1420 Hours, 12/7/2434

Starfox mercenary squadron

En route to planet Venom, Lylat System

A swirling green light penetrated the blackness of space, the circular ambience of a jumpgate transmission. From this gate emerged three Arwing class fighters. They were sleek ships, painted with the distinct scheme and emblems of the Starfox mercenary squadron; a white metallic coat which colored the fuselage and wings with the twin G-diffuser housings and weapons pods in smart blue. The ships seemed to stop for a moment, hovering in space as the energy field necessary for small ships to go through slipspace disengaged. They suddenly jumped forward as their engines blazed streaks of super-heated plasma. The resulting g-forces from the acceleration would seem to have likely crushed any living creature in the ships but in the cockpits of the Arwings, the pilots felt barely a tremor as they set out.

Greeting the eyes of these pilots was the cold backdrop of normal space, punctuated by the class M star known only as Solar and some of the planets caught in the throes of its gravity. In the vision of the three pilots, the planet of Macbeth continued its endless elliptical journey through another year. Farther off and to the right lay Zoness, which barely manifested a speck against the cold, black curtain of space.

Such was the Lylat System, a menagerie of planets and nebulae kept in order by the power of Solar. Even with the advance of slipspace travel, which had revolutionized space travel for all Lylatians, the vast and incomprehensible infinity was mind boggling to any creature.

But, in all the vastness of the Lylat System, one planet filled both the eyes and minds of the pilots of the three Arwings as they came out of slipspace. It was the world of Venom.

The planet appeared as a sickening sphere surrounded by a sea of green house gases, which gave the planets its distinctive look of yellow and green. The colors had earned the planet its title, for even when Lylatian scientists had gazed skyward with telescopes, the planet's swirling torrent of green and yellow brought the word venom to mind.

The planet and its surrounding space was largely unexplored, and for good reason. Venom had always been an environmentally hostile world with a choking atmosphere that was not only difficult to breath, but whose clouds strangled the planet of sunlight, leaving the surface barren, desolate and virtually lifeless. Anyone who spoke of Venom did so with a sense of curiosity, speculation, and fear. The three pilots in their Arwings, despite being highly trained and well learned fighter pilots still felt a feeling of uncertainty and fear about Venom. This was, after all, a prison world; a place where the most evil, despicable, and corrupt creatures were kept in check to live out the rest of their days in exile on a dead world.

Because of the planet's status, Venom was largely unpopulated and this had the effect of leaving the area free of the congesting traffic found on the sprawling population centers like Corneria, Katina, and Macbeth. But the lack of traffic was a cause for concern on the part of the pilot of the lead Arwing; Venomian space was largely uncharted and this made him ever more nervous.

Their mission had in fact begun just like any other. In many ways, it was standard, even for Starfox, who took the mission as more of a military style venture then typical mercenary work. It would be a quick jump to Venom for a fifteen minute reconnaissance sweep of a specific target or area and then another jump back home. But the target itself made the mission anything but routine.

The facts had been laid bare; something was going on down on Venom. Agents of the Lylat Intelligence Office as well as observers on the planet had recently provided the Cornerian Defense Force with information about strange power readings emanating from the planet's northern hemisphere in an unpopulated region. The CDF branded it as an object of military concern and began looking into the reports.

Even as the CDF began their investigations of the power readings on Venom, suspicions were already pointing towards a culprit; an ape by the name of Andross Oikonny.

Like Venom, the name of Andross was a sinister word among the citizens of the Lylat System. A few decades ago, the name Andross had meant something very different. He was a native of Corneria, born to aristocracy. As he grew up, he found limitless access to technology and was recognized as a genius. But, as childhood gave way to adolescence and adulthood, Andross took more and more interest in weaponry. With his family's fortune providing funds, he set out to make a name for himself forging the tools of war for Corneria.

These ambitions tuned sour though when the CDF refused his ideas and theories. These mainly revolved around a twisted genetic engineering program, creating super soldiers and mutating creatures into horrific beasts. Also rejected were his biological weapons, which could wipe out entire cities and their populations. Even as the Separatist War waged, the CDF refused these terrible weapons. r waged d their populations. Even as the Seperatist War waged

His money, dignity, and greatest dreams now depleted and vanquished, Andross became a drifter. In his fury, it did not take him long to finger Corneria, its government, and the CDF as the reasons for his downfall. He began examining politics and began looking at extremist and rebellion groups, among them defeated Separatist leaders and members. Andross had found his first pawns with which to exact his revenge. While he didn't always agree with the political ideas of these groups, he imagined how desperately they wanted change. Andross would use this thirst for rebellion to his advantage. Before long, he had a legion of followers who claimed their allegiance to him and promised to fight and die to end the First Lylatian Republic.

The day came when Andross made his bid for vengeance. He unleashed the fury of his super weapons upon the cities of Corneria, killing thousands of innocent civilians. But this attack failed to fully disrupt the CDF, which soon began a counterattack. Thousands of Andross's followers, who were supposed to be his soldiers in his great revolution, abandoned the tyrant to his fate. Almost as quickly as the coup began, it had ended. Andross was captured and exiled to Venom; as the people of the Lylat System saw a slow agonizing, living death on the planet as more suitable then execution for the ape.

Though Andross himself was gone, his ugly legacy remained on Corneria, in the devastated cities and the thousands of lives lost in a few days of war. The first day of the attack had been recognized system-wide as The Day of Sorrow. People would tell stories, more fiction then fact, about Andross. For five years, there was silence on the poison world.

Now, in a nasty surprise to the CDF, this silence had been broken.

LIO, the Lylat Intelligence Office, got nervous at the sudden increase in activity on the planet, whose only inhabitants were criminals and a small CDF force to guard them. They immediately informed the CDF of the need to send in recon. The request called for a "third party" to get the job done. The orders, which came straight from LIO Section Alpha, the intelligence and propaganda wing of the infamous and secretive organization, were cryptic as to the reason for this strange request.

General Cornelius Pepper, Supreme Commander of the Cornerian Defense Force, had selected the Starfox team to investigate what was happening on Venom. Somewhat to the old hound's surprise, LIO had accepted Starfox for the job. Starfox was well known for their unorthodox methods and practices. Surely LIO must have known that.

The General had chosen the mercenary team because he knew the members of the tiny squadron, particularly its leader, very well and he knew that they would get the job done.

This leader that General Pepper knew so well was none other then James McCloud, a handsome vulpine in his late forties now. James was a strong leader, a trait he had proven time and time again in the history of the Starfox team since its inception. His piloting skills had made him renowned throughout Lylat as one of the best fighter pilots who had ever lived. His patriotism and courage had earned him much respect over the years.

During his career James had been a golden boy for the Cornerian Defense Force. He had everything: looks, charm, a cool head, and an eye for combat tactics. During the Katinian Separatist War more then twenty years ago James had become a national hero after his actions during the countless orbital skirmishes, the furballs at Wolfen Canyon, and the decisive Battle of Kysar City.

But after the Day of Sorrow and the death of his wife Vixy, James had changed. Somehow, the mighty Cornerian Defense Force, the greatest military force in existence to him, had failed to stop the actions of one terrorist faction. Maybe it was the death toll of that horrible day that had gotten to him, or the slow CDF response, or Vixy's death. Whatever the case, the Day of Sorrow had taken its toll particularly hard on James.

Disillusioned, James had left the CDF five years ago and become a mercenary. He even recruited his old friend Peppy Hare, who had also lost his family on the Day of Sorrow. Through these two pilots, the Starfox team had been born.

It had started out of despair and some very high debts. James, for all that his public image conveyed him as, had been some bad moves during his career and he needed cash, fast.

But, much to his surprise, even James' departure from the CDF and his transition to mercenary work had only added to the larger then life stature that he produced. A few jobs as a mercenary and Starfox was suddenly the mercenary team of Lylat. Partially owing to this, James had paid his debts in no time. The CDF had even offered him his post back, as the commander of an entire Air Division. But James had politely declined.

And so for the next five years the Starfox team wandered Lylat: part mercenary, part vigilante, part anti-hero. But mercenary work was tough and it had only got tougher as James and Peppy got older.

Solar was on the far side of Venom and its light became less apparent and less brilliant as the ships began to head for the planet itself. Small lights lit the interior of the three small fighters as they held their formation. All were tired and groggy from the eight hour slipspace jump, but they all soon set into the routine of powering the Arwings up. As they began their start up sequences, all three pilots became increasingly aware of the fact they were utterly alone.

LIO, with the support of General Pepper, had elected not to send along any CDF capital ships along with the Arwings for the mission. Both knew that the mission would be quick, but just in case the team did get into trouble, neither wanted to risk any ships of the fleet. The Arwings, being incapable of slipspace travel by themselves, had made the jump from a Cornerian military jumpgate and they would simply call in for a gate opening when the mission was complete.

James first activated his communication system and tuned it to the team's frequency. Slipspace jumps had a nasty tendency of scrambling the Arwing's audio communications suite and the system would require a few minutes to correct itself. James next checked and stabilized his shields around the Arwing's hull. With this done, he powered up the fighter's twin plasma cannons and he checked the Nova high-yield general purpose missiles in the ship's belly. Finally, he disengaged the autopilot and gently gripped the control stick with his right hand.

"Peppy, Pigma", said James in his crisp, commanding voice, "you guys set?"

"Roger, all systems nominal", replied Peppy, sounding sleepy.

"All systems are in the green Jimmy" replied Pigma, although with a hint of anxiety noticed James.

"Set course three one five and hug the equator. Let's head around the planet," ordered James.

"Course three one five, roger."

With a gentle motion, the three Arwings turned left; staying in formation as if they were a single ship with one pilot. The team was going to head around Venom and enter the atmosphere as close to the target as possible. This was located on the northern hemisphere, which was on the side of the planet facing the sun. The Arwings shot through the outer limits of Venom's low orbit and came around.

"We're coming up on the northern hemisphere. We should be seeing those readings," said James, "keep your eyes on your sensors." He himself began a general sensor sweep, which would allow for his targeting radar to perform a scan for any unusual targets or readings. The first thing James noticed on the returns was the energy readings which General Pepper and the LIO intelligence officers had talked about in the briefing. Flipping a few switches on the instrument panel, James commanded his sensors to target the energy readings and see if they could lock in on their origin and location.

This scan would take a few minutes, giving James some time for reflection and as the team moved around the planet, James wondered what was going through the minds of his fellow pilots. He imagined Peppy, tense in his seat, was thinking about Andross and what he had done to his family during the mad ape's coup five years ago.

Peppy had met James when both were in Officer Candidate School at the Cornerian Space Command Flight Academy more then twenty years ago. The two had been friends since those days and they had fought alongside each other during the Separatist War. After James resigned and formed Starfox, Peppy initially chose to remain with the fleet, but after a bad accident he was forced to resign from active flight duty. Disheartened, Peppy had left the CDF and joined James. Peppy had been with Starfox ever since.

And there was Pigma, who was surely preoccupied with the thought of the fee awaiting the team back home. His origins were unknown and mysterious even to James and Peppy, but as pilot of the team's third Arwing pilot, Pigma had more then proven himself in combat. It washis terrific greed and lust for money however that made him a true mercenary. Pigma was not at all ashamed to admit that he had joined Starfox for the high paying missions the team often took part in. Usually calm during missions, Pigma had been tense, anxious, and jumpy even before the team had left Corneria.

As the team continued toward the target area, James thought of his son as his Arwing kissed the atmosphere of Venom. Fox was sixteen now and was already nearing the end of his first year at the Academy back home on Corneria.

James imagined young Fox, five or ten years from now, flying a mission just like this one; checking up on the enemies of Corneria as a pilot of the CDF. James also pondered on the battles he knew Fox would have to fight, just like he had in the past. Ever since Cornerians had begun their conquering and colonization of the Lylat System, it seemed everyone was squabbling with each other for every square terrameter of vacuum and cosmic real estate.

There had been wars and countless "lesser" conflicts; brush-fire wars with die-hard insurgencies and terrorist factions. It was a marvel to anyone how the First Lylatian Republic had survived intact during the past few decades as these factions clashed arms and ideologies.

Stepping into these fires had been a life James had known since his own days at the Academy, all the way to his current age of forty four. People, including his son, still looked up to him, said he had it all; Wit, brains, courage, cunning, skill, everything. They said it, he had it.

A pulsating light came up above James' sensor data display. His sensors had finished their sweep and the computers were now running through the various targets that had been found. Just as James had expected, the energy readings he had picked up earlier now came under the computer's scrutiny. The location of the readings was found, right where the intelligence reports had said they were and the computer had identified some signatures as the powerplants of starships, weapon emissions, and even geological and geothermal activity. But, the targeting system had failed to identify the cause and origin of several additional signatures and these unidentified contacts were the team's primary concern.

James felt unnaturally anxious. He knew, one way or another, LIO was breathing down his neck on this mission. Damn those spooks, thought James. He had to focus; LIO or not, a job was a job.

He looked at the display of his sensor read outs and grimaced. A part of him had hoped the computer would have identified the readings, even though he knew the system wouldn't. LIO wouldn't have sent Starfox on a wild goose chase. He spoke into his audio transmitter.

"Peppy, are you getting those energy output readings?" he inquired his wingman.

"Yep, I'm picking them up right where they should be, but the computer can't categorize em'," replied the hare

"Same over here James," added Pigma, "Targeting sensors have a fixed contact but no known source."

"All right," replied James. He paused for a moment, preparing to issue his orders. "All right boys, loosen up for re-entry. Once we break through, stay tight on my wings while I run the TARP (Tactical Aerial Recon Platform) and get what we came for."

"You got it James. I'll take your port wing," replied Peppy.

"I've got your starboard quarter Jimmy," added Pigma. James could still detect Pigma's nervousness in his voice and how he handled his Arwing. This was unlike the hog, who normally went into battle headstrong and recklessly as if he had no fear at all.

"Hey piggy," he inquired, "everything okay over there?"

Pigma jolted slightly in his seat, apparently surprised by James' question. "I'm fine James," he replied in a voice constricted by anxiety; tight and squeaky, "just anxious to get the job done."

"Relax Pigma, just think of the paycheck when we're done. That always makes you feel better, right?" added Peppy as the team began to enter the atmosphere. Pigma snorted harshly in reply, to which Peppy and James both chuckled.

Re-entry came and the Arwings began to shake gently as a tunnel of searing flame enveloped each fighter's nose, surrounding them with an incredible light show of red, orange, and white flames. Communications were down temporarily as the three Arwings broke through.

All three ships came through and within minutes were traveling above the surface of Venom below the eternal cloud bank. All around the three Arwings was the desolate wasteland of sickly colored rock formations and an amber sky punctuated by the flashes of electromagnetic storms.

"Okay boys, adjust your G-diffusers and stay below the clouds," said James.

"I have the target area marked and locked in," added Peppy, "Distance to target is one two five terrameters; ETA ten minutes." Peppy paused for a minute, then said, "Hey James, how bout' some music?"

"Sounds good to me Peppy," replied James. He shuffled through his Arwing's computer and found a copy of the Wingless' latest album. He patched it through the COM and the sounds of rock music filled the cockpits of the three fighters.

The formation continued on for a few minutes, until Pigma's anxious voice prompted James to kill the high charged background music.

"James, my NAV screen is getting some static," said Pigma, "Energy readings are skyrocketing. I think that's what's messin' with the equipment."

James looked at his own NAV display. It too was fizzling with static.

"I think you're right there Pigma. My NAV is acting up too," he replied, "Peppy?"

"Yeah, mine's actin' screwy over here too."

"ETA?"

"Six minutes. Should expect visual contact in less then four."

"Copy. All right guys stay sharp. Watch for anything outside," said James.

The vulpine looked back to his instruments and displays. The static on his NAV screens was getting worse as the team pressed closer to the target. He grimaced; if this kept up, the Arwings might not have any functional instrumentation, which would put the team at a disadvantage if they ran into any trouble.

"Jimmy my systems just keep getting worse. You think we should scrub the mission?" inquired Peppy.

"No! We have to complete the mission!" Pigma squealed over the COM.

"Well geez, piggy," replied James in a sly voice, "with how you've been acting this mission, I'd have thought you would want to be the first to abort."

Pigma said nothing. James paid no attention to this and turned his mind to the more serious question of whether or not to abort. If the energy continued to interrupt the systems, the Arwings would likely loss communications, navigation, and perhaps even weapon and targeting systems. James sincerely hoped that this would not happen. But, this was an important mission. The safety of all of Lylat could be at risk from this activity. James concluded that the team should get the job done.

"Peppy, Pigma, I know the systems aren't at the top of their game right now, but were almost done here," he said, "We've come this far. Now let's just get the job done, copy?"

"Copy that James. Let's get this over with," replied Peppy. Pigma in turn grunted his acknowledgment, as if he was afraid to speak.

"Peppy, what's our ETA?" inquired James.

"Less then three minutes; I estimate visual in…whoa…"

The hare stopped in mid-speech as his eyes fell upon a massive, temple like structure ahead of the trio. James and Pigma looked forward to see the behemoth structure before them. An eerie silence fell onto the COM channel.

The building sat on top of a mountain and was amazingly tall. James estimated its height was at least equal to Cornerus Tower, Corneria's tallest structure at several thousand meters tall. But this structure was different. It was of ancient design and architecture. Massive banks of sickly orange clouds orbited the structure and occasionally obscured it. The clouds themselves seemed to be trapped in a whirlpool as they spun around the mysterious building, spitting bolts of lightning as they did. He had never seen or heard of this building before. He switched on the TARP's front cameras and reduced his speed to get some good images.

"Guys, watch my flanks, the TARP is running," commanded James. Peppy and Pigma signaled their acknowledgment.

James checked his equipment and set the Arwing's systems so that it would make an optimum recon pass. Once he had completed this, he watched his central display, which was now streaming the TARP data and images. He suddenly noticed a small, pyramid-shaped structure on the screen. He studied the structure. Then, much to his surprise, a large panel opened at the object's top. A klaxon sounded from the Arwing's instrument panel, indicating that the sensors had detected hostile contacts.

"James! Enemy contacts and they're coming out of…the ground!" Peppy hesitated in his speech, as if his last words had been too incomprehensible to believe.

"I see em' too Peppy. I make twenty Invader class fighters. Now thirty, now fifty, now…" James stopped. The enemy fighters were now too many to count.

"I make out ground forces as well. Missile turrets are painting us!" reported Peppy. James' heart sank; Andross's forces had been lying in wait for them. But, how? LIO had made sure the mission was secret.

Like a great cloud of angry hornets, the Invader fighters droned in massive formations above the ground. But, the fighters were making no attempt to climb and attack the Arwings. James prepared to address the team and order them to form a defensive block and then make for orbit. Before he could do this however, a familiar, ugly face forced its presence on the central screen of his Arwing. A deep, evil laugh flooded the comm. channel.

"I wondered who that foolish hound Pepper would send to try and sneak up on me; the legendary James McCloud, hero of the Separatist War. I'm almost flattered," said Andross. James gritted his teeth as the ape spoke.

"As much as I trust my sources, I had some doubts you would actually come Mr. McCloud. Not too pleasant flying weather here on Venom, is it?"

No one spoke as their ships continued on towards the structure, where Andross surely resided. James could imagine standing before the machinery that pirated his Arwing's COM. The ape's voice only served to urge James on.

"What's the matter James?" Andross's voice suddenly boomed over the comm., "Are you surprised at what I've accomplished in five years? All that I've built since that cursed hound banished me here?"

The ape paused, chuckled, and then continued.

"Or is it the terrible realization of what you know lays ahead; is that what it is James? That with all this I shall conquer the Lylat system. I have been preparing for this war for five long years James and I'm going to start it with your death."

James found his voice, "You crazy bastard."

Andross scoffed. "Come now James. Insults and personal attacks aren't going to get you anywhere", the ape paused for a moment, savoring his next words, "But, nothing is going to get you anywhere now James, for it is time for you to die."

The great cloud of Invaders shot up at the three Arwings. Starfox broke formation; no need for orders or commands from James.

"Peppy, Pigma! Try and form up, we can't let these guys pick us off one at time!"

"I'm on the way James!" replied Peppy.

James looked at his sensor screen at the mass of enemies rushing up to meet him and he watched Peppy turn to meet him. Pigma, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Pigma, report! Get on my right wing! We need to act fast!"

"No, not this time Jimmy…" replied Pigma coldly.

"Pigma, what are you talking about? Form up or these guys will tear you apart!" James voice sounded shocked and desperate.

It was suddenly and terribly apparent to Peppy what was happening. "James! Watch out! It's a trick!" he said desperately. The hare tried to peel left and drop behind the swine's fighter.

The Invaders caught up with the hare before he had a chance.

"Peppy!" James cried, helpless. He had no choice but to bank right and hope his friend would follow.

Green shots of plasma arched up towards Peppy's Arwing. As the hare tried to follow James and Pigma into the turn, the blobs of superheated matter from the cannons of a dozen fighters hit. The Arwing's shields sputtered and then vanished altogether. The lovingly polished fighter's skin began to boil and melt. The starboard wing separated from the ship, taking one of the G-diffusers with it and sending the helpless ship into a spin.

James watched Peppy's ship, trailing gases from its dismembered wing spar, continue to spin towards the surface of Venom. He was relieved to see the cockpit escape capsule jettison and then Peppy himself emerge from the capsule, his parasail open; standard atmospheric ejection. But Peppy was now heading into an angry hornets nest on the ground.

Even as his friend descended towards hostile territory, James had to focus on getting out alive. He noticed that Pigma was not holding formation and was drifting down and to the right from him.

"Pigma! I already told you to form up! We need to get out of here!"

Pigma did not form up. Instead, he peeled off the team's loose formation and began a hard right turn. With the Arwing's G-diffuser working at full power, he completed the high-gee turn in seconds. He was on James' six. The Arwing's cannon glowed twin blue lights.

"Sorry Jimmy, but you're not going anywhere", said Pigma, almost joyful at the moment of the kill. He squeezed the trigger and a dozen flashes of light shot towards James.

Explosions rocked James' Arwing, throwing him about in the cockpit. Further shots struck home, finishing off his shields and impacting the left wing, tearing it free. The fighter lurched towards its damaged side, paused, shuttered, and then went into a sickening roll. And still Pigma fired, pouring shot after shot into the Arwing's engine. Coolant lines and metal melted and klaxons sounded in the cockpit; the engine was going to overheat.

And yet, through all the chaos of combat, James could hear Andross's cackling, horrible laughter over the COM.

With the alarms blaring loudly, James knew the game was up. His ship was beyond saving. His right knee hit the ejection button on the control panel and the entire cockpit broke free.

Retro rockets fired, adding to the horrendous whine of the small chemical engine that shot the capsule free. The capsule stabilized and the canopy popped off. Ejection rockets shot James' chair out of the cockpit. Moments later, he ditched the chair and hit the silk. It was then that James got one final look at his Arwing. He was sad to see it. He had bought the little fighter with his own money and had flown it for three years. As a pilot, he felt a connection to the ship and he closed his eyes as it tumbled and twisted down before crashing into the ugly soil of Venom.

The vulpine turned his attention to the ground below him. He looked to his left, searching for Peppy's chute. He saw it fluttering on the ground before it was cut loose and it drifted silently with the wind. He saw a circle of soldiers clad in black BDUs; they had surrounded Peppy and captured him.

It seemed that James would suffer the same fate as he saw more and more of the black armor clad grunts rush to his selected landing site.

The fingers of his right hand hovered above the M122 pistol strapped to his thigh. He whipped the weapon out of its holster as he hit the ground and pointed it at the nearest soldier. His shots were rough, but effective and nine soldiers, dead or wounded, hit the ground out of twelve shots. He cut his parasail loose, trapping more soldiers in its orange and white sheet.

James threw his sidearm, now useless; he wouldn't have time to slide a new battery in. He kicked the nearest living soldier in his gut. The ape doubled over and stumbled backwards, dropping his small carbine. James scooped the weapon up before it even hit the ground and began firing bursts of plasma at the soldiers.

Despite the vulpine's brave resistance, James could only postpone the inevitable. There were more and more soldiers coming now and James only had so many shots. The carbine finally clicked as its battery finally depleted and the soldiers rushed forward in a circular pack. One grabbed James from behind and James threw the lizard over his shoulder. Another did the same but managed to ring around the vulpine's neck while one of his comrades caught his arms and pulled them behind James back. Two more soldiers grabbed James legs. They wrapped his appendages in flex-cuff and pushed him to the ground where he landed on his knees. He tried to get up again, but two soldiers appeared on his right and left and grabbed his arms tightly.

A dropship approached. It was painted black and had crimson insignia on its wings and fuselage. It landed only a few meters away from the melee, kicking up a cloud of dust from the charred earth. From this cloud emerged a solitary figure who was quickly flanked by heavily armed guards. One of the regulars walked up to the figure and handed him James' pistol.

Andross.

James got the first words off when he saw the ape. "So Andross, you decided to greet me personally? How thoughtful of you! It has been a long time, love what you've done with the place!"

The ape scoffed and continued to walk towards James. He spoke as if totally indifferent to the vulpine's words. "Welcome to Venom Mr. McCloud. This may be my current seat of power, but that will change very shortly."

James tried to get up, but between his bound legs and the guards holding his arms behind him, he found this impossible. He continued to struggle. James imagined he would die soon; might as well go down fighting.

"Ever since I first heard of that little band of yours I always wondered how you would fall McCloud. It would seem fate has entrusted that to me and your friend Pigma Dengar. That swine is typical of his lot; greedy, selfish, and always willing to settle for the highest bidder, no matter what. I rather like his kind, easily subdued. A few more like him and this war will be over much sooner."

"Lylat will fight back you know. But you already knew that didn't you?" retorted James, "Perhaps you should learn from your failures."

Andross took James captured pistol and hit the vulpine's jaw with the handle and trigger guard. Blood began to pour from James' mouth and nostrils, but he maintained his withering stare at the ape.

"I wouldn't call that little mess a failure James", replied Andross, "merely a learning experience. I did find Corneria's weakness in its foolish commitment to protecting citizens. If the CDF wishes for victory in the war that is coming, they must forget about their pitiful, useless civilians."

"I'll be sure to tell my superiors of your insight," said James wryly.

Andross continued on as if James had not even spoken.

"You k now what I'm talking about James. You yourself were in the CDF then and you still couldn't save your wife, could you?"

James eyes suddenly blazed with anger. He strained even harder against the soldiers holding him. Unable to strike the ape, James did the only thing he could think of; he arched his head back and spat in Andross's face.

The soldiers around him stood motionless for a moment, as if too shocked by the act to respond, before they turned on the vulpine, beating him with rifle butts.

Andross wiped the saliva off his face and scowled at James. "Enough!" he called out, "He may not crack under interrogation, but if we torture him, the rabbit may speak.

"Take him to the detention center for processing, the rabbit too."

James felt the pulse rifle's butt hit the back of his head right above his neck. It was the last physical sensation he felt as he collapsed to the ground on his back. He could see the sky. Although choked with ugly amber clouds and storms, it was still the sky to him. James imagined stars in the few conscious moments he had left.

Darkness closed around him, flooding his periphery with black. His hearing became gradually quieter and James McCloud slipped into unconsciousness.