This story was originally written to introduce an OC in Wingcommander Whitewolf's 'Darkest of Stars'. But for some reason it died, I guess, and I didn't want this idea and the character go to waste. It's been largely rewritten since then, to make it work better as a standalone. And also longer. I hope you like it!
Shoutouts to OseanSoldier for proofreading this story. He's got some cool stuff, go have a look!
PATROL TWO
Corneria burned. The war was lost.
Countless husks of once proud vessels orbited the blue and green planet – silent metal graves for those who had died protecting their home. A last stand had been fought there, a final defiant cry in the face of the unending tides of Venom.
The remnants of the Cornerian Defense Force could only watch in abject horror as Venomian fleets commenced orbital bombardment on the lush, verdant world. Plains turned to glass, forests burned, cities were flattened – innocent life was annihilated.
The CDF was shattered. In the aftermath of the massive conflict, the bulk of their forces were decimated and satellite grids were rendered mostly inoperable without their planet-side command centers. Isolated and with no chain of command to fall back on, bases and outposts on other planets in the system could do little beyond taking care of themselves as the days of intolerable quiet turned to weeks, and the weeks turned to months.
Storm Base, an outpost on the icy planet of Fichina, was no exception. The base housed fifteen foot soldiers and a handful of small ground vehicles. It consisted of a few different buildings in close proximity, complemented with a radio station, satellite uplink and a landing pad. It was only a few kilometers away from a sleepy civilian village with a population of around one hundred or so. There were more bases and much larger cities on the planet of ice, of course – no others, however, sat in the frigid expanses of nothing but snow as far as the eye could reach.
The base was the entry point for anyone coming to or leaving the village, so the local sergeant, an arctic fox named Keith, was also responsible for managing supply runs to the civilians. With the network in shambles, he could only hope their supply line with a nearby orbital station would remain intact.
Though the area was generally devoid of activity, infantry would regularly patrol the hilly snow-covered terrain and keep watch. With CDF Command going dark, however, Storm Base pulled back on the frequency of the patrols, choosing instead to conserve resources and mostly only move out when there were supplies to be delivered.
Such was the life of Ray Keillor, a foot soldier stationed at Storm Base. Days slowly passed by as a particularly nasty blizzard had settled in for the long haul. The harsh weather made it difficult to maintain radio contact with anything at all, and the dark gray-furred wolf could only wonder how the civilians managed to hold their own in these white plains – or why they chose such barren living circumstances in the first place. At least within the reinforced buildings, the temperature was decent.
There was little to do during downtime, of which there was plenty. After the umpteenth game of cards, Ray would retire to the armory, where he would tinker with weapons and armor. Ordinarily this would involve improving plasma cores or power cells, or building attachments for rifles. His current project was something different, though: a suit of 'power armor', as he liked to call it. It was a metal exoskeleton with plated armor, a visor with computer-aided targeting, and an auxiliary power cell in the back. It would most definitely pack a punch; the system should allow the wearer to easily lift heavy objects, as well as take several hits.
The Mace, as the thing was affectionately named, was nearing completion. He had been working on the beauty for a few months, and right now all it really needed was some polishing and a stress test. Glancing over his schematics, the wolf donned a pair of goggles and began welding parts to the suit.
The storm had mostly cleared up over the course of the night, according to local weather instruments. Ray glanced outside the window of the Humvee and he could only barely make out the shape of Storm Base in the far distance. To him it didn't seem that much better compared to the day before. Countless snowflakes were whizzing by, obscuring his view. Radio contact was up and running once again, however, so two vehicles had been sent out, this car being one of them.
Patrol One, consisting of four men, was to perform a routine trip to the village to bring food and medicine. Ray estimated that they were probably already on their way back. Patrol Two constituted of the wolf and a white spotted cheetah, Jaz, in the driver seat to his left. Their objective was to investigate an unidentified source of radio emissions that the comms tower at Storm Base had picked up about half an hour earlier.
Jaz wasn't really one for idle chatter, leaving Ray to muse about his surroundings while Jaz kept his eyes on the tarmac road. Much to his dismay, the canine found that there was very little to be seen – hill after hill of mostly featureless snow, the occasional pine tree dotting the craggy landscape.
The feline slowed down the car and pointed forwards, through the windshield. "Signal's coming from over the hill. I say we check it out on foot, avoid making noise."
Ray grunted in approval. The vehicle ought to remain where it was; going off-road on Fichina was usually a terrible idea.
The Humvee came to a stop and the duo exited, making sure to carefully and silently shut the doors. With their weapons drawn, they slowly made their way over to the top of the hill. Ray held an assault rifle, preferring more traditional kinetic weaponry over energy-based blasters that held the vast majority in the military. Jaz, on the other hand, powered up a plasma carbine. Powerful, semi-automatic and, above all, accurate – just the way the feline liked them.
Keeping low, they ventured to the hilltop to get a better look at things. Their footsteps left deep and wide trails, the snow coming to at least knee height.
Once there, they found a most unexpected sight. Nestled in a small valley in the sloped terrain, rested a starship, already partially covered in a tiny layer of snow. The ship was quite big, too large to be a fighter. Most likely it was a personnel transport of some description. Its most striking feature, however, was the color scheme it so proudly displayed: the vessel was painted in red and black.
The typical colors of a Venomian aircraft.
Ray muttered a curse under his breath and surveyed the area. It appeared that the ship was in fact powered down, and there was no one but them around. Footsteps surrounded the landed transport and converged at one point. From there, it appeared a group of people wandered off into the snowy wastes.
"Those tracks lead to Storm Base, more or less," Jaz murmured, observant as ever.
The wolf nodded. What else could they possibly be out for? They probably went on foot to avoid raising alarm and to give the outpost as little time to prepare as possible.
"Shit. Jaz, we gotta report this," he replied, turning around and starting to make his way back to the Humvee, except placing much less focus on stealth. The cheetah did the same.
Somewhat frantically, the duo clambered back into their means of transport, Ray reaching for his radio communicator while Jaz began reversing the car.
"Storm Base, come in," he said, before releasing the button and waiting for an answer.
The device lit up and began spewing garbled noise, causing Ray to jump slightly. He glanced at the feline for a split second, who nodded confidently as he spun the steering wheel. The wolf picked up the device and held it close to his muzzle, stretching the antenna in an attempt to improve the signal.
"Storm Base, negative copy, come again," he spoke into the radio, ears perked.
A few more seconds of noise, before it cleared up.
"… Patrol Two, return to base immediately," a slightly panicked voice replied that Ray recognized as Sergeant Keith.
The lupine nodded to the driver, who by now had finished the turn manoeuver and sped up the vehicle as much as he possibly could on the snowy road. The sudden momentum pushed Ray back into his seat. He knew they were too late.
"Acknowledged, we're on our way, sir. What's happening?"
Keith's answer came a few seconds later.
"Venomian troops appeared out of nowhere… we're under attack."
Jaz pulled over on the top of a hill that overlooked Storm Base. They were off-road, and for now the snow and fog shrouded their approach.
Staring through a pair of high-tech binoculars, the cheetah managed to identify a firefight around the base's hangar. The firing of plasma bolts, as well as the yelling of the combatants themselves, made quite a lot of noise that the weather could only barely mask, so it was difficult to miss.
"Our garrison is trapped in the hangar. The main entrance is a good choke point, I guess." The feline paused for a few seconds, before adding, "It's hard to make out from here, but I think Keith was right… they're Venomian, judging by the species… and what appears to be black and green armor."
Ray was horrified. They had finally come for them, after all this quiet.
"How many?" the wolf breathed, his arms crossed in an attempt to trap some heat.
"We're outnumbered about two to one, looks like. Damnit."
Ray bit his lip, ears perked. Why now?
The two of them were in a difficult spot. The invaders were in between them and their allies, so they couldn't simply rush to their aid. Flanking would work theoretically, perhaps, but as they were only two men strong, they'd probably get killed fast. Circling around to enter the hangar from the other side would be the safest option, but that would take lots of time. Using the vehicle behind them would be faster, but then they would most certainly be noticed. Then it struck him.
"Jaz. We're going for the armory."
"What?" the cheetah said, with an awkward look on his face.
"We're going to grab the Mace. The communications center is in between the vehicle hangar and the barracks building, so that and the fog will cover our movements." A faint grin formed on the canine's face. He had wanted to try the thing for some time now, and these dire circumstances actually formed the perfect opportunity.
"The Mace? You mean that armor thing you've been working on? Is it even finished?" Jaz shot back.
"We have no other options," Ray answered, almost apologetically.
A short pause followed. The spotted cat had a hard, calculating stare on his face.
"Oh, god. Fine. Let's do it."
The two ground soldiers sprinted down the hill, leaving the car behind, while making a beeline for the barracks building. By circling around they would dodge the firefight, and luckily for them, their destination was the closest building.
Their boots crunched on the snow, leaving deep footprints. No time for proper stealth, no time to hide their tracks. As they ran, Ray noticed the snowfall was starting to subside completely. Fichina's atmosphere was still as unforgiving as always in terms of temperature, but at least the sun was beginning to shine through. The wolf was thankful for his dark gray fur coat regardless, as it provided some decent protection against the cold.
Arriving at the entrance to the dark metal building, Ray took a few seconds to pant and collect himself. The physical effort appeared to have affected Jaz less, as the cat stood there with a smug grin on his face.
Ray's eyes widened as he saw two figures clad in Venomian gear jogging towards the comms center. He crouched low and pressed back against the wall of the barracks to avoid detection, while motioning for the cheetah to do the same.
For a second it seemed as if one of the two soldiers cast a glance in the armory's direction and Ray was terrified. By some stroke of luck, the Venomian either failed to spot the duo or for some reason decided to ignore them as they vanished into the comms tower. While that meant Ray and Jaz were safe for the time being, whatever they intended to do in the building could not be good.
"Close," Jaz breathed.
Ray opted not to comment, instead pointing at the barracks' closed entrance and then stuck up three fingers, counting down. At zero, he smashed his paw on the door's control panel and it happily whirred open for them. Simultaneously they swung around either side of the now open doorway, blasters raised. Bunk beds lined either side of the room with a simple staircase at the back leading underground. On the right-hand side there was a desk in between two of the bunks, with a deck of playing cards on it. Fluorescent tubes on the ceiling illuminated the room, revealing two monkeys in black and green armor, apparently in the process of looting someone's footlocker.
They both looked up to the entering marines, a stupefied look in their eyes for the tiniest moment. Jaz and Ray both pulled the triggers on their weapons simultaneously, concentrated energy and metal projectiles speeding across the room. The assault did not find their targets as the intruders took cover behind one of the bunks, forcing the Cornerian soldiers to do the same – Jaz behind a bunk on the left and Ray on the right.
The wolf had noticed that they were holding CDF-style weaponry, quickly deducing that they had probably ventured into the armory below and picked up a new gun or two. Damnit, they had better not touched his project.
The monkeys were quick to return fire, red-hot bolts of plasma flying over Ray's head, only barely avoiding singing his head fur. Beds didn't make for optimal cover, as it turned out. The cheetah peeked out of cover to pinpoint the location of the enemy and returned fire, taking attention away from his partner. The Venomian who had fired first didn't have reflexes fast enough to return to cover and was hit squarely in the forehead. The burst of energy burned its way straight through the unfortunate primate's skin and skull, killing him instantly. Blood and gore splattered on the ground and wall behind him. That left only one.
An enraged yell came from the other and he rose from behind his cover, charging forward while firing a light machine gun on full auto, in the general direction of Jaz. A kinetic weapon, so the bullets could pose a serious threat with their capacity to penetrate whatever they hit – notably, their crappy cover. There was little distance between them and his friend was pinned down so Ray had to act fast. With both ears perked he estimated the location and advance of the enemy and fired a few blind shots from his crouched position. One of the bullets found its target. The war cry turned into a gurgle and both a weapon and a body clattered to the ground, unmoving.
The duo dared to peek at the carnage they had wrought, getting up once they saw the threat had been cleared. The guy Ray just shot lay slumped over one of the bunks, blood pooling freely underneath him. The other soldier wasn't faring any better. The lupine could never quite get used to the smell of burned flesh.
"What a mess," the wolf mumbled, noting the gore all over the place in addition to a rather scary number of bullet holes on the walls on their end of the room.
"Let's go," Jaz replied, and they nodded to each other.
"Right. You'll have to help me into the suit."
They carefully stepped over the remains of their adversaries, before heading down the stairs.
The somewhat cold and uninviting glow of the armory greeted them, a low humming buzz coming from the ceiling lights. This was Ray's second home, where fellow marines could almost always find him. Along the walls there were racks with all sorts of weapons, ranging from sidearms to rapid-fire guns and heavy arms, both kinetic and thermic choices available. One relatively small segment of the wall was lined with shelves, small cardboard boxes on top of them, filled with magazines, ammunitions and power cells. Jaz immediately headed over in the general direction of a set of sniper rifles and assorted weaponry. At the far wall, there was also a workbench, allowing gear to be tinkered with.
By CDF standards this was a fairly unimpressive display, but it was more than good enough for an outpost such as Storm Base. They never really expected any hostilities anyway.
But the real prize was the thing standing in the corner, right next to the workbench: A metal exoskeleton, painted a blue and white camo. The shape of the thing was designed with a Cornerian canine in mind; a decision that came in quite handy right about now. Ray had finished working on the auxiliary power unit in the back only a few days ago; it would allow him to power a small shield generator to protect the wearer from enemy fire.
A wicked grin crept over the wolf's face as he approached the Mace.
Clad in the cold, steel embrace of the Mace, Ray made his way back up the stairs, his new reinforced feet banging loudly against the floor as he walked. An orange visor covered his eyes, small readouts in the corner of the display informing him that the system was fully operational. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the exoskeleton hampered his movements far less than he anticipated – sure, it was a little bit clunky but not less swift in any way. Armed with his trusty assault rifle in one hand and a grenade launcher in the other, he abandoned all attempts to remain silent. Now that he was able to actually carry both simultaneously, he was itching to try it.
His prayers were answered. Two enemy soldiers – a reptilian and another monkey – were examining the aftermath of the battle that took place minutes ago, but turned their attention to the noise coming from the other room.
"I knew I saw someone snooping around," one of them grumbled, getting up to move towards the stairs. They were probably the two who had almost spotted Ray and Jaz earlier.
Then Ray turned the corner, fully aware of the hostile presence.
"What the he-" the crocodile began, before being interrupted as the wolf opened fire. The kinetic rifle spoke, a hailstorm of tiny metal pellets flying across the room, mixing with the bullet holes that were already there. The reptilian never had a chance to react to the sudden onset of doom, and was dead before he even knew what was happening.
His partner was faster and did not make the same mistake, quickly flipping over the desk and diving for cover behind it.
Ray considered for a second to rat the guy out with his grenade launcher, but decided against it, for the collateral damage – in his own barracks – would be far too great. Instead, he simply marched over to the desk. The Venomian infiltrator leaned out of cover to plant a shot firmly on Ray's chest which, ordinarily, would have killed him. The plate armor however, coated in a reflective material and electromagnetically shielded, harmlessly absorbed and dissipated the incoming energy.
The lupine took this opportunity, grabbing the confused primate by his throat and slamming him against the wall, before swiftly and mercifully breaking the poor sod's neck with a disgusting crunch. The body crumpled to the floor as Ray let him go.
"You realize that if your suit was faulty, you would've been dead right now," Jaz commented from across the room, frowning. Ray simply replied with a toothy grin, already digging the powers and enhancements his pet project was giving him.
The cat shook his head and cracked a smile. "Nutjob."
Jaz was right, though, much as he was loath to admit it. He would have to make sure not to get cocky – the armor was designed to bounce off a few shots, not to absorb sustained fire. The shield couldn't take a lot either; the point-blank hit from seconds ago put a lot of stress on the tiny power cell and had disabled the shield generator itself entirely as it needed to recharge.
But even with these limitations he still surpassed any other marine's prowess at being a bullet sponge, and that was good enough for now.
They left the building, heading towards the firefight at the hangar. Hopefully they were not yet too late.
Jaz noted that the sky had cleared up. Now that the fog was dissipating, the afternoon sun beamed down on them. Though that did nothing to aid in keeping warm, it definitely improved visuals. He clutched a radio and tailed Ray through the snow.
"Sarge, this is Jaz, come in," he said.
A few seconds of static before a response came. "Patrol Two? Where the hell have you been? We're pinned down and dying!"
"We picked up the exoskeleton project, sir. Headed your way right now," the cheetah replied.
"What? You mean Ray's project? What's your plan?" came the confused voice of Sergeant Keith.
"Yes, Ray's wearing it, sir. We're going to flank them, take some heat off of you."
Keith sighed, as if somehow disapproving. Jaz figured that his superior did not think much of the exosuit. The cheetah, however, having witnessed its combat capabilities firsthand, felt confident. The sergeant knew not the power that the wolf wielded right now. And in a situation such as this, anything that could give them an edge was fair game.
"Hurry up, we really need you," the fox simply answered.
"Hold on, sir. Jaz out."
He pocketed his radio and unslung a sniper rifle from his back, which he had picked up from the armory. While they ran, boots crunching through the white blanket of snow, Jaz double-checked the status of the power cell in the rifle. Fully charged, it read. Good.
They briefly surveyed the area, noting that their allies were still stuck inside the hangar. The duo was close to a landing pad right in between them and their enemy. A few scattered crates of cargo could also serve as cover.
Ray opted to simply charge right in the general direction of the enemy, while Jaz stayed back to set up in a good vantage point and pick off foes from a safe distance. With a fairly intimidating battlecry the armored wolf fired the grenade launcher while simultaneously spraying with the rifle. The Venomian troops, being preoccupied with finishing off their trapped prey, failed to notice the threat in time. Ray caused colossal damage within the first few seconds of his arrival. The grenade blast ignited a group of crates and barrels which proceeded to explode, at least five perishing in the fiery detonation. A few more succumbed to the waves of bullets.
With his opening move complete, all attention shifted to him, for better or worse. The lupine noticed from the corner of his eyesight that some CDF marines were using the diversion to escape the hangar, fanning out to provide covering fire from many directions.
A few bolts of red-hot plasma whizzed past him. One shot grazed him and drained some of the shield's strength.
Ray quickly reloaded the grenade launcher and fired once more, though this time they saw it coming and the explosion found only snow to scatter.
The two factions continued to exchange fire for a while. Ray would launch a barrage of bullets and flush the enemy out of cover using the grenade launcher before ducking back into cover, giving his allies the opportunity to finish them off once exposed. Jaz got in a few kills as well, though their strategy was working only for a short while. The Venomians started pulling back, causing the flanking tactic to lose effectiveness.
Apparently they had decided to concentrate all their offensive power on the wolf in armor. Though he was no fan of being fired upon, it made sense, as he was the biggest threat by far. As the box he sat behind was on the brink of crumbling and catching on fire because of the continued assault of plasma, Ray moved out of cover to find shelter somewhere else. He broke into a sprint to try and avoid fire. Much to his dismay, he still took a few hits. The weak shields were knocked offline completely, leaving him with nothing but the metal plating to depend upon. Still better than nothing though.
He quickly realized that he was rather exposed out here, so he spun around and ducked behind boxes on the landing pad. That's when he noticed a small beeping device being hurled over his cover, the thing landing a meter or so away from him.
Panic and adrenaline flooded through his veins as he recognized the device as a concussion grenade. He knew there was no way he could withstand an explosion, even with his armor, so he did the only thing he could do. The wolf got up as fast as he possibly could and promptly dove away from the cover, putting some more distance between himself and the explosive device. Ray sprawled on the ground, face-down in the snow as the grenade detonated, a wave of heat washing over him. What little fur was exposed – his tail in particular – was singed. Then came the sound of the explosion: amplified by his proximity, it caused Ray's sensitive canine ears to ring, tuning out everything else.
Lying belly-down on the cold ground, he was disoriented and struggling to make sense of his situation with the ringing in his ears – all this making him easy prey for a rapidly approaching soldier. A dangerous move to go alone like that, but the wolf was in no position to defend himself. He wasn't even aware of the threat as he scrambled to his feet.
The invader, a primate with a visor over his eyes, looked about ready to take aim for a killing blow. Before he could finish off his target, he suddenly fell backwards, a torrent of crimson fluid erupting from the back of his head as he collapsed into the snowy ground. From a distance, Jaz noted his successful kill, swiftly reloaded the sniper rifle and grinned, happy he was of some use to his humiliated friend. The lupine had gotten a little bit too greedy there, and he knew it.
As Ray regained his bearings, he saw how the fight was quickly turned into their favor. His distraction had provided his fellow marines the precious time they needed to mount a counter-offense. At this point, the hostiles were struggling to stay alive at all. Shots from all around pinned them down near the comms tower and his allies closed in, picking them off one by one.
Within a minute, the threat had been eliminated completely. Silence filled the air before a few triumphant cheers echoed through the valley. While Ray would probably have liked one or two more kills to his name, he figured he'd had his fair share.
Jaz joined his partner and they all regrouped at the entrance of the hangar, taking a few moments to celebrate their victory. The sergeant fox grinned at Ray and thanked him for saving the day. They agreed that the Mace wasn't half bad. One of the marines with some medical experience was tending to the CDF soldiers sprawled on the ground. There were three wounded. Ray was relieved; he had expected a lot more casualties.
Jaz sighed and Keith grumbled. Even though they emerged victorious, the atmosphere was quite somber. The outcome could have been much worse, though if the injuries of the downed soldiers turned out to be crippling, they would lose some good personnel. The men and women of Storm Base were quite the family.
More pressing was what the attack meant. It proved, if anything, that Venom was reopening hostilities after their brief respite. And that thought was utterly terrifying, as none of the outposts and cities in the Lylat System were remotely prepared to handle the worst-case scenario. Maybe they had decided to try and start by picking off small and isolated outposts. Or maybe they were just a bunch of stragglers, or even rogues, who stumbled across their little abode. There was no way to say for certain.
What Ray did know is that Storm Base, and the village they were tasked with supplying and protecting, would live to see another day.
The next day, life seemed brighter, quite literally so. The weather was unusually pleasant on the frozen planet. Still lethal under prolonged exposure, of course, but the sky was clear and the sun did its best to grace the surface with some semblance of heat.
After giving the fallen invaders some manner of burial, the entire gang gathered in the communications center. Keith had already compiled a report of the last day's events and sent it over to the nearby orbital station – their only connection to what remained of the Cornerian Defense Force. The remote comms controller had relayed the report higher up and would issue a warning to the rest of the network. Apparently local command had shown some interest in the power armor that was described in the report. Ray couldn't help but feel proud.
Shortly after the attack itself, a squad of four had been sent to the village to check on it and make sure everything was as it should be.
That left them with only issue to clear up. The transport ship that the Venomian troops had used to arrive was still out there, and while it was unlikely to be a hazard in and of itself, it should at the very least be investigated for any additional clues as to what was happening.
Jaz slapped his friend on the back and volunteered for the two of them to be sent on this mission, without even waiting for the wolf to say anything. A fellow marine laughed and suggested that they take the Mace with them, earning a glare from Ray. Keith simply chuckled and agreed that it would only be fitting for them to go.
As the duo walked over to the hangar, the canine mulled over the damage his armor had taken the other day. It had saved his life – and the lives of his brothers and sisters in arms – but repairs had to be done. At least it would give him something to do, he thought with a smirk. Combined with the challenge issued by Venom, perhaps the coming week wouldn't be quite as boring as the last.
Ray opened the door of the trusty Humvee and took the passenger seat, the feline taking the wheel next to him. Jaz started up the vehicle's engine while the lupine warmed up the radio transmitter.
The cheetah raised his paw towards a marine standing near the hangar's vehicle exit.
"Ready to move out," the wolf stated.
"You're clear, Patrol Two. Good luck, and keep in contact. Storm Base out," a voice replied through the radio.
With a confident but cool face, Jaz gently pressed his foot down on the gas pedal and the car began to speed away.