METAL GEAR SOLID: THE FIRST ENCOUNTER
by Rookie's Eyes (based off of Metal Gear)
Disclaimer: the Metal Gear series and their characters are property of Kojima Productions and Konami
Chapter 11 – Capture the Frag
.com/watch?v=ViUAbYfYNxE – Tank corps from PW
Snake led Diane through the doors, the other side of the wall was forested as well, though not as thickly as the former side. The trees grew regularly for about two kilometers before giving way to the desert sands. The Desert side of the wall was surrounded by the ruins of a former town, trucks disseminated throughout the area, stained in finely ground sand grit. Just as they had made it completely through the entrance a boom echoed through the trees, not unlike the explosions which propelled far-off artillery, followed by the whistle of a heavy projectile. "Get Down!" Snake barked.
The explosive slammed against the wrought iron door, denting it shut and sealing off the two's only escape in the fire.
"Diane, Get To Cover!" The PARC rebel scrambled behind the trees just as an M60A3 Patton tank pulled out onto the road, covered in branch leaves and bushes to camouflage it in the forested region.
As the Patton tank rumbled down the dirt road to the lone Foxhound agent the hatch swung open, the Archangel Commander poked out from the turret's armor. Shotmaker stood with a satisfied smile stretching across the remnants of his face. His visage was gauged on it's left side by several grazed buckshot streaks, his ear hidden beneath a thick square of gauze, maybe even missing. His deep green forest uniform was now stained red with the blood that had spilled down his neck. Shotmaker held one of his sawed-off shotguns in his hand, the bayonet extended while he polished it with a rag.
"Solid Snake," As he spoke, though his speech was clear, the left side of his mouth was lazy, less responsive than the right, impeded by the muscles torn by his own buckshot. "I saw your work against The Twins, fairly impressive. Though might I say, I'm fairly confident there are no cranes around for you to crash me into."
"I'll figure something out. A bulldozer maybe?"
"The Commander is very fond of you. He seems to think that were you not so righteous, you would lead our motley crew. I'm here to prove him wrong. You and Fox may have beaten me…" He rapped his knuckles against the hull of the turret, "but this time I decided to stack the odds in my favor. But because it would make the work so much simpler, I'm going to give you one chance. Give up now and the Commander will give you an easy death. Hell, he might even offer you a job considering the recent dropouts. We could be brothers in arms, you and I, just don't get any ideas 'cause around here I'm top dog."
"Sorry to say, I don't follow a pack very well."
"A lone wolf, huh? I know a Kurdish girl I'm sure would like you. She's a little young now but in ten years…" Shotmaker whistled, tracing the outline of a woman's hips with his hands.
"No thanks."
"Suit yourself. You've dug your grave, now lie in it. What are you made of, Foxhound? We'll see in a short while…" Shotmaker placed on a black helmet with the Archangel logo upon it, pulling down the reflective silver visor and climbing back inside the tank, the hatch screeching shut as the engine thundered to life. The Patton's speaker blared, "Let's see what kind of snake you really are, Cobra or Milk?"
The turret rotated to stare Snake straight down the dark rifled barrel. The Foxhound agent leapt aside as another round shot out, tearing a small crater in the dirt just behind his former position, pelting him with barren soil. There wasn't much hope for Snake exposed in the open, so he dodged the turret's machinegun fire into a line of trucks, ducking behind the vehicle's cabin, the rapid impact of rounds piercing through the chassis of Snake's cover.
"Ready!.. Aim!.." Snake leapt aside, out of the cover, just Shotmaker finished his order, "Fire!" A glowing hot projectile slammed into the truck, eviscerating it in fire and smoke as the burning husk was thrown into the other trucks, all the while Snake found another line of trucks for cover. The Patton continued its volley upon the Foxhound's position, hissing tires and shattering glass following in Snake's wake.
The vehicle's integrity was deteriorating fast, so Snake dove to the next truck behind him, his prays answered when the machinegun's rounds failed to follow him. He'd managed to evade the sight of the tank gunner. The agent used the buildings to his advantage, slipping around to the Patton's flank. As he passed around the rotting shell of a house he heard Shotmaker's voice resonate from the tank's speaker, "Backup unit, deploy!" From the building's rear he could see four heavily armored troopers step out from a hatch in the tank's hull, all armed with FN P90 submachine guns. "Find him!" Shotmaker demanded.
As the soldier's searched in vain for Snake among the trucks the agent spied two fuel tanks mounted upon the Patton, a terribly vulnerable design flaw leaving the tank's power source to enemy fire. The Foxhound had only two grenades and the ammunition he carried with him. First thing first, however, Snake had to rid himself of the soldiers.
They had split up, hunting for Snake in groups of two. The first two were rounding the corner of Snake's cover when the agent sprung, seizing the first by the throat and slamming him to the floor, then grabbing the second soldier and pulling him into a headlock. A few seconds was all it took for the Outer Heaven guard to cease his struggling, his body falling limp to the dirt. Pausing only to check that the two were out cold, Snake could discern the forms of their comrades, far enough away that they wouldn't see his attack on the Patton.
Snake peppered the Patton with the rounds from the fallen soldiers' P90's, fuel leaking from the bullet holes in a torrent. Quickly he tore the clip away from a grenade, placing it atop the barrels before diving inside an ironclad vehicle.
"What the-?" An explosion wracked the air, a plume of fire erupting from the exposed petrol. The black exhaust from the tank's tailpipe stopped when the Patton's engine stalled, silencing the machine. Shotmaker's backup returned, rifles raised warily.
Snake cursed under his breath when the drone of the tank's engine was revived, a pleased Shotmaker exclaiming, "Back at it boys!" With solely a single grenade Snake would have to make it count, yet he had no other options. He searched among the boxes inside the truck, his eyes stopping on a welcome sight; a dozen land mines.
He stuffed them tightly into his pack, jumping out of the truck while careful to avoid the soldier's searching eyes.
Pvt. Alan Bennet walked, armed only with a P90, behind the heavy Patton piloted by his least favorite Archangel. His knees shook and his gun rattled even with the ballistic armor that Shotmaker had kindly forced on him to join his slapdash tank unit, the only thing which bound him to his duty instead of running in cowardice at this very moment was the even more oppressive fear of being shot for treason.
Dust covered his uniform while dirt chunks bombarded his helmet in the wake of the tank's miniature desert storm, but he knew griping would only get him lashed, so he held his tongue. Somewhere among the torn old structures that surrounded them was the intruder that had assailed Bennet on multiple occasions, and the Outer Heaven Private was reluctant to give him another chance. His nerves were getting the better of him; he pointed his gun at anything that moved to the point of paranoia.
It was only when they turned the corner and he tripped that he realized the severity of his situation while he remained conscripted to Shotmaker. The culprit was the leg of one of his compatriots, unconscious on the dirt with his ally collapsed next to him, a hand-shaped bruise set in his neck.
"Shit!" Bennet scrambled away, clumsily crawling away in his haste to get away from the scene of the surprise attack. His sole surviving companion came to his side, questioning, "What? Who did this?" One look at Bennet and he promptly walked over, kicking Bennet and exclaiming, "Wuss. Get over here and help me. We gotta wake 'em up."
"Y'mean… they're not… dead?"
"Look for yourself!"
As the tank rolled away Bennet leaned over his stone-cold comrade, slapping his face vigorously, with no observable result. "What should we do? They won't wake up!"
"Didn't you learn anything in training soldier? Don't you know what-" but the Seargent was cut short by an eruption, the tank enveloped in smoke, "The HELL?"
Abandoning their allies the two Outer Heaven soldiers rushed to their commander's aid. Bennet was relieved to see, out of the smoke, the Patton breaking through, scarred, but otherwise functional. Between the buildings a figure bolted, firing upon the tank. The Archangel's confident voice laughed, "Hah! Nice try! Cannon ready. Don't worry, this one packs a punch!.. Fire!" The ammunition flew toward the man, who futilely attempted to dodge the incendiary as it exploded just ahead of his form and tossing the intruder backward.
"Finally!" Bennet's partner hooted, racing toward the trespasser's prone body. Bennet couldn't place his finger on it, but something felt wrong, like it was too easy. His suspicions were confirmed when an explosion swallowed the Outer Heaven soldier, who had brazenly wandered into a minefield.
Bennet felt a pang of anguish at the falling of his ally, because without anyone else to take the agent on he saw only two options; run toward the enemy and get shot by the intruder, or run away from the enemy and get shot by his commander. As he pondered the circumstances of his likely demise, the voice of the Archangel shouted through his communicator. Bennet fumbled for the volume knob as Shotmaker barked, *-.-* "Get out there and find that bastard! "
"Sir! Th- the Minefield! What If I-"
*-:-* "GO!"
"Yessir!" Bennet tread carefully through the minefield, his weapon rattling like a jackhammer as his eyes anxiously darting for the slight mounds, masterfully concealed by the infiltration agent who still lay crumpled only yards away. Progress was slow-going, but when the scant signs of mines were gone, Bennet made his way to the body, lying on his back with his left arm draped over his face. The soldier didn't see his chest rising, but his suspicions weren't any lessened by the fact. This snake in the grass had pulled too many tricks for him to let down his guard.
As he approached the body a metallic squeal whined in the air. He turned to see the hatch of the tank thrown open, ending with a iron 'CLUNG' as his Commander's black helmet rose from inside. Finally Bennet reached the body, his rifle still leveled at the intruder's prone form. Nervous, his eyes traveled to his Commander and back to the intruder. Several times he kicked the man's torso. When the final blow struck his ribs the body jolted, thrusting his arm behind Bennet's legs and tripping him to the dirt.
The intruder rolled to his feet, sprinting out of sight in a sudden burst of adrenaline leaving Bennet in the dust. With Shotmaker's ushering orders screaming in his ear Bennet leapt to pursue the enemy. His rifle raised, the lieutenant had just lined his iron-sights with the sprinter when he disappeared inside the skeletal remains of a factory, sparks and plumes of just erupting where he had been only moments before from Bennet's bullets.
As Bennet rounded the corner he entered a cavernous room, filled with old rusted equipment from some long-forlorn assembly line. As he searched he spotted the intruder in his stolen uniform, standing atop the second floor hefting a grenade, poised to throw it into the hatch of his unsuspecting Commander. If this son of a bitch makes the shot Bennet might as well kiss his ass goodbye, so acting entirely on self preservation he did the first, and coincidentally the most irrational solution which presented itself.
In full-out Rambo fashion he ran, spraying lead towards his adversary. Though the peppering of rounds failed to strike the rebel, his incendiary, with the pin still engaged, was torn away from the soldier's hand.
The grenade tumbled to the earth several feet ahead of Bennet, who leapt for the explosive. As his hand reached for the grenade heavy combat boots slammed onto his fingers from above; the agent had jumped from the second floor right onto the grenade, kicking it away from the Outer Heaven soldier.
Bennet grit his teeth through the pain, feeling courageous despite his cowardly motives. Still crouched, he tackled the enemy to the floor, who threw Bennet by vaulting him off with his legs. Bennet landed face first, but through pained eyes he saw the grenade mere feet away on the floor. He scrambled for the weapon, seizing it in his hand with a victorious, "Hah!"
In his mirth he forgot about his opponent, who quickly reminded him of his presence when he twisted Bennet's arm, slamming him to the wall.
Snake was tired of wasting his time with guards, fed up with their attempts to inconvenience him at the worst possible moments. He slammed the nuisance into the wall, twisting his arm into the small of his back. Digging his boot into the joint of the soldier's knee, he pulled his head back until the soldier once again hit the floor.
"Ghah!" The grenade rolled out of the soldier's hands, tumbling behind the grates with Snake lunging for it. From behind the 'SHEENK' of a drawn blade reached Snake's ears, who turned to see the soldier returning to his feet, a gleaming knife in his hand as he dragged his sleeve across his lip. He slashed across Snake's midriff, flashes sparking from the knife as it struck the metal beams surrounding the combatants.
He lunged, brandishing a knife which Snake attempted to dodge. The blade drew blood from Snake's abdomen, and the mercenary brought it down for a vertical slice when his knife met Snake's. The guard broke contact, elbowing Snake in the face. Snake kneed him in retaliation, following with a fist to the face.
Blind, the soldier swung madly. Snake sidestepped, ducking beneath the blade before slipping past his arm to land a head-butt against the soldier's skull. He staggered back, shaking his head as if to banish the daze from his eyes.
From behind the soldier another 'SHEENK' resounded, startling the Outer Heaven goon, who hastily turned to face a determined Diane, a bowie wielded firmly in her fist. The soldier stared at her, an indifferent look on his face, to which she answered, "Good luck with that thing," pointing to his knife. "Mine's bigger."
But before they had a chance to match blades Snake made the final strike while the soldier wasn't watching, swinging his leg high to land a blow to the soldier's head, who only received further abuse when his skull rung against the iron bars.
Snake scooped up the grenade, turning to Diane, chuckling, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to stay hidden."
She crossed her arms with a defiant look, "Y'know Foxhound, I'm entirely capable of defending myself. I don't need you're protection to fight a few thugs. You need my help anyway. I can distract Shotmaker while you plant the grenade."
"I can take him down myself."
"He sees me he'll never think I'm enough of a threat to close the hatch. I'm not armed. I'll negotiate with him while you sneak from behind."
Snake couldn't argue with the logic of the tactics, but before he could argue for the sake of her safety Shotmaker's voice shook the building, "Come on out, Snake! I know you're in there somewhere. I've got men on the way, and I can always work on demolishing it while I wait."
Snake shook his head, signaling the okay for the plan. Snake weaved through the rusted mechanisms littering the floor to the rear of the building. Meanwhile, he could hear as Diane shouted to answer Shotmaker's call. She must've been better as a sleeper agent than Snake had thought, her voice echoing to him as she said, "We surrender!"
"Where's that filthy Foxhound?" Shotmaker questioned, suspicious.
"He's been shot. Please, he needs medical attention!" She pleaded.
"Hah! Why should I care? That bastard's finally finished? One less headache to deal with, far as I'm concerned… Wait… Show me his body… Now!"
She must have dragged the Outer Heaven thug's body out to fool him, because as Snake came into sight of the tank he saw Diane kneeling over a body, with the Archangel Commander laughing and whooping in a feigned victory. Snake prayed that the soldier didn't gain consciousness before he reached the tank. He slipped between trucks and rubble walls, quickly progressing in the cover.
As silently as he could muster, Snake snuck in from behind the Patton, slipping off the clip with his teeth and rolling it down the hull to the edge of the Command hatch. The explosion riddled the man with holes before he rolled down the side of tank. His breaths quickly shallowed to nothing, blood soaking through his uniform onto the parched soil below.
Snake stared the body down for only a moment, rushing to Diane after a quick search only revealed the entrance key to Building Two. Snake doubted that the entrance would be as easy as his first infiltration, so Diane seemed the natural person to consult first on the subject.
"The building's guarded and requires a special pass." Diane said. Snake raised his card in a soundless inquiry which Diane answered, "Yeah, that's the one. I've got one too, so that won't be a problem. If they check though, they'd know you're not whoever you say you are. We need another distraction."
"What about him?" Snake pointed to the guard, still out cold.
"What about him?" Diane wasn't following.
"I'll explain on the way. C'mon, help me pick him up. Can you hotwire a truck?"
Ten minutes later…
Ocelot stood nervous, his hand incessantly twisting his SAS, Big Boss calmly seated in the desk Ocelot paced in-front of. The Russian spoke, "Why hasn't he reported in yet."
"Relax Adam. He may have gotten Machinegun Kid, but Shotmaker's the best of the best."
"It's a pity. I liked Kid. He had style."
"Style doesn't help in the long run, Adam. You of all people should remember that."
"Something doesn't feel right," Ocelot fiddled with the radio once more, "Shotmaker. Report. Have you captured the infiltrator?"
Several seconds of static answered before a fatigued voice answered across the channel, *-.-* "Well Boss… I hope you're happy… He's gonna get into Building Two."
Big Boss pulled away the microphone, "That's why I have Pyre Trooper on stand-by."
*-.-* "You'd be wise not to underestimate him."
"Your assessment?"
*-.-* "He's just as you said before. Quiet, fast. You chose his name well. Just like you… I shouldn't have expected any less."
"We'll get him. There isn't a man yet Pyra hasn't been able to burn out."
*-.-* "Trooper better have a few aces handy."
Ocelot broke in, "Besides a tank?"
*-.-* "Shut your mouth, Catajé! The only reason I made it was because it was a decoy they blew to Hell."
Big Boss interjected, "That's enough. Shotmaker, rendezvous with me in the hangar. I'll brief you there. Over."
Author's note: To tell you the truth I'm conflicted over this chapter. It's distant, but I tried to incorporate Peace walker's tank battles with MGS 1, and every once and a while I get ambushed by one or two annoying guards that seem to come out of nowhere, so I thought Bennet could fill those shoes. I know some of you were hoping for a gunfight, but to tell you the truth nothing comes to mind that could really make that as interesting to me as hand to hand. Then again, this one wasn't really either, was it? I'd love to hear some ideas, however, if you have them. It took me awhile to cough this up, I know, and it's not because this feels like work. I enjoyed it, I'm just disappointed I couldn't come up with a better ending. Well, anyway it's over now. While I waited in vain for inspiration I wrote parts of the future boss battles. They've got some real potential and I think you'll like Pyre Trooper, I just need to get to there. Spring break is coming up so I'm hoping school won't keep me from taking so long again. till next tim
Thanks to all who read and commented on my work. You guys keep me going!
