-Their Finest Hour-
After so long on Katina, Major Bill Grey had almost forgotten what it was like to be on a battleship. The stability, the texture and comfortable familiarity of being on a planetary surface was gone, replaced instead by sterile, conditioned air and the unsettling tingle of artificial gravity. The long, grey, pristine hangar deck practically sparkled with brand-spanking-newness, one of ten such hangars on the Cornerian Commonwealth Ship Ajax, the one-of-a-kind battlecarrier serving as the command ship of General George Pepper and flagship of the Cornerian Starfleet. The Ajax had been commissioned over a year ago, before the First Battle of Aquas, and left the orbital shipyards over Corneria a week and a half ago with an armada comprising most of the Cornerian Starfleet at maximum warp. The Ajax and its entourage arrived at Macbeth a week after its liberation by the combined forces of the Cornerian Starfleet, Team StarFox and the Macbeth Resistance.
As the massive armada waited over Macbeth, the clock was ticking down towards the final assault on Venom, where the considerable orbital defenses and the remains of the Imperial Venomian Starfleet awaited them. The Ajax seemed up to the task, with sixteen variable-power turbolasers to guard against fighters, four twin-turret assault pulse lasers to use against medium targets, and four twin-turret turbocharged pulse lasers for large targets. This was not to mention the six squadrons of J-4 Comet fighters and the four squadrons of S-8 Shadow fighter-bombers in her hangars, and the gigantic naval escort to bring her into battle.
The Cornerian Starfleet had gathered the best and brightest in preparation for its assault on Venom, including the transfer of Bulldog and Husky squadrons from Katina to the Ajax. Which meant that Bill was now leading the main starfighter attack on the Venomian fleet, engaging the enemy head-to-head while Team StarFox went in to take Andross down once and for all. He tried to keep himself calm, and show reserve in the face of everything. But it was hard. They were going for a full-frontal assault on the Venomians, out to destroy them through sheer firepower. A lot of responsibility was on Bill.
And though he tried to deny it, deep down Bill felt something other than fear.
He felt the itching, festering touch of envy for his childhood friend. Bill would be spearheading the attack, while StarFox would be bypassing all the blood and guts and horror to destroy the monster's head and get all the glory.
Just do your duty, Bill thought to himself, his eyes closed as he walked down the durasteel floors of the hangar deck, oblivious to the sounds and movements of the work crews all around him.
His parents would be proud of him. His wingmates envied and looked up to him. Regardless of whether he survived, as long as they won, history would view Bill as a hero in his own right. But every time he thought of this, he kept returning to all of those memories of childhood with Fox and Slippy, dreaming about taking on the galaxy as the next generation of StarFox, and how he was the only one not living that dream.
You're being immature. Selfish, even, Bill thought to himself.
As he passed rows upon rows of green and white J-4 Comet fighters, the only thing that broke Bill's train of thought was the sight of the unusual ship in the next row. Instead of a bird-like Comet fighter, Bill beheld a large arrowhead-shaped flying wing, with two bladelike fins at its rear and two on its underside. The front of the fighter pointed slightly down like the beak of a bird, an ovaloid cockpit bubble in its center. It wasn't the fact that there was no other fighter like it in the hangar that got to Bill. It wasn't even the fact that it was a highly-modified Venomian Invader III fighter.
It was that the ship was painted pink.
The entire ship, save for a diamond-shaped cream section around the cockpit bubble, had been painted a dark pastel pink color, almost the color of Klepto-Bismol. At the right side of the ship, stenciled in black, elegant text, was the name Cat's Paw.
Bill began to scan the hangar for the deck chief, in order to ask who the hell had allowed the ship to be stored amongst Bulldog and Husky squadrons.
His search was cut off by a light, almost giggly-sounding voice behind him inquiring, "What do ya think of it, big boy?"
Bill exhaled and turned around to face an athletic-looking female feline in an tattered orange flight jacket over a golden-colored tank top, scarlet shorts and insulated scarlet boots that stretched up to her thighs. Her fur was black, except for her paws, around her mouth and inside her ears, which was white. On both wrists were multiple dangling wooden bracelets that clicked together when she moved. The feline's sapphire blue eyes stared out from under a scarlet bandana covering the top of her head.
Katt Monroe was another warrior gathered by the Cornerian Starfleet to assist in the attack on Venom, though Bill couldn't imagine why. Apparently, she'd helped StarFox take down the early warning system on Zoness, which made way for the Cornerian surprise assault. Big deal.
"I think your ship would fit in better at a toy store," Bill quipped in his raspy voice, looking back at the Cat's Paw and shaking his head.
"Its got better handling and firepower than the standard Invader III, a little better than your Comets," Katt shrugged, "I stole it myself from a Venomian production facility on Eladard before the Macbeth invasion. Modified it myself. I just thought I'd make a bit of a statement with the paint job."
Bill looked back at her and rose is eyebrow condescendingly.
Katt smiled, her black tail swishing behind her, bracelets jingling as she leaned forward and cooed, "Ohhh, is the widdle doggy confused by the cute kitty-cat?"
Bill scoffed and sneered, "I'm more confused at how some moron like you got on this ship."
The smile disappeared from Monroe's face, and her brow furrowed with energy as she replied, "Hey, I was invited here! I earned it! Not because I was some soldier waiting in the ranks, but because I proved my worth and showed that I deserved respect. Just because I'm not in the Army or whatever doesn't make me any less of a pilot than you. I've been flying around sabotaging Venomians for longer than StarFox has."
"You're not StarFox," Bill snapped, "You're a fluke. Frankly, I think you're a joke."
Katt looked increasingly more agitated, flexing her claws (nail-polished a bright, glittery pink) as she shifted position.
"What is it?" she demanded, "Is there something about me that threatens you? Is it because I used to run in a gang? Is it because I don't subscribe to your macho bullshit? Is it because I'm a girl? Come on, let's have it. What's the real difference between you and me?"
"My ship isn't pink," Bill retorted.
"You're an arrogant, sexist jerk," Katt replied, "The sad thing is that you can't even see how wrong you are because you've made up your mind before you know anything!"
"I know all about you, Monroe," Bill growled, "I've read about you. You used to run in the same gang as Falco Lombardi, and ever since he joined StarFox you've been out to prove that you're still good enough to run with him. But you don't have near what it takes to be StarFox material. Trust me, I know. You're a wannabe. You think this is all just some sort of game or something. You go out and do some flashy stunt with your claws all done up and come off like some cute little daredevil, but in the end you just don't get it. You don't realize that our way of life has been at risk this whole time and that the only reason we're here is because millions of people have died to get us this far. And that is what's going to get even more people killed, if you go into this battle with something to prove, thinking that it's just some WarGame you can restart when you fuck up."
Katt pursed her mouth together and cocked her head to the side.
"You think I don't understand it all? You weren't there on Macbeth during the year before Venom invaded Aquas. I was, running supplies and messages for the Resistance and helping out as much as I could without getting caught. You think the worst of it happened just before we came here and set them free? I've got enough horror stories to last a lifetime!" Katt snapped, "Maybe you should consider that the reason I do 'some flashy stunt with my claws done up' is because it's my way of dealing with what's going on out there! Just different systems for different people. You act all tough to deal with it. I disconnect it. I turn it into a fashion statement, because it's harder to let all of the dead bodies get to you that way."
Bill sighed and looked askance down the hangar deck. More than a few deckhands and pilots were watching the exchange.
"I know about you, too, Bill Grey," Katt said, "Falco told me a little bit about you after Zoness. You and Fox McCloud and Slippy Toad used to be bosom buddies back in your cub years. You even went to the Flight Academy with McCloud. But here you are, just some Army major, while your two best friends fly point for StarFox. You don't think you're going out there with something to prove? That sounds kind of familiar, Grey. I'm trying to impress my man. You're trying to impress McCloud. Maybe we're not so different after all."
Bill growled, his heart rate increasing. The feline had struck a nerve.
"I don't have anything to prove. And we've got nothing in common," Bill retorted, "I trained, I prepared, I was conditioned into--"
"And when it came down to it, Fox McCloud didn't think you were good enough. He didn't think you were StarFox material. He chose Falco. He chose someone like me," Katt sneered with an emphatic raise of her eyebrows.
"I'm twice the fucking pilot of you and Lombardi!" Bill exploded, lunging forward and coming within a few centimeters of Monroe's face.
Katt smiled. Those sapphire blues narrowed smugly.
"I rest my case, big boy," Katt sniffed.
Bill knew he'd overreacted the moment he considered striking Monroe. He stopped himself from doing anything, breathed in and out, then stepped back. He looked away from the feline, back down the hangar deck at the rows of Comet fighters. Bill clenched his jaw and counted to ten as the surrounding pilots and deckhands tried to look busy and pretended like they hadn't heard everything.
The silence was broken by Monroe herself, coming up behind him.
"But who cares if we've got something to prove? Who doesn't?" Katt inquired softly, "It's the ones who don't give a shit that have the real problems. Having something to prove pushes you to be better, above the ones that don't care. It pushes you to the point where it doesn't matter if you live up to the ones you idolize or impress the ones you love. In the face of what you've accomplished on the way, it's vindication enough for yourself. So what if, after all I do, Falco still doesn't notice me the way I wish he did? The fact that I saved people's lives and…and became a part of something better…I mean, that's worth something in itself, isn't it? And what does it matter about StarFox? Think of all that you've done. You probably are twice the pilot I am."
Bill looked back at her with a weary expression on his face.
"After all that 'arrogant sexist' stuff, you go and smooth everything out just like that," Bill remarked, somewhat confused, "You really are something, Monroe."
Katt flashed a Falco Lombardi-patented smirk.
"Falco used to say I could go zero to bitch in three seconds and back just as fast," Katt giggled, "I'm evil when I don't get my way, but once I do I'm just a harmless little pussycat."
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier," Bill offered, "Maybe I judge too much on appearances."
"I'm used to it," Katt shrugged, "It just makes things more satisfying when I prove people wrong."
Bill Grey exhaled in amazement, then looked from Katt to her pink ship and back.
"It'll be interesting to see you out there," Bill conceded calmly, "I hope you prove me wrong, then."
"I will," Katt nodded confidently.
Bill nodded and awkwardly turned around, and began walking back up the hangar deck.
"For what it's worth…" Monroe called to him, and Bill stopped, looking back over his shoulder with hard, brown eyes.
"I think you're definitely StarFox material," Katt smiled.
Bill returned the smile and tried to make the compliment mean something.
Then he turned back and continued up the hangar deck.
To the casual observer, it would appear that an asteroid field had formed over the grey-blue planet of Macbeth. In fact, an even rarer event had occurred: over eighty Cornerian Starfleet ships had converged over the planet, forming one of the largest stellar attack forces ever assembled in Lylat history. Twelve Trafalguis-class destroyers made up the core of the attack force, long grey craft each sporting a trio of pylons connected to huge engine nacelles that also housed the ship's assault pulse lasers. Twenty Acropolis-class assault ships, boxy craft that many affectionately described as 'coffins with engines', acted as support for the larger ships. An additional fifteen Nelson-class frigates acted as further support, each blunt cross-shaped ships with dozens of nova bomb launchers and experimental generators with which to project shields onto damaged ships. A compliment of thirty five teardrop-shaped Aries-class patrol cruisers protected the force from starfighters and bombers.
Only two other ships remained unique in the massive fleet: One Dreadnaught-class space cruiser known as the Great Fox, which sat serenely on the outskirts of the fleet, and the colossal Ajax battlecarrier, the largest single ship in the fleet, which occupied the center position in the armada. Bearing some resemblance to the mythical whales said to once swim in the oceans of Aquas, the Ajax had the appearance of a rectangular flower-box coming up from the stern, the bow end terminating in a gargantuan mouth-like opening from which up to six fighters at a time could be launched from the railgun catapaults positioned along the inside. Straddled atop this maw was a large crown like a pair of stubby wings, at the center of which was the large bridge of the Ajax.
On the bridge, General George Pepper stood with his hands behind his back, surveying the void of space before him. He looked beyond the ships, even beyond the planet of Macbeth and all of the suffering that it had endured, and stared at the white-orange star known as Verona. It burned bright and beautiful, so vibrant that it would've blinded him if not for the ultraviolet-absorbing coat over the durasteel viewport or the computerized light filter connected to it that darkened the light to a safe level. Very close to Verona, it was possible to make out a tiny greenish dot, just barely visible in the blackness of space.
The planet of Venom looked harmless, almost insignificant at this distance. The dense orbital defenses and sizable fleet that protected the planet were unobvious. The countless miseries that the planet had visited upon the rest of Lylat were unapparent at so far away. But both indeed were there, and here Pepper stood on the eve of Venom's reckoning for all of the pain she had caused.
The fifty five year-old General blinked his sky-blue eyes and glared at the green dot, as if he could just glare it into nothingness and thus spare all of the lives he would have to sacrifice in order to remove it as a threat. But Pepper knew better than to wish for such fortune. Wishing or trusting hadn't done a damn thing in the past. It hadn't prevented Andross from playing upon weakness and foolishness and anger to get what he wanted; it hadn't stopped James McCloud from dying at Venomian hands and it hadn't saved Lylat from this nightmare of a war. The only thing that would change things was action, and General Pepper restrained himself from enjoying too much the ability to finally take it.
"I'm coming for you, you bastard," Pepper whispered, "I'm coming with someone who's going to do what should've been done years ago."
"General, sir," Admiral Samuel Chen, field commander of the Ajax and the fleet said with a salute, "The captain of the Ranger is here."
Pepper turned to face the orange tabby, returning the salute.
"Very good, Admiral," he said in his rich, melodic voice, then walked along the spotless white floor of the bridge with the Admiral in tow, past the main bridge area and into the war room, a large conference area with a slab-like holoprojection table upon which the plans for tactical operations were discussed and briefed.
It was one of Pepper's customs to always give one final, last-minute briefing of the basics of every operation he commanded to the most senior officers, so that they might have his orders fresh in their minds at the commencement of the battle. Gathered in the war room were the twelve captains of each Trafalguis-class, as well as the commanders of the fourteen air groups of fighters that would spearhead the operation. Major Bill Grey and Commander Fox McCloud had been given a pass on the meeting, having had a hand in the planning of the operation. As Admiral Chen stood amongst the other twenty six officers in the group, General Pepper stood at the other side of the holoprojector table from them, commanding them to be at ease before their hands went up to salute him. He activated his briefing projection for the battle, and instantly the green globe of Venom appeared, surrounded by dozens of red shapes.
Pepper surveyed the officers and concealed his disappointment that there was not a single person among them that was not a canine, feline, leporid or vulpine. On top of this, there was only one female. Andross did have a point about the speciesist, sexist discrimination in the military; it was something that Pepper hoped to fix when the war was over.
"Right, then, I'd like to thank you all for coming. Let's get started," General Pepper said, "We're here to review the finer points of our plan of attack on Venom. If any of you happens to have any questions, please feel free to ask them. Our attack is an essentially simple two-pronged strike: A large assault by our ships on the defenses in the space over Venom, and a much smaller special ops strike on the Venomian Imperial Palace. Our entire fleet will proceed at maximum warp to Venom at 1100 hours Macbeth time, exiting warp within laser range of the edges of the Venomian defenses. The fleet will split and warp into the battle in three waves. The first two waves will be made up of three Trafalguis-class ships, five Acropolis-class ships, five Nelson-class ships, and eleven Aries-class ships each. These two waves will be the first into the battle, and will warp into the two concentration points of the Venomian defenses. These two waves will intentionally leave a large gap between the two of them as they warp into the battle."
Pepper paused at this point, waiting for questions as a pair of equally-sized groups of blue ships appeared on the projection to challenge the red objects. Seeing that they had no questions, Pepper continued.
"One of two things will happen, both of which are beneficial to us. In the less likely scenario, the Venomians will see through our ruse and concentrate their attacks on the front of the two groups," Pepper said, "If this occurs, the third group will be called in. This third group is much larger than the initial two, made up of the remaining six Trafalguis-class, ten Acropolis-class, five Nelson-class, twelve Aries-class ships, and the Ajax itself. The third group will warp into the battle, through the space between the groups and any initial space created by the separation of the Venomians to attack the first two groups, then split and flank the enemy attacks on both initial waves."
The projection showed the red shapes divide slightly in half, each half leaning towards the closer group of blue ships. Then a third, larger group of blue ships appeared and wedged the red ships apart, at which point the red ships disappeared.
"In the much more likely situation," Pepper explained, "The Venomians will use the space we give them to separate the two initial waves and attempt to crush them."
The projection showed many of the red ships moving between the two groups of blue, pushing them further apart and into groups of other red ships.
"At this point," Pepper elaborated, "The third wave of ships will warp into the battle, flanking the center group of Venomians breaking through our formation, and forming a box maneuver in which the Venomian ships in the center will find themselves under fire from three sides, with the only options being retreat or death."
On the projection, the third wave of ships appeared, which then destroyed the center group of enemy ships.
"The space over Venom can be divided into two areas: Area Six and the Bolse Defense Platform," Pepper explained, "Bolse is an orbital defense station, production factory and military staging ground all in one. It'll be the enemy hub of command and control for the battle. Area Six is a heavily-defended region of space over the most convenient atmospheric re-entry point for the Imperial Palace and the Venomian capitol of Blight. The space between them is relatively small for our purposes, but there's little reason for the Venomians to expect the brunt of our attack to come from there, which makes their attempted flanking maneuver from this position more likely."
"Sir," the Labrador captain of the Trafalguis-class destroyer Monitor inquired with a raised hand, "Which of these areas of attack is more heavily defended?"
"They're both going to be pretty difficult to deal with," Pepper answered, "It just depends on what you'd like to face. Bolse is a fortified space station, and a military staging ground, so it's going to have its own compliment of defenses, as well as more capital ships. Area Six has less capital ships, but it's got dozens of Umbra-class defense satellites and more fighters. Overall, if I was in the Monitor, I'd rather get stuck attacking Area Six. If I was in a Comet, I'd prefer Bolse. Either way, it's going to be a tough day for somebody."
The officers all gave a nervous laugh.
"Additionally, we have reports of two as-yet unknown threats. They refer to a new type of flagship that the Venomians apparently have, as well as a type of specialized defense satellite in Area Six. The flagship is known as the Xerxes. It's an experimental design, a departure from normal, just like the Ajax. What we know about it is that it was designed with guerilla warfare in mind, and reportedly built with advanced warp engines. We believe this signals the Venomians' readiness to retreat and wage a terroristic war against us, even if we manage to take Venom itself. We can't allow this to happen. If the Xerxes is spotted, orders will be to engage at the earliest possible opportunity for our fighter-bombers and capital ships," Pepper lectured, "Our information is equally limited concerning this defense satellite. Its code-name is the Gorgon, and if it's anything like Andross' other super-weapons, it'll be something totally off the wall and deadly. We've heard rumors of some sort of visual cloaking device, armor piercing missiles, even robotic-fucking-tentacles. What we know for sure is that it has some sort of improved pulse-laser, possibly more powerful than one of our own. Smiles all around, huh, chaps?"
The officers once again laughed nervously.
At this point a leporid, the commander of the 6th Fighter-Bomber Air Group, raised his hand in query.
"What is it, Major?" Pepper inquired.
"Other than this new flagship and the satellite, how many confirmed forces do the Venomians have?" the rabbit inquired, his ears twitching.
Pepper smiled grimly.
"In total, we have confirmed thirty two Umbra-class defense satellites, twelve Harlock-class frigates, seven Zeram-class cruisers, two Sulaco-class destroyers and one Grazan-class carrier in Area Six, along with a perimeter minefield of perhaps 1500 space mines. Around Bolse, we've confirmed sixteen Zeram-class cruisers, nine Harlock-class frigates, five Sulaco-class destroyers and two Grazan-class carriers, as well as the considerable firepower of the Bolse station itself," Pepper answered coldly, "Not including the Umbra satellites, the space mines, or the thousands of fighters that are sure to be included, for those of you that haven't done the math this amounts to fifty-four capital ships pitted against our eighty-three. With the Umbra satellites counted as capital ships, however, the Venomians outnumber us by three."
The slight rumble of agitation could be heard amongst the officers, a look of worry on more than one face.
General Pepper gave voice to their concerns.
"This amounts, by far, to the biggest space battle of this war. Maybe even bigger than this galaxy has ever seen," Pepper addressed, "Which is why this attack is two-pronged. While we are engaging the Venomians, drawing their forces to concentrate on us, Great Fox will warp onto the far side of Venom and deploy Team StarFox. StarFox will re-enter the Venomian atmosphere at a less convenient entry point than Area Six, but a point that will be unguarded due to the massive distraction we will provide. Our presence will surely draw all of the orbital forces over Venom. StarFox will fly over the Imperial Palace and begin bombing it. After destroying the Palace, StarFox will move in and apprehend Andross. They will bring Andross into custody and force him to surrender. If he refuses, StarFox will assassinate Andross."
Pepper paused to allow the sentiment to sink in.
"With Andross alive, we can expect an immediate surrender. If he is dead, the Venomian government will be essentially decapitated. Our analysts have determined that Andross has no determined heir. The head of the Venomian Armed Forces, General Maximilian Zaius, and the General Secretary of the Venomian government, Eva Kriegler, are indisposed to take over the government for various reasons. Zaius controls the military but has no real support amongst the people, and it was determined that Kriegler couldn't influence either the people or the military enough to maintain the strength of the Venomian state," Pepper informed, "No matter what, if Andross dies, the Venomian Empire of Andross will be thrown into disarray. The people of Venom distrust the military without Andross' command, and we predict factionalism runs high in the Venomian Armed Forces. After he dies, if there is no surrender within an hour and the battle could still be lost, the fleet will withdraw and wait. We will quarantine Venom and prevent ships from warping away, but other than that we will wait for Venom to surrender or weaken enough to be easily taken."
"Sir," Admiral Chen asked, "I think I speak for a lot of people when I ask, frankly, why StarFox are the ones to either capture or assassinate Andross?"
Pepper nodded and smiled softly.
"I've taken some flak for that decision. And I've been waiting for someone to ask that question, Sam, so thanks," Pepper replied warmly, "I'd like to elaborate this to all of you: this is more than just a military war. It is a political and ideological one. This war was fought just as much in the hearts and minds of everyone in Lylat as it was on the battlefield. The hearts and souls of the Venomian people are against us. They hate us, they think we are their oppressors, and they are willing to follow Andross into hell if he's willing to lead them. After we have won this war, we will do everything we can to correct the problems that started it. We will treat the people of Venom with mercy and with respect. But before that happens we have to win this war, and the only quick way to do that is to totally crush the hearts and minds of the Venomian people. To them, Andross represents all that could lead them to victory, and Fox McCloud represents a perfect picture of their enemy. To the Venomians, Fox McCloud is aristocratic, arrogant, a hypocritical picture of the speciesist oppressor race. A squad of soldiers shooting Andross will turn him into a martyr. The Venomians will be only more committed to dying for his cause. But if the perfect picture of their enemy kills Andross? That represents a total defeat in the face of everything that the Venomians stand for. Fox McCloud is the only person that could kill Andross and maybe stop this war as a direct result. And that is why we are sending him in, gentlemen."
There was a moment of silence, in which no more questions were asked.
"I think that covers it, gentlemen. Return to your ships, please," General Pepper commanded.
The officers stood at attention and saluted, a gesture which Pepper returned, then he turned on his heel and exited the war room. He quickly strode down the immaculate white halls of the Ajax's command deck, making his way to his quarters and closing the door. Pepper approached the holoprojector at the corner of his quarters, dialing into the keypad a transmission number for the planet of Macbeth below.
The projector flickered to life, pulsing as the transmission connected and the person on the other end answered.
The image of a white female canine with furry thick ears appeared. She wore a grey vest over a red shirt, and long black pants. Over her feet were a pair of tough working boots, while around her neck was a golden Lylatian pendant. Between her ears was a red silk bow. The blue eyes of Fay Donahue stared back at General Pepper, fascinating even through the hologram. Her eyes seemed to convey varying levels of tragedy and hope, which fluctuated depending on her mood. As the de-facto leader of the Macbeth Resistance in Wayland, Pepper was sure Fay had seen her share of both.
"General," Fay smiled, "It's a pleasure."
"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Donahue," Pepper nodded curtly, "I thought I'd ask how things are progressing down there before we leave."
Fay looked down solemnly, then back up to the General.
"It's going to take a while before things get back in order here. The real problem wasn't with the Venomians, it was the collaborators that were the real threat to us," Fay said, "Some regular citizens and members of Civil Protection seemed more than happy to work with Venom to subjugate Macbeth. They have a lot to answer for. We're still discovering all of the death camps in the countryside. Over half of Wayland is in ruins…things won't be normal here for a very long time."
She spoke quietly, reviewing all of the things that had happened to her during the almost two years that Venom had controlled Macbeth. They all weighed heavily on her soul.
"Corneria's going to help rebuild Macbeth, Miss Donahue," Pepper vowed, "We're going to try to unite this system as never before, you have my word."
Fay's eyes closed, and she wiped something away from her eyes.
"I…we've lost a lot, General," Fay whispered, her voice trembling, "It's getting harder and harder to remember what things were like before all this. It's going to be even more difficult to move on from what's happened. Part of me still can't believe it's almost over."
"It is, Miss Donahue," Pepper nodded, bowing his head like a gentleman, "This whole nightmare is very nearly finished."
"I'll say a prayer for you all," Fay smiled softly.
"Thank you," Pepper replied graciously.
With that, their brief conversation ended with a flickering of the hologram. The soft look on General Pepper's face faded, becoming much harder as he dialed a Cornerian transmission code into the hologram projector. The transmission was received almost instantly, the projector casting the ghostly image of a grey bulldog in a blue pinstriped suit. The brown eyes of Prime Minister Walter Neville were tired and stressed, with some level of annoyance as he looked at General Pepper.
"What do you want, George?" Neville demanded quietly.
The Prime Minister and the General of the Armed Forces were notorious for their dislike of one another, dating far back to Neville's early days as a member of the House of Commons of the Cornerian Parliament, when a rumor arose that Pepper had engaged in an affair with Neville's wife. Despite the untruth of the rumor, the officer and the politician continued to butt heads as they rose up their respective ladders of power. Neville could not remove Pepper from his command because Pepper's mistakes were so few and far between, and to remove him would be seen as an obvious political move that would seriously affect his credibility. Pepper could do nothing about Neville because he was an elected official of the government. So the two were made to deal with each other, which only increased their mutual loathing.
"When this war is over, there's going to be a change, Walter," Pepper growled.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Neville snapped.
"You know what I mean," Pepper replied, "You could've prevented this war a dozen times. You could've executed Andross back when he was causing problems on Corneria. You could've passed a civil rights amendment for the apes and all of the others that are now loyal to Venom. You could've let me attack them when we knew they were building an army to conquer Lylat. But instead you decided to use Andross as a political tool, so that you could look like you were appealing to the liberals while still keeping the conservatives happy by preventing the apes from getting equal rights. So you made us into the bastards that Andross said we were, and then you gave him the power to do all that he's done. I don't know what you thought you were doing, but Andross should pin a medal on you for making his job so easy."
"Don't you dare try to stick this on me, George!!" Neville snarled, "With all your posturing about equal rights and whatnot, you're forgetting the basic fact that that's how this system works! We've led a society based on these principles for two centuries! And it's made us all rich and powerful, and it's kept the peace until now. Do you think I could've changed it? Maybe we needed a war in order to show us that we were doing it wrong."
"That's not good enough, Walter," Pepper shot back, "Not when we're still counting up all the dead. They deserve more than that."
Neville scoffed.
"You know, it's so easy for you to take the high road, and say 'I told you so', but that's because in your job all you have to do is win battles. You don't have to please everyone like I have to. You don't have to appeal to the people who want change and the people who like things to stay the same, at the same time. You've got no idea how hard it is to change society. Do you think that I wanted this, George?" Neville demanded.
"You were too afraid to face it. You were too much of a coward to do what had to be done," Pepper growled, "You know it. And your political career is done because of it, Walter. The Labour Party's breathing down your neck. After I win this war, the people are going to elect someone who's going to prevent something like this from happening again."
"You haven't won a thing yet," Neville rumbled, "Now shut up and do what you're good for. I'm done talking to you."
With that, the transmission ended as the Prime Minister cut off.
Pepper smirked, and thought fondly on the idea that this war and his feud with Neville was coming to a close in the exact same fashion: victory on his part. One thing remained for him, and he felt it was vitally important.
Pepper exited his quarters, returning to the bridge area of the Ajax. Once again, he could see the wide expanse of space stretching out the viewport, as well as the massive fleet surrounding the ship. Now, his focus was expressly on the fleet itself. Pepper walked up to the Command and Control console for the ship, gripping the small phone installed on the table console.
"Mister Bartorillo," Pepper growled, looking over to the Senior Officer of the Watch.
Lieutenant Felix Bartorillo, a young badger in a dark blue uniform, looked up from the tactical station's glowing glass plot map, calmly responding in a gravelly voice, "Sir?"
"Connect me to the entire fleet. Order all ships to broadcast my voice on their intercoms," Pepper commanded.
"Yessir," Bartorillo nodded, walking over to the communications center, directing one of the technicians to relay the General's transmissions.
After a moment, the badger looked back to General Pepper and said, "You're good to go, sir."
Pepper nodded, then raised the phone to his brown-furred muzzle.
"This is General Pepper," he growled, "I want you all to hear what I've got to say. This war has been unlike any that the galaxy has yet seen. This hasn't been a fight for land, or resources, or power, like the wars that have gone before. This has been a fight for survival. For the preservation of our way of life, from an enemy that has reason to hate us. In our own way, we are just as responsible for this war as Andross. It was our arrogance that encouraged us to discriminate against our fellow person. It was our pride that blinded us to the fact that we left them no place else to turn but into the hands of a ruthless monster. And it was our fear that allowed him to grow stronger, until the day when he decided to come for all of us."
"There are those that would be disinclined to learn from the lessons that this war has taught us," Pepper continued, "That our society can continue to exist by a double standard. That would be foolish. It would be equally wrong to vilify and demonize the ones that allowed this all to come to pass. There are too many of them to blame. Let each person search his conscience for the wrongs that they have committed in propagating the corruption of our morals. And let us learn from what we have seen over this conflict. The destruction and the crimes committed on Macbeth. The wasteland of Zoness. The devastation of Aquas. And the threats to our own beloved Corneria. I'm not reciting these facts for the purposes of recrimination. Simply to show how close we came to absolute destruction. How far we have come since then. For today, we stand on Andross' doorstep!!"
Pepper's voice became more active and empassioned.
"None of us wanted this war to start. The only thing we can do is to prevent another just like it from starting again. And all of us want this war over with. The only way to get it over with is to go after the sons-of-bitches that started it! We are all about to do just that. Upon this war depended the survival of Lylat civilization. Of any hopes of reason and justice. The enemy turned all its fury against us. Not to conquer our lands or our resources, but to break our spirit," Pepper orated, "Andross knew that he must break our spirit, or lose this war. So he sent his monsters and his armies to take all that they could from us. And they have taken so much from us! But they have not robbed us of our spirit, or of our sacred honor! So let us now take from them, everything! The battle for Macbeth is over. The Battle of Venom is about to begin. This battle will be the largest of this war. Possibly the largest in all of Lylat history. And here we stand, ready to rescue the galaxy from the dark age of tyranny that the enemy seemed so eager to cast us into. I actually pity the poor bastards we're going up against! Because we have the finest ships, the finest equipment, and the finest soldiers in all of Lylat. May God have mercy on our enemies, because we sure as hell will not!"
Pepper's blue eyes were aglow as he addressed his soldiers, practically able to sense their mounting enthusiasm. He drew in his breath and belted out his crescendo.
"All of you brace yourselves for your duties, and so bear yourselves to make history! For if all of Corneria and its Commonwealth should last for thousand years, they will still say that 'This was their finest hour!' Gentlemen, to your ships! This war ends today!"
The crew of the bridge instantly rose to their feet and applauded as Pepper hung up the phone. All over the fleet, soldiers and pilots were cheering and preparing themselves for battle.
Inside the Great Fox, Fox McCloud smiled and nodded, his mind calm and ready for the task ahead.
"Begin battle formations and plot a course to Venom at maximum warp, Mister Bartorillo," Admiral Chen ordered.
General Pepper sat down in the command chair on the bridge, returning his gaze to the distant green dot of Venom.
"Here we come, you son of a bitch," Pepper murmured, "Your move."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wanted to give you guys a bit of a set-up for the next chapter, and wrap up all of the plotlines for the supporting characters before getting to the final chapter with Fox and Wolf again. So I gave you a little peek at Fay, and my tough-as-nails General Pepper. The next two chapters should be coming very soon, so get your reviews in quick!-TU