Operation: Pacifica, Chrysalis
by CyberPyro, aka DeadLock the Feral (NYAR!)


        CP slipped unnoticed into the TRES HQ and made his way
  towards the Ellipsoid Pyramid.  It'd been a hard chase, avoiding the Smudges
  intent on capturing the Barney Slayer and taking his life, but their ashes
  testified to their utter failure.


        What had happened to Owsen, was close to anyone's guess, but
  CP had a gut feeling he'd survived the battle but was captured.  No real
  time to debate uncertainties: things needed to be taken care of before a
  crisis started.  The mandate was clear and orders were orders.


...


        J stood in front of CP, a look of inquiry on his vulpine
  face.


        "What's the meaning of this?" he asked.


        "That's part of what I want to talk to you about.  Take a
  seat," responded CP as he tossed the 2nd in Command rank insignia across the
  desk to J.


        "Where's Owsen?" asked J as he looked down at the insignia,
  refusing to pick them up.


        "Gone.  We..."


        "What do you mean *gone*?" snapped J.


        "If you keep interrupting me, you'll never get the story,
  now will you?" bit back CP.


        "Sorry.  Go ahead."


        "Around sundown we were attacked by something I can only
  describe as 'Smudges.'  The Hell Wyrm commanded what seemed like an
  unlimited number of them."


        "Uh huh," sounded J as he wrinkled his nose as a strange
  half-smirk.


        "To make a long story short, J, Owsen struck me," said CP as
  he rubbed his jaw, "to distract me.  In the time a was distracted, he
  teleported me away and left the Barney Slayer and his pistols beside me. His
  last command to me was: 'TRES Corps is in your hands.  Fight well.'"


        "So," said J as he slowly changed the insignia on his shirt
  to reflect that of 2nd in Command, "now what?"


        "We continue on as before.  I'm in new territory as Grand
  Admiral, but you've been in the 2nd's chair before.  I want you there so
  I'll have some freedom to learn."


        "Alright, can do that..."


        "I need you to do that because I have to lay out plans for
  going to Pacifica."


        "Really?" said J, his ears perking up from their half-mast
  position.


        "You've a good case for this, J.  We're going to do it."


        "Great!  We've got enough people around to form exploratory
  teams..."


        "... and no naval forces to get us there," cut in CP, "the
  X'hirjq sunk every last ship we had either at sea or in their harbors."


        "Oh," sighed J, his ears drooping as he looked away
  dejectedly.


        "But, there is another JAO head I can ask about a naval
  fleet to borrow for awhile."


        "Really?" asked a somewhat surprised J.


        "Yes, everything we have suggests this is something we need
  to check out.  The possibility of recovering MIA Jihaddi is good idea, if
  for no other reason than security issues."


        "Having the people back would be a nice thing too."


        "You know what I mean," replied CP, "I care about them just
  as much as you do."


        "So what should I do now?"


        "Write an explanation I can send to everyone in TRES and the
  Jihad about this.  I won't have time since I've got to get other things
  lined up."


        "Will do," said J as sprung from his chair and headed
  towards the door.



...



        "You're serious," questioned Samhain.


        "Yes, about everything," replied CP.


        "We're still reorganizing the DE.  We can't possibly send
  the DTT fleet on some mission right now.  We ..."


        "Sam," started CP, using the familiar address so few could,
  "I know trying to swing this is a bad idea.  TRES Corps can hardly stand
  upright at the moment as well, but we can't /ignore/ the possibility of
  imprisoned Jihaddi..."


        "You detected one dragon.  Maybe someone in TRES..."


        "As if the DE doesn't have a massive MIA list?  Those
  spongin we were worried about when the X'hirjq left didn't evaporate.  I
  think a good portion of them are there, holding MIA Jihaddi prisoner..."


        "Let me think about it," sighed Samhain as he cut out the
  channel.



...



        CP turned in the marble officer's chair towards where one of
  the shadows in his office deepened.  The shadow wrinkled in two small places
  and folded back, revealing two red, smoldering eyes.


        "Doberman forces are on their way," said Samhain as he found
  a chair in the deepest shadows to sit in.


        "Good," nodded CP as he turned to face his friend, the full
  moonlight glittering on the Grand Admiral's insignia.  "Let's talk brass
  tacks before everyone gets here."



...




        A light on CP's desk blinked insistently.


        "Yes, J?"


        "Everyone is here, some of them still pulling sleepers from
  their eyes."


        "OK, briefing at 0700 hours in the internal conference
  room," said CP as he cut out the comm.


        The morning's sun cut brilliant shafts across the office,
  making a sort of checkerboard effect of light and darkness.  One area of
  darkness, somehow blacker than the rest, was uniform except for a pair of
  red eyes staring out at any would-be observer.


        "Well," observed CP, the sun's light seeming to flow around
  him, "I think that about covers our planning."


        "It does.  So how has life been?" smiled Samhain as the
  topic shifted from business to personal issues.



...




        J walked into the conference room where a dozen other
  Jihaddi sat around the large conference table.  The lighting on one side of
  the table was noticeably darker in the already dimly lit conference room,
  partially concealing Samhain, DarkSide, and Sabine -- all creatures of
  darkness.


        TRES' new 2nd in Command took a seat beside the Windigo and
  Shardik, opposite the Lt. Andrews, Malacylpse, and Warrior Hyperion Perazim.
  Looking down the table at Trooper Aphrodite, Rear Admirals Korth and
  Yearnshaw, and Ensign Geier.  He was impressed: CP and Samhain and pulled
  some of the best and brightest from their duties and brought them here and
  short notice.  Things were looking better than he'd thought: CP had taken
  him seriously about Pacifica and intended to give it real, substantial
  backing and not fluff it off.


        The assembled officers snapped to attention, or simply stood
  up from their chairs as a sign of respect, as CP walked up to the podium and
  returned the salutes.  The lights in the chamber dimmed completely as a
  large hologram projection winked into existence.


        An island, floating placidly in dark blue waters, rotated on
  three axes above the conference table.  In a matter of moments, everyone had
  an idea of the true shape of Pacifica.


        "This," pointed CP, "is something altogether new to the
  Jihad.  We've never encountered anything like it.  A big, non-terrafirma
  island floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean without anything to hold
  it up.


        "Stranger still, scans have detected sponge minions, Lyran,
  odd lavender smudges, and what we believe to be Captain Hamster of TRES
  Corps."  The island fell away as the hologram zoomed in, revealing a three
  dimensional composite of a dragon.


        "Given the nature of the island and the sudden disappearance
  of a lot of sponge minions and Lyrans at the end of the X'hirjq invasion,
  Samhain and I find it highly probably that they moved here.  And took a lot
  of our MIA Jihaddi with them in the process.


        "Our mission is going to be simple: Get to Pacifica, find
  out of there really *are* MIA Jihaddi there.  If there are, bring them back
  in one piece.  If not, destroy and enjoy on our way out.


        "Any questions?"


        "Yeah, how we are going to sail there?" asked Rear Admiral
  Yearnshaw, "get the TRES Corps Space Fleet to do an atmospheric mission?"


        "No," replied CP, "the Doberman Trooper Transport, or DTT,
  naval fleet is steaming towards San Francisco at the moment.  They'll be
  ready to transport us to Pacifica shortly after our arrival in SF."


        "San Fran, eh?" mused Perazim, "grew up around that area."


        "We'll travel by TARAVs to the city and then board the DTT
  fleet and sail.  Any questions?"  Silence replied.


        "Good," spoke Samhain, "Let's move."  The Jihaddi stood up
  in unison and headed off to their quarters for final preparations.



...




        Thirty minutes later, a caravan of twenty TARAVs and
  something best described as 'The Used Car from Hell' drove quickly through
  the TRES HQ gates and down the access road.  Once onto the highway, they
  hung a left heading north where they'd eventually meet up with highway 80
  west and drive straight into San Francisco.


        J drove along in his TARAV, not quite liking the feel of the
  steering wheel, but then again, he hated dealing with machinery anyway.
  Wasn't much of a surprise, really, when he thought about it.


        He jumped suddenly, a mass of metal rushing by him, and
  scaring the living day-lights out of his quiet contemplations.  Before he
  could voice a complain, another TARAV went screaming by him at an equally
  high speed.


        "Outta my way!!" yelled Samhain, apparently obsessed with
  keeping any spare oxygen molecules from getting between the gas pedal and
  the floor.


        The blurs, rapidly diminishing as they faded into the
  distance, chased each other across the Asphalt in some game of speed and
  convenience.  J shook his head, not understanding his fellow Jihaddi's
  obsessions, and drove along at a sensible 55 mph.


        "Their crews must be scared senseless," smirked J as he
  looked in the rear-view mirror to see every other vehicle following closely
  behind.  Well, they were off to San Francisco and Pacifica which lay beyond.
  Hopefully, everything would go well and they'd get Hamster back.

- CP
Copyright, Pyrokinetic Productions, Inc. (1996)