A/N: Hey there...since there most likely aren't many viewing this post...which there usually isn't. Thanks to the few who actually are ^_^
Anyhow, I've really managed to get in a lot of writing time this month and a new chapter will soon be out for both Second Chances and CoF2. They're both with Lefty as we speak...
The Footsteps in the Darkness ~ SkullFox
Frag the weak, hurdle the dead ~ Mykll
Back doors to problems lead to better results and hidden treasures ~ Jamie
Chapter 14: Setbacks…
Katt sat in a mostly empty room. Reiko was busy, as were most of the others that were working with them on the plans of what was to come. In that time, the feline was forced to sit by, waiting for the young cheetah girl that entered the room; she'd been told she'd know Jane when she saw her and they were right. The feline was slightly energetic and from what she could see, rather top heavy. Her figure was something that Katt had only seen in a few places on Corneria. The cheetah sat down with a small device in her paw…
"Know what this is?" She asked waving it back and forth a bit.
"Yeah…" Katt nodded, "…where were you when all this happened?"
The cheetah sighed, "Unfortunately I only got back a few hours ago," She said, "sorry…my job wasn't an important one, but, now that I know this has all happened. I wish I would have stayed here." She said holding out her free paw which Katt set her broken arm in, "I'm a medical technician, I was helping some friends on Katina patch up a friend of theirs that got pretty badly injured."
The pink furred feline sighed, "Well…I'm glad you can fix this."
Jane sighed, "Well fixing a broken bone isn't nearly as hard as it used to be…" She replied, "…especially when it's just a hairline like yours." She said running the small object she held over the broken forearm, "So…how do you know Miyu?"
Katt chuckled, "We were both really good friends of Fox McCloud…."
"Chloe told me something about Kursed being here with you guys." The cheetah replied.
Katt sighed, wincing a bit in pain as there was a slight crunch sound from her arm, "She took off when she heard that Seven was taken away. I think Jamie went with her."
Jane laughed almost out loud, "Well…I'd really hate to see those two working together; I've only heard stories of what Kursed is capable of, but, I've seen Jamie in action. If there's anyone you should worry about, worry about the guys that get in their way."
At that moment Creed entered the room, he didn't seem to pay anyone any real mind until he reached a cabinet where he looked about for something for a moment, "Either of you two know about some sort of muscle ointment in here?" He asked as he looked through the cabinet.
Katt chuckled to herself as she found the cheetah girl staring at the massive vulpine, until the pink feline snapped her fingers in front of her face, "Oh…um…it should be behind the peroxide."
Creed shuffled his paw about inside the cabinet for a moment, "Hmm…ah…some genius put it in this empty box of swabs…" He said turning around.
Katt and Jane both seemed to stare for a moment, Katt had never actually seen Creed without a shirt, and now she was certain that he was definitely the largest member of his species that she'd ever seen. In comparison to someone like Reiko or Fox McCloud, the animal looked like a colossus. Even through his slightly matted red fur, his musculature was incredibly prominent. Suddenly their eyes seemed to converge on a small spot of missing fur near his abdomen. Creed looked down chuckling a bit as he gently scratched the patch of missing fur…
"Oh…that's what you're staring at." He said, "Long story short, some asshole set me on fire."
Jane and Katt shared a short glance, "Really…who?"
Creed chuckled as he walked out of the room, "My father."
It was after that moment that Jane continued her work on Katt's arm, "So…um…who was that?"
Katt chuckled a bit, "That was Creed. He was a member of The Wraiths before I was…for a while it was just him and Reiko apparently."
Finally Jane pulled the scanner away from Katt's arm, "Okay that should do it. Just take it easy. The bone is still injured it's just not broken anymore…it's going to be sensitive for a week or so try to keep it's uses to a minimum."
Katt rubbed her still sore forearm, "No problems there." She commented, "Arm still hurts pretty badly."
Jane sighed, "What about the others?" She asked, "Anyone else around here injured?"
Katt thought for a moment, "No…not that I know of anyhow. Apparently Creed's got a problem or two…could you do me a favor and check up on the big idiot? He could be bleeding to death and he'd never actually ask for help."
Jane smiled, "Sure…"
As the cheetah girl headed out of the room Katt shook her head with a chuckle, "Oh my god, I'd give anything to be able to see what she was thinking right now," She said standing up, "Oh well, I have a feeling Creed's about to find out."
... ...
In another room far down the hall, Reiko sat there with Miyu. It seemed only proper that the two leaders of the groups stand by as they waited for a response from the small device sitting at the center of a metal table between them. Finally a voice came from the device…
"This is Jakob Mareth…stygian sect…" The voice chimed in, "who am I speaking with?"
Reiko sighed, "This is Akuba Reiko, Lylat sect. Listen up; I need you guys to know that…" He paused, "…Fox McCloud is alive. He's also the reason I sent out the signal. Andrew's reign has lasted more than long enough. How many strong are you?"
The animal on the other end of the line seemed slightly distant for a moment, "Ten thousand, and growing. What's the situation on Fox McCloud? Why didn't he summon us?"
Miyu sighed, "Fox McCloud was taken prisoner to Corneria…and currently we are trapped here on Zoness. This place is to be the focal point of operations. There is a two man rescue team heading to pull McCloud out of Corneria before his execution has a chance to be taken though."
"Are you thick in the fucking head!" Retorted the animal on the end of the line, "Two men going into the enemy's base alone?"
"Before you get too riled up I think I should inform you that one of those animals is the Angel of Death…" Reiko replied inciting a hush from the communicator, "…seems she and McCloud have some history together, but, for now what's your ETA?"
The animal suddenly came back, "One sec…" He said taking a moment of silence, "…our current estimated time of arrival is…three hours fifteen minutes. We set off to hyperspace on a clear path but, we're not getting a ping back from Zoness so right now, we're pretty much flying blind."
Miyu looked to Reiko with a shocked expression, "I completely forgot…the original LHTA (Lylat Hyperspace Transit Authority) was shut down two years ago. The only movements through hyperspace now are regulated by the emperor's men."
Reiko sighed, "Do you know where the LHTA building in this city is?"
Miyu shrugged her shoulders, "Of course I do it's in the middle of the upper east side of the city, but, the whole city is crawling with Andrew's boot lickers."
Reiko shook his head with a sigh, "Well?" The voice asked, "What's our situation?"
Reiko stood up, "We'll call you back in three hours."
There was a short silence, "Alright…Mareth out."
Reiko turned the device off before looking to Miyu, "We gotta get that system back online or those guys will slam right into this rock without ever even knowing it."
"Hang on…" Miyu said, "…Jane, wherever you are get in here." She said into a small communicator she wore on her wrist. A few minutes went by before the cheetah girl rushed into the room, "Jane…is there any way for you to hack into the old LGTA satellite orbiting Zoness?"
Jane chuckled as she took a moment to catch her breath, "Is that what this is all about?" She asked, "Well, yeah I can. I did minor league things like that in my spare time back in college …medical school wasn't exactly the tops when it came to thrills you know." She stopped for a moment noticing the serious look in Reiko's face, "Hang on…" She said leaving the room before returning with a laptop under her arm which she set up on the table, "See the thing with satellites is that you just need to find the proper coding to get into its mainframe."
As she sat there Reiko moved to look over the feline's shoulder as her fingers danced across the face of the keyboard at an irrational speed, "Hmmm…" Jane hummed, "…well that's a snag. Seems like the satellite's primary power source was cut off."
"Crap…" Reiko said, "…please tell me that don't mean that we have to go up there and turn it on."
Jane laughed out loud, "Hell no." She replied, "What do you think we are humans? Usually the power source to the satellite's mainframe is on a separate router, if you can get the router online I can get the satellite up and running." She said, "Wait…what's going on?"
Miyu sighed, "There's an entire resistance faction on its way to Zoness to liberate the planet…" She said, "…and if we don't get that satellite back online they're not coming out of hyperspace in one piece."
"I'm gonna leave Creed here just in case. He can handle more than his fair share of trouble…" Reiko said, "…Jane, how's Katt's arm?"
"Oh she's fine now…" Jane replied, "…just don't let her to a lot of heavy lifting. Reconstructing a bone has its fall backs. That bone's gonna be pretty weak for a week or so until the calcium builds up again. So, take it easy on her. As for Creed, he might not be able to handle too much. His right shoulder has a torn muscle…I patched it up to some extent but, I'm not sure how far it's gonna go."
Miyu laid a paw on Jane's shoulder, "Listen Jane…you pretty much have to take control of this place. I'm taking Fay and going with Reiko. With four of us this'll all go by that much quicker."
Jane sighed, "Okay…me and Creed should be able to hold this place down till you get back. After all Sasha called and said she'd be here soon. She stopped to pick up those friends of yours on Xenass you asked me about Reiko."
"Good…" The coyote replied, "…I was starting to worry about Lucy and Lin. Who is this 'Sasha' anyhow?"
"My best friend…" Miyu chuckled, "…I've known her since we were little. Hell, I knew her before I ever met Fox. I've known Sasha longer than I've known Fay."
"So…" Reiko said, "…is your team nothing but females?"
Miyu chuckled as she headed out of the room, "Well yeah…" She scoffed tossing her paw up as she walked out, "…why else would I name this group Valkyrie?"
Reiko shrugged his shoulders, "Fair enough…" He said patting Jane on the shoulder, "…keep an ear out, I'll be in touch as soon as we can get there."
With that Reiko and Miyu headed out to gather up the remaining two of their team, before heading out. Luckily Miyu and Fay had a good lay of the land. With the three of them he was confident it would all pan out, however, now his only concern was for Kursed and Jamie; whom he could only pray weren't already captured looking for Fox. With Kursed knowing about him, her emotions could get the best of her, and if that happened, everything would completely be over…
... ...
Jamie stepped out of the ship shortly after it landed. She was dressed from head to toe in a Venomian soldier's uniform, her long hair tucked up beneath the barrette she wore. The red uniform wasn't something that she'd even normally be caught dead in, but, Kursed had assured her that it'd be far better off if the soldiers didn't recognize her, and this was what she was certain was the best way to get that done. The white vixen stepped out of the ship brushing her paw over the sleeves of her uniform. Jamie looked her over; her long white hair was done in the same fashion, tucked under her cap in a way that passed it off as shorter than it really was, Jamie admitted that the vixen looked much different this way, in fact completely different, the gaudy red uniform actually drew attention away from the fact that she was even white. The sanguine vixen dragged her claws across her side for a moment…
"Man this thing itches." She complained, "It also kinda smells."
Kursed chuckled, "Welcome to the life of a male." She replied, "Fox took a lot better care of his uniforms, and didn't smell at all. These uniforms reek."
Jamie looked out over the towering landscape outside of the hanger as they approached the street, "So tell me again how it was that you talked ME into wearing this crap."
Kursed shook her head with a sigh, "It's just easier this way. Just act like a soldier and we should be fine. Just don't speak until spoken too and salute anyone whose uniform is shinier than yours."
Jamie chuckled, "Sort of simplistic isn't it?"
"Welcome to the military." Kursed laughed, "Our only problem now is to find Fox." She said removing a small object from her pocket, "Reiko said this thing should lead us to him." She only looked at the device for a minute before she shut it off and sighed.
"What?" Jamie asked.
"You're not gonna like this…" Kursed replied, "…he's somewhere in the Cornerian Military HQ, and if that means anything it means that he's in the basement of the building, that's where they hold people wanted for treason, or at least where they used to. I guess now it's just used to hold anyone that's due for an execution."
Walking through the streets Kursed found herself in an alien place; the city was in shambles, ruined structures littered the streets, revolutionary graffiti plastered buildings, and vehicles lay overturned and flaming in the streets. Corneria City had become one of the worst places she'd ever seen, and at the moment it seemed even worse off than Kew ever was. Their walk was one that the vixen took in with a solemn heart, this place had once been called home, and now it was turning out just like every junk heap rock she'd ever landed on. However as the two crossed over into the still actively military controlled area surrounding the Military Compound, Kursed took notice of the many Venomian flags hanging from random buildings. This was the one thing that the McCloud family had always fought to prevent. It was as they stepped in front of the military compound that she looked to Jamie…
"Just flash that phony I.D and salute on your way through." She pointed out, "Don't say a word; I'll handle any of the talking."
Jamie shrugged her shoulders as they approached the gate of the compound where two guards stood; the red headed vixen slowly eyed each guard. One was rigid in his stance; chances were he was only really on duty to stop his more laid back companion from slacking off. A sly grin slowly crept over the vixen's face as they approached the guards. The more stoic one held out a paw, which caused the two to flash their …
"We just arrived from Katina." Kursed pointed out.
The guard's intense stare melted away a bit, "Must be from that skirmish that broke out last week, said we'd be getting some reassignments over the next few weeks." He said extending a paw, "Welcome aboard."
"Thanks…" Kursed replied shaking the animal's paw.
She started through the gate only to see that Jamie was talking with the more laid back guard. She was leaning against the wall slightly beside him while running her knee up the side of his leg; some of the things that Kursed's telepathy was picking up in their conversation were things that would have embarrassed her to death back when she was with Star Fox but, soon Jamie walked away from the guard running her paw along his cheek as she clearly teased him, swaying her tail as she walked away. Kursed sighed as they approached the building…
"What was that all about?" The pale vixen asked.
"Oh nothing…" The red furred vixen replied as she held up a small card key.
Kursed chuckled, "You have incredibly sticky fingers you know that?"
"Yeah…" Jamie replied looking over her shoulder at the soldiers for a moment, "…men are easy."
It was as the two walked inside that two animals near the doors nodded to them causing the vixen to do the same in reply. They kept to their pace clearly passing off that they simply belonged there, nobody passing them ever really even looked their way. The building's interior however managed to capture Kursed's eye, nothing had changed short of the photos of the Star Fox team and mess of military photos that once graced the walls of the long hall that led to the building's lobby. Moving into the lobby, Kursed turned to her left heading down a shorter hall away from the receptionist's desk. The whole place was the same, nothing seemed different at all. Finally the two vixens moved down the small hall and ended at two elevator doors where the elevator's button pad was located. She pressed the button for the bottom floor basement. Kursed for a moment was almost certain that her mind picked up on something, but, her worries went back to Fox and knowing that he was actually alive. However as there came a small sound informing the vixen that the elevator had stopped the door slowly slid open. What seemed like an army of weapons were aimed at her, and standing at their center was a cocky blue feathered avian who smirked at Kursed even though his left eye was swollen shut, and he seemed more bandage than animal at the moment…
"Not as many of you as I was hoping for…" He scoffed, "…but, I knew you couldn't help but send someone."
Kursed smiled as she reached for her collapsed scythe, "I wouldn't do that if I were you….or I'll have my men here shoot your friend and leave you alive." Falco said causing the vixen to simply stand up straight, "Good girl. Tazers only boys, Andrew wants them alive."
The last things she saw was the falcon's snide grin before every muscle in her body was set on fire by nothing but white. What seemed to her like moments later, the pale furred vixen's eyes slowly opened. Her body didn't want to move and her every muscle still felt like it was on fire, clearly they'd used a lot of electricity. Across from her a red furred vixen lay there, wearing only a black set of undergarments, apparently Falco had simply ordered to have their clothes removed. He clearly remembered some of the things that Fox had taught her, like the hiding of certain tools in her clothing. She couldn't believe that she'd let her feelings toward Fox get in her way, she should have been able to see Falco's attack coming but, now…her, Jamie, and Fox…were all as good as dead…