Chapter 26: Seperation The mesa was thrown into disarray. Everything had to be disassembled, packed up, and slapped into a number of devices Xuon created - a small cube, about five inches square on each side - for transport. The metal fabricator - which was about fifty times the size of the cube - was the first to be shoved into one of these tiny crates. Amazingly, they were able to fit in an eigth of the thread system into it before having to switch cubes. And then there was the personel problem. The mesa contained a hundred or so rebels that needed to be outfitted and ready to move. Myst and Mink took on that challenge, dividing what megar supplies they hadn't packed away amongst their people. In the meantime, Mink made sure that the final preparations - a thermo-nuclear explosive deep within the center of the mesa - was in working order and ready to go. That left Terry, Mallory, Tobias, and Swift to guard duty at the top of the mesa. A single radio was their warning system to the rest of the mesa. They watched cautiously, Mallory and Tobias watching in two directions, Terry watching from a higher altitude, and Swift psy-scanning for a full three mile radius. "I got nothing," Mallory said after a bit. "What about you guys?" "Nada," Tobias responded. He look up at Terry. "Terry! Que ce?" "Nothing," he responded. "We're clear." "Not true," Swift said. "We've got a small band of Raiders heading in this direction, three miles due north." "Should we tell them?" "No," Mallory said. "That'd only cause a panic." She looked at Swift. "How long until they get here?" "It's mostly infantry. Three trucks with large cargo capacity as well. They won't be here for another fifteen minutes." Tobias swayed nervously. "Mallory, do you guys have an emergency escape system?" "Yes, as a matter of fact. We've got a large number of escape pods that land right on the outside of the Raider/Pack territory border. Why?" He picked up his radio. "D, are you there?" "D here," the radio crackled. "What do you need?" "I need you to pack Kaitlyn, Samantha, and my guard onto your emergency escape system and send them home. I don't want to run the risk of them getting involved worse than they already are." He took a deep breath. "I also want you to tell Samantha I'll follow shortly after and she should expect me about an hour after she arrives in pack territory." "Will do. Why aren't you going?" "I wouldn't abandon you guys now. That'd be two faced and stupid." D chuckled. "You're a very honorable warrior. D out." "You are indeed a very honorable warrior," Mallory said. She gave him a hug. "I'm glad your on our side." He smiled and hugged back. "Let's not get all emotional right now. We need to keep on watch." Tobias went down ten minutes later to see Samantha and the others off. He wasn't going to be able to get his love to go easily, however. "No, I refuse to go," Samantha shouted, shaking her head. "I want to stay with you." He took her by the arms. "Samantha, this is for your own good. I will see you in a day or two at worst. I will return to you." "I don't care. I'm not going." He looked at Kaitlyn. He lowered his gaze from hers and kissed Samantha. "When I get back," he said, nice and clear so everyone around him could understand. "I am going to make you the single most happiest woman in the universe. I will do that by any means possible." Kaitlyn started to say something - probably "Oh no you fuckin' don't!" - but decided not to. "He's telling the truth, Samantha. He wouldn't do that to you." Samantha hesitated. "Do we have time for one quick-?" "No!" Kaitlyn shouted. "She's right. I need to make sure these dudes get out safely." "Oh all right." He kissed him once more. "See you in a few." "I'll make sure of it." Mink showed her to where she was supposed to go. Tobias sighed. "Why must I always go through this trouble?" "Because you ARE the one," Myst's voice responded. "Because you are destined to save our world." He nodded. "I'm going back to my post. Maybe we can pack up and ship out for the border soon." "I'm coming with you," Mink said. "You three will need someone powerful just in case." "I might as well go," Myst said. "A weapons expert is always useful." Tobias nodded. The three headed to the top of the mesa. **************************************************************************** Pack Alpha Base 1724 sat on the very edge of the border. It was a primary defense base, laced with enough ammunition, weapons, and explosives to take out a medium sized country. Since it was so close to Raider territory - quite literally spitting distance - everyone was on edge. One of the patrols stopped on the west wall - the one closest to Raider Territroy - for a much needed breather. "This is too much for me," one patrol man told the other. "I need to transfer to somewhere safer. I hear the polar bases are nice this time of year." "I hear you there," his companion responded. "But you know how important this base is. We need to defend the Pack from those bastard Raiders. Who knows when something will show up!" He waived his hand in the enemy's direction. His partner looked and freaked. He looked too, and saw seven capsules sitting there. He dropped his jaw and hit the alarm. The capsules, of course, contained Crash and the others. They all popped open at the same time. Their cargo managed to synchronize their climbing out. So, of course, the Pack base thought they were highly trained commandoes. Every gun, missile, turret, and eye trained on them. Samantha was quick to realize this. "Guys," she said. "I think they think we're the enemy." Crash took a deep breath. "You're probably right. Okay guys, we need to show them that we're friendly. Hopefully, someone will recognize us." "Yeah," Kaitlyn said. "Raise your hands into the air slowly and take one step every two seconds." They all took one more breath before following Kaitlyn's suggestion. Slowly, they inched forward. They got a good 18 feet away from the capsules before they heard the words they were hoping for. "Hey," someone shouted. "Aren't they the guard detail for the Chosen One?" "Yeah!" another person confirmed. "Go escort them in, and quickly." The doors flew open, a huge guard detail came over, and they were led inside. **************************************************************************** "Oh hell," Myst said, looking out into the distance. "We've got a whole load of it coming this way." He went over to a small crate he brought up with him and opened it. Tobias looked up at Terry. "Myst says he sees something heading this way." "He's right," Terry called down. "Raiders going at full speed. They've got heavy shit and...I don't believe it!" "What?" "They've got troop transports." "Troop transports?" Mink growled. "This ain't good." "Terry, can you see inside them?" "I'm not a freakin' psychic Tobias." "But I am," Swift responded. She shut her eyes and concentrated. "That's odd...there are...twelve transports...two of them are empty..." "Empty?!" Mink said, startled. "Why empty? Unless..." It clicked in. "Terry, get down from there." Terry floated back down to the mesa. Wasting no time, Mink pulled everyone close to him and turned on a small device. "The hell are you doing Mink?!" Myst yelled. He started to complain, but was stopped when the jets flew overhead. They dropped small packages around and on the mesa, each exploding on contact. "Nobody move," Mink said. "You'll get caught in the stasis too." They watched, helplessly, as the Raiders arrived. They filed out, entered the mesa, and brought their prisoners, still in stasis, out and into the empty transports. Everything sped away as the stasis field started to power down. A few minutes passed. "That's it. We're defeated." "What?" Tobias looked at him. "What do you mean?" "They're taking them to the prison camp at Red 2 - Xeon. Escape is near impossible." There was silence. "Tobias," Swift said. "What should we do?" He took a deep breath. "There's six of us. We can do it. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, Oasis was one sector past Red 2, and we crossed a sector to get to it..." **************************************************************************** The heavy steel door slammed shut, locking the rebels inside of their huge holding facility. They all seperated into their small clicks and started to comfort each other. D chose to walk around and keep everyone's spirits up. But it was the sad fact that he, too, feared this is where he would have to make his peace. "Can't let them know," he muttered on his break. "Can't let them know what?" Xuon asked as he approached. "Hmm? Oh, nothing." He sat down next to him. "D, you know you can tell me. I'm good at keeping secrets." He sighed. "I don't think we're going to make it out." "I know. I've got that feeling too." He looked at the harsh, stone gray ceiling. "But I have hope." "Hope?" "Hope that Mink and Myst are planning our escape. Hope that Terry and Mallory are out there, working to set us free. And hope that the Chosen one and Swift are coming to our aid." He chuckled. "You're right. With those six, we've got a 35% chance of getting out of here. Thanks Xuon." He smirked. "My pleasure." **************************************************************************** Isthus was in his chambers, reading over the latest recon reports, when a messanger walked in. "Sir," he said. "I bring you good news." Isthus shut his eyes for a second. He put the digipad down and looked at the messanger. "You bring good news." "Yes sir." "The only good news that I can think of would be that we caught Lone Wolf." "I'm sorry sir. I said I brought good news, not great news." He sighed. "Well, whatever it is, can it wait?" "Not nescessarily. We know how much of the Viper Sting is a pain to you..." He held his hand out. "What about the Vipers in Diapers?" "We've found their mesa and captured all of the rebels. They're in holding." He chuckled evily. "Really? Is Dane Ulrich amongst his men?" "Aye sir." "Good. Have him taken to an interrogation room. Strap him to the chair and have his shoes removed." "Sir?" "I know Ulrich. I know his physical weakness. We're going to exploit it. He knows where Lone Wolf is. He'll share that secret by any means possible." He looked at the messanger. "Do it." The messanger bowed and left, shutting the door behind him. He chuckled. "So we meet again, old friend. You'll be more helpful than you were last time we met." He ran his fingers over the chrome plate that was most of his face. A fist was made and slammed through the wooden table he had been sitting at. "Ulrich, I'm making your life a living hell." **************************************************************************** "There it is," Myst pointed out from their vantage point. "Fortress Xeon. One of the most impenetrable installation on planet. We've lost many great rebel teams in that place." "Yeah," Mink added. "I don't want Viper Sting to be added to that list. We need to find some way into there without alerting the guards." "Doubtful," Mallory said. "We know the sensor net around the complex is a problem. That's why we lost the other rebels." "But remember when the Hellbenders went in there? They got to the wall undetected. If they hadn't blown the wall to bits, they could have gotten their guys out of there." Terry chuckled. "I could always give the ground a quick shock and overload their systems." "Yeah," Tobias said, who was busy looking at the complex through the scanners. "And you'll alert every Raider in there, they'll find and capture us, and Samantha will kill me for coming home late." "What do you mean by that? Nobody has gotten out of there alive!" "Nobody? I'm not that. Don't forget, they're missing an underground transport. Too bad you guys had to blow it up." "We had to. The Raiders would love to get their grubby paws on our stuff." "Did you at least remember to get some more weapons and the metal synthesizer out?" "Of course," Myst said, pointing at the crate. "I got a few extra rifles. Mink has the cubes with the synthesizer." "Okay. Good." He turned the scanner off. "Well, they've got a pretty sensitive net. I'm surprised they haven't spotted us." He stretched. "I say we camp out here for a bit, get our reserves back in line, and plan how we're going to do this." Mink growled. "How can you say that?! D and the others are in there suffering! And you just want to sit here and plan our attack?!" "Or would you rather just go charging in there, get caught, and join them?" They met gazes. Mink backed down a bit. "You're right. We'll wait and plan." "Good." He stood up. "I don't suppose any of you have a communications device on hand." Myst fumbled through his coat. "Right here." He handed it to him. "Great. What's the range on this thing?" "It'll reach up to 9 miles over the border." "Excellent. I need to go make a call." **************************************************************************** "Samantha," Kaitlyn said. They had debriefed and were in their rooms. Samantha and Kaitlyn opted to share a room. "Samantha." "What is it?" She came out of the bathroom, wrapped up in a towel. "You've got a call." "Oh? From who?" Kaitlyn grinned. "You know who." She was knocked out of the way as soon as she said it. "Damn it!" "Tobias?!" Samantha said. "Yeah hun," he responded, his face lighting up the screen. "Where are you?" "Still in Raider territory. Something happened." "What? What are you talking about? Are you okay?" "I'm fine. So are Myst, Mink, Terry, Mallory, and Swift." "What about everyone else?" "We're going to make them better. They're being held in a fortress. We're going in to save them." He shut his eyes. "I'm sorry about this. I know you want me home." "Damn straight." She sighed. "But getting the others out of the fort is more important." She smiled. "Do your best, lover." He smiled back. "When I get home, I will show you how much I love you. See you in a day or so. And don't worry yourself. We'll be okay." "Okay. I love you." "I love you too." The communication terminated. Kaitlyn stepped up behind her. "A day. That isn't very long, now is it?" Samantha didn't answer. "Sammy? You okay?" "No," she whispered. "What's wrong?" She spun around and hugged her. "I'm worried about him," she cried. "I don't want him hurt." Kaitlyn hugged her back. "He'll be okay. I know he will. He's stronger than we know." She looked at the blank monitor. 'Don't fuck this up Tobias.' **************************************************************************** Night fell. The six decided now was the time to begin their assault. And, more importantly, they had a plan. Well, sort of. "Okay," Tobias said. "Here's what's going to happen. I'm not even going to bother with going in there in this form. Myst, you're the weapons expert. Think you can learn how to use the railgun in thirty seconds?" "I'm sure I can." "Good. It's yours for this little adventure." Swift put a hand on his shoulder. "Tobias, are you sure about this?" "About what?" "You going straight in as Lone Wolf?" He nodded. She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Well, I'm ready when you are." He nodded. "Terry, I need you to work with Swift. Create an energy field that will disrupt the energy I'm gonna give off. Otherwise, it'll be a long fight in." "Aye," Terry said. He took Swift's hand. "Ready?" "As ever." "Then concentrate." She shut her eyes and did so. He held his hand up. There was a slight glimmer in the sky. "Okay Tobias, you're set. Make the change." Tobias nodded and pulled the little golden chip from his belt. He fit it into his headset and threw his arms out. There was a flash - no collumn of light because of the field. A few seconds passed and he had made the change. "Okay," he said, brushing himself off. "You can bring the field down." Swift broke her concentration, thus destabilizing the field. She looked at him and smiled. "Why Lone Wolf," she said. "You're looking handsome this evening." Mink shook his head. "And I thought our boys were high on hormones." Lone Wolf chuckled. "Mink, is there anything else we need to know before we go storming in there?" "Yes, there may be one thing." "And that is?" "Knowing the Raiders, they have brought D into the interrogation room to torture some information out of him. If they find out about his feet, he's gonna squeal like a stuck pig." "What's wrong with his feet?" "There's something wrong with them. I'm not sure. But he cannot walk on them without his shoes." **************************************************************************** Xuon began to pace around the cell. "I don't like this D," he said. "I've got a bad feeling." "Stop it Xuon," D told him. "You're panicing everyone. Come, sit down." He shifted to one side so Xuon could sit against the wall. "I really shouldn't." "Don't make me have to give you an order, Xuon. I rarely give those." "All right..." He sat down. "Now, what's wrong?" He sighed. "I dunno. I get this feeling all hell is going to break loose soon and we're going to lose you." He looked at him. "It's a strong feeling." "Ah don't worry yourself. Even if I get taken, I'll be fine." He chuckled. "I guess you're right." He leaned back a bit. "I should really relax." He took a deep breath and stretched out. "That's the spirit." D shut his eyes and began to hum a tune to himself. A few minutes passed. Suddenly, the door burst open. A trio of guards stormed in and grabbed D from his spot at the wall. "The hell are you doing?!" Xuon said, getting up. One of the guards leveled his gun on Xuon's head. "Don't move. Lord Isthus wishes to have a word with your commander here." D tensed up. "Isthus? What does he want?" The guard frowned. "Dunno. But he wants you." "No!" Xuon said, lunging at the gun. He caught the guard in a slight moment of weakness and started to wrestle with him for the gun. They spat out insults, foul words, and the occasional shoulder shove before the guard managed to pull the gun away and bash Xuon across the face. The lizard stumbled around a bit before falling. The guard chuckled. "Fool. You're only a techie. You can't fight off a guard." He turned to the others who held D by the arms and nodded. "Let's go." They strapped D into a chair. "You're going to squeal," one of the guards said as he took off his shoes. "We're gonna make you cry." D said nothing, keeping his eyes shut. "What's wrong? Can't speak all of a sudden?" "I will not acknowledge your questions with an answer." The guard growled and punched the helpless panther. "Don't talk back to me, boy." D smirked. "Why hit him?" Isthus' foul voice said. Instantly, D turned white. "That isn't going to get any information out of him." "Isthus," D said. "What do you want?" "Now now Dane," Isthus said, entering through the single door. "That's no way to treat your host." "Don't bullshit with me. I know you're up to something." He struggled with his bindings. "What do you want?" Isthus heaved a sigh. "Still spunky, I see. You really haven't changed in all these years, have you?" He pulled a long tube from his coat. "But, since you seem to want to get right to the point, I'll make it brief. You know where Lone Wolf is. We want you to share that information." He chuckled. "You've only got it half right. I know who Lone Wolf is. But where he is I don't." "Don't lie." He twirled the tube in his fingers. "Now, c'mon. You can tell me." "I'm telling you, Isthus. I don't know where he is. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you." He spit at Isthus' feet. "Now let me back to my men. That is all I know." "I'm afriad you're wrong. You just don't want to tell me." He gripped the tube with both hands. "Tell me or we'll start your tortue." "Do what you want. I've told you everything." "Then we do this the hard way." He pulled the tube in two. D's eyes widened. "What are you going to do with that?" "What? This?" He held the fountain pen up. "I said I was going to torture you. And since you're feet are the most sensitive parts of your body, I think I'm going to draw little smiley faces on the bottom of your feet until you squeal." "You...you wouldn't..."