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Chapter 14: More Than Meets the Eye
Always being bossed around some days. It's really getting annoying. At least the combat is intense. I don't know why Fox doesn't even want to look Fara though. He needs to calm down somehow before he blows. - Falco
"Well, this looks familiar."
The time was a few minutes before 5pm, and Falco and Fara were conversing outside
of Fox's room. "Is Fox as prompt as the General is usually?"
asked Fara with a grin.
"No," replied Falco. "Actually, this is unlike him."
He knocked on the door again, making sure that the vulpine wasn't in.
"Well, he's got to be around here somewhere. Or he's sound
asleep inside."
"Who knows." Falco leaned up against the wall, attempting to get
comfortable. "If our leader thinks that I'm going to wait on him,
he has another thing coming."
Fara laughed. "And I thought Slippy paid too much attention to his stomach."
Falco cursed under his breath. "That damned toad—" The door
to Slippy's room opened up, shutting him up instantly as he stepped out.
"Afternoon, Slippy," said Fara with a smile. "We were just
talking about you."
Slippy's eyes narrowed as he stared at the avian. "Knowing Falco,
nothing too kind."
The avian shook his head. "I didn't get that far yet. Give me a
few minutes and I'll think something up."
"Why are you two at each other's throats all the time?" asked
Fara.
"Ask him," they replied simultaneously.
"Okay then," she groaned, "I guess I won't find out
from you." She looked down the hall, noticing Peppy walking their way,
a book in one paw. "Afternoon, Peppy."
Peppy nodded. "Afternoon, everyone. I'll be right back. I need to
drop this off." The door to his room opened, the hare vanishing inside
for only a moment before returning. "Why are you all out here? Where's
Fox?"
"We were hoping you knew," said Falco.
"Sorry, I haven't seen him all afternoon."
"Well, if he doesn't come shortly, I'm going without him."
"Thinking with your stomach again?" teased Slippy.
Falco raised his fists menacingly. "Shut up, toad, or you're getting
it."
Peppy stepped between the two quickly, stopping the fight before they thought
about taking it further. "What's with you two? You've been
at each other's throats a lot more than usual lately."
Fara, having been pondering the same question, suddenly came to an answer. "Peppy,
you think it might be because of them getting shot down in the simulators?"
The hare's eyes widened. "You know, my dear, you might be right."
His gaze drifted to the other two. "Do you guys wish to say something
about this?"
Before any explanation could be given, Fara noticed their missing commander
walking their way, an oversized towel hanging over one arm. "Afternoon,
Fox," she said.
"Hello everyone," said Fox cheerfully, waving his free paw. "Sorry
I'm late. Did I miss anything?"
"No," said Falco tersely, glancing over at Peppy to keep him quiet.
He hoped he took the hint. "Where have you been?"
"I took Fara's suggestion and spent too much time relaxing in the
spa. Thanks for a wonderful idea by the way."
Fara smiled. "Glad I could help."
He walked over to his room, the door opening with a swish. "I'll
be out in a minute."
The rest of the team watched as the door closed behind Fox. Peppy turned towards
the two guys and said, "We'll finish this conversation later tonight
as I think an explanation is in order. The last thing we need is you two fighting
each other instead of Andross' forces."
Falco and Slippy glared at each other for a moment, but said nothing. The door
to Fox's room opened not too long afterward, revealing the team's
commander once again. "I have only one thing to say to you all before
we leave," he said. "Enjoy yourselves, but remember that we go back
to work again tomorrow morning. While I haven't heard anything yet, something
tells me that Pepper wants us to counterattack as soon as possible."
"The usual words of wisdom," said Peppy. "Shall we eat?"
"Yes, let's go." The team walked off to the mess hall, the
thoughts of a good meal lifting everyone's spirits.
As expected, dinner was an entertaining affair for the team. Almost the entire
base was on hand, all wanting to congratulate the group for their defense of
the planet. Much cheering was heard and speeches were exchanged. Finally the
team was left in relative peace to enjoy their meal.
Falco sat back in his chair, swishing around the liquid in the glass he was
holding. "Sheesh. Long-winded speeches like that can drive a bird to drink."
Fox grinned as he had another sip out of his glass. "Ah, Falco. Just let
them enjoy themselves for a night."
A concerned look passed over the avian's face for a moment, not sure he
had just heard what was said. "That's a sudden change in your attitude
from earlier. Did Peppy's blabbering finally sink in or something?"
"Sort of. I understand why they're doing it, but I don't necessarily
like it."
Peppy laughed from across the table. "And that's what I've
been trying to get through to you all this time, Fox. My work here is done."
He smiled back. "So, old hare, if a day passes by where you can't
teach someone something new, was that day a waste to you?"
The hare waved a finger in a mocking gesture. "My secrets will follow
me to the grave. You youngins wouldn't understand my ways anyway."
Fara smiled as she told him, "You know, you keep making yourself sound
older and older every time you say something like that."
"My dear, I'm only as old as I think I am."
Slippy looked serious as he commented, "So then, does that make you 70
or 80?" The table broke into laughter, Peppy looking hurt for a moment
before joining in.
"You know, Peppy," said Fox, "you did ask for it after saying
that."
"I realized my mistake after I said it unfortunately."
"Sorry, old friend, but you make mistakes so rarely that we have to jump
on every opportunity." He quieted as took another sip of his drink.
"It seems they like you," said Fara.
"It's their way of showing how much they appreciate me after all
the years I've put into helping them."
Fox put down his glass and smirked. "I wouldn't put it quite that
way, but close enough."
It was at that moment that the team noticed Pepper walking over to their table.
Quieting down, Fox gave a quick wave to the general as he reached the group.
"Evening, Pepper. What brings you to our table?"
"Are you looking for some salt?" asked Fara jokingly before he could
respond.
Pepper stopped and groaned as he realized the joke. Glancing her way he said,
"Very funny, Fara." He looked back to Fox as he continued. "Anyway,
Junior, I'm just here to say that I need to see you all when you are done
here."
"Tomorrow's plans?" asked Fox. Pepper just nodded as he turned
and walked away. "I'll take that as yes then." Looking around
to the rest of his team he continued. "Enjoy the rest of your meal everyone,
as it looks like things are going to get interesting."
"Explore strange new worlds and shoot down everything defending them,"
said Fara with a laugh.
"Sounds like my type of plan," commented Falco.
"The joy of war," said Peppy. "Never thought of it as a way
to get out and explore the galaxy."
"Any idea how well the rest of the planets will be defended?" asked
Slippy.
Fox shook his head. "No idea, but it would be nice to know. Attacking
a planet blindly is not my idea of a fun time."
"Not to mention a bad tactical plan," mentioned Fara.
"That too." Fox looked around at the empty plates sitting by his
teammates. "Well, it looks like we're all finished. Let's
go see what Pepper wants." The team all agreed so with one last cheer
from the crowd the Starfox team left to find the General.
It wasn't long before the team, Pepper, and Gary, were gathered upstairs
in the command center. The room was vacant of other people short of a male bobcat
who was told to take a break as the group entered. "Only one person watches
over everything?" asked Fox as he wandered over to one of the windows
to look out into the evening sky.
"This time of day, yes," replied Gary. "Everything gets rather
quiet once night falls here."
"Which is a good thing if I had to make a guess due to lack of staff."
Gary laughed. "Right on the nose."
"Anyway," said Pepper loudly, getting everyone's attention,
"it's time to explain why I called you up here." He pointed to the
lone computer along one wall as he continued. "This single computer is
top secret. Nobody knows its true purpose short of a very limited group."
"Which will now include you five," said Gary as he sat down at the
terminal.
"Well this piques my interest," said Fara with a grin, her ears
popping up in excitement. "What does it do?"
Pepper glared at Fara. "Nothing you can't get into."
She looked hurt. "What did I say?"
"You know very well what I mean, Ms. Phoenix." The General looked
over the rest of the team as he continued. "As you may or not know, we
have a number of probes scattered around the system. The public knows about
them, but they aren't fully informed about their use."
Gary took over the conversation as he powered up the computer. "See, the
public thinks they are early warning devices for galactic intruders. In actuality,
they are spy satellites."
Falco laughed, not as surprised to hear what was said verses the rest of the
team. "So the honorable good guys are spying on the entire system without
anyone knowing." He looked over to their commander as he continued. "Are
you sure we're on the right side, Fox?"
"Falco…" groaned the vulpine. "Is there a good reason
for these devices, Gary? I find it highly suspicious that you two have the ability
to spy on others without one heck of an explanation."
"But of course. Originally they were used to watch over the planetary
shipping lanes. Keep an eye out for pirate activity and such. After the troubles
with Andross started however, they quietly got a few upgrades. Now they have
the ability to watch over anything in a rather large area."
He sighed. It wasn't much of a reason, but he doubted he'd get anything else
other than that for an answer. "So, how does this benefit us exactly?"
"Simple. It gives us a plan of attack and allows us to know what opposition
you are looking at."
"At least that makes some sense. Where do we go first?"
"That's what we're still trying to figure out exactly."
"If we had the ability, Junior," said Pepper, "I'd send
you directly towards Venom to get this over with. Unfortunately, the Arwings
just don't have that kind of fuel capacity, and I don't dare leave
a supply ship out there undefended."
"So we just start with the closest planets and work our way out then,"
suggested Peppy.
After typing a few passwords into the computer, a chart of the system appeared
onscreen. Gary moved his chair over so everybody could watch. "It isn't
that easy however. Not only do we have the planets to take back, but also there
are a number of sectors that Andross' troops are hiding in. We'll
have to take them out as well."
The General continued the conversation as Gary pointed out items of interest.
"It is our opinion that we send you to the two closest sectors, both of
which are asteroid fields. The closest one here is a mining operation by the
local Miner's Guild, and the other is where we used to have a small outpost,
titled Sector X."
"Who fell asleep when they named that place?" joked Falco.
"Don't ask," grumbled Gary.
"As I was saying," continued Pepper, upset at being interrupted,
"with those two places cleared of opposition, you should be able to proceed
farther out without worry of being attacked from behind."
"Sounds like a plan," said Fox. "Any objections
or questions guys?"
Slippy was closest to the monitor, watching the details scroll by listing what
was in both sectors. One unusual reading showed up suddenly, the screen changing
to display what it found. "Yeah, what's that?" he asked.
The group all looked back to the screen as no one else had seen what the toad
saw. Gary fiddled with the controls as he talked. "Well, isn't this
interesting."
"Don't keep us in suspense you two," said Fox, suddenly worried.
"Care to tell the rest of us what you've found?"
"That's the problem, unfortunately. The asteroids in the area are
blocking too much of the scans to give an accurate reading. There is something
big there, that much I can tell."
"Another battleship?" suggested Falco.
Gary shook his head. "I just don't know."
Fox sighed, hating how nothing ever seemed easy when he was around. "Lovely.
What kind of general opposition are we looking at in both places?"
"Not much at either location, but the sector where that unidentified ship
is has more activity."
"Noted. Team, we'll hit the lesser occupied sector first then, and
hope that Gary can figure out what we're going to be flying against before
we get there."
"That sounds like the usual McCloud plan," muttered Falco. "Charging
recklessly in, hoping we don't get killed."
Peppy smiled as he thought of a saying. "The joys of going through the
unknown, with little more than our usual luck watching over us."
Falco shook his head in confusion. "I don't get it."
"Don't worry, Falco," said Fox with a grin, "Neither
do most of us."
Peppy laughed to himself for a moment. "Pepper, do you ever have a problem
with the younger population and their lack of respect for you?"
The General looked serious as he answered. "No. Then again I do outrank
everyone, and if they disrespect me, they know that they'll face my wrath."
The room broke into laughter for a moment, some of it forced due to them not
knowing if they should test what Pepper just said. He smiled suddenly and said,
"Sorry, I just had to say that. Gary, anything else of interest to report?"
"Not really. There are ships of varying quantities all over the system,
but no other reports of anything larger than a fighter that I can see."
"Good. Unless you have further questions, you are dismissed."
Fara spoke up. "Same question as yesterday actually. Any updates on the
Nova Bombs?"
Pepper shook his head. "Sorry, no. The engineers are staying quiet after
their last attempted fix."
"Great," muttered Fara, tired of basically hearing the same answer
over and over again. "I'll have to have a little chat with them
later."
Fox looked surprised. "You know the engineers for the Arwings?"
The vixen laughed, surprised to see that he didn't know the answer to
that question already. "When you've been flying their creations
for longer than you can remember, you tend to know the names of everyone personally.
It makes it easier to yell at them when they screw up something big-time."
"It sounds like you've had a most interesting time being a test
pilot," said Fox, wondering what she might have done during her career.
"Yes, yes I have." She turned away from the group as she answered,
Fox wondering as to why.
"That she has," muttered Gary.
Fara turned around and stared at the cheetah, her arms on her hips in anger.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?"
He shook his head, trying to dismiss the whole thing. "Nothing. Forget
I ever said anything."
"Yeah, whatever," she said with a glare. "Come on guys, let's
get out of here."
Having nothing more to say, the team wandered out, Fox staying behind a moment
to see if he would get an explanation. Finding one wasn't forthcoming,
he left as well, hurrying to catch his teammates.
Fox found the rest of his team waiting for him down the
hallway, everyone silent as they watched their commander approach. He noticed
the unusual quiet quickly, commenting about it as well. "Is something
wrong with you all?" The silence continued, everyone staring at someone
else for a moment. "Now I know that something is up."
He stood there looking over his team, his tail swishing from
side to side as he debated on who to have another chat with. He could tell that
Peppy wanted to talk with him, but he had other concerns on his mind at that
moment. "Guys, you're on your own tonight. Based on past history,
I'm guessing we'll get paged come 8am or so tomorrow, so go have
some fun." He paused for a moment, looking in Fara's direction.
"Fara, could I have a word with you?"
From behind her Falco broke into a huge grin. Fox ignored
his teammate's look as she approached and the rest of the team split.
"What do you need, Fox?"
"You have a few minutes?"
Fara nodded. "Yeah." Looking back at the command
center for a moment she continued. "Care to talk somewhere a tad more
privately?"
"Afraid the boss is going to stumble in while you're
insulting him?"
She laughed in response. "Something like that."
Fox gestured ahead of him. "Lead on."
The two remained quiet as they worked their way down to the
first floor. "Ah, the Botanical Gardens," she said happily as they
approached their destination.
"You spend quite a bit of time here, don't you?"
asked Fox.
The doors to the gardens opened before them, admitting the
two pilots. It was nearly dusk outside, the lights along the path turning on
one by one as they entered, brightening the area with their dull glow. Fara
walked in and spun around, a large smile on her face. "Yeah, I love this
place. It's so calm and peaceful. A drastic difference from the rest of
the base."
Fox smiled as well, watching as Fara changed from her semi-serious
self to a carefree youth in a matter of moments. After removing her gloves and
tucking them into a pocket, she ran over to the same tree she was perched on
earlier that morning, jumped up, grabbed the lowest branch, and swung herself
up to a seated position upon it. "I can see you like this place,"
he said.
She giggled, brushing her paws together to clean them off.
"I tend to spend most of my free time either here or in my quarters."
Fox sat down on a nearby bench and asked, "Why's
that?"
"Privacy for the most part. This base is a very secure
location, but you give up quite a bit of privacy in doing so. Everything you
do is basically monitored."
Fox looked surprised. "Really? Do explain."
Fara turned herself around on the tree branch so that she
sat back against the trunk. "As you already know, most of the hallways
and major areas are watched over by security cameras. Most doorways have detection
devices built in that show when you go through them. So, basically anyone knows
when you enter or leave your room, but they don't know what goes on inside
as that's one of the few places where there isn't anything installed."
Fox nodded. "That's why you like your room and
here so much."
"Exactly. I understand their need for the setup, but
it doesn't mean that I like it."
"How do they know who's coming and going then?"
"Your jacket. Or to be more specific, the small badge
that has the base logo on it. Inside is a small chip that the scanners detect.
That, along with your pawprint, gets you into the base and secured places like
your rooms."
Fox sighed. "So they watch us everywhere. What if I
want to leave this place and not reveal to the planet who I work for?"
"Tired of the base life already?" she asked with
a laugh. "If you are so inclined, they'll give you an ID card that
has the same set of information encoded on it." She paused for a moment,
realizing something. "That's an odd question to ask though."
Fox had a confused look on his face. "Why's that?"
"Well, for starters, you guys aren't official
citizens of Corneria anymore. Remember that little exile thing some time ago?"
He groaned, not wanting to be reminded of his current position.
"Just a simple question and nothing more. And a problem that will be easily
fixed when we win this war." He sat back on the bench, trying to find
a more comfortable spot as he debated on what question to ask next. "If
I may ask, what's life like as a test pilot?"
Fara looked puzzled for a moment, looking down at the vulpine.
"Interested in my life history already, Fox? Or is there something else
I should know?"
Fox shook his head. While she was a gorgeous vixen as far
as he was concerned, now was not the time to think about it. "No, no.
I find it easier to talk to my teammates when I know a bit about their past.
Knowledge is power or something like that as Peppy would say."
She giggled. "Ah yes, Peppy and his little proverbs."
She closed her eyes for a moment debating on how to respond to Fox's query.
"Well, let me put it this way - what did your father do most of his life?"
The vulpine almost looked insulted as he answered the question.
"He was an honored military pilot of course. He spent most of his time
in the skies."
"That he was. Now, imagine instead of just flying missions,
you had to write a report about every little thing you noticed about your craft.
Things like how it controlled, how it flew, how it felt, things like that. It
explains my job rather well."
"Sounds like…" Fox paused for a moment,
trying to find the right word. "Sounds like a most entertaining job."
She laughed, remembering how much fun she thought it would
be when she started. "Entertaining my tail. Sure, it's fun flying
around in something that nobody else has ever flown before, but the paperwork
is boring as heck."
Fox grinned. "Remind me to never switch to your line
of work." It took a few seconds before he figured out his next question,
spending the time looking out into the night sky. "Had any interesting
things happen to you while testing the Arwings? Ever wrecked one of the test
craft?"
Fara went quiet suddenly, her smile vanishing off her face.
He sat there, not knowing if he should press the question when she finally answered.
"Yeah, I had one of the craft wrecked. It wasn't my fault at all
though." She closed her eyes and went silent again.
He remained quiet for a bit and debated on changing the subject,
but his curiosity was piqued. "If you don't mind, Fara, care to
explain?"
The vixen pulled up her legs and rested her arms and head
on her knees. Turning her head so she was looking at Fox, she opened her eyes
and began her story, as much as she didn't want to retell it. "It's
a horrible fact about being a test pilot – despite all the precautions,
despite all the safety, there's a chance of being killed. I almost ended up
as another statistic."
She grew quiet again, waiting to see if Fox would say anything.
But he was staying silent, letting her explain. "The testing on the flight
capabilities of the Arwing was completed. The next thing on the list was the
weapons and defensive systems. Unfortunately, something went horribly wrong.
See, back then the Nova Bombs were physical bombs, along the line of a nuclear
bomb without any of the environmental devastation."
"Interesting," said Fox. "I was wondering
if the name meant something as the weapon isn't a bomb in the true sense
of the word."
She nodded. "Yup, that's it. The Arwing was fully
loaded - lots of fuel, armed weapons, three Nova Bombs. Part of the test that
day was live laser fire against the shields of the craft in outer space. Ultimately,
sometime during the test the shields suddenly failed. Before they could abort
the test and before I could fly out of there, a single shot punched though part
of the armor around the storage location of the Nova Bombs."
Fox's eyes grew huge in shock as he made a guess on
what happened next. Fara nodded at his reaction, expecting nothing less. "As
one would expect, the bombs detonated in their holders, vaporizing my craft.
The safety systems detected the impending explosion and ejected the cockpit,
but I didn't escape the blast fully. Just about every console blew, sending
sparks flying everywhere against the protective suit I was wearing. I knew I
had been injured and probably burned, but I couldn't tell the extent because
I was still strapped in what was left of my cockpit."
He sat there, breathless at the account of Fara's tale.
"Wow," he finally said.
She continued her story, oblivious of his comments, lost
in her own thoughts. "It took them twenty minutes to finally find what
was left of my ship. Twenty horrifying minutes in the deafening silence of space.
They treated me as best as they could, but it wasn't until I was back
at the base did anyone find out how badly I was injured. My suit was literally
peeled from my body, and I was basically dumped into the regen tanks at the
medical bay here."
"What regen tanks?" asked Fox with a confusing
look, interrupting her story.
Fara blinked a few times, realizing that he had asked a question
instead of keeping quiet. She shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.
"Back in the medical bay, remember the two cylindrical tubes in the center
of the room?"
"Yeah."
"Those can be filled with a compound of sorts that greatly
speeds healing of any exterior injuries, and helps somewhat with internal ones.
But with only one side effect." She shuddered suddenly. "Whatever
gets immersed in the stuff gets paralyzed as well due to the immense strains
it's putting your body through."
She continued quietly, Fox straining to hear what was said.
"It's a horrible thing to have happen to you, not being able to
move at all. My head was the only part of me that wasn't in the stuff,
but what is there for you to do at 2am with nobody around once you've
woken up from the sleeping drugs they've put into you?" She shuddered
again. "I was going stir crazy in there. Couldn't move, couldn't
feel my body, couldn't sleep. I was in there for 21 hours total…"
She drifted off into silence again, closing her eyes as she remembered what
happened.
"Fara," said Fox quietly, trying to get her attention,
worried that he'd dug up some memories that might have been better off staying
buried. "Fara," he said again, more insistent this time, getting
ready to stand up and move closer to her to see if it would help.
She looked his direction, a startled look on her face for
a moment as her mind focused on what was around her. "Sorry," she
finally said, turning away in embarrassment.
"What for?" he asked kindly.
She looked back at Fox. "I know you didn't want
to hear me blabbering about all the details of—"
He interrupted her with a wave of his paw. "No, Fara,
I don't mind in the slightest." He smiled her way, trying to show
that he was honest about what he'd said. "It's good to let yourself
go like that. It completes the healing process."
She giggled softly. "You sound like Peppy."
"Yeah, I guess the mannerisms of the old hare tend
to rub off on you after a while. Anyway, I have one last question if you don't
mind."
Fara stretched, breaking into a yawn before responding, the
last remnants of her prior experiences fading away. "Sure, ask away."
"It's come to my attention that you and the boss
don't see eye to eye on some things if you get my drift. He does a good
job hiding it, but we've all seen a few moments where he was snapping
at you as badly as he does Falco."
"You've noticed as well?" she replied with
a grin.
He grinned back. "It's kinda hard to miss."
After making a quick check to ensure of their privacy, she
answered. "I guess you can call it a love/hate relationship. We tolerate
each other, but not much more. See, after my little incident, I was out of action
by the medic's and my request for four days. Needless to say, things get
boring rather quickly when all you can basically do is sit around."
Fox had a good guess as to where this story was going to
head, but he kept quiet for the time being. "I consider myself pretty
good on the computer, and I decided to keep myself occupied by using it to its
fullest. Ultimately, I worked myself into the security system of the base."
He smiled, pleased that his guess had been correct. "I
had a feeling you were going to say that."
Fara held up her paws in mock innocence. "It's
not my fault that there isn't anything to do around here when you find
yourself cooped up in your room all day. Besides, it kept my mind occupied,
and I could watch what was going on in the rest of the base. The only other
thing I did was talk to the engineering staff about a few changes that were
going to be made on the Arwings."
"The Nova Bombs," stated Fox.
"Exactly. To put it bluntly, I refused to fly them
unless they were removed. Needless to say, that caused a bit of an uproar with
everybody, especially Pepper."
"I take it he thought that the then current design
could be improved on, right?"
Fara nodded, thinking back to the days in question. "Him
and most of the engineering staff. Only a few people understood that it was
foolish to carry extremely volatile weapons on a craft that's designed
to get shot at. Oh, the arguments that were heard around my room on those days
I had off."
"Sounds like you had a blast." Fox winced, realizing
what he had just said. "Sorry, poor choice of words."
Fara closed her eyes and sighed. "Don't worry
about it. Anyway, after looking through a dozen designs for protecting the Nova
Bombs and tossing out every one of them due to either flaws or the act of slowing
down the launch dramatically, they caved in. Unfortunately, it changed the Arwing's
classification completely from a fighter/bomber to just a fighter."
"That could not have made the higher-ups happy."
She laughed. "No kidding. The Arwing was designed to
take down fighter and carrier class craft, and the loss of the Nova Bombs hurt
that image severely. Once I got back in the cockpit however, luck ended up on
our side. I was flying around, making sure the engineering staff didn't
mess anything up with my new Arwing, when I chanced upon a small bundle of minerals
sticking out of the ground. Wanting to test the blasters I opened fire, my jaw
dropping in shock as the rocks exploded with far more force than they should
of."
"The new Nova Bombs, right?"
"More or less. It took some doing from the engineering
staff and the scientists we have access to, but eventually they determined that
it would make a suitable replacement to the Nova Bombs, and they would be far
less explosive." She frowned for a moment before continuing. "As
you've clearly seen though, there are still problems with the whole thing."
"I hope they get it fixed. They are extremely powerful."
She sighed. "I know. It just takes so much power to
fire. If only we could get the engines to output more power. Or if we could
disable any other systems during the charging stage to get everything back online
faster…" She quieted down, thinking to herself.
Fox stayed quiet as well for a bit, enjoying the view as
he sat there and looked around. He looked up again as he prepared to asked one
last question. "Fara, I have yet another thing to ask, and then I'll
be off as I clearly see you have other things on your mind."
She looked down from where she was perched and laughed. "As
long as the answer doesn't end up as long as your other last question,
sure."
"Why were you on that transport? You know, the one
where we ran into each other for the first time."
Fara smiled. "Finally, something easy. Anyway, my father
and I, along with the backing of Pepper and his staff, decided to see if there
was anything we could do to help the occupied planets. Not only were we delivering
supplies, but we were to pick up anybody we could get our paws on in the off
chance that they could be pilots for the Arwing project."
"We hit Katina first, dropped off some supplies to the
rebellion groups there, and picked up quite a few people. Afterwards, as you
already know, we landed on Papetoon long enough to acquire a few more passengers.
After we launched, the lizards attacked. Nobody knew where they came from, or
even which planet we picked them up at."
"You also didn't know that you had picked up
us four either," said Fox with a grin.
She nodded. "Thank goodness you were there. We were
never told that we would have you as uninvited guests, and I had no way of knowing
that I was the lizards' target. If you hadn't shown up, I fear to
think what might have happened to me."
"Nobody comes to harm while I'm around if I can
help it. It's too bad you couldn't return the favor and let us know
you were part of the Arwing project once we got into it."
Fara shook her head. "Sorry, I was forbidden by Pepper
to say anything to you guys until he felt it was the right time. He got mad
enough as it is when he found out that I was watching your performance the entire
time in the simulators, so I dread what might of happened if I talked to you
four."
Fox grinned. "You did leave that little message for
me after our first test. And I have to assume that you've been watching
us as we wandered around the base since we got here, right?"
"Is Peppy psychic or something?" she asked with
a giggle. "I've never seen anyone act so antsy like that while being
watched through a security camera."
"Possibly. He's said a few things out of the
blue that have helped us during our time on Papetoon. We've learned to
trust him whenever he says something odd."
"Most interesting." She grinned as she continued.
"By the way, you did almost run into me when you wandered into the gardens
on your first day. Fortunately for me though you aren't all that observant."
Fox stood up. "Thanks for the compliment, I think."
Stretching, he looked around the darkened garden once more, his gaze coming
to rest on Fara. "Thanks for the talk. Just remember to stay in Pepper's
good graces. Don't forget that he is your boss, and if you wish to stay
a member of this team, you'll need to keep that in mind."
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered.
"You sound so much like Falco it's eerie,"
he said with a grin.
"Gee, thanks." With one swift motion Fara sprung
to her feet, jumped off the branch she was sitting on, spun around in midair
to grab hold of the branch, and then used her momentum to swing around, vault
off, and land perfectly a few feet away from Fox.
Once again he was impressed with the vixen's acrobatic
skills. "Most amazing display once more. Ever thought about switching
to a safer career in acrobatics or something?"
She giggled as she brushed herself off. "Na. Besides,
these skills come in handy when flying. I can think up some crazy dodge maneuvers
when in the air."
"Stunt flying then perhaps when this war is over?"
"Possibly. Being a test pilot would be safer though
in my opinion."
Fox began walking towards the exit. "From what you've
told me, I highly doubt that. Oh well, see you tomorrow. Good luck with the
engineers."
Fara answered as she followed. "Thanks. I'll
need it."
The two pilots went their separate ways, each pleased that
they had this conversation.
