Hello everyone. Glad to be back on track. As always, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed my story so far. Yes even you guests out there. I want to make it known to the peoples of the land that I do NOT own any of the characters, settings, weapons, or gadgets referenced in this chapter. My personal characters are mine and mine alone unless I decide to be generous, which…well… let's face it guys…this is me we're talking about. Anyways, be sure to read and review if you like what you see. Constructive criticism is always allowed, but outright rudeness will be chastised and sent to bed without supper. If you have questions about the story, go ahead and ask, but I guarantee that all of them will most likely be explained in due time. Part 2 will be up as soon as possible, but knowing me, that probably means March. *shrugs* Oh well. In the meantime, enjoy a very late HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~STG


CHAPTER VI: BREAKING AND ENTERING (Part 1/2)

New Gearmund: Cross Square. 19:25 hours

It had taken a lot of effort, but Jason, Notch, and Jerry had finally taken out the four enemy soldiers. Two of the lizards hadn't budged an inch since their defeat and after close inspection by Jerry, were determined to be dead. The other two were more fortunate. They had been knocked out about halfway through the fight, and were now tied up against one of the many street lamps across the square.

"Geez. Those guys really put up a fight. I'm beat."

"You think that was bad Notch? Why don't you stay on the front lines a bit with about a hundred of these scrubs coming at you at all times. Then we'll see how tired you are." Jerry walked back to their temporary base of operations, annoyed at his pupil's incompetence. Jason and Notch followed him inside, not wanting to anger their superior officer further.

As they walked in they saw the mysterious girl sitting in one of the booths, Jerry coming up alongside her. Jason swore he had seen this lombax before, but before he could ask, they had sat down and the girl had begun to explain her story.

She was, as they had thought, a newer member of the guard, apparently from the same group as Jason, explaining why he recognized her. She was heading back to HQ with her fellow guardsmen, many of whom were recent graduates as well, but when they got there they were ambushed by enemy soldiers, and her entire squad was taken out. She escaped, and they knew the rest. As she brought her story to a close, Jerry stood up and started pacing the room.

"Oh no…Looks like he's got himself an idea." Jason understood Notch's words all too well. Usually when the General had a plan…well…the last guy's fur never grew back.

"Great, and I was hoping maybe we'd make it out of here alive."

"I'm confused. Why should we be worried about this? Did I miss something?" The girl, had obviously never experienced the General before now. This would not be a fun time for her.

"Okay scrubs listen up." Jerry's voice boomed above the conversation. "I've got a plan to get us off this rock. You can come too if you want…um…"

"Sam."

"Right. In that case, we need a change in transportation. If I remember correctly, and let's hope I do, there's an old clunker in the hanger that the mechanics have been looking after. By that, I mean they change the oil every few months and move it over about ten feet. It seats four and, as far as I know, it's in good enough condition to get us off this god forsaken rock."

Jason could already see a flaw in the plan.

"Jerry, you heard… - Sam was it?" he paused to question the lombax as she nodded her head. " ...the HQ is heavily guarded by a force we've barely managed to put a dent in. All streetside entries AND the hangar doors are locked with passwords that have probably changed in the time they've taken over. With those odds against us, how are we supposed to stay alive long enough to get in the building, let alone the hangar?"

"We do it with this." Jason's head turned as Sam pulled out a military grade laptop, opened it up, and flipped it around for everyone to see. "During boot camp, I specialized in hacking, programming, general technology, the whole enchilada. If you can get me to the terminals outside each door, I can hack the system and get us in without raising any alarms."

"Damn. All that and a bag of bolts, huh?" Notch was impressed. Then again, he couldn't even tell a thumb drive from a thumbnail.

"Then it's settled. We leave for the HQ immediately. Gather your gear and meet outside when you're ready." With no hesitation, Jerry left to gather his remaining supplies, leaving the others to gather their own belongings for the trip.


Praetorian Heights, VA Retirement Community, Appt. 72 B, 20:42 hours

Jason peered through the scope of his sniper, silently observing the overrun HQ looming in the distance. Carefully scanning the front of the building, he checked for signs of the enemy guard. Notch had joined him when they had realized Sam was carrying a set of high-powered binoculars, having taken them off of one of the incapacitated enemy soldiers. The two stood up in agreement when they were sure no one was there.

"Ok guys," The whisper echoing through their abandoned apartment hiding place. "We're not seeing any guards at the front door, which probably means they're inside right now. If we're gonna do this we may as well do it now."

"Sounds like a plan. Just to be safe though, we should probably take the side entrance. Doesn't matter how little soldiers are out there, going through the front doors could spell death six ways to Sunday. We can get to it from that alley." Jerry pointed to the alley running along the right side of the building. "The door there leads to a laundry access hallway in the left wing. If we can get in through there, we may have a chance at getting out without being seen. It'll surely make the trip longer, but that won't matter if we don't get caught. Whatever the case, we need to move while there's no one outside. Get your stuff and let's go." With that, the four left the apartment and delved into the growing night, their eyes glowing faintly in the soft twilight.


Praetorian HQ, 21:32

The dark shadow of the night had crept upon them faster than they had expected. By the time they arrived at the alley, everyone was on high alert. Their moves were silent. Stealthy. An unworldly silence gripped the atmosphere as they approached the side door of the HQ. The silence was broken only by Jerry's low whisper.

"Ok scrub. Here's the lock. Get to it. We'll watch your back."

No less than five seconds after the words left his mouth, Sam was in front of the heavy duty electronic lock, laptop in hand and connected to the device. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as numerous lines of code appeared on the screen. In under a minute, the lock flashed green, and the door unlocked.

"And that, boys, is how it's done." Sam closed her laptop and unplugged it from the device.

The three were surprised that it happened so quickly. They were expecting the process to last at least ten or fifteen minutes. Sam was the first to break the silence.

"Well. What are we waiting for guys? Let's get that ship and get outta here."

Snapping the boys out of their cautious daze, Jerry gently placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it quietly, so as not to arouse-

They opened the door to find two lizards standing on either side of a water cooler. There was a second of stunned pause from both parties, only broken when the leftmost lizard lunged to pull the HQ's infiltration alarm.

"INTRUDER ALERT! ALL SOLDIERS TO THE SIDE ENTRANCE! I REPEAT! ALL SOLDIERS TO THE SIDE ENTRANCE!"

"RUN FOR IT!" Jerry shouted as he blasted the lizards into oblivion.

"OH YEAH! SURE! GO THROUGH THE SIDE ENTRANCE! NOBODY WILL FIND US THERE! GOING THROUGH THE FRONT IS ABSOLUTELY SUICIDE! FUNNY THING! THE ENEMY WAS AT THE SIDE ENTRANCE!" Notch mimicked as he sprinted through the building.

"SHUT UP AND RUN!" Jason seemed to snap him out of it.

The four ran through the base, sprinting past corridor after corridor. No matter how far they ran there always seemed to be troops waiting around every corner. They turned another corner, now running down an older hallway that reeked of molds and mildews. A reminder of its vast years standing in the ruins of the original city. It had obviously not been repainted in years, as entire chips had begun to peel from their places. The doors of the hallway were protected with locks untouched by technology, almost like…

It hit Jason harder than an Alpha Disruptor.

"Jerry! You still have those keys you had earlier?"

"I like where you're heading with this. Might be just what we need to lose these scrubs. NOTCH! SAM! HARD RIGHT! RUSTY METAL DOOR! YOU CAN'T MISS IT!"

They only nodded as the four rushed around the corner and into the next hall, a trail of bloodthirsty lizards on their tails. They reached the door in no time flat.

"SAM!" Jerry's command almost lost in the battle-cries of their pursuers. "THE KEY TO THE DOOR IS ON THIS KEY CHAIN. FIND IT. OPEN IT! WE'LL COVER YOU! GO!"

Sam nodded her head, not wanting to scream over the already deafening cries. Jerry began firing at the horde, Notch loaded up his Blitz Gun, and Jason set up his sniper on the floor in front of him. The three held their positions as Sam frantically tried key after key on the door, hands sweating in her gloves. The troops were almost upon them when their keen hearing picked up a slight 'click.'

"GOT IT! EVERYONE IN!" The door flew open as she darted inside.

Jason and Notch weren't far behind, and although Jerry attempted to pass through the door, his path was cut off by the soldiers' reckless firing.

"JERRY! HURRY UP! WE'VE GOTTA TAKE COVER!"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YA THINK I'M TRYING TO DO?! HAVE A TEA PARTY WITH THESE-SON OF A QWARK!" disaster struck with a gush of blood as the General crumpled to the ground.

"JERRY!" A cry in perfect unison as the three rookies grabbed the nearest weapon to them.

The two soldiers dove into the fray, guns and wrenches blazing, attacking anything that moved; a synchronization that was almost rhythmic. Both took hits that could have sent any lombax to an infirmary, but they pressed on, eventually lifting their friend up and into the room. The lock clicked just as a laser round hit the upper half of the door.