Disclaimer: See the Prologue

Chapter 8 – Preparations

The Arwings flew back towards the Great Fox, their pilots' minds stirring with thoughts. Thoughts mostly of their guest: Jacques Mortensen the Space Marine.

Fox still couldn't believe that a single Imperium human was capable of such strength and power. Jacques had taken down a heavily armed Venomian death squad only armed with his power armour and a scalpel.

He could only imagine what a whole army…a whole squad of Space Marines could do.

Hey Fox? Falco said over the com channels.

"Yeah?" Fox replied, bitter that his thoughts were once again interrupted.

Wonder what condition that prisoner is in? Falco wondered aloud, He did get nailed in the face.

Before having his tail almost yanked off, Slippy added, who shuddered in his Arwing at that thought, It was like an elastic band to Jacques.

You know, Peppy joined in the conversation over the coms, I'd love to see Jacques in an actual battle.

Jacques stood over Peppy in the bridge.

"You might receive the chance," Jacques remarked proudly, "To witness the might of the Emperor upon his foes."

'Emperor?' Peppy thought, noting how Jacques would mention him every so often, 'He surely is devoted to this monarch. Whoever he is.'

The Arwings flew into the hangar, where they landed on the steel ground. The pilots' feet touched down on the floor one at a time, Fox being the last.

Jacques was waiting for them.

"Jacques?" Fox said, once again surprised to see him, "Waiting for us?"

The human nodded, "The prisoner is awake and awaiting interrogation."

"He is actually alive, right?" Falco asked.

Ignoring the bird's remark but keeping it in mind, Jacques said, "He is only missing five of his teeth."

He opened his palm to reveal 5 pieces of broken teeth, the kind from a monkey.

"I counted them myself."

Fox almost jumped, with him showing their captive's teeth.

"Err…right," Fox said, "Now, the prisoner?"

Jacques led them to the infirmary, where Fox switched the light on.

Except Jacques, all eyes went wide, seeing a struggling chimp tied up with measuring tape and hanging upside down from the ceiling light with duct tape over his mouth. His eyes were wide in panic.

The chimp tried to say something. Fox walked up to him and ripped the tape off…and some of his facial fur.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! MOTHERFUCKER!" he cursed in pain.

"Language, please," Falco smirked, arms crossed in amusement.

"This is not the way you treat prisoners!" the chimp exclaimed, "God, my guts are just about to roll out from hanging here."

"Yeah, well," Fox begun, eyes narrowed, "We're in a hurry and don't feel like being polite at the moment."

Fox pulled out his combat knife and held it to the chimp's face. Krystal was suddenly alarmed at Fox's hostile behaviour.

"Fox," Krystal begun, "What…?"

"Tell us where that ship you came is going, or I'll cut you in the most unimaginable ways."

"Up yours, merc!" the chimp spat out, "You ain't getting anything outta me."

Jacques then stepped forward, which caused Fox to suddenly step aside. The chimp's eyes widened, seeing the brute that could have well have killed him with his bare hands.

"Listen, Venomian," Jacques begun, "Do you wish to know why I didn't crush your skull with my hands?"

The chimp nodded nervously.

"It's because I demand to know what you aliens want with me: A single Space Marine of the Adeptus Astartes? And I'm going to get that information out of you…"

He then grabbed the chimp by the throat, which gasped for breath.

"…one way or another."

He then released the chimp, which begun gasping for breath.

"I'm…not…afraid…of you, human!" the chimp exclaimed; though his courage was all but diminished.

"I believe I should warn you," Jacques continued, "That the Ultramarines, the Imperium's greatest Space Marine chapter, are masters of persuasion…"

He then glared menacingly.

"…and torture."

That last word made everyone feel cold, especially the chimp.

"The longest a 'subject' was kept alive while suffering the most immense, agonising pain possible is 100 hours," Jacques pointed out.

'Fuck me,' Fox thought.

Jacques then smiled lightly.

"I have always wanted to break that record."

Panic swept over the chimp, and alarm over Fox and the others.

"You can't be serious!" Slippy exclaimed, "That's…that's not right!"

"All I need is a battery, some copper wire and a can of fuel; particularly the fuel found in flame-throwers," Jacques continued, "Often we Marines form groups and play…TORTURE THE XENOS!"

He then turned to leave the room.

"Now I need to find those items," he said as he left, "Then we shall begin."

The door closed behind him.

"DON'T LET HIM GET ME!" the chimp cried, tears streaming down his face, matting his fur.

"Tell us where that ship is going and we'll call him off," Fox said, crossing his arms.

"Cython IV," the chimp answered, "Cython IV! NOW PLEASE DON'T LET HIM NEAR ME!"

'Cython IV?' everyone in the room thought in unison, 'The dead world?'

"You can relax, monkey-boy," Falco said, "We'll ask the big bad humie not to yank your tail off."

"Oh thank you…" the chimp said gratefully, breathlessly.

Krystal turned to leave the infirmary, surprised to see Jacques leaning against the wall outside the door, arms crossed. He looked over at Krystal and smiled, almost nastily.

"I'm a Space Marine," he said, "Not a sadistic Inquisitor."

Krystal smiled, seeing that he was just bluffing about before. Fox couldn't help but chuckle, as did Slippy. Falco couldn't help but smirk as well.

The chimp, however, didn't share the same thoughts and feelings.

"YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" the chimp yelled, "YOU FUCKING LYING JERKOFFS!"

Fox moved forward and punched the chimp across the face, which knocked him out in an instant.

"Loudmouth," Fox growled.

He then reached for his communicator.

"ROB," he begun, "Our next course is Cython IV."

Affirmative, ROB replied on the other line.

"Slippy," he turned to the frog, "How long till the ship's engines are a-go?"

"I say two hours," Slippy replied, "At the most."

"Don't waste time standing around, then," Fox said again.

Slippy nodded and walked off towards the lower regions of the Great Fox.

"Falco, Jacques..."

The avian and the human turned to him.

Fox smiled, "…time we were locked and loaded."

Jacques had thought about that.

"McCloud," he begun, "I'd like to return to my transport and arm myself with Imperial weaponry."

Fox nodded, "Alright. We'll tag along."

Luckily the Imperial craft was still attached to the Great Fox. Jacques, Fox and Falco stepped into the airlock.

"I am not in need of your company," the Marine said to both the vulpine and the avian.

"Maybe we like to see what kind of toys the Imperium has that makes all poor bastards bleed," Falco said as a matter-of-factly, "If you don't mind."

"No I don't," Jacques said, "If you insist."

They walked into and across the chamber, where they entered the ship. It was how they had left it: Cold, dark and misty.

"Has the Imperium invented the light bulb?" Falco queried, "I can't see shit in here."

"I'll have to agree with Falco on that one, Jacques," Fox said.

Jacques sighed before saying, "This Thunderhawk transport's Machine Spirit lies dormant. It only needs to be awoken, then the lights will be activated, as well as the whole ship."

'Machine Spirit?' Fox and Falco thought together.

Jacques put his hand on the iron wall, before banging on it gently.

"Awaken, Spirit of the Machine," Jacques called out.

Suddenly, the sip came to life. Lights went on, door opening and closing slightly and computers flickered on-line."

"That is a neat saying," Fox said, rubbing the back of his head.

They followed Jacques as he walked towards a door that had some sort of writing imprinted on it.

"What language is that?" Fox asked.

"High Gothic, McCloud," Jacques replied, "Our official language and writing."

"Your 'language' sounds like pure English to me," Falco commented.

"It's just a coincidence that our tongues sound exactly the same," Jacques added.

"Right," Falco acknowledged.

The door opened and they stepped into what appeared to be an armoury."

Falco whistled sharply at the large stock of human-made weaponry, including what appeared to be machine-guns; plasma rifles; flamethrowers; rocket-launchers and swords.

Jacques picked up a large machine-gun and held it protectively in his hands.

"Boltgun," Jacques said softly, taking the magazine, bumping it against his armour, hearing the large-calibre ammo rattle inside it, before loading it back in.

He then reached over to the wall where he picked up what appeared to be a chainsaw-cross-sword off it's rack.

"Whoa," Falco said, seeing him hold the chainsaw-slash-sword.

"Chainsword," Jacques said smiling, "My favourite of all the melee weaponry."

Falco stared over at Fox as Jacques showered attention to his weaponry, as a good warrior would always do.

Falco whispered, "From the look of him, he's ready to take on the whole of Venom itself."

Fox nodded before he thought, "What do you expect? He's a Space Marine."

He then noticed a large glove sitting on top of some ammo crates.

"Jacques?"

"Yes, McCloud?"

"What is this thing?"

Jacques looked over at the glove, before explaining, "It's a Power Fist. A powerful melee weapon. It can punch through a Predator tank's hull in one blow."

"I can see that," Falco said, "It's freakin' oversized."

Jacques has noted the avian's cynical retorts and could only wonder how Princess Krystal and Captain McCloud could put up with him.

'McCloud is stronger in mind and will than I thought,' he commented in his mind, 'If I can never return to Terra, than maybe I should…'

He then shook his head.

'No. That is nonsense. I can never submit to a xenos. Even one as strong as him.'

Strapping a bandolier carrying grenades and boltgun clips, Jacques turned towards Fox and Falco.

"I am finished here," he said, "Unless you want to equip yourselves here, I humbly suggest to you, McCloud, that we made haste to Cython IV."

Fox nodded, "Good idea. We won't be needing any of your weaponry."

They left the armoury and the ship, where they walked toward through the Great Fox towards the bridge.

Sitting on her bed in her room, whilst cleaning her Staff and the emerald embedded in it, Krystal could only ponder on what was about to happen in the next few hours or so.

They were going up against the forces of Venom once again, against that damned ape Andrew Oikonny, who had no less than a few months ago assumed command of Venom, who had previously been the bootlicks of that other damned ape, Andross.

They were going to find out what they want with Jacques, the Space Marine. That same Ultramarine who had saved her life from Cerinia's destruction a long time ago.

With him at their side, they would not lose. Seven-feet of power-armoured fury with the manners of a royal servant, her royal servant to be frank. And with that, she smiled as she got up from her bed and walked out of her room, also towards the bridge.

In the engine room, Slippy was hard at work trying to jump-start the ship.

'Divert all power to the engines…give it a quick jolt,' he thought, going through a manual, 'That should work.'

He typed rapidly at his terminal, where suddenly the lights in the room as well as the ship dimmed slightly. One surge of electricity later the engines were going once again.

'I'm a genius,' he thought, smiling.

He then got up and left the room, his next destination: The Bridge.

ROB was the first to brake the good news…

"Engines are now at full working capacity," the bot said.

"Finally," Peppy said, relieved, "And I figured we'd be floating here forever."

"Think again, old timer," Fox laughed slightly, sitting at his usual place on the bridge, "Now we go…"

All eyes turned to him: Falco's, Krystal's, Peppy's, Jacques' and Slippy's as he stepped onto the bridge.

"…to Cython IV."