Start Note: This is an extra long episode. Read this in segments, if you find it convenient. If this episode becomes confusing, you may want to read it over a few times. Enjoy.
Starfox
Season One
2nd Edition
Episode Seven Part Two
The Last Wolfpack
"So, what's going on?" Joseph asked as he put his feet up on the helm console.
"If you ask me that again, I will rip your head off and put it on the wall as a trophy." Juniper calmly replied. "Question, what's our status on speed?" She asked.
"The docking thrusters ran dry two hours ago and we're at the same speed we were at then, two hundred and ninety-two knots." Joseph explained.
"What the heck is a knot? I don't understand your ancient terminology." Juniper asked.
"There was once a man on a sailing ship who had some rope. He put knots in the rope and dropped an end in the water. Every time a knot came lose and fell into the water, he called it a knot. Thus, the term, knot, was created. At least I think that's how it happened." Joseph explained.
"I still don't understand the term, but whatever floats your boat, Jack." Juniper stated. "You know, this is kind of fun." She added.
"How so?" Joseph asked.
"Just, something different to do. Just talking and resting. It's quite relaxing not to fight every minute of the day." Juniper explained before sighing.
"Makes sense. What do you think will happen after all of this?" Joseph asked.
"I'm not quite sure. The Jäger has been my home for almost three decades now. I haven't set foot on Jehj in years either. What about you? Where are you from?" Juniper asked.
"Hopefully, I'll be able to return to where I came from. I'm not quite sure of everything here, but I would like to go back to Lylat and rest." Joseph answered.
"Ah. Well, this place is far different from that of Lylat. You know how the universe is supposedly infinite?" Juniper asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Joseph replied.
"Well, if space is infinite, doesn't that mean every possibility and fantasy is a reality? By that logic, your Terran, if you're even from there, is far different than the one I know. Unless your Terran had two of you and two Endeavors. In your reality, you traveled to Lylat and stayed there. In this one, you came here with two other ships. The Tsukushi and the Star of David. Both of the ships sacrificed themselves to have the Endeavor reach the planet Vuku. Many other things happened." Juniper explained.
"I don't remember there being a ship named the Star of David. I remember there being the Tsukushi and the Liberty, but that was it. So, if that happened here, where's the Endeavor?" Joseph asked.
"No one really knows. After trimming down Cewasu, it was put on display as an artifact of history. About a year ago, it was stolen by a man named Michael Brdani. No one knows where he is." Juniper explained.
)(
Slippy sighed as he sat down at the helm console. He was hungry, thirsty, and tired, but there was no food or water and sleep was out of the equation. Suddenly, a bright white light flooded the bridge from the port porthole. It overpowered the interior lights and nearly blinded Slippy. He got up out of the chair and looked at where the light was coming from. It appeared to be coming from a massive cargo freighter. Slippy analyzed the freighter and saw that it was armed with what appeared to be turreted machine guns. He noticed that there was another ship above the freighter, it was a heavily armed destroyer.
"Warship Syvle to Warship Endeavor, respond." A female voice said over a transmission link.
"This is the... Warship Endeavor, what do you require?" Slippy asked while attempting to go along with them.
"We have reports of the Warship Endeavor being stolen. Your name wouldn't happen to be Michael Brdani, would it?" The voice asked.
"I do not know anyone named Michael Brdani. What are you implying?" Slippy asked.
"I am not implying anything. You are in possession of the Warship Endeavor, prepare to be boarded and arrested. Any resistance will be countered. Syvle, out." The voice explained before closing the link.
)(
"Give me a report." Juniper commanded.
"We're seven hours away from Fhetakehom." Joseph reported before sighing. "What's your plan anyway?" He asked.
"This ship can still move, so, we're going to crash it into their capitol. It's as simple as that." Juniper explained.
"As simple as that, really? What about us?" Joseph asked.
"We'll either die or we'll live, but we'll most likely die. A crash from orbit isn't really an option if we want to live." Juniper explained.
"You have to be joking. I'm not dying like that. It's suicide." Joseph stated.
"You should have thought about that before you decided to stay here. By the way, there's still an escape pod ready to be launched if you want to leave." Juniper explained.
"You're as stubborn as a drunken Klingon." Joseph stated angrily.
"And you're as retarded as the puny Ferengi that keeps giving the Klingon reasons to kill him." Juniper replied.
"Another death threat, wonderful. Go back to the dark empire where you belong." Joseph stated.
"You better not be insulting Jehj." Juniper replied.
"What if I was?" Joseph smugly asked. Juniper kicked Joseph out of his chair, put her right knee on his neck, and glared at him.
"If you were, I will peel your skin off with shrapnel, I will make sure you know the true definition of pain and suffering, I will break every bone in your body, I will cut you to pieces, and I will throw you into the next fire I see. Is that clear enough for you or are you really that retarded?" Juniper angrily asked. Joseph painfully nodded and attempted to lift Junipers' knee off of his neck. "Good." Juniper said before lifting her knee off of his neck and walking back to the tactical console.
Joseph painfully got up off of the floor and crawled back into the chair behind the helm console. "The only reason I'm still here is because I want to help you. Moroni trusted me with your life... I intend to fulfill that." Joseph painfully explained as he took breaths from the oxygen tank.
"Joseph, sometimes, to do the right thing, you have to be worse than your adversary. Remember that." Juniper remarked.
)(
The Endeavor sailed fast away from the perusing destroyer, attempting to dodge its shells. Suddenly, an explosion tore through the destroyers' bow, throwing it off course. A small ship sailed past the Endeavor, launching bright red torpedoes at the destroyer. The torpedoes missed by mere centimeters, causing the destroyer to quickly retreat.
The new ship came about and came along the port side of the Endeavor. Slippy noticed something, the small ship was a near replica of the Endeavor. In fact, it was the Endeavor. It was equipped with seven forward facing machine guns on each side and it appeared to be tearing and bending at the seams. Its bow was long and pointed and it appeared to have wings bent downwards to protect the nacelles.
"Who are you?" A voice asked over a transmission link.
"Who are you?" Slippy asked.
"My name is Michael, I can safely assume that the people who were chasing you thought you were me, correct?" Michael asked.
"Yeah. Question, how do you have the same ship as I do? I thought this was one of a kind." Slippy stated.
"Mine is one of a kind, yours, I'm not quite sure, but what I do know, is that there is more than one of yours. I'll explain later. Yours seems to have taken a beating, lets dock up and chat for a little bit." Michael calmly stated.
"No, I cannot. I'm on a mission to find a specific ship." Slippy replied.
"Hmm... What kind of ship?" Michael asked.
"From what I know, it's some type of battleship. It kidnapped one of my teammates. I'm going to get him back." Slippy answered.
"I think I can help you. I'm on the hunt for a heavy cruiser named Jäger. It has the speed of a cruiser, but the firepower of a battleship. Does this ship your searching for run on antimatter?" Michael asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact it does." Slippy answered.
)(
The two ships sealed their docking ports and they were docked keel to keel. The ports opened, revealing the inside of both ships. Slippy stepped into the other Endeavor, it was brightly lit as where his Endeavor was dimly lit by emergency lighting. A person rounded the corner, he was a tall, grey skinned, blue eyed, human male with dark brown hair.
"Well, I can see that you're not from around here." Michael stated as he saw Slippy.
"And I can see that you're not a regular human." Slippy remarked.
"From what I can tell, your version of the Endeavor is heavily damaged." Michael stated.
"Yeah, we've been through a lot." Slippy stated.
"She's pretty beat up. Maybe we should travel together to find this ship." Michael suggested.
"I can't leave her behind. She's not mine." Slippy replied.
"Whose ship is it?" Michael asked.
"It's Joseph Lemmings' ship. He's the one I'm trying to save." Slippy explained.
"Joseph Lemming? He went missing two years ago." Michael replied in surprise.
)(
"Wait a second, we're picking something up on the optical scope, but I'm not quite sure what they are. They're directly ahead." Joseph reported as he looked through a small scope installed into the tactical console. Juniper walked over to the console and looked through it for herself.
"T-those are Cewasu destroyers! Three Type-2s!" Juniper exclaimed before quickly backing away from the scope. "We're going to die." She added as her skin went pale.
"Explain to me who they are, please." Joseph requested.
"The Endeavor, they built it over a century ago. That's how dangerous they are. They're going to cut us to pieces." Juniper said in worry.
"No, we go down fighting. How does that sound?" Joseph asked.
"It sounds... deadly." Juniper replied with a slight smirk. She quickly took her post at the tactical console and began targeting the enemy ships. "Target locked."
A thin beam of pure white energy shot from the leading destroyer, passing right through the Jäger, leaving behind a hole through the entire ship. The Jäger fired its anti-aircraft gunports, filling the space with bright red antimatter shells. Larger shells fired from the small turreted deck guns, launching bright yellow high explosive shells towards the destroyers.
More thin beams of energy shot from the destroyers, shooting the high explosive shells before they struck. The shells exploded, causing smoke to fill the gap between the four ships. Three beams of energy shot through the smoke, all three going right through the Jäger, but none striking ammunition.
The destroyers came within secondary gun range, allowing the Jäger to open up with her smaller guns. "I'm pulling a hard to starboard! Prepare to open up with everything she has!" Joseph reported as he sat down at the helm console. The Jägers' remaining maneuvering thrusters fired, causing it to slowly turn to starboard, going into a broadside position. It fired its ship to ship secondary gunports, more yellow shells filling the space.
The destroyers immediately shot them down with their own weapons. The aft turreted guns turned and targeted the lead ship, but before they could fire, they were vaporized by the destroyers' beam weapons. The turret magazines were sparked, causing them to explode. The remaining broadside guns went to fire, but instead of firing, they clicked.
"We're out of large gun ammunition. They've got us." Juniper stated in worry. "Bring us about! We're going to take them down with us!" Juniper commanded after she regained her sense of fight.
"Wait! There's another ship on the optical scope! It's approaching directly astern, moving fast!" Joseph reported. The small ship streaked past the Jäger and headed for the three enemy destroyers. "It's the Endeavor!" Joseph exclaimed. It launched two torpedoes while firing its forward machine guns. The destroyers fired beams of light to shoot down the torpedoes, but they moved too fast. The two torpedoes struck the lead ship, causing it to vaporize.
The Endeavor passed over the other two destroyers, launching its two aft torpedoes as it sped away. Another destroyer vaporized in the massive explosion. The Endeavor came about for another pass while the last destroyer attempted to target it. The Endeavor launched two more torpedoes as it sped towards the destroyer. The torpedoes struck, causing the destroyer to be vaporized in the explosion.
Suddenly, a transmission link opened.
"This is the Warship Endeavor. I am seeking two individuals, Joseph Lemming and the hunter, Juniper of Jehj." A voice stated.
"I thought communications were down." Joseph whispered as he looked at Juniper in amazement.
"I thought they were too. Maybe it was only the long range communications." Juniper whispered back.
"Is there anyone aboard?" The voice asked. Juniper opened the transmission.
"This is the heavy cruiser, Jäger, and I am her captain. Who am I speaking with?" Juniper asked.
"It depends. What is your name, captain?" The voice asked.
"My name is Juniper of Jehj, now, what the heck do you want!?" Juniper exclaimed.
"You may know me, my name is Michael Brdani. I have a passenger with me who would like to speak to you as well." Michael stated.
"Mr. Brdani, do you have any idea how much prestige I would get for bringing you in?" Juniper asked in an angered tone.
"He knows that well and fine, but I believe you have someone I want back. His name is Joseph Lemming." A lighter voice stated in a stern tone.
)(
The soon Endeavor docked on the deck of the Jäger. After loading fuel, torpedoes, food, and supplies, Juniper, Joseph, Slippy, and Michael started a plan. The four of them met in the engineering room.
"Captain, what was your original plan?" Michael asked.
"I was planning to bombard the Fhetakehom capital, but both of the siege cannons were destroyed. Do you have a problem with that?" Juniper asked.
"Just because I'm from that planet doesn't mean I like them. What was your second plan?" Michael asked.
"After the cannons were taken out, I planned to crash this ship into their capital." Juniper answered.
"Well, I've got something better. I've got a bomb that could do far more damage than simply crashing this ship." Michael stated.
"Wait, what bomb?" Slippy asked as he looked at Michael from across the room.
"Your Endeavor. It's heavily damaged and it can be used as a bomb." Michael answered.
"What? Are you crazy?!" Slippy asked.
"It's a better idea than trying to ram it with a ship that's been shot to pieces." Michael replied.
"Actually, it's not a bad idea. I may lose the Endeavor, but it's worth it." Joseph quietly stated. Slippy sighed and looked at Joseph.
"But it's the Endeavor. We can't lose her." Slippy said.
"Who says so? She's my ship. I say we use her as a bomb." Joseph replied.
"If we're going to do that, we need to go back for her." Michael stated.
"If we go back for her, that will increase the chance that we'll be killed." Juniper stated.
"It's a risk we'll have to take. Where is she?" Joseph asked.
"She's not far from the Vuku nebula." Michael answered.
"Wait, so if we do this, we'll have to go all the way back there? It's on the other side of the solar system!" Juniper exclaimed.
"Look, if we go, we can't tow her back. You would have to come with us so the Jäger could tow her to Fhetakehom." Michael stated.
"Wait, she has power. She can run on her own." Slippy stated in a curious tone.
"If we want her to be useful as a bomb, we'll want to conserve as much antimatter as possible." Michael replied.
"Fine. We'll turn around and tow her back, but you need to escort us. The Jäger can't hold her own anymore." Juniper solemnly stated.
"Then it's settled. Slippy, we'll escort the Jäger to where your Endeavor is." Michael said as he looked at Slippy.
"I just hope she's still there." Slippy stated.
)(
Hours later, the Jäger and the Endeavor reached their position to see that she was still there.
"Good, she's still here. Brdani, are you picking anything up on sonar?" Joseph asked.
"Negative, Jäger. We're all clear. Proceed with docking." Michael replied over the transmission link. The Jäger came alongside the adrift and powerless Endeavor. Grappling hooks shot out from the Jäger, attaching to the Endeavor and pulling her onto the top deck of the Jäger. The Endeavor made hull contact with the Jäger and docking clamps attached to the Endeavor, locking her in place.
"She's docked. Lets get out of here." Joseph stated.
"Wait, we're picking up multiple fast moving targets, directly to port!" Michael reported. "Jäger, get out of here, we'll cover you!" He added.
"Wait! They're signaling us with Morse code!" Joseph reported as he looked at the many small ships through the optical scope. "They say they're here to escort us." Joseph stated.
"Signal back: Name, association, and reason." Juniper commanded. Joseph signaled back and soon received another signal.
"They're pirates and they have no association. Their reason, they want the glory for escorting the almighty Jäger." Joseph reported as he looked at Juniper.
"Tell them that they're welcome." Juniper commanded before taking a sigh of relief. "Can I get an exact amount of ships?" Juniper asked.
"So far, they have twenty-four assault corvettes, heavily armed." Joseph replied with a slight smile. "We might just make it out of this alive." He added.
"Don't be too optimistic, Lemming." Juniper stated. "But, there is a good chance that we'll live." She added with a slight smile.
(Fhetakehom)
"They've retreated? What for?" The commander asked.
"We don't know, but it might have something to do with the fact that the Warship Endeavor is currently escorting them." A voice replied.
"We've already lost five ships. Don't expect us to lend you any others." A deep male voice stated from behind the commander.
"What about the ships that are watching them?" The commander asked.
"There are many of them, but antimatter torpedoes are out of the question. They're being escorted by the Endeavor." The voice said.
"But they're in range of them! They could destroy them!" The commander replied in desperation.
"They are out of the equation. You have your puny carriers, use them." The voice stated.
"But your ships are right there! Use them!" The commander exclaimed as she began to sweat.
"I could, but I would lose them. I would rather not lose the most experimental ships in my armada." The voice stated.
"Use them! It would save us much trouble." The commander exclaimed as she turned around and looked at the tall slender figure behind her.
"Fine, I will order them to attack, but mark my words, they will sink. And another thing, war is no time to take things for granted. That is what your downfall was the first two times you led Fhetakehom into war." The voice explained.
)(
The Jäger and the Warship Endeavor had docked hours ago and the ships had been traveling hours before that. They were nearly at the midway point between Vuku and Fhetakehom, the star of the system, Igneous. Michael and Juniper had met in a small quiet room while Slippy looked over both of the Endeavors.
"I came here to ask you a question, captain." Michael stated.
"What question?" Juniper asked.
"What really happened when Vuku revolted against Fhetakehom. I get the feeling that Cewasu and Fhetakehom have skewed the story." Michael asked.
"Boy, Cewasu and Fhetakehom are ashamed that they lost the war. That's why they burned and destroyed any evidence they could, excluding the Endeavor. They waited decades to do this. They waited for everyone from the war to die off so they could change history to their own perspective." Juniper explained.
"I know that you served aboard the Endeavor yourself. You can't hide that from me. I want to know what really happened in the void." Michael demanded. Juniper sighed with dismay and looked down.
"It was truly an Auschwitz. The silence, the darkness, and lack of heat. It's amazing any of us lived through it. Kelliam and Larement, they were torpedo loaders. They were lost in the void. Kelliam was an old friend of mine and Larement, I didn't know him very well, but he would always play his flute during his down time. We only had a crew of eight and when we left the void, we were only a crew of five. It was barely enough to run the ship properly." Juniper solemnly explained.
"Why didn't Cewasu wait for you to die off?" Michael asked.
"They're the ones who gave me this dreaded disease. I'm suppose to die in two weeks. It would be five months if I was still in a coma, but I'm needed here, awake." Juniper explained.
"It is a shame." Michael stated. Suddenly, the ship shook and the sound of an explosion vibrated throughout the ship.
Juniper ran through the engineering room doors as the Warship Endeavor undocked from the Jäger. "Report!" Juniper commanded.
"One of the pirate corvettes exploded by an antimatter torpedo!" Joseph reported.
"Where did the torpedo come from?!" Juniper asked as she sat down at the helm console.
"It came directly from the port side, but there is no indication of a ship from that side!" Joseph reported.
"How-?!" Juniper exclaimed before the ship shook violently and the power core began leaking raw antimatter into the compound chamber.
"Endeavor, we've got an antimatter leak in the engine! Stop those torpedoes from hitting anyone!" Joseph commanded.
"I'll try and stop the leak!" Juniper exclaimed as she ran over to a control panel on the other side of the engine. The forward thruster began leaking antimatter into the fuel, causing the exhaust to become a bright and glowing neon green. Another bright red torpedo appeared and began racing towards the Jäger.
"Jäger, I have a theory! These torpedoes might be coming from concealed ships" Michael explained.
"Mike, do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?! We're trapped between the sun and these torpedoes!" Juniper exclaimed.
"It's possible!" Michael exclaimed.
"I have an idea!" Joseph exclaimed as he ran over to the helm controls. A torpedo struck the aft of the Jäger, engulfing the ship in a massive explosion. The explosion cooled and the Jäger sailed out of the residue left behind and pulled a hard to port. She sailed past the escorting pirate ships and sailed towards where the torpedoes were emerging from. The pirate ships quickly followed behind while the Warship Endeavor attempted to shoot down incoming torpedoes.
Soon, the torpedoes ceased to be launched and the Jäger pulled a hard to starboard. Joseph ran back over to the tactical console and looked into the optical scope. He looked towards the sun and saw distortions outlining what appeared to be long and thin ships. Torpedoes began launching towards the Jäger once again, but this time, from the starboard side.
"Brdani's right, They're cloaked! I'm launching starboard torpedoes!" Joseph commanded. The starboard torpedo tubes opened and three bright red torpedoes launched. The first torpedo exploded along with the second, but the third continued on. It struck a solid object, exploding on impact and revealing a heavily damaged ship.
"All ships, target that ship and destroy it!" Joseph commanded. The pirate corvettes changed course and viciously attacked the ship. The other space distortions faded as the enemy ship began to have internal explosions. Soon, the ship exploded, its debris vaporizing after the explosion. Joseph sighed and leaned forward on the tactical console. The exhaust from the main forward thruster returned to an invisible normal and the engine became calm.
"How many did we lose?" Juniper asked as she came out from behind the engine.
"I'm not quite sure. Brdani, how many did we lose?" Joseph asked.
"We lost two pirate corvettes, but no others." Michael reported over the transmission link.
"You did well, Lemming. Under pressure, you found the enemy and defeated them." Juniper stated as she walked over to Joseph.
"Is that a compliment or an insult in disguise?" Joseph asked.
"I give praise where it is well deserved, Joseph." Juniper replied with a slight smile.
(Fhetakehom)
"As I said, they discovered the ships and destroyed one." The voice stated.
"That's only because you had them retreat!" The commander exclaimed.
"I gave them their whole lives back. They lived because I commanded them to retreat. If I had not done that, even more blood would be on your hands, commander." The voice replied.
"We're going to die if you don't send more ships after them! You can easily kill them all, so do it!" The commander begged.
"Correction, you will die if I do nothing. You forget who is in command of the Cewasu armada here, commander. I am in command. Now that I see you are truly a savage being, I must withdraw my military presence from here. I will see you in what you call the afterlife and what my people call, the fifth dimension. Goodbye, commander." The figure stated before vanishing into the air.
"W-...we're going to die. All of us. The Hunter is going to kill us all." The commander whispered to herself in fear.
[End Transmission]
(To Be Continued...)