Chapter 13
The flames and steam from reentry dissipated, revealing a solid white carpet of storm clouds below. Guiding his Black Rose fighter through the clouds, rain drops spattered against Panther's canopy, hissing from striking the hot metal. Great. They were about to go on another long, wet hike in the Fortunan jungle. Just dandy.
Even though he was annoyed, Panther also smiled. All this time, he wondered who had stolen the case, and also dreamed about strangling them to death. Soon, he wouldn't need to dream anymore. The noose was tightening around Giichi's and Augustine's necks. They'd get the case back, they'd torture Augustine for a while before killing him, they'd deliver the case and Giichi to Sable, and they'd get paid.
Everything will be fine.
The Hyoodin was still hidden away in one of the Retribution's cargo holds. Instead of a dream car, it had turned out to be a nightmare so far considering the illicit way he'd acquired it. No matter. Once they got paid, he would keep it hidden away for a couple more weeks, secretly place his paycheck in Star Wolf's accounts to cover the deficit he'd initially created to buy the car, and then he'd reveal the car to Wolf while saying he'd used this job's payday to get it. And then he could finally enjoy his latest toy as intended.
Everything will be fine, he repeated to himself, the thought soothing his troubled mind.
The comms console beeped at him. A crow's face appeared on the screen. "I've got eyes on their ship. They've just crashed. No one bailed out, so they should still be inside. Transmitting coordinates now."
A waypoint appeared on Panther's radar. The jungle cat grinned, engaging the fighter's afterburners. Two minutes later he arrived at the waypoint, spotting a meadow in the middle of the trees. A long scar of dirt marred the otherwise uniform green carpet of grass. At the far end of the clearing, the orange XTB-1400 rested there, its nose stuck in the brush. A black smoke trail billowed out of the engine, but otherwise the fighter appeared intact.
Panther engaged his fighter's VTOL mode, setting it down close to the crash. The tall grass billowed around him, the blades making billowing waves as he descended. He was already popping open his canopy before the Black Rose powered down, punching the button for his fighter's ladder. The rain soaked him as the cockpit's protective cover opened up, but he didn't care. After unbuckling himself, he put his foot on the ladder's first step and jumped down the rest of the way, sprinting at full speed towards the wrecked XTB-1400. He drew his blaster sidearm as he approached, keeping an eye on the cockpit. But even from here, he could tell it was empty. A sinking feeling washed over him, slowing his steps.
The crow had already landed nearby, and he climbed up the fighter's ladder to peer inside. Once at the top, he reached for the canopy's latch.
"Stop!" Panther cried out. "Don't open it!"
The bird turned around, feathers bristling as he was startled by the warning. While confused by the order, he obeyed and dropped down from the ladder. Even Panther himself didn't get why he'd called out. Nonetheless, he climbed up the XTB's ladder himself. Once he got to the top and looked inside, he understood.
"Damn…" Panther turned back to the crow. "I just saved your life."
The crow's eyes widened. "What?"
"It's booby trapped."
Panther pointed at the canopy's latch, indicating a piece of wire tied to it. The wire led to the pin of a hand grenade wedged inside one of the footwells, only just visible from the outside the canopy. Another explosive trap, like the one in Giichi's room. It was becoming a theme. He jumped down and moved away from the fighter, in case there were any other surprises hidden on it. The crow sat in the grass, trembling from his close brush with death. His knees shook and knocked into each other as he clutched his hands around them. Maybe he was seeing his life flash before his eyes.
Where did Augustine and Giichi go though? Panther scanned the area, but didn't see any obvious clues on where they'd gone. Those two were getting further and further away by the second. If Star Wolf didn't cordon off this area fast, they'd disappear into the jungle and the case would be lost, maybe this time for good. Panther's heart rate rose just from thinking about what little time they had quickly passing by.
The roars of ship engines interrupted his thoughts, Panther looking skyward to see who was coming. Leon's Rainbow Delta landed near the Black Rose, the chameleon disembarking rapidly. Meanwhile, a bigger dropship also touched down. The rear hatch opened before it hit the ground, its occupants jumping out. Wolf rushed over, followed by Ooveh the bear. All of them turned to look at Panther, waiting for his update. His tail drooped, looking at the ground.
"They're gone."
A loud snarl escaped Wolf's lips, his tail thrashing around behind him. "Of course it wouldn't be this easy, would it?" He looked around the clearing, raising his hands and shaking his head in exasperation. "Oh no no no, we can't have that, can we? We need to play freaking hide and seek in the jungle again…"
Panther detected an edge in the lupine's voice, sensing he was a hair trigger away from screaming at all of them. Everyone watched Wolf pace around in silence, keeping their distance. He looked like he'd take a bite out of anyone who dared getting too close to him right now. Panther thought that might end up happening to him if they didn't get that case back, and Wolf discovered the Hyoodin.
Thankfully, Wolf got hold of himself and tapped some buttons on his personal comms device.
"Jamal!" he shouted. "You there?"
The rhino captain's face shimmered into existence above the comms device, his tattered military cap still on his head. "Roger Wolf, I'm here."
"You're going to be our eyes in the sky. Move the Retribution out from behind the moon and put it above us, and get all our other ships over here too. We're going to need thermal and energy scans of the surrounding area. As soon as we figure out which way Augustine and Giichi went, send everything and everyone we've got in that direction. I'm sick of this goddamn jungle, and I want to get this done now."
Wolf paused, as he tried to remember if there was anything else that needed mentioning. A grin came to his face, his pointy whites on full display.
"One last thing… Get Tadao over here."
~X~
Up and down, up and down, up and down. With his eyes shut, this was the only sensation for Giichi to fixate on. He winced with every bounce, holding tight onto Nail's back as the canine sprinted at lightning speed through the jungle, his movements aided by the special bodysuit he wore. Giichi's arms and legs were already sore from hanging on and the repetitive motion, and being wet from all the rain didn't help matters. He needed to keep readjusting his grip to keep from slipping off. And Nail admitted beforehand he was going to 'take it easy'. If this was taking it easy, Giichi dreaded to know what the suit's top speed would be like. Nonetheless, he did not complain. They didn't have the luxury of time right now.
The sand cat opened his eyes once in a while, seeing nothing but the green blur of jungle trees and bushes whipping past. He couldn't leave them open for more than a second or two, as raindrops kept flying straight into them. And every time Nail jumped to clear a gap and crashed back to the ground…oooooh. Giichi's stomach felt like it was jumping in time with the motion, the contents sloshing around inside. Waves of nausea washed over him, as something rose in his throat.
He couldn't take it anymore, giving Nail a frantic pat on the shoulder.
His bodyguard halted on the spot, Giichi lurching forwards so much he thought he was going to fly straight over the canine's head. Without a moment to lose, the sand cat unclipped the carabiner connecting him to Nail's harness, letting himself drop to the ground. He vomited out a great deluge of his last meal all over the place, coughing as he finished. Nail tapped him on the shoulder, holding out a canteen. Giichi took a swig, swirled the water in his mouth, and spat it out. The sand cat nodded his thanks, taking another big gulp.
"How much…" Giichi coughed. "How much further to the rendezvous?"
"We're here."
Giichi looked up from the canteen. A chain link fence rose above him, topped with barbed wire. The fence showed signs of rusting, and vines grew through the metallic hoops. A white sign hung nearby, displaying the CDF's logo along with some blue lettering:
WARNING Restricted Area – It is unlawful to enter this area without permission of the CDF Installation Commander. While on this installation all personnel and property under their control are subject to search. Use of deadly force authorized.
Giichi looked beyond the barrier, eyes widening as he craned his head back. The vertical walls of a canyon rose on either side of them, but they were not the faces of rocky cliffs. Rather, these walls were artificial, constructed of metal and concrete. Cannons bristled along the walls, the vertical space also occupied by giant doors leading into underground garages and hangars, catwalks and watchtowers occupying much of the rest of the facade. On the valley's floor, the ruins of bombed out buildings and wreckage from old war machines lay scattered across the ground. He also noticed a sigil appearing everywhere, displaying a black and white image of a primate's face. That was the face of…Andross, was it? Although it didn't look quite like him. The face was too tall and narrow.
An eerie silence pervaded the place, the only sound coming from the rain and the gurgling of a river flowing through the center of the valley. And while metal and concrete dominated the space, the jungle fought to reclaim what had been taken from it. Vines grew along the walls towering above them, trees and bushes poking upwards through the concrete lining the canyon floor.
Giichi covered his eyes to protect them from the rain, as he looked along the catwalks and the tops of the cliffs. This place looked abandoned, but the sign had gotten him paranoid.
"What is this place?"
"Just some relic from one of Lylat's wars." Nail ran his gloved hand along the ground in front of the fence, searching for something. "It's not important. We won't be here long." Digging into the dirt, he located a place where the chain link was not secured to the ground. Pulling on the loose section created a gap big enough for them to crawl through. Nail waved for Giichi to go under first.
"But what about the sign?" Giichi pointed at it, the fur on his back rising because of its text.
Nail rolled his eyes, annoyed by the question. "Cornerians aren't here anymore. They didn't have the manpower to hold onto this place after the Aparoids invaded. Now, could you hurry please?" He gestured a second time.
Giichi's mind idled on the words 'use of deadly force authorized.' Even so, he knew better than to test Nail's patience. He crawled underneath, getting the front of his red hoodie and jeans covered with mud. Getting dirty didn't bother him though. He couldn't stop looking at the high walls towering over him. This place looked empty, but the openings dotted all over the walls provided ample vantage points. A sniper could be out there, and he'd never know until half of his head was missing.
Nail joined Giichi on the other side, letting the fence fall back into place behind him. Sparing a glance at his escortee, the canine pointed out a nearby open doorway at the base of one of the cliffs.
"Come on. The others are waiting inside. We're going home."
Home… Giichi reflected. When was the last time he'd been to Thaljista anyway? Searching back in his head, he remembered he'd arrived in Lylat for this mission about half a year ago, but a lifetime seemed to have passed since then. He'd forgotten so many things about home by now. The way the dry air tasted. The flavor of the spicy local delicacies. Being amongst friends and family. Despite all of that, war was still ongoing back on Thaljista, as it had been for the past several years. Did he even want to go home? It was telling that he wasn't sure one way or the other.
He gazed at the valley one last time, trying to take in as much of the view as fast as he could. It wasn't the ideal place for his last stop in Lylat, but he was about to say goodbye to this system again. When would he be back again? Would there even be another time? Thaljista's future had been in doubt for many years now, as well as her people's.
"Giichi, we have to go now."
The sand cat's tail jumped at Nail's voice, as he was jolted back to the present. Although the canine didn't shout the order, his calm voice radiated authority, the deepness of it compelling the sand cat to follow. Giichi's ears drooped, turning to follow his bodyguard to the nearby doorway. Even when angry, Nail rarely needed to raise his voice to get those under him to comply. It was a talent he'd spent years mastering in the Azerian military before assuming his position as Giichi's most trusted bodyguard.
If only my voice could be strong like his, maybe other people would take me seriously too…stop calling me a kid.
After a short jog, they walked through the door, their world rapidly becoming pitch black. Despite the darkness, the sand cat was thankful to be out of the rain at least. The pounding of the storm outside soon subsided as they moved further inside. Nail ignited a flashlight, leading them through the corridors. Clouds of dust rose with every footstep they took, the particles dancing in the beam of light. The hallways winded endlessly, maze-like in their structure as they snaked their way underneath the surrounding mountains. Dozens of side rooms and side passages lined the corridors. Every so often they had to make detours around collapsed debris and other obstructions. However, Nail moved with purpose, only taking a couple of seconds to choose which way to go at each junction. Giichi didn't know how much time passed as they walked, although it felt like about ten to fifteen minutes to him.
Just when he was about to ask where they were going, Nail's flashlight beam locked onto a prominent set of doors at the end of the corridor. All the other doors they'd seen so far were metallic and industrial in design, but the two at the end of the hallway were made of wood, complete with brass handles reflecting the light back at them. Dust and soot covered them like everything else in the rest of the base, but they looked more like they belonged in a castle or some other regal structure, what with their ornate detailing. A sign above the doors declared the room behind as the Command Center. Nail twisted the handle, the wooden door opening with a loud creak. Light from within shone in Giichi's face, blinding him for a moment before his eyes could adjust.
When his eyes refocused, he saw the silhouettes of several people standing there, all of them pointing weapons at Nail and him. The sand cat gasped, diving behind his bodyguard.
Nail didn't even acknowledge the guns. "It's Augustine. I've returned with Giichi."
Giichi risked a peek, now that Nail had introduced himself. As his eyes adjusted, he took in the rest of the dark, cavernous room. Rows and rows of consoles and tactical stations faced a massive screen on the far wall, albeit they were all as dark as the room itself. Portable lights created a small a small glowing oasis in the center of the room, the armed group standing there along with boxes and boxes of mysterious equipment.
One of them stepped forward, Nail's flashlight revealing him as a sandy tan caracal, his distinctive tufted ears standing tall and alert. As Giichi peeked out from behind Nail, a smile crossed the caracal's face. The brown cat turned to the rest of his group. "Get back to work. Keep packing."
The others lowered their guns, as they resumed picking up the things in the circle of light and loading them onto nearby hand carts. It was a diverse set of stuff: supply crates, cots, computers, food… Everyone rushed around in their tasks, each cart being quickly pushed out of the room to somewhere else as soon as it was filled. All of them, including the caracal, wore gray combat body suits similar to what Nail was wearing.
This was Sentinel, the special forces unit that Nail belonged to. Trained to handle missions away from Thaljista, they were a diverse bunch, represented by many different species. A couple of other canines were in the room, plus an avian or two, and even some more exotic examples like a platypus. Giichi and the caracal were the only felines here.
"Come on out Giichi." The caracal walked closer, offering him a warm smile. "You shouldn't be hiding back there."
Rolling his ears back, Giichi stepped out from behind Nail, staring at the floor. He remembered this caracal from Sentinel's initial briefing half a year ago, before they left for Lylat. This was Sergeant Shuro Tural, the head of this operation. The caracal extended a hand to Giichi. Hesitating, he accepted the handshake, although it offered him little comfort.
"That's better." Shuro looked down at him, still grinning. "Don't be so nervous! We're about to go home again!" He said it like it was the greatest thing in the universe.
Giichi forced a smile to be polite, but inside he wished the caracal wouldn't be so cheerful about such a thing. It made him feel sick.
"Sir, are we almost ready to leave?" Nail asked.
Shuro turned to him, smirking. "In another hour I guess, private." He mimicked the formality with some amusement.
Giichi remembered Shuro snarking at the final briefing too.
While the teasing eased the mood a bit, Nail's expressionless face remained unchanged. "We encountered some complications on our way here."
Giichi's jaw dropped at such a blasé description. Well, that's one way of putting it.
"Complications?" Shuro raised an eyebrow.
"Sable revealed our identities to Star Wolf, and offered a three million credit bounty on capturing Giichi alive."
"Yep, that's a complication all right." Shuro's eyes widened, his tall ears rigid straight. "If someone like her is getting this involved, then it's really important to the Royalists."
Nail continued, rattling off the details as if discussing something banal like a budget report. "Star Fox arrived in time to be a distraction, per our original plan, but I was left with no choice except to shoot our way out of the Retribution. We stole a fighter, but it was damaged on takeoff, and Wolf identified our ship before we could escape. I managed to crash land in a clearing several miles away from here. Star Wolf is still in pursuit, and they should have found the fighter by now."
"Will they be able to track you here?" The smile disappeared from Shuro's face.
"I don't know." Nail shook his head. "We just ran here as fast as we could."
Shuro went quiet, all traces of his lightheartedness now gone. Giichi didn't like the way his mood changed. If he thought this was bad, it must be really bad. He furrowed his brow, in thought about what to do with all of Star Wolf potentially bearing down on them.
Looking to the others, Shuro shouted, "Everyone!" The others stopped what they were doing, turning to look at him. "Prioritize moving out anything that connects us to Thaljista! Anything with Azerian military markings! Weapons! Computers! Files! Double time it! Go go go!" Shuro clapped his hands together for emphasis. "We leave in half an hour! Get this crap on the ship already! Pass it on to the others!"
A coordinated frenzy took hold of everyone else in the room, as they hurried to complete their tasks twice as fast as before. Boxes worth of gear were slammed onto carts, the porters running them out the door at lightning speed. A gray vixen was shouting and hurling around crates almost half her size without even breaking a sweat, a nearby weasel catching them and placing them on another one of the hand wagons. Giichi watched with amazement, seeing all of Sentinels' training shine through, systematically clearing out the room as if they were of one mind and body.
"Excuse me." Nail left Giichi's side.
He strode towards a stack of long green cases, which a coyote was busy packing away. Nail spoke something to the other canine and took one of the cases for himself, undoing the clamps on it. He extracted an assault rifle similar to the ones the other operatives had. That is, the weapon used bullets as opposed to energy for its projectiles, like Nail's handgun. The weapon was mostly done up in dark green polymer furniture. Or furniture was what Giichi thought the term was, anyway. He was used to thinking of furniture as the things you arranged in a room. Occasionally, Nail taught Giichi some firearm terminology, even though he was too scared to even hold the things most of the time. Just in case he had to use one to defend himself, Nail said. So now if Giichi remembered right, Nail was pulling back the charging handle now to clear it, and sighting the red dot thingy on the far wall. An optic, right? Satisfied with the check, he pulled several banana-shaped magazines out of the case, feeding one into the weapon while putting the spare ones in his harness' pouches. He slammed the case closed, nodding for the coyote to take it away now. Nail slung the rifle around himself, the weapon now prominently displayed across his chest.
A twinge of fear crept along Giichi's back, seeing the weapon. Back on Thaljista he was frequently protected by bodyguards with those things, but he still didn't particularly like the sight of them. Their world was a screwed up place if such precautions were necessary.
Nail strode back over to Giichi and Shuro, the caracal looking confused. "What do you need that for? What about your fancy glove?"
Nail held up his right hand, showing it. "Durability needs work." The silvery metal still appeared melted, sliding downwards wherever gravity had a hold of it. Some of the glove's fingers had stuck together, and he flexed his hand to pull them apart.
"What the…?" Shuro reached over, touching the glove. The soft metal gave way beneath his fingers, leaving a visible imprint where he touched it. "What the hell did you do to this thing?!"
"A bear in power armor tried to slice me in two with a plasma cutter." Nail said it like it was just another day at work. "Used the glove to block it."
"Goodness man!" Shuro winced as he observed the damage. "You know how expensive that glove was to develop, right? We only have a few prototypes!"
"It can be replaced. Giichi can't."
Shuro sighed, turning to look at Giichi. Well, the sand cat hated to toot his own horn, but Nail did have a point. He could not be replaced as far as the Separatist movement went back home.
Shaking his head, the caracal called out to one of the operatives moving boxes around in the middle of the room. "Hey! Canma! Come over here!"
The ashen vixen loading boxes turned to face the three of them. When her eyes caught sight of Nail, a smile crossed her silver muzzle. She strode over, her dark grey ponytail bouncing in the air behind her. Everything on her was covered with a light layer of dust due to the musty conditions. Even so, she grinned as she approached, looking at Nail with emerald eyes that sparkled in the dim light of the room as her bushy tail wagged behind her.
"Ahem, I'm over here." Shuro rolled his eyes.
"What?" She jerked her head towards the caracal, smile dropping away from her face. Her ears turned backwards. "S-sorry. What do you need?"
Shuro pointed towards Nail's glove. "Work your magic, girl." Smirking, he awkwardly pat Nail and Giichi on the back, both of them feeling uncomfortable from the touch. "Good to see you guys here. I got some other stuff to take care of." He walked away, raising a finger as he did so. "Don't get too cozy! We'll be gone before you know it!"
Canma returned her eyes towards Nail, smiling at him before looking at the glove. She gasped, looking at the damage. "Oh my! What happened?"
"Bear with a plasma cutter." Nail repeated, with no change in his voice from the first time he said it.
The vixen's reaction couldn't be any more different. Her jaw dropped, grasping her hands around his arms like she was scared he'd die on the spot if she let him go. "Are you all right?!" Her eyes ran up and down his body, looking for injuries, although obviously he didn't have any major ones considering everything he'd gone through to make it here unassisted. Not seeing anything, she still seemed frightened out of her wits. "I'm glad you're finally off that pirate ship. Star Wolf's comms were going crazy once they figured out who you two were!"
"Your concern is noted, but I'm not important." He brushed aside her hand, the blank expression on his face unchanging. The canine looked at Giichi. "Only he is."
Canma's entire body seemed to deflate at the response, ears, shoulders, and tail drooping as she let out a sigh. "Well, let me fix that glove."
She pulled a syringe out of one of the pouches on her vest, the liquid inside colored silver like the glove itself. Nail held up the glove for her. After sticking the needle into the material, she depressed the plunger. The effect was immediate, with the liquid-like metal hardening back into its intended shape.
"We'll need to get this thing back our labs to fix it properly, but this should keep it from falling apart in the meantime." Canma put away the syringe. "Just don't try transforming it or anything until we make it back home."
"Understood." Nail nodded.
Canma waited for him to say something else, although he kept quiet. Her ears drooped again, disappointed at his silence. "Okay. I guess I'll go back to helping out with the packing." She turned around and left, her bushy tail drooping behind her.
Giichi waited off to the side, uneasy on his feet due to everything that had transpired recently. So much had happened within the span of the past hour or so. How did these guys deal with gunshots and explosions around them all the time? He spotted a black swiveling chair at one of the workstations, and decided to take a seat. Maybe it would help him calm down. The sand cat walked over, needing to jump to get into it with how short he was, and put his hands round the armrests. The others continued packing away. Even though he didn't have to help, Giichi didn't like sitting there without doing anything. He was about to get up and assist when his eyes detected something shiny in his peripheral vision. Turning that way, he inhaled sharply.
It was the case.
The silver case rested on a nearby defunct console, sitting there like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Seeing it with his own eyes, it was hard to believe it was the entire reason behind everything that was happening right now. All the sneaking around, backstabbing, and killing was over what was inside this one little case. Just one thing amongst many being wastefully fought over between the Royalists and Separatists on Thaljista.
"What's wrong?"
Startled, Giichi turned to see Nail standing there, ever watchful as he always was. Nonetheless, the cat's eyes settled back on the case, before he took another look at all the Sentinel operatives around him, carrying away their tasks.
"Was all this really worth it?" Giichi gestured towards the others in the room.
"It was." Nail followed his eyes to the briefcase. "We get that back to Thaljista, and we preserve the status quo."
Giichi's gaze hardened. "I'm tired of the status quo. This is no way for us to live."
"Unfortunately, that's not how it works." Nail observed the others as well. "Wishing things were different isn't going to make it so. All we can do is keep fighting and hope we make a better tomorrow in the process."
"A better tomorrow…" Giichi muttered. He shook his head. As much as he tried to relax, a slow burning anger rose inside him, his hands clenched around the armrests like he was trying to crush them.
Nail put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Seriously? Did he just ask that? Snarling, the sand cat leaped out of his chair, sending it spinning wildly."Do I look like I am?!" He shouted at his bodyguard, Giichi needing to crane his neck backwards to look him in the face. "All those people you killed! The bomb in my room. And you killed everyone in the hangar. I could hear their screams. It's like you were a slasher in a horror film! And Ooveh…you were going to shoot him while he was helpless!"
Giichi glanced off to the side, noticing they'd attracted an audience now. Canma and Shuro watched with strained looks on their faces, while the few people left in the room occasionally glanced their way, trying to catch bits and pieces of the conversation.
"Yes, I didn't kill him because you told me not to, and look what that got us." Nail glared at Giichi, the first visible emotion he'd showed since they arrived here. "We almost died before we even made it out of the docking bay, and now Star Wolf is after us. If you were anyone else, I would have ignored you and killed him. You should have let me do it."
Giichi froze, stunned by the words. He couldn't remember a time in recent memory where Nail argued back that bluntly. The sand cat needed a moment to recover, shaking his head before he went back on the attack.
"Well, you didn't need to use that bomb either! And you almost killed Panther! When I saw him go into my room, I almost had a heart attack!"
"It's unfortunate the bomb didn't get him." Nail kept his voice level, unfazed by Giichi's shouting. "Taking out Star Wolf's number three would have thrown all of them into disarray."
Giichi's jaw dropped. He would dismiss Panther's life so casually?
"Why do you care so much about him anyway?" Nail continued, his voice as steady and level as the surface of a quiet pond. "He's the enemy, always has been."
Someone clearing their throat interrupted him. The sand cat glanced back, seeing Canma standing there and wringing her hands. Something seemed to be on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't spit it out. Shuro waited next to her, just observing the conversation.
Giichi ignored her, turning back to Nail with clenched teeth. "Every time I meet another Thaljistani cat, I always have to think about what they're hiding from me. How they're planning to use me…" He tapped his chest. "…to get something for themselves. Panther's from Lylat. He's not like us. He just wanted to be friends, no conditions attached. He trusted me." Sniffling, he rubbed his hands over his face. "And look what I did. I've turned into what I hate."
"You knew this was coming, Giichi." Nail said. "That's why I warned you to not make friends with anyone in Star Wolf. You're not used to this game like I am."
Game. Giichi found the word sickening. And Nail was talking about those he'd fought and killed as if they were merely pieces on a chess board, just pawns to flick off the playing field once they'd been eliminated.
Like our original plan.
The sand cat remembered the sinking feeling when Harry and Franco sent their first communication from Corneria's main base, after they'd stolen the case with Wolf. After sending the first message, they were supposed to kill him with poison while en route to Fortuna. Upon their arrival, they would send another message to Nail and Giichi confirming he was dead. It was unfair to kill Wolf since the lupine had no idea what he was mixing himself up in with this case business. Even if they needed to keep the case out of Sable's hands, the sand cat almost didn't want to receive the message about him dying at all.
He'd gotten his wish, considering when the shuttle arrived Wolf was still alive with Harry and Franco dead. Even though Giichi didn't know them well, he hated they had died for the sake of a stupid war that shouldn't have begun in the first place.
"Umm…guys?" Canma said off to the side, although she was so quiet Giichi almost didn't hear her.
"This is the first time you've come out in the field with me." Nail ignored her, Giichi feeling like his golden eyes were boring straight through him. "No one made you do this. There are lots of other people I could have taken aboard the Retribution instead of you. I did warn you about the risks, didn't I? What you might see, what might happen to you."
"Guys?" Canma repeated, a twinge more desperate this time.
"That's exactly why I wanted to be here!" Giichi's fists balled up, refusing to back down. His striped tail thrashed around behind him. "I'm tired of being nice and safe, while so many other people suffer and die because of me!"
"Would you listen to me already?!" the vixen shrieked.
Giichi jumped at the outburst, his tail puffing out from the surprise. Even Nail looked stunned at the interruption, both he and Shuro turning to look at her.
"What is it, Canma?" Shuro asked her.
While she was shouting before, the vixen had gone quiet again, looking unsure of herself now that she had the floor. She looked at her feet, her hands folded together as she struggled to make herself speak. Her gaze vacantly wandered the room, afraid to lock eyes with any of them even though she'd fought so hard to get their attention. A few times she opened her mouth, but stopped like she wasn't sure about what to say. Why was she acting this way? Why was she so afraid all of a sudden? Giichi got nervous just watching the look on her face. What did she know that the rest of them didn't?
"What's wrong?" Nail asked bluntly, throwing out the question on all of their minds.
Canma locked eyes with him, the two staring at each other. The serene, unemotional look on his face appeared to calm her, the vixen's entire body relaxing.
"Tell us." He nodded. "We're your comrades. Say whatever you want."
A surprisingly soothing set of words coming from him, Giichi reflected, in awe of how they appeared to suck the tension out of the air.
Instead of hunched over and looking at the floor, Canma stood straight, not averting her eyes anymore. Although Giichi couldn't help but notice the hint of fear about her, the way her body seemed slightly wound up, as if she were getting ready to run or fight.
"Can you feel that?" she asked, looking at each of them.
Shuro narrowed his eyes, looking around the room. "What?"
Giichi looked around as well. Was there something he was supposed to see? There wasn't anything here aside from the rest of Sentinel packing all their gear. The fur on the back of his neck prickled up. What was around here he wasn't noticing? It frightened him not knowing. Was there something dangerous in the room with them?
"The vibration." She spoke softly.
Vibration? Now that she mentioned it, a slight rumbling sensation was coming through from the floor now, the sand cat detecting it through his feet. What the hell was it? An earthquake? Even the other operatives in the room had stopped, looking around as they tried to figure out why the floor was moving under their feet. A droning noise echoed around them, quiet at first but growing to a dull roar within the space of a minute. Monitors hanging from the ceiling creaked on their supports, their internal circuit boards rattling within them. And this room was deep underground. What was causing enough noise and vibration to make it all the way down here?
Canma gave them the answer. "Star Wolf. They found us."
~X~
Tadao led the way for Wolf's small group, following the trail of footsteps and hacked brush Augustine had left in his wake. The lizard's energy knew no bounds, effortless in the way he leaped over fallen logs, scaled over rocks, and crashed right through the foliage. Wolf and the others struggled to match his pace, but knowing their target was mere minutes ahead gave them all a renewed sense of energy, all of them anticipating the end of the hunt was near. Sweat ran in rivulets across Wolf's body, between the heat, the humidity, and the energy he was putting out, but he didn't notice at all. There'd be plenty of time to rest when this was all over anyway.
Ships roared over their heads, going the same direction they were. While fighters patrolled the skies, their atmosphere-capable frigates held position some distance ahead of them. A few minutes ago, Jamal had informed Wolf he'd spotted a huge structure on the Retribution's scope, saying it looked like some sort of abandoned base. The lupine didn't know whose base it was originally and didn't really care. There wasn't a doubt in his mind this was where those two had taken refuge after abandoning the fighter.
Smashing through the last set of bushes, they emerged out into a clearing, finally seeing the base with their own eyes. It was an impressive sight, with those huge metallic walls towering over their heads. A chain link fence barred their path, blocking access into the base proper. "Ooveh, if you please?" Wolf smiled at his burly companion.
"Ja." The bear nodded, pulling several grenades out of pouches on his vest, pulling the pins out with his mighty teeth and hurling the explosives at the obstruction. The explosions ripped right through the flimsy fence, leaving a smoking crater and a giant hole where they'd gone off. They ran through, the ground beneath changing from mud into concrete as they moved into the base proper. Remnants from a prior battle were strewn about, debris from destroyed buildings and vehicles alike scattered everywhere they looked.
The light frigates hovered above them, blocking out much of the sky. He winced at the loud noise of their engines, the sound blocking out most other noises. Dropships descended downwards, landing on the valley's floor and deploying their occupants. Wolf's merry band of pirates, mercenaries and thugs quickly filled the space.
As Wolf gazed around, a sense of nostalgia came over him. He recognized some of the designs of the vehicles, like the tanks, the jeeps, and whatnot. The architecture had a distinctly familiar vibe to it as well. Why was that? He jogged over to a nearby destroyed tank, covered with moss and overgrowth. Brushing it aside, he recognized the logo: it was an ape's face, although it wasn't Andross. It was another ape he knew…Andrew Oikonnoy.
"You know this place?" Tadao was suddenly on Wolf's left, his face hovering just an inch away from his muzzle.
Startled, Wolf jumped back a step, his hand going for his blaster by instinct. Holy shit, it was like Tadao just teleported there! The lizard didn't seem to notice where the lupine's hand was, just vacantly grinning away like he always did. He sighed, taking his hand off of the gun.
"Andrew's old base," Wolf spoke up, louder than usual as he tried to be heard over the roar of the frigates. "He's dead now."
Right before the Aparoid Invasion started, Andrew led a short-lived rebellion, on a stupid quest to revive Venom and Andross' dream. As a result, he made it a point to emulate everything about his uncle, right down to what his bases looked like and the technology he used. No wonder this place seemed familiar. However, Wolf knew Star Fox had ripped through Andrew's army like wet tissue paper, but he didn't expect anything else. Andrew was no genius warrior or tactician, and Wolf only let him onto the team during the Lylat Wars because Andross told him to. When he heard about Andrew's death to the Aparoids, he remembered smiling and saying 'good riddance.'
"What an unfortunate loss…" Tadao's smile melted away at the news, as he surveyed the destruction. "I wish I could have been here to help. If only I knew Venom had a new base on this planet, I could have rejoined the fight! I missed it all!" He punched a fist into his open palm, glaring at his surroundings.
Wolf rolled his eye. If the lizard had been here, there was a good chance he'd be dead already. Although thinking about it, Tadao probably wouldn't mind dying in battle, and maybe even welcome it. Back in the Lylat Wars days, Andross whipped his soldiers into a frenzy with his speeches, making them believe eternal glory and immortality awaited anyone who died in Venom's service. No doubt Tadao was still drunk on that propaganda.
Whatever, it wasn't important now. They had work to do. Wolf changed his comms back over to the Retribution. "Jamal, are you detecting anything unusual within the base?"
"The ambient heat of the jungle is making it difficult to detect specific heat sources," The rhino replied. "Not to mention if they're deep underground that makes it doubly hard to pick them apart from the ambient heat. However…"
"Yes?" Wolf's eyebrows raised in anticipation.
"There is a slightly abnormal heat level in the underground corridors to your east, on the upper levels. It might just be a large concentration of wildlife, but I would begin the search there."
Wolf looked towards the east, spotting a ground level doorway built into the metallic cliff before them. The door was slightly ajar, and it was in the same direction they'd been following the footprints until now. Not to mention it was the closest doorway to their position, and they'd been sticking with Augustine's trail until now. He narrowed his eye, turning to their guide.
"Tadao, do you still have their trail?"
The lizard examined something on the ground, looking at patches of mud in the midst of the sprawling concrete and metal space. "It's harder to follow their steps in a place like this. Most people don't leave their footprints on metal or concrete after all." He knelt, tracing his leathery fingers along a depression in the dirt. He smiled, nodding approvingly, before looking up at Wolf. "But I think we're still on the right trail. I see two sets of prints now instead of one, and the prints are getting closer together in strides. Augustine isn't running with Giichi on his back anymore. They're getting close to their destination, since it would slow them down to let the cat walk on his own."
They were settling down somewhere? Wolf liked the sound of that. It would make them easier to capture if they were stopping to rest or regroup. But Wolf's group would need to be more careful, as they were getting closer. The lupine reached for his radio again.
"Jamal…" Wolf spoke into his comms. "Have the fighters and frigates hold above our position. Let us know if anyone attempts to leave the base. And send some dropships to the upper docking bays on the eastern side of the valley. We'll come at them from both above and below."
"Roger Wolf, dispatching now."
Wolf cut his comms, turning to Panther, Leon, Tadao, and Ooveh. "All of you are with me. Tadao, lead the way."
Tadao bowed, running for the door as though he was a hunting dog being told to track a scent. The group followed after him with rapid speed. They filed inside through the open door, grateful to be out of the rain at last. Wolf shook his head, sending raindrops splattering as his fur went askew. Leon and Panther winced in annoyance as the droplets struck them. Meanwhile, Tadao scanned the floor with a flashlight, looking at something with great interest.
Wolf took that as a good sign, moving to crouch next to the iguana. "What do you see?"
"This place has been abandoned for a while, so there is a layer of dust and soot over everything…except where they've been stepping." He indicated the outlines of Augustine's boots and Giichi's sneakers on the floor. "They came this way."
Wolf gave a toothy smile, signaling his approval. "Good. Let's keep going."
Tadao nodded, as they began their descent into the cavernous base, everyone switching on their flashlights when they moved into the darkness. This must be where the case was hidden, right? Why else would they come here? Or that's what Wolf was praying anyway. He hoped they weren't wrong and this wasn't just a wild goose chase.
They trooped through the empty, dark corridors, the only sounds coming from their boots on the concrete floors. This place looked like it was from some type of horror film, between the sinister architecture, the sigils of Andrew on the walls, and the lack of power and general disrepair of the hallways. Wolf had this feeling of descending into a vast underground labyrinth, like some kind of ancient temple from the times of myth and legend. Would they even be able to find their way back out if they were able to locate Augustine and Giichi?
As they moved deeper into the maze, more sets of footprints appeared next to Augustine's and Giichi's. "Other people came this way…" Tadao whispered. "These must be the people who took the case when it first landed on Fortuna."
The rest of Augustine's and Giichi's group was here too? "How many sets?"
"Not a lot…" Tadao kept his eyes to the ground. "A dozen at most I'd say. But we must be cautious. They could be waiting for us."
Everyone held their weapons a little bit closer upon those words, thumbing off their safeties. Or in Tadao's case, leaving one hand on the handle of his machete. The footprints continued to grow more numerous, more frequent, showing their progress. They should be close to the hideout now. And then they saw it. At the far end of the hallway were two double doors marked 'Command Center', a strip of light visible underneath them. That had to be the place. Tadao put a finger to his lips, extinguishing his flashlight and putting it away.
As a group, they crept towards the underlit door, making their footsteps as soft as possible. Tadao pulled his machete out of its scabbard, only the soft sound of the metal on the leather as he brought it to the ready. Panther and Leon held their blasters up, ready to fire at any time. Ooveh kept his larger gun fixed on the twin doors, just waiting for someone to burst out through them. The tension was electric, each member of the group ready to snap into action at a split second's notice.
At last, they reached the double doors. Leon passed a flashbang to Wolf, before assuming his position at one of the door handles. Panther took the other one. With everyone in position, Wolf indicated towards Leon, using hand signals to explain the plan. Leon would open the door, Wolf would hurl in the flashbang, and they would charge inside. Wolf held up three fingers, counting them down. At zero, Leon cracked open his door, the lupine simultaneously tossing his grenade through the opening. With a loud pop and bang, the flashbang went off, bright flashes of light blasting even through the cracks in the door. The doors were hurled open, the five of them charging inside the room as one, weapons up and ready to fire.
But no one was here.
Portable lights lit a space in the center of the room, with some boxes and random trash scattered about, but whoever was here seemed to have already left. A mess of desks, computers, and chairs covered most of the room, all of them switched off from the lack of power. Wolf gestured with his fingers, pointing at each member of his group to fan out and check for anyone hiding. They moved through the room in a line, making sure to inspect each row of workstations before moving onto the next one. The search turned up empty.
"They're gone…" Wolf snarled.
He waved for the others to regroup in the center, near the lights.
"Well… Now what?" the lupine asked.
Tadao cleared his throat. "There are more tracks leading out of the room." He pointed at the floor, showing more footprints in the dust. Curiously there were also long, straight lines going back and forth. "Whatever they've had, they've wheeled it away. We just need to keep following this, and we'll catch them eventually."
Wolf sighed. This was such a long goddamn day. He just wanted to get this done already. Nonetheless he psyched himself up, getting ready for the next stage of their hunt. "Okay, let's move—"
A beeping noise interrupted his words, coming from one of the computer workstations behind him. The group turned around, noticing one of the formerly dark monitors had switched itself on. It showed a regular desktop, nothing out of the ordinary. Wolf stepped closer, taking a look at it. A window popped open, computer code scrolling past at a rapid pace, far too fast for him to read. Before he could figure out what it meant, the window vanished, leaving the desktop blank again. What was that?
He got his answer not too long after. Another window appeared, this one much easier to understand: "Level 5 Weapon Systems Activated."
Alarms blared in their ears. Hatches opened in the ceiling, laser sentry guns popping out of them and taking aim. Then the dark room wasn't so dark anymore, as they opened fire.
~X~
A/N: I've got mixed feelings about how this chapter turned out. Originally, the whole thing was from Star Wolf's perspective, but it was mostly them following Tadao following the tracks, and it was boring and repetitive to read. You can see hints of this in the chapter's bookend scenes, which are both from Star Wolf's perspective. So in the middle, I decided to spend some time giving Giichi and Augustine focus, plus their larger organization. That was much more fun to write, although it definitely went on much longer than I originally planned. I was hoping to include the final action scene of Act 1 in this chapter, but then this part went on longer than I planned and I've decided to do a split. Hope you guys don't mind waiting until the next chapter for that.