Operation Pacifica: Acts of Sacrifice by Admiral J-Rock, TRES Corps "One who is a samurai must, before all other things, keep in mind constantly by day and by night... the fact that he has to die." - Daidoji Yuzan, sixteenth-century military historian MILKHOUSE "EL BANYO DIABLO" SPONGIN CITY FOUND ON PACIFICA ISLAND DAY TEN OF OPERATION PACIFICA # Tito & Tarantula "The Strange Face Of Love" _"Desperado" soundtrack_ "Great," J-Rock said to nobody in particular as he popped open his helmet. "I'm stuck in the Spongin equivalent of a coffeehouse, my transmitter's damaged, and I'm down to my last clip in the rec-rifle, which I can't find... could it be any worse?" Just then, the muzzle of an M-16 pressed against his temple. "Let's forget I said that," he said. "Yes, carve another notch in the belt for superior intelligence!" a MENSA Clanner exulted as he moved into view. J-R looked down the barrel at the saurian before his eyes registered the interesting fact that the bolt on the M-16 was locked back. 'Then again,' he thought, 'this is exactly what I've come to expect from these beings.' A half-grin crossed his face as he swung the assault cannon toward the lizard's body. The Clanner saw this, and pulled the trigger, resulting in nothing happening. "Stupidity is a boundless concept," J-R said as he depressed the trigger on the assault cannon. The barrels moved about a quarter of an inch before they locked up. "Sh*t! Jammed!" The MENSAn tossed the M-16 down as he rooted through the detritus on the floor, looking for a loaded weapon from a fallen comrade. J-R joined in the hunt, rooting for a weapon with his left while frantically trying to clear the jam with his right. Both combatants came up from the pile with MAC-10s, pointed them at each other, and pulled the triggers with near-perfect synchronicity. Firing pins fell upon empty chambers. "Dammit!" the Clanner exclaimed as he dove back into the pile of guns. J-R came up with a Skorpion machine pistol, while the MENSAn brought forth an Uzi. J-Rock pulled the trigger a second before his opponent, only to be rewarded with a hollow click that echoed through the room like a pin dropped in an undisturbed tomb. The MENSAn smiled in exultation, only to find out that there were no bullets in that gun, as well. "What are the odds?" J-R asked in a plaintive voice. "About fifteen point seven two six--" the Clanner said before the jam in the MADOX-03's assault cannon cleared in spectacular fashion. This in turn dropped the saurian like a silhouette target hit with a projectile much larger than it was designed to handle. J-Rock let out a long, slow breath. "Now that's what I call timing," he said as he lowered the helmet on the MADOX and got up. '_There's_ where the rec-rifle disappeared to,' he thought as he picked up the rec-rifle from a pile on the ground. A purple shadow obscured the morning light streaming in through the window. "Hoo-boy," J-R said. "Another Wyrm Bot." This specimen of _nagenta mechasaurus realbigus_ had no interest in the broken milkhouse window, or the powersuit peering out of it. Instead, its attention was focused on a small group of TRES Corps marines, cowering behind the corner of a building. However, there was a second HellWyrm Bot bringing up the rear, which promptly sent two missiles the MADOX's way. Those were promptly shot down by the Umbrella laser anti-missile system as the MADOX broke cover to avoid the rest of the firepower being directed at it. Returning plasma mini- missile for missiles, J-Rock shouted, "My turn!" The Bot's head rocked back as if being hit by an uppercut of considerable force as the mini-missile impacted squarely under its chin. The weight of the head, unsupported by the atomized frontal structure, caused the head to nod forward, stretching the already superheated neck supports before they snapped completely. The Wyrm-Minion pilot was treated to the full horror of free-fall in a cockpit before the head hit the ground, trapping the cockpit between the immovable object of terra quasi-firma and the irresistible force of two tons falling from ten meters up. As one might expect, both heads involved in the fall cracked open like an eggshell. Turning his attentions to the other Bot, J-R applied some more thrust to the hoverjets and skated up its backside, stopping to plant a melta bomb with the normal hand before turning around and skating back down. Almost immediately afterwards, the gift he had left on the back of the Bot's head exploded, frying the pilot's body like a chicken. Only the gaping hole on the back of the head and scorch marks around the canopy glass told of the destruction wreaked through judicious use of thermite explosives. "You people ok?" J-R asked as he came over to their position. "Yes, sir, thanks to you, sir," a female Marine in Contemptor-class close assault armor replied. "Rear Admiral Yearnshaw sent us, sir," said a sergeant in a Thunderbird command/support suit. "My name's Bayer, she's Corporal Tylen, and Mr. Conversation here," he said while indicating a man in Razorback- class infantry support armor, "is Corporal Norwich." Norwich silently nodded. "I'm afraid I won't be of much use," J-R said. "I'm this close to Winchester on all my weapons." "He figured as much," Bayer replied as he opened a backpack-like case. Inside were two plasma mini-missiles, two rec-rifle clips, and a large drum which J-R knew contained another 30 assault cannon bursts. Opening the ammo bin on the MADOX's back nearest the assault cannon, he promised to thank jry later as Tylen reloaded said weapon. At length, J-R said, "Let's move like we've got a purpose. We have friends to link up with." As they headed out, J-Rock suddenly exclaimed, "I forgot the gratuity! Stay here a second." He took out a metla bomb and darted back into El Banyo Diablo for a brief second before emerging again. "Ok, let's go." A few seconds later, the timer on the "gratuity" J-R left on the bar read 0:00. Boom. ... A HOUR LATER... "I'm getting some friendly blips off to the southeast," Norwich said excitedly. "They could be the main force." "Guess again, soldier," Bayer said. "There's not enough blips for it to be the main force." "Whether it is or not," J-Rock noted, "we'll find out soon enough. We can't leave a single person hanging here." 'And I hope to God you're right, Bayer,' he didn't add. # White Zombie "El Phantasmo And The Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama" _Astro-Creep: 2000_ The way toward the blips soon led to a plaza with a gurgling fountain and bloodstained cobblestones. "What in Grimace's name..." J-R muttered. A mob of leathery, nagenta-colored beings were busy beating the stuffing out of something on the ground with various implements of destruction. J-R's sense of humor sprang into rare form, chanting "Attica! Attica!" He mentally slapped it down as he turned up the gain on the external speakers and bellowed, "HEY!" The mob looked towards the four as one, their eyes betraying shock at having been found. As for their appearance, they were all tumors, scales, and misshapen faces, suggesting that they were once human. What they wielded could've got them a walk-on part as Deadites in "Army of Darkness": swords, axes, and quite a few carried crossbows. One bright spark amongst them tried to issue orders in some guttural tongue. "Like a virgin on prom night," said Norwich as his twin shoulder-mounted miniguns spoke up, extinguishing the spark rather messily. "Excuse me?" Tylen added as the mad minute began in earnest. J-Rock added his assault cannon to the festivities, decimating the front rank of thanatins in seconds. Tylen and Bayer stood off the rest of the herd with their 12.7mm wrist guns, and soon the riot scene became a rout. One surviving thanatin got up off the ground and tried his luck at escape, hoping not to get cut down. "I got 'im," Bayer said, dropping his rocket launcher into position and letting a missile fly. The missile streaked across the plaza, unerringly burying itself in the thanatin's back and carrying him ahead five yards before exploding and showering a side street with gristle chunks. "Macarena in Hell, humanoid," J-R spat. The lull in the fighting brought into sharp relief just what the creatures had been pounding on: Jihaddi corpses. "Oh, Jesus," J-R plaintively gasped as he popped open his helmet, bile already rising in his throat. # Moby "Everything Is Wrong" _Everything Is Wrong_ Choking back the bile, J-R's nostrils were immediately assailed by the overpowering stenches of cordite and dead people. From what he could see, most of these were grunts, but their badges had been hacked to pieces along with them. However, one body was more or less intact, despite the axe cuts and crossbow bolts perforating it. The distinctive shape of a Doberman Centurion's insignia peeked out from the right shoulderboard, which was literally hanging by a thread. The MADOX pilot fell to his knees. "First Cochraine, and now this," he mused. "God, I hope You didn't let them suffer too long." Cadmus's face was relatively peaceful, a stark contrast to the violence of his death. There was only one thing to do. J-R popped open the quick-change mount on the normal gauntlet and used the uncovered hand to close Cadmus's eyes one last time. "Vaya con Dios, Centurion," he whispered. 'Why'd You have to take him?' he asked his relevant gods. 'All he wanted was a normal life, without the Satanic Purple Saurian from Hades. In a way, he embodied what we all were striving for: a chance to forget the constant warring, even for a little while. And some mucksucker's gonna pay for this!' Reattaching the gauntlet as he got to his feet, J-R looked out on the infernal scene, fighting back tears as the helmet closed over his head. Turning to his sergeant, he said simply, "Burn it." ... THIRTY MINUTES LATER... # Judas Priest "Blood Red Skies" _Ram It Down_ "What you got up there?" J-Rock asked as Tylen peeked up above the barricade the squad was hiding behind. "A few Wyrm Bots, some Spongin infantry, and some weird guy riding a moose," Tylen responded. "The gang's all here," J-Rock noted sourly. "That's gotta be a 'footer. Did he have a horned helmet on his head?" Tylen nodded. "Just our luck, we get the Lost Viqueen," J-R said. "Pay attention, here's what we're gonna do." "Bayer, Norwich: Take out the Wyrm Bots. The B'Habi B'Hopp one is Norwich's, and Bayer takes the Hell Wyrm. Aim for the cockpit glass. We need to take them out quickly. "Tylen, as soon as Norwich takes down his Bot, go wreak some havoc with the infantry. I'll be softening them up for you after the Little Yellow Louse bot bites it." "WRONG AGAIN, YOU NASTY JIHADDI!!" a saccharine, mechanical voice giggled from behind them. Whirling around to face the source of the voice, J-R and company saw what appeared to be a scaled-down Hell Wyrm Bot, dressed in a cheap purple suit, leading a detail of nagenta and lime-green clad Spongin that looked like they walked off the set of "Dune". # Laibach "Die Liebe" _Nova Akropola_ "And who might you be?" J-Rock asked with elaborate patience. The B'Harnate android replied, "I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the glitch that freezes your battlesuit in the middle of hundreds of rampaging Minions. "In other words, I am the Enforcer of Barney. And you will accept Barney's luv, or die." "Accept this!" Norwich said, opening up with every gun in his suit's arsenal. A nagenta beam shield rezzed into being around the android's left arm, blocking most if not all of the incoming slugs and energy bolts. The Wyrm Bots turned to help, but a head shake from the Enforcer held them at bay. "Plushyakin, attack!" he shouted. The mock-Fremen jumped into the fray, shooting pistols that made sounds resembling an electronically-altered version of B'Habi B'Hopp's screeching. Norwich let out an agonizing scream as his brain imploded under the strain of ten such bolts hitting him. Meanwhile, J-R, Bayer, and Tylen were discovering to their miniscule relief that the Plushyakins' bodysuits, while semi-cool-looking, had the bullet-stopping power of tissue paper. J-R and Bayer were mowing down a good number of Plushyakin like so much wheat, while Tylen was shredding her own substantial amount of Spongies. The Enforcer considered the options before him, and didn't like what he saw. He was rapidly running out of allies, as the Plushyakin were being slaughtered. This would not do. He took out a big pistol, resembling a Colt .45 automatic. "All right, I am through playing nice!" he shouted, firing a quick double-tap at Bayer. Bayer staggered back a few steps as his breastplate buckled from the 45mm slugs fired at it. Snarling, he lowered the rocket launcher and snapped off a shot. "You think you can get through my shield?" the Enforcer mockingly asked before the explosion from the missile knocked him to the ground. "I wasn't aiming at _you,_ monster," Bayer replied. The Enforcer got up slowly, growling "Barney luvs you... but I don't!!" as he fired his hand cannon a third time, striking Bayer in the head and dropping him like a poleaxed steer. "You heartless... DIE!!!" Tylen shouted, rushing the Enforcer with Jihaddium triangle blades flashing. J-Rock was shooting the android for all he was worth, but the shield stopped a fair portion of the damage. About that time, Tylen had come within combat range. And quite frankly, didn't do much else. The Enforcer caught her arm under his, fired off three quick punches to the face and midsection, and bent the pinned arm in a direction God never intended for arms to bend. She screamed as the Enforcer chuckled, "Ooops. Forget about the tennis lessons." "Oi, f**knut!" J-Rock shouted, having had more than enough of this. "Quit picking on her and come fight a real warrior!" he shouted, drawing Da Holy Sibling-Sawblade from its compartment and thrusting it into the ground. "Well, if you're in such a hurry to die," the Enforcer sighed as he tossed Tylen aside like a broken doll, "be my guest." J-R stood there for a second, taking in everything his damage control system had to tell him. Armor was at 32 percent, which wasn't so good. The firefight had eaten up his ammo stores, leaving him with three assault cannon bursts and one rec-rifle clip. 'Not much room for gunplay,' he thought. Things most certainly did not look good. However, long-range radar was picking up friendlies coming in from the west. A plan took shape in J-Rock's mind. It wasn't much to go on, but it was better than standing here and getting wasted. He skated full-throttle straight for the Enforcer, assault cannon and rec-rifle going full automatic. The android leered as he brought the beam shield up to stop J-R's fire. "A full frontal assault? I expected much more from the great Admiral J-Rock," he sneered. The amplifiers gave a simple reply: "Yes." A second later, panels on the back of the MADOX-03 blew off, followed by J-Rock a half-second after that. Without a pilot, the MADOX began to teeter forward as it hurtled toward the Enforcer. The head and shoulders of the battlesuit reached the Enforcer just as the MADOX's emergency destruct device went off, wreathing the android in a corona of fire. ... J-Rock got up slowly, having been blown back toward Da Sawblade. Stopping briefly to pull it out of the pavement, he walked toward the site of the explosion. Halfway there, he had pulled out his Plasmatronix 2000 Handheld ER PPC, but judging from the Enforcer's condition, it was hardly necessary. The android had its legs, tail, and abdomen consumed in the blast. A sparking stump was all that was left of the left arm, and the lower half of the right lay twenty yards away. The entire left side of the Enforcer's face was blown open, exposing circuitry and internal structure. "I thought you were a warrior," the Enforcer said in a close approximation of gasping as it lay on the ground smoking and sparking. "I am," J-Rock replied, aiming the ER PPC at the android's head. "But that doesn't mean I'm a damn fool." Cerulean fire erased the Enforcer's motherboard and CPU, reducing them to slag in well under a second. "Gerry-Bot never had to worry about power armor," J-R mused as he went to check on Tylen. Suddenly, a loud report rent the silent streets as J-R felt something hit his left hip, knocking him to one knee. Looking down, he saw a darkening circle begin to spread from that area. Whatever it was, it had penetrated the soft-suit! And J-Rock knew that there were damn few personal weapons capable of doing that. He raised his pistol, the reflex ingrained through long hours of playing HoloDoom, only to have whatever it was hit his right shoulder, adding a second wound as his mind began to register the pain of the first. Even if he had an Alpha Complex laser, he couldn't shoot it. Not the way his shoulder was now. A figure stepped from a back alley, carrying a 15mm anti-armor rifle and wearing a horned helmet. "So," the Lost Viqueen said, "we meet again for the first time!" "They let anybody on this island," J-R grunted weakly. "What are you doing here?" "If you really must know, the Supreme Commander of alt dot bigfoot (strong and free) sent me over here to record for posterity the doom of the Jihad to Destroy Barney, who is a figure I genuinely admire." "A likely story." "For too long, we have let you spread your lies about Barney and moose. Now we finish what we started so long ago." "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were the ones who forced the moose issue on us--" J-Rock winced. "You're not in any position to argue the facts! As a matter of fact, the only thing you can do is die!" The Viqueen raised the rifle to his shoulder and aimed. # Bon Jovi "Blaze of Glory" _"Young Guns" soundtrack_ 'Well isn't that like a 'footer,' J-R thought. 'Don't even give me a hi-how-are-you before you come out shooting.' He transferred the ER PPC to his left hand. If anything else, he'd sooner burn in Hell than give Paaaaal the satisfaction of getting off the last shot unopposed. He also thought of his friends: Bob, P-Chan, J, Owsen, and all the rest. Especially Owsen, who was somewhere on this godforsaken floating rock, most certainly being used as bait for this economy-sized trap. If any of those needed his help, it was him. Blind acceptance of death in the face of these circumstances was definitely not an option. He had never given much thought to getting killed on these ops. He thought it'd never happen to him. After all, he was much too good to be taken out by a pack of Spongin. Right now, that myth was being shattered rather nicely, and it was scaring him. "Any thoughts on the matter before I send you to Hela?" the Viqueen asked. J-Rock choked back the latest surge of agony as he saw Windigo off in the distance. He could also tell that the Viqueen hadn't noticed her yet. Letting out a long, slow sigh, he felt at peace. He gathered up the courage that comes from confronting one's own mortality, such that nothing holds any fear anymore. The If-Death-comes-for-me-I'll-rip-his-tits-off kind. Raising the pistol, he smirked and replied, "Well, a man's gotta know his limitations." "REVENGE IS JUSTICE!" the Viqueen cried, firing a round from the anti-armor rifle dead center into J-Rock's chest. J-Rock flew back into a building, collapsing like a rag doll as blinding white stole his vision... # Megadeth "A Tout Le Monde" _Youthanasia_ To be continued?