Preface:

A year after their successful defeat of the Aparoid Queen, Team Star Fox finds themselves out of work in a peaceful Lylat System; taking on only a handful of rather trivial recon missions for the Cornerian Government. With so little to do, the team has slowly become more restless. However, on a long, dragging day seemingly unlike the past several days, the team receives a transmission from General Pepper. One that may free them from their currently mundane lives...

When Worlds Collide

Chapter 1: The Briefing

"Fox, we've just got word that General Pepper wants us to get to the Cornerian Army Base. He arranged a ride for us. It will be here in thirty minutes."

Fox looked down at his wrist communicator and pressed a small, faintly blinking button, opening a communications line. "I'll be down in a minute Slippy."

He heard Slippy's voice over the communicator again. "Alright, can you pick up Krystal on your way down? She did not answer when I called. Do you know were she is?"

"Yeah, she's here with me, She came over to talk last night and she fell asleep." answered Fox. "We'll be down in a minute." Fox pushed another button to end the transmission. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, shortly after giving Krystal a light shake. "Krystal, you have to get up. We have a meeting with General Pepper."

Blinking slowly, Krystal gradually rose to her side, glancing up at Fox with hints of remaining weariness in her eyes, "OK, thanks for letting me stay Fox. I was so tired last night."

Fox stood up, "No problem, you should get ready to go. We have 30 minutes until our ride gets here."

Krystal rather quickly got up and walked into the bathroom. Now temporarily alone, Fox decided he should also get ready for the day to come. Moving over to his dresser, he grabbed his uniform. As he donned his familiar flight jacket and scarf, he spoke vaguely under his breath, "I hope this is a good mission. We have not had a good mission in a year."

"I agree with you, we could use a mission besides recon or escorts."

Fox gave a slight jump as he heard Krystal's voice from behind him. "Whoa, you scared me."

Krystal giggled, "I'm sorry, I did not know I was so scar…"

She was cut off by a voice over the communicator. "You guys need to get down here. Our ride will be here any minute."

Fox pressed a button and began speaking, "We're on our way, relax Falco."

Falco's voice rang over the communicator again. "Fox this could be a good mission, I'm not going to be late because you and your girlfriend are having a sleepover."

Fox started to blush, which causes his voice to waver slightly as he spoke back, "Falco you know that Krystal and I are not dat…"

"Let's just get down there before he they leave without us." Krystal interrupted with a smile, sparing Fox from continuing his embarrassed rebuttal.

Fox nodded, with some relief, "Yeah, your right. Falco, just wait one more minute."

"Just get down here." said Falco in an irritated tone.

They both left the room and began to walk down the hallway to the elevator of the complex. As they entered the elevator, Krystal noticed that Fox was blushing a bit from what Falco had said. She wanted to say something to make him fell less embarrassed, and quickly managed to do so in a cheery voice, "You know, it's not a bad thing to like one of your crew members."

Fox's face went beat red after she said this which quickly lead Krystal to assume that was not the best choice of words for this moment. Because of this, she did not say anything else until the elevator came to a stop. By then Fox seemed to be alright.

Falco was the first to speak when they arrived. "Well, did you two have fun at your little sleepover?"

Fox seemed to get very angry after Falco said this and opened his mouth to speak, but as he did Slippy spoke in his place "Hey, our ride is here."

This sudden interruption made Fox lose his train of thought. With a light shake of his head, Fox cleared his throat. "Let's go then. Don't want to keep the General waiting."

Each member of the Star Fox Team slowly climbed into the limo one at a time. Fox took a spot opposite of where Krystal was sitting, not wanting Falco to start anything on the ride over to the base. For the most part, the ride was rather quiet, leading Fox to trail into thought about what Krystal said to him back on the Great Fox. "Is it really that obvious? How long has she known? How does she feel about me? Does she like me, or does she just want to be friends? If she could figure it out does the rest of the team know?" The captain's thoughts trailed on for some time over these questions, causing him to completely lose track of time.

Fox then gave a slight jump when he heard Falco's gruff voice, "Hey, Fox are you coming to the meeting or do you want me to fill you in after you're done daydreaming?"

After exiting the limo Fox spoke back, "No, I'm coming. General Pepper would get very frustrated with me if I did not come." They both entered the building and joined the other two members of their team.

"General Pepper is expecting you so you may go up at anytime." said the lady at the receptionist desk. "You know were his office is right?"

Fox turned to face her and spoke with a nod, "Yeah, we've been here enough times to know were it is."

"OK, I'll call him and tell him you're on your way up." replied the receptionist

Fox and his team walked a short distance to the elevator and when they all found themselves within the small confine, Fox pushed the button for the top floor. It was a silent eight minute ride until the elevator came to a full stop and the team exited. They then walked to a door that had the name 'General Pepper' on the door. Fox knocked and a voice almost immediately came from the other side, "Come in."

The team walked in and General Pepper began speaking, even before they had time to take a seat or get comfortable in any way. "Welcome. Now I don't want to keep you here any longer than I have to because you need to prepare for a very important mission."

Falco seemed to be very happy after hearing this, "Finally, it's been a year since we've had any good action."

General looked at him with a wry smile, "Good to hear you're excited, Falco. This will certainly prove to be a great challenge, I'm sure. In it's simplest form, you'll be taking part in a dual operation."

Fox looks over at him with a confused look. "A duel operation...I'm guessing we have to objectives to carry out at the same time?

The General looked back over at Fox with a firm nod, "Precisely. The main part of the mission will be destroying a heavily guarded base that has recently appeared on the planet of Katina. This base was built without the planets consent and is too heavily guarded for their forces to overcome. The base is producing massive amounts of weapons and ships. They are also supplying the enemies of Lylat with these weapons. It must be destroyed."

"So what is the other part of the mission?" asked Fox.

"The other part is to find a ship that has been appearing in that area." answered the General. "Who flies the ship? Who do they fly for? What type of ship it is...all of these details are unknown. The only thing we can confirm from several recon units is that this ship is capable of traveling several sectors in less than a minute with almost no warning. As you can imagine, a ship with such technology is very difficult to track."

Slippy looked very confused and spoke in a voice that relayed that perfectly, "That's not possible. That's too fast for hyperspace, plus you have to clear a path before you can travel at high speeds like that."

The General glanced over at the toad, "Of course, but this ship seems able to warp away as soon as someone has spotted it."

"So destroy the base and identify an unknown ship on the way. Got it. Is there anything else we should know?" asked Falco

The General shook his head, "No, that is all. You will be leaving Corneria around noon tomorrow, so please begin preparing for the mission."

"We will." said Fox

Then General then looked at Fox, "You are dismissed then, and the best of luck to you."

All except Falco gave a slight bow in respect of the General before turning to leave.

After exiting the large building, the Star Fox Team walked down to the street where a limo was waiting for them. Stopping just short of the vehicle, Fox thought out loud, "Maybe we should stay on the Great Fox for the night so we can be ready to leave sooner."

Slippy spoke back in a rather excited voice, "Sounds like a good idea. Then I can get the ship ready to takeoff when I wake up so we're ready."

Fox looked over at Falco, "It doesn't matter to me."

He then looked over to Krystal for her opinion. She stated simply, "It does make sense."

Fox then entered the limo and told the driver to bring them to the hanger bay. He nodded and the rest of the team entered the limo. Krystal this time intentionally took a seat right next to Fox, which immediately put a smile on the face of Falco. Fox struck him an angry look which made Falco even more happy. With a smirk, he spoke towards both Fox and Krystal, "Well, just look at that lovely couple..."

"Quiet, Falco." Fox retorted in an annoyed voice.

Falco then stopped after getting the reaction that he wanted. But then he got an idea and he subtly signaled to Krystal to put her arm around Fox. She thought it would be rather amusing to see his reaction as well, so she put her arm around him.

His face started to turn red, "Uh...w-what are you doing?"

Krystal turned her head towards him with a rather playful smile, "Just getting comfortable. Are you alright with that?"

Fox responded by saying, "Uhh...sure."

Falco let off a slight chuckle.

After a few minutes, the driver pulled the limousine to the side of the road, "OK, here we are. The hanger bay."

Fox turned to him before exiting the vehicle, "Thank you."

After exiting the vehicle, they moved toward the guard that was outside of the entrance of the hanger. Fox stopped in front of him and spoke plainly, "We are boarding our ship, the Great Fox."

The guard pressed a few buttons on his console and the door opened. After a quick affirming nod from the guard, they each entered the door, which closed rather abruptly behind them. On the rather short walk back to the Great Fox, Falco thought it would be a good idea to try and get Krystal to embarrass Fox again. He positioned himself so Krystal could see him but Fox couldn't, then signaled for Krystal to grab his hand. Krystal looked over at him and shook her head, not feeling it right to embarrass Fox more than she had already, especially after what she had said to him earlier in the apartment complex elevator. She had never seen Fox so embarrassed. Falco's silent badgering continued for several more seconds, but after a flick of her wrists to shoo the avian away, the eventually rolled his eyes and returned his focus to the path ahead.

It was not long after this that the team arrived at the Great Fox and swiftly boarded it. Fox and Slippy decided to go to the bridge, while Falco opted to go to his room to make sure everything was ready for the mission. Krystal, on the other hand, had decided to go to the kitchen and prepare dinner for the crew.

When Fox and Slippy got to the bridge, they noticed they had an incoming transmission. Slippy walked over to the main computer and realized that it is from the Army Base.

"Why would Pepper be sending us a transmission when we just got on the ship." Slippy asked inquisitively.

Fox shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know...he didn't even know we were coming back to the ship tonight."

Slippy checked the computer again, "Oh, wait. It's not a transmission, he left a message. Should I play it now?"

Fox nodded and turned toward the holographic screen. An image of the General appeared and he soon began to speak. "Star Fox team, I seem to have forgotten a rather large detail regarding your mission. I feel it necessary to send another operative to join you. Her name is Katt Monroe, she seems to be familiar with you all, and therefore I believe she'll be a strong addition for the time being. That is all. Pepper out."

"Oh, that's just great." Fox said in a sarcastic tone. "Now we have to deal with her and Falco fighting and competing with each other."

Slippy nodded in agreement, "I'm sure Falco is going to love to hear that Katt is coming..." Slippy's voice trailed off as he watched Fox slowly walking off of the bridge. "Hey Fox were you going?"

Fox stopped and looked back over his shoulder, "I had better tell him now rather before he figures it out on his own. If I let that happen he would throw a huge fit. Oh, and Slippy? Did you really have to tell him that Krystal was at the apartment with me?"

Slippy replied defensively, "You could have told me that you did not want him to know."

Fox shook his head with a sigh.

(In the kitchen)

Krystal was busy cooking the meal for the team when she heard the door open. She turned to looked out of the cooking area and noticed Falco coming towards her.

After being spotted, he spoke in a somewhat aggravated voice, "So when's the food going to be done?"

"In about five to ten minutes." answered Krystal. Falco nodded, and merely leaned against the threshold of the mess hall, saying nothing. Noticing this, Krystal asked in a kind voice, "Is there something you need?"

"Yeah, I need to know why you didn't grab Fox's hand." replied Falco. "You seemed to listen when I told you to put your arm around him."

Krystal answered in a sincere voice, "I've embarrassed him enough for one day. I didn't want him to think I was making fun of him."

Falco looked at her with confusion, "The arm thing was not that bad."

Krystal responded by saying, "No, it's not that. It was something I said on the way down from the apartment. I suppose it was a poor choice of words."

Falco responded in an excited tone, "What you did say to embarrass him?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I should tell you. I see how you treat Fox sometimes. You might use what I tell you against him." answered Krystal in a rather sympathetic voice.

Hearing this, Falco left the cooking area and sat down on one of the chairs knowing that Krystal was going to be too stubborn to tell him.

(In the hallways of the Great Fox)

"Where is he?" Fox muttered to himself as he walked through the halls. He passed the kitchen and decided to see if he was in there. He opened the door and sure enough Falco was sitting at the table. After taking a deep breath, he made his way over to him. "Falco, I have some news about the mission that you might not be so crazy about."

Falco turned to him with an eyebrow raised, "What, are we not getting paid? Please tell me that's not it."

Fox responded with slight hesitation, "No...it's nothing like that. Pepper left us a message saying that Katt was going to be meeting up with us on our way to Katina to help us out."

Falco expression got extremely angry, "WHAT!? What do we need Katt for? Can't Team Star Fox take care of their own missions anymore?

Fox was a bit startled by how loud Falco just yelled. "Well...Pepper thinks that she could help out, and there's not much we can do to stop it now." Falco started to mumble to himself but stopped when he saw Krystal enter with a few plates of food. Just as she put the plates on the table, Slippy walked into the room.

As he entered, he spoke excitedly before taking a seat, "Well, I guess I came at the right time!"

Fox sat down as Krystal put a plate in front of him, doing the same for Falco and Slippy before taking a seat next to Fox. The entire meal seemed to go by with very little conversation. Falco was angry that Katt was joining, Fox was still a bit embarrassed from Falco and Krystal's jokes and did not want them to start anything else, and Slippy was busy maintaining his girth.

Slippy was the first finish, as was the usual. He started to head for the door as he spoke, "I'm going to do some system checks, then I'm going to bed."

Falco then said in agreement, "Yeah, I'm going to bed."

Standing from the table, the avian glanced back at Fox before he left the room, "Now don't wake up late 'cause you and your girlfriend are having a sleepover. Alright, McCloud?"

Fox was a little angry about Falco's comment, but he was starting to grow used to them. Fox got up to leave as well, "I had better go get my equipment ready for tomorrow and then get to bed."

As he began walking, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning to see the arm belonged to Krystal, he listened as she spoke to him in a sincere voice, "Fox...if I said or did anything today that embarrassed you...I'm sorry."

Fox let off a nervous smile, "It's ok, but..." He cut himself off, not knowing if he wanted to ask the question at this time.

"What is it Fox?" asked Krystal.

Fox answered by saying "It's nothing, at least nothing that should be discussed right now." Fox then turned and left the room.

Krystal headed to her room as well, felling a bit confused, but see knew her captain would find time to speak with her another time.

(Inside Foxes Room)

Fox had entered his room. He walked around the room making sure that everything he was going to need for the mission was ready and were he needed it. He kicked off his boots and laid down on his bed thinking to himself. "Should I have told her how I feel about her then, or did I make the right decision by waiting? Maybe I should go talk to her now. Or would that ruin it because I did not tell her when I was going to. How does she feel about me? Could she tell what I was going to ask her?" Fox kept asking himself these questions over and over until he fell asleep.

(The Next Morning)

Fox opened his eyes to see Krystal standing over him. He jumped after being surprised by Krystal who was now giggling at Fox's reaction. Fox looked over at the clock he has on his nightstand. It read 7:00. He then asked Krystal, "Has anyone else woken up?"

Krystal shook her head, "As far as I've seen, it's only me and you. But I've only been up for 15 minutes. Maybe we should head up to the bridge. I'm ready for the mission and you told me you were going to get ready before you went to bed."

Fox nodded, "Sounds like a good idea."

As they were walking Fox started to think to himself. "Should I tell her now, or would that not be the right time. If she asks what I was going to say...Ill tell her."

As they entered the bridge, Krystal began to speak, "Fox, what time did Pepper say he wanted us to leave?"

Fox responded nonchalantly, "Around noon. Slippy shouldn't be up for another hour or so."

After hearing this, Krystal thought that this would be a good time to ask Fox what he was going to say last night, considering that no one would be around. "So Fox...what was it that you were going to say last night?"

Fox was caught off guard by this question. But he had to tell her before she suspected something. He turned to her and said in a surprisingly sturdy voice, "Krystal, like I was saying last night, it doesn't bother me that you embarrassed me, but...." He stopped for a moment to think. "Should I just come out with it or should I…."

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of Krystal's voice. "Yes Fox, what is it?"

"Krystal, I…"

He was cut off by the sound of a door opening and Slippy walking into the bridge. Fox turned back over to Krystal, "...Never mind."

He then quickly turned to Slippy, speaking in a slightly irritated voice, "Why are you up so early? I didn't expect you to be up till 8:30."

He looked up at Fox with a confused expression, "Fox, it's 10:30 right now. Didn't you two reset your clocks like I told you to? I guess Falco was the only one to listen to me this time."

Fox was very surprised to hear this. "Is Falco up?"

Slippy nodded. "He's been up for over an hour."

Hearing this, Fox realized that both Slippy and Falco could have overheard the conversation he had just been having with Krystal.

Slippy, who was now by the main computer of the Great Fox's bridge, spoke suddenly, "Hey, it looks like we have an incoming transmission. Should I let it through Fox?"

Fox nodded as he began to walk over to his captain's chair, soon after taking a seat within it's rather unaccommodating confines. As the Holographic screen lit up, the face of General Pepper appeared.

"General Pepper here. Hello Fox, I was just wondering when you plan to take off?"

"Well, all we really have to do is get the ship started up." answered Fox

The General replied with the nod, "Good, then please do so now. I did not know that you would have been staying on the ship, which is why I originally intended for you to depart at noon, but since you are already there, you should set off as soon as possible."

Fox nodded, "Understood, we'll be leaving momentarily."

"I'll send word to the hanger crew to open the hanger doors for you. Pepper out."

Fox turned to Slippy, "Get the ship ready. Take off as soon as you can."

Slippy responded with a smile, "Alright, Fox."

Authors Notes: Well this is my first Fanfict. So I'm not expecting it to be perfect. But tell me what you think is good, bad, what I should change. Because I don't think ill figure it out. Also if you are going to tell me you should tell me as soon as you finish a chapter because I have nothing to do but write so I can get chapters out within a few days to a week so it would be nice to get that info before I continue on with something that is flawed or if I'm focusing on something to much or something in like that.

Editors Notes:

Next chapter: The Departure

Basically they leave Corneria and meet up with Katt. They also receive a message from an unknown individual. And will Fox be able to finish telling Krystal what he began to say? What is he trying to say? (I'm sure it is pointless asking this cause most people can tell) How will Falco react when Katt arrives? Well read the next one.