Chapter 5
Mortal Combat With The Arctic Howl
"Slippy, any sign of the Arctic Howl?" Fox said as he eagerly scanned space from the marginal comfort of the Great Fox's old captain's chair on the bridge.
"I'm getting no readings on the radar, but the magnetic storms seem to be affecting our sensors." Before Fox could question Slippy further, ROB's monotone voice spoke up.
"According to the latest meteorological data, it appears that Solar's flares are still active in this region…this magnetic storm will probably last a while."
"Hey Fox, are we just gonna keep cruising around Meteo, wouldn't they already be deeper in the asteroid field by now?" a blue feathered avian complained.
"More than likely Falco, but I don't want to go in yet until I'm absolutely sure they're not on the field's edge." their leader responded.
"What if it's a trap" Slippy whined.
"Of course it's a trap Slippy" Fox said, "They know that if we get killed out here, no one else will come after her. ROB! push the radar to its maximum parameters, Slippy, take us into the Asteriod field, slowly. Falco, be ready with the ships weapons." A spirited "Roger" from his team helped put Fox in a relaxed state of mind, his team was fully behind him. His calm was soon broken by ROB's report.
"Attention! Collected interplanetary material, propulsion systems interference, magnetic storms…horrible conditions."
'Damit' thought the vulpine.
"It doesn't look like radar, ETS or sub-space radar are going to be of much use Fox." Slippy somberly reported.
"So, we'll just have to use our eyes is all. Remember, terrain is the great equalizer, they'll be in the same situation as us. Falco give me an update."
The blue Avian enthusiastically responded, ready for some action,
"The ship's main cannons are charged and ready, all weapons systems are green."
"Good" Fox replied. "ROB, how about warp propulsion systems one and three?"
"All propulsion systems operating normally…the magnetic storm is reducing their thrust by 10%" was the emotionless response. As the Great Fox plowed through Meteo, ROB suddenly sounded off "Attention, missiles closing in from ten o'clock high, count: four."
"That bastard" Fox said, to no one in particular. "Falco, shoot them down, use the laser turret."
With four skillful and precise shots, the Avian swatted away the threat, clearly pleased with his own marksmanship.
"Enemy ship located 5km to our left, it's schematics match the Arctic Howl…they're hailing us" Slippy reported. The time had come, and Fox replied with one word.
"Onscreen!"
As the image of a young Arctic Fox morphed into view, Fox couldn't hold back a growl. It was the same bastard who led them into that ruckus at that club.
"This will be a one-on-one duel, that isn't a problem, is it?" the Arctic Fox asked with a smile.
"Who the hell are you? Where's Krystal?" Fox bluntly replied.
" Flurry Sharana, at your service" the vulpine said with a mock bow.
"My older brother couldn't find the time to deal with second rate pilots like you, so he left this task to me. As for Krystal, don't worry about her, she is being treated like a Queen back at our station. You should be more worried about yourself."
'That pretentious ass' thought Fox
"Now-now, this isn't exactly fair" Fox replied trying his hardest to be diplomatic to pull out more information. "Its pretty obvious you intend to destroy us, but we might have a hard time finding out where Krystal is once you're destroyed."
Flurry couldn't hold back a laugh "You'll find us tougher than those street thugs at the rotunda or smack heads in the club. Why don't you leave now while you still can."
"Not a chance" Fox firmly replied.
"If that's how you feel then I'll give you a guarantee, If by some miracle, you win, I'll tell you exactly where she is." Flurry gave them a wink before terminating the link.
"That guy's smile really pisses me off, let's teach this prick a lesson" Falco yelled. He opened fire with the ship's main cannons but was dismayed to see the Arctic Howl take cover behind one of the many massive asteroids. Compounding his annoyance was the fact that the magnetic storm decreased the lasers effectiveness; the farther out they went, the slower they traveled. As the Arctic Howl drifted back into focus, it fired another salvo of missiles at the Great Fox.
"Ahhh, some more missiles approaching" Slippy nervously said
"At Nine O'Clock High" ROB confirmed.
"Awww that Asshole" Falco angrily yelled, as he blasted the missiles into oblivion.
"This guy has some accurate missiles if they can lock-on through the interference; he's not playing around." Slippy reported to his team.
"Now I get it" Fox said to his team "That's why he wanted us to fight out here. All we have to do is close the distance and they won't stand a chance. Slippy, where's the Arctic Howl now?" their leader anxiously asked.
"I can't find it, It's disappeared from the radar." The toad hastily replied.
"Dammit! ROB, can Falco launch in his Arwing?"
"That would be unadvisable Fox" was the emotionless response "The communication systems aboard the Arwing would not compensate for the adverse conditions outside the ship. The pilot would not be able to communicate with the Great Fox… Hold on, more missiles detected…. at Two O'Clock high."
Slippy rotated the Great Fox allowing Falco a better shot, the toad was surprised by what happened next. "Fox! Four more missiles closing in from starboard aft" the toad reported.
"What the hell! He snuck up behind us already?!" the vulpine growled. The Great Fox managed to take cover behind an asteroid just as the first group of missiles impacted upon its surface. Falco managed to shoot down the remaining missile group approaching from the opposite side.
"Slippy, is there any chance their ship is more maneuverable than the Great Fox?" the agitated vulpine demanded.
"There's no way Fox! I ran the schematics through database on our way over here, it's not even a battle cruiser. It's just an old freighter they stuck some missile pods on. It's statistically impossible that the Great Fox's maneuverability is inferior to a ship of an such an obsolete class." The toad finished, exasperated.
"Tell that to them" Falco angrily retorted. Over the next several minutes the cycle was repeated. The Arctic Howl would fire several missiles, disappear into the debris field, and then attack from a different direction. Fox knew his team was in trouble, if this kept up, they were as good as dead.
"Guys, I got a plan. It's risky, but it's better than just flailing around here. Slippy, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the ship."
"But Fox" the toad protested
"But nothing Slippy! If we keep this up, we're toast, but if we do this, we just might have a chance." Slippy was nervous about leaving the ship, but he trusted his friend "O-Ok Fox"
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4 km away from the Great Fox lay the Arctic Howl, concealed in the shadow of an asteroid. Aboard the vessel, the helmsman Blanche was smiling in satisfaction.
"I'll bet they're pissing their pants right now" the pale lizard said, arousing laughter from his companions.
The captain of the vessel, a young white vulpine, sat slouching in his command chair, more interested in his alcoholic beverage than on the current engagement.
"You're probably right" Flurry lazily responded. Before he could take another sip of the sweet nectar he was interrupted by a hologram of his weapons officer, a mean-looking snow leopard.
"Hey Flurry, are we gonna finish them off yet?" the cat inquired.
"No, I wanna play with them a little longer, how many missiles are left?"
"We have 24% remaining" his weapons officer replied.
The snow fox grinned with satisfaction
"See we have plenty left. Let's sneak behind them again" he grinned in anticipation "…and make sure they don't find out there's another ship."
As the Arctic Howl cruised around the asteroid to line up a shot, a nearby explosion of light suddenly illuminated the pirate vessel.
"SHIT!" the helmsman screamed, causing Flurry to spill his drink. On the asteroid a pudgy green toad in a space suit grinned. He fired round after round of his flaregun at the Arctic Howl, lighting up the area, and clearly marking the vessel. Blanche quickly analyzed the situation, things were about to go hell. "There's some idiot in a space suit on the asteroid, he's using an emergency flare gun."
As Flurry ground his teeth at the news and debated what to do, his weapons officer derailed his train of thought. "Ship incomming, it's the Great Fox!"
The situation had forced Flurry's hand, he would have to commit his secret weapon. "Dammit! Detatch the false hull and deploy the weapon, quick!" Flurry ordered his crew. The Great Fox was closing the distance between the two ships fast, if Falco fired their primary weapon at less than 2km, the Arctic Howl would become part of the debris field.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN STILL WIN," Flurry taunted the incoming vessel as the lower hull plating of the Arctic Howl fell away, revealing its primary weapon. A turret that wouldn't be out of place on Cornerian Battleship, crudely welded to the underside of their hull. "FIRE WHEN READY!"
Both ships opened fire, their lasers meeting and blinding both crews with their blast. When the light cleared, it became apparent that the Great Fox was on a collision course.
"THAT PSYCHO, WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING?!" Flurry screamed on the bridge, his communications officer had the answer.
"They're gonna ram us! They know the hull of their ship is tougher than this old crate...ALL CREW, BRACE FOR IMPACT" Both crews could only watch as the two great ships grew ever closer, the shock of impact threw both Captains out of their seats, Fox landed on his feet, while Flurry on his face.
"Falco, take over" Fox told his friend, before running out the bridge's door.
"Where the hell are you going?" the Avian demanded
"I'm going over there to join them" was Fox's distant reply. Fox ran to D deck, stopping at an airlock at the end of the hallway. As he pressed a few buttons on a nearby key pad the hallway soon extended, busting through the exterior of the Arctic Howl, joining the collied ships. Fox opened the airlock and leapt into the halls of the Arctic Howl, shooting any crew member he saw as he sprinted towards the bridge. When the doors slid open Fox was surprised by what he saw; Flurry was standing there facing him, his arms lightly held in the air.
"You still wanna know where she is…don't cha?" he said with a smirk
"Tell me now, or I'll splatter your brains on the floor." Fox growled, the whirl of his blaster charging making clear his threat.
"So rude, I don't think I'll tell you after all."
Fox growled and fired a shot straight at Flurrys shoulder, intending to wipe that smirk off his face once and for all. He was surprised when the shot dissipated on impact, absorbed in a soft blue glow.
"Kinetic shields, gotta love em" Flurry said as he produced his own weapon. Fox was forced to dive behind a nearby computer console to escape a hail of shots. He fired some more shots blindly over the console, but he knew it was useless. He could hear Flurry stalking towards his position, his boots echoing on the steel floor.
"Still trying that?... I expected better from the famous Fox McClo…" before Flurry could throw any more insults, a knife was thown in his direction, sinking deep into his right bicep. The white fox let out a pained scream and his blaster clattered to the ground.
"Kinetic Shields don't work against solid matter, you little bastard." Fox said, standing up.
Flurry was in trouble, and he knew it. He leapt for his weapon, but Fox beat him to it, kicking it away. Flurry soon found himself pinned on the floor. Fox roughly pulled the knife out of Flurry's bicep before pressing it against his throat.
"I'll only ask you one more time. Where…. Is…. She…?" Fox said, a murdurous expression on his face.
"OK, OK, I'll talk" Flurry fearfully responded, there wasn't a trace of his cockiness left "She's at the outpost, probably with my mom." He stammered out.
"Where!" Fox demanded "Give me one reason why I shouldn't start gutting you now!"
"WAIT, WAIT A MINUTE!" Flurry frantically said, his demeaner now bordering on hysteria. Before Fox could act on his threat, he was interrupted by Falco's image springing from his wrist communicator,
"Fox, we got a problem, there's another one, another Arctic Howl!"
"Huh?" Fox was taken off guard by Falco's report, a distraction that Flurry was eager to exploit. Flurry knocked Fox's arm away and sprinted out the door, clutching his now limp and blood-soaked arm. Fox took a shot at the fleeing vulpine but was once again reminded of Flurry's Kinetic Shields
"Dammit" he yelled in frustration as the white fox disappeared around a corner.
"Get back here now!" Falco's voice rang over Fox's wrist com. Fox ignored the animalistic instinct to pursue his prey and instead ran for his boarding platform. The hallway withdrew from the Arctic Howl's hull and the two ships were separated again. Soon Fox was back aboard the bridge of the Great Fox.
While Fox withdrew, Flurry ran for the ship's escape pod, slamming the door shut as soon as he entered and joining those already there. Ignoring frantic bangs and pleas from the other side of the door, the white fox smashed the launch button, sending the pod careening in the direction of his brother's ship.
"You won't get away!" Fox growled as the Great Fox maneuvered to face the new vessel, Falco powering up the main cannons. However, before they could act, the crippled pirate ship exploded in a ball of flame, blocking their line of sight. Furthermore, a salvo of missiles from the retreating pirate ship impacted several surrounding asteroids, turning their shards into deadly shrapnel, forcing the Great Fox to take evasive action. When the light and dust had settled, the pirate ship had disappeared.
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"Ahhh, it hurts, it HURTS!" Flurry whined as his brother changed the medical wrapping covering the young fox's arm, his tail moving rapidly from side to side. It had been two days since the debacle in Meteo and both were still smarting from their defeat. "When I'm healed I'm gonna, GAHH…" Flurry winced as his brother tightened the knot holding the bandage in place.
"You're gonna what, get stuck again?" Blizzard barked, silencing the younger fox. "We were wrong to toy with them, now the ball is in their court"
At that moment, Lotus walked into their quarters, a scowl on her face. The white foxes had been avoiding her since their return, neither eager to face her wrath.
"How could you fail me?" the livid vixen demanded "Do you have any idea what you've just done? Of magnitude of your disgrace?"
"We'll try again mom" Flurry weakly answered "I just need to…"
Lotus cut him off, sending the young fox's ears and tail drooping "You need NOTHING! You bear the blood of your forefathers and the pride of Cerinia! How could you lose to a creature who possesses neither. An inferior specimen to our noble race!"
"Do you really care about that more than the hole in your son's arm?" Blizzard snapped back at her "He surprised us…that's it!"
Lotus closed her eyes and took a deep breath before responding. Her sons could not comprehend how high the stakes were. Perhaps now was the time to truly educate them. Opening her eyes she endeavored to put the fear of Chel'da into her sons, giving them each a hard look before continuing.
"Come" Her tone indicating an order, not a request.
Respectively annoyed and cowed, both sons soon followed their matron as she led them out of their private quarters and deep into the bowels of the station. Hardly anyone ever came down to the lower levels where clear lighting and metal walls gave way to icy tunnels, the light bulbs dimmed by a perennial layer of frost. Yet now Blizzard was starting to get curious, he recalled how over the past few years his mother had been skimming cargo from certain raids; ordering specific items brought to the lower levels. Other than occasionally protesting at getting a lesser cut of the spoils, Blizzard paid it no mind. Now though…
"We're here" the vixen ominously said, arriving at large metal door, the dim lighting in the tunnel making the steel appear more a portal to hell than a doorway.
As the door slowly groaned open, the foxes were able to see the cavern that lay behind it. As they crossed the threshold Blizzard was amazed at the sheer scale of the room. Yet if he was amazed at the room's scale, he was dumbfounded after taking a closer look at what decorated the interior.
"Huh…a tissue regenerator…and these are…cloning vats?" Blizzard commented, seeing rows of giant glass cylinders extending dozens if not hundreds of yards into the darkness, beyond where the cold light touched. "Why is all this down here? We could have fenced it and made a fortune!"
"Your greed blinds you, my son! The value of what you see cannot be measured in credits, but in its potential. These machines are a door…a door that will take us to paradise."
"A door?" Flurry said, curiosity overcoming his earlier unease.
"Yes, my child, and Krystal is the key."
Lotus walked to a computer terminal, tapping a few keys and activating a monitor above them.
"This technology will allow us to resurrect our race and regain our rightful place in the galaxy."
Every answer Lotus provided only caused further questions to erupt in Blizzard's mind "Why Krystal though? This junk has been down here for years, why wait?"
"I require an infant for the process, one whose blood is pure. Your offspring with Krystal will have enough Cerinian blood in their veins for me to mold. Once their flesh has been purged of inferior genes, the child's DNA shall be the foundation and future of our great people. A phoenix reborn!"
The hair on the back of Blizzard's neck stood straight up, his eyes wide in shock. He knew his mom's mental wellbeing had taken a nosedive since their dad had passed, but this was well beyond the pale.
"…Mom…Cerinia is gone, it's just dust in space. There's nothing to return to."
"Yes, my son" Lotus answered, her calm voice doing nothing to reassure her children's nerves. "Chel'Da has instructed me find a new planet for our people, a land of milk and honey…There is only one candidate in the system that will meet our needs. Corneria."
"Corneria!" the white foxes both gasped
"That's impossible!" Blizzard tried to reason with her "They have millions of soldiers…a fleet of thousands of ships!"
"They have that bastard McCloud." Flurry added "and money to buy a million more mercenaries!"
"Chel'Da will provide" Lotus declared, ignoring their pleas. Looking to Blizzard, she continued her madness "All I require from you my son, is a grandchild with the blue vixen. That child will set everything in motion."
Before Blizzard could respond, alarms sounded through the base, the sound penetrating even 100-feet deep though the ice and snow. Blizzard knew that the klaxons sounding could only mean one thing.
"Intruders!" Flurry stammered nervously looking towards the door.
"… I sense a foreign presence" Lotus said closing her eyes before opening them a few seconds later, a snarl rising in her throat "… He has come!"
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Author's Notes: Well now we see why Lotus was so picky about her son's love life. When I first conceived this story she was only going to be a minor character but I think now she has completely stolen the show.
If you've made it this far we only have one chapter to go. See you at the climax.