Hello Readers, Writers and Blessed Lunatics, I am back with another update. Chapter three finally out! I'm sorry it took so long. I had a good excuse this time... I moved to Korea!
...
Well maybe it's not a good excuse, but it's the only one I got.
Please be kind to me on this one. It took forever to get a bit of it written out and my Beta reader failed to follow through. Fun Fact: This was originally supposed to be the second half of Chapter 2! At almost 10,000 words, I'm glad I made that change.
Enjoy!
Aboard the CSS Redfine, a grizzled old bulldog paces across the deck behind his own chair. Captain Meredith Blake rarely found himself shaken by events and circumstances surrounding the operation of his ship. He was the stone that his crew relied on and he relished that position greatly. Now he questioned whether or not he deserved to think of himself as a rock. Or if he was a rock, what was happening now was a jack hammer.
"Commander, how long overdue are they?"
Commander Paula Shirov, an energetic yet serious young husky, turned from the communications station and walked to her Captain, hands held behind her back.
"Almost ten minutes, sir." The canine responded with a barely discernable Russian accent. "Sir, it is odd enough that Lieutenant Arden would be one minute late for a check-in, but ten? There is something wrong here. I recommend we try to contact them on the priority channel."
The older canine turned away from his first officer and walked to the front of the bridge. He stared into the blackness of space, silently contemplating the facts he knew for sure. One, Lt Arden had never been late for a periodic check in; not in three months of squadron command. Two, his patrol skirted the boarders of known Lylatian space in this sector, which made it the most dangerous and unpredictable patrol run by the ship. Three, Falcon squadron was now ten minutes late for a periodic check in. As much as he wanted to say differently, he had to agree with his first officer. Something was wrong. Having reached his conclusion, he quickly turned back to Commander Shirov.
"Agreed, Commander. Get them on the priority channel at once!"
"Sir!"
Commander Shirov saluted sharply and turned on her heals, barking orders as she went. Captain Blake stepped slowly back to his chair and watched the tension start to build on the faces of his men on the bridge. Nothing like this had happened in the six months since they started on this patrol. He hoped that this was not a sign of larger problems ahead.
00000
"Kevin, two on your 8 o'clock! Barrel roll left, than break right around the next asteroid!"
Falcon VIII's response was without delay. His barrel roll deflected several laser blasts before the Vector turned hard around the asteroid. As he straightened his course, the two fighters Kevin had just evaded came around the asteroid as well; the Macbethian T-3s performing the maneuvers much slower than their more advanced Cornerian cousins. Still, they adjusted course and again gave chase to the two remaining pilots of Falcon Squadron. Though there were only seven fighters left to the pirates, the coordination they had as a group far surpassed anything shown by the rest of their comrades. It was pushing the two survivors to the limits of their ability.
And it was starting to get on Fox's nerves. He and Kevin had been evading this remnant for the better part of the last ten minutes and no matter what the two did, they could not get into an offensive position.
"Fox, their last Arrowhead is coming straight at you."
Fox instinctively looked at his sensor array, expecting to get a reading on the obnoxiously fast craft. Only after he almost asked aloud what was wrong with his screen did he remember where he was.
"Damn asteroids! Kevin, I'm going to boost ahead. Once we are far enough away, you try an-"
"-ome in! Falcon Leader, this is Redfine command and control, do you copy? Falcon Leader, I say again, this is Redfine C&C. Please respond."
Fox was so confused by what was happening that he almost clipped his right wing on an asteroid. He stole a glance at his comm readout and saw that this new transmission was coming in on a priority channel.
'I guess we were late for a check in.'
He switched channels.
"Redfine C&C, this is Falcon VII. I read you."
"Falcon VII? Why are you answering this transmission? Where is Falcon Leader?"
Fox didn't recognize the voice coming from the ship, but he did recognize a slight accent; maybe Russian. He knew only one bridge officer with that accent. He dipped under a larger asteroid as he responded.
"Falcon Leader has been destroyed, Commander. So have Falcons II through VI. We were ambushed by pirates. They came out of the asteroid field located at point 27 by 33 by 85. Falcon VIII and I are the only survivors."
Fox did not receive an immediate response. He supposed that was to be expected. He just told his ship's Executive Officer that they had lost six pilots and may lose two more by the end of the day. Even for the hardened Russian officer, that was a shocker.
"Falcon VII, this is Captain Blake." Fox swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. "What is your situation? Can you make it back to the Redfine?"
Fox had to barrel roll to avoid the first accurate burst of fire he had received since the Arrowhead began tracking him.
"Negative, Sir. We're being pursued by what we believe to be the last seven fighters these pirates have, but they're using heavily coordinated maneuvers and are keeping Falcon VIII and I from escaping or providing any effective offense."
"Falcon VII, what is your position? We'll move to intercept with all speed."
Fox looked at his read outs, hoping that he would catch a break for the first time since he woke this morning. He didn't get the break he wanted.
"Unknown, Sir. We are currently within the asteroid field traveling at high speed on an unknown vector. This field has a property that completely interferes with sensors and tracking systems. We entered the field to prevent missile tracking, but we sacrificed knowing our position by doing so. We're completely blind."
There was no response from the Redfine. No doubt they were deliberating all the information Fox had just given them, trying to come up with an effective action that would bring their pilots home. He shook his head. There was nothing the crew of the Refine could do to help them. The only way he and Kevin were getting out of this was by their own actions.
"Fox, are you their? You never hit your boost. That fighter is still following you."
Fox keyed up the flight frequency.
"Sorry, Kevin. I've been on the line with the Redfine. They're-"
A flurry of laser fire interrupted Fox as it came out of nowhere and hit the side of a large asteroid the pilots were passing. The corresponding blast blew several large holes in the rock and launched chunks of it directly into their flight path.
"Kevin, EVADE!"
Both fighters banked hard right to get away from the cloud of deadly rocks, but Kevin had been far closer to the asteroid and his bank wasn't enough. He was still turning when the rocks began to impact the underside of his ship.
"Agh! Fox!"
Kevin yelled over the comms and Fox turned his attention back to his left just as Kevin disappeared into a cloud of moving stones.
"Kevin!"
Fox yelled back at the shrew just as he completely lost visual. He did his best to find his friend in the scattered rocks, but had to turn his attention back to the stone projectiles trying to shred his own ship. Tilting on his side, Fox turned hard right and broke onto the other side of one of the larger asteroids. The proverbial mountain acted as a temporary shield while he reclaimed his bearings and turned back to help Kevin.
"Fox… help!" Kevin's static filled voice filled Foxes headset. "I've lost my left wing! My shields are almost gone and I'm losing power to my G-diffusers. I…I can't maneuver!"
"Hold on Kevin, I'm right here. Just-"
Fox turned back to the cloud of projectiles just as Kevin's ship became visible again.
"Just wait. I've got a visual and I'm making my way-"
Fox paused as the cloud cleared away enough to reveal a blur of silver coming through the field at them. The Arrowhead that had been pursuing Fox had broken off to avoid the storm of rocks and was now coming back; only now it would be able to take out Kevin with little effort.
"Shit! Kevin, put all power into your engines. Get moving. Now!"
"Fox… I can't! I'm dead in the water."
Fox leveled out and was now making a beeline for the Arrowhead. It was almost in position. He had to hurry. With his fighter torn to pieces, Kevin wouldn't survive another hit.
No. He wouldn't let that happen again! He couldn't let this happen again!
"Just do everything you can, Kev! Just give me a couple more seconds to take this guy out!"
His ship shot forward as Fox hit the boost and banked slightly to avoid Kevin.
'I'm almost there! Just another hundred meters…'
"AAAHHWWWWW!"
Fox's scream echoed hard thru his cockpit as his boost cut out and he started shooting. There was still time; Time enough to save his friend. This man was going to die. Kevin was going to live. He was not going to let Kevin-
The Arrowhead opened fire just as the first of Fox's lasers hit it. The rest followed quickly and the field was lit up by another explosion as the Arrowhead joined the rest of the scattered debris.
"Kevin! Move! Just… Move!"
Fox looked back to his friend, breaking into a hard right turn... but there was nothing left for him to do but watch. He saw the last plasma bolts find Falcon VIII's hull. The fighter shook and drifted further through the field from the force of the impacts. Even from as far away as he was, Fox could see the glow of the fighter's reactor. It had been pierced.
"Fox…"
There was a spark of light as the reactor arced with a brief discharge of energy. Then, the reactor exploded, taking what was left of the black and green fighter with it. Still locked in his hard turn, Fox watched the light from his friend's fighter dissipate, unable to tear his gaze away as the horror of this moment settled on his mind.
"Kevin… Kevin!..."
…was gone… They were all gone.
In Fox's headset, static filled the squadron channel. He was the only one on it now…
"Falcon VII, report. Where are you? Falcon VII, do you copy?"
Fox ignored it. The only thing he heard right now was the beating of his own heart. The only thing he saw was the void of space in front of him, now empty of the comrades he had had not thirty minutes ago. The only thing he felt was an emptiness that rivaled the endless space he now haphazardly flew through. They were gone; Kevin was gone. The only man on board the Redfine that Fox had truly called friend was gone and Fox had watched him die, completely powerless to stop it. Unable to contain his grief anymore, Fox shed the tears that had been held back till this point only by the stress of the battle and the adrenaline that accompanied it. They flowed freely now, wetting the fur of his face and spreading alone his muzzle. Soon, they would start to fall onto his lap and safety restraints, but he didn't care. There was now a deep pit in his chest; he felt as if a great hand had reached into his torso and stolen away everything within. With Kevin's death, Fox had experienced true loss for the first time in half a decade. Losing him was like losing Falco… or Slippy or Peppy. Fox doubted that anything short of losing his father could compare with the grief he felt now. With Kevin gone, he was now the lone survivor of Falcon Squadron. And there were still six fighters behind him that wanted him dead. With these tears fogging his eyes, he didn't think he would be able to stop them.
"Falcon VII!? Falcon VIII!? Respond!"
It was over.
"Redfine… This is Falcon VII…"
"Finally! McCloud what happened? We thought we'd lost you."
"…I've lost Falcon VIII… He's gone."
Silence from the other end.
"I'm alone… there are still six fighters behind me… and I am their target. I don't think I'm going to make it out of this, Commander."
"Ju-J-Just, hold out as long as you can, Falcon VII. We're on our way. Just do what you can."
Fox thought about laughing into his mic, but the laughter wouldn't have come if he tried. Even as the tears dried, clumping into his fur, the grief did not abate. He had lost so much in such a short amount of time that he felt as if he would never smile again.
"We're making for the field at full impulse power. We should be there in just short of an hour. Just hold on!"
He didn't respond to the angry voice of his XO. He didn't care what they were doing. They wouldn't get here fast enough. What would it matter if they did? Seven lives had still been lost. He had still been unable to save them. He had failed.
"Falcon VII, Respond!"
At least he wouldn't have to live with this pain for much longer, right? This was an unavoidable end. Eighteen years and a fiery death; not quite the epitaph Fox had in mind.
'I'm sorry, dad… I guess I couldn't be everything that you could…'
Never give up. Trust your instincts.
'My instincts weren't enough this time. I guess they run out eventually, even for us. Maybe if they didn't, mom would still be here and I would have a tomorrow.'
Don't waste this chance… and never forget
'I won't, Lieutenant. I won't forget and I won't waste this chance. I will finish what we started.'
"Redfine, this is Falcon VII. There are only six fighters left… and I'm going to destroy them."
He wondered if he was sounding confident or arrogant when he said that.
"I probably won't be back on the priority channel. They hacked our squadron channel and I am going to use that to my advantage."
"Wait! WH-"
"Tell my Father… I'm sorry I couldn't be the man I was supposed to be…"
Fox cut off the priority channel and reselected the squadron channel. He realized that what he was about to do was incredibly stupid and probably wouldn't even work. But he had to try. He had to bring this conflict to an end and bring these pirates to justice; if it was the last thing he'd do, he was going to give this everything he had left. This would be the last flight of Fox McCloud.
'Here goes nothing. I hope this works.'
He flipped his comm switch and left it on.
"Wow. Is this really the best you scum can do?" Fox was surprised by how quickly the sorrow left his voice. "This'll end sooner than I expected!"
Fox waited for a response before he said anything else. He had to be patient in order to pull these guys into his game. The bait was set; he just needed to let them come to him.
"Strong words from a dead man." The voice was the same one that greeted Fox more than fifteen minutes ago. "Seven of your friends, seven 'great Cornerian warriors', all met their end at our hands; and you are going to join them."
The man's sarcasm when speaking of the rest of Falcon Squadron nearly made Fox boil into a fit of rage. His emotions, while checked, were still ragged and were only heightened by Fox's exhaustion.
'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.' Fox thought to himself as he steeled his nerves. Beginning again…
"And those seven warriors brought your entire Fleet to its knees. From more than thirty down to six: Quite an accomplishment, wouldn't you agree?" Fox let the taunt hang for a moment before continuing. "The way I see it, as one of those 'great Cornerian warriors', I have a better chance of flying away from this than you do."
Fox's last statement was answered by silence, so he started paying greater attention to his canopy and the surrounding area as he waited. He knew there was no way this conversation would go unanswered. His opponent had already revealed his desire for vengeance and Fox had ruffled his feathers.
'If he even had feathers.' Fox smarted dryly to himself.
They would react and Fox had to make sure that he saw them coming.
"You are NOT going to walk away from this, you Cornerian Dog! I am going to see you burn in Hell right next to your pathetic comrades! Get him, boys! Blow this bastard out of time!"
There it was. The reaction Fox had been trying to get. He had succeeded in drawing them in and now they could begin the final chapter of this madness. Fox continued looking at his canopy just until the first fighters started to appear around the asteroids behind him. Then, he turned his attention forward; to the fight that would define his life. Now, it was all or nothing.
'It all ends here.'
"Come on!"
Fox jammed his accelerator forward as he yelled into his headset. His fighter reacted without delay, shooting him back into the field and just over a larger asteroid. No sooner had he began to maneuver through the field then the lasers started flying past him. Fox counted four separate bursts as he began to bob and weave through the field, pushing the limits of his fighter's speed and maneuverability. For the time being, he had four of the six on his tail. He was going to have to make that work.
"Not so overconfident now, are you, dog?"
Fox smirked. Not out of arrogance or pride, but out of amusement. The pirates really didn't see what he had done.
'They are so focused on gloating about their victory without realizing that the fight isn't over.'
"Not overconfident… Just ready to end you!"
The Pirates snort was audible over the channel. He didn't bother smarting off anymore, which told Fox that he was now watching the chase. If he was going to goad this man into making a mistake, he had to do something to anger him soon.
'I need to find a wa- GHAA!"
The asteroid immediately to his right exploded while Fox was turned towards it. Fox rubbed his eyes quickly, trying to work the brief flash blindness out while simultaneously keeping his fighter from running into a proverbial wall. He had just dropped his hand and banked right when a speeding cylinder raced past his left wing. The missile continued forward until it struck another asteroid, turning it to dust. Fox didn't bother thinking about this new development, he just kept his tail weaving hard and fast. Just one hit from those missiles and he would lose a considerable amount of ground AND shields. He couldn't let it end like that.
"Run, Run, cowardly dog! We're coming for you. Make right your life with whatever god you worship. You will meet him… or her… or them, very soon."
This time the goading was joined by a chorus of laughter as the other pirates joined in the mockery. Fox couldn't really think of anything to counter that jab, so he just focused his attention on the asteroid he was gently climbing over. If he could get close enough to a couple of these bigger ones, he might- He cut his own thought off as he saw something.
With a suddenness that caught the pirates off guard, Fox inverted his fighter and pulled up, diving hard and fast along the outside edge of the asteroid he just passed. He kept his cockpit close to the rock as he dropped 'altitude'.
'Need to time this… just… perfect!'
The instant Fox saw open space again he inverted his fighter a second time, dipping his nose as he kept descending. As he completed the maneuver, he found himself even closer to another asteroid.
"Haha, that's right. Run, Run. I'm right-!? Wait, no! It's too close! I can't- AGH-"
BOkkkksssshhhhkkkk
Fox pulled up hard as he reached the lower edge of the second asteroid, diving under it just in time to avoid the red flash that accompanied the explosion and static heard briefly on the comms. The remaining pirates filled the channel with surprised shouts and expletives as Fox emerged from under the asteroid and continued through the field. When the noise quieted some, Fox pressed his luck.
"What a shame, that." Fox's voice was calm and even. "You see on Corneria, pilots are taught how to hold their ground under extremely difficult and nerve racking situations. When I saw the distance between those asteroids, I didn't panic. I timed my maneuvers and made it through. You're man panicked… and didn't."
Fox had wanted something to draw the anger out again and that had given it to him. He had just reduced their number to five. If he kept his wits about him and continued to force theirs away, he might just walk out of this alive!
'No, Fox! Stop thinking like that. You're not in this to survive. You're in this to end it… It doesn't matter what happens to you.'
"YAAAARRRRRGGHGHHH!"
Fox's internal debate was interrupted by the pirate leader, who didn't even bother giving orders. He didn't seem to need two. As the remaining fighters continued to pursue Fox, their rate of fire doubled.
"Well…" Fox grunted to himself, dodging around another asteroid and barrel rolling. "…That was counterproductive."
He jammed his brakes as he passed over another space rock, forcing two of the three pursuing fighters to pass him. As the brake power hit minimum, Fox became the pursuer as he eased into the offensive. It only took a few seconds for his crosshairs to find a target.
"One more down…"
'FFouuUM'
The asteroid to Fox's left exploded, sending the Vector careening right and forcing Fox to miss. There was less than a second's delay before the second missile barely missed the fighter's left wing and streaked off into the field.
"What! There's no way that Komodo kept up with this chase!" Fox exclaimed. But no sooner had he finished discounting the situation then another missile shot above his cockpit on the right.
"Oh boy!"
Cursing himself for missing a chance to kill off more fighters, Fox went on the defense again. He ducked and weaved through the asteroids, pushing his fighter to the limit while at the same time trying to focus on not being a target.
"Keep it up Fox. No patterns!"
"That's right, Fox. Don't be predictable." The patronizing voice of the lead pirate resounded across the net again. "We wouldn't want you to slip up and meet the wrong end of a missile."
More laughter. Fox gritted his teeth. He may not have wanted them to take this fight seriously, but their mockery was really starting to irritate him.
'Easy, McCloud. You started this game. You can't let them beat you at it.'
Fox made sure to not think over the radio this time. He continued to evade as he forced his mind onto thinking of a strategy. He knew the fighters he almost shot down would be back on his tail soon and then there would be nothing he could do. He had to get behind the missile fighter.
"You're looking a little slow, Cornerian. You're gonna make this shot too easy!"
They were close to him! Fox could use that. He knew they'd seen the brake move too many times to be caught off guard by it, so Fox thought of another way to slow down.
"Ugh, I hate this maneuver!"
Fox turned his fighter down and left, then hard up and right. This forced his fighter to invert and start following a wide corkscrew pattern.
"What the Heck!"
The pirates hadn't anticipated the corkscrew roll and didn't react at all. Fox's excess motion forced his speed to drop way down in proportion to the oncoming fighter and after two full rotations, Fox was behind his pursuers. And what he saw made him want to smile.
"So that's how you pulled it off."
Two fighters were now in front of Fox. The Komodo that had been firing at him was being towed by the last T-3, which had it locked in with a tractor beam.
Fox wasted no time. He charged and fired; point blank. The torpedo connected with the Komodo's right thruster and obliterated it, along with a good portion of the ship's armor and circuitry. With one of its two widely spaced engine units gone, the discus ship tore right; forced off balance by the single thruster. The ships new course began to send its tow ship off course; the smaller size of the Macbethian starfighter unable to keep the Komodo in line.
"Chad, pull up! Keep your course!"
There was no reply from the missile fighter as it continued out of control away from its companion.
"Chad! You're gonna crash! CHAD!"
With its hull compromised and the added speed of the T-3, the Komodo didn't stand a chance of survival as it collided with the asteroid. The impact violently crushed the forward chassis before the ship was torn apart by multiple explosions: the missile warheads detonating from the shock of the crash.
Fox moved to target the tow fighter, but as he did the ship jerked downward, out of control. Fox dove after the fighter but was incredibly surprised to see the T-3 continue to dip to the point of inverting and going the opposite direction.
'What! There's no way he could have-'
"Shit! NO! AAHHHH-" BOkkkksssshhhhkkkk
The explosion came from behind and above Fox's fighter. The shock rattled his Vector and forced him to pull up to correct his course.
'A T-3 isn't that maneuverable… and even if it was he wouldn't do an inverse loop just to crash into a rock! …unless!'
"Able! What happened to 'Sharky'?!" The Pirate Commander demanded across the channel.
"I don't know! He was towin' Chad and then Chad went down and then Sharky just blew up."
Fox nearly snickered at the run on response from the clueless pilot. He didn't because the man had actually explained what happened… in so many words.
"You are right, Able." Fox tried to make his smile audible through the comm. "You see when I blew part of the engine off your Komodo, he crashed into an asteroid and blew up." Sporadic and inaccurate laser fire flew by Fox as he continued. "But your boy Sharky still had his tractor beam on. When the Komodo was gone, the beam automatically assumed a lock on the next most likely target. In this case… the asteroid." Fox paused, letting the pirates catch up to his line of thought. "The tractor beam acted as a tether to your friend and it forced him to fly down, around and smack into the same rock Chad hit."
Fox went wide eyed as he realized what he had just said. It was so absurd a thought that he couldn't help himself. He broke into laughter. Not the kind you get when you hear a funny joke; the kind you get when you are so out of your senses that all you can do is laugh. Which was a state he had reached some time ago.
Fox laughed so loud that he almost didn't hear the angry growl on the comm.
"What the fuck are you laughing about, Dog!" The pirate leader demanded.
Tears were falling from the Vulpine's eyes as he calmed himself enough to answer.
"No, it's not -snicker- i-it's not that I take pleasure from your friend's death… Hahhaa… it's just… I just killed two birds… Hssshssshss- with one stone!"
Fox continued to laugh as another angry yell echoed through his cockpit. In his compromised state, the sound only made the vulpine want to laugh harder. He had to calm himself down, but he couldn't. The entire event was becoming so surreal and outlandish, he wasn't even sure he wanted to stop. His mind was clearly having trouble coping with everything that was happening.
'WIVSH- Wiv-WiVSH'
Fox was still laughing after the lasers passed his vision and he barrel rolled in response.
'Alright, enough is enough. Ease up, McCloud. You can't die yet!'
Slowly, Fox began to sober up as more lasers passed by. When that didn't work, he looked down and forced himself to focus on the metal buckle of his restraints.
'Get a grip, Fox. Cool it!'
His efforts helped, if only a little. Slightly calmer than he was five seconds earlier, Fox started to turn his attention back to the space in front of him. He had barely looked up before the scattered laser fire started to consolidate around him. The hunt was on once again.
Fox barrel rolled left then cut right with a boost, putting a little more space between him and the last three fighters. As the fire continued, he did not fail to notice that there were only two fighters engaging him.
'The leader is holding back. He'll try to flank me or get into a position he can't miss me from. And all the while…" Fox stole a glance at his empty scanner. "…I won't know where he is.'
At this point the leader didn't even need to get involved. Fox's need to re-center himself on the fight gave the pirates the chance to catch up to him. They were on him and were not letting up. If he was going to end this, Fox had to think of something fast. Unfortunately, the asteroids were starting to get larger the further he went into the field. As a result, he now had less cover than before and fewer obstacles to run his enemies into.
'… I have to-' He paused in his thought to barrel roll twice and hit his boost. '-get behind them… but…'
The Pirates didn't let up. They turned Fox's canopy into a panorama of red light trying to shoot the vulpine down. All the while, Fox evaded and raked his brain, feeling his time run down the longer the battle dragged on. And all the while, the asteroids grew larger.
KeRuMP
Another bolt impacted Fox's rear shields.
"Warning. Rear shields at 23%. Failure imminent."
"Tell me something I don't know!" Fox growled at his ship board computer's emotionless voice. As much as this wasn't the time to think about such things, he couldn't help but consider how much he hated computerized voices. "I just can't work with stuff like this!"
"Is the pressure finally getting to you, Dog? Are you finally starting to see how inevitable your death is?"
Fox considered his answer very carefully; mostly because if he took too much focus off of flying he knew he'd be dead. He was about to yield to not answering when his computer chimed in again.
"Warning. Gravitational spike detected. 2000 meters ahead."
Fox gave up on his attempt at a comeback and instead focused on the probable origin of the warning and only spotted a medium sized asteroid.
"Warning. Gravitational spike closing. 1000 meters ahead."
Fox was confused but had to think fast.
'The gravity sensors operate differently than the interstellar ones. If they've been working, than this is the first asteroid with high gravity. That means it must be made of a dense material.'
"Warning. Gravitational spike closing. 500 meters ahead."
'High gravity means a high pull. If I stay close… then hard cut… '
"That's it!"
Fox veered right around the asteroid; his controls felt sluggish in the high gravity. His enemies continued to pursue and engage.
"Keep up, boys!"
As he was passing the asteroid, Fox tilted and turned hard left. His fighter began to accelerate, reaching greater speed than it was naturally capable of as it responded to the increased gravity. The pirates followed. Fox's fighter, moving faster than it ever had before, tore over the surface of the asteroid, finding a natural orbit as it matched the curvature of the rock. Feeling the force of his turn even through the G-diffuser system, Fox did what most pilots would have thought him mad for doing: He hit his boost. Fox was sucked to the back of his seat as his Vector accelerated further, driven on by the thrust of his engines. The last falcon gripped the control stick with all his strength, maintaining his tilt and turn at any cost. He was so focused on his turn that he almost missed seeing the thrusters of his former pursuers flying off into the field.
In that instant, Fox pulled hard on his control stick and violently leveled his fighter. The sudden correction forced the Vector away from the asteroid, where its high rate of speed easily overcame the added gravity. In a split second, Fox had finished his 'sling shot' maneuver and was now dead locked on his enemy. And his finger was already holding the trigger.
"Sorry boys. You couldn't keep up."
Traveling too fast to be evaded, Fox fired his torpedo and veered off. The added speed from the torpedo's launch prevented the fighters from maneuvering away at all. They were too close together for the weapon not to have maximum effect.
Without even a panicked yelp, the fighters were engulfed in the torpedo's explosion and were disintegrated.
Fox exhaled a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding and took several rapid breaths trying to recover from the G-forces he had subjected himself to. Fox had been right in thinking the T-3s couldn't follow him through his rapid orbit. After almost twenty minutes of intense fighting, he was now down to just one enemy.
"Alright, Scum! It's just you and me now. Stop hiding like a coward and face me man to- UUhaagh!"
The Vector shook uncontrollably. Fox heard sheering metal and bursts of energy surge through his ship. Four different alarms began blaring simultaneously as the ship took on increasing damage.
"Warning! Shields have collapsed. Reactor damaged. Output at 42%. Major damage to ventral hull. Port wing has been lost. Starboard wing has been…"
Fox tuned out the rest of the computer's ramblings as he took in the damage statistics on his heads-up display. Almost all his systems were critical. Maneuverability was at 36%. He was effectively dead in space.
'And probably completely in a few seconds.'
Movement off his left wing caught his attention and he turned to meet the fuselage of the Pirate Commander. The T-3 matched Fox's speed and level as the deadened Vector crept through the field. The Pirate's canopy was completely opaque from the outside, but even though Fox couldn't see the rogue, the Cornerian could imagine what his enemy looked like at that moment.
"Not so strong after all, are we, Dog?" The transmission was full of static and cut in and out. "So much for you and your friends. Say 'Hi' to them from the great Blackwing."
Having gloated for the last time, the pirate pulled up. Fox briefly registered that the steel gray fighter's right wing was painted black, but quickly turned his attention back to his controls. He began to rapidly toggle controls and give commands. He was desperate to not let it end like this. He wasn't finished until this 'Blackwing' was dead.
"Computer, transfer all available power to G-diffusers. Increase G-compensation to make up for the missing wings. Take all systems offline accept life support, propulsion and weapons and give me as much control as possible. "
Fox continued to access systems as the monotone voice responded.
"Unable to comply. Extensive damage to power distribution system. Reroute of all primary and 38% of secondary systems impossible. Weapon system offline. Life support at 19% power."
In that moment, Fox McCloud's heart sunk. There was nothing he could do. In seconds, his life was going to end. He had fought them down to the last men and it still hadn't been enough. Still, he had brought five more of them to a just end and given his all to the fight. The fact that this "Blackwing" would out live him was his only regret.
"… Sorry guys…"
"What the hell!"
The exclamation caught Fox off guard. The surprised voice had belonged to his adversary, but Fox had not expected to hear him speak again. Then Fox caught sight of what must have startled the rogue and had to agree with the sentiment. Up ahead, a cluster of small asteroids had begun to glow. The light was gentle at first, but as the seconds ticked by, it grew in intensity until Fox's entire cockpit was lit from the soft blue glow.
"What in the name of Solar-"
Fox's own exclamation was cut off by a blinding flash as the glow from the rocks rushed toward him in the form of seven streams of blue, crackling energy. In reflex, Fox threw his arms in front of his face in a useless attempt to shield himself from the beams. The glow around him grew brighter suddenly, but faded rapidly as the energy passed leaving him unscathed. Fox slowly dropped his arms, amazed that he was still alive. His amazement only increased as his cockpit became lit by an orange light, now coming from behind him. Fox twisted in his seat, straining to get a glimpse of what had happened. Through the shredded remnants of his hull and engine, he saw what was left of the explosion that had taken his last enemy from this life; his fighter scattered to the cosmos just like every other that had vanished this day.
Still in shock from this new occurrence, Fox straightened himself and looked for the glowing stones that had, somehow, just saved his life. He found one of them easily as its glow faded from sight. Fox had only a few seconds to study it before his fighter slowly passed the shard. He didn't earn any answers to the multitude of questions ricocheting through his mind, but he did see that the pieces were not rocks. They were made of some sort of… crystal.
Fox's attention was drawn back to his controls as a broken alert sounded in his ear. With his fighter in such bad shape, he had a hard time finding what was trying to get his attention. The fact that the power kept flickering was only making it worse. After a few seconds of intense searching, he spotted the indicator on the comm panel. The priority channel was still open.
"Computer, what is the status of communications?"
"Communications systems are at 56% efficiency."
That would be enough. The signal wouldn't be clean, but he would be able to hold the channel. Three switches later and the signal was opened once again.
"Redfine control, this is Falcon VII. Do you receive, Redfine!"
Was that really his voice? It was shaking; laced with panic. The lack of adrenaline was starting to catch up with him.
"Falcon VII, we read you!" It was Captain Blake; his voice masked by electronic crackles and echos. "By the light of Solar, boy! We thought we'd lost you."
Fox felt his heart drop again. He was living on borrowed time and he knew it.
"You may yet, sir." Fox replied to the Captain with a mix of sarcasm and fear. "All enemy ships have been destroyed, but my fighter is almost non-functional. I've lost both wings, my shields and weapons are gone and I'm still traveling through the asteroid field with minimal control. Reactor output is at 42%. I can't reroute most of my systems and life support-"
He stopped short of completing his thought, focusing instead on what the computer had said just a short time before. His life support was at 19%. There wasn't enough left to keep him alive for more than twenty minutes. That had been five minutes ago.
"McCloud…"
He didn't reply. He shifted his gaze toward the horizon of space, seeing only massive clusters of large asteroids. He allowed the realization to settle on his mind, but found that he could not accept it. He had come so far and had SURVIVED. Was he still unable to avoid his fate? Was he still going to die?
"Fox?"
"My life support system is at critical, Captain." He watched the asteroid's slow movements now, wondering if he could impact one of the hard enough to end it quickly. "I have fifteen minutes of atmosphere left if I'm lucky. I'm still deep within an asteroid field that makes sensors useless and even if I knew what the right direction of escape was… I couldn't maneuver enough to make it out… It's over."
There was a commotion on the other end of the comm. The bridge had likely begun to receive orders from the Captain and Commander. Fox scoffed at the idea of them coming to his rescue. There just wasn't enough time.
"Fox, don't give up!" The old bulldog sounded more gruff than usual. "Reroute all power to life support! Hard wire it if you have to! Just don't give up, we're coming!"
He couldn't decide whether to laugh or be angry at the weathered Officer. He just couldn't face the facts… just like Fox couldn't.
"Captain, -"
"Proximity alert. Adjust course to account for gravitational field."
Fox's yell was cutoff mid-note.
"-Wait! What?!"
Fox looked at his console, unsure whether the computer was starting to short out or actually detected something. He had already determined that the gravity sensors had been working in the field, but those were located on the underside of the ship. They were likely floating scrap by now.
"McCloud? What happened?"
"Standby, Control."
His heads up display wasn't helping. Most of the instruments were just static storms.
'So what was…' The sensors caught his eye. They were starting to clear up.
"Control, my sensors are staring to react again! I'm coming out of the fi-"
Fox was forced to stop his sentence again as he registered what the sensors were showing. The screen was still staticy and cut in and out, but that was not the mercenary's concern. As they began to display readings, the entire top fifth of the screen was being covered by green.
"But, that would mean…"
Ignoring the subtly growing field of green on his sensors, Fox looked forward into space. His entire field of vision was still blocked by large rocks, but they were beginning to scatter. And as they did, his vision was lit by the bright glow of an atmosphere. Colors became visible across the expanding panorama of his sight: vast expanses of blue, green and red washed and covered by soft patches of white. All at once, his ship passed out from the confines of the asteroid field and he could see the extent of the brilliant globe before him.
"Oh… my… god!"
"Fox, what happened? Can you give us your position? Fox!"
Shaking himself out of his shock, Fox replied to the Captian.
"C&C… I'm out of the field; and I'm looking a planet!"
There was no response for a moment. Looking back at his sensors, Fox began to calibrate a scan. He wouldn't have a lot of time to get his answers, but he had to do something. For the first time since this battle had started, he was starting to feel hopeful about the outcome.
"Fox, did you just say you are within range of a planet?"
"Confirmed, sir! There is a planet on the other side of the asteroids. I can't say for sure, but I think the field is in orbit around it. Like Titania's rings… just larger and more spread out."
"Good. We can use your sensor data to establish your location within the field. Reroute all available power to life support and navigation. Establish a safe orbit and we'll see you soon."
Fox didn't bother hiding the growl in his throat. He let the Captain hear it before replying.
"Captain, I don't have the time or the ability to do that! Even if I COULD reroute power to those systems, I'd have to choose which to do first. I'm already in the planet's gravity well, so if I reroute life support first, I'll burn up in the atmosphere. If I reroute navigation, I might get into a semi-stable orbit, but I'd suffocate long before you could pick me up. I have only one option. I have to land!"
There was a gasp from the other end. He didn't know whose it was, but under the circumstances, he didn't really care.
"Fox, that is absurd!" The Captain retorted. "You have no information about this world. What if the atmosphere is incompatible?"
"Then I will die; just like I would die if I try to establish a safe orbit or try to fix my life support system. The way I see it, Sir, is that I have three choices and all of them end with me dying. I might as well choose the one I have the smallest chances of dying with."
There was not an immediate answer from the Captain. He wasn't really surprised by that. Still, he didn't have much time to waste, so Fox began to bring up what few options were still functioning on his heads up display. If he was going to land what was left of his fighter, he'd need all the power he could muster. He was interrupted by an alarm not thirty seconds later. His sensors had finished their scan.
"Redfine, do you read? My scan just came back. The atmosphere is Oxygen-Nitrogen mix. It's a little lite on the oxygen, but the levels are within acceptable tolerances. I can land and it won't kill me. Well… the atmosphere won't kill me."
Fox chuckled at the irony present in his last statement. Even though the planet could sustain his life until he could be rescued, he still could die from the crash.
'I still can't get a break today…'
"I'm not laughing, Fox." The Captain's voice returned with added gruffness. "I want you back safe and sound. We owe too much to your family to let you die like this. With that said, can you land on the planet safely?"
Fox frowned at the console, pausing in his work just long enough to consider the Captain's question.
"Safely? No. I cannot land safely, Sir. I can attempt to land with what power and maneuverability I have left, but this is not a guarantee of life; just less certainty of death."
"Very well. Send us all the data you've collected on the area. We're already half way to the edge of the field. Once there, we'll attempt to locate the planet and conduct a search. Stay safe, Fox and don't give up hope. We're coming to get you."
"Reroute Complete. Reactor output at 39%. G-Diffusers operating at 43%. Navigation is at 41.351% effectiveness. Gravitational pull inescapable at current position and velocity. Prepare for emergency landing."
That was it. He had all he was going to get. Fox held a death grip on his control stick and took a controlled breath before he replied.
"Understood, Redfine. Wish me luck… see you in a couple days."
He had tried to sound certain; tried to put up a confident front before he began the most dangerous flight of his life. After hearing his own voice, Fox realized he had failed miserably.
"Good Luck, Fox."
"Warning. Atmospheric breach in ten seconds. Adjust angle of entry."
Fox took one last deep breath.
"Beginning atmospheric entry."
Fox pulled hard on the control stick and the fighter responded immediately; if not a little slowly. He pulled the nose up and dipped the rear end while paying close attention to his flickering instruments and dropping his throttle to minimum. The angle of his ship against the atmosphere had to be nearly perfect or he would burn up from the friction. It was a mistake you only ever made once and he'd be damned if today was going to be his first.
The ten seconds it took to reach the atmosphere felt like an eternity to him, but Fox felt no relief when he felt the ship begin to shake. It felt like he was flying through a cloud of sand that was getting thicker and thicker the further you went. Like there was an ever increasing force being pushed against the entire surface of the ship. He would have been happy if that was the only thing he had to deal with on this fall.
The glow came just a few short seconds after the rumbling. The outside of the fighter began to collect an otherworldly orange and red aura as the friction of the atmosphere against the hull began to produce massive amounts of heat. In seconds it had become a roaring tempest of superheated air surrounding the craft and Fox could feel it overwhelming his damaged life support system. As the seconds ticked by, so too did the temperature inside the cockpit increase, threatening to burn it's lone occupant alive. Higher and higher until it t was too much! He couldn't-
All at once, the rumbling came to a halt and the flames around the ship died as the tattered Vector fully entered the atmosphere of this unknown world. For a moment, Fox could not comprehend what had happened. Then he let out his held breath and laughed. The laugh turned into a shout as he reveled in his success. The worst was over.
"I've breached the atmosphere! Beginning preparations for landing."
His smile was wide and full as he gently pushed his throttle forward. He was going to make it! He just had to-
'FFffeeeerrrrruuuuuuuu-'
The distinct sound of his G-diffusers losing power and shutting down froze Fox to the core. That couldn't have just happened!
"Oh no… Ohnoohnoohnoohno, Oh NO!"
His scattered heads up display showed what he already knew. The G-diffusers powered down when he tried to increase the throttle. They had been idling for too long and the damaged system couldn't maintain the function without more power. If he had throttled up faster… He didn't have time to cover maybes right now. He had to get power back to his engines or he was dead.
"My G-diffusers just shut down!" He spoke quickly as panic began to settle on his chest. "Attempting restart."
Ahead of his throttle, on the left side of the cockpit, Fox flipped two switches toward him and gripped the red and black stripped lever just behind them.
"Engine primed. Initiating restart."
Fox twisted his wrist hard to his left. The lever went with the movement and the whirring of power around him told Fox that the engines had indeed started to power up. That was a good sign. It meant they were at least capable of starting.
The whirring continued, gaining intensity and pitch while the heads up display showed a broken image of the engines status.
"Just two more seconds!" Fox urged, his voice desperate.
The engines now sounded shrill against the sound of the ship plummeting through the clouds. It screamed and screamed and screamed and then: the pitch fell violently. Several alarms sounded from the display as error messages scrawled themselves into view. Fox's heart hit the deck again.
"Restart failed. There wasn't enough power to jump the engines. I'm trying again."
As Fox primed the switches and started again, he broke through the clouds and could clearly see jungle as the surface became visible. It was blurry for now, but it was clearly and rapidly approaching. He didn't have long before it would be far too close for comfort.
"Initiating restart."
He twisted the lever and once again heard the whir of the power up sequence. This had to work! He didn't have time to reroute anything else. The engines either started or he died. The seconds ticked away like hours before the engines screamed in Fox's ears.
'Come on come on come on come on come on…'
Fox's pleas became a prayer as his desperation reached new heights. That desperation almost turned to hope just before the power up failed for the second time. Fox yelled.
"Damn IT!"
He would hit the surface in another minute. He only had one more chance before he wouldn't be able to pull up in time.
"One more time, ONE more time!"
Switches primed; system ready. Fox pulled the lever harder than ever before; another desperate attempt to will the engines to start. The sound filled the cockpit again; the power had begun to flow.
Fox felt suddenly detached from everything. His attention was suddenly upon himself and not his ship as it plummeted to their dooms. They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die, but Fox didn't have a whole lot of life to cover. And that fact frightened him. He was about to face his death at eighteen and he had done nothing. His life was meaningless. He didn't want to die… not yet!
"I… am not ready… to DIE!"
Fox screamed at his ship as the fighter screamed back at him. The power sequence was at critical levels. Without thinking, Fox jammed the throttle forward. His action was met with the steady thrum of the G-diffuser and a sudden jolt as the fighter violently responded to the restored engines.
With power restored, Fox dipped the nose violently down, restoring the ships stability before he pulled up; only to start panicking. He was far closer to the ground than he thought he was and his nose was pointed right at what appeared to be a city. The buildings were light blue against the multicolored backdrop of the jungle and the circular design complete with large cross streets made it look like something very ironic: A target.
"Not today!" Fox blurted.
He pulled up hard on the control stick, hoping the ruined fighter would respond quicker than he expected. He was rewarded with the ship gently, albeit slowly, pulling out of its freefall and leveling off into a westward glide. Fox sighed in relief as the city fell behind his rapidly retreating aircraft. If he had been flying anything accept a G-diffuser driven craft, he wouldn't have made that maneuver.
"I'm alright." Relief flooded Fox's voice. "I'm cruising at high speeds in a west by south western direction. I'll begin the landing procedures as soon as I've found a suitable-"
'Vweep, Vweep, Vweep'
Fox was getting tired of all these alarms. This one was indicating that the breaking system was in critical condition. He wanted to scream again.
"Redfine, it looks like I've used up my one break today. The braking system won't support a landing procedure. I'm going to have to perform an emergency landing."
He scanned the horizon, barely noticing the cracking static that filled his headset. He had bigger concerns. The jungle he was flying over was thick and offered no clearings for a safe landing, regardless of the circumstances. This combined with the fact that Fox suspected that he had only minutes before his fighter stopped flying altogether made his anxiety about this whole ordeal spike. As if his emotions weren't in enough of a mess.
"I don't have any ideal places to put down."
Fox took a second to locate any discernable patterns in the trees as they rushed by. Maybe he could increase his chances of not running head on into one.
"I'm just going to have to take my chances."
There was a slight pattern, but he doubted if relying on it would improve his chances of survival. Guess he was about to find out. He dipped the nose and adjusted his vector. His palms were sweaty as he gripped the control stick in his right hand and the brakes in his left. This was it; his last chance. Fox could hear trees clattering against the underside of his hull as he spoke into his headset one last time.
"See you soon, Captain Blake."
All at once, Fox yanked on the brakes and dipped his nose into the canopy. The Vector decelerated quickly but not very until Fox felt what was left of the left wing clip a tree. The force kicked the ship's back end right and drove the remains of the right wing into another tree. He tried to keep the ship steady but had only made some small corrections when the G-diffusers lost power. Without the constant propulsion, the ship only stayed aloft for about four seconds and then dropped hard into the underbrush. Fox felt the impact up his entire spine. He now had no control. He couldn't stop the ship. The only thing he could do was wait –
Suddenly, there was no motion. Fox hit his restraints and then slammed hard into his seat. Then, everything went black.
So, what did you think? Any theories about where this is headed? I seriously love hearing feedback and Emile the Watcher will tell you I love talking about story breakdowns. If you ask a question, I'm going to give you an answer... It just might not be direct.
Speaking of Emile, by his request I will be working on getting Ch 2 of Blood & Silver out for my next update. After that, I will try to split my time evenly between the two. If you haven't read my second Star Fox story, I would love to see your name on my followers list. Also, If you've got the time, check out anything and everything written by K. and Emile the Watcher. They are two of the best Star Fox writers and their stories are well worth following.
I mean, come on! You're wasting your time on me, you might as well spend a few more minutes to read something great! LOL.
Until next time, Stay Frosty!
KaijuKnight, Out!