Part 11
Fox banked his ship to the right as he exited the portal with Fara close behind. The portal collapsed and vanished as Fara watched. She wasn't the type to get nervous, as she sat back in her seat, it the situation started to unsettle her. She didn't recognize any of the star patterns here and her navigation system was completely blank, Fox had gone out of sensor range and left her stranded. Her com system crackled to life, it was Fox.
"You alright Fara?" He said.
"Yeah." She responded. "I'm a bit nervous out here Fox. None of my instruments are working. Where did you go?"
"I'm here, just had to make sure we were in the clear before we docked."
"Docked?" Fara asked. "Dock with what?"
"Turn your ship around." Fox told Fara. She fired her thrusters and did a half loop. As she rolled her ship upright a wall of scarred plating appeared in front of her, she quickly banked away just missing it. Fara looked back at the Prospect as one of the hangar doors slowly opened.
"Is this your carrier?" She asked Fox.
"It's not mine." He said. "It some kind of converted mining ship, I can get you some more information about it when we dock. For now, it's home." Fox and Fara docked with the Prospect and met Falco and Katt standing in the hangar.
"So what took you guys so long?" Falco asked. "You used to be fast Fox."
"I had to convince Fara everything was alright. The Cornerians still think we had something to do with the disappearance of that scout squadron. Where's Slippy?"
"I found him on Aquas. He wasn't interested in coming out here." Falco told Fox. "He's got a family and all. I didn't want to push the issue, I knew you'd come back with Fara."
"Yeah, he did." Fara said. "Would one of you mind telling me what is going on around here?"
"We're working for a species who's technology is more advanced than what we have now, they call themselves human. They have set up colonies in some of the systems around Lylat and have a huge network of planets and star systems beyond this one, probably several hundred." Fox told her. "The wars in Lylat have caused problems for them, some of the Anglars and even surviving parts of Andross armada have been attacking them and running back into Lylat. They can't get at their base of operations because the Cornerian government won't let their ships enter the system to chase the bad guys and the CDF doesn't have the ships or manpower to cover Lylat beyond Corneria and a few other planets. So they give us ships, and a way to get into and out of Lylat quickly, and pay us to go where they can't."
"Fox that's treason." Fara looked at him in disbelief. "You're undermining your home planet by doing this. How could you turn against your own people for credits?"
"It's not like that Fara. We're going after people who are common enemies of Corneria and the humans. The Cornerian government had helped set this up. The humans have been shipping supplies into Lylat to help rebuild, it's helping to speed up the recovery."
"I don't believe our government would keep this secret. Not from the Defense Force, this is information we need to know."
"Believe it." Jack said as he walked from the tram. "They don't want to panic the general population so they're keeping you in the dark. We settled in this region of space about five years after the first Lylat War, we contacted your government and they granted us permission to move into the region. We control four systems and have probes or scouts in nearly every system in this region. Our intention has never been conquest, only to explore, expand, and colonize vacant systems."
"And who are you?" Fara said, stepping back as Jack approached.
"This is Jack, Fara." Fox said as he stood between her and Jack. "He's the human who put this together."
"I had some help from Krystal, don't forget."
"Krystal?" Fara turned to Fox. "Not the same one that worked for Star Wolf?"
"Yes, the same one." Fox told her. "She's changed since then, Wolf was using her to hunt his rivals. She crossed paths with Jack here and then came looking for me. Jack helped her out with Wolf."
"I don't know how you'd help that one." Fara said. "She was kill on sight in Lylat for years before she disappeared."
"I tried to shoot her in the head." Jack said smugly. "It's amazing how that can alter an individual's perception. She was on my list too, but this was a better solution to taking her life."
"You had orders to kill her?" Fox turned and looked at Jack.
"Yes, it's not something she needs to know about."
"Why would you do that?" Fox walked over to Jack. "She's your friend isn't she?"
"At the time she wasn't. I had already heard the name Kursed but we didn't have a description of her. All we knew was it was a Cornerian and they worked alone. When I found Krystal she was being held a gunpoint, scared and crying, she didn't have the look of a hardened killer. It wasn't until after we left the planet I learned she was the one called Kursed. I couldn't to take her life, she reminded me too much of myself in my early days with the HSF."
"Wait, Krystal was Kursed?" Fara looked at Fox in disbelief. "The Cornerian Defense Force has Kursed listed as dead. Killed somewhere out beyond Lylat."
"In a sense that's true." Jack told Fara. "She gave up that life and buried it outside Lylat. Besides, where do you think they got that information? The CDF can't keep track of what's going on beyond Corneria's moon, they certainly wouldn't know about events outside Lylat."
"I guess you're right." Fara said. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but you are right."
"We need to get moving soon, the Interstellar Iridium people will be expecting us."
"The who?" Fara asked.
"Fox, could you get Fara up to speed on our operation and where we're at right now? I need to get the ship to Io station."
"Sure." Fox said. The Prospect made it's way to Io station, as the ship came out of warp and approached one of the station's docking bays a transmission came over the com.
"Fortune's Prospect this is Sandra Dinan of the Interstellar Iridium Corporation, we are currently orbiting Io station at 55 kilometers and request you approach and dock with our ship so we may transfer our representative."
"Understood Ms. Dinan, we're en route now." Jack said into the com. The Prospect approached Dinan's ship, an unarmed civilian vessel about 150 meters long with a golden polished exterior. The ship's hull was curved with no sharp angles and no visible seams, from a distance it resembled a disc with a flat area where the ship's thrusters were attached to the hull. As they moved into position to dock with the ship it extended a tube shaped arm and latched on to one of the Prospect's exterior hatches.
"We're docked." Sandra said over the com. "Hold position, we're sending a representative over."
"Why don't they all come over?" Fox asked.
"I have no idea, they've always done things this way. They send a rep over to check out the ship and then they send their people over when the rep gives the all clear. I'm not sure if it's narcissism, or paranoia. Anyway, let's go greet our guest." The group walked down the hall from the bridge to the hatch the disc shaped ship had connected to. Jack opened the inner airlock door and waited for someone to knock from the other side.
"This is that alien you were talking about before?" Katt said.
"Probably, just be polite and don't get upset if she touches you. The Kelden are a very physical people and see touch as a way to establish friendship, they take insult of you don't let them get close."
"It's going to touch me?" Katt looked around at the others. She was about to speak again when there was a soft knock on the airlock's outer door. Jack stepped into the airlock and pulled the lever. The airlock seals hissed as the lock's disengaged and the door opened. Jack stepped back out of the airlock and turned to face the others followed by tall slender figure. He stepped to one side and let the figure walk into the ship.
The Kelden was tall, wearing a white and gold dress that stretched to the floor and had a high collar that stopped just below the jaw. Her skin had a pebbly texture and was colored with a mixture of bright green and teal with yellow on the underside of her arms and hands. She had a plume of brilliant red hair that tapered back into a braided tail that extended nearly to the floor. Her eyes were a dark red and they looked rapidly around the room, the creature was visibly nervous.
"I..am...Needra." The Kelden shivered as she struggled with the words, "I...rep...pre...scent...In...ter...stiller...Err...id...umm." Jack stepped up and held out both his hands, palms up.
"Good to meet you Needra, I'm Jack. Welcome aboard." She looked down at his hands and slowly placed her palms to his, wrapping her fingers around his wrists. Her face relaxed and she smiled slightly. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew. This is Fox, next to him is Fara. Over there is Katt and the tall one is Falco, they are Cornerians. We're all glad to have you on board." Needra walked over to Fox and the others and cautiously looked them over, she put her hand on Falco's head and ran her fingers through his feathers. Falco looked around nervously as she stepped back toward the door.
"These are new." she said pointing at Falco. "I like this one. I will tell my lady you are ready." Needra walked back into the airlock, opened the outer door, and went to the Interstellar Iridium ship. Falco looked at Katt who was still glaring at the airlock door. He turned to Jack.
"She said I was new? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know, she didn't seem to react to the others that way." Jack thought a moment. "I wonder if she's seen a Cornerian before, just not one like you."
"But they just came out here right?" Fox said. "That was what the Admiral told us."
"Yes, she did." Jack said. "You can't trust these people, they will do anything to turn a profit. They are human, but they are a completely different culture. Their minds operate in a totally different way. I wouldn't be surprised if their spies have been operating out here." Dinan's voice crackled over the ship's com, interrupting the conversation.
"We're on our way over. Please be ready to go as soon as we arrive."
"Waiting on you." Jack said. A few minutes later there was a knock at the airlock door. Jack opened it and Needra, Sandra Dinan, and three other humans stepped into the ship. Sandra Dinan was a young woman of average build with short platinum blonde hair, she was dressed in a gray pantsuit with dark red trim and carried a small briefcase and walked with her head slightly turned upward. She ignored the group standing by the door and approached Jack.
"Are you in charge here?" She asked with a tone of disgust in her voice.
"I am." Jack responded.
"Name and rank."
"Jack Roberts, Ensign."
"Ensign?" Dinan said laughing. "And they let you command a ship?" She motioned to one of her followers, who was typing on a small datapad. She took it from his hand and began reading aloud.
"Roberts, Jack. Graduated Human Systems Federation military academy March 14, 2945. Date of birth, undisclosed. Location of birth, undisclosed. They don't even list your grades or service medals. That tells me two things." She began walking down the hall as she spoke. "Number one, you're not an Ensign. So until you tell me your rank you are unfit for command. Number two, you're a spaceborn. Which puts me in charge of your ship for the duration of my visit regardless."
"No, it does not." Jack walked down the hall after her. "Fox McCloud is the squadron commander. If you choose to re leave me of my command, it's passed to him."
"What?" Fox said.
"Absolutely not!" Dinan yelled as she turned and faced Jack. "I will not have one of the fuzzys running this ship."
"Cornerians, Ms. Dinan. Try to show some respect to the commanding officer. This is a joint operation and rank is observed."
"Fine." Dinan gritted her teeth as she walked over to Fox. "I have an assignment for you. When you are ready. My sources tell me you are not running a mining operation at all, that you're some kind of covert squadron that does dirty work for the HSF. I have permission from your superiors to put this operation of yours through it's paces."
"Ok." Fox said. "What do you want us to do?" Sandra Dinan motioned to one of her followers again, he brought up a small traveling bag and placed it on the floor. She opened the bag and pulled out another datapad.
"One of our planets has been taken over by a rogue group of workers." She typed on the datapad as she spoke. "I want you to go there and regain control of the planet."
"A whole planet?" Fox looked at the group. "Just us?"
"It's not as difficult as it sounds really. Three or four of you should be enough." Dinan told Fox. "They're a small group, no more than fifty or so people. Once they start taking casualties, they should lose the will to fight. They are held up in the only spaceport on the planet's surface and we can't get anything on or off the planet because of it."
"What planet?" Jack asked.
"TF305, it's a bit of a trip from here. It will take this class of ship a minimum of two jumps."
"The failed terraforming project? I thought they abandoned it."
"We did, but the planet still has a wealth of minerals to exploit. So we maintain a presence there. We should leave right away, those workers are holding up our operation there and need to be delt with."
"These are pilots Ms. Dinan, they are not trained or equipped for a ground operation." Jack said.
"Well, since you're going with them, maybe you can show them how it's done." Sandra replied smugly as she walked down the hall. "Oh, one more thing. I will need quarters for the duration of my stay. Since the ship has no commanding officer, I will take that room, and Mr. Kirby as my head assistant will take the first officer's quarters. The rest of my entourage can take the remaining cabins on the crew deck." She looked back at Jack with a smile. "I guess that leaves you homeless, again."
"There's a couch in the lounge, I'll be fine." Jack said. "I'll set the ship's autopilot for TF350, we should be there in 20 hours or so." Sandra Dinan and her group walked toward the crew quarters while Jack headed for the bridge.
"I think we should talk about this with Jack." Fox said to the others. "We need to know what we're going into."
"We?" Falco said. "I'm a pilot, my talent is wasted on the ground. I'm not going."
"Fox." Fara spoke as she turned to face him. "This isn't what I came here for."
"I don't think I will either." Katt replied. "We aren't working for them." Fox sighed and looked at his friends, before asking Katt what she had learned from Jack about Krystal and Miri.
"Well." Katt said. "He's telling the truth, I even saw the video from the security hangar. She left and took Miri back to Corneria. Jack doesn't know where she went, what she is planning to do, or if she will come back."
"Do you really think it's appropriate to be asking about her with me standing here?" Fara looked angrily at Fox.
"I'm worried about her, that's all. I'd hate to see her get into trouble again." Fox told Fara, who simply shrugged her shoulders and began walking away.
"I'm going up to the bridge to talk with Jack." Fox told the group. "I want to know what he has planned for this mission. We might not be the ones on the ground." Fox walked toward the bridge and opened the door. Jack was sitting in the captain's chair looking over a large display screen with images of a rocky, barren planet and a towering maze of pipes and framework that appeared to be a large industrial compound of some sort straddling a massive canyon.
"Is that where we're going?" Fox asked.
"Yes." Jack replied. "This is TF305, known locally as Dust."
"Dust?"
"About 35 years ago Interstellar Iridium tried to reverse engineer the HSF's terraforming technology, their results were mixed. TF305 stands for Terraform project 3, 5th attempt. Prior to their attempt to transform the planet, Dust was a typical barren world with a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide and methane with a faint magnetic field holding it all together. Interstellar Iridium managed to get a breathable atmosphere established on the planet but forgot to work in stages, so while the planet's atmosphere was made suitable for life, the surface was not. There needed to be some form of water or plantlife to hold the powdery dust that covered the planet in place. The result, a near perpetual dust storm so intense you can't see more than a meter in any direction and breathing the atmosphere for more than a few minutes cakes your lungs with dust making it impossible to breathe. Any time spent on the surface is done so in a full environment suit."
"How do people survive there?" Fox asked looking at the screen.
"They stay inside or underground. From what I've gathered, the workers on the planet have taken some of the mining drones and used them to attack any ship that gets close to this structure. The mining drones are about half the size of an Airwing, heavily armored, and equipped with a laser that can burn through rock with ease."
"And they fly?" Fox looked at Jack.
"Not very high, probably 1000 meters at the most. They aren't very fast and don't maneuver well, you shouldn't have much trouble taking them down, just don't let them get close or they will rip your ship apart. Their mining laser has a short range but is very intense. The real danger is the tower guns mounted on the outside of the compound, they track fast and are lethally accurate. There's a sensor array on top of the tallest tower, that should be your first target. Take it out and the guns can't track you, then take the guns out. There are several other targets of opportunity around the outside of the structure, generators, air conditioning units, etc. Go after them if you get a chance."
"What about you?"
"I'll go into the compound and see if I can't get the miners to back down. That way you and your friends stay out of ground combat."
"I've done ground fighting before against the Aparoids." Fox said. "I think I can handle a few angry miners." Jack tossed him a ball.
"Squeeze it." He said. Fox held the ball and tried to crush it with his hand, it barely moved. He put it between his hands and pressed hard, the ball folded. He tossed it back to Jack, who held it up in his hand and crushed it.
"We're alot stronger than we look." Jack told Fox. "If you can keep out of close quarters fighting, it would be for the best."
"So you have a plan?" Fox asked.
"You're the pilot, I can do whatever needs to be done on the ground, but the skies are yours."
"The others don't really seem interested in the mission."
"That's fine. I want at least one of them to stay onboard and watch these people. Talk to the others and let them know what's going on, maybe they will come around to our side." Fox waked off the bridge and went back down to the crew quarters, the other members of the group were sitting in the lounge talking. They looked at Fox as he entered the room.
"Well." He said. "Jack's going to be the one doing the ground work, all we have to do is take out some mining drones and tower guns around the miner's compound. The drones are slow and should be easy targets, we can't let them get close though. The tower guns are controlled by a sensor array mounted outside the compound on top of a tower, they are a serious threat until we destroy that array."
"Fox, I'm not really sure I want to do this." Fara said. "I mean, we don't know who any of these people are. Why take sides in a conflict we don't know anything about?"
"Honestly, I don't know." Fox said shaking his head. "If you think this is a bad idea, I'll go tell Jack we don't want to do it. We aren't getting paid to hurt anyone, just hit some targets on the outside of a compound."
"Sounds like easy money to me." Falco said.
"Can't pass that up." Katt replied.
"Fara, if you don't want to go on this mission, you're welcome to stay here." Fox said. Fara looked at him shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm not sure mercenary work is for me." She said. "There's too many questions unanswered."
"This is a unique situation, Fara. It isn't always like this."
"Fox is right." Falco said. "Give it a chance."
"So when do we leave." Fara asked.
"We're on the way there now." Fox told her.