Chapter 4
Fox sat at a round table with a few empty chairs for the other two council members. Fox had learned the four bosses, also called the council, were allied against the pirates so they would easily be swayed in any plan against them. In the past, the four bosses would fight in gang like turf wars while the government fell into disarray. When everything went to shit the four gangs came together to make remake a functioning government. They no longer fought for land or money, but instead over policies and procedures. Each district made its own laws and ordinances but most were the same.
Lo sat to the right of him and Hugh to the left. In front of each chair was a name plaque. The name in front of Fox read 'Mei district guest.' Two other names were set in front of two empty chairs. The one nearest to Hugh said Katia Nikita. The one by Lo said Matteo Corfanga. A moment later the door opened to reveal a large set polar bear and a skinny weasel. The polar bear sat down down at the Katia name plaque and vise versa for the weasel. "How nice of you to be here on time." Hugh said.
"Sorry but we got stuck travelling through your district. Fix your stop lights and we might get here quicker." Katia said. Katia spoke in some form of thick eastern cornerian accent. She wore a suit like Hugh and Lo but it had a few militaristic ribbons over the right breast of the suit. If Fox wanted to guess he would say she was about forty or fifty.
"I've got the largest district so sorry if things take a bit to get fixed. Maybe you could get a faster driver." Hugh said.
"Nyet." Katia said. Fox saw that Hugh and Katia had some clear tension.
"This isn't what we're here to talk about." Matteo said. Matteo also had an accent of some sort. It was lighter than Katia's and Lo's but was still distinguishable. Matteo looked over to Fox. "Someone told me that you can handle our pest problem."
"I can but I need your cooperation and support. I know of one base in the local mountain range." Fox gazed over to Hugh. "Remember when I said I don't need a team from you. I change my mind but I have an idea." The four animals listened to him. "I'm going to need a team but I want someone from each of your districts. Like two or three people each." The leaders looked amount themselves and seemed to nonverbally converse with each other. After a few more moments of this, Katia spoke.
"I think we can do that for you Mr. McCloud. You have our support, but we would like a run down." Katia said. Fox reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out his display.
"Nova display most recent scan marked mission area." A blue lighted hologram of a spaceport appeared. The port had only one hangar that probably held a small sized combat ship. Four other buildings lined up behind the hangar in a square pattern. They looked like overflowing warehouses with semi trucks backed up three or four links away from each of the eight loading gates. "This scan is from this afternoon. If any ship didn't make it to port recently, then I can bet that it's here." Fox reached into the hologram and tapped one of the trucks. The hologram then focused on the truck he touched. A clock appeared at the top of the hologram placing the time two hours ago.
The hologram followed the truck at an accelerated rate. The clock speed up as it followed the semi going through the Kewain countryside. Two other trucks joined the first to form a convoy heading to their destination. After awhile the countryside turned into a city and the time had advanced two hours forward. The truck slowed down to normal speeds and the clock showed time nearly up to date. Hugh looked at the hologram closely like he recognized the area. He stood up and walked to the window curtain and pulled it away.
"They're closer than we've imagined." The trucks could be seen in real life outside the window pulling into a warehouse across the street. The three other bosses plus Fox walked up to the window.
"They have been under our noses the whole time." Katia said. "We should take them out now while they don't expect it."
"No." Fox interjected. "We need the element of surprise for the mountain base raid. Killing off that warehouse will cut off its comms with the base and they'll know something's up." Fox walked back to the round table. He switched the hologram back to the base and focused on the hangar. "The trucks are key to my operation. Once they start loading up the trucks again, they'll be too preoccupied at first to see anything coming." Fox zoomed the screen out far enough to show low orbit. The Dauntless made a quick low pass in the zone before it climbed back to its regular orbit. Several white flashing dots could be seen falling from the space Dauntless just was.
"Make sure whoever you pick isn't afraid of heights. My team and I will be paradropping in low orbit and landing around the base at night. Once on the ground the goal is to create chaos. Fire coming from every direction at nightime will give us the presence that we are a bigger force than we actually are." The dots spread out when they got close to random places among the mountainside or the tops of buildings. "The goal is not to kill but capture. The more people alive, the more info we will have on who runs their operation. This whole operation will take around ten minutes from drop time to the firefight. A small coalition force should stand outside the base until the gunfire subsides a bit. When things start calming down, or the enemy force gets organized, charge into the base. They won't expect a thing." An arwing flew a low pass maybe fifty feet over the base. "Oh yeah do you know any pilots. It's not necessary but might make a difference intimidation wise." The bosses looked at each other.
"We know one. It'll take us a day to get in contact with her but we know one." Hugh said. "When are you planning to strike?"
"Whenever I get my crew."
Two days later inside the Dauntless
Fox had perfectly demonstrated his ability to plan but still had to show he could lead. Most of his needed team already showed up for duty minus his pilot. He had been given her name, Kursed, and told that she was one of the best pilots in Kew. That was it however. Kursed was the only person they needed in order to start. His temporary team usually stayed in the dining hall or rec room. Fox made his way down to the rec room to meet up with the people who soon would fight alongside.
The council gave him twelve specialists for his mission with a promise to assault the base once the opposing force was disrupted. Fox briefed everyone who came to him what the mission was. The soldiers he was sent seemed very capable but two stood out to him over the rest.
Tessa was probably the smartest out of everyone on the ship. The leopard had black fur with blue highlights at the end of her short black hair. Prominent vest marks on her jacket along with her athletic build gave the impression she could hold herself in a fight. Tessa would usually be found in the hangar looking at the engineering of the ship or the specs of his Arwing. Tessa was a bit reminiscent of Slippy if Slippy had tolerable voice.
The other soldier was a red fox named Butch. He had a strong build like Fox but his fur had a darker orange red hint to it. Butch reminded Fox of himself a few years back. Shy but knew what he was doing at any time. Only difference is Butch couldn't fly.
Fox walked down to the dinning hall to meet up with some of his temporary squadmates. Four were bunched up around one end of a table talking and making jokes. Nova had an automated cooking system that made decent meals. They were nothing to rave about but they tasted pretty good. Fox grabbed one and went to the other end of the table. He needed to contact Hugh about his pilot. Kursed was a full day late and Fox wanted to strike tonight.
Fox sent high a text asking about the pilot an hour ago expecting to hear from him soon. Fox wouldn't hear about his pilot until the middle of his meal when Hugh messaged back that Kursed was on standby starting at dusk. All things were set in motion now so Fox could get the mission underway. Butch and Tessa also came in for food around the time Fox did and sat down by him.
"So, when do we make our move?" Tessa asked. Her voice was deeper for a woman but nonetheless sweet sounding.
"How does tonight sound?" Fox asked.
"Tonight!?" Butch barked. "That's kinda soon don't you think?"
"Why not. If we wait any longer then we may risk being detected or the pirate ship my take off again." Fox snapped his fingers twice. "Nova…" Nova appeared in front of him. "Send out an intercom message to gear up and get ready for the drop." Fox got up from his end with his now empty meal tray in hand. The soldiers at the other end of the table heard Fox's command and quickly cleaned up their trays. Fox sent Hugh a message to have Kursed in a holding pattern high above the base until the strike team landed. Afterwards he walked down to the hangar to a transport loaned by the council for a preflight. Tessa and Butch followed him. "You two, go inside my cockpit and check the avionics."
Butch followed Tessa since he had no idea of anything that went on in the cockpit. Fox checked his engines for any cracks or leaks while more of his soldiers arrived bit by bit. Soon enough all of his soldiers arrived geared up with night vision and HALO jumpsuits that will keep them safe while they jump from near space altitude. Soon Tessa and Butch walked out of the the transport and regrouped with the other soldiers. They all lined up at attention in a row with weapons at their sides.
"Alright I've briefed you all on what needs to be done. Shoot to wound and avoid hitting them if at all possible. Guards do need apply to this rule however. Once the chaos ensues, another land force will charge in from the gates. They're currently hiding in the mountain range and have been there since this afternoon." Fox put his hands behind his back then paced back and forth. "Split up into teams of three. Each team will have a specific building to land on." Fox grabbed a clipboard off the top of a nearby tool cart. On the clipboard were each teams assignments which were handed out as soon as the teams assembled.
They all put on the last piece of gear. Pairs of sunglasses. To any other person the glasses were nothing to behold but to the person wearing them, they were a lifesaver. Embedded inside the temples were projectors that displayed the same thing a video game would show. A compass at the top that connected to the ship. An ammo counter in the soldiers right corner that measured quick movements on the shoulder to calculate the ammo left. Lastly a GPS in the left corner that projected up to two hundred down to twenty meters around the soldier.
The soldiers landing points were sent to the glasses. They all walked into the transport as a deathly quiet fell over them all. Fox didn't need his ex's powers to know everyone was nervous. No one goes into battle cocky or with a high head. Those who did aren't around to tell their tale. Fox sat in the cockpit looking back at the others taking their seats. Fox took of once everyone sat down. He watched his radar for anything coming back at him but also for Kursed. A sole blip on radar with an arwing class marking popped up. He switched his radio to a predetermined frequency that he sent to Kursed pre-mission.
"Momma bird to blackbird, blackbird do you copy?" Fox said into a headset off to the side. He held up one end of it to his ear waiting for Kursed's reply.
"Momma bird this is blackbird, in holding pattern five clicks from target area." Said a staticy feminine voice. Fox almost thought it familiar but the interference. Then he decided to ignore it.
"Strike team launching in three minutes. Strafe the middle road and take out any trucks on it. Don't attack until my team is on the ground."
"Copy momma bird." Kursed said back. "Awaiting orders." Fox set the transport on autopilot for a course back the Dauntless. The seats the soldiers sat on folded up to make them standing. Two long and skinny drop doors opened up where the soldiers sat only a moment ago. The soldiers were locked in to the wall staring at each other nervously. A red light shined brightly throughout the cabin. Everyone put on a serious face like this was just a normal day. The light turned green and everyone but Fox dropped out of the transport. Fox watched as they all disappeared into the night sky before jumping out himself. His glasses made out everyone of his strike team falling at nearly thirty miles high.
Fox's team fell uneventfully for almost twenty minutes before coming in close to the landing areas. Just like the briefing, all teams landed on the correct buildings. Three on each warehouse and Fox on the main hangar. The warehouses all had hangar like doors that were fully open. Inside trucks were being loaded up with crates and barrels. Animals of all kinds bustled in and around the trucks to get them filled. It looked less like a criminal operation and more like some average job.
"All teams ready and in position." Tessa's voice said over the radio. Fox looked at the rooftops seeing each team aiming blasters in the warehouses.
"Open fire." In one second the entire base erupted in green and red blaster bolts. Fox had no angles on any of the warehouses so instead he watched for anyone leaving the starship hangar. He became worried when the sound of an engine starting drowned out the gun play. A fighter exited the hangar so quickly Fox, so couldn't hit it. The fighter darted into the night.
Another fighter flew overhead that strafed the road in front of him. Fox grabbed his radio "Kursed, there's another fighter in the air." Fox said frantically. "He flew straight out."
"Copy he's on my radar." Kursed said. The loud noise of Kursed's engines roared as its blue exhaust darted towards the last location. The gunfire could be heard again as the fighter went further out to the mountain valleys. Fox pulled his parachute out of his backpack and laid it out over the hangar roof. He held the backpack straps in his arms like a hug then jumped off the front of the hangar. Fox fell freely for maybe ten meters before the parachute caught him. The hangar was probably a hundred meters tall and Fox could see into the repair shop where three more fighters by the door and a small cruiser behind them.
Fox saw two pilots inside two of the fighters almost ready to take off. Those he couldn't stop but the third was still being prepped. The two fighters started their engines while Fox was halfway down to the ground level. Fox used the handles on his parachute to avoid the the flying ships taking off in his direction. One of the ships took off in full force sending Fox flying back into the hangar. The pilot of the third fighter was getting into his craft but got bumped off by by Fox legs. Fox let go of his backpack and landed where the pilot once stood. The cockpit canopy was open so Fox stepped in. He started the engine as quick as he could trying to get out before the ground crews around reacted.
Fox pushed the fighters throttle to ad far forward as he could and pointed the nose straight up. The craft accelerated slower than his arwing but seemed more maneuverable. "Kursed, two more fighters just took off. I stole one and am in pursuit." Fox saw the exhaust of the two fighters from earlier ahead, but before he lock on both fighters lit up into fireballs.
"Taken care of. Though you missed one." Fox saw a red light flash that read 'Lock-on Warning.'
"Wait, wait , wait Kursed that's me." Fox screamed into his radio. The light stopped right after.
"Alright, next time tell me what your flying. I nearly shot you down." Fox let a sigh of relief through. "Captain Star, I'd love to stay but I've been floating for awhile so fuel is running short. See you later hopefully." Kursed said.
'Captain Star, who told her that was my name.' Fox thought. He lost interest as it probably was whichever council member hired her. 'Should probably give air cover to the soldiers.' Fox flew down to the ground. "Strike team this the captain, I've commandeered one of the fighters and now heading to you. Does anyone need air cover?"
"Thanks Captain but, I think we have this covered. Most everybody in the five hangars surrendered right as you left. Main battalion got here and no one fired a shot." Butch said.
"That's right Captain." Hugh's voice said over the radio. "For the time being, your service is not needed. My team will take the prisoners into custody and interrogate them. I will share what we find out." Fox didn't like the fact Hugh was going to interrogate all those people but he couldn't say anything. Fox didn't want to land his fighter at the base just to have it taken by the council. It wasn't that he didn't trust the council but wanted to keep a extra ship for if his arwing had something wrong. He flew it further into the atmosphere looking for the Dauntless.
"Nova this is Fox, I need your location. This is a new ship so ID and log it. I want this ship given a standard overhaul."
"Understood Captain. Sending the coordinates to your news ship's computer." A series of numbers showed up on a screen in front of him. Fox recognized the location as right above the city. He turned his new ship in the direction of the Dauntless and booked it. Worried about how pirates trained mechanics were, he wanted to land as soon as possible. A short six minute flight in orbit and Fox could see the Dauntless. The main hangar door was open so Fox just flew in. He opened the canopy to be met by Nova eyeing over the new addition. "Kydred Fighter version 1.0. These haven't been manufactured in twenty years. Shall I begin the overhaul as requested? It may take up to ninety four hours for a complete overhaul and if anything if found to be wrong with it, parts may be hard to come by."
"Go ahead with it." Fox said exiting the craft. "Hey Nova did you get the contact info for the strike team?" Fox asked.
"Yes I revived ninety two percent of the strike teams info."
"Alright I need you send send a message to Tessa, Butch and Kursed. I want to offer them a position on my crew."
"I can only send your message to Tessa and Butch. I do not possess Kursed's contact information." Fox swore under his breath.
"Wait, Kursed was flying ten minutes ago around the target area. Can you track her signal back to wherever she took off from?"
"Affirmative sir." Nova swiped her hand in front of herself and a map displaying Kew appeared. A point started bleeping in the starport that then zoomed in. "The craft appears to be in hangar forty one dash eight." Fox checked the time to see it was seven am Icarus time.
"I guess I have to ask her in person then. Is my arwing ready for a short flight down to the starport?"
"Yes captain. I will begin overhaul of the Kydred fighter." Fox walked to his arwing then opened his canopy with a remote on a tool cart. He grabbed the right wing and pulled himself up. Fox prefered his arwing over anything, but maybe some more time with the Kydred would change his mind. Like many times before Fox did a run up test by checking fuel and arming his G diffuser.
Outside hangar 41-8
Fox looked into the hangar at an modified arwing that lay on its engines instead of the usual landing gear. The engines looked bigger than the average arwings so they would definitely use more gas. Hence why Kursed had to leave so soon. Fox walked into the hangar. "Hello Kursed, what did she call me, It's Captain Star." He said patiently.
"Captain, I thought we were done with the mission. Is there something else you needed?" Her voice sounded creepily familiar.
"The mission was a success. I wondered if you would be interested in joining my team." Footsteps could be heard coming from around the ship.
"I appreciate the offer," Fox could see her coming around the nose of the arwing. "But I like the freedom of being my own boss-" The two of them paused just looking at each other like deer in headlights.
"Holy shit Krystal, it's you." Fox said with an astounded face.
"Don't swear." Krystal said stabbing her finger into Fox's chest. She tilted her head as if to realize something. "You hired me just so you could get close to me. Do you know how much I've been through since you kicked me off your team and now you want me back!"
"It hasn't been a walk in the park for me either. Whatever you've been through, I'm definitely on par at least."
"ON PAR, Fox I have a-"
"Mommy." Said a young voice from behind Fox. He turned around to see a small boy maybe four years old. He had blue fur like Krystal but every one Fox's facial features, even his natural white mo-hawk. "Why are you screaming?"
Chapter 4 end.
A/N: Well that took longer than it should have. I had a few reasons for this. 1 My phone (main writing tool) stopped charging so I had to send it in and lost about two weeks of writing time. 2 I spent a lot of time just thinking about how to end the chapter with Marcus in it. More than I did thinking about the rest of the chapter honestly. 3 Far cry good game.