Jan/Feb
2064

Squad Combat Leagues

With the squad combat leagues concluding, the winners from each division were:

Division 1: Paper Tiger (Hessians, Abysmal Horrors, Joels Bastards)
Division 2: Atomic Ginsu (Coolerheads)
Division 3: Junkyard Dogs (PA Racers, Blood and Iron, Joels Bastards)
Division 4: Pentagon Horror (Abysmal Horrors, Hessians, Joels Bastards)
Division 5: The Bastards (Joels Bastards, Hessians)

Ratings for the Squad Combat League hit an all-time low as serious competition was virtually nonexistent, with only two matches decided by head-to-head fights between the leading gangs of Evan. Despite numerous calls for reform, the SCL Rules Committee declined to comment.

Brooke's Tale

*PART 11*

The minutes dragged out as the dust cloud crawled closer. At last, a pair of acid-yellow Phoenixes with Slaver insignia rolled around the bend in the road, toward the spikes. Just before they hit the spikes, both braked hard and tried to turn off the road, but one drifted into the sparkling trap. Dust billowed as at least one tire exploded, and the Phoenix skidded to a halt. Its doors popped open and a pair of human figures in dark red coats bustled around the stricken car, Its partner car stopped, plainly taking up a guard position. Mellie mutttered a brief report, as if wary of being heard by the Slavers.

Brooke looked up the road and gasped. The dust cloud was approaching faster, and shapes could be made out in it. Big shapes. And no sign of the main task force. This could go very wrong.

Brooke pointed, and Mellie switched to the main Task Force frequency. "Recon Four to Command, we have visual contact on the primary convoy. Mile marker eighty-five. We're about to have them stopped at our spikes. Where the hell are you, Command?" Her voice rose to an almost-normal volume on the last few words.

"Keep your skirts down, Recon, we're almost there. You get ready for more orders."

As Mellie acknowledged and switched back to the Recon frequency to report. Brooke watched the Slavers try to change their tire, and the approaching convoy. Tarantula and the rest of Recon crawled up the slope until they were idling just behind Kestrel. They have to know we're out here. Will they send some more scouts out to hunt us out?

The convoy slowed as it drove down the road toward the spikes, its mass rumble growing as it closed. First drove a dozen Slaver combat cars in two ranks, mostly Symphony and Chevalier sedans with a few Chomper light SUVs. On the road itself drove the six white lorries, two by two, surrounded by a handful of battered, burned and holed Buzzers. That convoy didn't go down easy, Brooke thought. Behind the captured convoy drove a handful of battered Motorhomes and Box Vans, painted faded blue and red and brown. Brooke recognized them as the vehicles of choice for the herdsmen of the rough semi-desert country around the Haven Valley. Brooke counted enough of them to suspect that the Slavers had captured an entire clan of the nomads and their livestock. More combat vehicles, many carrying red Slaver insignia or fluttering red-and-green flags, lined the road to either side of the captured vehicles. Brooke tried to count the combat vehicles, and swallowed when she gave up at forty. And the rear of the convoy was still out of sight in the billowing dust. There are so many, so many, so many... She laid a hand against Kestrel's dashboard and tried to feel reassured by the growl of her car's powerful engine, though the immobility was beginning to worry Brooke.

As dust fell in raining sheets, the air above the convoy grew clearer. The slope on the other side of the valley came into view, and the vanguard of the convoy halted, then began streaming around the lorries and up the opposite slope, barely skirting the dropped spikes. Brooke grabbed her gun's handgrips, her brain racing. Did they spot us, are we going to -

Suddenly, a green-and-white Chomper wallowed backward, its heavy back end jumping up into the air, then exploded into a bright fireball. Flaming debris scattered all over the slope, and Brooke gasped.

As more dust fell out of the air, the air cleared, and Brooke could see a line of SUVs, along with a single hulking Fire Engine with a massive square cab. A gun flashed from the gun on its back, star-bright, and another car went flying, a Symphony shedding jagged pieces as it spun through the air.

Brooke stared openmouthed as Iron Duke, with Task Force One arrayed to either side, engaged the Slaver army.

###

Iron Duke groaned as its third shot slew a Pickup with a bed-mounted heavy rocket launcher. The Pickup split asunder as the 120-millimeter shell tore through its cab.

Although he usually commanded from his Apache Khan, Williams loved the sound of the Duke when his - the Fire Engine would never be anything but a 'he' to Williams - his main gun spoke in full fury, reached out with a twelve-centimeter shell and slew cars with single shots. The heavy Gatling gun mounted in front of the shotgun seat swivelled from side to side, waiting for unwary Slavers to come close enough.

To either side of Iron Duke, SUVs half his size also let loose their hate for the Slavers. Rockets soared down the slope on tails of red flame, hissing their evil fury, cannons voiced their wrath with heavy, percussive thumps, and guns let loose streams of bullets, drumrolls to send the Slavers to Hell. Half a dozen Slaver cars were torn apart before the flank of the Slaver column turned into the teeth of the Task Force's guns, and the fire began flowing both ways. A rocket slammed into Iron Duke's forward armor with a dull thoomp. Iron Duke's main gun roared and returned the favor, and a Pickup bounced into the air with half its cab missing. Through the smoke of burning cars, Williams could see more Slaver cars streaming through gaps between the lorries toward the Task Force.

Williams glanced left and right, watching rockets and tracers sheet back and forth between the Task Force and the Slaver army. He ran a thumb over the transmit button of the radio in his hand, then shook his head. Every car was firing, none were wavering, despite the two-to-one odds. The radio chattered as the leaders of each section of the Task Force line were doing their jobs, calling targets for their cars. The battle was going well, and there was nothing to do but wait for things to go wrong.

Suddenly, a salvo of mortar shells threw up golden fountains of sand along the Task Force line. Ezekiel, a Children of the Apocalypse Landrunner anchoring the left flank of the line, took several direct hits and blew out in a white fireball and a cloud of smoke and debris. The Slaver right flank, which had been the vanguard of the convoy, surged forward with a torrent of fire, and the Task Force's left flank fell back in disarray, several cars reporting crippling weapons damage or wounds to crew. A green Apache, belonging to some gang that Williams couldn't recall, was flipped over by rocket strikes to its flank. Stranded between the beleaguered left side and the Slavers, its crew bailed out, but two of them immediately jerked and fell to machine gun fire, leaving only one to stagger down the reverse slope toward the Task Force's waiting artillery, whose guns were silent for fear of hitting the captured vehicles. But not the ones trying to roll up my left flank. Dammit, thought Williams, but he didn't hesitate. He knew he couldn't afford to.

Immediately, Williams turned to Lieutenant Lisa Dolliger, his acting tactical aide. "Get the artillery to cover the left! And some reserves!" He pointed, and she nodded and brought up her binoculars in one hand and her radio in the other.

Williams switched his own radio to a different frequency. "Command to Recon..."

###

Brooke's heart jumped into her throat as the Slaver vanguard surged up the slope. She'd never imagined a battle this large and loud before, but even she could tell that the left side of the Task Force line - the right side, from her vantage - was in trouble.

"Recon Lead to all, the Task Force is in trouble. Get ready for action," Orth's voice came through the radio, making Brooke start in her seat. "They're getting harrassed by some cannon-humpers and need some assistance. Four, how can we get around the spikes to the artillery?"

Mellie pulled herself up by the steering wheel and pressed her face to the forward view slit. Brooke looked through the slit toward the rear of the Slaver line, where a pack of Box Vans and Pickups had backed a little from the convoy and were firing mortars and rockets up into the air. "Along this ridge, then down, in and away," Mellie said over the radio. "No problem."

"Understood, Four. You and Three take the back of this run, watch for any interference. Five and Six, you take the lead and cut through watchdogs."
Wolf and Coyote rolled past Brooke. Light flashed off the spinning barrels of their Gatling guns, like the flash of teeth from the muzzle of a snarling dog. Just behind the Phoenixes came Tarantula and Scorpion, then the mismatched Raging Scavengers, then the Gray Riders. The Recon squadron ran along the ridge until they passed the sprays of spikes. Then Coyote and Wolf turned to the right, down toward the Slaver artillery, accelerating toward their prey.

Christina Brownfield of Steel Panther died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.
`Kiddy` Kenneth Watkins of 69th Battalion died at Lost Oasis.
Patricia `Sting` King of Ragnarok Racing died at Gates of Somerset.
`Scary` Mary Buckley of Bloodguard died at Outback of Nowhere.
Prince `of The Refer` Weed of finger3 died at Blown With the Wind.
Eliza Irons of Steel Panther died at Highway to Hell.
Nicholas Hull of Sheet Metal died at Road to Somerset.
`Jimmy` Jim Knox of Blood Roses died at Gateway Interstate Arena.
Frederick `Jingleheimer` Schmidt of Blood and Iron died at Gateway Interstate Arena.
Thomas Castro of Brothers Of Metal : Rebirth died at Somerset Rally Circuit.
Allen Soto of MADHAT died at Northern Farm Land.
Kitty Hawk of Steel Panther died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 3.
Sandra Poore of Renshai died at Deadman`s Drop.
Mary Leak of The Pikers died at Telegraph Road.
Diane Temple of finger3 died at Forever Yellow Skies.
Harry Palm of SwordStroke Enterprises died at Gateway Interstate Arena.
Lee Oswald of Bandicoots died at Gates of Badlands Truckstop.
Donald `Wicked` Wall of 69th Battalion died at Lost Trail: Broken Ground.
Donald `Fortune` Fortunato of 69th Battalion died at Lost Trail: Broken Ground.
`Little` Leonardo Cales of 69th Battalion died at Lost Trail: Broken Ground.
Keith `Kenny` Nichols of 69th Battalion died at Lost Trail: Broken Ground.
Bradley `DG` Griffin of Justifiable died at Gates of Somerset.
Helen Wells of Canis Lupus died at Canyon Joust.
`Tiny` Tim Kays of Blood and Iron died at Outback of Nowhere.
`Drinking` Sherry Cogdell of Blood and Iron died at Outback of Nowhere.
August Kerns of The Crayons died at Pathway to Darkness.
Carlos Lebrun of sunset samurai died at Pathway to Darkness.
Gary `Alfredo` Saucedo of San Jose Baggers died at Outback of Nowhere.
Jerry `Riggs` Wright of San Jose Baggers died at Outback of Nowhere.
`The Drummer` Gary Sullivan of No Aiming Just Shooting died at Northern Farm Land.
`Zerker` Kimberly Coulter of finger3 died at Double Down Arena.
Donald `Cracker` Washington of finger3 died at Double Down Arena.
Shane Coons of Garage Boyz died at Gates of Badlands Truckstop.
Scott Gonzalez of Maxxed Out died at Gates of Somerset.
Ma Balls of KRU died at Lost Oasis.
Norman Howard of MADHAT died at Gates of Somerset.
`Dark` Mark Edwards of Ragnarok Racing died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.
Andrew Edgar of Blue Giants died at Gates of Somerset.
Ariel Hunt of Hellions died at Acid Land.
Jane Sterling of the mad mad crushers died at Highway to Hell.
Jeffrey Ratcliff of the mad mad crushers died at Highway to Hell.
James Sutton of The F-Bombs died at Ring of Death Arena.
Conchita `Cootchie` Carn of Cestus Dei died at Highway to Hell.
`The Teach` Sarah Anderson of Hot Trax died at Road to Somerset.
`Weredriver` Irene Vazquez of Maxxed Out died at Dead man`s Road.
`Sheepish` Cindy Shepard of Maxxed Out died at Dead man`s Road.
Phyllis Pressley of MADHAT died at Road to Somerset.
Gregory Miller of Blood Roses died at Dead man`s Road.
Woodrow `Wilson` Hendricks of Justifiable died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.
`Raving Mad` Michael Stark of Cranberries died at Ring of Death Arena.
Kristen Lemons of Z Mans died at Northern Desert Circuit.
Amy Trahan of Lake Runners died at Once Upon a Town.
Marilyn Bennett of Caesars Ghosts died at Highway to Hell.
Velma Ford of Brassicas died at Gates of Somerset.
Greg Workman of Bandicoots died at Spooky Forest.
Marcus `Narrower` Fuller of Justifiable died at Gates of Badlands Truckstop.
Joseph Johnson of Cranberries died at The Pit.
Andrew King of Abysmal Horrors died at Gates of Somerset.
Eddie `Munster` Lovejoy of SwordStroke Enterprises died at Road to Elmsfield.
Jacob `Corn Cob` Edwards of SwordStroke Enterprises died at Gates of Somerset.
Edward `Tuner` Concepcion of Road Rifters died at Gates of Somerset.
`FRENCH` Frances Cunningham of 69th Battalion died at Gates of Somerset.
Efrain `Ead Shot` Enriquez of Blue Giants died at Northern Speedway.
Jose `Radman` Gage of Z Mans died at Somerset Arena.
Buck `Shot` Blood of Produce_Vendors died at Sandy.
Ronald `Hawkeye` Stallings of Road Rifters died at Once Upon a Town.
Anthony `Pork Pie` Williamson of Road Rifters died at Once Upon a Town.
David Hood of Road Rifters died at Once Upon a Town.
`Market` Matthew Montgomery of Ragnarok Racing died at Gates of Somerset.
Willie `Speed Racer` Hartman of Dolce Gabbana died at Scattered Grounds.
Kayla `Sexy` Spence of Dolce Gabbana died at Scattered Grounds.
Angela `Dumpster` Nichols of Dolce Gabbana died at Scattered Grounds.
`Sniper` Michael Eastman of Dolce Gabbana died at Scattered Grounds.
Jefferey `Jeff` Stanton of Blood Roses died at Outback of Nowhere.
Nancy McClure of Steel Panther died at Telegraph Road.
John `Dont fear the` Reaper of Renshai died at Spooky Forest.
David `Chuck` Marks of 88 MPH died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.
James `Jimmy` Stovall of 88 MPH died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.
Shane Marshall of MADHAT died at Northern Farm Land.
Kelly Castillo of MADHAT died at Northern Farm Land.
Richard Campbell of Z Mans died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.
Jacinto Dodson of Hot Trax died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.
James `Captain` Kidd of The Flying Circus died at Northern Desert Circuit.
Marie Armstead of Steel Panther died at Ring of Death Arena.
Leona Christie of Steel Panther died at Ring of Death Arena.
`KILLER` Carl Jenkins of 69th Battalion died at Northern Farm Land.
Carolyn Livesay of Revelations died at Somerset Arena.
Crystal `Purdy Cat` Moore of San Jose Baggers died at Sandy.
Susan Nieves of FireWolf died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 2.
`Jumpin`` James William of Caesars Ghosts died at Gates of Somerset.
`Big` Robert Anderson of Riotous Assembly died at The Pit.
Princess Starr of KRU died at Elmsfield Lake Track.
Michelle Slocum of Blood and Iron died at Gates of Somerset.
Daniel Boone of Lake Runners died at Outback of Nowhere.
Jimmie McElroy of Blood and Iron died at Gates of Somerset.
Regina Stewart of Z Mans died at Road to Somerset.
Kathleen Grist of Cheese Onions died at Northern Farm Land.
Joan Bridge of Cranberries died at The Pit.
David Baldwin of Bandicoots died at Highway to Hell.
Luther Marshall of Revelations died at Double Down Arena.
Eugene `Steel Cowboy` Hurst of Bloodguard died at Northern Farm Land.
Francisco Ross of sunset samurai died at Somerset Rally Circuit.
Frank `Bomber` Kaufman of The F-Bombs died at Shantyville.
Velma Heinrich of The F-Bombs died at Shantyville.
Christopher `Machine Gun` Rivard of Steel Panther died at Gates of Somerset.
Grace Kent of Revelations died at Northern Speedway.
John Klar of Produce_Vendors died at Scattered Grounds.
Brian `War Wagon` Woods of San Jose Baggers died at Northern Farm Land.
Earl Labonte of Dark Tangent died at Ring of Death Arena.
Susan `BUZZ KILL` Buskirk of Lake Runners died at Interstate Mythos.
Frank Cohen of Holy Mutant Death Squad died at Southern Plateau.
Thomas `BeHive` Arellano of Z Mans died at Road to Somerset.
Jack McCarthy of Brassicas died at Lost Oasis.
Clarence Westbrook of Brassicas died at Road to Somerset.
Heather Howerton of Blue Giants died at Northern Farm Land.
Wilma Shelton of Steel Panther died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.
Alix `Plumper` Lake of Cestus Dei died at Northern Farm Land.
Kate Vaughan of Cheese Onions died at Ring of Death Arena.
Barbara `Babs` McNeill of Scarzams Dragoons died at Somerset Dirt Racing Track.
Sean Hatmaker of Revelations died at Gates of Somerset.
Dolores Valentine of Revelations died at Gates of Somerset.
`Redeye` Ronald Kenney of Z Mans died at Northern Foothills Racetrack (at night).
Katrice `Mocking Jay` Eversole of Ragnarok Racing died at Bombed Luna Road.
Callie `The Mechanic` Valencia of Steel Panther died at Lost Oasis.
Craig Smith of MADHAT died at Northern Farm Land.
Louis `Skin-n-Bones` Hale of Loose Cannons died at Never Plains: Sand Storm.
Jose Worden of Loose Cannons died at Never Plains: Sand Storm.
`Highside` Jonathan Clifton of Blood Roses died at Dead man`s Road.
Richard `Rufio` Russo of Blood Roses died at Dead man`s Road.
Quentin `Wilson` Davis of Blood Roses died at Dead man`s Road.
`The Halo` Donald Driskill of Blood Roses died at Dead man`s Road.
Pat Moore of Blood Roses died at Dead man`s Road.
Travis Hayashi of Brassicas died at Gates of Badlands Truckstop.
Michael Carter of Iron Wraiths died at Gates of Somerset.
Edwin Kroll of Iron Wraiths died at Gates of Somerset.
Precious Mederos of Justifiable died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.
Sean Petersen of Cannibal Kittens died at Deadman`s Drop.
`Hot Shot` Wally Maciejewski of Blue Giants died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.
`Meccy` Mike McAdoo of Blue Giants died at Highway to Hell.
Denver Hackett of Blue Giants died at Highway to Hell.
Vincent `Tombstone` Toomer of Blue Giants died at Highway to Hell.
Ralph `Ralphy` White of Justifiable died at Forever Yellow Skies.
Shane Shortt of Iron Wraiths died at Gates of Somerset.
Gina Vandiver of Steel Panther died at Double Down Arena.
`Dangerous` David Denham of The Ghosts died at Gates of Somerset.
Willy `Ripper` Skipper of The Mighty Brain Slug Empire died at Once Upon a Town.
Hayley `Blitz` Krieg of The Mighty Brain Slug Empire died at Once Upon a Town.
Sanora Cao of Blood and Iron died at Southern Plateau.
Warren Bainbridge of DriveByRomance died at Gates of Badlands Truckstop.
Robert `Ganker` Salinas of finger3 died at Northern Farm Land.
James Herrington of Department of Motor Vehicles died at Pathway to Darkness.
Loretta Latimer of Bandicoots died at The Pits.
Michael `One Eye` Schmidt of San Jose Baggers died at Highway to Hell.
Dorothy `The Bitch` Wein of Brassicas died at Lost Oasis.

Current DW Gazette Editors: Sam, Hati, Racing Robbie, Bastille, Rezeak, SmokeyKilla, X_Man.