Shattered Lylat: The Fragmentation War

NOTE: I think holosimulations are perfectly feasible in the world of Starfox, especially if you read the SF64 strategy guide.

Chapter 11

"Chances thrown

Nothing's free

Longing for what used to be

Still it's hard

Hard to see

Fragile lives, shattered dreams"

The Offspring –"The Kids Ain't Alright"

***

Black Knight Sickbay, 1100 hours, the next day (September 26th, 2550)

Ed awoke from his drug-induced sleep. Since he couldn't feel any pain in his leg or chest, he assumed the painkillers were still working. As soon as he tried to sit up though, he regretted the decision. The pain in his chest returned with a vengeance.

"Argh…damn it." He groaned as he slumped back into the bed. Dr. Dorian walked up to him.

"Ah. I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" Dorian asked

"Well, my chest still feels like I got hit with a sledgehammer, but my leg feels fine." Ed responded.

"Well, that's good news. You're recovering faster than I originally expected."

"Can I get out of here and walk around?" Ed asked

"Although I advise against it, your condition is stable, so you can go. However, I do suggest you restrict yourself to light duty for about a week."

"Okay doc. I'll take your advice…unless I have no choice but to go into combat."

"Understandable."

"How is the royal family doing?"

"They are safe onboard the Ikaruga. They transferred to it once we cleared the blockade. Dante of course has remained here."

"One more thing. How is Mark doing?"

"He checked out a little earlier. He said he was heading to holodeck 1. It's located on deck 10."

"Okay, I think I'll go there."

***

Ed had stopped off at his quarters to drop off his personal effects and throw on a shirt. He then limped to deck 10, and entered holodeck 1. He instantly noticed that Mark had set up an urban combat training simulation.

"Computer, give me an Omni-Falcon. .45 ACP load, with 2 extra clips." Ed said.

About a second later, the gun and clips appeared in his hand. He pocketed the clips, armed his gun, and went to look for Mark. It didn't take him long. Ed followed the sounds of sporadic laser and pistol fire to Mark's location. Mark was firing his .357 Magnum revolver at a group of enemy soldiers, dropping them one by one. Ed helped him eliminate the next wave of holographic enemies, and they both paused to reload. Suddenly, another enemy solider tried to ambush Ed from behind. Ed heard the soldier, but realize he couldn't turn and reload in time. Suddenly, a green beam of light passed by Ed and speared the enemy holosoldier through the chest.

"Computer, freeze program." Ed said. The holographic enemy rhino was frozen in mid fall. Ed turned around again, and saw Mark still had his left arm outstretched. Jutting up slightly from the top of the husky's forearm was a small metal rectangle with a hole in the front. Smoke was wafting up from the hole.

"Care to explain?" Ed asked.

Mark put his arm down, and the rectangle receded into his arm "Well, it's kind of a long story. You know how badly those plasma rifles had shot up my arm, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, in the middle of the operation, I woke up. You see, they never used anesthetic on me, just assumed I was going to stay unconscious. Just before they put me under, Dr. Dorian told me he wasn't sure he could save my arm. Naturally I had nightmares about not having an arm anymore while I was asleep."

"So what happened?"

"It turns out that the think tank at Damocles R&D came up with a daring, yet brilliant idea. They were going to take what was left of my arm, graft metal onto it, link up the neural pathways so I could still feel, and add a small pop-up laser blaster just for the hell of it." Mark said as he extended his arm for Ed to see.

"I'm guessing it was a success." Ed said.

"Absolutely, especially since they never tried it before. The arm is constructed out of light titanium, and uses nano-ploymers linked up to my arm's remaining nerves so that I can still feel what I'm touching. I have the ability to turn those senses off, with merely a thought."

"And the laser?"

"Also thought controlled, but I have to arm it first…to prevent accidents. I don't really plan to use the laser that much, just if I run out of ammo. The internal power pack is good for 20 shots before I need to replace it."

"Yeah, the smell of burnt fur and flesh is pretty bad. Speaking of fur, what's the fur on your bionic arm?" Ed asked

"Oh, yeah. That's synthetic fur. It looks and feels real, but it isn't. They managed to duplicate the real fur I had perfectly. The nanomachines in my arm are capable of replacing it if anything happens to the fur. Also, the nanomachines have enhanced the reaction time for the arm, so I'm faster and stronger. Too bad I'm not left-handed."

"So in other words, you're the 6 million dollar husky." Ed said

"Absolutely, and I couldn't be happier." Mark said. "Although I wouldn't want to trade in more of my body for this setup. Computer, end simulation"

The battlefield vanished in a stream of green alphanumeric characters, showing the gray holodeck walls and floor underneath.

"So, in any event. Thanks for saving my ass out there." Mark said "And I'm real sorry about Katya."

"I know you are, but you don't have to apologize, it wasn't your fault. We just got blindsided is all." Ed said.

"Yes but…"

"But nothing. What happened wasn't your fault, end of discussion."

Ed left the holodeck.

Whose fault was it, then? Mark wondered as he watched his friend leave.

***

Royal Bedchamber, Cornerian Palace, Corneria City, Corneria, same time

Josef Caine yawned as he awoke from his sex-induced slumber. Lying naked next to him was Katlin Stienburg. The two had decided the best way to celebrate toppling the Davidson rule of the planet, was to sleep in the bed reserved for the royal couple. They both had found the thought of cleansing the Davidson's presence with that of their own…symbolically interesting.

Not to mention great! Caine thought. True, he hadn't thought of Katlin as his first choice for a mate, but they had become attracted to one another as they plotted the Cornerian invasion following Lord Kyle Kerrigan's death three months ago.

Caine turned to look at Katlin as the harpy eagle awoke slowly.

"Good morning, lover." Caine said almost cordially.

"The same to you." Katlin responded. "What time is it?"

"Around noon."

"Crap. There must be dozens of calls coming in from our commanders…"

"No, actually, not a single call has come in. We haven't had any word from our commanders since they started hunting for the CDF."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I'd say good, maybe the CDF has decided to leave entirely. Besides, they know we've broken them, we don't have to worry about them even if they are still around…"

The communicator on the bedside table beeped. Caine answered it. "Emperor Caine speaking."

Storm Eagle was on the other line. "We have an update on the tracking situation. I request to speak with you at your earliest convenience. Colonel O'Donnell also wishes to speak with you."

Caine thought. "Have all the commanders meet at Fort Imperium in 1 hour."

"Affirmative, it will be as you wish."

The comm blanked out.

"Why give him an hour?" Katlin asked.

"Because I think we need to discuss…strategy…together first." Caine said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I think I'm going to like this." Katlin said as she brought her beak to his muzzle…

***

Outside the Royal Palace, same Time

Corporal Ronald Duvall of Ackerson's Rangers stared through his field binoculars at the royal palace. He adjusted his focus to zoom in on the window into the Royal Bedchamber…and was instantly traumatized by what he saw. Unfortunatley, he was unable to tear his eyes away from it.

His radio crackled. "Base to Recon 1, what is your status? Base to Recon 1, come in."

The tiger picked up his radio. "This is Recon 1. I've…uh…located Caine and Stienburg."

"Great. What are they currently doing?" said the voice on the radio…that of Sgt. Brody Anderson.

"Well…they're uh…"

"Out with already!"

"They're getting…intimate."

"What? Like screwing?"

"Yes, Brody that is EXACTLY what they're doing!"

"Man…what's it like?"

"Extremely disturbing. Get Colonel Ackerson on the line."

"Sure no problem."

A few seconds later, Ackerson was patched in. Duvall apprised him of the situation, then…

"Colonel. I request permission to end this disturbing spectacle by shooting them both dead…right here…right now." Duvall said

"Negative, Corporal. You and I both know a sniper rifle can't get through the defensive measures around the palace. Hell, it was designed to withstand multiple Cobra torpedo hits."

"Yeah, I know. But it's a little gross to see the leaders of the enemy army humping their brains out."

"Tell you what, we'll send a Nightshade in to pick you up. You can take a day off from patrols and recon."

"I'm still going to need something to forget this incident." Duvall said.

"Okay, fine. There will also be a stash of Playfur magazines on the Nightshade for your personal use." Ackerson said.

"Thanks, sir."

***

Black Knight Observation Deck, Black Knight, Somewhere between Katina and Solar, 10 minutes later

Ed Wallace stared out into empty space…pondering what the CDF would do next.

Admiral Smith gave us coordinates in Sector X, I wonder what's there? He wondered. Maybe it's a secret Damocles arsenal…or something…

The sound of footsteps behind him brought him out of his ruminations. He turned around. Approaching him were the surviving Shadow Wing Beta Company pilots.

"Heard you were up and about." Jason Kage, his left arm still in a sling, said. "How do you feel?"

"Well," Ed answered. "I feel like I got hit in the chest with a sledgehammer, but otherwise I'm fine."

"What about Mark?" Dante Davidson asked

"He's fine. They gave him an advanced bionic arm that allows him to achieve everything possible with his old arm, plus a bit more. But I get the feeling you four didn't show up just to ask me how I'm doing."

"You are right." Dave Cheng said.

"First, we're here to offer our condolences on your loss of Katya." Jenna Sandoval said. "We all knew how…close, the two of you were."

"Hm…I guess we did brag a little." Ed said. I wish they'd all stop apologizing…it's not like it was their fault she died.

"Secondly." Jason continued "we're here to inform you that we're renaming the squadron."

"What?" Ed asked

"Well, since almost the entire squad was wiped out, and we have had no contact with the Wing's founder and leader, we've decided to reinvent ourselves. The cloak of secrecy has been cast aside. We are warriors reborn. Hence the new name…the Revenants."

"Fitting name" Ed said

"Besides," Dante said. "Katya was always pushing for us to be less secretive and isolated from the rest of the CDF. I feel maybe this is what she would've wanted."

Upon hearing those words, the full weight of what had happened finally hit Ed. The shock of Katya's death had been repressed for so long, and now it was coming at him full force.

If I lose composure now…no…I have to get outta here.

"Yes…" Ed said holding back tears, "I think you're right. Now, if you'll excuse me…I'm not feeling to well."

***

Ed practically ran off the observation deck, and made the best possible speed to his quarters. He quickly shut and lokced the door behind him, and slumped to the ground, tears freely flowing from his eyes now. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out Katya's ID tags. He stared at them, sobs wracking his body.

"Oh God, Katya…I'm so sorry." Ed cried softly "This wasn't supposed to happen, this is all my fault…you weren't supposed to die…"

He sat there, slumped against the door, crying out and thinking the same thing.

It's all my fault…