A bright flash of light emanated from a surveillance satellite at the outer reaches of the Lylat System as it scanned its surrounding area, the gigantic lens slowly closing after performing its duty. Digital commands raced through the satellite's motherboard at lightening speed processing the input it had just received. Milliseconds later, the satellite sent its latest feed to its recipients' destination millions of miles away. The vast emptiness of space did little to hinder the expensive device's function, yet it was strange the general vicinity the satellite was in disrupted its workings, though the satellite was oblivious to its malfunctioning.
The surveillance satellite in question had been placed at its current location shortly after the Aparoid invasion many years prior in an effort to protect the System from any future attacks. As the satellite seemingly floated aimlessly through the remains of a former planet, in reality it moved in unison within the debris of the planet, which had formed an expansive asteroid belt. The planet whose remains joined the satellite on its journey had been destroyed years ago by a militant force from the Imperial Solar System.
Furs normally shied from speaking of the Imperial Solar System. That particular race of beings had started on an escapade of conquering every single system in the universe, winning nearly every battle. Gradually, they became the most feared System, with enough power to wipe out even their biggest enemy, though few dared to challenge the bloodthirsty race to begin with. Inevitably, the Imperial Solar System discovered the Lylat System, and attempted to conquer it with high expectations. The Lylatians proved to be quite a force to reckon with, and in the end, the Imperialists were overwhelmed and fled from the battle. Lylatians all knew that the eventual return of the Imperial Solar System would be eminent, however they could not predict when. Not long after the initial invasion, the Imperialists returned for the sole purpose to destroy a particular planet…the remains of which were being investigated by the aforementioned satellite. Little did the Lylatians know that yet another attack would come sooner than they think…
The satellite's placement had been in the remains of the planet in hopes of answering popular scientific theories. The artificial destruction of a planet had never been heard of until the Imperials arrived. Flabbergasted scientists tried desperately to hypothesize answers to provide to the public to follow up the media's quick and eventual discovery of such a feat. The symbolic planet's destruction would not be taken well by many, and indeed it was not. Why the planet was so important and why it contained such symbolic and inexplicable powers remained a mystery. With the surveillance satellite in place, scientists and governmental intelligence agencies hoped to kill two birds with one stone.
Yet many thought the satellite's performance would be hindered by the mysterious powers claimed to have been witnessed in the field of debris. Some said that radiant neon colors were often seen in the area, and strangely, the presence of the colors seemed to disable or corrupt any kind of technology, although proof of this was never found. Because of this lack of evidence, most dismissed the idea of these powers. Or, at least, until they witnessed it for themselves.
Weston Promple, an aging surveillance worker at the Orbital Gate, had been one of those lucky first-time witnesses merely minutes ago. Promple, a drab gray feline, was the fur in charge of the small crew of five others who scrutinized the readings from all ten of Lylat's surveillance satellites. The room was littered with monitors, computers, printers, holograms, and many other technological devices. He sat in the center of the room in a typical office chair and carefully studied the latest reading from Satellite 3, not far from planet Sauria, in the monitor in front of him. He and the rest of his crew stood baffled by the strange neon blue colors emitted from the picture in front of them. The monitor they were all perplexed by displayed a digital scanning of an entire 360-degree radius around the satellite, reaching thousands of miles outward in all directions.
Promple shifted closer to the monitor and gazed into the disturbing transmission. In all my life I can honestly say I've never seen anything like this, he thought. Even though the Orbital Gate was a literal orbiting laboratory, warp portal (thus the name), and observation post with thousands of new discoveries made on a daily basis, no-one could say they had ever seen such a thing. Stars and galaxies glittered billions of miles in the distance of the satellite's feed, as normal, as did the many grey-brown meteorites in the belt. The remains of planet all seemed to be in their normal coordinate positions, traversing their path just as predicted. But why are there colors? It can't be any type of magnetic field, there's no ion charge. Indeed, neon blues, greens, and reds of nearly every shade danced across the screen, showing the exact same behavior as electromagnetized ultraviolet rays passing through an atmospheric planet's poles.
The feline struggled with his thoughts. So if it's got the behavior of a magnetic field, why aren't the scanners indicating charged particles? And what's causing the satellite to malfunction? In an effort to sort things out, he began to speak aloud.
"Everything is going as normal until several minutes ago. We're all sitting around this cramped metal box of a room of ours, performing our duties at our posts like we should be. Then we notice Satellite 3 acting strangely, as if on its own schedule and doing its job at intermittent intervals. Am I right so far?"
His crew murmured near-indistinct affirmatives.
"So at least we're not all going crazy, that much is certain." He smiled slightly at the humor, feeling a lightened air as he heard more affirmatives.
"Alright team, listen up. Here's the game-plan. Brian and Rod, I want you guys to make sure the satellite's motherboard is still working properly. Sandy, you put the latest image into your computer and break down the digital scanning. Tracy, I expect General Hare to be notified of this finding immediately. And Jonie, help me look up this area's history so we can get an idea of what the hell is going on. Let's go, everyone!"
Promple's orders were carried out immediately as a frenzy of activities filled the small room. Each crew member obeyed their leader and began to find some answers to the bizarre questions that had so abruptly presented themselves.
The two black lab technicians zoned out the chaos around them as they turned their attention to their corner of the room, laden with high-tech equipment that looked like it belonged on an alien spaceship. They began punching some of the numerous buttons and manipulated an on-screen display of the satellite. As the image began to zoom in and out, revealing the inner core of the satellite's motherboard, many mathematical read-outs presented themselves on another monitor nearby. The pair of technicians punched another series of buttons and soon after the whirr of a printer produced a one-page report of the satellite's functions. Red print was littered across the sheet of paper, clearly designating serious problems. To the technicians' surprise, the satellite appeared uninformed of these errors. They thought it quite bizarre, considering the fact that the satellite was designed to recognize and diagnose problems on its own. White lab coats rustling, the two technicians barged their way through to the other side of the room and delivered the paper, completing their duty and returning to their post to think over the strange turn of events for themselves.
A pure white female husky typed furiously across from the quiet technicians behind her. She glanced intently at the screen before her, preparing a holographic connection for General Hare and Promple. The aforementioned feline stumbled over to her and tossed a sheet of paper on her cluttered desk. He demanded copies to be made for General Hare's staff, including the Cornerian Intelligence Agency. She shoved the document into the scanner and it immediately sucked up the document with a whine, beeping three times to indicate scanning had started. Less than a second later, her monitor displaying official security clearance windows was clouded with another window of the latest scanning. She pressed several buttons on her keyboard and confirmations read on the display in front of her. Just after she finished sending the document, Promple dashed his way back over and handed her a new document, obviously from the tan squirrel in the corner to the right of her. She carried out Promple's new request, shooting a look towards the squirrel, who seemed too intent on the freakish colors emitted from the monitor before her to even notice the husky's questioning gaze. Dismissing the squirrel's behavior, the female husky glanced back to her superior, who was currently engaged in a conversation with a female rottweiler. She returned her attention to her monitor for a moment, eyeing a confirmation on the screen, before spinning in her chair to face the feline in the center of the room. The feline, obviously displeased with his canine associate, bellowed loud enough the gain the entire System's attention.
"Since when do planets reform?!"
The angered Promple shot threatening looks at each member of his crew as if to confirm that planets indeed do not reform. Every fur in the room nervously glanced at each other, the silence that had so quickly ensued was broken just as quickly by a static crackling from the hologram projector in the center of the room. The female husky hesitantly announced the connection had been achieved.
"General Hare has acquired connection with you, sir."
A disgruntled rabbit dressed in a flowing red and gold uniform sat at his glossy cherry desk, looking straight at the hologram of Weston Promple and his crew at the Orbital Gate. The rabbit folded his arms on the cherry-wood desk, nervous shuffling from his staff audible behind him. He sat on the 100th floor of the Cornerian Military Headquarters in Corneria City, the capital of the lead planet of the Lylat System. As the rabbit made direct eye contact with the feline before him, he spoke justly.
"Let me get this straight, Promple. You contact me without warning, claim that you have an urgent issue at hand, I witness your crew in a state of obvious chaos, and I overhear the most disturbing question out of your mouth in the most unprofessional and disrespectful way imaginable?"
"General Hare," Promple stuttered, the razor-sharp words of the General eating at his mind with each passing second. "I apologize for the lack of conduct, but as you can see, the circumstances are most bizarre!"
"Indeed. Now, I would much like to hear-"
"General Hare, I hate to interrupt, but we've just received another transmission from MacBeth. It's from the Venomian surveillance satellite." The head female feline of the Cornerian Intelligence Agency cleared her throat behind him after her statement as if to punctuate the urgency of this new transmission. The rabbit paused momentarily before replying.
"Very well, Ms. Monroe. Let's see this transmission. I have a feeling that it might correlate with Promple's present situation."
To the utter shock of all engaged in the underway briefing, the transmission had everything, yet nothing, to do with Promple's own discovery.
A great many miles away, a confirmation code blipped in front of a monitor to signify that the data had been successfully and securely sent.
The data had come from another surveillance team located on the small blue-green planet of MacBeth. This new surveillance team had just received their own live feed from the surveillance satellite that had begun its job only weeks ago. This satellite, much larger in size than Satellite 3, orbited the wastelands of planet Venom. Its operation had been kept utterly top secret, and only a few ranking officials including the Cornerian Intelligence Agency based on planet Corneria knew of its existence. The tiny crew of three in charge of the top secret satellite gathered around the computer screen displaying the latest image around Venom taken only seconds ago.
Shimmering in the distance, a gargantuan battlecruiser by the name of the Regal Miss emerged out of the depths of space, the words "Imperial Solar System" plastered boldly on the side of the massive vessel. Knowing all too well what the presence of the foreign visitor meant, one of the crew members watching the digital display before him cried out in horrified astonishment.
"My God… They're here!"
His mind reeling from the terrifying new presence, he hoped above all else that General Hare would be wise enough to know how to handle this fearful situation…
At yet another destination in the Lylat System near planet Fortuna, a well-known four-winged mothership idly orbited the flora-rich planet, a bright red symbol of a fox with wings sparkling against the metallic hull of the powerful ship. Rebuilt yet again after being destroyed, the mothership housed four members of the most famous mercenary team in history. The mothership had been destroyed at the end of an alien invasion on the Lylat System, and shortly after returning to Corneria, the team was awarded the new ship they currently flew in. Two particular toads at the Cornerian Research and Development base were responsible for the effort, especially as one of the toads had previously been a member of the mercenary team.
Inside the mothership, a blue-furred vixen sat up suddenly in her bed, shuddering in agony. The dream she had just experienced brought horrid memories flooding back to her. Vague images of her home planet quickly faded from her vision, the glittering gem of a memory blacking out as fast as it had illuminated. She shivered as another vision from the dream danced before her…the menacingly cruelty of it making her shake within her soul. Dead bodies of her race piled in front of her, the gruesome spectacle flickering away and leaving her with nothing but excruciating pain exploding within her. These ghastly memories were ones she dreaded were about to repeat themselves soon
Too soon, the vixen thought. She rubbed her radiant turquoise eyes and brushed away her dark blue bangs, revealing a headband with a tiny gem centered in the very middle of her forehead. She could feel the gem in question pulsating, a sign of the presence of evil wills. The vixen pushed the heavy blankets away from her as she hopped out of her bed, foot-paws colliding with the stone-cold metal floor. Her flowing light blue robe rustled quietly as she strode towards the full-sized mirror opposite her bed, the robe nearly identical in color to her cerulean fur.
As her foot-paws arrived at the plush light blue rug, welcoming the warmth flooding through them, she looked up into the mirror. All around her she could see her sleeping quarters, fully equipped with a bed, dresser, small table, and several closets. Everything, save for the silver-grey of the floor, was a beautiful cerulean color, including her staff, which sat patiently waiting for its master on the table. It too pulsated in response to the unknown evil presence, bright neon colors changing and flashing as though it were a strobe of warning and reflecting brilliantly against the gold-bronze trim that patterned the staff. She returned her gaze to her face, which clearly showed the bedraggled state she was in. Her matted fur and tired eyes were evidence of an unpleasant nightmare. She quickly examined herself, to confirm the fact that she was all in one piece. Her almost white muzzle curled into a smile, revealing crystal-white teeth, as she placed a light blue hand-paw on her hip and shifted her body into a brief pose. She did not stand before the blue-rimmed mirror for beauty purposes, although one could argue she retained her beauty through thick and thin, or at least that's what her most cherished vulpine thought. Her eyes gazed upon the gem atop her forehead, its behavior exactly the same as her staff.
Confirming her worries, she silently strode out the door towards the bathroom, a low, deep electronic hum filling the plain silver-grey hall. The maze of the huge mothership proved difficult to learn, but she quickly mastered the almost never-ending pathways that led to various other rooms. She passed three other doors on her way, the names of her teammates printed sloppily on the metallic doors. She stopped momentarily at the third door, placing a hand-paw against the cold surface and listening intently for any activity within the quarters. Silence. The vixen hesitated slightly before returning on her journey to clean herself up, as the undecorated plain hall did little to soothe her troubled thoughts.
In the sleeping quarters directly across from the vixen's, a dark grey lupine opened his eyes abruptly, his one good eye darting towards the door as his other eye, replaced with a computerized scanning implant, checked for activity in the hall directly on the other side of the door. Noticing strange light emissions, the lupine roughly leapt out of bed and grabbed a pair of black boxers, glancing at the time on the digital clock sitting on the side table next to his bed. It read exactly 0500, a time the lupine in question remembered all too well what meant. Shunning the long-ago memories of war, he returned his attention to the door. He tightly grasped the handle and pulled, revealing a quiet hum from the overhead lights and the look of the metal hall. The lupine paused momentarily, glancing around the hall to be sure it was safe. His brilliant purple eye sparkled menacingly as it caught the low lighting.
The lupine strolled casually across the hall towards his female teammate's sleeping quarters, powerful legs propelling himself forward, and was surprised to see the door wide open. Inside the almost entirely blue quarters, a staff patiently pulsated many different colors on the table top. Curiosity overtaking him, he forgot the fact he was intruding and cautiously approached the staff, scratching the top of his light grey head in wonder. Almost immediately, a quiet whirr was emitted from the staff as its color-changing increased violently. The dumbfounded lupine was unable to move as the staff began to vibrate. Seconds later, and still blankly perplexed by the staff, the lupine was sent flying backwards as a burning white heat engulfed the room.
"AAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
He screamed in agony at the searing pain and crashed against the wall, his foot-paws unable to reach the floor as if an invisible force held him in place.
Barely conscious, the lupine failed to notice a blue-furred vixen run into the room, yell something entirely inaudible to him, and snatch the violent staff off the table. Immediately after, the lupine slid towards the floor and fell muzzle-first against the hard metal, blacking out into the world known as unconsciousness.
Breathing heavily, the vixen bent down to check her lupine teammate's vital signs, knowing he was lucky to have survived her staff's defensive attack. A light trickle of blood dripped from his snout, a result of his hard collision with the metal floor. With surprising strength, she effortlessly hoisted him onto her back and headed for the direction of the medical room, armed with the knowledge that the lupine slung over her fragile-looking back wouldn't be the only one suffering in the events soon to follow…