-Hey there guys, I hope you´re still having fun reading this, I still have fun writting :) Please leave me a review if you liked it :D Anyway, let´s rob this train.-
"I don´t get it." Daisy looked at Dudley and Powers who were attaching a black technical looking tile at the back side of the driver´s cabin.
"What?" Asked Dudley panting because of the weight the tile had.
"How this thing will ensure our getaway." She said.
"I could explain that, but this goes beyond your horizon." Dudley meant and tried not to sound too much like Isaac while he said these words. But as he heard Daisy huffing, he realized that his efforts were in vain.
"I´m sorry." He meant hastily and let go of the tile which now adhered tightly to the metal back wall of the truck. "It´s just a lot of technical stuff and you don´t know any of that… god that sounds terrible again." He sighed while Powers chuckled behind his back.
"Oh thank you." Dudley meant sarcastically and turned around to the captain. "Thanks for always having my back."
"You´re welcome Dudley." He grinned and gave him one of his violent pats on the back.
After the first few touches Dudley escaped from his tender way of employee leadership by running to the nearby rails. He took a deep breath of the dry and dusty air and looked left. The rails that led into this direction headed north. There was probably some kind of lizard military depot, he actually didn´t quite know that.
He just knew that from a satellite picture the rebels were able to shoot as they had the chance to reactivate an old but not completely destroyed one. In the photo Dudley had been able to see some kind of camp like structure but right now he just saw black dirty ground that blend together with the grey sky in the distance without any kind of structure or obstacle that stopped this liaison.
As he turned his head to his right the same view presented itself to him. Just the black desert that expanded endlessly into the south and allegedly somewhere a production complex that was producing a variety of goods they needed for the resistance.
"This is truly an odd planet." Powers remarked as he built himself up next to him. "How did your people survive here in this desert?"
Dudley knelt down and eyed the black dirt beneath him. "It wasn´t always like that."
He took a hand full of dirt that turned out to be a fine black sand that was even finer than every natural sand Dudley knew. "This planet once was a green oasis. Now it is just a dead desert."
"Oh…" The concern in Powers voice saying that made Dudley cringe.
"Oh? Why oh?" He asked.
"I have seen this kind of state before but…" Powers bend down, and filled a bit of the black sand into a little glass tube. "Let´s run Isaac some tests first."
"Sly, tell me what this is." Dudley probed slightly alarmed.
"I don´t want to unsettle you…" Powers unbent and turned to the rest of the little group of volunteers. "Not you and of course not these broken souls…"
"I am already unsettled." The dog complained and looked over his shoulder to their crew. "And I guess these three haven´t been calm or relaxed for a long time."
"Then it´s our job to change that." Powers eyes lay on Tammy who was standing separately from Snaptrap and Daisy and draw circles into the dust. "God… I can´t remember that I saw eyes as empty as hers." He crossed his arms behind his back. "I wonder what happened to her…"
"Believe me, you don´t want to know…" The dog whispered clenching his fists.
"Do you have further information?" The Captain turned to him eager for intel.
"Not really… just the things I can deduce." Dudley turned his face to Powers and looked into his eyes with an expression full of anger though his voice stayed calm and cold. "She had two kids and a husband back then. I haven´t seen them in the base." Dudley´s fists clenched even more and he turned his head back to the rails. "Bastards."
"I understand." Nodded Powers sighing and looked back to the crew. "We should get back to work…" The captain shook his head and like trying to wake up from a bad dream he clapped his hands and meant. "I can´t allow myself to get too melancholic now. We got more than enough time later for that."
"Much obliged, Sly." Dudley turned around so that he was also facing the truck and the crew. "The last thing I need now are wearier thoughts."
"I bet." The captain chortled. "Do you know that if this was a real mission, I would have thought twice about recruiting you."
"Yeah? And I would have thought twice about joining the mission." The dog replied with a stern voice that showed not the slightest trace that he resonated with Powers humor.
"Thought so..." The captain started moving to the truck. "Now come on, let´s get this done."
The duo ambled towards the rest of the team towards Daisy and Snaptrap who were still in the middle of a conversation.
"I remember the last cake I ate…" Snaptrap sighed dreamily while Daisy tried to keep the drool in her mouth by covering it with both of her hands.
"Would you mind if I interrupt your conversation?" Powers smiled kindly down at the two who stood up immediately.
"Sure, we were just talking about food…"
"Food?" Asked Powers.
"…yes…" Snaptrap mumbled hesitantly.
Powers started grinning and looked at the circle of which Tammy was now also a part. "I tell you what, if this mission is a success I´ll see if I can get the five of us a cake, how does that sound?"
"This is a joke right? Cake is worth more than gold right now!" Snaptrap exclaimed what made Tammy just sigh and shake her head.
"No this is definitely no joke." He meant. "It´s… a bonus."
"Yeah, cause that´s sounds better than a treat." Dudley grinned mischievously.
"Hey, don´t you go Meternagel on me." The captain huffed but then clapped his hands. "Okay kids, I have some tasks for everyone and I´d like you to do them without further ado."
The captain sat into the dust and started drawing a simple map of the surrounding, with their truck and the rail, in the dirt. The others assembled sitting cross-legged in a half circle around him.
"Okay, this is the situation. We split up in three teams. Team one consisting of the two ladies take care of the preparation for out getaway. That means cover the treks of the truck that lead here."
"Okay, stop right there." Meant Daisy. "How? Just tell me how we are supposed to smear a million miles of treks?"
"Well, for the way back we have a little gadget wipe the treks away. I take care of the gadget and you two go and wipe the treks… 10 kilometers should be enough."
"W…What?" Tammy asked.
"You understood me." Powers nodded and turned to Dudley and Snaptrap. "Team 2 will take persuade the train to stop. You took some explosives with you Duds, didn´t you?"
"Do you think that I´m a rookie?" The dog replied smirking.
"For me you´ll always be one." He grinned back and jumped deftly back on his feet. "Well, you know what to do then, you take Snaptrap with you. Anyway, let´s get this party started."
"Over 5000 years and still fit." Dudley laughed and stood up slowly and with cracking joints. "Now let´s get started. Snaptrap follow me."
"Hey, wait, what are you doing?" Protested Daisy fearing that the Captain would just be laying back and relax.
"Tinkering…" The human smiled friendly at her. "These mass accelerators you have need to be upgraded. And now, chop-chop."
The whole group stood up and moved. Snaptrap spun on his heels and walked after the Dudley who already walked determinedly towards the tracks.
"Hey… agent Puppy…" he called after him and jogged to catch up with him.
"Snaptrap." Interrupted the dog. "You can call me either Dudley or Captain Puppy or Rocketman."
"Rocketman…?" The rat stopped walking for a few steps before he caught up again.
"Yep, some people call me like that… but not too many. Oh, a piece of advice, if you want to make Powers happy call him Magnum."
"Is that… something kinky or from where comes that name?" Snaptrap asked and Dudley´s answer was loud laughter.
"No, I don´t think so… At least I don´t hope so." He kept on snickering. "Oh my god no one has ever asked him that!"
"Well I won´t be the first then, I maybe lose my cake privileges." The rat pondered smiling.
"Yeah, I can definitely understand that."
The two only members of team 2 stopped their journey next to the track bed. "So, what now?"
"Well, we´re destroying the rails over there." Dudley pointed at a spot not far away from then. "And then the train should crash."
"That´s all?" Asked Snaptrap, the disappointment was written in his face.
"Well yes." Dudley looked surprised to him. "What have you expected?"
"Well, something more… sci-fi-ish…"
"It´s the best to keep these things simple I guess." Meant Dudley and nudged his arm laughing. "But seriously, let´s get started the train should arrive soon."
Snaptrap and Dudley, like Daisy and Tammy, fulfilled their tasks as quick as possible. Fortunately the two women didn´t have to walk the whole way Powers ordered them to. A strong gusty wind covered the rest of the tracks for them so they returned earlier to Powers who approved their work with a nod.
"That´s a good sign." He meant before he returned to modifying the guns and ammo for the heist. A task that kept him busy for a while what gave the rest of the group a break to unwind a little, as far as this was possible.
It was actually just Dudley who could enjoy this calm before the storm, the others were just too tensed. While he sat on the ground leaning onto a rock, what was more comfortable then he had expected, he watched Daisy pacing up and down in front of their truck. She seemed the most nervous judging from her behavior.
Tammy just sat on the ground but fidgeting with her fingers. And Snaptrap dug. Dudley smiled a little seeing that. The rat sat on the ground and dug with his hands a little hole which he, after he decided that it was deep enough, filled up with the dirt he got out it. The dog yawned and turned his head to the tracks. Maybe a few minutes of sleep wouldn´t be too bad? He was about to close his eyes as Powers raised his voice.
"Okay, team, get ready." The captain cleared his throat. "The train should arrive in a few minutes. The tactic for this attack will be that I and Dudley will distract what´s left of the train´s defensive forces. The three of you play smash and grab. Fill the truck with everything useful. If it´s too heavy, leave it until Dudley and I are done fighting, we will help then. If you should encounter enemy forces that are not distracted by the two of us…" Powers handed each of them a pistol. "I modified the ammunition of these mass accelerator weapons. They should be much more effective against the enemy." The three of them readied the guns and the captain crossed his arms behind his back while nodding approvingly. "Very well, also, Dudley, get ready."
Dudley typed a few things on the back of his hand into the glove he wore and nodded. "Ready."
"Splendid." Said Powers smiling and turned to the rails and soon the others followed his example.
The silence that set in was soon overlain by the monotone sound of a train making its way over the rails. The crew didn´t even make the slightest move in this moment. All of them were too ready, too tensed to even unnecessarily move a finger.
The train entered their field of view with top speed. It was a jet black locomotive with three wagons also colored black. And as the trains reached the place where the explosives were placed, something happened that was hard to describe. It was like ballet. In hardcore.
The locomotive was thrown up into the air and spun like an ecstatic dancer through the air. It flew so high that they had to tilt their head back to keep it in their field of view. The wagons didn´t fly so high, but instead they used their superfluous kinetic energy to drill so deep into the soil, which now wasn´t part of the ground anymore, was hurled into the air all around them.
As the dust settled just enough to barely recognize the shapes of the wagons again the team realized that all of them only half of them jutted out. They looked like grotesque lonely teeth in the mouth of someone who didn´t take oral hygiene to serious.
"Well that was…" Powers raised his voice but was immediately cut short from the locomotive that hit the ground in the distance and ended its life with a deafening explosion.
"…Loud? Because describes it pretty well…" Daisy screamed as she still held her hands over her ears.
"I wanted to say intense but loud describes it pretty well." Powers mumbled and typed a few things into the back of his hand. "Okay, let´s move out."
Dudley nodded to the Captain and ran down to the first wagon. The black rail car stuck in the soil at a 30 degree angle and was squashed like a used tin can.
The two of them didn´t expect much resistance and weren´t surprised that the first wagon was completely empty. At least regarding armored units it was empty. The wagon itself was filled with all kinds of, mostly broken, weapons.
"Bingo!" Dudley waved towards the rest of the team and pointed at the what was beneath him. While the team moved towards the first wagon Powers and Dudley ran to the other. He already heard the sound of metal that was scratching against other metal and the loud moaning you can always hear if someone lifts more than he should while they climbed up on this one which stuck in the earth like a marble pillar. A marble pillar made from wrapped and crushed black metal.
They reached the top of it and it took Powers just a few seconds to open the back door of the wagon with a beam fired from his fingers. With metallic groaning the door fell into the inner of the train cart hitting nothing but the door on the other side. Dudley and Powers froze for a few seconds as they saw the content of this cart.
Unlike the other wagons this one seemed to be something like a troop transporter, at least they concluded that from the quantities of twisted bodies that were strapped to the seats of a usual passenger car.
"Poor bastards…" hissed Powers as he stood up straight and averted his eyes from the scene. "Didn´t even have the chance to fight."
"No time for sympathy now." Said Dudley coldly as he eyed the graveyard beneath him. "We can still get their armor…" he was about to jump into the train but Powers laid his hand on his chest and looked at him critically.
"We can use every bit of resources we can find!" he replied but Sly pointed down at the corpses to their feet.
"Their armor is wrecked." Powers stated and pointed downwards still giving Dudley this critical almost disgusted look. The dog turned his head away and gritted his teeth mumbling "Fine…" and then jumped of the train cart. His Captain colleague followed him on his feet.
"Nothing here!" Powers called over to Daisy who looked expectantly into their direction. "Stick with the other cart, there´s more than enough in it. We´ll take care of the last!"
"Okay dokey!" She called and ran back to the rest of the team.
Dudley didn´t take notice of Daisy or of Powers sighs and head shaking after his instructions were affirmed with an 'Okay dokey'. His eyes were pinned on the last cart. He had a weird feeling about it. Not completely bad but he also didn´t fell euphoric when he looked at it.
"Seems like the enemy is still not countering our attack…" Powers meant as they paced towards the cart. "I guess they´re still trying to figure out what happened and assembling a taskforce. If we´re quick, we are gone before they´re even here."
"Just let them come." Dudley meant and grimly made the joints on his knuckles crack.
"Oh I bet you would like smashing some of their skulls." Powers meant but without any indication of humor in his voice. "But this won´t solve the problem."
"You know Sly, it´s not that I care much about solving problems right now… I´m out for blood. As soon as I have an opportunity I´ll beat them to mush." The dog kicked a pebble on his way up in the air with such a brutal force that it even flew over the cart which they were approaching.
"I see." Powers said and again Dudley saw him giving him this look.
"Oh cut it Sly, how would you feel after seeing they had done to your people!?"
"Dudley…" Powers cleared his throat and straighten up a little calling in the respect that his rank held within. "… I´m more than sure that I would be as angry or hurt as you´re right now but this should not change our way we work in any way. If we start making mistakes because of our personal feelings, we are doomed, are we clear?"
"Crystal clear…" mumbled Dudley as they arrived at the wagon´s metal hull. The wagon was in the most pristine state compared to the other carts though the pristine was still a pretty big for it´s state. Fortunately for the two the cart has fallen back onto his wheels so it wasn´t necessary to climb it.
But they still had to work a little on the cart door´s lock to get it open. It was nothing a little heat couldn´t change and as they had wielded the door open a bright blue light blinded them. Out of reflex the two took cover next to the hole in the door.
"What the hell is that?" Powers said blinking and staring in the distance.
"I don´t know, I´ll better run a spectral analysis…" the dog rubbed his eyes. "Or you do if you´re able to see again earlier than me."
"I´ll try, I´ll try…" Powers mumbled typing some things into his palm before holding it into the blue light. After a few seconds he pulled his hand back, pushed a button and opened a hologram in front of him. "Oh great, I can´t see anything…"
"Let me try!" Dudley said and with a gesture Powers wiped the hologram over to Dudley who could read it with quite some effort. "We have… a high amount of shorter wavelengths… very short… very very…"
"Okay, just tell me how high the radiation is." Powers meant annoyed.
"About 120 Grey." Dudley said. "Sly, if the others try to loot that they´ll die instantly."
"I know, so we got to deal with this… and end up with a nice radiation poisoning." Powers gritted his teeth. "Right now I´m more than happy for the fentobots in my blood. You keep my back clear and I take a quick look around in there."
"Roger that." He nodded and the captain ran inside. Dudley still had issues with his eyesight, he imagined that he probably had to take Powers by the hand and lead him back to the truck. How far were the others with unloading the wagon anyway? He tried to look towards the cart. The others were looting and could just see figures running to the truck and back to the wagon.
"Still on it…" he thought surprised. If their escape would work, the camp would have enough resources for a party that goes for a week. Dudley imagined finally bringing some food on the table for those hungry mouths.
Powers back then said in a briefing that some of the survivors looked so starved that he would like to feed them. And though that is an awful way to describe the situation, he was right. The situation looked dire, at least for Dudley. Sure they were able to survive, but that was all. Life, always on the brink of extinction.
Right before Dudley´s thoughts started getting grim, the blue light was simply turned off. Confused he gazed into the inside where Powers stood and blinked with a painful look on his face.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes…" The captain said and put his hands onto his eyes trying to massage them through his eye lids. "Damn this was bright… I found a panel and typed on it. No idea what I did but I turned it off somehow."
"That seems odd." Dudley stepped inside next to Powers. "I mean why was it so easy to deactivate it"
"I don´t know yet… And I don´t have time to ponder about that too long. Maybe they thought that none of you guys would be able to get to the panel without dying through the radiation."
"Well, that doesn´t…" Dudley stopped and looked startled at the black sarcophagus that was mounted onto the wall. He knew for what that device was, after all he had rescued Kitty out of a similar thing earlier. "Is that… a stasis pod?"
"Where?" Powers looked blindly around in the room. "On the wall there… Sly, maybe they captured someone of us in there."
"Possible, any idea how to find that out?" Powers had finally found the position of the stasis pod and fixed his gaze to it still blinking maniacally.
"I can´t read the lizards letters, neither I know how their computers work but I think you can open these things by applying heat… at least the last time it worked." Dudley mumbled to himself and typed a few things into the little holo-display on the palm of his hand.
Like always the display disappeared as he was done typing and he placed his hand onto the black surface. A solid minute passed while the surface slowly started to melt. Dudley was already considering thinking of another method as the pod´s door opened by falling towards him.
He felt quite smart as he evaded the falling door with ease but this contented feeling was quickly replaced by disgust as the inner of the just opened sarcophagus contained a still unconscious lizard.
"That doesn´t look like one of our allies." Powers said crossing his arms in front of his chest. It seemed that he was seeing well enough again to roughly recognize a lizard.
"All this work for nothing…" Dudley averted his gaze angrily away from the lizard.
"I don´t think so…" Powers mumbled pensively and knelt down eyeing the body. "I mean… why should they hide him here? Alone, guarded by a whole train full of soldiers? He´s either very valuable to them, or… a threat. We´ll take him with us f…"
"No." Dudley immediately said. "We will not bring that thing with us, that´s a security nightmare!"
"Help me with this one, do you see anything on him that looks dangerous?" Powers asked. "I mean we can do a scan but I don´t think there is much implanted inside his that would be dangerous for us, therefore…"
"Sly, no." Dudley once again cut him short. "I want that thing coming with us."
"Dudley, if it helps you, I´ll take the responsibility for what happens." Powers sounded annoyed as he ran his hand over the lizard´s body performing a scan.
"Oh yeah, sure, it helps to know that when these savages slaughter us and eat our…"
This time Powers interrupted his speech that was about to get graphic. "As I thought, nothing on or in him. No tracking devices, no explosives, nothing. I think they would have never expected someone hijacking this train."
"Sly as I said…"
"Do you have any idea how valuable that guy could be?" Powers had lifted the lizard onto the shoulder and panted. "I actually already thought it was clear that we have to stay rational."
"Dammit Sly this isn´t…"
"Guys!" Tammy stood in the door breathing heavily. "There´s a quite big dust cloud on the horizon."
"We better get going. Quick." Sly made a run through the door and before Dudley could complain more he was already past Tammy on his run to the truck.
"That bastard…" Dudley clenched his fists angrily and growled.
"Dudley, quick, we got to get out of here!" Tammy grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the cart. Luckily for Dudley that happened not a second too late. A deafening explosion blasted the wagon to pieces and the two of them were tossed through the air like a tennis ball.
Dudley couldn´t quite remember how he landed, but it seemed that his leg had taken care of absorbing the energy of the impact. It was twisted and obviously broken in several places. He would have fainted due to the pain if the robots in his blood stream wouldn´t have cut the nerve and keep him but not the leg operational by that.
As good as it was possible with one useable leg he got up and looked for Tammy. She lay 20 meters closer to the truck, but her body looked as bad as his leg. Almost all her limbs were bend into an unhealthy looking direction and the amount of blood on the ground next to her was worrying.
Hopping like a rabbit he approach her and lifted her up as quick as he could. However, despite his best efforts, he would have almost fallen if not Snaptrap had come grabbing him and giving him aid standing.
"Thank you…" Dudley said and inadvertently spit some blood towards Snaptrap. Just now he realized the copper taste in his mouth.
"Come, just come!" The rat said and helped Dudley to the truck where Daisy was already waiting behind the wheel and Powers standing outside.
As soon as they were close to the truck Powers helped the three of them in before also hopping in.
"Go, now!" He ordered. "Let´s hope that works!" With a grim determination Powers activated the cloaking deflector. As the captain´s fist hit the button a blue dome formed above them and immediately disappeared again.
"Fuck…" cursed Powers and kept hitting the button with his fist angrily.
Dudley looked quietly out of the window, watching the blue dome appear and then quickly disappear again. He had no power left, he maybe didn´t feel pain right now but his body still took a lot of his energy to keep him alive. Slowly his eyes shut as he heard Powers hitting the button again and again. 'It would work' he thought to himself as his conscious faded. 'I know it.'
