BOOK I
"The enemy has no face." – The United States Marine Core
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 1, Setting Out
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Great Fox-B
Michelle McCloud-Grey had been sitting in the Command Chair of the Great Fox-B for over three hours. She'd sat in the chair longer, but she'd actually been doing something. Confederate High Command had her and the rest of the Intrepid Battle Fleet on standby in one of the more peaceful parts of the Sector. Michelle's team (Max, Amber and ROB) had been sitting in their chairs for hours as well. Except for ROB, he didn't really have a chair much less the need to sit. So it was just her, Max, and Amber who had been sitting for hours.
Sometimes, she envied Hawkeye and Falcin. The Fox's engine required constant attention, like a baby. Something she longed to have with her husband. A man she hadn't seen in three months.
Speaking of a baby and her husband, she started to think about the early nights of their marriage. Filled with passion and pleasure. Passion unlike any she had ever felt before. She couldn't wait to feel Jim's arms around her body. She wanted to feel his neck on hers. She desperately wanted to hold him. She wanted to be pregnant…
"I'm going for a walk." She informed Max and Amber.
Max stood up from his chair and stretched. Amber stood up, yawned and climbed up the few steps to follow her, "I'll come with you."
When they met up at the door that led astern, Michelle said, "Thanks, I could use the company."
"No problem. I'm getting pretty bored listening to ship's performing minute maneuvers that have absolutely nothing to do with this war."
"War…" Michelle said quietly.
"I hope it ends soon. I really want to get back to meeting guys."
Michelle laughed, "Is that all you want? To start meeting people?"
"Can you blame me? I want to get married. Fall in love, get swept off my feet, start a family. That sort of thing."
"My, my, you sure do have some romantic ideas about marriage."
"Well, you're married. Tell me about it."
"You can imagine the first few nights. Especially during our honeymoon. They were passionate. It was so… so…"
"Sexy?"
Michelle giggled and pushed Amber to the side, "If you must say so. Yes."
Amber smiled, "What was it like?"
"Now don't you be getting any ideas. He is my man."
"Don't worry. I'm not interested in the Captain."
"Good. Because if you were I'd have to throw you out an airlock."
"That's why I want this war to end."
"It will soon enough." As casually as Michelle spoke those words, she knew that they weren't true.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Macbeth Western Front
Five Confederate C-26 Dropships landed behind the bunker that Jim's team was stationed at.
Where'd they get all these troops to supply us with? Jim wondered. But at the moment, he didn't quite care. The commanding officer of the unit, Commander Bli, was a tall lupine who looked like he'd been in the last four wars that happened in this bloody system.
Commander Bli along with three Ursine warriors walked up to Jim and said, "Captain McCloud, my men are here to wish you 'good luck' on your mission."
Jim shook the Commander's hand, "Don't believe in luck, Commander. It's all skill, will, and faith."
"Then good hunting!" he said laughing.
"Will do." Jim said, smiling after the Commander, "We have a traumatic communications officer in the bunker. He's not going to do much except get in the way. Best send him back to High Command to be dealt with."
"I'll deal with him." Bli said.
Jim's COM unit beeped twice. Jim pressed it into his ear and said, "McCloud."
"Jim, it's Kiara." The hare said.
"Kiara, where are you?"
"Right now, I'm in the cockpit of my MK-II." StarFox II had used modified MK-IIs (called MK-IIBs) to distinguish their ships from the Cornerian Arwing Squadrons, "I'm heading up to the Great Fox to refuel and check in. Is there anything you need before you guys set out?"
"No, I think we're good. Oh! Please tell Michelle this: I love her very much. And I hope to see her soon."
"I'm not sure how she'll take it. You're being a bit more romantic than usual, Captain."
"Don't worry, she'll know that I'll be fine."
"All righty. Hare out."
Jim ran up to the bunker and looked around. His team would do perfectly for this mission. It was no where near suicide, but it would definitely be dangerous. He counted his squad: himself, Rayn, Jewel, Bentley, Cody, Jars, and Kave. He wished he had one more to complete this mission. Air support might be nice. Especially for taking out that sentry tower.
"Commander Bli." Jim said, pressing the COM to his ear.
"Copy that, Captain McCloud." Bli said.
"Any chance of me borrowing those Dropships?"
"What d'ya need?"
"There's a Cornerian sentry tower right after we leave the safety of the bunker. It'd be nice to get some Nova Bombs and some Heavy Chain Guns for support."
"All right, but HC's gonna' need them in about three hours."
"We'll have it in one." Jim switched off the COM and headed over to the middle of the bunker, "All right commandos. We're heading out again, this time we're going behind the enemy lines. Bring as much fire power you can carry while still being able to move quick and silent. No quitters in this mission. We are all the fingers of a hand. Lose too many of them, and the rest of us are useless."
"We're ready, sir." Cody said. Cody was a very, very short Ursine. He was about the same size as Jim and had one hell of a punch.
"Good. We'll move in five."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Great Fox-B
Max authorized the landing of Kiara's ship in the hangar five decks below. ROB sent the message through the Fox's intercom, "Arwing landing in the hangar bay now."
"That must be Kiara." Amber said.
Michelle downed the rest of her beer and said, "Let's go meet her."
The two rode the elevator down to the hangar and met Kiara on the stairs, "Hey guys." She said.
Michelle looked over the railing and saw three worker droids walk over to Kiara's Arwing and refuel it with a long hose. One of them rearmed it with a new supply of Nova Bombs.
Kiara was tall and slim. It was the first time Michelle actually noticed that she looked nothing like her grandfather except for the fact that she had the same big brown eyes. They were a tad too big for her head. Maybe that's what made her such a great pilot. Michelle's ears preferred to hang forward over her face, but the helmet she wore prevented them.
Michelle was the shortest in the group. Her gray fur made her feel sometimes out of place. But with Kiara there along side them, she felt better. Sometimes she envied Amber. Michelle had always considered her more beautiful than her. She sometimes wondered if Jim would have chosen her rather than herself if he had known Amber sooner.
She pushed those thoughts away and tried to think of what Jim was doing now.
"Michelle? Michelle!" Kiara called.
Michelle shook her head and looked up at Kiara, "I'm sorry? What happened."
"Your husband." She said.
"Really? What happened?"
"He's heading out on another mission. He told me to tell you that 'he loves you very much. And hopes to see you soon.'"
Michelle smiled. Part of her was very happy to here he was doing all right to tell her that. Another part of her was worried if he was just trying to tell her not to worry because he was actually critically wounded. She had heard too many horror stories from the old war that her father had fought in to not think about him being wounded.
"Well, he's alive." Amber said.
"And not getting himself killed, is what I hear." Kiara said.
"Michelle?" Amber asked, "Don't worry about him. If something had happened to him, I'd know by now."
"Yeah." She said, "Yeah, you're right. I'm just being a worried wife."
"You don't have to be. Jim knows what he's doing." Kiara said.
"Attention. Attention. Unauthorized vessel heading for the Great Fox." ROB's mechanical voice said over the intercom.
"Enemy fighter?" Michelle said pressing the COM unit that was disguised as a badge that symbolized her StarFox II membership.
"I don't think so. If it was, I doubt it would've gotten so far. I'll have the craft type in a few seconds." Max said.
"I'd best be going." Kiara said.
"Nothing to worry about. It's a Wolfen."
"A Wolfen!" Kiara shouted.
"Yeah. Authorized to… Luke O'Donnel."
"Wolf's son?" Michelle asked.
"Presumably." Max said.
"So, what do we do?" Amber asked.
"He probably wants to land in the hangar for whatever reason. We'll find out soon enough."
"I'll find out. Give him clearance." Amber headed back to her station at the bridge.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Macbeth Western Front
"Captain McCloud, this is Echo 921. Waiting for your orders." The Dropship's pilot said.
"Copy that Nine-twenty-one. We need three Nova Bombs over our heads and probably hit the base of the Sentry Tower. Coordinates, 3 seconds west from here. Can't miss it."
"Roger that." Jim heard the Dropship soar over their heads and start drawing fire from the Cornerian guns. Jim looked back to his team of commandos, "All right, ready? Let's go."
Jim made sure his armor was all secured, checked that he had ten grenades, five clips of ammunition for his rifle, his sidearm, his helmet, his COM, and of course, the two-pronged energy blade that Max had made for him- a birthday present.
Behind him, Rayn turned on his energy shield, which absorbed bullets and lasers for a certain amount of hits until they failed and had to recharge. Then the hits started coming through. He carried his AR-4 with him and had seven packs of ammunition on his belt along with twelve grenades on his chest strap. Rayn pulled his sunglasses over his eyes.
"You don't need those." Jewel said, "it's well past midnight."
"Don't need to be day to wear sunglasses."
Jewel flipped down her visor and switched it to night vision. She felt her belt for the equipment she needed: five grenades, submachine gun, extra packs of ammunition for the SMG and her sniper rifle, rations pack.
"We gonna need food on this mission?" she asked Jim.
"Only enough for an emergency."
Jewel decided that her ration pack was enough.
"All right, let's head out." Jim moved forward and took cover after passing twelve yards.
The behemoth that was Rayn moved up almost thirty yards. Yet no shots came towards him due to the C-26 that was playing hell with the Sentry tower.
"Echo 921, do you copy?"
"Captain McCloud, I copy."
"Orders: move back about twenty yards and fire two Nova Bombs at the base of the Sentry tower."
"Copy, Captain." The gray ship moved in reverse for about twenty yards and then leaned forward again, hovering in mid air. Two small objects streaked towards the tower leaving behind trails of smoke. The first missile struck the base of the tower and exploded with a brilliant blue star. The small impromptu guard tower collapsed on itself when the second missile struck beneath the debris and destroyed a bunker that held a Heavy Chain Gun. Jim hoped that all the troops in the outpost were killed because they would probably need to save their firepower for the upcoming mission.
"Thanks Echo 921. We'll clean up the mess."
"No problem, McCloud. Godspeed." The dropship moved back towards the bunker to report back to Commander Bli who was already getting his troops situated at the Bunker.
"Rayn, you, Cody, Jars, and I are going to go down there and check for any survivors. Shoot to kill, unless they surrender. Then shoot them in the arm. Jewel, you and Bentley cover."
"'Bout me, Captain?" Kave asked.
"You're in reserve. Keep your rifle shouldered, but save your ammo."
Jim moved down the hill, following Rayn with his powerful gun in front of him.
"Spread out." Jim said. He moved to the right. Cody and Jars moved farther to the left while Rayn was left in the center of the formation.
From beneath the rubble of the sentry tower, a Cornerian soldier picked his head up and saw Rayn. He immediately reached for his pistol. Rayn automatically pressed the trigger of his assault rifle. Two rounds of ammunition tore through his helmetless head and spilled blood onto the rocks. Rayn walked up to the dead soldier and looked down.
He pressed the COM link in his ear and said to Jim, "You know, sometimes I feel sorry for these poor recruits. They sign themselves up to the Cornerian Armed Forces and have absolutely no idea if they'll get a nice soft desk job in front of a computer watchin' other men die. Or if they'll be the ones assigned to MI… the ones on the screen."