The Business of War
Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)
Dr. Cossack War Journals 5
By Naop, Magnus, Sean
An hour and a half before
Stage 2, Cossack's Citadel
I let my head and arms fall onto my desk and sighed. It had been a
long day. Apparently not everyone had as easy a time with their missions.
At least I had enough time to wash away the blood from my hands before
I found myself in a lab working with Dr. Cossack; I was worried it
would stain and I'd never be rid of the red marks. I doubt there are
many things more disturbing than using another man's hands as gloves.
To start I had to inform Dr. Cossack all the information I got from
the Watchers' shutdown code watches and hand over the remains. We still
have no plans in development for a jamming device or a way of sending
a fake shutdown signal, but we're getting a better understanding of
how the thing works at least. I really wish the RPD didn't do such
a good job on the shutdown code.
Next off I had to help repair all the major damages and replace everything
destroyed. Having to help fix all the damages really helped me realize
how much I lucked out in the last battle. As we went through the process
of getting all the new parts, I began to worry about how much longer
we could keep fighting. If we kept taking such heavy hits, we might
not be able to hold out long enough to survive the war.
After the repairs were finished, another problem was tossed onto our
laps. Apparently the Stardroids could not connect to Cossack's teleportation
or communication system, explaining why they were written down as MIA
for almost a week. Dr. Cossack and I put our heads together yet again
to quickly come up with a solution. We managed to put together and
install an adaptor that did a pretty good job convincing their internal
systems that Cossack's network was exactly the same as their old one.
I have to admit, it is nice having Dr. Cossack taking things so seriously
now. I probably would of never thought of the design he came up with
for the devices.
Finally Dr. Cossack and I reviewed a few recent acquisitions before
splitting up to rest. A few Sniper Joes and a RPD Special Forces unit
were collected; all should provide at the very least a good supply
of parts. The CG managed to salvage all the resources from their damaged
space ships and it turns out they were pretty well equipped before
the war. The new surge of supplies makes me forget about the annoyance
of them being missing for weeks and having to create the communication
and teleportation adaptors.
Now all that was left was to figure out what happened to Artilleryman.
The mission we gave him turned out to be pretty dangerous and apparently
from what our intelligence can gather, the RPD, Wily, and the SA had
pretty strong forces in the area. A small part of me wants to leave
him in Toronto to rot. The mercenary was charging us way too much and
he was a bit arrogant and boisterous when inside the Citadel. However
a large part of me knows that I have to go recover him. I can try rationalizing
this, but the main reason for rescuing him is that I just can't leave
him there.
So I quickly scribble a note for Dr. Cossack, not caring whether or
not he'll be able to read the rushed writing. I also find a couple
of duffel bags and grab a handful of common, simple tools. I know I
won't be able to gather and drag around the bodies of more than maybe
two robots, but if I take things apart I should be able to collect
the more expensive components from the mechanical corpses. I leave
the Citadel and teleport away. The rest of the CC should be fine without
me, after all a talking vacuum cleaner doesn't make much of a killing
machine. At the moment salvage and recovery are two more important
missions.
--------------------
Just end it
Mars sat in the ruined
fighter bay of the Great Zodiac on the front of his fighter, the Aries.
He'd been there for several hours, not wanting to snap at some fo the
coments he'd heard going around about his connection to Magnus and
blow half the citadel to shreds in a blind fury. He'd honestly been
expecting to be finding Magnus with Cossack, but when he looked through
the recording of the video feed that Hunter had broadcast to the CG's
meeting room he clearly saw his old buddy standing a few feet away.
This almost completely shattered Renard's grip on reality, causing
him to act more violent then normal.
"Bah." the Stardroid grumbled, giving up on any ideas of
trying to capture Magnus. With the kind of ordeals that guy went through
to survive this long, it's be hard to even get close to him, and with
his SA upgrades, almost impossible to hurt him or live long enough
to escape. Even Mars' Emergency Weapon would have limited effect unless
used at point blank. When he looked at how the war was set up, the
best chance of every non-evil guy to survive had been totally taken
out fo the equasion when the RPD foolishly took out Rockman. The second
best shot would have been either Duo or Protoman, but Duo's in space
or something while Protoman's harder to find then a TV remote. Bass
was totally out of the question, that dipstick couldn't stratagise
his way out of a box of tissue even if he had Wily's brain shoved in
his skull.
This left Dr. Light, whichever of the other Megaman Teams weren't either
hacked by general cutman or shutdown code'd, and Dr. Cossack to try
and make up for the short coming brought on by Rock's defeat. Mars
was just sick of it. He'd only been on one damn mission and already
he wanted to snap the necks of every politician who want the Shutdown
Code approved like slim jims before he moved onto whoever runs the
RPD. Why every concivable insanely fraking bad sistuation have to happen
to this stupid planet? What's the reason for a stupid piece of paper
that they call a 'peace treaty' when there's gonna be someone who wants
to light the damn thing on fire before blowing some country off the
map? Why bother trying to rule this screwed up corner of the universe
when there's plenty of other places you can decimate wihtout resistance?
When did it ever occur that slaughtering the ones who can accually
HELP you was a good idea when they make a call YOU don't like?
Mars narrowed his eyes. He could see the answer: Because peace is too
damn boring. There's gotta be something to do otherwise things will
spiral down the drain. If there was one thing that need to happen,
it's that all the idiots, politicians, and demented psychos who want
to rule the world need to have their heads lopped off and their bodies
thrown into the Sun as far as Mars was concerned.
It just needs to end.
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Cossack Citadel, Russia.
December 5th, 20XX.
A few days after their battle in Sao Paulo, Astro Man was alone in
his private room at Cossack’s citadel. He was watching the news,
over and over again… they were news about Mexico City, which
included a message broadcasted by some ‘Captain Quint’ of
the Scissor Army. Images of corpse-filled streets flooded the screen.
The few facial features of his robotic form, denoted nothing but a
void of thoughts and emotions. AstroMan was in shock, not sure how
to process what he was witnessing. Strangely enough, he took the time
to rewind and replay every once in a wile, almost automatically.
His spiritual homeland had been decimated, and although most of the
people he once considered family were far away from there, the pain
was about kick in. The pain of watching the destruction of the land
he grew up in. The impotence and frustration of not having been there
for the Mexican people. The anger… the hatred that the war was
starting to cause in him.
Outside, the three members of the Technological Tyrants he had taken
with him when he decided to help Dr. Cossack, were standing by his
door. They were unsure of how to help their leader. None of them dared
knocking, they just stood there, sharing his sadness from the distance.
--------------------
A
couple of weeks later…
Breakfast was particularly insipid for the Technological Tyrants. It
had been like that since they returned from Sao Paulo. Only Astro,
Tengu and Pirate were eating today, and no one said a word. Their leader
was usually in a good mood, no matter how bad the situation was, but
Astro had turned into a silent zombie during the last couple of weeks.
Not a single joke or sarcastic remark. His usual humour was buried
somewhere in Mexico City, perhaps.
His teammates were well aware of his inner struggle, and they suspected
that perhaps he was not grieving. They feared he’d be waiting… waiting
for another chance to jump into the battlefield, to try take it all
out on the Scissor Army.
As Astro was about to leave the table, GroundMan arrived in a rush,
slamming the doors open. “Naop…” the drilling expert
began. “I got a call from the elder back home, the people of
Shikaka need my help.” AstroMan was shocked to hear this.
GroundMan’s original persona, Lyonskar, was born in a small,
rural village in South Africa. The people there were far from rich,
and they didn’t have any of the modern commodities of the 21st
century. Astro was puzzled as to why they would need their help. The
war would certainly be focusing on capitals and large cities first,
and small uncivilized villages last.
“What’s the problem, man?” Astro was finally addressing
his teammate, after whole days of complete silence. “Is there
anything we can do to help?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure, but I think it has to do with
the war.” GroundMan responded. Pirate and Tengu were too surprised
by their leader’s change of attitude to say anything. “They
contacted me through a telegram, it’s all they can afford. And
it wasn’t very explanatory.”
“I see…” AstroMan crossed his arms, adopting a vacant
look with his digital display.
“What are we going to do?” TenguMan asked, finally deciding
to break the silence. But just as Astro had taken the time to look
back at him, about to word a reply, the good Dr. Cossack barged in.
He too slammed the doors, this time causing them to become asymmetric
in relation to their frame.
“Naop, I need you to go to…!” he shouted, with an
obvious urgency at hand. But he was interrupted by Naop himself.
“I am truly sorry doc, but after what happened in Mexico, I won’t
be taking any more chances. The family comes first.” He coldly
stated.
“What?” the doctor didn’t understand.
“Lyonskar’s people in Africa need our help. We will be
heading there this time.” He made a pause, and then, as it had
just occurred to him, he questioned… “By the way, have
you managed to reprogram the big guy we brought from Sao Paulo?” Astro
was referring to the Special Forces unit they had managed to retrieve.
“I’m afraid not.” The doctor answered, still a bit
confused, and now a little bothered by Naop’s attitude.
“Too bad…” Astro started floating towards the exit. “Anyway,
gather your stuff guys. I’ll see you in five at the teleportation
bay.” Astro didn’t suspect that Africa was exactly where
Cossack wanted him to be…
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