Frontline News.

Note: this chapter will be slightly A.U.


During Hawk's briefing about Cobra's latest scheme, and the round of complaints about it being so soon after the last one, he mentions that they will be coordinating the interception with a squadron of Chinooks from a Texas airbase. Rock & Roll asks why they won't be using the new Tomahawks. "Good question. The reason is that we don't want Cobra to realize that this is related to our earlier break-in." Hawk explains, pausing while Wild Bill pouted over being denied another chance to pilot one.

"Laugh it up while ya can, ya big galoot!" Bill shouts over to Lift-Ticket.

Elsewhere in the room, Heavy Metal leans over to Scarlett. "Wet-Suit's wondering if you're going in for round two."

She looks past him for a second before shaking her head. "Let him know that i would; but Doc says my arm's not 100% yet. I might twist it wrong and give myself away, so I'll let Brownie go instead." Half an hour after Duke and Flint's team left, Scarlett is exiting the lady's room when she notices Ace twirling his casino visor. "Setting up another game?"

"I caught that neon newbie claiming to be the best card player in the pacific." He tells her, and puts it on with a grin. "Wanna watch me clean him out, red?"

"Deal me in." She replies since she had nothing better to do.

Once they arrive, Sci-Fi, Alpine, and Thunder are in the rec-room waiting. "About time you showed up, flyboy." The first one says before noticing Scarlett. "She here to watch?"

"Nope. Break out a chair for me, boys." She replies while stretching her fingers out.

While Thunder is doing so, the rest sit down. "Does either of them have any tricks i should know about?" Sci-Fi asks Alpine quietly.

"You never know with Ace; but Scarlett's got 'em from here..." Alpine replies, pointing at the top of her head down to her feet. "...to here, my man."

"Not to mention here... my man." Scarlett said next, and flicked him on the left ear, having noticed the corner of his mouth moving when his finger was at chest level.


After the Moray's released, Lady-Jaye heads below deck to change, which she'd been waiting for ever since the incident with the laser guidance system. She turns her flashlight on and glances around the space for a second before cupping a hand to her mouth. "Cobra Commander's so dumb, he tried to bake a cowpie... Anything, Dial-Tone?" She asks into her walkie talkie.

"Cha-channel's clear, Lady-Jaye." He replies while snickering.

She then turns it off before changing clothes. "I sure hope they don't notice the skankyness having a different shoe size all of a sudden." She tells herself before putting the wig on and heading back topside.


Five hours later, Blue-shirt 2688 is manning the turret of another Moray when he sees someone swimming towards the craft. "Stop; keep your distance or I'll open fire!" He warns before looking down. "Skipper, we got a drifter off starboard."

"Drifter?; but we're 30 miles from the nearest coast." Another one says, then sees for himself. "She sure looks like the Baroness."

"Of course i am, you idiots!" She shouts before another wave smashes into her. "Let me aboard."

"Or so you'd have us believe, i saw her just two hours ago."

"That was Lady-Jaye; the Joes intercepted me vhen i vas returning from the Cone's inspection; drop the ladder and varn the Commander!" The Baroness tells them.

The crewmen turn and huddle. "This has to be a ruse."/"Obviously. 2815, go ahead with that ladder... but keep an eye on her while i bring us back to the base."/"Aye aye."

After Flint's commandeered F.A.N.G. exploded, the leader of the three Blue-shirts speaks. "Are we in trouble over this, Commander?"

"Hmm, while i will ccertainly be deducting the cossst of that fuel from your pay; your disscovery has earned eaccch of you a promotion." Cobra Commander told them. "Destro, have thessse three transsferred to the Viper corps."


While approaching the primary target, Deep Six contacts H.Q. "Angler to Cannery; setting up-Aw, hell's bells!" He says aloud after recognizing it as the last thing we wanted to see again.

"What is it?" Breaker asks.

"You remember what i said about being forced to make a generator; turns out it wasn't one after all." Deep Six replies while thinking back to his captivity, and is about to request permission to attack when he notices something else. "Cannery, the school's got some new kind of Eel headed for them."

"Acknowledged. Check the lobster tank. Any suggestion on what we should go for?" Hawk asks.

"Yes i do. Wet-Suit, go for the panel 18 yards to the right; it's the one they had me working on." Deep Six advised. "I wasn't told what it was for, but it... Hawk, two those Eels just tore right through the orca's and netted two marlins."

"Understood, Angler. Order the lobster next."


Following the loss of yet another base, the Baroness, still suffering from a cold, wakes up in her quarters and heads to her restroom. After going through four tissues, she reaches for her mascara, only to find it empty. "Dab; vhab bib i eher do tuh geserp tiss?" She asks herself. (Damn; what did i ever do to deserve this?)

"'ere, use some o' mine." She hears, and sees her reflection hand her some after wiping her nose.

"Z.. zenthu." She says, and is just tossing the fifth tissue away when she realizes what just happened. "Hat dah gell?!" She yells as "she" climbs through the hole in the wall of the room which turns out to be a pre-fab she was placed in. "Ooh ipersantik... me uhven, Nebeh Dhay?!" She asks while lunging at the imposter. (T... thank you.) (What the hell?!) (You're impersonating... me again, Lady-Jaye?!)

"Missed me, grandma." The person tells her.

"Hu widduh fidds; fuh dah... nell-" The Baroness shouted before nausea sets in. While she's vomiting, the person reaches for the top of her head and pulls a mask off to show a woman with orange hair just as Cobra Commander and Zartan walk in. "Nill sam'un ugspun wud id kohig on?" (You little bitch: who the... hell-) (Will someone explain what is going on?)

In another part of the Terror Drome, Dr. Mindbender was having his own, internal, ordeal while resting at his work table. "Spirale ... Zahlen ... schwebend in Richtung ..." (Spiral... Numbers... floating towards...)


Chapter forty-three.