NationStates Jolt Archive

"For Too Long my forces have been hounded, Chased, and thrown into Hiding,
for too Long the Democratic, Hypocritical nations of the World
have sought to over throw my Leadership...
For Too Long Kraven has been Broken.."

"Sir...we just picked up a transmission...Kraven is back!"

Long have we waited for this moment to come and while all others doubted you
, we were there standing steadfast against the world;
proclaiming the second coming

"I am here to warn you,
The Kraven Father is rising once more,
and gathers to him his Kraven children,
locked forever together in a supreme embrace they shall rise,
and none shall be safe, as their combined hatred shall blot out
the starred skies and claw at the very sun itself,
a dark cloud shall fall over the world as all hope fades

War.

Whispers of war. Rumors of War. Sounds of War.

Screams. Tears. Blood. Sweat.

"I Am A Soldier, I fight To Uphold Freedom and The Kraven Ideals,
My Only Desire is to succeed and to Please The High Command,
I am Honour Bound to Protect Kraven
and its Peoples and to
Fight The Enemies of Kraven Until my mission is Complete
or I am Killed

Today we have seen the supposed reorganization of the battered and defeated Kraven Corporation.
I can assure everyone that these honorless dogs will never be allowed to rise
to any position that would threaten the interests of Automagfreek or its allies.

Always beating the drums of war.
This is a tale of war
But this tale had no drumbeat

"Gentlemen, May I prove all of your doubts.... The Birthing Factory..."

You're not going to like what I'm about to show you.
You're not going to like it at all. You'll want to turn away.
You'll want to shut your eyes. You'll want to make it all just go away.

But you can't. You must hear this.
You must see this. You must feel this.

The Birthing Vector
A woman stripped of her humantity to become a machine

‘Everything! Video surveillance of the entire blasphemous facility,
audiovisual monitoring of the birthing vats with their live
humans, all the computer files on the system detailing
the inhumane program, everything!
This is the proof.
The Kraven filth must be exposed!’

There is one who can still hear thier voices
One who can still shed their tears
One who can still feel thier pain.

She is Lady Jessica Hart

These women are Labotomised and Hooked up to these machines
that not only keep them alive but at the same time monitor the Subjects vital signs, while the "Birthing Vector" is still alive,
they are for all intents and purposes
Dead.

Their Higher brain functions have been inhibited,
however lower brains functions are still active,
and thus are in a constant state of Pain,
although unable to Express it.

[I can still hear them. They call to me.]

[My name is Lady Jessica Hart.]
[I am their Champion.]

[I will be the voice for those who can not scream. ]
[I will shed tears for those who can not cry.]

[I will free them.]

[So help me God.]

This is her story.
The tale of the brave souls of 5th King
The Unvanquished Hearts
Who try to save the
Silent Voices

****

[OOC: This is a side story to the current Kraven War now raging in the Nationstates World. Jessica Hart, once a prisoner at Gidi Prime Facilty in Whytica, is now returning to free those held prisoner by the infamous birthing vectors.

This is going to be more of a character RP versus the warfighting thats going on all around us. This RP is CLOSED. If you would like to affect the story, it can be done in the other war threads as they both take place at the same time.

"Today is a dark new dawn. As we speak, our forces are engaged in a war with the Kraven Menance. As we speak, good men are dying to protect the freedom of Fourhearts and the World.

Today is not a day for tears. Today is not a day for fear. Today is a day for reckoning. For courage. To let the world know that so long as there is breath in our bodies we are willing to fight.

Today we honor one who has answered the call above and beyond what is asked. Today we send forth a Champion of Freedom and Liberty. Today we are to knight Jessica Hart. THE UNVANQUISHED."


A few days after the ceremony Corporal David Longarrow was walking back from the sniper range with a few of his buddies. Longarrow was the joker of the company and needed to learn a few things.

Man boys I tell you what! Our new commander is a DAME! I'd do anything for that little lady, yessiiiiir! I'd do anything allllllll niiiiiiiiiiight loooo-OWWW!

Like to be sure to look behind him before shooting his mouth off, lest get knocked down by the Chief.

"YOU! You WILL show respect towards your superiors! She is your COMMANDER! She is NOT your eyecandy! She is NOT your wet dream! And she certainly has better taste than to look twice at a scum sucking peice of dirt like you. WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GET DOWN AND GIVE ME SOME DAMN PUSHUPS! ALL OF YOU! DOWN NOW!"

The four soldiers began doing thier pushups, normally about a 100 for one of Longarrow's jokes.

****

Lady Jessica was in the office. She had gone from being an enlisted medical nurse to one of the highest ranks in the Fourhearts Military. It was strange watching the men outside do pushups. It seemed that she had made a bit of History. The 5th Battalion of the King's Regiment was a Exteme Operations Unit and had never before had a female commander. The Prince had warned her that there may be some comments made, but that the Cheif would ensure that she was respected.

She didn't want the command to be honest. She had asked Prince Drake to go back and free the women of Orion Facility. Drake had listened to her and was impressed with her new found ablities. Drake had insisted that only she would be able to guide them around the facility and free them.

It wasn't going to be easy. In a few hours she would have to leave to meet her military advisors.

****

Lady Jessica and her advisors were sitting around a large oak table looking at satallite photos of Whytica.

We could sneak in through the port. We could use the Sea Fleet assests.

Another advisor chimed in:

No way. There is still that superdread in the water. And besides, it's too obvious. They's expect it

And yet another advisor:

Those tunnels must run for miles though, how far do you think they go? Would 5th King be enough??

The Cheif spoke up, "They can do the job just fine General"

"Well, we have to get them in there somehow"

Also sitting with them was Theodora Miriel, a Xirnimite. She was a biologist who worked for the Special Operations Unit of the XSIS (Xirnimite Secret Intelligence Service)

A few days later Lady Hart was in the her own personal weight room on the running machine along with the Cheif.

She was drenched in sweat and breathing haggardly.

The Cheif was glancing at his watch, "That's not good enough m'lady. You'll never keep up with men at that rate."

Jessica's face turned a shade of painful, "I'm TRYING Chief!"

The Cheif walked up to her, "If these men are going to respect you, you NEED to be able to HANG with them. Keep running!"

Gidi Prime Facility, Whyatica, Waste Transfer Station

A Large Black dump truck, a C890, with an immense V16 engine roared with triumph as the visor wearing crewman put it into gear and lurched forwards, the hugh body was carrying an assortmen of corpses, wrapped in white surgical tape, the large blast doors slowly opened, as the Capitol Police guards waved the vehicle out, a speaker barked orders for the Quotas that needed to be fullfilled for the day...

"Quote, 8444, Quota required is 8884, Production is Optimal.."

while in other areas, loud speakers broad cast other information regarding the Dump Truck operation and guard details, every so often a Power V16 would roar into life as the vehicle pulled away, its huge tires over 14 feet high, rolled slowly over the cold grey concrete..

One Black Dump truck was stationed underneath a conveyer belt that slowly fed in body parts, legs, arms, torso's, innards, offal, anything that was left over from Operations, organs removed to create Sardaukar, eyes, the full corpses of Birthing Vectors that were no longer fertile...

The Driver was sat in the driving seat, his black visor reflecting the various console lights of the dash board, as he waited patiently for the Truck to be filled...

At the Blast Doors, the first truck of the day had left, and its powerfull V16 changed in pitch as the Driver took the machine through its gears, while at the same time, coming into the Facility was a large black 18 wheeler truck, its long curtainsider trailer followed close behind as it pulled in to the facility...

Instantly work crews swarmed around it, unsheeting the trailer, while fork lift trucks worked to remove the load, on the side of the pallets were large black Eagles with underneath the words "RATIONS"

meanwhile, the vehicles continued to work, under the watchfull gaze of The Capitol Police....

SkyNet Sat #129
Low Orbit Over Whytica

-whizzzz-
-whiiiiirr-
-click-click-

The SkyNet Sat began to zoom in on the desert road.

Object Detected.
Truck Type
Marking....[Truck1], [Truck2], [Truck3]

The Sat would follow the trucks as they drove on.

Two Capitol Police Troopers dragged a scientist through the compound of the underground facility, his black shoes rattled at the metal grating that was the floor, and his eyes were blood shot and strewn with tears...

"please.... Please... I've done nothing wrong.."

He continued to plead, but the two troopers marching in perfect time simply ignored his pleas, their black armour portraying the black heart of their creator, there was no mercy here... just brutal justice...

they stopped a few yards ahead, dropping him hard to the ground, he scrambled to his feet, trying in desperate vain to escape, but instantly one of the Troopers turned around, striding over and placing a Black Jackboot into the stomach, flipping him onto his side, the Scientist held his stomach as a glob of blood was spat onto the floor...

"You bastards..."


"Sir..." One of the Troopers spoke into the microphone built into his head gear...

"Scientist 8842, was caught attempting to escape the facility with several sensitive documents... Advise?"


An Office... it was luxurious, Dark Crimson carpets, the walls obsidian black, with Kraven banners hanging from them, a large oak table sat in the middle of the room, with many oak chairs lining it, to one side was a large oak desk, and behind it a large leather chair... labouring, the labouring of someone struggleing to breath, struggleing to take every breath, a gloved black hand reached out, pressing a small button, that was situated on the desk, it was a communicator... then a mechanical voice broke the silence of the room, it sounded like a machine, like some twisted sick thing was speaking out, reaching out to whomever requesting it....

"Execute him..."


The Response was quick and precise...

"By your Command..."

The Two Troopers Lifted the Scientist slightly off the ground, until he was resting on his knees, already he'd soiled himself and his eyes were streaked with tears and he wimpered...

a .50 cal Desert Eagle was placed against his head, and quickly his brains were splattered across the metal grating, as his body collapsed to the floor with a heavy thump....


The Two Troopers dragged his limp corpse away, ready to join the rest that leave the facility on a C890....

BOOM!

Jessica, drenched with sweat, woke up with a start.

It was just a dream Jessica...go back to sleep

But it had seemed so very real...she had seen images of black walls...banners...she could taste the fear in the air....the banners....and...and that awful mechanical voice....and then...

Jessica could have sworn she had felt a pistol in the side of her head.


Jessica felt sick. She turned over to the side of the bed and threw up into the trash can.

She rubbed her forehead and noticed the sweat on her brow. She looked over to the clock.

[02:00]

Jessica got up from her bed and put on her nightrobe. Maybe some milk would help.

The next morning, Jessica was in training with the Cheif again.

Ok, now you can predict my moves pretty well, but what are you going to do about it?"

"Um....dodge it?"

"No. You're going to counter it and kick my ass in the process. We're going to be teaching you Jeet Kune Do. It's a better system for countering and the footwork is the same as in fencing, which you've had training in. Are you ready?"

"Sure"

The Cheif would spend the next few hours teaching Lady Jessica various combat moves that would help her fight off her foes. Pretty soon Jessica was sparring off with the Cheif.

No! No! No! Asborb what's useful disregard what's not!"

"What??"

The Cheif sidestepped as Jessica threw a punch, grabbed her body, and flung her on her knees.

Do you see what I did? You punched and I used the force of your punch to knock you over. You're not a big person, so you need to learn how to do that so you won't become somebodys rag doll"

Jessica got up on her feet and resumed her fighting stance.

"I'm ready"

A few days later Jessica was getting the hang of it.

She was sparring with the Cheif and doing pretty well. Of course, being able to read his mind helped too. She was getting better at reading and fighting at the same time too.

She ducked as the Cheif swung hard then sent an uppercut to his jaw.

crunch

The Cheif cried out in pain taking a few steps back.

"Cheif! Are you ok?"

The Cheif shoke his head. "You got me with that iron fist of yours. That stuff really hurts. I think you shattered my jawbone."


****

Meanwhile, the Intel Department was gathering more data. They had determined that trucks came and entered a large chemical facility not far from the port where Jessica had escaped. There was only so much waste that could come from one place and they didn't have any real idea why a waste facility would need to send stuff TO the facility. They determined that it must be an enterence to the underground facility. They would spend the next few days hammering out a plan on how to sneak into the facility with 5th King.

5th King was a close-knit unit, and so word of the Cheif's accident spread rather quickly. The Cheif was feared among all men. After all, he was Master Chief and on many occiasions he had honored his men by knocking the living crap out of them personally. So, when the new commander, a female, broke the Cheifs jaw, there was not much one could do to keep it a secret.

It was only a matter of time before somebody said something. Longarrow had made the mistake of saying something to the effect of, "What's a matter Cheif? Got beat up by a girl?"

The entire battalion pushed for that.

As a side effect, Lady Jessica was treated with a newfound sense of respect. One did not have to be a mind reader to see this. When Jessica walked past, the men saulted sharply with a loud, "MA'AM!"

She had a new uniform now. It consisted of a flattering leather trenchcoat. The knee high boots were a nice touch too. Apparently, she was the only one authorized to wear an Infantry Uniform, so somebody had designed her own uniform just for her.

The men were also getting new unifroms, but not nearly as nice as Lady Jessica's.

"What the hell is this crap?", asked CPL. Falco as he took a size large uniform.

"It's a Kreigsmarine uniform. You know, Kraven."

"WHAT?"

With all the combat with Kraven forces that were occuring around the world, obtaining the proper design for the Kraven uniforms had been a simple task. Soon the men would be breifed on what to expect in the next assignment.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e329/stdcpw12/NewDawn.jpg
The New Dawn

Aboard the New Dawn, Lady Jessica's military advisors were pounding the pilot with questions.

"How fast can you make this thing go?"

"About .5 Mach if it's emp-"

"Can you fly it in high winds?"

"Up to 75mph"

"Can you fly in a sandstorm??"

A sandstorm? Well, I guess I could if I really needed-
HEY! What the hell you guys planning to do to my baby!?"

It was only a matter of time. Soon the orders came down and the men of 5th King loaded thier gear aboard the New Dawn in preperations for the mission of a lifetime.

ORDER #220406150

SECURITY: TOP SECRET
TO: 5TH KING
FROM: FOURHEARTS HIGH COMMAND

Priority: ALPHA ONE ALPHA

MISSION: LIBERATE AND DESTROY KRAVEN BIRTHING FACILITY
LOCATION: WHYTICA

YOU ARE TO LEAVE BASE NLT THAN 48 HOURS. ALL PERSONELL ARE ON LOCKDOWN EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATLY.

NEW DAWN TO BE ESCORTED BY SIX (6) WOLF TYPE AIRSHIPS. ROUTE REQUIRES TRAVEL OVER KAHANISTANI AIRSPACE, CURRENTLY A COMBAT AREA.

UPON REACHING KAHANISTAN YOU WILL WAIT FOR A MAJOR SANDSTORM, SET TO OCCUR IN THREE DAYS. (3) IT IS IMPERITIVE THAT YOU BE READY TO ENTER WHYTICA UNDER THE COVER OF THIS SANDSTORM AS COALITION ASSESTS CAN NOT COVER YOUR DROP INTO WHYTICA.

INTEL RECCOMENDS THE ATTACHED METHOD FOR GAINING ENTRY INTO THE BIRTHING FACILTY.

POC FOR THIS ORDER IS HRH PRINCE DRAKE.

- [SIGNED]
HRH PRINCE DRAKE
KINGDOM OF FOURHEARTS

##SECRET##

[OCC: Lyrics are to the song "All around me" by Flyleaf. This can be heard at http://music.msn.com/album/?album=45311641]

The New Dawn rose into the morning sun with Lady Jessica Heart sitting in the crows nest of the large airship.

My hands are searching for you
My arms are outstretched towards you
I feel you on my fingertips
My tongue dances behind my lips for you


The wind blowing her hair back, eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination.

This fire rising through my being
Burning I'm not used to seeing you

I'm alive, I'm alive


It was the first time she had been in the air since the incident. At least that she was awake for. Her injuries had left her knocked out on the flight here. Now, she was taking flight to take the fight to the place where all this damage occured.

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

The Birthing Faclity. A place of so much pain and suffering. Even now she could hear thier voices. She could feel thier pain. Their emotional and physical agony.

My hands float up above me
And you whisper you love me
And I begin to fade
Into our secret place

The music makes me sway
The angels singing say we are alone with you
I am alone and they are too with you

She would liberate them.

I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing


Below her, the men of 5th King were preparing for battle. The clicking and snapping of weapons being cleaned and loaded.

And so I cry
The light is white
And I see you

I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive


Officers were pouring over maps of Whytica and maps of what Lady Jessica had described to them. Transcripts of her interviews were being passed around. Her wretched memories being studied like a textbook.

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing


The pilot was in his seat charting a course with his navigator. The winds were good and the skies were clearing. It was a good day to fly.

Take my hand
I give it to you
Now you owe me
All I am
You said you would never leave me
I believe you
I believe

Above it all, Jessica was crying for those who could not.

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healed

Two Spies were rounded up in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the facilities lights were currently on night cycle, and so were dull hue, the Spies were trying to break into a console in the Computer terminal of Sector 9 - G, the Technical Database, they were found by Two Capitol Police troopers who were on sentry duty during the night, they beaten both the spies badly, and now the two lay in a heap in the corner of prison Cell...

The Black boots of someone, someone inherently evil strode towards the cell, they clanked against the metal grates, as two other pairs followed closely behind, Capitol Police...

they approached the cell, then stopped, the first of the three looked into the cell with cold eyes, inhuman eyes.... machine eyes...

"What were you doing here?" The voice snaked into the cell, its cold harsh machine like tones peirced the minds of those inside the cell..

"We... We..." the man paused coughing, small droplets of blood seeping from his lips...

"We were here to steal the plans to construction of the Annihilator Classes"

"For whom?"


"I don't know... some one approached us with the job..."

"Shadowrunners?"

"Yes... but not that it matters now..."

"hmmmm"

The First of the Three turned and left, followed closely by The Two Capitol Police, their foot steps continuing to clank against the metal grating of the floor...

"I want to find out how they gained access into the facility, who they are working for, and what they have discovered, then execute them..."

"by Your Command"

The first of the three, left and entered into a small office, it wasn't his it was one of the Scientists, the man raised his hand into the air and brought it down onto the table hard, his augmented muscles forced the table to jump a few centermeters from the force of the impact, it sent papers and a cup rolling smashing onto the floor, the whirlwind of destruction lasted a few seconds as the man whirled around, pushing a TV off the table it smashed on the floor, a black jackboot slamed the table over, while filing cabinets were tossed to the floor like they were nothing..

the man held both arms apart, almost like he was being crucified, and roared in anger, his body rippled with sheer rage, his voice completely inhumanized echoed off the small walls of the room, while his fists clenched together, his leather gloved hands being forced closed by the immense power of his form...

someone was about to pay.... pay for this mistake in blood...

Meanwhile, The New Dawn was fighting it's way through the sandstorm. It was the best and greatest chance they had for entering Kraven-held Whytica undetected.

The winds rocked the airship as it turned against the wind. The noise was terrible.

"ALLRIGHT!", screamed the Cheif, "WE'RE OVER THE LANDING ZONE NOW! THESE TRUCKS ARE THE SAME ONES USED TO HUAL FOOD INTO THE FACILITY. AFTER THE STORM, THEY'RE GONNA OPEN RIGHT UP AND LET US IN! FROM THAT POINT WE ARE ON OUR OWN. OUR MISSION IS TO LIBERATE THE FACLITY. IT AIN"T GONNA BE EASY, BUT THAT'S WHY THEY SENT US!

ARE YOU READY 5TH KING??"

"SIR YES SIR"

THEN LET'S GET SOME!"

The cargo doors opened and truck after truck rolled out of the massive airship into the howling wind. Once the trucks had left, the airship closed it's doors and disappeared into the swirling cloud of sand.

They would wait until the storm was over to drive into the facility.

Lady Jessica was not feeling well.

She felt. Pain. Death. Agony. Fire.

Something terrible had just occured.

Several Weeks Earlier

XSIS Building, Headquarters of the Xirniumite Secret Intelligence Service
Naerath, Capital of the Eternal Republic of Holy Xirnium

‘The Director-General will see you now,’ explained a perky secretary, the lively voice jolting Miriel out of her introverted reverie. Grimacing with a sense of ominous foreboding, the Xirniumite calmly got to her feet and approached the door, the thick, dark-blue carpet muffling the sound of her footsteps. As she walked, the lady wondered why she might have been summoned at such short notice.

‘You called for me, Director?’ asked Theodora Miriel as she stepped timidly into the palatial office of the Chief of the Xirniumite Secret Intelligence Service, her hands clasped together nervously. Ms Miriel briefly glanced around the opulent room that she had just entered – her eyes darting over the rows of priceless antique books (which lined the greater part of one of its walls), the large, elaborately crafted granite fireplace, and the lavishly expensive mahogany furniture.

Theodora was an intelligence officer who worked in the extremely sensitive “Section J” (The Directorate of Special Foreign Science and Technology - Research and Espionage Division) of the Special Operations Unit of the XSIS, a department whose clandestine operations were classified at the highest level. Though only aged in her late twenties, the raven-haired agent was a most diligent and competent intelligence operative, well respected throughout the Secret Intelligence Service for her unrivalled knowledge in the field of biology. Of medium height and possessing a reasonably voluptuous figure, Theodora was a strikingly attractive lady of Mediterranean heritage.

‘Ahh yes, Agent Miriel. Thank you for having come at such short notice,’ replied Mordont Norath (better known by his famous codename, “D”) as he looked up from a mass of papers that he had just been poring over. The Director-General re-adjusted the spectacles that he wore before quickly standing from his high-backed, dark leather chair to greet Theodora warmly. ‘Can I perhaps get you anything?’ asked D over his shoulder after walking to a nearby drink cabinet and pouring himself a glass of bourbon whiskey.

‘A nice brandy will be fine, Director, if you have any,’ answered Ms Miriel, her eyes drifting to the large windows of the office. Fortunately the Chief of the XSIS did have a particularly splendid bottle, and after handing Theodora the spirit he motioned for her to sit in the chair opposite his desk. Outside, howling wind and rain hammered mercilessly against the glass panes, casting a gloomy ambience over the proceedings.

‘I’ve been reviewing your file, Ms Miriel…’ mused D, leafing through several pieces of paper that he had neatly organised in a manila folder marked with the intelligence agent’s name. ‘At this point I would like to inform you that you have been selected as the primary candidate for an important assignment which has just materialised.’

‘And what assignment might that be?’ asked Theodora, crossing her legs as she leaned forward interestedly.

‘The Fourhearts government plans to launch a raid on a Kravenite industrial birthing installation, in a matter of weeks, with the aims of liberating the enslaved population held there,’ explained D, passing a briefing folder over to Ms Miriel. ‘As the foremost Xirniumite expert on Kraven bio-technological and genetic engineering processes, you have been proposed as an ideal choice to accompany the Fourhearts team. In doing so you will be acting in the capacity of an independent advisor.’

Theodora was rather taken aback by all of this. Her fears had been realised, and the rumours and idle speculation which had filtered into her department were now confirmed as fact. ‘But I… with all respect I’m not a field agent, Director,’ argued Ms Miriel. While the Xirniumite had spent quite some time studying the Kraven Corporation and its inhumane medical research in great detail, she had never actually encountered them personally, and had no particular desire to do so.

‘Nonsense. Our records show that you are fully qualified for this operation,’ replied the Director-General. ‘Indeed, the official assessment of your abilities indicates that you are an exemplary agent.’

‘Well, I mean but surely you would rather that someone with more extensive combat experience be selected for such a dangerous operation,’ countered Theodora.

‘Not at all, Agent Miriel,’ explained the XSIS Chief. ‘The Fourhearts 5th Battalion of the King’s Regiment has more then enough capable combat personnel of their own. What they require is the assistance of one who has studied the Kraven menace in detail and is familiar with their science. Someone… like you.’

‘I see...’ replied Theodora, her spirits sinking. Despite this, Miriel hid her fears and put on a brave smile.

‘Do you choose to accept this assignment?’ asked D, his tone suddenly very serious. It would be a most perilous and risky mission, not something to be taken lightly. If she failed, Theodora could expect only torture and death at the hands of the Kraven hangmen, or worse. ‘As you are probably aware, an additional XSIS Assistant Director position is likely to be opening up very soon. Undertaking such an important mission would be a substantial boost to your career…’

‘Very well, Director,’ decided the ambitious intelligence agent, after a considerable period of silent thought where only the steady, ubiquitous ticking of the room's grand longcase clock disturbed the quietness. ‘I’ve one question, however.’

‘What is that?’ asked the Director.

‘This industrial birthing facility that is to be raided is one of many such Kraven installations throughout the world,’ began Theodora didactically. ‘Even if we are successful (which is certainly not guaranteed), the limited nature of the Fourhearts raid means that will be unlikely to make a great difference to the overall Kraven genocidal apparatus in the grand scheme of things. Of course, the atrocities that the Kraven Corporation inflicts upon the slaves of its birthing factories are the most foulest and vilest of crimes, but the Xirniumite government has never been known to risk the lives of its own citizens (not even the members of its armed forces or intelligence agencies) merely for the welfare of foreigners, no matter how desperate their plight or how heinous the crimes against them. The sorrows of the world are simply too many, and too great. We therefore serve our own interests, and leave others to pay the butcher’s bill for humanitarian causes abroad. So I ask, Director, why has the XSIS agreed to actively help Fourhearts, even in the most limited of ways?’

‘Ahh, most astute,’ replied D, smiling wryly. ‘You ask what our ulterior motives are, hmm? In this folder that I will give you we have prepared a list of highly classified contingent directives that you are to follow in regards to your assignment. Your answer will be found there. For the most part you are to advise the Fourhearts team in regards to their operation, but you will also execute the following additional protocols should the situation arise. Take your time to familiarise yourself with them. Ms Emeldir will brief you more fully on the specifics of your mission in three hours time, that is, at twenty-three hundred.’

‘Thank you, Director.’


Some Time Later

Flight XAL-623
En route from Xirnium to Fourhearts

Theodora Miriel sighed deeply and leaned back in her seat, doing her best to suppress the feeling of nervous excitement that attempted to well up inside her as she finally embarked on her highly-classified mission. Taking a small sip from the champagne glass which a friendly flight attendant had offered her, Miriel peered out of the nearby window, enjoying the last, blood-red glimpses of the afternoon sun.

This stage of the operation (Miriel’s transit from the Eternal Republic to 5th Battalion’s training centre) was designed to appear as a mere routine liaison endeavour between the Xirniumite and Fourhearts intelligence agencies, and Theodora therefore travelled rather openly. Though she usually wore formal civilian business attire at work, Ms Miriel had decided to don the official uniform of a Xirniumite intelligence agent for this occasion – which consisted of a well-cut, black coat (with dark-purple lapels and trim), long, grey skirt, large intelligence officer's cap, and heavy, dark-grey greatcoat.

For the thousandth time, Theodora mentally went over the various essential items of her inventory which she had packed away. One of the more useful devices was a miniscule-sized earpiece, microphone and sophisticated adaptive, frequency-hopping, burst transmitter which allowed Miriel to communicate with her support team in Xirnium (the researchers, hackers, strategists, analysts and commanders of the XSIS). Another included her firearm. Theodora had needed to spend quite some time familiarising herself with the extremely high calibre of the weapon needed to deal effectively with the Kraven Capital Police. Most ominous of all her items was a single, transparent, glass cyanide pill - which would be a preferable, if depressing, alternative to the ultimate fate which awaited anyone unfourtunate enough to be captured by the Kraven Corporation.


The Present

The New Dawn Fourhearts Airship
Somewhere over the Kahanistan-Whyatica Desert

Theodora squeezed her brown-grey eyes tightly shut, holding a scrunched handkerchief over her mouth as she took deep breaths in an effort to stay calm. The Xirniumite intelligence agent was overwhelmed by a sensation of extreme nausea as the airship was buffeted violently by the terrible turbulence of the sandstorm. It wasn’t particularly helpful that the wind screamed frighteningly against the aircraft’s hull (seemingly threatening to tear it to shreds), either.

I knew this was a silly idea… thought Miriel miserably. The insane pilot is going to get us all killed.

Finally, after what seemed like aeons to Theodora, The New Dawn mercifully landed on the soft Whyatican sands. Composing herself as best she could, and thankful that at least she had not been sick, Miriel stumbled out with the others into the dark unknown.

Trucks.

Everyone and everything was in a truck.

SkyNet had reported the use of 18-Wheelers to carry supplies into the facility. The uniforms had been supplied to the 5th King would allow them access to the facility. The driver and co-driver carried Kraven riflies, wore Kraven insignia, and spoke with a Kraven accent. For all intensive purposes, they were Kraven.

The troops in the back however, were not. Each solider wore protective armor that the troops referred to as a 'space suit'. Their rifles carried high velocity rounds and several team members carried automatic shotguns.

The troops wern't the only one's carrying guns. So were the Beasts

http://www.monstersinmotion.com/catalog/images/ships/huntertankargo1.jpg

The Beasts would be the first out the door and would eliminate the poor saps who opened the door. While they wouldn't be able to fit into every nook and cranny, they were small enough to to cause alot of pain to the Kraven that were here.

Theodora removed a high-calibre sidearm from inside her greatcoat, firmly pulling back its slide to check the chamber. Dourly, she inserted the weapon’s magazine, listening carefully for the reassuring click. The Xirniumite’s heart raced furiously as the truck lurched forward towards the Kraven industrial birthing factory. Just relax, Theodora… fear is perfectly natural, thought the intelligence agent.

‘Now we get to see how well-thought out this plan of ours is,’ whispered Miriel grimly through the darkness towards the only other woman in the group, Lady Jessica. By talking with someone, Theodora hoped that she might keep her mind off the distressingly immediate possibility of a violent death.

"You worry too much"

Lady Jessica didn't hear Miriel, but she could sense her thoughts. Jessica, like the rest of 5th King, was wearing armor and so whispers wouldn't be heard.

"If it makes you feel better, there is extra body armor in that box over there. It's supposed to be an extra for me, but you need it more than I do."

‘I get paid to worry,’ explained Theodora with a smile. ‘Besides, I don’t see how assaulting a Kraven birthing facility could be cause for anything but worry. I would have thought someone who had experienced the horrors first hand, at least, would be inclined to agree with me.’

Miriel politely refused the Fourhearts body armour. She hadn’t trained with it and was therefore not familiar with how it worked, or how it would affect her movement when in combat.

It was this remark that caused Jessica's face to sour a bit.

"I sometimes forget I'm the only one who can hear them. Certainly the Prince thought I was crazy asking to come back here.

Ever since their discovery, everyone thought that the women inside the Birthing Vectors were for all intensive purposes. Dead. It was assumed that all higher functions of the brain were dead, and that Kraven only kept what was needed to make babies.

I wish that were true, but it isn't. Those women are still alive. They can still think. They're in a constant state of pain and agony. They can feel everything, but their bodies are powerless to respond. I suspect that Kraven uses the mother's terror to shock the child.

I tried for a time, to rest. To forget the things I saw here. To foget the pain I felt here. However, I could still hear them. They cry out to me. I had to answer.

I might not be able to save every woman thats been turned into a birthing vector. Some are too far gone. I can help end their suffering. And maybe we can even find out the location of the other facilites. I do know that some of them can be freed. It's not going to be easy, but I have to try.

These men are the best. They're a family. I know each of thier names. I know which ones have families. I can sense thier feelings and they can sense mine. So I try not to appear gloomy so I won't discourage them. They have the harder task, so I might as well try to make it easier on them."

Theodora Miriel smiled kindly as Lady Jessica described her anguish, doing her best to appear understanding and sympathetic. No doubt Jessica's horrifying experience as a captive of the Kraven Corporation affected her profoundly, thought the Xirniumite. Even so, Ms Miriel was naturally fairly sceptical of her claims that she knew that some of the women could be freed, that she could even hear them. To Theodora, this seemed alarmingly analogous to trusting mere intuition or hope, something that often resulted in disastrous consequences.

‘It’s important not to get your hopes up too high, Lady Jessica,’ explained the Xirniumite gently. Having studied Kraven bio-technology in greater detail than any other, Theodora knew better than most what the many difficulties would be. ‘Attempting to remove these captives from the medical apparatus which entombs them will be an involved and complicated process, with great possibility for inflicting further damage to the victims during both disconnection and evacuation from the facility. In addition, these women will require further extensive neurological surgery and psychiatric therapy, after being removed from the industrial birthing facilities, in order to begin to reverse the severely detrimental effects of the Kraven butchery which was done to them.

And, of course, we haven’t even begun to discuss the long and difficult treatment that will be needed to repair the chemical and surgical damage done to these people in other areas.’

Miriel did not like giving such a pessimistic assessment of the likely success of their mission (the evaluation wasn't particularly encouraging for Theodora, either), but thought it her duty to inject some rationality into the discussion. It was important that they be under no illusions. ‘I’m not trying to upset you,’ Theodora added tenderly, ‘I’m merely letting you know that it will be by no means easy.’

‘I will do my utmost to help you and the men under your command, of course,’ Miriel assured Jessica Hart with a confident grin.

Theodora drew her greatcoat tightly about her and leant back against the side of the truck, waiting as patiently as she could for their convoy to arrive at its destination. Nothing to fear but fear itself… Miriel repeated to herself unconvincingly.

The trucks were pulling up to the gatehouse now. The King's Men sitting in the front seat were getting slightly nervous, but they would do thier tasks well.

It was time...

A large Black C980 dump truck pulled out of the large twin blast doors that now stood open, its huge engines pumped gasses out into the atmosphere through two twin, chrome exausht pipes, the driver wore a blacked out visor and he continued on his way as the powerfull engines continued to pull the vehicles up the ramp...

from the Blast doors came forth several Capitol Police, their black armour had been replaced with Desert style camoflauge armour, their boots were sand coloured, and their armour was speckled with browns and yellows... but their eyes still glowed their natural red...

as the Four Hearts truck approached one held a black gloved hand ordering them to stop, as the other four Troopers approached, ready to check the documents and papers of the Driver and crewmen...

approaching the window a Trooper spoke through his gasmask as the winds raged around him....

"Yours Papers Please..."

Intelligence had indicated that they would need such things and experts had carefully drafted papers based on papers found in Kahanistan. The men, without the slightest bit of hesiation, handed the documents over to the gaurds.

Intelligence had indicated that they would need such things and experts had carefully drafted papers based on papers found in Kahanistan. The men, without the slightest bit of hesiation, handed the documents over to the gaurds.

The Trooper flicked through the Papers, checking them, double checking them then radioing in for Confirmation, security here was very strict, but they didn't expect anything out of the ordinary, so with a wave of a black gloved hand, and the prompt return of a set of papers the Truck was allowed into the compound...

The trucks drove into the building and the drivers were amazed at the size of the room. Dozens and dozens of trucks were lined up on each side of the building. One by one the trucks entered the building as the light slowly retreated out of the closing door.

Inside the truck, non-commisioned officers were giving the order to lock and load. The Beasts were placed in operational mode. Hearts pounded.

They were now in the belly of the beast.

The drivers were perhaps the most nervous of all and hoping that in the choas of the opening round that they could make it to safety.

As the trucks stopped, Kraven Engineers began making their way to the back to open the trucks.

When they opened it up...they would find a suprise.

A big....ugly Beast...a Beast that fired .50 caliber rounds at point black range into the unfortunate fellows.

Before they could even hit the floor the Beasts rolled out of the trucks and began shooting every Kraven soldier it could detect. The noise was unbearable.

The sides of the truck collapsed revealing a bunker of sorts. 5th King began firing round and round into anything that moved.

Claxons roared out into the vast room, Troopers returned fire, and reinforcements were called in from the nearby Barracks, Officers co-ordinated the effort as more and more Troopers were either taken down or poured into the room...

The Driver of a Large Dump Truck gunned the engine and drover the behemoth straight into the beast, hoping to crush it under the 14 foot tires....

Officers were watching through the camera systems, pondering as to what to do, reinforcements were on route, and time would only tell..

"Reich - Oberst?"

"Yes... ?"

"The Panzergrenadiers?"

"Hold them for now..."

"As you wish Reich - Oberst"

Indeed, the truck had managed to roll right on top of the Beast. And indeed, the Beast was straining under the weight. The Beast was not designed to take that much weight.

It was however, designed to be fireproof.

A burst of flame arouse from the robotic tanks's torso. The truck had not managed to block the .50 calibar machine guns, which were now providing 5th King with cover. As the fuel tanks on the dump truck ignited, men were pouring out of the bunker's oppostie side and finding cover behind other trucks.

At the truck occupied by Jessica Hart, The Beast's twin machine guns were roaring. Hart and her men quickly left the truck and headed for the side of the room. They took up postion near the blast doors to set up a hasty ambush postion for the reinforcements that were surly on their way. The grenadiers were up front along with the machine gunners.

The Cheif spoke through the com system, "Which door Ma'am?"

Jessica tried to mentally listen for the sounds of the women trapped inside the brithing vectors, but things were too loud and too chaotic. She couldn't concentrate.

"I'm not sure!'

The Cheif looked around. There were way too many doors. Way too many places where the bad guys could come at them. They needed to move and needed to move NOW.

All together six beasts (two from each truck), were tearing the place apart. As all of 5th King left thier bunker, the Beasts formed a circle watching for any Kraven element that appeared.

The Cheif kept looking around. He knew the bad guys were coming. The Blast Doors were the most likey to lead deeper into the facility. He clicked the tab inside his helmet. The 2nd Blast Door began blinking inside his helmet. He clicked another tab.

Beast One this is King 5. Select my target and fire rockets. Confimation Code Sigma Hotel Sigma Uniform.

One of the Beasts swirled around towards the door and opened up a hatch inside it's torso. Four high powered rockets shot out of the door.

To say that Theodora was frightened would have been an understatement, she was veritably terrified. Fortunately, however, the sheer, terrible chaos of battle afforded her little time to dwell on her fear, and when the truck’s doors opened the Xirniumite intelligence agent sprung to action immediately. Perched precariously on the edge of life, with nothing but the yawning chasm of death beneath her, Miriel surrendered all notion of rational thought - and responded only by instinct and with the ingrained combat training that years of work in the Secret Intelligence Service had given her.

Theodora knew that to stay near the soft-skinned vehicles they had arrived in would spell her end, as they would attract inordinate amounts of fire from the Kraven defenders. Miriel, therefore, did her best to move quickly away from the trucks and find more suitable cover. The noise inside the enclosed area of the loading bay was appalling - the reports of rapidly firing rifles and machine guns utterly deafening. In particular, the horrible whistling sound of projectiles narrowly missing her head was one instantly recognisable to Theodora, even though she had only heard it under combat conditions twice before.

Miriel selected one of the Fourhearts “Beasts” to be her cover, darting under fire to shelter as best she could behind the dubious protection of its massive tracks and heavily armoured chassis, whilst relying on the machine’s quick-firing cannons to keep the weapons of her enemies at bay. Half crouching, the Xirniumite shouldered her assault rifle and scanned through the thick dust for targets. Picking one at random, Theodora shifted her firearm, watching the iron sights meld into the silhouetted form of her prey, and squeezed the trigger. The recoil of the high-calibre weapon was savage, though not unexpected. Unable to tell in the confusion of the fighting whether or not the target had been neutralised, Miriel merely picked another Kraven trooper, and fired a quick burst, before choosing yet another target and doing the same.

And again, and again.

Theodora did not think, she merely acted - firing frequently yet with murderous precision. The Xirniumite showed neither mercy nor remorse, her abject terror did not allow her to.

This is insane, a suicide mission! thought Miriel with despair as she dived nimbly (though almost not in time) to avoid being crushed by the uncaring steel treads of the armoured vehicle which she was using for cover. Out of the corner of her eye she continued to watch the rest of the Fourhearts team, waiting desperately for them to blast the door so that they could get out of this death trap and away from immediate mortal peril.

Indeed, the truck had managed to roll right on top of the Beast. And indeed, the Beast was straining under the weight. The Beast was not designed to take that much weight.

It was however, designed to be fireproof.

A burst of flame arouse from the robotic tanks's torso. The truck had not managed to block the .50 calibar machine guns, which were now providing 5th King with cover. As the fuel tanks on the dump truck ignited, men were pouring out of the bunker's oppostie side and finding cover behind other trucks.

At the truck occupied by Jessica Hart, The Beast's twin machine guns were roaring. Hart and her men quickly left the truck and headed for the side of the room. They took up postion near the blast doors to set up a hasty ambush postion for the reinforcements that were surly on their way. The grenadiers were up front along with the machine gunners.

The Cheif spoke through the com system, "Which door Ma'am?"

Jessica tried to mentally listen for the sounds of the women trapped inside the brithing vectors, but things were too loud and too chaotic. She couldn't concentrate.

"I'm not sure!'

The Cheif looked around. There were way too many doors. Way too many places where the bad guys could come at them. They needed to move and needed to move NOW.

All together six beasts (two from each truck), were tearing the place apart. As all of 5th King left thier bunker, the Beasts formed a circle watching for any Kraven element that appeared.

The Cheif kept looking around. He knew the bad guys were coming. The Blast Doors were the most likey to lead deeper into the facility. He clicked the tab inside his helmet. The 2nd Blast Door began blinking inside his helmet. He clicked another tab.

Beast One this is King 5. Select my target and fire rockets. Confimation Code Sigma Hotel Sigma Uniform.

One of the Beasts swirled around towards the door and opened up a hatch inside it's torso. Four high powered rockets shot out of the door.


The Blast door took the hits, as its primary function was to withstand explosions five times bigger than this, however, the Doors opened and from them flooded Capitol Police, three were carrying hand held Missile launchers, Anti Tank Squads, or Jagdpanzers... they quickly readied their missiles and chose the targets of the Beasts that fourhearts was using, while at the same time the squad guarding the Jagdpanzers was laying down suppressive fire...

Several Capitol Policemen were sent down, taking out by the heavy caliber of bullets, but from seemingly every corner of the building, more and more Capitol Police seemed to pour in, flooding the place..

Alarms and sirens roared throughout the building, while Chaos continued to reign supreme...

"Sir... The Panzergrenadiers?"

"No... Hold Them..."

Beast One made an sound that sounded simular to a purr as the Capitol Police announced thier presense. It sped full gear towards the Jagdpanzers, laying down a flurry of machinegun fire and flames. The other five beasts rocketed towards 5th King to sheild and cover them. The soldiers of 5th King would begin firing high velocity bullets and would fight step by step toward the nearest blast door.

They would need to hurry. It was getting ugly, and fast.

The Forces pressed the attack, while the Jagdpanzers now sought cover in the face of the Beasts return fire, but however the Forces were still laying down cover fire, suppressive fire where possible, while the Blast Doors were now open, giving the 5th King a possible escape route...

"Close that Blast door..."

"Can't Sir, its not responding"

"Shit, Divert some Sturmpanzers into the Corridor...."

"They'll be around 15 minutes away, the explosion from one of the Containers shorted out the power for that Sector, the Engineers are trying to reroute power as we speak.."

"Very well..."

"GO! GO! GO!", screamed the Cheif into his mic.

One by one, each sqaud rushed into the open corridor shooting off bursts of ammo into the enemy defenders. As one was running, a shot rang out and he dropped dead to the steel floor.

"Cheif! Johnsons been hit!"

"Pick him and and drive on! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

A corpral picked him up and dragged him to the corridor.

Machine gun fired continued to fill the room as 5th King made thier way inside. Once they were there Cheif shouted out an order to get the door closed.

"It's stuck sir!'

"I don't wanna hear that! Get the damn door closed!"

A Sargent looked around desperetly while one of the machine gunners took down another CP. He found what looked to be a hand crank and began turning it. It was slow going and he swore he could hear a bullet whiz by his ear drum.

"Cover me damn it!"

Slowly the door closed on 5th King. The Beasts were to large to gain entry and so they would continue to blast away at the Kraven menace. Fighting to their termination.

Jessica was frightend. They were now safe inside the corridor and had a moment to breath. She was pale. She was sweating.

The Cheif grabber her shoulders.

"Ma'am! I need you to get a grip. This place is fucking huge and if you go off and lose it we're going to be in some pretty deep shit ok? Get a grip. I know you're a nurse and not a combat type person, but you're still the boss ok?

Jessica nodded. "Ok. What's our next move?"

"Recover what we got and keep moving. Johnson took a hit pretty bad and we don't think he's got long. The Beasts won't fit inside the corridor and won't last long, but we knew that coming in. I've got a few teams with Rats that can act as scouts for us. They should be unpacking them now."

The Emergency Lighting in the Corridor Cut out, plunging the corridor into total darkness...

The Sirens and gun fire from the other room now died down and Jessica and her team were left in the Omnious cold darkness and silence of a Kraven Facility...

"Figures", muttered one of the soldiers as everyone switched on thier nightsights.

A lone RATbot, which looked very much like a small remote controlled car, went scurriing down the corridor to see what was happening ahead.

Theodora leant heavily against the wall of the corridor and struggled to regain her breath, coughing violently from the dust. The Xirniumite’s knuckles had gone white from clasping the cold metal of her assault rifle tightly, for she held it ever ready - straining to hear even the slightest sound of danger approaching from within the impenetrable darkness of the Kraven facility. Silently, Theodora ejected the firearm's empty magazine and grimly inserted a new one, wordlessly making sure that the weapon was ready to fire.

‘If we abandon this area we will be cut off from escape,’ pointed out Miriel quietly, her ragged breathing having returned to normal. The intelligence agent adjusted her officer’s cap and pulled her greatcoat more tightly about her, regaining her composure.

‘I certainly hope you have some kind of contingency…’

Corridor 18, Storage Sector

The Darkness was absolute, nothing, the Night Vision goggles worn by the team of fourhearts would prove next to usless, as this was almost total dark, the only light was coming from an eerie warning light, its red glow rotated across the room with some pace, casting a flash of intense red every so often...

"Sir, They've yet to move.."

"Hmmm... Don't let them go any further, they will find the Processor if they go anyfurther.. Deploy the Panzergrenadiers..."

The Corporal smiled, he'd been waiting for this moment, his ego was swollen after being given the Activation codes for a small unit...

"Delta, five, five, nine, eight, six, one, Alpha"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/HorusGodEmperor/Phase4s.jpg

The Response were several mechanical voices, each giving the confirmation of the activation..

In a room several corridors down, The Panzergrenadiers activated, their servos came online as several hisses indicated that the air lines were activated, oil pumps brought the pressure up to optimal as the hydrolic assisted legs lurched forwards with a heavy step, each Mechanical Soldier marched in unision down the long Corridor, their heavy, massive, black intimidating forms taking up the Corridor as they marched towards their destination...

Jessica's Corridor

One of the far blast doors on the other end of the Corridor opened slowly, its motors powered it silently apart until there was a gentle thud as the doors became fully apart....

The Darkness of the room was still total as,the silence was broken by five sets of servos coming to a stop in the Corridor, then one by one, five Lazer designators lept out, targetting one person each in Jessicas squad, each memeber had a 3 small lazer dots forming a triangle, the lazer designators had cut the room apart as these Sardaukar prepared to fire...

However in unision each one spoke, the mechanical voice echoed through the Corridor as the sounds that followed were of several Assault cannons locking and loading, bringing the ammunition clip into place, while the autoloader prepared another clip...

http://www.btinternet.com/~reg.joy/sounds/ED209sound.wav


Things were looking bad for Jessica, her team and The Xirnium Intelligence Agent...

The men of Alpha sqaud looked at each other for a split second then two men simultanosly pressed a small red button on the side of thier rifles launching two small grenades. Everyone else in the corridor who had a free shot opened fire with their machine guns. The small grenades launched down the corridor and exploded upon impact sending shards of fire and shrapnel thoughout the Panzergrenadier line.

A large soldier bolted out in front of Jessica, unbidden. The man knew that they're attack would not go unopposed.

OOC: Did this die? I was having a great time reading it...