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The day after the sinking, Zarana is exiting a transport model Night Raven at the airfield on Cobra Island along with Zartan and his other three. She may have already seen photos of the Terror Drome back at his hideout, but seeing it in real life is way different. "Quite a sight; isn't it, sister?"

"'ow do they keep a big-ass bugger like this 'idden?" She asks him after she watches a few Flightpods zip past.

"The Twin's make some hand-offs to local officials every so often." Zartan explains as he leads her inside. "Zandar's already taken his tour and split, by the way."

Sometime later, Zarana is wandering about after trying out some Cobra firearms, seeing a match in the arena, finding that the creepy old guy with the monocle's suspenders are holo-projectors more advanced than Zartan's for hiding the fact that he really wears a haz-mat suit... and lastly, she takes a shower with some other female troops after taking a Stinger's engine apart and putting it back together. While getting re-dressed, she starts talking to some woman getting a Crimson Guard uniform out of her locker. "Is that lady i switched wiv out on aunuvver mission?"

"You must be referreng to H-303. No, s'e terminated 'erself after yooehr mission was finis'ed." The Irish Crimson Guardswoman explains in a casual tone.

"She did wot?!" Zarana asks with a disbelieving look on her face. "Wot the bleedin' hell for?"

The Guardswoman sighs before replying in a condescending tone. "It would be awfully strange fhr Sgt. Wiedler to be seen after s'e died in an explosion, would it not?"

"...But that's still the bloody most fucked up finkbugger i ever-she could just as easily changed 'er face or sumfink... and-and don't go on like I'm bloody well a tyke, yer stuck-up bitch!" Zarana tells her, growing nervous, even sickened, with each word.

"Any kend av plastic surgery is traceable. We av de Crimsahn Guard take no chances w'en it comes to maintaineng secrecy, Dreadnok."

A short time later, Zarana notices a platform outside that she was told about, one floor above her, and decides to have a look. While leaving the stairwell, she passes a sign labeled Sector 45-A, and sees a few Vipers standing near an anti-aircraft gun. "You must be the one the Baroness was talking about." She hears one of them* say, and twitches an eye at the mention of the russian stuck-up bitch with the dumb accent who called her tawdry earlier.

"So wot if i don't eat nasty fish-eggs every day!" Zarana thinks, being even more pissed once she found out what tawdry means, atleast her jugs didn't have to be bought!**

"Yep, name's Zarana. One o' yor Strato-Vipers*** said yer can see the whole island from ere."


Hawk's departure from the base puts Duke back in charge, times he looks back on with pride and regret... and regret is something he has up the wazoo right now.

"Yo, Joe Biden!" Some of the personnel say out on the base's golf course.

"George Bush!" All of the air force members say back, with Wild Bill flying a banner from a Tomahawk.

"Jesse Jackson!" Roadblock and the other African-American members, and Lifeline, say next.

"Bob Dole!" Some more of them say.

Duke can only slap a hand over his eyes as everyone is up in arms over next year's election picks... except david duke and pat robertson, who are represented as two strips of tape on a garbage can.

"Flint?"

"Yeah?"

"If i live long enough to be offered to command again for the next election year; shove a boot over my head and have me hog-tied, will ya?"

"Only if Beachhead agrees to do the same to me." Flint replied as they watched said 3IC holding a poster for Michael Dukakis.


Once that's over, Lifeline and Lift-Ticket are sent on a supply run. The medic is waiting outside leaning against the truck when he hears it's radio. "Act natural, Mr. Steen." An unfamiliar voice tells him.

"...Suppose i don't feel like it?"

"Awful tough talk from someone who's so against violence. Well, let's just say it'd be a shame if the wedding gets called off for lack of a bride." The person tells him, and continues after Lifeline complies while balling up one fist. "A big bird has been screeching."

Figuring he's talking about Hawk, Lifeline replies. "What about?"

"Tell your commanders something's giving off sparks in a sand lot." The person said next, and walked away before Lift-Ticket opened the door.

"What're you doing back in here? You alright there, new guy?"

When the two return, Lifeline informs Duke, who calls the monitor and intel rooms to check every desert and dried up body of water until they find anything suspicious. After half a day, they get something. "Area 51; are you certain?"

No doubt about it, Duke. There's been a load of components being shipped in, and only 2/3rds of them were aircraft parts. Snake-Eyes writes while in a hospital bed, having barely made it back from checking it out.

"I see; I'll have us wait while before sending some more Joes there. Until then, get well soon." Duke told him, and got an "ok" hand-sign in reply.


Chapter Forty-seven.

* Formerly Blue-shirt 2688.

** She's just assuming this, because nobody has proof of it.

** The one Slip-Stream will eventually encounter.