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Apache_Longbow
04-13-2004, 09:30 PM
I got bored. Aren't you guys lucky :p


The lights shone brightly, circling the outside of the massive concrete wall and letting everyone around know just where the base was. It was a complex of epic proportions, a modern achievement of architectural wonder that spanned nearly a square mile. The industrial sound of machines at work echoed through the empty space outside the borders and were magnified even more by the chilling cold of the night air. An arc of light emanated from inside out, faintly fading high in the sky and making stargazing an absolute impossibility. It was, all in all, an impressive sight that nobody wanted to see. The buildings themselves were beautiful, modern, and state of the art, and the only thing most of the remaining population on earth wanted to do was destroy them. There was just no reason to love anything having to do with the Brotherhood of Nod.

From his perch far away, Coal Kerry sat patiently, awaiting word from HQ. He reached up towards his face, running his hand over the right side of it. His face was smooth at first, but in only a moment was broken up by the blemishes embedded permanently in his skin, the Tiberium crystals that were a result of Tiberium poisoning. Coal was part of the Forgotten, a group of deformed outcasts who nobody needed and nobody cared about. But unlike most other Shiners, the glow that accompanied the crystals was absent, replaced by a jet-black hue that exactly matched the shade of his eyes. It was for this strange colorization that his mother had changed his name from ‘Cole’ to its present form when he was five years old. To accompany his strange facial features, his hair was faded white; just another side effect of the Tiberium poisoning that he had been forced to endure throughout of his life. He wore a light armor vest, although it wasn’t visible through the trench coat that draped over it, and he carried a bag at his right hip, the lone strap slung over his left shoulder and diagonally across his torso. His dark gray cargo pants held a volume of different objects, strewn throughout it’s many pockets in an un-orderly fashion, but in such a way that he knew where everything was. He carried a backpack along with his hip bag, the black package hanging off of him by both straps, one on each shoulder slinging down into his armpits and back to the bag. The pack was used only to store the C4 that Kerry used frequently on his secret trips to Nod bases, destroying any building he was instructed to with a coldness that conflicted with his warm and kind personality. Next to him lay his one line of defense; a railgun, large in size and power for a personalized weapon but relatively small compared to many of the different variants placed on tanks. It was this very gun that had saved him from death more than a handful of times, and it was his most prized possession.

He heard the usual static gargle over the radio. To the untrained human, it was merely a jumble of indiscernible sounds, but to Kerry, who had lived with a radio receptor constantly in his ear for the last couple of years, it was translated into a message.

“Grill to charcoal, grill to charcoal, Operation Barbeque is a go, repeat, barbeque is a go.” It was a message from his high command, using code words that were easy to recognize, thanks to Kerry’s reworked name.

Coal stood up, his six foot two frame stretching for a brief second before he resumed a crouching position. He listened intently in the distance, straining to pick up the first hint of the high whine of the Orcas. He soon picked it up, and new it was time for action.

He lifted up his combat boots and began his quick run towards the Nod base ahead. He had been previously hiding in a patch of trees 150 yards away from the concrete barrier around the base. He quickly emerged from the foliage and raced his way to the wall, not caring about any observers who could be watching him. It was late at night, and although there were lights all around the complex, the observers attention would be most certainly elsewhere; he knew because the soft whine of the Orca engines had turned into a deafening, high-pitched roar. As he arrived at the base of the wall, he put his back to it and looked up.

The large hovercraft came blazing in, jumping out of the pitch-black sky and only visible for a split-second before they disappeared under the top of the wall. Kerry could hear the bombers dropping their payloads, as well as the echoing explosion of the SAM sites down on the ground firing their salvos at the incoming enemy. Coal quickly brought his backpack down in front of him and opened it up, grabbing two C4 charges before closing up the pack and throwing it back on properly. He wired the explosives and placed them on the side of the wall, his hands working efficiently in order to be ready in time. He raced down the side of the wall, getting enough space between himself and the live bombs so that he wouldn’t become a burnt corpse littering the ground when they went off. He stopped and listened, waiting for the sound of the last bomb hitting the ground. Once it came he took a deep breath, and slammed on the button that controlled the explosives.

A violent flash filled the night air, and the wall was shredded into rubble and pushed into the base. As smoke billowed upwards, Kerry grabbed his railgun, flicked off its safety mechanism, and ran towards the opening. He was alone, but he was a Ghoststalker, part of the Forgotten, and he was used to it by now.

The only thing on his mind was destroying the Nod soldiers before they had a chance to destroy him.




More to come...

Master Chris
04-14-2004, 01:15 AM
Yay. Tasty, yummy, delicious fan-fic. Double plus good.

Artificial Idiot
04-14-2004, 05:06 AM
Nice work! Very descriptive, interesting main character. Not really a great fan of war stories nor do I know a lot about CNC, but I enjoyed it all the same. :)

I really do need to read more of the stories here :shifty:

Wesforce
04-14-2004, 02:00 PM
If I was one of the muties I'd fight for the Nods, not the GDI gimps who just ponce around in theior space station all day :

Nice detailing. Iwant to build myself a Nod buidling now...

Apache_Longbow
04-14-2004, 04:20 PM
Kerry stepped into the base as was promptly met with the humming of a laser getting ready to turn him into a pile of charred body parts on the ground. His railgun already up, Coal slammed down on the trigger and blew the turret off of its turntable, effectively ending the sudden threat he had found himself under. As he looked around, he realized he was nowhere near safety.

The base was loaded with troops from front to back, with just enough troops filling the inside of its defensive walls so that it wasn’t overcrowded. A throng of Nod foot soldiers rushed towards Coal’s position, while a handful of attack buggies sat back and opened fire.

Kerry jumped to his left, using his speed and agility to find cover behind a giant pile of rubble that had previously been part of the wall. He brought his railgun up, resting it on the top of the pile and pulling on the trigger as he lined up his shots. Five Noddies fell within a few seconds, and Coal turned his attention towards the buggies and their more powerful attack.

He took his first shot at one of the vehicles, striking it just below the turret and jamming the swivel mechanism. The gun turned to the left and fell downwards, striking three more Nod riflemen in the back. The men screamed as they were hit without warning, half of them not even knowing what had happened as the dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, rolling around in agony as their final seconds on earth ticked off. Before they fell motionless, Coal had already slammed a salvo into the next enemy machine, causing the vehicle to explode upwards and come back down, resting on its side. Kerry leveled another buggy and a few more men before his next threat appeared.

The engine running at an inhumane speed, the attack cycle approached Kerry from behind. He heard the engine from a distance, and whipped his head around in time to see the cycle launch two rockets in his direction. Kerry jumped up and ran with all the speed he could muster, throwing himself on the ground before the rickets made contact with the pile of rubble, reducing it to a pile of dust. Coal fired his gun at the bike, smashing the windshield and throwing the driver away from the vehicle. After hitting the pilot again to make sure he would come back and be his eventual end, Kerry approached the fallen machine. Beats walking, he thought as he threw away the remains of the shattered windshield and hopped on. He rested his hand weapon in front of him and gripped the handlebar, twisting the right grip and gunning the engine. His foot let up on the clutch, and in a cloud of dust the wheels caught traction. He crouched down as far as he could in a vain attempt to protect himself from the cold night air as he raced off into the heart of the base.

In a matter of moments, he was dodging projectiles from a Tick tank that was hot in pursuit of the bike. He turned and fired his firearm at the tank, trying to aim, keep his balance, drive straight, and figure out how to operate the rockets he had in his arsenal all at the same time. The shot at the tick tank was successful, but Coal had no time to watch one of the treads explode, or see the tank descend hard into the ground. He was too busy pressing every button on the handlebars, hoping beyond hope that one would fire the rockets. He pressed one, and the bike’s lights flicked off. He turned them back on and slammed another button. The cycle shot forward, accelerating for a short burst. So far he had found the jet boosters and the lights, but still not what he was looking for. One more button. Nothing happened, but Coal could hear the mechanical whir as the bike tried to unlatch the windshield that was no longer there. He broke out of his concentration to look around for a split second, and wasn’t happy he had.

A battery of three artillery units was sitting 200 yards away, their barrels moving upwards and getting ready to unleash hell on the small attack cycle Coal was piloting. ****, ****, ****! He thought as he pressed three more buttons. He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew one thing: there was still no rockets. He spotted the last button, and slammed on it three times.

He almost lost control as the rockets launched and the bike bucked like a rodeo bull. Six in all, the projectiles left a smoke trail as they cruised off towards the artillery platforms ahead. One of the stationary guns fired a salvo before it succumbed to the explosives and was engulfed in a ball of white-hot flames. The other two were destroyed before they could be so fortunate, and Coal gunned the bike’s engine and took a sharp left in order to dodge the falling artillery shell aimed at him. The earth shuddered as it created a crater in the ground, but Kerry was well out of harm’s way.

Now, let’s go find the Construction Yard and make it disappear, Coal said to himself with a grin.

Before he could think anything else, his bike was hit and violently thrown off the ground. Coal’s gun flew up at a surprisingly fast pace and smashed into his right eye, gashing it and causing him to scream in pain as he was thrown from the airborne vehicle. As he began his descent towards the ground, he tried to see what had hit him, but when he opened his eyes he was greeted with dark red blood trickling down into his eye and blurring his vision. The last thing he heard was the crunching of metal as the attack cycle hit the ground. Then he felt his body protest in pain as he hit the ground with a sharp thud and blacked out.

Bean
04-14-2004, 06:52 PM
Nice writing Apache.
Can't wait for more.

Blue Aurora
04-15-2004, 02:37 AM
Good work Apache Longbow. :cool: I've a feeling that since we're both writers and we get along with each other, we'll become good friends. :D

Blue Aurora
05-22-2004, 05:09 AM
When are you going to continue this story?

Apache_Longbow
06-22-2004, 12:30 PM
And 2 months later......BUMP

Updated as per BA request(s).


Kerry rustled, slowly awakening and opening his eyes just enough so that he could see somewhat clearly. Smoke still billowed in the air, dark columns that dissipated high over the base. A Nod Banshee sliced through one of the dark clouds, all the while looking out for any Orcas it was patrolling for. He tasted the mingled flavors of fresh blood and dirt on his lips, and as he wiped the redness away from his eyes he got up and brushed himself off. Dust blanketed the entire base, and seemed to be magnetically attracted to his clothes. He searched for enemies around him, and quickly spotted his gun a few feet away, miraculously unscathed after its fall from the heights above. He obviously hadn’t been out for long, if at all – he was still alive, wasn’t he?

Coal realized at that moment he was still inside an enemy base, where people with guns would be shooting at him. He grabbed his gun, and brought it up firing position. He spun around, looking for any red on a Nod soldier’s uniform that could give them away. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the muzzle flash.

The light expanded and spread out hauntingly through the thick smoke and dust. The shot echoed through the air, and Kerry dropped to the ground as quick as his brain could relay the signals to his nerves. As he hit the ground, the searing pain in his left shoulder told him he had reacted too late.

He could feel the clothes around his shoulder become clingy, warm, and heavier as they were soaked in liquid. The blood was coming out at an alarmingly fast rate, and he felt every drop as it began trickling down his chest and fall towards his waist. **** this hurts! He thought to himself as he pondered his next move. He didn’t have time to try and dress the wound, or even try to fashion a tourniquet. His only hope was to fight back, and pray that his radio was still powerful enough to get a rescue message to GDI headquarters. He brought his gun up with his lone strong arm, aimed as steadily as he could manage with one hand, and blasted a whole magazine’s worth of bullets in and around the place the muzzle flash had come from. He was satisfied when he heard more than one scream, but in the back of his mind he was still terrified at the certainty that he was surrounded. He loaded a grenade in his gun’s attachment as he found cover behind an unoccupied tank, and then sprang to his feet and ran as fast as he could while trying to stay low to the ground. He could hear a few bullets fly past as he ran, and suddenly machinegun fire ripped through the air. Coal dove behind and mound of dirt, and looked back. A Nod attack buggy was sitting a mere 25 yards away, waiting for him to make the slightest of moves so they could get rid of his annoying presence. Coal took one more gaze at the buggy, ducked behind the dirt, and flung his arm and the gun over the top of it. He slammed on the trigger and prayed that it would hit its target. A few seconds later, screams of men and burning metal assaulting his nostrils brought a smile to his face, as well as a relief to his consciousness. He glanced at his surroundings and realized that he wasn’t that far away from one of the outer walls. If he blew a hole it with a grenade, and made a dash for it, he realized he had a small chance to make it. He clasped the gun in between his legs, used his good arm to load one more grenade in the attachment, and then let it fly. The grenade smacked against the wall a little bit high, but the giant gap in the wall showed that it was still a successful launch. Coal rustled to his feet, slung his gun on his right shoulder, and began running awkwardly towards his gateway to freedom. He clasped his left shoulder in an effort to reduce the blinding pain after he flicked on his radio.

“I’m shot, and I’m leaving the base. Mission aborted, I need an extraction vehicle at the designated area now! Repeat, I need an extraction vehicle, the mission has been aborted!” Coal looked ahead. There was only a scant 100 yards to safety. But as he ran, he couldn’t help but notice the blotches in his eyesight.

Oh shlt, oh shlt, oh shlt! Thought Coal as he realized what was happening. He was losing too much blood. His head was feeling too light, and the whole scene was seemingly far away now, detached from him. He was drifting farther away, and the blotches were getting bigger and thicker. C’mon Kerry, only 50 more yards and I’m outta here. Just hold on, just stay ok for a few more steps. But as Coal continued to close the distance, the blotches and the fogginess became too much, and he collapsed onto the ground as he blacked out once again.