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| Cy-Fox | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 13 2008, 12:44 PM (271 Views) | |
Cy-Fox
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Oct 13 2008, 12:44 PM Post #1 |
We are still watching
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Prologue - 2024 The blue-green planet Mobius resembled its faraway sister Earth in many ways, functionally and visually. But the similarities ended when it came to their native lifeforms and the surrounding space. Earth, home to the humans, had only one moon. Mobius, home of the Mobian anthroanimals on the other hand, had two. When it came to civilization however, both were almost alike. The humans were a bit more advanced, having brought most of the recent wave of new technology to Mobius. Before first contact, the anthroanimals were ideologically and technologically only 10 years behind, never having to have to deal with nuclear brinkmanship and the long dead Soviet Union. But with a hand up from their benevolent human stewards, the Mobians got on the same playing field. The first joint Human-Mobian colony: Sagan Colony, was named for a long dead astronomer named Carl Sagan, whose book Cosmos remained a very popular download on Project Gutenberg. It was established in the year 2021 and completed in 2023. It was about half the size of Tokyo, but had roughly the same hustle and bustle. Cars fueled by hydrogen, solar energy and biofuel were going in the usual chaotic looking but orderly traffic patterns. Children and adults of different races and species were milling about, and it was a good day to do it. It was temperate out, and sunny with white puffy clouds. Or so it seemed on a large LCD monitor. Definitely a good day to be down there, a male Mobius anthro-fox thought. Why didn't I take the day off? The fox had fur that was a light pumpkin orange and a white muzzle that was graying in some spots. He had one blue-green eye. His deadened, other eye was covered by a black eyepatch. The eyepatch anachronistically clashed with his uniform, a dark blue greatcoat with imitation brass buttons over a white dress shirt and a black tie. The epaulets of both the coat and the white shirt had three silver stars. The coat had various ribbons over his heart. On the upper part of the left sleeve, there was the insignia of the Mobius Collective Defense Force, or the CDF as it was better known. The CDF was basically Mobius' military, which had branches like the various militaries on Earth. On the upper part of the right sleeve was the insignia of the CDF's Air Force, which was a bow and arrow imposed on a small globe of Mobius. The fox's name was Amadeus. To his superiors, he was Major General Amadeus Miles Prower, commander of CDF-WESTCOM. He had the highest authority over the army, air force and navy in this part of the world, and could only be overruled by the Army General Staff, the Air Force General Staff and the Naval Admirality, the Joint Chiefs of Staff or finally, the Executive Governor. There had been a state of peace even before the humans came around, so the job was boring. Mainly paperwork and personnel management, but it paid well. Well enough to build his eight year old son, another Amadeus Miles Prower, a machine shop right next to the family home out in the Emerald Coast. The last time he took time off to see his son and his wife Rosemary, the younger Amadeus (who preferred to be called by his middle name, Miles) was still working on his pet project: a biplane using base designs that a friendly British-American lieutenant from the United States Air Force's Air and Space Museum in Dayton, Ohio copied for him when Amadeus took his family to Earth to sightsee a year ago. Amadeus sighed and looked away from the LCD monitor and settled his eyes on a framed digital video screen, whose contents were from last year's trip. Nostalgically, he pressed a stud on the frame which brought the still image to life. Little Miles was sitting on his father's back, arms outstretched to his sides, making propeller noises as the major general, clad in a dark blue polo shirt and khaki shorts was jogging down an unused runway, smiling. His wife, off-screen was laughing. Pull the pin at the end of the year, he told himself. No more performance reviews, no more bureaucracy and no more of this space station. He shuddered and rubbed his temple with both hands. Western Command was housed on the space station MacArthur which was in constant geosynchronous orbit with Sagan Colony. It was designed by General Dynamics' Electric Boat division, which did other critical military installations as well. I feel sorry for Gerry Robotnik Amadeus thought and shuddered again. The civilian research station ARK-1 was being constructed Earth-side, and after its completion, a counterpart known as ARK-2 would be constructed in Mobius orbit as well. All handled by the same group. The ARK was the brainchild of Professor Gerald Robotnik, a prominent and eccentric 77 year old medical scientist from Earth. Formerly the Chief of Pathology and later Chief of Medicine of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Professor Robotnik was currently contracted by the government to find a cure for a new disease known as Neuro-Immunological Deficiency Syndrome or NIDS. His orphaned granddaughter Maria, was stricken with the disease at an early age and was the main reason why he took the government posting. Before Maria showed symptoms of NIDS, Robotnik was selected to be on the survey crew when Earth and Mobius made first contact. Unfortunately, he had to miss out. Amadeus met the survey crew, but when he heard of Robotnik's plight, he arranged to set up a video conference when everything was settled down. Since then, the two became close friends. Young Miles befriended Maria when they visited her on her 6th birthday at MGH's pediatric intensive care unit where she basically lived, the costs permanently dismissed at the order of the board of directors and Gerald Robotnik's successor. They're all decent folk, Amadeus reflected. Well almost all of them. He wrinkled his nose. The Robotnik family had a maverick, like any other family. In their case, the maverick was Gerald's 44 year old grandson (and Maria's cousin) Dr. Ivo Robotnik, formerly a professor of robotics at MIT until first contact with Mobius came about. When Ivo watched the spectacle unfold, paranoia gripped him. He was a hopeless xenophobe. Seeing the Mobians as potential slavers, he started to push away teaching in favor of creating combat-capable robots. He tried to put them forward to the military for use, but the military waved him away, disgusted. He then made an unsuccessful speech at Tech Square, trying to whip up a neo-Nazi like movement which had a few supporters. Then the administration at MIT decided that he needed to be reined in. He was barred from demonstrating. He defied the administration's orders and tried again. The second rally turned violent when they attacked a pro-contact rally set up by the A.I and Physics Labs however. MIT campus police and Cambridge police stepped in and broke up the protest, and Ivo was fired after another counter-rally organized by the MIT A.I lab. Disgraced, he became a recluse after being sternly reprimanded and disowned by his grandfather. Never to be heard from again. Good riddance. Amadeus thought. Then his ears twitched as a chirping noise filled his office. The LCD screen cut from the live view of Sagan Colony and was replaced by a blue hedgehog anthroanimal with one silver oak leaf on each epaulet of his uniform. “Yes Nicholas?” Amadeus said. Nicholas was a full colonel and his top aide. He had a son named Sonic who was seven years older than Tails. Someone off screen was speaking to the hedgehog. He turned his attention to the unseen person and when he was finished, he looked back at Amadeus. “Sorry General. Cyberwarfare Division says their systems all went down a few minutes ago.” Amadeus blinked. That's a surprise. C.D's obsessive compulsive when it comes to system maintenance. “All of their systems?” Nicholas nodded. “Servers, workstations, routers. Everything's down. Even the fail-safe systems.” “Didn't we just upgrade the wiring in Cyberwarfare just recently?” Amadeus asked. Nicholas shook his head. “There hasn't been any upgrades or changes scheduled. Captain Mackay is having a fit.” There was only one explanation. Someone had deliberately targeted Cyberwarfare with something. Most likely a virus. It was next to impossible, but with the right software and equipment, it could happen. “Someone must be softening us up for an attack.” Amadeus growled. “What do you think, virtual or real?” “I'm leaning towards virtual.” Nicholas scratched his head. “There's nothing around on the sensory grid. A freighter group just left the system a few hours ago. Everything else is civilian air activity on the planet.” Amadeus took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. He then released it. “Have Captain Mackay contact his human counterpart. I think its still Vice Admiral Wagner. See if they can diagnose our systems and overlay their security network on our own.” Nicholas nodded. “Right away sir.” He stepped away, allowing Amadeus to see the central command hub. Technicians and analysts were moving between stations, working frantically. He could see a three dimensional situation awareness screen where a model of the station was flashing yellow because of its current alert condition, with an orbit around a model of Mobius, based on their current orbit. Smaller models representing satellites had crisscrossing lines indicating activity. He relaxed slightly, not noticing anything red. After two minutes, Nicholas returned looking even more stressed. “Outside communications just went down while Captain Mackay was speaking to the Vice Admiral. Before the transmission broke up, Wagner did mention that a system sweep caught a whiff of a viral presence.” “Shit.” Amadeus muttered. If the humans were up on the game, they would most likely try to pin down and eradicate the virus. That is if nothing else happened. If being the keyword. Amadeus felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. Instinct had set off mental alarms. Just as that happened, Nicholas looked off screen again. This time, Amadeus could pick up on his end of the conversation. “Sensory went down? When?!” He looked back at Amadeus. “Sir-” “I know. Sensory's down. I'll be right down.” Amadeus snapped. He got up from his desk and proceeded to the door, which opened up to a catwalk that was directly above Central Command. As soon as the doors opened, several people looked up at the fox. He waved them off. “Back to work.” he said loudly. He then proceeded down a metal staircase to the actual Central Command level and towards the center where Nicholas and a human, Master Chief Petty Officer David Everest, a linguist on-loan from the U.S Navy and also the security chief for the current watch were in conversation. Master Chief Everest saluted when Amadeus got close enough. “Sir.” “As you were Chief.” Amadeus replied. “Anything to report?” The Master Chief was wearing a khaki uniform like an officer, as his rank among the enlisted required him. “Cyberwarfare, Outbound Communications and now Sensory have fallen under the control of a computer virus. Origin unknown. Obviously we're unable to trace the source or pin it down. Defenses are being put under manual control and observers are being posted at all windows and viewports.” Amadeus nodded approvingly. Then suddenly, a radio on Everest's belt crackled. The Master Chief unclipped the radio and raised it. “Go ahead.” he said, after pressing in the transmit stud. “Sir, Hospitalman Beauford reporting. There's a ship approaching us.” a female voice replied. Everest pressed the stud in again. “Can you describe it, Hospitalman?” “..It looks like one of our old space carriers sir. But different. It's red and black.” “Is it doing anything other than moving?” “No. Oh wait, it's stopped sir. Or seems to have.” Then a communications officer from the hub suddenly appeared. “There's a transmission coming in.” “How?” Nicholas snapped. “Outbound's down!” “I don't know sir. But it's for General Prower.” “What?” Amadeus blinked. Who in the Hell.. “Bring it up on the screens if you can. Audio input for the entire room.” “Yes sir.” The comm officer returned to his post. Then a minute passed and suddenly, the LCD screens winked out into static, buzzing. Everyone then turned their attention to them. Then a white circle with a familiar silhouette in red appeared. The silhouette was basically egg shaped with two white circles that looked like eyeglasses and a very long mustache protruding from it. Amadeus' pulse stepped up a few notches. Nicholas' eyes widened. “That's..” “Ivo Robotnik's logo.” Amadeus growled. “Now it makes sense.” He then spoke up. “Can you hear me you son of a **Bleep**?” A gravelly laugh then echoed in the hub. “How nice. You sound just like a soldier.” “I am a soldier.” Amadeus growled. “What the Hell do you want?” “You sound troubled General. Did someone play a mean old trick on you? Hmm?” Ivo Robotnik guffawed. “I'll show you a trick.” Amadeus snarled. “Master Chief.” Everest got the idea and lifted his radio up. “All hands on weapons detail. Target and fire on enemy ship.” “That sounds rather hostile General.” Ivo snickered. “I haven't even done any major damage yet. But now that you think about it, I think it's my time to do that. What should I blow up first? Your station?” One LCD screen changed to show an outside view of the MacArthur. “Or perhaps..” The screen then switched to another live view of Sagan Colony. It showed a red furred vixen gathering fruit. Amadeus' heart leaped up his throat along with bile. “Or your precious wife and son. Then again, why am I asking you? I'm the one with the finger on the button. So I choose....both.” He looked off-screen “Power up the energy cannon!” Amadeus growled ferally. “You're not going to get away with this. You'll have every human and Mobian fleet after you.” “Excellent. They can bear witness to the biggest bonfire of their life.” Ivo grinned mischievously. “A nice thermonuclear bonfire. Starting with Sagan Colony. Unfortunately, I didn't bother to send you an invitation. I'm sure you'll get to see your family in the afterparty. In Hell with the rest of the abomination you call a race.” Calmness suddenly washed over Amadeus. He had never been in a combat situation, but he was experiencing the same psychological effects of those before him that were holed up against unsurmountable odds. He then growled and charged up to the monitor with Ivo's face. He leaned up into it and bared his teeth. “I guess I'll be waiting for you.” he said icily through clenched teeth. He then pulled back a fist and drove it into Ivo's pixelized face, breaking the screen. Then suddenly, the station was rocked with an explosion. Amadeus and several others were thrown against various objects. Alarms started to howl and a loud hissing noise began to issue from a gaping hole in the wall. Amadeus looked up at the remaining monitor and saw several long tubular objects leaving Ivo's ship. To his horror, he recognized them. But before he could do or say anything else, a blinding flash sizzled through the gaping hole, blinding his remaining eye, and burned through him, killing him and the others instantly. Several minutes later, the station erupted into a fireball. There would be many more to come. |
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| Tux | Oct 14 2008, 02:33 PM Post #2 |
Donning the Outfit
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Again, I learn something new each and every day from great peoples. Woots; oh yeah, the story. ...Honestly, every rewrite you do did bug me; it's like you never wanna finish it up, like you're saving all your 'epicness' for something real good. I like the conversations between the characters here, especially with Amadeus' thoughts. Was a bit thrown off on how you used the characters thoughts, I'd figure you would add something to the beginning and ending of them, like this, -or like this-, 'or just this, however you feel is necessary'. Hahaha, not once have I ever spotted a flaw from you, unless I haven't been reading carefully, but what the hell? Every rewrite brings out better structure in future installations. I like this, there is nothing else I can say from here on. |
 GOT THE WHOLE WORLD AHEAD OF YA, KID. | |
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Cy-Fox
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Nov 7 2008, 06:48 PM Post #3 |
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We are still watching
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Chapter 1 2033 The sun was partly obscured by clouds, but for the most part it was a decent day in the city of Station Square. Much like the long destroyed Sagan Colony, the city of Station Square was bustling with activity. Originally a railroad town, Station Square flourished over the past ten years as the humans built upon the infrastructure. To this day, it was still a major railway stop. The old station still stood. It was sleek and modern, made of glass and steel, but in form it still resembled old metropolitan stations like King's Cross in London. But instead of stairs, there were escalators and large elevators. And of course, there was the trains. They were sleek and modern just like the stations they stopped at. Bullet trains, their first generation built in Japan and carried over with other freight by their spacefaring cousins, the transport ships. They could reach speeds close to 120 MPH. Close, but no cigar, a blue hedgehog thought and smirked. He was told many times that he was a spitting image of his father, except the similarities stopped when comparing the two in attitude. His father was Nicholas, the aide to Major General Amadeus Prower, who died with his commander on the MacArthur years ago, and he was Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. While his father was sedate and calculative with his military training, Sonic was carefree and to a point, reckless. Unfortunately military training didn't help his father survive Eggman (as Ivo Robotnik was now known). The rogue scientist could most likely outthink any tactician or scientist with the exception of his own grandfather and a select few. Sonic knew in order to disrupt the madman's quest for a new world order that he would have to employ the principles of chaos theory. Contrary to popular belief, even though he had a big ego, Sonic was no idiot. Anyone who charged into battle without the proper mindset was dust. History proved that. He knew he had to be unpredictable. And what better way was there to be unpredictable than to be fast? He was confirmed to be one of the fastest existing lifeforms around. Scientists couldn't explain it. He didn't have any differing biochemistry (to current knowledge) when compared to other Mobian hedgehogs. The scientists simply shrugged and sighed and announced that he was simply born to be quick. If he had wanted to, he could have jumped onto one of the tracks to play chicken with the bullet trains. He knew better though. He was 24 years old after all. Sonic sighed and leaned against a pillar for a moment. Bored with that already, he turned his head and suddenly found himself face to face with another hedgehog, a pink female with long quills. She had emerald green eyes that looked to be almost incandescent. She was wearing a red dress that fit nicely on her slim figure, and also complimented her red handbag. “Hello Sonic.” She batted her eyes at him. Sonic smiled thinly and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. She bent her head slightly and smiled widely. Sonic sniffed her hair and smelled strawberries. “Hey Amy.” Sonic planted a kiss on her forehead causing her to giggle. She pulled back and shook her head, waving her hair around. “I guess you're here for the same reason I am.” “Yep.” Sonic pointed at the tracks. “I still can't believe it.” Amy nodded. “The old group breaking up.” She sighed. “It had to have happened eventually.” Sonic nodded as well. “At least there's still us.” Amy then lightly punched him on the shoulder. “Damn right.” Sonic started to laugh, just as a bullet train rolled into the platform, brakes screeching, drowning him out. Sonic clapped both hands to his sensitive ears and shook his head. “I hate it when that happens!” he yelled over the din, which then abruptly stopped. “Awww,” Amy cooed. “My poor hero.” She hugged the hedgehog and lightly kissed both of his ears. There was several pneumatic hisses as the doors of the train slid open. Humans and Mobians filed out, some with luggage, some with nothing. Sonic and Amy both turned to face the train. After a minute or so, a male fox in the uniform of the United States Air Force came out, pulling a gunmetal blue rolling bag of luggage behind him. He also had an Air Force issued backpack on, which had his ID number stenciled into the fabric. Sonic waved at the fox. “Hey, Tails!” Amadeus Miles Prower II or Tails as he was better known, noticed Sonic and proceeded towards the two hedgehogs. He was known as Tails because he was the only fox that Sonic knew that had two tails. Tails was also the youngest of the group that Sonic first formed with him right after Sagan Colony and the MacArthur was destroyed in 2024. At the time Tails was only eight and Sonic was fifteen. Both had lost their fathers to that disastrous day and in Tails' case, he had lost his mother as well. He had lost virtually everything, and only gained intense anger. Anger which kicked his mechanically gifted mind into overdrive. His Tornado was going to be a simple bi-plane, but as soon as the Earth governments declared Ivo Robotnik a terrorist and started their hunt for him, Tails had promptly installed two outdated Vulcan anti-air guns that he secured through his dead father's connections. Those same connections allowed Tails to bypass a harrowing amount of red tape required to allow him access to the infamous Cheyenne Mountain, the home of the Air Force's North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), best known from the movie WarGames, one of Tails' favorite movies. It was here only one year ago when Tails thwarted Ivo's plan to knock the nearly completed ARK-1 out of orbit, while keeping the Air Force's cyberwarfare operators busy with a virus designed to play hell with the missile defense network. Afterwards, the Air Force guaranteed him an enlistment when he reached the legal age to do so. From there, he could go into the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs after a few years of service in order to become an officer. It really didn't matter where they placed him. As long as there was something to tinker with, Tails would be happy. That was just the way he was. “Hello Sonic, ” the orange-yellow fox said. He then nodded towards Amy. “Amy.” “Hello Tails” Amy smiled. “What are you two doing here?” Tails asked. “We came to see you off, knucklehead.” Sonic grinned. “Oh.” Tails' white muzzle began to redden slightly. The fox reached behind his head and scratched one of his pointed ears. “I hope it wasn't any trouble..” “Trouble? Nah.” Sonic waved his hand magnanimously. “You're my best friend after all. But there is one thing you can do.” “What's that?” Tails asked, cocking his head. “Whatever you do, don't get stationed at Ice Cap.” Sonic shuddered at the thought. Amy lightly slugged him on the shoulder. “You big baby. You and your fear of water. You're fine whenever we're in the tub!” Tails shuddered as well. “Too much information Amy.” He then rolled his eyes. Amy laughed. “Oh that's right. Virgin ears.” That provoked a scathing growl from the fox. Amy's face softened. “Sorry,” she said quietly. “Got into the moment a bit much.” “Speaking of Ice Cap and all,” Sonic said, hastily changing the subject. “Where do you think they're going to send you?” Tails scratched his ear again and shrugged. “You never know with the military. Personally, I think it's going to be Cheyenne Mountain.” Sonic shuddered. “Doesn't that make you go crazy though? Being underground for so long?” “It's a necessary evil.” Tails replied. “And it's not like I won't have time off.” “True.” Sonic said. Tails then looked at his watch. “I'd better get going. Good to see you two again." Sonic raised two fingers in salute. "We'll see you again." He then took ahold of Amy's hand. "Let's go Amy." The two then began to walk away. Amy turned her head and waved. Tails chuckled. Didn't he once swear that he'd die before he'd let that happen? he asked himself. He then shrugged. Time to get on with the rest of my life. United States Armed Forces Recruitment and Processing Center Air Force Division, Station Square Branch The Armed Forces Recruitment and Processing Center looked exactly the same as it did in its counterparts in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, Boston, New York City, Phoenix, Orlando and Chicago. It was basically a five story nondescript concrete block, a story reserved for each of the branches of the Armed Services. By rule of thumb, the Army got the ground floor while the Marine Corps got the first floor, the Coast Guard got the second floor, the Navy got the third and the Air Force got the fourth and highest one. You could also tell which branch floor you were in by the giant emblems stitched in the carpet at the dropoff points near the stairs and elevators. Tails was early for his appointment, early enough to have considered taking the stairs if it wasn't for his rolling luggage. Then again, it didn't hurt to be in the air conditioned elevator. He could use all the fresh air that he could get before he ended up living where the air was recycled. The fox was sitting outside the office of Captain Thomas Gonzales, the commander of the Air Force block of the center. Tails was engrossed in a video about the old F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that was being shown on a plasma screen TV until he heard the door to Gonzales' office creak open. Tails turned his head to see Captain Gonzales himself beckon him towards his office. He had the typical crewcut, and several ribbons on his uniform jacket. From what Tails recalled, Gonzales was a programmer at Cheyenne Mountain, well known for his appropriately named 'CrapRemover' security network that was set in place right after Tails purged Cheyenne Mountain of Eggman's little bag of tricks a year ago. Tails followed Gonzales into his office and immediately noticed two live scaled palm trees in pots. Must be there to remind him of Paraguay. Tails thought. To his surprise, Gonzales did not sit down. Instead the recruiter turned his head towards someone to Tails' left. Tails followed his gaze and was surprised to see himself next to another familiar face. Brigadier General Jake Grey, the Executive Director of the Office of Special Investigations, was a stocky British-American with a slight pot belly and curly, dishelved, non-regulation brown hair who Tails had worked with previously when Grey was a full Colonel and also the network administrator of Cheyenne Mountain when Tails left last year. Tails also remembered Grey as a mere Lieutenant when he was a curator at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Gonzales started to raise his hand in salute but General Grey waved his right hand casually. "No need for that crap." he said. He sounded all-American with the exception of a rare bit of the Queen's accent when he was drinking heavily. "By all means, sit." Tails and Captain Gonzales both settled into their respective chairs, while Grey settled into his. He grinned and clasped his hands together. "Much better." He then bent his head in Tails' direction. "You were to receive your duty assignment to Cheyenne Mountain today, am I correct?" Tails nodded. Then a sinking feeling crept up in his stomach. "Is there something wrong, sir?" "No, not at all." Grey chuckled. "Actually I'd say quite the opposite has happened. There's a new special assignment that's come up and I think you'd fit the bill quite nicely." With that, Tails let out a relieved sigh, prompting another chuckle from Grey. "I'm going to defer to Captain Gonzales to tell you about it so that he doesn't feel left out." Gonzales smirked. "Thank you, sir." Tails turned his attention to the other human. Gonzales then leaned forward in his chair. "As you probably already heard on the news channels, Space Colony ARK-1 is now complete. You yourself obviously already know most of the functions of the ARK-1 since your involvement with the events of last year. So I won't hopefully need to impress upon you the strategic importance of it. But there is one new thing that you should be aware of. The NSA in Fort Meade and one of their allied services at Bletchley Park was able to crack the encryption surrounding the basic input/output system of Ivo Robotnik's E-100 series after some time with a unit that the Special Air Service captured about a few months ago. The SEALs, Marine Force Recon G.U.N and Delta Force have also had some success in robot captures. They used to be stored at a classified location in Greenland until we found that one of the units still had a functioning tracer. Now they're being stored on the ARK." Tails nodded, and Gonzales continued. "We think that the right people, armed with the information yielded from the NSA and GCHQ's work would be able to actually reprogram these robots in order to achieve a technical breakthrough in understanding Eggman's computer and communications systems. We also believe that a successful reprogramming project could allow us to multiply our forces with these robots." Fighting fire with fire, Tails thought. "I take it that you're asking me to go to the ARK and see if I can make some headway." "That is," General Grey interjected. "If you're interested. This is totally voluntary. If you'd still like to go to NORAD, that is rightfully your choice, and it won't count against you. However, given your history and your aptitudes, I think that you would be more suited towards this." "Your assessment is correct, sir." Tails said. "When would you like for me to leave?" "Tomorrow morning at earliest." Gonzales said. "We can make sure that the necessary orders and everything are filed starting now, and overnight if necessary." Tails nodded. "Thank you, sir." He then looked at Grey "And you as well, for the opportunity." Grey laughed. "Thank Gerald Robotnik, not me. He asked for you specifically." Now that's a surprise. Tails thought. Gerald Robotnik, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Biology asked for me?! "I'll be sure to give him my thanks if I see him." "I'm sure that you'll have a lot of opportunities to see him." Grey smiled. He then stood up. "Well gentlemen, I have a flight to catch." Gonzales nodded and then turned his attention back to Tails as Grey stepped out. "You can stay with the recruits until the arrangements are made. Give them a little bit of insight into how it's like to be in the service, if you like." He then smiled. "The cafeteria's serving fileted fish and rice tonight." With the exception of a few higher ups and old-timer NCOs, the New Military had evolved to the point where most of its soldiers were extremely health conscious, ergo the changes in things like the menu. Of course, there would always be an offering for those with a twitchy sweet-tooth and there was always the Post Exchange (PX) where one could buy the basics, a slab of steak and enough chocolate bars, cigarettes and imported booze to cause dentists, cardiologists and family physicians to write nasty letters to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Surgeon General. Tails nodded. Fish and rice sounded good. Damn good, especially if he could secure some tea. Green or mint, it didn't matter to him as long as it kept him going. Coffee got him too wired and though the occasional Dr. Pepper was nice, enough would send him wheeling into a seemingly endless day of headaches and bathroom breaks. And when Tails felt like crap, everyone knew it from his grumpy demeanor. On the opposing end of the spectrum, tea was invigorating and fish was an excellent source of the protein needed to keep him built up. With the right seasoning it was very tasty too. He allowed himself to lick his lower lip. "Is there anything else, sir?" he asked. Gonzales shook his head. "Nope. Dismissed Airman. Have a good trip." Tails stood up and tossed him a friendly salute. "And you have a good day, sir." And off he went, towards dinner and destiny. |
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Cy-Fox
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Nov 30 2008, 05:52 PM Post #4 |
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We are still watching
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Chapter 2 0630 Hours – Two Days Later After a quick breakfast of more fish and rice, Tails had found himself the occupant of a small transport secured by Captain Gonzales as he mentioned the day ago. The transport housed its crew of three (two pilots and a tech) and could hold up to four passengers and their cargo. It looked all the way military, with no frills on the outside except for the insignia of the Air Force in blue painted on each side, along with the craft's identification numbers. Captain Gonzales had given Tails one of the recruiting station's laptop computers which was linked to the vast Air Force network. Using his given username and password to log into the operating system, which informed him of his new assignment and the relevant changes to his records. Tails instructed the computer to display all information regarding Space Colony ARK that he had access rights to. Seconds later, he was staring at a full-color three dimensional model of the station and Earth, reflecting current conditions. The ARK was designed (as mentioned before) by General Dynamics. It was white and cylindrical, topped by a dome and had several pods in a ring formation around the middle portion, each attached to a tube that went into the main hull. Then the model faded until it was transparent, with a window covering it. Tails now saw a generic ID photo of himself on the left side. His name and ID number was displayed in large font in lime green. Then it showed his various security clearances, most of which he already knew about. There were several new ones however. ARK-SYSOP, ARK-SEC, ARK-R&D, ARK-SCI and finally ARK-ENG. In layman's terms, he had the highest level of computer and network access with the exception of data that was above his classification level and that of the foreign military and intelligence services unless permission was given by the relevant ambassador and their military and intelligence attaches. He also had access to the ARK's armory, the research and development labs, the science labs and to the Engineering and Maintenance sections. In his spare time, he could help the other administrators and operators manage and optimize the vast network, requisition materials for use in side-projects, serve as a lab assistant or an engineer, and finally take up security patrols. Lots to do to keep him busy. You had to be busy in space, otherwise you went crazy. Tails closed the laptop and yawned. The trip was almost over. The transport had entered the Sol system a few hours ago and Neptune was approaching. Coming up was Saturn and somewhere there was Ivo Robotnik's base in the asteroid belt. Maybe he's watching us right now. he thought. It was entirely possible. Eggman had probes scattered throughout the system, mainly concentrated around the asteroid belt. He had gotten his base only because his grandfather thought that throwing him off the planet and forcing him to fight to live would turn his attitude around. Instead, it gave him a steady, voluminous source of income that allowed him to build up what he had in 2024. Most of his funds were drained by his costly private war but as he waited, his treasury healed. He was probably creating new robot designs and making new plans to set off another war. He would most likely repeat the process until one of the Mobius or Earth-based fleets located and took out his base. Tails gently placed the laptop into the empty seat to his left and got up. He went over to a self-service vending machine and ordered a large Hershey mint-chocolate bar. He discarded the wrapper, tossing it into the trash bin next to the machine and nibbled at the chocolate bar as he went back to his seat. |
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Cy-Fox
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Dec 21 2008, 04:49 AM Post #5 |
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We are still watching
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Eggman Base Unknown Location, Asteroid Belt Ivo didn't notice the transport, but the demented cyberneticist's nemesis was one of several things eternally causing him a headache, one almost on the same level as the ones brought about by the thought of his grandfather. Ivo snarled lowly and clenched a white gloved hand into a fist and slammed it down on the arm of his chair in the base's central hub. Damn you Prower, he thought. Damn you! A perfectly formed and executed plan, torn to shreds. The attack on NORAD, had it gone his way, would have left the ARK vulnerable to a missile based in one of his hidden, automated bases in the Antarctic. With that, the ARK would have been destroyed and his grandfather killed. Two birds, one very large stone. Instead his slingshot was taken from him and snapped in half by Tails. That.. "Goddamned alien!" Ivo completed his thought out loud. "Why must he and that meddling Sonic get in my way?" He slammed his fist against the armrest again and bellowed. "WHY!" "They must resort to unorthodox measures because they know that any other means are futile, Doctor." a voice replied. Ivo sighed and leaned back into his chair. Servo motors whined as the source of the voice, a gold colored E-series approached his chair from the right side. The robot, E-100 Alpha, was his very first E-series robot and thus became his personal aide. The robot held out the tray it was carrying. Ivo turned his head and noticed to his relief, a bottle of medication and a cup of prune juice. "Ah, thank you Alpha. I needed this." The rotund scientist then took the bottle of meds and twisted it open, extracting two white capsules from it and returning the bottle to the tray, with the cap off. He then took the cup, swallowed the pills and drowned them with the juice. His headache, that is his physical headache, began to fade. But his mental one continued to intensify, and it always would until Gerald Robotnik, Miles Prower and Sonic the Hedgehog were dead at his feet. Soon, he thought. He then smiled widely, got out of his chair and left for one of his labs with the ever faithful E-100 Alpha behind him. |
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