'Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% pesperation.'-Thomas Alva Edison. What inspired me to write this one, I will never know. Maybe it was the pizza I ate last night, or the matzo ball, maybe,... Huh, What? Never mind! Here we go! REBEL OUTCRY 'Those who oppose the Empire shall be crushed!'-Grand Moff Tarkin, Star Wars. 'Jonathan Kane, If you walk out that door, you are history!' He didn't look back. 'Your brother died in that stupid organization. Come back here!' Jonathan was sure about his decision. He wasn't going back, no matter what his parents said. His brother had joined and fought, now why shouldn't he? With a duffel bag filled with water, food and some money, he left the life he would have had. Do you know, Where you're going to? Do you like the things, That life is showing you, Where are you going to, Do you know? The kat at the front gate looked at him. 'Ya sure you wanna join?' 'Sure I'm sure.' He shrugged. 'Go on in. Shykes is making a speech' Jonathan nodded and went in. He could hear a kat speaking loudly in the main hall. As he entered, he was surprised at the sheer number of kats who were joining the rebel taskforce. There were thousands of them, male and female, from all walks of life. 'We may not have the firepower, but we are strong in number. Strategically, we can take down the Enforcers, one by one. And when we do, we will rule Megakat City as one!', said the leader. There was a cheer among them. 'Put whatever money you have into the collection box here.' He patted a large, black box on the stage. 'It will be used to buy weapons and ammunition for the attack.' Another cheer. In the heat of a summer night, In the land of the dollar bill, When the town of Chicago died, And they talk about it still. When a man named Al Capone, Tried to make that town his own, And he called his gang to war, With the forces of the law. Jake was pooped. Cars, cars, cars and nothing but cars. What made it worse it that more and more attacks by 'The Rebellion' had caused them to be even busier. Sami and Felina were occupied most of the time in wars between the Enforcer and this gang of rebels. The Swatkats were also in need most of the time, mainly because the rebels overpowered the Enforcers. They had surprisingly good machinery, including Uzi's, machine guns and sniper rifles. Must have been all those bank robberies. The rebels were slowly covering ground. Commander Feral was forced to bring out trainees from the academy and put them in the field. They were of course very excited about seeing action even before graduation. Billy, don't be a hero, Don't be a fool with your life, Billy, don't be a hero, Come back and make me your wife. And as they started to go, She said, Billy, keep your head low, Billy, don't be a hero, Come back to me. 'Haven't you heard? The Commander is putting out trainees on the streets!' Rico looked at his friend, Juan 'Are you pulling my tail again, Juan?' 'I'm serious this time, Rico. Commander Feral's getting pretty desperate. The rebel attacks are more frequent and more violent. Even the Swatkats can't handle them!' 'How many have they lost?' 'About two hundred, according to the last count we had.' 'How about us?' 'Seven hundred and fifty two, exactly.' 'That's not very good is it?' 'No it's not. That's why the Commander needs more manpower.' 'Alright. I'll go pack my things.' 'Catch you later.', Juan ran off to his own quarters. Rico ran to his quarters. Picking up his uniform, he changed and put all his belongings in a duffel bag. As he was about to leave he saw the letter from his fiancée on the table. He picked it up and read it again. Dear Rico, You told me that you will graduate soon. I hope you are right. Then we can finally get married. I understand that Commander Feral has decided to put non-graduates into action. Don't get yourself killed out there Rico. The rebels are attacking more viciously now. Watch yourself. Don't come back to your fiancée in a body bag. Yours truly, Caroline. Rico smiled. I will come back Caroline, he promised himself. I will return. Like my father before me, I will work the land, And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand. He was just eighteen, proud and brave, But a Yankee laid him in his grave. I swear by the blood below my feet, You can't raise a Caine, When he's in defeat. Do you know, Where you're going to? Do you like the things, That life is showing you, Where are you going to, Do you know? Jonathan reloaded his shotgun as he hid behind the brick wall. His friends lay on the ground, dead. He turned, firing the shotgun and cocking it as fast as he could. He got two Enforcers. He hid again, smiling in satisfaction. Grabbing an Uzi from the hands of a fallen rebel, he fired it at the Enforcer barricade. The soldier blues were trapped on a hillside, The battle raging all around. The sergeant cried, 'We need a volunteer to ride out, And get us back some extra men,' And Billy's hand was up in a moment, Forgetting all the words she said. She said, Billy, don't be a hero, Don't be a fool with your life, Billy, don't be a hero, Come back and make me your wife. And as they started to go, She said, Billy, keep your head low, Billy, don't be a hero, Come back to me. Rico saw Juan fall after being hit by Uzi fire. 'Juan!' It was too late. He was dead. Rico growled and stood up. Grabbing a couple of clips from his friends' belt, he fired at the rebels with all his fury. He bypassed the barricade and moved in towards the rebel lines. Firing straight into their lines, he caused chaos and drew all their fire towards him. 'Rico! Get out of there, now!', Lieutenant Sami Clawson yelled at him. Realizing the stupidity of what he had just done, he turned and fled. Jonathan saw his chance. Taking the shotgun, he fired two rounds at the Enforcer. He went out like a light. Rico felt two bullets strike his back and fell to the ground. He heard the lieutenant scream at him but he couldn't answer. He let the darkness envelop him. Caroline was not going to be happy about this. I heard my mama cry, I heard her pray the night Chicago died. Brother what a night it really was, Brother what a fight it really was, Glory be. I heard my mama cry, I heard her pray the night Chicago died. Brother what a night the people saw, Brother what a fight the people saw, Yes indeed. Caroline sorted through her mail, until she saw an envelope with the Enforcer logo on it. Opening it, she saw a white certificate. We regret to inform you of the death of Officer John Rico, who was killed in action. She got no further. Do you know, What you're hoping for? When you look behind you, You'll find, There are no open doors. What are you hoping for, Do you know? Felina had been injured during the fight. Nothing serious, just a couple of cuts and bruises, but she knew Chance would be overly concerned about her. Her uncle was not having a good time. The rebels had taken out most of his trainees in today's 'Battle for the streets.' As she drove up into the salvage yard, she wondered whether or not to tell Chance about her injuries. She decided against it. Sami had had a rough day. First, her entire division of trainees had been killed on their first day of seeing action. Those who did survive lost many friends. In fact, they were better off dead, like their comrades. Sami was jolted from her thoughts by the doorbell. 'I'll get it.', she said to no one in particular She opened the door to find Felina standing on the doorstep. 'Come in, Come in!', She said playfully. Felina entered, her uniform bloodstained and slightly torn. 'Where's Chance?' 'He already asleep.' Felina looked at her watch. It read 12.47 a.m. No wonder. 'Jake?' 'Asleep as well.' 'How come you're still awake?' 'Guilt.' 'Over what matter?' Sami looked at her. 'The trainees.' Felina nodded. 'It's terrible, isn't it? Their first time in combat and never returning. I knew one of them personally. His name was Rico. Had a fiancée he was due to marry after he graduated. Sadly, it's nothing but a dream now.' Felina nodded again. 'Well, don't just sit there. Go take a shower! You look terrible.' Felina laughed. 'Yeah, I think I will.' In the heat of a summer night, In the land of the dollar bill, When the town of Chicago died, And they talk about it still. When a man named Al Capone, Tried to make that town his own, And he called his gang to war, With the forces of the law. I heard my mama cry, I heard her pray the night Chicago died. Brother what a night it really was, Brother what a fight it really was, Glory be. I heard my mama cry, I heard her pray the night Chicago died. Brother what a night the people saw, Brother what a fight the people saw, Yes indeed. The Enforcers at the docks didn't stand a chance. Six sniper rifles and twenty-two bullets did the trick. Jonathan didn't even see why they hadn't taken the city already. The jets and choppers were a pain. Shoulder-fired SAM's were very expensive, and the alloy they were made of was bulletproof. Shykes wasn't pleased with this fact. They were running out of cash, and the rest of the banks were heavily guarded. After nights of careful planning, Shykes assembled a group of twenty of his finest rebels. He ordered them to attack the bank on Main and Central, taking out Enforcers with snipers and using Uzi when they got in close. On his estimate, there were two Enforcer tanks and twenty-five Enforcers on that bank alone. Grenades for the tanks, bullets for the remaining troops. Jonathan was one of the team. Like my father before me, I will work the land, And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand. He was just eighteen, proud and brave, But a Yankee laid him in his grave. I swear by the blood below my feet, You can't raise a Caine, When he's in defeat. Jonathan threw the grenade at the Enforcers, destroying the tank and killing three units. The rest of the Enforcers were no problem. The bank was easy picking. As they entered, they noticed something strange. The bank was empty. It was Monday, and the bank should have been open. Suddenly Jonathan saw a strange gas emanating from the air vents. 'It's a trap!' Before he finished, the nerve gas had effected most of the rebels. Before the doors closed, the jammed his machine-gun in the middle. Holding his breath, he pulled open the doors and ran out. Shykes was furious. He had lost nineteen of his best fighters and the Enforcers only paid with two dummy tanks and robot troops. The situation was getting worse and worse. Jonathan, the only kat who had survived, was badly injured. Damn. Shykes let his mind wander over what was going to happen. He would probably take the west side by the end of the week. New recruits were pouring in. He didn't see any problem with that. Bringing out a map, he started to mark places of critical military importance. First there was the two Enforcer branches in that area. No problem. Then the nuclear power plant. Cut that off and the Enforcers were stuck without power. Easy picking. And then there was the missile silo... Shykes chewed his pencil in thought. It was abandoned, having being left empty for years. But then again, it DID have potential. Marking it with the pencil, Shykes stood up and ordered another strike. He was just eighteen, proud and brave, But a Yankee laid him in his grave. I swear by the blood below my feet, You can't raise a Caine, When he's in defeat. The small band of rebels inside the missile silo had searched for hours. It was completely deserted. All they found were some guns, ammo, and lots of dust, not to mention the half-complete nuclear missile in the launch bay. With some work, it would launch. As they prepared to leave, a chattering sound was heard from behind. They whirled around to find themselves enveloped in nerve gas. Choking, they fell to the floor, never to rise again. The kat behind them surveyed the bodies, then pulled out a walkie-talkie. 'Scout one to Big Daddy, eliminated twelve intruders found near the launch pad. Over' A loud voice replied. 'Big Daddy to scout one, continue to search the area. There might be more where those came from. Over.' 'Roger that Big Daddy. Over and Out.' Shykes started the attack. The Enforcers were taken completely by surprise. Two more square miles added to his territory. The plan was going well. The time had come to storm the heart of it all. Enforcer HQ. Putting a large circle and a cross on the target, he wondered how the rebels at the missile silo were doing. Sami knelt behind the barricade, putting another clip into her automatic. The sudden attack on the south side was going well, for the rebels. The Enforcer's in the area were outnumbered, and by the time more units were dispatched, the rebels had taken the streets. Things didn't look good. Even the Swatkats were helpless against the fury of the rebel attacks. Sami turned and fired at a young rebel. He dodged and returned fire with a bazooka. 'Hit the deck!', Sami cried as the shell hit just a few feet from her body. She got up and fired at the rebel. Her bullet didn't hit him but it detonated the bazooka shell he was loading. Sami turned her head away as debris from the explosion shattered all around her. Overhead, the Turbokat did as much as it could, taking down rebels with their machine guns and destroying groups with missiles. Sami backed down again, putting another clip into her automatic. 'When you kill one, it is a tragedy. When you kill ten million, it is a statistic.'- Joseph Stalin, Command and Conquer, Red Alert. Razor surveyed the battlefield. It didn't look good for the Enforcers. 'T-bone, what's that?', he pointed at a large black object protruding from the ground near the outskirts of Megakat City. 'It looks like its coming from the..' Realization hit him. 'Megakat Missile Silo!', inserted T-bone. It suddenly launched and headed up into the clouds. 'Quick, switch to speed of heat. We've gotta follow it!' The auxiliary turbines popped out of the jet and the metal shield over the canopy pulled over. The dimensional radar worked fine, allowing them to follow the missile into orbit. 'Razor, it's headed for the moon!' 'It must be using a grav sling.' 'Huh?' 'It's using the moon's gravity to tun around and smash into it's target.' 'What is its target?' 'Hold on.', Razor punched a few keys on the keyboard. 'It's headed for... Enforcer Headquarters!' 'We've gotta stop it! But how?' 'I think I can hook up to the missile's targeting system and disable it. But I've got to get up close and personal to use it.' 'You mean you're gonna have to get on that thing?' 'It's our only option other than the complete destruction of Enforcer HQ and anything within a five thousand mile radius.' 'Isn't it just gonna blow Megakat City to smithereens?' 'Actually, yes. It's an ICBM with a long-range destruction capability.' 'How strong exactly is it?' 'Lets just put it this way. The explosion would be visible from Mars.' 'Crud, we gotta stop it!' 'I think I might know how. Listen...' The plan of action went like this. First they would have to wait until the missile swung back to earth. Then Razor would get on it with a heat suit and a laptop. He would then have fifteen minutes to try to break the code and change the course of the missile. If not, he would be fried to a crisp by the atmosphere and the missile would destroy the planet. The chances of pulling off this mission were about a zillion to one. Pulling it off 'alive' was almost impossible. The code was a six-digit number, meaning that there were about a million different combinations. It could take two weeks for the computer to get a trace. But then again, they didn't have two weeks. They had fifteen minutes. Razor pulled on the heat suit as the radar found the missile on it's return swing. Opening the canopy, he looked at T-bone for probably the last time. Then he set off into space. Using a blowtorch to propel him, Razor managed to intercept the missile. Switching on the magnetic boots that he wore, he opened the laptop. 'Razor, is everything alright?' 'I'm fine, for the moment. The computer's already tracing the code.' Razor looked at the screen. The computer was trying every possible combination for the access code. He looked up at earth. It was beautiful, lying in all its splendor. Unfortunately, if he didn't stop the missile, half a city would be burning up in radiation that was about three billion r* strong. A beeping sound distracted him. A trace! Quickly, he punched in the code and bingo! He was in the system. 'T-bone, I've found the code. I'm changing the missile's target.' 'Roger that.' Razor typed in the coordinates, hoping sincerely that the missile wouldn't hit any thing on it's way into outer space. The progress report went something like this. Transmitting co-ordinates to NAV computer 97% 'Razor, get out of there!', T-bone yelled at him through the radio. He looked up just in time to see the nose of the missile plunge into Earth's atmosphere. Quickly, he unlocked his boots and tried to jump off as he felt the friction burn through his suit. The laptop melted at 99%. In his head Razor could hear the words 'Mission Failed.' Then everything went black. 'NOO!', T-bone slammed his fist on the control panel. Not only had he lost a friend, thousands would die in the missile blast. He set the auxiliary turbines on max and headed back to earth. The heat shields held the friction, but a heat suit would not protect a kat from the extreme heat when exposed to earth's atmosphere. T-bone growled deeply at this prospect. He saw the missile still headed for Megakat City. Following, he launched the magnetic grappling hooks to attempt to change its course. The hooks locked on, pulling the Turbokat with the missile. Suddenly, the missile's boosters stopped, dragging the Turbokat towards Megakat City's pavement. 'Come on, baby, don't let down ol' T-bone!', he said as he maxed the turbines and pushed the throttle forward until it almost broke. Because he had hooked onto the nose of the missile, it turned a 180 degree spin that caused the back of the missile to slam into the landing pad on the roof of Enforcer Headquarters. T-bone tried desperately to keep the front of the missile from hitting anything. Without warning, the landing pad broke and the missile smashed into the street, setting off the detonator. T-bone shut his eyes, preparing for the worst. * One r is roughly the equivalent of how much radiation is produced by a gram of active uranium. 400 R's and above is lethal to kats (not to mention humans.) 350 R's and below is survivable. To be continued in my next story, Time Traveler.