[Author's Note: I hadn't anticipated the length of this chapter so I decided to split it into two rather than have one very long one. With most of it already written, the second part of this chapter should be up in two or three days. Appreciation as always to my reviewers. Thanks for reading everyone and enjoy! ~Foxmerc]
(Apologies if anyone with story/author alerts sees a double post. The site mail notification system was apparently a little borked.)
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CHAPTER 19, Pt. 1
Beneath the Blue
Compromised Titan-class vessel: LDC Vanguard
2344 hours Vanguard local time
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Subject: Charlotte walked the silent transit corridors of the LDC Vanguard, halfway between the rear crew quarters and the starboard supply storage. The light pad of her footsteps were ¾ of a second apart. Charlotte heard nothing of alarm, sensed nothing of alarm, saw nothing of alarm, only empty corridors, black energy scoring on the walls, and corpses on the ground. Remnants of when the halls were not silent, when noise and death surrounded her like…
Like…
But all was silent again.
Silent as a…as a…
The mistress requires focus.
Charlotte's patrol covered the starboard sector of the territory under Venom's control. Her sister protected the port side. When none were left to kill, she started her patrol as the mistress had ordered. The enemy had retreated and barricaded themselves as expected, leaving Charlotte to her empty halls. The engineers would do their duty for the mistress. The twin tigers would conduct their distraction. Charlotte and her sister need only ensure the halls remained empty for them.
Empty…empty was like silent.
Silent as a empty.
I remember silence.
The mistress requires focus.
Soldiers of Venom passed Charlotte intermittently on their own patrols. Fear in their eyes upon sight of her. The mistress told Charlotte to look for fear, to use it to her advantage, to kill those weakened by fear. But the mistress said not to kill soldiers of Venom. The fear made her want to kill them, made her blood…
Rush…
Boil…
Like a…
…urge her to kill them, but…
The mistress requires obedience.
Charlotte could never damage the mistress' property, no matter how they upset her blood with their fear. She found their fear understandable. They were not Chosen by the mistress like Charlotte and her sister. They did not wear the black and mask of the mistress' Chosen Children. The mistress Chose Charlotte and her sister as her favored Children…her Angels…her Beloved. Their fear betrayed their envy. They should have been punished for their fear.
Blood boiled like…
Hot as a…
The mistress requires obedience.
Charlotte's patrol covered the starboard sector of the territory under Venom's control. Her sister protected the port side. The enemy believed themselves to be safe behind their sealed doors when in fact they merely served the mistress' will by staying out of the way. Charlotte continued on her patrol, the light pad of her footsteps ¾ of a second apart.
"Control to…Charlotte. Please respond."
The Voice in her ear, usually reserved for her sisters and the mistress. Tainted by the fear of a soldier of Venom. Charlotte's hand slipped from beneath her cloak and went to the side of her mask. "I am here."
"Starfox and the marine reinforcements are approaching the Vanguard. Defense turrets have opened fire. Do you…do you have any further orders?"
Charlotte opened her mouth and words came forth. She knew the words to be true and wise. "The defenses will destroy them. Send the engineers' escort fighters to intercept as well. We must be wary of Dagger's audacity if they are part of this attack. For precaution, send soldiers to guard airlocks C1 and C3. I will guard B1. Alert my sister Lenore and send her to me."
"Yes, ma'am."
The upsetting voice cut away.
Charlotte broke from her patrol and hurried, the light pad of her footsteps 1/3 of a second apart. The enemy would have been foolish to attempt a breach on the Venomian side of the Vanguard. Yet the mistress had been clear in her warnings about Dagger. They were rare foes. Actions that would be foolish for normal soldiers could be accomplished by them. The taint of fear did not follow them into battle.
A short elevator ride and a few minutes of rapid cadence brought Charlotte to the cargo transit sector corridor bordering the starboard hull. Wide windows lined one wall of the corridor, allowing her not only a view of space but also the intense battle unfolding nearby. She slowed and approached the window, trying to deduce why the defenses had not neutralized the invaders already. The turrets' red lasers filled her view along with the large Starfox mothership and three smaller transport vessels. Fighters weaved through the lasers…
…dancing. Dancing like…
Like…
Graceful as a…
The mistress requires focus.
Charlotte's eye caught their plan and she nodded once in appreciation of it. The three transport craft flew in tight formation, close to the Starfox mothership's starboard side. The Starfox mothership acted as a shield, protecting the three transports from all turrets to its port side. The fighters focused on destroying the turrets targeting the transports. A daring plan. Foolish. The Starfox mothership's shields could not last forever, nor could the fighters' skill and luck. Foolish.
Foolish like Dagger…
One of the transports broke the protective formation behind the Starfox mothership and boosted toward the Vanguard hull. Charlotte did not need to calculate to estimate their trajectory; the airlock she had vowed to protect was the only one in their approximate range. Her blood…
Boiled like a…
…heated at the prospect of killing Dagger as the mistress desired and wished for. She watched the Cornerian transport ship for a few more seconds and caught herself hoping for its safe arrival at the airlock. What curse it would be for turrets to claim such a prized kill when the mistress' Beloved was so close. Before continuing her trek to B1, Charlotte caught her ghostly reflection in the window. The mistress called her Children's masks Sacred Shrouds. So much more than flesh and fur, the mistress said. Charlotte remembered the mistress' love for her Children whenever she saw her mask. Every Child unique and special, the mistress said. Every Child protected by the love she put into their Sacred Shrouds.
The mistress requires obedience.
Charlotte snapped her head away from the window and walked briskly on her set path to the airlock, the time punctuated by shudders beneath her feet as more turrets fell victim to enemy fighters. The final corridor soon lay before her, battle-lit window on her right and nondescript doorways on her left leading to inconsequential administration rooms. A closed door at the far end led to a small receiving bay and airlock B1. Charlotte blinked and prepared her body for combat with twists of her neck and joints to release gaseous pressure. As she strode forward, she pulled her SEC-29 from its holster and kept the trigger half-depressed beneath her index finger.
"Control to Charlotte. I'm showing pressure feedback from your airlock. I've rerouted a patrol but it'll take them a bit to get there. Can you—"
"The intruders will soon be dead," Charlotte hissed. "Leave me be."
The envious soldier of Venom did not even dare an affirmation.
Dagger must have indeed broken their way aboard then. Charlotte raised her pistol to the side of her muzzle and approached the door.
She did not hesitate.
With a flick of her finger on the activation pad, the door slid open and she swept through. The receiving bay stood silent, the airlock open with red warning lights flashing on either side of it. No Dagger intruders in sight.
But her sister awaited her.
Another Beloved of the mistress stood before the airlock, SEC-29 in hand, her cloak limp in the still air and her Sacred Shroud proudly watching over the bay. Charlotte noticed no sign of a fight; perhaps the enemy cowered in their ship, fearful of Venom's Angels. Perhaps even Dagger now knew the taint of fear.
"You arrived quickly, sister," Charlotte said.
"Yes."
Charlotte lowered her pistol and walked toward her. "Shall we wait and taste their fear?"
"No. I already have my target."
Lenore raised her pistol…and pointed it at her fellow Child. Before Charlotte could react, a laser took her in the chest. She fell to her back and stared at the ceiling through the lenses of her Sacred Shroud, confounded by the sudden wave of pain that she had never felt. The heat blinded her and she became aware of her heart.
It slowed…and slowed…the blood soaked her…
She bathed in the fascination of the experience.
But the heat disappeared and when she blinked she could no longer see. A chill wrapped her body. Her muscles froze in cold. So cold, as cold as…
Cold like a…
She finally found a word to complete one of her struggled thoughts, an experience she finally knew how to connect.
As cold as the slumber my mistress first pulled me from.
-
-
The thud of a body hitting the deck followed the sharp discharge of the SEC-29. Gage peeked around the corner of the airlock and saw the Siren laying still, sucking wet, shallow breaths through her punctured windpipe, not even reacting to the obvious pain that such a shot would cause. With a grimace, he looked to Fara; he had been reluctant to ask her to take on the role of the Siren to begin with, especially now that she knew who was under the mask. The captain had no idea how she would react or what expression shaped her face under her own mask.
Her stare lingered on the dead Siren only a moment before she waved the waiting Dagger soldiers into the receiving bay. Gage skirted into the room, rifle shouldered and pointed toward the Siren's door of entry, and signaled for Ley and Delaine to move forward and secure it. Only silence met them; the Siren had come alone. But someone would realize her disappearance sooner or later.
"You alright?" Gage asked.
"You don't need to check up on me every two seconds." Fara gripped the side of her mask and adjusted it before shrugging her shoulders and fidgeting as if the suit didn't fit, as she had been doing the entire trip over. Gage had thought of asking how the suit couldn't fit if it had been literally tailor-made to fit her body but he knew she felt uncomfortable in it for other reasons. The vixen pulled the cloak lower over her shoulders and walked with him toward the door. "Are you sure the rip isn't noticeable?"
Gage glanced at the torso of her Siren combat suit and tried not to think about its previous owner, the Siren from the Nyx who now lay on a cold slab in the INH's medical bay. After he had unmasked her, Gage debated whether to take her back for proof or scientific study or something to explain how she could exist. Never did he imagine he would ask the woman he loved to don the suit.
"Sure fooled that one," the Dagger captain replied, nodding to the dead Siren. "Robin patched it up great." After a pause, he added, "Listen, I know how hard it was for you to put it on. Let me know if you—"
"Gage, I said you don't need to check up on me! I want to help, I said I'd do it, and I will."
With a frown he looked away; hearing Fara's sweet voice distorted and mangled from the mask mouthpiece had grated his nerves from the start. He turned his attention to the task at hand. "Dagger One to Starfox and Husky. We've breached airlock B1 and are continuing to our objective. Respond if you receive this, over."
Gage hadn't hoped for much and he got just that. After a few seconds of dead air, he shook his head. "Our primary objective is still that goddamn jammer. Until it's out of commission, we're on our own back here.
Ley clicked her tongue. "Business as usual then, boss?"
The wolf adjacent her slicked sweat from his forehead with the tied tail of his green bandana and answered with a nearly inaudible utterance. "The strong were gifted with abilities such that they may use them. We exist for nothing if not impossible adversity."
"You always know how to bring class to a screwy mission, Del. You're like a doily in a rest stop bathroom."
"I am…not…a doily."
Gage rolled his eyes; any army commander would have told his troops to shut their yaps but he knew the banter relaxed his team and kept them aware of each others' positions and situations. He'd worked with them long enough to know that nothing could break their focus on the mission, much less a little talk. While the leopardess and wolf continued their debate over who more resembled lace decorations, Gage adjusted his HUD until the comm overlay – scrambled and stuck on "No Signal" – flashed before his left eye along with a slow-filling progress bar.
"Okay, listen up."
Ley and Delaine immediately fell silent.
"The comm unit is interfacing with the HUD to show an estimated location of the interference. It'll take a few minutes and we don't have that kind of time to waste, so we'll move toward the center of the ship. They most likely would have set up the jammer in a centralized location anyway. The mission remains the same: disrupt the jammer, make contact with the bridge for further orders. If all's gone well, the 3rd Marine transports have made it to the central hangar already and will brief McGarret on the LDC's stance. They'll barricade the orbital bombardment control station while we reopen the lines of communication. If all hasn't gone well…then, like you said, business as usual."
Fara interjected. "Do you still need me to…?"
"Yes. Fara will always be a few steps ahead posing as a Siren to scout and distract the enemy. Keep it quiet. This isn't the most discreet entrance we ever made but we need to keep a low profile so they don't get twitchy around hostages and bombs. And if Hellion's here, we sure as shit'll see both. Clear?"
"Sir."
"Right, boss."
Gage brushed by them through the open doorway, raised his rifle, and gestured for Fara to go ahead. "Keep close to me, tight column. Ley, you got the rear. Weapons cold; return fire only."
With a last glance over her shoulder, Fara moved off with a quick yet casual gait, her arms swinging loosely and any tension she felt gracefully hidden. Gage led his team in silence, stopping at each corner and listening to her footsteps. At the all-clear signal – two quick clicks of her tongue against the roof of her mouth – they swung around the corner and moved to the next intersection or doorway. Despite her assurances, Gage still kept an eye on Fara to make sure she didn't start to become burdened by the pressure.
After a few minutes and half a dozen turns of the repeating rhythm, Gage flattened against a wall and waited for the clicks to proceed. They didn't come. Instead, Fara's footsteps halted and four more pairs of boots jogged into earshot from ahead. The fox raised his hand to get his team's attention and signaled for them to be ready in case the newcomers needed a quick takedown. He found himself fighting the urge to whip around immediately and start firing, but he couldn't let his concern for Fara jeopardize the mission. He swallowed the momentary lapse in discipline and refocused.
From around the corner, Fara's harsh voice halted the footsteps. "What are you fools doing here?!"
The fear-laden male reply told a relieved Gage they were dealing with grunts or pirates, not more Sirens.
"You, uh…Command said you weren't responding to comm requests. They want to know the status of airlock B1."
"It was a decoy piloted by a robotic drone. My comms have gone dead; has the jammer been moved or attacked or caused disruption anywhere else?"
"No, ma'am. Mess hall detail has reported no trouble."
"Then tell Command all is clear and I'm coming back to replace my comm unit. All of you go to reinforce other airlocks; this decoy is meant to divert us for a reason."
"Yes, ma'am."
The footsteps retreated the way they came and soon vanished altogether. Rather than continue, Fara walked back toward her allies and let out a long breath through her tight mask. Gage couldn't tell from her covered face what she felt but her gloved hands trembled ever so slightly.
"That was perfect," Gage said as he stopped the tracking system on his HUD. No need for it anymore. "Were you actually trying to get them to give us the location of the jammer?"
"I thought I was going to freeze but the words just came out of me. The right words, apparently."
"Well, that made our job easier. Should keep them busy for awhile too. Head for the aft mess hall: up two levels, then follow the signs."
With a nod, Fara assumed her position once more and led the way. As Gage followed, an odd sense displacement lingered; only two days before, this ship had been his home. Throughout the entire ordeal with Dianus, the Vanguard had remained the citadel, the one place in that God-forsaken stretch of space that offered safety. If Dianus possessed the manpower, resources, espionage system, and…most important of all…brass balls to strike the Vanguard, she could rekindle disaster that hadn't been seen since the Lylat War. Gage frowned at the prospect; old nightmares of the war had just begun to fade into the shadows. The galaxy wasn't ready for another onslaught.
As they neared the elevator, the corridors showed signs of conflict. Blackened laser scoring marred the walls and floor, and spent energy mags and shrapnel littered the floor amongst burned, blood-soaked bodies. Fara hesitated and looked back as if asking whether they should do anything with their fallen comrades but Gage shook his head and waved her on. Plenty of time for the dead after the living were taken care of. The captain noticed an absence of enemy bodies and refused to believe the marines hadn't killed anyone. Smear paths weaving through the battle scars on the floor told the story: Dianus' soldiers left none of their own behind to be searched or identified.
Why would they do that if they aimed to take over or destroy the ship anyway?
Gage filed the thought in the back of his mind as he took up position against the final corner before the elevator. The echoes of battle culminated there; the Vanguard soldiers had apparently tried to make a stand near the elevators to block off the intruders but the surprise attack had overwhelmed them. Fara rounded the corner and walked down the corridor toward the elevator a couple hundred feet away, stepping over bodies with more nonchalance than she must have felt comfortable with. The footsteps continued, sometimes wet with blood, without any signal for advancement.
"You there!" the vixen barked. "What are you doing here?"
A male voice responded. "Command ordered us to guard this elevator, ma'am."
"We have a probable attack at airlock C1. Move there now to reinforce."
"Ma'am…our orders have not been updated."
Ley's voice hissed in Gage's ear. "Sir, I hear footsteps behind us. Should I fall back and engage?"
"No, stay put." The fox spoke into his comm. "Fara, get them out of here ASAP."
"I'm updating your orders right now, soldier! Go reinforce C1."
"I'm…I'm sorry, ma'am. Command told us not to budge for anything."
"Coming at us, sir," Ley warned. "Not passing by."
Gage silently cursed. "Go check it. Take him down if you can do it silently."
Ley snuck off and disappeared the way they came, through the logistics offices. One of the nervous soldiers at the elevator babbled on how he would absolutely love to help but Command would have his ass if he left. Gage almost felt sorry for the poor bastard, stuck between what a Siren would do to him for disobeying and what Dianus' officers would do to him if he left his post. Any slight amusement he felt at listening to the man squirm dissipated when Ley returned from her short recon stint, her face a controlled shield hiding fear.
Her single word was enough to change the situation. "Siren."
The fur on the back of Gage's neck stood on end and his eyes widened. "Fara, kill them. Now!"
Gage hopped around the corner and ran forward, his team at his heels. The pair of enemy soldiers at the elevator found time for only a surprised blink past Fara before the vixen struck with her wrist blade, first plunging it into the heart of one then swiping across in a spray of blood to the other's neck. They hit the ground and stayed there, dead before the blade retracted back into the black wristguard. Fara froze for a moment afterward and looked down at her wrist. Even Gage hadn't expected such an efficient dispatch of the two soldiers but he didn't stop to ask questions. He only hoped that whatever combat prowess had come back to her would be enough.
"Siren behind us," Gage said as Dagger joined her at the elevator, answering her unasked question. He smacked the call button and rapidly tapped it a few more times for good measure. "We have to get the hell out of here."
Fara pulled her SEC-29 from its holster and stepped back against the smooth metal elevator door. "Can you kill it?"
The captain grimaced at the memory of the fight onboard the Nyx that almost claimed Delaine's life. "It's no Sunday picnic. We're better off keeping the hell away until we can fight her on our own terms. Delaine, keep a bead on the end of the hallway. If so much as a fucking flea shows its face, blow it off."
"Sir."
The wolf knelt, adjusted his holosight for longer range, and brought it to his eye. Gage and Ley stood against the walls and trained their weapons down the corridor as well, waiting with the tension of those who had fought a Siren before.
All remained silent, save the gentle hum of the elevator shaft punctuated by melodic, taunting pings as it counted off decks on its way to them. Gage kept his breathing under control and waited with tensed muscles and a half-pulled trigger, the silence accenting each slow exhale through his nostrils. He didn't know how – he didn't even know if he had imagined it or not – but a gust of frigid air brushed his fur as prelude to her arrival.
Delaine fired.
The ebon cloak had only barely gusted into view when the sniper's reflexes caught it and fired at it. Gage doubted even he or any Dagger soldier would have been able to anticipate such a shot but the Siren reacted with near-supernatural speed, unhindered by the deception that felled the other. As if wincing from a pesky mosquito, she flicked her head to the side, allowing the laser to pass by and impact the wall behind her. A following shot at her chest was met with equal disdain as she spun to the side, back out of view around the corner.
The black cloak billowed into view once more but for only a fraction of a second as the Siren loosed a single snap shot from her pistol. It singed the fur at Gage's neck and sparked against the elevator door, evoking a curse from him. With a snarl he pulled the trigger further and waited, silently daring the vixen to make her move.
But no more shots followed. Instead, a sound echoed down the corridor, like a series of rapid clicks and guttural grunts. Gage finally realized it to be a sad excuse for a laugh.
"The Rogue Siren," the voice continued, light and ghostly. "I found our sister's body. She died without fear by your traitorous hand."
They waited, weapons quivering with anticipation.
"But you…I feel your fear. It sickens me. It…sickens me!"
Ding!
The elevator doors slid open and Gage wasted no time shoving a startled Fara. "Covering fire!"
The corridor erupted in a blaze of energy, lasers searing the far intersection where the Siren hid. Gage knew they wouldn't hit anything but the fire kept the vixen and her deadly marksmanship pinned around the corner. Ley skirted backward into the elevator first, followed by Delaine, and finally Gage, who kept the fire up until the doors started to close and his rifle clicked on a dry mag. The Siren made her move in the momentary silence and bolted around the corner into a sprint toward the elevator. Shots from her pistol kept her four enemies flat against the sides of the elevator but the doors closed before she could reach them.
Gage let out a tense breath as the encroaching footsteps fell silent and he hit the button for 14. "Looks like we – shit!"
The fox fell to the ground as a short blade pierced the door beside him in a burst of sparks and grinding metal. Gage pulled himself away and recognized the Siren's wrist blade, twisting and chewing at the door like a ravenous creature. Fara put her pistol to the blade and fired, blowing the intruding half off in another assault of blinding sparks. It clattered to the ground and the elevator began to move up, leaving the war-torn corridor behind.
Dagger and Fara waited with sharpened nerves for a few seconds until the silence truly felt real and not just a pause foreboding another attack. Gage rose to his feet and looked at the severed blade on the floor while his team reloaded and checked their equipment for unnoticed hits.
"I don't think she liked your greeting, Del," Ley said, wiping the cold sweat from her brow.
The sniper scowled. "I haven't missed like that since grade school."
"Ain't your fault. She moved like a shadow."
"Unnatural. Not a 'she' even, more like an 'it.'"
Ley jammed her elbow into his ribs and darted her eyes at Fara.
"It's okay," the vixen responded, though the mask disguised whether she had been hurt by the words. "He's right."
Delaine bowed his head in apology anyway and said nothing more as he checked his HUD for damage. Gage kept his muzzle shut as well, remembering her request not to be looked after or treated differently.
"We have to move fast," the Dagger captain said, looking at the elevator shaft blur by through the twisted hole. "She'll be after us. And Fara's cover is blown; we have to assume she'll radio the rest of these assholes that there's a Siren imposter. So we lost our edge and they know we're here."
"Now it's really business as usual," Ley uttered.
"They don't know where we're going though. Patrols might be tighter and more aware, but we—"
"Excuse me, sir," Delaine interrupted, his hand at his ear and his face a visage of concentration. "You should hear this."
"What?"
"I ran a diagnostic of my HUD and one of our old comm channels appeared as active. It's faint, probably still affected by the jammer."
"Patch it so we can all hear." Gage frowned in thought as he awaited the signal. The team used a new encrypted channel unaffected by the jammer but they could only get away with that because of the advanced special operations HUDs. If someone else was able to get through – on an old channel no less – it would have to be a similar HUD.
A faint feminine voice soon came through his earpiece, masked by heavy interference and intermittent signal drops. After several seconds of the noise, Gage manually ran a forced team channel synchronization, hoping it would pull in the rogue HUD as well. A luminescent "Scanning…" notification appeared in his eye readout, followed by "Sync in Progress…" and finally, "Sync Complete."
"—eeseburger with pickles but no onions. I hate onions. Is it so much to ask? God, I just want to be home with, like, a bajillion cheeseburgers and no soldiers or guns or killing or stupid…cheap…crap coffee! I'm never leaving the mansion again after all this! Well, maybe to go to the pool. Though that still counts as, like, the mansion grounds I guess…"
Gage cocked an eyebrow; the startled looks of his teammates showed they were hearing the same rambling nonsense. "Kristine? Kristine, if you can hear this, respond."
Following a few moments of stunned silence, Krystal's whispered, half-hysterical voice returned. "Gage? Ohmigod, this stupid thing actually worked? Is it over, Gage? Where are you? Please, please, you have to get me out of—"
"Kristine, calm down. Focus and be clear so I can help you. Why are you using a specops HUD? How the hell did you even get one?"
"I, uh…I found it. You know, that one you lost and asked me to help look for? I found it and I guess I…just wanted to keep it as a little, like, memory of you."
Ley rolled her eyes.
"I'm stuck back in my room," Krystal continued. "There's these big jerks passing by every now and then but I haven't seen any in a while. They just came in and I…heard shooting…and I hid and…oh, God, Gage. What happened?"
"Don't worry about it right now." Gage pictured the aft living quarters layout in his mind and realized that it was near the mess hall, presumably where the jammer had been set up. "Leave the HUD on but keep quiet and stay where you are; we have a stop to make but we'll swing by and get you afterwards."
"You promise?"
"I don't say things I don't mean."
"Just hurry, okay?"
Gage isolated her HUD signal from the rest of the team so she couldn't hear comm chatter and let out a sigh. "Even on deep infiltration missions I can't escape her."
"I'm surprised she lasted this long," Fara commented, fidgeting in the combat suit again.
Ley nodded. "With that giant trap of hers running full steam? I'm shocked we didn't hear her back on the INH."
The captain glanced up at the deck lights and felt the elevator slow upon approaching 14: crew services and support, including quarters, recreation, and the mess hall. "Ready up. They could be waiting to yell surprise once the doors open."
With weapons loaded and aimed forward, the team hugged the sides of the elevator, two to each side. Once the movement ceased the doors slid open, the bearer of the mangled hole unable to retract fully thanks to the mushroom of warped metal. Their tensed trigger fingers relaxed; only an empty room with three branching corridors awaited them, two dead marines their only reception. Gage poked his head out and furrowed his brow at the emptiness.
"Nothing," he reported, letting his HUD rove for mines or hidden tripwires. "No guards this close to the jammer?"
Delaine kept his sight trained on the long corridor directly ahead of them across the room. "Could be a trap up ahead."
"We'll have to take the risk. Ley, could you kindly make sure the elevator stays where we can see it?" Gage took a few cautious steps into the waiting room and knelt, ensuring each corridor to be empty before signaling for the others to join him. Once they were clear, Ley put a burst from her submachine gun into the button panel and jammed the door open with her knife for good measure.
"Done, boss," she said, joining her team.
"Fall in. Fara, I want you between them in the middle. Keep those triggers warm; everyone weapons free."
-
0003 hours Vanguard local time
-
"I'm afraid the insert name here's shields have dropped to fifteen percent, sir. The probability of destruction if current course remains set has activated my self-preservation emotional response mechanism designed to evoke sympathy and convey the urgency of the predicament to sentient organic beings. Please stand by…Oh, dear God, we're gonna die! Response ended."
A turret sparked and exploded under a barrage of twin lasers from Fox's Arwing as he pulled away from the Vanguard and evaded the other guns that had begun tracking him. He shook his head in exasperation at Robin and heard Falco sigh into his own comm.
"I hope old man Toad releases a patch for her soon," the avian grumbled.
Fox crossed the laser-filled no man's land between Starfox's mothership and the Vanguard and wheeled around for another pass. "The perils of being a beta tester. At least she's handling the ship great. Robin, how close are we to recovery equilibrium?"
"Estimates show that if incoming fire is reduced by ten percent, the insert name here's shield regeneration will outpace damage received."
"You heard the lady, Falco, keep on those turrets. Starfox to Husky; Bill, what's going on?"
"This is Grey. Everything's A-okay here, buddy. Marine ships are in the hangar and my squadron's returning to bail your asses out of the fire."
Fox fired up the boosters and braved the onslaught of red death once more, knuckles aching and arms weary from so many passes that required his utmost concentration. Combat Zen…combat Zen…you're the wind...intangible…unbreakable…
The Arwing strafed the next turret and chewed it into scrap before the energy reserves blew, blowing the remains into space.
And very lethal.
Falco followed his commander's lead and swooped into an attack run on a bank of turrets near the mid-section hangar. Too busy dodging to pay attention to the run, Fox noticed the status display of Falco's Arwing on his ship computer blink red followed by a string of curses assaulting his ear. "Falco, report."
"Fucking bullshit! Piece of shit cheap-ass coward—"
"It's a brainless turret, Falco. Cool it and report!"
"Would it be cliché to say my damn G-Diffuser is malfunctioning?"
Fox looped back into the fray to see if there was any way he could assist his wingman; the other Arwing limped through the lasers, surviving only by the stubborn skill of its pilot. "Pull back to the INH and see if the onboard systems can fix it. If not, dock."
"Damn it!" Bill's shout replaced Falco's in the fox's ear, angry then tempered by sorrow. "Three's down. No ejection. Husky Three's down. This is turning into a real bad day; we were ambushed by seven fighters from the rear hangar. I've got a tally on four heading for you, Fox. Me and Two will handle the rest."
"Copy," Fox replied, his tone equally doleful. He knew all too well about losing teammates. "Robin, we have to deal with those fighters. With these turrets still gunning for me I'll need your help. What do you say we even the score and give the INH's weapons a little test run?"
"The weapons have already been tested at Toad Development Enterprises, passing all trials with excellent—"
"Robin, shut up and arm the main cannon."
"This is Falco. I've got onboard systems rerouting power now. I'll be back to greet these assholes in a few minutes."
Fox took a deep breath and dabbed sweat from his brow. He stretched his arms as best he could in the cramped cockpit and rolled his head to crack his neck, preparing for another stretch of combat. He found himself wishing the rest of his team was out there with him; he always felt safer with Peppy's fatherly voice in his ear and Slippy awkwardly covering his back. Not even the war managed to keep the team separated, yet Dianus killed one and drove the other to protect his endangered family.
Dianus…his own mother…
Robin's voice broke him from his thoughts. "Cannon set to anti-fighter tracking and targeting. I've never served in combat before, sir. I hope I perform up to the standards of my comically inferior predecessor."
"ROB was pretty good at the trigger. Just make sure you shoot at the right targets, okay?" Fox's scan display lit up with enemy proximity; four bandits as Bill had claimed. "Stay ready. I'll lure them into range, you fire at will."
"Acknowledged."
The four Venomian fighters made a beeline for him, the dogfight with Husky far behind them against the backdrop of the battle-scarred Vanguard. They weren't typical Venomian fodder either, but Sand Spider fighters, up there in armor and firepower with Bill's Katinian ships. Gritting his teeth, Fox hit the thrusters and shot right at them, forcing their skirmish formation to break. He didn't bother shooting but rather concentrated on giving them a false sense of domination, luring them where he wanted them to go without them knowing they were being dragged along. One fighter remained glued to his tail as if he got his nose stuck up the Arwing's engine, refusing to be thrown for a loop. The three others broke off and made passes from the side, hoping to catch their prey in a pincer movement.
Smart. But not smart enough.
The galaxy erupted in a blinding flash of light, searing Fox's eyes and sending him into a fit of blinking to clear his vision. The trail of the energy burst from the INH's main gun lingered like a haunting shadow of its own power.
"Oh! Oh, my! That man exploded rather brilliantly, wouldn't you say, sir? My first combat performance is quite impressive, if I may risk sounding presumptuous."
"Yeah, yeah, brilliant." The Arwing jolted as it took a pounding from the Sand Spider chasing it. "You still got three more."
"Tracking now, sir. Emotional response activated."
"That's really not necess—"
"Eat it, scum-sucker!"
Another yellow blast from the main cannon tore through the fighter trying to flank Fox at his starboard, the energy practically vaporizing it. The two surviving fighters broke off their pursuit and tried to make a run for it out of the INH's range.
"That's right, go crying back to mommy, shitheads! Response ended. I'm afraid the two remaining targets have fled the cannon's range, sir. Most disappointing, my apologies."
"You were fine, Robin. Crazy, but fine. I'll get after them."
"Man," Falco breathed, "is she hot or what? Why are all the good chicks synthetic?"
"Stow it, Falco. Hurry up with the repairs and get back here."
Fox upped the throttle to max and chased after the fleeing Sand Spiders, well aware they were attempting to turn the tables by leading him back to the remaining Vanguard turrets. Once the guns opened up on him, they split up and he was forced to choose one or the other. Confident he could finish one off before the other could stick itself to his rear again, he pursed the one to the left and followed it as it streaked so close to the Vanguard hull they both had to dodge outcroppings and gun barrels.
The fancy flying couldn't save him; Fox caught up in a matter of seconds and loosed a burst of twin lasers that blew off half the thruster block and sent the ship careening into the hull.
As he pulled away from the explosion and gained some distance, his display flashed with a proximity alert. "What the…"
Enemy lasers pounded the Arwing from behind and rattled Fox's aching head. He growled at himself for underestimating the pilot too hastily; obviously, Dianus had taken a "quality over quantity" approach to Venom's air force, unlike Andross. Part of him welcomed the challenge while the other part became all too aware of his depleting shield, ravaged by the drawn-out battle.
"This is Fox. Got a stubborn little bastard here, anyone near me who can—?"
The Arwing shook again, but from an explosion rather than another attack. The proximity alert dropped from Fox's screen and he looped around to see a fellow Arwing dart around the debris that had once been the last Sand Spider. He let out a relieved breath and turned toward the INH.
"Thanks, Falco. I guess you're useful to keep around after all. The area's clear."
"Eh? What are you talking about? Oh damn it, is the fight over already?"
"You got that last one, isn't that enough?"
"Are you sniffing fumes or something? I'm still back behind the INH repairing. I didn't shoot anything."
Fox blinked. "Starfox to Husky. Bill, where are you?"
"Situation's handled. We're done here, on our way back now."
It wasn't Bill. No…of course not. An Arwing shot down the last Sand Spider, no doubt about it. No mistaking the vessel he spent half his life in. "Robin, did you read any other friendlies out here. Peppy drop in, did he?"
"No, sir. The bridge battlefield display shows that your pursuer was destroyed by an unknown force. Scans did not pick up any life form."
Fox shook his head. The ghost Arwing. Though he already knew it to be futile, he turned around and searched for the Arwing and found nothing. No ion trails, no scan signature, nothing. Might as well have been a figment of his imagination.
Maybe it was.
Fox swallowed and refocused on the situation at hand. "Starfox to all elements. Packages have been delivered safely and the INH is stable. Fall back to recharge and repair. We have to be ready in case they try to retreat out the rear hangar…assuming Dagger's still alive and completes their mission."
Falco scoffed. "The real war's out here. Something tells me they got the easy part of this operation."
-
-
"Shit!" Gage snapped.
Ley looked up from where she knelt at the mess hall double doors, her snake cam filament subtly inserted underneath to scout the room. The feed had been patched through to each Dagger soldier's HUD and they watched as the leopardess maneuvered the filament to catch each corner of the room. Their faces fell in unison.
"I suppose we found our why we haven't encountered anyone since the elevator," Delaine said. "They were warned about us. They know patrols can't stand up to us. So they hunkered in."
Gage shook his head. "We don't have the position or maneuverability for this. And we definitely don't have the time to gain them; you can bet the Siren's not cowering somewhere. She'll be on our asses eventually."
"What is it?" Fara asked behind them, in the dark without a Dagger HUD.
The captain kept his eye on the feed and related as best he could what he saw. "The jammer's sitting on a table in the middle of the mess hall, looks like a big gray box with an integrated terminal. I see eleven hostiles and they built a damn fort of tables surrounding the jammer. IFF's picking up Vanguard personnel, four of them standing near the jammer between us and the bad guys. Hostages…living shields. Worst of all, they have remote trigger mines right by the door here and at certain spots near the jammer. If we get close, one of those maniacs is gonna blow the whole room."
Ley strummed her fingers on her knee and mused, "Can't cut the lights from here, can't access ventilation. We can blow open the door and assault as normal but we'd have to have a dozen miracles stocked up to not hit any hostages and cap whichever soldier's holding the mine trigger switch."
Gage nodded. "Given the situation, the hostages are an acceptable risk. But if that bastard activates the mines, it's game over for all the hostages and us…and the jammer, at least."
"That's comforting," Ley grumbled.
Fara sighed, the sound resembling a throaty growl through the distortion of her mask. "If they weren't on the lookout for me, I could just walk right in. Someone needs to ID the soldier with the mine switch."
"That'd be nice, but wishes ain't going to help us." The leopardess pulled the filament from the door and tucked the cam into her vest pouch. "What do we do now, boss?"
Gage raised his brow at a sudden thought but held his tongue, stunned that he even dared to think it could work. But each second mattered and, as he learned a long time before, there were no stupid ideas on the battlefield, so long as they got the job done. "Fara's right; we need an inside man." He paused. "Or woman."
Ley and Delaine shared a glance and realization crept into their faces. Delaine pursed his lips and looked down at his rifle while the female sergeant, as ever, proved more vocal.
"Much as I'd love to rid the galaxy of another empty-headed pop star, this might not be the best way. She'll screw up and get both her and the hostages killed. That's even if she agrees to do it, which she'll never do. An arrogant, spoiled brat jumping into the fire to help us?"
Gage acknowledged his teammate's opinion with a nod and glanced at Delaine.
"I'll follow anything you say, sir," the wolf offered reluctantly. "But…no, I don't think someone like her is capable of such selflessness. She won't do it."
Gage leaned against the wall and stared with distant eyes at the far wall. Though he thought he knew her, he couldn't be sure whether she could be trusted with such a task. Moreover, he felt guilty even thinking about asking her to do something so dangerous, something she was never prepared for. But he didn't need to be reminded of the unpleasant aspects of his job. The mission needed to be completed, period.
As reached for his HUD to reconnect to her comm, he remembered talking with her what seemed like ages ago and allowed himself to believe that she would do it.
"Kristine? Kristine, can you hear me? It's Gage."
"Oh, Gage, thank God. Are you near me yet?"
Gage swallowed on a dry throat. "Kristine, I need to ask you something and it's not easy for me. I may need your help."
"Help? Me? What could you need from me?"
"A jammer in the mess hall near your quarters needs to be destroyed. The problem is the bad guys have hostages and remote explosives set up. One of those soldiers has a switch that he'd keep in close reach, probably pinned to his belt or vest, but we can't see it from here. A round silver disc with a red button, or something similar."
A brief silence. "What…but…what do you want me to do?"
"Your HUD has an IFF signature that has the user show up as a teammate. I need you to…" He hesitated. "I need you to surrender to the soldiers in the mess hall. They'll most likely keep you as a hostage there for the time being. Leave your HUD on, hidden somewhere on yourself where they won't frisk, and do exactly what they say. We'll be watching you from here. Take your time, look around, and point out which soldier has the trigger. Then once you hear us blow the door, hit the deck and stay there."
Gage had gone through the plan as quickly as he could, hoping she wouldn't interrupt with denials. But she remained surprisingly silent, so much so that he wondered if she flat out cut off the link.
"Gage…" she replied at last. "I can't believe you're asking me to do this. Do you even hear yourself? What if they just shoot me when I walk in there? That's a possibility, right?"
"Kristine—"
"You were the first person to ever be honest with me! So be honest now too!"
"Yes, that's a possibility. It's a possibility that they may find the HUD. It's a possibility that they'll spot you pointing out the triggerman and shoot you. It's a possibility we may all blow up. But people's lives are at stake, Kristine. The entire ship is at stake. You can help us protect these people. Isn't that what you said you truly wanted to do? Something that matters? This matters."
Another stretch of silence ensued, followed by Krystal's barely audible whisper. "I'm sorry, Gage. I can't."
Her link blinked off from Gage's HUD display and the fox cursed and bowed his head. His team looked no happier that they had been correct in their assumptions.
"For what it's worth," Fara said, "I really thought she'd do it."
"So did I," Gage uttered. "Ley, prepare a breaching charge. We have to take this room, no matter the cost."
-
-
"What a jerk!"
Krystal ripped the HUD from her ear and slapped it down on her mattress. The nerve! She sat there desperately talking into the comm for so long and finally got a hold of the one man who could help her only to be called back and asked to march to her death! A deep growl rumbling in her throat, Krystal stood and paced the small room, still cautious to keep the noise down. Arms crossed over her chest, she held herself tight to keep from trembling.
How could Gage ask her to do such a thing? After all they'd been through, the friendship she thought they forged, he goes and tries to put people's lives on her shoulders! She was pretty much a hostage herself and he treats her like some kind of soldier-in-waiting!
"What a stupid jerk," she murmured.
The trembling and aching pit in her stomach refused to subside. The silver diva walked to the sink and decided to risk running a little water; she hadn't heard footsteps in a long time and she'd be able to hear them coming from a ways away anyhow. She splashed some cold water on her face and dried off with a handtowel, the fabric rustling her fur as she shook.
Why was she shaking like this? Why did she feel like she was going to hurl? She already said no; Gage would be by to get her after he was done, end of story.
If he's still alive.
Of course he would be. Gage was a pro. He'd make it out okay.
And the hostages? The same people who were cheering and waving during the crew performances?
That's soldiers' business. They do their thing, she does hers.
Then why did Gage ask for help?
Krystal lowered the towel and her downcast eyes caught a glimpse of the empty blue dye cans in her trash receptacle. How scared she had been to be aboard the ship when Gage first rescued her. How scared she had been when she heard she'd have to stay aboard the locked-down Vanguard. How scared she had been when she first considered washing off the blue dye forever. Always fear when she wore the blue dye, always the victim. For the first time in her life, as simply silver-furred Kristine, she thought she could be something more.
She finally realized the trembling and nausea were trademarks of blue Krystal, signs of her fear and snotty outlook, selfishness masquerading as anger. She raised her eyes away from the dye cans but found it even harder to look at herself in the mirror over the sink. Her own eyes pierced her and she spoke again, this time at herself rather than Gage.
"What a jerk."
-
-
Dagger flanked the mess hall double doors, the air around them heavy with premonition. Gage heard his own breathing in his ears as he kept his eyes on the small breaching charge stuck on the split between the doors. Once that charge went off, Dagger would be free to do what they did best but the situation left a bad taste in his mouth. Too many variables, hostages in the line of fire…he never liked the feeling before a battle he knew would be costly. Whether it was a hostage, one of his own teammates, or himself, he knew the taking of the mess hall would have its price.
But the mission had to get done. He knew it and his team knew it. And soon enough, the enemy would know it.
The captain raised three fingers to count down the charge; his teammates held their breath.
Two…
One…
"Hold! Hold!" Gage spread his fingers to cut the order. "Stand down!"
Ley and Delaine let out tense breaths and backed away from the door.
"Ley, give us visual. I heard some kind of knocking; I think someone's coming through the door at the other end."
The leopardess knelt at the door once more and slid the cam filament into the room. Within seconds, the feed flickered onto Gage's HUD but it offered nothing new with the makeshift barricade and jammer blocking his line of sight to the door at the far end of the mess hall. With a grunt of frustration, he ordered, "Audio."
"On the way." Ley lifted another micro-amplification filament from her vest and slid it next to the camera under the door, giving audible life to the scene that played out on their HUDs. Footsteps…the rustle of movement…the metallic shift of weapons being moved…then a rough male voice.
"Code phrase?"
Someone responded from the other side of the far door but the filament couldn't pick it up clearly enough. Gage groaned and wondered if his day was about to get worse. Reinforcements? More hostages to use as shields? As he pondered the idea of hitting them at that moment when they were busy, the male voice spoke again with a phrase that made him wrinkle his brow in confusion.
"Weapons ready. Shoot to kill if you see a gun."
The hydraulic whisk of the doors opening…
"Jeez! God! I said I was alone, don't shoot!"
Gage's eyes flew wide and his teammates gave him glances of surprise. Even in the midst of the precarious circumstances, he couldn't help a little grin that came to his muzzle for a brief moment. "Good girl."
"Well I'll be damned," Ley murmured as she eased the camera wire around. "We've got her on IFF."
"Watch for her signal."
The luminescent outline of Krystal's body, thanks to the IFF signature on her HUD, showed faintly through the obstacles in their way. Dagger watched as the figure stepped inside, hands over her head and fidgeted as the sound of rough patting came through the audio. Frisking…Gage held his breath, praying she had the good sense to hide the HUD somewhere they wouldn't immediately check.
"Hey!" Krystal shrieked as the blue-outlined figure slapped something away from her breasts "Watch the hands, perve!"
"Shut up and hold still!"
Ley shot a glance up at Gage and said, "I can only think of a couple other places she hid it. Either way, let's get it cleaned before we use it again, huh?"
Delaine grunted. "Or sell it online to one of her fanboys and retire."
Luckily, the inspection stopped there and the soldiers escorted her behind the table barricade. Her hands were pulled behind her back and secured with poly-plastic zip-ties like the other hostages, judging from the sharp ratcheting that came through the audio filament.
"Who are you?!" barked the male voice that had been commanding the others all along.
"I'm…is that a joke? You don't recognize me? Oh, come on, don't you ever watch the vidscreen? Krystal!"
Gage smacked his forehead as his teammates groaned and shook their heads. "Is she stupid? Now every eye in the room's gonna be stuck to her."
"Well, how about that," the Venomian replied. "The briefing said you might be here. Ain't you supposed to be blue?"
"I ran out up here in this tub. What, you think the navy's got it lying around?"
The room came to life with mutters and rumbles of conversation from the other enemies in the room as they craned their necks and stepped to the sides to catch a glimpse of the superstar. Some gestured to their comrades to come look and shared chortles as they ogled her head-to-toe. Even the hostages in front of the jammer dared subtle looks to see what was going on.
Gage kept his eye on the outline of her body and in addition to the normal shifts of stance and natural movements, he noticed her head turning back and forth, looking over each enemy as they did so in turn. "She's able to see every hostile in there. Huh…wonder if she drew their attention on purpose so she could inspect them."
His leopardess teammate shook her head. "She may have more guts than I first thought, but that's giving her brain too much credit."
"They're gonna love this upstairs," the soldier said. "Command, this is point beta reporting acquisition of a high-value target: Krystal…yes, sir, she was hiding out and finally surrendered…yes, sir…I understand, sir. Point beta out."
Krystal's outline stumbled around the jammer, pulled roughly to the side of the barricade nearest to Dagger where the other hostages stood. Finally, Gage could see the woman herself rather than just the blue aura. Though her eyes were wide with subdued fear, she seemed to be in control of herself and her glances lingered on the door she knew her allies to be behind. The commanding voice also earned a face to go with it: a hound in a brown officer's uniform sporting a cold, rigid face.
"You." The hound pointed to a lizard in street clothes, presumably a hired mercenary. "Wait at the door for a security detail from Command. They're coming to get her and throw her to those psychos in Hellion for their little surprise."
The lizard took a hesitant step toward – fortunately – the far mess hall door. "You mean…they're going to kill her? Kill Krystal? That ain't right. My niece is kind of a fan…"
Krystal's voice overlapped his, her fear probably no act. "You can't give me to those monsters! I did what you wanted, I cooperated—!"
"Shut up, both of you! Lady Dianus wants all priority targets eliminated, no excuses, no exceptions. Now do as you're ordered or your contract is out the fucking airlock! And you…" He stuck a finger in Krystal's face. "You better just stand there good and quiet or I'll have you begging for death."
Krystal cowered and her chest rose and fell with frightened breaths but she said nothing, her haughty attitude gone. The officer walked away, leaving her amongst her fellow hostages.
"Steady, steady," Gage whispered to her, his gut churning at the mention of Hellion. He didn't bother imagining what they'd do to her; he'd never let it come to that. "We have to get her out of there."
Delaine grimaced. "She hasn't ID'd the triggerman yet."
"We're out of time. We've got more of these bastards on the way, not to mention one pissed off Siren looking for us, and Starfox waiting for us to open communications. And there's no way in hell Ares and Eris are getting their claws on her."
Fara folded her arms and huffed. "I wish I could see what the hell's going on so I can help."
"We're just waiting on Krystal now." Gage glanced at his watch. "I'll give her two minutes to make an ID, then we have to make our move."
"Look at her, she's shaking like a Titanian earthquake," Ley reported with a sigh. "You really think she'll risk pointing someone out? She's done."
"She came this far. We owe her the two minutes."
The impatient captain's eye remained glued to the feed, studying Krystal's every miniscule movement for indication. Her head continued to twist and turn slowly, carefully, searching for the trigger. As the seconds crawled by, Gage began to lose hope and dreaded assaulting the room; her presence only made the job worse, adding another hostage and one he happened to be friends with. But just as he was about to give the order to stack up once more, Krystal's head jerked suddenly to the side.
"What was that?" Ley mused. "Did anyone else see that? Was she pointing at someone?"
Gage narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. Could've been just an ear itch or—"
Her head twitched to her left again, twice in rapid succession. As if to make sure she was being clear enough, the IFF outline of her lower body visible through the overturned tables told the same story: she raised her left foot and shook it to her left.
"That's our signal," Gage said, relieved. "Which soldier?"
"I, uh…" Delaine pursed his lips and studied his feed with intense focus. "I don't think she's pointing to an enemy; the closest one to her left is halfway around the jammer. I think she's gesturing at the hostage."
They all watched as Krystal glanced over her shoulders to make sure no one was paying attention then gave them as clear an indication as they could want: she wriggled her bound wrists to her side and pointed with both index fingers at the lupine hostage to her left. Not behind him, not further to the side, but square at the hostage.
"Sounds like a Venomian tactic alright," Gage muttered. "They're using a sleeper."
"What?" Fara asked.
"They stuck a Cornerian uniform on one of their own and gave him the detonator. We mistake him for a hostage, we secure the room and 'rescue' him and pat each other on the backs, and…boom. He's our target."
Ley licked her lips and looked at her captain. "Sir, are we seriously going to shoot an assumed hostage based on the word of –?"
"Yes, sergeant, we are. We're out of time and we need to take this room. I have no trouble believing Venom would use a sleeper and I'm willing to take the risk. Stack up."
Gage took his position to the right of the door while Delaine fell in behind Ley on the other side, with Fara a step behind the captain to provide clean-up after the team did their work. The leopardess hesitated and hid a scowl, obviously disdainful about the plan and putting their trust in Krystal, but she kept her objections to herself and took her place, her discontent expression gone in an instant and replaced by combat focus.
"I'll take the sleeper," Gage said. "Ley, sweep left to right. Del, you're on hostage protection. Shoot anyone who raises a gun to them; the way they're using them as shields, it'll be close. Make sure each shot finds its mark."
"Always, sir."
"Fara, once the room's clear move to the other door and watch for the enemy reinf—"
"Stop your squirming, miss high-and-mighty!"
Though Ley had cut the video feed, she hadn't yet pulled the audio filament from the door and it caught the hound officer's sharp reprimand.
"I have an itch and I—hey!"
Gage couldn't see what had happened but he guessed the officer struck her or jostled her in some way. Whatever the action had been, a light clattering sound followed it. The fox's stomach tightened; he already knew what had happened before his earpiece reported it.
"What is this? What the hell is this!? Are you spying on us with this HUD you stupid little bitch?!"
"No! No...I just…"
A quick shoosh interrupted her pleas; Gage had heard the sound enough to recognize a pistol being pulled from its holster.
"NO!"
Gage's heart leaped to his throat. "Blow it! Now!"
Ley hit the trigger and the universe went silent for a split second before erupting into chaos.
The double doors blew inward with a loud burst and a flash of light and smoke. Dagger emerged from the gray cloud like vengeful phantoms and unleashed hell on the startled mess hall garrison. The first burst fired ripped the sleeper's head in two and sent him to the ground like a felled redwood, hopefully neutralizing the explosive threat. The team worked the room with expert precision, lasers flying only one way for the first few seconds. After Ley had cleared the left side of the mess hall, she ejected her energy mag and slapped in a fresh one before the spent metal even hit the ground. Delaine stood at the doorway, holosight to his eye, and took single shots that singed the fur on the hostages' faces on the way to their targets. If anyone else had been firing, it would have been dangerous for the captives.
Gage swept right to left after the sleeper had been taken down and kept moving forward around the jammer, weathering the first hail of return fire by rolling to the side and rising to a kneel. Before they could bead him again, he loosed a string of rounds that took down the lizard merc and forced the three remaining enemies to seek cover. Ley broke her attack and literally tackled the hostages to bring them to the floor out of the line of fire.
Just as Gage took a step forward to try and flank the last three, who had taken cover behind an overturned vending machine near the far exit, the doors near the Venomians opened and three more of their comrades joined the fray, firing from the corridor.
"Damn it," Gage cursed as he ducked behind the table barricade; they hadn't been fast enough to beat the detail sent to retrieve Krystal. "Who's got a shot?!"
Delaine answered by putting a laser into the skull of an enemy who popped around the doorframe to fire, but that caused the others to focus on him and force him down behind cover.
"Boss!"
Ley, pinned with the hostages near the jammer inside the barricade, lobbed a primed grenade over the tables to her captain. Gage easily took the cue; he caught it, leaned around the barricade, and whipped it at the hunkered enemies. It bounced off the wall near the door with a sharp crack and fell just behind the overturned vending machine. The resulting explosion pounded Gage's ears and filled the air with smoke and sparks from the ruined machine, along with a fine mist of blood that hovered for a few seconds near the door.
Gage expected to hear the retreating boots of the last two hostiles but instead only silence followed the grenade's bellow. He stood and rounded the barricade, rifle shouldered and stance hunched, ready to fire if they were ballsy enough to stay and fight. But a dark shadow became visible in the doorway as the smoke wafted and cleared, two fresh corpses at its feet. He caught the outline of a Siren's wrist blade retracting just as the metallic resonance echoed through the mess hall, and the woman herself came toward them, the black cloak causing the smoke to billow away. Gage's first instinct was to fire but a quick glance over his shoulder showed no Fara. He relaxed the trigger but kept a wary eye.
"It's me, Gage," the Siren said, apparently noticing his suspicion. She raised her left arm and ran her finger along the very subtle slit where the knife killed the Nyx Siren.
"Sorry." The fox let out a breath. "Just didn't expect you to get over there so fast. You're starting to get the hang of combat."
"Yeah…" Her voice trailed off and she looked away, more worried than glad about her developing skills. "I'm starting to really act like…well, a Siren."
Before Gage could reply, Ley stood, coughing from the smoke and looked around the battered room. "Nice moves, boss. First that knife on the Nyx now the grenade…we should get a casino stage show going. If I tossed a dagger or grenade to Del over there, he'd just fumble it and kill himself."
Delaine had already slung his rifle and was cutting the bonds off one of the hostages with a knife. "I don't need knives…or grenades."
"Fara, secure the door and keep an eye out." Gage vaulted over the barricade and checked the "hostage" he killed while Ley and Delaine untied the three dazed crewmen and helped them to the side of the mess hall where they could sit down. Sure enough, a round silver detonator hung from the belt at his rear, easily in reach of his bound hands.
"Well, Kristine," he said with a grin, rising and turning toward the hostages. "You were right. We really owe…" His face fell when he saw Delaine with the three crewmen…no Krystal.
"Boss!"
Gage followed Ley's voice to the other side of the jammer and found her kneeling beside the silver-furred woman, her yellow shit and denim jacket wet with blood. She stared at the ceiling and breathed in shallow rasps, sweat glistening on her face. As the vulpine captain knelt as well, her eyes focused and she swiveled her head to look at him, the hints of a small grin pulling at her muzzle.
"Give me some good news, sergeant," he said through gritted teeth.
Ley ripped the torn fabric of the jacket and short at Krystal's left shoulder and ripped her field aid kit from her vest. She cleaned blood away from the wound and nodded. "She took one under the collarbone. Lucky. Two inches south and she'd be dead. Doesn't look like any internal bleeding; messy hit, but I can stabilize it for now. We just have to get her hooked up to some blood once our guys get through and she'll be fine…assuming that happens within the next couple hours. Looks like she's in a bit of shock from the pain; nothing major. She's just probably never felt anything like this before." The leopardess sighed and shook her head as she spread gel on the wound. "Makes me nostalgic for my first time."
Gage stroked Krystal's forehead and wiped away her sweat. "Kristine? You're going to be fine. And you know it's the truth because it's me. Just hang in there, okay?"
Krystal swallowed and trembled a bit as Ley applied the bandage. "Did it work? Is everyone okay?"
"Everyone's fine. You did an amazing job. I'm proud of you."
She grinned again and blinked with heavy eyelids. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. We're still friends, right?"
"Of course. Just relax for now, okay? We'll talk later."
"Oh. Okay."
Gage rose and left her in the capable hands of his teammate. He allowed himself to finally release the tension of the assault with a long, smoke-ridden exhale. While he reloaded his weapon and stepped toward the jammer to disable it, his eye caught Fara's…or at least her mask lenses. She stood just inside the mess hall by the door and met his eyes when she noticed him looking at her.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," the fox replied, averting his eyes to prevent any emotion from becoming obvious. "Just wish you hadn't bolted ahead like that to kill the last two."
"Gage—"
"Yeah, yeah, you don't need me looking after you."
Fara hesitated. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I just want to help. It's actually kind of charming."
A stifled snort interrupted their conversation from the floor where Ley continued to work on her patient.
Gage shot her a glare. "Do you have a problem with my charm, sergeant?"
"Just some smoke in my throat, sir."
The Dagger captain turned his attention back to Fara and took a half-step toward the terminal for the jammer, but he stopped dead cold when his eyes fell on the vixen. He blinked, expecting at first that the gray tinge bathing the room had affected his vision, but the sight remained.
His blood froze.
She swept into the room right behind the oblivious Fara, whose eyes still lingered on the man she loved. The ghostly black form made not a sound, but even with her face hidden behind the mask she emanated pure hate and venom. In a deft, flowing motion, she raised her pistol as Gage brought his rifle to bear.
And Fara, confused and stiff at the sudden aggressive action, stood directly between them.
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-Part 2 Coming (very) Soon-