Super Soaker Central

"Oh, what the hell," he muttered and took the water balloon launcher off the XX 50. He threw it at the nearest Tempest, knocking him unconscious. "Give yourself up," one of the Tempest commanders sitting in a tank shouted at him.

Just as he said that, Force saw a large board land on a tank on his right, smashing the Tempest sitting in the top into the tank. Then, he saw Piranha look round from the side and stick his thumb up. In the background he heard an engine, gradually getting louder.

Suddenly an ATV appeared, flying over the top of the tank. It landed to the side of Force and headed towards him. As it passed, Force jumped on the back. "You looked like you needed a hand," Sophie called over her shoulder. She blasted the group of troops in front of them, scattering them. Revving the engine, she shot out through the gap and away from the tanks. Around them, the battle continued.

The battle was utter chaos. Toaster had seen a cornered militiaman rescued with a ridiculously dangerous move. The retriever had jumped a tank! And the Tempests were relying heavily on their number advantage, hoping the militia would deplete their ammunition.

The Sabres were pounding away, dropping Tempests in all directions. Monkey had run out of Cs mines, and was proceeding to fire the water balloon mines into the infantry. It was a valiant struggle, but the militia was losing. Toaster saw this, and he got on the radio.

"This is Toaster to any militia forces. We need immediate backup in the central square of 2! We are being overwhelmed! We need help!"

Spinner, watching the battle from the office block, and firing off the occasional blast, realised soon into it that there weren't anywhere near enough militia forces to prevail. He was just about to send his message when he heard Toaster on the radio. It confirmed his fears, so he gave the order: "This is Major-General Spinner to all militia members in the central square. Make your ways as quickly as possible to the tallest office building on the east side of the square. It is our only hope."

Forceuser, Toaster, and the others picked up the message. Quickly changing tactic, they turned and fought their way through the Tempest troops to their sides, aiming for the office block.

Gaining the doorway, Toaster turned the handle and opened the door. "Get inside, quickly," he ordered the rest of his troops, "I'll cover for Forceuser and his units. Now!" They filed past him through into the building.

Then came Forceuser and his units battling valiantly against the oncoming hordes. "Quick!" exclaimed Toaster. As the last man went past, Toaster turned and rushed inside himself. His units inside slammed the door, barricading and bolting it.

"Phew," said Forceuser, "That was a close one. At least we have a bit more time now. Barricade the doors with all furniture, then go for the stairway doors. We'd better make contact with Spinner. Also, we should get some snipers at the upper windows."

Spinner surveyed the scene, mightily relieved. "Good," he said, "Now to try and hold this place until those special troops I ordered arrive..."

Toaster sat in the office building, shooting at the Tempests with the Red Baron. He regretted having to leave the Armadillo outside, but he'd locked it up and disconnected the weapons, so the Tempests couldn't get inside.

At least not conventionally. He saw a Tempest commander with a crowbar heading for the cab. He looked as if he was going to hit the windshield. Realising this plan, Toaster took the guy down with a Fokker Blast.

The Sabres were all on this floor, and they'd brought the still out-cold Eyleascial with them. Toaster now focussed on preserving the Armadillo, firing on all Tempests that neared it. He was refilling the Baron when he saw a rogue Tempest pick up the commander's crowbar. There was nothing he could do. The Armadillo was going to be compromised.

Suddenly, a water balloon launcher shot out and hit the Tempest square in the back of the head. Turning, he saw Eyleascial holding one of the Libras they'd liberated. She was straining under the weight, but the gun was still pointed at the troops approaching the Sabres' vehicle.

Force ran up the stairs till he found Spinner. "What do we do now, sir?" Force asked him. "We wait for the moment," Spinner replied. He walked over to the window, "Wait a second, aren't we missing some tanks?"

Force looked out, down at the few militia tanks in the square. "They were on their way. They must not have got here yet. No wondered we've been having some trouble," Force replied.

He pulled out his radio and got hold of the tank commander, "Where the hell are you?" "We got held up, sir. We're on our way now," the militiaman replied. "Well you'd better hurry up." Force put the radio down and looked at Spinner.

"Good," Spinner said, "The tanks should arrive about the same time as the special troops I've ordered." Force looked enquiringly at him, "Special troops?"

"Yeah, special troops," smiled Spinner, "You'll see what I mean. Anyway, first of all, we need to make sure we can hold out till then." As he spoke, they heard a big smash from down below. "Oh dear," said Spinner, "They seem to have got in to the ground floor. Tell Toaster on the intercom to evacuate up to level 4, barricading all the way up. Then get everyone to get ready to repel, while being ready to evacuate further if needed."

Forceuser strode to it. Once he'd done so, Spinner continued. "I've got a little idea which might hold up the Tempests somewhat...let's go downstairs."

Making their way to level 4, they found Toaster and the others making fortifications ready. "Good work, lads," called Spinner, "Now for my idea..."

Monsoon had taken back alleys and building fire escape ladders leading to the rooftops to bypass the heavy fighting in the town square. He occasionally soaked a few oblivious Tempest snipers, but other than that, the way was clear. He had purposely smashed his radio to pieces, and wasn't going to let anyone get in his way of defeating the enemy's leader.

The rooftop of the main Tempest base was crawling with snipers, looking in all directions, but all their fire concentrated to the main battle down below. Quickly thinking, Monsoon swung down the nearest fire escape ladder and stealthily crept behind the enemy base, which was strangely left wide open.

"There has to be traps set up or something," he thought to himself. He got out his small pouch of water balloons and threw two of the three in his possession. There was a slew of trip mines set up along the alley behind the Tempest fortification. He had a balaclava on, equipped with some infrared goggles that he had stolen from a former Tempest guard post near the entrance to the town.

He carefully avoided the thin fishing lines that were strung across the narrow walkway. There was a barred door farther along the path. Lucky enough for him, he found a metal bar on the ground and started pounding on the wood.

After a long while, the wood was broken. He kicked open the door and there was a squad of elite Tempests standing before him. He quickly reacted and shot with his CPS 4100 while diving to the side, reaching an office desk after through with a somersault. He apparently downed three of the five, and the last two were trying to drench Monsoon with their small water balloon supply. Monsoon jumped out and did an aerial while shooting an 8.5x stream at both the enemies' faces. They retreated and Monsoon continued towards the stairs to the second floor of a three-story building...

Ed's Trueno hit a small mine stuck in a pothole. He lost control of the car and went into a spin.

"OK! Scrap the idea! RUN!" said Ed through the radio. Racer split and went after Monsoon.

Racer went as fast as he could in the 3000GT, he took every backroad to the coordinates of the Tempest building. He drifted right through the heavy fighting area around the town square. He parked the car on a side road. CPS 1500 and XP 75 in hands, he was to go in and find Monsoon.

"Hmm...Looks like he's already been here..." said Racer to himself. He saw someone with a balaclava and goggles on with a CPS 4100 up a small stairway...Racer went up after him.

Monsoon continued up the steps, CPS 4100 ready. He had grabbed some extra water balloons from a knocked out militia soldier. He had the water balloon pouch open and ready. The second floor appeared vacant, no enemies were in view. The third and top floor had to be home to the commander.

Monsoon silently made a break for the stairs, when suddenly a swarm of twenty Tempests came from another stairwell. Monsoon ducked behind a reclining chair. "There's too many for me to handle here. I'm doomed. I'm a failure!" he thought to himself. Just then, a familiar face was slowly ascending on the stairs.

"We were a team from the start, and we will be again," said Racer.

Spinner and Forceuser finished the trap. Ripping some piping from the wall, they began to flood the lower levels of the building. They also diverted water straight from the taps to fire down the stairs. "That should slow them down a bit," grinned Forceuser, "Let's get back upstairs. And when will these special troops of yours arrive, Spinner?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the first wave is arriving now," said Spinner, as a low drone made itself heard. They rushed to the window. Sure enough, they saw the welcome sight of six Mosquitos heading towards the square. "Time for some precision bombing, I think," he said as the first bombers detached themselves and the Tempests scattered in panic. "When the other troops I've ordered arrived, we can start to assault the Tempest HQ."

"Excellent!" Force commented. Just then, he heard a loud smash. It had come from the room next to them. Force ran round the corner, raising his gun as he went. He kicked the door open and entered.

Inside, he was confronted by a Tempest special trooper. Force reacted instantly, shooting him in the face. The Tempest staggered backwards. Force followed up by side-kicking him over a table.

Looking at the windows, Force saw that the Tempests were scaling the back of the building. Another Tempest was climbing through a hole in the window. Force shot him. He fell out the window, and slid back down the rope he was climbing, taking all the troops below him down as well.

Spinner appeared at the door, "What is it?" "We need some troops up here, now," Force shouted over his shoulder. He ran over to the hole and looked down. There was a group of Tempests standing on the roof of the small building that was attached to the side of the building he was in.

Force jumped out the window, grabbing the rope as he went. He slid down it, his gloves protecting his hands. As he neared the bottom, he looked down. Directly below him was a Tempest. He let go of the rope and fell the rest of the way down. He landed. On the Tempest's head.

Force hit the ground, hard, and rolled. He came to his feet, gun blazing. The Tempests, their guns not ready, came running at him. "Close-quarters fighting, eh?" Force thought, "They don't know what they're getting themselves into."

He hit the first Tempest in the side of his head with the butt of his gun. The next one took a hit to the stomach, before Force swept his legs out. Force threw his gun over his back and dropped into a fighting stance. He dodged the next Tempest running at him and kicked him in the kidneys as he ran past.

The fourth one approached more carefully, seeing what had happened to the others. He threw a big hook to the head. Force ducked it easily and brought an uppercut into his stomach, followed by two hooks to the face. Then he threw him to the ground.

The last Tempest had turned and run, not wanting to get his butt kicked. Force picked up a water balloon launcher off the floor and fired. The Tempest went flying forwards, a huge wet patch across his back. Force looked around and smiled, all down.

He picked up his radio and called Spinner, "This building's not secure. If you send down Sophie, Stingray and Piranha, we'll do what we can to secure it." "Roger that, I'll send them down right away. Nice work by the way," Spinner replied. "You saw that?" "Yeah, couldn't have done better myself." "Well, I try my best. Anyway, I'll call back when the building is secure. Over and out."

Force put the radio down. He looked up at the building. His squad were climbing down the rope. Force turned round and opened up the skylight, ready to proceed.

Duxburian and a small group of eleven soldiers had remained in the town square. An order had been given for a general retreat to the office building, but they could not retreat because they were heavily engaged with the enemy at the time.

Duxburian's group had enough water balloons to prevent soldiers with guns from getting anywhere close, but rooftop snipers were becoming a problem. Finally, the nearest Tempests pulled back to reload. Seizing his chance, Duxburian ordered a hasty retreat through a back alley and toward the office building.

A surprise attack on the Tempests besieging the building then failed due to the sheer number of Tempests. Therefore, the group entered a building across the street which was tall enough to offer protection. They then barricaded the first few floors and took up sniping positions at the windows of the fifth and highest floor. They were largely ignored by the Tempests who were more focused on the large office building with most of the militia forces.

Duxburian directed water balloon launcher fire at the Tempests scaling the office building, hoping that a few could be knocked off and the rest could be delayed. Then, Duxburian tried to regain radio contact. "Come in Spinner..."

Tempest troops were surrounding the 86. Leaping out through the windows with guns blazing, Ed and Nat ran for a nearby hotel.

"Follow them! A few of you, stay behind to examine the car!" a voice yelled behind them.

"Erm, we don't exactly need a room now," Ed said as they slammed the hotel doors open.

"Don't worry, I know what to do," Nat said as they fired at the Tempests who went after them.

"We're going to be cornered!"

"Shaddap and follow me!" Nat yanked his arm and ran up the stairs-into a room.

Ed was starting to lose it. "Nat, think straight! We're going to be trapped!" he whispered. Behind the door, heavy boots were stomping up the stairs.

"Pass me the keys!" the voice yelled downstairs.

"Ye-yessir." The frightened hotel manager said.

Ed growled in frustration. "Nat, what the hell-" Then his voice died.

Indecent noises came out of Nat's mouth, and she was jumping on the very creaky bed. She beckoned him to do the same.

"Troops, did you find the two fighters?" The Tempest general said.

"No sir, just the hotel guests," a private said meekly, and earned himself a whack on the head from his superior.

"You idiots are useless! I'm checking them myself!" the general yelled, and stomped into a room.

A high-pitched scream and a male voice yelling some Spanish followed, and he was thrown out again.

"What the hell was that about?" he yelled back at the door.

"Sir, this hotel is popular among couples, all the rooms are full of them," said another soldier.

"The sounds some of them make are heavenly," said the private who got whacked, and promptly got another from the general.

"Wake up you pervert! We've got work to do! Get to the roof, everyone!" he barked at them.

"Okay, I think they've gone." Nat jumped off the bed.

Ed was gazing at Nat with admiration. "How did you do that?"

Nat had that mischievous look in her eyes again. "Any girl will learn a lot if she hangs out with Sophie long enough."

"I'll take your word for that," Ed said, as they jumped out of the 2nd-floor window.

"This car's the coolest, man!" one of the Tempests said.

"Yeah, how 'bout we give it a spin?"

"The keys-"

"It's here, dumbass."

The duo got into the car.

Suddenly, a shot hit the Tempest in the driver's seat.

"Dude, whazzap?"

There was rustling in the bushes near them.

"Dude? Don't freak me out, dude!"

"He'll live." A CPS 1000 nozzle suddenly jabbed his head.

"Get in the back seat," a female voice said.

He tried to scramble out of the car, but Ed shoved him behind.

"What d'you want?" the Tempest asked fearfully.

"To make sure you won't touch my 86 again," Ed growled and started the engine.

"Huh-waitwaitwait, slow down!" the unfortunate Tempest soldier screamed.

Too late. Ed did a reverse 180, then swerved through a lot of traffic.

"NonononolemmeouttaHEERE!"

One, two, three, four doughnuts, then Ed started building up speed.

"OhmygawdohmygawdohmygawdNO!"

170 km/h, 180, 190, 200, 210. Towards a hairpin.

"NOOOOO! I'm too young to die..."

Slowing all the way down to 90 km/h, he drifted through the hairpin, and squealed to a stop. The soldier had passed out from the Gs.

"You're mental, Ed. Mental," Nat sighed, as she lifted the unconscious Tempest out of the car.

"Thanks," the driver grinned, and he took out his radio.

"Come in, Racer."

A small pause, then a voice, "Racer here, you alright, Ed?"

"Yep, where're you now?"

"I went after Monsoon, he wants to take on the Tempest commander himself."

Ed frowned. "Where is he?" Racer told him.

"I'll be there." Ed clicked off the radio and drove for the building.

The Tempest soldier stood up shakily.

"Am I in heaven or hell?"

He looked at his arm, pinched it.

"Ow - I'm alive..." he said hazily.

Then he threw up and collapsed again.

Racer closed the radio.

"Nice to see you again Monsoon," said Racer who was coming up the stairs, "Racer...Again?" thought Monsoon. Racer also ducked behind the chair.

"Alright...Here's the plan..." said Monsoon to Racer.

Toaster was doing all he could to protect the Armadillo, and was succeeding for the most part. With Rae's help, the Tempests were figuring out that the big vehicle was off-limits. The Sabres elsewhere were doing their best to repel the enemies who were attempting to gain access to the higher levels.

Eyleascial, who still looked a bit groggy, was soaking Tempests left and right, her 'shotgun' making swaths of Tempest infantry run for cover. Seeing that they were holding back the troops on this side, Toaster began to look at the rest of the square. He saw a plethora of Tempest soldiers and a few tanks, battling newly arriving militia forces.

Then Pip saw something that was obviously a last, desperate attack on the well-fortified office building he was standing in. Three of the tanks that had come on the Hercs were positioned side by side, and their barrels were aimed at the building's foundations. Realising that they intended to demolish the building, he yelled for Eyleascial to cover him.

Throwing a rope down, Toaster descended to the Armadillo. Hopping into the cab and locking the door behind him, he reconnected the Broadsword's feeds and started the engine that powered its pumps. Climbing to the topside hatch, Toaster exited the hold and climbed into the Broadsword's seat. Realising that he couldn't take out all three tanks fast enough, Toaster decided to do the next best thing.

The tanks were positioned in front of an old apartment building. "Too close," Toaster thought. He aimed the Broadsword, and when it was charged, fired.

The round flew towards the tanks. Anticipating a hit, the drivers and gunners ducked and covered.

They were amazed when the shot flew above their heads and smashed into the building behind them. They all laughed, thinking the leader of the Sabres had missed. Their laughter ceased when a large rumble came from the building behind them. They quickly abandoned their posts when the building toppled, landing with a cacophony of sound atop the enemy tanks, crushing all three simultaneously.

Proud of his attack, Toaster continued on to attack the Tempest tanks that were fighting the militia, crumpling their hulls.

Smirking, Toaster was about to get out of the seat when he saw a water balloon headed his way. It was the last thing he saw for a while.

"The only way for us to clear the way is with our water balloons, then we get the rest with our soakers, okay?" said Monsoon. Racer nodded. "On the count of three we jump out and commence the attack...One!...Two!...THREE!"

The two came out from behind the reclining chair and lobbed their water balloons at the twenty Tempests standing in their way. Monsoon immediately unslung his CPS 4100 and soaked the rest.

"So, Racer, are you going to step aside now?" asked Monsoon. "Sorry, I can't do that now," said Racer. At that moment, Monsoon heard more footsteps up the stairs behind them...

Forceuser dropped into the building below him. He waited for the rest of his squad to join him. They moved silently and quickly through the building, making sure it was empty. Force came to the door at the end. He could faintly hear voices on the other side. He signalled for Stingray to cover him.

Force positioned himself in front of the door, with Stingray behind him ready with a water balloon. He kicked the door open. At the same time, Stingray threw the balloon in. The Tempests behind were temporarily stunned. Enough that Force could easily take them down with his XX 50. They cuffed them up.

The room secured, they proceeded downstairs. They barricaded up the doors and windows enough that the Tempests would have a hard time getting in. Force picked up his radio and contacted Spinner, "Building secure. We're going after Monsoon now."

Force and his squad exited the building through one of the upper floor windows, jumping the short distance to the ground. Looking around, Force spotted a pair of bikes. He ran over to them; they were unlocked. He jumped on one, Sophie behind him. Piranha and Stingray got on the other one. "Let's go!" Force shouted. They zoomed off.

Weaving their way through the back streets, they came across little opposition. Eventually, Force spotted the 3000GT. He stopped the bike and jumped off. Moving as a unit, the squad entered the building and went up the stairs...

Toaster was outcold. Bukan and the others jumped down to the Armadillo as well, and rushed to help their commander. Eyleascial stayed behind to cover them as they set up, and the militiamen quickly manned the Geminis. Monkey hopped down into the hold and reconnected the weapons, while Bukan and Wontwood hauled the drenched and insensate Toaster out of the Broadsword's seat and down into the back of the vehicle. Sure that he was safe, the Sabres set up and began to defend their position.

Satisfied that the guys were able to handle themselves for a while, Eyleascial reattached the Libra she'd used to protect the Armadillo to her bike. Kyle had driven it right into the building and they'd hauled it upstairs. She revved the motorcycle and headed for the stairwell. Locking the door behind her, she drove down the stairwell. When she reached the foyer, she fought back the encroaching Tempests. When she had driven them back, she turned around towards the stairwell door. Using a little butane torch she'd picked up at the hardware store, she welded the metal door and frame together. No Tempests were getting through that door anytime soon.

Zooming past the enemy, Eyleascial joined the battle outside, where her friends were under siege.

Commander Gaunt wormed his way up to the Tempest camp perimeter and crouched behind a bush, he only had one gun, his black CPS 2500 with a very limited water supply, he sat behind a bush and waited.

The Tempests had five minute patrols with another irregular patrol every fifteen minutes. A strange smile passed across CG’s face, the Tempest commander was impressively paranoid. A man after his own heart.

He stole through the Tempest base, and listened carefully beside every tent, he needed to find an unoccupied one fast. His five minutes were nearly up. He listened intently by another tent flap. Nothing. He flipped open his pen knife and cut the tent open just under the normal flap, he couldn't risk opening the zip.

He was in the store tent. All this bases food and water and spare guns were right here. After a quick look at the gun rack, he selected a small water balloon launcher and a packet of water balloons, he had to travel light. He also took a powerful torch, a backpack and a spare knife.

After refilling his gun and taking a small bottle of drinking water, he opened the large water canisters and tore up all the packets of food into them. You didn't have to use force to stop an advance. He was in two minds about the guns, it would be harsh to destroy them, but he did cut off the tyre valve from all the water balloon launchers, tyre valves were cheap, so he had no regrets.

Commander Gaunt crept out and into the woods again. The night swallowed him up.

"Good work Forceuser," replied Spinner, "The special troops are just arriving now." Looking towards the sky, Forceuser saw aircraft flying past. Wondering what they were actually doing, he then saw curious little white specks in the sky, which grew larger and larger.

Then it clicked. Paratroopers! "That's excellent, Spinner. Once you've cleared the Tempests from your building and freed Duxburian, come and join us in the final assault on the base."

Drifting down quietly, the elite paratroopers, all armed with CPS 1000s and water balloons, approached the square. The Tempests, all eyes on the enemy on the ground, did not notice them until it was too late...

Forceuser and his squad came out onto the floor behind Monsoon. "Need any help?" Force asked, smiling. "Force, it's good to see you," Monsoon replied.

"We'll help you clear the way to the Tempest Commander," Force explained, "Stingray, Piranha, you stay here and guard our backs. Come on let's go."

They headed up the stairs to the third floor. Force poked his head out and looked down the corridor. A lone Tempest was walking along it. He saw Force. Moving quickly, Force shot him in the back of the head before he could escape.

Force ran over to him and hauled him to his feet. "Where is the commander?" he demanded. "Up-upstairs," the Tempest mumbled. "Is there anyone guarding him?" Force asked. "He has four bodyguards."

Force looked at Monsoon and Racer, "You two take them, we'll hold it here." Just then, there was noise from down the corridor. A large group of Tempests had appeared. "Go," Force shouted. He took position on one side of the corridor, with Sophie on the other. Monsoon and Racer ran up the stairs.

With the office building liberated and Duxburian rescued, Spinner smiled. "Well done lads," he told them through the radio, "Now to see how Forceuser and the others have been doing with the Tempest base. I'm coming down." Having said that, he jogged down the stairs, exited the building, and boarded a nearby militia jeep. Twenty paratroopers climbed aboard a lorry, and they all set off for the base.

Arriving there, they could hear sounds of a fight coming from the upper floors. Then Spinner noticed many men leaving the, presumably, dormitory building next door, and rushing into the back of the HQ building. "We've got to stop them - they'll trap Forceuser and the others! Come on!"

"He's coming around," Toaster heard a voice say. His head felt like a steamroller had been practising on it. Opening his eyes slowly, blinding light filtered in.

"He's OK! Hey Wontwood, Bukan, Monkey, Toaster's all right!"

Toaster's vision eventually resolved into a scene of his friends leaning over him, Eyleascial in the centre.

"Am I dead?" Toaster asked, "Because if I am, I'm definitely not in hell."

Eyleascial and the others looked a bit puzzled, but they were relieved to see their commander was awake again. Toaster grinned as he sat up.

"The fighting has moved to a different part of the city," Wontwood informed him. Toaster was glad to hear it. He couldn't take much more fighting today. Looking around, he saw he was in the same foyer that they'd been defending earlier, in nearly the same spot Eyleascial had been set down in when she was knocked out. Smiling at the irony, Toaster slowly got to his feet.

The Sabres walked out of the building, and got into the Armadillo. Eyleascial hopped onto her bike, and Wontwood reclaimed the Broadsword's seat. The militiamen had taken off to continue fighting, so Monkey and Bukan manned the front Geminis. Confidently, Toaster took the vehicle forward, heading for the fight, with a cry of "One More!"

Forceuser and Sophie were shooting continuously down the corridor. In such a confined space, the Tempests had nowhere to hide. However, they were slowly advancing down the corridor, due to sheer numbers.

"What I'd do for a water balloon launcher right now," Force thought. He grabbed a water balloon and threw it down the corridor, soaking another few Tempests. "There's too many of them!" Sophie shouted, "We've got to fall back." "I'll cover you," Force replied, "Back to the stairwell."

They both lobbed water balloons down the corridor, temporarily making the Tempests duck for cover. Sophie got up and ran back to the stairwell. Force fired an arc of covering fire. Checking she was in position, he too turned and ran back, setting up position on the opposite side.

"How are you for cartridges?" he called over. "Enough for two minutes," she replied. "Dang!" thought Force, "They better hurry up." He fired again.

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