Star Fox Assault: Star Wolf Edition
Disclaimers: Rated T for depictions of violence and mildly strong language. Star Fox and all names and characters (save for the Wolf Pack) are copyright Nintendo, Rare, and Namco.
Chapter 3:
Wolf sat in his quarters, relaxing during some downtime during the trip back to the hideout from Fortuna, feeling rather disappointed that his hunch about a possible job there turned out to be nothing more than a wild goose chase, though he had been quite surprised to find an Aparoid there. "What the heck was that thing doing there? There's never been any documented cases of Aparoids coming that deep into the Lylat system before, at least as far as I know." thought Wolf to himself, lying back on his bed with his hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling. "Oh well, not that it matters now. Thing's worthless to me and has probably been carted off by Cornerian scientists by now." he mused, starting to relax as sleep began to overtake him. Wolf had nearly fallen fully asleep when he was roused by the intercom, Leon's raspy voice coming over the speaker.
"Hey Wolf, you better get up to the bridge, looks like we've got trouble at the hideout." said the Chameleon, Wolf grumbling as he dragged himself out of bed.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'..." he growled, making his way to the door "This better be important or I'm gonna kill whoever's responsible over there." he growled to himself as he exited the room.
A few moments later, Wolf walked onto the bridge, looking around "Alright, what's this about the hideout?" said Wolf as the others turned to him.
"We just picked up a level 10 emergency signal being broadcast on our coded channel from the hideout to all our ships." explained Panther from his seat. This immediately caught Wolf's attention, because there were only two things that could warrant a broadcast of such importance; one being an all-out assault by the Cornerian Defense Fleet, which was highly unlikely seeing as they rarely undertook such offensive action unless directly provoked by a major invasion, and the other being an attack by a rival mercenary group, and even then there was only one Wolf knew of that could wreak that much havoc.
"How far are we from the hideout?" asked Wolf, standing next to his own chair on the bridge.
"Three hours at present speed, though if we went to maximum warp we could be there in about 20 minutes." Chino said as he looked over his console.
"Very well, take us to maximum warp. Leon, Panther, prepare to launch as soon as we're there." said Wolf, heading for the hangar deck as his team mates followed behind him.
Back at the hideout, things were in utter chaos; all the defenses on the lower and middle levels of the hideout had been obliterated, half the fleet of battleships was reduced to hulking wrecks floating amongst the asteroids outside the hideout, and all but two transfer devices had been destroyed. The surviving members of the gang occupying the hideout were left on the top level, consisting of 7 turrets, half a dozen power armors, and twice as many blaster rifle-toting ruffians. A group of ruffians and one of the turrets were positioned at the front of the hallway, watching as the elevator was reactivated and began to rise to their level. Despite being prepared for the approaching enemy, they were still decimated when the elevator stopped at their level, the same male Fox that had talked with the lazy Ape earlier mowing the ruffians and the turret down with a machine gun as a blue barrier shield glowed around him, rendering him immune to any shots they did get off before being wiped out. The rest of the defenders on that level meeting the same fate, save for those in the control room, who were spared by the arrival of two of the remaining battleships in the space behind the hideout "Fox, incoming enemy reinforcements, go get 'em!" a graying male Hare called over the wrist comp on the Vulpines' left arm "Got it!" replied the Fox as he dashed down the hallway, the security force field deactivating as he rounded the corner and took the elevator to the bottom level to board his fighter which was docked in one of the two docking bays, an identical craft occupying the other one at the other end.
Outside the hideout, two more fighters patrolled the space on the other side of the hideout from the battleships, easily obliterating any of the smaller, more obsolete fighters launched by the battleships that wandered into their kill zones. A third fighter emerged from the hideout and circled around the colony to engage the two battleships, using the boost to close the distance between the two sooner. As the fighter closed in on the battleships, it launched two homing laser shots which promptly chased down and vaporized the fighters circling the battleship, the massive red vessel itself firing a laser and a pair of missiles in a vain attempt to defend itself, the fighter outmaneuvering the missiles and dodging the laser before firing a nova bomb which struck the ship between the two laser turrets, completely destroying it in a massive explosion as the fighter boosted away, outrunning the remaining missile as it headed toward the remaining battleship, which in turn suffered the same fate, one of its fighters managing to score a lucky shot on the enemy craft, though with negligible effect due to the fighter's antiquated weaponry.
Moments later, the Fox had re-entered the colony, exiting his fighter and picking up a massive Gatling gun, lugging it over to the elevator and riding the platform back to the top level, making a beeline to the huge double doors to the command room. Inside, the remaining handful of ruffians, manning the two turrets, remaining three power armors, and on foot, trained all their weapons at the doors, planning to give whoever stepped through them everything they had. They didn't have to wait long, the doors parting to reveal the Fox who had slaughtered their comrades, protected by yet another spherical barrier shield as he sprayed the room with Gatling gun fire, making short work of the remaining occupants and the last transfer device, the Hare's voice once more coming over Fox's wrist comp "Great job Fox, this means we can take control of the hideout!"
Moments after the last of the colony's defenders had been wiped out, a trio of X-winged fighters streaked into the space outside the hideout, the lead fighter opening a channel to the hideout and the attacking force. "You fools! What are you idiots up to now?"
"Boss, you're here!" called one of the surviving ruffians.
"That you Wolf?" called Fox from his wrist comp as the fighters boosted towards the besieged hideout.
"You're on my turf now. Watch... your... step... Fox" growled Wolf.
"Heheh, I think I'll torment you a bit before I cook you!" cackled Leon as the third fighter joined up on his wing, bearing a red rose under the canopy.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Panther, and all who see my rose meet death!" snarled the feline at the controls as he and Leon joined up in formation with Wolf.
"We're just here for Pigma, ok? Shut your traps and hand him over!" demanded Fox, obviously not impressed by the team's threats.
"Pigma? Don't know anything about Pigma." said Wolf "But there is one thing. I'm owed an apology... and I will have it!" said Wolf angrily as he and the other fighters split up to engage Fox's comrades outside the hideout.
"We didn't come here to fight with Wolf and his team." said Fox as he scrambled to his fighter again.
"That's easy to say after all you've done. Enough small talk, let's settle this Fox!" challenged Wolf as he circled outside the hideout, Leon and Panther having flown off to engage the two silver and blue fighters one on one as the last battleship arrived in front of the hideout, launching a whole squadron of fighters once it was in position.
"It's unavoidable Fox, repel the enemy with your Arwing!" the elderly Hare instructed as a third fighter emerged from the hideout, blasters blazing as soon as it was clear, wiping out almost all of the waiting smaller fighters before demolishing the last battleship, Wolf taking up position behind him and locking on for a charged shot as the battleship exploded.
"Go down, Fox!" roared the lupine, but before he could release the trigger, the Arwing in his sights pulled up hard and did a 180 degree Immelmann turn before boosting away in the opposite direction to assist one of his own team mates who had a trio of fighter craft on her tail, the obsolete craft not even seeing the one who struck them down as all three were blasted in quick succession, Fox's Arwing making another U-turn and heading over to where Leon was engaging his other Wingman, greeting the Chameleon with a homing laser blast which rocked his Wolfen violently.
"Who do you think I am?" the Chameleon said indignantly as he put his craft into a tight spiraling climb to lose his pursuer, nearly striking the Arwing with the blade-like wings of his fighter. After the spiral maneuver, Leon tried to get his craft in position to return fire, but was outmaneuvered by the more agile Arwing, the Vulpine in the cockpit releasing the trigger to fire another homing laser shot at his damaged fighter, eliciting an outraged reply as Leon was forced to break off from the battle, his shields nearly nonexistent "Me? ME?"
After dispatching Leon, Fox had to immediately tend to his wingman who had gotten another trio of battleship-borne fighters latched onto his tail, dealing with them in the same manner as the last group, but not before they got a few pot shots in on the Arwing ahead of them, the craft behind them paying them back tenfold as they were erased from existence in a barrage of green blaster fire. Once his wing mate's tail was clear of enemies, Fox boosted around behind the hideout, blasting away at the remaining fighters as Panther snuck onto his tail, getting in a few blaster shots, the last few deflected by an aileron roll before the Arwing executed a loop and peppered the rear of the feline's Wolfen with blaster fire before he escaped with the same spiraling climb Leon had done earlier.
"Make me mad and your life is as good as gone!" snarled Panther as the shield readout in his cockpit read fifty percent. No sooner had Panther gotten Fox off his tail when Wolf took his turn at attacking his years-old rival, again locking on for another charged shot.
"What's the matter, you done already?" Wolf said as he released the shot, the glowing red mass of blaster energy streaking towards his enemy's fighter before being dissipated as by a well-timed aileron roll, a green glow briefly engulfing the craft before it once more executed another U-turn, putting Panther right in Fox's sights, a charged shot erupting from the nose of the craft, catching the unprepared feline's Wolfen head-on.
"This can't be! I-I've been..." said Panther in disbelief, his transmission being cut off as the com system in his Wolfen shorted out. Just after Panther was forced out of the fight, Wolf immediately came about to engage Fox once more.
"That's the end of it!" Wolf said sinisterly as he mashed down the trigger, letting loose a burst of blaster fire at Fox's Arwing, strafing along the top of the fuselage and making the fighter buck under the impacts before the enemy craft performed a loop, returning the favor on the rear of the remaining Wolfen "Don't mess with me, Fox!" shouted Wolf as he too pulled a spiraling climb to break the lock his adversary had on him, the Arwing maneuvering below to intercept him as he came back down. Wolf saw this, and attempted to counter-maneuver him, but once again found himself with his rival on his tail, a final homing laser shot eradicating the remains of his shields as he too was forced from the battle "Can't believe I'd get beat." Wolf said as he ordered the other two Wolfens to regroup with him.
Moments later, both teams had regrouped at opposite ends of the asteroid field surrounding the hideout as Wolf opened a channel to Fox "That's enough for now, Fox."
"C'mon Wolf, enough of this, just hand over Pigma already!" demanded Fox.
"Pigma's no longer part of Star Wolf, and if he'd shown his filthy hide here my men would have driven him out." replied Wolf as the other two Wolfens joined up on his wing.
"But... then where did Pigma go?" replied a blue-furred vixen piloting one of the Arwings, her image on the com readout taking Panther by surprise as he spoke up "Whew... Ah, the lovely Krystal. Words do you no justice. I am Panther Caroso, here's to us." purred the feline.
Fox's other wing mate, a blue and red-feathered avian, spoke up in response "Who's this idiot?"
"Quiet bird." growled Panther.
"What was that?" replied the bird Wolf and Leon knew as Falco Lombardi, one of the Star Fox team's top pilots, and shortest tempers.
"Forget him. Look, just tell us where Pigma is!" interrupted Krystal, trying to avert another firefight.
"How can I resist this beauty? I believe the com record will point you toward Fichina." said Panther, indeed unable to refuse the breathtaking Vixen across the asteroids from him, beautiful women being his biggest weakness.
"You talk too much..." said Wolf, somewhat embarrassed by his wingman's incessant flirting before calling out to his team "Panther, Leon, let's go! Remember this Fox, Star Wolf will take you down one day!" growled wolf before punching the accelerator and roaring into the distance, the other two Wolfens following behind him.
A short while later, after Star Fox had left, the battered Wolfens maneuvered into the hangar deck of the Wolf Pack, the ship having stayed just out of the battle zone under cloak lest it be destroyed like the rest of the fleet. As Wolf powered down his craft, he couldn't help but think about how much Star Fox had changed since the last time he'd fought them during the war with Venom all those years ago. Their fighters, the Arwings, had been heavily redesigned and barely resembled the fighters that had almost completely wiped out Andross' entire empire and left the maniacal ape himself for dead. These were much sleeker, more maneuverable machines with more powerful weaponry, and Wolf was surprised that his team was able to make it out alive against them. He was also surprised by the new member of the team that Panther was so taken with, since Star Fox had a reputation for not taking on new members easily. A few moments later he, Leon, and Panther walked onto the bridge as Chino looked on.
"So what now boss?" he said in his deep, bassy voice.
"We're pulling out of here. Fox more than likely reported the location of this hideout to the Cornerian Defense Fleet, and if anyone's left alive in there they won't be in any shape to fend them off after the beating they took." explained Wolf.
"Where are we going now?" asked Panther, walking over to his seat on the bridge.
"I heard a rumor of a new base being built in the Asteroid Belt. Maybe that can be our new hideout." said Wolf as he and the others took their seats on the bridge, the Wolf Pack's engines glowing as they powered up, propelling the vessel into warp moments later.
End chapter 3.
Original A/N, circa 2005: So, how was that? Hope I was able to give Wolf and company a good showing, even though they were bound to be beaten from the start this time around. I also edited chapter 2 to correct some small oversights in describing the defense preparations of the hideout. Please R&R so I can start on the next chapter!
New A/N: Just when you thought this story was dead, it rises from the abyss! Sorry for the lack of updates on this, been dealing with all nature of RL issues, not the least of which include my Game Cube dying and denying me access to the game which was my main reference material. I just recently got a Wii though, so I plan to bring this story out of hiatus and complete it. In preparation, I went through and revised what I had with the existing chapters (nothing major, mostly fixed grammar and paragraph structure to clean things up). I'm already working on chapter six, and will post it once I get a chance to complete it between college and other responsibilities.