Hi all. Here is chapter 3. The Advance Wars games and its characters (CO's) is the property of Nintendo. The character, Codger, is one of my creation. Like I also said, it's my first time with fanfiction so go easy on me with the reviews if you decide to review my story and that the first set of chapters are going to be like an intro. Anyway, I at least hope you enjoy the chapter and the story so far.
----------------------------------------------------
Advance Wars: Experiments. Chapter 3: Thinking (Part 2), Hardships and Concerns
Damn it all……… where could he have gone?
He was trying to find the CO of this team, Codger, but so far he haven't been successful in locating him. He was told from his human male co-worker, Uzi, that he had taken a break and gone off somewhere. He tried to page him though the speaker system that was setup in the building but despite his name being repeated and to return to second floor lab B3, he never came back. He even looked all over the building for him; from the cafeteria to some of the other labs and he almost went as far as to check the restrooms in the building.
The reason why he was trying to find him was to tell him that Sturm had just called the lab and that he wanted an update on the experimental weapons development. He had told Sturm that he was unavailable at the moment. Sturm insisted that he find him and let him know he called immediately but he had said it in a way that nearly scared him right out of his suit.
He decided to return to the B3 lab. Maybe he did return to the lab while he was looking for him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Nice response time."
Right now, Uzi was watching and taking notes on another recorded automated battle except now he was looking at an air battle. On one screen he was looking at a "first-person" view of an automated fighter and on the other another fighter with the same view that was its opponent. He also was listening to the two testers in that battle give all sorts of battle commands; ranging from the simple attack and retreat commands to advanced commands like increase altitude, change speed, nose dive, form up and just about any sort of command you could think of. He was just amazed how fast they responded to battle commands, nearly or around a second. They're also pretty good with combat even if you don't tell them to dodge enemy fire and all that; they can fend for themselves if need be. If there is a command that the automated unit(s) don't recognize, your transceiver should display an "X" in the display window. Otherwise, it would display an "O" in the display. Really though, from what Uzi has seen, all the commands he could think of, as well as the testers, seem to work—
Before he could finish his though, someone with a spacesuit walked into the lab. From what he could see, it was one of the aliens assign to this specific lab. His name was called Rook, like the chess piece on a chess game. Judging from the way his helmet was turning left and right, he was still looking for Codger.
"Hey Rook, you didn't find Codger?"
"I couldn't find him anywhere."
"Strange. He's usually in the cafeteria when he goes on a break."
"That's the first place I looked, and he wasn't there", Rook said.
Uzi thought for a moment, then remembered Codger had a cell phone on him that was always on in case of emergencies.
"Rook, I'll call Codger's cell phone though the speaker phone here. Keep in mind that it was only for emergencies so don't go constantly calling him on it if you have to speak with him. Actually, I never got the chance before to ask you why you needed to speak with him?"
"Lord Sturm was calling for him before for an update report and I just needed to pass that message to Codger to call the citadel", Rook said with what sounded like concern in his voice.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
How could I have gotten though those last couple of months with these new CO's is beyond me, Codger thought as he continued to look as his high-tech surroundings.
Thinking back, he could recall the events that took—
His train of though was interrupted when he heard something ring. He realized that it was his cellular phone. Taking it out of his pocket, he pressed the answer button, fully expecting to hear some sort of emergency from someone.
"Codger speaking."
"Codger. It's Rook, calling from lab B3. Where are you?"
Codger knew who it was. He was one of a couple of alien Infantry that was assign to his team to keep an eye on things should a combat or any sort of situation arise and to assist in any way in the lab when need be. Even though there were aliens on his team working as scientists, there were others that were here, armed with those arm-machine guns, that were working security and Rook was their Commander.
"I'm on the roof of the building. Is there a problem?"
"Oh no sir. I just wanted to tell you that Lord Sturm was calling for you before. He wanted your update report on the experimental weapons testing", Rook said.
"I see…and you didn't bother LOOKING for me up here??"
"I'm sorry sir. I didn't think you would be up there but I thought you'd be either in the cafeteria or in one of the other labs. I was told that by Uzi."
Damn, I should have told my sub-commander Uzi where I would be going being that there isn't a speaker on the roof here, he thought. "Sorry about that Rook. I'll call him with my cell phone. Is there any problems in any of the labs that need my attention?"
"Not from what I saw when I was looking for you, sir."
"Very well then but until I get back to the lab, your allowed to call my cell phone should something need my attention. You're dismissed."
"Yes sir."
Codger immediately called the Black Hole citadel to give Sturm his update report. He basically went over the effectiveness of the new automated units as well as the Neotank as well and the indestructible pipe material that, unfortunately, the Black Hole CO Lash improved on.
After the update conversation Sturm said, "Very well and next time Codger, when I call I expect you to be available. Dismissed."
"Yes sir my lord."
After Sturm hung up, Codger made another call to lab B3 and asked for Rook. He informed Rook to call his cell phone to page him back to the lab the next time Sturm called. He agreed to do so and to inform Codger of any problems while he was on his break.
Man, it's getting so hectic lately that I can't even take a small break these days, he thought.
Really though, he felt that he was lucky to be alive.
A couple of months ago, he was given the task from Lord Sturm to make multiple clones of a CO from Wars World named Andy to aid in his takeover of Wars World. Sadly, it didn't work. After words, along with his team, he was summoned to the Black Hole citadel. Fully expecting an execution or some sort of punishment, he was instead ordered to make new weapons for the Black Hole army.
But what happened after that was what HE felt was punishment from the Black Hole Commander.
About a few days after that little meeting, rumors began going around that Sturm was looking for and recruiting new CO's for the Black Hole army. This had concerned him for a few reasons. One was that Sturm could recruit and, if needed, train someone who was good with technology and science generally like he was. If that happened, Sturm could probably see him as worthless and probably be demoted to being the sub-commander of such a CO or worse. Another reason was that Sturm could find someone who is good with commanding an army or generally good with combat situations. Really, he has been training to become a CO in the Black Hole army but because of all the projects Sturm had been giving him, he never really had the time to do so. If Sturm did find someone who was that good, he could kiss his dreams to be Sturm's second in command goodbye. The last reason he though of back then was that any one of those CO's Sturm recruits could simply hate his guts for one reason or another and could get him into a lot of trouble but he found that reason too unlikely to happen but didn't rule it out.
About three weeks later, Sturm introduced the four new Commanding Officers of the Black Hole Army.
The first one, and the one he remembered being a 'private' in the Black Hole army, was called Flak. Really though, he always felt that Flak didn't have what it takes to be a CO in the Black Hole Army even though he had A LOT of muscle but he really wasn't the smartest of the four CO's. His appearance, which consisted of him wearing a brown leather jacket without a shirt and red goggles plus a metal looking hat with dark looking pants and boots, gave you the idea that all he wanted to do was workout and smash stuff. Even Codger knew that it took more than muscle to be a CO but Flak had so much of it that it could be why he was promoted to CO. Just don't expect him to develop an effective strategic plan of sorts. And don't tell him that in his face or you'll regret it.
The next CO was Lash, the new wonder kid of the Black Hole army. Actually, she's one of the concerns Codger had though about, a brilliant inventor and even worse was that she had youth on her side. Her appearance consisted of pretty much dark clothing; dark shorts, long black boots, a short shirt, black trench coat. But her most noticeable feature was her dark hair, just spiked out around her head. He had heard from someone that his combination black/white hair stood out but hers stood out in a crowd more than his he guessed. Really though, it was amazing how smart and intelligent she was for her age. But from what he'd seen, she cares more about her experiments and her "toys" than her army but still, she had smarts and that was plenty. Actually, he had sort of a private rivalry with her at one point but Sturm caught on to this and redirected her team to developing the minicannons that surround the citadel, the black cannon, a 4-way laser cannon and a special "Death Ray" project that she and her team would be developing during the Wars World Campaign should the CO's start retaking Macro Land. He had heard that the demand for materials and funds for that "Death Ray" project were pretty high so Lash definitely has her work cut out for her but still, although Codger hated to admit it, she could probably pull it off.
Next in line was Adder. By rank, he was like the second in command of the 4 new Black Hole CO's. And Codger knew why too. He was a quick-thinking strategist CO who definitely knew how to command an army. He wore a black jacket with purple stripes here and there on it with dark pants and knee high boot with heels and what looks like a black hat with those purple stripes on it too. His hat only covered the top of his head so you could see his purple hair on the sides. His skin was the odd part about him; it was white as snow. Anyway, he did know how to command an army but he was full of himself; he says that his skills are matchless and from what he heard, he constantly reminds Flak and Lash who's in charge of them. Codger felt that his overconfidence and his self-absorbed attitude would get him into trouble. But you can't ignore how good a strategist he is. Codger found out how good when Adder had some time to waste and challenged him to a game of chess one time. Needless to say, Adder showed him how good a strategist he was. You just didn't want to meet him in a dark alley that much is certain.
The last new CO of the Black Hole Army was called Hawke. Needless to say, he was the Commander of the 4 new Black Hole CO's. His appearance generally consisted of a big black trench coat and dark boots with gray gloves. He also has a brownish skin color with white hair and big gray sideburns on the sides of his head. And just like Lash, Hawke was another one of his concerns brought to life. He was even better with commanding an army than Adder if he had to take a guess at it. What was so unusual about Hawke was that he rarely, if ever, shows any sign of emotion. Really though, that's why he felt that Hawke would become Sturm's new second in command if he wasn't already; a man without any emotion won't have any regrets for his actions. He'd seen Flak, Adder and even Lash get mad over the littlest of things but Hawke was calm as the sea on a beautiful day. Really though, that had concerned him. A man without emotions or regrets wouldn't think twice about betraying his master when he got the chance. He wasn't sure why but he had a bad feeling about Hawke. It wasn't because Hawke could become second in command to Sturm; it was because he couldn't figure the guy out. He had expressed his concerns about Hawke to Lord Sturm before but Sturm had just dismissed him. Perhaps he was getting too worked up over Hawke but still, he just had a bad feeling about him.
And then there is Sturm himself, the leader of the Black Hole Forces and this world. Really though, there isn't much to say about Sturm since his past as well as his present information about him is unknown but one thing is clear, he is the most powerful CO Codger has ever seen. He'd seen other CO powers before, especially Hawke's, but Sturm's is the most powerful and the most mysterious he's seen. Basically, Sturm uses his CO energy to pull a giant meteor from space to decimate a group of enemies with one hit but the mysterious part is that the meteor itself disappears and doesn't leave any evidence that it had hit there; not even a crater. Trees, mountains and even cities remain intact but the destruction of the group of enemy army units it hits is real. His general appearance consisted of a long dark cape that covered most of his body so that the only thing you saw was his face; neon green eyes with what he though was a brown metal mask with a snout like an elephant that spewed out smoke when he spoke and a black military type hat. He had heard a rumor that he was making a sort of upgrade of his "mask" but he hasn't seen it yet though.
Actually, there have been a few rumors about Sturm's past over the years here on Mekandos World. It was mostly on how he was either born or created depending on the rumor. There was one rumor that Sturm is a cyborg or highly intelligent robot that some scientists created to assists with combat and negotiations and such but went wrong. Another rumor was that Sturm was once human but he got into a freak accident and the only way to save him was to give him robotic enhancements but if that were true, whoever gave him those enhancements did a lousy job in the "looks" department unless that was intentional. And then there was a simple rumor that Sturm was banished from another world and had the unfortunate luck to end up here on Mekandos World. Well whichever of these rumors were true, Sturm made it clear that information like that was highly classified so nobody dared asked him directly or out in the open where Sturm could hear. Really though, if Sturm was able to give him and his team a rough idea on how to create the teleportation portal awhile ago, he could guess the third rumor about him could be true but then again, Sturm's idea could have truthfully come from him since he is intelligent so there's no way to know for sure.
Thinking of the portal project, another though crossed his mind. If the clone project was a failure, what did Sturm do with the Andy clones? He had never really asked Sturm about it but he guessed that he had them properly disposed of or he kept them in cold storage somewhere. Really though, it didn't work out so it didn't matter to him at the moment.
And then there were those "aliens" that were around here now. Really though, he didn't mind them around since they had feelings too like humans and they know how to interact with people as well as their own kind. Some were actually scientists on his team and there were many that were in the Black Hole Army. They pretty much started showing up when his team finished the portal project for Sturm so he guessed they were from another world generally. Why they came here to Mekandos world in the first place is anyone's guess really but he guessed Sturm must have struck some sort of deal with them since there were so many of them here on this continent. A lot of people didn't liked them when they first started showing up as well as Sturm rule over the continent so a lot of them left the continent to the smaller continents and islands surrounding the Black Hole Continent. Some did stay; if you count Flak, Lash, Adder, Hawke and as well as himself, Uzi, and a few others. And like he found out before, those others that left don't have to worry about an invasion if they provide funds for Black Hole. Even though they provide funds for Black Hole, he still didn't understand why Sturm didn't evade those other smaller continents and islands? I guess Sturm didn't need those other continents and islands at the moment……
Heh, here I am. Thinking about such things now. Why? Well, this could be the last time I think about such things if the new experimental weapons that my team and I are developing and testing fail Lord Sturm and the other CO's. I don't think Sturm will accept failure again from me……
He then checked his wristwatch and noticed that he'd been up on the roof of this building for almost half an hour now. Well, back to work, he thought.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
About two weeks have passed now, and there is much activity going on. All around the Black Hole Continent, Tanks, Planes, Landers, and many other types of military units were all moving toward a specific location. Just a little south from the black hole citadel, a portal site of some sort stood. It was almost as big as the black hole citadel, with a firm base and in the middle, a round semi-circle at the bottom with a ramp in the middle with the addition of lights on it. And around it were already many types of ground units as well as Transport and Battle Copters surrounding it to prepare for some sort of other world evasion. There were also some really big trucks standing by with a bin in the back that looked like they could hold a navy type unit. Also there were aliens with those arm-machine guns and bazooka's standing by the portal getting ready for their turn through the portal.
And also there was the Black Hole Commander himself Sturm. He still had pretty much the same appearance as before except now his face was different; there was what looks like a small ventilation-like plate on his mouth area with pipes coming out the sides of it going to the back of his head. He was obviously waiting his army's turn through the portal.
Elsewhere, there were three figure's walking toward the Black Hole citadel from the south. One of them had a combination black/white hair wearing a black military type uniform being accompanied by two spacesuit looking soldiers……
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Codger couldn't have believed what he just heard from Lord Sturm a couple of minutes before. I think Uzi or Rook can't believe it either, he thought.
The three of them were summoned to a building that wasn't too far from the portal to see Lord Sturm. Codger didn't know what was going on until the three of them got there. Apparently, Sturm needed to have a private meeting with the three of them for some reason.
What he wanted to talk about he would never forget. Apparently, Sturm was starting to, believe it or not, show some concern about the people in the other smaller continents and islands. According to Sturm, he had gotten a report of an underground "Anti-Black Hole Force" or "A.B.H.F" as he called it from one of his elite recon teams that were over there somewhere. Sturm said that if such an army did exist somehow, they would try to attack while he was trying to conquer Wars World.
"So, until I return from the Wars World campaign, I now promote you to CO and in charge of the Black Hole forces here on Mekandos World", he had said.
For Codger, it had been a very long time coming, and he was glad he at least finally made the cut to CO.
Afterwards, he also said that his Sub-commander Uzi as well as his Infantry commander Rook were his second-in-command CO's. That also surprised him as well as Uzi and Rook. Really though, Rook and even Uzi have had the training to handle CO responsibilities unlike Codger but still, Codger can definitely handle the responsibility of CO since he had some training. But really, that's why he figured Sturm promoted Uzi and Rook to CO and to be his second-in-commands, to give him a hand should he need it. Actually, he'd trusted both Uzi and Rook so he didn't mind.
Sturm then went over several other things that Codger wanted to either do or keep an eye on, including the "A.B.H.F" if they existed. Actually, Sturm knew that Codger had another project that he wanted to work on but didn't really get it going since it might have displease him. What surprised Codger more was that Sturm gave him the permission to do his experimental project as well as a few others's he had planned. Sturm said that his reason for Codger's projects was that in case he needed to make "adjustments" as he put it.
Really though, he felt that this was very out of character from his Lord but he wasn't about to turn down such a promotion.
"You ok sir?"
Codger broke out of his thought and turned to Uzi, "Yes. I'm fine."
"I've heard that before. What's bothering you?"
Heh, nothing get by you, does it Uzi? he thought. "Well, it's about the CO Hawke."
"What about him?" Rook said.
"I just got a bad feeling about him."
"You mean that new CO that is the commander of the four right?" Uzi said.
"Yeah, I remember him. The guy really creped me out too." Rook said.
"Rook. Uzi. I just think that he's up to something. When the two of you left the building before when our meeting with Sturm was over, I told Sturm yet again about my bad feelings about him."
"I don't blame you really. The guy's a total blank piece of paper. I rarely see him crack a smile even." Rook said.
"So you think he might try something stupid?" Uzi said.
"Yeah but then again, I could be wrong about him. Anyway, when I asked him about Hawke this time around, Sturm told me that he'd keep an eye on him."
"Well Codger, you and I and as well as Uzi knows that Hawke did sort of pick the other three CO's for the army but Sturm made sure that they didn't try anything so I'm pretty sure he'll keep his guard up around Hawke."
"Yeah I guess your right," Codger said.
Off behind the three of them, a bit of a bright light could be seen. Codger turned to see his team's creation go to work. He was glad that he had the upper "circle" part of the teleportation portal removed since it allowed Sturm to increase its size so he could send a bigger army through it at once. He felt though that making it too big would either cause a real black hole or an overload so he put in a safety measure so that it automatically shuts down when the portal reaches a certain size. They also managed to open the portal over Macro Land on Wars World or on any part of the sea surrounding Macro Land so they could drop off sea units unto Wars World if they need to. Really though, that was considered too time consuming but they didn't abandon it but this time, it looked like they were going to try an combination air and ground attack.
And as soon as the lights dimmed down, the three of them knew that they had work to do.
"Well Commander Codger. What are your orders?" Rook said.
Codger smiled then said, "First, lets get another update report from Sturm's recon team about this 'Anti-Black Hole Force'. My guess is that even though those other continents are providing funds for Black Hole, they might have some left over to probably build an army of sorts to use against us. But we first have to see if they really exist. I don't want to start a war with those other continents and then find out this information is false. Let's see if there's evidence of a resistance movement first. Then, will focus on my special project I've been sort of working on for Lord Sturm. There were also some new weapons ideas I had so well also see if we can get those going if we can. Understood?"
"Sir! Yes Sir!" Both Uzi and Rook said with a salute.
As the three of them entered the citadel, Codger still couldn't shake off those bad thoughts about Hawke. Perhaps Rook was right. He was getting too worried about him.
Little does Codger realize that his worst fears about Hawke were about to come true……
---------------------------
Whew. Man, writing chapters this long is harder than it looks. I'm just frustrated on how long it took me to update my little story. Well, I guess that does it for my intro chapters. Now I can focus on my Advance Wars 3 type of story line when I get the chance. Just so you know, I also turned off the "block Anonymous" reviews option so now anyone can review. Sorry about that little option. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that I hoped I at least "Ironed out most of the little mysteries around black hole" as Dr. Bross put it in his review. Big thanks to him as well as Kronik-Spoon and RocketDarkness for their help. I'll also make the time now to at least read and review other stories too in the AW section. And like I said, if there was something in someone else's story that was used in my story, let me know with a review and I'll give you credit for it. Actually, the portal description was by Dr. Bross in "Project: Black Portal" except I modified it a bit. Really though, I might continue this story but I had a few other story idea's that I might try but odds say I'll continue this one. Well, until the next update, Late.