Hailfire Sano: I'm glad that you like it so far. Link and Navi will be ok don't worry about that. I read your story and dropped a review. I hope you update your story soon too.
Terachi Kaishaku: Yes, you get a shiny ribbon!! (hands shiny blue ribbon over). I needed some sort of holiday so that was the first one that came to mind I know it's not very good. Lol, I know Zelda is coming across as very mean and conceited but it will make the romance much better I think later on. I always thought of Navi as the more realistic and practical of the two and also the one who's a bit wittier. I haven't finished reading your story, but I'll get to it soon and leave a review.
Wolfwood the Priest: There are many great Zelda stories out there that do use storylines from other things, i.e books, movies, and comics. Let me emphasize that this will not be only a rewritten version of the things I mentioned in the intro. There will be original elements. Character development is always something that I've needed to work on, lol. Thanks a lot for your review and I hope you decide to continue reading.
And then a thank you to all my readers and reviewers in general.
IFC Asteroid Colony 56C, capital of the Independent Federation of Colonies
"Lord Ganondorf, Admiral Twinrova has an urgent message for you sir."
"Well what is it?"
"She says that she has just received word that a Hylian photo reconnaissance aircraft had over flown one of our encampments and ordered it shot down. She says that she might be able to deceive the Hylians longer with the help of Ambassador Baldemar but recommends that we consider moving up the schedule."
The supreme commander was not happy in the least about having his carefully laid plans disrupted like this. While it was most likely a trivial matter there was always the potential that the Hylians would be able to infer the true intentions of the IFC before the blow actually landed.
"Tell her to try and hold the Hylians off through diplomatic means as long as possible and instruct Ambassador Baldemar to do the same. Then issue orders to the fleet to prepare to move sooner than expected."
The aide saluted and quickly strode out not wanting to be left alone to face the wrath of his commander in chief.
Mess Hall Freedom's Cry
Nabooru sat at a table at the head of the mess hall enjoying her midday meal. It was good to just sort of relax once in a while and to sort of relax a bit. Her good mood was interrupted when an officer strode over to her and whispered in her ear,
"Your presence is required immediately on the bridge ma'am."
Nabooru quickly used her napkin to wipe her mouth strode quickly to the bridge.
"What is it?" she inquired curtly as she stepped onto the bridge, where Impa who was on duty at the time came over to her.
"We have a situation ma'am. A few minutes ago we lost communications with our photo reconnaissance bird."
"What was it, an accident or something?" her gut beginning to twist with a sense of dread
"No, ensign Ruto received a message from Navi that they were being engaged by surface to air missiles, but when she inquired who was attacking them there was no response."
Nabooru swore loudly to herself hoping that this was some terrible joke. She strode over to the sensors console where Zelda was the current watch officer for that station.
"Ensign Zelda, get me a map of their planned flight route."
Nabooru watched as the ensigns' slender fingers flew over the keyboard issuing commands until on the screen in front a map appeared. The map focused on the area in which Link and Navi were supposed to recon and a green line indicated the pre-planned flight path.
"Now get me the actual course route that they flew."
With a few more key commands a blue line began to trace on the screen. It followed that of the green but past the second checkpoint it diverged and then deteriorated into a series of erratic line segments that most likely denoted evasive action."
"Impa, what does the IFC say about this?"
"They allege that rebels are responsible for this shootdown and that they are mobilizing search teams now to help us find our downed pilots."
"Ensign Saria send a message to Central Command and tell them what is going on, then get me a direct line to Admiral Twinrova from my office, I want to talk to her personally."
"Do you think that they're dead ma'am? Impa inquired.
"No, my gut tells me that they're alive somewhere, but everything is not as it seems. I want us to draft our own search and rescue plan immediately. Then we'll contact command to cut us clearance to run the extraction when we do find them."
Impa nodded and began issuing orders while the captain strode out of the bridge and into her adjoining office. As soon as she stepped inside she felt the guilt wash over her for being petty the previous day and sticking her friends in this situation.
On the bridge sensors station another member of the crew was lost in thought. Zelda hadn't heard that one of the ship's fighters had been shot down until now. If she remembered correctly one of the pilots who was missing was the one she had yelled out earlier in the mess hall. One part of her told her to be indifferent as soldiers were just expendable things who were below her station and meant to die. But then, why did she feel guilt and the slightest hint anguish upon hearing the news of the missing aircraft.
Captain's Office Freedom's Cry
Nabooru composed herself before she opened up the communications link to talk to the IFC admiral.
"Hello Admiral."
"Captain, you wish to speak of your missing aircraft no doubt."
"Yes, I was wondering if you had any information since you have troops on the ground."
"I do have some yes; we have confirmed that the individuals who have shot down your aircraft are rebels. Some of my other troops who were near the area reported that they saw parachutes so it is likely that your people are alive. I've already ordered teams of my soldiers to help find the pilots. However we must move swiftly before the rebels catch them or else their fate will not be in safe hands. At the same time we have stepped up our activities against the rebels in order to eliminate them once and for all which hopefully might divert their attention from your pilots."
"Thank you admiral, your help is much appreciated."
"My pleasure."
Clearing near a forested area on colony world Raytheon 2
Link and Navi were still strapped into their ejection seats with their parachutes billowing above them. A few hundred feet from the ground the seats automatically fell away and hit the ground. The two hit the ground and un-strapped their parachutes as quickly as they could. As Link stooped down to gather his parachute he saw Navi running over to him as fast as she could.
"Hurry Link, we have to go I saw a convoy of trucks on the road heading our way."
"Shit, grab your parachute and then run for the seats; we have to get those data discs out."
"Damn it Link we don't have the time. They'll be all over us."
"We're the only ones who have the knowledge of what's really going on here Nav. We need to bring that with us to show the rest of the world the truth."
"Fine, but we have to make it quick."
The two quickly bundled their parachutes and ran over to their ejection seats where they pried off the panels that covered the storage area for the discs and each one yanked out a disc.
"All right lets head for the woods, bury these things, and then try and raise the ship on the radio."
Suddenly they heard the whistle of bullets screaming through the air near them. Several trucks had pulled over and soldiers in regular IFC uniforms were in firing stances and firing their assault rifles at the two. The two ran as fast as their legs could carry them into the forest. In the distance they could hear the shouts of the soldiers as they too gave chase.
Senator Harkinian's Office
The senator was working on some papers in his officer in a better mood than he had been earlier. He was about to leave the office when an officer came in bearing a message.
"What is it soldier?"
"Urgent message sir, Central Command has received word that one our reconnaissance flights has been shot down over Raytheon 2. The report says that it is most likely that the pilot and navigator survived the shootdown. The IFC has sent their own message also. They allege the shootdown to be an action of the rebels and they state that they are mobilizing their troops to help rescue our downed pilots. The captain of our ship that we have there is requesting permission to launch an extraction mission if the pilots are pinpointed."
The senator stood silently for a while thinking. He did not trust the IFC one bit and there was something beneath the surface that he just couldn't put his hands on. No doubt the ambassador would deliver some sort of conciliatory speech while condemning these rebels. He would much rather have Hyrule's own forces conduct the extraction if it came to that because he did not trust the motives of the IFC. Unfortunately the final decision would have to be made by the Senate.
"Damn it the press will be all over this in a few hours, we'll have to act fast. Authorize our captain to prepare a mission plan but nothing else. I want Intelligence to look into this matter and I want them to see if it really was the rebels who shot down our bird."
The officer brought his hand up in salute and strode out of the room.
I.F.C.N Hammerhead Flagship Admiral Twinrova
Twinrova stood on the bridge monitoring the progress of the hunt for the Hylian pilots. Things were under control, barely. The Hylians had accepted what she had told them at face value and appeared to her to have fully bought the story that the rebels had shot down the pilot.
"Ma'am team four reports that they have just seen two Hylian Naval Personnel run into a forested area near the city of Exocron."
"Very well, order them to close in, make sure that they know their orders are to shoot to kill."
Hopefully this debacle would soon be behind them.
Forested Area near the city of Exocron on colony world Raytheon 2
Link and Navi stood panting having run for twenty minutes. They had lost their pursuers because of sheer size of the forest.
"Lets take a break here, I'll try and contact the ship and let them know we're alive." Link said.
"Alright, I'll keep watch."
The two didn't have much gear with them: a Mk. 12 standard issue sidearm pistol apiece with two extra clips, a small canteen of water, two signal flares, a couple of radios, and two digital photo storage discs.
Link flipped up the antenna of the radio and dialed in the proper frequency.
"Star One, this is Savior Zero One, come in."
Bridge communications station Ensign Saria on duty
Saria sat at her chair her usual bubbly persona gone. She had heard of Link and Navi, two of her closest friends being shot down and while she heard there was a chance that they were alive she harbored little hope until suddenly her console lit up indicating an incoming radio message. When she looked at the screen she couldn't believe what she saw, Link's radio callsign. She turned around and called the captain over and began speaking into her headset.
"Savior Zero One, this is Star One. What is your situation and location?"
"We are down on the ground in a forested area right now map says we're near the city of Exocron. We are also on the run from IFC soldiers who have already opened fire on us."
Nabooru grabbed an extra headset and put it on.
"Zero One, repeat your last."
"I say again we have taken fire from IFC troops, not rebels but regular government troops."
"Copy that, stand by for instructions."
Saria put the transmission on standby why Nabooru stood conferring with Impa.
"We have to go and get them out of there now!" the captain exclaimed.
"No captain, such an action would not be prudent. We have not been given permission by command to launch such a mission and so we cannot. To launch a mission now would most likely result in failure because the precedents for its launch are based more on your emotions rather than your thinking captain."
Nabooru hung her head, she knew that Impa was right and launching a rescue mission now could lead to potential disaster.
"I suggest that we have them get to the city and hide out there for the time being. Hopefully they can blend in there and then when we get the go ahead from command then we can launch an extraction."
"What about the IFC?"
"We'll have to act normal until that time. To do anything otherwise would alert them that we know what's really going on. Sending a message to command and telling them what we know is also now a good idea since the IFC is monitoring all transmissions in and out of the planet on the premises that they hope to catch so called rebel transmissions."
"All right make it so. Impa I want our combat readiness as high as it can be without alerting the IFC. We'll maintain our current orbit and run normal flight ops so they won't have anything to suspect. I want the 32nd Marine Unit on standby and make sure that our dropships are fully functional."
Nabooru then nodded for Saria to resume the radio transmission.
"Zero One, this is Star One Command. We need you to proceed to the city you mentioned before; you will then blend in and lay low. Maintain radio silence and contact us only if you need to. Once the time is right we'll come and bring you home."
Forested Area near the city of Exocron on colony world Raytheon 2
Link heard the last transmission and didn't like it one bit. Staying longer on the surface of the planet would increase their exposure to danger. However, the military oriented part of is brain told him that it made sense because Central Command would want to know exactly what was going on before deciding to launch a rescue mission.
"Copy that Star One Command. Zero One out."
"What did they say Link?"
"We supposed to head into the city and blend in there until they tell us the time is right for them to get us out of here."
"Alright then, here's the city they're talking about. It's a fairly large city by the name of Exocron."
Exocron...Link thought to himself, why did that name feel familiar. That's it, he realized, Exocron was the city where his parents had moved to upon their leaving Hyrule.
"Ok, Nav that's the same place my parents live. We can try and get there before nightfall and we can get some food, water, shelter and rest there until the time comes."
"Sounds like a plan. I've always wanted to meet your parents Link, not in this context of course, but all the same."
Link wondered how Navi could remain so optimistic even during the worst of times.
Hylian Central News Broadcast
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. As you can see I'm still here at the Farore lunar base of the Hylian Navy. About an hour ago we received some sobering news. The Hylian Naval Central Command has released and confirmed report that it has lost an HF-29 fighter on a reconnaissance mission over the border colony world of Raytheon 2. Central Command says that the plane was shot down by a surface to air missile but won't say who committed the act. The IFC military and ambassador have issued statements condemning the rebels for perpetuating this shootdown. They saw that they are stepping up their anti-rebel activity on Raytheon 2 as well as organizing search parties to find these pilots. Initial reports show that the pilot and his navigator are alive but they have not been seen so far and is possible that they could have been captured by the rebels. The names of the pilot and navigator have not been released pending the notification of their next of kin. Thank you, this is Joseph Cristoph for the Hylian Central News Reporting."
IFC Asteroid Colony 56C, capital of the Independent Federation of Colonies
"I am most disappointed with you Admiral."
"I apologize for my failures my lord."
"Luckily admiral I don't think this should affect our plan too much only that we must move up the schedule. This is what we shall do, once our troops find those Hylian pilots they will shoot them and we will broadcast a message saying that we have found them shot by rebels. Then when the Hylians are least suspecting it we strike at their ships and launch our attack. Are all of our forces in position?"
"Yes my lord, all is as you ordered."
"Good, clean up this mess you have caused and then we can get on with bigger things."
I.F.C.N Hammerhead Flagship Admiral Twinrova
The Admiral stood at the communications console thinking to herself after the conversation had finished.
"Commander!" the admiral shouted to the man who was in charge of the search mission.
"Yes Admiral?"
"Where are those damn pilots!"
"We're not sure ma'am, they aren't in the forest any longer, they could have moved on or they could be hiding in the city."
"I doubt that they will go anywhere else that would mean they would have to cross a lot of open ground which would make our job easier. Prepare your men to move into the city. We'll plant explosives in the city outskirts detonate them and say they were rebels and that we are sending in our troops to locate the rebels who we believe are responsible. I want that city sealed off though commander, nothing goes in or out without my permission. Is that clear?"
"Crystal clear ma'am."
Exocron City, Raytheon 2
It was the dark of night and most people were out of the streets. However there were two shadowy figures who were stealthily prowling the streets ever alert as if they expected some unseen foe to jump on them at any minute.
"Its this way Nav. Just a couple steps more."
"Good, my legs feel like they're about to fall off."
The two crept silently now along a street that was lined with small tidy residential homes. When they reached a certain one they crept up to the front door and Link knocked on it silently and waited for it to open. It took a few seconds but soon enough a tall Hylian male with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes opened the door.
"Who the hell visits a home at this hour of the day?"
"Hey, dad."
"Is that you Link!? This is an unexpected surprise." The man exclaimed.
"Yeah dad, not so loud and let us in please."
"Sure son."
Link stepped into the house followed by Navi.
"Link what are you doing here?"
"Me and my navigator here, her name's Navi were shot down earlier when we were flying over the planet."
"You must be the two that the news is talking about then. Why are you here then, it says on the news that IFC soldiers are looking for you to bring you back to your ship."
"It's a lie dad, they're not out to help us they're out to kill us." Link then went on to explain what he and Navi had seen and taken pictures of earlier.
Authors Notes: Whew that took a long time. Zelda comes across as not such a bad person now yay! I was thinking of possible getting someone to help me co-write this thing because it's going to be a long story. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the rest. I will add a technical database at the end detailing ship stats and the like. I will also probably post and updated Dramatis Personae as there will be new characters soon.
And here's a little preview of the next chapter
Next time on Legend of Zelda Freedom's Cry:
Link and Navi rest and recuperate at Link's family's home but their respite will not last for long. IFC soldiers close in on the town while on the ship Nabooru anxiously awaits approval to launch a rescue mission. Meanwhile the majority of the Senate on Hyrule is paralyzed because of the rapidity of recent events while in the background Ganondorf's plan unfolds even further.