Rover Strike: Vortex

Episode 3: Wedding Day

By Gerhard Naudé

All Rover Strike names © Gerhard Naudé
All Road Rovers names © Warner Brothers and rightful owners
Raul Timbers © Kristen Coughlan
Strayers © Steven Today
Nitro, Dixie © Amanda Stephenson
XL766, Hans © McCracken
Dylan © Patrick Rinalds
Alethia © Kylen Miles
Maddogs © Greg Williams
Huntress © Greywolf Lupous
Wild Warriors, Sayonaria © Richard Barrere
Hotrod, Alana © David Fountain
Rally © David Reynolds
Wolve © Wolve Man
Rock © MG Wolfstone
Convoy © Matt Daily
Vicki Maddog, Otto & Samantha, Felicia, Fortus © Robert Baer Jr.
Chris © Chris Markham
Osceola © John Butler
Elaine © Rob Hopkins
Cobber © Michael Browner

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

Simonstown Naval Base
Cape Peninsula
Republic of South Africa
30 October
5:03 AM:

This is the naval base of the South African Defense Force located at
the port town of Simonstown. It is a small harbor with several
historical structures along with more modern buildings and dry docks.
To the north one can see Cape Town while slightly to the east one can
see a lighthouse on a single large rock in the middle of False Bay.
Right now a fleet of three high-tech, French-made corvettes are 
leaving the naval base and heading for open water.

High Orbit
Over North American Continent
1 November
12:01 AM:

This is a view of the western coast of the United States from space. The
sun is on the other side of the Earth, so it is midnight right now in
America. The lights of cities can be seen amongst the clouds that cover
the region. A GONV War Carrier flies from space towards the continent,
escorted by Starlighter Fighters. As the carrier begins to enter the
earth's atmosphere and prepares for entry, the Starlighters break off
their escort and begin to head back from where they came.

Clearing
Cascade Mountains
State Of Oregon
United States of America
12:19 AM:

This is a reasonably flat rock surface amid the pine-tree covered 
mountains of the Cascades. A good amount of snow lies on the ground and
in the branches of the trees. It is quite dark here, but not for long.
Several figures are sitting amongst the trees watching the skies. It
does not take long for them to spot what they are looking for: a cluster
of blue lights are moving against the starry night sky. The chatter of
radios can then be heard.

Figure(over radio):"Delivery men sighted. Set up post boxes."

Figures(over radio):"Roger."

The figure come out of the woods, all carrying some kinds of weapons.
While most go around securing the clearing, some go and pull out several
items. When they use them, one can see that it is flares. The clearing
is quickly illuminated, revealing the KH Military Covert Troopers, all
armed with Canister Rifles. They put the flares around the clearing, then
step back. Soon the blue lights come closer, along one to make out the
Dropships and Transports as well as the Orcas escorting them. Some of
the transports carry Walkers, but most are carrying KHSAS Launchers. They
begin to descend down to the clearing using the flares as guidance lights.

Gate
Commercial Docks
San Francisco
State of California
United States of America
6:03 AM:

The city of San Francisco is currently shrouded in a mist of morning
fog that is obscuring the view of the city. At one of the gates leading
into the city's docks a large 18-wheeler truck is standing behind a
gate. The gate is located between two large customs buildings, while
right next to is the customs hut. The truck's lights are on and the
driver is inside, smoking. In the hut the light is on and one can see
the gate guard and several men in overalls. One of the men hands over
a bag to the guard. The guard takes the bag and looks inside. He then
quickly closes it up and nods to the men. The men then leave the hut
while the guard opens the gate. The gate slides open and the men climb
into the truck cab and trailer. The trucks wheels out through the gate
onto the streets and drives off.

Pathway
Exterior Grounds
Road Rover Mission Control
State of New Mexico
United States of America
8:06 AM:

This is a paved walkway that winds its way amongst the natural gardens
that surround Mission Control. Walking along the path their arms around
each other is Striker and Phoenix. Phoenix sighs happily.

Phoenix:"This is so nice. To be alone after all these months of getting
         everything ready."

Striker:"We should enjoy it while we can. We will be doing wedding
         rehearsals for most of the day, followed by the bachelor and
         bachelorette parties. So we won't be alone until our wedding
         night."

Phoenix:"That I will be looking forward to."

Phoenix giggles as Striker chuckles. He then stops and turns to face
her.

Striker:"There is something I want to give you, Phoenix."

Phoenix's ears perk up and she looks curiously at Striker. Striker digs
into his overcoat pocket and takes out a little box. He holds it out
to Phoenix.

Striker:"Hier. This is my gift to you."

Phoenix smiles, taking the box. She opens the box and looks inside. She
gasps in happy surprise and reaches in. She pulls out a golden locket in
the shape of a heart on a silver chain. She opens the locket. Inside is
a photo of Striker.

Phoenix:"Why... thank you, Strikie!"

She goes up and hugs Striker tightly. He hugs her back.

Striker:"My brother would have wanted you to have it."

Phoenix stops hugging and looks curiously at Striker.

Phoenix:"Your brother? Do you mean your decreased brother Pieter?"

Striker:"Ja. That was the locket he was going to give to his wife. He had
         forgotten it at the mansion and told me to go get it. I agreed
         because I more interested in avoiding the wedding. It saved my
         life, because had I not gone to get it I would have died that
         day at the paws of Franco."

Phoenix:"Oh my..."

She looks at the locket again, holding it in her paws.

Phoenix:"So beautiful. But didn't you have to remove the photos of your 
         brother and his wife?"

Striker:"The photos were never put into them at all. I thought at that
         time Pieter was going to be angry about that."

Phoenix keeps looking at the locket, then looks at Striker.

Phoenix:"This is a wonderful and invaluable gift, Strikie. I'll cherish it
         greatly. Could you put it on for me?"

Striker nods and takes the locket. Phoenix turns around and lifts her hair
a bit to expose her neck. Striker loops the chain around her neck, then
fastens the lock. Once he is done, he steps back while Phoenix adjusts
the locket. She turns to Striker.

Phoenix:"How do I look?"

Striker smiles.

Striker:"Beautiful, like the morning sun rising."

Phoenix:"Oh, how poetic."

She giggles, then looks at Striker.

Phoenix:"Do you also have a locket?"

Striker:"Ja, with your own photo in it."

He digs into another pocket and pulls out a similar locket. He gives
it to Phoenix so that she can look. She opens the locket. Inside is
a photo of her.

Phoenix:"I might need a little makeup."

Striker:"You a fine as you are, my Firefly."

Phoenix looks back at him, smiling.

Phoenix:"Can I put it on? Sort of as my gift to you."

Striker smiles and nods, then takes his ears and lifts his chin.
Phoenix comes up and puts the chain around his neck. Once she secures
the lock, she adjusts the locket while he lowers his head and lets go
of his ears.

Striker:"Dankie."

Phoenix then quickly gives him a strong kiss on the lips. This catches
him a bit off-guard, but he goes with it. Once they break, Phoenix
smiles and hugs him.

Phoenix:"Thank you, Strikie."

Striker hugs her back, putting his arms around her and holding her
close. They remain like that for a while. Finally they let go of one
another, looking into each other's eyes.

Striker:"I think we should return for the rehearsals."

Phoenix:"Yes, we should. But let's walk back slowly, please."

Striker puts his arms around Phoenix, while she cuddles up against
him. The couple begin to slowly walk back towards Mission Control.

Throne Room
Unknown Location
At That Moment:

The shadowy figure is still seated at his throne with his large bodyguard
standing behind him. Standing at the foot of his throne are five wolf-
sapiens: One of them is Mister T; the second one is a familiar figure who
has white fur, black muzzle, ears, hands, feet and red eyes and is wearing
an old-fashioned US Commodore's uniform; the third one is also familiar,
with brown fur, light-brown fur around the face and muzzle and a white 
streak on the top of his muzzle and wearing a brown suit with a red tie 
and black shoes. The fourth wolf-sapien is Raul Timbers. He stands at 6 
foot 9, is very strong and has deep grey fur with white on his muzzle and 
chest. He has highlights of brown on his head and back. He is wearing a 
white t-shirt, a military jacket and cameo pants. The fifth wolf-sapien
has light grey fur all over, blood-red eyes and wearing yellow chest
Kevlar, bracers, shoulder and knee pads and black shirt, pants and boots.
On his chest are several medals and a familiar insignia as well as his
general rankings. This is General Seneschal. The figure on the throne
looks at the group.

Figure:"Tomorrow is the wedding day of Striker. Thus far, I have been
        very disappointed by the incompetent attempts of the major
        villains, the Mayhem Mercenaries, the European Corporation and
        the GONV."

He looks at Mister T.

Figure:"Are any other villains going to try their paws as well?"

Mister T:"Yes. Today there will be one attempt, and then tomorrow on the
          day of the wedding there will be four more."

Figure:"Five attempts. Still, I am not very encouraged by the success
        of the others."

Seneschal:"A pathetic bunch. I don't why we even counted on them. They
           failed us. Like so many others."

White Wolf:"Ja, zis is intolerable. I vould not even let myself zink of
            using zem."


Figure:"I completely agree. I think the time has come for me to send
        my own forces to do the job."

He looks at his group.

Figure:"Take a small force on the Stealth Ship and set up a base in the
        Pacific. I will be calling upon you if those other fools fail
        in their quest to kill Striker, which would be very likely."

Raul:"Finally. A change to do a REAL mission instead of being cooped up
      in this place. My fingers are just inching for action."

Suit Wolf:"Oui, though I really have to ask why we must take Champion
           along as well, General."

The white wolf turns to the suited wolf.

White Wolf:"Zat is for Striker's wife, ja? He vill know how to take care
            of fraulin Phoenix und provide Striker much pain."

Figure:"Which I hope will be dispensed in abundant quantities."

The figure stands up and points to the entrance of his throne room.

Figure:"Now go! Do not disappoint me."

Raul, Seneschal, the white wolf and suit wolf salute their leader,
coming to attention. They turn around and begin to leave the throne
room. The figure sits down and looks at Mister T.

Figure:"Will you and your people be able to keep me informed on
        whether Striker is taken care of or not?"

Mister T:"Yes, general. In fact, we will provide you with satellite
          imagery around the clock."

Figure:"Excellent."

The figure leans back in his throne.

Figure:"You may go."

Mister T nods and bows, then turns around and leaves the room. The
figure begins to brood.

Transdogmafier Room
Road Rover Mission Control
United States of America
12:34 PM:

Two groups of Rovers are here in the transdogmafier room, split by
gender. In the all-male group is Striker, Bear, Outlaw, XL766,
Dylan and Rubius. In the all-female group is Phoenix, Nitro, Sapphire,
Alethia, Huntress and Dixie. They are all waiting around by the
transdogmafiers, watching the luge tunnel bays. Two luges carrying
Hunter and Colleen (both in normal dog form) come to a stop. Hunter 
and Colleen jump out and each run over to a transdogmafier. There is
once again steam and a bright light that obscures the canines. Once
these disappear, Hunter and Colleen, now in cano-sapien form, step
out. They look at the groups.

Hunter:"Cool. Seems like we're all here."

Colleen:"Looks like it, Huntie Wuntie."

Striker:"I have to ask, Hunter. Why did you all take me and Phoenix
         away from the rehearsals?"

Phoenix:"Yeah, not that there was much we were doing, but still."

Nitro:"No worries, Phoenix. All of us here were also not doing much,
       so we decided to go and do the special parties."

Striker:"Special parties?"

Bear:"You know, Striker. The bachelor and bachelorette parties."

The wedding couple realize what Bear means. They nod their heads
approvingly.

Striker:"Oh, ja. I nearly forgot about it in amid all of the other
         things going on."

Rubius:"Good thing we are here to remind you two lovebirds."

Phoenix:"So what will the parties be about?"

XL766:"I'm not sure about the girls, but I know that we guys
       will have a strip show."

Everyone immediately look at XL766. Phoenix is shocked while
Striker's eyes are very wide. XL766 looks around, confused.

XL766:"What?"

Dylan leans closer and whispers into XL766's ear.

Dylan(whispering):"Um... the Master forbids the usual beer and
     strippers bachelor parties, remember?"

XL766:"Oh, yeah! I forgot."

XL766 turns away a bit, looking a bit embarrassed. Phoenix looks

at the girls.

Phoenix:"You sure that there will be nothing... indecent at Striker's
         bachelor party? I heard what happened with Bear."

Nitro rolls her eyes.

Nitro:"Oh yeah. THAT."

Dixie looks at Nitro.

Dixie:"But that was Prowler's idea, Nitro."

Nitro:"Yeah, but you volunteered to do it. I distinctly remember you
       telling us all that."

Before Dixie can respond Bear steps in.

Bear:"Look, that case is closed, all right? Let's not go and dig up
      history."

Nitro and Dixie both nod, deciding it is better to drop the subject.
Alethia pats Phoenix on the shoulder.

Alethia:"Don't worry, Phoenix. Striker and the males will go to a
         laser shooting game for a bachelor party. Nothing indecent
         will happen."

Huntress:"Yeah, big brother assured me that. And if he goes and changes
          the schedule, I'll tell the Master."

Colleen:"Not before I box his ears."

Hunter chuckles and shakes his head.

Hunter:"Nah, it's cool. We all got rules here and we're not going to
        break them. We are here to let Striker and Phoenix relax before
        their big day tomorrow."

Outlaw:"That's right. And while we're out playing laser games..."

Sapphire:"... we girls will watch several of the best chick flick DVDs 
          out there."

Striker and Phoenix smile.

Striker:"Wel, I guess a bit of fun can ease the nervousness."

Phoenix:"I love chick flicks. The relaxation will also help a great
         deal."

Colleen:"Let's go then, girls."

Hunter:"Let's go then, guys."

Hunter and Colleen lead two gender groups out through different exits
from the transdogmafier room.

Monitoring Room
Eta Squadron Headquarters
Unknown Location
A Few Minutes Later:

This is the circular monitoring room of Sky and his personnel in the
main facility of the Eta Squadron. The Eta staff are all busy at their
posts. Sky is standing by a large monitor, flanked by two wolf-sapiens
who are dressed in the same manner as he is. The one on his left is
apparently deep in concentration, while the other on his right is
holding a kind of electronic collar that is only 2/3 a circle. Sky
looks at the male next to him.

Sky:"Are they coming into the room?"

The male, still concentrating, nods his head.

Male:"Yes, general. Phoenix and the others with her are taking their
      seats and preparing the movies."

Sky:"Excellent. You can stop now."

The male stops concentrating, feeling a bit relieved. Sky turns to the
female.

Sky:"Is the psychic enhancement device Tesla gave us ready?"

Female:"Yes, general. Ready and set to be used."

Sky:"Good. Put it on me."

The female nods and steps behind Sky. She carefully puts the collar on
his neck, the thicker side of it on the back while the open side is
around his throat. Once she has the collar on Sky correctly, she steps
back.

Female:"It's ready, general."

Sky feels the collar against his neck, shifting it a bit to get it to
fit comfortably.

Sky:"Excellent. Let us commence. Open the channel."

Female, Male:"Yes, sir."

The two wolf-sapiens go and sit in front of terminals on either side
of the big screen and begin working. Sky turns to face the screen.

Briefing Room
Road Rover Mission Control
At That Moment:

The room has been rearranged a bit. The chairs around the table have
been shifted to face the biggest screen on the wall. On the table is
popcorn, sodas and tissues as well as several empty DVD cases. Colleen
and Phoenix are seated up front while all the other girls in their
group are seated around the table. Right now the chick flick movie 
"Anita Jordan's Blog" is playing on screen. Huntress leans over to
Dixie and whispers to her.

Huntress(whispering):"I've watching this film five times over and I
        still can't get enough."

Dixie(whispering):"Yeah. This is my third time."

Nitro turns to them and shushes them quiet. They all turn their eyes
back to the movie. As they watch however, the movie begins to fade into
static. Colleen swallows the popcorn she was eating and groans.

Colleen:"Bloomin' perfect. DVD is messed up."

Suddenly the screen explodes into full static with a loud screech,
causing everyone around the table to winch. The static then quickly
dissappears, but instead of the movie, Sky can be seen on the screen.
Everyone gasps.

Alethia:"Sky!"

Sky(on screen):"Greetings, Rovers. I'm glad to see you all still
   remember me."

Phoenix:"What are you doing here, Sky?"

Sky(on screen):"Ah, Phoenix. The bride to Striker. Firstly, I wish to
   extend my congratulations to you and your husband-to-be."

Phoenix frowns and folds her arms.

Phoenix:"I doubt that was sincere, Sky."

Nitro:"What are you up to, Sky? How did find this channel?"

Sky(on screen):"I have means. Now, the real reason I am here might be
   like all the other villains to try and disrupt the wedding. That
   might happen, but no. I am here for a different reason."

Colleen:"What the bloomin' heck is it?"

Sky(on screen):"A simple test."

Sapphire:"Test? What test?"

Sky doesn't answer. He merely puts both his paws on the screen and
starts to concentrate. The symbol on his forehead starts to glow a
slight blue aura. The females quickly spring to their feet. Suddenly
all the doors leading into the briefing room close tightly. Huntress
dashes over to one and tries to open it via the override panel next
to it. But the override panel refuses to work. Huntress turns back to
the others.

Huntress:"He's locked us in!"

The next moment seven small orbs of light come from Sky's paws, coming
right out of the screen and floating about the room. The orbs then land
all around the females. They glow brighter and grow larger, forming into
humanoid shapes. Finally the glow subsides, revealing seven wolf-sapien
shaped figures made of pure psychic energy. The females all glance
around at the figures.

Nitro:"I would not have predicted this!"

Huntress:"Hey, that's my big bruber's line!"

Suddenly the figures attack, each figure going for a female. The girls
all go into battle stances. Colleen prepares to kick the figure going
for her. She does a kick for its chest.

Colleen:"John Kerry!"

Her foot meets the figure's chest... and sinks right into it. Colleen's
eyes widen and tries to get her foot loose, but it is held by the
psychic energy.

Colleen:"Crickey!"

She tries to punch it, but the figure wards off her blows and tries to
punch back. Colleen manages to ward off the blows, but the figure has
the advantage on the collie. Phoenix keeps stepping back as the figure
coming for her marches determinedly. Phoenix creates a fireball in her
paws and tosses it at the figure. The figure replies by creating a ball
of psychic energy and tossing at the fireball. The two balls collide
and explode into nothingness. Phoenix begins to run, trying to create
another fireball. The figure charges in after, throwing balls of
psychic energy at her. Sapphire takes to the air as another of the
figures tries to grab her. Sapphire looks down at the figure smugly.

Sapphire:"Hard to catch me, isn't it?"

The figure suddenly jumps up very quickly and wraps its arms around
her legs. Sapphire yipes as the figure drags her down onto the floor.
The figure then turns her onto her back as it gets on top of her.

Sapphire:"Sorry, but only Outlaw is allowed to do that!"

She tries to punch its face, but finds her paw trapped in its head
like Colleen's foot is with the other. She tries to punch with her
other paw, but the figure grabs her paw and holds it tightly. The
figure then begins to punch her hard in the face. Huntress is running
at high speeds to avoid the figure going for her. Going at high speed
she leaves a trail of fire behind her. She glances back with a grin to
look at the figure. He grin disappears when she sees that the figure
running just as fast behind her.

Huntress:"Hey! That's not fair! You bad guys can't have the same
          powers as us!"

The figure ignores her and keeps up its pursuit of the Retriever. Dixie
sees what is going around her and goes to one of the doors, trying
to get the override to work. From the other side of the door voices
can be heard.

Amani(behind door):"Nitro! Colleen! Phoenix! Why's the door locked?
     What's going in there?"

Puffball(behind door):"Are they not having party?"

Corsair(behind door):"Not like this, they ain't!"

Dixie bangs on the door.

Dixie:"Amani! Help! Sky is in here!"

Amani(behind door):"Sky? Of the KH Military?"

Dixie:"Yes, he's..."

Suddenly one of the figures comes up behind Dixie and wraps both hands
around her neck. Dixie gags and struggles as the figure begins to choke
her.

Amani(behind door):"Dixie! Dixie!"

Shephard(behind door):"Someone open the door! We've got hostiles in
        there!"

Exile(behind door):"Hold on, comrades!"

The door begins to glow red as Exile uses his heat beam to try and
cut through it. The figures, though, are quickly gaining the upper
paw in the battle. Nitro and Alethia are soon forced to fight back
to back against the figures assaulting them.

Alethia:"Nitro!"

Nitro:"Al, can't you get to Sky with your heart child powers? He is one
       too after all!"

Alethia:"He's much stronger than I thought! I tried to get into his
         mind to fight him, but it is like a fortress in there!"

Nitro:"But you can still get into his mind, right?

Alethia:"Barely! Why? Got a plan?"

Nitro:"Yeah! I'm going to use my banshee howl on him!"

Alethia:"Nitro! Sky has a shield on the screen! Your howl will not
         get past it!"

Nitro:"That's why I need you! I'm going to send my howl directly into
       him! Think you can do that?"

Alethia thinks for a moment, dodging a punch from a figure.

Alethia:"It just might work! It will exhaust us both, though. So if we
         fail, then we're done for."

Nitro:"Better to die having tried! Ready?"

Alethia:"Ready!"

The two females quickly duck and roll out of the way from between the
two figures. They quickly stand up, facing the screen. Nitro takes a
deep breath while Alethia begins to concentrate her powers on Sky. On
the screen Sky chuckles and speaks into Alethia's mind.

Sky(psychically):"Ah, Alethia. You know you cannot assault my mind."

Alethia(psychically):"Not without help, Sky!"

Sky(psychically):"Help? Alethia, you are the only one who..."

Nitro unleashes her banshee howl at full strength while Alethia takes
part of the howl and sends it via her mind to Sky's. The howl reaches
the screen.

Monitoring Room
Eta Squadron Headquarters
Unknown Location:

Sky is still concentrating with his paws on the screen. Suddenly the
howl strikes his mind and blasts him off the screen. He is flung
up against the wall to the back. The male and female as well as
several of his troopers quickly rush up to help him as the screen
he was on goes into static. As he is helped up, Sky groans and chuckles
at the same time.

Sky:"Clever and innovative... I admire that..."

He grabs his head in pain as he is pulled up to his feet.

Briefing Room
Road Rover Mission Control
12:59 PM:

The screen has gone into static while the figures that were attacking
the girls have all disappeared. Colleen is helping up Sapphire while
Phoenix is helping up Dixie. Alethia and Nitro are seated on the chairs
and lying on the tables, exhausted. Exile finally manages to cut the 
door open. The door falls loudly onto the floor as Exile and Blitz 
lead a charge of Rovers and Strayers into the room.

Blitz:"Where are the girly wolves?"

Exile:"Comrades! You all rightski?"

Amani and Puffball go over to Nitro to help her, while Elexis goes over
to Sapphire to help clear her wounds. Illanov runs over to Phoenix.

Illanov:"Comrade Phoenix, are you okay?"

Phoenix:"Yes, I'm all right... Sky nearly killed us here had it not
         been for Alethia and Nitro."

Shephard looks around the room, his M-249 at the ready.

Shephard:"Ma'am, where are the hostiles? I don't see anything."

Phoenix:"No, there is nothing here. Sky appeared on screen and creates
         seven of these energy wolves that attacked us. They all
         disappeared when Nitro hit him with her howl."

Corsair looks at the screen. The static is gone, replaced by the movie
the girls were watching.

Corsair:"Looks like chick flicks have proven to be dangerous after all.
         He he."

All the females in the room quickly glance at Corsair with angry looks
on their faces.

Amani:"Dangerous? They bring out our gentler, kinder and caring side
       of us ladies. And if you think otherwise, I'll set Puffball on
       you."

As if to emphasize the point, Puffball bares her claws. Corsair steps
back a bit, holding his hands up.

Corsair:"Okay! Okay! Sorry!"

Illanov chuckles and grins in satisfaction. Corsair can only give him
a nasty look. Once Sapphire is healed up and Nitro and Alethia have
recovered their strengths a bit, Colleen looks at the males.

Colleen:"Listen, guvs. You boys will have to leave us. We were busy
         with a little party here for Phoenix, so you will have to
         leave us for now."

Exile nods his head, smiling.

Exile:"Dah, comrade. We will leave you alone."

Illanov:"But we will stick around close by in case there is another
         attack."

Blitz:"Yah, besides we need to fix the door that Exile broke."

Exile looks at Blitz.

Exile:"Comrade, I had no choice! There was big troubleski in here!"

Blitz:"But at least I would not have much such a big mess of it."

Corsair:"If I recall correctly, Blitz, you made a big mess yourself
         one time. Remember when Striker first brought the Rhino and
         you a made new entrance into the bathrooms?"

Blitz blushes, while Exile looks smugly at the Doberman.

Blitz:"Oh, I forgot that."

Illanov:"Come on, comrades. Let's go."

The males all file out of the room. Some of the females who came in
with them stay behind and gather around the table to watch the movie.

Amani:"What is this one called?"

Dixie:"Anita Jordan's Blog."

Amani:"Oh, I loved that movie!"

Amani grabs a soda and opens it as the females resume watching the
movie.

Lazer Games Central
Business District
Santa Fe
State of New Mexico
United States of America
13:55 PM:

This is a large, square concrete building nestled amongst one- and two-
story commercial and business buildings. It has a big neon sign with
the words "LAZER GAMES CENTRAL" which is flanked by laser guns on either
side. There is a small parking line in front of the building with a
bigger lot right next to it. Flanking the double doors are two statues
of laser game soldiers. Just past the entrance lobby is a dressing room
where laser jackets with attached guns are all hung in neat little
booths. Inside the dressing room Striker, Bear, Hunter, Outlaw, XL766,
Dylan and Rubius are busy putting on their jackets and readying their
guns. Hunter is talking with the business owner, who is holding a wad
of dollars and a clipboard.

Owner:"So that's seven of you guys in there for 10 rounds of 15 minutes
       each, check. We got you cleared in there and made sure that this
       time is reserved for you alone."

Hunter:"Yeah, that's right. And its $700 dollars for everything, you
        said."

Owner:"You bet. That covers all the costs. And since this is a bachelor
       party, the drinks and snacks are on the house between during
       match breaks."

Hunter:"Hey, thanks!"

Owner:"Hey, my business has been good thanks to you Rovers coming in
       here regularly. So think of it as a token of my appreciation."

The males get their jackets ready and their guns in their paws. The
owner leads them to the door leading into the arena. He turns to the
males.

Owner:"Okay, I'm going to send you all in one by one in ten second
       intervals so you guys can get good cover. As each goes in, I'll
       turn on your jackets and guns. Remember, if you get hit on the
       lights on the jacket your jacket will flash and you won't be
       able to fire your gun for five seconds. You get points for
       hitting the lights, the amount depending on the color. Once
       15 minutes pass the lights will come on in full and the match
       is over. You can back here and rest up before going in again,
       same deal over. You all have that?"

All the Rovers nod their head. The owner opens the door, letting in the
loud music from the arena. Striker steps up and the owner turns on his
jacket before sending the cocker spaniel in. The owner then counts to
ten before turning on Hunter's jacket and sending him in. The process
is repeated until Dylan is sent in last.

Arena
Lazer Games Central
14:02 PM:

The arena of Lazer Games Central is a large maze of walls covered in
fluorescent spray paint. Many parts of the maze have been built to look
like urban war zones, such as a destroyed house, a car park with smashed
cars, etc. There are a few light sources, but the general lighting is
that of being dim. Loud music blares out from speakers placed all over
the arena. Inside the males are sneaking or running about, eyes very
alert and laser guns at the ready. Bear is near the upper corner,
sneaking along and checking each corner. As he turns to check one corner
he finds himself looking directly at XL766, who is crouched behind a
barrel and has his laser gun aimed directly at the malamute.

Bear:"Oh cr..."

XL766 fires a beam of laser light and hits Bear's jacket. The lights
on the jacket flash. Bear tries to fire back, but finds his gun is
already offline. Bear then quickly turns and runs out of sight. XL766
grins widely.

XL766:"Oh yeah! I am L33T!"

Suddenly another laser beam hits XL766 in the back. Like with Bear,
his jacket lights also flash and his gun goes offline. He quickly
turns to look at who shot him. He sees Rubius grinning back at him.

Rubius:"I'm L33T as well."

XL766 bangs his fist on the barrel and runs off. Rubius continues his
way further on into the maze.

Control Room
Lazer Games Central
14:07 PM:

This is a simple room with a few home computers that operate many of
the functions of the arena as well as manage security. There is an
electronic map of the maze, with the combatants appearing as green
dots. The computer technician is here working on all the systems.
Coming in through the door is the owner.

Owner:"How's our players doing?"

Technician:"As you can see they're having a ball in there, boss."

Owner:"Good. We want to give our customers their money's worth. And
       we want to give the soon-to-be-married bachelor the best time
       of his life."

Technician:"Before the wife gets him to play other games with her on
            the wedding night, eh?"

The owner chuckles and slaps the technician behind the head.

Owner:"Watch that mind of yours."

Technician:"He he he. Yeah, I got it."

Just then a hand taps on the owner's shoulder. The owner turns around
to respond. Suddenly a fist hits him square in the face. The owner
falls onto the floor, unconscious. The startled technician quickly
turns to look.

Technician:"Hey! Who..."

Another fist hits the technician, knocking him out of his seat and
onto the floor, out cold. Two familiar figures come up and seat them-
selves on the chairs by the control panel: Mark Johnson and Bob
Paterson. They both look smugly at the two unconscious men.

Bob:"Nice one, Mark."

Mark:"Not a bad one yourself."

They look over the controls of the arena.

Bob:"I heard that Bear himself is somewhere in that arena. Maybe today
     will be the day we get even with him."

Mark:"If there is anything left of him to get even with. Remember: you
      and I need to man these controls while Jake leads the others
      into the arena."

Bob:"Hey, better if the others did than us. And if thing go bad, we
     will have the best possible position to get out of here."

Mark:"You bet. Now, let's turns on the lights in there."

Bob nods as both he and Mark begin to figure out the computer programs
operating the arena.

Arena
Lazer Games Central
At That Moment:


The Rovers are still playing the laser games either cautiously or all
out guns blazing. Striker is taking the lead as far as points are
concerned and scores another hit on Outlaw as he turns a corner.

Outlaw:"Good shot, Striker."

Striker:"Dankie."

Suddenly all the lights go out and the music stops. The only lights
now are from the jackets worn by the males. Everyone looks around
confused.

XL766:"Hey! Fun over already?"

Dylan checks his watch by pressing a button to let a light show
the time.

Dylan:"But we haven't been in here for 15 minutes."

Just then voices can be heard over an overhead speak that can be
heard all over the arena.

Voice 1(over speaker):"Hey, I think I found it, Mark!"

Voice 2(over speaker):"Good work, Bob. Give me the mike."

Bear frowns as he recognizes the voices.

Bear:"Oh, I think I know those two."

The voice of Mark Johnson echoes throughout the arena from the speaker.

Mark(over speaker):"Hey, Bear! I know you're in there!"

Bear growls.

Bear:"Mark Johnson. And I bet Bob Paterson is with you!"

Mark(over speaker):"Yeah, it's me and Bob. I'm pretty sure you're
    wondering what we are doing here."

Bear(under his breath):"Not really."

Mark(over speaker):"Well, we're here to watch you die. Some of our
    friends are coming to join in on the fun. With their own weapons
    of course."

The sound of a door slamming open can be heard in the arena. The next
moment the loud voice of Jake can be heard shouting out.

Jake:"Oh, Dylan! I'm here!!"

Dylan's eyes widen.

Dylan:"Jake!"

Jake:"Yeah, it's your brother! And I'm here to play too!"

Several other voices call out to the others.

Herod, Herodias:"We're here!"

Bear growls.

Bear:"Herod and Herodias. Great."

Another voice calls out.

Hans:"Hey, everyone! It's time to play a new game: DEATH!"

XL766 growls and barks in anger.

XL766:"Hans, you miserable punk!"

The next one calling is DeathRanger.

DeathRanger:"It's time to put my foot down... on the authority you
             Rovers represent!"

Striker:"Ranger, you traitor!"

DeathRanger:"No! YOU and all authority are the traitors!"

Jake:"Enough talk! Attack!"

As the villains enter the arena, Striker shouts out to the others.

Striker:"Defensive positions!"

All the others nod in compliance and begin to look for positions to
better defend themselves. Elsewhere one can hear the door to the
arena slam shut as the villains block off the exit and head into the
maze. It does not take too long before the first encounter is made:
Striker and DeathRanger bump into each other. Striker immediately
jumps back, aiming the laser gun at DeathRanger. DeathRanger is
holding two lengths of iron chain, one in each paw.

Striker:"Paws in the air, Ranger!"

DeathRanger shakes head, clutching the chains more tightly.

DeathRanger:"I know that is a toy gun. These, however..."

He shakes the chains so that they rattle.

DeathRanger:"... are real!"

DeathRanger swings a chain at Striker's head. Striker ducks and tries to 
use the gun as a shield. The chains miss his head, but knock the gun 
from his paws. Striker steps back as DeathRanger swings another chain at 
him. He is forced in a retreat as the collie swings the chains one after 
the other in a sequence. It prevents Striker from being able to mount a
counter-attack. Meanwhile, Dylan is hiding behind an open window, 
looking outside for trouble. Suddenly a huge blade cuts into the wooden
window frame. Dylan jumps in fright and quickly turns around. He finds
himself staring at his grinning brother Jake, in his red uniform and
holding a viciously curved sword in one paw.

Jake:"Hello, brother. Since to meet you again."

Dylan:"Yeah. Nice to meet you too."

Jake:"And now it is time to say goodbye!"

Jake tries to pull his sword up to chop at Dylan, but the blade sits
more firmly in the wood frame. Dylan takes this chance to make a
quick getaway as Jake tugs hard several times before his sword comes
loose. He shouts out, his face very angry.

Jake:"Keep running, brother! Your guts are mine!"

Jake starts to run after Dylan, sword at the ready. XL766 is creeping
in a big room with many barrels, hunkered down on his haunches and
looking about with his gun ready. A bullet ricochets just above his
ears. He swears and ducks down behind the barrel as more bullets are
fired at him. Once the shots stop, he takes the opportunity to peer
over the barrel's edge. Standing on top of two barrels on the other
side of the room is Hans. He is holding a pair of berretta pistols in
each hand and grinning widely.

Hans:"Hey! What's the matter? Don't want to play a game of shoot-the-
      puppy?"

Hans fires a couple of shots and XL766 ducks back behind the barrel.
He growls loudly.

XL766:"I play my own games and by my own rules!"

Hans:"Hard to do that when you got toys for guns, turkey!"

Hans fires more shots to where XL766 is hiding. XL766 looks at the
laser gun in his paws and growls.

XL766:"Great! He's got two pistols and I got... H***, even a pea-
       shooter would be more effective."

He cringes as a bullet ricochets close to his left arm. Meanwhile,
Bear is moving between several cars in a room that looks like a
parking lot. He stops and ducks each time, looking around to make
sure the coast is clear. Suddenly something lands loudly on the
roof of the car he is next to. Bear quickly looks up to see a
croutching Herod grinning down at him.

Herod:"Hi, Bear! Miss us?"

Bear:"Yeah, I did miss you."

Herod:"Really?"

Bear:"Really. I did miss seeing you. In jail."

Herod stops grinning.

Herod:"Ha ha ha. Very funny."

Bear:"I know. Where's Herodias?"

Suddenly two powerful paws clasp around Bear's neck. He gasps as
he turns his head and sees a grinning Herodias.

Herodias:"Here I am, buddy Bear."

Bear tries to punch her, but Herod quickly grabs Bear's arms and
keep them from hitting the female wolf-mutant. Herodias then begins
to strangle Bear, causing him to choke, while Herod keeps the
malamute pinned. Elsewhere, Rubius and Outlaw have teamed up and
are going down a corridor. When they reach the other side, they find
it is a dead end.

Rubius:"A dead end! We'd better get out of this corridor before one
        of the villains catches us here."

Outlaw:"Good idea. Best not to give them an easy target."

They turn around and head back out the corridor. Just they reach the
junction that leads up, a cano-mutant ninja silently appears in
front of them. Rubius and Outlaw stop, pointing their laser rifles
at the ninja. The ninja simply puts his paws together while looking
with narrow eyes at the two.

Ninja:"Ah, so Rubius. We meet once again."

Rubius recognizes the voice and frowns.

Rubius:"Sayonaria."

Sayonaria:"Correct. I've come here to settle debts and restore my
          honour."

Sayonaria reaches behind him and pulls out two nun-chucks. He
starts to step forward. Outlaw and Rubius fire their rifles in an 
attempt to scare the ninja, but in a surprising move Sayonaria 
ducks and jumps forward. He lands in a roll and comes to a stop 
standing upright in front of the two surprised heroes. Before they 
can fire Sayonaria uses his nun-chucks to knock their rifles away 
to the other side of the corridor. Rubius and Outlaw step back and 
try to use their fists. However, Sayonara has the upper paw with 
his nunchuncks and begins to force the two them back down the 
corridor.

Control Room
Lazer Games Central
At That Moment:

Mark and Bob are watching with glee from the control room how the
other villains are dominating the fight in the mazes. They are
paying special attention to Bear, who is struggling to break free
from the grasp of Herod and Herodias.

Mark:"That's right. Squeeze the life out of that mutt."

Bob:"And once that's done with we can skin him and sell his pelt on
     the black market."

Mark:"Now that's an idea. I'll bet a lot of bad guys will pay top
      dollar for such a rare fur."

Bob grins, leaning backwards and thinking about the money. However,
he places his elbow right on top of a keyboard. There is a beep,
and suddenly all the lights in the arena go out and the music
stops. There are immediately shouts from down below in the maze.
Mark quickly looks at Bob in anger.

Mark:"What did you do?!"

Bob:"Hey, I did nothing, Mark! I swear!"

Mark:"Shut up and get the lights back on!"

The two of them frantically work on the computers. 

Arena
Lazer Games Central:

It takes Mark and Bob a minute to turn the lights back on, but by 
then the tide had changed. Sayonaria finds himself grabbed by both 
arms by Rubius and Outlaw. Before he can jerk himself free, both 
Rubius and Outlaw butt their heads against his. The ninja grunts and 
his head snaps back as he sags down into unconsciousness. Rubius and 
Outlaw let go of his arms, then rub their foreheads.

Outlaw:"So that's using our heads."

Rubius:"Yes, and it actually did not hurt this time."

Outlaw:"Probably because the pain was shared between us. Now, I'll
        tie up our Jackie Chang here and you go and see if the others
        need up."

Rubius:"Right."

Rubius heads out of the corridor, while Outlaw kneels down and begins
to tie Sayonaria up with his own sash. Meanwhile, the moment the lights
go on where Hans has XL766 pinned down, XL766 quickly jumps up and
runs super fast up to Hans to start landing a series of rapid fist
punches to the Shiloh shepherd. Hans stumbles from the barrel and
lands on his back, getting the air knocked out of him. Before he can
recover XL766 is upon him and punching him silly. Finally Hans is
sprawled out on the floor, unconscious and bleeding from the nose.
XL766 gets up, punching his left fist in the palm of his right paw.

XL766:"Oh yeah! I'm L33T!"

He kneels down and grabs Hans by the collar. He drags him towards an
empty barrel, then picks up Hans and throws him head-first into it.
XL766 wipes his paws while looking at Hans' feet still sticking out
of the drum.

XL766:"I should just kill you right now, but I first got to go and
       check on the others."

XL766 runs off to go help the others. Elsewhere, Bear was not so lucky
in making use of the sudden black-out. Herodias still has his neck and
Herod is holding his arms. Bear's struggles grow weaker from the lack
of air.

Herod:"Looks like he's about to pass out, Herodias. What ever shall we
       do?"

Herodias:"Simple. He needs a bit more choking."

The two of them chuckle as Herodias tightens her grip on Bear's neck.
Suddenly Rubius is standing by Bear and right between the two wolf-
mutants. Both Herod and Herodias look at him in surprise.

Herod, Herodias:"What the...?"

Using energy drawn from the parasite inside him, Rubius gives Herod
a powerful kick in the chest. Herod gets his breath knocked away as
the impact sends him flying against a wall. In the same breath, Rubius
whips out a knife and immediately presses it against Herodias' throat.
Rubius looks threatening at her as Herod falls to the floor in a
semi-conscious state.

Rubius:"Let go of Bear's throat or I slit yours."

Herodias immediately lets go of Bear. Bear stumbles to the floor,
gasping for air. Herodias raises her paws as Rubius keeps the blade
by her neck. Bear stands up, coughing and trying to catch his breath.

Rubius:"All right, Bear?"

Bear gasped and nodded.

Bear:"Yeah... just a little short of breath... Thanks."

Rubius nods back. Once Bear recovers he goes behind Herodias and
pulls her arms down behind her back. She growls at him.

Herodias:"Easy with the arms!"

Rubius pressed the blade closer to her neck.

Rubius:"We are giving orders here. You still keep your muzzle shut."

Herodias sighs and nods, letting Bear put a pair of handcuffs on
her wrists. Meanwhile, as the lights came on, Jake was about to slice
Dylan up with sword, but finds his brother was no longer where he
thought he was. He snarls loudly.

Jake:"Punk! Where are you?"

Jake turns around just in time to see Dylan place an empty paint can
over his head.

Dylan:"Right here, Jake."

Jake:"Why you miserable little piece of..."

Dylan quickly jumps back as Jake wildly swings his sword around, just
cutting a gash into Dylan's laser jacket. Dylan yelps and checks the
cut. It has left a small cut on his stomach that bled, but it was not
too deep. He quickly puts a paw on the wound while Jake keeps 
thrashing about with his sword. The sword strikes one of the wall
sections, causing it fall over on top of Jake with a loud crash. The
sword clatters on the floor as it lands. Dylan quickly scoops up
the with one paw and puts his foot down on the paint can on Jake's
head, pinning him to the floor.

Dylan:"Really, Jake. You got to control your temper."

Jake thrashes wildly, snarling and growling in anger, but Dylan and
the wall section keep him down. Lastly Striker is still struggling
with DeathRanger. Striker is stumbling back, clutching his arm where
DeathRanger had landed a blow with his chains. DeathRanger grins,
spinning the chains in his paws.


DeathRanger:"Hurting? I got some painkillers right here."

He swings one chain at Striker. Striker quickly grabs the chain with
one paw. DeathRanger prepares to swing the second chain. Suddenly
something takes hold of the second chain. DeathRanger quickly looks
behind. XL766 is holding the chain, grinning at the collie.

XL766:"Gotcha!"

DeathRanger growls. He steps to one side and yanks both chains hard.
Striker and XL766, still holding the chain, are flung at each other.
They both yelp in pain as they collide, their heads butting. As the
two canines tumble to the floor, DeathRanger hears the sounds of
the other Rovers coming to help. He growls and makes a break for it.
Striker and XL766 are quickly back on their feet and running after
the collie biker.

Control Room
Lazer Games Central:

Mark and Bob are watching how all their fellow villains are defeated
or make a break for it. They glance at each other.

Bob:"Let's get out of here, Mark! We've lost!"

Mark:"No thanks to you. Come on! I'm not going back to jail!"

The two of them rise from their seats and head for the door leading
out. Suddenly appears super-quick in the doorway, leaning against
the frame and smiling. The duo stop in their tracks.

Hunter:"Hi! Are you playing games, 'cause I want to join the fun?"

Mark and Bob looked at each, then back at Hunter. Both of them try
to punch the golden retriever, Hunter stops their fists with each
of his paws. He keeps smiling.

Hunter:"Oh! Group hug, everyone!"

Hunter immediately tucks both Mark and Bob's heads under his arms
and starts to squeeze. The two hunters start choking and struggling.

Mark:"... can't.... breathe!"

Bob:"... air... important... for life!"

Hunter keeps the choke-hold until Mark and Bob fall unconscious. He
drops them onto the floor, looking sad.

Hunter:"Awww. No more hugs?"

He shrugs his shoulder.

Hunter:"Guess not."

Hunter then goes over to help the technician and owner, who are
still lying unconscious.

Parking Lot
Laser Games Central
14:36 PM:

The lot is now filled with police vehicles and vans. Police officers
are escorting the hand(or paw)cuffed Mark, Bob, Herod, Herodias, Hans,
Jake and Sayonaria to an awaiting prison van. All of them pass angry
glances at the Rovers, who are being checked upon by paramedics at
an ambulance. Police officers go in and out of the building, while
the owner is giving his testimony to some detectives. Back at the
ambulance Striker is holding some ice against his right arm.

Hunter:"Sorry about that, Striker. The bad guys all messed up our
        batchelor party for you."

XL766:"Yeah, and they messed up my game too."

Striker shakes his head and smiles.

Striker:"As long as we managed to walk away from this, I am not too
         concerned."

Bear:"What happened to DeathRanger?"

Striker:"XL766 and I tried to catch him, but he had his cyclborg
         gereed. He was far down the street before the two of us
         were even out of the building."

Dylan:"At least we got hold of the others."

Striker:"Ja, and I would thank you all for helping, but my arm is
         still a bit sore."

Outlaw:"It was our pleasure."

Just then the owner comes up to the group. They turn to look at him.

Bear:"Sorry about the whole thing, sir."

Owner:"No, forget about it. At least you managed to get right of the
       bad guys and provided me with the best gift yet."

The Rovers all look confused at each other, then back at the owner.

Hunter:"What kind of gift?"


Owner:"Publicity. My business will now be on the telly and on the
       front page of the newspapers. It will bring in even more
       crowds."

Dylan:"But wouldn't it be bad publicity? I mean, you had villains
       fighting inside your business."

Owner:"Yeah, it would have been bad publicity if it was just the
       average street gangsters. But these were big names and you
       guys, the Road Rovers, fought and beat them back in my
       laser game area. That would look really good. Especially
       in big red neon letters."
 
Bear:"Oh, the wonders of capitalism. Go figure."

Owner:"As a reward, I'm going to let you guys finish playing your
       sessions at HALF price."

Hunter:"Whoa, Cool!"

Outlaw:"I certainly wouldn't complain about that."

XL766:"Me neither! Let's go!"

As the Rovers proceed back to the building, Striker remains seated.
They all stop and look back at him.

Hunter:"Aren't you coming, Striker?"

Striker:"Nee, I can't. My arm is still too sore to play. You all go
         ahead."

Dylan:"But Striker. We arranged this thing especially for you. It
       would not be polite of us to go on without you."

Striker:"Nee, it's all reg. I am not bothered by it at all."

The owner then gets an idea and goes up to Striker.

Owner:"Tell you what, good sir; I'll let you sit in the control room
       so you can watch your friends. Once your arms are well again,
       I'll let you play for free."

Striker:"Oh, I do not want to impose."

Owner:"Oh, impose all your want. It's on the house."

The owner winks at Striker. Striker looks at the others, who nod
encouragingly. He smiles and nods, then gets up.

Striker:"I suppose I can wait until my arms have recovered."

Owner:"Good! And you can have all the booze you like."

Striker shakes his head.

Striker:"Nee, just soft drinks for me. Dankie."

Owner:"You're the sacrificial lamb, sir."

Striker raises his eyebrows at the owner.

Striker:"Sacrificial lamb?"

Owner:"Just figure of speech."

The owner glances at the other Rovers and wink. They all wink back
at the owner. Striker looks between the two, then sighs and chuckles.
They all proceed back into the building.

Personnel Quarters
Road Rover Mission Control
22:45 PM:

It is late and most of the Rovers and Strayers have gone to bed.
Walking along one of the corridors that lead to their quarters is
Striker and Phoenix, their arms around each other. They are talking
to each other.

Phoenix:"Finally. I thought this day would never end."

Striker:"Me neither. At least the big day is almost here for us."

Phoenix:"Yes, it is Strikie. You nervous?"

Striker:"A little, Firefly. You?"

Phoenix:"A little as well."

Striker:"Then I think we should go to bed. Sleep will relax us
         for tomorrow."

Phoenix:"Good idea."

Phoenix snuggles closer to Striker, who hugs her a little more and
nuzzles her hair. As they approach the door to Phoenix's quarters,
they find Aydrian and Elissia waiting for them. The couple looks at
Phoenix's parents in surprise.

Phoenix:"Mother, father. What are you both doing up so late?"

The parents look at each other.

Aydrian:"Let's go ahead."

Elissia:"Yes, Dear."

Elissia takes Phoenix's paw while Aydrian puts a strong paw on
Striker's shoulder.

Aydrian:"We need to have a talk."

Phoenix:"Is there something wrong, mother?"

Elissia:"No, just something important we need to tell you, my
         dear child."

Aydrian:"Come. This way. We won't be long."

Striker and Phoenix are bit confused, but they follow. Striker goes
with Aydrian while Phoenix follows Elissia. Both groups go down either 
side of the corridor running along the room doors, out of earshot of 
each other. They then stop and Aydrian and Elissia begin to talk with 
Striker and Phoenix respectively. The talks go on for about a quarter
of an hour. The two groups them come back and gather by Phoenix's
door. Both Striker and Phoenix are blushing furiously while Aydrian
and Elissia have pleased looks on their faces.

Aydrian:"Did your talk with Phoenix go well, Dear?"

Elissia:"Yes, Dear. She understands. How about your talk with our
         future son-in-law."

Aydrian:"Oh, he understands as well. I think they are both ready for
         tomorrow."

Elissia:"Good. Now you two should go and get some sleep. Tomorrow 
         will be a busy day."

Both Striker and Phoenix nod, still blushing. Aydrian and Elissia
take each other's paws and start to head back to their room. They
stop and look back at the couple, smiling.

Elissia:"Good night, Honey. Good night, Striker."

Aydrian:"You two sleep well tonight."

Striker:"Dankie. Sleep well, Mother. Father."

Phoenix:"Good night, Mom. Dad."

The parents resume their walk. Once they were gone, Striker and
Phoenix look at each. Their blushes have subsided a little bit.

Striker:"Your parents can be very direct about certain things,
         Phoenix."

Phoenix:"I guess they just wanted us to be prepared, Strikie. Though
         they didn't need to give us that much detail."

Striker:"I agree."

Phoenix hugs Striker tightly and he returns the hug.

Phoenix:"Maybe it will make tomorrow night special."

Striker:"Ja, but let us first get through tonight and tomorrow. You
         go and sleep well."

Phoenix:"You too, my Love."

The couple give each other a lingering kiss. They then separate, but
still hold each other's paws. Phoenix unlocks and opens her door,
then lets go of Striker's paw. She keeps looking lovingly at him.

Phoenix:"Goodnight, my Love."

Striker:"Goodnight, my Love."

Phoenix goes in and closes the door. Striker keeps staring at her
door for a minute or so before finally walking off to his own room.

Clearing
Cascade Mountains
State Of Oregon
2 November
6:39 AM:

The sunlight is just barely creeping over the edges of the mountain
ranges. In the darkness the KHSAS Launcher have been set up, their
missiles ready. Walkers are patrolling around the launchers, while
Covert Troopers hide in the trees and scouting the surrounding area.

Death Valley
State of Nevada
6:55 AM:

The sun is more visible on the horizon over the flat expanses of
death valley. The morning light reveals the landed GONV war carrier
on a flat part of the terrain. Flying around in the skies are dozens
of recon drones, while on the ground patrols of light and battle
drones patrol the area along with MKI walkers. On the top deck of
the war carrier a landing strip has been created. At the one end of
the runway is a massive new GONV aircraft: the Ultima Bomber. It
is shaped very much like the B-2 Stealth Bomber, but is bigger and
has smoother wing edges. Four large engines sit in the middle of
each wing. The front of the aircraft has a single red "eye" instead
of the usual computer cockpit. It is painted mostly in red with
the engines and parts of the central body being black. The GONV
insignia is not visible on the craft. Maintenance drones are going
about making final preparations to the Ultima and loading its
payload of bombs.

Paramilitary Camp
State of California
7:02 AM:

The sun is just peeking over the edge of the horizon, but it is
already light enough to make the abandoned quarry that has been
turned into a militia camp. Most of the old digging machines,
conveyor belts, cranes and portables are still here but are in a
bad shape. In here and there are newly pitched up tents and a few
hummer trucks. Contra-style guards patrol the area, carrying an 
assortment of Russian and American weapons. The 18-wheeler truck 
from San Francisco is parked at the bottom of the quarry. Soldiers
are going in and out of the trailer regularly.

Striker's Quarters
Road Rover Mission Control
9:12 AM:

Striker, Illanov, Corsair, Shephard, Tanarus and Aydrian are all
here. Striker is busy going over the black suit with white shirt and
red bow-tie he is wearing, looking pretty nervous. Illanov is wearing
a completely formal Russian officer uniform and holding his general's
cap under his arm. Shephard is wearing a ceremonial US officer's
uniform. Tanarus is wearing a light blue suit with matching shoes
and tie. Aydrian is wearing a traditional Indian father-of-the-bride
outfit that is quite colorful. Corsair is wearing a suit similar to
Tanarus, only his outfit lacks the jacket and is brown in color.
Striker checks his bow-tie nervously in the mirror.

Striker:"Are you all certain everything is gereed?"

Illanov:"Comrade, we went through this a dozen times. Everything is
         ready."

Corsair:"Yeah, boss. Soviet boy and I checked and double checked to
         make sure. And Merit had a list and he says everything is
         ready according to him."

Striker:"Oh."

Striker finishes his bow-tie, the runs his paws over his fluffy
ears.

Striker:"How is my fur?"

Shephard:"Sir, your fur is fine."

Corsair:"Man. that's about the... what?... fifth time he's asked
         that."

Aydrian:"Give Striker a break. He is the groom and today is his
         and Phoenix's big day. It is natural for him to be so
         nervous."

Corsair:"Natural? He's survived four years of fighting Franco, 20 
         years or so of slavery, the Iron Fist crisis, the Techno War, 
         the plots of the Spider Cartel and Mayhem Mercenaries as
         well as many other nasty hazards. And he's nervous over a
         wedding?"

Aydrian:"It happens to most males. It happened to me when I married
         Elissia."

Illanov:"Dah, I was nervous too when I married Vicki."

Tanarus:"So was I."

Striker:"Wel... it is comforting to know that I am not alone."

Aydrian walks up to Striker and pats him on the shoulder.

Aydrian:"Son, just enjoy the day. Remember, Phoenix is just as nervous
         as you are about today. But in the end it will be worth it."

Aydrian winks at Striker, who sighs and smiles back. He puts his paw
on Aydrian's shoulder.

Striker:"Dankie, Vader."

Corsair:"Vader? You mean Darth Vader?"

Illanov shakes his head.

Illanov:"Nyet, Yank. Vader means 'father' in Afrikaans."

Corsair:"Oh."

Shephard taps on the watch on his wrist.

Shephard:"Excuse me, sirs, but it is time to depart."

Tanarus:"Yes, it is. Come on."

Everyone starts to file out of the room. Suddenly Striker stops
with his eyes wide.

Striker:"The rings!"

Shephard:"Right here, sir."

Shephard takes the wedding rings out of his pocket and holds them
up for Striker to see. Striker breathes a sigh of relief.

Striker:"Dankie tog."

Aydrian:"Stop worrying, son. Everything will go right."

Striker nods, then follows everyone out of the room. Just as the
door to his quarters closes, he can be heard asking again.

Striker(behind door):"How is my fur?"

Corsair can very clearly be heard groaning from the other side. The
door is closed and the locked.

Briefing Room
Road Rover Mission Control
9:50 AM:

Hunter, who is dressed in a black tuxedo, is addressing a group of
Rovers in uniform. They are Hotrod, Alana, Rally, Rock, Wolve and
Convoy. They are all seated around the briefing table.

Hunter:"Sorry to have to pull you guys out of the wedding, but you
        are the only ones we could spare."

Alana:"You mean expendable, right?"

Hotrod pats Alana on the right paw.

Hotrod:"Take it easy, Alana. This is all for the greater good."

Alana:"But I really wanted to attend the wedding, Roddie."

Hunter:"If you guys move quickly, you could finish the mission and
        be back in time for the wedding banquet."

Wolve:"What IS the mission, Hunter?"

Hunter uses a remote control to activate one of the largest screens
in the room. A wire frame map of the western United States appears,
with the lines in green and the background all in black. Two dots
appear: one is white and along the coast of Oregon; the other is
red and near the coast of California.

Hunter:"We've gotten reports that there is some suspicious activity
        at a quarry in northern California. A bunch of paramilitary-
        like guys were seen there along with some trucks. We suspect
        it might be another attempt to trash the wedding."

Rally:"Any idea who those guys are?"

Hunter:"The reports say they looked like South American contras, so
        we'd say they might be remnants of the Spider Cartel."

Convoy:"I thought the cartel was finished when Ortega got killed in
        Idaho and his cousin committed suicide."

Hunter:"For the most part the cartel had been rolled back, but there
        might still be a few powerful men in the cartel who want to
        get back at Unit STRIKE, and us in general, for busting up
        their drug trading."

Hotrod:"So we are going to have to roll back these guys some more."

Hunter:"That and securing any documents or evidence. The more we can
        get the further the Spider Cartel can be rolled back."

Rally:"When do we leave?"

Hunter:"As soon as I'm done briefing you guys. The wedding starts in
        two hours and these guys might strike during the ceremony.
        Get in there and bust them up."

The Rovers all salute Hunter.

Hotrod:"Right away, Hunter!"

Alana:"Roddie and we will teach those drug traffickers a thing about
       messing with our friends' wedding!"

Convoy:"Be sure to save us some wedding cake if we're a bit late,
        Hunter."

Hunter winks back at the group.

Hunter:"Shag will make sure of that. Now, hit the road, Rovers!"

Alana, Convoy, Wolve, Rally and Rock all howl, while Hotrod flinches
a bit from the loud howl from Alana.

Hotrod:"Geez, Al! My ears!"

Alana giggles as they all get up and head for the hangar.

Wedding Ceremony
Clearing
Redwood Forest
State of Oregon
11:34 AM:

This is a large clearing amongst tall redwood trees located at the
edge of a hill. The hill looks over the coastline and the ocean. In
the clearing rows of chairs have been set up with an isle in the
middle leading to a podium. The podium is a slightly raised platform
with an arch covered with white ribbons and roses. A red carpet runs
from the podium through the isle to another decorated arch between
the trunks of two large trees. All the guests, which includes Rovers,
Strayers, members of other units as well as former EDF agents and
commanders. Seated in the front row are the members of Unit STRIKE. A
few seats up front are unoccupied. On the podium is Striker and 
Pastor Wan, who is dressed in his finest robes and holding the Bible.
Off to the one side is Shag, who is standing by a big CD-player with
several speakers. Hunter comes up onto the podium.

Hunter:"You ready, pastor?"

Wan:"I am ready, though I suspect our groom here might still be a
     little reluctant."

Hunter grins at Wan.

Hunter:"Don't worry. We're all super eager to make sure that Striker
        gets married and will make sure that stays on the podium,
        even if we have to let Exile freeze his feet together."

Striker:"I am not THAT nervous, Hunter."

Hunter winks at Striker.

Hunter:"Never hurts to be prepared."

Wan:"Speaking of, I think we are ready to start."

Hunter:"Good idea. Let's go."

Hunter gives the thumbs up sign to Shag and walks off to go sit
next to Colleen. Shag presses a button on the player. Organ music
begins to play. Coming through the arch at the end of the isle is
Vicki Maddog, dressed as the flower girl, and Corsair, who is the
ring bearer. Vicki is scattering flower petals as she goes.

Vicki:"Boy, I'm glad I was chosen to be the flower girl."

Corsair, however, is not as pleased, since he is getting flower
petals down his shirt and is struggling not to squirm due to the
tickling sensation.

Corsair(mumbling):"Oh, yay for you."

The two of them continue down the isle. Next comes Markus Norwood,
dressed as the best man, and Elexis, dressed as the maid of honor.
Elexis leans closer to whisper.

Elexis(whispering):"I see a lot of military people here amongst the
      guests."

Norwood(whispering):"Oh, yes. I know them all. They were with Striker
       in the Earth Defense Force who survived Franco's attack back
       in 1983. More likely they are here to make sure that Striker
       really is getting married."

Elexis(whispering):"Really?"

Norwood(whispering):"Really. Striker's bachelorhood was a notorious
       thing back in the EDF. They even placed bets."

Elexis(whispering):"Bets? So who wins?"

Norwood looks at Elexis and winks with a sly look on his face. She
chuckles.

Elexis:"Oh."

The two of them continue after Vicki and Corsair. Next comes Illanov
and Elissia, who is wearing a Hindu dress. They follow the others
and take their seats up front. Once the music stops, there is a
short pause as Shag gets the right song. Once he finds it, he pushes
"play". The wedding march music plays this time and everyone turns
to look down the isle. A brief moment or two passes before the bride
and her father appear, Phoenix's arms around Aydrian. Much to many
in the crowd's surprise, Phoenix is not wearing a traditional white
wedding dress. Instead, she is wearing a light blue Hindu wedding
dress with golden linings and a small round circle in her forehead.
She still holds a bouquet of flowers. There are several murmurs in
the crowd as Aydrian walks Phoenix down the isle. Striker, however,
is staring in loving awe at his bride. Once the father and bride
walk onto the podium, Striker and Phoenix take each other's paws.
Aydrian cups his paws around theirs and looks at them.

Aydrian:"Elissia and I might have known you two only a few months,
         but we are honoured to have you both as our family. We wish
         you both a wonderful, loving and long life together."

Striker:"Dankie, Pa."

Phoenix:"Thank you, father."

Aydrian smiles and squeezes their paws, then goes to sit next to
his wife. Striker then looks at Phoenix, going over her dress.

Striker:"You look pragtig, Phoenix. And I love the color."

Phoenix:"Why, thank you., Strikie."

Striker:"Though it is rather unusual to come to a Christian wedding
         with a Hindu wedding dress."

Phoenix:"Oh, that was my mother's idea. Since they are both Hindu,
         they wanted me to wear something of their religion."

Striker:"It certainly is different, but I really approve of it. Makes
         a nice change from the white dress."

Pastor Wan clears his throat, indicating he wants to begin. Striker
and Phoenix and all the guests face towards him.

Wan:"Dearly beloved. We are gathered here before God and in the
     presence of those gathered to witness the marriage of these two
     canines."

Striker and Phoenix smile. Wan looks over the audience.

Wan:"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed, let
     him speak now. Or may he forever hold his peace."

Merit immediately raises his hand.

Merit:"I have an objection."

All eyes immediately turn to look at Merit in surprise.

Wan:"Er... and what objection do you have?"

Merit:"My objection is that the marriage may not proceed because
       their fur colors do not match properly."

There are confused looks and murmurs amongst the audience. Striker
and Phoenix look at each other in surprise.

Wan:"That is not a valid objection, Merit."

Merit:"That is correct, but you did state that invalid objections
       would be accepted."

Striker and Phoenix find it hard to hide their amusement, as does
some in the audience.

Wan:"Well, do you have any VALID objections?"

Merit:"None whatsoever."

There is great sigh of relief from the audience.

Wan:"Then we can proceed."

Merit:"Are you certain, pastor? I have a list of 217 invalid objec-
       tions available that I could read to you."

Wan:"No, that is not necessary, Merit."

Merit:"Oh, you require a print-out then? Or perhaps an encoded audio
       log?"

The chuckles and giggles amongst the audience become louder and
more spread out. Wan is looking to the sky, pleading, then back at
Merit.

Wan:"All I require is for these two canines to be married today."

Merit:"Oh, in that case please proceed and complete the task."

Wan gratefully turns back to the audience. Striker and Phoenix and
the audience look back at the pastor as he proceeds with the 
ceremony.

Death Valley
State of Nevada
At That Moment:

The landing strip of the War Carrier has been cleared of all
drones. The Ultima Bomber is parked at the one end, its engines
ready for takeoff. The skies are cleared of recon drones for the
flight. The bomber's engines roar to life and it rolls down the
runaway. It takes off and raises the landing gear. It turns and
flies off into a northern direction, keeping low to the ground.

Paramilitary Camp
State of California
At That Moment:

The sides of the truck trailer have been removed to reveal two
KH Military interdictor missiles on a launcher. Several technicians 
are working on getting the missiles and launcher ready for use. 
Watching the progress being made is Carlos Peru, with the completely 
robed Turwar standing behind him. Carlos calls out to the technicians.

Carlos(Spanish):"How much longer?"

One of the technicians turns to answer.

Technician(Spanish):"Only a few more minutes and they will be ready
          for launch."

Carlos nods approvingly.

Carlos(Spanish):"Good. Carry on."

The technician turns back to his work. Watching from a ridge at the
one edge of the quarry is the Rover team lead by Hotrod. They are
all lying down and watching the preparations underway.

Rally:"Those missiles are KH interdictors, aren't they?"

Convoy:"Sure are. I've read on them in the RRMC databanks."

Rally:"So why do these people have them? And aren't they used to
       shoot down nuclear ICBM's instead of being cruise missiles?"

Convoy:"Yeah, but from what I read Francisco Ortega's forces managed
        to get hold of some KH hardware during the war in Colombia
        a few years ago. They might have reprogrammed them to be
        used as cruise missiles."

Alana:"So who is in charge of the Spider Cartel now that Ortega and
       his cousin Zorrino are dead?"

Convoy:"Right now there is a kind of power vacuum, but one of the big

        contenders is Carlos Peru, one of Ortega's arms commanders."

Alana:"Isn't he the one who turned Illanov from a human to a dog?"

Convoy:"The very same."

Rally:"I can see him. There, with that guy with the robes."

Everyone looks to where Rally is pointing. They can see Carlos by the
launcher with Turwar.

Wolve:"Who is the guy with the robes?"

Hotrod:"That's Turwar, and he's one seriously mean monster."

Wolve:"Really? Bad temper?"

Hotrod:"Turwar is a big, ferocious monster who can grow some seriously
        nasty blades from his claws."

Wolve:"Ah. Well, let me handle him when we get down there. I'm up for
       a good fight."

Hotrod:"Okay, but be sure you're not biting off more than you can
        chew."

Wolve winks at Hotrod.

Rock:"So what is the plan, Hotrod?"

Hotrod looks around and spots a big crane with a magnet at the edge of 
the quarry cliff wall and a conveyor belt running from one of the upper 
ledges down to a crushing machine at the bottom. He points at them.

Hotrod:"See that crane and conveyor belt over there?"

Everyone looks into that direction and nod.

Hotrod:"Here's plan. Somebody goes up in that crane and use that magnet
        as a wrecking ball. While all the bad guys are focused on the
        crane, the rest of us sneak down the belt so that we are right
        by the missiles. Then we quickly blast them full of holes before
        they fly."

Rally:"I'll handle the crane."

Rock:"I'll go with Rally and keep them away."

Hotrod:"Okay. The rest of will go down the belt."

Wolve:"What if those missiles are launched before we can get down there?"

Hotrod:"That..."

He pats the backpack on his back.

Hotrod:"... is covered. All I would need is for the launcher to be intact
        so I can get at the missiles."

Alana:"While the rest of us cover you, right Roddie?"

Hotrod:"Eh... yeah."

Convoy:"We'd better get going. Those technicians down there look like
        they're almost done."

Everyone looks back down. They can see the technicians are busy doing
the final check-ups on the missiles.

Hotrod:"Right! Let's roll!"

They all nod and begin to creep towards the crane and conveyor belt,
then start to climb down the sides of the quarry. Keeping out of sight,
the group get down onto the upper ledge and head over to the machines.
Rock and Rally head for the crane, while the rest go over to the top
of the conveyor belt. Rock and Rally begin to climb up the crane,
keeping out of sight by not going up the ladder (which is visible
from below). Once at the top, they climb into the cab. Rally sits
behind the controls, while Rock closes the hatch and keeps a lookout.
Rally looks at the controls.

Rally:"Right. Let's get this thing started."

He spots the ignition key and turns it. The crane's engine comes to
life with a roar that could be heard across the quarry. Immediately
all the contras' attention are on the crane. Rally tries one of the
levers. The crane's magnet drops like a stone, landing with a loud
thud on the ground.

Rally:"Okay. This is down and up. This, then..."

He pulls the level the opposite way while pulling another. The magnet
raises off the ground while the crane turns to the right. The magnet
swings through the air before hitting a portable, smashing it apart.
Carlos points at the tower and shouts out.

Carlos(Spanish):"Somebody's in that crane! Go in there and kill them!"

Some of the contras immediately run for the crane. As this happens,
Hotrod turns to the others and motions them to begin climbing down the
conveyor belt. They make their way down. Rally begins to swing the
magnet at the contras, knocking some over and making the others
scatter. Two of do reach the crane and begin to climb up the ladder.
Carlos runs over the technicians.

Carlos(Spanish):"How much longer?"

One of the technicians hands Carlos a small remote with a pair of
buttons on. The other technicians begin to climb off.

Technician(Spanish):"The launcher is ready, senyor. Just push the
          left button and it will launch the missiles."

Carlos(Spanish):"And the right button?"

Technician(Spanish):"It was supposed to be the self-destruct, but
          it does not work, senyor."

Carlos(Spanish):"That's all right. We won't need it anyway."

The contras climbing the ladder are almost at the top. Rock appears
at the top of the ladder and looks down at the contras. The contras
see him and ready their rifles. Rock quickly charges up a bit and
releases a small field blast at the contras. The blast is not strong,
but it is enough to cause the first contra to get knocked free of the
ladder. In his fall he knocks his partner off too and both fall down
to the ground. When they hit the ground, the other contras immediately
open fire on the crane. Rock ducks into the cab to avoid the shower of 
bullets. Rally starts swinging the magnet at the shooting contras,
making them scatter again. Meanwhile Hotrod and his team reach the
grinding machine at the bottom unnoticed by the contras. They start
to climb off and gather behind the machine.

Hotrod:"Okay, guys and gals. Just one quick sprint to the launcher and
        we smash up the missiles before they are launch. Sound good?"

Alana:"Sure does sound good to me, Roddie."

Convoy:"Nothing wrong there."

Wolve:"Ditto."

Hotrod:"Let's go!"

They ready their weapons and make a dash for the 18-wheeler. However,
Carlos immediately spots them.

Carlos:"Caramba!"

He quickly aims the remote at the launcher and presses the button. As
he and the technicians run away, the missiles fire up their engines.
The Rovers can begin to hear that noise.

Alana:"They're launching already!"

Hotrod:"Quick! Shoot them!"

Hotrod, Alana and Convoy quickly stop to fire while Wolve keeps running
with his big battle axe at the ready. The shots do make some marks on
the missiles, but they do stop them. The engines roar to live loudly,
then both missiles take off in a trial of smoke. Everyone looks away
at the deadly birds take to the skies.

Oregon/Nevada Border
Western United States
At That Moment:

The Ultima Bomber is flying at high speeds over the mountain range,
keeping low to help avoid radar. It keeps on course towards the coast
of Oregon.

Paramilitary Camp
State of California:

The smoke has cleared and the missiles are already out of sight. The
Rovers can now only see the smoke trail left behind.

Wolve:"We're too late! The missiles have already launched!"

Nearby Carlos chuckles at the Rovers.

Carlos:"Nice try, senyors! But those missiles will soon reach their
        destinations and the Spider Cartel will have its revenge on
        you!"

The Rovers turn their attention to Carlos.

Wolve:"You'd better tell us how to stop those missiles!"

Carlos:"Oh, really? Well, you could always try and get this."

He holds up the remote he just used.

Carlos:"This remote has two buttons: one is for launching and one for
        self-destructing the missiles. You're more than welcome to come
        and get this."

Wolve wastes no time in taking up Carlos' offer. As he marches towards
Carlos, Carlos turns to Turwar while pointing at Wolve.

Carlos:"Kill them!"

Turwar snarls from under his robes, then discards them to reveal his
true form. Wolve stops in his tracks and makes a face.

Wolve:"Whoa! You're even uglier than what I hear!"

Turwar roars and jumps at Wolve. Carlos then calls out to the contras,
who are still focused on the crane.

Carlos(Spanish):"Kill all the mutts!"

Carlos makes a dash for a jeep at the end of the quarry. Alana runs
after him.

Alana:"Not so fast!"

Hotrod quickly turns to Convoy.

Hotrod:"Cover me! I want to try and hack the launcher's computer!"

Convoy:"You got it!"

Hotrod and Convoy run for the 18-wheeler while some of the contras
open fire at them. Other contras start to gather around Wolve and
Turwar, who are now engaged in one-on-one combat. Wolve waves his
axe at the monster.

Wolve:"See this axe? It's got your name on it."

In reply, Turwar grows a pair of long scythes from his claws. Some
of the contras grin.

Contra:"See those blades, senyor? He's got your name on them!"

Wolve swings his axe at Turwar, but Turwar blocks the swing with his 
blades and kicks Wolve away. Wolve stumbles back a bit. Turwar comes 
forward and takes a swipe with one of his scythes to try and 
decapatate Wolve. Wolve ducks and spins, using his powerful tail to 
knock Turwar off his feet. Turwar falls on his back, but quickly 
rolls onto his feet just as Wolve's axe hits the spot where the 
monster was. As the two opponents fight, the contras cheer and jeer 
at them. At the launcher Hotrod and Convoy climb up, but quickly get 
off when the contras open fire on them. They duck behind the 18-
wheeler and begin to fire back.

Convoy:"We can't get at the launcher with all those contras shooting
        at us!"

Hotrod:"No kidding! Guess we'll have to wait for Alana to get that
        remote!"

Convoy:"She best hurry or our friends will die!"

Meanwhile, Alana is catching up with Carlos as he runs towards an
awaiting jeep.

Alana:"Might as well give me that remote! I'll catch you anyway!"

Carlos looked back, grinning.

Carlos:"All right, senyora!"

Carlos stopped and tossed the remote at Alana. In surprise, Alana
stopped as the remote hit her chest. She fumbled a bit to catch the
remote in her paws. Meanwhile, Carlos makes it to the jeep and hops
in. The driver starts up the engine and begins to drive off. Alana
manages to get her paws on the remote properly. Carlos looks back at
her again, waving.

Carlos:"By the way, senyora! The self-destruct button doesn't work!"

He laughs as her as the jeep goes up the ramp that leads out of the
quarry. Alana starts to check the remote, but bullets begin to fly
by her as several contras make a go at her. She turns around and
starts to run back to the 18-wheeler. While that happens, the sound
of sirens begin to echo from atop the quarry. Some of the contras
stop and look up. Coming in through the entrances of the quarry are
police squad cars and helicopters. Before long shouts are called
out to the others. Soon most of the contras focus their attention
on the police and run towards defensive positions. This allows Alana
to reach Hotrod and Convoy. When she joins them, she holds out the
remote.

Alana:"I got the remote, but he says the self-destruct doesn't work."

Convoy:"Could he have been lying?"

Hotrod:"Most likely. Even so, though, it wouldn't matter. I know that
        remote's range isn't very big and those missiles are too far
        away now. I'm going to have to hack into the launcher and try
        and stop those missiles."

Alana:"We'll need some way of distracting those contras. The police
       and Rally and Rock are not drawing their attention enough.
       How did the police know what was going on here, anyway?"

Hotrod:"Must have been the all gunfire in the quarry that alerted
        them. Still, you're right. I need more cover to get at the
        launcher."

Convoy thinks for a moment.

Convoy:"Maybe I can try something out."

Convoy begins to concentrate and use his holographic powers. He
manages to create identical holographic copies of himself, Alana
and Hotrod. He then makes them run towards one of the portables.
The contras fall for it and shoot at the holograms, then go into
pursuit. Convoy sweats, struggling to keep the projections steady
until they come to the portable and head inside. Once in, he stops
and collapses on the ground, panting.

Convoy:"Oh boy. That was tough. You'd better act now, Hotrod."

Hotrod nods and climbs up to the launcher. Alana kneels next to
Convoy and begins to wipe the sweat away. The police keep making
their way down the quarry.

Wedding Ceremony
State of Oregon
At That Moment:

Pastor Wan is preparing to ask the couple to exchange vows. He turns
firstly to Striker.

Wan:"Do you, Striker, take Phoenix to be your lawfully wedded wife,
     to cherish and to hold, through good times and bad, through
     sickness and health, for better or for worse, till death do you
     apart?"

Striker nods and answers nervously.

Striker:"I do."

Wan turns to Phoenix.

Wan:"Do you, Phoenix, take Striker to be your lawfully wedded husband,
     to cherish and to hold, through good times and bad, through
     sickness and health, for better or for worse, till death do you
     apart?"

Phoenix nods and replies, equally nervous.

Phoenix:"I do."

Wan smiles satisfactory while some in the audience take photos. He
continues with the ceremony.

California/Oregon Coastline
Western United States:

The two missiles streak along the edge of the coastline, hugging
close over the ocean and near the shore. They leave a trail of
smoke as they head for their target.

Paramilitary Camp
State of California:

Hotrod is taking out his Criminal laptop and preparing to activate
it, all the while he keeps an eye out for contras who might see him. 
He uses his activation key on the laptop, and then turns to Alana.

Hotrod:"Alana! I need your key!"

Alana quickly climbs up and takes out her own key. She then uses it
on the laptop, activating it entirely. They give the thumbs-up, and
Alana climbs down to take care of Convoy. Hotrod begins to type on
the laptop.

Hotrod:"Okay, Criminal. Help me stop those missiles before they
        crash the wedding."

He keeps working, trying to get into the launcher controls. A short
moment later, the message "ACCESS GAINED" appears.

Hotrod:"Now, for the missiles."

He resumes typing. Two windows appear on the laptop screen, each one
a view from the nose of each missile. Electronic stats and numbers
appear in each window. In the centre is a red crosshair with the
words "TARGET ACQUIRED". Hotrod reads it.

Hotrod:"Not for long."

He types again. A minute or so later the crosshairs disappear and 
the messages "TARGET LOST. SEEKING NEW TARGET..." appear. Hotrod
grins and claps his hands once.

Hotrod:"Hot dog! Now to send those missiles into the ocean."

But Hotrod's actions do not go unnoticed. Nearby Turwar and Wolve 
were still slugging it out. Wolve has a few small cuts here and there
where Turwar had gotten too close. Their audience, however, had fled
and were trying to fight off the police. Wolve steps back a bit,
holding axe ready.

Wolve:"You should really sign up with the WFA. As fighter like you
       could make tons of cash, even if you are ugly."

Turwar just snarls and prepares to attack. Behind Wolve he sees how
Hotrod is working on the launcher. Immediately forgetting Wolve,
Turwar sidesteps the big wolf and charges straight for the truck.
Wolve quickly spins around and tries to run after him. He also
shouts out to Hotrod.

Wolve:"Rod! Watch out! Here comes Turwar!"

Hotrod looks up from his laptop just in time to have Turwar jump
onto the launcher. Turwar snarls at Hotrod and prepares to swing
both his scythes.

Hotrod:"OH S...!"

Hotrod quickly jumps back. Turwar swings both his blades. The first
just glazes the laptop and sends it flying onto the ground. The
other blade hits its mark: the launcher's control system. Sparks
fly as the scythe tears into the delicate electronics. Wolve runs
up swinging his axe. Turwar jumps out of the way and the axe hits
the same system as well, sending sparks and small pieces of 
electronics flying. Turwar and Wolve resume their fight as Hotrod
stares at the smashed-up launcher.

Hotrod:"Oh boy. I hope those missiles don't get smart again."

Point-of-View: Camera
Interdictor Missiles
Oregon Coastline:

This is the view through the missiles' cameras as seen on Criminal.
The message "TARGET LOST. SEEKING NEW TARGET..." is still there as
the missiles fly aimlessly along the coast. Suddenly the message
changes to "NEW TARGET FOUND. ACQUIRING..." and new crosshairs
appear.

Cascades Mountains
State of Oregon:

The Ultima Bomber continues on its direct flight path, keeping as
low as it can. In the distance the coastline of Oregon becomes
more and more visible.

Wedding Ceremony
State of Oregon
At That Moment:

Striker and Phoenix have exchanged the rings and put them on each
other's fingers. Pastor Wan is making the final pronouncement.

Wan:"By the powers invested in me by the will of God, I hereby
     pronounce you to be husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Striker and Phoenix turn to each other, then pucker up for the kiss.
Coming in from the shore are the two interdictor missiles. They
fly over, screaming as they pass. Everyone is forced down from the
powerful turbulence, then get up and watch the missiles fly towards
the mountains. At that moment the Ultima Bomber appears over the
mountains, heading straight for the clearing. The missiles aim
themselves directly at the bomber. The bomber drops flares and chaff
and tries to dodge the missiles. One missile misses and flies aim-
lessly into a hillside. The other missile keeps following the Ultima
Bomber as it tries to drop its payload of bombs on the wedding
ceremony. Finally, the bomber drops its entire payload, but not on
target. Rather, it dumps the bombs far in the woods in a last-ditch
attempt to loose the missile. The bomber rises as the missile goes
after the bombs. They all rain down into the woods, exploding into
big clouds of dirt, rocks and torn trees. The missile follows the 
bombs into the woods and smashes into the ground, exploding in a 
mushroom cloud. The Ultima Bomber then flies directly over the 
clearing and turns, flying away the way it had went. Nearly everyone 
watches in silence as the smoke fades and the bomber disappears over 
the horizon. Finally Corsair breaks the silence and cheers.

Corsair:"Woohoo! Man, that was SO cool!"

He then notices everyone was looking at him.

Corsair:"What? It really was cool. And besides, look there."

He points towards the altar. Striker and Phoenix are in each other's
arms, kissing passionately while everyone else was looking at the
bomber. The guests all forget what happen, stand up and begin to
clap for the couple. Some of them take photos, while some of the
females (particularly Elissia) are wiping the tears of joy away.
Pastor Wan just smiles. While this happens, Hunter gets a signal
on a radio in his collar. He answers it.

Hunter(into radio):"Hunter here."

Hotrod(over radio):"Hotrod here. Did you guys see the missiles?"

Hunter(into radio):"Yeah, they just flew by here."

Hotrod(over radio):"Phew. That's good to hear. I was worried we did
      not stop them in time."

Hunter(into radio):"Nice work, Hotrod. And great idea on using the
      missiles to drive away the bomber."

Hotrod(over radio):"Bomber? What bomber?"

Hunter(into radio):"The one was going to drop a load on us."

Hotrod(over radio):"We don't know anything about a bomber, Hunter.
      All we had here were the missiles."

Hunter scratches his head in confusion, then just shrugs.

Hunter(into radio):"Anyway, how are you doing over there?"

Hotrod(over radio):"We're still having some trouble, but the police
      are to help us out. So we should back just in time for the 
      ceremony."

Hunter(into radio):"Cool. See you guys there."

Hotrod(over radio):"Will do. Out."

As the radio signal disappears, Hunter turns to his attention to the 
bridal couple, who are being embraced and shaken paws by friends and 
family.

Clearing
Cascade Mountains
12:11 PM:

The KHSAS Launchers are fully armed and ready to launch the missiles.
The Walkers are standing a short distance, while the Covert Troopers
are gathered in the surrounding woods. Among them is Oqulus, who is
with his communications officer and launch technician. The launch
technician has a small computer to control all the launchers, while
the communications officer has a radio system on his back. Oqulus
is listening to the officer.

Officer:"Both the missiles and the bomber have failed in achieving
         their mission goals. We're clear to fire when ready, sir."

Oqulus:"Excellent. Thank you."

Oqulus turns to the technician.

Oqulus:"Fire when you're ready."

Technician:"Yes, sir."

The technician begins typing on the small computer. As he does, the
engines of the KHSAS missiles can be heard powering up. During that
time the officer gets an incoming radio message and listens to it.
Just before the missiles launch, the officer turns to Oqulus.

Officer:"Sir! We have orders to abort!"

Oqulus looks at the officer surprise, but quickly turns back to the
technician.

Oqulus:"Stand down."

Technician:"Yes, sir!"

The technician quickly deactivates the missiles. The engines power
down. Oqulus turns to the officer.

Oqulus:"Right. Who just ordered the abortion?"

Officer:"General Sky, sir. He ordered us to abort the mission and
         return to base."

Oqulus:"Abandon the mission entirely? But we have the best chance to
        attack successfully here! Now you're telling me that Sky
        is overruling the Supreme General himself and ordering us
        to abort?"

Officer:"Yes, sir. And he told me he had clearance from the Supreme
         General."

Oqulus sighs in frustration.

Oqulus:"Very well. Tell him we're pulling out and get our evac down
        here ASAP."

Officer:"Yes, sir!"

As the officer goes back onto the radio, Oqulus stands up and shouts
out to the others.

Oqulus:"Attention! Stand down! We're getting out of here! Get those
        launchers prepared for evac!"

The Covert Troopers all come out of cover, some of them growling in
frustration. Everybody begins to pack up.

Paramilitary Camp
State of California
12:12 PM:

The police have pretty much taken control of the quarry. Most of the
contras have decided to surrender and drop their arms. Some who are
still resisting have been subdued by the Rovers. As the police go
about their business, the Rovers gather in a group by the trailer.

Rally:"Well, did we stop the missiles?"

Hotrod:"Yeah, and by a lucky stroke we also managed to prevent a
        bomber from attacking our friends too."

Rock:"A bomber? Who's bomber?"

Hotrod:"Hunter doesn't know, but it has left the area and doesn't
        look like it will come back."

Convoy:"That's a relief. Where is Carlos and Turwar? I don't see 
        them amongst the prisoners."

Wolve:"I tried to chase Turwar down, but that creep can sure climb
       a wall. It went up those quarry cliffs like a spider, so
       I lost him."

Alana:"As for Carlos, I just had a talk with the officer in charge.
       They caught up with the jeep he was in, but he must have
       gotten off somewhere because he wasn't in it."

Rally:"I hate it when the bad guys get away like that."

Hotrod:"I know, but for now we've done our job. Let's go back to
        the wedding and grab some cake."

Some of them lick their lips in anticipation.

Wolve:"Now that's a good idea. Let's go."

Hotrod:"Yeah, come on."

Hotrod begins to lead the group towards an awaiting police car that
will take them to their vehicle.

Parking Area
Redwood Forest
State of Oregon
12:15 PM:

This is another clearing in the woods, this time much bigger and near
a paved road. Dozens of Rover vehicles and cars are parked here, but
an aisle has been left open to an awaiting limousine. Everyone is lined
up along the aisle, holding clumps of confetti. Shephard is standing
by the limo, holding the rear door open, while Shag is off to one side
holding the music player. There are several conversations going on
amongst the crowd. Finally Hunter comes out between two large and
decorated trees that act as the entryway to where the wedding was
held. He calls everyone's attention.

Hunter:"Get ready, everyone! They're coming!"

Everybody stop talking and get into position, holding their clumps of 
confetti at the ready. Hunter joins Colleen and takes her offer of
some confetti. He then gives the signal to Shag. Shag nods and pushes
a button on the player. The music starts playing as Striker, Phoenix
and Wan appear between the trees. The couple are holding hands and
grinning. They start to go down the aisle. As they pass, the guests
toss the confetti over their heads. Some take the chance to take more
photos. Laughing, Striker and Phoenix reach the limousine. Shephard
holds the door open.

Shephard:"It's ready for you, Sir and Ma'am."

Striker helps Phoenix climb in first, then he follows her. Once they
are inside, Shephard closes the door and goes to the front. He climbs
into the driver's side and starts the engine. The guests wave, toss
more confetti and take photos as the limo starts to drive off. Phoenix
and Striker wave back at the guests. Once the limo is out of sight,
Hunter calls everyone's attention.

Hunter:"Okay, everyone! Now it is on to the banquet. You all got the
        maps and directions needed, but if you need help we'll be
        ready to lend a helping paw."

They all begin to head towards their vehicles, chatting amongst each
other.

Roadway
Redwood Forest
12:28 PM:

This is dual-lane road that cuts its way through the forests and hills.
Tall trees line the road with the occasional rocky cliff where the
road cuts into the hills. The limousine is traveling the road, going
at a pleasant pace. Inside the limo, Shephard is driving, while at
the back Striker and Phoenix are seated next to each other. They
look at each other, smiling.

Striker:"You looked pragtig, Firefly."

Phoenix:"And you looked handsome, Strikie. Tell me, were you as
         nervous as I was?"

Striker:"Very much. You?"

Phoenix:"A lot too. I'm just glad that all of it is over now. And that
         we are still alive too."

Striker:"Ja, I know. You can thank Hotrod and his team for stopping
         both missiles and the bomber."

Phoenix:"Yeah. Remind me to save them a piece of cake. They deserve
         it."

Striker:"Absolutely."

Phoenix snuggles closer, putting her arms around her husband.

Phoenix:"How about easing the nerves a bit more, my Dear?"

Striker puts his arms around his wife and holds her closer.

Striker:"Goeie idea, my Dear."

They move closer and kiss for a long while, each of them murring
softly. Shephard sees them in the rearview, then pushes a button to 
bring up the separation screen. He turns his eyes back to the road.
The limousine continues on its way through the forest. Just after it
passes a dirt side road, a large semi-truck with a trailer carrying
wooden logs comes out of the forest and onto the road. It starts
to speed after the limousine. Shephard keeps on driving, then glances
at his side mirror. He spots the truck coming up fast behind them
and frowns.

Shephard:"Wait a minute. There's not supposed to be traffic on
          this road."

He turns his head. Looking past the kissing bridal couple, he can
see the truck bearing down on them. It is quite clear that it is
attempting to ram them. Shephard puts his foot down and limousine
speeds us too. But it is too late to prevent the massive truck from
hitting the rear of the limousine. The impact jolts the vehicle.
Striker and Phoenix immediately stop kissing and look forward.

Striker:"Shephard, what happened?"

Shephard:"We've got hostiles, sir! Behind us!"

Striker and Phoenix look out the back of the limousine and see the
truck behind them. In the truck cab they spot the driver: Ozari.
Ozari grins and waves at them. Striker sighs while Phoenix growls.

Striker:"Ai yai yai. It was bound to happen."

Phoenix:"Ozzy! He completely ruined the mood."

Ozari puts his foot down on the accelerator. The truck speeds up
and rear-ends the limousine again. The jolt knocks everyone around.
Phoenix looks forward to Shephard.

Phoenix:"Step on it, Andrew!"

Shephard:"Yes, Ma'am!"

Shephard puts the limousine into higher gear and speeds up. However,
the limousine is not much faster than the truck. Ozari keeps up the
pursuit, following the limousine along the road. When they take a
very sharp turn at high speeds, the logs on the truck trailer break
loose. The logs roll off the truck and down the hillside. With the
weight gone, the truck now moves faster and is catching up to the
limousine. Striker and Phoenix watch the truck approach.

Striker:"We have to stop that truck before Ozzy knocks us off the
         road with it."

He pushes a button on a small keypad and the sunroof of the limousine
opens up.

Phoenix:"What are you doing, Striker?"

Striker:"I am going to try and stop the truck. Shephard, do you have
         a gun?"

Shephard lowers the dividing window and tosses his desert eagle to
Striker, who catches it. Striker checks the ammunition, then readies
the pistol in his paws. He stands up on the car seat and pokes his
upper body through the sun roof. Ozari sees him with the pistol and
ducks down behind the wheel as Striker takes aim. Just then limo
goes airborne as the road goes into a dip. The vehicle lands roughly
and Striker is knock out through the sunroof. Phoenix gasps as
Striker tumbles on the back of the limo and disappears behind it.

Phoenix:"Striker!"

She quickly gets up and pokes her head through the open sunroof. As
she looks back, she finds to her slight relief Striker is holding on
to the boot handle of the limo. He is struggling to climb up as he
is dragged along the road. Behind them Ozari sees Striker clinging
and puts the pedal to the metal. The truck bears down on the rear of
the limousine. Phoenix gasps and shouts to Striker, pointing at the
truck.

Phoenix:"Striker! Watch out!"

Striker looks and sees the truck coming towards him. He tries harder
to pull himself up, but finds it a difficult task. When he looks back
again the truck is only meters away.

Striker:"Ai yai yai!"

As the truck's nose is closing the distance, Striker lifts his legs
and feet. When the truck comes close enough, he "walks" up the grill
of the truck's nose to lift himself high enough before the truck
slams the back of the limo. Phoenix is nearly knocked back down.
Ozari puts the brakes on the truck a bit while he looks in the side
mirror for Striker's body. As the truck backs away, Striker tries
to climb back up, but again he is forced to hold on to the limo's
boot handle. Ozari looks forward and spots Striker. He speeds up
again to ram Striker. Once again Striker "walks" up the truck's nose
as it rear-ends the limo. Ozari keeps looking over the nose to
make sure Striker is hit, and when he sees he is still there, he
speeds up again. Striker still manages to avoid being crushed
between the truck and limousine, but is starting to sweat from the
effort. The continued bumping forces Phoenix back down into the
limosine. She looks forward to Shephard.

Phoenix:"Shephard! When he rear-ends us again, hit the brakes!"

Shephard:"Yes, Ma'am!"

Shephard checks in his side mirror at the truck. When Ozari slams
it into the limousine again (and missing Striker), Shephard hits the
brakes. The tires scream and smoke as the truck pushes on it. Then
the limousine turns sideways and gets broadsided by the truck.
Phoenix looks and sees Striker is trying to climb up the rear of
the limousine. She begins to climb up the sunroof, while Ozari keeps
on pushing the limousine with the truck. Phoenix climbs onto the back
of the limo, holding to the edge of the sunroof with one paw while
holding the other out for Striker.

Phoenix:"Take my paw!"

Striker reaches up and grabs hold of Phoenix's paw. She begins to
pull him up. Striker is now able to get onto the limosine.

Striker:"Dankie!"

Phoenix:"You okay?"

Striker:"Ja, but Ozzy still has us trapped on the limousine."

They look at Ozari, who is grinning as he keeps pushing the limousine
with the truck. Striker and Phoenix look forward and see Ozari is
busy pushing them towards the side of a cliff wall.

Striker:"He's going to try and crush against that wall."

Phoenix:"Not if I can help it!"

Phoenix turns to the truck and begins to form two fireballs in her
paws. Striker gets the idea and grabs hold of her and the sunroof
edge to anchor them both. She then tosses both balls of fire at the 
truck cab. Ozari gasps and ducks down. The fireballs strike the cab, 
exploding ito big splashes of fire. Only parts of the truck catch
fire, but it is just enough to make Ozari take his foot off the
accelerator and put his foot on the brakes a bit. The truck pulls
away from the limousine. Shephard speeds the limousine up and quickly
drives it out of the truck's way. Striker and Phoenix watch the
truck drive past. Inside the cab Ozari looks up to see the truck
heading for the cliff wall. He quickly opens the door and jumps out 
just before the truck cab smashes into the wall, sending a shower
of broken glass and metal shards flying. Ozari rolls along the
ground before stopping. He looks up at the smashed-up truck.

Ozari:"I knew I should have used the knife! Always reliable!"

Ozari pulls out his knife and gets up. As he turns around, Striker
and Phoenix are there to grab both his hands.

Striker:"Hello, Ozzy. Glad to see you came to congratulate me and my
         new wife with our marriage."

Ozari:"My name is Ozari! And all I came here to do is to stab you!"

Phoenix grabs the knife and jerks it free from Ozari's hand.

Phoenix:"Now now, Ozzy. Children shouldn't play with sharp toys."

Ozari shouts in frustration and kicks Striker on the shin. Striker
yelps in pain and let's go, hopping in pain. Phoenix responds by
kicking Ozari between the legs. Ozari's eyes bulge and his lips
pucker.

Ozari:"Owie..."

He collapses to the ground, holding his manhood and groaning in
pain. Phoenix runs over to Striker as Shephard comes up to them.

Phoenix:"You okay, Strikie?"

Striker nods, frowning in pain.

Striker:"Not too bad. Still hurts, though."

Phoenix hugs Striker, letting him lean on her. Striker looks over
at Shephard.

Striker:"Secure Ozzy."

Shephard:"My pleasure, sir!"


Ozari is still in too much to protest. Shephard comes up and takes
out some handcuffs while Phoenix helps Striker back to the limousine.

Roadway
Redwood Forest
12:40 PM:

The limousine is back on the road, though up clearly visible damage
to the rear-end and sides. Inside, Striker and Phoenix are kissing
each other passionately on the back seat. Up front is a grinning
Shephard behind the wheel and a bound and gagged Ozari sitting next
to him on the passenger side. The limousine continues on its way.

Throne Room
Unknown Location
At That Moment:

The figure has just watched Ozari's failed attempt to kill Striker 
and Phoenix. He is growling loudly and banging his fists on the arm-
rests of his throne.

Figure:"Bumblers! The GONV! The Spider Cartel! The Mayhem Mercenaries!
        The European Corporation! The KH Military! The small timers!
        Bumblers, all of them! Seems the old saying is right! When
        you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!"

Banquet Tent
Redwood Forest
13:01 PM:

This is a huge white tent that has been set up in a large clearing in 
the forest. Everywhere there are flowers and decorations. Parked all
around the tent are the guests' vehicles. A red carpet runs from the
tent entrance to the edge of the road. Right now most of the guests
are filing into the tent. Standing at the tip of the carpet is Hunter
and the members of Unit STRIKE. They are all looking at the road.

Corsair:"Dude, what's taking so long? They're holding up the party."

Illanov:"They just took a more 'scenic' route, American."

Corsair:"What are you talking about? All the routes here are scenic
         enough, and some are actually shorter too."

Illanov rolls his eyes. Just then the Jet Rover comes flying over
the woods and starts to land. Hunter looks at it.

Hunter:"Ah, here's Hotrod and his team. Just in time."

Minutes later Hotrod and his group come walking up towards Hunter.
All of them are now dressed in their finest tuxedos and dress. Hotrod
salutes Hunter as he approaches. Hunter returns the salute.

Hotrod:"Hope we're not too late."

Hunter:"Nope, you're just time. We're only waiting for the bride and
        groom to arrive."

Alana:"How did they look?"

Hunter:"Oh, they looked simply cool. Shag's got some photos ready if
        you want to see."

Alana:"Wonderful! I want to see what Phoenix wore so that I can plan
       my own wedding to Roddie."

Hotrod blushes s Alana giggles. Wolve then spots the limousine coming
through the woods.

Wolve:"And here comes our two all-stars."

Everyone turns their attention towards the limousine. As it pulls up
to the carpet they can see the dent in the side caused by the truck.

Merit:"That does not appear to be the standard design for a limo-
       sine."

Corsair:"No kidding."

Hunter:"Uh, I would not have predicted this."

The limosine comes to a stop. Shephard and Striker climb out and
they both go for Phoenix's door. Striker looks at Shephard.

Striker:"Let me do this, Shephard. You take care of our passenger."

Shephard:"Yes, sir."

As Shephard walks off to the front passenger door, Striker opens
Phoenix's door and offer's his paw. Phoenix gladly takes it and
climbs out, now wearing a simple but beautiful white wedding dress.
The couple then turn to the group.

Elexis:"Oh, Phoenix. You look just as lovely in white as blue."

Phoenix:"Thank you, Elexis. Now I have two dresses that I can keep
         as momentos."

Tanarus:"What happened to the limousine?"

Striker:"We had some rough traffic."

Hunter:"Bummer. What kind of traffic?"

Shephard then comes up, dragging the bound and gagged Ozari with
him. Tanarus, Elexis, Illanov and Corsair all sigh while the others
look at Ozari in surprise.

Rally:"Who is this guy?"

Illanov:"That, comrade, is Ozzy."

Ozari stops struggling, forces the gag from his mouth and looks at
Illanov in anger.

Ozari:"My name is Ozari del Figulo, you flea-bitten mutt!"

Alana:"Ozari? Nah, I like Ozzy better."

Hotrod:"Me too."

Convoy:"So do I. It makes him sound friendlier."

Ozari stamps his feet in frustration.

Ozari:"MY NAME IS NOT..."

He is cut short as Shephard stuffs the gag back into his mouth. Ozari
starts to sulk. Striker looks at Hotrod.


Striker:"Dankie for protecting us on our wedding day, Hotrod. Phoenix
         and I owe you and your team."

Convoy:"It was nothing. We were just doing what needed to be done for
        our friends."

Wolve:"As long as we get some cake."

Phoenix:"Oh, you guys will certainly get some."

Corsair:"Speaking of, let's go inside and get the party started."

Shephard:"What will we do with our prisoner here?"

Shephard shakes Ozari, who doesn't like the treatment. Hunter rubs his
chin, then grins.

Hunter:"Oh, I have an idea. Follow me and bring him along."

Shephard:"Yes, sir."

Hunter leads the way as Shephard drags Ozari after the retriever. The
others begin to head into the tent.

Inside Banquet Tent
Redwood Forest
13:12 PM:

The tent is large and spacious, decorated with all kinds of flowers 
and decorations. Tables are arranged in a horseshoe shape along the
tent and on either side of the entrance are more tables with lots
of food and treats. The centre of the tent has been left open as a
dance floor. Striker and Phoenix are seated at the very centre of
the horseshoe, flanked by close friends and families next, then by
all the guests. Everyone is chatting amongst themselves. Finally
Hunter stands up and claps his paws together. Very soon all turn
their attention to him.

Hunter:"Okay, everyone. Before we chow down, there is somebody here
        who wants to say a word or two to the bride and groom. So
        let's give him our ears."

Hunter nods to Norwood and sits down. Norwood stands up and looks
about at all gathered.

Norwood:"As I'm sure you're all aware to some small extent that
         Striker was under my command at the Earth Defense Force
         during the late 70s and early 80s. When we first brought him 
         to the EDF he has lost many of those who loved as well as a 
         great deal more. He proved himself quite a good agent and 
         was the spearhead for us offences against General Franco, 
         the former supreme general of the KH Military. Sadly Striker 
         was not a very sociable individual and struck out with some 
         of the fellow female agents. I was very worried that he
         would never become a living being instead of just a military
         machine."

Norwood turns to the bridal couple.

Norwood:"But then along came this lovely orange-furred lady. Striker's
         defenses around his heart were already cracking while in the
         service of the Road Rovers, but Phoenix broke down those
         barriers and made him alive again. And now here is a sight
         that I never thought I would see: Striker and Phoenix, a
         married couple. A sight, which..."

He looks over to where the former EDF commanders and agents are
seated.

Norwood:"... is probably the cause of some displeasure of my fellow
         EDF colleagues who lost the bet."

Sarcastic, but jesting, comments fly from several of the agents and
commanders. There is general laughter and chuckle. Norwood calls for
order and all turn their attention to him.

Norwood:"But this wonderful union would not be complete without two
         special guests that I've flown in from South Africa. And I
         think Striker would appreciate this."

Norwood calls towards the main entrance of the tent.

Norwood:"You may come in."

Everyone turns their attention towards the entrance. Coming into the
tent, escorted by some Rovers, is Maska and Gerhard Naudé. Maska is
smiling broadly and wearing a fine brown suit. Gerhard is wearing
a navy blue suit with matching tie and carrying a keyboard in his
hands. Striker stands up, a bit smile on his face.

Striker:"Maska! Gerhard!"

Norwood:"That's right. They both came from South Africa to attend
         your wedding."

Maska and Gerhard are brought to the table with bridal couple. Striker
reaches out and shakes Maska's hands firmly. They start to speak in
Afrikaans.

Striker(Afrikaans):"Maska! I cannot believe you actually came! I am
       so happy."

Maska(Afrikaans):"And I even more happy to see you, Young Master."

Striker(Afrikaans):"Please, Maska. Forget the young master. I am just
       Striker."

Maska(Afrikaans):"Not just Striker, but Gerard Vorster. But of course
     that is my secret. You are still the same person."

Striker introduces Maska to Phoenix, who also stands up.

Striker:"And this is my wife Phoenix."

Maska firmly takes Phoenix's paw and shakes it.

Maska:"Such a beautiful young lady, even for a dog. I congratulate
       you."

Phoenix smiles.

Phoenix:"Oh, thank you very much."

Maska:"Tell me, has the young master paid your parents the lebola?"

Phoenix looks confused and so do her parents, but Striker's eyes 
widen in surprise.

Phoenix:"Lebola?"

Maska:"Yes, lebola. The groom has to pay his bride's parents so he
       can marry her. Traditionally lebola is paid with a herd of
       cattle, but other gifts and money are fine too."

Aydrian and Elissia look at each other, then at Striker with a sly

look.

Elissia:"Sounds like you owe us some lebola, Striker."

Striker groans, but Aydrian and Elissia laugh.

Aydrian:"Calm down, Striker. You have already made your payment to
         us by saving us and our daughter."

Striker breathes a sigh of relief as Phoenix giggles. Maska looks
back at Striker, his face a little more serious now.

Maska(Afrikaans):"Eish, if only your brother knew of this."

Striker looks at Maska, his smile fading.

Striker(Afrikaans):"What do you mean, Maska?"


Maska(Afrikaans):"Master Adriaan still thinks you killed your family
     as well as Gerard Vorster, yourself. He is running a government
     that is out for your blood. It is a shame. At least the spirits
     of your family is smiling today."

Striker(Afrikaans):"True, but Adriaan is a dark cloud. He and I are
       too far apart now. It is best that it remains that way."

Maska(Afrikaans):"Yes, but remember Young Master: this will come full
     circle one day."

Striker(Afrikaans):"Maybe. For now, I am just happy to be with my
       new wife."

Maska grins widely.

Maska(Afrikaans):"And I hope you soon have little ones which I can
     spoil rotten."

Striker chuckles and smiles.

Striker(Afrikaans):"We will see, Maska."

Striker then looks at Gerhard.

Striker:"Gerhard, my creator. I'm surprised you are in this story
         you are writing."

Gerhard shrugs his shoulder.

Gerhard:"I know, it is weird having myself in the story, but hey 
         it's your wedding and I wanted to indulge myself a bit.
         Six years to took me to write up to here."

Striker:"Has it been that long?"

Gerhard:"Blame it on school, university, work and excessive amounts
         of computer gaming. Anyway, congratulations, Striker and
         Phoenix. I'll be hoping to write many stories about you
         guys in future."

Striker:"Dankie, Gerhard."

Phoenix:"Thank you so much."

At that moment Blitz stands up and points at Gerhard.

Blitz:"Hey, you can't be here! You are just the writer, not the
       character."

Gerhard looks at Blitz, holding up the keyboard.

Gerhard:"I know, but cut me some slack here. I'm only appearing a 
         scene or two in this story. So relax. And besides, I'm
         still writing this story."

Blitz:"Oh really? You can't do anything to me."

Gerhard grins, then types on his keyboard. Blitz is instantly
teleported to the centre of the dance floor and dressed in a pink
ballerina dress. He suddenly starts dancing like a girl and singing
out.

Blitz:"Tip toe... through the tulips..."

Everyone bursts out laughing, watching as Blitz keeps dancing and
singing. Even some of the more restraint ones have trouble holding
back their laughs. Exile in particular is enjoying himself. After a
minute or so Gerhard types so that Blitz is back in his normal
frame of mind. He gasps when he sees the pink dress and blushes a
good deal. Finally Gerhard types again to teleport Blitz back to
his seat and in his suit again. He sits down, ducking down a bit to
try and hide. Once the laughter dies down Maska and Gerhard are
escorted to their new seats. Norwood sits down as Hunter stands up.

Hunter:"Now that we've enjoyed a good laugh, it's time to roll out
        the wedding cake."


Hunter claps his paw as a signal as Striker and Phoenix get up to
go in front of their table. Coming in through a side entrance to
the tent is the big wedding cake on a wheeled-tray. Shag and Cobber
are walking alongside the cake, while pushing the big cake is Ozari. 
He is dressed in a white servant's outfit.

Hunter:"As you can see, we have a great helper today to bring in
        the cake. Say hello to Ozzy del Figulo!"

Ozari stops and shouts at Hunter.

Ozari:"My name is OZARI!"

Shag turns to Ozari and growls at him, while Cobber smacks his behind
the head.

Cobber:"Watch your mouth, mate. And keep pushing." 

Ozari resumes pushing the cake, grumbling to himself. He wheels the 
cake to the bridal couple. The cake is a five-layer tower, with two 
figures at the top representing Striker and Phoenix.

Hunter:"And now it's time for the bride and groom to go and cut a
        slice of the cake."

Ozari's eyes light up and he looks at the couple.

Ozari:"I have a knife you can borrow."

Cobber:"You mean..."

Cobber reaches out to a knife next to the cake and picks it up.

Phoenix:"... this one?"

Ozari quickly looks around inside his pockets, then curses and stomps 
his feet. The guests chuckle at him.

Cobber:"Sorry about that, Ozzy, but we didn't want to go and cut
        yourself."

Ozari makes an unacceptably rude gesture at Cobber, but the kelpie
just chuckles and then smacks him behind the head. Shag growls at 
Ozari again, who cowers a little. Hunter turns to the couple.

Hunter:"Go ahead and make the first slice."

Striker and Phoenix both take hold of the knife, then cut themselves
a good-sized slice from the bottom of the cake. They smile at the
cameras going off as the guests clap their hands or paws. Ozari
mumbles to himself. Once the bridal couple has their slices of cake,
the other guests get up to stand in line for their piece. Servants
start coming in with all kinds of food and drink as the banquet gets
underway. Everyone chats and eats while some good music plays in
the background. Servants (including Ozari), run to and fro between
the tables, bring food or taking away dishes. While all this goes on,
some of the guests take this chance to meet the bridal couple. First
is Otto and Samantha, who come up to Striker and Phoenix.

Samantha:"You look wonderful, Phoenix."

Phoenix:"Thank you, Sam."

Otto:"Congratulations, Striker and Phoenix. You've now joined the
      ranks of the married."

Striker:"Dankie, Otto. It's a pleasure to have you both here with
         us today."

Samantha:"Ditto. And we got something special for you."

Samantha nods at Otto. He nods back, then pulls out a book bound in
a red ribbon. He gives it to Phoenix.

Otto:"Here is our gift. It is a photo album with space for almost
      400 photographs. We thought it would be appropriate to hold
      your wedding photos."

Samantha:"And other special moments those have come and will come,
          like your first pup."

Phoenix hugs Samantha, then Otto. Striker then hugs Samantha and
shakes Otto's paw.

Phoenix:"Oh, thank you so much for your gift!"

Striker:"Baie dankie, my friends. We appreciate it."

Otto:"No problem. Just something special for you newly weds."

The couples talk for a while, then go to mingle with the crowds. Next
to meet the bridal couple is Osceola and Felicia.

Felicia:"And how is the lucky couple?"

Phoenix:"Oh, we're having a great time. And Strikie here no longer has
         any means of escaping me now."

Felicia and Phoenix giggle as Striker just sighs and chuckles. He 
looks at Osceola.

Striker:"Was Felicia a little like that too?"

Osceola:"Oh yes. She had this satisfied smirk the next morning after
         our wedding. I'm pretty certain you will wake up and see
         Phoenix with a similar smirk tomorrow."

Striker:"Guess they really have us wrapped around their fingers."

Osceola:"Maybe, but it is fun."

Osceola winks at Striker, who winks back. Osceola takes out a pair
of small boxes that are tied together with a ribbon. He gives it to
Striker.

Osceola:"These are from me and Felicia."

Striker:"Dankie. What are they?"

Felicia:"A pair of earrings and a wristwatch for when you go on those
         formal occasions."

Phoenix hugs Felicia.

Phoenix:"Oh, thank you!"

Felicia:"You're welcome."

Striker shakes Osceola's paw. The couple engages in some small talk for
a while, then separate. Coming up next is Chris, a human wearing a red 
formal Road Rover uniform. He is carrying rectangular gift-wrapped box.

Chris:"Excuse me, sir and ma'am. Cadet Chris."

Striker:"Pleased to meet you, Chris. You are new to the Road Rovers?"

Chris:"Yes, sir. I've been training for the past six months or so
       ever since I joined up and have been asked by commander Hunter
       to help provide protection for your wedding."

Phoenix:"And how do you find life as a Rover?"

Chris:"It's great, ma'am. I've got a sense of purpose and I've made
       many good friends."

Phoenix:"That's wonderful, Chris. I hope you succeed in becoming a
         full Rover operative."

Striker:"As do I. We need many more of you."

Chris:"Thank you. Oh, I almost forgot."

He holds out the box to the couple. Phoenix is the one to take it.

Chris:"Commander Hunter told me and my fellow cadets to present you,
       the senior members, a gift from us cadets. I was chosen to
       represent them."

Curious, the bridal couple unties the ribbon and opens the box. Inside
is a long, silver bone with photos of Striker and Phoenix on either
side of a heart in the middle.

Chris:"It is something that is given by Rover cadets to show our
       appreciation for the example that senior Rovers set and the
       inspiration and training you provide to us."

Phoenix hugs Chris, who is surprised at the gesture. When she stops
hugging she smiles at him.

Phoenix:"Thank you so much, Chris. We appreciate this gift. Tell
         your friends that we thank them and wish them good luck to
         succeed."

Striker takes Chris' paw and shakes it, smiling.

Striker:"Dankie, Cadet Chris. I'm proud to have met you today."

Chris smiles broadly, albeit a bit nervous.

Chris:"Thank you, sir and ma'am. I will tell my friend you said
       thanks."

Striker:"Goed so. Now enjoy the day, Cadet Chris. That is an order."

Chris salutes, grinning.

Chris:"Yes, sir."

Striker and Phoenix smile as they watch Chris go off to join in the
festivities.

Phoenix:"Such a nice young human."

Striker:"Ja, though I heard both Blitz AND Colleen get on his nerves
         sometimes."

Phoenix:"That's only half surprising. Blitz gets on the nerves of
         everybody. But why Colleen?"

Striker:"Seems Colleen likes to give him pet names like she does
         with Blitz."

Phoenix giggles and hugs Striker.

Phoenix:"Luckily you don't mind me giving you pet names, Husband."

Striker hugs her back.

Striker:"Not at all, Wife."

The couple continues to mingle with the crowds before finally going
to sit down at their table to enjoy their meals. The banquet goes
on for a while. At one point Ozari comes walking up to Striker and
Phoenix. The couple looks up at him.

Striker:"Ja, Ozzy? Is there something?"

Ozari:"Yes, there is. I want to that I'm sorry that I've chased you
       across the world and tried to stick a knife into you."
       
The couple look surprised.

Phoenix:"An apology, Ozzy? That is something unexpected."

Ozari:"I know, but today I've realized that it is a futile effort
       and I would do well to abandon it. Oh, and congratulations
       with your marriage."

Striker:"Wel, this is a welcome surprise. Though I am still a bit
         suspicious over this sudden change of heart."

Ozari shrugs.

Ozari:"I wouldn't be surprised, considering."

Suddenly another Ozari appears at the table, holding a bottle of
wine in each hand. He gives Striker and Phoenix a sullen look as
he holds up the bottles.

Ozari:"Which one do you want? Red wine or white wine?"

Striker and Phoenix stare in astonishment between the two Ozaris. 
The Ozari with the bottles then notices the Ozari next to him.

Ozari 2:"Hey! You're an impostor!"

Ozari 1:"No, you are the imposter you simpleton."

By now the commotion has gotten the attention of everybody in the 
tent. Everyone is staring at the two Ozaris standing by the bridal 
couple's table.

Hunter:"I would not have predicted this!"

Corsair:"Okay, who left the cloning machine on?"

Tanarus:"Where did the second one come from?"

The two Ozaris fold their arms, staring defiantly at each other,
while everyone else tries to figure out who is the real Ozari.

Aydrian:"So who is the real one here?"

Elissia:"They both look exactly the same."

Merit:"My initial scanning indicate that they are indeed exactly the
       same."

Colleen:"Blimey. So how will we tell them apart?"

Illanov thinks for a moment, then gets an idea. He looks at the two
Ozaris.

Illanov:"Excuse comrades, but which of you is the real... Ozzy?"

The two Ozaris look at Illanov. The first Ozari grins smugly.

Ozari 1:"I am."

The second Ozari stamps his feet and shouts in anger at Illanov.

Ozari 2:"My name is Ozari, you fleabag!"

Illanov points triumphantly at the second Ozari.

Illanov:"That is the real Ozzy, comrades."

The first Ozari realizes he has been caught out. He quickly turns to
the bridal couple and pulls out a pair of knifes. Suddenly he begins
to mold and change shape, morphing from Ozari in a few minutes to 

a 
familiar face: Fortus Esquire. Fortus grins at the shocked couple.

Fortus:"Miss me, Striker?"

Striker:"Fortus Esquire! But you're dead. I threw you into a pool
         of lava more than 20 years ago."

Fortus:"Yeah, and it gave me such a bad burn. Now I'm here to make 
        you pay."

Ozari then notices something.

Ozari:"Hey! That's my knife!"

He makes a grab for the one knife, but Fortus elbows him hard in the
face. Ozari drops the bottles and falls flat on his back. When Fortus
turns his attention back to Striker and Phoenix, he finds them swinging
their fists into his face. He is knocked back down onto the floor,
dropping his knifes. The other Rovers charge down and quickly pin the
wolf to the floor.

Striker:"I know of only one individual who can change shape like that."

He narrows his eyes.

Striker:"Spectre."

Fortus starts to morph again, this time shrinking in size until the
Rovers holding him collapse on each other. They quickly look around,
but their prisoner is nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, a bee flies from
amongst them towards Phoenix. It stops behind her, then morphs into
the figure of Spectre. Spectre wraps one arm around Phoenix's neck
while pressing his golden gun against her sides. Phoenix's startled


yelp draws everyone's attention. Spectre grins at Striker.

Spectre:"Oui, Monsieur Striker. I am indeed Spectre. It has been too
         long since we last met, no?"

Striker growls at Spectre.

Striker:"Let her go, Spectre. If you harm her, no amount of shape-
         shifting will save you."

Aydrian also growls at Spectre.

Aydrian:"If you harm my daughter, no amount of LIVING will save you!"

Spectre:"Big words, mon ami. But I am not here to kill Mademoiselle
         Phoenix. I am here to kill Monsieur Striker and Norwood."

Norwood:"Probably because we destroyed your leader Franco."

Spectre:"Oui, Monsieur. You two caused us a great deal of trouble,
         but now, 20 years later, I am going to settle the score."

Phoenix then acts. She lifts two fingers and creates a flame on
her fingertips. She then rubs the flame against the sleeve of the
arm holding her neck. The entire suit's sleeve is set on fire.
Spectre feels the heat and looks, then gives a startled yelp and
lets go of Phoenix.

Spectre:"Sacre bleu!"

Phoenix quickly moves out of the way as Spectre tries to beat the
flames out on his suit. Striker and the others charge down on Spectre
to capture him. Spectre is quick on his feet and morphs into a crow,
though his right wing is on fire. He takes off just before Shephard is
able to grab him. He flies over the guests' heads, then dives into
a bowl of tropical punch, putting the flames out. He climb out and
takes flight again before Shag can catch him. Squawking, the crow
flies out the tent entrance and into the woods. Everybody watches the
crow go.

Colleen:"Blimey! We lost him!"

Bear:"But did you see how he kept changing shape? He is definitely
      no run-of-the-mill villain."

Outlaw:"Just who is this Spectre?"

Striker:"I know him well."

Everybody turns their attention to Striker, who keeps staring at the
tent entrance.

Striker:"Spectre was General Franco's top spy and one of Franco's
         Elite Guard loyalists. I thought he was executed when Stalker
         took over the KH Military."

Corsair:"I think we saw otherwise just now."

Norwood:"Which raises a question: what about other remnants of the
         Elite Guard who might have survived?"

Hunter:"I doubt that will be a problem. Phoenix here proved quite
        capable of giving heat to the bad guys."

Everybody chuckles at that comment while Striker gives Phoenix a hug.
Just then a groan gets their attention. Ozari is getting up, rubbing
his jaw.

Ozari:"What a dream I had. I dreamt I was kicked in the face after
       achieving my life's goal."

Vicki:"That is because you got elbowed in the face. You weren't
       dreaming."

Ozari looks up at Striker, and then groans.

Ozari:"If he is still alive, then I was definitely dreaming."

Everyone bursts out laughing, while Ozari just sulks and rubs his sore
chin.

Ridge
3 Kilometres West of Wedding Tent
Redwood Forest
13:43 PM:

This is a ridgeline running through the forest with a wall of a few
feet. Bushes grow between the moss-covered rocks. Squatted down
behind a bush is Raul. He is looking at the banquet tent in the
distance with binoculars. As he watches, the crow comes flying up
to him and lands on the ground. Raul turns to the crow as it
morphs back into Spectre, who is still wet from the punch.

Raul:"Did you kill him?"

Spectre:"Non, I did not. I told him that it was a foolhardy venture,
         but he insisted. We should just stick with the original
         plan."

Raul:"He won't be happy about this."

Spectre:"He will be less happy when I tell the General that he had
         violated orders. Let's get out of here."

Raul nods and gets up. The two of them begin to climb down the
ridge.

Raul:"Is that tropical fruit I'm smelling?"

Spectre:"Oui. And it will take me weeks to get the stains out of
         my suit."

Raul:"Why bother? You definitely smell sweeter now."

Spectre:"Very funny, no?"

Raul just chuckles as they make their way towards the coast.

Inside Banquet Tent
Redwood Forest
14:29 PM:

By now everyone had eaten their fill. Most of the eaten food had been
taken away, though many uneaten desserts and remnants of the wedding
cake is still on the tables by the entrance. The dance floor in the
centre has been cleared. Two groups of guests are formed on either
side of it: one all-male and the other all-female. Up front Phoenix
is seated in a chair, holding her bouquet, with Striker kneeling 
before her. Phoenix has hiked up her dress to allow Striker to slide 
the garter from her leg. She smiles at him, then giggles as Striker 
steals a quick and playful pinch of her leg. He takes the garter off, 
then both he and Phoenix stand up. They face the groups.

Striker:"Nou, we know some of you are familiar with this, but for
         the sake of those who don't know, indulge us."

Phoenix:"Whichever female catches the bouquet and whichever male
         catches the garter, he gets to put the garter on her."

Striker:"And will be the first couple to dance."

Everyone in the groups nod in their heads, some eagerly.

Phoenix:"Ladies first."

The females all move to the centre of the dance floor as Phoenix
turns around. Phoenix looks behind her to check, then looks forward
again. She tosses the bouquet over her head. There is a scramble for
the bouquet, arms raised into the air. At last one female successfully
catches the bouquet: it is Elaine. She smiles happily, though some
of the other females are obviously disappointed. Once the excitement
dies down, the females stand aside for the males. Striker turns 
around after checking they are ready, then shoots the garter over
his head like a rubber band. Again there is a scramble with paws
raised, but the garter goes far too high. While this happens, Shephard
is busy getting himself some punch.

Shephard:"Orange flavour. I like it."

He leans forward to take a sip of the punch from a spoon. The garter
flies through the air, then lands right on his neck. Shephard stands
up and the garter slides down into his neck. He feels the garter rub
his neck for a moment, but then it stops. He shrugs his shoulders
and resumes scooping up punch. Some of the males rush over to him:
Corsair, Blitz, Wesley, Tech and XL766 all try to dig the garter

 from 
Shephard's neck. Shephard spills his punch and shouts out in
surprise. 

Shephard:"Hey! What the h***? What are you doing?"

The males ignore him, trying to get the garter. Shephard tries to
get free, but the males hold him down. Unknown to them, the garter
had fallen out from under Shephard's suit onto the floor. Dylan walks 
towards it and picks the garter up.

Striker:"And it is Dylan who will dance with Elaine!"

While everyone else claps, the males digging in Shephard's suit stop
and groan. Shephard then breaks free and turns to them, angry.

Shephard:"All right! Who is the wise guy!"

Corsair quickly points his finger at Blitz. Blitz gulps as Shephard 
looks at him, cracking his knuckles.

Blitz:"I want my mommy."

Tech steps in between Blitz and Shephard.

Tech:"Easy, Shephard! Actually, we were all digging in your suit."

Shephard:"What? Why did you do that?"

Tech points to the garter in Dylan's paw.

Tech:"For the garter. It fell down your neck into your suit."


Shephard:"Oh. That explains the tickling sensation I felt. So you
          were just really after the garter?"

Wesley:"Yeah, that's right. Nothing more."

Shephard:"You could at least warn me before doing that. I was
          enjoying the punch."

Hunter:"Now now. Incident closed. Let's get the dancing started."

Hunter signals to Shag, who is standing by the sound machine. Shag
turns it on and plays the first track. "What is Love" begins to
play over the speakers. Dylan goes up to Elaine, who is seated on a 
chair, and kneels before her. He blushes as he puts the garter on her 
leg while she giggles. Once it is on, Dylan and Elaine go to the dance 
floor and start to dance to the rhythm of the music. While their dance 
is not perfect, they do get admiring nods from the guests. Halfway 
through the song, many other couples join in, including the bride and 
groom. Striker and Phoenix dance with several of the guests, mostly 
friends and family. Others watch the dance, enjoy some dessert or 
have a good chat.

15:33 PM:

The dancing is still going on, though many of the guests have now
gone back to the tables to relax, eat, chat or watching the couples.
Once the song ends and everyone gives their applause, Hunter once
again gets everyone's attention.

Hunter:"Now it is time for the final dance before our bridal couple
        go on their honeymoon. And the lucky couple is none other
        than the stars of today: Striker and Phoenix."

Everyone claps their hands/paws for the bridal couple. Shag gets the
next song ready and plays it. As OMD's "Dreaming" starts up, Striker
leads Phoenix to the centre of the dance floor. Once the song gets
going, the two of them start dancing. They look lovingly into each
other's eyes while everyone else watches them. They execute all the
moves taught to them, some very well and others just okay, but over-
all they dance good. Every now and then Striker and Phoenix steal a
quick kiss from each other. After a few minutes the song comes to an
end and the couple hug each other. The guests all stand up and give
a round of applause to the bridal couple. As their applause dies
down the sound of helicopter rotors can be heard. At point Norwood
is the one to get everyone's attention by walking up to the bridal
couple.

Norwood:"Now that is the helicopter I've arranged for our love birds
         here. It will take them to the boat where they will begin
         their honeymoon. If anyone wants to say goodbye or give some
         last gifts or words of advice, now is the time."

Norwood leads the couple outside while everyone else begin to file
out from behind their tables.

Banquet Tent
Redwood Forest
15:50 PM:

A white and blue Sikorfski passenger helicopter has landed not far 
from the tent. Striker and Phoenix are saying their final farewells
to friends and family, while Shag and Exile are putting their luggage
and gifts into the helicopter.

Striker:"It was a real pleasure to have you all here today. To have
         all those whom I call family here made this day even more
         special for us."

Maska:"It was a wonderful day, Master Striker. I will take the photos
       home and frame them. My wife told me she would box my ears if
       I didn't bring photos of you and your wife."

Striker chuckles and hugs Maska, who hugs back. Phoenix goes and hugs
her parents.

Phoenix:"Mom. Dad. Thank you for being here today. It made it so much
         more special."

Aydrian:"Very special, my dear. The past two months has been the
         happiest I've ever been since I married your mother."

Elissia:"You have a wonderful honeymoon. And remember: just relax
         and enjoy yourselves. You've earned it."

Striker and Phoenix then turn to Unit STRIKE.

Striker:"Alex, David, Tanarus, Elexis, Andrew and Merit. I am proud
         that you all helped us get to this day."

Illanov smiles and puts his arms around his wife, Vicki, who does the
same with him.
 
Illanov:"It was a great pleasure, comrade. You and comrade Phoenix
         can always rely on us to help out."

Vicki:"And the rest of us, don't forget."

Tanarus:"You deserved this day, and we are happy to see you two go
         off on your honeymoon."

Elexis:"You two will have a great time."

Corsair:"Yeah. You two should go and knock yourselves out. I know I
         would if I was married."

Shephard salutes.

Shephard:"Sir, Ma'am. It's been a great honor serving under your
          command the last 3 years and I hope I will be able to serve
          for many more years."

Merit:"According to my files on proper etiquette, the correct response
       would be: You are welcome."

Striker and Phoenix smile. Lastly Striker turns to Norwood, who is
hugging his wife Maria. Striker takes Norwood hand and shakes it.

Norwood:"End of a long journey, isn't it?"

Striker:"Oh no, Mark. This journey is just getting to the good part."

Norwood chuckles.

Striker:"Mark, dankie for all that you had done for me and for my
         Phoenix ever since 79. I owe you a great debt."

Norwood:"Forget about it, Striker. It is I who is hopelessly in the
         red with debt to you. This day is a reward, Striker. Enjoy
         it to the fullest."

Maria:"And remember, this is a journey that will have many rewards
       ahead if you work hard and love each other all the way."

Striker:"Dankie, Mevrou Maria."

Norwood:"You're welcome. Now you two go off and enjoy yourselves.
         The pilots are ex-EDF, so they'll help you on your way."

Striker:"Dankie, Mark."

Hunter:"Well, we got everything loaded up. You two can get going."

Striker nods, then helps Phoenix onto the helicopter. He then climbs
in next to her and closes the helicopter door. As the rotor blades
spin faster, the others step back. They all wave at the couple, who
wave back at them. The helicopter takes off and flies towards the
coast. Everyone watches the helicopter go, then head back into the
tent.

Throne Room
Unknown Location
At That Moment:


The shadowy figure is watching the screens, which are showing an
overhead satellite image of the helicopter as it flies over the forest.
He is on a phone.

Figure(into phone):"Yes, they are on their way. Proceed with the plan
      as usual. And no more creativity! Just follow it to the letter
      and contact me once you have him.... Good."

The figure puts the phone down. He keeps looking at the screen, a big
grin forming on his face.

Conference Room
KHA Alexander
Somewhere Over Mongolia
12:02 PM:

The conference room of the Alexander is now occupied and closed except
for the window that shows the landscape of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia
down below. At the head of the table is General Stalker. Seated along
the table is General Trigger, General Wolfeye, General Black and Tesla. 
On some screens along the walls are the images of Sky and Malcolm. 
Stalker looks at Sky.

Stalker:"Very well, Sky. You called off our attack on Striker's wedding
         without my authorization, then you told us to attend this
         urgent meeting. That tells me that you must have some very 
         good reason for this."

Sky:"Indeed I do, Supreme General. Very important information."

Black:"So important that you would go and disobey orders and disrespect
       authority?"

Sky:"Yes, General Black. And I think once you know this information,
     you will come to find I was correct."

Wolfeye:"So what is this information? I'm burning with curiosity."

Malcolm:"As am I."

Stalker:"We all are. What is it, Sky?"

Sky:"A few days ago I discovered who it was that had been arranging
     all these villain attacks to try and disrupt the wedding. I had
     my psychics work many hours to make sure that the information
     was correct. Now I have a name as to who that individual is."

Trigger:"Who is it?"

Sky tells them the name. There is a shocked gasp from all around the
table, even Stalker is taken aback.

Black:"Impossible! I don't believe one word of it!"

Tesla:"But he is dead! Striker killed him!"

Malcolm:"This is utterly ludicrous! I refuse to believe that HE is
         still alive!"

Stalker:"Calm down, everyone! Silence!!"

To help his brother, Trigger bangs his fists on the table. They all
calm down. Stalker looks at Sky.

Stalker:"Are you absolutely certain?"

Sky:"Absolutely, sir. I have gone over the information myself. It is
     all accurate. I might also point out that Spectre did attempt
     an assassination there, though not under his direct orders."

Wolfeye:"Spectre? You mean..."

Sky:"Yes, they are all alive."

Black:"Ridicolous. The EDF would have ground them all up into dust
       by now."

Sky:"The EDF was more concerned about the damage dealt to it than
     hunting down the remnants."

Stalker:"So where is he?"

Sky:"I do not know, sir. I am having trouble pinpointing his location,
     but I can tell you of the plans he has for Striker."

Stalker:"What are those plans?"

Sky:"His forces have camped on some islands not far from where Striker
     and Phoenix will be spending their honeymoon. They will try to
     kill his bride and then torture him until he dies, all on tape
     for him."

Malcolm:"That can only be him, all right."

Stalker:"Is that why you called off the strike? So as to draw his 
         forces into the open."

Sky:"Exactly, General. And if we capture the right prisoners, I can
     then locate his base of operations."

Stalker immediately turns to Wolfeye.

Stalker:"Where is your nearest naval fleet?"

Wolfeye:"That would be the Hawaiian patrol group, general."

Stalker:"Good. Take those forces and monitor the situation. Once
         you the location of those forces, attack. Bring as many
         prisoners as possible."

Wolfeye:"Yes, sir."

Stalker leans back in his chair.

Stalker:"If he really is back, then we will certainly be on his list
         of revenge."

Everyone but Sky nods their heads. Striker and Phoenix are finally
married and on their way to enjoy their honeymoon. But even though
they had beaten back most of their enemies, two new ones await in
the wing. Who is this mysterious figure that worries the top command
of the KH Military? What plans does he have in store for the newly
weds? And what are the plans of the South African fleet on their way 
to the Pacific?


TO BE CONTINUED...