Third wave.

Disclaimer: Skymaster23 has no connection to any Miyazaki films.


Six minutes earlier, most of the base was watching a film* shipped in before the estimated foreign release date by Wire Cutter, who had Feedback; her team's version of Breaker, add subtitles. "Crazy looking planes they got, huh?" Ace asks aloud, and gets shushed by Green-shirt Nash, Quick-Kick, and Recondo.

"Awk, beats Shipwreck's sketches." Polly says, causing the sailor to reach for him and step on Frostbite's foot.

"Ow!; Will you sit down, fish for brains!?" He asks while shaking him, which puts everyone behind them in an uproar.

"Both of you sit down, we can't see the movie!"


Elsewhere, Stalker and Scarlett are in the intel room, monitoring international events. "How's it in North Africa?" She asks him.

"The 48th and the 20th TFW's are enroute for response; just passed over the channel." He replies from over his shoulder, referring to an event in Libya.

"Wonder if Rock and Thunder calmed down yet?" She asks next, about how they knew some of the men injured in the discotheque blast.

Stalker is about to shrug when the alarm goes off, and Green-shirt Sikorski is heard on the loudspeaker. "Cobra air raid incoming; all Joes, move out, this is not a drill!" The two look to each other before running for the armory.

Duke and his co-leaders enter the monitor room, where Breaker, who was watching the film from a security camera, takes a gulp as they rush toward him. "We'll discuss the alert lag later; how many birds?" Duke asks him. "And have Airborne and Flash recalled."

"Got it...counting six squads of Firebats escorting four Vulture transports." Breaker replies, then they see four objects fall from the side of the larger aircraft. "Breaker to all personnel; para-troopers on the way, pep for general quar-" He says into the mic, only to stop and zoom in on one of them.

"Ah dun't think dey're para-troops, fellas." Beachhead exclaimed.

Outside, Green-shirt Menninger watches the objects through some binoculars from his AA-battery. "What the heck; why put parachutes on bombs?"


Back while the transports were being loaded, Cobra Commander turns to Dr. Mindbender. "How iss your project, Dr.?"

"Not quite as planned, Commander, but i currently hafe 71 specimens ready." The Dr. tells him.

"Not quite?"

"Unfortunately, due to Operation: Dog House, and the work on the Terror Drome, i was unable to afford enough nitroglycerin, Commander; so i injected the gerbils with something else."

"You mean internally?" He asked.

"...Vhy?" Dr. Mindbender asked next after blinking at him.

"I said to infect them; as in powd...er." Cobra Commander says before seeing the planes taking off. "No, ssstop; come back here thisss instant!" He yells uselessly.


Back at the base, the "bombs" land. "Bomb squad; head over and find out that thing's made of." Duke ordered over the loudspeaker.

Tripwire approaches carefully with Green-shirts lead by Sgt. Beck while everyone else held back and watched Tripwire hover his scanner above the casing. "Anything, sir?" Green-shirt Beck asks him.

"Oddly enough, no." Tripwire says to him, checking for explosives: Nothing, Electricity: not enough, microphone:..."No ticking, just...squeaking?" He asks himself, and a hidden panel pops open, showing the contents, a hundred of them. "Whoa!, Look out, look out!"/"Why is it full of mice?!"/"I think they're gerbil's, Aaron."/"Does it look like i care?" The two say as they dodge the furry flood.

"Any ideas what Cobra's up to this...time?" Cover-Girl asks, as three of the critters jump on her vehicle. "And... since when do they jump this good?"

"Not a clue, but lets just get these little guys outta our hood." Roadblock replied.

"I got this one, man." Footloose says, only for it to jump much farther than it should have. "I don't got it."

"If i didn't know any better, I'd say these things were made of rubber." Deep-Six says while a few of them jump by at shoulder height.

"Pretty sure they are...check this out." Snow-Job tells him, and tosses one at a M.O.B.A.T.

"Haha, bouncy." Bazooka said while doing the same.

"You sure Cobra's a terrorist group, and not just a messed up toy company?" Clutch asks Thunder while wondering why he ever said yes to getting transferred.

"Bomb squad head back inside." Duke ordered in an annoyed tone, before two guard dogs attack the gerbils and starts to hack and vomit.

"Liberty, what's a'matter, gi-!" M.P. Olsen says before his dog falls over dead. "Liberty!"

"Duty...those freaks killed my dog!" Another yelled.

"Max, Chris, those rats must be poisoned somehow; move back, move back!" Mutt shouted, picking up Junkyard and running back inside.

"More...ordinance incoming; don't let them hit the ground, people!" Duke orders, and the AA fire starts up.

"Their gunners are distracted; squadrons 1 through 4, break formation and engage." The lead Vulture pilot ordered, and the enemy escorts go nose-down.

"Cobra!"


Back on the ground. "They're diving; all you guys, back inside, hurry!" Green-shirt Indiana shouts as he pivots an A.W.E. Striker's gun up. "Lets show 'em what this crankcase is made of; Yo Joe!"

One of the jets takes out a H.A.L. after Green-shirt Blais downs two others with it and runs off. Another is just about to squeeze off some rounds when it blows up. "Sorry we're late, Duke, the airbase we stopped at didn't have any Skystrikers, so these will have to do." Airborne says from a cockpit with the name Capt. Ron "Skyknight" Micheals on the outside. Flash is in an FA-18, while he is in a different one.

"Heh, I'll put it on your tab, Airborne; and what are you in, exactly?" Duke asks, looking at a jet he's never seen before, one with forward swept wings. He and the others in the room watch in awe as it brings down one of the Cobra "bombers" before the Firebats can even react.

"Oh, this? Didn't think i had enough time to ask before i borrowed it, but they, uh, they said it was a prototype." Airborne says, in a sheepish tone.

"You took a...You'd better not break whatever it is, or you're picking up the bodies with a tweezer!" Duke yelled. "Joes, fall back; Blowtorch, pass out the packs."

"One sec, Duke." Lady-Jaye says, taking one javelin out.

"Get back inside, that's an order." Flint tells her.

"Hush up or your sleeping on the couch again!" She replies, referring to the 4 day period where she stopped talking to him, and tosses it, releasing an electrified net. "Good job, Eleanor!" She tells herself before picking up some of the carcasses to give to Airtight.

Once back inside, Blowtorch, and some Green-shirts head out with flamethrowers. "Blowtorch ta Duke, we're headed oot now."

"Acknowledged." Duke replies, as he sees the men run around outside.

"Cam oon, laddies, we'll shoow these wee beasties who's in chaerge here; Yo Joe!" Blowtorch shouts as he and 7 others chase a bunch of Cobra's latest super weapon all over the place.

"Hey, Flint?" Duke asks while watching part of the obstacle course catch fire.

"Yeah?

"How much booze does it take to undo a 24 hour period?"

"...Let's find out." Flint replied as Beachhead futilely threw one of his crutches at a random Green-shirt chasing some more of the dying gerbils with a shout.

While the menace was being dealt with, Airtight is examining Duty's body and one of the gerbils Lady-Jaye handed to him. "Wut did Cobra do wit' 'em, Airtight?" Beachhead asks him over the intercom.

"It could be anything, but my first guess is Arsenic; not positive though, I've no veterinary experience. We'll have to wait for the results." He replied.

"Rait, ah'll let Duke know 'bout this; keep at it." Beachhead tells him and walks off. "Wondeh wut's next, giant lizards?"

An hour later, the Joes are in the assembly room while the Green-shirts clean up the mess outside. "Joes, as disturbing as what we have just been put through was, it is a reminder to all of us that Cobra's fund raising is over, and they're back in business." Duke tells them. "But as we have seen; no matter what they throw at us, we will hit back twice as hard, am i right!"

"Yo Joe!"


Chapter eight. Read and review.

*Castle in The Sky.