EPISODE II: SNAKE HANDLERS
It was a relatively slow day at the Earth Defense Command. It had only been a week since Commander Faireborne had reassumed her position and things were completely back to normal. People were back at work and trust was reinstated with the public. In fact, the slow day was almost a Godsend considering the events a few weeks month ago. The hard work of putting the Command back together was over, now it was time to relax.
That worried Marissa though. She had a nagging feeling that too much time without trouble was an ominous warning. In her experience, the worst and most costly battles were always after a period of peace. Decepticons, terrorists, monsters: it didn�t matter what, the only guarantee was that something terrible happened.
Although she knew it was inevitable, Marissa still sent her best intelligence people on the case. She wanted them to monitor Earth and its vicinity twenty-four hours a day, seven hours a week. Although her superiors thought she might be paranoid, they knew not to question her. Fact was, after recent events, they couldn�t have more faith in Commander Faireborne.
But not even Marissa could predict what was about to happen�
On Cybertron, Rodimus Prime was taking a little walk. He was trying to clear his head, even though life hadn�t been too bad lately. Relations on Earth were better than they had been in years. Galvatron was almost just a memory, Omnicron was dead, and no other force in the universe would dare oppose the Autobots at that point. Spirits were sky high among his friends, but Rodimus didn�t share their enthusiasm.
He knew it shouldn�t bother him, but there was one Autobot who was still absent from Cybertron�s happiness. Optimus Prime was still isolated in Vector Sigma with Elita-1, still maintaining his position as the protector of both the supercomputer and his love. Rodimus understood why his mentor had originally undertook the position, but Optimus had remained in the depths of Cybertron for so long. It seemed like ages since the battle with Jhiaxus and Omnicron. It was as if he was taking an unusual amount of time to mourn, but Optimus would not leave unless the circumstances called for it.
In addition to this, Rodimus was also preoccupied with thoughts that were similar to Marissa Faireborne�s. The years following what the Transformers called the end of the Great War had seemed like the most dark and frightening. In the past, the Autobots expected battle frequently, now it was spaced out and more extreme. Unicron had returned with a vengeance, reviving Galvatron as well. His servant, Omnicron, reared his ugly head twice after eons to eliminate Cybertron, at first with the help of the Cybertronian general Jhiaxus. More recently, Earth was on the brink of destruction by the maniacal Starscream who employed an army of robots developed by the late EDC director William Connelly. With all this, plus the near complete retirement of Optimus Prime, times had been dim.
Rodimus Prime knew that something was on the horizon. It might have been the Matrix, or just his own pessimism. Whatever it was, he knew he had to be ready.
He transformed and drove straight to the training chamber.
�Commander Faireborne!�
The young lieutenant ran into Marissa�s chamber in what seemed like a near panic.
�Yes Markos?� she asked, knowing what was coming.
�We�ve had a major attack at a local nuclear plant!� he said. �One hundred pounds of uranium has been stolen!�
�What?� Marissa was expecting an attack, some kind of aggression from Decepticon forces. A theft was a surprise.
�Yes, ma�am,� he replied. �Uranium. I wanted you to hear about it immediately. The US government wants to investigate, but the President suggested that you should take a part.�
�Oh my God,� she said. Marissa got up from her chair and walked out, followed by Lieutenant Markos. �Do we have any suspects?�
�Actually, ma�am, we do,� he said. �There was a note left at the scene.�
Marissa stopped walking. �What did it say?�
It was hours later when Marissa Faireborne returned to her office. By that time, the US military, FBI, CIA, and the President had briefed her on the situation. None of these mattered, though. The only thing that stuck with her was the chilling message the culprits left.
�For nearly 10 years we have remained silent, staying away from light. Now we have returned, twice as strong and twice as powerful. This time, our bite will be more deadly than ever � Cobra.�
Cobra: the most notorious terrorist organization ever present in the world. Marissa still remembered the horrors that occurred when they were in power. In fact, they were solely responsible for the deaths of her original family in Millville.
But Cobra had been dead for years. The United States military organization GI Joe had finally destroyed their infrastructure. It disbanded, only the elusive figure known as Cobra Commander was considered at large. After two years without a word from him, the FBI took him off their most wanted list. Cobra was just a memory.
Yet now, they seemed to have returned. The most amazing thing was the theft. Not a soul was left alive, everyone and everything was completely annihilated. Yet no one saw a thing, no alarm was sounded. Forty dead guards and a large hole in the side of the facility were all that was there. No evidence whatsoever.
Marissa Faireborne had never faced Cobra before. She knew of them, but also knew how incredibly unpredictable and dangerous they were. The EDC needed specialists on this one, people who knew how Cobra operated. Marissa picked up the phone and dialed a number.
�Hello?� came the voice from the other end.
�Hey Mom,� Marissa said. �How are you?�
Two weeks passed since the initial attack. With approval from the military, EDC Commander Marissa Faireborne hired six �specialists� to aid them with the Cobra problem. Two of these specialists were her adoptive parents.
Dashiell Faireborne was Marissa�s father. He was a former Chief Warrant Officer in the US Army, codename Flint. Her mother, Alison Faireborne, had also retired from the army. She was known as Lady Jaye.
Two other specialists were married as well. Conrad Hauser and Shana O�Hara Hauser had eventually married after several years when they had both retired. They were known as Duke and Scarlett.
The other two men that Marissa contacted were also former members of the military. Former Lieutenant General Clayton Abernathy had long since retired but was now eager to help his country once again. He had been known as General Hawk. The other was a man shrouded in mystery; he was very difficult to contact. His name was classified: he simply went by Snake-Eyes.
These six men and women had long since aged since their last military involvement, but they knew more about Cobra and its past than any other person alive. They were all former members of GI Joe.
Duke was antsy as he sat in the large meeting room. All of these young men kept running around in the hallways; it made him very uncomfortable. He was now in his fifties, although he was still in excellent physical shape. His blonde hair was a little thinner and starting to gray, but his age didn�t show much.
Sitting next to him was Scarlett, his wife of seven years. Her bright red hair had faded a little, but she was still beautiful. He had known her since the beginning, when GI Joe began. Throughout his whole career with her, he never realized how much he cared for her until one fateful day. In a battle with Cobra, Duke engaged in combat with Serpentor, the self-appointed Cobra Emperor. He was impaled by a snake spear when trying to save his brother, and almost died. When Duke recovered, he realized all that he had almost missed by not telling Scarlett how he felt about her. Unfortunately, she had started to develop feelings for Snake-Eyes as well. The ninja and Scarlett were engaged, broke up, and then were engaged again.
That was when Duke made his move. When the Joes disbanded the second time in 2003, he told Scarlett that he loved her and had always loved her. He did not wish to break up his two friends, but felt he had to tell the truth to the woman he loved. Duke was surprised to find that Scarlett herself still harbored strong feelings for him, and Snake-Eyes understood. Duke and Scarlett were married, and soon had a baby: they named him Joseph. It was the happiest time of his life.
That all ended when he got the call from the EDC telling him that Cobra had reemerged. Looking around the table, he had mixed feelings about seeing all his old friends again. Lady Jaye and Flint were the ones who had convinced him to show up, their daughter was the EDC commander. They looked well, although they had definitely aged. Hawk was still gruff yet compassionate, ever the hard-nosed leader. Snake-Eyes had been living in the mountains of Japan. He sat silently, as usual, at the table.
The last time Duke had been involved in a Cobra incident was in 2002. It had been a year since Cobra had resurfaced at that point, and General Hawk wanted to see them put down for good. In a massive assault on Cobra Commander�s base, Duke led the team on a near-suicidal mission to capture the leader and destroy his operations center. While the battle raged, Duke�s brother Falcon tried to capture Cobra Commander and was killed. Although there was nothing Duke could do, he blamed himself for Falcon�s death. Cobra Commander got away, and the vengeful Duke went on a personal manhunt. He eventually returned empty handed, and found solace in Scarlett�s arms.
Now, he felt like he was being brought in again as a simple profiler. Duke knew that the Commander would show his fangs again, it was just unsure about when. Now he was positive that this was no hoax, and Cobra Commander was back as well. Eight years had passed, and Duke still held on to his vendetta. He wanted to see some action in this battle.
Commander Marissa Faireborne entered the room. She was alone.
�Good morning,� she said, although she was quite grim. �First of all, I�d like to thank all of you for showing up today.�
The former Joes nodded.
�Well, as you all already know, Cobra has resurfaced,� she said. �I have given permission for my associates to contact you with that information. What you don�t know are the details of how and when they came back.�
She proceeded to inform the six men and women about the incidents with the uranium theft and the damage done to the facility. Marissa also mentioned the diabolical note left at the scene.
�For all we know this was done with surprising firepower and force,� she continued. �These bastards went in with guns blazing.�
Hawk was the first one to speak up. �Do we have any clues to accomplices or outside help they may have received?�
�No General,� Marissa replied.
He smiled. �Please, disregard the formalities. Just call me Hawk. The reason I ask is because Cobra is known for its ties with the Decepticons from time to time, and it�s from my understanding that the Decepticons have also been appearing somewhat recently. That�s my take on how Cobra was able to do such a diabolical act.�
�Actually, we have considered that,� Marissa said. �And so far no evidence has been conclusive. Now, I called every one of you here because I have never worked against Cobra. In fact, I doubt there are many remaining in the military with the kind of knowledge that you six have about these terrorists.�
Duke spoke up finally. �So what are we supposed to be then, legends that are only good for advice? Look, I came here out of respect for my friends and their daughter. I have a loathing for Cobra that no other human has. But I did not come her to simply be some kind of profiler to help you catch a group that I have hunted since before you were born.�
�Actually, Duke,� Marissa said, �I have petitioned the UN council to sign each of you back on as full members of the EDC. You represent my special council, and will aid me in operations to combat Cobra, by any means necessary. As far as I�m concerned, you work for the UN, not for me.
�The UN has granted you complete enlistment into the Command, and once you are able to pass a physical fitness exam they will allow you into combat. That is, unless you don�t want to be involved in a combat situation, which we will comply with if that is your request. Frankly, I want to see you ladies and gentlemen kick some ass again.�
She smiled. The table was silent.
Finally, Duke looked at his friends Flint and Lady Jaye. �Well, I have to say one thing. That is one hell of a daughter you got there.�
�So, do we have a deal?� Marissa asked. �Is GI Joe going to be reinstated as a subsidiary of the Earth Defense Command?�
Everyone at the table nodded and grinned.
A day had passed since the initial meeting when each member of the former Joe team went through the rigorous physical testing process. Hawk decided not to partake; he wished to remain the intelligence officer of the team. He thought it best to be the group�s eyes and ears back at base if they were in combat.
So each member took physicals and ran an obstacle course. Surprisingly, every member passed with high scores. Snake-Eyes was especially limber and quick, apparently he had still trained himself while he was secluded in the mountains. By the end of their first full day as EDC trainees, they were outfitted with standard issue laser rifles and rankings. Each Joe was given the rank of �Special Ops Officer� with Hawk as their commander. Hawk then appointed Duke as the team leader, which every other member happily accepted. GI Joe was back.
�The time has come for the next phase in our plan.�
In a secret location, the man known as Snake was conferring with his two main associates. They had made the first move; hopefully no person had a clue what they were up to.
�So, the time has come for me to reveal myself?� Megatron asked, smiling wickedly.
�Yes,� Snake said. He turned to Galvatron. �Are you sure this will work?�
�Absolutely,� was the reply. �I�m sure my counterpart knows Optimus Prime better than I. He�ll come.�
�There is no doubting that,� Megatron said. He was looking forward to the reunion with his arch-nemesis. �If both Galvatron and I are attacking Earth, Optimus will not let Rodimus Prime come alone. They will both come, making our plan failsafe. We will destroy the Autobots while you and your new army shall conquer this planet, Snake.�
�Please, Snake is gone, gentlemen,� the human scientist said. �I have been rejuvenated, brought back from the dead. I am Cobra Commander.�
TO BE CONTINUED