A simple warning before you start this chapter - it's a long one. It's an important one however, as it sets a few things in motion that we'll see a bit further down the line.

Also, incase you haven't noticed, I've broken 100k words. I want to thank each and every one of my reviewers, as I couldn't have done it without you. And thanks as always to those who read this fic as well. Hopefully you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it.
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Chapter 21: The Transport Horizon
I worry about Fox some days. While it's nice to see he dislikes violence as much as I do, he also leads a team whose goal is to slaughter anything in sight that goes against its goals. – Peppy


"Where are those shots coming from?"
"I have no idea. Keep looking."
In the meantime, the two Arwings had reached the spaceport, and to their surprise, found it far better protected than their prior targets. The pair was currently being assaulted by some unknown assailant. They hadn't encountered any airborne targets yet, but if either of them found that unusual, they were too occupied to think about it.
Fox's computer display suddenly lit up, catching a glimpse of their target. "I found him. Oldest trick of the book, that punk." Boosting away from the spaceport for just a second, he quickly turned back around, bearing down on one of the hangers from the side. Just before crossing the hanger entrance he cut his engine, letting his momentum carry him as he pointed his craft towards the inside, opening fire with his blasters. The small, dual-turreted tank hidden within took only a few shots before exploding. As he righted his Arwing the turret tumbled behind him, coming to rest a few feet outside the hanger.
"Nice work," complimented Peppy.
Fox grinned as he remembered his final test in the simulators a few days ago. "Thanks. I remember someone else using the same plan recently."
"Ah, yes." Peppy looked down at his sensors as another half-dozen tanks rolled into range. "It seems we've upset the local garrison. I count six more tanks heading our direction."
"I see them," he replied as he moved into position to engage. "I wonder how many of these things Andross has access to on Papetoon."
Peppy debated the answer for a moment as he approached firing range. "Judging by how many we've engaged so far over here, it looks like they've been holding back until now."
Based on the debris scattered around the spaceport, Fox had to agree. "It sure seems like it." He opened fire on the tank, causing it to explode into a ball of flame.
The next vehicle in line rolled over the remains of its ally, firing as it did so. The bolt of energy sped harmlessly past Peppy's Arwing as he dodged out of the way. The hare responded by returning fire, destroying another tank in the group.
Their little victory was short lived however, as the transport they were supposed to be guarding came on the com line, heavily broken up by static. "This…Horizon…under attack…Repeat…need assistance…"
Fox cursed as he went vertical, his boosters glowing brightly behind him, Peppy following his maneuver quickly. "Shit. I was wondering why there were so few fighters around here."
"A simple reason and a difficult solution to follow up on after the fact."
Shaking his head, Fox kept quiet over his friend's thoughts. Instead, he tried to contact the transport. "Horizon, this is Fox. We'll be there shortly."
Static once again filled the pair's ears as the transport responded. "Roger…hurry…"
The seconds ticked by as Fox wished his Arwing would go faster. He knew he should have kept better watch of the craft as it descended through the atmosphere, but he just assumed that any remaining defenders would be more interested in him instead of a simple transport. Unfortunately he was wrong in this instance, and it looked like it was going to cost him.
The two Arwings could finally see the transport in the distance as they approached it from below. It was not in good shape. More than three dozen fighters were assaulting the much larger craft, while the Horizon was valiantly defending itself with only a pair of turrets. As Fox watched, one of the four engines on the transport exploded in a ball of fire, throwing the ship off course for a few seconds before the pilot could compensate.
"Damn it," cursed Fox quietly. Quickly formulating a plan in his head, he said, "Peppy, fire a Nova Bomb towards the aft starboard side of that transport. I'll put one on the aft port side. We'll fire at them when they get close to get them to explode. Just make sure that the Horizon is outside of the blast area. Hopefully that'll get rid of most of the fighters."
"Understood," replied the hare. "Ready for your signal."
Changing frequencies, Fox told the transport, "Horizon, keep a somewhat straight line and don't turn back whatever you do. We're going to drop a pair of Nova Bombs in your wake to get rid of your attackers."
"Roger," responded the exhausted sounding pilot, the overall signal much clearer due to the closeness of the craft.
Quickly predicting where the Horizon would be in a few seconds, Fox lined up his shot. "Let's do this, Peppy. Fire!"
The two Nova Bombs launched from the Arwings and streaked through the atmosphere, the balls of energy far brighter than even the desert sun. The enemy fighters ignored the weapons of their demise as they continued to swarm the transport. As if the pilots had a mental link with other, they fired simultaneously, their initial barrage striking the bombs dead on.
As designed, they detonated, the shockwave from the displaced air rocking the damaged transport. To the nearby fighters however, the blast was dramatically more effective. The hostiles in the blast radius disintegrated as the explosion engulfed them while everyone else nearby was flung like a top, most suffering critical structural damage in the process. The Arwings shuddered as they passed through the turbulence, but remained unharmed.
Fox did a quick count of the operational hostiles as he moved into position to attack whoever remained. Dodging a falling craft that was missing both its wings, he found his answer and told Peppy his findings. "Only nine enemies left for us to take down the old-fashioned way. Nice shooting."
Peppy laughed. "Old-fashioned indeed. Nice plan."
"Yeah." Fox shifted in his seat, making sure he was comfortable once more before issuing his attack order. "Let's take it to them."
"Roger." Peppy peeled away from his teammate, blasters firing as he targeted the nearest enemy. Fox quickly followed suit, engaging one of his own.
The pair quickly eliminated their targets, the fight all but taken out of their opponents after they lost more than three-quarters of their numbers in a matter of seconds. As the enemy craft either exploded from blaster-fire or tumbled down towards the planet after taking critical damage, the pilots noticed two craft suddenly break off and head towards the atmosphere as fast as they could. "Should we chase them down?" asked Peppy as he engaged his current target.
Fox shook his head as he watched the two speed off. "No, let them go. We've done enough killing for one day."
"We still have a few targets more to clear out down below you know."
"I know." Firing his blasters, Fox's final target exploded, debris raining to the sands below. "A pilot's work is never done. You finished over there, Peppy?"
The hostile the hare was engaging exploded from a well-placed shot to the engine. "Mission accomplished. Now to follow the Horizon down."
Fox had another idea however. "Peppy, why don't you provide escort for the transport. I'll clear out anything that remains down below."
"Understood. Give me a call if you need anything." The hare boosted off towards the Horizon.
"I will. You do the same if you need it." Changing direction back towards the spaceport, Fox kicked in his boosters, his Arwing quickly speeding off out of sight.


Meanwhile, somewhere in the depths of space, a squad of lizards had stumbled upon what they had been searching for the last few hours – one of Corneria's coveted spy-probes. The oddly shaped oblong device sat motionless in space, trying to remain oblivious to the happenings around it.
The officer in the group grinned when he heard the report from his subordinate that the probe had been found. Knowing that his team would be well rewarded by the destruction of the device, he gave the order he had been waiting to say all day. "Destroy that probe."
"Yes, sir." The lone lizard that found the device opened fire on the probe, the rest of the group converging on the officer, eager as he was to get back home. The lizard looked shocked as instead of the probe exploding, it suddenly came to life, desperately gathering and transmitting information in its final moments.
The officer looked at the operational probe and quickly grew worried. "All wings," he barked, "destroy that device!"
The group of twelve converged upon the probe, every craft firing their weapons in an attempt to obliterate it. In a matter of seconds the thin armor of the probe gave way, the device exploding into a small fireball. "Target demolished, sir," said one of the lizards.
The officer calmed down, glad to be rid of yet another obstacle in their conquest of the galaxy. Worried that Andross might view the probe activating as a failure of his mission, he said, "About damn time. None of you saw that probe become operational, correct?"
One of the simpleminded lizards didn't take the hint as he replied, "I did, sir, as did—" His comments were interrupted as the officer suddenly opened fire on his craft, the shots missing him by only a few feet.
The officer tried again. "As I said before, none of you saw that probe operational, correct?"
The group quickly realized the correct answer. "Yes, sir," was their collective response.
"Good." He couldn't believe the stupidity of the naive pilots he had on his wing. "All craft, return to base."


Back on Papetoon, the Horizon was on final approach to the spaceport. "Arwings," started the commander, "this is the Horizon. Are we cleared for landing?"
Fox swooped around the spaceport, having enough time to make one final pass before the transport landed. He surveyed the destruction below him as he replied. "Looks clear down here. Mind the mess though as you land."
The pilot looked out through the canopy at the devastation the Arwings had caused while the commander looked over his shoulder. "Looks like they had a very nice reception waiting for us here as well, McCloud. Nice work."
"Thanks."
"We'll be down in a minute. Horizon over and out."
Fox changed frequencies as he spotted Peppy circling the transport. "Did I miss anything out there?"
The hare stretched as best he could in the confines of the Arwing. He had been sitting far too long in one place to his liking, and he knew that it would only get worse as they traveled farther out with each assault. "Nothing at all, thankfully."
"Good." Completing his pass over the spaceport, he turned towards the Horizon's expected landing spot. "Thinking on towards our final mission, what do you think is the best way to contact the resistance here? Short of landing at one of the former slave camps and talking to the locals anyway."
"I'm not sure, Fox, but that's going to have to wait for just a bit."
The vulpine sounded concerned as he came back on the line. "Oh? Why?"
"Nothing to worry about. I just want to check up on the crew inside the transport before we move on."
"Good idea." While he watched, the Horizon came to rest on an unobstructed part of the main runway, its thrusters shutting down in a puff of smoke. "I'll keep watch up here then."
"Roger. I'll get back with you shortly." The landing gear on Peppy's Arwing deployed as he approached the ground. Finding a debris-free spot a few yards away from the transport, he brought his craft in for a smooth landing. He quickly hopped out, giving no more than a wave in Fox's direction as he walked towards the Horizon as it opened its main hatch.


Upon exiting his craft, the first thing Peppy noticed was the oppressive heat bearing down on him from the sun above. While he was used to it from his time on the planet, it made it no more of a shock to go from a climate controlled 70 degrees in his Arwing to the 110 degrees or so it was currently in this desert summer.
Shielding his eyes from the sun, he turned and waved towards Fox, letting him know he was fine. Looking over the many scorch marks on the Horizon's hull, he walked towards the craft. "I just hope the inside looks far better than the out," he muttered to himself. As he neared the transport, the main hatch on the side opened, the hull folding downward to turn into a gangplank of sorts.
Peppy watched as dozens of troops quickly filed out of the Horizon, all of them jogging past his position as they surrounded the craft, guns pointed menacingly towards the sky and any piece of debris that looked like it could hide a hostile. Waiting for a minute to make sure his path was clear, he walked into the ship. The lioness commander greeted him with suspicion as he entered. "I take it you're Peppy Hare?"
The hare nodded slowly, responding as he did so, ignoring the pair of soldiers that he heard follow a few steps behind him. "My skills and knowledge are at your disposal, madam."
A smile appeared the gruff looking exterior of the commander for just a moment before returning neutral once more. "I see we have someone who speaks as well as they fight. Most unusual." She looked to the back of the transport for a moment as her ears picked up some sound of sorts. "But enough of the talking. You're here to help, and help our medic needs. Come on." She motioned for him to follow as the lioness quickly walked towards the back of the ship.
Peppy had heard the same sound that the commander had heard – one of a creature howling out in momentary pain. Following the commander, he looked around the ship. A quick glance around told him what he needed to know – this was designed to be a transport and nothing more. Sporting no amenities short of seats and handholds, this vessel's purpose was to simply carry a large number of troops from place to place quickly.
Walking into the last chamber at the rear of the craft found not only the source of the pain, but the probable cause as well. In the center of the room on the floor was a gray furred wolf that looked like he had been too close to some kind of explosion in the transport. A large, burnt out section of the back wall, near where the engine that detonated earlier, seemed to be the probable cause.
Peppy blanched as he looked at the condition of the soldier. Large sections of his fur were either charred or burned completely, giving the wolf a very disheveled look. Currently tending him was a male canine, his medical bag sitting open next to him. Looking at Peppy with a harried glance before going back to his patient, he said, "I hope you're the help the commander said was coming."
"I am. Although I think your teammate there is beyond my knowledge."
The medic gestured towards the side of the room, where a half-dozen soldiers of varying size stood. "Are you trained in treating minor to moderate burns with the latest treatment devices?"
While he wasn't exactly current with Corneria's latest medical advances, he doubted that too much had changed. "That I can do."
"Good. Pardon the mess as you work. There's another medical kit just outside this room as well." He quieted down as he continued to try to save his current patient.
Peppy took another glance at the injured wolf as he gathered the nearby emergency medical kit. From his mostly untrained eye, he could tell that the creature was clearly not going to make it unless they got him to a better medical facility. Or else he'd need a miracle. And neither were in abundance on this near wasteland of sand and rock.
"Then again medics are considered miracle workers," he muttered to himself as he came back into the room, med kit in paw. He noticed something that his initial glance missed the first time around – a once tan blanket draped in the corner of the room, obviously covering someone, or what used to be someone. Blood spots were visible in multiple locations, making his guess rather accurate. Shaking his head sadly at the loss of a life, he looked once more at the injured wolf before setting down his kit and getting to work on the other wounded soldiers.


Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty, as Fox waited anxiously in his Arwing on the roof of one of the few structurally sound hangers left in the area. It allowed him to conserve fuel, while still being able to have advanced notice on any incoming craft. He yawned loudly, wishing that he could do something interesting instead of just sitting around.
From his vantage point, he watched as the soldiers broke off into groups of what looked like 10 each, each team scouring through a different part of the spaceport. The teams came back one by one with surprisingly usable equipment, ranging from smaller hover-based equipment lifts to a few hoverbikes that invoked some memories from missions past in Fox's mind. Other groups deployed the equipment and transportation they brought with them while a few individuals attempted repairs on the ruined engine. Trying to keep himself entertained as best he could by listening to the chatter between the teams, he stifled yet another yawn.
As the 60-minute mark from when Peppy landed neared, Fox became extremely restless. Contacting the transport, he said, "Horizon, this is Fox. Is everything okay down there?"
To his momentary surprise Peppy replied to his hail after a few seconds. "Fox, Peppy here. Could I have you come down here for a few minutes before we leave?"
The vulpine quickly became concerned over the unusual request. "Sure. Anything wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," reassured the hare. "I'd just like to show you something."
"Okay. Be down in a minute." Still pondering over Peppy's odd communication, Fox searched for a suitable spot for his Arwing near the transport.


Elsewhere, Andross was sitting inside his control room as usual, waiting for one of his lizards to deliver something to eat. In the meantime, he was looking over the inner workings of his latest plan to finish off Corneria once and for all. He seemed pleased for once as his plans were beginning to fall together. All he had to do was wait.
All he seemed to do nowadays was plan and wait.
His headset came to life as his staff tried to contact him. "Andross here," he said gruffly.
"Emperor, this is control. I have some good news for you."
The ape smiled. "Finally. I'm listening."
"I have two things for you, sir. First off, our scouts have reported that one of Corneria's probes has been destroyed."
"Excellent. What's our fleet status there?"
"Approximately 80% of the fleet that you requested is currently there and ready for combat. ETA on the remainder is less than ten hours."
"Good." Andross made a quick mental calculation in his head. "That gives those fools some seven hours their time before our fleet is fully assembled. We'll see how well those blasted Arwings stand up against the might of the Venomian fleet."
The advisor kept silent for a bit, listening to another conversation as it crossed his board. "That leads me to my other topic sir – we've acquired the data you've requested on the Nova Bombs."
Andross' eyes opened wide with shock for a moment as he thought about the implications of what he'd just heard. "Now that is some good news. Tell me the details."
"Yes, sir. From what I've been able to gather so far, two fighters on Papetoon were nearby when the Arwings fired. Surviving the explosion, they realized that the data they had was far more valuable than fighting a losing battle. They ran off and contacted our fleet nearby."
"Blasted cowards," he growled. "I'm amazed that they didn't get shot down as they tried to flee."
"According to them, it seems that the Arwings allowed them to escape."
Andross kept quiet at that remark, trying to think how he could exploit that inherit weakness in Fox's attitude. "Interesting. That fool McCloud just caused more problems than he can imagine due to his kindness. Have that information sent to me immediately."
"Yes, sir."
"Anything else to report?"
"No, sir."
"Good." Andross' stomach suddenly rumbled, souring his good mood slightly. He decided to get that problem solved quickly. "One last thing – find out where my lunch is and tell him or her to get over here with it. Andross out." He sat back in his chair, smiling with glee as he now knew a weakness of the great McCloud. He just needed a way to exploit it.
All he had to do was think up a new plan. Something which he was doing quite a bit of as of late no thanks to McCloud and his cronies.


Somewhere at the other end of the system, a light was blinking. While one little flashing light might not mean much to some, this light in particular meant quite a bit to those who deemed it necessary to blink at a time like this. This light was connected to a little used computer console inside a base. Corneria Base. This was no ordinary light though. It had a simple, yet powerful purpose – to let anyone on duty know that one of the spy satellites had been destroyed, and that it had transmitted some interesting data that needed to be looked at immediately.
Unfortunately the pair that was currently on duty in the command center never saw that blinking light. Normally a light flashing was a very easy thing to notice. But when there's something on top of the light being considered, that made it nearly impossible. The object in question was nothing more than a file folder, filled with a few reports for Gary and the General to read when either of them next came in. The staff there thought nothing of the folder's placement as that terminal was never used by anyone while they were around.
If the folder was never there, then they would have seen the blinking light. If they saw the light, then someone would have known about the destruction of the probe, and the information about the fleet that would be bearing down on them shortly.
Then again, the only pilots who could do something about it weren't available either.


Looking like he's done this all his life, Fox McCloud nimbly jumped out of his Arwing onto the cement surface of the spaceport. After making a quick check of his craft, he walked the short distance to the transport, passing by multiple soldiers who gave him nothing more than a glance and a nod in greetings. He entered the ship, almost running into the commander in his hurry to find out what exactly Peppy called him down here for. "Good afternoon," he greeted with a nod.
"Afternoon yourself," said the lioness as she returned the greeting. "And another one of the Arwing heroes comes and visits my command."
Fox shook his head, forestalling any other unneeded comments about what he and his team were doing for the system. "No offense, but I'm just as much of a hero as your soldiers here are. Remember, they're doing the hard work here on this planet today. Not us."
The commander smiled for just a moment, wondering if the entire Starfox team was just as modest as these two. "If you insist. Your partner is waiting for you in the back of the ship." She pointed the way, waiting for him to go before walking off the transport to check something with her crew.
"Always the hero who can't do any wrong," muttered Fox quietly as he walked through the ship. Reaching the rear of the craft quickly, he saw Peppy and what looked to be the ship's medic conversing quietly outside the rear chamber.
The hare waved as Fox approached, a tired look on his face. "Afternoon ,Fox. Sorry to make you wait like that."
"No problem." The medic walked into the room behind him, leaving the two alone for the moment. "What's up?"
Peppy leaned up against the nearest wall, closing his eyes to try to restore some of his strength. "I've just gone through a half hour that I'll never forget."
Fox cocked his head in confusion and concern. "Care to explain?"
"I just know that I'm not cut out for hospital work." He opened his eyes and noticed the confused look in Fox's face. "Sorry, I'm just tired. I just spent the last half hour with the medic in here trying to save someone's life." He looked down to the floor in dismay. "We failed."
Fox's eyes rose in shock. "What happened?"
The hare waved Fox into the room, walking in himself as he did so. "Remember when we saw that engine explode on the transport? It sits right near the corner of this room." He pointed out the burned out section of room, exposing melted steel and wiring. "There were two soldiers sitting in that corner, doing nothing wrong short of being there. One died instantly from the explosion. The other we tried to perform a miracle on."
Fox blanched, imagining what it would have been like to be there. He looked over at the medic, who was currently in the middle of the room trying to clean up the place, then saw a once tan blanket lying on top of what he assumed were the bodies. A look passed over his face, a look of resolve and determination. One that Peppy never liked seeing on his face as it meant that he was going to do something very unusual in just a moment. "I want to see them. I want to know everything you know about them."
As expected, the hare wasn't pleased to hear what was just asked of him. "Why?"
"So I have a visual memory of what happens when we fail a mission like this." His look turned to one of anger. "So I have a memory of who Andross has killed when I get out there and kick his ass once and for all."
Sometime during the conversation the commander had returned, silently leaning against the wall inside the entrance of the room. The three others looked over in momentary surprise as she spoke up. "I'll tell you what I know, but it isn't much. Daryl, if you would do the honors."
The medic nodded as he moved towards the blanket. "Sure thing, Ayne." Peeking under the cover, he turned back towards the pilots. "Are you sure you want to see this? This isn't exactly pretty."
Fox nodded grimly. "I do." Peppy nodded silently, having already seen what was underneath when he helped move the body there in the first place.
Taking grasp of the blanket, the canine pulled it down, exposing a wolf from the waist up. He was an older gray lupine, his fur burned off in large chunks. The expression on his face showed that his death came slow and painful, but that he fought for every minute he had left. The lioness quietly said what she knew. "This older wolf was a loner, but he did his job well. O'Donnell was the only name he went by. Not even I knew his first name. He was a faithful soldier though, and had possible leadership potential. I and the rest of the crew here will greatly miss him."
The medic chirped in with a medical overview. "As you can clearly see, loss of life occurred from massive external and internal burning due to the explosion taking place right next to him. Your teammate and I tried our hardest to save him, but in the end we simply didn't have the facilities needed nearby."
"Poor guy," said Fox as he closed his eyes in remembrance. "Horrible way to go."
"Agreed," said Peppy sullenly. He stood there, debating on another of his sayings, but realized that it would be completely unacceptable considering the circumstances.
"Cover him up if you would," said Ayne as she looked upon the body sadly. "And let's get this over with."
"Okay," replied Daryl. "I'm not going to reveal much more than the face on the other due to extensive injuries."
"Go ahead," said Fox as he steeled himself for what was to come. He was not prepared for what he saw though as the blanket dropped, revealing the victim's head and shoulders.
It was Fara.
Or at least someone who looked remarkably close to her.
"Wow," Fox said in shock as he stared at the vixen's face.
"Frightening resemblance isn't it?" asked Peppy quietly, knowing exactly what the vulpine was thinking. "Darker fur though, and a different curvature of the snout. But it sure resembles her."
Fox stared long and hard at the face, making sure he wouldn't forget the pain she must've gone through. He wondered what he would do if he lost any of his comrades, especially Fara, in combat as the commander went over the details. "This young vixen had a ton of spunk for her age, and while she was hard to control at times, she always knew how to make us laugh when we needed it. Her name was Rynn. I think she would've done well had she been given more time in this world."
The medic covered her back up, unable to look at the friendly face any longer. "Rynn here was sitting directly in front of the explosion when it occurred. According to the rest of the crew here she died quickly. But not fast enough." He shook his head sadly. "Loss of life occurred from massive internal injuries from flying debris for the most part."
Fox turned around and slammed his fist against the metal wall. "Damn it," he said quietly. "One little mistake costs us this – our first fuck up in this war." He turned towards the commander and looked her in the eyes. "Why didn't you call for us sooner?"
Ayne held Fox's gaze wearily as she replied. "We called for you as soon as we first spotted them. They simply came out of nowhere. Our best guess is that they had some kind of dampening field around them, keeping us from scanning them as they approached."
Peppy came up behind Fox, putting a paw on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "We're not perfect you know, Fox. We all make mistakes. These things happen."
The vulpine shrugged off the paw as he leaned against the wall, sighing as he did so. "Unfortunately, everyone thinks we can do no wrong. The entire system's hopes are lying on our shoulders right now."
"Look at it this way," said the lioness, trying to see what she could do to improve the mood of Fox. "We've lost a total of two soldiers out of two companies of sixty apiece. Not even the best military commanders can boast results like that."
"You don't understand," said Fox as he looked towards the commander, unable to believe what he was hearing. His mistakes had just killed someone. "We screwed up. We got two of your crew killed in the process. We—"
She cut him off with a wave of her paw. "No. You saved our lives out there. If you hadn't been there, we would all be dead by now." She grew quiet as she heard her headset come to life. Listening for a moment, she responded by saying, "Understood. We'll be there shortly."
"What's the news?" asked Peppy.
"My troops have located a working communications tower, and it seems like it has the ability to transmit planet-wide. Do either of you know what frequencies the rebellion groups might use on this planet?"
The two pilots looked at each other and shook their heads. They looked back at the commander as Fox said, "We were relative unknowns as far as the rebellion went. We got most of our missions through an empty building in the middle of one of the smaller towns. We rarely met anybody, much less talked to them."
The four worked their way out of the transport as Ayne asked, "You were part of the rebellion here? Interesting. Any code words you might of used when leaving or receiving messages?"
"There were a few." Fox wasn't exactly in the mood to go over his experiences as a rebel, so he kept quiet as to that part of the question.
Peppy spoke up from the rear of the group. "Don't forget that news article from a few days back, Fox. It made the news here, so odds are somebody would know about us."
Fox nodded. "Good point."
The group left the craft, everyone feeling the effect of the desert afternoon heat immediately. Fox shielded his eyes from the sun and wondered just how late it was back on Corneria. He'd forgotten to check the chronometer insider his Arwing as he landed, but he guessed it would be roughly the same time back home based on long he'd been on this mission already. And he still had more work to do, even though he wanted nothing more than to go home and cool himself off in the shower in his room. "Ah, the desert heat. And here I thought we'd never have to go back to it."
"At least not this quickly anyway," said Peppy as he tried to find some sort of shade.
The commander got the directions to the tower and led the way along with a dozen of her troops as protection. Trying to gather some information about the pilot's experiences on the planet, she asked, "So, if you don't mind answering, what was life like as a rebel?"
Fox shook his head, not wanting to go over his experiences, and frankly tired of trying to prove to everyone that he wasn't a hero after describing them. Fortunately for him, Peppy spoke up. "Nothing too exciting. We blew up a few buildings, killed some lizards, and basically raided more convoys than we could count. You couldn't imagine just how many of the basic necessities we returned to their rightful owners, at least as far as the planet went anyway."
"Sounds like you've had all the fun," said Ayne, almost wishing for the life that these two had. While she had enjoyed her life in the military so far, it was a limited one thanks to Corneria's policies about the war. As it was, this was the most action she'd seen in months.
Fox finally decided to speak his mind. "Not fun. Dangerous. With as many missions as we did, I'm surprised we haven't gotten ourselves killed yet. Personally, flying is safer as far as I'm concerned."
"No offense, but I'd much rather have my feet on something much more stable any day of the week."
Fox shrugged. "To each their own."
The large group reached the communications tower quickly, everyone climbing to its upper floor. The room was a cross between a control tower for anyone landing in the area and a communications room for a good chunk of the planet. It looked like it has some modifications to it from Andross' forces, giving it not only the power to reach the entire planet, but interplanetary access as well. A pair of soldiers was looking over one of the terminals as they entered, saluting as they saw their commander.
Ayne saluted back. "I take it this is the terminal for planetary communications?"
The pair nodded. "Yes, ma'am. It's received a few upgrades beyond the standard configuration, but the basics are still the same."
"Good." The commander walked up to the terminal in question and activated it, setting it up for the pilots to use. "McCloud, do you want to do the honors?"
Fox groaned. "Lovely, another speech. This is becoming a habit it seems."
"It's good for you," chuckled Peppy. "It'll prepare you for all the speeches you'll be doing once we win this war."
"Very funny."
Ayne passed a headset to Fox, who put it on after a moment's thought. She pointed to a switch on the console as she said, "Flip this when you're ready. Hopefully we'll get some kind of response quickly from the locals, as something tells me you'd like to get back home."
"That is an understatement, unfortunately. Saving the galaxy is a busy job." The lioness smiled at the joke for a moment while Fox debated on everything that needed to say. Collecting his thoughts, he continued. "Okay, I'm set."
"Tell the world what you think."
Fox shook his head as he turned around and stared out into the desert around him. Giving one last thought about what he was going to say, he flipped the switch on the console and started speaking before he lost his nerve. "Good afternoon, everyone on Papetoon. Well, at least it's afternoon to anyone who's at the same part of the planet as I am right now. This is Fox McCloud speaking, leader of the Starfox team."
Ayne listened into her headset while Fox talked, passing along a thumbs-up to the vulpine indicating that the communications were working properly. "We hail from planet Corneria," he continued, "which used to be the only planet still outside Andross' clutches. Starting right now, that has changed. As you may or may not have known, Corneria has decided to attack Andross' rule over this solar system. So far, I'd like to think we've done rather well."
As Fox continued to talk, Peppy walked up to him and said quietly into his ear, "Let them know where we are."
He nodded as he continued. "For those of you who haven't traced down this signal yet, we're currently located over at Papetoon Planetary. Corneria has provided some troops to help wipe out any pockets of lizard resistance you might encounter as you fully reclaim this homeland as yours. So if you need them, you're more than welcome to either ask in person or by communication. Although, after the numbers we killed earlier today, I can almost guarantee that there isn't much left."
Fox glanced around the room for a moment, half expecting the consoles that indicated incoming communications to light up. He then realized that it just wouldn't happen unless he did a few other things first to gain the population's trust. "Now, I realize that you think this might just be one giant trick by Andross and his cronies to get what little resistance there is on this planet to come out. So, time to pass a few tidbits around to those that would recognize them."
He took a breath as he remembered a few things about the missions his team did. "First off, for those that get the rebellion paper, you might remember a photo of a group of four standing in victory over a bunch of lizards in a transport a few days back. Those four are the current pilots of the Arwings, all under employment of the Cornerian Military. That's me in the middle of the shot."
He paused for a moment, letting that tidbit sink in to those listening. "And for those who didn't see the paper, you might know me as my code name that our team has used here on Papetoon for many a month – Desert Cobra. If that name doesn't convince you that I am who I really am, well, nothing will." Fox paused again, watching as some of the terminals in the room sprung to life as people attempted communication with the starport. Soldiers moved quickly to take the calls as he kept his speech going.
"Interesting. Judging by the calls we're suddenly receiving, I see that my code name is still known in these parts. It's nice to be remembered. Anyway, to those who have forgotten, this is Fox McCloud, part of the Cornerian Military, and I'm signing off. May you enjoy your newfound freedom as much as I have in giving it back to you. Wish us luck as we continue our conquest to recover the rest of the system."
Yawning after giving so long of a speech, Fox took off the headset, dropping it back onto the console. He looked around for Ayne, surprised that she wasn't standing nearby. Instead he found Peppy, who had taken a seat at a console next to him. "Have you seen the commander?" he asked. "I want to get out of here."
The hare pointed towards the far end of the room. "The troops had her take one of the first calls personally."
"Odd." Fox watched as the lioness stood up and walked their way. "Are we done here?" he asked as she neared.
Ayne shook her head. "I'm sorry, McCloud, but the main resistance faction here wants to see you in person. When that happens, they'll give the all clear to the entire planet."
Fox groaned, upset at having to stay even longer. "Lovely. How long before they get there?"
"A half hour or so. Fortunately for you they're nearby."
"Good. Now to wait."