Arsenal, Lone Jihaddi, Part I
Soft Touch: Assault on Ilsa Nublar

     Arsenal's helicopter hovered gracefully a few miles from the
island of Ilsa Nublar, the Solar Ishtari dinosaur breeding
ground.  The island was formerly the site of a dinosaur theme
park and safari owned by a private industrialist, who abandoned
it after the dinosaurs in the safari escaped.  The Ishtari had
protected the place with a mystic force field, which did not
allow unauthorized aircraft onto the island.  Today, Arsenal was
going onto the island, without permission.
     Arsenal slipped into his winged flight harness.  Then he
slipped his arms into weapons gauntlets.  Finally, he adusted his
utility belt, making sure the sword he was carrying was fastened
securely.  At long last, he opened the helicopter's side door.
     "Are you sure you want to do this, Arse?" the Francesca LMD
asked from the pilot's seat of the chopper.
     "I don't want to do this, Fran," he replied.  "It's
something I HAVE to do.  Can you move me in closer?"
     "But WHY do you have to do this?' she replied.  "I don't
have access to all of your files to understand why you're doing
this.  And no, I cannot get any closer, or the Ishtari will spot
us."
     "Fine," Arsenal stated.  "And I can't tell you.  Yet."  With
that, he launched himself from the helicopter.
     He flew towards the island, pausing only as he approached
the mystic force field.  This was the first time he had
encountered anything connected to the Solar Ishtari.  He was
suitably impressed.
     The force field was invisible to the naked eye.  Only the
special lenses in the headgear attatched to the flight harness
enabled Arsenal to "see" it.  Slowly, with a grim determination,
Arsenal drew his Ebony Blade.
     With one slice, the Blade penetrated the force field,
enabling Arsenal to slip through it unharmed.

     "Sir," a technician in the control bunker told his superior,
"an unknown object has just broken through the protection field."
     "Where?" the controller asked, leaning over the tech's
shoulder.  The computer screen zeroed in on the place where
Arsenal had sliced through the field.
     "Sector Gamma, sir," the tech replied. "Two miles up."
     "Impossible.  How large?"
     "Human sized.  Too small to be an airplane."
     "Get me an update of ALL beings and objects who could
concieveably pierce the field.  And get Security on yellow alert. 
STAT!!!"
     The tech started his scan as the controller wondered what
would happen next.

     Arsenal swooped down over the inner plain where a herd of
ostrich-like Gallimimuses grazed peacefully.  He had sheathed the
Blade after breaking through the field.  With a thought, he
brought the forearm assemblies into play.  He took aim at a lone
Gallimimus, and fired a single tracker bug onto it.  It soon
disappeared in a flash of light.  He then tagged another fifteen
Gallimimises before his sensors detected a Raptor Knight
contingent approaching him at top speed, riding a number of
Triceratops in full battle gear.
     Arsenal did not want a fight, so he flew up into the trees
to avoid the Knights, tossing a couple magnesium flares their way
to distract them.  The lumbering beasts scattered in disarray as
the flares' heat blistered their feet, some riders being thrown
from their mounts by the sudden change in directions.       
     Having put the Knights into confusion, Arsenal took the
opportunity to tag three of their mounts, and vanished into the
underbrush.
     Arsenal hid the flight harness under a cluster of ferns. 
Then he took aim at a large tree branch with his one gauntlet and
fired a grappling hook.  The hook embedded itself in the tree;
Arsenal used the line attached to it to climb up the tree.
     Up in the tree, he gazed over the plain.  The dinosaurs he
had captured were going to prove invaluable to his research. 
There was only one dinosaur left that he needed: the Tyranosaurus
Rex.
     He was startled by the presence of a dinosaur face coming
into view.  He was relieved when he recognized it as a
brachiosaurus.
     "I'm glad you guys are friendly," he stated as he pulled out
a syringe while petting the beast.  "It's going to be rough to
get the Rex's blood."  He pushed the syringe under the scales of
the neck, and drew out his blood sample.
     It was then he noticed a camera on the side of the
brachiosaur's head.  The camera focused on him....

     "Sir!" called the tech.  "We've got a positive
identification on the intruder.  It's Arsenal the Lone Warrior."
     "What!?!" the controller asked, startled.  "What's he doing
here?"
     "He's... uh... taking a blood sample from a brachiosaur?!? 
We've also noticed several missing Gallimimuses and Triceratops
since he arrived."  He turned to look at the controller.  "To
compound problems, sir, we've noticed Alice near the fence
again."
     "That Rex will be the death of me."  He thought for a
moment.  "Wait a minute.  Can we manipulate Alice to go after
Arsenal?"
     "We should be able to, sir.  But shoudn't we alert Solar
Warrior first?"
     "Not necessary this time.  Solar Warrior gave us permission
to use any means available to protect this island, including the
dinosaurs.  We can't use the raptors, cause they need to be
surgically altered first, but the Rexes are another story.  Are
the implants working?"
     "Yessir."
     "Good.  Set them on his trail."

     .... Arsenal's reaction was swift, pure reflex.  His hand
flew to his belt, and he promptly disapeared from the
technician's monitors....

     "Sir," the tech called out.  "He's vanished."
     "Vanished?!"  The controller was livid.  "HOW?!?!"
     "Apparently some sort of cloaking device, probably generated
by his utility belt."
     "How far is Alice from his last known position?"
     "Three klicks, according to the cameras."
     The controller frowned.  "I think it's time to call in Solar
Warrior."

     Arsenal slipped through the brush, heading towards the T-Rex
pens.  He stopped, and pulled up a holographic map of the island. 
He had travelled three miles on foot, and was getting tired. 
This raid had gone well, but longer than he expected.  As he
switched off te map, he felt the ground shake.
     THOOM!  THOOM!  THOOM!
     Arsenal's face fell.  He was not near enough to the Rex pens
to feel their steps.  A Rex, maybe three or four, were loose.  He
placed his ear to the ground.
     THOOM!  THOOM!  THOOM!
     He stood up.  A single T-Rex, heading in his direction.  He
quickly realized that the Ishtari had seen him through the
brachiosaur's camera.
     A thunderous roar came from the trees, as a lone T-Rex
reared her head.  Arsenal snapped a microcapsule, bringing a
double-barreled elephant gun to bear.  He took aim at the Rex. 
She roared again.  As she roared, Arsenal fired both barrels into
her mouth.  Two tranquilizer darts embedded themselves in the
soft tissue on the inside of her mouth.
     Arsenal did some quick calculations.  It would take several
minutes for the trank to take full effect, and that the effect
would come sooner if the Rex moved around.  He broke open another
capsule, and mounted the motorcycle that appeared.  He took off,
away from the Rex.  As he expected, she followed him.
     
     "Sir," the tech stated.  "Alice has made contact.  She's
chasing him through Sector Lambda."
     "Any news from Solar Warrior?" the controller asked.
     "He's received our message and is on te way."
     "Good.  One thing bothers me.  What does Arsenal hope to
gain from all of this, other than blood samples?  He could have
just asked."
     "Sir," the tech said dryly, "since when has the Lone Warrior
ever wanted US to know his business."

     Arsenal noticed the trank finally taking effect.  The Rex
teetered, tottered, weebled, wobbled, and finally fell on its
side.  Arsenal drove right up to the beast, and drew a blood
sample from her abdomen.  He turned to leave, placing a tracker
on the motorcycle.  It disappeared in a flash of light.  Arsenal
opened a signal to Fran.
     "Fran, I'm finished here.  Do you have everything?"
     "Everything except for the flight harness," Fran replied. 
"It seems it was stepped on, ruining its tracking system."
     Arsenal shrugged.  "No loss.  I've got more."  His voice
fell to a whisper.
     "Arsenal, what is it?"  Fran asked.
     "Trouble."
     Hovering in the air above Arsenal stood Solar Warrior, his
hands glowing.  His voice boomed over the surrounding area.
     "ARSENAL!!!" he demanded.  "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
     Arsenal tapped his communicator as he replied, "Just
leaving, big guy.  Bye!"
     Arsenal flashed with a bright light just as two bolts of
mystical energy passed right through where Arsenal had
disappeared.
     "Control bunker, this is Solar Warrior.  Arsenal has
escaped.  I'm coming for your report."

     Arsenal floppedinto a chair at his workstation.  A female
face appeared on one of the monitors.
     "So what's the big secret, Arse,"  Fran asked.  "Why DID you
raid Ilsa Nublar?"
     "I can't tell you yet, Fran," he replied, a worried look on
his face.  "Soon, though.  Soon."

To Be continued in _Lone Jihaddi, Part II_


--

Arsenal the Lone Warrior
"If you're gonna go, go with a smile" - Jack Nicholson

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