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Published by: IDW Publishing
Released on: Aug. 5, 2014
This collection features three classic Rogue Trooper tales, the first finishing off the story from the end of the previous collection.
[SPOILERS]
Part 3 of Fear of the Machines finds Rogue now getting crushed to death by the immense, now-mobile city defense computer. Inside it, the ID's of Helm and Bagman are fighting for their very lives as they attempt to stop the computer once and for all. The bioforms and delete program seemingly have them cornered until they outwit it with their own computation and are finally able to break into the CPU control and shut it down. Outside, Rogue realizes this as the great machine stops, leaving him to wriggle free and return the bio-chips of Helm and Bagman back to his own equipment. They destroy the computer completely as they leave this town, with Rogue remarking that while that was weird it's not nearly as strange as an entire planet's population try to kill itself with war…
The next story is that of The Dreamweavers and, as it opens, the Sout'er boys of Company C are setting up their lazookas to take out incoming Nort tanks. Some mist rolls in ahead of the column, though, and instead of tanks Company C sees a variety of nightmarish creatures coming for them! Huge spiders, snakes and a chariot full of women are all seen by the Sout'ers, making them flee and get cut down by Nort gunfire. Rogue sees through it all, though, as it's the work of Nort'er “dreamweavers,†soldiers that use hallucinogenic airborne drugs to mess with the minds of their enemies. He gets one remaining lazooka soldier to help him and, together, they're able to finally stop one of the dreamweaver tanks. But before dying they engage its self-destruct so the secrets of the machine die with them. However, Rogue has other problems as the Sout'er soldier he saved believes HIM to be another apparition and is going to take him out. Gunnar has no choice but to put the kid down, sadly.
The final story is titled The Buzzard and it brings Rogue back onto his primary storyline. The name is that of the turncoat Sout'er general that is responsible for the massacre of all the other G.I.'s and thus the subject of Rogue's attention. As the story opens, Rogue's bio-chipped equipment is lamenting their fruitless search for the traitor. Spying some nearby laser-fire they see two wounded Sout'er soldiers get captured by Norts who, during the process, want to save them alive for interrogation by the Buzzard. Following a hunch that this is the same person he's after, he puts on the gear of a regular soldier and surrenders as well. The Norts laugh that he's at full ammo, prompting one of those surviving Sout'er soldiers, named Macinrow, to label him a coward.
And he won't let up on Rogue, either, even when their doom seems certain. Rogue has used various items in his kit to cover his head with normal skin-tone, too, so his disguise is holding, for now. Soon enough, their hovertrain reaches Glasshouse-G, where (it's shown) the Buzzard is indeed at, reduced now to having to perform interrogations since Rogue Trooper forced him out of hiding and into the arms of the Norts. As these new troops arrive one is sent up to meet the Buzzard and Rogue is jumped by the others since they believe him to be a coward. He quickly then volunteers to “help†by talking to this Buzzard.
As he's being brought before him he can't yet see him and is just about to when Macinrow stages an overthrow back down in the main compound. The head of this prison is up with the Buzzard and Rogue and instructs his guards to open the air seals. Rogue knows this will kill all the Sout'er soldiers so, instead of finally getting his hands on the Buzzard, he moves to prevent this catastrophe. While the commandant and the Buzzard put on their safety suits, Rogue escapes out the airlock as he's able to breathe the toxic air. He disables the robo-sentries headed to open the air vents and then takes out the laser cannon guarding the escape route. Once he's with all the escaping soldiers, he gets Gunnar back and has one last chance to take out the Buzzard atop the prison - but that villain traded suits with the commandant so that's who Rogue's shot finds. Later, the other prisoners want to thank this one they thought a coward but Rogue is long gone, back with his equipment. They lament the lost opportunity but, as Rogue points out, the Buzzard now knows Rogue's on his trail and might just come looking for him instead…
Gerry Finley-Day continues his run of the initial episode writing here and does a great job, clearly having a ball once the story moves back to the primary one. Artwork in this collection comes courtesy of Dave Gibbons and Colin Wilson and both maintain the excellent level consistently throughout their tenures on each story. And, again, these reprints from IDW look just stunning and are well worth investing in whether you're new to the series or a fan of old.
