Chapter 3: Into the Blindness
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There was a moment where no one spoke, the only sound audible being the hum of the
engines and the ambient softness of everyone's own breath pacing itself...
"I trust you," enunciated Slippy, drawing the attention towards him in the room.
Peppy eyed him then stood up to glance at Fox and Wolf, "As do I."
"I'm always with you Fox," chirped Rob with his usual flat voice, but a hint of a smile
gleamed at the edges of where his bottom jaw connected to his head.
"...I'm glad...I'm going to need everyone's help in this, we have to stick together as a
team," cited Fox looking at each person standing on the bridge intermittently holding a
pleased smile on him.
Wolf's sights drifted down and gazed at the floor, "I can only envy the loyalty your
teammates have for each other Fox."
He smiled gently, "I pride myself on keeping things together...Rob input co-ordinates
for Fortuna."
"Acknowledged...inputting co-ordinates for Fortuna."
"Peppy bring up a map schematic of the path Great Fox will be taking through the Lylat
system.
"Of course," he said while punching away at the buttons on his console.
Soon an image of the Lylat system appeared on the main screen which had indicators
showing Great Fox's position and a blue line showing the projected path of the vessel.
"Fox, the ETA to reach Fortuna is over 15 hours," he said grimly.
He rubbed his chin, clearly frustrated, "Let's see..."
Wolf stepped closer to the screen. "Wait a minute, why does the course curve around
Sector Y like this?" He ran his finger along an obvious curvature in the blue track line
which went around the gaseous nebula and between Aquas.
"The environment in Sector Y isn't as forgiving as we'd like it to be."
He crossed his arms, eyeing Fox in disbelief, "Oh come on, honestly it can't be that bad,
Rob can you bring up sector data for the nebula?"
"Yes...one moment please."
Soon a second window appeared filled with data and numbers as Rob began to read the
information.
"Radiation level 5.61 ergons, Mag flux 38%, Particle density 45 million per square
kilo...
"Thank you Rob that will be enough. Can you now project the ETA to Fortuna if Great
Fox were to travel through Sector Y?"
"Yes, one moment please."
Fox looked at the screen as the blue line shifted until it passed straight through Sector Y.
"Estimated time of arrival to Fortuna...11.3526 hours."
"Thank you Rob" he said again with a smile as he glanced over at Fox cunningly.
"Alright, since it doesn't seem too bad we'll go through it, but at the first sign of trouble
we're pulling out of there."
Slippy got up from his console to look at Fox, "The radiation in Sector Y will block all
inward and outward communications just so you know."
"I think that will be alright, we want to maintain radio silence in the first place to avoid
having our position tracked down," he commented as he turned around.
"Alright Rob, without further hesitation, I guess we will get on with this. Full speed."
"Commencing full speed, stand by."
Wolf looked around as he felt the deck panels begin to vibrate, soon he had the sensation
that the ship was moving forward, slowly at first but quickly picking up pace, it was a
curious sensation, one he had never felt so vividly. It was a feeling he could only pinpoint
to his stomach as he placed his hand on the console next to him.
"Inertial compensators adjusting to the speed...now" said Slippy as his sensation of
moving was quickly erased. Soon it all felt still again, but by looking at the main
viewer he could clearly see the ship was speeding through space.
"We need to clean this place up," Fox said as he looked around, especially at a
bulkhead that was sticking clearly out of the floor. "Slippy get the cutters, and give me a
hand with this."
He brought over a device that looked like a large flashlight, soon he was using it to
cut apart at the bulkhead with an optical beam, while his friend gripped the bulkhead firmly,
taking it apart piece by piece.
"Are you just going to stand there and watch us Wolf?" he said jokingly.
"Oh...uh...sorry," he stuttered in response.
Fox got up and pointed toward a handful of pipe casings that appeared to have been
ripped off the wall, most likely during their first skirmish with the Cornerian vessels.
"Here take those broken pipes over to the storage room; it's on C Deck next to the
recreation room. Think you can handle it?
He smiled sarcastically in response, "Oh don't worry. I think I can handle it quite fine."
As he stepped onto the lift carrying the pipe casings, Fox glanced over at Slippy, who was
biting his lip to hold back a laugh.
As the lift zoomed downward, Wolf contemplated in his mind, "What am I doing
here?...Why have I come here?...Does anyone really trust me?...Nobody trusts you
Wolf...No one ever has...No...this time will be different."
He was broken away from his thoughts as the lift doors opened to a corridor with
Falco standing directly in the center. Without removing his eyes from Falco, he
placed the pipe casings on the floor.
He stayed silent as Falco walked towards him until he was right up against his face.
"I'm watching you Star Wolf; I'm watching you very close. If I see that you are
undermining the safety of me, my friends or this ship...I'll kill you."
His eyes widened before narrowing down in anger.
"Look around you Falco. Does it look like I have anyone? Does it look like I have anyone
else to turn to? Andross? Haven't spoken to him in almost half a decade, and with him it was
all about money. He was the employer, I was the employee. Leon, Pigma, and Andrew?
Yes, I can thank those guys for abandoning me in battle...leaving me...leaving me to
die......" Wolf's words trailed off as he looked down at the floor.
"You play the victim card so well don't you?" scoffed Falco. "This charade isn't going to
work with me. Just remember, I'm watching you." He brushed past Wolf rudely and stepped into
the lift behind him.
"Falco...Fox trus..."
The doors of the lift closed before Wolf could finish his words...
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Glad you've read this far, Chapter 4 coming soon!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There was a moment where no one spoke, the only sound audible being the hum of the
engines and the ambient softness of everyone's own breath pacing itself...
"I trust you," enunciated Slippy, drawing the attention towards him in the room.
Peppy eyed him then stood up to glance at Fox and Wolf, "As do I."
"I'm always with you Fox," chirped Rob with his usual flat voice, but a hint of a smile
gleamed at the edges of where his bottom jaw connected to his head.
"...I'm glad...I'm going to need everyone's help in this, we have to stick together as a
team," cited Fox looking at each person standing on the bridge intermittently holding a
pleased smile on him.
Wolf's sights drifted down and gazed at the floor, "I can only envy the loyalty your
teammates have for each other Fox."
He smiled gently, "I pride myself on keeping things together...Rob input co-ordinates
for Fortuna."
"Acknowledged...inputting co-ordinates for Fortuna."
"Peppy bring up a map schematic of the path Great Fox will be taking through the Lylat
system.
"Of course," he said while punching away at the buttons on his console.
Soon an image of the Lylat system appeared on the main screen which had indicators
showing Great Fox's position and a blue line showing the projected path of the vessel.
"Fox, the ETA to reach Fortuna is over 15 hours," he said grimly.
He rubbed his chin, clearly frustrated, "Let's see..."
Wolf stepped closer to the screen. "Wait a minute, why does the course curve around
Sector Y like this?" He ran his finger along an obvious curvature in the blue track line
which went around the gaseous nebula and between Aquas.
"The environment in Sector Y isn't as forgiving as we'd like it to be."
He crossed his arms, eyeing Fox in disbelief, "Oh come on, honestly it can't be that bad,
Rob can you bring up sector data for the nebula?"
"Yes...one moment please."
Soon a second window appeared filled with data and numbers as Rob began to read the
information.
"Radiation level 5.61 ergons, Mag flux 38%, Particle density 45 million per square
kilo...
"Thank you Rob that will be enough. Can you now project the ETA to Fortuna if Great
Fox were to travel through Sector Y?"
"Yes, one moment please."
Fox looked at the screen as the blue line shifted until it passed straight through Sector Y.
"Estimated time of arrival to Fortuna...11.3526 hours."
"Thank you Rob" he said again with a smile as he glanced over at Fox cunningly.
"Alright, since it doesn't seem too bad we'll go through it, but at the first sign of trouble
we're pulling out of there."
Slippy got up from his console to look at Fox, "The radiation in Sector Y will block all
inward and outward communications just so you know."
"I think that will be alright, we want to maintain radio silence in the first place to avoid
having our position tracked down," he commented as he turned around.
"Alright Rob, without further hesitation, I guess we will get on with this. Full speed."
"Commencing full speed, stand by."
Wolf looked around as he felt the deck panels begin to vibrate, soon he had the sensation
that the ship was moving forward, slowly at first but quickly picking up pace, it was a
curious sensation, one he had never felt so vividly. It was a feeling he could only pinpoint
to his stomach as he placed his hand on the console next to him.
"Inertial compensators adjusting to the speed...now" said Slippy as his sensation of
moving was quickly erased. Soon it all felt still again, but by looking at the main
viewer he could clearly see the ship was speeding through space.
"We need to clean this place up," Fox said as he looked around, especially at a
bulkhead that was sticking clearly out of the floor. "Slippy get the cutters, and give me a
hand with this."
He brought over a device that looked like a large flashlight, soon he was using it to
cut apart at the bulkhead with an optical beam, while his friend gripped the bulkhead firmly,
taking it apart piece by piece.
"Are you just going to stand there and watch us Wolf?" he said jokingly.
"Oh...uh...sorry," he stuttered in response.
Fox got up and pointed toward a handful of pipe casings that appeared to have been
ripped off the wall, most likely during their first skirmish with the Cornerian vessels.
"Here take those broken pipes over to the storage room; it's on C Deck next to the
recreation room. Think you can handle it?
He smiled sarcastically in response, "Oh don't worry. I think I can handle it quite fine."
As he stepped onto the lift carrying the pipe casings, Fox glanced over at Slippy, who was
biting his lip to hold back a laugh.
As the lift zoomed downward, Wolf contemplated in his mind, "What am I doing
here?...Why have I come here?...Does anyone really trust me?...Nobody trusts you
Wolf...No one ever has...No...this time will be different."
He was broken away from his thoughts as the lift doors opened to a corridor with
Falco standing directly in the center. Without removing his eyes from Falco, he
placed the pipe casings on the floor.
He stayed silent as Falco walked towards him until he was right up against his face.
"I'm watching you Star Wolf; I'm watching you very close. If I see that you are
undermining the safety of me, my friends or this ship...I'll kill you."
His eyes widened before narrowing down in anger.
"Look around you Falco. Does it look like I have anyone? Does it look like I have anyone
else to turn to? Andross? Haven't spoken to him in almost half a decade, and with him it was
all about money. He was the employer, I was the employee. Leon, Pigma, and Andrew?
Yes, I can thank those guys for abandoning me in battle...leaving me...leaving me to
die......" Wolf's words trailed off as he looked down at the floor.
"You play the victim card so well don't you?" scoffed Falco. "This charade isn't going to
work with me. Just remember, I'm watching you." He brushed past Wolf rudely and stepped into
the lift behind him.
"Falco...Fox trus..."
The doors of the lift closed before Wolf could finish his words...
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Glad you've read this far, Chapter 4 coming soon!