Fox looked at the calendar and counted the number of remaining days she had to wear the suit. While she was sure the suit was "useful", she missed her uniform and boots that didn't have high heels.
Fox's thoughts were interrupted by a message on her communicator.
"Dear Star Fox Team,
We have a mission for you. Our sensors indicate Andronian forces and their local Saurian allies have established a small base on Sauria. What little chatter we've managed to decode indicate they are after some form of advanced technology that could give them an advantage. We request you retrieve this technology intact. We've provided the coordinates and other relevant data. We'll pay 100,000 Space Credits.
-Space Dynamics"
"It's about time we've gotten another mission." Fox told herself as she accepted the mission. She then sent an alert to the other team members, informing them of the mission and its details."
"Another mission?" Krystal asked Fox teasingly, "Why even take the test and join the team if I'm going on missions either way."
"Because, as a warrior, you love the challenge." Fox pointed out.
"True." Krystal conceded, "So, what's the plan?"
"Their anti-air defences seem lackluster." Fox told her, "We take out the defences from the air, take out the remaining defenders on foot, and then leave with the tech."
The pair grabbed their staffs and then headed to the hangar. Falco and Fara showed up a minute later.
"We bomb them from the air and then fight them on foot." Fox told the other two as they all climbed into their Arwings. They then took off for Sauria.
Fox's Arwing scanned the surface. There were about four anti-air guns that didn't seem to be fully online yet, with an additional two that were still in pieces. There was, however, a lot of artillery pieces, mortars, and machine gun nests placed in an extensive network of trenches.
"Krystal, take out the anti-air guns." Fox commanded, "Falco and Fara, focus on the ground defences."
The Arwings split up. Krystal lined her Arwing up with the first anti-air gun she spotted while Falco and Fara began strafing the trenches. Krystal launched a bomb at the first gun and a second bomb at the gun next to it. The surviving guns immediately opened fire on her, but they had trouble aiming properly. Krystal ignored the inaccurate fire and fired a bomb at a third gun. Finally, she fired her last bomb at the last gun, taking it out.
A large fireball errupted near that last gun as Falco blew up a makeshift bunker filled with artillery shells. Krystal joined in, spraying a machine gun nest with fire from her ship's cannons. She then sprayed a group of Andronians trying to assemble a fifth anti-air gun, wiping out the entire squad.
"It's almost embarrassing." Krystal thought out loud, "An entire company being wiped out by a handful of pilots in mere minutes."
"Hoping for a bigger challenge?" Fox asked, "I'm sure they're trying their best."
"That just makes it sad." Krystal told her.
A few minutes later and the sensors on Fox's Arwing told her that the defenders that were out in the open were all dead. After making sure there were no hidden snipers or machine guns, the four landed their Arwings and climbed out. As soon as they were all out, they pressed a few buttons on their communicators, sending their Arwings back to the Great Fox on auto-pilot. The four then ran into the structure with their weapons drawn.
The four hid behind a corner and Fox took a quick peek. There were four Sharpclaw assembling a machine gun. When Fox gave the signal, the four ran from their cover and opened fire. The Sharpclaw were wiped out in seconds. Fox then used her staff to pry the cheaply-made gun apart and to bend pieces out of shape, ensuring it couldn't be used against them later on without having half the gun outright replaced. They then ran down a series of halls, gunning down the occassional panicked Andronian and poorly-equipped Sharpclaw. Eventually, they made it to a room with Andronian equipment scanning an unusual looking object. As Fox cautiously approached the object, her bracelets began to glow.
Fara hooked her communicator up to a computer and began decoding the data.
"It looks like that thing is some of the tech the Andronians and Sharpclaw were after." Fara told Fox.
Fox pushed a blinking button on her left bracelet and a hologram screen popped up, displaying numbers and weird characters.
"What do they know about it already?" Fox asked.
"They've determined it's not entirely Krazoan." Fara informed Fox, "They're not sure what it does, exactly. It appears to require some other tech to function."
Seconds later, a map appeared on Fox's hologram screen.
"It appears to have some sort of effect on my suit." Fox told Fara, "Assuming my suit's actions aren't merely coincidental."
The others walked closer and looked at the map Fox's bracelet produced.
"What's the plan?" Falco asked Fox.
"You and Fara get this tech to the Great Fox." Fox ordered, "Krystal and I will investigate this structure further. When you have the tech safely stored in the Great Fox, use your communicators to locate us. There may be something else of value here and we don't know how close the enemy is to it."
Falco scanned the object with his communicator and found no danger. It wasn't radio-active and the communicator didn't detect any booby traps. Not taking any chances, Falco took a pair of gloves from his jacket and put them on before grabbing the tech and carrying it toward the surface. Fara followed closely, gun drawn in case the enemy received any reinforcements.
Fox and Krystal, meanwhile, went through the room's other exit. The hall was long and surprisingly empty. Even the walls were completely barren save for the occassional light source. Eventually, they made it to a walkway overlooking a massive chamber.
Giant bird statues stood against opposite walls facing one-another. The ground level was crawling with Andronians and Sharpclaw. Standing on a podium at the other side of the chamber was Andrew and a tall Sharpclaw armored in chainmail. The two foxes could faintly hear what sounded like a speech followed by cheers, but the speakers were too distant for individual words to be made out.
Fox scanned the room. The walkway circled around the entire room. Fox and Krystal crouched low and snuck to a nearby exit, not wanting to fight off an entire army. Eventually, they made it to a chamber at the end of the hall containing a bird statue holding a container. As Fox approached the statue, her bracelets glowed a blindingly bright yellow and the statue opened the container, revealing another strange object. Fox cautiously reached to grab the strange object, only for it to change into particles that were absorbed by Fox's suit. Fox didn't completely understand what happened, but her suit was really beginning to make her nervous. Moments later, Falco and Fara ran into the room.
"What did we miss?" Falco asked Fox.
"I think my suit absorbed a piece of the weird tech." Fox told him just as a new doorway opened up next to the statue. Curious, the four cautiously ventured further.