Author: SILVERFOX2 Subject: Ghosts of War Pt1 Posted: NOVEMBER 15, 1998 08:20 Fox awoke to a blast shaking the space station. As he hurried down the blast site, he was horrified to learn that a bomb had gone off in General Pepper's Office. However, General Pepper was never in his office at this time. Acrid smoke loomed over the head of curious onlookers. "Strange. This bomb is the type Andross used. It's a class 7 proximity bomb." "Those were notoriously unreliable. A deep vibration would set them off. Any idea who planted it?", said Fox. "Probably the BOA." "I've never heard of them." "We don't usually tell people about them. BOA stand for Brotherhood of Andross. They are a coalition of former Andross Troops. Their leader is a shadowy figure. No one has gotten close enough to him to report and lived." Fox would've liked to listen longer, but a loud voice on the intercom interrupted. "FOX MCCLOUD! PLEASE REPORT THE SHIP HANGER AT ONCE!" When he reached the hanger, he met Gruman, the designer of tbe weapons on all Cornerian ships. Fox saw four Arwings in the hanger. "These must be our new ships." Fox ran his fingers along the sleek metal of the Arwing. "But these are unlike anything you've flown before. They are-" BATTLESTATIONS! ALL CREWMEMBERS TO BATTLESTATIONS! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! Fox was surprised. There hadn't been an attack in years. Despite this, he was soon at the command center. Fox didn't have time to say anything, the station commander was already barking orders at him. "Fox! Take the starboard gun turret! I'll take port!" Fox climbed into the gun turret and saw what he was up against. A wave of fighters was screaming towards them. But it was their apearance that was most disturbing. They were fighters only Andross had used. It was a widely known fact that no Andross ships survived. But Fox didn't have time to think. The fighters were already upon the station. Fox fired relentlessly, but the fighters were too fast. A barrage of laser blasts shook the station. The fighters however, soon made a great blunder. They came directly toward Fox's turret. Fox easily destroyed the group and scanned the area to see if there were any more fighters, but saw nothing. He climbed out of the turret, still wondering who would have Androssian fighters. 500 feet below the wasteland that was Venom, the BOA's only foothold in the Lylat System was buzzing with activity. In his chamber where he could see the rest of the complex, the leader of the BOA, known only as Number 1, was slighty frustrated, but not angry. He called his second in command to his office. Vaxus stepped up the office, looking pale and very nervous. "Y-you wanted to see me sir?" he stammered. Vaxus heart skipped a beat. Number 1 is angry because the fighters did not destroy the Cornerian space station, he thought. "What is the status of Project Nova? Is it still on schedule?" "Yes sir. It will be completed on time, my master." "Good, because I don't like to be kept waiting. When this project is finished, I will have my revenge. Not even Fox MCcloud can hide from it. But first, I have a plan. Our ships are low on fuel, and no planet in our solar system has abundant resources. But the Lylat System does. Macbeth. I plan to take it over, and take all it has to offer. The attack will come at night, so they won't expect it." "What about the resistance we will encounter?" "Their defenses are pathetic. There is one good pilot by the name of Katt Monroe. She will prove useful." Evening came on Macbeth. The miners had finished their labors, and were now settling down for the evening. The miners hated their jobs. Spending most of their time in a cave mining fuel for an aging fleet of starships. Most Cornerian ships used massive plasma thrusters that ran out of fuel in a couple of weeks. Pathetic, thought Kambir, the head miner. Will they ever learn. Suddenly the evening silence was shattered by thundering explosions. Lasers crisscrossed in the sky, and fighters swooped in and layed waste to the miners only defenses. Katt Monroe was in the air in an instant. She took out the fighters and then it was quiet again. Katt turned her ship around to go back to the hanger, but a missile streaked out of the sky and hit her ship. The missile did not completely destroy the ship, as she was still spinning towards the ground, black smoke pouring from the engines. Her ship finally hit the ground and exploded. Fox stood patiently at the airlock, waiting. Peppy, Slippy, and Falco were returning from their extended leave and Fox was looking forward to seeing them. Then the airlock door slwly opened, and there stood Fox's teammates. Slippy became hyper in an instant. "Say, our new Arwings must be ready! YES YES YES!" Fox was about to speak when an officer came running towards them. He was gasping or breath. "I'm afraid I have some very bad news. The BOA annexed Macbeth, and Katt Monroe, she's dead." Falco felt like he had been punched in the stomach. A million thoughts were racing through his head. "How did this happen?" "We have no idea. No one escaped from Macbeth. But we have a more serious problem. Our fleet is dangerously low on fuel, and Macbeth was our only source. I just hope your new Arwings and your new ship are up to the task, because no other ship can reach Macbeth." "Absolutely none?" "That's right. Your new ship is the only one that doesn't run on standard ship fuel. I think it's time you were briefed on your new ships, 'cause we're gonna need them. The BOA isn't going to stop at Macbeth." The team stepped in the hanger where their Arwings awaited. Fox looked over the four ships. It was like meeting an old friend again. There was something hypnotizing about them, then he realized it was the glossy finish. The previous generation of Arwings were a dull grey, but these were like chrome. "I think you'll find the glossy finish is more than eye candy. Greetings, I am Wolfton, one of the engineers who designed the Arwings. In a way, the gloss acts like a mirror, reflecting a portion of light that hits it. It will reflect a portion of any laser beam that hits it too, so you have a better chance of survival in a large dogfight." "Ingenious. It's so simple." said Fox. "Actually I got the inspiration when I accidentally shot my mirrot with my laser gun. Now lets move on to what makes it go. These ships have two GX500 plasma turbine engines-" "Designed by MY dad." boasted Slippy. "Here's how it works. Hydrogen, the most common element in the universe is drawn in by this fan that attracts hydrogen via electromagnetism. It passes through these inner turbines and is compressed to a point where it becomes a liquid. I then enters a small chamber where a laser heats it up. Fusion occurs, and plasma shoots out. The plasma hits another set of turbines, which turns the whole apparatus, and exits the engine, providing thrust. It's self sustaining." "Will the Great Fox II have this engines?" "Yes, no more refueling for you. I just hope you can reclaim Macbeth, so we can finally get our battle fleet in action." "What about the weapons." "Ah yes. I was just getting to that. Okay, the first and most important weapons are your laser. These are quad lasers, meaning you fire four beams instead of two. They are five times as powerful as your old lasers on those old Arwings. It's a miracle you even made a dent in any of those Andross fighters." Fox hated this. Wolfton was always bragging bout how great his inventions were. "Now let's move on to the missiles. The newest addition is the ERAAM or Extreme Range Air to Air Missile. Has a range of 60 miles, but don't try using it at close range. It isn't manuverable enough. For close range, you have the Sidewinder. Highly manueverable, but it only has a range of three miles. Next is the Harpoon AGM or Ait to Ground Missile. It is guided by the Great Fox in orbit. Has a range of 500 miles and can devaste nearly anything. But these are not the Arwings greatest innovations. These ships can go underwater and stay there for five hours. All of your missiles and lasers will funtion underwater. Imagine it, being able to hide underwater. You launch missiles at fighters flying by. They'll never know what hit em'." Falco, who hadn't spoke since the news of Katt's death, finally sayed something. "You are not sticking a bird in the ocean. Count me out of any of your adventures. I'm gonna get on my ship, find the leader of the BOA, and whup him so hard the next wannabe is gonna feel it." "You are not going off on a personal vendetta. You'll only succeed in getting yourself killed." "You may be my friends, but sometimes, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." And with that Falco ran down the hall to the secondary launch bay.