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Chapter 11: Starfox in Action
Ah, the thrill of battle. I just hope this training pays off. – Fox
Finally, a fight. About damn time. – Falco
Now to see how good these guys really are. – Fara
One pitiful military base is all that stands in the way of total victory. Squash it like a bug. – Andross
The distance quickly closed between the two battle groups, both sides eagerly
awaiting combat for entirely different reasons. Fear and concern were pushed
aside as the team approached, knowing that they had a job to do, and nothing
was going to change it at this point. Less than five minutes later, the two
forces clashed in battle.
The Arwings held their formation, spinning slightly to dodge enemy fire and
to concentrate theirs upon the wave of advancing ships. Their first pass destroyed
seven out of the fifteen ships that were already in the skies. "Nice work
team," commented Fox. "Break formation and engage the enemy."
With military precision the five Arwings spun off in different directions, each
picking a different target to shoot down.
Inside the Vengeance however, was a much different story. "What do you
mean their military craft are demolishing our own?" yelled an astounded
commander.
"I'm sorry, sir," replied a panicking lizard, looking over
the data provided to him via his console. "These craft came from nowhere!
Their capabilities far exceed anything we've seen before!"
The commander growled. "Fine then. Launch all remaining fighters! Accelerate
to full speed towards their base and keep only the dozen bomber craft around
us! If they are better than us, we'll see how well they fare against overwhelming
numbers!"
Back outside in the battle, Fara squeezed the trigger to her blasters and watched
as another enemy vessel exploded in her sights, lighting up the dark sky for
a moment. "Nice shot, Fara!" exclaimed Fox suddenly, having seen
the destruction from his point of view. "You really peeled the paint off
that fighter!"
Fara laughed, grateful for the attention, as unlike the rest of the team, she'd
never truly been in combat before. "Is that a personal or a professional
assessment of my skills, Fox?"
The vulpine never got a chance to respond as Peppy broke in on their conversation.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the battleship is launching more fighters."
"Oh geez," whined Falco jokingly, looking for another target. "And
here I thought we were going to have an easy fight. Bring them on I say!"
Slippy took a closer look at his radar readouts as he chased down another hostile.
"Based on my readings here, I'm guessing that is their entire fighter
compliment."
Fox fired his blasters, causing another fighter to explode in a brilliant ball
of fire. "How many total craft are we looking at out here, Slippy?"
"About 80, best guess. The computer says seventeen kills already."
A fighter exploded from a barrage of Falco's blasters, charred debris
falling to the ground below. "Make that eighteen. Those numbers sound
like my kind of battle."
"That would be to your liking, wouldn't it, Falco," commented
Fox, watching as his radar lit up from a sudden influx of contacts. "Here
they all come!" The idle chatter instantly quieted as the team simply
concentrated on surviving.
Back at the command center of the base, all eyes were watching the outcome
of the battle from the multitude of computer equipment around the room. Gary
was sitting at one of the terminals with the General standing watch nearby.
"Give me an update everyone," asked Pepper confidently.
Celine spoke up first from her communication station. "Planetary communications
have been quiet sir, other than the surprises from the planet being invaded.
No cities have been attacked from what I'm hearing."
A tan furred male bobcat was the next to speak. "Sir, scanners show that
the enemy is down to 65 craft, with all hostiles currently staying away from
the base."
Gary said his information from his seat at another terminal. "The Starfox
team is doing well, although they are now vastly outnumbered. It looks like—"
The bobcat interrupted what was being said. "I have a correction - the
battleship has veered off from the fighters and is moving towards us at a high
rate of speed. Estimated time of arrival is just over ten minutes."
"Great," muttered Pepper. "I knew this was going too easy."
The General walked over to Celine's terminal, picking up a spare headset
lying there. She nodded as he put it on, indicating that he was patched in.
"Starfox team, Pepper here. The Vengeance has moved away from you and
is heading our way."
Fox replied to the call for help, his voiced strained as his attention was obviously
somewhere else. "I can't help you this instant, General. We're
overwhelmed as it is, and if any of us break off right now to assist, I'll
lose whoever I leave behind."
Pepper shook his head and sighed. "Noted and understood, Junior. Keep
in mind that the Vengeance is due here in nine and a half minutes. I don't
need to tell you what will happen not long after that."
"I know. We'll be there as soon as we can. I gotta go, Fox out."
The bobcat, sensing that the General was done, said, "Sir, a dozen craft
have broken away from the battleship and are increasing speed towards us. They
look like they are heavily armed with missiles."
"And now things get interesting." Pepper turned towards Celine and
had her patch him into the base's com system. "Corneria Base, this
is Pepper. All hands, prepare for combat."
Faced against overwhelming odds, the Starfox team fought to just stay alive.
It was a fight they were currently winning, but everyone knew that they could
not hold out forever. "Damn it!" cursed Falco as laser fire struck
his shields once again. "There are too many of them out here!"
Even in the midst of battle, Fox had to laugh. "If Falco says we are overwhelmed,
then we definitely are overwhelmed. If anybody has a great idea right now, I
could use one."
Falco dove towards the ground at full throttle, pulling up at the last moment,
causing a fighter that was trailing him to go smashing into the ground. "Stupid
idiot," he muttered. "We could use a Nova Bomb on the lot of them."
"No!" screamed Fara, remembering what happened last time she had
tried to test the weapon. "Besides the fact that we're all too close
together to let one off, if the system fails like it has in the past, you'll
completely power down your Arwing in mid-flight!"
Slippy wove through the sky, dodging laser fire as he said, "Fox, unless
I'm reading this wrong, some fighters left with the battleship as well
and they've nearly reached the base!"
The vulpine cursed, being forced to decide what to do far faster than he would
of liked. Thinking quickly he said, "New plan team. Everyone go vertical
at full throttle until you hit 10,000 feet. Then turn and head directly towards
the base as fast as you can."
"Won't that allow the fighters here free access to shoot at whatever
they want around here?" asked Peppy as he spun away from an attacking
craft.
Smiling, Fox replied, "Not if we all make a quick attack as a team against
the battleship as we pass it. They'll be forced to recall those fighters
as defense incase we keep attacking."
"I like it," said Falco, actually sounding pleased for a change.
His pleasant mood soured quickly as more laser-fire struck his shields. "Then
again, any plan that involves us not staying around here until we get killed
is a good one in my book."
"I'm glad to hear you agree for once," commented Fox. "As
a team we fly up in 3, 2, 1…" Pulling straight up, he engaged his
boosters, sending his Arwing hurtling into the sky. The craft trailing him quickly
vanished, unable to keep up with his speed. Seconds later he said, "Good,
we're all here. We're heading to the battleship, formation Alpha
again. Let's see if we can do any kind of damage to that thing."
Back inside the base, things were going just as poorly. The lights dimmed and
the structure shook as another missile impacted against the base's shields.
"Report!" barked the General.
The bobcat gave his information without looking up from his screen. "Shields
are holding, sir, but for how long I don't know. We aren't having
much luck shooting anything down with our defense turrets either."
Pepper stumbled as the base shook again. "Blast! Where's the Starfox
team?"
Gary shook his head. "Sorry, General, the sensors have gone offline. The
techs are working as fast as they can to jury-rig something."
Turning towards communications, Pepper continued gathering information. "Can
you contact the team?"
Celine fiddled with her computer, giving up after a few seconds. "No,
sir. It seems that communications are being blocked."
Gary waved Pepper over to him. "General, if I may offer a suggestion."
The canine nodded, ready to take any ideas at this point, so he continued. "Tell
the gunnery crew to concentrate their fire on the missiles, not the craft firing
them. We might survive a bit longer until the Starfox team gets here."
"Agreed," responded Pepper. "I just hope Fox gets over here
soon. There won't be much left to defend shortly."
Fox sat back in his seat, peering out into the early morning darkness. "I
see the Vengeance ahead," he told his team a few seconds later, spotting
the craft's engine glow.
"I hope your tactic works, Fox," said Fara, growing worried as she
looked at the radar. "About half the fighters we abandoned have given
up following us and are headed towards Corneria City itself."
"We have a bigger problem," said Peppy with a sigh. "I can't
raise the base. They're still there, and are getting shot at, but I can't
contact them."
"Lovely," grumbled the vulpine. Things were not going well as far
as he was considered. His team had just run from one fight and was headed towards
a confrontation far worse. "Can anything else go wrong?"
"Don't say that," commented the hare with a laugh. "The
worst always happens afterward."
"Good point. Keep in formation and fire on the Vengeance as soon—"
With wide eyes Fox watched as the battleship began to turn around at a speed
far faster than the bulky size suggested. Cursing silently he changed what he
was going to say. "Break formation! Same plan as before – a single
pass then continue onwards to the base!"
The Arwings spun and rolled out of the way as the battleship fired upon them,
its plasma cannon firing and missing Falco by mere feet. "Damn!"
cursed the avian. "That shot came so close I think it singed a few of
my feathers!"
The team retaliated by firing upon the Vengeance, dodging return fire from its
defense turrets as they did so. Fara's voice came over the com system
shortly thereafter. "Fox, it looked like your plan has worked - the fighters
are now all coming back our way. The craft attacking the base are staying there
however."
"Good. Break away and continue to the base. Watch your tails for any return
fire from the battleship." He looked over his computer, trying to determine
the answer to his next question before he asked it, making sure he wasn't
attacked in the process. "Slippy, did we do any damage to that thing?"
"According to these readings we did some, but not much. The shields and
armor are tougher than they look on that thing."
"Okay. I've come up with a new plan then - it will take us a minute
and a half to get to the base, and once we get there, we need to take out those
attacking it as quick as possible."
"Impressive plan there, oh wondrous leader," joked Falco as he checked
over his craft's status, still upset at almost being shot down.
"Funny," said Fox. "The reasoning is simple though - that
battleship is getting way too close for comfort. We'd attack it now, but
we need the base in one piece."
"Don't forget the smaller fighters nearby and the ones on their
way back either," said Fara. "They aren't too much of a threat
to the base, but to us they are."
"Don't worry, I haven't. Since they've split up though,
it should make our lives a bit easier." Fox paused, glancing around at
the slowly brightening sky. "We're almost at the base. Let's
rock."
At the base however, things had deteriorated severely. Yet
another missile had penetrated their defenses, this time cutting power to the
control room. Within moments backup systems brought power back online, but the
fact that they had lost power was unnerving to those inside. Cursing silently,
Pepper once again asked for a report.
Gary looked over to the canine, a grim look on his face. "One of our two
generators just went offline in that last hit. Backups are running, but they
are not designed for this kind of strain for any length of time."
"What about our defensive systems?"
"Three of our turrets have been damaged and our shields are failing. We
can not take much more of this before we begin to take severe damage."
Pepper turned towards Celine, who just shook her head at the question the he
had on his lips. "Damn it!" he cursed once more, this time out loud.
"Where's the Starfox team?"
His answer never came as someone in the room suddenly yelled, "Incoming
missile!"
"Everyone, take cover!" barked Pepper, guessing that the shields
wouldn't take another hit. The staff quickly ducked behind their desks,
leaving nobody but the General standing after a few moments. Instead, he stood
and watched as the missile approached, knowing that his first true military
battle on Corneria was about to come to a very explosive end.
Moments before impact blaster fire streaked past the window, striking the missile
and causing it to detonate in a burst of flame. The others who were watching
stood up and cheered as an Arwing flew by their view. Pepper just shook his
head as he quietly said to nobody in particular, "James, your son is so
much like you. Always in the nick of time."
Sensors still offline, the command staff watched the resulting battle through
the windows, hoping that the Starfox team would prove victorious.
Blasters firing, the five Arwings charged after their dozen opponents, knowing
they had little time to eliminate them before the next wave fell upon the base.
The missile-laden craft weren't anywhere near as agile as the fighters
they previously encountered, so they fell rapidly to the firepower of the team.
"That's one more scumbag down!" yelled Falco as the final
craft exploded in midair. "Who's next?"
"The twenty or so that just came within range," said Peppy as he
swung his Arwing into position in preparation for the next battle.
"24 actually," commented Slippy, grinning as he corrected the hare.
Fox began firing on the new arrivals, not caring too much on exactly how many
he was shooting at. "Falco, you think that three Arwings could defend
the base and take these guys down?"
He already had a good guess of what Fox was going to ask next. "Eight
to one odds sound like my kind of fun for those that stay behind, especially
with the base backing us up. What's on your mind?"
"Simple. Falco, Peppy, Slippy, I want you to stay here and guard the base.
Falco, you're their leader, which means you help out anyone if they need
it."
The avian smiled, always ready to take the leadership position, at least for
a few minutes. "I'm on it, boss. What about you?"
"I'm going after the battleship. Fara, you're with me."
Fara swung her Arwing into position as she eagerly said, "Roger, Fox.
Let's take down that garbage scow!"
Fox laughed at her enthusiasm. "Anxious to get this over with, huh? Time
to rock." The two Arwings sped off into the slowly brightening morning,
the overcast sky still blocking the morning sun's attempts to shine light
into the skies around them.
Back inside the base, Pepper stood quietly, watching the battle rage around
him. His thoughts were interrupted by a light touch on the shoulder. Knowing
whom it was, he asked, "Yes, Gary?"
"Just wanted to give you a quick update on things. Communications are
up and running and the sensor systems are online again." Gary stood there,
waiting for a response. Finding none forthcoming, he asked quietly, "What's
on your mind, Pepper?"
The General turned around and sighed. "I'm just worried, that's
all. Last night I was concerned that we wouldn't live to see another sunrise.
Now it actually looks like we'll get through this."
"Our great leader is worried about the little things like a sunrise. How
touching." Gary laughed softly, Pepper joining in shortly thereafter.
"Well, sunrise will be here momentarily, as soon as the clouds burn off
anyway, so you have nothing to worry about."
"I guess you're right," replied Pepper. "As usual."
The cheetah laughed once again, please to see that his attempts to lighten the
mood were working. It had been a close call for everyone there for a few minutes
as far as he was concerned. "It's my job to be correct. Anyway,
I need to get back to my station. Enjoy your sightseeing."
Once again left alone, Pepper turned back to watch the Arwings continue their
battle around the base.
Fox and Fara quickly found themselves approaching the battleship once again.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"Let's send this jerk back from where it came," she replied
with a grin.
The two Arwings broke away from each other, their blasters firing in unison
towards the battleship. The Vengeance returned fire with its turrets, but was
unable to do any kind of damage as the attacking craft were simply too agile.
"This is too easy," said Fara eagerly.
"Don't let your guard down, Fara," said Fox, making sure her
attention was fully on the battle. "That main cannon of its would blow
us out of the sky. Those turrets are nothing to laugh at either."
Fara suddenly swerved off her latest run, avoiding a hail of laser fire headed
her way. "No, and neither are those ships that we left behind some time
ago."
Fox groaned as he noticed the incoming craft, their mission suddenly made far
more difficult. "Lovely. There are the other 30 or so we forgot about
from before. Regroup, Fara, as our combined fire on one side of the battleship
should be more effective."
"On my way." The two Arwings sped towards the west for a few seconds
before spinning around and headed east back to their target. Blaster fire once
again erupted from the Arwings as they approached, striking the front part of
the battleship as it turned towards them.
The sequence of events that happened in the next few seconds would be burned
into Fox's memory for the rest of his life.
The sun, which until now had been hidden behind the overcast sky, suddenly popped
out from behind the clouds directly in front of them, blinding both Arwing pilots
for only a moment as the cockpit window automatically darkened. In that time
frame the Vengeance fired its plasma cannon, the ball of energy quickly arcing
its way towards the Arwings.
Neither craft responded quickly enough to dodge out of the way. To Fox's
horror, Fara's Arwing was struck by the blast, the resulting explosion
engulfing the craft completely. "FARA!"
Over at the base just a few seconds prior, Pepper was enjoying
watching the battle from his vantage point. The Arwings were doing a wondrous
job of defending the base as far as he was concerned, and he was pleased that
it seemed that his first true military battle at this base would become a victory
snatched from the jaws of defeat.
His good mood was smashed instantly as Celine and Gary said simultaneously,
"We've lost an Arwing!"
Pepper swiveled around, a stunned look on his face. "Who?" he asked
quietly, dreading to hear the answer, fearing that the pilot in question would
be dead.
The two looked at each other, neither knowing who should give out the terrible
news. Gary finally turned towards the General and simply said, "Fara Phoenix."
Fara had been overjoyed by how well the Arwings performed in a combat situation,
and was pleased to be a part of the Starfox team as they fought back Andross'
attempts to conquer the Lylat system. She was worried at first that the General
alienating her from the rest of the team would affect her ability to merge effectively
with them, but in the end her concern was all for naught as they quickly accepted
her as one of their own.
In combat she had done rather well, racking up the kills as fast as Fox and
Falco had. She knew that she would be a great asset to the team after spending
only a few minutes with them in this battle. She couldn't wait to travel
with them to the rest of the planets in the system, repeating the same successes
they were having here.
All that came crashing down around her as the battleship fired upon her Arwing.
Unable to see the shot fired upon her in time to dodge out of the way, she desperately
swung her craft around letting the underside take the hit, knowing that it was
the most heavily armored part of the Arwing. As Fox screamed her name, Fara
only had one thing on her mind.
By the Creator, I'm too young to die…
Fox watched dreadfully as the explosion subsided, hoping that Fara would somehow
still be alive. A charred Arwing sputtered out of the fireball, looking nothing
like the elegant craft it was only moments before. "Fara, please respond,"
said the worried vulpine, memories of his past flashing through his mind.
Static filled his ears for a moment before resolving into Fara's voice,
much to his relief. "Wow, I must of blinked back there."
The vulpine shot down a fighter that got too close to the crippled Arwing, scanning
the skies for other threats. "Fara, this is no time for joking. Bail out!"
Fara ignored the noises emanating from her engine and looked around, trying
to find a path to safety. "There are too many of Andross' forces
around us for me to safely eject."
Fox's eyes rose in shock as a wing dislodged from the
side of the ruined Arwing and fell to the ground below. The craft compensated,
but he knew that it would not stay up for much longer. "And if you don't
eject, you'll be with that wing shortly. Don't worry, I have a plan."
He changed frequencies and contacted Falco privately. "Falco, I could
use some backup right about now."
The avian sounded worried, which was rather unusual for him. "We're
already on our way, but you're looking at a good minute for us to arrive."
"Noted. Fox out." He got back to Fara, hoping that his plan was
sound. "I'm ready whenever you are."
"Roger. I hope you brought your catcher's mitt." She reached
over and pulled the release handle on her doomed craft. With a loud pop her
cockpit separated and launched away from what was left of her Arwing. A few
seconds later it stopped climbing and rotated vertically, a large round panel
folding out behind it. Two thrusters quickly lit up on the bottom of the cockpit,
slowing its descent. "Fox, the solar panels up top are working, as are
the thrusters. What's your plan?"
"Keep as still as you can. I'll be right there."
Fara looked around at the closing craft nervously, trying to figure out what
he was doing. "Okay, but make it quick. The only defensive moves I can
make in this thing are straight down."
"I know." Fox eyed the distance and direction of the capsule and
lined himself up, hoping that his estimates were accurate as to how large the
gap was between his craft and his G-Diffuser system. "Fara, dumb question
- is the pole your solar panels are attached to designed to carry the weight
of the entire cockpit?"
She sounded confused. "I think so, but why…" She paused, realizing
what Fox was going to attempt. "You're kidding, right?"
"Nope. Hold on!" With expert precision he shot off towards the hovering
cockpit, knowing that he would have only one attempt at this. Traveling faster
than he would have liked due to the enemy closing in, he fired up the retros
mere yards from the capsule, dropping his shields as he did so. With a screech
of metal against metal the pole supporting the solar panels caught in the small
gap between the G-Diffuser wing and the right side of his Arwing. Turning the
shields back on, and boosting away from the incoming laser fire, Fox asked with
a concerned tone, "You okay in there Fara?"
"I…I think so," she stuttered, stunned at what had just happened.
"So, Fox, if your stunts are this impressive, what do you do for an encore?"
Fox laughed. "Funny." He noticed the three other Arwings had appeared
on his radar. "Glad to see you guys again. I need you to do something
for me."
"We're glad to see you as well, oh glorious leader," joked
Falco. While he seemed calm on the exterior, deep down he'd been worried
about the fate of their other pilot. He was relieved to see the escape pod attached
to the side of Fox's Arwing. "At least I think we are. What suicide
plan do you have us going on today?"
The entire team laughed, Fara included. "I'm sorry that you know
me too well guys. I just need you three to make a quick run at that battleship."
"Oh, is that all," commented Falco sarcastically as he watched the
hostile fighters loop around their target. "Not as crazy as your usual
plans for once. Just a single pass?"
While Fox was used to the avian's way of seeing things as dangerous as
combat, it was still unnerving to hear his machismo side kick in like that.
"Yes. I'm hoping that the fighters will follow you as well. When
that happens, break off and don't look back."
"Understood. Come on guys." The three Arwings formed up and blasted
off towards the Vengeance. As expected, the fighters harassed the approaching
craft, attempting to keep them away from the battleship. A single pass and another
near miss from the plasma cannon on Falco later he said, "Mission accomplished.
I'm just not sure what your point of this was other than getting my feathers
singed yet again."
"Watch." Fox fired up his boosters, coming from behind the target.
As he approached he said, "Now let's see the true power of the Arwing.
Time to finish this with a Nova Bomb!"
"Fox, no!" blurted out a shocked Fara. "You don't—"
The rest of her response was cut out as he pressed the fire button on the Nova
Bombs. Suddenly, he completely lost power to all systems, hearing nothing but
the sound of some kind of energy buildup from underneath him.
Fox quickly feared he made a horrible mistake as he watched not only the Vengeance
turn his way, but the fighters began to break off towards him as well. Unable
to communicate to his teammates, and unable to maneuver either, he only sat
and watched the battleship line itself up for a shot.
Emitting a high-pitched whine a Nova Bomb launched from underneath his Arwing,
streaking towards the Vengeance with a blinding flash. With a gut-wrenching
lurch Fox pulled his craft away from the battleship as it fired, power having
come back online only moments before. Escaping the plasma cannon shot by only
a few feet, he turned his craft around to watch the resulting explosion.
His aim had been as accurate as he had hoped, the bomb striking the Vengeance
almost head-on. The entire Starfox team watched in amazement as the battleship
simply vanished under a blinding white flash, only to be replaced by nothing
but wreckage moments after. The fighters that were nearby had been vaporized
in the blast as well, the small chunks of craft falling out of the sky the only
indication that there was anything there before. "Wow," said Fox
quietly, completely stunned at what he'd just seen.
Fara was the only one who wasn't floored, having seen the weapon's
awesome destructive power a few times before. "That, my friends, is the
Nova Bomb in action. Fox here was also kind enough to demonstrate the problem
with exactly what happens when you fire the thing off."
"Sorry," said Fox apologetically, dropping his head in shame. He
had endangered more than his own life with that stunt and he knew it.
"Not your fault at all as the techs said they had it fixed." She
didn't blame him in the slightest, as she knew he was doing what he felt
was right.
Falco did a quick search around the wreckage looking for survivors. "I
hope they get it working soon as that's one heck of an amazing weapon.
There's nothing left for me to shoot."
"Nor do I see any salvageable wreckage among that mess either,"
commented Slippy, looking among the debris.
"Anyone find my Arwing?" asked Fara hopefully.
"I did, Fara," replied Peppy sadly. "It looks like it exploded
upon hitting the ground. There isn't much left unfortunately."
"Damn," she cursed. This was her first real battle and she'd
already destroyed her irreplaceable ship. "Looks like you're down
a team member."
"No, Fara, I'm definitely keeping you on," said Fox, trying
to improve her mood. "You're way too good up in the skies for us
to lose. Besides, there must be something else you can do to keep yourself occupied
while we become the 'saviors of the Lylat system', as Pepper would
put it."
Despite all that had happened in the last few minutes, Fara had to laugh. "Thanks,
Fox. That means quite a bit coming from you."
"Anytime. Okay, team, unless anyone gives me a very good reason to stay
out here, I say it's time to go home." The other pilots couldn't
find any excuse to stay in the skies, so the four remaining Arwings boosted
off back to base.
