The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session July, Part 2 (07.18.05)
Everyday, a secret organization bent on taking control of the world inches ever closer with a new scheme designed to frighten trainers and Pokémon alike. Anything from stealing candy from a baby to murdering a meddling interloper is fair game.
What is the name of this organization? Why, Team Rocket, of course.
Every moment you're on the street you better pay attention to your surroundings, because you never know when a Rocket will try to get the drop on you. They'll go to any lengths to accomplish their goals, no matter who may get in their way.
But occasionally things won't go their way. They don't always get what they want. In rare cases, a Rocket may even get themselves arrested by the police. Or worse.
The following is the tale of six Team Rocket members who failed their latest mission... and are now faced with the task of formulating their own escape.
Within the deep darkness of the Trovita Island Maximum Security Prison lied three of Team Rocket's most dangerous operatives. As was the case with all of the organization's special squadrons, the trio consisted of a man, a woman, and a Pokémon mascot. As part of the same team, they also shared their own unique uniform. This particular trio was known as Team Orange, by account of the color of the uniforms.
But as jailbirds, the only colors this trio were wearing were black and white.
"I can't believe we've been left to rot in this cesspool!" the female said to her teammate.
"We're the best of the best!" the male responded. "The boss would never leave us behind!"
"And if he does?"
"Well, we're more than capable of breaking out of here on our own."
The two sneered evilly as their resident mascot, a Pidgeotto named Pidgeo, stepped out of the shadows and added a smirk of his own. The duo followed him into the light, revealing themselves.
"Prepare for trouble!" exclaimed the woman, who stood six feet tall and had her pink hair rolled up in a ball in the back.
"And make it double!" added the man, who was six-foot five and wore glasses, which were partially covered by his long green hair which flowed over the sides of his face and down the back of his neck.
"To introduce the world to devastation!"
"To love our team and unite our nation!"
"To denounce the values known as truth and love!"
"To extend our knowledge to the stars above!"
"Jane!"
"Calamity!"
"Team Rocket, the best when stealing Pokémon is right!"
"Surrender now, or prepare for a fight!"
"Pidgeo!"
Suddenly, the trio heard something banging against the steel bars of their cell door. They turned to see one of the guards banging his baton on them to get their attention.
"Keep it down, you!"
"How dare you tell us elite Team Rocket members to keep it down!" Jane shouted.
"Perhaps you don't want this special delivery then..." the guard continued on, as he produced a small package from the breast pocket of his uniform.
Upon seeing the package, the Rockets' eyes instantly brightened up.
"See?" Calamity said, turning to his partner. "I knew the boss wouldn't leave us cooped up forever!"
The guard slipped his hands through the bars and handed the package to Calamity. He then quickly pulled them back out.
"You know the drill," the guard told them as he reached up to lower his cap.
"Right," Jane nodded. "You don't know us, we don't know you."
As Jane watched the guard walk away, Calamity ripped the package open. It only contained two items... a small putty-like epoxy, and about three feet of string. He quickly attached the string to the putty substance, then slipped the epoxy into the keyhole of their jail cell.
"Now all we need is a..."
"Match?" Jane finished, as she reached into her hair and pulled out the item in question. "I swiped it off the goon that was giving you trouble in the mess hall at lunch. I figured it would come in handy."
She handed the match to her partner, who instantly went to lighting it and then using the match to set the string on fire.
Seconds later, the cell door blew wide open, knocking it off of its hinges. Without hesitation, they sprinted into the hallway and headed straight for the guard station to pick up their belongings.
"If protocol holds true," Jane recalled, "all of the interior guards should already be disposed of."
"That means all we have to worry about are the guards outside," Calamity added.
"Right. And once we get our stuff, they'll be a cinch to get past."
Jane, Calamity, and Pidgeo arrive at the guard station a minute later, and, as they expected, saw that the gatekeeper had been knocked out cold thanks to a blow to the head. Calamity kicked the door down easily and headed in to retrieve his belongings. Jane did likewise.
"Let's start by changing into something a bit more comfortable..." Calamity said, pulling out his orange Rocket uniform.
"I'm with you on that!" Jane agreed, finding hers as well.
In an instant, Jane and Calamity changed out of their prison outfits and into the familiar orange and red that they were used to wearing.
"Next is our Pokémon... aha!"
Calamity came across a small bag filled with five Pokéballs. He reached for one, shook it, and then threw it at Jane.
"Comin' at ya!"
Jane smiled as she caught the Pokéball, gave it a kiss, and then threw as hard as she could. The Pokéball then opened, and out came her Pokémon of choice, Pinsir.
"It feels good to reunite with old friends!"
"Tell me about it," Calamity said as he pulled out a second Pokéball. He took this one and rolled it hard towards the wall.
Upon contact with the wall, the Pokéball opened and released Calamity's Pokémon partner, the rare Kabuto.
"Time to have us a little fun!"
"Sir... Recon Team 1 has reached the infiltration point and is ready to begin the mission as per your instructions."
"Good... tell them to proceed."
"Yes, sir."
Two large, black helicopters with a big, red letter 'R' plastered on the side, landed about 200 yards away from the east wall of the detention facility. Out of each of the copters hopped out five operatives, all dressed in Team Rocket's signature long sleeve black shirts and slacks.
"This is Recon Team 1 Leader," one of the operatives said into his headset. "Now proceeding with Mission Alpha Six-Two-Niner."
He then motioned to his team to follow him in a hurry straight towards the gate.
"Hit 'em hard and fast, team! They're gonna see us coming!"
They started to run for the wall, but just as they reached for their belts to grab their Pokéballs, a portion of the wall crumbled in front of them. The immediate vicinity was covered by a cloud of soot and dust, and the Rockets stopped right in front of it. All of the agents picked one of their Pokéballs and held them in hand, ready to release them to face whatever was about to come out.
Thankfully, it proved unnecessary, as Jane and Calamity stepped out of the cloud, with their Pokémon behind them.
"Looks like we guessed the right wall to break down," Jane said.
"You'd think we were pros at breaking out!" chuckled Calamity.
The operatives looked somewhat stunned, but the leader quickly came out of it and saluted the higher-ranked specialists.
"I'm Andrew, leader of Recon Team 1, here to escort you back to HQ!"
"Lead the way!" Calamity told him with enthusiasm.
The Recon Team, as well as Jane and Calamity, headed to the helicopters to begin the trip back to the headquarters of Team Rocket, located somewhere in the Kanto region.
Meanwhile, at said Team Rocket Headquarters, preparations were already underway for the Orange Division's return. The patrol teams were put on high alert while the medical and research teams stood by at the helipad to brief the operatives of what had happened while they were gone.
As all the busybodies scrambled into position below him, the leader of Team Rocket watched with satisfaction, as he also looked forward to welcoming back two of his best agents.
"Look at all of them," he said, speaking to one of his secretaries, who was hiding herself in the darkness of the unlit corner of the hangar. "I command them all. They do whatever I want, whenever I tell them to!"
"Very good, sir," the shy young woman responded.
"So... what news do you have to report?"
"Well... Recon Team 1 has just left Trovita Island airspace, and the mission went better than expected. There was very little resistance... our insiders managed to keep the annoyances from rearing their ugly heads."
"Very good. What's Team Orange's condition?"
"Cranky from horrible mess hall food, but otherwise ready to return to the field immediately upon arrival. Pending a medical check-up and a mission briefing."
The boss rubbed the bottom of his chin, then responded. "Skip the check-up...they won't need it. Have them reassigned as planned."
"Yes, sir."
"How about Recon Team 2? Was their mission successful?"
"Yes, sir. Everything went according to plan."
"So the disk containing all of the information on 'Project CB' was destroyed?"
"Yes."
"Good. Thankfully, despite having lost the hard drive data that those rebels stole from us a year ago, our scientific team has worked meticulously to redo all of the research from scratch. We're almost caught back up to where we were. In a matter of weeks, we'll be conducting field tests again."
He then clenched his fist in anger, as he recalled how this all started in the first place...
Eleven months ago...
"Calamity! Jane! Come here at once!"
The two aforementioned Rockets made their way to their boss' side. They addressed him promptly.
"Yes, boss?" Jane asked.
"What's up?" responded Calamity.
"What's up? How about telling me what all of this noise is about? And why half of the guards are running around in the rain?"
Calamity responded nervously. "Well sir, you see..."
"There were some intruders in the complex. You see, they managed to download a data file from the mainframe computer.
"Which file?"
"Project CB," gulped Calamity.
"CB? That's the cross-evolution research project! How could you let them get away?"
"We're sorry, sir!" apologized Jane, bowing for forgiveness.
"They caught us by surprise!"
"Well, it will be no surprise what I'm going to do to you two if you don't find those two spies immediately!"
"Yes sir!"
"It looks like we finally found the rebels' headquarters!" reported Calamity, as he tossed a stack of surveillance photos onto the boss' desk.
"We have confirmed that they indeed still have portions of classified information on Project CB!" Jane added.
"Very good..." the boss stated as he looked over things. "Then we strike tonight!"
The two Rocket underlings blinked in shock at their leader's hasty decision, but then they nodded in agreement, becoming serious while doing so.
"You two will lead the strike force. Your mission is to destroy anyone there who may have had access to Project CB. Destroy their mainframe, their servers... anything that has any trace of our research on it. Except for the disk... if you find it retrievable, then bring it back here. Use any means necessary to accomplish your goal!"
"As you wish, sir!" the two saluted.
Jane and Calamity then ran out of the room, passing by a calendar that stated the day as being July 3rd.
A group of ten operatives were in the 'preparation' room, equipping themselves with several Pokéballs each and assortment of assault weaponry. Many could also be seen slipping on some Kevlar body armor as an extra precaution. As they finished up, Jane and Calamity entered the room, already suited up and ready to go.
"Time to strap ourselves in, boys!" Jane exclaimed. "Lock and load!"
Shortly thereafter, the team leaves aboard three helicopters, heading for the target point.
Explosions rocked the foundation of the building as the Team Rocket operatives proceeded to blow up all of the computer hardware in one of the research sectors. Fires began to spread across numerous rooms, causing millions of dollars in damage and more.
Scientists run about, either getting out of the way or trying to find fire extinguishers to gain control of the blaze. Operatives of the opposition tried to fight off Team Rocket, but they were quickly being shot to death. The same with their Pokémon. Bodies of humans and Pokémon alike began to pile up all over the place.
With every passing second, the fires grew, the explosions grew more numerous, scientists were fleeing for the lives, and spies raced in to defend their home base, only to lose their lives for it in the process.
Suddenly, through all the chaos and mayhem, one voice sounded above all else.
"I've got the disk!" Calamity shouted, holding up a green floppy high in the air. "Troops, move out!"
Calamity watched as his partner Jane led some of their operatives over towards one of the building's emergency exits. He turned to join them, but stopped when he felt a tug at his pants.
A bespectacled teenager, one of the scientists, was trying to keep Calamity from taking the disk. The green-haired male didn't have any intention of letting go, either.
"You can't take that!" he yelled. "That belongs to us!"
Calamity smiled, then drew his handgun and stuck it into the young man's mouth.
"Not anymore."
One shot was all that was needed, as the scientist fell to the ground, dead. Calamity holstered his weapon, pocketed the floppy disk, and then ran off to join his comrades. In the process, he stepped on a glass picture frame, smashing it into pieces.
In the picture, taken at a local photo booth, was the scientist and his main squeeze, a blonde-haired girl who bear a strange resemblance to a certain red-shoed girl from Kansas.
A few minutes later, the three TR helicopters were seen leaving the scene, as the rest of the base's personnel went to work putting out the fires and taking a count of their casualties.
Onboard the lead 'copter, Jane, Calamity, and two other operatives were sitting on the floor and relaxing peacefully. Calamity pulled the disk out of his pocket to examine it.
"Finally," he said, waving it in front of him, "we can move on with our lives."
"Still upset about how those kids made fools of us?" Jane asked.
Calamity laughed. "Not anymore. And the next time I see those two, I'll send them to their maker. That much I'm sure of!"
"Hey, can I see it?" asked one of operatives.
Calamity shrugged his shoulders, then handed it over to him. "I don't see why not."
Once the floppy disk was firmly in the operative's hands, he started to laugh. The others started shooting him odd and confused looks.
"What's so funny?" Jane asked.
The operative ceased his laughter, then reached for the door on his side, pulling it wide open and causing air to fly into the cabin. The rush of air at their altitude caught the pilot off-guard, causing him to temporarily lose control of the helicopter.
Just as the air pressure in the cabin equalized enough for the pilot to regain control, the operative now holding the disk leaped from the helicopter, plummeting head-first towards the ground below.
"Is he crazy?" Jane exclaimed out loud.
"Maybe, but his impulsiveness just cost him his life!" Calamity yelled, grabbing hold of a sniper rifle that was at his feet and loading it to be fired.
"Wait a minute..." Jane stopped him, as she climbed over him and peered out the open doorway.
Down below, the duo watched as a Pidgeot came out of nowhere, flew right up to the falling operative, and then past him. The operative then moved around so that his body was parallel with the approaching ground, looking up at the sky.
"What!" Jane had just realized the truth as Calamity began to aim at the man falling to his doom.
"Say goodnight..." Calamity said, aiming through the crosshairs of his scope.
"Forget him! Target that Pidgeot!"
Calamity thought Jane had lost her mind, but he still didn't hesitate in listening to her as he quickly changed his angle in order to try and shoot down the escaping bird Pokémon.
But it was too late. The Pidgeot was flying way too fast, as it was out of firing range before Calamity could get off a shot.
"Blast!" cursed the green-haired Rocket.
Jane turned to the pilot and barked orders at him.
"Tell one of the copters to go down and check on our jumper. I have a feeling he's working for them."
"Not that it matters much now..." Calamity muttered.
"Tell the other one to follow us... we're going after that Pidgeot!"
"I'm afraid that even at top speed, we wouldn't be able to keep up with it," the pilot remarked.
"He's right," noted Calamity, causing Jane to scream in frustrated anger.
"Fine... let's just all check Mr. Traitor down there. Not that he'll be able to tell us anything..."
The three helicopters landed in the grassy field below. It didn't take them long to find the jumper's body... or what was left of it.
"This isn't the guy that left HQ with us," Calamity noted, not recognizing the body features, which had been hidden by the fallen guy's uniform.
"Something must have happened to Cletus," Jane stated. "He must've been killed during the attack, and one of their spies must have taken his place."
"But how I wonder... they don't have anyone that has facial features similar to Cletus."
"We don't know that for sure. Besides... this guy was just a messenger. His job was just to get the disk to that Pidgeot, who was expecting to pick it from him and take it to a predetermined delivery point."
"That means that this guy... is a sacrificial lamb?"
"Exactly. He knew he was going to die no matter if we had caught him and killed him ourselves... or this, because he knew he was jumping without a parachute."
Calamity grimaced. "Then they had this planned along! Man... they're even worse than we are."
"You have to remember... some of their members used to be part of Team Rocket. It seems no matter how much they try, they can't forget their programming."
"So... what now?"
"We'll leave this guy here. Can't do anything with a stiff. Meanwhile, we'll go back to HQ, hope the boss won't have our heads for our failure... and wait to see if one of our ground operatives is lucky enough to stumble upon that Pidgeot... or who it's delivering the disk to."
"Hmmm..." the leader of Team Rocket muttered. "They never did get that disk, did they?"
"Um..." the secretary replied, "No, sir, they didn't."
"Well... at least that mistake has been corrected. Or will be... once Recon Team 2 returns from Valencia Island."
He then turned towards her and flashed an evil smirk in her direction.
"Prepare Briefing Room 1 for me. I'll inform Jane and Calamity of their new operation myself."
She quickly saluted and responded. "Right away, Giovanni."
The secretary ran off into the darkness, leaving Giovanni alone to await the return of his two newly freed operatives.
To be continued next week in Part 3!
