Chapter 11: Fatal Error

Day 8, 18:45, Mobian Sea, 250 miles South East from Mobotropolis harbor

Grid: 054629145

Weather: Rainy

Situation: Task Force Atlas has been deployed to intercept the Acorn Authority terrorist attack of Natasha Adoskova.


6 hours before deployment

From blue the computer screen of a satellite Image Control Database, Nicole began to pinpoint out four possible terrorist target that Natasha may strike, the first one was the Royal Military Headquarter, the second one is the Acorn Castle where the illegitimate king was ruling, the third one is the city's Nora Theater and the last one is Natasha's very own cargo ship, the "Red moon". Standing behind her and watching her work, were Commander Towers and Director Harvey Who, leaders of Task Force Atlas. "How's the intel working for you?" Towers asked the AI Lynx. "It looks like Natasha is planning to use the cargo ship as a plan B. The intel we pulled from her safe house shows that should the two primary targets fail to go off, she'll have her ship docked to the harbor and blow up with nuclear material inside its cargo holds."

Shocking news indeed for the two highly experienced military leader, the grim image of a city vaporized in a single second by nuclear weapons was still a discerning matter for special operation planners whose daily job is to stop terrorist attacks of any kind and at any moment. Nicole projects the data files of the nuclear materials and blue prints of PETN bombs made by Natasha's workers, the bombs were consist of a PETN container made from silver paper, a wire cord connect the PETN to a detonator, batteries were also connected to the detonator control the master arm of the bomb.

Nicole then shows the schematic of Natasha's ship layout, a large container ship length of about 300 meters in length and 50 meters in terms of height. The fore deck also has a helipad for a KA 60 Kasatka helicopter to land on. "Where's the ship current location?" Harvey asked the lynx stressfuly. "She's about 12 hours away from the city's harbor. We'll have to move fast to intercept her. The deck got two radar controlled ZPUs anti air canon hooked to the ship's radar, which means they'll shred our birds if we go in by air." Nicole explained the complicated situation to the commanders, with two ZPUs on the ship's deck defending from air assaults, the only option now is to board the ship from the water. "I have a solution director Who. I got a nuclear submarine the Hunter, she's heading for rendezvous with our AFO team right now." Towers informed Who of the best solution that's now at Who's disposal.

Out at sea while the commanders were going over their plans, a small combat rubber raiding craft was heading out to somewhere, nobody knows what lies beneath them until the very last minute, while then on the GPS screen, the green moving along the digital trail was coming ever closer to the red X mark. On the CRRC Zodiac motor boat, were Silver the hedgehog, Shadow the hedgehog, Shard the Metal Sonic and Larry Lynx at the control. "We're at the RV, stop the boat!" Shadow signals Larry to stop the engine and wait for the Federation Navy's Submarine to surface. After 30 seconds of waiting, from beneath the surface, a black tube like object with a large mast on the foredeck began to show itself. Then finally the submarine was floating on the water surface, the four Mobians deflate their Zodiac and board the submarine. "Overlord this is Hunter, Neptunes are in. Repeat, AFO Neptune is onboard the Hunter." As the submarine dives back into the depth of the ocean, the four Mobians receive instructions and careful planning from their Commanders.

6 hours later

In Mobotropolis, a group of Mobians and Overlanders was preparing a special way to celebrate the night. 50 was the number of the group members, they loaded into their truck and drove through the city to the Nora theater, as their truck stop rolling its wheels inside the garage, the group disembarked and move upstairs, through the lobby and into the auditorium where 700 Mobians were watching a play of the Acorn family's rise to power. The group went behind the stage and suddenly rush out from all sides of the auditorium. The audiences were shock and terrorfied at the scene of sudden terrorist attack, "Bratislava voye! Bomba natista pryom! (Secured the theater! Set up the bombs!)" The terrorist leader shouted out to his henchmen. "Da tavorist commandi! (Yes comrade commander!)" the terrorists spreads out and plant their bombs on the pillars of the theater, preparing to send the whole building six feet under with everyone in it. Inside the auditorium, female suicide bombers wearring black traditional Muslim dress and headwears positioned themselves on all four corners of the room. One suicide bomber sits in the middle of the auditorium with the largest bomb of them all shaped like a large pipe. The Mobian terrorists were mostly wolves from Akmenistan, widdles left over after Naugus's regional war to control the country's oil supply.

The terrorist leader, a Mobian wolf named Vladimir Baraia released a video to the media, "This is a message to lord of war that rules the Acorn Kingdom, Ixis Naugus. As you can see, we have 700 people who should have care about in the first place at harm's way. In one single second, we will send this building and everyone inside six feet under. If you care about your people, then come and fight the martyrs of the revolution." The terrorist's challenge was immediately answered, the theater was surrounded by the police and the military. Police barricades were set up in a perimeter of about 500 meters around the building, while then military sharpshooters set themselves up inside the buildings around the theater, riot cops were positioned around the front parking lot of the theater. News chopper circles around the building to bring the live scoop of the night to frightful viewers of the city, with the kingdom facing its ultimate terrorist siege, Naugus and Geoffrey St John has no choice but to took to the streets and handle the situation personally.

While then out at sea, the Submarine UFS Hunter was behind the Red Moon, prowling the cargo ship from the underneath, inside the airlock compartment of sub, the four Mobians from AFO Neptune gears up for their mission, wearring rebreathers Mark V Draeger diving gears along with their weapons and equipments, they were ready to surface and face their enemies. "UFS Hunter deploying AFO Hunter, moving to objective when you're clear. Over." The captain said on his intercom, as the compartment was being filled with waters, the tension rose for this is when the mission began. The water eventually filled up the compartment and the four Mobians open the airlock hatch to exit the sub, they swam outside to the sea's depth where they inflate their Zodiac rubber boat and surface.

As they reach the surface, they took off their diving equipments and goggles and lock and load their weapons. "Joker, start up the boat." Shard said to Larry Lynx, "Aye aye captain." The lynx quickly start up the rubber craft's engine and drove up to the side of the Red Moon's foredeck. They tied their fast rubber craft to the side of the ship and fired up their cables onto the lower deck of the ship, "Hook up and move fast. We ought to stay out of sight fast." Shadow count from three to one and the four of them simutaneously reel their cables all the way up to the lower deck. They boarded onto the lower deck with ease, making little to no nose at all as they begin to destroy the ship's anti air defense. "Nesprono sevaltne. Stovroi chiminov. (I'll go check out what's going on. Wait here.)" A terrorist ordered his comrade, the Mobian coyote armed his AK 74 and walked out of his cabin on the lower deck and saw the infiltrators, he scream out to his comrade to join him in battle right away. "Vodna namaye! (Look we have uninvited guests!)".

Shadow quickly fires his suppressed LaRue M4 with Red Dog Scope at the coyote, dropping the terrorist with a burst of three bullets. "Nasma voyo demaya! Esne chimayo! (We have infiltrators! Sound the alarm!)" The terrorists on the lower deck shouted to each other, they scrambled to search for the Mobians who boarded their ship at the same time trying to sound off the alarm. "We need to double time it. Let's move." Shadow shouted to his team to move out quickly, Shard and Silver take point and lead the way, mowing down any and all enemies stand in their way up to the fore deck. "Overlord, this is AFO Neptune, we've been compromised, repeat we have been compromised. Moving to destroy the triple A batteries now. Over." Shard reported to Harvey Who on his intercom, the aged owl quickly grab his headset and stand into battle control position. "Solid copy Neptune 2, we need you to secure those ZPUs so we can insert the SEALs with the EOD specialists. How copy over?" Shard quickly replied to Harvey while hiding behind covers with his teammates on the top deck. "Good copy Overlord. Moving with the quickest, out."

"Yak misul! (I have a visual!) A terrorist shouted when he saw Silver's white quill. Silver immediately fires his MP5SD submachine gun at the terrorist's head, thus killing him instantly. Shadow saw the Kasatka helicopter was still sitting on the helipad of the ship, he took the opportunity and plant a C4 explosive charge on the helicopter and set the timer to go off in 5 seconds, "Fire in the hole!" Shadow shouted to his teammates on the whisper microphone, the C4 explosive go off after 5 seconds and destroy the Kasatka helicopter, leaving a blasted, burning wreckage. "Now their air support and escape route is gone. We'll less thing to concern." Shadow commented the situation, he and his teammates quickly spread out and plant C4 demolition charges on the ZPU anti aircraft canons, they get into cover behind some of the containers and set off the charges by remote control. The ensuring explosion was follow by a sound of radio chatters and a helicopter flying into the ship's airspace.

"Strike team 1 this is SEAL Team 3 inserting from the Northwest, repeat, inserting from the Northwest, check your fire and cover our six over." The SEAL Team leader informed Silver and his teammates, as the MH60 Pave Hawk helicopter hovers above the deck of the Red Moon, the SEAL operatives quickly rope down and get into formation. "Good to see you guys. I need some of your boys to secure the deck, the rest and us will secure the bridge and cargo holds. Let's go!" Silver led his team quickly move through the ship's top deck to the bridge of the ship along with the SEAL operatives and their EOD specialists. When they reach the fron of the ship's bridge, Natasha was patiently waiting for them to come and do battle with her. "Flash out." Larry threw a flashbang grenade, it bounce on the ground and detonated into a blinding flash and stinging sound, it caught Natasha off guard and she was now nothing more than a dazed cat. "Go go go! Get her now!" Shadow quickly dash up and tied Natasha's arms and have her in custody.

"AFO Neptune, this is Hawkeye 1, we'll circle above to provide close fire support over." Pierre D'coolette pilots his helicopter to fly in a circling pattern letting his gunners to take out any threats armed with RPGs and anti air missiles. While then Silver and his teammates move up to the bridge, they stack up on both doors of the bridge preparing to execute a bridging maneuver. "Get some charges on those door. Flash and clear go!" Silver and Shard were on the right door, Larry and Shadow were on the left door. As they set up the aqua blast breaching charge, they detonated the charges and the steel door was instantly cut down with a bang, the four of them threw a flashbang grenade into the room, stunned the defenders inside. They stormed the room and gunned down all five terrorists controlling the ship's navigation and sail course. Silver quickly deactivated the ship's engine and drop the anchors, stopping the ship in the middle of the ocean.

"Good work with stopping the ship. It'll buy us precious times to disarm the explosives. Proceed down to the cargo hold and disarm as much explosives as you can. The SEALs have secured the crew quarters and the engine room." Nicole then planted waypoints for Silver and his team to move down to the cargo hold, as they went down the cargo areas of the ship, they navigates through the maze like corridors of the ship into the nuclear containers filled cargo holds where they found the bombs, Shard quickly bring up his PDA and interface with Natasha's sophistecated bomb control mechanic. By punching the right digit numbers, Shard got through the security barriers and stop the bomb's self detonation system, then he proceeds to cut the bomb's redwire and disarm it safely. "Nicole, we've disarmed the first bomb, tell the EOD specialists that they need to get through the digital security barriers of the bombs to stop its self detonation system before cutting the red wire." Shard informed Nicole and sending her detail data images of the bomb's designs and mechanism. "Affirmative Jack. Nice work with updating the intel for us." Nicole thanked Shard for his work, and sends the other EOD specialists the data.

The combined effort of SEALs and AFO Neptune soon pacified all remaining resistance of the terrorists on the ship, the freighter and the bombs it was carrying onboard were neutralized. One last touch to determine the situation was when Silver climbed up to the observation deck of the ship and threw down a red phosphorous smoke grenade. "Excellent work team. the freighter threat is secured and so are the bomb threats on mainland. AFO Warhawk and AFO Wolfpack have all reported disarmed all the remaining bombs. Our only final concern is the lives of the 700 hostages at the Nora theater." As the AFO Neptune regroup on the top deck, they made a terrorfying discovery, "We got a problem here! Natasha's vitals are dropping fast, she's dying!" The SEAL's medical officer shouted to everyone, the other SEALs and AFO Neptune rushed back to his position and found the female Mobian snow leopard, gasping, twitching, slowly dying away. "I've swallowed a poison pill when i knew you were onboard. Even if you succeed in stopping my bombs, the lives of the hostages will still die." Natasha finally took her last breath, she froze in front of everyone's eyes. Her gaze became still as statue, her body no longer moves a muscle, her heart cease to pound.

Back at the Nora theater, Baraia check the heartbeat sensor of Natasha's heart rate, he found that her heart beat has reach flatline. "Allahu Akbar! (God is mighty!)" Baraia shouted out to his terrorists fighters, they quickly detonated the bombs throughout the theater and bring down the building with everyone inside, the news casters of every channels were broadcasting live the image of a theater brought to its knees with 700 hostages inside in one single seconds. The shock and awe of the night was too great to bear, the people felt like they were witnessing their very own execution, the weeping, wailing sounds merge with vehicles engines and workers trying to sort out the damages, for Naugus, he was there commanding everything in person, yet he couldn't do anything to stop the tragedy from happens, now he was the only one around to blame.