Author's note: So far, the feedback I've gotten for this story has been extremely helpful in improving my writing, and I hope it shows. I'd like to thank everyone for their honest, supportive feedback.
Badlander
Chapter 5: Red Sky
Gideon Waller slipped silently into the cold metal seat. As gazed out at the mass of Cornerian pilots and soldiers assembled around him, he could not block the images that filtered in from his ceaseless mind as his eyes involuntarily sealed themselves shut.
Standing single-file while the Warden inspected every Miles Minor for weaknesses, the clustered soldier-children waited silently for the tortures of the day and the torments of the night.
The child Gideon stood deathly still like all the others. His cold pale skin matched the sterile white tile of the floor and walls, but his eyes, which gleamed a bright shade of cold blue, were as unfit for a human face as the cold, unknowable emptiness of space would be for a man.
His cold eyes gazed out at the faceless Man, a silhouette cut out of the fabric of time in the shape of a man. Gideon could still remember the cold, ripping power of the Warden's metallic voice, chilling him, torturing him, killing him. Changing him.
For what seemed like an eternity, there was only fear and discipline, he knew. But in the sheer numbness that was the depth of Gideon's character and soul, his fear of life itself had kept him alive in times he believed himself dead.
He imagined himself walking once more through the hollow black depths of the city of lights. Trash and rubble littered the forgotten, decaying streets as far as the eye could see, yet something called to him in the darkness; some new light in the distance he remembered only in dreams. It was the light that taught him the Old Way and made him Live again.
It glowed like a beacon just beyond his vision. He could not see any light but the scattered embers that burned the landscape around him but he knew it was there. He walked toward the Light, his tattered shoes ripping from the friction of every step. He felt stabbing pain in his blister-covered feet as he increased his pace. His body and soul, caked with ash and fresh with scars that would not heal even after time ended, shuffled painfully through the choking urban atmosphere. But he was close, he knew. So close. His heart sped as he began to run.
Just a little further…
An official, distant voice brought him out of his miniature slumber.
"Good morning, everyone," the voice rang out and Gideon gazed up at the podium which dominated the front of the spacious briefing room. An old gray creature that resembled a rabbit, the figure emanated a feeling of somber trust upon the pilots clustered in the briefing room.
Gideon had to blink his eyes at the sheer diversity he found on this new and strange world. Silently, Gideon was still processing the fact that the inhabitants of Corneria were all sentient versions of animal life found throughout the States and beyond.
The hare continued, "Command wants me to recount the terms of yesterday's engagement, but I'm not gonna do that. You all know what happened, and I'm sure none of you need to be told what's gonna to happen next," the hare put a paw on his chin in a thinker's pose. Every soul in the briefing room remained quiet and still.
He must carry a great deal of weight with the Cornerians. I wonder who he is?
Gideon turned to the reddish vixen who sat alongside him. Her dark red hair cascaded in haphazard waves past her face as if she had tidied up at the last possible moment.
"Who's he?" he whispered to her, gesturing toward the hare. Hazel quickly turned to face him. Even in the dimness of the room, Gideon could make out the amber orbs of the vixen's eyes. Those eyes fired out at him, dissecting him part for part as if they were surgeon's tools. Her gaze suddenly faltered for a moment before she sighed.
"That's Peppy. He was with Star Fox before their ship got blown up by the bugs," Hazel replied in a hushed voice.
"Wait a minute; I thought Pepper was a hound dog with droopy ears-"
Hazel smiled slightly and drew one of her paws to her face in a mock slapping motion.
"Everyone always gets those two mixed up," she whispered back to him, her wondrous amber eyes lit up the darkness of her face.
I can't possibly imagine why.
At the same time Gideon felt something tugging on his shoulder. He turned his head and glanced back until Fox, the leader of Star Fox occupied his view. Gideon didn't know what to make of Fox when they had briefly shook hands. The vulpine emanated the posture and presence of an officer, but lived as a mercenary who operated beyond the boundaries of the law.
Why would a disciplined mind choose a life devoid of discipline? He wondered curiously, deeply considering his own military past.
Beside Fox, the blue vixen Krystal sat nervously, her analytical green eyes widened suddenly with fear. Gideon didn't know why, but he felt a faint tugging sensation in his head, the same strange sensation he had felt when he shook the vixen's hand. The feeling was so familiar…
Could she be-? His mind panicked suddenly. Gideon clutched his chest as his heart crackled violently against his ribcage. No- it's not possible! It can't be… I must be imagining things. Calm down, Gideon, he consoled himself, exhaling deeply. Just calm the hell down. Think about food. Burgers. Pizza. Yum.
Fox shot Gideon a fierce gaze and slowly placed his index finger between his lips.
Great. So much for a Cornerian not hating me and all.
Gideon gave Fox an irritated look before turning to face the front of the room. So far, Hazel, Falco, and the young ferret Carson had been the only Cornerians who hadn't outright avoided him in spite of whatever misgivings they might have had for his species. If he couldn't get their leader to trust him, then how could he ever hope to convince the other Cornerians to stop hating and fearing him?
Maybe he just needed to give them time to get used to him. Yeah, he thought to himself, a twinge of hope brightening the dark mood within him.
Maybe they just need a little time.
When the human turned his gaze back to the front of the room, Fox glanced at Krystal. The blue vixen looked suddenly more exhausted than she had a few minutes before. If it weren't their old friend Peppy giving the briefing, he would have considered that perhaps the vixen was bored. No; something else was going on, he decided.
"Are you okay?" he silently whispered to her.
She shook her head and closed her eyes. Something was definitely wrong.
"No, I'm…" Krystal didn't have an opportunity to finish.
A low, quaking rumble shook the dark briefing room. Instantly, the room was a quiet chorus of frantic whispering.
A flash of motion from the front of the room caught Fox's attention. Fox turned to see Peppy tough an index finger to his right ear, listening intently. The hare's brows furrowed and his face turned slate white.
"All pilots," the hare's voice boomed throughout the room, "Corneria City is under attack by DRC forces! Get to your planes immediately and engage the hostiles!"
The room immediately erupted into a cauldron of chaos as the desperate Cornerian pilots shrieked and made for the exit. Bright orange signal lights flashed to life as the alarm chirped mildly throughout the facility.
Another low rumble shook the room. In the distance, Fox saw one of the briefing room's circular overhead lights fall from the ceiling.
"L-look out!" He heard a high-pitched voice cry as the light fell towards a familiar blue avian. Luckily, the avian jumped from his seat, evading the light just in time as it shattered on the hard, concrete floor.
"Thanks, Slip," Fox heard the avian emphasize as he shoved a nearby toad toward the rear exit. "Guess I owya one!"
Satisfied that his other two team members were on their way to their fighters, Fox turned back toward Krystal, who had still not arisen from her seat.
"The DRC? How could they have gotten past our early warning outposts?" Krystal asked aloud as two canines brushed past her toward the rear exit.
"None of that matters now, Krystal," Fox ordered. He stood up and took Krystal's right paw, urging her out of her seat. Quickly, they both made for the exit. Fox was thankful that most of the pilots had already vacated the room. This left a clear path for himself and Krystal, but he could only imagine how many people would die because of his lateness.
Silently, Fox cursed himself for his hesitation and urged himself and Krystal onward, always onward, through the darkened grey hallways of the Cornerian Air Defense Academy.
"Good god! Do these hallways ever end?" Falco squawked loudly as he ran through the seemingly infinite concrete walkways of CADA. His dark blue eyes flared oppressively with unceasing desperation.
Close behind, Slippy, Hazel and the human Captain followed in earnest.
A louder rumbling shook the building.
"That one was closer than before," Waller muttered without inflection, "They must have already started bombing the airstrip."
Slippy stopped and stared at him wide-eyed, "How can you sound so calm when people are dying!?"
The human returned the gaze coldly and clenched his fists before he decided to reply. "People are always dying. I was one of the first pilots to fly in to liberate the Nazi Necropolises, Genocamps, and Tartarian Worlds Hitler hid beyond the Glactic Barrier. When you're given that kind of responsibility, panicking will only get you killed," he stated calmly. His cold words reverberated silently against the low chaos of the bombs which bled unhindered from the distant red sky above. The light from the otherworldly sky filtered coolly through the hallway's few windows.
Hazel's eyes were drawn to the human's clenched hands. As Waller spoke his hands began to shake. She glanced at Falco who met her gaze and narrowed his eyes worriedly. He notices it, too, she recognized silently.
"Nazi Necropolises… Genocamps… What the hell went on out there?" Hazel gasped silently as a shiver trickled like cold water down her spine. Her soft voice caught Waller's attention.
Waller gazed at her silently. His crystal-blue eyes seemed to stare right through her. For the first time, Hazel couldn't perceive any of the ancient coldness that seemed typical for the human pilot's gaze. At that moment the otherworldly gaze that dominated his face appeared to be something that seemed more alien to her than his hardened demeanor. At that moment, Hazel was sure that the human looked… lost.
The human seemed ready to speak, but Slippy interrupted before he could utter a word.
"Yeah, that's assuming you care enough to save them in the first place!" Slippy shot back, clenching his green, amphibious fists. Waller blinked at the interruption and his normal face returned.
"That's enough, Slippy!" A commanding voice barked from further back in the hallway. Hazel was silently grateful she didn't have to hear about the ghoulish works of the cosmos that could haunt a man who seemed more in control of himself than anyone she had ever met.
Hazel turned to see Fox McCloud and the blue vixen Krystal quickly shuffling toward the group.
Slippy shot Fox a challenging look, and for a moment the two old friends glared at each other unflinchingly. Finally, Slippy drew back and sighed. Fox relaxed his posture and turned to address the group.
"We're all on edge and we all have a right to be, but right now Corneria City; our home, is under attack," Fox glanced at the human and for a moment the two shared something imperceptible between each other. The human nodded for the vulpine to continue.
"Captain Waller's right, you know; we can't panic. Not now. I won't let it happen," he stated hopefully. He gazed at Krystal who nodded to him softly as if to reassure him: You don't have to worry about me.
"Buddy, that was about the coolest speech I've ever heard, but it ain't gonna stop the baddies from blowing up the whole goddamn city!" Falco threw his wings up in frustration and continued to trudge through the hallway.
"HELP! Somebody!" a distant voice cried out from the darkness of the opposite end of the hallway.
The group turned to face the blackness of the empty hallway. The cries did not continue.
"We have to go back," Krystal voiced, gesturing frantically towards the origin of the distress call, "Someone might be injured, or worse."
"Yeah, whaddaya gonna do? Last I checked telepaths couldn't heal people." Falco protested, his face turning red with anger. "Last I checked Hazel is the only one here with medical experience, and even then, we need her to deal with the people who're causing this mess!"
"Wait a minute," Waller interjected, and looked directly at Krystal, his blue eyes widening. "You're a telepath? A mind-reader?" The human's voice grew low and calculating as if he were examining an expected threat.
Krystal glanced back at the human nervously. "Y-yes I am. The people from my planet had the ability to read people's minds. What's it to you?"
"In my country, we-," Waller shook his head, "We need to focus on the problems at hand. Hazel," He turned to face the reddish vixen, "You have medical experience?"
Hazel nodded, "Yep. Well aside from a touch of arthritis I'd say I'm pretty good. I'll go back for whoever's in trouble. You guys get in your fighters and deal with those bastards," she pointed her index finger upward and turned to walk away.
"Wait," Waller offered, taking a step forward. "I'll go with you."
"No, Captain." Hazel declined softly, "Your place is in the sky where we need you. I'll join you once this is taken care of. I promise."
"Captain Waller, Hazel's right. We need all the pilots we can get and we don't have much time," Fox interjected, "Let's move, everyone!" He turned and began jogging down the hallway. Slippy, Falco, and Krystal immediately followed. Their light footsteps echoed softly throughout the hollow space.
For a moment, Waller and Hazel gazed at each other silently in the darkness of the poorly-lit hallway. Hazel smiled slightly and nodded at him. Waller returned the gesture and turned to leave. Silently, Hazel watched as the human sprinted quietly into the blackness like a pale phantom flickering in the night. Hazel stood still and watched him intently until he was gone. Sighing, she pivoted to walk the opposite way and allowed the darkness to envelope her.
"Damn," Fox gasped as he gazed at the broken skies above. He could make out the distant dots of the fighters, all Cornerian, exchanging fire at one another. Ships exploded in the forlorn skies beyond like distant muzzle flashes. The sky itself glowed dark red despite the earliness of the day.
Krystal put a paw on his left arm and squeezed lightly. He looked back towards the blue vixen and gazed warmly into her green eyes.
"I know," he told her softly as he slowed down his breathing, "I know, Krystal. Don't worry about me." He turned to face the rest of the group, "The hangars look pretty much untouched. Grab a fighter and-"
A sudden BOOM! erupted over the CADA landing strip. The group instantly turned to gaze upon a smoldering husk of broken metal that might have once been an Arwing. Shrapnel from the impact scattered in every direction, shattering glass and ricocheting off the pavement.
"Dammit!" Falco yelled as he dove for the black asphalt, "The Reds are shooting us down before we can even take off!"
"Where's the AA support?" Slippy glanced around him.
"The guns aren't firing!" The toad shrieked, glancing at the large silver turrets that stood motionlessly around the airbase's perimeter.
In the distance, a small fighter-group of Arwings began to hover. Their sharp silver wings extended gracefully in the breezeless morning. Together, Fox thought the ships looked indomitable, untouchable. They gleamed brightly like a squadron of angels set to battle the darkest demons of the cosmos.
Instantly, twin volleys of venomous yellow energy fell from the sky and obliterated the ships before they could ascend any further. Two green fighters blazed past the molten wreckage and shot up into the sky.
A crowd of engineers which had gathered near the group of fighters scattered like the rubble of an impact crater. The searing heat of the metal rain that fell upon them forced the engineers to stagger away from the broken fighters.
"Dammit," Falco muttered as his gaze met the ground below.
"They're going to come back for another pass," Waller voiced matter-of-factly into the smoldering morning air. He turned to face Fox, "We can't take off until we get rid of the fighters above us. You Cornerians wouldn't happen to have bazookas by any chance?"
"Bazoo-what?" Falco blared anxiously. His sharp avian eyes widened.
"Never mind," Waller answered shortly as his mechanical gaze scanned the assortment of buildings, pavements, and hangars that stretched for over a mile into the distance of that decaying morning. A familiar shape caught his eye.
"There," he pointed at the metallic object. A fallen feline soldier clutched the hulking pipe-like scrap of metal that glowed with a custom paint job of bright neon orange. Bright pink lettering on the side read: DAT ASS!
Krystal cringed at the blatant vulgarity of the lettering. "This can't possibly be what saves us…" she stated lowly. A defeated gaze spread slowly across the vixen's beautiful face.
"It just might…" Fox mused as he sprinted onto the black pavement.
When Fox came upon the object, he stopped. It just might, he repeated silently to himself as he examined the fallen weapon before him. He allowed a hopeful smile to play about his face. Sitting on the ground in front of him was a loaded Cornerian CZ12 Homing Missile Launcher.
The overhead lights of the darkened hallway flickered in the stale indoor atmosphere. Hazel quietly shuffled through the hallway. She knew she should move faster. She knew that someone out in the darkness probably needed her. But the darkness reminded her of that time not so long ago, chilling her although she knew ever since she was a little kit that there was no such thing as monsters. It reminded her of the time she scrambled from the ruins of her own life to make something of herself. And now she was going back; back into her old life. The dark life.
She wanted to stay back. She wanted to flee, to run; to climb back into flawless skies above and escape into the heavens. But someone here needed her. Someone here called to her. So she moved forward, calmly forward, into the dark.
A muffled cry woke her from her private reverie.
"Hello?" She called as warmly as she could into the coldness of the world around her.
She heard a faint shuffling, then a low groan of unmistakable pain.
"I'm a doctor," she promised the distant figure. At least I used to be. "I can help you!"
"O-over here," A familiar youthful voice croaked as a figure shuffled through one of the open doors into the hallway.
Hazel froze. She could just barely perceive the figure in the poorly lit hallway. Low rumbles in the earth shook her from her mental stasis.
She quickly stepped toward the figure. The once-dark outline of a figure suddenly became clearer. She gasped in recognition.
"Carson?" she called out to the young ferret. His beady brown eyes surveyed her with a fragile youthfulness that was not apparent in the dire state of the rest of his body.
"Yeah, it's me, Ma'am, u-um Lieutenant Bartlett," Carson winced, obviously in more pain than he was letting on. He continued, "I was on my way Main Operations Center to attend my post, but when I got there the place was caved in under a bomb. So I ran towards the Auxiliary Center, but I tripped on some stairs and fell on my leg wrong," he shifted his body to get a better view of his right leg, "I think it's broken," he clenched his teeth and groaned.
Hazel crouched next to the quivering ferret to take a quick look at the leg. The darkness prevented any sort of reliable visual observation, but as she moved her hands down the injured leg, she felt it. Definitely broken.
Suddenly, the ferret made an attempt to lift himself up.
"Not so fast kid," Hazel warned. She placed a holding paw on the Second Lieutenant's back. "You're in no condition to be moving that leg. Just sit tight and I'll get you something to splint that leg with."
"N-no, you don't understand. Once the DRC military realizes that Star Fox is staying at this base, they'll bomb us until there's nothing left." The ferret justified, and made another attempt to move.
"You think I don't know that?" Hazel countered, her tone becoming more assertive. "We have to have faith that Star Fox will get rid of the enemy ships before they find out," she sighed, "There's nothing else we can do."
"CADA's AA Systems went offline when the MOC was smashed," Carson emphasized. He struggled to turn his head to meet her bright amber gaze. "If you can get me to the Auxiliary Operations Center in time, we'll be able to help them out!"
Gideon swore under his breath as he dodged a yellow volley of pure energy that lanced out at his feet. Luckily, if his past had taught him anything, it was that he should always be quick on his feet. He was thanking whatever force had taught him that lesson which he carried out today as he dove blindingly fast across the scraping black asphalt. Behind him the yellow bolts singed into the dark pavement, sending a foul, artificial choking stench into the atmosphere around him which burned his nostrils and brought water from his eyes.
A dull itching sensation in his right arm alerted him to mound of blood that was seeping from burn marks and numerous perforations along the upper back of his arm. It'll heal fast, he recognized silently, and sure enough, the sensation in his arm was already beginning to dim. He tore off the upper part of his flight jumpsuit, wrapped it around his upper right arm and tied it there to stave of the bleeding and conceal the wound. Helping myself heal while maintaining group morale all in one, he remarked dully to himself. More than anything, he was sick of repeating the training drilled into his mind since he was a child. But that was all he knew. And all he knew couldn't be wrong. Could it?
About thirty feet from where Gideon had dodged the energy volley, his new companions crouched behind a burnt-out maintenance vehicle that had once presumably been used to repair and preserve the base's aircraft. But not anymore. Husks, no matter how useful they once were, couldn't do anything but sit around until the world decided to die, he considered silently. Am I thinking about the vehicle or myself? He asked. He did not have an answer.
A low whirring sound echoed throughout the airbase. Gideon turned to see the two bastards in the fighters above were streaking across the red sky to make another pass at the base.
"Shit!" he heard one of his Cornerian companions squawk, "Fox- shoot em'!"
A loud clapping sound emanated from behind the burnt-out vehicle, followed by two red streaks of smoke that injected themselves into the broken atmosphere like viruses into a host cell. The missiles veered toward the approaching craft at unmatchable speeds. The first missile incinerated the closer craft instantly. The bastard fell like a tumbling fireball that exploded in the distance with a loud crack!
The second missile exploded brilliantly in the dark red sky, and, for a moment, Gideon thought that second craft had been annihilated along with the missile, but a sudden streak flew clear of the explosion. The surviving ship was trailing smoke. Both wings were gone, and the craft appeared to be tumbling directly towards the group.
"Fox, we've got to move! Drop the launcher and let's go!" A desperate feminine voice erupted from the chaos. Gideon glanced sideways in time to see Krystal and the Star Fox team dragging a resisting Fox McCloud from behind their temporary cover. The ship in the distance blazed closer and closer, trailing a dark tail of smoke that extended for miles into the air.
Gideon dove behind a nearby building, silently praying that it would provide enough cover. The piercing sound of the falling craft drew nearer and nearer.
And then it stopped.
A low, humming sound replaced it.
Gideon cautiously poked his head out from behind cover and what he saw astounded him. Somehow, the damned pilot had managed to flip his craft into hover mode and there it stayed, hovering barely ten feet above the asphalt of the CADA airstrip.
The craft was somewhat different from the ships he had engaged the day before. The ship was characteristically Cornerian; its shape pointy and triangular, but it hefted an additional energy cannon along the nose in addition to the cannons which would have been mounted on its absent wings. The paint of the ship was also a peculiarly dark green camouflage speckled with small bits of black and grey. A red star adorned the hull just below the cockpit.
Suddenly, the ship turned towards the general direction of Gideon's group and opened fire. The energy cannon chirped piercingly across the open space of the CADA runway, tearing up buildings and land vehicles with ease. The burnt-out vehicular husk which had once served as cover for Star Fox now lay in an unrecognizable ruin.
Weaponless, Gideon could not hope to fight a craft which could merely turn and vaporize him with a rapid-fire energy cannon. He glanced at his surroundings. Office buildings, hangars, and screaming engineers dominated the scorched landscape around him. His eyes finally settled on a familiar building which just-so-happened to house a very familiar possession of his. This just might work, he thought quickly as he took off in the direction of the building.
Yeah, and I'm Audie Friggin' Murphy.
Krystal was not having a very good day. Aside from being questioned about her abilities by a crazy human, her team's leader – her closest friend - had decided to sacrifice himself so he could insure that everyone would be safe. She was having none of that hero nonsense today, she told herself as she forced the big dumb fox behind a building once the hovering fighter began firing.
He gazed up at her with those round puppy green eyes that never failed to make the ladies melt. She forced herself not to smile. He wasn't going to get any rewards for being an idiot. So far, Fox hadn't found the courage to ask a specific someone out on a specific social occasion. Yet, she corrected herself, remembering Fox's remark during a trying conversation with herself and Tricky the dinosaur not so long ago.
A sudden volatile scream silenced the incoming energy volley. Cautiously, she and the team moved from out of cover to take a quick peek at what was happening. What she saw confused her more than when she first set foot on the technologically advanced planet Corneria after living on the backwater Cerenia and Sauria for her previous years.
The wingless fighter, obviously sensing the vocal scream turned toward its source. The dark-haired crazy human hefted a strange-looking wooden rifle-like weapon.
Before the ship could attack the human, the alien weapon erupted in a sudden burst of red rounds that exploded into the pilot's cockpit, killing him instantly, Krystal could sense. The ship crumpled, smoked, and clattered harmlessly onto the ground once the cockpit's controls were destroyed.
Slowly, the team filtered out from behind cover to gaze in confusion at the human who hefted the strange weapon with beaming aura of pride that Krystal never would have associated with this human.
"W-what kind of weapon is that?" Falco choked up, pointing at the archaic-looking destructive force that rested in the human's hands.
"This…" the human spoke, smiling slightly. He hefted the gun in the air with one hand and continued, "Is my Tommy Gun!"
"Isn't that a line from an old movie?" Fox questioned lightly, grinning in spite of himself.
"None that I know of," the human retorted guardedly, clutching the sub-machine gun protectively.
"Heh, maybe it hasn't been made yet," Falco gestured toward the human. "After all this is over, you might get yourself a movie deal for the stunt you just pulled."
"Hah, maybe so, maybe so," the human smiled genuinely, albeit nervously; Krystal could tell from the lack of hesitation in his face. He looked a lot less scary when he smiled; almost attractive in a foreign sense, though she wasn't interested in such things. She instantly wondered why he didn't smile more often.
"Look! Off in the distance!" Slippy's voice woke the group from their premature celebration.
"Oh, crap," Fox muttered silently as he gazed at the horizon.
Krystal looked at the human once more and saw the horrific process of his face sealing up and becoming cold again. At that moment, she couldn't tell whether or not the human was a complete genius or an insane psychopathic wreck.
She turned her head to behold whatever apocalyptic vision awaited her in the corrupted skies above.
Off in the distance, several unfamiliar craft were quickly approaching the CADA airbase. She sensed their intentions were not pure.
A/N: Another chapter done, and the longest yet (around 5000 words = new personal record). Of course, this is nothing compared to authors who can churn out 10000 word chapters every week, so rest assured, my ego isn't growing out of control. I promise.
And yes, the Tommy Gun scene was an honorable reference to the "boomstick" scene from the classic Bruce Campbell flick Army of Darkness which simply oozes awesomeness. If you're into B-movie action flicks, I highly recommend it for a couple hours of mindless fun.
P.S. The made-up term "Tartarian" is not a misspelling of "Totalitarian". It has a specific place in the story's universe and I promise its meaning will eventually be explained.