Disclaimer:Star Fox characters, names and game are not my creation, nor do I harbor any illusion that they are. They belong to the wonderful people at Nintendo and RAREWARE. Basically this is my 'please don't sue me' speech. However, all original characters and plot devices ARE my creation. So don't use them in your Fan Fic (not that you would want to anyway) unless I have given you permission. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
Chapter 1
Requisition of Interest
Current day Cornaria.
Never had the guards of the Cornaria Bank for Servicemen felt closer to Hell than they did at this moment. Around them bellowed the haunting sounds of flames as they leapt and reached for greater elevation. The shear heat of the flames themselves had already begun to melt chairs and desks in the lobby and had threatened to melt the guards several times before they found refuge at a not so heated corner of the ever depleting compound. To add to their already hellish environment they also sought refuge from a figure that had been pursuing them through the flames. A lone being who had laid waist to all of their comrades moments before. To the guards, he was the incarnation of the devil himself.
"Jesus this guy is persistent! You would have thought that the flames would have slowed him down somewhat!" one guard commented as he dropped an empty magazine from his pistol and shoved in a fresh one.
"No shit!" the second replied as he followed suite in reloading his weapon. "I mean the six of us inside not to mention the three stationed outside should have done something to him. He mowed through them as if possessed."
"How the hell did we find ourselves here…….
One hour earlier:
The day had been a day of business like any other for the staff and patrons of the bank. Many solders had come that day to cash their checks and follow up on their accounts. As the city's only branch of the Serviceman's Credit union they had seen a good deal of transactions this Friday. But the day was now at a close and most of the solders and staff had gone to their homes or into town to have a drink. The bank was mostly empty save of course for the night security staff and those poor souls stuck doing some late night work for the weekend.
As a guard positioned outside the bank waved goodbye to a friend ending his shift looked to the night sky he spotted a peculiar situation. To him it seemed that a small vessel of some sort was approaching the compound. The guard pulled a radio from his belt.
"Hey Charlie?" he spoke into the mouthpiece.
"Yah Tom?"
"This is a no fly zone right?"
"Yah, why?" the radio registered.
"Looks like we got a small plane or a fighter inbound."
There was a pause on the other end for a moment before a reply. "Man that's probably just a pilot running surveillance for the base down the road. We get a lot of that from time to time seeing as how we and the base are the only compounds for miles. I wouldn't worry about it."
"Roger that." the guard stated then reclipped the radio to his waist. He continued watching the approaching craft for a moment before pulling out a cigarette. Searching his pockets he turned to a fellow guard.
"You got a light man?"
"Yah sure, give me a sec to….
FFFWWWWWOOOOOOOOOM!
Both guards hit the ground as a small jet screamed bye just a few yards over the bank.
Both took a few moments before standing and staring in the direction of the fleeing jet.
"CRAZY SON-OF-A-BITCH!"
"God you would of thought he was making a bomb run flying that low!" then their radios began to crackle.
"What the hell was that!" the radio boomed.
"Some smart-ass pilot just did a fly bye. Get the base on the horn and find out who's up their!"
"Roger." the radio registered before going silent once more.
"Cocky bastards think they own the sky." the guard spoke then lit his cigarette."
"Hey, you got another one of those? After that little instance I need one."
"Sure, let me find my… oh you gotta be kidding me!"
"What?"
"That asshole's coming back around."
Both guards looked toward the now inbound jet before the radio crackled again.
"Guys the base has no record of any pilot or aircraft scheduled to be up there tonight."
"Well tell them to check again cause the bastard is on his way…oh shit!
FFFWWWOOOOOOOM!
The two guards as well as a third never spoke another word in their life as the bomb released from the jet detonated on the steps of the bank. Completely obliterating them and most of the lobby in a firestorm.
The jet itself circled for a few moments before touching down in front of the now ablaze building. The pilot's canopy opened, out he stepped, and made his way to where the front doors used to be. Before entering the inferno he produced his sidearm, inserted the clip, and chambered a round.
Present time:
"How in God's name should I know? The important thing we need to concern ourselves with at this point is how we are going to get out of here alive."
"Point taken." the guard said as he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "You ready?"
"Lets do it!"
Both guards jumped to their feet and swung their pistols about scanning the burning room for the pilot.
"I cant see shit in that fire!" one said to the other.
"I don't see how he could stand that heat without his fur burning off!"
"That's because I'm not in it." a voice said from behind the guards.
The first to turn and look in the direction of the voice had the pleasure of having the back of his head explode as the bullet that had entered from between his eyes ripped its way out the back.
As the body of the first guard fell lifeless to the ground the other dropped his gun in a fit of panic. He fell to the floor and backpedaled to a corner away from the body.
"OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!" he whimpered as he stared on in horror and shock.
"Jesus, its like you've never seen a man die before."
The guard found enough courage to cock his head and stare in the direction of the voice.
There, in a smoky portion of the lobby, clothed in a faded Cornaria Military pilots uniform and heavy combat boots stood a six foot tall white and gray wolf. Who, at the moment, was ejecting a clip from his sidearm and readying another.
"Please, I beg of you, show mercy! You have the bank, its yours! You can take as much as you want from the vault!" the guard groveled.
The wolf looked directly into the panicked guards eyes and cracked a smile. "Oh, I intend too. The Cornaria military owes me big and I expect them to pay up in full, and with interest.
The deep voice of the wolf penetrated the guard to the very pit of his chest causing a slight rumble within. This did nothing to calm him. If anything it made him want to piss his pants. The frightened eyes of the rabbit looked directly into the green eyes of the wolf and triggered a primitive fear. In this universe, evolution had come millions of years to produce animals with the ability to speak, build worlds and even coincide with other species. But no matter how far they had come there are still some things that cannot be subdued by progress. Such as instinct. And right now a wolf had a rabbit at his mercy.
The wolf, seeming to sense this, slowly walked to the guard and knelt down.
"Relax, I'm not going to kill you."
"Oh thank you for your mercy." the rabbit said as it bowed slightly. When he looked back up, the wolf promptly struck him with a wicked right hook, sending the guard rolling across the tile floor.
"Don't confuse my motives with pity." he smiled. "You are only useful to me alive. Nothing more."
The wolf then reached into his uniform and produced a envelope. The guard who's left eye had completely swollen shut watched as the wolf approached and knelt before him again. This time the wolf knelt a little to deeply which caused his dog tags to fall and hang loosely from the chain on his neck. The rabbit caught a glimpse of the name stamped into them. Then the wolf began to speak.
"You are to give this to your superior officer." he said and jammed the envelope into the rabbits jacket. He then brought his pistol from its holster and used the stock to strike the guard across the face. The rabbits vision filled with black.
The wolf stood and looked across the bank to the inferno.
"And so it begins." he said as he made his way to the vault.
Three hours later:
The commanding general of Cornaria's military was usually busy at his office but never at this time of night. The old hound had been roused from his sleep by one of his aids insisting that he get dressed and get to Cornaria Central Headquarters immediately. So now here he was at three in the morning with more than a dozen uniformed personnel in front of his desk and his phones ringing off the hook. The coffee he drank on his ride to the office was slowly kicking in but the old timer's body was begging him to get some rest.
"Christ that's all I need now is another reminder that I'm old." he grumbled behind his desk.
"What was that sir?" a young female feline in uniform asked him.
"Oh its nothing Neko, my old bones want me to crawl back into bed." he smiled with heavy lidded eyes.
The cat smiled. "I'll go put some coffee on for you sir."
"Thank you. I know you must be tired as well but could you do something about all these damn calls?" he asked his secretary.
"I'll be sure to screen them and only forward the urgent ones."
"Thanks sweetie." he said and smiled as she made her way through the crowd in front of his desk.
"All right gentlemen, lets get down to business." he spoke over the chatter of those in attendance.
The first to speak was another dog much like himself but quite a bit younger.
"General Pepper, I'm Commander Howle in charge if the pensions office for solders. At twelve a.m. this morning an unidentified pilot of a craft bombed and robbed the twenty-eighth branch of my division taking fifty million with him.
"Not to mention this pilot killed eight guards positioned there." a pig voiced from behind.
General Pepper took a moment to look over the swine. "And you are?"
"I'm Cornel Skwelter, head of the division responsible for assigning the guards to the twenty-eighth branch of Commander Howle's department."
"I see. Gentlemen I have been briefed on the situation while in route to my office. So lets cut the crap and formalities and figure out how to catch this son-of-a-bitch." Pepper took a moment to clear his throat. "Cornel Fisk, what do we know about this guys plane?"
The blue-jay in the back of the group stepped forward. "Sir, we aren't exactly sure of the model of the jet but what we do know is that it has the ability to escape the gravity of the planet and combat capabilities."
"What's your extent of information so far?"
"Sir, after receiving the news about the robbery and the thief's escape vehicle, I immediately scrambled my fighters to bring him down. However, due to the low visibility we are presented with night fighting we can not be exactly sure of the model of the plane. We know that it is a one seater with the ability to carry and fire missiles and seems to have dual beam cannons. My pilots entered combat with the jet which led to this information.
"Do we have them for a report."
The bird swallowed hard. "No sir."
Peppers eyes narrowed. "In God's name why not?"
"Well sir I sent an interception squad of six and only one made it back. In a severely shot up plane mind you. That pilot is now in the hospital due to extreme blood loss." The bird became very serious for a moment. "Sir I can tell you two things. One: this jet is a star fighter and heavily armed as well as maneuverable. Second: this guy is an ace. He went up against six of my best and shot them all down in under three minuets.
The room fell silent.
Pepper rubbed his eyes absently for a moment. He only broke his train of thought when his secretary touched his shoulder.
"Your coffee sir."
"Thank you Neko." he said and took a long sip before speaking. "All right, do we have a projected course and destination this bastard might be taking?"
Fisk spoke up. "We believe that he's heading for satellite 88 in sector 1.
The old hound growled low under his breath. "Shit that's a demilitarized zone crawling with outlaws."
Fisk again spoke. "Sir we don't need to send a convoy after this guy, we need to send the best pilots of Cornaria, and all of them to bring him down."
"But how do we get to him? He's in a sector restricted to Cornaria's military and on top of that we have to send ace pilots we don't have." Commander Howle pointed out.
General Pepper looked at his desk for a long while before a grin cracked his face. "We cant send military to that zone but there's no law saying I can't send in mercenaries."
The others in the room looked at one another before realization set in. All in attendance began to smile.
"They are the best you know. Make the call Pepper."
The old hound rose from his seat and started to make his way to the conference room. Before exiting the office he turned and smiled. "Just make sure we have a budget big enough for them."
Sector 2 Zone 4 of the Lylat System
On a large ship orbiting Dinosaur Planet the communication board began to blink with an incoming message. The helmsman who happened to be awake (not that he slept anyway) pressed the button to take the call. Upon doing so a hologram of General Pepper appeared.
"This is General Pepper contacting Star Fox. Do you read me?"
The robot focused on the small image of Pepper. "I read you sir. How may I be of assistance?"
"I have urgent business to discus with Fox McCloud."
Rob paused. "One moment sir while I wake him." he then stood and made his way down the hall to the crew quarters. He paused in front of a door which read simply 'Fox'.
Inside the light rapping on the door caused its occupant to stir.
"What?"
"Sir, I have General Pepper on the line. He requests a moment of your time."
"Tell him to kiss my ass. Its four in the morning"
Rob paused confused. "Does not compute."
"Christ. Look, tell him to call back in the morning."
"Sir he says its urgent."
"Damn it! Alright I'm up."
There was a rusting inside the room for a few moments before the door slid back to revile a very tired, very frizzy haired fox.
"Alright tell him I'll take the call in the conference room."
"Ai sir."
A few moments later one Fox McCloud was sitting in a chair when a life size image of General Pepper appeared before him.
"General Pepper here Fox."
"Pepper if your calling because your lonely I'm flattered but not in the mood." the fox half heartedly joked.
"Always a smart ass fox but this requires your full attention."
"Not interested."
"Oh I think you will be when you hear this. Plus the pay is good."
"I'm listening."
End chapter 1
