Star Fox
Memorial Day
This is just a little one-shot. In honor of those who have met their deaths in service of their country.
Fox solemnly climbed into his Arwing, dreading the day that lay ahead. There was nothing wrong with the day, in fact it was a great honor that he had been selected for what he was going to do. It was the memories that were stirred up every year on this day, and a few others.
Memorial Day was a sacred day for Cornerians, honoring the dead who passed in battle. Security was the highest of any day in the year; every combat capable person was heavily armed and armored, standing guard at every conceivable location. The navy was on full alert, authorized to fire at anything that didn't have clearance since five days earlier.
Fox launched with the rest of his team; Slippy, Krystal, and Falco forming up behind him in their signature diamond formation. The Great Fox followed close behind, a new and larger ship than they had owned before. Instead of a Corvette the Star Fox team took control of a Destroyer, giving them more power and better protection.
The other members of the team launched soon after; with the larger ship came a larger amount of members in the team. They all formed into a giant diamond, with Fox in the lead. Peppy was at the rear of the formation, probably the last time he'd fly in an Arwing in his life.
With access granted well before they arrived they passed through the blockade of Corneria and into its atmosphere, their ships' hulls glowing red from the friction of re-entry. The fighters flew over the major cities of Corneria, gathering attention from the animals on the ground. Finally, they flew to the designated location of the ceremony.
Fox and Peppy separated from the formation, slowly lowering to the ground side-by-side. The Arwings touched down gently on the soft earth, wings folding back into their locked positions. Fox climbed out first, going over and helping Peppy out of his fighter.
Arrayed before them were ten full battalions of men, formed into square companies. Each soldier was in perfect plate armor, like from the medieval time periods of old. They carried a long-sword at the end of rod of steel. Their armor was shinned to perfection, and so were their weapons. They stood at attention, each one in perfect form and indistinguishable from another.
General Pepper stood at the far end of the two formations on either side of the path. Near the end that Fox and Peppy had landed stood some of the families of the dead, many of them were former soldiers themselves.
Fox and Peppy stood at the beginning of the formation, waiting for their cue to slowly move forward. An eight horse team stood ready to pull forward a casket on a cart, embedded with sacred symbols of the different religions that spanned the Cornerian Empire. This casket represented all those who had died in the history of Corneria, and one of the horses at the front of the team had no rider, signifying a soldier who had died in combat.
"Present Arms!" General Pepper shouted, and each soldier held up his or her weapon towards the sky… towards heaven. The horses started forward, so did Fox and Peppy. As they walked, the national anthem for Corneria was played.
They reached the end of the formations as the anthem stopped. The casket was removed from the carriage by two men in their plate armor, and placed on a platform beside a grave, which rested directly in front of a flag pole. The folded flag on top the casket was carefully unfolded and attached to the pole, then slowly raised up to half-mast.
As it rose, taps was played not to far away. It wasn't a recording; a live person was playing the trumpet. It was a great honor to play this instrument in this ceremony.
Then, carefully, the casket was placed in the grave and covered with top-soil. Fox and Peppy stood to either side of the flag pole; Fox at attention, and Peppy in a chair they had brought for him due to his age.
"Attention! Face Front! Present Arms!" General Pepper ordered the soldiers in formation. The two who put the casket in the grave faced the flag and kneeled, heads bowed in respect.
Again the anthem was played, though slower and with a deeper, more somber tone. As it stopped, a warship that was floating above the ceremony fired its seven guns. Then again. Then once more.
General Pepper stepped forward, in front of the flag. "This is a sad day… for all of us." He was speaking to the many camera crews that stood at the far end of the formation. "Today we honor those who died in service to this grand nation. Without their sacrifices… none of us would be here today. We owe everything that we are able to do today… to these brave souls. Let them be remembered, and never forgotten. For if we do not remember them, and their sacrifices, we can not hope to survive into the future."
General Pepper continued to speak, but Fox couldn't hear him. All he could hear was his father, talking to him from wherever he was now. Telling him, as he always had, to be strong. Despite his efforts, Fox couldn't stop that one, wet tear to escape.
End
Let us all remember those who have died to protect our rights, our liberties, and our lives. Without their sacrifices, we would not be here, nor would we be here in the future. It is those who lay their lives down for their country who show true bravery; who show true courage. They fight for what's right, they protect the innocent.
God Bless America.