Author's Note: Grrrr… I lost all my old reviews. Oh, well... it was my own fault. Well, I need new ones! Thanks for your review Jesika, glad to know you're here. Hope you get the next part of your story up soon!
… And… how embarrassing! I popped in my copy of the old SNES StarFox… And I discovered Slippy does, in fact, stutter. Funny… I started this up having Slippy stutter, for reasons I couldn't quite pinpoint. He stuttered in the NP comic too… oh well. Guess my instinct filled in where my memory failed me.
Well, enough talk. I forgot what else I wanted to say anyway.
Ruins of Camelot
Chapter 4
By: Knicknevin
On board the Great Fox- en route from Katina to Corneria
Communications room
6:00 P.M. Corneria time
Peppy glanced back at the others as his communication was patched through. He felt as tired as Slippy and Falco looked… and they were both looking pretty rough. The words 'transmission being transferred' continued to flash on screen. Pepper must be pretty bogged down right now, Peppy said to himself. It might be a while.
The battle on Katina had been ugly. By the end it had become totally hopeless- the enemy fighters were anticipating every move they made and were countering them before they had even started. It hadn't taken long after the second wave of fighters flew in for Tildoe Base to order a withdrawal.
Bill and a small fraction of his squadron had managed to escape, escorting all the cargo and passenger ships that could be evacuated from the base. Andross's forces hadn't pursued, opting to focus their energy on wiping out all those who hadn't been able to evacuate.
Katina had fallen… The last line of defense before Corneria was gone. Andross must be sensing victory is near, Peppy thought as he waited for Pepper to answer his call. His forces have been driving almost desperately. He must want to end this soon…
"Fox still isn't coming out of his room," Falco commented absently. "I think somebody should go talk to him. He shouldn't be left alone for so long in the shape he's in."
Peppy agreed with Falco's thoughts, wishing the news of Fara's death hadn't come right before such an important battle… They'd been forced to leave Fox alone during the time he needed his friends most.
"S-so who should go do it?" Slippy asked nervously. The three looked at one another. Before anyone could speak, the monitor blanked and General Pepper appeared on screen.
"Ah, yes, Pepper here," the general said quickly. He appeared tired; his uniform was a mess. "Peppy, is that you?" he asked curiously, as the rabbit had his back to the camera.
Peppy turned around in surprise at Pepper's voice. "Oh! Yes general, Peppy here."
Falco and Slippy glanced at one another, their eyes questioning. Falco finally turned away. "All right, I'll do it. It was my idea anyway," the avian said, marching out of the room, obviously dreading the chore he had volunteered for. Slippy followed a few moments later, having the impression that Falco would need some help.
Pepper glanced over Peppy's shoulder, trying to catch what was happening behind the hare. "What was it you needed?" he questioned. "Things are… rather a mess here right now."
"Well," Peppy began, turning Pepper's gaze back to him. "I'm sure you've gotten the gist of what happened back there, but I thought you would want our take on what happened. The strategy the enemy used was unlike anything we've seen before…" Peppy trailed off seeing the expression on General Pepper's face.
Pepper nodded sadly. "Yes, I have received reports of the nature of the force that attacked you." His gaze slid away. "CDF forces had actually encountered and captured one of the drones you encountered beforehand, although I didn't send the info along to our other CDF bases…"
Peppy stared at the general in shock. "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked angrily. "And what were they anyway?"
"What they were, according to Intelligence, was a strategy far too expensive to ever be successfully accomplished. The first group you fought were little more than target drones, but they served an important task- they analyzed your flight patterns and sent the data they collected to the central computer on the mothership, where the data was fed into better equipped fighters. By the time the real threat was deployed, a vast amount of data had been collected and they were able to adapt to your flight style with incredible speed."
"Too expensive…?" Peppy asked after he had considered this.
Pepper nodded, anger flashing in his eyes. "I didn't pass that info along because Intelligence was confident that there was no way Andross's forces could possibly afford to waste such a vast amount of resources on drones whose sole purpose was to send back the flight data of the fighters that were shooting them down." Pepper paused for a moment to catch his breath. "I agreed and didn't prioritize it as something that needed to be urgently relayed to all forces… By the time I realized what was happening on Katina all communications had been jammed…"
Peppy nodded slowly. "I see…"
"I'm sorry. If I had any idea they would be testing that strategy out on Katina…"
"It's… all right. There was no way you could have known," Peppy responded. "How bad were our losses there?"
Pepper looked down. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been. You boys pulled off a miracle getting that many of our people off the planet safely…"
"Hardly a miracle sir. Bill managed to stage a very well organized retreat," Peppy replied.
"Yes, yes he did," Pepped agreed. "By the way… how is Fox doing? Has he recovered any?"
Peppy sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Well, I'm not really sure. He hasn't come out of his room since he got the news…"
Pepper nodded, not surprised. "Well, for all our sakes, I hope he recovers himself soon…"
"He hasn't had much time…"
Pepper nodded. "I know. But, there is no more time… Now we make our last stand…"
Peppy was silent for a few moments, the gravity of what Pepper had said sinking in.
"There is an alternative…" Peppy suggested, a plan forming in his mind.
Pepper fixed the hare with a harsh glare. "Surrender is not an option," he said sternly, misunderstanding Peppy's meaning.
"No, no," Peppy responded in surprise. "I don't mean surrender. We both know what that would lead to."
"So what then?"
Peppy broke eye contact with the general, his gaze drifting off to the side. "We attack."
* * *
Venom
Early morning
Leon's quarters
Leon scanned his eyes over Pigma and Andrew. Both of them looked tired and impatient. Sometimes I wonder how I ever got hooked up with this group. I could've led a good career in Venomian Intelligence if I hadn't insisted on becoming a pilot… Pigma grunted and shifted in his seat. Now I'm trapped here with a traitor, a dim-wit, and a 'leader' who seems to be losing his mind… Not to mention Andross…
Pigma grunted impatiently again. He'd been agitated for quite a while, not wanting to wait for so long. "Comon! What're we sitting around here for? I could be sleeping right now!"
Leon suppressed a sigh as he brought his thoughts into order. Finally he spoke. "I know you're impatient, but bear with me. I know all of us have noticed how oddly Wolf has been acting lately. Earlier today," he went on, turning his attention to Andrew, "Pigma and I tried to convince him to reveal what it is that's causing him to act so erratically. We weren't successful."
"It's all about Fox!" Pigma added, seeing what Leon was driving at. "Wolf has some sorta grudge against him… something that eats away at him whenever McCloud is involved. Whatever it is, he gets all sloppy whenever he has a shot at Fox or one if his friends."
Leon nodded at this. "But why did you call us here?" Andrew asked. "I know he can get a little soft when it comes to blood, but what is he doing that is making you so worried that you call us here now?"
"Soft when it comes to blood?" Leon asked, caught off guard by the change of subject and not understanding what Andrew was talking about.
"Haven't you noticed how he always manages to miss your little 'interrogation' shows? I don't think it's really an accident. He manages to miss all the really bloody scenes." Leon and Pigma's eyes widened in surprise.
"I… hadn't realized that," Leon said a bit lamely, realizing Andrew had a point. Wolf really did manage to miss anything that could turn 'messy'… It would bear looking in to, though it probably wasn't important… Perhaps it was why he became a pilot, Leon considered, a pilot never even has to see the other pilot he's killing. Embarrassing having Andrew be the one to point it out to me though. Collecting his thoughts again, Leon moved on. "But, regardless, that wasn't why I called you here… I think we need to begin checking through all the databases available to us. Wolf has some sort of past with McCloud, and I think we need to know what it is. I'm best at gathering information, but you, Pigma, are most familiar with Cornerian history and records, and you, Andrew, should be able to use your uncle's influence to get access to files we may not be able to."
The other two sat in silence for a few moments, considering. "So you want us to spend all our spare time searching through old records, on the slim chance that whatever happened between the two is on record somewhere?"
Leon nodded. "I know I'm asking a lot, but it's important that we learn whatever Wolf's secret is. Our lives may depend on it if we are to ambush StarFox at Zoness…"
"I guess so," Pigma conceded. "I'm not gonna let Wolf drag me down with him. I'll start checking tomorrow." He didn't look very happy about it however. But, Leon didn't care, as long as Pigma did his share of the work.
"I can get a little leeway with the brass," Andrew agreed. "I don't think it would be in some top-secret file, but I'll do what I can to check if there's anything to be found there."
Leon glanced between the two, pleased that they were cooperating, even if only reluctantly on Pigma's part. "We're all in agreement then?"
Andrew and Pigma both nodded sharply. After a few seconds had passed by in silence, Pigma rose from his seat. "Well, fine then. I'm going back to sleep," he said, then left and headed down to his quarters. Andrew followed shortly after.
Leon activated his computer and began a long search, his eyes scanning endless bits of useless information, searching for the critical bit of info that would reveal Wolf's secret. The amount of data that had been collected on Fox was impressive- Andross had wanted to know every possible detail about his most dangerous enemy, in the hopes that some weakness could be found. The connection between Fox and Wolf, Leon felt, had to be in there somewhere.
He kept at his search for long into the night…
* * *
Great Fox
Fox's quarters
6:09 P.M. Corneria time
Fox lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He vainly tried to focus his mind on happier times, knowing he should try to remember Fara happily, instead of with sadness and regret… but he couldn't stop thinking of how empty his life was going to be without her. Every time he thought he could pull himself together and go on, the memories came crashing down again, and he could only think of how he had lost Fara…
His stomach had been growling for a while, as he lay on the bed. He hadn't eaten for some time, but he ignored it.
He also tried to ignore the annoying buzzing coming from the door, but it kept on incessantly. Eventually the buzzing stopped and was replaced by repeated pounding on the door. "Come on Fox, I know you're in there," he heard Falco's voice through the door. "Open up and let me in."
Fox sighed and rolled onto his side, his thoughts drifting away. The buzzing started again, droning on and on endlessly, seeming to drill into his head. Before Falco could lay off the doorbell and start pounding again, Fox forced himself to his feet, and opened the door.
"Fox!" Falco said in surprise at seeing the door open- he had about given up on Fox letting him in. "Can I come in?"
Fox simply turned and sat down on his bed, leaving the door open. "So…" Falco began uncertainly as he came in the door. "How are you doing? Er… I guess not so hot huh?"
Fox couldn't help but smile slightly at Falco's discomfort. Falco was an excellent pilot, but he wasn't too big on social skills. "I'll… be all right. It's taken me some time, but I think I've got my feelings under control now."
Falco blinked, a bit surprised Fox had collected himself in the short amount of time since the news had come. "Really? I know how bad you have to feel right now…" Fox nodded in understanding.
"I do feel terrible. Every time I think of it, I get this powerful feeling of… emptiness, mixed with anger, and fear, and hate… But I try to keep my mind off the pain before it becomes unbearable."
Falco stood just inside the door, unsure of how to go on. I know what it's like…I spent most of my life feeling the same way. It took me a long time to move on after my father died and my mom abandoned me… "Well… Everyone here's lost someone they cared for… We all want to help you… Uh, if you want to talk about it…"
Fox sighed. "Fara and I… we both knew this could happen. We both agreed not to let this possibility hinder us, or make us hold back in our duties in any way. I guess you could say I was prepared for this."
Falco heard movement behind him, and turned to see Slippy cautiously entering the room. "H-how can someone prepare f-for something like this? I d-don't see how you could m-m-make yourself ready…" the frog trailed off, not sure if that had been such a wise question to ask.
Fox shook his head. "I… Well, there is no way to really prepare for it, but… we both accepted the possibility. And… that doesn't mean I can handle it any better. It's just something that both of us knew could happen."
The three were silent for a moment, each unsure of what to say next.
Falco finally broke the silence, an idea forming in his mind. "Well, however you may be dealing with it Fox, I just want you to know that we're with you… We want to help."
Fox smiled sadly. "Thanks… I don't know what you can do though. I just need some time…"
"Well," Falco replied, "Sitting in here alone all day isn't the best way to pass that time. And well… back at the orphanage, before I ran off… The Penguin always said that the best thing to do when you're feeling bad is to talk about it to someone. I never really tried it, but… Maybe it'll make you feel a little better."
"He's r-right Fox," Slippy agreed. "You sh-should t-talk to us. Tell us something- anything. Anything you w-want. We'll understand."
Fox sighed. "Anything?" he asked, knowing they were never going to give him a moment's rest until he cooperated.
Falco and Slippy seated themselves across from Fox. "Something you've got on your mind maybe," Falco suggested. "Or whatever you feel like talking about."
Fox thought for a few moments. "Well… there was that one time…" he smiled at the memory. "Right after Fara and I were engaged… We had headed into some city or another- I don't remember which. We'd had dinner at a fancy restaurant. On the way back, we stopped by some seedy looking bar, looking for trouble I guess- Sabby's was the name of the bar I think," Fox said, then chuckled quietly.
"Sabby, as it turned out, was a gorilla about the size of a house… and with all the personality of a bulldozer. I still scratch my head trying to figure out how he managed to move so gracefully in the little space behind the bar. The patronage was your usual crowd of toughs- mostly factory workers I think- and it didn't tale long for elbows to start bumping into me as Fara and I sat at the bar. Maybe they didn't like folks outside their little group, or maybe they just thought I looked like an easy target, but either way, the bartender didn't look to concerned about his customers welfare."
"I tried to ignore the jostling as Fara and I talked about how we would tell you guys about the engagement. Heh… it was all we could do not to just run into some country town and wake up the Justice of the Peace. I was so happy that it took a long while for the harassment to get on my nerves."
Fox grinned. "I tripped one of them as he passed by for another bump, and he fell like a ton of bricks. He hauled himself back up looking severely pissed. He threw me off the barstool and stood over me, about to start beating on me," Fox said, then chuckled. "Imagine his surprise when, just when he thought he had me, Fara's mug smashed his head in. Probably didn't figure she would give him any trouble- he looked like the wife-beater sort. The rest of the group was pretty pissed off, but they were drunk and inexperienced… Fara and I mopped the floor with those guys."
"And Sabby- get this- he actually thanked us for doing it. That group had been acting pretty badly recently, but he hadn't gotten around to kicking them out himself. Seemed a bit odd, being thanked about something like that by someone who could have probably taken them with one arm tied behind his back."
"Drinks were on the house that night, and careful as I am about alcohol, both of us were more than a little tipsy by the time we decided to head home…"
The three talked for long into the night, each sharing their own stories. They managed to- not forget, but put to rest, at least for a time, the loss they had suffered, and the threat that they would soon have to face.
* * *
Venom
Andross's Inner Sanctum
4:00 A.M.
Andross scanned over the last of the battle reports. The new technology the engineers had been calling 'foolproof' had worked, at least technically. Katina had played right into their hands, using all their skill against the new AI fighters. Once the AI system had gathered enough data, any hope Katina's defenders may have had of driving back the attack was lost.
On the other hand… it had turned out to be far too expensive for a repeat performance. The amount of resources lost in the campaign had been staggering. Three planets could have been conquered at the same cost as had been expended capturing that one base.
"Oh well," Andross said to the empty room, tossing the report aside. All that mattered was that Katina was now under his control. With victory secured there, Corneria was the only remaining stepping-stone to complete control of the Lylat System.
Well… I should probably replace the engineers that had come up with the idea… he considered. We may have won, but at a much higher cost than we should have.
Andross rose from his seat and crossed over to a holograpic display. Punching in a few commands, he brought up an image of Corneria. Andross smiled wickedly at the planet as it slowly revolved. He could still remember the anguish of his exile from that lush, green world. It wouldn't be much longer until that exile ended. "Now… now I set into motion the plan that will seal your doom: the complete and utter destruction of StarFox…"
He returned to his seat and rang for his assistant. "Yes sir?" a sullen looking lizard asked tiredly as he entered Andross's office. He wasn't an especially skilled aide, and Andross could never remember his name, but he was the only one Andross could find to take the shift after Leon exposed the last one as a traitor. Photos of Leon's 'interrogation' of the spy had leaked out making most Venomians leery of serving in a position so close to him.
Still, he was skilled enough to take care of the task Andross had waiting for him. "Have the message I prepared earlier dispatched to Zoness by courier- we can't risk my instructions being intercepted. My forces on Zoness must then relay it back here using encryption we know that the Cornerians have broken recently."
The aide nodded. "Yes sir," he repeated, leaving the office quickly.
Andross chuckled as the aide left. Wolf will be happy- he'll have his shot at Fox soon, he thought. I wonder if he'll actually win this time?… He's had a number of chances to kill Fox before but there's always been some slip-up… Or perhaps Fox is simply a better warrior. That thought bothered him. The whole ruse they had planned would be for nothing if Wolf failed to eliminate StarFox. I'll send the AI fighters that survived the Katina battle to Zoness. If StarWolf fails, they'll be in reserve to take care of Fox and his crew.
With that matter settled Andross turned his attention to his monitors. Glancing at the various updates, he noticed that someone was accessing level 5 restricted files. A quick check confirmed that it was in fact, Andrew searching through the files. What is he up to? Andross wondered. Examining the search pattern Andrew was using, he seemed to be looking for any files pertaining to Fox McCloud and Wolf O'donnell. Interesting… A few keystrokes revealed that Leon was also searching through various databases, and for the same reason.
Andross scratched his chin in thought. "Looking for the secret to Wolf and Fox's shared past?" he asked aloud. "Well, good luck… as far as I know, the only ones who know that secret are Wolf and Fox themselves, and I'm not even sure if Fox knows…"
It was one of the reasons Andross kept Wolf so close to him- without knowing for sure what Wolf's motivation was he could never be entirely trusted. So, Andross kept him close, where he could better keep an eye on him.
Andross leaned back in his chair. It's unimportant now anyway… StarFox will be obliterated within a few days- Corneria not long after that… It's… perfect… Andross's thoughts began to wander. Now, perhaps…I'll get my wish… His thoughts drifted away, his mind filled with foreign ideas and strange daydreams.
He sat in his seat with a witless grin on his face, completely unaware of time as it passed by. His attention eventually snapped back to the present. Andross leaned forward stiffly to squint at the clock. 8:14 A.M. "Nearly four hours…It's… getting worse," he muttered, absent-mindedly wiping the drool from his chin.
Well, that's all for today. Chapter 5 should be up fairly soon (but don't quote me on that- my work schedule just got a bit busier), answering a few of the questions floating around.
Oh, and, as always, review me! Bad, good, or somewhere in between, tell me what you think! I know you're out there, so take a second and put forward your opinion! Thanks!