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Angels and Sinners

Laser fire streaked towards the trailing Invader, overloading the primitive shields and tearing into the armoured fuselage. The obsolescent fighters port thrusters exploded and the doomed fighter spiralled away, crashing into the hull of a Venomian cruiser. Sarah grinned as the next Venomian fighter broke off into the crosshairs of her 150, squeezing the trigger she watched as the laser bolts hit home. She swore as the Venomian's shields took some hits but was able to avoid the worst of the incoming fire. She yanked the control column and threw her fighter into a tight turn, to follow him, diving under a Cornerian destroyer in order to follow. Lauren tracked the target on radar calling out course corrections. Sarah manoeuvred the fighter skilfully until after a final roll over a burning frigate, the damaged Invader was clear in her sights. "I've got you" she whispered. As her lasers fired, a barrage of laser fire streaked past her cockpit. Sarah and Lauren craned their heads to see 4 unknown fighters streak down behind them. Sarah spun around, catching a brief glance of her target exploding; she quickly threw the fighter into a tight right hand turn and put on full power, trying to get away. "I count four, I don't recognise them" Veronica said as she tried to fire on them, between Sarah's evasive flying and their constant dodging she couldn't get any consistent hits. "Target lock, they're trying to fire missiles" Lauren shouted, the panic clear in her voice as she tried every countermeasure she had to throw off the lock.

The 150 ducked and weaved between the nearby frigates, desperately trying to lose the closing interceptors. "They've got a lock!" Lauren cried out "I can't lose it" Sarah threw the fighter into a dive, just as the 3 missiles launched. The dive took the 150 under a cruiser, the first missile detonated against the hull. The other 2 changed course to follow, the nearest flew into Veronica's crosshairs and she quickly destroyed it. However, the last missile continued, banking sharply towards the 150 as it banked as well. Sarah looked up watching the missile close; her life flashed in front her eyes as the missile closed to the final seconds before impact...

Sarah screamed, sitting bolt upright. She looked around frantically, someone grabbed her hands and her head snapped to them. "It's ok, it's ok, we're safe now. It's alright" Lauren spoke softly, trying to calm her friend. Sarah looked at the filly as she tried to control her panic. She turned to look past Lauren, who was kneeling at her bedside, to see she was in the barrack room on the Valiant that her crew and Jet's had been assigned. Jet and Lauren were at her bedside, while Malcolm and Jethro were climbing out of their bunks while Veronica was getting a glass of water from the basin. "You started talking in your sleep, then tossing roughly. Lauren's been trying to wake you for five minutes." Jet said quietly, as Veronica gave the glass of cold water to Sarah. As she drank, she remembered what happened in the last 2 days. "I'm sorry, I..." "It's alright; I still have nightmares about Titania." Jet said softly smiling "Are you ok now?" he asked. Sarah looked at Jet, and gave him a small smile before replying "I'm ok now, thanks" "Take it easy, Lauren will stay up with you if you need her to" he turned to Lauren; "That ok with you, Lauren?" The pearl coated female gave Jet an appreciative smile, "It's ok, I'll stay with her. You guys should get some sleep" she replied before turning back to Sarah. Jet gave a reassuring smile before walking back to his bunk, the bunk above Malcolm's. Malcolm nudged Jet as he prepared to climb up; "Do you really have nightmares? About Titania?" he asked quietly. Jethro and Veronica stopped to listen. The blue furred collie gave Malcolm a serious look before speaking and slowly and deliberately: "I did some things I'm not proud of that day; it was the first time I killed in cold blood, I saw the life leave a man's eyes, a live grenade exploded in my hand, then I was shot in the head with an Anti-Materiel rifle. Could you go through that and not be changed? Not be haunted by it?" With that, he climbed into his bunk, leaving Malcolm, Jethro and Veronica thinking over his words. As he settled down to sleep, he cast his mind back to that flight, and the frantic fight which had followed.

"Blue 3, Stay In Formation!" Blue leader shouted over the radio. Blue squadron had been on route to attack the Venomian flagship when they had encountered a full squadron of Invader MK III fighters. The plan had been to begin a hit and run attack, before continuing to the enemy heavy carrier.

"Blue 4 follow her, Blues 7 and 8 cover him" ordered Blue Leader. The three craft radioed their confirmation before setting off in pursuit. Jet swore under his breath as he turned to follow Sarah, they had been ordered not to pursue the enemy; but the angels wanted to be the first ARC ace and had been fiercely competitive in training, sometimes he wondered if they just wanted to brag that they were better than a battlehawk.

Three 150s rolled over a Harlock class, before diving down to follow Blue 3 into the Melee of clashing escorts. "Damn it! They're accelerating" "I see them Ridge, burn thrusters as we pass over that cruiser" Jet pulled back on the control column as he answered Blue 7. "If we go over we'll have to track her on scanners" Axe said. "We can't use our thrusters down there; we'll watch her from above and dive in when we must. Are you two ready?" "Ready" they replied. "Punch it" Jet cried as he crested the last ship. The three 150s fired their thrusters as they entered clear space, the blue exhaust plumes flaring a bright white as they surged above the battle. The three craft continued to gain altitude for several moments before levelling off. This proved to be a crucial move.

"Hey, you see that?" "What!" replied Axe, "3 o'clock low" Jet turned to look at what Ridge was talking about; below them, four advanced enemy fighters had also risen over the melee of ships and was tracking Blue 3. "That's not good; we'll go in full throttle. Don't hesitate if you get a lock; keep firing until they go down." "Confirmed" replied Axe_, "Don't worry about us we're with you"_ Ridge added. The three pilots threw their craft into a fast dive, and began the chase.

As the three 150s started to level out, a crippled Zeram-class cruiser began to rise above the fight, turning towards them. The three broke off, each in a different direction; Axe going right, Ridge left and over with Jet rolling beneath and left. As he passed beneath, Jet and Malcolm glanced upwards at the cruiser above. "Oh Shit!" Malcolm exclaimed. They could both see several torpedo impacts across the starboard side engine section, the damage had caused fuel and oxygen lines to rupture, mix and ignite. The resulting inferno was causing the lower starboard thrusters to burn uncontrollably, pushing the ship up and to port. "If they can't get that under control, they're going to lose the stern" Jet commented before turning to check his Nav computer. "I've still got them on scanners, you're nearest Jet, you lead, we'll catch up shortly" Ridge called out to him, Jet's Nav comp showed the same thing. He pushed the throttle forward and began to weave in between the warships. As he closed with the enemy, Malcolm's HUD registered three missile launches. Jet saw them, and set his HUD to intercept them.

The next few moments were tense as he flew a nearly parallel course, watching one, then two missiles detonate. There was an opening between two corvettes ahead, but if he used it he'd fly in front of the missile. In that split second, the last missile accelerated and Jet made his decision. "Full power to ventral shields, I'm going to try to take the hit" Jet told the others, as Jethro and Malcolm switched settings, they both prayed silently Jet's plan would work.

Jet banked right and then left through the gap before rolling the 150 to bring the ventral side to face the missile. The Angel's 150 passed the gap just as Jet rolled his fighter, his canopy passing 3 meters from Veronica's turret. The missile exploded against the ventral shielding within a split second. Jet banked right again, bringing the nearest Venomian fighter into Jethro's sights. Jethro fired, destroying the first and forcing the second to fly into Veronica's crosshairs. The remaining two tried to break off, but were caught by Blues 7 and 8.

"Blue 4 are you alright?" Axe called out, as he dropped into formation behind the damaged 150, concerned because of the smoke coming from the port nacelle. "Gauges aren't hitting red, we should be ok. How does it look to you Malcolm?" Jet answered. "Resetting shields now, not much got through." The relieved stallion replied. "Thanks for the help guys" Sarah said over the radio. "Don't run off next time, ok?" replied Ridge. "Come on we've got to catch up to the others and hit that carrier" The others fell into formation and they continued towards their objective.

As they reached the Saruzin, they found the rest of Blue squadron attacking the carrier with Starfox and the Battlehawks engaging the new Venomian fighters. The remaining 150s began their attack runs against the carrier, its weakened shields quickly buckling. The carrier's bridge exploded as a combined volley of torpedoes from Blues 4 and 7 impacted, starting a chain reaching through the upper superstructure. Jet felt a little satisfaction as he watched the superstructure burn, "Scratch one Flat-top" he said as Blue squadron turned for home, earning a small smile from everyone that heard him.

His thoughts trailed off as he finished remembering the battle, he began to drift off to sleep, wondering what had happened to the rest of his friends.

Jet woke up to the sound of an alarm, somewhere in the room. "Turn that thing off!" Someone shouted. He sat up just as Veronica found and shut off the alarm. "Sorry, I forgot I set it" she apologised. "Could be worse, they could pipe Reveille through the speakers" Jet replied, "What's the time?" "07:30" replied a shirtless Malcolm, his bare torso drawing Lauren's gaze. She quickly looked away when she realised Jet was up. "I think I'll hit the shower." He said as he pulled his shower bag, towel and a change of clothes from his kit bag. "I need a wash too, hang on while I grab my things" Jet said climbing out of bed and rummaging through his own kit bag. He pulled his things from the kit bag and joined Malcolm as he walked towards the wash block. "What do you think will happen now?" Jet asked Malcolm. "I don't know" There was a hint of concern in the stallion's voice. "Oikonny has launched several raids over the years, but none this big. They have never retreated this quick either; they usually fight to the last."

The two turned into the corridor that lead to the wash block, as they did, they came face to face with two female cadets; a silver vixen and a black cat, the two stopped, looked at Jet said hello in high pitched, girly voices, before continuing past as the two males stepped aside, glancing back once at the collie, giggling as they went. Malcolm turned to look at Jet and was surprised to see the collie blushing, his cheek fur suddenly pink as he hung his head slightly in embarrassment. Malcolm chuckled lightly, drawing his friend's attention. "I'm just used to being a face in the crowd; I'm not used to the attention" "Well it's either because you're a battlehawk or because collies are kind of rare on Corneria." Malcolm replied as they continued walking. "Knowing my luck, probably both" Jet joked as they reached the doors. Jet said he'd catch Malcolm in the mess hall later before turning to look for an empty booth. The wash block was a unisex environment; however the facilities were made up of individual booths for privacy.

Jet entered an empty booth, locking the door and leaving his things on the bench. There was a mirror facing the bench, with the shower behind a divide to the right of the mirror. Jet started to strip, stopping when he reached his boxers. He looked up to examine his reflection in the mirror.

Looking closely for the first time, he took in some of his new features: he had the triangular half-fold ears, thick neck ruff and long silky coat of a collie; however, he noticed that his skull's shape was distinctly lupine along with his tail and overall body shape. He finally removed his boxers, briefly examining his package; his white furred sheath and ball sack noticeably larger than he remembered, before entering the shower, concerning himself with his much needed shower.

Several hours later, Jet and Jethro were playing a game of pool in the Pilot's Mess of the Jump Zero space station. "Have you seen Malcolm?" Jethro asked, as Jet aimed at his third red. "Not since this morning, why?" Jet replied, potting the red in the middle pocket opposite him. "Lauren was asking about him at lunch" explained Jethro, grimacing as Jet sank his fourth red. "Oh, was she looking for him?" Jet asked, hitting the fifth red but missing the pocket. Jethro grinned smugly at the talented collie's misfortune. "Not quite, she wanted to know more about him; what he likes, what he doesn't like, what sports he follows..." Jethro stopped talking, taking aim at his second yellow. "Sounds like she's got a crush on him" Jet joked as Jethro potted one, then two yellows. "You know what? I think she's serious. Ever since we got back she's been watching him, whenever she thinks no one's looking." Jethro finally got ahead of Jet, potting his fifth yellow. Jet cocked his head, looking up to the ceiling. "I noticed that, when Malcolm was prepping for his shower, she seemed entranced when he had his shirt off." Jethro looked up at Jet and burst out laughing; seeing the collie with his head cocked to one side, one ear folded the other straight and that puzzled expression was unbelievably cute. Jet snapped back to reality, just as two familiar voices joined Jethro's. "Dude, we really should have brought a camera" Jet turned around to see Haze and Tex. Jet blinked, surprised to see them.

"This is the pilot's mess you know, regular navy, you starjumpers aren't allowed" Jet smiled softly. Haze frowned slightly, annoyed by the navy nickname; earning a smile from Tex. "How have you two been?" asked Jet as Jethro missed his sixth shot. Jet smiled smugly as Jethro stepped back to let Jet play. "Fine, I have to admit, the ship doesn't feel the same without you." Tex answered as he and Haze settled into two chairs beside the pool table. "Despite the fact I never settled in" Jet replied. Jet stepped up to the pool table; he spent a few moments picking his shot. "True, but everyone feels it when one of our own is in the hospital" replied Tex, watching as Jet took his shot, just sinking his seventh red. Jethro sighed in relief as the cue ball rolled into a position that made it very difficult for Jet to pot his last red. Jet was unfazed; he took his shot with the cue-ball off three cushions before knocking Jet's last red into the top right pocket. Tex and Haze looked amazed while Jethro's jaw dropped. "How'd you do that?" he said quietly, as Jet took aim at the 8-ball. "Patience, cue control..." he took his shot, sinking the 8-ball into the bottom left pocket. "And 8 years of practice" He said, grinning at Jethro. Jethro just sat down shaking his head.

"Hey, you two want to play?" Jet asked. "Sure" replied Tex, taking Jet's cue while Haze took Jethro's. As the two of them were setting the tables, Tex turned to Jet; "That was pretty sweet when you guys totalled the Saruzin." "Yeah, it was amazing watching her burn." Continued Haze. "The best bit was hearing you when the fire cascaded through the command tower, I had to laugh."

"Why'd you call it a flat-top though?" Tex asked. He'd been a little confused by the term. Jet looked up as Haze took the break. "It's a term used by human seamen, the aircraft carriers on earth have a runway for a deck so they nicknamed the carriers flat-tops." He replied as he got comfortable in the chair next to Jethro. He leaned back into the chair, his head resting to one side; he closed his eyes suddenly feeling very sleepy.

Jet stirred slowly, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. He found he was sitting against a stone wall, facing what looked like a market place. He got up slowly, feeling a little sore, and walked out towards the market stalls. As he left the small hollow he'd woken up in, he looked up and behind him. Rising along the hillside behind him was a magnificent city; white stone and gold furnishings shone brilliantly in the sunlight, great waterfalls cascading down from the upper levels to rush into channels lining the streets below. And high above the city was a magnificent palace; it seemed to have been carved from the mountaintop itself.

Jet smiled as he took in the sight of the lower city, noting the similarities to Markarth in Skyrim; "Nothing changes in the city of stone" He thought. He turned to the market and saw that everyone was some sort of canid and had the same cerulean blue fur as Krystal. He walked past the various stalls to one of the channels of crystal clear water that ran through the city. He lowered his hand into the water for a moment, feeling the cool current running through his fingers. Gazing at his own reflection, he realised he was wearing what appeared to be a guards uniform; a sturdy stainless steel chestplate, with segmented pauldrons and thigh plates over a white tunic and breeches with a swirling cerulean blue pattern, topped by a roman style helmet. He carried a sword, about 30-inches long on his left hip and a pistol on his right. He looked up as he heard children laughing on the other side of the channel. Looking up he saw a small group of girls, all around 15-16 looking at him, including what looked like a young Krystal. They giggled again, some looked to the floor shyly, young Krystal included, before a great bell rang out over the city. The girls quickly hurried away, up the great road on their side of the channel, towards what looked like a stone circle. The younger Krystal stopped and looked back to him as her friends reached the steps to the circle, gazing into his eyes, curiosity easily seen in her own, before continuing after her friends. Jet got up and crossed the channel at one of the crossing points and walked towards the temple. As he entered he saw that there were people gathering for a ceremony, he removed his helmet out of respect before moving to stand beside a column near the far side of the circle.

He saw the girls standing in a line, with their parents behind them, except Krystal who was standing slightly to one side, with what looked like royalty. As the crowds quickly filled the temple the girls began scanning the crowd, Krystal quickly noticed Jet, Lowering her head blushing, her mother leaning down to quickly speak with her before looking over at Jet then turning back to her daughter saying something before standing again as the Priestess entered. The crowd's attention focused on the priestess as she began her sermon announcing that that maiden's present were about to begin their passage into adulthood. Jet watched as the priestess performed the first rites for the girls until Krystal was the only one left. As she entered the circle with her parents to be presented to the crowd, Jet noticed an odd red light on the shoulder of the woman in front of him; he looked down and saw the ground was lit up by the strange glow. He then looked and saw the glow was emanating from storm clouds strangely forming over the city. As he looked a great beam of light shot from the clouds, and struck the city. The following explosion rocked the temple. The crowd fled into the street and panic filled them as more red beams came from the cloud destroying entire blocks.

Jet tried to force his way towards the lower levels where he could get some room, one of the red beams struck a nearby building and threw him to the ground. As he got up he saw the queen on the ground, also dazed with Krystal at her side begging for her to get up. An armoured figure approached aiming a rifle or shotgun at her. Jet rose drawing his pistol, he brought his arm up straight and fired, the primitive laser bucking slightly, the bolt tore into the figures neck, the being promptly collapsing clutching their throat. As the figure fell the king found his wife and daughter, having seen Jet fire at the attacker, he asked for help getting his wife and daughter to safety. Jet replied, helping the queen up before switching his pistol to his left hand and drawing his sword. He scanned the area for more Hostiles as he followed the king up the hill, failing to notice a familiar figure standing in a doorway, watching.

Hostiles appeared periodically as they continued up the hill, the great beams continued to decimate the city, the dust making it difficult to see more than 10 meters, Jet even thought that he saw a walker silhouetted against the dust as they finally reached the palace. Slicing his sword horizontally across another armoured figures stomach, Jet finally caught up with the family again as they reached the palace gates. He noted that there were only a few guards, he decided to stay and defend the door, when he told the King, the older vulpine put a hand on his shoulder "Thank you for saving my family" he said. As Jet was about to reply he saw a spotting laser on the King's tunic, Jet reacted quickly, Throwing the King through the door as a shot rang out, the projectile missed him but continued through the open door, the last thing Jet saw was the King on the ground, beside his wife who was bleeding profusely and his daughter, kneeling by her mother, before he grasped the edge of the door and hauled it shut. Jet turned round and re-joined the fight at the barricades as the great doors closed and Massive locks fell into place.

After several minutes of fighting, Jet and the other guards heard a deafening roar behind them, they turned and looked up to see a small craft lift off from the back of the palace, rising over the burning city. Jet spotted a single face looking down on the city from a small viewing port; He raised his sword in salute before turning back to the fight. He just had time to turn around and see one of the red beams fired at the base of the steps before moving towards his position, red light filling his eyes before he felt the explosion.

Jet opened his eyes again blinking top try and clear his sight. As he regained his senses, he heard a soft sobbing behind him. He turned around to find he was in the lower part of the city, near the water channel he had visited earlier but on the opposite side, the city was in ruins and as he looked up, the heavens opened; washing away the ash and dust, dampening and extinguishing the many fires.

As he continued to gaze on the burning remains of the city, his gaze finally fell on a single figure sitting against the wall of the water channel opposite him. He stood up to see his companion better and suddenly recognised her.

He moved slowly closer before speaking softly;

"Krystal?"