The Fortress/News Archive 2

This is an archive of old news concerning Team Battlehawk of the Fortress.

Operation Summer Lovin'

Written by Zombiedodger, September 3, 3008.

With the sweet smell of summer in the air the Hawks felt the need to spread some Fortress love. Where better to do that they mused, than the embattled suburb of Roftwood where many of the local residents were starting to give up hope and certainly hadn't felt any love for an age. Operation Summer Lovin was born.

First into the burb were Zombiedodger and Mendoza who found Hildebrand Mall and Nichols Mall (in nearby Pimbank), in tatters and surrounded by shuffling zeds. They were quickly joined by the rest of team and acting CO Tommy Crowbar but no sooner had everyone arrived than the safehouse was under attack.

The first few days and nights were a battle for dominance with a break in at the safehouse and the fall of several Hawks. Steve (DoC) was PK'd by a Gore Corps almost as soon as he'd arrived and even Jensonson who was sleeping in the area was dragged outside by hungry brain eaters.

With most of the buildings in ruins and a rising number of zeds The Hawks re-grouped a little further south and bumped into their old friends from Anaconda. Whilst Steve was organising help from our allies, Tommy and Nazdreg decided to play poker with the Gore Corps and after winning the pants of their opponents (we don't know quite why they wanted their pants?) made a hasty exit when the party was crashed by The Dead.

With the strength of both Battlehawk and Anaconda combined (bolstered by the arrival of new Hawk JohnC8X) and help on it's way from their allies, the CO's called for an RTS on Hildebrand Mall. Upon arriving at Hildebrand though, they found their heroic allies had already taken it so they moved out to re-take Nichols, and once that was done and just for good measure, they took Milner NT as well. Not bad for a night's work!

Unfortunately the hordes were quick to sense 'breathers' in their midst and both malls fell again a few days later. For several days and nights the battle continued to rage with ground repeatedly being lost and then re-taken. The medics worked furiously and the groups' vigilance was tested but their courage never failed. With a good number of survivors in the area and the zeds confined to one or two places the burb began to stabilise and the operation was coming to an end.

Suddenly Tommy and Miss Elainious struck up into song...

"Summer lovin' had me a blast Summer lovin', happened so fast I met a girl crazy for me I met a boy, cute as can be"

Love really was being spread around by The Fortress and the operation was topped off by an invitation from Terk, for a Fortress Wedding - that of Tommy and Miss E.

Operation All Your Base

Written by Jay Gorman, August 30, 2008.

After the success of Operation Vacation, where the Hawks breathed new life into the survivors fight against the Undead at the NT and MALL points, it was time for a change. The east of Malton had been occupied by Fort Creedy for many years now. Built for protection against the satanic hordes, too often it has fallen into dangerous hands. It was time for this trend to change. The Hawks were going to amass the Fort and bring order back to the inhabitants.

Operation: All your base was kickstarted into life.....

Azula was the first Hawk in the area, her scouting report showed a barren wasteland, the undead roamed free inside the fortified walls of the base. No signs of life inside the fort. One by one the Battlehawks moved into the area, there was rumors of other survivor groups doing small incursions inside the Fort winning and losing the same buildigns again and again in the hands of the undead horde.

The first call of duty was to set up some safe-houses. Private Mendoza got work on securing the Pallaye Library whilst Templarivs secured a junk yard and made friends with The Creedy Defence Force who were also re-grouping to try and re-take the Fort. There were plenty of survivors in the area now and all had one thought - we have to retake the Fort - it belongs to us and we're not gonna let some pesky zeds keep hold of it!

Even though there were a few setbacks, such as brief run-ins with Gore Corps and live attacks by Feral Undead, progress was quick. The fort wwas being held by a meager handful of the undead, and when word of possible zombie reinforcements reachedsurvivor ears, ther was even more of a rush to get the fort up and running again.

In the middle of the Fort, a concrete bunker stands, fortified for all sides with only 1 gate, the Fort Armoury...... but now the zombies inside the Fort were inside. It was a undead stronghold in the middle of the Fort

Small strikes and attacks inside the fort kept both sides busy, 1 or 2 zombies killed inside the armoury followed by a zombie attack on the safehouse. Both sides fought to win the Fort and then the things for the survivors got worse, a group named Creedy Guerrilla Raiders were spotted inside the Gatehouse and around the Fort. This group were some of the worst things around Malton, a group of madmen killing other survivors just for fun. In the fight against the undead that only means trouble for all of us.

To top everything off, our valiant leader, Clint Clintstone, was whisked out of malton, in order to try and appeal to the survivor cause to governments outside of malton, leaving only a list of things to do. Thankfully, however, Tommy crowbar came in to rally the hawks, and brought with him the brave Zombiedodger. Thus the battle continued, with minor break ins, and many infections. However the infections did not stand as steve the decimator was on the scene with FAK's aplenty, for any and all survivors needing a heal from the infectious bites.

It was expected that Brigadeer Crowbar would asapt readily to the Hawks combat style, but who would have thought he would become obsessed with Pink. This was the man who has single-handedly saved Malton from the Hordes time and time again. His feminine side was protruding, but we all put it down to love! We all could see just how good an acquisition to the Hawks Dodger could become, the level of enthusiasm and willingness to join in the Combat was very impressive. We controlled the Fort for extensive periods, while utilising the armoury and infirmary for restocking purposes.Another new promising recruit joined the ranks of the Hawks, soon after the arrival of Dodger. Kathryn, another potentially great soldier, fitted right in, and put herself in at the deep end straightaway, acting as reviver for the CT. Temp kept all Hawks informed of the opponent intelligence sources, updating tactics as he received it. The Zeds dispersed due to the failed attempts of the Horde to overthrow the survivor resistance in Creedy. The Hawks job was done, and done damn well!!!

We restocked, and moved out, leaving the Fort in the capable hands of the living.

Operation Vacation

Written by Jay Gorman, August 15, 2008

As is well known, the Hawks are a happy-go-lucky bunch of friends that enjoy nothing more than responsibly and vigilantly protecting the suburbs of Malton. However, they work to the strict motto of “Work Hard- play 10 times harder. Give them half a chance once a situation has been dealt with, and the beer will be out, the salmon will be in hand, and the fish fights will break out.

Commander Clint was a bit downbeat after the last Operation. There weren’t any fireworks or explosive ending. It kinda just….finished. Bring on Operation Vacation. We set off to reclaim the NT’s, take back our dear, dear Nichol’s Mall from the undead, and have an absolute blast in the process. We battled the Zeds and our beer-filled bodies for nearly a month, from May 13th to June 10th. This is an account of our Operation.

Have you ever killed a Zed with a Hockey stick???

Commander Clintstone led the Battlehawks to Nichols Mall, finding it under attack by the horde. We attempted to clear the Zeds, using Vere Cinema as our main fall back location. Cecil fell early, but went out in style, killing one Zed with a Ski Pole!! Azula showed her class, killing notorious Lord Moloch with a Fencing Foil!! We congratulated Temp when he arrived, as he had successfully attained the assassin ABA on another high class Zed, Murray Jay Suskind. I continued my duties as the Medic Grizzly, healing and reviving my friends and fellow team members. I always hated Cricket, but that didn’t stop me from a Cricket Bat kill!! We needed to fight against the horde of standing Zeds, and coinciding PKer’s, who were knocking at the Cinema Door!

We reclaimed the Went Building, as we all sang Piano Man by Billy Joel…didn’t we?? Azula kept us all updated on its condition, with a vigilant eye. We battled hard to retain it, but the horde rose in number. We battled hard, holding it. By May 24th we had successfully reclaimed Went NT and all 4 corners of Nichol’s Mall. The Hawks were on fire!! Commander Clint kept all of us motivated with some true words of inspiration. We are the Hawks!!!!!

After the eventual fall of Went we spent time reviving, and turned our focus to the Greenhow NT. We retained our fall house Vere Cinema, and throughout this time secured and retained Greenhow. The pathway between safety house and NT was secured at all time through the hard work of the Hawks. But what’s this??? We have company. No other than our fellow CT, Excalibur, who were carrying out their own Operation in the vicinity of Vere Cinema. This was going to be even more fun, as it was the first Operation where I had worked with another CT. We continued to reclaim and lose Nichols so much that we were all tired of reporting each breach, but we kept going, coz that’s what we do!!!

Our Op was coming to an end. We kept killing with every sporting good we could find, enjoying the Zed blood splattering over our clothes. Sure that is what sport is all about!! Greenhow was in survivors hands and The Mall was currently in top shape. We all got dressed up and had a Fashion Show. Zuton looked beautiful, as did all the females of the CT’s, but she just had that something special!!!

We got word that there was going to be a mass chain kill with all CT’s linking up again. For now, the Hawks had finished here, but will return in time!!!

Operation Northface

Written by Jay Gorman, June 11, 2008

The Northeast of Malton was under threat, the horizon where the sun used to shine had filled with the hazy red mist of death….. The Hawks were needed………….. ‘nuff said!!!

Commander Clint Clintstone developed a clear cut strategy to reclaim the lands that once belonged to the living. Our intellects were to be the source of our victory. We would need to work diligently and synchronise our movements. This was not going to be easy. We battled from April 17th to May 10th. This is an account of our Operation.

Commander Clintstone led the Battlehawks to our Operative origin, Pole Mall. I felt a sense of pride as I stocked up, for this was my premier Op. I knew I was supported by a fantastic group of survivors, but I also knew this team were stronger in sync, so combined consciousness was the aim at hand. Cecil fell early, but was rapid in response, and we were a complete team in a matter of hours. We needed to fight against the horde of standing Zeds, and coinciding PKer’s, which took out Lt. Cuthbert. But you can’t keep a fighter down!!

As we proceeded north, there was bad news ahead. Temp informed the team that Eason Library was under severe attack. We considered our options. We didn’t stick around for long. The loyal Hawk troops fell, but returned invigorated and more determined than ever. We battled the undead surrounding Eason Library, and continued our journey to Mitchem Mall. We propped up our wounded comrades and trekked forward, exterminating our foe.

We arrived at Gummer Bank, the next stage along the messy, blooding road to our damned fleshless adversaries of the North. The NTs were in the hands of the angry mob, and we were here to begin a revolution. The survivors were rising, the urchins were falling. The Episteme was revolving. A new dawn was on the horizon. The Hawks do not believe in rest, but from time to time, restocking is required. We moved to Giddings Mall in Pitneybank under the orders of Commander Clintstone. When restocking take place, alcohol is consumed. Some drink to relax, other survivors drink to numb the pain. Malton is hell on Earth and each survivor is burdened with the pain of loss. Some move on, some cannot, and these people usually end up riddled with the turmoil of madness. The odour of satin can be smelled in the four corners of each mall, behind the clothes shops where try on your new outfits, and in the hardware store when you search for your tools.

Commander Clint advised me to grab some guns. What was I to do with a gun? I never killed anyone before. I shook as I picked up my first pistol. The revolver smiled at me. Those Zeds won’t know what hit them….

Cuthbert, Azula, and Clint continued with their extensive scouting of the path we were to follow, which helped out this newbie substantially. We briefly regrouped at Dowdney Mall; with Cuthbert outlining the PKer’s frequenting the area for our safety.

The finale, Dulston, you go North, you go West, and you can’t get any farther. This is where the scum of the undead earth dine in hell. Well tonight, WE DINE IN HELL!!! Securing the NTs was our prerogative. We resided in Fleming Library, a returning veteran Hawk, VinnieFG, continued to inform the survivors of the problems with UDBrain, and to stay vigilant in the face of unlawful tactics. The NTs continued to be restored, the mobs of the undead fell and rose, but we were not resting. Starr and Wallbutton NT continued to be contained, but Carlyle NT continued to be dismantled. We succeeded in restoring and placing the NTs back in the capable hands of the survivors of Dulston, who thanked us for our patriotism towards the cause of good, by resisting in the face of the bad.

We wrapped up the Operation with a warm down in Rhodenbank. The red was rising, the green was falling, but we were not stopping. We secured many of the border locations of Houldenbank, and dropped the Zombies fast.

THE RED HAD FALLEN, THE GREEN WERE RISING. THE HAWKS PREVAILED, SURVIVORS COMPRISING OF MANY HEROES, LIVING AND GONE, WE WONT FORGET OUR FRIENDS MOVED ON.

Operation Rainbow Road

• This article was written by Shrimper
• This article was written in Dec 6, 2007

After a couple of false starts, Operation Rainbow Road saw the Hawks head to Vinetown to aid in the defense of Mitcham Mall.

Prior to the outbreak Mitcham mall was known for two things, these being, the Satanist Pretzel Stand, where all their tasty pretzels were platted anti-clockwise and for Malton’s only branch of Ikea.

Now, the fact that an outlet of Sweden’s purveyors of all things flat packed, was located at the very mall the Hawks were sent to protect, raised an ugly rumor.

Battlehawks last two operations involved barricading all of Malton’s Volvo dealerships and tagging buildings with advertisements for a meatball restaurant in Pennville. The talk was that our beloved leader, Stark, was taking kick backs from the Swedish government in return for protecting their interests in Malton.

This scurrilous rumor was finally scotched when it was revealed, that early on during the quarantine, Starks family relied on flat packed particle board zombie barricades from Ikea to secure their dwelling.

Due to the fact that half the screws were missing from the kit and the assembly instructions were in very poor “Engrish”. Zombies broke into the Senap home and devoured everyone except Stark.

Once the allegations were brushed aside the Hawks got to business.

Individual attacks and twice weekly coordinated raids ground down zombie numbers in and around Mitcham. On a number of occasions Hawk raids not only removed a zombie presence in the mall but also restored barricades to EHB, all within a matter of minutes.

Healing of survivors and work at revive lines helped maintain human numbers in the area and cemented the Fortress’ reputation amongst survivors.

Rainbow Road wasn’t an operation based on “blockbuster” events or innovative ideas, but it did involve the meat and potatoes type of work that keeps us one step ahead of the undead hordes.

Team work and intuitive leadership made sure that we all lived up to the Hawk motto of “Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum”

Operation The Right Stuff

by Doran Breen

I was away on… well, away for the majority of this Operation. I heard a lot about it, though, and came in just as the, if you will pardon the expression, spit hit the fan. I had minimal ammunition on my person at the time, but what little I had went into the zombies that continually snuck into the mall. We were winning, turning the tide against the hoard, keeping them out of our area, OUR Mall, OUR refuge. We were winning… but then, something happened. All of a sudden, things turned the other way. The zombies lurched in the way of people trying to put barricades up, and once one was inside it was like a small, unstoppable stream. One became two became four became eight became twelve became fifteen became twenty… there was no stopping them, once they got in. The suicidal people, the heroes and the wanna-be heroes, they stood in the front line, teeth biting into their arms and fingers clawing at their faces as they continued to blast away, round after round of buckshot or pistol lead falling into zombie flesh. I think they realized how hopeless it was, but they were buying the rest of us time – time to finish getting what we needed to get, a first aid kit or a shotgun shell, and run like hell. Everything was harder after that day, and the air of happiness from the previous Operations dissipated like smoke. I suppose it was a bigger blow to our morale than to our count; only so many died that day, but we were riding the high! We were invincible, unstoppable! Ever since Operation V, I think the survivor population as a whole had felt like the light of victory was a little bit closer, a little bit more within our reach. This ended that, cut it down quickly and efficiently. There were many dead bodies there… so many dead bodies… old men, young women, the occasional child that had escaped a terrible fate somewhere else. Bodies were strewn all over the ground, dragged out into the streets in their sleep, a single round fired before they were eaten alive… it was a dark time. Clint fell out of a window, eventually returning to us with new clothes and seemingly a bit more accuracy with his axe and shotgun. Fiery Cross went temporarily insane, muttering something about some Pats losing a Superball… or maybe it was superbowl? I seem to remember something like that in America. The Creedy Guerilla Force shot as many of the living as they could to no avail; too many syringes too quickly, and the murderers were discouraged easily. Team Battlehawk conducted many raids to great success, and team member Zuton was one trapped outside for a moment. Thanks to the valiant efforts of Clint Clintstone and Cuthbert the Wise, she was kept alive and she found her way back inside, resting with the rest of our group and thankful to the duo who helped keep her alive. We regrouped after all was said and done, found our dead and stuck them with needles, patched up our wounds and scratches with what first aid kits we could find, and marched on to the next fight, the next position, the next slaughter. And we hoped it would go better than this. We hoped.

Operation Save Eric

Written by Clint Clintstone, December 9, 2007

Arriving at Pole Mall we found the area fairly secure but still unstable. We stuck around for a while and got the surrounding are back on it's feet. After re-claiming Clapton Stadium we dove headlong into the fury of the Big Bash II. The Bash made a real mess of Buckley Mall so we jumped in and got the place back up and running in only a matter of days. There was a price to be paid however. In the process of switching suburbs the Bash ran over this reporters safehouse and ruined his chances of beating Bensonson's record. The wake of the Bash wasn't as destructive as it usually is thanks to the hawks!

Secondary article

by Doran Breen

Save Eric… Clapton Stadium? Eric Clapton? Java was a good CO, kept things light, got things done, was generous, always kept a FAK and a needle for when you needed it and were going to swear that nobody around could help. We got there and it was up and running, as were many of the surrounding buildings, but that was out of sheer effort of the dedicated fighters that inhabited the area. I think some of them were rugby players, the way they took the hits and kept going, rolling with the injuries and blows and continuing to do whatever needed to be done. Big Bash… an amusing name, and it sounds almost cute. It was far from cute. We helped secure the area, kept it stable for a bit longer, cleared the occasional building or two and patching up those in need. The place was done with fairly quickly, a bit of dirty fighting here and there and it was all over. Of course, we were Battlehawks, we were strong, we were eager for battle! Not bloodthirsty, no. Just… patriotic? We were Survivors, fighting the enemy, fighting the Zombie hoard. Zed couldn’t keep us down for long, and we were always going to get back up, find a pistol, and start shooting. So we moved. I believe it was South. I don’t have my map with me so I can’t check, but I believe it was south, to Buckley Mall. The Bash had just finished with it, and the area was in devastation. We waltzed in, our chests puffed and our minds clear to the work we had to do. Those with toolkits repaired the ruins, which the rest of us filled and barricaded, generators set up and fueled and zombies dropped and dumped. We were quick and efficient. Clint, sadly, was sleeping in a house that was overrun by a tenacious group of zombies. He was revived quickly, but he was out of the race for a competition put on to see who could survive the longest without dying. The Bash continued to cut a swath of destruction, unstoppable in its fury, and we continued to follow in step behind it, cleaning up the wreckage and lending helping hands.

Operation Whatever Happened to Fay Wray

Written by Clint Clintstone, December 21, 2007

Early in the Op RudolfS ruthlessly murdered this young hawk. What he didn't expect was that with-in the next two hours vengeance would be mine. Thanks to some good 'ole home fashion cooking from the hawks resident chef it didn't take long to recover. As the winter rolled in on us during the Op many a hawk could be seen in some sort of Santa outfit or leaving tracks in the freshly fallen snow. As the the team fought in Blesley Mall this young reporter took some time off at the nearby Mitcem Mall. It was business as usual in an undead world as the hawks prepared for the Fortress Holiday Party.

Secondary article

y Doran Breen.

Clint died quickly in the beginning of this Operation, murdered in his sleep. He was quickly raised and got his vengeance, a stupid thing to do but I suppose it got its point across. Our team Chef was rather active, cooking up new batches here and there for us to try and feast upon. With full and warm bellies we enjoyed our time in the snow, making tracks to and fro and leaving dead bodies to freeze in snowbanks. We battled our way in Blesley Mall while Clint rested in Mitchem Mall, the snow tinting red with the blood of the fallen and padded down tight and heavy with the footprints of so many. There was a nice event on the horizon, a party and a reunion at the Fortress, and that thought was on everybody’s mind. My memory fails me at this point, and the hour grows late. The killing, the barricading, the running, the death, they all blur into one long continuous picture. Stay Vigilant.

Operation V

Written by Clint Clintstone, Novemember 19, 2007.

"Remember Remember the fifth of November". From November 4th to the 19th Team Battlehawk along with several other groups gave the hordes in Ridleybank a fifth celebration that they surely will not forget anytime soon.

Commander Stark Senap led the supposedly doomed operation from the hawks base in Vere Cinema up a free-run lane ant straight into the lair of the beast. The Ridleybank Resistance Front (RRF) has always taken pride in holding Blackmore NT and thanks to some very well co-ordinated strikes we took that pride away from them. Even if only for a few hours. This event heralded the premier of the RRF's patent "Ring of Ruin" which the implemented to hold survivors off of Blackmore. The battle was fought long and hard with casualties mounting on both sides until the call was made to end the 2 week long celebration of the fifth. Many ABA's were had by all Fortress members thanks to the abundance for targets stationed in Ridleybank. With as many exciting break-ins, PK'er attacks, and raids as there were I'm sure the multi-group event on the fifth will become an annual tradition for the hawks.

Secondary Article

by Doran Breen

It was a hard and brutal time, as all these times are, but there was much more cheering and merrymaking amongst the living. I write this now, tired and weary and the events of those weeks so long ago so far forgotten and lost in the bowels of my mind, tainted by my imagination… but it is my duty to record what I can. I remember that many of the other survivors spoke of their own groups coming in, the coordination by my superiors, their superiors, with others. We were excited, eager to band together with so many others of the living to push back against the undead hoard, to pierce their supposedly impenetrable defenses, their relentlessness with our own determination. We got there a bit late, but don’t all the cool kids always show up fashionably late? Heh. We got there as the fighting was already underway, shotguns shattering the silence and falling in with the ring of pistols firing, firing in the night. Death, blood, and bodies were all around. They were our friends by now, as they had been since any of us had awoken to our new life in Malton. I remember my hands shaking as I saw the great hoard in the distance, half with fear of being ripped apart by so many of them and partly with eagerness to empty round after round into their rotted brains. I was still young, eager to impress my superiors, eager to do a good job, to fight the good fight… I suppose we all still fight that good fight. We were there for a long time. Days melted into nights melted into new days, sleep coming in bursts and bounds. Waking to a thump upon the table above your head and knowing you had to fall back to the next building, sleeping there and waking the next day to walk into the building you had just fled, emptying clip after clip and finally helping some unknown stranger clear the body, barricading the doorway again and smiling. No words exchanged, no handshake; just two people, sometimes three or four, doing their jobs. Doing what needed to be done. That was what made this Operation so amazing; the number of people who worked together without any real coordination. No tightly drawn lines of fighting, no great plan other than to hold back the hoard that some whispered was the RFF. If you slept in the mall you knew, somewhere in the back of your mind, that if a Zed lurked above you somebody would blow it away with a shotgun. You did the same. I did the same, many times. Dropped, dumped. Most of the time the ‘cades were already back in place. I remember, I went for the Assassin ABA there. Slept just beside the NT, all the Zeds swarming inside. No idea what drew them there… maybe some leftover scent of a tasty meal, maybe some hive mind, maybe they draw together for safety, same as us… maybe they’re not so different from us… but there was one, one zombie a bit bigger than the rest, wore something a bit different, had a different air about him. I slit his throat three times before they caught on and ruined the buildings around them, completely decimated the perimeter. I was finished by then. I think I might have died… it’s all a blur now. But, that was Operation V. A lot of the living holding off a lot of the dead, for a good long time. We won that fight, I think. Won it as much as we can win in this endless war. I’m sure that mall fell, that area gone after enough of the living left and the dead realized less lead was flying towards their heads. But, it wasn’t so much about wining, there. It was about us, all of us, all together in one place, for the same reason, the same cause, doing what we did without asking for a pat on the back, only expecting others to do the same for us, because it was simply what needed to be done, what was done. And we did it.

Operation Pity the Fool

Written by Clint Clintstone, November 25, 2007

To induct Java Elemental as the new Commander of Team Battlehawk the team made a pilgrimage back to their old stomping grounds. We chilled out in [CENSORED] (often affectionately called the Battlehawk Barracks) and [CENSORED], the original home of the fortress. The entire F4 complex remained properly tagged with creative Battlehawk graffiti. To the greet surprise of many and even greater joy of Shrimper Revived KsTxGirl was revived and we had tea together. TravisMrkI also dropped by to say hello. We chilled with the bootcampers, cried when Stark retired as CO and celebrated when Java took over the reigns.

Secondary Article

by Doran Breen

That was a good time, and a sad time. Stark was my first Commanding Officer, my first true leader, the man I admired above all others. He was a very fatherly figure to me, and I was sad to see him step down as commander, but Java seemed to have promise, and she had a fire in her that I had only seen in a few. We partied, of course, in memory of the old and in celebration of the new. The location I have deleted from Clint’s original article, and will not mention here. It was good to be back in the original F4, where I had recently spent another round partying with Stark and others. Those memories are for another article, however. This was a good time, filled with drinking and partying and singing and general revelry, stolen kisses and sidelong glances and beer buzzes and fun. It was a good time. The area was extremely heavily barricaded, and always kept as such. It was, after all, the Fortress. Graffiti marked the closets, the bathrooms, the main area, and all such. The perimeter was kept secure, the entire area lit and powering all manner of devices, some Soybeer brought up from the basement and under the floorboards. I’ve got some bottles with me, and stashed a few more around Malton for later consumption, on the rare occasion that a reason to drink arises. Shimper, somewhat of a legend and a dirty old man (and I say that only with the greatest fondness and reverence) was found alive and well, and came back into the Battlehawk group. KsTxGirl was awoken from her Zeddish slumber, and was kind, decent, and joined us for tea. TravisMrkI seemed… delusional, to say the least. He had interesting stories to tell, interesting views and words and claims, but I don’t believe much of what he has said… one never knows, though. Shrimper was punched, by KsTxGirl, TravisMrkI, and Killroy’s Stick, which, as CO Java has pointed out, is not as obscene nor dirty as it sounds at first. Much merrymaking and revelry was adopted by all in The Fortress, and as the zombie hoards caught wind of a tasty meal and the initial joy wound down we all returned to our patrols throughout Malton, our duties, and the normal grind of life in this zombie-infested city. It was a good time, with many fond memories. Methinks you should join up with us if you have not but are reading this. You can be at the next big party. Maybe I’ll let you try some soybeer…

Operation Pikey

• This article was written by jack Patient
• This article was written in Dec 3, 2006

Following the example of the famed Irish Travellers, the aim of Operation Pikey was to transform Team Battlehawk into a wandering band of do-gooders who wreaked havoc on zeds. They left a trail of smitten Maltonians clamoring to join the Fortress. Moving out of their ancestral barracks, the Hawks first set up shop in the then-devastated suburb of Roftwood. After stabilizing the area surrounding the safehouse, the Hawks launched a strike against a small horde of zombies infesting a Police Department, many of whom were members of a zombie group that the Hawks had previously encountered. The strike resulted in 10 dead zombies, six of them belonging to the Apocalypse Horde. The zombies clambered to their feet and were soon later wiped out by a Hawk who couldn't join the original strike and served as a one-man mop-up squad in a fine demonstration of teamwork.

Continuing their itinerant ways, the Hawks in Pimbank contributed to the defense of Tynte Mall. After setting up a safehouse and stabilizing their immediate surroundings, the Hawks easily dealt with the dual minor annoyances of foggy conditions (which they were happy to watch quickly depart) and zombie spies, they continued their support of Tynte Mall through barricading, healing, and good ol' zombie slaying. This was followed by a return to Roftwood during which the Hawks stabilized a northern area of the still-dangerous suburb and contributed to the Quartly Study Group's defense of the Quartly Library through more 'cading and healing, and through another coordinated strike, this time against the horde of zombies laying siege to the Library. The main strike team of Hawks managed to cut the numbers of attacking zombies in half and mop-up visits by Hawks later in the day resulted in additional zombie slaying, and by the end of the day, 11 zeds inside and outside the Library had been torn apart.

Moving yet again, Hawks helped restore order to the eastern portion of besieged Roftwood. Surviving a breach of their HQ by elements of the Apocalypse Horde, they relocated one final time to a different section of Roftwood, leaving a trail of barricaded buildings, dead zombies, and Fortress graffiti. Eventually growing weary of the road, CO Shrimper ordered the Hawks back to their traditional barracks within Fortress Four and officially ended the operation with these words,

Although the original plan was abandoned early on I believe Pikey went well. We launched a number of coordinated attacks against the Apocs without them being able to retaliate. We also made friends with the QSG by helping in the defence of Quartly Library. For those of you who were not stationed in our field HQ, one of the QSG leadership popped by and thanked us personally, albeit in their own eccentric way.

During the course of Operation Pikey, Team Battlehawk set up in five separate locations, stabilized the area surrounding each safehouse through a mix of barricade maintenance, zombie killing, and survivor healing, and advertised the presence of the Fortress through tagged graffiti. While it is impossible to precisely quantify the Hawks' deeds, it is inarguable that the good name of the Fortress was made known to many.

Operation Banksy

• This article was written by Jack Patient
• This arcitle was written in Oct 30, 2006

The coordinated strike on Hildebrand Mall was a plan was hatched in the fecund and febrile brain of Commander Shrimper, commanding team Battlehawk. Having grown disgusted with the disorder caused by the undead menace in Hildebrand, he quickly developed an order of battle based on team scouting reports, established an initial plan of attack that was refined by input from the team, confirmed with each Hawk their operational availability, and scheduled the incursion. The Hawks were frothing at the mouth in their eagerness to do battle, with disappointment expressed by those not available to join in on this first assault.

As the battle loomed, the team prepared in their individual ways: Derivator and JC checking their weapons and occasionally bumping fists as they pumped themselves up for the fighting with some Rush; Vinnie getting loose as he listened to music on his iPod; Jack regretfully stowing his paddle and pulling out his guns; and Shrimper rechecking his battle plan while clearly lost in thoughts about the sweet qualities possessed by certain undead females.

With fifteen minutes to go, Shrimper gave the order to "stand to"; with one minute to go, the team moved out. As the seconds ticked away, the team entered the southeast corner of the Mall and quietly stole upon the fourteen shambling corpses to be found there. With hand signals and nods of agreement, they stood as one and began blazing away with their shotguns and pistols as the chief Hawk called out, "Ass kicking courtesy of the Fortress!".

Derivator shot one between the eyes, and upon being challenged to repeat the feat, promptly shot a second in exactly the same spot. JC was a whirling dervish who could be seen throughout the melee taking pieces out of multiple targets, leaving two motionless. Head bobbing to music by The Offspring which clearly be heard seeping out from his earbuds, Vinnie calmly took his shots and left two dead in his wake. Jack blindly rushed through the crowd of zombies while firing wildly; luckily, he missed his teammates while dropping two zeds. As the firing died down, Shrimper stepped forward to finish off the wounded, also taking two down. A random survivor happened upon the massacre and joined in, killing off one zed and no doubt leaving quite impressed by this display of Fortress might.

Within moments, pieces of flesh and offal were all that remained of thirteen zombies; one was left 'alive' to communicate to his fellows the folly of attempting to withstand the fury of the Battlehawks.

It became clear that the Hawk's incursion had drawn the wrath of one of the largest zombie groups, the Apocalypse Horde. At the Hawks rested and recuperated in their safehouse the following night, a mini-horde of undead sent by the Horde burst through the barricades and slaughtered the valiant survivors as they slept. The speed with which the Horde responded coupled with the pinpoint accuracy of their attack leads to inevitable speculation of the usage of dishonorable tactics in the planning of their raid. Regardless of the means which enabled their response, the special attention shown towards the Hawks by the Apocalypse Horde clearly demonstrates their fury at having had their hold on Hildebrand Mall weakened by the offensive capabilities of the Hawks.

Those Hawks unable to participate in this initial glut of zombie-destroying goodness eagerly await the opportunity to join the next assault. As CO Shrimper stated, 'We are always going to come out worse if we go toe to toe with a group as large as the Apocalypse Horde but I’ll be damned if we run away after one counter attack.' It's apparent that the Hawks wounded the hulking beast; they look forward to causing them more pain.

Operation F1: The Lost Fortress

• This article was written by Doran Breen
• This arcitle was written in Aug-Sep, 2007

History

When The Body moved on Quarlesbank to confront Lord Pitman, there was one guard left behind to protect the first Fortress; The Skeleton.Fortress One, AKA F1, AKA The Armory, AKA Fort Perryn, was originally planned, we now find, to be the first and only building of The Fortress. As the outbreak began, F1 was overwhelmed by a large horde of Pitman's zombies, far too many for The Skeleton to handle alone. The outer base's defenses were quickly breached and ruined. Grenades forced blast doors up, trapping human and zombie alike. The entire complex was aflame in battle as The Skeleton and his crew were pushed back to the armory.After three long hours battling Pitman's horde, the F1 Complex was in ruins except for the armory. It was here that The Skeleton and his defending army would make their last stand.

The battle was something to see as The Skeleton threw everything from rockets to butter knives at the encroaching horde until finally, as in every other zombie story, the Commander of The Skeleton's defending army was bitten by a sneaky zombie hiding behind a crate of firecrackers. Leaderless, the defenders were in disarray, The Skeleton quickly fell to the horde and F1 was lost. Attempts to reclaim the lost Fortress failed because of the ruined state of the building; the blast doors and rubble making it impossible even to eject zombies from the base. The doors remained shut even after the military eventually repaired the complex. However the security protocols have now been reset and the blast doors have reopened making a reclamation possible.

This assault came as three new members were assigned to Team Battlehawk: Doran Breen, EMTee, and Mafia Gerbil, coupled with the return of Jason Valer and 2LordMoore. This gave some extra firepower to Team Battlehawk and helped with the push of zombies from Fort Perryn. The Fortress combined their many squads to assault Fort Perryn, and in a shower of lead they lit up the sky and dropped many a zombie. The exact details are unknown and unclear to me, for I was on my way to Wittenside from Bootcamp. I made there in time to hear the victory music – Killer Queen, put on a recovered jukebox that was scavenged by Steve The Decimator in the northwest corner of Joachim Mall. The song eventually became one of the theme shongs for the 'hawks, as well as Guns of "Malton" originally by The Clash, covered by Zuton. There was much dancing and drinking, but the work was not over yet.

After receiving word that the various zombie groups were heading for the nearby Necrotech buildings in a surprisingly intelligent move, Team Battlehawk dispatched quickly. They coordinated their strikes, coming at the zombies attacking the Colglough Building. Four raids were placed over the course of two days, August 27th and 28th, the results bloody and effective. Many undead bodies were thrown out during the mini-op, and Cold Cell joined in the fun to take up another slot on Wednesday. The strikes were quick and deadly, few ‘hawks receiving injuries in the firefight. The inside was cleared during the initial raid, and the following attacks were aimed at the hoard of 40+ outside, of which around 25 were left standing.

After the raid the ‘hawks and the ‘cellies went back to the mall, restocking and partying. Stark Senap found me somewhat inebriated due to the nearby crate of whiskey, and the surrounding events are somewhat hazy. All restocked and ready to fight, it was agreed that the ‘hawks should make a very personal strike against the Feral Undead. The strike was only slightly more scathing, with reoccurring warnings that went something like 'don’t be asshats!' This was met with many amused chuckles from the more experienced members, and the raid was put into motion with great efficiency. This was effective as well, as were the following raids. The ‘hawks and a handful of Cold Cell and Anaconda members participated in the raids, and the slaughter was magnificent; in the raid that spanned from late Sept 6th to early on the 7th nearly 40 zombies were killed over the course of 14 hours.