"Husky Unit, report!" Bill
Grey's loud voice yelled. They were
in the middle of a battle on Katina, as the remainder of Venom's
forces
were attacking their base for the second time. Andross was dead now,
[or
so says his buddy Fox McCloud] but the remainder of Andross's fleet
was
still attacking random bases and forts throught the Lytat system.
"Husky 2 reporting."
"Husky 3, I'm here."
"Husky 5, Huskey 4's been
shot down but I'm OK."
"Husky 7, shoot! Bill, get
this guy off me!"
"Husky 6 and 9 are down.
This is Husky 8, I'm fine."
"Husky 7, do a barrel roll
and then push your brakes. He'll pass
you and you'll be able to get a clear shot at him." Bill replied.
Husky 7 did just that, and
shot down the enemy ship.
"I'm getting sick of these
IDIOTS! Don't they know how to
fight?" Bill asked himself as he shot down enemy ships one by one.
"Bill, cover me. I'm going
in for a few kills." Husky 3 said,
diving down near the surface to the left of the base.
"I'll try, Husky 3, but
I got my hands full. Don't worry though,
help is on the way." Bill responded.
Suddenly, two Arwings came
out of the sky.
"Fox, is that you?" Bill
asked. "Why are there only two of you
this time?"
"No, this is Slippy and
Falco." Slippy's high pitched voice
squeaked. "Fox and Peppy are on Venom searching for Fox's father, or
some evidence about how he died."
"As if he's really going
to find anything. Everybody knows James
McCloud is dead." Falco laughed. "Fox, he can be so stupid sometimes.
So, Bill, need any help?"
Bill responded "Not
really,
but why not? So, did you bring Kat
along? I heard you and Kat are going steady, Falco."
Falco laughed again.
"Yeah,
right. Get real, man. Kat was okay
as a pilot but not as a girlfriend. Anyway, can we get back to
kickin'
these guys hairy butts?"
"Let's go!" Slippy yelled,
shooting down a few enemies. "I got
one!"
"Celebrate later, Slippy."
Falco shouted. Bill shot down a mine
probe and then noticed he couldn't see any more bad guys.
"Husky Squadron, you see
anything?" Bill asked.
"Nothin' on my radar, Grey
1." Husky 5 replied.
"This is quiet. Too quiet.
Something's wrong." Bill gulped.
"Maybe we got them all."
Husky 2 suggested.
"Can't be, they wouldn't
throw so little into a fight." Bill
looked around from his ship in dismay.
"Enemy Mothership
approaching,
dang it!" Husky 8 yelled.
"Another enemy mothership?
Not like there's been enough here
already." Bill muttered.
"I'll take it out." Falco
said. "I'm going to bomb the core when
it appears, like Fox did the first time."
"Good idea, Falco. Good
luck!" Slippy cried. "I'm too scared to
go near that thing!"
"I would go get the core
if I could, Falco, but I'm out of
bombs! I'll shoot down the hatches when they open up, and I'll cover
you
when you make the approach on the core." Bill responded. Grey 1 did
a
U-turn, a somersault, and then went for a few of the hatches sticking
out from the mothership.
"I got another one!"
Slippy
yelled.
"I wish for once he would
shut up." Bill muttered to himself
after he destroyed a hatch. Within a few minutes he shot down the
other
hatches and the core was placed in position above the base.
"Hey, this isn't like the
mothership we fought before! The core
can shoot back at you!" Falco exclaimed.
"Falco, help me!" Slippy
cried as he was being attacked by a
wave of starfighters.
"Husky Squadron, here to
help you out, Slippy." Huskeys 2 and 3
said, shooting a few of the enemies trailing Slippy with their
lasers.
"Got it! Move it, Bill,
it's gonna blow!" Falco shouted, telling
Bill to move out of the way.
"I know, I know, I'm
moving.
Husky Unit, head out for the
base...."
BAM!
A loud 'boom' nearly
knocked
Bill out of the window of Grey 1.
"Next time I'll remember to put on my seatbelt."
"Grey 1, me and Slippy
have
to catch up with Fox. Go back to the
base, Bill. I'm outta here!" Falco shouted with pride that this time
he
destroyed the mothership, not Fox.
"Okay, Falco. I copy. Good
luck to you, Bill!" Slippy squeaked.
"Falco, do a favor for me.
Say 'hi' to Fox and tell him that he
can visit me here on the base in Katina if he wants." Bill said
before
Falco left.
"You live here now?" Falco
asked in surprise.
"Kind of. The base has a
hotel-type area were us Husky Team
members eat, drink and sleep. We have to protect the base, ya know."
Bill responded. Falco's ship took off without even saying 'bye', as
Slippy's did, too.
"They must be in a hurry."
Bill told himself as he flew his
ship, Grey 1, towards the base.
*********************************************************************
*******************
A few days after the
attack
on Katina's base, Bill Grey was
almost asleep as he rested in his room in the base of Katina, a
planet
which was very much like Corneria, except there wasn't as much water
here. Instead water was imported from Corneria to this greenish-brown
planet. The Husky Squadron members still alive also had their own
rooms
for the nights ahead of them. Suddenly, the inter-galaxy telephone
to
his room rang as Bill was munching on a plate of bones and lamb meat.
"Bill Grey, hello...."
"Bill, this is General
Pepper....."
"Hello General. How's life
going on Corneria?" Bill asked.
"Preety smooth now that
there's no more Andross pushing us
around." General Pepper replied. "How's Husky Squadron? Is the base
on
Katina operating well?"
"It's fine. We were just
attacked by another Mothership and a
squadron of the enemy leftover from Andross's old fleet. They just
never
give up." Bill responded after yawning.
"You seem exhausted, Bill.
Everything okay?" the General asked.
"Well, it's preety rough
here but I could use a vacation from
Katina." Bill muttered. "Hey, think I can help Starfox out on
their...."
"Bill, I'm sorry, but
Starfox
just left on another quest. They
couldn't find anything on Venom to relate with Fox's father, so now
they're going out to the ruins of Sector Y, there is some reports of
more 'leftovers' of the enemy there. I'd love to let you help 'em out
but we just got news....."
"What? What is it? More
'leftovers' of Andross's fleet?" Bill
questioned.
"No, Bill. You see, a
fire-dragon
has been located on
Solar....."
"You mean that planet
that's
more like a star, with temperatures
on it reaching more than 6,000 degrees? My ship can't go there and
make
it through."
"Well, this fire-dragon
has intentions of conquering the world.
He was a creature bred by Andross orignally, but now that Andross is
dead the fire-dragon can do whatever he wants. He has found a female
of
his type and they're breeding more fire-dragons. If this happens, he
can
produce enough of them to conquer Corneria!"
"You're lying, right? A
fire dragon?" Bill laughed.
"A dragon made up of
mostly
fire, yes. It's even more powerful
than what Fox had to face in Solar two years before." General Pepper
seemed to shiver at the thought of it.
"Listen, buddy, I'd love
to help but my ship just can't take it.
Starfox's Arwings could, sure but....." Bill gulped at the thought
of
his ship going up in flames.
"That's why we are letting
you use a new Arwing developed by one
of our factories. It, as well as a second one for your friend, will
get
there within 5 days from now on a transport. This'll give you 5 days
to
rest up before you'll have to go. Listen, Bill, you're the best pilot
we
have now." General Pepper said.
"Wait, 2 Arwings? Who's
this....friend?" Bill asked.
"You haven't met her? Oh,
she hasn't arrived yet. She'll be
there within a day or two. I was sure that Falco would make some
remark
about her." General Pepper remarked.
"You mean, Kat's coming
down here?" Bill muttered.
"Correct, Bill, Kat is
another
one of our good pilots. She's
very committed to her job and is a great pilot, almost as good as
you."
General Pepper replied.
"You're crazy! Me and a
feline work together? I never have
and...." Bill exclaimed. General Pepper couldn't be telling the
truth!
"I'm sure you and Kat will
make a good team to destroy that
fire-dragon!" General Pepper said.
"You better be dreaming,
but I could use some money and I'm sure
you'll give me tons of it if I defeat that dragon. Okay, I'll try the
mission. Can you give me some data about the planet first?"
"Sure, Bill. The data's
on it's way. It'll appear on your
com-cam, record it in your own notes and make good use of the
information." General Pepper said happily. He must have felt alot
better
now that Bill agreed to do the mission.
Bill muttered to himself
and grabbed out a piece of paper and
pencil. The data came through nearly a minute later, and Bill wrote
it
all down:
PLANETARY DATA OF SOLAR
Radius: 6,153 km.
Albedo: .6
Gravity: .912
Esc Velocity: 10.77 km/s
Equilibrium: K 750
Hydrographics: NONE
Biomass: 0 Quads
Class G
Average Temperature: 6,000
degrees
Climate: Lava
Inhabitants: Small
flame-birds
[mostly used as food for the
giant roaches and fire-dragons], as well as giant cochroach type
animals
that had attacked Starfox on their mission to Venom, and
fire-dragons,
a
new species developed by Andross before he died. None of these
creatures
are very intelligent, although the fire-dragons have the ability to
speak in Lylat language.
[END OF DOCUMENT]
*********************************************************************
******************
TWO DAYS LATER.....
Bill Grey was well asleep
in his bedroom when Kat Monroe first
arrived. She was dressed in a green t-shirt, [as it was in the middle
of
the hot season in Katina] a small black silk dress and sandals. The
purple feline had moved into the room next to Bill's when Bill woke
up
in the morning.
"Oh, my achin' back." Bill
moaned. He got dressed, did a few
sit-ups to keep himself in shape and brushed his teeth. He then
walked
out of his room to go to the lovely bonquet hall down the elevator
for
breakfast. There he saw his friends from Husky Squadron, who
congratulated him for the victory 5 days ago against the mothership
once
again. Bill only smiled and said a reply to a few of his friends.
"So, what's the feline
doing
here, Bill?" Husky 5, otherwise
known as Hudson McLucks, asked.
"Yeah, I've never seen
such
a cute feline before, dude. She came
in the base last night." Husky 8, [otherwise known as Durgo Cani]
responded.
"Hudson, Durgo, don't
worry.
She's a friend of mine--kind of.
Her name is Kat Monroe. She'll only be here for another 3 days or so,
then me and her are taking off for a secret mission." Bill replied.
"Wow, low enough to have
to work with a feline. You must of been
demoted, pal." laughed Hudson. "You know, you're not in the sun, you
can
take your shades off."
"No thanks, pal. I've worn
these sunglasses since I joined the
squadron. I think they make me look preety good." Bill said. As he
said
it, Kat Monroe, now dressed in a sexy-looking white dress and blue
shirt, walked down the isles of food treys until she spotted some
bacon
and an East Cornerian waffle with maple syrup. She placed them in her
tray and sat right next to Bill at his table.
"That's it, I'm moving
away
from this table. See you later,
Bill." Durgo muttered.
"Not so fast, buddy. Let
me introduce you to Kat Monroe, that is
your name, right Kat?" Bill asked.
"Yeah." Kat responded.
"Oh, look Bill, she's
staring
at you. I think she likes you."
Hudson laughed with Durgo. However, Kat really was staring at him.
Kat
knew she really liked Falco but Bill was not that bad looking
himself.
She actually noticed she had a crush on the Husky as well. Meanwhile,
Bill was fealing nearly the same emotions towards her.
Bill came on the
defensive,
stating "Oh yeah, well I've heard
you fell in love with a lion yourself, Durgo." This was true, Durgo
actually had liked a lioness back in Corneria.
"Shut up, you blistering
idiot." replied Durgo, as he through a
piece of bacon at Bill's face.
Soon a food-fight was
going
through the bonquet hall, however a
Bulldog Commander stopped the fight. "Bill, Kat, your Arwings came
a few
days early. General Pepper wants you two to leave ASAP."
"Shoot. I was hoping a got
a few days of rest first." Kat
moaned.
"Oh well, I could use a
break myself. However, I am in the need
for some good hard cash." Bill groaned.
"Me too. So, Bill--Bill
Grey, um, it's nice to meet you." Kat
muttered.
"I bet you wish Falco was
here instead of me." Bill said.
"That's not true Bill. I
mean, at least without Falco I won't
have to show off all the time. Showing off must be preety hard on
Solar,
though. Well, I bet you thought I was dead back at Zoness. A few
newspapers reported I had died in the fight, but I really survived,
my
ship was even in good condition after the fight." Kat responded.
"Actually I didn't even
knew who you were until after Starfox
defeated Andross." Bill replied, telling the truth. They were now
nearby
the landing pad where they were to take off from their new Arwings.
"I guess this is it, good
luck Bill." Kat said.
"Off to the fire-dragon's
pit of lava, eh? Watch out for your
shield gauges, they'll go down when we're in the extreme heat." Bill
remarked.
"Okay, which Arwing's
mine?"
Kat asked.
"You get the purple-lined
ship over there. I'll take the
orange-lined Arwing, if you don't mind." Bill responded. Kat climbed
into her new ship as Bill got into his own.
"Ready for takeoff?"
questioned
Kat.
"Okay, let's go kick some
dragon butt!" replied Bill Grey as he
took off from the Arwing. Both Kat and Bill had a little experience
with
the craft and got used to the new set of controls easily. Soon they
were
out of Katina's atmosphere and into the blackness of space.
"Very boring here, ain't
it? Nothing but stars...." Bill
muttered.
"I happen to think stars
are beautiful things, glittering in the
skys like diamonds." Kat replied.
"Okay, okay, Let's go to
Solar now. All aircraft report!" Bill
yelled.
"Um....are you all right,
or did you lose your mind back there?"
Kat asked.
"Oh, sorry. I'm just used
to saying it when I lead my squadron."
Bill responded as they both went off into space.
*********************************************************************
*******************
At first it appeared as
a red ball filled with junk, but as they
flew closer to Solar Bill and Kat could identify the planet easily.
"All right, Kat. Ready to
go down into the depths of this
place?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."
replied Kat as they both dove into the
atmosphere of the deadly planet.
"Look at this place!?!"
Kat yelled. "It's a junkyard of fire!"
"Sure is. Now be careful
of the flame-birds and the walls
of.....look out!" Bill shouted.
"A Solar swell! These
things
come out of nowhere!" Kat said as
she dodged the wall of fire.
As they continued through
the atmosphere of Solar, Kat kept to
the right side and Bill was on the left. Once a large Solar swell
came
up right in Kat's face. Kat did a somersault and a quick turn to
avoid
it.
Then it was Bill's turn
to be in trouble. A mass of flame-birds
were colliding into Bill's Arwing. Bill used twin lasers to get rid
of
some of the pests but as his shield level continued to drop Bill
started
to look desperately for a sign of a gold or sliver ring. He
eventually
shot a few of the falling rocks to get a few and continued on his
way.
Kat's scream could be
heard
for miles, "Bill! Get these pests
off me!" Kat, too, was now being attacked by the dang birds. Bill did
a
sharp turn to the right and shot down a few of the birds but Kat was
still being attacked.
"Bill, I'm in trouble!"
Kat yelled in fear.
"As my friends in the
Husky
Squadron say, I'm only here to
help!" Bill responded by using the boosts quickly to catch up to Kat
and
then using a bomb against them.
"Bill, you should use
bombs
wisely." Kat shouted. "Like use them
on that BIG flame-bird!"
Bill saw it in the
distance--a
flame-bird twice the size of the
usual ones, coming straight at them! "I'm low on bombs, Kat, you
finish
this guy off. Remember to avoid the Solar swell up ahead!"
"All right, Bill. Keep
calm."
Kat responded. She used a bomb
like Bill had said to kill off the beast.
The red landscape of Solar
was beginning to bother Bill, as well
as the hot temperatures. He felt like he was an egg on a frying pan
getting boiled!
"Oh my god, Kat, look!
There
he is!" Bill yelled, pointing to a
dragon-looking beast made almost entirely of flames. The only part
that
wasn't made of fire was the beast's wings and eyes.
"Trespasser!" yelled the
fire-dragon. "My name is Darkmouth. You
have trespassed MY territory! Turn back or prepare to die!"
"Um, sorry man, but I have
orders to kick your butt." Bill said.
He did a barrel roll with his Arwing in case the dragon would really
try
to fight.
"DIE!" The fire-dragon
said,
spewing out fire from his mouth.
"Kat, move to the left,
Kat, now!" Bill yelled just in time, as
the flames were intended to hit Kat in the first place.
Bill did a somersault to
avoid a few flames aimed at himself. He
tried to attack the dragon with twin lasers but noticed a
weakness--the
only area that the dragon could be hurt in is his eyes! "Aim for the
eyes Kat!" Bill yelled.
"I have a very large
SWORD!"
Darkmouth yelled, pulling a
gigantic sword out from behind his back. He swung it at Bill, however
Bill did a somersault and then a few U-turns to avoid damage. Kat,
meanwhile, was not as lucky as the sword hit her once. Her shields
sustained the damage but she still needed help.
"Bill, help me!" Kat
shouted.
Bill started to aim for the right
eye. He shot a few laser hits and then used bombs to finish the eye
off.
The dragon screamed in terror.
"What is that for? Want
to play a little rough? Why, I'm
flattered. I'd LOVE to!" The dragon put away his sword and shot red
beams at Bill and Kat.
"This isn't good!" Kat
muttered.
"Kat, do a barrel roll!
I'll take out the other eye!" Bill
replied, using his remaining bombs on the other eye and then
switching
to twin lasers.
"OWCH! Now I'm blinded!
I cannot see! Oh, well, at least there's
one thing I can do.....fire time!" Darkmouth said with aggression.
He
used his arms to pull the fire up into the air!
"Kat, move up, quick!"
Bill
shouted. Kat did what he said and
moved high up into the atmosphere. "Stay there!" Bill dived down with
his Arwing and aimed for any part of the dragon that he could.
"Where can I hit him to
do damage?!?!?" Bill thought to himself,
but he didn't have too much time to think, for the fire-dragon
continued
to lift the flame barrier higher, until Bill was nearly burnt to
death.
"BLEEP! BLEEP! Shields are
down!" The Arwing's warning system
bleeped.
"I have to leave, Kat! The
only way we can defeat this guy now
is to dump water on him!" Bill groaned.
"I got it! Let's go down
to Aquas. There we can get all the
water we need. We can attach huge buckets of water to our ship. We
can
come back here and dump it all on him!" Kat said.
"That's crazy, Kat, but
I think it just might work! Let's go and
tell General Pepper up in space! We'll communicate with the cam-com!"
responded Bill Grey, now filled with hope.
"Leaving so soon, friend?
Hah, hah, hah, even though I can't see
I still know you're just dying to leave....." Darkmouth laughed in
rage.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"
*********************************************************************
*******************
"General Pepper, sir....."
Bill Grey said to the cam-com.
Pepper's image came on the screen.
"Yes, Bill Grey. Is Kat
Monroe all right? Did you beat the
fire-dragon?" General Pepper asked.
"Well, kind of. We need
water to defeat the flame monster.
There's no place to hit him and cause damage with lasers or bombs
anymore." Bill replied.
"Yeah, it seems hopeless,
but if we can go to Aquas, fill up
something an Arwing can carry with water, and spray it on that
fire-dragon he'll be dead on the spot!" Kat said.
"Our ships are all right,
the shields will repair themselves by
the time we get there. So, General, what do you think?" Bill asked.
"I think you are the most
insane things in the world, Bill, but
it just might work. You know what? I might be able to even send you
some
help for Aquas. I've heard there is still signs of 'leftover' enemy
there. You may need all the help you can get." General Pepper
responded.
"Thank you, General. I
wish
you the best of luck in Corneria."
Bill said.
"I wish you luck too. If
there's anyone I can count on to get
the job finished, it's you two rouges." General Pepper said. The
cam-com
flickered off.
"Thanks for saving me out
there Bill." Kat muttered.
"That's all right, Kat.
You're a great pilot yourself." Bill
said with a smile, but he still had a groan on his face because of
the
failure of their mission. What would happen to them now?
*********************************************************************
*******************
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2:
TO AQUAS AND BACK AGAIN.....
[So, how'd you like it? Is
it a good start? E-mail me back at
montany5@erols.com when you post my story up! Please?!?!?]
Bill Grey the 2nd,
soon-to-be
author of The Bill Grey Trilogy
and other Novels