Star Wolf Adventures : Galaxy War
(Version 1.2)
Chapter Eleven : Desperate Struggle
The moment that the Ancient Minister and CT64 stepped out of sight, Kay-Tee hurried into the room and up to Wolf.
"Boss, I know you said to wait, but I just wanted you to know that Andrew and I got the weapons!" he said, excitedly. "He's waiting back in the corridor... He's willing to help, and he wants back on the team."
Wolf snorted.
"Right," he said, shaking his head. "You tell him to stop worrying about a job, and worry about living through the next... Twenty seven minutes."
Kay-Tee glanced at the nearest computer panel, and shuddered.
"What's the plan, boss?" he asked.
"We need to figure out how to get free of these shackles... At least the ones on our legs," Wolf said, frowning. "We can still shoot even if our wrists are bound."
He leaned down, along with Kay-Tee and Pablo, to look at the chains around their ankles. They were held by small hooks, which had been drilled into the metal frame at the base of the wall.
"We sometimes use them to tie down fragile ships, if we're expecting a bumpy trip," Pablo said. "They're pretty strong... However, the chains aren't."
"I think a mild blaster bolt would weaken them enough to be easily broken," Wolf said, nodding. "If it wouldn't attract too much attention."
"Captain O'Donnell, why are you so worried about that shrimp?"
asked Zack. "Even if CT64 helps him, we outnumber them 6 to 2..."
"That 'shrimp', as you call him, is extremely powerful," Wolf said, shaking his head. "And besides, I think our original numbers might be a little lean... Just because Dox didn't see any other crew doesn't mean they aren't there."
"They're pretty quieft if they are," Mac said, glancing toward the doorway that led into the |_33+ Hacker. "Seems they would've come running when the incident with the Gruntling took place..."
"Maybe they're waiting for a command," said Wolf. "And until they get it, they're out of sight... Just biding their time." He shrugged, then looked down at the chains again. "Kay-Tee, get one of the pistols from Andrew, and bring it back..."
Kay-Tee hurried off, and was back a moment later. Wolf took the gun, and thumbed the setting down to one above stun. He set it to 'Silencer Mode', and hoped for the best. 'Silencer Mode' would mute the initial blast entirely, but Wolf knew that the impact it made would echo through the metallic walls of the docking bay.
"El, keep a wary eye on those doors," Pablo warned.
"Okay," El Boton replied. "I'll sing out at the first shadow I see move..."
Wolf held his breath, and fired. To his amazement, it made little noise at all... And it melted the chain halfway through! Grunting, Wolf gave the chain a harsh tug. It snapped in two, freeing his legs!
"Okay, four more, and-"
"Stop, he's coming!" El snapped, but it was too late.
"Going... Somewhere... O'Donnell?" the Ancient Minister asked, gliding into the room.
Wolf glared at the short, cloaked figure.
"I'm taking you down, you lunatic," he snarled. "And then I'll stop your little bomb..."
"It's... Too... Late..." the Minister said, shaking his head. "The... Countdown... Cannot... Be... Stopped... By... The... Likes... Of... You. Only... A... Mastermind... Of... Technology... Could... Manage... It."
Wolf raised the pistol.
"We'll worry about that later," he said, pulling the trigger.
In a blur, the Ancient Minister whipped off his cloak, and brought up a glowing, green lightsaber. He caught the blaster bolt on the lightsaber's edge, and deflected it back at Wolf.
Wolf nimbly leaped to the side, and threw himself behind a stack of crates. Pablo and his men did likewise after having their chains blasted. They took shelter behind a larger stack of crates. Kay-Tee was beside Wolf in an instant, wanting to know what to do.
"Stay down," Wolf said sternly. "We've already taken too many hits as a team... No need to be stupid about it. Signal to Andrew, if you can, to get his rear in here... You guys need the guns." He paused, then said, "I have to face the Minister one on one."
"But how?" asked Kay-Tee.
"I need to get the lightsaber I used earlier, and..." he chanced a look around the crates. "I see it on the work table near the door into the |_33+ Hacker. I'm going to rush out, draw the Minister away from these crates, and then get that lightsaber. That's when you need to get Andrew in here! I have a feeling the Minister's aides are about to arrive..."
Without another word, Wolf leapt over the crate in front of him, and started running. The Ancient Minister was ahead of him, holding his lightsaber. Without his cloak, he was revealed to be a robot...
He had a round, flat base, which apparently had some sort of hovering ability. A spindly 'spine' led up to equally spindly arms, and a head that was rather like a pair of binoculars, with glowing lights instead of lenses. But weak though he looked, he radiated power as he shot forward, swinging the lightsaber.
Wolf quickly dodge to the side, then jumped forward, rolling and sliding across the floor. He nearly crashed into the table he was aiming for, but caught the edge, got to his feet, and grabbed the lightsaber. Spinning around, turning it on as he brought it up, Wolf immediately blocked a swipe from the Minister!
Any advantage that Wolf's height may have offered him was out the proverbial window... The Minister was floating two feet off the floor, and his arms seemed to have lengthened.
"Nice trick, but you're still a bucket of bolts!" Wolf said, dodging to the side, parrying several blows. The Minister said nothing now, he was so focused on killing Wolf.
Pablo and the others watched in awe, as the two traded blow after blow. Kay-Tee had to go and wrench the bag of weapons away from Andrew, who was paralyzed at the sight of the duel. He then turned back, to look at the battle, but his eyes were drawn to something else...
Out of the |_33+ Hacker, and into the NinsonX, came the 'aides' that Wolf had thought were coming. Indeed... The dozen miniature versions of the Ancient Minister looked ready for a fight. They underlined this by shooting powerful laser blasts from their eyes!
Kay-Tee barely had time to dive behind the crates, before the tops of the crates began to splinter from the impacts. The young pilot passed out the weapons, and the men got to a kneeling position. From there they could duck out and fire.
Wolf and the Minister were dueling hard, Wolf realizing that Emm had been nowhere near as powerful as this short, robotic tyrant. He also realized that unless he did some damage, the Minister would not tire. Lunging forward, Wolf tried to get in a jab at the Minister's free arm, but as quick as he moved, the Minister was quicker.
Spinning in midair, the Minister blocked the attack, and countered, aiming a blow at Wolf's head! Wolf's instincts told him to twist away, and it saved his life. However, the very tip of the Minister's lightsaber caught Wolf's eyepiece. The circuitry in it overloaded, and gave Wolf a very painful shock.
Staggering to the side, Wolf tore the eyepiece off, and tossed it aside. Now, turning one good eye, and one solid white eye (surrounded by singed fur), toward the Minister, Wolf glared, and said, "You're gonna pay for that!" He lunged forward with new aggression, forcing the Minister to hover backwards several feet. But a voice in the back of his mind told Wolf that he didn't have long...
Or maybe it was the monitors.
20:32 before star collapse...
20:31 before star collapse...
20:30 before star collapse...
While Wolf was barely surviving, his comrades were... Barely surviving. They'd managed to take out only two robots, and the rest were still blasting away consistently at the stack of crates, which was teetering ominously. Pablo, Mac, El, and Zack were finding it hard to fire accurately with the shackles... And Kay-Tee just wasn't the best shot. He was a better pilot, and an even better technician.
Andrew was cowering down behind another stack of crates. He'd dived for cover upon seeing the robots, and wasn't doing a thing to help. Kay-Tee understood why he had gotten fired, now. The guy was pathetic. He spared a moment to glance back at Wolf, and his breath caught in his throat at what he saw.
"ARGH!" Wolf exclaimed, painfully, as his free arm recieved a harsh, glancing blow. It was the same arm that Emm had nicked earlier, and now it was hanging uselessly at his side. Wolf knew he was lucky not to have lost it, but this wasn't the time for counting his blessings.
Stumbling back, trying to catch his breath, Wolf held his lightsaber in guard position. The Minister kept pressing his advantage, wailing away at Wolf's lightsaber.
The stack of crates was teetering forward and back more and more, forcing those hiding behind them to reevaluate the situation.
"We need a new hiding place!" Pablo exclaimed, ducking as a laser blast almost took his head off.
"There's none left, unless we head for the NinsonX's interior," Mac reasoned. "Assuming we made it to the doorway alive."
"Thanks for cheering us up, Mac," Zack said again, making a face.
As the stack of crates leaned toward the group dangerously, they prepared to make a break for it. But, suddenly, El had an idea. He crawled back a few feet, then partially stood up. Lunging forward, he slammed into the stack of crates with his shoulder.
He had time it perfectly, as the crates leaned back toward the center of the room... The entire stack of crates crashed down, well away from Kay-Tee and the others. Consequently, it also smashed about half of the remaining robots!
El was praised for his quick thinking, but there was little time for celebration. They quickly took places, each of them, behind solitary crates. The remaining robots were taken aback by this surprise move, and were, in turn, in prime position to be blasted.
But, even as the tide was turning back in his comrades' favor, Wolf's efforts were failing. He tried to get some space between him and the Minister, but the close he got to the robot aides, the more chanced he'd have of being shot, either by them, or by his friends. So, he tried to edge around the group, continuing to block and parry.
This almost worked, but only a short distance from the doorway that led into the |_33+ Hacker Wolf tripped over a fallen robot! He fell to the floor of the docking bay hard, his injuries painfully protesting. Looking up, he saw the Ancient Minister lunging downward!
Wolf rolled to the side, as the lightsaber seared a groove into the floor. The Minister came at him again, and Wolf sprang sideways, crashing painfully into a wall. He groaned, trying to get up, but only managing to reach his knees. He raised his lightsaber, but the blow that the Minister delivered was enough to wrench it from his hand, and send it clattering away!
Wolf looked up into the glowing eyes, knowing what was to come.
As the last robot aide fell, the charge ran out on the weapons that Kay-Tee and the others were using. It had been dwindling more and more, but thankfully they'd had enough. Or had they? Pablo caught sight of Wolf, just as his lightsaber was batted away. The pilot of the NinsonX raised his pistol, aimed at the Minister, and fired. But nothing happened... The pistol was dead.
The Ancient Minister adjusted a setting on his lightsaber, and the glowing beam seemed to solidify, somewhat. Wolf was puzzled by this, but the Minister explained.
"A... More... Concentrated... Beam... Does... Not... Disintegrate... The... Target..." he said. "It... Brings... Much... More... Pain... And... A... Slow... Death."
Wolf tensed his muscles, waiting for a moment, a chance to spring forward, to grapple for the lightsaber. But his body was tired, and his left arm wouldn't even respond at all. He felt older than he had ever felt in his life... And like his life was about to end.
"My liege... I cannot allow this!"
Every head turned to see CT64, who had disappeared when the fight had begun, now standing in the doorway leading to the |_33+ Hacker, with a blaster rifle in his hands.
"You... Stupid... Droid..." the Minister said, in his monotonous tone. "You... Would... Have... Been... At... My... Side... And... Acchieved... Greatness!"
"Not at this price, my liege," CT64 said firmly. "Put down the lightsaber, and stop the countdown."
The nearest display read '15:12 before star collapse'... Time was
running out.
The Minister looked at his former assistant, his eyes glowing red now, his grip tightening on his lightsaber. He was angry... Furious, actually... That his underling would turn on him in this way.
"You... Will... Regret... This... Mistake... CT64..."
As the Minister made a move to the right, CT64 pulled the trigger on his rifle. He failed to recognize the feint his master was using, and his shot missed the tyrant completely. It did not, however, miss Mac Banno. The crew member was running forward, planning on leaping at the Minister as a distraction, but he never made it.
The full force of CT64's blast coursed through his body, lifting him off his feet, and hurling him against the far wall. The droid was shocked, and the rifle fell from his hands. Then, the Minister plunged his lightsaber into the circuit computer in CT64's chest. Sparks flew as the weapon was wrenched free again, and the droid fell to the floor, flames erupting from his chest. His eyes grew dim, and finally blinked out.
Wolf felt a burst of energy, anger welling inside of him from seeing Mac and CT64 fall while trying to help... Just like Mumbo had. His good eye was ablaze, rage coursing through his veins, as he leapt at the Minister, claws out, ready to tear the robotic despot apart.
Kay-Tee watched, his eyes wide as saucers, as the Minister spun around quickly, holding his lightsaber forward. Wolf felt the lightsaber enter his stomach, just below his heart, and he also felt it burst out his back. His insides felt like molten lava, and then everything started to go black.
Wolf faintly heard Kay-Tee and the others yelling... He heard the cold mechanical laugh of the Minister... And he felt himself hit the floor with a thud. And then... He remembered no more.
13:44 before star collapse...
*****
(Meanwhile, back at the base...)
At the very moment that Mumbo's wand had broken, as he had been preparing to leave in his ship, the spells he had recently made came undone. That meant that the shadowboxing plant stiffened, and became a normal plant again, just as it had begun to work on a rubber plant in the interview room.
It also meant that Panther and Mafefe were turned back to normal.
It came as a shock to both of them... Mafefe was suddenly human again, sitting on Wolf's desk, blinking his now normal eyes. Panther found himself curled in a ball near the front entrance.
Mafefe hopped off the desk, stretched, and looked around. He made his way slowly out of the door, and into the corridor. He didn't hear anything, or anyone for that matter, so he started down the corridor.
Panther had risen, painfully, to his feet, fighting the urge to arch his back as he did so. Footsteps caught his attention, and he spun, claws out, ready to kill.
It was Mafefe. He looked at Panther's lethal pose, and made a face.
"I find that highly offensive," he said.
Panther relaxed,
"And who are you?" he asked.
"Mafefe. Who are you?"
"I thought everyone knew who I was. I'm Panther Caruso. I'm a famous pilot, and quite famous with ladies throughout the universe, as well."
Mafefe blinked.
"You're pretty arrogant for a furry," he said, boredly. "So, where did Wolf go? And that crazy skull-faced guy who turned me into a rock?"
"I, too, was ambushed by the shaman," Panther said, with distaste. "I had to endure the embarrassment of being the team mascot!"
"I was a paperweight," Mafefe said, frowning. "With googly eyes."
"Oh, dear... Poor fellow," Panther said, raising an eyebrow. "That must have been... Unusual."
"I just want to get out of this place, and-"
"Now, now, what's the rush, my little friend?" Panther said, hurriedly. "As I was about to say, the captain and his group left, and there happens to be only one other person here."
"Why should that keep me from leaving?"
"Because, former paperweight, it means that we can do as we please to Wolf's headquarters," Panther said, smugly. "The only person left behind was that absurd little hole-digger, Lazlo. He's easily the wimpiest person I've ever seen... I believe we can dispose of him, and be free to commandeer this base."
Mafefe nodded slowly.
"I understand," he said. "So where is this... Lazlo... Now?"
"In the computer room," Panther said, leading the way. "We should be able catch him completely by surprise."
*****
Lazlo was seated at a computer, waiting for word from Kain or Wolf, and eating ice cream. He'd just taken a particularly large bite, when the screen in front of him came to life. It was an incoming holomessage! Lazlo almost choked, but immediately accepted it, and entered a command that would record and save the conversation.
"Star Wolf base? This is Kain Frederick."
"Gro ruhged, Grain Fwedick..." Lazlo said, gagging on ice cream. He swallowed, then repeated, "Go ahead, Kain Frederick. This is Lazlo at Star Wolf base!"
Kain was a young, human fellow, and the pilot/spy friend of Dox.
"I have that info I promised Dox," he said. "Apparently Icis Mazza, Gled and Grye Jinnore, SUB36, and Queen Mandara, are all very powerful people, from around the universe. They seem to know each other, yet, apparently, each has their own realm that they govern."
Lazlo nodded, as if he knew what Kain was talking about. He didn't, of course.
"Right, so... How is that important to the boss?" he asked, airily.
"Well, your boss might like to know that those five are teaming up with General Pepper, Star Fox, and the Cornerian forces."
"Why?"
"To take on Andross, apparently," Kain said, glancing around, as if afraid to be caught. "From what I gathered, Andross has gone off the deep end in a big way... Bigger than usual, actually. Icis seems to think that he's even dipping into the occult now... Black magic, and the like."
Lazlo whistled. He might not have a clue what this guy was talking about, but he knew that black magic was dangerous and scary business.
"Look, I'd better go," Kain said. "I don't want to get caught divulging information to one of McCloud's worst enemies... They might lock me up for treason, or something. I'll message back if anything new happens. Kain, out."
Lazlo saluted, as the screen went black once more. He then stopped the recording. It would be awaiting Wolf's viewing, when he arrived back at the base. Getting out of the chair, and picking up his empty bowl, Lazlo turned to leave the room... He felt he'd earned another bowl of ice cream before he commed Wolf.
He stopped short, however, and his bowl fell to the floor, breaking. Standing in the doorway were two figures... One tall, purple, felinoid, and very menacing looking... The other shorter, human, and looking somewhat bored.
"And where do you think you're going, little marshmallow man?" Panther asked, sneering.
"Um... Just to take a nap..." Lazlo said, wishing he hadn't left his shovel at the entrance.
"I think that's a good idea... Perhaps... Even a permanent nap?" Panther laughed evilly, as he stalked forward, claws outward. Mafefe simply smirked. Lazlo swallowed hard, his small frame shaking, as Panther drew near.
End of Chapter Eleven