Bill felt that his entire life had led to this one moment, and for right now he didn't care if he was in the presence of his team or General Pepper or Fox and his crew. Nothing could stop the younger lupine in front of him. The lupine that had done something so extraordinary to the Captain. The lupine who had saved his life. The lupine who stood by his side from the very start of his mission until now. Hell he wasn't even supposed to be here. He was a wanted war criminal. All eyes were on the two and tensions were high as silence held itself over the room. "Why are you here O'Donnell?"
The lupine, trench coat still hugged tightly against himself, moved with an air of mystery around him. His facial expression was left completely emotionless, but his ruby red eyes spoke showed his true nature. He wanted something and Bill knew what it was. "I'm here because think how we'll feel in the morning. Think how much worse it will be pretending that we don't mean anything to each other in front of everyone else after we've spent the night together, even if all we do is sleep. It's like having just a little bit of a drug - it only makes you want more." Bill's eyes began to water slightly. A warm feeling flowed throughout his body. "And I would risk dying to get the high from that drug."
Memories began to flood back into his mind as everyone around the two began to react. The room remained muted for Bill as all his attention was set on the man in front of him. Kitana is were it all started. It started with pain and loss, but it ended with desert heat.
Bill Grey sat with his back to the wall of the old run down tavern. His helmet set beside him on the ground, a small crack visible in his visor from where the stock of someone else's gun had hit. It was the first time he'd been able to rest in the past sixteen hours. He and the four units left of his squad had been chased throughout the town by an armed militia ever since he'd landed on the surface. The rest of his team were now reduced to a pile of burnt metal and flesh. A Titan Grade Armored Warrior had taken down their transport ship. Blood was stained on his uniform from when he was forced to use his sidearm at point blank range. The rest of his team were in better condition than he was.
The town was in complete shambles with the stench of war in the air and the heat of the Solar sun mixed in with the desert heat worsened the smell. Katina was having itself a little revolution in district 13. The Bulldog squadron had been sent in to try and calm the situation. Now only five of the original thirty were pinned down in the town square. Among the dead lay his communication back to the Cornerian Space Force. Bill looked around the room. He studied the rest of his team with a sense of sadness. Their tan tactical vests with BDUs were dirty and beaten.
Sgt. Dutch Rooks stood with his rifle in his hands. A look of worry was spread across the pitbull's face and he was trying his best to hide it with his helmet and visor. He had been with him since his academy years and the two had saved each other way too many times to count during the Great Lylat War. Beside him sprawled out on the floor the unconscious Pfc. Hunter Young lay with his flight jacket as a pillow on the ground. The avian breathed softly, his plasma rifle just within his grasp if the need arised. The team rookie had proven himself more than able to handle his own during a firefight; he'd earned the right to get in a quick nap. The team sniper Cpl. Taylor White, a husky with bulk, stood with his scooped rifle in hand and his eyes gazing out the window. He was a transfer from his last squad after the war, and so far that transfer had proven beneficial in the survival of what was left. The last was Lt. Yen Lyndal. Her pistol was gripped tightly against her chest. Blood had dried along bottom of the feline's lip and she was completely still in her crouched position.
All of them were ready and willing to die for one another. Bill watched them closely out of fear. He was afraid that this would be the last time he would ever see his team. He pulled a device out of his jacket pocket that was digitally linked to a drone above orbit. He unlocked it and pulled up the map of the surrounding area and studied it. He smiled as he located a communication building not two blocks away. His smile faded whenever he saw that the drone portrayed multiple hostiles surrounding the building as if waiting for Bill and his squad to try and call in support. After switching the device on he looked at the lock screen and smiled. His smile faded as memories began to flood back into his head. There the screen showed his now ex-girlfriend Fay Spaniel. The two were standing beside one another with silly faces shown.
He now wondered if it had been wise to break off his relationship with the girl. If he died would Fay be given a flag of remembrance? Would his mother be able to make her way out of the hospital to attend the funeral? Would his father even be able to remember his own son? All these questions soared through the canine's head. He closed his eyes to prevent any tears from falling; he needed to look strong in front of his team. They needed him now more than ever. They needed Captain Bill Grey. He mentally pulled himself together and stood himself up.
"Bulldog squadron listen up. We can't stay here for too much longer." He used his device to deploy a 3-D map in the middle of the room. The town originally had the population of twenty-three hundred people. Now resting around two-thousand angry armed civilians, the remnants of the Bulldog Squadron were outmatched and outgunned. "Our only hope of surviving this shit storm is by relocating at the comms building two blocks north east of this location. From their we can call in reinforcements and get this situation locked down. If you need to pray to your gods nows your chance, cause we move out in five." His team nodded to him as he switched off his device and placed it back into his jacket pocket as he grabbed his rifle from where it rested. Grabbing his helmet he walked over to the sleeping avian on the floor and nudged him with his elbow.
Private Young jumped slightly and reached for his rifle. His eyes darted open and met the Captain's and he relaxed slightly. "We're moving soon rookie. Get ready. Comms station two blocks from here." Hunter nodded and pushed himself off the floor as he readjusted his jacket. Bill took a moment to assure himself that this was the right move. For some reason he knew his plan would not go out the way he wanted it to.
Outside orbit of Kitana.
Three ships approaching.
Two Wolfen class.
One Civilian Transport class.
Leon sighed as he cruised slowly behind his two companions in their Wolfens. Wolf and Panther had the easier part of the job, overwatch. Leon got the shit end of the stick, search and rescue. General Pepper had personally contacted the Star Wolf team in hopes they would help keep the situation under control. The reward was having their bounties dropped completely and their criminal records erased. Wolf, Panther, and Leon leaped at the chance to clear their names. This was their chance of redemption after the Lylat War.
Leon thumbed a button on his dash and waited for a second. Wolf Appeared on one of the monitors in front of the chameleon. "What is it this time Leon?" Wolf had become irritated by the assassin's nonstop complaining.
"Tell me one more time why HE's on the ground and why I'M not?" Leon folded his arms over and listened as his companion sighed for what was the umpteenth time so far.
"I'll speak slowly this time and make sure to use small words. He stronger than you, he better fighter than all of us, he best shot with guns, he suck at flying. Got it?" Wolf didn't wait for an answer before he cut off communication with the chameleon as he leaned back in his seat and put his chin on his knuckles. He pinged Panther and waited.
"Before you say anything, yes, I do think he's being overly protective of our teammate on the ground. Why wouldn't he be? He did take care of him after Beltino had his way. Am I worried about him, yes, but does that mean i'm going to make a big deal of this? No."
Wolf chuckled slightly. "How'd you know I'd ask about that?" Panther shrugged.
"You have an air of tension around you that I haven't seen in awhile. Not since we last clashed with Star Fox." Wolf's expression changed slightly to a more darker mood with the mention of Star Fox. He sighed once more before putting on a calm demeanor and nodding. "Wolf, it's the first official mission with him on the team, it is ok to be worried."
"I'm not worried, I'm terrified."
Kitana surface.
New Phobos.
Communication's building.
The wolf stood with his twin revolvers in each hand over the fallen Cornerian Captain. His face concealed by a face mask combined with a helmet that had one red line connecting the snout to the base of the wearers skull. Bright red reticles were in place with goggles were the wolf's eyes would be. His body was covered in a form of black kevlar chest and shoulder piece. Elbow and knee pads adorned his figure. All of this was covered by a handwoven poncho with a hood. A scoped high power rifle was strapped to the wolf's back. The most interesting set of weapons however were the two tomahawks strapped to the wolf's right hip and thigh. If Bill had been able to ever picture what death would look like now, then this was him standing over the canine now.
His comrades didn't take kindly to the wolf with the revolvers and all had their weapons trained on him. When he spoke he held a heavy accent with his voice. "I am here to rescure you and you're team Captain Grey." The R's and the L's seemed more articulate in his speech. He held out a hand. "Let me help you up Shchenok." That name. Bill had heard that nickname before. He took the wolf's hand and was raised from the ground as if he were a rag doll. The lupine had strength.
"You mind telling your men to lower their guns? I did just save your lives in case you haven't noticed." The Captain looked around at the chaos of the room. The wolf's entrance had been made through the window from where shattered glass had been scattered around the floor. Seven bodies lay dead near the front entrance of the room, smoke rising from craters in their heads from where the wolf's aim had taken effect. "W-weapons down. At ease." The team lowered their weapons, but their eyes still were trained on the black clad lupine.
"Who are you?" Bill asked as he turned to grab his weapon from the ground. "My name doesn't matter, what matters is that I get you and your team off planet. General Pepper himself has asked my team and I to help you and your team. Enough questons, we have about a ten minute window before the locals find out you're not dead." With that the wolf walked passed the rest of the Bulldog unit towards the window he'd made his entrance in. "Bulldog squadron, new orders: we follow this mercenary to the LZ and then EVAC off world."
"Yes sir!" they said. Dutch moved over towards the bodies and shuddered slightly at the sight. "He's fucking good."
"You all coming? Nine minutes and counting Brasukas." Bill again frowned at the man's language. He'd never heard of that nickname, but for some reason it sounded familiar. Strange.
The team followed their newly elected guide through the window and into the streets below. Keeping silent as best as possible the group made their way through an alleyway and passed the old tavern they were held up in originally. Along the way they had passed several more dead bodies with smoking holes through their skulls. Who ever this mercenary was, he was good. Scratch that, he was elite.
Two minutes of silence and walking led to an opening of the cluster of buildings. The wolf stepped into the opening and placed two fingers up to his throat before speaking. "Leon, we are clear at the landing zone, get down here. Got six priority targets tha-" The streaming sound of a rocket cut off the wolf's voice as it sped overhead into the building above the Bulldog squadron. Dutch grabbed the rookie and rushed out into the open avoiding the fallen debris. Yen dove out of the way just as the structure struck the rafters above the alleyway.
Cpl. White pushed Bill out of the way just as the building collapsed on the sniper. Bill landed on the ground and turned around to see a large chunk of building level the husky's head into a flattened bloody mess. The Captain felt his breath leave his body and his muscles tightened out of fear. His body felt as heavy as lead. When his breath did return to his body it came back in ragged gasps. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to be facing the wolf in the mask. All sound seemed muted. The wolf tore his mask down and his helmet and goggles off; red eyes stared back at Bill's green. Black fur covered his fur save for the sage red braided mohawk that sat dormant on top his head and between his ears. For a moment everything seemed still and peaceful. Then reality struck in as he watched the lupine's mouth move. "What?"
"Can you walk Shchenok?" He asked as he wrapped his other hand around Bill's shoulder. Bill nodded slightly. The wolf nodded and slapped the side of the canine's helmet reassuringly before standing and moving towards cover. "Get cover, they got their big Titan out again."
Bill picked up his rifle before forcing his mind away from his fallen comrade. Four of them left, that's what he needs to worry about. Getting his team off this dust ball. He looked around for the rest of his team. Dutch and the rookie were located on the other side of a destroyed carriage. Yen was located near a smashed car. Bill was stuck with the wolf. Shit had hit the fan, and now the smell of death lingered in the air. Bill thought once more of what was left of his squad. He'd started off with thirty, now he had four left. He gripped his gun tightly and followed the wolf into the fray of battle.
Wolf had every right to worry after his companion's communication had abruptly ceased broadcasting. Now he felt he needed to get down there and make sure his friend was still alive. It wasn't but a few minutes later before an incoming transmission from Leon made itself present.
"Wolf, I have what's left of the Bulldog unit except for their Captain and our friend down on the ground. I've received word that our assets on the ground has been injured. He's asking for permission to take Captain Grey to this location." A set of coordinates displayed itself on Wolf's main HUD. The lupine felt his throat constrict in surprise at the location. It had been too long since he'd been there. It was the only choice he had left for his friend.
With a scowl he answered Leon back. "Tell Leikos to keep an eye on the captain. Tell him to be careful dealing with the family again." And with that all communication with Wolf stopped. The lupine slumped back in his chair with a heavy heart. His brother was headed home.
Everything had happened so fast in the seconds that followed. The Titan had managed to cut off Bill and the mercenary off from the rest of the team. The city block lay in ruin. Bill sat cradling the mercenary in his arms as struggling breath drew from the lupine's body. A large chunk of metal had embedded itself into the mercenary's stomach. Everything had happened way too fast. Bill was confused on what to do.
"Don't you fucking die on me!" He exclaimed as his eyes met the lupine's.
"Takoy milyy shchenok." A smile broadened around the lupine's face. Something about the smile reminded the Captain about Fay. His worry felt at bay. He had no idea what the other man had just said to him, but the smile had changed everything. It was calming, relaxing. One might even say playful. "I'm not going to die..." He breathed in and his smile still stayed through the pain. "My time is not yet. I'll let the gods decide that."
All was quiet for a change. The lupine stilled his breath as his eyes met with Bill's and for several long moments they simply did nothing but stare at each other. Bill felt heat build up into his face as he recognized the expression. He turned away and blamed it on the pain reliever he'd given the lupine.
"Take me to this location." Bill turned his gaze to the mercenary in confusion. He followed the motion of the lupine's moving arm to the numbers being drawn into the sand. It was a set of coordinates.
"What's there?" The Captain asked.
"Salvation."
Bill thought for a moment before asking. "What's your name?"
The lupine smiled once again with pain mixing into the expression. "Get me outside the city and I'll tell you." Bill frowned but felt he had no choice of he wanted to make it off this planet alive. It didn't take him long to steal a speeder bike. From there it was half a day's travel to the location. His GPS helped guide him most the way. He found out the rest with luck. Upon arrival the two were presented with a small village like homestead. Several buildings that resembled housing structures had been erected sometime ago so the metal looked weathered and dusty. About twenty to thirty more lupine's made there ways outside of the buildings upon the sound of the engine's ignition switching off.
Bill carried the mercenary to the front porch. An oldest looking wolf, one with a light shade of grey fur, only replied with the name "Son!" before rushing Bill back inside with the black clad wolf in his arms. Medical supplies were brought in and the mercenary was treated. The canine felt helpless as he watched the elder lupine remove the shrapnel from the mercenary's side. He stepped outside onto the front porch after the bandages had been placed on the mercenary. He was followed by the elder onto the front porch.
"I want to thank yew for bringin' my boy here. What the hell happened to him?" The man asked. Bill looked around at the other wolves who'd made their presence known. He counted twelve children ranging from about the age of three to thirteen. Four more older looking teens stood with rifles in their hands. There was several adults there as well. All of them seemed curious about the canine.
"My team and I were sent in as means to calm down a situation on this planet. We went in hoping to keep everything under wraps. That plan was pushed aside by their Titan war machine. For about fifteen hours I've been on the move and in battle with what was left of my team. Your son found us holed up in a communication building and he from there he got my team out, he of course took injury during our second encounter with the Titan. I extracted him here in hopes of getting off world." Bill finished before he looked at the ground.
The Captain chuckled to himself slightly. "I don't even know his name and here I am afraid he might die."
"Leikos O'Donnell." Bill looked at the elder with a look that showed he recognized the last name.
The town in one of Katina's many deserts had seen this lonely traveller before. First time he came in here looking for someone, as for the second time however he was returning from an errand only to come up empty handed and without any leads. This was is third time coming into town, but this time was different.
The stranger usually walked upright and with some sort of purpose. This time his steps dragged along the dirt and his head was hung low. Small drops of blood stained the trail behind him. His left hand was locked into a firm grip around his right shoulder, his right held around his stomach. The wind blew the traveller's coat behind him to reveal a bloody undershirt. The hood that was usually worn had been pulled down to show off the red body fluid that colored his black fur into a dark crimson along the neck and face. No one was sure if it belonged to him or the one he had been hunted by.
Air escaped the traveller's lips in ragged gasps. He was dehydrated and exhausted from his previous encounter with the hunter named Jedediah. The streets had been cleared that day for reasons no one quite knew. It was just a hunch that people should stay off of the streets today. Guess they were right to do so. They looked out through the shutters of buildings at the traveller who'd given this town a bit of action, all of them wondering the same thing for the dark furred wolf. The wolf with red eyes with enough coldness inside of them to make any man cringe from staring at them for too long.
The wind was the only sound that dared to make it's presence known, but even it's simple existence added on to the trance that glued the eyes of the town on the man. His steps began to grow smaller as he walked further down Main Street. Dust kicked up and trailed behind him with each step. The Solar sun blazed down heat upon him. Then he stopped dead center in the middle of the street and stood there for a moment.
His left hand dropped back into place by his left side as his knees buckled underneath him. He fell heavily to the right and kicked up more dust which was carried away by the wind back east. Nobody could believe that Leikos, son of Hank O'Donnell, lay in the dirt with blood seeping from wounds that were most likely lethal. Only one person rushed from the steel enforced walls of the saloon over to the wolf's body.
The wolf's first friend he'd made while starting his quest. The chameleon who's name sparked evil rumor if spoken. The only one willing to help Leikos with his quest. The one who had broke the unholy trance that held the eyes fixated on the traveller. This is how is how this story ends and another one begins. The traveller being held close by the chameleon. The quite and repeating whisper that help is on it's way. The plea for life to remain in the body that Leon held so close. The sound of the wind blowing east back to where the trouble had erected from and where one man with fifty men at his back who trailed the fire of Hell with a fury that shook the bones of the great one itself chased after the wolf.
Leikos O'Donnell awoke from his slumber with a pained groan. His eyes still hung heavy as looked around. His father Hank stood beside him with the sound of the groan catching his attention. The two made eye contact. "Where have you been?" Hank asked. His eyes scanned over his sons body. It was the first time he'd seen his son with the new additions since his last visit.
"Busy father." His torso was covered with six symmetrical metal holes along the chest and back. Two more had been implanted into the back of his neck. They had been used to jack into the wolf's brain three years ago.
Leikos's eyelids began to heavy the longer he looked at his father. "Rest now. We'll talk later when you're better." And with that Hank walked back outside. The old man was furious in what the government had done to his son. But he had another problem he had to deal with first.
"Captain Grey. You can stay here with us until Leikos is healed back to normal. Then I want you and him off the property." Bill nodded his head to the agreement. He would stay until the mercenary got better. He should have plenty of time to find his way off world, unless anything else were to stop him. But there was one thing he still needed to address with Leikos. That look he'd given him back in town. Bill himself couldn't deny what he felt when he set his gaze upon the lupine's for the first time. He would have time to discuss these things in the time to come.