The Business of War
Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)
The Clash for Osaka
By Neolan, Draconis, Dash.exe, Hunter Chameleon, Blazeman, Mahajarah, Super Koala, Raijin
Scenario G:
Participants:
Deep Impact (C)
Tenguman & Clownman
(RPD)
Marsupial Bros (C)
Location: Osaka, Japan
Max. Cossack Scrap Value: 3,986
SA Infantry: 1,008
RPD Units: 1,437
Wily Bots: 394
Location: Osaka
Time: 10:34 AM
RPD: Clownman, Tenguman
Cossack: Marsupial brothers. Deep Impact
SA Commander: None
RPD Commander: Alex
Wily Commander: None
Cossack Commander: Neolan
Rain slowly trickled down, splattering the empty streets of Osaka.
This beautiful city had become a warzone. SA, Wily, and RPD forces
clashed in the city, tearing each other to pieces slowly.
It's like Edmonton all over again...
On the rooftops, unseen by the warbots, a figure was dashing from
roof to roof, stealthily making his way across town to the supply
depots of the SA. He stopped for a moment and, hiding behind a
ledge, observed the battle. They were all hammering each other
fairly hard, but the RPD were slowly pushing the other two back...their
tactics seemed to change depending on the situation as well.
Which means the SA and Wily forces have no commander, but the
RPD troops have...
Turning about, he signaled Searchman and Grenademan to follow him.
They had been making their way through the south end. Frostman
and Pharon were moving through an unoccupied area of town, and
Blazeman and Koala were salvaging. The goal was to hit the SA supply
depot and get away with as many resources as possible.
Neolan began moving again. This could end up being tricky...
--------------------
Frostman silently walks alongside a being he knows nothing about as raindrops pelt his body.Why did I get stuck with someone I know nothing about? Am I supposed to learn something from this? I guess I can't complain. I sure as hell won't be the one to strike up a conversation destined to make at least one of us feel akward.
Frostman continues walking in silence, freezing a few raindrops out of boredom. He eventually gets tired of this, and breaks the silence.
"So...I hear you used to be Airman of Wily's Warriors?"
Dammit, fate just loves to pove me wrong! *sigh* It can't be helped, I'm one of destiny's favorite toys!
--------------------
Landing on another roof, the clank of his robotic boots going unnoticed due to the battle and the rain, Neolan brushed wet hair out of his face and signaled the robots behind him to halt. Taking cover behind a ledge, he consulted his map. The depot was 17 minutes away...Closing the display, he signaled Grenade and Search to continue and went back to hopping across rooftops. His face was emotionless, stern...The war had changed him in a short time. While he had once been carefree, the chaos and hardships so far had toughened his outlook. In all, it made him a more capable leader.
--------------------
War. One of the most cruel things in this world. The rain was steadily falling, as the Clown-themed robot sat on a rooftop, staring up."I see why Astro-chan sits out here...it's...soothing.."
He thought, then came to reality, looking around at the damage that the war had caused. The house Clownman was ontop of was on its last legs itself, as it seemed it could collapse at any moment.
"How are we gonna keep this up?"
The clown robot said out loud, staring up slightly at the sky, talking to the figure behind him. The bird-themed robot stepped up, sitting down next to Clownman.
"You didn't have to join, you know."
Tenguman sighed, looking over to Clownman.
"I wanted to do this on my own." he continued.
"Pshh...and let you have all the fun?" Clownman said, looking over, the rain dotted on his face like tear drops.
"Fun? What fun? You mean the fun of knowing that you can be shut down at any moment for doing the slightest thing wrong?" Tenguman asked, a serious tone to his voice now.
"Relax, I was just kidding." Clownman said, looking out into the distance, the rain obscuring his vision, preventing him from seeing very far.
"Where are they?" Clownman asked, reffering to some unknown object.
"..In the house we're standing on." Tenguman replied. He knew the RPD watchers were there, the two watchers consulting with one another inside the beat up building.
"Those last two watchers were seriously strict.." Clownman muttered, looking at Tenguman, who stood up, staring into the distance.
"...Alex?" Clownman said, standing up.
"...Thought I saw something. Must just be my imagination." The bird-robot muttered.
"..."Clownman stayed silent, then rubbed his shoulders."Stop trying to freak me out." Clownman said finally. Tenguman stayed staring into the rain."...I wasn't."
--------------------
His display showed two unmistakable figures through the rain. Tenguman and Clownman. Alex and Dash...His teammates, until this mess began. Though they had been a new team, they were the ones who had welcomed him, a lost boy in a different dimension, and treated him like a comrade...if he could he'd avoid them..
He knew his friends behind him would feel the same seeing their comrades, but his signaled them to keep moving. Their objective was the supply depot, and nothing else..
--------------------
Hunter continued to the supply depot, stealthily as always, when he spotted two familiar shapes."What ?!"
Though a similar robot was in their ranks, the short silhouette near the tall one made the duo too familiar : Clownman and Tenguman. His "walking-target-n°1" and his leader.
Somehow, he knew it had to happen at some time. But he hopped it would be later, much later...
"Maha, Neolan, if it comes for the worse, I'll take care of Dash with Pharon. You all should focus on Alex.
Suggestion : Pray the fight does not occur."
With this, he carried on, hoping he wouldn't be seen by his former comrades, now fighting the SA from the official side.
--------------------
"Yeah, now was a good time to go on salvage duty..." Swordman said, "I wouldn't be nearly as effective in combat in this weather." Swordman was busy salvaging materials. He had only one hand to work with, as he currently had no place to put his sword where he could easily get to with without leaving it on the ground where someone else could pick it up.Near him, Kalinka and AstroChan were salvaging together, the Impacter destroying the biggest debris with her hard light ray, and Cossack's daughter picking the remaining parts after.
I hope they all make it to the supply depot. We really need those for the War.
--------------------
"...."All was quiet between the two robots for a short amount of time, the only audible sound being the rain falling.
"...Everyone's here." Tenguman said, still staring out into the seemingly empty area infront of them.
"Everyone?" Dash asked, looking over.
"Our teammates." Tenguman said simply, Clownman now looking out at the empty void of what used to be a city infront of them.
"...We can't fight them." Clownman muttered. "Or rather..." he continued. "We can't let the watchers find out they're here."
Tenguman unintentionally looked down, expecting to see the watchers below him, but instead his vision was greeted by the rust-colored roof they were standing on. Tenguman looked back up.
"We have to be as quick and as quiet as possible." Tenguman stated, crouching down, then jumping off the building, beginning to soar in the air in the direction of his fellow teammates. Clownman wasn't too far behind, dashing quickly, then using his arms as a sort of slingshot to give him distance upward, propelling him right behind Tenguman. Alex stopped a little ways away, hiding behind a building, followed by Dash.
"I don't know if they're going to attack or not." The bird-robot said quietly, Clownman stayed silent, listening for even the smallest sound, but the rain gave him trouble trying to hear things, as it produced its own sound.
--------------------
The two signals were drawing closer...They must've noticed. Goddamn it."Hunter's right. Let's just get to that supply depot. Alright, let's increase our speed."
He radioed Frost and Pharon to speed it up, and then started moving faster. At this speed...it would take twelve minutes to reach the supply depot.
--------------------
Frostman picked up his pace, refraining from launching himself forward with his massive hands.Well, this is nice. Two of my comrades joined up with the authorities, I get to participate in what just may become the biggest war of this era, and I'll probably go insane and rampage through some random city before it's over. I am so blessed to live in a universe that seems to hate me.
Frostman ducked behind a warped, rusted building, signaling for Pharon to do the same. He sighed heavily, cursing the universe for letting him live.
"Spledid, simply splendid. I can't think of a better way to spend my time than taking part in a war. I get to kill things, and listen to my mind shatter all over again! That is awesome! I can't wait until I lose it, and do something that will just further my desire to die! So, is this my purpose? Well Duo, I know you can hear me! You thrust me into this! You're the one who inadvertently brought 'Evil Energy' to this planet, and cursed me with it! Is this how you get your kicks?! The only way this could enrage me further, is if you're the one who flung me back in time to teach me some convoluted lesson!"
--------------------
Grenade responded to Search."Oh, please. I seriously doubt we'd have to fight our own comrades."
Since the last fight, Grenademan had gotten a little more...edgy.
He re-adjusted his bandana.
"Why are you wearing that thing again?" Neolan inquired.
"I dunno... It just feels.... right. Like it was my destiny."
"... Okayyy..."
"YOU should put one on, then you'll know what I mean."
"Man, I don't wanna know what you mean!"
"...Suit yourself." Commented the walking bomb.
--------------------
Searchman stopped when he read familiar echoes on his radar.Them, already ?
He would need Pharon's help now. All he could do was waiting ... and stalking his opponent a bit.
"I know you're here, Dash. Come out and no one will get harmed."
With a loud gasp, the clown RM walked out of his hiding spot, standing at a respectable distance from his former teammate.
"No matter how good you're at detecting me, Cossacker, you'll be arrested by the RPD !"
"Feeling : confusion. Did they do brain surgery to you ?"
"Not at all, but my loyalty goes to the RPD first !" Meanwhile, Dash was making the gesture of goggles with his hands. Searchman got it : his Watcher was nearby.
He nodded slowly. He knew what to do.
"I'm afraid this arrestation won't go as smoothly as planned..." On these words, he fired a volley of Homing Snipers on Dash and rushed to the building behind him.
"Hunter to Pharon. Hunter to Pharon : HURRY UP !"
Only a few minutes playing hide-and-seek with a clown ... The kind of hobby I like, he thought.
--------------------
"Good. I think he got my message." Clownman thought, now focused on the task of the homing snipers.He ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction of the missiles, getting a good distance away, before finally stopping.
"Now I just gotta make sure this looks real.." he thought again, picking up a small hunk of concrete from one of the beat up buildings, holding it firmly in his hand. He brought his arm back, extending it out far behind him. He counted. "One. Two. Three. Four... Five. Five missiles." he thought, watching as they all came towards him at a fairly fast rate.
He then tossed the piece of concrete at one of the missiles, hitting it dead-center, and it blew up, blowing up one behind it.
"Three left." He thought again. He tried the same trick as before for the concrete. He tossed the first one, but it moved off course slightly, missing its target.
"..." He tossed another, this time hitting one, blowing it up.
"Two left. I really need to work on my aim." He thought, then picked up another slightly bigger piece of concrete, using two hands. The missiles were getting very close. He had to act fast. The clown robot threw the large piece of building, and luckily, he managed to hit one before it was too late, the last missile got caught in the explosion of the other.
"Good..now.." he thought, dashing back, but standing a good distance away from Hunter. By now the watchers had noticed, and were watching at a fairly long ways away, noting everything that went on in the battle.
"Hah, did you think that could stop me?"he said in a loud, almost obnoxious voice to Searchman. "The RPD cannot be defeated so easily!" Dash yelled in the obnoxious voice again. He brought his hands down into the ground, pushing them into the earth. There was no movement from him for a moment, until two hands came up underneath Searchman, attempting to send him to his electrical death.
"That's right...water conductes electricity..I'd better be careful with this rain." Clownman thought, then resumed to focusing on the battle.
--------------------
"Oh, this is fun, hiding behind a building, waiting for death. Screw this, I'm itching to kill something!"Frostman digs his massive hands into the ground beneath the bulding, and heaves it loose.
"Time to squish some traitors!"
Grunting, he flips his hands upward, launching the building towards his former comrades, startling Pharon in the process.
"I hope you two like pancakes, cause in about ffteen seconds, you'll have a lot in common with one!"
"Holy-"
"Yeah, being a bulking behemoth does have advantages, but I prefer speed, especially when I go on killing sprees."
What the hell? I didn't say that! Great, the cycle begins anew! Soon I'll be a sadistic murder again.
"...Ignore that, I'm slowly going insane, and I can't control what comes out of mouth as well as I used to. You may want to step back, too. I slip into fits of rage ocassionally, and try to kill anything in my sights when that happens."
--------------------
Pharon didn't have much time to wonder more about Frost's sanity, as Searchman called him immediately after."Come closer and prepare yourself. Once Clownman walks out, I want you to shoot a tornado at him. Searchman, ov-*KZZZZAT !*"
The transmission was cut short by Clownman's attack on Searchman's unprotected legs. After the initial shock, he had enough presence of mind to move on the side, only to get a nasty surprise...
-Legs diagnostic : stability system compromised. Revision needed.-
"Interjection : Damn."
--------------------
Meanwhile... Koala was gathering the parts needed for a machine he trying to make. He found a rusty half of a car front, and a motor in ok condition an half hour ago. The Marsupial Bro heard the sounds of the battle."Pharon? What the hell are you doing out there?" Koala asked himself.
"Hey Blazeman, you think Pharon's going to be ok out there?"
"He's there because he's probably the only one left on our side that can pick on the weak point of one of the RPD officers in the area." Swordman said, "Otherwise, we would have relied on drawing one of his partner's attacks his way, and that probably won't happen."
--------------------
I hope I didn't mess him that much... Clown was getting worried about the effects of his latest attacks. He had aimed for Searchman's lightly-protected leg parts, but intentionally lowered the electric charge of his Thunder Carnival.After the initial shock, he felt Searchman moving away. He shouldn't be too far away by now.
And maybe I'll get to talk to him away from the Watchers... He stealthily headed out of his hiding spot, only to meet a new robot, of an unknown design.
"Another one wishing to feel the wrath of the RPD ?"
Though surprised, the newcomer didn't waste much time in answering. He formed a tornado in his hands, and threw it at Clownman. From ball-sized, it rapidly grew larger than Clownman, engulfing him in the process, throwing him a few metres away.
"Not again !"
--------------------
Taking help from his gun, Searchman was slowly walking to Clownman's landing spot.There...
The brightly-colored Robot Master was tangled in his arms, forming a ball. Pharon quickly arrived, but stepped back as the Impacters were speaking together...
"We can have a chat now that we're away from your Watcher. How are things doing at the RPD ?
-Well, we kinda screwed up at Pyongyang. The Comrades are strong ones.
-I heard of it." Hunter wasn't willing to tell back the whole story Zymeth had given the Cossackers, and the fate of the Watchers...
"And you ?
-Got my arm severed in Edmonton. A SA Officer named Wraithman.
-Ouch. Still, Cossack made a nice work with it.
-A good man." Searchman started to polish his minigun with his left hand when he felt strange orders...
He's weak. Defenseless. He's your enemy.
Kill him.
Surprised, he turned his heads around, trying to see wo gave him such an order. No one apart from Pharon, Clownman and him were present. He turned back to his comrade when he realized his right head had taken an active role in the control of his body.
He was aiming at Clown's head.
He felt himself pressing on the trigger, but deflected the gun before the headshot, only resulting in the clown robot's right shoulder blasted.
As the weapon stopped, Clownman was staring at Searchman, too shocked to yell of pain.
And, as Pharon got back to his senses and rushed to the supply depots, grabbing Searchman in the process, all of the two-headed Robot Master could say was :
"I ... I didn't want to do this..."
--------------------
He sat there in a daze for a moment, then proceeded to look at the robotic should that was spilling out its contents."..."
Then it hit him. He let out a loud yell, pulling his other hand up to cover his wound, but it did no good. It was still leaking through. That was at practically point-blank range for him.
"Why..?" He thought, still wincing from the intense pain, as he let out another grunt of agony. There he was. Sitting in a puddle of mud and oils from his wound, in a foreign, run-down place, and was just shot by his supposedly 'friend'.
He attempted to stand up, outstretching his good arm to a roof higher up, and grabbed on like a grappling hook, bringing himself up to his feet. He looked around. Where was Alex? He shook the thought from his head, and then tried to focus on ignoring the pain. He looked up to the sky.
"The rain isn't gonna let up anytime soon, it doesn't look like..." He thought, looking around. He staggered a bit into on of the many ruined buildings, hoping to get some cover out of the rain and out of enemy fire for atleast a small amount of time.
He waited, as the pain from his shoulder became more dull to him, as he had blocked the contents pouring out of it with some cloth he found in the small house. He looked around, now becoming aware of his surroundings. A wood table broken in half, several chairs thrown about, logs still in the small fireplace built there. He looked along the wall. A picture. A family picture no doubt.
"...."
He was silent, as he looked over every detail of it. A mother, a father, and two young children, one boy and one girl. They were all very happy, and the picture was taken right infront of the fireplace. Then he looked down and saw it.
A small teddy bear, with a faded color all around, as if it had been held on to at all times. One of its arms was torn and one ear was torn very slightly. But something seemed wrong. He picked it up with a saddened expression.
It had "My bestest friend Teddi" written on the small tag hanging from it. The letters were sloppy and also very faded. He somehow felt as though he didn't want to leave this house. Though he felt sad seeing this. He stuffed the small bear into a very small compartment on his shoulder by the wound, and walked outside.He looked up, rain drops falling on his face.
"When will this war end..."
--------------------
Pharon and Searchman continued until they had the supply depot in sight. Then, the former Warrior left his two-headed colleague to rest on a wall, before catching up his breath."Okay, why did you shoot your friend ? I know some people can't stand clowns, but such a cold thing...
-I ... I" Searchman finally gave the most plausible reason he had. "Explanation : some voice commanded me to do it. I suspect a psychic-based ennemy.
-But Mesmerman isn't here, right ? Right ?
-Had he been here, he would have attacked us already.
-Oh." Relief appeared on Pharon's face. "But, as I think of it ... he controls Evil Energy ... and wasn't your armour designed with some of it ?
-Duo cleansed them before handing them to us." But now, Hunter was considering when he could've been infected with Evil Energy, and only thought of a cloaked being.
"Wraithman ...
-Wait, what ?
-If my idea is correct ... Hypothesis : Alex is in grave danger."
Out of a common accord, they decided to wait for the other Impacters before raiding the depot.
--------------------
Grenade man and neolan ran into the depot.Neolan smiled saying "The mission was a success!"
Grenade held up a small chip in a vial. "The financial records and access codes to the International Bank of Osaka. There's at least 3 accounts on this, and we know one has at least 20,000 dollars on it. I'd say we have a successful mission."
Grenade and neolan look at each other.
"What's wrong?" Asks neo, seeing something bothering search.
--------------------
Searchman said nothing. Both his heads appeared to be preoccupied with something, their eyes darting around wildly. Pharon grabbed his partner's arm and began shaking it, trying to snap the heavily armed Robot Master out of his escalating dementia.Unsure of what to do, Pharon tried to explain to Search's teammates. "Ah...uh...he kinda...shot...Clownman back there...and not in a friendly 'putting on a show for the RPD' way, but in a 'somehow infected with Evil Energy way'."
"He's what!?" Grenademan readied his Flash Bomb launcher, suddenly wary about what would happen next. "What happened to him? Why is he infected with Evil Energy?"
"I dunno!" Pharon attested, sounding like he thought Grenademan was blaming him. "He said something about a 'Raceman'..."
"Wraithman!? Aw no..." Aquaman groaned. "Search, you gotta snap out of it. You're going to be okay. We got what we came here for. Let's just get back to the others and teleport out of here."
Searchman's left head appeared to nod slightly and spoke. "Confirmation: Yes, let's...Assurance: I am in control of - "
Search suddenly cut off his own words with a quick shot from his arm cannon, hitting a very shocked Grenademan square in the chest. The vial flew out of his hand instantly and broke as it hit the ground. The precious chip clattered against the ground amidst shards of broken glass.
"Hold him down!" Pharon shouted as he grabbed Search's arm cannon and twisted it away from his friends. Aquaman was bewildered, but acknowledged the plan and rushed to Search's other side to pin his arm. Grenade recovered from the minor injury to his chest armor and his mind immediately went to the chip. Where did it land?
"Analysis: Motor functions not responding! I'm...sorry..." Searchman fought with himself, and against the holds of his allies. He was proving hard to restrain.
"Maybe this'll cool you down!" Aquaman adjusted the nozzle on his arm cannon and shot out a non-damaging burst of water over the delirious pair of heads. Unfortunately, it only seemed to shock the twisting figure enough to cause him to fling Pharon off his other arm.
Grenademan found the chip and picked it up gently. It seemed undamaged. However, as he focused on the condition of the chip, he failed to notice the large cannon once again aiming for him. A cry of warning from Aquaman wasn't soon enough, as Grenade looked up just in time to see a missile collide with his hand, blowing the appendage and the chip it held to smithereens.
"NO!!"
Momentarily losing himself to rage, pain, and disappointment, Grenademan shot back at the convulsing Searchman with a full-yield Flash Grenade. The explosive detonated between the two heads, damaging them heavily in the blinding surge of energy it created.
It seemed this was enough to put a stop to Searchman's rampage, as the figure collapsed to the ground unconscious, its heads charred and smoldering. The right head had a gaping hole on the side where the brunt of the explosion practically vaporized the helm.
Grenademan was instantly overcome with shame and fear for what he had done to his friend. What have I done? Have I been infected with Evil Energy too? He thought uncomfortably.
Aquaman leaned down to verify that Search was still alive and capable of repair. He then turned to the distraught Grenade. "It's all right. You did what you had to do. It was better than my attempt at least."
Pharon got up and looked critically at Search and Grenade in turn. Man, between these two and Frost...are all the people on this team crazy and violent? He decided to keep those thoughts to himself.
Grenademan came to his senses, looked at the mangled remains of his hand, and sighed. "Our mission...our funds..."
"It's not a total loss." Aquaman assured. "There's still the salvage team. Let's meet up with them and get out of here. We need to get Search back to Cossack so we can fix whatever's wrong with him."
--------------------
Tenguman found Clownman nursing his wound among the ruins of one of the area's houses. "Clown, are you alright?""Yeah...I'm fine. I don't think my 'meeting' with the guys went so well." Clownman sighed.
Tenguman descended from the air and lifted Clownman up. "We have a more pressing situation. The Scissor Army has regrouped since the Wilybots were finished off. They've also deployed some...new units. They're heavily armored and they're laying siege to our encampments."
"...Siege?"
--------------------
Buildings crumbled almost instantly from the barrage of artillery from the SA's freshly commissioned "Siege Joes". The battle-worn Special Forces units did not slow down the lumbering giants' approach enough, and as they fell, regular Scissor Joes swept into invade the RPD territory.From within their makeshift base of operations, the RPD Watchers scrambled. "How could we be losing!? We outnumbered them an hour ago!"
"Gah! Where are those metalheads!? They're supposed to deal with threats like this!"
"Oh no, they're coming in from the other side...Tenguman! Come in! Get back here this instant! If you let the enemy kill us like you did your last Watchers, I swear I'm taking you with us!"
"Relax! I'm here!" Tenguman announced his arrival as he hovered over a gap in the ceiling, Clownman hanging onto his legs. "How should we engage the enemy?"
One of the Watchers was indignant. "How? Just go attack them! Split up, they're coming from two sides!"
The other Watcher stopped them. "Wait! Forget it, we're withdrawing!"
"What!?" Tengu, Clown, and the other Watcher shouted in unison.
"We've taken heavy losses and those new Joes they sent in don't have a scratch on them! What do we have? One fully-functioning Robot Master, and one with a broken shoulder! We're dead if we stay here!"
Clownman thought back to the rest of Deep Impact. Surely they could help turn the tides of the battle, but that wasn't exactly the kind of suggestion to give an RPD Watcher. Besides, he wasn't so sure he could trust his old team any more, just what happened with Search back there?
The other Watcher agreed with his partner after hearing his reasoning. "Very well. You two are then ordered to protect us at all costs as we escape from the city. Get down here so we can ride on your back or something."
Tenguman was disappointed, but complied with the orders. What choice did he have? With Clownman and the two Watchers now hanging onto the flying robot for dear life, he flew back up through the roof and up into the sky, away from the firefight taking place below. Moments before passing through the clouds, Clownman looked down to see the building they were in crumble to the ground as the SA stormed over it.
--------------------
"What happened to you guys!?" Koala inquired when Frostman
lumbered over, carrying the limp form of Searchman. Grenade, Aqua,
and Pharon were close behind. All of them were looking more downcast
than usual.
"Don't want to talk about it right now." Grenademan answered. "How
goes the salvage?"
"Not so good." Kalinka responded. "We have about a
thousand's worth and there's not much else to use."
"Worse, there's signs of battle on the horizon." Astrochan
explained. "I think the SA is headed this way. We have to move."
"Hmph, it seems fate just had to screw us over this time." Aquaman
grumbled. "Guys, I'm afraid we have to make our exit here. Take
what salvage we got."
"Ahhh. Can't seem to catch a break, eh bro?" Koala said
to Pharon, who had rejoined him at his side.
"You have no idea."
Moments later, teleportation beams streamed into the sky one after
another. As both the RPD and Cossack forces pulled out of Osaka,
leaving their goals behind, thunder echoed across the city and the
rain fell harder and harder as if the heavens were mourning the fall
of this once proud city and the final victory of its cruel invaders.
With inferior numbers and no specialized units, the SA conquered
the city while the superior force dwindled and its Commanding Officers
sought out personal goals. To survive in this War, those who failed
this day would have to learn that it leaves no respite, it shows
no mercy, and it can strike where they least expect it.
End.
--------------------
