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Star Fox: First Contact
Chapter 10: The Warden
"TTI, three minutes, eight seconds."
Truth was, Miyu didn't need ROB's estimate. Because the Star Fox Team had already arrived within firing range of the missile, and were cruising alongside it. And unless it was comprised of some unknown alloy that could resist lasers, Miyu knew that they wouldn't have any trouble destroying it.
"Slippy, give me a read-out of the warhead," Fox said.
"Analyzing," said the frog. "Confirmed. The warhead has a yield of one-hundred megatons."
"And what does that mean in Lylat?" Falco asked.
"It means that just one of them could destroy Corneria City twice over."
Miyu winced. The Venomians had utilized tactical nukes during the invasion of Corneria, and even now, the scars could be seen on building and body alike. A yield of this size? "Overkill" didn't do it justice.
"And there's no chance of a detonation if we take out the missile?" Peppy asked.
"The Cornerians are having fun," Fay said.
Miyu looked out of her cockpit. Blue laser fire from the Defenders were tearing into the incoming missiles. So far, no secondary detonations had occurred.
"Well, let's not fall behind," Fox said. "Star Fox, open fire."
Green lasers tore into the missile. While the Arwings had fewer numbers, they had superior firepower, and before long, the missile was torn apart. Debris flew through the void of space, perhaps fated to hit a planetary body in a few million years.
"Well," Falco said. "That was easy."
"Incoming ship. Distance: sixty. Sending visual."
"Copy that," said Fox. "Make sure the Epona gets it as well."
"Affirmative."
The image of the ship appeared on Miyu's HUD. Its hull was dark black, barely visible against the vacuum of space. It was shaped like a cylinder, a gaping maw facing forward, as if it had come to swallow them whole. And while the image didn't do it justice, it was huge. Even larger than the Epona. ROB's calculations had been on the money. And yet somehow, this ship had apparently cloaked itself, evading LIDAR and subspace detection.
Miyu frowned. If she didn't know better, she'd say it was-
"The Wardens."
Efi's voice came in over the radio.
"It's them," Efi said. "It really is them."
"The aliens that attacked your world?" Peppy asked.
"They found you. Or they followed my ship. Or...oh no…if the Equinox led them here..."
"Distance: fifty-five," ROB said.
The image faded and Fox's face appeared on-screen, along with Whinnyham. "You getting this?" he asked.
Miyu looked around. The Epona's fighter squadrons were getting into formation.
"Admiral?"
Whinnyham snorted. "This is the ship that destroyed your alien's world? Goodness me, even the dregs of Venom put up a better fight."
No-one said anything.
"Distance: fifty," ROB said.
"Opening a channel," Whinnyham said. "Attention incoming vessel, , this is Admiral Demeter Whinnyhamof the Cornerian Fleet. Please identify yourself."
"Is she seriously playing diplomacy?" Fay asked.
"Incoming ship, stand down or be destroyed," Whinnyham said.
Miyu gripped her joystick. Whinnyham knew what she knew, about how this ship, or one like it, had destroyed Efi's homeworld. On one hand, Corneria had clearly possessed more advanced technology than Atlas. On the other...Whinnyham hadn't seen the terror Efi's eyes in the med bay. The crack in her voice. The tears in their throat.
"Distance: forty-five," ROB said.
"Admiral, we need to engage," said Fox.
"Negative Fox, we've neutralized their attack."
"Damn it admiral, you...ROB, begin moving Great Fox away from the ship."
"Affirmative."
"Incoming ship, this is Admiral Demeter Whinnyham of the planet Corneria. Reverse your present course."
The ship was still moving. Sixty-plus fighters hovered in space, as the ship came towards them.
"Admiral," Miyu murmured. "Based on its trajectory, what's the ship's intended destination?"
"Working..."
"Incoming ship, this is-"
"Admiral, you have to engage!"
Efi's face popped up on the screen. She was on the bridge of the Great Fox, bathed in a red light, as per condition red. ROB was still working away at the holo-table, guiding the ship away. Miyu saw Whinnyham's screw up, as if affronted that a girl, an alien, was addressing her.
"That's a Warden ship. Just one of those destroyed my world. You can't negotiate with it."
"Distance: forty," ROB said.
"Little girl, I have no reason to believe anything you told Star Fox, and we've neutralized its weapons. Now get off the line."
"Distance: thirty-five."
"Admiral, listen to me!" Efi yelled.
"Fox, get your alien off the line!"
"My name is Efi Orisha. I was sixteen when the Wardens attacked. I saw billions of my people die from missiles like the ones you destroyed, and that ship shrug off everything we threw at it. I don't care how advanced you are, or how good you are, you have to stop it or billions of your people will die!"
Whinnyham said nothing. Fox said nothing.
"Trajectory calculated: intended destination is Corneria. At present speed, ship will arrive in thirty-six hours."
Miyu ran the calculation in her head. The ship was travelling at roughly one tenth of lightspeed. More than enough time to alert Corneria. But not nearly enough time to scramble the fleet to protect it. And that was already from a fleet that was stretched thin from two wars and countless skirmishes.
"Please," Efi begged. "I don't care what happens to me, but for the sake of your crew, for the sake of all that lives, you have to stop that ship!"
"Distance: thirty."
Whinnyham swallowed. Seconds passed. Seconds that they couldn't afford to waste, Miyu reflected.
"Please..." Efi begged.
"Alert: six missiles fired," ROB said.
"Oh boy, this ain't good," Peppy murmured.
"Distance: twenty-five."
"Admiral..." Fox began.
"All ships..." Whinnyham paused for breath. "All ships, engage! Weapons free!"
Thought you'd never ask, Miyu reflected. Without waiting for an order from Fox, she zipped forward, the rest of the team following her.
"Star Fox, fire at will," Fox said. "Take the missiles out."
The Arwings obliged, as did the Defenders. Miyu checked her LIDAR - both the Great Fox and Epona were maneuvering, trying to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the Warden ship. The Great Fox had the head start, while the Epona had defensive batteries. Plus, even with six missiles, the fighters were having an easy time shooting them down.
"Alert: enemy ship has launched fighters."
"What?" Miyu whispered. In the midst of shooting the first missile, she looked around.
Hatches in the Warden ship were opening. Out of them came fighters. Hundreds of them. She couldn't make out their exact shape, but she could see them approaching the Cornerians like a swarm of hornets.
"Fox, you seeing this?" Peppy asked.
"Yeah, I see. Peppy, Slippy, stay on the missiles. Rest of you, on me."
Miyu, Fay, and Falco formed up on Fox. Out of her rear-view camera, she saw Peppy and Slippy try and take out the missiles. How Whinnyham was coordinating her own defence, she wasn't sure. But a lot of the fighters were dashing forward to engage the enemy.
"Star Fox, engage!"
The Arwings dashed forward. Defenders dashed forward. Green and blue lasers tore into the drones. The drones fired back, red lasers coming at the Cornerians. The two swarms approached each other, getting closer by the second...
"Break! Break!" Fox yelled.
The Arwings scattered. And everything went upside down.
Around her cockpit, Miyu could see explosions tear through the night sky. Avoiding the Defenders had been hard enough. Avoiding the drones was nearly impossible. Avoiding their laser fire? More so. She spun, she weaved, she ducked, she danced, she kept her Arwing in a barrel roll as much as possible, in order to deflect as much enemy fire as she could, but steadily, she could see her shield gauge be depleted. The one piece of consolation was that, keeping her finger on the trigger, she tore through the drones like scissors through paper. They were painted black, just like the ship. Each of them had a pair of wings with pointed edges jutting forward. And in the centre of each, a single red eye. Glowing against the dark.
"Damn it, there's no end to them!" Fay yelled.
Miyu dared glance across the battlefield. The Defenders weren't faring any better. Puffs of light appeared throughout the night. Most of them drones. Some of them Cornerian fighters. Through it all, she could see the Warden ship keep on course. And the Epona heading towards its port side.
Why isn't it firing? She wondered. Why's Whinnyham leaving her fighters exposed?
She quickly realized the answer. Whinnyham couldn't fire into the swarm without risking hitting her own fighters. Cold hard calculus would dictate that she'd take out more drones than Defenders, but cold hard calculus wasn't what dictated command. In spite of everything, Miyu felt some respect for the admiral. Especially since even if carriers weren't designed for battle, she was trying to engage the enemy ship directly.
"Damn it, I ain't your buddy, go away!" Falco yelled.
The dancing and firing continued. Shouts from the Star Fox Team. Shouts, and some screams, from the Cornerian pilots.
"Peppy, Slippy, how's your intercept going?" Fox asked.
"Nearly there, Fox. One missile left."
"Alright. Slippy, get up here. Peppy, stay on the missile."
"But Fox-"
"Now!"
Miyu checked her LIDAR. Slippy's Arwing was joining the fray. Peppy was staying on the missile, which by her reckoning, was headed for the Equinox. She cursed, as a drone slammed into her.
"Miyu!" Fay yelled.
"I'm okay. I'm okay!" She managed to get her ship under control, and swore as she narrowly avoided hitting another drone. "Least I hope I'm okay..."
She hit her boosters. She had to get out of this swarm. Her shield was nearly depleted, and a few more hits would see her joining the Great Dog in the sky. Up here, above the battle, she could see the Epona pull alongside the Warden ship, before opening fire in a broadside volley.
Got 'em, she thought.
Or not. Dozens of laser batteries impacted the hull of the Warden ship. But while it was hard to tell from here, it appeared that they weren't doing any damage.
Not good.
"Whinnyham to all fighters, be advised, our laser batteries are having no effect against the ship."
Definitely not good.
"Fox, I have to pull out!" Peppy yelled.
What in the-
"Move it Peppy! Move!"
Oh no.
The last missile. It was about to hit the Equinox.
Please no.
Miyu watched her LIDAR screen. Peppy's Arwing was using all available speed to get a safe distance. The Equinox however, just vanished. And thousands of klicks away, she saw the flash of light. The power of the atom vaporizing the generation ship. Not content with destroying Atlas, the Warden ship had eliminated the last ghosts of the human race.
They were already dead, Miyu told herself. Real people were dying and fighting in space right now. But she couldn't help but think of Efi. She couldn't help but patch in her feed to the holo-table. She couldn't help but nearly cry as she saw Efi's face. Her eyes wide, and red. Tears pouring down them. No doubt she was seeing what had just happened. The destruction of her ship. The bodies of her crew, denied final rest.
"Efi..." Miyu began.
The girl didn't say anything. And while Miyu wanted to say more, she had to hit her boosters again, as more drones came to engage.
"Alert: six missiles fired."
The Epona was still firing, as it peeled off, trying to get some distance from the enemy ship. Miyu saw a Defender squadron follow it on an intercept course. And all the while, the battle in the centre continued.
"Fox, I'm running out of options here!" Whinnyham yelled.
Miyu grit her teeth. On the plus side, the drones had nearly been wiped out. So had at least a quarter of the Defenders, but if this was a battle of attrition, so far the Cornerians were winning.
"Alert. Alert. Second drone wave launching."
Miyu stared. Hatches in the Warden ship opened up. More drones poured out. Hundreds of them.
"Oh come on!" Falco yelled.
"Alert: missiles one, two, and three still en route for Great Fox.""
"Fox, you got a plan here?" Slippy asked.
There was no answer.
"Fox?"
"Star Fox, form up," Fox said. "ROB, dispatch shield rings."
Miyu wasn't sure what his plan was, but she was glad to have a shield recharge. On her LIDAR, she saw Great Fox fire six payloads of shield rings. By flying through them, the Arwings' shields would be recharged as energy was transferred from the rings to their systems. It was a tactic they rarely used, since often Great Fox was often kept far from the actual fighting, but desperate times had called for desperate measures. They needed shields, and they needed them now.
"Fox, much as I like rings as anyone else, we still need a plan," Peppy said.
"I..." Fox swallowed. "I..."
"Anytime Fox," Falco said.
Miyu wished Falco would shut up, but he had a point. The missiles were approaching. The drone swarm was approaching. Half of it was headed for the Epona and was tearing into the ship, even as its batteries shot down drones by the dozen. But the other half was coming their way. As were three missiles.
"Fox!" Slippy yelled.
"Alright. Falco, Peppy, and I will take the missiles. Slippy, you, Miyu, and Fay will engage the enemy ship."
"What? By ourselves?" Fay asked.
"Slippy will provide covering fire and analyse their shield. You two will use your nova bombs."
The nova bombs, Miyu reflected. She'd almost forgotten they'd been loaded at all - using them in that drone swarm would have been suicide. But against the Warden ship? They might work. They were the most powerful weapon they had in their arsenal.
"Fox, this is madness," Peppy said.
"It's my decision. Now follow it."
Miyu suspected Peppy would have objected if not for the arrival of the shield rings. With their defences restored, there was no excuse to waste more time. Especially as the Epona and its Defenders were hanging on for dear life, shooting down the drones and missiles, while a second swarm was coming their way, along with a trio of missiles that had a yield of city-killing proportions.
"No time left. Engage!" Fox yelled.
No-one spoke as the Arwings peeled off. Fox, Peppy, and Falco headed downwards towards the incoming missiles. Slippy, letting out a croak, shot off towards the Warden ship, closely followed by Miyu and Fay. While their ships could outpace Slippy's, they lurked behind, hoping that his shields and firepower could give them some protection from the incoming laser fire.
"Incoming!" Fay yelled.
And incoming drones, that seemed just as happy to slam into them as shot them. Miyu yelled, and kept firing, making sure not to hit Slippy. It reminded her of an old castle siege, how thousands of years ago, Cornerian soldiers had used battering rams against castle gates while being shot at with arrows, and enduring burning oil. So far, her shields and lasers were keeping the worst of it at bay.
So far.
"Slippy, where's our analysis?" Miyu asked.
"Working...working...damn it, there is no shield!"
"What?"
"There's no shield!"
Miyu smiled. No shield? Finally some good news.
They'd passed through the drone cloud. But through her rearview camera, she could see some of them peeling off and pursuing them.
"Whinnyham to Star Fox, we can't go on like this!"
Miyu glanced out of her cockpit. The Epona was still firing. So were the Defenders. But fires were spreading across the supercarrier's hull. Sections had been left exposed, where the hull plating had been torn away. The drones were wearing it down through sheer numbers.
"Star Fox, where are you?!"
"Little busy here!" Fox yelled.
Miyu checked the LIDAR. Fox, Falco, and Peppy were taking out the missiles. They could probably save the Great Fox, but they couldn't reach the Epona in time. Not like...
"Slippy, head for the Epona," Miyu said.
"But-"
"Now! Fay and I can outpace the drones. Help the Defenders while we strike the killing blow."
Slippy let out a nervous ribbit before peeling off. All that was left between she and Fay and the Warden ship was...nothing. Just the vacuum of space before them, and dozens of drones chasing them from behind. Just another day on the job, really.
"Miyu, I hope you know what you're doing," Fay said.
"Yeah, me to." She took a breath. "Alright Fay, follow my lead."
"Roger. Coming up on your three."
Fay aligned her Arwing with Miyu's. The darkness of space, and the darkness of the Warden ship, loomed before them.
"Divert shields to G-diffuser systems. Fire boosters on my mark."
"Diverting."
She could hear the fear in Fay's voice as they zipped ahead. Miyu couldn't blame her. If the Warden ship had any defensive batteries, or deployed a third drone wave, they'd be shot out of the sky before either of them could comment how bad an idea this was. But it would put more distance from them and the drones already pursuing them. And already, the Warden ship was in firing range.
"On my mark," Miyu whispered.
She could hear Fox, Falco, and Peppy yelling as they shot the missiles. She could hear Slippy stammering as he shot down drones in an effort to protect the Epona. She could hear the shouts and screams of the pilots...and imagine the sound of billions more. Of those who had called Atlas home. Billions, wiped out by this machine. This monster. This so-called Warden programmed to follow genocide.
"Three."
It would end today.
"Two."
It had to.
"One."
For everyone.
"Mark! Nova fire one!"
"Nova fire two!"
Two nova bombs were shot from two Arwings. Two Arwings peeled off as the bombs impacted against the Warden ship's hull. Two miniature suns appeared, temporarily blinding Miyu as she shielded her eyes from the detonation.
"Miyu, Fay, report!" Fox said.
Miyu smiled. "Target hit, Fox. I think we took it out."
"You think?"
Miyu spun her ship around, and waited for the light to fade. "Can confirm that...that..."
She trailed off.
"Miyu?"
Her haw dropped.
"Miyu, Fay, report!" Fox yelled.
It wasn't possible.
"Star Fox, what is your status?!" Whinnyham yelled. "We can't hold on much longer!"
It just wasn't possible.
"Miyu, Fay, what the heck is happening?!" Falco yelled.
"Ship is..." Miyu struggled for words. "The ship is..."
"Undamaged," Fay whispered.
The light had faded. The Warden ship kept moving. The nova bombs hadn't made a scratch against its hull.
"Say again?" Fox whispered.
"Fox, the Warden ship...the bombs...they did nothing," Miyu whispered.
Fox didn't say anything. No-one did.
"Alert. Three missiles have been launched."
Not until ROB interrupted. Not until Miyu saw with her own eyes three hatches open and three missiles shoot out, all headed for Great Fox.
"It's not firing at the Epona," Fay whispered. "Why isn't it firing at the Epona?!"
"Fox, help me out here!" Slippy yelled. "There's too many of them!"
"Because the Epona is no longer a threat," Miyu whispered. "They-"
Just in time, she fired her boosters, as did Fay, as the drone swarm caught up with them. She transferred some power back to her shields.
"Fox, I'm down to twenty-five fighters!" Whinnyham yelled. "What's your status?"
No-one said anything.
"What's your plan?!"
No-one said anything.
"Fox, we can't hold out much longer!"
No-one said anything. Not until, on Miyu's screen, Efi's face appeared.
"I have a plan," she whispered.
Her eyes were still red. Her cheeks were awash with tears. But her fists were clenched. Her hair had been tied up in a bun. Her headset's eyepiece had been lowered. She looked ready to take the dagger out of her heart, and to stab it at the monster that was headed for Corneria.
"I have a plan," she said.
Keeping her thrusters burning, and leading her ship and Fay to regroup with Fox, Miyu hoped it was a good one. Because if not...
Then she didn't see any of them getting out of this alive.
A/N
Concerning guest reviews:
-I was able to follow the link. I guess you could infer a pairing if you squint. But either way, not going in that direction.
-To Lord demon, I'm not sure what you're getting at. Yes, anything "could" happen in the course of a story, but if you're talking about potential plot points, that's an argument that can stretch ad infinitum. If you're referring to the species found in Starlink, then yes, the Wardens are partly inspired by that IP (and a lot of stuff). Since Starlink and Star Fox cross over in S3 continuity, figured I could take elements into S1 continuity.