RuneScape Forum Archive | Fall of Saturn

[#Z4I81DBPJ]

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~FALL~OF~SATURN~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PROLOGUE

“Artillery!” the commander yelled over the screams of rockets soaring into the night sky.

Tyler made a mad dash to the nearest foxhole, his forest green military boots kicking up waves of snow as he waded through several inches of powder that coated the ground in this forest. Finally he arrived at the small hole in the ground he had laboriously dug several hours previously. Tyler dived inside and pulled several thick evergreen branches on top of the opening. They would be little use in the event of a direct hit, but they could protect him from the shrapnel that would soon be flying through the trees like bats at twilight.

The air roared and the earth shook as massive shells rained upon the snow-covered ground just above Tyler’s precarious position, blasting deep craters and shredding trees. He forced himself not to worry about the artillery; there was nothing more he could do to protect himself from the unpredictable strikes. What he should have feared was the impending advance that the enemy infantry would soon make upon his position. It was then that he would need all his skill, all his bravery, and all his cunning merely to survive.

Tyler took this opportunity to ensure that his weapons, his tools of survival, were all functioning perfectly. All his skill would be impotent while wielding a jammed weapon. His Standard Assault Rifle of 2027, or SAR-27 was clean, greased, and loaded with a clip containing thirty armor-piercing rounds. A large cylindrical round was inserted into the back of the single-shot grenade launcher clipped beneath the weapon’s barrel. Tyler made sure his AMP-19 or Army Machine Pistol of 2019 was tucked securely in the holster on his belt.

25-May-2007 02:50:45 - Last edited on 26-May-2007 04:02:47 by [#Z4I81DBPJ]

[#Z4I81DBPJ]

Posts: 2,173 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Finally he ran his hand up his chest to find three Kevlar sheaths on a strap that ran over his shoulder. Inside each of these was a relatively new technological development, the Close-Quarters Fragmentation Device of 2039, CFD-39, known more commonly as a *shrapnel stick”. Tyler pulled open the velcro strap that held one of the devices in place. It seemed similar to a large, razor-sharp metal tent stake, but when Tyler squeezed the grip and pressed a button on top, two small wings opened at the sides. When these wings were pushed backwards by the force of the device being thrust into an enemy combatant, they would ignite a five-second fuse after which the entire device would explode, causing massive damage to its victim. Tyler folded the wings back into their unarmed positions and replaced it in the sheath.
The last shell exploded a few feet from Tyler’s foxhole and the forest grew quiet.
* * *
Josh sat at his desk in the Fort Campbell military base in Tennessee, idly typing line after line of code into his computer. A dusty virtual reality helmet sat next to the computer monitor he preferred while working. His eyes drifted lazily toward the large windows that made up the entire eastern wall of his small, sparsely decorated office. He watched the new recruits training to become paratroopers while his hands continued to type.
Due to decreased military enlistment following the Iraq war, the United States had employed a highly successful program of compulsory government service for the two years following high school graduation. Most joined a branch of the military, while some joined the Peace Corps, the Army Corps of Engineers, or multiple other peaceful occupations.

25-May-2007 02:51:29

[#Z4I81DBPJ]

Posts: 2,173 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Josh had become highly interested in computers during his last two years of high school, and therefore joined the Army as a computer programmer. He excelled in this line of work, creating ingeniously simple interfaces that drastically improved battlefield coordination. His success came too easily and too quickly, boring him and making his workdays a painful ordeal. He had already updated the battlefield interface five times before his superiors reprimanded him, saying it was perfect as it was and the continuous updating was becoming a hassle. He now toyed with an amateur hacker who was attempting to break into the system. Josh would make him believe he had finally gotten through before setting up an impenetrable firewall with a few lazy keystrokes, trying to imagine the look of frustration and despair on his victim’s face.
The door to his office swung open silently and Josh’s superior, a military man with closely shaved brown hair and small, beady eyes, entered the room with a printed sheet of paper. Josh immediately sat up straight in his chair and tried to flatten his uncombed but well-cleaned brown hair.
“Josh, we just received this letter from the Pentagon. They want you to report there immediately. It’s something top secret, they haven’t even told me what it is, though I’ve been receiving cryptic messages telling me to prepare the troops for deployment. Anyway, good luck, soldier.”

25-May-2007 02:52:23

[#Z4I81DBPJ]

Posts: 2,173 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Josh allowed himself a rare smile as he left his dull office. Finally he was doing something exciting. He got into his small, silver car and turned out of the parking lot onto the empty country road that led away from Fort Campbell. He tuned the radio to a good classic rock station, which blared over the barely audible whirr of the electric motor. If he was going to Washington, D.C., perhaps he would see Tyler again. His old friend Tyler had joined the Army National Guard and was assigned to an extremely large force that kept the District of Columbia secure.
Josh noticed that his battery pack was nearly out of charge, so he pulled over at the next service station he encountered along the winding country road. He parked in the small gravel lot and entered the brightly lit store, where an inattentive clerk with short red hair read a magazine behind the counter. Josh picked out a bottle of water and a candy bar before approaching the counter.
“I’d also like six battery packs,” Josh said, pointing at the large, humming machine behind the counter.
“Six? Where you going you need six packs?” the young clerk asked in a mildly interested tone as he opened a panel on the machine and pulled out six metal boxes.
“The Pentagon.”

25-May-2007 02:52:49

[#Z4I81DBPJ]

Posts: 2,173 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

INTRODUCTION

Hello faithful followers and new readers alike. This is the sixth and final part in a very long series of mine, of which only one other story still exists on these forums. You will be able to understand this story just fine even if you are a newcomer, but if you would like to read the chronological prequel to this story, it is called RuneSpace (QF:49-50-663-31620033).

TABLE O' CONTENTS
(Name: Page,Post)
Prologue: 1,1
Introduction: 1,5
Table o' Contents: 1,5
Fans: 1,5
Story Post Count: 1,5
Posts: 1,5
U.N. Hearing 1: 3,3
Chapter 1: 3,4
U.N. Hearing 2: 11,1
Chapter 2: 11,2
U.N. Hearing 3: 12,2
Chapter 3: 12,3

FANS:
(I include anyone who comments positively on this thread):
1. Aspectofbane
2. Avatar 720
3. W(c)oggle77
4. Dle Uloser
5. M(c)r Fuzzles19
6. Gamer Xtreme
7. O00 Wars O00
8. Mapmaster5
9. Menter5
10. Herty55
11. Gamerjr2004
12. Catmon007
13. Firekid445
14. Jemer12
15. Ace1 Wizard
16. Patriot5
17. Psycho 117

STORY POST COUNT: 20

POSTS:
1:Me
100:Me
200:

25-May-2007 02:53:15 - Last edited on 03-Jul-2007 04:53:34 by [#Z4I81DBPJ]