A/N: Surprise ending ahead… Muwahaha. Also, after this chapter, I'd like to explore Fara and Marcus' relationship more in depth… just a little. I won't make it a centralized theme, but I would like to have them go to the next step in their relationship… I'm not quite sure what that will be, just yet… There is plenty of passion felt between the two foxes, but their relationship needs more 'true love' spin. I'll see about exploring that avenue in the near future.
Chapter -8-
"Back to Work"
Slippy Toad stood on the catwalk, watching Theodore and his friends gear up for battle. He lifted his handheld communicator and took a snapshot with the integrated camera feature. He turned his head to Fox McCloud and grinned. "I want my six years b-b-back, Fox. I can identify with K-Krystal. I mean, we finally come back and our kids are g-grown. Amanda feels the same way."
"Funny how Falco was true to his word," replied McCloud. The vulpine pilot placed his paws on the handrail and watched as his school-hood friend slid down into the cockpit far below. "I told him I would leave the team to be with Krystal and he said he'd fly and fight until the day he died." (SF: Command)
"I'm too old to chase down bogies," said Slippy with a shrug. "But you're not."
"We're the same age!"
"It's a mentality thing," explained the frog with a shrug. "I'm happier when I'm tinkering. Look at Peppy – he picked up a hobby and relaxed. But I'm willing to wager if Mister James was still alive, he'd still fly on occasion."
"Funny you should say I'm…" Fox paused then reworded his statement. "It's amusing you think I'm still in the frame of mind to gallivant around Lylat." His eyes met those of Slippy and the two grinned at one another. Fox brought his right paw back and rubbed at the nape of his neck. "Now that Krystal doesn't remember me kicking her off the team and making her second fiddle to Star Fox, she's actually trying to convince me not to retire. But it doesn't feel right."
"Why not?" Slippy jabbed his friend in the hip. "Now is your chance, dummy."
Fox shook his head. "She's not in the right frame of mind. It's… how do I explain this? She's…"
Slippy lifted his hands and said, "It's like that girl back in high school – she wanted to sleep with you, but you refused because she was drunk. You knew she wouldn't have slept with you the day before, when she was sober, so you refused her request the next night, when she was lit up like a chandelier."
"More or less," said Fox with a confirming nod. "If Krystal still had her memories, she would be content to lay down our family arms and stop being the Warriors of Lylat. I hurt her in the past when I put Star Fox first and her heart second. And that's just it, back then she would have fought with me, side by side, until we were older than dirt. But because I made her feel ashamed; because I kicked her off the team and said, 'It's too dangerous for you' I sullied things for her. I soured her idea of what I do for a living."
"You screwed up."
Fox grinned. "Exactly. Funny how you're usually the wordy one and this time you summed up that whole rant in just a few words."
"Yeah, f-f-funny how that worked out, huh?" Slippy ribbed him again. "When she gets her memories back, you retire. For now, if she doesn't want to retire then don't retire. Why? It's simple, Fox. You're compromising. What if you're doing the opposite of what you did to her before? Last time, you kick her off the team… but what you really did was alienate her. If she doesn't want to retire and you do it anyway… guess what you're doing all over again? You're alienating her. Remember back when I helped you during the Anglar invasion? I l-l-left Amanda on Aquas to help you. But I did my best to make contact with her during the mission. I told her that I won't be long – that everything will be all right. She was understanding because I talked to her and I didn't alienate her. Yes, I chose Star Fox over my fiancé, but I talked to her about it as best as I was capable of doing with the system-wide communications grid down at the time. I asked her to forgive me, but told her I had to put Lylat, honor and my duty first… so I could protect everyone including her."
Fox canted his head, offering the frog a sidelong glance. "There… much wordier." They both turned their heads to the flight deck, watching as each ship took off. The well-aged fox sighed and said, "I wish I lost my memories. Then I wouldn't treat Fara's relationship with such disrespect. And, yeah… you're right. Women can be pretty understanding if you just sit down and talk things out. I didn't do that with Krystal – I just kicked her off the team, thinking she would go become a philosopher or something."
"She had a tame heart when you met her," said Slippy, adding, "But she's always been fiery. The first time you put a gun in her hand, she was ready to k-k-kick some t-tail. As dad used to say about me, she lives her life with gusto."
"What's that supposed to mean? She's zealous?" Fox cradled his head to his paws, supported on the catwalk beam by his elbows, watching as the last fighter left the flight deck. "I wish we had fighters down there – I really want to be in a cockpit right now."
"I guess he meant passion." Slippy shrugged. "If you're out there giving it your all, living your life by the seat of your skivvies… If you don't have r-regrets, if you're fighting with your heart… you're doing it with 'gusto'. Dad liked to use his fancy vocabulary once in a while… I'm starting to pick up on that in my old age."
"You're fifty-five," said Fox, shaking his head.
"No, but you are, Fox. I turn fifty-five in six weeks. …Old man." The two grinned at one another again.
"How fast can your shuttle get us back to Katina? Maybe we can borrow some Cornerian military fighters – Bill Gray owes me."
Slippy shook his head with a delighted grin. "You're incorrigible! Are you really that hard-pressed to go out there and fly with your son? Fine, I've got a fighter for you. C'mon, let's go get you suited up, loaded out and in the air."
Fox quirked his brows and tilted his head in confusion. He fell into step behind Slippy and walked to the stairs at the end of the catwalk.
An explosion rocked the squadron. Marcus broke to port while Falco, Theodore and Vivian cut to the starboard. Fara moved down, breaking away on her own. McCloud drew his grandfather's sunshades and pushed them up his snout until they were snug on his face. "It sure is bright out here – is everyone's cockpit polarized? Let's try and use the sunlight to our advantage. I want to try and turn these guys towards the sun, so that they have no choice but to fly with their instruments."
"This is quite a battleship," said Fara over the dashboard communicator. "How in the heck did Venom build one without Corneria finding out?"
"We'll worry about that later," said Falco over the channel. "Let's rough these guys up. Let Corneria go through the wreckage and investigate all the details later."
"The firepower is too much," said Vivian next. "We've got two very experienced pilots, but I'm sitting here doing the math – let's just say I don't like stalemates, so we need to come up with a good battle plan, here."
"Anyone else have something to say?" asked Falco. "No? Then let's quit the yackin' and start fighting. I've got a multi-lock, so I'm going after their turrets."
"Hold up," replied Marcus in a sharp voice. "I sense that's their plan – I think that's how they destroyed the Cornerian recon group. They probably waited until the fighters got close. We need some way to confuse them. There's only five of us, so we need to be smart about this."
"Don't let yourself get frustrated." Fara's voice was smooth and calm. "Do what you've got to do to relax your mind, Marcus. Let's start with their fighter cover first. We'll lure them away from the big fish then we'll converge on it as a group."
"Is that the official plan?" asked Falco.
"Works for me, let's take it too'em," said McCloud, coming about with his Arwing. He locked on to the nearest enemy fighter then engaged his boost to chase. "There sure are a lot of these guys! What's the usual escort? Eight fighters or so?"
Theodore's voice entered the channel. "We're easily up against forty heavy-armored fighters and sixteen highly maneuverable light fighters. Fifty-six against five… Heck, I don't give a hill of beans; I've seen worse! Let's show'em who's the boss in these parts!"
"That's my language! Now you're talking my lingo," Falco crowed. Seconds later, a flash illuminated the sector. Falco Lombardi scored the first official kill. His voice returned to the channel, filled with excitement. "Now that is what I'm talking about… Jeeze, hold up – I've got three guys on my tail. I think they mean business… dammit. C'mon… c'mon…"
Another flash filled the area, followed by a new voice. "Just stay calm." The voice belonged to Fox McCloud. Seconds later, three explosions registered on the second scope; three red dots, the ones trailing behind Falco Lombardi, disappeared. The avian came about, parallel to the Little Wyvern.
"Gee… I've been saved by Fox… how swell. What in the heck are you doing out here? And in your father's old dinosaur? Heh, you'd better not scratch it – I hear Fara paid a lot of money for that thing."
Fox's visual filled everyone's dashboard screen. "Do I ever scratch my ship? Oh, wait, that's you, Falco." He offered a grin then said, "Besides, Fara paid for what was inside of the ship. While loading Nova bombs, we found a diary belonging to dad and some other stuff stored in the belly. I'll tell you guys all about it later. Let's rock'n roll!"
"Hallelujah," shouted Lombardi, falling into formation with his old team leader. "C'mon, kids! I'm ready to stomp these losers!"
"Get back into formation with your real team leader," Fox said in a somewhat scolding tone of voice. His admonishment was fairly surprising to everyone but he stood behind his decision on the matter, adding, "Falco, Marcus needs a complete team behind him if he's to have any chance out here, right?"
Fara came to Fox's defense on the matter, anticipating something nasty from the avian. She cleared her voice and said, "I'll go with Fox and we'll worry about the nimble fighters. While we keep those guys off your backs, take out the heavy fighters because they're the ones who are well armed and able to cause problems for us. I want to keep those guys from taking out our place to land, if you know what I mean."
In a completely relaxed voice, Falco finally said, "It's all good, guys – it doesn't matter which McCloud I fly with, so long as we get the job done." His voice took on a sharp tone, shouting, "Here they come!"
"Everyone check your Heads Up Display," exclaimed Theodore. All the fighters, save for the Little Wyvern, displayed a holographic display of the enemy numbers. A bar to the far left showed the shields of the battleship. "Okay, that thing is still at full power – I don't know if we're carrying anything that will put a hole through their phase shields. Maybe a combination of our fire power will cut through. We'll have to see what happens."
"Permission to break formation?" chimed Vivian.
"Stay on the heavies," Marcus told her. "Leave the quick little light fighters to Fara and dad – let's do this, gang." He cut to the left and dropped behind a well armed heavy fighter. His targeting computer analyzed the enemy's payload and flashed a warning on his canopy's HUD. The fox narrowed his eyes. "They're carrying ship-killer torpedoes. I wish I could figure out their original target so I could get an idea about what's going on with the bad guys."
"Look at that…" Fara's voice was respectful, full of wonder. "Everyone, Fox and I made it around to the starboard side of the battleship… They have an Imperial logo painted on the far side. They also have quantum torpedo bays on the front end. The tubes jut ten feet out the front of their hull. They could target multiple ships and fire upon everything all at once. We have no choice but to destroy this thing. I want to know her mission, too… but that thing is too dangerous; we have to take it out immediately."
"Fara's right," said Fox. "This thing looks as though it's designed to wage war against a small battle fleet. There are over sixty torpedo tubes on the starboard side, gang. Also, our fighters won't have the firepower to scratch this thing."
A new feminine voice joined the communication's channel. "And that's why I'm here to join the party!" Krystal, at the helm of the GreatFox – the team's fully-assembled flying fortress – brought the large ship in at a high rate of speed from the opposite end of the sector. "I'm engaging their ship, using the help of Lucy and Slippy. ROB is manning the turrets. We're going to go after their shield generators and engines. It appears their weapons are off line, save for the torpedoes. We're staying on their port, away from those torpedo bays. So! Keep those heavy fighters off of us, sweetheart."
"Krystal!" Fox, incredulous from her appearance, appeared both pleased and worried.
"I'm not the kind of girl to sit on the sidelines," she said, adding, "At least I don't think I am – it doesn't seem natural, that's for sure. So, keep those heavies off of GreatFox!"
"We're on it, mom," replied Marcus with a slight grin tugging on his muzzle. "Okay, Vivian, break formation and use your multi-lock. Falco, target all the heavy fighters and as soon as Vivian fires, you fire off a second shot. We'll hit'em in rounds. Theodore, try and send the information to GreatFox, so they can see whatever it is your personal sensor is showing. I want them to know the shield levels of that battleship before they begin fighting it."
"I'm working on it," said Theodore in a quick, short tone. "Geeze, I'll admit – this thing is making me nervous, that ship is really quite big. How in the world did Venom construct one without anyone even seeing it?"
"Worry about that crap later," shouted Falco. "Let's get this thing out of commission, already!"
Back on the GreatFox, Krystal sat on the edge of the captain's chair. Lucy sat in front of the helm with ROB at the tactical controls. Slippy sat in another chair over on the facing wall, pressing buttons. He looked over his shoulder and told her, "The hull plating is polarized. We're ready for battle."
Chester, seated at the communication's station, said, "I've scanned the sector for radio activity – I don't think these guys have any backup hiding in the asteroids. We're safe to engage without worry."
The lithe blue vixen scooted off the chair and stood. She sauntered towards the main view screen; hips sashayed with a flit of her tail for each and every step. Krystal stopped in front of the screen and rubbed the bottom of her jaw, thoughtfully. "It looks like we have a clear path right now."
"It's tough to say," said Lucy. "ROB? I know you wouldn't let anything happen to us – should we move up the middle and strike now, while everyone else is distracted?"
ROB paused to run a mental calculation then said, "We would need to close ranks for our main guns to punch through their phase shields. We could make a pass – the heavy fighters have scattered; our fighter cover is strongest at the center of the field. And, yes Lucy – I would never let anything happen to you." To his monotone words, Lucy smiled. He saw the look and immediately looked away, as if nervous, tending to his station again. "We're …er, ready Mrs. McCloud."
Krystal grinned at his words. "Mrs. McCloud," she repeated. "It has a nice ring. Krystal McCloud. All right. Full power to our aft shields – I don't want anyone taking a potshot with our tail exposed. Flank speed – cut down when you're ten thousand meters off their bow then fire upon their belly. Ships like that keep their extra fighters on the bottom deck and I want to cripple their ability to launch reinforcements."
"A wise decision," said ROB.
"We're at sixty-thousand meters and closing rapidly. At top speed, we'll reach the destination in six, five, four seconds… and… mark!"
"Fire!" exclaimed Krystal. The excited vixen scurried back to her chair but had too much energy to sit in it. "Keep our backside to them and our shields at maximum, there. When we're thirty-five thousand meters out, come about and confront them, head on. We'll take a swipe at their other side; let's stay at a twenty-five degree angle so they can't target us with those torpedos on the starboard side."
Slippy turned his head and said, "I've got a squadron of four closing at two o'clock!"
"Mark their location," replied Krystal, adding, "I want you to send the marker to…" She glanced at the sensor readout above Slippy's head on his console against the wall. "…Fox and Fara." She cut her eyes over to Lucy. "Do we have chaff?"
"Of course!" Slippy interjected.
Krystal nodded and told Lucy, "Shower those fighters in as much chaff as possible. Get ready to bear heard to port – come around so we can make another pass on the enemy battleship…" she turned her attention to the main view screen. "Goodness, it's so…"
Lucy pressed several buttons then looked up at Krystal only to divert her gaze to the main viewer, as well. "…Menacing. Who paints a battleship black with red highlights?"
"Chaff had no effect on the enemy fighters; they must be using newer technology," Slippy chimed in to their conversation, adding, "Fox and Fara have engaged the squadron bearing down on us. The battleship is turning – she's charging her secondary gun turrets."
"Break hard to starboard – we'll zigzag to take minimal damage," replied Krystal, sitting back down in the chair to brace herself. "…Go, go, go," she chanted, watching the large ship on screen. "Deploy a targeting decoy buoy, Slippy."
"We don't have those on this ship!" He looked back to his station and sighed in frustration. "…What about aft torpedoes?"
"Can we fire them but cause them to stall?" Krystal paused then grinned. "Yes, fire them but don't detonate them. Target their guns and fire a full spread but do not detonate them! I want you to try and target the very gun barrels they're charging! Fire!"
Slippy punched several keys then typed a command into a computer. He glanced up at a screen on his console then turned from his station all together. "Nine torpedoes away. They're firing from three guns."
The torpedo casings streaked through the void, passed through the glittering chaff then their propulsion systems paused, sending the nine casings floating towards the enemy target. Seconds later, the guns flashed, roaring to life. They struck the torpedoes, right at the center of the chaff field, causing a massive explosion.
"Clever tactic," said ROB. "They're powering up other weapon systems, Mrs. McCloud. We're coming about, now. They'll be on forward visual in four seconds. Switching the main view screen from aft camera angle to front camera angle."
Again, the iniquitous looking battleship filled the main viewer at the front of the bridge. Krystal gritted her teeth. "She's going to fight like a caged animal if we push her too much. We've got to try and destroy or cripple her before things turn sour. Slippy, target anything that looks important. ROB, fire on whatever he chooses when he's ready."
Both Slippy and ROB, in unison, said, "Aye!" Then, stammering for a moment, Slippy added, "We're coming around at a good angle for attack. At this range, our cruiser section's main plasma gun could punch a big hole straight through their hull plates. However, with one of the guns still missing (Chapter 3 and 4, Reflections of a New Generation), I'm reluctant to fire it; the power build up, just because one snapped off, could be damaging to our ship."
ROB turned about and in an unusually loud voice, said to them, "They're powering up an unknown weapon with unknown power capabilities, according to my tactical feed."
Krystal clinched her paws. "Fire the main guns – whatever damage we incur will most likely be better than whatever they are about to fire."
"Can't you sense anything about it?" asked Lucy.
"I don't remember how!" Krystal shook her head rapidly. "All I can sense is their hostile intentions at this point. Fire the main guns."
The GreatFox flying fortress shook hard then, abruptly, the ship powered down, adrift in space. "Emergency power – did we hit them?"
Seconds later, auxiliary power generated just enough energy to display the forward viewer. The battleship filled the screen. A massive hole was present at the center of the enemy craft. Explosions filled random portholes throughout the ship and the exposed keel cracked as the pieces split apart. Krystal sank back in the captain's chair with a sigh of relief. "We've broken her back… what's the damage, Slippy? ROB?"
"We're sitting d-ducks."
ROB added, "We have no defenses. The hull polarization will fade in approximately fifteen minutes. With any luck, our pilots will take out the fighter cover before that time. The discharge from the broken plasma gun was filtered back into the reactor. We're running on backup fusion power."
Lucy frowned. "We're stranded," she muttered.
Chester opened a channel to the team and said, "Star Fox, this is your temporary communication's officer, Chester Paulchen. The battleship is no longer a threat – however, we require you to form a defensive parameter around the ship. Also, lifeboats are beginning to pour off the enemy ship. Fox, Marcus, do we have adequate space to take prisoners back to Corneria?"
Fox and Marcus began speaking at the same time but Fox respectfully grew silent to let his kid run the team. Marcus cleared his throat and began again. "We could comfortably hold their entire crew in a force field cell on the flight deck of the carrier section of GreatFox. However, we don't have the food or bathroom accommodations befitting of a crew that large. Our only option would be to get them back to Corneria for processing in a very short time."
"Not an option," said Chester. "We're having technical difficulties that would, at the very least, prohibit more than just the ability to cater to facilitation needs for a crew."
"What's the short version of the story," replied Marcus over the comm. patch.
Chester frowned, sighed then cleared his throat. Once he rid the emotions in his tone, he said, "We're unable to ferry the crew to Corneria in a timely fashion. I'm sending a text-based encoded message on an encrypted narrow-beam transmission band. Stand by." A short moment passed.
Marcus sounded dismayed. "Acknowledged. Round up the survivors – those lifeboats have limited breathable air. Also, how are your Venom translation abilities?"
"I'm a communication's officer," said the feline with a proud grin. "I'm well rehearsed."
"Good," replied the younger McCloud. "Tell these fighters that we're rescuing their crew and to call off their attack. Tell them to return to a secondary landing point or, if they wish to surrender, power down their ship so that we can bring them in with a tractor beam. Finally, send out a distress beacon to Katina, Fortuna and Corneria. Someone is bound to answer. Tell them we need a prison transporter right away. These men may have knowledge that will help the Interplanetary Defense Council."
Chester looked up from a keyboard, having typed out everything Marcus asked him to do. He licked his lips, glanced over the words on screen then said, "Stand by." He closed the private channel and opened a public one using a popular Venom frequency. "This is Chester Paulchen representing Team StarFox. Surrender yourselves by powering down your fighters. Please wait for us to tractor your ship in. Any action other than this will be considered as hostile intent – we will destroy you if you do not comply. Fighters, either return to Venom or power down. We're rounding up the lifeboats belonging to your home location – you will be treated as prisoners until such time that we can turn you over to the proper authorities. Again, I ask you to please power down your ship and wait. The choice is yours but you must make it now. Do not hesitate or we will open fire upon you."
He then repeated the entire statement in Venom's natural language. He operated the switch board, setting up a patch that included Corneria, Fortuna and Katina. Meanwhile, one of the pilots replied to his last message. The gruff voice filled the audio system of the GreatFox Bridge. "We have the option to return to Venom? Are you insane? No fighter has the fuel to make it across Lylat, alone."
Chester smirked and turned back to the dash-mounted microphone. "Who knew? For all I know, you might have decided to fly back to a base hidden nearby. If you don't have the fuel to leave this sector, I suggest you power down your fighter and prepare for surrender. You have sixty seconds to comply." He shifted his attention back to the patch board and opened a channel to the three closest allied planets. "Attention, Corneria, Katina and Fortuna – this is Chester Paulchen. I'm temporarily representing the mercenary squadron known as StarFox. We're rounding up survivors from a destroyed Venom battleship. We're unable to bring these survivors to you and require transportation assistance. We lack the room and facilities to offer a humane prison environment - please comply?"
Static. "Are we cut off?" asked Krystal.
"Checking," replied Chester. After a moment, he nodded. "There's a communication jammer out there, somewhere. It's some sort of buoy that blocks long-distance subspace relay."
Fara's visual popped open on a small screen on his computer. Despite the small monitor, her voice filled the public announcement system on the Bridge. "This is Phoenix – I have an idea. Sensors show that there is a Phoenix Transport ship in the area. It's headed towards Corneria. The next ship is at the very edge of my sensor range. Perhaps we can relay a message to them and have it passed on by beaming an encrypted communiqué from ship to ship until the message reaches the Interplanetary Defense Council. Also, I'll see about asking them for help. Either we can have them come and ferry the Venom prisoners or we'll have several of their ships to come together and tow us back to the nearest planet."
Chester rubbed his chin and turned to Krystal. "Resourceful girl," he mused.
Mrs. McCloud approached Chester and leaned over his shoulder, standing behind his chair. She smiled at Fara and said, "Pull in close to the GreatFox and you can use us to strengthen the communication channel. See if you can't get a hold of both transporter ships… talk to both captains, see what each of them say. It might be better to have them tow us, because transporting prisoners to our ship then again, from our ship to theirs, would be dangerous. We lack trained guards for doing a transfer – that would give the Venom crew a chance to overpower us and escape… I want to keep things simple."
"Okay, I'm on it!" said the fennec over the small screen. "I'll explore all our options with those captains but you're right, simply getting a tow would be the safest option. However, splitting up their crew would be a good idea, too. That way if someone does escape, it wouldn't be a thousand Imperials against a handful of mercenaries."
"Understood," replied Krystal with a confirming nod. She turned back to the rest of the Bridge and said, "Okay guys. Let's figure out what we've got sitting on the carrier section's flight deck and MOVE IT so we can accommodate this hijacked Venom mobile-house party."
"I'm on it!" Slippy stood up and hurried off the Bridge.
Fox and Falco walked side by side through the crowded flight deck. On either side, Venom troops, crew members and scientists surrounded the two pilots. McCloud's eyes cut to the left, peering at one of the ranking lizards through the transparent glowing force field. Their eyes met and locked for a moment until the vulpine passed. "I'm just glad she's still my wife," he told Lombardi.
Falco replied with a shrug and said, "Unlike Katherine. I disappear for six years and now… Katt and I are separated. I mean, don't get me wrong – I'm glad she didn't move on, but damn… Now she's off raising a grandson; she says to me, 'Feel free to get comfortable around me but don't move back in on this family until you're finished being a Mercenary.' I'm like, 'What the hell?' and she says, 'You're involved with the team who destroyed Venom's battle fleet. We saw what they're capable of with that bomb over the capital (Ref of a New Generation Chapter 16)! Most people think they attacked downtown because it was common knowledge that Marcus McCloud was staying in a hospital right at ground zero!' so… I don't know what to say about that. You know how women are about drama. They start adding up weird facts 'n crap. Like Venom is going to spend millions of credits when their economy was at its worst, just to assassinate a kid. Yeah right; my tail-feathers they would."
"Still, that's disconcerting. Why make a hospital ground zero? I read that he left without telling anyone, so for a while the news was reporting that he was surely among the dead. Then some guy who owned a drug store claimed to have seen him at the edge of town and people actually got excited. It actually made news, Falco. People were worried about him."
Falco lifted his right winged arm, waving his feathery fingers in the air. "So, the bottom line is, Katt doesn't want me to stay near her, Violet and the baby for any longer than a day at a time. They don't want me to draw attention to them because they're doing their best, as it is, to keep James McCloud off the radar."
"And, believe me, I'm glad for it."
Falco shrugged again. "It just sucks – I finally marry the girl only to disappear for six years. I come back and there are all these weird terms and conditions to the frickin' relationship. What a bunch'a crap." As the two walked along down the aisle between force field sections, Falco's eyes drifted to where a marmoset and lizard were in a fist fight. "Hey! Knock it off, you two! Don't make me come in there and separate you chumps!"
The fighting continued until the lizard knocked out his simian adversary. The furry ape lay motionless on the deck. Falco threw his arms upwards in frustration. "What did I just say, scale-face?" The lizard looked back towards the force field wall. Falco's eyes met the reptile's gaze. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! What, you're deaf or something? I told you to lay off!"
"If these walls weren't here," said the man, "you would be next, old man!"
"Oh, that's it!" Falco began rolling up his sleeves.
"Hey, what're you doing?" asked Fox, his voice and expression incredulous. "You're not going in there, they'll take you hostage and try to negotiate their release. STILL, after all these years, you've got feathers for brains!"
"Hush," said Falco. He pulled a small flat object from his pocket and removed a stylus from the bottom. He drew a line on it then replaced the stylus and tossed it to Fox. Seconds later, the force field rearranged itself, alienating the lizard from the rest of his crew. "Slippy's kid makes some cool shit, huh? All right, hold that thing for me while I go dent this guy's forehead real quick."
"Falco!"
"Shaddaup, when have I ever listened to you in the past? Don't try and give me orders now, Fox." Lombardi walked into the horseshoe-shaped section, approaching the lizard. Falco held his feathery hand in the air then knelt down by the marmoset. He put his other hand on the man's neck and checked for a pulse. "All right, the guy is alive."
The lizard quickly lunged for Falco with his right fist outstretched. Lombardi's quick pilot eyes perceived a glint of light. Subconsciously, he reacted by reaching for the man's wrist. He brought his knee up, coming up from a crouched position, and pulled the lizard down. Still holding onto the reptile's forearm, his knee meeting the scaly face, Falco quickly forced one arm around the man's neck and jerked the lizard's arm back, so that his arm was twisted about. Lombardi held him in the debilitating chokehold with one arm and used his other to pry a knife from the attacker's scaly fingers.
With a grin, Falco brought the blade to the man's forehead and said, "I told you to settle down. Now you just got a face-full of bionic knee implant. I bet that hurt, didn't it? Don't worry, pal – I didn't feel a thing. Now, the next time you start a fight with…"
"Falco!" Fox's alarmed tone caused Falco to become all business again.
He jerked the knife away from the lizard's face and thrust it back behind himself. The blade in his feathery fist met resistance; he glanced over his shoulder and smirked. The marmoset, who had faked being injured, now had a combat knife shoved into his torso, directly below the collarbone.
Fox rushed into the area and grabbed the ape by his hair and pulled him away from Falco. "That's what you get for trying to stage an ambush… a knife right in your lungs, buddy. Are you still glad you signed up for the Venom military?" The marmoset's body became limp. He struggled to breathe and clutched his hands over the base of his throat, blood seeping out from between his fingers. McCloud pulled him out to the hallway then laid him out on the floor and pushed his paws against the ape's hands to add pressure to the wound. "Damn, you're stupid as hell. All three of you are stupid as hell."
"What about you?" Falco asked, directing his question to the lizard. "Your buddy is probably going to die now just because you thought you were being clever. Hey! Let's jump two old dudes! That sure sounds like a grand idea, Einstein! So… do you want a chop to the gizzard, or are you going to behave?" Falco kept consistent pressure to the man's throat, keeping him in the chokehold.
The man mouthed, "Behave," just loud enough for Falco to hear. Lombardi released him then, quickly, spun him about and sucker punched him in the face. The lizard doubled over, covering his eye with both hands. Falco brought his hands down atop the man's head and his knee up into his face, smashing the lizard's snout one more time with his metal knee. The reptile dropped to the floor, rolling from left to right, listlessly.
Lombardi spit on the man's hip and said, "That's right, squirm like the little punk that you are." He turned to Fox and said, "Okay, give me the little gadget-thing. We'll drag the injured guy out to the main aisle and close the force field. Is he stable enough that we can carry him to the infirmary or do I need to get a stretcher?"
"Grab a wheel cart," said Fox, nodding to one of the ordinance carts down at the other end of the flight deck. "We'll move him on that." He paused then said, "Oh and Falco? Grow up, man. This is the reason why there was always so much drama on the old team. You're just… so aggressive sometimes. Then, other times, you're the most laid-back person around. You just lean back, cross your ankles and act like you don't give a damn about anything. Get it together – you're no spring-chicken, man. You're a grandfather."
The avian scowled at his ex-teammate and flipped him off. "How's about that? 'The bird' is giving you 'the bird'."
Fox shook his head with a slight chuckle. "All I'm saying is you can't go around causing incidents all the time. One day, it's going to catch up with you; you've got a family to look after and a grandkid."
"How weird is it that we both have the same grandson?" Falco grinned and jabbed McCloud in the shoulder with his left fist. "Okay, give me the little remote control do-dad."
"It's in my vest pocket," said Fox. "I can't take my paws off of this guy's wound – go get a cart, too. I know dinosaurs who move faster than you; let's go."
Falco smirked again, snatched the remote control from Fox's front left pocket and closed the gap in the force field. He walked down the aisle and got an ordinance cart then brought it back. "I was trying to break up a fist fight. How in the hell was I supposed to know it was an escape attempt?"
"You're lucky you didn't get your tail feathers handed to you." Fox nodded to the ape's belt. "Take that off – I want to use it to put pressure on his wound. Hurry! Before he loses too much blood then we'll move him to sickbay. I just want'em off this ship. I need to spend some time with my wife. Her plight is important to me."
"Yeah, yeah…" Falco muttered, unbuckling the ape's uniform belt. A Venom logo was embossed on the brass clasp. "I thought Venom's economy was supposed to be in the crapper? Look how fancy his belt buckle is, Fox. Now, multiply that by a hundred thousand troops. Who's paying for that crap?"
McCloud shrugged. "Maybe Corneria was somehow misled to believe that their finances were in ruin. It's tough to say."
Kursed traced her white-painted fingernails over the reflective surface. A sour note emanated from the mirror. "No, I don't rightly care about Fox McCloud." She turned her head, looking over Bliss O'Donnell. "He's an idiot; a loser. Why, did you think I had some sort of grudge against that bum? He hurt me but other than being worthless… I mean, don't get me wrong – I'd kill him in a back alley if it was just the two of us. I don't have some sort of vendetta, though."
"Before you lost your memories, you were obsessed with murdering him." O'Donnell leaned back in the chair with a sigh. "I wonder how long it will take Dash to notice that we have his precious shipment of stupid metal…"
"If I kill him, I'll take control of his army. But, as far as Fox McCloud, the last thing I remember was being captured and waking up on Kew. They obsessed over the fact that he was able to hurt me and wanted to figure out a way to hurt me the same way. There were a few torture sessions but I endured. Then they told me they would start a new therapy session in the morning… something I would 'never forget'. That's my last memory before waking up in that chamber on Venom."
"You're talking several decades ago," replied Bliss. "So, you have some sort of aspirations to take over Lylat or something? Why would you want control of Dash's small army?"
"I rescued Lylat from the Anglars with the help of StarWolf! Then, those ungrateful idiots sandblasted me; they said I was a traitor! I did what it took to save their lives! But they said I stabbed Fox McCloud in the back and I was booed everywhere I went! Talk about stabbing in the back… they stabbed me in the back because I wouldn't resume a relationship with their precious one-dimensional hero! THEN! To top it all off, Panther wouldn't take up for me! He betrayed me, too. But, worst of all, Lylat has no idea that Fox is the one who stabbed me in the back. He kicked me off his stupid team after all we went through together. Of course I was going to keep the Anglars at bay – I helped StarWolf save the goddess-damned system."
"That's not the way it happened, in this universe," replied Bliss in a calm voice. "Here, your doppelganger leaves StarWolf and Panther… you help Fox rescue Lylat and the two of you rekindle old feelings. A few months later, you leave StarFox and go back to Panther… but with renewed feelings for Fox McCloud, you don't stay very long. Fox is heartbroken without you and, to his surprise and delight, you and Panther give one another closure… you return to Fox out of the blue and meet up together on Sauria… Shortly after, you resume your relationship and are betrothed again. In less than a year, you're married. A year later, you're pregnant with Marcus McCloud. When you first arrived in this dimension, you started some trouble on Fichina and he came to stop you. The two of you had a showdown in the streets while the city was on fire all around ya'. You couldn't get him to fight you so you tricked him… you attacked my brother – his best friend – and somehow you duped McCloud into thinking that Crimson was dead. Next thing I know, McCloud ran you through with your own spear. He kept it as a souvenir. You died shortly after getting impaled. Dash obtained your body – lord only knows how he got it… After that, he rebuilds you and bam… you're alive again. Now you know the whole damn story."
Kursed tilted her head. "Very entertaining. I'll help you rescue the girl, Doctor Granton; you said she's one of the very few people who know anything about this metal down in the hold… I'll need her help in making use of it. I want to create a bomb with it."
O'Donnell threw her paws in the air. She stood up and began pacing the small Bridge of the stolen transporter ship. "Why the hell does everyone want to make a bomb with this crap?"
"I need the power of this device to kick start this." Kursed stood up from her seat and carried a small device to Bliss. She handed the data pad to the hybrid vixen and folded her arms then turned away.
Bliss O'Donnell skimmed the words on the small screen then frowned. "This crap is just a theoretical thing. No one has ever invented one – it probably won't even work!"
"Look," said Kursed with an angry look on her face. "I've asked you to tell me the story of how I wound up here …how many times now? Three? Four? Every time you tell it, I listen intently. I've gone back and read the news reel over and over. You know what I get out of it?"
"A nap?"
"Hope, you imbecile!" Kursed's tail flitted with annoyance. "Somehow, someone created this bomb on the other side… and so, I wound up here. Someone here created the bomb already, as well. They used it to send Fox McCloud and his band of clowns over to another universe. I want to go home."
"From what I understand, you've already jacked up your universe. You've killed Fox McCloud, you blew up Sauria by removing the spell stones and, somehow, you destroyed another planet – not sure which one."
"I want to go back to where I came from," said Kursed. "I'll leave Lylat and resume finding answers in regards to my race. I'll resume my job as a bounty hunter. I just don't want to do it here with another me running around. This is her universe. I want to go back to mine. If I can't, I'll kill her and take her place. I just… don't like the idea of there being two of me. And, yes… I would kill Fox McCloud, too. I don't remember ever having that satisfaction. I have no compunction about killing the happy little McCloud family… I would never marry that fool. It's insulting to even hear that they have a child together. Disgusting."
"Okay, chill out – we've got to find Carey Granton. First thing is first, woman."
"Fair enough." Kursed sat back down at the controls and leaned back in the seat. "Like I said; all I want to do is go home. By the way, what is my doppelganger like?"
Bliss shrugged. "I don't know. Crimson said she's sweet, ladylike and kind. Sounds like a total girly-girl to me."
"Disgusting…" The sapphire vixen's eyes dropped to the deck, shaking her head. "That nauseates me. At the very least, if I let her live before I go home… I would want to open her eyes and make her …"
"More like you?"
Kursed nodded. "…Precisely. I'll need a group of business-minded people who are capable of helping me."
"Would you consider hiring StarWolf to be your bodyguards, more or less?" Bliss grinned inwardly.
"Wolf and Leon would be worthy allies…"
"Panther is part of the deal," said Bliss with a sour look on her muzzle. "I don't care for him, either… but it'll be fun to make him squirm because he's still in love with you. Seriously, you know it would be funny as hell to shut down all his advances."
"And he's a capable pilot… Perhaps you're right." She paused to probe Bliss' mind then said, "They're already working for Dash? Isn't that a conflict of interest?"
"Exactly my point!" Bliss grinned. "I think Dash is the one who has Carey. He's hired dad and his team… that gives us a connection with Dash Bowman's side, so we can keep an eye on his operation from within… then we'll locate Carey, get her out of there… and double-cross Bowman. Meanwhile, dad's team gets paid double, working for both Dash and you at the same time. The only thing is, you need money."
"We'll sell some of that ore on the black market and have plenty of money."
O'Donnell shook her head. "You devious bitch. I hope you know you're playing with fire – that stuff is dangerous. Putting it out there for the wrong hands to get hold of it… not a good idea. But yeah, I'm sure it'll be really lucrative."
"Call your father and his team, Bliss. Tell them I would like to meet with them to discuss a business proposition."
Bliss nodded and walked off the Bridge. Kursed returned her gaze to the ornamental mirror she left on the control console. She lifted it and looked at herself again. "Both Fox McCloud and Panther Caruso would drop dead on the spot if they saw me looking this young again." She grinned inwardly. "I might not remember everything between Kew and now, but I'm certainly in the mood to have some fun." She placed the mirror back on the control panel and frowned. "If this Marcus McCloud had the ability to defeat me before, he's still a threat now. Perhaps I should make him my first target… That's just self preservation, as far as I'm concerned. The best offense begins with a good defense."
A deep tone came from the back of the Bridge. The doorway to the ready-room office was open, but the lights within the room were extinguished. A dark silhouette stood just within the doorway, so that the Bridge lighting only illuminated them from the waist down. "Do you really think it will be that easy?"
"You never managed to stop the McClouds," retorted Kursed. "So don't even start with me, old man. And if Bliss knew you were here, she would freak… stick to the shadows like the phantom you are. ..Are you absolutely sure that Bliss O'Donnell's significant other will be able to assist you in helping me?"
"You truly don't remember much, do you?"
"I remember that you saved my life shortly after Fox cast me off the StarFox team." Kursed looked away, facing the main view screen. "I never told anyone, just like you asked. I never will."
"Still think it was me who destroyed Cerinia?"
"A part of me does," she replied in a sullen voice. "If I ever find proof that you caused the sun to go supernova, I'll tear you apart. For now, though… I'm content to believe that your intentions were righteous when you rescued me."
"Fox never came to help you that day… I was the only one who ever responded to your distress beacon. Don't forget that. Also, I'll run some tests to see if I can figure out why you've lost some of your memories. And, yes, I agree – it would not be a wise decision to let Bliss know of my involvement in the matter; I'm content to let people think I'm dead and gone."
"Like I said…" The vixen folded her arms. "Stick to the shadows like the phantom you are." She turned her head, glancing over her shoulder but the doorway leading to the ready-room was empty. The doors slid shut on their tracks with a soft hiss. A smirk tugged at the corner of her muzzle. "…Old fool."
A/N: DUN dun DUNNN! Did anyone see THAT coming? Or was that just a psychotic figment of Kursed's imagination? Only time will tell! Now StarFox is stranded with a lot of rescued Venom prisoners... What will the team do now? Of course, they could always seperate the cruiser and the carrier section of the GreatFox Flying Fortress, but without the reactor core necessary to MOVE the cruiser section, they would never successfully get the ships back together, and they wouldn't want to abandon the cruiser and leave it adrift... so whoever stays with it would be practically defenseless. So... for now, they're kinda sitting there unable to move.
In the next chapter, I want to explore more in depth what Krystal is going through, without her memories. Actually, there's a lot I want to do in upcoming chapters!
Thanks for reading!
For those of you who keep asking about SPY COOPER, the sequel to Lament of Carmelita, YES I WILL FINISH IT! I promise! But I'm trying to get out a few chapters for THIS STORY and Reflections of FOX, first… I'll return to the Sly Cooper stories around autumn. I promise!
Also, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback concerning the mush-factor in my stories. Oh, and by the way, who would like me to elucidate on the background behind Krystal and the 'Ghost of Andross'? If you've played SF:Command, you'll probably remember that Krystal DEFENDS Andross' ideals, when she leads the team to TITANIA, to procure Andross' device. Obviously, Krystal knows SOMETHING about Fox's nemesis that no one else knows… I'm thinking there must have been a point of time where Krystal, after leaving the StarFox team, goes out and runs across Andross, face to face. While he's really old, at that… I mean, Krystal knew a LOT about the 'Andross legacy', and she was pretty quick to defend Andross right to Fox's face. Doesn't that kinda' make you wonder? I'm thinking about exploring that aspect through Kursed.
By the way, one of the readers pointed out that by having Kursed lose some of her memories, starting at her capture on KEW, she's now less evil. Correct, but she's also got a reconstructed brain, half of which is plastic. She's, more or less, programmed by Dash to be a sadistic, dark person. He took all the hatred and twisted desires… augmented them and now she's her own monster… it's true, she doesn't obsess over Fox McCloud like she did before… but that doesn't make her any less of a threat. She's been betrayed by everyone and she doesn't trust anybody. That, alone, makes her dangerous. Combine that with her new thirst for power (obtaining the radioactive ore) and relearning how to utilize her over-developed frontal lobe… and you have one heck of a monster on the loose. There's just one catch to this monster… she's physically beautiful and young looking… And her closest ally is taking advantage of the fact that she doesn't remember the last few decades… Oh, no, Kursed is VERY dangerous – I assure you!
See you soon!
-Kit
