Chapter 24: The General's Plan
Fox's eyes scanned slowly over the large and graceful looking Ladekahn IV as he, accompanied by his three regular mission hands, made his way towards the docking bay of the enormous, yet somehow elegant Special Forces Cruiser. It was indeed a large ship; at least five times the size of the Great Fox. Its outer hull was coated with sterling silver, which was only obstructed in some places where the ships name and allegiance were painted on. Ladekahn IV's structure was also something quite different than Fox had seen. It had six triangular wings attached near the near of the craft, which were all bent slightly near the middle of each, similar to the wings that adorned his Great Fox. Behind the wings on the end of the ship sat five huge circular thrusters, arranged in a wide pentagonal pattern, each glowing a bright yellow in color. On the other side of the wings, the body of the ship slowly narrowed the closer it got to the cruisers head, ending in an almost sharp looking point where several large triangular windows gave you a glimpse of the bridge inside.
Just as Fox had finished his observations, his in-ship comm system alerted him of an incoming message, which he quickly cleared. As soon as he did, the face of his avian teammate appeared on a plasma screen on his in-ship consol, "Hey McCloud, you see that ship?" Fox nodded hesitantly, "…Ya, what about it?" Falco smirked as he answered, "Ever wonder why we never get comped with something like that? I mean, we have saved the Lylat System twice already. Isn't that good enough to merit ourselves a half-decent ship?" Fox responded, "Ah, come on Falco…you know how much something like that costs the government? Besides, what's wrong with the Great Fox?" Falco shook his head and replied, "Are you kidding, that thing passed its prime before it was even yours. If it wasn't for Slippy, that ship would be completely useless." Fox nodded and responded, "Well, it is getting pretty old, but it's gonna have to work for…" Fox stopped himself as he saw the small blue light appear on his ships consol a second time. He continued, "Hang on Falco, I got another transmission coming in." Falco reached over towards the screen and replied, "Eh, just forget it Fox," After which his screen was deactivated and the screen in Fox's consol went dark. He smirked as he let the second transmission pass.
This time, the small screen in front of him displayed an unfamiliar face. The animal that now appeared on the screen looked to be a middle-aged panther, who was dressed in a light blue uniform. "This is the Ladekahn IV, seeking contact of Star Fox leader Fox McCloud." Fox nodded as he replied, "That's me." The jet-black feline smirked as he responded, "I see, well Fox McCloud, this is Lieutenant Caroso, and I've been asked by my superior, Bill Gray, to confirm your arrival. How many will be joining us in the conference room for the General's briefing?" Fox took almost no time to reply, "There's four of us." The panther smiled and responded, "I see, such a small crew it seems. But reputations are hard to overlook I suppose, but of course, it isn't my decision, is it now?" Fox hesitated, as the lieutenant seemed to be speaking to himself, but the feline quickly noticed the silence and continued with a smirk, "But this is beside the point. It has been my honor, being able to speak with you Fox McCloud, even for as brief a time as this. I look forward to seeing you in person." As he finished his sentence, the panther cut off the transmission. Fox soon did the same, while commenting to himself, "That was…strange…" He smiled and gave a slight chuckle as he continued, "Bill sure knows how to pick out a crew…"
It was only a few short minutes after they had left the Great Fox before they had found themselves near the docking bay of the ship, which was held on the side nearest to the planet. The opening to the docking bay was large, taking up a good-sized section of the ship's side. Fox and his team were able to easily guide their Arwings into the enormous area, which seemed to contain nothing more than a few large transport ships, and after being guided in by a few workers on the docking bay floor, they were successfully docked inside the Ladekahn IV.
Fox peered out of his transparent cockpit window after he had finished powering down the engines to his craft. He could see that the rest of his team had landed as well, but as he looked out towards the open door that he had just passed through, he could see a small group of animals approaching his Arwing, one of which he was able to identify almost immediately.
Fox quickly dismounted from his ship and immediately found himself standing in front of his old friend. Bill separated himself from the group slightly as they continued towards him and they both exchanged friendly smiles. Bill was the first to speak, "So Fox, looks like you made it. What do you think of my ship? Pretty impressive, huh?" Fox smirked as he replied, "You could say that. The only problem is, now that I've seen this, I've starting to feel like the Great Fox is gettin' a little old…thanks." Bill smiled and they shared a friendly handshake, which Bill quickly followed up by replying, "Well, being pretty is one thing, but getting the job done is different, I think that Great Fox has proven itself over the years. You'd know that better than anyone. But anyway, how's it going Fox, I haven't heard from you since that skirmish about eight years ago, how've ya been?" Fox smiled and responded, "Not much, I've actually only had one mission since then. My crew has changed a little bit, but really, nothing else has happened for the last few years. What about you Bill? You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself, I mean, you're captain of your own ship now."
Bill was about to respond, but as he looked past Fox for a second, he could see the rest of Fox's crew making their way over towards them. Bill nodded past Fox and asked with a confused voice, "Is that your team Fox?" Fox turned to see that the remaining members of his team were approaching the spot where they were standing. He quickly turned back to Bill and replied, "Ya, that's them…something wrong?" Bill slowly began to walk over towards them and commented, "You weren't kidding when you said it changed." Fox hesitated slightly as Bill continued to walk towards the group of animals. Fox soon followed after his old friend as Bill began greeting the different members of his team. He started with Falco, who had also been a friend of his during his Academy days. Next was Katt, who he had talked with only a week previous to this, before she had decided to leave the Special Forces squad and join up the Star Fox team. And then Bill came to the last member of the Star Fox team, one he had never seen before. He politely held his hand out and introduced herself, and she quickly did the same. He smiled as they separated hands and shot a questioning look at Fox, who saw this and immediately shook his head.
Just as Bill was about to ask the standard question most had about the blue-furred vulpine, a soft beeping noise could be heard coming from Bill. The gray canine quickly pulled out a small rectangular device and calmly spoke into it, "This is Bill." The slightly muffled voice that filtered out of the device could be heard clearly throughout the quiet bridge, "Captain, the General seems fairly eager to begin his discussion, and now that our guests have arrived, he requests that we begin our briefing as soon as possible. I'd advise you to comply, but of course, you are the captain." Bill nodded and replied, "Thanks Panther, we'll be in the conference room pretty soon. Just be ready for us when we get up there." The voice replied, "Oh, you won't need to worry about that captain, you see, we've been ready for quite some time. Even so, we await the arrival of our guests with great anticipation to be sure." With that, the small light on the device turned off, which signaled Bill to quickly pocket the small communicator. Bill looked up at both of the team's crewmembers and announced, "Alright, seems like the General is ready to start our meeting. I'll lead the way to the conference room." With that, the several animals soon followed in a short line behind the Ladekahn IV's captain out of the docking bay.
The walk through the Ladekahn IV was quite an experience for the Star Fox team. Because the ship was so large, it seemed like hours passed as they walked the Ladekahn IV's long and wide hallways. Not unlike the Great Fox, these hallways were also a metallic color, but the quality and condition of the walls and ceilings made it apparent that this was a brand new ship. The walls gave a slight reflection as the group of animals walked near them, and were, along with everything else that could be seen on this ship, completely devoid of rust or any other sign of aging. They passed several different rooms on the way, each filled with many different types of animals, many of which temporarily stopped their work as the Star Fox team passed them by, each fascinated by the chance to see Lylat's heroes walk only a few feet away from them.
It was only a matter of minutes after they had departed from the docking bay that they came to a stop in front of a large transparent glass door. Through it could be seen a large circular table, surrounded around it's entire radius by many comfortable looking chairs, each facing away from the table. Fox's concentration was temporarily distracted as Bill activated the door, causing it to silently withdraw into the walls that stood beside it, and quickly ushered them into the room.
The team that accompanied Bill to greet Fox in the docking bay entered into the room first, promptly taking their seats on the far side of the table. As soon as the Star Fox team passed through the doorway, Fox was greeted by a familiar voice, "Fox McCloud, we meet again. It's my pleasure to finally meet you in person." Fox only nodded in reply to the black panthers welcome, who now gave a slight bow in front of him. As he looked up, his attention was quickly diverted to another animal that stood just to the vulpines side. He smiled and asked, "And just who…do we have here? A friend of yours Mr. McCloud?" Fox watched as the feline introduced himself to the Cerinian vixen. "I did not imagine that such beauty could be found among mercenaries. I would like to introduce myself; I am Panther Caroso, lieutenant of this ship if I may be so bold. And what name have the heavenly gods graced you with my dear?" Krystal hesitated for a moment, not really sure about how to respond to the smooth-talking feline, but out of sheer politeness replied, "…My name is Krystal." Panther smiled as he heard these words, "Ahh, such a voice, that of which I have never heard in all my life. Would you be so kind as to…"
Bill quickly came from behind the lieutenant and said with an annoyed look, "Alright Caroso, enough with that, we have more important things to discuss right now, please resume your post on the bridge until I'm back. Understood?" Panther smiled as he slowly retreated from the room, giving a quiet chuckle as he replied, "Why, crystal clear sir."
Bill shook his head as the entire room watched the lieutenant walk leisurely out of sight. He approached Fox and apologized, "Sorry about that, he's like this around just about every girl he sees." Fox nodded, "There's something about that guy that I really don't like…it's like he's being way too nice." Bill nodded with a smile, "Ya, he's usually like that. It's just how he is, at least, as long as he's been lieutenant on my ship, but he really is a great help around here. But let's forget about Panther, Pepper's still on the comm system waiting for us to answer. I don't think it's a good idea to keep him waiting for much longer." Fox nodded as he led his team over to the closest four available seats around the round table.
Bill quickly walked a short distance to an open chair among his team, but in front of his chair sat a small computer system that was built into the table. After quickly typing a few commands into the small computer, a light appeared, which was being emitted from a small lens that sat squarely in the center of the table. After a few more short seconds, a picture started to appear within the light. Bill spoke as the image of General Pepper began to come fully into view, "Ladekahn IV to General Pepper, do you copy General Pepper." There was a slight hesitation on the other end of the line, but Pepper's gruff voice soon rang through the holographic image, "General Pepper here, I read you Ladekahn IV." He hesitated after saying this, but quickly continued, "Nice to finally see you and your crew Bill, it seemed like I was waiting for a nice sum of time." Bill nodded regretfully, "Sorry General, we got here as fast as we could." Pepper nodded and replied, "I have no doubt of that, and I see that the Star Fox team is here as requested. But pleasantries aside, we need to discuss my plans to liberate Katina." The room was completely silent as the General cleared his throat and ruffled through a few papers that sat in a few small, neat piles on his desk.
"Well, as all of you know, Katina has been taken under mind control, not unlike the two other planets you both have already visited. And your mission will be no different this time around. You must take back the planet, but this time, you will not use the aid of the M.C.D. system. This time, the waves are being emitted from a specific location, which is the building that appeared a few months ago. Because of the distrust that was created between Corneria and Katina four years ago, we were unable to take action before it reached this stage. It seems the building serves as a base for the one behind the recent mind controls. Of course, this is unconfirmed, but from the amount of creatures that we've detected on the planets surface, we're suspecting that much of his mind-controlled forces may be held here as well. It's only correct to assume that any action that we take on the planet will be met by hostility. This is why I have asked for the teams of both Star Fox and Ladekahn IV to work together on this mission. The fact of the matter is, four people, even as skilled as the members of Star Fox, could not possibly break through the large number of hostile forces that wait on Katina. That is where the crew of Ladekahn IV can help. Unfortunately, a strange type of force field protects the building, effectively making aerial strikes practically useless. But there are other ways to breach their forces. There are many crew members on the Ladekahn IV that were brought along solely for the purpose of settling conflict on any of the planets you had liberated with the M.C.D. system, in the off-chance that something went wrong with the system, luckily, we have not needed to dispatch them as of yet, but now, they are what will help us to destroy that large structure on Katina's surface. Using those very soldiers, we will attempt to breach the building head on, taking out as many of the infected creatures as possible. While this frontal assault will obviously take the full attention of the hostiles, the Star Fox team will sneak into the building and attempt to destroy the facility using several remote charges, which can be detonated when our forces are a safe distance away. This is our biggest mission yet teams, and I, by no means, need to rush you into battle. I would request that you spend the rest of the day in preparation aboard the Ladekahn IV, and then strike the planet early in the morning; perhaps we will have a better chance of catching them off-guard. Are there any questions?"
The room was silent.
"Well, if everyone understands the operation, I would advice you to begin preparations as soon as possible. I will be awaiting contact from the Ladekahn IV after the mission is completed…and I wish both teams the best of luck. Pepper out."
As Pepper finished, the holographic image that had been shown hovering above the table quickly disappeared, leaving the room silent. It remained that way for a few moments, each animal on the bridge contemplating the General's plan. Bill managed to break the silence as he stood from his chair and said, "Well, I guess that's it. We've gotta prepare for tomorrow, and it sounds like you'll have to be part of it Fox. Looks like you and the rest of your team will be spending the night here, hope you don't mind." Fox shook his head as he replied, "It's not a problem, we brought all the stuff we need with us, so we're ready to go whenever you want." Bill nodded to Fox's comment and announced to the rest of the animals in the room, "Alright everyone, you heard the General, we're attacking Katina bright and early in the morning." He then specifically addressed a few of the officers that sat next to him, "Make sure and inform each of your stations about the General's plan, we want to make sure everyone is ready for this." The officers nodded and promptly took leave of the conference room. Bill continued as he looked down at his only remaining officer that was still seated beside him, "And Ayme, I need you to head down to the docking bay and prepare the transports for departure. Alright?" The female canine nodded with a smile as she stood from her chair, "Sure Bill, I'll see you tonight, ok?" Bill smiled back and replied as she walked off the bridge, "Right, I'll be waiting." As soon as she walked out of sight, Bill returned his attention back to his four guests and said, "Alright, You four can just take it easy on the ship until we're ready to go in the morning. I'll show you to your rooms, and don't worry, it's a short walk to the dormitory sector." As Bill finished his sentence, the four Star Fox members stood from their chairs and followed the canine off the bridge.
It took them almost no time after leaving the conference room before they entered into what appeared to be a downsized version of the hotel Fox and Krystal had stayed at only two nights before. The room that opened up in front of them was filled with many different fountains and flowers scattered throughout the room. Not only could these things be found in the room, but there were also a wide assortment of trees and bushes that lined the convincingly soft artificial grass that covered the floor. It was almost like they had walked into a completely new environment, which nearly caused them to forget the fact that they were still floating in space aboard the cruiser.
Bill smirked as he lead them through the room, which was filled with the gentle noise of flowing water and the quiet speech of passing crewmembers. He looked back at the group and saw the looks of astonishment that adorned each of their faces and commented, "It is pretty impressive isn't it. I still haven't really got used to the fact that we have our own park inside the ship." Falco added with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Hey Bill, I wouldn't be complaining, the only thing we got in the Great Fox is a few chairs and a window. I'd say this is a nice step from that, don't you think McCloud?" The vulpine shook his head as he replied, "This is pretty nice, but don't think we'll be blowing our money on something like this anytime soon." Falco shrugged as he nonchalantly replied, "Whatever you say Fox."
After a short escalator ride up to a different floor of the dormitory sector, they took a short walk down a grassy hallway and were soon stopped in front of a small door. Bill faced the door and entered in a few commands into the small computer, which caused the door to slide quietly open, revealing parts of the room inside. Bill stood to the side of the door and let his four guests enter into the dorm room.
The room that opened up in front of the team was, not unlike everything on this ship, unique and impressive in design. It was a large room, built in the shape of a circle. They could see the entire room from where they were standing, due to the concave nature of the room. Around the edges of the room sat six different single beds, each separated by a wall that protruded vertically from the outer circle, each only coming out from the wall about six or seven feet. Each of these small open sleeping quarters were spaced out evenly around the circle, the six single beds taking up almost the entire parameter of the room. In the middle was a another, smaller circle, separated from the rest of the room by a slight barrier around its edge, but it was easily accessible due to a few short and gently sloped walkways that led down the slight decline to the floor of the inner circle. In this space of the room sat a few comfortable looking chairs and couches that created a semi-circle around a glass coffee table, and in the space where the chairs were facing sat a well-sized, flat-screen television. On the outside of this smaller, inner circle, a small refrigerator sat humming quietly, and beside it sat a small and advanced looking heating unit, not unlike the oven on the Great Fox.
Bill was the first to break the team from the concentration they held as they scanned the room, "This is your room, there should be some food in the refrigerator down there, I'm pretty sure you don't want to be down in the mess hall for dinner, it gets pretty crazy down there." Fox nodded and replied, "Thanks Bill, I think we'll manage." Bill added, "Alright Fox, if you need anything, just give me a call, there's a comm near each of the beds. And you're free to explore the ship, there's not much more to see besides the bridge, and I'm sure you've already spent enough time on one of those to really want to head up there." Bill paused as he turned to leave the room, "Don't worry about waking up late tomorrow either, we're setting up an alarm that'll take care of that problem. So just take it easy Fox, and I'll see you later." Fox nodded as the canine walked out of the room, the door sliding to a close behind him.
"Well, I don't know why we're still standing here." The team looked over as they heard their avian teammate break their silence. Falco walked down the small ramp that led down to the inner circle and jumped onto one of the couches. The rest of the team began to branch off into different parts of the room as well. Fox walked over to the bad closest to the door and set down his backpack, which held the teams supply of blasters and personal M.C.D. systems. He was relieved to finally set the heavy backpack onto the ground next to his bed, at which point he rose his hands to his neck and gave it a few slight rubs in an attempt to clear some of the tension. As he was doing this, he noticed Katt leaving the room only after a short while. He was about to leave the room and follow her, but he was quickly distracted by the weight shift that suddenly occurred from behind him, which was followed shortly after by the feeling of two warm hands against his shoulders. Merely by the feel and warmth that these hands provided as they gently rubbed against his sore shoulders, he could tell that it was Krystal. He looked back with a smile as he commented, "Thanks, that backpack was killing me." Krystal nodded and was about to reply, but Falco spoke from the middle of the room before she could say anything, "Ya see Fox? This is the kind of stuff we need on the Great Fox. I mean, this dorm room has my private room covered five times over." Fox sighed as he replied, "Well, you come up with the money and I'll think about it, alright Falco?" The blue falcon failed to comment at Fox's suggestion, but instead turned on the large television that sat near him. Fox took his attention away from the avian and looked up to a small clock that sat next to his bed, the numbers 14:43 shone in a light green color. Fox stretched out his arms, his shoulders and back feeling much better after Krystal's treatment. He stood from the bed and faced her, "Let's go for a walk, It looks like we have some time before we'll want to eat anyway." Krystal nodded and walked to Fox's side, after which they crossed the short distance to the door. Before they could exit, Falco looked back and announced, "Don't worry about me Fox, I'll protect the place while you're gone. Make sure and have some fun out there McCloud." Fox shook his head and both the vulpines, who were now joined at the hand, quietly walked out of the room.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sweet, another chapter down, I am just flowing through this bad boy. And my life's dream of having a 2:1 review-to-chapter ratio is almost fulfilled! Joyous Rapture! I'd also like to give props to Ben Stylin who was my lucky 50th reviewer! I don't have anything to give you, but if you really want, my mom has a closet full of Beanie Babies. I guess you could have one…
(Calm before the Storm)
Oh ya, nice cliché title right there. Oh well, I've been doing pretty good not having many clichés in my story, so I guess you can give me one, not that this'll be the actual title to my chapter…I'm always changing it. Anyway, we'll get to see what the animals are thinking at this point in the story, plus we'll get a better look at the entity we know as Bill…so ya
EDITOR'S NOTES: Uhh…I don't really think many people read this due to the fact that the kid is like dyslexic…but how you can be dyslexic while you're typing…I have no idea
"It was a good chapter but that one guy hitting on krystal wont work, cuz i have tried it and it dont work all i get is b- slapped or kicked in the balls but hey i can keep trying (see p.s.) but enough about me, other than that it was a good chapter i feel for fox why u asked cuz he has to get up so f-ing quick in the moring talk about killer well good bye"
Right, well there you go, another brilliant comment from my editor…He almost spelled all his words right this time…almost.
(p.s.)Ya…umm, when he says that he tried to hit on Krystal, he is referring to the fight Fox had on Xavix-Yuan. As per my editor's incessant requests, I put his idea for a character into the story in the form of a furry, which was the drunkard wolf Tristan. So that's what he meant…
MAIL CALL:
Grey Fox 2510:
Meh, too lazy to actually point such things out...
Anyway, you seem to be on a roll... It has been only a little more than a week or so since you last updated... o.O
And the quotation marks were just to signal speech in a way, you know, like you do all the time when you want to make a character talk? XD
Of course I wouldn't make a sarcastic remark about the quality of this story, because it's damn good!
So yeah, I go back to my own little bubble...
FoxMC! You said a dirty word mister, wait until your mother finds out. That is supposing your mother isn't the one giving you the idea that words like that are acceptable…my oh my what is this world coming to…
Rwingflyr:
This is a very good story. Keep it up.
One thing that I'm concerned with, though, is when you have more than one character speaking, their dialogue is merged into one paragraph. When two or more characters are having a conversation, it's best to separate the dialogue into separate paragraphs; this will make the story easier to read. I was able to follow the story adequately, but if you would please take this into consideration, it would benefit the reader and the story itself.
Again, keep up the good work on this story. It's coming along nicely.
FoxMC: Heh, I know I do it wrong…but hey, when people write poems and stuff, they capitalize and punctuate as crazy as they darn near please. It's how they like it. So I'm just one of those nutcases like Poe…quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." I thank thee for thine advice nevertheless.
Ben Stylin:
cool...
heh... for a second I thought Katt was trying to seduce Fox.
FoxMC: Well, that's…an interesting thought. I'm not really sure how Katt is feeling at this point, so maybe she was…uhh…not to say that anything like that will happen in the future…uhh, ya, no…no way.
Blackdragon:
Hurry up with the other parts of the story! Thats all i have to say. I think this is one of the best SF fanfictions i have ever read though. Keep up the good work!
FoxMC: Muchos Gracias para el complmento compadre! I try to update as quick as possible, but between school…and my brother, who is constantly changing large portions of the story…it's tough, but rest assured, I try my darndest.
Obsidian Thirteen:
Glad to see you're updating, even if it takes a little while. This story pretty much is what inspired me to write my Starfox story, Obsidian Sun Rising, for the most part. The idea of the story has been floating around for a year or two and I restarted the story after I read this, it's given a few ideas about how to write the story. Keep up the good work.
FoxMC: I'm glad I could help you like that…first time I've heard about me actually inspiring people to write and giving them ideas…It kinda gets me inspired that I get you inspired…
Whinnie:
Sorry I haven't reviewed until this chapter, but I read your story ever since you started:D I loved it, and I have a suggestion: maybe you can get Bill to like Krystal or something... I mean, she is sexy and all... You DO know where I'm getting at, right?
FoxMC: Well, that would have been a cool thought if you would have suggested that one chapter sooner, but now I have other plans for Bill…which will be explained in the next chapter, I think Panther did a pretty good job though…but maybe not to the extent you speak of…
Black Phoenix
This has to be the best friggin' fanfic on this site. It's guys like you who are givin' me ideas for a story of my own.
FoxMC: Apparently I'm quite the inspirational kinda guy…I'm glad you enjoy it, even though most of the time it seems like nothing is happening, I hope you all realize that it takes time to set up big events, and character development is a big part of that…but whatever, thanks for the review.