Chapter 7: Ways of War
(Jatrian Flatlands)
Fox and the team were speeding over the savanna in their Arwings. Fox was determined to reach the Cornerian outpost, terrorism was an unwelcome threat. He was going to stop them, at all costs.
"Seven kilometers left." Slippy announced. "The base should be in sight about now."
Sure enough, the base glinted in the sunlight.
"I see it." Fox announced. "We need to find a place to put our Arwings down, we don't want them taken out if those at the base end up being enemies."
"How about over there?" Slippy asked, indicating a small hill. It was tall enough to cover the top of an Arwing.
"Ok, but we're going to have to land in rows." Fox said. The team landed, Krystal and Katt landing directly next to the hill. Fox, Falco, and Slippy landed right next to them.
"Let's go in." Fox said.
(Jatrian Base)
Fox and the team approached the base. They had their blasters tucked away, able to be brandished in a second, should anything occur.
"Shouldn't a base be more, well, busy about now?" Falco asked. He looked at the base. Nothing was moving.
"Something has to be going on." Fox said. He quickly ran up to a building, sidling up alongside it. He signaled for the others to follow his lead. He looked in through a window, it was empty.
"Anything, Fox?" Krystal asked.
"It's empty." Fox told her. He quickly made his way around the corner of the building. He could hear shouts, followed by blaster fire. "Something's going on!" Fox told the rest of the team.
They rushed out to the nearest building. Fox looked out past the corner. He saw Cornerian soldiers, huddled behind a turned over car. They were blind-firing over the safety of the car. Past the car, shots were being fired from the grass of the savanna. Fox tried listening in on the soldiers.
"Where's Wilson!?" one soldier asked.
"He's stuck behind the artillery building!" a second soldier called out to him.
"DAMN IT!! I only have my machine gun!!! I need that ammunition!!!" the first soldier called out.
"DUCK!!!! HOMING LAUNCHER!!!!" a third soldier called out. A second passed. Suddenly, a large explosion rang out, rattling the car the soldiers were huddled behind.
"What the hell was that?" Falco asked Fox, still sidled up alongside the wall of the building.
"I think the soldiers are on our side. They don't seem mind-controlled." Fox concluded. "Well, Krystal?"
"Yes, they're fighting brain-washed civilians, though." Krystal said.
"I'm going up to the soldiers." Fox told the team. "Wait here. I'll call you over when it's clear."
Fox rushed over, dodging blaster fire as he ran dove underneath the safety of the car. The soldiers, not expecting something to jump out at them, nearly shot Fox.
"Holy hell!!! What are you doing!?" the first soldier screamed.
"Wait…" the second soldier said. "I think it's Fox McCloud!!!"
"It is! It is!" Fox called out, the first soldier still pointing his gun at him. "What's happening here?"
"Finally, some good luck!" the first soldier said, lowering his weapon. "I didn't recognize you underneath the bandages!"
"Ok. But what's going on!?" Fox repeated.
"Ok, we were running out our daily routines, as usual. Suddenly, we lose two soldiers. Then we hear some blaster fire, so we rush out over here. Then another three soldiers get gunned down. We see the fire coming out of the grass, so we look for any nearby cover. We rush behind a building, starting to return fire. But we can't see them. We have no idea how many were out there. Then we see a grenade drop down next to us. We dive out into the crossfire. The blast from the grenade tips over this car. Then, here we are." the soldier explains.
"Ok, I'll call my team over. They'll cover us as we get back behind the building." Fox said, calling the team over. Falco saw the signal and pulled the rest of the team over. They had their blasters drawn, firing out at the source of the gunfire.
"Ok, soldiers! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!" the first soldier called out, running out from the safety of the car, going towards the buildings. Fox and the other soldiers followed them. The two teams split apart, Fox and his team behind one building, and, across the gap, the remaining Cornerian soldiers firing out from behind the other building.
"Hey, McCloud! One of our soldiers is pinned down behind the ammunitions building! We have to get him out of there!" the head soldier called.
Fox remembered his teachings at the Cornerian Academy. 'A soldier is never left behind.' Something is always brought back, even if they're dead. That way, the family'd have something to bury. That's what they were taught.
"Ok, where's the ammunitions building?" Fox called out, ducking back behind the building as lasers skimmed the corner.
"It's over there!!" the third soldier called out, pointing past the building they were hiding behind. "It's across the field."
Of course. It's always the difficult route, isn't it?
"Ok, Krystal, come with me! Falco, cover us!" Fox called out. Then, Krystal and Fox rushed out. Falco and Slippy took their positions, firing out at the enemy. Fox used his blaster to cover his head, firing randomly as he ran across the field. Krystal ducked behind him, firing as well. An explosion sounded out in the air when they were halfway across the field. Fox didn't have the time to look though. When they were a couple of feet away from the building, Fox saw a glint in the grass. He saw a tuft of smoke come out of the grass, then a shell heading right at them.
"KRYSTAL!!! JUMP!!!!" Fox yelled as a homing launcher fired. The shell rocketed out, following its target. Fox grabbed Krystal's hand and jumped. When he landed upon the ground, he pulled her in close. The launcher shell struck the ground, right where Krystal's foot was. A blast sounded out, deafening Fox for a moment. He shielded Krystal with his head, waiting for the downpour of dirt to finish raining down. He looked up, surprised to still be in one piece.
"Are you alright, Krystal?" Fox asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." Krystal said, getting up and dusting herself off.
"Hey, are you guys alright?" a voice called out from behind the corner of the building.
Fox turned to see another Cornerian soldier, panting. His right arm was bleeding, and he clutched a Gatling gun with his other arm. He had trouble holding it up, however, with only one arm.
"What are you doing here, anyways?" the soldier asked.
"We're StarFox. We were sent here by General Pepper to check out some terrorist attacks." Fox explained.
"Well, you guys came at the right time." the soldier said. "But even with you guys, we're outgunned. I came over here for supplies, only to find them raiding our warehouse. I chased them out, but that was after they stole half of our supplies."
"Don't worry. We've got equipment for times like this." Fox said, calling the Great Fox. "Peppy, hey, Peppy. You there?"
After a second, Peppy's face showed up on the communicator. He was sweating however, and was breathing heavily.
"Fox! We've got trouble up here! They've got several warships attacking the Great Fox!!!" Peppy explained.
"What!? Hang on, Peppy!!! We can't do anything!! We're pinned down here, too!! I need you to send me a Landmaster!!" Fox pleaded, blaster fire scorching the ground next to him.
"I'll see what I can do! It's going to be tough, though!!" Peppy called out.
Suddenly, the area behind Peppy began glowing a bright green. ROB's voice called out.
"Enemy ships charging lasers. Great Fox is targeted." ROB explained.
"EVASIVE ACTIONS, ROB!!!" Peppy yelled, the link disconnecting.
"Damn!" Fox yelled. "It might be a while before we can get out of here. Krystal, can you sense how many of them are out there?"
"There's…eight…no…nine." Krystal said. "They keep moving, it's hard to tell."
"Yeah, and each one outguns us four to one." the soldier said.
"One of them is running out!" Krystal gasped, snapping back into her consciousness. A lone badger ran out, carrying a large device in his arms. Fox could see the blaster fire on both sides stop.
Why did Falco and the others stop firing!?
"GET IN THE BUILDING!!!" the soldier suddenly called out, breaking a window with the butt of his Gatling gun.
"Why?"
"FIREBURST POD!!!!!!" the soldier screamed, diving into the window.
"DAMN!!!" Fox yelled, pulling Krystal behind him into the window.
Outside, the badger placed the pod upon the ground, activating the pod. He made no motion to move once he finished, however. The device activated, launching several explosive charges up into the air, colored streams tracing their paths. The charges then plummeted downwards, exploding upon contact with any solid surface.
(Falco's side)
Falco and the others shot at the enemy, providing cover for Fox and Krystal as they ran over to the ammunitions building.
"Damn, are we even hitting them?" Katt asked, ducking back behind the corner, a laser going where her head was a second ago.
"We've been wondering that for the last hour." the first soldier called out.
"GRENADE!!!" the second soldier called out. The three soldiers dove behind the next corner of the building, nearly getting shot as they turned the corner. Falco, Katt and Slippy, however, had nowhere to run to.
"THIS IS IT!!!" Slippy yelled, covering his face as he prepared for the blast.
"NO IT ISN'T!!!" Falco yelled. He ran up to the grenade, picking it up as fast as he could. He tossed it into the air as it started glowing. A second later, a blast rang out, the resulting shockwave knocking Falco to the ground.
"FALCO!!" Slippy and Katt called, dragging Falco back behind the building. Katt shook Falco back to consciousness.
"Ugh…We…ok?" Falco asked, sitting up.
"Not quite." Slippy said, already firing back at the onslaught of lasers. "At least Fox and Krystal are ok."
Slippy watched as the two ran for the ammunitions building. He then saw a puff of smoke come out of the grass, followed by the glint of a black pod as it raced out into the sunlight. It hit the ground next to Krystal, blocking both Fox and Krystal from sight as it kicked up dirt and rock up into the air.
"NO!!" Slippy yelled out.
"What!?" Falco asked, returning to his previous position.
"I can't tell, I saw a homing launcher shell…"
"Keep firing!" the head soldier called out, leading the other two behind him.
The two groups continued firing out at the enemy, never seeming to get any result.
"We aren't getting anywhere!!!" the second soldier called out after a while.
Falco, however, was still thinking about what had just happened to Fox and Krystal.
Come on Fox! You don't die that easily! You frickin' survived crash-landing on a planet without even breaking anything!!!
"Wait!!! Someone's running out!!!" the head soldier called out. "Hold your fire!!"
They watched as a badger ran out into the field, lugging something half his size out into the middle of the field. They also noticed that the laser fire on the other side ceased as well.
"FIREBURST POD!!!!" the third soldier called out.
"GET INSIDE THE MESS HALL!!!!" the head soldier roared. The three dove out past the gap between the building, rushing past Falco and the others. Katt followed closely behind them, dragging Falco and Slippy with her. The third soldier used the end of his blaster to knock in one of the windows. All of them jumped into the Mess Hall.
"Get underneath something!!!" the head soldier called out. He and the three soldiers slid on the ground, ducking underneath several tables.
"Over here!!!" Falco yelled. He led Katt and Slippy to behind the serving counter. They quickly slipped underneath the trays of food, waiting for the imminent blast. It came, just as expected. The ceiling shook, jarring parts of the ceiling loose. Wood and metal came crashing down, leaving holes where they once stood. When the chaos ended, everyone retreated from their hiding places.
I hope Fox is doing better than we are…
(The Great Fox)
Peppy left the living area, after having received a message from the surface from Slippy. He didn't take too much of what was said into account, he figured that Fox and the others would handle this quickly, before anything too bad happened. He went out into the hallway, taking his time.
Bored, he went up to the bridge, followed by ROB. He figured would be there in case anything was needed down on the surface.
"Well, time to relax." Peppy said, reclining in his chair. He stared out towards the window, looking down at the bright green Jatria. "Can't necessarily say I miss the battles…but I do miss seeing the scenery."
Peppy took a deep breath.
"James knew how to make it fun. Even Pigma made it more enjoyable…"
A ding interrupted Peppy's thoughts.
Food's ready.
Peppy went over to a device, far away from all of the machinery on the bridge. He opened it, pulling out a Styrofoam cup, filled with instant noodles.
Peppy returned to his chair, eating his cup of ramen.
"I wonder what's happening on Corneria about now…" Peppy said, utilizing Fox's transmission screen to surf the channels. He changed the frequency to that of Corneria's and switched to the news.
"-uld be here within the next two days, coming from Jatria. According to the latest info, it will increase Corneria's productivity nearly ten-fold. Now, for Cornerian home-front news. The damage done to Corneria's Command Building is almost entirely repaired. According to the General, 'Only a new coat of paint is all that's left!'. Now, that's the end of our broadcast, stay tuned for-"
Peppy could not hear the rest of what the reporter had to say. ROB jolted to life, repeating a message over and over again.
"Unidentified ships approaching Great Fox. Unidentified ships approaching Great Fox." the robot announced.
"Bring them up on-screen, ROB." Peppy said.
"Initializing…" the robot said. After a couple of moments, ROB finally moved again. "Unable to connect with ships, communication link denied."
"What!? Set up an open link, ROB. I'll talk to them myself." Peppy commanded.
"Affirmative." ROB said, typing up the commands for the link. "Open Link ready."
"This is Cornerian Dreadnaught-class Warship #2284590, Great Fox. This is the command vessel for the Mercenary Team StarFox. Leading Personnel: Peppy Hare. What is your business here!?" Peppy called out on the link. No response.
"I repeat, this is the Great Fox, command vessel for Team StarFox! What is your business here!?" Peppy repeated.
Suddenly, a red light began flashing all around the Great Fox. A warning siren sounded.
"Great Fox is targeted! Ships priming lasers!" ROB's metallic voice clanged out.
"Activate the primary and secondary boosters!!" Peppy ordered. The Great Fox left Jatria's orbit and moved out into open space.
"How many missiles do we have, ROB!?" Peppy called out, rushing over to the machines on the bridge, checking the Great Fox's shields and energy lines.
"We have 13 missiles in storage." ROB said over the sirens.
"Ok, ROB, ready the Great Fox's lasers! We're fighting back!!" Peppy roared.
"Affirmative." ROB responded.
According to what Slippy said before, these guys are mind-controlled or something. If that's true, shooting them down could strain the new relations between Corneria and Jatria. I'm going to have to selectively shoot, then.
"ROB, what's the distance between the Great Fox and the ships?" Peppy asked the robot.
"5000 kilometers." the robot responded.
"Ok. Can you get a lock on them?"
"Affirmative."
"Good. Lock onto the first ship's starboard wing!" Peppy commanded.
"Wing locked."
"FIRE A MISSILE!!!"
That instant, a missile left the Great Fox, rushing out into space. Lasers from the ships shot out at it, in an attempt to stop it. The missile curved, narrowly avoiding the laser fire. After a moment, it connected with the wing. Wreckage soared outwards, the damaged area of the ship glowing a bright red, the metal heated from the sudden blast. The equilibrium of the ship unbalanced, the ship began tilting, its left side raising upwards.
"Good job, ROB! Turn the Great Fox 120 degrees port!!! We're firing!" Peppy yelled, the excitement of battle returning to him.
"Affirmative."
The Great Fox slowly tilted, its right engine pushing, the left waning. The Great Fox was now facing the onslaught of warships.
"Target the next ship's wing, ROB!!!" Peppy demanded, nearly jumping as he yelled.
"Wing locked."
"FIRE THE LASER!!!"
In that instant, two great beams shot out from the Great Fox, cutting a swath through the opposing ships. The wings were blasted away on several ships.
"HAHA!!! BULLSEYE!!!" Peppy screamed.
"Warning, remaining ships boosting to our position." ROB warned.
"They're fighting back now, huh? Get ready."
Suddenly, lasers were firing from all of the remaining ships in the opposing fleet. Many struck the Great Fox, the shields taking most of the blows, leaving small scorch marks where the lasers would have damaged.
"Missiles locked onto our position." ROB announced.
"Shoot an intercept laser!!!"
The missiles flew from the ships. Unlike the lasers, the missiles would take a larger toll out on the Great Fox. The Great Fox's laser barrels, however, resonated a green light, shooting two large beams out again. Out of the five missiles, three were destroyed. The two remaining however connected with the hull of the Great Fox.
Peppy struggled to remain upright as the Great Fox shook from the resulting blast.
"What's the damage, ROB!?" Peppy asked as soon as he was stable.
"63% of shields left. Minor hull damage." ROB called out.
"Damn!" Peppy called out. "We're going to have to fire more missiles!"
At that moment, a face appeared on a screen near the shield gauge. It was Fox, sweaty, with bandages covering his face.
"Peppy, hey, Peppy. You there?" Fox asked.
At that moment, a blast struck the shields near the bridge, causing everything to shake again.
"Fox! We've got trouble up here! They've got several warships attacking the Great Fox!!!" Peppy yelled.
"What!?" Fox yelled, looking shocked. "Hang on, Peppy!!! We can't do anything!! We're pinned down here, too!! I need you to send me a Landmaster!!"
Peppy could see chaos ensuing behind Fox. He knew that they could really use the enhanced fire-power.
"I'll see what I can do! It's going to be tough, though!!" Peppy explained to Fox.
"Enemy ships charging lasers. Great Fox is targeted." ROB explained, a green light shining in through the window.
"EVASIVE ACTIONS, ROB!!!" Peppy yelled. He knew that the Great Fox couldn't take a direct hit from a charged laser. The link disconnected when Peppy dove to activate the thrusters.
The Great Fox pushed off to the left, the large, yellow beams from the fleet just skimming the bottom right of the Great Fox.
"Fire missiles, now, ROB!!" Peppy yelled. ROB responded immediately, launching missiles at the targets that were already locked on. Many of the opposing ships were disabled during the firefight, only four of them left. Five missiles were fired out from the Great Fox, two missiles targeting the closest ship, the remaining three going for the other ships. Each missile connected, but the ships continued to come.
"Why aren't they stopping!?" Peppy asked aloud. "ROB, target their weapons!! Fire the lasers at them!!!" Peppy commanded. He couldn't think of anything else to do, so he used a last ditch attempt.
The barrels on the Great Fox resonated a deep green. The Great Fox then turned slightly, pointing the barrels off to the left. After a second, the barrels unleashed two beams. The Great Fox immediately turned, creating a sweeping motion with the beams. The beams connected with the ships, destroying the weapons and the bottom half of the hulls. The beams stopped after they completed the sweep.
Peppy looked out the window. The remaining ships of the fleet were sparking, debris free-floating in the space near them. The beam had utterly destroyed almost all of the ships, leaving only most of their hulls and the bridge intact. The ships turned around and started heading back towards Jatria.
"Phew. That was close." Peppy said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Now, for that Landmaster…"
Peppy went over to the supplies interface. "Lessee, ah, here. Landmaster!" Peppy said, highlighting the image of the Landmaster.
"Hmm, where's Fox's position…ah, here we go. I'll deploy it five degrees west." Peppy said, pushing the button. "Good Luck, Fox."
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Author's Notes: Happy Thanksgiving!!! I know it was yesterday, but happy times anyway!! I was planning on uploading this chapter yesterday, but I couldn't find the time between eating and playing StarFox 64 and Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. I'm glad I found emulators!!! So yeah, battle scenes kickass. I was going to put all of the battle in one chapter, but then I just couldn't resist squeezing in the Great Fox dogfight. OMNI-LAZOR!!!! But yeah, I'll finish the battle next chapter. Here's to that! Although, it might be hard to find the time…I just bought Tales of Symphonia 2…
Reviews:
Finally, more than one! And one that isn't my loyal fan paranoidsocialclub!!! WOOHOO!!!
-paranoidsocialclub 2008-11-27 . chapter 6
well, glad to help. This happened to be one of the more detailed chapters, so the last part wasn't boring at all. the thing about those stories getting an amazing amount of reviews: if you look at their profile, they usually have around 30 stories in the section. They're really well known. well, Cheers
~PSC~
P.S. Make sure this fic never dies.
Thanks for thinking that the last part was interesting. And, yeah, now that I think about, those guys had like, a gajillion stories on their profile. They probably have a bunch of die-hard fans rating their stories. Luckily, I got you to help me out! Don't worry, this fic isn't ending anytime soon. I got plenty of ideas waiting in the wings.
-Pasta Masta 2008-11-27 . chapter 6
This fic is looking great. It was obviously written before General Pepper got too old to pull off moves, like the ones he performed during the bombing. lol This is coming along nicely, please continue.
Thanks. This is between the time of Assault and Command, and I just enjoy seeing General Pepper as one of those pissed off war veterans. I could just see him saying like "I can still move, DAMN IT!!!" or something like that. That thought was the inspiration for that part. So yeah, I'll keep going!