Xzero: I agree with you that the character development needs work and I'm going to try and work on that a little more, its just my character development was never the best. Hopefully in the subsequent chapters it will get better.
Terachi Kaishaku: You are by far my most faithful reviewer and I thank you profusely for that. Yes, Marth is quite the interesting character even if he isn't too bright. I've always been into Star Wars, and the military sort of stuff so its easy to put in terms where its needed.
Yes, yesterday was Thanksgiving, so happy belated thanksgiving to everyone!
Also the database chapter is updated to so and check it out. I also just posted a oneshot L/Z romance, so I'd appreciate if you went and read that too.
IFC Ground Command Post, outskirts of Hylia City
The IFC had gained little ground if any during its first assault. Now, it was maintaining a steady bombardment to soften the enemy positions and hopefully lower enemy morale. Round the clock bombing missions were being conducted by the Navy upon Hylian positions but the maintaining of the defense from the remaining Hylian fighters prevented too much damage.
Inside the command post itself the General in charge of the assault was conferring with his Naval liaison officer.
"I can get you five battleships and several cruisers to aid in your bombardment on the city, General." The liaison informed the General having just got of the radio with the commander of the naval force overhead.
"Excellent. I want them to focus their fire in this spot and hopefully those big guns can crack their defenses so my troops can break into the city." The General replied. He then turned to the officers manning the radio links to the various attacking divisions. "Have the troops prepare for another push in the same sector the warships will begin to bombard on my signal."
The radio network relayed the message to the various IFC encampments and laagers around the city, where engines began to roar to life as infantrymen grabbed their equipment and scrambled onto the decks of the vehicles.
Hylian Military Central Command Center, Hylia City
In the massive room that constituted the main center of the military posts, officers sat at their consoles carrying out their various tasks while in a room above the senator was conferring with several senior officers.
"How are the defenses holding up?" the senator asked of the general who was standing at the head of a table standing aside a pull-down map of the city's defenses with a pointer in hand.
"The outer perimeter has been bent in some places but is still there. However, its beginning to be stretched thin and we don't know how long it will hold. After the outer perimeter falls then we fall back into the city itself and fight them from house to house. Hopefully this will nullify their advantage in numbers as we know the city better and their vehicles will not be able to maneuver as well in the streets as so much rubble is there. The rubble will also provide our troops with cover and the close quarters fighting will prevent the IFC from using their artillery to its best effect because their troops will be nearby, and all it will do is create even more cover for our men." The general replied as he pointed out the things that he was talking about with the pointer.
"Very well then, I want us to continue evacuating any civilians and non-combatants as soon as possible so that too many of them don't get killed when the fighting spills into the streets. What kind of assets can we use to carry that out without compromising our defenses?"
This time the Admiral who was in charge of the aviation forces fielded the question.
"We don't have too much, but I think that I can gather a couple dozen transports and spare a squadron and a half of fighters to run interference."
"Good, begin that right away." The Senator responded. "What other news do we have?" he said anxious to know what else was going on.
"The IFC have pushed forwards even further and our forces are being forced to pull back. We lost the major city of Bonn, on the Western continent and that was a major blow because that was a major industrial center. Nayru is safe for the time being and we are intensifying shipbuilding there as with the shipyards at Kokiri's Refuge and Goron's Redoubt. Hopefully we will be able to rebuild our forces for a counterattack, but only time will tell." The general replied using data from various communiqués that had arrived recently.
Konigsburg Airfield, interior of Hylia City
The airfield was full of activity as orders for the evacuation of civilians came through. Scores of civilians and non-combatants were shepherded into the waiting transports to be carried to safety. Gradually the whine of the engines grew louder as the transports lifted off one by one to be escorted by fighters. Within moments the engines of the first transport and its two escorting fighters were but mere pinpricks in the sky. Meanwhile other Hylian fighters battled IFC fighters in order to distract.
Hylian Military Central Command Center
"Sir, contacts coming down through the atmosphere!" an excited lieutenant called out to the captain in charge of his section.
"What is it?" the captain said as he hurried over.
"Readings indicate five battleships and four cruisers dropping down into the atmosphere. Weapons are preparing to fire!" the Lieutenant exclaimed as he saw the developments unfolding on the screen.
"Get me a video feed now!"
In seconds one of the screens on the wall switched feeds and soon enough the captain could see the distinctive forms of IFC warships coming down into the atmosphere. He saw their turrets turning and then massive flashes of light appeared as the ships fired down into the city below them. The captain then hurried over to the General who was in charge at the moment and informed him of what was going on.
"Unmask all air-defense batteries now, and fire, we need to drive them back before they incur too much damage!" the General ordered.
Hylia City
Bright red beams of destructive energy from the IFC main guns rained down on the city's defenses, rocking the ground with their impact. Tens of thousands of smaller beams and bullets sought out any signs of moving life. One burst of 5 in. beam cannon fire hit an armored personnel carrier and enveloped it in a ball of flame. Another stream of machine gun slugs chased after a soldier who was not fortunate enough to find cover once the alert was sounded. In several clearings, thick metal doors retracted to reveal batteries of guns ranging from small to large caliber that were designed to defend the city from such a threat. In the center of the city a battery of 14 in. naval beam cannons trained themselves on the enemy ships. With a loud roar, they too spoke and streams of bright blue fire leapt forth. The IFC ships did not expect the Hylians to have such weapons in their city and were taken by surprise. Several of the IFC ships shuddered under the impact of the volley but then re-targeted their own weapons on the defense guns that had sprung from their hidden shelters. The duel between the bombarding warships and defense guns continued when a series of white flares flew into the sky along the eastern side of the city which signified the commencement of the second IFC attack.
Eastern Edge Hylia City
The eastern defense perimeter was being heavily punished by the bombardment of the warships even after the city's defense guns opened fire. Unfortunately for the defenders this was also the area that was the most thinly defended as the previous attack had fallen more heavily in other sectors and reinforcements had been drawn from the eastern side because it had been relatively quiet. IFC fighters streaked overhead in large numbers to provide close air-support and to engage the Hylian fighters the opportunity to support the defenders. Meanwhile the artillery barrage intensified even more which the many of the defenders had not thought possible. The mass barrage had the effect of demoralizing Hylian troops even before the attack had really begun. Simultaneously the IFC ground troops detailed for the attack began to rush forward.
This time instead of ending the barrage too early the IFC artillerymen sustained their firestorm until the last possible moment before halting, which resulted in the Hylian troops not being able to exit their shelters and man their positions before the fury of the IFC attack was upon them. Now, the fighting broke out in a very disorganized fashion and was roughly comparable to a bar fight between two drunks. Desperate knots of Hylian troops fought with every weapon they could lay their hands on: rifles, machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers, bayonets. The Hylian artillery batteries made a valiant effort to support their troops but were smothered with counter-battery fire which wrecked many guns and forced the crews to take shelter. IFC artillery fire also destroyed many of the air defense guns, and many of the 8 in. and 5 in. weapons that had previously been keeping the bombarding warships at arms length were silence. Many of the defensive positions were destroyed or in shambles. Large numbers of the buildings in the city itself were turned into rubble by bombs and shells. Here and there, cracks in the Hylian defense line appeared. Seeing this the IFC commanders brought in more reinforcements to widen the cracks and to break into the city itself. Desperately the Hylian defenders fought on, but it was evident that in time they would be overwhelmed.
Hylian Military Central Command Center
On one of the giant computerized maps on the wall several enlisted men were keeping track of the movements of the men in battle. Using arrows and lines they gave the officers in charge of the defense of the city a picture of what was going around. Now in the eastern side of the city the blue line that had represented the Hylians was fragmented and several red arrows indicating an IFC advance were slowly forging ahead.
"Colonel, get me a radio link to the command post on the eastern side of the city!" the general in charge ordered.
The Colonel in charge of communications relayed the order to one of his subordinates who typed for a few minutes to establish a link. When the subordinate was finished the Colonel signaled to the General that it was ok to talk through the headset that he had just handed him.
"What's the situations over there?" the General said. In the background the screams of the wounded could be heard, as well as the staccato bursts of machine gun fire, and the whistling and thunder of artillery shells.
"Its no good sir. They've broken through the line in several places and we cant plug those gaps because they're bringing in too many troops. We're still fighting but if we stay in place for much longer we'll be surrounded. I've already shot three of the bastards myself, cause they're so damn close." The officer in charge screamed over the phone in order to make himself heard over the din of battle.
The General told the officer in the field to hold as he took two minutes to confer with his fellow senior officers.
"We need to pull them back to the city itself. That entails us withdrawing all forces from the outer defense line because if we pull back in one sector and don't in the other sectors it leaves those troops in those areas vulnerable to a flanking attack. It will allow us to shorten our lines and to create a more substantial reserve." The general informed his colleagues who nodded in agreement.
After concluding the brief conference the general resumed the conversation with his commander in the field.
"Alright then, we need you to pull back to the city itself. I repeat pull back to the city."
"I'll try General." The commander promised.
The General signaled the Colonel to cut of the transmission and then issued a new set of orders. "Get on the net and tell all troops to withdraw to the city immediately. Have our artillery fire off a smoke screen to obscure our retreat, and to scatter land mines so that the IFC troops pursuing our men will be distracted."
Hylia City Defense Perimeter
All along the line the remaining Hylian artillery guns fired off shells that blanketed the battlefield in a thick white smoke. Behind the relative safety offered by this shroud the Hylian defenders grudgingly retreated. They left behind thousands of comrades who could not be buried due to the lack of time. Many of their vehicles had been destroyed and most of those tanks and armored personnel carriers that did remain were damaged. Desperate rear-guard actions were fought by those remainders of Hylian units that were still in good order so that those who were withdrawing would have some reprieve. The IFC troops swarmed into the now abandoned Hylian trenches and bunkers. In order to consolidate their gains and to wait until more information could be gathered the IFC commanders ordered their troops to dig in where they were and to establish advanced positions for the moving up of supplies and artillery.
IFC Ground Command Post Outside Hylia City
The general grinned in satisfaction as reports filtered in from his troops that the Hylian's outermost positions had been taken and the remaining defenders were now huddled in the city itself.
"Major!" the general called to his artillery commander who came up and saluted.
"Yes, sir?"
"Move up as many batteries as we can to the new forward position and begin bombarding the city and turn it into rubble." The general said, still savoring the sweet taste of victory. He then turned to several of the communications officers.
"Order the 308th, 995th, 523rd, and 125th Infantry divisions forward to prepare and storm the city. The 35th and 73rd Armored will follow on their heels."
The general was ordering up a large amount of troops in order to take the city as quickly as possible but he still had many in reserve.
Hylian Military Central Command Center
"Senator, our withdrawal is complete." A general said.
"Excellent, what about the civilians?" he said with great concern.
"Most of them are out of the city and the evacuation is continuing but not nearly as fast because we've lost so many transports and fighters. We can only make a few more flights out at most before the IFC completely renders it unfeasible." The admiral replied who was in charge of air operations.
"As we speak they are beginning to bombard the city in earnest. Our troops have orders to take cover in the rubble and fight from house to house. One of the outlying airfields has been overrun but we managed to evacuate all the aircraft from there and demolish all stores that couldn't be taken out. Only a few air defense guns in the middle of the city remain, and the IFC warships in the atmosphere are growing in both courage and numbers." Said the general who had conducted the previous building.
Now, another senior officer spoke up. "Senator, I recommend that you leave on the next flight out."
"I agree, you are the leader of the republic now and your death would deal the nation a great blow which would be more hard felt especially in times like this." A naval commodore added. The rest of the officers arrayed around the conference table voiced their agreement.
"So be it then." The Senator reluctantly agreed.
Freedom's Cry
Link was sitting at a table with several of his friends. He was still very angry over Marth's little stunt.
"I ought to take him and rip off his appendages one by one. That little worm almost got us all killed out there and now he comes back acting like a hero." Link fumed.
"Well we can do something about that. I can accidentally have a misfire with the missiles of the beam cannon, it can be arranged." Navi said which got a laugh out of everybody.
"Seriously though he really sickens me. He tried to make a pass at me the other day." Ruto said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "I mean he is attractive but he has the worst personality ever."
"What was really gross was the way Zelda was flirting and fawning over him." Mido chimed in.
At the mention of that Link flushed a little in anger which his friends noticed.
"A little jealous perhaps Link?" Saria teased.
"No." he said defensively. "Just the way he treats people is all. Zelda doesn't mean anything at all, I could care less for her."
"No need to get all flustered Link, I mean she is very attractive." Navi added.
"I am not attracted to her!" Link yelled out in frustration, and then turned a deep red in embarrassment when he saw that several people were staring at him. "I hate you guys." He muttered. In return his friends just grinned. After a few more minutes of banter the group of friends disbanded either to return to their duty stations or to return to their rooms for some much needed rest.
Space under IFC control outside L-32
IFC ships were mustering once more for what they anticipated would be the last assault on the Hylian holdout. From their intelligence reports and observations the Hylians had suffered large casualties and damage. Many of their ships were destroyed or irreparable while the rest sported some degree of damage or other. In contrast the wave of IFC ships that was forming up for the next attack was fresh and eager for combat. The bright firefly engine glows of the fighters streaked past in between the gaps amidst the capital ships. Then engines of the large warships lit off as they moved forward to commence the assault.
L-32 Command Post
"Inbound contacts all vectors!" a young sensors officer shouted out to the Commandant.
"Get the ships moving and scramble the fighters. Perimeter battlestations to full readiness!" he shouted to his aides as he braced himself mentally for the test ahead. Inside the colony that served as the central command center air-tight doors slammed shut as alarm klaxons wailed. Weary fighter pilots sprinted to their aircraft and roared out at full speed from their respective hangar bays.
Freedom's Cry Bridge
Saria was monitoring the communications channel when the alert message came through.
"Captain, message from the Commandant. Incoming major IFC attack. We're to move out as well as the rest of our division at all available speed to meet the attack." Saria said swiveling her chair to face Nabooru so that she could deliver the message.
Nabooru began issuing orders very rapidly while the bridge crew hurried about to complete their assigned tasks, "Very well, order all ships of our division to form up with us. Ensign Mido get us out of dock and at flank speed. Impa have all weapons standing by. Launch the fighters and have them move into a screening position on our topside bow."
Outside the viewport the Dreamer's Sky, Stalwart, and Badanov had released their docking collars and were moving out. The group's fighter contingent having been reinforce to fourteen with four of them flying off the Freedom's Sky arrayed themselves in a loose screen in front of the Hylian warships. Not much time had elapsed since the last enemy attack and one could see that the ships were wanting for repairs.
"Ensign Mido, bring us about into position near that Verangian class battlestation over there." Nabooru said using her finger to indicate where she wanted the ship to go. Mido acknowledged and worked the throttle levers and his keyboard to bring the ship around on that heading with the other ships following behind.
Outside Space
Link felt the all too familiar jolt of his fighter being shot out of the hangar bay by the catapult and brought his fighter to the forefront of the small Hylian division. This time he was paired off with another of the Cry's pilots while Marth flew along with the ship's fourth pilot. Since battle had yet to be joined Link went over his fighter's systems and weapons payload. He had not been happy to discover that he would mount two rocket pods, and two air to air missiles instead of the usual four in this situation because a strict rationing system had been instituted to make the missile supply last as long as possible.
"Damn it Navi. I feel naked going out there with only two air to air missiles." Link griped.
"I know what you mean, but be thankful we still have full loads of ammo for the machine guns and energy for the beam cannon." Navi replied.
The Hylian ships reached the battlestation before the IFC ships could and arrayed themselves into a protective formation to provide the battlestation with support. In order to maximize their available firepower the Hylian ships were facing perpendicular to the advancing Hylian ships which would allow both their fore and aft main guns to bear on the enemy while he could only utilize his forward turrets.
Freedom's Cry
"Ma'am lots of contacts ahead coming at us at slow speed. Twelve Restitution class battleships, ten Flanker class heavy cruisers, and fourteen Cossack frigates in our sector alone and more fighters than I can count." Zelda said as she looked at her screen with part awe and fear.
Nabooru acknowledged Zelda's statements with a silent nod and stared out the viewport where she could see the engine glows of the larger IFC warships. "Goddesses save us." She whispered as the IFC ships plodded forwards
In the next few minutes Hylian reinforcements consisting of four more Mediators, five Saviors, and their accompanying fighters arrived to bolster the defenders but still left them woefully outgunned.
"Sensors indicate a wave of fighters coming in first at high speed ma'am." Zelda said as new movement was indicated on the screens in front of her.
"Ruto, order all fighters to engage." Nabooru ordered reflexively. Bright flashes of light appeared as the Hylian interceptors activated their afterburners to engage the enemy.
Outside Space
The two waves of fighters boring in at each other resembled a game of chicken, but in this game the stakes were far higher. The Hylian fighters with their longer range missiles fired first, a trail of fire and smoke rippling along the line as the missiles leapt off the launch rails and hurled themselves at the inbound IF-3s. Explosions flashed up and down the line as the missiles impacted but the ranks of IFC fighters hardly wavered as they closed and launched their own volley which took a frightful toll on the already outnumbered Hylians. Link was forced into an insane series of acrobatics to lose two missiles that were targeted on him. When he was able to turn his attention back to the fight at hand he saw that it had dissolved into a giant furball.
"We're out of missiles Link!" Navi cried over the cockpit frequency.
"Use the rocket pods then." He snapped back as he fired a stream of tracers at an IF-3 who was about to launch a missile at a HF-29.
"They're designed for use against capital ships."
"Well at this rate we'll never get close enough to their battleships to use them anyways. Just use them!" he shouted back as a bright orange stream of incendiary bullets streaked by only inches from the cockpit.
"Link, two of them behind us!" Navi cried out in an urgent voice.
In the mean time the IFC capital ships has closed into firing range and bright blasts of light streaked back and forth. The guns on the Hylian battlestation flashed incessantly while its accompanying warships added their destructive power. The IFC warships were absorbing tremendous amounts of damage. However the sheer weight of the IFC force kept the pressure up against the Hylians. IF-3s that had leaked through the Hylian fighter screen made runs on the battlestation, destroying weapons emplacements, rangefinders, and sensors domes. IFC cruisers closed with the smaller Hylian warships and fired point blank broadsides as the two lines became intermingled.
Link who was warned by Navi's outburst twisted the fighter into a roll as a stream of bullets perforated the right tail fin.
"Shit, that was too close." Navi exclaimed.
"Alright I'll cut power and make a loop that'll hopefully put us behind em where you can blast em to bits with the beam cannon."
Link brought the throttle back and hauled back on the stick sending the HF-29 into a tight vertical loop and when he came back one of the IF-3s was right in the crosshairs and detonated in a sloppy ball of flame and debris as 40 mm beam cannon fire punctured a fuel tank. Unfortunately for Link the second IF-3 had not bought the ruse.
"I could use a little help here someone." Link called out over the general frequency. The offending fighter stuck tight sending streams of bullets at Link every so often. However the IFC pilot became too focused on his prey and never saw the missile that went straight up his engine nozzle.
"Thanks." Link said thanking the pilot who had come to his aid. He took another look at the small sensors screen mounted in the cockpit and saw that a flight of fighters was making a straight run at the Cry's bridge.
Nearer to the battlestation the opposing capital ships were blasting away at each other with wild abandon. The wreckage of two Mediators littered the surrounding space. The remaining Hylian ships including the Cry were huddled into a last ditch bastion formation around the battlestation with the array of remaining IFC ships surrounding them and pouring fire from their guns.
Freedom's Cry
"We've been hit again Captain. Sealing off the bulkheads 45, and 2 now." Impa informed Nabooru as the ship rocked under the impact of several eight inch salvoes.
"Return fire on those two cruisers there." Nabooru ordered pointing at the two IFC ships who had launched the last attack.
The two remaining main gun turrets and several secondary weapons swung to bear and fired with spectacular results, snapping the back of one of the cruisers and setting the engines on fire in the other one.
"Captain, incoming IF-3s heading straight for the bridge!" Zelda shouted.
Nabooru snapped her head around and saw that four IF-3s were coming seemingly right at the spot where she stood on the bridge.
"All topside secondary batteries concentrate on them now!" Impa ordered her gunnery chiefs. The remaining five and three in. beam cannons and machine guns threw up a withering fire which managed to pluck one of the marauders from the sky but they still kept coming.
Outside Link and another HF-29 that he had picked up were racing back to the Cry in order to stave off the enemy run.
"Navi, open fire with the beam cannon!" Link desperately ordered.
"We're too far away Link." She replied.
"We have to distract them somehow, just do it!"
Navi hit the triggers and sent a burst of blue at the IF-3s in the distance which were easily dodged. Link and his erstwhile wingman hit the toggle for their afterburners in a last ditch effort to stop the IF-3s.
On the bridge all eyes were riveted on the looming shapes of the IF-3s. Nabooru saw several dots drop from the wings of the IFC fighters and then sparks of light appear behind them as engines ignited propelling the missiles forward.
"All hands brace for impact!" Impa shouted. Seconds later the missiles hit the viewport and the part of the bridge structure just below and detonated. Klaxons wailed as the atmosphere from the bridge began venting. The deck was littered with dead and wounded while those who were still alive struggled to get out. Impa led most of the survivors off the bridge and Nabooru and Mido were the last to leave when they saw a movement of green. It was Saria who was injured but still very much alive, trapped under a piece of wreckage. The two hurried back to try and save their comrade.
"Captain we need to seal off the bridge!" Impa shouted.
"Give me twenty seconds, if we're not back by then, then seal the doors" she ordered back.
Mido and Nabooru each took a side of the debris and managed to heave it off. They could see that Saria was heavily injured and needed immediate medical attention. Each of them taking an arm, they managed to drag Saria out of the bridge and into the relative safety of the corridor just as the bridge doors clanged shut preventing any more atmosphere from venting into space.
"Ensign Mido, take Ensign Saria to the Infirmary. Impa get all of those who aren't wounded down to the auxiliary bridge now!" Nabooru shouted as she brushed off some buts of metal from her now blood stained uniform.
Link saw the IFC missiles drop from the wings of the IF-3s and streak towards the bridge of the Cry and watched helplessly as they detonated. Anger and rage boiled up inside him as images of his friends who were on the bridge flashed through his mind. With a loud scream he brought his fighter around to cut off the IF-3s who were now intent on escaping and blew them up one by one with his machine guns.
L-32 Command Post
The Commandant was monitoring the progress of the battle inside the depths of the colony. Various screens showed a seemingly unstoppable red tide pushing against the Hylian line. Already several sectors had broken and IFC ships were beginning to move into the interior of the base. Although in some sectors such as the one that the Freedom's Cry occupied the Hylians were barely holding on the commandant realized it would be useless to continue to try and protect this base any longer. The Commandant turned to his communications officer to issue his final orders.
"Order all ships to attempt to break out and make way for Hyrule or any other base." He said resignedly.
Outside Space
Several sectors of the defense had been completely overrun and the IFC was switching up its forces to take advantages of these holes. In the sectors where the Cry was the IFC pressure relented as many of the ships withdrew to deploy into other sectors in order to exploit the gap. The battlestation was now a complete loss with entire sections twisted beyond recognition and evidence of flame visible throughout the structure.
Freedom's Cry
Nabooru, Impa, and several others were now manning the auxiliary bridge.
"Many of the ships attacking us are withdrawing ma'am and making headway for other areas." Zelda said still shaken by what had taken place earlier.
Another officer who had temporarily replaced Saria relayed the Commandant's order to break out to the Captain.
"Very well then, recall all fighters and signal all remaining ships in our area to withdraw along with us." Nabooru told her temporary communications officer. "Impa keep our weapons firing to discourage pursuit.
"Ensign Zelda what have they left behind?"
"Only one battleship and four cruisers ma'am." She replied after consulting her displays once more.
"Get us out of here at maximum possible speed." She said before nearly collapsing into the captain's chair from exhaustion.
The remaining Hylian taskforce consisting of the Cry four Mediators, and three Saviors poured power into their engines and surged forward, remaining weapons blasting away at the IFC forces that were left behind.
Link saw the swarm of IF-3s abruptly end their dogfights to head elsewhere oblivious to the remaining HF-29s that were taking farewell shots. His anger was slowly being replaced by a sense of guilt. He barely heard the order to return to the ship and Navi had to nearly yell at him to get his attention. Link landed the fighter easily and clambered out, and nearly broke into a sprint towards the infirmary with Navi hot on his heels. He didn't even pay attention when Marth made a couple of stupid remarks as he ran by. Through the corridors he ran nearly knocking over several crewmen until he reached the doors of the infirmary. Inside he saw the beds full of wounded. There was one person in particular who caught his eye. It was Saria, her diminutive frame lying prone on the bed with several pieces of medical equipment hooked up to her. As Link looked at her there on the bed laying unconscious he felt a great deal of guilt and anguish wash over him. Navi came up to him and put an arm around his shoulders and talked to him in an effort to comfort him.
"Link you need to go get some rest. There's nothing you can do here, the doctors will try the best they can to make her better but all we can do is wait." She said leading him away back outside and towards the mess hall. Link sat brooding in the mess hall the entire time with a cup of untouched coffee in his hand.
Outside Space
The Cry and its accompanying ships were the most lucky of the defenders. They escaped the easiest due to the redeployment of forces in their sectors. Other ships weren't so lucky. In one sector a group tried to break out but found it self surrounded by over eighteen battleships and were blasted into oblivion. The colony itself fought on, the defenders inside with no hope of escaping and manned their stations till the last, the guns still firing even as the power cores inside the colony began to overload.
Auxiliary Bridge Freedom's Cry
"Impa can we make repairs to the main bridge?" Nabooru enquired as she sat in her chair sipping a cup of water that had been brought to her.
"Yes, ma'am but it will take a while." Impa replied.
"Very well, start on that right away. Helm set course for Hyrule at all possible speed. I'll be in my quarters if you need me." Nabooru said as she lifted herself from her chair and headed out.
Freedom's Cry
Link was in his room trying to get some sleep however as soon as he fell asleep nightmares would plague him. He was standing next to his friends laughing one minute and then suddenly they were mangled. Mido was missing his head, Navi didn't have legs or arms. Then in ghostly voices Link heard, "It's all your fault Link. How could you do this to us. You should have acted faster and flown better. Its your fault that we died Link, we would be here if it wasn't for you."
Then it faded to black and Link thought the nightmare was over. However from the blackness two ethereal figures came into focus. When Link looked at them he saw that it was his mother and his father. They opened their mouths to speak. "You have disappointed us Link. It was your actions that led to their deaths. It was you who led us to ours. This is all your fault." Link turned and ran but he was surrounded by ghostly figures who assaulted his ears with accusations that he couldn't block out. Several minutes later he woke up in a cold sweat. He lay in his narrow bed for several moments before finally deciding that he couldn't sleep. Instead he decided to head to one of the observation rooms to look out at the stars and hopefully to gain some peace.
After several minutes of walking he strode into the forward observation room in the bow. He was the only one there, so he took a seat close the viewport and sat there silently immersed in thoughts. In fact he was so engrossed that he didn't hear the whoosh of the door opening behind him and the footfalls of someone else.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know there was anyone here. Do you mind if I sit down also?" Link heard a melodic feminine voice coming from behind him
Authors Notes: Well that's the end of this chapter. Any guesses on who this mysterious intruder is, well find out next chapter. This has been the longest chapter I've written and I'd really like your feedback on this one.
Next Time on Legend of Zelda Freedom's Cry
The Freedom's Cry and its accompanying ships have managed to break out from the now occupied base of L-32 but it does not mean they are home free yet. Meanwhile in the capitol city fierce fighting breaks out while Ganondorf luxuriates in the atmosphere of victory.