Sorry it took me so long to get this update up. My time has been taken up with writing my deviantART submission. Writer's block can be a real pain in the ass.
Now that the monologue is out of the way, onto the story!
Chapter Three: New Mission, New Blood
Pepper sat at his desk, awaiting an update from the Kestrel. It had been several hours since he had last contacted the ship, to give Cmdr McFaul his mission. Pepper imagined that the Kestrelwould have returned with an update by now. The planet wasn't too far away, and by his knowledge, its surface was easily accessible. An investigation into the mysterious signals shouldn't have taken very long. He was about to contact the ship again when his communicator buzzed.
"Incoming transmisson." The computer chimed. Pepper pushed the transmit button on the console. The holographic display came to life, displaying the tense features of Dr. Bougainville.
"Dr.?" Pepper said. "I was expecting an update from Cmdr. McFaul. Is there a problem?" He asked. Bougainville nodded.
"I wish I could say that there wasn't, but there is." Bougainvilled replied. "A very interesting even has occurred here, which the Commander wished me to relay to you, as his communications equipment was damaged." Pepper leaned back in his chair, concern for the safety of the Kestrel and her crew etched on his face.
"TheKestrel was in the process of transporting the spare data chips we ordered, when we we're attacked by Venomian remnant forces." Bougainville began. "The Kestrel was able to fight off the first wave of attack ships, but then was accosted by three missile frigates and was nearly destroyed by a missile volley. This is where the report gets interesting. As all of us watched, a massive burst of energy shot forth from the planet's surface, hitting all three ships, but only destroying the Venomian ships." Pepper's eyes widened with disbelief.
"You're certain of this?" He asked. Bougainville nodded.
"Quite certain, Mr. Secretary." He replied. "We not only saw the phenomenon with our eyes, but it was also recorded on our instruments. The readings were, to put it lightly, intense." Pepper sighed.
"That would explain why the ship hasn't been in contact. Any phenomenon with that amount of power behind it is bound to knock a ship's systems out of whack." He said. "What's your status?"
"We're currently assisting the Kestrelwith repairs." Bougainville replied. "I have also kept the station's defensive systems on standby in case of another attack."
"Damage?" Pepper asked.
"None to our end," Bougainville replied, "but the Kestreldid sustain damage to some of her internal systems." Pepper frowned. The last thing any of them needed to deal with was a second Venomian insurgency.
"Have McFaul contact me when his communication system is repaired." Pepper said. Bougainville nodded and cut the transmission. Pepper then pushed the button to contact his secretary. Her image flashed up on the hologram display.
"Yes, sir?" She said.
"Send a message to Peppy Hare, PAD number 7829." Pepper said. "Tell him I need to speak with him and the rest of the team as soon as possible."
"Yes sir." The secretary replied. The hologram communicator blinked out, and Pepper sighed with fatigue. If the loyalist Venomians were gearing up for another insurgency, there was little that Lylat could do to stop them. Their military forces were stretched thin as it was, with standard patrols, interdicting smugglers, et cetera. Plus, they were sorely undermanned, with only fifty percent of recruiting goals for the military as a whole met in the year or so since the Aparoid invasion. Noticing the time on the clock, Pepper decided to leave and get lunch. He sat up and adjusted his tie before walking out the door, locking it with his personal passcode behind him.
---
Loud dance music blared from the loudspeakers in the ballroom as wedding guests danced to familiar tunes. Falco in particular had taken to demonstrating his breakdancing skills, much to the delight of the other guests. Fox and Krystal stood in the center of the dancing crowd, turning, spinning and rocking to the music. Even Slippy got into the act, dancing in his own unique way, though falling flat on his face when he tried to copy Falco's moves, much to the delight of the aforementioned avian.
Peppy stood off to the side with some of the other elder guests, chatting away about what they had been up to over the years. Peppy, of course, had continued to work with pilots by taking a position at the Lylatian Military Academy, teaching a class in advanced air warfare tactics to upperclassmen, teaching them some of the knowledge he had acquired as a pilot.
Peppy was telling the others the story about how one of his students, taking his final exams, got a case of final exam jitters and ended up throwing up on the control console of the simulator, shorting it out. The others roared with laughter. It was then that Peppy's PAD began to beep, indicating that a message had come through. Peppy excused himself before stepping over to a corner to check the message. He pushed the message button on his PAD. The screen displayed the indicator for an incoming call. Peppy pushed an icon marked "answer" and held the PAD to his ear like a phone.
"Peppy Hare speaking." He said. A pleasant female voice answered.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hare." The woman replied. "Defense Secretary Pepper asked that I forward his request for your team to meet with him."
"Did he say when?" Peppy asked.
"As soon as possible." The woman replied. Peppy frowned. If Pepper was asking them to meet with them ASAP, it couldn't be good.
"We'll be there as soon as we can." Peppy said. The woman thanked him and hung up. Peppy then stepped out to the dance floor to find Fox. Fox and Krystal were stepping off to the side to rest from dancing when Peppy found them.
"Something wrong, Pep?" Fox asked, noticing Peppy's expression. Peppy nodded.
"I just got a call from Pepper's office." He said. "Apparently, he wants to meet with us, ASAP." Fox frowned as well.
"Did they say why?" Fox asked. Peppy shook his head.
"Nothing. I have the feeling something's happened." Peppy replied. Fox got the same feeling, as did Krystal.
"I'll gather the rest of the team." Fox said, helping Krystal up. "Looks like we'll have to wait on that honeymoon on Sauria."
"I'll go ahead and make the announcement." Peppy said, walking up to the front table, where a microphone was rigged up. He picked up the microphone and signaled the DJ, who was operating the computer interface for the music library, to cut the music so he could make his announcement. The music was cut off, much to the annoyance of the dancing guests.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I have an announcement to make." Peppy said. "The team and I have been informed that our presence is needed at the Defense Secretary's office. We will therefore have to cut the reception short." A murmur of groans came from the guests. "Again, I apologize greatly, but the matter is urgent. I thank you for your cooperation." Falco and Slippy looked at each other.
"What do you think Pepper wants with us?" Slippy asked. Falco shook his head.
"I don't know, but it better be important." He replied with in an indignant tone. The guests began to shuffle out of the hall as the team met in the middle of the room. Bill joined them.
"Any idea what Pepper wants with you guys?" He asked, munching on piece of wedding cake. Peppy shook his head.
"I wish I could tell you, but all I got was a call from his office asking us to come." Peppy said. "His secretary was just as in the dark as we are now."
"Not like the old hound to get all hush-hush on us." Falco said. "What do you suppose he wants?"
"I don't know, but it must be pretty important to call us up there on short notice." Slippy said. By now, all the guests had left, leaving just the team, Bill, Marie and the Phoenixes. The Phoenixes had concerned looks on their faces.
"Is something wrong?" Fara asked.
"We're about to find out." Fox said. "Alright guys, saddle up. We're heading over." He then turned to the Phoenixes. "You mind if we borrow your limos? We're a little short on transportation." Patrick laughed.
"Of course, my boy." He said. "It's no trouble." The team then left the hotel, bidding goodbye and thank you to others, and climbed into a waiting hover limousine at the hotel entrance. The driver let down the screen and asked where they wanted to go.
"Take us to the Defense Department Headquarters, and make as quick as possible." Peppy said. The driver acknowledged and left the hotel entranceway, driving down the road in the direction of the Mall.
---
Pepper, having gotten a quick lunch, entered the front door of the Defense Department Headquarters, where a military guard stopped him to check his identification. Pepper pulled out his ID card, complete with and imbedded microchip containing his vital medical information, and showed it to the card. Satisfied, the guard allowed him to continue to the elevator. Pepper boarded the elevator and punched in the number for his office. The doors to the elevator closed, and the car began its rapid ascent to the top floor of the building. It took less than a minute for the elevator to reach the top floor of the building, having been designed to rapidly ascend extremely high buildings while maintaining a comfortable environment for the passengers. The doors opened, and he walked down the hall office, where his secretary greeted him.
"Hello, sir." She said politely. "The Star Fox team is on its way here. They should arrive soon."
"Alright, thank you." Pepper said. "Just send them right in when they arrive." He said before stepping into his office to wait for the team's arrival.
---
A few minutes later, Star Fox pulled up to the entrance of the Defense Department Headquarters. The group exited the vehicles and entered the building, to be greeted by the same military guard.
"I'll need to see a photo identification, please?" He requested. The team pulled out ID cards similar to the one Pepper carried, with the exception that they carried the civilian version that lacked the imbedded microchip. The guard examined each of their ID cards, and when he was satisfied, motioned for them to enter. "Thank you. The elevator is at the rear of the lobby." Fox thanked the guard and led the team to the elevator. A short ride up later, they arrived at the top floor where Pepper's office was located. They made their way to Pepper's office, where the secretary who had called Peppy welcomed them.
"Secretary Pepper will see you now." She said, beckoning them to enter. The team obliged, heading down the walkway to Pepper's office. Fox knocked on the door, and heard a gruff voice answer "Come in." Fox and the team entered the office to be greeted by Pepper, who sat behind his desk with his PAD in his hands, apparently reading something. Upon Star Fox's entry, he put the PAD down and stood up.
"Ah, Fox my boy!" He said. "Good to see you again. And congratulations on your marriage. My apologies for not being able to attend."
"It's alright." Fox said. "You've got a lot on your plate right now."
"As do we all." Pepper somberly replied. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you up here." He said as he sat down at his desk.
"You bet. You made us have to cancel a great party." Falco said. Fox rolled his eyes, and Pepper chuckled.
"I apologize for having to call you on such short notice, but a situation has come up." Pepper said. He pushed a button on his desk, bringing up a holographic display of Sector P. "This is Sector P, a region of space approximately six light years away from Lylat. It's currently a major focus of deep space research by the ASRB and the Science Department."
"I remember that." Fox said. "I also know that it's a hotbed for Venomian insurgent activity." Pepper nodded, and pushed another button, which focused in on a small section of Sector P where P-44619 was. "This is P-44619, a newly discovered P class planet orbiting the second sun in a binary system." He touched a spot on the globe of the planet near the single continent's northwestern coast. "Not too long ago, one of our mobile science stations, K-45, detected an unknown signal originating from this area of the planet's surface. Analysis of the signal showed it to be an e-band emission."
"E-band? Aren't those usually generated by collapsing stars?" Peppy said. Pepper nodded.
"Which is why this signal generated a lot of suspicion." He replied. "In fact, the director of the station called me and requested your presence. Knowing of your previous engagement, I diverted a ship I had sent to investigate possible cloaked ships to aid in the investigation. This is where things began to get interesting."
"How so?" Fox asked.
"The ship and station were attacked by insurgents." Pepper said. "The ship, the Kestrel,managed to fight off the first wave of enemy ships, but was then accosted by missile frigates and forced the retreat, and would have been destroyed if not for a very unusual event."
"Which was?" Peppy asked.
"If the station director is to be believed, a massive surge of energy erupted from the planet's surface, destroying the Venomian ships and causing minor damage to the Kestrel."Pepper said. The others had looks of disbelief on their faces.
"Which I guess is where we come in." Fox said. Pepper nodded.
"Normally, I would send some military units to investigate this matter." He said. "But with our forces stretched thin as it is, I can't spare any more. It was a stretch trying to get the Kestrelout there to begin with." Pepper turned off the projector. "I've received a flood of transmissions from other stations in the sector, wanting information, and I'm out of options."
"Let me see if I get this." Falco said. "You want us to head out to Sector P, a hotbed for Venomian insurgent activity, to investigate some weird junk on some planet, while risking an attack by pissed-off Venomians who are all too eager to try and put us six feet under for knocking off their leader?" Pepper laughed a little.
"That's the gist of it, yes." Pepper said.
"Sounds like fun." Falco said. "When do we start?'
"We need you out there immediately." Pepper said. "Do you accept the mission, Fox?" Fox nodded.
"Yes sir, we accept." He said. He then turned to Krystal. "Looks like we'll have to have our Saurian honeymoon another time." Krystal smiled.
"It's fine, Fox." She said, kissing him on the cheek. Pepper smiled.
"Well then, I'll call the station and tell them you're on your way." He said. "Oh, and I have something for you." He said, picking up the PAD from his desk and handing it to Fox. Displayed on the PAD's screen were the profiles for what appeared to be two fourth-year Military Academy cadets.
One of the cadets was a canine female, with white fur, long furry ears, a short white head fur. Her eyes were deep blue, and perched on her head was the black beret of a Lylatian Military Academy cadet.
The second was also female, this time a lynx-type feline. Like the other cadet, she sported the black beret of a cadet. Her eyes were deep brown, almost black, and she had an arrow shaped marking on her forehead. Stuck in her right ear was gold hoop earring.
Both cadets wore the black uniform of the Lylatian Military Academy, and sported the gold quadruple overlaid triangular insignia of a fourth year cadet on their collars. They also sported numerous bar-shaped badges over their left breast pockets, some of which Fox recognized (having earned many of them himself).
"Cadets Faye Spaniel and Miyu Lynx. Fourth year, graduating class of 2549." Fox said, reading the first portion of the cadet's profiles. "If I may ask, sir, what do two academy cadets have to do with this?"
"Read on." Pepper said. Fox read off the cadet's profiles.
"Cadet First Class Faye Irene Spaniel, 22 years old, 161.4 centimeters, 59 kilograms. Academy Good Conduct medal, blaster marksmanship expert, rifle marksmanship expert, Heavy Weapons expert, Exemplarily Physical Fitness medal, Exemplarily Academic Performance medal, Honor Medal, Expert Aviator medal." Fox read Faye's profile, counting off her awards and decorations, until he came to the instructor's notes section of the profile. "Cadet displays exemplarily performance in all manner of aircraft and ground combat. Cadet displays exemplarily decision making in all situations. Cadet displays exemplarily leadership abilities. Cadet displays great aptitude in first aid and battlefield triage."
"Wow, Fox." Peppy said. "She sounds like a certain former cadet I've heard of." Fox grinned and moved on to the next profile.
"Cadet First Class Miyu Danielle Lynx, 21 years old, 167.6 centimeters, 64.9 kilograms. Academy Good Conduct Medal, blaster marksmanship expert, rifle marksmanship expert, heavy weapons expert, Exemplarily Physical Fitness medal, Excellent Academic Performance Medal, Honor Medal, Expert Aviator medal. Exemplarily performance in all manner of aircraft, displays good decision making in all situations, shows great mechanical proficiency, displays great aptitude in demolitions." The team was awed at the profiles. These two cadets had to be the top two in their class, with profiles like theirs.
"Showing off your best pupils, boss?" Falco said. Pepper chuckled.
"No, Falco." He said. "Fox mentioned to me that the team was looking for new pilots to add to roster. I think I may have found the kind you're looking for. Also, I might add, they're great admirers of yours." Falco beamed.
"I have fan girls? Awesome!" He whooped. The rest of the team rolled their eyes.
"So, where are they now?" Fox asked.
"Over at the Academy, getting ready to graduate." Pepper said. "Shall we go meet them?" Fox smiled.
"I'd like that." He said.
---
The old grounds of the Lylatian Military Academy were buzzing with activity in anticipation of the graduation of the Class of 2549. All over the grounds, cadets were ironing uniforms, polishing boots and brass, arranging medals and rank insignia, and grooming themselves to military standard in preparation for the day's ceremonies. This was especially apparent at Col. Diane Hepburn Hall, the seven-story residence hall for upper-class female cadets. In room 213 on the fourth floor, Cadet First Class Miyu Lynx stood huddled over a table in her room, carefully arranging her medals onto the plastic uniform mount pinned to her neat black dress uniform, maneuvering them until they were perfectly straight, being the neat-freak that she was. She was so focused on her medals that she didn't hear the beep of the door until it beeped a third time.
"Enter!" She said. The door whooshed open, revealing Cadet First Class Faye Spaniel, already dressed in her dress uniform, which consisted of a uniform shirt, uniform skirt, knee high uniform boots, a belt with the Academy emblem stamped on the brass buckle, and a uniform beret with an academy patch. Her collar displayed the triangle insignia of a first class cadet, and pinned to her left breast pocket were several colorful medals. She huffed when she saw Miyu taking her sweet time with her medals.
"Come on, Miyu! We're going to be late!" She said. Miyu scowled at her friend.
"Hold your horses, Faye! I'm coming!" She said, frustrated with her friend's impatience. Faye huffed again as Miyu went back to taking her sweet time adjusting her medals.
"Come here." She said, grabbing Miyu and her medals. Faye quickly arranged Miyu's medals on her uniform, making sure they were as straight as possible. "There, they're fine. Now let's go." She said, practically dragging Miyu along with her.
"Would you take it easy? You'll wrinkle my uniform!" She said.
"We're going to be late!" Faye said, leading Miyu down a set of stairs leading to the back entrance to the dorm.
"I don't know what your problem is. The ceremony doesn't start for another hour." Miyu said. Faye turned to her.
"Don't you remember what the Captain said? He wants us there thirty minutes early, and we have fifteen to get to the Con." Faye said, using the Academy nickname for the newly built General John Amadeus Pepper Convocation Center, where all-important gatherings were held.
"Right." Miyu said as the two exited the dorm and made their way towards the "Con", making sure their uniforms were neat and tidy in preparation for the most important moment of their lives.
---
Fox flung his flight vest over his shoulder and slipped it on as he left the house and joined the rest of the team waiting outside. On the way to meet the cadet pilots that Pepper had shown them, the made a detour to the team's planetary residence to pick up their regular clothes, which for fox consisted of green flight pants, green muscle shirt, his combat boots, silver-gray fingerless gloves, and his sliver-gray flight vest with a Star Fox badge pinned above the left vest pocket. The badge belonged to his father, and had been given to him by Peppy after James' death at the hands of Andross on Venom.
"You guys ready?" Fox asked the team.
"When haven't we been?" Falco asked. Fox rolled his eyes.
"Alright, let's get going." Fox said. The gang hopped into the limos and drove off in the direction of the Academy.
---
Like a great sphere of mirrors, the General Pepper Convocation Center glinted in afternoon sunlight. The multi-paned glass exterior reflected the blue, cloud filled skies of Corneria so well that one could scarcely believe that it was a building and not an extension of the part of the sky itself. The beauty of the building wasn't lost on Faye and Miyu as they approached, looking for their Company Commander, Captain John "Monsoon" Collins.
A husky arctic fox from Corneria's North, Collins served during the Lylat War in the LDF's legendary Third Infantry Division, nicknamed the "Fighting 3" from the fact that the division saw some of the heaviest fighting during both the Lylat War and Aparoid Invasion. He served as a First Lieutenant in charge of a platoon of the divisions Echo Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Brigade, nicknamed the "Deuce Four", during the Liberation of Macbeth and the Invasion of Venom, the latter of which earned him a Distinguished Service Star for valor.
Following the war, Collins was promoted to Captain and was briefly assigned to command an infantry company occupying Venom, when the Aparoid Crisis erupted. He was reassigned to his old unit, the Deuce Four, as a company commander and led, along with the CDF 3rd, 8th, and 16th, infantry regiments, the heroic defense of Corneria City. The regiment was nearly decimated, until Star Fox managed to destroy the Aparoid queen. For his bravery and leadership, Collins was awarded the Lylatian Medal of Valor, the highest Cornerian military decoration. Afterwards, he left combat duty and took up a position at the Lylatian Military Academy as an instructor and company commander, where he became famous for having a high rate of graduating cadets.
Faye and Miyu waded through a crowd of black-uniformed cadets, pushing their way through the sea of people. Along the way, they were accosted by underclassmen reciting the "ring grovel", begging them to touch their newly received Academy class rings and paying them back for three years of good-natured hazing by generally being as annoying as possible. Of course, by tradition they had to let them touch the rings, which was followed by a salute and the cadet scurrying off to harass the next graduate. Faye and Miyu laughed at them, especially the "stiff-backs", the academy nickname for a fourth class, or freshman, cadet, from an old hazing ritual visited on new students in which they had to stand at attention for several hours, not being allowed to move one inch. This usually resulted in a stiff, sore back, hence the nickname "stiff-back".
They had almost reached the entrance to the Con, when a large group of cadets blocked their path. Faye and Miyu recognized some of them as third class, or sophomore, cadets from their company, a couple of whom were from their own squad. The cadets wore sinister smiles. Faye and Miyu had visited some particularly embarrassing pranks on these cadets, and now they were keen on getting their revenge. The group surrounded the two girls, chanting the grovel and reaching for their rings to touch them. Faye and Miyu were worried, not from the mass of black that surrounded them, but from the fact that they now had three minutes to find their company commander, and the cadets blocked their path. They had resigned themselves to being late when the heard a strong voice call out.
"Alright, all of you clear off!" The voice shouted. The cadets immediately scattered, revealing the imposing form of Captain Collins, dressed in the standard blue LDF dress uniform, bearing the insignia of a captain; three overlapping pentagons with a silver starburst in the center. Like many career officers, he sported a vast array of medals, most of which related to his combat experience. The most prominent was the dark blue ribbon that looped across his neck, from which hung a magnificent starburst pendant, silver and gold in color, with a dark blue stone in the center. This was the Lylatian Medal of Valor, the highest decoration that a Lylatian soldier could receive for valor in combat. Just the sight of the medal alone was enough to elicit awe from the casual observer, and in the military, wearing the medal demanded to ultimate respect.
Collins watched the cadets scurry off, presumably to go harass the next group of graduates. He then turned his attentions to Faye and Miyu, who began to apologize profusely for being late. Collins just smiled and shook his head.
"Actually," he said, "you're right on time." He pointed to the clock that stood in the Center's courtyard. They had three minutes. Both of them blushed at their behavior.
"Follow me, the rest of the company is waiting." Collins said. Faye and Miyu followed his lead to the courtyard fountain, where the rest of the cadets in their company had gathered in preparation for the graduation ceremony. Faye and Miyu spotted some of their friends from their four years at the Academy, and enthusiastically began to chat away with them, mostly about their lives outside the Academy walls, and what they planned to do with their acquired knowledge once they completed their compulsory three years of military service. Collins watched them with a smile on his face. All one hundred and twenty cadets in his company had completed the requirements for graduation, the first time in almost eight years. This was a product of his demand for the highest performance, especially academically, from his cadets. Now, he was proud to stand with them, the next generation of military officers, trained and held to highest standards.
The cadets chatted away for the next thirty minutes, until the Master of Ceremonies for the graduation, Academy Commandant General William Zymna, announced that the Arrival of the Cadets was about to start. This ceremony, dubbed "the Great Black Column", was one of the most well known, and celebrated, at the academy. Collins immediately snapped to attention as the graduating cadets all prepared to enter the Con and take their final journey as a cadet.
"Attention!" He barked. The cadets immediately leapt up to attention. "Company, form ranks!" The cadets scrambled to their feet and formed into a column. "About face!" He barked. The cadets turned on their heels and faced forward in preparation to begin marching. Slowly, the massive column of cadets began to file into the center, polished boots and brass gleaming in the sunlight.
"Company, forward march!" He barked, and the company began to march in unison with the rest of the cadets. Both Faye and Miyu were beaming. Being here, marching into the auditorium, getting ready to receive their diplomas and commissions, was what cadets dreamed about. Now, for them, the dream was about to come true.
---
The ride up to the academy had been largely uneventful for fox and the team, with the exception of the occasional disgruntled driver swearing at some idiot. Fox couldn't help but shake his head at this. Everyone seemed to be in such a hurry all the time, and rarely just stepped back and took a moment to just relax and enjoy life. Granted, one did indeed have to work, but it wouldn't kill people to just kick back now and then.
Stepping across the famous "Heaven's Gate", the giant, polished brass gate that led to the grounds of the Lylatian Military Academy, brought back memories of Fox's own years at the academy. Seeing the great parade field in front of Kramer Hall, the administrative building for the Academy, made him remember when he was a green fourth class cadet, forcing himself to learn all of the regulations and protocols that went with being a student at the academy. His reminiscing was cut short when Pepper's voice spoke up.
"Our escort has arrived." He said. Two hovercars pulled up to them. An officer exited first vehicle and saluted the general. "We best be moving along, the ceremony should be starting soon." Pepper said. Fox climbed into the car with Pepper, Krystal and Peppy bringing up the rear. Falco and Slippy climbed into the second car. Fox took a moment to gaze out over the sprawling Academy campus as the car pulled away from the gate and drove toward the Convention Center. The campus was beautiful in summer, especially the giant reflecting pool in front of the General King Hall, where the admissions office was located, which reflecting the summer sun like a great sapphire. Fox smiled at the sight. It felt good to be back, if only for a little bit.
---
The outer rim of the Lylat System was largely bleak. Being the farthest area from the Solar, the system's sun, there were few inhabited planets for colonists to settle on, and those that were suitable for life were usually sparsely populated, with fewer then ten thousand inhabitants. Most of these colonies were isolated military or trading outposts. It was the latter that had an unsavory reputation as being dens of crime.
On the isolated colony world of P-999, there was no exception. P-999 was a mining colony, known for it's rich diamond mines. In fact, over thirty percent of diamonds in the system came from this planet. However, the planet was also known for it's lawlessness, especially in the small mining towns, where not a night went by without at least one person going to the emergency room, or even being murdered in drunken barroom brawls.
Of these dens of iniquity, Ken's Cantina, was particularly notable, mostly for it's location in the middle of the one of the most crime ridden and violent mining towns on the planet. Never a night went by with at least four drunken brawls, at least according to rumor. Other rumors had it that the bar's owner spent more on replacing broken furniture and shattered glasses then on stock.
Tonight was no exception. Already, the bartender had thrown out six guys for fighting and wrecking furniture, including a twelve-hundred credit jukebox. The bartender, in this case bar owner Ken Barrow, a stout brown bear with a weathered face and heavily muscled frame, was tossing out two more drunks who had come to blows, in this case over an apparent insult to the girlfriend of one of the ruffians. Almost immediately upon being tossed, the two picked up where they left off and began exchanging punches. Ken just sighed and closed the bar door. He had started the bar to serve the miners who worked in the nearby diamond mine, to give them a place to relax after a long day in the shafts. Instead, it had become a den of drunken mayhem. Luckily for him, no one had been killed yet, which couldn't be said for the two other watering holes in the town, but he felt it was just a matter of time until someone was. He was seriously considering closing the bar and moving somewhere where he could conduct his business and not have to worry about crime, but at the moment he had no money with which to start over, having had to spend most of his income on repairing the bar.
Ken was returning to the bar to serve customers when the bell on the door chimed, letting him know someone had entered. This person turned out to be a tall, broad shouldered wolf, his face partially hidden by the hood of a black hooded sweatshirt. He wore a pair of faded jeans, worn black leather combat boots, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. He looked every bit the part of a disheveled miner coming in for a drink, and Ken treated him as such.
"Evening, fella." He said to the wolf. "Care for a drink?" The wolf nodded.
"Cornerian mead, if you have it." The wolf replied, taking a seat at the bar. Cornerian mead was a beverage made from fermented honey, and was popular amongst those who didn't have the taste for other beverages.
"Mulled or not?" Ken asked. The wolf requested it mulled, and Ken dutifully poured the dark yellow liquid into a mug, mixed in some cinnamon, and then took a hot fireplace poker and stuck into the drink for a bit, warming it up, before presenting it to the wolf, who thanked the bear before taking a swig of the drink.
"Good stuff." The wolf said. Ken picked up a nearby glass and began cleaning it.
"So, what brings you here?" Ken asked.
"Just passing through." The wolf answered. "I'm on my way to the core." He said, referring to the center of the system where the Corneria and the other core worlds were located.
"Looking for work?" Ken asked.
"Yeah." He said, taking another sip of his drink. "I need to use your holosuite." He said, gesturing over toward a small booth that contained a holo-imager. Patrons would use it to communicate, or to view holo-recorders.
"Sure, no problem." Ken said, putting the now clean glass onto the shelf behind him. The wolf downed the rest of his drink and gave ken a twenty credit slip before heading over to the suite and closing the booth door, which automatically activated a sound suppressing system for private conversations. He reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and removed a small, cylindrical plastic device, a holographic date recorder, and inserted into a circular slot on the console of the holosuite. The holoemitter flashed to life, and the visage of a male panther, face disfigured by a white scar that ran from underneath his right eye and down his cheek, appeared.
"Hello, Wolf." The panther, whose name was, not surprisingly, Panther Caruso, spoke. The wolf lowered the hood of his sweatshirt, revealing the hardened visage of Wolf O'Donnell, his right eye missing and replaced with a biomechanical implant. "If you're viewing this recorder, then I am probably dead, or in some other way incapacitated, and unable to deliver this message to you in person." Wolf nodded. During the final assault on the Aparoid homeworld, he and his team aided the Star Fox team in breaching the planet's defenses and attacking the Aparoid queen. Leon Powalski, one of his wingmen, was shot down and, Wolf presumed, killed during the initial assault. He and his other wingman, Panther, penetrated into the planet and cleared the way for Fox McCloud to attack the queen.
As they attempted to flee the planet, however, the access points they used to penetrate the interior began to close. Panther, in a display of great selflessness, used the shields of his fighter to hold open the "hatches", giving Wolf the precious few seconds he needed to escape. His last words before his fighter was crushed were a farewell to Wolf, and a cryptic last request for Wolf to "look under the vent". Wolf became separated from the attacking fleet and flew back to his Sargasso Space Zone hideout. He pondered Panther's final request for a few days, before chance came as he was cleaning out his quarters and heard a rattling noise coming from one of the air vents. A look inside turned up a data cylinder, and a note instructing him to take it someplace "where no one knew who he was" to be viewed, which was why Wolf was now at this dingy bar on a lawless mining colony, listening to the voice of his former friend speak to him from beyond the grave.
"What I am about to tell you may seem unbelievable, and perhaps even sound like the ravings of a madman, but it is something that you must hear." The image of Panther said. "I am sure that you remember the fourteenth of Nova, thirteen years ago." Wolf nodded.
"How could I forget?" He said. It was on that day, all those years ago, that his hatred for the one Fox McCloud had begun.
Wolf O'Donnell awoke to the sound of fire engines and shouting men. It took him a minute to get his bearings, but he soon realized that he was in his neighborhood. Wolf stood up slowly and noticed an orange glow to his right. To his horror, he realized his house was on fire!
Fearing for his wife and two daughters, he ran toward the house calling their names, only to be stopped by a firefighter.
"Sir, you can't go in there!" The firefighter, an avian, said to him.
"My family is in there! I have to..." He noticed stretchers being carried from the house... with body bags on them.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but they didn't make it." He said. "A stray bomb hit this street. It looks like pro-Venomian terrorists." Wolf couldn't speak; he was too overcome with shock and grief to even utter a sound. All he could do was stand there, tears streaming down his face.
"We're getting a report in, sir." Another firefighter said to the avian. "Witnesses are saying that a Venomian fighter and an Arwing were fighting, and a missile shot from the Arwing went off target and hit the street."
"Roger." The firefighter said.
Wolf had begun his plunge into darkness. Within days, he was contacted by the Venomian High Command, who informed him that the Arwing that had dislodged it's weapon was being piloted by none other than Fox McCloud. Wolf normally would not have believed such a thing, but in his grief and anger, he believed the farfetched explanation, and spent the next ten years of his life trying to destroy Fox and avenge his family. However, with the end of the Lylat War, and after having fought beside Fox during both the Aparoid invasion of Corneria and the attack on the Aparoid homeworld, he had begun to see Fox in a slightly different light, and had begun to question his earlier lust for vengeance.
"You have always believed that it was Fox McCloud who caused the death of your family so long ago, but I have uncovered something that will shatter that belief." The recording said. "I'm sure you're familiar with my skills at computer hacking." Wolf smiled, having witnessed said ability firsthand on many occasions. "Well, apparently, when the fascists abandoned Venom during the final Cornerian assault, they left most of their equipment behind, including their data banks. With a little keyboard jockeying, I was able to gain access to the former government's most intimate secrets, include top secret communications between the Venomian Special Service Bureau and it's field operatives, and found something quite interesting." Panther's face vanished, and was replaced by an official looking transcript. "This is a copy of a coded message sent by one of Bureau's field operatives. It was hell trying to crack the Venomian encryption code, but perseverance paid off, and here is the result." Wolf leaned in closer to get a look at the tiny letters. Wolf felt his heart enter his throat when he read the short, one line message.
"Operation successful. O'Donnels dead. Awating further instructions." Wolf couldn't believe what he was reading. The Venomians were responsible for the deaths of his wife and child?
"I reason that you're shocked by this." Panther's voice continued. "But this is just the tip of the iceberg. I also found this." The message disappeared and was replaced by another one, this one bearing the official seal of the Venomian Special Service Bureau (the "Special" being nothing more than a codeword for spying and sabotage). "This one comes courtesy from one of the top officials in the SSB, apparently detailing plans for a secret operation on Katina. Read on." He said. Wolf read the message, his hands trembling.
Notice to all field operatives on Katina,
Our intelligence has revealed that one of Corneria's top pilots resides on Katina. The pilot's name is Wolf O'Donnell, top graduate of the Cornerian Military Academy, and now working for a private security firm on Katina. O'Donnell displays exceptional skill as a pilot and as a ground fighter, having excelled in both areas while in the service of the Cornerians. We believe that he will make a valuable asset should Star Fox get involved in any Cornerian resistance to our upcoming operation against Lylat. To that end, we have devised a plan to kill his family and make it appear that either the Cornerians or Star Fox were involved, in order to draw him to join us. This is a high-risk operation and entails total discretion.
Brigadier Frederick Mann, Deputy Director, Special Service Bureau of the Venomian Empire
Wolf was shocked beyond measure. For a long time now, he had begun to suspect that he had been lied to about Star Fox's involvement in his family's death. After they died, men whom he later found out were Venomian officials approached him with evidence that Star Fox, which had just come under the control of Fox McCloud following his father's death, was involved in his family's murder. The "evidence" that they did offer him was so flimsy that it wouldn't pass muster at a kangaroo court. But wolf had been blinded by grief and despair, and in that state, he accepted what the strangers told him. In a rage, he renounced his loyalties to Corneria and resolved to kill Fox McCloud and avenge his family. He spent the next thirteen years trying to get the upper hand on Fox, until the Aparoid conflict broke out, and he began to question his assumptions as he got to understand Fox better.
And now, he was finding out that the whole time, his anger had been misplaced. It was not Star Fox, but a Venomian black-op, that was responsible for his family's death. His service for Venom was nothing more than an insurance policy in case Star Fox got involved in the conflict.
Wolf snarled with rage. He couldn't believe that he could be used in such a fashion. The message on the holo-projector disappeared, replaced by Panther's visage.
"I know this may seem unbelievable, but it is the truth." Panther said. "You have been used, my friend. The Venomians needed someone to check Star Fox, and felt you were the one to do it. So, they murdered your family in cold blood, and fabricated a flimsy story about a band of mercenaries slaying them in order to draw you into their web." Wolf nodded. "But, I believe that this is an opportunity to set things right, my friend. I think you know what I mean. Farewell, old friend." With that, the recording ended.
Wolf knew quite well what he was talking about. He removed the data recorder and stepped out of the holosuite. He finished the rest of his mead and then paid Ken before stepping out into the cold desert night. As he walked down the main road, he spotted a young girl, apparently selling little candies for money. P-999 was formerly a Venomian mining colony, which in practice was little more than a concentration camp for political dissidents and other people considered to be enemies of Andross' fascist regime. As the system collapsed during the final days of the Lylat War, the local economy collapsed as well. As a result, many people were left poor and homeless. The Cornerian government had done it's best to help the area recover, but it was slow going.
Wolf also noticed that she had what appeared to be scars on her left cheek and arms, apparently a gift from one of the brutal Venomian security police who ran the prison camps. She was most likely the child of a former prisoner, a group of people hardest hit by the collapse of the economy following the war.
"I've spent the last thirteen years letting my humanity wither away," Wolf though, "it's about time I started letting it grow again." He walked over to the girl and took out a five hundred-credit slip, the last bit of money he had on him. It wasn't much by most standards, but with prices on the outer rim colonies at all time lows, that amount could feed the girl's family for at least three months.
"Here." Wolf said. "Take this home." The girl smiled and hugged Wolf.
"Thank you, sir." She said. Wolf gently returned the hug, and the girl scampered off home. Wolf smiled.
"I used to think being a good guy was for the weak." Wolf thought. "Now that I think about it, I could grow to like it." It was then he spied a coming taxi. Wolf flagged the cab down and stepped inside.
"Where to, pal?" The cabbie asked.
"The spaceport, on the double." The cabbie nodded and set off for the spaceport. Wolf sat back in his seat and reflected on everything that had just happened. It was said that the truth would set one free, and Wolf thought, truer words had never been spoken.
---
Fox gently nudged his way down the crowded aisle to the seats Pepper had picked out for them. The Graduation Ceremony for the cadets was about to begin. Fox took a seat next to Krystal, who took his hand as he sat down.
"I didn't expect this place to be so big." She said.
"Well, there are over fifty thousand cadets here at the Academy." Fox said. Krystal nodded and laid her head on his shoulder as the Commandant of the Academy, a large bulldog, took the podium and began to address the crowd. Fox didn't listen to his speech, as he stroked Krystal's hair, and was only drawn out of this when Pepper whispered over to him.
"Here they come." He said. Fox looked down into the entrance aisles as the Academy March began to play. The aisles were soon filled with a sea of black as the cadets began marching into the center, brass shining in the lights of the auditorium. Fox longingly thought back to his own graduation, walking down the gray concrete paths of the old outdoor auditorium, before it was torn down to make room for the new Convocation Center.
Fox smiled, looking out at the new generation of Cornerian officers. This was the first time since the Lylat War that the entire class was graduating. No one had failed out. The old Cornerian traditions of hard work and dedication were alive and well.
After the cadets had entered the auditorium and had been seated, a series of speeches began. The ceremony began with a prayer led by the Academy Chaplain, followed by speeches from the Commandant of the Academy, Chairman of the Military Council Gen. Frederick Casey, and Vice Chancellor of Lylat Richard Rice. Chancellor Thomas Marian was supposed to deliver the speech himself, but was unable to attend due to illness.
Following the round of speeches, which Fox thought was never going to end, the Commandant stood up and began the commissioning ceremony. At his orders, the cadets all rose from their seats and stood rigidly at attention. Fox smiled as the cadets marched into line and stepped up, one by one, to receive their commissions. Each cadet was met with thundering applause on receiving their certificate and the single solid pentagon rank insignia of the Lylatian military.
"There they are." Fox heard Pepper say. Fox looked down into the stream of cadets and spotted a lynx and canid. Sure enough, there were the cadets that Pepper had bragged about. Though he couldn't see in their faces, he could almost sense the pride that must have been swelling up inside of them as they marched forward, about too begin the next chapter of their lives.
---
Fox wasn't far off in this assessment. As the two began to mount the stage to receive their commissions, feelings of intense pride surged through their beings and threatened to burst through the serious expressions on their faces. The two mounted the stairs leading up to the stage, waiting anxiously for their turn to step forward. They didn't have to wait long, although it seemed like an eternity.
"Cadet Miyu Danielle Lynx, graduate with honors, Commandant's Seal of Excellence." The Commandant called. Miyu stepped forward, a smiled just showing on her face. She approached the commandant and saluted, a gesture returned by the Commandant, who proceeded to present her with her certificate and rank insignia. Faye followed suit, and could barley contain her excitement as she walked up the to Commandant and received her commission. She was so excited she almost tripped going down the stairs to return to her place in the ranks, but recovered in time and avoided an embarrassing moment. Miyu couldn't help but giggle lightly.
"Have a nice trip?" She asked in jest. Faye just giggled. They were too proud of themselves to be upset at anything.
---
As Fox and the others looked on, the cadets all stepped forward, received their commissions, and then stepped back into the ranks. At the conclusion of this, the Academy chaplain stepped forward and offered a prayer for the newly minted officers. Following the prayer, the Commandant stepped forward and pronounced them officers in the Lylatian Military. The cadets responded by cheering and throwing their caps into the air, jubilant those four years of arduous work had finally paid off, and they could now bask in the light of their accomplishment. At this, Pepper stood up and beckoned to the rest of the team.
"Come." He said. "Let's give them a surprise." Fox nodded and joined Pepper, followed by the rest of the team.
---
Faye and Miyu sprinted back to their dorm, following the short reception that had followed the ceremony, where numerous officers and officials congratulated the new officers. Along the way, they had to dodged underclassmen all too eager to grovel at them again. They finally arrived back at their dorm, out of breath from the running. They slumped down on the stairwell leading up to their floor, exhausted.
"All those years of Academy fitness training seem to have been for naught." Faye said. Miyu laughed.
"I need something to drink." She said. "Why don't you head on up, and I'll get us some water."?
"Alright, see you in a bit." Faye said, dragging herself up the stairs and down the hall to their room. She took her access card from her breast pocket and slid it through the reader on the door. The door hissed open, and Faye entered. She didn't see the other person until they spoke.
"Afternoon, Cadet." A voice said. Faye looked up to be greeted by the smiling face of Pepper himself. Shocked, it took her a moment to remember her military bearings.
"Oh, sir!" She yelped, snapping to attention and saluting. As a member of the General Command Staff, Pepper demanded all the courtesy that one would give to a superior officer. Pepper chuckled at her surprise.
"At ease, Cadet, or should I say Lieutenant." Pepper said. Faye took a deep breath to calm her nerves before lowering the salute.
"May I ask what brings you here, sir?" She asked.
"It has to do with your assignment." He said. He was about to continue when a cheery female voice called out.
"They really should think about repainting the rooms. The color is absolutely dreadful." To Faye's astonishment, a blue vixen emerged from her bathroom. "Oh, hello." She said to the astonished Faye. "You must be Ms. Spaniel. I'm Krystal, how are you?" Faye turned to Pepper, her blue eyes wide as dinner plates.
"Uh, are there anymore people hiding in my bathroom?" She said, eliciting a chuckle from Pepper and Krystal
"None that I know of." Krystal said.
"I don't mean to be rude, but what does she have to do with my assignment?" Faye asked. By this time, Miyu had joined them, and was equally surprised to see Pepper and Krystal.
"What's going on here?" She asked.
"As I was about to say, I'm sure you're quite familiar with the Star Fox team." Pepper said.
"Who isn't?" Miyu asked. Krystal smiled.
"Well, I've informed them of your accomplishments as cadets, and they're interested in having you join." Miyu and Faye looked at each other in shock.
"This isn't a prank?" Miyu asked. Pepper shook his head.
"Not at all! In fact, my companion here is a member." He said, pointing to Krystal, who was smiling.
"I can vouch for that fact." Krystal said. "So what do you say, you want to join?" Faye ran her hands through her hair in disbelief.
"But, we've just graduated. Don't we have a service commitment?" She asked. Just then, General Casey arrived.
"Ah, there you are sir." He said, saluting Pepper.
"General, I'll assume everything's taken care of?" He said. Casey nodded.
"Everything. I sure hate to lose such great pilots, but I'm sure they'll fit in quite nicely." He said, smiling. The girls pinched themselves. It hurt a lot, which ruled out the possibility that they were dreaming.
"So, what do you say?" Pepper asked. The girls beamed.
"You bet we're in." They both said. Pepper beamed.
"Well, then. Shall we meet the rest of the team?" The Girls nodded, feeling like schoolgirls on the first day of summer vacation.
---
"Sir, we've lost the signal." Dr. Bougainville walked over to the monitoring station, where the crew of K-45 had been keeping the sensors monitoring the surface, and the strange signals being detected, under constant surveillance. Up until now, the signal had remained constant, but now...
"What do you mean you've lost it?" Bougainville asked. The crewman manning the sensor station pointed to the area of the map where the signal had been detected.
"I was steady a moment ago, and then whatever it was just stopped transmitting." The crewman, a young raccoon, said. "I'm running another sensor scan to try to locate it, but I think it's gone." Bougainville sighed.
"This will make Star Fox's job twice as difficult." He said. "Sweep the area again and try to find that signal." The crewman nodded, and began running a wide scan sensor sweep, which covered the entire map area with the station's powerful sensor array. He scanned the planet's surface for about twenty minutes, finding nothing but the usual assortment of lifeforms and background noise. He was about to call it quits when he spotted something on the sensor display next to him, which ringed the habitat ring of the station, looking outward into space. Looking closer, he spotted a small blip toward the edge of the display, about seven parsecs away from the station. It could only mean one thing, a ship.
"Sir, we've got something on the deep space sensors." He called. Bougainville rushed over.
"What is it?" He asked. The crewman indicated the blip on the sesor.
"Looks like a ship, sir." He said. As they watched, the blip suddenly disappeared. The ship had gone into hyperspace, and was no longer visible to sensors. "The only ships I've seen out this far have been science ships or military ships. I wonder who they were?" Bougainville scoffed.
"Probably pirates or smugglers." He said. "Just ignore it, the military will take care of them. Anything on the planetary scans?"
"No sir." The crewman said. "I ran multiple scans. Whatever that signal was, it's gone now." Bougainville nodded.
"Keep an eye on the sensors." He said. "If it shows up again, alert me. I'll be with Commander McFaul, overseeing repairs to his ship."
"Will do." The crewman replied, returning to his sensors.
---
Faye and Miyu pattered along behind Pepper and Krystal. They had since changed out of their uniforms and into their regular street clothes. Faye had gone with a simple pair of tight-fitting jeans and white t-shirt with a navy blue athletic logo. She wore blue high-tops on her feet, and over one shoulder was slung her dull green academy-issue duffel bag, which contained most of her clothes and meager possessions. Miyu followed, likewise carrying her duffel bag over her shoulder. Miyu was dressed in a black t-shirt and pants, with white sneakers and a denim vest. Pepper led them back to the vehicles, where the rest of the team was waiting for them.
Fox looked at the two former cadets. Neither of them would have been what one would think of when they thought of an Academy graduate. In fact, they looked like two high school girls on their way to the mall. They certainly didn't look like trained military pilots, but Fox knew better than to judge a book by it's cover. He smiled as the two girls approached him.
"You must be Faye and Miyu." He said. Both of them blushed. Fox McCloud was a hero to them. It was him who inspired them to join the Academy and train to become pilots. To be addressed by their idol, it was enough to make them blush like schoolgirls.
"Yes." Both of them blurted out. Fox chuckled. These two were like peas in a pod, answering a question at the same time. Reminded him of himself and Slippy back when they were kids.
"Congratulations on graduating." Fox said. "You two must be proud of yourselves." He could just make out the hint of a blush on Faye's face. Miyu could too, rolling her eyes at here friends shyness.
"Why, yes sir." She said. Fox chuckled.
"There's no need to be formal with us." He said. "We're a pretty informal bunch of guys," he looked at Krystal, "and girls." Krystal giggled.
"I heard you two have some hot skills." Falco said. "From Pepper says, you guys have a pretty good knack for thinking on your feet." Faye nodded.
"Especially her." Faye said, pointing to Miyu. "You should have seen her on her finals. Six fighters, three out of a star and three from below, and she vaped them all and her escorts didn't suffer a scratch. Unlike me." She said.
"Really, now?" Fox said. "Skills like that would really help us out, especially now."
"We have a mission?" Faye asked.
"Yes." Fox said. "A weird one, but a mission nonetheless. Speaking of which, we'll be needing transportation." He said, turning to Pepper.
"It's already been taken care of." Pepper said. "In fact, I have another surprise for you." Fox cocked his head.
"Dare I ask?" He said. Pepper chuckled.
"Well, follow me, and I'll show you." He said, getting into one of the cars. The team, new members in tow, joined him. A short drive later, they arrived at the Corneria City Spaceport, where they caught a shuttle into orbit.
"What are we doing up in orbit?" Fox asked.
"You'll see." Pepper said. A few minutes later, they pulled in front of the Space Dynamics Shipyard, and sitting inside the massive gantry was..
"TheGreat Fox!" Fox shouted. Indeed, sitting in the shipyard was an exact replica of the original Great Fox, just as it would have looked when it was first built.
"Yes, except this Great Fox is equipped with all the latest technologies in ship design you can think of, improved engines, sensors, improved shields and weapons, thicker hull armor, the works." Fox just gaped at the ship sitting in the yard.
"I don't know what to say, except thank you." Fox said. Pepper smiled.
"You can thank the people of Lylat for this one." He said. "A special 'thank you' gift for stopping the Aparoid menace."
"I'll shout it from every rooftop in Corneria City." Fox said. The rest of team chuckled, as the shuttle pulled up to the yard and docked with the ship, allowing the team to board. The inside of the ship was set up just like on the original. The individual quarters each contained a bed, a desk, and a communications screen. Between the quarters and the bridge was a common area where the team could eat and socialize. The common area was equipped with a bar, a lounge, a hologram communicator, and a pair of replicators from which they could order any type of food they wanted.
The team walked up the corridor leading to the bridge, which was just they way they remembered it on the original Great Fox. Control panels were set up on both sides of the bridge, along with an engineering station towards the rear. In the middle of the bridge sat the captain's chair, which Fox wasted no time jumping into, eliciting a laugh from his crewmates. Hanging in front of the transparent aluminum bridge windows was a large holoscreen for the purpose of receiving communications and, sitting dormant over by the front viewports, was the team's old AI, ROB.
"Well Fox, what do you think? Is she up to standard?" Pepper asked. Fox smirked.
"Well, if that wasn't a stupid question." He said. Pepper chuckled loudly.
"I'll take that as a yes." He said. "I'll leave you to your mission now. I wish you all the best of luck." He said, saluting the team. The rest of the team returned the salute before Pepper left the ship. Slippy took his position at the engineering station, whilst the rest of the team went to go pick out quarters.
"Patch me through to the yard control, Slip." Fox said. Slippy activated the ship's communications system and patched through to the shipyard traffic control center. After receiving permission to leave the dock, the gangways leading up the ship were withdrawn, and Fox, with intense concentration, slowly eased the ship out from the yard. Once he had passed into open space, he set a course for Station K-45, and ROB came to life.
"Good afternoon, sir." He said in his monotone voice. Fox nodded in acknowledgement. Due to the influence of the gravity wells of the planet, they couldn't go into hyperspace for another few minutes. As the ship trudged along, Slippy noticed something on the sensor screen.
"Hey Fox." He said. Fox turned to face him. "We've got a ship approaching. It's on an intercept vector." Fox got up and peered over Slippy's shoulder at the sensor readout. Sure enough, there was a ship on an intercept vector towards the Great Fox. Fox looked at Slippy with a look of surprise tinged with nervousness on his face.
"Hail them." He said. Slippy opened a communications channel to the ship and pushed a button marked "HAIL" on the communications console, sending out a standard ship's hail to the mysterious intruder. The two waited about thirty seconds. The ship did not respond. Slippy sent out a second hail, and they waited again, with the same result. Fox was about to sound the alarm when ROB chimed in
"Incoming transmission." The old robot said.
"Patch it through." Fox ordered. The holoscreen lowered and flickered to life, revealing only a black screen. Fox was surprised. "Slip, is there anything wrong with the holoscreen?" He asked.
"Nah, he's just sending a text only message. Here." Slippy replied. He pushed a key on the console, and a miniature keyboard appeared from in front of the captain's chair. Fox took a seat just as text began to appear on the screen.
RQST PTD
Needless to say, Fox was confused. He had never used a text communication before.
"Text only messages are rendered shorthand so as not to clog the system. It says 'request permission to dock'". Slippy said, noticing Fox's confusion. Not an expert at shorthand, Fox simply typed, "Identify yourself" on the keyboard and pressed the "transmit" key. The letters flashed on the screen already shortened.
ID YRSLF
Fox didn't have to wait long for a response.
CNNT ID PRSNTLY
"He says 'Cannot identify presently''. Slippy said. "Whoever he is, he's secretive."
"I'll say." Fox said. As he spoke, another message flashed on the screen.
NO THRT
Fox hazarded a guess that the other ship was trying to say that they were not a threat. Fox thought for a second about what to do. If he allowed the ship to dock with them, and they turned out to be a threat, then he put his crew in danger. On the other hand, if he didn't, the ship might risk an attack on the Great Fox if they were a threat, or if they weren't, they would leave, and possibly take some valuable information with them. Fox quickly made his decision.
"Slip, call the team together. Tell them to come to the docking bay, armed." He ordered. Slippy was surprised.
"You're going to let them dock? Then what's with the weapons?" Slippy asked.
"I want to have all my bases covers." Fox replied. Slippy shrugged and got on the intercom to alert the team. Fox typed, "Permission to dock granted" on the keyboard and transmitted.
PTD GRNTD
The other ship quickly replied.
TY
Fox supposed this meant thank you. He got up from his chair and followed Slippy to the armory near the back of the habitat area of the ship. Fox pressed his palm onto the palm reader to open the door of the armory. The door whooshed open, and they both retrieved their blasters, which had somehow ended up in the armory of the new ship, which Fox surmised had been an arrangement by Pepper. They also retrieved two blasters for Faye and Miyu, and then joined the rest of the team and headed down to the docking bay, where an airlock for docking with large ships was located. They didn't have very long to wait, as the bay soon rung with the sound of a ship docking with the Great Fox, and the green light indicating the airlock was in use flashed on. The door to the airlock whooshed open, and there, clad in a black leather jacket, flight pants, combat boots, and black t-shirt was.
"Wolf!" Fox shouted. Indeed, Wolf O'Donnell was now standing in front of them, little expression on his face, hands in the pockets of his jacket. All of the team members, Faye and Miyu included, drew their weapons and aimed them at him, expressions of shock and fear on their faces.
Wolf sighed. He wasn't surprised at their reactions to his arrival. When you live your life where the arrival of someone meant possible death, you couldn't help but be defensive when they suddenly showed up.
"There's no need to pull your pieces, I'm unarmed." He said to them, opening his jacket to show he had no weapons. "I can let strip search me, if you want."
"You can take your boots off, thank you!" Falco hissed. Wolf rolled his eyes.
"That last bit there was a joke, but if it'll make you happy." He bent down, undid his combat boots, and slipped them off, showing he was hiding nothing. "Satisfied?" Fox nodded.
"Alright, you're unarmed." He said. He motioned to the rest of the team to lower their weapons, which they reluctantly did. "Now, do you mind telling us what you're doing here?"
"I here you guys have another job from Pepper." Wolf replied. Fox narrowed his eyes.
"How do you know about that?" He asked.
"I'm fairly proficient at hacking. I just took a look at Pepper's communication's logs. He called Peppy and you to his office, and was talking with some other people about some weird stuff on some rock he wanted you to investigate, so here I am." Wolf said. "Where is the old fellow, anyway?"
"Peppy? He's back with Pepper, monitoring us." Fox said. "Why are you concerned about our mission?"
"One of the logs mentioned cloaked ships." Wolf said. "I figured the Venomians were up to something big if they were using cloaked ships to tramp around the area, and if they're up to what I think they're up to, I might be able to lend a hand." Needless to say, Fox was shocked at his last statement. Wolf, Fox's sworn enemy, was offering to help them. The rest of the team could scarcely believe it, especially Falco, and he said so.
"I know it sounds hard to believe, but I think once you hear me out, you will." Wolf said. "That beef that I had with you, Fox, it's done. I was stupid to begin with."
"What do you mean?" Slippy said.
"I haven't told anyone this, especially you, but when Andross formed Star Wolf, he did so to form a counterpoint to Star Fox to keep them out of the war." He said. "He assembled the best pilots he could find, and chose me to lead them. He knew I would never leave my family on Katina, so he gave me a reason to."
"Which was?" Fox asked.
"He had my family murdered, and dressed it up to look like Star Fox did." Wolf said. "That's why I've been fighting you all for the past thirteen years. Revenge. But I've learned now that I'm mistaken. I won't go into detail, because I have more urgent things to say, but you have to believe me." Fox was beginning to feel his suspicion melt away. Sure, it was a crazy and unbelievable tale, but for some reason, he felt he could trust Wolf, despite their past. The tone of his voice was sincere, almost pleading with them to believe him. The rest of the team looked like they didn't believe a word that came out of his mouth, but Krystal spoke up.
"He's telling the truth, Fox." Krystal said. "I can sense it. He means what he says." Fox turned to his wife and nodded. Then he turned to Wolf.
"Krystal is a telepath." He explained. "Her senses have never failed us before, and I have no reason not to trust them now. We'll listen to what you have to say." Falco looked nervous at Fox's decision, but he didn't say anything. Fox was right, Krystal's sense had never been wrong before.
"Thank you." Wolf said. "It'll take a little while for me to explain everything. Is there a place where we can sit?" Fox nodded.
"There's a conference room near the quarters." He said. "We can go there." They then left the docking bay and made for the lounge, which could double as a briefing and conference room. Along the way, Fox spoke with Krystal.
"You're certain he's telling the truth?" Fox said. Krystal nodded.
"I'm positive." She replied. "Everything he said was the truth. I could even sense his memories of the event." She teared up a little. "It was awful, having to see the bodies of his family taken away." Fox put a hand on her shoulder.
"He said he needed to tell us something." He said. "What do you make of it?"
"I didn't get a chance to see, but I could tell that it's something he feels is extremely important." She replied. "He desperately wants to tell us. I did sense that it had something to do with the insurgency, but beyond that, I don't know."
"Alright." Fox said. "We'll find out." He still had a fair amount of suspicion in his voice. After all, it was Wolf, and like Wolf had said, after all the time they had spent hating each other, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
---
"Sir, something weird is going on." The young crewman called. The watch officer on K-45's control deck came over.
"What is it?" The watch officer asked.
"There's another signal." The crewman replied. He pointed to a blip on the map of the area the signal had been spotted before. "Now, it's closer to the mountains." Indeed, the signal had reappeared near the foot of a small mountain range, which rose out of the jungle near the edge of the quadrant. Whatever was making the signal, it was moving.
"Keep watching it." The watch officer said. "I'll alert Dr. Bougainville."
"Will do, sir." The crewman replied, turning his attention to the sensor display. Hopefully, the both thought, Star Fox would be able to get to the bottom of this mystery.
---
"Alright, spill it." Falco demanded. "What is it that's so important."
"Be patient, Falco!" Krystal scolded. Wolf sat down on the lounge chair.
"First off, a question. Are any of you familiar with Talaron?" They all, Slippy included, shook their heads. Wolf continued.
"It's a highly unstable form of radiation developed by the Venomians shortly before the war began." He said. "Basically, it takes any organic material it comes into contact with and destroys it. Nothing left." Krystal shuddered.
"You mean it can completely destroy living beings?" She asked. Wolf nodded.
"The Venomians wanted something that could wipe out entire defending armies in a single stroke. Talaron was the answer. Combine the stuff with an energy source, such as a missile blast, and a tiny amount could scour a thirty-mile area clean of life, trees, animals, and people." Wolf explained. "But there was a problem with the stuff. Namely, Talaron was highly unstable. Any energy source could set it off, even heat and electricity. Made the stuff notoriously difficult to store. That, and it was expensive to produce. A few dozen tons of the stuff carried a price tag of over three hundred billion dollars. Not something for an army on a budget. So, not surprisingly, Andross pulled the funding for the Talaron project and focused it on creating those biomechanical horrors he's now so famous for."
"Whatever became of the Talaron?" Fox asked.
"When they realized the Cornerians were coming, Andross' top generals had the stuff smuggled out and covertly destroyed." Wolf answered. "Or, at least that's what they said happened. Rumors flew around that they had the some of the stuff stashed on a remote planet that they could go to should they ever decide they wanted to take power again."
"And you believe those rumors?" Fox asked. He found the story of hidden caches of superweapons unbelieveable.
"I don't think so, I know so." Wolf said.
"You're nuts." Fox said.
"Not really. I have something that you might find interesting." He said, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a piece of paper. He tossed it to Fox, who caught it in midair. "Read it, you'll be surprised." He said. Fox unfolded the paper and read it. His eyes widened when he read it.
"It's an official memo from the Venomian Intelligence Bureau... detailing a secret op to remove 300 canisters of Talaron B to a secret location. It doesn't say where." Fox said. "It's a genuine memo. It's got the right code and everything."
"I believe that the planet you guys have been sent to investigate is the secret location described in the memo." Wolf said.
"Why do you say that?" Faye said.
"It's simple." Wolf said. "If you guys had looked at the geological reports from the planet survey, you'd know that the area where the signal was detected is laced with underground caves."
"You think the Venomians hid the stuff in the caves?" Falco said. "But how do you know that that planet is the one where they hid the stuff?"
"That's where the cloaked ships that have been detected in the area come in." Wolf said. "There's been a lot of interest in the insurgent camp about the planet, and I think it's because of the Talaron. They've figured out that this planet is where it's been hidden, and they're determined to get their hands on it."
"What does it mean for Lylat?" Fox asked.
"Each of the canisters contains about ten kilograms of Talaron." Wolf said. "If you do the math, that adds up to about three thousand kilograms of Talaron. In order to build a Talaron weapon, such as a missile with a Talaron warhead, you need only about a microgram of the stuff." Fox couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"They could build thousands of weapons with those canisters." He said.
"Each one with the power to kill everyone within a thirty mile radius of the impact." He said. "You guys think the terrorist attacks in the outer rim are bad now, if the insurgents get their hands on the stuff, they won't be satisfied to stick to the outer rim. They'll start coming in to the main system and attacking the major cities. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, could die in a single raid." Krystal shuddered just thinking about. Although she had seen plenty of violence in her life, the idea that someone could slaughter millions of innocent people made her physically ill.
"Well Fox, what do we do?" Falco asked. Fox pondered for a moment.
"Alright Wolf, we'll let you onboard." He said. "I want you to help us take this cache out before the Venomians can get it."
"I'll do what I can." Wolf said.
"ROB, are we clear to go to hyperspace yet?" He asked.
"Yes sir." ROB answered. "Shall I set course?"
"Yes, enter hyperspace on my mark." Fox said. "I'll need you to detach your ship, Wolf." Wolf pressed a button on his wristband, and the ship attached to Great Fox pulled away, but not before another smaller ship, a Wolfen, pulled out of the ship and docked with the Great Fox. "Alright ROB, mark!" The Great Fox shot a green beam out from its nose, punching a hole into hyperspace, and then entered it. The team departed for their respective cabins, Falco remaining behind to talk to Fox.
"You sure you want to let him onboard?" He whispered. "After all, it is Wolf." Fox nodded.
"I know, but Krystal says he's sincere, and I trust her." He said. "I'll be keeping an eye on him, but I believe he's telling the truth." Falco shrugged and departed to his cabin. Fox sighed. He hoped he wasn't misplacing his trust.