Star Fox


Desperate Measures

By: LilGstryker

I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time. I had major writer's block, mixed in with… I don't know, a lot of things. Again, I apologize to all of you that had to wait. I know, it's been several months. Hopefully it won't happen again. I'll make a recap for those of you that don't want to go back through the story again.

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*AHEM* Some time after Fox and Falco killed Andross, Fox accepted Krystal onto the team. While Fox and Krystal were having an Arwing scrimmage the Great Fox was attacked by who are now known as the Teruvians, who came from the Garrack system of Sector 5. Their intentions are yet to be revealed. According to Pepper's tragic encounter with them and Peppy's grudge against them, they destroyed a planet called Saturna, but haven't been back since for an unknown reason. After speaking with Pepper, Star Fox heads toward Katina in the hopes of defending it from these new invaders.

General Sacohva, commander of the Teruvian fleet attacking Katina, was determined to destroy the Lylatian's defense. Soon the battle over Katina commenced as thousands of ships, from dreadnaughts to fighters, began their attacks. With the help of an undisclosed prototype weapon, Sacohva confidently continues the assault. Meanwhile, Admiral Daniel Evans, commander of the Cornerian Defense Fleet, asks Commander Bill Grey and his three squadrons to help a battleship named the Icefire back to repair docks as it has been heavily damaged. After achieving this goal he sees Star Fox off in the distance and decides to go help an old friend.

After an awkward situation, Bill comes in and scatters away the Teruvians that were battling Star Fox. They decide to team up and take down the forward attack lines of the Teruvian fleet. They destroy several Teruvian vessels, allowing the advance of the CDF.

Lieutenant Telvaa of the commanding Teruvian vessel informed Sacohva of the CDF's breakthrough. The Teruvian general asked how they were able to break the forward lines. Telvaa notifies his leader that a team named Star Fox leaded this attack, tells a little about there background and how they stopped Andross during the Lylat Wars and once again during the Saurian Incident. He tells the name of all the members. When Telvaa mentioned and described Krystal, the general was shocked to hear the name. Sacohva is somehow linked to Krystal, but it is yet to be discovered how. He asks Telvaa to activate the secret weapon and bring Krystal to him. Albeit that they were some pretty odd orders from a man that almost always made sensible actions, Telvaa obeys.

Just a small distance away from the Teruvian attack line, Slippy picks up abnormal energy readings from an unknown source. Krystal saw something form in front of her: the secret weapon, which was a large, aqua-colored sphere that was bursting with energy. Fox tries to find a weak point when Krystal suddenly knows how the weapon functions and advises that they all need to leave the battle parameter immediately. After Peppy informs Admiral Evans about the situation, they boost away from the sphere. While trying to make an escape, the team's Arwings suddenly freeze and stop working due to an EMP wave sent out by the sphere. Two Teruvian ships come and abduct Krystal, leaving Fox helpless and unable to help because of the EMP. After the sphere releases the stored up energy, the Arwings re-activate and they barely escape, but not without heavily damaged Arwings. Fox vows that he will rescue Krystal, and begins to set up a plan.

There you have it. On with the story.

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Chapter 9

R E V E L A T I O N

"Where are you taking me?? I said answer me!" Krystal shouted as she tried to get the wolf that kidnapped her to talk.

"Jesus, shut up already you bitch!" the wolf angrily yelled back, obviously annoyed with Krystal's constant questioning and bickering. He finally cut the line, not wanting to hear another bit of her voice. Krystal wasn't about to give up, and contacted her abductor once again. The communicator in the wolf's ship started to beep again. Undoubtedly aggravated, the wolf formed an idea in his head. "This will definitely get her to shut the hell up," the wolf grumbled to himself.

He flipped a few switches and pressed a button with unnecessary force, showing his irritation. At first it didn't seem like it did anything, but then suddenly a stream of electricity traveled down the tractor beam and into Krystal's Arwing. Since there was no shield to protect her, Krystal was fully vulnerable to the electricity. She screamed in pain as the volts traveled throughout her entire body. She slumped in her pilot's seat unconscious as the electrocution came to an end. The wolf smiled as he saw the result of this cruel deed. I love these new fighters, he thought to himself. The wolf's partner noticed this action, and opened a comm. Channel with him.

"You okay over there, Tom?" Tom's companion asked.

"Now I am." They continued there journey to the commanding Teruvian ship.

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Ever since Fox had dismissed the team to go perform their duties, he had been trying to communicate with Krystal. He tried contacting her ship and her wrist communicator, but she never answered his calls.

"Damn… I still can't get a hold of her, Peppy. It seems that both her Arwing communicator and her wrist communicator have been deactivated." He sighed as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. How can I let this happen? I still feel terrible… I don't think I'll ever be worthy enough to be with a girl like her …"Have you determined her location yet?" he asked, trying not to show his emotions through his voice.

"Yes Fox, I've actually just pin-pointed her exact location." Fox's ears perked as he sat up surprised to how fast Peppy had found her position. "According to these coordinates of the tracking instrument, she is already on the Teruvian commanding ship, known as the Royale, which is at the very back of their fleet. Thanks to Slippy's scan back there, I was also able to find out a little about this ship. It's practically a huge, upgraded dreadnaught battleship, fully equipped with anti-fighter turrets, plasma turrets, plasma cannons, stream cannons and turrets, nova launchers, missile launchers, along with a full hangar of fighters...," he informed his captain.

Fox thought for a moment. How are we even going to get back there? There is no way we can just force our way through the front… Even with the help of the CDF it would take a while before we could actually confront the commanding ship… When we do meet up with that ship, we're going to have one hell of a time trying to enter it… As Fox contemplated what course of action that they should take, he slowly smiled as an idea formulated in his head.

"What's with the smile, Fox? Got any ideas?" Peppy asked curiously.

"Peppy… I think it's time we gave those new stealth prototypes for the Arwings another chance," he announced. "Since the Teruvians have backed off, there shouldn't be too much trouble as long as we use the stealth weapons. I'm gonna be doing this alone. No point in bringing the entire team for a stealth rescue mission."

"I see… Well Fox, there is a slight problem with those stealth prototypes…" Peppy mentioned.

"Problem? I don't remember any problems with those… Unless your talking about that one time when-"

"Yes Fox, that time," Peppy interrupted. "Remember what happened when we installed it into your Arwing to test it out? The Arwing shut down after it came out of cloak, and we had to tow you back to the hangar because we couldn't get your Arwing to boot up again," reminded Peppy.

"That was a while ago, Peppy. I'm pretty sure that Slip has been able to work on it. Anyways, once I infiltrate the Teruvian space territory, I'll head to the Royale and enter the hangar when it opens. Then I'll use the mobile stealth units we received from the Cornerian Military to sneak through the ship 'till I find her."

"How will you know where she is in the ship? You probably won't be able to track her through her wrist communicator," The hare mentioned.

"Simple. I'll have Slippy hack into the Royale's database so that we'll have the inside mapped out," Fox replied. "They're most likely keeping her in the ship's brig. After I find Krystal, I'll give her a stealth unit and we'll sneak back out to my Arwing. We'll wait until they re-open the hangar doors, then we'll fly out." Peppy was still uncertain about this rescue plan, mostly because of the dangers that Fox could encounter should the prototype fail. If the unit failed while Fox was in the middle of Teruvian territory, he was going to have one huge problem on his hands.

"So Peppy… What do you say?" Fox asked the hare.

"I assume you realize how big of a risk you are taking," Peppy warned. Fox simply nodded. "Of course I do. But I'm willing to go through anything to get Krystal back," he said with self-assurance. "Well, if you say so. Let's test that prototype in the hangar bay first, after the boys are done fixing those Arwings. Then we'll see what we can do," Peppy said.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll go down and help Falco and Slippy finish up those Arwings. It's been a good few hours, and I'm pretty sure they would appreciate the help." Fox stood up and headed towards the bridge elevator. After entering, the sliding doors slid shut. "What level, please," asked the monotonic computer voice.

"Docking bay," Fox responded. He felt the elevator slightly jolt as it began its descent to the requested area. As he stood in the elevator, Fox reflected on the battle that they were just in. He had just realized that he had lost contact with Bill trying to escape from the sphere. Where did he go? I don't remember seeing him after that sphere appeared. I hope he and his squadrons survived. Maybe when I get back to the bridge I'll try contacting him. Damn, I knew it seemed too good to be true… It was a lot easier to get through the Teruvian forward attack line than I expected… He thought back to Krystal's abduction, and how he could do nothing but sit there and watch helplessly. Just hold tight Krystal. I will bring you back, no matter what it takes…

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Down in the hangar bay, Falco and Slippy were busily working on the damaged Arwings. Everything was going smoothly despite how smashed up the Arwings were. The Arwings were moved to the back part of the hangar to make them easier to fix. Slippy, who was wearing his yellow jumpsuit with a utility belt for his tools, was lying on his back fixing the fuselage of his Arwing. Falco, who was wearing a white tank top with some dark blue jeans that were ripped, was working on Fox's Arwing. Out of all the Arwings, Fox's Arwing was in the worst condition. It had both wings missing and sparks flying out of the G-diffusers. The pilot canopy was cracked, and the engine was smoking. There were a few hull breaches in the fuselage, and you could see the insides of the body complex.

"Hey Falco, help me fuse these energy converters real quick. They're getting to be a real pain," Slippy grumbled.

"Alright, hold up. I just gotta… Jam-this--together-CLINK-there! Finished installing the port gravity blade... Now, what is it you want?" Falco asked as he walked over to Slippy, wiping the sweat of his brow.

"Alright, hold this converter… I just have to fuse this wire to it…" Slippy took a laser cutter and activated the fuser, then applied a thin laser beam to the wire to meld it into the energy converter. "Now I just gotta mend this end of the energy converter… Alright, I'm finished. You can let go now, Falco." The bird released his grip on the converter, which firmly held its place in the Arwing. Slippy picked up a panel placed it back on the Arwing. He sighed as he took a rag and wiped the sweat of his face.

"Ok, I've taken care of all the major damage that's been done to my Arwing… How's Fox's Arwing, Falco?" Slippy asked.

"I've managed to re-install the port gravity blade… I'm pretty sure I can fix the other gravity blade myself. The engine is fried though, I'm gonna need your help with that. The G-Diffusers definitely need some work, as well," Falco replied.

"Hmm… ok, let's get to work," Slippy keenly replied.

As the two walked over to the damaged Arwing, the docking bay doors slid open as Fox walked through.

"What's up Fox, come to harass us?" Falco joked.

"Nah, just here to help out," Fox replied. "So, how are repairs going?"

"Well, we were just about to work on your Arwing, Fox. I'm pretty much done with mine." Slippy explained. "Your Arwing is in pretty bad condition, I have to say."

"Really? Well how bad can it… Oh." Fox frowned as he turned his head to see that his beloved Arwing was totally trashed, except for the wing that Falco just installed.

"…Yeah, Fox. It's that bad," Falco said.

Fox slowly sighed, a bit disappointed in himself for letting his Arwing get in that sort of condition. "The only damage I knew of was my gravity blades and my engine… I really didn't notice all that other damage partly because of how much of a hurry I was in to get to the bridge. Well, we should get to work I suppose."

"Ok Fox, can you work on the starboard gravity blade while Falco and I work on the engine system?" Slippy asked the vulpine.

"Sure thing, buddy." Fox went to the supply room to grab the needed material for the gravity blade repair. He grabbed a utility belt and hooked it around his waist, placing various tools in it. As he lifted up the material onto his shoulder, he remembered that he had to ask Slippy about the stealth units. After making sure that he had everything, Fox made his way back to the Arwing and put down the material next to it, then went to the engine to see Slippy, who was standing on a ladder repairing somewhere near the top of the engine along with Falco.

"He Slip, ya got a sec?" Fox half-shouted over the loud noises that came out of the tools.

"Yeah Fox, hold on I'll be right down?" Slippy replied. He said something to Falco who plainly nodded and went back to work. "What is it, Fox?" the toad asked as he climbed down the ladder.

"Have you been able to fix those prototype stealth units for the Arwings?"

"Of course. There about… I'd say 97 percent done. I just need to make a few more adjustments, and they'll be good to go. Why do you ask?" he asked curiously.

"To make a long story short, I'm going to use one of those units to infiltrate Teruvian space territory to go and rescue Krystal," Fox informed. Slippy looked at the vulpine with uncertainty gleaming in his eyes. "Gee Fox, sounds pretty risky. So you're going alone?" the toad asked.

"Yeah," Fox responded, "There's less of a chance to be spotted if there is only one of us. Besides, I feel that it is my responsibility to rescue Krystal, being that I am the captain and I am responsible for all of my teammates," the vulpine explained.

"Well, if you say so, Fox. I'll be more than happy to support you from the Great Fox, though. Whatever it takes to get Krystal back, right?"

"Yeah... Thank you Slippy, this means a lot to me," Fox grinned as he pat his friend on the shoulder. "Hey, it's no problem, Fox. You know I'm always here for ya," Slippy responded gleefully.

"So," said Fox, "We'll have a short briefing up in the bridge before the mission. When it is time for-"

"Uh, I hate to interrupt your little conversation, but can I get a little help up here?" Falco asked, abruptly interrupting Fox. After he said this he unexpectedly dropped his wrench from the ladder he was on while trying to fix something that would usually require two people to repair. He cursed as he climbed down the steps of the ladder to retrieve the tool.

"Ya see? This wouldn't have happened if you were up here helping, Slip-up," Falco irritatingly announced.

"Ah, sorry Falco... Fox was just asking me to do something, I'll be coming back up in a second," Slippy told the feathered avian.

"Yeah, you better be coming back up… Always got to do things myself…" Falco mumbled as he once again climbed the ladder.

"We better get back to work before Falco gets too annoyed," Fox advised. Slippy whole-heartedly agreed, and they both went back to repair the extensive damage on Fox's Arwing.

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Krystal's eyes slowly opened as she gained consciousness. Her vision was blurry, and her entire body was aching. She had a massive headache as well. As she sat up holding her head, her vision slid back into focus, and she could see clearly again. She looked around and noticed that she was no longer in her Arwing, but in some sort of enclosed room with white walls. She also realized that her wrist communicator had been taken, which would explain why she couldn't receive Fox's calls. The only things that were in the room were a simple bed and a sink. As Krystal turned her head to see what was behind her, she noticed some sort of greenish barrier that blocked the exit of the room. A laser barrier? I must be in some sort of prison… Krystal tried to stand up, but the pain in her thighs kept her from doing so. My entire body hurts… That damn wolf… Trying to ignore the soreness in her legs, she slowly stood up and walked towards the laser barrier to try and see what was happening on the other side. Different crew members were running by as they went towards their destinations. I must be onboard a Teruvian vessel… But why would they want me? What have I done? As she pondered over this seemingly bizarre action, a scaly lizard walked up to her on the other side of the barrier. It was Lieutenant Telvaa. He eyed her for a second before finally speaking.

"Ah, so you must be the Krystal that the general was talking about… He is very eager to meet you," Telvaa told Krystal. The vixen was clearly confused by the words that had come out of the lieutenant's mouth.

"Who are you? And why does your commander want to meet me?" she asked sourly.

"I am Lieutenant Telvaa. Pleased to meet you." The lizard cracked an odd smile. "General Sacohva has not told me exactly why he wanted to see you, which I find very surprising. He says he wants you because of your telepathic powers, but I for some reason find that highly doubtful." Krystal was surprised at how Telvaa knew of her telepathic abilities.

"How do you know of my powers? Is this general you speak of a telepathic as well?" She asked curiously.

Telvaa laughed at her statement. "No no, Krystal. We have other ways of acquiring information, ways that are more… realistic. Anyways, the general will be here shortly, he just needs to take care of a few matters. It has been a pleasure, Krystal." The lizard bowed and walked away. As Telvaa made his way back to the bridge, he thought about Krystal's statement about Sacohva. I wonder… No, it can't be. Why have I been thinking these strange thoughts lately? First I think that he personally knows Krystal, now this. I highly doubt that he has any sort of extrasensory powers… Rarely have I ever seen an actual telepathic besides Krystal. Then again, you never know with the general…

So, even Telvaa doesn't know if he has powers or not… Krystal opened her eyes after she finished reading the lizard's mind. There has been something that was bothering her ever since she had woken up onboard the Royale, yet she couldn't explain this odd feeling. Why am I picking up this sensation? I'm not to sure what it is, but this feeling really feels familiar… She watched through the small window of the room the Teruvian vessels that were at rest, probably prepping for the next time the battle starts. Hmm, I wonder if this ship… She formed an idea in her head as a Teruvian crew member walked by. The vixen briefly read his mind to pry out some information of her current location. So, I'm on the Royale, the commanding vessel of the Teruvian fleet… I guess that would make sense, knowing that their commander is onboard… I should contact Fox and let him know that I'm okay... Krystal calmly closed her eyes as she used her telepathic ability to contact Fox.

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The three man crew after several, harsh hours finally had finally finished working on Fox's Arwing. The ship still had a few complications, but they were very minor and pretty much unnoticeable. The only thing left to do was the polishing, but Fox deemed it unimportant and recommended that they take a short break, then return to finish Falco's Arwing. The three team members made their way to the kitchen, as they were all extremely hungry due to the amount of energy that they had used up. After washing up a bit and preparing meals, the three silently ate their food, all too hungry to say anything to one another. It was after Fox swallowed a gulp of water that he heard an all too familiar voice in his head.

Fox… Fox, can you hear me?

The vulpine was surprised to hear this voice; he immediately recognized that it belonged to Krystal.

Krystal, is that you?

Yes Fox, I'm using my abilities to connect with your mind.

Fox was overjoyed to be able to speak with Krystal, especially since he had been trying to contact her for almost a couple of hours.

Krystal, are you alright? Please tell me you're not hurt… I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you, please forgive me Krystal… The vixen could hear the sincerity in Fox's "voice" as well as feel his emotions, and she knew that he was truly sorry.

Fox... You know that this isn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything anyways because of the EMP wave.

I know, Krystal… But I still feel accountable because as a captain I am responsible for the safety of my teammates, and knowing that I failed to do fulfill that responsibility just kills, especially since I let it happen to a newer teammate.

Krystal was taken aback by Fox's strong sense of responsibility. This was one of the reason's she was so in love with him, but now was not the time to be thinking about such things.

Peppy told me that you were aboard the Teruvian commanding vessel named the Royale, Fox stated.

Yes, that is true. They have me locked up in the brig, the vixen explained.

I knew it… But what for? Have you found out why those bastards kidnapped you?

Unfortunately no, I haven't. One of the crew members called Lieutenant Telvaa informed me that General Sacohva, the commander of the fleet, organized this kidnap because he believes that my telekinetic powers will help them in their conquest. It was strange, though… Telvaa highly doubted that these were the general's actual reasons for my kidnap…

Fox was slightly perplexed as to why Telvaa was uncertain of Sacohva's actions. That is indeed strange, Krystal… Don't worry, though. I've formulated a plan to rescue you. I'm going to install the stealth unit into the Arwing, sneak into the Royale using a mobile stealth unit, and then find you and get outta there. No matter what happens Krystal, I'm going to get you out of there.

Fox, please hurry… I don't know what's going to happen…

Krystal, don't worry. Everything will be fine. I'm going to go prep for the mission now. Stay in touch, Krystal. And try to stay safe.

I will… Krystal gulped nervously. "I wonder if now would be the appropriate time to tell him…" Fox, I- I have something to tell you.

What is it, Krystal?

I… I… She was about to announce her love for him, but decided that doing so over a telepathic line isn't a suitable way to do such a thing. Never mind, Fox… See you later.

Bye, Krystal. Remember, I'll be there…

Fox slowly opened his eyes, only to find to sets of eyes staring back at him. "Fox, what were you doing? You've been sitting there for like five minutes with your eyes closed," Falco asked.

"I was talking to Krystal through telepathy…" The vulpine explained.

"What, really? I didn't know that she could do that," Slippy said with surprise in his voice.

"Yeah, me neither. She told me that she was kidnapped because the Teruvian leader General Sacohva wanted her for the telepathic abilities she possesses… But one of the Teruvian officers thinks that this isn't the case… Anyways, I have something to do. I'll see you guys later." Fox picked up his plate and put it in the sink and headed for the bridge. After greeting Peppy he immediately went to a computer terminal to look up something. The old hare was curious of why Fox was in such a hurry.

"What exactly are you doing, Fox?"

"I'm looking up information on the Teruvian commander, General Sacohva…"

"General Sacohva? How did you find this information?" The hare asked, slightly confused.

"Krystal told me through telepathy," Fox explained.

"Well I'll be…" The hare muttered. "Is she alright?"

"At the moment, yes. She's doing fine. Right now I'm trying to find out some background information on this Sacohva guy, but so far I haven't been able to find information about him and rarely any on the Garrack System."

"Well, Sector 5 isn't all that well known. Rarely has a Lylatian ever been through that region of space," Peppy informed.

"Damn, I knew that was the case… I can have Slippy try and hack one of the Teruvian ship's databases, see if that works. Guess I'll head back down to the docking bay to help the guys out again and install that stealth unit into my Arwing." Fox sighed, and after closing a program on the computer he got up and made his way down to the docking bay.

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After her "talk" with Fox, Krystal simply sat at the bed that was provided for her, waiting for this general to arrive. She was still sore from the electrical shock, and slowly drifted to sleep. She started to have dreams of her distressed past and her families and friends back at Cerinia. Tears unknowingly formed in her eyes as she re-lived her past in her dreams. She woke up with a startle, breathing hard with tears flowing from her eyes. Why she was having those dreams was unknown to her, because ever since she had been with Star Fox those horrible dreams have stopped. Maybe it was because she could finally move on, away from her past, and start a new future with her new home and family in the Lylat. Maybe the dreams had to do with this familiar feeling that she had in the back of her mind. She still couldn't think of what it was or where it came from, and slowly sighed as she sat on the bad, still holding her head in pain from the headache that she had. It was then that a figure wearing a hood and cloak approached the vixen slowly. Although she couldn't tell, the general slowly smiled as he finally saw her face-to-face.

"You must be General Sacohva…" Krystal stated. It was clear that she was still angry that this general had kidnapped her because of the irritation that was evident in her voice. Sacohva could hear it; he could feel it. He walked to a control panel near the laser barrier and pressed a button, which caused the barrier to disappear. He walked into the cell, still smiling. He could see no only the anger in her eyes, but the fear that was emanating from her being as well.

"Krystal… There is no need to be afraid of me. I am not here to harm you. Rather, I'm here to see if you were the real thing… And now I know that it really is you…"

Krystal recognized the general's voice. Where have I heard his voice before? It seems so familiar… The general lifted his hands quickly. Krystal was startled by his actions, but soon realized that he was just removing his hood. The face that showed brought awe to Krystal; her eyes widened and her heartbeat increased as she stared into the general's eyes. She couldn't believe who was standing in front of her.

"…Brother?"

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Phew… I actually posted a chapter… We'll see how the rest of this goes. I still have a little writers block, but I'll be sure to keep on posting. Hope you enjoyed this one.

LilGstryker