Chapter 9: Walkers Engaged

Fortuna

As Falco and Krystal engaged the enemy from the skies, Fox and Slippy flew down low to the tree line. Both Arwings transformed and were now standing on two legs. Slippy was curious how such a feat was accomplished in the first place.

"Split up and take them down Slip," Fox said as the two marched forward. He couldn't see the looks on the apes' faces ahead but he was pretty sure they weren't expecting this. Even more sad was the fact that they started firing on them anyway It was as Danielle said, Arwings did not have the armor Landmasters did, but infantry weapons would barely put a dent in them. Fox quickly targeted and opened fire. The blast from the laser caused any soldiers nearby to be knocked around. He'd probably kill most of them but he needed at least one alive.

Meanwhile, Krystal somersaulted over an enemy fighter and took it out. "Man, these guys are hardly worth the trouble I could take them out in my sleep," Falco said.

"There's not many of them here it's true," she replied. "So what are they doing here?" There was no way they survived the Aparoid attack. They also could be remnants of Brynhilde's army hiding out on the planet, but in Cornerian territory the idea sounded ludicrous.

"Hey, I think I see an airfield up ahead, that must be where they're launching from," Falco said. "Let's see who can take out the most ships!"

"Loser buys the next round of drinks?" Krystal asked with a smile.

"You're on sister."

It took awhile before someone decided to get on the machine gun turret. There were a couple automated turrets, dangerous if ignored, but not an issue since Fox and Slippy were able to take them out quickly. The gunner quickly aimed for his cockpit but even the glass was impervious to bullets. Fox realized even in walker he could still fire nova bombs but that would both be overkill and enough to take out at least a square mile. Laser fire would do just fine as he fired, taking out the gunner.

It was quiet for a moment, and then a lone ape came out, his hands in the air and unarmed. "Wait don't shoot, I surrender!" Fox paused, unsure how to respond.

He looked in Slippy's direction. "What do you think Slippy?"

"I don't detect any other enemies so he might be telling the truth," Slippy replied. "But it could be a trap too."

"Only one way to find out," Fox said, pushing up the cockpit and grabbing his blaster. "You keep an eye on things just in case." He dropped down, keeping his eye on the ape. "Quite a surprise you gave us there."

"We? You're the ones who surprised us! They didn't mention you guys were coming!"

"Who's they?" Fox asked.

"The ones that offered us the job," the ape explained. "After General Brynhilde was killed, most of us broke off and went into hiding. We mostly did mercenary work and that's when we got an offer from an unknown client saying there was something important on Fortuna, hidden in one of the old ruins and we were supposed to protect it. They never said anything about Star Fox showing up."

"And when was this?" Fox asked.

"About three days ago," the ape replied. "I knew it was all a setup, despite the money we got in advance."

"Alright, well you're going to show us this ruin, and no funny business," Fox said, gesturing with his blaster for him to get up. "Falco, Krystal, looks like we just got a lead. How are things on your end?"

"Wasn't much of an airfield to begin with but it's all gone now," Falco said. "We'll be with you shortly."

Shortly after, both their Arwings landed on the outside edge of the forest. "Alright you," Fox said to the ape once they joined up. "Showtime." The ape was quiet as the group delved deeper into the forest. The sounds of birds and all other sorts of creatures filled the air, proof that Fortuna had rebounded since the Aparoid Invasion. The more they went in, the darker it started to become.

Soon they came across what looked like an abandoned temple, although it was hard to say how long because the infrastructure was still intact. The pyramidal shape certainly didn't contrast with the environment. "This is it," the ape said. "No one even know this place existed before now so whatever's in there its got to be priceless."

"Seems that way," Fox commented.

"So uh...am I free to go?"

Fox looked to the others. "I suppose so," he said. "Just try not to get yourself killed." The ape just nodded and started running in the opposite direction.

"Wait, we're just letting him go?" Krystal asked.

Fox shrugged. "Considering we took out the rest of his buddies, he's probably thankful to be alive."

"Besides, if he survives the next few days he'll be picked up by a Cornerian patrol anyway so let's let him enjoy the fresh air while he can," Falco added.

"But look at the size of this thing," Slippy commented, looking at the temple. "Now I really want to know what's inside."

"Let's stick close," Fox said as they went inside, turning on the flashlights attached to their weapons. "Keep your eyes open for any traps too."

It was almost pitch black inside, almost impossible to see anything. However, the path they were following seemed to be the only direction they could go so far. What else seemed strange was the fact that the ground seemed like it was sloping downward, and the ceiling was getting taller.

Fox then noticed something sticking out of the wall beside him. There was a groove inside and it made him wonder. "Anyone have a pack of matches on them by chance?"

"I got a blowtorch in my kit," Slippy said. He went through his bag and tossed Fox the small blowtorch along with an igniter. Fox turned on the gas and ignited it, causing a small flame to burn.

He put the flame into the crevice and suddenly it ignited and spread, creating light inside the room, which turned out to be much larger than they imagined. As it turned out, the room split into a crossroad, leading to a circular path in the middle of the room. But even more amazing were the drawings all around the room.

It was nothing distinct, but many of the pictures depicted a civilization, with cities in the background, and others were they were pointing towards the heavens.

"I won't lie, this is pretty incredible," Falco said. "So the question is, who built this temple anyway?"

"It's a guess at this point, but considering this planet was on the map, maybe the Cerinians also inhabited Fortuna at one point," Krystal said. "The environment here is much like it was- is on Cerinia."

"So the Cerinians really were spread all over the Lylat System?" Slippy asked.

"At this point, it would not surprise me," Krystal replied.

"Let's take a look what's down there," Fox said, pointing towards the middle. It looked similar to what he and Krystal saw on Sauria: same mural and there was text written on the side.

"The naked eye is not enough, you must go beyond the plane to find the direction you seek," Krystal said.

"What does that mean?" Slippy asked.

"It must be a continuation of the text we saw on Sauria," Fox said. "And I get the feeling there's more to come."

"...you must go beyond the plane…?" Krystal said out loud. "I can only think about twenty different ways of interpreting that."

"It's better to think about it on the Great Fox," Fox said as he scanned the text to his gauntlet. "Let's head back."

"Fox, there's just one thing that bothers me," Krystal said as they headed back. "The people who we encountered at the space station, how come we haven't run into them yet and what are they planning?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll see them again soon enough."

Great Fox II

As Fox returned to the bridge, he saw most of the crew's attention was directed towards the front. Then he saw it: Peppy and Danielle were locked in a chess match, the board being the holographic projector between them. It looked like an even match and judging by Danielle's expression, it was her turn. Peppy had his poker face on and it was hard to tell whether he was feeling confident or nervous.

Finally Danielle entered her moveset on her data and as the holographic piece she said, "Checkmate."

Everyone looked stunned, but not as stunned as Peppy was. He looked at the board for a few moments and laid back in his chair. "I don't believe it...you certainly weren't joking around."

Fox then decided to make his entrance. "Did I miss a good match?" he asked.

"Oh, Captain," Danielle said, straightening in her chair. "Yes, it was a very good match."

"Don't listen to her Fox," Peppy chuckled. "She had me figured out the minute we started. Guess you really can teach an old dog new tricks."

"To be fair, you did say not to go easy on you," Danielle replied, beaming with pride.

"If its alright, I wanted you two to look at something," Fox said. He then sent the data from his gauntlet to the screen in front of them, displaying the mural of the Lylat System and the two bodies of text.

"Old civilizations always did like to speak in riddles," Peppy said. "Do you think there's more to the puzzle?"

"Betting on it," Fox replied.

"Perhaps it means looking under some type of lighting?" Danielle suggested. "Either way, I can get some lab technicians to look at it in the meantime."

"Sounds good," Fox said, nodding.

"You look tired," Peppy said after Danielle left. "I know you want to get this as soon as possible, but it won't do any of us good if you burn yourself out."

"I know," Fox replied, sighing as he took a seat. "I just think back to what happened to Katt and realize how desperate this other group is. Is what we're looking for really that valuable?"

"It sure seems that way," Peppy replied, crossing his arms in thought. "Speaking of Katt, she's getting impatient. You keep holding her back she's just going to take her ship and leave."

"She knows I'm doing what's best for her," Fox replied, sounding slightly irritated. "What does the doctor say?"

"Interestingly enough she's healing quicker than anyone thought," Peppy said with a smile. "She can't do too much rigorous activity but always she should be good to go."

"That means flying a ship, or firing a gun," Fox replied. "I'll think about it. It's gonna be a long trip to Fichina anyway…"

It was getting late, by Cornerian standard time. Fox was already in bed, laying back and staring up at the ceiling. A nifty little feature included in the new ship was a screen on the ceiling which showed a projection of space. It wasn't real time but as they were in space you couldn't really tell.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind." Fox looked over to Krystal in her light blue nightgown. She then got into bed with him and curled up close to him.

"Probably not as much as you do," he smiled, kissing her gently.

"It's been like that since this all started," Krystal replied. Fox knew she was going all the way back to the beginning, back when they first heard the news from Pepper himself.

"It's been a wild ride hasn't it?" Fox commented.

"And I don't think it will be stopping anytime soon," Krystal said. She then put an arm around him and laid her head on his chest. "But I suppose we just have to deal with it head-on."

"It's how we always handle it," Fox said. "But Krystal the real question is, what do we do once we find whatever we're looking for?"

"It's the only thing I have left of my people," Krystal said. "Whatever it is, I don't want it falling in the wrong hands."

"We'll make sure it doesn't," Fox replied. He then looked at the clock. "We got maybe half an hour at most. What do you think?"

Krystal then grinned devilishly. "I thought you'd never ask. That's plenty of time."

She turned off the lights and pulled the covers over themselves.

FoxMcCloud7921