*This is an experiment in terms of how to tell a story...*

DATE : 06.12.10
LOCATION : SOMEWHERE IN IDAHO
TIME : 14.51.23

A small convoy made up of a VAMP and Patriot Grizzly wind their way over a road strewn with rocks. Flanked by boulders and a rock valley, the Joes are on edge. It reminds Clutch of the scene in Starship Troopers where the platoon was walking thru a valley that was many stories high and there would be only two ways to run. Cobra could be hiding in the giant boulders, prepared to take out both vehicles and steal back an unusual natural made energy crystal found in one of the many mountain ranges of Idaho.



"HEY! Why we stopped, Clutch???" yells Capt. Steeler, after slamming on the breaks of his tank. Thunder and Rock N Roll groan with irritation as the sudden stop. "We're already behind schedule, ya grease monkey!"

"Something in my gut says to stop here for a few minutes..." Clutch says over the radio. "Zap, get out and look around, will ya?"



After a few minutes, Zap decides nothing look out of the ordinary. He admits that he isn't the best man to be put on point. He's better at blowing away heavily armored tanks than looking for ground mines or homemade bombs. He looks around again but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. Why make him use his own eyes if the onboard electronics on the tank could do a better job? This mission, to Zap, was pretty hush-hush and there had to be pretty slim chances that Cobra knew about this little mission.

Up high, the mercenary sabateur Firefly carefully makes his way from rock to rock, boulder to boulder. The sun is high in the sky and he tries to stick to the shadows. But he can't all the time. He's been in the game long enough to know when he's being tailed. In a place like this, there isn't a trail left. Nor is there a trail to be made. Every part of this valley could act as it's own trail. The only way to spot someone else would to be high enough up, with good binoculars and the knowledge of WHERE to look. Firefly figures that he blends in quite well with the gray landscape.

"Damn," he swears. "Behind schedule and the Joes could be anywhere in this damn valley."