On The Trail
_Broken Legacy _
Chapter 3: On The Trail
A'den ended the call with a feeling of relief; the old dog had come through for him when all other had failed or betrayed their promises. Now he had a lead; Tarsus had last been seen in the Lylat System. A fairly large self-governed portion of the galaxy exclusively inhabited by Lylatians, a multitude of species that resemble every -day and exotic animals. They largely remained outside of the main galactic scene, almost no one visited the system and it had almost faded from the galactic map. A'den had some connections there because he had done a few jobs for the General who presided over it. At the time they were embroiled in a conflict with some simian usurper called Oikonny. He had done a large sum of stealth missions and assassinations. Not really what a bounty hunter was for, but he decided to expand his business as the rewards for the tasks were quite lucrative. Some of his missions were simple, mostly covering a team of mercenaries that he had personally never met, Starfox if he remembered correctly. Those were the hard jobs, to put it simply, he had to cause as much chaos and destruction as he could to take heat of the team, allowing them to accomplish their goals with ease.They never saw or heard him and he had never seen them. In any case, he had done so many missions for the General that they didn't have enough credits set off to pay him. To compromise, he took half of what was owed and was promised favors in return. And so that is why he was, and still is, owed favors by the cornerian government and why he had his new lead now.
From what the old hound told him, Tarsus was hiding out in some space station at the edge of their territory, Sargasso was the name. Finally having a destination, A'den was buzzing with determination, after all these years his target was now within reach. Soon he would have his justice, his vengeance. The bastard responsible for slaughtering his family would not escape this time. First thing though, he would talk to the general in person and see if he could gain any more information, having already arranged a visit before he ended the call.
A'den left the comms room with a bounce in his step. He went straight to the cockpit and up to the galaxy map. The floating representation of the galaxy was a dazzling array of blue lights and deep red trails, each sapphire light was a planet and every crimson angle was a hyperspace lane. A'den found the almost abandoned Lylat vein and selected it as his next destination. After that he ambled over to the controls at the main console and buckled into the pilot's seat. Once securely fastened he grabbed the yoke and guided the ship to the hyperspace lane. He took a deep breath and pushed the throttle activating the hyperspace engines, shooting the shuddering ship into the cosmos.
Now that his ship could take care of the rest of his duties until he arrived, A'den unstrapped himself from his seat and headed down to the armory. He wanted to be ready for any complications; he was not so naïve as to believe that it would all go off without a hitch. Violence was in his future and he was craving it. All he wanted in life was to see the bastard bleeding to death on the floor. When he saw that he would be able to move on, and not a second before, his desire for revenge was not healthy, it was all consuming, and A'den knew it, he just didn't care. No matter what happened to him because of it, it would be worth it in the end to see the bastard dead.
His dark brooding was put on hold when he arrived at the armory door and put in his personal code. The well cared for doors slid open without a sound, revealing the vast expanse of lethal armaments and armored suits. He strolled sown the racked isles, reverently studying each weapon with a reminiscing eye. He had used every one of these in his career as a hunter. The racks were adorned with verpine shatterguns, electrostaves, a plethora of blasters of varying variety and use, his personally crafted Bevii'ragir_,_ and finally there were the more exotic ones. Below the racks were the locked boxes of assorted grenades, plasma gas cartridges and components. He departed the weaponized causeway and approached the tube-shaped locked armor stands at the back of the chamber. A'den stopped at the last one on the row, inside lay a battered and scarred suit dyed in a heavy obsidian color with dull burnished gold inlays wrapped around in small highlights at certain junctions in the beskar plating. There were deep gouges in the breastplate, generously donated by a rabid nexu on the forested world of Cholganna. He had been hunting a particularly crafty Gen'Dai mercenary. The battle had been apocalyptic, the Gen'Dai were practically invincible, sporting a body that lacked any normal vital organs and supernatural regenerative abilities. In the end he had shoved a fistful of thermal detonators attached to his jetpack into the creature's chest. The ensuing explosion rent a massive gash on the side of his helmet and launched his body half a kilometer into the swampy air to land on the nexu, the beast had not been very happy with that and so he had received the huge claw marks on his breastplate.
In fact the scar on the helm still lingered, even after he had tried to repair it. He could have gotten a new one but he refused to. This was the armor his blood-father was going to give to him and he would not stop using it until it was nothing but a pile of scrap. And A'den would never let that happen, he spent a quarter of his earnings keeping it at its peak performance and even upgrading it when he could. It featured thick beskar plates and durasteele mesh underlays. The joints were composed of the mesh and a material that was resistant to a plentitude of elements and weapons. As he remembered all he had done with the suit he typed in his personal code and took it off the wall and laying it gently upon the workbench next to the stands.
With a craftsman's skill, he deftly observed the armor, he did what he could for the moment, and the rest would have to be done when he went back to Mandalore. There he could use the forges to fix what could not be done by hand alone. When he was finished dealing with the monster he would go back and take care of it.
Hours later, he finished working on his armor, stretching he stood up and returned it to its holder, intending to don it when his ship touched down at the cornerian starport. With his armor attended to, he placed his two favored blasters and his two lightsabers onto the table.
The two black and red blasters were heavily customized, and the weapons were gifts from Krussk during his final months of training. The pair of WESTAR-7_pistols had increased cartridge size, close quarters scopes, and improved stopping power. In one shot they could cleave through any known armor currently manufactured besides _beskar. He fine-tuned them, treating the deadly weapons like instruments, and that's what they were to him, instruments of his profession, any good artist had proper tools. And A'den was a masterful artist. He returned them to their holsters when he was satisfied that they wouldn't short-circuit on him in the midst of combat.
He shifted his focus to his most prized possessions, the two silver handled lightsabers he had crafted in his early childhood. Krussk had bestowed upon A'den all of his knowledge of the force and every skill he had learned. He thought back to that day where he had first begun to walk the path of a mandalorian knight...
"Use the force, let it guide you, let it help shape your weapon into what you desire most." Krussk pronounced from his kneeling posture in front of a nine year old A'den, both of them were dressed in robes and sat in the karyai of their home. "The force is all encompassing, it knows what you want and will help you achieve your goals."
"Yes buir, I understand." The young A'den responded with a surprising maturity from his duplicate position besides his father; in front of him on a small oiled cloth laid the parts of a set of lightsabers. There were the pieces that formed the hilt itself, the focusing crystals, diatium power cells, crystal energy chambers, the blade length and power adjuster dials, the primary crystals, and the rest of the intricate gadgets that were combined to create the fearsome energized blades. Little A'den closed his eyes and furrowed his brows, (an action that would send all the motherly mandalorian women in fit of smiles), concentrating on crafting his two blades. The parts slowly rose into the air, swirling around as they drew near to each other. Soon they were attaching to their respective locations and in no time he had the two weapons floating, complete, in front of him.
Krussk nodded in approval and smiled down warmly at the child. "Excellent work Ad'ika! Most impressive, it took me quite a bit longer to make my own blade, and you made two. One day I know you will be an even greater warrior then I!" The trandoshan praised openly, helping A'den to his feet. "Come let's go show everyone, I think that they will all be just as proud as I am." Krussk led A'den out of the room and the house, all that time the little kid was too busy staring at the beautiful weapons he had made himself to watch his step.
He smiled openly as he fiddled with the hilts, that day had been the second most important and favorite day that he ever had. The clan had indeed been proud of him and they had hosted a great feast, calling guests from all corners from Mandalore. It wasn't often that a mandalorian stepped onto that path, not many force users became mandalorians and even less defected, so it was cause for celebration when any individual did.
A'den clipped the hilts onto his belt and left the armory, and his past behind, deciding to go check up on Gralik, to bring him back to arm the shistavanen for the upcoming mission. After a few minutes of walking he stopped at the wolf's new room and knocked, this time waiting for him to open the door. Now a member of his crew, A'den would respect his privacy. He heard rustling and seconds later the door opened to reveal the wolf standing in the doorway. " Yes?" He inquired, wondering why A'den was at his door.
"Su'cuy gar Gralik, I wanted to update you on the status of our next mission, and your own trial by fire." A'den answered. "This will be your test, if you pass then that means I can trust you."
Gralik looked attentive, ready to prove his worth to the one who had pulled his shebs, (a word he had learned), from the fire. "Alright, I'm ready, when do we go?" he asked determinedly.
A'den smiled at the wolf's display, and responded. "The ship should be exiting hyperspace in a few minutes, but before I take you out, I better dress you up!" He said, motioning for the shistavanen to follow him. He took the wolf down back to the armory, adding more lessons in Mando'a as they walked. Gralik was slowly adapting to the mostly spoken language, understanding a few words and phrases with little effort. Still, the majority baffled him; it would take much more time before he was ready.
A'den let the wolf in, stunning him with the massive assortment of weaponry and equipment. 'There must be enough weapons and armor in here to outfit a battalion of commandos!'_He thought to himself in awe. The amazed wolf was led to a rack of suits in the back, more specifically, to the smallest and least armored one. (This wasn't that bad considering each one was a level above standard armor designs). It was thin and painted with red and blue markings. "The one right here will be yours until I deem you worthy enough to wear true _beskar 'gam." A'den explained, putting in the code and opening the transparisteel cylindrical container. The suit was simple, merely armor with no other function, unlike the others that had many more abilities and utilities built into them. Still it was made of mandalorian iron, allowing it to take a dozen or so shots before it was breached.
"This is quite a gift." Gralik said, meaning every word. The iron was impossible to obtain from any other world or people. It was solely used by mandalorians and no others had ever or would ever discover its secrets. Many have tried, and they all had failed.
"Maybe, but prove you are worthy of it and it won't be a gift, just an item you will come to cherish." A'den said knowingly, he knew much about beskar, A'den had a voracious appetite for military applicable knowledge, so when not training and working, he had apprenticed under the clan goran, the barabel, Badal, was a hard teacher, but also a loyal friend.
A'den helped Gralik get into the suit; the inexperienced canine-like alien had obviously never worn such a suit and so had to be taught how to use it properly. He was a fast learner though so he was suited up in only three minutes. He moved around, looking down at his chest and body, flexing, admiring his appearance in the armor. 'I look good in this!' He chuckled to himself and looked to see where A'den was.
The human was putting in the access code to his own suit. With the hiss of monitored atmosphere, the tube slid open and he grabbed the heavy suit of black and gold armor. Gralik noticed that is was much bulkier then his own new one by at least three inches, layered in segmented plates and with huge pauldrons that had an ebony armor-weave tattered hooded cloak pinned to it securely. The boots were thick, purely made of armor, and above the tall boots were conjoining shinguards, kneepads, and thigh plates, of which the in-betweens were filled with the same armor-weave as the joints above. The arms were covered in plates as well, leaving only segmented chinks that added a certain ancient-era vibe to it. The breastplate was the center piece however. The lower section was sculpted to look like abs and the top was made of smooth plates (marred by a couple impressive slashes), that helped show the wearer's physique. Yet still, the most breathtaking aspect of it all was the helm.
The helmet had a long gash on the left side that had chipped the paint and was a few millimeters deep, where the natural gunmetal grey color could be seen. The faceplate had a vision slit going horizontally across where one's eyes would be, and another vertically down to the angular chinplate, forming a 'T' so small that no knife could be wedged in there. The rest of the helm was dominated by golden carvings that curved outwards from the center making a hypnotic pattern and protruding plates arched along the bottom jawline giving it a mandible that reinforced its structural integrity.
Once A'den was done suiting up he left the beautiful helmet off, cradling it in his left arm, like a pilot, walked over to a weapons rack and grabbed a long blocky blaster, handing it to Gralik. "This is a mandalorian blaster. High powered, dangerous, and with the kickback of a full-grown bantha and the bite of an Alii'oya."
Gralik held the large heavy weapon in his paws; it had no ornaments or decorations. It was purely made for war and nothing else. He watched as A'den grabbed a far larger and more dangerous looking one. It had a small scope and the barrel was more pointed with a bayonet attached under it. He held the rifle in one gauntlet easily as he reached for another weapon a huge rifle with a scope that screamed sniper. He slung it on his shoulders and rummaged around inside a box he opened with a four digit code. He pulled out a multitude of cartridges and strange looking rectangular magazines. He stored them in pouches along his armor, and on a bandolier he pulled off the wall. A'den grabbed another fistful and gave it to Gralik, placing a smaller amount of ammo in the wolf's quickly overstuffed padded palms. He balanced the load as he tried to simultaneously take care of the gun and the ammo. A'den just watched the overwhelmed wolf with an amused smile. He remembered the days where he was the novice learning after the master, it was a good feeling to be on the other side of the fence. He waited until the wolf was ready, using the time to transfer his holsters and clipped lightsabers to his armor. When he and Gralik were ready he told him to head to the cockpit, and then walked out of the armory, his steps considerably louder as the dense boots thundered their presence to all in range of their aggressive pace.
Gralik followed after with a sullen frown as he looked back to his equipment and A'den's. 'His looks way better than mine.'
With Gralik in tow, A'den left for the cockpit. 'It's great to be back in the armor again.'_He thought with a happy grin. He loved his armor, there were many memories associated with it, some blissful, others..... **_painful,** he frowned, it had been a year since the Felucian Massacre. He shuddered and buried the resurging memories under his steel will. He was still not ready to come to face with what happened and what he had been forced to do to survive.
Those terrible thoughts were for another day he decided, focusing on the task at hand. They arrived at the cockpit and he got Gralik to strap into the co-pilot's harness, while he took the pilot's again. The ship was minutes away from exiting hyperspace above the Lylat capital world of Corneria. He took the time to brief Gralik on the locals. "You should feel right at home my furry friend; most of the species that inhabit this sector could be confused for a shistavanen or togorian by the unlighted. I've been here a few times; the people of this system are pleasant and kind. I wouldn't expect any to try and kill us but you should remain on your guard at all times regardless. Many an experienced hunter has fallen due to a false sense of security, so keep your eyes peeled and ears swiveled. Your natural senses are far better than mine so I want you to alert me if you so much as hear, see, or even taste something suspicious."
Gralik nodded affirmatively and committed his words to memory_. 'I'll be damned if I let him down on the first mission.'_ He thought with blazing resolve. This was the first real action he would be participating in since he had first started hiding. He was not an unseasoned warrior by any measure, but he was a little rusty. So he desperately wanted to do well, to repay the human for his kindness. Gralik didn't know if they were friends, although A'den had done far more for him in the short time he has known him then any friend he ever had working for that hutt bastard. He hoped that he could earn the man's friendship.
The Gra'tuar_dropped out of hyperspace, coming to a stop above the Capital along with the hundreds of other vessels orbiting the planet. Gralik and A'den noticed how they weren't typical republic or even Sith empire designs. The Lylatians were their own breed so to speak. Relying on, and creating their weapons ships and vehicles themselves. Even though the tech was different, it was far from inferior. They all were equal to their counterparts abroad in the larger portion of the galaxy. The only downside was that their fighters were often weaker, that is until the arwings were created. They were some of the best fighter craft in the known galaxy, and only the lyltians had them. With one of their ace pilots, the only others that could out fly them were other aces, and force users. Arwings were rare though, only given to experienced pilots or high paying customers. A'den actually got to fly one once when working for the General, it was a beautiful fighter he freely admitted. But he preferred the mandalorian _M12-L Kimogila heavy fighter. He had one berthed in the underbelly of his ship. It was for the smaller missions that were to be covert. He used it almost exclusively in the space battles he participated in, here in the Lylat system. The ship even garnered itself a reputation, during the time he flew it. The lylatians called it _The Reaper_even though the only one who had ever met the pilot was the General and a few other persons, they insisted on giving it a title. So A'den had heard about it and decided to monopolize the fame for use in combat. He changed the color scheme to a menacing black and red with a skeleton clad in ancient mandalorian armor wielding a scythe and shrouded in a cloak as the ship's nose and wing art. After that, when his fighter appeared on the battlefield, it almost immediately turned into a rout. Those had been great times for A'den loved flying his fighter almost as much as he loved hunting.
He guided his freighter down as he reminisced about his past. 'I'm doing a lot of that today.' He handled all the docking information and when they were cleared, landed the freighter in one of the covered hangers. "Here we are, Corneria. You ready for you first day on the job?"
Gralik who had been quiet up to this point looked up to A'den and nodded. "I was born ready."
"That's the spirit ner'vod!" A'den said merrily, unbuckling himself from his seat and waiting for Gralik to do the same. The wolf had a little bit harder of a time, not used to moving easily in the armor, but he would in time. Finally the wolf got out of the seat and joined A'den at the door to the cockpit. "Let's get going, I have a monster to catch." He ordered, slapping Gralik on the shoulder comradely. With that said the pair of hunters walked along the extensive passageways until they arrived at the closed ramp.
A'den slammed the button letting the ramp descend to the paved ground, while Gralik spied out a menacing droid powered down to the side. "What is that?" he asked, grabbing A'den's attention.
The human turned to see what the wolf was talking about and frowned. "That is a HK series...protocol droid." He replied, putting on his helmet and drawing the top of the cloak over it with his thick gauntlets. " It was damaged in...an explosion, and I have yet had the time or parts to repair it." The last sentence was uttered on the growling suit radio. His voice purposely, distorted to keep his identity and species, a secret. It was now partially mechanized and the tone was deeper instinctively turning the hairs on Gralik's body on end. "Now, we have a meeting to get to." A'den thudded down the ramp and walked away from his ship, Gralik Close in pursuit. At a distance from his ship A'den pressed something on his vambrace, causing the ramp to seal with a clang.
Now that the ship was locked down they could leave. A'den and Gralik headed for the customs booth drawing looks. The dozen or so technicians working and the few pilots lingering around, (one being a certain pink cat), studied the new arrivals with apprehension.
Lylatians had almost certainly never seen the likes of them before. The mandalorian and Mando in training were armed and armored, far more so then any soldier currently in Lylat. They saw that one was a wolf-like species that was only slightly different from the wolves who originated here. It was mostly because he was taller than average and had almost no tail to speak of, just a small nub at the back. The one leading was even taller than the wolf by several inches and was wearing a concealing lovingly decorated scarred helm covered in striking golden sigils and a black hood, disguising his race. All that the watchers knew for a fact was that he had no tail, (no tail could be seen sticking out from the cloak), he was clearly a well-built male, and he had the normal count of ten toes and fingers. His bearing was noble and measured, each step was calculated and even though his head was unmoving, they knew he was watching for danger. He had a long barreled, scoped rifle slung across his back, and was holding another more malevolent looking on in his studded gauntleted grip. It even had a nasty looking blade fixed to the front under the barrel.
A'den breezed through the customs office easily, not even having to resort to force persuasion. Apparently the General had been kind enough to alert the starport authorities that he was arriving. Some individuals still remembered him, or rather his armor on sight it would seem. The customs official, (a fidgety grey tailed squirrel), had even shook his gauntlets saying something about how he had saved him when he had still been in the force. A'den could faintly recall a little squirrel fellow by the name of Martin who had been a pilot. Curios, he looked to the guy's tag and saw the same name on it. So he had said hello and spoke with the fellow for a few minutes before carrying on. Soon he and Gralik stepped out of the starport and into the monolithic city of spires and aircar lanes. Corneria was the heart of the Lylat sector and rivaled the republic capital of Courascant. The world was quite stunning, wonderfully crafted architecture and plazas of stone lent it a majestic aura. Personally he liked it more than Courascant, the only planet topping it being the untamed expanse of Mandalore.
Gralik was equally awed by its powerful splendor, thinking that he wanted to desperately bring his family from their unfitting home on the merciless arid desert realm of Tattooine. This place was perfect for them; he would have to ask A'den to help him when he had earned the bounty hunter's trust. Speaking of A'den, the armored human stopped his sightseeing and walked down the starport's marble stairs, cloak fluttering in the wind, and headed down into the main square connecting to the pedestrian causeways. He wasn't overly concerned with losing him in the crowds; the mandalorian was hard to miss. So Gralik half focused on keeping pace with A'den and the other half of his concentration was used to soak in the atmosphere of the city. They walked along the flagged walkways until they stopped at a comprehensively defended structure akin to a fortress. There were two unusual silver and blue hued treaded tanks. The duo of heavyweight assault vehicles were parked equidistant from the main doors. Aside the tanks were two ten-man squads of armored cornerians, brandishing small rifles in rest position, and automated turrets built into the ceiling. Gralik was impressed with the defenses. 'This must be their military command center.' A'den marched fearlessly towards the defenders and stopped in front of a grizzled looking tiger wearing the ranks of a battalion commander. "Solus...Su cuy'gar, it's good to see you still alive and kicking after all this time ner'vod." A'den chuckled, the chortle distorting in the outside speakers turning it into a harsh snarl.
"I didn't expect to see you still breathing either, Beowulf." The tiger replied with a feral grin as he looked up into A'den's visor. "Bounty hunting's a dangerous career path."
"Mandalorians are dangerous hunters." A'den gamely responded, their talk speaking of a familiarity that intrigued Gralik.
"The General told me you were coming around, something important huh?' Solus asked, tail weaving back and forth as he waited for the answer.
" I have found...him." A'den said quietly, the snarling of his receiver was subdued as he spoke.
Solus's orange and black stripped tail shot up and frizzled, the tiger bearing his fangs in a growl. "Tarsus?' He asked angrily.
A'den's hooded helmet bobbed in affirmation as the rest of fully armored body stood motionless. The tiger walked closer so that only he and A'den heard what he had to say. "When you go to get this bastard, you're taking me with you." His tone brooked no argument. After he said that he backed away to let the duo past and gave him a meaningful look.
"I wouldn't have it any other way ner'vod." A'den said as he strode past Solus and to the opening impenetrable steel doors. Gralik went with him and wondered who they were talking about. He never asked though, he simply let the man lead him to where ever it was he was heading. They were hardly glanced at as they made their way through the metallic hallways of the fortress, only getting an occasional scan from the personnel as they went about their respective duties. Gralik assumed that the human knew where they were going because he walked with a purpose. Seeming to have the path to his destination hardwired into his brain, changing corridors and getting into lifts without hesitation, he eventually stopped outside a pair of doors that led into an antechamber flanked by a pair of armed guard who told the two to relinquish their weapons before proceeding. When they put their weapons on the table they were allowed entrance. There was a red panda receptionist in a form fitting uniform sitting at the desk in the chamber, chattering away on an earpiece and sifting through a pile of leaflets.
A'den ambled up to her desk and waited for her to address him. The preoccupied bear was talking to someone presumably a friend and didn't look up until the she ended the call. When she did look up she balked at the towering cloaked armored figure standing at the opposite side of the desk. She was made of stern stuff however, so she recovered quickly. "How can I help you...sir?"
"I have an appointment with the General." His distorted rasp made her flinch, and he felt a little bad but didn't apologize, he doubt it would have any effect.
"There is a mister...Beowulf scheduled, is that you sir?" She asked hesitantly, afraid that he might somehow get offended.
"Yes, that's me." He answered as gently as he could with the modulator.
"All right...the General has been waiting, he will see you now."
A'den dipped his head in acknowledgement and headed for the doors. When Gralik moved to follow he held up a gauntlet stalling him. "This is a conversation the general and I must have alone, wait here until I return." He ordered and opened the doors to the massive office, leaving the shistavanen to stand awkwardly by the receptionist's desk. After a while he turned to her. "So, what's your name?"
A'den entered the room to see the aged hound sitting at his large stained wooden desk, watching the mandalorian as he marched over. "It has been some time hasn't it...Beowulf." He asked when the hunter stopped in front of his desk finally.
"A year, six months, three weeks, and five day's sir." He answered politely; in the time he knew the dog he discovered that he was slow to broach the main topic, using the extra time to evaluate the other speaker. Say what you want about his stage in life, he was a tactical genius and dangerous politician, and certainly was no pushover in combat, even at his advanced age.
"That is indeed a long time; tell me Beowulf, what have you been doing? Your armor is more...battered then last we spoke." He asked with a friendly grin and chortle.
A'den smiled under his helm and replied with a shrug. "Big game hunting sir, you know how it is." His laugh was mangled by the modulator, coming out sounding more like a strangled rasp.
"I do." The General straightened up in his seat and cleared his throat. "How about we get down to business, I'm sure you would appreciate that."
"That sounds agreeable sir." The bounty hunter said seriously, placing pleasantries aside and getting down to the heart of their conversation.
Gralik was talking with the receptionist and having a goodtime when he heard the double doors at the far end of the antechamber open. Curios to see who was coming in he turned. The first one to make an appearance was a tall athletic looking orange fox in a pair of green pants and shirt with a cream colored flight jacket, and his hindpaws were clad in a pair of sturdy leather boots. He had the air of an experienced warrior; it was in his posture that spoke of an easygoing confidence in himself. The fox turned and held the door open for the remaining figures.
The next one to enter was an elderly hare with a pair of rimmed glasses and wearing slacks, and a long-sleeve shirt (both orange), with a pearl white lab-coat and loafers. Grey haired, but certainly not weak, he walked without help and would probably not need it for many years to come if Gralik measured him up properly.
After the hare was a red and blue hued avian that entered with a boisterous swagger in his step, the bold bird was even wearing a loud red and white outfit. Gralik could easily tell he was a showoff; he was most likely a school yard bully before he became what he was now the shistavanen hypothesized.
Stumbling after the avian was a dwarfish green toad wearing an unflattering black and yellow jumpsuit. It was clear that he was either socially awkward or just plain inept. Gralik put his money on the awkward assumption. The toad, although apparently clumsy, looked like an intelligent sort. The kind of guy more comfortable, webbed palms deep in oil and metal then hanging out in the broad world of society.
Helping the toad up was a dark brown furred and black patterned female lynx. She was dressed in the same getup as the fox except that hers was much more...generous with the curves. One of her long ears, the left, had a huge golden ring piercing the bottom corner. The lynx looked tomboyish, more at home at a bar then tittering away at the mall.
She was just finishing helping the toad to his feet when a snowy spaniel entered and assisted the pair. She was the polar opposite of the lynx. She was wearing a pink suit with a white coat and looked perpetually happy. Her long tail wagged dangerously behind her with unrestrained enthusiasm. To complement the already pinkish apparel, she had a pink bowtie pinned into her delicately brushed hair. She was by far the most feminine of the group.
The last person to enter was sapphire vixen with strange silvery tribal markings all over the parts of her fur that could be seen. She carried herself with a regal bearing; Gralik could swear she was a princess of some strange forgotten world. This particular woman had a furtight blue armored bodysuit with a strange cylinder belted to her waist. Her long bushy tail swung sedately behind her lower back as she fell in line behind the group.
Gralik watched as they walked up right next to him and talked to the red panda receptionist. "Hey Maria, is pepper in?" The male fox asked in a warm tone, giving a friendly smile as he stood in front of the desk.
"He is, but I'm afraid he is currently in a meeting and can't be disturbed." She replied apologetically.
"Who could possibly be as important as Starfox?" The avian demanded in surprise.
"I don't know who or what he is, but the General told me they go back a ways. The only other thing he told me was that mister Beowulf is a bounty hunter and part-time mercenary." The red and white striped panda added helpfully. "Any more information would have to be sought from another source." That admission intrigued and puzzled the fox and his group.
The fox frowned in deep thought. 'Bounty hunter? What is pepper doing with such a person?' He noticed that there was an oddly armored wolf standing to the side, so he put on his friendliest muzzle and wandered over. "Hey there, do you happen to be associated with the man in the General's office?" The wolf nodded slowly, not saying anything. The fox, (which also happened to be his name), pushed harder, probing the wolf for information. "Is there anything you can tell me about him?" Fox asked rather bluntly.
"Any questions you have should be addressed to Beowulf, plus I don't even know that much about him anyways." The wolf muttered that part bemusedly. He walked away and sat at one of the couches, not comfortable with this strange crowd that had just arrived. He had only just found out about his leader's alternate identity.
Fox frowned in consternation and looked to the old hare. "Peppy, have you ever heard Pepper talk about Beowulf?"
Peppy shook his head as he cleaned his glasses with a rag he kept on paw for such a task. "He never brought up such a fellow when we talked earlier. Nor has he mentioned him in any other conversation before."
"Odd." Fox mused before the avian spoke up.
"We should just go in and find out who he is!" The bird squawked, he didn't like the idea of anyone else being more important than them.
"Calm down Falco, I'm sure he must be important if the general postponed are own meeting for him." The snowy spaniel placated with a pat on the disgruntled avian's back.
"Fay's got a point, we can wait, it's not like we were busy today." The lynx drawled from her place by the desk. She had been distracting herself with a little green yarn ball, rolling it in her padded palms, and had decided to join the discussion.
"Easy for you to say Miyu, I actually have a life!" Falco fired back, venting his frustration on her.
Miyu shrugged it off without much effort, the poor shot having no effect on the lynx. "Whatever birdbrain, don't get your panties in a bunch."
Falco bristled at that and would have exploded in not for the toad who spoke up at that moment. "Don't worry Falco, I'm sure we can do something fun later. I might even make you that gun you were talking about,"
At that the avian cooled off quickly and turned to the grinning toad. "Really Slippy, you mean it?"
"Sure we can go over the layout while we wait." Falco walked over to Slippy and began to talk animatedly about what he wanted. Meanwhile Fox gave the toad an appreciative nod for averting the crisis, with which the little guy just smiled back.
Then he had an idea that could gain him a little more info. He rotated over to the blue vixen who had remained silent all this time and was about to talk when she beat him to the punch. "I already tried Fox, Whoever this man is, his mind is well guarded." She explained in a posh accent.
"Thanks for the effort anyways Krystal, it was worth a shot." He sighed and leaned on the wall, watching his friends as they spent the time talking among themselves. He noticed that the wolf on the couch was observing them with an empty gaze, from that he guessed that he probably hadn't talked to many people in some time. Fox pushed of the wall and strolled over to the solitary wolf, taking a seat beside him. He chose to speak first. "I never got your name."
The wolf shook off his glazed look and swiveled over to Fox. "People call me Gralik."
"Well Gralik, what brings you and your friend all the way to the General himself?" Fox asked, picking lint of his pants with nimble claws as he waited for a response.
"...I am not quite sure, I haven't been told very much, but he seems to be searching for a man. The few times I've heard him mention the guy tells me he doesn't want to catchup. I fear it is something far more serious." Gralik slowly opened up more, stretching vocal cords that had not seen much use in a long time.
Fox digested the new information. 'A bounty hunter looking for a personal target....interesting.' "How long have you known Beowulf? You make it sound like you just met him."
Gralik smirked ruefully. "I have only just met him. I was a...contract he decided to give a second chance. I owe my life to his act of kindness. He took pity on me when no other would have."
"Contract?" Fox muttered, puzzled.
"Indeed, Contract, I had done some unsavory things and had a bounty placed on me. He had been the one to collect it. It's strange really, everything happened so fast, the man certainly is a quick thinker. It didn't take him long to put some small measure of faith in me and gave me the chance to redeem myself."
"He sounds pretty noble to me." Fox said thoughtfully. "I didn't expect to hear anything like that from a bounty hunter." Most bounty hunters in Lylat and universally were not very morally upright individuals. Some could be easily bought out or change allegiance with the flick of a switch.
Before Gralik could agree the doors to Pepper's office opened and the hulking obsidian and gold armored form of A'den (His alias being Beowulf), strode out with the General alongside. The oddest thing that the assembled group noticed was that Pepper was chuckling. "I told you to bring him back in one piece."
"I did...for the most part." The hunter laughed, filling the antechamber with his harsh rasping bark . "At least he was still breathing, his hutt'un friends were not as lucky." Then he turned to the General all traces of laughter evaporated like a puddle of water under the merciless twin suns of Tattooine. "We have a deal? No interference, his fate is my choice."
Pepper held his paw out. "It is a deal, Tarsus and anyone else on the station will be all yours, but I want Starwolf alive."
Beowulf grasped the old hounds paw in his massive right gauntlet with care not to crush it. "Agreed, all others are fair game."
By this time Starfox had recovered their wits. This bounty hunter was far from what they had expected to see. He looked more like a one man army than anything else. His armor was beautiful in its own way. The visible scars only making it seem more authentic and the cloak added an archaic flare to the whole overall design. They all wanted to talk to Pepper but the hunter was so intimidating they found it hard to open their muzzles. Fox was the one to break the plague of muteness blanketing them. "General."
Pepper turned to Fox and smiled. "Fox my dear boy, just the fellow I wanted to see! I have some most excellent news."
"What would that be sir?" Fox asked, he and the others waiting for the information.
"Beowulf here will be taking care of Sargasso for us." Pepper said simply.
The entire room dropped their chops collectively. "You're saying that this hunk of metal right here is going to take on the most dangerous space station in the Lylat system? That's a death sentence!" Falco cried in disbelief pointing at Beowulf with a feathered finger.
"I'm sorry to say general, but I have to listen to Falco on this, no one could do it, unless they have the army behind them." Miyu agreed reluctantly with her friendly rival.
"What makes you think that he could do it?" Krystal asked curiously from her position by the door. She had been leaning there and watching the hunter, trying to get a feel for him. But try as hard as she could she failed.
A'den stayed quiet, letting the General speak for him. He knew that they would believe the dog's word over his own. He couldn't fault them for it; it was the most logical reason and he would take a familiar account over a stranger's any day as well. "Beowulf..." Pepper began, "Has been a freelance contractor for the cornerian government since Oikonny's rebellion."
"What, How come we have never heard of him!?" Fox asked in surprise. He knew every unit in the army and every hired gun. But he had never heard of this guy before.
"Beowulf is a...covert operative, and to tell you the truth he has assisted in almost every mission I gave you." Pepper answered with a mischievous grin.
That really floored the team. "How come we never saw you?" Miyu asked turning to the man in question himself. She was startled; she wanted to know where he was all those times.
"Ma'am, my objective was to draw heat away from the Starfox team to better allow them to complete theirs. Until this day I have never known the identity of the team. I can only hope that my efforts were not in vain. Many of my vod fell to secure you victory," His growling response was polite but held an undertone of loss and venom.
"Vod?" She asked, for clarification.
"My brothers in arms, the men assigned to me for those missions, many never returned home to their families. They were my charges, and I could not save them all." Beowulf's tone was still raspy, but more subdued.
"I-bu-but, but we had no idea." She tried to defend their ignorance, but his response while neutral burned a feeling of guilt in their hearts.
"No, no you didn't." His helmet stared them down, the glyphed helm holding no emotion but not needing to. After that he turned away from them and summoned Gralik with a wave. "We have our target; get back to the ship, this code will let you in. Prepare it for takeoff, I'm trusting you with this, do not fail me."
Gralik nodded his head and walked out of the room in a rush, happy that he had been given enough trust to function on his own. With Gralik off on his task, Beowulf turned to leave for parts unknown when Pepper stopped him. "Beowulf, you remember my stipulation for this."
The hunter froze and turned back, his hooded helm glaring at his longtime friend and ally. "Yes." He sighed and spoke one last time. "I will be waiting outside." He opened the doors to the antechamber and left.
A minute after the cold warrior left Starfox found their voices. "What have you been hiding from us General?" Fay asked concernedly. The first time the usually active spaniel spoke since the hunter's emergence.
The old hound exhaled heavily. "In the beginning of the Oikonny rebellion, after I employed you, a young bounty hunter came here looking for work. The alias he hunted under was Beowulf. As you know, the first few assignments you went on were hard, many times you almost didn't make it back. He was inexperienced and I must admit I was using him to take the pressure of you, in the full knowledge that his rawness could get him killed. It was a terrible decision I should have never made. But I was more concerned about you then some cheap hunter off the streets." Pepper looked tired, he clearly regretted his choice. Nonetheless, they were horrified to hear this.
"To my surprise he pulled off every mission I gave him, so I provided him with harder ones and harder ones. Soon he was leading squads and then platoons. He used to be quite the joker, and he still is, but the missions were dangerous as I told you, many of his soldiers did not come back alive. It wasn't his fault, it was actually mine, yet he took the blame upon himself. And so it festered away inside him, destroying the kid he used to be and turning him into a killing machine. No matter what he protected his men, even above himself but as you know the grinder of war takes whoever it wants. He fought with a ferocity that knew no end and watched as they fell one by one even as he struggled to protect them. By the end of the war he had one remaining soldier from his original squad. Solus, the commander who guards this very facility's doors, and he is Beowulf's only friend, after I paid him Beowulf simply upped and disappeared. The only thing he told me was that he was hunting the monster he had originally come here for. Then he called me earlier today and explained it all in detail. And it just so happened that the bastard was here in Sargasso. Anything else is more personal then I have the right to say, you'll just have to ask him yourself."
The team mulled over what they had just learned, it dismayed them to know that the missions they had taken as easy, were given to them by the sacrifice, blood, sweat, and tears of others. Fox knew that there was only one thing they could do to make it right. "How can we help him sir?" He asked with a steely conviction, his team nodding in agreement.
"Pepper dropped his sad mood and smiled. "I knew you would ask. One of the requirements for our deal was that he would have to accept whatever help I gave him. You guys are that help, get whatever you need and report in to him, until his mission is complete you are under his command. You will stay on his ship and help him however you can." They all bowed their heads in agreement and readied to leave, eager to repay their unknown debt. "Oh and one last thing, help him, it is my fault he is broken, I need you to put him back together. We actually became somewhat friends. The kid has grown on me, and I would see him alive when this is over."
"You can count on us old friend." Peppy said as they all walked out.
"I know I can Peppy, but he need to know that too." Pepper replied, rambling back into his office, closing the doors with a soft sigh.
A'den was outside next to the guards reequipping all of his detached gear. He was brooding darkly, finding the ones who he had bled for had not gone how he had thought it would, He wanted to forgive them, knew it wasn't their fault, but something had taken control over his mouth and he had not responded as expected. With a deep seated sigh he grabbed the holsters for his pistols and belted them to his waist. He heard a polite cough as he reached for his lightsabers; he stopped hands inches from the shining cylindrical hilts and swiveled to face the one who had interrupted him.
The snowy white spaniel was standing before him twiddling nervous paws and shaking her tail jerkily. "Hello mister Beowulf."
"Ma'am." He responded neutrally, watching the others stream out of the office and stand next to her. "I suppose the General has made good on his side of the deal. Very well then, do you all need things?"
"We just need some clothes and other equipment." The Fox replied, answering for the group and letting A'den know who was in charge of them at the same time.
"Fine, load up on what you need and head to the starport. My ship is in berth eight, section four. You have three hours." He turned back to his lightsabers and snapped them to his belt, slinging the verpine sniper rifle and grabbing his assault rifle. Without a goodbye he brushed past them and disappeared around a corridor.
"This is going to be difficult." Falco muttered as he stared at the hallway their new temporary boss departed into.
"Yep." Slippy piped up unhelpfully.
"This means I'm gonna have to wait on that gun doesn't it?"
"Yep."
*Sigh*
It took them an hour and a half to get ready and they made good time to the spaceport. They arrived outside berth eight, section four by the second hour. There was a black and gilded strange shaped freighter clamped to the hooks. They got the feeling that this ship was more than meets the eye. The ramp was open and inviting. So, with nervous steps they entered the vessel.
_ _