SuperSonic Speed-- Chapter 10: Head Start
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Back on the Floating Island
---
"What the heck's going on down there?" Sonic asked, puzzled.
Knuckles held up his radio and shouted, "Charmy, I need a zoom!"
"Charmy?" Tails asked.
"Yeah, he's a member of the Chaotix. He's the one working with the technical controls right now, see?" Knuckles pointed toward the now zoomed-in screen.
The trio watched in shock as the lime-green hedgehog was subjected to some other hedgehog's torture. They watched as Juke wobbled and fell. They saw the other, darker hedgehog pull something out of his sleeve, and put it back in.
"I don't like that guy at all," Sonic commented. "Knuckles, can you zoom in on him?"
"Sure thing," Knuckles replied as he pulled out his radio. "Charmy, gimme a zoom on the darker hedgehog."
Sonic watched as a blue hedgehog with black spikes came into view. "Y'know, that guy kinda looks familiar, but..."
"Forget about it Sonic." Knuckles said. "You do not want to give it another thought, trust me."
"Alright... But what are you gonna do? You can't just leave her to die." Sonic said.
"I could." Knuckles replied.
"What do you mean 'you could'! You can't just leave someone to die!!!" The blue hedgehog yelled.
"I said I could, I never said I would." The guardian began. "When you are on a mission, what is more important, the mission, or your comrade? Because you failed the mission, that many more people would have been killed.
However, we must rescue her. She knows where we are, she knows you are here. She knows I am here. If that information gets to Robotnik, we most likely will be done for."
"Good point," Sonic said thoughtfully.
"I can't go alone though. Going alone would be a bad thing."
"True," Sonic admitted, "Okay, hop on my back and we'll juice on outta here!"
"That is equally dumb. We need a plan. Suit up and meet me back here at 0125 hours. Be dressed in your combat uniforms and ready to leave."
"So that's three hours from now, right?" Tails asked.
"Right on." Sonic replied as he began to head back to his hut.
---
Sandopolis
---
Juke opened her eyes as she slowly came to. Her vision was a mess of fuzzy colors, her ears felt badly plugged, and the pain was horrendous. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, and she felt that with as much pain as she was in it really didn't matter.
She turned her head, only to see laser bars. She was obviously in one of Robotnik's highest security cells. She found that she was so tightly bound that she couldn't move her hands or feet in the least.
Suddenly, her memory came flooding back. She remembered the sadistic hedgehog and his poison, and now here she was, likely on Robotnik's death row awaiting the inevitable. She took as best of a look as she could manage at her arms. Her left arm was where the new lieutenant had injected the poison. It was red, swollen and hurting. However, that was nothing compared to her right arm.
The arm had a noticable patch of burnt fur on it. She looked down at it, blood streaked from the wound, and she knew right away why she was in such pain-- The Lieutenant had shot her with the exact same type of pistol as she'd shot Sonic with.
He had obviously waited until she was unconscious so she wouldn't have the strength to try and run away.
Juke slammed her head back against the "bed" of metal sheet in anger. Robotnik would pay, in this life or the next.
---
0125 hours, back with the trio
---
Knuckles handed both Sonic and Tails a backpack and a sheet of paper.
"Yo! What's all this mumbo-jumbo mean?" Sonic asked.
"This is your attack plan, a map of the base. Operation Red Wind. We stick together as a group since you two have no idea on military techniques yet.
The basic idea is this: Get in undetected. If we can do that, we have won. We have no intel on exactly where Juke is being held, but we know that it is most likely in the high-priority cellblock on the easternmost angle." Knuckles began.
"Whoa, wait a sec, angle?"
"Yes, the base is triangular. Now, as I was saying before you interrupted me, we will, go in, grab her, and plant these." Knuckles explained as he held out three fan shaped plastic explosives.
"Wow, tight!" Sonic explained as he reached out to grab an explosive.
Knuckles held his hands back. "No way. Not until your third year."
"Aw man."
"Listen carefully, I need to plant these at each of the angles in order to blow up the entire base, you guys will need to be swift and silent between angles. Pick up your feet as you walk. Most importantly though, do EVERYTHING as I tell you, when I tell you. Your lives and Juke's depend on it."
Sonic nodded. "Hop on my back."
Tails and Knuckles obeyed.
"And remember," Knuckles began, "Stop running 100 meters out."
"Will do, it's juice and jam time!"
---
The hall by Juke's cell was abnormally quiet. A lone SWATbot passed through the hall every two minutes and was her only company. She could tell that something about the SWATbot was different, but she wasn't sure what. Maybe it was the way it walked? No, couldn't be that. Whatever it was, it radiated a sense of pure evil.
What seemed to be an hour had passed since she had initially woke up and the pain hadn't much faded, and Juke became terrified of her fate. She knew Robotnik wouldn't show her any mercy, and she really didn't blame him, she wouldn't show him any either... If she ever got out of the cell alive and with her free will. She wondered what Robotnik had in store for her. She could imagine all of the terrible possibilities.
Maybe, if he didn't kill her, he would turn her into one of his robots. "Nah, not torturous enough for him," Juke thought. "No, he'd want me to die, well at least torture me first." She imagined the psychotic commander pulling out a pistol specially designed to keep the victim alive, and shooting her several times. Or maybe, the new lieutenant would give her more of the poison. It obviously seemed to serve as a torture device... But then she realized something else... He may want to know the location of... He wouldn't... Or would he?
The digital beeps of a passcode being entered sounded in the outside of Juke's cell and the bars fizzled away.
"This is it," Juke thought as the SWATbot walked into the cell. "I'm gonna die." She was terrified, she knew he would dispose of her without a second thought, the man had no conscience.
"Hello, traitor," The robot began. The ex-lieutenant was now shaking with terror.
---
Main Control Room
---
Robotnik laughed maniacly at the traitor's fear, his loyal Lieutenant Shady joining in soon after.
"That test subject is great. Robotnik sir, you are going to fall in love with the results of Project S.I.L.V.E.R. The subject's mind is very easy to manipulate. This new breed of SWATbots will be a mere temporary model until the primary results of Project S.I.L.V.E.R is complete, then, your SWATbots will be obsolete by a thousand years."
"Good, very good, Lieutenant. I'm very impressed with your work." Robotnik replied.
---
100 Meters Outside Sandopolis Base
---
"Okay guys, this is it, no turning back now. Think of this as a head start to your military technique training. Take off your backpacks and grab the silver objects."
Sonic and Tails obeyed.
"Hey! These are metal gloves! What do we need these for?" Sonic asked.
"These are for robot encounters. DO you really expect to hit a robot and damage it with your plain fist? Chances are, that you will be the only one hurt. These gloves also have padded insides too."
"Sonic! does that mean I getta fight a robot?" Tails asked.
"Naw, leave thre fightin' to me. That robots'll be scrap when I'm done with 'em." Sonic bragged.
Knuckles took out a pair of binoculars. "Hmm... Interesting. An old-fasioned sandstone wall. It even has a doorknob. Follow behind me into the east door, I will have to breach the door, wait for my signal before entering." Knuckles put his binoculars away and put his backpack on his back. "Ready... GO!!!"
The red echidna charged full speed at the sandstone door, the hedgehog and fox following a couple of feet behind. The door grew in size at a dangerous pace, Knuckles prepared to make his move...
10 feet... In range
9...
8...
7...
6...
5... Almost...
4...
3...
2... Knuckles turned to his side, stiffened his shoulder and slammed into the door with a loud bang. Once inside his momentum carried him to the floor.
"Okay guys! We're in! GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!" Knuckles softly yelled.
---
Juke's cell
---
"SWATbots that talk?" Juke thought, "This ain't good, Robotnik's got some new kind of technology going on."
"How are you feeling today? Hopefully in alot of pain. It's time for your Daily shot. Hold still, although that shouldn't be much of a problem since your bound."
Juke felt the needle go in and the green liquid inside her body. She felt the exact same type of pain as last time, although there was no way she could curl up and clutch anything with her bindings. She began to feel tired. The room began to shift diagonally, one way and then the other before it began to spin. She fought to stay awake and heard the clash of metal against metal. She wondered what that could be, she had never heard of SWATbots fighting each other. That was all she could manage to stay awake for and the world dissolved into a bottemless pit before she could hear anything else.
---
Back on the Floating Island
---
"What the heck's going on down there?" Sonic asked, puzzled.
Knuckles held up his radio and shouted, "Charmy, I need a zoom!"
"Charmy?" Tails asked.
"Yeah, he's a member of the Chaotix. He's the one working with the technical controls right now, see?" Knuckles pointed toward the now zoomed-in screen.
The trio watched in shock as the lime-green hedgehog was subjected to some other hedgehog's torture. They watched as Juke wobbled and fell. They saw the other, darker hedgehog pull something out of his sleeve, and put it back in.
"I don't like that guy at all," Sonic commented. "Knuckles, can you zoom in on him?"
"Sure thing," Knuckles replied as he pulled out his radio. "Charmy, gimme a zoom on the darker hedgehog."
Sonic watched as a blue hedgehog with black spikes came into view. "Y'know, that guy kinda looks familiar, but..."
"Forget about it Sonic." Knuckles said. "You do not want to give it another thought, trust me."
"Alright... But what are you gonna do? You can't just leave her to die." Sonic said.
"I could." Knuckles replied.
"What do you mean 'you could'! You can't just leave someone to die!!!" The blue hedgehog yelled.
"I said I could, I never said I would." The guardian began. "When you are on a mission, what is more important, the mission, or your comrade? Because you failed the mission, that many more people would have been killed.
However, we must rescue her. She knows where we are, she knows you are here. She knows I am here. If that information gets to Robotnik, we most likely will be done for."
"Good point," Sonic said thoughtfully.
"I can't go alone though. Going alone would be a bad thing."
"True," Sonic admitted, "Okay, hop on my back and we'll juice on outta here!"
"That is equally dumb. We need a plan. Suit up and meet me back here at 0125 hours. Be dressed in your combat uniforms and ready to leave."
"So that's three hours from now, right?" Tails asked.
"Right on." Sonic replied as he began to head back to his hut.
---
Sandopolis
---
Juke opened her eyes as she slowly came to. Her vision was a mess of fuzzy colors, her ears felt badly plugged, and the pain was horrendous. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, and she felt that with as much pain as she was in it really didn't matter.
She turned her head, only to see laser bars. She was obviously in one of Robotnik's highest security cells. She found that she was so tightly bound that she couldn't move her hands or feet in the least.
Suddenly, her memory came flooding back. She remembered the sadistic hedgehog and his poison, and now here she was, likely on Robotnik's death row awaiting the inevitable. She took as best of a look as she could manage at her arms. Her left arm was where the new lieutenant had injected the poison. It was red, swollen and hurting. However, that was nothing compared to her right arm.
The arm had a noticable patch of burnt fur on it. She looked down at it, blood streaked from the wound, and she knew right away why she was in such pain-- The Lieutenant had shot her with the exact same type of pistol as she'd shot Sonic with.
He had obviously waited until she was unconscious so she wouldn't have the strength to try and run away.
Juke slammed her head back against the "bed" of metal sheet in anger. Robotnik would pay, in this life or the next.
---
0125 hours, back with the trio
---
Knuckles handed both Sonic and Tails a backpack and a sheet of paper.
"Yo! What's all this mumbo-jumbo mean?" Sonic asked.
"This is your attack plan, a map of the base. Operation Red Wind. We stick together as a group since you two have no idea on military techniques yet.
The basic idea is this: Get in undetected. If we can do that, we have won. We have no intel on exactly where Juke is being held, but we know that it is most likely in the high-priority cellblock on the easternmost angle." Knuckles began.
"Whoa, wait a sec, angle?"
"Yes, the base is triangular. Now, as I was saying before you interrupted me, we will, go in, grab her, and plant these." Knuckles explained as he held out three fan shaped plastic explosives.
"Wow, tight!" Sonic explained as he reached out to grab an explosive.
Knuckles held his hands back. "No way. Not until your third year."
"Aw man."
"Listen carefully, I need to plant these at each of the angles in order to blow up the entire base, you guys will need to be swift and silent between angles. Pick up your feet as you walk. Most importantly though, do EVERYTHING as I tell you, when I tell you. Your lives and Juke's depend on it."
Sonic nodded. "Hop on my back."
Tails and Knuckles obeyed.
"And remember," Knuckles began, "Stop running 100 meters out."
"Will do, it's juice and jam time!"
---
The hall by Juke's cell was abnormally quiet. A lone SWATbot passed through the hall every two minutes and was her only company. She could tell that something about the SWATbot was different, but she wasn't sure what. Maybe it was the way it walked? No, couldn't be that. Whatever it was, it radiated a sense of pure evil.
What seemed to be an hour had passed since she had initially woke up and the pain hadn't much faded, and Juke became terrified of her fate. She knew Robotnik wouldn't show her any mercy, and she really didn't blame him, she wouldn't show him any either... If she ever got out of the cell alive and with her free will. She wondered what Robotnik had in store for her. She could imagine all of the terrible possibilities.
Maybe, if he didn't kill her, he would turn her into one of his robots. "Nah, not torturous enough for him," Juke thought. "No, he'd want me to die, well at least torture me first." She imagined the psychotic commander pulling out a pistol specially designed to keep the victim alive, and shooting her several times. Or maybe, the new lieutenant would give her more of the poison. It obviously seemed to serve as a torture device... But then she realized something else... He may want to know the location of... He wouldn't... Or would he?
The digital beeps of a passcode being entered sounded in the outside of Juke's cell and the bars fizzled away.
"This is it," Juke thought as the SWATbot walked into the cell. "I'm gonna die." She was terrified, she knew he would dispose of her without a second thought, the man had no conscience.
"Hello, traitor," The robot began. The ex-lieutenant was now shaking with terror.
---
Main Control Room
---
Robotnik laughed maniacly at the traitor's fear, his loyal Lieutenant Shady joining in soon after.
"That test subject is great. Robotnik sir, you are going to fall in love with the results of Project S.I.L.V.E.R. The subject's mind is very easy to manipulate. This new breed of SWATbots will be a mere temporary model until the primary results of Project S.I.L.V.E.R is complete, then, your SWATbots will be obsolete by a thousand years."
"Good, very good, Lieutenant. I'm very impressed with your work." Robotnik replied.
---
100 Meters Outside Sandopolis Base
---
"Okay guys, this is it, no turning back now. Think of this as a head start to your military technique training. Take off your backpacks and grab the silver objects."
Sonic and Tails obeyed.
"Hey! These are metal gloves! What do we need these for?" Sonic asked.
"These are for robot encounters. DO you really expect to hit a robot and damage it with your plain fist? Chances are, that you will be the only one hurt. These gloves also have padded insides too."
"Sonic! does that mean I getta fight a robot?" Tails asked.
"Naw, leave thre fightin' to me. That robots'll be scrap when I'm done with 'em." Sonic bragged.
Knuckles took out a pair of binoculars. "Hmm... Interesting. An old-fasioned sandstone wall. It even has a doorknob. Follow behind me into the east door, I will have to breach the door, wait for my signal before entering." Knuckles put his binoculars away and put his backpack on his back. "Ready... GO!!!"
The red echidna charged full speed at the sandstone door, the hedgehog and fox following a couple of feet behind. The door grew in size at a dangerous pace, Knuckles prepared to make his move...
10 feet... In range
9...
8...
7...
6...
5... Almost...
4...
3...
2... Knuckles turned to his side, stiffened his shoulder and slammed into the door with a loud bang. Once inside his momentum carried him to the floor.
"Okay guys! We're in! GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!" Knuckles softly yelled.
---
Juke's cell
---
"SWATbots that talk?" Juke thought, "This ain't good, Robotnik's got some new kind of technology going on."
"How are you feeling today? Hopefully in alot of pain. It's time for your Daily shot. Hold still, although that shouldn't be much of a problem since your bound."
Juke felt the needle go in and the green liquid inside her body. She felt the exact same type of pain as last time, although there was no way she could curl up and clutch anything with her bindings. She began to feel tired. The room began to shift diagonally, one way and then the other before it began to spin. She fought to stay awake and heard the clash of metal against metal. She wondered what that could be, she had never heard of SWATbots fighting each other. That was all she could manage to stay awake for and the world dissolved into a bottemless pit before she could hear anything else.