--Author's Note: As always, my thanks for the reviews and my continual hope that you all like the story. On to Chapter 6!--

CHAPTER 6
Striking Back
McMarthen Base, Fortuna
1303 hours

The McMarthen Allied Military Base, or just the "Mac" as Gage said the army called it, was something of a leftover legendary relic from the war. It was a good-sized military base built by Corneria into the frozen wastelands of Fortuna, able to accommodate any branch of the armed forces. It ran on a skeleton crew of a dozen or so soldiers until the war broke out, when Corneria ditched it. Funny part is, it remained empty at the front lines the entire war. Both the Allies and Venom eyed the base, but they knew that once they occupied it, the other side would attack and the base's defenses were never tested. So there it sat, its weapons unused, its food reserves unopened, and its corridors frozen into a timeless statue.

Until now.

Our first task upon landing at the series of buildings and bunkers was to get the automated defenses up. Wrapped in every coat and scarf I owned, we braved freezing winds and marched to the Mac's command center. Our spirits died a little when we realized that traversing the huge complex would be tougher than we thought. Not only was the base big enough to require a few dozen soldiers to operate at skeleton level, but the doors were frozen shut. Even if we got the power on, the base would need time to thaw. I wasn't happy. I'm impatient just waiting for TV dinners to thaw.

I borrowed a blow-torch from the Great Fox's hangar to be our point man, but the progress was hardly worth mentioning. That was when Andrea had a bright idea.

"Why don't we use the Arwing's thruster?!" she shouted over the wind.

Huh. Certainly beat freezing my ass off with Gage cursing out a blow-torch. I told them to get far away and retrieved my Arwing from the landing pad. Careful not to bump against the building in the blinding storm, I slowly hovered over until I was level with the bitchy door. I switched power to full thrusters, held on for dear life, and pushed the button. The result, once I recovered from my burst of speed, was a blackened wall and one thawed door.

The inside was more forgiving, thankfully. Icicles hung from the ceiling and the walls were coated with a thick frost, but the doors only needed a little persuasive talking from the torch around the locks before they could be forced open. It was eerie walking through the complex, seeing the office furniture and décor frozen and dead, as if I was living in a post-apocalyptic movie. I was glad to finally reach the command center.

I was doubtful any of the numerous computer banks and consoles still worked, but Gage was confident. He started rubbing away frost and checking functions while Andrea got into the act and found the power supply outlets. At least the soldiers had the courtesy to shut the place down before they left and not leave it to run out of juice and die. Once the supply outlets were turned on and cleared of frost, we all gathered around the Power switch like priests at an altar. Not one for drama, Gage flipped up the button cover and hit it.

At first nothing happened and my heart sank. Then came the jolt like an earthquake and a shower of sparks that made me wish there was still nothing happening. Gage mumbled something about the machines being full of ice and said it would pass. For once, he was right. After a few seconds, the rumbling stopped, sweet beeps filled our ears, sweet lights lit the base, and sweet heat coursed through the room. I looked out the wall-sized window into the base's courtyard, which held the landing pad and my Arwing, and eyed the turrets along the outer walls. The red light that said they were operational blipped in the blizzard and they swiveled methodically. Gage turned with a grin on his face and gave the thumbs up.

McMarthen Base was back online.

Tactical Operations, McMarthen Base, Fortuna
The next day, 1003 hours

"Several hundred rifles, pistols, machine guns, grenades, and heavy ordnance, too much ammo to count, twenty working heavy tanks in the dock, thirty working Starfire-class fighters in the hangar, fifteen anti-personnel turrets on the perimeter, fifteen anti-air turrets alongside them, radar that sweeps half the planet and miles into orbit, and enough food and water to last us three over a year."

I grinned as Gage wrapped up. I wasn't smiling a lot lately, but the report went a long way to helping it. "Is that all?"

"In the main storerooms, yeah. God knows what else they stowed away in the other buildings."

"It'll do for now. I just wanted to be a hundred percent sure we were ready before starting this meeting." I took a deep breath and looked around the gymnasium-sized "Tactical Operations" room. I left the dozens of computers alone and concentrated on the holographic map in the center; classy for its time. I wasn't sure it would work since I found it when we moved in the day before, but once we got the heaters going on full blast and the frost melted away to reveal the actual base, she started up. I was impressed with how well everything withstood the exposure.

I was glad something went my way for once. We didn't have time to screw around. It was as if fate finally realized its annoying horseplay would hurt someone and started getting serious. I was able to find out the information I needed while Gage took inventory of the weapons and Andrea admirably helped out by sorting supplies and thawing out the base. She even managed to guide ROB through the blizzard to land the Great Fox near the base. No sense having that big mother of a ship hovering around like a big sign pointing to our presence.

"We have six days until this deadline," I said, cutting to the chase. "Thanks to Andrea's information, I was able to locate the two flagships of the Vipers' fleet near Macbeth, and they're flagged on our radar. But from what she says, and from what I was able to dig up, we can't take them down head-on. They keep ace pilots and ground combatants in the same ships, they have over a hundred members, and they're on full alert after Andrea's disappearance. And we need to interrogate them. If they know anything about my team, we'll get it. Fortunately, while you two took care of the grunt work, I came up with a plan."

"Uh oh," Gage muttered. Andrea grinned.

I typed in a few commands and a holographic view of Lylat appeared between us and zoomed in on Macbeth. "I got this idea from a little ambush I was on the receiving end of around Area 6 during the war." I zoomed in more until a small portion of one continent started flashing red. "This is Harverton, a small town with a big secret; it's completely controlled by the Bloodhounds. They basically took over, shut down the economy to put people out of jobs, and put them to work for the mercs. It's a giant slum, and the people are basically their slave labor for drug trafficking, weapons, you name it. They won't be too happy to see you."

"Us?" Gage said. "What about you?"

"We're splitting up on this one." I hesitated. "Look, my team may suffer because of this, and I don't want either of you to also. It's very dangerous. Are you sure you want to keep going with this?"

Gage rolled his eyes. "If you ask that one more time, you'll be in real danger."

Andrea gave me a simple nod that showed the underlying nervousness, but also determination. I still didn't like the whole mess of a situation, but there was less and less to like with each passing day. I'd take what I could get.

"Alright," I continued. "Here's the plan..."

Harverton, Macbeth
2125 hours

What Fox described as a slum didn't even begin to describe Harverton. It was obvious how the town hit rock bottom into this nightmare. Like countless small towns, it was caught up and ravaged during the battles in the war. Desperate to rebound from the devastation, it accepted any revenue that came its way. The Bloodhounds swooped in with a quick answer; let us set up shop, and you'll get our business. Even I never would have suspected that one merc group could fuck up a place this bad.

If I looked really hard, I could see the glimmer of beauty that must have once been in the parks and streets. Now there was more graffiti on the buildings and walls than paint. Trash piled in the dark streets next to syringes and layers of dried blood. The ragged citizens didn't even try to hide the drugs. I'd never seen a more depressed group in my life. Even a Venom military prison had cheerier faces.

I was worried about carrying my pistol on a shoulder holster, but it didn't attract suspicion; I couldn't spot a single person who didn't have a telltale bulge under their jackets anyway. Distant shots rang out in the night amidst a blaring noise of drunken shouts and some weird techno crap. That was good. We were getting close, and I didn't feel like wandering the grimy streets any longer than necessary.

As the bright neon of the night club came into view through the smoke down the street, I ruffled up my fur a bit more and flipped up the collar on my new black leather jacket. It was nice; the least Fox could pay for after ruining my last one. Unfortunately, I wasn't so sure it would be in great condition in a few hours. Andrea looked the part of a disgruntled civilian also, with a scanty get-up and too much eye shadow. The convincing disguise stopped at her face though. She looked nervous, her eyes darting around and her breathing coming in short puffs.

"The Bloodhounds are everywhere," she whispered. "I don't know about this."

"No turning back," I replied. I was prepared for her to be a bit skittish. "Just stick by me and keep your eyes open. I sure hope your aim's improved since I last saw it."

She broke her nervous look long enough to roll her eyes at me. Truth be told, I was a bit worried about entering the Ace of Hearts Night Club also. When you've been in the profession and seen the things I've seen, assessing a battle just becomes second nature. You can enter a mission knowing immediately whether or not there was going to be shooting or not. In this case, there were just too damn many crazy-as-shit gun-toting bastards crammed into one place. Then throw me into the mix. There would be shooting.

I pushed open the door and wrinkled my nose. The inside wasn't much of an improvement. Between us and the bar stretched along the back was a floor crammed with drugged-up kids, downtrodden citizens, and mercs. The music shook the walls and a strobe effect that I could have lived without gave me a headache. I grabbed Andrea's hand to make sure we didn't get separated and started for the bar. By time we reached it, I had scoped every cranny of the smoky club; a merc in each of the four corners, a couple at the bar, and three or four on the dance floor. Better odds than I expected.

Our target was off to the side, a large black canine sitting at a table with two hulking bodyguards flanking him. The captain's ranks were easily seen on his sleeves as he hunched over a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. He looked like the kind of guy the Bloodhounds would put in command of operations in Harverton; a couple scars attested to combat he'd seen and the mean demeanor said that he didn't take shit. I took care not to let my gaze linger. I couldn't make out the name on his jacket tag, but I didn't need it. It wouldn't matter in a few minutes anyway.

I sat at one of the stools and leaned on the bar, feeling sorry for the parts of my jacket that had to touch the slab of wood. Past memories of eating MREs in the mud of a war-torn city suddenly seemed as luxurious as a five-star hotel. Andrea sat next to me, her face contorted as she tried to hide the same disgust. I caught her eye and she nodded. We had a job to do. Time to get it on.

She played the part, winking suggestively at passing guys and sitting in a pose that sure as hell would have made me stop and ogle. Even in the life or death situation, I had to consciously keep focus. I ordered a few beers and downed them, passing the time, becoming part of the background. Finally, when I had a good mindset of where the targets were, I took a chug and banged the mug down hard on the bar, my signal to Andrea that it was time to begin.

With visible hesitation, she stood and guided herself through the crowd towards the captain. Acting like a whore must have been difficult, even if the added role of seducing a murderous merc wasn't involved. I looked after her as she left, feeling a pang in my gut. I realized it was worry. Dear God...was I actually developing feelings for Andrea? I couldn't forget the brief camaraderie we shared during Dagger tryouts, and now that we were at war together, my initial impression of her came back to me. There was no doubt. I was attracted to her back then. Not just her looks, but her attitude, a personality I rarely found in women. Maybe a little remnant was carrying over.

I watched as she leaned over his table and whispered something to him. He grinned and smoothly felt her up. That got me focused again. I narrowed my eyes at him and wished I could skip the masquerade and just cap him then and there. But Andrea succeeded. He stood, wrapped his arm around her, and they walked together towards a back door. The two hulking guards remained behind and I realized they were looking at me. My staring must have attracted attention.

I turned back to the bar, but cursed inwardly when I felt their presence sneak up to my sides. Big boy one hovered over my left and his partner leaned on the bar to my right. I didn't react until they spoke.

"New face 'round here," lefty said. I doubted he intended to throw a welcoming party. "She your girl?"

I sipped my beer, taking my time to respond. I kept my eyes straight where I could see both of them in my peripheral vision. "Works for me, yeah. My most popular girl. You two want a go with her also?"

Righty chimed in, not sounding any more pleasant than his buddy. "Maybe you ain't heard. This is Bloodhound territory. We run the business here, and we run the girls. The captain ain't gonna give her back, and he ain't gonna be happy with competition. You're in shit, buddy, and you ain't getting' out."

I knew there would be shooting.

"No need for that. Come on, let me buy you a drink." I reached under my jacket, as if going for my wallet.

They started reaching under their coats also, maybe for guns, maybe for brass knuckles, maybe for candy bars, I didn't know. But I didn't wait to find out. I felt the cool metal of my gun and didn't bother to pull it out. I fired from the holster, the laser ripping through my new jacket and knocking a bewildered Lefty onto his ass. I pulled the gun free, slammed my elbow into Righty's muzzle, and fired two into his chest.

Screams joined the chaotic noise and the dance floor came alive in hysterical running. One merc gave me a clear target and I dropped him with a single shot to the head. His buddies didn't take kindly to that and they carried some heavy firepower. I didn't chance it. I vaulted behind the bar and ducked as the deafening rattle of rifle fire assaulted my ears. Bottles shattered, liquid rained down around me, and sawdust filled the air. One ballsy merc hopped onto the bar to get an angle down at me, but I fired from where I lay, dropping him back.

Another weapon sound joined the fray; the crappy pistol that Andrea loved so much. Right then, I was perfectly happy to hear it. I popped up to join her and fired at the confused mercs that couldn't seem to decide between the two targets. Between our attacks, they never got the chance to decide. Soon, we were alone with corpses, smoke, and broken furniture.

Andrea was shaken, but she held her gun with confidence and kept it trained on the dead mercs. I spied the keycard on a thin chain around her wrist, stained with blood. She had no trouble taking care of the captain at least. I let my spent clip fall to the ground and slapped in a fresh one. She followed my lead and we headed for the door.

"I think you actually hit one," I said.

"Saved your ass," she replied after swallowing.

"I was just assessing my options."

"Uh huh."

I took point and peeked out the door. The commotion had drawn some attention, but not as much as I feared. The city was chaotic to begin with; shootings were probably a nightly occurrence. Still, we needed to split, and fast. The night wasn't over yet.

I held the door open for her. "Shall we?"

Industrial district, Harverton, Macbeth
2240 hours

The night grew heavier as we made our way on foot to the cold, dark warehouse district. Soon the sights and noises of the town were left behind us and we were alone, creeping like thieves amongst the dark alleys between the storage buildings. Everything was as I had hoped. The town was so small and unknown that security was a joke, and news of the shootout hadn't reached the district yet. When my target came into view, it looked like easy pickings. Warehouse 17 was lit with only a few guards moseying around or sitting, probably half drunk. For a single moment in time, I felt sympathy. Nothing sucks worse than guard duty.

But sympathy left me as I led the way further towards the rusted metal building. I'd been itching for a shot at the Bloodhounds for years, ever since they took part in the assault that killed half of Dagger and Jack's wife. In truth, I probably could have talked my way out of the bar shootout. But I didn't want to. I wanted to splatter their guts on the floor. It was a satisfying appetizer, and I eagerly moved on to the main course.

But I had Andrea to think about. As much as I begrudged it, revenge would have to take a back seat to logical attack.

We reached the front of the building without incident and crept along the half-open bay door. I stopped short as shadows appeared in the light. A couple mercs were coming out. That wasn't good; with the surprise blown, they'd hole themselves up in there. Andrea must have been on the same wavelength because she acted even before I could. She flattened her back against the huge door and pulled me into a kiss.

It was ridiculous, really. I nearly laughed. It was as if she took a cliché straight from some action movie and thought that it could actually work in a real combat situation. Since I didn't have any better idea at the moment, I played along and got into the kiss. Then...I don't know. I lost myself. I probably should have kept my eye on the two heavily armed mercs coming outside, but I realized that the kiss had ceased being an act. She seemed to realize this in herself as well and pulled back, surprised. Not a moment too soon.

"Hey! What the fuck is this? Get out of here, this is a restricted zone!"

My head was back in the game. I could focus on my social problems later. The two mercs had moved to arm's length, probably to overshadow and intimidate us. It didn't work. I nodded sheepishly and made like I was about to leave, but then kicked back with a blow that doubled over the lead merc. His buddy never had a chance as I spun, gun in-hand, and slapped him silly with the butt of the pistol. He was down for the count, and I gave the same courtesy to the first merc as he was kept busy trying to breathe.

I picked up the rifles and tossed one to Andrea. Warehouse resistance was hardly worth mentioning. We rounded the open door, crouched in normal specops CQB procedure; sights tight, taking each target at a time. A burst in the chest, move on to the next. Of the five mercs, not a single shot was fired back. I planned on taking them all myself, but Andrea actually got the last one. Quick learner.

With a little smirk, she walked over to the center of the large warehouse where a tarp covered a huge object that nearly touched the ceiling. She pulled it off with a flourish, revealing our beautiful target: four monster cruise missiles upright on a launcher with cables leading to a console against the far wall. It's scary the sort of things that can be found on the black market, especially in the wrong hands. Better it fall into our hands. When Fox found these babies for sale on MercNet, it was too tempting.

While I was busy drooling over the hardware, Andrea went to work on the console, typing away. I'd discovered awhile before that the further away I was from anything technical, the better for everyone. Analysis computers were about as far as my training went. Fortunately, Andrea was as good as her promise of knowledge before the mission. After a few minutes, an alarm sounded and steam hissed from under the missiles.

"They're armed," she said, hurrying back to me. "Coordinates are set. We have three minutes 'till launch, so let's go."

We stuck around for the fireworks. The missiles punched through the warehouse roof in a blaze of fire and smoke and streaked into the night sky, straight towards Fox. We watched until they disappeared into the stars, hoping that Fox completed the rest of the plan. I had faith. What I told him earlier was true. He'd find the strength, one way or another.

"Let's get back to the ship," I finally said. "And pray we have a Great Fox to return to."

Macbeth orbit
2317 hours

The two ships were huge, each one sleek, modern, and at least twice the length of the Great Fox. They hovered with Macbeth in the background like two angry eyes glaring at me over a blue nose. The emblem of the Vipers was clearly visible on the hulls, as I expected, and fortunately no fighters were guarding the ships. Not yet anyway. I would've liked to have a fleet on my side, but instead I flew towards the Vipers all by my lonesome with the Great Fox tagging along. If Gage hadn't completed his mission, I'd be toast.

When I flew close enough, my monitor crackled to life and the face of a middle-aged black female feline appeared. She looked at me through a pair of reflective shades and a grin beneath them. It wasn't the kind of smile I was inclined to smile back at.

"Fox McCloud!" she said as if meeting me at a family reunion. "Here we are trying to find you, and you come right to us. Finally decide to surrender?"

"Your assassin is dead," I replied. "I figured she was a declaration of war. You want a war, you got one."

"Miss O'Donnell?" The merc shrugged. "I knew she would probably fail. Small loss. She didn't turn out to be quite the soldier I thought she might be."

"No, she wasn't."

"I am Commander LaMonte, leader of the Kiss of the Viper. I've been looking for you, McCloud. No doubt you're aware of how much you're worth. You have one minute to surrender before we open fire."

I eased the throttle down and watched the ships. The hangar doors were opening, threatening to sneeze forth a barrage of fighters at any moment. I looked at my starboard monitor and touched the blinking green "lock-on" tab. A download progress bar appeared and filled up rapidly, ending in a satisfying beep. I touched the newly-lit tab that said "activate" and prayed that the code Andrea used to hack into the Vipers' mainframe still worked. My prayers were answered. After only a few seconds, the window flashed "Upload Successful."

I looked at LaMonte. "I'll make you a little deal, Commander. I want information from you, and I want it now. If I get this information, then everyone wins. If I don't, then you lose. Four Column Eight-class missiles are on their way right now with your ships in their sights. If I get my info, then I'll dispatch them for you. If not, then I sit back and enjoy the bright lights."

LaMonte blinked in surprise but quickly composed herself. "Please, McCloud, that's an insult. These ships have enough firepower to take down a few dozen missiles, let alone four little—"

Her voice was lost as the monitor fizzled and went black for a moment before reactivating with a dim red light illuminating the bewildered feline's face. In the background, I could hear an announcement about backup power activating and a slew of panicked female voices. The hangar doors remained closed.

"Virus in the system, eh?" I shook my head in a sympathetic way. "I hate that, like these damn e-mail virus programs. Guess all those fancy defense systems won't work now either."

She turned away from the monitor and looked at me again a minute later, glaring like a demon, teeth gritting. Apparently the radar station confirmed the missiles. "What do you want?!"

I didn't know how long ago Gage fired the missiles. I cut the crap and got to it. "My team. I want to know where they are."

"I don't know."

"Bullshit! You're all in this together! Where are they?!"

"I don't know, you little bastard! The Warriors made the capture. They're the ones holding them!"

"How did they do it?"

LaMonte looked surprised again and scoffed. "You don't know? The Warriors were tipped off."

"By who?"

She only chuckled and shook her head.

"By who, dammit?!"

"Someone close to you. That's all I'm saying. I hate to ruin the surprise." She turned her head at a panicked merc and looked back at me, serious again. "I told you what I know, now shoot down the missiles."

I barely heard her. I stared in shock at the screen, worries running through my mind. Someone close had betrayed me? Who? Pepper? Gage? No...no, it could never be. I suddenly felt unsafe, the same consuming worry I felt when I saw the first video. It was a stern reminder that I truly couldn't trust anyone.

"McCloud!"

I focused.

"Shoot them down!"

I looked towards Macbeth and noticed four red plumes of exhaust streaking towards the ships. They had a few minutes until impact. "I'm not done yet. Who's the man behind this? Who's the guy in the videos?"

She was panicked now. "I don't know. Nobody knows! He never reveals himself. It's the truth."

I believed her. If the shadow went to all this trouble, he wouldn't blow it over a few stupid mercs. "Where are The Warriors holed up?"

"Somewhere on Katina. That's all I know. Shoot them down!"

My questioning was done, but I didn't move. I stared at the missiles and narrowed my eyes. Maybe it was the recent treacherous news. Maybe it was the pressure of the whole damn situation. Or maybe it was just logic. This wouldn't deter them. They'd keep hunting me until I was dead. I glared at LaMonte, bitterness and rage taking over and controlling my voice.

"How does it feel to be the one under the gun? How does it feel to be the one threatened, the one with no way out? Now you know, Commander, and soon every merc will know. You think I'm weak because of the side I choose to fight for? Let this be a message to every merc that I'm no paladin. If you start shit with me and my friends, I'll fuck you right back."

"McCloud—"

I shut down the screen and raised my eyes to the ships. They never stood a chance. The missiles impacted, two to each ship, and tore them apart like tissue paper. The explosions rocked my Arwing and the bright blast hurt my eyes, but I never deviated from my watch. When all that remained was debris and empty space, I turned and headed back to the Great Fox, my heart pounding and my blood full of vigor from my first successful strike back; my first offensive victory in this war. And there will be more.

--Chapter 7 coming soon--