A few days later, Fox woke up to a message on her communicator.
"Star Fox Team:
Enemy communications intercepted and decoded indicate revival of enemy activity on Cerinia. Your services are requested due to your prior experience on the planet and with its native inhabitants. We request you disrupt enemy activities on Cerinia. Additional pay will be given for intel.
-General Peppy"
"What do they want?" Krystal asked as they climbed out of bed.
"The Andronians are apparently on Cerinia again." Fox said as they dressed in their flight suits, "They want us to stop them again."
Fox got on her communicator and informed the rest of the team of their new mission. After a brief breakfast, Fox walked to the bridge and set a course for Cerinia. While she waited for Rob to fly them to Cerinia, Fox walked to the recreation room.
"I've never been to Cerinia before." Lucy commented.
"Only Fox and Krystal have." Falco informed her.
"We'll be in Cerinia's orbit in a few hours." Fox told her team, "It's a fairly straightforward mission. First, we take out their air power and defenses from the air. Then we land and attack their remnants on the ground. After this mission is complete, Krystal and I have another mission for you guys."
"Is this second mission going to involve priestess warrior stuff?" Falco asked, "I'm down with half of that."
"You'll find out when we get to it." Fox told Falco, "For now, let's focus on the immediate mission. Any other questions?"
Fox looked around and found no one else had any questions.
"Good. We have a few hours until we arrive. Let's meet up in the hanger when Rob alerts us a few minutes ahead of our arrival. For now, just relax and prepare."
Fox left for her room to prepare hers and Krystal's Cerinian gear. Krystal followed closely.
"Just relax." Fox told Krystal, "I'll have our stuff prepared."
"I know." Krystal told her, "It's just weird how some events can feel so long ago, yet also so recent."
"You're talking about my visit on Cerinia."
"Certain... special parts." Krystal told her, "They stir up certain feelings."
"I know." Fox said, "They stir up emotions in me too."
"Shall we get some things out of the way?" Krystal suggested, "Before the mission?"
"It has been quite a few days. This is supposed to be our 'honeymoon' period, after all."
The pair stared deeply into each other's eyes. Without any hesitation, they both moved in for the kiss. They wrapped their arms around one-another and Krystal moved them onto the bed. It was times like these that made Fox grateful she had added some soundproofing to the walls, 'inspired' by Slippy's eventful years-long stay. Time seemed to stand still as their bodies seemed to unite as well as their chastity belts would allow. For the first time, Krystal seemingly welcomed the teasing and frustration. It would only improve the eventual feeling of relief.
"Hey Fox?" Krystal asked when their mouths finally separated, "Do we have to leave afterward?"
"Not really." Fox answered, "The Great Fox still has a communication channel with Corneria. We can stay a few days."
"That would be great." Krystal said before they resumed kissing. As they kissed, Krystal wondered about the taste of Fox's 'other lips'. She couldn't wait to find out.
A few hours later, Rob alerted the team that they'd arrive in Cerinia's orbit in five minutes. Fox and Krystal quickly got off their bed, grabbed their gear, and left. Moments later, the team was in the hangar, loading their gear into their ships.
"We'll split up into two teams." Fox told the team, "Lucy will be Falco's wingman and Fara will be ours. While Krystal flies, I'll be scanning the area for threats and targets. Any questions."
No one raised any questions by the time the Great Fox got into position.
"Remember to stick with your wingmate." Fox told Lucy, "Don't bite off more than you can chew. We almost lost a teammate who tried to take down a boss by himself."
The crew climbed into their ships and took off for Cerinia's atmosphere. Fox scanned the area and found some fighters circling around a small base that appeared to be under construction. Fox gave the two groups the coordinates of their initial target areas and then scanned the area for ground defenses.
The enemy fighters began attacking the approaching ships while ground forces attacked with rockets and machine guns. It quickly became apparent the ground defenses were only designed for ground targets as the rockets and bullets flew everywhere.
Krystal focused her attention on a fighter that flew past her when she briefly activated her brakes. She immediately opened fire on the ship and Fara opened fire on a ship that turned toward Krystal's Arwing. Within seconds, both ships were falling to the ground in flames. Krystal then turned her attention to a ship that opened fire on Fara from behind.
While Krystal slowed down, letting Fara pass so she could focus on the enemy fighter, Fox began searching for enemy communications. Eventually, she found the right frequency.
The communications were poorly encripted and were mostly screams for help and desperate attempts at coordination. After Krystal and Fara took out a few more fighters, the remaining fighters split up and made a desperate scramble to a carrier hidden on the other side of the planet.
"Let them go." Fox told the team, "The Great Fox's defenses can take care of them if they try anything. Our main priority is the base. Let's take out the ground defenses first."
The four ships began attacking the enemy ground forces, quickly destroying the machine gun nests and makeshift bunkers. Within minutes, the few enemy survivors made their way for the relative safety of their underground base.
"When we land, stick together." Fox ordered.
The four ships landed and the group climbed out. As soon as they had removed their gear, they ordered their ships to return to the Great Fox. They made their way inside via a door that had been destroyed when Falco took out a nearby machine gun.
Inside, the place looked unfinished and deserted. Walls were still unpainted , with some still missing panels to cover up exposed wires and pipes. Many ceiling lights were still left uninstalled. A few hundred feet down the hall and they ran into their first guard standing in front of a jail cell. The ape opened fire, but ran out of bullets after all three of his remaining shots missed. He immediately surrendered, but tried to stab Krystal when she cautiously approached to disarm and restrain him. Krystal was able to easily disarm him and slam him into the ground.
Falco had his blaster aimed at the ape's head when Krystal raised her hand to tell him to stop. Instead, she took a key from the guard and unlocked the cell, releasing a young Cerinian warrior who looked barely old enough to begin training.
"I'll take it from here, priestesses." the warrior told Fox and Krystal as he restrained the guard's hands behind his back with his own cuffs. By the time the guard had already come to his senses, he was already being dragged to the village miles away.
"What's your village's policy with prisoners?" Falco asked, curious.
"Depends." Krystal answered, "Those deemed too dangerous are executed by a warrior using a method of their choice, usually by using them as a target for training. Some are kept as ransom or for use later in a prisoner swap. Some are interrogated or used as labor. It depends on who we capture, mostly."
"Have you ever had to... 'deal' with a prisoner?" Lucy asked.
"Twice." Krystal answered, "The first one somehow broke free and tried to kill me, so she was used as a dummy so I could practice my nonlethal staff swings... until they stopped being nonlethal. The second one was interrogated and was still a prisoner when I left with Fox. I have no idea what happened to him."
"Remind me to never surrender to your village." Falco told Krystal as they continued down the hall. They walked past empty rooms with no doors installed yet. Occasionally, they walked past a light that was flickering or had exploded.
Eventually, they reached a room filled with crates and guards. Falco prepared a grenade from his pack while the others hid behind crates. Falco quickly peeked from behind a crate and threw the grenade into a group of guards, the blast and shrapnel taking out half of the guards. While the survivors opened fire at Falco's direction, Fara snuck around and opened fire from behind. When they turned around to fire at her, the rest of the team opened fire on the guards. Within moments, the remaining guards were all dead. With that threat removed, the team continued on.
The team reached a staircase and an unfinished elevator. Taking the stairs, they walked deep underground until the metal and concrete of the base was replaced by ancient stone walls.
"How many of these temples did they build?" Falco asked in disbelief, "Why here hundreds of feet underground?"
"Who knows?" Fox asked rhetorically.
Deeper into the underground temple, they entered a chamber filled with lab equipment. In the center was a strange orb that looked similar to the tech they retrieved from the last temple they visited. As they approached it, the bracelet in Krystal's bag began to react. She pulled it out and handed it to Fox.
"Really?" Fox asked.
"I figured we'd probably run into some more of the weird tech eventually." Krystal explained, "You might run into something that's actually useful."
Fox sighed and brought the bracelet closer to the orb. The bracelet glew noticeably brighter and displayed a hologram message.
"It says I have to be wearing it." Fox told the group, "Nobody watch while I change."
Fox walked behind some large machines and undressed. She then put the bracelet on and pushed a blinking button. Her blue suit quickly encased her body and her feet rose as the heels materialized. She then grabbed her flight suit and boots and walked back to the group. Handing her clothes to Krystal, she reached for the orb. The orb was quickly absorbed into Fox's suit and a hologram message was produced. Reading the message, Fox crouched down and then morphed into a sphere barely larger than a foot and encased in the suit's blue fabric and boots' yellow materials.
"Fox?" Falco asked as Fox rolled around before stopping and morphing back into Fox's normal shape and size.
"That was weird." Fox commented as she stuffed her flight suit and boots into her bag. The group continued on.
"What was it like?" Lucy asked.
"Weird." Fox answered, "Like I could see and hear, but also couldn't. Also, I couldn't move my individual body parts, but I could still move my body as a whole. It was also cramped."
Deeper into the hall, they came across some writing.
"It says something about the glory of 'the ancient visitors'." Krystal told the group, "The dialect is weird, though. I can only make out the general idea."
Deeper still, they came across a hole that was about the size of Fox's new ball form. Shining a light down the tunnel, they found a room on the other end. Fox morphed into a ball and rolled to the room. Inside was another piece of tech. Fox unrolled and touched the tech.
Her suit developed a hood with a visor and mask. The visor began providing Fox with information about her surroundings as well as a number of mysterious "stats" and meters. Fox morphed into a ball and rolled back to the group. After morphing out of ball mode, she selected a new option on her bracelet that caused her visor and mask to disappear.
"It was just a new upgrade." Fox told the group, "I have no idea what the visor kept telling me."
"Do all these temples have 'upgrades'?" Falco asked rhetorically as the group continued down the hall. Eventually, the temple's stone walls stopped, replaced by the concrete and metal of the base closer to the surface. This area felt more complete, with doors installed in doorways and more functional lights. As they continued, the group couldn't help but feel they were walking into a trap. They slowed down, looking and listening for potential ambushes.
Eventually, the hall ended with a large chamber filled with machinery. As Fox and Krystal moved closer to investigate, the rest stayed further back to watch out for attackers.
"What is it?" Fara asked.
"I'm not sure exactly." Fox answered, "It looks like a hybrid of Lylatian tech and whatever tech I've been getting."
On a hunch, Fox reactivated the visor, which began giving useful data concerning the technology.
"It appears they were trying to create a new body for Andross as part of a larger experiment to produce better armor and prosthetics for their forces." Fox explained, "If I had to guess, they probably built this base to keep their project away from Corneria's watchful eyes."
"You're mostly right." a familiar voice told her, "Apparently, it wasn't secret enough."
The group turned around to find General Scales blocking the only way out. He pulled out a gun and opened fire, causing the team to run and dive for cover. Falco opened fire, but the shots were absorbed by an invisible forcefield.
"That was a warning." Scales told the group, "You have one last chance to surrender while your potential usefullness still outweighs your annoyance."
The group hid behind machinery, wondering how they were going to take him down. The only way they could think of was to keep shooting with the hope his shields would either be overwhelmed or depleted. Before they could even attempt to coordinate any plan, Scales began laughing and the whole room began shaking. When the shaking stopped, Scales fell over and partially melted, revealing metal and fried circuitry.
"Figures he wouldn't risk his life confronting us." Fox told the group.
"I think his robot's battery died." Fara told the group, "That or self destructed."
Finding nothing of importance in the room, the group began leaving the base. Within fifteen minutes they were back on the surface to find a large hole where part of the base used to be.
"Part of the base took off for space." Fox said as she read the alert Rob sent her, "It left orbit ten minutes ago."
"So what now?" Falco asked, "What's this other mission you had for us?"
"For now, let's call back our ships and head for the village." Krystal told the group, "You'll find out there."