A Choice to Be Had

Mobius: The Second Saga

by Tergonaut

Sonic the Hedgehog and all other related characters and themes are © SEGA and DiC, Mobius: The Second Saga and all related characters and themes are © of Tergonaut.

Setting: Immediately after Preparation.

* * *

Nicole led the Rowdies into the Armory and they immediately saw several things that they had only seen on highly-realistic military sims. The first room they came to (which was marked "Light Infantry" by a sign above the sealed door) had several transparent cases that contained whole sets of equipment including a uniform which had enough gadgets intricately designed into it to make it almost a combat suit. Small arms were in plentiful supply ranging from energy weapons like laser pistols and blasters to slugthrowers and needleguns. There were also several unconventional weapons such as wrist blade launchers, which shot spinning discs that could cut through metal, web spinners, which were used as a quick replacement for rope and were good for making traps, and force gloves, which amplified the power of a normal punch to the point that a target struck by it would vibrate uncontrollably until it fell to pieces.

The transparent cases were sealed electronically and could not be unlocked without proper authorization. That way if someone plotted a coup in Freehome (an unlikely event but one that was taken into consideration) then their efforts would be stopped by a lack of weapons. Weapons had electronic locks on them in case someone did happen to steal one. Gyro was very impressed by the amount of security and Rad had to agree. But he also had to see some of the heavier stuff.

They entered the next room (marked "Heavy Infantry/Artillery") and the same transparent cases were stacked with collapsible open-frame exoskeletons. They were light enough to be carried on the back but they had enough weaponry to take out several squads of robots without support. There were also specialized units that emphasized speed, stealth or long-range devastation. The long-range artillery units were especially important as they would be crucial in several engagements that Nicole predicted would happen soon. Nicole explained that the open-frame exoskeleton was based on a revolutionary design that had come up during the Great Struggle, one developed by the Southern Freedom Fighters on the Southern Continent.

"But the most important section of the Armory has been dedicated to a special division of trooper who must be at the utmost physical condition to survive." Nicole emphasized this as they entered a room that had been sealed with a double door and was marked with only the words "Assault-Class."

Rad looked up...and up and up because what he saw was very large. The room itself was gigantic and explained why the armory was so large. But the contents were what caught his eye. Five rows of five tanks each were lined up in perfect rows. But these were not typical tanks like the hovertanks used in the Great War. They were humanoid, with legs that ended in traction-enhancing feet and arms that ended in large jointed fists. There was no "head" but the cockpit was centered onto the torso, jutting out and giving an image of a serpentine head about to strike. Two auto-cannons were on the back of each of the arms and a nose gun was fitted just under the cockpit, a little to the right of the pilot's seat. Two missile racks in the shoulders were hidden underneath metal covers that protected the racks from being prematurely detonated. Even though they were incredibly tall, they were wider than they were tall, and the proportions made them seem low-slung. Finally a back-mounted pod was on each one of these legged tanks, enhancing each one in a certain way. All of them were painted in the exact same gunmetal gray.

"These are to be the main weapon for breaking through the enemy lines," said Nicole as she gestured up to one of the titanic tanks. "They are called Salamanders. They are one of the most unique designs that were used in the Great War and also one of the most effective. In humanoid configuration, tank pilots could easily get acclimated to the controls and get the feel of them without major effort. Veteran pilots would perform wonders in them. Their name comes from their main fault, which is overheating. Due to the complexity of the many motors required to make such a design work, it generates a powerful amount of heat which is only held in check by thermal diffusers. These thermal diffusers do not make the Salamander any easier to work with and care must be taken to make sure that overheating does not occur, because if it reaches a critical point then the Salamander explodes.

"These are upgraded Salamanders that had been used in the Southern Continent during the Great Struggle. The original Salamanders had riot-control weapons that were ineffective against robots. Engineers tore those off and strapped on the four auto-cannons, the particle beamer and the missile racks were filled with explosive missiles rather than gas canisters. The fighting in the South was horrific and these were what helped to turn the tide against Robotnik's forces."

Nicole turned to them. "These were upgraded again by Rotor, Sir Charles and myself, and put into storage in Freehome. There will be five squads of five Salamanders and their pilots, the optimal arrangement. They will be the at the forefront of every battle and thus the risk is great."

She looked at their faces, looked into their eyes. "I am faced with a decision. We must prepare to fight back against this new threat and to do that we need more people. But to do that we will have to liberate a town. The enemy has most likely started to take over towns and their eventual conversion into factory complexes is of an utmost certainty."

She took a breath and then exhaled slowly, more to emphasize the drama of the situation than to actually take a breath. "That means that you will have to be the first Salamander pilots. That means that you will have to go through the most rigorous training, the hardest fighting, and the cruelest schedule. I cannot force anyone to fight, much less to become a Salamander pilot. I want you to go out and go wherever you want in Freehome to think this over for the rest of the day. This is a major decision that should not be taken lightly. If you accept, specialized training scenarios will be used to test every aspect of your body and mind. You will need to be sure of your choices and you cannot waver for a second."

She led them out of the Armory and then disappeared with a blip! Rad looked at the others, who looked at each other, and then they all chose different directions and went as they willed.

* * *

Kreaton paced furiously in his command center. There had been no sign of the Prince and his friends reported by either of the squads and he felt anxiety. The Prince had been well-trained and his friends were his only equals. Military training was given to the royalty after what happened at the start of Robotnik's coup to make sure that they would be capable of leading an army against a new threat if necessary.

But even so they had managed to get away from his Strikerbots, which had sensor packages that were as sensitive as they could handle without overloading. That meant that the prince and his friends would be an incredible nuisance if nothing else. At worst they could cobble up some sort of resistance and battle him.

He forced himself to sit down in the command chair. Pacing about was a waste of his mental energies and it only excited him. He needed to clear his mind of frivolous thoughts. There was no fear of a resistance group because his troops were far better than anything Robotnik had ever dreamed of. Newer robots would improve upon the Strikerbot's design and other designs would emphasize particular battle strategies that could overwhelm an armed force if used properly. And Kreaton knew how to use them properly.

He chuckled to himself quietly. While he knew that he was only Mobian he also knew that he had a superior intellect, proven by his former position as Royal Head of Science. He had worked his way up from a foster home, proving himself again and again with astounding achievements that led everyone to believe him to be a humanitarian and an otherwise wonderful person. They never saw his true thoughts, which were of his conquering Mobius, and that was their downfall. But he was smart enough to know that he could not underestimate his enemies. But he couldn't overestimate them either.

With the flip of a switch he ordered another squad out to the Great Forest to assist in the search. The prince had to be found, and soon.

* * *

Rad walked around the edge of Freehome thinking as hard as he could. Nicole's offer was exciting but she made it sound like a death sentence. And since Nicole had proven to be pretty serious so far the death sentence was probably more accurate than he thought.

He shook his head. It was so confusing. Someone took over Mobotropolis, filled it with 'bots, and he and his friends had stumbled onto a place that had been prepared to deal with such a threat. He had seen the weaponry. This was serious, not a video game, not a training sim. And yet he couldn't make it click in his head, couldn't make it real to his perceptions.

He walked past the wall of darkness and entered the crystalline cavern. Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice where he was going until he saw Claire standing by the edge of the lake, looking out onto its clear surface.

He walked up beside her. "A Mobium for your thoughts."

Her body shook with a sudden flare of anger. Her fists clenched and her tail straightened as she shouted, "How can anyone do that?! How can anyone dare to cause so much pain and horror just after Mobius had recovered from the last time?!"

Rad took a step away, watching Claire carefully. She usually didn't explode like that, was more the calm and peaceful type. Despite being friends he thought for a second that she might start throwing random blows to alleviate her anger. And since he was the closest target...

Claire stopped shaking. Her fists uncurled. Her tail regained normal fluffiness. She looked at him, her angry face shaped into a smile and she laughed softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. For a minute there I really lost control. But I think I know what my answer is going to be."

Rad smiled too and stepped back next to her. "You're saying yes?"

The skunk nodded. "Yup. Whoever's out there, they wrecked a whole lotta lives, innocent lives. We got out of there by chance and now chance has given us the opportunity to take back what belongs to everyone. There'd be no way that I could say no to that!"

Rad looked inward, and he was confused again. Of all of the Rowdies, he would have thought that Claire would have had the most trouble deciding. But she seemed so sure of herself...

"Hey, you guys here too?"

Rad and Claire turned to see Gyro, who was fidgeting with a small wrench in his hand. He joined them at the edge of the water and he looked at them. "You made your decision yet?"

Claire gave him a nod while Rad tried to decide if he would say yes or no. He had been hoping to get everyone else's vote before he joined in but it looked like everyone was done already. What was the deal here?

Gyro looked out at the water. "Man, I can't wait to get a look at the insides of those Salamanders! Those tanks must be marvels of engineering if they were selected as a part of the heavy armament supplementing Freehome's military reserve. Maybe I can even retrofit them to be more like in the sims!"

Oh, brother, Rad thought. Gyro is going to be a pilot because he wants to get the feel of them. Typical Gyro.

"If this ain't the darndest..."

Digger came in, a few notable inches shorter than the others but he made up for that with attitude. He came up by the lake and rubbed his temples. "I don't care what the rest of you are saying, I'm becoming a Salamander pilot. We need to get that bad guy before he gets us too."

Rad rolled his eyes. "So all three of you want to be pilots? And that leaves me to pick last. Wonderful."

All three of his friends looked at him with puzzled looks on their faces. Digger exclaimed, "What?! Rad, I figured you'd be the first one to volunteer for front-line duty! What's the deal?"

Rad gazed back at the lake, avoiding their stares. "Look, I know I was ticked before about our home getting blown up but this is way beyond serious. We're a bunch of streeters for cryin' out loud! We aren't soldiers! And piloting the Salamanders is something that elite tank pilots did. You can't just plop a guy into the seat and call him a pilot."

Claire had a sympathetic look on her face. "Look, if you want to bow out, it's okay. We'll understand."

Rad swung around. "No way I'm going to skip out! We got motive, we got drive, and I want to get back at that guy for takin' out our home. I'm just sayin' we should be a little careful, is all."

Rad felt a rush of adrenaline after he realized what he said and thought. Him, a tank pilot! Him, at the front lines beating down on the enemy forces in a powerful machine with the firepower of an army of infantry! Him, a hero! Going slow? "Hah! What was I saying? Let's make some noise and get Rowdy!"

He ran past them and they followed as fast as they could. There was no turning back, only one-way at full throttle. He owed himself that.

He owed his friends that.

* * *

Kreaton gave up after the third day of searching. The prince could go to oblivion for all he cared. There had been no sign of organized resistance and the prince couldn't form a rebel army in what little time he had. In the meantime Worker 'bots were renovating the Palace, making it combat-ready. He was rather proud of it, really. The Palace's new security network had enough sensors and pop-up blaster turrets to make the inside of the Palace a very dangerous place if you were not Marty Kreaton or a robot.

But now that security for himself was not a problem he began to distribute his forces more evenly around Mobotropolis. After settling in the numbers of Mobians that had been captured the next step was to scour the city for any survivors while getting anything valuable safely within his grasp. He would need to have some assets on hand. After all it might become necessary to have a little cash to deal with crime lords and other shifty characters who might have too much support to be crushed immediately or who might have something that Kreaton wanted. Information was the likeliest option, for that was worth almost any price to Kreaton.

He scanned the holographic map of Mobotropolis again just to get a larger view on things. Mobotropolis was firmly his and Knothole was secure. Worker 'bots would begin constructing outposts at critical strategic points that he had designated and Strikerbots would act as security until more permanent base defenses could be erected.

He had succeeded this far into the game. He only hoped that he was being paranoid about the prince.

* * *

Gyro settled into the virtually-created Salamander's cockpit. He was astounded by the fact that the controls were quite simple. In the cockpit, aside from the seat, were two foot pedals and two "gauntlets" that a Mobian arm could fit into.

The foot pedals controlled the legs. Press down a little bit with the ball of your foot on the forward end, the Salamander would take a tiny step. Press a little harder and the leg lifted higher, creating a bigger step. And if you pressed down harder then the leg would take a running step, which lifted the leg high enough to get it on top of something. But at the same time you had to alternate between foot pedals to keep moving. After all, running on one leg isn't very practical especially since it strains the motors and will end up with the Salamander falling over. Press down on the backward part with your heel and you went backwards, although not as fast because the Salamander was designed with forward movement in mind. Press down on both sides at once (either forward or backward) and the Salamander would jump. Simplistic, Gyro thought, but it works.

Gyro had some fun with the gauntlets. Basically the gauntlets controlled the arms and weapons. The fingers were placed in individual slots around a control stick with buttons that were pressed by closing your fingers. Press with your thumb and you closed the Salamander's hand into a fist. Press both thumbs and both hands would be ready to punch something out. The trigger finger button activated the auto-cannons and the lower two buttons, when pulled together on both sides, fired the nose gun.

And then there was the helmet. It was actually a helmet which covered the head and shoulders but it was not made of metal. Rather it had been woven from synthetic fibers and was comfortable to wear. Special sensors embedded into the fibers were used to manipulate where the cockpit (and thus, the nose gun) was pointed and to fire the missile launchers. Moving the head around moved the cockpit to look in that direction up to a point. The cockpit was rather limited in this respect but it did allow better vision. Shrugging opened the missile launcher racks. Shrug again, they closed up. Two sensor pads were located by the elbows, one for each. Flexing the muscles were detected by the sensors and missiles fired off from that impulse. Communications was also linked at the head, near the mouth.

Then the Heads-Up-Display, or HUD. The reinforced glass was interwoven with miniature lights that could be arranged in different patterns. Connections to a special diagnostics computer allowed the lights to read the status of the Salamander out on the HUD as well as heat level, speed, mission time, current time, and it could even have briefing information written across the cockpit. By touching the lights Gyro could pull the displays to where he felt more comfortable with them and then he could use instinct to know how he was doing.

An interesting arrangement. Rotor must've worked real hard on this back then. Gyro had always emulated Rotor, had even taken a street name related to a part of machinery. This tank represented something important to him.

We ride with the legacy of the past. But with the help of those now gone we will rescue our future.

* * *

Nicole put the Rowdies on an intense schedule as soon as they had said yes and for the last two weeks they had sweated to keep up with her demands. The first training simulator was a do-or-die situation. Enemies would keep pouring in, not stopping for anything, and the simulation only ended when the Salamander took critical damage. The point was to test to see if even in an intense situation they could react quickly. And they learned how to fire their weapons a lot faster, too.

But now after two weeks of training Nicole brought them to the War Room for their first briefing. She was dressed, as usual, in her loose blue bodysuit and it was easy to forget that she was really a computer deep under their feet rather than the squirrel that she always represented herself with. She stood at one end of the table while the Rowdies were seated around it. Pressing a button she activated a holographic projector inside the table, which then created a complicated wire-frame map of Mobius done in glowing blue lines.

"Magnify in Quad One, Sector Five," Nicole told the table, and the image of the planet dissipated, leaving the specified section of map hanging in the air. It was enlarged and the Rowdies could see that it was a map of a nearby coastline and there was a town indicated by a blue dot. The name, in white, read "Seaside."

Nicole's eyes passed over the faces in the room. "Seaside was one of the towns that Robotnik overlooked when he first took over and it became a center for Freedom Fighter operations. Time has made it a peaceful place again, a simple fishing village. But sensor readings that have been taken recently indicate that a large amount of metal has moved into town and some life-forms have disappeared. It doesn't take much to figure that the enemy has moved his forces to take it.

"Seaside has a population of approximately one hundred people. Freehome has a population maximum of five hundred. We need to fill up that space. There are several people in Seaside who have training in medical science and we'll need all the help we can get to man our hospital's facilities. This will also provide us with some manpower to start forming the Freedom Fighter movement into something bigger than four tank pilots."

"Rowdies," Rad stated.

Nicole gave him a puzzled look. "Excuse me?"

Rad stood up. "Rowdies. We're the Rowdies, not Freedom Fighters. The Freedom Fighters won the Great Struggle but they're from an older generation. Now we got people from this generation coming in. Freedom Fighters were desperate, relying on guerilla tactics to blow up factories for a long time before starting the real offensive. We're better equipped and we'll have better training too. The Freedom Fighters had Sonic Hedgehog and, before she was deroboticized, Bunnie Rabbot. We have neither so we'll have to get by without speed or strength. People hear Freedom Fighter, they think about the Great Struggle, Sonic beating down on Robotnik with the Chaos Emeralds. We're not fighting Robotnik and we don't have the Chaos Emeralds. We are the next generation and while we honor the past, how about we leave the dead buried where they belong?"

The other Rowdies applauded and he took a bow before he sat down. Nicole pursed her lips, then nodded. "Fine then, Rowdies it is.

"This briefing is meant to show you the critical points here and here." The map lit up two spots with yellow dots. "This one near the forest is where you will need to herd the citizens. Once they get into the safety of the trees it should be a little easier for you to fight. The other point is the most likely point where you will be engaged. You'll have to stay on your toes because I don't have that much information on what is actually going on. Fortunately Seaside is within sensor range of Freehome, so here is what I do know."

The town suddenly sprouted several red triangles which were all over Seaside. "These are the hostiles. They are robotic, so don't hold your fire for their account. I've heard some of their radio traffic and the humanoid ones are called Strikerbots while the small floating cameras are called Spy-Eyes. What you'll need to watch out for are these, the townspeople, in the middle of the town." The map showed a concentration of green pinpoints. "That means that you're going to have to cut open a path for the townspeople to escape and then cover them while they're escaping into the forest. Judging from the armament that these robots are carrying you'll only have to worry if they start focusing their fire.

"Map, shutdown."

The holographic map shut down and Nicole shot an important look at each of them. "There is another concentration of metal moving toward Seaside. The readings indicate that there are more of these robots and there is a roboticizer unit being carried with them. This convoy will reach Seaside within five hours. That means that you'll have to get going immediately as it will take about a half-hour to get to the waypoints."

The Rowdies got up from the table and headed out the door. Each of them had grown a little bit from the training and each of them had their own reason to fight against this enemy.

It was time to do it to it.