Chapter 3: Making the Jump
...Heh, with Falco gone, I bet this place will calm down a lot. We won't have to put up with that attitude...and he won't be able to get in the way of Krystal and I, and I'm sure he'll be better out on his own. That guy knows what he wants and goes after it, that's how he's always been and I don't count on that changing anytime soon...
Fox remembered that he still had to gain clearance for their jump to hyperspace. He walked up to his large, elevated chair in the middle of the room and sat down. He began to reminisce about how, in this exact spot, he got word of a certain planet falling apart, and on that planet, how he meet Krystal...everything he could think of, somehow, made him think of Krystal...He had never experienced anything like this before. It was something new for Fox, and he thrived on new things like this. It's what he lived for, to experience anything he got the chance to, to live life to the fullest, just like his Father had before him...Fox snapped back into reality when he remembered his Father...Fox never liked to think about his Father's death. There were too many terrible memories that were attached to it.
He pulled the laptop that was attached to the chair out from behind him. He typed in the access code for the Lylatian Space Transportation Organization. (This group controls all hyperspace activity throughout the Lylat system. With the invention of hyperspace, came many preventable deaths in space. These deaths were caused by collisions while traveling at light speed. The L.S.T.O. prevents this from happening by clearing a path of travel for a ship entering hyperspace, so no other ships are in their way while in hyperspace.) Immediately, a robotic representative appeared on the screen.
"This is the L.S.T.O. Space Flight Division, will you be entering hyperspace? If so, please enter your destination and current coordinates." Fox typed in the required information. The robot continued, "Will you now please enter your ship's class and identification numbers." Fox brought up another screen on the laptop and copied down the displayed information. "Thank you, we are now clearing your ship for hyperspace entry, please hold." A text box appeared and replaced the image of the robot. It displayed a message stating rules and regulations of standard hyperspace protocol. Fox knew all of the information by heart; he had made the jump into hyperspace several times before.
Fox sat and waited for the robot to come back and give him clearance to enter hyperspace. Something broke the silence in the room; Fox heard the bridge door open behind him. He turned to see Krystal. "Hi Fox, I finished unpacking, so I thought I would look around a bit more...I never thought I would get to travel on a ship as big as this." Krystal said with a sound of amazement. Fox just sat there and watched her slowly maneuver over to where he was sitting. Her eyes were constantly moving, trying to take everything in all at once. She finally made it to Fox, who was sitting in his chair, trying to hide the huge grin on his face. "Oh, this is making me quite lightheaded," she uttered under her breath. "So what are you doing up here Fox?" "I'm just getting the ship ready to go into hyperspace." Fox said impatiently. Krystal thought for a second and then asked, "How do you get ready to 'go into hyperspace?'" Fox explained, "First you have to call the people that monitor the hyperspace activity, then you have to give them access codes to your ship so they know your ship isn't stolen and they determine how big of an area to clear, after that, I can send the ship into hyperspace at anytime after they confirm our destination and current location." Krystal looked at Fox as if she lost him somewhere during the explanation. Fox noticed the rules and regulations still were showing on the screen. He looked at Krystal and said, "Take a look at this and maybe you'll understand." Fox pointed out the screen of information to Krystal and she diligently started to read it.
Fox took this moment to admire Krystal's delicate face. It was so smooth and flawless, her hair was formed into six bangs in the front and several in the back, both separated by a white barrette, and her soft, light blue eyes scanned back and forth over the screen. Krystal looked up at Fox and he quickly snapped out of his stare and said, "Did that help at all?" "Yes, it..." Krystal was cut off by the sound of the robot coming back onto the screen.
"Clearance granted, Confirmation commencing, Ship name: Great Fox, Serial number: 65419-40786-32765-64, Current Location: Dinosaur Planet, Destination: Corneria, Original Owner: James McCloud, Current Owner: Fox McCloud. Is this correct?" Fox replied, "Yes, oh, and how long do we have to enter hyperspace?" The robot answered, "Flight path will be clear for the next forty-eight hours." "That will be all," replied Fox. "Thank you, have a safe and un-eventful flight," was the robots unemotional answer. Fox turned off his laptop and set it back behind his chair. Krystal glanced up at Fox with a confused look. Fox noticed this and asked, "What's wrong, something about the whole hyperspace thing?" "No, it's not that, but during the transmission, I heard the name James McCloud, It said he was the original owner of the Great Fox...do you know him?" She asked with an innocent voice, not knowing how much Fox hated talking about it. "Well, Ya, He was my Father." Fox hesitantly replied. "Oh, your Father, did he give this ship to you? That was nice of him." Krystal naively replied. Fox never wanted to remember what had happened to his Father eight years ago.
Krystal...I know you are just being curious, but I really don't want to talk about it. I don't want to relive the past...but, I will tell you, I don't know why...I feel something...telling me..."Fox, you must trust her." I will...I will tell her, no matter how much pain it may bring me.
Fox began to tell the tale...the tale of his past... "Well Krystal, my Father didn't exactly give me the ship, I actually inherited it from him. Eight years ago...he was sent on a mission to defeat Andross...the same one I defeated on Dinosaur Planet. During that mission, one of his teammates, Pigma Dengar, betrayed my Father...and he was...killed at the hands of Andross..." Fox stopped for a second, trying to hold back the tears. Krystal was in shock; she did not realize that what she said could have such a major effect on Fox. She walked over to the chair and sat on the armrest next to Fox. She took his hand in hers and began to gently stroke the back of his hand. This gave Fox the strength to fight the tears back and continue.
"Not long after that, I was sent on my first mission to defeat the same evil...I was successful...I defeated him...but after he had exploded...I thought I was done for too...but then I heard a voice...the voice of my Father...He led me out of the complex we were fighting in and...led me to safety...was it really him...or my imagination...he may still be alive somewhere...and I want to see him...but in all my journeys...I have never heard a word about him...not even a rumor...it's like...like he never existed...but I know I saw him there...leading me out of danger...and I will find him someday...it's my priority that I discover his fate...dead or alive...so that I may know where my Father is...I must...I...can't..."
At this point, Fox completely broke down and let the tears flow freely. He felt so alone in the world; he had no direction, nothing to live by, just faded memories that continually tormented him. Krystal couldn't watch Fox go through pain like this, she felt terrible about what he just revealed to her, which had never previously been explained to anyone. Krystal slowly put her arms around Fox's neck and started stroking the back of his ear. Fox's sadness slowly began to fade as he felt Krystal's caring arms around him. Fox sat up straight and looked into Krystal's blue eyes and returned the embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder and spoke into his ear, "Fox, I'm sorry this had to happen to you. I'm sure we can find your Father. I'll be there, helping you every step of the way. I'll make sure you complete your mission. Fox, we can do it...together." Krystal's soft voice gradually eased the pain and the tears stopped falling. Fox opened his eyes, slowly lifted his head, and was again face to face with Krystal. She raised her hand to his face and wiped the remaining teardrops from his eyes. They both sat there, staring into each other's eyes. Fox graciously responded, "Thank you Krystal, It's nice to have someone that cares. It might not sound that important, but when you realize that I have no pleasant memories to look back on...it makes all the difference for me...Thank you...so much."
As Fox finished his sentence, the giant holographic screen in the middle of the room lit up. It revealed the image of Peppy and he exclaimed, "Fox, what are you doing up there, I've been looking all..." Peppy noticed that Krystal was sitting right next to Fox, with her arms around him. Peppy continued with an awkward sounding voice, "Oh, sorry...I'll just..." Fox stopped him and said, "No, It's fine, what do you want?" "Oh, ok...I was just going to tell you that were gonna have dinner ready pretty soon and you should probably get down here," Peppy continued, still using an uncomfortable tone of voice. Fox replied, "Thanks, we'll be right there." The hologram disappeared and there was again silence in the room. Fox hesitated and said, "You better get ready for dinner. You know where the kitchen is, right?" "Yes, I saw it on my way over here," Krystal responded. "Ok, I'll be down in a little while, I still got some work to do up here," said Fox. "I'll see you in a little while then, bye." And with that, Krystal exited the room and Fox was again alone on the bridge. For a while he did nothing, he just stared into space, thinking about...just about everything. His thoughts were scrambled, he had so many different feelings at the same time, and it was overwhelming him. He slowly calmed down and gazed into the endless galaxy outside the bridge.
I wonder what General Pepper will have waiting for us when we get our debriefing back at Corneria. Does he have another mission waiting for us, or is he gonna give us some time off. It doesn't really matter to me, as long as me make money out of the deal. How am I gonna spend the money we got from out last mission? Just to repair the Great Fox? I've never really spent the money from missions on anything else, but this time we received thousands more credits than normal. I'll just wait until we get back to Corneria and see what happens.
Fox got up and started making the walk back to the kitchen. The kitchen was relatively close to the bridge and it took almost no time for Fox to arrive. Fox entered the large kitchen and saw Slippy and Krystal sitting at the table. Fox walked past them into the backroom where the stove and other appliances were located. Peppy was busily working at the meal he was preparing, but Fox noticed that there was slightly less food than normal. Fox asked, "Hey, Peppy, are we running low on food supplies? It seems like your cutting back on some stuff." Peppy replied, "Ya, we're really low on supplies, good thing we're headed for Corneria tomorrow so we can stock back up. I'm almost done, why don't you go sit with the others."
Fox ambled back into the kitchen and sat down next to Krystal, who had been trying to start a conversation with Slippy. Slippy saw that Fox and Krystal were sitting next to each other and started giggling to himself in a very, Slippy-like manner. Fox noticed and knew what he was implying, so he put Slippy on the spot by saying, "Hey Slippy, what are you laughing at?" Slippy stopped his chortling and his face turned blood red, "Uh, nothing, just...ya know...thought of something...funny, hehehehe......" He trailed off trying to sound like he somehow made sense out of what he actually said. Fox and Krystal got a good laugh out of this and Slippy looked down at the floor, trying not to look embarrassed.
Slippy was saved by further embarrassment by the entrance of Peppy and his platters full of food. He set them down on the table and everyone eagerly dished themselves a full plate of Peppy's cooking. There were many different types of food, but since no one on the ship had any real cooking skills, the food looked burnt and unattractive, but no one seemed to mind, especially Krystal, who had never seen so many different types of food in her life. Every time she took a bite of a different food, she happily complimented Peppy on his cooking and asked Fox what each type of food was called. Fox didn't mind answering Krystal's questions, but you could tell the others were starting to get annoyed by the constant questioning of everything. They got up and began to clear their plates off the table. Fox and Krystal were left sitting there and neither of them said anything, as they were still busily eating.
Krystal swallowed a bite and asked, "So when are we going to start doing missions? Since I'm part of the team now, right?" Fox replied, "Well, technically, your not an "official member" of the team, you have to pass some flight testing and have a spacecraft license, then you have to go to Corneria and be approved by General Pepper, who is the leader of the Cornerian army." Krystal responded, "Well, I do have a spacecraft license, but where can I complete the flight testing?" "Actually, we have a space simulator on this ship that has a direct link to the Corneria HQ, you could do the flight tests from here and I could send them to HQ." Fox answered. "Can I take the test after I'm done with dinner?" Krystal questioned. "Of course you can, if you think you are good enough," Fox replied jokingly. Sounding concerned, Krystal asked. "Is the test that difficult?" "Not really, if you know basic maneuvers and can do well in a dog-fight, it's no problem." Fox answered optimistically. They both finished their meals at the same time and put their dishes in the backroom where the sink was piled with dirty dishes.
Fox led Krystal to the bottom floor of the ship. Here, there was a large area of space that contained many different weapons and models of famous starships. On the far wall, there was a large window, and behind it, were all kinds of instruments. The window looked toward a big carbon-composite case that looked like a small scale Arwing. Fox motioned for Krystal to enter and she stepped into the confined area. Fox got behind the glass window and activated the simulator. A sphere of glass surrounded the simulator. Fox then activated the anti-gravity system, which enabled the simulator to float freely within the sphere. Fox activated the screen in the simulator and started giving her instructions. "Ok, first you must lift off by reaching the designated speed indicated on the bottom of the screen before you get to the end of the runway. Inside the simulator, Krystal noticed the brilliantly designed backdrops she was looking at through a large monitor in front of her. The environment the screen displayed looked so authentic. She slowly began to pick up speed and easily took off before the end of the runway. Fox continued giving instructions, "Now fly through the golden rings that appear in your path, make sure not to miss any, they are worth a lot of points." Krystal easily glided through all the rings, feeling the G-forces of every ascent and dive she made. "Great job, now you must do a barrel roll, don't take damage from enemy fire." Images of small cannons appeared on the screen, they began to fire a barrage of lasers at her. She used the barrel roll with perfect timing and didn't take a single hit. "Wow, Impressive, now you have to use the U-turn and somersault maneuvers to collect each ring in succession." She demonstrated a perfect U- turn and flew through the center of every ring, she came a horizontal set of rings and used the somersault to fly flawlessly in-between every one. "You've got a perfect score so far, now time for the last test, you have to win a dog-fight against several enemy units." Twenty different ships appeared on Krystal's radar, and they were headed straight for her. She locked onto the first set and wiped them out, then she was able to maneuver behind another squad and finished them. Behind the glass window, Fox checked to see if he set everything to the right level, no one has ever done this good on a test. James McCloud was the last person ever to complete the flight test with a perfect score. Krystal gracefully evaded enemy fire and swiftly picked off the remaining units...A perfect score. "Wow Krystal, You aced the test, where did you learn to fly like that? Anyway, Great Job, I'll end the simulation now."
Fox de-activated the anti-gravity field and the simulator landed back on the ground. The glass sphere retracted back into the floor and Krystal emerged from the simulator with a large smile. "I got a perfect score? Is that good?" She asked. Fox walked out from behind the glass, laughing out loud and said, "Ya that's great, with that kind of performance, you could join almost any team in the galaxy!" "Did I really do that well?" Krystal asked, trying to sound modest. "Ya, that was the most impressive flying I've seen in a long time, even if it was a simulation!" Fox exclaimed. "I'll send your results to Pepper right now, I'm sure he'll be impressed."
They both walked behind the glass window and Fox activated the data system that connected with Corneria HQ. He grabbed the disk that had recorded Krystal's results and inserted them into the device. The information quickly copied, and the disk was ejected back out of the machine. "Well, that's it, and when we get to Corneria, you'll be an official member of the Star Fox team," Fox said trying to hide his enthusiasm. Krystal replied, "Great, I can't wait to see all the other planets and take on missions, it all sounds so exciting." Krystal replied energetically.
Fox looked up to the clock in the room and it displayed the numbers 23:00. "Whoa, it's getting pretty late, I think I'm goin' to bed, I got get up early so I can get the ship ready for hyperspace." Krystal yawned, "Oh, I guess that test was more exhausting than I realized." Fox smiled at Krystal's comment and they both walked back to their rooms. Fox stopped in front of Krystal's room door and said, "Tomorrow morning we're entering hyperspace to Corneria, are you ready?" "I think so, as long as you're with me Fox," She subtly replied. "Well, good night then." Fox said. "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep with all that I've seen today, but I'll try," she said with a smile. She turned and went into her room and the door closed behind her. Fox sauntered across the hallway into his room. He climbed into bed and looked up through his sky-roof. He began to think of everything that happened that day.
I've never seen someone do so well on that simulator before. Not even I had gotten the perfect score, but I guess I wasn't really trying. Does that mean she's a better pilot than me? Did she just get lucky? And what about that energy I felt when she arrived on the ship? I don't think Krystal is just another Fox, there may be something more to her, but I don't know what...yet. No one noticed that Falco was gone all day, not that he was much of a social guy, but you'd think someone would've noticed...My talk of my Father has rekindled my spirit to find him. I had almost given up on finding him, and then Krystal came along and encouraged me to keep searching...It's only been one day, but I already feel so close to her...I wonder how she'll react when we get to Corneria? If she could barely handle the technology on this ship, what will happen when she sees one of the most technologically advanced cities in all Lylat? We'll see...With this, Fox nodded off to sleep.
(The next morning...)
"Fox...Fox, wake up...Fox, we're leaving soon," Krystal said softly while shaking Fox from his sleep. Fox opened his eyes and rolled over in his bed, refusing to get up. "Fox, Peppy has started the countdown to hyperspace. Only fifteen minutes until we leave." Fox laid still and then slowly rose from his bed. He stood up and stretched and wiped the remaining sleep out of his eyes. He yawned, "Ok... I guess I'll go then, lets head up to the bridge." Krystal giggled at Fox's half-asleep speech and walked out of his room with him.
While walking down the hallway, they passed a lounging area that had a huge window that looked out into space. Below, Fox and Krystal saw Dinosaur Planet. It was slowly spinning on its axis and it looked like the planet was gradually beginning to fade farther and farther into the distance. There was a moment of silence between the two of them, both were busy thinking of all that had happened on that planet, and there it was below them, steadily slipping farther away from them. They knew they would probably never return to the planet that, buy chance alone, had brought them together. Krystal reached for Fox's hand, and Fox closed his hand around hers. Together they watched as the planet slowly faded into the vast expanse of space, and made a permanent place in their memory.
The moment was disrupted when the intercom suddenly blared out, "All crew aboard the bridge, five minutes until hyperspace is activated, repeat, all crew to the bridge." Fox felt Krystal hand shaking inside of his. "Afraid?" "Just a little," Krystal meekly replied. "Hyperspace is one of the safest ways to get around these days, the L.S.T.O. does a great job in making sure there are no accidents," Fox replied encouragingly. "No...it's not that, particularly. I just...don't know how much help I can be on this team, you are quite famous, and I don't want to bring down the reputation you built for yourself," Krystal said with uneasiness. "Reputation means nothing to me anymore...All I want is to find out what happened to my Father, that is the only reason I joined this team, and a reputation may only serve to get in the way. Besides...why would I need a reputation...when I have..."
Again the intercom was activated, but this time Peppy was on the line. "Fox get up here, we only have three minutes till' hyperspace, get to the bridge right now!" Fox looked up at the speaker and rolled his eyes, "Well, we better get going before he comes for us and drags us up there." "Yes, let's go." Krystal agreed. They walked a little way up the hall and up and escalator that took them up the incline of the ship to the bridge.
The bridge door opened to reveal Peppy, Slippy, and ROB trying to get everything ready for hyperspace. "Fox, What the heck where you doing, you know we got to have everything ready before launch!" said Peppy irritably. "Sorry, I guess I slept in a little to..." Peppy cut him off, "Well, here comes the countdown, Get ready everybody!" The holographic projector in the middle of the room activated and showed the numbers slowly counting down from 59 seconds. Fox looked over at Krystal, who seemed to be nervous about the whole hyperspace process. "Don't worry, we won't be in hyperspace very long, Corneria is only a few sectors away, the hyperspace shouldn't last for too long." Krystal grabbed Fox's arm and said, "If this thing explodes, it's all your fault for not waking up in time," Krystal replied trying to calm herself down by poking fun at Fox. The timer started to countdown out loud. 15...14...13... "Well, here it comes, are you gonna be okay?" Fox asked of the clearly shaking Krystal. She tightly grabbed Fox's arm and put her face on his shoulder, "Perhaps I shouldn't watch," she muttered quietly to Fox. He smirked and heard the timer continue to countdown. 4...3...2...1...Activate Hyperspace!
The ship quickly lurched forward and shot into space at the speed of light. Inside Krystal gave a small shriek, but after a while, she didn't even feel the ship moving. She peeked away from Fox's shoulder and looked out the bridge's window. There was a brilliant array of colors flying by the window. It was a wall of red and blue that seemed to effortlessly blend into each other while spiraling around the ship. Krystal took her head off Fox's shoulder to admire the graceful beauty of the colors. "Oh my, it's so gorgeous," She replied in awe of the spectacle. Fox responded, "I knew you wouldn't have a problem once you saw this." Fox and Krystal watched together as the colors skipped and danced around the ship. Krystal was now releasing some of the pressure from Fox's arm, and began to relax. "You don't want it to end now, do you?" Fox asked. Krystal paused, still being drawn in by the vibrant colors. "It will have to end won't it? I don't know, will we ever use hyperspace again?" Fox smiled, "Ya, we use it to get just about everywhere in Lylat," Fox answered. "Then I guess I'll just wait till' next time," she said, no longer with any anxiety in her voice. Peppy spoke up, "Preparing to exit hyperspace, T-5 seconds, 5...4...3... The colors suddenly vanished and the ship came to a somewhat abrupt stop. The whole crew staggered forward. Krystal was saved by falling thanks the fact she was still holding Fox's arm. "Hey Peppy, you're countdown was a little...off, you gettin' old or something?" Fox jokingly inquired. "I guess that might be it, but I doubt it," Peppy replied with weak smile.
They had reached their destination, the capital planet of the Lylat system, Corneria. They could see the brilliant blue planet in front of them, slowly drawing closer. ROB broke the temporary silence, "We have successfully arrived at Corneria, no external or internal damage detected. We will land on the planet in approximately 12.738 minutes. Disembarkation will commence shortly after docking clearance upon landing in Corneria." The crew began to leave the bridge, preparing for the docking procedures. "Krystal, do you want to navigate the Great Fox into the Corneria Docking Station?" Fox asked, seeing if Krystal was up for the challenge. "You would let me pilot your ship? I guess I have no choice but to accept," Krystal replied enthusiastically.
She went to the back of the bridge and took the controls from ROB. She carefully brought the Great Fox through Corneria's atmosphere and breeched the clouds below. She then guided the Great Fox across the Cornerian airspace and headed perfectly into the Docking Station. She set the ship down and it landed without too much turbulence. She looked over at Fox and he said, "That was perfect, we can now head out into Corneria whenever we decide to leave." "I can't believe I'm actually in Corneria, Fox. It's like a dream come true!" Krystal replied with smile. Fox smiled back and Krystal continued with excitement, "Let's go get the others so we can leave as soon as possible." Fox smirked at Krystal's enthusiasm and replied, "I'll go round up the crew. Why don't you go back to your room and get ready to leave. Don't worry about any money; I'll take care of that. We'll meet you at the gangway." Krystal smiled at Fox and hastily exited the room to get ready for disembarkation.
Fox headed down to the engine room where Slippy and Peppy were busy setting everything for disembarkation. They noticed Fox and Peppy began speaking, "Hey Fox, I've noticed that you haven't been doing any work around here lately. I said I would agree with Krystal joining if it was best for the team, not for you. It seems now; your main concern is to be with Krystal, not the team. I'm sorry Fox, but unless you start getting your priorities straight, I may leave the team." Slippy nodded, not seeming sure which side he wanted to take. Fox stood there, stunned. His plan was finally starting to show its flaws.
I knew this was turning out too good to be true. Now I have to make a decision. Just because I wouldn't be around Krystal all the time isn't a good reason for me not to work. I have no excuse, and as leader of the Great Fox, I have to set an example for my teammates. I don't want to lose any other teammates; I've already lost Falco, twice. I can't afford to lose any more. It may be hard for me to have to be away from Krystal, but it's my duty.
Fox responded to Peppy, "Sorry guys, I just...I got carried away. I know I've been acting up and I'm sorry, I'll stay on task from now on." Peppy gave a reassuring smile, "It's alright, Fox, we'll forgive you this time. By the way, we're all done here and we can leave whenever you want." Fox nodded, "I'm ready, I don't really think we'll need anything so lets go now. I wonder what Pepper wants us here for anyway..."