Fox trotted down the ridge, heading toward where he had last seen Bill, darting out to grab the pilot of the strange mech suit. Nearly two thirds of their force was already dead or wounded, making Fox want to curse this war himself. If losses kept going the way they were, the Cornerians would lose by default. After the Lylat war and the Aparoid threat, the population in Lylat was almost half that of Sol, and with way more crippled veterans as well. He walked through the burning husks of vehicles, bodies being pulled aside and lined up by the road, human on one side, Lylatian on the other. As he rounded one of the tanks, he heard a voice he could not mistake for anyone but Bill's echoing to him.
"Come on Fay, hang in there!" the second her heard the pain in Bill's voice, Fox rushed over to them, seeing him crouched over a delicate white canine. She had a hole about a centimeter in diameter through her stomach, blood quickly and easily flooding past Bill's fingers, dying them and her grey nano-fiber suit deep crimson.
"Holy shit! Here!" Fox quickly dropped beside Bill, dropping his pack and rifle to dig through it. he finally found the sealant can he had stuffed in there, sticking the nozzle into her wound and spraying. She gasped and let out a faint cry the second the nozzle touched her. "There, that will keep her from bleeding out at least. Come on, we need to get her back to camp." Bill didn't even flinch, his eyes fixed on Fay's almost glazed over eyes.
"Fay?" his voice was almost a whisper, both of his blood stained hands clutched on one of hers. He could see the tears leaking out of his eyes, sliding under the visor. She was still writhing in pain, and seemed to be barely even conscious at all. "F-ay, I, p-please be okay! I don't want to lose you!" he pulled his helmet off and kissed her cheek before resting his fore head on her cheek. Her eyes slowly slid closed, sending Bill into a panic. "Fay! Wake up! P-Please Wake up!" Fox could see her chest rise and fall. He grabbed Bill's shoulder and shook him slightly, having never in his entire life seen the cool headed canine panic like this.
"Bill, she's still alive, okay?" Bill was still shaking like mad, but nodded to Fox. "Now lets get her back to the LZ, the freighter is being sent to Corneria with the wounded. Lets make sure she is on it, okay?" Bill nodded as Fox quickly gathered his equipment and slung it, about to help Bill pick Fay up, but Bill simply hooked his arms under her neck and knees, easily lifting her up. Fox led the way up the ridge until his radio suddenly lit up.
"Fox! We're pinned down, and Will said something about being hit!" he stepped aside as Mira's voice echoed out of his earpiece. He cursed to himself, knowing she was on a simple recon mission with a small team.
"Alright Mira, start talking!" there was silence for a few seconds before the sound of a plasma rifle started echoing through.
"Shit, Cal look out! We're knee deep in humans here! We were on our way back and they ambushed us! Transmitting co-ordinates now!" Fox was almost instantly shouting.
"Bill, get Fay back, I gotta take the rest of Greene's men to help Mira, she's pinned down real close to here." Bill didn't even seem to react as Fox opened his radio.
"All active members of Greene's platoon, rally on the convoy, see if we can scavenge an operational vehicle. We got some troopers to rescue!"
Mira dived to the sandy ground, narrowly ducking the burst of automatic fire ripping over her. A hand grabbed her armor and yanked her to her feet as the person shouted at her.
"Damn it, move!" she instantly recognized Graves' voice as she sprinted away, only to be forced to cover again by more gun fire.
"They got us surrounded Graves!" she hollered back as she pulsed the trigger at a pair of soldiers, forcing them to duck down.
"Just keep shooting kid! They'll run if we kick their asses bad enough!" Mira tried to fight down the spike of fear running through her, remembering Will's brief on Russian 'Rush' tactics. They would never retreat from losses alone. Cal slid up beside her, aiming his massive sniper rifle and firing it. she didn't have to look by now to know he had scored a hit.
"Hanging in there?" she nodded, firing a charged blast at a human, his torso evaporating. Yellow streaks ripped past on occasion, marking only one out of every five or so rounds fired at them, the volumes of fire creating a miniature dust storm around them. Her radio crackled to life with Will's voice and she ducked down to listen.
"Mira, just hang in there, I'm on my way." Bewilderment coursed through her mind as she keyed up her mic to respond.
"Didn't your fighter get totaled?" she heard a faint laugh echo out of her rig.
"I brought Sally. Just hang in there okay?" anger quickly boiled out of her, furious with him.
"Will, what the fuck do you think you are doing!? Get your ass back to base, you are in no condition to fight you idiot!" he didn't respond making her curse out loud. She was about to pop up again when she was splattered with blood, one of Graves troopers slumping over. She didn't need to check to see if he was alive, given the hole punched through his sternum.
"Mira, I'm on my way, give me two minutes and I'll be there, just hold on!" she absently nodded as Fox spoke and turned toward Graves already yelling.
"Reinforcements in two mikes Graves!" he was standing and firing at the enemy, and hadn't reacted to her words when a yellow lance ripped seemingly past his head. He slowly pivoted as he fell, causing a sight that was instantly burned into Mira's mind. Half of his head was gone, blown away by the kinetic round. The contents of her stomach emptied into the dirt, unable to stop it.
"Mira!" she felt Cal rip her off her feet, almost simultaneously with a yelp and the sound of a round ripping by. Cal slumped over on her and she quickly shoved him off, seeing the mass of blood on her vest. Cal was wheezing, a three centimeter hole through the side of his chest and clean out the other. Tears slipped out of her eyes as Cal's glazed over, lifeless. All around her, soldiers were dropping dead.
"Will, I'm not going make it." her heart felt like it had shattered as she said that into her radio, her carbine forgotten in the dust as the gunfire died off.
"What!? Mira, hang in there, I'm almost there!" Tears streamed out of her eyes until she closed them, her entire body shaking.
"Everyone else is dead Will. I'm so sorry." She pulled her HUD rig off and tossed it into the dirt, simply waiting for one of the soldiers to find her and kill her.
I almost didn't wait for the jet bike to stop before I was slinging off of it, ripping the sniper rifle I had hurriedly strapped to the hull off and focusing down the hill. All that was below was a mass of Russian troops and armor, until I found the piles of bodies, dead Cornerians scattered amongst them. I kept scanning until I located Mira, in a small out cropping, on her knees and with four soldiers surrounding her, weapons raised. An APC hovered to a stop beside the rocks, an unmistakable figure climbing out. The slicked back black hair and solid black uniform was as clear as a calling card. Noriega walked up to Mira and crouched in front of her, seeming to speak for a few seconds, before he stood, backed off a short way and aimed his pistol at her. A white stun round ripped out of his weapon, causing her to slump over. I growled, already sighted and squeezing the trigger when I suddenly stopped. if I fire now, with no support, I'm dead. And I'm no good to Mira dead.
"Fox, Mira was just captured. I… Noriega has her."
I shuddered as I watched the Russian soldiers load Mira's limp body onto one of their APC's, tears slowly finding their way down my cheeks. Wild thoughts kept running through my mind, trying to figure out how I could save her, until a small voice spoke in the back of my mind. You cant Will. Not this time. The worst part about that single thought, was the fact that I agreed with it. I had no way to save her, even if Fox arrived and attacked with an entire army, the second someone tried something, Noriega could kill her, making the effort entirely futile. My eyes closed and I slumped up against a boulder, tears flowing uncontrollable down my face.
"Damn it!" my voice was soft as I spoke nothing more than a pained whisper.
"Will, we're getting close, need a SITREP." Fox's voice spilled out of the small earpiece I had on, replacing the com gear that was normally in my helmet.
"It's too late Fox. We have no way to safely track her, and they'll just kill her if we attack now." He was silent for several minutes before he finally spoke up.
"Will, we will find her. I'm sending you co-ordinates, meet me there with Sally. Got it?" I absently nodded, brushing tears away from my face and re-lashing the sniper rifle to the hull of the bike. With in minutes, the arid landscape was whipping by at an incredible speed, dust flying behind me. Fox's co-ordinates lead to a small oasis, where a small group of Cornerians were gathered around a pair of UEC wheeled personnel carriers. I slowed to a stop, easily spotting Fox's helmetless head. The other Cornerians were slowly filing back into the vehicles, about to move out.
"I hope you have a damned good plan Fox!" he glanced up from a holo-map as I spoke, sliding off of the jet bike. He gestured at the area map as he responded, seeming almost calm, even with the angry demeanor I had slipped into.
"Sort of. There is a base in this dark zone, has all sorts of jammers and defenses, nothing like the FOB's we've been fighting. I have a theory that Noriega is there." I glared at him, waiting for the soldiers to clear out before I spoke.
"You are going to risk her life on a fucking theory!" he sighed panning the map out until it showed the whole area.
"Will, not only is that the closest base, but it's jammers are preventing any kind of 3D RADAR mapping. And its weapons are preventing any kind of visual on it too. It is the heaviest defended base in the entire region. If he isn't taking her there, then your guess will be about as good as mine. We need to get close, survey it's defenses, and make a plan from there. It's the most logical course of action Will." I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to punch him right there.
"I don't care what the fuck is logical! If your plan was to find a way to sneak in and get her out, sure, but the longer we wait, the higher chance that he will have killed her!" Fox crossed his arms, raising one of his eyebrows at me.
"Are you done?" I didn't react, but he seemed to take it as a yes. "Noriega is counting on you just rushing in. he won't kill Mira. Torture her, maybe, but it's in his best interest to keep her alive. She's bait Will. So long as he has her, alive, he knows we will come for her. And I plan on it, just want to catch him with his pants down. We have time Will." I was about to retort when the sound of engines drew both of our attentions. One of the United States' rare heavy dropships was floating above us, its unique tri-gimbaled engine design slowly lowering to the ground. The pilot's cabin was all that was actually part of the craft, the cargo area being a customizable clamp, able to hold cargo crates, troop bays, even the incredibly rare combat mech. This one was carrying some sort of large mech suit, a voice emanating from the craft as it lowered to the dusty ground.
"I believe you will need this. Mira's location is inside. Good luck." My jaw completely unhinged, instantly recognizing the voice.
"Dad?!"
Fox heard the one shocked word that slipped out of Will's mouth, watching with him as the craft set down. As soon as it had, a ramp lowered from the cockpit, letting them climb aboard. But what had drawn Fox's attention, was the mech suit hoisted under it. it was bipedal, at least five meters tall. The main body seemed almost spherical, with thick arms and legs coming off of it, armor plates melding almost seamlessly. On it's back was a multi engine thruster pack, two missile packs that looked like they folded out over the top of the vehicle to fire, and two telescoping large bore plasma guns. The two arms were different from each other, one with a rotary cannon that had at least a dozen barrels, the other being a long mass driver, both built into the arm itself.
"Holy shit, what the hell is that thing?" Will was walking around it too, inspecting it.
"It's a Mech Suit. Mark nine if I'm not wrong. Damn, the nine's are supposed to still be in prototype!" Fox was quick to respond, totally confused.
"But, how come we haven't faced one before?" Will barely glanced at him, moving into the cockpit, Fox closely behind him. They were both shocked to find it empty.
"Well, they are extremely expensive. Hell, most cruisers don't even carry a mech suit at all. Look." He was pointing at a screen, which was displaying tactical data, as well as a message along the top. The IFF on this ship is valid, but not for long. Use it to drop the mech into the base, the mech has the mission parameters in it. Follow them, and you will save your friend.
"Think we can trust it?" Will instantly nodded, walking down the ramp.
"Yes, that was my dad's voice that spoke. He never lies, not even to an enemy. And this kind of hardware is not something you let fall into enemy hands. They're supposed to be destroyed long before that could happen. You're flying." He was climbing up into the suit, all of his gear still strapped on.
"Are you sure about this?" Fox was speaking over the radio, climbing back into the cockpit.
"No. but it's a chance I am willing to take. Get us airborne Fox." He sighed, struggling for a second to figure out the controls. The holo-graphic projections of the fight path appeared the second he had sealed the bay, guiding him almost out of the atmosphere. "I sure hope this works Will." He muttered to himself, his radio still off.
Tasha Reynolds had been a nurse on Katina before the humans had invaded, but now, she couldn't help but cry. She, her family, and several dozen others had been lined up against an inner wall of the base they were at, a pair of machine guns aimed at them. Dried blood stains riddled the surface they were standing on, showing the countless others that had been executed here before them. She closed her eyes, hearing the alien words to prepare that she had heard so many times before, knowing the end was only seconds away. A single, massive bang filled her ears, almost like a car slamming into a rock at high speed. Confused as to why she wasn't dead yet, she opened her eyes, fear leaping into her throat. A massive mech stood before her, facing the human emplacements. Before anything else could happen, blue plasma bolts ripped away from it's right arm at an incredible rate, literally shredding the humans before them. Simultaneously, two missile packs popped up, spun around, and fired. The missiles blasted the gates to the internment area apart, leaving all of the civilians a clear run out into the desert. She didn't hesitate, grabbing her child and running for the blown down gates.
I smirked as the soldiers stumbled and ran before the shear firepower spitting away from the mech. The Katinians were all running, the guard towers too focused on my mech to worry about them. Blaster fire was pinging off the shielding at a massive rate, but the shield integrity was falling at an incredibly slow rate. Two tanks rolled into view, their cannons tracking me already. I grinned, raising my left arm, the arm on the mech raising with it.
"Suck on this you Russian bastards!" the mass driver fired, the depleted uranium slug ripping into the first tank and blowing it to ribbons. The second tank fired, but did nothing more than stagger me. I smirked, activating the shoulder mounted weapons and firing at the second tank. The twin plasma cannons were clear overkill, leaving nothing but a crater and flying debris. With a single thought, the engines fired, boosting the craft forward. It slid across the ground, special shielding on it's feet protecting the metal as the craft rocketed across the base. As I did so, I fired every weapon at my disposal, absolutely shredding the enemy forces as the detention area came closer and closer.
"Shield integrity at fifty percent." I cursed as more and more plasma and kinetic weapons were brought to bear on my mech, shaking it violently. I kept returning fire, thousands of blue bolts ripping through infantry, dozens of the larger rounds destroying tanks, bunkers, even small clusters of troops. It was a slaughter of unimaginable proportions, a single vehicle wiping out whole platoons at a time.
"Come on girl, hold together just a little while longer!" a tank shot ripped through the near crippled shielding, ripping one of the shoulder cannons off. I fired a mass driver round back, pulverizing the tank. More rounds started ripping through the shielding, tearing chunks out of the armor. Alarms were ringing like crazy, but I kept firing, a barrage of missiles ripping away from the suit. More troops were flooding toward the mech, but I was cutting them down faster than they were coming. One of the missile packs exploded, sending sparks through the cabin as the mech stumbled.
"Damn it! hang in there!" I grimaced as I swept the boiling hot chaingun back and forth across the enemy, watching as the last of them fell. Most of the mechs armor was compromised, but I was surrounded by the husks of tanks and dead humans. I marched the mech toward the facility, about to leap out when a dull blue bolt ripped through the mech, the remaining systems sputtering and dying.
"Shit." I went to pull the emergency release, but it was too late. Something ripped the hatch off the top, then fired a burst of white stun rounds into the cabin, instantly plunging me into a dark void.
Mira closed her eyes, tears still freely flowing from under her eyelids. She hadn't seen Noriega since she was captured, assuming he was simply waiting for whatever reason fit his fancy, or to simply let her stew. Regardless of what it was, she was still shackled to a wall, unlike the table she had been cuffed to the last time she had been captured.
"I'm so sorry Will." Her voice was no more than a whisper. She didn't even look up as the door opened the sound of shuffling feet making one of her ears twitch.
"Sling that chain over the cross bar and hang him up. I want him to see this." She instantly recognized Noriega's voice, a fury with in it that she had never heard before. Her eyes snapped open, instantly seeing Will being hoisted up by a length of chain, Noriega watching her greedily. All of Will's gear had been stripped off, left in cargo pants and a t-shirt as he dangled from the rafter by his wrists. "Good, you're awake. You two, secure that chain and leave us." The two masked soldiers left, the solid door sealing behind them. With a single, careless motion, Noriega pulled out a small electric stunner, ramming it on Will's side. Will let out a howl of pain, forcing a shaft clean through Mira's heart.
"Will!" his eyes flickered open, Mira easily seeing the fear in his eyes.
"Oh good, I'm glad to see we didn't stun you too badly, dog! I am going to make you suffer for what you did to our base, traitor! But first, I think I will have a little fun with our friend here!" his voice was even more cold and vicious than she had ever heard it, already advancing on her.
"No! d-don't hurt her!" she saw the fear seem to explode in his eyes, knowing his heart was racing as fast as hers, if not faster.
"Oh don't worry, she wont be in pain for too long, because I am going to end her pathetic existence! She served her purpose." As soon as he finished speaking, his fist flashed out, no more than a blur in her vision. It connected with her cheek, sending her head spinning. She nearly blacked out from the shear force of the punch, almost missing Will's shout.
"Mira!" Noriega proceeded to punch her and kick her as he pleased, a cold maniacal laugh echoing out of his mouth the whole time. It felt like hours before he finally stopped, panting as her entire body burned and ached, barely even able to open her eyes. "Don't hurt her…. Please, just don't!" she heard Noriega laugh, and managed to open her eyes enough to see him pulling the stunner back out.
"I have a more enticing idea! Why don't we see just how loud our little mutt can scream!" he came within inches of her face, ramming the stunner into her stomach. Searing pain ripped through her body, Mira unable to contain the scream that ripped out of her. He pulled the stunner away, the scream instantly dropping to a mere whimper.
"that was pitiful. I know you can do better than that. You did the last time I was with you." Memories of him forcing himself upon her flashed through her mind, Mira being unable to stop them.
"Fuck you…" she barely squeaked the words out, Noriega laughing mirthlessly.
"I do believe that is a poor choice of words, for I have fucked you!" Will's voice finally drifted over to her ears, very quiet and calm.
"If you lay a single finger on her again, it will be the last thing you ever do." His words struck fear into her heart even, filled with a kind of hatred she had never heard before. Noriega simply grinned, adjusting the settings on the stunner before ramming it into her gut again. It seemed a thousand times more powerful than the last time, and even in the second or so that it was in contact with her skin, she almost blacked out. When it was pulled away, she was expecting another strike to shortly follow, but instead, she heard a strained shout, snapping her eyes open.
"I am going to kill you Noriega!" Will had flipped himself over, bracing his legs on the rafter and pushing with all of his might. The chain holding him up snapped, causing him to come crashing down on the floor. Noriega instantly attacked, kicking at Will's side, and sending Will rolling across the floor. But, seemingly unfazed by the savage kick, he rolled to his feet, cuffed hands at neck level. His first swing was a right hook of sorts, the left hand following behind the right. It connected with Noriega's face, but Noriega reacted faster than either of them expected. Noriega swayed away from Will, using his almost stumble to add speed to a kick into Will's side, right where his lung had been punctured. In a single strike, Will slumped to the ground, howling with pain. Noriega continued to savagely kick at the injury, causing cry of pain after cry of pain that rattled Mira deeper than she was even aware that she could feel, as if Will's pain was not only hers, but intensified seven fold.
"Always remember your opponent's weaknesses, boy! For that, I am going to end your furry girl's life, then lock you away until the end of time!" he yanked his combat knife off his belt, taking a step toward her. He froze as Will's voice returned, Will shifting onto his knees behind Noriega.
"You will not touch her!" the voice was almost like a cannon, his bare arms tensing up just before the chain holding the cuffs together snapped, freeing both his hands as he stood. His eyes were no longer the normal steely color, but almost pure black, as if his pupils had taken them over. Fear leapt into her throat again, knowing what Noriega had just triggered. Evidently, Noriega knew as well, showing an emotion Mira had never seem from the cold man before. Fear. The knife clattered out of his hand, his voice no more than a silent stutter. Will darted forward and to the side of Noriega, slamming his foot down on Noriega's knee. A snap accompanied his howl of pain, the leg bending to the side. Will scooped the knife up, Noriega going for his side arm, but too late. Will easily and deftly sliced his hand clean off, the weapon clattering away. Another scream ripped from Noriega as he clutched the stump, Will ramming the knife into his upper arm on the uninjured side, then stabbing his thigh, and finally slashing the knife across his throat. Noriega's blood curdling scream instantly stopped, Will leaning very close to the dying man, his voice no more than a whisper.
"Now, you can never hurt her again." And in one deft move, Will plunged the knife into Noriega's skull. Mira's jaw hung open in shock, barely able to compute the savagery Will had just shown.
"W-Will" his head snapped toward her, the look of pure rage still on his face. It started to soften the second he saw her, but her eyes widened as she finally noticed something. Noriega's savage kicks had ripped his lung back open, and before Will had taken even a step toward her, he slumped over, blood soaking his side.
Ramirez rushed through the cell door, almost instantly shocked at the scene before him. Noriega, his hand severed and a knife plunged deep into his skull, Will slumped over and bleeding beside the corpse, and the small half fox half cat still shackled to the wall. Her eyes widened, shouting out in her alien language.
"Kun'as lui." he shrugged, already pulling out a bio-gel can.
"Look lady, I don't have a translator, but I'm here to help. His dad sent me. You gotta trust me." He quickly slathered the gel on. She seemed to slowly relax as he grabbed the key off Noriega's belt and unlocked the shackles. "Grab him and that blaster, run for the medical area just down the hall. Kill the guard, then head for landing pad one. Do it fast, or I will catch you." She nodded, slinging Will's arm over hers and stopping at the door.
"Th-thank you. Who you?" it was clear that her command of English was not good, but it was good enough.
"Captain Ramirez. Now go!" she nodded and left, Ramirez turning to the corpse inside, waiting for the shots to echo back to him. He smirked, getting on his radio and calling in an alert.
Fox paced back and forth in the shade of the transport, waiting for Will to arrive. He couldn't help but feel that something had gone wrong as the day drifted on. He kept trying to reassure himself, thinking over and over that Will and Mira were fine. Suddenly, the sound of engines echoed to his ears, causing him to panic when he saw the quad engine dropship. His rifle instantly slipped off his back as he shied toward one of the landing struts, putting it between himself and the landing dropship. A small team of human soldiers slipped out, one of them shouting as soon as he was close enough.
"Fox McCloud!?" Fox stepped out, his rifle leveled. Surprisingly the soldier didn't even flinch, not one of them raising a weapon. "Stand down and listen. Our Friend, Lieutenant Hawkins, is captured. We are going to help you break him out. Just hide in the cockpit of our ship, and fly it out when your people get on board. Now lets move, time is of the essence!" fox trotted out of his position, keeping a wary eye on them.
"Who are you?" the lead soldier shook his head, a female a few feet away speaking up.
"He's Captain Ramirez. His translator got fried, but he and Hawkins are old friends." Fox nodded and slipped onto the transport, doing exactly as they said, even though his gut was screaming against it. he kept his weapon tight to him through the whole flight, the pilots unstrapping after they landed. One of them looked at him, their face lost behind the blacked out visor.
"Good luck McCloud." With that, he strode off the vessel, Fox simply waiting there, weapon still raised. After twenty minutes, an alarm reached Fox's ears, causing him to perk up.
"That's gotta be them." He muttered to himself as he slipped into the pilot's seat and fired the craft up, feet pounding up the metal a few minutes later drawing his attention, and his pistol. A grin almost crossed his face as he saw Mira and Will, Mira supporting Will and carrying what looked like Will's belt, the pistol and knife still attached.
"f-Fox? What the…" he sealed the bay door, simply dropping his weapon.
"Just hang on!" as soon as the bay was closed, he gunned the engines, shooting them away from the mangled and cratered base.