03-27-2010, 12:01 AM
Szar cursed to himself. He and Victoria had been crusing at a ridiculous pace, with no more enemy signatures in the area, and they were still a ways from their objective. His computer's sensors read that it would take them fifteen minutes to reach the core, and they didn't have that kind of time. There was no knowing how long their flight path would remain clear. And even if there were no enemy ships, it was likely there would be anti-aircraft ordinances on the Cluster's surface. And, despite the skill she'd already shown, Szar wasn't sure Iron Maiden could get through it. Even he would have noticable trouble, and he'd had years of practice. Unless blind luck carried her, it wasn't likely she would make it by herself, assuming something were to happen to Szar. That meant he would have to see her to the core, or at least as close to it as he could. He hadn't heard from Ander since he tried to get a hold of him, so Iceman decided that he was out of the picture indefinitely.
"Damn it," Szar groused, "can't this thing go any faster?!"
Frantically searching for anything that could help him, his eyes stopped on something curious. It was a large red button with a warning label on it. 'Only use in clear air space. Folding the S-Foils disables all weapons systems.' Pondering his options for a second, Szar clicked on his radio.
"Iron Maiden, come in."
"I'm here, Iceman. What's up?" she responded, her tone relaxed. She was obviously enjoying the respite.
"I'm going to try something. If I don't explode, hit the red button to the left of the throttle. The one with the warning label." Szar said, his voice steady despite the implications of his statement.
"What are you talking about?"
Szar clicked his radio off. He needed silence now, to concentrate fully on what was in front of him. Holding his breath, Szar pushed the button. He heard the foils coming together before they clicked into place. For an instant everything was normal, but then his engines began to hum louder than before. The Icer barely had time to check that he was securely fastened before the X-Wing rocketed forward. The numbers of the speedometer blinked away, being replaced with a single word.
"Ludicrous." Szar read aloud. "...How fitting."
Szar put the throttle in a death-grip as he sped along toward the trench, the mission timer ticking down at an incredible rate. He must have covered fifteen minutes of space in five minutes time, and before he knew it the ship's computer was notifying him the core was just ahead. It also said there was some sort of an obstruction in the core. Flipping the toggle switch, Szar was whipped forward as his ship suddenly jerked to a halt. The foils were not out, and his weapons systems were still coming back online when Iceman managed to shake the last of the stars from his eyes.
Remembering the warning from his computer, Szar set the ship's sights on the entry port to the maintenance tunnel. It appeared as there was a Tie-Fighter lodged in the entrance, effectively blocking it off. For a moment he wondered where it had come from before he remembered the ship trying to slink past him when he was engaged with Kazuya. If Ander was still engaged with Trafford, that left only one other person.
"Juno." Szar concluded, both impressed and infuriated with the contestant's actions. How had he even come back, Szar was sure that his crabs had taken Juno out of the game? Maybe Gamer had fixed his ship to make things more interesting? Whatever the case, the fact that his ship was blocking the only entrance to the trench, Szar quickly decided what he needed to do. Flipping up the tap at the tip of the throttle, his finger hovered over the button that activated his laser cannons. It hung there for several seconds, the Icer unable to bring himself to press it. What if Juno was still in his ship? And, even if he had escaped in time, it wasn't likely that he got far. If he was somewhere on the Cluster, the bomb's explosion would definitely kill him. But should Szar even care? Gamer was a much larger threat. If it meant taking him down was it okay to kill anyone that got in his way? Maybe that was what Gamer was looking for to begin with.
Szar still hadn't figured it out when he pushed the button down. He held it there as the cannons fired a torrent of laser bolts at Juno's ship. They pewed toward their target before crashing into its hull. The ship exploded in spectacular fashion--a beautiful flower of fire lit up the blackness of space. Szar offered up a prayer for the boy before he pushed forward, launching into the chasm.
The walls around him were quick to close in, and the Icer couldn't help but feel claustrophobic. He had never had a problem with enclosed spaces, but to go from the vastness of space to the small confines of this tunnel was enough to shake him. He clicked on his radio--to get a status report on his wing mates--but he was greeted instead with static. Not surprisingly the trench interfered with radio communications, and Szar clicked it off again. Trying to relax, Iceman had started to doze off when the tunnel finally broke and he came into a massive room. Ahead of him loomed what he assumed was the core--a massive glowing orb with tendrils of electricity darting between its luminescent surface and the exterior walls of the room. He was so taken by its glow that he failed to notice the shadow moving beneath him.
It came up suddenly, a floating head resembling that of a monkey. At either side of it were two floating hands, glowing squares shining on their palms.
"You're going to die, Star Fox!" the monkey-head bellowed. "I, Andross, am going to destroy you!"
So this was the Andross that those pilots had been talking about before. Szar really didn't think that it belonged here, in this event, and that Gamer was an idiot for mixing things up like he had. Regardless of whether it belonged it was still capable of destroying Szar. Something the Icer realized all too clearly when a beam of concentrated energy came out of Andross' glowing eyes. Iceman deftly banked to the left, the blast grazing his right wing, obliterating the cannons at their tips. With half of his armaments taken out of the picture, Szar's chances of victory began to slip away. Sensing victory, the monkey-head balled its right hand into a fist, trying to punch the Changeling out of the sky. It was only thanks to his quick reflexes that Szar avoided the fist, and he quickly seized the opportunity by firing a salvo of lasers at Andross. They struck the floating head in the eye, and it howled in pain.
Blinded by rage, Andross brought his hand back to his face, trying to slap some sense into himself. In his haste, he had left his remaining hand open, the square on its palm clearly exposed. Szar locked on to it and fired, the lasers striking their target. Andross' hand exploded in a flash, and the monkey-head, still reeling from the blasts to its eyes, was lost in a frenzied bellow. Iceman covered his ears from the intense sound waves, all the while holding down the trigger. Line after line of laser fire struck Andross in the face, and Szar noticed that he was being forced back. Continuing the barrage, Szar pushed the monkey-face back until the back of its head was inches from the core.
"I will destroy you!" Andross roared, "I am the mighty Andross, destined to rule all of Corneria!"
Szar checked himself. His helmet was tightly over his head, the HUD displaying that it held enough oxygen to maintain the Icer for several hours. More than enough time. Stealing a page from Juno's playbook, Szar decided to use the ship itself as a means to an end. Activating the auto-pilot, Iceman sent his ship hurtling towards the waiting Andross. At the last moment before the crash Szar hit the eject button. Unfortunately, there was a problem with his canopy, and it stayed in place even while Szar's seat ejected him. His head slammed into the canopy above him, and the last thing Iceman saw before unconsciousness took him was Andross.
"Damn it," Szar groused, "can't this thing go any faster?!"
Frantically searching for anything that could help him, his eyes stopped on something curious. It was a large red button with a warning label on it. 'Only use in clear air space. Folding the S-Foils disables all weapons systems.' Pondering his options for a second, Szar clicked on his radio.
"Iron Maiden, come in."
"I'm here, Iceman. What's up?" she responded, her tone relaxed. She was obviously enjoying the respite.
"I'm going to try something. If I don't explode, hit the red button to the left of the throttle. The one with the warning label." Szar said, his voice steady despite the implications of his statement.
"What are you talking about?"
Szar clicked his radio off. He needed silence now, to concentrate fully on what was in front of him. Holding his breath, Szar pushed the button. He heard the foils coming together before they clicked into place. For an instant everything was normal, but then his engines began to hum louder than before. The Icer barely had time to check that he was securely fastened before the X-Wing rocketed forward. The numbers of the speedometer blinked away, being replaced with a single word.
"Ludicrous." Szar read aloud. "...How fitting."
Szar put the throttle in a death-grip as he sped along toward the trench, the mission timer ticking down at an incredible rate. He must have covered fifteen minutes of space in five minutes time, and before he knew it the ship's computer was notifying him the core was just ahead. It also said there was some sort of an obstruction in the core. Flipping the toggle switch, Szar was whipped forward as his ship suddenly jerked to a halt. The foils were not out, and his weapons systems were still coming back online when Iceman managed to shake the last of the stars from his eyes.
Remembering the warning from his computer, Szar set the ship's sights on the entry port to the maintenance tunnel. It appeared as there was a Tie-Fighter lodged in the entrance, effectively blocking it off. For a moment he wondered where it had come from before he remembered the ship trying to slink past him when he was engaged with Kazuya. If Ander was still engaged with Trafford, that left only one other person.
"Juno." Szar concluded, both impressed and infuriated with the contestant's actions. How had he even come back, Szar was sure that his crabs had taken Juno out of the game? Maybe Gamer had fixed his ship to make things more interesting? Whatever the case, the fact that his ship was blocking the only entrance to the trench, Szar quickly decided what he needed to do. Flipping up the tap at the tip of the throttle, his finger hovered over the button that activated his laser cannons. It hung there for several seconds, the Icer unable to bring himself to press it. What if Juno was still in his ship? And, even if he had escaped in time, it wasn't likely that he got far. If he was somewhere on the Cluster, the bomb's explosion would definitely kill him. But should Szar even care? Gamer was a much larger threat. If it meant taking him down was it okay to kill anyone that got in his way? Maybe that was what Gamer was looking for to begin with.
Szar still hadn't figured it out when he pushed the button down. He held it there as the cannons fired a torrent of laser bolts at Juno's ship. They pewed toward their target before crashing into its hull. The ship exploded in spectacular fashion--a beautiful flower of fire lit up the blackness of space. Szar offered up a prayer for the boy before he pushed forward, launching into the chasm.
The walls around him were quick to close in, and the Icer couldn't help but feel claustrophobic. He had never had a problem with enclosed spaces, but to go from the vastness of space to the small confines of this tunnel was enough to shake him. He clicked on his radio--to get a status report on his wing mates--but he was greeted instead with static. Not surprisingly the trench interfered with radio communications, and Szar clicked it off again. Trying to relax, Iceman had started to doze off when the tunnel finally broke and he came into a massive room. Ahead of him loomed what he assumed was the core--a massive glowing orb with tendrils of electricity darting between its luminescent surface and the exterior walls of the room. He was so taken by its glow that he failed to notice the shadow moving beneath him.
It came up suddenly, a floating head resembling that of a monkey. At either side of it were two floating hands, glowing squares shining on their palms.
"You're going to die, Star Fox!" the monkey-head bellowed. "I, Andross, am going to destroy you!"
So this was the Andross that those pilots had been talking about before. Szar really didn't think that it belonged here, in this event, and that Gamer was an idiot for mixing things up like he had. Regardless of whether it belonged it was still capable of destroying Szar. Something the Icer realized all too clearly when a beam of concentrated energy came out of Andross' glowing eyes. Iceman deftly banked to the left, the blast grazing his right wing, obliterating the cannons at their tips. With half of his armaments taken out of the picture, Szar's chances of victory began to slip away. Sensing victory, the monkey-head balled its right hand into a fist, trying to punch the Changeling out of the sky. It was only thanks to his quick reflexes that Szar avoided the fist, and he quickly seized the opportunity by firing a salvo of lasers at Andross. They struck the floating head in the eye, and it howled in pain.
Blinded by rage, Andross brought his hand back to his face, trying to slap some sense into himself. In his haste, he had left his remaining hand open, the square on its palm clearly exposed. Szar locked on to it and fired, the lasers striking their target. Andross' hand exploded in a flash, and the monkey-head, still reeling from the blasts to its eyes, was lost in a frenzied bellow. Iceman covered his ears from the intense sound waves, all the while holding down the trigger. Line after line of laser fire struck Andross in the face, and Szar noticed that he was being forced back. Continuing the barrage, Szar pushed the monkey-face back until the back of its head was inches from the core.
"I will destroy you!" Andross roared, "I am the mighty Andross, destined to rule all of Corneria!"
Szar checked himself. His helmet was tightly over his head, the HUD displaying that it held enough oxygen to maintain the Icer for several hours. More than enough time. Stealing a page from Juno's playbook, Szar decided to use the ship itself as a means to an end. Activating the auto-pilot, Iceman sent his ship hurtling towards the waiting Andross. At the last moment before the crash Szar hit the eject button. Unfortunately, there was a problem with his canopy, and it stayed in place even while Szar's seat ejected him. His head slammed into the canopy above him, and the last thing Iceman saw before unconsciousness took him was Andross.