NINE
Time slowed as the lion watched the searing laser-shot burn into the admiral's lower core; a very familiar pain beginning to flare in his own abdomen. A second ghostly blast filled his ears and sent his mind hurling back to the port-side door of a Cornerian Joint Multi-Role Aircraft: a helicopter built for troop transportation and aerial assault, with aerodynamics smooth as a bullet.
A dome helmeted Rottweiler in a grey flight suit had offered his hand from the port-side doorway of the JMR-A. The canine had assisted Guardian Five into the helicopter and stepped to the side as a second air crewmale, a Malamute who had stood a couple meters away from the opening, pulled the trigger of his laser pistol before the lion's eyes could adjust to the dark interior of the aircraft. Guardian five grasped his wound as he felt the hands of the Rottweiler, placed on his chest and left shoulder, push him towards the back of the helicopter while the dog's leg swept under his own, placing the lion flat on his back. Guardian five lay dazed and beyond disbelief, yet he knew exactly what was happening.
Suddenly the lion's memory was thrown back farther to the roof he'd scoped from that day, overwatching the target building he'd verbally mapped out with Guardian ten. Upon receiving word that Hotel had silenced all the outer alarms, Guardian five had kicked off the mission by taking out the guards in the south gate towers of the perimeter wall and at least two pairs of guards loitering in the courtyard; whilst Guardian ten cleared out his gate towers and the rest of the guards on her end. All shots were muffled by the weapon's build, allowing the bodies to drop dead before the surrounding guards and workers could piece together what was going on.
Once all guards had dropped, Guardian five asked. "Clear on your end Ten?"
"None alive, Five. Hotel, part the seas."
"Copy, parting the seas." Responded the female voice of Hotel.
Instantaneously, the two towering south gate doors opened into the courtyard. As soon as the gates opened, a blue utility hover-craft that had been previously driving close-by on the steel highway outside the south gate darted inside; pulling behind a large cargo container that provided cover from the target building. The instant it came to a halt, five urban dressed animals, consisting of a White-Tailed Eagle, a Desert Ram, a Brown Poodle, a Chihuahua, and an Irish Setter stepped out of the hovercraft. Each animal carried a single blaster rifle with a holographic site, a flashlight, and a supporting barrel grip.
The team began moving toward the structure, keeping their weapons trained on any moving workers and ordering them to drop to the ground. The doors closed back up as they quickly crossed the courtyard and took cover behind various shipping crates near the building's entrance, upon receiving word that more guards were on the way out. Two lines of laser fire sprayed from the building's third floor through its windows, followed shortly after by bursts of laser and plasma fire from the building's south bay entry.
Guardian five took out the two attackers on the third floor whilst the infil team tossed three electrifying grenades into the bay entry. Once they went off, the team proceeded into the building; reporting two more guards KIA, three more still active. From there the Guardians could only sit and wait, listening to the status reports of the infil team as they proceeded.
The list of enemy KIA steadily grew as the team climbed the first thirteen floors in search of their primary target. As the team transitioned to the fourteenth floor, Guardian five observed a window panel shatter on the twenty fourth floor of the target building. He angled his rifle to get a closer look at the panel, and observed a black rat standing calmly, hands clasped behind his back. The rat was clothed in black dress shoes, tan slacks, a short sleeve jade button up shirt, and a red beret he wore lazily on his head.
Guardian five instantly hopped on the comm line. "Be advised, we've got our HVT on the twenty fourth floor of the target building."
The male voice of the Setter in the infil team instantly replied, "Roger Guardian five. All right, Suite, let's make a hustle to the stairs. Keep your guard up. For Lylat's sake, do not get sloppy!"
"What the hell is he doing up there…?" Guardian Ten thought aloud over the comm.
Guardian Five kept his rifle trained on the rat, who continued to stand at the building's edge. Off in the distance Guardian Five could hear the whirring of an approaching helicopter. His eyes shifted from his scope toward the sound and saw an unidentified private helicopter headed toward the HVT. "We've got one helo possibly headed toward the target building."
The Setter responded, but not with what Guardian Five was expecting. "This place is lined with bombs! The elevator shafts are full of them!"
Shock struck Guardian Five at the report.
Guardian Ten took communications. "Get out of there Suite, rappel from the nearest windows you can find!"
Upon regaining control of himself, Guardian five switched his eyes back to the HVT. An ice-cold chill ran down Guardian Five's spine; the rat was looking right at him.
A dark, scratchy voice came over the comm line as the rat mouthed its words. "Every one of you is right where I want you." The approaching helicopter slowed to a hover right in front of the HVT, blocking him from Guardian Five's sight.
The voice continued, "We will be meeting very soon, Guardians."
As the helicopter pulled away, the HVT was gone.
Guardian Five was quick to give a status report. "The HVT is escaping in a private heli, orders?!"
Hotel answered. "Don't shoot the helo, the crash could harm civilians and then this whole operation would be…"
The voice was drowned out by what came next. A loud explosion sounded off from the target building, and every window that scaled its sides shattered, the steel shredded, and the building collapsed as if it was sinking into the ground; with a thick cloud of dust building at its foundation. As the entire structure sank completely into the cloud, a second explosion went off and sent the debris cloud tearing through the perimeter walls; sending the steel walls smashing through nearby hover crafts and into the surrounding buildings; followed by the concussion wave filled with fire, dust, and debris that spread like a wave through the surrounding area; ripping further into the structural bases in its range. The entire building Guardian five resided on shook from the assault. He struggled to hop to his feet as a horrific thought came to his mind. He got back on the comm line. "Guardian Ten, what's your status?!"
Guardian ten's voice was filled with urgency. "There right behind-… GAAAAH!"
The chill in his spine proceeded to enwrap his entire body. Suddenly, his ears picked up on the door that he had come out of sliding open. The lion turned, drawing his pistol as he did, and saw a security guard wearing an identical uniform to the ones in Geming's compound stumbling out of its opening. Before the guard could even raise her own rifle, Guardian five had sent a laser blast into her chest cavity and leapt into a fresh bed of vegetation; laying as low as possible. The plants were too dense to see through, but Guardian five heard around an additional five guards enter the room.
"Were the fuck did he go?!" One of them said.
"We should get out of here man…" A second, terrified voice replied. "This entire structure might come down!"
"That'd be a less painful death than what we'd face if we returned to Geming without the Guardian, find him!"
Using as little movement necessary, Guardian five undid his shock pellet pouch and grasped about six of them.
"He's in the plants somewhere, get low and just start shooting."
With a strong flick of his wrist, Guardian five sent the pellets flying over the vegetation toward the voices; which instantly erupted in alarm.
"What the fuck?! What was-GAAAHHH!" Multiple of the guard voices cried out in pain as the electricity burst from the pellets and rendered their targets defenseless.
The lion rose to a crouch just enough to see who he had affected. Four guards stood locked in a tormented stance as electricity continued to zip around their bodies. Guardian Five shot all four down in just under three seconds, instantly diving into a fresh patch of vegetation.
Back in the prone, he began to listen for the next movement; it was then he tuned into the urgent chatter from Hotel going on in his earpiece. "Guardian Five, Guardian Ten, do I have a read from either of you, over?!"
Keeping movement at a minimum, the lion began utilizing a small button on his earpiece to send a pattern of clicks over the comm line.
Hotel instantly responded. "We read you Guardian Five, status active, requesting extraction from assigned post. A helo is on its way, ETA thirty seconds. Please confirm the traded information and list your surrounding threat level on a scale of one to three."
Guardian Five's ears picked up on boots crunching down plants to his two o'clock, and responded by tossing more shock pellets in the direction. One voice shouted out in agony, which was silenced hardly two seconds later by a shot from the lion's pistol. This time Guardian five remained where he was and laid flat on the ground, motionless, waiting for any retaliation fire; none came. The lion let his mouth hang agape, taking in the surrounding scents; his mouth curved into a smile.
Hotel came on again. "Guardian Five, did you copy my last?"
Guardian Five remembered his extraction request and began responding with clicks. Information: Confirmed. Threat level: zero. The lion sheathed his blaster and began slowly crawling around to flank his remaining prey.
"Copy confirmation and threat level, though… invalid." Humor leaked through her added comment. "ETA on helo, ten seconds."
Guardian Five could smell the close proximity of his target. I just need five. The lion could see the guard now, a rugged buffalo, crouched and slowly stepping through the vegetation. All of Guardian Five's muscles tensed in preparation and excitement; the claws on his muscle packed paws unsheathing to their grizzly length. Now!
The guard didn't even have time to completely face toward the lion before he was slammed to the ground with all eight claws embedded in his upper back muscles, and four fangs accompanied by countless other teeth snapped his neck vertebrae from the pressure of the bite. The buffalo instantaneously ceased movement, and Guardian Five tore his teeth and talons from the beast; swallowing the chunk of muscle his jaws took with it whilst feeling a rush that he hadn't felt in a long time. He licked his fangs and chops clean of the animal's blood. Live for the hunt, live for nothing but the hunt. It was short lived however, as he quickly remembered the unknown state of Guardian Ten.
Guardian Five stood and turned toward the window panel he had been sniping from, observing a news chopper hovering right outside of it; with another identical security guard standing in its personnel hold. The guard appeared fearfully dumbfounded, and not a second later a police force labeled JMR-A flew up and stopped right in front of it; a voice boasting from its loudspeaker, informing the news chopper to vacate the premises. The security guard instantly closed the sliding door for the personnel hold as the news chopper ascended and took off from the area toward the sea to the north.
Guardian Five's heart began to race. As he began running toward his sniper rifle, the entire building resumed violently shaking, then entered a slight free fall as the structure's base snapped and the building shortened by approximately four meters.
Guardian five was forced to the ground as the building landed. The assaulted side of the structure came down faster, and the entire building began to tip toward the bomb's origin point.
Guardian Five's heart rate heightened further. He got to his feet as fast as he could, working to keep his balance with the slanting floor, then made a mad dash toward his rifle as it began sliding toward the descending side of the building. He reached for it as he approached the window, but it was just out of his arm length. Refusing to lose his rifle and leave evidence of his presence in the rubble, the lion dove toward the sniper, grasping it in his hands as he smashed through a window panel adjacent to the side of the building.
The instant he felt himself plummeting toward the ground, he rotated himself toward the JMR-A, drew his pistol with his supporting hand, keeping a firm grasp on his rifle, and launched a magnet toward the JMR-A. The sphere attached to the forward port side of the aircraft, bringing him to a vicious stop. His entire arm felt as if it had been snapped in two, but he held his grip as it began to quickly bring him up to the JMR-A while the massive building he had been in seconds ago passed him by only a couple meters and crashed into the ground; nearly disintegrating into it. A young Rottweiler had been standing in the bird's port side door and offered out his hand. "That was badass, brother!"
Guardian five handed the dog his rifle, which the Rottweiler set aside in the aircraft before helping the lion inside the helicopter. "We need to follow that news chopper now! They're going to know what happened to Guardian Ten!" Guardian Five ordered loud enough to be heard over the whirring of the JMR-A blades.
"I wouldn't worry about her…" The dog replied grimly.
Before Guardian Five could question the air crewmale further, he was pulled into the aircraft and shot in his lower abdomen by the second crewmale. Before pushing him to the ground, the Rottweiler pulled the Guardian's pistol from his hand.
The Rottweiler then turned on the Malamute. "What the hell are you thinking?! You were supposed to stun him!"
"I… I thought-thought it was set-" The Malamute fought hard to get his sentence out.
"Well get the fuck over there and get him sedated!" The Rottweiler barked as he shoved the Malamute toward the Guardian and turned to close the side-door.
Guardian five swiftly reached for one of his ballistic knives attached to his right shoulder blade. Ripping it off, he aimed it straight at the Malamute who was just looking up from adjusting his fire selector; releasing the blade and sending it right between the Malamute's eyes.
The Rottweiler turned toward him as he heard the body crumple to the floor and was met by three hundred fifty pounds of muscle plowing into him.
Guardian five smashed the dog up against the front wall of the JMR-A troop and cargo hold, fighting the pain of his wound the entire way, then removed the crewmale's helmet and threw a powerful right hook into the dog's temple; tossing his stunned body into the port side corner of the hold. The lion retrieved his pistol before opening the door that led to the cockpit, finding two pilots sitting inside. Guardian five put the pistol to the back of the primary pilot's neck before the pilot could even acknowledge his presence. "The news chopper you scared off, find it and follow it! I don't want to kill you, but I will not murder one of my partners by leaving them behind. If that's your intention, you and the rest of this damn government can go to hell!"
Without even offering a verbal response, the primary pilot sent the JMR-A into an aggressive spin to throw the Guardian to the rear of the aircraft; but the lion had managed to take and keep a firm hold on the doorway of the cockpit. As the secondary pilot went to draw his own pistol, Guardian five aimed at him and put him down; then proceeded to pull himself back into the cockpit by the arm he had grasping the entryway. When he had the primary pilot in view, the pilot threw an elbow toward the Guardian's face. The lion took the hit unphased, raised the blaster to the pilot's head, and ended his life.
Re-sheathing his pistol, the Guardian reached up and grabbed the control wheel with his free hand, trying to regain control of the aircraft, but in vain. The JMR-A crashed into a nearby structure, and Guardian Five was yanked back into the troop/cargo hold by the force of the collision; getting knocked from the memory as he had been knocked unconscious from the impact.
The lion's eyes cleared, and saw Admiral Shepherd on her knees, bent over from her own wound.
The lieutenant put away the laser pistol he had used to take the shot, as he looked at Shepherd with a dominant pride.
Shepherd had a hand on her wound and one on the floor, trying to keep herself from falling to her side. She looked back up at the lieutenant with an intent to kill. "Why?!" She uttered in a low, deep growl.
The hunter interjected. "He's not the only one who's going to stand against his government this day."
Shepherd shifted her murderous, teeth bared glare over to the predator.
The lion stood his ground, unphased. "On your feet."
"Why not just kill me?!" The admiral asked spitefully.
"On, your, feet." The hunter repeated.
Keeping her eyes locked on the predator, Shepherd drew her lips together before painfully rolling from her forefoot to her heels so that her knees lifted from the floor and her feet were planted flat on the ground underneath her, then she struggled to stand up as she fought past the fiery sting of her wound.
The lion held the stare. "I take life when ordered to, in self-defense, or to complete an objective." He tossed the admiral a set of solid gel cuffs with a flat, round, metal circle that contained the figure eight intersection of the gel wire. "You control whether you put yourself under either of my last two reasons."
Shepherd gave no acknowledgement, but by judging her character the lion didn't need it. She simply looked down at the cuffs and started to slip her right hand through one of the loops.
"Behind your back." The hunter ordered.
Shepherd's eyes looked back up at the lion, her expression unchanged, before turning around and slipping both her hands through the gel loops. Once each cuff was around her wrist, the loops tightened by reeling the excess wire into the circle that divided the two cuffs. Shepherd faced and returned her glare to the predator.
The predator stared back, unaffected. "I advise you not to try and break out of those." Once the lion saw Shepherd's responseless understanding, he walked over toward where his sniper rifle lay from when he was trapped between the two shields. He knelt down and picked up the rifle, giving it a quick inspection. Still so strong, so resilient. He thought, pleased to see the rifle had taken no discernable damage. Once finished, he stood up, carrying his rifle in a patrol ready position, and looked over at the lieutenant. "Lead the way."
….
The arrival to Katina had gone as smooth as Fox could hope for. The Great Fox II traveled down into the planet's atmosphere toward the thirty second quadrant until they arrived at the harbor containing their assigned bay. The harbor easily reached a thousand meters into the sky, held floor measurements of around a hundred square meters, and was surrounded by identical hangers as well as facilities, compounds, and other structures; all varying in shape and size. The area looked as dense and widespread as one of Corneria's capital cities.
R.O.B aligned the Great Fox along its bay in the harbor wall and waited for the magnetic technology to pull the vessel in so he could gently land the Great Fox on the bay floor. Once in place, R.O.B entered the command to extend the Great Fox's hanger bay ramps out to the ground.
Fox, Lucy, Amanda, and Slippy were met by a uniformed, female Cocker Spaniel, and two additional armed male dogs of the same attire at the foot of the ramp. They all bore emblems additional to the plain golden sphere of Corneria that mentioned security, although unlike Corneria and their spacefleet, the guard's uniforms were as grey as the unchanged structures on Katina. The female guard stood straight with an imperious manner as she announced, "Welcome to Katina, we will be your escorts to your destination. Prior to our departure, we will need to check your vessel for security violations. I'm sure this has already been explained to you?"
Fox nodded. Whatever it takes to get a move on…
"Then standby and my guards will make this as quick as possible." With that, the spaniel gestured to her guards to begin the walkthrough of the Great Fox.
While the search was underway, Slippy took time to calm and assure the currently worrisome Amanda that he would be coming right back.
Fox watched his dearest friend comfort his wife on the bay floor, fearing for what the future held. Suddenly the soreness in his jaw spiked to a sting. Fox pressed his palm into the area as he turned away from Slippy and Amanda's sight, voicing a short moan of discomfort. I don't remember blows hurting this bad, could he have fractured something? Fox massaged the area, trying to feel for anything abnormal. Doesn't even feel swollen… He noticed the pain coming from inside his mouth as well, right in the same spot underneath his gums. The sting slowly subsided, and Fox observed Lucy slowly approaching him with her arms folded nervously.
"Everything okay Fox?" She asked in her usual, caring way.
Fox nodded, dropping his hand from his jaw. "Nothing that can't be ignored."
Lucy gave a soft smile and looked down toward the ground. "You uh…," She looked back up at him, her smile turning slightly adventurous. "You ready for all this?"
Fox looked off toward a steel roadway that ran through the interior of each harbor floor, in between all the bays, allowing for hovercraft transportation to pick-up or drop-off any loading or offloading personnel or cargo. He eyed a specific grey hover-van that was stationed right outside their own bay. "I have to be."
He felt a slight jab at his left arm followed by Lucy's playful tone. "Come on, you gotta be more positive than that."
Fox knew she was just trying to lighten the mood, but few knew how impossible that was for him in times like these. Fox simply looked down and replied. "Were it so easy."
Before Lucy could say anything further, the security officers exited the Great Fox and gave the all clear.
"All right," The female security officer barked out, "Fox McCloud and Slippy Toad, come with me. The rest of you are free to explore as you please; as long as you stay out of unauthorized areas. Let's go."
Fox looked back at Lucy. "Remember the plan." He said with a quick nod at her before following their escort.
"Fox."
He turned back toward Lucy to see her walk toward him with haste; quickly embracing him in a tight hug once she reached him.
"I don't know what's going to happen, but thank you for everything; accepting me, training me, and always just… letting me be me." She whispered to him as she rested her chin on his shoulder.
Fox was taken back; her words echoing from the voice of another. "…You… belong with Star Fox even more so than I do." Was his distant reply as he awkwardly returned her embrace.
"No." Lucy let him go when she felt him release her, looking up into his eyes as they parted. "Star Fox won't exist if you don't return; please come back."
Fox forced a smile for her as he started walking toward the Cocker Spaniel. "I promise to give it my all." His eyes shifted and caught sight of Slippy giving a final kiss to his still hesitant wife before joining Fox at his side.
"All right, here we go!" Slippy announced, sounding as enthusiastic as he usually tried to be.
Fox could hardly even muster up a smile for his childhood friend. "I've gotta admit: for Krystal's sake, I'm glad you're coming." He answered, keeping his voice low enough to avoid the guards tuning in.
Slippy grinned, replying in the same hushed volume. "Of course, I'm always up to help save a damsel in distress!"
Fox glanced over at him, "For yours and mine sake however, you'd better freakin come back."
Slippy didn't even seem phased. "We've got this."
Fox looked back ahead. We'd better…
Upon being led to the hover-van Fox had observed, he and Slippy got in opposing sides of the vehicle's mid-section seating while the Cocker Spaniel got in the front passenger seat. The driver was a short trimmed Bobtail Sheepdog who didn't acknowledge either of them, but only released the vehicle's parking lock and pulled back on its joystick between the driver and passenger seat to get the hover-van moving forward toward their destination. The sheepdog drove the car up to a large steel door that eventually split open to reveal a large elevator for ascending and descending vehicles. The sheepdog proceeded to pull into the vast steel box and parked in an open, marked spot. The elevator took them to the ground level where the hover-van exited the harbor and began navigating the streets that carved through all the other harbors and structures that filled the surrounding area.
Fox had been taking in every detail of their route as he possibly could in case his underground escape was to fall through; yet the more he took in, the more hopeless he felt. Please let the water system work!
They reached the outskirts of the city within ten minutes. Fox checked the time on his wrist VDT; he had started a timer with the identical amount of time left on his watch so that he didn't have to wear two devices, though he kept the watch in an inner pocket on his down vest. Three hours, five minutes. Two hours until I need to be out of here with the package… The time seemed enough, but Fox was terrified of its mysterious habit of ticking away before one's very eyes.
Once out of the city, Katina was dominated by dry savanna to both sides of the road, interrupted by a lone compound every few hundred kilometers. The more their time in the hover-van increased, the more Fox had to check himself from either tapping his foot, fiddling with his hands, or gritting his teeth behind his lips. Lucy's words of thanks kept running through his head, but the haunting voice that spoke them still didn't belong to her. The words transformed into the voice's own as they looped, until it sounded as if the speaker were whispering right into his ear. 'Thank you for everything. Accepting me for who I am, training me, and just… always being there... for me.' Fox closed his eyes, watching the images of the suffering he had witnessed and the sight of her fall from the hotel; ever assaulting him with the fear of what was to come.
….
As much as Shepherd wanted to attribute her pounding heart to rage, she knew too well she'd only be fooling herself; she was afraid. Not of the intruder that trailed three meters behind her, keeping close watch over her in case she decided to run. Not of death, something she had faced many times and learned to place in the back of her mind. Neither of these affected her in the least; Shepherd feared her soldiers. Who else under my command wouldn't hesitate to aim a blaster at me and pull the trigger? She thought, the invader's words echoing in her head, 'He's not the only one who's going to stand against his government this day.'
She watched the lieutenant she followed behind, the white uniformed officer appearing as pure and untarnished as any other cornerian soldier, leading her down the gold trimmed halls that were once her domain. How long have I been leading animals that were eagerly waiting for this day to come?
Regardless of her inner turmoil, Shepherd kept her expression cold and concealed. They would not see her weakness; the intruder had already come too close to exploiting one of them. The sight of the CSC IRT between the two force fields burned in Shepherd's head. Enough. Her conscience shouted as she erased the thought. You will not weaken yourself grieving for something you cannot change.
The trio reached the lift that would take them up to the bridge. A pair of convex steel doors separated to reveal a cylindrical, white lit room large enough to contain four tall beings.
"Admiral, face me." Shepherd heard the intruder command as the lieutenant stepped in and to the side of the elevator.
"Admiral…" Shepherd mentally laughed at the word as she did as the intruder commanded, only to be met with a powerful forward kick right to her blast wound. The crushing, twisting sensation from her internal organs came flooding back with a fiery vengeance. She stumbled backward onto the lift floor, fell on her knees, and then toppled over to her left side; curling herself tightly around her injury. Shepherd could hardly contain a fit of whimpering and growling as the struck wound continued to torment her entire core. A chill ran through her when she tasted blood in her throat. Not good.
…
The lion paid no more attention to Shepherd as he stepped over the admiral's tensely curled body and stood aside the lieutenant. The elevator doors closed behind him and with his command, the lift began its ascent to the bridge.
"Let me give her the next blow, eh?" The lieutenant asked as he maliciously glanced at Shepherd. "I've been wanting to show this bitch what a pain in the tail she's be-"
The lieutenant was silenced by the lion's right hand wrapping around his throat and slamming him up against the lift wall. The predator proceeded to hit the lift's stop button with the barrel of his sniper, bringing the elevator to a smooth halt. The beagle's eyes grew wide with terror as the hunter's hand tightened and began to crush his windpipe. The mask's red eyes drew close to his own.
"There is more to why I kicked her than you know; this all serves a purpose." The lion released the beagle, who struggled to gasp in all the air he could. "You are to drag her in, toss her in the view of all who used to follow her, then take your place back by my side." The predator stated as he turned back toward the lift doors and spoke the order for the elevator to resume movement.
The voice in the hunter's ear returned. "Warning, two more CSC IRF members are awaiting four levels below the bridge and are looking to stop the lift and ambush you.
"You have control of the entire ship?" The lion asked, irritation leaking through his voice.
"That is correct."
"And are there turrets outside the lift on that level?"
"Two are on standby with the IRF members."
"Then there shouldn't be a problem."
"I have not been programed to make decisions, only to report data according to my-"
The predator closed his eyes, attempting to contain his frustration. "Counter their commands; keep us headed to the bridge, and kill both IRT soldiers with whatever turrets you have available."
The voice made no attempt to conceal its pleasure. "Do you see how easy things are when we all follow our directives?"
The lion said nothing as the lift began to slow to a halt. He lifted his rifle to examine it once more, tracing over all the nicks he had personally carved as a vengeful excitement came over him. This is it…
…...
A short cut, white uniformed Aussie nervously stared at a screen loaded with commands that had all been denied.
A Black Lab walked up behind him and observed the same. "Talk to me Lory!"
"I've tried every code in the book ma'am. I've attempted bypassing certain security protocols, manually accessing assets; it's like a virus has been put in our system."
A voice shouted out from the other control pit in the bridge. "Stop those turrets now! What the fu-, NO! Kill the ship's power!"
Different voices from the other control panel rows in both Lory's pit and the adjacent pit begin shouting.
"We've tried cutting the power, nothing's going through!"
"Why is that elevator still on its way here?!"
"Both IRT members are down chief!"
"Someone check the turrets in here fucking now!"
"Soldiers in pit one, row one and pit two, row one, grab your rifles and surround the elevator doors! Everyone else, remain at your stations and get us control of our ship!"
Lory's nerves rocketed as he realized his row was called. His mind fell into disarray as he grabbed his sub-blaster rifle and began making his way down his row, heading toward the ramp that led to the mid-room walkway. Fuck, this was never supposed to happen! I'm not supposed to be holding this! This is for infantry! He reached the top of the ramp and proceeded down the four-meter-wide walkway that ran between the two pits and ended at the elevator.
A black Chihuahua master chief, the same dog that gave the order to converge on the lift doors, hollered again as he paced the walkway; nearly bumping into the few soldiers who were making their way to the elevator. "Why are the rest of the two rows I called still sitting down as if I've said nothing?! Move it runts! Yes, today you actually have to stand up and fire a weapon in the military!"
Lory glanced back and saw that nearly half the soldiers called in both pits still remained at their stations.
The master chief exploded in fury. "WHAT THE FUCK!? We have a highly dangerous individual and a traitor on their way, MOVE!"
Four meters from the elevator door, private Lory stopped in his tracks and looked again toward the pits. He studied the faces of each animal left behind, coming to a chilling realization. That's not fear...
Suddenly, Lory heard the turrets activate directly above him. He looked back at the elevator doors in time to witness the ones who did report get shredded by a pair of heavy, rapid fire laser shots.
Another voice yelled out. "SHIT! Take them out!"
Lory felt himself going numb as blasts from all around him shot at the turrets. Quick as lightning, the turrets whipped around to each target that returned fire and either eternally silenced them, wounded them, or forced them to take cover. Lory was overcome by a powerful nausea and vomited where he stood. His legs then failed him and he fell to the floor; head spinning and ears buzzing beyond control. He could no longer hear it, but everything around him had fallen silent as the elevator arrived at the bridge.
….
The elevator doors split open and the lion took in the vast, open control room covered by a dome of large window panels. The second pair of turrets he had ordered the AI to activate hung parallel to each other from the asteroid rated glass, about four meters out. The hunter's eyes proceeded to scan down a fifteen-meter walkway that divided two half circle control pits that looked three meters deep and held a radius of seven meters. Each pit held four rows of control panels that ran with the curved end of the circle. His eyes switched to the soldiers on the bridge. Every occupant was either crouching or laying still with their eyes on the arrivals, or lay wounded or lifeless on the ground. A group of five mutilated bodies lay about two meters from the lift entrance, in a slowly increasing pool of blood that defiled the polished white floor; a sixth body lay crumpled and shaking about four meters out.
The predator glanced at the lieutenant and gave him a nod.
The lieutenant acknowledged the order by leaning down and grabbing Shepherd by her scruff, dragging her off the elevator and down the walkway.
The hunter followed about a meter behind them, eying the soldiers all around him, and stepping over the dead. The one dog he observed lying on the walkway had quickly pushed himself to the starboard side of the path in horror upon seeing the admiral being dragged by the lieutenant. Without stopping, the lion gave the Aussie a shove with his boot, sending the dog crashing down with a yelp into the adjacent pit. The trio reached the center of the walkway and, as instructed, the lieutenant released Shepherd and took his place beside the predator.
The lion walked over to where Shepherd lay, still curled around her wound. Perfect. The hunter thought pleasantly. Using his foot, the predator rolled the admiral onto her back, receiving the same spiteful glare from her; except this time Shepherd's eyes irritably questioned him.
The hunter smirked proudly behind his mask. Immediately afterwards, he lifted his right foot in the air and sent the heel of his boot smashing into the admiral's wound. The predator held it there and began to twist and drive his heel as deep as he could into her abdomen, finally drawing a howl of torment from Shepherd.
Multiple soldiers drew their weapons and aimed at the intruder, but the turrets were on them the second they had reached for their blasters; taking a few more souls and sending the rest ducking back into cover.
The lion looked up from Shepherd and began to study the faces of his audience. Several expressions were already informing him which ones would be joining him, and which ones would be executed. Our part in this is nearly completed, my angel. He thought with pride. The rest is up to McCloud.
…..
Slow down! Fox yelled at himself as he, once again, had to steady his pace to match that of Slippy; let alone stay behind the female security officer who was leading them to captain Dalles.
The ride to the headquarters was the most agonizing time he'd ever had to endure. Every second that ticked away felt like a blade cutting into his gut. Upon their arrival, Fox had nearly leapt out of the vehicle in angst to get to the entry. Slippy and the female patrol officer joined him outside the hover-van, and the three of them headed off toward the gate in the perimeter fence surrounding the Katina Military Intelligence Headquarters.
The perimeter was marked by a two-level electromagnetic fence that stretched nearly out of sight in both directions. The panels between each post burned a fiery red and gave off a monotone hum that warned off any who dared approach. Directly behind the panels was an iron barred barrier that stood just as tall and acted as a backup perimeter barricade in the event of either a power outage or failure. The gate looked the same as the panels discounting two neighboring door frames the field overlaid. Parallel steel walls stretched out from each side of the doorways, enforcing strict control of traffic flow.
To both sides of the gate, placed at a distance of approximately thirty meters each, were in-ground, concrete fortified bunkers; Fox hadn't even seen them until they had nearly passed them. The dry, tan grass kept any grounded, low silhouette defenses well hidden. Even after spotting the bunkers, the only internal aspects Fox could make out through the observation openings of each were the dark outline of what seemed to be an automatic turret and the moving bodies of at least two soldiers that were posted there.
Fox looked back up at the gate they were almost to. Additional turrets were posted on each side of the gate as well as in a pair of thin steel towers that rose above the perimeter fence, with a guard sharing the space in each one. Behind this arsenal packed wall lay a two level, three hundred square-meter building in its center. That must be it… Fox thought.
Over his shoulder, Fox suddenly tuned into the heavy breathing of Slippy, who was practically jogging to keep up with him. Damn it Fox, slow down! Fox thought, cursing himself again.
Slippy's voice didn't show any signs of irritation. "If it weren't for all the defenses, one wouldn't believe that this is the structure that holds all the dirty secrets of Lylat, ay Fox?" He huffed out as he caught up.
Fox returned to studying the structure. Other than its sheer size, the military intelligence headquarters of Lylat had nothing unique to offer. No custom architecture, no assigned insignias, nothing that made the structure stand out from any other on the planet. Except for its defenses... Fox awoke back in the endless battle with the fear of his failure. Those tunnels have to work… There's no other way… Fox screwed his eyes shut and tilted his head as if someone had just thrown sand in his face. It will work! I hope you can hear me, Krystal; I will save-
"Fox?"
Fox snapped his eyes open and looked over at Slippy.
Slippy looked curiously at him. "Did you hear me?"
"Yeah." Fox gave him a weak smile. "I guess… they don't want to bring too much attention to it."
"With these levels of weaponry and strategic defense, no one would be able to get in any way!"
Or out. Fox thought with another shiver. He forced himself to keep repeating his previous thoughts.
Slippy turned his attention to the guard leading them inside. "Do any of your turrets have long range capabilities?"
"Katina's facilities are all completely equipped with up-to-date tech and weaponry." Was the spaniel's short reply.
Slippy caught the hint and fell silent.
Fox resumed taking mental notes of his surroundings. The trio reached the gate and the guard first entered between the walls leading to the entry, followed by Fox, then Slippy. Fox studied the walls to both sides of him, noticing multiple symmetrically placed panels in the steel that could either be removed or slid open.
The guard came to a halt half a meter from the glowing red doorway. "Stand back." She ordered.
Fox took a step back, accidentally bumping into Slippy who grunted in surprise. "Sorry, you okay?"
"Been through worse in an Arwing." Slippy replied with a smile.
Fox returned half a smile, finding both comfort and angst in his friend's positive attitude. Memories flashed through his mind of the two of them goofing off as kids on playgrounds and sandboxes, reading comics, playing with toys and video games, and staying up late to swap scary stories. The day Fox's father died, the Toad's took him in for the rest of his high school education, treating him like one of their own; Slippy became his brother that day. Even if I save her, I've still long lost her. What happens if I lose you too…?
"Hey!"
Fox snapped back to reality, realizing that the female officer had already stepped through and was impatiently waiting on the other side.
A second guard, the one who barked, stood on the other side of the transparent barrier. "If you're done daydreaming, please step in front of the force field, angle your arms along your sides and distanced from your body."
Fox hurriedly complied. His body began to heat up, feeling foolish for getting distracted. Again!
Fox stood as ordered as a blue, holographic panel shot forth from both walls and began to horizontally scan the sides of his body from head to boot. The panel completed two full sweeps, then Fox was ordered to turn toward one of the walls; so his entire front and back side could also be scanned. Once done, the second guard listed off the discovered items that Fox needed to remove from his person before entry could be granted. For Fox, only his wrist VDT needed to be removed and handed over; he had already prepared for the equipment strip by leaving his blaster and any other item that could be considered a weapon at the Great Fox.
Once Fox removed his VDT, one of the steel panels closest to the red field opened, revealing a large compartment to place the requested items in. Fox surrendered his VDT, the panel closed, and the red field in front of him dissipated. He was directed to step through and follow the long hall till it opened back up to the courtyard between them and the headquarters. Fox did as commanded as he looked to the building ahead of them; estimating about a three-hundred-meter walk to the entrance. Slippy joined them shortly after, and the three continued down a widespread cement pathway to the structure ahead.
"They take anything from you?" Fox asked.
"My lucky wrench…" Slippy replied, gloomily.
"What?!" Fox asked, displaying shock for his friend.
Slippy began to fume. "They're so strict at these places…"
Fox smiled and gave Slippy a soft pat on the back as he resumed scanning his surroundings. The dry grass that bordered the pathway and covered the landscape surrounded them and the headquarters in an ocean that rolled like waves in the wind, occasionally exposing more symmetrically placed bunkers in both fields; each containing its own defenses. Fox exhaled anxiously through his nostrils as he looked up to a dismal, ivy green sky that stretched up from the landscape and peered down upon him. The breeze carried a chill that went straight through him, taking any warmth his body had stored up; the place felt dooming. You're going to do this, you're both going to make it. Fox swallowed, discovering through discomfort that his mouth and throat were completely parched. He also was reminded of the endless sting in his jaw; feeling it increase to a burning sensation. You're alright Fox, just a weird bruise…
The walk to the headquarters' entrance felt like an arwing's cruising speed. Fox constantly had to remind himself to slow down, stay with Slippy and behind the Cocker Spaniel. It took about two minutes to reach the entrance to the compound. Two sets of double doors stood side by side, the glass in them was tinted so it was impossible to see into the building from the outside. More glass panels of identical size to the doors were placed on the entire front side of the building's first and second floors, about two-meters distance between each other and in a checkered pattern.
Fox swallowed as the guard held one of the doors open for himself and Slippy to step inside. Closer now… Fox thought, feeling both comfort and angst; he was growing sick of all these mixed emotions. He glanced down at his VDT and was reminded that he had handed it over at the gate. He proceeded to take the wrist watch given to him by Dash out of his pocket and strap it to his wrist; glancing at its listed time. Two hours, forty minutes. Fox instantly lost his comfort. Less than two hours to sneak the package out of here… Lylat, someone, help me! HELP HER!
Fox and Slippy stepped into a plain, rectangular room with commercial smooth floors and white walls stamped with the gold Cornerian emblem. Across the room from the entry doors were four more solid steel doors spread along the wall with about a half-meter spacing between each. On the left side of each door was a silver rectangular panel containing a small red button with a red or green lit bulb of the same size above the button; above the light was four small parallel vents. Once the security officer had entered after Fox and Slippy, she proceeded to one of the doors with a green light, pressed and held down the button. Fox took a moment to better observe the room in which they stood, spotting a black glass dome in the center of the ceiling. Three-sixty-degree security camera…
"Zulu-one-seven." The cocker spaniel spoke into the vent before releasing the button. The statement drew Fox's eyes back to the door as it popped ajar. The security officer opened the door the rest of the way and gestured for Slippy and Fox to step inside. Fox and Slippy complied and transferred into a room made of steel floors and walls, with steel benches lining the sides of the room. On the other end of the room was a short passage occupied by a middle aged, plump white mouse, about a decimeter shorter than Fox, in a jet black tieless suit buttoned to the collar; a set of blue examination gloves on his hands. Fox heard the guard close the door behind them and turned his head to see her step back into one of the room corners.
He turned his attention back to the mouse as it spoke, "McCloud, step forward."
Fox approached the mouse and stopped a couple meters from him.
"Arms away from your sides." The male mouse ordered, completely monotone.
Fox complied, and the mouse walked up to him and began to pat him down, top to bottom.
"Step to the back of the room." The mouse said after he had checked every part of Fox's person.
Fox complied and took up residence not far from the diligently watchful security officer.
"Toad, step forward." The mouse ordered.
Slippy hurriedly reported to the mouse and threw his arms up before the mouse could even ask it of him. The mouse shook his head slightly, releasing a quiet, annoyed sigh as he began to pat Slippy down in the same manner as he did Fox.
Once Slippy cleared the inspection, the mouse gave him and Fox a quick glance. "Come with me." He stated as he removed and disposed of his gloves in an unmarked bin, then turned and headed toward the passage he had come from. At the end of the short passage was another steel door with a panel of an identical set up as the room's entry door; minus the light. The mouse held down the button and said, "Basil" into the vent. After a brief moment, the door popped ajar and the mouse led them into a large, open, glistening white office area with cubicles spread throughout.
Directly ahead of Fox, Slippy, and the mouse was a cleared space with a 'U' shaped wooden desk at its center; manned with two lobbyists. To both sides of the desk were two rows of padded chairs; seated in one of them was a Dalmatian in an equally white dress uniform; only his short fur's own spots and suit's admirable collection of metals standing out along with the golden sphere on his shirt collar and coat shoulder. The Dalmatian had been focused on a silver tablet he held in his hand before looking up and smiling at the sight of his guests.
"Welcome!" The spotted dog brightly announced as he rose to his feet and made his way over toward the group, slipping the tablet into his dress coat's inner pocket. He approached Fox first and offered a handshake as an additional greeting. "I'm Captain Dalles. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. McCloud."
The last two words out of Dalles mouth nearly caused Fox to freeze up. Dash's voice burned in his ears as memories of Fox's reencounter with the primate flashed through his head; all of them displaying the ape's long, sinister grin. Fox managed to shake himself of the attack as he took the captain's hand and responded without emotion. "Fox is fine."
"Then Fox it is." The captain replied with a light-hearted smile as he turned to Slippy. "And Mr. Toad, correct?"
Slippy returned Dalles' handshake eagerly, matching the smile. "It's been a thrill to finally set foot in such a facility."
"Oh, you've seen nothing yet, that's exactly why we requested you come with Fox. An intellect such as yours will prove very useful in the analysis we need."
Slippy beamed with pride, like a youngling that was given a huge compliment.
Fox only felt more unease. I really hope this is all an act… He had zoned out during Slippy's response, but a clap from the captain's hands brought him back to the world.
"Well, we've got a load to do and not much time to do it, so if we're all ready?" He waited until he got a hesitant nod of confirmation from Fox and an enthusiastic one from Slippy before looking over toward the mouse that had let them in. "Ralph, keep looking fantastic."
The mouse just waved his hand at the captain in a brushing motion with an unamused groan as he turned and headed toward one of the chairs near the lobby desk.
"Outstanding." Dalles grinned with self amusement as he turned and began a trek down one of the cubicle aisles. "Follow me please!" He called out.
Fox and Slippy glanced at each other, and Fox gestured for Slippy to take the lead. Slippy smiled. "Didn't think we'd run into someone like him, ay Fox?" He asked as he took off after the Dalmatian.
"I'm not so sure it's a good thing that we did…" Fox said distantly as he followed after Slippy, glancing over his own shoulder as he walked. Ralph had taken a seat and pulled a puzzle book out of his blazer, and the security officer that had escorted them to the headquarters was nowhere to be seen. Might not have even entered the lobby with us; no sense worrying about it either way… He thought as he looked past Slippy down at Dalles. I'm now with my contact, hopefully, and he's leading me to what I've got to take. Oh Lylat, PLEASE LET THIS WORK!
The ever-increasing anxiety inside of Fox was beginning to cause him to sweat beneath his fur. He looked down at his watch again, almost ten minutes had passed.
The trio had made it out of the cubicles and were now traveling down long, flat carpeted, decorless, gold trimmed halls. The place had been fairly populated so far. Each cubicle had contained at least one business dressed worker, and Fox, Slippy, and Dalles passed an animal or two headed the opposite direction every ten to twenty seconds. After turning another corner, a lift was in sight; about twenty meters out. Fox glared at it as if it were the very enemy he had come to face.
The group reached the lift, and Dalles hit the call button for the vessel. "Have either of you been briefed on why you're here?"
Fox shook his head while Slippy spoke. "Not a word."
The captain chuckled. "Doesn't surprise me, no one ever communicates… It's only the military, right? Not like passing information between soldiers wins wars or anything."
The lift doors slid open and the trio stepped in. The steel box was large enough to fit at least twenty people.
"Big as it seems," Captain Dalles said, gesturing to the lift, "when shift-change comes around, it takes an entire hour to get everyone in and out of this place. You've really got to love your job to work here." Dalles placed his hand on a scanner that replaced the usual level controls. The system recognized his prints and brought up a screen with the five sections to choose from. Dalles selected section two, and the screen brought up ten more sub-sections, from which Dalles selected sub-section seven.
The lift instantaneously began a very rapid descent to what Fox guessed was going to be the twenty seventh sub-level. Definitely won't take long to get there. He mentally griped, feeling a little shaken at the unexpected drop; his head and tail fur noticeably spiked.
"Why don't they just add more lifts?" Slippy asked, continuing the Dalmatian's previous conversation effort.
"We've got plenty from the second level down, more than necessary; but," Dalles raised his index finger in the air, changing his voice as if to mock someone. "It's a security risk to have more than one entrance and/or exit to ground level." The captain dropped his finger and returned his voice to normal. "So, we have to deal with one decent sized lift. But now to business; an unclassified brief of your purpose here." Dalles eyed Fox. "You and your team have some of the best up close and personal experiences with past technology from our enemies. Recent intel from various planets show a rise in updated technology from foreign sources. This new technology has a high amount of similarities to past tech that the Cornerian military and Star Fox alike has dealt with. All we need you and Slippy to do is confirm or deny all of our assessments on the older equipment that we have stored here, see if you can bring anything new to the table, before we start setting things in stone."
Fox had folded his arms half way through the captain's explanation. By the end of it, Fox's eyebrows were raised indignantly. Great job Dash, you actually took the time to come up with a full-on pile of Nerf-shit for why we're here. Now at least I don't have to worry about looking suspicious on record…
Dalles didn't watch Fox for a verbal response; his gaze slowly traveled back to the doors they all faced.
A small shiver traveled through Fox. Or is that your way of telling me that what I'm taking is a piece of past equipment? Fox's confusion awoke his anger, flexing his folded arms. What the heck do you need with antiques that you wanted me to steal Bowman?! Why the hell kind of game do you have me playing?!
The lift slowly came to a halt, and the vessel doors opened to a long, wide, glossy white hallway. No windows, furnishings, or designs of any kind could be seen. Only doors hardly two-meters wide were placed in various places along the walls, indicating an entry to a room. The group stepped off the lift and began walking to their destination. There weren't any animals in the halls of level twenty-seven. The only movement the trio observed was a single soldier exiting a door they were headed towards, but she soon disappeared through another door further down the passage.
Slippy had asked Dalles something about the equipment, to which the captain was contently answering, but Fox had blurred out all of it during his own observations; he was looking for anything that would indicate access to the utility tunnels. Nothing.
Fox began studying each door they passed. Placed on the right side, mid-section of each door frame was a small, square, silver bordered handprint scanner. The doors themselves were labeled only by a letter followed by two numbers; indented into each door with black ink. One of these doors leads to the outer tunnels, but there's no way I'm finding that out by trial and error.
"How does anyone keep their sanity in this place?" Fox heard Slippy ask, "I feel like I'm in an endless padded room…"
Dalles didn't even have to answer Slippy's question verbally. As the trio rounded another corner, he merely pointed to a large, lengthy rectangular window that revealed a twenty-square-meter courtyard with lifelike trees, bushes, flowers, brick paths, fountains, and benches; all lit by artificial sunlight lamps. "The military's attempt to give us mental relief from our work. There's at least one on every level. It changes from day to night with Katina's atmosphere.
Slippy stared at the area a moment longer, then looked over at Fox. "I take it all back. Don't care what gadgets and gizmos are here, I'd want nothing to do with this place!"
Fox could hardly display even half a smile for his friend. I wish my reasons for hating this place were that simple… Fox briefly closed his eyes to calm himself.
Dalles continued his conversation with Slippy. "Hey, at night we even have little stars that light up, so it's not all bad." He said, showing no effort to hide the sarcasm in his voice. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Dalles came to a halt outside of D23. "Almost missed it." He said humorously.
Fox took a deep breath in, then slowly released it as Dalles placed his hand on the scanner.
The door swiftly slid open, and the lights in the room were automatically powered on. Before the group's eyes was a seven-meter-wide, ten-meter-long chamber that extended up to the twenty sixth level; the room was similar to a small hanger. In the center of one half of the chamber was a large, solid examination table, and on the other half of the room were labeled crates and safes containing whatever equipment was stored in the room. Extending down from the ceiling over the table were three large, round lights, and over the cargo was a three-limbed crane large enough to pick up the various sized crates and materials. On both walls lining the table and the cargo were a set of stairs starting at the cargo and leading up to a balcony that extended from the wall lining only the table, with a door placed at the center of the balcony.
Fox's gut grew tight as he stepped into the room, immersed in trying to decipher what it was he had to steal. Dalles hadn't said a word further since they entered, and had disappeared into one of the isles kept clear for maneuvering through the cargo.
Fox felt Slippy's hand placed on his back. "Stay calm Fox." Fox heard him say.
Fox looked over at his friend. Guess I haven't done the best at hiding my anxiety.
Slippy gave a reassuring, adventurous smile. "We're gonna get through this, we always do."
Fox found himself returning the smile. "You're right." He looked back over at captain Dalles as he was just exiting the cargo, carrying a small silver box in his hand.
Dalles continued past Fox and Slippy over to the observation table, gently placing the box on its surface. From underneath the table top he pulled out a drawer. From the drawer he pulled a small first aid kit and an electric razor; setting each item down next to the box. From the first aid kit Dalles drew a scalpel and two latex gloves, applying each one to his hands.
Fox calmly stared at the four objects, but inside he felt a very strong sense of doom; the burning in his jaw slowly increased beyond the stable point he had been able to ignore. He looked back up at the Dalmatian, who stared back at him with an equally calm demeanor. Fox stepped toward and cautiously reached for the reflective box.
"Wait, Mr. McCloud." Dalles ordered.
Fox nearly cringed as he halted in place, his hand decimeters from the object that held Krystal's salvation. Fox's eyes shifted back up at Dalles; his impatience slowly rising.
Dalles turned from Fox and Slippy, walking over to a panel placed in the wall that held the balcony above. He input a few commands before dropping his hand and looking back at Fox. An audible, steady, mellow beep was heard from speakers placed somewhere in the ceiling. Again and again it sounded, threatening to end Fox's self-control as sweat began to dampen his fur. Suddenly it stopped, and after a few seconds of agonizing silence, a voice spoke out that Fox couldn't feel more split on hearing.
"Congratulations, Mr. McCloud. You are about to make history as the mercenary that brought about the eternal rule of Andross' bloodline; O'Donnell would seethe."
Every nerve in Fox's body twitched in utter torment from Dash's voice. He fists clenched tight, nails digging deep into his palm as he fought the urge to scream all forms of obscene phrases at the primate.
An additional light shone forth from the ceiling to Fox's left, and at its end stood the blue, holographic form of Bowman; grinning as maliciously as when Fox first saw him on Venom. Fox nearly lunged at the figure, ready to rip it to shreds. My time will come. He thought, forcing himself to stay put.
Fox's anxiety spiked as Dash walked right up to him. "It pains me to say you're running a bit short on time. I hope you've planned for a quick escape."
Fox showed no fear as he held Bowman's eyes. "Just show me what you want, and I'll be on my way."
Dash's expression turned mischievously inquisitive. "Don't you want to see her first?"
Fox's knees nearly buckled, his throat dried up, his eyes widened, and his pupils expanded as an all too familiar wave of emotions washed over him.
Dash merely watched Fox undergo the attack, his smile growing all the wider. He stepped back away from Fox and gestured to his left side, away from the table. Another blue light activated, and Krystal's body generated in the exact spot Bowman had motioned at, about three meters away from Fox and Bowman.
The entire room fell silent. Krystal was sitting dazed in the same wheelchair as before. Not a bruise had been added to her body, not a scar new to her face; and her left arm, the one Dash had mutilated with a single golden bullet, appeared completely unharmed.
