Medical Bay

Grand Fox

Enroute to Sauria / Lylat System

0720 Hours

"Uugh," Wolf groaned as he began to come around, his head felt like it was spinning on every possible axis while the rest of his body felt incredibly numb.

"Easy there, take it easy," A Terrier in a white lab coat instructed helping the pilot to sit up. "You're still recovering from surgery Lad."

It took a moment of hesitation, but Wolf finally recognized the Scottish Terrier as Dr. Scott MacNeil, a man of medicine Fox had recruited for the increased team's resident surgeon.

"Thanks, Doc," Wolf groaned as his eye began adjusting to the light. "How long was I out?"

"Overnight," The surgeon answered, "We almost lost you to that Slaver, judging by the amount of plaque and rotting bits of food I had to pull out of your arm I don't think that Crocodile has ever cleaned his teeth once in his life. You lost a lot of blood from your injuries, If that tourniquet was applied three minutes later you wouldn't be here right now, so I've hooked you up for a blood transfusion. Try to get some more blood back in your body."

"Yeah, I feel kind of weak." Wolf admitted, "How soon until I can get back to work?"

"You won't be fit for duty anytime soon I'm afraid," The doctor replied, "I was able to save your life, yes, but I couldn't save your arm. The damage was too severe."

"What!?" Wolf demanded raising his right arm, only to see the stump tightly dressed right below his elbow before laying back down with a frustrated growl.

"There was hardly any flesh left on the bone," The surgeon explained, "Only about 20 percent remained, and it was showing signs of a severe rabies infection. I decided that the safest and least complicated method of treatment was to amputate the lower limb and replace it with a cybernetic prosthetic when we dock on Cornaria and Transfer to Cornaria General Hospital for the installation. If I tried to do anything else with what I have here, I would have risked accelerating the rabies infection doing more harm than good."

"Alright, You had to do what you had to." Wolf reluctantly agreed, while he was distrustful of cybernetics, he was willing to choose them over becoming ravid. "Just, tell me one thing Doc, did the girl make it?"

"She's right over there," The Doctor replied, gesturing to another hospital bed flanked by several IVs, "She's out of any immediate danger, a half hour and we'd have lost her. But she is incredibly weak and malnourished, not to mention dehydration and some other injuries like dislocation. It's going to be a long and delicate recovery, but there is a chance it will be complete."

Wolf sighed in relief at that news as he relaxed, with the IVs in his left arm and lack of a right arm the Canine knew he was stuck in the bed so he got comfortable. Right before he was about to fall back asleep he found himself wondering a single question: Why did he care?

Bridge

Grand Fox

Planetary Orbit / Sauria / Lylat System

1314 Hours

As the Strike Carrier orbited the planet, the Cerinians packed themselves against every possible viewport taking in the sight of the green planet below in all of it's wonder. After being sealed away in an underground cavern for over ten years, on a lifeless planet dominated by gritty sand, the sight of healthy and thriving vegetation, of natural life, no matter the distance, was a beautiful sight.

Crystal clean blue water, the whitest snow, the richest shades of green, It was everything they had dreamed of in paradise. Best of all, it was very real. The Refugees couldn't wait to get a closer look, piling into the dropships for their turn to go down to the surface. . .

Cape Claw / Sauria / Lylat System

1326 Hours

"Well, Welcome to Sauria, Jurassic Planet." Kyle announced as he landed his dropship, letting the hatch on the back open so the Cerinians could finally set foot on their adoptive planet. Some children were the first to dare to step out of the dropship, memorized by the beauty of the fertile environment. The children wandered in circles taking in the colors until eventually they stepped into the clean waters. As soon as they realized that they were ankle deep in a sea of the life giving liquid that seemed to go on forever, they began to dance and play in the shallows, overcome with the utmost joy. The adults remained stationary, watching the youth contently while deeply inhaling the fresh air. It seemed like nothing would make this any more magical until they all heard a roar.

The roar wasn't aggressive or really all that scary, rather it sounded tame, soft, almost gentle. Still the noise came from just beyond the tree line on the far side of the bay, trees that began to move as the ground began to radiate heavy footsteps.

Everyone (including Kyle) was petrified in awe and amazement as a colossal Hightop made it's way through the treeline and into the bay. The dinosaur easily towered over the refugees at a height of about 50 feet. The gentle giant let out another soft roar before lowering its long neck to take a drink out of the bay, oblivious to the children in the water nearby.

"Nxuk, nxuk aj kxuk?" One of the Cerinians managed to ask in astonishment as the Hightop resumed it's normal height, the scale unlike any living thing the refugees had seen before. Water began to drip from the dinosaur's jaw, turning into a beautiful mist as it returned to the sea, revealing a rainbow against the blue sky.

That was about the time the other dropships began to arrive, touching down and opening their hatches to allow their passengers to step out into the water. Those refugees did too marvel at the beauty and prosperity of the environment, and shared the same awe towards the long-necked native.

"Fox!"

The pilot turned around to see a charging form of a Earthwalker coming straight for him, and if the nearby splashes were any indication, everyone just took about five paces back leaving him alone to take the full impact. His tail and ears dropped as the Earthwalker's feet left the ground.

"Oh, not agia- Oof!"

"Fox! Krystal! It's great to see you again!" The Earthwalker greeted.

"Tricky, Can't breathe, Ouch." Fox gasped, pinned by the young adult dinosaur. Everyone either let out a chuckle, a sigh or simply facepalmed at the exchange until the young king let the pilot back up.

"We've already found a field nearby that would be perfect for building a new village in." Tricky explained, "It's not too far, just follow the river upstream until you get to the clearing."

Following the Earthwalker's lead, the Cerinians and Starfox migrated through a forest, again the children continued to watch the environment in such awe and wonder. Everywhere around them, in any direction were countless living things. To a telepath, every living thing, be it animal or plant, had it's own sort of telepathic signature, the stronger the signature, the healthier it was. After spending a decade in a liveless cave surrounded by emotionless steel, the Refugees were swept up by the variety and strength of new signatures. It was like a mighty symphony, while each instrument is unique in it's sound, together they become something far more grand and emotional.

Coming out of the trees the refugees again froze in awe as they stared at the empty field. Almost immediately they began to see the potential for a new home, a place to rebuild and live free to follow their own ways. A few homes here, a firepit or two over there, some more homes right about there, an entire community seemed to pop up onto the field. Now all they had to do was make it a reality.

Tricky turned around to face his new neighbors before gesturing to the field with his head before speaking:

"Xoho no uho, nocsemo xemo vhaodtj. Welcome home. . ."

Many thanks to the website Krystal Archive for recreating the Cipher used to make the "Dino Language" used in game. Just don't ask me to pronounce it.