OPTIONAL SIDE STORY: First Contact
Day 5:
When I left the Star Fox team...six years ago...I had the same purpose...to find Katt, and I failed. I wasn't able to find any information about where she could be...it was years filled with meaningless searching and confusion. I gave up looking for her and joined back up with the Star Fox team...at least there I had some friends with me...it was comforting...even if I never showed it. But now...I'm searching again...for the one I haven't seen for eight long years...but finally...this time...I found where she was...and I'm coming to her now...whoa...was that me gettin' emotional? Anyway, here's what happened.
After I arrived back at Corneria late in the afternoon, I went and found a cheap hotel to stay at. I really didn't have any money left after I bought fuel cells for my Arwing back at the Peace Colony. No one at this hotel noticed me from eight years ago, so I actually had to pay this time...which sucks...just when I was gettin' used to the famous treatment. Not to mention how unbelievably crappy the room was. Not that I could sleep anyway...at that time, I was still pretty depressed about not having found any good info on Katt...but eventually, I was able to fall back onto the rock hard bed and fall asleep.
Early the next morning, I heard a knock on my room door. I stayed in bed and waited to see if they would go away...since I never have been the one who liked to be woken up so early in the morning. The knocking continued and someone spoke through the thin, wooden door. "Mr. Lombardi?" I answered in a low, annoyed voice, telling them to come back in about six hours. The voice responded, "I'm from the Cornerian Army Base...I was sent here by General Pepper to tell you...we know where Katt is. I believe you wanted this information?" I quickly rose up in my bed and thought to myself, Sweet information I need and I don't have to work for it. I stood up and ran to the door. I opened it to see a tall, brown squirrel standing in the hallway. He continued, "We must depart for the General's office, he will fill you in when we get there." The guy led me inside into a waiting hovertaxi outside the hotel. There was no talking during the ride over, which was fine with me, because like I said before, I hate small talk.
We arrived at the large Corneria Army Base some time later. I haven't been here in a while. Not since we defeated Andross eight years ago and declined Pepper's offer to join the Cornerian army. I don't know what made him think we'd join. It's not like a team of mercenaries is gonna give up the chance at a fortune doing more dangerous side missions for the government, I don't think Fox even had to give his decision a second thought. Anyway, I got out and walked into the large building. It was way different then how it looked eight years ago, It was a good thing that squirrel guy knew where he was going, cause' I would've taken hours tryin' to find Peppers office, which only took minutes under the guidance of this squirrel.
I opened the door and walked into Pepper's large office, I never had actually been in there before, usually only team leaders get in there for secret briefings and stuff. I looked over the General's large marble desk to see his chair facing the window against the wall. "So Falco, you think Katt is more important than the Star Fox team?" I didn't know what to say, anything I said to him could be used against me later in the form of fewer missions. So I just took one of the seats and waited for him to continue. "It's unfortunate that you left Star Fox and even more unfortunate about what I will now reveal." My mind raced with the possibilities...did she get lost in space? Has she found someone else? Was she...dead? The General spun his chair around and continued, "You may have left the Star Fox team in hopes of finding Miss Monroe, but you seemed to have just missed her. Right now, she is traveling with your old team...She joined shortly after you contacted me from the Cornerian Peace Colony."
My eyes opened wide with shock. I responded by asking him why he didn't know she was joining when I contacted him from the Peace Colony. I knew how the system worked, a new member had to be cleared at least a day before going on any missions, but from what the General was telling me, Katt had joined just hours before. The General answered, "It seemed like this mission would be too great for the four members aboard the Great Fox, and Miss Monroe clearly stated her unhappiness with her assigned mission with the special forces team. I knew she had flown with team Star Fox during the destruction of Andross eight years ago and thought it wise to position familiar personnel aboard the Great Fox instead of someone new. I'm sorry it had to work out this way Falco." I impatiently asked where the Great Fox was located, the General answered, "They were sent to the desert planet Kymach. They are currently working on the mission I mentioned before; someone is trying to take control of outer ring planets located in Lylat. His reasons are unknown, but our best guess is that he may be attempting to amass a large enough army to over throw other, more powerful planets. He is using mass mind control to bring entire planets under his power. We sent Star Fox to set up small M.C.D. systems on each planet so that..." I cut him off here, seeing as how his speech could go on forever. I asked him if it was possible for me to somehow get back to the Great Fox. He grabbed a few papers off his desk and walked over to the chair I was sitting in. I stood up as he did, and he said, "Follow me downstairs and we will see if we can find a way." He exited the room but I stayed standing in from of the chair, confused. I didn't know what he was gonna do, but I figured at least I was gettin' somewhere now.
I followed the General into the elevator and we quickly traveled down the height of the building and were soon stopped on the ground floor. I followed him past the receptionist desk as he gave a small nod to the receptionist, who stood up from her chair and gave him a respectful salute. We walked through a few more hallways into parts of the Base that I never knew existed. Rooms filled with advanced computers and holograms charting complex graphs and numbers. Many workers were dutifully toiling away and taking down numbers on small handheld computers. They all seemed to stop at once as the General walked through. We passed through that room and came into a slightly smaller room that looked familiar to the one at the Peace Colony on Venom. Pepper sat at a much smaller desk than the one that was in his office and quickly typed something into a small screen on his desk. He slowly turned to face me and saw the questioning look on my face. He turned back around and said, "It's been two days since they left Corneria, at that distance, it would take you just as long to reach them. Do you think they'll stop their mission and wait for you? Let's find out."
A large, bright holographic screen appeared from the ceiling. The signal seemed to be scrambled at first, but the General seemed to dismiss it as he spoke. "General Pepper here. Come in...do you read?" He quickly adjusted a few switches on his desk and the picture finally came into view. I looked into the background of the image. A robot rolled back and forth across the bridge...a familiar sound of beeping computers came to my ears...recognizable faces were spaced around the all to familiar bridge. An aged, gray rabbit...a short, green frog...sitting in the chair directly in front of the screen, a golden fox...and a blue vixen standing by his side...but they all seemed to fade as I looked towards the far wall of the bridge...the pink cat leaning against the metallic wall, head facing the ground. The fox began to speak...but I could not concentrate on him...there she was...the one I had been searching for...aboard the ship I had left only a few days ago...The figures began to speak to the General...but I don't really remember what was said now that I think back...all I could think about was that pink cat...who still hadn't looked up...hadn't seen me standing there...I'm sure I heard someone speaking to me...but all I could respond with were confused nods and quick yes and no answers...
Suddenly, the transmission ended and her face discolored and disappeared from my sight. My mind snapped out of its trance, and I subconsciously muttered... "No...don't leave now..." The General looked down at me with a sympathetic gaze. "Falco, are you all right? You must leave soon, they will not wait for long." I looked up with a confused stare...I didn't remember anything about what had just happened in that conversation...only the face of that pink cat...who never looked up the whole time.
So now I'm getting ready to travel across the galaxy to rejoin Star Fox...again. Will I even be ready to see her again...I wonder if she even remembers me...It's been so long...since I really got to talk to her...and most of our time together has been filled with arguments...will she even want to see me...Oh Jeez, I'm turning into Fox after met Krystal...Like him...this girl is the only thing I can think about now...I don't feel like myself...I better stop now before I say too much...
Day 5:
When I left the Star Fox team...six years ago...I had the same purpose...to find Katt, and I failed. I wasn't able to find any information about where she could be...it was years filled with meaningless searching and confusion. I gave up looking for her and joined back up with the Star Fox team...at least there I had some friends with me...it was comforting...even if I never showed it. But now...I'm searching again...for the one I haven't seen for eight long years...but finally...this time...I found where she was...and I'm coming to her now...whoa...was that me gettin' emotional? Anyway, here's what happened.
After I arrived back at Corneria late in the afternoon, I went and found a cheap hotel to stay at. I really didn't have any money left after I bought fuel cells for my Arwing back at the Peace Colony. No one at this hotel noticed me from eight years ago, so I actually had to pay this time...which sucks...just when I was gettin' used to the famous treatment. Not to mention how unbelievably crappy the room was. Not that I could sleep anyway...at that time, I was still pretty depressed about not having found any good info on Katt...but eventually, I was able to fall back onto the rock hard bed and fall asleep.
Early the next morning, I heard a knock on my room door. I stayed in bed and waited to see if they would go away...since I never have been the one who liked to be woken up so early in the morning. The knocking continued and someone spoke through the thin, wooden door. "Mr. Lombardi?" I answered in a low, annoyed voice, telling them to come back in about six hours. The voice responded, "I'm from the Cornerian Army Base...I was sent here by General Pepper to tell you...we know where Katt is. I believe you wanted this information?" I quickly rose up in my bed and thought to myself, Sweet information I need and I don't have to work for it. I stood up and ran to the door. I opened it to see a tall, brown squirrel standing in the hallway. He continued, "We must depart for the General's office, he will fill you in when we get there." The guy led me inside into a waiting hovertaxi outside the hotel. There was no talking during the ride over, which was fine with me, because like I said before, I hate small talk.
We arrived at the large Corneria Army Base some time later. I haven't been here in a while. Not since we defeated Andross eight years ago and declined Pepper's offer to join the Cornerian army. I don't know what made him think we'd join. It's not like a team of mercenaries is gonna give up the chance at a fortune doing more dangerous side missions for the government, I don't think Fox even had to give his decision a second thought. Anyway, I got out and walked into the large building. It was way different then how it looked eight years ago, It was a good thing that squirrel guy knew where he was going, cause' I would've taken hours tryin' to find Peppers office, which only took minutes under the guidance of this squirrel.
I opened the door and walked into Pepper's large office, I never had actually been in there before, usually only team leaders get in there for secret briefings and stuff. I looked over the General's large marble desk to see his chair facing the window against the wall. "So Falco, you think Katt is more important than the Star Fox team?" I didn't know what to say, anything I said to him could be used against me later in the form of fewer missions. So I just took one of the seats and waited for him to continue. "It's unfortunate that you left Star Fox and even more unfortunate about what I will now reveal." My mind raced with the possibilities...did she get lost in space? Has she found someone else? Was she...dead? The General spun his chair around and continued, "You may have left the Star Fox team in hopes of finding Miss Monroe, but you seemed to have just missed her. Right now, she is traveling with your old team...She joined shortly after you contacted me from the Cornerian Peace Colony."
My eyes opened wide with shock. I responded by asking him why he didn't know she was joining when I contacted him from the Peace Colony. I knew how the system worked, a new member had to be cleared at least a day before going on any missions, but from what the General was telling me, Katt had joined just hours before. The General answered, "It seemed like this mission would be too great for the four members aboard the Great Fox, and Miss Monroe clearly stated her unhappiness with her assigned mission with the special forces team. I knew she had flown with team Star Fox during the destruction of Andross eight years ago and thought it wise to position familiar personnel aboard the Great Fox instead of someone new. I'm sorry it had to work out this way Falco." I impatiently asked where the Great Fox was located, the General answered, "They were sent to the desert planet Kymach. They are currently working on the mission I mentioned before; someone is trying to take control of outer ring planets located in Lylat. His reasons are unknown, but our best guess is that he may be attempting to amass a large enough army to over throw other, more powerful planets. He is using mass mind control to bring entire planets under his power. We sent Star Fox to set up small M.C.D. systems on each planet so that..." I cut him off here, seeing as how his speech could go on forever. I asked him if it was possible for me to somehow get back to the Great Fox. He grabbed a few papers off his desk and walked over to the chair I was sitting in. I stood up as he did, and he said, "Follow me downstairs and we will see if we can find a way." He exited the room but I stayed standing in from of the chair, confused. I didn't know what he was gonna do, but I figured at least I was gettin' somewhere now.
I followed the General into the elevator and we quickly traveled down the height of the building and were soon stopped on the ground floor. I followed him past the receptionist desk as he gave a small nod to the receptionist, who stood up from her chair and gave him a respectful salute. We walked through a few more hallways into parts of the Base that I never knew existed. Rooms filled with advanced computers and holograms charting complex graphs and numbers. Many workers were dutifully toiling away and taking down numbers on small handheld computers. They all seemed to stop at once as the General walked through. We passed through that room and came into a slightly smaller room that looked familiar to the one at the Peace Colony on Venom. Pepper sat at a much smaller desk than the one that was in his office and quickly typed something into a small screen on his desk. He slowly turned to face me and saw the questioning look on my face. He turned back around and said, "It's been two days since they left Corneria, at that distance, it would take you just as long to reach them. Do you think they'll stop their mission and wait for you? Let's find out."
A large, bright holographic screen appeared from the ceiling. The signal seemed to be scrambled at first, but the General seemed to dismiss it as he spoke. "General Pepper here. Come in...do you read?" He quickly adjusted a few switches on his desk and the picture finally came into view. I looked into the background of the image. A robot rolled back and forth across the bridge...a familiar sound of beeping computers came to my ears...recognizable faces were spaced around the all to familiar bridge. An aged, gray rabbit...a short, green frog...sitting in the chair directly in front of the screen, a golden fox...and a blue vixen standing by his side...but they all seemed to fade as I looked towards the far wall of the bridge...the pink cat leaning against the metallic wall, head facing the ground. The fox began to speak...but I could not concentrate on him...there she was...the one I had been searching for...aboard the ship I had left only a few days ago...The figures began to speak to the General...but I don't really remember what was said now that I think back...all I could think about was that pink cat...who still hadn't looked up...hadn't seen me standing there...I'm sure I heard someone speaking to me...but all I could respond with were confused nods and quick yes and no answers...
Suddenly, the transmission ended and her face discolored and disappeared from my sight. My mind snapped out of its trance, and I subconsciously muttered... "No...don't leave now..." The General looked down at me with a sympathetic gaze. "Falco, are you all right? You must leave soon, they will not wait for long." I looked up with a confused stare...I didn't remember anything about what had just happened in that conversation...only the face of that pink cat...who never looked up the whole time.
So now I'm getting ready to travel across the galaxy to rejoin Star Fox...again. Will I even be ready to see her again...I wonder if she even remembers me...It's been so long...since I really got to talk to her...and most of our time together has been filled with arguments...will she even want to see me...Oh Jeez, I'm turning into Fox after met Krystal...Like him...this girl is the only thing I can think about now...I don't feel like myself...I better stop now before I say too much...