Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any
other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.
Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the delay guys. I have my plot straight and everything seems to be going according to my plans. Thanks for all your reviews people, enjoy! ^ ^
CHAPTER 10
Broken In
The new Arwing's engine roared as the craft neared the breech of the sound barrier. Krystal's face was without expression, a look of extreme concentration. She breathed deeply in and out to keep her blood well saturated with oxygen. Fox taught her that if she didn't breathe, the likelihood of blacking out would greatly increase; especially at this speed. She approached her target, which was hovering gracefully in the air. Krystal jerked the stick in several directions causing her Arwing to turn sharply at her command. She quickly straightened out and banked sharply upward before rolling knife edge and diving again. She leveled out once more and smiled, pleased at the chiming sound on her radio indicating she had successfully flown through all the rings.
Pepper stood up straight with his arms folded behind his back in the air traffic control tower. Wearing his officer's uniform he watched Krystal complete yet another training exercise on his monitor. "So let me get this straight, typically you're not going to be able to help us out at all with this war?"
"Well," Fox said leaning back in one of the chairs, "for the time being, I will be able to lend a hand only with homeland security. Without the Great Fox as a mother ship I won't be able to travel that far due to the need of refueling and rest in between missions. Not to mention I still need to work with her some more," Fox said pointing out one of the windows.
Pepper turned around and met Fox's look, "Well we have plenty of cruisers, why not have your team dock in one of them?" Fox only shrugged. "I'm planning on getting most of them up around Sector Y to set up a blockade. I know that area is clean, and I want to have another blockade set up in Asteroid Field: Meteo. However, I'm worried that their might be space mines, concealed artillery turrets, or a few bombers lurking around and waiting for our cruisers to stroll in and get besieged. I'm asking you and your team to lead a squad of fighters into the asteroid field and simply check for what I just listed. Also this might be a good opportunity to take her out and give her some hands on training.
Fox scratched the back of his neck and thought to himself, "Hmm...What's the threat level?"
"Should be minimal, nothing your team wouldn't be able to handle I assure you."
Fox finally caved in, "Alright I'll take the job, when do we launch?"
"We'll move on Wednesday at eighteen-hundred hours, which gives you two days to get yourself ready.
Ok, good enough. Don't worry about a fee for now; you can pay me in full when this war is over. Speaking of which how is the effort going for us?"
Peppers face turned even more serious, he removed his cap and sun glasses and looked Fox straight in the eyes. "Right now, the way I'd like to put it is we're caught in the dark without a light. I've lost contact with every embassy and military station on every planet within these past two weeks. The only planet I can reach is Katina, and unfortunately they have been put in the same exact situation we have. We are both being isolated from the rest of the Lylat; I want to get these blockades up so we can at least have a foothold and protection from any more coup d'etat they might try and pull. As we push on the frontlines even harder we will uncover more which remains hidden and purge any and all Venomian forces which threaten the freedom of our neighboring planets. The time has come once again for us to rise up and protect that for which the Lylat stands for, freedom! Freedom from oppression, freedom from greed, freedom from pain inflicted by a corrupt form of government!"
Just then the radio clicked on and Krystal's voice came over the receiver. "General, that was a great speech, but I'm really starting to get bored out here..."
Fox chuckled to himself, as Pepper turned to his communicator and fit his cap back onto his head and concealed his eyes behind his sunglasses once again. "Ok Krystal playtime is over now...it's time you got a real test. If you should pass, you will be officially recognized as an ace pilot by the Cornerian military. However, if I should have to stop the test for your safety, meaning your shields drop below fifty percent, you will fail. If you should fail you cannot retry again for one week, sound fair enough?"
"Bring it on General, I'm ready!" Krystal boasted.
"Aggression, enthusiasm, and vigilance, she must picking up some of your qualities," Pepper joked to Fox. "I just hope that this new attitude she's acquired won't get in her way when piloting."
Fox folded his arms behind his head and kicked hit feet on top of one of the consoles, "Don't you worry about a thing, I have complete confidence in her."
"Excuse me! Yea, hi, hello, can we get this party started already?" Krystal said becoming more impatient.
Pepper turned his attention to the communicator once more, "Ok Krystal, all you have to do is fly through that one ring five miles north of you."
"Why does that sound easier said than done?" She questioned.
"Initiating in three, two, one!" Pepper then pushed a button on a console to his left. It beeped and then brought the radar sprite of the one ring on both Pepper and Krystal's radars. Krystal pulled a U-turn and took off in the direction of her target.
Within seconds the ring came into visibility and Krystal steadied her Arwing to make a clean pass through the center of it. Suddenly an alarm sounded inside the Arwing and Krystal quickly directed her attention to the status window on the HUD. It flashed the words 'CAUTION! ACTIVE AA DEFENSES DETECTED!' Krystal looked puzzled, "Why would there be AA guns around here when-." Krystal's thoughts were immediately interrupted when a large beam of plasma streaked by her Arwing only missing her only by inches. "Ohmygod!" Krystal shouted, "now I see what you meant by if you should have to end the test for my safety." The single ring was surrounded by eight defense turrets sticking out of the ground, each in a one mile radius from the ring. Krystal did her best to dodge all of the incoming blasts but was quickly overwhelmed with laser fire and had to pull out of her approach. She flew out of range of the turrets and tried starting her approach once again and concentrated as hard as she could like she did when maneuvering through the rings. Dodging was a bit different this time however. Nothing would wait for her, they were coming at you, and one wrong slip could be your last. Krystal was able to make it a little bit farther towards the ring this time, using simple dives and cuts. But as she neared the last mile to the ring the constant fire of all eight turrets at once became overbearing. Trapped with nowhere to move Krystal's Arwing took a direct hit to the center of the hull causing sparks to fly from the armor. Krystal screamed as she was shaken hard by the explosion. Quickly, she pulled up into a U-turn and kicked it into afterburner, jetting herself out of the hot-zone. The turrets stopped firing as soon as the Arwing got out of range. "Damn it!" Krystal cursed seeing her shields at fifty-six percent, "I can't do this Fox," she whined.
Fox's voice came out scratchy through her earpiece on Krystal's headset. "You can do it, I know you can, you're just not using what tools you have. First of all, you should run a scan on those turrets because I'll guarantee you they have a weakness of some sort. Second of all, you can't expect to pass simply by just strolling on in with a couple of fancy moves. You need speed, so try coming in from above and getting a drop on the guns. Oh yes, and one more thing, when you barrel roll the reflector shield is engaged which will deflect laser fire."
"Ok Fox, I'll do my best," she responded.
"I know you can do it, I love you Krystal," Fox said.
Krystal smiled to herself, hearing his words caused a warm feeling to wash over her inside. Suddenly she got all the confidence in herself that she would ever need. She ran a scan on the closest turret picked up by the threat detector. She studied the scanner's analysis on the turret while maintaining steady flight out of the turrets range. The analysis read: 'Cornerian Anti-Aircraft Defense Turret (BETA): This type of turret as opposed to ALPHA is designed to be slower and weaker for the purpose of training novice pilots. Scanners show a substantial decrease in the speed of vertical movement, a high altitude approach is recommended. Maximum effective range: 3,200 meters
"Ok, that sounds easy enough," Krystal said cracking her knuckles. She kicked her Arwing into afterburner and rocketed herself up high above the ground out of the guns' range. She made her approach until she was inside the ring's defense perimeter. She pushed the stick forward and pitched toward the ground, rapidly gaining speed with the ring in her sights. The guns instantly came alive again and started shooting up the sky but they couldn't keep up with her. She turned her head thinking she blew right by the ring but quickly drew her attention to the ground which was approaching fast. Even though pulling several G's, she pulled up as hard as she could to keep herself from crashing. Her radio chimed again, she looked behind her to see to her satisfaction the guns deactivating and retreating back into their holes. "WOO-HOO!" Krystal shouted while spinning her ship into several barrel rolls as a victory dance.
"Congratulations Krystal you've done it," Pepper said over the radio, "You are now officially recognized as an Ace Pilot."
"Nice job Krys, you did great out there," Fox butted in, his voice filled with amusement. "But that's enough fun for today" he continued, "let's head back I'm starved."
"Ok, I'll wait for ya out here, over"
Fox got up out of his chair and stretched, "Later Pep, see ya this Wednesday."
"Good day Fox, make sure you're ready"
Fox left Pepper in the control tower and took the short walk over to his Arwing which was parked nearby. He pushed a few buttons on his PDA and his Arwing came alive and opened it's cockpit for him. He hopped inside and put on his communicator and fastened himself in while he waited for the engine to warm up and computers to run their checks. He reached beside the seat for his gloves but they weren't there. A puzzled look crossed his face and he searched all around the cockpit for his gloves but couldn't find them. Finally he turned on his radio, "Krystal, you haven't seen my gloves have you?" he asked.
"Nope, haven't seen them anywhere Fox," she said with a slight giggle in her response.
"You took them again didn't you," Fox replied with a hint of annoyance as his Arwing began its vertical take off. "What's wrong with the pair we gave you for your birthday?"
"They just feel too tight, I like yours because they're soft and they're already broken in," she said as Fox flew up next to her.
"Well you gotta just wear them all the time and they'll soften up before you know it. Plus the one's you're wearing have what you call sentimental value to them; my father gave them to me when he was teaching me to fly. Though they were huge on me back then as you can imagine."
"In that case, I'm sorry, I have no business wearing them," she said with a frown.
"No that's fine," he replied back. "Just next time ask me when you want to borrow them, I nearly give myself a heart attack when I can't find them."
"Hey Fox, can we just fly for a little while longer? I'm having fun out here," she said looking over at him with a large smile across her face.
"Sure Krys, why don't you show me a little more that you have been learning from me. Better yet, why don't we make a little bet?" he said returning the smile. "In order to win you need to do is get a full radar lock on the other person for five seconds. Think you can handle it?"
"Sure I'm game, what are the terms?" she asked.
"Winner gets the gloves, loser gets the one we got for you."
"Deal"
"Alright, I'll evade first in the dogfight position," Fox said while speeding up in front of her. "When you're ready, get a lock and then hold it....if you can," Fox said in his devious tone. Fox flew level just below the sound barrier with Krystal right behind him. As soon as Krystal switched her weapon mode to cannon, her targeting system chirped, indicating she had a lock. Fox's HUD turned yellow and his lock warning alarm buzzed. Almost out of instinct, he opened his jammers and threw his throttle forward disabling his engine. Rolling knife edge at the same time his Arwing dropped like a rock and Krystal shot right by him. He then closed the jammers, went back into afterburner and positioned himself right on her tail. This the tables had turned and now he was on the offensive.
One-Thousand-One Krystal rolled to the left and right desperately trying to throw off Fox's lock but he stayed right with her.
One-Thousand-Two She pulled up as hard as she could, forcing her Arwing into a somersault. Fox smirked at the amateur trick and followed.
One-Thousand-Three Krystal rolled upside down and pulled again into a U-turn, she started feeling a little light-headed but she was able to perform the maneuver. When she looked behind her, Fox was still there and he still had his lock.
One-Thousand-Four She slammed on the brakes and tried to ditch Fox they same way he ditched her. But Fox saw it coming and had slowed down in time.
One-Thousand-Five "That's it sweetheart, bang, you're dead!" Fox said flying up next to her.
"Humph...you can keep your gloves, they smell bad anyway..." Krystal said.
"You sound a little angry, c'mon don't be a poor sport, did your really expect to beat me?" Krystal said nothing. "Actually, you wanna hear something that WILL make you angry?" Krystal did not reply again. "You could have completed that test in about five seconds and not have had a scratch on you, but you weren't using your head. You left your wings in all-range mode and your flaps were open for better turning. What you should have done is set your wings back so you would have enhanced speed to blow right by all those guns. Especially with only one ring, what would you need turning capability for? You could have shot through it like a dart and passed the test in less than ten seconds.
"Oh thanks Fox, completely own me out here, and now make me feel stupid. Well aren't you just the best boyfriend?" her tone filled with sarcasm.
"Would you wait a minute, I'm not finished yet. I'll have you know that when I first did the test, I used the method I just described to you. But what you did impressed me, and I think that you will do just fine in actual combat." Krystal still did not reply but instead grinned a little to herself.
They both landed in the hanger so they could use Trent's fuel instead of the vats they had stored in The Great Fox. Krystal walked up to Fox and pushed the gloves into his chest then turned and walked away. "Hey wait a minute!" Fox said catching up to her. "C'mon quit hanging your head, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I mean think about it; my dad was had me inside ships and showing me all kind of neat things since I was five...but I told you how that came to an end. Hey, would you look at me when I'm talking to ya?!" Fox said giving her a slap on the rear with his tail. Once he had her attention and her eyes gazing into his, he placed the gloves into hers and closed her fingers around them. A smile came out of hiding on her face. "These belonged to a great pilot and were given to what was to become a great pilot in the future. Now as a great pilot, I am passing them to you, another to become a great pilot in the future," He said softly.
She pulled herself close to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I love you," she whispered into his ear. They both leaned in close until their lips touched and wrapped around each other to expose the true feelings of love they had for one another.
"Ahem, I'm not interrupting am I?" Trent said intruding on the romantic moment.
"No...not at all," Fox said sarcastically while breaking the kiss.
Trent cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I thought I'd just like to inform you that being the generous person I am, I'm giving you one of my cars that I had customized."
"A car...What good is a car in space?"
"Well, I just thought you could have a designated car down here, c'mon the cars parked outside," Trent said. Fox and Krystal followed Trent to the back door of the hanger where the where a Red Cadillac Convertible was parked outside.
"Ooh, it's got tires! I hardly saw any of those while we were out on the road!" Krystal exclaimed.
"She's a classic alright, just put a brand new engine in their too. I'm tellin' you that engine purrs and will ride like dream.
"I've seen that kind of car somewhere before Fox said scratching his head....hmm....oh well," Fox said curiously. "Seriously though, don't you have anything better to do, like FIX UP THE GREAT FOX?" he stressed. "I swear; I must not give you enough work to keep you busy."
"Alright enough, do you want the car or not?" Trent said holding out the keys. "Cause if you're not interested I could always put it up for sale"
"No that won't be necessary Trent thanks," Fox said snatching the keys from him and tossing them to Krystal. "Here, you drive; I know how much fun you have when you pilot stuff."
"Goodie!" Krystal exclaimed, before skipping off with the keys.
"So what else have you done with this car?" Fox asked Trent.
"Well" he began, "I equipped it with a remote starter and-" Trent's voice just started to fade off, his lips moved but Fox couldn't hear what he was saying.
Fox felt himself getting very dizzy and the world around him seemed to change shape. He closed his eyes and shook his head trying to clear the faint feeling. When he opened his eyes he wasn't in the hanger anymore. He was in the drive way of someone's house looking at the same car, only this time it was parked near the curb on the side of the road. He gasped when he saw who was in it. It was...his mother.....Vixy! "Goodbye sweetheart, I'll only be gone a minute. You and you and your father stay out of trouble while I'm gone," she said warmly from the car window, but she but Fox wasn't the one she was talking to.
Keeping the same perplexed expression, he looked to his left and saw a little vulpine sitting in the grass playing with a little model fighter jet. "Bye Bye Mommy, I love you!" the little vulpine spoke up in a high pitched voice. Fox recognized the little vulpine, it was him...seventeen years ago. Fox's heart felt like it was suddenly squeezed by his ribcage, he was afraid of what might happen next. Vixy turned the key but the engine didn't start, there was only a click that could be heard for miles around. A millisecond later a blast of orange and yellow fire blew out from all the windows plumed above the car. The Young Fox was caught completely off guard and was knocked onto his back from the explosion. The immense heat picked the car up off the ground and let it dangle ten feet in the air. The reflection of the car and the flames gleamed in the gloss of both their eyes. Another second later it crashed back down onto the street, and left the two of them speechless. An older vulpine burst through the front door after hearing the calamity caused by the explosion. He whispered something to himself and grabbed Young Fox by the back of his shirt collar and pulled him inside the house.
Fox was left alone with the burning wreck that would forever be his mother's coffin. Everything sank in him, his muscles felt weak he could no longer stand. Just then, someone came up behind him and put their paw on his shoulder. Fox whipped around to meet the last person he'd ever think to see, it was Wolf! "...Beware of un-expected gifts," he said in a grave tone.
Fox gave him a confused look but something snapped, the visions were gone, he was back at the hanger. Fox's throat was dry from the visions he had just seen but he yelled as loud as his lungs would let him. "KRYSTAL! STOP WAIT! NO!!"
She put the key into the ignition.......
Author's Note: Oh my...that was very evil of me. I regret to inform everyone that I will be leaving home on June 24th, exactly when school ends for me. There are no computers or internet connection in where I'm going so I'm afraid I won't have an update until I get back on August 13th. But rest assured that I will work as fast and as hard as I possibly can to get everyone Chapter 11 before I leave. Please review everyone, you've been a great help! ^_^
Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the delay guys. I have my plot straight and everything seems to be going according to my plans. Thanks for all your reviews people, enjoy! ^ ^
CHAPTER 10
Broken In
The new Arwing's engine roared as the craft neared the breech of the sound barrier. Krystal's face was without expression, a look of extreme concentration. She breathed deeply in and out to keep her blood well saturated with oxygen. Fox taught her that if she didn't breathe, the likelihood of blacking out would greatly increase; especially at this speed. She approached her target, which was hovering gracefully in the air. Krystal jerked the stick in several directions causing her Arwing to turn sharply at her command. She quickly straightened out and banked sharply upward before rolling knife edge and diving again. She leveled out once more and smiled, pleased at the chiming sound on her radio indicating she had successfully flown through all the rings.
Pepper stood up straight with his arms folded behind his back in the air traffic control tower. Wearing his officer's uniform he watched Krystal complete yet another training exercise on his monitor. "So let me get this straight, typically you're not going to be able to help us out at all with this war?"
"Well," Fox said leaning back in one of the chairs, "for the time being, I will be able to lend a hand only with homeland security. Without the Great Fox as a mother ship I won't be able to travel that far due to the need of refueling and rest in between missions. Not to mention I still need to work with her some more," Fox said pointing out one of the windows.
Pepper turned around and met Fox's look, "Well we have plenty of cruisers, why not have your team dock in one of them?" Fox only shrugged. "I'm planning on getting most of them up around Sector Y to set up a blockade. I know that area is clean, and I want to have another blockade set up in Asteroid Field: Meteo. However, I'm worried that their might be space mines, concealed artillery turrets, or a few bombers lurking around and waiting for our cruisers to stroll in and get besieged. I'm asking you and your team to lead a squad of fighters into the asteroid field and simply check for what I just listed. Also this might be a good opportunity to take her out and give her some hands on training.
Fox scratched the back of his neck and thought to himself, "Hmm...What's the threat level?"
"Should be minimal, nothing your team wouldn't be able to handle I assure you."
Fox finally caved in, "Alright I'll take the job, when do we launch?"
"We'll move on Wednesday at eighteen-hundred hours, which gives you two days to get yourself ready.
Ok, good enough. Don't worry about a fee for now; you can pay me in full when this war is over. Speaking of which how is the effort going for us?"
Peppers face turned even more serious, he removed his cap and sun glasses and looked Fox straight in the eyes. "Right now, the way I'd like to put it is we're caught in the dark without a light. I've lost contact with every embassy and military station on every planet within these past two weeks. The only planet I can reach is Katina, and unfortunately they have been put in the same exact situation we have. We are both being isolated from the rest of the Lylat; I want to get these blockades up so we can at least have a foothold and protection from any more coup d'etat they might try and pull. As we push on the frontlines even harder we will uncover more which remains hidden and purge any and all Venomian forces which threaten the freedom of our neighboring planets. The time has come once again for us to rise up and protect that for which the Lylat stands for, freedom! Freedom from oppression, freedom from greed, freedom from pain inflicted by a corrupt form of government!"
Just then the radio clicked on and Krystal's voice came over the receiver. "General, that was a great speech, but I'm really starting to get bored out here..."
Fox chuckled to himself, as Pepper turned to his communicator and fit his cap back onto his head and concealed his eyes behind his sunglasses once again. "Ok Krystal playtime is over now...it's time you got a real test. If you should pass, you will be officially recognized as an ace pilot by the Cornerian military. However, if I should have to stop the test for your safety, meaning your shields drop below fifty percent, you will fail. If you should fail you cannot retry again for one week, sound fair enough?"
"Bring it on General, I'm ready!" Krystal boasted.
"Aggression, enthusiasm, and vigilance, she must picking up some of your qualities," Pepper joked to Fox. "I just hope that this new attitude she's acquired won't get in her way when piloting."
Fox folded his arms behind his head and kicked hit feet on top of one of the consoles, "Don't you worry about a thing, I have complete confidence in her."
"Excuse me! Yea, hi, hello, can we get this party started already?" Krystal said becoming more impatient.
Pepper turned his attention to the communicator once more, "Ok Krystal, all you have to do is fly through that one ring five miles north of you."
"Why does that sound easier said than done?" She questioned.
"Initiating in three, two, one!" Pepper then pushed a button on a console to his left. It beeped and then brought the radar sprite of the one ring on both Pepper and Krystal's radars. Krystal pulled a U-turn and took off in the direction of her target.
Within seconds the ring came into visibility and Krystal steadied her Arwing to make a clean pass through the center of it. Suddenly an alarm sounded inside the Arwing and Krystal quickly directed her attention to the status window on the HUD. It flashed the words 'CAUTION! ACTIVE AA DEFENSES DETECTED!' Krystal looked puzzled, "Why would there be AA guns around here when-." Krystal's thoughts were immediately interrupted when a large beam of plasma streaked by her Arwing only missing her only by inches. "Ohmygod!" Krystal shouted, "now I see what you meant by if you should have to end the test for my safety." The single ring was surrounded by eight defense turrets sticking out of the ground, each in a one mile radius from the ring. Krystal did her best to dodge all of the incoming blasts but was quickly overwhelmed with laser fire and had to pull out of her approach. She flew out of range of the turrets and tried starting her approach once again and concentrated as hard as she could like she did when maneuvering through the rings. Dodging was a bit different this time however. Nothing would wait for her, they were coming at you, and one wrong slip could be your last. Krystal was able to make it a little bit farther towards the ring this time, using simple dives and cuts. But as she neared the last mile to the ring the constant fire of all eight turrets at once became overbearing. Trapped with nowhere to move Krystal's Arwing took a direct hit to the center of the hull causing sparks to fly from the armor. Krystal screamed as she was shaken hard by the explosion. Quickly, she pulled up into a U-turn and kicked it into afterburner, jetting herself out of the hot-zone. The turrets stopped firing as soon as the Arwing got out of range. "Damn it!" Krystal cursed seeing her shields at fifty-six percent, "I can't do this Fox," she whined.
Fox's voice came out scratchy through her earpiece on Krystal's headset. "You can do it, I know you can, you're just not using what tools you have. First of all, you should run a scan on those turrets because I'll guarantee you they have a weakness of some sort. Second of all, you can't expect to pass simply by just strolling on in with a couple of fancy moves. You need speed, so try coming in from above and getting a drop on the guns. Oh yes, and one more thing, when you barrel roll the reflector shield is engaged which will deflect laser fire."
"Ok Fox, I'll do my best," she responded.
"I know you can do it, I love you Krystal," Fox said.
Krystal smiled to herself, hearing his words caused a warm feeling to wash over her inside. Suddenly she got all the confidence in herself that she would ever need. She ran a scan on the closest turret picked up by the threat detector. She studied the scanner's analysis on the turret while maintaining steady flight out of the turrets range. The analysis read: 'Cornerian Anti-Aircraft Defense Turret (BETA): This type of turret as opposed to ALPHA is designed to be slower and weaker for the purpose of training novice pilots. Scanners show a substantial decrease in the speed of vertical movement, a high altitude approach is recommended. Maximum effective range: 3,200 meters
"Ok, that sounds easy enough," Krystal said cracking her knuckles. She kicked her Arwing into afterburner and rocketed herself up high above the ground out of the guns' range. She made her approach until she was inside the ring's defense perimeter. She pushed the stick forward and pitched toward the ground, rapidly gaining speed with the ring in her sights. The guns instantly came alive again and started shooting up the sky but they couldn't keep up with her. She turned her head thinking she blew right by the ring but quickly drew her attention to the ground which was approaching fast. Even though pulling several G's, she pulled up as hard as she could to keep herself from crashing. Her radio chimed again, she looked behind her to see to her satisfaction the guns deactivating and retreating back into their holes. "WOO-HOO!" Krystal shouted while spinning her ship into several barrel rolls as a victory dance.
"Congratulations Krystal you've done it," Pepper said over the radio, "You are now officially recognized as an Ace Pilot."
"Nice job Krys, you did great out there," Fox butted in, his voice filled with amusement. "But that's enough fun for today" he continued, "let's head back I'm starved."
"Ok, I'll wait for ya out here, over"
Fox got up out of his chair and stretched, "Later Pep, see ya this Wednesday."
"Good day Fox, make sure you're ready"
Fox left Pepper in the control tower and took the short walk over to his Arwing which was parked nearby. He pushed a few buttons on his PDA and his Arwing came alive and opened it's cockpit for him. He hopped inside and put on his communicator and fastened himself in while he waited for the engine to warm up and computers to run their checks. He reached beside the seat for his gloves but they weren't there. A puzzled look crossed his face and he searched all around the cockpit for his gloves but couldn't find them. Finally he turned on his radio, "Krystal, you haven't seen my gloves have you?" he asked.
"Nope, haven't seen them anywhere Fox," she said with a slight giggle in her response.
"You took them again didn't you," Fox replied with a hint of annoyance as his Arwing began its vertical take off. "What's wrong with the pair we gave you for your birthday?"
"They just feel too tight, I like yours because they're soft and they're already broken in," she said as Fox flew up next to her.
"Well you gotta just wear them all the time and they'll soften up before you know it. Plus the one's you're wearing have what you call sentimental value to them; my father gave them to me when he was teaching me to fly. Though they were huge on me back then as you can imagine."
"In that case, I'm sorry, I have no business wearing them," she said with a frown.
"No that's fine," he replied back. "Just next time ask me when you want to borrow them, I nearly give myself a heart attack when I can't find them."
"Hey Fox, can we just fly for a little while longer? I'm having fun out here," she said looking over at him with a large smile across her face.
"Sure Krys, why don't you show me a little more that you have been learning from me. Better yet, why don't we make a little bet?" he said returning the smile. "In order to win you need to do is get a full radar lock on the other person for five seconds. Think you can handle it?"
"Sure I'm game, what are the terms?" she asked.
"Winner gets the gloves, loser gets the one we got for you."
"Deal"
"Alright, I'll evade first in the dogfight position," Fox said while speeding up in front of her. "When you're ready, get a lock and then hold it....if you can," Fox said in his devious tone. Fox flew level just below the sound barrier with Krystal right behind him. As soon as Krystal switched her weapon mode to cannon, her targeting system chirped, indicating she had a lock. Fox's HUD turned yellow and his lock warning alarm buzzed. Almost out of instinct, he opened his jammers and threw his throttle forward disabling his engine. Rolling knife edge at the same time his Arwing dropped like a rock and Krystal shot right by him. He then closed the jammers, went back into afterburner and positioned himself right on her tail. This the tables had turned and now he was on the offensive.
One-Thousand-One Krystal rolled to the left and right desperately trying to throw off Fox's lock but he stayed right with her.
One-Thousand-Two She pulled up as hard as she could, forcing her Arwing into a somersault. Fox smirked at the amateur trick and followed.
One-Thousand-Three Krystal rolled upside down and pulled again into a U-turn, she started feeling a little light-headed but she was able to perform the maneuver. When she looked behind her, Fox was still there and he still had his lock.
One-Thousand-Four She slammed on the brakes and tried to ditch Fox they same way he ditched her. But Fox saw it coming and had slowed down in time.
One-Thousand-Five "That's it sweetheart, bang, you're dead!" Fox said flying up next to her.
"Humph...you can keep your gloves, they smell bad anyway..." Krystal said.
"You sound a little angry, c'mon don't be a poor sport, did your really expect to beat me?" Krystal said nothing. "Actually, you wanna hear something that WILL make you angry?" Krystal did not reply again. "You could have completed that test in about five seconds and not have had a scratch on you, but you weren't using your head. You left your wings in all-range mode and your flaps were open for better turning. What you should have done is set your wings back so you would have enhanced speed to blow right by all those guns. Especially with only one ring, what would you need turning capability for? You could have shot through it like a dart and passed the test in less than ten seconds.
"Oh thanks Fox, completely own me out here, and now make me feel stupid. Well aren't you just the best boyfriend?" her tone filled with sarcasm.
"Would you wait a minute, I'm not finished yet. I'll have you know that when I first did the test, I used the method I just described to you. But what you did impressed me, and I think that you will do just fine in actual combat." Krystal still did not reply but instead grinned a little to herself.
They both landed in the hanger so they could use Trent's fuel instead of the vats they had stored in The Great Fox. Krystal walked up to Fox and pushed the gloves into his chest then turned and walked away. "Hey wait a minute!" Fox said catching up to her. "C'mon quit hanging your head, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I mean think about it; my dad was had me inside ships and showing me all kind of neat things since I was five...but I told you how that came to an end. Hey, would you look at me when I'm talking to ya?!" Fox said giving her a slap on the rear with his tail. Once he had her attention and her eyes gazing into his, he placed the gloves into hers and closed her fingers around them. A smile came out of hiding on her face. "These belonged to a great pilot and were given to what was to become a great pilot in the future. Now as a great pilot, I am passing them to you, another to become a great pilot in the future," He said softly.
She pulled herself close to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I love you," she whispered into his ear. They both leaned in close until their lips touched and wrapped around each other to expose the true feelings of love they had for one another.
"Ahem, I'm not interrupting am I?" Trent said intruding on the romantic moment.
"No...not at all," Fox said sarcastically while breaking the kiss.
Trent cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I thought I'd just like to inform you that being the generous person I am, I'm giving you one of my cars that I had customized."
"A car...What good is a car in space?"
"Well, I just thought you could have a designated car down here, c'mon the cars parked outside," Trent said. Fox and Krystal followed Trent to the back door of the hanger where the where a Red Cadillac Convertible was parked outside.
"Ooh, it's got tires! I hardly saw any of those while we were out on the road!" Krystal exclaimed.
"She's a classic alright, just put a brand new engine in their too. I'm tellin' you that engine purrs and will ride like dream.
"I've seen that kind of car somewhere before Fox said scratching his head....hmm....oh well," Fox said curiously. "Seriously though, don't you have anything better to do, like FIX UP THE GREAT FOX?" he stressed. "I swear; I must not give you enough work to keep you busy."
"Alright enough, do you want the car or not?" Trent said holding out the keys. "Cause if you're not interested I could always put it up for sale"
"No that won't be necessary Trent thanks," Fox said snatching the keys from him and tossing them to Krystal. "Here, you drive; I know how much fun you have when you pilot stuff."
"Goodie!" Krystal exclaimed, before skipping off with the keys.
"So what else have you done with this car?" Fox asked Trent.
"Well" he began, "I equipped it with a remote starter and-" Trent's voice just started to fade off, his lips moved but Fox couldn't hear what he was saying.
Fox felt himself getting very dizzy and the world around him seemed to change shape. He closed his eyes and shook his head trying to clear the faint feeling. When he opened his eyes he wasn't in the hanger anymore. He was in the drive way of someone's house looking at the same car, only this time it was parked near the curb on the side of the road. He gasped when he saw who was in it. It was...his mother.....Vixy! "Goodbye sweetheart, I'll only be gone a minute. You and you and your father stay out of trouble while I'm gone," she said warmly from the car window, but she but Fox wasn't the one she was talking to.
Keeping the same perplexed expression, he looked to his left and saw a little vulpine sitting in the grass playing with a little model fighter jet. "Bye Bye Mommy, I love you!" the little vulpine spoke up in a high pitched voice. Fox recognized the little vulpine, it was him...seventeen years ago. Fox's heart felt like it was suddenly squeezed by his ribcage, he was afraid of what might happen next. Vixy turned the key but the engine didn't start, there was only a click that could be heard for miles around. A millisecond later a blast of orange and yellow fire blew out from all the windows plumed above the car. The Young Fox was caught completely off guard and was knocked onto his back from the explosion. The immense heat picked the car up off the ground and let it dangle ten feet in the air. The reflection of the car and the flames gleamed in the gloss of both their eyes. Another second later it crashed back down onto the street, and left the two of them speechless. An older vulpine burst through the front door after hearing the calamity caused by the explosion. He whispered something to himself and grabbed Young Fox by the back of his shirt collar and pulled him inside the house.
Fox was left alone with the burning wreck that would forever be his mother's coffin. Everything sank in him, his muscles felt weak he could no longer stand. Just then, someone came up behind him and put their paw on his shoulder. Fox whipped around to meet the last person he'd ever think to see, it was Wolf! "...Beware of un-expected gifts," he said in a grave tone.
Fox gave him a confused look but something snapped, the visions were gone, he was back at the hanger. Fox's throat was dry from the visions he had just seen but he yelled as loud as his lungs would let him. "KRYSTAL! STOP WAIT! NO!!"
She put the key into the ignition.......
Author's Note: Oh my...that was very evil of me. I regret to inform everyone that I will be leaving home on June 24th, exactly when school ends for me. There are no computers or internet connection in where I'm going so I'm afraid I won't have an update until I get back on August 13th. But rest assured that I will work as fast and as hard as I possibly can to get everyone Chapter 11 before I leave. Please review everyone, you've been a great help! ^_^