Fox McCloud winced as another yelp came from the cell just down from his, silence then followed then a snarl of frustration. Not being able to take just sitting still he began to pace. His best friend Bill Gray was in the cell across the hall from his, sitting on a steel bench. Like Fox he was also trying to block out what was happening in the nearby cell, and like Fox he couldn't. He knew, from personal experience, what was happening in that cell.
Less than a week ago Andross had launched a surprise attack on Lylat that had taken everybody by surprise. He had been planning and setting his traps for months, and when they snapped shut nothing was able to escape. Corneria and Katina, the main bases for the Military and the Air Forces, were the first to fall. The Star Wolf Team was specially assigned to take the Great Fox, Star Fox tried to fight back but it was too late. They had boarded the ship. The only person with a prayer of slipping through the net was Mariko. Unlike her team mates she was an expert paw to paw fighter, the rest of the team was good on the ground but nowhere near Mariko's league. Unfortunately Wolf had planned for this and boarded the Great Fox with about 20 heavily armed Venom troops, even Mariko wasn't that good and was knocked out as she attempted to free her team mates.
The entire team was dragged to Venom and tossed into some of the lowest dungeons that could be found for the 'special' guests. Katt Monroe and Bill Gray soon followed and were tossed in alongside Star Fox. It didn't take long for Andross to order Leon to go below and torture the pilots who had given him so much grief over the long years since he had decided to take over the Lylat system. Fox and Bill were first, then the others would follow, starting with Falco, since Leon hated him most.
Leon was about halfway through his first session with Fox when he was rudely interrupted, for the third time.
"Hey Leon!" snapped Mariko, "Why don't you pick on somebody who deserves it! Wolf O'Donnell comes to my mind!"
Despite his pain Fox stifled a laugh, Leon heard it anyway and gave him another shock with his hand held tazer. Wolf was in the cell watching Leon torture his arch-rival and scowled down the hall where Mariko was being held. "Keep working." Wolf hissed, "I'll find a way to shut that witch up." as he walked out of the cell.
"Good Luck," grumbled Leon, "I haven't been able do that yet."
Fox yelped again and Mariko fumed. Over the past year their relationship had jumped from being friends to a serious relationship. Being tortured by Leon had to be easier to bear than listening to him torture Fox, and no way to help. So she decided to trick Leon into turning his attentions to her instead. She felt confident that she could keep Leon annoyed for months, and spare her team mates and friends as much pain for as long as she could. Since her only weapon was her sharp wit, she began to use it. Whenever Leon or Wolf was in the area, she taunted, insulted, and annoyed as much as possible. It seemed to be working as Wolf O'Donnell stomped in front of her cell glaring at her.
"If I was in your position I would keep quiet." he hissed
"Or what? You'll make me sorry?" Mariko taunted, "Things couldn't possibly get much worse than this." she motioned to her less than ideal surroundings, the cell was small and dark. Laser bars stood between herself and O'Donnell, the cell was also fitted with devices that suppressed her powers. They were made by Knights to keep other Knights under control, leave it to Andross to steal the technology and use it against her. She then sneered, "By the way have you found your dagger yet?"
Wolf was barely able to keep his anger in check, he had personally searched the Great Fox himself and he still couldn't find the dagger she stole from him at their first meeting. Somehow he was able to turn around and start to walk away before he really lost his temper. Mariko couldn't have that, she decided to really push Wolf's button's. As she saw him walk away she noticed something, "Oh I see you still have that limp, "
If she was going to say anything else it was never heard over Wolf's roar of anger as he lunged toward her cell. Leon stopped what he was doing and quickly left Fox's cell in an attempt to stop Wolf from hurting himself. Too late. Mariko took a step back away from the laser bars just before Wolf hit them head on.
With an ear-popping zap Wolf was kicked back away from her cell and landed in a heap a few feet away. The smell of singed fur hung in the air. "Ooooo," muttered Mariko, "that had to sting. Did I hit a nerve Wolfie?"
He made a move to lunge again, but Leon stopped him. "Easy Wolf." muttered Leon "She's just trying to get us mad enough so we'll do something stupid."
"It worked." replied Mariko cheerfully. Everybody else in the area stifled a chuckle.
Leon first glared at the other cells, which shut everybody up, then he turned his attentions to Mariko. "Since I will not be able to continue with Fox with you around, how would you feel if I asked Andross to move my appointment with you up a bit?"
Mariko cocked and eyebrow, "Is that a challenge that I hear?"
"If it is?" replied Leon, never breaking eye contact.
Mariko played he final hand for the day, if her next remark didn't trick him into going after her, nothing would. Unlike Wolf, Leon was able to keep his emotions in check, making him tough to read. Through her jibes and taunts Mariko was able discover that Leon prided himself in being one of the most feared members in the Venom Army. His torture techniques made him both famous and feared. Just the threat of Leon's torture was enough to make people talk. It was all a mind game, the physical part was icing on the cake, for Leon. Knights had a similar rep, but the techniques were different, Knights used more mental skills than physical means. She took a deep breath before replying to Leon.
"I would most likely decline if I had the choice." Leon's jaw dropped, Mariko continued, "I am not afraid of a two-bit bully with a flair for the sadistic. I know and know well the games you play with people's minds, Knights have been doing it for longer than you can think. You hold no threat to me, and not worth the time."
Wolf swallowed he had rarely seen Leon come even close to losing his temper, but right know he appeared ready to take off Mariko's head. Nobody had ever come close to doing that, ever. Leon's eyes narrowed and he hissed, "Looks like you will accept it by default. I will see you tomorrow." He then pivoted on his heel and marched right back into Fox's cell, gathered up his tools, unclamped Fox from the wall and left the area with Wolf.
After the main door clanged shut and locked the place practically exploded.
"ARE YOU CRAZY MARIKO?!?!?!" yelled everybody in synch.
"Yes I am!" retorted Mariko, "Lock me up and throw away the key. Oops. Sorry. Somebody's already done that."
"Congrats Mari," muttered Bill, "Not only will you have Leon turning his attentions to you, but you are going to have a mad Leon turning his attentions to you. Something you should be avoiding."
"I have to agree with Bill there Mariko." replied Fox, "How long can you hold out against Leon with out your powers?"
"I'm not completely powerless Fox." she stated, "I may not be able to use them on Leon or to get out but I can use them on myself. I'll live. I may not enjoy the experience, but I'll find a way to survive it."
That was a week ago, two weeks after Andross took over Lylat, and Leon was not happy. That much Fox could figure out from the noises coming from Mariko's cell. She wasn't cracking, Leon tried almost every thing to break Mariko's spirit. From his small table saw to knives, to the tazer, nothing. The only think keeping him from using his Brain Mess on her was the fact she was a Knight. He really didn't want to deal with any side effects, the odds were high that it wouldn't work as designed on Mariko's mind. He decided to try the endurance factor next. Nobody could stand this kind of abuse forever, not even a Knight.
Another week passed, Mariko was still fighting. Leon grabbed her chin to better threaten the battered Knight, Mariko promptly bit him. Hard.
Leon's howl of pain got everybody's attention. Fox swallowed, at this rate Mariko was going to buy herself a one way ticket, six feet under. He flinched as he heard Leon backhand Mariko. He closed his eyes and willed it to end.
Leon stepped back from Mariko in order to figure out the next step. At first glance you would think Leon was on the winning side. Mariko was clamped to the cell's wall by her wrists and ankles. Her once white fur was covered with dark brown stains of dried blood, her normally long glossy black hair was matted and knotted, her ears were torn, and her face was covered with bruises and cuts, the dark brown blood stains were a sharp contrast to the bright red tattoo over her right eye. But when you looked at her eyes you could tell Leon was not winning. Her dark eyes still blazed with defiant fire, every time Leon looked at those defiant eyes his frustration grew. The more his frustration grew the more Mariko's resolve hardened. As the torture continued the Star Fox team, Bill and Katt, prayed that Leon gave up before it cost Mariko her life.
At the same time an unknown ship was entering Lylat. It was about the size of the Great Fox, but wider than tall, some people had compared it to a sausage patty in an attempt to be funny. They stopped laughing once they saw it in action, the ship now called the New Atlantis, was once a battle cruiser, made to be small, and fast. To hit hard and get the heck out of the battle zone. She originally fell in a battle long ago, but the current owner had asked to salvage the ship as part of fees due for being a mercenary pilot. They accepted since they believed they had ships far beyond the wreck.
The current owner of the New Atlantis was standing on her bridge wondering what had happened to the Lylat system since she was last here. She was a female white rabbit, and appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with red hair and bright green eyes. The last time she was in Lylat was just before her friend and fellow mercenary pilot, James McCloud, had died. Word of James's death had reached her a few months later, over the years she had kept tabs on Lylat and on James's son Fox. After years of wandering outside the Lylat system she decided to come back home a visit old friends, maybe say hello to Peppy and Fox and to show off her ship.
Ariel Triton was strolling about her bridge worried about the state of her home system. She had seen battle cruisers that could swallow her New Atlantis whole patrolling around the system. She may have been away from Lylat for years, but she felt confident that they were not Cornerian ships. She silently thanked the stars that the former owners of her ship hadn't stripped it completely when they gave it to her. It had been equipped with an advanced cloaking device, which was currently in use as the ship silently glided to Corneria. Overall the New Atlantis was almost completely automated, an advanced computer system called Delphi kept the ship running and was voice controlled from anywhere aboard the ship. Ariel sighed and muttered, "Delphi, estimated time of arrival."
"One hour and ten minutes at current speed to reach destination." replied the computer toned female voice.
"Scan for ship: Great Fox." stated Ariel.
"All scans negative. Ship: Great Fox not found in Lylat system." replied Delphi
"Damn!" hissed Ariel, "What is going on? Delphi, scan all current transmissions, I want to know what is going on here."
"Acknowledged. Scan will take 30 minutes." Delphi replied.
Ariel wasn't able to stay still, she left the bridge and quickly made her way to the hanger bay on the lower levels. Since the ship was fully automated, there was no need for her to keep a crew around full time. The last time the New Atlantis had a full crew was during the months after she was salvaged, before Delphi was up and running. Originally the ship had a crew capacity of about 50, but after it's refitting the conversion of the lower levels into a full hanger and repair bay, the addition of a recreation area, a full medical bay, that number was cut down considerably. The ship could hold about 20 people if needed about 10 under regular conditions. The repair and hanger bay can hold about a half dozen small ships if needed, 4 was normal. Currently there was only one ship in the hanger ready to fly, the very ship that Ariel used to leave Lylat years ago. The Blackfire, her pride and joy, like the New Atlantis it was a salvaged ship, once upon a time it was a Cornerian fighter, much modified and customized to her needs. She had also updated the shields and weapons over the years and added some new things as she traveled. The New Atlantis's cloak and advanced engine came from the Alter System, where she was salvaged. The Blackfire's heavy shields were adapted from an Imperial System design, the weapons on both ships came from just about everywhere she had traveled. Earlier she was wondering if Peppy would even recognize the Blackfire, now she was wondering if Peppy was even alive.
"Scan of transmissions complete." Delphi broke into her train of thought.
"Thanks Delphi," replied Ariel, "Transfer the results to the repair bay."
"Acknowledged."
Ariel entered the bay and sat down at a small computer screen, she tapped a few keys and the data appeared. As Ariel read her face changed, "By the Gods," she whispered. She continued reading, she read about the war with Andross and his takeover of the system less than a month ago, how almost everybody was either enslaved by Andross or captured and sent to the camps on Venom. By the time the New Atlantis was in orbit around Corneria, Ariel's resolve had hardened. One way or another Lylat would be freed from Andross.
On Corneria, the numerous military bases that had built around Corneria City were now so much rubble. They were among the first targets of Andross when he launched his attack, there were almost no survivors, what few soldiers and troops that had survived the initial bombing were either killed or captured soon after. Alpha Base, located the closest to the city was now rubble, at least from the outside. Deep within the ground, bunkers had been built, originally created as a safe, bomb proof haven for important figures. For reasons nobody could remember that project was abandoned, after the base was built the bunkers were converted into storage for hazardous materials, weapons still in development and emergency supplies. One of the soldiers stationed at Alpha was in the bunker taking inventory at the time of the initial bombing. Lieutenant Beatrice "Boomer" Gray had been using her considerable mind to figure a way out of the bunker, at least she had access to the rations stored there so she wouldn't starve, but out would be nice.
The only way out Boomer could find was to blow the rubble and the door out with explosives. Highly dangerous since the rooms of the bunker had explosives stored inside, one wrong calculation and she could blow herself up. After several hours of planning, and careful preparation Boomer crouched behind several large crates of rations ready to hit the switch to the explosives on the door.
Ariel had reached Alpha Base, she had landed the Blackfire about a half mile away and made her way to the base. As she feared it was rubble, she was hoping the hidden bunker that was rumored to be here was intact, it may hold anything from survivors, to supplies needed. She was examining the hanger bays, most of the ships were scrap, not even worth salvaging. As she picked through she noticed one more ship, it was half buried, but intact it was a small fighter, painted a bright blue and white. As Ariel dug it out she noticed it was still space worthy. "Tough little ship." chuckled Ariel. She was about to contact Delphi on her com-link when an explosion caused her to jerk her head up. She darted out of the hanger, and spotted a puff of smoke where the main building once was.
Boomer crawled out of the hole she just blew, at least the rest of the explosives didn't go up. Some rubble had caved back in on top of her she as she scrambled for the surface. She felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her out. Boomer was ready for almost anything, and was greeted by a female rabbit with red hair and bright green eyes, she was wearing dark green pants and a tight fitting sleeveless mock turtleneck in black and green. Boomer choked on the dust that was kicked up by the explosion, she finally gasped out, "Who?"
"My name is Ariel, I'm a good guy. Who are you?"
"Beatrice Gray." replied Boomer climbing out with Ariel's help, "just call me Boomer."
"I can see why." muttered Ariel, "That explosion might have caught a patrol's attention we better get..." her voice trailed off as she noticed Boomer wandering through the rubble. Ariel jogged over to her.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Not really," choked Boomer, looking around at what was left of the base that had been her home for the past few years, "I knew it had to be bad when help didn't arrive, but I had no idea. What happened?"
"Andross took over about a month ago." began Ariel "he's bombed every base on both Corneria and Katina, whoever survived the bombing was either captured or killed."
Boomer swallowed at the mention of Katina, where her older brother Bill was stationed, "Any ideas on who was captured?"
"Not here," replied Ariel, "but I can get a list on who was taken to Venom back aboard my ship, anybody you're looking for in particular? I caught a few names when I was tapping into the Venom transmissions."
"Commander Bill Gray." replied Boomer, "He's my brother."
Ariel swallowed, "He was captured on Katina, taken to Venom to be imprisoned with Star Fox, those names were all over the place in the transmissions."
"Damn." whispered Boomer, "If I know Bill he'd rather be dead. Don't ask why, you do not want to know."
"Right." replied Ariel, "Now there was one space worthy ship in the hanger, you can use it to get back to my main ship. You can fly right?"
"Yep." replied Boomer, "The ship that's okay, it's blue and white, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"That's the Shockwave, my ship, used to test new tech and weapons before final production. I designed it to with stand almost anything." Boomer paused, "Let me get something from the bunker and we can go."
As she climbed back down into the bunker Ariel asked, "What's down there that you need?"
"It's not what I need," replied Boomer, "It's what I don't want Andross to get his hands on." After about ten minutes Boomer shoved a metal box about three feet long and a foot high and wide, out of the hole. "Dang, this thing is heavier that I remember." she gasped as she climbed out.
"Where are you gonna put this?" asked Ariel, "I don't think your ship has storage space."
"It does," replied Boomer, "Sorta."
Ten minutes later Ariel was wondering if Boomer had a head injury as she stashed the box in the Shockwave's bomb compartments. "Hey." stated Boomer, "when your in weapons development you learn to improvise. The Shockwave needs some repair, I take it your ship is nearby."
"I'll go and get my ship," stated Ariel, "I'll be back in about a half an hour, can you do what you need by then?"
"Not all of it, but enough to get her where she needs to go."
And hour later found both women aboard the New Atlantis, Boomer whistled. "I know allot of people in the Corneria Military who would kill for this ship."
Ariel grinned, "They'll have to get in line. How long before your ship is okay for combat?"
"A day at most." replied Boomer, "Right now sleep sounds real good." The young dog looked exhausted, both Boomer herself and her uniform was tattered and dusty. Ariel silently agreed that sleep and a bath were the best course for her.
"I'll find you a place to crash, and maybe a few changes of clothes. Tomorrow will be soon enough to try and find a way to save Lylat, and maybe find some more help."
Early the next morning, Leon entered Star Wolf's private rec and dining area, Wolf was already there eating breakfast he noticed the bandage on Leon's hand. Wolf took a guess.
"Mariko?" he growled motioning to the bandage.
"Who else? The blasted Knight bit me." hissed Leon, "I'm on the verge of using the Brain Mess on her just to wear down some of her resistance."
"Are you sure of that?" grumbled Wolf, "If it backfires..."
"Star Fox would get hit with the effects." smiled Leon, "Bringing harm to her friends and boyfriend should break her faster than what I have been doing."
"Okay." stated Wolf with a grin, "When are you going to zap her? I want to be around to see the after effects."
"No." replied Leon, "You just want your dagger back."
"That too." snickered Wolf, "So when are you going to do it?"
"Today." stated Leon, "Tomorrow should be soon enough to see the results."
Back on the New Atlantis, Ariel found Boomer in the repair bay working on her ship. "I didn't expect you up this early." She stated.
Boomer looked up from where she was unpacking the box she got from the bunker, "Too worried to sleep in." she replied, "I've been waking up early since I was at the Academy, it's a hard habit to break."
"Okay." replied Ariel, she then glanced in the box, "The suspense is killing me. What is in that box?"
"An E-M Pulse generator." replied Boomer.
"A what?"
"An Electric Magnetic Pulse generator." began Boomer, "Since most ships and equipment generate a small electric magnetic field, another field or pulse can disrupt that field causing a malfunction, or complete failure in the ship or the equipment. The idea was to create a weapon that could generate such a pulse to use against Venom Ships."
"Yipe," replied Ariel, "So in theory a few small ships could take out a battle cruiser, since they are chock full of electrical equipment. No wonder you wanted that out of the bunker. So how come it's not in use?"
"A slight flaw developed." sighed Boomer, "Nobody could figure out how to protect the ship using the E-M Pulse, from the feedback. By fate or dumb luck the shields on the Shockwave could take it. Since converting the shields on existing Cornerian Fighters would be too expensive the project was scraped and the prototype mothballed in the Alpha Base's bunker."
"And now your reinstalling it in the Shockwave." finished Ariel. "Any chance you could alter the shields on another fighter to resist the E-M Pulse?"
"Yep." replied Boomer, "Yours I presume?"
"You got it." stated Ariel, "I found a first target, a convoy of supplies and loot from Corneria is in route to Venom. It only has a token escort, I guess Andross is getting a little cocky. One thing I've learned in my years as a mercenary is the best way to hit somebody like Andross is through the pocket book."
"The reports I heard just before the take-over stated the old Ape-Face was getting a little lean on the money department. Riots were common on some of his bases due to lack of food and funds. Estimates were that he couldn't keep up the war much longer." replied Boomer. "If we could stop that convoy.."
"It will make Andross's hold on Lylat a great deal harder." finished Ariel, "As I said it only has a token escort, between the Blackfire, the Shockwave, and the New Atlantis, we should be able out a good chunk of that convoy."
"When is it due to arrive at Venom?" asked Boomer.
"The day after tomorrow. Will both ships be ready?"
"Is Andross insane?" chuckled Boomer.
Later that day Leon came down to Mariko's cell for his daily rounds with her. After a slight fight to get her clamped to the wall, he began the usual routine of unloading his tools of the trade. "So what are we going to begin with today?" snickered Mariko.
"Something different." smiled Leon, pulling a new toy from his bag. It was something Mariko had never seen before. It made her a little nervous. Leon explained, "You might have heard of this, I call it the Brain Mess." A gasp from Bill's cell soon followed.
"Oh boy, that Brain Mess." muttered Mariko, "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"Oh yes." hissed Leon and lined up the needle of the device with Mariko's eye.
On to Chapter Two
Back to Black Dolphins Rising Index