The Rogue: Part 1
Ok, so this is something I've been working off and on for a while. It's set in the Star Fox universe, right after the battle of Cornaria in StarFox 64. Note that none of the established characters are in this story, and all are of my own creation.
Also, first post here, but don't go easy on me, ok? If you don't like it, let me know, and I'll see if I can make it better!
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"Avril! Pull up! Damn it, pull up!"
"I'm trying! I..." A scream, then static, then nothing...she was gone.
"AVRIL!!!!" I screamed into my helmet's mike. Flashes erupted all around me, shaking my ship, a modified Maverick aerospace fighter. My head smacked against the console, and I felt my helmet cut into the flesh just above my left eye. Blood trickled down my cheek, fortunately not going into my eye. I also tasted blood in my mouth, and knew that I had probably bit my lip, too. But I didn't even think about it. My left paw tightened its grip on the throttle, my right on the flight stick.
"You bastards..." I muttered. "You sons of bitches are going to pay for this!" I shoved the throttle forward to full, the engines of my fighter roaring with new life as more power was fed to them. I was thrown back slightly into my seat until the inertial dampers caught up with the sudden acceleration.
"Van, what the hell do you think you're doing?" a voice called over my headset. A scowl crossed my muzzle.
"None of your damned business, Micah!" I growled, then cut off the audio feed. I knew that Micah would be pissed, but I didn't care. Those monkey bastards had taken my love from me, and I was going to make them pay with their lives.
My finger rested lightly on the flight stick's trigger as I maneuvered my fighter behind one of the enemies heavies, a slow, but powerful Altair. The cockpit sat dead center, with three massive engines and long, swept forward wings, each mounted with four lasers and, running alongside the nose of the fighter, were two torpedo tubes, with a third along the belly of the fighter. Perfect for taking out capital ships. I knew that if I let that thing get a bead on me, I was as good as dead...that's what happened to Avril. Mine, was considerably smaller, with two lasers and a single torpedo tube, but what I lacked in firepower, I made up with in shear speed and maneuverability.
I swung in behind the Altair, knowing full well that once I was on that bastards tail, he was done. There was no way that thing could outmaneuver my Maverick, configured for greater maneuverability and speed than the standard model. After a few moments, I had moved behind him, and my jaw dropped. There, on the wing of the Altair, was a skull with a dagger through it. I recognized that symbol. This was the guy that killed Avril.
A growl rose in my throat as I moved in closer. A warning siren replaced the lock on tone, but I ignored it, becoming completely single minded in my goal. Kill this pilot. I had to...for her.
The Altair must have noticed that I was on him, because he juked to the left, spinning. I laughed, my finger tightening on the trigger.
"You're not getting away from me, you bastard!" I muttered darkly. Bright spears of raw energy lanced from my cannons, piercing the Altair's center engine housing. The engine flared for a moment, then died completely. I knew that with one engine down, he wouldn't be going anywhere fast. I lined up another shot and fired, this one slamming into the left wing, sending the fighter into an out of control spin. I barked out a laugh and flicked my comm on, directed at the Altair.
"You like that, you fucker? How does it feel to be slowly rendered helpless?" I said, a sense of satisfaction welling in my chest. That sense was shattered as I heard laughter over the comm. Pained, yes, but still laugher.
"I wouldn't count on that, Cornarian...Check your radar," the monkey coughed, then I heard him spit. I glanced down at the radar, and my heart jumped into my throat. By following him, I had brought myself within firing range of a Degani class cruiser, Andross' most powerful capital ship. But, oddly enough, even after the initial shock, I wanted to take this bastard down. Then, if I could, the Degani. I didn't think that would happen, but then, I would be able to be with Avril again.
"You know what? Fuck you and your emperor," I growled, and squeezed the trigger. Energy lanced from my ship, slamming directly into the Altair's cockpit. I heard a scream, then static as the ship was engulfed with flames, then exploded, sending debris hurling into space. Satisfaction washed over me, and a grim smile came to my muzzle.
The alarm shrilled louder, drawing me out of my satisfaction. A light flashed on my console and an alarm shrilled, telling me that the cruiser had a lock on me. They knew I was there, and it was to late to use my cloak to get away. A cruiser's scanners were far superior to anything else, and would have easily picked me up.
I shifted slightly in my seat and took a deep breath. What I was about to do was suicide, and I knew it. Still though, some wild part of me had taken hold, and I wanted to take as many of them with me as I could.
I thumbed a switch on my stick, and the reticule on my HUD changed to a box with cross hairs. A few seconds later, another alarm sounded, this one softer than the enemy lock on. My eyes narrowed as my finger twitched on the trigger. My ears lay back against my helmet, and a soft growl escaped my throat. After a moment, I brought down the storm. I fired.
A single torpedo sped forth from the launcher, streaking blue through the empty space between me and the cruiser. My fighter rumbled from the launch, which wasn't much of a surprise. Technically, the original launcher on a Maverick was a lot smaller that the one that I had.
My eyes tracked my torpedo as it flew towards the cruiser. Silently, I counted down the seconds until it hit. After what seemed like an eternity, the torpedo hit, blossoming into a flower of fire for the briefest second before the vacuum of space extinguished it. A chuckle bubbled from my lips, breaking out into full blown laughter. The shields. I had forgotten about the damned shields.
I looked up, and my eyes widened as a sudden realization hit me. They hadn't seen me until the torpedo hit. I could have gotten away. It was to late now, though. Lances of energy painted the space before me. My heart jumped into my throat as I slammed the stick back, pulling my ship into a sharp climb. Fire chased me, almost like it was hunting me. The ship shook violently as one of the laser blasts tore into the underbelly. A third alarm shrieked out, and I glanced down at my damage display. Most of the underside armor was gone, and my launcher had been reduced to slag, a twisted and molten blob. It was only by shear luck that it hadn't hit the torpedo magazine.
I gritted my teeth as I pulled into a loop and a tight cork screw, my crippled fighter somehow managing to hold together. More liquid fire rushed towards me, hungry for my blood. A second, then third shot slammed into my left engine. An explosion ripped though the fuselage, knocking me completely out of control. I could fly on one engine, but I was screwed at this point.
Thinking quickly, I opened the comm to Micah. Even if I didn't make it back, which I didn't think I would, I could tell him about the Degani, give him a warning. I knew that they hadn't seen it yet, with their eyes or radars.
"Micah! Micah, can you hear me?!" I shouted, jerking the flight stick to regain control.
"Van! What the fuck are you doing?"
"Shut the hell up and listen to me! There's a fucking Degani class out here! Either get everyone out of here or take the damned thing out!"
"What are you saying? I'm not picking up any cruisers!"
"Trust me, it's there! It's hot on my...SHIT!!!" I screamed as another blast slammed into me, this one much harder than before. The bastards had hit me with a missile! I looked over my left shoulder just in time to see the plume of fire and most of my left wing disintegrate. The Maverick jerked towards the left, and yet another alarm sounded, as well as a light. I knew what it was without even looking. Eject, but I had no intention of doing that.
"Van, what's going on?" I barely managed to pick out through static.
"Don't worry about me, Micah, you just take care of everyone!" Just as I finished talking, my comm went dead. Communications were down.
Growling softly, I pulled into as tight of a corner as I could manage with the damage that I had taken. There was only one thing on my mind, and nothing I could do would change that.
"Fine, you motherfuckers...If I can't get away from you, I'll fly straight up your asses!" I screamed, my finger hammering down on the trigger, a single laser vomiting its destructive energy. The other had went the same way as my launcher.
I pushed my crippled fighter as hard as I could, never letting up on the trigger as I sped closer and closer to the Degani. Laser fire ripped the ship apart around me, but I was to the point that I didn't care. Suddenly, I got thrown forward, the straps that held me in the seat cutting into my arms, my head bashing the console in front of me. No alarm sounded, as my damage control systems had been destroyed, but I knew what they had hit without even looking at the display. Only one thing could make a fighter jerk that hard, besides a missile or torpedo. Ammo being hit or cooking off from an internal fire, and I knew that it was the former. Another violent explosion shook my ship, and it started to fall apart around me. I was thrown forward again, only to meet the console as it exploded. Searing pain shot through me, and I suddenly couldn't see at all, but I could feel blood pouring down my cheeks and down my muzzle. I could taste it in my mouth, and feel it tricking down my chest. My left arm and paw was completely numb, and fiery pain shot through my chest. A third explosion, then a fourth.
Avril...I'm coming...
Then I felt nothing.
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