Batman/Command & Conquer: Red Gotham
By Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: Batman and related characters and situations are ©2003 by DC Comics Inc./Yuri and related characters and situations are ©2003 by Westwood Games. All are used here without permission for fan-related entertainment purposes only. All original content is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine.
CHAPTER 2
"Commander, we have ourselves a situation that just makes me want to spit," General Carver said as he chomped down on his customary cigar. The military officer he addressed, who was several thousand miles away in an Allied base just outside London, simply smiled. Carver was his superior, his mentor and above all else, his friend. He couldn't imagine a day going by that the Texas native did not call him up on the videophone to complain about something new the Reds had done.
The war had been, so far, going very badly for the Allies, especially the United States. The years between the first Soviet War and the second one had caused the Allies to get soft. Technology, especially military, had stagnated in the mid-1980's when it appeared the Soviets were willing to see change. They elected a new Premier, a direct descendant of the Romanov's and had begun to build a new friendship with their former enemies.
In fact, so trusting had the world become that nobody bothered to check to see if the Soviets had even bothered to disarm. "How is Canada, sir?" the Commander asked with a sly grin.
Carver took a sip from his coffee mug and wrinkled his brow. Behind him was a wall of what looked to be a log cabin. Outside one of the windows were some very beautiful, snow-covered mountains. "Less jokes and more action would be appreciated, Commander. If you think I enjoy spending my free time in…this country…then you obviously have been out in the field too long."
The Commander didn't immediately respond. He glanced over to a secondary monitor that presented an electronic, 3D environment of his current area of responsibility, which included the great city of London. Using a mouse, he picked the local barracks and put in an order for five troops that he planned to send to a scouting location. "I'm assuming that I'm going to be recalled to the States then, sir?" the Commander asked, hopeful.
"Damn right, you are," carver said as he stomped back to his desk. The poor cameraman on his end struggled to keep up with him and the picture jumped and jiggled. "Special Agent Tanya is already on her way to the mission area," the general said with a smile. Tanya was the most professional, and most beautiful, agent in the Allied special services. She had been instrumental in many of the major Allied victories of recent months and she and the Commander had grown rather close.
"Where am I being assigned to, sir?"
Carver pulled the cigar out of his mouth and pointed it at the camera. "Gotham City in New England. New York is still too well defended, but we think we can take Gotham back. It has a lot of guerilla activity…"
"Not that story about the Batman?" The Commander next checked on the production of Infantry Fighting Vehicles at the nearest war factory and the readout told him that the facility had been damaged in a recent air raid. He quickly assigned some engineers to head over and check it out. "The super-heroes are gone, killed by Yuri when they invaded Moscow."
"Batman wasn't with them," Carver pointed out. "Only member of the League that refused to go. President Luthor says the Batman was a raving paranoid and wanted to stay back to see what happened." The older man chuckled with the warm laugh that made him seem, if only for a moment, like a kindly grandfather. "The truth is that Batman has a movement started and we're gonna go in and give him support."
The Commander accepted his fate and concentrated instead on the upcoming mission. "You said Tanya was already in the area?"
"Concerned about your little filly?" The general began laughing again. It seemed to the Commander that a sure-fire way to get Carver forget about being in Canada was to let him ride the ass of his subordinates. "Yes, Commander, she's in there, making contact with our alternate source in Gotham City. The Lieutenant will bring you up to speed on the situation. Consider yourself relieved of your current command."
The screen winked out and the Commander looked up to see two Guardian G.I.'s with an officer. The G.I.'s, soldiers trained specifically in anti-vehicle operations and were normally burly men with RPG launchers strapped across their backs. The officer was wearing the uniform of the French Free Forces, one of the many Allied components.
"I am here to relieve you, Commander," the officer said, his English heavily accented. The G.I.'s said nothing; they were not there to intimidate but were merely standard bodyguards for command personnel. The Commander checked his status board and sighed.
"Try not to surrender England, okay?" the Commander said as he got up and surrendered the command chair. The French officer opened his mouth to say something, but the Commander was already walking out of the room, his own personal SEAL bodyguard behind him.
"You shouldn't make fun of the French, sir," Petty Officer Smith said as they hopped into the IFV. The model had been set-up as a heavy-machine gun platform. IFV's were the workhorses of the Allied military. Originally developed for the United States army, they were now found in all Allied countries. They had replaced the Humvee as the vehicle of choice.
"They're the only ones who won't fight back when I do," the Commander said as he squeezed into the back. Smith took the controls and the Commander manned the weapon. Even in friendly territory they were required to be vigilant. Soviet spies were everywhere and they would not hesitate to take out any target of opportunity.
They left the base proper, speeding by the pillboxes and Patriot missile launchers that served as outer perimeter defenses and got onto the main road that would take them to the airport at the other end of the base. Most Allied bases contained the same basic equipment and structures, but the layout was usually left to the base commander.
Prefabrication was the secret to quick and successful base building; that and the harvest of raw minerals and materials. Every base on every continent be it Allied or Soviet, relied on a massive mining effort that virtually laid the surrounding areas bare. As the materials were removed, it left space for even more buildings. The problem was, as the more liberal free persons of the world stated constantly, that military installations were intruding into any and all habitats. Cities were being overrun, as were forests and wildlife refuges as both sides armed to the teeth.
In some cases, such as Chicago, weapons of mass destruction were being fabricated as well. The Soviets were starting to show a fondness for nuclear weapons, a technology officially outlawed by the Allies at the beginning of the war.
The Commander glanced at the chronometer on his instrument panel and saw that by the time he made it across the Atlantic Ocean, it would be late at night. No doubt General Carver had planned it that way since the Batman was rumored only to come out at night.
They passed by a collection of regular grunts packing sandbags to create a defensive perimeter around the new battle lab that had been constructed the week before. Flying overhead, a flight of Harriers announced they were quickly approaching the airport. In little over a minute they were out of the IFV and approaching a special two-seater with extra fuel tanks.
"I'm gonna miss England, sir," Smith said as he pulled on his pressure suit. "Kind of like it here. Might retire here once the fighting is done." Smith zipped up his suit and then looked back towards the main part of the base. "Aw, hell, we left the French in charge."
"Good evening, Commander," the Lieutenant said on the video screen. She was an attractive brunette that had been working with the Commander since the beginning of the war. Her actual rank was much higher than her title indicated, but like him, she went by her code-name in order to throw off the Soviets.
Had there been no war, it was quite possible that the Commander and his pretty assistant could have seen each other socially. As it was, there was a friendly rivalry between her and Agent Tanya, but everyone knew where the Commander's heart lay. "What's the sitrep?" he asked. Behind him, Petty Officer Smith snoozed quietly.
A grid map of the eastern United States replaced the Lieutenant. It was color-coded with both red and blue. The red indicated territory under the control of Soviet forces. Their advance started in Florida, where they had invaded Miami from a secret base in Cuba and extended up the coast all the way to New York City. Because the Canadians had declared neutrality at the beginning of the war, the Soviets had so far agreed not to prosecute a conflict with them.
The map then revolved and then zoomed in on a pair of cities located south of New York. The Commander knew immediately that they were Bludhaven and Gotham City. "I'll have a more detailed map of the area once you're on the ground," she explained. The scene changed to a general overview of Gotham City, the harbor taking up most of the lower right-hand corner.
"This will do for now," the Commander said. He glanced out over to his right and saw the lights of the Allied Fifth Fleet below him. He had found out it was on its way to Spain to counter a surprise Iraqi invasion. Iraq, Libya and Cuba were the official partners of the Soviet Union.
"Gotham City is a primary port city on the east coast, but it is also the one city that the Soviets have the least control over. Guerilla efforts on behalf of several patriot groups have constantly harassed the Reds since the start of the war. Rumor is that Yuri himself has been sent into the area to quiet things down once and for all. Chances are your counterpart within the Soviet military is being brought in as well, but we have nothing to confirm that." The map shifted to a wider view. There was a small red circle on an area indicated as Wayne Estate.
"This is the suspected area of operations for the Batman, whom we have discovered from secret Justice League records was actually billionaire Bruce Wayne. The Soviets have so far kept minimal troop activity out there."
The Commander absorbed the rest of the information as it was given to him all the while keeping a light hand on the control stick. He still had an hour to go before he hit Canadian airspace and then he would have to stop and refuel before riding low to the ground for the trip into Soviet territory.
"Where's Tanya?" the Commander finally asked, curiosity getting the best of him.
The Lieutenant got a wry grin and the Commander knew she was considering letting him believe that there was no information. Finally, she relented and answered him. "General Carver inserted her in a week ago. She's been assigned the task of making contact with the Huntress, another vigilante. The Batman has been keeping his activities as war against property; he still follows the super-hero rule of no-killing." The Commander shook his head at the idea. There was no excuse for kid gloves in a war. "The Huntress is not as particular. In the General's opinion, the Huntress is a very good back-up just in case you cannot come to some agreement with the Batman."
"If he exists," the Commander reminded her.
The screen changed to a document that was marked as being a memorandum from the president of the United States. It was addressed to the Commander personally. "President Luthor himself has attested to, in writing, the existence of the Batman. He was a member of the Justice League and is, in fact, one of the few remaining members that did not fly off to Moscow."
"Speaking of the super-heroes, are there any more in the immediate area that we might be able to recruit? Perhaps some with a more proactive approach to fighting the Soviets?"
The Lieutenant smiled. "If you were hoping for a Guy Gardner, then I'm afraid you are going to be disappointed. He was reported killed in Moscow along with the rest of the League. However, the Batman is rumored to have Robin, Batgirl and the Atom working with him, as well as most of the Gotham City Police Department." She typed a few keys and small photos came up of each of the heroes. "All are trained in espionage and are very good at it."
"What about the Huntress?" he asked, making a slight adjustment and taking his fighter down another thousand feet.
"No information available. She works deep in Soviet territory, taking out targets of opportunity. Rumor is she went toe-to-toe with a Yuri-clone and won the battle of domination." The Commander was impressed. Yuri had used the cloning technology of the Soviet scientists to create copies of himself. Though less powerful than the original, they still had the ability to overcome all except the strongest of minds.
The Huntress sounded a lot like Tanya. "Try getting me some intel on her. She was a member of the league as well, which means the president can authorize the opening of the old United Nations records." The United Nations had officially been disbanded at the start of hostilities. The Allied forces had confiscated the records of that organization just before New York fell.
"I'll see what I can do," she replied. "You're getting close to Soviet radar space, so I'll sign off now." She gave him a wink and then the screen went blank.
"Hey, Smith, its time to get up," the Commander said as he took the Harrier into an inverted dive towards the ocean. The wailing of Petty Officer Smith, much like that of a frightened schoolgirl, heralded their arrival to North America.