Star Fox: Regime – a fan fiction by Wolf Reynolds
"Star Fox" and all related characters and trademarks are © Nintendo, Inc.
Story © 2009 Wolf Reynolds

CHAPTER 6

West Realgar Street – Corneria City, Planet Corneria. Two hours later. (1308 hours, CCT).

Krystal sat in the passenger's seat of Fox's speeder and waited patiently for Fox to finish the errand he was running across the street. The speeder's top was down, and the fresh autumn breeze played gently with Krystal's hair as she looked into the clear blue sky. Even though it was autumn, the afternoon was warm – the city's one last attempt to hold on to summer. The speeder sat parked on the side of Realgar Street, one of the main streets of the city. It was in the heart of the downtown area, but the damage from the Aparoid attack didn't look nearly as bad as Krystal had expected. It was even a little suspicious to her. Certainly, the city was severely damaged; there were numerous buildings quite charred and a few which were completely bombed-out, but the people on the streets seemed optimistic and ready to carry out business as usual. She certainly didn't see the need for complete military control; that sort of measure would normally be reserved for preserving order in the city, and it was not as if the city was in chaos.

Still, she couldn't look anywhere without seeing watchful Cornerian soldiers, all fully armed. She supposed the presence of a peacekeeping force should have made her feel safer, but it didn't; it only made her feel tense at the realization of how fragile Corneria truly was at the moment. If Fox had felt uneasy about it, he certainly hadn't let it show. She was amazed by how he was outwardly able to weather any sort of crisis. Fox came out of a building across the street and briskly walked back over to the driver's side of the speeder. He handed Krystal a brochure of some kind as he got in.

"So when do we leave?" Krystal asked, eyeing the brochure while trying to look at Fox at the same time.

"First thing in the morning," Fox answered with a smile, "I just got us a basic space flight; not an elaborate cruise or anything like that, but the destination will be worth the trip. Sorry we can't afford much more than that right now."

"It's all right," Krystal smiled, "I don't care how or where, as long as we're going."

"I thought you had your heart set on Sauria," Fox said as he started the engine of the speeder and pulled it back out onto the street.

"My heart is set on you, Fox," Krystal said, "I want to go to Sauria, but I'd be just as happy with Zoness, as long as we go together." Fox recoiled at the mention of Zoness; that was one place he would be happy to never see again as long as he lived. Krystal looked over the brochure; it was well-designed, with pictures of a sunset over a beach. On the front was a picture of the planet Sauria taken from orbit. There was red lettering on the back, however, and it caught Krystal's eye. She saw it and said, "What's this?"

Fox concentrated on driving but glanced in her direction and asked, "What's what?"

Krystal began to read the notice aloud, "Listen to this, 'Warning to all travelers on space flights from Lylat sectors: recent crises have caused a necessity for warships to depart from normal patrol stations to counter military threats. As a result, the Lylatian Ministry of Travel and Tourism has issued a Piracy Alert. If you are traveling on a civilian vessel, be aware that your vessel may be targeted by pirates or other hostile forces. This risk is not a major risk and should not deter you from traveling, but the Ministry would like all travelers to be aware and act accordingly; do nothing to make yourself a target, and exercise common sense when traveling off world.' That's all it says."

"Hmm," Fox said, "That has a familiar ring to it."

"What do you mean?"

"The first time I beat Andross – before I met you," Fox said, "There were a lot of reports of piracy then, too. Chasing pirates was all we did until the Sauria thing came up. Maybe that's why Wolf wouldn't leave me alone."

"But wasn't he working for Andross?" Krystal asked.

"He makes his own way, Krys," Fox answered, "He's a lot like me in some ways – I've tried to hold that against him, but I never really could. There are days when I wonder if we truly are enemies at heart."

"He saved your life," Krystal said.

"More than once," Fox admitted, "And I've done the same for him. It usually seems best for us to go our separate ways."

"You always do," Krystal went on, "He's a pirate; I wonder where he is and if he's part of all this."

"If he's even still alive," Fox said, "All those Aparoids surrounding his team – he must have gone down. He must have. I can't think he survived that."

"Do you hope he survived it?" Krystal asked.

Fox sighed. "I don't know," he exhaled. He truly didn't know; he and Wolf had had numerous encounters since Andross's defeat, and almost none of them had been particularly pleasant. Deep inside, though, Fox couldn't bring himself to wish Wolf dead. Wolf's death would certainly have simplified many complications for Fox, but not if he had been the cause of Wolf's death; in spite of his fractured past, Fox knew in his heart and conscience that he had no right to take Wolf's life, no matter what Wolf had done to him. Andross and Pigma Dengar had been different. Pigma was without honor; somehow, Fox had always known that Pigma's own greed was far more deadly than any weapon he brought to bear against Pigma. In the end, Fox knew Pigma would destroy himself. Of course, Fox had never experienced a moment of guilt over destroying Andross. Andross had been more than a murderer; it wasn't merely a personal quest for vengeance on Fox's part. Andross had been a tyrant – what he couldn't control, he destroyed. A mind so brilliant and yet so thoroughly depraved as Andross's was more dangerous than the deadliest weapon in the Lylatian arsenal. Fox had to bring him down. He would have done it again without a second thought, and not only because Andross had killed his father.

Hopefully, that was all behind them now. Fox wondered what his next meeting with Wolf would be like, if there was to be a next meeting; he wondered (and even secretly hoped, perhaps) if Wolf had decided to put aside his animosity towards Fox – Wolf had, after all, proven that he was willing to sacrifice himself on the Aparoid home world. Whether or not that sacrifice had been for Fox or for the Lylat System as a whole, Fox wasn't sure he would ever know. If the answer was ever to be known, only time would tell.

Krystal tried to look on the bright side of their current situation. As she saw it, there was nothing that could dampen the spirits of a newlywed couple so passionately in love; Fox was a bit of a pessimist, but she didn't let that bother her, nor did she hold that against Fox. For her, though, life was going well. Inwardly, Fox was quite happy with life, in spite of all that had happened recently. He had lost the Great Fox, but his team was still intact, he was with the one he loved, and he had reconnected with Bill and Fara – two old friends he hadn't seen since the Androssian Uprising.

As Fox was driving back towards his apartment near the base, he saw a group of soldiers in uniform guarding the street ahead. One of the soldiers (an officer who was obviously the one in charge) stepped forward and held up a hand as the soldiers behind him lowered a gate. Fox brought the speeder to a halt as he approached the soldier. He noticed the officer's rank insignia and said, "Good afternoon, Lieutenant."

"Good afternoon, sir," the lieutenant replied. His reply was courteous enough, but it was obvious from the scowl on his face that he was not in the mood for idle banter. He said, "Papers, please."

Fox paused a moment, then said, "Of course," as he fished his identification out of his pocket and handed it to the lieutenant.

The lieutenant looked at his license card for a moment, handed it back to him, and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. McCloud, but this sentry post hasn't received any orders to let anyone but military personnel through."

"What?" Fox asked, though not sounding particularly surprised, "What do you mean? We are 'military personnel'."

"Let's see your dog-tags, then," the lieutenant ordered.

"I haven't got any, Lieutenant," Fox said, beginning to grow impatient, "I live by the base. I'm Fox McCloud of Star Fox – we're special forces for hire. I have a writ of passage from the General of the Cornerian Army."

"Why don't I just call to confirm that?" the lieutenant asked gruffly, doubting Fox's implausible statement.

Fox had run out of tolerance. He irately grabbed a sheet of paper, nearly tearing it as he yanked it out of his pocket and shoved it into the MP's hand, "Better yet, why don't you just take a look at this? I told you, this comes from the General of the Cornerian Army, General Pepper. Notice the rank equivalence of colonel here," Fox pointed angrily, "I may not technically be in the Cornerian Army, but by the general's orders, I still outrank you. I want this gate opened, Lieutenant," Fox paused a moment as the lieutenant's stone face seemed to melt a bit, "Now!"

The lieutenant exchanged stares with Fox for a few moments, but he quickly gave up. He brusquely turned and shouted, "Corporal!" and made a sweeping motion with his free hand as he gave the paper back to Fox. The soldier by the gate dropped its counterweight and raised the gate. The lieutenant stepped aside and allowed Fox and Krystal to pass. Without a word, Fox nudged the control stick forward and drove onward.

"The crisis isn't a week past," Fox grumbled once they were out of sight of the checkpoint, "And already it's like this. The Aparoids are gone – High Command must be getting paranoid to be looking for infiltrators."

"Well…" Krystal considered a few moments, "Maybe it's just the prudent thing to do, with it being this soon after the invasion – there may be things about the Aparoids that we didn't know."

"Checkpoints, maybe," Fox nodded, "But sealing off big portions of the city – parts of the city where a lot of civilians live? Suppose I wasn't a close friend of General Pepper. How would we get home?"

"I see what you mean," Krystal reluctantly agreed, "But it seems like it's out of our hands."

"That's the worst part of a military government," Fox sighed.

Not wanting to dwell on what was beyond their control, Krystal changed the subject. "If we're leaving first thing in the morning, I'll need to start packing as soon as we get home," she said, "How long will we be gone?"

"As long as you want," Fox answered, "I only chartered a one-way trip."

"Whatever for?" Krystal asked.

"Because right now I just want to leave and forget that Corneria exists," Fox said earnestly, "We've done our duty to king and country – we'll worry about getting a flight back when it comes to that point."

Krystal just nodded. She was usually the practical one, but she wasn't sure she felt any differently than Fox. Fox had spent the better part of his twenty-eight years either sitting in the cockpit of his Arwing or exchanging blaster fire with an enemy of Corneria, and it was beginning to catch up with him. Even though Fox was not yet thirty, Krystal could see an occasional strand of grey in his head. He was tired; perhaps the untrained eye couldn't see it, but Krystal could tell. It wasn't just a physical tiredness, either. Fox was just as physically capable (if not more so) than anyone his age; he was tired of the life he led. He had no choice but to keep going, though. At least Krystal gave him some sense of purpose apart from chasing ghosts for vengeance now two years completed.

Fox McCloud's apartment, near Corneria Central Defense Force Base. Ten hours later. (2322 hours, CCT).

Fox suppressed a yawn as Krystal closed the last suitcase and latched it. Fox took it and put it by the door with the rest of the luggage. Krystal looked around as though she were nervous that something would come up and call Fox away so that he wouldn't be able to go with her in the morning. Between moving bits of luggage around and getting himself ready to go to bed, he kept hugging her and stealing quick kisses, tacitly reassuring her that nothing was going to come between them now.

"Anything I can do to help, Fox?" Bill asked as Krystal said her took her leave with a yawn.

"No, thanks, Bill," Fox answered as he shoved all of the suitcases into a corner by the door, "That's the last of it. Oh, that reminds me…" Fox produced a key from his left pocket and quickly tossed it in Bill's direction. Bill caught it quite deftly as Fox said, "You'll probably need that while we're away."

"Thanks," said Bill, "I'm leaving, too, in three days. Remember?"

"That's all right," said Fox, "Just leave that with Peppy when you go." Bill nodded silently in acknowledgement.

"You look tired," Bill observed.

"Yeah," Fox nodded as he rubbed his eyes a little, "I guess the starship-lag is getting to me. I'm still trying to catch up after Area 6, but it's been too busy. Why?"

"Hey," Bill shrugged, "Just noticing. That, and you look like you've got a lot on your mind. You're gonna wear yourself thin at this rate. Trust me – I know. I've been there."

"Well, thanks," Fox yawned. He took one last look at the arrangement of luggage by the door and said, "I think that takes care of everything. I'm going to bed now – it's late, and Krystal and I have an early morning tomorrow if we're going to get to the spaceport on time. Just call out if you need anything."

"Right, Fox," Bill sighed, "If I'm still asleep when you leave in the morning…" He wasn't quite sure how to finish.

Fox looked him in the eye and said, "Yeah, I feel the same way, Bill. I owe you a lot. You and Fara both; will you let her know? I just hope I can return the favor some time."

"You owe me?" Bill chuckled, "I still owe you one for stepping in on Katina. You and your team are the only reason we weren't wiped out. Good night, Fox. Sleep well."