It was a cloudy Saturday evening in the heart of Corneria City. Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Krystal had all been invited to an official Cornerian Defense Force dinner. The atmosphere was friendly, the food was filling, and it offered Fox a chance to catch up with some old friends. But the one thing that was on the team's mind after the dinner ended was a poignant presentation. The presentation was about canine supremacy across the Lylat System.
The majority of Lylatians were accepting of a multi-species society. The Lylat System had made significant progress in making sure no species was discriminated against. It was a far cry from when all sorts of discrimination against non-canine species took place. At first, canines were the only species who could vote, join governmental or military organizations, or apply for certain universities. Later, other species slowly began to gain equal rights, but non-primate mammals were usually the first to gain them. But all that changed when a historical ruling took place 60 years ago, where all species were granted rights and privileges equal to the canines. At that time, hate crimes against non-canine species were on the rise. Primates and avians were usually the ones targeted, but a few reptiles were on the receiving end. Eventually, those responsible were brought to justice, and speciesist hate crimes were soon among the most heavily-sentenced under Lylatian law. This dramatically decreased the amount of hate crimes across the Lylat System.
However, hate groups still existed, with most of their locations being closely guarded secrets. Attacks on non-canine species - "losps", as they were insultingly called - were committed in the name of groups such as "Canis Major" or "The Order of Cynos", with the motive of preventing the so-called extinction of all canines in the universe. One had to wonder why non-canines had to die in order to prevent canines from dying out, but this mentality still prevailed among attackers. Many government and non-government organizations alike were determined to bring down these groups. But none of these attempts had succeeded so far. Thus, the closing statement of the presentation was a declaration that the Cornerian Defense Force and other organizations would devote more hours to bringing these organizations down.
"Wow… I had no idea that this hatred went on in the Lylat System a hundred years ago," Krystal said. "I never thought one's species could mean they were inferior."
"Yeah, times were tough back then. I remember some of my relatives telling me about being one of the first generations of non-canines that were allowed to go to university," Peppy said.
"I remember having a few scuffles with speciesist gangs back on the streets," Falco added. "Sure felt nice to give 'em what they deserved. Master species… Pff! They couldn't even last thirty seconds in a fight with us!"
Suddenly, Krystal could feel an uncertain presence. "Guys… I feel something," she told them. "I… I can sense someone's being attacked."
"Where's it located?" Fox asked.
"It's not that far from here… Just in front of an alleyway on 29th Avenue. We should try to see what's going on."
"Good call," FM said. "Krystal and I will go try to see what's going on. The rest of you hold the limo for us."
FM and Krystal ran as fast as they could to the alleyway on 29th Avenue. It was hard, what with Fox in a tuxedo and Krystal in heels, but they made it there fast enough to see what was happening. A young female primate was being brutally beaten by two male canines. Both of them had their heads shaved incredibly close to the scalp, and they were wearing black jackets with a red-eyed, white canine head patch on the back.
"Stop!" the female primate shouted. "Get away from me! I have no relation with Andross!"
"Yes, you do," snarled a tall, thin brown-furred canine. "You're a fucking haplo just like him."
"This system wasn't founded for people like you to run wild in," a stockier, golden-furred canine threatened. "Get the fuck out of here. Go live with your own species. Corneria should be for canines only."
"I- AHH! I was born in-GAAH! I was born in Corneria and-AAHH! And I've lived here all-AAAAAGH!" The primate tried to assert herself, but the canines kept on attacking her. Obviously, they weren't going to listen to her. Fox and Krystal decided it was time to step in.
"Hey!" Fox yelled, approaching the scene. "You leave her alone! She has just as much of a right to live here as the rest of us."
"No, she doesn't," argued the taller, thinner, brown-furred canine. "Look at her. She's a goddamn Andross supporter."
"Just because she's a primate? Look, I may have served in the Lylat Wars, but I can tell you that a lot of the primates who fought hated Andross just as much as the canines. Awful foolish of you to assume someone's allegiances based only off of their species."
"Those primates were only doing it out of pressure," the stockier, golden-furred canine said, staring at Fox. "They didn't want anyone to know their true allegiance."
"Species does NOT define allegiance!" Fox yelled exasperatedly. "Now you get out of here, or I'm calling the police."
Meanwhile, Krystal was helping the primate get to safety. "How badly are you hurt?" she asked.
"I've got several bruises, but nothing's broken or pulled," the primate answered.
"You'll be all right," Krystal reassured her. "Fox! We have to take her with us!"
Fox returned to the two and told them that they would get the primate back home as quickly as possible. "My name's Fox McCloud, and this is Krystal. We're part of Star Fox, a system-wide mercenary space force. What's your name and where do you live?" he asked the primate.
"My name is Eileen Chisholm, and I live on Bornhardt Terrace."
"We'll get you home as soon as possible," Fox reassured Eileen. The three started walking back to the pickup point.
"So, Eileen, how did those thugs find you?" Krystal asked.
"I think they were just lurking around, trying to spring an attack on any non-canine species that passed by. I was walking down 29th to get to a few shops, but they ambushed me and started attacking me."
"That's stupid," Fox commented. "Why does one just go around ambushing the innocent just because they're a different species?"
"They yelled something about me worshipping Andross just because I'm the same species. Apparently they think that if you belong to a specific species, you automatically think like all of them, and if one of them thinks something bad, then all of them are bad by default."
"Of course, these guys think their species can do no wrong…" Fox muttered.
Eventually, the three of them arrived back at the pickup point. "We've got company," Fox announced. "This is Eileen. She was attacked by a group of speciesist thugs. We need to get her home."
"Funny you should mention that," Slippy said. "We watched a presentation on speciesism at the dinner tonight."
"You did?" Eileen asked, curious. "Tell me about it."
The limo arrived. As the rest of the team got in, Fox told the driver that they needed to make a stop at Bornhardt Terrace to drop off Eileen. The chauffeur agreed to stop there. As the limo drove off, Fox told Eileen about the presentation.
"So you mean to tell me that they beat up the innocent just because they're afraid of canines going extinct?" Eileen asked. "That's a pathetic excuse, if you ask me."
"I know," Falco said. "I mean, it's simple: Don't want canines going extinct? Just have kids with another canine. Simple as that! You shouldn't have to resort to killing others!"
"I don't think it's about going extinct," Fox said darkly. "I think these groups just want to go back to when our laws hated other species."
"Then why don't they go to some planet where nobody lives anymore and try to set up their own system there?" Falco suggested. "Like, uh… Titania! No one lives there anymore, so it's a perfect place for a fresh start. Wait, I almost forgot… It's a barren wasteland! That'll make it even more appealing, especially for the rest of us."
"So Eileen, did you find out if those two were part of any organization?" Krystal asked.
"They were wearing jackets with a red-eyed white canine head patch on them," Eileen said.
"White canine head with red eyes. Sound familiar?" Fox asked.
"That was… Canis Major! Yeah, that's what organization they belong to. Canis Major," Slippy said.
"Canis Major?" Eileen asked. "...I have a friend whose sister works for an anti-speciesist organization that tracks Canis Major and their ilk. I'll try to get them on the line. One sec…" Eileen pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Hey, Lacerta, do you have your sister's workplace number? ...OK, thanks. ...Yeah, unfortunately... I'll tell you about it when I get back home, OK? ...Bye."
She then dialed the anti-speciesist organization's number. "Hello, I'd like to report a hate attack. ... I was attacked by two male canines. ...One was about 6'4", brown fur; the other was around 5'9", golden fur. Both were wearing jackets with Canis Major insignia on them. ...No. I'm badly bruised, but I don't need hospital work. I'll be fine...It was near an alleyway on 29th Avenue, next to Robinet Bistro. ...My name is Eileen Chisholm. ...I'm a primate. ...Phone number is 555-839-9358. ...Address is 210 Ormsley Street. ...E-mail is eileenc , spelled E-I-L-E-E-N, and then letter C. ...Yes. ...Yes. ...Yes. Thank you. Bye."
"So did you report the crime?" Peppy asked.
"Mm-hmm. I reported it to the Lylat Species Relations Centre. They've done the vast majority of non-governmental hate crime tracking. One of their higher-ups, Ameiva Schulz, is my friend's sister."
"The Lylat Species Relations Centre… They were the ones who sponsored that presentation, right?" Fox asked.
"Yeah, I think they were," Peppy answered.
Just then, Eileen's phone rang. "Hello? ...Yes, it is. … …Did anyone help me out? … As a matter of fact, someone did. It was none other than Fox McCloud and Krystal from the Star Fox team."
Fox hoped he could get a chance to find out more about what Eileen was saying about his team. But the limo stopped at Bornhardt Terrace. Before Eileen got out, she thanked the Star Fox team for saving her. She then got out, waving goodbye all the while.
"Well, there's something good we did tonight," Falco said. "Even if it was totally unexpected, forced us to hold the limo, we didn't get paid, and was overly referential to what happened at the dinner."
DEFINITIONS:
Haplo (n)(pl. haplos): One of the most offensive slurs for primates; derived from "haplorhines" (group of primates including apes, monkeys, and hominids)
Losp (n)(pl. losps): Slur for any non-canine animal; shortening of "lower species"