Krystal and Chase: Day One
by Eeveev2

Part one: Rough Start

As her mind wandered, the blue furred vixen stared aimlessly out into the dark void of space.  The tip of her tail flipped slowly back and forth against her leg in a slow dance.  With a sigh, Krystal's mind was taking a trip back through her memories of love gained and lost through her life.  Those who she had stood beside through thick and thin, and who had stayed at her side for better and worse.
"I've known some interesting males." Krystal though as she looked away from the window, her hand lightly touching the orb resting above her breasts, "Fox, Panther, even Wolf, and now I'm back with Chase.  I guess I've come full circle in a way."
As she gazed out, the vixen failed to hear the door open and close.  Her mind still wandering into her past, anything happening around her was lost to Krystal.  At least, it was until she felt a hand gently pat her shoulder.  With that, Krystal's mind snapped back to the present, her eyes looking up to find her partner and best friend looking down to her.
"Letting your mind wander again, Krystal?" Chase asked.
The vixen smiled and nodded, "Mhm.  Just thinking about the past."
Chase nodded and sat beside her, the fox glancing over his partner before asking, "You took some hard hits last mission, you sure you don't want to see a doctor?  Just to be sure nothing's worse than it felt?"
"Chase, I'm fine.  I promise." The vixen replied, then she smiled to the fox, her hand gently laying on his, "Besides, we've taken worse hits on worse missions.  Remember our very first mission as Ronins?"
Chase couldn't help but give a light chuckle as his mind recalled it, "Yeah, I remember that mission.  It wasn't one of our best."
*           *          *
Chase glanced down at the colony below through the open side of the gunship.  The young fox's ears were filled with the roar of the engines as the wind blew through his fur; his eyes squinted as the wind from their approach nearly blinded him.  As he pulled back into the body of the gunship, the fox glanced at the blue furred vixen sitting across from him, her back against the wall.
Krystal was adjusting her armor over her chest, the light steel plate pressing against her breasts as she tried to make it more comfortable.  Once she was satisfied, the vixen looked back to Chase, the fox smirking to her before looking back out the open door.  Krystal knew Chase was nervous.  They both were, this being their first time being deployed into the field as the Ronin team.  Not to mention they had a different CO for this mission than Hiigan.
"T-minus four minute to the LZ!" The pilot shouted back to them over the roar of the gunship engines, "I'm flying you back to the combat zone so be ready for a hot drop when you get back after your briefing!"
Chase nodded, "Roger that!"
Krystal stood up and grabbed the handle of the door behind her, the heavy piece of steel moving easily as the vixen pulled it open.  As she looked down at the ground speeding hundreds of feet below them, the vixen swallowed nervously.  Heights usually did not bother Krystal, but as she glanced towards their destination, a small outpost in the distance quickly growing larger by the second, the vixen felt her heartbeat quicken in her chest.
"You ok Krystal?" Chase asked as he took a seat across from her, moving away from the open door on his side, "You look nervous."
Krystal looked back at him and nodded, the wind whipping through her fur and hair, "Can't hide anything from you, can I?"
Chase smiled, "Don't worry, I'm sure things will go fine."
Krystal nodded, "I hope you're right.  After all, it's not like we'll get a redo if we fail this time."
Chase nodded before glancing back out the open doors, the gunship slowing for it's decent to the base that was rapidly approaching, "Yeah, it's the real thing this time.  But as long as we take care of each other, I'm sure we'll be fine."
*           *          *
After landing, the two found themselves in a room with a large creature looking to them.  At eight feet tall, the red kangaroo looked a bit intimidating to the new mercenaries.  Krystal took a deep breath to calm her nerves as the anthropomorphic kangaroo looked over the two, activating the display table beside him.  As he did, a holographic model of a colony owned and operated by the corporation they worked for appeared.
"Well, don't just stand there." He said with a smile, "Come in.  You two must be our newest team."
"Ronins 1 and 2 reporting sir." Krystal replied, "If you don't mind my asking, where's our usual CO?"
"Hiigan was picked to direct this mission personally." The kangaroo explained as he took a seat, "In his absence, I was assigned to be your CO.  You may call me Roo."
Chase glanced to Krystal, who simply nodded in reply.
"Now, have a seat." Roo said, motioning to the two chairs across from him and the display.
As the two took their seats, the display zoomed back out from the colony, showing red blips around the hologram.  As Chase looked it over, the fox realized what the hologram was showing was in real time.
"So, your mission is fairly straight forward." Roo explained to them as he brought the display back onto the colony, "As of sixteen hundred hours yesterday, the security and maintenance robots of colony 051 went rouge.  We have no idea how or why, but as far as we can tell someone or something reprogrammed them and every security measure in the colony.  Currently, we have no idea how many survivors there are, or if there are any at all.  We tried to retaliate and take control back from the robots, but our recovery and science teams have been reported as KIA.  Whatever reprogrammed these bots, turned them against anything alive in that colony."
"So what does this have to do with me and Ronin-1?" Chase asked, "Are we going in to support a ground team to take back the colony?"
The red kangaroo smiled to them, "In a way.  While the rest of the teams assault the outer rim and inner sections of the colony, drawing out most of the robots from the inner-most sections of the colony, you two will be aboard a gunship heading into the colony with the intent of taking down the main server that controls all of the colony's robots.  In short, they're the distraction.  You two are our main focus and have the most important part of the job."
Krystal looked to him in shock, "But that section will be the most heavily guarded section of the colony!  Are you sure it would be a good idea to send in two…well…rookies?"
"And who's more dangerous and unexpected than a team like you two?" Roo replied, "I've read both of your files, even the part covered in black ink that the higher ups and corporate censors didn't want me to."
Chase's ears perked up curiously at that, "How?"
"Hiigan sent me his files on you two before he sent them to the censors." Roo replied with a smile, "Look, you two are best qualified for this job.  That's why you're both here right now.  You're young, you're dangerous, and, best of all, you are both still unpredictable in battle.  I have a feeling those bots won't know what hit them when you two get inside."
Krystal looked at the display curiously, her mind filled with questions.  But as she opened her mouth, only one came to it first.
"Why are we not simply hitting this building from orbit with a sub orbital strike?" The young vixen asked, "It seems like a waste of resources to send in teams when we could just hit the building from a long distance and minimize casualties for everyone."
The kangaroo shook his head, "No good, the main servers are all kept underground in case any of our enemies had the same idea.  If we tried an orbital strike, the mainframe server room would lock itself down and we'd never be able to get back inside."
"Alright, so we go in, blow the servers, and get out.  Sounds easy." Chase said with a confident smirk.
"Well, no.  We still need those servers to see exactly what happened." Roo replied, "So you won't be destroying them, but you will be infecting them with a different virus."
Krystal smiled, suddenly understanding, "So we'll be infecting it with a sort of cure, right?"
Their CO smiled, "Right Ronin-1.  This virus is a sort of reset with a catch.  It'll isolate whatever changed in the systems occurred before this robot rebellion happened and correct them.  But, at the same time, this virus you'll be introducing into the system will extract whatever triggered this thing in the first place, replacing itself on the drive with that program and isolating it into containment for study later.  I don't know how it all works exactly, but that's why we have techs that do."
Chase nodded, understanding the mission now, "Alright, so how are we going to get in there?"
"That's the hard part." Roo explained as he brought the hologram closer to the building the two would be entering, "You see, this colony is pretty well defended, but it's all automated.  Meaning whatever took control of the security and maintenance bots also took control of the anti-air and anti-infantry batteries near this building and throughout the colony.  Usually there are fail-safes in place to prevent this, but whatever did this completely shattered those during it's initial takeover.
"So, you two will be aboard a gunship that will drop you two off on the roof of the building.  From there, you will have to make your way down to the server rooms under the building and break into there.  Remember, anything inside that building is to be handled as a hostile threat.  Use lethal force on anything that tries to prevent you two from reaching that section."
"It's going to be a very rough ride, won't it?" Chase asked.
The kangaroo nodded, "It pretty likely.  But, if you get shot down you'll still be closer to the servers than anyone else on the ground."
"That's reassuring." Chase said sarcastically.
"Now, onto the fun part, weapons!" Roo said as he stood up, "Ronin-2, I'll assume you'll be sticking to your duel Stinger handguns?"
Chase nodded, "Of course."
Roo smiled and nodded, "Krystal, your weapon has changed.  As I recall, you trained with the A-22 HAR, correct?"
The vixen nodded, "It's my weapon of choice Sir."
"Well…sadly that weapon is no longer being produced.  So…" Roo picked up a rifle from the cabinet beside him and set it on the table, "Let me introduce your new best friend.  This is the S-32 Heavy Assault Rifle, the A-22's big brother.  This weapon fires a heavier round than you're used to, but it's much lighter and easier to carry.  Thirty round magazine, single to multi-shot burst, and armor-piercing rounds are standard.  Plus it's just as reliable as it's counterpart.  In short, this weapon is designed to kill robots.  Although it will tear some messy holes in organic enemies too."
Krystal picked up the weapon, surprised by how light it was.  The vixen pulled it to her shoulder, looking down the sights as she examined it.  As she cradled it, the vixen nodded her approval of the weapon.
"Alright, go do the corporation proud you two." Roo smiled, "And try not to get killed."
Chase smirked, "No promises."
*           *          *
As the gunship raced towards the colony, Chase looked out the open door once again.  Across from them were several other gunships and a large drop ship, all carrying other mercenaries and corporation soldiers.  As the gunship reached the borders of the colony, Chase watched as a wolf took control of the chain-gun turret by the open door, the gun rotating to face the colony as the energy tubes that connected the gun to it's ammunition lit up.
The fox glanced to his partner, the vixen cradling her new rifle in her arms.  She looked back up at him, her emerald eyes filled with worry.  Chase got up and sat next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.  Krystal looked at him as the fox smiled softly.
"We'll be fine." Chase stated.
Krystal looked down, "Chase…how do you know?  How do you know we won't lose one or both of our lives on this mission?"
Chase thought for a second and then replied, "Because I know that as long as we're working together, we can pull off any mission, no matter what.  You look out for me, and I'll look out for you, just as we always have."
As Krystal looked at him again, the fox smiled, holding her hand in his, "We're a team Krystal.  Together, we can do anything.  That's a promise."
Krystal nodded, gripping his hand tightly for a moment before releasing it.  With those thoughts in mind, the vixen felt better.
"You two better be ready!" The gunner yelled to them, "We're going in!"
Chase nodded and retook his seat across from Krystal, the two pulling down their harnesses as pair of missile pods behind them pushed out, ready to fire from the gunship as it approached.  Chase glanced out the open door, seeing the other gunships doing the same.  Missile pods appeared at their sides as their doors opened as soldiers took positions to fire from the gunship's bodies, gunners taking positions on the turrets.  Chase watched as their second gunner grabbed the handle of the door beside Krystal, pulling the steel plate open before taking his position on the turret.
"Once we reach the central tower get ready to bail!" the gunner told the two, "We'll be going in hot.  Hope you two like a rough ride!"
*           *          *
As they approached the colony, many of the gunships broke off from the swarm of corporation vehicles, opening fire on the outer colony walls.  Missiles erupted from their pods, screaming downward before exploding into fireballs against the walls and outer most buildings.  As the smoke and dust cleared, two drop ships had landed, dropping their ramps as troops left them, taking up positions beside the destroyed sections of the walls before moving in.
Sirens began to wail across the colony as the security robots responded to the invasion, opening fire from the streets and buildings as gunships raced overhead, their guns blazing.  Missiles rained down from the skies in a hell fire as gunships supported ground troops, gauss rounds slamming into the buildings from the gunship's heavier mounted weapons as the soldiers and mercenaries fought to get deeper into the colony; the thousands of security robots fought just as hard to push them back.  Gunfire was traded in the streets as drop ships landed further inside the colony to deposit more teams.
Suddenly, a barrage of gunfire filled the sky from below!  The anti-air guns around the outer perimeter of the colony had been activated, targeting corporation vehicles as they tracked and shot down gunship after gunship.  Surface-to-air missiles were fired from their stations, locking onto the gunships heat signatures before tracking them.  Immediately, the gunships began ejecting flares, the missiles swerving off course to track the flares as the gunships opened fire once more with their heavier gauss guns to clear out the anti-air guns.  As the gunships cleared out landing zones and distracted the anti-air batteries, drop ships were able to land, dropping in support troops further into the colony, effectively drawing the robotic security forces away from the main operation site.
*           *          *
With the operation in full swing, a single gunship raced above the carnage below.  As it speed towards the center of the colony, its missile pods opening fire to take down as many bots between it and its destination as it could.  The turret gunners opened fire, taking down rooftop defenses.  Chase glanced out the open bay door as they sped over the colony, watching as drop ships and gunships tried to take control of both the sky and the ground.  The fox watched another gunship speed beside them, firing flares as a surface-to-air missile was launched from the anti-air batteries further in colony.  Unfortunately the flares had been launched too late, the missile slamming into the tail end of the gunship!  The craft spun, launching off flaming debris as the gunship crashed into a building below.
Krystal watched in horror as the gunship exploded into flames below them, fearing the same fate to her and Chase.  She felt something touch her hand and recoiled until she noticed it was Chase.  He squeezed her hand gently, reassuring her a bit.  The gunship suddenly lurched upwards, the target building in range as the gunship climbed.
Suddenly, a wailing alarm went off!  Chase let go of Krystal as the two gripped their harnesses, knowing what the siren meant.  Something had locked onto them!  Flares ejected from the gunship as it pulled a hard right, giving Krystal a view of what was chasing them.  A surface to air missile streaked up from the colony below, a trail of smoke behind it as the missile rocketed after them, anti-air batteries opening fire on them as well.
The pilot yelled something back to them, but it was lost in the roar of the engines and the clamor of the anti-air batteries firing.  As a precaution, the two gripped the harnesses tighter.  As they did, the gunship rolled right, the missile just barely missing it!  Unfortunately, as the gunship rolled, it wound up in the sights of an anti-air cannon.
As the large gun targeted the gunship, it began firing.  20mm HE rounds exploded near the gunship as the craft evaded them, tracer rounds shooting by.  As the gunship swerved to avoid another barrage, one of the rounds pierced the craft's stabilizer!  A fiery explosion from its tail rocked the gunship as the stabilizer failed, a warning klaxon blaring as the pilot tried to regain control of the gunship.  But as he tried, the gunship began spinning.
"Hold on to something back there!" the pilot yelled, "We're crashing down!"
The gunship swerved towards the building as Krystal and Chase braced themselves for impact, both foxes gripping their harnesses as the gunship fell towards the target building, the impact rocking their bodies as Krystal's head slammed back into the wall.  As the vixen's harness kept her relatively safer than the gunners as the impact against the wall caused Krystal to blacked out as the gunship crashed into the building…