- Shattered Lylat: The Fragmentation War
Disclaimer to End All Disclaimers: Starfox (and all pilots), Star Wolf (and all pilots), the Great Fox, the Arwing, the Invader III, the Wolfen II. ROB-64 (or is it just ROB? anyway…whichever), The Lylat System (and all Planets), Bill Grey, Fara Phoenix, General Pepper, and Katt Monroe are copyright NINTENDO (In addition, Fara Phoenix is also copyright Benimaru Itoh). Everything else in this fanfic (ships, characters, weapons, vehicles) (and all subsequent fanfics by me) is mine or a variation of something that was in Starfox 64. (see previous disclaimers). Now that that's over with…
An Apology: I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the constant use of off-color language (and numerous dropping of the f-bomb), but hey, if you saw your girlfriend get brutally gunned down by a hated enemy, you'd be cursing too.
Chapter 10
"The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few" –Spock- Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
"I hate owing people" -Victor Davion- Battletech: Endgame
***
LOCATION UNKNOWNEd Wallace felt like he was falling through a void of some sort. All around him he could hear voices shouting, and explosions. Suddenly there was a flash of light…
And Ed woke up in what seemed to be the sickbay of a spaceship. Standing next to his bed was a Labrador Retriever dressed in a Damocles Military uniform, with a Red Cross patch on his shoulder.
"Where…am I?" Ed asked as he tried to sit up. He instantly regretted that decision as his chest protested in sharp stabbing pains.
"Easy there, you've just regained consciousness and the painkillers haven't quite taken effect." The doctor said. "You're in the sickbay of the Black Knight. I am Doctor Mitchell Dorian. I transferred over here from the Prometheus at Admiral Smith's orders. He found out that you and Commander Rendar were…incapacitated."
"How long have I been out?" Ed asked.
"You were out for 15 minutes, and you are still in serious condition."
Another explosion, "What's with all the explosions?" Ed asked
"Well, you see, we haven't broken free of the Imperial blockade yet." Dorian responded.
"WHAT?!" Ed shouted
"Hey, you know as well as I do that we're outnumbered 2 to 1 at best. Right now, the Great Fox, Prometheus, Phantron, Tempest Group, and the Black Knight, are trying to break through together. We all opted to stay behind while you ran your errand of mercy." Dorian responded. "We're about 50% clear, but the Imperials are persistent bastards."
"Incoming alert message from Great Fox. It's very garbled." ROB-2 suddenly announced over the intercom.
The message played "Can anyone assist? This is *crack* McCloud! Under heavy *zzt*. Damage extensive. Cannot launch Arwings. Hangar *crackle* damaged critcal. Need fire support. Hull integrity at 43…"
The transmission ended amidst static.
Ed sat up with difficulty, and pulled the IV out of his arm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dorian asked
"I'm getting up to the bridge to tell ROB-2 to save the Great Fox, that's what." Ed said as he slowly got to his feet. The painkillers were starting to take effect, and he was a little woozy.
"Oh no you don't." Dorian said, "You could reaggrivate your injuries. I've only just managed to stabilize you." The doctor took out a hypo "I'll just have to sedate you."
"I don't think so." The wolf said as he knocked the needle away. "Right now, you're concerned with keeping me alive. Well, I'm just one life. Right now, I'm trying to save 4. They also happen to be my friends, and I've already lost one friend today. So either come with me, or get the hell out of my way."
Dorian stood aghast for a second "You would willingly sacrifice yourself to save 4 comrades?"
"Yes, and even more if that were the case. The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. At least, that's what I believe in."
"Very well, I'll come with you and monitor your vital signs."
Ed limped out of sickbay quickly, Dorian following close behind.
***
Black Knight, Bridge, Katinan Orbit, 2 minutes laterEd fought to stand up as a blast hit the ship. He was already having trouble standing, as the painkillers had put him into a haze of some sort. He managed to limp over to the tactical console, and looked out of the forward bridge cockpit window. The Prometheus was to the Black Knight's starboard, taking hits from two Flayer frigates.
"Looks like you're a little outnumbered there, Admiral." Ed said into the comm
"Ed? You're up?" Admiral Smith answered.
"I won't be for long." Ed said
"Well, anyway, I think we should give them an extra target to shoot at." Smith shouted an order offscreen "Separate the hulls!"
Ed watched as the top part of the Prometheus broke away from the rest of the ship, and then started flying on its own. The other part of the ship also moved on its own, and both parts opened fire on each enemy Flayer. The two smaller enemy frigates were consumed in a firestorm of lasers and missiles.
"So this would be your design innovation?" Ed asked
"Yes indeed. The hull separation system. Designed to separate a ship into two functional vessels. I'd tell you more, but I think the Great Fox needs our help right away. They're 15 degrees to port."
"Entering course adjustment" ROB-2 answered as the Black Knight began to turn.
The Great Fox entered the viewscreen, and Ed was shocked. The ship was filled with blast craters, and one of its wings had been torn off. It was currently being menaced by an Armageddon cruiser and a Zeram II.
"ROB-2, fire the omni-cannons!" Ed ordered.
A laser blast from an enemy Flayer hit near the Black Knight's bridge, sending ceiling paneling and girders crashing down. One of them hit ROB-2.
Ed struggled to his feet. "ROB-2, if you can hear me, fire the damn cannons!"
"System error. Damage to self has caused malfunction in omni-cannon fire control. Also, damage to command circuits from earlier battles has prevented automatic fire of the cannons." ROB-2 reported as he lay, pinned under a girder.
"Well…shit!" Ed said "Can we fire the cannons from the tactical console?"
"Affirmative"
"Doc, see if you can help ROB-2"
"I'm a doctor, not a mechanic!" Dorian sputtered, but he went over to help ROB-2 lift the girder up.
Ed limped over to the tactical console, and heaved a broken girder off of it. His chest suddenly got sharp stabbing pains in it again.
"Hey doc, I think either the painkillers have worn off, or I reaggrivated my injuries." Ed said as he sat down at the tactical console and brought up the omni-cannon firing controls.
He fought through the pain and drug-induced haze as he locked up the two enemy starships. Off to starboard, the two parts of the Prometheus opened fire, draining the shields of the enemy attackers. Ed locked the cannons, set them to gauss cannon, and fired.
"Here's a message…go to hell!" Ed said as the massive guns fired.
One of the hypersonic slugs beheaded the Zeram-II, sending it adrift and dead. The other slug hit Apocalypse Missile Bay #10 on the Armageddon cruiser, touching off the missile within. The ship must have already fired off some of its missiles, because the resulting explosion wasn't nearly as big as the one from the ballistic missile cruiser Ed had destroyed a day before. Regardless, the resulting blast of the remaining cruise missiles cooking off had the desired effect. The ship bent in half as the missiles ravaged the front end, and the Armageddon slew out of control, doomed to break apart in Katina's atmosphere.
As Ed watched the Armageddon die, he clutched at his aching chest. His hand came back bloody, not just the dark red blood, but a bright red blood that stood out against his black fur. He realized he had indeed taken a hit to the lungs, and suddenly his vision tunneled, and he almost fell out of the tactical chair.
"ROB-2…the bridge…is yours." Ed managed to say before the darkness overtook him.
***
Great Fox, 30 seconds laterFox McCloud sat, stunned. Only seconds before he had thought his life was over. But again, out of nowhere, the two attacking ships had been shredded by gauss slugs.
"ROB, sitrep and damage report." Fox finally managed to say as he looked around the smoke-filled bridge.
"Good news is, we are through the blockade. Now the bad news. Shields are offline, hull integrity is at 33%. Decks 5-7 have serious environmental control failures. Hangar bay is badly damaged, and we cannot launch the Arwings. Stabilizer fin 3 has been destroyed. We can manage hyperspace, but the hyperdrive has been damaged, so long jumps are near impossible. Weapons are still online, but thrusters are at 70% efficiency."
ROB's report was interrupted by an incoming call from the Black Knight. "This is Doctor Mitchell Dorian. Do any of you four have O-negative blood?"
"I do, as does Falco." Fox responded. "Why?"
"Well, in his effort to save your ship, Captain Wallace reaggrivated injuries suffered on Katina, and has lost a lot of blood. He's going into shock, and I fear that without a blood transfusion, he may not survive for more than 20 minutes."
"Well, our hangar is all but destroyed, how are we going to get over to the Black Knight?"
"Admiral Smith is sending a Nightshade to your personnell access airlock located near the bridge. It should be arriving within 5 minutes."
"We'll be there"
***
Sickbay, Black Knight, 2 minutes laterWhile waiting for Fox and Falco to arrive, Dorian got one of the worst alerts a doctor ever had to hear.
"We've got a code blue!" one of the nurses shouted.
Dorian ran into the ward. "Which one?"
"Captain Wallace, he's lost more blood than we originally thought. It's about 3 pints worth."
"Oh, shit!" Dorian shouted "We have to slow down the bleeding, try and slow down his vitals so that he'll bleed less."
Despite their efforts, not much was working. The morphine was barely slowing the bleeding down. Just when it seemed that Ed Wallace was doomed to die unconscious and bleeding, Fox, Falco, and General Knight walked through the door.
"General, do you have O-negative blood?" Dorian asked
"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be here." Knight responded.
"Good, we're making a fast transfusion, all three of you, right now."
***
LOCATION UNKOWN (Again)Ed Wallace found himself standing in a room of infinite size, all white, all around.
Where am I now?
He wondered. Oddly enough, he wasn't in any pain. He was still attired in the same clothing he was wearing when he got shot, bullet holes and all, but there was no blood.Oh God…did I die or something?
He thought.Then from off in the distance, an unfamiliar voice said, "No, you aren't dead…at least…not yet."
Ed noticed a figure walking towards him. As the figure approached, Ed could see who it was…or wasn't. He had always thought that in a near-death experience, his father might show up. However, the figure approaching him was not his father. Instead it was a red fox, dressed in a familiar flight uniform, and wearing a familiar red bandana. Ed almost mistook him for Fox McCloud. But he noticed that the fox looked much older than fox. This vulpine looked to be in his late 30s. Ed thought he had seen this individual somewhere before…then he realized it.
"You're James McCloud…aren't you?" Ed asked.
"Guilty as charged." The vulpine answered.
"I find it odd to be meeting a dead legend…" Ed said "You sure I'm not dead?"
"As I said before, you're not dead."
"Well then, where am I?"
"You are in an area between life and death. Some call it the Brink, others call it the Edge." James answered.
"And why are you here?"
"I am here because you are making a mistake."
"What?"
"You are choosing to die."
"That's not true."
"You may not know it, but right now, you're lapsing into a coma. Doctor Dorian is trying to get you three pints of blood to replace the ones you lost, and yet, without your will to live and survive, it will all be futile."
"What makes you think I would be giving up?"
"Because I am here. It is what I have been charged with having to do since my demise. And it's not the first time. I have come to the aid of another who believed all was lost, and I managed to save him."
"Who was that?" Ed asked.
"My son."
***
Black Knight Sickbay, same time- "How is he?" Fox asked
"I'm not sure. He's stabilized, but he's out cold. He's in a coma of some sort. I'm not sure if he'll make it, even with the transfusions." Doctor Dorian said.
The sickbay doors opened, and the rest of Starfox and BlackWolf, plus the surviving pilots of Shadow Wing's Beta Company, walked into the room, surrounding the bed where Ed Wallace lay.
"We came as soon as we heard." Jason Kage said, his left arm still in a sling. "How is he?"
"As I said before, we got the transfusions in time, but he's gone into some sort of coma. I can't explain it."
"So we have no clue if he'll make it?" Dante asked
"Only Ed knows for certain." Dorian responded.
***
"So you led Fox out of the crumbling ruins of Andross's lair?"
"Yes I did, and then, my task finished, I simply vanished. Of course, Fox cannot explain what happened, so he omitted that fact from his final mission report. I think it was that incident that finally convinced him I was truly dead." James responded.
"So you're saying that you're some sort of guardian angel?" Ed asked
"I guess so."
"Okay, but why would I be giving up hope?" Ed asked
"Think about it."
Ed thought for a few seconds, and then he was hit with another realization. "Katya."
"Exactly. You're still upset that you couldn't save her"
"Of course I am. I should've been able to save her, and instead I watched her get cut down by Wolf O'Donnell."
"At least you were given the chance to make the attempt." James said. "My wife was killed as a result of a car bomb intended for me, and I couldn't save her, because I wasn't even on Corneria at the time. And even if I had known, there's a good chance I still couldn't have done anything."
"Well, that's something I never knew before."
"Well, the CDF doesn't like to let it out, and Fox hasn't really told anybody about it. Only Fox, General Pepper, and Peppy know that it should've been me, not Vixy, who should have been killed that day. In any event, after that happened, I was devastated. I wanted to quit, to go someplace and just die. But I realized that I could not quit until justice had been served. And even though I couldn't kill Andross, Fox managed to see to that. Which brings me back to why you are here."
"Which is?"
"You promised Katya she would be avenged. So quitting is out of the question. I know that the days ahead will not be easy for you, but you have to do this, if not for Katya's sake and for the sake of your friends, then for your own."
Ed was silent. "I need to think about this for a while."
"Well, you do have all the time you need"
***
Black Knight Sickbay"So, as far as you know, he might not ever wake from this coma?" Jason said.
"Exactly. There's a chance he could wake up, but right now…I'm not sure." Dorain responded
"So, what are we going to do?" Jenna Sandoval asked.
"Normally, I'd follow what his medical forms say. If he had a DNR, I'd pull the plug right here. But he doesn't have a DNR, and he never filled out a LMFPA form."
"What's that mean?" Jason asked
"'Leave My Freakin' Plug Alone'. The exact opposite of a DNR."
"So where does that leave us?" Dave Cheng asked
"Well, since Ed is unable to choose whether he lives or dies, I decided that that choice should fall to you. Ed has no living family, which puts his team and comrades in the hot-seat for a decision. The 11 of you get to decide his fate. Tell me 'yes' if you want to keep him on life support, or 'no' if you want to yank the plug."
The answer was obvious. One by one, each surviving and conscious pilot of Starfox, BlackWolf, and Shadow Wing voted to keep Ed on life support, regardless of whether or not he would wake up.
"You know that nothing is for certain." Dorian said after the voting ended. "He could be like this forever."
"He deserves the chance." Jason Kage said. "He put his life on the line for all of us to give us another chance, and we can only do the same for him"
"I agree." Fox said "If not for his actions, I'd be a corpse in space. I don't care how long it takes, he should remain on life support."
"After all," Dante said "He's a fighter and a warrior, and should not have to go out like this."
"I get the point." Dorian said "He'll remain on life support until he wakes. Until then, there really isn't much point in you all staying around. I'll call you if anything changes."
Dorian went to check on some of the other patients that had been sent to the Black Knight's sickbay, including Mark Rendar. The Starfox, BlackWolf, and Shadow Wing pilots left, except for Jenna.
Fox noticed this. "Jenna, aren't you coming?" he asked
"No…I think I'll stay here. I have a lot to think about." She responded
"Like what?" Fox asked
"Ed and I used to date during our first year at the Academy. He was crazy about me, and for a while I was crazy about him…but then I broke up with him very harshly, which devastated him. Somehow I can't help but think that the reason he's in this coma is because I broke up with him…which set his life up for a massive train wreck."
"Well, I don't think that's true." Fox said
"But I do. I think that maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh to him, maybe given him another chance…or maybe give him another chance…if he ever wakes up."
"Well, I can't tell you what to think or what to do…so I guess you just have to figure things out for yourself. For your sake, I hope you make the right choice…because guilt isn't something you want to live with.
Fox changed the subject.
"I'll be waiting outside. If he wakes up. Let me know, I wasn't to be the first to thank him for saving my life."
Fox left, leaving Jenna to battle her personal demons.
***
Ed faintly thought he heard his comrades saying 'yes' to something…but he couldn't be sure. Then he thought he heard Fox and Jenna having a conversation, but whatever it was, it was too muted for him to hear. He turned to James. "Are they talking about me?"
"Yes. The muted 'yes' you heard from your comrades was them all deciding to leave you on life support even if you remain in this coma for years. The conversation between Fox and Jenna had something to do with your prior relationship with her."
"Heh…" Ed chuckled
"What?"
"Funny how Jenna would bring up something like that now, especially after she broke my heart when she ended said prior relationship. But that's not important. Did they really all vote to keep me on life support?"
"Every single one, without a second thought."
"Well, I guess if they have that much faith in me…I guess I should go back."
"Do you think you are ready?" James asked
"No, but I'm not much good to anyone lying on my back unconscious. I'll just have to take the bad and the good and try and make something out of it."
"Seems like a good place to start." James said as a door marked "exit" appeared out of nowhere. "That door leads you home, it may take a while before you wake up, however."
"Thanks…for everything." Ed said as he left. Ed walked through the door and disappeared.
A cloaked cat walked up to James. "So, he went back, did he?" he asked
"Yes he did, Death. So you now owe me $50."
Death got out the money and handed it over. "Never bet against a McCloud." Death grumbled.
A black-furred wolf walked up to the two. "You think you would've learned that by now." The wolf said
"Shut it, Wallace." Death shot back.
"No need to get mad at Jon just because he's right." James said.
Death snarled and left James McCloud and Johnathan Wallace alone.
"So, my son went back." John said
"Yes he did. However, I don't think he's ready to take on the responsibility he'll now face." James responded.
"He'll get through it. Always does. It's a shame I didn't get a chance to talk to him."
"What would be there to say, really?" James asked "I mean, he's accepted your death."
"He may have accepted the outcome, but he wants to kill the cause."
"Think he can do that?"
"He has no other choice. Besides, he would be neglecting another promise if he doesn't."
***
Black Knight Sickbay
, about 1 hour laterEd slowly opened his eyes. He found himself in the sickbay of the Black Knight. He felt a dull aching pain in his chest, which assured him this wasn't a dream.
Pain is the only true sign you are alive…how ironic.
He thought. He looked over to his right. Jenna was sitting half asleep next to him."Hey, you awake?" Ed managed to speak through the respirator mask over his muzzle.
Jenna looked at him "Ed…you're alive!" she almost shouted
"Was there ever any doubt?" Ed asked jokingly. "What are you still doing here"
Jenna suddenly went a little defensive. "Well…we decided to wait in shifts to see if you would wake up. I was chosen to be first. I was just about to leave and let the next in line in when you woke up. Actually, the next in line wants to talk to you, now that you're awake…so I'll just go."
Ed could tell she was lying, but he decided not to press the issue. "Okay, go ahead." Ed said.
Jenna stood up and walked out the door. Just before leaving, the wolf turned and said "Thank you for saving me." Then she was out the door.
Almost immediately Fox McCloud walked in. Before he could say anything, Ed asked. "Is the ship…out of danger?"
Fox was momentarily confused, but then he realized what Ed was talking about. "Yeah, you saved the Great Fox. ROB-2 and Dr. Dorian told me all about it. We all owe you one for that."
"Just doing what needed to be done." Ed said as he managed to pull the respirator mask off. "Where are we now?"
"We're using a series of small hyperspace jumps to reach Solar, and then we're going to move in at impulse speed to an area in Sector X that Admiral Smith designated. The idea behind the small jumps is to throw the Imperials off our trail, and also some of the ships have damaged hyperdrive cores, so we aren't sure they could make long jumps." Fox said. "Also, Admiral Smith said the Imperials are going to have trouble searching for us anyway. It seems that we sent some of the hyperspace capable derelicts on random hyperspace vectors that ended up outside the Lylat System. As far as the Imperials know, we may have completely left the system, and gone to a planet that only the CDF knows about."
"What are our losses?"
"As of right now, we don't know. We're waiting until all ships reach the first rendezvous point."
"Are we even there yet?"
"No, we're an hour out. We had to make a few extra jumps to give the Imperials the slip."
"The Royal Family?"
"Safe and sound on the Ikaruga, save for Dante. He's fulfilling his duty as medic by assisting Dorian with some of the other wounded."
"What about Mark?"
"Dorian hasn't said much, since Mark is still in surgery. I'm pretty sure he'll come out okay, though." Fox said. "Okay, time for me to ask you a question. What the hell were you thinking?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You almost got yourself killed limping up to the bridge in order to save the Great Fox. What possessed you to do that?"
"I think losing one friend was enough for today." Ed said. "Besides which, the needs of the many, in this case you 4, outweighed the needs of the few…me."
"I think you've lost it." Fox said.
"No, not yet. I admit that it was a risky thing to do, but you guys would've died otherwise. There was no other way to fire the cannons, ROB-2's fire control circuits were compromised, and he was pinned under debris. I was the only other one who knew how to use the cannons. I had to do it."
"Well, I guess at the end of it all, the important thing is you stayed alive."
"Yeah, about that…your father is one hell of a guardian angel."
"What?"
Ed told Fox how he had met James McCloud while he was in his coma. Fox grinned slightly at the mention of the events one year ago. "Yeah, he did kind of surprise me, showing up and then vanishing like that. Somehow I'm not surprised he showed up to lead you out of your coma. He had a knack for doing the impossible when he was alive, and now he seems to do it still."
"I guess so." Ed said
Fox glanced over his shoulder, and saw Dr. Dorian approaching. "It looks like the doc's here to check you over. I'll go let everyone know you're going to be okay. In the meantime, you should get some rest."
Fox left the sickbay. Dr. Dorian took out a medical scanner and gave Ed a quick look over. "Well, despite your best intentions, you're going to be fine. Your left lung and leg has been patched up, but you have three cracked ribs."
Ed felt a sharp stabbing pain in his chest "Only three?" he groaned in pain.
"You'll find that moving about isn't going to be easy, and breathing won't be much fun either. The painkillers should help, but as you can see, they wear off after a while."
Dorian gave Ed another shot of morphine, and the pain gradually subsided. "How long is this going to keep up?" Ed asked
"You should be able to walk within a day, the bullet missed your femur. The chest pains will take about a week to go away, so try and avoid heavy duty if at all possible."
"I'll consider it." Ed replied "How's Mark doing?"
"Well, he's still in surgery, so I'm not sure. All I can say he will live, and still be able to walk. His arm was badly torn up, though. We're working on trying to save it."
"I see." Ed said. Poor bastard…Going thorough the rest of his life with one arm…that could end his career altogether.
"For now, you should get some rest. There isn't any fighting going on, so you should focus on recuperating."
"Okay, I will. Thanks doc."
***
Fox was waiting for Dorian as he walked out of sickbay. "So, how is he doing?" Fox asked.
"He's going to make a full recovery…and that surprises me."
"Why?"
"I can't understand it. By all rights he should've died out on Katina. The bullet that hit his lung missed his heart by a mere 2 inches. Besides which, he couldn't have possibly survived that long if his lungs were filled with blood. It's as if he survived on his will alone."
"It's not uncommon."
"Yes, but he should be dead. I don't understand it. It's as if some higher power brought him back from the edge."
"You never know." Fox said with a small grin as he turned and walked away.