Torn's report of what had happened up at the drill platform was curious and unsettling, and it made Ashelin very suspicious. Was there really something lurking around up there? If so, what was it, and did it pose any threat to them? These were questions that needed to be answered if they were to progress forward with their new plans to re-occupy the platform, and she wanted as few compromises as possible.
So over the following days, Torn and his team made multiple returns to the platform to conduct a thorough, comprehensive search of the place. Even in broad daylight and under more favourable weather conditions, there was still a strange feeling in the air, the feeling of being watched by something unseen. However, there were no more unexplainable encounters, and nobody could find any trace of anything sentient that may be hiding among the machinery; everything was perfectly abandoned and lifeless.
Torn, the rational and sceptical man that he was, began to suspect that there really was nothing there, and their continued failure to find anything supported that conclusion. It was probably all down to tricks of the imagination in the fog, he figured, and if anything had been there, it seemed to have abandoned the area now. However, he knew the costs of being wrong all too well, and took the extra measures needed to be as certain as possible. At last, after several more days of searching, he was satisfied with his efforts, having combed every reachable area of the platform, and finding nothing. In the face of this evidence, he declared the drill platform empty and safe for reoccupation.
With this decision made, Ashelin initiated the next step of the plan, and shipments of men and material were transported up there. The warp gate was reactivated, precautionary defences were set up around the perimeter, and it was not long before a dedicated working environment was established and the platform was once again alive with activity. It was the perfect place to work in secret and build up a new force; nestled up here in the mountains, safely hidden from sight of the city, there was no threat of their work being undone by the next attack, as their enemy seemed to be unaware of its location or existence, and they hoped that it would remain so.
Ashelin was satisfied with this development, and while this work was going on, she could focus her attention to the other half of the plan taking effect in the city. She gathered Torn and Jak to discuss it with them, for they each would play an important role in it.
"OK, so here's what I'm planning," she explained. "I want to see if it's possible to track the enemy jets when they teleport away, and see if it'll give us a location of their homeland."
To Jak and Torn, this was a sound idea. It was just as she had suggested in the last big meeting, and they were both willing to give it a shot. Times were desperate, and this might be the only means they had of breaking this unending impasse.
"I've got the scientists working on some tracking devices," Ashelin continued, "And they should have a prototype ready to test soon. But we need to be ready to use them the moment the next attack comes, and get them planted. That's where you two come in. Jak, you're one of the best flyers we've got, and I'm putting my faith in your abilities again. I need you to be up in the air in the next battle with the trackers, and use them to tag an enemy jet. You up for it?"
Jak smiled confidently, feeling the draw of excitement and success. "I'll do it," he answered at once.
Ashelin smiled back at him proudly. "Great. I knew I could count on you." Next, she turned to Torn. "Torn, you're with me on this one. While Jak's targeting jets, you and I will be directing everything from up here in Freedom HQ, and it's up to you to make sure our men don't shoot down the one that's been tagged."
"Got it," said Torn, accepting his assigned role without question. It would not be an easy task, but he would do it.
"Well-executed teamwork and accurate communication are what we need," Ashelin said finally, "But as long as we all do our respective jobs, and do them well, then I have every confidence that we'll succeed."
Within a few short days, the first prototype trackers were ready for testing. They were small devices, much like the beacons the Wastelanders used, but they were specially modified to be fired from a Hellcat and attach themselves to the metal on the enemy jets.
On the day of the test run, a small group headed by Ashelin convened outside the city walls, where they waited for Jak. He had taken the first batch of trackers up in his cruiser, and he practiced targeting the pieces of debris that still lay out there. He did not disappoint, scoring many hits on the broken remnants, and the trackers stuck fast, emitting their signals which were picked up clearly back at Freedom Headquarters. Then, the researchers collected the tagged debris and simulated the teleportation by sending it through the newly repaired warp gate up to the drill platform, where it arrived safely and intact, the trackers still attached firmly and their signals still clear and readable.
Ashelin was pleased to see the initial steps of her plan working so well, but she knew that in the chaos of battle, things were unlikely to be this easy. Nearly every day now, she got together with Torn and Jak to continually re-evaluate the procedure, maximising their chances of success. They couldn't afford many mistakes, and it was decided that Jak should attempt to tag as many enemy jets as possible, and Ashelin commissioned several more batches of trackers for this purpose. Jak's cruiser was loaded up with them, and was kept in the hangar ready to take off at a moment's notice, with Jak himself always not far away; he spent most of his time in Freedom Headquarters now, just waiting for the next attack to come so he could leap into his cruiser and do what he had to do. Meanwhile, Torn made sure that all of his soldiers were aware of their next objective, and also informed Vin, who was still in charge of the defence turrets all around the city.
Everyone knew exactly what was to be done, the trap was set, and they all waited... and waited... and waited. Days went by, but the skies over the city were now eerily calm and suspiciously empty. The defences around the walls sat cold and silent, unfired for so long, and the city was left in a prolonged state of suspense as they waited for the return of the enigmatic jets. However, there was no sign of them at all.
"Come on, where are they?" Ashelin often said to herself, watching the sky impatiently from the windows of Freedom HQ.
She did not like it being so quiet, having to be constantly on alert. While it was true that the enemy attacks had seen a dramatic decrease in frequency and strength as of late, this was currently the longest recorded interim in the fighting. In fact, it almost felt as if they had disappeared for good. Had they really given up their onslaught after so much effort and so little progress, like Jak had wondered? Or were they still out there somewhere, waiting for the perfect moment for a renewed strike?
Ashelin was frustrated by this unexpected delay, and more so by the feeling of unknowing that came with it. Not only that, but it also felt cruelly ironic that the one time she actually wanted the enemy to attack, they did not come. Now that she finally had a means of potentially turning the war around in Haven's favour, they were not being given the chance to use it. Did the enemy somehow know about their plan to track them? Was this why they were not coming back? Or had something unforeseen occurred?
Regardless of what the truth might really be, it granted Haven an indefinite but unrewarding period of peace, which Ashelin was quick to take advantage of. While she waited for the next attack which might not even come, she arranged for some secondary repairs to be carried out across the city, restoring many of the buildings and roads which had been previously damaged, now that all the essentials were complete. She also took the time to re-assess civilian morale and update them on what was going on, for the people were becoming restless and tired of being confined inside their homes — even if it was for their own safety — when there was apparently no danger outside. After much careful consideration, Ashelin took the risk to slacken the protective curfew and let the people walk more freely on the streets again. Of course, they were briefed with special instructions should they find themselves outside when the next attack finally did come, and there were always guards close by to offer protection and escort them to the nearest safe points.
In concurrence with this, Ashelin received the news that Daxter had decided to re-open his bar to the public. It quickly became a cheery gathering place for the weary populace, somewhere they could be together to find support in one another and distract themselves from their uncertain predicament, and it really helped. Ashelin had not expected him to do this, but she definitely had to agree that this action, while simple and humble, was Daxter's greatest contribution to morale yet. In fact, it almost felt as if things were back to normal again, were it not for the constant, looming threat that still remained hanging heavily over the whole city, keeping everyone on edge and unable to fully relax, constantly looking to the skies.
One day, Daxter was proudly entertaining his bar patrons with another one of his classic embellished stories, standing dramatically on a table in the middle of the room. Tess was lying at his feet, looking up at him wondrously and listening with rapt attention.
"... and from the moment I so much as bared my teeth, those cowardly Metal Heads turned tail and scarpered back into the slimy holes they crawled out of! And just like that, Orange Lightning saved the day once again!"
The surrounding listeners cheered and applauded, and Tess got up and caressed Daxter around his shoulders.
"Ooh, you're so terrifying!" she cooed to him, and Daxter purred contentedly.
Jak was resting against the bar counter with a drink in his hand, while Sig stood to his left side with a drink of his own. "Did that really happen?" the big Wastelander asked with humorous doubtfulness.
Jak smiled ruefully. "You should know better than to believe his stories by now."
"Well, true or not, he's got great delivery," said Sig with an appreciative nod and a raise of his glass.
Jak nodded too, admitting that that was the one thing that Daxter was unquestionably good at. He took another drink and then looked around the rest of the bar.
This had been the scene for the past several days. Sig and his accompanying Wastelanders had been coming here ever since they had first arrived in Haven to help, making the pub their base of operations in between battles. Sig had to admit that ever since Krew had gone, the building had gained a much more welcoming and comfortable atmosphere. But whenever they heard the sounds of battle outside, it was straight to business, and out they would go to fight without missing a beat. Jak, however, had been rather bored with the lack of action recently, waiting to execute their carefully-designed plan in the war. He had drifted between the pub and Freedom Headquarters looking for some excitement, but Ashelin never had anything for him to do except for talking through the plan again for what felt like the hundredth time. Eventually he had stopped checking. At least the Wastelanders were good company; they actually made great drinking buddies, and Daxter had already crowned Kleiver the 'lord of the belch brigade'.
The ottsel was now taking a big bow on the tabletop, basking in the admiration of his customers, but then suddenly, a loud boom was heard outside, and the whole room fell into silence. Jak's ears pricked up, and the Wastelanders instinctively reached for their weapons. They all knew at once what this must mean: the enemy had finally returned! Jak leapt right up, ready for action and pumped with adrenaline. At last, the moment they had all been waiting for was here!
Another boom shook the walls, and several people screamed. Tess was the first to act, fully prepared for this eventuality, and taking responsibility for the safety of the customers. She stood up to her full height on the table and held both arms in the air.
"Nobody panic!" she called out. "Everyone please stay calm, and follow me into the basement. We'll take cover in there until it's safe."
The room bustled into life again. The throng of customers all moved as one towards the back door that led to the basement, guided by Tess. Jak and the Wastelanders, meanwhile, swept up their weapons and cut straight through the crowd towards the door.
"Dax, come on!" Jak called, and the ottsel leapt over the heads of the customers and landed neatly on Jak's shoulder.
"Go get them, Daxie!" Tess called after him.
Outside, they saw that, sure enough, the jets were back, raining down their all-too-familiar terror upon the streets and buildings; they had not given up after all. The Wastelanders had already run off in different directions, and Sig was standing close by, aiming his Peace Maker upwards and tracking one of the jets. He let loose a terrific shot of supercharged energy which collided with the enemy aircraft as it swooped overhead, and it came crashing down into the waters of the port in several fiery pieces.
"Jak! Where are you?" spoke Ashelin's urgent voice, as Jak's communicator came rumbling out of his backpack.
"I'm coming!" he replied, remembering his role in the plan, but then he realised that he was just about as far away from Freedom Headquarters as it was possible to get and still be in the city. He had to get moving, and fast!
"Go, Jak! I'll cover ya!" shouted Sig, as he continued to send deadly projectiles into the sky.
A little further down the road there was a zoomer parked by the wall, and Jak sprinted to it. He leapt on when he was close enough and sped away as quickly as he could, teeth gritted.
"Hold on, Dax! You're about to see some really wild driving!"
All around them was absolute chaos. On the streets, squads of Freedom Fighters fired upwards, some protecting groups of cowering civilians who huddled together in doorways and in ruins. Meanwhile the defence batteries around the city walls boomed on, while above them, jets and Hellcats clashed and exploded. Fiery wreckage, stray missiles and energy beams were falling across the city, and one even nearly came down right on top of Jak's zoomer, but he was able to barrel-roll out of the way just in time. Daxter yelled, holding on just by his fingers as Jak pushed the zoomer to its limits, shooting through the city's industrial district so quickly that everything was a blur.
"Damn it, Jak! What the hell's taking you so long?" Ashelin shouted through the communicator.
"Get your ass over here, Jak!" added Torn's voice. "Now!"
"I'm almost there!" Jak shouted back as he blasted through the slums, leaning forwards on his zoomer in a futile attempt to make it go even faster.
He knew the quickest way through the slums and took it, screaming into New Haven within a minute. When he at last arrived outside Freedom Headquarters, he did not even bother braking. He jumped right off his vehicle, which splashed into a nearby fountain, and he landed forcefully on the pavement. Daxter was almost squashed as Jak rolled with the fast impact, but before he could complain, another bolt of enemy fire hit the concrete right behind them, burning a smoking hole in the road.
Jak ran right into the hangar, and found his cruiser prepped and ready to go, right where it should be. Without wasting another moment, he got into the seat, flicked the switches and took off.
"Ashelin, I'm in the cruiser!" he said over the radio.
On her computer radar, Ashelin saw his label taking flight, and then caught a glimpse of him as he flew past the control room window. "Good! But we probably don't have much time before they leave again. They've already taken a fair few losses. Just get shooting and plant those trackers!"
Jak flew fearlessly right into the fray, seeking out a suitable jet to target. But as he had fully expected, this was a lot harder than aiming for stationary pieces of debris. The jets were much faster and more manoeuvrable than the Hellcats were, not to mention they attacked back, and he could not keep a bead on any one of them long enough to take a sure shot. As soon as one sensed it was being followed, it would take rapid evasive manoeuvres, while at other times, Jak would have to break off his pursuits because he himself came under attack, or the one he was chasing would suddenly be destroyed by ground-fire. More were falling across the whole city, and still Jak had not scored a hit, all his shots missing so far, and falling harmlessly down to the streets.
"Come on, Jak!" Ashelin urged him through the radio, seeing no traces on her screen. "Pick up the pace!"
"I'm trying, alright!" Jak growled with frustration. "I can't get a clear shot!"
"Men, give Jak some help!" Torn ordered.
At once, about five Hellcats orbited in closer, forming a kind of guard formation around Jak's, but still leaving him with enough room to freely manoeuvre. Wherever he went, they followed like a shadow. With his back now protected, Jak could concentrate solely on what was in front of him.
"Jak, ten o'clock!" yelled Daxter.
Jak looked, and saw a jet that was on a trajectory to pass right in front of him. With very careful timing, he let out a burst of fire as it came closer, and the jet flew right through it. Several trackers missed and fell to the earth, but Jak could see that at least one had stuck, flashing regularly on the underside of the jet's wing. In Freedom Headquarters, a moving red blip appeared on Ashelin's screen, standing out amid the blue ones that represented their Hellcats.
"He's got one!" she cheered. "Nice shooting, Jak! We've got a signal!"
Jak felt a great relief of pressure and had a short moment of triumph, high-fiving Daxter. But no more than five seconds later, the very jet he had hit was targeted by an automatic defence cannon and blasted apart, and the signal was lost.
"No!" Ashelin thumped the control panel out of exasperation. "Jak, it got destroyed. You've got to get another one!"
Jak let out a growl of annoyance as the pressure returned with vengeance, before quickly regaining his concentration and seeking out yet another target. He worked together with his wingmen, who chased jets into his line of fire so he could open up on them. Using this method, he was able to score several more hits, and a few more dots started to appear on the main radar screen.
"He's doing it!" said Ashelin. "Keep it up, Jak!"
Opposite her on the other side of the computer terminal, Torn was doing his best to convey to the other pilots which jets to avoid shooting down and which were still safe to attack, but everything was happening so fast that by the time the words had left his mouth, the information they carried was outdated, and he struggled to keep up. His men did not have the comprehensive view of the battlefield like he and Ashelin had, and one by one, the signals were going out again, and Jak was starting to run low on trackers.
"We're losing them!" said Ashelin. "They're being shot down too quickly, and they're going to retreat soon if they take any more losses!"
But Torn had a desperate idea. "Vin, turn off the defence cannons!" he ordered.
"Wh– what? Are you sure?" Vin's nervous voice jittered through the computer.
"Confirmed, hold your fire now!"
The ground turrets instantly fell quiet, and the amount of flak in the air was significantly reduced.
"Alright," said Torn. "Jak, that should make things easier for you. Find a jet and plant another tracker. Everyone else, keep the others busy and draw their fire."
The skies were much clearer now and easier to navigate, which Jak found extremely helpful. The other pilots obeyed their orders, but they were now easy targets for the remaining jets, which increased their offensive in response to the sudden ceasefire. Several of the Hellcats were already in trouble, and they flew as skilfully as they could to prevent being shot down. Some did not make it.
"This is risky, lowering our defences like this," said Ashelin, looking up at Torn.
"I know," Torn replied, not returning the look, "But we're running out of time, and this could be our only chance to make this work."
Ashelin understood, and it was worth taking that chance. But when she looked back down to her radar screen, she was alarmed to see that something was zeroing in on their position very quickly. She looked out the window, and there was an enemy jet flying straight at them.
"Get down!" she screamed, hurling herself to the ground and pulling Torn down with her.
There was a loud explosion as an energy beam shot right through the window, the temperature in the room tripled, molten glass and bits of wall went flying over their heads, and then everything disappeared in smoke and dust.
Outside, Jak and Daxter had witnessed the explosion on the upper floors of the Freedom Building, and were now seized by a halting panic.
"Ashelin! Torn!" Jak yelled into his radio, but there was no answer except for loud static.
Daxter gulped. "That doesn't sound good."
Jak's panic gave way to anger, gritting his teeth so hard that it hurt. He needed to shoot something now, but the jet responsible for that attack had already been taken care of by some of the other Hellcats. How he wished he could have been the one to take it down. But then he remembered the importance of his task, and managed to calm himself somewhat.
"We've got to keep at it," he said, swallowing back his emotions. "We've got a job to do, and we'll get it done with or without them."
Daxter seemed to understand, and though quivering slightly at the uncertain fate of their friends, pulled himself together alongside Jak, and the two of them turned to face the battle once more, scanning the sky to target one of the approximately ten jets that remained. It wasn't long before Daxter tugged on Jak's ear.
"Jak, over there!"
He was pointing at a solitary jet that was doing something rather unusual. It had seemingly broken away from the rest of its group, unnoticed by everyone else, and was now hovering low by itself over the ruins of Dead Town behind the city's north-east corner. If Jak didn't know any better, he'd have said it was hiding. But rather than ask questions, he seized his opportunity and headed straight over to it. It was in his sights, and as he sped in closer and closer, it began to rise up a little, and looked as if it was preparing to turn. Now he was close enough to make out the pilot frantically pressing buttons on the dashboard; he knew he was in trouble.
"Big mistake, pal!" Jak said with vengeful relish, and then he opened fire until the guns clicked and were empty. It was all too easy, and the moment the trackers made contact, the jet disappeared in a flash, leaving Jak temporarily dazzled and having to pull up blindly to prevent crashing into the ruins.
Meanwhile, back inside the control room, Ashelin and Torn lifted the debris off themselves and helped each other back up. They were bruised and dusty and their ears were ringing painfully, but thanks to Ashelin's quick reactions, they were both alive.
"Ash, you alright?" asked Torn.
"Yeah, I think so," replied Ashelin, coughing up some dust. "I'm not hurt. But boy, that was close."
Back on their feet again, they could see that the whole room was ripped open; there was now a large hole in the wall, letting in the cool air and the sounds of battle from outside, and the floor was littered with a trail of damage. However, Torn ignored all this and went straight back to their computer terminals, shoving the debris off them, only to find that they no longer functioned, spitting sparks and giving no clear data at all.
"Shit!" he said angrily, kicking the console. "We've lost contact with everything!"
But before they could try to organise a backup strategy, suddenly there was a flash of light from outside, and then a disturbing silence fell upon the city. Everything froze.
"That's it," said Ashelin, moving tentatively towards the hole. "They've gone."
She looked out upon the scene, fires and smoke plumes burning on the streets, and the remaining Hellcats dispersing. The pilots needed no further orders; they knew what was to be done after every battle, and they flew off at once to different areas of the city to offer aid wherever it was needed. One vehicle flew right over to the gap in the wall, hovering level with Ashelin. It was Jak, who looked much relieved to see them both alive and without major injury.
"Are you guys alright?" he asked right away. "We saw a jet shoot out your window."
"We're fine, Jak," Ashelin replied, dusting herself off still. "But what's the situation out there? Did you get it done?"
"I think so," Jak answered positively, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I think I got one right as it teleported out. We got a signal yet or what?"
"Uh, we don't know. Our computers got knocked out by that attack and we lost all communication in the last minutes."
"I'll get on the line to Vin in a moment," said Torn, coming over to stand beside Ashelin. "He'll be able to track it down."
Everyone all took a moment to let out the breath they were holding in. That battle had demanded a lot of concentration from them all, but it seemed that all their hard work and preparation had paid off in the end. But this was only the beginning, and they still had much more to do before they could rest easy.
"Thank you, Jak," Ashelin said after a long, cathartic sigh. "You've done a really great thing for us today. You might have just turned this war around for us."
Jak responded in his usual modest way, with a smile, a shrug and a small nod. But Daxter, predictably, spoke up. "Hey, don't forget about me!" he chimed in, waving his arms around in a bid for attention.
Ashelin looked annoyed, as she always did whenever Daxter tried to claim credit for himself, but this time he actually deserved some.
"Dax really helped, actually," Jak explained. "He made a great spotter."
"Well then... thank you for your help in this as well, Daxter," said Ashelin. Strangely, that was not as humiliating to admit as she thought it would be, and Daxter swelled with pride at finally being acknowledged by her, as if expecting her to pin a medal straight onto his chest.
"So what happens next?" Jak asked.
"We'll try and follow the signal," said Ashelin. "Find out if the tracker worked. I really hope it gets us somewhere. I'll keep you updated, Jak, whatever happens. In the meantime, feel free to take a few days off. You've done a lot for us, and you've earned a break today."
Daxter's ears perked up. "Come on then, Jak! You heard the lady. Let's head back to the bar."
This time, Jak did not object to having nothing to do. The battle had been taxing, and if there was one thing he needed right now, it was a drink.