Ultraman, the Aparoid Invasion
Chapter 2
Assault on Katina
The briefing room where the team entered was a large circular room with a round table and a dozen chairs. The team took seats at them, as did Steven, when the holographic projector in the center of the table glowed to life and the disembodied head of General Pepper floated in front of them. The wizened hound looked at the team with a mix of relief, and dismay. "Star Fox, a grave danger is upon us."
"You mean the Aparoids, sir?" Fox asked.
"Exactly. The head of the Science Department will fill you in." Just then, the hound's head was replaced with that of a frog's wearing spectacles and a mustache.
"Hello again, everybody." the frog said, adjusting his glasses. Slippy recognized him right away.
"Dad? You're the research director?" he asked, astonished.
"Of course. Didn't I tell you?" he asked. "Now back to the business at hand. the Aparoids..."
"Aparoids?" Fox asked.
"Yes. they are the enemies that you faced earlier, along with one other being, whom we have yet to identify." That was when Steven stood up.
"I'm afraid that was me that you saw, Mr. Toad." he said. Beltino turned to him.
"Oh? And uh, you are..."
"Call me Steven for now." Just then, General Pepper's head replaced the frog's head.
"Steven? Is that you, my boy?"
"It is, sir."
"I see. then, if you're here, then the situation is more grave than we thought..."
"Depends on how you would define as grave." Steven replied.
"Can we get back on track here?" Falco asked, getting impatient. Beltino Toad's head returned.
"Uh, right. The Aparoids. We have encountered one about seventeen years ago, when a sole Aparoid destroyed nearly an entire fleet."
"A whole fleet, wiped out by just one of those things?" Fox asked. Beltino nodded.
"Yes. We were somehow able to survive that trial. But, that was just a taste of what's coming. We studied the core memory that you found, but we could understand a lot more if we had a complete specimen." General Pepper's head replaced Beltino's.
"Steven, do you have anything to add?" All eyes were focused on the other vulpine. He sighed and stood up.
"The Aparoid that you encountered seventeen years ago was more than likely just a scout for the rest of the swarm. These things have been sighted all over the galaxy, and then some. And, that's not all I'm afraid."
"What do you mean?" Fox asked. Steven sighed, and pulled something out of his pocket It was the communication device that his people use to talk to eachother, as well as access information. He placed it in the center of the table where it levitated a few feet off of the surface in front of everyone. Then, it turned from a diamond shape, to a pinpoint that was shaded a light purple. "What's that?" Fox asked.
"That, is the Lylat system. It's shaded that way because the Aparoids have shown up. And this..." he made an arm gesture, and the pinpoint became dozens, then hundreds, almost filling the whole room. "Is everywhere else where they have been sighted, or where they have assimilated."
"Assimilated what, planets?" Fox asked. Steven shook his head.
"Systems. Whole solar systems." Steven replied.
"You mean...these are..."
"The points that you see are the systems where the Aparoids have either invaded, or assimilated entirely. The systems that they transform has the indigenous population wiped out completely, replacing it with thier own. Trillions of lives have been lost because of them."
"All those lives, all those people, lost. It's just staggering to think how much destruction that they've caused…" Krystal said, looking at all of the pinpoints of lights.
"Wait, what about you guys?" Falco asked, looking at Steven. "Aren't you doing something about this?"
"The Space Garrison is stretched beyond its limit right now dealing with this threat. We've been trying to keep them contained for months. However, they always seem to find a breach. We're lucky that they haven't taken over this system already. If Lylat falls, then they have sure shot all the way to M78. That I cannot allow, no matter the cost. I was sent here because out of all of the other Garrison members, I know this part of space better than most. And it looks like I arrived just in time, more or less."
"You think that they are headed for your homeworld, Steven?" Peppy asked. Steven nodded.
"It would make sense. Out the other life forms that they've encountered so far, we have been the ones putting up a stiff resistance. But, as I've said before, we are stretched thin. It's only a matter of time before we eventually snap. They must be stopped here, no matter what." Steven said, emphasizing the word here by slamming his fist down on the table. The action startled the team members a bit, and Steven looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. It's been awhile since I've actually rested. I have been fighting these things almost non-stop for months alongside my comrades. And every time we fight them, we're either falling back, or losing."
"Don't beat yourself up over this, Steven. We all understand, and that's why these bugs aren't getting any further than this." Fox said, putting a hand on Steven's shoulder. Steven nodded.
"In any case, I have a new assignment for you." General Pepper said. All eyes were focused on him now. "We have been getting some strange readings from the Katina outpost, but we've been unable to raise anyone there. We suspect Aparoid involvement, but can't be too sure. I want you down there right away to check the area out, and report back to me."
"Right, General." Pepper's disembodied head disappeared, and Fox turned to face his team. "Alright guys, here's what's going to happen. I'll go down to the surface and see if I can't find anyone, while you cover me from the air."
"Going down alone? It's too dangerous. I'll go too." Krystal said. Fox shook his head.
"No. I need you guys to cover me in arwings in case anything happens. Alright, let's head out." Several minutes later saw the team in the hangar bay, already in their arwings. Peppy, Steven, and ROB were in the command head when the Great Fox warped into Katina's orbit. Then, the four arwings launched out of the ship, and headed for the surface of the planet. In moments, Fox landed his arwing just outside of the base, while the other three fighters patrolled the air. It was then that Falco noticed it.
"Hey, where's Steven at?" he asked. Steven's voice rang over the intercom.
"I'm holding back until you need me. No sense in having a fifty meter tall entity running amok while trying to find survivors, right?"
"For once, you make sense, Stevey." On the ship, Steven raise an eyebrow in puzzlement.
"'Stevey'?" he asked out loud. Peppy only chuckled while Steven mentally noted to add Falco as one of the casualties. As Fox entered the gate, he noticed how unnaturally still everything was. The only sound was the wind whipping around, the only movement was the dust that was disturbed.
"It's quiet. Too quiet." he said, pulling out his blaster. What he failed to notice, was the sensor at the gate that went off when he entered. Right behind him, the gate slammed shut, sealing him inside. "A trap!" he shouted. Then, all around him, several dozen shapes fell from the tops of the structures, surrounding him. They looked like some type of metallic insect with a single eye in the front. "It was the Aparoids after all." he said as one dropped right in front of him. It reared up and shrieked into the sky. Fox trained his blaster on it and fired. The emerald shots took off a leg and its head as it fell down, dead. He bolted past the group just as they were beginning to converge on him. All around him, more Aparoids appeared and cut off his route of escape. He ducked behind a corner, the Aparoids closing in on him. "There's just no end to these things." He brought up his wrist communicator to his face. "Peppy, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Fox. How are things down there?" Peppy replied.
"Well, I got my hands full. But what else is new?" he asked, shrugging. "Send a Landmaster down here, will ya?"
"Hey, Fox, if you ever get lonely, just give me a call. I'll come down and join ya." Falco said over the p.a. system.
"Nah. All I need is the Landmaster." Fox replied.
"Here's the Landmaster, Fox." A few meters away from him, the Landmaster tank materialized. It was a four-wheeled vehicle with a single turret and cannon on top, the hull of the vehicle was a shiny chromed silver, and the aparoids took notice of it as they started to swarm around it. Fox saw this and sighed.
"Great. Good to know that the guidance system is still as sterling as ever." Fox said. He ran towards the swarm, and pulled his blaster out. He trained it on the nearest Aparoid, and blasted at it, turning it into fragments in moments. He aimed at another, and fired, killing it as well. He jumped atop the tank, and got into the hold. He started it up just as he closed the hatch. An Aparoid crawled on top and began to scratch at the hatch, hoping to tear its way in. Fox started up the tank, and gunned the engine, making it surge forward. The sudden movement knocked the Aparoids away from the tank, and crushed the ones that were in front. The Landmaster rolled into the open, right in the middle of the Aparoid swarm. The Aparoids began to converge on the tank, but Fox wasn't worried. In the tank, he felt secure, and dangerous. The turret automatically locked onto an Aparoid, and Fox fired, turning it into a charred spot on the ground. He fired at another, and another, turning each Aparoid into a memory. Despite being more at home in an arwing, Fox did admit that the Landmaster was pretty fun, especially when he was playing pest exterminator. He gunned the engines again and bowled over more Aparoids, crushing them under the weight of the tank. Fox turned the tank around and moved the turret skywards. There, he saw three arwings in an aerial duel with a swarm of airborne Aparoids. He saw one was chasing Slippy, and sure enough Slippy's voice wailed over the intercom, pleading for him to save him. Fox took aim, and fired a charged-shot at the Aparoid, turning it into flaming fragments. He fired at another, and another, each shot killing an Aparoid. He turned his attention to the ground before him and fired at more of the crawling things, destroying each one promptly. After taking aim again, he fired a nova-bomb which decimated the crawling swarm before him. Satisfied, he moved the tank forward while the arwings took care of things in the air. And that's when they came down; floating to the ground like dandelion seeds, several dozen of circular objects a couple meters in diameter touched down on the surface, their three legs digging into the ground and the structures that they clung to.
"What's that?" Fox asked.
"This is bad. Our sensors tell us that those things can spawn more Aparoids." Peppy replied over the intercom. Fox growled in frustration as he saw the objects began to glow at the center as soon as the landed. He took aim at one, and fired. After two shots, it was a memory. He took aim at another and did the same thing. However, the others began to produce more Aparoids, and the offspring began to target Fox. Fox ignored them as he gunned the tank forward, still crushing them underfoot. He took aim at one of the hatchers and fired again. He aimed at two that were attached to the side of the building several meters away and fired, destroying both almost simultaneously. In the air, the battle was more or less confusion. Although grossly outnumbered, the team has faced grim odds before. They weaved and flew around the slower fliers with almost ridiculous ease and fired at them with precision. Falco was tailing one, and fired at it, destroying it. Krystal snuck up on two and let loose a nova-bomb, destroying the pair in one swoop. Even Slippy got his shots in. He fired at a couple of them, though he was missing mostly until he nailed them dead center, reducing them to flaming pieces that fell to the ground. Slowly, the Aparoids' numbers began to dwindle. Fox took notice of this and smiled. His navi-computer noted that there were still some hatchers left, but that they were inside of the complex. Fox let out a groan at the turn of events. With Aparoids closing in on him from almost every angle, the vulpine loathed getting out of the relative safety of the tank. Parking in front of the entrance of the building so the Aparoids wouldn't follow him, Fox jumped out and made his way to the interior of the building. His portable navi-computer guided him through a maze of hallways, not running into any problems, at least so far he hasn't. However, even Fox knew that his luck couldn't hold out forever. And sure enough, when he rounded a corner, he ran almost face-first into an Aparoid that looked right at him with its single eye. Fox doubled back from surprise, then brought up his blaster and fired. The Aparoid blew apart, only to have two more take its place. Fox looked behind them, and saw the Aparoid hatchers spawning several more. Fox reached behind him, and pulled out a round object. He tapped it, and threw it at the group, the ball started to tick. It landed behind the two Aparoids, and Fox made a hasty getaway. The Aparoids turned their attention from the fleeing vulpine to the new item that he had left, and the ticking sped up. One looked at it curiously for a second, then the item detonated, taking with it the aparoids, the hatcher, and leaving the room and most of the hallway a charred black color. When Fox heard the boom, he jumped into his tank and put it in reverse, knocking the Aparoids that were behind him away, or just crushing them. His navi-computer showed that the hatchers were gone, and he sighed in relief. The Aparoids in the air were all but destroyed, while the ones on the ground began to retreat.
"Well, looks like we got 'em all…" Fox said as he saw the Aparoids begin to turn tail and run. From the Great Fox, Steven and Peppy watched the scene from the main monitor on the ship. However, both were anything but relieved by this turn of events, especially Steven. He knew that they were up to something. However, on the planet, the pilots saw the retreat, and felt relief course through them.
"Alright, look at 'em scatter!" Falco said. Slippy let out a whoop.
"We did it, Fox. We have them on the run!" Krystal said.
"Yeah, looks like we do…" Fox replied. Just then, he saw the reason why the Aparoids were retreating; from above them, a bunch of hexagonal shapes forming a circle appeared, and a beam of light came from them, bringing with it something massive. When the light died, it was seen clearly. It was gigantic, standing at a height of sixty meters on six long legs while the body was round, almost saucer-shaped with two pink orbs both above and below it. It was covered in a violet-hughed exoskeleton that was shiny and metallic in texture.
"That thing is big. And ugly." Falco said when he saw it.
"So, the leader huh?" Fox asked. Krystal saw it, and something else as well.
"Fox, that thing has a core memory!" Fox looked atop, and saw the pinkish orb as well that held the core memory.
"You heard the lady, Fox. You gotta get that core memory!"
"Great. So am I supposed to get up there?" he asked aloud. The giant Aparoid took notice of him, and it seemed to lean forward to inspect him. However, top of the Aparoid began to glow a deep green, and several projectiles shot out from the back, all aimed at the Landmaster. Fox acted quickly and gunned the tank forward, the attack missing him just by a hair. He rolled under the giant Aparoid, and took notice of the shining pink orb that was just underneath. He aimed the turret, and fired. Several emerald shots struck the orb, and the Aparoid shuddered and let out a metallic groan. Satisfied with the results he got, Fox continued to fire at the Aparoid, eventually making it fall forward. He got out from under it, and switched on the thrusters underneath the tank. The jet thrusters levitated the tank upward, and he landed on the top of the Aparoid. When he saw the core memory, he felt the Aparoid lurch forward, and begin to rise. Having shaken off the shock of the attack, the Aparoid began to lurch and buck, trying to dislodge the stubborn thing that was on top of it. However, Fox endured the sudden movements and took aim at the core memory inside of the orb and fired. After several shots, the orb began to crack, and the Aparoid was beginning to feel it. Suddenly, the Landmaster was flung off of the Aparoid and crashed to the ground. Fox banged his head against the consol and his vision swam. Krystal's voice was heard over the intercom, but it seemed slurred and nonsensical. Then, it became clearer and clearer and turned to crystal clarity.
"Fox! Are you alright? Fox get out of there! That thing is right above you, Fox Respond!" Fox looked at the main monitor, and saw the Aparoid looking over him. He tried to get the tank to move, but it wouldn't go. He noticed the hatch open, and crawled out. He saw the tank was on its side and saw the leg that was raised come crashing down on the tank, turning it into an explosion of metal debris and smoke. Fox looked up, and saw the head of the Aparoid look directly at him. It raised its leg again, and poised it over the vulpine before sending it crashing down. Krystal saw this and felt her breath catch in her throat. However she saw a form running across the ground and knew that it was Fox. The Aparoid also took notice of this and followed him. Fox looked back, and ducked behind a building. He pulled his wrist communicator to his face, keying the Great Fox.
"Peppy, I got a problem here!"
"Don't worry Fox, help is on the way!"
"What? What the heck're you…" He heard something smash itself against the side of the building and felt rubble fall. He looked up and saw the giant Aparoid begin to tear itself through the building to get to him. A leg erupted out of the side of the building, just above Fox's head. The vulpine dove forward, and saw the Aparoid come out of the dust and debris. It raised its appendage again, and brought it down just inches from Fox's head. All Fox could do was look up in shock as the Aparoid seemed to freeze, and looked behind him. What he saw made his heart skip; a silver hand grabbed the appendage and held it in place. Steven, now in his Ultra form as Shodai, shoved the Aparoid away from the vulpine. The giant insect-like thing stumbled back away from the pair as Shodai got between Fox and the Aparoid and took up a combat stance. Shodai looked behind him, and nodded at Fox. Fox returned the gesture and ran away from the two. When he felt sure enough, he brought up his communicator. "Peppy, send me an arwing!"
"On its way, Fox." Peppy said. Sure enough, the fighter materialized almost next to him this time. The vulpine jumped in, and the arwing soared to the sky to see the two giants having a stand-off. Shodai and the Aparoid circled eachother, waiting for the other to make a move. It was the Ultra who acted first. He ran at the Aparoid and leapt into the air. He executed an aerial axel, which ended in a flying kick right at the thing. He struck the flat surface and the Aparoid skidded back, but the exoskeleton held. Shodai jumped off of the Aparoid and barely reacted in time when it charged at him. He put his arms up to guard, but the force of the blow sent him to the ground with the Aparoid right in top of him. It raised its two front appendages and brought them down. Shodai caught them in his hands just before they could come down. Groaning with effort, the Space Patrol man pushed up, and kicked with his leg, forcing the Aparoid off of him. Shodai got back on his feet and jumped on top of the Aparoid. He grabbed the orb that held the core memory and tried to wrench it off of the body. However, the Aparoid gave a might heave and the red and silver warrior was flung off of the back of the Aparoid. Shodai looked up in time to get his silvery face bashed by an appendage. His vision swam from the blow and the right side of his face felt numb for an instant before pain replaced it. He looked up to see the leg that was right above his head. Just before it could fall, several explosions erupted from the back of the Aparoid. It gave a loud groan of pain as two arwings flew overhead. Fox looked down and grinned, saluting the red and silver alien. Shodai nodded, and balled his hand into a knotty fist. He swung up, striking the pink orb underneath. It cracked and the Aparoid was lifted several meters off of the ground before slumping to the ground. It tried to stand back up, but Shodai placed a well-aimed kick to its head, making it flip over onto its back. He jumped on top of it, and rained down punches to the orb, the hammer-like blows making the cracks grow, until it finally shattered. The Aparoid gave a bellow of pain. Shodai jumped off, and reached underneath the massive body of the Aparoid. With a grunt of effort, he lifted the body clean over him. He turned around, and threw it several hundred meters away where it fell to the ground, breaking off an appendage and cracking the violet-hughed exoskeleton in various places along the body. It uneasily got back to its feet, trying to balance on three legs. Shodai crouched slightly, then let loose a Shredding Halo, the energy buzz-saw hummed its way to the core memory. It severed the sphere from the main body, sending it flying away several meters. Then, he placed his arms in a plus shape and fired his Spacium Ray. It struck the head of the Aparoid, and the head exploded, followed by several explosions along the main body. With another bellow, the Aparoid fell to the ground, dead. Shodai's warning light was going off at a steady pace. He saw the pinkish orb and walked towards it. From overhead, Fox and the others could see the core memory in his hand. Shodai looked up at Fox and raised his hand slightly in a gesture. Fox nodded and landed his arwing close to the giant. Shodai turned to the vulpine walking towards him and knelt down to a knee, his hand lowered to the ground.
"I see what you mean by 'help', Peppy." Fox said as he made his way towards the red and silver giant. He looked at his communicator, and noticed something. "Hey, it looks like that signal is no longer transmitting…"
"I don't like that." Peppy said. Then, another voice rang through the communicator.
"Hoo ha ha ha! Thanks for helping me out!" It was deep, almost guttural and had a tone that seemed to indicate greed. Fox recognized it right away.
"Pigma Dengar?" he asked, astonished. He looked up, and sure enough, Pigma's ship was floating just above them. Shodai saw it, and tensed.
"Long time, no see Fox. "The distress signal, that was you?" Fox asked. Pigma laughed in response.
"Since I'm here, I'll just help myself to this!" Pigma's capture beam locked onto the core memory in Shodai's hand. However, before the core memory could move, Shodai closed his hand around it. He rose up, looking at Pigma right in the face as he floated right in front of him. However, Pigma seemed undeterred. "Tough guy, eh? Well, how's a bout a little light on the subject, 'bright eyes'?" Just then, something fired from in front of Pigma's ship, and it detonated in front of him, casting a bright glare in the Ultra's face. Shodai threw his arms up in front of his eyes in response, dropping the core memory in the process.
"Steven!" Fox shouted. Pigma collected it via the capture beam while the Ultra stumbled around, his eyes at his hands as he tried to rub them to get them to clear. "Smell ya, later!" Pigma called as he gunned his ship towards the atmosphere.
"Pigma, stop!" Fox shouted. Shodai looked up, and with a shout of his own, he followed the ship. Pigma, however, noticed this.
"So, you haven't learned from the last time, eh? Well, hopefully this time you will get the message, 'bright boy'! He hoo har!" Pigma fired another flare at the Ultra that was pursuing him. This time, it detonated right in his face. Shodai gave a yell of pain, and fell from the sky like a stone.
"Steven!" Krystal called. The red and silver alien crashed to the ground, holding his face while groaning from the pain in his eyes. Then, he vanished. Fox ran out towards his last position to see Steven stumbling around, his arms outstretched and his eyes shut tight. Fox ran over to him, taking him by the arm.
"Steven, are you alright?" Fox asked.
"Fox? I…I can't see, Fox…I can't see…" Fox saw how tightly his eyes were shut and the tears that came from them.
"It'll be alright, Steven. We'll get you back to the Great Fox, and get you fixed up." Both vulpines made their way to the arwing, one being led by the other with his hand on the other's shoulder.
