The giant Venomian battleship loomed over the ice planet of Fichina, much like it had loomed over nearly every other planet in the Lylat System. Slowly, the hangar doors on the underside of the ship screeched open, and twelve tiny dots of light were ejected from the massive ship, heading down into the atmosphere of Fichina in white-hot balls of fire.
"Probes ejected properly, captain," said a large bull at a computer monitor on the command bridge.
"Good. Direct three of them into each of the four hemispheres," said the ship captain, a black mongoose.
Each of the dots of light headed in a different direction, six of them heading towards the darkened western hemisphere of the planet and the other six heading to the eastern hemisphere, where the rays of Solar glimmered off the snow and ice on the surface.
One of the dots soared down through the atmosphere and crash-landed in a pile of snow and ice nearly five hundred feet high. When the smoke and upturned snow settled down, a large, black robot emerged from the melted snow and slush, floating over the plains of ice slowly. It extended a thin, metal limb and expanded a small satellite dish from its fingers, scanning the surrounding area. Upon picking up a large source of heat contrasted to the bitter cold of the rest of Fichina , it turned and began to follow the trail until it came to a large pile of snow.
The robot looked up at the snow. Apparently the heat readings were coming from beneath it. It slowly extended another limb and shot a thin, yellow laser out into the snow. After only a few seconds of drilling through the ice with the laser, the pile of snow exploded, and a gigantic, white-furred creature emerged, roaring. Apparently the sting of the laser had disturbed its rest.
Whirring surprisedly, the probe robot flew backwards a few meters, then increased the intensity of the laser beam and shot the creature as it lunged at the robot. With a burst of blood against the white snow, the gigantic creature toppled over, dead.
The probe robot retracted its laser beam, then began to scan the area once again. It soon picked up another source of heat, and took of north, constantly transmitting video footage to the Venomian battleship above so that could be retransmitted to the Venomian flagship.
***
Miles and miles away, another dark shape was making its way across the ice fields of Fichina. It was a Lagnua, one of the few species that lived on Fichina. Resembling a bipedal, reptilian goat in appearance, Lagnua were the camels of Fichina: high stamina, able to carry immense amounts of weight on their backs, resistant to freezing temperatures, and easily tamed.
Riding on a wide, leather saddle strapped to the Lagnua's back was another figure, clothed in thick, padded clothing and wearing snow goggles and a cloth face-guard. With a murmur of, "Woah," from the rider, the Lagnua stopped its run across the snow. It grunted softly, fogging the air in front of its nostrils briefly.
The rider looked up at the sky, peering through his tinted goggles at a bright object soaring down towards the snow. The object collided with a icy hillside, kicking up snow and dust in its wake.
The figure atop the Lagnua lifted his goggles up to the top of his hooded head and put a set of binoculars to his eyes, scanning the debris through them. He murmured something softly to himself, then reached up and pulled the cloth face-guard away from his muzzle, revealing the furry face of twenty-one-year-old Fox McCloud. Fox pulled back one of his thick winter gloves and typed a three letter code into a small radio on his wrist.
"Beta three to Gamma one, do you copy?" he said, brushing snow away from the radio. There was a crackle of static on the other end of the line. Fox frowned. "Beta three to Gamma one- oh, screw it- Falco, are you there? Hey!" he said louder.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on," came the voice of the blue bird through the radio. "Damn snowstorm is messing with the signals again. What's up?" Falco asked.
"I finished my patrol. None of my scanners have picked up anything. How about you?" Fox asked.
Static. Then Falco said, "Nothing for me either. If we took all the life on this ice cube and put it in the Eagle's Eye, I think there'd still be room for ten more." Falco was of course referencing his old freight ship, the Eagle, which had become a great asset to the Cornerian rebellion against the Andross empire.
Fox grinned. "Hey, I think there was meteorite that hit a few miles away from me. You can head back to base, I'm gonna go check it out," he said.
"Sure, okay. Just be careful, you don't want to get stuck out in the cold after dark, kid," said Falco.
"Thanks for the survival tip. I'll see you. Fox, out," chuckled Fox. He turned off the radio and was about to replace his cloth face-guard and goggles when the Lagnua he was riding shrieked with fear and reared back, almost throwing him out of the saddle. "Woah, woah!" he cried, clutching its neck to stay on. "Steady there, come on! What's the matter, you smell something?" he asked. The creature's eyes were wide with fear.
Fox frowned. Despite their rough outward appearance, Lagnua had incredibly sharp senses, and were often more accurate danger radars than scanning androids. He looked around, but saw nothing through the haze of fog and snow. He reached down and pulled a small sensory device from his belt, adjusting it to scan for heat sources. There was a large blip on the small screen of the device signifying him and the Lagnua... and an even larger one just behind them. Fox turned around again, blinking up at a massive pile of snow that hadn't been there a moment ago. But... no, it couldn't be snow. This object had matted, stinking white fur, razor sharp teeth and claws, and small, gleaming yellow eyes.
Fox's blaster never cleared its holster. Before he could even manage a shout of alarm, a giant fist clubbed him over the head, knocking him out cold and sending him toppling off the saddle into the snow. As his vision faded into blackness, he caught one last glimpse of the large creature catching the screaming Lagnua by the throat and snapping its neck.
The Polera ice monster surveyed its prey briefly, then began to drag both the Lagnua and Fox away.
***
Falco Lombardi, riding his own Lagnua and dressed in a large, fur-lined overcoat and thermal trousers, hurried out of the perpetual snowstorm of Fichina and into the relative warmth of the hangar at the rebel base. He hopped off the back of his mount and left it for a group of mechanics to take care of, nodding at a few maintenance androids as he passed them by. Removing his padded hat, hood, and tinted goggles, the blue bird hurried over to a bulky freight ship in the corner of the hangar.
"Slippy!" he shouted up at the Eagle's Eye.
"What?" a voice echoed down to him.
"Just checkin' if you were still repairing her," said Falco, heading off towards the hangar exit. Atop the Eagle, Slippy Toad, the Cornerian rebellion's top mechanic, muttered to himself, flipped a welding mask back over his face, and continued welding an ulti-steel plate onto the damaged hull of the ship. Over the four years that she had served the Cornerian rebels, Falco's prized freight ship had become battered beyond belief, but still remained one of the best ships in the fleet– mostly because of Falco's excellent piloting skills.
Falco headed into his living quarters and changed his warm outdoor clothing into his usual cream colored flight jacket, brown trousers, and white flight boots. He examined his image in the mirror briefly, made sure the feathers atop his head weren't mussed up from removing his hat, then winked at his reflection and headed out towards the command center of the base.
As he walked through the chilly tunnels of the rebel base, a growing feeling of guilt began to gnaw at Falco's insides at the prospect of leaving Fox, Krystal, Slippy, and the Cornerian rebellion. He knew he had promised himself to leave the rebellion before, but had always put it off with thoughts of, Just one more month, or, Fox needs me on this one, I'll stay just for this battle. Now the only thing keeping him from leaving this desolate block of ice was the fact that the hyperspeed jets on the Eagle had been damaged in a dogfight while attempting to lead the Cornerian rebellion to Fichina. It had taken six months just to repair the hull, and now Slippy claimed that he had just about finished his work on the ship. Falco just had to report that he was leaving to his superiors, and he was gone.
You should have told Fox, a part of him scolded.
He would have just convinced me to stay longer. Just about every bounty hunter in the system is looking for me, I can't waste any more time here! Falco said back.
They'll stop searching sooner or later.
Like hell they will, the criminals on Katina don't forget it when you mess with them.
Falco shrugged in indifference. After he had payed off his debt to Emmett Eelardo, leader of a gang known as the Katina Outfit, he could rejoin the Cornerian rebellion. He hurried down the ice-lined tunnels of the base and into the command center. Not surprisingly, both General Pepper and Krystal the vixen, leaders of the Cornerian rebellion, were there watching a set of computer monitors.
"Hey general," Falco said, nodding at Pepper.
"Hello, Falco. What's the problem?" Pepper asked without taking his eyes off the computer screen, which showed the different heat patterns on the surface of Fichina.
Falco grimaced. General Pepper always seemed to know when something was wrong. "Uh, I've been thinking about it for a while, and now that my ship is repaired... I mean, I don't wanna seem like I'm abandoning you or anything–"
"But you have to leave," concluded Pepper, looking sidelong at Falco with his wise, old eyes. "It's alright, I understand your situation. A man with a bounty on his head can't stay in the same place for too long," he said.
Falco nodded slowly. "Okay. Thanks general," he said slowly. Then he turned to Krystal, who glanced at him briefly.
"What? I'm fine with you leaving," she said.
Falco shrugged, grinning. "Just thought you'd want to give me a farewell kiss, that's all," he snickered.
Krystal rolled her eyes and looked back at the screen. She knew that Falco was only joking. Over the years, Krystal had developed a relationship wit Fox McCloud, who was now a commander in the rebellion, and Falco respected this enough not to try and flirt with Krystal. Besides, he and the blue vixen had always had somewhat of an antagonistic friendship.
"No? Alright, I guess I'll get back to my ship then," Falco said, grinning to himself. He walked out of the command center. After a few moments of hesitation, Krystal hurried out after him.
"Falco!" she shouted to him as he walked down the hall.
"Changed you mind?" he asked.
"No! I was just wondering... I mean, I lied before. I do care that you're leaving. Not because of any reason besides the fact that you're a great help to us," she said.
Falco shrugged. "Sorry, no can do. I'm probably putting the rest of the rebellion in danger just by staying," said Falco.
"What would Fox say?" Krystal asked sternly.
Falco blinked. "I'm leaving now so Fox can't stop me," he said stiffly. "It's not something I want to do, Krystal, it's something I have to do."
"But you're his best friend, how could you just leave him like this?" Krystal said.
The two of them continued arguing until they reached the hangar. Upon entrance, a tall, lanky maintenance android approached them.
"There you are, Captain Lombardi, I was looking for you," said ROB 64. "Slippy has told me that there is a slight problem wit the hyperspeed jets," he said.
"What kind of slight problem?" asked Falco.
"... One exploded," said ROB flatly. "But Slippy has said that another is being built right now. You should be ready to leave in just a few more days, captain," he said.
Falco gaped at the android. "What? I don't have a few more days, I– Slippy, where the hell are you?" Falco shouted up at the Eagle.
"I'm right here, there's no need to shout!" Slippy said, poking his head out of a service hatch on the top of the freight ship.
"Yes there is, you blew up one of my hyperspeed jets!" Falco cried.
"Not my fault!"
"Then who's is it?"
The bird and the toad argued for at least ten minutes before Falco took up a wrench and began helping Slippy. A few minutes later, both of them commanded ROB to help as well.
"I fly ships, I don't think I'm a very good repair android," protested ROB.
"You're built for maintenance too, now pick up a wrench and get to work!" Falco commanded. ROB grudgingly obeyed.
Krystal watched the three of them tinker away at the topside of the ship for a few minutes, then turned away. "Just think about what I said, Falco. We need you here," she said, walking off towards the command center.
"Fine, fine, I'll think about it," lied Falco.
***
Fox slowly opened his eyes. Where was he? He tried to sit up, but was stopped by a stinging throb in the back of his skull. He let it recede, then tried to sit up again, only to find that he wasn't even laying on the snowy ground. He was dangling upside down, his two feet stuck to the ceiling of a wide, icy tunnel by what appeared to be frozen wads of saliva.
Fox looked around, trying to clear his mind. Okay, so he had gotten attacked, he was in a cave... and sitting in the snow only ten yards away from him was the Polera ice creature that had knocked him out. It was feasting on a large, bloody hunk of raw meat, which Fox quickly realized belonged to his Lagnua mount. And if he didn't escape, the same would happen to him.
The young commander tilted his head up to his feet, considering trying to slip out of his boots. But he found that an unwise choice. Even if he could escape, his feet would become frozen off in the cold. Next Fox pulled his blaster out of its holster, aiming it at the icy saliva cementing his feet to the ceiling. After a few moments of hesitation, Fox realized that he had a high risk of shooting a few of his toes off as well.
So what to do?
Fox holstered his blaster again, frantically looking for a means to escape. Across the tunnel, the Polera monster was beginning to finish the main meal, and was about ready to move on to Fox as dessert.
And suddenly Fox saw it, laying in the snow just inches out of his grasp. He'd had it fashioned by rebel scientists years ago, modeling it after a weapon used by pilots before the rise of the Andross empire. It was supposed to be used in case of a fighter crash in enemy territory, but nowadays pilots were merely given a blaster. But not Fox. He followed the old methods, the ones taught to him by Peppy Hare. It was the type of weapon that Peppy had used before his death by the hands of Andross' lieutenant, Cain.
Fox desperately reached for the hilt of the energy sword, stretching his fingers, stiff with cold, as far as they could go. But the metal handgrip was still just two centimeters away. Fox tried again, frantically swinging his arm out towards the energy sword handgrip, this time accidentally knocking it further away from his hand.
Fox cursed silently, accidentally catching the attention of the Polera monster. The creature rose to its feet, black gore dripping from its sharp teeth. Fox began to sweat nervously despite the cold. He reached for his blaster to try and shoot the creature from upside down, but fumbled it and accidentally dropped it into the snow below him.
Fox was acting too erratic. He had to be calm, focused. Krystal had often taught him that in stressful situations, the relaxed soldier was often the one that survived the longest. As though there was something in Krystal that awakened a part of him, Fox had recently become able to do things– miraculous things, much like Krystal's telepathy. Fox found that if he concentrated as hard and as focused as possible, he could nudge small objects in different directions without touching them. He didn't know how he could do it, but he could.
Fox reached out towards the handgrip of the energy sword, letting his fears and doubts drain out of his body. The Polera began lumbering towards him, its long tongue licking a piece of raw meat off its bloody chops.
Fox closed his eyes, breathing slowly. He ignored the cold and the numbness and tried to imagine the hilt of the weapon in his hand. Please, he said to himself inwardly. Please help me.
The hilt of the weapon trembled in the snow for a few seconds, then suddenly shot into Fox's outstretched hand, a white blade of energy extending from it in midair. Acting immediately, Fox swung the weapon up, slicing around the ice over his feet with the fine point of the blade and letting himself drop to the snowy ground.
He immediately jumped up and waved the energy sword in front of the Polera creature frantically. The monster blinked slowly, confused at the bright bar of light extending from its prey's hand. But the fear didn't last for long, and it once again reached towards Fox.
Fox leapt forward and brought the blade down, slicing the monster's hand off. The Polera roared with fury and lunged at Fox again, but Fox quickly stabbed it through the chest, swept his blaster up from the snow, and sank three blaster bolts into the creature's furry head. It died almost instantly.
Fear suddenly gripping at his heart at the prospect of more monsters in the cave, Fox holstered the blaster, hooked his deactivated energy sword into his belt, and staggered out of the cave and into the cold.
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Author's Note: Well, here's the first chapter. I think the chapters will be longer in this one than in the first. Please review! And I have a question: which character should Yoda be? Or should I make up an original character to be him?