Chapter 12
"But in the end there is one thing to remember. No matter how alone you may be, no matter how painful you feel, you have friends beside you who will see you through things."- J.D., "Scrubs"
Black Knight, outside Ed Wallace's quarters, 1300 hours, September 27th, 2550
The pilots of Starfox, Black Wolf, and the newly named Revenants stood outside the locked door to Ed Wallace's quarters. "How long has he been in there?" Fox McCloud asked"Near as I can tell, Ed's been holed up for over 24 hours." Responded Jason Kage. "He locked out his door access commands, nobody can get in."
"What's he been doing?"
"Well, he cried for a good amount of time." Karl Riker said. "Then we heard him get up, and I think he started chugging down beers."
"I told you the private minibar was a bad idea." Mark responded.
"Anyways, he then slumped up against the door for a while longer…and then we heard nothing up to this point."
"My guess is, he's either passed out, or watching Vixens in Heat 3 with the sound off." Damien said with a grin.
Karl cuffed his friend on the side of the head. "Mind your manners. He may be an emotional wreck, but he's still our commander. One other thing, he kept apologizing to Katya, and saying something was all his fault, and also that something wasn't supposed to happen."
"Hmm…" Fox said. "interesting." Fox knocked on the door to Ed's quarters. "Ed? You awake?"
"Yeah…I'm awake. What is it you want, Fox?" Ed's pained voice came through the door.
"You kept saying that something was your fault, and that something wasn't supposed to happen. What did you mean by that?"
"What I meant…" Ed said, sobbing quietly, "Is that Katya should not have died out there. It's my fault she did."
"How so?"
"Three months ago you convinced me not to kill Wolf O'Donnell. I agreed, and now he's killed the love of my life."
"So why is this your fault? I'm the one that convinced you not to shoot Wolf."
"I also failed to open fire on Wolf's MAC as it towered over us just before he shot her." Ed said.
"Like there was anything a K21 assault rifle could've done against a MAC." Fox said.
"It doesn't matter…Wolf wanted me dead. If I had shot at him, maybe he would've just shot me and spared Katya."
"Ed," Mark said "that's crap. I was manning the gun, and I failed to fire. If it's anyone's fault. It's mine."
"No. It was my fault. I had the chance to do something…anything…and by the time I did it was far too late. I can't do this anymore. If I can't be expected to act in time, then I have no place in this war."
"Come off it, Ed" Fox said. "I said the same thing once. Remember what you told me? How I owe it to Fara to make sure I avenge her? Well, I know that you promised Katya the same thing."
"Yes, but I failed to save her when I should've. You didn't have that choice to make. I've made up my mind…I'm staying in this room until we all get blown up, or the war ends. Either way, I don't care."
Fox stood up. "He's impossible to negotiate with."
Jenna Sandoval walked up to the door "Then let me try. I used to date him."
"And this gives you an advantage…how?" Falco said.
"Just watch. I suggest you guys leave, he'll be more likely to talk if we're alone." Jenna knocked on the door "Open up, you drunken bastard! It's me, Jenna."
The door slid open, and Ed practically fell out into the hallway. By now, the others had left. "Well, well, well." Ed said "If it isn't the girl who broke my heart and left me a depressed wreck for 2 years."
"Oh shut it." Jenna said. "You and I need to talk…now."
Ed picked himself up. "Fine…come in."
As Jenna entered, she noticed Ed was still clutching Katya's ID tags in his right hand. Wow…the poor guy's really lost it. She thought. She looked around the room. She noticed at least 20 bottles of beer on the floor.
"How many drinks have you had?" she asked Ed
"Well…I think I had about 20 last night…and maybe a couple more this morning…but I'm pretty sober now." Ed responded as he sat down on his bed. Jenna sat down next to him.
Jenna didn't notice a slur in Ed's voice, so she decided not to go down that path. "So I hear you want to quit. Just give up fighting."
"Yeah. I couldn't save her; I can't be relied on to save anyone else…what's the point?" Ed said sadly.
"You saved the Starfox team, me, and the other Revenatns."
"Difference."
"Explain."
"Well, I'm not gay for one thing, and for another thing, you and I aren't an item anymore."
"I meant a real reason." Katya said as she gave Ed a light punch in the arm.
"I saved them by pure luck, and you and the others because I was just in the right place at the right time. Something I was when Katya died…yet I failed to do anything." Ed said.
"You were staring down a 80-ton 10-meter tall death machine…what makes you think you wouldn't have frozen?"
"I don't know. It's just that…I cared about her so much…and just like that, she was taken from me."
"Yes, but you risked your life to save the rest of us, and her. You managed to get her body back here so she could have a proper burial. You then ran 2 kilometers back to the Black Knight, and despite near-fatal injuries, you saved Mark from being killed. Plus, I hear you shot Wolf O'Donnell in the ass."
Ed grinned slightly, but then he frowned again. "I hope there's a point to this."
"My point is this. You went above and beyond the call of duty to save 5 pilots who risked their lives protecting the Prince. To give up now would only shame Katya's memory of her selfless sacrifice to Corneria. I know it isn't going to be easy, but you have to get back out there, and fulfill your last promise to her. She must be avenged."
Ed thought. Argh…you know she's right. But one question remains…
"Jenna, you didn't care this much when you left me…why do you care so much now?"
Jenna paused "I feel…like this is somehow my fault. If I hadn't dumped you so horribly, maybe you wouldn't be contemplating quitting…"
"Jenna, that's not true. Sure, I felt like I wanted to die after you left me, and my grades tanked that term…but I bounced back. Remember, I saw you off to what I know now was your Shadow Wing training. If I can bounce back from that…I think I can bounce back from this. For everyone's sake…not just mine and Katya's, but the whole of the CDF, and especially the Royal Family."
Jenna smiled "I knew you'd come around."
"Well, your talk reminded me of another promise I made. Just before the Imperial's main strike on Corneria, I visited the graves of my parents. I told them I'd probably be leaving for a while, and I didn't know when I'd be back. But I did promise them that when I returned, the ones responsible for killing them on Zoness would be killed. If you hadn't convinced me to keep fighting, I would've disgraced their memories too."
"Well, I hope you fulfill all your promises." Jenna said as she stood up and walked to the door.
"Jenna," Ed said. The timber wolf turned and looked at him. "Thanks…for everything."
"Your welcome." Jenna said. Then she left.
Ed looked around the room. Ed set about throwing all the beer bottles in the recycling bin. Once he was satisfied his room was clean, he sat down on his bed again and went into deep thought.
Well, this is an odd turn of events. Jenna's becoming a lot friendlier towards me…although I doubt she wants us to get back together. Well, it's too soon for me to start dating again anyway…and I'm still a little depressed. I need an outlet for that depression.Ed looked around. He spotted his black Fender Stratocaster guitar.
Back in the academy, he had been a decent guitar player. He had even been in a band, called "The Greenwings", which had been named after the slang term for the CDF fighters. He and Mark had been in it, along with two other cadets. Mark had been drums and lead vocals, Ed had been lead guitar and vocals. The band had been a mild success, but had to disband in the 4th year when it interfered with studies.
Well, they always said music is good for depression…whoever "they" are. Ed thought as he picked up the guitar. He tuned it up. Once he was satisfied with the way it sounded, he turned on his amp, and played the first song that came into his head.
Soul Asylum "Can't Even Tell"I may never get what I want
But I'm happy just to die trying
And I hope I ain't done nobody wrong
But I miss you smiling
And I'm looking for a cure cause I'm bored to tears
And I'm stuck in here, stuck out here, stuck in here
We lived through another day
It's a good excuse to celebrate
Take a number knock on wood
We'll find a reason to feel good
I know you know I wanna know how I feel
I can't even tell
I can't even tell
I can't even tell
No one knows nothing about me
I'm guessing I'll just keep 'em guessing
No one sees what I see
This is my blessing
And I'm looking for a way to get out of here
Get me out of here, out of here, out of here
We lived through another day
It's a good excuse to celebrate
Take a number knock on wood
We'll find a reason to feel good
I know you know you wanna know how I feel
I can't even tell
I can't even tell
I can't even tell
I'm out of here, out of here, out of here
I know you know I want to know how I feelI can't tell
I know you know I'll tell you if it's real
It's not our last affair
I can't even tell
I can't even tell
He finished the song…and paused. Odd that that song could sum up my life up to this point…guess it really did fit the occasion.
He started playing again, this time it was "Crockett's Theme" Jenna had hung out outside Ed's door as he played "Can't even tell", and started walking down the hall as she heard the slow mournful notes of "Crockett's Theme" emanating from the room.Fox was waiting for her at the elevators "So? How's he doing?" he asked her.
"Well, although the guitar playing he's doing right now is a little on the emotional side, I think he'll be okay. Just give him a while."
"Okay…and how are you doing?"
"In regards to?"
"How you feel about him."
"I'm still not sure. It really confuses me. I feel like I should be there for him, and yet I'm not sure if I want to be, or if he even wants me back."
"Well, as I said before, I can't tell people what they think. You two will just have to sort it out amongst yourselves."
"I know. Thanks anyway."
Jenna stepped into the elevator as the notes continued to echo through the almost empty corridor.
Fort Imperium (Formerly CDF Base Alpha), Corneria City, Corneria, Sept. 26, 2550, 1200 hoursJosef Caine and Katlin Stienburg entered the fort's briefing room. Seated at the table were Storm Eagle, General Bison, Admiral Blaire, Admiral Caiman, and Wolf O'Donnell
"You said you had an update on those Cornerian ships headed outsystem?" Caine asked as he sat down.
"Well Emperor General…there's good news and bad news." Said a nervous Admiral Blaire. "The good news is we intercepted all of the outbound vessels that were exiting the Lylat system."
"And the bad news?"
"All of the ships were abandoned derelicts. None of them had any crew…and some were even booby trapped. We lost at least 5 cruisers to the CDF's ruse."
"Well…I should've know the CDF didn't have any knowledge of habitable planets outside of Lylat. At least tell me Operation: Backstab was a success." Caine asked hopefully
"Um…you tell him O'Donnell." Storm Eagle said as he pulled at his uniform's collar nervously.
"Tell him what?" Steinburg asked
"You want me to tell them?" Wolf asked "Fine…" Wolf's one good eye had a cold glint in it. "Here's what happened. The Mavericks failed to destroy the Phantron, and allowed 5 Beta Squadron pilots to crash on the surface. 4 were rescued by Ed Wallace, who later shot me…in the ASS!!!"
"So…I'm assuming the Royal Family, part of Beta Squadron, Black Wolf, and Starfox are still alive?" Caine asked
"Obviously yes." Wolf said.
Caine frowned and glared at Storm Eagle, and then glared at Wolf. "You know, I didn't ask for much. I just asked for you to KILL THE ROYAL FAMILY, KILL THEIR BODYGUARDS…AND KILL THE MERCENARIES! Now evidently the Cycloptic Colonel here tells me that you failed in this mission, and got shot in the ass as a result."
Storm Eagle spoke up. "Uh…only Colonel O'Donnell got shot in the ass…"
"Quiet you," Caine snarled. "Fine…what good did you bumbling morons accomplish?"
Wolf spoke up. "I killed Ed Wallace's girlfriend right in front of him while he was powerless to do anything."
A pause. "Go on…" Caine said.
"Well…it should cause him to be an emotional wreck."
"Will it?" Caine asked
"I agree with Wolf. Lt. Marlowski, the defector, said that Fox McCloud was a wreck after his girlfirend died, which is why he provided the data regarding Captain Wallace's girlfriend, another Beta pilot." Storm Eagle said.
"Okay…so that's one potentially good thing you did. Anything else?" Katlin Stienburg asked.
"Actually, we have managed to capture one of the best squadrons in the CDF."
"Interesting…please continue." Caine said as he started to grin.
Black Knight, Solar, Sept. 28th, 2550, 0900 hours
Ed woke up with the sun literally in his eyes. Once he could manage to see again, he polarized his cabin windows and noted that they had finally reached Solar. Throwing on some clothing and donning his flight shades, he headed out to get some breakfast.
Ed walked into the lounge area of the Black Knight. He noticed that Karl, Mark, and Damien were still eating breakfast. Without saying anything, he warmed up a few pancakes, grabbed a glass of orange juice, and sat down with them. As he started eating, Ed noticed that they were staring at him.
"What?" he asked looking up from his meal.
"You okay?" Mark asked.
"Well…I'm not 100%, but I'm getting there." Ed said.
"You absolutely certain?" Damien asked
"Yep."
"Damn…now I can't make anymore rude jokes about you watching porno films." The hawk lamented
"I heard the one about Vixens in Heat 3,by the way." Ed said with a slight smirk. "Not that funny." His expression relaxed again. "When did we reach Solar?"
"About an hour ago." Karl said.
"How many ships have made the rendezvous?"
"Well…there were 150 ships that left Katina, 50 of which headed to Zoness. So far, 60 ships have made rendezvous, and we're going to wait a few hours for the rest to arrive."
"And then to Admiral Smith's coordinates in Sector X." Mark added. "Nobody seems to know what could be there."
"Do we know of any losses?" Ed asked
"Only a few. Captain Hunter reported that only his ship escaped Katina. He reported that the Bahamut and the Ramuh were taken out by a Halberd and a Saruzin-II. We haven't heard anything else, so any other losses will probably not be known till the grace period is over."
The lounge's vidcom activated, and ROB-2's face appeared.
"Sirs, we are receiving an emergency distress call over 100 km from here. Putting it onscreen"
The screen switched to display a distorted image of a panicked grey fox with a bleeding gash over his right eye. The image and sound kept fading in and out…but the message was clear.
"This is Lt. William Black of Husky Squadron. Can anyone hear me? I'm losing life support and system power! If any friendlies can hear me, please respond."
Ed hit the respond button on the comm button nearby. "Billy, this is Ed Wallace, we hear you and are on the way. Can you give us a location?"
"Oh, thank God you guys are around!" Billy said. "I'm in Solar Grid 6, location X23, Y56, Z90."
"All right, we'll have you on the Black Knight in no time." Ed discommed. He turned to the others. "Okay, let's get out there. I'll use my Galvatron to get him back here. You three fly cover in case any Imperials are lurking about."
10 minutes laterEd had used his MAC to detach the cockpit module from Billy's crippled Arwing, and brought him back safely with a little oxygen to spare. Dr. Dorian was now looking Billy over in sickbay.
"Well, the shrapnel didn't cause a major cut. The stitches can come out in a few days." The Dalmatian said.
"That's good, because I want to get some payback in as soon as possible." Billy said.
"Speaking of…what happened to you anyway?" Ed asked.
"It was insane." Billy said "The Imperials just came out of nowhere and ambushed us on Katina. Bulldog Squadron was wiped out in seconds. We fought on bravely, but it was futile. All of Husky Squadron, except me, were captured. I barley managed to make the hyperspace jump."
"Are you sure they were captured?" Mark asked.
"Yes. At the risk of my own life I did a flyby of the battle site. I saw Captain Grey and all the other pilots being loaded into Forge APCs…by Star Wolf and those Maverick Wing pilots."
"More that they have to answer for…" Ed trailed off.
"What?" Billy asked
Ed told him what the Mavericks had done to Shadow Wing, and what Wolf had done to Katya.
"I had no idea…we had just heard the Royal Family had been ambushed…" Billy said. "I'm sorry for your loss, Ed. How are you holding up?"
"I was a wreck for about 24 hours, but I'm okay now."
"You sure?"
"Positive. I beat death, I beat heartbreak, all that remains is the Imperial Army." Ed's face was a grim mask of determination, leaving no doubt in his comrade's minds that their leader was back.
Imperial Military Detention Center 22-A, Katina City, Katina, 10 hours earlierCaptain Bill Grey was led into an interrogation room, flanked by two armed guards. Behind him was Emperor-General Josef Caine. Grey was roughly forced down into a chair, and then Caine dismissed the guards.
"You're a little too trusting of me not to try and kill you, Caine." Bill said.
"Well, all I have to do is give the word and all of your squadron will be executed if you try and attack me."
Bill settled back in the chair. "Enough of this…what do you want from me?"
"Isn't it obvious? I want to know where you're comrades are really headed."
"I don't know. The cruiser Vigilant was supposed to take us to the rendezvous…but you blew it up."
"I can tell when you're lying to me, Captain. Now answer or your comrades will pay the price!" Caine's hand moved towards a radio.
Bill's shoulders sunk in defeat. "Fine…they are headed to Zoness…but then they're moving again within 2 days. I don't know where we were going to go next. Some rumors were of a preemptive strike on Area 6.
"That's all we need to know. You've been a great help. The guards will get you in a couple minutes to take you back."
Caine turned his back and left, leaving a seemingly distraught Bill Grey. However, as soon as Caine had left, the husky began to grin.
The fool. He bought it hook, line, and sinker. While it was true there were CDF forces headed to Zoness, most of them were headed towards Sector X. Also, the little lie about a planned assault on Area 6 would put Caine on the defensive. In effect, Caine would underestimate the CDF presence at Zoness.
And there he shall fail. Bill thought, grinning maniacally. Hopefully, whatever Smith is hiding is Sector X will be active by the time Caine recovers from this defeat.
END CHAPTER 12