This is it: The big space battle you have all been looking forward too! Enjoy it immensely!

Sly Cooper and the Space Thieves

Chapter 30- The War

Onboard his prized flagship, Emperor Kanog sat in his command chair overseeing the space before him. He was expecting an attack from a certain raccoon, and he didn't have to wait long. One of his officers reported to him that a massive fleet was approaching, with the Dragon Thief in the lead. He narrowed his eyes. 'Interesting, seems Sly Cooper has been very busy during his little trip. It matters not, in the end I will crush them all.' he thought as he ordered his army to attack the incoming force. "Show them no mercy, hold nothing back! Do not stop until they are all destroyed!"

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The space fighters that contain Sly, Carmelita, and their teammates are heading straight for their destinations. The pilots are determined to get their jobs done and come back alive; no matter what. Before long, they were joined by Jacor, Rovax, and their fighter squads. "Are you ready, Sly?" Rovax asked. "As ready as I'll ever be," answered Sly. Jacor spoke up next. "I hope you guys are ready, because we are about to have company!" They looked ahead and saw dozens of enemy fighters heading towards them. With a smile, Sly said "Alright guys, let's plow the road!" With that, the war started.

Blue Aquian fighters, red Dramaran fighters, and sleek, black Mantian fighters were swarming in a cloud of lasers and explosions; it's like watching the 4th of July fireworks, only much more intense and lethal. The enemy fighters may have larger numbers, but they were outclassed in terms of flying skills and teamwork. Within minutes several Mantian fighters were space dust, but a few Dramaran fighters went down with them. The Aquian ships suffered casualties as well, which only made them fight harder. Before long, some Mantian battle cruisers decide to take part in the action.

The Aquians and the Dramarans, knowing now how tough the enemy forces were, decide to take the battle up a notch. They sent in about 5 battle cruisers from both fleets to assist their smaller fighters. Their combined firepower easily outmatched the enemy ships; about 6 or 7 Mantian vessels were blown to oblivion within a few minutes. It was because they are working together that they are winning, so far. More Mantian ships arrived from the main fleet, and they were going to play nasty.

Jacor and Rovax had their hands full as well. 3 squads of 10 Mantian fighters were practically on top of them as they were trying to shoot them down. Jacor got an idea and called Rovax on his com device. "Rovax, I think I have a way to get rid of these pests. You with me?" He replied with, "I'm all ears." Jacor then told him to follow his lead and if they pull this off, they would be free of bogeys. Rovax agreed as they went in opposite directions, making sure they had the right amount of fighters behind them.

They moved in a pattern that went in circle like directions; in fact, they were flying in what was called the "Number 8 Maneuver" according to Aquian battle history. Jacor and Rovax flew in a pattern that would form the number eight constantly; both of them going in opposite directions of the pattern. With so many enemy fighters in pursuit, there was not enough room for maneuvering without causing collisions, as did happen. Every time Rovax and Jacor passed each other, more and more Mantian fighters would collide with each other, destroying themselves in the process!

After a few minutes, the last enemy fighters were blown to pieces. Needless to say, Jacor and Rovax were pleased with themselves at pulling off this move. "I have got to teach that maneuver to my men someday! Thanks Jacor." "No problem, Rovax. Now let us meet up with Sly and help him get inside Kanog's flagship." Both of them flew in the direction that Sly, activating their boosters to catch up.

Meanwhile, Sly and Carmelita were having fun as well. While their alien allies were busy, they were flying quickly towards their targets. Unfortunately, a squad consisting of no less than 15 to 20 Mantian fighters was hot on their tails! Sly got Carmelita on the line. "Carmelita, looks like we got a few bogeys to deal with. What do you say we "have fun" with them?" "I was just thinking the same thing, Ringtail. Let me handle half of them, you take the other half." After she said this with a smile, they u-turned and faced them head on.

The enemy fighters scattered as Sly and Carmelita flew through their previous positions, and then fell back in pursuit. Sly got about 10 fighters on his back; perfect. He dodged enemy fire for a while, teasing them that they couldn't hit him if he stood still. After getting tired of being chased, he quickly switched his thrusters to reverse and instantly he was behind the
Mantians. Sly then immediately fired his twin laser cannons and blasted all of them to kingdom come! "Excellent piloting skills, Sly" said Beowulf behind him. "Thanks, your highness." All clear on his end, he checked on Carmelita.

She was doing well, considering her shields have just failed from all the enemy fire. Carmelita did a loop and disappeared from the Mantians sights. She ended up behind them and fired her lasers at them. Only 2 managed to escape her line of fire and began to fire at her again. 'These guys are really beginning to give me a headache,' she thought as they chased her once more. Fed up, she decided to do a crazy stunt that, if she did it right, just might work.

She turned hard on her controls so that she was facing the enemy fighters. Before another shot was fired from them, Carmelita began to roll her ship, while firing her lasers at the same time! Her rolling dodged enemy fire while she was firing at them! In a way, she was defending and attacking at the same time. It worked; both of the ships were destroyed. Relieved, she asked if Murray and Panda King were alright. They assure them that they are. Not long after, Sly caught up with her.

"Nice work, Gorgeous." She thanked him as they resumed their original course. Jacor and Rovax joined up with them a minute later. "What kept you guys?" asked Sly. "We ran into some old friends." Jacor answered in tease. "Enough chit-chat, lets get to Kanog's flagship before more fighters show up." They all agreed and headed straight for the Mantian flagship, which was dead ahead. Sly contacted Bentley and said they were approaching Kanog's ship. "How are you doing on your end?" he asked.

"Let me put it this way Sly: It is an inferno back here and it is only getting hotter! I have moved the Dragon Thief on the attack and so far, we are holding up. Thanks to us, and the other ships on our side, dozens of Mantian battle cruisers were destroyed! And the number of Mantian star fighters is dropping at a fast rate! Guru and Dimitri are really getting the hang of the weapon controls. Penelope and I have been keeping the ship's shields up, but we are beginning to get hammered by more crusiers from the main enemy fleet. Bottom line, I think we pretty much pissed them off."

Laughing, Sly asked him how long before Kanog calls for Yanor's reinforcements on the planet's surface. "At the rate his forces are falling, I believe he will call for "help" very soon. If you, Beowulf, Jacor, and Rovax are going to get onboard his flagship, now is the time. I'll power up the Neutron cannon and target the vessel. Just make sure to stand clear when we fire." "Rodger that, pal. Let me know when you are ready to shoot." He turned off his com link as he and the others approach the vessel.

As they were moving, Carmelita contacted Sly. "Sly, I think it is time I headed to the surface and break into Kanog's lab. With Murray and Panda King, it shouldn't take long." "Okay, be careful down there. And…good luck." "You too, Ringtail." After that last statement, she flew down to the location of Kanog's palace with her boosters at maximum. As she vanished in the planet's atmosphere, Sly hoped she would return to him alive and in one piece. 'Somehow, we are going to be together once we get home. I promise.'

Bentley's com transmission interrupted Sly's thoughts and snapped back to reality. "What did you say, Bentley?" Annoyingly sighing, he repeated his last statement. "I said the Neutron Cannon is at full power and is ready to fire. You and the others better move out of the way. Once the ship is disabled, you have only 2 minutes to get inside before the effects wear off." Rovax butted in. "2 minutes?! That's not much time!" Sly spoke again. "Then we better make sure we have a way in before we make our move. Bentley, have you found a way inside the flagship?"

"Affirmative, Sly. During the fighting, I have been scanning Kanog's flagship, and I have discovered the location of the garbage disposal hatch. It is underneath the vessel, just before the engines; you'll see it. The opening is large enough for your fighters to fit through easily. The only complication is to hit the vessel with the hatch still open. If the timing is off, the hatch will be closed and won't open again until the ship is operational once more. The hatch opens every 10 minutes, and it just so happens that it is less than a minute before it opens again.

"This is a one-shot move; if you guys miss your chance, and if Kanog notices that his ship wasn't fired on during the time his ship is shut down, he'll know something is up and try to detect you." "We understand, Bentley. We are moving directly beneath the ship now." As Sly said this, they were indeed on route to the garbage disposal hatch. They have spotted it within seconds: a large, square shaped opening just waiting to dump its contents. Jacor contacted Bentley. "Bentley, we are directly below the hatch. Ready when you are." They waited a few more seconds and… the hatch opened. "The hatch is open!" said Jacor.

"Copy that, Jacor. Firing Neutron Cannon…NOW!!" At that moment, the Dragon Thief's head opened its mouth and fired a large beam of blue-white energy towards Kanog's ship. It made contact and the ship's shields went down, as did the whole thing; the whole vessel was covered in blue-white crackling electricity. The timing could not be more perfect; the hatch was still open. Sly got Bentley on the line. "Bentley, it worked! The hatch is still open! We are heading inside that big tub of junk now. Wish us luck." As Sly and his wing mates flew into the hatch, Bentley wished them good luck in silence.

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Back on Kanog's ship, it was chaos! The whole vessel was in the dark; literally. Every Mantian on board was struggling to get the ship's systems back online before they were attacked. In his private chamber, Emperor Kanog was smiling as he was calmly sitting in his chair. "Very impressive, Sly Cooper. It seems that I have underestimated you and your "new friends." I will have to call for Yanor's back-up forces very shortly, but not just yet. If I am right, I am about to have some "personal company" before long. And when they show up, I will have a nasty surprise waiting for them…" He then started laughing insanely as he took out a small object from his right chair arm and looked at it in triumph.