(AN- Firstly, I'd like to apologize for how long this chapter has taken. Between school, looking for a job, and trying to helping the family the story is receiving less and less love. Mostly my fault yes, but hey life is a pain in the ass all the same. Anyway, please enjoy the chapter. Be it a long and frustrating one, I still enjoyed writing it.)
Lylatian Chronicles Chapter 4
Strays, Snakes, and Bugs.
"It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it" - Douglas MacArthur
Initializing...
{...}
{Remnants Special Forces database accessed}
{Special operations unit designation Tier 1 operator 4 selected}
{ShadowForce}
{...}
{...}
{...}
{...}
{Shadow-Force Operator #6}
{Odessa ScarletFang personnel log #221 accessed}
{Retrieving message}
{...}
{...}
{...}
{Playing pre-recorded message}
They say nothing is within our own control. That everything around us is just a rapidly spinning ball of probabilities and chance. Everything that happens is always by chance or by fate. My father once told me that we control our own destiny and our course of life. Others fates may not be in our control, but like a pot of clay we shape our own reality and lives. My destiny is my own to paint as I see fit. No one, nothing will ever change how I wish to live my life. I choose my own destiny, and my own fate. I am a slave to no one.
I am Titanian, and I am free.
{Last message recorded, June 12th 2269}
{Playing}
Things are grim. Maker, I blame myself for this. Four months it's been since I last saw my teammates. I have no idea whether they're alive or dead right now. But...m-my legs are broken, and my hip is shattered. I've got three bullets lodged in my calf, and a nasty concussion. It's getting harder and harder just to stay awake now, I keep thinking I see Remnant Marines breaking down the door and extracting me. But my mind is playing tricks on me. Maybe...maybe it's time to let it go. My father told me never to give up, but all I want to do is sleep. I'm so fucking tired. So...tired. Must sleep. Kain...cremate...me..."
{Message ended}
{...}
{Critical errors detected. System compromised. Self destruct activated}
{}{TRANSMISSION TERMINATED}{}
It was silent. So silent one could hear a needle drop from down the hall. Aside from the occasion turning of pages and rustling of books in the far corner of the room it was utterly and absolutely quiet.
The figure, still occupied with reading the book of not only his own life, but that of his allies and friends had not noticed as both anciently old and wise Chroniclers had gathered dozens of small tomes, scribes and the odd slab of parchment looking for any clue as to the origin of Crescent-Eye, the Cerinian guardian. On occasion one of them would shout in pain as one of the many stacks of tomes and books would fall onto them causing the other to laugh hysterically. The hatchling that remained motionless in his lap was snoring quietly as the figure gently scratched the small shield shaped silver scales along the base of his jaw line. He was careful not to wake the little dragon. Past experience had taught him not to wake something with more teeth than he did, or sharper for that matter. However as another stack of books collapsed onto Crona she shouted again making the figure cringe. By the sound of it, a VERY large pile had fallen on her. Kril squeaked in irritation at the loud noise echoing throughout the library trying to remain asleep on the figure's lap, where he was rather comfortable. However as Crona shifted out from the stack of fallen books her tail knocked another stack over directly onto Adamas. He grunted as the stack fell onto him, causing Crona to burst out laughing. The loud echoing laughter was the final straw. Kril irritably began to stir opening his dimmed chocolate colored eyes staring up at the figure. Both stared at the other unsure of what to expect. Kril tilted his head to the side like some sort of pet looking either unsure or confused.
"Mur?" he squeaked while looking up at the figure. Although unsure as to his intentions, the figure looked upon the small silver dragon with an ever rising interest.
Although nothing more than a few days old the little dragon was showing incredible intelligence already. 'Perhaps a perk of the species?' He wondered to himself, returning his fingers to Kril's little head. The hatchling purred contently as he started again curling into a small ball on his lap while turning his attention to the book that stood open, still floating in midair. 'Can he read as well? Or is it he enjoys hearing me read to him?' The figure thought to himself still watching Kril with wary eyes and scratching his scales. He could not decide which of his two theories could possibly make more sense. Both seemed rather asinine and farfetched. But...something about how the hatchling looked at him, with his dim, but reflective eyes. He shrugged once before returning his attention to the book before him, watching as another page of print began to appear before him, the text scribbling itself onto the page as his eyes followed it down to the bottom of the tome.
However, before he could return to his reading Kril began to shift uncomfortably in his lap beginning to whimper as if in pain. Alarmed, the figure picked Kril into his arms holding him as if he were merely an infant. But this was an unfortunate mistake. Kril growled quite fiercely in response to the figure's actions. Startled he quickly set the hatchling down on the floor and put several feet between himself and Kril. Crona and Adamas by now had heard the painful squeaks and chirps. Together they came up behind the figure hoping to figure out what was happening. Much to their surprise they saw the hatchling writhing around on the floor.
"Is he alright?" The figure asked worriedly watching as Kril began to wobble unsteadily on his little legs mewing in pain.
"I'm not sure. I've never seen any hatchling go through this." She admitted in a soft voice, hanging her head slightly.
The hatchling continued to mew and squeak in pain clutching tightly at his chest with his tiny paws. He fell onto his flank beginning to hack and cough as if something was lodged in his throat. Worried he might be choking on only the maker knows what, the figure let go of his previous fear and picked Kril up from the floor. Despite a slight warning growl Kril did not try to stop him. The figure quickly began to pat the little dragon on the back, trying to dislodge whatever was in his throat. No one could've expected what was about to happen next.
Kril's eyes shot open as he released something equivalent to a loud burp. However, a large glowing ball of liquid white plasma shot out of his mouth following in the wake of the built up gas, directed solely at Crona and Adamas.
Yelping in surprise, the white Chronicler dragoness managed to duck away from the blast with mere centimeters to spare; her scales tingled as the heat boiled the sensitive flesh beneath while Adamas rolled to the other side covering his balding head with his hands. The bolt impacted the granite like wall on the opposite side of the room leaving behind a large black splotch on the white stones, melting several bricks into slightly glowing liquid rock.
The figure sat there stunned and stupefied at what had just happened. Kril mewed quietly in his arms, exhausted at having to force the ball of freshly formed plasma from his body. While he looked tired, the figure noticed that there were no visible scorch marks on his jaws nor anywhere else on his body. Kril looked up at him with weary tired eyes, and nuzzled into the figure's chest chirping quietly before returning himself to sleep; safe and comforted in the figure's arms.
"By the ancestors..." Crona gasped while holding her chest with a paw. "...not even Spyro could use his abilities at such a young age..."With deliberately slow movements, she approached the sleeping hatchling and the figure, unsure of what to think."...and he was the purple dragon of prophecy." She carefully
"Um..."The figure began in a hushed tone of voice, not wanting to awaken Kril again."Would someone explain what just happened?"
Crona looked first to Adamas, then back to the figure again a worried expression of unknowing etched like stone.
"I'm...I'm not entirely sure. Kril seems to be a plasma dragon, although I thought they had been wiped out long ago when Malefor came into power."
"Plasma? You're telling me he can breathe plasma like I breathe in air?"
"Well, yes and no. You see, dragons of my realm are born with one element which they can use at a moment's notice simply by 'breathing' it like an exhaled breath. We're not entirely sure where this magical energy comes from. However from what I've gathered in my travels about the plasma clan, they will devour solid chunks of rocks which they then heat within their stomachs until it turns into something that resembles lava, although still in a solid state. They then fuse magical energies into the rocks turning them into superheated plasmatic goo. Much like your race experiences the occasional indigestion; periodically freshly formed plasma would back up in their esophagus and force them to hack it up albeit a very painful process. "
As Crona finished her lengthy explanation the figure shook his head somewhat dumbfounded. It had taken the Cornerians nearly four hundred years after the discovery of nuclear energy to create a stable plasma energy source, and yet according to her dragons have had this ability for generations.
Adamas shrugged when he noticed the look on his face.
"I think it humorous when I found out just how long the dragons had possessed it when compared to your realm. Your people consider themselves to be superior in every way shape and form and yet the dragons who don't even possess technology had mastered it before you had discovered steam power." Adamas began to trail off as he retreated back towards the many large stacks of books. Taking one last worrying glance at Kril, Crona followed behind him being sure to step as quietly as possible to ensure Kril remained asleep.
{Time-11:32 AM December 21st 2259}
{Location- Katina Outpost}
Situation- Aparoid forces are quickly approaching the base. Unknown renegade forces, possibly mercenaries are currently assisting with the defense of the base.
The sands of Katina were not like back home. It was coarser, and rougher; it could barely even be considered sand. More like broken pieces of glass. Titania's numerous sands dunes were comparable to that of flowing silk, fluidly shifting through ones fingers like water when held. This however, was as unpleasant as unpleasant got. Sure, they could survive in just about any environment imaginable. From the frozen wastes on Fichina with nothing but the fur on their backs, to the steaming jungles of Fortuna and Sauria they could survive just about anywhere. But, that didn't mean they had to like it. Least of all Spyke. The black furred lupine stood atop the large steel and titanium reinforced wall looking out into the distance. Out past the large fungus like trees that towered over the flat landscape like skyscrapers, out past the raging sandstorms and dust-devils that whipped and screamed like howling banshees, he watched as a dark shadow began to descend across the land.
With subtle movements his tail began to wag back and forth in anticipation for the battle that was coming.
Down below in the main courtyard of the base was a scene of absolute madness. Cornerian soldiers were scrabbling back and forth trying to prepare themselves for the Aparoid onslaught, but with the mass confusion it was hard to tell if anything was really getting done. Opposite to the ensuing chaos that were the Cornerian soldiers, sat a large group of troopers that consisted mainly of wolves wrapped in outdated armor consisting of what looked to be scraps of chain-mail randomly distributed across their bodies with leather straps covering their hands and arms, all of which surrounded by a khaki color tunic. Across their faces were simple iron masks that looked nothing more than simple bent pieces of metal molded to cover the very front of the users face with two small holes cut out for the eyes. In their paws and laid out across their laps were multiple variations of swords, pikes, spears, bows and shields. Some were even equipped with a strange looking rifle that had a curved black steel magazine and wooden furniture stock and forward hand-guard with the occasional strip of black duct-tape wrapped around it.
The lupine's thought were startled as one of the strange armor clad warriors briskly walked up to him. Standing at attention for a moment, the wolf pounded his right fist on his chest before settling back into an at ease position. The black wolf repeated the process before folding both his arms across his chest.
"Report." He spoke quickly wanting to get straight to the point.
"Spyke, everyone's ready. Arson, and Ripper are standing by along the western walls and Kane is doing so on the southern wall. The archers are holding position with them. The siege weapons are in place and ready to fire at a moment's notice. The assault artillery is being deployed along at the top of the central command center."
"And the minefield?"
"All the charges are primed and ready."
"Hmm. What about the wildfire? Is it sprayed across the choke points?"
"Affirmative. We've sprayed approximately two hundred metric tons of it across the area. Designated archers are ready and waiting. All is ready Spyke.
The lupine mused while returning his gaze out towards the open field. His claw began to gently scratch his chin where a few graying hairs were beginning to sprout. "Then I guess there's nothing else to do but wait. They'll come sooner or later."
"And then?"
"And then the fun truly begins."
A slight sinister grin crept up the subordinate's jaw line. Again he pounded his paw against his chest before jumping off the wall returning to the others below.
Spyke ran his paws through his darkened fur sighing heavily as the winds coming off the open plains swept across him. Across the base, he beheld the massive 6 ton battle tank known as the Landmaster, rolling onto an elevated ramp allowing it to fire over the wall. It's heavy ten inch plating of frontal armoring, and large 220mm smooth bore cannon which fired plasma wrapped tungsten rods, made it an almost unparalleled rival on the modern field of combat. Rolling from the garage under the command center, an even larger weapon of war shook the ground. With its heavy 315mm cannon it was an artillery piece that broke through the solid defenses of Andrew's hidden base on MacBeth and ultimately sealed the false dictator's end. Feared by almost every army within Lylat, it was only deployed in the most extreme of circumstances. He watched as it took up position behind the wall alongside much smaller more conventional field-guns using more conventional fuel cells roughly half the size of the troopers manning them. As the two stabilizing clamps secured the tank to the ground, and its trident shaped barrel rose into the air at a sharp ninety degree angle three field operatives surrounded the tank while the rear hatch opened and the main breach of the gun extended outwards. The three man team rolled a large octagon shaped device twice their size near the tank and stood back as the breach opened and pulled the cell inside itself. Once it was safely secured a loud chime of acknowledgment reverberated through the dusty air.
However, Spyke scoffed as he watched the hulks of metal rolling onto the wall and the massive field guns taking up position near the command center. Such a waste of materials could be put so much more use.
"And they call themselves the superior fighting force." He laughed aloud to himself, still watching as they moved more and more gear into position onto the wall and the surrounding buildings.
"Pathetic. Simply pathetic." He mocked crossing his arms across his chest again. "How I despise these spineless cowards. What was Nazareth thinking having me try and keep the fort in one piece? Pfft. Worthless monkey."
A scream in the distance brought his attention from his little thoughts back to the outer laying plains broken only by a low lying ring of mountains. A smug grin of darkened pleasure wormed its way across his scarred and war ravaged face.
"It's show time." He muttered jumping down from the walled ramparts to join his troops.
It was late December on a mountaintop covered in pristine and glistening snow. The light fluffy ice shards were falling heavily, blanketing all in a white cloak of frozen peace concealing a deep rooted fury. The fire within the cottage snapped and cracked while casting a dim orange glow across everything in sight including one firecracker of a woman as she delicately rubbed her slightly distended gray colored belly scales before the fireplace. The orange glow of the hearth shed a soft light on her body giving an even more deepening sense of bliss to the female. From out of their room came her husband and mate, wearily wiping away the drowsiness from his slit cobalt blue eyes.
'Babe, you coming to bed soon? It's almost 2 in the morning.'
'I'm just thinking how lucky I am. All I ever dreamed about my entire life was this. And now? I never want to let it go.'
'And why should you?'
As he came up behind her, his paw began to trace the edges of her shapely buttocks with the mere tips of his claws, slowly following the outline of her spine up her back which warranted her to release the latch on the back of her bra. It and the matching pair of panties fell to the floor as the male hissed into her ear.
'Seeing my parents burnt alive, I...I never want our children to experience that. I never want them to go through what we did.'
'Listen to me, no matter what we went through in the past, its only made us stronger today. You're my wife and my love, nothing will ever change that.'
'I'm sorry...I...I don't know where that came from.'
The male laughed as his paws cupped the females grayish colored breasts massaging them as if he were kneading a delicate dough. Firm, yet gentle. She moaned pleasantly at his motions allowing her tongue to roll out of her jaws while a sweet innocent smile began to appear. He laughed again and moved his paws down to her stomach feeling as the flesh was beginning to expand ever so slightly.
'A mother to be is prone to fits of unusual personalities and habits. Not even you are immune to it.' He nipped playfully at her neck with his fangs a deep yet soft purr rising from his chest.
It was her turn to laugh.
'Don't forget, you're the one who did this to me. Don't think you're off the hook just yet.'
He applied a slight pressure to her stomach with one paw while moving his other to her jaw forcing her head towards his waiting lips.
'I'll meet it head on with you. Until my dying breath, you're mine.'
She pressed her lips against his purring slightly to herself and to her mate. She quickly wrapped her strong tail around his, and held his paw down against her stomach with one of her own while the other caressed his cheek as they dueled each other for oral control. Her eyes shut in bliss, happy to just enjoy the moment.
'Odessa!'
A distant voice called to her. Time froze. The male before her and the little cottage she stood in began to dissolve away into dust as the illusion began to dissipate. The dream was ending. As she stared into the expanding plain of endless darkness, a great sense of emptiness began to spread from the pit of her stomach. A great longing for it to have been real if but for a moment.
'Odessa.'
"Odessa!"
Her vision blurred into focus. Her H.U.D was just beginning its start-up process as her eyes opened. With a single backhanded slap, O'Neal hit the helmet atop Odessa's head with the back of his steel encased paw making her ears ring violently.
"6 Wake up. We are mobile in 1 mike!"
She groaned as her head fell backwards into the mud and she fell flat on her back. The small carbine slipped free from her paw skittering across the ground into a small puddle of blackened mud.
"Damn it." She groaned while struggling to pick herself from the ground.
"3, pick her up. We need to get moving now."
"Da." Juggernaut replied as he lowered his paw towards Odessa. With one swift movement she took a hold of his paw, and he pulled her up from the ground, allowing the slick mud to slide right off her armor.
Moaning slightly from the head ringing strike, Odessa looked towards her commanding officer rubbing her head through the helmet.
"Get your shit together 6. I'm not gonna say it again." He said picking her rifle back up and handing it back to her.
"Sorry boss. The H.U.D has been acting up lately."
"Have Siren take a look at it later. For now fall in."
"Yes sir cap."
{Time- 1:30 December 21st 2259}
Situation- MacBeth spaceport has been successfully evacuated. Remaining Venomian Honor guard and civilians have successfully retreated into planetary orbit. With secondary objective completed Shadow-Force has begun to move onto primary objective. Aparoid forces have begun to take over the few remaining military bases while simultaneously establishing forward operating bases.
{Estimated time to complete planetary infestation - 2 hours, 39 minutes, 52 seconds}
The sound of quietly squishing mud fell in tune to the steady beating of the wildcat's heart. Gripping his carbine tightly in his gloved paws O'Neal's eyes were sweeping back and forth across the scorched ruined landscape that was MacBeth. Large plumes of rancid black smoke hung near motionlessly in the sky while the distant screams of newly formed Aparoids began reverberating through the air.
"Squad, keep it tight. We don't to attract any unwanted attention." O'Neal hissed into his headset while turning the corner of a bombed out trench. The motion tracker in the top left hand corner of his H.U.D pulsed rapidly searching for any sign of Aparoid movement or movement of any general type.
"This is Sierra Foxtrot, come in command." Siren spoke quietly into his headset while following the female king cobra in front of him. For a moment nothing came through the headset except small amounts of static and the occasional garbled transmission from scattered pockets of resistance across the many planets this side of Lylat.
"Command, go ahead Sierra."
"Finally." He muttered to himself rather annoyed at the length of time between his outgoing comment and definitive reply.
"We got boots on the ground, proceeding to main objective, how copy?"
"Solid copy Sierra, you're currently 4 clicks from the objective. Proceed as planned."
"Understood. Any word for extraction?"
"Unavailable at this time. The planet is too hot for any support. Complete primary objective then sit tight. We'll be dropping a squad of Honor Guard when P.O. is complete and L.Z is cleared. How copy?"
"Damn it. Understood command. Sierra Foxtrot out." He snapped his beak once in agitation. "Boss, no go on the evac."
"Damn. Leave it to command to fuck us over once we're waist deep in the slaughterhouse. It's Venom all over again. Squad, keep an eye on those motion trackers, kill anything that isn't one of ours. 2 and 3 take point. Ghost, are you in position on overwatch? "
"A big 10-4 on that boss man. Overwatch established and holding position. And, I gotta say, I'm enjoying the view from here."
Odessa's scales stood on end as she heard his phrase and a soft shudder vibrated down her spine.
"Damn it Ghost, if you're looking at my ass again, I'm gonna kill you."
A stifled laugh echoed through the headset which served to infuriate the female king cobra even further. "Ah, is the little snaky getting upset? I swear there's nothing more invigorating than when your rage is left unchained. Nothing more sexy, more...invigorating my dear little Odessa!"
She hissed violently into the headset in agitation while the very tips of her fangs slipped over the edge of her lips. The more she became enraged the harder her tail slapped the ground. Siren cringed visibly while Ignitus stood there unsure what to make of the situation.
"Mphmh mhphem?" He questioned while cocking his head to the side in confusion. Juggernaut simply shrugged at him unable to both understand his question, or answer it as well.
"Damn you womanizing pig! When I get my paws on you I'm going to castrate you!" She shouted heatedly at the ferret uncaring of what the others in the team thought. Ghost simply laughed aloud to himself.
"You're so cute when you upset my lovely little rose."
Her gray colored cheek scales flushed red as his remark finally snapped the fully taut cord of her emotions. Her anger was beginning to boil over, evident by the quiet rattling of her scales and the rapid thrashing of her tail.
"Rose!? How dare you Wesker!" It was always that little pet name. Whenever he would call her a rose, her anger would reach it's breaking point. Odessa never saw herself as beautiful. She was Titanian, born of sand and heat. Not a rose of weakness and frailty. A rose may be beautiful, but she was not. No matter what others told her.
Ghost didn't hide the fact he was in love with her. A womanizing pig he may be, but sometimes even one such as he knows the value of a good woman's feelings. Unfortunately, he never came off as the most understanding of men. He was as simply put, a womanizing pig who'd bed more woman than most men have hair on their heads. Ghost had been trying to win her over for nearly five years, but always failed miserably. She was quick tempered and dangerous when angered. The fact she possessed venom capable of killing a full grown earthwalker and a tail capable of breaking a two-by-four in half with a single move was more than an offset to one such as Ghost. Even still, it didn't stop him from trying from afar such as now.
Juggernaut, the large tank of a man draped in armor so thick that even plasma bounced off harmlessly placed a massive paw on Odessa's shoulder trying to calm the raging serpent. However he lurched away from her as quickly as possible as she swung her tail at him trying to knock the soldier off his feet. She was a fearsome opponent to even one as larger as he was.
He took a step away from her as she hissed menacingly through her helmet. O'Neal and the others stopped dead in their tracks turning towards the snake woman who nearly tore the head off their support gunner.
"Don't touch me! Don't fucking touch me Savage!"
"6 calm the fuck down now damn it. We don't have time for your pissing contest with 5." O'Neal shouted putting his carbine to rest on his shoulder and walking towards the enraged cobra.
She turned on the wildcat hastily ripping her helmet off her head and throwing it to the ground eyes flaring into feral slits. Her carbine followed quickly after it.
"Don't you tell me to calm down O'Neal! I've had it with him!" She screamed
"You're acting like a spoiled child Odessa." He said flatly, removing his helmet with one paw while unbuckling his sheathed knife with the other.
"What are you gonna do if I don't boss man? Huh? You gonna stick me with that knife?" She taunted him eyes wide still alight with an unquenchable fire.
"No, no I'm not like that and you know it. However, you're only a few seconds away from having a tooth knocked loose." He cracked a finger with his thumb just for emphasis. " And you know for a fact that I don't make idle threats."
"Then how about this O'Neal, how about I knock one of your teeth out, and I'll let my little battle with Ghost go. Deal?"
O'Neal sighed quietly to himself, something she might have picked up on if she wasn't in such a sour mood.
"Don't make this harder than it has to be Odessa. Remember what happened last time? The scar I gave you? Get your fucking shit together before I hurt you again."
She sneered harshly allowing her fangs to again slip over her lower lips. Her intimidation acts however had no effect on him. He'd learned all her tricks and tactics in the past, and nothing she could throw at him now would work. "One..." He began staring into her eyes undaunted and not even phased. "...two..." He tightened his grip into a solid fist. She ground her fangs tightly together clenching her fists around the hilt of the sword that lay unused on her back.
"...thr-" He stopped. Odessa turned her head away, beginning to back real slowly from him tail thrashing even faster and more aggressively than before.
Despite her snarling muzzle and thrashing tail O'Neal smirked somewhat.
"Pick up your helmet and fall in. We'll talk about this later 6." At first she did nothing as the wildcat slipped his helmet back over his head. It was as he turned away from her did she reluctantly retrieve her helmet and carbine from the mud. As she slipped it back over her head and the H.U.D returned so did the bothersome laughter of the ferret sniper 2 miles away on a raised platform overlooking his team-mates. She hissed angrily at the mere sound of his voice, but threw her carbine over her shoulder, returning to her normal spot just behind Siren with Juggernaut bringing up the rear with Ignitus.
"Open your mouth again 5, and I'll personally shove a Bafomdad down your throat. Understood?" O'Neal growled trying to diffuse the tension before something far worse than just frayed nerves and petty squabbling occurred.
"With all that talk of yours Ghost, I can tell you're trying to compensate for something. Now stow it and cover us before I feed you to the Aparoids myself." Much to everyone's surprise it had been O'Neal who had made the remark. The laughter that had spammed the airways moments ago now fell silent.
"Aw, come on cap, I'm just trying to have a little fun here. Don't be such a killjoy." He whined to O'Neal struggling to conceal a slight laugh.
"Shut your mouth and resume overwatch. Don't open your mouth again unless it's to say there's an Aparoid coming at us." He barked fiercely through the headset causing the rest of the team stare at him wide eyed. Ghost sighed quite audibly before looking back down the scope of his large caliber sniper rifle. However, distinct tint of purple armor came into view causing his heart-rate to spike within the time-span of a few milliseconds. With a single smooth action, he flipped the bolt to his rifle up pulling back with a flick of his wrist allowing the spent cartridge to fly out and away. With a single fluid motion he slipped another round into the receiver before forcing the bolt shut yet again and allowing his targeting reticule to recenter in the scope. Something moved across the far left of the scope causing Ghost to freeze momentarily. When he re-centered the scope on the unknown movement a flash of purple crystalline armor came into view. He sighed quietly to himself.
"Ah hell boss. You just had to ask for it didn't you? You've got four dragoons and about three dozen blazers coming right at you from your 2:00 o'clock boss. Enemy air cav from 3:00 o'clock high!"
The ground shook violently as three large dark-matter charges rained down onto Shadow-Force. With an ear splitting screech the blazers within the attack group rushed forward at both O'Neal and Odessa with claws outstretched and fangs quivering in hunger. Juggernaut didn't need any other motive to begin unloading his heavy plasmatic minigun into the oncoming hordes, shredding dozens of the incoming bugs within a matter of seconds. Ignitus began to lob high-explosive 40 millimeter grenade rounds downrange while Odessa took up position next O'Neal with her carbine. Siren loaded solid tungsten slugs into his shotgun before firing them downrange as well.
As one of the Aparoids rushed Juggernaut, he ran forward impaling the corrupted creature on the sharpened compensators lining each of the barrels of his minigun. Laughing heartily he spun the barrels up, shredding the creature into ground purple goop. When it's cries of agony subsided he placed his boot onto its shattered exoskeleton and kicked it away. What was left of its inside spilled across the ground; steam from its still warm body rising into the air. As another began to charge towards him Juggernaut turned to meet it head on, depressing the trigger on his minigun. The rounds leapt from the barrel with high pitched screams slamming into the Aparoid, shredding it and the others behind it. As that group fell his motion tracker spotted another group trying to flank him, and he soon turned on them and as before liquefied them all. A soft chirp of acknowledgment rang throughout his helmet. His eyes dropped to his ammo counter, understanding the warning.
"Mag out, reloading!" He shouted dropping behind several large sandbags allowing Odessa and O'Neal to cover him if not for a moment. The now empty energy core powering the gun ejected itself from the energy compartment prompting him to take one off his bandolier with a single swift motion and slam the new one into the open slot. As the cell entered the hatch the compartment closed itself. It took a few seconds for the gun to recycle itself with the new cartridge, but once it was ready it chirped in acknowledgment and the barrels began to spin up once again.
"Here I come cowards!" He shouted rising back up to join the others.
One of the flying Aparoid fell from the sky directly behind Odessa. She spun on her heels unsheathing her sword ready to cut in two. However it was already dead at her feet, much of its skull missing or shredded.
"You're getting slow 6. Don't worry, I got your back my sweet little rose." She hissed angrily into the com before heel stomping the bug into the ground.
"Enough of your games Ghost. Computer, filter out SF Operator #5 communications."
"Acknowledged isolating voice frequency...Buffering...Confirmed...all communications from SF Operator #5 isolated."
"Good. Keep it that way unless Keywords, Aparoid or danger are included."
"Acknowledged."
From over her shoulder she heard something between a bellowing roar and a guttural laugh. "Who sends all of these puny bugs to fight me? I will squash you all beneath my boots!"
More thumping of heavy plasmatic energy rounds told her exactly who it was. Slashing at the walking tank's armor an Aparoid shrieked furiously. As it rose onto its rear legs, towering above him it slashed down at him with its razor sharp front talons. As it came down Juggernaut threw his minigun into the massive bug, impaling it on the serrated compensators. Repeating the process from before he span the barrels up shredding its internal organs into liquid goo. Before he could scrape it off his barrel another group began to rush towards him shrieking and chittering in hopes of a quick and easy kill. He turned towards them with their fallen comrade still dangling off the barrel. He depressed the trigger on his weapon sending molten hot plasmatic energy through the dead Aparoid and into the oncoming ones. They fell in shrieking heaps around him and the other members of Shadow-Force.
Another large wave of blackened dark-matter energy shot over his head forcing the wildcat to duck in an attempt to save his own life. As he hit the deck and the charges overshot him crashing into the trenches behind and his men. Once O'Neal was out of his line of sight Juggernaut leveled his weapon on the large tank like Aparoid, and depressed the trigger. The rounds effortlessly ate through the armoring on the bug and sent it crashing into the ground bleeding dark purple and blue goo profusely across the blackened stone. He grunted hard as his hit the floor, robbing the wind from his lungs. With the wildcat struggling to pick himself up, an Aparoid Blazer tried to take advantage of his downed status by rushing at him with outstretched claws. As it was about to descend upon him a quick flash of steel flickered into his sight and the Aparoid froze in place. The bug was just split in half by Odessa. As both halves of the body slid apart, spilling intestines and corrupted goo across the ground at his feet the female king cobra flicked her sword once to clean the slimy blood off then quickly set it next to her carbine yet again.
She said nothing while extending her paw towards him. He took a strong grip on her paw and hefted himself up. "I guess I owe you one." She merely grunted in acknowledgment before drawing and leveling her carbine towards the Aparoids once again.
More waves were beginning to gather just outside their range. Hundreds if not thousands of Aparoids were gathering all around Shadow-Force. They were almost surrounded, and the time to escape was running out.
"Ghost, find us an escape route. We don't have the munitions to fight off all these damn bugs."
"Understood boss. I'm seeing a route through the northeastern section of the trenches. You're about two clicks from it. Make a left at the next junction, and you should find it."
"Copy that. Shadow-Force on me, we're Oscar Mike!" O'Neal shouted through the headset rousing the attention of his men. Four little blips of light in the bottom corner of his H.U.D blinked in acknowledgment and one by one the other member stacked up behind him, still providing fire-support where needed. Another blazer scuttled close to Odessa, striking quickly trying to catch the cobra off guard. With lightning like reflexes Odessa spun on her heels kicking the large creature across its lower jaw. Stunned it reeled away from her shrieking while clawing at its own face. She sneered at the monster and reached for her blade.
"Nmad sgub! I'll tcesid uoy lla!" She screamed in her own native language. With one swift stroke she split the bug in half splattering pints of the corrupted goo across the ground. With one swift flick of her agile wrist Odessa carved the bug apart. Uncaring whether it was truly dead or not, she replaced the sword on her back and fell in line the others.
'You still manage to surprise me child. Your bloodlust is just as fierce as it was back home..'
'Now's not the time for reminiscing Onami. One slip here and we're both done for.'
"Hmm. You, yes, me not so much. So long as I remain a sword, they cannot corrupt me nor assimilate me. After all, I'm just a spirit. Oh, and Odessa?'
'Yes?'
'Duck.'
Her eyes widened in surprise as another Aparoid dropped down before her. She ducked as it swung one of its large razor sharp mandibles in her general direction.
"I'm getting tired of playing tag with these overgrown cockroaches." She muttered irritably. As the large bug shot forward again, she leaned backwards allowing the bug to move over her. Using her tail like a springboard, she catapulted herself directly into the bug's abdominal region, impaling her sword straight through its central nerve stem. It shrieked loudly as it hit the ground hard until it stopped squirming altogether. Odessa landed gracefully atop the defeated bug, bowing slightly towards the other members of her team.
"Pfft. Showoff." Siren muttered through the headset. She unconsciously rolled her eyes before rejoining the others.
With the devil nipping aggressively at their heels Shadow-Force began a strategic withdrawal from the current heavily infested area, dodging incoming fire with unnatural ease. Even Juggernaut managed to avoid being struck by the large bolts of darkened energy with relative ease.
"Another forty meters and then make a right. You should see some destroyed tanks hanging above the trenches."
"Copy that. Any sign of our friends?"
"They're 10 meters and closing from all sides. If you can get past the tanks before you're surrounded I can shoot out the fuel cells and create a temporary barrier for you."
"Good to know. Keep me posted 5."
"Copy that boss ma- holy shit!" He shouted in surprise. "Odessa, 3:00 o'clock high! Hit the deck!"
Following the sudden instructions from the ferret, the female king cobra dropped onto her stomach just as a massive black-widow Aparoid dropped in front of her. The others were thrown forward as the shock-wave of heavy debris overtook them.
As it narrowed its beady eyes on the cobra, it raised its large legs into the air before letting loose an ear shattering scream.
Struggling to her feet Odessa drew her small subcompact machine pistol from an under-arm compartment, leveling the red-dot sight on the large creature. As the laser sight on the side zeroed in the spider's head Odessa grinned ever so slightly.
"You would dare raise a weapon againssst usss? You're death will be all that more painful if you resssist." It cackled aloud while inching towards her. The strangely monotones insect words were laced with subtle hints of femininity, possibly from the host that was corrupted. The threat however fell on deaf ears. Odessa was instead looking past the large driver like monster towards her teammates. "Cap, looks like I'm gonna have to catch up with you later. This thing won't go down easy and I can't slip by with cloak."
"6, you sure?" O'Neal asked unsure as to her intentions. Although they could in theory take down the massive spider as a single unit, they would be surrounded and annihilated by the oncoming swarms of blazers and tanks.
Nodding slightly she drew her sword in her other paw while adjusting her biometric systems with voice commands. The other turned tail and ran through the maze of trenches, looking for the route to the objective.
"Begin injections. 40 millimeters of adrenaline, and Dolaxe now." She shivered slightly as small hypodermic needles punched through the tough layer of scales on her neck injecting the potent drugs into her system. Almost immediately after absorbing the drugs into her bloodstream, her heart-rate spiked and the world began to slow to a mere crawl.
{Dolaxe is a muscle stimulant that increases the blood to oxygen ratio allowing the user to run for longer, and react quicker. Time in a sense begins to slow for the user. A 40 millimeter injection will last anywhere between 20 minutes to 5 depending on the circumstances and stress levels of the user. Overdose can result in rapid fatigue of the body, and partial loss of memory for a short time. However, there are no serious lasting effects to using this stimulant as it is derived from natural plants found on Sauria called Limber Root. The drug itself is also counteracted by white blood cells preventing any harmful effects from becoming permanent. When used in conjunction with adrenaline the effects are enhanced even further allowing the user to perform at an enhanced rate for far longer. However, because of the lengthy cultivation period it requires to fine tune the drug Odessa has to use it very sparingly, under only the most extreme circumstances.}
"Calculate remaining time till drug is expended." She hissed into the H.U.D, while bringing her sword up into a battle ready stance.
"...Estimated time, 10 minutes, 53 seconds. Cloaking will be disabled to allow increased movement speed. Flat space storage will be unavailable for the duration of this time..."
"Yes yes, I know the drill. Begin running diagnostics on remaining armor strength and estimated amount of damage till total suit failure."
"...suit is running at 89% efficiency. Estimated remaining regenerative armor layer strength at 43%. Suit will begin shutting down all none vital functions at 10% strength. "
"Damn. Not a lot of room for error then." She again muttered narrowing her eyes into dangerous slits. "Time to play I guess." Easing into a combat position, Odessa reared her sword over her head while lowering her body in a half crouching position. Inhaling deeply, the female king cobra prepared to do battle against the massive drider.
"En-garde you bitch!" She shouted before lunging forward sword glinting dangerously in the sooty air.
{Time-12:00 PM December 21st 2259}
{Location- Katina Outpost}
"All batteries, open fire!"
It had begun as the sun rose increasingly higher into the sky. On the northern and eastern section of the wall that surrounded the base the Cornerian forces had spotted the Aparoids first. They were few in number, merely scouts to the main attack force. However in only a few moments after spotting the base each of the five blazer scouts signaled to the rest of the invasion forces. Snipers placed atop the wall tried in vain to eliminate them before they could signal their comrades. They themselves were the victims of counter-snipers consumed by the virus.
As the last sniper fell from the wall into the swirling sands below the Aparoids began to charge towards them with nothing but a few landmines standing between them and the Cornerian defenders. The heavy thumping of plasmatic mortars and artillery rocked the open and rusty air as dozens of molten plasma bolts struck the ground and the oncoming invaders. Simply put, the Cornerians were struggling to hold back the onslaught of Aparoid forces. On the opposite side of the wall, things were a very different story.
With a single command dozens of ancient trebuchet siege engines positioned just behind the wall began to hurl two hundred pound missiles of solid granite downrange crushing anything that was unfortunate to be in their paths. Next to fire were the large Arcatinus catapults throwing lit stones into the oncoming hordes setting all they touched ablaze while crushing dozens of other as they rolled past them.
As the Aparoids began to charge across the open plains they were met with ground shattering explosions from outdated, but effective high-explosive rounds from the merc's howitzers cannons. As more and more of the corrupted bug poured onto the battlefield the mines all along the choke-points began to go off Spyke laughed aloud to himself. He turned to the many dozens of archers poised along the walls of the fort.
"Srehcra, lluf yellov!" In one single volley of fiery wooden shafts, hundreds of arrows began to fly through the air towards their targets. As they landed on and around the Aparoids, the liquid wildfire that had been sprayed there previously ignited into a raging inferno. The screams and cries of the burning bugs brought an almost sadistic glee to Spyke.
On the other side of the fort the Commander of the Cornerian forces, one General Imites, had ordered a full artillery barrage onto the Aparoids. The large prongs on the cannon of the nicknamed Bahamut artillery began to spin rapidly around a solid tungsten core coating it with ever denser coats of plasma until it reached the proper firing speed. In unison, the seven cannons fired at once sending their cargo screaming downrange. The explosion light up the sky as hundreds Aparoid infantry were simultaneously incinerated, while dozens more were thrown high into the air. As they fell back to ground they landed on their allies crushing them beneath their own bodies. The smaller land mortars fired after the larger cannons had, sending a large blanket of super heated plasma and high explosive shells towards the bugs. The screams and cries of the bugs reached the general who stood atop the wall overlooking the cannons as they fired, not bothering to smile even in the least.
I only wish Shadow-Force were here right now. Maker knows we need their expertise." He looked down his men. "Keep up the pressure men! Don't let a single bug through!" A rousing cry of cheers rose into the sky. As the cries began to die back down into normal shouting of commands, another scream cracked the air itself. From on high an Aparoid scout no bigger than a marine was on a collision course with the General. Without so much as batting an eyelash, the general drew his thin saber from its sheath and with one swift motion beheaded the creature as it flew at him. Both its head and body rolled down the side of the base wall onto the ground below. He flicked the saber once to remove it of the blood and replaced in the scabbard on his waist.
"Piece of filth." He muttered. He turned away from the oncoming creatures and returned to his position within the bunker on the wall.
Another Bahamut began to charge up its main cannon. "Adjust the angle by 4 degrees...fi-" The commander's cry was cut short as a loud thump reverberated through the tank. The entire thing heaved to the side as something hit the tank solidly in the flank. "What the hell?" Another loud thump echoed through the tank. A flash of blue ripped through the top on the cabin impacting the large cylindrical fuel cell. Before he could even scream the entire tank lit up in a bright blue ball of plasma energy.
"SOUL! Soul incoming!" Someone shouted from atop the ramparts. A piercing scream echoed across the field as a large shadow descended upon the fort. Thunderous footsteps rocked the very foundation of the fortress as the monstrous Aparoid began to crawl out from behind the mountains. Twice the size of the dragoons, and with armor almost four feet in places and a cannon that could make mincemeat out of anything it was truly the most fearsome land based Aparoid war machine. Another round from this monster screamed through the air. Another flash of blue and a land mortar exploded into a ball of twisted metal. The three remaining Bahamut cannons began to charge up their main cannons, however, more of the deadly accurate rounds screamed through the air until they finally impacted into their hulls turning them all into large smoldering hulks. The many troops that surrounded them were instantly infected by the blast and began to turn on their allies, slaughtering and ripping anyone close enough to shreds. As the artillery began to wane and finally end, the Aparoids charged full speed towards the wall screeching with anticipating hunger.
On the other side of the wall things were beginning to go sour for Spyke and his troops. With the last of the wildfire now burnt out and the archers falling prey to the airborne Aparoids, both Spyke and his men were slowly but surely losing ground to the onslaught of Aparoidian forces.
An Aparoid came shrieking at the aging wolf. He gripped the massive bug under the mandibles and lifted in into the air.
Swinging his blade directly at the bug's head he split the cursed creature in half. A soft flick of his wrist sent the blood from the blade flying to the ground.
A shout of pain brought his attention away from his fight. One of his own troops had been impaled by one of their allies and began to set its sights on another unsuspecting soldier. Spyke grimace angrily
"Arson, deal with that one."
"Affirmative. I'll put em out of his misery.."
As the infected wolf stalked towards the group of unsuspecting troops it stopped in its tracks as a heavy and loud thumping of metal boots reached its now corrupted ears. As it turned towards this new looming threat it came face to face with a heavy built eight barreled gatling-gun.
"May the ancestors preserve you brother." The Aparoid soldier screamed as the barrel launched several hundred rounds into its skull, completely shredding it into nothing more than corrupted goo. As another leapt at him from the wall Arson, the walking tank of Spyke's little group barely turned towards it and threw all his weight into one gun backed punch. The eight barrels of the gatling gun ripped through the soft skull of the infested Cornerian marine sending its body flying backwards until it impacted with the wall. Arson lifted his arm up again and turned his weapon on another group of advancing Aparoid blazers as they scuttled over the wall. Holding his arm steady, he began to unload the depleted uranium rounds into the oncoming hordes. He barely batted an eyelash as they fell before him in broken and liquid heaps.
From out of the walking apocalypse's shoulders came a small six barreled rocket launcher which he fired into the Aparoids as they continued to pour over the wall. Large plumes of smoke trailed behind the rockets as they flew through the air. Each one sent a brilliant ball of both red and black flames, as well as Aparoids and corrupted soldiers of both sides into the air. Some were vaporized instantly, some were maimed far beyond recognition as they crashed back into the ground. Another volley leapt forth from the shoulder mounted launcher slamming heavily into the bugs again throwing them into the air. He grinned as more of the bugs tumbled down the walls and onto the ground adding to the already impressive body pile. Another barrage of rockets flew from his shoulder again slamming into the oncoming hordes, and again sending dozens flying through the air.
"Too easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel." He muttered while his fierce grin continued to grow.
"Yeehaw!" Someone shouted from amidst the chaos. Arson turned his head slightly while keeping the hail of up to see who was making the loud noises. Low And Behold, it was none other than Kane, riding a Dragoon bareback. One of his small assassin blades were buried in the creatures carapace securing his position on the bug. His free arm was waving around wildly in excitement with a discarded helmet tightly in between his fingers.
"Phft."Arson snorted. "Showoff."
Kane, hearing his little remark grinned and impaled his other assassin blade into the Aparoid's brainstem, killing it instantly. It fell to the ground while Kane landed somewhat roughly on his feet.
"Did you see that? I just killed a Dragoon. AND I DIDN'T EVEN NEED A SPACESHIP!" He laughed hysterically holding his stomach with his paws. Arson rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the oncoming hordes that continued to scurry over the walls.
"Arson! Fall back to the inner walls! The Cornerians have been overrun and the Maccabee is almost in position! Fall back now!" Spyke shouted while splitting a Cornerian Marine's skull in two with his sword.
"We need to go now Ars-" He was stopped as the distinct scream of a mortar Aparoid mortar round filled the air.
"Get down!" Spyke shouted diving for cover from the round. As it neared the point of impact, Arson reached out with his metal clad paw and caught the round before it hit the ground. Grinning wickedly again he turned to the hordes and drew his arm back.
"Present for ya bed bugs!" The glowing rod of tainted energy flew through the air as Arson released it from his hand. Spyke watched, grinning to himself. "Well, that's something you don't see every day."
A bright flash of blue and purple lit up the sky as the rod impacted against the wall sending both Aparoids and fragments of the wall flying in all directions. As the dust began to settle around the fort, an eerie silence fell across the field.
Spyke said nothing as the rest of his forces began to retreat into the inner walls of the fort. He grinned as a particular shadow began to spread over the fort from high above.
"Spyke the Maccabee is in position and awaiting orders." The black furred wolf reached up to his earpiece and clicked the simple device once.
"Target grid 734536, direction 4800 with the M.A.C cannon. Prepare shuttles for immediate and full retreat. This hunk of rock is lost."
"Affirmative. Preparing the light speed accelerator system. ETA, 7 seconds."
"Alright then. Tuck tail boys! M.A.C round incoming!"
The sky darkened to a deep red hue. as the remaining troops looked into the sky, a single red beam could be seen over the large Soul Aparoid. The beam itself managed to even distract the Aparoids for a moment, causing each one of the several billion bugs to look into the sky.
"Hey bugs!" Spyke shouted hoisting his sword into the air. "Present for ya!"
Everyone froze. Everything stopped. An intense flash of blinding light tore across the sky as the huge 3000ton tungsten rod slammed into the ground and the Soul Aparoid. It had no time to even screech before it and every Aparoid around it was vaporized into nothing. The following shockwave from the impact knocked all those remaining in the fort down on their tails, including Spyke, not expecting such power behind the cannon. For several seconds, all was quiet. Not even the Aparoids that remained made a sound. Most were stunned from the psychic backlash to even move. Spyke, rubbing his now pounding head rose from the ground using his large sword to steady himself. As he looked out towards the large crater where the Soul had once stood, nothing remained. Everything from the small Blazers, large Dragoons, and the massive Soul had been obliterated in the mere blink of an eye. "C.O.S, report, Arson, Ripper, Kane, someone talk to me. Everyone alright?"
"Spyke gah... it's Arson, we've got a big problem."
"What's going on?"
"Spyke, the round tore through the other side of the planet. The entire thing is beginning to destabilize and my sensors are saying this thing is about to rockin and rollin any second."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"No. And if we wanna make it back with our skins attached now would be a really good time to leave."
"Right. Begin rounding up any of our survivors. We're leaving this planet five minutes ago."
"And the Cornerians?"
"Do you really even need to ask that Arson? Fuck em all."
The comms were silenced as Spyke pulled it from his ear, and placed it in the front pocket of his jacket.
"Well then," he mused to himself while folding his arms across his chest, grinning widely. "I guess that works."
Acknowledgments, and copyrights.
StarFox-(c) Nintendo
Spyke, Arson, Kane, C.O.S.-(c) SpykeTheWolf
Bahamut Artillery Landmortar artillery Richard O'Neal, Odessa ScarletFang, Christian Sharp-(Ignitus), Jackal TriKill, Nazareth Oikonny, Jasmine McCloud, Joseph Tinge-(Siren), Savage O'Reilly-(Juggernaught), Wesker MauskBurg-(Ghost), Adamas, Kril Al' Kriid, and the Figure (c) Landmaster776/ Grey/ The Shadow in Exile (aka me)
Crona(c)Maria-Pipkin
Spyro and Cynder(c) whoever the fuck owns em' now.
Many thanks to my beta-reader and general adviser SpykeTheWolf. Without his help this chapter would not be where it is today.
Peace- The Exile in Shadow