Star Fox: Tides of the Past
By: Zoshonel
Fox walked across the apartment suite, which was temporarily serving as team Star Fox's residence, and walked out onto the balcony. With a sigh Fox leaned his elbows on the balcony railing and looked out onto Corneria's capital city. Much of the city was still undergoing repairs from the recent Aparoid Invasion.
It had been only two months since the destruction of the Aparoids, but it still felt like only yesterday to the citizens of the Lylat System. There was not a single planet that escaped unscathed. While many of the planets had recovered quite nicely, both Corneria and Sauria, the two planets that received the brunt of the invasion, were still reeling from the effects.
Fox now turned his attention toward the center of the city, where the Cornerian High-Command Building was located. Surprisingly it had survived the assault on Corneria. That wasn't what Fox was concentrating on at the moment. He watched as dozens of Cornerian soldiers, who looked like little ants to him at the moment, were marching toward the building.
"I can't believe this day has finally come." he said with a heavy heart.
Today was the day that General Pepper, the man who had been in charge of the Cornerian Army for as long as Fox could remember, was officially retiring. During his recovery period in the hospital after the Aparoid attack, Pepper felt that he was getting to old for this kind of stuff. After being released from the hospital, General Pepper announced to the entire Lylat System that he was going to retire, but not before he enacted relief efforts to the war-torn system.
That was just one of the things bothering Fox at the moment. Not only was General Pepper retiring, but Peppy was fully retiring from Star Fox as well. Since he and Pepper were such good friends, they decided to retire on the same day. This was hurting Fox very deeply because the two of them were the closest things he had to a father, and it was like he was losing his father all over again.
"Is everything okay Fox?" asked Krystal as she stepped out onto the balcony.
"Couldn't be better." Fox lied.
"I'm a telepath Fox. You can't hide anything from me. I can feel your sadness all the way in the other room."
"It's just that things are changing so rapidly, and it's all because of the Aparoids. Both General Pepper and Peppy, who are the closest things I've ever had to a father figure, are retiring, and the Great Fox, which has been my home since I was a little cub, was turned to space dust forcing us to stay in this apartment. How can Star Fox even survive without its flagship?"
"I'm sure we'll manage. All we need is another ship to carry our Arwings and Landmasters and Star Fox will be back in business. The only difference is that we won't have Peppy guiding us anymore."
"Things are just changing too quickly around here."
"Well you know Fox," Krystal said slyly as she leaned over to him, "not all change has to be bad. This could also be the beginning of something new."
"There you two are." said Falco almost before Krystal could finish speaking. "Come on, it's time."
"Uh, right," choked Fox as he was recovering from what Krystal was saying to him. "Let's go then."
Fox and Krystal followed Falco off of the balcony and out of the apartment into the hallway. Slippy was already there waiting for them. Peppy had left early in the morning to go over final preparations with General Pepper. Fox locked the door to the apartment and the four of them made their way to the elevators. They took it to the first floor and then left the apartment building.
Waiting outside for them was a car that would take them to the retirement ceremony. They all piled in and the car took off down the road in the direction of the Cornerian High- Command Building. Along the way Fox noticed people setting up chairs on their balconies and rooftops. Every citizen of the Lylat System owed their life to General Pepper, so they were not going to miss his retirement ceremony for a second.
As they neared their destination, everyone could see that everything was already set up in front of the building. Their was a platform directly in front of the building in which General Pepper would be making his retirement speech and where every member of Star Fox had earned a seat. In front of the platform were seats for various military officers and distinguished guests.
When the car came to a stop everyone stepped out and headed for the platform. On either side of the seats were the dozens of soldiers Fox had seen earlier standing at attention. As Fox looked at them he reminded himself just why he had never joined the Cornerian army. Fox knew that he could never stand like that for even a second let alone for a long period of time.
A smile crept over the faces of every Star Fox member as they reached the top of the platform. Standing there waiting for them was Peppy. Fox's smile became half-hearted though when he realized that this would be the last time Peppy would be a member of Star Fox. After this, the only times they would see each other is when Fox visited Peppy or when Peppy visited him.
"Welcome friends." said Peppy. "It's good to see you made it here on time without me."
"Hey old-timer," said Falco, "we don't need a babysitter."
"Well you shouldn't need one after all the years we've spent together. I should hope that I would have at least taught you that much."
"Yeah, yeah, very funny. I'm gonna miss you."
"Well I never thought I'd hear those words from you Falco, but the feelings mutual. Hey Slippy, why the tears?"
"It's just, it's just that you won't be around anymore." cried Slippy. "Just two months ago I thought you were dead, and now you're leaving Star Fox for good."
"That doesn't mean you won't ever see me again Slippy. I'll be around, you can count on it. Why are you being so quiet over there Krystal?"
"No reason in particular Peppy." Krystal replied. "I guess, maybe it's a little hard to accept the fact that you're leaving. I have no memories of my family and friends or even my homeworld of Cerinia. Ever since our adventure on Sauria, you guys took me in as a member of your family and Star Fox became my home. I guess it really hasn't sunk in yet that you're truly leaving."
"Don't fret about that. It'll take a lot more than retirement to separate Star Fox."
"I'm going to miss you." Krystal said as she walked over and hugged Peppy.
"I'll miss you too." Peppy whispered to her. "Just do me a favor while I'm gone. Don't pass up such a good thing."
Krystal stood up from hugging Peppy with a perplexed look on her face from Peppy's words. A smile then crept over her face as she realized what Peppy was referring to and turned around to look at Fox standing there. Fox had been silent up to this point and was trying to make himself unnoticeable so he wouldn't have to say goodbye.
"Well Fox," Peppy finally said, "I guess this is it."
"Yeah, I guess so." was all Fox could say.
"I know your father would be proud of the man you turned out to be. You've saved this galaxy more times than I care to remember. I guess it's time to finally say goodbye though. I've done my best to raise you in your father's absence, and I've taught you everything I know."
"And you did a great job. My father would be proud of the person you've become as well. Star Fox just isn't going to be the same without you. Goodbye old friend."
"Well now that that's over," came General Pepper's voice as he walked onto the platform, "let's get down to business. We still have an hour before the ceremony, so let's get ready."
An hour later all the preparations were finished and all the guests had arrived. All they were waiting for now was General Pepper. Peppy, Falco, Krystal, and Slippy were already outside sitting in their seats. All four of them were in their formal uniforms. Falco hated wearing formal clothing and everyone could tell by the way he kept fidgeting in his seat.
Fox was still inside the Cornerian High-Command Building. He was slowly making his way outside to the platform. He was taking his time since he wanted to keep things the same for as long as he could. Besides, he still had a good ten minutes before General Pepper walks outside and begins the ceremony.
Slowly Fox now turned into the final hallway which led outside. Before he had even taken one step down the hallway a Cornerian soldier who had been running down the hallway plowed right into him. The both of them fell to the ground with a crash. Fox was about to yell when he turned and looked at who the soldier was. Instead, Fox smiled.
"Bill! Is that really you?"
"Fox, buddy! Oh man, how long's it been? Haven't seen or heard from you since the war with Andross."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I tried to get in touch after the war, but they had told me you were reassigned."
"I wasn't just reassigned. I was promoted."
"Well good for you. So that must be why you're here now, right?"
"Actually there's a little more to it than that, but you'll find that out soon. Looks like General Pepper's waiting for us so he can start."
Fox looked up at where bill was pointing to and saw General Pepper standing there looking at them. Both Bill and Fox clambered up off the floor and hurried outside, apologizing to General Pepper as they passed by.
"What am I going to do with those two?" said General Pepper laughingly. "I guess now's as good a time as any to begin. I sure am going to miss this place."
With a very heavy sigh General Pepper tightened his grip on the speech in his hands and walked outside. The doors opened and he walked into a barrage of camera flashes and applause.
As General Pepper walked up to the podium situated on the platform, he looked around him. Off to either side of him were the members of Star Fox as well as Bill. In front of him sitting in front of the podium were all the military officials and distinguished guests. Among them sitting in the front row was his family. Behind all these people were news reporters and cameras from all across the Lylat system so that everyone could watch General Pepper's retirement ceremony. When the applause began to finally die down, he began to speak.
"Hello, welcome, and thank you all for attending. It does my old heart good to see so many people gathered for such a small thing as my retirement. I've devoted my entire life to protecting the Lylat System. That's why it is so very hard for me to leave. I've guided this system through the most disastrous disasters it's ever seen. Of course I couldn't do it alone. A wise man once said that 'a leader is only as good as the people he leads,' and I truly believe that. The citizens of this system have always given me their full support and confidence, and I've throughout my career had the privilege of working with the finest soldiers I've ever seen. I've treated each and every one of them like a son or daughter, and they in turn have treated me like a father. I've been there for the good times as well as the bad not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I think that's what I'm going to miss the most."
General Pepper stopped after that last statement. His feelings were beginning to overwhelm him and he couldn't hold back a tear that now ran down his cheek. Nobody in the audience noticed this though. They used this break in the ceremony to stand up and applaud General Pepper's speech so far. General Pepper was overjoyed to hear so much applause. When the applause began to slow down, he continued.
"I had always intended on staying with the Cornerian Army until my death. The recent Aparoid Invasion though has opened my mind to one important fact that I've denied for quite some time now. Out of all the countless perils and enemies I've faced and beaten over the years, there is one that I can never beat; and that is age. As much as I hate to say it, I am getting up there in years. It's time for me to start thinking about myself. I can't even remember the last time I took a vacation. All of this has been long overdue. Heck, if it wasn't for the combined efforts of both Star Fox and Star Wolf, I wouldn't even be standing here to give this speech. Now I know many of you may not have liked the fact that I was thanking Star Wolf, but like it or not we all owe them a debt of gratitude. Without their help we would've never defeated the Aparoids. Though we still do not know if any members of Star Wolf survived, we owe them nonetheless."
Another applause broke out. This one was unexpected since General Pepper had been on the verge of continuing when the applause started. Though not as great as last time, both General Pepper and Star Fox were surprised by the outburst for team Star Wolf. When all the commotion died down, General Pepper finished up his speech.
"Well that's enough of listening to an old man speak. I know that ever since I've announced my retirement there's been a certain question circling around, and that is who my replacement will be. This wasn't an easy thing to figure out because I've always inspired my men to live up to their full potential, and they have. The person I've picked though I know will do his best to fill my shoes. Now allow me to introduce your new commander-in-chief, Bill."
With that Bill stood up and walked over to the podium where General Pepper was standing. Everyone in the audience was applauding and shouting out various congratulations. Fox was completely stunned, and his face showed it. Bill smiled when he walked past Fox and saw his expression. When Bill reached the podium, he shook General Pepper's hand and then turned to the audience.
"Thank you General Pepper. This is a great honor. I want you all to know that I will do my best as commander-in-chief of the Cornerian Army, and one day I hope to earn the respect and gratitude that you all have for General Pepper. The Lylat System never fell while General Pepper was in charge, and I promise you all here today that the system will never fall while I'm in charge."
With that promise Bill turned to General Pepper, saluted, and then returned to his seat. The audience once again erupted into applause. When Bill was seated and the audience calmed down, General Pepper turned back toward the audience and started speaking again.
"Now there's one last group of people that I, as well as all of us, need to thank; and that is Star Fox. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to the Star Fox team, both original and recent teams. While I kept the system together, Star Fox always went in at great risk to themselves to solve the problem. The original Star Fox team was led by James McCloud, and without going into too much detail, he gave his life protecting the Lylat System. His son Fox has since led the team into victory over and over again. Without their help, I wouldn't even be here let alone be the great man I am today. Chances are, none of us would even be here. Now because of all the damage the Aparoids caused, we have been unable to compensate Star Fox for their help. With the help of their ex-senior member Peppy though, I believe that we have come up with the perfect payment."
General Pepper stopped talking and turned and looked up into the sky. Not understanding, everybody turned and looked up at where General Pepper was looking. Peppy just sat there looking at the other members of Star Fox. He knew what everyone was going to see, so he wanted to see the looks on all of their faces when they saw it.
Everyone continued to look, but they could see nothing. Then, in the clear blue sky, a dark speck appeared. The speck was moving, and it was coming toward them. The speck got bigger and bigger as it approached. Pretty soon the speck turned into the familiar outline of a spaceship. Once the ship was close enough to be seen in its entirety, everyone, especially the members of Star Fox, were awestruck.
The ship looked exactly like the Great Fox. Everyone knew that it was impossible since the original Great Fox had been completely obliterated, so this obviously had to be a replica. Every part of the ship down to the last detail matched the original Great Fox exactly. There were only two differences. The first was that on each of the wing tips was a laser cannon, which was obviously there to add to the ship's arsenal. The second was that on each side of the ship was written in big bold letters Great Fox 2.
"This is Rob." came Rob's voice over the speaker systems. "All systems functioning."
"So that's where Rob's been hiding the last few weeks." said Slippy.
"It's beautiful." Krystal said in a daze.
"All right! Star fox's back in business!" Falco shouted in enthusiasm.
"But. . .but how is all this possible?" asked Fox.
"Well you have Peppy to thank." said General Pepper. "This was his idea."
"Just think of it as my retirement present to you guys." said Peppy. "Hell, it's only right since I'm the one who blew up the original."
"But General Pepper, you shouldn't be doing this for us." said Fox. "You should've been concentrating on rebuilding the fleet."
"Don't worry about it. It's not like we dropped everything just to build this ship. Our fleet will be back up and running on schedule. Besides, we need you guys up there protecting us while we are so vulnerable."
"Peppy, General Pepper, thanks."