Operation: Pacifica, Rumble in Sponge City
by CyberPyro (deadlock@one.net)



 The initial landing had been a success. The hovercraft disgorged
  their troops who quickly assembled for a march in-land.


 "Alright people, you have your assignments.  Let's MOVE!" yelled
  Centurion Cadmus.  The Dobermensch landing force split up into platoon
  without a word and marched across towards the spongin city.



...


 [place: half a mile inland, sponge city]


 "I don't like the quiet," spoke Sergeant Perazim.


 "You expect unarmed spongin to attack Jihaddi in BattleArmor?"
  asked CP.


 "No, but I.."


 "Stay alert," snapped Iscarius.


 "Yes, sir," they responded.



...


 The dying explosion of the _Wolfbane_ echoed across Sponge City,
  jolting Jihaddi with the abruptness and intensity of its noise.


 "What the..?"


 Shots rang out.  The screams of dying men.  Wood snapped and brick
  crumpled as several large, mechanical copies of the Demonic Trio rolled out
  from their hiding place.


 "Take cover!" yelled Centurion Cadmus.  His men hid behind what
  they could and returned fire.  Throughout the city, Wyrm bots broke from
  cover and sponge minions poured from bunkers.


 "It's a trap."



...




 A HellWyrm Bot crashed out of its hiding place on the flank of the
  Chosen, catching most of them in surprise.  Its plasma cannons and rocket
  launchers hummed loudly as they sought a target.


 CP's Nemesis BattleArmor jerked sharply to face the bot, raised its
  cannons and opened fire.  DarkSide unconsciously pulled away as his friend
  disappeared from view behind a flood of plasma streams.


 All of CP's fire converged on the bot's side directly above its hip
  joint.  Bathed in a constant stream of plasma, piercing shells, and smashing
  rail gun fire, the armor collapsed inwards.  A grenade flew through the new
  opening flanked by plasma on all sides.


 The Wyrmbot shuddered violently.  The nagenta stomach of the bot,
  already bloated, bulged out obscenely as the cockpit exploded in flame.  A
  secondary explosion erupted from the hole made in the armor and melted the
  controlling structures for the holding the leg in place.


 With an unholy screech, the bot toppled to the ground and lay there
  smoldering.  More of its kin smashed out of their hiding places and rushed
  at the Chosen from all sides.


 "We're surrounded!" yelled DarkSide.


 "I hadn't noticed," replied CP as he opened fire on a b'habii
  b'hopp bot.  Commander Iscarius, aka Skardik, noticed a b'hii j'haa bot
  preparing to perform a leap attack against him.


 He drew the Jihaddium Great Sword from his Wrath of Arioch
  BattleArmor and kicked its jumpjets up to full power.  The bot left the
  ground at the same moment.


 The two passed mid-air and attacked.  The bot's b'harniium sword
  clanged off Shardik's shoulder.  In contract, Iscarius ripped his sword
  across the bot's knee and upper leg.  The Jihaddium blade sliced through the
  armor and into sensitive control mechanisms.


 The bot's pilot found his vehicle to be without two functional feet
  to land on, and was forced to attempt a one-legged landing.  The sudden
  stress of the impact snapped the main shaft controlling the bot's leg and it
  toppled face-first into the ground.


 A Chosen screamed in agony, plasma fire from two wyrm bot melting
  away her armor and burning into her unprotected skin.  Returned rockets from
  the Jihaddi exploded the chest and reactor of one bot, but the other lived
  long enough to damage another Chosen before it too was destroyed.


 The blocks where the battle raged quickly turned to slag as the
  Jihaddi and wyrm bots traded blast for counter blast and attacks for counter
  attacks.  The trap has been sprung, and the loop was closing.

- CP
Copyright, Pyrokinetic Productions, Inc. (1997)