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Chapter 12: It's Not All Fun and Games Anymore
I can't believe it. By pure luck something's gone wrong and I've been blown out of the sky. Now I have to sit and watch from here on out. And I wanted to fly…with them… - Fara
After a quick extraction of Fara's cockpit from Fox's Arwing, all
four craft safely landed back at base. As the pilots left their vehicles the
entire staff came out to cheer and applaud the team. Fox as usual tried to downplay
the entire situation to the crowd by saying, "Come now everyone, we didn't
do all that much."
The crowd quieted, but only for a moment as Falco exclaimed, "What our
boss here means is that he wants you to save the cheering until we take back
the entire system!" The cheering turned to laughter for a moment before
erupting to a deafening roar of applause.
Peppy whispered into the vulpine's ear, trying to get a point across.
"Fox, give it up. You're a hero. Why don't you just go with
the crowd for now and enjoy yourself. Act like the champion the staff here thinks
you are."
Fox nodded before speaking to the group. "My friends, I think we are all
in agreement when I say that with this victory, we've shown that we have
the power to take the fight back to Andross! We will not stop until the Starfox
team has retaken all the planets that are rightfully ours, and have gotten rid
of that hairy ape once and for all!" The crowd roared at his statement,
continuing to cheer until the General pushed his way through the assembled personnel
and over to the pilots.
Pepper raised his paws to get some attention. "Sorry to interrupt this
cheerful celebration, but you know as well as I do that we all have some serious
work that needs to be done to the Arwings and the base that houses them."
A few brave souls booed from the back. "Now hold on there. I didn't
say that you couldn't celebrate. Let's get some work out of the
way first, and we'll continue this in something more resembling a party
around dinner tonight. What do you say?" The crowd cheered. "Good.
You are all dismissed."
The group watched as the crowd dispersed, leaving only the five pilots and the
General in relative peace. "Sorry I took so long getting over here,"
said Pepper with a slight smile. "I never knew that 70 some people could
make such a racket."
"Neither did we," said Fox, grinning. "At least the staff
is happy."
Pepper tapped the headset he was wearing. "The staff and about all of
the planet more accurately. You should hear some of the calls we've been
getting from the media as well. My poor communications officer upstairs is fielding
them all right now."
"Ah, the media," said Peppy. "So useful and such an annoyance
at the same—" The hare's train of thought was interrupted
as he noticed Fara suddenly tilt to one side, ready to fall over. He quickly
moved to catch her before she dropped to the ground.
Pepper yelled over the medic who was still waiting to get back to his floor.
The sudden change in posture kept Fara from vanishing into unconsciousness as
the medic ran over. She looked up wearily as the rest of the team peered over
her. "I can't believe I just did that."
Fox looked over Fara with concern. "Considering what we've all been
through, I'm surprised we're all still standing."
"Speak for yourself, Fox," commented Peppy wearily from his location
on the floor as he held up the vixen. "I'll just sit right here
for the time being thank you very much."
The medic arrived, the male hare putting on a pair of glasses as he quickly
glanced over the entire team. "What happened?" he asked in a kind
yet authoritative voice.
Fara looked up from her position in Peppy's lap as she said tiredly, "I
just about fainted a second ago."
The medic fetched a small band from his jacket and affixed it to Fara's
wrist. Pulling out a handheld monitor from another pocket, he watched as results
appeared on the screen. Looking back at the vixen he asked, "Which craft
is yours, my dear?"
She pointed to the capsule that was being looked over by the engineering staff.
"That's it. What's left of it anyway."
The hare nodded, scratching the light brown fur on his head as he debated on
what to say. "I figured as much." He turned and looked Peppy in
the eyes, judging his condition as he removed the wristband from the other pilot.
"If you two are any indication of the rest of your team, I need to see
everyone in my office now."
"Anything serious?" asked Pepper in a concerned tone.
The medic shook his head as he stood back up. "Looks like simple exhaustion,
General, but I need to check everyone over before I say so for sure."
"But I—"
"Sorry, General, doctor's orders. You can debrief your pilots later."
Pepper sighed, knowing that he had no chance of winning this argument. "Let
me know when you're done, understood?"
The hare nodded, turning back to look over the team. "Shall we go?"
Offering a paw to Fara, he added, "Do you need some help, my dear, or
can you walk?"
She shook off the assistance as she tried to stand up. "No, I'll
be—" A wave of dizziness washed over the vixen, dropping her to
her knees. "On the other hand…"
Fox walked over, motioning Falco over as well. "Here," said the
vulpine softly, "let me help."
Fara grabbed his paws, pulling herself up to a standing position. She waved
off Falco as she leaned into Fox's shoulder, refusing to look like a complete
weakling in front of the whole team. "We ready to go?" she asked.
Without another word the Starfox team walked over to the elevator, the combined
effects from lack of sleep and the exhausting battle finally beginning to catch
up to everyone.
The team walked into the medical bay, the medic having moved ahead of the group
to let the rest of the staff know that he was bringing company. The hare met
them as they entered, gesturing to the beds behind him as he said, "Everyone
find a bunk and lay down if you would."
Fox looked around the room as he walked Fara over to a bed. A dozen beds were
along two walls of the facility, each bed equipped with a monitor above. Two
of the beds were currently occupied, a female panda watching over them. A side
door led to what Fox assumed was their office, and a waiting room was located
back the way they came. The only other thing of interest short of a set of computers
along one wall was two cylindrical chambers the size of the beds in the middle
of the room.
Making sure his team was settled, Fox sat down on an unoccupied bed, watching
as his vital signs appeared on the monitor above. The medics glanced at the
information on his screen then moved on to the rest of his team. Surprised they
didn't start with him, he sat back and awaited his turn.
He listened in on the conversations going on between his team and the medical
personnel as he sat there. Falco grumbled as usual, refusing to admit any kind
of weakness, while Peppy and Slippy were helpful as always. Fara sounded frail
to Fox's ears, and he worried if his stunt flying tactics he used in saving
her did more harm than good.
Finally both medics turned their attention to Fox. "My name is Zhen,"
said the light red furred panda in a friendly yet serious voice. "My assistant
here is Devan, whom you've already met." The hare nodded in greetings
as his name was mentioned. "I take it you are Fox McCloud?"
"That I am," he replied. "How's the rest of the team?"
Zhen glanced over the datapad she was holding. "Your team is doing fine,
Fox, if I may call you that." He nodded. "They are simply overworked,
exhausted, and in dire need of sleep right now. General Pepper has been pushing
you very hard these last few days from what I understand."
Fox quietly laughed. "You can see where the hard training got us though."
She smiled, knowing that he was quite right. "I'm definitely not
complaining. As you can see however, the average physique and psyche are not
designed to take the stress." She looked at the readings from Fox once
again before continuing. "You, however, are something of an abnormality.
These readings clearly show the lack of sleep on your part, but you are rather
alert and wide-awake, even this long after the battle has ended. Do you have
any suggestion as to why?"
He shook his head. "A fantastic constitution?"
The panda smiled once again. "I don't think so." Devan pointed
out something on the pad Zhen was holding, then pointed to some figure on the
monitor above Fox. "I have a strange question for you – have you
drank or eaten anything unusual in the last 12 hours or so?"
Fox looked concerned as he thought through his day. "Not that I can think
of…wait a moment. I walked into the mess hall before the alarm sounded
earlier this morning. I didn't sleep much at all last night, and I wandered
in there to get a coffee or something. There was this hare who suggested…"
The two medics interrupted his train of thought with a simple, "Uh oh."
Fox quickly grew worried. "Uh oh?" he repeated.
The two medics had ignored Fox's comment and were discussing among themselves.
"We really need to stop Isabelle from giving out those things,"
said Zhen.
"They do work very well however," countered Devan. "Fox here
is proof of that."
"Uh, excuse me?" said Fox loudly, trying to get their attention.
"Could either of you care to explain what the heck I drank this morning?"
"Sorry," said Zhen, turning back to Fox. "In layman's
terms, you drank a highly concentrated stimulant. It does an exceptionally good
job at keeping one going throughout their day."
"It does that with only one small side-effect however," continued
Devan with a smile. "Her concoction lasts about 12 hours, give or take.
Be warned - you will drop like a rock afterward as you never solved the basic
problem of getting some shuteye."
The vulpine smiled. "Aw, it looks like I'll have to miss out on
the dinner in my honor."
Zhen laughed. "Sorry, Fox, but the General called ahead of you, demanding
that you're all available tonight. Ultimately you can get around the effects
by getting some sleep, as can the rest of your team." She paused, double-checking
her datapad for a moment. "And this finishes what I need to go over with
for you. Now to say something to you all."
She stood back and looked over the entire team, making sure she had the group's
attention. "Okay, everyone, I have a few things to state and then you
are free to go. By the General's orders, he wants to see you as soon as
possible, and he demands you be at the dinner gathering tonight. By my orders,
I want you all to get some rest. Now, we all know whose orders supersede whose."
The team laughed.
With a smile on her face, Zhen continued. "Since I don't want the
General breathing down my neck, you'll have to go to the dinner later
on. How you get the rest beforehand however, can be done one of two ways - the
promise that you'll get at least four hours of sleep, or failing that,
I can inject the lot of you and put you under. Something tells me I know what
your response is going to be, so get out of here."
Fox gathered his team for the trip back. Devan stopped them briefly before they
left and said, "Now, if you want my opinion, just get some sleep until
lunchtime or so, go get a good lunch, then go see Pepper for whatever he wants.
I'm personally guessing that the media wants to talk to you, but I don't
know for sure."
Fox waved as they left. "Thanks for the help, and for getting us out of
the media spotlight, at least for a few hours. If you only could've done
the same for dinner…"
Zhen laughed as she returned to her duties. "Personally, I wanted to keep
you out of action until tomorrow, but the General would have my head if I did
that."
The team laughed once more as they worked their way back to their rooms.
The pilots walked the short distance back to their accommodations, Peppy keeping
them occupied with his interesting banter. "You know, it's amazing
how well adrenaline keeps the body running far beyond its limits."
"True," said Slippy. "But unfortunately once it stops you
end up being far worse off than you were to begin with."
"That much is the truth," commented Fara, thinking back to her fainting
spell.
Falco glared over at Fox as he muttered, "Except for Mr. Energy over there
anyway."
Fox shook his head. "Falco, the cause for my vigor is far more complicated
than you think. The medic says that I'll pass out in my dinner tonight
if I don't get some rest."
"That sounds so familiar for some reason," said Fara thoughtfully
as the rest of the team quieted. "What was her name…that's
it. Does the name Isabelle ring a bell with you, Fox?"
The vulpine sighed. "That's the last time I take any kind of food
or drink from anyone without knowing what it is first." Everyone short
of Fara gave him a confused look. "Don't ask."
They were about to pass the lounge room provided for the team when Fara stopped
them. "Hey guys, why don't we go into our lounge here? You'll
find it surprisingly comfortable."
"More comfortable than our beds?" asked Peppy, doubtful of the suggestion.
"For a good night sleep no, but something tells me none of us will be
getting much more than a nap. You'll enjoy it, trust me."
"I've heard that before," grumbled Falco.
"I say it's a good idea," stated Fox. He really didn't
care where he got his needed rest, just as long as he got it. "At the
very least it's someplace we haven't been already."
The team walked into the lounge area, quickly impressed with not only the size,
but with how well furnished it was as well. The group stood near the entrance
and looked around as Fara walked past them over to a computer sitting on a table
nearby. The room contained three oversized couches, two of which were pointed
towards a huge plasma screen on one wall and one that sat near a pool table.
Four recliner chairs were scattered around as well, each offering a comfortable
spot to sit and relax. A large worktable with more mundane chairs finished the
overall look of the room.
"Nice place," commented Fox as he looked around. "Too bad
we didn't think about coming in here earlier, as this looks like a great
place to relax."
Fara looked over her shoulder towards the group. "Pepper seems so absentminded
some days as he didn't tell you guys about much of anything short of the
basics. I claim one of the couches by the way." She grinned and looked
back at the computer.
The team spread out, everyone finding a spot to sit and relax. Slippy flipped
through the channels on the TV while Fox walked over to Fara. "What are
you doing?" he asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Making sure that Pepper doesn't disturb us. The security logs will
show us wandering in here, so I'm making a few changes to make it look
like we never left the medical bay."
Fox shook his head, displeased what she was doing. "I don't think
you should be doing that."
"I know I shouldn't be doing this," she replied with a giggle.
"That hasn't stopped me before, nor will it stop me now."
"Guys, take a look at this," said Slippy, trying to get everyone's
attention as he sat on the floor next to the TV. "We've made the
news on just about every station this thing gets."
Falco groaned, wondering why the toad could do nothing but restate the obvious.
"Did you expect otherwise, frog face? We only saved the galaxy from total
destruction by beating down Andross' troops."
Peppy looked over from his reclining chair as he said tiredly, "Will you
kids keep it down? Unlike the rest of you, I'm trying to sleep over here."
Fara turned off the screen and stood up, unsteady on her feet for a moment.
"I'm done over here. Slippy, if you would throw me the remote, I'll
set the TV to wake us up at, oh, say noon or so. If that's okay with you
guys."
"Sounds good," said Fox.
She made a few adjustments on the remote and put it down on a nearby table.
She proceeded to walk over to an empty couch and practically fell into it. "Night
guys," she said with a yawn.
Fox found a recliner and sat down, listening as the breathing patterns of his
team slowed as they dozed off. Worried he wouldn't be able to do the same,
he sat back and closed his eyes, sleep overtaking him within minutes.
Meanwhile, over on Venom, Andross was absolutely fuming about the loss of his
battleship. He had assembled his three military advisors and was currently yelling
at them, trying to find some answers. "How did those pitiful creatures
stop us at our finest hour? You said that Corneria had no military force!"
"I'm s-sorry, sir," stammered one nondescript lizard. "Our
spies—"
"Your spies are worthless!" interrupted Andross, pounding his fists
on the table. "Ships like that don't pop up overnight and neither
do the pilots needed to fly such craft!"
"Sir," started another lizard quietly, trying to get Andross cooled
down. "We've gone over the transmissions the Vengeance sent us.
The craft seem to be called Arwings, and they are fighters of incredible speed
and agility. Even when they were overwhelmed by our fighters in sheer numbers
we couldn't do any kind of damage."
Presented with calm, rational thought, Andross sat down and quieted. "What
about that explosive weapon they used at the end?"
The third advisor spoke up, looking through his datapad as he talked. "We
have very little knowledge of what they fired at the Vengeance, sir, other than
it was a weapon of amazing firepower."
Andross couldn't believe he was hearing this. A world so behind in the
technological era as far as weaponry went and they had this bomb of unimaginable
destructive power, as well as craft to launch them from. "Any chance of
our ships being able to defend or counter that weapon?"
"Without additional information on the weapon itself, not likely. We need
to get more data on the weapon, either by acquiring some technical specs or
it needs to be used somewhere where we can scan and watch the weapon's
entire lifespan."
He glared back at his first advisor as he continued. "What do your spies
say about there being more of these Arwings? What are their plans of counterattack?"
The lizard looked nervous as he replied. "Judging by how I've never
heard of these craft before, sir, either they are very well hidden or there
are only the five ships. As for their plans, we've never been able to
get a spy into the military base at Corneria. Their security is so tight we
simply can't get anyone in, and all attempts at bribery have failed so
far."
Andross looked like he was going to lose his temper again, but he restrained
himself with much difficulty. The second advisor spoke to cover the silence.
"Keep in mind, sir, that we took down one of their Arwings already."
"By sheer luck," sneered the ape. "Even I could tell that
those two pilots were blinded by the sun. Does anyone know who the pilots are?"
The three lizards shook their heads after a moment. "Then I think it's
time you find out, along with the answers to all my other questions. Get out
of my sight, all of you."
Andross watched as the three lizards quickly left the room. He sighed as the
door closed behind them, saying to himself, "Why must I be surrounded
by such incompetence…"
Noon quickly came for the five sleeping pilots, the plasma TV kicking in as
expected, waking everyone quickly. A female news announcer was talking as the
screen powered up. "With no response yet from General Pepper, even this
long after the incident, one has to wonder if he or the pilots under his command
are hiding some—" With a click the screen turned off, the team looking
over at Fara, who currently held the remote.
She shook her head, waving the device around angrily. "Damned media. Not
exactly what I wanted to wake up to."
Falco yawned. "No kidding."
"Can we get room service over here?" asked Slippy, covering his
own yawn with a paw.
"Talk about lazy. Can't even get up and get your own food."
"Not lazy, just comfortable."
"I can agree with that," said Peppy from his own seat, settling
the argument.
Fara laughed. "Sorry, only the bigwigs upstairs get delivery. Then again
we do have the honor of the mess hall being on our floor."
Peppy stood up and stretched. "No comments from you, Fox?"
The team was surprised at the silence. Falco was closest to his chair, so after
a glance he found out the reason. "How nice, our glorious leader is still
asleep. Doesn't he realize we're all starving?"
"So, feathered brains admits he's hungry as well," ragged
Slippy.
"Shut up, scale face, or you're going to get it."
Ignoring the verbal fight, Fara walked behind Fox's chair. "Well,
I'm just as hungry as you are, so I'll get him up." She placed
her paws on his shoulders and after bending over slightly, looked straight into
his face, giving him a quick shake. "Time to get up, sleepyhead."
The vulpine woke up with a jerk, his face showing a shocked expression for only
a moment as he looked into Fara's upside-down face. He composed himself
quickly, but not before the whole team was laughing as his expense. "Welcome
back to the land of the awake," giggled Fara.
Fox groaned for a moment as he shook off the last remnants of sleep. He looked
up into Fara's smiling face and asked, "Did you have to do that?"
She grinned in response. "It got you up, didn't it?"
"Yeah it did, I guess." He looked over his teammates whom were all
staring back at him. "What do you guys want anyway?"
Peppy spoke up first. "Well, Fox, we woke you up to see if you wanted
the honor of joining us for lunch."
Fara smirked. "And if you say no we'll go without you as we're
all starving."
"Since you put it so nicely, I guess I'll have to join you."
Fox pushed himself out of the chair, breaking out into a huge yawn as he stood
up. "Don't wait for me. I'll catch up to you in a second."
Falco looked around the room, and upon noticing that nobody was leaving just
shrugged his shoulders and walked out. Fox yawned again and made shooing motions
with his paws. "Go on, I'll be right out." The team finally
took his suggestion and wandered out, the vulpine following shortly thereafter.
