GANG of HOPPERS
My brothers and I in the ZooKzin War
by Dori Hopps
Written by Dan Rush
(c) Zootopia 2016 Walt Disney Cooperation
(c) Alex Gray from Harmarist Sheath & Knife comics
Chapter 27
Madagascar part 7
January 17th, 2042
Zootopian Task Force Julian
March Column "Gouge Out"
Madagascar
38 miles Northwest of the port of Maramanga
ten miles Southwest of Bongalava
The Kzinti held township of Anijabe (Any-Jah-Bay)
Dear Linzy,
I am doing all right, though I have a limpy tail now because the silly thing got "detached" during a bridge assault. It's sewn back on...though it does't wave any more...
Will you still find me sexy or what?
Got one of your letters and the little "bun-bun dingle" you put in with it. I had Powen help me with an ear piercing so I could have it in a place where it can't be seen...though I don't think Captain Oakley would say anything against it. Owen however...frowns on anyone wearing "trinkets"...says they're sniper bait.
We're going into what we hope is the final push in this campaign to boot the Kzinti off Madagascar and save King Julian and his subjects. Our company is going into a serious fight to take a junction settlement that controls the main road going into the swampy bog where the Madgascarians have been holding out. It looks like it's going to be a serious fight so please have everyone pray to Frith for all of us.
Give our love to our parents and if you can? Buy some mint plant for me and tell my Dad it's from me. I know that even if he's progressed as much as I fear...he'll still know who gave him the treat.
I love you and as hard as I try to fain bravery and keep a good face for everyone else...I'm a pussy...cat...on the inside. I worry my brothers will act foolishly to protect me and the thought of any of them getting hurt for my sake scares me to death...that...and never seeing you again...
I better stop writing this before I get you upset. I want to feel your fur against me so much...so...so...much.
No...I am not having an affair with my pillow. OK...I'm a dirty liar.
Love you Lizzy
Dori
Dear Dori,
Visited with your Mother and Father today and brought a big plant of mint as you asked. Your Daddy perked up so much when I put it in front of him, his delight gave Bonnie such a joy! Bless your Mother, she's so strong through all this. In the evening, I sit out on the back porch with some of your other brothers and sisters, Judy included, and we all watch your parents as they frolic in the long grasses and among the flowers, though your father's age and his condition are so terribly worry-some to us all. Every tumble causes Judy to shreek, fearing Stewart has broken a leg or a hip but it's so joyful to know that he hasn't forgotten Bonnie, he knows your Mother obviously...be happy for that.
I've worked myself up to floor supervisor at the "Rope-er-ree" house, my word we must fly through five miles of rope a day! I can't see how the fleet finds uses for all of it? Are you eating rope for rations?
You've all made a big dent in the Kzinti efforts. We hardly see maybe ten rockets a week now, mostly they don't explode when they land or they fall short of the coast line when they don't get ripped to shreds by our air defenses. We've been told the fleet is putting a strangle on the Kzinti ability to supply their troops beyond their home islands. Hopefully they'll get the message and stop this stupidity. Everyone wants their loved ones home...I want you home Dori. I am so sick of being in bed alone, sick of sitting in our kitchen alone, just sick of being alone...well? Only partially alone when I don't have family sticking out of every crack in the house.
And not really complaining much but can you write your brother Enree and try to gently break it to him that he's not really cut out to be a plumber? He turned our toilet into a pressure washer.
Get your mind out of the gutter you little sicko! Really Dori?!
I love you "sweet cups". Knitting a hundred baby suits in excited anticipation for you.
With love
Linzy
0000 hours
January 17th, 2042
Rattleback Company under the Command of Captain Oakley
Jump off point for "Operation Cutting Board"
1 mile South of Anijabe (Any-Jah-Bay)
Same routine...check, double and triple check. One more time to make sure weapons are clean and they'll fire when you need them to fire, packs full, you have all the amo you can carry and spare places to put ration stuff. Nori's making fifity zoo bucks a pop per K-Bar knife he's sharpening to a surgery tool requirement while Powen is taking rifles from Marines asking for his efficient "tuning" skills. He dials the settings, takes a shot, dials some more. You want your rifle to do really good for you at between 30 to 50 yards when it comes to a close fight with the Kzinti, after which you hope your K-Bar isn't dull because their won't be time to reload or go for a back up shooter.
Owen and Ori are "wolf-ing" down their breakfast meals as they share the letter we got from Mom...a little "dated" about six months but there's no complaining, anything from home is a wonderful boost. Mom enclosed a pocket picture of her and Dad for us to carry in our shirt pockets...every Marine has a talisman of some sort to attach their hope too...hope your chest doesn't get a walking closet hole through it by some lucky Kzinti sharpshooter.
We're part of a re-freshed squad in the company...older "bucks" mixed with "newbies" from "Zoo-side", fifteen of us in all. Us "bro's" then...
A Red fox named Pruce and a rabbit named Nathan, two more Corpse-Mammals.
Two dogs...A Golden Retriever named Bobby and a Bull Dog named Suffix. Both Grenadiers.
A horse named Dales, our heavy machine gunner for obvious reasons. He's a beast and his amo carrier and feeder Dunsom a Bull Rhino. You think the Kzinti are going to take these two in paw to paw combat?
Four Timber Wolves...Midea the white, Tona the black, Brothock the black and grey, Hafo the Dark Grey...all of them your typical grunt Marine rifle-mammals.
I call Pruce and Nathan, both fresh Corporals, over so I can run through their bags..."You need more "cut-straps" I tell them, you can never have too few things to stop blood loss. I reach into a canvas bag near me and start tying lengths of rope to anywhere you can on a medical pack...
"So? What are they like up close?" Nathan asks...
"Like cats." I reply. "Don't try to bribe them with milk, doesn't work."
"Very funny." Nathan replied snorting.
"I'm not looking forward to see what they can do." Pruce said as he stuffed more bandages into his back pack. "This is going to suck. Urban combat...why not just surround the place and pound artillery on it?"
"Because they'll survive it." I replied. "You'll think they're all dead and then they'll pop out of every hole and pipe and maul the snit out of us. Never doubt how vicious and resourceful these tiger's are. The only way is to sucker them into the open and clobber them. But fighting is not for us, keep that in mind."
"I'd just rather give them fewer opportunities to maul me." Pruce moaned. "Is it true? Do they torture mammals?"
"Cowards are worse to them than snit." I replied. "They'll torture cowards to death...I won't gore you with the details. If you're going to be captured or killed? At least make an effort to be brave about it. There have been some mammals who put up such a fight that the Kzinti didn't harm them so...don't snivel."
Nathan snickered..."I'll piss down their fricken throat, let them figure out if that's brave enough."
"It'll be good for a laugh before they eat you at least." I replied chuckling. "Don't worry you two, if we stay together and keep our eyes and ears in the game...we'll come out ok."
A commotion to our left drew everyone's attention! Bobby the Retriever had just slapped a paw off the head of Corporal Tona! "Call me "dish licker" again mother flucker!
Owen was on the wolf and dog in a quick, leaping between them and gripping his paws and foot claws into their chest! "DON'T EVEN START!"
"Stupid tongue dragging tree pissing wolf." Bobby growled.
"SLAP!" Owen gave Bobby a hard slap on his nose! "I SAID CUT THE SNIT!" He growled hard as he turned to look at Tona..."I hear any more "Specist" bull snit out of any of you and you'll be at a courts martial. I'm not going to see anyone get killed because of some old bull snit family fight!
"Family? Hmph!" Hafo snorted. Owen jumped onto his chest and slapped him silly too!
"Here?! You are family and I'm you're fricken Daddy...wanna go a round Wolf?! You look like you could use a little newspaper discipline."
Owen stared hard into Tona's eyes...Owen wasn't afraid of snit. "Come on Wolf? Bitch up...please bitch up?!"
Tona's ears drooped as his head turned away as his eyes closed. "I didn't think so." Owen snorted as he leaped off Tona's chest. "Now? As for the rest of you? Dog or Wolf? The fricken enemy is right over there and they don't give a snit about family arguments...it's we Marines or them, one of us is going to walk out of there...the other's going to occupy ditches as worm food. Do you want to be worm food? I'm sure none of you Canids want to be "puppy chow". In there? It's "us" or "them"...we're all fricken family from the same mother soil! from the same ground our families walk on! "They"...those long toothed bastard tigers...want to kill our families! They want to eat our cubs, our kittens, our fawns and our pups! We're here to give them the big fat "fluck you" up their nasty tail holes! Now cut the stupid useless "Specist" (racist) bull snit or all of you will get FLUCKED UP!"
Owen nodded his head and walked away from the group of stunned Canids. Not good "credit score" to be furbicly (publicly) bitch slapped by a flat toothed rodent.
"Ooooo...Oooooo, I think I just had an orgasm." Nori chuckled.
"Shut the fluck up?" Owen said as he pushed a paw finger into Nori's chest. "Don't you start, my fuse is really short right now."
"What did the Captain say at the pre-brief?" Ori asked.
"We have to get to and secure the highest point in the "Sprawl" so we can have artillery support. We take it, we hold it, we call down steel rain and become the lunch menu for every Kzinti that's going to be hoping mad pissed off that his lunch got interrupted by incoming fire."
Owen turned to Powen. "Going to be counting on you extra on this one."
"Since when did I ever not count "extra" on anything?" Powen replied as he handed another "dial'd in rifle" to a wolf marine. "So what's the over-all plan of attack and how long before it becomes a cluster fluck in need of multiple revisions?"
"Your honesty and confidence is so reassuring "Pow Pow"." Owen replied snorting. "Make sure you don't say that out loud because our squad and a squad of wolf marines will be under Captain Oakley's direct command for this one. It's vital we take that position from the jump off. Our drones are scouting around looking for Kzinti artillery positions to our North and West so we have to be "Johny cottontail on the spot to light them up with counter-battery fire."
Ori raised a paw..."Are we expecting armor?"
"No..." Owen replied. "The "Zints" are fresh out of "soda cans", wasted their last batch trying to hold Mattaking and in their fighting retreat on their way here." Owen pointed to our "fresh meats" and waved them close to him...
"All of you? Stay on myself, Powen, Nori and Ori...keep tight but not so close that the Zints can wipe us all out at one shot. If you get into a situation where you're separated from us? Don't try looking for us, sit tight and wait for friendlies to pick you up. You've all heard about the Kzinti so I won't repeat much...save don't be a coward. If you're in a bad spot? Fight. Get mad. Get rabid because if you show even a wiff of cowardice? You'll die horribly...if it comes to it? Save a bullet for yourself rather than be captured because the Kzinti don't take prisoners alive unless they display a respectable courage. Once again...Do not fricken stray for us, we are not turning around to get you."
Bobby the Retriever pulled out a red bottle from his pants pocket and looked at it which caught Nori's attention...
"What's that?" Nori asked curiously.
"It's hot sauce from home." Bobby replied as his fingers caressed the bottle.
"Hot sauce?" Nori replied as he cocked his head.
"Yeeah..." Bobby said. "I thought? I thought if I covered myself with this nasty hot stuff before being taken prisoner? They might get repulsed and throw me away like rotted meat. This snit will burn the hairs off your privates it's so strong."
Nori almost chuckled if he didn't think it suddenly wasn't a bad idea. "You got another bottle?"
"Just enough for myself." Bobby replied as he slipped his bottle back into a shirt pocket. "They do say...the grunts I got this bottle from? That any old hot sauce spiced with extra Habinaro bits will so offend a cat's nose that they'll run themselves blind to escape the odor."
Some one came up from behind Nori. "Please? Please tell me that you are "not" going to believe that guff?" Captain Oakley snorted.
"It's not worth trying?...oh? Sir!" Bobby snapped to attention and saluted our Company Commander.
"Not saying it won't?" Captain Oakley replied. "Just telling you not to depend on it." The muscular grey hare said as he waved a paw around. "Rattleback" and "Steel Fang" companies! Form on me now!"
There were thirty mammals in total around Captain Oakley forming his part of the overall offensive. Again, our whole exitance for this one was to take the highest point in the "BooYah" (BooYah = Built Up Urban Area) for artillery support of the overall assault and to draw the Kzinti into coming to take the place, heights or whatever back to prevent their heads from being bombed out of existence. All rabbits no matter what their station are proud of their "Gun Bunny" brothers, those mean "Sons of Aden" who artillery tubes didn't just rain death and destruction...they "monsoon'd" death and destruction in torrents. Spotting for them was what my brothers went to advanced infantry school for...Owen and Nori being at the head of their class. Everyone else's job was to make sure the Kzinti didn't deprive us of our "Atmospheric steel river" of cover. For sure? Nothing was going to come without a cost...perhaps a severe one because these Tigers were all but trapped like rats in Madagascar with no way home and no way to get ample supplies to maintain a defense for much longer.
The Captain was in the middle of a final brief and pep-talk when a Zebra interrupted our deep concentration. "Excuse me? You guys got any more room to take on a guide? I'm getting turned down everywhere else I've tried."
Captan Oakley regarded the Zebra with a light scowl on his face. "I would guess you're "a local" my friend?"
"Well? That's a bright spot." The Zebra replied. "First time I didn't hear the words..."Aren't you a zebra?"
"That? That was going to be my second question." The Captain said. "By now? The standard answer should be obvious to you."
The Zebra shook his head and blew from his lips..."Brrrrrrr...I am so up to my neck, sick and damn tired of the same reply..."You're a zebra! You're a tiger magnet! Your stink will draw a hornets nest down on us! You're...you're really not "designed" well for combat! To which I answer you there General, Captain, Burgermeister, meisterburger..."
Captain Oakley raised a paw..."Captain...It's Captain and the answer is still no."
"Do you mind if I finish there? Shogun, Chief?" The Zebra protested.
Nori slapped his knees and jumped to his feet..."Oh this is enough! Sir? Request permission to "re-enforce a little discipline into this equine..."
The Zebra suddenly screamed out..."THOSE MANGY BASTARDS KILLED MY FAMILY!"
I thought that would be the defining reason for this Zebra's earnest quest. And yes...it was policy that the fleet Marines didn't take Zebras into the combat ranks. Horses yes...Mules without question but Zebras were not allowed and it wasn't because no one liked them. Unlike all their equinian brothers...Zebras through evolution or just flat out dislike of the gawds...were deprived of hoof hands. Horses, cows, bulls, donkey and every equinian species could morph with at least a set of three defined fingers for hands. Zebra? solid hooves. That alone made them a serious front line liability. In combat? Every mammal is required to pull their weight and offer a link in a defensive / offensive chain. With the Kzinti, you can't afford to have a mammal you'd have to defend the whole time because they're...and none of their fault...walking meat stock without a weapon's brandishing ability.
The Zebra stood quiet for a moment shaking the nerves off his fore legs before he spoke again..."I have a right to revenge...don't I? I know this little settlement like the back of my long hairs, mammal! I know every curve, nook and crack these stupid frisky eating bastards could poke their snoots out of...Gawd damn it Captain! I want to do something! I want fricken pay back on those stink box chewing bastards! I'm not completely useless, I can run my big fat butt off serving messages or carrying the wounded or carrying packs like a camel! Give me a chance to do something? please?!"
Captain Oakley looked at everyone around him...guess most of the faces were showing back "Oh what the hell, let the Zebra do something."The Captain regarded the Zebra back "What's your name Zebra?" The Captain asked.
"Marty." The Zebra replied sullenly. "Forgive me for being such a pain in the keesh...I'm sick an damn tired of being told no, of being told I'm worthless...I've had to suffer that watching them cut up my wife and kids...Don't you think that's enough qualification for doing something meaningful?!"
Captain Oakley pulled out his electronic map pad from his back pack..."If you know this place that well? What would you say is the high point? Every building in there seems to stop at the fourth floor..."
Marty tapped the Captain's screen with a hoof..."Say no more! Right...there...the vegetable cannery and refrigeration factory. It sits on a hill and the chimney towers up there will give you a good view of the whole settlement right to the edge of the big marshes on the other side. I know a quick way to get you there if you'll trust a big mouth walking meat steak?"
The Captain turned to Owen..."Sargent Owen?" He asked.
Owen walked up and nodded to Marty. "I know what you're going to ask Sir." Owen said. "Let's put a cross on his arm and give him to Dori's crew. I'm sure he'll get plenty of use."
Owen gestured to me..."Can you use him?"
"I'll make a nitch." I replied. "He could limber our medical packs so we're not encumbered."
Marty gave me a head pat with a hoof..."Say no more my good bunny! I shall be your "limberous maximus"!"
I turned to Pruce and Nathan and had them pull their packs from their backs..."Yes!" Pruce said happily as he wiggled his body and waved his tail...that's ten times better! Though?...I feel if I was trying to get to some good cover...I'll feel like a complete ass jack." Pruce patted Marty on his side...
"Bah! You're important to everyone else so don't feel bad if you have to dig a hole. I'm not completely vulnerable, I've kicked more than my share of cat ass, ask my friend Alex! We get into all kinds of stupid fights over crazy stuff and I've bloodied his snoot a few times.
Nathan noted the deep claw marks on Marty's left flank. "Like? That?"
"That's a keeper." Marty snorted. "That was a fight over some crazy idea Alex had for an amusement park. Let's just say I insulted his abilities to produce off spring...never question a lion's "loin-knee-al" abilities, that's like a red zone marker for a butt kicking."
Owen walked up and tapped Marty on his flank..."Hey? What's your idea for us to get to that cannery?"
"Oh?!" Marty turned about and took Owen's field map from his paws. "Oh yeah! Sorry...totally lost in coversations...Uh? Here!"
I leaned over as did Captain Oakley and other mammals who wanted in on the insertion plan specifics...
"Drain culvert entry...here." Marty said as he tapped the map with a hoof. "We go North for about two thousand yards...we then cut left and go 300 yards...then right for 300 yards...then left 100 yards...cut a quick left here and...boom! There's a drain cover on the main floor of the factory space...pop the cover and up you go...easy."
Powen pursed his lips..."Easy until we run into a Kzinti hord. They love tunnels and if they can have one already laid out? I can't see how they could miss this one running under the whole settlement."
"Easy." Marty replied. "It's not big enough for them to have free movement...maybe on four legs but not two. It's perfect for foxes and rabbits...my big fat butt? Barely tolerable but I'll manage."
Owen looked at Captain Oakley. "Hopefully big enough for us to throw our weapons around Sir...we need magnum M-14's and BAR's if we're going to use this."
"We'll have to reconstitute the companies in this case...switch out larger mammals for a few more rabbits, maybe some Tanuki if we can get lucky. Let me get with Colonel Campion, see if we can arrange a re-formation."
It was Ori who noticed something else important. He jumped up and down waving an arm..."Hey?! Aren't we going to pound them with "Arty" before we go in?"
"Normal prep procedure." The Captain replied.
"Should we really be running through storm drains when the steel starts dropping?" Ori asked.
"Always a kink in every plan." Nori huffed. "Yeah...kinda hard to run through drainage when it's falling on your duff."
"I'll bring that up to the colonel too." The Captain said. "We'll still have the risk though. Last time I checked? We don't have brains in artillery shells."
"Can't be all peaches and cream." Powen remarked as he patted Owen on the back..."Give me a squad to range ahead and clear the way? I don't think we want to spend the whole campaign asking the Kzinti for directions."
"You got em." Owen replied. "As soon as the Captain finishes reorganizing the company."
0400 hours
January 17th, 2042
Rattleback Company under the Command of Captain Oakley
Jump off point for "Operation Cutting Board"
1 mile South of Anijabe (Any-Jah-Bay)
Here were were now...the final briefing before "jump off". Part of Rattleback Company under Captain Oakley and Owen would shoot the "underworld" of Anijabe's drainage networks for a direct assault to take the food processing plant in the center of the "Sprawl" and control it for artillery spotting. The other half of Rattleback commanded by Lieutenant J.C. Sperlock (A young lion) would over watch us on the street levels. Oakley would command us smaller mammals (Bunnies, Tanuki, Foxes and badgers) while Sperlock commanded the big company "Preds" (Tigers, Lions, Bears, Wolves) We were portioned out for speed with the Captain demanding to the upper brass that since we were all basically "shock troops" that we be "shock heavy" with good shooters...hense my surprise when four otters joined our merry gaggle armed with...long...long bows besides rifles?
"You're? Serious?" Ori asked as he pointed to one otter. "Bows and arrows? You're really going to use those?"
One of the otters looked back at Ori sarcastically..."Are you going to use your lettuce crunchers?" He said as he tapped a finger off Ori's mouth.
"Nice tats." I remarked as I pointed to one of the otter's tails. Almost all Zootopian Otters see themselves as descendents of the Sewani (Sue-wah-nee), a huge tribe of ancient otters who once lived abundantly in the Roana that split Southern Zootopia from the Great North Country in the Zootopian Middle Age. It was there that the Lupinian Roman General Caesar built an invasion bridge across the wide watery expanse to attack and destroy the Tusker Empire which once protected our ancestors from being predator food. The Sewani suffered unspeakable cruelty at the hands of the Tuskers and supported Caesar's invasion. They proved themselves magnificent fighters, a history much at odds with their somewhat tranquil good nature.
But...don't let placid cuteness fool you when it comes to Zootopian otters. like all Mustades'...they can be little beasts when they need to be. Every otter Marine prizes three things...their tribal tail tattoos, their K-Bar knives and their paw-made wooden English long bows and they're deadly with those bows.
One otter walked up to me and the other medics..."Got room? I'm Memek Osterkind." He said as he stretched out his paw.
"Hi." I replied with a slight bow and a paw shake. "I'm Dori Hopps. I introduced the other medics in turn and we all exchanged courtesies...
"Can I see that?" Pruce asked Memek about his long bow...
"Sure." Memek replied as he placed the weapon in Pruce's paws. The English fox gave it a test pull..."Sheesh! How much pull is on this thing?"
"One hundred sixty pounds." Memek replied. "It's pretty easy for otters since we're just one big muscle ourselves."
"How far can you shoot it?" Nathan asked as he pointed to the bow.
"Almost 500 yards but the effective kill range is a hundred." Memek replied as he gestured for the bow back from Pruce. "I know what you're thinking...Kzinti are quick on four legs and there's not much time for more than a shot if things get close and crazy right?"
To prove his skill...Memek drew and quick shot two arrows at a tree not twenty feet from us in about ten seconds flat and to top that off? He threw his K-BAR knife and shattered one of the shafts with it before it embedded itself in the tree meat!
"Questions?" The otter asked around.
"I'm staying by you." Nathan said as he side snuggled the bulky water weasel.
"So? We're all sticking with each other?" Memek asked as he waved a paw finger around.
"There's a bigger crew that's going to tag with the street force." I replied. "We're all going into the underground drainage network with my brothers and more rabbits, foxes and otters. I think Owen said he was trying to scrounge up some Tanuki too."
"We can use Tanuki." Memek said as he looked himself over and probably did what most of us did...rechecked and double checked his backpack. He then pulled small cans from it and started offering them to us..."Here...this stuff's proven to stop Kzinti on the charge. It'll give you a chance to escape."
I looked at the scribble on the can and winced at it..."Tree piss?":
"Play on words..." Memek said snickering. "It's "three piss" as in three kinds of the most disgusting urine you can spray in a cats face. I bet it could be banned under the rules of war because it creates too much an unfair fighting advantage...you know how our Lord Mayoress Sarabi prides our society on not being "barbarians". Well? Last time I checked? She's not out here risking her puss."
Nathan snickered..."What's in it?"
"Pregnant skunk...Sloth and female bear in heat." Memek said with a wicked smile. "Trust me? You fire this into a Kzinti's face? You'll be a criminal if you kill them because they'll be too busy gouging out their eyes and losing their bowels as they roll in agony from urine acids burning holes in their skulls. Should be medic standard issue."
I took the can and slipped it into a shirt pocket. "Everyone shoulder your rifles and just use magnum pistols in the drains. maybe plenty of room for our size but rifles can get us fouled up real quick down there trying to throw them around." I said to everyone. "And everyone stay close! Do not get separated. I imagine Owen and the rest of our group aren't going to turn back to find a straggler. I also don't think I need to reprise the whole "If you're captured, you'd better fight." thing."
I waited for any more questions before shouldering my machine gun. "Alright then! Saddle it up. We're all heading for "Brisbeyland"!"
"Secret of Nimh with Tigers." Nathan replied snorting. "Fricken fascinating."
End of chapter 27