Star Fox
Alliances
Introduction
/Unauthorized Transmission Initializing...\\
The Year in Terran Years is 2632, some time since the threat of the Aparoids was eliminated. I don't know the year in Lylatian Years, no one ever told me, and I never bothered to look on a Lylatian Calendar. The Lylatian Starfleet has made contact with several other alien Races; The Dragonarian Star Federation, the Kemorainian Star Empire, and the Terran Republic. It has been more than four years since the third Cornerian-Kemorainian War ended, and the Kemorainians are now allied with the Dragonarians, Terrans, and Lylatians, forming the United Alliance of Alien Races, the UAAR. The Star Fox Team lent more than a hand in keeping the peace. Often, they were called to mediate between the races and prevent conflicts from turning into Wars.
I will not reveal my name, not here, not now. I know you are listening, and I know what you're thinking. But before you jump to conclusions, think about what could happen if what I say is true; the current Kemorainian leader, General Keldonar Kedd'khan, is not really who he appears to be. Dragonarian Intelligence believes that he is a Changeling, a person who can change his physical appearance to look like someone else. But we have no proof. We believe he is planning to bring back the genocidal religion of the Kemorainian Empire, a part of the empire that was long forgotten. Do not be deceived by what he tells you. Question everything. Believe nothing.
/Unauthorized transmission end. Alerting UAAR High Command...\\
I DO NOT OWN STAR FOX OR STAR TREK NEMESIS! (Yes, I have a scene from that movie in this 'fic.)
Chapter one
Saved by a Masked Warrior
Location: Kee'bakh City, Planet Dragonaria IV
Time: 3:30 PM
Date: 10/19/2632 (Terran Calendar)
Fox and Krystal were driving around Kee'bakh city in a Hover-Convertible car, headed to a local mall. It was Krystal's idea to go there while Slippy and Amanda enjoy some time together, and Falco enjoys some down time alone. Everyone knew he needed it. After that near-catastrophe out at Epsilon III, Falco was near breaking point. It seriously seemed that he was ready to blow a fuse. So, the team and their new ship, a Class-II Excalibur-class Attack Battleship called the Great Fox II headed to the nearest planet. They'd been there for a week, and so far, nothing had come up. And Fox planned to keep it that way.
As Fox and Krystal arrived at the mall, they parked the hover-car, and headed inside the mall. Once inside, they stopped to admire the beauty of the whole mall. It had six floors and countless stores and restraunts.
"So," Fox commented, "Where do we start?" Krystal shrugged and replied,
"No clue. Why don't we see what this place has before we start?" Fox tilted his head, nodded, and the two set off into the mall.
After what seemed to be hours of roaming in the mall, Krystal and Fox walked into a Weapons store. Krystal gasped and nearly screamed and Fox drew his BP-30 Disruptor pistol when they saw a Velociraptor standing before the gun clerk. The Raptor, faster in reaction, pointed a Kemorainian DC-33 Combat Assault Rifle at Fox. There was a moment of hesitation before the Raptor lowered the CAR, and Fox holstered his BP-30.
"Sorry 'bout that," the Raptor Exhaled. "Scared the crap out of me. Thought you were one of those darn terrorists."
"Sorry we scared you," Krystal said. "It's just that we've never seen a live dinosaur on a planet other than Sauria." The Raptor smiled.
"I get that a lot." he said. Chuckling and setting the CAR down on the counter, he added, "But the thing is, I'm not from Sauria. Heard of the place, even been there a couple of times, but I was never native there. I was born on Dragon'taan II. My name is Draek'laar, by the way." As Draek'laar went on talking, Krystal and Fox took notice of his highly-evolved stature; he didn't stand or walk completely like a raptor, standing slightly upright; his shoulders were more broad, capable of shouldering a rifle; and he could hold a weapon in his clawed hands with ease and without overbalancing.
"Draek'laar, what gun is that?" Krystal asked.
"This is my Kemorainian DC-33 Combat Assault Rifle. I've had this baby for years." Draek'laar said, taking the CAR off the counter.
"How'd you get a fully-automatic Assault Rifle through security?" Fox Inquired.
"First thing; what security? Second thing; I'm an active Special Forces Operative. Military guys or Raptors or whatever like me can have a gun in a mall like this and the police won't ask questions. This Mark in my skin here proves that." Draek'laar said, indicating a mark that was seemingly branded into his side.
"Hm... Well, we're going to check out the rest of the mall. Have a good time here, Draek'laar." Fox said. Draek'laar nodded, and Fox and Krystal left...
Draek'laar watched as the two Star Fox members left the gun store. The gun clerk handed him his radio and nodded. Punching in the code to the radio, Draek'laar spoke,
"Pack Leader, this is Raptor one."
"Pack Leader here, go ahead, Raptor one." Said the voice of Draek'laar's CO, General Kylet'oran Jek'ari.
"We've got two members of the Star Fox Team inside the mall… Fox McCloud and Krystal. Should I terminate?" Draek'laar asked.
"Negative, Raptor one. Follow them and protect them. We know that one bomb is in a store. And keep an eye out for any support pillars. Remember, the Kemorainian Terrorists want to destroy the mall, so they may have planted bombs in the pillars." Kylet'oran said.
"Yes, sir. Raptor one out." Draek'laar answered, and then turned off the radio. Looking to the gun clerk, he mumbled,
"If anything happens, you know what to do." The clerk frowned slightly.
"Uh, No, I have no idea." He said.
"Me neither, Jerry." Draek'laar said, turning away from the Terran and jogging after Fox and Krystal…
Fox and Krystal walked into a Clothing store and Krystal immediately went rummaging through the clothes. She took one particular dress and turned to Fox.
"Do you think this would look good on me?" she asked.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Fox said. As Krystal turned away, Fox mumbled, "Jeez, Krystal, you make me feel like I'm married!"
"I make you feel or think you're married?" Krystal chuckled, as if she heard Fox's comment.
"Kind of both." Fox said with a chuckle. Then, Draek'laar came in.
"Hey, want to go get something to eat?" he asked.
"That depends, what are we eating?" Krystal asked. Draek'laar started,
"I have a Terran friend that is a master at cooking this Dragonarian meal. Ever heard of the—" He stopped in mid-sentence. He slowly placed a finger in the trigger of his DC-33. Then, Fox and Krystal heard it; a faint DEET, DEET, DEET sound somewhere in the store. Then, Krystal realized what it was.
"BOMB!" she screamed. She turned and started to run when the bomb detonated on a wall, sending things flying in every imaginable direction. Krystal fell to the floor, and Draek'laar called out to Fox,
"Go get help, I'll get her out!" as two Kemorainian Terrorists appeared at the store entrance. Draek'laar immediately shouldered his CAR and opened up on them. One of the terrorists caught a plasma bolt with his head, while the other was scorched to death by the plasma bolts. Fox darted out of the store as Draek'laar activated his radio…
General Kylet'oran heard the explosion on the other side of the mall. Then again, who didn't? He readied his MA52B Sniper/Assault Rifle and headed to the scene of the explosion.
"This is Raptor one to Raptor Unit: Contact!" Draek'laar's voice exclaimed over the radio. "Kemorainian Terrorists attacking, West side of the mall on the First floor!"
"Roger, Raptor one. We're on our way. ETA: thirty seconds! Hang tight!" Kylet'oran said.
"Acknowledged, Pack leader. We also have one of Star Fox's members wounded down here. She's hurt pretty badly, and we need to get her some medical attention!" Draek'laar exclaimed.
"Acknowledged, Raptor one. Help is on the way." Replied the voice of Raptor two, Commander Jake Ares. Kyle looked over the second floor rail and saw three Kemorainian Terrorists running towards the explosion. Kylet'oran jumped up and slid down towards the first floor on the rail of an escalator. Firing one shot, he nailed one terrorist in the back of the head, causing his buddies to turn. Kylet'oran fired a three-round burst into the both of them as they turned, and they collapsed on each other.
Conveniently, Krystal had an energy shield active when the bomb detonated. Amazingly, it absorbed Ninety-Eight percent of the damage before failing. The remaining two percent of damage was stray shards of shrapnel, and they still left several deep cuts on Krystal's body. However, she remained conscious enough to hear gunfire; Terran, Cornerian, Kemorainian, and Dragonarian. It sounded like the whole UAAR army was in a gunfight with the Terrorists.
When she opened her eyes and looked down at herself, she closed them again. There was blood running down her body in several places. There was no way the medical authorities would get here in time to save her. She was completely and utterly helpless.
I'm done for... Krystal thought. Opening her eyes, the last thing she saw before everything went black was a warrior who resembled Fox in Emerald-Green armor and a mask looming over her...
Kylet'oran watched as Krystal went unconscious. He put two fingers on her neck. She had a weak pulse. She'd die if she didn't get medical attention soon. He picked her body up in his arms and said,
"Draek'laar, give a spare Radio to Fox McCloud and then get to your transport. We're leaving."
"Yes, sir!" Draek'laar responded, and then took off.
"The rest of you, let's move!" Jake exclaimed…
Journal of Kylet'oran Jek'ari
Entry Thirty-Four
Recording Initialized...
Another Terrorist attack. This time, at a Mall on Dragonaria IV. Me and a few of my men dealt with them the same; wait 'till they initiate a strike, then blast 'em to hell. But the ironic thing was, Fox McCloud and Krystal of the Famed Star Fox team were here. And Krystal got hurt. Rather than leave her to die in that mall, I picked her up and carried her out. Took her to the Medical wing on the Dragon's Rage. For some odd reason, I feel as if I should've left her.
After we put her in the healing tank, and she was in there for hours, Draek'laar put her in the same room as an old friend of mine, a Dinosaur from Sauria named Tricky, who had accidentally translocated to Dragonaria IV. He claimed to know Krystal, and gladly watched to make sure she woke. It was then that I learned about Star Fox; a Famous group of mercenaries that stopped several different incursions in the Lylat system. That's when I realized why I should've left Krystal to die. The Star Fox team may be under the impression from the Changeling General Keldonar that I'm a rogue General. They could pose a serious threat, both to me and to the Changeling. Only time would tell…
Recording End...
Chapter two
Meet General Kylet'oran
Location: Unknown
Time: 9:15 AM
Date: 10/20/2632 (Terran Calendar)
Krystal found herself floating in a dark never-never land. Like the darkness of space with no stars. She assumed she was asleep. Or was she dead? She simply didn't know. She heard voices. One was the voice she knew; Draek'laar. Then there was one that sounded serious. Like a military General. She heard them discussing something... a project called "Hybrid Theory". She tried to wake up, but found it impossible to open her eyes. She had to be dead. Then, her eyes shot open.
Krystal sat up and looked around the brightly-lit room. Where am I? She thought. If the light were any brighter, she'd have sworn she was on a beach.
"Well, it's good to see you're alive. Thought Kyle would have to be the one to call Fox to tell him you're dead." said an all-too-familiar voice. Krystal looked to her left and saw Tricky in a corner.
"Tricky... what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Kylet'oran, or 'Kyle' as he likes to be called, is an old friend of mine. I ran into him on Dragonaria IV, and he said he'd take me back to Sauria." Tricky answered. Krystal frowned.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"We're on Kyle's ship, a Class-II Dragonarian Warbird called the Dragon's Rage, currently headed to Sauria." Tricky responded.
"And… how did I get here?" Krystal inquired.
"Kyle brought you here. You seriously needed a medical treatment, as you were pretty screwed up when he found you. If he hadn't gotten to you when he did, you'd have died." Tricky said. Getting out of bed, Krystal noticed her clothes were sewn back together where the stray shards of shrapnel had cut them. Then, Draek'laar walked in holding a breakfast tray.
"Well," he chuckled, "At least I don't have to wake you up to give you this." Draek'laar set the tray down on Krystal's bed and added, "General Kylet'oran cooked this up for you himself. He owes you one, you know." Krystal frowned and asked,
"What for?"
"Well, as he sensed it, your powers went haywire when you fell unconscious. You unconsciously shorted out the detonators of six bombs on support pillars in that mall on Dragonaria IV. You're all over the news." Draek'laar said. Krystal picked up one of the Kell'dakk Sugar & Jelly Rolls and stopped. Before taking a bite, she asked,
"Earlier, Tricky mentioned someone by the name of 'Kylet'oran'... Who is he?" Draek'laar smiled.
"Thought that might come up. Whenever you finish eating, take the turbolift to Deck six and head to sub-deck three. That's his personal deck. God only knows what he has up there. An armory, for one. And just so you know, General Kylet'oran Jek'ari is my Commanding Officer." Draek'laar answered. Krystal nodded to acknowledge, and continued eating.
Upon getting off the turbolift on Deck Six and entering sub-deck three, she heard music playing in the room at the end of the hall.
"...(I was confused)
And I let it all out to find
That I'm not the only person with these things in mind
(Inside of me)
But all the vacancy the words revealed
Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel
(Nothing to lose)
Just stuck/ hollow and alone
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong..."
Krystal froze in place as she heard this music. It sounded like Terran Rock music. The band sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place it. She walked closer to the door at the end of the hall, listening to the music.
"...(So what am I)
What do I have but negativity
'Cause I can't justify the way, everyone is looking at me
(Nothing to lose)
Nothing to gain/ hollow and alone
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong
I will never know myself until I do this on my own
And I will never feel anything else, until my wounds are healed
I will never be anything till I break away from me
I will break away, I'll find myself today..."
When Krystal got to the door, the music was abruptly turned down and a voice inside the room said,
"Come on in, the door's unlocked." Krystal hesitated, pressed a button on the control panel next to the door, and the door slid open to reveal that same person she saw looming over her before she blacked out the other day at the mall. But the only differences were that he wasn't wearing his mask, and he wasn't wearing a shirt. Krystal stopped just inside the door upon noticing the man's body. He looked surprisingly a lot like Fox, but he was taller, easily seven feet, muscular, and his eyes were a lifeless light brown. Another difference she noticed was his pitch-black fur was bald in many areas, revealing many scars. He had scars of every type; Lashes, Slashes, Stabbings, Cuts, and most of all, Gunshots of every type; Human Bullets, Kemorainian Plasma Burns, Cornerian Energy Scars, and Dragonarian Disruptor marks.
The man turned his back to Krystal, revealing more scars, and turned off the stereo.
"General Kylet'oran Jek'ari, I presume?" Krystal asked, shuddering at the sight of all the scars. With his back still turned, he threw on a shirt and responded,
"Call me Kyle." Turning to face her, he added, "Never seen so many scars on one person, have you?"
"No," Krystal replied, shaking her head. "Are you some sort of War Veteran or something?"
"Now that you mention it, I am. I'm a Veteran of the three Cornerian-Kemorainian wars, and the various conflicts and clashes with terrorists. Every recent war the UAAR has been in, I've been there. Just read my service record." Kyle said.
"It's amazing you're not suffering battle fatigue." Krystal scoffed.
"Been there, done that. I'm a lot tougher than I look." Kyle replied.
"You look tough enough already, if I counted the scars on both body and mind right." Krystal chuckled.
"Try telling that to the Terran that shot me down in Puerto Rico back on earth." Kyle said. Krystal chuckled and remarked,
"Kyle, you look like you were sentenced to death by firing squad and lived." Kyle paused, looked to Krystal from the corner of his eye, and said,
"Among other things." Looking to the Stereo, he added, "My favorite song... take a listen." and turned up the stereo.
"What do I do to ignore them behind me?
Do I follow my instincts blindly?
Do I hide my pride from these bad dreams?
And give in to sad thoughts that are maddening?
Do I sit here and try to stand it?
Or do I try to catch them red-handed?
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness,
Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?
Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin
I make the right moves but I'm lost within
I put on my daily facade but then
I just end up getting hurt again
By myself myself..."
Krystal sensed that there was something about this particular song that said something about Kylet'oran. She frowned as Kyle bent down and picked up a bottle of a strange-looking carbonated drink and proceeded to drink a swig.
"Isn't that... against military regulations, drinking while on active duty?" Krystal asked.
"What, this? This isn't alcohol! It's called a soda, and it's a rather specially-designed soda. It doesn't make you thirstier like a regular soda does." Kyle said. Krystal could sense a deep pain within Kylet'oran, and was considering probing Kylet'oran's mind when Kylet'oran, as if he read her mind, commented, "Go ahead. Probe my mind. But be warned; aside from my military upbringing, you will only find pain."
"Can't you tell me?" Krystal inquired. Looking to a picture on his computer desk, Kylet'oran answered,
"It pains me too much." Krystal walked to the desk and picked up the picture. There was Kylet'oran, a young woman, and a young boy standing on a pier, apparently on earth. She looked to Kyle, then at the boy, and back at Kyle. Speaking as she saw tears flow down Kyle's serious face, Krystal said,
"They were your family... the ones in the picture. That Terran you spoke of killed them, didn't he?" Kyle gulped and nodded, as if unable to speak of his family. There was a moment of silence before Kyle stated,
"I owe my life to the person who convinced me to return to the Alliance Military... General Keldonar Kedd'khan." Krystal's jaw dropped.
"The Kemorainian Leader?? You know him??" she exclaimed.
"Yes, very well. Now, someone in his place views me as a threat." Kyle said.
"General, we have arrived at Sauria. The shuttle is already taking Tricky down... Sir, we also have a Class-II Excalibur-Class Attack Battleship, called the Great Fox II, in the area. Orders?" a voice said over the Intercom.
"Tell them to prepare to receive visitors. General Kylet'oran out." Kyle responded.
"Why does he view you as a threat, the Kemorainian in Keldonar's place?" Krystal inquired. After putting on his armor and the battle-mask, Kylet'oran answered,
"Give my regards to him when you see him. You'll understand." From that moment on, no further words were spoken.
Journal of Kylet'oran Jek'ari
Entry Thirty-Five
Recording Initialized...
As I record this, I am currently on my way to a Class-II Excalibur-Class Attack Dreadnought, the Great Fox II, the ship belonging to the famed mercenary team "Star Fox". I can only ponder the reaction of Fox McCloud upon his initial sight of me. Chuckles This Krystal seems very friendly. I don't think she'll be any threat. But, then again, I've learned in the past not to assume anything, that just because someone appears to be one thing, doesn't necessarily mean that they are. I've not much to say; we're landing in the hangar bay.
Recording End...
Chapter three
Project
Hybrid Theory
Location: Class-II Excalibur-Class Attack Battleship Great Fox II
Time: 12:15 PM
Date: 10/20/2632 (Terran Calender)
Fox waited in the Command deck hangar bay, where the Star Fox team's Arwings were stored, watching as the Dragonarian Shuttle craft landed in the hangar bay. A ramp lowered behind the craft, and two people exited. One of them was Krystal, but Fox and everyone else couldn't tell who the other person was.
He wore an Emerald-green set of battle armor and a Battle-mask. The battle-mask seemed to be wired to the battle-armor, and the eye ports seemed to have an eerie red glow. Slippy and Amanda seemed to be intimidated by this warrior's appearance, but Falco and Fox stood their ground.
As Krystal walked up to Fox, hesitated, and threw her arms around him.
"It's good to be back..." she said. In a hushed tone, she added, "His name is Kylet'oran Jek'ari... General Kylet'oran Jek'ari. He saved my life, so the least you guys can do is show a little appreciation!" Fox looked at the warrior again to see him turn his back.
"General," he said. "Thanks for saving Krystal. I owe you one."
"You don't owe me anything. I never abandon anyone in the middle of a mission, and I wasn't about to start then. Too many people die because of Kemorainian Terrorists, and I wasn't going to let them add your friend to their list of enemy casualties." Kylet'oran said. He started to walk towards the shuttle craft boarding ramp when Fox said,
"Why don't you stick around; we're having lunch here in a minute."
"Let me guess: Rii'tanna Loin Steaks. Dragonarian, if I'm not mistaken." Kylet'oran responded. Fox frowned, amazed at how he guessed what they were having. "I can smell it from here. That, and you left the door to the Commander's kitchen wide open." Kylet'oran added. Fox turned his head and saw the kitchen door was left open. Turning back to Kylet'oran, Fox saw he was headed into the back of the Shuttle. Going after him, he asked,
"Hey, where are you going?"
"Nowhere. I'm just grabbing my MA52B. You have a Targeting range, don't you?" Kylet'oran inquired. Fox paused for a second to think.
Why would he want to go to a targeting range? He thought. Snapping out of his reverie, Fox pointed down a hall and said, "Down the hall on the right." As Kylet'oran walked off, Falco asked Krystal,
"What's his problem?"
"He believes we could be a threat to him." Krystal answered.
"You mean he's paranoid?" Amanda implied.
"No, not paranoid. Just cautious. His military career has taught him not to assume anything." Krystal said.
"How would you know?" Slippy asked.
"Count his mental scars, and you'll know." Krystal responded, and headed off...
Kylet'oran fired, time and time again, at a target one hundred paces away. He already fired in full auto, and then three-round burst mode, so he was finally firing semi-auto.
As he fired, he saw a blip appear on the motion tracker in his peripheral vision. He sensed a curious female mind... Krystal. He stopped firing long enough to reload and ask,
"Yes?" He could sense the moment of hesitation before Krystal inquired,
"What's 'Project Hybrid Theory?'" Kylet'oran looked at his motion tracker and saw that Krystal wasn't alone. After loading a fresh clip of 7.62x51mm Armor-Piercing Plasma-Powered ammo into the receiver, Kylet'oran put the MA52B down.
"I assume you know how everyone's blood runs, don't you?" He asked.
"What's that got to do with the subject?" Fox responded.
"Everything." Kylet'oran said, removing his left gauntlet. He took a knife from his boot and continued, "See, I know the blood of the four races of the UAAR. Lylatian blood runs pink, if I remember correctly. Terran blood runs dark red, Dragonarian blood runs Neon green, and Kemorainian blood runs neon purple," Running the knife along the palm of his hand, Kylet'oran said, "My blood, however," tossing the knife to Fox, Kylet'oran added, "runs neon blue." Everyone observed the blood on the knife, and Fox said,
"That doesn't answer the question."
"Project Hybrid Theory was designed in secret by the UAAR years ago to create the ultimate soldiers. I was created by combining the different traits, DNA, and genes of all four races of the UAAR." Kylet'oran replied.
"But that would mean there would have to be a lot of DNA donors over the years!" Krystal murmured.
"There were. I personally know every one of the DNA donors whose traits I have in me..." Kylet'oran said. Holding up a finger, he added, "Save one; my Lylatian donor. However, I believe I have just met him. And that knife will prove it." Fox frowned. What did he mean? Shaking out of his reverie, he inquired,
"How many... people like you were created?"
"Originally, there were two full battalions. Now, my unit is all that's left of us... save one unit somewhere in the Keldonaria system." Kylet'oran answered.
"The Keldonaria sys—" Slippy started.
"Please, no more talking. I've told you enough. If you want to find out what I meant earlier, I would suggest Slippy run that knife through the DNA scanner." Kylet'oran interrupted. As everyone else left and Kylet'oran started firing again, Krystal remained.
"Um, Kyle... Why did you save me? I know there is an ulterior motive to it." She asked.
"To tell you the truth, I really don't know." Kylet'oran answered. Krystal hesitated, then left.
It wasn't long after that when the smell of the steaks reached Kylet'oran's nostrils. Firing the last three rounds, Kylet'oran reloaded the weapon, slung it, and headed off...
It was well into lunchtime when Slippy got the results of the DNA scan. He grabbed them and hurried to get Fox and Krystal. When he found them, he handed them the results, and Fox looked over them. He looked at them, then at Slippy, then back at the results. Indicating Kylet'oran, he quietly exclaimed,
"You mean to say that he is an exact clone of me??"
"That's not all," Krystal said. "He was specifically engineered to be a leader."
"How would you know?" Fox inquired.
"Look at who his other DNA donors were." Krystal answered. Fox looked at the DNA results again. Next to him was Vice Admiral Jason Scott of the Terran Republic, General Keldon'takk Jek'ari of the Dragonarian Star Federation, and General Keldonar Kedd'khan of the Kemorainian Star Empire.
"So that's how he knew General Keldonar!" Krystal said. Fox frowned.
"What?" he inquired.
"When I was on his ship, he said he 'owed his life to the one person who convinced him to return to the Alliance military'; that person is General Keldonar Kedd'khan!" Krystal exclaimed quietly. She then paused for a moment, then added, "He also mentioned that now, someone in General Keldonar's place views him as a threat."
"Did he—" Fox started. There was suddenly a voice speaking in Dragonarian over Kylet'oran's communicator. Kylet'oran jumped up, chattered something in Dragonarian, and rushed off. He rushed into the transport shuttle, powered it up, raised the boarding ramp, used its belly jets to push it off the deck and turned it counter-clockwise, and blasted off...
Kylet'oran raced for the Dragon's Rage as fast as possible, fearing she might be detected by the Kemorainian assault cruiser that was nearby. The Dragon's Rage was just barely out of the cruiser's sensor range, but that was bound to change.
Once in the Hangar, Kylet'oran sprinted for the bridge turbolift, seconds ticking away before his ship was detected.
"General on the bridge!" came the voice of Kylet'oran's first officer, Golanar.
"Engage the cloaking device and set a course for the far side of Sauria, quickly!"
Outside, the Class-II Dragonarian Warbird seemingly de-materialized into the stars behind it, as if it were a ghost...
Fox, Krystal, Slippy, Amanda and Falco watched as the Dragon's Rage disappeared under the guise of the ship's cloaking device from the bridge of the Great Fox II.
"He sure left in a hurry." Falco said.
"Fox, I'm getting an audio hail from a Kemorainian assault cruiser." Slippy said. Suddenly, as if someone remotely patched in the hail, the serpent-like voice that belonged only to the Kemorainians came over the channel.
"Class-II Excalibur-class Attack Battleship, you will follow us to Kemoran Prime. General Keldonar wishes to speak with you." As soon as the transmission started, it ended.
"Should we follow him?" Amanda asked. Fox hesitated.
Why would General Keldonar want to talk to us? He thought.
"Yes, follow him, but we should be careful. Kylet'oran mentioned that someone in Keldonar's place views him as a threat. If he knew we were in contact with Kylet'oran, we would be viewed just the same." Krystal ordered…
Chapter four
The Discovery
Location: Kemoran Prime
Time: 2:30 PM
Date: 10/20/2632 (Terran Calendar)
After coming out of light speed at Kemoran Prime, Fox, Krystal and Falco followed the Kemorainians through a large, palace-like building. When they finally came upon a high-ranking Kemorainian, he waved the guards away.
"You three are part of 'Star Fox,' are you not?" he asked in the normal hissing, snake-like voice of a Kemorainian.
"Um… Yeah, we are… are you General Keldonar?" Fox answered. As if to prove he was, the Kemorainian looked over his shoulder at Fox, revealing a scar that ran over his left eye.
"Does that answer your question?" He hissed. Keldonar's chilling, serpentine voice sent chills crawling up Falco's spine. The Kemorainian turned to face the three of them. He looked even more intimidating up front.
Despite the intimidating look, the Star Fox members did their best not to look unnerved. But Krystal could sense something akin to maliciousness inside the Kemorainian. What was it?
Krystal then saw a small, barely noticeable shimmer on Keldonar's jaw. That immediately led her to suspect that they were talking to the Changeling. If the changeling saw the discovery on Krystal's face, he certainly didn't show it.
"I understand that you were all in contact with General Kylet'oran, were you not?" Keldonar asked.
"Um… yes, we were. He saved my life." Krystal answered. The Kemorainian frowned, and regained his composure.
"Yes, I heard. You were all over the news." He said. Turning his back, he asked, "Are you aware that General Kylet'oran Jek'ari had gone rogue?"
"He has? Why?" Fox asked, pretending to look surprised.
"His hate for Kemorainians was too strong for him to control after he learned that it was a Kemorainian that influenced a Terran on Earth to kill his family. His ship was solely responsible for the annihilation of the Keldonaria system. He used a very deadly and illegal bio-weapon known as the Pladdeth Kiil'err." Keldonar said.
"The… what?" Falco said.
"The Pladdeth Kiil'err… the Planet Killer. A very deadly biological weapon that destroys a planet's atmosphere in seconds. His ship harbors it, and it is easily detected, especially when cloaking and de-cloaking. Since then, he has been attacking random Kemorainian civilian and military targets. We have been trying to apprehend him, but we are having no luck. Please, if you could, bring him to justice. We have lost far too much to his reckless attacks." Keldonar said. The Star Fox Members nodded, and without another word, returned to their ships.
Location: Great Fox II
Time: 8:45 PM
Date: 10/20/2632 (Terran Calendar)
When Fox, Falco and Krystal got to the bridge of the Great Fox II after spending all manner of hours gathering Intel on the Kemorainian home world, Slippy came up and said,
"Fox, I think that Kylet'oran's accusations of General Keldonar being a Changeling were correct!" he dragged Fox to a station and showed him all manner of data. "First off," he said, "Someone sent me the schematics of the Class-II Dragonarian Warbird, and I was able to determine that because of the ship's Hyper-Velocity Ion Cannon, there is no room to fit a weapon like what Keldonar mentioned.
"Secondly, I was somehow able to get Keldonar's heart rate, and I compared it to the heart rate of the normal Kemorainian, and they weren't even close!"
"So, basically, you're saying that that General Keldonar guy isn't really General Keldonar?" Falco inquired.
"So where's the real General Keldonar?" Fox asked.
"In the Keldonaria system." Krystal said, "Where else? We know that the Changeling lied to us, so it's safe to assume that he's there! What better place to hide a General that was secretly removed from power than a system rumored to be dead?"
"First thing's first; Peppy and UAAR High Command needs to know that the Kemorainian leader isn't who he appears to be. Amanda, set a course for Corneria, maximum Light speed." Fox ordered...
Location: Corneria
Time: 9:00
Date: 10/20/2632 (Terran Calendar)
As the Great Fox II tore its way into light speed, the Dragon's Rage warped to Corneria ahead of them. Once there, Kylet'oran positioned his ship on the far side of the planet.
There, he monitored the chatter on the Punisher, the ship commanded by General Peppy Hare, the general of the Cornerian army. It seemed like hours that they sat there, listening to Peppy talk about various topics.
Finally, the Great Fox II dropped out of light speed and hailed the Punisher. Peppy was surprised to see Fox and his team in such a jumpy mood as they explained what happened and transmitted the evidence they had proving what Dragonarian Intelligence had suspected. Whether they knew it or not, they just did Kylet'oran's task for him.
But how to explain this to his superiors, Kylet'oran thought. It didn't matter. It was time to make his appearance...
Peppy was going over the data that Fox had sent him when his Tactical officer exclaimed,
"Sir! We have a Class-II Dragonarian Warbird de-cloaking off our starboard side! Her shields are up and weapons are hot, sir!" Peppy's first officer jumped up.
"It's an attack run! Raise—" Peppy cut him off by saying,
"No! That must be General Kylet'oran. Hail him." Before either Peppy or Fox could say a word, Kylet'oran said,
"General Peppy Hare, Star Fox team, this is General Kylet'oran. I am aware you have evidence to prove out Dragonarian Intel's suspicions. Please, if you will, follow me to Dragonaria Prime, where we will discuss our next move." and the channel closed.
"Well, he certainly isn't very chatty." Peppy remarked. The Warbird then spun counter-clockwise, and warped out, followed by the Great Fox II and the Punisher…
Location: Dragonaria Prime
Time: 6:00 AM
Date: 10/21/2632 (Terran Calendar)
Upon Arriving at Dragonaria Prime, Fox was promptly asked for the information that Slippy uncovered by Kylet'oran. Fox gladly handed it over, and Kylet'oran handed that information to Dragonarian Fleet Command.
After that, Peppy, Fox, Krystal, and Falco were asked to come to the Dragon's Rage while Slippy and Amanda stayed behind with the Great Fox II. As their transports set down in the Dragon's hangar bay, they were escorted to a conference room somewhere near the bridge.
When they came in, Fox and Falco noticed that Kylet'oran wasn't wearing his mask; his lifeless light brown eyes and scarred face made the two of them pause, but Krystal took a seat.
"High General Keldon'takk, High Commander Scott, this is Fox, Krystal and Falco of the Star Fox Team, and General Peppy Hare of the Cornerian Starfleet." Kylet'oran said. The Dragonarian General, Keldon'takk, turned around and regarded the four of them with fiery yellow dragon eyes. The Terran, High Commander Jason Scott, whose face held a friendlier expression, said,
"Do not let the Dragonarian unnerve you. Please, sit down." Falco and Fox took their seats on either side of Krystal, while Peppy sat next to Fox. Kyle took his seat across from Krystal, and Keldon'takk and Jason took their seats at either end of the table. Sliding a folder thick with papers and marked "Confidential – Eyes Only" to Krystal, Kylet'oran said,
"Before we start, read that."
"What for?" Fox asked.
"To prove out General Keldonar's lies about me going rogue." Kylet'oran answered. Krystal began to open the folder as she inquired,
"What is this?"
"General Kylet'oran's service records." Keldon'takk said. Krystal looked down and Fox and Falco leaned over to read as well. It read:
"Name: Kylet'oran Jek'ari
DOB: 10/22/2585
Race: Dragonarian/Kemorainian/Terran/Lylatian hybrid
(Classified) DNA Donors: Keldonar Kedd'khan, Keldon'takk Jek'ari, Fox McCloud, Jason Scott
Current Rank: Brigadier General
CO: High General Keldon'takk
Awarded Medals: Dragonarian Medal of Honor, Dragonarian Prisoner of War Medallion, Terran Medal of Valor, Terran Distinguished Service Cross, Dragonarian War Medal, Lylat Medal of Bravery, Lylat Medal of Valor, Lylat Distinguished Service Cross, Kemorainian War Medallion, Kemorainian Distinguished Service Medal, Kemorainian Medal of Bravery, Kemorainian War Veteran's Medal.
Accomplishments: 10/08/2604: After studies conducted by Lt. Gen. Ian Dunbar initialized, it was noticed that Kylet'oran possessed leadership above everything. His skills were far beyond the standards of a Lylatian/Dragonarian/Kemorainian/Terran Hybrid Warrior.
03/29/2608: Led an assault on a Kemorainian battleship and took control long enough to extract information and set self-destruct device. Promoted to Commander and received command of the 36th platoon.
06/09/2612: Led successful counter-attack on landed Kemorainian Planetary assault ship and drove Kemorainians from Titainia. Promoted to Master Captain and received command of Class-II Dragonarian Warbird Dragon's Rage.
10/22/2619: Dragon's Rage refitted with experimental Cloaking Device and Hyper-Velocity Ion Cannon; Kylet'oran ordered to test them on Kemorainian Adv. Dreadnought in Kemorainian Space. Kemorainian Starship Kemoran's Incursion and Kemorainian Battle Station destroyed. Kemorainians unable to retaliate. Promoted to Mjr. Colonel.
10/25/2620: Led Alliance Task Force 224 into Kemorainian Space to Escort General Keldonar Kedd'khan and Kemorainian defectors to allied space. Encountered three Kemorainian Dreadnoughts and Kemorainian Task Force. Task force destroyed with minimal casualties to allied task force. Promoted to Lt. General, Fleet Admiral Golanar Keff'ree appointed as First officer of the Dragon's Rage.
07/4/2624: Led successful counter-strike against Kemorainian Assault Force at Katina. Drove Kemorainian forces from Katina.
8/7/2624: Inducted into Shaadakh Draaco, Secret Dragonarian Military agency.
2/28/2628: Intercepted Kemorainian intelligence communication. Led Allied Kemorainian/Alliance assault force in attack on Kemoran Prime. Installed General Keldonar Kedd'khan as Leader of Kemorainian Star Empire. Promoted to Brigadier General after turning down Promotion to General, stating he would rather fight in the field than behind a desk."
Krystal slid the service record to Peppy for him to read she asked,
"What's the 'Shaadakh Draaco?'?"
"It means 'Shadow Dragon', and it is a secret branch in the Dragonarian military fleet. They deal with anything from gathering intelligence to special operations." Keldon'takk answered.
"Hm... okay, why have you called us here?" Fox inquired.
"We called you here because you proved out what Intel believes; that General Keldonar is a changeling. I thought it only fair that you know what our next move will be, and that maybe you could help." Kylet'oran said.
"And just what is it you're planning to do?" Peppy asked as he finished looking over Kylet'oran's service records and sliding them back to him.
"Dragonarian Intelligence believes that the real General Keldonar is being held in the Keldonaria system, a system that the changeling publicly stated to be dead." Jason answered.
"We know that every ship we sent to the Keldonaria system was destroyed. These are pictures that a severely-damaged cruiser transmitted before being destroyed." Keldon'takk said, pulling up images on a screen. "The Kemorainians appear to have a fully-automated fleet in the system, which is programmed to attack any non-Kemorainian ship automatically."
"So what's the plan?" Fox asked, doing his best to look interested. In truth, he wanted nothing to do with this secret operation, but he noticed Krystal did, as she sat up and her ears perked up.
"Simple; one month from now, your ship and Kylet'oran's ship will travel to this system, followed by an alliance fleet. The alliance fleet will draw away the automated fleet, while your ship, equipped with a cloaking device, will travel with Kylet'oran's ship under cloak, and destroy the station controlling the automated ships.
"Once that is done your ships must re-cloak, and you, Krystal and Kylet'oran will go down to the surface of Keldonaria III using an experimental translocator that is designed to deploy when a ship is under cloak. You will then find General Keldonar and extract him. Once you have him, translocate back to your ships and warp out. General Keldonar will broadcast a transmission to the galaxy to expose the changeling. After that, it should only be a matter of time before the changeling is destroyed." Keldon'takk explained.
"Why can't we take him alive?" Krystal asked.
"Because we assume he will most likely want to go down swinging." Kylet'oran said.
"And why are we doing this one month from now?" Fox asked.
"Because our engineers will take one month to install a cloaking device on your ship and link it to your ship's command center." Keldon'takk answered. Fox silently grumbled to himself.
One month is a long time for something to happen. He thought.
"Any other questions?" Jason asked. A moment of silence answered the question, and Keldon'takk said,
"Very well. Meeting dismissed." Kylet'oran was the first one to leave after handing his service records to Keldon'takk. Krystal frowned at the way Kylet'oran upped and left, and she went after him. Fox and Falco returned to the Great Fox II, and Peppy returned to the Punisher, but Krystal followed Kylet'oran until he seemingly disappeared within the depths of his ship...
Location: Great Fox II
Time: 9:37 PM
Date: 10/21/2632
When Krystal walked into her personal quarters on the Great Fox II after spending all manner of hours on various tasks on the Great Fox II, she noticed that she had a message waiting on the subspace transmitter and a map was placed on the screen. She gently took the map off the screen and saw that it was a map of the core city of Dragonaria prime, Dragon'takk. She played the message, and Kyle's voice was the first voice she heard.
"Krystal," he said, "Follow that map to the red X. I'll be waiting. Bring Fox if you can. There is something we must discuss." The message then ended, and left Krystal in silence. She turned to leave and stopped. There was something in Kyle's voice that made Krystal thing he knew something was going on. But what was it? What was it? She left her room, grabbed Fox, and then the two jumped in their Arwings, and flew down to a spaceport in Dragon'takk.
Location: Dragon'takk city, Planet Dragonaria Prime
Time: 9:42 PM
Date: 10/21/2632 (Terran Calendar)
Fox and Krystal followed the map to a somewhat large estate. They walked inside the house, and were immediately greeted with darkness. The moonlight of the Dragonarian moon was the only light seeping through the windows.
Suddenly, a Dragonarian stepped forward, is dragon eyes having an eerie yellow glow to them. Kyle's voice called out from the darkness,
"I hope you'll forgive the darkness. A Dragonarian's sight is at its best in the dark." Kyle's shadowy figure then appeared at the top of a set of stairs. His pitch-black fur seemed to blend in perfectly with the darkness, and all of this made Krystal feel uneasy, but she kept that from showing on her face.
"Why have you asked us to come here?" she asked.
"To show you something that I don't think your friend Slippy noticed upon your arrival here." Kyle answered, and disappeared into brightly-lit room. Krystal and Fox followed, and were immediately greeted with the sight of all manner of computers and control interfaces. Kyle motioned them towards a computer and said,
"I was going over my ships sensor logs and I wanted to show you this—" Kyle pointed to a Kemorainian advanced dreadnought cloaking. "When that ship cloaked, there was a momentary spike in the tertiary EM band. It's Acheraan."
"Acheraan?" Fox repeated.
"Acheraan radiation, AKA: the Planet Killer. The little weapon that the changeling accused me of having." Kyle responded.
"So… that means that that ship could be the changeling!" Krystal said.
"Which is why you arranged that meeting; you knew that he would be eavesdropping, so you gave him false information!" Fox added.
"Whilst at the same time making it appear that we didn't know he was there." Kyle said.
"So, if that meeting was fake, then what are we really going to do?" Fox asked.
"You, your team and I are moving out under cloak tomorrow morning. Not to worry, your cloaking device has already been installed." Kyle started. Fox frowned and inquired,
"When?"
"It was installed over the course of this day. We'll head to the Keldonaria system and I'll destroy the control station with my Hyper-Velocity Ion Cannon. We'll then translocate down to Keldonaria III and extract the real General Keldonar. You will then transport him to Corneria while he broadcasts a message to the galaxy to expose the changeling." Kyle explained.
"Of course, you realize the changeling will come after us, right?" Krystal asked.
"I'm counting on it. He'll anticipate that the fastest route to Corneria from the Keldonaria system will take you through the Baaxeno rift, and he will attack you there. If you try another route, he'll have his followers meet you there and destroy you." Kyle said.
"And let me guess… you want us to hold off a Kemorainian Advanced Dreadnought until you arrive with help." Fox said.
"Of course; strength in numbers. If your ship is damaged beyond repair, the Alliance will give you a new one of equal or greater value. You are, after all, doing the UAAR a great service." Kyle responded. Fox thought for a moment, then said,
"Okay, you've got a deal. We move out tomorrow?"
"Early tomorrow, so get some rest." Kyle replied. As Fox left, Krystal asked,
"Kyle… if I may, why are we rescuing the real General Keldonar on your birthday?"
"Since our birthdays generally fall on the same day, it would be considered a birthday present to the both of us in Dragonarian and Kemorainian traditions. I would have the honor of rescuing him, and he would have the honor of escaping the prison he's in. Simple as that." Kyle answered. Krystal silently considered telling Kyle something, but hesitated, and left…
Chapter five
Incursions
Location: Great Fox II
Time: 5:15 AM
Date: 10/22/2632
Fox awoke to Kylet'oran's voice saying over the subspace channels,
"Fox, the changeling's ship has left Dragonaria Prime. Time to move out." Fox rushed to change into his regular uniform and hurried to the bridge.
"Falco, is the cloaking device ready?" Fox asked Falco.
"Ready and waiting." Falco answered. Fox looked out the forward viewport in time to watch the Dragon's Rage engage cloak.
"Engage cloak and set course for the Keldonaria system, max light speed." Fox ordered.
The Great Fox II then de-materialized into space and tore its way into light speed, following an invisible path to a hostile system…
Location: Kemorainian Base on Keldonaria III
Time: 5:30 AM
Date: 10/22/2632
Keldonar woke up on the stone slab he'd used as a bed for the past year and a half. Today was his birthday. Big whoop. It wasn't like anyone was going to bust him out or anything. He was completely powerless to do anything about the changeling bringing back the genocidal religion of the Kemorainian Star Empire.
In his time on this prison, one question arose; why was the changeling bringing back a part of the Empire long forgotten? In time, the answer provided itself; he had found a way to annihilate the other races of the UAAR.
Keldonar knew it would fail, and he eventually realized that the changeling was going to make Keldonar take the fall for his war crimes. All Keldonar could do was sit back and watch…
Sixteen hours later…
Location: In orbit of Keldonaria III
Time: 9:30 PM
Date: 10/22/2632
The Great Fox II and the Dragon's Rage sat in orbit of Keldonaria III waiting for the Alliance attack fleet. They had been waiting for thirteen hours and forty-five minutes when finally, the automated fleet started accelerating towards something. Seeing this, Kylet'oran said,
"That's our signal. De-cloak and deploy the HVIC, fire on my command." The Class-II Dragonarian Warbird then de-cloaked and a segmented cannon lowered from the belly of the ship. The inside of the barrel lit up a cyan color, and gathered energy.
After a few moments, Kylet'oran ordered, "Fire." At this command, an ultra-dense depleted Uranium-Dragonium slug wrapped in a comet-shaped envelope of highly ionized gas suspended in a magnetic field shot out towards the control station. The resulting explosion generated a brilliant white glare, glowing like a momentary sun, and then winked out and replaced the control station with a large clutch of wreckage.
"Send a message to the Great Fox II, tell them to get down to the coordinates provided." Kylet'oran said. The Dragonarian at the Comm. Nodded, and Kylet'oran headed off…
Location: 1.5 clicks west of Kemorainian base
Time: 10:25 PM
Date: 10/22/2632
It was well into the night when the transports landed. Falco piloted Fox and Krystal's transport, while a Dragonarian pilot piloted Kylet'oran's.
"I would take you in closer, but I don't think our Kemorainian hosts are expecting visitors." Falco said.
"Thanks, Falco. We'll radio in when we have the General." Fox responded.
"Copy that, Fox." Falco replied as the transport lifted off.
"Heads up!" Kylet'oran said as he tossed Fox and Krystal weapons; an E-23 "Viper" Variable Plasma Rifle for Krystal and an A73 Disruptor Rifle for Fox, along with ammo for both of their guns.
Kylet'oran, of course, had his MA52B. After putting all manner of combat armor and gear on, he said,
"Just stick close to me."
"We know how to survive in a combat situation." Fox responded. Kylet'oran smiled, put his mask on, and replied,
"We'll see about that." He started up the path towards the Kemorainian base, and Fox and Krystal followed...
Location: Kemorainian base
Time: 10:45 PM
Date: 10/22/2632
Kylet'oran, Krystal, and Fox followed a path through a village and to a Kemorainian base. Unfortunately, the entry point was heavily guarded. Using an unsuspecting cargo transport, the trio snuck into the base, where they split up, each of them with two explosives to set on any vital part of the base. Once they used up their explosives, they would meet up in the detention area.
As Kylet'oran came upon the secondary power generator, he placed an explosive on the coolant tanks, and waited for a moment while the guard on the other side of the pavilion went on a break. As he walked away, Kylet'oran dashed out of the generator pavilion and back into the darkness.
As he headed for the Primary armory, he remembered a tip that one of his instructors had given him in training; "When in a situation requiring stealth, slow down. Move slowly so they can't hear you, and stay out of their field of vision." Upon remembering this, Kylet'oran slowed his pace.
Upon arriving at the armory, Kylet'oran tapped the Kemorainian guard on the shoulder. The guard turned around and walked into the dark alley Kylet'oran was in, and he brought the stock of his MA52B down on the guard's head. The guard dropped to the ground with a faint thud and Kyle entered the armory. He placed his last explosive between two boxes of explosives and disappeared again into the nighttime darkness…
Fox finished knocking a Kemorainian guard unconscious before entering the primary power complex. Save the Kemorainian guard that Fox put to sleep, there was no one guarding the primary power generator. Fox snuck inside the complex, planted an explosive, and disappeared before anyone knew he was there.
His next stop was the vehicle refueling station. Aside from the guard in the control shack, who had his back turned, the station was undefended. Fox placed his last explosive and again, disappeared into the nighttime darkness.
"Fox, this is Krystal… I've set my explosives, and I'm on my way to the rendezvous point. Out." Krystal said over a coded comm. Channel. Fox then headed towards the detention block…
As Kylet'oran moved through the detention block, he was thankful that the prisoners were asleep. He silently killed the warden and took his keys, and then headed to the farthest cell.
"General… General Keldonar!" Kylet'oran whispered, trying to be loud enough to wake the General, yet silent enough so that no guard would hear him. He called his name again, hoping to wake him before he was discovered…
Keldonar awoke to a familiar voice calling his name. Who was it? Was this a dream? Keldonar pinched himself to be sure. He felt the pinch. No dream. He sat up and opened his eyes. It looked like a masked fox was standing at the cell door… who was it?
Upon getting closer to the door, Keldonar realized that this wasn't a fox, it was a Hybrid Warrior… It was Kylet'oran.
"Happy birthday, General." Kylet'oran said.
"Kyle! How the heck did you get in here?" Keldonar asked.
"Long story. Can you move?" Kylet'oran answered.
"You're darn right I can." Keldonar said. Kylet'oran looked back, then said,
"C'mon, let's go." He opened the lock, and Keldonar noticed a pair of guns coming around the corner.
"Kyle, behind you!" he whispered…
"Kyle, behind you!" Keldonar whispered. Kylet'oran pulled a knife out of his boot, turned around and was about to throw it when he stopped. It was just Fox and Krystal.
A guard then came around the opposite corner, pointed his DC-33 at Kylet'oran, and was about to fire when Kylet'oran threw the knife. The knife nailed the guard in the neck, and he screamed, falling forward and firing his weapon into the ceiling. Keldonar ran over to the dead guard's body and took his DC-33 CAR and strapped the ammo he had to himself.
"GO!" Kylet'oran called to Fox and Krystal. He quickly unlocked the other five holding cells of prisoners and the prisoners ran free. Suddenly, a door to the detention block was kicked in, and a pair of Kemorainians rushed through. Kylet'oran opened up on them with his MA52B, and they both dropped like rocks.
"Kylet'oran, let's move!" Keldonar called over the gunfire of his DC-33 as he took out a pair of guards.
Kylet'oran and Keldonar then dashed out of the prison complex as the explosives were detonated. Explosions ripped all throughout the base, sending debris flying in every imaginable direction. Kylet'oran ducked behind some crates with Keldonar, Fox and Krystal and noticed a transport.
"Can you fly that thing?" Fox asked.
"Let's find out." Kylet'oran answered, and started for the transport. Everyone boarded the transport, and Kylet'oran took it into the air and off to the extraction point.
"Falco, we have the General and we need evac, NOW!" Fox exclaimed into the communicator after the transport had landed.
"Copy that, Fox. I'm on my way." Falco answered.
"Keldonar, it was part of my plan for you to go with the Star Fox team on their ship, I need you to broadcast a message to the galaxy to expose the changeling. I will gather support to take out the changeling's ship, which will most likely try to ambush the Star Fox team's ship in the Baaxeno rift." Kylet'oran said. Keldonar nodded, understanding what to do.
"General," Came Golanar's voice over Kylet'oran's communicator, "We are sending your transport down. Stand By."
After a few minutes, the transports came and whisked everyone away, and the prisoners of the Kemorainian prison base were translocated to the Dragon's Rage.
Chapter six
Battle in the Baaxeno rift
Location: Kemorainian Adv. Dreadnought Kemoran's Incursion Mk II
Time: 12:00 PM
Date: 10/23/2632
The changeling talked to his Kemorainian supporters over a subspace channel.
"This has gone far enough!" the Kemorainian hissed. "We supported you because you promised us action, and yet, you delay! And now that Star Fox has the real General Keldonar, our plans are finished!" The changeling stood up, clearly irritated.
"The Great Fox II is immaterial. It won't even make it to the Lylat system. And in just a few days, the UAAR will be crippled beyond repair. I suggest you be patient." he said, and then gave the signal to cut the transmission off, and the changeling was free to return his attention to the Great Fox II as his ship chased it. "How soon until we reach the rift?" he asked.
"Five minutes." answered his first officer. The changeling returned his attention to the ship before him. Something didn't feel right.
"Have they broadcasted anything?" he inquired.
"If they did, I either missed it, or they had a frequency scrambler. If it was the latter, then we wouldn't have been able to hear what they said, even if we scanned their frequency." Came the Comm. Officer's reply. The changeling silently grumbled to himself. If Keldonar had already broadcasted, then the changeling would have to quickly destroy the Star Fox ship, and broadcast a message of his own.
But, the changeling realized, if they already broadcasted, then other Kemorainians would rally to destroy him. This did not bode well…
Location: Great Fox II
Time: 12:05 AM
Date: 10/23/2632
Keldonar walked into the cartography room of the Great Fox II. Fox was already there.
"Finished broadcasting?" Fox asked.
"The message is out. Hopefully, they will believe me." Keldonar said. Looking to the cartography screen, he added, "What's our current position?" As if someone high up heard this, the screen started to flicker.
"We are currently passing through the Baaxeno rift. It affects all long range—" Fox stopped, realizing that that was why the changeling would ambush the Great Fox in this isolated area. He was about to hit the comm. Panel when the ship suddenly jolted to plasma bolts hitting the shields. The Great Fox II then suddenly dropped out of light speed.
Fox and Keldonar rushed to the bridge and Fox exclaimed, "Report!"
"I've got a Kemorainian Advanced Dreadnought, the Kemoran's Incursion Mk II dropping out of light speed, Port side!" Amanda exclaimed.
"He disabled out light speed engines with his first shots, we only have sub-light engines now." Slippy added.
"Falco, Fire all port side Phased Plasma Rectification Beams, stand by, energy torpedoes. Krystal, bring us around to face the Kemoran's Incursion." Fox ordered. The Great Fox II fired its Phased Plasma Rectification Beams (PPRB) at the Kemoran's Incursion as it turned to face the mammoth craft, and then fired several energy torpedoes. The Kemorainian Advanced Dreadnought returned fire with several Plasma batteries that hit along the Great Fox's dorsal shields.
"Fox, we're losing dorsal shields!" Krystal exclaimed.
"Full axis rotation to port, fire all ventral PPRB's!" Fox barked.
The Great Fox II then flipped over onto its back and fired every weapon on its underside.
"Minimal damage to the Kemoran's Incursion." Falco reported. Suddenly, as if someone threw a switch, an audio hail came through.
"Mr. McCloud, will you join me in your ready room?" inquired the changeling's voice.
Fox walked into his ready room to find the changeling sitting in his chair. He got up and phased through the desk as he said,
"You can't trace my holographic emitters, Fox, so don't bother. And you can't send a distress call for help."
"What are you here for?" Fox asked.
"To accept your surrender. Clearly, I can destroy you at any time. Lower your shields and allow me to translocate General Keldonar to my ship." The changeling replied.
"And the Great Fox II?" Fox inquired.
"I have little interest in your quaint vessel, Fox." The changeling responded. Fox paced for a moment, then said,
"No, I have a better idea. Why don't you make it easy on yourself and you surrender, and you'll probably have a slight chance to not get killed." This seemed only to irritate the changeling, as he growled,
"There will be no glory in your sacrifice. I'll show you the true nature of a Kemorainian."
"You're not Kemorainian. You're a changeling. You are only an imitation of a Kemorainian." Fox remarked. The changeling only frowned, and his hologram faded out, leaving Fox alone to wonder if he would survive…
As the changeling walked out of the hologram room, his tactical officer said,
"Two ships de-cloaking, sir… Kemorainian!" The changeling looked to the forward viewport and saw two Kemorainian Assault Battleships de-cloak as they approached the Great Fox II…
Fox walked out of his ready room as Keldonar, who was now sitting in what was the first officer's chair, called to him and indicated the forward viewport.
"Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse," Falco remarked. Suddenly, as if someone threw a hailing frequency switch, a Kemorainian voice asked,
"General Keldonar, Star Fox Team, this is Commander De'larra of the Kemorainian Bird of War Allegiance. Might we be of assistance?" Fox frowned.
Assistance? They want to help us? Fox thought. As if the Kemorainian read his thoughts, she said,
"The Kemorainian Star Empire considers this a matter of internal security. When we received General Keldonar's broadcast, we rallied to take out the Changeling."
"Commander," Keldonar replied, "If we get out of this alive, I'll owe you a drink and an official commendation." Fox smiled as De'larra said,
"Kemorainian honey-ale for everyone; let's get to work."
"Well, you heard the Commander;" Fox called out to the others. "Let's get to it!"
The Allegiance and the Incursion rushed past the Great Fox II and attacked the Kemoran's Incursion. Plasma cannons blazed between the ships, and Fox ordered,
"Krystal, accelerate to attack speed. Falco, fire all forward PPRBs and Energy torpedoes." Both of them nodded to acknowledge Fox and the Great Fox II Turned itself around and attacked the Kemorainian Advanced Dreadnought…
The changeling had expected the two Kemorainian ships to attack the Star Fox ship, but not to attack him. Now, all of a sudden, he was outnumbered three to one.
Of course, this didn't matter, as he easily outclassed all three of them.
"Target the flanking Bird of War, all forward Plasma Cannons on my mark." He ordered. The Kemoran's Incursion chased the violet-colored Bird of War, the Incursion, and let loose with a barrage of plasma fire. Of course, the Incursion fired its aft weapons, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Kemoran's Incursion from annihilating it. Fragments of the ship lashed out through space and scraped the Great Fox II…
The Great Fox II shook as a fragment scraped her hull.
"Report!' Keldonar exclaimed.
"Forward shields are down to 15!" Amanda called out.
"Bring us about!" Fox ordered.
Suddenly, there was a momentary pause in the battle.
"Fox, we're not closing enough damage on the Kemoran's Incursion!" Slippy said.
"Find a way to increase the power to the weapons, take it from the shields if you have to!" Fox exclaimed. Then, the communication line went active…
The changeling was about to order a lateral run on the Allegiance when a comm. Line went active.
"I see you've been busy, changeling." Said an all-too-familiar voice.
"General Kylet'oran…" the changeling growled.
"That's right. You really didn't think I'd make your task that easy, did you? You played right into my hands." Kylet'oran said. The Kemoran's Incursion suddenly jolted at being hit with plasma disruptors. "Now, you pay for what you've done..." Kylet'oran said before closing the channel. This only served to infuriate the changeling.
"Find his ship and destroy it!" he barked.
"I can't, sir! He's firing directly through the cloak, I can't get a good sensor lock!" Replied his tactical officer. Looking to the forward viewport, the changeling saw the Great Fox II and the Allegiance accelerating…
The Dragon's Rage flew over the Kemoran's Incursion as Kylet'oran ordered,
"Target the Kemoran's Incursion's weapons and shields, all forward plasma disruptor banks on my mark!" The Dragon's Rage then let loose a barrage of cyan-colored plasma disruptor bolts and blue-green plasma torpedoes.
Of course, Kylet'oran realized that the Kemoran's Incursion outclassed his ship by four full levels, but the Class-II Dragonarian Warbird was specifically designed to take out ships more advanced than itself.
Seeing that the Dragon's Rage was going all-out on a Kemorainian advanced dreadnought, and that the Kemoran's Incursion was unable to keep a good lock on the Dragon's Rage, the Great Fox II and the Allegiance joined in on the attack…
The Dragon's Rage's ability to fire through the cloak was unexpected, but it gave the Star Fox Team the advantage they so desperately needed.
The Kemoran's Incursion suddenly fired an Ion Cannon that ripped off the Great Fox's starboard light speed nacelle. This done, the Great Fox II was immobilized.
In turn, the Kemoran's Incursion had its shields and engines knocked out by the Dragon's Rage and the Allegiance. But the Kemorainian Advanced Dreadnought was still facing the Great Fox II.
Then, Fox got a coded text message from Kylet'oran that said,
"Fox, the Kemoran's Incursion is about to fire its ion cannon at you. Prepare to translocate to my ship, we will destroy the changeling from there."
Before Fox could reply, he, Keldonar, Krystal, Falco, Slippy, and Amanda were translocated to the bridge of the Dragon's Rage, while their Arwings were translocated to the Hangar Bay.
It was then that the Kemoran's Incursion fired the Ion Cannon at the Great Fox II and obliterated it.
Fox felt a mixed sense of grief and anger, but kept that from showing.
"Deploy the HVIC," Kylet'oran said.
The Dragon's Rage then opened doors in its enormous belly, and the segmented cannon lowered from it. The ship de-cloaked as it prepared to fire…
The Changeling was shocked that his ship was paralyzed and powerless to stop the Class-II Dragonarian Warbird from using its special weapon. Knowing that he is only seconds away from death, it isn't fear that grips him, but a calming feeling… a peaceful feeling…
When the Dragon's Rage fired the HVIC, the depleted Uranium-Dragonium slug ripped right through the Advanced Dreadnought's armor and main reactor and exited the other side. The Kemoran's incursion then turned itself into a momentary sun as it exploded in one big, eerily silent, purplish explosion. Everyone watched silent ballet show of debris colliding with each other until there was nothing left but a large clutch of debris that marked the changeling's grave in space…
Chapter seven
New beginnings
Location: On board the Dragon's Rage orbiting Kemoran Prime
Time: 5:00 PM
Date: 11/2/2632
Kylet'oran sat in his ready room reading when Fox and Krystal walked in.
"Well, we're off to our new ship, the Peacekeeper." Fox said.
"Yes, I was just reading over the schematics. Impressive. So, where are you headed to?" Kylet'oran asked.
"To an unexplored area of space. Alliance command wants us to represent them in first contact with two new races that we've discovered." Fox answered. Kylet'oran smiled.
"I can't say I envy you. I've got a similar job, now that everyone isn't hunting my head." He said. Krystal's friendly smile faded as she threw her arms around Kylet'oran. It was almost as if saying "good-bye" was too hard for her to say.
"It was an honor to have fought at your side, General." Fox said.
"Likewise." Kylet'oran responded.
"Now that all this is over, I can't help but wonder… will I ever see you again?" Krystal whispered.
"You will," Kylet'oran replied. Krystal looked up into his eyes. For once, in all the time since she had met him, his light brown eyes weren't so lifeless.
Krystal slowly regained her composure and said,
"Until our paths cross again, General." With a military fashion that Fox never knew she had, Krystal stood to attention and saluted Kylet'oran. Kylet'oran promptly returned the salute, and Fox and Krystal left…
Fox, Falco, Slippy, Amanda and Krystal entered the bridge of their new Dragonarian/Kemorainian Hybrid ship, a Cobra-class assault battleship called the Peacekeeper, and took a moment to look around. It was going to take some getting used to, as well as getting used to the non-automated crew.
"Commander on the bridge!" Said a voice. Instantly, everyone on the bridge stood to attention. This, of course, gave the impression that Fox and his team had been elevated in galactic society from freelance mercenaries to high-ranking members of the alliance fleet.
Fox searched in his mind for the proper term that told the crewmembers to go back to what they were doing when Krystal said,
"As you were."
"Orders, sir?" asked the Kemorainian at the helm, indicating Fox. Fox hesitated. He considered this his first command. There was much to learn about being a starship captain, and commanding flesh-and-blood subordinates.
Star Fox was, of course, the same Star Fox it had always been. But now, their assignments came from Alliance High Command, and occasionally from the Shaadakh Draaco. With this in mind, Fox ordered,
"Take us to the Helena system, Light Speed Level six." The Peacekeeper then charged up its light speed coils and tore into light speed, headed to another adventure…