The Remnant

by knightcommander

When strange activity is detected on a recently discovered planet, the Star Fox team is drawn into an adventure that will change their lives forever. Rated T for langauge and violent content.

5. The Crystal Mountains

Chapter Four: The Crystal Mountains

Chapter Four: The Crystal Mountains

The only way for one to visualize what it was like to travel through hyperspace was to actually go through a hyperspace jump. Words simply could not describe the kaleidoscope of colors that danced around the ship as it sojourned through hyperspace. The bridge of the Great Fox was bathed in a rainbow of greens, blues, and the occaisional splash of purple, red, and pink as it slipped through hyperspace on the way to K-45. Fox leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head, relaxing. Ships traveling through hyperspace were advised to keep the bridge window blast shields, large metal panels that covered the windows to protect from impacts, closed, due to the fact the sight of a hyperspace tunnel could produce a hypnotic effect on the bridge crew, but Fox and the others found it soothing, making it easier for them to work. The atmosphere on the bridge of the Fox was one of relaxation and peace, with the exception of one person.

Wolf stood in the hatchway leading to the main corridor of the ship, leaning against the bulkhead. The expression on his face wasn't one of relaxation or contentment. He was worried. He was worried that the team might be too late, that he hadn't warned them in time.

If his suspicions were correct, then all the recent activity from Venominan insurgents in the area meant that the Venomians at least suspected that the Talaron cache was located on P-4412. It was the only reason he could think of for the Venomians to be so interested in the planet. Wolf had seen the effects of Talaron firsthand, when he was working for the Venomians. The Venomians, in flagrant violation of every moral standard in the known universe, tested new weapons on prisoners, being particular fond of political prisoners and Lylatian prisoners of war. Wolf cringed with disgust as he remembered the test he had witnessed. It was on a woman convicted of "counter-revolutionary activities" for publishing an editorial critical of Andross' regime. The woman was forced into a chamber, and pure Talaron was introduced into the room. Since this Talaron was not energized, it affected the victim slowly. Wolf remembered the woman's screams as her body was reduced to carbon slowly, her flesh blackening and crumbling away before his eyes. The man administering the test had the nerve to ask him if he wanted to carry the stuff with him on his missions. Having a greater sense of morality than anyone under Andross' command, he refused to carry the God-awful weapon, much to the chagrin of his wingman Leon Powalski, who reveled in causing pain.

He didn't need to see the insurgents in action to know that they would not hesitate to use the Talaron. Most of the insurgent groups were leftover units from the old Imperial Army, including regiments of the infamous Emperor's Fist special forces group, nicknamed the "Black Fists" because of their emblem. Of the 200 former Venomian officials wanted for war crimes by the Lylatian government and the Venomian Provisional Government, 125 of them were from the Black Fists.

Major General Frederick Clay Schneider, commanding general of the Sixth Division of the Black Fists, led the invasion of the Lylatian colonies of Eiser, Vara, and Nova Sanctum... and massacred over ten thousand Lylatian prisoners of war each from the Fifth and Second Corps of the Lylatian Army. Following the war, he fled with the rest of his division across the outer rim, and Lylatian intelligence now believed that he was in charge of insurgent raiding parties attacking and pillaging colonial towns along the rim.

Brigadier General Wolfgang Hauptmann, commander of the Eight Brigade, Third Division of the Venomian army, solved the problem of a huge pro-Lylat presence on the neutral colony of P-239... by bombing most of them with nerve gas and herding the rest into concentration camps, where they were used as slave labor and worked to death. By the time the Lylatians liberated the colony, only three hundred were left out of originally one million prisoners. Intelligence now believed him to be commanding a brigade in Sector P. Where, no one knew.

General Bruno Spiers, the chief of the Intelligence Bureau, also served as Andross' chief torturer, inventing all kinds of horrific methods that Wolf didn't care to recall. Lylatian Intelligence had no clue where he was, and were hunting for him twenty-four/seven, him being one of the top five most wanted.

Doctor George Marshall, a former scientist with the Lylatian military who became seduced by the fascist party and their message of genetic supremacy. Following Andross' exile, he fled to Venom with him, and became his chief researcher. He oversaw the Special Weapons Division of the Venomian Military Research and Development department, where he conducted horrific experiments on living people, mostly "invalids", or people deemed by the government to be genetically inferior, and thus disposable. Besides the journalist woman upon whom the Talaron was tested, a horror Wolf had been witness to, Marshall also oversaw the testing of his personal favorite project... germ weapons. He particularly favored Titanian plague, a crippling disease which attacked the lungs, causing death by drowning when the vessels and capillaries of the lungs, weakened by the disease, burst and filled the victim's lungs with blood. The Lylatian and Venomian governments believed the "Death Angel of Venom" killed between fifty thousand and two hundred thousand people, most of who's only crime was being, by fascist standards, "inferior".

Wolf shook himself from out of these thoughts and focused on the job that was coming. If he was right, and the insurgents had found the location of the Talaron, then they would go all out to recover it. That meant diverting a large force to the planet to search for the stuff, possibly an entire division, fifteen thousand troops. Although Star Fox had distinguished themselves against the Venomians during the Lylat war, most of their missions had been in their Arwings, not on the ground. Though he had no doubts about Fox and his team's abilities in combat, fighting on the ground was much different then fighting in the air. Fox had proven himself to be quite capable at fighting on the deck, as evidenced by his performance in beating back the Aparoid attack on Corneria during the Crisis. Still, a division was a lot of troops.

If they found themselves outnumbered and outgunned, and if they failed to prevent the Venomians from recovering the Talaron, he feared that it wouldn't matter if they survived the battle or not, as there would be no Lylat to return to once the insurgents got through with them.

Wolf shook his head again, forcing these thoughts from his head. Stay positive, he told himself. There's no need to start thinking the worst. He decided to head to lounge to rest a bit, as they still had a bit before they arrived. He was halfway down the gangway when he realized someone was following him.

"Are you alright?" Krystal asked. Wolf turned to see she had followed him from the bridge.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said rather quickly. Krystal could sense that this wasn't true.

"You forget that I'm a telepath." She said, crossing her arms. Wolf sighed. There was no use. You obviously couldn't hide anything from her.

"Yeah, you're right." He said. "Truth is, I'm worried. The Venomians have God only knows how long of a head start on us. They may have already found the stuff." He said. "I've seen what it can do to people." He clenched his fists. "And those damn fascists would think nothing of bombing an entire city, an entire planet, just to cow the system into submission. It was only by pure timing that they didn't get a chance to use the stuff during the war." Krystal didn't say anything at first. She slipped into a deep thought.

The ships in orbit around the planet. The missiles streaking toward the surface. The green energy wave sweeping across the surface, leaving it bleak and barren. Her cries of agony as she realized she would never see her family again.

Krystal had long suspected the Venomians had something to do with the destruction of Cerinia, and now that she had learned of their doomsday weapon, her suspicions had grown. Could Andross have ordered the destruction of her people? And if so, for what purpose did it serve? From what she had heard of Andross and his fascists, no act of cruelty was below them. Wolf noticed that she was quiet.

"You okay?" He asked. Krystal shook herself out of her thoughts.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine." She said. "I was just thinking..."

"That Venom might have something to do with the destruction of your home planet." Wolf finished for her. When she looked at him incredulously, he smirked slightly. "I'm familiar with your past, mostly from the countless number of news reports that have been done about your team." He said. "What exactly happened?" Krystal shuddered, as though remembering made her ill.

"Well, I don't usually like to talk about it, but I'll tell you." She replied. For some reason, she felt she could trust Wolf, despite his past with the team. "It happened the day my brother became a warrior, the day he got married."

"You had a brother?" Wolf asked, surprised. Krystal smiled.

"Yes." She said. "I think I was closer with him than with any other member of my family. He was the kindest, gentlest fellow you would ever meet. There wasn't a mean bone is his body. The only time I ever saw him angry was when he was defending me from bullies." She wiped the tear that had begun to form in her eye away as she spoke. "When I was a little girl, he would take me hiking in the hills outside of our village with him, or fishing in the little stream nearby. He never failed in catching at least a dozen fish."

"Sounds like a good guy." Wolf said. Krystal nodded and continued.

"He was." She said. "When he finished his training and was tapped, is when it happened. One moment, we were celebrating his marriage, the next, we were fighting for our lives. They came out of nowhere, dozens of them dressed in black uniforms, and began killing everyone they saw. I managed to flee with my brother to an escape ship, but before he could get on, more soldiers attacked us." It was then that Krystal really began to tear up. "My brother, he... he fought with the soldiers, buying the time for the ship to take off. He... sacrificed himself for me." She began to cry, unable to continue the story. Wolf didn't need to hear the rest to know the Venomians were probably behind the attack. If he knew the Venomians, they killed the Cerinians in cold blood due to their vicious disregard for anyone they considered to be "inferior" especially other species, whom they considered to be the lowest of the low. He put a comforting hand on Krystal's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." He said. Krystal shook her head.

"Don't be," she said, "I'll be okay. In fact, It feels good to tell my story sometimes. Thank you for listening." Wolf smiled.

"Don't mention it." He said. Then he yawned. "I think I'm going to rest for a while." He said. Krystal nodded and left the room, returning to the bridge. Wolf yawned again and lay down on the couch, kicking his boots off and laying his head on the cushion, before closing his eyes and allowing sleep to take him.

--

The doors of the bridge hissed open as Krystal stepped onto it, having to squint slightly until her eyes adjusted to the bright light of hyperspace. Fox, who had been drifting off to sleep himself, awoke to see her take her seat at the navigator's station, formerly occupied by Peppy, who would use the station to work on his star charts, as well as navigate the ship. He noticed the look on her face, as though she had been crying slightly. Concerned, he got up from his seat and went over to her.

"Are you okay, hun?" He asked. Krystal looked up at him, sensing his concern.

"Yes Fox." She said. "I've just been talking to Wolf." Fox cocked his head.

"What for?" He asked, wondering what she could be talking about with Wolf.

"He's worried." Krystal answered. "He's worried that we might not be in time to stop the Venomians from getting their hands on the Talaron." She shuddered slightly. "I sensed his memories, of how the Venomians used to test it, on prisoners." Fox grimaced. He had heard about Venomian war crimes, but he couldn't imagine what it would be like to witness those atrocities.

"Don't worry about it, Krys." Fox said. "We'll find that stuff before they do. We'll make sure those scum can't hurt anyone. I promise." Krystal smiled. Fox wasn't the type to worry about failure. For him, the only possible outcome was success and victory, and nothing else. Krystal admired her husband for this never-say-die attitude, for his refusal to accept defeat no matter what the circumstances. She stood up and embraced him. Fox returned the gesture affectionately, even kissing her on the cheek. Their tender moment was brought to an end when the light of hyperspace disappeared and ROB announced that they had arrived at the station. Fox and Krystal separated and observed the station, a tiny manifestation of Lylatian presence in the darkness of space, orbiting the massive planet.

"Incoming transmission." ROB announced. Fox motioned for him to bring up the message. The bridge holoscreen deployed and came to life, revealing the wizened face of an old badger. Fox assumed him to be the director of the station.

"Greetings Star Fox." The badger said. "I'm Doctor Henry Bougainville, director of K-45." Fox nodded. "I'm sure the secretary has briefed you on the situation?"

"We hear things are going bump in the night out here." He said. By now, the rest of the team, Wolf, Faye and Miyu included, had gathered on the bridge.

"That's putting things lightly." Bougainville replied. "I've been working out here for almost two years, and I've seen all manner of bizarre phenomenon, but what I've encountered out here boggles even my mind." The team listened with rapt attention as Bougainville addressed them. "As you are already aware, this all began when we encountered the E-band signal on the planet's surface, and from there it went from one bizarre event to the next. First, when the station was attacked by insurgents, the Kestrel was forced into battle and was nearly destroyed by missile frigates, when a massive burst of energy erupted from the planet's surface and destroyed the offending Venomian ships, but the Kestrel was unharmed."

"We're familiar with that event." Fox said. "What else has been going on?" A satellite map of the area appeared on the bridge screen, a blip appearing where the signal had originally been detected. "The signal, and the energy pulse I described, originated here, right where the jungle borders the mountainous region. It remained there for several hours, until we discovered this." The blip disappeared, and another appeared, this time in the foothills of the nearby mountain range. "The signal appears to have moved to the base of these mountains. The distance is approximately five miles, a substantial move if it's being generated artificially." Fox nodded.

"What if the source is natural?" He asked.

"It's a possibility, however remote." Bougainville said. "If that turns out to be the case, then it will turn out to be a monumental discovery." He said.

"What kind of terrain are we dealing with?" Fox asked.

"Mostly standard mountain terrain." Bougainville replied. "A great deal of steep grades make up the portion where the signal was detected. There is also a large population of predatory animals, so I'd advise you to be armed." Falco smirked.

"Oh, don't worry about that." He said. "We never leave the ship without a blaster strapped to our sides." Fox rolled his eyes.

"Have their been any anthroid signatures detected?" Krystal asked. "I keep thinking about the possibility of Venomian troops on the planet." Bougainville shook his head.

"We have not detected any signatures of that sort." He replied. "But owing to recent events, I would not discount the possibility of any troops on the planet. We will keep our ground sensors running round the clock to make sure." Fox nodded.

"Thank you." He said.

"I'll stay on the ship, keeping the guns ready to support you guys if there are any." Slippy said.

"I'll stay too, and keep my arwing on standby." Falco said. Fox nodded.

"Alright then. Krystal, Faye, Miyu, Wolf, you're with me." He said. "ROB, have the dropship ready to go. Load it up with weapons and supplies, at least three days worth. We could be down there for a while.

"Yes sir." ROB replied in his monotone voice. He left the bridge and went down to the hangar to prepare the teams dropship, which they referred to as "Seraph", after the guardian angels of Lylatian religion. The team gave the ship, a military grade T-14 dropship with significant modifications (courtesy of Slippy), this nickname due to the fact that it saved them on more than one occasion. Fox turned to the rest of the team.

"Let's suit up and head out." He said. The rest of the team nodded and went off to their respective cabins to get their gear together.

--

The late afternoon sky of Eledard was as bright as early morning on other planets. Due to the colony's distance away from Solar, the day was longer compared to the inner core worlds. The rising of Solar lit the planet up like any bright morning on Corneria or Katina, illuminating the rocky grasslands that made up the majority of the planets surface. Vast herds of native animals roamed across the open grasslands. In the distance from the grasslands, low mountain ranges loomed like the backs of many whales appearing from beneath the surface of a vast green ocean. The light of Solar spilled over the tops of the mountains, giving them a majestic appearance only early morning on other worlds could bring.

The beauty of the "dawn" was far from the mind of the lone soldier who stood on a small hill over looking a small army base, an A24 blast rifle in his hands and a stern look on his face. He was dressed in the standard battle uniform of the Lylatian Army; camouflage uniform shirt and pants equipped with an ATE (Adapt to Environment) system that could change the pattern of the fabric to match any terrain (in this case, light green plains camouflage), a pair of combat boots that were likewise camouflaged, and black army beret bearing the seal of the Lylatian Army, a armor vest equipped with a micro shield generator for the Personal Defense Shield (PDS) that all Lylatian soldiers carried, and an eyepiece that formed the basis of the AWS (Advanced Warfighter System). On his side he carried a small medical kit, a combat knife, and PAD. On his sleeves, he bore the two stripes of a corporal, and on his right shoulder the ivy logo of the Fourth Infantry Division

The sentry yawned. He had been on watch since five in the morning, when it was still pitch black, and his body, not used to the difference in the amount of daylight, was desperately crying out for more sleep. He almost nodded off twice, but managed to stop himself.

The soldier was part of one of the most famous units in the Lylatian Army, the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, better known as the Iron Brigade. The brigade earned this nickname during the Lylat War against Venom. During the defense of Katina's capital city of Korsa, the brigade was deployed on the hills outside the city with orders to block the Venomian advance on the city. The brigade held off the Venomian force, which consisted of two infantry divisions and an armored division, over thirty thousand troops and hundreds of tanks, for nearly four hours before they were forced to withdraw. The brigade lost over two thousand five hundred of its five thousand men, dead, wounded or missing, a casualty rate of over fifty percent. During the battle, a Venomian captain, seeing the fierce resistance the brigade was putting up, remarked, "They must be made of iron". Following the battle, the men of the brigade took prisoners from amongst some decimated Venomian infantry regiments, who informed the brigade of this fact. Since then, the moniker of "Iron Brigade" had stuck with the unit.

The moniker was reflected in the brigade's standard, which flew over one of the buildings in the center of the camp. The standard was the basic blue unit standard of a Lylatian brigade. In the center of the standard was the symbol of the brigade; a golden shield with the globe and starburst emblem of Lylat as its crest, in the center of which was an armored fist clutching a blacksmith's hammer, representing the iron will of both the brigade and the Lylatian soldier. Tucked beneath the fist were the words, in black text, "3rd Brgde. 4th Inf.", and underneath the shield was a ribbon-like banner, embossed, in fine script, the phrase that gave the brigade it's nickname; "THEY MUST BE MADE OF IRON".

The doorway to the building opened with a hiss. Inside it, starting straight ahead to greet the rising sun, was a tall panther, dressed in the standard battle uniform, his uniform shirt unbuttoned, against regulations (though the further one got from the core worlds, the more one could get away with. Hence, the reason they wore their berets instead of the standard helmet), revealing a dark green muscle shirt underneath. To passerby, he might appear to be just another soldier on his way to the mess tent, but a closer look at the rank patches on his collar told a different story. Upon his collar he wore the single four-pointed star of a Lylatian brigadier general. The panther's name was Diego Caruso, the older brother of Panther Caruso, and he was the commanding officer of the legendary brigade.

Diego stared out at the world through yellow cat's eyes tinged with green around the pupils, which were slightly expanded due to the dim light. Like his brother, Diego bore a scar, in his case along his muscled chest, where a piece of shrapnel from a grenade sliced it's way through his flesh. This was not as serious as some of his other wounds (including one to his arm which required it to be amputated at the elbow and replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis), but it was decidedly his most visible.Diego walked outside the building, the fresh scent that accompanied the dawn entering his nostrils and giving him a sense of peace.

Great Messiah, you are my guide. I follow your light wherever it shines, for you will never lead me down the path of sin and temptation, but down the path of righteousness and salvation. You grant me peace and serenity, hope and salvation. I open my heart to you, so that your light may shine from me and lead others to your blessings. Amen. As he recited the Profession of Faith to himself, he placed his hand over his heart, feeling the small gold starburst pendant, the Lylatian symbol of faith, through his palm. Caruso's faith was extremely important to him, and had led him through the horrific battles of the Lylat War and Aparoid invasion. He was brought out of his prayer by a voice from his left.

"Morning sir." A thickly accented voice said. Diego turned to see his aide, Major Michael Collins Shaw, standing off to his left, saluting smartly. Shaw stared at the world through cobalt blue eyes and down a muzzle draped with scraggly gray fur, the same that covered the rest of his body. He was dressed in full combat dress, minus the helmet, as all members of 3rd Brigade wore the black Army beret.

"Good Morning, Major Shaw." Diego replied, returning the salute.

"Will the General have something to eat?" Shaw asked in his thick brogue. Diego smiled.

"Now that you mention it, I could use some food." He said. "And a cup of coffee. Outer rim duty is not for the uninitiated." He said. Shaw nodded in agreement.

"Hell of a place to be sent, to guard miners when all the action is out in Sector P." He said. Diego nodded.

"What is the word on the insurgents, anyhow?" He asked as they walked over to the mess hall.

"No attacks on any of the colonies in the recent weeks, thank the Messiah." Shaw replied. "But, I've heard some interesting rumors flying around recently. Apparently, the insurgents are all concentrated near this one star system near the edge of the sector." Diego was surprised.

"All of them?" He asked. Not like the Venomians to be so focused, he thought.

"From what I've heard, a whole corps has been moved to the area surrounding this system. One man said he could put them all on the map, fifty thousand men." Shaw said. "Not like the Venomians to be so concentrated."

"Probably just typical scuttlebutt." Diego replied. "Nothing we should be worrying about." He said.

"There was another thing." Shaw said. "I also heard from headquarters this morning. Apparently, there was a scuffle between some Venomian raiders and one of our patrol ships in Sector P." Diego yawned.

"I hope there's a good reason that HQ is informing us of a matter that should be the domain of the Navy." He said.

"Normally they would, but this incident is a weird 'un." He said. "Apparently, as the ship had finished mopping up the raiders, she was attacked by missile frigates, and the crew was nearly introducing themselves to the Archangel himself, when a burst of energy erupted from the surface of a nearby planet and engulfed them, destroying the Venomians but leaving them with only minor damage." Diego's eyes widened.

"HQ is positive of this?" He said. Shaw nodded.

"The sent the message on a priority alpha." He said. Diego nodded. A priority alpha message meant that whatever was being sent was of the utmost importance and required immediate attention.

"What do they want us to do?" He asked.

"The message included new orders." Shaw replied. "We're to be on standby and ready for deployment until directed otherwise. HQ must be pretty shaken up about this if they're having us gear up." Diego nodded. "Should I have the men woken up and readied?" He asked.

"Have reveille sounded, but don't inform the men yet." He said. "We'll let them get some breakfast, and then I'll pass the orders along." Shaw nodded and saluted before heading off. Diego continued on his way to the mess hall, thinking to himself.

"I pray this doesn't turn out to be a crisis." He thought. "The last thing Lylat needs right now is another full scale war."

--

Fox pulled on his vest and gloves and entered the hangar, where the rest of the team who would be joining him was gathered. Behind the assembled mercenaries was the team's dropship, a standard AH35 military dropship with substantial modifications, courtesy of Slippy and his oft-used toolkit. The ships long, fat curved body gave the appearance of a great, silver painted whale, with transparent aluminum windows along both sides of its body. Attached to both sides of the ship were two large rotating plasma engines used for landing, take-off, and flight. A long tail section emerged from the back of the ship, and the body almost squared off underneath the tail, where the loading ramp was located. Two small stabilizer fins sprouted from the back of the tail section, each one emblazoned with the Star Fox logo, a red winged fox design.

Though designed to transport troops and equipment to the battlefield, the ship packed a vicious bite. In the back of the ship where the ramp was located was mounted a turret packing a A65 heavy repeater, essentially a plasma heavy machine gun, which packed enough of a punch to take down the shields of a light armored vehicle. The machine gun was attached to a universal mount, and was capable of being switched out for an AT-10 heavy kinetic energy penetrator launcher for taking down heavy armored vehicles, such as tanks. Two small swivel repeaters were attached to the front of the ship, a modification by Slippy for clearing landing zones. Another of Slippy's modifications was hidden in the sides of the ships. The port and starboard sides of the ship bulged more noticeably than on a stock AH35. This was due to the hidden weapons pods the Slippy had installed. These pods were loaded with four fixed A263 heavy repeater cannons on each pod, and when activated, deployed from the sides of the ship and immediately charged up, allowing the pilot of the dropship to lay down devastating blaster fire down on enemy units, decimating troops and armored vehicles alike.

"Alright." Fox said to the assembled team, Wolf included. "I don't think I have to explain the whole situation to you again. You all know, from our conversation with Dr. Bougainville, what we have on our hands. As you all know, our job here is to head down to the planet's surface and investigate a series of strange happenings, in addition to uncovering any hidden weapons caches the Venomians may have stored here. Specifically, we're looking for Talaron. ROB, are our PAD's sensor attachments calibrated to detect Talaron?" He said, speaking to the robot who stood off to the side.

"Yes sir." ROB answered. "All sensor attachments are calibrated to the settings and parameters specified." He said. "Dropship is loaded and prepared for planetary insertion." Fox nodded.

"Thank you." He said, and turned back to the team. "We'll have to be as quiet as possible down there. If this planet is indeed the location of the hidden Talaron, then the Venomians will surly have deployed a large force to locate it. We're loading ourselves up good in case of a confrontation, but we'll have to try our damndest to avoid it. Any questions?" No one make any indication of a question. Fox smiled. Just like always, they knew what was expected of them. "Alright, if no one has any questions, let's get started." The rest of them team whooped and prepared to board the dropship. Fox hopped into the cockpit, followed closely by Krystal, who took the navigator's seat behind him.

"Ready to go, love?" She said. Fox turned around. Krystal was dressed in her field gear; a pair of form fitting black shorts and a black tank top with the midriff showing, a silver vest with the Star Fox wings pinned above the left breast pocket, and a pair of field boots similar to the ones Fox wore. Around her waist she wore a belt with a holstered A4 blaster and spare power cells, along with a pair of night vision glasses and a combat knife. For the mission, she had traded in her usual silver or gold tiara with a white headband emblazoned with Cerinian script reading fa'la am ag'ath, Cerinian for "clear the way", and traditional battle cry of Cerinian warriors.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He said. "Let's hope we don't run into too much trouble." Krystal laughed.

"Relax, Fox." She said. "I'm sure there's no one down there, and if there are, we've proven ourselves more than a match for them." They both shared a chuckle.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm just worried in my old age." They laughed again, and fox pressed a button on the communications console, opening a channel to Slippy and Falco on the bridge.

"All ready to dust off?" Slippy said.

"Yep." Fox replied.

"Alright, releasing docking clamps." Slippy announced. With the characteristic banging of metal, the massive clamps which held the dropship in place in the docking bay. The antigravity lifts imbedded in he hull of the ship automatically engaged, allowing the ship to hover in place inside the bay. Fox immediately engaged the engines, which whined to life and began spewing blue ion jets from their tails. The large dropship launched from the bay, and Fox deftly turned on a course for the planet's surface.

"Alright, we're going in. Strap yourselves in." Fox called to the team members sitting in the back of the ship. The team complied, strapping themselves into their seats. Fox activated a small display screen to his left, which displayed the ships systems status. "Set for atmospheric entry." He ordered. The ship's computer automatically adjusted the shields for entry into the planet's atmosphere, strengthening them to endure the intense heat of atmospheric entry. Fox pointed the ship's nose at the planet and set her on course for entry. As the ship began to enter the atmosphere, the cockpit and cabin began to shake with the intensity. Orange flames formed and began to lick around the nose of the ship, completely obscuring the canopy, and Fox's view of the planet. For this reason, the ship had automatically switched over to autopilot, which now worked to keep the ship from veering wildly off course during entry, and possibly burning up or crashing. Entry didn't last long, as after four minutes, the ship broke through the atmosphere, and the flames disappeared. Fox grabbed the controls as the ship returned to manual control, and deftly maneuvered it to level flight.

"Never gets old." He said to himself. Pushed a button activating the intercom system to communicate with the cabin. "Folks, this is your captain speaking. We will be landing shortly on sunny P-4419. Please keep your seatbelts on and your tray tables up and locked and your seats in the full upright position. Thank you for choosing Star Fox Airlines. We hope you fly with us again." Krystal chuckled at Fox's joke, and he could hear the rest of the crew doing the same over the intercom. Fox grinned and deactivated the intercom to concentrate on piloting the ship. His targeted landing zone was in the foothills of the mountain range that Dr. Bougainville had shown them. The water began to take on an aquamarine hue as the ship got closer to land, finally ending with a stretch of shoreline bordered by a massive, sprawling rainforest, the mountains rising in the distance like the craggy peaks of Corneria's Western Continent. The ship gently cruised over the jungle.

"It's beautiful." Krystal said, admiring the scenery. Fox was about to reply, when an alarm began to sound.

"Missile lockon detected." The monotone voice of the ship's computer sounded. Fox's eyes widened.

"What the hell?" He said. Before he could react, the ship lurched forward. Fox's heart leapt into his throat when he realized what had happened. A missile had struck the ship's tail, damaging the stabilizers. Krystal screamed as the ship violent lurched from side to side. Fox fought to get the ship under control, and just about had it when another missile burst from the jungle and streaked for he ship. Fox barely managed to avoid a direct hit, and instead the missile exploded beneath the right engine, severely damaging it. Fox realized the ship would not be able to stay in the air with only one engine.

"Hang on, we're going in hard!" He shouted over the intercom, and began to maneuver the ship for a crash landing. He spotted a large clearing in the jungle and positioned the ship to hit the ground. He positioned the ship so that it hit the ground belly up. The ship violently shook as it slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt and debris as it skidded along the ground, finally coming to a rest near a grove of trees. Fox breathed heavily, his heart doing a drum roll against his ribcage.

"Is everybody okay?" He asked.

"A little shaken up, but I'll manage." Krystal replied.

"Aside from some whiplash from your lousy flying, we're just fine." Wolf's gruff voice sounded over the intercom. Fox pressed the button to lower the ramp, and the team scrambled out, followed by Fox and Krystal from the cockpit.

"Well, that was exciting." Miyu said.

"Speak for yourself." Faye replied, rubbing the back of her head from where it had impacted with the bulkhead. Fox was about to reply, when a noise began to emanate from the jungle.

"You guys hear that?" He said. They all strained their ears to listen. The sound began to get closer to them, and it didn't take them long to realize what it was.

"Wolf, get on the repeater. The rest of you, get weapons." Wolf grabbed the repeater and charged it, training it in the direction of the noise. The others rushed into the ship and returned armed with blaster rifles. They all ducked behind a fallen tree near where the ship had crashed, Fox drawing his trusty blaster from its holster on his hip. The sound began to grow closer and clearer, becoming the clear sound of shouting voices, a ghastly call from the pits of Hell itself. With the fury of a storm wave, a horde of black uniformed soldiers burst from the treeline, red laser fire bursting from their rifles as they charged. The team immediately opened fire, Wolf mowing down the soldiers with the repeater while the rest picked troops off with rifle fire. A bolt from one of the soldiers managed to find its mark, striking Faye in the shoulder.

"Ahhh!" She screamed as the laser burned through her flesh. Miyu picked off the soldier who shot Faye, striking him between the eyes with a well-aimed laser bolt. Some soldiers managed to get close enough to fight hand to hand, but were quickly dealt with by Krystal, who drew her combat knife and cut them down. The team fought fiercely, until all of the soldiers had been dispatched. Fox noticed Faye's wound and grabbed a medical kit from the ship, pulling out a tissue repairer and painkiller. He handed them to Miyu, who injected Faye with the painkiller and waved the repairer, a square device large enough to fit in the palm, over the wound, sealing it up without scarring.

"There we go. Chalk it up as another successful treatment in the career of Dr. Miyu Lynx, jungle surgeon". She said.

"What's your next great moment in medicine?" Faye asked.

"Why, presenting the bill, of course." Miyu said.

"I'll mail you a credit slip." Faye replied. In the meantime, Wolf had been counting the bodies of the slain soldiers.

"What do you think?" Fox asked.

"I estimate around four hundred." He said. "Just enough to fill a Venomian infantry battalion." Indeed, the soldiers all black uniforms, combined with the T16 blaster rifles they carried, and the Imperial Seal on their uniforms, it was quite obvious that they were Venomians. "And if memory serves, where there's a battalion, the rest of the regiment isn't too far behind." Fox nodded. The last thing they needed at that moment was to face a full Venomian infantry regiment of 1300 or more troops.

"Let's gather what we can from the ship." He said. At that moment, his PAD began to buzz. He picked it up and pushed the receive button.

"Fox, what's going on?" Slippy said. "We saw you guys hit the ground!"

"We're fine, Slip." Fox said. "We just had to deal with some uninvited guests."

"Venomians?" Slippy said. Fox nodded.

"We got jumped by an infantry battalion, and there's probably a whole regiment hiding in the woods somewhere." He said. "We're gonna start trekking for the mountains."

"The mountains are at least twenty miles away." Falco cut in. "You guys have a long walk ahead of you, especially if you're being pursued."

"I know." Fox said. "The thing is, I'm don't know how these guys managed to hide themselves.

"I've got that." Wolf said, holding up a black box-like device he took from the belt of a dead soldier. "It's a biocloaker."

"A what?" Fox asked.

"It's a device that blocks sensors from reading the biosigns of the wearer." Wolf said. "I'm willing to wager that whoever sent them here sent them in cloaked ships and equipped each and every one of them with these things." Fox nodded.

"Let's get going." He said. The team gathered what they could from the ship, and headed off into the jungle in the direction of the mountains, unsure of what they might find.

--

The team hiked their way through the jungle, Fox slashing a path for them with a machete. They had been walking for nearly six hours, and were dog-tired. Fox pushed the team to continue until they reached a small clearing next to a stream, where they finally stopped to rest.

"Thank the Messiah, a breather!" Faye exclaimed as she plopped down on a rock, followed by Faye and Wolf. Fox and Krystal took a seat on another nearby rock. Fox gently wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders, and she rested her head lovingly into the crook of his neck.

"This place is so beautiful." She said. "It reminds me so much of my home." Fox smiled.

"Does it now?" Fox said.

"Yes. My village was in a place not much unlike this one." She said. "This stream, it's just like the one my brother used to take me fishing in. She closed her eyes as she began to reminisce…

Four year old Krystal sat with her brother Ja'kan on the shore of a small stream that ran a little ways from their village of Sivamarra, long wooden poles in their hands with simple string tied to the ends. On the ends of the string were pronged metal fishhooks with bait dangling from the ends. Krystal smiled as she watched the end of her pole, hoping that a fish would soon come by and take the morsel offered on the end. She didn't have to wait long, as the end of the pole began to twitch and shiver, indicating that a hungry fish had taken the bait.

"Big brother!" She yipped. "I've gotten a bite!" Ja'kan paused from watching his own pole. He smiled.

"Well the come on, pull him in." He said. Krystal stood and planted her feet as she prepared to pull the fish in. Almost immediately, she began to be pulled down toward the water.

"Ahh!" She screamed as she was nearly yanked off of her feet by the fighting fish. Ja'kan immediately jumped up and grabbed her, helping her steady herself.

"It's okay, I've got you." He said, holding onto her tightly. Krystal tried to pull the fish into shore, but grew tired against the strain of the fish. Evidently, it was too big for her to handle. Ja'kan grabbed a hold of her pole and helped her to pull the fish into shore. The fish fought hard, but the combined strength of both Ja'kan and Krystal proved too much, and the fish began to be dragged toward shore.

"Alright, on three, pull with all your might." He said. Krystal nodded. "One, two, three pull!" They both pulled with everything they had, and the fish, a large blue sunfish like creature with tendrils extending from the sides of its mouth like whiskers was yanked from the water and onto shore. Krystal collapsed on the ground from exertion, her long blue robe splashed by the fish.

"We caught him, big brother." She said happily. "And he's big." Ja'kan nodded.

"This one looks big enough to eat. What do you say we have him for lunch." She nodded happily. Ja'kan smiled and hugged his little sister. He then picked up the fish and their poles and led her home, Krystal giggling happily along the way.

"You okay, hun?" Fox asked her, bringing her out of her reminiscing. She wiped a small tear from her eye.

"Yes, just thinking." She said. Fox leaned in and kissed her.

"Don't cry." He said. "I'm sure your whole family is watching over you right now, and they're proud of everything you've accomplished." She smiled.

"Yes." She said. "I know they would be, too. Especially Ja'kan." She laughed a little. "I wonder what he would say if he had the chance to meet you."

"Probably 'Who's that ugly guy my sister is making out with?'" They both chuckled lively at this. Wolf came over and tapped Fox on the shoulder. Fox looked up. "What is it?" He asked.

"It's six." Wolf replied. "It's going to be dark soon. We'd better get moving if we want to cover any more ground today." He said.

"Right." Fox said. "Alright everybody, let's get moving. I want to cover as much ground as we can before it gets dark." Surprisingly, there was no grumbling, Faye and Miyu just happy for a break. They all slung their packs over their backs and began to march again, hoping to get closer to their goal. It was then that Fox spotted something shimmering in the water. He bent down lower to pick it up.

"What is it, Fox?" Krystal asked.

"What do we have here?" He said.

--

Night had come to Corneria, the citizens out in force fully enjoying the nearly rebuilt city's vibrant nightlife, resurrected from the ashes of the Aparoid invasion. Young folks drifted into and out of bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, while the older set sought out theatres and concert halls. All around, glowing entertainment district hummed with vibrant activity, the citizenry all too eager to seek out pleasure to escape from the lingering difficulties of the reconstruction of Lylat.

Entertainment was not on the mind of the solitary figure that approached a maglev station near a street corner dominated by a large bar advertising all manner of cocktails that he didn't care to know the contents of at that moment. This figure stood out from the ordinary citizens who trekked down the sidewalk on their way to enjoy themselves due to the fact that he wore the dark blue uniform of a Lylatian military officer, his uniform jacket decorated with a large group of colorful medal badges, his sleeve cuffs decorated with gold knot designs. On his head, he wore the standard dress hat worn by all officers of the Lylatian military, with the exception of a cluster of oak leaves around the brim. On his collar, he wore a line of four four-pointed silver stars. These, along with the sleeve markings and oak clusters, marked him as a general, the highest rank in the military. The figure, a stout gray fox, was General Frederick Casey, the Commandant of the Army and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the high command. Casey came to the position after the former Commandant, Pepper himself, retired from the military after briefly serving in the honorary position of Marshal of Lylat during both the Lylat War and the Aparoid Invasion. Casey had served under Pepper as a division commander when Pepper commanded the IX Corps, and was promoted to command of the corps after Pepper became commandant. He went on to lead the corps as they participated in both the Katina and Outer Rim campaigns, and later devised the brilliant Lylatian strategy that broke the defenses of the Venomian capital and forced their surrender. He later saw limited action during the Aparoid crisis, when the IX Corps led the defense of Corneria. Though he lost half of the corps, his tactical brilliance and brilliant leadership helped save the day for Lylat. Though his battered corps did not take part in the invasion of the Aparoid homeworld, it was only natural that Pepper recommended him for promotion to Commandant after the Aparoid crisis and his retirement, which Casey graciously accepted. He now oversaw the rebuilding of Lylat's battered military, which despite his best efforts, still lagged behind. This led him to face mounting criticism from the Senate, especially from members of the Liberal Party, who despised him for his insistence on increased defense spending, money which they felt was best spent on an ever expanding slew of useless social programs.

Casey scowled a little as he remembered his last appearance before the Senate, which despite seeing an increase in election of members of the Conservative Party, still had a hostile bloc of Liberals eager to defame their favorite target. He was there to argue in favor of a bill that would have increased funding for recruitment efforts by the military.

"Honored Senators." He spoke before the assembled Senate. "As I'm sure you already know, a bill has come before you to address the need for additional funds for recuitment efforts to help our armed forces recover from the recent Aparoid crisis."

"Yes, do please present your case." One senator, Senator Thomas Galloway from District four on Eledard, replied to him snidely. "Please explain to us why you think that our 'all volunteer' armed forces deserve more money while innocent children starve." Casey scowled. Galloway, an aging red furred hair, was well known for his fiery speeches and his ultra left-wing views. He was especially hostile to anyone from the military establishment, whom he always saw as trying to usurp power.

"I assure you, Senator Galloway, that what I propose is in the best interests of us all." He said.

"More so than decent health care and quality education?" Galloway sneered. Casey scowled again. Lylat's health care system was the envy of any, and the school voucher system that had been put in place had freed untold millions of youngsters from failing schools.

"I understand your concerns, Senator." He said, with a small hint of revulsion. "But I did not come here to discuss politics, I came here to present my case as to why this bill should be passed." Galloway sat back in his seat.

"Do please continue." He said. Casey cleared his throat before continuing.

"To put it quite frankly, our current efforts to recruit new soldiers are not enough." He said. "If we are to meet the lofty goals that have been placed upon us, we must expand our efforts, and that requires money. The bill presented to you will allocate three hundred million badly needed credits to go towards recruiting efforts on both the Core and Outer Rim worlds." Galloway huffed.

"Recruiting the poor and uneducated. How typical of you goosesteppers." He said. Casey scowled. "Goosestepper" was a pejorative term for military personnel used by the far-left, who generally viewed anyone besides themselves as fascist.

"Senator, please." Senator Dick Lieberman, one of the few voices of sanity left in the Liberal Party, said. "Please continue, General." He said. Casey thanked him and continued.

"I don't think I need to remind you of the horrendous losses we took in the recent conflict. Most of you probably saw it with your own eyes." He said. "Our military has been halved, and with Venomian insurgent activity on the rise, we simply cannot afford to have a military operating at only half strength. We must recover our numbers to prewar numbers, and to do that, we need to recruit. That is why we need you to pass this bill, for the safety and security of all Lylatians." Casey may not have been the most eloquent speaker, but he had a remarkable gift for convincing people. Murmors of agreement came from both Conservatives and some moderate Liberals.

"If I may, General." Galloway snidely replied. Casey braced himself. "Is it at all possible that by convincing this Senate to pass this measure, that you will be indirectly destroying the very thing you claim to desire to protect?" Casey gave an unnoticeable eye roll. He knew what was coming next.

"By growing the size of the armed forces to astronomical proportions, you put all our freedoms at risk." He said. "The military takes men and instills in them the abhorrent values of blind obedience and violent behavior. In short, they become little violent robots. I shudder to think of what these little violent robots will do to us once they have successfully gained the power they crave." Casey could see some of the Conservatives shaking their heads in disgust. He wanted himself to get up from the seat and punch "that arrogant asshole" as he called him, in the mouth. But he restrained himself.

"I think you overstate your case, Senator." He said calmly. "I don't know what your friends in the "progressive" arena have been filling your ears with, but I can assure you that the military has no intention of overthrowing our democratic government and creating another Venom, and anyone who could possibly suggest otherwise is sadly misinformed." He could see a twinge of anger beginning to appear on Galloway's face.

"You presume to insult me, General?" He said. Casey smirked.

"Tit for tat, Senator." He said, smirking. Several Conservatives laughed in response. Galloway fumed.

"Don't you dare insult me, you backwoods idiot!" He shouted. Majority leader John Novak, a moderate Liberal, banged his gavel to silence the room.

"There will be civil discussion over this proposal!" He said. "Are there any other remarks that anyone would like to make?" One of the Conservatives raised her hand.

"General, you know quite well, being a member of our party, that the Conservatives oppose any wasteful spending by government." She said. "In what way would this proposal not fall under that rubric?" She asked. She already knew the answer, but most of the room was tired of listening to Galloway's anti-military tirades.

"It's quite simple. As I recall, our party also calls for a strong defense to protect us from threats, both internal and external." He said. "Any spending that goes toward that purpose, by it's very nature, is hardly wasteful." He said. Every single Conservative in the senate nodded in agreement.

"If that is all, I believe this discussion has ended." Novak said. "We will now come to vote on this measure. Thank you for your time, General."

"It was my pleasure, Senators." He said, before leaving the halls of the Senate to allow them to vote.

He gave a slight smile. The measure passed, but that was not the only thing. As the struggles continued, the people began to grow tired of the Liberal's fumbling, and began to elect Conservatives into both the Senate and to various local offices. Though the new Conservative dominated Senate had yet to make its mark, he felt that the system would finally be back on the right track, once the ridiculous bureaucracy that the Liberals had put into place was trimmed.

By then, his train had arrived, and he boarded with little difficulty, seeing as how few people were using the maglev at this time of night. His destination was the famous Mall, or more specifically, the Defense Department headquarters. He had been asked to meet with Secretary Pepper. For what purpose, Pepper was not clear.

The ride to the Mall was not a long one, twenty minutes at most. The train pulled into the station a block away from the Senate building, where Casey exited the train. He took a moment to purchase a coffee from a stand nearby, and then headed for the Defense Department headquarters. The walk itself was not long, and he reached the front steps in less then ten minutes. The guard standing in front of the gate stopped him as he approached.

"Please present your ID card, sir." He said. Casey smiled.

"I don't know why you ask. Everyone seems to know who I am." He jested with the sentry. The sentry laughed and examined the ID Casey produced.

"Everything is in order sir, you may enter." The sentry said, and waved him on through. Casey, noticing he was slightly behind schedule, made a beeline straight for the elevator in the lobby and punched the button for Pepper's office. The high speed elevator made it to the floor, and Casey entered, greeted by the empty desk of Pepper's secretary. He needn't have had her buzz him in anyway, as Pepper was already waiting for him.

"You're late." He said. Casey nodded.

"My apologies, sir." He said. "The crowds in the downtown weren't permissive for punctuality." He said. "If I may sir, why have I been summoned."

"Ah, straight to the point, as always." Pepper said with a smirk. "Step on in, and I'll explain everything." Casey dutifully followed. Pepper offered him a cigar, which Casey politely declined. Pepper lit himself one, took a puff, and sat back down in his chair.

"I'm quite certain that you've been briefed on the odd happenings in Sector P, centered around the planet P-4419." Pepper said. Casey nodded.

"I have been briefed." He said. "Though I'm not exactly certain how such a finding is of any consequence to the military." He said.

"I'm getting there, old friend." Pepper said. "I've also received reports of insurgent forces massing in the nearby systems. In addition to this, I've just learned from some old friends that they were attacked by an insurgent force on P-4419." Casey was astonished.

"Have the Joint Chiefs and the Chancellor been informed of this?" He asked. Pepper shook his head.

"Not yet." Pepper said. "What I'm telling you now is known only by me, my men on the ground on P-4419, and some civilian scientists. That is all." He puffed his cigar a little more. Casey shook his head.

"What would the Venomians want with P-4419? From what I've been told about the planet, it offers not strategic value to them." He said.

"We most definitely ruled that one out." He said. "We've also ruled out any economic value, as the planet contains no known sources of fuel or any known deposits of valuable metal or minerals. I was baffled as to why they would be so interested in this planet, until I received this intel report." He accessed his PAD and handed it to Casey. Casey read the message and was astonished.

"We've broken the insurgent code?" He said. Pepper nodded.

"I'm surprised you haven't been informed." He said.

"Damn military bureaucracy, is all." Casey said. Pepper nodded.

"Read on." He said. Casey read the rest of the message, his shock deepening with every word.

"Great Messiah." He said. "They've hidden Talaron on the planet?" Pepper nodded.

"We can only assume so." He said. "My contacts in the Intelligence Service have never been wrong before." Casey held the PAD with shaking hands.

"Great Messiah." He said. "If the insurgents get their hands on that forsaken green glop, millions could die." He was sickened at the very thought. Pepper put a hand on his shoulder.

"This is where I need you, Casey." He said. "Fox and his boys are good, but even they are at a disadvantage. The insurgents will stop at nothing to get that Talaron, and will send everything they have to ensure that they get it. They'll be needing backup on this one." Casey got what he was saying.

"I doubt that the higher ups will allow us to deploy forces on a whim." He said. "I know for a fact that that cretin Galloway will not stand for it." Pepper chuckled.

"Which reminds me. I meant to send this over to you, but it slipped my mind." He handed Casey a chip, which he plugged into the PAD. It was a news report from the Coneria City Post, the biggest newspaper on Corneria. Casey smiled widely when he saw the headline on the politics page.

"Senator Thomas Galloway was voted out of office in this week's Senatorial elections. Exit polls indicate voter dissatisfaction with Galloway's ultra-liberal views and hostility towards the military as deciding factors." Casey read with glee. "His replacement for the district four seat is Bail Williams, a member of the Conservative party." He smiled. "This is certainly good news." Pepper nodded.

"As I'm sure it is to just about everyone who has ever worn the uniform." He said. "Now then, are there any forces available to support my men?"

"The nearest force I have is Third Brigade of Fourth Infantry, about four thousand men." Casey said. "The rest of the division is deployed deep in the Outer Rim dealing with insurgents." Pepper nodded. "Both Eleventh Infantry and Eighth Mechanized are close, but not as close as Third Brigade."

"How long would it take either of those divisions to move in?" He asked.

"At least three days." He said. "And even then, they would be moving in without air support, the nearest force being on Katina."

"That's assuming that the Venomians have air units on the planet." Pepper said. "Experience has taught me that they will not risk air units to a mission if they do not know that we know what they're up to." Casey nodded.

"I could send in Third Brigade to hold down the fort for them until both divisions arrive." He said. "If I can send them in with sufficient surprise, the Venomians will have a hard time repelling them, especially if they don't have armor support." Pepper nodded.

"I have faith in those boys." He said. "They don't call them the Iron Brigade for nothing." Casey smirked.

"I'll contact General Caruso and have him prepare to move out at a moment's notice." He said

"Keep the orders vague." He said "Don't tell them the nature of the mission until it is time to deploy." Casey understood, and nodded.

"Have no worries, sir." He said. "If the time comes, by the next rising of solar, any Venomians on that planet will be introducing themselves to the devil."

--

Fox gently stood up, admiring the piece that he now held in his hand. The others began to crowd around him, trying to get a look at what he had found.

"What did you find?" Faye asked. Fox wiped some of the river mud off of the object, which turned out to be a piece of gold chain.

"It looks like gold." He said. "From a piece of jewelry or something." He said. Krystal pulled out her PAD and activated the built in scanner. She ran the device over the piece.

"It's gold alright." She said. "From what, I can't say." Fox looked at it closely.

The chain shined brightly in the light that filtered down through the trees. The piece was about two inches long, and bore no marks that might have identified to whom it belonged to, or where it came from. The links were triangle shaped and solid, rather than the usual hoop design of jewelry chain links.

"What do you suppose?" Fox asked.

"It's probably nothing of significance." Wolf said. "Just a piece of jewelry belonging to some survey team member that broke off and was lost. Nothing to worry about."

"The design is weird though." Miyu said. "The links are solid triangles. I've never seen that in any jewelry worn by Lylatians." Fox nodded.

"Maybe it was a custom piece." Faye suggested. "People make bizarre requests for custom jewelry all the time." She said. Wolf nodded.

"Like I said, probably just a piece from someone's necklace that got lost." He said. "We'd better get moving if we want to stay ahead of any Venomians." The others nodded and prepared to move off. Fox noticed Krystal seemed lost in thought.

"You okay, hun?" He asked. She looked up at him and nodded.

"It's nothing, just thinking again." She said.

"About the chain?" He said. "How come?" She sighed.

"This may sound ridiculous," she said, "but chains like that… were common in Cerinian jewelry, especially necklaces and bracelets." Fox was surprised. She laughed. "I guess I'm being foolish." She said.

"Not so." He said. "But it's probably just something left over from a survey team." He smiled and pocketed the chain length. "An old custom from my hometown. When you spotted a shiny object on the ground, you put in your pocket, and it's supposed to bring you good luck." Krystal giggled.

"A little superstitious, aren't we?" She giggled again. Fox laughed too.

"Hey, don't knock it." He said. "I'll have you know, I was carrying a bottle cap I pocketed on Zoness when I met you." She smiled and kissed him.

"We'd better get going, or the others will leave us behind." She said. Fox smiled and took her hand, heading off to join the others.

--

"Ugh, it stinks in here!" Faye complained loudly. The team had entered a large swamp, and were now trudging their way through the mud and thick, gnarled trees draped with moss. The dark, dank atmosphere and the creepy looking flora made the team feel like they were stuck in a horror movie. The smell of rotting vegetation wasn't helping to ease the creepy feelings welling up in their guts.

"Careful going through that swamp, you guys." Slippy chimed in over their PADs. "According to the reports Dr. Bougainville gave us, that swamp is home to some nasty predators." Fox nodded, not feeling much better about having to go through it.

"Gee, thanks a lot, Slippy." Miyu replied with heavy sarcasm. She almost didn't see the massive spider-like creature that darted out in front of her.

"Aiieeee!" She squealed as the ugly black creature stopped and raised its legs in a threat display at her. It uttered a loud hiss as it tried to frighten her away.

"Relax, Miyu." Slippy said. "Those things are harmless. They don't even have venom."

"Doesn't make it any less ugly." She said. Fox pulled out his blaster and shot at the creature, making it scuttle away in fear.

"C'mon, guys." He said. "Let's get moving." The others agreed, eager to get out of the festering stink hole that they had entered.

--

The swamp soon gave way to more forest, which to the team's delight placed them right on the foothills of the largest mountain. Only a smaller hill stood in their path. Lucky for them, a cave system ran down through the hill to the other side.

"Thank goodness, no climbing." Wolf said. "I don't think my legs could take it after all the that walking." The others agreed, and the whole team entered the cave, LED flashlights in hand to light the way. They soon did not need them, however, as they soon spotted a blue glow about thirty minutes into the cave.

"What in the name of the Messiah?" Fox said. The others gaped in astonishment. They cautiously followed the glow until they came to another tunnel, which was filled with glowing blue crystals jutting from the rock of the cave wall. Krystal gaped even wider at the sight. Fox cautiously plucked one of the crystals from the wall and scanned it.

"No sign of radiation, so we're not getting fried." He said. "But they don't match any known mineral, natural or otherwise. Krystal began to shake, as though something was disturbing her. "They appear to be giving off energy, but not unlike any energy source we know of."

"Fox, can I talk to you in private?" Krystal asked. He nodded and followed her back to where the others could not hear them.

"What is it honey?" He asked. She clenched her fists to try to stop from shaking.

"The crystals." She said. "They… they look like the ones my people used to use. They gave off a strange energy, which reacted to our psychic powers. Our religious leaders said that the energy was a gift from the Gods, so they used them for religious ceremonies. I tested one of them, and it reacted. Oh Fox, could it be true? Could my people have been here?"

"Anything is possible." Fox said. "You said that your people explored space. It's possible some could have landed here and seeded the mountains with this crystal." Tears had begun to form in Krystal's eyes.

"Do you think… that any of them could be alive here?" She asked. "I know it sounds silly, but could it be true." Fox held her close.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know what to think." He said. "It's not likely, I'll say that. But from what you told me, if anyone could eke out an existence here, your people could." Krystal smiled and kissed him deeply.

"Let's get back to the others." He nodded and they rejoined the group.

--

After hiking underground for nearly four hours, the mountain pass surrounded by jungle that greeted them was a welcome relief from the monotonous gray rock of the cave. Adding to the beauty that surrounded them were brightly colored flowers and the occasional colorful bird that flew overhead. The air was still and quiet, slightly discomforting to the intrepid Lylatians who now prepared to make their camp in the middle of a clearing nearing a large river. The only sound that they could hear was the distant thunder of a massive waterfall, and the occasional bird or animal call.

Fox and Krystal set up the field tents, small silvery huts that were equipped with adapt to environment technology to conceal them. Though they had not seen any Venomians for several days, they decided not to take any chances, and made sure that the system for each tent was activated. The moment each five foot high tent deployed from it's waterproof container, it immediately morphed from silver to jungle camouflage, which perfectly matched the terrain they were now in.

Wolf occupied himself with checking the teams weapons stock. They had been forced to gather weapons and supplies in haste after being attacked back at the crash site, and were uncertain if the weapons they had gathered would be enough. Though they did not have any anti-armor weapons, the team did gather some A24 blast rifles and plenty of power packs, ensuring they would be able to hold their own if attacked. Wolf finished his inventory and went over to Fox.

"How's the stock?" Fox asked.

"We've got enough power packs for the rifles, so we should be fine if anymore troops decide to pay us a call." He said. "But I'd be more comfortable if we had some KEP launchers, in case the Venomians decided to scrounge up some armor for their operations here." Fox nodded.

"It seems we forgot about that detail in our haste to get the hell out." He said. "Well have to depend and Falco and Slippy if any tanks decide to pay us a visit." Fox pressed a button on his wrist communicator, opening a com channel to Falco.

"I'm here, Foxy." He said. "Need my services yet?"

"We may soon. I want you to be ready to take off at a moments notice, in case we run into armor." He said.

"Worrying a bit much, aren't we?" He said with a chuckle. "I'll have my arwing ready to go, and I'll have Slippy keep the weapons on yellow." He said, referring to the color code system the team used to denote alert status, "yellow" meaning standby.

"Got that. Fox out." Fox replied, and closed the com link.

"Nothing on the perimeter scans." Faye called. Both she and Miyu had been running scans of the surrounding jungle with portable field sensors that they had managed to grab from the crashed dropship. Though they had limited range, the sensors were an invaluable part of their early warning system, as they could pick up contacts that the team could not see with their eyes.

"Set the sensors on autoscan and keep them running twenty-four seven." Fox ordered. "I don't want us to get caught with our pants down out here."

"Got it." Faye said. Krystal had pulled out some sleeping bags and small pillows and set them up inside hers and Fox's tent. Her ears perked up, however, and she stopped when she heard a sound emanating from the jungle, distinct form the bird calls and animals sounds they had been hearing all day.

"Fox." She said. "Do you hear that?" Fox turned to her.

"Hear what?" He asked. She beckoned into the jungle, and Fox strained his ears to listen. He too heard the faint, yet distinct, noise.

"Shh." He said to the others. With only the waterfall sound in the background, Fox could now make out the clear sound of sobbing.

They were hearing the sound of a crying child.

Fox immediately began to head off in the direction of the crying, when Wolf grabbed his shoulder.

"I wouldn't go rushing off into this one." He said. "It could be a Venomian trap." Fox scoffed.

"I highly doubt the Venomians would use the sound of a crying child to lure people in." He said.

"The Black Fist troops were known to use fake distress calls to lure men in for ambush." He said. Fox shook his head.

"I don't think so." He said. "Faye and Miyu's scans didn't pick up anything, and there's no signs that anyone has been through here. If that is a kid, we have to help." Wolf was still unsure, but he relented.

"Here." He said, grabbing a rifle. "At least go armed." Fox didn't want to frighten the child, but he nodded and took the rifle.

"I'll be back." He said. He ran off in the direction of the sound, following it upriver. As he got closer, he could hear the crying getting louder and clearer, a sure sign that he was getting close. As he got closer, he held the rifle up in front of him and crept nearer and nearer. He finally came close to a smaller waterfall. And what he saw sitting on a rock overlooking a small pool nearly made his heart stop. Sitting there, with her knees drawn up to her chest and tears streaming down her face, was a young female fox kit, about five or six years old, wearing a white dress and silver bracelets on her wrists. A simple gold tiara adorned her head. But what was most striking about her was her fur; a bright blue, with white around her muzzle and the bottoms of her paws.

The little girl was a Cerinian.

--

"You want me to what?" The incredulous commanding general of the Fourth Infantry Division asked General Casey.

"I want you to have Third Brigade be ready to deploy to P-4419 at a moments notice." He replied calmly. "We have reason to believe Venomian insurgents are concentrating there, and Third Brigade is the closest unit to the planet."

"But if I move them in, they'll have no armor or air support." He said. "I don't like sending men in without either."

"I don't like it either, but we don't have much of a choice." He said. "The Venomians are searching for something, and I don't want them to get their hands on it." He said, not mentioning the Talaron.

"I have the feeling you can't tell me what it is." The general replied. Casey nodded. "Will I be able to get support at some point?"

"Star Fox is already there, I've been informed." He said. "They can provide air support. I will also send in my two other divisions."

"Alright, I'll have Caruso's boys ready to move out." He said.

"Thank you." Casey replied. "May the Messiah protect you." And with that, he closed communications.

--

"Oh Holy Messiah." Fox said as he stared at the girl, hardly able to believe it. He had heard Krystal's stories of her homeworld's destruction, and it had seemed impossible that anyone could have survived such a calamity. Now, he was looking at the proof that some did, with his very own eyes.

Fox gently put the rifle on the ground and approached the little girl gently, careful not to startle her. The girl buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Mumu." She sobbed gently. Hearing this broke Fox's heart. Mumu was a Cerinian word, mostly used by young children, which loosely translated into Lylat standard as mama, and served primarily as a term of endearment. Either the girl had been abandoned, or she had somehow gotten lost. Fox gently called to her to get her attention. The little girl looked up from her hands, the fur on her face streaked with tears. When she spotted Fox, she gasped and tried to run away, but the pool blocked her path, so she cowered into a split in the rock.

"Fulani la'a!" She cried out. Go away, she had said. Fox slowly knelt down and raised his hands, showing he wasn't armed.

"Elani ka natorima." Fox said in broken Cerinian. "Ila se nanka jatore ku." He had told the girl that he would not hurt her, that everything was okay. The girl's look of fear softened a little, but she still did not leave where she cowered.

"Ku'a hensante?" She asked. You promise? Fox nodded.

"Ila se nanka jatore ku." He repeated. "Ila hensante." The little girl cautiously crept out from where she hid. Fox held his hand out. The girl stopped for a second, unsure of what this meant. But Fox gave her a gentle smile, and she slowly reached out and took it. Fox took a look at her. The mist from the waterfall had soaked her fur and clothing, and there were some scratches on her face, probably from brush. He decided to take her back to camp and get her some food and shelter. She looked like she could use it. Also, he wanted to show her to Krystal. This would make her very, very happy.

--

The girl clutched Fox tightly as he carried her back to camp. The look of fear had come back as he took her into camp, where Faye and Miyu and Wolf sat around a fire.

"Ah, good thing your back Fox, we just started a…" He paused when he saw the frightened little girl in Fox's arms. "By the Messiah, I'm a seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Fox nodded. Faye and Miyu stood astonished at Fox's discovery.

"My word." They both said.

"Get Krystal, she needs to see this." Fox said. "And let's get her some food, she looks like she's been out here for a while." Faye rushed off to fetch Krystal, who had gone to set up one of the extra field sensors. Fox set the girl down near the fire, allowing the heat to dry her off. The little girl held her hands out over the fire, trying to get warm after freezing from being soaked, and staring around at the camp and the figures that remained. Her eyes darted back and forth from Fox to Miyu to Wolf, and she nervously fidgeted. Fox put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which seemed to calm her down a bit.

"Ila ke sutora." The little girl said. Fox wasn't sure exactly what she meant, but as though she understood his confusion, she would point to her mouth every time she repeated the phrase, indicating that she was hungry.

"I take it she's hungry." Wolf said. Fox nodded.

"It would appear so." He said. Wolf fetched some field rations and opened them. Not exactly first class fare, but it would assuage her for a while.

"Looks like we've got some beef stew." He said, opening the container and placing it near the fire to heat it. He then pulled out some large crackers and jam and handed them to the girl. Confused, she bit down on the cracker, and was turned off by it's bland taste. Fox took some jam out of its plastic container and spread it on the cracker. The girl tried it again, and smiled as the sweet jam touched her taste buds.

At that moment, Krystal came back with Faye, confused as to why she had been called back.

"What's going on here?" She asked. Fox was about to explain, when Krystal caught sight of the little girl. Her expression went from confused to shocked beyond belief it what seemed like a millisecond to Fox and the others.

"Oh great Hesora." She said hoarsely, as though she was losing her voice.

--

Krystal felt as though her knees had turned to jelly. Her stomach was doing backflips, and though she couldn't see it, she was sure her eyes were as wide as tennis balls. Sure, she had seen the crystals in the cavern, known that she had only seen them growing on her homeworld, and got the strange, improbable suspicion that some of her people may have survived. But, it still struck her like a wrecking ball to see the little Cerinian girl, dirty and scraped up but otherwise well. The young girl had the same sapphire blue eyes that Krystal herself had, as well as the same hairstyle and even the same gold tiara that she used to wear, albeit one without a stone. If she had had the same tattoos, she could have easily resembled a younger version of Krystal.

Krystal felt like she was going to faint. She immediately knelt and put her head between her knees. Fox rushed to her side.

"Hun? Are you ok?" He asked. Krystal began to hyperventilate, the shock of seeing the Cerinian girl before almost too much to bear. The girl noticed something was wrong with the adult Cerinian.

"Ke u'a sa'le?" She asked, wondering what was wrong? Krystal took a moment for her head to clear before she answered.

"Ila ki sa'le." Krystal said weakly, the shock having barely worn off. The girl approached her, trusting of her fellow Cerinian, and placed her hand on her shoulder. Krystal had put on a field jacket due to the coolness of the evening, which concealed her tattoos from the girl.

"Ki juta mi." The girl said, pointing towards Fox. Krystal smiled.

"E'a guran se'a?" Krystal said, saying did he now in her native tongue. The little girl smiled at Fox, an expression Faye and Miyu found cute. Fox smiled back.

"So," he said, kneeling down in front of her, "where are you from?" Krystal repeated the question to the girl in Cerinian. The girl responded by pointing over towards the mountains and said something in Cerinian.

"She said that's where her settlement is." Krystal said, translating for her. Fox looked off towards the mountains. The mountains were capped with snow, and from his own estimate, where double the height of Mount Carlisle on Corneria, the highest peak in the Lylat system. The rocky slopes of the mountainsmeant tough terrain for anyone living in the foothills.

"Awful rough place to put a colony." He said. "How many of them are there?" Krystal asked the girl in Cerinian. The girl said something Fox could not make out.

"She says there are many, many of us." Krystal replied. "It must be a fair sized colony." The little girl suddenly began to tear up, and said something that fox couldn't make out.

"Oooh." Krystal cooed scooping the little girl up in her arms. "She says she misses her mama."

"The poor thing." Faye said. "She's lost." Miyu nodded.

"We're going to help her find her home, right?" She asked. Fox was conflicted. They had their orders, to find out the source of the mysterious signals, and to find the hidden Talaron cache before the Venomians did. Now, they were confronted by this. As Fox's mind wrestled with the situation, the girl walked up to him, a pleading look in her eyes, silently begging Fox to help her. Fox stared into the girls pleading gaze, his heart melting.

"Ok." He said. "We'll help her." Just then, Slippy chimed in.

"Fox, I've got bad news." He said. "Looks like we've got a huge storm system approaching from the northwest. It's not bad, but it's going to last at least until late tomorrow morning. Looks like you're stuck there for the night." Fox nodded.

"Alright team, looks like we'll be staying in this place for a bit." He said. "Is there room for the girl?" Fox asked Krystal.

"It'll be a squeeze," she said, "but I think we can fit her in ours." Fox nodded.

"Ok." He said. The little girl smiled widely and grasped his hand.

Thank you. Fox heard the little girl's voice in his head. He smiled.

--

The rain poured loud and hard that night. The ground under the tents became a mud pit, and Faye's even managed to turn into a waterbed from the torrent of runoff. It was a gift from the Messiah himself when the rain finally stopped sometime after eight in the morning, defying Slippy's prediction.

Fox unzipped the front of the tent and crawled outside. Krystal slept with the little girl cradled in her arms. Fox looked at them and smiled. Krystal handled the girl so well. She would make a wonderful mother.

Some gray clouds remained from the storm the previous night, and the ground on which they set up camp had become soaked with rainwater, puddles forming every few feet, it seemed. The river had swelled slightly from the downpour, a good three inches up its banks. A light mist had formed around the river and campsite, giving the scenery and almost mystic quality, as though it had come straight out of a fantasy tale.

Fox took a few moments to take in the early morning air. The early morning always had a calming effect on him, especially after a rainstorm. The aroma of the air was pleasing to his tired mind, and seemed to relax him, despite the knowledge that they were still in danger of being ambushed by Venomians. He was just about to wake up the others when he heard something in the distance. At first it was too faint to make out, but as the sound drew closer, he was able to make out the sound of voices, calling out something in Cerinian. It was unmistakable. Fox was hearing the sound of a search party, looking for the lost little girl.

The tent behind him stirred, and both Krystal and the little girl, looking half awake, emerged.

"Fox, is that people?" Krystal asked. Fox nodded. Wolf, who had woken up before the others and had been scouting the area, entered the camp and heard the calling voices.

"Is that Cerinian I hear?" He asked.

"Yes. They must be looking for the little girl." Fox said. He began to walk off into the woods, marking the location of the camp on his PADs navigation program.

"You're not going off alone, are ya?" Wolf asked.

"They're clearly not hostile." Fox said. "And it will look less threatening if only one of us goes. I'll be fine." Wolf nodded, and Fox took off.

He ran through the woods for about fifteen minutes, before he came to a hill overlooking a small ravine. Trudging along a path down the ravine was a small group of vulpines, about ten strong, clad in longsleeved shirts in varying colors and white pants with armored boots. They wore white hoods on their heads, which only allowed their muzzles and eyes to show. The vulpine leading the group, a surly fellow with scale armor on his chest and two large, curved swords with gold hilts and grips strapped to his back, paused to examine the ground in front of him. The others paused as well, the blue rifles they carried equipped with vicious looking serrated bayonets. Fox was hesitant to signal the heavily armed group, fearful they would shoot him on sight. Then he remembered he was not armed… and the little girl was depending on him. He took a deep breath and whistled.

The vulpines immediately looked up at him. He raised his arms to show he wasn't armed, but that didn't stop one of the vulpines from aiming his rifle at him. Fox's heart stopped, and he braced himself, but the leader grabbed the vulpine's arm and gestured to Fox, muttering something in Cerinian. The vulpine lowered his weapon, and the leader looked up and Fox, dead in the eye. Fox noticed that this fellow had the same piercing jade eye color that he had, and the right side of his face was decorated with a bizarre tattoo pattern that wrapped around his eye and went down his cheek. For a few seconds no one moved, and then, to Fox's astonishment, began to climb up the rocks up to where he stood. Fox reached down to help him, and he took his hand. Soon, the vulpine was face to face with Fox.

The vulpine said something in Cerinian that Fox could not understand. Fox knew that these men were the little girl's only hope, so he cleared his mind and though out his statement.

Follow me. Fox thought. The vulpine seemed confused, but he appeared to have picked up Fox's thought patterns. I found the little girl you are looking for. He thought. The vulpine's eyes widened. He beckoned to the others, and three of them climbed up to them.

Take us there. The lead vulpine thought to Fox. Fox nodded and gestured to them to follow him, which they did diligently.

Fox led the group down the path he carved through the jungle, Fox occasionally turning back to make sure the group was still following him. He eventually led them to the clearing where they had set up camp. Krystal and the little girl were eating breakfast, and the others had woken up.

Here. Fox thought as he led them into the camp. The little girl turned to see who had come into the camp, and dropped her food when she saw the lead vulpine, before letting out a cry of joy.

"Kume!" She cried. Father. The lead vulpine likewise cried out in joy and relief. The little girl leapt up and ran into her father's arms. He embraced her tightly. Tears were streaming down both of their faces. The team was surprised by this development.

"Tala, your mother was quite worried about you." The elder Cerinian said.

"I am sorry for wandering away, father." She said. He smiled.

"Don't be sorry. We're just glad you're safe." Krystal smiled.

"You have a lovely daughter, if you do not mind me saying so." Krystal said to him. The man was about to reply, when he froze.

"Father, what is wrong?" The little girl asked. He just gently set her down and approached Krystal, a look of shock on his face, as though he had seen a ghost.

"Krystal, is that you?" He asked. Krystal was confused.

"I do not understand what you…" Before she could finish, the man pulled his hood off, revealing the face of someone Krystal thought she would never see again.

The man who had entered the camp was her brother, Ja'kan.