Chapter 5 – The Evacuation of Katina
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Bill furiously opened fire on a mob of zombies.
"Damn you freaks!" he snarled, "Why won't you die?!"
"Maybe because they're already dead?" Katt replied.
"This isn't a time for jokes, you know."
Suddenly, a nova bomb hit the ground where the zombies were standing. The explosion threw zombie parts everywhere. As he noticed four Arwings entering the battle, it didn't take long for Bill to figure out where the bomb came from.
"Fox? That ain't you, is it?" he asked.
"Great to see you again, buddy!" Fox responded, "Could you use another hand?"
"As a matter of fact, I could. We've got to keep those zombies away from the base until the transports can launch."
"Don't worry, Bill." said Falco, "The cavalry's here."
"Long time, no hear, Falco." said Katt, "Did you miss me?"
"Katt! I… err… what are you doing here?"
"We'll have time to chat later." Katt replied, "Right now, lets focus on our task, shall we?"
"Right."
The ships continued their assault, while snipers at the base shot at the zombies that got too close. After a while, the snipers picked up their rifles and started to leave.
"Attention all pilots," Stukhov said, "Transports are almost ready to depart. Just try to keep zombies away from base until snipers are safely aboard."
"Roger that, General." Bill replied.
Wolf launched a bomb at another mob of zombies, causing them to scatter.
"Good God, there must be thousands of them!" he cried.
"Just keep it up for a few more minutes." Fox said.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the transports started to launch.
"Look!" said Slippy, "The transports are launching!"
"Looks like our job's done then." said Falco, "Let's head on home."
"Well, Falco, it was nice flying with you again." Katt said, "See you soon, handsome."
"How 'bout later tonight?" Falco asked.
"Sure. Why not?"
Katt blew him a kiss and flew off.
"You never told me you had a girlfriend." Wolf said to Falco.
"You never told me about Sarah until after she rescued you that one time." Falco replied.
"Touché."
Suddenly, a flashing on Bill's screen caught his attention. His fuel level was low and dropping fast.
"Aw, crap!" he cried.
"What's wrong, Bill?" Fox asked.
"My fuel's running out and the base is being overrun! What should I do?"
"Why don't you come with us?" Wolf asked.
"Yeah, we've got some fuel in the docking bay you could use." said Slippy.
"You don't mind?"
"Not at all." said Fox, "It'll be nice to catch up on old times too."
"Okay. Thanks. Alpha 2, come in."
"I copy, Alpha leader." Bill's wingman responded.
"I need you to take control of the squadron for now. Escort the transports to the Corneria City headquarters and I'll rendezvous with you there later."
"Roger that."
Bill's squadron and the transports headed into hyperspace, while Bill himself hurried towards the docking bay on the Great Fox. Glancing at the screen, he noticed that his fuel was now below 10 percent.
"Damn it!" he shouted, "I'm almost out of fuel! Fox, is there anything you can do?"
Fox knew he had to act fast if he wanted to save his friend's life.
"ROB, activate the tractor beam, now!"
"Affirmative, sir." ROB responded, "Locking on to target."
Bill kept his eye on the fuel meter as he continued towards the docking bay.
"Come on, Baby, don't fail me now!"
Finally, just as the fuel level had dropped to 3 percent, the tractor beam came in contact with his ship and pulled him in. He sighed with relief as his ship landed safely. After the Arwings landed and the docking bay doors closed, everyone climbed out of their ships.
"Thanks, Fox." Bill said, "That was way too close."
"Good thing we decided to install that tractor beam after all." Slippy said.
"I still think we could've used those ion cannons though." said Falco.
"How ya been, Bill?" Fox asked.
"Pretty good, although it has been a rough day. At least until you guys showed up."
Peppy soon came into the docking bay.
"Glad you made it back, Fox." he said, "Kyle's expecting you in the infirmary. He has something important to tell you about Krystal."
Krystal! Fox knew he'd forgotten about something. He bolted out of the room and headed towards the infirmary.
"I hope she's okay." Slippy said, "I don't think I've seen Fox this worried before."
"Oh, don't worry." said Peppy, "She's gonna be just fine."
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"I still can't believe this is happening." Krystal said, "I'm so excited."
Fox burst into the room.
"I came as soon as I could." he said.
"Ah, Fox. I'm glad you made it back." Kyle said.
"Hi, honey." Krystal said, with a smile on her face.
Krystal's sudden happiness surprised Fox.
"Hi." he said, "You seem pretty happy."
"And she has a good reason too." Kyle said, "I think you're gonna want to sit down for this."
"Okay." Fox said, taking a chair and sitting down.
"According to the results, it seems that she's perfectly healthy and has nothing to worry about."
"Well, that's good to hear."
"In fact," Kyle continued, "I think congratulations are in order."
Fox was stunned.
"You mean…?"
"That's right, Fox. She's pregnant."