Hello hello again everyone! Welcome to one of my new stories that's going to be published at around the same time! First of all, happy belated Thanksgiving to you all that celebrate it. I'm so sorry for not getting, well, anything out in such a long time. Working on these stories (new and old) has really gotten away from me. Not to mention trying to work on both of these newest stories and preparing for finals (now done by this time of publishing) has taken up a lot of my creative drive. So, for those of you waiting for something on my other stories, don't worry, I'll get to them. If I don't have other projects I can work on when I hit a road block on one project, I'd probably go a bit batty!
Anywho, this story in particular is being written with some assistance from Sheppard of Sheppard Studios and Whitewolf, both of whom were gracious enough to let me use characters and species of theirs for this story. Also, this is inspired by one The Space Beyond by CapnAhab over in the Crossover archive for Star Fox. Many thanks to all of you, let's hope I don't butcher it!
Fun Fact: This has to be the longest prologue I've ever written! Also, this title is another product of my attempts to use Google Translate, so I apologize for any improper usage.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox, certain characters, nor do I own the Verians. Plus there's light adult references here within the prologue! Without further ado, please read, review, and enjoy!
Star Fox: Fide Aeternum
By: Immortal Drake
"Sir, we're exiting warp and beginning approach on the outpost."
The report from his helmsman jolted Brigadier Damian Belmont from his slight doze, sending his glasses slightly askew on his muzzle. Normally he wouldn't be caught dead drowsy at his post, but considering how he'd been frantically called into work on a day off, he could probably be forgiven for being a little tired.
The brown-furred retriever readjusted his spectacles as he turned back to acknowledge the statement of his helmsman, a snow leopard by the name of Jason Durand, who sat somewhat in front and off to the side of the canine at his post at his command chair. The telltale shift as the light of warp space stopped shining through the viewports on the bridge of the destroyer LCS Meteo was all the Brigadier needed to know things had gone without a hitch.
"Status on the frigates?" He called out, looking to his communications chief Clarice Beauregard, the pheasant quickly putting down her cup of coffee without spilling and tapping out on her own console.
"Everyone made it through clean sir," she responded, "The Valiant, Spear, and Steelwing are forming up for the next jump and will go on your order."
Belmont nodded, welcoming the fact that everyone seemed to be on top of things despite the hastily thrown together mission. "If you don't mind me asking, sir," she continued, "But just why are we out on the fringe of the LHC's territory?"
Bringing out his data pad, Belmont quickly brought up the briefing he'd received from General Pepper, itself showing telltale signs of having been typed up in a hurry. He cleared his throat and spoke up so everyone else could hear, "From what I gather, our satellites that we sent out a couple weeks ago have detected some strange energy signatures in a nearby system known as R-1562. We'll be going there to investigate and then report our findings. Also we will be receiving the support of the Aegis battle group from the Verian Kingdom for this mission, as they are concerned about their own assets being under threat and as a sign of good will."
"Wait what, they're sending a whole armada?!" Durand piped up, his tone incredulous and his eyes wide as the retriever looked over at him.
"To my understanding, normally they wouldn't be sending this much firepower for a little energy signature, but you all know about what happened to Cerinia," the Brigadier's response made the leopard sober up, his lips drawn tight and ears folded as he nodded. It had been a shock to hear about for everyone, a Venomian assault on the subsystem of Veris Alpha, the seat of the Verian Kingdom. While it had ended up a near comical failure, it had proven to just be a distraction for the mad scientist turned conqueror Andross to attack and destroy the planet inhabited by the psychic Cerinians. The effort to rescue the scattered survivors and the Guardians stationed on the planet had taken up a lot of the Verians' focus, leaving the LHC to deal with the Venomians.
'We got lucky Star Fox joined us, otherwise, we may now be living under the Venomians and that psycho Andross,' he thought to himself with a shudder. His thoughts from there turned to his wife on Corneria, to just what could have happened to her in that scenario despite himself, 'Amelia,' her name echoed through his mind as did the image of the she-wolf, with her dark grey fur and hazel eyes glittering with laughter.
"We've got incoming warp signatures, must be the Aegis group," signaled another of his crew, snapping him out of that train of thought. Without waiting to be told, the display in the center of the bridge lit up to show the arrival of the allied ships.
As the tear in reality opened and the clouds of dust started to emerge, Damian couldn't help but marvel at the technology about to be on display. The Verian Kingdom never expanded beyond their subsystem, and for that many were thankful, himself included. If anyone did anything to make the Verians march to war out of their home, that person would be very unlucky indeed.
The Cornerians didn't have to wait long as the massive prows of the Verian ships started getting clear of the dust clouds, the smallest of them on par with the Meteo in size. Though the central attractions of the Aegis battle group were the massive Archon, the supercarrier parting the dust cloud and coming to rest in the center of the formation, and the even larger trio of Vanguard battleships, each vessel many kilometers long and bristling with Verian weaponry and technology. Belmont thought he could recognize the famous battleship Atlas among the Vanguards. The Verians wasted no time in forming up on their own, some distance to the Cornerians' rear and flank.
"Sir, we've got a transmission from the Archon," spoke up Clarice, the Brigadier motioning for her to put it on screen.
The display switched away from the sight of the impressive Verian formation and settled on the image of a female Verian soldier, looking very much the consummate professional, her uniform prim and proper, not at all looking like she'd been called for a situation that had only developed just over an hour prior. Her scales were a bright green and her eyes a similarly bright yellow, four off white horns sprouting from the back of her skull.
"Brigadier Belmont, am I coming through clearly?" the Verian addressed him, Belmont quickly standing up, nodding to the dragoness.
"That is me, and yes we can hear you just fine," the retriever answered, keeping his tone professional.
The Verian nodded in acknowledgement, "I am Marshal Ariel Thorne of the Archon, and it looks like you're ready to go. My group will follow you in after you make the jump, to make sure things don't get too crowded over there," she said, the Brigadier nodding his own acknowledgement to his counterpart. The Verian concluded her address with a salute, Belmont giving her one of his own in respect, "Good luck, we've got your back," she said, giving the canine a grin to try and lighten the mood, Belmont smiling in return.
"We'll make the jump as soon as possible, see you on the other side," Belmont said, the Marshal nodding to him as the channel closed for now. Turning to his helmsman he spoke, "You may warp when ready Jason."
The snow leopard nodded and began preparations to make the jump, the four Cornerian ships forming up in front of the large Verian armada to accompany them. With a shrill hum, the warp reactors activated and the streaks of warp space bloomed around the viewports as the small fleet jumped towards the previously nondescript system.
Due to its proximity to Lylat, the jump didn't take any longer than a few minutes, but to Belmont they were the longest minutes of arguably his entire career. Images of just what they could find in this system flashing through his head, 'Could these just be remnants of Andross' armies, or some superweapon of his that's only now becoming active?' he thought to himself, though it quickly turned to worse, 'Or are we going to find something entirely new? A race that we've never encountered before, a race that could easily be just as powerful or more so than the Verians themselves.' He had to stop himself from thinking of such things, it only tightened the knot in his belly and made him more tense overall. Taking a deep breath, the retriever readjusted his glasses as he calmed himself, looking out the forward viewport to see what would be awaiting them.
He didn't even have to wait until the streaks of light from warp had fully dissipated before he got a report. "Contacts, kilometer and a half out!" the cry instantly brought everyone to full attention.
Damian immediately barked out an order, "Shields up, but hold your positions! Get me a visual on those contacts ASAP!"
"Aye sir!" The central display of the bridge lit up, many turning to see just what they were up against in more detail.
"What the hell are those things?" Durand piped up, head cocked as he observed the alien looking craft.
Belmont didn't have an exact answer for his helmsman, the craft puzzling him just as much as they seemed to puzzle his crew. The group of foreign craft was larger in number than his, and seemed to be blocky in general design, their hulls a light tan color with darker secondary colors. The other group consisted of what appeared to be frigate-equivalent craft, though slightly longer and bigger than the Brigadier's own frigates, and likely heavier given their rectangular design. Even more baffling were the lack of visible command bridges like those on Cornerian and even Verian designs. Behind the trio of frigates were two similarly sized though wider craft flanking a ship easily the size of his own Destroyer and then some.
"We've got another contact, half a kilometer out, heading back for the alien ships," called another officer. Belmont didn't even get to open his mouth before the display divided to show what looked like an exceptionally small fighter, surprisingly aerodynamic in shape, almost like the old fighter aircraft he'd seen in museums though with forward swept wings.
"Wow, that thing's really booking it," Clarice commented, her eyes glued to the display. The retriever could agree with her in that regard, the small fighter was going full tilt towards the alien group, judging by the numbers he could see from the corner of his eye it could almost edge out an Arwing.
"The alien ships are deploying weapons, I can detect energy signatures, barriers of some kind, they're still holding position," piped up another technician. The display showed turrets popping up out of hidden bays in the alien craft, though by their appearance Damian couldn't figure out what they were for the life of him. They appeared similar to Cornerian energy weaponry, though they were taller than they were wide, and again looked more akin to something he'd seen in a museum than any modern weapon.
"I've got the Verian signals coming in, they should be here any moment," Clarice piped up, Belmont temporarily taking his eyes off of the display showing the alien craft to check his own general readouts of the Verian fleet's arrival, the vast number of ships exiting warp space almost creating a ring in and around his own much smaller group of ships.
"They must have got a whiff of the lizards, they're backing off," Jason spoke up, gesturing to the display, which showed the frigate-equivalents and the destroyer-equivalent using bays of thrusters to back away through space, while their carrier counterparts turned away from the oncoming fleet to withdraw.
"Incoming transmission from the Archon, it's Marshal Thorne," Clarice reported, only needing an acknowledging nod from Damian to put the call through to his personal console, the Verian's face appearing on his screen.
"Is everything alright there Brigadier?" the Marshal's calm question gave the retriever something to focus on, which he latched onto with a fervor.
"Everyone is accounted for Marshal, it seems those signals were something much more than we anticipated," he replied.
The Verian nodded her head, "Anything of note to report, are they some kind of new Venomian design?" her question came with slightly bared teeth and a curled lip, a growl underlying her tone.
"Not that we can tell ma'am, they seem to be entirely new, what do your scans say?" he said, hurrying so as to assure his counterpart.
"I'm just getting the first reports, and you're right, they're not giving off any signals that are similar to any known Venomian vessel or weapon," Marshal Thorne affirmed his suspicions, only for a new report to butt in.
"The alien ships are powering up their weapons!" The outburst was quickly followed with questions on what to do pointed at the Brigadier, "Seems like your group really has them spooked Marshal," the same officer added, his statement eliciting a few chuckles that disrupted the tense atmosphere somewhat.
Damian looked at the Marshal for any form of advice she could give him, and he didn't have to wait long, "Hold your fire Brigadier, if these are in fact truly alien vessels, they may not fire first," she turned to someone off-screen, "Have our foremost ships back away, give them space," she then turned back to the retriever.
Damian for his part turned to his own crew, "Tell the others to hold their fire, and don't shoot unless fired upon." He nodded in satisfaction as they quickly set to relaying his orders then faced Marshal Thorne again, "Anything you can tell us about those alien weapons? We've never seen anything like them before."
"Judging by their energy signatures, we have reason to believe that the alien ships are armed with a primary armament of railguns," was the dragoness' reply, "We're also detecting the presence of missile bays on the larger craft, and what seems to be hangar bays on the two rearmost craft though we're getting some odd interference, there's definitely some surprises stored away in there."
Damian nodded as he digested this information, some of which he had already known, 'Railguns? Sounds like kinetics, if it comes down to a fight, our shields might not defend us, they're not designed for that.' He clenched his fist as his nerves flared up again, not to mention just what could be interfering with the Verians' own scans.
"We've got an incoming transmission sir, it's, from the alien ships?" Clarice's confused statement silenced the entire bridge, everyone looking at Damian once more. The Brigadier for his part looked at the Marshal for some kind of suggestion or advice, as the Aegis group was close enough to his own ships that if they disagreed the Cornerians would pay dearly before they could act.
After getting only silence as the Verian herself looked directly at him, in a moment that seemed to take forever, Belmont gave the order, "Patch it through, let's make sure our friends are in on it too." As the order was carried out, he didn't feel his tension fading away, in fact the knot in his gut practically doubled in on itself as he waited for whatever would come through.
A second, blank box grew from the left side of his own screen next to that of the Marshal, though no picture appeared, after a moment a line drew itself across the new screen indicating an audio only transmission. As soon as it had been processed an immediate burst of a language neither Damian nor it seemed his Verian ally understood, though from his first impression it seemed to be a hodge-podge of different words that sounded like they should belong to a multitude of languages. From the tone it seemed to be an inquiry, and from the context he determined they were likely being asked their business.
"Let's get a translation on that language, ASAP," Marshal Thorne barked out to her own bridge, turning away momentarily as the burst of alien speech was repeated.
Just as Belmont was about to order much the same, the speech paused as it seemed the Verian's words sunk in. There was an audible beep as something he couldn't determine happened, then the alien speech was now a burst of Verian that caught the retriever by surprise, so much so he missed the translation.
Marshal Thorne immediately turned back to look at her own screen, a puzzled expression on her face, blinking confusedly. The Verian statement was repeated again, "Foreign ships, state your business," the statement seemed innocuous enough, until the second portion, "Or we will open fire."
"Well, that doesn't sound too friendly," Jason piped up, a number of murmurings of assent joining him. Just as Damian was about to try and calm the crew, the Marshal took initiative.
"This is Marshal Ariel Thorne, commander of the Aegis Battle Group of the Verian Kingdom, and just who am I addressing?" she said sternly, the aliens in all likelihood understanding her words quite clearly, given they somehow possessed a Verian translation.
"This is Lieutenant Commander Andrew McClellan of the 451st Light Expeditionary Group of the Terran Authority," the translated speech said, now being more recognizable as masculine, "And I must say, you certainly surprised us with your arrival ma'am." A chuckle accompanied the statement, the Marshal herself showcasing a grin and a small laugh of her own.
"There is still the matter of the other foreign ships with you Marshal," the alien voice said, which spurred Damian into action, not wishing to be left behind.
"This is Brigadier Damian Belmont of the Lylat Homeland Coalition, we are not hostile," he quickly said, the retriever able to hear the translation of his words into Verian before they were sent through the communication line.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Brigadier," the alien voice replied, their tone friendly yet retaining a professional air just as when they addressed the Verian Marshal. "Sorry for the somewhat cold greeting, you can never be too careful out here," the Lieutenant continued, sounding a tad sheepish.
"Completely understandable," Damian was quick to assure, nodding even though he knew the "Terran" wouldn't be able to see him. He could see Marshal Thorne nodding in approval, which let him relax somewhat as the possibility of the Verians turning his battle group into scrap was reduced significantly in his mind.
"Sir, incoming transmission from Corneria, it's General Pepper," Clarice said, her report making the Brigadier nearly lose his glasses as he jumped.
"Put him through," he immediately responded, the image of the bloodhound appearing alongside those of the Marshal and the vibrating line that denoted the Terran's speech. "General," he said to his superior, putting a hand to his forehead in salute.
"Glad to see you're still in one piece Brigadier," Pepper said as Damian lowered his hand, the General's tone pleased, "Anything of note to report?"
Damian looked between the other two participants in the conversation, racing to try and summarize what had happened. "The energy signature the satellites detected turned out to be a group of ships sir, nothing like we've ever seen before," he began, "And it turns out they're friendly, for the most part," his second statement brought a stifled chuckle from the Terran end of the line as well as one from the Marshal. "They call themselves Terrans, sir, and the one speaking to us now is Lieutenant Commander McClellan," he concluded.
Pepper himself gave a quick chuckle before responding, "That's good to hear Damian, I'm glad that this "first contact" has gone so well." A small relieved grin made its way onto the General's muzzle as he spoke, prompting a similar one to tug at the retriever's own.
"If I may, sir," the Terran Lieutenant began, hesitantly addressing the bloodhound, "word has already been sent back to my superiors, and in a few days' time a diplomatic escort can be sent to this system for an official meeting between any ambassadors you'd prefer to send, that also applies to your own leaders ma'am," the Terran said, addressing Marshal Thorne towards the end.
The female Verian nodded, "I'm sure the King and Queen would be intrigued at the possibility of meeting a new species, I will contact them immediately," she replied, already beginning to tap on her own transmitter.
"I will have to talk to the Prime Minister about this, good work keeping a level head Damian, you may return to Lylat when ready," Pepper said, already running a hand under his muzzle in thought, "As General of the LHC, I send our greetings to you and yours, Lieutenant McClellan," he added, stumbling a little with the foreign name as it translated into Verian first then went through the line. The bloodhound's image then faded, returning Damian to focus on the Marshal and the blank screen of the Lieutenant.
The Terran spoke first, "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance Brigadier, Marshal, but my group must depart," and with that statement the Terran signal cut off abruptly, the signatures of the foreign craft already moving to turn and leave the system.
"Good work Brigadier," Marshal Thorne spoke up, smiling at the retriever through the link.
"Same to you," was his reply, his stress starting to fully abate as the Verian ships started to turn to warp back to Veris Alpha, "Good luck on your report to His Majesty the King," he concluded, Marshal Thorne nodding in thanks. The Verian signals started to leave the system one by one as he turned back to his own crew and the Marshal's signal cut out.
"Alright everyone, let's go back home, there's preparations that need to be made," he barked out, settling back into his command chair as he waited till he could see home and Amelia again.
The ring of the transmitter suddenly made him freeze in place as he heard it.
"Talen, what's wrong?" his lovely wife said from below him, looking at him expectantly, though with a hint of disappointment in that he had stopped moving.
"That could be the report from Aegis," he replied as the transmitter continued to ring.
"Talen, my love, just let it go," she said, twining her tail around his and caressing his cheek with a hand, "we're nearly there." As the transmitter continued to ring the copper dragon could already feel his ardor beginning to fade, and with a groan he slipped away from the silver-blue dragoness that he shared a bed with, barely able to hear Serena's own noise of displeasure as he picked up the transmitter and answered the call.
"This is Commandant Falx," he said into the transmitter, then listened as he heard the voice of the commander of the Archon. As the report went on, he felt his interest becoming piqued, then a sense of urgency. After the report ended, recorded for posterity as it was related, he set his transmitter down and immediately began throwing on clothes.
He could hear Serena groan as she shifted, holding the covers of their bed over her body as she turned to face him, "Work?" she said, her semi-tired voice betraying her disappointment plainly.
"More than that," he answered as he pulled up the trousers of his uniform, "Those signals we detected were actually alien ships, entirely new, they apparently call themselves Terrans and they're looking to have an official meeting in a few weeks' time."
Serena's brows slowly rose as Talen explained the situation, starting to rouse herself to full awareness and going to one of the dressers in their room to grab some of her own clothes, "Do we know anything else about them?" she said to him, Talen himself watching with some internal disappointment as her frame was steadily obscured by her own uniform.
"Admittedly, no, there isn't even any video footage from the communications," he replied, buttoning up his shirt to complete his hurried preparations.
"Strange, do you think it was due to their technology being more primitive, or on purpose?" she said, her tail flicking back and forth as she finished up.
"Hard to tell, the Marshal said their ships had railguns as a primary armament, yet also had barriers of some kind and a shielding that confounded our sensors on specific areas of one of their ships," he explained, straightening any obvious wrinkles in his uniform, Serena helping him as he did the same for hers, "Alright, let's go tell the King," he said as the two made their way out of their personal quarters and into the Manor proper.
They found King Xiphos in his office, already looking over reports despite the somewhat early hour, the golden dragon's eyes betraying his tiredness as he stared at the terminal screen.
"Getting an early start, Your Majesty?" Talen said as he and Serena walked right in the door, the automated chime having let them in.
"I thought I'd get an early start on the complaint reports that have started to dominate my day," Xiphos responded in his usual gruff baritone, "Corneria has been getting testy over their territory after the war has ended, despite me repeatedly telling them that we're just trying to help." The King rubbed his scaled forehead and sighed.
"The report just came back from Marshal Thorne and Aegis, those signals we found, turns out they were alien ships that we've never seen before," Talen said after a moment, holding up his transmitter and inputting the command to send a copy of the report to the King.
"Alien ships?" Xiphos said, bringing up the report on his own screen, turning back to Talen and Serena.
"That's what the Marshal said, and the information from the scans backs up that theory," Talen responded, "And it turned out that these beings that call themselves Terrans were not hostile, and they've also invited us and the Cornerians to a conference in the same system in a few days. Not to mention they already had a Verian translation somehow."
"I see," Xiphos said, putting a hand to his chin in thought as he digested the information given to him. "It would be unkind of us to not attend, and I want to see these Terrans for myself," he stated with finality, bringing up a fresh report screen on his personal terminal, fingers typing away quickly, "When the time comes, Izalia and I will go and attend this meeting with the Terrans and Cornerians. Talen, I want you to stay here on Veris Alpha, keep things running smoothly. Serena, you will hold your post as assigned," he interrupted her forming protest, "The Lylat Wars may be over, but there are still remnants of Venomian forces at large that may be desperate enough to attack one of our outposts or the mines."
Serena nodded, "Understood," Talen could hear her own disappointment, the strain of the past few months also audible.
Seeing this, Xiphos turned away from his terminal and looked at the two as Talen put an arm around his wife's shoulders, "We'll find him Serena, don't worry, Jona wouldn't let something like the destruction of Cerinia get in the way of his duties as a Guardian. He's probably working to find his way back home at this very moment."
Her father's statement seemed to bolster Serena's spirits a little, allowing a small smile to tug at the corners of her mouth, "Thank you Father," she said quietly.
With a nod and a soft smile of his own, Xiphos started shooing the two away, "Now, you two go get some sleep, it's a little while yet before you officially start your duties."
With a chuckle, Talen walked arm-and-arm with his wife back to his and Serena's suite, ready to pick up where they'd left off.
The quick footsteps of General Pepper echoed down the hall of the Cornerian Parliament Building, the bloodhound heading for the office of the Prime Minister. He somewhat dreaded this coming conversation, blessedly short as it hopefully would be.
He reviewed the events that had transpired in his head one more time, 'An entirely new alien race, and a somewhat friendly one at that, one we only have a name to put to it, "Terrans," such an odd name.'
He quickly found the door to the Minister's office, making his way inside to see the Prime Minister already there, sitting at his desk and tapping away at his transmitter. The small red-and-brown-furred wolf had an idle frown on his face, making it hard to believe he was the most powerful man in the LHC, yet there he was.
Pepper cleared his throat before speaking as the lupine turned to him, "Prime Minister Muzzin, a report has come back about those strange signatures our satellites detected."
Muzzin licked his chops before responding himself, "Well, what is it, what did you find?"
Ignoring the impatient tone, Pepper spoke, "It turns out we've encountered a new alien race, one that calls themselves "Terrans," and they have sent an invitation for a conference in a few days' time in the same system," the bloodhound decided to leave out the initially less than warm greeting the small fleet had received, for his sake and for the CDF's.
"Do you know what these aliens look like, General?" Muzzin piped up, eyes narrowed and gaze locked on the bloodhound.
"The transmission didn't include a video feed, so no, we don't," Pepper responded, "But what we do know is that they at least seem willing to talk to us, and I suggest we take them up on that offer, with some precautions of course."
"What did you have in mind?" Muzzin latched onto this, Pepper for once finding himself sharing the Minister's often prominent concerns.
"An escort composed of two of our battleships and as many of our destroyers as we can spare, with the Star Fox team providing extra protection in space and during the meeting itself," the General stated, "We will present a strong front to whoever these Terrans are, and be ready in case it turns out to be a ruse."
Muzzin slowly nodded along as he listened to Pepper, ears perked, speaking up once the General was done, "Good thinking, it will also deter those damn lizards from trying anything if they decide to attend. You sure we can't spare a third battleship for that?"
Pepper shook his head, "I don't think so Victor, we only have two that we can get into a fully presentable condition in that time frame, and the LHC's economy is stretched too thin right now."
Muzzin nodded in acknowledgement, "I see, then let's get to it General, we have a meeting to prepare for. I'll contact the other Senators, you get Star Fox on the line ASAP."
With a quick salute, Pepper turned and left, already mentally listing just who to contact to get everything in order, 'I hope this is not a ruse, if it is, I don't think Lylat can handle another invasion in this state.' He tamped down those thoughts for now, there was work to be done.
A/N: Whew, that was a long prologue! Extensive work, but I think it was worth it, hopefully I didn't butcher things too badly through this. For the next chapter, I'd like some thoughts as to whether or not you'd like to see a small Codex entry at the ending author's notes, like I do in another story of mine. This can be about almost anything that happens in that chapter in particular, hopefully to explain a bit more about something that goes on within it.
Anyway, that's enough blathering from me, I'll see you all next time in Star Fox: Fide Aeturnum! And also a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!