Chapter Two: Snow
The critically damaged Great Fox had its thrusters almost overheating as the ship zipped through space at full speed. Despite the low temperature inside the cockpit, Fox's fur was soaked in sweat, as fear and stress held his mind hostage. Losing track of the enemy ship, he asked Peppy to run a long-range scan. The radars managed to find a weak signal, which was just enough to know where the enemy was headed.
"I think they're going to Fichina, Fox," concluded Peppy, scratching his head, "so I'm pretty sure we're gonna end up near their base. It appears that they were trying to lure us, after all."
"It's not like we have a choice. I'm not sure we have time or even enough signal to call Bill to send backup, and that's if he's willing to do so," said Fox after a long sigh, realizing they had very little choice. The idea was to take revenge on whoever sent the attack, and try to stop anything that could mean a threat to Corneria.
Still tracking the enemy, the Great Fox reached Fichina's frigid atmosphere in a matter of hours, descending onto a deserted area in which the radar's signal pulsated strongly. Afraid of any further damage on the Great Fox, the ship landed about one kilometer away from the enemy's location. With the engines now off, the only sound Fox could hear came from the thrusters, that were cooling down after that relatively long trip; aside of that, there was only silence. No one knew what to do next. It could very much be an ambush, but what if the enemy ship's pilot thought the Star Fox team lost track of them? Maybe they were too afraid to lure them in, noticing how quick Fox, Falco and Slippy managed to take out an entire squadron of their allies. But what if they were still on it? What if they're just expecting a bunch of Arwings shooting directly at the base? These questions surrounded anything else that could be going on in Fox's head, as Peppy and Slippy started, in vain, to make up a plan.
"I'm going in on my own," announced Fox, calmly standing up from his chair and removing his helmet. Both Peppy and Slippy looked terrified at the fox, who had just suggested stepping into a suicide mission.
"...in the Landmaster, right?" Said Slippy, attempting to make the decision sound less stupid.
"Nope," said Fox, "I'm going on foot, armed with my blaster. I'll talk to you guys on my way if I need anything."
Peppy punched the armrest of his chair and jumped out if it, piercing Fox's eyes with a furious expression. "Are you insane!? Did you not realize the damage those guys caused to the Great Fox?" He berated Fox, with his angry red eyes almost making him feel guilty.
"Fox…" Slippy looked at him, taking out his hat and holding it tight with both hands, with extremely worried eyes, "...I don't think you'll make it. Are you sure?"
"Listen. They're probably expecting us to attack them directly with the Arwings, or any kind of vehicle we have with us, really. You guys know I've infiltrated enemy bases before with success. And I know how to make my way with a blaster," he said with a fake smile, trying to make it look like he's thinking straight, "again, if I need anything, I'll call you."
The fox descended from his mother ship onto the freezing surface of Fichina, wearing a thick silver jacket and his signature red scarf. Holding his weapon firmly, equipped with his trusty heads-up display attached to his right eye, he followed the enemy's signal on foot. The soft yet cold wind tousled his head fur as he walked, and the white snow was painted orange by Solar's twilight glare. The only sounds surrounding him were those of the wind and his very own steps, each digging a small hole into the snow.
It's too quiet, Fox thought to himself, they must really have thought we lost them.
After walking for a few more minutes, the radar on Fox's HUD beeped repeatedly, implying he was standing on top of the enemy ship. "Peppy, what was the last time we checked our headgear?" he asked, holding a button on the single earbud attached to the display.
"Not long ago. I'm pretty sure it's working well. Why do you ask?" replied Peppy.
"There's something's wrong. Here it says I'm really close to the enemy, but... there's nothing here. I'm only seeing a bunch of ice and snow. And I'm freezing down here," he said, with his exposed fur naturally puffed up, trying to make the cold more bearable, "can you run another scan of the area with the Great Fox's sensors?"
As Peppy started calibrating the area scanners to restart the radar, the snow beneath Fox's paws started to tremble uniformly, as a square-shaped metal structure slowly emerged from the ground. He stepped back, holding his weapon as steadily as he could against the newly revealed building, observing as a hatch opened from one of its walls. From it, came out a small squadron consisting of four monkeys and three lizards, all armed, as if they all expected Fox to come specifically on foot.
"Ha, if it isn't the spoiled fox boy. You and your shitty little team aren't the only smart ones in the Lylat system, you know," said the monkey who appeared to be the squadron's leader, pointing his gun at Fox as he walked slowly towards him, "thanks for making things easy for us."
"But who are you, assholes?" asked Fox, blatantly, albeit his hands were shaking from both cold and fear, "and what makes you think you can just go ahead and attack us?"
The ape took a short step forward and removed his sunglasses. "We're the Neo-Androssians. We're here to rebuild the great empire that you and your stinkin' Cornerian friends destroyed! And you, the legendary Fox McCloud, are apparently nothing else than a defenseless chickenshit right now."
Shit, thought the now terrified fox, still holding his weapon as his heart started to beat increasingly faster, I should've known they weren't just a minor threat… but this?
When the leader stepped closer to Fox, he desperately pulled the trigger, only to see the shot hit one of the other soldiers in the arm. "Oh, you little…" said the victim's amphibian comrade, pointing his gun at Fox.
"No, you brainless idiot!" barked the leader, putting his arm between the threatening soldier and McCloud. "We need him alive," he says, shooting Fox in the chest with an electric charge from a specific weapon of his, making him fall on his face, unconscious, into the snow.