Chapter 5:
And all of the suddenly, the pleasant humming of the train's wheels sounded like cold, rattling chains dragging unwilling souls to the center turmoil. And how everything looked ugly and unideal, and distastefully reminiscent of that night's departure. All of the faces around me seemed stern and unforgiving, and the rolling scenery seemed harshly forbidding.
I screamed inside, heaving spasmodically and knitting my brows as something within me revolted. Everything seemed too painfully realistic - too painful to recount. I clasped the metallic canister within my hands as I tried to withhold my surging emotions.
"Good grief. Are you alright, young man?" An elderly passenger beside me asked in concern.
I snapped back to reality, and before my eyes was the present. All of the flashbacks were quickly tucked away in some dark corner of my heart.
"Yes," I answered, gathering my composure and wiping my forehead. "Yes, it's just. I had a nightmare."
The elderly hare shook her head and chuckled to herself, and I forced a grin to display good humor. I made a mental note to myself to seal all these past events and let them sink peacefully in the ocean of memories. Everything was over, in the untouchable distant past. I have to go on.
Yet, as soon as my eyelids slid shut, the images and voices were brought forth to me again - unwillingly, like a lamb dragged forth to the sacrificial altar.
-------------------------
"Do you see anything, kid?" Fox's voice rang through the communicator, urgency seeping through his voice.
With binoculars fixed over my eyes, I swept my gaze across the war- torn dunes of Katina, witnessing the clash between my men and the Venomian Imperial droids. The riot of earth-rending din wore one as I strained my sight - yet, there were no signs of enemy artillery. Impatience got the better of me.
"I told you, and I will tell you again - I don't see anything," I grimaced and snarled.
A faint, disappointed sigh heaved through the communicator.
"Perhaps you were mistaken," I added more meekly.
"Listen, Branwell. Imperial artillery is designed to evade IR scans and other such detection systems. Two sectors of the Katina base were already blasted to smoldering waste and the signs all point to artillery fire. If you don't locate it, who will?"
I looked back at the tattered walls of the base to which I leaned against, and it was all painfully true. It all depended upon me and my men, who were mere militias at best. An awkward silence ensued, but I could still hear Fox's heavy, rhythmic breaths seethe through the communicator.
"So what do you say, Branwell?" he demanded almost frantically.
"Wait," I called back hurriedly as a distinctive cry throbbed in my ears. Anxiety welled in my heart.
And through the scopes, I could see a wispy flicker on a distant outcrop, and unfolding metallic tubes shrouded in an expanding trail of missile exhaust. Then, a shimmering glow sprawled across the mechanical device and enveloped it in a translucent sheath. Gathering my military knowledge from previous training, I quickly recognized the glow as a cloaking field.
"Artillery fire!" a lieutenant shrieked amidst the chaos of the battle. "Take cover!"
But I stood there all the same. Ignoring his frantic call, I deftly raised the targeter rifle, calmly searched through its scope, and fired a single shot at the outcrop. A rippling red speck formed on the transparent cloak.
A sharp, wailing shriek fell through the sky, and a fiery globe tore through the wall behind me. The beams melted, and the exterior crumbled. Flames and smoking debris spewed forth from the gaping hole.
With one hand shielding my eyes from the fiery onslaught, I swiftly leapt for cover. A few shards of concrete and metal zoomed passed me, and a few found their place on my leg. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and stifled an anguished cry as a searing pain tore through my body. Snarling, I drew my wounded leg closer, the flames of mixed rage and shame kindling in my heart. I marveled at my own incompetence - first, a miscalculation, and then, failure to locate the artillery earlier. God knows how many casualties were caused by this. With bitter savagery, I tore the shards from my wounds.
"Cloaking field penetrated, I repeat, cloaking field penetrated. Enemy artillery should display on radar," I shouted through the communicator.
"Roger, coordinates received. Just hang on kid. We'll get your men outta danger in no time." Fox's voice rang back.
Slumping to the dusty ground, I peered up into the blazing sky. A few faint silhouettes formed under the glaring sun as Fox and his team descended to a lower elevation. In a delta formation, three Arwings skimmed through the air and raked the dunes with steady beams of laser, scattering the tight formations of advancing droids into twitching heaps. Then, a solo Arwing - presumably Fox - sped towards the outcrop's direction. The sleek spacecraft dipped for a second, launching a smart bomb, then deftly flipped in the air and veered towards the sky. The sickly buzz of the bomb exploded into an earth-rending roar upon impact. With a flash of infernal light, the outcrop was reduced to rubble. Fox smugly retreated from the site, utterly unscathed and unfazed.
Gathering my wits after witnessing him carry out the attack, I quickly called a retreat and withdrew my platoon into the security of the Katina base. Without supportive artillery fire, the droids were of no substantial threat; the base's defenses were sufficient to deter further advancements.
----------------------
"Well done, kid," Fox commended, laying a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
I did not respond. My gaze was fixed intently upon the photograph that I fumbled around with in my grimy hands, my eyes tracing the figures within as if searching for a satisfactory answer. From within the picture, Laura's bright features smiled back at me.
I sat on the warm sand and leaned again the base's exterior wall. Drawing in a deep breath, I could still smell the sharp stench of blood amidst the drifting dust. As if healing the wounds of battle, night fell across the dunes like a dark blanket, and a soothing silence washed over the earth and drenched the skies.
"Not well done enough to prevent all of this destruction from happening," I sighed bitterly, finally acknowledging his presence.
"But good enough for a young colonel. Your father would have been proud," Fox refuted, smiling knowingly.
"A young, inexperienced colonel, you might add," I chuckled in grim humor. "A young man who has not the heart to fight any longer. All those casualties and losses were reported to General Pepper. All under my name."
Fox frowned, sensing the grief within me. I felt wretched.
"There will always be casualties of war, Summers. You tried your best."
"I'm sorry. I just. never had such overwhelming burdens hauled upon me. It's strangling." I stammered in a disheveled tone, a few bangs draping over my downcast eyes.
There was a patient, sympathetic pause on his side. I knew he understood. As someone with a similar past, he must have known my sufferings all too painfully.
"Don't think too much, kid. Just hang on for a bit longer. The war will soon be over," he sighed, turning away and trudging back into the base. And there I sat in solitude, staring blankly out into the windswept plains.
Indeed, the great Lylat Wars were quickly drawing to an end. Cornerian forces have safety reclaimed the Katina base from Imperial control, and I have been posted here to ensure that it stayed in our grasp. Soon, Team Starfox would depart to liberate the Confederate planets of Zoness, Titania, Macbeth, and then finally, Venom. The tides of Venomian influence was slowly receding - yet, the sense of emptiness and longing had not waned within me. It lingered in my heart.
I thought that I have firmly anchored my determination on that night of departure. Solitude had always been the foundation of my strength - the well from which I drew all my resilience. Yet, all my beliefs have changed since she entered my life. All my values, all my thoughts have been written over with a tender hand, unfettered by the callous influence of lonely pride.
This planet reminded me too much of her. It was her childhood. It was her promise. It was where her dreams were shattered.
Where was she? Out in the battlefield, perhaps. I heard from reports that Corneria suffered an assault, and somehow, I knew she would be out there, fighting for the planet, fighting for the Lylat System - fighting for all of us.
Guided by the hands of chance, I unraveled the bandage on my wounded leg. It ached no more, but blood continued to slowly seep through like thick syrup. I stared at the smothered red blood on my hands. The silvery glitter of the moon reflected on its defiled surface, and I knew that the stains would never wash away.
I missed her innocent smile.
And all of the suddenly, the pleasant humming of the train's wheels sounded like cold, rattling chains dragging unwilling souls to the center turmoil. And how everything looked ugly and unideal, and distastefully reminiscent of that night's departure. All of the faces around me seemed stern and unforgiving, and the rolling scenery seemed harshly forbidding.
I screamed inside, heaving spasmodically and knitting my brows as something within me revolted. Everything seemed too painfully realistic - too painful to recount. I clasped the metallic canister within my hands as I tried to withhold my surging emotions.
"Good grief. Are you alright, young man?" An elderly passenger beside me asked in concern.
I snapped back to reality, and before my eyes was the present. All of the flashbacks were quickly tucked away in some dark corner of my heart.
"Yes," I answered, gathering my composure and wiping my forehead. "Yes, it's just. I had a nightmare."
The elderly hare shook her head and chuckled to herself, and I forced a grin to display good humor. I made a mental note to myself to seal all these past events and let them sink peacefully in the ocean of memories. Everything was over, in the untouchable distant past. I have to go on.
Yet, as soon as my eyelids slid shut, the images and voices were brought forth to me again - unwillingly, like a lamb dragged forth to the sacrificial altar.
-------------------------
"Do you see anything, kid?" Fox's voice rang through the communicator, urgency seeping through his voice.
With binoculars fixed over my eyes, I swept my gaze across the war- torn dunes of Katina, witnessing the clash between my men and the Venomian Imperial droids. The riot of earth-rending din wore one as I strained my sight - yet, there were no signs of enemy artillery. Impatience got the better of me.
"I told you, and I will tell you again - I don't see anything," I grimaced and snarled.
A faint, disappointed sigh heaved through the communicator.
"Perhaps you were mistaken," I added more meekly.
"Listen, Branwell. Imperial artillery is designed to evade IR scans and other such detection systems. Two sectors of the Katina base were already blasted to smoldering waste and the signs all point to artillery fire. If you don't locate it, who will?"
I looked back at the tattered walls of the base to which I leaned against, and it was all painfully true. It all depended upon me and my men, who were mere militias at best. An awkward silence ensued, but I could still hear Fox's heavy, rhythmic breaths seethe through the communicator.
"So what do you say, Branwell?" he demanded almost frantically.
"Wait," I called back hurriedly as a distinctive cry throbbed in my ears. Anxiety welled in my heart.
And through the scopes, I could see a wispy flicker on a distant outcrop, and unfolding metallic tubes shrouded in an expanding trail of missile exhaust. Then, a shimmering glow sprawled across the mechanical device and enveloped it in a translucent sheath. Gathering my military knowledge from previous training, I quickly recognized the glow as a cloaking field.
"Artillery fire!" a lieutenant shrieked amidst the chaos of the battle. "Take cover!"
But I stood there all the same. Ignoring his frantic call, I deftly raised the targeter rifle, calmly searched through its scope, and fired a single shot at the outcrop. A rippling red speck formed on the transparent cloak.
A sharp, wailing shriek fell through the sky, and a fiery globe tore through the wall behind me. The beams melted, and the exterior crumbled. Flames and smoking debris spewed forth from the gaping hole.
With one hand shielding my eyes from the fiery onslaught, I swiftly leapt for cover. A few shards of concrete and metal zoomed passed me, and a few found their place on my leg. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and stifled an anguished cry as a searing pain tore through my body. Snarling, I drew my wounded leg closer, the flames of mixed rage and shame kindling in my heart. I marveled at my own incompetence - first, a miscalculation, and then, failure to locate the artillery earlier. God knows how many casualties were caused by this. With bitter savagery, I tore the shards from my wounds.
"Cloaking field penetrated, I repeat, cloaking field penetrated. Enemy artillery should display on radar," I shouted through the communicator.
"Roger, coordinates received. Just hang on kid. We'll get your men outta danger in no time." Fox's voice rang back.
Slumping to the dusty ground, I peered up into the blazing sky. A few faint silhouettes formed under the glaring sun as Fox and his team descended to a lower elevation. In a delta formation, three Arwings skimmed through the air and raked the dunes with steady beams of laser, scattering the tight formations of advancing droids into twitching heaps. Then, a solo Arwing - presumably Fox - sped towards the outcrop's direction. The sleek spacecraft dipped for a second, launching a smart bomb, then deftly flipped in the air and veered towards the sky. The sickly buzz of the bomb exploded into an earth-rending roar upon impact. With a flash of infernal light, the outcrop was reduced to rubble. Fox smugly retreated from the site, utterly unscathed and unfazed.
Gathering my wits after witnessing him carry out the attack, I quickly called a retreat and withdrew my platoon into the security of the Katina base. Without supportive artillery fire, the droids were of no substantial threat; the base's defenses were sufficient to deter further advancements.
----------------------
"Well done, kid," Fox commended, laying a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
I did not respond. My gaze was fixed intently upon the photograph that I fumbled around with in my grimy hands, my eyes tracing the figures within as if searching for a satisfactory answer. From within the picture, Laura's bright features smiled back at me.
I sat on the warm sand and leaned again the base's exterior wall. Drawing in a deep breath, I could still smell the sharp stench of blood amidst the drifting dust. As if healing the wounds of battle, night fell across the dunes like a dark blanket, and a soothing silence washed over the earth and drenched the skies.
"Not well done enough to prevent all of this destruction from happening," I sighed bitterly, finally acknowledging his presence.
"But good enough for a young colonel. Your father would have been proud," Fox refuted, smiling knowingly.
"A young, inexperienced colonel, you might add," I chuckled in grim humor. "A young man who has not the heart to fight any longer. All those casualties and losses were reported to General Pepper. All under my name."
Fox frowned, sensing the grief within me. I felt wretched.
"There will always be casualties of war, Summers. You tried your best."
"I'm sorry. I just. never had such overwhelming burdens hauled upon me. It's strangling." I stammered in a disheveled tone, a few bangs draping over my downcast eyes.
There was a patient, sympathetic pause on his side. I knew he understood. As someone with a similar past, he must have known my sufferings all too painfully.
"Don't think too much, kid. Just hang on for a bit longer. The war will soon be over," he sighed, turning away and trudging back into the base. And there I sat in solitude, staring blankly out into the windswept plains.
Indeed, the great Lylat Wars were quickly drawing to an end. Cornerian forces have safety reclaimed the Katina base from Imperial control, and I have been posted here to ensure that it stayed in our grasp. Soon, Team Starfox would depart to liberate the Confederate planets of Zoness, Titania, Macbeth, and then finally, Venom. The tides of Venomian influence was slowly receding - yet, the sense of emptiness and longing had not waned within me. It lingered in my heart.
I thought that I have firmly anchored my determination on that night of departure. Solitude had always been the foundation of my strength - the well from which I drew all my resilience. Yet, all my beliefs have changed since she entered my life. All my values, all my thoughts have been written over with a tender hand, unfettered by the callous influence of lonely pride.
This planet reminded me too much of her. It was her childhood. It was her promise. It was where her dreams were shattered.
Where was she? Out in the battlefield, perhaps. I heard from reports that Corneria suffered an assault, and somehow, I knew she would be out there, fighting for the planet, fighting for the Lylat System - fighting for all of us.
Guided by the hands of chance, I unraveled the bandage on my wounded leg. It ached no more, but blood continued to slowly seep through like thick syrup. I stared at the smothered red blood on my hands. The silvery glitter of the moon reflected on its defiled surface, and I knew that the stains would never wash away.
I missed her innocent smile.