Star Fox Adventures and all its characters are property of Rare and Nintendo. They are used without their consent and well.. [shrug]
Just read on.
So anyway, the first story part is coming to a close. The 2nd will start right away, in this same entry (The Fox and the Vixen I mean). So yeah...
The Fox and the Vixen - Chapter 8 - Let it Begin...
Pepper was sitting on a chair at the edge of a long rectangular table in what looked like a conference room. Said room was large and rectangular, the walls all were adorned with records of Corneria's achievements. The table in the middle, as stated previously, was rectangular, long enough to hold about ten furs; one on each edge, and four on each side.
Pepper was in the north edge of the table. The south edge was occupied by Cleo Habana, an arctic female wolf in charge of the Security Department. Pepper knew her well, and just like him, she had been silent so far through the meeting. The right side, from north to south, were occupied by two female vulpines, a black furred one, the other was red furred; two loop-eared rabbits, a gray female and then a black male. The left side was filled by a gray male feline, a pink female cat, a male black wolf, and a red-bluish male avian.
Pepper, oblivious to the meeting to some extent was thinking to himself, going through some of the latest things he has learned. Let's see... If they go for the city I already have part of the security department on stand by for evacuation... The Husky, Bulldog and Lupus squads are ready anytime to take out the aircraft... Our land forces are ready as well... Katina is scheduled to send reinforcements when they receive our signal... Our scientists managed to get an idea on their new weapon, but sadly couldn't create a counter-measure.
He sighed lightly as to not to draw attention. Then again, they have Venomian sentries as well, even though Andross isn't involved, I wonder how did they got their support... They certainly aren't on the best terms possible with Corneria, so I suppose they joined out of spite...
He snapped back to reality as the red female vixen - whose name tag read Tabitha Wilde - addressed him, "But sir, instead of waiting for them to come, why don't we launch a surprise attack on Titania and take them out swiftly?"
Pepper shook his head, "According to what I could gather from the information Fox and Krystal, two members of the Star Fox team that I had sent there previously, the security was pretty low, which not only leads me to believe that they weren't expecting the attack, even if only by two furs; but Titania isn't their main base of operations." He stopped.
The male rabbit interjected, his tag flashed the name Tyler Brisbane, "And from the same information we analyzed," he started as he got everyone's attention, "We believe that this Scales subject has formed and alliance with Venom, and that's where most, if not all of their troops reside. Even though I have no clue how these 'Sharpclaws' can withstand the poisonous atmosphere."
Marcus Windsor, the avian - head of Military Affairs - lifted his head to address Brisbane, "And we know better than to attack Venom with land sentries. Even with air crafts the possibilities are scarce. Venom's atmosphere is simply lethal to us and should the aircrafts' life support expire for whatever reason..." he ended there, well knowing that everyone knew what he was getting to.
"It's a wonder the Star Fox succeeded there eight years ago in the Lylat War..." Lenne Sonara, the black vixen murmured.
The female rabbit, Kimberly Taylor, and second in charge of the Security Department politely coughed into her right paw to draw attention to her, "So our only choice is to wait for the attack?" she coughed again, but twice this time and not on purpose, she appeared to have a cold, "Pardon me. As I was saying, there has to be a better way!"
Aeris Denburg, the pink female cat was tapping her fingers at the table, "But still, when they do attack, we don't know if they'll go directly for the city or land in an open field and go from there..."
Leo Corain, the gray feline next to her added afterwards, "We need to make an evacuation plan in case they do attack the city, or it gets damaged by any reason. We could still try to keep them away at all costs, but it never hurts to be prepared."
The black lupine being second in Military Affairs - Sean Tavalo - spoke in a gruffly voice, "We could place the Husky and Bulldog squads on standby in outside the Cornerian atmosphere and make them lure the enemy into an open field, or away from the city for that matter. The Lupus squad could station themselves over the city for precaution. Should everything go according to plan, they could rendezvous with the Husky and Bulldog squads where the enemy is." Excluding Pepper and Cleo, the rest started to murmur and whisper between them.
Cleo finally lifted her sight, "Excellent idea Tavalo, however, we still should make an evacuation plan ready and have half of the land troops in standby and ready for movement, whether the enemy reaches a field away from the city, or the city itself, we need to get our troops there ASAP." She paused to look sideways and outside the window. It was already late. The meeting was scheduled just past 4 PM, but had been delayed unexpectedly. She spoke softly, "I don't know how, but if we managed to get through the Lylat War, we can definitely get through this." The rest nodded.
"It's getting late," said Pepper looking at the big clock in front of him etched in the southern wall, it read 9.28 PM, "This is all for today it seems, we'll arrange a second meeting to discuss further plans on both the evacuation, and how to take care of the enemy." Everyone started to leave the room and go in their own directions. Everyone expect Pepper that is, he waited until everyone left before he walked towards the window and gazed to the city.
"Pepper? What are you doing here?" The voice of Cleo emanated from behind Pepper. She walked closer and stood besides him, also looking to the outside.
"The sight from this place always seems to relax me. Not to mention there isn't much I can do right now. We can only wait for the inevitable and hope things work out fine." Cleo nodded afterwards.
"I guess you are right in a way, but we still have to get ready for when they come, which I fear is anytime soon," she sighed.
"I wonder why did it come down to this... I mean, we had lived eight peaceful years and had come to standard terms with Venom, so long as none of us gave a threat to the other things would remain fine... But then this Scales Fox and Krystal seem to know suddenly comes and breaks everything up... And so much for a grudge against those two."
"Why's that?"
"I don't know all of the details, but I do know Fox spoiled his plans in Dinosaur Planet not long ago." Cleo hummed once Pepper ended.
"Well, don't dwell too much on it, you should get some sleep. I feel it's going to be a long day tomorrow." The lupine started walking away around the table.
"You are probably right," Pepper turned around. "Have a good night."
"You too," Cleo said as she left his sight. A few seconds later Pepper started walking away as well.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Ooh," a female voice moaned. A small pause... "Oof," a second came. Another pause... "Oh God," the same voice exclamated.
"You really think I'm that good?" a male voice questioned.
"Well, I don't really have much to compare you to, but as far as it concerns me, you are doing wonders," the female let out another slight moan afterwards.
"Have I told you this is my first time doing this?"
"It certainly looks like you are quiet an expert," followed by another small moan.
"Just what the heck are you two doing?!" A third voice emanated from the other side of the room at the same time it hit the light switch, revealing Falco.
On the other side of the room were Krystal and Fox, sitting on a couch, the aforementioned vixen giving her back to Fox, who had his hands on her shoulders.
"Oh, I was just giving Krys a small back rub," Fox declared casually, and sure enough, he resumed her massage. Falco blinked a couple in times, not only in confusion, but to try to wake up and try to understand just what was happening.
"Well keep it down," he yawned as he turned the lights down. "Some furs want to sleep around here," he declared a little harshly as he started going up the stairs. Both foxes stared in silence.
"What was that all about?" Krystal asked as she tilted her head to the sides to see Fox in the corner of her eyes.
"With Falco you can never be sure." Krystal nodded. "It's getting late, Krys. Maybe we should get some sleep," Fox said as he nuzzled the back of her head before he stood up and helped her up as well. They walked together in an embrace up to their rooms. They kissed and entered their own rooms.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
The next morning, Fox was still slumbering peacefully. That's it, until a hare walked into his room.
"Fox, wake up," Peppy said standing below the door frame, "Pepper's on the line and waiting."
"Wha...?" Fox mumbled as he tossed the covers a little, and blinked a few times trying to get used to the light. He spotted Peppy, "Oh, ok. Just a second," he said while he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, he yawned and proceeded to stretch before he went down after Peppy. He was in his usual nightwear, gray shorts and a white shirt. Turning left after going down the stairs he spotted Katt, who as usual already had a mug of coffee in her paws.
"Morning sleepyhead," Katt said in a teasing tone; the one as usual actually. Fox mumbled something. Just to her right on the wall the image of Pepper was displayed in a wide monitor. He looked just a tad alarmed, so much that only one who knew him long would be able to notice... Fox was one of them.
"Fox, we've received reports from Macbeth saying they spotted various carriers and a fleet of Venomian Invaders," he paused and looked upwards with a thinking face, "They also mentioned something about what appeared to be an enormous battle cruiser, but the signal in their radars faded right away..."
Fox couldn't exactly see what he was getting at. Sure, the attack was probably coming, but, "Your point?" Fox questioned as he titled his head sideways.
"My point is that I want you to bring your team to the Cornerian Army Base around 12 o'clock."
Fox looked at the wall on the left, past Katt, to see the clock etched there. It read 9.06 AM. Just a little less than 3 hours... I wonder what's this all about... He looked back to Pepper, "Alright, General." Transmission was cut off by Pepper at that moment.
Katt stood up, "I'll wake up Falco," she said before she placed down her mug and headed upstairs.
Fox turned around to see Peppy, "Where's Slip anyway?"
"He's practically living in the Great Fox these days. I'll let him know we're heading out so he gets ready," Peppy said as he started walking to the sliding glass doors. Fox paced to the stairs.
"Alright, thanks." He started going up the stairs, "I'll wake up Krys." Peppy left the building shortly afterwards.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Two hours and a half later, everyone was ready in the first floor, some sooner than others. The Star Fox members were in their standard uniforms, yes, this included Falco. Katt was in one of her own freelancing uniforms. This one consisted of a simple pair of ocean blue pants and a sleeve-less blouse of the same color, topped with a white vest. She had her blaster's holster around her right thigh. Krystal had indeed brought a blaster as well. Her staff rested on a special pouch in her right thigh, whereas the blaster's holster was on her left thigh.
They left the building to find two parking hover cabs Peppy had called for not long ago. Fox, Krystal and Peppy boarded one. Katt, Falco and Slippy took the other. Falco cursing about something. About twenty minutes later they arrived at the Cornerian Army Base.
Once inside, they were led by a female squirrel attendant into an enormous conference hall. Oddly enough, among everyone there, Fox couldn't spot anyone with the Husky and Bulldog uniforms, or Bill Grey for that matter, a long-time friend and ally of Fox whatever the situation was. He dismissed the thought however.
Normally, the place would be filled with chairs, but it was so packed that the chairs had to be removed. So everyone was stuck standing up.
A few moments later, Pepper appeared and stood behind a podium in the far edge of the room. Everyone started to quiet down. He cleared his throat.
"As some of you know, or might have heard already; Corneria is about to face a new challenger," he was interrupted in a way by some murmur among the congregation of troops. He resumed once the noise quieted considerably, "This time, it's a new enemy. A new enemy allied with Venom. We don't know the main objective, and I know it's not domination of our world, but whatever the reason might be, we do know Venom joined out of spite. We don't know for sure what to expect, but we do know how they'll attack, or how they plan to and a way to counter them." He paused.
"Right now the Husky and Bulldog units are orbiting around Corneria, waiting for the enemy. They'll rendezvous with the Lupus squad back in the Cornerian sky once the gets here. What happens afterwards will depend on how the enemy reacts at first to the two squads." He looked to both sides behind him, "For the current briefing in both our defensive tactics and offensive assaults, I leave you with Cleo Habana," an arctic wolf stood to his right, "Head of the Security Department. And Sean Tavalo," a black wolf stood to his left, "Head of Military Affairs." Pepper stood back and took a seat.
Cleo Habana was the first to take word, "We expect the enemy to head directly for our city, which is why we placed the Husky and Bulldog units in surveillance for the enemy; to hopefully lure them away to a place where we can strike. Sean will explain more on that later." She grabbed the glass of water she had brought with her and took a sip. Oh, that's why they aren't here... Fox thought.
She resumed, "In case our diversion should fail, or anything unexpected happens, we already have an evacuation plan ready. For now, we'll leave one-fourth of our troops in standby here at Corneria City just in case. The rest will go and meet the enemy on the battlefield," she took in some air. "In the battlefield you can expect the Venomians to take over the air, and their allies called Sharpclaws to take the ground. Our air fleet will take the air at the same time they provide backup operations for the ground units. We don't know much about these Sharpclaws, but there is one thing to mention, which Sean will do so in a while. For now to our offensive strategy." She stepped back and Sean took her place.
"As Cleo said, the main plan is to lure the enemy into an open field where we can strike and to avoid any civilian casualties. Once they are away from the city and we have the perimeter of the city secured, the troops in standby here will move to meet the rest at the battlefield," he looked at all the troops for a moment. "Each of you has your own specialization, you know that. You've been trained in the area you excelled and chose to follow, it'll be the same this time. You'll be issued either standard military issue weapons, battery weapons, or long-range area weapons, remember your training, both in the offensive and defensive tactics to take out the enemy while avoiding casualties... I don't mean to sound discouraging, but this time, your training is the only thing that can save you." He took a drink from his own glass of water.
"On a previous mission directed by our General, Pepper; two members of the Star Fox team infiltrated the enemy base to gather data on their plans. With said information we discovered a new type of bullet they created, however, this doesn't applies to fire arms only, proving our speculations wrong, this bullet can also be made into a special energy cell usable by battery weapons, you all know them. Said bullet or energy cell is said to be carrying a special toxin in the case of bullets; on energy cells it's a modified beam carrying a second property. Said toxin or element is supposed to work only on warm-blooded furs, like ourselves, delivering an almost lethal wound should the bullet or laser penetrate your fur." The rest of the furs started to murmur again.
"We have no reason to believe that they also have a type of long-range area ammunition with these properties, so there's no problem there. But as you know, while it is possible to create a type of protection that can deflect both bullets and lasers, the endurance is not only slightly lower, but is not 100% secure. It will be up to each of you to decide how to balance your protection, and you'll be good to stick to the enemy that carries that type of weapon you are best protected from," he paused and knew what was coming.
A brown female raccoon lifted her right paw, "Sir, should they hit one of their own... You said the effect is only for warm-blood furs, so that means the impact on them would be like a normal bullet or laser?"
Sean nodded, "That's right cadet. Any other questions?"
This time a red male cat lifted his right paw, "Sir, what do you say are our probabilities of survival?" He asked in a rather grim tone, but none could blame him. Some of his upper companions knew he had just entered and while at least 80% of the furs there were actually prepared, he along with his classmates in the academy had the lowest skills when it came to this, considering they were just trainees.
Sean pondered on the question, "I would say it all falls down to 50% skill, and 50% luck. It will be on how good your reflexes are, and to what type of protection you have and the weapon your 'prey' or 'hunter' will have. Anything else?"
The room was filled with murmur, but one asked anything else.
Cleo stepped forward, "We still haven't received confirmation from the Husky and Bulldog squads. You'll be wise to use this time before you are called out on duty. Call your families, sweethearts, acquaintances or anyone you feel you should. Or train your skills for some time before the actual combat commences. You'll be transported back to the Academy, but I'm afraid you won't be able to leave, use this time to decide your protection and armament as well. We will transmit a message through all of the Academy once the enemy gets near. Air troops should board their aircrafts at said time and land troops will be moved into transport units to take you to the site of battle. Those who'll remain guarding the city for the meantime will be placed in strategic positions. Once and if we see our diversion worked, we'll call you to join the battle." Both wolves stepped back and Pepper was at the podium again.
"We expect the enemy to arrive around sunset, past 7 PM in other words. That is of course, if they remain in a straight course. Use the time you still have and... Best of luck to all you!" Pepper made the standard military salute, the rest of the troops followed. The room started to clear out then.
All of the Academy troops were taken back there by several transports. The Star Fox team remained inside the Cornerian Army Base, but in the reception hall, by the small area that was some sort of lounge for those in wait.
"Still going for land then, Krystal?" Katt asked as she sat besides her.
Krystal nodded, "Yeah, with my staff I can do plenty of stuff, from those long-range area attacks, to defensive magic and melee combat. Plus I have my blaster now."
"Best of luck then, and don't try anything rash," the pink cat smiled before she got up and walked away. Krystal sighed in her seat, Fox was talking to Slippy and Peppy but caught sight of her, he left those two to themselves and sat next to Krystal.
"What's wrong Krys?"
"I don't know... I have this strange feeling... That this is not all. Then there's this dream..."
"Dream?" Fox eyed her carefully, she looked back at him before dropping her eyes.
"Yes. We are running... Running from armored Sharpclaws... Then we come to a dead end and there's nothing we can do, we just look at each other before they fire. And that's the end... Always..." Her eyes were a little misty by now.
"You have that dream too?" Fox asked surprised.
"Too? What do you mean? You've been dreaming that as well?" Krystal looked back at Fox.
"Every now and then, I have no idea what it means. But the structure was different from the Titanian base... I never gave too much thought to it however..."
"I don't know that place either, but I have a bad feeling about it."
"I'm sure it's nothing," Fox said not believing himself. He stroked Krystal's hair with his right paw. "We should get going back." Krystal nodded.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
30 minutes later or so, the Star Fox was back at their 'base'. The clock read 12.50 AM. 6 hours... Was the general thought among all.
"I'm going to do a last minute target-range with my blaster," said Fox as he walked to the glass sliding doors. They had a small simulator aboard the Great Fox for such things, he just had to get there.
Krystal tailed him, "I'll go with you. I could use the extra practice."
Falco turned around to see Peppy and Slippy, "Will you two be joining the fray?" He questioned.
Peppy shook his head, "I'll stay back and help with the casualties and injuries. I'm growing too old for that kind of action." Falco chuckled at the 'old' remark.
"I'll stay at the R&D department as usual. You know some of them will jam their weapons, they need someone who knows his way around those things," Slippy said in his odd voice. Peppy walked to the kitchen, Slippy took a seat at the table nearby.
"Katt?" the avian turned around to look at her.
"I think I'm going to take a small nap, don't really have anything to do. I guess I'll see you in four hours," she said climbing up the stairs.
"Man, there's nothing to do!" Falco huffed and walked outside through the main door.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Sir, we are passing through Katina. Corneria should be close."
"Excellent... Finally, the revenge will be mine..."
"Sir! We are getting faint signals of Cornerian aircrafts orbiting around Corneria!" A third voice shouted.
"Looks like the welcoming committee is here..."
"What should we do sir? Attack?" The same voice as before questioned.
"No, wait for their action," the voice hissed.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Back in Corneria, four hours have already passed. And surely enough, Katt was already heading down the stairs. She was already back in her uniform, her hair was just slightly disheveled. The clock on the wall said 5.13 PM. She looked around and spotted Peppy and Slippy.
"Are Fox and Krystal still practicing?" She asked. Peppy was sitting on one of the couches reading a thick book. Slippy was still in the kitchen table fiddling with some object.
Peppy put down his book for a second before looking sideways, "Yeah, at least we think they are. Falco hasn't showed up." Katt scowled, "He left not long after you went to sleep."
"Hmm, he'll show up in a while. I think I'm joining Fox and Krystal, you never know. Just to be sure I still got the edge in case I'm taken down from the sky," she said before heading out. She had been in the Great Fox just a couple of times before. She somewhat knew her way around.
Falco was just walking through all of Corneria. It was a very quiet day. He wondered if Pepper had said anything to the population about this and they were in their houses, because it was unusually quiet.
He looked down at his wrist-clock, it read 3.17 PM. He looked upwards and sighed. This whole war was bringing him memories of his past. Mostly centered on a particular someone.
The avian was walking through a park. He spotted a bench and paced to it before sitting down. He just kept going through all his memories. Ever since his childhood he... His thought was interrupted by a child's voice, "Excuse me, sir. Could you pass the ball?"
Falco blinked in confusion, he lifted his head and spotted a female pink cat about five meters away, he then looked down and saw a small plush ball, he grabbed it and flung it softly for the girl to catch it easily, "Thank you, sir!" And she disappeared under a small hill.
Just what were the odds... Almost the same as her... Ever since I was a child I never had too many friends... Heck, I could count them using just my right paw, but I drew most of them away... Except... Except for her... She always stood with me, no matter what I did. He hung his head and looked downwards. Yeah, she never left me alone. I don't know why, but in a way I do owe my current life to her... If she hadn't been there for... with me, I don't think my life would have been the same; I think the solitude would have driven me insane at that time.
But... But why can't I tell her... I've had hundreds of opportunities, but every time I have to say something stupid in return or do a witty remark to make her angry at me... You ought to think that one could at least understand himself, but no. I have no idea what drives me to do that, but then again, she always responds back...
He shifted again, this time looking to the sky. I don't like something about this war. Something simply... feels wrong. But I have to do something after it's over... Even if it's unlike me... But what's like me anyway? All of this, all of who I am is nothing but a mere facade I created long ago...
Oh well, it's pointless to think of this right now. I've got less than two hours before the 'scheduled' hour for the enemy strike... I better head back. He finished thinking before he got up and started walking back.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"This is certainly a new definition of the phrase 'target-range practice'..." A feline smirked as he entered the shooting range of the Great Fox only to spot Fox and Krystal kissing. They quickly broke apart blushing.
"W-we just got a little distracted, that's all," Fox said sheepishly.
"No kidding. You mind if I take some time to brush up my skills?" Katt asked walking forward and reaching for her blaster.
"Of course not, we should do so as well," said Krystal going back to her stand before grabbing back her blaster. Fox did the same thing.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, with the exception of the blaster shots.
"So where's everyone else?" Krystal asked.
Katt lowered her blaster as the target holograms faded. "Falco went out somewhere. Peppy is reading and Slippy is messing with who knows what," she lifted her blaster again and resumed her shooting.
"Say, why are you practicing your shooting? Aren't you taking the air?" Fox questioned without diverting his eyes from the holograms, shooting one after the other.
"Yeah, just a precaution in case I'm taken down from the air. You never know," Katt said as she recharged the battery cell of her blaster before resuming. She lifted her blaster but didn't fired as she blinked in confusion, "Now wait a minute... You have been here 4 straight hours shooting at holograms?" she questioned, and could swear she heard a loud gulp from both vulpines but wasn't sure.
"Pretty much, yeah," Fox tried, "It's not like we got anything else to do." He was still sending shot after shot.
Katt eyed Fox with a wide smirk. He couldn't see her, but knew she was smiling like that at him, it always unnerved him. "If you say so. We should get going back anytime soon. It's just a quarter before four o'clock and I think Pepper will call anytime soon if the enemy was indeed on its way."
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Sir," an image of a black furred male husky with white stripes appeared in the cabin of an aircraft being piloted by a gray dog. "We've spotted the enemy sector T-8."
The gray dog nodded and opened a general channel to all units, "All units, this is Bill Grey speaking. We've received confirmation of enemy sightings by sector T-8. Everyone, move out!" He quickly sent a signal down to the Cornerian Army Base before moving out as well.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Numerous enemy units are on standby in our route to Corneria, sir."
"Signal some of the Invaders to attack. Keep casualties to a minimum."
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"General Pepper," a male hedgehog dressed in a light blue uniform with white stripes on the sides entered Pepper's office. "We just received confirmation from the Husky squad. The enemy should be close to engage with them."
Pepper turned around and nodded, "Thank you." The hedgehog made a salute and left.
Back in the Great Fox, both vulpines and the added feline were already heading back. Peppy was walking towards them.
"Pepper called about ten minutes ago, the enemy is already engaged with the Husky and Bulldog units. He said a transport will come to get us in a while."
"Falco and I should be getting ready then... Just where is he anyway?" Katt asked to no one in particular as she crossed the double set of sliding glass doors. Just at that time, Falco entered through the main door. "Oh, there you are. Come on, the enemy is already in the Cornerian outer atmosphere engaged in combat, we should get going!"
"Wha? Oh, right. Let's go then." Both of them walked out through the glass doors and sprung back to the Great Fox to board their ships.
Peppy looked back at both foxes, "You'll be geared up once we reach our destination by the way." Slippy appeared out of nowhere and addressed Fox.
"Say Fox, here, take this with you," he said as he handed Fox a small tube of about half a feet long and no more than 2 centimeters thick. "It's basically a powered up version of a standard laser sword. It should be useful should you run out of ammo or want to go head-to-head," he paused. "It's still a beta design, but it's very stable nonetheless."
"Thanks, Slip. I'm sure it'll be useful," Fox said placing the tube between his belt and waist, around the left side. Just then a loud horn came from the front of the building.
All 4 went out and found a large transport ship. Fox looked at everyone, "Ready?" Everyone nodded in answer. They walked to the ship and entered through the open back compartment. And to their surprise they were the only ones there, except for a female light brown furred rabbit with long black-brown hair tied in a ponytail. Dressed in a light-teal uniform, normal pants with a blouse of said color with a grayish vest on top, she also sported a purple scarf loosely tied around the neck. She had the Lupus squad insignia boarded in the front of the vest, the name Jamie Holgren was boarded right beneath it. There was also an aircraft with the Lupus squad design.
Fox eyed her cautiously. She looked back with a wondering look.
"Jamie?" Fox attempted, his question would have been answered had he been able to see the name boarded in her vest. The rabbit's eyes flew open.
"Fox? Is that you?" She stood up. She was about Fox's height head-to-head, but her ears gave her the advantage so to speak. She started taking a couple of steps towards the small group, mainly focusing her sight on the russet-gold fox. "It's really you!" She sprinted forward and caught Fox by surprise with a small friendly hug; a small friendly hug Krystal didn't minded. The rabbit let go of Fox but still held him by the shoulders.
"I haven't seen you since I left the Academy. It certainly has been a long time," Fox said scratching the back of his head. The rest moved a little past them to take a sit along the borders of the ship.
Jamie led Fox around and they sat with the others, Jamie on the far left, then Fox to the right, Krystal, Peppy and Slippy. "Mind filling us in?" Slippy asked before Krystal or Peppy got the chance.
"Oh right," Fox started, "I met Jamie a long time ago while I was at the Academy. She was a very good friend, not to mention a very nice pilot," he paused.
Jamie took off however, "Yeah, I was having some troubles in a couple of classes and I asked Fox for advice. He was three years older than me, but we were in the same area, so I thought he could help me with my flying issues."
Fox nodded, "So I agreed and before you knew it, we were hanging together most of our free time. Neither of us were the kind of furs to have a wide circle of friends..." he paused to think, "Heck, as far as I know, Jamie was my only friend back at the Academy other than Wolf. I still don't know what made him bail out and pursue Andross' ways. He had a very promising future there with his grades and abilities..." He drew out the last word.
"So what happened when Fox left the Academy?" Krysal questioned. She leaning a little against Fox by this point.
"That was the time when Andross was attacking... Even though I had graduated, I stayed behind to give advice to trainees and such, but then my... father..." he paused to take in some air, "I had to avenge him, but after that we kinda took the mercenary path, and I didn't go back to the Academy. So we lost contact at that time."
"More over, I don't think I would have been able to become the leader of the Lupus squad if Fox hadn't helped me before at all. All of his advices and lessons really made a difference in my flying skills," Jamie said.
Fox's eyes opened in surprise as he turned to see her in the face, "You are the leader of the Lupus squad?"
Jamie smiled and nodded, "Yep, all thanks to you."
Fox waved his left paw (His right arm was tied with Krystal's left arm) and shook his head, "You always had the leadership skills anyway. Besides, all I did was point out a thing or two in your flying, you did the rest."
Jamie was about to argue with that, but Peppy got ahead of her, "You do realize you are getting nowhere with this small argument, do you?"
Jamie nodded, "Yeah, I believe you are right," she paused. "Well, now that I've been introduced... Mind doing the same for me?"
Peppy cleared his throat, "There isn't much to say, but this lady here is Krystal." He said obviously pointing to the blue vixen, "To my right is Slippy, and my name's Peppy."
"So how did you ended being the leader of the Lupus squad?" Slippy asked.
Jamie politely coughed behind her left paw, "Well, the same day of the graduation of my generation, Pepper approached me and said he was going to make a new squad that could fight alongside the Husky and Bulldog, though this was going to be one of Corneria main squads and he asked me if I wanted to be the leader of it since he said I was a good pilot and had leadership skills. I had agreed, but I had to scout for pilots, which took me almost a year and a half, once I had everything ready I went back with Pepper and he allowed me to name it. That's pretty much it."
"Is that the reason why it's named Lupus? Because of you being a rabbit I mean," Krystal asked.
Jamie smiled sheepishly and scratched behind her ears with her right paw, "Hehe, yeah. I couldn't really think of anything."
"I never it sounded bad. In fact, I like it. Then again, the other two squads are also called after dog species," Krystal added. Jamie nodded.
"So are you four taking the land?"
Fox shook his head, "Just me and Krys."
"I'm staying behind with the wounded and Slippy is going to R&D," Peppy added. Slippy nodded.
They kept talking through the whole trip, which lasted only about 15 minutes or so. When the transport stopped, everyone went out to find hundreds of soldiers going around the place. Dogs, wolves, cats, foxes, hedgehogs, rabbits, birds, any fur you could think of, it probably was here. Everyone sporting a type of armor or another, different weapons. Everyone with a off look in their faces waiting for the inevitable.
The Husky and Bulldog units had succeeded in driving the enemy to an open area. Well, so far the enemy was tailing them, and they were bringing it to this particular sector. Peppy and Slippy headed off to their respective posts. Fox and Krystal had been led to get geared up, and 5 minutes later, both were sporting a clothing made of a special fabric used to repel several types of bullets as long as the impacts weren't in the same place. Fox had remained with his blaster and his newly created laser sword. Krystal had her staff and blaster.
They were talking with Jamie again. About 10 minutes later, the Husky and Bulldog units soared through the sky with numerous Venomian Invaders and huge transport ships after them. Not to mention what looked as their flagship, since it was the biggest ship of all.
"They are finally, here. Well, best of luck to you. Don't do anything crazy out there, and I guess I'll see you later once all of this blows over," Jamie said as she started to pace back to the transport that carried her ship.
"Good luck to you too!" Fox yelled as he led Krystal around the place.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"General Pepper, the diversion tactic by the Husky and Bulldog squads was a success. The enemy is flying around sector C-9," a female blue-feathered in the blue-white-striped uniform pointed her finger on a large scale map of the surrounding area of Corneria City. "80% of our troops are already there. The rest are here as planned, shall we send them to battle?"
"Wait until actual engagement has occurred," Cleo stepped in. "They might have seen through our plan and left a small force, we'll just wait for a while before we send these units."
"Habana is right. Once the situation over there looks stable, we'll send the last of our forces over there." Sean added.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"I think we've been lured into a trap, sir."
A second figure hissed loudly, "Yes, I know. But we'll play their game. Deploy all units, now!"
"Yes, sir!"
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Well, Krys, you ready?" Fox asked. He was along the first lines of sentries. There were about 10 companies of foot soldiers. Each company had a row of defensive units. They were armed with small reflectors that could easily bounce enemy lasers, and they also had a small blaster for offensive maneuvers. Past them were a couple of lines of standard infantry, armed with anywhere from semi-automatic rifles, be it of standard ammunition or energy; they also had a melee weapon should their main weapons fail, be destroyed, or ran out of ammo and had none left. And the last row had soldiers armed with an area weapon, special missile launchers on the back of their hands (Yes, small missiles, but with a nice power). Fox and Krystal were standing right behind the defensive units.
"As ready as I can, I guess," she sighed. Truth be told, she didn't wanted to be here, heck, she knew no one wanted to be here. She looked back and saw the Lupus squad in position, among all the other fighters. She could recognize Katt's pink machine somewhere along the middle. She resumed her sight to the front and saw what she believed to be the Husky and Bulldog squads flying. Fox flashed a thumbs up to someone in the sky, Krystal didn't knew.
She grabbed her staff and expanded it. "Incoming!" she heard someone yell and looked upwards to see something flying towards them after passing the hill that was conveniently blocking their sight. She instinctively flung a fireball from her staff which collided with said object and exploded in the air. Some gazed in surprise, others were just getting ready. Krystal took a step forward, pointed up her staff in the same direction.
"I've always wanted to say this..." she paused and just then she spotted something on the other side of the hill, and knew everyone else had too as they readied their weapons, but didn't do anything. Each company had their leader; Fox and Krystal had gotten this one. Just at the same time several air shots from their side came and she could see the air fleet of Venomian Invaders coming along with their land counterparts and Sharpclaws. She flung another fireball towards the enemies, "Charge!" she yelled pretty much in sync with all the other companies as everyone moved forward in a battle cry.
"That's my girl!" Fox said with a wide smirk just before both vulpines took off to join the starting fray as the sky fleets were already engaged.
And thus, a new war had started...
Alan: Woohoo! Biggest chapter ever so far! (This includes other stories)
Krystal: I thought the war was going to be done in two parts...
Alan: Yeah, but if I did that, the next chapter would be too short. And I can say the next one is going to be action-packed if everything comes out right.
Krystal: So when I do get to smash Scales? [snarl]
Alan: Patience, patience.
Krystal: I'll give that guy patience... [Walks away]
Alan: So without further ado...
This is it for now. I shouldn't take so much to get the next one down if my inspiration remains as it is. Man, do I feel good after having written this. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed me so far, those few comments you leave are more than enough to make me keep at it. So if you notice anything wrong, misspelled, wrong planets again [rolls eyes], do tell.
And another round of thanks to Jamie Bunyi, for a lot of help when it came to the names of the furs in the conference scenes. Not to mention Jamie Holgren was made by her. Not to mention for beta-reading for me again. So once again, thanks a lot!
Signed as usual,
Alan "Gray Fox" Quirino - grayfox2510(at)hotmail.com
Until next time!
Chapter 9: Make it End...