FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox or Command and Conquer. Nintendo and EA do, respectively.

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Chapter Three: Infection

"Ghost. Ghost, please wake up. Ghost. Ghost!" a voice said. Johnson slightly awoke, feeling extremely drowsy.

"He's coming around," a different voice said. Johnson heard something and felt intense pain come from his right leg.

"That ankle looks bad. Somebody get a cart in here..." a voice said before Johnson passedt out from the pain again.

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Johnson woke up with a groan. He forced his eyes open, before he groaned again in pain from the light and shut them. He waited a minute and then tried again. This time the light didn't kill his eyes, although he couldn't see a thing. Everything was too blurry to see. He heard, what could have been, a heart monitor beeping. As his vision cleared, Johnson looked around and saw a saline IV stuck into his arm and noticed that he was wearing a hospital gown. He sat up too quickly and lights flashed before his eyes and he felt lightheaded. He shook his head and reached over and pulled the IV out of his arm. He then shut the heart monitor off and disconnected himself from the machine. He then tossed the blanket off and looked at his ankle. It wasn't in a cast or anything so he, oh so carefully, tapped it. He didn't feel anything so he carefully slid his leg off the bed and onto the floor. He waited for around a minute before he concluded that his ankle was good enough to walk on. Johnson then stood up, keeping most of his weight on his left leg, and looked around. He found his armor lying on the floor next to a chair. He also found a door to, what he assumed was, a bathroom. He walked over, grabbed his armor, and walked into the bathroom. He then disrobed and started putting on his armor. When he was working on getting his chest armor on he heard the door to the hospital room he just vacated.

"Hey, Doctor. Are you sure this is where Ghost was placed? He isn't here..." a female voice said.

"What?" another voice said. Johnson stopped putting on his armor, and carefully put his ear to the door. "He's gone!" he heard the same voice exclaim, "Nurse, let security know that Ghost is missing. Tell them to bring him here unharmed!" Johnson chuckled and decided that the 'joke' had gone on long enough.

He knocked on the door twice and announced, "I'm in here, getting dressed." Johnson tried hard not to burst out laughing as he finished putting his armor on. He decided to leave his helmet off and opened the door. When he opened the door, he saw both Krystal and a German Sheppard dressed in a doctor's uniform. The look on their faces was the last straw and Johnson broke out in laughter.

"There is... a reason... I'm called... 'Ghost,'" Johnson said between bouts of laughter.

"Yeah, very funny. Now, I have a question. Why do you hate mercenaries so much?" Krystal asked.

"The reason is that you fight for whoever will pay you the most. Not for whatever reason the person who hires you fights for. I do my job, not for the money as I don't get paid enough to do even a quarter of what I do, but because I firmly believe in why I am fighting. I fight so that my planet can live free of Tiberium, free of NOD's tyranny, and just live free. I am willing to die for that cause, but mercenaries... they die just for the money. Also, they have no honor. It doesn't matter what they get paid to do, whether that be fight a group of terrorists or slaughter children because they live in the wrong place. It's all about the money," Johnson said as he looked right at Krystal.

"We are not like that at all," Krystal said.

"Tell that to the citizens that used to live in the Y-6 Zone when NOD hired a bunch of Mercs to slaughter them. My unit had to slog through that fight and a quarter of our unit was killed due to them and regular NOD forces. NOD wants to destroy our world and yet the Mercs still fought on their side. Why is that? It's because NOD has a lot of high interest bank accounts," Johnson said. Krystal opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Johnson looked at her one more time before he looked at the Doctor. "Hey, doc. Where is the rest of my equipment? I need my rifle back, ASAP," Johnson said.

"We have your weapons stored downstairs in the lobby. I must say, we found a very interesting crystal in your possession. Where did you get it?" the Doctor asked.

"Picked it up on my last op. What can you tell me about it?" Johnson asked.

"Its crystalline structure is amazing. I have never seen anything like it. However I can tell you that it seems to be just a small piece of a larger one. Most of the test we could run without your permission came back as inconclusive," the doctor explained.

"Run whatever test you want, just don't damage it. The Invaders, an alien race that has just recently invaded my world, want it for some reason. Even when I picked it up they didn't fire on me, so they want it bad. My superiors want to know why," Johnson said, "However I'd like to be present for that. I have my orders to follow."

"Ok, we'll run more through tests and see what we can find," the Doctor replied, "Now, I'm sorry to say but we are going to need payment. I'm sure you don't have any lylatian credits so..."

"I don't even have any GDI credits on me anyway, however I can provide you with a payment voucher that will be honored by the GDI Treasury department," Johnson said.

"Star Fox would be willing to pay for the treatment," Krystal interjected before the doctor could respond to Johnson's suggestion.

"No, I don't need your help, merc," Johnson said as he shot Krystal a glare.

"If that's the case, the Cornerian government will pay Mister Ghost's bill," a voice over by the door out of the room said. Johnson looked over and saw a gray wolf standing in the corner, "Name's Sergeant Major Jack Westridge, Cornerian Special Forces. I'm assuming that Ghost is a call sign of some sort?"

"That's correct. My rank is Master Sergeant. I'm a GDI Commando," Johnson said, "Give your superiors the GDI's thanks, Sergeant Major. Now if you all don't mind, I have to figure out a way to get back and finish fighting a war. I'm already deep enough in it as it is."

"Actually, my job is to figure out why you are here. If you are here by accident then to help you out in any way I can, either by helping you get settled here or by helping you get back to wherever you came from. I'm guessing you want to get back?" Jack said.

"Yeah, although the GDI could use all of the help it can against these Invaders. I don't have the authority to do so, but on the field I can tell you things are not looking good, so I would like to bring forth an offer of an alliance between GDI and the Cornerian government," Johnson said as he started walking towards the door.

"I'll let my superiors now, see what they say. Now wh-" Jack said before he suddenly stopped, "Krystal, there is a situation that I was just informed of. Seems some of Andross' lackeys have shown up for a fight, both in space and on the ground. The General is wondering if you'd like to help out."

"Sure, we'll take care of them," Krystal said as she tapped a button on a machine attached to her arm, "Fox, Peppy wants us for a mission. The Remnant are back and looking for a fight."

"If you need some backup, I'll be glad to lend a hand. I could use a little warm up," Johnson said with a smirk, "Sorry Doc, looks like those tests are going to have to wait. I need the crystal back."

"Ok, here. I thought you might ask for it back so," the Doctor said as he handed the crystal back to Johnson. Johnson put it in the pouch that he had it in originally.

"Sure. Krystal, why don't you guys handle the fight in space. We'll handle the fight on the ground," Jack said.

"Ok, good luck boys," Krystal said as she ran out the door to meet her team.

"I still don't trust them," Johnson said as he walked out of the room placing his helmet on his head and securing it to the armor.

"Relax, they are heroes. They've saved Lylat so many times that you can trust them with your first born. Just to let you know, I received a call from a squad of Cornerian Marines that are pinned down. They are the group we need to rally with," Jack said as he followed Johnson out. Johnson ran down the stairs and got to the Lobby. He grabbed his weapons from behind the counter and ran out the door. Jack followed, but wasn't able to keep up with Johnson.

"Hey, Ghost. Wait up! Some of us are not speed demons like you!" Jack yelled after Johnson. Johnson stopped and laughed as Jack ran to catch up.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you that my armor also enhances things like my strength and speed. Without this armor, I'd probably be as fast as you. The increases are minor, but ever bit counts on the battlefield this was designed for," Johnson said as he forced himself to stop laughing.

"Anything else you forgot to tell me?" Jack asked sarcastically as they both started to run down the streets to rally with allied forces.

"Other than I have some of the most advanced armor available, and that some of it is even still in the experimental phase, nope. This actually would be a good time to see how versatile this armor is. Now double time, we have a fight to win," Johnson said as he picked up his speed. They both slid around a corner and immediately came under fire. They both dove for what cover they could reach. Jack got behind a nearby bench and Johnson dove into an alley between two buildings. Johnson leaned out and took in the situation. There was a squad of Cornerian Marines pinned down under what seemed like HMG (A/N: Heavy Machine Gun) fire, but instead of large caliber bullets it looked like plasma. If any of those Marines even raised their head an inch, it would be removed completely. Beyond them were three HMGs being manned by two apes each, and there were three apes there firing their rifles at the Marines as well. 'I wonder if everything is plasma based here,' Johnson thought as he shouldered his rifle and fired a quick burst at one of the MG teams. He dropped the Ape with all three rounds in the head. The Ape's head snapped back and the body lifted up a bit before it fell back to the ground.

"Good shots, Ghost!" Jack yelled as he shouldered his rifle and let loose. Johnson then fired three more bursts from his weapon before he ducked back into cover. He looked up and saw the top of the building. A plan formed in his mind.

"Jack, I'm going to get on top of this building and rain some fire down from there. Think you can handle getting those Marines out of that cover," Johnson said as he stepped back and readied his equipment for the jump.

"Yeah, I can. I don't think they can last long enough even if you ran up the steps though, Johnson," Jack replied.

"Who said anything about running?" Johnson said with a smirk. He activated his jump-pack and flew up to the top of the three story building. He landed on the roof and went prone as one of the MG teams turned their gun loose on him. Johnson crawled along the roof of the building towards what looked like an air vent. He took cover behind it, and the vent was sprayed with plasma. Johnson then peeked out to the left and fire a single three round burst before being driven back into cover. He peeked out again to the left but dove out to the right. He fired his rifle as fast as he could as he tried dutifully to eliminate at least that one MG. As Johnson rolled after the jump and landed on his feet, he noticed that the MG team that was firing at he was down. He then shifted his fire to the other MG teams. The Ape riflemen had been eliminated by Jack's accurate rifle fire, the pinned Marines had started to peek out, and blind fired at the enemy MG teams. Johnson moved out of cover and fired three accurate bursts. He took out the remaining enemy soldiers. Johnson then looked over at the Marines that had fanned out to make sure they couldn't be pinned like that again. There were three that were on the ground and didn't seem to be moving. 'Must be KIA,' Johnson thought as he activated his jump-pack again and landed next to one of the Marines, a red fox that stood at about six feet even, and Jack.

"Well, that went well... How many casualties did you devil dogs take?" Johnson asked.

"Devil dogs?" the Marine asked.

Johnson laughed, "Oh, haha, I'm sorry. Where I'm from the Marines had earned the nickname Telefelhund, which translates as Devil Dogs, during a war known as World War One. I can't remember the exact numbers, but the Marines that fought there had lost somewhere around half their strength against an enemy four times their size and still won the battle. Every time a Marine fell, the Marines fought all the more fiercely. The enemy soldiers also feared a marine and his rifle as they could hit targets further then the enemy thought possible."

"Oh, interesting. I would like to hear more about that later," the Marine said, "We lost three Marines. However we don't have time to talk, we need to push these Apes back. Sergeant Major, what's our game plan?"

"Let's regroup and find out how much ammo we have before we do anything," Jack said.

"Right, beginning an ACE phase," Johnson said while he smirked under his helmet, "I'm good on everything; although, I'd like to take a look at one of those MGs and see if we can bring it with us. An HMG could get us out of a jam if things start going south."

"ACE phase?" the Marine asked.

"Ammunition, Casualty and Equipment phase. It's basically when we check over everything. Make sure we have a good amount of ammunition, treat any injuries we have, and check out our equipment," Johnson explained, "Trust me when I say that the GDI has an acronym for EVERYTHING."

"Well, I have seven fully charged batteries with me, and one at about a quarter charge. Other than that I'm A-ok," Jack said.

"My Marines are good on ammo as well. Besides the three Marines KIA, we have no other injuries. As for equipment we are good on that as well," the Marine said.

"Good. By the way, what's your name, Marine?" Johnson asked.

"Sergeant Tom Stevenson, Cornerian Marine Corp," the Marine said.

"Master Sergeant 'Ghost,' GDI Commando," Johnson said.

"Is there a name to go with that?" Tom asked.

"No," Johnson said.

"Even I don't know his name, so don't sweat it," Jack said as device on his wrist beeped, "Sergeant Major Westridge."

"Sergeant Major, the Remnant is pushing from the East. Star Fox has tipped the battle in orbit in our favor, so the Remnant ground forces are pushing as hard as they can. Star Fox will join you on the field once the battle in orbit is finished," a voice said from the device.

"Understood, where are they entering sir?"Jack asked.

"Fortuna Avenue. You are the closest unit and the only ones who are available to move without having to disengage an enemy contact. Good luck Sergeant Major," the voice replied.

"We won't let you down sir," Jack replied.

"EVA, get that frequency and label it as a direct command line," Johnson said.

"Acquiring...Analyzing...Storing...Complete," EVA said.

"What was that?" Tom asked.

"My Electronic Video Agent, known as EVA. Basically, an AI that comes with the armor," Johnson said, "Who was that

any way?"

"General Peppy Hare, leader of all Cornerian military forces," Jack said.

"Ah, well we better get moving towards Fortuna Avenue. Something tells me we don't have much time," Johnson said.

"Alright Marines, let's move! Double time to Fortuna Avenue. Be careful, we don't know if there are any hostiles along the route," Tom yelled. The Marines moved from their cover into the street heading to the left. Jack and Johnson both followed closely. They ran down four city blocks before Johnson saw a street sign that said 'Fortuna Avenue.' Johnson checked his weapons and did a quick diagnostic on his armor. Everything came back green. 'Alright, everything is good to go. Time to earn some hazard pay,' Johnson thought. The Marines split into two teams, one with four the other with five. Johnson joined the one with four and Jack joined the one with five.

"Alright, Alpha team will set up here. Bravo, move over to that section there," Jack said as he pointed over to a concrete planter, "and set up there. Open fire only on my command unless they fire first."

Johnson's team started to move over to the planter when Johnson activated his jump-pack. He soared over the Marines and landed right behind the planter. He pressed his back against it and waited for the Marines to get there. The Marines looked at Johnson with a look of curiosity, especially focusing on the jump-pack.

"What took you so long?" Johnson joked. The Marines took cover behind the planter. Johnson spun into a crouch and leaned up to look over the concrete cover he and the Marines were using. He saw what looked sort of like a GDI Predator tank coming towards them as well as several Ape infantrymen.

"Unidentified armor sighted, plus change. Heading our way," Johnson said over the squad's radio.

"I see 'em. I wonder how the Remnant got a Landmaster," Jack said.

"How thick is the armor on top?" Johnson asked as a plan formed in his mind about how to take care of that tank.

"Medium, why?" Jack asked.

"I have an idea that just might work, but I'll need some covering fire," Johnson replied.

"What is it?" Tom asked.

"I use my jump-pack to get on top of that tank and either hijack it or plant a demo charge on it and blow it sky high. Either way, I'll need the infantry suppressed. Think you and the Marines can handle that?" Johnson said as he slung his rifle and prepped a Demo pack.

"Like an order of fries with that?" Jack asked. Johnson chuckled softly.

"Just make sure that on my burger that you hold the mayo. I hate mayo," Johnson replied. Jack gave a quick bark of laughter, along with a few Marines, before they focused back on the opposition.

"Alright, here we go. Get ready," Jack said as the enemy forces reached a distance of seventy five yards.

"I'll take out the tank first. Everyone, provide suppressive fire for my jump," Johnson said while he mentally recited the Soldier's Prayer. The tank got within fifty yards, and slowly moved forward along with its infantry support. Johnson gripped the Demo pack as the Marines tightened their grip on their weapons. 'One sign on tension that transcends races,' Johnson's mind said as his training quickly dismissed the thought. The enemy forces closed to forty yards.

"Easy boys, easy," Tom whispered over the radio. The tank rolled to thirty five yards. The Marines stayed down and pressed into their cover. Johnson clenched his left hand as the tension mounted. The enemy tank reached the thirty yard mark. 'Once more on to the widowing field I go,' Johnson thought, 'Twenty eight yards, almost ready to strike.' The enemy forces continued on, unaware of the ambush they were walking right into.

"Hit 'em Marines!" yelled Jack as he and all of the Marines open fire all at once. Johnson activated his jump-pack and flew through the air. Several Apes dropped in the opening salvo. The remaining enemy infantry dove for cover as the Tanks turret turned to face the Marines. Johnson few over all of the enemy without being spotted and landed on top of the tank's left tread.

"Got a little present for ya!" Johnson yelled as he placed the Demo charge onto the tank. He quickly activated the charge and dove off the tank. Just as he landed on the ground, the demo charge blew. The Tank's power plant took serious damage and also exploded, leaving a crater in the middle of the road as a testimony to the Tanks existence and subsequent elimination. Shrapnel from the tank flew outwards, and cut down several of the enemy soldiers, wounded several others and knocked those that remained off their feet. Several of the Marines also were knocked off their feet by the blast. Johnson looked up and saw three Apes pushing themselves back to their feet. They also noticed him and snapped their rifles up. Johnson, who was on his knees at the time, threw himself at the enemies. He bowled over them and drew his knife. He quickly stabbed it into the closest one, as the other two Apes tried to bring their weapons to bear. Johnson left his knife imbedded into the Ape he stabbed, and quickly grabbed the second Apes gun and aimed it away from him. The weapon discharged as Johnson drove his fist into the Ape's face. The Ape's head snapped back, but not before its nose made a sickening cracking noise. Johnson then dove right as three rounds from the third Ape's weapon cut through the space he had just occupied a moment before. Johnson yanked out a back-up pistol and put four, forty five ACP ballistic rounds through its head. The Ape dropped to the ground dead. He quickly pushed himself to his feet. He holstered his pistol an unslung his rifle. He had a perfect flanking position on his opponents and he exploited that. He let loose with several three round bursts and dropped five of the remaining Apes. The Apes turned their fire on him and he activated his jump-pack and flew onto the top of a nearby building. He went prone and then crawled back to the lip of the flat rooftop. He shouldered his rifle and peered over the edge.

A moment of vertigo hit Johnson, but his training quickly brought him out of it. He aimed down the sights of his rifle. He set his rifle to single shot, breathed out, breathed in and then held it. He set his sights on an Ape that looked like he was leading the few remaining enemies. Johnson then squeezed the trigger and the Ape dropped to the ground with a hole burning through his head. Johnson then looked for another target and repeated his actions with the first. Another shot, another kill. The Marines had also reaped a bloody toll from the Apes. Out of the forty that had started the battle, fifteen were killed in the explosion, ten killed by Johnson and the Marines had killed fifteen. Johnson looked over at the Marines, not one had fallen in the battle. He stood up and activated his jump-pack. He sailed down and landed next to Tom and Jack.

"That was easy... Too easy..." Johnson said as he scanned the surroundings.

"They were Remnant. The only advantage they ever have is sheer numbers," Tom said, almost seeming bored.

"Never underestimate your opponent. Never get cocky. The enemy is just as able to kill you as you are able to kill him. Never forget that. Getting cocky gets people killed," Johnson said as he continued to scan the area after he glared at Tom from behind his helmet, "And before you say anything, I know that from personal experience."

"Good news from orbit. The enemy is falling back in a total route. The battle is ours," Jack said as he looked up from the device on his wrist.

"EVA, get me some of the com frequencies used and label them appropriately," Johnson said as he checked the area one more time.

"Analyzing...Analyzing...Storing...Labeling...Complete," EVA's monotone voice said, "Alert, high com traffic detailing potential danger to local military personnel and civilians." Johnson looked at both Tom and Jack.

"Tune my radio to those channels, EVA," Johnson said as he heard several gasps.

"The Remnant cruiser is falling into the atmosphere. It isn't breaking up!" a voice said over the radio. Johnson looked up and saw it surrounded in a halo of flame. The cruiser looked like it was on a direct path for the edge of the city. Even if it landed in the suburbs, the number of civilian casualties would be unacceptably high. However, the cruiser seemed to be falling slowly for some odd reason.

"Let's go Marines! When that bird lands, we need to make sure no one is hurt by it. Let's move!" Johnson yelled,

"EVA, mark its LZ with an objective marker."

"Analyzing...New Objective confirmed...Placing NAV marker...Complete," EVA stated. A blue marker appeared on Johnson's HUD, the distance marker placed the LZ at around two and a half klicks away.

"Long run ahead of us Marines. Any recon vehicles that we can link up with and move faster?" Johnson asked.

"Yeah, the thirty eighth AR first platoon is about half a kilometer away, although it's off the direct route, they can meet us about halfway," Jack said after he consulted his wrist device.

"That might be the best, but out of curiosity, what does the AR mean?" Johnson said.

"Assault Recon," Tom replied, "Alright, we have a job to do, Devil Dogs. Move it!" Tom yelled. The Marines let out a cheer and, along with Jack and Johnson, took off running. Johnson activated his jump-pack and soared over the Marines and landed about five yards in front of them. Johnson continued running, staying ahead of the Marines by at least five yards. He stopped at each intersection and checked both ways before he moved; he fired his weapon only once when he was an Ape that was running towards him. The Ape dropped with three smoking holes in his head. After that Johnson activated his jump-pack again and sailed several yards ahead. The distance on the NAV marker was at two klicks. 'Still a long way to go,' Johnson thought as he landed and then checked the progress of the Marines.

"Move it Devil Dogs, I mean Grandma was slow, but she was old," Johnson said over the squad radio.

"Ha ha, Ghost. Not all of us have jetpacks you know," Jack bit back.

"So? I had to qualify as a GDI Commando without a jump-pack before I was even allowed to look at one, haha," Johnson said as he continued running as the Marines eventually caught up with him.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you run faster than us without all of that equipment and with our combat load," Tom said as he caught up with Johnson.

"BTDTBTTS," Johnson said offhandedly.

"What?" Tom said. Johnson laughed.

"Been There, Done That, Bought The T-Shirt," Johnson explained. (A/N: BTDTBTTS, which every letter is said out loud if you're wondering, is an actual military acronym. Go figure on that one...)

"Huh?" Tom said again, obviously it was not clicking with him. Johnson bit back a bark of laughter.

"Part of GDI Commando training is the exact same training that GDI Riflemen receive. They have twice the combat load that you all have, and about the same as mine. However, they have less armor and more ammo on them than I do," Johnson said as he activated his jump-pack again. Johnson landed ten yards in front of the group of Marines and took point again. He ran a bit farther ahead and heard a sound that was close to a NOD Attack Bike. Johnson tightened his grip on his Carbine as he thought, 'Oh great, if NOD is here... Why didn't I think of that before!? If I'm here of course there is a chance of NOD also being here... This day just keeps getting better and better...' Johnson checked the charge of his jump-pack and it was eighty percent charged. 'Just a few more moments, and I can jump to try and see if it really is NOD,' he thought. He then checked the distance to the cruiser was at one and a half klicks. 'Almost time to meet up with the thirty eighth AR. Maybe that's them? Better to be safe than sorry,' Johnson thought as he activated his jump-pack and sailed towards the RV point. Johnson saw several anthromorphic beings riding what looked like a NOD Attack Bike in the general direction of the RV point. Then he landed on the ground and continued running. 'That has to be the thirty eighth. Well, I better beat them there to prove that infantry can move just as fast as them,' Johnson thought with a playful smile that graced his features.

"I got eyes on the thirty eighth AR first platoon. I'll head to meet them at the RV point. See you all there," Johnson said over the radio as he pushed himself to run faster and pull further away from the group.

"Roger that, Ghost. Try not to get yourself killed," Jack replied.

"Yeah, have you ever tried to kill a ghost?" Johnson replied as a joke. He heard a chuckle from the line but couldn't tell who did it. Johnson eventually made it to the RV point after twenty minutes of running and jump-pack. Johnson lost sight of the Marines halfway through his trip. Johnson scanned the intersection and moved over to cover. He dropped to a knee and put up a valiant effort to catch his breath. While he did so, Johnson scanned the intersection. He then realized that if he hadn't seen the residents, he would have sworn that he was on an advanced version of pre-Tiberium Earth. In fact, it reminded him a lot of home. Johnson quickly looked over his shoulder and saw that the thirty eighth was approaching. He looked back and still couldn't see the Marines that fell behind. Johnson then stepped out of cover.

"This is Master Sergeant Ghost, GDI Commando working with the Cornerian military, to the thirty eighth AR, do you read me?" Johnson said over the radio.

"This is First Lieutenant Joshua Haggar, leader of the thirty eighth AR first platoon. What did you say your name was, Master Sergeant?"

"Just call me Ghost. I'm at the Rendezvous point. The Marines I was with fell behind and will catch up momentarily," Johnson said.

"Understood, Ghost. We are about twenty seconds out. Everything clear there?" asked Joshua.

"Completely clear," Johnson replied. He scanned the area a few more times with his Carbine shouldered before he saw the first AR Marine driving in with his bike. This was followed by twenty four other bikes that were also speeding towards the RV point. The first bike he saw pulled up to him and the rider took off his helmet. The rider reviled himself to be a panther

"I'm First Lieutenant Haggar. I assume that you are Master Sergeant Ghost," he said.

"Yes, sir. We just need to wait for the Marines to catch up and we can head-" Johnson said before Johnson looked up and saw the cruiser fly past him and out of sight, followed by a loud bass-filled boom. The sound of the crash was felt more than heard. The shockwave from the crash was enough to knock Johnson off of his feet and almost send Joshua sprawling. Johnson picked himself back up.

"Well, I guess we are just in time," a voice from behind Johnson said. Johnson turned around and saw Star Fox picking themselves up off the ground. Johnson looked at what they were equipped with and had to suppress a fit of laughter. Out of all of them, the blue vixen known as Krystal had what looked like a futuristic version of the old chain gun while the rest of them had what looked like SMGs (A/N: Submachine guns). He quickly shook his head and looked over towards where the Marines should have been coming from.

"Yeah, just in time to miss all of the fighting. Now we just have to clean up the Navy's mess," Joshua said.

"Hey, we had our share of the fighting to!" a high pitched voice said, the voice came from the frog.

"Yeah, the easy part," Johnson said as he looked at the three males, or at least what he thought was male in the case of the frog, "What kind of mercs are you? Out of all of you, the one who has the biggest and meanest gun is the chick of the group. Pathetic. Ditch those pieces of crap you have in your hands and get something with a bit more punch. We don't know if there are any survivors on the wreck that could still carry on the fight. Heck, their ground forces could also have regrouped at the crash site and we'll have an even bigger fight on our hands. She has the right idea, right now the bigger the gun, the better." Krystal brought her hand up to cover her smile and to try and smother her laughter at her team getting dressed down by Johnson.

"Oh yeah? Look who's talking. What kind of junk do you have in your hands?" the blue bird of the group said while he glared at Johnson.

"One of the most powerful infantry weapons ever made. In fact this weapon is still a prototype. I can tell you from personal experience that this weapon can cut through an infantry squad in three seconds, if not shorter. It also makes a decent precision rifle, even though it is a little shallow on the range side. It can even cut through light and medium armored vehicles, they just take longer. Now, if you FNGs (A/N: Freaking New Guys) are done griping, we have a job to do," Johnson said while he glared back at the bird.

"Listen we aren't a bunch of rookies here. We are Star Fox, Lylat's most elite mercenary team, we know what to do," Fox said.

"So far, from what I can see, you lead two things, Jack and spit. FYI, Jack just jumped ship," Johnson snapped, "The only one of you here that seems to know what they are doing is Krystal over there. Elite mercenaries my hide, someone is getting ripped off." Krystal stepped in between Johnson and Fox and the bird, holding her hands in the air to stop them from going at it.

"Enough. We have a job to do, so let's do it," she said, "By the way Ghost, the blue one is Falco, and the frog is Slippy." Johnson nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"EVA, add all people nearby as allies," Johnson said.

"Analyzing...Analyzing...Analyzing...Complete," EVA stated.

"Hey...we're...here. Just...let us catch our breaths...then we can...move out," Jack said as he ran up to the group completely out of breath.

"Lieutenant, can those bikes carry two people?" Johnson asked.

"Yeah, it's not comfortable, but it can be done. I see what you're thinking. Alright, everyone mount up! It's time to roll," Joshua said. The AR bikers all revved their engines.

"Ghost, you can ride with me," Joshua said as the Marines and Star Fox team all found their own rides. Johnson climbed on and held on to Joshua.

"Alright, let go, I'm not getting paid by the hour!" Johnson yelled over the roar of Joshua's bike as the group took off. Johnson checked the distance to the LZ and saw that the distance had increased by three and a half klicks. The group was speeding through the city and dodged past craters from light artillery and tank rounds, and past Cornerian Marines as they tagged and bagged the dead while medevacing the wounded. The cityscape became one long blur as the bikes quickly increased in speed. After two minutes of riding, the city started thinning out and they found a trail of destruction from the crashed cruiser. The group slowed down and came to a stop as they surveyed the result of the crash. Houses were missing sides and roofs, some homes were outright destroyed, backyards were ripped to shreds and a few bodies here and there along the path of destruction with wounded civilians trying desperately to help each other.

"Second squad, fall out. Help where you can," Joshua said over the unit's radio. A third of the bikers dismounted from their bikes and ran towards the wounded. The rest of the group continued on towards the crash.

"Hey there is the wreck!" Slippy said over the radio. Johnson got off the bike that he was on.

"Everyone dismount. We'll go in on foot. Keep your heads down and eyes open," Johnson said over the radio, "I'll jump in and take a look." Johnson then activated his jump-pack flew towards the grounded cruiser. He landed near the crash and ran towards the lip of the crater. When he got there, he gasped as he saw green crystals growing out of the ground and ship.