Al Negator is in toad space, standing in front of a massive machine, it's main body and arms are purple with red eyes in a permanent glare, green hands and shoulder pads and a toad with bronze armor plates atop of a blue uniform with his chest covered in medals, his wart covered face giving away his age.

Al Negator says "The mission didn't go as planed, but Toadborg and Air Marshal I do have a few things to report."

Toadborg raises one of his fists "You better have, it took a lot of resources to get you into that base!"

Air Marshal says "That thing is still running around and fighting the Empire, what ever you have better be worth the simoleons!"

Al Negator says "The target is heading towards one of our bases that is planing to retake Warren, courtesy of me hacking their files and I have also confirmed he is indeed an Aldebaran citizen and...", he holds up a data pad "He is from a different dimension."

A screen comes down, showing a digitized toad head and it says "Our sensors did show the anomaly but it is likely whatever he came in was scrapped. I want that technology, if it means we can expand the Toad Empire to other universes."

Air Marshal says "We'll locate it at once mighty Komplex." as he salutes.

Toadborg says "Komplex, I wish to see to the destruction of this human if you bid me the opportunity."

The artificial intelligence says "Make it so Toadborg, as for you Al Negator you are to assist in the invasion of Canis II, I want their defenses shut down when the time is right."

With the meeting concluded, the cold bloods go about setting in motion their three plans of trying to get the Toad Empire back on the offensive, when it comes to the previous actions of Bucky O'Hare and his squad mates before, that alone was enough to land some near decisive blows against the Empire, but with the new human known as Adam who has turned into quite a stormtrooper, some toads are saying that the war will end soon and some have even gone awol and turned to fighting for the mammals. Several mining bases have either been destroyed or even reclaimed, numerous slave camps liberated and various stations and motherships have been obliterated. The Empire still has plenty of bite left, though morale is on a downhill spiral and the Empire is relying more and more on concripts who are being fed by propaganda to win the day, as the more experienced forces have become decimated and only deployed for more critical missions or are manning the defenses of the toad homeworld.

But now the toad counter-offensive is underway, if they can re-take Warren and crush Canis II it will force the Coalition to be on the defensive and lose their momentum, buying enough time for the toads to rebuild key aspects of their forces.

............................

I'm looking over my flamethrower in the armory as I pour over the manual and really taking a good look at it. The flamethrower uses canisters on the weapon itself and doesn't require a backpack unit and is under slung, a little bulky and unwieldy, but this will come in handy in boarding actions and close encounters on the ground... and if worse comes to worse a decent improvised explosive.

Deadeye enters the room, saying "Aye, so that's your new toy." as he comes over.

I say "Heck yeah, this should help make short work of the toad fortifications and make boarding actions against their ships easier." as I examine the ignition system.

Deadeye gives a hardy chuckle "Just ah watch out when you use that thing, a fire in zero gravity is unpredictable." as he goes to his locker.

I say "The toads have been taking heavy loses though, they can't fight forever and they've been beaten back to their core worlds. This Komplex must really enjoy wasting man power." as I adjust some parts.

Deadeye says "The sad part is that they are puppets in dis war, all of them brainwashed and forced ta fight. But it's still either us or them."

I finish putting the thrower back together "There must be a way we can destroy Komplex."

The duck sighs "We did have a chance, but not enough time to execute it and now it's been heavily fortified. Even if Komplex is shutdown, there is no guarantee the toads will."

I give a sigh of my own, it was like we were fighting a space version of Germany from the second world war, no matter how much damage it took, how many lives lost it would be total war until the very end... where only the victors will stand on the ashes and dust of the defeated enemy and an enemy that will no longer have an identity. It also makes me wonder if the post trauma will be just as sever as the toad civilians will be slaughtered en mass... if that happens then we'll be no better then they are.

Deadeye comes back over "The toads are going to try to retake Warren by using a secret base on it's moon, so were going to try to get the drop on em." with an excited smile.

I say "Ambush their ambush... I like it." with a sinister smile as I lift the flamethrower.

An alarm begins to blare as Bucky's voice sounds "All hands to battle stations, we've got double bubbles and a toad heavy cruiser heading our way."

Deadeye and I look at each other as he says "Guess their ambushing our ambush that's trying to take out their ambush."

I feel my mind just go blank for a second and I say "All we can do now is deal with these guys and call for reinforcements." as I ready my suit for boarding.

Bucky's voice sounds once more "Adam, I'm putting you in charge of the assault team this time, choose two to help in the attack."

I quickly make it to the intercom "Bruiser and Jenny, please report to the crooker!" and I begin to run down the hall as fast as I can, grabbing my other weapons as I wish Deadeye good luck.

The three of us launch with Jenny at the helm, we weave around the toad craft, the blaster destroying some of them and I even manage to take out three with my gauss pistol, we make it to a hatch where I get my flamethrower read, we enter the ship, Bruiser seals the hatch, the air hisses in as I flick the switch for the flame, the door open and I unleash the wrath of the flamethrower instantly, screams claim the air instantly, after a few seconds I slowly advance, six toads are burning as they run away, I unleash another burst which catches a few in hiding as I spray all three hallways. Jenny and Bruiser join me as they deactivate their helmets and are taken aback by the carnage as Jenny looks like she's about to gag.

I say "Area secure!" as I lower the weapon.

Jenny says "Orders Adam?"

I say "Jenny, I need you to take out the engines, Bruiser your on for taking the bridge and destroy all the control panels and I'll see about crippling life support. Move fast and hit hard!", they both nod and I yell "IRON WITHIN! IRON WITHOUT!"

The three of us go our separate ways, I charge with a burst of flame every few feet, I stop as rapid laser fire comes down a hallway, I whip out my gauss pistol, and fire a few rounds, metallic bangs sound throughout the hallway, the lasers stop, I look around the corner to see the weapon destroyed and a toad laying on the floor, I put my sidearm away and continue my advance. My plan follows a lightning warfare based tactic, the plan is knock out their movement, primary comms, ship controls which will help knock out their guns and their vital life support... leaving them at our mercy entirely, the trick is doing all of this in a short span time and then getting out of dodge as well as having the damage go far beyond repair.

..........................

On the bridge, Toadborg is growling at the sight of the human, cat and baboon raging across the ship, he smashes a fist into a solid wall and he says "This human is cleaver, I'll give him that.... he aims to cripple the ship and force a surrender rather then try to outright destroy it."

A storm toad says "We can intercept him sir."

Toadborg laughs "No, I"ll deal with him! I'm going to enjoy bringing his broken body to mighty Komplex before slowly crushing him into paste!" as he leaves the bridge while a gun crew prepares a laser machine gun just behind the door.

...........................

I walk through flame as I enter the life support systems, I look over the automated system, thinking what the best way to do this would be... then it hits me I that I didn't bring any explosives. I glance at the canister for the thrower, I turn it off, I unscrew it, I grab some live wires and wrap it around the canister towards the bottom, I shove it into the primary exchanger, I step back toward the door as I warn Bruiser and Jenny to secure helmets, I aim the pistol at the canister and fire. For a split second I hear this piercing scream of air and an explosion occurs, fire is being sent into the life support system itself thanks to the systems powerful suction as vents ignite in flame and the machines become flooded with fire before repeating the process, circuits explode in great explosions as vicious screams consume the air, alarms and an automated warning sounds.

I hear loud mechanical footsteps, I look to my left and see a massive machine in the vague shape of a toad, the flames not even scorching it's body as it's eyes glow a hateful red.

The machine says "You filthy mammal! You have ruined my ship!" as it shakes it's hand in an angry fist.

I say "That's right you bucket of bolts! Surrender now and I will grant you mercy." as I face it.

The machine says "I am Toadborg, the second in command of the toad forces and you will not leave this ship alive!"

I smirk under my helm, I quickly aim my gauss pistol and fire, the round hits him dead center but only dents into the armor plate, I gulp as he begins to storm me, forcing me to fall back as fast as I can.

......................................

Jenny enters the engine room, flames are spreading pretty well but the engine system isn't being touched, a smile crosses the felines face, the memory stone ignites, she eaves her arms, sending psionic energy throughout the machinery, she flicks her right wrist and the entire engine system explodes, parts fly everywhere as glass shatters and sparks fly.

The Aldebaran nods, her comm system sounds with the humans voice "Jenny and Bruiser, fall back to the crooker! I've got this robot called Toadborg on my tail and I can't shake him!"

A cold wave goes over Jenny as she thinks 'If Toadborg is leading this attack then that means...', she yells as she begins to run back the way she came "ADAM'S THEIR TARGET!!!"

Jenny can hear the rumbles of Toadborg's footsteps, she even alerts Bruiser that Adam is their actual target, she starts to hear the humans gauss pistol fire, after twelve shots she can hear the chainaxe rev, she panics and she picks up the pace.

................................

I get hurled into a wall, a thud echos as I land, I slowly look up to see Toadborg advancing, only scratches and dents from my weapons mark this things armor, I fire another round in defiance at it which bounces off and hits the ceiling.

Toadborg says "I'm going to enjoy this....", he raises his right leg "FOR KOMPLEX!"

Suddenly I hear "AAAAAHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOGAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!",I look and see Bruiser comes flying out of a hallway and smashes into the robot, sending him flying into a corridor.

I say "Thanks for the cover buddy!" with a grateful tone.

Bruiser says "Are you okay?"

I try to get up but I fall as a sharp pain hits "I think my back in broken!"

Bruiser picks me up "I'll carry ya!"

Jenny comes towards us "Adam!?" as she takes the scene in.

I say "I'll be fine, but we need to get out of here!"

Toadborg gets up and we start to head back to the crooker as he gives chase, I cough as I try to aim my gauss pistol, I begin to shoot at the machine, it's clear I can't get through his main armor plate, I aim for his legs, I take a deep breath as I close my eyes, I quickly open them and fire, the round smashes into his right knee as it bends, electricity explodes out as it becomes dislocated and he falls on-top of himself. We eventually make it back to the crooker and leave the burning ship, I look to see an escape pod launch as the ship begins to explode, I look around and see all of the double bubbles are in ruins... victory is ours.

I soon find myself in the infirmary as I the medical computer looks me over after checking me out, thankfully my back isn't broken and it was a good sized chunk of metal that had gotten stabbed into my suit, thankfully it still was enough to form a seal.

Jenny enters the infirmary, she comes over and she says "Adam, how are you doing?" as she takes a seat next to me.

I say "I'm feeling much better thanks to the medicine, but it's scary that I was a half inch from losing the use of my legs." with a sigh of relief.

Jenny says "This is quite a development, Toadborg is only dispatched on very critical or hazardous missions."

I lay my head back "I think they were reinforcing their guys and they just so happen to see us and decided to intercept."

Jenny shakes her head "That's not what I mean, Toadborg came straight at us for one thing and one thing only... you.", she puts a hand on my shoulder "You have really caught Komplex's attention if he sent that cyborg after you. And to make matter worse we double checked with the base we left, Al Negator compromised the systems and they knew we were coming."

I say "What about reinforcements? If we get a fleet can we still press this mission?"

The cat sighs "The mission is still ongoing, though reinforcements will take some time to arrive."

I stare at the ceiling, time is one thing we don't have... if that Toadborg survived it'll only be a matter of time before he reports that I survived along with Bucky. We need a plan of attack and we need it now, but the Rightous Indigation is on the slow side, I get an idea and I ask to speak to both Bucky and her which catches Jenny's attention, but she does radio for Bucky to come and he eventually does, I explain my plan and well...

Bucky says "That's quite a plan you have... I don't know." as he puts a finger to his chin.

I say "But it can work if we act fast enough, once I'm well enough I can carry it out."

Jenny's eyes slightly bounce around as she looks to be in thought "So your plan is to make it look like we are fleeing to get you away from the frontline while you infiltrate the base and destroy it from within? All while using an improvised craft from an escape pod or a boarding torpedo to get yourself in there."

The rabbit looks me over "I don't like sending my team mates out on those kind of missions, especially since you just got the wind knocked out of you. According to the computer you are healed enough to deploy, but what you are talking about is a suicide mission. I understand that your worried about time and reinforcements from the enemy, but I need to take your safety into account."

I glance to Jenny, her green eyes look to mine, she's seen how I work and how I fight, in the closed quarters of a station I'll have the edge, I know I can do it... I just can only hope Jenny will couch in my favor, as Bucky takes her words to heart.

The cat looks to the rabbit "Bucky, I don't like it either... but this is where sending Adam on a mission like this will work in our favor. His blitzkrieg tactics grant him a great advantage in the confines of a ship or station, he more or less destroyed the toad cruiser on his own, crippling the engines and comm system was only a bonus. Adam bought us some time, if it succeeds then we don't need to worry about the toads setting foot on Warren again, please captain, let him do this."

Bucky looks to her, he goes into thought, he looks back to me and he says "You do understand, what equipment you take is what you have, you'll have no back up, no reinforcements, you can only rely on yourself and what you can do on your own."

I say "I understand the risks, but it's my life for a million.", I force myself off of the bed which catches their attention, I can still feel some of the pain from my injury "I can do it!" as I give a salute.

The two just look at me at first, but I think I must've gotten through as Jenny closes her eyes and Bucky gives a nod.

Bucky says "I'm putting my faith and fate of my countrymen in your hands. Either destroy the base or force it into surrender, you'll be under radio silence and you'll only have three days to complete your mission, take what equipment you need and I'll see what I can do for transport."

Jenny says "We'll also see what the Canards can do in keeping the toads occupied, that should help mitigate the threat of reinforcements on their end."

After about twenty more minutes of healing I'm preparing for my mission, I decide to leave the flamethrower behind, switching my chainaxe for a regular one and I upgrade my gauss pistol with a scope attachment.

Deadeye, Willy, Blinky and Bruiser come in, they watch as I get my gear assembled.

Deadeye says "So it's true, you are preparing for ah one way trip."

I say "If it works, Warren won't be attacked.", I look to them and I say "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."

Bruiser holds out a shotgun with a bayonet "This is for you, I hope it works out for yah." with an excited tone.

I take the shotgun, I pump it and I say "Perfect, a 12 gauge in confined quarters will work nicely." with a smile as I eye the gun, seeing it's a future-looking version of the 1887 trench gun.

Blinky hands me some hacking equipment to help get around the base and Willy hands me some schematics that were able to be dug up but could be out of date. Jenny and Bucky come in with some stuff of their own, Bucky hands me a suppressed pistol that fires caseless ammunition and Jenny hands me something far more interesting, it's a gem that matches the one on her head armor.

Jenny says "This memory stone is for you." as she shows she's turned it into a necklace, she puts it on me and she says "I'm sure it'll bring you some luck." with a smile as she looks to be taking the sight in.

Bucky says "Are you ready Adam?"

I nod "Ready for deployment.", I look at my team mates and I say "Don't worry guys, I'll be home soon." as I flash a smile.

I soon get inside a modified escape pod, which Blinky explains has material to make it stealthy and it's black paint job will help make it disappear against the darkness of space, I soon find myself alone as I finish getting the pod set up.

I hear "Adam." it's Jenny, I look to see the cat coming towards me, I stand but before I say anything "She gently grabs my head and gives me a kiss on the cheek, she smiles "May the spirits guide you." and she leaves.

I gently touch my cheek as I feel a blush and I say "You too Jenny." feeling a bashful smile forming.

I seal the pod, I get into the driver seat, I take a deep breath as I begin the launch procedure while I secure my helmet. My pod launches as I keep my new shotgun next to me, I clutch where my memory stone is under my chest plate and I hit the booster button, there is no going back now... the mission is underway.

To be continued...