Hi guys, and welcome back to the minecraft genre! My writing has shifted gears, so now I'm back to writing minecraft. So first of all. We're not doing a collaboration, but Axlemc131 has created a minecraft steampunk like story. At first I was skeptical, but it turns out it was really good. So I suggested I could write a side story to his plotline, obviously not anything ground-breaking, but still enough.

I'm giving all credit to Axlemc131, though the actual writing is mine. (Well of course). So I hope you like this story, and I sincerely hope that I write this well, and don't mess up. Remember, constructive criticism. With this new type of story, I'll be wanting to know how I do. Feel free to criticise, just please don't flame.

Also, read Axle's story first, called base of operations, because this will make much more sense if you do.

He drummed his fingers on the book he was reading. He was getting restless. It was way past noon. That's when the supplies were suppose to come. but the convoy never came. He stared out, waiting. Had the cloud skimmers ambushed them? Eh, it could be possible, but unlikely. Outpost 3F wasn't even remotely near the border, frontier of battle, or whatever you'd like to call it. It was also a weapon supplier, as we made dozens of swords, armor, and cannons every week.

One hour later…

He was anxious, and slightly panicked. Where were the supplies? The supplies were suppose to be delivered to them for extra support, in case the enemy really did get this deep, including materials for an extension for the base, crates of TNT, new pieces for an airship (we got stuck with a 20 year old crappy one) to get it flying again, and most importantly, food. About thirty people lived in outpost 3F, and they would need food soon. Of course, there was food, but under Notches orders, we were to leave them alone, for the natives that were living here. That was a deal. Sort of. We didn't touch their livestock, and we take over a part of uninhabited land, for their 'safety', though I doubt we would see much action unless the cloud skimmers ran a covert operation or managed to deal that much damage to force our forces back there.

But I was beginning to think otherwise, and disturbing possibilities raced through my mind.

"Mark?"A voice asks. That's Rosa, my boss.

"Yeah?"I yell down from my perch, or tower.

"Still not here?"she asks.

"Nope."I say. I hear a groan in frustration, and then a sigh.

"I'll send some scouts for any activity. For now, keep watching,"she tells me. Now it's my time to sigh. It's eating up my break.

Like if she heard me, she says "Don't worry, I'll give you an extended break."

Well that was a relief. It had to be around 4:00 now. I had been sitting here for five hours. Why couldn't we have a job shift? I asked myself, but I already knew the answer. For the outpost of 3F's current size, 30 people would be considered a skeleton crew, as I watched three people riding on horses, and armor, embroidered with the skyborne army symbol set off into the distance. As I watched them go, I noticed something. Spots. Spots in the sky. I blink my eyes, but they're still there. I narrow my eyes, and squint. Airships. I take a telescope, and look for the symbol. Crap. Cloud skimmers.

I immediately flip a redstone lever next to me, and a high pitched alarm goes off around the base. People rush out, to see what was happening. I yell down at the almost non-existent crowd.

"Cloud skimmers!" is all I had to yell before people rush about, getting on armor and sending a message via underground redstone tunnels. I rush down to get my armor on, but by the time I get out, the skimmers are only 300 meters out, which may seem far, but 900 feet is awfully close for half a dozen airships meant for war.

I see engineers rushing to get the airship in the air, but the old girl, called the Roosevelt, was stubborn and refused to move as it sputtered hopelessly. As the skimmers closed in, I watched with horror as the cannons lit up and an explosion filled the air, destroying the Roosevelt, sending shrapnel everywhere. I hear screams, and wince. A dozen cloud skimmers are dropping from the airships via rope, and come down upon us. I raise my sword, and charge, but it's hopeless. Within seconds, we nearly had lost outpost 3F. As TNT drops before me, the world fades, enveloped by flames and explosions.

Notch drummed his hand on the table, unbeknownst to him that a victim of the attack they were looking at now had done the same thing.

"Well? What do we do?"asks Gavaros, one of his chief advisors.

"The cloud skimmers have gone behind enemy lines, striking remote bases. First of all, how, and second, why?"Dima asks, yet another advisor, and strategist.

"Easy. All these bases they strike are weapon forgeries, and suppliers to the skyborne forces. I don't know how they sneak past the anti-aircraft guns on the frontline though,"a voice booms, belonging to none other than to the famous militaristic general, General Howard, a legend among legends, called the black eagle. Notch furrows his brow.

"They're trying to cut off our supplies. Gavaros, make sure that supplies and men strengthen those bases, I don't want them falling. I want a fully armed escort en route to the bases,"Notch ordered.

"Second, Dima, I want you to bring the BIP (border infiltration protection) aboard to this situation. Find out how they snuck past us so easily. Finally, General Howard, I want to speak with you privately."

While a Gavaros, Dima, and a dozen other strategists and advisor leave, Howard stays and nods his head slightly.

"Yes?"he asks.

"These supplies. If they're cut, we'll be in trouble. Even a fully armed escort may not secure them. I want you to piece together black ops."

General Howard frowns. There was a reason why he was called the black eagle. He lead all the operations involving black ops, which was only a few specified men and women. Or at least was the mission controller, as he was 63, and his back wasn't easy on him, not to mention he wasn't as agile as he used to be. However, black ops was shut down a year ago, as continuous funding was a bit more of a problem with the cloud skimmers on the horizon. He had argued black ops would be perfect to run operations against the cloud skimmers, but Notch's council decided against it.

Howard frowns. "I've kept track of the team, but I don't know if they'll say yes."

"Tell them they get level 2 clearance. They can get higher pay raises, Extension to the weapons armory Tekkit 00, almost whatever they want, including the relief of charges against them, if they, well got a bit, never mind,"Notch says grimly. Howard nods thoughtfully.

"The black ops aren't easy to bribe. You'll need something else. They weren't happy when black ops were dismantled by your council. I know my soldiers."

"I know. Tell them….tell them they'll have a chance at taking Amazov,"Notch mused. Howard's eyebrows shoot up, no longer furrowed. Amazov was their designated target, for their last mission. They never managed to kill him, not to mention they lost a teammate.

"I can't be absolutely sure they'll do it, but it will be much more tantalizing that everything else you mentioned. They'll be together by the end of this week, or never."

Notch nods. "You are dismissed."

As Howard exits, Notch wondered if he did the right thing. The black ops were the most elite he could find, but they were absolutely ruthless. There was another case that he was worried about. Something that contributed to the black ops dismantling. They had ran an undercover, and discovered twenty stacks of TNT in a warehouse. He doubted that the village knew about it, and only a selected few, so but they burned the entire village to the ground. Later, their level three clearance got them through, and their argument was to destroy all evidence. But the innocents. They told me they had to make sacrifices for the greater good. I clenched my hands. I would not allow them to get out of control. He would have to give the Howard the order to kill black ops if they got wild. But Howard, he was loyal to his team. Too loyal. And stubborn. Just then, a figure entered, sticking to the shadows.

I look up and stare at the figure.

"You know what to do."