Military Decay

[Nv. 2993]

Well, I've decided to start a fanfic of my own. Maybe it'll make the site a bit more active, I hope. Well, let's get started.

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" I'm glad you came early, Klure. I wanted to discuss your new mission." the voice came out deep and metallic. Everybody seemed to know that it was the voice of the cybernetic being who was dubbed Jimmy Keyes V3.19. But the only people in the briefing room of the flagship Avenger were Jimmy Keyes, nine high commanders, and Klure himself. One thing they had in common was that they were all once yoshies, who had lived normal lives until the war with the Strajj started. The Strajj were all once normal people, who were captured and had cybernetic parts grafted and riveted to their bodies, enhancing everything about them.

Klure was the only one in that room who still had signifigant resemblance to his former self. His skin lost its color and turned gray, although you probably wouldn't notice because of all the cybernetic parts covering up his body. His hair, which was an uncommon thing among yoshies, but still a familiar sight, had turned a grayish-white, and as a side effect from the enhancements, it grew really messy, but it covered up most of what the changes on his head were. His eyes were still dark brown, cold, and unforgiving.
Seeing that he wasn't going to answer, Jimmy started up again.

" You are to be sent to the yoshis' homeworld, Kharus. There, you will search for two people, and assassinate them. Our spies have shown us pictures of their appearance." As if on queue, an image appeared on a large data screen. It showed a blue-gray yoshi. Notable things about his appearance were the sort-of-thick-looking but well groomed brown hair that kind of spiked up in the front, probably to keep the hair from obstructing his view, the shades-of-green long sleeved camoflage shirt, and the the sly look on his face that suggested he could get away with anything. The shadows under his eyes said that he was late to bed, early to rise.

" This is Jordan Bitterman. Don't let him catch you off guard. He is smart, sneaky, fast, and surprisingly strong. He's spent the last few years learning a deadly fighting style. One more thing, he was given the rank of Major after introducing the 'lightning-war' tactics that enemy fleets and armies have been using to tip the scales in their favor. He is also good with long range weapons."

The image flashed off, and was replaced by another. This time, a brownish-olive yoshi was shown. His spines were more like razor-sharp fourteen-inch knives, and his hands were large claws. His arms were buff, and so were his legs. Where Jordan seemed to be six inches above the average height, this one was probably at least two feet above that. He looked like he could take on an entire army by himself.

" And this is Lord Eisenkrallen. He is the leader of the military, fleets, anything to do with warfare. All of his special warrior traits are natural, he is just one of the few who has them all. Any requests?"

" Yes. I want a full army with me. We can take over the whole planet by launching drop pods into one of their cities, and turning it into a base of operations. You can have everything else, Keyes. You can have whatever the yoshies have now..." Klure started, in a dark voice.

" But Kharus, is mine."

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Now you've met the main antagonists of the story, and they are planning a mass assault on Kharus, the yoshi homeworld. If anybody wants their characters to be in this fanfic, just let me know. I'd be glad for it. * A private message with your character's appearance, abilities, personality,etc. would be nice. It would make things easier for me.*

[Nv. 2993]

Writer's Block, family issues, you name it. I have those problems right now.
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As perfect as the Strajj tried to make themselves, even they were bound to make mistakes. For instance, they mixed up the info on Jordan Bitterman and got it almost completely wrong. Jordan was in his early forties, and he had blue-black skin. The Strajj mixed it all up and got some of the intel on his son instead.

The Kharan Defense Fleet wasn't particularly quiet. Mining operations on the many stray asteroids, building newer ships, communications moving back and forth through the ships and orbital stations, the constant movement of thousands of ships, it was all a pale reflection of the hustle and bustle of the world the yoshies believed to be their homeworld. A large Strajj fleet made an attempt before to invade and destroy Kharus, it was said to be the most crippling blow to the Strajj in the whole history of the war. It was twelve years ago, when Jordan Bitterman managed to illegally take control of the Kharan Defense Fleet mere minutes before the Strajj invasion. With the fate of the entire world resting in his hands and no knowledge of how to control the massive fleet, he ordered all ships to 'hit really hard and run really fast'. With all the ships on the offensive and none of the defensive, devastating firepower literally tore apart a quarter of the Strajj fleet, and suddenly moved back to the defensive, while the Strajj were forced to change their tactics. Pretty soon their fleet was nothing but debris floating in orbit.

" Sir, there's something strange showing up on the sensors. Multiple Hyperspace routes are being established from all over the galaxy to somewhere between Jader Moon and Kharus. All of them are set to activate within a time period of three weeks to a year." One of the crewmen said, breaking through Jordan's thoughts.
" Who are these Hyperspace routes being set up by?"
" We're still looking into that, but there seems to be a transmission sent with one of them. I'll play it now." One of the viewscreens went blank, and then showed a video of a very familiar figure. Klure. The name seemed to echo silently through the entire fleet, apparently, the transmission was being played to them as well. All he said was one sentence, and it remained burned into the memories of all who heard it.
" I'm coming for all of you, and when I'm done, you are all dead." The video suddenly ended, and all realized that they might be on the verge of fighting a last stand.

" This is Lord Eisenkrallen speaking, I want the planetary defenses up at full capacity, and all serviceable ships up in the atmosphere now. I want everything to be in condition to withstand a massive invasion by two weeks. No civilian ships are allowed to enter or exit the system without an escort. This is it, people. No more hiding in the bushes now. When they come, show them Dante's Furnace."

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It looks like total war is knocking on the front doors. Yet when will the invasion actually come?

[red.yoshi]

Pretty cool story there! Great work on this!

[Nv. 2993]

Well, I'm glad to know that people are actually reading something I made. Now how about a little flashback chapter?

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Eight Months Earlier


Dust, smoke, and blood. Dust in the desert gets kicked up and ends up stinging the eyes. Smoke from the burning of vehicles and the firing of artillery ended up in the lungs, slowly destroying them. Blood ends up being sprayed all over you when that unfortunate soldier next to you is killed by the enemy.

Corporal Zero had only been three years out of High School when he joined the army to fight in the war against the Strajj. Now he was taking part in Operation Sandtrap an invasion on one of the Strajj's key worlds. Jimmy Keyes 3.18<*> himself was here, on this barren planet. This was probably the only chance to end the war.
" We're almost to the Command Center! Move it up!" Zero could barely hear his Commanding Officer shouting among all the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and other shouting. He reloaded his sniper rifle, and moved out from behind the wreckage of a tank. Even with all the dust kicked up in the air, it was hard to not see the ominous large silhouette of a building in the distance, or to mistake one of his own men for an enemy. He gently squeezed the trigger, and watched one of them fall. He heard the sound of a jeep, and when he looked to his left, there was the driver, motioning to him.
" I could use you on the gun, Corporal!" He didn't need be told anything else. In seconds, he was in the back, dropping enemies by the dozens. Soon enough, he cleared a path right to the front doors, but they were closing, slowly. Just a bit closer...
An earsplitting noise, and everything became a blur as an explosion erutpted behind the jeep and tossed it into the air, and it somehow made it inside the Complex just as the doors closed...

The sounds of war were muffled on the inside. The only way Zero knew that he had gone through the front doors and had not just dropped in out of nowhere was the overturned, beat up jeep, the spasms of pain throughout his body, and the dead driver, his lower body crushed under the three-ton weight. He began taking in the appearance of the interior as he unholstered his sidearm. Empty of enemies because of the war, but there were all kinds of futuristic technology scattered about. There was only one other door, and it was pretty large. Step by step, Zero brought himself even closer to almost certain death.

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Only part 1 of the flashback. And Zero isn't my character. You'll find out who it is sooner or later though.
-To the creator: I hope you don't mind me using your character, but he fits well into the storyline.-

<*> Jimmy Keyes 3.18 is the same person as J.K. 3.19. You will find out next chapter.

[mecharedyoshi]

I love this one! I can't wait until my character is introduced. You know, when you mention Zero, I can't help but think of me. Is Zero my character, but before I became mechanized? Anyway, I know I stated it as a reply to your PM, but I'll say it here in case you come here first. I'd be honored for you to use my character. In other words, you have my permission to use my character.

[Nv. 2993]

Well, Zero is your character. And though it took so long, here is the next chapter.

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[glow=orange,2,300]Interval One: Burning Metal.[/glow]

[glow=red,2,300]" Warning. An intruder has breached the lower level. He is heading towards Prison Block A." [/glow]
" Yep. Just digging myself even deeper into this nightmare." mumbled Zero, putting a bullet into the circuitry-filled head of another Strajj guard. He picked up the guard's weapon, examining it. It was a Standard Issue Laser Pistol, and its reputation matched its formidable value, despite the 'Standard Issue'. It could be customized to work like a normal pistol or a sub-machine gun, and in some cases, a sniper rifle. In the right -or wrong- hands, it could literally give you a whole barricade wall of bodies to hide behind. That was the very reason it became illegal for a civilian to carry one without a very-hard-to-earn ID card that told them they were allowed to possess it. Only soldiers could easily earn the ID and the gun.
" Hey! Over here!" a voice came calling from behind him. Turning around, he saw a whole squad of friendlies coming out of a doorway. Their leader gestured to Zero to come to him, and he obeyed. The Sergeant studied him slowly, looking first at the sand-worn boots, moving up to the oil,blood, and mud-stained uniform, and his own eyes widened a little in surprise as he stared into Zero's.
" Well, if it isn't the infamous living legend Corporal Zero himself. Make sure to save some of the fighting for us." he remarked.
" I thought he was just a story made up to scam recruits." one soldier interrupted. Ignoring him, the Sergeant went on.
" There is an exit to this part of the base up north that leads to the entrance of a canyon, and that's where the road to Monte Crater is. Our orders are to clear a landing zone for a mobile command center. Once we get that done, we will move through the canyon road by convoy to the Crater-"
" Sir, the crater is more like a giant, flat hole in the ground with high, impossible-to-climb walls, and with the Anti-Aircraft Guns placed at the rim, it is impossible to get there that way. The only way in is through the canyon."
" Thanks for giving him the reasons, Private. Getting back to mission objectives, there is another building that we plan to use as a permanent stationary headquarters, which is at the end of the canyon. If the Chopper delivery goes fine, its a straight flight right to the main base. But first, let's go and rescue some more prisoners. At least those that weren't turned into brainwashed Metalheads.

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" Landing sequence starting. We are beginning our descent." Two hours of rescuing prisoners and killing cyborgs, and now Zero stood at the gaping mouth of the ominous canyon. But then a huge box-shaped thing was slowly descending, obstructing some of it from view. Smart move, putting the MCC right next to the road. Everything seemed to pass by in a blur up until the point the large convoy was ready.
" Alright men, pick a truck." as soon as the order was issued, the hundreds of soldiers were racing to get a good spot like the driver's seat, or the front passenger's seat, or one of the machine gun turrets set up by the windows. Zero, being faster than nearly everybody else, made it to the only laser turret set up on top of the leading truck. Half a second later, twenty people were all over the truck, reaching for the steering wheel or a side turret. It was obvious that this had been done many times before, because as soon as the mess started, it ended, and without a hassle.
" All drivers, gun it to 90 miles an hour. We'll pick up speed if we run into enemies." The MCC disappeared from Zero's view, and the canyon was steadily getting closer as the truck and all the others behind it picked up speed. And then two high walls of red-brown rock rose on each side of them.
[glow=red,2,300]" Fire at will!"[/glow] They were all suddenly surrounded by Strajj soldiers, passing them by quickly, before anybody could even get a shot in.
" Don't rest just yet! They'll send a message to the others!" Another few minutes, and nothing happened but the driving. Suddenly, a bright streak came from the side of the road, and blew up right next to the truck.
" Keep an eye out for more rockets!" As if that was a signal, the truck was being pelted by bullets, with other streaks exploding a bit too close for comfort. The soldiers retaliated by firing back at the Strajj firing from the roadside. Zero winced as a bullet hammered into his chestplate armor, and as another pinged off his helmet. He did what he could, attempting to get a shot in while the truck was zooming past the enemy at high speed. He heard a few yells as others were getting hit with bullets. Again the commanding officer spoke through the radio, blaring above the sounds of gunfire and truck engines.
" Only a half hour of this, soldiers! Get ready for the real fight at the end of this canyon!"

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The message has been sent. The large building at the end of the canyon was fortifying its defenses. In charge of it all was Klure, and he was ready as always. Others fearfully backed away from him as he walked past, and he felt nothing but satisfaction from their fear. He put it all in the back of his mind as he reached the main computer terminal, and contacted his leader.
" The Kharans and their human allies have breached the first line. Wait 'till they discover what we threw in their way over here." he said. Jimmy Keyes' face was expressionless, as always. There were rumors that he didn't have any emotions. Klure knew better than to believe that, because he knew what Keyes had done to the previous Second-In-Command when he didn't follow a simple order. Klure never thought he would ever see the bits and pieces all over the floor, walls, and even the high-up ceiling in Keyes' private chamber. The former commander put up a really good fight, but he was just no match for Jimmy Keyes 3.18.
His deep, metallic voice rumbled from the speakers and brought Klure out of his thoughts again.
[shadow=gray,left,300]" Be warned, Klure. They have the red yoshi that they call a living legend with them. The one who has somehow brought victory with him wherever he has fought. The one they call Corporal Zero is not to be underestimated."[/shadow]
" Don't worry about him. I will meet him in person, and I will crush his heart with my bare hands."


With the first convoy moving in through the canyon towards the base while another is being prepared for tacking the AA Guns, what is Klure planning? Nothing that would do them good, in any case.

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As to why I jumped back eight months in the storyline, I think it'll shed a little light on some important details.

Text surrounded by [glow=red,2,300]red glow[/glow] is a Strajj speaking when not from their point of view.

[red.yoshi]

Wow! Can't wait for the next chapter! The moving command center sort of reminds me of a game I used to play called StarCraft =D.

[mecharedyoshi]

I agree! This fic is fantastic! I love it! ^_^