Chapter 18 : A New Kind of Adventure - Part 3 : Battle of Capital City
Maxwell POV
I was awoke by alarm clock, I slowly opened my eyes and regain consciousness. I shut the alarm clock, it was 5 o'clock. The same time as Lieutenant Frank woke me up back when we searched for my gift. Wait, Lieutenant Frank! I wonder if he's exist in this dimension. Sophia was still snoring loudly next to me, Alex and Lily was already awake and gone from their bed. I picked up my rooster helmet and headphones, I wore it at my head and shook Sophia so she will awake.
"Hey, wake up." I said to her, she quickly awake and sat on the bed, fixing her messy brown hair and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "What?" She asked.
"Wake up. We need to go early to Capital City remember?"
She thought for a while, "Yeah, let's go." She put her rooster helmet back at her head.
We quickly got up and exited the room, we could hear a light snoring from the child's room when we past it, they probably still asleep, it's still 5 in the morning anyway. We headed downstairs and found Alex waiting in the front of the bathroom door, a towel slung over his right shoulder. He turned his head to our direction, "Oh, you both awake." He greeted us, "Listen, Alex want us to get prepared as soon as possible because the Empire fleet has already approaching Capital City. So, finish your breakfast quickly and bath as quickly as you can." He said to us.
After we finished our breakfast and took a bath, Sarah was taken by the other Lily to the Alliance base at Edwin's Farm to be our radio commander, because we all can't be at the battlefield at the same time, someone must stay behind and watch our move. The other Alex took the rest of us with his car to another Alliance base just outside Capital City, he gave us a special headphones with microphone to contact us. The base was consisting only a few hangars and 2 warehouse with garages, the helicopters took off from the hangars and humvees started heading to Capital City. He stopped the car just behind an olive green humvee, "Listen, you guys better prepared yourself. Prepare your notebook and you all better grab some gears at that humvee's trunk." He pointed to the humvee in the front of us.
We all nodded and didn't say anything, we exited the car and he drove to one of the warehouse's garage to park his car. Alex opened the humvee's trunk, revealing some bulletproof vests, ammo belts, white helmets with a lid to cover your eyes, and 4 modified Assault Rifles. He whistled, "Guess they want us to be a soldier at all." He joked.
Me, Alex, and Sophia add an adjective to ourselves 'soldiered', so we could use guns better and pretty much so we can do everything that soldier would do in the battlefield. I also add that adjective to Lily, because I also doesn't want her to get hurt or worse. After we finished gearing up, we entered the humvee and I took the back seat with Lily, Alex took the front seat next to the driver, Sophia took the position as gunner by manning a turret at the back seat between me and Lily. A radio crackled and Alex picked it up.
"Testing, testing. Could you guys hear me?" The other Alex voice called from the radio.
"Yeah, read you loud and clear." Alex replied to the radio.
"Good. Listen, once we get to Capital City. Just help us by creating those artillery and weapons for our troops. If you can help us take down some of the Empire troops we're going to appreciate that."
"Yeah, got it."
"And one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Just, try not to get killed in this battle. Sarah will contact you and tell you everything you need to do at the Capital City."
That what made us shivered down to our spine when we heard it, we don't want to get killed in the battlefield, I hope Sarah do a good job as a radio commander. "Alright, I contact you all again when we arrive at the Capital City."
"Yeah. Roger that." Alex closed the radio and the vehicle started moving.
It was a silent trip for a while, only filled by the radio conversation.
"So, what's the situation on the Capital City?" The other Alex voice asked.
"Not good. The Empire really sent out their best soldiers. The Death squadron, they're here. We're running low on troops and supplies." A voice replied.
"Don't worry. The backup is en route there, just hold them off for a while."
"Sir! They arrive with a massive naval fleet! Our troops in the south docks was overwhelmed! We need backup now!" A voice shouted over the radio.
"Gold team. Please stand by, we're sending troops to the south docks to defend it." The other me replied.
"Sir, Scribble team is en route to Capital City." Sarah's voice filled the radio.
"Good, Metal team is on the way too. Let's just hope they could do it too."
The driver drove the car smoothly and avoid any risk of getting blown by a RPG by taking the shortcut. When we arrive at the Capital City. The radio crackled again and Alex picked it up, "Alright, now I want you to..." It was a static.
"Hello, Alex can you hear me, over?" Alex called, it was nothing but static.
"The Empire... A Jammer... It disturbed... The radio.. I couldn't... You for a while... Until it's down, so... Your on your own now." Great, now the Empire set up a jammer to disturb our radio so we can't contact anyone.
We passed through the some road full of debris and the Alliance soldier wearing blue uniform running down the streets, guess now we can compare them to the Empire troops. Because the Empire troops wearing a white uniform, black bulletproof vest, a black stripe over their long sleeves and futuristic looking white helmet that covered their whole head with a black lid, I found one of them being interrogated and executed by one of the Alliance soldier. "Snipers!" One of the soldier yelled.
Suddenly a crack appeared in the glass of our vehicle and our driver was suddenly dead with blood on his seat, Alex quickly took the radio and Sophia start shooting the turret, "Alex, our driver's dead! I repeat, our driver's dead!" No reply.
"RPG!" One of the soldier next to our car shouted, a rocket flew to our car and hitting it. The world went in slow motion as the rocket hit our car. It flipped and ended up with the right side of our car facing upwards, itmade my head a little dizzy and Sophia was thrown out from the car. "Everybody okay?" Alex asked us.
Me and Lily nodded to him, she doesn't look wounded either, I let out a sigh of relief. "Good, now get out. We got to move!" He released his safety belt and headed out from our wrecked car, I grabbed my rifle next to me, my rifle has been modified by a laser sight, the others has different modification too. Lily opened the door and I jumped out from the vehicle, "Here." Alex tossed me a rifle magazine and I inserted it to my rifle. "Sophia, you're alright?" Alex asked Sophia, who just appeared from the back of the vehicle.
"Yeah, I'm good." She replied.
"Sir, the jammer is 300 meters north. We need to take it out." An Alliance soldier said to his leader.
"Alright, Scribble team and Delta team follow me. We're going take that jammer out of commission. Permanently." A Captain said to us, he has the same appearance as Lieutenant Frank.
"So, we're on Scribble team. Aren't we?" Alex asked me.
"Yeah, I think so. Now we need follow him." I replied.
All of us and some soldiers followed him to the jammer, "Jennifer, take those RPGs out!" The Captain ordered.
"Roger that." One of the woman wearing a green uniform and her long brown hair that visible from her white helmet took out her Sniper Rifle and quickly fired a few shots, "All RPG eliminated sir." She said to him. Wow, she's really expert on sniping.
"Good work Jennifer."
"Thank you Captain."
"Please, just call me Frank."
"Alright then. Captain, Frank."
So, he's Lieutenant Frank, but in this world he just different in rank but same in appearance, "Scribble team and Jennifer, follow me. Delta team will hold this position." He said to us.
"So, where's your squad leader?" He asked me while we running through the streets full of wreckages, ruins, and explosions.
"Well, I actually don't know. Our team was just assembled today and we still haven't figure it out." I answered, honestly I still didn't know that we are actually in Scribble team.
"How about him? He looked fit to be your squad leader." He pointed to Alex.
"You mean, Alex?" I thought for a while, "Yeah, I think so."
"Good then, now tell him." He told me.
I headed to him and ran next to him, "Hey Alex. Now you're officially our squad leader." I said to him.
"What? Why don't just you be the squad leader?" He asked.
"Well, Captain Frank want me to do it."
He sighed, "Alright."
"Tank! Look out!" Lily shouted to us while pointing to the gray Tank with the Empire logo on it's body. "Get off the street, now!" Captain ordered.
We quickly got off from the street, heading to a nearest building to hid, Captain Frank peeked through a rubble, "Damn, without heavy weaponry. We can't take it down, and we can't call an air strike either." He muttered.
"This way." He led us inside the building, it was empty and some tables and chairs are flipped or either broken and full of bullet holes. He led us into the back door and put his left ear at it, "Multiple voices behind the door. Jennifer, throw some flashbang." He told Jennifer.
She nodded and pulled a flashbang from her belt and readied it, I took cover at the left edge of the door with Captain Frank in the front of me. Sophia and Lily took cover behind me, "Once she throw it, you and Alex will going to finish them. Got it?"
I nodded, he opened the door a bit and left enough space for Jennifer to throw the flashbang. After she threw it, he closed it back and waited for the explosion. When we heard the explosion, Captain Frank opened the door back, "Go, now!"
I and Alex quickly headed to the door and took out two subdued Empire soldiers in an alley, "The jammer is on the top of the CBC." He pointed to the tall black antenna with some white plates at the top of the CBC (Capital city Broadcast Center),I know that building, it's only a few blocks away from here. "Now let's go."
We ran through the streets full of Empire and Alliance soldiers engaging each other, I took cover in a nearest building rubble to avoid fire from the Empire troops, I peeked through the rubble and saw many of the Alliance soldiers got killed than the Empire's. When one of the Empire soldier foolishly ran to my direction, I quickly shot his chest a few times and he fell backward. Dead.
I felt a guilt feeling after I did that, is he deserved to die? But, he already killed many of the Alliance soldiers. He fight for the Empire and may have killed many innocent Scribblenauts and civilians that resist the Empire, and many of the Empire soldiers do that too. I shook that thought off my head, I need to focus in this battle. I exited my cover and followed the others to the CBC to take down the jammer. We entered the CBC building and headed to the roof, but we were greeted by many of the Empire soldiers that already occupied the building. "Contact!" Jennifer yelled.
"Jennifer, take the girls with you. We'll regroup at the roof." Captain Frank told her, she nodded and took Lily and Sophia with her to another way, "You two, follow me." He told me and Alex, we nodded and didn't say anything. We took down some Empire soldiers on our way to the roof. Captain Frank opened the door to the emergency stairs to the roof, he and Alex entered it first and I fired a long burst of bullet and emptied the clip of my rifle to some of the Empire soldiers that chased us. I quickly closed the door and catch up with the others while reloading my rifle, we climbed up the stairs until we reached the roof as the same time as Jennifer, Lily, and Sophia arrived. "There's the jammer. All we need to do is set the charge on that thing." Captain Frank pointed to the black antenna we saw before.
We climbed up the ladder to reach the jammer location. There was several Empire soldiers guarding the jammer, and for a reason one of them is trying to listen to a radio. Even I could hear the radio was full of static. After we took them all down, Alex and Captain Frank plant an explosive charge on the jammer. After they finished, Captain Frank tossed me the detonator with large red button on it. "Kid, set off the fireworks!" He ordered me.
I pressed the red button, followed by a large explosion and flames in the front of me. The jammer fell to a building roof at the right side of the CBC. Once it destroyed, our radio and communicator came back alive. "Good work Metal and Scribble team. The radio is now back online. Now you could call an air strike and help our ground troops to push the frontline back to the north district and the ports." A voice told us from the radio.
"Roger that Max." Captain Frank replied to the radio. Wait, who is Max? Maybe it's a nickname for the other me in this dimension.
"We're sending 2 choppers to pick you all up. ETA 5 minutes."
"Alex, Maxwell. Do you copy me over?" The other Alex voice asked us through the communicator.
"Yeah. We're fine. We just taking down a jammer with Metal team." I answered.
"I told you to just help the ground troops fighting the Empire troops by creating a weapons and artillery for them. Not fighting in the frontline, we could've lost you all!"
"Sorry, Captain Frank told us to." I apologized, but I remembered about something to ask, about how we could suddenly has a Scribble team, "And why didn't tell us about we're in Scribble team?"
"Oh yeah." He giggled,"Sorry about that, I forgot to tell you because of the jammer disturbed our connection when you arrive at the Capital City."
"So, now what are we going to do?"
"The chopper that Maxwell sent will take you to the port. We'll brief you when you in the chopper."
"Alright then, guess we have to-" I was cut off by Jennifer when she yelled, "Contact! At that building!" She pointed to a building across the street. Where some Empire snipers and RPGs raining down bullets and rockets to us, "I'm gonna call an air strike, the rest of you try to keep 'em busy!" Captain Frank told us and pulled out his radio.
We nodded, Jennifer quickly flipped a nearby table and using it as a cover. I and Alex use a nearby rubble as cover, Lily and Sophia hid behind generator and using it as cover. "F-22 bombers, this is Metal and Scribble team, we need an air strike now!" Captain Frank shouted to the radio.
"This is Star Squadron, roger that Metal and Scribble team. We're heading to your location, ETA 60 seconds." A voice replied.
"Good. Target will be marked by a laser."
Jennifer rolled out from her cover to shoot some Empire soldiers at the building, only for her to get shot in her right shoulder and fell backwards, "Jennifer!" We all shouted.
"Kid! Point the laser into that building!" Captain Frank tossed his rifle to Alex, the rifle was modified by a laser pointer that shine green laser, "I need to take care of Jennifer. Just keep point the laser at that building until the air strike come!" He told Alex.
Alex nodded and quickly pointed the rifle's laser to the building roof where the Empire troops shooting at us. With Lily and Sophia, they provided a cover for us. Captain Frank dragged the wounded Jennifer to behind a large generator that we could use to protect ourselves while treating Jennifer. He pressed his hands at Jennifer wounded shoulder to stop the bleeding, "Just hold on Jennifer. The chopper will pick us up in a few minutes."
"Frank. If I didn't make it, what would you do?" Jennifer asked weakly, spitting some blood from her mouth to the ground.
"No, you'll make it. Please, just hold on!" Captain Frank replied, his voice is a mix of seriousness and sadness.
No, I can't let Jennifer die. She look like something special to Captain Frank, even I just know her for a few minutes. I quickly pulled out my notebook from my pocket and opened it, I wrote an adjective to Jennifer 'healed'. Her wound on her right shoulder suddenly healed and no longer sprouting blood from it. "Kid, are you... A Scribblenaut?" Captain Frank asked me with an astonished face.
"Yes I am. And it's already my job to protect and help people who needs my help." I answered.
"Well, good thing to have you in our side." His radio crackled and he picked it up, "Metal and Scribble team. This is Star Squadron, target acquired. Preparing for an air strike." A voice said to him.
I peeked from our hiding spot, the building was rained by missiles and bombs by some fighter jets and the roof crumbled into lower floor of the building. "Star squadron. Target was confirmed destroyed, good job." He said to the radio.
"Look, there's the helicopters!" Jennifer pointed to 2 black helicopters heading to us and stopped at the roof ledge, "Let's go." She quickly grabbed her Sniper Rifle and ran to one of the helicopters. All of us were in different helicopters, the first helicopter containing me, Alex, and Captain Frank. The second helicopter containing Jennifer, Lily, and Sophia.
Captain Frank told me to man a turret at the right side of the helicopter, in case if there is any enemy hind appear, we could defend ourselves. We're flying safely to the port for about a minute until an Empire hind appeared from a building and start chasing us. "Turn left! Left!" The pilot yelled loudly and turned the helicopter to sharp left, I tried to balance my body in the unstable helicopter, I was almost thrown out of the helicopter because of that.
"Don't just stare at that thing kid, start shooting it!" Lieutenant Frank shouted at me. I fired the turret and aimed it at the hind, bullets seems raining the hind. But it seems bulletproof and useless, "We've got a lock warning. Try to shoot the rotors!" The pilot suggested me.
I nodded to him, focused aiming the turret at the hind rotor. Once I got a right angle to shoot it, I fired the turret for a long time until the hind was smoking and spinning to the ground, "Good job kid." Captain Frank congratulated me. "Watch out!" Alex shouted to an enemy hind that appeared in the front of us.
"Break right! Right!" The pilot quickly turn sharp right, I almost lose my balance, but I held the turret tightly. I quickly aimed at the hind and start shooting at it, the result is same. It's does nothing to it. We arrived at a construction site, with the hind still chasing us. We tried to lose it by flying around the unfinished building, but the hind was very fast and almost impossible to lose it. When I spotted a platform full of propane tank and barrels, I quickly got an idea. When the hind was close to that platform, I shot one of the propane tank. Causing the other to exploded and sending barrels and debris everywhere, luckily one of the barrels hit the hind tail and exploded.
Unfortunately, when the hind crashed into the construction. Some barrels were threw into the air, and one of them hit our helicopter tail. Our helicopter started spinning uncontrollable and I was thrown out from the helicopter. Luckily, I still manage to grab the turret to prevent myself from falling below. "Hold, on. I just need to..." The pilot said while groaning hard with the co-pilot to control the helicopter. The helicopter suddenly jerked and my rifle fell to the ground below, I lose my grip at the helicopter and only my right hand was gripping the turret, holding for my dear life.
When I lose my grip at the turret and about to fall, Alex appeared from the helicopter and grabbed my right hand just before I fall. He pulled me up to the now balanced helicopter and asked me, "You're alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I panted and wiped some sweat on my forehead, "Good, we're heading to the port. Alex contacted me earlier, he told me that we still have some mission to do."