard base. General Black
         wasn't making up that story after all. The question now
         is: wat nou?"

Master:"Black is expecting us to rescue General Stalker from the
        Vanguard."

Striker:"But should we, Professor? That is the question."

Tanarus:"I think we should, if only for the reason to keep him
         out of the Vanguard's grasp. His capture already was
         a huge media coup for them and the longer they hold him,
         the more sway they get over the public."

Striker:"I still feel as if we are doing the KH Military's dirty
         work. I am suspicious of Black's motives."

Master:"You think the KH Military is too scared to act against
        the Vanguard?"

Striker:"Something to that effect."

Tanarus:"Then we would be the last group they would turn to if
         they wanted Stalker back. The KH Military knows we won't
         just release him since he is one of the world's most
         wanted bad guys."

Phoenix:"Tan does have a point there. That's like a gangster
         asking the police to rescue his mafia boss."

Tanarus speaks to someone off screen for a moment. He turns back
to the others.

Tanarus:"Blake here wants to say something."

Tanarus steps back to allow Blake to appear on the screen.

Blake:"If I may be allowed to speak, I back Tanarus' suggestion
       to rescue my fa... Stalker from the Vanguard."

Master:"Why do you say that, Blake?"

Blake:"Tosca is still under your care, right?"

Master:"We had to move her to another location, but she is still
        being taken care of by the Road Rovers. Why?"

Blake:"It might be hard to understand, but Stalker did love Tosca
       very much. And he might still do. Perhaps enough to...
       convince him."

Master:"Of what?"

Blake:"The need to steer the KH Military from its current path of
       terrorism and confrontation. Maybe even abandon the cause
       entirely. Or simply retire."

There is surprise around the table from most of the Unit STRIKE
members, with Striker being extremely skeptical.

Striker:"Retire? Him? That is belaglik!"

Shephard:"Terrorists don't just simply retire, sir."

Corsair:"Yeah, I find that hard to swallow."

Illanov:"Dah, same here."

Master:"Blake, how sure are you that this will happen?"

Blake:"Not too sure, but there is a chance. That I'd wager my fur
       on."

Master:"Then I accept it. We will rescue Stalker from the Vanguard
        and then bring him back to Tosca."

The Strikers look at the Master, with Striker the most surprised.

Striker:"Professor, I really advise against that. I have been
         fighting Stalker for a long time and I do not believe
         he will turn."

Master:"I am doubtful as well, but I believe that at rescuing him
        is our top priority. And if his meeting with Tosca does
        not work out, we can take him into custody. He is still
        a wanted individual. I hope you are not offended by that,
        Blake."

Blake shakes his head, folding his ears back.

Blake:"No offense taken, sir. I am not a fool and I know you would
       want him to stand trial for his crimes. I won't stand in
       your way if you decide to do so."

Master:"Then its settled. Unit STRIKE will go to Nepal and rescue
        Stalker from the Vanguard. Blake, you will go with them."

Blake:"Gladly."

Master:"Tanarus, can Elexis make it?"

Tanarus appears on the screen.

Tanarus:"I'm afraid not, Master. She is still worn out from the
         birth."

Master:"Very well. Bring her and your pups back to HQ, then you and
        Blake go join Unit STRIKE in Kathmandu."

Tanarus:"Yes, Master."

Master:"Unit STRIKE, arrange to meet Tanarus and Blake in Kathmandu,
        then plan your raid on the Vanguard facility. And take great
        care: Stalker is a big prize for the Vanguard, so they will
        defend him heavily."

Striker:"Ja, Professor."

Master:"Then good luck to you all and hope you succeed in your
        mission."

Striker:"Dankie, Professor."

The Master's screen goes dead. Striker turns to Tanarus.

Striker:"Tan, have Elexis lend us her medical unit before you
         join us. We will need it for this one."

Tanarus:"Agreed. Give us two days and we will be there."

Striker:"Good. We'll send you our coordinates. And tell Elexis
         we all congratulate both of you with your new pups."

Tanarus smiles.

Tanarus:"She'll appreciate it, Striker. Thanks."

Tanarus' screen goes dead. Striker turns to his team.

Striker:"Gear up, everyone. We are going to Nepal."

Everyone gets up disperse to get their things together for the
mission ahead.

Prison Cells
Road Rover Headquarters
New Mexico
United States of America
10 July
18:05 PM:

Inside the pristine jail block of RRHQ, the guards were bringing
in the prisoners' lunch. It consisted of a meat/vegetable porridge 
in a bowl and a glass of milk. They are carried on trays. The
jails house mostly Parvo's cano-mutants. The guards go to a 
doberman cano-mutant's jail.

Guard 1:"Good evening, big guy. Time to eat."

Cano-Mutant:"Not that stupid porridge again."

Guard 1:"Hey, be glad we are feeding you lot. Now come and get it."

The cano-mutant grumbles and goes over to collect his tray. 
Satisfied, the guards then move over to Vanderberg's cell. Inside 
they can see that he is asleep on his bunk with the blanket drawn 
up. The guard taps the metal frame of the laser bars with the
tray.

Guard 1:"Get up, its lunch time."

There is no response from Vanderberg. The guard taps the frame a
little louder this time.

Guard 1:"You can't sleep yet! You need to eat first!"

Again there is no reply. The guard nods to his companion, who 
turns off the laser beams, and marches over to the bunk while 
taking out his stun stick.

Guard 2:"Don't make me use this, prisoner! Now get off your
         tail!"

Still no answer. The guard growls and rips the blanket off, but
instead of Vanderberg he finds himself starting at a pillow with
a strange, beeping device on top.

Guard 2:"What the f..."

The device suddenly explodes in a thick cloud of stinging dust.
The guard gags and chokes while rubbing his burning eyes.

Guard 2:"AAARG!"

The first guard drops the tray and turns to go raise the alarm,
only to find a stun sting swung right at his face. The impact 
sends him flying against the wall and collapsing to the floor. 
Vanderberg is standing there, clutching the the stick in his 
hands.

Vanderberg:"You really should sweep your place a bit more
            throughly. Sleek hid a lot of nice goodies in the
            nooks and crannies of this place."

He goes into the cell and knocks out the other guard. He then
traps  both guards inside the cell. By now the cano-mutants
have rushed to their bars to check the commotion. The doberman
calls to Vanderberg.

Cano-Mutant:"Hey! Human, let me out too!"

Vanderberg thinks it over, then goes over to the control panel
where the cell bars are handled from. He presses a few buttons
and all the lasers go dead. The mutants all exit their cells.
The doberman grins at Vanderberg.

Cano-Mutant:"Thanks."

Vanderberg:"No charge, but you lot are going your own way. I'm 
            finding my own way out."

Cano-Mutant:"No problem. We got a score to settle first with
             these Rovers."

Vanderberg:"Be my guest.

The mutants all charge out of the cell block. Vanderberg waits
until they are gone, then leaves as well. He looks up and down
the corridor.

Vanderberg:"Now where is the exit?"

He then hears the sound of fighting somewhere in the building.
Seconds later, the general alarm goes off. Sirens blare through-
out RRHQ.

Vanderberg:"That should keep the Rovers busy, but I need to get
            out before they lock the place down."

He makes a run for it. While the riot continues, Vanderberg gets
out of the building and into the gardens outside. He looks around.

Vanderberg:"Let's see. It should be right about..."

He pushes some bushes aside and finds it: a door in the cave wall
with the words "VENTILATION MAINTENANCE: AUTHORIZED STAFF ONLY" on
it. The lock has a keycard slot.

Vanderberg:"Bingo."

He runs to the door while taking out a keycard that is completely
grey. He swipes it through the slot and waits. Moment later, the
electronic lock shorts out. He tries the handle and the door opens
up.

Vanderberg:"Exit, stage up!"

He goes into the shaft and closes the door behind him, leaving the
Rovers to deal with the rioting mutants.

Hotel
Kathmandu
Nepal
11 July
09:00 AM:

Located in the business district of the Nepalese capital, the
hotel is a four-story building with white walls and red pagoda
roof tiles. Behind the hotel is a walled garden where the dining
tables are set up. Unit STRIKE is here, seated around one of the
larger tables. They are all busy checking the menus.

Shephard:"Hmmm, sekuwa kebabs sound good. I think I'll take a
          couple."

Phoenix:"How about we try one of these momo dishes, Strikie? And
         some Dal-bhat-tarkari too."

Striker:"Are you hungry, Firefly?"

Phoenix:"Of course. The little one in my belly needs sustenance
         too."

Corsair:"Tongba sounds like my kind of beverage."

Illanov:"Beer? Nyet, American. What you need is mahi."

Corsair:"Mahi? Where is that?"

He scans the menu and finds it.

Corsair:"Buttermilk? You're kidding, right?"

Illanov chuckles behind his menu. Just then Tanarus and Blake
come walking in from the hotel. Striker spots them and waves.
They come over and take their seats.

Striker:"Welkom, Tan. And congratulations on being a father."

Tanarus:"Thank you, Striker."

Phoenix:"How is Elexis and the pups? Got names for them?"

Tanarus:"They're all doing fine. We've named the pups Sinclair
         and Tanaro."

Phoenix:"That's very nice."

Striker then looks at Blake.

Striker:"You're Blake, reg?"

Blake:"That's right."

Striker:"Welcome to the team, Blake. Has Tanarus made the
         introductions?"

Blake:"Yes, he did, Striker."

Striker:"Goed. Let me get something out of the way: you follow
         my orders, so I do not want any adventures on your part
         without clearing it up with me first. We run a tight
         ship here, understood?"

Blake:"Understood."

Striker:"Glad we agree. Welcome to the team, Blake."

Striker and Blake shake paws.

Tanarus:"Have you guys gotten some intel on the Vanguard in the
         country?"

Corsair:"I did some research on them. The Nepalese government
         let the Vanguard build their Himalayan base after they
         had provided a lot of assistance and reconstruction
         after that nasty earthquake that hit the country a few
         years back."

Tanarus:"So they got government support?"

Corsair:"Most likely protection from scrutiny by government
         officials. I'm still checking to see if the Nepalese
         Army will rush to their aid if we attack them."

Tanarus:"That's the last thing we need. Fighting the Vanguard
         is bad enough: we don't need to get into a scuffle
         with Nepalese government forces too."

Striker:"Agreed. We will need to plan this operation with..."

The spaniel is interrupted by the sound of a beeping noise from
his watchcom.

Striker:"Verskoon me."

Striker answers his watchcom

Striker:"Striker here... What! When did this happen?... Did you
         manage to contain them?... Oh, good. I... What?... Oh
         no! You searching for him?... You suspect he might have
         gotten out?... Ai yai yai... Reg, we will be on the alert
         ...I hope you get him too. Good luck."

Striker shuts off his watchcom, swearing.

Illanov:"Something wrong, comrade?"

Striker:"That was Hunter. There was a breakout at the prison block
         and the cano-mutants we were holding there went on a riot.
         Hunter and the others managed to stop them, but they damaged
         much of the base."

The others are surprised

Merit:"Oh dear. Riots leave such an unacceptable mess every time."

Phoenix:"Was anyone hurt?"

Striker:"Fortunately not, but that was not the bad news. The bad
         news is that, when Hunter and the others did a count of
         all the prisoners after the riot, they discovered that
         Vanderberg was gone."

Illanov:"Bolshoi! Are they searching for him?"

Striker:"Ja, but the Master fears that Vanderberg might have used
         the riot to escape Mission Control."

Blake:"That's bad news. The KH Military had Spectre, their shape-
       shifting spy, take on Vanderberg's shape and then we 
       allowed the Vanguard to free him from Casa Lupo so that 
       he could infiltrate the Vanguard."

Tanarus:"That's probably how General Black managed to get the
         information on Stalker's wereabouts. Spectre is on 
         the inside. And that means trouble for us here if the
         real Vanderberg gets in touch with his superiors."

Striker:"They will not only discover a spy in their midst, but
         will also alert the Nepalese base about it. Which will
         make our mission even harder."

Shephard:"So we got to strike before that happens, sir?"

Striker:"Ja, we won't have a choice. We need to recon and strike
         the facility in one go as soon as possible."

Blake:"I can call up some help if you need it?"

Striker:"Who can you call?"

Blake:"Monty, or rather Montecore. He's my second-in-command at
       Casa Lupo and a very good fighter."

Striker:"Then do so. The Master can't send any more help right
         now. How long will it take for him to get here?"

Blake:"He will be here in ten hours or so."

Striker:"Cutting it close, but we will have to work with it."

He looks at Corsair.

Striker:"David, get us satellite images of the facility from the
         Rover Satellite so we can get planning."

Corsair:"You sure, boss? The tech team hasn't finished sweeping
         our systems for Vanguard bugs."

Striker:"We will have to risk it. We are pressed for time here."

Corsair:"Okay, boss. I'm on it."

Corsair pulls out his laptop.

Striker:"Let's get our food and fill up. I don't think we will
         have this opportunity again until after the mission."

Shephard:"Then I better double my order."

While Corsair gets to work, the others place their food orders
with the waiter. Blake gets up to go and make a call on his
cellphone to Montecore.

Business District
Las Cruces
New Mexico
United States of America
05:03 AM:

The hub of the city's economy is still dark, but already there
are cars and people on their way to work. One of the people
walking about is Vanderberg. He looks dirty and haggered and not
very happy.

Vanderberg:"I can't believe nobody will let me borrow their
            phones for even a second. You'd think I'm some kind
            of thug or something."

He stops when he walks by a jewellery store window and sees his
reflection in a piece of mirrored glass.

Vanderberg:"Oh..."

He keeps walking and grumbling.

Vanderberg:"I need to get hold of the Vanguard and let them know
            about Spectre. And get me out of here before those
            idiots from Casa Lupo find me."

He suddenly stops when he notices something across the street. It
is a pay phone against the wall of a coffee shop.

Vanderberg:"A pay phone? They still have those?"

He then smiles.

Vanderberg:"A phone is a phone. And I need one."

He waits for the traffic to pass before running over the street.
He goes up to the telephone and studies it.

Vanderberg:"Okay, I hope this works. Just need to remember how
            to make a collect call."

He checks the phone book under the telephone and finds out how
to make the collect call. He picks up the receiver and dials the
number. He waits for an answer.

Vanderberg:"Oh, a voice machine. Figures, they probably don't
            need people these days."

He follows the prompts to make the collect call using a number
of the Vanguard. He waits until there is an answer.

Vanderberg:"Hello, is this central com?... This is Reggie
            Vanderberg here. I need to... What?... Yes, I'm
            making a collect call to you... Where did I get the
            number?! I work for you guys! I'm Vanderberg!...
            Yes, I know, but that isn't me! Its a... No! Don't
            hang up on me!"

The line is cut off. Vanderberg hangs up and then picks up the
receiver again.

Vanderberg:"I can't believe this s***!"

He dials the numbers and follows the prompts again.

Communications Hub
Vanguard HQ
Unknown Location
At That Moment:

The hub of much of the Vanguard's communications is a big dome
with multiple levels of computer terminals around a big, central
transmitter system. Everything looks sleek and high-tech. Most of
the terminals have a technician with a headset on. One of them
answers an incoming call.

Technician:"Central... You again? I'm warning you that this is a
            a very secure, highly restricted line. If you.. What?
            You want me to trace the call? Are you trying to get
            us angry here?..."

The technician snorts and starts typing on his keyboard.

Technican:"Fine! I'm tracing this call and I'm going to send 
           security to teach you a lesson! Good day!"

The technician hangs up and waits for the trace to complete. When
he sees the location, he makes a call.

Technician:"San Diego station, this is Central... I got someone 
            who made an unauthorized telephone call on our systems. 
            I need you to go to the location of the call's origin
            and see if you can catch this joker... Right, I'm
            sending you the coordinates."

The technician types on his keyboard and then clicks to send the
information to the Vanguard team in San Diego.

Facility Grounds
Vanguard Stronghold
Himalayan Mountains
16:02 PM:

Rebound is seated on the ground next to Suchong and several
scientists on a balcony of one of the laboratories. They are
all looking down at the open grounds below, where some targets
have been set up. These include a truck, a model building and
an old helicopter. Suchong is holding a two-way radio.

Suchong(into radio):"You can bring it out now."

Voice(over radio):"Roger, sir. Deploying the prototype."

Down below, a garage door inside a concrete wall in the mountain
opens up. A minute later, a treaded chassis rolls out onto the
grounds. The chassis is painted yellow and black, with the driver
cabin fitted to the front. On top of the chassis is a rectangular
dish mounted on a rotary device. On the side in white lettering
is "VX-15". The vehicle moves towards a pair of flags placed some
distance from the targets and stops.

Suchong(into radio):"VX-15, this Suchong."

VX-15(over radio):"VX-15 here, sir. Go ahead."

Suchong(into radio):"Fire at the targets at low, medium and then
       full power, starting with the truck."

VX-15(over radio):"Comfirmed, sir."

Rebound perks up her ears and looks curiously along with Suchong
and the scientists. The dish swivels to face the truck. There is
a soft humming noise, followed by a faint white beam coming from
the dish heading for the truck. At first, nothing seems to happen.
Then the windows crack and then shatter. The tires burst and
deflate, then the canvas on the back of the truck begins to catch
fire. The tires then also begin to burn and soon the truck is
engulfed in flames. The beam is switched off.

Suchong:"Low power looks good. Now for medium."

The dish is pointed at the building, a replicate of a typical
two-story building with a shop at the bottom. The dish emits a
hum and a beam at it. This time, the beam is much brighter. The
beam hits the front of the building. The glass immediately breaks,
then the brickwork cracks and crumbles before the whole front of
the building implodes on it itself into a heap of rubble. The
flammable objects within catch fire immediately, turning it into
a burning heap.

Suchong:"Good display for medium. Now for full power."

The dish is turned off and swivels towards the helicopter. The
helicopter, controlled by remote, takes off into the air and
hovers a good distance above the ground. The dish angles to get
it in its crosshairs and fires. This time the beam is a very
bright, almost solid white. The beam hits the helicopter and it
immediately explodes in a cloud of debris and smoke. The beam is
switched off. Suchong smiles and the scientists applaud. Rebound
is impressed.

Suchong:"Full power successful. No errors and it worked as 
         planned. Excellent results overall."

The VX-15 turns around and heads back to its garage. Suchong and
the scientists head back inside the laboratory to study the test
results. Rebound, however, stays behind to watch the clean-up
crews head for the wreckages. At the same time, someone else was
watching the clean-up as well. Hovering in the air a good distance
away from the stronghold is a small quadcopter drone. Its four
propellers held aloft a body shaped like a dog's head. In the
dog's "eyes" are a pair of camera lenses.

Hotel Room
Kathmandu
At That Moment:

The hotel room, while not luxurious, has all the necessities to
make it a fine place to stay. A balcony overlooks the courtyard
garden. Standing on the balcony is Merit, who is holding up a
small transmitter dish while staying perfectly still. A cable
leads from the dish to Corsair's laptop on a table in the living
room. All the others are gathered around Corsair as he guides the
drone. They can see the Vanguard stronghold through the drone's
cameras.

Illanov:"Nasty new toy that the Vanguard is developing, comrades."

Tanarus:"If that ends up working, it will be a formidable piece
         of machinery on the battlefield. It will give the Vanguard
         an edge when fighting the KH Military, the GONV, the Elite
         Guard... or us."

Striker:"Ja, but that is a secondary concern. David, can you check
         how the defenses are between the base and the mountain
         slopes?"

Corsair:"Can do, boss."

Corsair pilots the drone into position. As he does, Blake is
shaking his head.

Blake:"I still question the wisdom of sending out a drone to do
       the scouting."

Corsair shrugs his shoulders.

Corsair:"This is the future, Blake. They let the genie out of the
         bottle in Afghanistan, and they're no getting him back in.
         Better get used to that."

Blake:"Its not that. Its just that I question why must your drone
       look like a dog's head, which is symbolic of the Road Rovers?
       Not exactly inconspicious."

Shephard:"I sometimes wonder about that myself, sir. The Vanguard
          will quickly figure out its us if they spot it."

Corsair:"Better ask the Master about that. I'm no designer here."

Striker keeps his attention on the screen. Corsair brings the
drone into position and zooms in on the stronghold. Striker
studies what the drone sees carefully.

Striker:"Hmmmm, interessant."

Phoenix:"What is so interesting, Strikie?"

Striker:"I see that the defenses aren't as strong between some
         of the base buildings and the mountain' sides."

Tanarus:"No wonder. Those slopes are very steep and don't offer
         a lot of cover. Anybody climbing down them would be
         spotted very quickly and taken down by sniper fire."

Striker:"If we climb, ja. But we might not have to climb down."

Illanov:"You got a plan, comrade?"

Striker:"Possibly. I just need to see more of the base to make
         sure. David, see how many of the defences you can spot
         for us."

Corsair:"Yes, boss."

As Corsair gets to work, Striker uses a pen and notepad to mark
each of the stationary guns and patrols that the drone spots.
As he writes, he looks at Illanov.

Striker:"Alex, what do you think those weapons are that the
         Vanguard were testing out there?"

Illanov:"I'm not certain, comrade. It seems to resemble some
         crowd-control prototypes I've seen in the United
         States, but it is meant to destroy."

Striker:"Can you contact some of your friends in the arms
         industry?"

Illanov:"Certainly. I'm sure one of my comrades will have info
         for me on this type of weapon, even if it is just
         theoretical."

Striker:"The Vanguard are clearly more interested in the
         practical."

Illanov nods while Striker continues writing the details that
Corsair is providing.

Business District
Las Cruces
United States of America
09:11 AM:

Vanderberg is sitting on the ground against a wall by the 
telephone. He is watching the traffic in the street and the
pedestrians walking by.

Vanderberg:"Come on. Where are you guys?"

After a few more minutes of waiting, a navy-blue sedan pulls up
to the curb and stops. The doors open and out climb three men
dressed in dark blue suits and wearing earpieces. As they walk
to the telephone, Vanderberg gets and walks to them.

Vanderberg:"About time you got here."

The suits immediately turn to Vanderberg.

Suit 1:"Are you the one who made the collect calls from this
        telephone, sir?"

Vanderberg:"Yeah! I'm Reggie Vanderberg. Don't you recognise
            me?"

Suit 2:"You look like him, but we need to make sure about that."

Vanderberg:"What do you want from me? Fingerprints?"

The third suit takes out a small device that looks like a
remote with a screen and a cup on the tip. He also holds a needle
in the other hand.

Suit 3:"I need a blood sample, sir."

Vanderberg frowns, but holds out his hand. The second suit holds
his wrist while the third pricks a finger. Vanderberg winces as
a small bit of blood is drawn on the needle. The needle is then
placed in the recepticle with the blood. The third suit runs a
few tests.

Suit 3:"We should have a result in a minute, sir."

Vanderberg:"You better. That hurt."

Suit 2:"Don't complain. I've had way worse."

Vanderberg shrugs. A minute later, the decide beeps.

Suit 3:"The result is in and..."

The suit is surprised when he looks at the small screen.

Suit 3:"You are Reggie Vanderberg!"

The three suits suddenly stand to attention and salute.

Suit 1:"Sir! Apologies for the test, but we needed to be sure."

Vanderberg:"Okay, okay. Just take me back to HQ."

Suit 1:"Yes, sir! Please get in."

They escort Vanderberg to the car while the first suit radios
in a report.

Suit 1(into radio):"San Diego station, this is Las Cruces. The 
      we got the caller and we have positively identified him as
      the real Reggie Vanderberg... Yes, his DNA is a 100% match.
      You better alert Central."

Vanderberg and the suits get into the car and close the doors. The
sedan then turns around and drives away really fast.

Laboratory
Vanguard Headquarters
Unknown Location:

Hawkins is lying alone inside his chamber, sleeping. But his eyes
immediately jump open when his communicator beeps. He takes the
headset, puts it on and answers.

Hawkins(into com):"Hawkins here... What about Vanderberg?... What?"

His eyes narrow as he listens to the voice on the other side.

Hawkins(into com):"Right... have him brought here as quickly as
       possible. Thank you."

Hawkins quickly ends the call and makes another one.

Hawkins(into com):"This is Hawkins. Find Hardboot and Slade and
       have them both see me... Yes, right away."

He hangs up and takes the headset. He waits for a while until,
finally, the door to the laboratory opens. Hardboot and Slade
come in and walk up to the chamber. They both salute Hawkins,
who salutes back.

Hardboot:"You wanted to see us, sir?"

Hawkins:"I got a special task for both of you, and only you
         two. I don't want anyone else to know until you have
         completed your mission."

Slade:"Something big?"

Hawkins:"Yes. I just got word that our station in San Diego
         had picked up Vanderberg in New Mexico and are bringing
         him back here."

Hardboot:"Vanderberg in the States? But I just saw him an hour
          ago."

Hawkins:"That is why you are here. This Vanderberg is not the
         real one. Its Spectre, the KH Military's shapeshifting
         spy."

Both Slade and Hardboot are surprised.

Slade:"What! But how...?"

Hawkins:"It doesn't matter now. What I need from you two is to
         find Spectre and capture him before he is alerted to
         Vanderberg's recovery. I do not want him to escape."

Hardboot:"I'll be sure to get him."

Slade:"I'll definitely be sure."

Hawkins:"Good. Make sure to put a collar on him or he will just
         shapeshift into a fly or mouse and escape. I want to
         know what he has learned from us. Understood?"

Slade, Hardboot:"Yes, sir!"

Hawkins:"Dismissed, and hurry. I need to call Suchong."

Slade and Hardboot leave the laboratory while Hawkins takes the
headset to make the call to Suchong. He waits until there is an
answer.

Hawkins(into com):"Yes, this is Hawkins. Get me Suchong right
       away... Excuse me?... He's not available? Then where is
       he?... I see. Right, get this message to him as soon as
       he's done. I want him to call me right away. It is of
       high priority. Understood?... Good. Thank you."

Hawkins hangs up the communicator and grumbles to himself.

Stealth Rover
Rubble Yard
Kathmandu Outskirts
Nepal
12:03 AM:

This is a collection of large heaps of rubble from buildings that
were damaged or destroyed by an earthquake few year ago. The
Stealth Rover is parked between several of the heaps, mainly out
of sight. A figure approaches the Stealth Rover and climbs up
the steps to the main hatch. He knocks and waits for a response.

Blake(through hatch):"Password?"

Figure(whispering):"The howl of the wolf carries on the wind."

Blake(through hatch):"Its him, Sergeant."

The hatch opens up and the figure steps in. Blake and Shephard,
who is opening the hatch, is on the other side. Blake grins.

Blake:"Glad you could make it, Monty."

The big wolf grins back, removing his hood to reveal his grey
and white fur and red eyes.

Montecore:"Good to see you too. Enjoying your holiday out here
           in the Himalayans?"

Blake:"I prefer the Rockies myself. And how was your trip?"

Montecore:"Found only one flight that was willing to carry me
           and my luggage. Very bumpy. My tail still hurts from
           all the turbulance."

He rubs his rear for emphasis. Shephard looks critically at the
new wolf.

Shephard:"Are you armed, sir?"

Montecore:"You bet your tail, human. That's why I had to take
           the super economy flight."

Shephard:"Just checking, sir. Blake has vouched for you. And you
          will need to be armed for the mission tonight."

Montecore(surprised):"Tonight? We going already?"

Blake:"Yeah. Sorry for the short notice, but we have reason to
       think the Vanguard are on to us. Striker wants to get to
       the base and get father out before they can really shore
       up their defences."

Montecore:"Fair enough, but you better get me up to speed fast."

Blake:"I'll fill in the details along the way. Come on."

Blake and Shephard lead Montecore to the cockpit, where the rest
of Unit STRIKE are waiting. They all turn to look at the new
arrival.

Striker:"Is that Montecore?"

Blake:"It is, Striker. Say hi, Monty."

Montecore greets them, and they all welcome him in return.

Striker:"Reg, let's go. We need to get to our mission checkpoint
         onmiddelik. David, we set?"

Corsair gives the thumbs up.

Corsair:"All ready, boss."

Striker:"Take your seats. We're taking off."

Everyone sits down and buckles up. Striker starts up the Stealth
Rover's engines. Within minutes, the craft lifts off from the
ground in a great cloud of dust. It then switches from VTOL to
flight mode and heads off into the sky in the direction of the
Himalayans and the Vanguard base.

Vehicle Bays
Vanguard Stronghold
Himalayans
At That Moment:

The vehicle bays are large garages with space for vehicles to
undergo fitting, repairs and maintenance. There are dozens of
shelves, tool cabinets and tire racks between the lifts and pits
of each bay. While most of the maintenance crews have gone to
sleep, a few workers are on the night shift. They are working
on some of the new VX-15 prototypes that are parked here. With
them is Suchong and a small team of scientists overseeing the
maintenance of the weapons. Rebound is walking with Suchong and
lies down whenever he stops. She does so when he is looking at 
a pair of workers adjusting the dish on one of the machines.

Suchong:"Be careful! I don't want that alignment out by even a
         millimetre, you got it?"

Worker:"Yes, yes, we're being careful."

Suchong just grunts dismissively and walks on to check on the
next prototype, Rebound getting up and trotting after him. As 
he does, a guard enters the bay and walks up to him. The guard 
salutes to get Suchong's attention.

Suchong:"Yes? What is it?"

Guard:"I got a message for you, sir. Its from Hawkins himself."

Rebound's ears perk up.

Suchong:"Really now?"

The guard holds out a folded piece of paper. Suchong takes it,
unfolds the papers and reads. He frowns, then his eyebrows
raise in surprise. He finally looks back at the guard.

Suchong:"Right. Give the message to Hawkins that I will notify
         our forces here and I will call him in the morning.
         And be sure to alert the garrison commander as soon as
         he wakes up."

Guard:"Yes, sir."

The guard salutes again and leaves the vehicle bay. Suchong rubs
his chin.

Suchong:"Hmmmm. That reminds me: I need to check up and see how
         progress is on that new security camera that can pick
         up shapeshifters. The spy would make a great guinea 
         pig to test it."

He takes out a tablet, taps in a note and then resumes his
inspection of the prototype weapons. Rebound looks at Suchong
and, when he isn't looking, gets up and runs after the guard
that had brought the message.

Mountain Peak
Near Vanguard Stronghold
Himalayans:

The high, wind-swept peaks of the mountains dwarf the base far
below. Snow covers all sides with the occassional black rock
cropping out. The Stealth Rover's lights pierce the darkness
as it comes to hover above a slope that winds down towards the
bottom. The cargo hatch under its belly opens up to provide a
light shining down on the snow. Inside the cargo bay, Unit
STRIKE is getting ready for the mission. Striker, Phoenix,
Illanov, Tanarus and Shephard are in their Special Ops suits, 
Merit is in his battle shell and Blake and Montecore are 
wearing Road Rover winter parkas. The team is not only armed 
with his or her weapon of choice, but also with skis fitted to 
their feet (or in Merit's chase, a sled to his shell's treads). 
Striker checks the others.

Striker:"Everyone gereed?"

They all give their agreements in the form of a yes or a
thumbs up. Striker then looks at Blake and Montecore.

Striker:"Are you two gereed?"

Blake:"If you mean ready, then yes we are, aren't we Monty?"

Montecore:"I'm definitely ready for this."

Striker:"Goed."

Striker then contacts Corsair on his watchcom.

Striker(into com):"David, all set?"

Corsair(over com):"I got our bird in position, boss. Just hop
       on out and watch the landing."

Striker(into com):"Anything from the Vanguard stronghold?"

Corsair(over com):"I'm picking up an increase in radio chatter,
       but no alarms have been raised yet. It looks like we will
       take them by surprise."

Striker(into com):"We will see. Keep hovering as close to the
       base as you can and prepare to immediately move in for
       the extractions."

Corsair(over com):"Just say the word and I'll have our bird right
       over, boss."

Striker turns off his watchcom and waddles to the edge of the
open hatch. Down below the wind is blowing snow over the slope.

Striker:"Off we go!"

Striker jumps off and falls a short distance before landing on
the slope's side. He immediately begins to ski downhill. The
others all follow in rapid succession until Merit is the last
one off. The Stealth Rover flies away while the team begins to
ski down the treacherous slopes at high speed.

Striker:"Careful for the rocks!"

Illanov:"Reminds me of the winter drills during my training
         days. Only with much more rock."

Striker:"Don't get too comfortable, Alex. They can still knock
         you down."

Illanov:"Dah!"

They ski down rapidly in a single line. Striker is using his
suit's night vision to dodge the rocks and keep on the snowy
slope. Up ahead the Vanguard base looms greater as they get
closer. They are heading towards the roof of one of labs that
is closest to the slopes. Striker guides them all closer to
the slope, keeping an eye open for any guards. But right now
the guards' eyes are looking away from the mountain. Soon the
team comes to a small rock that forms a ramp. Striker aims for
it.

Striker:"Mind the jump!"

Striker hits the rock and becomes airborne. It is enough to
clear him over to the roof of the lab. He lands on top of the
concrete roof and quickly moves out of the way. One by one his
team make it onto the roof, though Merit's landing is a parti-
cularly loud one. The Strikers all quickly scan the base, but
so far nobody has seen them.

Striker:"Stay down and follow me."

They all nod and crouch, following Striker along the roof to
a hut where the maintenance door is. Striker points at it.

Striker:"Merit, unlock the door."

Merit:"Executing, though I do recommend we close this entry
       to avoid letting in the snow."

Shephard rolls his eyes. Merit rolls up to the door and opens
his toolkit. The drone uses one of its tools to begin picking
the lock. Soon there is a beep as the electronic lock on the
other side is unlocked.

Merit:"Task completed."

Striker:"Proceed with caution."

Striker and Phoenix go in first, carefully walking down the
concrete stairway with its green metal railings. The others
follow suit until Merit is last him. The drone closes the
door behind them but doesn't lock it.

Research Laboratories
Vanguard Stronghold:

The maintenance door opens and Striker and Phoenix look carefully
out of it. They find themselves in a blue-walled corridor with
rubber floors and flourescent lights above. It looks very clean
and very quiet. Striker and Phoenix carefully come out and check
the corridors, then signal the others to follow. The team exits
the maintenance stairs.

Blake:"Which way?"

Striker:"Alex, go invisible and scout for us."

Illanov:"Dah comrade."

Illanov turns invisible and begins scouting while the others wait
for him. After a short while Illanov reappears next to Striker.

Illanov:"Its mostly empty with a few scientists working late and
         some guards at the security station. But there are a lot
         of security cameras about."

Striker:"Reg. Our first objective should be to secure that station
         and capture the scientists. We'll interrogate them to 
         find out where Stalker is. Where is this station, Alex?"

Illanov:"Follow me, comrades."

The team follows Illanov's lead, making sure to keep the noise
down and their eyes open for any surprises. They soon come to a
corner. Illanov motions for Striker and the two of them peek
around the corner. A further distance down on the opposite side
of another corridor is a large pair of windows. Striker can see
the security station beyond with the security camera monitors
and weapons rack on the wall. He can also two Security Operatives
inside. Security Operatives have the same colours as regular
operatives, but they wear kevlar vests with security badges,
helmets with built-in radios and dark grey shirts and pants with
black boots. On their belts is a holster for their sidearms. The
two operatives are chatting with mugs of warm beverages, casting
occassional glances at the monitors. Striker nods.

Striker:"Was it just those two, Alex?"

Illanov:"Dah. I sighted no other patrols."

Striker:"Goed. We need to take that station, Alex. I think I got
         a plan."

Striker gathers the others and explains his plan to them. A few
minutes later Illanov goes invisible again and heads for the
security station. He waits by the door and taps on it twice.
Immediately one of the security operatives goes and opens it.
He looks outside.

Security 1:"Hello?"

Security 2:"Who was it?"

Security 1:"I don't know. I don't see anything."

Just then there is a couple of loud taps on the floor around the
corner of the corridor. This gets the first operative's attention
and he reaches for his holster.

Security 2:"Something wrong?"

Security 1:"I heard something. I'm checking it out. Watch my 
            back."

The operative takes out his firearm, a Vanguard ST-14, and turns
off the safety. He moves towards the corridor with the pistol
in both hands. Just as he comes to the corner, Montecore pops
out and lands a fist right in the operative's face. The guard
falls backwards onto the floor. Inside the station the other
operative jumps to his feet, spilling his mug. But before he can
get his pistol or hit the alarm he sees Illanov's fist appearing 
out of thin air. He is knocked out as well.

Illanov:"Sleep tight, comrade."

The other Rovers come out of the corridor. Striker and Blake
grab the unconscious operative and drag him into the security
station. The rest of the team go inside with Shephard standing
guard by the door. They tie up and gag the two security 
operatives. Phoenix goes to check on the security feeds. She
looks through all the screens that show various shots of the
laboratory they are in.

Striker:"See anyone, Firefly?"

Phoenix:"If you mean guards, I see a pair of them patrolling
         the corridors, but they're going slowly and it looks
         like they're still far away."

Striker:"Anyone else?"

Phoenix:"I see two scientists, one here and another here."

Striker checks the screens that she's pointing. He can see the
two scientists at the work in different laboratories. He nods.

Striker:"Let's see if we can apprehend one of them and find out
         where in the base Stalker is being held. Shephard and
         Alex, stay here and keep watch if the patrol comes
         here. The rest of you, follow me."

While Shephard and Illanov stay behind in the security station,
Striker leads his team through the labs. Guided by Illanov, who
is watching the cameras, they make their way to one of the
laboratories where the one scientist is working. The laboratory
has several smaller rooms with glass walls and a lot of equipment
inside each one. A scientist is working in one of the smaller
rooms, tinkering with a device on a table.

Striker:"Reg. Blake and Montecore with me, the rest of you keep
         watch."

Striker, Blake and Montecore move forward to the small room and
make sure to keep the scientist's back to them. When they come
to it, Blake begins to sneak around it, making sure to keep out
of sight. But the scientist is too distracted with his work to
really keep an eye out. Blake moves into position right in front
of the scientist, stands up and taps on the glass. The scientist
looks up and sees Blake before looking back at the device. But
he then immediately does a double take and his eyes widen in
surprise at the sight of Blake.

Scientist:"Who...?"

Montecore takes this opportunity to rush into the room and grab
the scientist from behind in a chokehold. The scientist gasps
and tries to cry for help, but Montecore keeps him quiet.

Montecore:"One false word and I snap your neck."

Striker then comes in and approaches the scientist with a stern
look.

Striker:"Answer my questions and you may get off lightly."

Scientist:"Security will..."

There is suddenly a scuffle. Striker, Montecore, Blake and the
scientist look to the source of the noise. Phoenix and Tanarus
have grabbed the two patrolling security operatives and are busy
tying and gagging them up. Striker looks back the scientist.

Striker:"Security clearly cannot help you. So will you be
         cooperative or not?"

The scientist simply nods.

Striker:"Reg. Where is Stalker being kept?"

Scientist:"That is top secret."

Striker growls. Blake comes up and holds a crossbow bolt to the
scientist neck.

Blake:"Give the dog his answer."

Scientist:"He... Stalker is being held in a warded off part of
           the medical research labs."

Striker:"And where is this?"

Scientist:"It is the third building to the south, but you won't
           get close. They have increased security there."

Striker:"Reg. Montecore, tie him up and gag him."

Montecore nods and ties up the scientist. Phoenix and Tanarus
then bring the two operatives. They are all put into a closet
and then locked in. Striker then calls Illanov.

Striker(into com):"Everything reg, Alex?"

Illanov(over com):"All fine, comrade. That other scientist is
       still busy with his work and didn't hear the commotion
       you caused."

Striker(into com):"Goed. Can you see the laboratory entrance?"

Illanov(over com):"Dah. I don't see any guards, at least not
       inside."

Striker(into com):"Guide us to the entrance and then you and
       Shephard link up with us there."

Illanov(over com):"Dah comrade."

Striker signals to the others and they move out. They make
their way through the laboratory until they get to the lobby.
The lobby consists of a front desk and a pair of revolving
glass doors leading out. The entire team gathers at the lobby.
Shephard and Montecore flank the door while the others gather
behind the desk.

Striker:"See anyone outside?"

Shephard:"Nothing yet, sir."

Striker:"Merit, scan the next building and report."

Merit:"Executing command."

Merit scans the building located next door to the current
laboratories. It is a double-story structure with ceiling windows 
on its slanted roof. Merit checks it and finishes the scan.

Merit:"Task completed. The adjacent structure seems to be a
       storage warehouse for liquid nytrogen tanks, oxygen 
       cylinders and hospital supplies."

Striker:"Hospital supplies? Then the medical labs must be very
         close by. Any patrols, Merit?"

Merit:"There are four possible hostiles gathered at the south-
       east corner of the building. They appear to be engaged in
       some form of gambling."

Striker:"Distracted, goed. And any patrols outside?"

Merit:"I detect roving patrols of Vanguard operatives and LICU
       units around the general area. A single HECU has a patrol
       route around the adjacent structure."

Striker:"Where is the HECU nou?"

Merit:"It is about to pass this front entrance."

Everyone looks sharply at Merit before immediately ducking out
of sight. Just seconds later the HECU walks into view and stops
by the lobby door. It looks around.

HECU:"Scanning area..."

The big robot checks the lobby through the glass. Once its
sensors are satisfied that there is nothing there, the HECU
resumes its patrol and wanders off. Everyone comes out of cover,
with a few nasty looks being directed at Merit.

Phoenix:"You know, Merit. It might be a good idea to alert us
         ahead of time of such things."

Merit:"But I did alert you 4.53 seconds beforehand."

Phoenix just facepalms.

Striker:"We'll talk to him about that. Let's quickly get into
         that building before the HECU comes back around. Is
         that revolving door locked?"

Montecore tries to push on the door, but it remains in place.

Montecore:"Can't budge it."

Striker looks at the front desk and notices a pad under the
table. He examines it and sees the labelled buttons. He presses
one. There is an audible click from the revolving door. Monte-
core presses the door. This time it turns smoothly.

Montecore:"That did the trick."

Striker:"Almal out, gou."

They get of the labs through the revolving door, keeping their
eyes open for any surprise patrols. They then run over to the
next building and go for a side door. Merit again begins to
pick the lock. It takes less than a minute before the door is
opened. They all quickly go inside and shut the door just before
the HECU comes around the corner again. Inside they find they are
in a big warehouse filled with huge tanks, fenced stacks of gas
cylinders and boxes marked with the red cross stacked on neat
shelves that stand in rows. It is mostly dark, but is a faint
bit of light and the sound of talking from the opposite side of
the building.

Striker:"How many operatives did you say, Merit?"

Merit:"Exactly four as of recent count."

Striker:"Goed. They're distracted, so let's sneak up and get
         them before they react."

Staying to the shadows and the cover of the various tanks,
boxes and cylinders, the Rovers move to the light. As they get
closer, the voices become clearer. The security operatives are
seated around a table playing poker and drink some of the local
beer.

Operative 1:"Straight flush!"

Operative 2:"D****t! You're not hiding a card up your sleeve,
             are you?"

Operative 1:"Not a chance. Not after what Suchong did to that
             one fool who cheated on him with this game."

They all shudder.

Operative 3:"He's not all right in the head, that Suchong. I
             sometimes think he's a relative of Doctor Franken-
             stein."

Operative 4:"I think he is Frankentein. I once saw how one of
             his experiments to make these cano-sapien things
             went very wrong, and he just continued with it
             like it was nothing. I was glad that day I was
             not the janitor."

Operative 2:"Ugh... be back in a flash. I think Suchong and my
             beer don't mix..."

The second security operative quickly gets up and rushes out
a nearby door.

Operative 1:"While we wait for his stomach to settle, shall we
             deal the next round?"

Operative 3:"Right, but I'm dealing this time."

The three operatives continue the game, unaware of the Strikers
now coming up towards them. They hide behind the nearest tanks.

Phoenix:"I only see three of them."

Merit:"The fourth contact is currently outside the structure. He
       is expelling the contents of his stomach in a rather
       violent manner and leaving an unpleasant mess. Shall I
       go clean it?"

Striker:"Not now, Merit. Goed, this makes it easier. Here's the
         plan of action."

They quickly discuss the plan. The operatives are still busy with
the card game when the Rovers suddenly rush out of the shadows at
them. The operatives are caught mostly off-guard. Two of them are
immediately tackled to the floor and held down. The third manages
to jump up and pull out a small yellow device that he aims at the
charging Montecore. The operative fires a dart that hits the big
wolf in the arm and emits a powerful surge of electricity.

Montecore:"OUCH!! D*** that hurts!"

Montecore collapses to the floor in spasm while the operative
tries to pull out his sidearm. But this time Blake is able to fire
a crossbow bolt at the operative, hitting him between the eyes. He
drops to the floor. As this happens, Shephard quickly stands by the
door and peeks through it. The fourth guard is still wiping his
mouth next to a steaming puddle of vomit. Shephard takes position
next to the door and waits. Shortly thereafter the door opens and
Shephard raises his M-246 to hit the operative with the buttstock.
Suddenly the operative, as he is about to come through the door,
gets distracted by another guard's call nearby. The operative
stops to reply just as Shephard swings his buttstock. He misses
and hits the door. The operative immediately looks back and sees
Shephard, his eyes widening.

Shephard:"S***!"

Shephard tries to get his firearm ready to shoot, but the operative
has already escaped and is running to the adjacent building while
shouting.

Operative:"Intruders! Raise the alarm!"

Striker rushes up to Shephard.

Striker:"What happened?"

Shephard:"Sorry sir. I tried to ambush him but he got distracted
          just as I was about to hit him."

Striker:"Forget it, Shephard. This happens. Merit, is the next
         building the medical labs?"

Merit does a scan before answering.

Merit:"That is correct."

Suddenly there is the sound of a blaring alarm that gets
everyone's attention.

Blake:"Guess subterfuge is out the window?"

Striker:"Reg. Everyone, follow me with weapons ready! Kom!"

Striker opens the door and he leads the rush out of the warehouse
to the medical labs. It is a sleek, two story building with white
walls and deep blue windows. The team makes a break for the main
entrance, a pair of glass sliding doors with a big medicine logo
above them. Behind it they can see the operative that escaped
along with another security operative behind a reception desk,
who is busy with a phone.

Striker:"Merit! Blast the doors!"

Merit:"As you wish, but that will damage the glass."

Striker:"Merit!!"

Merit:"Firing."

Merit begins firing his battle shell's guns, aiming precisely
for the hinges rather than the glass. The bullets that hit the
glass are stopped by the thick, bullet-proof material, but the
hinges are not as durable. They shatter and the sliding doors
collapse to the ground. The two security operatives quickly
duck behind the desk and begins to fire at the Rovers with
their ST-14s. Phoenix begins to form a pair of fireballs to
toss at them. Montecore uses his power to turn those fireballs
into solid balls of flame when Phoenix is about to launch them.
The fireballs fly into the desk, causing it to shatter into
flaming debris. The one operative is set on fire and jumps to
his feet to put out the flames and is immediately hit by a
sonic blast from Striker's rifle. The other operative rolls
out of the way to fire his pistol while lying prone. Tanarus
jumps to the floor and kicks the guard with his feet, knocking
him against the wall out cold. The team reassemble.

Striker:"Merit and Shephard, defend this position! Keep back
         the Vanguard as long as possible!"

Shephard:"Yes, sir!"

Merit:"Affirmative!"

Striker:"The rest follow me!"

While Merit and Shephard take up defensible positions in the
lobby, the others rush on to the next room. It is an open
plaza with a big fountain in the middle and a domed glass
roof above. Escalators and glass elevators lead up to the
floors. Nearby are some electronic notice boards. Illanov
goes to one of them and looks at it.

Illanov:"There's a map here... this room here might be where
         Stalker is being held, comrades."

Striker comes to look at the map.

Striker:"Hmmm. Second floor, northwest corner. Goed, let's
         go and..."

Blake:"First floor, heads up!"

On the first floor a trio of security operatives take cover
behind some benches set against the glass railings. They begin
to fire down on the Strikers, who immediately take cover behind 
the fountain, notice boards and escalators. But as they try to
return fire, Phoenix spots more trouble: above them a pair of
Seeker Drones come in flying from the second floor with their
autoguns ready.

Phoenix:"Enemy birds right above us!"

The Seekers fly lower to get a good aim at the intruders. Blake
fires a bolt at one of the drones. It hits one of the rotors,
causing the drone to lose balance and fire wildly off into one
direction. The other Seeker manages to get a lock on Blake and
return fire. Blake is forced to sprint out of cover and dive for
a nearby bench, the tiles under him exploding in shards. He
manages to get behind cover from the bullets, but the Seeker is
already moving to a new firing position. At the same time, the
other Seeker has compensated for the damaged rotor and is also
getting into the right angle to attack. But Illanov pulls out
his EMP Jammer and switches it on. Immediately the Seekers'
rotors cut out and they drop to the floor, landing hard. But
Montecore takes no chances and rushes over to quickly smash the
drones to pieces with his boots.

Montecore:"Not so fancy under my boot, are you?"

Illanov and Striker take this opportunity to get their most
powerful shots ready. When the security operatives take the
opportunity to reload, Striker and Illanov come out of cover
and fire at the floor under them. The combined sonic and plasma
blasts rip the platform apart and it collapses down, taking the
three guards down with it. With the threats neutralized, the
team quickly make their way up the escalators to the second
floor.

Striker:"This way! Gou!"

They follow the corridor through the medical labs, following the
directions from the signs on the walls. When they turn a corner
they find Suchong talking to some security operatives by a pair
of high-security sliding doors. Standing with him is Rebound.

Suchong:"I don't want them anywhere near Stalker! Make sure to..."

Security:"Sir! Behind us!"

Suchong whips around and looks directly at Striker. Striker and
Phoenix immediately recognize him.

Striker, Phoenix:"You!"

Suchong:"The Road Rovers!"

Phoenix:"We got a score to settle with you! We owe Firefly's
         mother that much!"

Phoenix impulsively throws a fireball at Suchong. One of the
security operatives pulls him out of the way and the fireball
flies just past him.

Suchong:"Shut the doors!"

Another operative quickly hits a nearby button and the sliding
doors shut with alarming speed.

Suchong:"Its the Road Rovers! Get us reinforcements!"

Suchong and his guards quickly run further into the facility
while the Rovers rush to the door. They try to force their way
in, but the doors are too strong. Striker gets his sonic rifle
ready.

Striker:"I'll try blasting them open with a full charge."

On the other side, however, Blake notices that Rebound has not
run after Suchong and his men. The wolf female goes to the door.

Rebound:"Hey! You Road Rovers! I want to talk to you!"

Blake:"Guys, this sapien wants a word with us."

The others now notice her as well.

Phoenix:"I didn't think Suchong would be someone to keep a pet."

Rebound:"I'm not a pet... not a willing one anyway."

Blake:"Then tell me who you are."

Blake and Rebound talk back and forth at each other. While they 
do, Striker gets on his Watchcom and contacts Shephard.

Striker(into com):"Andrew, how are you and Merit?"

Shephard(over com):"We're holding them off, sir! But they are
        coming in harder each time! And they're trying to bring
        in the big guns now! I heard them shout for more of
        those robots of theirs!"

Striker(into com):"Hold out as long as possible. We will try and
       be quick."

Shephard(over com):"Better hurry sir! Not sure what bothers me
        more: all the firepower coming our way or Merit's 
        constant complaints about the mess here!"

Striker(into com):"Just hold on, julle twee!"

Striker then turns his attention to Blake and Rebound. Blake has
just finished talking to her. He doesn't look happy.

Montecore:"What's wrong, Blake?"

Blake:"They're not here, Monty."

Illanov:"Who, comrade? Stalker?"

Blake:"No! Tank and Allison are not here."

Montecore:"They're not? D***!"

Illanov:"Pardon my ignorance, comrade, but who are they? Friends 
         of yours?"

Tanarus:"Tank and Allison? You believed they were being held
         here?"

Blake:"Yes, and its the main reason I'm actually here. I wanted
       to rescue them since the Vanguard kidnapped them and have
       been keeping them prisoner alongside my father. I thought
       they had moved them with him to this base."

Striker:"And this wolf told you so?"

Blake:"Her name is Rebound. She was a star in several eastern
       European movies before being abducted to serve as a pet
       for Slade, Hawkins' henchdog."

Striker:"Does she know where Stalker is being held?"

Blake:"She offered to lead us to him if he helped her get out of
       this place."

Striker:"Tell her she has a deal."

Blake nods and turns to Rebound. 

Blake:"We've got an alliance, Rebound. Freedom for your help."

Rebound wags her tail in satisfaction.

Rebound:"Okay. One moment."

Rebound walks over to the door switch. She grabs the switch in her 
paws and pulls it down. The sliding security doors open and the
team go in.

Striker:"Mevrou Rebound, we thank you for your assistance."

Rebound:"Save the thanks until we actually get out of here. Follow
         me, I'll take you to Stalker."

Striker:"How many operatives are at his prison cell?"

Rebound:"Seven or so. Plus I saw them setting up some devices on
         tripods."

Illanov:"Sounds like turrets, comrade."

Striker:"Agreed. Lead on, but be careful and get behind us if we
         run into trouble, Mevrou Rebound."

Rebound:"Follow me."

Rebound leads them into the medical wing and along the corridors
of the facility. When they come closer to the cells, Rebound puts
up a paw to stop them.

Rebound:"I hear Suchong shouting."

Striker:"Alex, scout ahead."

Illanov:"Dah."

Illanov goes invisible and turns the corner. He can see that the
security operatives have set up turrets along the corridor that
leads to the cells, shielded by overturned trolleys and tables.
Behind that the operatives have set up their own defense works
behind more overturned tables. Suchong is behind them, standing
by Stalker's cell door. Illanov ducks back and reappears.

Illanov:"Formidable defenses they've put up, comrades. Turrets
         down along the corridor and defense works where I assume
         are the cells comrade Rebound mentioned. Suchong is there
         with his guards."

Striker:"Any other angle of approach besides ours?"

Illanov:"Nyet."

Striker:"Blikskottel. That corridor is a deathtrap while those
         turrets are there with covering fire."

Tanarus:"Maybe a shield of some sort?"

Striker:"That would help, but I doubt there is anything here that
         can stop bullets. We need another approach and quickly."

Phoenix:"If we had Alex's invisibility, we could all sneak past
         those turrets."

Montecore:"Hey, that's an idea I could help with."

They all look at Montecore.

Phoenix:"You can? How?"

Montecore:"As I said I can enhance other's powers by being near
           them. This includes their area of effect. So, Illanov's
           invisibility can affect all of you as well as him."

Striker:"Can you really do that, Montecore?"

Blake:"I can vouch for him, Striker. He's not kidding."

Striker:"Goed! If you can turn us all invisible, then we can get
         past the turrets and neutralize Suchong's guards. Are you
         ready?"

Montecore:"Just say the word, Striker."

Striker:"Alex?"

Illanov:"Ready to go, comrade."

Striker:"Let's do it."

Illanov uses his invisibility power and, thanks to Montecore, it
causes everyone in the group to go invisible as well. They move
up into the corridor, but the turrets do not trigger. As they get
to the cells the security operatives are still behind their shields
while Suchong is busy working at a trolley by Stalker's cell door.
The Rovers move between the operatives and Suchong.

Striker:"Nou, Alex!"

Illanov drops the invisibility power and immediately reveals the
entire teams. The security operatives are completely caught off
guard by the sudden appearance of the Rovers. The team quickly fall
upon them, Blake and Striker shooting a pair of them while Phoenix
and Montecore attack the others. It takes less than a minute for
the operatives to be neutralized.

Striker:"Nou it is your turn, Suchong."

But when Striker turns to Suchong, he finds only the open door to
Stalker's cell. Striker quickly rushes to the door and looks inside.
Suchong is standing by Stalker. He has completely untied him and
has just finished injecting something into Stalker's arm.

Suchong:"There!"

He looks at Striker while stepping behind Stalker.

Suchong:"If you want Stalker, be my guest."

Striker:"What did you do to him, Suchong?"

Suchong:"You're about to get a demonstration."

Striker begins to approach. Suddenly Stalker jumps to his feet
with a snarl and fires arcs of electricity at the spaniel from
his paws. Striker is immediately flung backward out of the cell
and crashes to the floor just outside of it. The others are
caught by surprise.

Phoenix:"Strikie!"

Phoenix rushes over to help her mate up.

Striker:"W-watch out! Suchong injected something into Stalker..."

As if on cue, Stalker appears at the doorway with paws raised
for another blast. Striker and Phoenix jump out of the way as
the lighting bolts blast the floor where they were.

Stalker:"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

Tanarus:"He's gone rabid!"

Stalker immediately looks at Tanarus, fangs bared.

Stalker:"TRAITOR!"

Stalker fires another pair of bolts at Tanarus. Tanarus tries to
jump out of the way, but the bolts are faster and hit him in the
legs. He is knocked over with a yelp and lands hard on the floor.
Stalker rushes over, grabs his neck with both paws and begins to
squeeze hard. Tanarus begins to gag and chuckle, struggling to
get Stalker off him.

Stalker:"DIE TRAITOR!"

Blake jumps onto Stalker and puts him in an arm-lock around his
neck. Stalker releases Tanarus to focus on Blake.

Blake:"Father! Father, stop this!"

Stalker:"GET OFF ME!"

While Stalker tries to throw off Blake, Illanov helps Tanarus to
his feet. Tanarus is coughing and gasping, rubbing his neck.

Illanov:"You all right, comrade?"

Tanarus:"Been... better... cough!"

Stalker keeps failing to try and throw Blake off, but his son
keeps hanging on.

Blake:"Stop it!"

Stalker:"NOOO!"

Striker is charging up his sonic rifle.

Striker:"Keep him distracted!"

Blake:"Working on thaaaaah!"

Stalker manages to grab Blake's shoulders and throw him hard to
the floor. Blake has the wind knocked out of him. Stalker kicks
him in the guts, causing Blake to gasp out a yelp. Striker takes
aim at Stalker and fires. The blast hits Stalker and pushes him
back against the wall. But Stalker is only temporarily stunned
and quickly recovers. Striker is still charging his sonic rifle
when Stalker begins firing electrical arcs at him. Striker is
knocked back again, making him drop his sonic rifle. Montecore
rushes Stalker and tackles him by the legs, knocking him over.

Montecore:"Get your rifle, Striker! Ow!"

Stalker begins to claw at Montecore, who fights to swipe away
his paws. Striker struggles to his feet. He grabs his sonic
rifle and charges it up again.

Striker:"Hold on, Montecore!"

Montecore struggles to keep Stalker at bay. Stalker knees him
in the guts, then punches him off. Montecore falls backwards
while Stalker gets up. Stalker prepares to electrocute Montecore.
Illanov quickly takes action and fires a plasma blast at Stalker.
Stalker sees this and ducks, the blast just missing him and
hitting the wall behind him. The wolf then pounces at Illanov,
but the German Shepherd turns invisible, leaving Stalker flying
through empty air and landing on the floor. Striker gets his
sonic rifle charged and aimed at Stalker. Stalker jumps to his
feet and is immediately struck by another sonic blast. He is
thrown again the wall, groaning in pain. Stalker gets up, but
he is clearly struggling this time. Striker is charging his
rifle again while keeping his eye on Stalker. Stalker stands
up uneasily on his feet.

Stalker:"I... will not be..."

Stalker raises his paws to fire an electrical arc. Phoenix
fires a fireball at his one arm, setting his prison uniform
sleeve on fire. This briefly distracts the big wolf, giving
Striker time to fully charge his sonic rifle. When Stalker
manages to put out the fire and turn back to Striker, the last
thing he sees is a sonic blast coming towards him. The blast
knocks him to the wall again, but this time he collapses to
the floor. Blake approaches him cautiously and checks on his
father.

Blake:"He's unconscious."

Striker:"Goed. Everyone all right?"

Montecore:"I'm okay. Geez, Blake. Your dad is strong for
           someone who is old enough to be my grandfather."

Tanarus:"It must have been that serum that Suchong gave him.
         Hey, where is he anyway?"

Phoenix quickly goes to the cell and checks, but the cell is
empty. There is no sign of the scientist.

Phoenix:"He's gone!"

Illanov:"He must have made his escape while we were distracted
         with Stalker."

Suddenly Striker's Watchcom beeps. He quickly answers.

Striker(into com):"Ja?"

Shephard(over com):"Sir! Merit and I are falling back into the
        building! The Vanguard is overrunning our position here!"

Striker(into com):"Make your way to the roof, gou!"

Shephard(over com):"Roger that, sir!"

Striker quickly turns to the others.

Striker:"Time to leave! Pick up Stalker and let's go!"

Blake:"Monty and I will carry him."

Striker:"Goed! Let's clear the turrets while they get him."

Striker, Phoenix, Tanarus and Illanov go into the corridor to
kick over the turrets. Blake and Montecore lift Stalker onto
their shoulders to carry him. Striker sees they are ready.

Striker:"Reg! Let's go!"

Phoenix then notices something.

Phoenix:"Hey! Where is Rebound?"

Everyone stops and looks around, but Rebound is nowhere in
sight.

Striker:"Rebound? Rebound!"

There is no answer to his calls.

Blake:"You think she fled when Stalker appeared?"

Shephard:"I got a bad feeling now, sir."

Striker:"Ek ook, Shephard. Let's hurry!"

They head into the corridor. Striker gets on his Watchcom again
and calls Corsair.

Striker(into com):"David, we are requesting extraction! Pick us
       up on the roof of the medical laboratory!"

Corsair(over com):"Gotcha, boss. I'm tracking your position, but
       you better hurry up when I get there. The Vanguard must
       be pissed because they've brought out those fancy tanks
       they were testing earlier."

Striker(into com):"Just come in and be ready to leave immediately
       when we all board!"

Corsair(over com):"Gotcha!"

Striker switches off his Watchcom and leads his team through the
building back to the central stairwell. As they approach the
stairs there is a loud boom from the ground floor. The team ready
themselves, but as they come to the railings they see Shephard
and Merit coming out of a cloud of smoke behind them.

Merit:"That is going to take considerable time to repair."

Shephard:"I'd rather it give us considerable time to get away."

Striker:"Shephard! Merit! Up here!"

The duo see Striker and quickly go up the stairs to join the
rest of the team.

Shephard:"You got Stalker, sir?"

Striker:"Just. You didn't happen to see Suchong?"

Shephard:"That crazy scientist that abducted you in Santa Fe? We
          didn't see him."

Merit:"That is negative. We witnessed no departures but many
       arrivals."

Tanarus:"He probably hiding in a closet somewhere, but I don't
         think we have time to look for him."

Striker:"Nee, we don't. We need to leave: we got Stalker."

Shephard looks cautiously at Stalker.

Shephard:"Is he secure, sir?"

Striker:"He is unconscious, but I'd prefer to sedate him with
         some drugs on the Stealth. But we need to get him in
         there before the Vanguard get us. Let's go up!"

They run for the stairs and start climbing up to the next
floor. Below them there is the sound of an explosion, followed
by a billowing cloud of dust and the shouts of operatives
rushing in. The Rovers hurry up to the top floor as Vanguard
forces pour into the lobby below, weapons ready. The operatives
and LICU drones scan the area when one of the robots spots
the Rovers above.

LICU:"Targets sighted."

All the LICUs lock on and open fire, their shots blasting holes
into the stairwell. Shephard and Striker return fire to cover
for the others to get to the top floor. They manage to gun down
a few drones before they are forced to head back to cover. They
join the others at the top floor.

Striker:"We need to get to the roof, and gou! The Vanguard are
         flooding the bottom floor."

Phoenix points to a door marked "FIRE EXIT".

Phoenix:"There! I think that's the way out."

Striker:"Let's go, hurry!"

They go to the door. With a strong kick, Tanarus breaks the
lock and swings the door open. Sure enough, beyond it lies a
flight of stairs, leading up and down. The Rovers begin to go
up the steps. Soon they go through another door and find them-
selves on the roof. They look around.

Illanov:"Where is that American with the Stealth Rover?"

Striker quickly gets on his Watchcom.

Striker(into com):"David, where are you?"

Corsair(over com):"Just a few minutes away from your position,
       boss. I got your signal."

Striker(into com):"Just hurry!"

Corsair(over com):"Roger, boss!"

Striker quickly turns to Merit.

Striker:"Merit, close the fire door and wield the lock!"

Merit:"Executing, but that would pose a violation of safety
       standards."

Merit rolls over to the fire escape door, closes it and then
takes out his toolkit. The drone takes out a wielder and
wields the lock until it is sealed.

Striker:"That better hold them."

Suddenly a group of five Seekers appear from below and fly
over the edge towards them.

Shephard:"We've got hostiles!"

Striker:"Each one to a drone!"

The drones begin to attack. Striker, Shephard, Phoenix, Tanarus
and Illanov each focus on a drone while Blake and Montecore
stand by the door with Stalker, taking cover and watching for
any Vanguard forces coming up the steps. Striker pulls out his
revolver and takes aim at a Seeker. The Seeker aims back at
him, but the spaniel draws the first shot. He fires at the
camera lens that servers as the Seeker's eye and the bullet
goes right through it. There are sparks and smoke as the drone
begins to fall down to the ground.

Striker:"Kolskoot."

Shephard readies his M-249 but the Seeker attacking him opens
fire first. Shephard goes into rapid reflexes, quickly moving
to avoid the incoming fire and returning fire at the drone.
The bullets fly past him, some narrowly grazing the edges of
his suit. His own shots strike the drone's left rotors and it
begins to spin. It tumbles to the roof and crashes in a pile
of twister metal and broken propellers. Illanov turns invisible
before his Seeker can attack him. The Seeker scans the area but
doesn't sight the Russian. It then focuses its targeting on
Phoenix, who is still distracted by her drone. It locks onto
her and prepares to fire. Suddenly Illanov appears right under
the drone and fires a plasma blast at close range. The drone
is blown apart into a dozen pieces that fall to the roof.
Illanov just manages to dodge the sharpnel coming down.

Illanov:"Bolshoi! Too close!"

Tanarus ducks behind an air conditioner as the Seeker fighting
him opens fire. The bullets rip through the machine and come
out the other end. Alarmed, Tanarus rolls away to avoid the
bullets and shrapnel while the Seeker keeps shooting the AC
unit. The wolf-sapien keeps rolling to avoid the fire while
reading his chaingun. Just before he reaches the end of the
air conditioner he jumps and points his chaingun into the
direction of the drone. He opens fire, but most of his shots
are wide. The Seeker tries to dodge the bullets, but a shot
rips through a rotor, causing it to fly out of control and
smash into the roof. Phoenix is tossing fireballs at the last
Seeker, but the drone jinks left or right to dodge the fire
while trying to lock onto the Pomeranian.

Phoenix:"Grrrrr! Hold still!"

She then gets an idea. She creates several smaller fireballs
on the fingertips of her one paw and a big fireball in her
other. The Pomeranian throws the smaller fireballs in a wide
scattershot, but towards the Seeker's left. The drone dodges
to the right just as Phoenix throws the big fireball. The
Seeker flies right into the path of the fireball and is hit.
The impact sends the drone tumbling backward and out of 
control over the edge of the lab to the ground below.

Phoenix:"Got you this time!"

In the skies, the Stealth Rover finally appears and comes in 
to hover above the roof. The lower cargo bay door is opened
and Corsair drops down a pair of rope ladders.

Corsair:"Sorry for the wait! Climb aboard!"

The Rovers all rush for the ladders. Striker and Phoenix help
Blake and Montecore carry the unconscious Stalker up the
ladders while Shephard, Tanarus, Merit and Illanov keep their
eyes open for hostiles. Merit is scanning the welded maintenance 
door. He sees operatives climbing up the steps to the door.

Merit:"We have Vanguard hostiles approaching the roof entryway."

Tanarus:"How's it going up there, guys? We got barbarians at
         the gate here!"

Blake:"We're trying to get him up! It's tough on rope ladders!"

Corsair:"Sorry about that guys, but there isn't room to land
         the Stealth between all these AC units. Let me help
         you guys up."

Montecore:"I'll try and get our strength up. Hang on."

Montecore concentrates on using his power to boost his and
Blake's strength. At that same moment Corsair reaches down
and grabs his arm.

Corsair:"Gotcha! Come on!"

He pulls, helping to lift Montecore and, by extension, Stalker
into the Stealth Rover. With Blake, Striker, Montecore and
Phoenix inside with Stalker, Striker leans out and calls the
others.

Striker:"Your turn! Gou!"

A winch is lowered to pick up Merit. Tanarus and Illanov secure
the winch to the drone and then climb the ladders while Merit
is hoisted up. At the wielded door the Vanguard operatives bang
on it a few times before they resort to guns. They blast many
holes into the door until the lock breaks off. The door is
forced open and security operatives rush onto the roof just as
the Stealth Rover's cargo doors close. They immediately begin
shooting at the aircraft, aiming for the cockpit and the
engines. Inside the cockpit the Rovers rush for their seats.
Blake and Montecore are carrying Stalker to an empty seat.

Striker:"David, let's go!"

Corsair:"Gotcha boss!"

Corsair runs for the flight controls, reaching for them as he
does. Suddenly the flight stick pulls back on its own and the
Stealth Rover banks sharply into reverse. The aircraft's tail
dips and scrapes the rooftop while it flies backwards. The
operatives rush forward to keep up while in the cockpit the
Rovers are thrown backwards.

Shephard:"WHAT THE F***!"

Striker:"David! What are you doing?!"

Corsair:"Its not me! Its the plane!"

Merit:"Mind if I make an obs..."

Corsair tries to reach for the controls. This time the Stealth
Rover jerks to the left. The wing tip tears into an AC unit,
sending sparks flying.

Illanov:"Mother Russia! The Stealth is out of control!"

Merit:"Actually it is..."

Corsair:"I got it! I got it!"

Corsair jumps for the controls. This time the flight stick
jumps forward. The Steath Rover goes level and pitches
forward, the nose now scraping the roof. The operatives
rushing after the aircraft immediately scatter as the 
Stealth comes right at them. Inside the cockpit everyone is
thrown against the front window.

Phoenix:"Why is it acting like this?!"

Merit:"It because of..."

Corsair:"Come on you piece of..."

Corsair grabs the controls at last, but then the Stealth
Rover smashes through the wall that marks the roof border
and begins to fall. Corsair pulls back hard to try and keep
the Stealth Rover from slamming into the ground. Vanguard
forces scatter to try and avoid the aircraft flying so close
to the ground that it sends dust flying all over the place.
Two HECUs, however, stand their ground and open their missile
packs

HECU:"Acquiring target."

Inside the cockpit everyone is scrambling into their seats
and trying to buckle up. Striker barks orders.

Striker:"Take off! Nou!"

Corsair gives full power to the thrusters and turns the craft
towards an opening in the sky. At the same time, the HECU
robots are directly behind the Stealth Rover's engines. They
fire their rockets, but the backdraft from the engines blows
the rockets right back at them. The rocket strike the two
HECUs and blow them apart. The Stealth Rover flies off into
the sky very quickly with small arm fire from the ground just
missing it. Inside the cockpit everyone holds tight as the
Stealth Rover climbs higher and higher. Phoenix is next to
Stalker, checking his vitals and keeping him sedated with
Elexis' medical kit.

Corsair:"We're at high altitude and out of range of their
         guns. We head back to HQ?"

Striker:"Immediately before they scramble their air force."

Corsair:"Gotcha boss."

As Corsair turns the aircraft and pushes on the throttle,
Striker turns to look sternly at Corsair.

Striker:"And what happened back there, David? What did you
         do?"

Corsair(defensive):"No idea boss! The Stealth controls just
       kept turning by themselves! I wasn't even touching
       them."

Merit:"Pardon my interruption, but may I share by observation
       on this matter?"

Striker glances at the drone.

Striker:"What is it, Merit?"

Merit:"My sensors detected that Corsair was remotely operating
       the aircraft controls."

Everyone looks surprised at Merit, especially Corsair.

Corsair:"What are you babbling about? I didn't have my laptop
         with me."

Merit:"Which is why I find it very peculiar. You were remotely
       controlling using just your hands."

Corsair:"What? How am I doing that?"

Striker thinks and then turns to Corsair.

Striker:"Corsair, take your hands off the flight controls and
         then make like you are turning the stick without
         touching it."

Corsair stares at Striker, but does as he is told. He takes
his hands off the flight stick and makes hand gestures as if
he is controlling it. Sure enough, the stick turns to his
gestures, much to his surprise.

Corsair:"What the f***?!"

Illanov:"Bolshoi! It is as if the American has a super power
         like us!"

Corsair:"But how? How am I doing this?"

Everyone quickly looks at Merit.

Striker:"Merit, when did you detect this?"

Merit:"I detect it when Corsair and Mister Montecore made
       physical contact while conveying Stalker into our 
       vehicle."

Blake:"Monty, what did you do at that moment?"

Montecore:"Nothing! I just used my power to give us a strength
           boost."

Blake:"To anyone in particular?"

Montecore:"No, just in general."

Tanarus:"I wonder if Montecore didn't accidentally give Corsair
         a power in the process? Is that even possible?"

Striker:"We will look at this back home. But we first need to
         get back home. Tanarus, take over from Corsair so we
         can avoid further incidents. And David, be careful
         now what you do. We don't know the full extent of
         your new powers."

Corsair simply nods and switches seats with Tanarus. Tanarus
takes the flight controls and guides the Stealth Rover away
from the Vanguard stronghold. While the Vanguard defenders are
still focused on the fleeing Rover aircraft, nobody notices a
Vanguard Rhino driving along the road away from the base. The
driver is Rebound, who also a bunch of stolen food in the back
of the Rhino. She is calling Spectre.

Canteen
Vanguard HQ
Unknown Location
At That Moment:

This is a large, modern canteen with rows of tables with seats
fixed to them and a kitchen serving all kinds of food and drink
along one wall. Cooks are at the kitchen serving to Vanguard
personnel. Other Vanguard operatives are seated around the
canteen, chatting, reading papers or checking tablets. Spectre,
still in the shape of Reggie Vanderberg, is sitting alone by a
table. He is speaking on a tablet that's holding up, using code
words to not alert those around him.

Vanderberg:"So how is the weather?"

Rebound(over phone):"I'm driving away from the base. The Vanguard
       were too distracted by the Road Rovers to pay attention to
       me."

Vanderberg:"Really? Snowfall that bad?"

Rebound(over phone):"Yes, I think they got him out of there. I
       caught a glimpse of them carrying Stalker before I fled the
       laboratory."

Vanderberg:"Then you'd better wrap up and get some hot chocolate
            going."

Rebound(over phone):"Right. Be sure to send me someone to come and
       pick me up."

Vanderberg:"You got it. Kissy kissy."

Rebound(over phone):"Ha ha. Very funny. Rebound out."

Vanderberg ends the call, then begins using the tablet to send a
coded message to KH Military intelligence. As he does this, he does
not notice Slade and Hardboot entering the canteen. They look 
around and spot Vanderberg. They march towards him, making sure to
stay just out of sight. But Vanderberg is completely unaware of
what is going on behind until Slade and Hardboot are right behind
him. They both each place a paw on Vanderberg's shoulders, startling
him.

Vanderberg:"Whoa! What's the big deal, guys?"

Slade:"Hello Spectre."

Vanderberg:"Spectre? Is that a code or something?"

Hardboot:"Nice try Spectre, but the gig is up. The real Vanderberg
          is being brought back to base, and we know you are really
          Spectre, the KH Military spy."

Vanderberg:"Er..."

Suddenly Spectre shifts shape and disappears from sight. Slade and
Hardboot are momentarily caught off guard before they act. They
check under the table. Spectre is now a big rat, frantically tapping
on the tablet.

Slade:"There he is! That rat!"

Hardboot:"I got him!"

Hardboot flips the heavily table over to expose Spectre and dives
for him. Spectre squeaks and jumps just out of range. Hardboot 
manages to get tablet, but all he sees on the screen is "ERROR:
NO DATA DETECTED". He then throws the tablet at Spectre. Spectre
is hit and nearly knocked out. Slade rushes to grab him, but the
rat manages to struggle back up and runs for the kitchen. Slade
is right behind him with Hardboot not far behind. Startled
Vanguard operatives jump out of the way while the kitchen staff
see the rat and try to trap it. One cook tries to hit Spectre
with a cleaver, but the blade narrowly misses his tail. With a
squeak he runs through the kitchen while Slade and Hardboot
try to brush past the kitchen staff.

Slade:"Out of my way!"

Spectre manages to get out of the kitchen and run into a warehouse
where much of the food supplies are kept in neat boxes on steel
shelves. Workers in green overalls and yellow hardhats are busy
loading fresh goods on the shelves. They don't notice Spectre
coming in and hiding under one of the shelves. Slade and Hardboot
rush in and look around.

Hardboot:"Where the h*** is he?"

Slade:"Split up! He's around here somewhere."

They go looking around the warehouse. Out of sight, Spectre 
quickly shapeshifts from a rat into one of the warehouse workers. 
He checks to make sure nobody saw him and begins to calmly walk
towards the exit. Slade and Hardboot run between the shelves,
still looking for the rat that Spectre was. Spectre looks at
the two with satisfaction.

Spectre(to himself):"Au revoir, monsieurs."

Just as he looks forward to the exit he finds himself walking
right against a wolf-sapien in an A-Ops suit. His nametag gives
the name "Valjean". He doesn't look happy as he approaches
Spectre.

Valjean:"Where are those Belgium chocolate dog treats? I was
         told they'd here to..."

Valjean suddenly stops and his eyes go wide.

Valjean:"You're a shapeshifter!"

Spectre tries to keep up the illusion as being one of the 
workers.

Spectre:"I have no idea what you mean, sir."

But Valjean grabs Spectre by the front and holds him tightly
while he shouts.

Valjean:"I caught a shapeshifter here! Come quick!"

Immediately Slade and Hardboot, upon hearing this, come running
towards them. Spectre struggles and tries to shapeshift, but
he finds to his shock that he can't.

Spectre:"Mon deu! What's wrong with me?"

Valjean grins at him.

Valjean:"Can't shapeshift now, can you? My speciality is
         finding and taking down shapeshifters like you!"

Shocked by this revelation, Spectre tries a different approach
by kicking Valjean between the legs. The wolf yelps and his eyes
go wide. He releases Spectre and staggers back. Spectre makes
a break for the nearest exit. Vajlean quickly recovers and chases
after Spectre, keeping just enough within distance to prevent
Spectre from changing his shape.

Spectre:"Merde! I can't get away from that wolf on me!"

Hardboot and Slade are right behind Valjean. Spectre is running
down a hallway, dodging Vanguard security operatives who try to
tackle or grab him. But he isn't as fit as the others and he
begins to run out of steam. The trio are catching up to him. He
manages to duck under a burly security operative's grasp and
head through the door the guard was blocking. He finds himself
right inside a guard barracks with many operatives milling about.
The operatives look surprised at Spectre before they all pull
out firearms and point them at the wolf. Spectre turns around
only to find Valjean standing behind him.

Valjean:"Gotcha!"

Valjean immediately follows up with a strong punch. Spectre is
knocked to the floor. Slade and Hardboot rush past Valjean and
grab Spectre. They pull him to his feet.

Hardboot:"No escape for you, spy."

Slade:"Good work, Valjean. I'm sure Hawkins will reward you for
       this capture."

Valjean(proud):"Thank you, sir."

Slade:"Come with us. We need you close in case our KH friend
       here decides that being a fly is preferable than enjoying
       our accommodations."

Valjean:"With pleasure, sir."

Slade and Hardboot hold Spectre by both arms as they take him
away, with Valjean close behind to make sure he doesn't use his
powers to escape. The operatives in the barracks put away their
weapons and resume their normal duties.

Laboratory
Vanguard Complex:

Spectre now stands before Hawkins' chamber, with Hardboot, Slade
and Valjean around him. Hawkins looks at the group as he speaks.

Hawkins:"Good work on capturing the spy. Valjean, you will be
         getting a bonus to your regular for your assistance."

Valjean:"Thank you, sir."

Hawkins:"Now, I would be more happy about this capture, but I
         just got word from our Nepal stronghold: Stalker has
         been spirited away from us by the Road Rovers."

Slade, Hardboot and Valjean are surprised.

Slade:"How, sir? They couldn't have known he was there..."

Hawkins:"Unless our KH friend here tipped them off."

Slade:"Him? He doesn't work for the Rovers."

Hawkins:"True, but that doesn't mean that the KH Military, or
         someone within them, turned to the Rovers to get him
         back. And they got the information from Spectre."

Hardboot:"I say we kill this spy, sir. Hang him high."

Hawkins:"As much as I want to right now, I have to resist that
         temptation. Spectre is the best shapeshifting sapien in
         the world right now, and shapeshifters are rare as it
         is."

Slade:"So what are we going to do with him?"

Hawkins looks carefully at Spectre before waving a hand.

Hawkins:"Take him to the labs to have a collar fitted on him so
         he won't escape. I'll have the lab scientists begin to
         work on him. And make sure he doesn't escape. I can't
         take more bad news today."

Slade, Hardboot, Valjean:"Yes, sir!"

Slade and Hardboot, with Valjean in tow, drag Spectre off to the
laboratories. Hawkins turns to his own affairs, preparing to make
another call. He puts on his headset and waits for the answer on
the other end.

MacMillan(over com):"Representative MacMillan here."

Hawkins(into com):"MacMillan, Hawkins here. We have a problem."

MacMillan(over com):"Bad?"

Hawkins(into com):"Very much so. The Road Rovers have taken
       Stalker from our Nepal base. Apparently a KH spy, whom we
       just caught, passed the information on to them."

MacMillan(over com):"What! How did they manage that?"

Hawkins(into com):"I'm still getting details from Suchong, but 
       it doesn't matter now. The Rovers have Stalker now, so we 
       need to move quickly. How are things at the UN?"

MacMillan(over com):"Norwood can no longer delay the vote. Next
         month is the election for the new Secretary-General."

Hawkins(into com):"Is your hat in the ring?"

MacMillan(over com):"Definitely. And I got good backing from
         many of the delegates as well."

Hawkins(into com):"And Norwood?"

MacMillan(over com):"Norwood and those delegates not in favour
         of the Vanguard are backing a woman from India named 
         Archana Misra. But she lacks the votes at this stage."

Hawkins(into com):"What if the Rovers announce they have
       Stalker or perhaps even hand him over to the KH Military?"

MacMillan(over com):"I can leverage it by presenting it as
         further proof of the Rovers' reckless disregard for
         international rules and norms. If you find proof that
         the KH Military helped them, that would be an even
         bigger blow."

Hawkins(into com):"Right, but make sure you keep your delegates
       on your side. I want you in the Secretary-General's chair
       at the end of next month."

MacMillan(over com):"Don't you worry, Mister Hawkins. Norwood
         and his protege won't win this round."

Hawkins(into com):"Excellent. Bye."

Hawkins immediately hangs up and then dials yet another number
and waits for the answer. A new group of scientists come in to
do his daily medical examination as he does.

Prison Cells
Road Rover Headquarters
New Mexico
United States of America
12 July
10:22 AM:

Stalker, now dressed in the prison fatigues used by the Road
Rovers, is lying on a stretcher in a cell. He is tied down
with leather straps and kept sedated by syringes inserted
into his body. The syringes are hooked to monitoring machines
that give injections as needed. Cano-sapien guards in heavy
Rover armor stand around the prison cell to make sure their
VIP prisoner doesn't escape. The Master, Unit STRIKE, Blake,
Montecore, Hubert and Collin are here. Collin and Hubert are 
doing quick tests on Stalker and checking the readings on the 
machines.

Master:"Excellent work on getting Stalker away from the
        Vanguard. And well done, Blake and Montecore. You two
        did as well as any Road Rover."

Montecore:"Thank you, sir. Mind if I call you that? I feel a
           little odd calling you Master."

Master:"Not at all, Montecore. And you, Blake?"

Blake:"I'll follow Monty's example too. Will my father be okay
       here?"

Shephard:"I sure hope so. It took one h*** of a fight to sedate 
          him when he woke up mid-flight."

Master:"Professor Hubert and Collin will soon tell us."

Hubert and Collin finish their work and approach the group.

Hubert:"We have him fully sedated. He isn't going to wake up
        unless we need him to."

Master:"Good. How is he?"

Collin:"His physical health is good. Mentally? No idea. We are
        still testing the blood samples we took from him to find
        out what he was injected with."

Hubert:"Until we have the results AND have a possible antidote
        I would not recommend letting him wake up."

Master:"Understood. Get to work on that."

Hubert:"Collin can handle that himself. I'd rather have a look
        at Corsair and his new power. I'll also want Montecore
        to come with me. I've never heard of this situation
        before."

Corsair, who has his hands tucked under his arms, simply nods.

Corsair:"Please do, Professor. I feel very weirded out by all
         this. I wonder what Karen will say."

Hubert:"Then please follow me, you two. Don't worry, I'm sure
        Karen will understand."

Hubert, Collin, Corsair and Montecore leave the prison cells
at the same time as Jaco comes in.

Jaco:"Welcome back, Uncle Striker. I heard you managed to pick
      up the notorious General Stalker."

Striker:"Dankie, Jaco. Yes, we did. Look there."

Jaco looks to the cell and sees Stalker on the table.

Jaco:"Jislaaik, that him?"

Striker:"Ja, it is. He's currently sedated because the Vanguard
         injected something in him that makes him go beserk."

Jaco:"Anything I can do to help?"

Striker:"You can help guard him while we decide what to do
         with him."

Phoenix:"Speaking of, what ARE we going to do with him?"

Illanov:"We are not handing him over to the KH Military, I
         declare."

Tanarus:"I feel the same way, though it might incur the wrath
         of the KH Military."

Illanov:"Why? They are already angry at us."

Master:"My view is that we keep Stalker here until he is well
        before we make any decisions about his fate. Meanwhile,
        if the KH Military does contact us, we only tell about
        Stalker if it is General Black."

Striker:"You believe that story of his about Sky really running
         the KH Military in Stalker's absence?"

Master:"I strongly suspect so. I don't want to help the KH, but
        I have this feeling Sky is doing something that we are
        all going to regret, not just the KH Military. Hence why
        we wait until Stalker is well before we take any further
        decisions."

Blake:"Pardon me, Professor, but you have Tosca, correct?"

Master:"Yes, we are taking care of her. Why do you ask?"

Blake:"I wonder... if Stalker recovers, if we should show her to
       him? He loves her and seeing what the Vanguard did both to
       her and him might make him persuasive to your advice."

The Master ponders this.

Master:"Hmmmm, not a bad idea, Blake. We will try it once he is
        well."

Striker:"Meanwhile, what else can we do?"

Master:"For now we wait until Stalker is healed and see what the
        Vanguard do next after this loss. Striker, contact Norwood
        and inform him we have Stalker."

Striker:"Reg. We will head back to the estate."

Blake:"Monty and I will stay here to watch over my father for a
       bit."

Master:"You still upset that you didn't find your friends at the
        Vanguard stronghold."

Blake sighs.

Blake:"Yes."

Master puts a hand on Blake's shoulder.

Master:"Don't worry, Blake. You helped us, we will help you. The
        Road Rovers will help rescue your friends from the Vanguard
        one day."

Blake:"Thank you, Professor."

Master:"Come, let's all get some refreshments."

The Master leads the group out of the prison, leaving Jaco and
the guards to keep an eye on Stalker.

Meeting Room
KHA Alexander
Somewhere Over Myanmar
At That Moment:

Trigger, Black, Sky, Thrax and Wolfeye are seated around the
table while standing before them is Rebound, who is now wearing 
a battle trooper uniform. Standing beside her is a Flame Trooper 
with a captain rank. Trigger is looking at her as he speaks.

Trigger:"How do you feel about your new uniform, Rebound?"

Rebound:"It fits me well, General. My compliments to your tailors 
         and outfitters."

Trigger:"Good. First, I want to thank you in assisting us in
         general, and Spectre in particular, against the Vanguard
         and providing information about what happened to my
         brother."

Rebound:"Thank you, General. I'm just sorry that we may have lost
         Spectre."

Trigger:"Don't blame yourself. That was beyond your power. The
         one thing I want to be sure of, is if you really wish
         to join the KH Military?"

Rebound:"Yes I do, General."

Trigger:"With certainty?"

Rebound:"With certainty, General."

Trigger:"Then allow me to welcome you to the KH Military. I am
         sure you will make a great contribution to our organi-
         zation and its goals. The captain will take you to one
         of our bases for further training. Dismissed, and thank
         you again, Rebound."

Rebound salutes eagerly.

Rebound:"Proud to serve the KH Military, sir."

Trigger salutes back. The captain then leads out the room. Once
they leave and the door closes, Trigger turns to Sky.

Trigger:"You sure about Spectre?"

Sky:"Absolutely, sir. Spectre's cover has been blown and the
     Vanguard have captured him."

Trigger:"Can we rescue him?"

Sky:"With Stalker no longer in their custody, that might be
     possible. However, sir, I would...

Trigger:"Speaking of, what about my brother? The Road Rovers have
         him now."

Sky:"Yes, that was an unexpected turn of events. I should..."

Trigger:"Can we get him back now? What are our chances?"

Sky is about to answer, but Black quickly steps in.

Black:"Our chances are much better with the Rovers. They are not
       as powerful as the Vanguard, especially after the United
       Nations defunded them following the Bayview Incident. 
       Plus they are not as underhanded as the Vanguard, even if
       they are our enemies. I'm sure something can be worked
       out to get him, via force or persuasion."

Thrax:"And we can finally take action against the Vanguard after
       they had tied our paws together by holding Stalker."

Trigger:"True, but can we get my brother back?"

Black:"Yes, we can. And I volunteer to lead efforts to get Stalker
       back from the Road Rovers at any cost."

Sky is about to protest, but Trigger's concerns over his brother
overrules him and he nods to Black.

Trigger:"Done. General Black, I full confidence in you."

Black smiles, nodding at Trigger while looking victoriously at
Sky, who is frowning back at him.

Black:"It will be an honour, sir."

Trigger turns to Sky.

Trigger:"You will support General Black with as much intelligence
         as you can, General Sky."

Sky simply nods.

Sky:"Yes, sir."

Trigger:"Good. Now, let's discuss what to do next now that the
         Vanguard no longer have my brother."

The meeting turns to the next steps the KH Military is to take
against the Vanguard. Black is smug and satisfied while Sky is
fuming at being outmanouvered by Black. The Road Rovers have
freed Stalker from the Vanguard and deprived them of a powerful
advantage. But the Vanguard now have Spectre and are moving
quickly at the United Nations. What are their plans for the
elections at the UN? What will the Rovers do with Stalker? And
what will the KH Military do now?


THE END