So, here it is, the first chapter of the first story I have ever written outside of school. Expect grammer mistakes and such. Feel free to let me know what you think or what I can improve on. I hope you enjoy!
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Star Fox: Coalition
Chapter One
Friend or Foe
One week after the Aparoid War.
Fox was sitting on the side of his bed gazing out the window of his room at the stars that were slowly passing by. Fox's room was fairly large. It was much bigger than any of the other living quarters on the ship. The window he was looking out of took up the majority of the wall. His room was filled with pictures and mementos from previous missions. The vulpine sighed as his thoughts began to wonder.
I really like her, I just don't know what to say to her though. Ever since I rescued her from Dinosaur planet, I felt something for her that I never have for anyone else. And ever since we defeated the Aparoids, she has been the only thing on my mind. But, what if she doesn't feel the same way about me though?
Fox jumped as he heard a knock coming from his door on the other side of the room. The voice of the one he had been thinking of tried to speak through the door. "Fox, are you in there? We've been waiting for you in the kitchen, Slippy finished cooking dinner a while ago."
Fox glanced at the digital clock above his door that illuminated red numbers. It was 08:30 PM. He quickly made his way to the door feeling butterflies rise in his stomach, still not knowing what exactly he was going to say to her. The door slid open to reveal Krystal who was wearing her blue Star Fox uniform. She also sported a tiara on her head, and a necklace with a turquoise pendant. Fox was instantly entranced by her blue eyes. "There you are, come on Fox lets go eat."
"Y-yea, alright" he said nervously. Fox exited the room and began walking down the narrow hallway with Krystal towards the kitchen. "Normally you are the first one to show up for dinner Fox, is everything alright?"
"Umm yea, everything is fine, I… I've just had allot on my mind."
"What is troubling you Fox?"
"Well, to be h-honest, I was uhhh..."
"Oh, well look who finally decided to show up." Falco interrupted as the two foxes entered the kitchen. "You know the Green Machine and I are starven to death here and you're off in the ship somewhere doing who the hell knows what." He was sitting at the large, circular table that was centered in the middle of the room. Fox gave Falco a confused look as he questioned "Green Machine?"
"Yep, fits him perfect, don't ya think?" Fox gave a slight chuckle as he turned his attention toward Slippy. The green toad, who was bringing a large plate food to toward the table, just rolled his eyes, completely ignoring the blue bird and said "Hey guys, we better start eating before this food gets cold."
Fox nodded as he and Krystal went to take a seat at the table. "Where is Peppy at?" Fox asked, starting to look around the room. "Last I saw him he was workin' on somethin' up on the bridge." Falco responded, now moving food onto his plate.
"Maybe I should go get him before we eat. He has been working hard all day, and I am sure he must be getting hungry." Fox stood from his seat and began walking towards the door. He heard Krystal's voice behind him right as he was about to exit. "Do you want me to go with you Fox?" He thought about it for a second before turning back and responding "No, that's alright, you go ahead and start eating, I'll be back in a few minutes." The door hissed as it closed behind Fox.
The three remaining animals all began to devour their meal. A few bites in, Falco turned to Slippy with a look of disgust and remarked "Wow Slippy, I have to admit, this is one of the worst meals I have ever had. I mean, it tastes absolutely horrible. You should definitely stick to being a mechanic." Krystal playfully slapped the blue birds shoulder. "Hey that was mean, he worked hard preparing this meal for us." The vixen then turned to Slippy who was angrily glaring at Falco. "It's not bad Slippy, I like it." Slippy's expression seemed to relax as he looked back down towards his food. "Thanks Krystal."
Fox navigated through the halls of the great fox towards the bridge.
I wonder what Peppy is working on. He never seems to take any time to relax and enjoy himself. He may be the oldest of the crew, but he definitely works harder than any of us. It's just another one of the many reasons I respect him so much.
As the door to the bridge slid open, he saw the old hare typing away on the main console in the middle of the room with ROB standing by his side. Peppy stopped what he was doing and rotated his chair to face Fox.
"Oh, hello Fox."
"What's up Peppy, why aren't you down eating with the rest of the crew?"
"I was just running some diagnostics on our sensors. We seem to be having issues with external tracking. I was also-"
ROBs robotic voice interrupted saying "Attention, incoming transmission from General Pepper."
Peppy turned back to the console, than again to Fox and asked "Do you want to gather the rest of the crew before we accept Fox?"
Fox turned his head to ROB and ordered "ROB, let everyone know to report to the bridge ASAP."
ROBs monotone voice came over the intercom of the ship. "All crew, please report to the bridge immediately."
Moments later, Falco, followed by Krystal and Slippy, arrived on the bridge. Falco took a seat next to Peppy, Slippy stood to the Left side of the room, and Krystal stood at Fox's side. "What's going on Fox?" Krystal asked. "We have an incoming transmission from the General. It could be a new mission." Fox replied as he turned to look at Peppy. "Ok Peppy, go ahead and patch us through."
The Hare nodded, turned around, and began typing into the console. A few moments later a large blue holographic image of an old hound appeared in front of them. "General Pepper here, do you read Fox?"
"Yes sir, loud and clear"
"Good, Fox I have some very important information for you and your team." Fox's ears perked up as Pepper continued. "A few days ago, someone managed to hijack a Cornerian Military Vessel that carried experimental technology. We chased the vessel until we lost track of it in Sector X and believe it to be hidden somewhere in that area. We need you and your team to find the vessel and recover the technology aboard it."
Falco was quick to question the General "If you don't mind me asking sir, what kind of technology are we talking about here?"
"I am sorry Falco but that is classified information. All I can tell you is that it is of the upmost importance that you retrieve it." Fox was already planning on how he would find the vessel in his head. He realized it may take them a while to find it with only four ships investigating. "We will do our best sir, but it may take us longer than we would like with only four ships out looking. Will we be receiving any help sir?" The general shook his head "No Fox, It will just be you and your team, most of the other pilots available to help are not experienced enough for a mission like this." There was a moment of silence as everyone began thinking of how they could go about locating the vessel in the least amount of time possible. The general spoke once again, ending the silence "Fox, I actually do know someone that may be able to help you out. But I don't think you are going to like who it is."
"Who sir?" Fox asked.
"It seems Star Wolf has offered their assistance." The room, again, went silent. Everyone in the room had a look of shock and confusion on their face.
Falco, with an amused tone, broke the silence "Wait-wait-wait, Star Wolf? You want us to work with them? Don't make me laugh. They would stab us in the back the moment they got the chance. There is no we could trust them in a mission like this."
"I have not given them any information regarding the mission in case you decide to decline the offer, I only told them that you may need their help. I will let you decide whether or not you can trust them, but you would be able to cover more ground if you did. As you know, Wolf and his team are very skilled pilots and have really started do more good than bad lately. Both Wolf O'Donnell and his team have agreed to follow your command Fox." The vulpine looked down toward the ground and began to rub his chin, considering the offer.
Hmmm, I don't know if I can trust wolf. He has tried to kill me on multiple occasions. But then again, he has saved me on a few as well. He helped us on the Aparoid Home World, and we would have probably been killed if it wasn't for him. Maybe he has changed. I can't even imagine what it would be like to work with him or his team. I believe this this mission would go allot smoother with the extra help.
Fox looked back up towards the floating image of Pepper and said "I'll give it some thought General, we will set course for Sector X and I will let you know my decision tomorrow morning before we start."
"Alright Fox, you should all get plenty of rest, there has been allot of strange activity in that area lately and I need you all to be on your toes. I will talk to you all tomorrow morning, General Pepper out."
The image of the hound faded and the room was silent for a moment. Falco turned to Fox and asked "You aren't really gonna accept help from that team of losers are you?"
"I don't know Falco, I feel like we would have a better chance at recovering that techno-" Falco's expression filled with anger and his tone became more serious as he interrupted Fox. "Don't you remember that a while ago they were trying to kill us?!"
"Falco, I don't have the best feeling about this either, but our odds of success are much greater if we decide to work with them."
"Alright then Fox if you want to work with them then go ahead! You can count me out because I refuse to work with that team of freaks. I can't believe you're actually considering this!" With that, Falco then stormed off the bridge.
After a few moments Krystal was the first one to make a sound. "Fox, do you really think this is a good idea?"
"I don't know, I mean, Falco is right. Not too long ago they would have killed us without any hesitation, but I feel like deep down, Wolf always wanted to be the hero, not a hated villain. I think he just got caught on the wrong side of the Lylat War."
The blue vixen moved close to Fox, raising her hand and placing it on his shoulder, and looked right into his green eyes. "Well, whatever you choose to do, I am behind you one hundred percent." Fox's cheeks began to glow red under his fur as he looked back at her. "Thanks Krystal, I appreciate it."
Peppy then rose from his chair, stretched into the air and yawned. "Well, seeing as we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, I think I am going to go grab a snack then go to bed. Fox, I have to agree with Falco as far as Star Wolf goes, but you are the leader of this team, and I will respect whatever decision you make." Fox thanked him by nodding. The old hare then turned to Slippy and tiredly said "Slippy, can you please finish running these diagnostics?"
"Yea, sure Peppy, goodnight."
Peppy gave a nod to Slippy and slowly walked off the bridge.
"Hey Slippy, I think I am gonna do the same."
Krystal cut in "I'll go with you fox, I am still a bit hungry as well."
"Alright well both of you have a goodnight" Slippy said as he made his way to the console Peppy was previously at.
Both Fox and Krystal exited the bridge and made their way back to get some food. As they were about to enter the kitchen, they saw Peppy, who was just leaving, holding only a granola bar. "That all you're gonna eat Peppy?" Fox asked.
"Yes, I lost my appetite thinking about this mission tomorrow, anyway, goodnight you two." Peppy walked by the two foxes and proceeded to head back to his room.
The room was quiet for a few moment as Fox began to make himself a plate. He noticed that Krystal wasn't getting any food, instead she just sat at the table. "Do you want me to make you a plate?" Fox kindly asked.
"No, I'm actually not hungry, I just figured you may want some company while you eat."
Fox could feel himself start to blush.
"Thanks, but you don't need to sit there and watch me eat, you should go get some rest."
"No, I think I'll stay, besides, you said you had something on your mind earlier, and I was curious to see if you needed to talk about something."
Fox froze in place for a moment as the nervous feeling he had before instantly came back.
"Uhh, yea I actually wanted to tell you something."
"What is it Fox?"
As Fox made his way to the table, he could feel his heart begin to pound in his chest. He sat his plate down next to Krystal and took a seat. Fox took a deep breath and looked into Krystal's eyes.
"Well, I don't… I dont know how to say this so here it goes, Krystal… I-I think I'm… in love with you." A few silent moments passed as Krystals face showed astonishment. "I have been in love with you ever since I first laid eyes on you in that crystal prison on Dinosaur Planet. You are what has been on my mind… But, I-If you don't feel the same wa-" Fox felt a warm touch cover his hand as Krystal eyes lit up. "I feel the same way about you Fox. I love you." The two foxes sat there, gazing into each other's eyes. Krystal slowly moved closer to Fox, and placed her muzzle right on his cheek. She then moved her face in front of his, smiled, and said "I have waited so long to do that."
They both continued passionately looking at each other until Krystal finally said "Fox, I think that I am going to go to bed." Fox nodded, still in disbelief of what had just happened. Krystal got up, slowly releasing her grip on Fox's hand, and backed away towards the door, not breaking eye contact with him. As she was about to exit she spoke in a soothing voice "Goodnight, Fox McCloud."
"Y-Yea, Goodnight Krystal."