Hello everybody! Here's another Jak and Daxter one-shot that I created. This also happens to be a story that I submitted under a different title for my college's short fiction writing contest yesterday. The only difference between this one and that was that there weren't any characters from the Jak and Daxter universe except for Jak himself. However, there wasn't really anything to connect him to the game, so it made it safe to use his name. Of course, if you read my original carefully and took note that his best buddy had flaming orange hair, you might have some suspicions.
Anyway, I hope that you all like this story. Sorry if the title sounds sucky. Don't forget to leave a review of this story after you're done reading.
And yes, some of the things on here were not originally a part of the Jak and Daxter universe, but they do add a good punch to it. Until the next update on my other stories everybody!
Battle in Spargus Desert
"Alright, let's go over the plan one more time everybody," I heard a man say in the front of the debriefing room I was in.
However, I kind of fell half-asleep right when I sat down on one of the many chairs in the room. As a result, I practically missed everything that the person up in the front, who was my commander, said. That also includes the battle plans and the enemy's current status.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jak Mar. I am currently enlisted in the resistance army and right now "listening" to my commander talk about something. I am one of the youngest here at seventeen years old, but I have already made quite a reputation for myself within the resistance. I think that it is quite impressive for someone of my age, if I do say so myself.
Anyway, that is enough talk about me. Let me tell you about the resistance's current situation. Me and my army buddies are currently at war with a group that calls themselves the Marauders. Most of its members were once a part of a power-hungry political group of Spargus City who wanted the world to run under their control. Their idea of a worldwide society is when the high authority figures have all the power and the middle class have nothing. To put it simply, you would be lucky if the police did not arrest you just for casually talking to somebody in the street under the suspicion of conspiracy against the government.
When they first came up with the crazy idea, they tried to implicate it the political way that involved the people voting on it. Not surprisingly, the people instantly revoked the proposition right when it hit the ballot. However, that did not stop them from trying again year after year. Unfortunately for them, the results were the same for four straight years.
As the repeated failures became more and more aggravating, the Marauders soon abandoned the political route and decided to force their ideals onto society. Their choice of force: an all-out war against anyone who dared to stand in the way of the succession of their ideals. Basically, it meant that they were declaring war against the entire world, something that was clearly impossible to pull off without having more people fighting with them. How were they going to recruit people for their army if nobody would even want to join them?
To the entire world's surprise, the Marauders somehow managed to gather enough people for their cause. Their method of persuasion: kidnapping innocent people off of the streets, brainwashing them, and then imprinting their ideas into their minds. Within a matter of months, minor skirmishes have been reported and under way all across the globe. It soon became so bad that all of the armies of the world decided to join together in fighting against them, thus forming the resistance group.
This is the part where I come in. It has been three years since this stupid war first started. I had joined the resistance army just under a year ago with high hopes of helping to stop the Marauders' terrorist ways for good. I was sixteen at the time. Even with a year's worth of experience under my belt that showed the flaws in my childish dream, I still hold on to it since it was the very reason why I even joined the army in this fight.
"Jak Mar!" my commander sternly called out to me, roughly pulling me out of my thoughts. "Did you even hear a single word I just said?"
"C-come again, commander," I stuttered as I tried to piece together the bits I heard him say and failing to understand what he was saying. "What were we talking about? I...wasn't really paying attention."
"Oh, for the love of Pete!" he sighed in an aggravated way as he slapped his forehead. "You're hopeless when it comes to participating in debriefings, you know that? Just consider yourself lucky that it's only you and me in here. Otherwise, you'd be getting a big dose of punishment right about now."
"Uh, sorry about that, Commander Torn," I said with an apologetic smile gracing my lips. "I'll try to start paying more attention from now on. Can you explain to me again what the plan is for today?"
"I don't think I have much choice in the matter here," the commander now known as Torn replied with an annoyed shake of his head. "I'm only going to explain this one more time though, so you better pay full attention. According to an image we obtained from one of our satellites, the Marauders' forces are moving towards Spargus Canyon on its eastern side. We, the defensive line, are currently encamped on the west side of this canyon. If they manage to cross the gorge by way of the canyon bridge that connects the two sides, then we'll lose our line of defense here.
"The good news about this base is that they can't send any of their aircrafts through here because of the state-of-the-art air striker missile system the government supplied us with," he continued on as I tried to keep myself from spacing out again from his droning voice. "With that in mind, we can easily supply the bridge defense team with extra power if necessary. Because we have the anti-air missiles with us, however, the government refuses to supply us with missile-dropping aircrafts, so we're forced to fight this battle solely on the ground."
"Alright, I think I got the plan now, sir," I said with a small smile when the commander was done explaining the battle plan to me. "We'll be having another skirmish with these crazy people on foot in an attempt to make sure they don't breach our defenses and take over this camp. So, who's going to be the lucky person to lead the canyon bridge defense team in a mission that looks pretty hard to win without the aid from aircraft missile launchers?"
"Actually, I already picked you to lead the defense mission the moment I received word of the Marauders' advances. There's no one within a fifty mile radius of this base do I feel more comfortable assigning this task to besides you."
"M-me?" I stuttered as the words my commander just said took its time to sink in. "You want me to lead the bridge's defensive line? With all due respect sir, I don't think I have enough training to be taking command of the front line defense."
"Oh, don't be acting so modest Jak," Commander Torn said with a small chuckle emanating from the back of his throat. "Of course you have the necessary training allowing you to take command of the front lines. I wouldn't have put you down for the position if I had thought otherwise."
"Yeah, but don't you think you're rushing this just a tad bit?" I asked somewhat nervously. "I mean, I know that I have made a reputation for myself in the army under your command, but I've only been here for about a year. And out of that year, I've been on the battlefield for a little less than three months. I don't think that small amount of field experience would qualify me for the position, sir."
"Yet I have seen you rise through the ranks faster than any of the other men under my command. You have more drive and passion pouring out of you than I have ever seen in all my years as a commander. However, if you really don't want the position, then that's fine by me. I'll just go tell the general back at headquarters that you're always falling asleep during every strategy meeting that I set up here and let him deal with you accordingly."
"W-what?" I stuttered as I started to feel panic run through my body. "Y-you wouldn't dare d-do that!"
"Oh, you don't know what I'm capable of doing as commander. I will tell him about your annoying habit since you're not planning to accept the mission any time soon. It was starting to really get on my nerves anyway."
"N-now wait just a darn minute sir! Give me another chance here! I promise I'll try to stay awake during your next meeting! You just got to stop droning on about the parts that aren't important. And by the way, who said anything about me refusing the position you offered? I never said anything to that degree!"
"True, you didn't. However, due to the fact that you said you were only here for a year and haven't had enough training yet, it sure sounded like you were declining my offer. That's the impression you gave me."
"Oh, forget about what I said earlier, sir! I'm going to accept the position you offered as leader of the bridge defense!"
"Now that's more like it, son! Now hurry up and get your gear ready. You'll be transported to the bridge in about half an hour. Make sure you don't stand smack dab on the middle of the bridge, or you'll be liable to get shot by the enemy. Once you're ready, go to the garage and hop onto a jeep that'll be waiting for you. Good luck out there, and let them have it Jak!"
Before I could even say anything about his sudden change in topic, the commander ushered me out of the room. When I was outside, I instantly turned around to try and tell him something, but he immediately shut the door right in front of my face and nearly took out my nose in the process.
"Wow, what a way to try and get rid of somebody in a hurry," I thought as I turned around and made my way down the hall and to the armory. "I think I'll purposely fall asleep during his next meeting as payback for this rushed exit. Maybe he'll think twice before he slams the door right in front of my face again. Then again, I'll just be asking for him to report me to the general if I do that."
After a few minutes of walking, I finally reached the armory. When I walked through the door, I was bombarded by the same sight I see during my earlier days as a simple armory keeper. Countless rows and stacks of guns, grenades, and other weaponry were neatly placed on metal shelves in a certain order. No matter how many times I enter this room, I am always amazed at the amount of weaponry that they have available to us in here.
"Alright, what kind of weapons should I take with me this time?" I thought to myself as I skimmed the shelves for something that would work for me. "A standard semi-auto handgun and a magnum would probably be a good choice. I should also probably bring along an AK-47 with me just in case I run into a hoard of enemies. I shouldn't bring any grenades with me because they might accidentally cause irreparable damage to the bridge. Then again, having one with me wouldn't hurt, especially if things get real dicey. All I need to get now are some spare bullet clips and I'll be good to go."
Once I spent about fifteen or so minutes finding the things I thought I would need, I exited the armory and made my way to the garage. Besides the occasional group of men running around with papers in their hands, the walk was pretty uneventful.
When I made it to the garage, I noticed that it was busier than usual. A few jeeps and a couple of army tanks were exiting the base and probably heading towards the defense line. Mechanics were busy checking on other jeeps that have not left yet to make sure that they were in top shape and well stock for the dangerous trip. Technicians were also busy making sure that the computers and other technical machines were properly working. Near the vehicle exit of the garage, I saw a jeep with its engine running and a person with flaming red hair, who happened to be my best buddy, motioning for me to come over.
"Hurry it up Jak," the guy shouted to me in a sort of whining tone, something that a soldier should not be doing at any time. "The Marauders aren't going to be waiting around for us before they start their attack, you know?"
"Hold your horses Daxter," I answered back as I double-checked everything that was on me. "I'll be there in a couple seconds. I swear, you'd think that being seventeen now would've forced you to grow up a bit."
Once I made sure I had everything necessary, I started to move towards the jeep. Just as I was about to board it, however, I heard the voice of Commander Torn calling out to me. When I turned around to see where he was, he was already just a couple of steps behind me with something in his hands.
"Hey, Jak," he said as he quickly took my left hand and shoved whatever it was he had in his into mines without any explanation. "You should take these with you. You might need them if the battle gets too hairy out there."
When I looked at the item he shoved into my hand, I saw that it was a small cardboard box with a picture of a grenade on the front. However, these did not look anywhere near like the grenades I saw in the armory or took with me. They were actually the new type of grenades that had the ability to be controlled by somebody via remote which allowed the person controlling them to send them to their intended destination without putting the user in immediate danger.
"Wait a minute," I said after giving it some thought as to why he was giving me something like this. "Are you actually giving me permission to…?"
"Yes," he abruptly responded in a serious tone. "I'm giving you permission to destroy the canyon bridge if necessary. I'd rather you didn't, but if things get too hectic out there and you have no choice, use those special high power grenades I just gave to you to take out both the enemy and the bridge. These new types of grenades act like huge spiders and can scale up walls or walk upside-down thanks to their built-in suction ability. The general's already been notified of the potential scenario, so if you have to use them, make sure you program them to travel underneath the bridge at all times and detonate at the dead center, okay?"
"Y-yes, sir," I replied, slightly shocked at what he was proposing yet understanding why it might have to be done at the same time. "I'll make sure these grenades are put to good use when the time comes."
"That's good to hear," he stated as he quickly shifted from his serious attitude to a professionally laid back one. "Now hurry up and get out of here. I held you up long enough already. Get to the canyon bridge and make sure our defenses are in tip top shape."
After accomplishing what he came to the garage to do, the commander turned on his heels and left through the door I assumed he came in through. As I saw him leave, I thought about thanking him for the grenades. However, when I considered what they were supposed to be used for, I decided against it. After all, despite how he tried to act low key about it, it must have been hard for him to order me to destroy the bridge if necessary. Just thanking him for permission to do so would have been like rubbing salt into an open wound.
"Boy, sounds like there's going to be the chance of some fireworks today," Daxter said playfully as I finally got onto the jeep. "This definitely sounds like it's going to be a battle to remember."
Before I even had a chance to successfully put my seatbelt on, my buddy had shifted the gears and took off. Once we had left the garage, I saw the beautiful landscape that surrounded the base that was known as the Spargus Desert. The sky was a clear blue without a single cloud disrupting its natural beauty with a couple of stray birds flying about. On the ground, small shrubs and patches of weed dotted the area with its beautiful green color and seemed to complement the brownish-yellow dirt around it. Also, an occasional pink desert flower or two would be seen paired up with the shrubs and added to the beauty of this landscape possibly suited for the front of a postcard.
"Man, this place is nice," I said to Daxter, but the roar of the engine was so loud that he probably did not hear me. "This beautiful scenery kind of seems unaware of the fact that there's going to be a battle here. Either that or it's actually giving me its encouragement to win this fight."
As we sped along the semi-bumpy road, I began to think about how the battle will turn out. How will it end? Will I emerge victorious, or become crushed by the Marauders? What if I have to destroy the bridge? What if the grenades or the switch malfunctioned?
So many questions ran through my head endlessly and were filling up quickly. All of them would have to stay unanswered until the battle was over. Before I knew it, the jeep stopped and I had arrived at the bridge.
As I snapped out of my thoughts, I noticed the sound of heavy exchange of gunfire coming from both sides of the canyon. I quickly focused my attention towards the direction of the bridge and saw some of my soldiers ducking behind their vehicles and boulders while exchanging fire with the Marauders. They had managed to cross the bridge and were now within our line of defense.
Acting on instinct, I jumped off of the jeep and took cover behind a nearby boulder. My buddy ducked behind the jeep for cover so he can have easy access to the radio if we needed more backup.
Before I took out my guns, I prepared the grenades first. I programmed them to move to a certain spot under the bridge, but to not detonate unless I pressed a certain button. Once that was taken care of, I took out my semi-auto pistol and my magnum and began shooting at the enemy.
"Damn, I didn't think that they would've gotten here this quickly!" I exclaimed over the sharp sounds of numerous gunfire as I continued to shoot at the enemy. "Whoever said that they wouldn't be here for at least an hour had better start filing his resignation papers when we get back."
"Oh, I hope I didn't drag myself into serious trouble when I decided to sneak out and join you on this mission!" Daxter whined as he peered over the hood of the jeep and fired a few shots of his own from his pistol. "You better appreciate the risks I take to make sure you, my best buddy, doesn't get himself killed out here!"
I simply grinned at his childish behavior. We had been friends since before we joined the resistance, and he had always been pretty clingy to me. I should have figured he had disobeyed orders and refused to stay back at the base while I was out here. At least it was good to know that I could count on him when it really mattered.
For the next few minutes that felt more like an hour, we kept exchanging bullets with the enemy. Both of our troops have suffered minor damages, but were showing no signs of giving up any time soon. Thankfully, we brought quite a few medical units with us so the wounded could get immediate treatment. It was only a matter of time before we finished cleaning up the mess on our side and making it safe once more.
When we were just about done taking over our line of defense, I noticed that the Marauders' troops were breaking away from their side of the bridge. At first, I was not sure what they were doing, but then I saw somebody who stood out from the rest of them. He had on a black vest and a cape hanging around his neck. His head was balding, but he still had some grey hair along the sides. He also had a megaphone in his hand and looked like he was ready to say something to us. I heard Daxter take in a sharp breath of surprise, an action that I did myself before regaining my composure.
"Hold your fire, men!" I commanded loudly so all of my men could hear me. "Their leader looks like he has something to say. Can someone please get me a megaphone so I can talk with this person?"
As my men were ceasing their fire, the other side seemed to be doing the same thing. Then, I heard the one with the megaphone speak to us.
"Listen up, you pitiful resistance group," the man shouted at us in a rough and crackling voice. "I am known to most of you as Chaos. I am the leader of this group of soldiers as well as one of the founders of the Marauders. Cease your attacks this instant and we might have mercy on you."
As soon as he was done talking, one of my men ran up to me with a megaphone in hand. I quickly took it from him, switched it on, and began to respond to him.
"We'll never submit to you, Chaos!" I shouted back from my spot behind the jeep while trying to keep Daxter from being trigger happy. "We never bargain with somebody who started this war in the first place."
"Well, I see that my reputation exceeds me," he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "It's nice to see someone who actually studies the history of their own time for a change. As a gift to you for that, I shall allow you and your troops to be the first to participate in the changing of history hosted by yours truly!"
"This isn't history," I retorted angrily as I slowly left my hiding spot for a reason that I did not know of. "It's pure madness! Call off your troops at once!"
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that, son. You see, I'm currently on a mission; a mission to eradicate the resistance troops. You just happened to be the first one on my list. I know that you work under one of the best army tacticians in the world. If I can get to your commander and kill him, then I can destroy the rest of the resistance in their weakened state."
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but your mission's going to end before it even gets the chance to start! My men and I are going to stop you right here and now!"
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble boy, but I'm going to cross this bridge with the greatest of ease. Come men; grant me your everlasting protection!"
At his command, some of his men appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and completely surrounded him. They were all wearing thick metal armor over the entirety of their bodies and heavy assault rifles in their hands. A few others that looked like the ones we had just taken care of appeared with their guns at the ready.
"Ha, ha, ha," Chaos laughed. "You see, I, too, also have the ultimate defense for myself. These men that are surrounding me are well equipped with bullet-proof metal armor and indestructible helmets. They are also well protected against grenades and all fire-based weapons. I can easily cross this bridge to the other side without any harm to myself. So long as these men survive, you have no chance of surviving this attack. Now, I shall give you one last chance. Surrender to me now and I won't have to kill you and your men."
"I'll never surrender to the likes of you," I responded in a venomous tone. "You'd have to kill me and then reanimate my body before I would even consider joining up with you!"
"Very well," Chaos sighed. "Suit yourself. It's time to get the real party started, anyway. Continue your assault, men!"
"Resume fire!" I shouted to my men off of the megaphone as I went back to my spot behind the jeep. "Do whatever it takes to prevent them from advancing any further across the bridge! Try not to get shot by their bullets while you're at it!"
Soon, the sound of gunfire filled the canyon once again. My men were doing everything they could to stop Chaos' advances, but his men repelled every bullet that was meant at him.
"This isn't working Jak!" Daxter exclaimed as he checked his spare bullet clips and noticed that he was quickly running out. "They're still approaching us across the bridge, and we're starting to run out of ammo. They're decimating our forces on the bridge, and they'll decimate us once they get here."
"Damn it!" I growled out as I threw my now empty semi-automatic pistol to the ground. "I guess I have no choice. I have to use those grenades. I hope they're at the right place now."
When I reluctantly took out my remote control from my pocket, I saw a few stationary flashing dots on the screen. Unfortunately, they were not very clear because of the distance between me and them. Without thinking, I ran out from my only cover and closer towards the bridge in an attempt to get better reception.
"Where're you going Jak?" I heard my buddy call out to me, but I did not answer nor did I look back at him. I just continued to run through the field of fire while trying to take cover behind rocks and other jeeps. As I got closer to the bridge, the signal on my monitor got stronger. Just as I was about to pinpoint whether or not the grenades were ready to be detonated, I felt a body push me towards the ground. The sound of a gunshot right next to me was heard less than a second later.
"Damn!" I heard a familiar voice curse with a painful hiss of his breath. When I pushed the person who shoved me, my suspicions were confirmed when I saw a flash of flaming red hair. "Got you out of there in the nick of time."
"Daxter?" I questioned as I felt something warm fall onto my hand. Instinctively looking over his body, I saw that he was shot on the arm, and the blood was dripping off from his wound. "You're hurt!"
"No duh, Sherlock," he responded through gritted teeth as I dragged him towards the cover of a large nearby rock. "I practically ate a bullet for you because you failed to see that we missed one of the enemies on this side. You owe me one for this, you know?"
Although I was feeling a bit stupid for my stupidity, I could not help but let a small chuckle escape my lips. If it were not for him being here, I probably would not be standing here alive at this moment. He was definitely the best friend that anybody could have asked for.
"I'll pay you back once we're done with this," I said once I managed to refocus my mind on the matter at hand. I then looked down at the monitor in my hands that was thankfully still in my hands as I said, "Right now, we're going to have to blow this bridge to bits if we want to win this battle."
"Way ahead of you big guy," Daxter said as I saw him cup his hands over his mouth. He then shouted out in the loudest voice he could muster, "Take cover everybody!"
Once I spent a couple seconds making sure that everybody heeded my buddy's command, I pushed the button on the monitor. A second later, a huge explosion was heard from the bridge and the sound of debris falling onto the ground was loud enough to cause one to flinch slightly.
A couple of minutes later after the smoke cleared, my buddy and I peered over the cover of the boulder and saw that the bridge was completely destroyed. However, there was something else that had shocked us. On the other side of the nonexistent bridge, Chaos was standing tall and proud and alive. The men that had accompanied him, on the other hand, did not seem to have survived the blast.
"What the...!" I heard him exclaim as his eyes bugged out, forgetting about his injury momentarily. "How the hell did he survive that blast?"
"I must admit, you almost got me there," we heard the man say through his megaphone in a shaky voice that held a slight bit of fear. "If I hadn't noticed that you pulled out a remote control, I would have been blown up along with my men and the bridge. Here's a bit of advice for you the next time you try to create a big explosion with a switch like that. Try not to go running around in the line of fire with a piece of suspicious machinery in your hands.
"Anyway, you and your troops got very lucky this time. It seems as though your only weak spot on your base has been fixed. I promise you this though; this is far from over!"
When Chaos was done talking, he and his remaining men began to retreat. As for me and my men, we all let out a huge collective sigh of relief. We had won this battle against them, but barely.
"Good job, men," I congratulated my soldiers. "Let's head back to the base now. Make sure the wounded get to the hospital ward once they arrive. And that goes for you, too," I added quietly to Daxter who was still standing next to me.
"Aww, but this is just a scratch," he responded as he gritted his teeth at the pain that had returned after his bout of surprise. "It's nothing that a little bit of rest can't fix."
"The last time I checked, a scratch didn't constitute a bullet shooting clear through your arm," I responded somewhat teasingly as I inspected the wound for myself. I then put a friendly arm over his shoulder as I walked back to our jeep. "I'll go ahead and drive us back to the base. Once we're there, I'll make sure that you get yourself to the hospital ward and get yourself some help for that."
"Oh, there's no escaping you when it comes to things like this, is there?" he questioned with a childish pout adorning his face.
Instead of answering him back, I simply laughed at the expression he was showing off. The pout soon left his face and he began to laugh along with me.
He was always a childish guy from when we had first met all those years ago up to now. His perks were always something that I looked forward to whenever I came back from the battlefield. He was always a source of relaxation for me, and I was always the one to look out for him whenever I can. This time of bittersweet victory was definitely one of those times where we had to be together and try to act like we normally did so as to forget about everything.
Once we made it back to the jeep, I made sure that he was strapped securely to the seat without causing his arm anymore additional pain. After that was done, I picked up the gun I threw to the ground earlier and put some stuff that had been taken out of the jeep some time ago and threw them into the back. After all that was done, I jumped into the driver's side and started up the engine. Without looking back at the devastation behind me, I drove us towards the direction of the now setting sun where our base was located, leaving behind the signs of our battle and waiting for the next one to pop up.