Starfox

Season One

2nd Edition

Episode Five Part Two

The Dusk of Eden

"The art of war is to never fight, but there are those who think otherwise and fight anyways. Those who are warriors of peace either die or live in prosecution. I am neither of those. If all warriors were neither of those, the damage caused by war and the time war takes would increase tenfold."

-Chancellor Simon Teo of the Second Vuku Reich

Last episode on Starfox, the Starfox team started recovering from their latest encounter with Andrew Oikanny. Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi were wounded and Fox McCloud has yet to wake from his slumber. Joseph Lemming, the recent addition to the Starfox team, was kidnapped. He met a human man named Moroni who addressed Joseph by the name of Helaman. Moroni told him of his ill daughter and that the cure for her was being hoarded by a mafia leader named Karl Schultz. After a rigorous trial, the Jäger entered what Moroni labeled a U-Jump.

And now the conclusion...

Joseph slowly awoke to the low roar of the Jägers' engines and with a painful headache. He opened his eyes and saw that he was still in the bridge. He sat up and saw a beautiful green planet out of the observation screen. "I see you've waken up, commander." Moroni stated from his command chair. Joseph looked around, dazed and confused. "Give it some time, accelerating at those speeds will give you a powerful headache." Moroni added.

Joseph looked back at the planet. "What's that planet out there?" He asked.

"Jehj. That is our planet. Beautiful, isn't it?" Moroni explained and asked.

"It really is beautiful." Joseph answered as he unbuckled the harnesses and attempted to stand up. He was slightly dizzy, but he ignored it and grabbed onto his chair. "Say, where do I start on stealing this cure?" Joseph asked.

"Tomorrow. This ship has been through a lot of battles and we need to restock. Until then, rest and enjoy all that our planet has to offer." Moroni answered. Joseph shook off his dizziness and sat back down in his chair. "We will be landing soon." Moroni added. The Jäger entered the atmosphere of the lush planet at dawn as bright fireworks went off below them. Cheering could be heard from the ground below as the ship slowly descended from the clouds.

From the ship, a giant and brightly cyan lit city came into view. The Jägers' landing pads extended from the keel and locked in place. The ships' secondary engines fired as the keel barely passed over a massive suspension bridge that went over a large river. The reverse thrusters fired and the ship slowly came to a stop over a brightly lit landing area. The thrusters slowly eased the vessel down until the landing pads hit the ground. The landing gears let out a loud hiss as they took the weight of the vessel and held it.

Soon, the sun rose from beyond the horizon as the fireworks ceased to be fired.

(Corneria)

(11:02 AM)

"If the exhaust trail ends there, then where could the ship have gone?" Pepper asked as he memorized the monitor screens in front of him.

"Maybe they didn't leave one." Falco suggested. Pepper gave him a disbelieving look. "Hey, it's possible." Falco added.

"You are right on that note, but even then, where would they be now?" Peppy asked.

"Well...your scout vessels found traces of active antimatter in the Meteo asteroid belt, right? What if that thing ran off of the same type of engine as the Endeavor?" Peppy suggested.

"That's a possibility, but how does that help us?" Pepper asked.

"Well, maybe we can adjust their scanners to pick up antimatter exhaust." Falco stated. "And then...The Endeavor could follow the trail." He added.

"Right." Pepper stated. The door to the small room slid open and it revealed Slippy.

"She's finished. Sadly, due to the rushing, she'll never be combat worthy again. No matter how much is replaced or repaired. Joseph won't be happy when hears about this." Slippy solemnly reported.

"It won't need to be combat ready. We just need it to scout for us." Pepper stated. "Prepare her for launch. You're going to retrace our kidnappers' steps for us." He added as he stood up.

"As in a combat role, her antimatter storage can only hold enough to get her to the Meteo asteroid belt and back." Slippy stated. "Unless you can fix that, she's useless now." He added.

"I'll make a few calls. You and Krystal need to gear up and be prepared to launch." Pepper ordered. Slippy nodded and left the room. "Falco, I need you to divert power from the stations' generator to the communications array. Boost the signal as much as you can." He commanded. Falco nodded and began accessing the computer command system.

Pepper unhooked a microphone device from the side of the computer and put it to his ear. He put a few commands into the computer and waited for a few seconds. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?" He spoke.

"We're here. What is the meaning of your call?" A deep voice spoke from the other side of the microphone.

"This is Cornerian High Command, we need you to boost your communications signal for us. We you need to patch us through to the second station in the Meteo asteroid belt." Pepper stated.

"Meteo?"

"Just boost the signal as much as you can for as long as you can." Pepper commanded.

"Yes, sir."

Pepper waited for a few minutes before the microphone picked up static. "Hello? Station two?"

"We're here. Give us your command codes to continue." Another voice commanded, but this time, there was slight static in the background.

"General John Pepper, codes, zero-two-nine-fifteen Echo Normandy Delphi two-seven-twelve." Pepper stated.

"Confirmed. What assistance do you require today, sir?"

"Boost your communications signal to overload for as long as you can. We need to reach the planet Macbeth."

"Macbeth? That's almost three light-hours away."

"I know that. Boost your signal anyway."

"Yes sir."

Pepper waited once again and soon, with much static, the microphone activated. "Macbeth. Hello?"

"General Pepper, what a- -hear from you again. How- -reach this planet?" A calm voice asked while the static continually grew in interference.

"Listen, we need you to patch us through to Kew. Immediately." Pepper said in a louder tone.

"Did you- -Kew? That planet is- -far away. Where are- -transmitting from?"

"We're transmitting from Corneria. Quickly, patch us through!" Pepper said in a worried tone.

"-sir. Patching- -now."

Pepper waited anxiously until the microphone activated again. "Kew? This is Corneria!" Pepper said while attempting to yell over the sound of static.

"-eria?! This is Kew. How- -service?"

"We need you to send a small transport of antimatter to the Meteo asteroid belt by tomorrow!"

"Antimatter?! Meteo? We- -try."

"Hand it over to a ship named, Endeavor!"

"Wait! What- -name of-!" The voice said before the signal disconnected. Pepper sighed and put the microphone back on its hook.

"Wait. Your codes shouldn't work. You're a former general." Falco stated.

"They don't know that." Pepper replied. Falco laughed. "What?" Pepper asked.

"You're going to be in a lot of trouble with the military." Falco answered as he calmed down.

"Them? Those people won't even touch me." Pepper smugly stated.

(Jehj)

Moroni and the senior officers marched down the unloading ramps with the entire crew of the ship behind them. The crew carried their own minimal belongings as they strongly marched behind the captain. Joseph followed behind Moroni as he looked around the outside of the ship. It was much bigger and far more detailed than what he imagined. He noticed small dents and small ballistic shells scattered throughout the keel.

Small streaks of rust lined parts of the ship where old impact damage was quickly patched up and left unfixed. There were burn marks surrounding the larger shell impact points where flak shells previously impacted.

"Who have you been fighting?" Joseph whispered to Moroni as he continued gazing at the ship above him.

"A former rebellion that likes to take advantage of pacifists named the Fhetakehom Dominion. They are the scum of the galaxy. Luckily, we fended them off many years ago, and they fell apart." Moroni answered with great distaste. "They took many many lives and we made them pay the price for that." He added.

"Then I can assume you have a great hatred for them, right?" Joseph whispered. Moroni grew tense as he thought about his answer.

"No, not anymore. I got rid of my hatred when they paid the price they were given." Moroni answered in a quiet voice while keeping his head forward. Joseph ended his questions there. The marching crew soon individually left the formation to meet their families in the city. Before long, only Joseph, Matthew, and Moroni were left in the landing area. "I will return, I must give my report to the assistant chief before we continue." Moroni stated before walking to a small brick building on the other side of the landing area. He opened the door to the building and closed it behind himself.

"You know, Mother Jehj wasn't always like this." Matthew stated as he looked at the beauty of the surrounding grasslands and cities.

"What do you mean by that?" Joseph asked as he looked at Matthew.

"Many decades ago, her inhabitants used to be bloodthirsty warriors. Including the captain, I might add." Matthew said monotonously as his facial expression became dull.

"What? How is that possible?" Joseph said in disbelief.

"This planet was black with death and its atmosphere was destroyed by pollution from our machines of war. We were the ultimate expression of destruction. We could have easily taken over anything we fought. When one of our bombs detonated in one of our labs, it devastated us. We scrapped all of our ships and tore apart all of our weapons. We cleaned up the atmosphere and replanted our greens. The explosion was never cleaned or fixed. We left it alone as a symbol of our past." Matthew explained.

"Then why do you fight?" Joseph asked.

"We were granted access to defend the planet from attackers a few decades ago. I was brought aboard the ship when my father joined the crew as the first officer." Matthew explained as he broke his monotone trance. Before Joseph could respond, Moroni had walked back to them.

"We should go."

(Cornerian Medical, Corneria)

Krystal closed the door to Foxs' medical room behind her and sighed. She wore a long gray trench coat made of cotton. She stepped up to where Fox laid, still unconscious. She shut out her emotions and spoke softly.

"I will be you leaving now. Me and Slippy are taking the Endeavor on a mission to track down Joseph. I don't know where I'll end up from here. I have a terrible feeling about how this situation will end. Then again, what do you care? You can't even hear me right now. I'm just trying to say, that when you wake up...you might not see me again." She whispered as she started shaking. "I can barely stand to see you like this. So close to death, yet...somehow alive." She whispered. She soon left the room in silence.
Slippy waited outside the hospital for Krystal while he memorized a manual that he had put together for himself. The two of them were to leave the planet soon.

(Jehj, Jäger)

(The Next Day)

The door to the bridge slid open and Joseph stepped into the room. "Welcome commander, take a seat, we will be leaving the planet soon." Moroni stated from his command chair.

"Okay." Joseph replied before sitting down and resting. The vessels' engine roared to life and began powering the thrusters. The hydraulic landing pads were lifted up from the ground and retracted into the vessel as its vertical thrusters fired. The Jäger slowly lifted up from the ground as its forward thrusters prepared to activate. At two hundred meters above the ground, the forward thrusters activated and the vessel soared into the bright blue sky. "Where are we going?" Joseph asked.

"We are heading to the planet of Vuku. You will be transported into where Schultz lives and you will silently acquire the cure. Is that clear?" Moroni asked.

"Clear." Joseph replied.

(Vuku, Outer Nebula Ring)

"Vuku is a stronghold planet surrounded by a nebula that can corrode any metal. We will have to transport you from outside of the nebula and you will notify us when you have the cure." Moroni explained as Joseph was given a handgun and a supply pack.

"Yeah. What type of resistance can I expect?" Joseph asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but be prepared for anything. Schultz is a smart man." Moroni explained. Joseph nodded as he was handed a full face mask that was connected by plastic tubes to an oxygen tank. The mask had holes for the eyes and was completely pearl white on the front.

"What are these for?" Joseph asked as he looked at the front of the mask.

"There is a slight chance that you will be transported into space. The mask is heated and the oxygen tank will keep you going for two minutes." Moroni explained. Joseph looked at him with a dumbfounded look. "Don't worry, we'll be able to transport you back to try again." Moroni added.

"I hope so. I'd rather not die by the vacuum." Joseph stated as he strapped the mask onto his face. "Okay, I'm ready to be transported." Joseph added.

"Good. Be safe and we might see you when you come back." Moroni stated as he nodded to his tactical officer, who was at the controls of the transporter. Joseph slowly faded into thin air with a bright green haze surrounding him.


Joseph reappeared in a large dark corridor. The floor was covered in a silky dark red carpet, the walls were dark purple with large beautiful paintings hanging on them. The ceiling was at least twenty feet high and the corridor was fairly wide. Joseph looked around, but he could barely see anything. Suddenly, he heard a muffled cough from down the hall behind him.

He slowly drew his gun and began taking silent steps in the direction he heard the cough. The hallway began to slightly curve to his left as he took more steps. He saw a door from around the corner with a dim yellow light from behind it. There were another few coughs and they were from behind the door. Joseph silently stepped up to the door and thought to himself.

"I don't know how many people there are behind this door. They could be armed or there might not be anyone behind it. Either way, this is the only room with a light turned on." Joseph thought before he took a deep breath and moved his left hand towards the handle. He quickly opened the door and to his surprise, there were no guards, no doctors, or anyone. There was simply, an old human man sitting in a dark red leather chair. The man had breathing tubes connected to his nostrils and what appeared to be a needle in his left arm connected to a plastic bag of a strange yellow liquid hung by a metal pole.

"Who are you?" Joseph asked as he aimed his gun at the old man. The old man shakily moved his head to look at a painting on the wall to his right. Joseph looked at the painting. It appeared to be a younger version of the old man. Somewhere in his late forties or fifties. There was a title in the corner. It read "Karl Schultz, the Rebellions' True Leader."


"Sir, we are receiving a transmission from Jehj, it's a high frequency transmission." The tactical officer reported worryingly.

"Put it through." Moroni commanded.

"Jäger, come in Jäger!" A male voice exclaimed.

"We're here. What's happened?" Moroni asked.

"We're under invasion! Captain, we're trying to evacuate the planet, but we'll never make it. There's too many of them! Fhetakehom is bombing the planet!"

"Hang on, we'll be there as soon as possible!" Moroni exclaimed. "Get me a link with Helaman! Now!" He commanded.


"You're Schultz. Where's the cure?" Joseph asked as he looked back to the old man and kept his gun sights pointed at him. The old man looked at the bag of yellow liquid.

"It doesn't work on me...but maybe it'll work on little Juniper...she's younger." Schultz stated in a raspy voice before coughing.

"Commander. Come in, commander." Moroni spoke over a headset built into the face mask.

"Moroni? Wh-?" Joseph whispered before he was cut off.

"Jehj is under attack. Do you have the cure?" Moroni asked. Joseph looked at the bag of liquid and put his gun away.

"Yeah, I have it." Joseph answered before he quickly unhooked the bag and disconnected the tube connecting to the needle from it. He then sealed the bag.

"Good, we're transporting you up now!" Moroni exclaimed before ending the transmission. Joseph looked at the old man.

"I am a force to be reckoned with. Best of luck, Terran scumbag." Schultz said before Joseph was transported away.


Joseph reappeared on the bridge of the Jäger and he quickly removed the face mask. "Hold onto the cure tightly! We're punching it out of here! Ensign, flank speed ahead!" Moroni commanded. Joseph dropped the mask on the deck and held the bag with both hands. The fuel lines to the forward thrusters slid open, leaking fuel into the thrusters. The starter in the center of the main thrusters sparked.

A loud roar screeched through the ship as the vessel accelerated beyond imaginable thought. Joseph was thrown into the aft wall of the bridge as he held onto the bag. His vision became red as blood rushed to his head into the back of his eyes. He soon lost his vision and passed out, still tightly holding the bag.

(To be continued)

[End Transmission]

Ammon Note: Hello ladies and laddies, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I look forward to the next. I also have a new logo to celebrate the one year mark of my creations. Yay.

Enough talk, go to the GreatMindofEarth DeviantART page to see artwork of the Endeavor and more! Also, go to the GreatMindsofEarth Tumblr page to see more awesome stuff! Finally, please R&R (Lingo for Read and Review.), and read on!