21 - Eggman Encryption Enigma

Previous story: 20 Banishment 

Scene Opens:

Fiona Fox just finished setting up her communication gear to connect to Freedom Fighters HQ. She types in some commands and then sends her report like she has done for the past 2 months, only this report is special. She then sits down and waits for a reply she know will come soon. As she sits her thoughts wander

Antoine is going to jump out of his chair once he reads that report.  I’m sure he will contact me in a few minutes once he sees the “3E” (Eggman Encryption Enigma). I couldn’t believe my luck when I came across such an important secret communication device. Even Tails hasn’t been able to crack the encrypted messages that these devices generate.  Rumor has it that Eggman used alien technology to create these devices and that there only a set few of these are in existence. Well anyway one is on its way here to this outpost. HA! Some desolate “outpost” this turned out to be. It really turned out to be a secrete bomb and missile making factory for Eggman’s robot army. That crazy Doctor is at it again, building up a huge robot army to try and take over the world. Doesn’t he ever learn?

Her thoughts are interrupted by sounds of battle. She is in a small crater like indention in the side of the mountain. She crawls over to the edge of the crater and peers over and spies down below with her binoculars.

Oh it’s those guys at it again, their taking turns playing “solider” with their mechanized power armor suits again. If only I could join in on the fun, I’d show those boys what a mobian with acrobatic skills can do in those things. All they do is charge and shoot, that’s not much different than the Swatbots. Real skill is knowing how to dodge, evade, and when to strike as if you are one with the suit.

She watches as she has done many times before. The factory technicians and security troops take turns piloting the two power armor suits in a mock head to head battle. This is how these guys blow off steam and have fun when stuck on the side of a mountain in middle of nowhere. They don’t seem to care that the factory is supposed to be kept a secret and having a battle, even a mock one, might attract attention. The power armor suits are expensive and rare. Fiona sees the commander of this secret operation standing there admiring his “toys” in action. Usually the mechanized pilots are a factory technician verses a security trooper duking it out in some sort of rivalry between the two groups. They cheer and make bets on who will win as the power armor suits are identical. Right now the battle is just flashes of light and smoke to stimulate combat but it wouldn’t take much to disengage the safety feature and go “hot” with the weapon systems. Fiona watches for a few minutes until she hears the communications gear beeping to let her know a live feed is being requested from FF HQ. She quickly moves over to the communication device and switches the screen on and puts on a headset.

Antoine (via com-link): “Bonjour Fiona, I read your report. At first I was wondering why you sent it early and then I saw what it was about. So, Eggman is sending one of his Encryption Enigma devices to that base? That base is becoming very important in his plans for rebuilding his robot army.”

Fiona: “Yes and I have a plan to get the device, if you send me an IR stealth suit I can get it”

Antoine (via com-link): “Hold on Fiona, let’s not make any hasty plans. You said in your report it will arrive in a week. We need to make sure it’s not destroyed when we go to capture it. I’m sure you know the device is booby trapped to prevent it from being captured”

Fiona: “I know about the danger and I have worked that into my plan, just send me an IR stealth suit, I have it all worked out!”

Antoine (via com-link): (is obviously distracted by someone off screen) “Ummmm… un moment” (he then steps to one side as Sally comes on screen next to him)

Sally (via com-link): (folders her arms as she looks at Fiona) “Fiona, I don’t want you to do anything at all, just sit there until we send a team to come there”

Fiona: (smirking a bit as she has been slowly stewing in her mind for the last couple of months over her “banishment” from New Mobotropolis, she knew it was Sally’s idea)
“I had a feeling the 3E (Eggman Encryption Enigma) device would make you show up princess. You really just want me to sit here and do nothing? All I’m asking for is an IR stealth suit and you can put that on a drop-drone to get here. If you do it now I’m sure it would be here by tomorrow. Trust me my plan will work!”

(A drop-drone is a small rocket that shoots up high into the atmosphere, then drops down to almost the ground some distance away from the target where it transforms into a drone aircraft that flies at a low level to a preprogrammed spot and delivers its cargo. This is how Fiona keeps getting her supplies each month)

Sally (via com-link): “I don’t even want to know what your crazy plan is, Fiona. This is a very important device, we can crack Eggman’s communications, even ones we recorded in the past.”
(pauses as she thinks of how to say something delicately)
“Look If we had known this outpost would have turned out to be something as important as this base I wouldn’t have ever assigned you to this. In fact I probably should have had you reassigned sooner once this hidden base was discovered, but I’ve just been busy. This mission requires…  someone I can trust… I’m sorry but after this we will find something else for you to do”

Fiona: (making a fist with one of her hands in obvious frustration) “So that’s it!??? Untrustworthy Fiona does all the hard work and gets sidelined when the fun part happens?!”

Sally (via com-link): (Frowns) “Fun??? This is very serious”

Fiona: (Scowls back) “You know what I mean! I LIVE for this sort of thing and you are cutting me out!”

Sally (via com-link): (pointing at Fiona on her screen) “Fiona, I’m telling you right now not to do anything, just sit there and watch until we come! Is that clear?”

Fiona: (Folders her arms and clinches her teeth) “Fine princess!”

Antoine (via com-link): “Fiona, we will contact you in two days and with further orders”

Fiona: (Still fuming) “Whatever, fine!” (Terminates the communication)

Back at Freedom Fighters HQ

Antoine: (turns to Sally) “She looks very mad, are you sure you want to keep her out of this operation? She knows the base inside and out from her time being there.  You should see some of these “selfie”s of herself with napping Eggman troopers in the background” (smiles as some of them have been rather funny)

Sally: (rolls her eyes) “That’s just it! She is too wild and not serious enough to do this. I’m surprised she hasn’t been caught already with where and what she has done inside that base. I wish I can trust her, I thought we were making progress but after the vote I started having second thoughts, I know Chuck, Sonic, and Tails worked together to get the vote to go their way, I don’t liked that I was played like that, even if they thought it wasn’t malicious. The Rouge fight and Flying’s death just shows that she has problems with making decisions and I certainly don’t trust any plan she came up with. Thanks for keeping me up to date on this by the way”

Antoine: “Oui, it’s mon honor to serve, your highness. But still she would very helpful don’t you think?”

Sally: “I will think about it, but here is the problem, I’m worried that the team will have infighting if she is with us when we go in. I think it would be best for her to sit this out, for everyone’s safety. I’m surprised she hasn’t blown the base up already.”

Antoine:  (chuckles) “Oui, Ok I will start getting the team together once we formulate a plan”

Meanwhile back at the Eggman base in the mountains Fiona is still upset about the news of being sidelined for the operation to capture the 3E.

Fiona: So the princess thinks she can just tell me to take a seat on the bench. This isn’t fair! “Trust” issues??? pffft! She is the one with trust issues! Tracking me secretly… I bet these lumps I feel on my body are the secret tracking devices (rubs a couple of spots on her back and leg) I bet if I got that 3E device all by myself it would show her! Maybe if news of my success made it to the council they would be impressed and I can get out from under her highnesses’ indefinite probation supervision.

She peers over the edge of the crater again. She watches the mock battle for a few moments and then decides to move closer in to watch and possibly listen to their conversations. With all the rocky terrain in this mountainous area she is able to make her way and sneak up near the commander who is naturally the best person to listen to for important information. She has done this many times before as these guys don’t suspect anyone is around in this isolated spot in the world. She gets close enough to hear the commander talk to his 2^nd in command in a rather loud manner as to be heard over the mock battle raging in front of them. Fiona has spied on these two quite often before. The Commander wasn’t really much of a military mobian, more of a project manager for which missile and bomb factory production was something he was adept at and was paid well by Eggman. His second in command was a young gung-ho newly promoted officer who was very brash and liked to show off.

Commander Grecko: (to Major Samson) “You see that? Jenkins got him while running backwards. Score another one for security!”

Major Samson: (2nd in command) “OH YEAH (fist pumping) “YES!” (As he watches the battle along side the commander he waves his hand over the battle field while saying) “I’m telling you we should bring out some of those Combots or even those lowly Swatbots and use them in the battles. That would be awesome!”

Commander Grecko: (gives him a look of disapproval) “That will require a lot of reprogramming of the bots and would interfere with production schedules. We need to meet our quota of weapons by the end of the month when the transports arrive to move the stockpiles we have amassed”

Major Samson: “Man it would be so epic to have two sides of robots battle it out!” (his mind filled with visions of leading an army while in the power suit)

Commander Grecko:”Oh before I forget to tell you, we have someone coming to install the 3E device tomorrow at 16 hundred hours, I believe his name is Major Lyons”

Major Samson: “Lyons? Oh I think I know that guy. That guy is a major geek. I thought that would be next week?”

Cammander Grecko: “Well Eggman’s assistants seem to think we are being spied on, that’s a laugh. I haven’t seen anything in this nowhere frozen place. Well anyway they gave us false information of the timing in the communication about it and then had a private chat with me with the real time it would show up. Just be ready to escort him to the computer room so he can install it. They have some strict protocols about how they install it. I’m told the device is wired to the installer and that if he is even knocked out it blows up”

Major Samson: (not paying much attention) “Sure thing, whatever… It’s my turn now; watch me wipe the walls with this guy” (goes off to get in one of the power suits to do a mock battle)

Fiona stealthy moves back to the crater with the communications gear she had setup and ponders her next move.

 Fiona: There’s very little chance the Freedom Fighters will make it here in time to capture the 3E device with it arriving tomorrow, should I tell Sally anyway? She will probably think I’m making this up. I know the drop drone will make it in time with a few hours to spare. I just need to get someone to put an IR Stealth suit in it. Besides I have a plan to get it, they probably are still coming up with one.

She then quickly types up a message and sends it to one particular Freedom Fighter. She is only supposed to communicate with Antoine but breaks protocol for this special message.

Message:
Hi Tails! This is Fiona, I need your help
Put an IR stealth suit in a drop-drone and tell it to go to “Nifa Xoof” (it will know where to go)
Special secret mission, do not tell anyone about this.
Thanks!  =^.^=

She ponders what she has just done: It’s wrong of me to involve Tails, but it’s not like I’m getting him into any danger. Nothing I said was technically a lie. It’s such a simple task, all he has to do is drop in the suit and send it to me. I’ll have to think of a way to thank him later, I can’t let an opportunity like this slip away! I will score big time and even Sally will have to acknowledge that!”

Fiona packs up her communications gear and hides it on a hole in the crater and covers it up. The drop-drone carrying the IR stealth suit should arrive early tomorrow and she will have a few hours to follow her plan and get in place to intercept the E3 device.

The next day Fiona flies her small hover bike (small motorcycle like hovercraft that flies low to the ground) to the spot where she has received the drop-drones before. The drop-done point is far away from the base in a secluded area on the mountain where a long wide crevasse ends at the mountain side. This wide crevasse is how the drop drone flies up to the mountain without RADAR spotting it. She takes care to follow a path that hides her movement on the hover bike. She sits there waiting for almost an hour and then her heart lights up with joy as she sees the glint of the drop-drone’s metal housing gliding in and skidding to a stop in the snow that has collected there at the end of the crevasse. However this feeling of joy soon is replaced with sudden shock when the hatch suddenly opens all by itself. She stares in disbelief as a familiar little two tailed fox crawls out of the drone and stretches out from being cramped so long. Fiona notices right away he is wearing an IR stealth suit. “TAILS!!”, she lets out in a muffled shout as to not be noticed by anyone that happened to be nearby. The shorter fox turns his head to see her and smiles at her. In the back of her mind Fiona feels a sinking feeling that this is the start of her plan falling apart and she instinctively covers her muzzle in frustration.

The End of the chapter