Chapter XVII
Shattered
Chapter XVII
Alex sat silently in the armory. He was fiddling with his assault rifle with uncharacteristically distracted hands. The Great Fox and the others ships in the strike force had left Corneria an hour ago. Soon he would be heading down to the surface of a planet that held all he despised in the universe.
Markers! The vile abominations didn't seem to have an end. No matter where Alex went, they followed, and brought ruination and suffering with them. Except this time, others would be coming with him to stop them. Others who could die trying to prevent something they shouldn't even have to worry about. Others who did not deserve to have these calamitous artifacts threatening their existence.
He felt tired, deep in the marrow of his bones. The ever foreboding knowledge of what they could do weighed heavily on his conscious. He did not even want to conceive the thoughts of what a full-blown marker incursion would do to these cornerians. It sickened him to consider the ramifications. His mind was swarming with all those concerns and troubles, to much to focus. He set the rifle down on the table and sighed.
"You okay?" He heard a wonderful voice ask. Alex turned to see Krystal watching him from the doorway, arms crossed, one ear bent slightly, green eyes studying him intently.
"No, but I will be when this is all over." He answered as he leaned back with another long breathed sigh.
She walked over to him and slid onto his lap. She slowly sat down and hugged him comfortingly. She held him for awhile in the silence of the armory, the only two souls within. "We will get through this." She said confidently.
"I know we will." Alex replied, placing an armored gauntlet upon her furry paw and rubbed the back if it softly. "I have too much on the line to fail." He looked into her eyes, drinking in her beauty one last time before he had to go.
Likewise she looked into his golden brown orbs. This was the man who had become her everything. From the moment they met, she had felt a connection with him, beyond that of any she had before. Fay had said something similar to her thoughts the other day. Suddenly she felt him place his other hand on her cheek and angled her muzzle to face him, gently rubbing the ruff there. Taking the initiative she locked lips with him, they kissed passionately, expressing their love to one another as best they could at the moment. He brought his hand to the back of her head and pulled her close.
They embraced each other. Alex traced one of his hands across her back softly in loving patterns. Krystal wrapped her arms around his back and squeezed him tighter. "You know I love you right?" She said with a murr, her muzzle buried into his chest.
"Of course I do." He replied with a laugh. "I thought that was abundantly clear."
"Promise me you'll come back." She pleaded suddenly, with a hint of desperation.
"...I promise." He pledged, he WOULD come back.
"Good." She bobbed her head satisfied. They held each other for a long time, simply happy in their closeness. But all good things come to an end eventually.
With great reluctance, Alex stood up from his seat, helping Krystal up as well. "I gotta get going, I need to talk to Fay before I head out."
Krystal sighed in disappointment and let him go, paw lingering just a second more on his shoulder. "Aright, look after yourself, okay?"
"I will." Alex said, kissing her on the cheek. "Do you know where she is?"
"Yeah, she's in the hanger waiting with the others." Krystal answered. "I'll take you there."
"Thanks, you're the best." Alex followed after his loving vixen and walked arm in arm to the hanger. Thy held each other, cherish the time they had before they must depart for a short while.
The hanger door opened and he entered with the cerulean vixen of his dreams. Standing by their ships were all the members of the Starfox team, permanent and temporary. (Wolf, was sitting in his Wolfen already, he had refused to use any other fighter.) Also next to them was a small black gunship, the one he would be taking down. Lupa, Penelope, and Peppy were there to see the team off. One being too young to be a pilot and the others either ill suited or too old.
Miyu was talking with Fay, she saw Alex and gave him a friendly feline grin and pointed him out to Fay with a clawed digit. The collie ran when she spotted him. She hugged him and kissed him on the lips as soon as she was close enough. She pulled back after a moment. "Heya!"
"Hey Fay." He greeted the lively canine. "How's my girl doing?"
"Fantastic! We're gonna save the day, again!" She announced, pointy teeth gleaming with her broad smile.
"Yeah, but you guys get the easy part." He chuckled, and scratched the back of her head behind the ears. She sighed in contentment and leaned into his pampering. "Stay safe up there huh?" He said as he prepared to go talk with Fox.
"Stay safe down there." She retorted playfully before prancing off back to her ship. He smiled at her retreating figure and went to the orange vulpine in question.
"Alex." Fox said cordially.
"Sup Fox, ready to move out?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, just waiting for the word."
"You guys got my back?"
"Not a single particle of energy will hit you." Fox vowed.
"Awesome."
"Hey!" Falco shouted from his ship. "Watch your ass down there!"
"Why would I watch my own ass?" Alex wondered jokingly. The avian just snerked and climbed in to his Arwing. That's when Alex felt a light fluffy impact on his armored shins.
"Good luck!" Penelope exclaimed clinging to his legs and looking up. Lupa walked over to the errant cub with Fara in tow.
"Hello little one, come to see me off?"
"Yep!"
"Great, just what I needed." Alex swooped her up into a hug. "What are you two doing?" He asked, turning to Fara and Lupa.
"Keeping this ball of destructive fur under control." Lupa replied.
"And I'm just readying up." Fara answered.
"Alright, cool. When we come back, the party will be on me." He said, setting Penelope back down onto the decking. He his his goodbyes and walked to the gunship to await the signal. Slippy was just closing up a panel on the side when he saw Alex.
"Finished fixing your ride." The amphibian was wiping off his oily hands on a equally oily rag.
"Thanks Slip, I imagine I'll need it in peak form." Alex walked into the side hatch, before he closed it he hailed Slippy. "And Slip.... I WILL get your father back."
"....thanks Alex."
"No problem, just focus on yourself for now, you'll fight better." The hatch closed and Slippy soon wormed his way into his Arwing.
The signal was given. Eight fighters and a gunship streaked out of the underbelly of The Great Fox. The dreadnought was hidden behind a celestial satellite on the outskirts of Venom's orbit. They flew to the planet, as they approached, an additional fleet of unmarked and unadorned ships slid into place around them.
This was the assault force, anything that would show alignment with Corneria had been stripped from them. Now, no matter what, they couldn't be implicated for the attack. Alex piloted the gunship quietly. He was too focused on the upcoming mission to converse with anyone. His and one other ship would swoop down to the planet and park outside the airbase, then they would fight their way into the facility beneath.
A small defense fleet lay ominously above their destination, several corvettes and cruisers. Each containg an unknown number of squadrons. The enemy must have seen them, as they discouraged their fighters and moved to engage. "We've got you covered." Fox said confidently.
Alex hung back with the other gunship and let the defense screen go ahead. He watched the two forces collide in a flash of green and red lasers. He now understood why Starfox were such fabled pilots, the enemy was practically useless. None could match their skills. Even the larger ships only slowed them down momentarily until they were crippled. It was amazing, he saw Krystal's fighter pull a reversal and wipe out three fighters that were chasing her. Even Fay was amazing, her interceptor zooming around the battle and picking off any stragglers. He had no idea of how incredible they were.
But out of all of them, it was Fox and Falco who shined. They were untouchable, almost casually blazing through, swatting enemies out of the air with a ruthless casualness that impressed him. Wolf and Fara fought their own battle, working together just to side of the main fight. Clearly they were still uncomfortable working with the team. They were also a threat to be recognized, downing whole units in minutes.
Slippy was not as graceful or effective, but he made up for it in his determination to get his father back. The toad's courage surprised him, it reminded him of himself a long time ago, when he had fought for his family. The amphibian defiantly faced gruesome odds. It went to show that courage and determination were traits that didn't care about appearances or age. The dogfight he witnessed as he headed for the surface would stay in his mind for the rest of his life.
Soon the battle faded out of view as he entered the atmosphere of Venom. The other gunship followed after his lead. That is when he got his first look at the surface.
The skies were a sickly green and the cities that riddled the surface were grim and dirty. This was not a place of sunshine. Alex began to pity the inhabitants of this place, life here was probably harsh and short. They didn't deserve to had necromorphs run rampant either, with that in mind he closed in on the airbase. It seemed that Oikonny had disabled the AA-batteries, because they weren't blasted out of the sky. That was plus in his opinion. He set down in front of the facilities doors. He only hoped that they had the necromorphs under control. Or if they were really lucky, the enemy had not yet reached that stage.
He activated the helmet and it sealed with a skittering clang. Alex stepped out of the ship and took a look around. The fields were deserted, it unsettled him. That's when the other ship set down aside his and the bay opened, revealing fifteen members of the 48th. The elite soldiers comforted him, they should be more them capable of dealing with any monsters below. Alex walked up to the one who had a commander's patch. He was surprised when the person took their helmet off to reveal the grey grizzled muzzle of Commander Dobrey.
"What are you doing here?" He asked in wonder.
"What I always do, leading my soldiers." The rough wolf answered.
"I didn't think to see you here."
"Well, I had to see these necros for myself." He grunted.
"In any case, it lightens my heart to know you are with us." Alex said meaningfully.
"Yes, well let's go kick some ass!" He barked, his soldiers growled in agreement.
Alex just nodded and walked to the big doors. They were probably locked...or not. The doors opens with the squeal of tortured metal, unveiling an empty hallway. This was foreboding. "Ready?" He asked Dobrey.
"Born ready." The wolf growled deeply. With that they entered the base.
In the skies above, Starfox fought the most intense battle of their carriers. The enemy was endless, for everyone shot down, another three took his place. It seemed that this crazy scientist had more followed then they had expected. The most frighting thing was their zeal, the enemy practically ran into their shots in their persist eve to shoot them down. It sickened Starfox to see people who valued their own lives so little.
"Fox, I need backup!" Miyu had four fighters chasing after her.
"I got you." He swooped in behind her and blew them up with a charged shot.
"Thanks!" She zoomed off to resume her aerial ballet. Her interceptor weaving through the slower ships and knocking them out of the sky.
"Hey Krys, his you holding up?"
"Fine Fox, I'm more worried about Alex." She answered as she dodged a blast and cracked a fighter open with a well placed flurry of lasers.
"Worried about him? Psssh he's fine, no one can take him down." Fox said grinning widely.
Alex fell flat on his ass, a bolt of energy smashed into his chestplate and off his feet. Everything had been perfect until thirty seconds ago. They had been ambushed by a security team. The gods must be playing a trick on him, he was the only one to get hit. He had opened a door and received the gift of a blaster bolt to the chest.
"Cover fire!" Dobrey roared and pulled Alex out of the doorway and to the side. His savior was protected by the disciplined and accurate shots of the 48th, preventing any guard from popping up to land a shot.
"Are you injured?" Dobrey asked concernedly.
"Nah I'm good, this armor will need to take allot more punishment before it fails." Alex groaned as he sat back up. That didn't mean that it was painless!
"Perfect." The wolf handed him his rifle back. "That means you can still fight."
"Till my dying days." Alex chuckled and took cover on the doorframe. Seconds after being shot he rolled into the room blazing at anything that moved with his rifle and grabbed cover behind a table. He pulled it down and started to fire behind it. His rounds connected with an ape that was hiding behind a desk, his chest was riddled with little puffs of red mist, the simian fell to the floor lifeless, gun flying out of nerveless hands. "One down!"
"Copy, moving up!" A soldier shouted throwing a grenade into the room. There was a bang and a flash of white, his suit's HUD automatically dimming to compensate. Ten troopers stormed into the room and gunned down the blinded guards.
"Alright keep moving!" Dobrey growled, "fined Beltino!"
"Yes sir!" A female soldier saluted and ran off with four others. They split into teams of five to search the facility. It would only be a matter of time before the scientific toad was found.
"Let's go!" Alex grunted following after Dobrey, I have girls to get back to."
The battle in space was over, the last enemy ship exploded only a few minutes earlier. Now Starfox and the remaining vessels waited for their ground team to report in. They went back to The Great Fox. As soon as they all were in the bridge Fox demanded that they link into Alex's suit.
The toad complied and started the sequence, yet something was wrong, it wouldn't work. That's when he realized that Alex had take it off. "Sorry Fox I can't, he removed the bug."
"Damn! I guess well just have to wait for them to get back." The vulpine sighed.
Krystal and Fay were nervous, they couldn't watch over him, couldn't see what he was going through. It bothered them to no end. Wolf just sat and fiddled with his pistol, acting uninterested. Fara sat with all the other girls as they sat in vigil for the ground team to comeback.
An hour and a half later they received word that the team was coming back. Ecstatic they raced down to the hanger to great the team. They all watched the gunship come to a stop alongside the the ships. The hold opened and the tired forms of the 48th filed out, none of them were without injuries, some minor some severe.
The team was speechless, they didn't look like conquering heroes, more like a defeated army trudging back home in shame. Slippy was having a fit. "Dad!" He shouted. That's when the aged toad climbed out of the ship, and walked over to the team. He looked tired and worn out, but alive. Slippy was in tears as he hugged his father. No one else came out of the gunship.
Then, an aged wolf walked over to the team and saluted stiffly, his armor was battered and broken. "Where's Alex?" Krystal wondered. She and the other women were staring at the dropship waiting for him to come out with his signature smile and joking manor.
The wolf remained silent and signaled for one of his men to come over, he was holding something. The wolf was handed the object, and then the wolf held it out for Fox to take.
It was a broken and bloody helmet...Alex's...broken and bloody helmet. The black helm looked accusing as it faced upwards in the wolf's furred grip. The red visor was fractured, into spiderweb thin lines crisscrossing all over. The entire left cheek was shredded, exposing the empty and crimson stained insides.
Fox took it and stared into the shattered visor, covered in flaky dry blood, paws shaking, he almost dropped it onto the floor, like a poisonous snake.
Peppy was trembling, his old heart barely able to handle it.
Slippy, Falco, Fara, Lupa, and Miyu were frozen, uncomprehending, or perhaps, refusing to accept.
Penelope just looked confused.
Yet no one was effected quite like Krystal and Fay.
"No no no no no no no no no." Krystal started to whisper in horror and backed away from the bloody relic until she hit the wall. Fay had fallen to her knees and was staring off into space. "NO NO NO NO NO!" She began to cry loudly as she slid to the floor, tears clogging her throat, now unable to continue her denials.
"Wha..wha...what happened." Fox asked hoarsely trying to find his voice.
"He sacrificed himself, to save the toad's father." Dobrey said stoically.
Slippy began to sway heavily, thoughts swirling around in his head, all the promises Alex had made to him. That he would save his father. And in the end he had...but at what cost?
"I am sorry beyond words." Dobrey said, his stalwart grey eyes watery. "He was a brave man and excellent soldier, but more then that, he was a hero. And he will never be forgotten, his story will he passed through the 48th for all eternity. As a pillar for all others to aspire to." The wolf turned and marched away back into the gunship. The other soldiers sadly followed their commander, their last sight of the legendary Starfox team was their faces full of despair.