To Rule the World

G.I. Joe is the codename for America's daring, highly trained special mission force. It's purpose, to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined

To Rule the World

Part 1

The Hidden Enemy

By Nick Maro

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The doors to the inner chamber finally opened. Long lines of ambassadors and other dignitaries filed out slowly. A general in an United States uniform waited patiently to the side. He adjusted his tie impatiently and watched the men and women of high power go by. No matter how many times he visited the United Nations, General Clayton Abernathy never lost the awe he first felt all those many years ago.

A short and burly man came out of the room. He had slicked back grey and black hair and a day's worth of stubble on his face. General Abernathy ran up to the man and pulled him aside. "Ambassador Volkov. It's great to see you again, old friend!" He shook the Russian man's hand with enthusiasm.

"General Abernathy! It is surprise to see you here, comrade. What brings you to the dreary halls of the UN?" The Ambassador asked as they slowly walked down the hallway. He nodded to Russian officials and heads of states as they went by.

The General tipped his hat up a bit and scratched his head. "Not really sure. I was just ordered by the Commission to report to the United Nations today. Which I found odd because I usually report to them at the Pentagon. So I figured I'd visit my old friend Vladamir Volkov." He smiled at the Russian man. "I have a few minutes before I need to report in. What do you say we head to the commissary? I'll buy you lunch on the United States government. I'm sure that won't backlash into a scandal."

Vladamir thought about it for moment and nodded. "Da. It be good to catch up on old times. And since when have I passed up on a free meal?" He let out a deep, hearty laugh and slapped General Abernathy on the back. "I haven't had the chance to talk since Cold War ended. I have many stories about the Oktober Guard to tell you. I'm sure you have stories about G.I. Joe to tell."

"Yes, I have my share. Most of which end in Beach Head having a breakdown of some kind." The General walked beside the Ambassador and they updated each other on their personal lives. They found a place to sit after getting their meals. "So, since then we haven't heard from Cobra. It's been almost a year now. I don't dare think or hope that we've heard the last of them, but I can't help but hope it's true."

"We have not heard anything from Cobra in a long while in Mother Russia. Many say they have disbanded. While others say they are hiding, waiting to strike when the world least suspects it. Personally I want to believe they are gone, but I'm staying alert. It good way to stay alive, no?" Vladamir unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite.

General Abernathy chuckled little. "I don't get you sometimes. You're perfectly fluent in English, yet you talk like a Russian in a bad spy movie."

"It's easier to talk that way sometimes, Clayton. Especially when you've been jumping from Russian to English all morning. Plus, my kids think it's hysterical."

"Always figured you for a lazy Russian." General Abernathy smiled behind his glass of coffee and looked at his watch. "It's almost time for the meeting. If it's nothing important, what do you say that you and Ana meet me for dinner tonight?"

"Yes, I'd enjoy that."

Putting his hat back on, Clayton Abernathy nodded. "Great. Hopefully I'll see you tonight." He saluted to the Russian ambassador, who saluted in return. General Abernathy turned on his heel and walked out of the commissary. A few minutes later he was standing before the room the Commission had ordered him to report to. He opened the door and shut it silently.

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Conrad Hauser, better known as Duke, watched the men and women of G.I. Joe perform their daily exercises. He watched the new recruits struggle to keep up with the veterans. He knew by the end of the day that most of the new recruits would quit. Duke rubbed his tired eyes and approached the man leading the day's exercises. "Hawk should be back today from New York, Flint. I don't know what the Commission wanted with him, but it's odd they called him to New York."

Flint looked up from the clipboard. "Yeah, I know. Something has been bothering me though. Cobra has been quiet for almost a year now. That isn't like them. I hardly think that their defeat in Washington would be enough to cause them to go into hiding." He smirked at the sergeant. "Listen to me, complaining that Cobra is in hiding."

"You're just bored is all." Duke looked out at the training soldiers again. "I know I am. Can I tell you something in the strictest confidence, Flint?" He paced as his friend agreed. Duke took a deep breath. "I've been given an offer to lead a more active unit. I can't say what at the moment. But it'll get me out in the field again. I feel like I'm doing nothing but getting old here, Flint." Duke leaned back and cracked his spine. He let out a satisfied sighed.

"That choice is completely up to you, Duke. It is your military career, not mine. If you're looking for advice I can only tell you what I'd do." Flint signaled for one of the instructors to come over. He handed the instructor the clipboard and started walking with Duke. "I'd go for it personally. But that is just me. Have you talked to anyone else about this?"

Duke casually returned a salute to a new recruit. "I talked to Scarlett about it the other night. She said basically what you did. Lady Jaye as well. Snake Eyes just bowed and walked away. I took it as his way of telling me I should do it and he'd miss me." Duke fell quiet for a moment in thought. He finally looked up at Flint with a sad smile. "I'm going to do it. If it makes me happy, then I should do it, right?"

"Then I guess I'll miss you, too. The Joe team won't be the same without you. When do you plan on telling Hawk that you're leaving?"

"Sooner the better I figure." Duke looked at his watch. "I better call and let them know I'll lead their squad. I also have to start packing up. Time to see how much shit I've collected over the years. I just hope this new command is a good one. I don't think anything would be as good as being the First Shirt of G.I. Joe."

Flint shook Duke's hand. "Not to get mushy or anything, but it was great serving with you, Duke. Just wish it could've lasted longer." Flint then saluted Duke and walked back to where he had left the instructor.

Duke watched Flint walk away and started heading back to his quarters. Halfway there, he was stopped by an out of breath Dial Tone. He hunched over and stopped to catch his breath. Dial Tone finally looked up at Duke. "I just got a message from General Hawk that he wants to see you as soon as he lands. He has an urgent announcement for the Joes tonight."

"All right thanks, Dial Tone. Make the announcement that we're having an assembly tonight. All leaves are suspended until the assembly is over." Duke saluted Dial Tone and continued on his way back to his quarters. He watched his friends train as he walked. Duke felt as if he was turning his back the best friends he ever had.

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The carrier helicopter settled to the tarmac easily. The door opened and a ramp extended to the ground. General Abernathy stood at the top of the ramp. He saluted to Scarlett who was waiting for him along with his secretary. She saluted back and stood at ease. General Abernathy walked down the ramp slowly. At the bottom, he handed his briefcase to his secretary. Scarlett walked next to him towards his office. "Thank you for meeting me here, Scarlett."

"Not a problem, Hawk. The message you left for me sounded urgent enough. What did the Commission tell you, that made you order all Joes back to base?" Scarlett took the briefcase from Hawk's secretary and dismissed her.

Hawk let out a disgruntled sigh. "It's a huge mess. Bunch of bureaucratic morons. I swear, this decision of theirs is going to come back and bite each of them in the ass." He hurried his pace, Scarlett easily kept up with him. "Just go get ready, Shana. You can either wear your G.I. Joe uniform or your dress greens. It's really up to you." He took the briefcase from Scarlett and entered the building with his office.

Scarlett stood next to Hawk's secretary for a moment, then went to her quarters to change.

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General Hawk adjusted his uniform and approached the podium. He cleared his throat soundly into the microphone to get everyone's attention. "As many of you know I met with the Commission yesterday. For those who don't know who the Commission is, they're the men and women who decide how much funding goes to G.I. Joe. In other words, they pay the bills.

"In the meeting yesterday I was given both good and bad news. The good news is that it seems the threat of Cobra is finished." A loud cheer erupted from the audience. Hawk held his hands up. "Settle down. Settle down. With the threat of Cobra finished comes the bad news." Hawk brought his gaze across the men of women of G.I. Joe in the audience and on the stage with him. "I'm afraid that G.I. Joe has been deemed too much of an drain on taxes and resources of the American people. Effective immediately G.I. Joe will be disbanded and reformed as a much smaller unit."

The audience and the men and women on the stage all gasped and began talking quietly. Hawk raised his voice a little. "Quiet everyone. I'm not finished yet." Slowly, the members of G.I. Joe fell silent. "Those who don't make the new Joe team will either be reassigned or honorably discharged. The new team of Joes will be what it was created to be, an anti-terrorist team. According to the Commission, G.I. Joe grew so large out of the need to defeat Cobra. Now they feel that since Cobra is gone, the Joe team should be smaller and more efficient. I don't agree with them, but they're in charge. The members of the new G.I. Joe will be the following: Duke, Flint, Lady Jaye, Scarlett, Dial Tone, Mainframe, Doc, Ace, Cover Girl, Dusty, Snake Eyes, Stalker and myself."

Duke stood and gestured to the microphone. Hawk stepped aside and let him take the podium. Duke cleared his throat lightly and smiled at his fellow G.I. Joe members. "I hoped to make this announcement at another time. But in the light of current events, I might as well do it now." Duke turned around to face Hawk. He pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and gave it to his commanding officer. "Hawk, I've accepted the command of a new unit. I'm leaving G.I. Joe tomorrow morning. If I had known about what the Commission had planned, I'd have waited. It was an honor serving with you and the rest of G.I. Joe." He saluted Hawk, then turned and saluted the rest of G.I. Joe.

Hawk shook Duke's hand. "I understand completely, Duke. You'll be missed by us all." Hawk stepped back to the podium and addressed the audience. "A list of reassignments and honorable discharges will be posted outside of all barracks tonight. It saddens me to say this to some of you a final time. Yo Joe!"

The men and women of G.I. Joe all stood and shouted at the same time. "Yo Joe!"

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The quarters of Snake Eyes was kept in perfect harmony to his chi. He sat on the floor with his legs crossed in meditation. A single candle lit the room and incense burned next to it. The sound of a soft knock brought his eyes open. Snake Eyes stood and put his latex mask over his scarred face. He opened the door and let Scarlett in.

Scarlett gave Snake Eyes a light hug and turned on a light. She sat on the couch and sighed heavily. "I can't believe this is happening to us, Snake. The G.I. Joe team being shrunk to a handful of men and women. Duke leaving to take another command. All of those soldiers being reassigned and discharged. I never thought this would happen to us."

Quietly, Snake Eyes put on a dress shirt. He then put on a leather jacket. Talking with his hands, Snake Eyes told her how he felt about what was going on. Scarlett nodded as she watched then looked up at him sharply at his last few gestures.

"What do you mean resigning? You can't, Snake. You're too important to the G.I. Joe team to quit. Hell, you're part of the new team." Scarlett watched Snake Eyes say something quickly. She shook her head. "Calm down, Snake. I don't know why the Arashikage Clan needs you. Storm Shadow rejoined them a month ago."

Snake Eyes rolled his sleeve showing the Arashikage hexagram tattoo. He left the room and Scarlett behind. She quickly caught up to Snake Eyes and walked beside him. "I understand now. You're brothers in martial arts. That honor and duty is more important." Scarlett walked next to him until they reached General Hawk office. "I really do understand that you must do this." He nodded and opened the door.

Hawk looked up from his papers at Snake Eyes in slight confusion. "What can I do for you, Snake?" Snake Eyes handed him a plain white envelope, similar to the one Duke had given Hawk at the ceremony. Hawk looked at it and laid it on the desk without opening it. "I don't need to open it to know what's inside it. Discharge granted." Hawk stood and saluted Snake Eyes. "It's been an honor serving with you, soldier. The Joe team and America will miss you." He then shook Snake Eyes' hand. "Personally, the whole world owes you debt of gratitude."

Snake Eyes nodded and opened the door. Scarlett was about to follow him, when she saw Hawk motion her in. "Yes, Hawk?"

"Have a seat, Scarlett. I have something I want to talk to you about." Hawk paced the office twice and finally leaned against his desk. "I'm having trouble finding a replacement for Duke. I have two choices. Flint and Beach Head. Flint is a good man and a fine soldier, but he's kind of hotheaded at times. As for Beach Head, well, he has all the qualifications but I'm afraid that he's not respected enough by his fellow Joe members to follow his orders. I can't tell you the headache I have."

"I can only begin to imagine, Hawk. The commission seems to have us over a barrel on this one. As for who should be the field leader, I'm stumped. For fairness sake, I'd say make try them both out as field leaders and then choose the best one. I don't know, Hawk. I can't make a choice like this right now." Scarlett leaned forward and dry scrubbed her face. "This is so fucked up."

Hawk looked down at Scarlett and smirked. "That was the first thing I said coming out of the meeting. I'm asking you to help with this choice because it directly affects your new position. Shana O'Hara, congratulations. You're the new secondary field commander." Hawk smiled when he saw Scarlett look up in shock.

"You're joking, right?"

"Afraid not. You've shown me excellent command abilities in the past. Lady Jaye was my other choice. But if Flint is made field commander, I don't want to risk a conflict in interest in the middle of a mission. You don't have to accept you know." Hawk poured two cups of coffee and hand Scarlett a cup.

Scarlett accepted the cup with a nod. "Thanks." She added her cream and sugar packets. She leaned against the wall while she stirred the coffee. "Well, I guess I can't say no. My choice for field commander is Beach Head. With me as his second in command, it should help him gain respect. In all honesty, Beach Head could possibly be the best field commander in or out of G.I. Joe."

Hawk cocked an eyebrow and looked at her. "Sounds like you have a lot of respect for the man."

"I do. But I also feel he needs to loosen up a bit. Not be so strict and rigid. I see this as a challenge. Beach Head is a great commander, just has no sense of touch with his troops. I intend on helping him gain that." Scarlett sipped her coffee and sat back in the chair.

"All right. Good enough of an argument for me. Beach Head it is." Hawk sat behind his desk and started on the paperwork. He looked up at Scarlett who was still in the chair. "You're dismissed. Go on. Get out of here." Scarlett smiled, gave a casual salute and left the office. Hawk then went back to filling out what seemed to be an endless supply of papers.

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Taking a long, last look at his quarters, Duke shut the door and stayed there a moment. He then turned on his heel, picked up his bag and headed out of his barracks. He walked along the familiar path to the airstrip. Duke watched the new candidates for the G.I. Joe team go their separate ways. He could almost see the disappointment on their faces.

Half way to the airstrip, Gung Ho caught up with Duke. "Hey Duke! I was just on my way to my plane out when I spotted you. I never got to thank you for saving my ass all those times. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

Duke smiled and looked at his feet, humbled. "I wasn't saving your ass, I was just doing my job. But you're welcome. You can repay me by inviting me to your place for some of your famous gumbo. I've got your home address. You are going home, right?"

"Nah," Gung Ho shook his head, "been transferred back to the Marines. Seems they still have some use for an old jarhead like me. Just glad they're not putting me on the shelf like they did with Leatherneck. Not sure how he's gonna hold up. But he's a Marine, he'll survive."

"He'll be fine. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if he opened a survival school in Nevada or something." Duke looked at his watch and then in the direction of the airstrip. "If you have the time, talk to Hawk. He knows where I'll be. Right now I gotta go. I hate cutting this short. Take care, Gung Ho." Duke shook the bald Marine's hand, then saluted. "Yo Joe."

Gung Ho saluted back. "Yo Joe."

Duke turned and jogged to the airstrip. Once at the airstrip, he saw Snake Eyes waiting. He walked up to Snake Eyes and smiled. "Not staying either, huh?" Snake Eyes simply shook his head no. "So where you off to, Snake?" He rolled up his right sleeve and showed Duke the Arashikage hexagram. "Ah, going to join Storm Shadow, huh? Well, it was great to serve with you, Snake Eyes." Duke went to salute when Snake Eyes grabbed his hand, shook it and gave him a light hug. "Yeah, I'll miss you too. Yo Joe."

Duke waved to Snake Eyes and ran to his plane. On the way there he said good bye to other members of G.I. Joe. He finally climbed the steps of the stairs, turned and took a final look at the Pit. "Yo Joe," he said quietly and boarded the plane.

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The lights were slow to flicker on. The room was covered in white sheets and clear plastic. The floor and the coverings were covered in a thick layer of dust. A man in a business suit slowly walked to the table. Once there, he stopped. Never turning to face the doorway he had just entered. He set the briefcase he'd been carrying on the table and opened it.

The man changed out of the business suit into a blue uniform. He didn't worry about being interrupted. The people he was waiting for wouldn't arrive for another hour or so. He shut the lid on the briefcase and started removing the sheets from the equipment and furniture. He started up the computers and waited patiently.

Upon hearing the coming footsteps, the man donned a blue cloth hood. He turned to see a man wearing a silver mask and a black haired woman in all leather enter the room. The silver masked man spoke in a light Scottish accent. "So Commander, Cobra is through laying dormant?"

"Welcome Destro, Baroness. It is very good to see the both of you again. I trust you're finished with the designs I asked for, Destro?" Cobra Commander asked sitting at the head of the table.

Destro opened the briefcase he had brought in. "Yes I have. Now could you explain your plan to us?"

"Not yet. We're waiting for Major Bludd, Zartan and Firefly. Then we can proceed." Cobra Commander waited patiently with Destro and the Baroness for the others. They finally arrived twenty minutes later. Cobra Commander took the designs from Destro and laid them out on the table. "Lady and gentlemen, I present to you here my newest plan. I plan on building a second pyramid of darkness. With this, it will help Cobra take over the world and bring it to it's knees."

TO BE CONTINUED IN "THE COMING DARKNESS"

PART 2 OF TO RULE THE WORLD