Blood of the Father
Andromeda
The engine sparked as the diagnostic tool was rejected and the male vulpine cursed loudly, quite loudly in fact.
"Son of a…" He bit his lip and his orange and white paw rubbed his other as the engine died. "Dammit, that was painful." He wore long black pants, a crimson flight vest that exposed his brown chest fur, boots, a blaster and a knife hung from his right hip.
"Something wrong Fox?" A female voice echoed through the small engine compartment and he looked over his shoulder. A tall vixen, a bout the same size as him walked in and a smile was on her holographic muzzle. She was a light shade of blue but her color would change as her mood did.
"The damn engine is not being cooperative." Fox replied and he slid to his back. Fox moved under the engine and he started fiddling with it when the vixen joined him; she could pass through solid objects but she could also be solid herself if the situation called for it.
"Well, maybe I could talk to it and make sure that it played nice with you." She had a smile on her muzzle and Fox sighed.
"Don't make me turn you off."
"Hey, what did I say?" She was three inches high and she spread her paws. Fox plugged in another diag tool and he fired it up.
"Nothing Andromeda." He had named his AI after the star system and she had approved. The diag tool beeped and the engine fired up as Fox slid out from under it, Andromeda leapt up onto his shoulder and her body rapidly changed colors.
"Well, it seems that you fixed it Fox." She said and she walked out into the open air next to him; being an AI allowed her to do pretty much anything but she had to be in Fox's ship.
"No help from you." He said this with a smile and Andromeda knew he was kidding. She pushed Fox and he regained his balance as he pushed a button on his Comm, Andromeda vanished and she came up on the Comm's small holo projector.
"Ooo, you mean merc." She was confined to the Comm and Fox laughed.
"Well, sorry." He flicked a switch and Andromeda was let out as she crossed her arms, she was also able to change shape and she morphed into a cross feline. Fox sat in the cockpit and he sighed, Andromeda would be back to normal soon.
His Comm lit up and Fox pressed in the button, General Pepper came up and he smiled.
"Hey Fox, how is life out there?"
"Oh just peachy, one of my engines are starting to act up on me and my AI is a bit cross with me." He replied and Pepper laughed.
"Well, I have a small assignment for you. I want you to make a sweep of the Gamma Sector; it's just a routine sweep Fox." Fox nodded and the Comm died. He swiveled his chair around and Andromeda sat cross legged on the floor, Fox looked at her and he sighed. He wished that he had a real vixen with him, not that Andromeda wasn't pretty to look at but he wished for something that wasn't a machine.
"What's wrong Fox?" She asked and he sighed again.
"Nothing." She rose up and walked over to him, her form became solid and she stroked his head.
"So what's in the Gamma Sector?"
"Nothing, just an asteroid belt and a few uninhabited planets." Her touch was kind of odd since she was a hologram but he didn't stop her. Fox input the coordinates and he walked through her. "Its five hours to the Sector, wake me when we arrive." Andromeda nodded and he walked off to his room, it wasn't much with a cot, small dresser, a tiny bathroom, and a digital clock. He took off his gear and laid down on the cot, it was semi comfortable and he closed his eyes.
"Hey Fox, wake up!" A voice said and the vulpine awoke, a siren was also blaring and he quickly threw on his gear.
"What the Hell is going on?"
"We were hit by an asteroid, I tried to avoid Fox but it was too fast." Andromeda replied and Fox ran to the cockpit, the console gave him an update on the systems of his ship and everything was green except for the engines.
"Blindsided us." He said and Fox saw a planet ahead of him, more asteroids were flying and he grabbed the controls. "Can I land on that planet?"
"Yes, life signs are comprised of a primitive race but you'll have to land away from them. You know what Pepper would say about interfering with a race and giving them technology." Fox nodded and he charted a course, the craft shot over the planet and the outside heated up as the ship broke the atmosphere.
"Hold together baby." He whispered and trees came into view, they shot over a jungle forest and Fox was slowly shutting down systems as he saw a clearing. "Will that work?"
"Yes Fox, the natives hopefully are far enough away." Andromeda said and he pulled up on the controls, the craft slowed and Fox put it down as there was a bump. "Well done Fox." He wiped his brow and Fox shut the craft down as he popped the hatch, we walked down the ramp and into the jungle.
"So what kinds of natives are here again?" He asked and Andromeda appeared on his Comm.
"Mostly primitive ones. Simple housing, developed language, crude but effective weapons, no forms of transportation, the like."
"So they can't stand up to blasters?"
"No but I would recommend trying to make friends." She said and Fox nodded. He walked around his ship and he saw the damage; it was bad with a gash along the port engine and he frowned.
"Can I fix this?"
"Maybe, you might be out of luck Fox." He sighed and went back inside.
"Well, I am going to try." He said and they failed to notice a pair of golden eyes watching them. The figure gripped the spear tightly and as the foliage covered the tracks, it ran off to report.
"Ok, give her a try." He said and Andromeda remotely started the craft. It hummed deeply and Fox smiled.
Bang! There was a noise and something gave way as Andromeda killed it.
"What was that?" Fox yelled and Andromeda came onto his Comm.
"The manifold is shot Fox." Fox slammed his paw on the skin of the craft and he sighed.
"Oh this is just great, engine is shot and I don't know if I can fix it." Fox sat down on the jungle floor and he rubbed his eyes. Andromeda came onto his Comm and her body was a bright yellow.
"Fox, stand up slowly and don't turn around."
"Why-" He was cut off by Andromeda flashing red and he did. A strange sound was projected behind him and he looked at Andromeda.
"I'll pipe in the language files, just turn around slowly." Fox did and the silvery speech became words.
"What are you doing here?" Fox saw four thickly muscled warriors and he looked them over; the group comprised of a panther, feline and two vixens; they had a sharp spear in paw and what looked to be an obsidian bladed sword on their backs. Since it was quite a tropical climate they wore little in the ways of clothing; cloth encircled their waist and the females wore no tops, Fox himself had taken off his vest but he had left his pants on.
"Uh, my ship is having some problems." The vixens looked at him and their eyes hardened. The panther walked up to him and he took Fox's arm as he looked over the Comm.
"What is this and what is a 'ship'?" He asked. The panther was almost seven and a half feet tall and his giant paws gripped his arm as Fox tried not to tremble.
"That is my communicator, it allows me to talk with my…" Fox trailed off and he let him go.
"You will come with us, the M'teras will decide." Fox was surrounded by the group and he felt the spears touch his fur and they walked through the jungle. The leaves brushed Fox's face and they walked on for a while and the panther spoke up. "What is your name, unknown one?"
"Fox." The merc replied and the panther remained silent. They came to a clearing and Fox saw a village; it was made up of many huts, all made of wood and leaves for the roof. There was one that dominated the village though and a massive tree grew in the center of the village, a dwelling place was built high in the branches and Fox's jaw dropped. They walked into the village and Fox looked around, many different animals were looking at him and they all were dressed in the fashion of a cloth around their waist. He looked forward and the group surrounding him stopped, the panther walked forward and they kneeled in front of the tree as Fox looked up.
Something was coming down from the branches. Fox noticed that there was a staircase that spiraled up the massive tree and a figure were walking down it. Something hard hit the back of his legs and he was forced in the kneel position as he looked at his Comm. Andromeda was barley visible and she spoke directly into his neural implant.
Fox, the natives are called Riparian, Ripar are the language files and I am surprised that I have them. The figure coming down is the head of the village called the M'teras, a sort of religious and tribal leader; it would be wise not to anger him. She intoned and the being walked in front of them; he were clad in the same cloth but it was inlaid with diamonds and precious stones as Fox looked up. The male was an impressively built white tiger and his sky blue eyes looked down upon the vulpine with an imposing but not pious or regal air, his fur had a few stripes of black but it was mostly pearl as Fox felt himself tremble. It wasn't the first time that he had felt the emotion but he did not hide it, he couldn't.
"O M'teras, we found the intruder that has passed over your land. His name is Fox-" The panther fell deathly silent and his muzzle lowered as Andromeda intoned again.
The M'teras is also quite powerful in the way of ESP so don't lie to him. Fox felt the tiger's paw run under his muzzle and he raised it so that they were looking eye and eye.
"I know his name, but why have you come here?" Fox did not answer as his mind was gently opened and read like a book. "I see, you have fallen from the sky in a metal eagle…Do you not know that Riparian land is sacred and that any non-Ripar would be put to death if caught?" He probed Fox's mind and the merc could not answer. "I see, you did not know this." The panther and his group stood up and they stepped back as the M'teras smiled at Fox, a good omen. "Rise as you and I may talk together." Fox's life was spared and the M'teras walked up the stairs as Fox followed him. The panther turned back and life in the village continued as normal.
Fox stopped at the top of the stairs and he fell to his knees again, partly out of respect and partly because the M'teras forced him to. The M'teras turned around and he raised his paw, Fox was allowed to stand and he walked into the dwelling, it was spacious with wood chairs, a table in the center and four rope bridges that extended out in the four directions.
"Please sit." It was more of a command and Fox hurriedly sat in a chair, it was comfortable as a fur of pure black was settled over it. The sun overhead lighted the room and the M'teras sat down across from Fox in a chair. "Tell me Fox, why were you sent here?"
"My General sent me to the Gamma Sector to do a routine sweep." The M'teras frowned and Fox quickly explained. "A General is a leader like yourself and the planet you are on is in a portion of the Lylat System called the Gamma Sector. That is when my engine gave out and…" He trailed off and the M'teras looked at his Comm.
"Show me how that works." Fox undid the Comm from his wrist and he touched a button. Andromeda came up and the M'teras looked on as his eyes narrowed. "How is that possible? How can a figure be that small?" Andromeda leapt off the Comm and she became a full size figure as the M'teras stood up.
"M'teras." She kneeled down before him and her muzzle was lowered.
"She is my Artificial Intelligence." Fox said as the tiger stood up, he touched Andromeda but his paw passed into her head. He jerked it back and a surprised look was on his muzzle.
"How is that possible? How can I touch her and not feel?" He asked and Andromeda kept her eye low. Fox stood up and the M'teras looked at him with wonder.
"She is a hologram, a picture if you will." The tiger placed his paws to his side and he sighed.
"I want you to remain here until your ship is working again." He said and Fox nodded.
"Yes, I will." The M'teras touched his head and he spoke again.
"You will be able to live in the village for your remaining time here. I can provide you with a room in my house or you can live with one of the villagers. The choice is yours." Fox looked down at Andromeda and she was still kneeling before him.
"Andromeda!" He said and she quickly stood up, her form shrank and she stepped back into the holo-panel. "What do you think?"
"I don't know Fox, it's up to you." She vanished and Fox strapped the Comm to his wrist.
"I would like to get to know the villagers, make sure that they know that I am no harm." The M'teras nodded and they walked back down the winding staircase.
Fox was left in the middle of the village as life continued, the sun was still overhead but it was slowly setting and he watched the village life; it was a bit like Corneria but much more simplified, blacksmiths making tools, farmers in the small fields, a temple where a few individuals walked in an out, and other things. Fox sighed and he felt a tug on his pants, he looked down and a small feline kit looked up at him.
"Who are you?" He asked quite plaintively. Fox kneeled down and he smiled at the feline.
"I am Fox; I'll be in your village for awhile." The feline kit smiled and a larger feline walked up behind him.
"Traa! Come back here." She picked up the feline and held him to her breast as Fox stood up and he looked her over; her fur was a golden brown, tinged with red in a few places, green eyes, and her prehensile tail swung around her leg.
"Hello there." Fox said and the feline held her kit tight. "I'm Fox, is he your son?"
"No, he's my brother." The female replied and Fox took a chance.
"I'm going to need a place to stay tonight so I was wondering if I could…" He trailed off and the feline looked at her brother.
"I like Fox." The kit said and she laughed.
"You like everyone Traa." She looked at Fox and nodded with a smile. "Ok, come on." They walked into a hut and it was a tight space since there were only two rooms. He was still getting used to the clothing issue and Fox politely looked away as she set her brother down. "Oh it's ok Fox. It's a custom in our tribe and everyone is used to it, I'm sorry if you're not. It's ok if you stare."
"Yeah, well where I come from people wear all their clothes." She laughed and Fox sat down on the floor. She started making something and the smell of the food wafted down to where he was sitting, it smelled delicious. "So where are mom and dad?" The feline kept her back to him and he saw that she lowered her head.
"They died a few years ago." Traa went over to Fox and he sat down beside him as Fox felt Traa take his paw.
"I miss mom and dad." Traa said quietly and he started to cry; normally Fox would ignore this but something pushed aside his merc nature and he gathered Traa into his arms. Traa wept into his shoulder and Fox stroked the kit's head as the female turned her head, she saw them and a smile crept onto her muzzle.
Hmm, he's comforting Traa, I think this might work out. She thought and the feline took the medium sized bowl off the stove. She placed it in front of them and Traa stopped crying as he smelled the food.
"What is this?" Fox asked as she gave him a wooden spoon.
"A mix of rice, potato, beans and meat." She replied and Fox dug in, he tasted a portion and it was very tasty. They ate straight from the bowl and when they finished, the female took the bowl and placed it by the stove.
"I didn't catch your name." He said and she smiled.
"I know, I didn't give it to you." She laughed when fox looked a bit downcast but then she told him. "I'm Kai, and this is Traa as you already know." Fox nodded and he flicked on his Comm, both felines looked at the device and Andromeda came up.
"Yes Fox?"
"How is the ship doing?"
"I put up the defensive shield so there won't be any surprises tomorrow and the engine is still shot. I'm doing a remote diag and I will let you know tomorrow what is wrong besides the manifold." Fox nodded and Andromeda vanished. He explained the process of AI to the felines but they couldn't really comprehend it.
"It's ok if you can't grasp the concept Kai, I'll show you it now if we could?"
"Ok, should Traa come with us?" Fox looked at the kit and he was on the floor, his little frame asleep.
"No, leave him here." Fox replied and they walked out of the hut.
Back in the clearing where Fox's ship was, Kai's jaw dropped as she saw it. The feline ran her paw over the silver skin of the craft and Fox smiled as she did it.
"Wow, how could this…" She looked up and her paw drifted to her side. "Go up into the heavens?"
"You must have many questions and probably most of them I couldn't answer." He walked over to Kai and she smiled at him.
"The M'teras wants to know what you will be doing now." She asked as her eyes closed.
"Well, I wanted to show you my ship but it looks like I won't be getting any work done since I would need a full day." Fox replied and Kai nodded.
"The M'teras would like us to return to the village now, he tells me that a storm is approaching and he would like his villagers to be within the village.
"Ok, let's go then." Fox said but then he paused. "Hold on a sec." Fox ran into his ship and he pulled a shotgun from a locker. He slung it over his shoulder and he put some shells in it, he also lined the strap with high explosive shells and regulars as he stepped out of the ship. "Andromeda, lock her up." A silver shield slid over the skin of the craft and Kai pointed to the shotgun.
"What is that?" Fox slung the gun off his back and he held it out.
"This is a shotgun; it fires bullets, or shells if you will, really fast and it is designed to kill. It has never left my side ever." Fox said and Kai tentatively touched it, she ran her paw delicately over the silver stock and the light blue butt as Fox sniffed the air, he caught a scent and he quickly jerked the gun away from Kai, eliciting a yelp from her. He pumped a round into the chamber and he gave the knife to Kai. "Do you know how to use this?"
"Yes, but why?" She asked and Fox looked around.
"We're being watched…"
