I don't own anything except the OC's.

Thank you everyone for the reviews. I had a very negative guest review, and changed the story based on that. Someone who is a registered user, VulpineLover, got me back on track. Here is the original.

Everyone on the ship was excited. We were finally approaching a habitable planet. Marcus pressed his face against the window to get a view. "Mommy," he whispered, his eyes full of awe. "Dat's real big." I smiled. "Yes it is." We had been in space for over a month now, looking for a planet that was habitable, yet free of human presence. They had seemingly declared war unannounced by launching missile after missile at our defense fleet. Corneria fell too quickly. Thankfully, Star Fox was there and pushed them off the planet so we could rebuild. General Pepper took command as interim Prime Minister, as Daali was held captive and her cabinet was...no more. Cornelia thrived again, rebuilding its fleet. We assaulted the first human warship we found, and that was the official start of the human-lylat war. We on this vessel numbered 23. We were the last survivors of a planet called Zoness. We dared not go to Corneria, as we would have to pass the human blockade to do so.

I was broken from my thoughts as the ship trembled. "Entering atmosphere, buckle up folks," said the captain over the speakers. We complied heartily. Just as we cleared the descent, we heard the captain say, "Well lookee there folks. A compound with a landing dock. Looks like we just-" his voice was interrupted by an explosion. "We're hit, we're hit! Engine one down! Evasive maneuvers! Wait...where'd they go?" Whispering between pilot and copilot could be heard. We heard nothing else as the craft floated down towards the landing dock. I was holding Marcus close protectively. Everyone was scared for our lives. What in the world just happened? Were we followed? Did they find us? Was the compound hostile? All these questions were running through my mind. I wish there were answers.

We landed without incident, and the captain informed us that he and two crew members would ensure the compound was safe prior to us exiting the craft. They returned in about two hours and informed us that the coast was clear. The captain explained that the compound was at least a mile long, by a quarter mile wide. There was a blast door halfway through that they couldn't find a switch to, so they left it alone and would hopefully find out what was back there later. There was enough living space to accommodate 50 families. Oh, thank you, whoever You are, watching over us! The crew then helped us unload.

"Come, Marcus," I said. "We're being assigned our rooms." He jumped up and down with glee. "No more shi-ip! No more shi-ip!" The captain closed the landing dock doors as the last of us filed into the compound. We were led by a cougar to the room and found it was...cozy, and comfortable. There were two main rooms, a living and bedroom. There was a spacious master bath, a walk in closet, a pull out couch in the living room, a king sized bed, an armoire, a chest, a coffee and end tables complete with reading lamps. I took in everything slowly. This was home now.

We found that the kitchen was huge, and fully stocked. The food was not old at all. It was…fresh! Everything was in collapsing capsules, ready to be opened in the expander. Oh, that food was great! As we lay down from our first day, I was satisfied, but worried. What was that explosion? Who were "they" the captain was talking about? With these and more questions running through my mind, I drifted off.

Knock knock knock. I awoke to that sound. "Ugh, who is it?" I said, not wanting to move. "It's Crewman Jordan, ma'am. The captain wants all members to the conference room. He has good news."

"Alright. When?"

"Pronto, ma'am."

"Ugh. Alright." I heard the padding of feet and another knock followed by the same spiel to the next door. I shook my son awake. Blue eyes framed by a brown face opened to me, "Good morning, mommy," he said sleepily. I kissed his nose, giggling. "Good morning, munchkin. We're going to see Captain Canett."

"Do we have to?"

"Yes, dear. Come, let's ready ourselves."

We met Jordan, the cougar at the entrance to the residential hall. He led us and the others to a great room in the middle of the compound. A scruffy bull terrier stood at the podium. He began to speak as the last of us sat down, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have found great success in the last 24 hours. We have finally found a new home world!" Once the cheering died down, he continued. "However, this success will not continue without hard work. We have found literature at this compound that tells us of the useable flora and fauna on this planet, and how to properly utilize it, as well as how to operate this facility. I will never force any of you to do anything. However, your hard work to ensure our continued survival is a necessity. The food rations we have found will last us for several months, possibly a year. We cannot wait until then to start work. I know everyone is exhausted from the long journey, so we will have a week of reprieve to gather ourselves and become familiar with our surroundings." He paused to let it sink in. "A crewmember will approach each of you after this meeting and write down your individual skills, knowledge and abilities. We thank you for everything each of you has done. Please continue to comply with the crewmembers as you have been. This concludes our meeting."

An otter approached my son and I as we went to the door. "Good evening," she said politely. "And how are you sir?" She asked, leaning down towards Marcus. He said nothing and clung to my dress. She giggled. "You're cute aren't you? Well, then. Let's get down to business. Krystal McCloud, is it?"

"Yes."

"Knowledge Abilities and Skills? i.e. cooking, hunting, cleaning, building, knowledge of technology…?"

"I am a very good tracker." She started scribbling in her pad. "I am also skilled with my staff and hand-to-hand combat." I took a breath to let her catch up. "My staff is a ranged weapon. I speak Cornerian, Saurian and Cerinian. I am a very good cook, and I can keep a house well. I can sew."

"Ok," she mumbled, "Cornerian...cook…house, sew. Anything else?"

I shook my head.

"Alright! Enjoy your week off!"

I awoke the next morning and saw that Marcus's side of the bed was empty. I became frantic, calling out his name. I got dressed quickly and opened the door to our quarters to find him asleep at the threshold. I gasped. He had dirt and blood on his fur. I quickly grabbed him and took off to the medical ward. Some of the crew had medical training, albeit restricted mostly to life-saving. They made sure to have two personnel in the ward at all times. Sometime later, they found that the blood was not his, and he was uninjured. I was…baffled. Whose blood would be on him?

"Ma'am, he's waking up." I looked at Marcus on the bed. He was stirring. As he woke, he screamed, "MOMMYYYYYY!" I rushed over and held him gently. "Mommy, I'm so scared." He whispered as he buried his head in my chest. The staff looked at each other, obviously worried. What had shaken him up?

Once they cleaned his fur of blood and dirt, I took him to our room. He was scared of everything that moved. A short time after I put him to sleep, I heard a light knocking on our door. I opened it to reveal the captain. "Sir, I-" He cut me off by holding up his hand.

"We found the source of the blood on your son." I gaped. What was it? I nodded and stepped outside, all but closing the door. He spoke lowly so as not to alert others. "As best as we can tell, Marcus slipped out on his own last night, probably out of curiosity. We found what looked like a large carnivorous beast just outside the hangar doors." I gasped and had my hand over my mouth. He nodded and continued, "Whatever it was, it was coming for Marcus. But…" He glanced his eyes downward and back to me. "I don't think we're alone in this compound. Someone…some…thing shot that beast. The wound was unlike any I've seen in Lylat." He took a breath. "It was not a lucky shot, either. Hit it right here," he pointed at his forehead. "Ms. McCloud, I think whoever is running this base…either doesn't want us to see them, or they're waiting."

"For what?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. We can only speculate. But…whoever they are, they saved your son's life. The blood from the beast splashed onto your son, as it was not that far away when it died. Besides psychologically, he's fine." With that, the captain walked off. "By the way," he said, stopping. "Whoever they are, they knew what room he came out of. None of us put your son there this morning. Also, we found several tools and weapons in a storage closet this morning. They were not there yesterday. I'll show you to them later if you wish." Then he departed.

I went back into the quarters and sat on the couch. Someone else…here? But who? They obviously put all those rations there for us. And they know we're here. Who were they? Was there more than one of them? I knew they were watching us. There were cameras in every common area. I checked the quarters just to be safe. No cameras. I held my head in my paws. Who would leave the docking bay doors open, stock the kitchen, give us tools and weapons, then save one of our children from a wild beast? This was so much information to process. Ugh. I went and laid down with Marcus again. He wouldn't want to be left alone.