MESSAGE WRITTEN IN 2010: Yes, I've picked this story back up and I started getting back into it. Really, I've read so many stories like this that were REALLY weird, especially the ones where the author inserts themselves into it... and I was like, "Huh?!" So... I've decided to take this story as SERIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE to create a sense of REALISM and such. As I got back into the storyline, I realized it is NOT an easy story to write properly. SO! A ALOT of RESEARCH is involved on my end to ensure that the details are as accurate as humanly possible! You'll see what it's about as you get into the storyline. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! I recycled this story from a handwritten binder version that I wrote as a 14 year old back in 1994. This re-write is heavily modified because, let's face it, Krystal didn't exist back then. At any rate, I hope you enjoy the story.
DISCLAIMER: this story is for entertainment purposes only. All intellectual properties (copyright names, objects and places) are trademark of Nintendo.
Don't worry, I'm not giving up on my other stories. I'm doing things when I'm in the mood for them. ;) This story might get a little weird, but it's going to stay true to the StarFox personalities EVEN THOUGH everything is… well, you'll see. This story arc happens a few months after the Aparoid bit but will bare no semblances to my other stories or the Reflections Series. Enjoy.
STARFOX - Detente
C-1 Setting The Stage For Disaster
"Tell me you're nearly finished," sneered Andross Oikonny. His eyes slid from the technician to the carbon tube across the lab. Inside, the frozen expression of his nephew made him shudder. It seemed as though the boy was his personal ward. Every time he cried for help, Andross felt awkwardly compelled to save the fool. He clenched his teeth and narrowed his gaze.
Andrew's defeat to an Aparoid attack was no different. However, the boy would stay in suspended animation until Andross could figure out what to do with him. Lylat was obviously too difficult of an objective for Andrew to learn on. The dictator's eyes returned to the tech, Specialist Johansson. A gun was placed against the backside of the marmoset's ear.
"I need men who work well under stress. Can you manage to prove yourself?" Andross said in a calm voice. The safety was flipped to the 'off' position and it served as the metaphorical cocking of a hammer, to add drama. The aging Ape placed his fingertip on the trigger, pressing it in. A beam began to charge at the front of the barrel, the particle build up creating a grand light display.
"Ten seconds," Oikonny whispered. He began counting aloud. By the time he got to 'four', the computer terminal fluttered to life with green indicators across the board. "Excellent." Oikonny lowered the weapon, releasing the heavy discharge into the nearest alarm terminal. Not that it was going off, but now that the terminal was destroyed, it wouldn't become an issue later, either.
"Are the coordinates correct?" he asked.
"Yes, Emperor; they're set, Sir!" the man cried, scurrying away from his insane leader.
"I told you not to call me that, anymore. I don't even want people to know I'm alive, so shut your mouth," The elder Oikonny snapped. He pushed the blaster back into the thigh holster, looking back to the computer system. "You know, I built the grandfather model that this stupid contraption replaced. Tell me why using it is beyond my ability, Mister Johansson?"
The Specialist balked for a moment. After a short pause, he replied, "Because Corneria has changed the operating system so dramatically that you're simply not familiar with it? No one has any doubts in your genius, Mister Oikonny."
"That's why I like you, Specialist," Andross mused softly, turning to the display. He punched in a few numbers then reached into the technician's backpack, pulling out an explosive pack. Andross placed the magnetic charge on the side of the computer terminal, pointing to it. "Set it up for ten minutes and meet me on the bridge of the Core Base with Andrew's body." With that, the Doctor walked out of the control room and headed for the shuttle bay.
Bodies littered the floors. Cornerian scientists and security details, it was a mishmash of different uniforms, but clothes meant nothing to the dead. Several special-ops men from the Venom military filed into line as Andross walked passed. They stepped into the Hanger, heading for the lone shuttle. Beyond, the hanger doors were blown apart and the thick blue emergency force-field that took their place was wavering.
"We don't have long, get aboard," Andross ordered. The men filed into the shuttle; the pilot quickly fired up the engines and they waited for his next command. Specialist Johansson dashed through the doors pushing a dolly with the metal case holding Andrew, heading for the shuttle. He gave Andross a quick 'thumbs up,' before boarding the shuttle as well.
Doctor Oikonny turned to face a camera that was mounted on the ceiling and offered a sardonic grin. He lifted the blaster from its sheath and pointed the barrel at the camera, squeezing off a round. The electronic device erupted into sparks, falling to the flight deck with a dull thud.
"Get me my cane," he said to no one in general. One of the soldiers quickly walked back down the gangplank with a metal rod. There was a handle at the end, which was a perfect fit for the aging Doctor's palm. He was quick to help the Doctor up the ramp which was at a forty-five degree angle of incline. Once Andross was secured in his seat, the soldier pulled the hatch closed, locked it and the shuttle lifted from its spot on the deck.
It turned about 180 degrees and a torpedo erupted from the casing on the front end. The explosive chassis slammed into the metallic panel adjacent to the decimated bay doors. The force-field fizzled out and the hanger was consumed by the vacuum of space. It was go time.
The shuttle approached the rounded core base, which resembled a small metallic moon. A docking bay cleared the shuttle on its final approach, the proper vector numbers popped up on the dashboard and the transporter shuttered softly.
"Tractor beam is locked on," reported the pilot. The shuttle was ferried into the corebase, setting down with a gentle landing. The skids grunted under the weight and a gush of hot steam poured out through the shocks and struts built into the bottom of the craft. The hydraulic pump hissed softly and the main-bay doors shut. There was a groaning sound from outside of the craft and through the windshield, the crew could see the bay bathed in red. After a moment, the normal lighting returned.
"All right, the hanger is pressurized, go ahead," said the pilot. One of the soldiers opened the hatch and pressed a button so that the gangplank lowered to the deck. Andross was the first to depart, hobbling across the deck and heading for a nearby lift plate.
"Report to your stations, men," Andross demanded. "We'll be leaving the area in less than five minutes. Be ready."
The soldiers all cleared the deck, heading for their stations. The Doctor made his way to the bridge and smirked. He had really planned to be there by the time Specialist Johansson was finishing his work. The aging ape chuckled to himself. The kid was faster than he was given credit for, Andross thought for sure the kid and Andrew would wind up getting left behind.
Once he was on the bridge, he began giving orders. The first mate was treated as poorly as the next man; Andross didn't care about rank. Men that busted their tails were the ones he treated somewhat fairly. Specialist Johansson just received his slightest iota of respect. That was a huge leap.
"Take us through the gate," Andross commanded. The corebase began to move forward, slowly. It took complex mathematical equations through trained pilots and computers to move an entire corebase into a jump gate.
The jump gate roared to life, a massive green vortex coming to life within its circular confines. The moon-sized behemoth plunged into the wavering green field, sinking into it. Andross turned to his tactical officer and waved his paw. "Detonate the explosive," he ordered.
In the control center of the Jump gate, the magnetic device on the side of the computer terminal flashed. It pulsed with a massive electromagnetic wave then erupted in a powerful blast. It was Andross' wish to destroy all evidence of where he was going.
It was time to start a new chapter, where he would go unchallenged. He could build himself up and attack Lylat when he was better prepared. Also, he wanted a fresh, small system where he could train his Nephew properly, as the future of the Oikonny family. Lylat was too strong for the boy, yet and his Grandson, Dash Bowman, was not living up to the family prophecy of greatness.
Far ahead of him, a massive heavenly body came into view. It was a great deal like Corneria, only there were more distinctive amounts of green and brown in the land masses on the surface. To the port side of the screen, a white crater-covered ball hung in orbit. Andross narrowed his eyes but his grin grew into a devilish smile.
Success.
"I want a full report on their logistics, on their offensive capabilities and I want to know where the political power is most concentrated. Get to work," the Doctor ordered, walking to his chair at the center of the bridge and sinking into it. "Let's make it quick, I have important work waiting for me in my lab."
"We have a red light on gate Six, General!" The Cheetah looked up from his seat, leaning across the back rest with a frown. Pepper approached the feline, peering down at the monitor. Sure enough, there was a red light flashing by the Gate Six indication panel.
"I wonder if the Commander knows. Raise the crew on Gate Six, let's see what the issue is; I'm surprised they didn't call in with a report," Pepper said, pacing a bit. He cut his eyes to the main view screen and folded his paws behind his back. "Well? Did you hail them?"
"Affirmative, sir! There's no response, General." The Cheetah's words gave Pepper a strange feeling in his gut. He had that 'sensation of impending doom' and wondered if this was going to be something more serious than a broken communication coupling.
"Do me a favor, Major," Pepper said to the Cheetah. "I've got an odd feeling about this one. Contact StarFox and put them on stand-by. I want you to pull up the security cameras, get them on the main screen."
Within a few moments, an itemized selection of cameras came up on the main view screen. One of squares on the large monitor was displaying static, the rest of the security cameras showed the interior and exterior of the jump gate. The Major and the General both gasped at the same time as did the other half of the command center. Bodies were strewn about the hallways, none of them were moving.
"Rewind the feed. I want to know what happened before camera 'fourteen' went into static, let's start there," said Pepper. All thirty camera sections began to rewind. A thin flurry of lines passed over the remaining twenty-nine screens. The static filled monitor suddenly came to life. As it did, one of the techs slowed the rewind speed. A flash of red dissipated, disappearing into the barrel of a gun, held by someone that Pepper never thought he'd see again.
Andross Oikonny. The Doctor, in reverse motion, placed the blaster back into the holster on his thigh, his lips moved a little, apparently saying something to someone. After a moment, he pivoted on his heels in reverse. A marmoset dashed, backwards, through one of the hallways, coming from the hanger bay, in reverse. A moment after that, a group of men filed out of a shuttle that was behind him, in reverse. The group backed their way off the camera, through a hallway, appearing backwards on another camera.
As Andross walked backwards through the corridor, the soldiers broke off, coming to stand along the wall, in silence. Pepper gave a hand motion to speed up the rewind on the tape. Andross's form moved backwards through the hallway, heading into the control office, where the Marmoset had gone back to, in reverse. A few moments later, the soldiers in the corridor came into action, and bodies lifted off the floor. Blaster shots erupted from the Cornerian soldiers, being sucked into the weapons held by the Venom soldiers. The cameras continued their reverse feed.
"It's obvious that Andross stormed this base and they were caught off guard," Pepper mused softly. After a moment, he turned back to the Cheetah with a sigh. "Is Fox on the line, yet?"
"Aye, Sir! He's on line two, holding fast, General!" The Cheetah waited for the command before opening the channel. A holographic unit in the middle of the room fluttered to life, displaying the holographic upper body of Fox McCloud. A flutter of static reception caused the body to digress into textureless polygons before the clear, distinctive image returned. After a moment, General Pepper sunk into a chair, facing the holo-emitter.
"How soon can you have your team ready? I've got some shocking news for you; are ya sitting down, Fox?"
c2
C-2 Ominous Feeling
Fox McCloud mashed his finger on a button. The chair he was sitting in shuttered and the laptop armrest began to retract, but it got stuck half way through its designated pattern movement. "General, the new GreatFox is hardly in any shape to take on Andross. It's problem after problem! Are you SURE you saw him?"
"With my own eyes, Fox," General said from his floating position in the center of the bridge. Fox dropped his head, covering his face with his paws, trying to keep from growling. He tried so hard to avenge his family and he couldn't even manage it.
"Do you know what he's up to?" Fox asked, his words half muffled.
"He attempted to destroy a computer terminal in the Jump Gate located where Bolse Defense used to be. Luckily, he misjudged the durability of our black-box hard drive system, which doesn't use microchips or magnetic fields to write its information. He jumped out of the Lylat System about twenty minutes ago, to coordinates that are off of our charts."
"My ship is brand new. We haven't worked out all the kinks yet," Fox repeated, sourly. "She's not ready to go to war with Andross, Sir. Are you sure it wasn't Andrew?"
"I know who I saw, Fox," Pepper said with an equally sour tone of voice. Krystal approached Fox from behind and whispered into his ear. The General raised his brows then added, "Believe me now?"
"Uhm," Fox blinked, placing his left paw behind his head, scritching at the nape of his neck. "Y-yeah, she said you feel there's absolutely no mistake in what you saw. All right, we'll head out there and look around the Jump Gate, but I'm not ready to chase after him until GreatFox-A is ready for combat, General."
The hefty hound smirked. "Why, Fox! I've never known you to back down from a fight, especially against Andross!" Pepper seemed to be chiding the pilot in a way.
"General, I want to drop kick Andross... personally. You have no idea how bad I want to stomp his butt," Fox said, shaking his head, "But our new gear hasn't even been tested yet. We've got problems with every door hinge, with every mechanical joint we come across. Slippy is a one man miracle mechanic, but even he can't get us ready by himself."
"I'll make a deal with you," General Pepper said, reaching to tap his chin slightly. "I'll send you our Research and Development Director to help get your ship ready. I want you to find out where he went and follow him. If you need to hang back while you get a plan together, fine. I just want you to tail him before he causes a new problem. Name your price."
"Name our price?" Fox half-laughed out the question; his words were still partially muffled from between the furry fingers of his paws.
"Be reasonable, Fox," Pepper reminded.
McCloud thought for a moment then nodded in a confirming manner. "You send us Beltino and I'll send you my price. Take your time to think the amount over and when Beltino gets here, you give me your reply. Have him meet us outside the Bolse Jump Gate," Fox kind of felt like he was getting a deal here. His ship would be readied in record time and he was getting the metaphorical 'blank check'. He wasn't necessarily giddy, just interested in business, again. His paws slid down beneath his chin and he rested his head upon them.
"He's on his way. I'll contact you in twenty-four hours," Pepper said, adding, "Feel free to investigate the Jump gate, anything you may learn might help guide you in coming up with a plan to stop Doctor Oikonny."
"What are you not telling us?" Krystal blurted out, causing Fox to blink.
"Well," Pepper frowned. "Andross left the Jump Gate full of bodies. The other thing is, we believe he's got a fully operational corebase. We only saw a brief hint of it, as it disappeared into the jump gate, on an exterior camera, but it looks big."
"Great," Fox said, lifting his head from his paws with an awkward chuckle.
"No problem, General," said Slippy, approaching Fox on the other side of his seat. "You called the pro's, we'll have Andross gift wrapped and delivered in no time."
Krystal cut her gaze to Slippy and grinned slightly. "I suggest we hurry. There's much to learn before Beltino shows up."
"I guess so," Fox muttered softly. "All right, Slippy. Take us out to Bolse. Falco," said the vulpine, turning to his right hand pilot. "Meet me in the briefing room with Peppy. I want to see who's boarding this thing and who's staying."
"Playing the 'draw straws' game again, Foxie?" Falco said, tucking a pair of shades down over his beak. "Sure, McCloud, I'll see you there. Hey, Gramps," Falco said, directing his last statement towards Pepper, passing the Holographic unit. He opened the doors to leave the bridge but it wasn't going to be as easy as he had thought.
The doors slid half way open, the snapped shut once more. Falco forced the doors apart and began to climb through them, but they snapped shut on his jacket before he could get all the way through. McCloud and Krystal turned to watch the piece of denim between the doors slid up and back down along the seam where the doors came together.
After a moment, the fabric began to grow smaller. On the other side, Falco tugged his jacket until it was freed, cursing the ship for being rapidly replaced by half-arsed mechanics.
"I see what you mean," Pepper mused, turning his gaze back to Fox. "Should I send a small team of maintenance men with Beltino?"
"We only have so many guest rooms, General," Fox said, shaking his head. "Just send Slippy's dad. We'll make due. With your credit and our fee, we'll buy our own corebase and trade this thing in," McCloud joked, closing the channel. He turned to Slippy and Krystal, clapping his paws together. "All right! You heard the man, we're on the clock; get us to the Bolse Jump Gate! I'll be in the conference room if anyone needs me."
The GreatFox came to rest just outside of the Jump Gate in question. Scorch marks lined the outside of the hanger bay, the doors had been eviscerated. Slippy was able to bring GreatFox in docking range of the Jump Gate station, setting up the tractor moorings. Once the laser-guided clamps were attached, he had ROB help him in setting up the docking tube.
They kept their fingers crossed, until it was successfully completed. After that, Slippy sent Krystal to the Conference Room to let the team know that they were ready to board the station.
It had been two hours since Andross' attack and the stench of death was growing in the hallways of the station. Once the team was assembled, it was determined that Fox and Krystal would go and recover anything they could manage. Slippy would wait on standby incase his technical expertise became required for the mission.
Falco was to stay on GreatFox just incase he had to launch to provide fighter cover for any reason. The vulpine team walked through the large docking tube, using a special tool to open the emergency maintenance hatch on the exterior of the Jump Gate Station.
Once it was open, Fox stepped into the main corridor, wincing at the horrendous smell of death. Fox frowned thoughtfully, casting his gaze over the piles of deceased soldiers. He pulled up a chart of the base on his arm gauntlet then punched in a command on the buttons to label the room, on the computerized map. "This will be called the Omega Room. Let's go," he said. They left behind the sad swan song of post mortality, heading up the hallway.
After a moment, Krystal paused. She stopped dead in her tracks, reaching her paws to either side of her head. "Someone's here, alive."
"You sure?" asked McCloud, reaching for the blaster on his hip.
She reached her paw outwards, to dissuade him from drawing the weapon. "That won't be necessary," Krystal replied, trying to focus. "He or she is near; I can't tell more than that. They're terrified, it's such a strong emotion that I can't sense much more."
"You can't? W-why not?" Fox tilted his head, releasing the butt of the pistol.
Krystal frowned. She'd never been questioned by Fox before now. "It's like trying to hear a single subtle instrument in the middle of a full concert. Only the most trained ear can pick it out, but even they have a difficult time trying to hear if it's perfectly in tune… or, conversely, it's only a hair flat."
"...Oh. I'm, I'm sorry, Krystal. I didn't mean to sound like I didn't believe you, I just don't understand how telepathy works to begin with," Fox admitted. She could sense the heartfelt apology in his words and she smiled softly, patting his cheek.
"This way, Fox." She headed down an intersecting hallway. The closer they got to this person, the more Krystal increased her pace. By the end of the corridor, she was in a full sprint, heading into the next section. She suddenly skidded to a halt, looking straight up. A vent shaft was above her head. Three out of four bolts were in the corners of the register. She lifted her right arm, pointing. "They're in there. I think it's a female."
"Great," Fox said, leaping upwards. He wrapped his fingers around the vented slats in the register, then shook his body hard from left to right, trying to loosen the metallic vent cover. "C'mon, you!" he muttered under his breath, trying to rip the metal vent face out of the ceiling. After a moment, the bolts became stripped enough that the register face came free of its place in the ceiling.
Fox suddenly felt weightless, plummeting back to the floor. The metal vent came with him and above that, was a female husky-mixed-greyhound, wearing a science uniform. She landed unceremoniously upon McCloud, leaving Krystal to gasp in surprise.
A bit dazed, Fox groaned. He was sandwiched between the woman and the deck, feeling easily as flat as a crape. The canid woman tried to stand up so that she could run but it was obvious she was as dazed as McCloud, beneath her. Krystal offered a paw to the girl, helping her to her feet, helping to put her at ease.
"I can't believe you're the only one left," Krystal said in a soft, nurturing tone. The two girls spoke for a moment, letting the canine get her bearings and shake off the loss of equilibrium. After she realized she wasn't in any danger, she helped Krystal to pull Fox to his feet.
The resilient vulpine managed not to break any ribs or joints from being flattened by a falling person. The hybrid husky-mixed-greyhound wrapped her arms around her waist, as if she were cold, looking about the area nervously. She half-pivoted on one foot, half-pacing from nerves.
"What happened here?" Fox was finally able to ask, tugging at his shirt to free it from wrinkles.
"They slaughtered the security and executed the science staff," said the girl. "Who are you two?"
"This is Krystal and I'm Fox McCloud of the StarFox Mercenary squadron," H=he replied, looking back to Krystal to check her expression. He'd learned to steal a glance at Krystal to see if she was sensing anything during a conversation with someone he didn't know. It was a reflexive action by now.
"I've... heard of them. So you're StarFox? I'm Anne," she said, extending a paw to Fox.
"Well no, my team is StarFox. As for me, personally? I'm just Fox McCloud," he replied, shaking her paw. He got that a lot. For some reason, there were a ton of people out there that somehow thought his name was "Star Fox". It was an odd concept and he couldn't imagine having the first name 'Star', as it sounded as lame as could be for any guy.
"All right. So the Venom Army left?" she asked.
"They did; we're alone," Krystal replied, patting the girl on her shoulder gently. "You're safe now. We'll get you back to Corneria."
"So are you getting paid to investigate?" Anne asked, turning back to McCloud. "How much are you getting paid, Mister Star Fox?"
"Just Fox McCloud," Fox said, trying to chuckle, so he didn't show that he was getting annoyed.
"Right, Star Fox McCloud. So how much are you getting paid to investigate this place?" asked the younger female.
Fox's eyes crossed. He looked down, so that he didn't seem rude, then he took in a long, slow breath. "I don't know, yet. Can you help us find the Control Tower? We have to extract a black box from a machine, there. General Pepper wants to know what's on it."
"You guys work directly through the General, himself? That's a little high up, don't you think? Who are you guys really?" the mixed-breed asked, which caused Fox and Krystal to both drop their heads in defeat.
"I'm Fox, this is Krystal. General Pepper has asked for us to investigate," Fox simply paused, seeing the woman blatantly distracted by picking up the vent register and looking at the stripped threads on the remaining three bolts. Fox finally threw his paws up in the air. "Never mind. Which way is the main control room?"
"It's that way," she said, pointing at a sign painted on the wall, which pointed towards the main Control Room. Fox slapped himself in the forehead with his paw and groaned. He began to walk off in the direction of the control center, Krystal coming up besides him, leaving the Husky back in the hallway.
"Is it me or is she more dense than a box of rocks?" Fox grumbled.
"No, Fox," Krystal said, shaking her head. "It was a façade, she's quite intelligent. She's the leading scientific mind on this base," Krystal explained.
"Of course she is; she's the only 'scientific mind' left on this base," Fox said in a nasty voice. "I'm sorry, I just hate when people are stupid and I hate it even more when people pretend to be stupid."
The two foxes stepped into the control room, sniffing the air. It was obvious where the incendiary device was detonated. The burn marks covered one of the computer terminals. To Fox's surprise, the terminal was easily removed from the ground and even had wheels. He motioned to Krystal to help him wind the cables around the box, then they wheeled the burnt box down the hallway.
"Please, Fox," Krystal begged, "Don't make a joke about the black box being inside of a black box," she said, referring to the burnt terminal. She sensed it was coming and asked before he could make it. Fox gave a lopsided grin and shrugged in silence. The two of them passed the hallway where they left the Anne. She was still standing where they left her.
"Are you coming?" Fox asked, jerking his head to the side, as if to motion for the lady to follow. "We'll get you back to Corneria, c'mon." With a shrug, the lady began to follow them, heading back towards the Omega Room.
As soon as the doors swung open Anne began to look pale. Fox wasn't sure if it was the smell or the visual gore. He assumed it was a little bit of both and motioned for her to step into the docking tube first. Krystal helped him lift the terminal over the wall and through the hatch, setting it down in the tube. They pushed it towards GreatFox and lifted it one more time, through the hatch, into their own ship.
No sooner did they get to the first set of double doors, did they have problems. The doors slid open, then shut before they could get through them. Fox mashed the button a few times, but the doors only opened when he held the button down. As soon as he released it, they hissed shut, slamming closed.
"This... is embarrassing." Fox rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "Remind me again: Why did we rush things and take the ship before it was finished?"
"Because you were tired of living on a Cornerian Medical Ship?" Krystal reminded him through a returned inquiry of her own.
"Yeah, guess I need to learn patience," Fox muttered. The husky-mixed-greyhound walked calmly to the button panel in the wall and reached into her pocket. She pulled a small tool out and used it to unfasten the bolts above and below the buttons.
"What're you doing?" Fox asked but he was quieted by Krystal. The telepathic vixen put a finger to her lips, signaling Fox to hush for a moment. He did so, watching the girl in action. The woman removed the panel and pulled a small green electronics board from its home, in the wall. She pulled out another small tool and hooked a wire up to a set of jumpers on the chip. With a few key strokes on her tool, she reprogrammed the doors then replaced the chip, the panel and the bolts.
With that done, the canine pushed her tools back into her pockets and walked in front of the doors. She waved her paw before the doors and they opened without pressing the button on the panel. "See?" With that, she stepped through and shrugged.
"What's going on here?" The voice belonged to Falco, who approached from the other end of the corridor. "Who's she?"
Politely, the canine announced, "I'm Anne Grey. Someone wired your door, here, to open and shut off of a button. The button is actually supposed to be a lock and unlock switch. The door is supposed to open when it detects motion. Looks like someone rushed through their job."
Falco placed his feathery fingers on either side of Anne's face, looking beyond delighted. "You can fix our doors? Are you serious? Will you marry me?" he asked, looking absolutely boisterous. "Can you fix all our doors, I'll pay you; I don't care what Fox says about it."
"You guys get me home to Corneria in two hours," Anne said, stealing a furtive glance at Fox, "And I'll fix your doors, but I don't have time to do the rest. What the heck else is wrong with your ship?"
"What's not wrong with it?" Falco said, taking off down the hall. "Catch up when you can, I'll show you a few places that need serious attention," he then paused, calling back to Fox, "I don't know where you found her, but she's a God-Send!"
Krystal tilted her head, approaching Anne from her left, whispering into her ear. "From where do you know Fox?"
Anne leaned back and whispered in reply, "I'm his best friend's sister. I've been waiting to see if he would remember. Seems Falco doesn't remember either. I feel so loved." She then grinned, patting Krystal on the cheek and walked off after Falco.
"What was all that about?" Fox said, folding his arms.
"Oh Fox," Krystal said, shaking her head softly. "How could you?" She began to push the computer terminal through the hallway, heading for the bridge.
"...What? What did I do?" he asked, hurrying after her.
x- one hour -x
The dull voice of ROB called out to those on the bridge. "Incoming vessel! Beltino Toad requesting permission to land."
"Give it to him," Fox said, turning back to Krystal. He'd been trying to pry the secret out of her for over forty-five minutes now and was growing somewhat frustrated. "So Krystal, c'mon you've got to tell me what the deal behind this Anne Grey chick is. Please?"
"Anne Gray," replied ROB, "Sister of William Grey. Current residence, Katina. Current assignment, lead science technician on Bolse Jump Gate, Station 6. Current age, 24 years, 7 months. Currently engaged to Miyu Lynx of Corneria."
Fox froze. He'd forgotten that Slippy had Rob connected to the internet archives. What was more shocking was that Bill's little sister had not only grown up, but she was engaged to a fighter pilot. The question was, with a name like Miyu, was Anne's significant other male or female? Fox didn't want to ask, because it might seem rude to speculate. He simply put his paws up, defensively. "Okay, so she's my best friend's little sister. Aren't you supposed to be happy that I don't remember her?"
"Why, Fox McCloud, are you asking if I'm a jealous person?" Krystal asked, holding back her amusement, to see how he would react.
"N-no, I mean. Aw c'mon! This is what I'm talking about," Fox said, running his fingers through that cream-colored tuft of fur, between his ears. "You girls love beating up on us guys, I swear."
"Fox, relax," Krystal chided, patting the side of his face just the way Anne did to her. "And no, I do not recommend you asking her if Miyu is a boy or a girl's name. She's already insulted that you don't remember who she is. Even if you did remember your best friend's little sister, I know how your emotions towards me stand; I've no reason to be a jealous girl," the vixen said with a soft smile.
"I'd better go apologize, I'll be back shortly," Fox said, walking off the bridge. He noticed, almost immediately, that the door opened smoothly and shut behind him. Obviously Anne and Falco had already taken care of this door, which was good. Every time he came to a door that didn't work, he back tracked and found one that did, until the trail ended with Anne Grey and Falco Lombardi.
"So you're really dating another chick? That's freakin' awesome," Falco said, his voice carrying up the hallway. Fox blinked, following the audible conversation down the corridor and up the next hallway.
"Yeah, most people make a big deal over it, but it just felt right," Anne explained. "Her best friend, Fay Spaniel, is a little weird'ed out about it, but she had no complaints. She met Bill through me and they're dating, now. You'd think that Bill was the male version of Miyu and Fay, or something. Fay's a little bubblier, like that privateer you used to run with, Katherine Monroe, but you know what I mean."
"Well, it doesn't bother me," Falco said. The two were talking as if they were old buddies and Fox couldn't help but cough into his paw as he approached from around the corner.
"Hey guys," He said. "Hey, Miss Grey right? I just wanted to apologize, earlier. I knew your face, it was familiar and all, but I just didn't know where I knew it from... my fault. You're Bill's little sister right?"
"Hey, score a point for McCloud," she replied. "Would have been ten if you got it an hour ago, but that's no big deal." She offered her paw and McCloud shook it firmly.
He then offered a pleasant smile and nodded, "I've got to go and meet up with Beltino, who's arriving in the hanger, but we should catch up, some time before you leave, eh?"
"I'm out of here, in an hour, Fox," she said with a chuckle. "Two hours was my deal, remember? No offence to you guys, but I'm pretty sure you'll be following Andross. I don't want to be part of that. Fay and Miyu might want to get in on that action, but not me."
McCloud nodded slowly. "We'll have to see. I might need more help if I do go after him. Would you ask them before we go through the Gate, tomorrow morning?" Fox asked.
"I'll see what I can find out." Anne tilted her head then shrugged, "Yeah, I'll ask them for you, but no promises."
a/n: Okay, real simple… This stuff right here was half-written in february of 2005. The end part was written in 1994 and most of the rest of the story was written in 1994 as well. I've rewarded a few things but yeah…
So Anne and Bill weren't the character's names back then but it really worked out well, because the male character who is never in the story is one of Fox's best friends growing up and was a dog from Corneria so… perfect. I forget his name, it was something common like Fred. XD I'm not saying fred is a stupid name for those of you named Fred who are reading my story but I just wanted something mundane in comparison to say… 'fox mccloud'. Lol At any rate, this story is already 6 chapters long, and I've never finished the re-write… I should probably do that, huh?
And you don't even know what the story is about yet, do ya'? xD
WELL YOU FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER so... go read it!