Star Fox Alliance: Chapter 2

The streets of Corneria were packed with people. It was a Saturday and it was a busy day for shopping. Above Fox and Falco, the hyperway landing strip glowed blue. Fox, Falco and Slippy had landed their Arwings on the strip, and descended by elevator to the sidewalk.

"Slippy, get to the R&D lab and get some papers on good strategists needing jobs. Falco, lets get to HQ."

"Sure thing, boss!" Slippy said excitedly.

"Let's go Fox." Falco said, unamused as ever.

"Ah. Fox, Falco. Please take a seat." Pepper said.

"Thank you General." They said in unison.

"I'll get to the point." Pepper said. "We do not have the money to finance the refurbishment of the Great Fox."

Fox sighed. "Can we not get any money for Peppy?"

"Certainly. It's part of your contract."

"Um… Contract?" Fox asked.

"Yes. Peppy and James made it when Star Fox began. If any member of the original team was ill, then the army was obligated to finance any treatment and rehabilitation scheme they would undergo. Actually, we paid for your birth, Fox!"

"So it extends to different members of their family, such as wives, children etcetera?"

"Yes. It severely needs to be updated. Technically only yourself and Peppy are covered."

"Are there any missions we could take?" Falco asked, getting straight back to their original topic.

"No. It's good but bad at the same time. Good that there is no war in the Lylat system at the moment, but bad that there is no source of income for the army except-"

"Proximity warning. Proximity warning."

"Proximity warning? Doesn't that mean-"

"Subject identified as: Wolfen Mark II."

Before Pepper could say a word, Fox and Falco were gone.

Fox and Falco were in the air.

"Its two of us against three of them, Fox. We don't stand a chance."

"You never know Falco, we parted friends. They could just be visiting."

"Fox, its General Pepper here. Take down Star Wolf. Take them down and bring them into custody. Pepper out."

"Orders are orders, Fox." Krystal chimed in. She had been listening from the Great Fox.

"Wolf, Leon, Panther. Land on the hyperstrip immediately or we open fire." Fox said over the comm.

"Such hostility…" Panther's drawl came over the comm, mocking Fox.

"You know if it weren't for us you guys would be ash on the breeze right now!" Leon rasped.

"I take it you're staying out of the conversation Wolf." Fox enquired.

"When the time comes, don't hesitate, just act." Wolf said as he fired a Nova at Fox's wing. The wing was blasted right off.

"Damn it!" Fox yelled as he started to spin uncontrollably. He was headed straight for the street. Full of shoppers. If he landed there, he would kill all those pedestrians. The controls fizzed and jerked around. He grabbed the joystick and tried to pull up. He had just enough leverage to get himself to crash land in the park.

The tip of the Arwing dug into the earth, causing a huge mass of soil to fly in the air. Fox flipped the cockpit and jumped out, running as fast as he could away from it. The with a colossal roar, the Arwing exploded and a shockwave made Fox fly ten meters straight into the wall of a building. He felt a trickle of blood slide down his forehead, then he passed out.

Falco watched Fox escape the Arwing. He hated to admit that Wolf was good, but he had no time to wonder about it. He barrel rolled. Wolf may be good, but he was better.

He charged a shot and locked onto Panther. He fired, but didn't have time to see it connect.

"Hi Falco. Need a hand?"

"Thanks Krystal." Falco smiled. "I'm going head to head with Wolf, try and hold off Panther and-"

"Relax Falco," Slippy's voice came over the comm.,"I'll take lizard-boy."

"Silence frog." Leon sniped.

Krystal and Slippy flew off to face their rivals. Falco u-turned, and came face to face with Wolf. They had both applied their brakes, summing each other up.

"Word around the criminal grapevine is that you're ten times the pilot Fox is."

"Your fellow scum are right. Fox is a born soldier, I'm a pilot."

"True. Fox is a tough guy on the ground, but he's a novice in the air. Anyway, enough talk Lombardi. Now we fight."

Falco did not hesitate. He fired a volley of shots straight at Wolf, striking him straight across the nose and flew away. Wolf turned and started to fly directly behind him. Wolf fired a Nova, and Falco looped, charging as he did so. Wolf flew straight under him. Falco released the charge and u-turned.

"Lom…di…ou…n…ng…now."

"Compensate." Falco verbally instructed the computer.

"Lombardi, you win. Landing now."

On the hyperstrip, Wolf O'Donnell, Leon Powalski and Panther Caroso were lined up, hands behind their heads. Slippy and Krystal had their guns resting on them. Five Cornerian police officers were also with them. Falco had gone with a team of paramedics to find Fox. Pepper and some more policemen emerged from one of the many elevators leading to the hyperstrip.

"Lord O'Donnell, you are officially in our custody. You and your subordinates will accompany me to HQ."

Wolf simply nodded.

"If it were up to me Wolf, this wouldn't happen. But rules are rules. You betrayed the Lylat system when you allied yourself with the late Emperor Andross. Though, your assistance during the aparoid crisis was highly valued. If I ask favours of the right people, I can get you a light sentence."

"Thank you." Wolf said, and Krystal thought he looked slightly taken aback. "Sir." With that, the General left.

Krystal looked into Wolf's eyes and saw two things she never would have expected. Fear. And respect. Fear of the death penalty, and respect for the tough old hound who he had once betrayed.

Fox was fine. All the team knew that he had seen far worse blows. The cut on his head did not even need stitching. Peppy had been discharged from hospital, and while he was shaken he was still the same old Peppy.

"Team Star Fox, time for your debriefing." Pepper said. "I've had some friends of mine at ranking and some more at accountancy create this new structure."

Fox partly dreaded the new changes and was excited about them at the same time.

"Fox is still captain and team leader." No surprises there. "Falco Lombardi is second in command." No real surprises there. Peppy used to be second in command, and Falco was an obvious choice. "Slippy is chief technician." Once again there were no surprises. "Krystal is now third in command." Fox was a bit shocked at this, but was secretly pleased. "Peppy is a strategist and technician. He is sixth in command"

Now Fox was shocked. Peppy is sixth in command? Fox thought about it. The levels of command were 1,2,3,6. That was all four of them, and there were two missing in the middle.

"Who will do Peppy's old job?"

"Um…" Pepper flicked through pages in his dossier. "Beltino Toad."

"What can I say?" Slippy blushed. "He had a certain swing with the interviewer."

Fox smiled. The first smile in a few days.

"Beltino will be fifth in command." Pepper added.

"Well… Who will be fourth in command?" Slippy asked, little knowing that the General's answer would turn their world upside down. After a moment's hesitation, the General replied:

"Lord Wolf O'Donnell."

Evil... Isn't it great? I've decided I won't be too greedy- 3 more reviews before i post chapter 3. -Cerberus

P.S. Many thanks to my first reviewer, Black Phoenix