Enter Black Wolf: Part Two
And now the annoying DISCLAIMER: I forgot to put this in part one, so here it is. Starfox and its members are copyright Nintendo. Black Wolf, Ed Wallace, Mark Rendar, Damien Norris, and Karl Riker are my squadron and characters, so you have to ask me for permission of use. The Arwing, Wolfen I, and Wolfen II fighters are copyright Nintendo. The Shark-class fighter and the Justice-Class Frigate from part one are mine. Kyle Kerrigan, Josef Caine, Katlin Stienburg, and Frank Kent are also, mine. However, Wolf O'Donnell and the rest of Star Wolf are not (copyright Nintendo). Bill Grey, Husky Squadron, Bulldog Squadron, and all planets of Lylat copyright Nintendo. There will be another disclaimer at the end outlining who owns what out of this part. Now then, on to the story (finally).
Chapter 7
Great Fox; 1740 Hours; June 15, 2550"Good work, Black Wolf and Starfox, on your excellent victory at Katina. It's nice to know that both squadrons are performing to our expectations," said General Pepper over the comm transmission to the Great Fox.
"As usual, the regular army gets no credit," Bill Grey grumbled.
"On the contrary Commander," the General said. "For excellent action in halting Imperial incursion towards Corneria, the surviving members of your squadron are receiving the Distinguished Action Medal. Incidentally, your squadron has also proved it's worth very well in the growing conflict."
"Well, that's a plus," Bill replied.
"So far the Imperials are very quiet, they have bases on Macbeth and Katina, but have yet to make a successful strike on this side of Solar," Pepper continued "Our next action concerns all of you. We have determined that the main Imperial base of operations is on Macbeth. The time is now to put down this futile uprising."
"What, a two day war?" questioned Damien Norris "Seems odd, but okay, whatever brings peace, right?" the hawk said to nobody in particular.
"Anyway," continued Pepper "we have decided that Black Wolf, Starfox, and the Husky and Bulldog Squadrons should mount a full assault on Macbeth. This should catch the Imperials off guard, leaving them fully open to your assault."
"What are Imperial Force estimates on Macbeth, sir?" Ed Wallace asked
"We have no idea."
"Oh that's just freaking great!!" yelled Falco Lombardi. "For all we know we could fly right into a space armada!!"
"We've done that before" Fox reminded him
"Yeah, but we knew about it" Slippy pointed out.
"Hey, it's a risk, but they probably won't be expecting fighter assaults. Right Ed?" Mark Rendar put in.
"Most likely" said Ed
"If you're ready to do this," General Pepper replied. "Move out as soon as possi... wait a second."
Pepper was handed a hardcopy from his aide. After studying it for a few seconds, Pepper turned his attention back to the 9 pilots standing in the Great Fox. "Looks like the assault is on hold boys," he said "Fortuna is being invaded by an Imperial Regiment, and the militia can't hold out. Intel reports suggest that Star Wolf is part of the attacking force."
"Damn, this is bad" Mark nervously replied
"There's no time to lose, we have to move out to Fortuna!!!" Fox yelled
"But it's far too dangerous!" yelled Pepper
"When has that ever stopped us?" Fox replied "Ed are you with us?"
"I am, what about you guys?" Ed asked his squadmates
"Hell Yeah!!!" Mark answered
"Always" replied Damien
"Never ran from a fight in my life, no matter the odds," said Karl Riker
"'Yes' would have been fine Karl" said Damien
"Then its settled, ROB set a course for Fortuna," said Fox "General, don't worry, we'll make it back in one piece. Fox out"
The comm turned off.
"Course set. Destination Fortuna." Said ROB "Hyperspace in 10 seconds. Please Fasten seat belts."
The Great Fox jumped out to Fortuna.
Chapter 8
Fortuna; 1500 hours
"Wolf, you and your lackeys are clear to engage" said Kyle Kerrigan from the cockpit of his Wolfen II fighter.
"Yes, sir" Wolf said, a little annoyed about his wingmen being referred to as lackeys. "You heard him, wipe the CDF out, leave nothing standing!"
The 5 Wolfen II fighters blasted through the atmosphere, descending on Fortuna's frontline base. They started raining Nova Bombs and laser fire on the area. Nearby, countless Invader III fighters assaulted the base, the CDF stood no chance, most of them fleeing desperately, some futilely returning fire. Although a few Invader IIIs fell, Wolf expected this battle would be over in less then 5 minutes, with minimal losses.
"Colonel O'Donnell this is the Dire Wolf " Came the voice of Captain Rodney Carroba, CO of the Intimidator-class warship (Dire Wolf) "We're picking up incoming hyperspace signature...it's the Great Fox!"
"Excellent, what is she doing?" He hoped that this time, Fox McCloud would not survive this battle
"Nothing...wait, fighter launch! 9 fighters 8 of them Arwings, 4 of them black. The other fighter is a new Wolfhound fighter with CDF markings. The black Arwings are headed for the surface, do we intercept?"
"Negative, prepare to engage the Great Fox. I will handle this "Black Wolf" Squadron." Wolf said "O'Donnell out"
***
Good thing I have my shades on, or else I couldn't see a damn thing, thought Ed as he led his squadron down on the besieged base. The light from Solar was reflecting off of the ice and snow on Fortuna, making for an extremely bright battleground.
"Ed, I mark 5 Wolfen IIs on fast approach," said Karl.
"That would be Star Wolf, and most likely Kyle Kerrigan as well," said Fox over the comm. "You should be able to handle them; we'll stay up here and attack their armada."
"Force estimate?" said Ed
"I see at least 4 Zeram-class cruisers, 2 Aggressor Attack Carriers, 6 Harlock Frigates, one Saruzin Cruiser, and an new Intimidator Cruiser" said Slippy.
"You need any help?" said Mark
"Nah...we've seen worse, but we'll let you know if things get too hot" said Falco
"Okay, Over and out" said Ed.
Ed had barely cut communication with Starfox when his comm window opened up again. The screen displayed a one-eyed wolf with what appeared to be a show of demonic hatred on his face.
"So you are the new mercenaries on the block" the Wolf said
"And you must be the infamous Wolf O'Donnell, leader of Star Wolf." Ed replied
"Correct, I guess we are feared by academy pilots"
"No, not really, we more or less know you for your pathetic incompetence and habit of empty threat making." Mark retorted
"I'm already starting to dislike this 'Black Wolf' squadron" came the voice of Leon Powalski.
"I already disliked you!" Ed yelled "Time to remove an unwanted annoyance to Corneria!
"That so?" replied Pigma Dengar "I doubt that!"
"Enough chat, it's time to see who outflies whom!!" Yelled Norris
"ATTACK!!!" Kyle yelled, a little out of his element. The 5 Wolfen IIs flew towards them
"Stay sharp, everybody, there's 5 of them, although I doubt Kyle or Andrew are going to be much of a threat!" said Ed "I'll handle Wolf, you guys have free range on targets"
"Roger, I'll take on Leon" said Mark
"Pigma is my target!" yelled Norris
"That leaves me to take down Andrew" Karl calmly replied
"Nobody attacks their leader, he is mine!" snarled Wolf
"Isn't it great to feel wanted?" Mark asked
"Don't I know it!" Ed replied "Okay Black Wolf, engage at will!! Last one to get a kill is buying the drinks!" The 4 Arwings boosted in fast to meet their aggressors head on. At the last possible second, the Arwings broke off firing away, and the Wolfen IIs tailed them closely.
Ed jinked left and right, and made good use of his G-Diffuser to deflect and dodge Wolf's shots. Then he somersaulted to get on Wolf's tail.
"What the hell?" said Wolf
"Wow, susceptible to the same tactics...that's sad" Ed said as he opened fire on Wolf's fighter. The lasers blew chunks of armor away from the right wing and fuselage, Ed started to "walk" his lasers deeper into the fuselage when he was hit from behind
"What the hell?" Ed yelped, but then he noticed Kyle's Wolfen II blast past him
"HA HA HA, two against one!!" Kyle maniacally laughed as he and Wolf turned around and prepared to fry Ed's fighter.
"I don't think so" Ed calmly replied as he boosted the Arwing to maximum velocity. At the very last moment, just before passing the two Wolfen IIs, Ed fired a Nova Bomb it detonated just as he flew by both Wolf and Kyle.
"Shit" yelled Wolf
"Ow!" yelled Kyle
When the blast cleared the two fighters were barley airborne, but Kyle's fighter was worse off
"Where the hell did he go!?" Kyle demanded
"Try looking up numbnuts!!" taunted Ed. Ed's Arwing dove down, lasers blazing, the shots tore the right side of Kyle's fighter clean off. Kyle's fighter spun out of control, slamming into the ground, and skipping along the ice. Wolf instantly flew away before incurring any damage for Ed's surprise attack.
"Agh!! I'm down, but alive." Came Kyle's terrified voice.
"Scratch one bandit!' Ed said over the comm
"Punching out!!!" Andrew suddenly yelled over the open channel.
"Scratch two" said Karl as Andrew's radar dot blinked off.
Well, thought Ed, We've put down two of theirs in about 5 minutes, but I don't know how much longer this can go on. I hope Starfox is doing better than we are.
Chapter 9
Fortuna (Orbit), 1545 hours
"Great Fox, we're starting our run on the Saruzin, give us some cover fire!" fox McCloud yelled into his comm
"Great Fox will cover you" came back ROB's monotonous voice.
The Great Fox opened up on the lead Zeram its twin Ultra Lasers. The shots traveled up the length of the ship before shearing off the bridge area. The ship exploded two seconds later, damaging a nearby Harlock. The Great Fox continued to open fire on other capital ships, causing major damage, and taking down one Aggressor.
"Go now!!" Fox yelled "Bill, stop as many fighters as possible from reaching the Great Fox!"
"Got it, I'll wait here until further orders." said Bill
"Falco, you and Slippy draw fire then hit the Saruzin from the left"
"Got it" came Falco's reply.
The 4 Arwings wove in and out among the capital ships, destroying many fighters.
"I'm in range of the cruiser" said Peppy "bomb away!"
"Roger" said Fox "Firing Bomb"
The two bombs hit the top of the Saruzin, it shuddered for a second, and then two more bombs, from Slippy and Falco, hit the ship, capitalizing on the earlier damage. The ship quaked for a few seconds, then multiple explosions appeared on its surface. The Saruzin's ammo bays ignited, taking the ship with it in a massive set of explosions.
"Yes! That got 'em!" said Falco.
"Guys, the capital ships are converging on the Great Fox! I can't hold them off for long" Bill frantically yelled over the comm.
"You heard him get back to the ship! We have to protect it!" Fox shouted.
They flew back, trying to hit as many enemy vessels as possible, many fighters, and 5 more capital ships fell, but the Intimidator was still a reigning threat. It fired its massive "Grande" laser cannon. The shot slammed into the starboard side of the Great Fox.
"Warning! Starboard engine severely damaged" said ROB.
"Not good," said Fox, "Tell Ed that he and his buddies are going to have to bug out in 5 minutes or less"
***
"C'mon asshole, it's your turn to hit the ice!!" growled Ed
For the past 5 minutes he had been trying to shoot down Wolf. Wolf was the only Star Wolf pilot still flying, as Mark had downed Leon just after Andrew fell, and Pigma slammed into a cliff while fighting Damien. Damien and Karl were now raising hell at the new Imperial base of operations on Fortuna.
"No, you will be the one dying!" said Wolf as he turned to face Ed.
"Excellent, a chicken run! Let's see what you've got!"
The two fighters boosted towards each other head on, lasers blasting. Shots hit Ed, but he ignored them.
"Try this on for size!" Ed yelled as he suddenly braked and inverted his fighter. Wolf blew past him cursing.
"Game over Wolf," Ed said as he locked onto Wolf's engines and fired
The shots slammed home, the engines on Wolf's fighter cut out, and he began to fall towards the ground.
"Well played Ed," said Wolf "but I will get the last laugh. As his fighter skipped along the icy ground he called out "Dire Wolf attack at full power, destroy the Great Fox!"
"Damn! Let's get out of here guys!!" yelled Ed "Full throttle back to Great Fox! Fox, get that ship powered up, you're gonna get plastered otherwise!"
The Arwings flew into orbit, just in time to see another "Grande Laser" destroy more armor on the Great Fox. The Great Fox struck back, destroying the "Grande Cannon"
The 4 Arwings of Black Wolf almost crash-landed inside the hangar bay, but they didn't have time to worry. Already, the sounds of hull rupture and early structural failure were beginning to echo throughout the ship.
"ROB, GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE, NOW!!!!!!" Falco vehemently yelled
"ok" came ROB's reply
A few more shots hit the hull, and the Great Fox jumped outsystem.
***
Wolf climbed out of his wrecked fighter. Pigma had come across his crash site and cut open the cockpit with his blaster.
"Thanks" said Wolf
"No problem" replied Pigma "Man, this really sucks!"
"What?" said Wolf
"Isn't it obvious?" came the voice of Leon Powalski "We got shot down by four rookies!"
"Yes, but if you'll notice, we drove the Great Fox out of Fortuna. Leaving us a clear path to Corneria" Wolf calmly replied
"You think they went there?" said Kyle
"Almost certainly, my lord" said Wolf.
"Good, cause we're going there as soon as possible"
"But, the Dire Wolf took heavy damage, along with the rest of the 4th" said Andrew.
"Which is why," Kyle continued "we're also bringing in the 3rd, 5th and 7th Venomian Hussars into Corneria. The 4th Imperial Guard, along with the Dire Wolf will act as a reserve unit. Finally, the Imperials will have seized Corneria! The CDF cannot possibly mount a defense that can stop us, especially with Starfox and Black Wolf on the run. We move out in one hour, be there in two, and in 6 hours, Corneria will fall."
"Excellent" Wolf gloated.
Chapter 10
Deep in Sector Y, 1600 hoursThe Great Fox emerged from hyperspace. But something was wrong, they were supposed to be at Corneria....
"I don't remember any green clouds surrounding Corneria..." said Falco
"Oh shit, we misjumped," said Slippy "We're in the middle of Sector Y...the worst part. Right in the friggin' nebula."
"Damn," replied Fox "Get us out of here!"
"System error!" said ROB "Electromagnetic radiation from the nebula has disabled hyperdrive and impulse engines; only maneuvering jets are available. Currently, Great Fox is drifting at a speed of 100 m/s. Communications offline."
"Ahh!! We're all gonna die!!" Damien was panicking.
"Get a hold of yourself, damn it!" yelled Ed. "We're not gonna die. We just have to repair the engines."
"Repairs will take 12 hours" replied ROB
"We're screwed" said Karl
"You could be a little more optimistic" said Peppy
"We're really screwed!" Karl replied.
"He's right," agreed Mark, "and with the state our fighters are in, they'll meet the same fate as the Great Fox"
"So, we'll just have to wait, and see what we can do to accelerate repairs" piped up Bill Grey.
"Okay...but the radiation will not make things easy, we could try patching the hole in the hull near the engines to prevent more cosmic radiation from gunking up the hyperdrive" said Slippy.
"Good idea, let's prioritize that and use one of the ROV repair bots to patch it" said Fox
"OK, let's get to work, because even now, the Imperials are heading for Corneria." said Peppy
Suddenly it became deathly clear to the 9 pilots. If they couldn't escape, then the Imperials would overwhelm Corneria, and all would be lost.
"God damn...we're in deep shit" said Damien
Nobody said anything, but they knew he was right.
TWO HOURS LATER...
- "Try it again ROB" said Slippy
The engines charged for a second, then died
"Propulsion still offline" said ROB
"DAMN DAMN DAMN!!!!" yelled Falco, pounding on the bridge controls
For the past two hours, they had spent time patching the hull around the engine and hyperdrive, but communications and primary propulsion were still down. They new they were running out of time. With each passing minute, the Imperial battle force was getting closer and closer to Corneria.
"It's not a total loss," said Slippy, "Short range sensors are online"
"A lot of good that does us!" yelled Damien
"Yeah, a whole lot of good!" agreed Falco
Great, though Ed Just what the galaxy needs, another Falco.
"Well, you are right about..." Slippy trailed off.
"What, what is it?" said Ed
"SRS just picked up a ship dead ahead"
"A ship in here?" queried Mark "How far?"
"5 kilometers" Slippy replied "It's stationary, and it's not transmitting any enemy signals. The weird part is that it's transmitting a frequency used by Arspace Dynamics for their ships when they go through military trials. We'll have visual in 30 seconds, and we'll be at it in 50 seconds."
The 30 seconds seemed to take forever
"Punching up visual." said Slippy
Suddenly, through the green haze, a starship appeared. It was a huge, brick-like starship, although the front was angled off. Ed thought it could be at least 1.5 times as big as the Great Fox. It had 12 laser turrets, and two missile launchers. The ship also had what appeared to be two massive cannons, mounted one on each side. As they got closer, Ed could see the word "Mjolnir" emblazoned just below the bridge on the nose of the ship.
"Whoa" said Ed
"Firing retro rockets, and preparing to lay alongside it" said Slippy
"Wait, let's try docking with it instead" said Ed
"Good idea, it may have the parts we need" said Slippy
"No, I think Ed has a different agenda" said Fox
The Great Fox maneuvered until it brought its docking port alongside that of the Mjolnir.
"ROB, keep the ship on alert, let us know if anything come up." Said Fox
"Affirmative" ROB replied
"Okay, let's get to the bridge of this "Mjolnir" and see if we can get it powered up." Said Ed.
With that remark, the nine pilots walked through the docking port, and on to the ghost vessel.
Chapter 11
CDF HQ, Corneria City, Corneria, 2000 hours- "Anything at all from either Starfox of Black Wolf?" asked General Pepper
"Negative," said Commander Jason Kage "their last transmission was that they were jumping out; they just simply must have misjumped," the eagle continued, "Anyway, we have a bigger matter at hand"
"What?"
"The Imperials are on their way with a battleforce consisting of 3.5 space regiments, and God knows how many ground troops"
"Damn..."
"This is it then," said a lion standing with them in the War Room of the CDF HQ. Both Pepper and Kage turned to look at Prince Victor Davidson, the Prince of Corneria. The prince, although an adept warrior and a brilliant strategist, had a look on his face as if all was lost. "We're doomed. How much longer before they arrive?"
"Less than one hour"
"There is no way to get a similar force?"
"No, all we have are two regiments, and of course, Shadow Wing" said Kage, who was leader of Shadow Wing's Beta Company. Kage knew that Shadow Wing was not supposed to exist, at least to the general public, as it was essentially black-ops and honor guard, but times were desperate.
"The Shadow Wing could give us an edge, my Prince," said General Pepper. "All the members are some of the best, excluding our two missing units."
"Fine, they will stop any enemy forces that try to make a landing, or any enemy forces that enter low orbit. That way, they will remain anonymous, for now." The Prince ordered.
"Yes, sir" said Jason Kage, and he walked out to prep his team for their assignment.
Starfox, Black Wolf, wherever you are, thought Pepper, get here soon. We need you now.
***
Unnamed Mjolnir-class Battleship, Sector Y, 2015 hours
Ed led the way through the darkened corridors of the ship, blaster at the ready.
"The ship's in surprisingly good shape, it doesn't appear to have been affected by the EM radiation at all." Slippy remarked.
"That's good, cause if I'm right, we should be able to get this ship up and running." replied Ed as he opened the door marked "Bridge".
As the door swung open, the 9 pilots were greeted with a strange sight.
"Whoa, deja vu," said Bill
"Hey, this looks like the Great Fox bridge, only a little bit bigger." Said Fox "It even has a ROB unit."
"Slippy, get it powered up" said Ed
"Got it" Slippy ran over and started powering it up. As soon as he was done the robot instantly got up, swept the area with his gaze, and then locked it on Ed.
"ROB-128 reporting for duty Lt. Commander Wallace." It said in a voice that seemed to have a slight touch of emotion. (Authors Note: Think Data from Star Trek: TNG)
A collective "what?" was shared by everyone on the bridge.
"I get, it, a more advanced ROB unit" said Karl.
"Apparently it thinks I'm the ranking officer," said Ed.
"Well, it only seems fair" said Mark, "it was your idea to board the ship"
"Okay, ROB-2, if I may call you that, since ROB-128 is too long," said Ed, "How long has this ship been here, and is it still working?"
"The ship has been here for little over a standard year, Lt. Commander, and it still does work, in fact, life support has been online all the time." said ROB-2.
"Well, duh!!" yelled Falco
"Quiet;" said Ed "Listen ROB-2, just call me Ed, I don't like the formal rank too much. Can you help us get this ship powered up so that we can help repair the Great Fox?"
"Yes, Ed," said ROB-2 "Anything to help another ROB unit, especially the one that controls the legendary Great Fox"
"Your praise is noted" came ROB's voice over the comm.
"Wait, communications were fixed?" said Slippy
"Yes, as soon as I was powered up, I scanned Great Fox, determined the problem, and launched my auto repair drones, you should have everything fixed within the hour" said ROB-2
"Even the hyperdrive?" asked Falco
"Even that" answered ROB-2.
"All right, let's get this ship powered up and on the move, we have to get to Corneria as soon as possible" said Ed.
"Okay, Ed" said ROB-2. "but since the ship hasn't been fully online in over a year, I'll need help with startup. I need one person each at the Tactical, Engineering, Communication, and Sensor control consoles."
"I'll take Tactical" Ed said
"Engineering" said Mark
"Comm" said Damien
"Sensor, I guess" said Karl.
In a few seconds, they were all seated at the stations while Starfox and Bill Grey looked on with great interest.
"Okay, first I'll activate the power, hyperdrive and impulse systems. When I give the order," ROB-2 said to Mark, "Flip all the switches under "core power" and "engine power" to on, but flip them in numerical order.
"Got it" Mark replied.
"Bringing power online," said ROB-2 as the normal lights began to come on, "Hyperdrive ready to charge, Impulse engines charging...NOW!!"
Mark flipped all the switches he was told too and a thunderous roar, signifying the startup of the Mjolnir's powerful fusion core echoed through the ship.
"All engineering systems nominal," ROB-2 said. "Preparing to activate weapons. Ed, you have to flip all the switches on the particle laser turrets, missile launchers, and omni-cannons, to 'on'"
"Omni-cannons?" asked Ed as he started flipping the switches
"I'll explain later. After you flip all of the previous switches on, you must flip up the 'Master Arm' switch and push the button underneath."
"Got, it, preparing to activate master arm sequence," replied Ed as he pushed the 'Master Arm' button
"All weapons online and fully functional. To activate sensors and the rest of the communications, flip the power switches to on"
"Got it," said Karl
"Way ahead of you," said Damien
They flipped the switches
"Sensors and Communications online. All systems, nominal" said ROB-2. "Repairs on Great Fox 95% complete, upgrades on ROB system complete, hyperdrive online, impulse engines online"
"Excellent," said Fox "now we can get out of here!"
"Incoming transmission from General Pepper, to Great Fox," said ROB-2, "Preparing to transmit to here"
the comm activated and General Pepper's face appeared, he looked distressed.
"Starfox, where the hell are you?!"
"General, we had a misjump and wound up in the Sector-Y Nebula," said Fox "We've only recently reestablished hyperdrive"
"Well, hurry up," General Pepper yelled frantically "we've picked up 3.5 Venomian regiments of spacecraft moving in on the planet, we can't hold them off for long! Hurry!!"
The comm went silent.
"Ok, emergency vector jump to Corneria, and get it right this time, ROB" Fox ordered
"ROB-2, allow Starfox to debark, and move our fighters into the Mjolnir's hangar bay. Then jump to Corneria" said Ed
"OK, Ed" said ROB-2, "One more thing, this ship needs a name."
"umm...." said Mark
"I got it, how about...Black Knight" Ed replied
"Sounds good to me" said Damien
"Ok," said ROB-2 "Ship's name is Black Knight. Now get your fighters into the hangar bay and we can move out to Corneria"
Five minutes later, everybody was ready, and the Great Fox and the Black Knight jumped out to Corneria.
Chapter 12
High Orbit, Corneria, 1845 hours
The Imperial Fleet was slowly making its way to Corneria, and now was engaging the desperate resistance fleet set up by the CDF. From the bridge of the Saruzin-II battlecruiser Cabal, Kyle Kerrigan watched with delight. He was right in his estimate of the weakness of the enemy guard fleet. He knew that it would take less than 2 hours to break through. Actually, that was two hours for the rest of his fleet to break through, he already had a covert mission on its way to Corneria. He watched as two Aggressor carriers destroyed a Cornerian Justice frigate.
"Lord Kerrigan," said Captain Riley Blaine "We are braking through their first line of defense, losses are minimal"
"Excellent," said Kyle, "Continue the assault, leave nothing in our path. "Is there any sign of Starfox or Black Wolf?"
"Negative."
Odd, thought Kyle, They should be here. "Keep an eye out for them, Captain."
"Yes, sir"
***
"Brace for impact!"
Admiral Ken Collins braced against his Captain's chair as two Cobra Torpedoes slammed into the hull of the battleship Guardian. The ship was powerful, but it couldn't withstand this punishment much longer. All around him, his fleet desperately tried to stop the Imperials from breaking through to Corneria. However, all they were doing right now was delaying the inevitable.
"We're losing hull integrity...AUGHHH!!!"
A blast of light and sound on the Guardian's right signified the death of the Defender-class Cruiser Bastion. The Bastion became the 5th Cornerian capital ship to go down in the past 15 minutes of fighting. Admiral Collins looked around, and saw how hopeless the battle was. He saw Cornerian and Imperial warships trading shots as fighters on both sides zoomed around firing lasers, missiles, and bombs. The Admiral knew that the Imperial fleet was 25% larger than his own now, and the Imperials were taking every advantage of that. For instance, the Guardian was locked in combat with 4 Zeram-II-class cruisers and numerous fighters. An Imperial Invader III fighter flew across the bridge's view screens...and was shredded apart by laser fire.
One down, thought Collins, another 1000 to go.
"Any sign of Husky and Bulldog squadron?" he asked
"Negative," said General Pepper, who was still at the planetary HQ, "they're still at least an hour out."
"What about Starfox?"
"Unknown"
Just great, thought Collins, I could really use their help now.
"Picking up intermittent radar contact from a hyperspace entry point" said the Sensors officer
"Where?" asked Collins
"About 10km away, but we can't get a signal lock, there's too much interference. All that we know is that it's friendly"
***
The Black Knight emerged from hyperspace at the edge of the battle, alongside the Great Fox.
"We've arrived at Corneria, the battle is 10 km away, we are on the Cornerian side of the fight." Said
ROB-2.
"Good" said Ed. "Can you now explain to me what the omni-cannons are?"
"Certainly. The omni-cannons are the massive guns on the side of the ship. They can fire super powerful lasers, autocannon, gauss cannon, which is like a railgun, or plasma. These can be selected easily from the targeting control panel for the cannons. Let me bring it up at the tactical station."
A control panel appeared in front of Ed. It said "Cannon 1" on the left and Cannon 2" on the right. Beneath each cannon heading was a choice of ordinance. Also viewable were the targeting reticles for each cannon.
"Okay, I'm loading Cannon 1 with Gauss cannon ammo, and Cannon 2 will be plasma." Said Ed
"Where do you want the shots to go?"
Ed zoomed in the viewscreen, to show a besieged Cornerian battleship, the Guardian, currently under attack by 4 Zeram-II cruisers. The cruisers were basically Zerams with twin torpedo launchers.
"Fire the Gauss at the lead Zeram II on the screen. Fire the plasma at that Aggressor squad trying to smash its way through the left battle line." Said Ed.
The reticles moved to lock on to their targeted ships.
"Targets acquired," said ROB-2 "You may fire when ready"
"FIRE!"
The left omni-cannon fired a supersonic Gauss slug, then the right cannon fired its superheated plasma shot.
***
"Fire all forward lasers and missiles!"
Ken Collins watched as the Guardian opened up on the leftmost Zeram-II cruiser. The twenty laser bolts burned through the enemy cruiser's weakened hull, blasting huge chunks of armor and atmosphere into space. The missiles slammed into the bridge of the ship, shearing it off, then the missiles hit the fusion reactor. In mere seconds the core went critical, tearing the ship apart, except for the mangled bridge which spun off into the vacuum of space.
"Target destroyed, Admiral!" said the Tactical officer.
"Good, one down, three to go" said Collins
The Zeram-IIs struck back furiously, as torpedoes and lasers slammed into the Guardian's hull. Sparks shot everywhere from ruined consoles on the bridge as warning sirens went off everywhere.
"Hull integrity failing! Shields out! Half our forward guns are gone!" said the panicked TO. "One more torpedo hit like that and we're done for!"
Collins watched as the three enemy cruisers turned to lock their guns on his dying ship
So this is it, Collins thought as the torpedoes started to launch, I'm going to die, and at the same time, fail.
Then ,what appeared to be a blue-white corkscrewing jet trail, slammed into the bow of the lead Zeram-II, and passed through emerging on the other side. The shot hit the armed Cobra torpedo on the right side of the ship, almost instantaneously detonating it. The ship spun wildly as its other Cobra launched, but pointed right at another Zeram-II. The torpedo hit the bridge of the cruiser head on, turning it into a twisted pile of slag, and caused that ship's torpedoes to miss cleanly. Meanwhile the cruiser that had been shot continued to explode as the other torpedoes detonated; the ship snapped in half, and the rear half slammed into the two torpedoes that the third Zeram-II had launched. The torpedoes skewered the fusion core, blowing it apart along with what was left of the lead Zeram-II.
Collins was bewildered. Not only had he not died, but someone or something had taken out two of the ships attacking him. As an added bonus, none of the torpedoes even scratched his ship. Collins almost immediately pulled himself together and ordered, "Fire all weapons on that last cruiser!!!"
The lasers and missiles devoured the last Zeram-II, which was ripped end to end by the shots, and broke apart.
"Sir, look to port!" shouted the TO
Collins looked, and saw a glowing ball of plasma slam into a wing of 5 Aggressor-class attack Carriers. The shot hit the middle carrier, which was immediately vaporized. The plasma exploded, and the shockwave washed over the remaining carriers. Two were caught in the blast and were roasted as the intense heat from the plasma melted armor and boiled away the very structure of the ship, leaving only black, burning, dead hulks. The other two were badly singed by the blast. Any fighter caught in the blast had been vaporized or burned to a crisp.
"What the hell? Who did that?" Collins asked
"I can answer that." Came a voice over the comm "This is Lt. Commander Ed Wallace of Black Wolf, and CO of the Mjolnir-class battleship Black Knight. Starfox and my squadron are on site and are here to assist. We're 8 km out from the main battle, on your left."
"Sensors, can you confirm?" asked Collins
"Yes, sir, they are there, and they did fire those shots, judging by the trajectory."
"Thanks for the help, Black Wolf" Collins said to Ed. "It looks like you showed up just in time. Get in the fight as soon as you can, and we should be able to drive the Imperials out!"
"Roger, that. We're launching our Arwings, the capships should be there in about a minute. Wallace, out"
Chapter 12
Same area as before, only 5 minutes later"A Cornerian warship did WHAT?!?!?!"
Kyle Kerrigan was infuriated. He had not expected heavy resistance from planetary defense, and now a battalion's worth of capital ships and fighters had been destroyed instantaneously.
"Sir, about 5 minutes ago two warships emerged from hyperspace," said the Cabal's tactical officer. "One of them was the Great Fox, the other was marked as an Mjolnir. Apparently the Mjolnir fired two shots, one of them a railgun or, gauss, slug, and another was a form of explosive, or siege, plasma. The gauss slug destroyed two of the Zeram-IIs attacking the Cornerian command battleship. The battleship then destroyed the surviving cruiser. The plasma hit Clawhammer group, which composed of 5 Aggressor carriers and about 60 fighters. The plasma, and subsequent explosion, destroyed 3 carriers, damaged the other two, and obliterated 45 fighters. Clawhammer is now being overrun by two Defender-class cruisers The left flank is going to fall, sir"
"Any idea on the command identity of that Mjolnir?" Kyle asked as he tried to avoid shooting everyone on the bridge of the Cabal.
"Actually, we do have an idea" said the Communications Officer. "The Mjolnir sent this transmission to the Cornerian command battleship, the Guardian. The transmission is a bit garbles, as we received it from a reflect transmission off of the last Zeram-II, which at this point was dying and the comm equipment, along with the rest of the bridge, was torn apart. Here's the transmission"
The static laden transmission played
"This buzz Ed Wallace snap Black Wolf buzz CO buzz Mjolnir crack battleship Black Knight"
The transmission abruptly ended.
"That's all we got...sir?"
Kyle went ashen faced, and looked as if he was going to have a heart attack. Suddenly he let out a roar of rage and backhanded the comm officer. The comm officer flew backwards and was knocked unconscious against his chair.
"GOD DAMN IT!!!!" Kyle yelled "Not only did Starfox and BlackWolf show up to try to mess up my plans, but Ed Wallace has come into the battle with a powerful warship at his disposal!! Where is the Black Knight now?!"
Kyle's nervous TO replied "They are 1 km away form the main battle line, we think they're moving in to get a better shot. The Great Fox is following them."
Kyle thought for a moment. If I can destroy those ships, it would break the Cornerian's morale. But I still should pull back the 4th Imperial Guard.
Kyle opened a comm channel to the Dire Wolf
"Wolf, I want you and the rest of the 4th to fall back to Fortuna."
"What?" said Wolf "Why?"
"Apparently Starfox and Black Wolf have shown up, and Black Wolf has a super-powerful warship that could destroy the 4th in one shot if possible."
"At least let me and my squad stay" Wolf said.
"No, too risky, besides, I can handle things without your help."
"Very well, my lord" Wolf replied. "Attention 4th Imperial Guard, prepare for emergency hyperspace back to Fortuna"
The 4th jumped outsystem
Ok, thought Kyle, now to take care of Starfox and Black Wolf. Kyle opened up a channel to Slasher Company from his command brigade.
"This is Slasher Command ship Eviscerater." Said Commander Kevin Marduk, who captained the Intimidator class warship.
"Marduk, I want you and the rest of Slasher Company to take out the Black Knight and the Great Fox. Be as relentless and ruthless as possible, take no prisoners." Kyle ordered
"As you wish"
"Umm, sir, our covert operation just called in, they're under heavy attack from stealth ships" said the revived comm officer
"No need to worry," said Kyle, "we'll get through."
Very low Cornerian atmosphere (about 30,000 feet or less)"This is dropship Antrim, we're under attack! Hull integrity at 70%!"
The Antrim was part of the Imperial's covert attack force sent to Corneria to steal data from the secret weapons labs scattered about the main continent of Corneria, called Corneus. 30 dropships and 15 attack shuttles had been sent in, but a mysterious force was destroying all of them. Already the Antrim's escort had been destroyed, along with the attack shuttle they also had to escort.
"Where's that fire coming from?!" asked the Captain of the Antrim.
"It's coming form all angles, I think we're under attack by stealth fighters" replied his tactical officer
Just then a Phantron-class stealth cruiser appeared in the forward viewscreen escorted in by 12 dark gray Arwings.
"JUST fighters?"
"Couldn't be sure, but all of those craft are not appearing on radar. We can't get a decent weapons lock."
"You don't need any kind of a lock! They're right in front of us! FIRE! FIRE!! FIRE!!!" yelled the captain
The Antrim's forward weapons opened up on the attackers, but the shots missed cleanly.
The Cornerians responded with multiple laser and missile hits. A loud explosion resonated throughout the hull of the Antrim.
"We've lost engine's one and two! We're falling fast, we can't make a safe landing! Ground impact in 10 seconds!" shouted the TO.
"OH SHIT!!!!" yelled the captain.
10 seconds later, the Antrim slammed into the surface of Corneria, causing a massive explosion, and a magnitude .5 earthquake.
***
"Splash another covert attack squad!" yelled Sergeant Jack Vong, callsign Shadow-Beta-7.
"Phantron copies, nice work. That makes 29 squads destroyed." said Captain Robert Smirnov, who commanded the Phantron-class light cruiser of the same name. Shadow Wing had preformed their assigned task nicely, keeping any Imperial invasion form occuring.
"I'm picking up a distress beacon from Secret Weapons Lab 3" said Ivan Marlowski, callsign Shadow-Beta-11. "They're under attack, and enemy troops have infiltrated the lab! Apparently a light cruiser and an attack shuttle landed and debarked troops!"
"How..." said Jenna Sandoval (Shadow-Beta-4)
"They must have dropped in using stealth ships" said Katya Williams (Shadow-Beta-3)
"I agree," said Jason Kage (Shadow-Beta-1), "we must set up a perimeter around the lab to prevent the Imperials from escaping."
"Shouldn't we go in and attack?" asked Ivan.
"No, too dangerous, and from what the beacon tells us, we would lose quickly in such a fight. No, we set up a perimeter, with the Phantron, and tell General Pepper. He'll probably give us some help." Said Jason
A flurry of "yes, sirs" came over the commline as the other members of Shadow Wing's Beta Company acknowledged their Commander's orders.
Chapter 13
Space, Corneria's high orbit, 1 minute after the last chapter.
Black Knight, Hangar BayEd put on his shades and began to start up his Arwing. "ROB-2," he said "Make sure you don't hit any friendlies with the omni-cannons."
"OK, Ed" said ROB-2 "Three things, one is that there is a small fleet headed our way. It consists of 40 fighters, 4 Harlock-IIs, two Intimidators, and one Zeram-II."
"Take care of it, and protect the Great Fox" said Ed
"Got it. Secondly, Husky and Bulldog Squadron have arrived. I am giving their position to Bill Grey so that he can link up with them."
"Thanks" said Bill.
"Lastly, I gave your Arwings some new weapons, feel free to try them out"
"Got it," Ed replied. "All fighters check in."
"Ready to rock!" said Mark
"Let's kick some Imperial ass!" yelled Damien
"I'm ready" said Karl
"Fox, we are ready for launch" Ed said to Fox
"Acknowledged," said Fox, "so are we. You can launch at any time."
From the Black Knight, the four black Arwings of Black Wolf flew out of the hangar. At the same time, the Great Fox launched Starfox's Arwings, and Bill Grey's Wolfhound fighter. The 9 fighters flew towards the raging battle 1 km away.
"Okay, Husky and Bulldog squadron, give attack assistance to the Black Knight" Bill Grey ordered.
"ROB-2, use only the gauss cannons on the enemy capital ships" Ed ordered
"Affirmative" said ROB-2.
The Black Knight turned to face the attacking fleet, and fired two Gauss slugs. One destroyed a Harlock-II frigate, punching a gigantic hole through the ships lateral line, while another badly damaged one of the two Intimidators. Ed watched as Husky and Bulldog squadron pounced on the wounded cruiser, firing missiles and Nova Bombs. The ship split into three pieces as the high explosives detonated and tore through the Intimidator's hull.
"Scratch one Intimidator," said Bill
"Thanks for the help" said ROB-2.
"Okay, Black Wolf," Ed said "Let's tear up these Imperials"
- The 4 Arwings moved in on the attacking fleet
Ed looked at the new weapons loadout ROB-2 had given him. The hyper lasers were still there, as well as the Nova Bombs, but now there was a new weapon mounted on his fighter. Apparently it was a new missile called a Maverick Torpedo. Ed selected one, and it gave him an ordinance choice of either "Normal", "Flechette", or "MIRV". Ed selected "Flechette" and dove in at the fleet. A squadron of 10 Invader IIIs came after him.
"Let's see what this Maverick can do!" said Ed as he locked onto and fired on the middle fighter.
Ed watched as the Maverick Torpedo rocketed out from his Arwing's underbelly. When it was about 5 feet from the targeted fighter, the torpedo exploded, and about 100 tiny needle-like missiles flew out, slamming into the 10 Invader IIIs. The needles tore the fighters to shreds.
"Holy shit! That rocked!" Ed yelled as he let out a chuckle of satisfaction. "Now let's try the MIRV".
Ed set his second torpedo to MIRV, and flew in at the three remaining Harlock II frigates. Ed blasted attacking fighters out of his way and fired the MIRV at the nearest frigate. The torpedo flew out, then exploded into 5 more missiles that tracked and hit two of the frigates. Both frigates couldn't take the strain of the blasts and broke up. The last Harlock-II tried to take at shot at Ed, but another black Arwing flew in and riddled the enemy Harlock-II full of holes with a Flechette Maverick.
"Nice shot Damien" said Ed
"Thanks," Damien replied "These new torpedoes kick ass don't they?"
"Damn straight" Mark interjected. "I just killed 20 fighters in one shot!"
"Stay cool, Mark" Ed said "We still have to finish these guys off"
"Scratch that Zeram" said Karl "Amazing what the MIRV torpedo does!"
"Ok, all fighters, concentrate on the last Intimidator!" Ed ordered.
The fighters flew in. Ed released a normal Maverick and watched as it penetrated about 5 feet of armor plating before detonating, destroying the ship's Mega Laser cannon, and leaving a massive blast crater. Ed saw his squad's fighters, plus the Black Knight, move in to attack.
"The ship has nowhere to run." Ed laughed.
***
"Sir, the Eviscerater is reporting that Slasher Group has been destroyed."
"WHAT?!" yelled Kyle "Put Captain Marduk on the screen."
The tiger, along with the bridge of the Eviscerater appeared onscreen. Through the bridge, Kyle could see that the ship was being assaulted by a mysterious warship, which he believed was the Black Knight. The Black Knight was slowly moving closer to Captain Marduk's ship, all the while firing its particle lasers and shredding fighters.
"Lord Kerrigan, we're taking heavy fire! Slasher Group has been wiped out!"
"How is this possible?" Kyle demanded.
"Apparently, the Arwings have new weapons as well. They have torpedoes that have shrapnel and MIRV effects." Said Marduk.
An explosion rocked the bridge
"We've lost deck 13!" yelled the Eviscerater's TO. "Hull strength at 22%!"
"The Black Knight is charging its cannons!"
"Evasive action!" yelled Marduk
Kyle watched as the Eviscerater tried to evade the Black Knight's deadly Gauss Cannons, but it failed. The first shot connected with the weakened forward section, tearing it away. As the cruiser fishtailed, the second Gauss slug slammed into the bridge. Kyle saw the slug tear through the forward viewscreens and decapitate Captain Marduk. As the tiger's headless body fell to the ground, the bridge exploded. The video feed cut out to show the ship explode in a flash of light.
"So," came a mocking voice over the comm. "You like our new weapons?"
"Ed?" asked Kyle "How are you doing this?"
"It wasn't too hard to hijack your vidcom signal." Ed replied "Anyway, I'm giving you two choices now. You can either get the hell away form here and not come back, or I'll blast you into oblivion."
"NEVER!!!" Kyle yelled "I still have enough ships to defeat you!"
"Actually, if you look at your sensors, you don't!"
Kyle looked, and saw the dots representing friendly craft start to disappear rapidly.
"Sigma Battalion, What the hell is going on?!" Kyle demanded
"This is Zeram-Sigma-4, we're being overrun! Starfox is wiping us out. They have backup from Husky and Bulldog Squadron on site! We can't hold them! AUGH!!!!"
There was the sound of an explosion, and then the hissing of static. Another Imperial warship destroyed. Kyle was worried. Sigma Battalion, one of his most powerful units, was being wiped out.
"Caine, what is your opinion?"
"I think we should fall back and regroup" Said General Caine.
"I think you're crazy!" Kyle replied, "Command Group, full charge!!"
The Cabal and it's escorts, consisting of 2 Aggressors, 2 Harlock-IIs, and 2 Zeram-IIs, moved forward to attack Black Wolf.
"The Black Knight is charging it's cannons!" said the Tactical Officer.
"Prepare to evade" said Kyle.
"Shot fired, it's a plasma shot! Impact in 10 seconds!"
"Evade, full reverse!" Kyle shouted.
The Cabal desperately tried to avoid the shot, but all that it succeeded in doing was avoiding taking the hit head-on. Rather, the shot exploded right in front of the ship, causing devastating effects. The Cabal rocked backwards as the plasma shockwave ripped apart armor and hull plating on the bow of the ship. Loud explosions were heard as an Aggressor and a Zeram-II that got too close to the blast were ripped up.
"This is Escort 5," came a frantic voice over the comm. "We're breaking up, AIEEE!!!"
There was a loud squealing noise added to the sounds of the bridge crew screaming as the bridge of the Zeram-II (Escort 5) burned up along with the communications equipment.
"We've lost escorts 4 and 5!" said the TO. Escorts 2 and 3 reporting heavy damage!"
"What about the Cabal?" Kyle asked.
"Forward shields offline, for good. Forward hull integrity at 34%. Overall hull integrity at 67%. Main Hangar destroyed."
"Prepare to launch all remaining fighters from the flight deck's catapult launcher."
"Lord Kerrigan, this is insane!!!" screamed General Caine "We have to retreat!!! Overall forces are down to little more than a regiment! This...is...SUICIDE!!!"
Kyle had heard enough, he whipped out his Magnum and leveled it at the panther's head.
"One more outburst like that, and I'll blow your head off. Do your job! Man your post!" Kyle growled.
Caine sat down at the communications console. He instantly sent a secret burst transmission to his stealth covert ops team at Secret Weapons Lab 3. They reported back mission phase one complete. He then sent a transmission to General Stienburg. It simply stated "Kerrigan outliving usefulness, move up timetable."
Just as he sent the transmission a Gauss cannon shot slammed into the Cabal. Sparks shot from a few consoles on the bridge.
"Flight deck destroyed. Hull integrity at 56% Weapons at 43%" said the TO
"Crap." Kyle responded. "Order all forces to get out of here! Set hyperspace coordinates to Macbeth!"
"Yes sir" said the Tactical and Navigation officers
Kyle walked over to Caine, and shoved the magnum under his throat.
"Has the stealth team finished phase one?"
Caine weakly nodded.
"Good." Kyle put the magnum away "You may have been right this time Caine, but don't forget, I make the rules; you break the rules, you die."
Kyle stomped off, and Caine finally managed to start breathing again.
As the Cabal and the surviving Imperial warships jumped out, Caine let a small grin play across his muzzle. The failed invasion of Corneria was only a minor setback. He and Stienburg had bigger plans, ones that Kyle didn't even know about. Caine would let Kyle think he was in charge for now, but all of that would end soon.
Chapter 13
See previous chapter, then add 30 minutes to the time."Confirmed, HQ, all Imperial Forces have jumped out, or died trying." Ed Wallace reported. The last bit he added because Damien had destroyed a Harlock-II frigate during the Imperial retreat.
"Excellent Work!!" said General Pepper.
"Thank you"
Ed stood along, with his squadron, stood on the bridge of the Black Knight. They were talking to General Pepper and Prince Davidson that the threat to Corneria had been stopped.
"We can't thank you four enough for what you've done." The prince started.
"Wait," said Ed "It wasn't just us. You have to give credit to everybody who fought here and died here."
"He's right." Said Mark
"We are quite aware that credit should be given where it's due. But the fact remains, that you four, and the Black Knight, racked up the most kills." Said the Prince. "Also, Admiral Collins personally wants to thank you for saving his life, and his ship. So he's going to promote you four. The paperwork will take about a day, but I'd like to tell you now. Ed, you're being promoted to Commander. Mark, you're moving up to Lieutenant Commander. Damien and Karl, you're both being promoted to Lieutenant."
"Kudos to us!" yelled Damien.
"That's not all." General Pepper said. "You four, along with 50 others, including Starfox, Husky and Bulldog Squadrons, are being given the CDF Medal of Honor. The ceremony will be tomorrow afternoon, at 1300 hours."
"Thanks, this is amazing!" Ed replied.
"You four have worked hard today, so get some rest, you may need it in case we decide to launch any counterattacks."
"Yes, sir"
"There will be a meeting at 0900 hours tomorrow. See you then." Said General Pepper,
The comm clicked off.
"You heard him, get some rest" Ed ordered
"'Bout friggin' time" Mark said.
The four pilots went to their quarters and got some much-deserved sleep.
***
Next Day, 0630 hours"INCOMING MESSAGE!!!! ALPHA PRIORITY!!!"
The blaring of the comm alert system jolted Ed awake. He toppled out of bed, and manged to stand up, despite being tired. He went over and hit the receive button.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?!" Ed shouted
"0630 hours" said General Pepper
Ed's demeanor instantly changed. "Sorry General, " he apologized. "I didn't know it was you"
"That's okay. We need you and the rest of the squadron down here at the command center for an important meeting and briefing."
"Wait…I thought the meeting was at 0900?"
"Something came up, and we need you now instead."
"Um…okay"
"See you on the surface. General Pepper out"
As the comm shut off, Ed wondered how he was going to wake the rest of his squad. He could just have ROB-2 send a wake up call, but Ed had a better, albeit cruel, idea. He activated the broadband channel for the ship's intercom, drew his custom-made service pistol, and loaded a blank round.
"This is your commander speaking to all personnel, it's time to WAKE UP!!!" Ed shouted into the microphone as he pulled the trigger. The shot resonated throughout the ship and the intercom.
For about a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the comm flared up with his squad's cursing.
"What the f**k was that for?" Mark yelled
"It's only 0630!" Damien chimed in.
"Jesus Christ, I was trying to sleep!" Finished Karl
"Sorry about that," Ed said "but apparently something has come up and General Pepper needs us at the HQ, now. So get dressed, get something to eat, and get to your fighters."
His squad wearily acknowledged. Ed shut off the comm, and walked over to the food synthesizer to go get some breakfast, and a Coke®. He was going to need the caffeine if he wanted to stay awake through the meeting.
Chapter 14
Corneria Defense Force (CDF) HQ, 0645 hoursEd walked into the briefing room, and Mark, Damien, and Karl filed in behind him as he took his seat. Ed could also see that Starfox had been called to this emergency meeting.
"First of all" said General Pepper, "here are your new rank symbols" The General passed each pilot a white envelope. Ed opened his, and pinned the two bars with a star in the middle, representing commander, to his flight jacket. Ed could see that Starfox had, coincidentally, gotten the same ranks as his squad. Ed wondered why Starfox still got promoted although they were outside of the Cornerian Military.
"Secondly, I've called you here for a good reason. It appears a small Imperial attack squad, using stealth technology, landed on Corneria and took control of Secret Weapons Lab 3. The Lab is located here, in the Garuda Desert."
Everyone watched as the map on the screen moved to target the Lab.
"We don't know why the Imperials captured this Lab, but they used a full battalion of troops, plus an attack shuttle and a light stealth cruiser to do so. It's obvious they're after something. What we want you 8 to do is get into the lab, find out what the Imperials are up to, and stop them by any means necessary."
"8 of us versus over a battalion of force?" asked Falco, "that's crazy!"
"No, it isn't" continued Pepper. "You'll be getting assistance from a squad of our military forces. They have a light cruiser with them. They will meet you at these coordinates outside the Lab's sensor range in 30 minutes. You should have enough time to get equipped and fly down there.
The map identified the coordinates.
"These coordinates have been given to your Arwing's navigation computers." The General finished "Any questions?"
"Yes" said Ed "After we stop the imperials, should we capture any?"
"It would be nice if you could capture one of their two ships, so we can find out about their military status." answered General Pepper "Any further questions?"
Nobody spoke up.
"Okay then, dismissed."
END OF PART TWO
Please Read and Review!
DISCLAIMER: I own Shadow Wing, all members of it, and the Phantron class cruiser, which is not the same as the Phantron boss from the original Starfox. The Intimidator-class warship, the Defender-class Cruiser, and the Guardian battle ship (Leviathan-class) are mine. So are Admiral Ken Collins and Prince Victor Davidson. Star Wolf © Nintendo. The new versions of the Saruzin, Zeram, and Harlock are part Nintendo (name and design) and part mine (upgrades). The Aggressor is my name for the class of Attack Carrier in SF64 (Corneria "true" boss). Coke® is a registered trademark of Coca-Cola.
