Chapter Six: "Fierce Melee"
Celestra leaned on the rail of the bridge connecting Arwing hangars and living quarters aboard Whitewater, letting the artificial breeze play across her pale face and ruffle the frayed edges of her cutoff jean shorts. Her fingernails picked idly at her black tank top and the zipper of her black flight vest, and she was tapping her combat boots incessantly against the tiled floor.
Suddenly everything seemed irritating.
When the mercenaries had come aboard Anilora's ship, they had all coolly ignored the fact that she was even present--all except for Peppy, who had offered only a pitying glance and a half-smile. She, likewise, avoided them, keeping to herself and prefering to remain aboard the Katinan cruiser when Star Fox returned to Great Fox to lead the way onward. Celestra didn't care that they despised her, she reminded herself--there was far too much at stake for her to make many friends of her own.
They were weaknesses, detrimental flaws. Assassins couldn't afford to have flaws.
"Do you so hate them?" came a voice from behind her, a quiet voice that she both hated and loved. Turning her head, she locked eyes with Captain Gilraen Anilora, one of the few humans left alive that inhabited a planet south of the Solar nebula. He had a fine mop of dirty-blonde hair flecked with strands of silver that only made him seem more distinguished and wise for one still so young. He stood only a bit taller than Celestra herself, with a lithely muscled torso and arms that deceptively masked his strength. His eyes were pools of a deep, rich violet, and his smooth face seemed to smile at her in a warm, welcoming fashion. As he moved to join the assassin at the rail, she rolled her eyes and turned back, staring out at the radical light green and yellow space fires of Sector Y combat zone.
"Is my solitude so wrong?" she asked cryptically.
Anilora sighed and moved quietly to her side, sharing the magnificent view. "We will surely see battle this night."
Now it was Celestra's turn to sigh, hanging her head in what was clearly frustration. "It's just an easy way to attack the heart, Gilraen."
"Oh? What is?" he pressed patiently.
"Friendship. You know how Andross's lot are: they would sooner torture innocent people to get what they want than fight fair."
"Some people don't have honor," Anilora explained bitterly. "That is their way."
"Still others know better," Celestra countered, eyes narrowed to slits. "They know that honor is a false notion and nothing more."
Anilora studied her fair face inquisitively. "I'm afraid that I don't understand you, Celestra."
"Then let me specify," she continued peevishly. "People fight to win, and will therefore use any underhanded tactics they must to claim victory. Those who play by the rules discover too late that in war, there are no rules."
"So that is why you shun the mercenaries?" the Katinan officer asked. "Because you believe that if you befriended them, your enemies would attack your heart as opposed to your body?"
A weary smile found Celestra's face. "Once long ago my heart was nearly destroyed when my home and my loved ones faced the evil of war and lost. I do not wish to fight that battle ever again, and in so doing I can never offer up my feelings."
"Well, what about Bill Grey?" Anilora continued. "If you harbor no beliefs in friendship, what do you call him?"
The assassin laughed sarcastically and shook her head, silently applauding Anilora and his deft logic trap. "A business friend, then, and nothing more."
Anilora nodded. "And what of me?"
Celestra did well to conceal her frantic blush. "Are you trying to make a point, meddlesome captain?"
"I most certainly am. I am trying to explain how fighting with passion and friendship is stronger than a flawless battle with no positive emotion. Take Fox McCloud, if you will. A successful mercenary, do not doubt, and assuredly one of Pepper's closest allies and Andross's hated adversaries. As strong, intelligent, and resilient of a man one could ever be graced with knowing.
"Now look at his personal life, Celestra. Even beyond Star Fox, the man has many friends, whether or not they are 'business friends'. He has much more to lose than you do, and yet his intentions are pure and he is successful in his endeavors."
"Yes, Gilraen, but--"
"But nothing. Fox McCloud fights with passion, and that is why he wins."
Celestra was lightning quick in her counter. "I am even more successful than McCloud. Explain that."
"You are extremely strong and talented in your craft," Anilora responded coolly. "Yet I say also that you will meet your greatest enemy one day, and you will wish that you had friends to help you combat it. Someday you will face yourself, lonesome and without passion, and your defeat will come from within."
She slumped against the rail, seeming tired and haggard, and Anilora gripped her shoulders supportively and comfortingly. "It's too late, Gilraen! Any hopes I had for friendship among the mercenaries are surely gone now, after I worked so hard to sever all ties. They won't forgive me now."
"They may yet," the captain reasoned. "Fox and his lot are reasonable men--even Falco--and if you care enough and want it enough, you can succeed. I have seen the truth of your friendship, and I know that these passions are not impossible for you."
Celestra hoisted herself back up and leaned her head back against Anilora's shoulder.
A mere two minutes later an alarm sounded, and all pilots boarded their Arwings, ready to battle their way to General Pepper.
~~*~~
Celestra broke from Anilora's squadron and pulled out ahead with Fox, Falco, and Peppy. Slippy, she was told, was piloting Great Fox and the majestic cruiser would focus on taking out the larger Venomian craft. The four Arwings manuevered into a loose diamond formation, Celestra as its point, and the fleet pressed in.
It was dreadfully quiet at first; Fox was conversing with his team, but all else was tense and still. Then a pair of Venomian cruisers came into view and an innumerable swarm of Hybrids wafted from the hatches of the crafts like a swarm of angry bees.
"Break formation!" came Fox's voice. "Don't let any of them get around us!"
Celestra dove hard to the left and barrel-rolled past a large concentration of the enemy craft; Falco, who had been the rear of the diamond, followed her lead against his better judgment. Fox shot straight ahead, bisecting the bulk of the Hybrids, and Peppy fell back, targeting any stragglers attempting to sneak away from the battle.
"Mach 2 model Destroyers closing form the right flank!" Falco informed, and he rolled to the right, scattering the Destroyers with a barrage of brilliant blue laser fire. Celestra pressed forward, finishing the majority of the Hybrids with a single well-placed bomb. The offenders lucky enough to escape the assassin were finished quickly by Peppy, who had slowly begun closing in behind them. Fox's Arwing was near the cruisers, and everyone with a half mile clearly heard the explosion as the mercenary eliminated the first large ship.
Falco's craft shuddered and he doubled back as his shield energy dropped; a pair of Destroyers wre tailing him and refused to be shaken. MeteoRiot bucked wildly to all sides under the avian's practiced hand, but the Venomians were quick and he was losing ground.
Celestra saw Falco's plight from the corner of her eye, cursed herself, and broke from the forefront, U-turning her way back to the Destroyers and frantically evading a trio of Hybrids as she did so. Things were turning ill for Falco, but then the assassin swooped in and dispatched both with a few well-coordinated shots. Her shields dropped as her pursuers closed in, but as she turned to regard the Hybrids a small grey craft blew past her and mowed them down.
"Was there possibly some honor in that act?" Anilora called as he continued on, a score of Katinan warriors in a cluster behind him.
"I can handle myself, thank you!" Celestra yelled back, but her faint blush overrode her anger.
Falco had already begun his pursuit of the remaining Destroyers, but his mind was reeling elsewhere. 'Those guys almost throttled me', the avian realized. 'Did Marquette actually mean to help me?'
He laughed at the notion. 'Nah.'
Fox reappeared, his Arwing scorched all along one side, with Peppy tailing him closely. "We took out both of those cruisers, but there are at least six more up ahead," he explained. "Anilora and his guys are moving into position--I'm pretty sure they're gunning for the main fleet."
Celestra re-angled Rage of Macbeth and took off, speeding past Fox and heading in the direction of the main Venomian brigade.
The mercenaries let her go without a word.
~~*~~
Anilora and his men had little difficulty locating the bulk of the Venomian forces. There were plenty more Hybrids and Destroyers waiting for them, encompassing the larger ships and cruisers. The Katinans fanned out, picking out targets, easily outnumbered fifteen to one.
"Eliminate the smaller craft first!" ordered the captain. "It will take our entire force to bring down those command ships!"
The battle raged all about them, enemy numbers dwindling slowly, but the Katinan soldiers were poorly matched in numbers and Anilora didn't have men to lose. From behind him came multiple shots from a tight-knit group of Destroyers, and the captain rolled diagonally, hoping to lose them in a gap. Instead, he became boxed in when several more of the craft closed in before him.
A shower of dazzling silver laser energy poured down around him, and Anilora, expecting to see his wondrous cruiser come to aid him, soon found that he had been rescued by Celestra Marquette. "Did you think I'd let you take down the main fleet without me?" she teased as she manuevered effortlessly in a ring around him until his offenders had been driven away.
"I can handle myself, thank you," Anilora joken, repeating her earlier statement.
Celestra laughed at him.
In a matter of thirty-five minutes, Anilora, the assassin, and what remained of their small band had somehow overrun the first line of their assailants and had since turned their sights to the many cruisers bunched in the area. The captain led his troops in a wide arc, closing in and loosing barrage after barrage of green lasers while Celestra fell back, studying the scene from a wider perspective.
It was then that she spotted the second line of Destroyers, a group of fifty or so craft that were sneaking in on the Katinans from behind.
"Gilraen! Come about!"
Celestra couldn't get to them in time, and only four Arwings, Anilora's included, were lucky enough to escape the first pass. The assassin gritted her teeth, tightened her hands about the joysticks guiding her magnificent craft, and charged at the lot of them head-on.
~~*~~
"What are you doing?! Get away from there!"
"Gilraen, get out of here!"
"Celestra!!"
With a sickening crackle, the open channel died. Fox settled his Arwing on a hover, face grave. "I can't believe she's doing this," he murmured. "If only we--"
"No," Falco snapped before Fox could continue.
Fox glared at the avian. "No what?"
"You want us to go after Marquette," Falco accused. "You know that part where the normally fearless leader does something really stupid, and everyone hates him for it? This is it. When has she saved our hides, Fox?"
Peppy whipped his Arwing in a semicircle, facing Falco and fixing him with a cold glare. "As a matter of fact, she saved you from a pair of Destroyers no more than an hour ago, kid."
Falco's feathers bristled with rage, but in his heart he knew Peppy was right. "They were probably just in her way or something--"
"You know, Lombardi, I think you're wrong," Fox cut in, now more thoughtful than irritated. "I don't know when or how it happened, but I'm almost positive that the old Celestra has started to resurface." He looked to Peppy. "You know--the seven-year-old you told me stories about."
Very slowly, the older hare nodded.
"You guys can't be serious!" Falco shrieked, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Give me a break--that was twelve years ago! Why can't you all just accept the fact that she's an assassin now? She's not who she was when Macbeth went up in flames; she's changed, and now she's nothing but a stuck-up, self-centered b--"
Fox whipped SpiritNova in a semicircle, turning abruptly away from the avian and putting himself in line with the distant melee. "Peppy, are you with me? I'm willing to put just a bit more faith in the girl you used to know."
Nebulafire floated to his side. "Lead the way, commander."
"Well?" Fox cried at Falco, who cowered under his leaders' stern tone. "Are you coming or not?"
A white flash lit up the sky from somewhere ahead. Falco trained his keen eyes on the livid inferno.
"Let's get this over with," he muttered.
With that, the three mercenaries sped off into the distance, eyes scouring the combat zone for the main battle. Behind them, unnoticed so far, glided the looming specters of the cruisers Great Fox and Whitewater.
~~*~~
The up-side to fighting Destroyers was that they were large, human-shaped robotic creatures, and were thus easy targets. The down-side was that since Celestra was battling single-handedly, she was their only target.
The assassin recognized her poor odds at living through the assault--much less winning out--but knew that her mission came before all else, and her mission was to make sure Anilora's fleet made it to Pepper on the other side. She had already decided that she would see the captain through to the end, no matter the personal risk.
Celestra evaded beautifully, tearing ferociously into the ranks of Destroyers and dropping their number from fifty to thirty in the opening two minutes of the skirmish, but her ship was being obliterated by laser fire form every possible angle, and her shields were almost exhausted. Every few seconds her fiery eyes darted to the shield gauge, her heart in her throat. When the energy finally gave out, any one hit from her adversaries would finish her off.
A well-placed stroke from one of the cyborgs sent one of her crafts' wings spinning off into space, and her lopsided Arwings' vital systems screamed out warnings. Celestra bit her lip and kept firing.
All at once the perimeter lit up like a laser-light show; multiple barrages of blue, red, and yellow beat back the ring of merciless Destroyers, allowing Celestra to sneak through a gap and conceal her mangled Arwing behind one of the newcomers.
The side of the craft read SpiritNova.
" . . . McCloud?!" the assassin gasped out, unable to fathom who had come to her rescue.
"Don't give me any thank-yous just yet," Fox choked out, now putting his Arwing in a defensive posture in front of hers and attacking the second line. "We're far from out of this one, and there's still those cruisers to annihilate, you know."
"But why did you--?"
The mercenary leader cut her off with a weak chuckle. "Let's just say it's a matter of honor."
Celestra didn't know if she would kill or kiss Captain Anilora when she next saw him.
"One of the cruisers is opening fire!" Peppy shouted over the inter-ship com, and as one the four pilots rolled and retreated several hundred feet. Falco took the rest of the Destroyers out by himself, and the mercenaries all circled Celestra in a protective fashion as she fussed over her shield gauge, which was rising sluggishly.
"When I'm back up to half-power, I'll jump back in!" she called to them.
Fox nodded and motioned to Peppy and Falco, who swiftly split up and began assaulting the Venomian command ship from different angles. The ship wasn't interested in them, though, as it instead opened fire on Celestra, who gasped. Fox sent his Arwing into a tight corkscrew, taking the heavy hit for her. The rear of his spacecraft began smoking ominously, and he cursed.
"Without more firepower, we'll never take down these cruisers!" he moaned.
At that precise moment, another score of Katinan soldiers angled their way in, led by a familiar grey craft that could only belong to Captain Anilora. His Arwing had taken many heavy blows, but still he charged in, shouting hurried orders to his wingmates. Celestra beamed at the craft, feeling her face grow hot again. She kicked her Arwings' main thrusters up to their maximum, and at half-power each she and Fox joined Anilora's ranks. In half a minute the offending cruisers' engines blew and the thing imploded, flailing through the green and yellow fires of the zone and out of sight.
The remaining five command ships formed a tight line and blew Anilora's ranks in half.
Falco led the next charge himself, rallying ten spacecraft into a V-formation behind him and swooping down upon the far-right cruiser. The avian, like Celestra, lost a wing in the charge, but he considered it well worth the cost when his companions sped away, leaving another wrecked cruiser in their wake. Peppy blazed in, off to one side, and somehow collapsed one of the ships' main engines, causing it to reel away, helpless, as Anilora's men tore it apart.
Three cruisers were left, but they manuevered into a tighter cluster and charged, using their larger guns to scatter the goodly ranks and force them into disarray. Captain Anilora called for the ships to regroup, but those still alive were cut off from their leader by a never-ending barrage from the larger ships.
It was then that a pair of plasma bombs fired from behind them, seeking and finding the middle cruiser and crippling it beyond repair. Turning in horror, expecting to see Venomian reinforcements, the assassin, the mercenaries, and the Katinans all gave a cheer as the rest of Anilora's forces, one hundred and fifty strong, led Great Fox and Whitewater into the fray. Slippy, piloting the mercenaries' new cruiser with ease, called for Anilora and all the rest to fall back, and the toad obliterated the final pair of cruisers in thirty seconds.
Captain Anilora had lost one-fourth of his original force, but both cruisers made it out of Sector Y combat zone without damage. Celestra had bruises on her shoulders and upper arms from her Arwing restraints and all the jostling from the Destroyers, but everyone else sustained only minor injuries.
Later than night, not one pilot disagreed when someone said that General Pepper's newest cruiser, named Vortex Four, was the most welcome sight they had ever seen.
Celestra leaned on the rail of the bridge connecting Arwing hangars and living quarters aboard Whitewater, letting the artificial breeze play across her pale face and ruffle the frayed edges of her cutoff jean shorts. Her fingernails picked idly at her black tank top and the zipper of her black flight vest, and she was tapping her combat boots incessantly against the tiled floor.
Suddenly everything seemed irritating.
When the mercenaries had come aboard Anilora's ship, they had all coolly ignored the fact that she was even present--all except for Peppy, who had offered only a pitying glance and a half-smile. She, likewise, avoided them, keeping to herself and prefering to remain aboard the Katinan cruiser when Star Fox returned to Great Fox to lead the way onward. Celestra didn't care that they despised her, she reminded herself--there was far too much at stake for her to make many friends of her own.
They were weaknesses, detrimental flaws. Assassins couldn't afford to have flaws.
"Do you so hate them?" came a voice from behind her, a quiet voice that she both hated and loved. Turning her head, she locked eyes with Captain Gilraen Anilora, one of the few humans left alive that inhabited a planet south of the Solar nebula. He had a fine mop of dirty-blonde hair flecked with strands of silver that only made him seem more distinguished and wise for one still so young. He stood only a bit taller than Celestra herself, with a lithely muscled torso and arms that deceptively masked his strength. His eyes were pools of a deep, rich violet, and his smooth face seemed to smile at her in a warm, welcoming fashion. As he moved to join the assassin at the rail, she rolled her eyes and turned back, staring out at the radical light green and yellow space fires of Sector Y combat zone.
"Is my solitude so wrong?" she asked cryptically.
Anilora sighed and moved quietly to her side, sharing the magnificent view. "We will surely see battle this night."
Now it was Celestra's turn to sigh, hanging her head in what was clearly frustration. "It's just an easy way to attack the heart, Gilraen."
"Oh? What is?" he pressed patiently.
"Friendship. You know how Andross's lot are: they would sooner torture innocent people to get what they want than fight fair."
"Some people don't have honor," Anilora explained bitterly. "That is their way."
"Still others know better," Celestra countered, eyes narrowed to slits. "They know that honor is a false notion and nothing more."
Anilora studied her fair face inquisitively. "I'm afraid that I don't understand you, Celestra."
"Then let me specify," she continued peevishly. "People fight to win, and will therefore use any underhanded tactics they must to claim victory. Those who play by the rules discover too late that in war, there are no rules."
"So that is why you shun the mercenaries?" the Katinan officer asked. "Because you believe that if you befriended them, your enemies would attack your heart as opposed to your body?"
A weary smile found Celestra's face. "Once long ago my heart was nearly destroyed when my home and my loved ones faced the evil of war and lost. I do not wish to fight that battle ever again, and in so doing I can never offer up my feelings."
"Well, what about Bill Grey?" Anilora continued. "If you harbor no beliefs in friendship, what do you call him?"
The assassin laughed sarcastically and shook her head, silently applauding Anilora and his deft logic trap. "A business friend, then, and nothing more."
Anilora nodded. "And what of me?"
Celestra did well to conceal her frantic blush. "Are you trying to make a point, meddlesome captain?"
"I most certainly am. I am trying to explain how fighting with passion and friendship is stronger than a flawless battle with no positive emotion. Take Fox McCloud, if you will. A successful mercenary, do not doubt, and assuredly one of Pepper's closest allies and Andross's hated adversaries. As strong, intelligent, and resilient of a man one could ever be graced with knowing.
"Now look at his personal life, Celestra. Even beyond Star Fox, the man has many friends, whether or not they are 'business friends'. He has much more to lose than you do, and yet his intentions are pure and he is successful in his endeavors."
"Yes, Gilraen, but--"
"But nothing. Fox McCloud fights with passion, and that is why he wins."
Celestra was lightning quick in her counter. "I am even more successful than McCloud. Explain that."
"You are extremely strong and talented in your craft," Anilora responded coolly. "Yet I say also that you will meet your greatest enemy one day, and you will wish that you had friends to help you combat it. Someday you will face yourself, lonesome and without passion, and your defeat will come from within."
She slumped against the rail, seeming tired and haggard, and Anilora gripped her shoulders supportively and comfortingly. "It's too late, Gilraen! Any hopes I had for friendship among the mercenaries are surely gone now, after I worked so hard to sever all ties. They won't forgive me now."
"They may yet," the captain reasoned. "Fox and his lot are reasonable men--even Falco--and if you care enough and want it enough, you can succeed. I have seen the truth of your friendship, and I know that these passions are not impossible for you."
Celestra hoisted herself back up and leaned her head back against Anilora's shoulder.
A mere two minutes later an alarm sounded, and all pilots boarded their Arwings, ready to battle their way to General Pepper.
~~*~~
Celestra broke from Anilora's squadron and pulled out ahead with Fox, Falco, and Peppy. Slippy, she was told, was piloting Great Fox and the majestic cruiser would focus on taking out the larger Venomian craft. The four Arwings manuevered into a loose diamond formation, Celestra as its point, and the fleet pressed in.
It was dreadfully quiet at first; Fox was conversing with his team, but all else was tense and still. Then a pair of Venomian cruisers came into view and an innumerable swarm of Hybrids wafted from the hatches of the crafts like a swarm of angry bees.
"Break formation!" came Fox's voice. "Don't let any of them get around us!"
Celestra dove hard to the left and barrel-rolled past a large concentration of the enemy craft; Falco, who had been the rear of the diamond, followed her lead against his better judgment. Fox shot straight ahead, bisecting the bulk of the Hybrids, and Peppy fell back, targeting any stragglers attempting to sneak away from the battle.
"Mach 2 model Destroyers closing form the right flank!" Falco informed, and he rolled to the right, scattering the Destroyers with a barrage of brilliant blue laser fire. Celestra pressed forward, finishing the majority of the Hybrids with a single well-placed bomb. The offenders lucky enough to escape the assassin were finished quickly by Peppy, who had slowly begun closing in behind them. Fox's Arwing was near the cruisers, and everyone with a half mile clearly heard the explosion as the mercenary eliminated the first large ship.
Falco's craft shuddered and he doubled back as his shield energy dropped; a pair of Destroyers wre tailing him and refused to be shaken. MeteoRiot bucked wildly to all sides under the avian's practiced hand, but the Venomians were quick and he was losing ground.
Celestra saw Falco's plight from the corner of her eye, cursed herself, and broke from the forefront, U-turning her way back to the Destroyers and frantically evading a trio of Hybrids as she did so. Things were turning ill for Falco, but then the assassin swooped in and dispatched both with a few well-coordinated shots. Her shields dropped as her pursuers closed in, but as she turned to regard the Hybrids a small grey craft blew past her and mowed them down.
"Was there possibly some honor in that act?" Anilora called as he continued on, a score of Katinan warriors in a cluster behind him.
"I can handle myself, thank you!" Celestra yelled back, but her faint blush overrode her anger.
Falco had already begun his pursuit of the remaining Destroyers, but his mind was reeling elsewhere. 'Those guys almost throttled me', the avian realized. 'Did Marquette actually mean to help me?'
He laughed at the notion. 'Nah.'
Fox reappeared, his Arwing scorched all along one side, with Peppy tailing him closely. "We took out both of those cruisers, but there are at least six more up ahead," he explained. "Anilora and his guys are moving into position--I'm pretty sure they're gunning for the main fleet."
Celestra re-angled Rage of Macbeth and took off, speeding past Fox and heading in the direction of the main Venomian brigade.
The mercenaries let her go without a word.
~~*~~
Anilora and his men had little difficulty locating the bulk of the Venomian forces. There were plenty more Hybrids and Destroyers waiting for them, encompassing the larger ships and cruisers. The Katinans fanned out, picking out targets, easily outnumbered fifteen to one.
"Eliminate the smaller craft first!" ordered the captain. "It will take our entire force to bring down those command ships!"
The battle raged all about them, enemy numbers dwindling slowly, but the Katinan soldiers were poorly matched in numbers and Anilora didn't have men to lose. From behind him came multiple shots from a tight-knit group of Destroyers, and the captain rolled diagonally, hoping to lose them in a gap. Instead, he became boxed in when several more of the craft closed in before him.
A shower of dazzling silver laser energy poured down around him, and Anilora, expecting to see his wondrous cruiser come to aid him, soon found that he had been rescued by Celestra Marquette. "Did you think I'd let you take down the main fleet without me?" she teased as she manuevered effortlessly in a ring around him until his offenders had been driven away.
"I can handle myself, thank you," Anilora joken, repeating her earlier statement.
Celestra laughed at him.
In a matter of thirty-five minutes, Anilora, the assassin, and what remained of their small band had somehow overrun the first line of their assailants and had since turned their sights to the many cruisers bunched in the area. The captain led his troops in a wide arc, closing in and loosing barrage after barrage of green lasers while Celestra fell back, studying the scene from a wider perspective.
It was then that she spotted the second line of Destroyers, a group of fifty or so craft that were sneaking in on the Katinans from behind.
"Gilraen! Come about!"
Celestra couldn't get to them in time, and only four Arwings, Anilora's included, were lucky enough to escape the first pass. The assassin gritted her teeth, tightened her hands about the joysticks guiding her magnificent craft, and charged at the lot of them head-on.
~~*~~
"What are you doing?! Get away from there!"
"Gilraen, get out of here!"
"Celestra!!"
With a sickening crackle, the open channel died. Fox settled his Arwing on a hover, face grave. "I can't believe she's doing this," he murmured. "If only we--"
"No," Falco snapped before Fox could continue.
Fox glared at the avian. "No what?"
"You want us to go after Marquette," Falco accused. "You know that part where the normally fearless leader does something really stupid, and everyone hates him for it? This is it. When has she saved our hides, Fox?"
Peppy whipped his Arwing in a semicircle, facing Falco and fixing him with a cold glare. "As a matter of fact, she saved you from a pair of Destroyers no more than an hour ago, kid."
Falco's feathers bristled with rage, but in his heart he knew Peppy was right. "They were probably just in her way or something--"
"You know, Lombardi, I think you're wrong," Fox cut in, now more thoughtful than irritated. "I don't know when or how it happened, but I'm almost positive that the old Celestra has started to resurface." He looked to Peppy. "You know--the seven-year-old you told me stories about."
Very slowly, the older hare nodded.
"You guys can't be serious!" Falco shrieked, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Give me a break--that was twelve years ago! Why can't you all just accept the fact that she's an assassin now? She's not who she was when Macbeth went up in flames; she's changed, and now she's nothing but a stuck-up, self-centered b--"
Fox whipped SpiritNova in a semicircle, turning abruptly away from the avian and putting himself in line with the distant melee. "Peppy, are you with me? I'm willing to put just a bit more faith in the girl you used to know."
Nebulafire floated to his side. "Lead the way, commander."
"Well?" Fox cried at Falco, who cowered under his leaders' stern tone. "Are you coming or not?"
A white flash lit up the sky from somewhere ahead. Falco trained his keen eyes on the livid inferno.
"Let's get this over with," he muttered.
With that, the three mercenaries sped off into the distance, eyes scouring the combat zone for the main battle. Behind them, unnoticed so far, glided the looming specters of the cruisers Great Fox and Whitewater.
~~*~~
The up-side to fighting Destroyers was that they were large, human-shaped robotic creatures, and were thus easy targets. The down-side was that since Celestra was battling single-handedly, she was their only target.
The assassin recognized her poor odds at living through the assault--much less winning out--but knew that her mission came before all else, and her mission was to make sure Anilora's fleet made it to Pepper on the other side. She had already decided that she would see the captain through to the end, no matter the personal risk.
Celestra evaded beautifully, tearing ferociously into the ranks of Destroyers and dropping their number from fifty to thirty in the opening two minutes of the skirmish, but her ship was being obliterated by laser fire form every possible angle, and her shields were almost exhausted. Every few seconds her fiery eyes darted to the shield gauge, her heart in her throat. When the energy finally gave out, any one hit from her adversaries would finish her off.
A well-placed stroke from one of the cyborgs sent one of her crafts' wings spinning off into space, and her lopsided Arwings' vital systems screamed out warnings. Celestra bit her lip and kept firing.
All at once the perimeter lit up like a laser-light show; multiple barrages of blue, red, and yellow beat back the ring of merciless Destroyers, allowing Celestra to sneak through a gap and conceal her mangled Arwing behind one of the newcomers.
The side of the craft read SpiritNova.
" . . . McCloud?!" the assassin gasped out, unable to fathom who had come to her rescue.
"Don't give me any thank-yous just yet," Fox choked out, now putting his Arwing in a defensive posture in front of hers and attacking the second line. "We're far from out of this one, and there's still those cruisers to annihilate, you know."
"But why did you--?"
The mercenary leader cut her off with a weak chuckle. "Let's just say it's a matter of honor."
Celestra didn't know if she would kill or kiss Captain Anilora when she next saw him.
"One of the cruisers is opening fire!" Peppy shouted over the inter-ship com, and as one the four pilots rolled and retreated several hundred feet. Falco took the rest of the Destroyers out by himself, and the mercenaries all circled Celestra in a protective fashion as she fussed over her shield gauge, which was rising sluggishly.
"When I'm back up to half-power, I'll jump back in!" she called to them.
Fox nodded and motioned to Peppy and Falco, who swiftly split up and began assaulting the Venomian command ship from different angles. The ship wasn't interested in them, though, as it instead opened fire on Celestra, who gasped. Fox sent his Arwing into a tight corkscrew, taking the heavy hit for her. The rear of his spacecraft began smoking ominously, and he cursed.
"Without more firepower, we'll never take down these cruisers!" he moaned.
At that precise moment, another score of Katinan soldiers angled their way in, led by a familiar grey craft that could only belong to Captain Anilora. His Arwing had taken many heavy blows, but still he charged in, shouting hurried orders to his wingmates. Celestra beamed at the craft, feeling her face grow hot again. She kicked her Arwings' main thrusters up to their maximum, and at half-power each she and Fox joined Anilora's ranks. In half a minute the offending cruisers' engines blew and the thing imploded, flailing through the green and yellow fires of the zone and out of sight.
The remaining five command ships formed a tight line and blew Anilora's ranks in half.
Falco led the next charge himself, rallying ten spacecraft into a V-formation behind him and swooping down upon the far-right cruiser. The avian, like Celestra, lost a wing in the charge, but he considered it well worth the cost when his companions sped away, leaving another wrecked cruiser in their wake. Peppy blazed in, off to one side, and somehow collapsed one of the ships' main engines, causing it to reel away, helpless, as Anilora's men tore it apart.
Three cruisers were left, but they manuevered into a tighter cluster and charged, using their larger guns to scatter the goodly ranks and force them into disarray. Captain Anilora called for the ships to regroup, but those still alive were cut off from their leader by a never-ending barrage from the larger ships.
It was then that a pair of plasma bombs fired from behind them, seeking and finding the middle cruiser and crippling it beyond repair. Turning in horror, expecting to see Venomian reinforcements, the assassin, the mercenaries, and the Katinans all gave a cheer as the rest of Anilora's forces, one hundred and fifty strong, led Great Fox and Whitewater into the fray. Slippy, piloting the mercenaries' new cruiser with ease, called for Anilora and all the rest to fall back, and the toad obliterated the final pair of cruisers in thirty seconds.
Captain Anilora had lost one-fourth of his original force, but both cruisers made it out of Sector Y combat zone without damage. Celestra had bruises on her shoulders and upper arms from her Arwing restraints and all the jostling from the Destroyers, but everyone else sustained only minor injuries.
Later than night, not one pilot disagreed when someone said that General Pepper's newest cruiser, named Vortex Four, was the most welcome sight they had ever seen.