Frontline News.
Disclaimer: Skymaster23 has no connection to Clint Eastwood or his films.
While the commander's ship is fleeing, the last Trawler's payload has finished offloading. The Cobra infantrymen start setting up A.S.P.s, and machinegun nests while their armor moves past. Blue-shirt 2688 watches as the Joes are about to learn once again that despite inflicting heavy losses, Cobra bites just as hard. The ones assigned to L.Z. clearing are racing toward the enemy when Beachhead's voice shouts over the radio. "Zap an' Flash, you've got uh STUN tryin' tuh head yawl awf, slow down an' wait fahwar backup."
"Not a problem, we'll get around behind it." Zap replied, only to be warned about a rear gun. But it came too late, and the other three Joes can only watch as their V.A.M.P. takes a few rounds to the front left tire. As he attempts to get control back, the STUN makes a turn and blasts them to bits despite the efforts of Clutch and Roadblock to hit it first while everyone else looks on in despair.
In Trawler four's bridge, the sight is taken differently. As the crew cheers at the minor payback they got, the captain calls over to the helmsmen. "They're distracted; ascent vector on the double." As the craft is taking off, Gung-Ho stands and picks the M85 he and Footloose are at after the former abandoned his V.A.M.P. when a Firebat strafed the front of it. While he is emptying his rounds in vain, a siegie has just noticed him after picking off fourteen Green-shirts and is lining him up. But before he can take the shot, he hears a noise to his right. He looks and sees his spotter has a big bloody hole in the back of his neck.
It was the last thing he ever saw.
30 yards away, the shooter picked up his walkie talkie. "This is Low-Light; all done here."
Inside the Joe war room. "Dammit... them bastards killed Zap an' Flash!" Scarlett shouts in her Georgian accent before looking back to Col. Sharp and Flint.
"Granted." The Colonel says simply to the silent deployment request.
While she and the rest of the Joes are heading to the motor pool, Clutch swerves to get a lock with his R.A.M. cycle's sidegun. He manages to get the rear gunner, only to break off when one of the STUN's main guns flipped backwards. "Whoa... you could have mentioned that part, Beachhead!" He says into his helmet mic after narrowly avoiding the shot.
"Must be uh new feature; thuh ones at Cameroon didn't do thet."
"Or they didn't get the chance back then." A third voice says as the H.A.V.O.C. shows up and plows right into another STUN as it was aiming at Clutch's bike. "That makes five. Beat that, ya Remington Raider." Wet-Suit tells himself as he glances to a distant figure by the Chaparral launchers, imagining him swearing up a storm.
Once the General's Tomahawk lands, Deep Six steps out and sees nurse Simmons, Clutch, Rock & Roll, Short-Fuze, Cover-Girl, and one other that seemed slightly familiar headed toward him. Noticing them all stop at a slight distance, he sits down on the edge of the helicopter's floor and starts to break down crying. "Jus-just this once." He said, and they all gave a welcoming embrace until Wet-Suit shouted out a warning.
Eight minutes earlier in the heli-carrier, the last of the Night Ravens had just landed for refitting. One of the ship's personnel, an older man with glasses and thinning black hair waved as Crimson Guardsmen board all the drone craft. "Good luck out there; we'll have a batch of my best stew waiting for whichever of you makes it back!" After all of them have taken off, the Joes on land and air began the last firefight of the day.
"Heads down!" Wet-Suit yells as one of the Night Ravens starts a strafing run. In his haste to push back the upper seat's guns, he slips off, knocking himself unconscious. Simmons instinctively heads over to him, only to get struck by debris from the rounds which shreds her right arm. The sight of which causes Cover-Girl to take Short-Fuzes's FIM-43.
"See how you like it, you fucking bastard!" She yells before sending the rocket loose. As the pilot is releasing the chaff, he fails to notice one of the swept-wing jets locking on to him. Before it explodes, however, he and the other Night Ravens release their drone planes, which strangely keep their engines off as they head for the base.
"Aw, thay're goin' kamikaze on us; knock 'em down!" Beachhead orders. As the Joes start shooting at them, Cross-Country runs to Wet-Suit's H.A.V.O.C. and climbs up to the seat. While Deep Six, Wet-Suit, and Simmons are being placed in the med-carriage, the new driver takes a moment to mumble about the seat being exposed before he figures out the controls and starts moving back to the motor pool.
"This here is Cross-Country speakin', ah could use me an escort over here!" He asks over the radio, and sees an A.W.E. Striker and a strange bike approaching. He sees Alpine and Frostbite in the former, but the bike's driver seems new to him. Part way to the base however, he gets a warning about a STUN approaching, but it follows the 'Striker when they take some potshots at it. Once safely inside, Cross-Country jumps off and heads to the carriage door to help carry the three wounded.
"Nice driving there." Clutch says to him. Cross-Country stares at the vehicle for a second while Deep Six stumbles past with Cover-Girl's assistance asking why a civil war mannequin is in the motor pool.
Up in the war room, Col. Sharp is watching the Cobra planes with the rest. "They've kept their engines off and aren't shooting back. What's your take on it, Flint?"
"My guess is that they're not loaded." Flint tells him, then looks to Breaker. "Find their trajectory." But the sounds of impacts are heard before that could be finished. "Where'd they hit?!"
"Uh... looks like they went for the windows, sir." Breaker says before Cutter calls over the radio saying four of them each fired a short burst before impact, but that a fifth was unable.
"So much for your guess." Col. Sharp tells Flint, then looks back to Breaker. "Who and how many?" He asks before three more impacts are felt. Breaker brings up a security camera to see a Crimson Guardsman in a shoot-out with Rock n' Roll, Lavigne, and a second M.P. while Clutch and Cross-Country are dragging Deep Six into a supply room. Another camera shows one who just stabbed a mechanic in the back before he notices he's being watched and shoots it.
"Lock out all the computer terminals and call back as many Joes back inside as necessary." Flint orders as he heads to lock the room's blast door.
"Right, sir. Attention, Siegies are inside HQ. Any available Joes, fall back immediately and, uh... repel boarders!" Beachhead hears from Dial-Tone over his radio. After staring at it, he orders Barbecue, Bazooka, Thunder, Lady-Jaye, Quick Kick, Stalker, and Snake Eyes to go.
Back inside, three of the intruders have met up. They are looking over a copy of the base's floorplan made by the synthoid when they hear a voice above them. "Awk, what'cha doin, what'cha doin?" Polly asks from the ceiling light he's perched on.
"Huh. Eh, just that damn sailor's bird... amscray!" One of them says before they look back to the map.
"Press pop goes the weasel for entry, Fred." Polly says while looking at the door to Airtight's lab.
"Who are you calling Fred?" The lead siegie says to himself as he starts typing the code in.
"You're not seriously gonna listen to some dumb animal?" Another asks.
"I'm listening to you, aren't i?" The first one replies, only for the floor panels on either side of him to swing upward at him. Once he recovers from the "ambush", he gives a warning glare to the other two before turning towards Polly. "Any last words?" He asks as he's leveling his rifle.
"Made ya look, ya weasel." Polly replies and the siegies then look back, only to see Barbecue, Bazooka, and Quick Kick aiming at them, the latter doing a Clint Eastwood line before Recondo, Cutter, Tollbooth, and Spirit approach from the other end of the hall.
"Good wok, Polly. But what did you call him Fred fah?" Barbecue asks.
"Maybe because auf the uniforms?" Cutter suggests. A few seconds later, they hear from Thunder that the Cobra forces outside are retreating, which Col. Sharp confirms just before Stalker announces that the last of the intruders are down.
Once the "all clear" is given, Col. Sharp, Duke... who's in a wheelchair, Flint, and Beachhead meet up. "You sure you should be out here, Duke?"
"I told Doc I'll just watch, so it's fine."
After The Colonel shakes his head, the four walk over to Gen. Abernathy, who is leaning against a Mauler speaking with Scarlett while Lifeline and another medic are tending to Heavy Metal and Mutt. Scarlett points them out, and The General greets them. "Some welcome party this turned out to be, isn't it?"
As Col. Sharp nodded, Duke asked Gen. Abernathy if he wanted to inspect what remained of the base, but he declined. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd prefer to make sure the post I'm going to be in charge of is repaired first."
Chapter thirty-five.
