Operation Pacifica: Just passin' through. by Warrior Hyperion Perazim, Doberman Empire Perazim sat at the gathering, listening intently as Cyberpyro laid out the situation at hand. It was his first visit to the TRES Headquarters, and he wished it had been under better circumstances. He watched as the graphic of Pacifica rotated above the conference table. The Jihad had suffered enormous losses at the hands of the X'hirjq, but the prospect of there being additional survivors quickened his pulse. After the briefing broke up, Perazim made his way back his quarters where he hastened to ready his gear for the trip. Time was of the essence. They were due to depart to Pacifica as soon as possible once everyone arrived. The Warrior changed out of his uniform into his standard attire. Black jeans, sweat shirt, boots. He packed his gear bag with all the provisions he thought he'd need: plenty of ammo, both his Beretta 9- millimeters, his small handled throwing axes, and plenty of Dramamine. He didn't figure he'd really need the latter, but the thought of blowing chowder off of the back of the DTT Iowa didn't really sit well with him. He hung his Jihaddium sword at his side, pulled on his trench coat and headed out to the garages. ----- Perazim crossed the parking lot heading towards the Kenworth that sat waiting on the far side. He packed his gear into the side box and climbed up into the cab. The engine roared to life, the Quad- Cumming Turbo's coming on-line with a high powered hum. The black paint, chrome wheels, grill topped with a snarling Doberman, and gas tanks glimmered brightly in the light as he pulled out of the lot, chirping the dual tires on the rear axle as he moved through the gears. While Perazim made his way to the freeway, he hung the pictures of his wife and son he always kept with him from the dashboard, just beside the screen of the on-board computer. ----- Traffic was light when Perazim reached I-80, and he had no problem swinging the truck and trailer into the left lane while mashing the pedal to the floor. As he glided through the few remaining gears, the speedo easily slipped past 110 mph. He popped a few CD's into the changer and brought the 200 watt stereo system to life. He was indeed making some pretty good time. As he came upon a line of cars in the right lane, something familiar yet bizarre caught his eye. A TARAV was lumbering along, and as Perazim approached it, he couldn't help but laugh at the tuft of hair blowing in the wind, and the furry hands at the appropriate 10 and 2 o'clock positions on the wheel. As he blew by, horns blaring, Perazim rolled down the passenger window and flipped a magnet backed sticker onto the rear of J's vehicle that read: "If you can read this, you're too close!" Now absolutely howling in laughter, Perazim locked the cruise control at 120mph, set the truck's on-board Cray computer system to "Navigation", and crawled into the sleeper to get some rest while he could. ------ The rest of the trip was quick and uneventful. After waking from his nap, Perazim passed through what appeared to be some battle debris, but unsurprisingly, he saw no evidence of Jihad casualties. "Well, someone had some fun," he thought to himself as the wheels sent a few remaining scraps scattering to the roadside. Driving into San Francisco traffic is always an adventure, and doing so in a Big Rig is all the more interesting. Add the excessive speed, the 24" spikes sprouting from the front bumper, and the "I brake for NOBODY" emblazoned across the sides of the trailer, and it scares the other drivers enough that they stay the hell out of the way, lest they get themselves a Kenworth enema. As Perazim swung the Rig into the Doberman Naval base, he saw that most of the troops had yet to arrive. He met up with a few of the still white knuckled passengers that had ridden with Cyberpyro, and was brought up to speed on happenings since their arrival. CP and Samhain had headed into town, and most everybody else was checking and double checking the gear. "Well then, as long as we're waiting," Perazim said as he swung the doors open on the trailer to reveal a stock of Rice Crispy Treats and Jolt cola, "Lets Eat!" ----- To be continued..... - Warrior Hyperion Perazim