Chapter VII: Frozen Wastelands

For a third time during his stay onboard the Darkcloud, James found himself waking up in the medical bay. As the first time, he was nearly nude, just in his boxers. James moved slightly and felt the various wounds on his body respond to that movement, this was the worst part.

When the wounds started healing, it was quite annoying. James shifted again but stopped as he sensed someone else in the room, James turned on his right side. He saw Kat, asleep in a chair just a meter away from his bed. James got to his feet went and studied himself in the mirror, he still had blood on him in certain places and burn marks on his arms and legs and face. Add that together with a lot of sweat and James realized that he needed a shower, bad. James headed out the door, but not before throwing on a t-shirt and jeans. He took one last look at Kat and walked out the door.


James looked at his now completed ship, he had just installed the engine. It had been twelve hours since he had left the medbay. He had taken a long, half an hour shower. Then he had gotten a full ten hours of sleep. After that, he took another shower, got dressed in a white t-shirt, jeans and combat boots. Then he had eaten a large, warm meal. Finally, he had gone to the docking bay and finished up his ship. Kat must have been working on it while he had been sleeping earlier. The door to the docking bay whirled silently open and Kat stepped in. She looked like she had just woken up, he her uncombed, her baggy overshirt rumpled.

"Thought I might find you here. Fox is not exactly to happy with you." Kat said, she pulled up a chair and sat down beside James.

"Like I give a shit." James replied in a monotone voice.

"You know, you should lighten up. You sound like Falco if he could actually pull off his bad-ass stuff." Kat said.

She fell silent and quietness filled the room, James was staring at his ship. Kat followed his gaze and then looked back at him and smiled.

"You like what I did?" She asked.

"Yeah, nice work." James replied, surprising himself as much as he did Kat. Usually, it would have been just a 'whatever', or 'fine.'

"James, I uh-" Kat began, but she was cut off as the door again opened and Fox stormed in.

"Ah! There you are! You mind filling me in on what's happening?" He asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." James said, standing up.

"You know what I'm talking about. What did you and Pepper do, what kind of deal did you sign?"

"You know what, it's none of your business." James's comm suddenly beeped in his ear, he accessed it.

"Shadow here." He said. "James, got a job for you." Pepper replied.

"Ha! I knew it!" Fox shouted.

"Hang on a minute." James reached up, took Fox's comm unit out of his ear and crushed it.

"You son of a-"

"I wouldn't complete that sentence if I were you." James said, he turned around and got back to Pepper.

"You were saying?" James asked.

"Uh, we've got a defecting scientist on Fortuna. I need you to find this scientist, gain any information about the base he came from and get into the base. Then plant a bomb in it where it will do the most damage." Pepper explained.

"Can I come?" Kat asked.

James looked up at her, she seemed to cringe back from him a little. "Fine." James said after a moment, he just couldn't say no to her for some reason.

"What, she can't come." Pepper said.

"She doesn't come, I don't do the mission." James replied.

Pepper groaned, "Fine, just get it done. Get to Blizzard City, I've got a room rented at a local inn, the Frosty Ice Inn." Pepper severed the connection.

"Well, let's get going. We've got some work to do." James said.


Blizzard City lived up to its name, the winds were always whistling and howling. Snow came down constantly, almost non-stop. The temperature was always below zero, and that was on a good day. Fortuna was the coldest planet in the system, a frozen ball. Blizzard City had a population of nearly two thousand people, by normal standards, it was a very small settlement. But these weren't normal standards, Blizzard City was nearly the largest city on the planet.


James and Kat looked at their room, it wasn't too bad, at least a three star place. There was a large double bed in the center of the room. It was accompanied by a dresser, table and two chairs and an entertainment stand with a TV and stereo. There was a bathroom with a shower stall and tub, along with a medium sized closet. James tossed two duffel bags and a suitcase onto the bed. The suitcase contained a change of clothes for each of them and two trenchcoats. The two duffel bags contained combat vests, knifes, grenades and a few pistols.


James had taken what he could but he realized that he would have to go into town to get some more firepower and maybe, just maybe, a few hired hands. James picked up his dark black trenchcoat and pulled it on, tucking a Python into his belt and tying the trenchcoat shut.

"First things first." James said, he turned to Kat.

"We find the scientist." He tossed Kat the other trenchcoat, she caught it and put it on. She picked up a Desert Eagle and put it in an inner pocket.

"Ready?" James asked, Kat nodded and they headed out the door.

Kat shivered despite the heavy trenchcoat she wore. She watched James grill the owner of the apartment building for information about the scientist. It had been an hour since they had left the hotel, they had asked around and a few people had recognized him. The last guy had pointed them to this place. James reached inside his coat and pulled out the Python.

"I won't ask again, where is Jonathan Reed?" He growled.


The apartment owner kept very still and started at the barrel of the gun. "A-Alright, he's up on floor three. Room 3B." He replied.

"Thanks." James said, in one swift motion, he slammed the stock of the gun into the owner's temple. The guy crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

"Come on, let's go." James said as he turned and headed down the hall that led to the rest of the apartment building. Kat quickly followed.

James knocked on the door that read 3B in a faded, tarnished bronze sign and stepped back. There was some rustling inside and then someone from inside the room spoke.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"Shadow, I'm here to talk to you about your recent occupation." There was a pause, then the man asked.

"Who sent you?"

"General Pepper." There was another pause, then a few locks clicked out of place and the door opened.

"Step in." He said. James and Kat came into the room. Dr. Reed wasn't very big, just a ferret of about five foot five, he wore thick glasses and slicked back hair.

"I believe we have some information to discuss." James said.


"Yes, take a seat." James looked around the apartment, it was just a large open area with a kitchen space in one corner and a small hallway that probably led to a bedroom and small bathroom.

James and Kat sat on a leather couch, Dr. Reed took a seat across from them in a small chair. He reached underneath the chair and pulled out a folded up piece of paper, then he unfolded it and laid it out on a small coffee table between them.

"This is a map of the base. It is divided up into four main areas, living quarters, hangar, research area and supply. Now, all entrances are heavily guarded and there's over six hundred personnel stationed at the base, four hundred of them are guards." Dr. Reed explained.

"Jesus." Kat muttered.

"But, you can stop nearly half of them if you access the locking mechanisms that lockdown the barracks. Don't know why they made it, but they made locking mechanisms that lock down each section of the base. Now, the place you want to got to is the central control room, in the center of the base." Reed pointed at a certain place on the map.

"The way you want to go in is through a small tunnel that they carved out a while ago. It seemed to be lost in the plans some time ago. So it won't be guarded. Anyway, there's a small security room in the research area. There you can activate the locking device, then head on through research, through these labs here," Reed indicated an area on the map. "Then, get through this door, down this hallway and then you're there." Reed fell silent and sat back in his chair.

"Alright, thanks." James stood up.

"Get to the Starport, docking bay 7. A ship's waiting for you."

"Thank you." Dr. Reed got up and began gathering things up as James and Kat left.


James looked at the pile of weapons he had accumulated, pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, ammo, grenades, knifes and more.

"That all?" The gun store owner asked.

"Yep, that'll be all." James replied. The storeowner began pricing all the items that James had told him to get, as the guy did that, James looked around. He had pretty much cleaned out the place, most of the shelves and racks were empty. In cities like these were law enforcement was almost non-existent it was quite easy to get almost any kind of gun you wanted.

"Alright, that comes to a total of 2,017 dollars. How you gonna pay?" The guy asked.

"Check." James replied, he pulled out a checkbook he had borrowed from Kat, filled it out and gave it to the storeowner.

Then James proceeded to take all the weapons and supplies and ammo and put them into his two duffel bags and backpack he had bought. When one was filled up, he tossed it to Kat, who caught it. James filled the next one up, then the backpack, slung it over his shoulder and began to head out the door. Kat followed.


After they had dropped off all their stuff back at the hotel, and locked the door, James and Kat had headed to a local bar to pick up a few mercenaries. As James and Kat sat at the bar, James looked around. He saw people having their drinks in the booths and tables, laughing and talking. But a few guys in dark trenchcoats stood with their backs to the wall in a dark corner. James eyed the for a few seconds, then one guy stepped forward and came and sat next to James.

"You lookin for business?" He asked in a low voice.

"Depends, what can you do?" James replied.

"Anything, fight, fly, shoot, kill, whatever. For the right price."

"How much?"

"Two thousand a man."

"How many men you got?"

"Two."

"Fine." James slipped him a piece of paper. "Be here tomorrow at eight o'clock a.m., sharp."

The guy nodded and went back to his small group, after he had a few words with them, they left.

"Time to go." James said.

"Alright." Kat replied. They stood up and headed out of the bar.


James sat on the edge of the bed, working on the pile of guns. He was taking them apart, cleaning them, putting them back together and then loading them. Kat was studying the map, making sure that what Dr. Reed had told them was correct and the best way to go. James mentally checked off all his guns, two Pythons, four Berrettas, three Magnums, six Desert Eagles, two Uzis, two M-16s, three 12-gague shotguns, 10 fragmentation grenades, 6 flame grenades, 7 Flash-Bang grenades, 4 High Explosive grenades, six honed throwing knifes, an eight-inch combat knife and one hell of a powerful explosive device.

Satisfied that he had cleaned all the weapons thoroughly, James began putting them into interior pockets in his and Kat's trenchcoats. After he was finished with that, he hung them up carefully on a coat hangar in the closet. James sat down on the edge of the bed, "Well?" He asked.

"Well what?" Kat replied, looking up.

"Was Reed right?"

"Yeah, looks like it."

"Alright, I'm going to sleep." James said, he climbed under the covers. But first he reached over and set an alarm for two hours before he had to get to the place. Then he laid down and drifted into sleep.


Beep, beep, beep.

James slammed his fist down onto the alarm clock, causing it to short out and stop. He began shifting and sat up, the first thing he noticed was that Kat was asleep next to him. She was facing him, wrapped up in the blankets. James got out from under the covers and stood up, he began going through his morning routine. After a quick shower and breakfast, James sat at the edge the bed, tugging on his combat boots. He had woken Kat up after getting out of the shower and now she was in the shower. James fought down the feelings welling up inside him he could have sworn up and down that he would never feel again. He sat and waited for Kat to get out of the shower.


James and Kat approached the area that James had indicated for the mercenaries to be at. James checked his watch, it was 0756. As James and Kat got closer, they could see three figures standing next to an apartment building on the eastern outskirts of Blizzard City. The base was about two hundred meters from their current position. James and Kat stopped a meter away from the group, who moved to join them.

"You said earlier that we would be going into a firefight, so we'll need some firepower." The group leader said.

"Sure, here." James opened his trenchcoat, "Jesus Christ." One of the other guys muttered.

"Take your pick." James said.

The leader took one of the M-16s and some ammo for it. The other guy took the two Uzis and all the ammo for it. And the last guy took one of the 12 gauge shotguns and some ammo for it. When the men were properly armed, introductions were made. The leader, a tall lean wolf called himself Gray. One of the others, a big hulking bulldog was Roger. And the last man, a skinny feline was called Reaper.

"Alright, let's get going." James said.


James, Kat and the others stood at the entrance of the tunnel carved into the ground, they began to walk into the barely lit underground passage. A row of old light bulbs were strung up on the ceiling about ever meter or so. James and Kat walked in front, James held his M-16, Kat held an Uzi. Gray and Roger walked behind them and Reaper brought up the rear. Nobody talked, with the exception of Reaper, who complained a few times from the cold. James guessed he was new around and hadn't yet gotten used to the cold.

He himself was constantly freezing. The small group continued about fifty meters further, heading at a slight incline. The tunnel grew gradually warmer as the headed down it until they finally they came to a metal door. It was covered in dust and dirt and when James put his ear to it, he couldn't hear anything beyond. Which meant two things, either it was too thick to hear through, or no one was out there. James hoped it was the last one. James put his hand on the handle and turned, pushing inward.


James looked at a few boxes that had tumbled onto the floor, the door had been long covered up by them. The group found themselves in a medium sized room with just a single bulb in the center of the room illuminating it. The place was a storage area, obviously, with just a single door in it besides the one they came through. James checked the map, at least this area was on it. The only room that was lower then the rest of the base, they were directly under the supply section of the base. James shifted, feeling the weight of the bomb he had acquired earlier move inside the backpack he was carrying.

"Gray, get the door open and all of you get up there, me and her'll bring up the rear. You see anyone, shoot them." James ordered.

Gray nodded and headed towards the door, he and his men got it open and began walking up a small flight of stairs. James and Kat followed.


James looked around the hallway, three dead guards lay on the floor, blood pooled, bullet riddled. It hadn't taken much time or effort to kill them, Gray and his men worked fast. They had secured the hallway and waited for James, the hall itself was just over seven meters long that ended at the left but turned right down the right side. It had three doors besides the one they had come out of, Gray had already had them all checked out. They were just small storage rooms.

"Go." James said, Gray turned and made a few signals.

Reaper and Roger followed him down the hallway, they turned the corner and kept going. James and Kat followed. They continued this all the way out of the storage area, picking off guards left and right with no casualties and no alarms raised. But as they approached the research area, they knew it was about to get a whole lot tougher.


James stopped at the dividing wall between the storage area and the research center. James pressed the button the opened the door, it slid sideways, revealing another long hallway. Gray and his men went first, followed by the other two. James looked at the map, they were about fifty meters from the security center where the mechanism was. Just down a few hallways, through a few rooms and they were there. James and Kat followed Gray and his men down the hallway. Suddenly a door slid open and a dozen men poured out, the first six were cut down but Gray and his men.

James instinctively threw himself to the floor, taking Kat down with him, as bullets flew by. A few of them caught Reaper in his chest. He screamed as he fell to the ground, blood already started to pool as it poured out of the open wounds. Gray cursed and killed off the rest of the guards, he bent down over Reaper. After checking his wounds and pulse, he realized that he was already dead. He stood up and kept heading down the hallway. Roger and James followed, Kat lingered for a moment. She finally followed the group.


The group slowly progressed through the research center until they finally reached the security room that contained the locking mechanism. James kicked the door open and immediately killed the guard on duty, his blood splattered all over the control panels and security monitors. James checked out a small back room and then went back to the main room. After a few moments, he located the mechanism, James accessed it. He watched on a few security cameras as heavy metal plates slid over a dozen or so doors.

Confusion reigned inside the barracks as men tried to get out. There were about three hundred or so of them trapped in there. But it got better, not only did the doors get closed off, but so did the larger ventilation entrances. James turned and headed back out into the hallway where everyone else waited.

"Alright then, let's get to the main control center." He said, the small group headed onwards.


As the small convoy continued, they were confronted and blocked by about thirty guards in one of the labs that they had to go through. James and Kat were hidden behind some equipment and Gray and Roger had gone behind a flipped over table. James released the trigger on his M-16 and threw it down, the gun completely out of ammo. He pulled out the two Pythons and put his hands around the large piece of equipment. He fired off all the bullets in each of them, paused and then reloaded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two Frag grenades, Gray saw what he was doing and he and Roger ducked.

James primed them and tossed them, then pulled Kat to the center of the back of the equipment. Men screamed and two explosions went off, a body flew past them and hit the wall, full of small metal pieces. James, Kat, Gray and Roger resumed firing. When the return fire stopped a moment later, James poked his head around the corner. There was nobody there, just a bunch of bullet riddled bodies and torn up equipment. Gray and Roger headed out, keeping low, guns up. They quickly and methodically cleared out the room, making sure every guard was dead. Once that was done, James and Kat came out. They all met at a door at the end of the room.

James checked the map, "We're almost there." James said.

Roger took point, Gray behind him, Kat following him and James brought up the rear. They opened the door that led to the hallway that led to the main control room.


The sound of Roger screaming in pain as about a dozen or so bullets exploded out his back filled the air as his body crumpled to the floor.

"Shit!" Gray yelled, he dove to the right, firing the rest of his M-16 ammo.

He threw it down and pulled out an SMG from inside his coat. James and Kat went with him, firing their weapons. James threw down the empty Pythons and took out four more Frag grenades, he primed them and threw them. Kat reached into his pocket and pulled out two more and did the same. Six explosions went off and metal flew everywhere, James felt one of the small pieces of metal hit his leg.

He ignored the pain and pulled out two of the Berrettas, then put them up over the table he had dove behind and fired blindly in the general direction of where the bullets were coming from. The firefight kept on going, James went through his Berrettas, Desert Eagles and Magnums. He threw his last two Frag grenades, along with two of the flame grenades. Deadly metal fragments and fire shot out everywhere, men screamed and died as they burned and were pumped full of metal. James pulled out his bomb and primed it, Gray saw what he was doing.

"Get ready to run." James said.

"No, we'll never make it." Gray replied as bullets pounded all around them.

"You two, go. I'll cover you, just give me some ammo."

"No, we can't leave you behind." Kat said.

"You have to, they could stop the bomb. Set it for five minutes, that'll give you enough time." Gray explained.

"Fine." James dumped all his grenades, knifes and ammo into a small pile next to Gray.

Kat did the same, James activated the bomb and he and Kat made their way back to the main entrance of the room. They listened to Gray shoot and shout obscenities to cover their escape.


James and Kat ran down the corridor that connected the research area to the storage area. James had estimated that it had been a minute, they hadn't run into any resistance so far. But just in case, James had kept a 12-gague shotgun and Kat had kept a 9mm pistol. James slammed his fist down on the door control between the two areas and he and Kat ducked under it as soon as it got high enough. The two kept sprinting down the hall, turning corners, going through doors until they finally came back to the original doorway. James and Kat ran down the steps, they made their way across the room and back into the tunnel. James checked his watch, two minutes to go until this place blew to all hell.


James and Kat pounded down the rock tunnel, sweating and breathing hard. With just twenty seconds left to spare, they exploded out of the entrance and kept on going. The base exploded in a massive fireball, shooting dirt and metal up into the air. The ground erupted and cracked, causing James and Kat to fall to the ground. James got up and looked at the massive crater, Kat was bent over, her hands on her knees, trying to get her breath back.

"Come on," James said, turning towards town.

"We've got to get out of here, the authorities'll be here soon."

"Alright, let's get going." Kat replied, she and James turned and began walking back towards town.