Finally, real action starting in this chapter. It should stay consistantly action packed until the last page :D

-ken

CHAPTER

"More than a memory"

x

GreatFox slowed, easing into an orbit above Narconi 4. The sun was just beginning to show over the eastern side of the planet, bathing the mothership in it's soft luminescence. Inside, Fox and the team were busily washing the Arwings out on the middle of the flight deck. Each of the Arwings had been lined up side by side, five in a row. Fox and Falco used large brushes on extendable poles to soap the hulls down, while Fara and Peppy each had a hose, rinsing them off. Meanwhile, Slippy was detailing the cockpit interiors.

Afterwards, the team headed back to the bridge to check in, before making their way to the sleeping quarters for a little shut eye, before the big day. Each member had crashed out for the night, by the time the ship's chronometer clicked 23:15. Fox quickly sunk into a dream state, remembering the time he beat his father in the local military shooting range with a hand-blaster.

Peppy's dream, on the other hand, was far different. Every night that he went to bed on the GreatFox, his thoughts were quick to return to Corneria, where his mind would link up with his Wife, Anne's mind, in their slumber.

x

Fara suddenly sat up in the middle of the night, glancing at the port hole across the room. She wasn't sure what it was that had shaken her from her slumber, but she thought she heard someone calling her name. Moving across the living space, Fara stopped in front of the window, placing her paws on either side of it. White dots littered the sky outside of GreatFox, while it cruised through the void of the system, towards Narconi 4.

She glanced away from the window, but suddenly something caught the corner of her eye. Whirling back around to the window, Fara saw that there was nothing, but the litter of white stars. She inspected the window, swearing silently to herself that she'd seen something red in it only a moment ago. Nothing. Nothing but the inky tendrils of raven sky and distant, quiet stars.

Come to think of it, she'd noticed that Fox was acting a little weirder than usual -- ever since this whole Narconi thing started back up. Fara turned away from the porthole, same as before, but this time there was nothing to catch her eye. She glanced once more at the window, from over her shoulder. Nothing.

Satisfied, Fara headed back to bed, sitting down on the edge of her mattress. She wasn't sure she could get back to sleep, however.

Fara...

Fara... Fight me, Fara. Attack me...

Fara Phoenix shook her head rapidly, placing her paws on either side of her skull. The purple headset she often wore was sitting on a dresser so she had to have been hearing non-existent things. A glance at the ship's chronometer, built into her nightstand read "05:58:00". The seconds ticked by until it was only one minute 'till 6 am. She shook her head slowly and went for a bathrobe, it was time to shower.

Fox sat up. His heart was pounding in his sweat soaked chest. His paw quickly sifted through the damp fur over his beating heart. Suddenly he dropped back onto the bed, collapsing in silence. His panting was the only sound in the room. His view of the ceiling did nothing to comfort him in any way.

"Damn that woman," Fox muttered under his breath. He kicked his legs out over the side of the bed, standing up. His paw reached out to his right, drawing his robe about him, tying the sash.

Out in the Rec-Room, Fox went straight for the coffee pot. Once he had himself a mug poured, he turned back to the room, surprised to see Fara sitting in the lounge chair.

"Hey," His voice was soft, tender. She smiled lightly, waving with a quick flick of her right paw.

"Can't sleep?" Fara asked.

"Nope. You?" Fox replied.

"Gotta get up in an hour anyhow." Fara shook her head slowly, taking another sip from her own coffee mug, then placing it on the table.

Fox rubbed the bottom side of his muzzle with his free hand thoughtfully. Then he shrugged and spoke, "You realize that we'll have to get in on the battle on the planet, between what's left of the Iririan forces and the Narconians to get to the Ulanburg launch site. We'll collect 25 G's on site and 25 more when we get them to Corneria, but I heard the battle is still thick down there, flushing the Iririan's out."

Fara nodded slowly, "Yeah. I'm not looking forward to doing battlefield work. How do you plan to cut a swath through the Irirans? IF you don't mow the local soldiers down, they won't let the Ulanburg launch. All it takes is for one soldier with one shoulder mounted rocket launcher and..." Fara found herself cut off by someone in the doorway. Her head lifted, glancing at the open door.

Fox had also noticed this. The Rec Room door slid open but no one stood in the doorway. He walked back over to the door peeking out into it, left then right...

"..No ones there," He said.

"So I'm not crazy?" Fara wondered allowed.

"That's why I pulled that blaster on you, yesterday. That same door thing happened last night. And.. I'm sorry about that," Fox said. Fara offered a smile, using her hand to gesture that it should be dismissed and not dwelled upon. Fox nodded slowly in understanding and glanced back to the door.

"You don't think someone's playin' with our heads?" Fara's concern seemed rather serious. Fox, on the other hand, shook his head 'no'.

McCloud shrugged after that, "I think it's just a short in the wires or something. I'm sure it's something minor. Let's go shower and suit up. I want an early start. I'll set orders up for Falco and Slippy for air support. You and I will take a LandMaster down and clear out some of those troops so we have clear skies to launch Ulanburg," he said.

Fara nodded, finishing the coffee before heading back to her room.

x

An hour went by. It was near 7:30 in the morning and both vulpine commander and vixen found themselves on the hanger bay, pushing several crates off the edge of the deck. Once the crates were secured up against the wall, Fox and Fara exchanged glances.

Nothing was said between either at this point, just an exchange of smiles, before they walked side-by-side to the well painted camo-colored Land Master. Even the silver treads seemed to be painted over in greens, tans, blacks and dark grays. McCloud picked up an end of a tarp that the tank was sitting on, which looked to have been painted the same color of green that the tank had been covered in. He clipped the end of the tarp to the top of the tank, so that it's sky-blue bottom was now exactly what the tank would look like.

Once both sides of the tank were covered by the sky-blue tarp and it was tied firmly to several lock pins around the hatch, he walked around to the front and back and did the same. Fox wrapped his paw around the handle on the outside, hoisting himself upon the majestic tank's gun mount.

Quick to pop the hatch, Fox reached down to Fara, who took his hand and pulled herself up. Letting her slide into the hatch first, Fox followed behind; Closing the hatch behind himself, they moved around inside to get comfortable. Inside the tank, Fox flipped several switches which brought the systems on line and the metallic beast to life.

"What's the blue tarp for? To keep the deck from getting green paint on it?"

Fox smiled slightly, "No. It's sky dropping camo. They won't very-well see us dropping in from above. Then I pop the locks and it goes flat on the ground. The side that'll be facing up will be green, so it won't give away our landing location. There're holes in the bottom side where the treads and thrusters are," Fox explained.

This particular LandMaster had been outfitted with two chairs. The back rests were back to back, a .50 caliber machine gun was at the back seat where Fara now rested. Her paws wrapped around the grips, resting her index fingers just underneath the triggers, one on either side. Fox settled down into the front facing seat, in front of the main controls. After what only seemed like a moment, the tank lurched forward, causing Fara to gasp lightly.

Realizing she'd forgotten about safety, she pulled a seatbelt latch over her chest, clipping it shut into the chair, fastened between her thighs like a child's car seat. The duel straps came over her shoulders and went into a mechanism that became one strap which went from her tummy to the seat fastening device. It was a little uncomfortable at first but she decided she'd make due.

Fox on the other hand, had a different style of safety belt system. It had more of a jet-fighter style seat belt, and felt rather natural. The lush green planet opened up before them as they neared the edge of the flight deck, passing through the air-tight force field. The tank rolled off the deck and into a free-fall heading towards the planet's surface surrounded in a ruby glow.

Fara felt as though she was on a roller coaster, suddenly weightless, held in place by her safteybelt. The targeting screen for her machine gun showed a picture of the GreatFox's belly for only a second or two, then space. It took on a red glow as the tank dropped from the sky towards the planet's surface. She licked her lips with slight apprehension, yelling back to Fox.

"Does this thing have emergency 'chutes?" Her voice sounded calm but Fox knew better.

"Nope," He replied with a grin. But his smooth tone told her that he was only joking, which made her feel a bit better.

"Be nice," she warned.

Fox smiled, reaching for the belly-boosters underneath the tank, using them to slow it's descent when they got around 5,500 feet from the ground. He glanced to his readouts before replying to her with a simple, "I'm always nice!"

Fara rolled her eyes trying to keep her sheepish grin under wraps. The LandMaster began to slow in it's downfall. The plummet didn't seem so bad now, but it caused Fara's ears to pop regardless. She swallowed to regain her hearing, firmly placing her paws upon the machine gun handles.

Far below, green foliage seemed to be rushing up to meet them but as Fox used the belly boosters underneath the tank, it slowed until it was hovering 150 feet in the air. He slowly descended upon a clearing in the jungle area and landed so well that Fara couldn't hardly tell. It was her monitor display that told her they were now flat on the ground and ready for action. With a quick movement of the gun's handles, she swerved the .50 caliber gun from left to right, scanning the area behind the tank.

She thought for a moment before asking, "I know the Iririan species are all hares... what are the Narconians?" Her eyes stayed sharp for anything that might be camouflage that could have detected the landing.

McCloud pressed the lock-release to drop the tarp flat on the ground, revealing a well painted tank and camo colored tarp facing up as he thought about her question. The blue side of the tarp was now face down and would be left behind. It was one of Slippy's ideas really, an ingenious one at that.

"Equine," Fox replied. He'd only seen the two legged horse shaped species on a slide projector before. He wasn't exactly sure if they were friendly or not, but he'd heard that The Prime Minister was quite intelligent. Fox felt sure the guy would be nice simply because Fox was there to keep him alive.

Checking the readout, Fox plotted a course towards the launch pad of the Ulanburg. It was at least 50 kilometers from their landing point, but it was the best he could do to stay away from the Iririan forces and sneak up from behind. Off in the distance there was a muffled explosion, possibly a hand grenade.

Putting the tank into gear, it began to roll forward, leaving the green tarp behind and heading into the thick brush. Fox gave a grin, using the computer to determine where the trees gapped together too closely to get the tank between. The computer quickly analyzed the area closing off any possible routes to go that they might get stuck in. From there, Fox pushed his foot down on the throttle, barreling through the dense brush, mowing through the bushes and smaller plants.

Another explosion was heard in the background, causing Fox's ears to perk, as he navigated through the forested area. There were sporadic sounds of machine gun fire which grew closer as the LandMaster proceeded towards the Ulanburg's launch site. Up ahead, Fox spotted an abandoned shack. It was crudely painted over in green.

Fox smirked. "Computer: Are there any Narconian bio-signs in the immediate area?"

"Negative." The monotone reply made Fox grin. He punched the throttle, plowing through the old shack, which crumbled to splinters. The two occupants were slightly jolted, inside. Meanwhile, several Iririans that had been within the confines of the shack shouted in surprise, firing their guns in any given direction. As the tank passed through the opposite side, they came into Fara's sights.

The machine gun mounted on the back of the LandMaster came to life, bucking slightly under Fara's paws. Riddling the remains of the shack with holes, she made sure that no one would be left to radio in to the main unit. Fox punched the throttle again, breaking through several logs that had blocked the path.

"Warning," The computer's monotone voice was ever familiar, "Mines ahead." Fox pressed two keys on the computer keyboard, causing a thermal view of the forest to show on his monitor. Most everything was around 85 degrees making it difficult to see any mines. He switched to X-Ray, seeing two mechanical looking lumps up ahead.

Tapping the belly-booster button, the tank lifted, leaping over the mines. The Land Master sailed with ease over the path, landing with a rough jolt several meters away from where it took off. His eyes squinted before returning to the X-Ray monitor. It was easy to tell the bone structure of a Hare. Up ahead, one was picked up on the X Ray vision monitor, carrying what looked like a tube upon his shoulder.

Rolling hard to the left, the tank dashed out of the way as a rocket whizzed passed. Fox mashed down the button causing a thick green discharge to land just behind where the Iririan stood. The explosion caused the Hare to go flying. Fox readjusted course, maneuvering to the right. He opened fire again, hearing Fara let off another burst of machine gun fire from behind him.

The tank crashed through a crude camp spot, knocking over several green tents. Several nearby Iririans pulled out hand blasters, trying to fire on the tank, but their fire was deflected by the LandMaster's Armor. As the LandMaster continued through the area, Fara cleaned out that which they left behind, keeping them from radioing from help, to maintain stealth.

Fox glanced down at the readout to see how far they had left to go. 46 Kilometers. Several Narconians came into view, up ahead. They appeared to be locked into combat with a platoon of Iririans. Fox could see the occasional mortar fire up ahead, as well as the ground spitting upwards as it was pelted with machine gun fire. Several logs had been set up to repel gunfire. It was easy to see which side the troops were hiding behind as one side was completely chewed up.

Fox glanced at his X-Ray scope monitor again. The Narconians were on the far right, the Iririans were up ahead. Charging up the main cannon's beam, Fox unleashed a heavy blast towards the parameter secured by the Iririans. Another volley of green baster fire littered the area as Fox opened fire on the Iririan troops. Several Iririan soldiers turned Rocket Propelled Grenade launchers on the tank, opening fire.

Fox quickly went for evasive maneuvers, rolling to the right, towards a tree. The tank seemed to nimbly roll halfway up the tree trunk, landing on its treads in the middle of the camp, crushing a heavy duty 270 inch barrel cannon. Fox tapped the boosters again, rolling hard to the left, flattening several Iririan troops. The rest of the black and gray armored hares scattered, running in different directions. Those that ran towards the Narconians were mowed down by machine gun fire on behalf of the equine race.

Fox reached for the microphone, as he spoke back at Fara. "Only 42 Kilometers. I'm going to radio the base and have them bring down two extra Arwings and meet us at the Ulanburg launch point. By the time they get the fighters in the area, We'll have cleared out enough of the enemy forces to get the Arwings in safely," he said, dialing in the communication frequency for GreatFox.

"Slippy; Fox here, I need you to airlift two Arwings down to the launch site. Have Peppy and Falco fly the air-transport cruisers. I need you to stay on board GreatFox for tech support," Fox said into his microphone.

Fox's reply came after a moment of silence. Slippy's voice seemed deeper in tone than it usually was. He only spoke this way when he was deeply concerned. "Fox, I'll have them leave right away. But I can only send Peppy. He'll have to tractor both Arwings in, they'll be waiting when you get there. Falco's out dispatching enemy fighters," The frog explained.

"But how can you get two Arwings out here? An Arwing can only tractor one other Arwing in at a time," Fox said, trying not to appear surprised.

"I'll have him bring Fara's Arwing and tow yours. He can fly the LandMaster back to the GreatFox, provided there's anything left of it," Slippy replied.

Fox frowned and sighed softly. "Understood, Fox out." The channel was closed quickly.

"What was all that about?" Fara said, rubbing the back of her head lightly for a moment. Fox reopened fire on another group of Irians, rocking another squadron with gunfire.

"I dunno. GreatFox is under attack," Fox said, keeping his attention mostly on the group ahead. Several troops scattered but Fox planted several quick blasts in their paths, blasting most of them. Only a few troops were able to escape the barrage of tank blaster fire, dealt by the wrathful hand of Fox McCloud.

"About 38 Kilometers," Fara yelled back, between short bursts of machine gun rounds. She still had more than 6/8ths of her ammunition left at this point.

"Roger," Fox replied, suddenly rolling the tank to the far right again to avoid a shoulder mounted rocket. Fara could see the explosion twenty meters behind the LandMaster. It was large enough to knock over several trees.

x x x

Meanwhile...

Iliria placed her paw to her lower lip, reading the communication printout. According to what she was reading, this Fara Phoenix would be flying the fighter that was going to be manned by the Pandorian flying off of GreatFox. She decided that would be the easiest way to tractor in the correct fighter later.

Heading up to the NightHawk's bridge, Iliria made herself comfortable in the captain's chair. It gave her control over the bridge, giving her a sense of

domination over the crew around her. The Iririan crew worked diligently despite the condition of the NightHawk. She'd abandoned her old favorite flagship after moving onto Andross's home world a few years ago. NightHawk spent the last few years in drydock in complete disuse.

It was hard to assemble a worthy crew that wouldn't fail her but she felt she'd managed to collect a worth-while group this time. The NightHawk was cloaked, sitting above Narconia4's northern hemisphere, lying in wait.

The main view screen was partitioned, displaying GreatFox on the left and an overhead of the planet's surface on the right. As much as it illed her to know that she'd lost control of the Narconian species... As much as it made her sick to know that some of the best work slaves would be free, she grew pleasure in the fact that she would have vengeance on Fox McCloud and Andross, equally.

"Make sure," She said, directing her voice towards the conn-officer, "That we only capture the Fighter that's being piloted off of GreatFox, not the one in tow. And MAKE SURE you get it when they're escorting Ulanburg off the planet. NOT before," She explained. The officer nodded in silence.

Iliria lifted from the commanding chair and stretched. She was dressed rather differently than the days she lived with Andross. A black business suit, trousers and blazer with a deep violet blouse. It looked as if she was a professional career woman. A new model of headgear was donned, the metallic unit much smaller than the last one.

It covered only a small part of her upper cheek and the base of her right ear. It was designed to amplify her brainwaves but also served to cover the scar on the right side of her face behind her eye, where Andross's blaster fire nearly killed her. If he wasn't in such a state of confusion at the time, his aim may have been true and she would be dead.

It was all because of Fox McCloud. He rushed into the room and explained to Andross that she was controlling him. Andross was confused and pulled his pistol on Iliria... Was her control not so tight about Andross, she knew he'd have surly put that gunfire between her eyes, instead. Her right paw clinched into a fist in the memory.

Yes... she would surly have her vengeance and a smile crept over her muzzle, those deep ruby orbs of her hateful gaze grew all the more intense. She had to win, she's never known failure. She only looked at the last loss and nothing more than a painfully embarrassing setback and it would never happen again. Never.

x x x

The LandMaster rolled to a stop ten meters from the Ulanburg's launch pad. Artillery fire was fairly heavy in this area. A vibrant yellow forcefield was all that stood between the heavy gunfire and the Ulanburg. By now, Fara had exhausted the machine gun's ammo. Fox's Arwing sat on the launch platform besides the Prime Minister's ship, while Peppy was using Fara's Arwing to run strafing missions.

Inside the tank, Fara opened the supply compartment, pulling out two hand grenades and climbing out the hatch, sitting on the top. She pulled the pins from both and hurled them in two different directions. A platoon of advancing troops ducked out of the way, to avoid the blast of the first. The second grenade landed behind the cover of two soldiers on the right flank.

Fara quickly slipped the rest of the way out of the tank's hatch, closing it behind her. She made a run for the landing pad, while Fox covered her with blaster fire. She drew her pistol, placing several shots in front of her to clear the path of enemy soldiers. Several of them fired on her as she ran passed.

Fara Phoenix leapt for a log laying across the path, trying to duck behind it, while Fox launched another volley of green plasmatic gunfire. When she stood up to make another sprint, she suddenly felt something piercing hit her just above the stomach. She never stopped, however, running towards the launch bay, trying to get behind the Narconian defense line.

She felt as though she'd been punched in the gut. She knew it was gunfire that she'd taken, but she also knew that it wasn't anything nearly fatal. Draining her clip, she put another round of pistol fire in front of her, clearing out the path of enemy soldiers, allowing her some cover to run by. Up ahead she could see the sandbags of the Narconians' front line and knew she was going to make it.

Just as she got into view of the sandbag line, a line of Narconian soldiers stood up, opening fire in her direction. Fara lifted her paws up to cover her head defensively but never stopped running. She could hear bullets whizzing passed her and the cries of enemy soldiers behind her.

Suddenly another Iririan soldier came up from besides her, leaping out from behind a tree and knocking Fara to the ground. She wrestled with him for a moment, pistol whipping him in the jaw out of self defense. He fell back a bit, giving her room to throw the empty pistol at him, hitting him in the forehead with it. She took off in a sprint, once more, diving behind the sandbags just as the Narconian front line finished reloading and unleashed another barrage of artillery fire on the advancing Iririan forces.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Fara slumped down with her back against the sandbags, panting heavily. Her gut was still aching from the bullet she took and she struggled with the heavy vest she wore, trying to get it off. Throwing the Kevlar to the ground, she pressed her paw against the area where the bullet had penetrated her clothing but only marred her furry tummy. It never broke the skin, much to her relief but it sure hurt like hell.

"...-Because I've got bandits swarming the landing area," Peppy's voice said over Fara's purple headset. Then she heard Fox's reply.

"Don't worry so much, old timer. I'm all over this like a fly on shi-" Fox's voice was cut out by another transmission of enemies taunting.

"Is that the best you can do, vulpine?" The masculine Iririan voice seemed throaty and intense.

"..-then I need you to switch with me," Fox continued saying. He apparently ignored the Iririan taunt, never replying to it.

"Roger, Fox." Peppy went for another bombing run, dropping his fourth load of bombs on the advancing enemy lines. It was then that the golden forcefield dropped from around Ulanburg while Peppy rushed the Arwing down to meet the Prime Minister's ship and the Arwing that was in tow earlier. As soon as he landed, the yellow forcefield resumed it's protective cover over the landing space.

Fox brought the LandMaster up towards the platform, parking it adjacent to the platform, behind the Narconi defensive parameter. Hopping out the hatch, he climbed through the field and ran towards Fara. The two embraced, sharing a kiss.

"Are you alright? I heard from the defense parameter captain you might have taken a bullet?" Fox exclaimed.

"I'm fine!" Fara said, pushing her finger through the small hole in her leotard, showing him that the fur was clean and bloodless. "Kevlar," She said.

Fox nodded, placing his arm around her. The two ran towards the Ulanburg to meet up with the Prime Minister and work out the details for the escorted launch. Meanwhile Peppy approached Fox with a lopsided grin.

"Hey old timer, ready to put this whole thing into motion?" Fox said.

"Yeah, Fox. I can handle it," Peppy said with a nod. "The Narconians are refueling the tank. I'll meet you on GreatFox, later. It's going to stay behind and wait for me and Falco to clear out the area. You just get that Prime Minister to Corneria to sign that Treaty. After that, it's out of our paws. It's up to the Cornerian Army from that point and we'll get payed," Peppy grinned, knowing that Fox would grin at such a statement.

"Alright, Peppy. Don't get dead," Fox said, embracing the roguish looking middle-aged Hare. Peppy patted his best friend's son on the back. "I'll be fine," he reassured.

"We're rooting for ya," Fara said, patting Peppy on the back gently.

"I'll be rooting for you," Peppy said, meaning both her and Fox's efforts to escort.

x

Twenty minutes found Fox and Fara in space, on either side of the Ulanburg. They would take turns leaving the Escort's side to shoot down enemies. First Fara would stay by the ship, defensively while Fox flew around the general area, putting several fighters out of commission, then they would switch.

Several minutes later, Fox pulled up besides the Escort ship and Fara jetted off, engaging the enemy. Once the last red mark disappeared from her scope, she went to radio in.

"I think we're good. I don't see anything else on my scope and..." She suddenly ended on a gasp. "Oh my lord," Fara suddenly said. Her scope was suddenly littered with bogie's. She quickly punched her afterburners chasing after one of the fighters that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"These fighters don't have cloak capability, where did they come from?" Fox demanded into his radio. Because of the volume of fighters in the vicinity, Fox had no choice but to break and attack, trying to stay close to the Escort. The fighters tried to draw him further away, but he broke off his chase each time a fighter got 800 kilometers away.

Turning back towards the Ulanburg, he checked his scope, realizing that the blue dot that represented Fara had disappeared from his radar scanners. His eyes blinked twice, tapping the monitor with his paw. Where could she have gone? There was no Arwing shrapnel, it's as if she vanished.

"Fara...?" There was no reply. She was gone...