A/N: Sorry for the long delay after such a short chapter. I'm kinda slow in getting chapters out. Not to mention I just got back from a 9-day trip to Spain, which delayed this chapter by another week. Oh, and I forgot about a disclaimer thingy that seems to be required. Maybe not, but I'm not going to risk it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Red Alert or any of its sibling games. Some awesome nerds at Westwood have that honor. They're my idols.

Anyway, here's the next one.

The Vehicles

Phoenix was having trouble wiping the grin off of his face that had been plastered there since he'd been given the order to arrive at Command within the hour. He'd finally been called for active duty! Finally, all of the other commanders were doing something else, and Phoenix would get his chance to show that the fact he ranked lowest for commanding competency was a fluke. He was practically giggling when he slid his ID card through the reader and heard the automated voice respond.

"Welcome to HQ, Commander Phoenix."

"You're two minutes late, commander."

The second, non-automated voice belonging to General Carville wasn't exactly a perk for Phoenix.

"I hit traffic, sir."

"A good excuse, but I've heard it far too often to believe it anymore. Now, follow me."

Carville spun around and started walking through Command. He walked past Intel Ops stations, the Radio Comm Link stations, and even the Field Command Interface Station. That one was Eva's, and she wasn't there. This struck Phoenix as odd, because he always assumed she operated everything in her power from her terminal, and never had a need to leave it, except to eat, sleep, and go to the restroom.

Shrugging it off, he continued to follow Carville deeper and deeper into Command. He'd never gone this far in the tour of the facility. They kept passing armed guards who all saluted Carville (who saluted back), and kept reaching security doors that had more and more complicated codes the deeper they went. Now they were descending flight after flight of stairs, still coming up on security doors. There were no guards this far into… wherever they were going. Phoenix had no idea. Finally, after Carville unlocked another security door, they reached a huge room.

Well, it seemed huge to Phoenix, judging by the sudden fresh air in the room, and the soft breeze. It seemed almost like a cavern. However, it could be the size of a closet for all Phoenix knew, since it was pitch black. A door opened to their left, and Phoenix saw Eva walk out, carrying a checklist and holding a flashlight.

"Good morning, Commander."

"Phoenix."

"Right. Phoenix."

Phoenix looked around, his confusion eminent. "Ummm… what's with all the darkness? Can't we turn on a few lights?"

Eva shook her head. "I'd rather not. What we're about to show you looks a lot cooler when viewed one at a time under a spotlight."

"Huh?"

The Lieutenant smiled, shook her head and responded simply, "Just wait."

Phoenix shrugged. "Alright. If you say so. But if you don't mind me saying, if it really is all that cool, I would like to get a move on, y'know?"

Eva nodded. "Let's get rolling then. But before we start, you'll need some background information. Our Einstein Crew came up with a rather clever idea. They thought that our soldiers on the battlefield would get a great morale boost if their Commander fought alongside them instead of from the safety of a holo screen."

"But if the Commander died, wouldn't there be mass mayhem?"

"Exactly."

Pause.

"So… I'm not catching your drift, yet."

"The Crew came up with another rather clever idea: give the Commander some high-tech, ultra-durable battle gear so his chances of surviving and carrying on with the fight are much higher."

"So you're saying that the Einstein Crew came up with a bunch of new toys for the Commanders to play with?"

"Not just toys… powerful toys."

"Pimp-ness."

"What?"

"Never mind. Continue."

"Right. Anyway, seeing as how we're running a bit low on Commanders at the moment, it looks like you're the lucky guy who gets to be our first Field Commander."

"Nice."

"And sitting in this room are all the gizmos you'll be potentially using."

"Nice!"

Eva pulled out a hand remote from one of her pockets and pressed a button, turning on a spotlight that showed some interesting looking technology on a raised platform. Instead of a vehicle, it looked more like body armor. Complete body armor, actually. Phoenix couldn't see any points on the armor suit that showed the wearer's skin. It reminded him of several video game heroes. It wasn't just the armor that was of interest, but some of the stuff attached to it as well. A jetpack, for one thing, was an eye-catcher. It also had what seemed like a flip-down targeting monocle, although Phoenix couldn't imagine what for. He also noticed, slung around the chest of the armor (for it was on a mannequin of sorts) an evil-looking rifle that had a grenade-launching apparatus.

"This is the first of several 'Commanding Units' that the Einstein Crew came up with. For close combat or urban situations, they figured an infantry suit would be more effective than a vehicle."

"I agree. This looks like something Jango Fett would wear."

"… I'm sorry?"

"Jango Fett? Never heard of him? How about Boba Fett?"

Eva shook her head. "Sorry. Can't really say I have."

"You need to get out more. Go on."

"Anyway, it's equipped with jetpack, as you can see. It's also equipped with Micro Wrist Rockets."

"Wait… say that again?"

"What, the Micro Wrist Rockets?"

"Where are those?"

Eva cracked a grin. "Ah… those would be located on the wrists."

"I know that! I don't see them, though."

"Hence the 'Micro' bit. They pack quite a punch for such little guys."

"How do I activate them?"

"This button here." She pointed to a small, barely visible button fairly high up on the wrist.

"I swear, the Einstien Crew has been watching too much Star Wars. Don't ask, Eva… just continue."

The Lieutenant gave him a weird look. "Whatever. As for your weapon, you'll be equipped with a rapid fire assault rifle using relatively new Heat Sealant technology, tripling its rate of fire when being compared to today's leading assault rifles. It also has some sniping capabilities, but they're not great. It's also equipped with a grenade launcher."

"Yeah, I noticed the launcher. What's that eyepiece for?"

"As a matter of fact, you use that when operating the grenade launcher."

"Huh?"

"Your weapon has several directional bearing devices that allow it to know what direction it's facing, what angle, etc. It's wirelessly connected to your combat suit, which allows the eyepiece, when powered up, to highlight the grenade's trajectory when fired from whatever angle you're holding the rifle. Very handy for calibrating shots."

"I would imagine."

"Alright. Next one." Eva pressed a button on her remote, and another spotlight clicked on.

This one looked like a motorcycle. Except, it was a motorcycle with a full slide-over canopy that you would most likely see on a fighter jet instead of a motorcycle. Not only that, but the backseat was facing… well… backwards. It seemed that the backseat "co-pilot" acted as a gunner, as there was an anti-aircraft type machine gun for the co-pilot's use. However, any commander knew that bullet-based AA weaponry was equally effective against ground-based infantry as well as aircraft. As Phoenix's interest shifted from the tail gunner to the actual driver, he noticed a machine gun mounted between the headlights.

'Man, this thing is really geared for combat, isn't it?' He thought to himself.

"This is the Einstien Crew's souped up Attack Bike."

"What do you mean "souped up"?"

"Oh, we now have mainstream Attack Bikes in our standard arsenal. They just don't have the bullet-proof canopy this one is equipped with. Believe me, our Bright Boys in the Backroom had a tough time slapping that on while preventing air friction from reducing it's cruising speed."

"I would imagine. What's with all the guns?"

"Well, the idea behind the Attack Bike is to get in there, shoot a bunch of guys, wreak a bunch of havoc, and get out before the enemy has a chance to organize itself and form a counter-strike to the sudden onslaught."

"What about Tesla Coils and tanks? Unless these guns have armor-piercing ammo, I doubt they'll be able to take down an Apocalypse, no matter how many bikes we have shooting at it."

"For Tesla Coils, there's really only one solution: avoid them. They're instant death for the bikes. Maybe if you have a really good gunner with a Hellfire armament-"

"Wait… there are bikes equipped with MISSILES? Why's this guy have a machine gun?"

"That brings me to the solution for tanks. The Hellfire VII Missiles are designed for bringing down tanks with only a few short bursts. And if you have a good gunner, she could possibly take down a coil if you're far away and driving away from it."

"Oh, that makes sense- Wait… whaddya mean 'she'?"

"Through several studies and tests, we've found out that female soldiers have better overall coordination when it comes to the gunner position on these bikes. Sure men are competent enough, but women can do the job better."

"Fair enough, I guess."

"Right, next one."

Another spotlight flicked on. However, Phoenix couldn't see anything in its light at first. After a few seconds though, he started seeing a faint distortion in the light, but he couldn't quite make it out.

"I'm not really seeing much…"

"That's the point. One second." She pressed a button on her remote and a Harrier-class aircraft suddenly appeared. Phoenix was stunned for a short moment.

"… I take it that the Einstein Crew has improved the Mirage technology?"

"Greatly improved it. A vehicle can hide itself while moving now, but only for a short while. It's really good for getting out of tight spots."

"What else does this guy have?"

"See those machine gun side armaments?"

"Yeah… standard Harrier side-arms."

"Wrong. Remember those Hellfire VII missiles that we can equip the Attack Bikes with? We've given your Command Harrier Hellfire VIII Micro Missiles. Simply put, bullets with a bang."

"Pretty pimp."

"Uh… sure. Anyway, the Micro Missiles are good for dog-fights as well as attacking ground-based targets, although the Harrier's main payload does a better job for Surface-to-Ground strikes."

"Of course."

"Next."

Click. The next spotlight showed a tank.

A very, very big tank.

"Compared to a Battle Fortress, how big is this guy?"

"About twice the size."

Phoenix let out an impressed whistle. And it did indeed look about twice the size of the Allied behemoth. It had double-treads (apparently two weren't enough for the job) and two turrets. One was pretty far in front, slightly smaller, and looked like it was equipped with Missile Racks, though Phoenix couldn't make out the model based on their housing. The rear turret was slightly larger, looked more heavily armored, and had a Grand Cannon-looking turret. Phoenix also noticed a pair of Comet cannons found on a Prism Tank. This thing had a lot of big, big guns.

"This, Phoenix, had to be the hardest project our engineers have EVER worked on, and they swear they'll never make another one if they can help it. Take REALLY good care of this tank, Phoenix."

"I think it can take care of itself."

"Well being the biggest tank in the contingent, it will undoubtedly attract a lot of fire. Hence, all the armaments. Grand cannon to pound tanks into the ground, Comet cannons to fry infantry and help take out tanks, missiles for aircraft and airborne missiles-"

"By the way, what model missiles are they? I don't recognize the housing…"

Eva smirked. "Phoenix V Seek and Destroy missiles."

Phoenix grinned. "I KNEW I was popular around here."

"Don't get too cocky, kid," Carville grunted, "You'll see why they're called Phoenix missiles once you're in combat."

Phoenix nodded. "Got it. Is that it for this guy?"

"Just about. Next."

The final spotlight clicked on and Phoenix saw a submarine. A very technical-looking submarine. It had several servo arms that ended in clamps. A few more servo arms ending with harpoon-looking devices. Phoenix also saw three torpedo tubes. A few more servo arms were equipped with round, dull-looking metal balls attached to the end. On top of the sub were two radar dishes. Why a submarine (or any vehicle for that matter) would need more than one radar was beyond Phoenix, and would be one of his questions for Eva. He also saw a pair of Vulcan Cannons mounted on top of the submarine, one on each end.

"That's one gnarly sub, Eva."

"You bet it is. It'll be your command sub in naval operations."

"Whoa… since when have we used submarines in our navy?"

"We don't. This is the only one that will be employed. Makes it a little safer from the Soviet navy, don't you agree? Not to mention it makes it easier to spot their Typhoon subs and Squids, no?"

"True."

"Anyway, on with its gadgets. You can see several servo arms."

"Several being an understatement. When the heck am I gonna need clamps?"

"I dunno. We sort of thought we might need to use the Command Sub on missions that involve retrieving toxic waste from the bottom of the ocean or something. 'Be prepared', right?"

"I guess."

"Right, the harpoons have explosive tips, helpful for turning squiddies and subs into dust before they can reach you."

"And what if the squids grab a hold of me? Aside from dolphins, we don't have much defense against latched on squids, and even dolphins still damage the ship under fire."

"Hence, the third set of servos. Those bulbs at the end? Then can unleash electrical charges when activated and deliver roughly 4,000 volts into the squid. If that's not enough, then you were probably screwed to begin with, anyway. The Vulcan Cannons can also help if they're in range of the squids head. They also help taking out Soviet naval craft and Dreadnought missiles."

"Got it… what's with the two radars?"

Eva grinned. "That was a little bit of my ingenuity, actually. One is your radar, and the other is your radar jammer."

Phoenix blinked, clearly confused. "Why would I want to jam my own radar?"

"Not yours you idiot! It jams SOVIET radar."

"And how come it doesn't jam mine?"

"Soviet radar and Allied radar are on different frequencies so that they can't see what we see, and vice versa. Well, some of our top spies managed to get ahold of the Soviet's radar frequency and wired it back to Allied Command. So, the jammer has been adjusted to that frequency. The first time you use this puppy, it'll take them far too long to adjust the frequency on all their radar units, and you'll most likely have your mission accomplished by then."

"That is pretty brilliant, I must say."

Eva gave a mock bow. "Thank you, thank you." She straightened up and smiled. "That concludes our tour of the vehicles. You ready for your first mission, Commander?"

"You bet."

"Good. Follow me…"

A/N: alright, that's it. Next chapter will be Phoenix's first mission (obviously), and no, the missions will not be ordered in relation to the ordering of the vehicles. By the way, I don't own Star Wars, Boba Fett, or Jango Fett.