Chapter 7: Rabbit Tale

October 3rd 3235, 0245 h

New Mombassa, Sector 15- Entertainment District

"Come on, Captain. Wake up." Carl said. Chris groaned and rose up. "What time is it, Carl?" Carl checked his watch. "Two-Forty-Five in the morning, local time." "Christ." Chris said. "I didn't know guard duty came that early." "Believe I, sir. Now, you get to watch he lifeless roads for some sign of life that threatens to destroy our entire planet. Like that'll ever happen." Carl went over to Chris's tent with a look of sleepiness in his eyes. The empty bed was right next to Sally's. Worth a shot. He thought. Carl only got within two feet when one of Sally's ears twitched and the nest thing Carl knew, he was staring down the barrel of the PSG-120. "Next tent buddy." She said. Carl snapped and nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Sally smiled. "Good." Carl took one last look and sped away at a speed that would've shamed Sonic. "Well, I'm up." She said to herself. She pulled on her trademark blue vest and boots. She put on some pants too, just in case.

Chris took a sip of some instant coffee. They've definitely worked out the design flaws. Chris winced ahead. It was dark, very dark. They didn't have time to pick up some NVGs on the way down so it was hard to see. But all Chris needed to do was stay awake, and watch for hostiles: A frigging breeze. Chris thought he saw a light flicker about three hundred feet away, but it was hard to see without a scope. He took his 655 and zoomed in when… "Guess who!" hands clapped over his eyes. Chris yelped and fired a suppressed shot. The carbine coughed and the bullet went into a window, showering a few marines around a fire with glass. Chris squirmed until the hands wrapped around his neck. He craned his head back to see Sally smiling mischievously. "What's up, Doc?" Chris got a little angry. "Don't do that!" he said. "Just keeping you on your toes!" Sally answered back with a wider smile. "A little more to the left and I could've blown someone's head off!" "Geez, I'm sorry!" Sally said starting to get irritated. "I'm sorry, its just, its early. I'm tired, and I just can't let this mission be jeopardized." "What, by me?" "No, that's not what I mean." Chris started to see. "I understand. No need to get mad at me, I'm…" "Shh!" Chris said.

"What's going on?" Sally asked. "Did you hear that?" The Captain asked his Mobian companion. Then it came again; a familiar screech that sounded like a banshee. "It's not what I think it is. Is it?" Chris shrugged then shut off the safety on his gun. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it should really think twice before scaring us."

Chris stalked off into the shadows with Sally beside him, wielding her .357 Python Magnum.

"I think it's getting closer." Sally noted. Chris nodded, but he didn't say anything. If the creatures were about, He didn't want them to hear the two. Both Marines walked a little further until they were only a turn of the sidewalk before they reached the light source.

Chris leaned over. What he saw changed everything about the mission.

Chris and Sally saw a small group of Terrans standing around a burning barrel. There was a parking meter next to them. Attached to the parking meter was an improvised chain. And attached to the chain was one of the tiny, quadruped creatures. It's yellow eyes fixed on the glowing barrel. The three Terrans were chatting away while the creature sharpened its claws on a piece of debris. "So how many did you kill today, Loiue?" The left Terran said. "Slippery bastards got away before I can tag one. I swear I'd sooner be dead before they get the drop on us." The middle Terran took a draft on a cigarette. "You'll have to keep up. I got 2 today." "What? That isn't anything!" The fist one said. Sally was shivering. "Come on, Chris. I can't bear this. Let me shoot him, please!" The creature raised its head and sniffed the air. "What's going on, Spike?" Spike? Chris thought. That was a dog's name. Were these creatures their new watchdogs? Just then, an energy buildup gave a whine. All heads turned towards a shadow in time to see a green ball of plasma burn towards the Terrans. The energy beam struck, blowing up the barrel. The plasma wash burnt the Terrans in their suits, the interior temperatures rising over a hundred and fifty degrees. The burning metal scalded the creature that had nowhere to run. It yelped a few times before it fell and died. "Whoa!" Sally exclaimed and fired off two rounds of her .357 to make sure that the creature was dead. Chris put his hand on the gun barrel and lowered it. "We don't want to give away our position without knowing what that was." Sally nodded and holstered the .357. Chris took a step forward. His boot was visible in the light, then the barrel of his 665 carbine. He turned his head left and right. Seeing as no one was there, he raised two fingers and threw them forward 'Move up'. Sally started to move forward and then they heard the clanking on steel boots. Chris aimed at the sound. It came closer and Chris, being a soldier, classified it as a threat. He squeezed off two bursts. The shots were deflected instantly. "What?" Chris said. The sound stepped into the burning light. "Hey, Sal, hey Chris. How y'all doing?" said Bunnie Rabbot.

"Bunnie!" Sally said. She ran up and embraced the cyberneticly enhanced rabbit anthro.

"How you doing, honey?" Bunnie asked her life-long friend. "Well, apart from a few bad guys, I've got it good." Bunnie turned towards Chris. "Hey there, handsome. What's up?" Chris could only smile sheepishly and make an informal salute with two fingers. "Come on, that won't do, shugah" She came close and gave him a hug. "Heh, sorry about the uh…" Chris said pointing at his gun. "Don't even worry about that. Got a new upgrade installed. Check it out!" Bunnie activated an object on her metallic wrist. A field of energy appeared around her arms. "It's Coherent air." She said. "A magnetic field keeps the air I want solidified in so I don't make the entire world solid." Chris tapped it with his finger. "Amazing. Who made it?" Bunnie smiled and pushed her hair back. "Tails did. He's a right fine genius, he is." She turned to Chris. "He wanted to talk to you, shugah. Apparently he had some valuable information." Sally said "Not to interrupt this reunion, but we need to get back to camp. Every second her places us at risk." Bunnie nodded. One of her ears flopping with it. "Sal's right. Besides I need some sleep. I can tell you everything in the morning."

They made their way back to camp. Sally stared at the tent. "There are only two beds, Bunnie." She said. Chris then said, in spite of himself, "I'll stay out here, you two get some sleep." Sally looked at him. "Chris, are you sure. I think all of us can squeeze in if we…" "I won't have any of it, Sergeant." Chris said raising a hand. "I made a promise to keep watch for about three hours and until then, I will do such. Now, Get some sleep, girls." Bunnie said. "Thanks, shugah. Real kind of you." she kissed Chris on the cheek before hurrying away. "Well, that'll wake me up." Chris said to himself. He sat on a piece of debris sipping his still warm instant coffee while the two Mobians snuggled in and fell asleep. Well, only two hours and thirty minutes left to go! Chris thought.

"Sir, Sir, wake up!" Someone said shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes. He saw Johnson in front of him sucking on a Sweet Williams. "Johnson? Its…" he checked his watch. "Nine thirty in the morning." Johnson took his cigar and pointed at it. "What? Too early?" he asked. "No, I slept on guard duty!" Chris said sitting up. "And on top of that, I OVERslept!" Johnson, sitting on a piece of debris said, "Well we all need some shut-eye. I agree that you shouldn't have, but you have been a lot of stuff since we got down here. What I don't understand is why they're attacking us and who they are." Chris took an instant coffee and nearly downed it. "Well, its safe to say that they are basically barbaric and are non-sentient since they are believe it or not, domesticated." Johnson nearly dropped his cigar. "Domesticated? Like pets?" Chris nodded and took another sip of coffee. "More or less. Me and Sal were up last night…" "Hold on, were you doing something I think you shouldn't have?" Chris narrowed his eyes. "Johnson, here's a name to take: Shutthe Hellup! Why does everyone keep assuming that?" Johnson cocked his head to one side and shrugged his shoulders. "Ok, fine. So what were you doing?" Chris tried to rack his brains to remember. "Well, I remember walking down the street and saw three Terrans chatting it up with one of those small alien watchdogs." "Wait," Johnson paused. "So you mean that the Terrans have tamed them?" "Either that, or they created them. But they seem to well organized for that. My guess is that the Terrans brought them from wherever they came from." Johnson took off his Marine cover hat and stroked his short black hair. "Keep going." Chris nodded. "After that, we saw a plasma ball the size of one of those beach balls you see on the Eridanus III west coast. Johnson whistled. Those were almost ten feet across. "The Terrans were grilled to perfection. The creature got burned to death. Guess who it was?" "Bruce Willis?" Johnson scoffed. "Very funny." Chris said smiling. "It was Bunnie!" Johnson thought. "Which Bunnie? I met a lot of Bunnies'. There was that one Bunnie I got drunk with on Loonis…" "No, no!" Chris yelled shaking his arms. "It was Bunnie Rabbot. You remember, from Mobius?" Johnson nodded. "The Cyber-Bunny? Yeah, I remember her now. Sweet girl. What's she doing here?" Chris took another sip. "Hell if I know, I was ready to drop. She said something to me about telling how she got here and that Tails had a message for me." Johnson took a drag on the cigar. "Where do you think she is now?" Chris pointed behind Johnson. "Back in the tent with Sally." Johnson choked on smoke. "In the same tent?" Chris nodded. "Yeah. Why?" "WHY?! I've been frozen in a cryotube for 600 years, dammit! I haven't seen pretty women in a half a millennium. Now there's two in the same tent doing heaven knows what!" "I've got millions of lives to save Johnson. I don't want to hear that." "But…" "That's final, Sergeant. I'll buy you a magazine back on the ship." Chris clapped Johnson on the shoulder who silently took drafts on his cigar.

Sally and Bunnie walked outside ten minutes later both dressed in informal uniform, which were light brown shirts with camouflaged pants. Bunnie could only wear the shirt and combat shorts. "Morning, girls." Chris said sitting near a fusion core that radiated heat. "Morning, Chris." Sally said sitting next to him. "Coffee? You look like you're dead walking." The captain said. "Hey thanks." The princess said and took a cup. "So, Bunnie. What was that information you were going to tell me?" Bunnie also took a cup of Instant Coffee. "I think it's been long enough." She said with a smile. "Well, I was actually on Earth before the invasion. While Chris was on the mend, I took a vacation to Soleana. They're such wonderful people, y'know. They like Mobains." Chris nodded signaling for her to continue. "A few days after the invasion, there was an impound quarantine put on the entire city. No shuttles could land or take off so I was stuck on Earth. Despite that, everything was going quite well actually. All things were moving at the pace it normally would. That's when the fat bastard Eggman showed up." "Bet he crashed the party." Sally said with a chuckle. "The hell he did, girl!" Bunnie yelled. "He torched my favorite mall in the city with a missile!" Chris shook his head. "Terrible." He really didn't understand the connection between females and shopping centers, even after the publication of A.M. Leng's Exploring the Female Mind in 3210. "So at that moment. My hero Sonic swooped in and killed the robot that was threatening me. I swear to God if my safeties weren't on I would've taken it out myself. So then he said to me…"

"Bunnie!" Sonic said helping her to her metallic feet. "What are you doing here?" Bunnie said "I was here for a vacation. Since Mobius I decided I needed some R&R. You know what I mean, shugah?" Sonic nodded. "Yeah. We all needed a break. But you know me, my job's never done." He laughed. Bunnie looked around him. "Where's Tails?" Sonic said "He's…he's in New Mombasa on the East African Protectorate." Bunnie's eyes grew wide. "Mombasa?! That's thousands of miles away! How'd you get here so fast?"

"Oh I had some help." Sonic said pointing his thumb over his shoulder. They could hear the faint roars of C710 Longswords chasing off Eggman's fighters. "What happened to Tails, Sonic?" Bunnie asked more seriously. "When I was last with him we were going down in an err…borrowed AH-90 Hev Hawk All Purpose Fighter. We managed to take out a few Terran fighters along the way but we were shot down and we crashed." Bunnie winced. "Ouch. I hope you two boys were alright." "We were okay. You can't see it but I sent a bit of blood over the HUD." He pointed to a piece of sun-deprived skin where a gash had recently healed. "What about Tails?" "He lost a bit of blood and got quite an egg on his cranium." Sonic laughed, then continued. "But he was exhausted on the reentry. I told him to rest and I gave him a pistol to defend himself with." "You left him alone?!!" Bunnie roared at the hedgehog. "He's 13 years old! He can't survive on his own!" Relax, Bunnie!" Sonic said. "I got a message stating that evac was on its way. The Pelicans were only hours from our position. I think he might even be in orbit right now receiving the best medical treatment the UNSC has to offer." Bunnie exhaled and looked a Sonic. "Well I still don't like you leaving him out there but I trust your judgment. How's Sally, Chris, and the others?" "Sally's great. Chris, well, he died…" "WHAT?! Chris is dead?!" Bunnie said. Tiny tears began to well us. She liked him. He was a gentleman towards all Mobians. He believed in a greater peace. He could've been a role model to a ten-year-old kid. Tails even looked up to him. "But, he's OK. He got shot in the heart but doctors aren't sure how he lived. But he did!" "Wow! That's great news!" Sonic then received a beep on his ear communicator. "Sonic here." he said. "Sonic, this is Admiral Andsworth." The human on the other line said. "Oh, hey, Admiral." Sonic said. His fur turning a light red. "You defied orders." The admiral said. "If I had my way, you'd be given a court marshal and a dishonorable discharge." Sonic's ears twitched. If he had his way? "I hear from Intel that you're doing some fine work in Soleana. I even checked the Soliana Tourist Bureau. I think Bunnie Rabbot should be in the same city." "Yessir, she's right next to me." "Let me speak to her." Sonic took of his ear communicator. He passed it to Bunnie who had some trouble inserting it. "Bunnie Rabbot at your service, Admiral, sir." Andsworth greeted her back. "I don't believe we've ever met, Rabbot. To me however, you shall be referred to as Scarlett O'Hare, your real name. Bunnie blinked. No one knew her real name. "Yes sir. What do you need?" "I need you to deliver a message." "That's it?" Andsworth chuckled. "You make it sound as if I was making it too easy Miss O'Hare. This is the Military and we never do anything easy." Bunnie was starting not to like this. "With all due respect, sir, what's the catch?" Bunnie didn't see it, but Andsworth winced. "Miss O'Hare, your task is to go to New Mombasa and deliver a message from Corporal Miles Prower to Captain of Charlie Company Chris Vennetilli." Bunnie's eyes went wide. "Sir, I can't do that. The rumors say that New Mombasa is crawling with Terrans. I can't mosey with them again." "You can, and you will O'Hare. I'm sending a military escort: the 85th Marine "Custer" Division. About ten men will be there to accompany you to the city." "That makes me feel a little bit better. What do I have to do when I get there?" Bunnie asked. "Just tell Vennettilli that Andsworth told me to tell you to speak with Miles. Understood?" "Absolutely sir." "Very good. Stick with Chris. He's a good guy and his men will make sure you pull through. Andsworth out." The COM shut off and Bunnie handed the ear communicator back to Sonic. "Well," She said. "That's that." Sonic gave the COM a quick wipe, and then stuffed it back in his ear. "What was that about?" He asked. "I don't know. The Admiral wants me to deliver a message to Chris's Company." "Great." Sonic said with a groan. "Well, the sooner we get you out of here the better. I don't know for sure but my quills tell me that this place is about to become a war-zone. There's an airport about two klicks away from here. Wait in the center. When you see the Pelican, signal for pickup. Don't fly. The Longswords didn't mop up every single Egg Jet. Good Luck." Sonic sped away to help a woman up from wreckage. Bunnie decided to make a run for it.

Almost twenty minutes later, she came to the Soleana International Airport. The whole place was deserted. People must've evacuated hours ago. Her safeties were off since there were no civilians around. Luckily she encountered no resistance. Outside on the airstrip, she could see the faint outline of a D77TC Pelican. She aimed her arm up in the sky and shot off a giant ball of green plasma. The pilots must've seen the signal because they started to descend. Five minutes later, she had to cover her ears as the engines roared. An armored marine hopped out of the back. "Captain Saunders! 85th Marine Infantry Division!" He yelled over the Pelicans' engines. "Bunnie Rabbot! Freedom Fighter of Mobius!" Bunnie yelled back. "Yes, Admiral Andsworth told us about you. We need to get you off this island!" Bunnie couldn't help but say. "Yeah, tell me about it." Saunders motioned to the troop bay. "Alright, step inside and we'll be able to get you to a ship dock in Cairo that can bring you to Mombasa." "Why can't we fly there directly?" "Well, we've received word that New Mombasa has a couple of nasty AA turrets. We can't go that way. We can however, float you there. Now come on!" the Mobian rabbit climbed into the troop bay. Saunders climbed in and told the pilots to take off. Within minutes, Solenana City was just a small speck of lights. "How long until we reach Cairo?" Saunders took off his helmet, revealing his buzz cut blond hair. "About three hours. We can kick in afterburners after we clear the airspace."

Bunnie decided to take a nap. Three hours was along time and she needed to sleep off the destruction. She closed her eyes and slumped against the troop seat.

Three hours later, Saunders shook her awake. "Rabbot, Rabbot! We're here." Bunnie cleared her eyes. "We are?" Saunders nodded. "Don't worry. The UNSC has this place well protected." Bunnie stood up and stretched her back. She walked out. The sun had already risen. Bathing the port in soft light. Most of the humans there had never seen a Mobian before and stared in amazement. Bunnie found this uncomfortable. She didn't like people staring. Saunders led her to a sea stealth ship. "The UNS-Daggerfall." He said. "She is invisible to nearly all radar frequencies, can actually cloak for about thirty minutes at a time, and she carries hundreds of the Navy's finest personnel." "Is all this necessary, captain?" Bunnie asked as they boarded the vessel. "Quite, Miss Rabbot." Saunders said. "We need you to get in and we need to get out without being detected. Millions of dollars went into developing this boat for that purpose. So to answer your question, I think it is sort of necessary." Ten minutes later, the Daggerfall rumbled out of port at about eighty knots. Which was very fast.

A few hours later, they had arrived in New Mombasa. The place was a wreck. It seemed that the only intact thing in the entire city was the colossal orbital elevator that stood in the center of the city. Bunnie whistled, she had never seen on of those things up close. "It extends almost a quarter of the way to the moon." Saunders said. "This is your stop." He said as the boarding ramp extended to the port. "What do I do now?" she asked. "Well, your mission still stands. I recommend you head to Captain Vennettilli's position. He heaved a backpack to her and a datapad with GPS on it. "The Captain's position is marked by a blue dot." Bunnie looked down and saw the Chris's transponder, beeping softly. "Well," Saunders said. "This is where I leave you." Bunnie's head snapped up. "That's it?" she asked. "My orders were only to bring you here. Besides, we've only got sailors here. Not enough to fight an invasion force." Bunnie nodded her head. "I understand." "Great. Good luck, Rabbot." Saunders said stepping onto the Daggerfall's deck. He stepped inside, and then the ship melted from view. Bunnie looked at the expansive skyline. She transformed her arm into a cannon. "I'm on my own now." She whispered. The jets in her metal legs activated and she glided away at seventy feet.

Night fell quickly. And Bunnie was nowhere near the transponder signal. She activated a flashlight. She heard screams of unearthly creatures. "What was that?!" she asked herself, frightened. She heard footsteps and she fired at hem. Screams of men omitted from the silhouettes. She heard armor clunking and went to investigate. They were Terrans. The same type of Terrans that had invaded her homeworld. She kicked them in the head just for good measure.

It was late at night. Bunnie's flashlight had gone out by then. She had landed to continue her journey on foot. She needed to walk in order for the built in alternator to recharge the batteries for both her jets and flashlight. Just then, she heard voices. Male voices. She turned the corner, safe in the shadows. Three Terrans were standing close to a flammable barrel smoking cigarettes talking about how many humans they had killed. It was sickening. She suddenly heard more footsteps, but they weren't Terrans. She decided to focus on her enemies first. Chained to a parking meter was the most repulsive creature she had ever seen in her life. It was the size of a big dog. It had a long tail, mandibles, and two claws coming out of their backs. It looked hostile, but the Terrans didn't react. She decided to Torch them all. She drew as much power as she could from her batteries as the biggest plasma ball she had conjured flared up. She discharged the plasma into the flaming barrel. The Terrans screamed as the plasma wash burned them alive. The exploding barrel also torching the little creature. Then she heard a .357 Python discharge and sent two rounds into the creature. She knew that sound. It couldn't be. Then another figure emerged from the shadows. But this one wasn't a Terran. It was a marine. Better yet. It was Chris. She was about to step out but Chris raised his gun. He didn't know she was there. Bunnie activated a shield in her arm; barely enough to stop the two three-round bursts. Chris's mouth fell. "What?" He said in disbelief. Bunnie walked out into the light and said "Hey Sal, Hey Chris. How y'all doing?"

"So that's it, then?" Chris said. "So Sonic is alive!" Sally said. "Yeah, that's great news." Chris said rolling his eyes. "I don't know what Sonic hates about you, Chris." Bunnie said. "You look like a nice guy. I can't see anyone hating you, shugah." Chris blushed, and sat it out cleaning his rifle. Then he changed the subject. "Tails wanted to speak to me?" Bunnie nodded. "Go right ahead, Chris. He's going to burst if you don't talk to him." Chris keyed in the Indomitable Bridge frequency. "Velo here, Chris. What can I do for you?" Chris nodded as Jack addressed him by his name. This was perfectly understandable since a Lieutenant in the Navy was equivalent to a Marine captain rank. "Miles Prower wanted to talk to me?" Velo answered. "Oh, yeah. The admiral mentioned it one or two times. Hang on, Chris. I'm patching you in to R&D" Suddenly, a scientist answered the COM. "Research and Development Lab." He said. "What can we do for you?" Chris said "I'd like to speak to Corporal Miles Prower." "Oh, you mean Tails don't you? You're the guy he's talking about. You'd better speak to him. Like now." "Put him on." Chris said. Suddenly he heard the shout and the tails whirring to Tails." "Chris? Chris! Oh thank God, you're still alive!" Chris detected a sign of caffeine ingestion in his voice. "You wanted to tell me something?" "That's correct. I have important information about the mysterious creatures." Chris was fascinated. "Well, go ahead. Lay it on me." Tails spent almost thirty minutes telling them what Andsworth told him that Eggman told him.

"Are you sure?" Chris said. "You know. The UNSC and Eggman aren't the greatest friends. He could be feeding us a false lead." Over the COM, Tails was shaking his head in the R&D lab. "I don't think so. Much of his information checks out so I think we used some great persuasion to get what we need." "So these Zerg," Chris began. "We may have made a great discovery." Tails was impatient. The caffeine starting to kick in. "Well?" "The Zerg seem to have been domesticated by the Terrans." Tails was aghast. "Domesticated? This changes things. Hold on." There was typing over the ear communicator. "OK, got it in. Well, The Zergling seems to be the main caste of the Zerg 'Brood' that have been tamed by the Terran Confederacy. So far, The Hydralisks or these unknown Ultralisks don't seem to be tamed. If what Eggamn describes is true, Ultralisks may sound impossible to gain control over." "Do our objectives change?" Chris asked his Mobian friend. "Hang on… That's interesting." "What?" Tails said, "Well there has been some strange activity in the center of the city. The UAV scans show that whatever it is, its colossal, and its not mechanical." "So its Zerg." Chris pointed out. "Yes, but its huge. Easily able to cover a few football fields." Chris whistled. "That's not good. Do you have confirmation on what it is?" "We have a theory." "Love to hear it." The captain said. "Well, Eggman told us that this particular creature might be an Overmind." "Overmind? What's that, like a king?" Tails said. "Sort of, kind of. I think your best bet is to establish an RV point with the other teams. I think you might need everyone you can get." Chris nodded. "You may be right." "I usually am." Tails said smugly. "Don't make a habit of it." Chris said with a smile. "I hear from the boss that Bunnie's down there. Tell her I said hi. And ask her how Sonic's doing." Chris muted the mike and said to Bunnie, "Tails says hi. He also wants to know how Sonic's doing." Bunnie chuckled and said, "tell him that I said hi too. Sonic's doing OK." "She said hi too. Sonic's fine." Tails answered. "Great. I feel so much better. Call me if you need me. Good luck Chris." The channel snapped off.

Chris turned to his men. "OK, people. This is now a no holds barred conflict. We attack these creatures that we've identified as Zerg with full force. Dream come true, huh Ryan?" Ryan pressed a button and his bayonet spun at a remarkable speed. "You bet, Captain." "We need to transfer everything we've learned about the Zerg to the other teams sent down here." Chris took out his datapad and put all the information he had learned and sent it to the team leaders. With a push of a button, the electronic message was away in a heartbeat. "Well, All we need to do now is meet up."