An Ode to Activision

[Slingshot]

MidKnight looked at Steve. "So is it a bluff, or is she forcing our move?"

Steve was livid. "Darn glasses!" He tore them off and took a quick scan around the room. There was only one way out - the elevator shaft from where entered in the first place.

"15…14…13," warned Skorpion59. "Let's get out of here!"

"Don't go near that elevator!" barked Steve. He was running around like a cat on fire. "Find another way out. FAST!"

MidKnight grabbed a table and found a blackened window. He heaved the object through the glass. Wind streamed in and the agent faced the night sky, high above city streets. He grabbed his gravity stick and jumped. Skorpion59 hesitated for another second and then followed suit, wondering if Steve was behind him.

MidKnight swung in the air, twisted the gravity stick and started to descend. The height was dizzying, and Skorpion59 struggled to hold on. A wind caught the pair and pushed them sideways. Skorpion was having trouble changing his elevation in the dark, and helplessly watched MidKnight descend away from him.

Suddenly an explosion ripped out from the broken window. It shot flaming debris in a plume that looked like dragons' breath. The shockwave beat out a large section of wall, narrowly missing Skorpion59 as he struggled to hang on. Before he knew it, the detonation reversed direction as air returned to the vacuum it had created while leaving. This time the agent got caught in the swirl and he was pulled back inside the building, a piece of human debris in a hellish maelstrom.

There was fire and smoke everywhere. Skorpion59 had let go of the gravity stick during the 'flight' back inside. He crawled around piles of burning junk, looking for solace in the terrible heat.

Suddenly he felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders. The hands pulled Skorpion59 across the room and through a freshly made hole in a concrete wall. There he was dropped, and as he turned around the agent heard Steve's voice.

"Hey buddy, were did you and MidKnight rush off to?"

Skorpion59 was stunned. "We high-tailed it out of the building. I got caught by the back draft and was pulled in again. How the heck did you survive that explosion?"

"Where's MidKnight now?" asked Steve.

"He knew how to work the gravity stick better than I. MidKnight's probably on the ground now."

"Good for MidKnight. He can update Actigrammer HQ on the situation. Let's move fast. I want to find out if Silica has given us the slip or not. Then we'll get out of here."

Steve was looking at a sensor in his left hand. "This one's better at scanning than the glasses. It won't be fooled so easy, either." The pair raced along some corridors and then arrived at a door. They each pulled out a pistol and kicked the door in, police-style.

It was empty, save for a table with a burned out computer. "This is where Silica should have been. This is not good."

The smoke was getting very thick now. The two had to crawl on hands and knees back to the elevator shaft. The shaft itself was where the explosion had originated. "Silica had expected us to run from the bomb. Good thing we weren't thinking about running!"

"Maybe you weren't. I was halfway in the door when MidKnight told me to follow him!"

Just then they reached the room with the elevator shaft. It had completely collapsed - the upper floor resting on the shaft superstructure. "Looks like we're trapped," said Steve. "The gravity stick is only good for one person, and I don't suppose yours is anywhere to be found."

[Locutus]

Thanks, Nordicus! So that explains why it's been so quite from your side

Slingshot, whatever happened to Nordicus, Pintello and me? Not to mention yourself. Oh well, guess we'll just have to wait until the sequel

Anyway, the story is still as good as ever, where *do* you get the inspiration for keeping it good for so long?

Locutus

[Nordicus]

Locutus:

Hi, man. Yes, I guess we just have to be patient as he outlines further plot intrigue.
I'd like to know what the hell happened to me also!--Even in the story

Oh, I just set up a new email account--the old one is gone, as are any messages that might have been there Oh well. **** happens. Waiting for it to be activated, so if you have a peek at this before I can send ya a message, send me that last message again, please--the new address is nordikus@home.com. They killed my C! You bastards!

[Slingshot]

Paul and Nordicus flew along the city streets in an Apolyton stealth copter. Paul was an expert pilot, and he made smooth turns around buildings much faster than Nordicus cared for.

"Man, you're scaring the heck out of me!" shouted Nordicus.

"Aw, c'mon boss! Back in the good 'ol days, this sort of flying was expected!"

"The good 'ol days! Sounds like you've been listening to too many of MarkG's war stories. These days are exciting enough, let me tell you."

Paul decided to change the subject. "So no Pintello at the rendezvous point. Are you worried?"

"I'm more worried about Locutus and whatever is wrong with him. Pintello's a tactical genius - even though at times he leaps before knowing what he's getting into."

Paul smiled. "You're right about Pintello, I'm sure he's doing more for Activision on the inside than out here. Where should we go to now?"

"The top of the Activision building. Let's start there and work our way down. Maybe we'll see something useful. If not, I'm scrubbing this mission and we'll contact DanQ for some advice."

"No problem, boss!" shouted Paul, giving Nordicus a salute. With that he pulled the copter into a spin, did an aerial loop and shot straight upwards.

Nordicus turned purple as he hung on to the seat. "AAAgh. Copter - doesn't - fly - this way!"

Paul laughed. "Maybe not an ordinary copter, but that's why I joined Apolyton. These stealth copters are the best in the world!"

Seconds later, Paul flipped the flying machine right side up, about 50m above the top of Activision. He could have performed the maneuver with the grace of a swan, but such grace wouldn't have produced a blood-curdling roar from Nordicus.

"How would you like it if I threw up all over you, Paul!?"

Paul was laughing too hard to feel bad. "Sorry! It's just that these copters have so much power. Plus they probably need some abuse - you know, to make sure they're good and broken in!"

"I'll break you in!" shouted Nordicus. Normally he would have been proud of such skill - if only flying didn't make him so queasy!

Paul flipped some switches. "Going into stealth mode."

The change in noise level was amazing. It sounded as though the helicopter engine had shut down and the rotors had disappeared. Then Paul slowly brought the machine downwards.

Nordicus had recovered and began watching the surveillance equipment. "Looks empty," he remarked.

"Roger that," replied Paul. He maintained a slow, steady descent.

Suddenly there was a beeping from Nord's panel. "Look over there! About 4 stories down."

Paul tilted the copter so they could get a better view. "It looks like a big desk went through one of the windows!"

"Sure did! Well c'mon now. Let's investigate!"

Paul modified the pitch of the rotors, and the copter plunged downwards. They fell so quickly that even he felt his stomach in his throat. The agent was just about to slow the descent when he saw two forms fly out of the building.

There was a huge explosion. The shockwave pushed the silent copter backwards, almost straight into another building. Paul saw sparks fly where his rotors cut into the windows.

"Hang on!" shouted Paul. He quickly adjusted their pitch, and resumed the freefall. Above him was a fireworks display, and then a huge, dark mass fell. It was a part of the building wall, and it was directly above them.

Paul thought fast. He cut nearly all lift to the rotors and tried to keep the wall from hitting them. Paul worked like a mad man to push the copter's nose straight downward. He hit the power return switch - and nothing happened.

"Holy crap! The systems are down. Reset!" Paul's hand slammed the reset button. Everything went dark, and then buttons began to glow. The copter continued to fall. Paul knew that they were getting close to the ground.

"C'mon, reset already! Son of a gun! You piece of junk, reset!"

The copter was loosing stability. It took everything Paul had to keep the nose down and stop the machine from spinning out of control. Finally, the engine power light glowed, and the engine roared to life. Paul jammed the rotor pitch lever to full, and the copter moved sideways - out from under the falling wall.

Nordicus recovered his voice. "The ground, darn it! The ground will still kill us!"

But Paul had already thought of that. He waited until the engine redlined, and then he pulled the copter into a savage arc away from the ground. Below him he could see the streetlights and cars racing along. The copter ploughed through the air, knocking over some traffic signs. Cars now swerved out of the way as drivers saw the copter swoop in front of them like an angry bird of prey. Just behind them, the big chunk of wall crashed onto the middle of the street, crushing cars and turning the bustling street into a disaster zone.

Finally the machine steadied, and Paul wasted no time at such a low elevation. He quickly climbed away from the carnage below and followed a path upwards along the Activision building.

Paul let out a rough breath of air. "Well that - cough - that was - cough. Yeah." He took some time to recover. "I'd say the copter's broken in enough now. Heh heh."

A bit of euphoria took over. Nordicus and Paul felt giddy from the experience. "Holy smokes! We need an 'impending explosion' sensor installed," cried Nordicus.

"Yeah, and maybe some extra sets of underwear. I could use a new pair right about now!"

The two burst out laughing. It was great to be alive.

Paul brought the copter to the blown-out level. Nordicus turned on a search light as Paul tried switching to stealth mode again.

"Hey, isn't that Skorpion59?" shouted Nordicus.

"I think so. But who's that with him?"

"That's Steve! Steve Marriotti! Quick, steady this copter and I'll get the rescue rope. Prepare to take on some new passengers!"

[Slingshot]

MidKnight had descended about 100m and slowed to neutral buoyancy. In front of him was the dark outline of a small access hatch. He looked down as saw a busy street, packed with nightlife about ten stories below. The agent kicked his legs and moved towards the building. Then he turned off the gravity stick and grabbed hold of a handle beside the hatch.

Stuffing the stick in a pocket, MidKnight used his free hand to punch an access code on a dimly lit panel. There was a click, and the hatch cracked open. The agent pulled, expecting it to swing out freely but the rusty hinges had seized and the door opened only half way.

MidKnight grabbed the side handle with both hands - all this hanging was tiring. He began to think about his problem when he heard the explosion. The whole building shook and the agent was rattled so hard he nearly fell. Blood oozed from a cut to his forehead and something made his ears roar. MidKnight looked beside him and saw a dark helicopter whiz by. It scared him so badly that he lost his grip on the handle. He swung his arms wildly about in the darkness, searching madly for a hold in the wall, his feet pushing against brick and then nothing.

MidKnight went frantic. His left hand finally caught hold of a sharp ledge outcropping. The edge dug into his palm something terrible, but it slowed his descent enough to catch the corner with his right hand. He looked up and saw a terrible shadow. It was the section of wall that had been knocked loose from the explosion. Not wasting any time, he took the good hand from the ledge and felt for a hold underneath. There was a seam between two large blocks of stone. He wedged a foot and two hands within the seam and cringed, hoping the ledge above would provide some cover.

The dark mass of fire and bricks smashed into the access hatch above him. It ripped the hatch door off with a loud clang. Part of the wall crumbled into a flurry of rock chips and big chunks of concrete that hammered the ledge above him. MidKnight closed his eyes and felt a swoosh of air as the wall rushed past. Both his hands hurt and he held on so tight he fingers started to go numb. He waited until he heard a sickening thud on the pavement below.

The agent fought hard to catch his breath. There were so many other sounds he heard all around him. Between the rush of air in and out of his lungs he heard cars piling into one another and horns blowing. MidKnight felt his grip loosen again, and he swung one hand up onto the ledge. It was covered in dust and pieces of rock. He quickly cleared a hold for his hand and dug his fingers into a newly formed crack. Then he swung the other hand up and found another good spot. As quickly as he dared, MidKnight clambered up onto the ledge and rested. He looked up and saw the access hole - now free from its door - about 2m above. It was a relatively easy climb inside.

[Slingshot]

Locutus stirred. His vision focused in and out around the outline of a vulture. At least he thought that's what it was. "You're an ugly vulture," he said with a groggy voice.

"You'd make an ugly vulture yourself," replied Pintello. "But I'm assuming this is your bad humour showing through. "

"True enough," replied Locutus. "Man my head hurts!"

"Small price to pay. You almost died. These Actigrammer medics can work wonders, you know! Anyways, Mr. Ogre and the gang are just about to begin the major offensive. MidKnight and Eis are here too. They're about to join the resistance movement to locate Silica. I'll be over there. When you're ready, join us and we'll see what you can do to help.

Locutus groaned and let his head fall back on the stretcher. He figured it would be a while before he felt like running around and getting shot at.

In the far corner Mr. Ogre was conferring with MidKnight and Eis. "If Silica is gone, we could have a lot more trouble than we ever bargained for. I was really hoping we could taker her out of the picture early on. So what do you make of her soliloquy?"

MidKnight was thoughtful. "Silica stole it from Shakespeare. The words are from MacBeth, a man whose fatal flaw was over-ambition. He's just lost his wife, the lady MacBeth and laments her death. Silica didn't finish, though. She stopped just before the words 'And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death' and then 'Out! Out brief candle, life is but a walking shadow' - and on and on. She really thinks the Actigrammers are doomed to walk into oblivion, and I think she's saying the mould was set a long time ago."

Mr. Ogre grinned. "That's quite a commentary. You must be a poet! But regardless, we need to strike now. The major offensives have already begun, and I think we're having some success in knocking out the Actigator communications." He looked over at a colleague who was working at a control panel. "Hey Cadet Joe! Are you ready with the carrier?"

"Sir yes sir!" came the reply. "On your command."

Mr. Ogre cracked his knuckles. "Son of a gun - it's time. Do it!"

Cadet Joe pressed a big red button on his display. "Project Fumigator is a go. The carrier has been released. Ten minutes to building saturation. Anything else?"

"No. Just monitor the kill rate. I'm especially curious about their new command center." Mr. Ogre turned to Eis. "We think we've found their new HQ. Judging from what MidKnight has told us, I don't think they'll be running any operations from the top of the building."

"So what would you like us to do now?" asked Eis?

"Two things. First we hit 'em where it counts and then we clean up. In fact, I was hoping you would help by leading a demolition team to the new HQ. Your second task would be to confirm the effects of the carrier."

"Sounds good!" exclaimed Eis, but don't you think it'll be a little risky? I mean any living Actigator is going to shoot us on sight!"

"You're right. Of course you'll have some good weapons, but we've also got some special armour for you, too." Mr. Ogre handed him a belt that looked like it was made from steel cable. "We've got three of these - one for each member of your team."

"Looks like my mid-section is protected all right. But what about the rest of me?"

"Well first you've got to turn it on!" Mr. Ogre reached for Eis' waist and punched him in the gut.

Eis instinctively moved backwards. The belt shimmered and became translucent.

Mr. Ogre then leapt in the air and gave the Apolyton agent a swift kick in the jaw. His foot slowed from lighting fast to a snails crawl, but Eis still felt the blow. It was like being hit with a nice soft pillow, although the force still knocked him off his feet.

The same thing happened when he fell. Eis felt like he had landed on a pile of hay. Mr. Ogre grabbed a pistol and squeezed a few rounds, point-blank at Eis' chest. Eis watched in horror as the bullets slowed to a crawl. The funny part was that he still felt the bullets push him against the floor.

Eis brushed the bullets off his chest and stood up. "Okay, this is weird! What gives?"

"That belt is a diffuser. It will diffuse all sorts of energy, taking concentrations of force or EM radiation and convert it into a flat wave-front. That's why you still feel the push - it's just that the push doesn't end up going through you."

"So it works with energy weapons as well?"

"Yes, but it changes the beam focus into a wave of heat energy. Remember the dangers. You can take an assault round straight in the chest and live, but it'll probably knock you off your feet. You can get lasered in the back and live, but you could get burned. Don't stand in any one spot too long."

Eis folded his arms and grinned. "Okay, this could be fun! Let me select my team members now." He looked over at the sleeping Locutus. "Hey Loc, are you in or are you out?"

Loc groaned and sat up. "Yeah, yeah. I'm in - but only if Pintello comes along too."

"Sounds good to me! Why should Loc have all of the fun?"

Eis looked at Mr. Ogre. "All set. We'll follow your directions and clean house. See you in a few hours!"

[Paul]

Wow, this is still a great story. But you may have slightly overestimated my piloting skills.

[Slingshot]

Thanks guys.

I'll be away for a week in Vancouver Island.

You probably won't hear from me for a while.

Hopefully by then our real-life Actigrammer heros will surface and there will be some more good news on Apolyton!

[Nordicus]

Slingshot:
Who told you I was afraid of heights?
Looking forward to your return and the continuation of this engrossing story!
--Ah...the Island...ancient stands of fir and hemlock, red cedar and jungles of dogwood and carpets of ferns. I am wrought with envy Have fun, mandinka!

[Slingshot]

Steve Mariotti stood alone, his hulking shadow faint against a pile of rubble. It had been about 12 hours since Eis, Pintello and Locutus had left to take out the new command center.

The Actigrammer was on his own mission. He knew that Silica would not be there. She was far too savvy to be caught like a mouse in a bombarded room. Steve knew what he had to do. He donned a huge set of gauntlets and broke a hole in a dead elevator shaft.

Steve crawled inside and stuck a palm to the shaft wall. It held fast, and he fastened the other a little higher. For the next 20 minute he scaled an impressive height, his teeth clenched during the whole climb. Finally he stopped and punched another hole in the wall. On the other side was a secret room - a space without doors or windows. In the center sat an ornate computer and some equipment.

After a few more punches the hole was large enough for Steve to enter. He casually walked toward the machine, took off one of the gauntlets and placed his hand over a dull-leadish mat.

"You may have fooled the Actigrammers, Silica. But you haven't fooled me. This time it's personal." Steve smacked his hand down on the mat and disappeared.

[Paul]

Hi Slingshot, welcome back.

[Slingshot]

Pintello crouched behind a burning pile of rubble. His ears rang with pain as he fought shell shock. The plan had been simple: take a direct route to the Actigator HQ and storm the area.

Pintello, Eis and Locutus had figured that any route would be heavily guarded, and all agreed that the most direct route would at the very least be easier to get to. Locutus didn't want to be sneaking around in some air vent - he figured it was better to die from bullets that were aimed at you than to die from some random explosion on the other side of a wall.

That made sense, Pintello thought. As they made their way towards Actigator HQ, the fighting between Actigrammers and Actigators only intensified. In fact, Pintello now had a veritable army of conscripts the party had taken along the way. He was glad of that now. The group had just come across a handful of well-entrenched Actigators… Mean Actigators with a lot of firepower.

The smoky air was thick with the smell of tree-sap, although it was different now. He could also smell a heavy - burnt plastic odour. He knew that it meant the modified carrier was present here. The perplexing part was the fact that most of the Actigator casualties seemed to be from weapons fire, and not carrier-gas poisioning.

Suddenly there was a huge explosion to his left. Pintello's head spun towards the fury of steel to see jagged chunks of shrapnel slow to a halt in front of him. At the same time, he felt himself slide across the room. "Dang it!" he thought. The worst part about these explosions was the sound. He couldn't seem to hear very well any more.

"That's it!" screamed Eis. He leapt up from behind a now obliterated piece of cover and threw a savage-looking grenade at the bunkered Actigators. His dance of fury was returned with a hail of bullets, which stopped Eis cold in his tracks. But Eis' grenade sailed true to the opposite wall. The Apolytoner fell flat on the ground as it detonated. Pintello turned his back to a wall of silent fire and waited for the ground to stop shaking.

Pintello ducked his head, and saw Eis fly past, his mouth open in a Charlie Brown 'AAAAAHGH.' The sight was almost funny - Big Eis blowing around like a feather in the wind. The Apolytoner looked back to see what was left of their assailants. His jaw droped and Pintello had to rub his eyes.

There was nothing left - of the Actigators, the floor, the walls. Nothing.

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Pintello. He turned to the human heap that was Eis. "What kind of grenade was that!?"

Eis said something in reply, but Pintello only saw a pair of lips move.

"I - I can't hear very well. What kind of weapon was that?"

Eis didn't speak again. Instead he just pointed at his backpack, grinned and gave Pintello two thumbs up.

Locutus stepped forward. "Bloody good job, I think! Of course, there's nothing left of the hallway now. So which way do we go?"

Eis took a few bold steps to the end of the floor. He saw a monsterous cavern of caved in floors above and below. "The Actigator HQ is about 100m ahead and then 300m downstairs. I say we climb down here and look for an exit. The quicker we leave, the better!"

Locutus motioned for the other Actigrammer troops to follow, and the three Apolytoners began to make their way down the rubble.

"So you've been holding out on us, eh Eis?"

Eis looked at Locutus with another grin. "Sort of. Steve gave me lots of great weaponry. That one I hoped to save for later. It was marked 'outdoor use only.'"

"Ha! I wonder why! It's a good thing that this place is built so solid. You would have thought an explosion like that should bring the whole building down." Locutus' face changed. Poor Pintello, I think he caught that last explosion point-blank. Hopefully his hearing returns."

"Hopefully," replied Eis. "With any luck we'll be at the HQ in a few minutes. But I'm worried that the modified carrier gas isn't working the way it should."

Locutus nodded. "I agree. Is seems that these Actigators are tougher than anyone thought. I do think it's doing something to them." The agent looked at his com-watch. "The Actigrammer HQ says they've killed almost 500 000 so far. That's pretty good for any product!"

"Sure, but it isn't getting them all. In fact, the modified carrier looks like its giving the rest a headache!"

Locutus looked at his watch again. He pressed some buttons and said "I'm updating our progress… The Actigrammers say they're working on a modification to the originial recipie. It's going through QA and should be out shortly."

"QA! Where have I heard that before? Well here's hoping that it works, or I think we'll be hopelessly outnumbered at the Alamo!"

"Hopelessly outnumbered. Remember the Alamo!" repeated Locutus.

[Pintello]

Hi Slingshot,

Good to see you back. How was your vacation? I was wondering what happened to me, now I know. I am looking forward to future developments.

Pintello

[Nordicus]

*bump*

[Aeon Of Time]

Just *great*, Slingshot! I just came back here to check out on any news about civ:ctp II and got happily carried away by your posts...

Did you know that your story here is about 45 pages long? I've copied the whole thing in a textfile (if you want it, just mail me). Astounding! I'm (im)patiently waiting for more!!