Retaliation
While Willy and Blinky were working the Frigate, Bucky O'Hare and the rest of his crew took the elevator up to the command center of the Station. The Elevators were reactivated after the Toads had been repelled and every Toad that entered the station was terminated.
The Invaders had to fight through the halls and climb through maintenance shafts with the power shut down to the best points of taking of taking over the station. Eventually when their reinforcements stopped coming in the Toads in the station were eventually taken down by the Security and it was thanks to a certain Baboon that they did not succeed in taking over.
Bucky along with Jenny and Deadeye exited the elevator at the deck where the Command Center was across the hall. Everywhere they looked there were blast marks and burns all over the walls and make shift barricades.
"Seems Security had their hands full with this one." Bucky huffed hating the fact that the Toads came so far in station. Just a short time ago he and his team had successfully retaken his home world and converted the entire planet back to its original state. And the Toads had come close to taking over the station would have allowed them invade Warren again.
He tightened his fists in anger. His people suffered long enough since they first lost their home world and they just got it back. If it is lost a second time so soon Bucky couldn't live with that failure.
Jenny could feel his concern. "Not to worry Bucky we will handle this and make sure it doesn't happen again." She assured.
Bucky kept his stern look, but he nodded without looking at her. "I know, Jenny but the situation right now needs to be taken care of. I won't allow this to happen twice!" He vowed.
"We'll be frying more worty Toads in no time, Captain!" Deadeye chuckled taking out his masers and spun them for a moment before returning them to their holsters.
Bucky smiled slightly. His crew always had his back in any circumstance or mission they been on. They hardly ever questioned his authority and whenever he was in trouble they would be there for him without even asking.
They came up to the open doors of the command center one door wouldn't open all the way to maser fire damage upon the control panel. "They came so close." Jenny sighed hating the fact the Toads nearly took the station.
"Not close enough!" Stomping in front of the three was the Space Marine Bruiser the Betelgusian Berserker Baboon. He gave them a prideful grin. "Them Toadies tried to take the Station, but they only made it so far till I mopped the floors with them!" He laughed pounding his chest.
"Ol, Bruiser the Janitor of the Warren Station!" Deadeye chuckled.
Bruiser laughed at the joke. "Yeah! Toadies made excellent mops! Starting to like station duty!"
"Alright jokes aside I need a report Bruiser how bad is it?" Bucky asked.
"It's not as bad as it could've been if you didn't show, Captain. A lot of station turrets were destroyed leaving defenses down forty percent. Security Personal took a lot of hits, but most are injured, and casualties are low. But if the Toads come back this Station won't stand another attack like that." Bruiser reported.
Bucky stiffened his nose in frustration. "Then we have to make sure they don't have the opportunity to strike back soon enough. The Attack Force had to come from a system close by. They had to retrofitted with enough stormtoads to take this station." He debated putting a finger under his chin in thought.
"You are right, Captain O'Hare!" Someone called to him within the Command Center.
The Group headed for a mole that sat at a working console. He typed on the computer bringing up an array of data. "Lieutenant Devin." He quickly introduced. "Once Bruiser had fought the Toads back from here I began to bring up the Cruisers flight patterns. I used the stations sensors to download their flight paths and I believe I can pit point the last spot they hyperspace from to begin their attack."
"You can, Lieutenant?" Captain O'Hare asked with hopefulness leaning down over the moles side to look at the monitor better.
The Mole typed in the data bringing up a planet that was massive in size and mostly green. "Planet Neven. A Forest planet with limited data. Just filled with wildlife. Scouts that discovered the world deemed it suitable for habitation but since the war started all plans for expansion were put on hold." Lieutenant Devin clarified.
"Hmph…" Bucky huffed. "…Toads must a Base of operations there. Either its for supply or FOB it doesn't matter. If your calculations are correct we may have our source here. Good work."
The Mole smiled and nodded. "Thanks Captain. But the station as our friend said has suffered extensive damage and most of the security is down. Another attack would be the end of us. You can't leave if the Toads are plotting a retaliation. We know they don't give up easy!"
"He's right Bucky until we can make sure this Station is fully secured we can't risk leaving it virtually without defense." Jenny informed. The Station was the only line of defense to keep Bucky's home world from invasion.
"That can be fixed." Bucky smiled. "We have to go Neven and take out that base. Not only due to the fact that it acts as a staging area to attack my world but the less the Toads have the better. Make a call to Dogstar have him report here with his frigate the Indefatigable to provide a temporary defense while we give the toads some retaliation."
"Music to me ears, Bucky!" Deadeye quipped.
"And I am going too!" Bruiser tightened his large fists. "The Toads here for appetizers. Its time for the main course on Neven!" He chuckled with eagerness.
"I knew you would say that, Bruiser! Alright team let's move! And make that call!" Bucky ordered.
"Yes Sir, Captain!" The Mole confirmed beginning to bring up the communications on the console. "Best of luck to you."
"Don't need luck! They got a berserker baboon!" Bruiser laughed loudly crying out the battle that his race was known for. Bucky and the rest of the team left the command center in a hurry. If the Toads were going to attack again they would need to intercept their force quickly.
Bucky and his team headed back down the elevator. "I know we didn't say it before but glad your alright, Bruiser." Bucky said turning to the Space Marine giving him a smile.
"Don't tell me you were worried?" Bruiser chuckled.
"Just looking out for crew mates." Bucky replied with a smile. Certainly, since Bruiser became part of the crew there has been little to match against him. The One race that the Toads feared. Only once did they have the boldness to try and take their home world while using weapons and gadgets that made their feared foes look incompetent and incapacitate them. But thankfully with Bucky's team interfering with their invasion plan and Willy's invention that made the Toad's gadgets useless the Toads were repelled and never again did they try to invade.
They reached the hanger with the surviving security detail busy making repairs and clearing out the hanger of the deceased toads and debris. At the Center was their frigate with Willy retrieving another tool from outside the ship.
"Status Willy?" Bucky asked as he and the other came forward with Willy turning to see his friends.
"Repairs are nearly complete. Still need a little tinkering but everything else is up to speed." Willy explained. Blinky appeared at the hatch.
"All systems at standard ninety five percent capacity." He answered next.
"Good work you two." Bucky said. "Get to your stations and be ready for we know where the attack came from. Prepare for a ground assault." Bucky ordered.
"You got it, Bucky." Willy replied as Blinky saluted and headed for the engineering deck. He then was noticed by, Bruiser.
"Hey good to see you again, Willy!" Bruiser called up as the team climbed into the Righteous Indignation.
"Nice to see you too, Bruiser!" Willy smiled as Bruce came him a rather pat on his shoulder that if he hit his shoulder any harder he would against a wall.
"To your Stations!" Bucky ordered as it was no time to waste. Every second counted. Everyone headed for their place on the ship while, Bruiser stayed on the gunnery deck. He only ever gone to Engineering if no one was there to monitor it or if those below needed a hand.
Once everyone was in place and Bucky was the last to sit down in the pilot's seat he took hold of the controls. "All hands prepare for hyperspace!" He announced.
"Let's do this!" Bruiser readied himself cracking his knuckles. He looked forward to pounding the heads of more Toads. They thought they could take the Station but with him around that wasn't a possibility. And now it was time to take the fight to them.
Jenny punched in the coordinates to Neven and, Bucky turned on the Frigate. Immediately he took off flying out of the hanger and within a few moments the Ship went into hyperspace disappearing from Station and Warren heading towards the forest planet.
While the Frigate was in hyperspace Jenny was at work on scanners while trying to find anything else that could be useful when they get to Neven. "Anything useful, Jenny?" Bucky asked.
"Nothing, Bucky. There is no relevant data. All that Devin had told us is everything we have." Jenny explained.
"Blast! I hate having to walk into the unknown like this." Bucky scoffed. Jenny gave him sly grin.
"That's never stopped you before." She chuckled.
"No, it hasn't and never will! But if it can be avoided I would take that option." Bucky smiled back. Jenny certainly knew how to get under his skin at times, but it always helped keep him going. There was nothing that he could not trust his first mate with. Unless it involved her secretive race on her home world.
The computer started to beep indicating they were about to arrive at their designated coordinates. "All hands preparing to exit hyperspace!" Bucky announced. Within a few seconds the Frigate exited hyperspace and large green planet was seen in front of them.
"There it is!" Jenny pointed out as their ship moved towards the planet. "Beginning planet wide scan." She typed over the computer and watched as the scanners monitored the planet.
"Bucky! Sensers are picking up a base that's in a barren spot just outside a wooden area." Jenny informed.
"Good. What is our oncoming resistance?" Bucky asked preparing to ready for evasive maneuvers.
"We have none. I'm not detecting any fighters or cruisers of any kind. No Mothership either. Something is not right about this." Jenny explained feeling uneasy. The Toads always had a defense ready if a base of theirs was about to come under an attack.
"That's odd. Could be another Toad trick much like on Rigel Five." Bucky replied easing the engine. He didn't want to go in full speed and get caught in a possible trap for ships.
Everyone else could feel the ship slowly down. "What gives, Bucky? My fingers are itching to fry some toad meat!" Deadeye shouted up.
"Easy Deadeye we're not seeing anything on the scanners other than their base on the planet. Could be another defense shield possibly be ready for anything." Bucky responded.
"Roger that me, lad!" Deadeye waited as his hands stayed on the control of the duel mounted masers cannons. If anything would appear he would be ready.
Bucky carefully moved the Frigate down to the planet. Surprisingly, there was nothing. No Shield. No Planet side plasma cannon defenses. There was nothing. This was greatly peculiar.
"I don't get it why is there no defense. Most of the time we are met with heavy force before initiating a ground attack." Bucky inquired as his ears twitched which was a usual sign of trouble.
"I can't say but base is only short distance away now. We should keep moving." Jenny suggested which Bucky confirmed.
"Your right. Take us planet side and land in the forest. If we do have the element of surprise we should take it." Bucky commanded.
"Yes, Captain." Jenny confirmed she took control of the ship and guided down to the planet. It was relatively beautiful world. It was filled to the brink with forests as far as the eye can see with numerous mountain ranges and valleys.
Willy climbed up to the gunnery deck to take a look out the window near the gunner's seat. "This planet is incredible. Kind of reminds me of, Bruiser's home." He said in marvel.
Bruiser only scoffed. "Not quite, Willy. Sure, this planet may have a look but it's no Betelgeusia. The Tree's are too short and all straight. Its not a jungle that's down there, you know?"
Willy shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess your right about that." He agreed making the Baboon smile.
Jenny set the Righteous Indignation down in small clearing that was barely big enough to allow the frigate to land in. Once the Ship settled down and the power was shut off Bucky and Jenny climbed down.
"Alright team the Toad Base is only a short walk from here. What we need to do is clear out the base and find any useful data." Bucky gave the brief.
"We'll clear it out alright!" Bruiser cracked his knuckles. "Just give me five minutes in there alone!"
"Not before I blast every wart ball in sight!" Deadeye cackled readying his two masers in his holsters.
Bucky smiled as his crewmates always were eager if not too eager to run into battle. "Just keep your wits sharp and stay close we still don't know how well fortified the base is. And the Toad defenses are still uncounted for. Be ready." The captain reminded.
"Willy once we get inside and find their central command start downloading anything you can find. The More information we have the toads the better." Bucky assigned.
"You got it, Bucky." Willy gave a thumbs up.
"Alright! Let's go croak some toads!" Bucky shouted opening up the hatch to the ship and everyone except Blinky climbed down from it.
"Good luck most honorable and courageous team!" Blinky waved at them and shut the hatch as soon as the team left.
Bucky took the lead through the woods as it was calm and quiet. Everyone stayed on their guard with Jenny following close behind the captain while, Willy followed close to her with Deadeye and Bruiser right behind him.
The Forest around them was relatively untouched. It seems the Toads have yet to try to turn this planet into something of their own configuration. Their ultimate weapon a Climate Converter that turn a planets entire ecosystem into anything the Toads would use it to craft any world to their own use to provide adequate supply of resources and a more livable condition for their race.
"I don't like this at all, Bucky." Willy pointed out. "Toads would be everywhere. Patrols and usually a trap or more." Willy's had not been in the war as long as his friends had but he had seen enough combat alongside to have a good understanding how the enemy works and thinks.
Bucky nodded as he carefully continued on. They were starting to come out to a clearing in the woods that had many rocky pastures. "Agreed keep your eyes open." He whispered taking out his maser. He would be ready to strike first the second a Toad came into his sight.
Everyone else that was armed with a Maser took them out of their holsters. The Base was getting closer by the minute. All that was left in front of them was the rocky pasture.
"The Toad Base should be over these hills of rocks. Once we get a visual we do a quick recon." Bucky whispered behind him earning a nod from, Jenny who repeated was told to the others.
"Good. I'm tried of walking. I wanna be pounding!" Bruiser grumbled as he enjoyed the thrill of a fight and the feeling of Toads being smashed and trampled under his feet.
"Patience me matey. We will both get our wish soon!" Deadeye snickered as the group began to climb over large boulders near a rocky hill. Bucky and Jenny climbed over another one and Willy climbed over next but then a flash was seen through his glasses. Before he could react a green blast scrapped across right arm.
"Aah!" He cried as the burning pain of a plasma blast had seared through his battle armor. The Group all looked at, Willy in shock as he tumbled forward landing on his back.
"Willy!" Jenny gasped running to his side. She grabbed his arm to see that the plasma blast grazed him but, Willy groaned as the pain was immense. He had never been shot before despite the many times he was in a battle with his friends.
"Toad Sniper!" Bucky shouted as Deadeye immediately leaped on top of the boulder and with his keen sight he peered into the distance to see a lone Toad with long barrel plasma rifle pointed at them from a hill just over a couple hundred yards away.
"Peak a boo! Deadeye see's you!" He gloated aiming his maser at the very position the sniper was at. The Toad grinned behind the scoop as no one could fire that accurate with just one eye but then a red maser blast came straight at it and collided right in its head.
Deadeye laughed for a moment but then saw Willy below groaning in pain. "Willy! You alright, me lad?" He asked checking him over as, Bruiser looked over the bolder with concern.
"How is he, Jenny?" Bucky asked looking behind him. Never before was Willy ever injured during a mission. He had been captured a few times but never was hurt before like this.
"He will be alright." Jenny replied having bandaged, Willy's wound.
It still hurt but Willy nodded to Bucky letting him know he is okay. "Never realize how much that really hurts." He tried to laugh but only agitated his arm making him seethe through his teeth.
"Just stay low, Willy." Bucky said looking forward with his maser pointed out. Deadeye already took care of the sniper but what was coming over the hills were a platoon of Stormtoads. Seems they were aware of their presence.
"Bruiser there's a platoon heading our way. The Base is indefinitely over that hill there." Bucky took the Baboon that was gripping the boulder so hard in anger that it started to crack.
The Berserker looked up at the Toad platoon heading they're with his eyes full of fury and his temper was ignited after seeing, Willy get hurt by the toads.
"Now you've all gone and done it!" Bruiser let out his terrifying battle cry that made the Toad Platoon stop in place when they heard that very shout. They all knew what it was so well that it made their hands and legs shake in fear. It only got worse when Bruiser leaped from the hill in front of them with a large boulder in hand and threw it down at them.
The Boulder smashed through nearly a dozen toads and Bruiser jumped into the middle of them. He wasted no words but angry shouts as he grabbed one toad after another and slammed and tossed them around like toys. He went berserk as the toads tried to flee but the Baboon's wraith was going to be tempered not until he laid waste to every toad in sight.
Bucky watched as his crewmate handled the Platoon with his bare fists. Hardly did Bruiser ever need to use a weapon against Toads.
He turned around to see Jenny finished bandaging up Willy. "Are you sure your okay, Willy?" He asked.
"I'll be fine Bucky." Willy assured.
"Good. Now let's…" Bucky was silenced when he heard a crashing sound come from the woods. Loud stomping was heard, and a deep mechanical came along with it.
"O'Hare I know you're here! Show yourself rodent!" The Mechanical cybernetic voice demanded. Bucky knew who that was and that was not a good sign. If he was there then the Toad base was not a simple supply depot it had a great significance
"Blast it! Not him!" Bucky grumbled. "Jenny keep moving towards the base with everyone else. I'll provide a distraction."
"You sure about this Bucky?" Jenny asked as hearing the same thing, Bucky did as well as everyone else they knew who Bucky was about to face would mean his life would be at great risk facing him alone.
Bucky gave her sly smile. "Don't worry. I know how to push his buttons. It should give you the time to get to their base and see about shutting it down and getting our intel."
"Alright. Good luck." Jenny said before taking Willy with her and, Deadeye tipped his hat at the captain.
"Give him a good blast for me, Matey." Deadeye asked before leaving with Jenny and Willy as Bruiser finished dealing with the Toad platoon brushing his hands in completion. He got with the others, and they all headed up the hill with the Toad base on the other side.
"Alright. Time to get reacquainted with an old friend." Bucky tuned up his maser and headed back into the woods. He would need to keep every bit of his wits ready on hand for one of his nemesis's was near and he was looking to settle a deep score with Captain Bucky O'Hare.
