User blog:XenoDarth/Galaxy on Fire 2: The Ultimate What-If?

Disclaimer

This is a work of fan fiction. I do not own any of the objects associated with Fishlabs or any other company. This does not reflect my opinion nor anyone else's opinion on how the story should go. This is simply made for fun.

Prologue

We all know that Keith T. Dangerous Maxwell saved the galaxy three times: from the Voids, from Alice, and even from a supernova. He advanced through trading, destroyed countless pirates, and even "allegedly" had sex with Carla Paolini.

But as I was reading many of the articles of this wiki, I asked myself the ultimate question...

What if Keith T. Maxwell really did die during the battle at Dareius Asteroid Belt?

Chapter 1: Our Story Begins

Eden Prime Space Station, 3598 A.D.

Keith T. Maxwell is, once again, looking for another mission to undertake. With his trusty vessel, the Phantom, he is ready to take on anybody, possibly another Vlad Borsikov.

Keith's Phantom fighter is similar to other ships of the same model, yet it easily stood out in a crowd. With battle scars Keith stubbornly kept on his ship as trophies and the new weapon equipped, the Nirai Charged Pulse, and several homing Edo missiles, Keith's ship is a menace to all pirates and Vossk alike. He smiled as he took a good look at it, which holds the blood of countless pilots, metaphorically speaking, in its hands.

Keith walked around the station, looking for work; rumor has it that some sort of jump drive far more advanced than a hyperdrive is under construction. This could possibly shift the political borders of the galaxy, or even extend the universe's known limits.

As for Keith himself, he wished that he would make enough money to purchase such an innovation, since it costs him tons of Credits just to move from one system to another. Keith hoped that the jump drive would allow him free travel throughout the entire galaxy. The possibilities are endless!

"Keith!" a voice suddenly yelled from behind. The sudden yell made the war hero jump in surprise out of his daydream. He turned around, seeing Admiral Smith himself in person. He quickly stood upright and saluted in respect, and he also hoped for something dangerous. After all, "Dangerous" is his second middle name!

"Yes, admiral? Anything wrong?" Keith asked.

"Yes," the admiral replied. "Remember those notorious pirates you've been chasing around for the past few weeks?"

"Yes?" Inside, Keith kicked himself for not remembering about the pirates he's been hunting down for quite some time. He leaned in closer, hoping that he would finally get a lead.

"I've found them! They've been spotted at Dareius' asteroid belt!" Smith practically screamed, as if all of his excitement just exploded right there.

Before he knew it, Keith was out the door.

Dareius Asteroid Belt

As Keith entered the orbit of Dareius, he realized a pattern among all the pirates he has fought.

"An asteroid belt," he said to himself. "Perfect hiding place for pirates."

He smiled to himself, knowing the first place to look for the pirate scum. He searched slowly but carefully in the asteroid belt, examining every detail.

"Now, where are those pirates..."

Knowing these particular pirates, they're bound to hide somewhere after finding that Keith T. Maxwell himself is looking for them...

Meanwhile, three pirates stayed at a safe distance after spotting Maxwell. One of the pirates let out a groan before opening a secure channel to his colleagues.

"What are we gonna do boss?" he asked. "This guy will be chasing us forever."

It's true. Keith has been chasing these guys all over the galaxy, driving them out of the Baltone Quadrant all the way here to Dareius.

"That's Maxwell," another pirate informed, "stubborn as hell. He's after the bounty that's on our heads."

The pirate boss is deeply annoyed. Not only that his lackeys are at the point that they're stating the obvious, the deadly mercenary Maxwell found him this quickly!

"Quiet, now!" he barked. "Engines off and await my command. We'll let him pass by and attack him from behind."

The trio quickly stopped to a standstill and waited patiently as Maxwell moved past them. The pirate boss waited for a moment, making sure that he didn't see them and waited for them to be flushed out. This has to go exactly as he planned earlier, using his secret "surprise" built just for Maxwell himself.

There he goes, right in the exact spot the pirate boss expected him to be in. Checking his readings, he found that the weapon is fully charged and ready to fire. He imagined his lackeys smiling with anticipation. He smiled too, believing that this was the end of Keith T. Maxwell!

"Now, attack!"

The three pirates activated their engines and charged towards Maxwell. The Phantom's computer quickly detected them as its pilot maneuvered around to face his enemies.

"Okay," he said. "There they are."

Inside, Keith kicked himself again for letting the pirates ambush him from behind. Again.

Keith and the pirates exchanged fire as they charged closer towards each other. Both sides knew that someone has to die. Keith strafed to the left, avoiding being peppered with laser fire. He locked on to one of the pirates and fired an Edo at him. Direct hit. The pirate's ship is heavily damaged and ready to fall apart any second.

"Damn you, Maxwell! I'll kill you for that!"

Keith ignored him. He gets death threats like this at least three times a day after Borsikov's death. Actually, this is probably the sixth one today. He dodged a steady laser that fired from the pirate boss. Apparently, this is the "secret weapon" Keith's been hearing about lately. What a total waste of anticipation.

"ARGH! Maxwell! You bloody coward! Face me like a man! I'll rip you to shreds!!!"

Make that seven.

Keith's reply to the pirates' threats was several laser shots at one of the pirate's engines, causing him to spiral down toward an asteroid and disappear in a flash of light. Keith activated his booster and swerved around behind a second pirate, but was shot several times from behind. He fired another Edo at that pirate, causing a huge pop in the underbelly of the ship. That could only mean one thing: Keith hit the pirate's life support systems. Leaving him to suffocate in his now-coffin, Keith focused on the pirate boss.

"This is too easy," Keith said to himself. His happy moment was interuppted when the pirate boss attacked him from behind.

"How do you like them apples?" he taunted. "Been itching for this moment ever since our first encounter!"

Keith stayed silent, swerved around, and fired an Edo at him. The pirate boss attempted to dodge to his right but his attempt was futile. Keith simply blasted him away into oblivion.

Okay, not into oblivion. The pirate boss managed to jump into hyperspace intact, but Keith confirmed that he hit his life support systems as well, meaning that guy's a goner.

"That's three less rogues roaming the galaxy," he said to himself. "I've definitely earned my money on this one. Now, back to Eden Prime to collect my reward."

Keith thought about the new jump drive, and how it could potentially change his entire life. Suddenly, he realized how empty his life was without Lieutenant Christine Hammond, his first love in quite a while. Or his first love, period. He secretly wished to himself that he will see her, soon. But for now, Keith decided to take his mind off things and try to earn as much money as possible.

"Computer, activate the hyperdrive. Set a course for Eden Prime."

"Activating hyperdrive," the computer responded.

The ship shuddered and slowed to a stop.

"Hmm... They must've hit the engines."

As the ship shook violently, Keith could've sworn some sort of wormhole appeared in front of him.

"Hey, what's happening? Purple fighters?"

The strange alien-like fighters jumped through the wormhole like an assassin's knife slicing through a heart that just realized that it's doomed. As soon as they did, Keith was bombarded with laser fire.

"AAAARRRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!"

'Click here for the [http://galaxy-on-fire-fan-fiction.wikia.com/wiki/What_if_Keith_T._Maxwell... full] version'