Shattered Lylat: The Fragmentation War
Disclaimer 3 (or is it 4? I guess it's both): I own all MACS and their designs. I also own the character of Captain Dan Hunter from the last chapter. I also own the Valkrie bomber. I also own the Diamondback Tank, the Forge APC, the Paladin Artillery tank, the ARCHER Artillery Missile Tank, and the Havoc Gunship. I also own all dropship classes and such. I also own the Dragonfire Sniper Rifle. And, now that I think about it, I also own the Nightshade Gunship.
"Ye shall be as gods"- Deus-Xenogears and Shion Uzuki-Xenosaga
***
Cornerian Plains, 75 miles north of Corneria City, September 23, 2550, 1400 hoursTwo Imperial Aurora class dropships and one Despot class dropship had set up a triangular base camp 75 miles north of Corneria city, waiting to launch an attack. A few MACS and fighters were patrolling the perimeter, unaware that the CDF had already taken action to destroy this base camp. 5 Valkrie bombers with CDF markings flew at the camp, taking them completely by surprise. Only sporadic laser and gattling gun fire came up at the bombers, but it was too late. Nova bombs and cluster bombs detonated on the dropships, turning them into blazing heaps of metal. In seconds, the base camp was gone, save for a few MACS struggling to stand back up.
"This is Alpha 15 to Alpha Defender, reporting mission accomplished."
"Good work" replied Rainier Davidson "That should tell the Imperials to keep their distance."
The Imperial dropships had been trying to get into a more favorable position near the capitol, but had so far been unsuccessful due to the efforts of the CDF defense wings.
"Fortune-1 reporting, all is quiet on the south side" reported Captain Rouge Farrell
"Good, keep me posted" replied Rainier
***
Shadow Wing Shuttle Infiltration, On approach to Sec-Weap Lab 3, Garuda Desert, Corneria
The shuttle carried Mike Wilson, Starfox, BlackWolf, Jason Kage, Jenna Sandoval, Katya Williams, Steve Odell, Dante Davidson, and David Cheng to Sec-Weap Lab 3. Jason had put Ivan Marlowski in charge of the 6 other Shadow Wing pilots still flying defense patrols while he went on this mission that was suggested by Mike Wilson.
"So you're saying that the MAC project wasn't actually shut down?" Ed Wallace asked Mike
"No, we just made it seem like it was shut down so that the Imperials wouldn't come back for the data again."
"Well, that obviously didn't stop them from obtaining the data somehow!" Damien Norris said.
Karl Riker elbowed Damien in the ribs to signal him to be quiet.
"I don't think the Imperials took the data by force, perhaps an act of Industrial Espionage." Mike responded. "But as far as I know, the MACS we built here are still here and ready to go, provided we have pilots."
"Which is where we come in," Fox said.
"Exactly. I can input all the security codes to get you into the MAC hangar, and then we have 15 pristine, honest-to-goodness MACS capable of outclassing at least 3 Imperial Gladiators." The white tiger said proudly.
"Not much, but it's a start" Karl Riker said
"So these MACS carry more armor and weaponry than the Gladiators, correct?" Mark Rendar asked Mike.
"Pretty much." Mike answered "We labeled these MACS in the Medium and Heavy category. They range from 50 to 75 tons. Mind you, these are prototypes, but testing went extremely well without any hitches, so I expect the Imperials will be in for a real fight."
"How hard is it to get the hang of piloting one of these things?" Slippy asked
"Well, we expect with all your exceptional skills it won't be a problem, but you'd better be ready to learn fast."
"We're coming into the lab hangar now. Get ready to disembark" reported the shuttle captain.
The shuttle docked inside the lab's shuttle hangar, and the 15 occupants walked out, heading for the elevators. They got in, and Wilson hit the button for the subbasement.
"I don't even think we went down here last time." Peppy said
"Probably true, since the Imperials failed to gain access to the hangars down here." Wilson said quietly. "I wouldn't let them."
The elevator stopped after about 30 seconds and opened up on a dark gray hallway with a large sliding door at the end.
The 14 soldiers and 1 Damocles CEO walked up to the doors. "The doors are sealed by a voice recognition and password system." Mike said as he activated the voice system "Mike Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Damocles Industries"
"Voice pattern match confirmed, please state password" said the female AI voice.
Wilson cleared his throat "Ye shall be as gods." He said slowly.
"Password accepted"
The massive doors slowly started to open.
"Ye shall be as gods." Ed said to Mike. "How fitting."
Mike merely nodded at the wolf's comment.
The doors finished opening, and the lights came on, revealing the 15 MACS stored there. All of them were painted gray and black, most likely because of the secrecy of the project.
"This is unlike anything I have ever seen before!" Mark said excitedly.
"Calm down, we have to get these started up, then you can go crazy." Ed said as he ran towards one of the MACS, a fearsome looking one with a skull-like head.
All of a sudden, the shuttle captain's voice crackled over the hangar speakers "Sirs, we have numerous enemy contacts closing in, mostly ground. ETA 3 minutes."
"Damn…" Wilson said in reply "It takes at least 5 minutes for a 1st user initialization…we need a diversion."
Fox spoke up "My squad will go up there and divert them until you guys can start up the MACS."
"But you have no weapons." Jason said
"Yes, they do." Mike said as he tapped a button and a wall slid open to reveal K21 assault rifles, rocket launchers, and sniper rifles.
"Heh-heh…no way am I passing up a chance to use some heavy artillery" Damien chuckled. "I'll go up too"
"Same here" Karl Riker said.
"All right" Mike said as the 6 soldiers grabbed numerous weapons "Just be careful. Take the MAC elevator, it goes up to a good vantage point."
Fox loaded a Dragonfire Sniper Rifle up and then slung a K21 over his back. "All right, let's get 'em"
The 6 Cornerians entered the elevator, and it took them up to the vantage point.
***
The Aurora dropship finished dropping off all Imperial ground forces on top of the plateau that held the lab., and then flew off to await the dust-off signal. Two Diamondback tanks led the charge, backed up by a couple Havoc Gunships, and two Forge APCs. In all, 10 tanks, 5 gunships, 15 APCs and the 100 ground troups ensconced within them moved in on the lab.
The task force stopped about 200 meters from the lab, and scanned for signs of life. Colonel Ragiz, the salamander in charge of the task force, thought he spotted something when the doors opened up near the 5th above-ground floor, but he thought it might be a mirage.
"Keep looking troops" Colonel Ragiz said. "There may still be CDF and DSF forces in the lab. Ragiz opened the hatch to his Diamondback to get a better look, unaware that that was a fatal mistake
***
Fox looked through the scope of the sniper rifle, lining the crosshairs up on the Imperial colonel. And so another victim of the Imperial Officer School lesson 4: The CDF does not use snipers. What a load of shit that is! Fox thought. He smiled as he pulled the trigger, and watched the salamander pitch forward, a bullet through his brain. He heard one Imperial call out "Sniper!!" and then troops began to debark from the APCs, and a Havoc gunship began flying towards the vantage point held by Starfox, Damien, and Karl.
"Hit them now!" Fox shouted
Damien, Karl, Falco, and Peppy emerged from cover and fired 4 rockets into the nose of the imperial gunship. The explosions ripped apart the cockpit, killing the pilot and copilot. The gunship spun out of control and smashed into the ground. Return fire from the ground bounced off the balcony railings
"Fox to Wilson" Fox radioed in, "Engaging enemy, they are fully focused on us."
"Good, I'm now running the others through startup" Wilson responded
***
Same TimeEd secured the hatch to the MAC he entered, which Wilson told him was a 70-ton Galvatron. It was designed as a command MAC for light companies.
"Okay," Wilson said over the internal speakers. "First order of business is to put on the neurohelmet. It is designed to integrate your brainwave patterns into the stabilizing gyroscopes. Don't worry, it's painless and wireless. The neurohelmets are located behind the pilot's seat.
Ed looked, and found a helmet that looked sort of like a communications headset, though it covered more of the head. He also noticed it looked more like a conventional helmet, but a lot of space was allocated for the ear placement of different species.
"Oh…you may have to wait a few seconds for the helmet to adjust to your head." Wilson added just as Ed put the helmet on. Suddenly he felt something on the helmet move as it filled in the larger space for the ears, leaving only slots big enough for his ears to slip through easily.
"What the hell just happened?" Ed asked
"You're not the only one who has been experimenting with nano-polymer technology, Captain" Mike Wilson said.
"So I see." Ed replied, mentally kicking himself for realizing that nano-polymers were really the only sane explanation for how the helmet was now adjusting to his own head size and shape, including the ears. "I'm guessing this helmet is also good for preventing a major head wound?"
"In almost every case, yes." Mike said in reply. "Now you just need to wait about two minutes so that the neurohelmet can get a baseline reading for your neural patterns, so just sit still in the chair for that amount of time."
Ed sat down uneasily, knowing that each second was one that Fox and the others were in danger. But he forced himself to relax. They can handle themselves. Ed told himself, I'll get my chance soon enough.
Two minutes later. "Okay, all neuro-syncs complete. Time to activate the MAC."
Mike walked all the pilots through the startup sequence, which mostly just consisted of activating the fusion core. Then the reactor, sensors, and weapons systems activated through the auto-startup.
"Normally, there's also a voice-recognition test and personal password, but those are disabled for now." Mike said. "Now, to move the MAC, the foot pedals move the legs, and the joysticks on the arms of the pilots chair control the arms and the aiming crosshair for all weapons. It's nothing too difficult."
AS Ed and the 7 other CDF pilots stumbled their MACS towards the elevator, Ed thought that difficult was an understatement. But he eventually got the hang of it. The 8 MACs got into the elevator, and it rose to where Fox and the others were already fighting the Imperials.
***
Fox ditched the sniper rifle after taking down 4 more soliders, and he brought out the K21. He started firing at any Imperial threat he could see. Gunfire and rockets from both sides filled the air, but only the Imperials were getting hit. Just then another Havoc set its sights on the CDF soldiers, and nobody had a rocket ready. It seemed to Fox that his luck had finally run out.
Just then a 2 particle beams and a barrage of no less than 50 LRMs slammed into the Imperial gunship, tearing it to shreds.
Fox looked behind him, and saw 8 MACS standing at the elevator, weapons ready. Ed's voice crackled over the external speakers "We'll take over here, go get to your MACS."
Starfox, Karl, and Damien ran into the elevator as Ed and the others took aim on the Imperials.
***
Ed checked the Galvatron's assault rifle, brought it up, and opened fire on a Forge APC. The bullets tore the turret off the top of the vehicle like it was made of cardboard. The bullets kept travelling, beheading a few Imperials unlucky enough to get in the way. Nearby, Mark and Dante, both running Commando MACS, used their particle cannons and short-range missiles to savage a pair of Diamondback Tanks. Ed fired his jump jets and leapt down to the plateau, firing the waist-mounted particle cannon as he went. The azure beam flipped another APC, which exploded as it fell back to the ground. It was obvious the Imperials did not expect the CDF to mount a resistance with MACS, as the vehicles were not armored enough.
Mark kicked a tank 10 feet in the air with his MACS right foot "How do you like that?" he chuckled as black smoke poured out of the tank's side.
Jason Kage and David Cheng eliminated more of the Havoc gunships that desperately tried to flee the carnage. Ed fired the Galvatron's pulse lasers, and eliminated an entire squad of troops and the APC he disarmed earlier. Then he noticed the Aurora dropship was coming back.
"Incoming dropship!" Ed shouted as he opened fire with the LRMs and the particle cannon. The shots only scraped a little armor off of the dropship, much to Ed's dismay.
The dropship's return fire hit hard. Armor exploded off of the leg of Ed's MAC. Dante was thrown to the ground, and Mark's Commando almost lost its left arm. Jason and Dave barely evaded the gunfire. Katya, Jenna, and Steve returned fire, but got the same result that Ed did. As the dropship prepared to land, Ed had everybody open fire. Armor blew off the dropship, but it was not enough to stop it. Then another barrage from the lab punched through armor rents in the dropship, and blew out the power core. The dropship fell down, past the edge of the plateau, and exploded some 450 feet down.
Ed looked, and saw the other 7 MACS had opened fire and downed the Imperial ship.
"Thought you could use a hand." Fox said to Ed
"Yeah…that seemed like a good assessment." Ed said. Ed then looked around. The Imperials were all but destroyed. The few troops still alive were surrenduring. "I guess the area is secured." Ed said confidently. "Someone contact General Pepper and tell him we need a ship to take some POWs."
"I'm on it." Mike Wilson said. Ed looked for the origin of the transmission, and saw it was coming from another Galvatron. "Somehow, Mike, I'm not surprised you know how to pilot one of these." Ed said
"I didn't get to be a DSF general by sitting around." Mike replied.
Mike contacted General Pepper, and explained the situation. Pepper then told Mike that that would have to wait, as something for worse had come up, and the General told Mike to broadcast it to all of the soldiers at the lab right now.
Ed's comm crackled, and General Pepper appeared on the vidcom. "All right. Listen up all of you. 5 minutes ago, 1.5 regiments of Imperial MACS and tanks, and two fighter squadrons broke through our defensive perimeter and are headed for Miramar City.
Ed froze. Miramar City was his hometown, and now it was under siege. "We can't hold them off forever." The General continued. "Do you have the MACS, and if so, when can you be there?"
"We can be there in 15 minutes." Mike said
"That will be all you get. Pepper out."
The comm shut down. "15 minutes!" Ed shouted at Mike "Can't we get there faster!?"
"Why?"
"Because it's my hometown, Ed's hometown, Jenna's hometown, and Katya's too." Mark said quietly and somberly
"Well, in that case, we must use the overboosters to maximum capacity." Mike responded "The overboosters are what allow the MACS to achieve flight. Press the OB button on the throttle next to the left-hand joystick, crank the throttle to maximum, and hang on."
Ed did just that, and he was catapulted into the air by the force of the MACS overboosted jump jets. Holy shit! What a rush! He thought, as he was suddenly 1000 feet off the ground. "So…we have unlimited fuel…right?"
"Yes." Mike answered "The MAC can perform a fighter-type role, except it's not as agile and can travel at a slower speed. Anyway, we have no time to lose. Head north."
Ed manipulated the controls until he faced north, then engaged the overboosters. At least I learned fast. He thought as he sped off towards Miramar, his allies following close behind.
***
14 minutes later, over Miramar City (located 30 miles north of Corneria City)Ed saw that the Imperials were already starting to enter the city. He opened his comm channels. "This is Captain Wallace to any CDF or DSF forces near Miramar. What kind of support can you give me?"
The call came back "This is Colonel Franken of the Paladin Artillery Battalion. We are on site, but do not want to fire into the city, especially without a target grid designation."
"Okay, stand by for any designation I give you." Ed said
Another call came in, this time from General Knight "I have 20 Landmaster Mk. II tanks moving in on the enemy, as well as 25 Wolfhound fighters, and 10 Nightshade Gunships. They are at your disposal."
"Thanks, General" Ed responded. Hmmm…he sure is putting a lot of faith in me…maybe he understands my plight to save my home. Speaking of which…
Ed looked on the radar map, he noticed the Imperial vanguard was only 5 blocks from his house. Oh…no you don't!
Ed keyed his comm to all the MAC pilots "Okay, listen up, I'm designating an area on the radar map, under no circumstances will ANY Imperials cross that line."
Mark called Ed on discreet "Ed, this line is 1 block from your house."
"No kidding. I still have some stuff in there that I want to get after this fight is over. So I'd like to leave the house standing!"
"Right…sorry" Mark said
"Don't be. Let's just kill the bastards!" Ed said as he brought the Galvatron into a swooping charge at the vanguard. He fired the twin LRM-15s right at the lead pair of Gladiators. The missiles knocked the MACS to the ground, and they didn't try to get up. Another MAC came around the corner, and Ed hesitated for a second. The targeting computer marked it as a Flanker, a MAC of Damocles design, but as it raised the gattling gun it its right hand, he realized it was a stolen design now. He fired the hip-mounted particle cannon. The beam had enough force to throw the lighter MAC 10 feet down the street and into the side of an apartment building. The wall of the building collapsed, burying the MAC in a makeshift grave. Ed was a walking rampage looking for something to kill. He found it as he rounded the corner near his house.
"Come into my town will you?" He shouted over the external speakers as he perforated another Gladiator with the MAC's assault rifle "Show you, you bastards!"
By now the rest of his force had landed, and they set about systematically shooting at the Imperials, and hoarding them into an area 5 blocks north of the line Ed didn't want the Imperials to cross. The DSF fighters swept the Imperial aircraft from the skies, but the Imperials would not fold. Even with the DSF tanks supporting the CDF MACS. A Flanker attempted to charge past Odell's Commando, but Odell terminated the pilot with a particle beam to the MAC's head.
Ed realized that in this battle of attrition, the Imperials would most likely win. Only one option remained.
"Paladin Lead, this is Captain Wallace. Requesting Artillery barrage in grid Alpha-Romeo-Golf 24!" Ed ordered.
"Sir, that's inside the city!" Colonel Franken responded
"JUST…DO…IT!!!" Ed shouted "We don't have time for this shit! If they break out, there will be more damage to the city than an artillery barrage's worth!" Ed looked on as Mark's Commando struggled back to its feet after sustaining an attack from the Imperials. Katya blasted two Gladiators apart with her assault rifle and SRMs. "Ed," she said "Whatever you wanna do, do it quick!"
"Hurry up, Franken!" Ed half-pleaded when he heard Katya's plea.
"Roger…Barrage commencing"
For a few seconds, there was only the sound of laser and machine gun fire as the CDF and DSF coalition traded shots with the pinned Imperials. Then the combined assault of Paladin Artillery rounds and ARCHER artillery missiles rained down on the Imperials, buildings collapsed, the earth trembled, and the Imperials seemed to disintegrate under the assault. When the dust cleared 30 seconds later, an entire city block was leveled, and the Imperials were all but gone. The few MACS struggling to stand were put down fast…and as the last shot echoed through the devastated area, the battle ended.
Ed slowly activated his mic, "Good shot Paladin Lead…I'm sorry there wasn't another way."
"So am I, but at least we held them." Franken responded.
General Knight contacted Ed "My forces will patrol the city in case there are some Imperials still in the area."
"Ok." Ed said "Is it possible I can borrow a Nightshade, General?"
"Why?"
"Well, I need to…um…move some material possessions." Ed said. "My house is in Miramar, and since the Imperials came close ot wiping it out this time, I just want to get stuff out of there in case they come back."
"Well, I guess I could give you one for about an hour." Knight replied.
"Thanks"
***
30 minutes laterEd was still going through all the stuff in his house trying to figure out what to save. Mark, who was helping him, walked up to Ed.
"What about the coat-of-arms?" Mark asked.
Ed looked up, hanging over the parlor fireplace was his family's crest. It had something to do with the fact that his family had been Barons of a region of Corneria, long before even his parents. The thing that intrigued Ed the most was an angular drawing of a snarling wolf emblazoned on the bottom of the crest.
"Good idea, I'm going to need it if I want to complete the squadron logo." Ed said as he got up to take the crest down.
"Wait…what?" Mark asked
"Every mercenary squadron needs a logo, and I think the coat-of-arms gave me an idea."
"Okay…whatever. Is there anything else we need to take?"
"Just one more," Ed said as he started to walk to the garage.
Ed entered the garage, took the tarpaulin off the one car in there, and simply said, "this."
What he pointed out was his car. It was a black 2535 Potomac Grand-Am, (exactly the same as a 1985 Pontiac Grand-Am in the real world). He had an obsession with the car, so he wanted it saved rather than taken and melted down by the Imperials.
"Ed, why save the car?" Mark asked
"So I can drive if I feel like it. I mean we have tons of extra room in the Black Knight's hangar bay. If you wanna save your shit, go ahead. We can make a return trip to your house if you want."
"Well…I do kind of want to save my car…fine. Let's just hurry up." Mark responded.
***
With plenty of time to spare, they made two trips to the Black Knight, offloading all the stuff the two didn't want the Imperials to get their hand on, including Ed's Grand-Am and Mark's Hummer. Ed took the time to ask ROB-2 for a situation report.
"So far the Imperials are licking their wounds, same as us." ROB-2 nonchalantly replied. We've inflicted slightly more damage to them than they did to us, but then again they have more ships. At least 2.5 times as many ships to be exact. If they come at us en masse…"
"Then we cannot hope to stop them, I know" Ed said. "If that happens, I want you to let me know instantly, and then contact all command staff of the CDF and DSF so I can talk to them."
"Why?"
"You'll find out." Ed answered.
***
ISS Andross, same timeEmperor Caine was pissed. His ground operations were not going as planned. "What do you mean the CDF has access to better MACS than us?"
"Just like what it sounds like, sir. 15 MACS that can easily turn our Gladiators into scrap metal obliterated our team sent to Sec-Weap Lab 3." Responded General Miles Bison
"I thought the MAC program was scrapped?"
"Apparently not, and these same 15 MACS, along with DSF and CDF forces, obliterated our assault team in Miramar." Bison responded.
"Great…and what about the dropships?"
General Fred Caiman fielded that question. "Bombing raids continue, we're taking heavier losses than we predicted."
"But you can still achieve the objectives?" Caine asked
"All we have achieved is the taking of Glengarry Isle, which did not have any weapons facilities, contrary to what you thought. All our other objectives are not being met due to the extremely heavy resistance."
Caine couldn't believe it. He had expected the CDF to buckle, but instead it seemed like his acts of terrorism had only pissed the Cornerians off.
"Fine, there is only one option, a full-scale mass assault. At 1200 tomorrow, all naval ships will converge on the Cornerian/Damocles fleet. At the same time, all ground and air forces will launch at assault on Corneria City. This will crush the Cornerians once and for all."
Caine smiled, confident of victory Three months wasn't such a long time to wait. He thought.
***
1 hour later, CDF Military Base AlphaGeneral Pepper called in the commanders of the planet defense units for a meeting. "It looks like we have done very well so far. Minimal losses, and all areas of importance are still in our control. Plus, the MACS that Ed, Fox, and Jason recovered from the lab will not fall into Imperial hands, and so they can't use them to make more powerful MACS."
"That's not necessarily true, General" Ed said, "I encountered Imperial MACS that were of Damocles design. This suggests that the Imperials got the plans through industrial espionage of some kind."
"Any theories on how?" Pepper asked
Nobody said anything, until General Mikhail Knight said one name "Oberon"
"As in the Oberon Corporation, the largest and most ruthless of rivals to Damocles Industries?" Fox asked.
"The same." Knight answered.
"How is that possible?" Captain Farrell spoke up "I thought Damocles had the tightest security of any corporation or military organization in the Lylat System!"
"No security is impenetrable." Was Knight's reply "In any event, this is a moot point, as we still have to figure out how to hold our ground against the remaining Imperials."
"I'd say we continue with what we have, as it seems to be working for now." Ed said "The bombing attacks distract the Imperials, and the defending units stop any incursions towards the major cities."
"That may work for now," Fara said "But what happens if they try a mass assault?"
"Well…I'd say we're screwed." Ed said "And I'm being realistic. We almost cannot hope to hold off that many forces. Best bet is to try a massive bombing raid early tomorrow morning to blunt that possibility. Otherwise, we may have to plan the unthinkable…retreat."
Ed let the retreat statement hang for a bit, nobody seemed to react well to that idea. I don't want to retreat either, but faced with death or retreat…I'd pick retreat if a third option didn't present itself. Ed thought.
"May I remind you I am in charge here." Pepper said "Unfortunately for me…that happens to be a good idea."
"Well, that is why we were here. Right?" Ed said
"Yes…" Pepper answered "In any case, the Imperials are falling back on both ground and space fronts for now, so you all are on break until something happens. I suggest you use the time wisely."
***
Fox caught up to Ed as he was leaving the base "What the hell was all that retreat shit about?" Fox asked.
"It's no shit." Ed responded "ROB-2 told me the Imperial fleet still outnumbers ours almost 3 to 1. If they attack en masse, the fleet will be crushed."
Fox was taken aback "And the same could happen with the ground forces…"
"Exactly. I don't like the idea any more than you, but if the Imperials wise up and rush us, we could all die fighting to keep the planet free. You, me, Katya, Mark, Fara…"
Ed stopped after he saw his statement about Fara had hit home.
Fox spoke slowly "I sure hope nothing happens to Fara, or else I'll never get the chance."
"What chance?" Ed asked
"I promised myself that after this all ended, I'll ask Fara to marry me. I know we're both young, but right now, I want to commit to spending the rest of my life with her."
"Good for you," Ed said
"You thought about asking Katya?" Fox asked
"Not really, I want to give it more time first, but maybe I just might ask her if I think the time is right." Ed responded.
"Well, I guess if any of these dreams are to become reality, we have to look at the possibility of retreat."
"Look, don't worry about it now. For all I know, the Imperials may not risk a mass assault. Just relax for now and enjoy the time we all have off."
"You're right…" Fox said, "Maybe I'll talk to Fara about…you know." Fox turned and walked away.
Ed thought to himself, Marrying Katya…I don't know. I do love her, but that might be taking things too fast.
Ed walked to his Arwing, and decided to go to the Black Knight and rest a bit. There wasn't much else to do during a time of war.