Disclaimer: See the Prologue
Chapter 16b – Declaration of War (continued)
Jacques slowly read through his war journal from the first page, flipping each one over with his index finger and observing it's contents, remembering each day's entry recounting his time spent as part of Star Fox, the first ever human member of the Lylatian band of adventurer's for hire. And each day as a mercenary he spent either completing assignments involving striking against the Venomian war effort, oddjobs for various people he felt deserves his help or just staying on board the Great Fox – and spending the whole day in the simulator and breaking everyone's Best Scores.
"Jacques?"
He turned around and saw, of all people, Krystal walking towards him, a soft smile on her face. Jacques put the journal down on his desk and straightened his back as he stood before her. He returned Krystal's smile as she approached him until he was looking down at her, seeing she had finally managed to change her wardrobe to something more military grade.
"Are you alright, Jacques?" Krystal asked, noticing he looked astray.
The Grey Knight nodded, "I am."
Krystal smiled and crossed arms slightly, "Good, I'm glad…because…"
She felt hesitant as she continued.
"…I…I wanted to talk to you."
Noticing her hesitancy and nervousness, Jacques asked, "What about?"
Krystal shrugged, "Anything. Anything at all, I just want to talk you… like a friend."
She then stepped up to him and placed her hand on his left armoured arm, moving it up and down invitingly, Jacques glanced down at her questioningly.
"Can we sit down here?"
Jacques nodded and they did so. Krystal sat cross-legged on the bed while Jacques sat up against the metal wall on his behind, legs slightly stretched out in front of him. Krystal flushed with slight embarrassment, seeing how awkward they looked. A Cerinian and a fully armoured Grey Knight actually sitting down near one another and talking, or were about to talk. And they were not caring about the fact that civilisation was just outside the ship and it would make for even more awkwardness if someone happened to come along, especially if it was an Imperial soldier.
"You kept my quarters clean," Jacques pointed out.
Krystal smiled, "Just in case you ever came back and rejoined the team. We missed you a lot, you know. Especially Fox."
"Fox?"
Krystal scratched the back of her head, trying to come up with something meaningful to say. She sighed and gave up, deciding to ask, "What…happened to you once you…returned to the Imperium?"
Jacques scanned the ground at his feet with this eyes, then responded, "My brothers and I returned to Macragge and immediately reported to the Fortress Hera, where I was reinstated back to active duty in the service of Ultramar and the Emperor of Mankind."
He smiled lightly, still looking at the ground.
"Afterwards I was given the opportunity to join the First Company and be trained as a Librarian. I…however…refused."
Krystal was surprised, "Why?"
"I…I did not think I had earned the right to become part of the 1st," Jacques answered, "I had only entered my 37th year of existence. Veterans are normally hundreds of years old and of much experience."
"It would still have been an honour, right?"
"Oh yes," Jacques admitted, "It would have."
Krystal nodded as well. She then studied him for a few seconds, her eyes trailing over the fact that, save for the blue cape and the loincloth with the Omega symbol on it, he wasn't a Ultramarine any more, but a daemon-hunting Grey Knight, part of the Chamber-Militant of the dreaded Inquisition. Her eyes softened with sadness and confusion was evident, despite having been told what had happened to him, she needed to know how it had come to that.
She looked at his face softly, causing Jacques to stare back. Better than anyone else he knew he could almost read her like a book, and that comes from sharing kindred with her. When he saw that mix of sadness and confusion. He grimaced slightly knowing what she wanted to hear.
"Months ago," Jacques explained slowly, shuffling his weight so that his whole body was facing her, "The 2nd Company was assigned to assist the Tyranid Hunters to clear out an infestation on Medusa II. It was remnants of the Hive Fleet Kraken, and they were flanked by numerous human hybrid Genestealer cults."
"Tyranids?" Krystal questioned.
Jacques sighed, "Sentient bug creatures. They can be compared to the Aparoids you once mentioned to me, but these are completely biological."
"Oh. Please continue."
"We were deployed into the heat of battle, me and the hundred of my brothers, right atop five-hundred thousand Tyranids, who were already being held back by the Tyranid Hunters and the Planetary Defence Force. I thought it would be like Cerinia again, that the 2nd Company would be destroyed a second time. But…"
He downcast his eyes, causing Krystal to become more concerned. She got off the bed and sat herself down on the floor so that she was directly sitting cross-legged before him.
"…the Hive Tyrant had already being killed. His psychic link with the Hive Mind and it's forces was gone and the creatures were being scattered, disorganised. We picked them a hundred by a hundred. Until suddenly something happened."
"What?"
"They all quickly organised themselves into one massive group and headed straight for the planet's fusion power plant. We knew that if the power station was breached, the resulting explosion would blow the planet apart, killing me, my brothers, and billions of innocent people."
Krystal's brow shifted, "What did you do?"
"Because I and those around me were ahead of the rest of the company, I ordered my brothers under my command to head for the power plant and hold the Tyranids back long enough for the rest of our forces to regroup and flank them from behind. But Genestealers then ambushed us. Just twelve of us against a hundred tyranid/human hybrids armed to, and with, their teeth."
"Did anyone die?"
"Luckily not one of our own, because out of nowhere came an Eldar Farseer and her Warhost."
"Eldar?" Krystal almost exclaimed surprisingly.
Jacques nodded, "Taldeer – The Dreamer of Ulthwe…and an Inquisitorial prisoner since the end of the Dark Crusade of Kronus. Somehow she had escaped from the Ordo Xeno fortress from Medusa IV and came here to investigate Psyker energies, presumably from the Tyranid Hive Mind. She offered to us the use of our Webway to quickly travel to the power plant and defend it. Though my brothers all objected, I accepted."
"Even though you knew it was against your code?"
Jacques nodded again, "We reached the power plant and we held off the swarms long enough for them to be flanked. The Farseer and her forces also assisted us in battling them, which I guess was in order to save the planet and it's population. After the Tyranids were defeated, I realised who she was and despite pleas from my brothers I…"
He cut himself off, and saw Krystal was looking at him with anticipation.
"…I…I let her go."
"Let her go?"
"I let her escape from Medusa IV. She helped me save the planet, and it seemed fair trade."
Still looking at him sadly, Krystal asked, "But the Imperium didn't look at all this the same way."
"No."
"What happened to you afterwards."
Jacques hesitated at first, mentally putting himself through everything he had suffered as a result of his ideals and his resolve towards non-humans. He noticed Krystal looking into his eyes, and practically into the soul that was bound inside his armoured, muscled frame. He downcast his eyes, contemplating whether to horrify her with the details, or to stop their conversation right there
Through her eyes and how she shuffled as she sat down on firmly before him, Krystal silently implored him to continue, and he did so.
"The Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition demanded to know why Eldar presence detected on the planet was not dealt with immediately, and threatened to condemn the 2nd Company as heretics and destroy the planet themselves. Unless of course if the Marine who allowed them to live and, in their eyes more horrifically, actually allowed them to fight beside them."
Krystal once again felt upset at the very thought of the Inquisition, "You…you gave yourself up?"
"Yes, I did," Jacques said, then realised Krystal's growing devastation and panic. He then compelled to add, "I surrendered myself to the judgement of the Inquisition and sentenced to Arco-Flaggation…though as you can see…."
He glanced down at himself.
"…they had bigger designs for me."
"You gave yourself up…just to save billion of innocent people?" Krystal asked again.
"Yes."
She then glared straight at Jacques, which made him feel surprisingly uneasy, "And the Inquisition turned you into…"
She pointed at him in his armour.
"…that?"
He saw she was visibly being wrecked with anger and grief, due to her clenched teeth, narrowed watering eyes and hands clenching and unclenching. Jacques immediately regretted talking to Krystal about his recent history, internally distraught at seeing the one he loved break down over what happened to her closest friend in the universe. He stood up and turned away from Krystal, the joints in his armour creaking, eyes closed and his own fists clinched as he fought to not curse at himself.
"I should not have told you!" Jacques exclaimed, "Damnation, I should not be even be here!"
Saddened even more by Jacques outburst, she shook her head gently as she stood up as well, facing the Grey Knight who had his back turned to her in shame. Knowing he would not feel her place a reassuring hand on his armoured back…
"It…it was all to save lives?" Krystal rephrased her earlier question.
Jacques moved his hand to trace a finger over the necklace he wore, eyes still closed tightly. He nodded, though Krystal couldn't see it, and said, "To save billions of innocent lives. I believe that the Inquisition…are murderers, Krystal. They are driving mankind into darkness even more so than Chaos. I had to stop them from killing innocent people any way I could, even for a short way."
He sighed.
"It is who I am. I cannot change that. I will die eventually, Krystal, and when I do…"
The next few words completely shattered the blue Cerininan vixen's heart.
"…it will be protecting you and the Lylat System, my only true home. Forgive me…for the misery I have put you through right now, and for what I am about to put you through in the battles ahead."
Krystal begun to get frustrated, not just because Jacques had his back turned to her, but that he had openly declared that he would gladly sacrifice his own life for her, something which she wouldn't allow if she had something to say about it. She never wanted Jacques to suffer over his choices in life, and clearly it pained her to see him in pain, if it would be physically or emotionally.
"Jacques, turn around," Krystal said sternly, hands on his shoulders, "Look at me."
The Grey Knight let go of the necklace and sensed Krystal's frustration with him. Believing that he was being overbearing, he sighed and didn't want to frustrate her further, and turned to face her. Besides suddenly sensing her frustration disappear, he felt both her hands on his cheeks.
"Do you hate, Jacques?"
No doubt he was surprised, "Hate?"
"Do you feel hatred towards the people who took everything away from you? Who had hurt you?" she asked again, voice filled with emotion, "Like the Inquisition?"
Jacques took her hands in his and responded, "I told you…revenge is a fool's game. I pity those blinded by the Imperial Creed and unable to feel anything but hatred towards those unwilling to comprise themselves. Though I should hate them for everything they have done, I cannot bring myself to be on the same level as they are."
"They worship your God-Emperor thought," Krystal stated, "You worship him?"
Jacques shook his head, "Not as a God…but as a powerful warrior. The Astartes have always viewed him as only the greatest of them all and the saviour of humanity, not like the Adeptus Ministorum - the Ecclesiarchy, who insist on deifying him and pressing humanity into worshipping him, with the threat of holy fire through Exterminatus."
'It all makes sense,' Krystal thought to himself, 'The Space Marines never refer to him as the God-Emperor.'
"But as I was saying," Jacques continued, "I am incapable of hate – whether towards my brothers-in-arms, those fanatics who believe wholeheartedly in Imperialism, the unfortunate souls ensnared by Chaos, and never towards non-humans."
He paused, in order to reflect on his words.
"Hate is a factor of the False God Khorne," Jacques said, "To hate is to serve him. The Imperium fights him, yet they hate and that fuels Chaos, creating a never-ending cycle."
The vixen gasped inwardly, remembering her encounter with Night Lord Sorcerer in her mind, about the short subject of 'evil' and how the Imperium is no different then Chaos when it comes to bloodshed and cruelty.
Krystal said softly as if dazed, "Order cannot exist without Chaos. And we insist on causing Chaos inadvertently through our hatred, and all the other things that make up the so-called Ruinous Powers."
Jacques looked at her curiously. "Do you feel hatred, Krystal?"
Krystal looked at him, eyes slightly watery as all this was nerve wrecking to say the least. "I try not to. For Cerinia's sake and for my family's sake."
Jacques caressed her left cheek delicately, which gently calmed her. She smiled again and she moved her head forward, pressing her lips on his forehead, giving a gentle kiss to the temple, her eyes closed as she did so. Jacques' eyes widened for a second as this immediately brought back memories of how one night he found her crying in her sleep from nightmare about Cerinia, and he whispered words of relief to her and soothed her gently. The next morning she thanked him and gave him a chaste kiss of appreciation on the cheek.
"A celo 0ei," she whispered gently to him in a language he immediately recognized, but couldn't fathom, "Raw rhekxoh."
They just stood there and hugged each other for five minutes, more than making up for a year's worth of separation, and both confident that the other would never leave the other again, and that not even the greatest evil in the universe can separate them. However, once Krystal left Jacques in his room she begun to look determined as she made a pact with herself.
'It's my turn to protect you now, Jacques,' she thought to herself, her face appearing hard, 'The only good human, the only one of your species, which gives a care about the universe. I'll help you prove that humanity is still 'humane'.'
She then realised that she now had that Cornerian soldier's wallet and dog-tags in the pocket of his new pants. She took it out and examined it and the photo inside of it. She then sighed.
'First,' she thought, 'I need to be the bearer of bad news.'
--
"Jakob?"
"Yes, Nina?"
"I'm tired."
"So am I."
"Can I ride on your shoulders?"
"I don't see why not."
After leaving the hanger areas of the mountain they had been travelling through the subterranean tunnels for little over an hour. La'Jakob believed that maybe he could restore the girl's memory of where she was based if they walked around a bit, seeing if she could remember anywhere familiar. So far nothing, and now he was carrying the tired girl on his shoulders, and no one appeared to object. Not him, the girl, or any Cornerian or Venomian soldier that passed, as if they were too busy to care that a lone human walked amongst them.
The little wolf girl pointed towards a large open door with the number 243 right beside it, which would lead into another subterranean refugee camp, "I think my mom might be there. She told me we would be living in section 2-4-3 until we are allowed to go back to our house."
Jakob nodded, "Alright, we'll look in there then."
Still hand in hand they stepped across the road and before the door. Immediately two Cornerian guards on duty stopped him, not looking at pleased to seem him at all.
"What's your business here, Imperial?"
The human frowned at being called that, responded calmly, "This little girl was separated from her mother. I am merely attempting to reunite the both of them."
The two guards looked at one another, both surprised and suspicious. The guard who had prompted him squatted down to Nina's head level and smiled warmly.
"Is this true?" he asked her kindly.
Tina nodded a smile, "Jakob's nice. He said he'd find my mommy for me."
The guard glanced up at Jakob, looking at him questioningly, before standing back up.
"What makes you think you can take a stroll anywhere you want, Imperial?"
"I am not an Imperial, honourable Cornerian," Jakob replied, his good eye twitching slightly, "I am a citizen of the Tau Empire. I am nothing like those zealous bastard-kin you dare brand me as being affiliated with."
The other guard smiled, "He called Imperials 'bastards'. He must be on our side, then."
The questioning guard saw a eager glint in his eye, before looking straight at Jakob in his remaining eye and answered, "Alright…"
He directed his smile towards the girl.
"…you can take this little girl to her mommy. Just be quick about it, Citizen of the Tau Empire."
Jakob smiled and nodded appreciatively as the gates leading into the camp opened and he stepped through with Nina in tow. The guard who had suggested he'd be let through suddenly looked as if realisation dawned upon him.
"Oh crap."
"What?"
"There's about ten-thousand people in this part of the complex…and all of them don't seem eager to see another human being."
"Meh…Trenchcoat's funeral."
The other guard glared at him and stated, "I think the only good human in existence is going to need backup."
The guard sighed and reached for his communicator, "Fine, I think I'll 'call' whatever's left of the fifth army for you, skinny-lover."
"Up yours, fascist."
--
Refugee camp designated 243 wasn't as depressing as one might first think of the term 'refugee.' Though it more or less resembled a subterranean shantytown, the place was amicably clean with those families lucky enough to escape and still be together enjoying one another's company as they tried to make the best of the situation anyway their can. Those unfortunate to have lost everything and someone/everyone they hold dear wallowed in miserable in their own private shack or corner, either planning on ways to wrack their terrible vengeance on humanity or how to stay alive another day longer.
La'Jakob looked solemnly from the gate leading into the camp, looking down at the girl still holding his hand. She looked up at him.
"Are you able to pick you mother out?"
She nodded, "Yes, Jakob. Can we go find her?"
"Best stay close to me, then"
They walked through the camp side by side and in hand in hand, both of them looking around to see if anyone will react to seeing their daughter in the presence of human. After some time people managed to notice the two of them passing by, and very soon everybody dropped what they were doing and stopped in their tracks. Jakob and Nina stopped in their tracks as all of them looked horrified to see the trenchcoat-wearing human standing there. They quickly moved away from him, creating a circle around him and the little girl. Nina tugged at La'Jakob's coat tail nervously, causing him to run a finger over her small left hand in comfort.
He cleared his throat and said, "I seek the parents of this little girl currently beside me. If any one of you has lost a little girl of Lylatian wolf descent, please step forward and reclaim her."
Everyone stared in bewilderment at the man at his bold statement, though some through their bewilderment also openly displayed their anger.
"Hey YOU!"
A big burly bulldog Cornerian pushed his way through the crowd towards La'Jakob and Nina, his front teeth bared and looking ready for war. Nina appeared frightened and hid behind Jakob's legs, who then gently pushed her aside towards the crow, who soon disappeared amidst the refugees. Jakob hoped that she would be able to find her mother by herself, seeing as now this is now a hostile situation.
"Oi, I'm talkin' to you skinny!"
Jakob looked back at bulldog, showing no emotion, "Here I am."
The bulldog stood before him and cracked his knuckles, "You've got some nerve showing your fuckin' ugly face around here, skinny boy!"
"Yeah, haven't you caused enough damage!" another person in the crowd cried out from behind him.
Jakob was genuinely sympathetic to the plight of the Cornerian, and so tried to display it. "I am sorry for whatever losses you sustained at the hand of the Chaos Space Marines, Cornerian. But you best not take it out on me…"
He then tapped the T'au symbol on the left breast of his trenchcoat.
"…because I am a soldier of the Tau Empire, and we seek to liberate those suffering under the strife of humanity's sins."
The bulldog looked at him, anger still in his eyes and knuckles bared.
"Yeah, well, allow me to wish you best, FASCIST!"
The bulldog male took a swing at Jakob, who stepped backwards to avoid, bumping into another Cornerian. That particular Cornerian growled in anger and shoved him forward towards the bulldog, who immediately swung another fist at him. La'Jakob raised a flat palm in order to block, before closing his fingers in so that he held the seething Cornerian's fist in place.
"I'm serious," Jakob said with reason, "I do not wish to hurt any of…AHHH!"
He felt something hard and blunt strike his head from behind, courtesy of the other Cornerian, now armed with a wooden plank. The crowd cheered when he keeled over forward onto the ground, left hand covering his now bruised back of the head while his right hand kept him up. The Cornerian armed with the 2x4 smiled and raised his foot and tried to bring it down on Jakob's chest. The human, however, managed to grab his foot…
"HEY! WHA…?"
…and twist it hard enough so that he broke it, the loud crack of bone being heard….
"ARGHHHH!"
…and the sound of Jakob's feet landing back on earth as he jumped back up onto his feet and performed a spiralling butterfly kick on the Cornerian, the crowd making his way for now airborne body to fall down flat on it's back but still alive. The bulldog bared his knuckles and attacked again, but this time Jakob spun around and grabbed him by the throat.
"AWWWK! HELP!"
Other male Cornerians moved in on the attack, but backed away when Jakob whipped out one of his SMGs from his trenchcoat and held it to his side, his face now a mix of calm, pain, and anger.
"Please do not force me to defend myself," Jakob pleaded, "I do not want to fire upon my own allies."
The bulldog's eyes widened at hearing someone with a near iron-grip strangle him while pleading with him and everyone else to not attack him with threat of being fired upon. Jakob looked at the bulldog with a frown, who begun to nod fiercely.
He chocked out, "OK….OK…I GIVE…I…"
Jakob then threw him down, his wristblades immediately jetting and causing people to gasp out loud and back away more. He looked around himself, realising what he was doing but justifying it over issues regarding his personal safety.
"I seek not to hurt anyone here!" he now shouted, "But if I have to, I will defend myself!"
Suddenly the blaring of sirens caused nearly everyone to jump in fright, except for La'Jakob who turned his head back towards to entrance to find a small military truck with Cornerian blue-uniformed military police with batons driving into the compound. Once it stopped they loaded out and waved their batons around, coercing the refugees to step back more.
Please disperse, the loudspeaker on the truck blurted, Return to your living quarters and your families. Violence will not be tolerated here.
Jakob breathed a sigh of relief as he retracted his blades and holstered his SMG, regretting ever arming himself against civilians.
"Jakob!"
He turned back towards the truck to find the blue vixen know as Krystal stepping towards him from the truck, worry evident on her face. Surprised at her reaction, Jakob turned to face her fully and crossed his arms.
"Princess Krystal," he greeted with a smile, "If I may say so you bring a shimmer of hope to these people with your mere presence."
Krystal's eyes widened with that overly polite gesture, causing her cheeks to flush a bit.
"What are you doing here?" La'Jakob asked her, dropping his smile.
She looked at him curiously, "I should be asking you that. I know few humans who would risk their lives by taking a stroll away from their superiors towards anxious and angry refugees."
He loosened his arms, letting them hang by his side. "Performing a civic service as the human representative and citizen of the Tau Empire. I was helping a little innocent soul be reunited with her loved ones, allowing her to be happy for a little while longer."
Krystal smiled sadly, "How ironic. I'm here to break news of a innocent soul's loved one's death, allowing her to be miserable possibly for life."
Jakob appeared glum, "Who is this unlucky individual?"
"Excuse me?"
Krystal's eyes widened as a blonde-haired female wolf and the little girl from the photo in the wallet, Nina, approached the both of them. The wolf woman was smiling widely with tears of joy streaming down her face as she held Nina in her arms, before letting Nina down to grasp Jakob by his hands and give them gentle squeezes.
Nina smiled, "He's the nice human who found me."
"Thank you, sir…for finding my daughter," the wolf woman sobbed in joy, "With Armando missing, she's the only thing I have left that gives my life purpose."
Krystal appeared grim when she addressed the young wolf woman, "Tiana Fitzroy?"
Tiana nodded, "Yes, that's me?"
"I have some bad news."
Her eyes widened as she clutched Nina to herself, "Is it about Armando?"
Both Krystal and Jakob gave a sideward glance at one another. Krystal closed her eyes and breathed gently, before opening her eyes revealing her sympathetic blue orbs. She swallowed, not used to being the bearer of bad news, and said, "Your husband was killed in action by cult groups."
She then produced the soldier's wallet and dog-tag and handed it to the now devastated young wife, with Nina looking up from clutching her mother's leg, not realising what Krystal had just said. Tiana sniffed, trying to hold back the tears, but when she opened the wallet to see the photo of herself, her daughter and her husband, she burst into tears and fell to her knees. Krystal and Jakob watched solemnly as kept herself level off the ground with her hands as she poured her grief out.
"Mommy? What's wrong?" Nina innocently asked as she clutched to her left arm.
Tiana looked over at her daughter and quickly embraced her, wrapping her arms around her tiny body and beginning to whisper words of comfort into her ear, Nina still not knowing what was wrong. Jakob sighed and looked away.
He thought, 'By the end, one more life to avenge."
Minutes later both human and Cerinian were walking away from the camp and through the large tunnels back towards the hangar areas, which connected to the main headquarters of the Venomian/Cornerian army. They were silent along the way, until Jakob noticed the look of sadness still embedded on her face and that her eyes were tracing her feet. He decided to break the ice as he gently rubbed the back of his bandaged head, luckily not suffering from a concussion or much damage at all.
"Princess Krystal?"
Krystal head raised, alarmed at being referred to her once-royal title, and turned to him.
"La'Jakob?"
"If it is any consolation, I feel how you do about Mrs. Armando and little Nina. It is a terrible tragedy to lose the people you love, and to grow up without a parent."
Feeling his words hit a little frighteningly too close to home, Krystal asked sounding blunt, "You do?"
Jakob nodded, "Believe me when I say I do. Whatever is left of my humanity be torn from me should I lie."
Krystal smiled lightly, but wary of how he described 'losing' his humanity, "I'll have to take your word for it."
Jakob returned the smile, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Krystal chuckled lightly and stopped, keeping sure to stay off the road to allow supply and transport trucks to pass through unimpeded.
"You don't have to call me that," Krystal told him, "Just Krystal, or Krys, will do."
Somehow La'Jakob felt glad she didn't cling on to her title. He nodded again, before feeling his bandaged head. Krystal was once again concerned.
"How is your head?" she asked.
"I am surprised I am not concussed, Krystal," Jakob replied, "It was struck with a wooden plank used for building, yet I am not concussed. And while we are discussing about camp number 243, I am still grateful you came to my assistance."
"Oh?"
"Once again, thank you for…AWK!"
The Gue'vesa suddenly felt his heart stop beating in his chest for a second, immediately putting a hand to his chest and backed up towards the wall, pain evident in his eyes as he struggled to breath. Krystal was startled at something seemingly unseen strike him in the heart.
"Jakob? JAKOB!"
In a panic, Krystal rushed over to the young man's side when he slumped against the wall and skidded downwards. She grabbed him by the shoulders in an attempt to stop him from scraping against the wall any further. She pulled him away from the wall and gently laid him on the ground as Jakob attempted to regulate his own breathing.
"Jakob? Can you hear me?" she exclaimed, before she cried into the distance, "Someone help us!"
She then felt a hand shoot up towards her left cheek. She looked down to find him smiling up at her reassuringly, and breathing normally now.
"It's…alright…Krystal," Jakob said, "I am okay now, it sometimes happens now and then before it's time for treatment."
Krystal was amazed at how calm he now looked, before she stared up from him again to see if anyone heeded her call. But to her frustration and bewilderment nobody had the nerve to stop what they were doing to help him, possibly because of the fact he was a human. Jakob struggled to get back up, but Krystal helped him onto his feet. He brushed some dirt off his trenchcoat, before he checked his watch.
It read 4:39:35, and counting down.
"You scared me for a second, La'Jakob," Krystal said, "It looked like you were having a heart attack."
He smiled sadly, "You're nearly right, Krystal."
She appeared shocked, "Huh?"
"But it is far worse than simple heart problems, though someone like me appears to no be able to contract such bodily failure at my age or physical well-being," Jakob continued, "But my…circumstances…say otherwise."
Krystal looked at him with concern as he begun walking again, with her immediately rushing to catch up to him, "What do you mean? What is wrong with young?"
The Human Fire Warrior known as La'Jakob sighed and looked at her closely, "I have Nerve Rot."
"Nerve Rot?"
"It's a condition which affects the nervous system of the body, causing rigid muscle movements and spasms, impaired motor movement and erratic heartbeat. If untreated, the muscles and nervous system would gradually break down, causing both paralysis and eventual heart failure, resulting in a slow, yet painless death," Jakob explained with haunting calmness.
Krystal was taken back by Jakob's description of his impairment, "How do you…deal with it?"
"Two things can hold Nerve Rot at bay," Jakob explained further, "Continuos rigorous exercise in stimulating the muscles and the heart, or during times when I need to sleep or, worse, be inactive, I inject myself with powerful steroid solution, which has the same results as exercising. But…"
He appeared ashamed.
"I hate taking drugs, even it does guarantee I will live for another thirty or forty years. To me it is morally reprehensible to put strange stuff into my body."
Krystal was about to open her mouth to tell him how sorry she was for his condition, but Jakob interrupted her.
Jakob smiled lightly again, "You do not need to display your pity, I was unlucky enough to acquire such a sickness during my time on planet Geewing nearly six years ago."
"May I ask what happened?" Krystal asked, now concerned for her newfound friend.
Jakob now appeared glum, "I cannot tell, Krystal. For I am not sure what had happened either. Events were erratic, foreboding and fast paced that by the time I realised what was happening…"
He waved his left hand over his eye implant.
"…I had lost one of my eyes as well. And very nearly my life."
"I see," Krystal said, biting her lip gently as he had answered another one of her questions she was yet to ask him, "I…I don't know what to say, really."
Jakob saw that he was making her uncomfortable, "I apologise if I have gone into too much detail. I feel as if you had the right to know, seeing as we will now be working with each other for the duration of this war."
"I understand," Krystal nodded with a smile, "All the more reason to look out for you out there."
La'Jakob's remaining eye brightened and he smiled again. He stopped and bowed his head, "Thank you. In return I will make sure you will come to no harm."
Surprised by his polite gesture, no doubt a Tau show of respect, her smile widened a bit and she returned the bow. It then faded when he noticed he was looking at her from head to toe, as if studying her, causing her to raise her eyebrows with interest. She cleared her throat gently.
"Oh," Jakob responded quickly, "I…I apologise."
"Was there anything else?"
"Yes…I know I asked you this before but…"
He prepared himself for what he was about to say.
"Are you sure we haven't met before?"
The vixen's eyes widened at being asked that seemingly impossible question. There was no absolutely no way possible that Krystal would have met this young Tau-aligned human anywhere in her history, unless he was on Cerinia when she was younger and unable to remember.
"Were you…on Cerinia?" she asked.
Jakob shook his head, "No."
Her eyes softened, almost sadly, "No…I don't think we've met each other before two days ago."
Looking embarrassed, La'Jakob rubbed his neck gently, "I…I see. But, you seem so familiar to me. Like as if…we made contact in a previous life or something like that."
Krystal crossed her arms and responded, now sounding sincere, "Somehow I feel the same way you do. Back on the Infinity you did look like someone I had met once. I swore that you looked familiar."
She then smiled again, this time warmly.
"Maybe we did meet each other in a previous life…or from another plane of existence."
Jakob smiled as well, "Let us just leave it at that."
Krystal's communicator buzzed and she answered. It was audio only, indicating the broadcast was from a human source.
Krystal, Jacques' voice came through, We are waiting for you at the Base Meeting Room. If you have found La'Jakob, we would appreciate you grace us with your presence.
Still smiling, Krystal answered, "We'll be right there Jacques. See you soon."
The transmission ended, leaving her to look back at a confused Jakob.
"Is…is this Jacques Mortensen a friend of yours?" Jakob asked her as they begun walking again, a bit faster now, "I saw how the both of you interacted before the Ethereal's presence."
"We're best friends, Jakob," Krystal replied, "He is my oldest friend, companion and protector."
How Jakob looked at the vixen clearly conveyed to her that he thought she was crazy.
"He saved my life during the closing hours of the Cerinia Conflict when I was young. His entire company was wiped out and he risked his own life and heresy in making sure I got off the planet before it was destroyed."
"He…he saved your life. F…for real?" Jakob asked, stuttering with disbelief, "A Space Marine? He who bears an Inquisitorial symbol on his armour."
Still walking, Krystal nodded as she tried to get through to the now amazed human, "He was performing his assigned duty from the Chapter at first, but when we met each other years later, he begun to think of me as a friend rather than his mission."
Krystal then smiled again.
"He is like my older brother."
Jakob's eyes widened in disbelief. Surely to him no Space Marine would think of making friend with anyone non-human. Though there was the occasional alliance with xeno species against a bigger foe such as Chaos or the Necrons, but never such intimacy as this. He shook his head as he tried to comprehend such a bizarre bond.
Feeling his mind being overburdened, he decided to change the subject, "I saw his scars and his eyes briefly when he took off his helmet. He and Fox McCloud…"
He shooks his head gently.
"…they almost share the same eyes."
Krystal looked at him questioningly, "Huh?"
--
Surrounded by their unarmed Space Marine and Commissariat escorts, the human Imperial delegation stepped through the doors into the massive circular war room. In the centre of the large square table able to seat up to fifty people was a holographic projector, which could broadcast images high above their heads. Nero immediately sneered at the amount of technology present, and the seemingly cold, lifeless décor and colour (which was a mix of dark blue and black) of the room in stark contrast to their own elaborate religiously uplifting designs and holy machinery.
"You should not let them know of your disgust, Lord Admiral," Sturnn said to him smirkingly, "You might hurt our hosts' feelings."
"Bah," Nero snapped, although quietly, "It won't do them justice in the end."
"And why not, Lord Admiral?"
Calgar opened his mouth to say that passage but instead he was interrupted by an aged rabbit in a red army uniform, who asked that question instead of Calgar. He appeared from out of view behind the holographic projector at the other end of the table and stepped towards the Imperials. More Cornerian and Venomian officers stepped into view and stood before their seats on the north end of the table.
"Peppy Hare of Star Fox," Calgar greeted him, "You surprise the Imperium by gracing us with your presence instead of General Pepper."
"Well, you could say last year finally convinced him he had done all he can during his service to Corneria," Peppy replied ruefully, "And right now I hope he's bunkered down on his resort world at the western part of Lylat."
General Sturnn and Commissar Plymouth stepped forward and presented themselves before Peppy. The rabbit saw they were the heads of the Imperial Guard here and decided that respect was in order. He gave the sharpest salute he himself couldn't believe he could manage, and was surprised when Sturnn returned the salute, with the Commissar pulling out his sabre and held it to his side, which was to Peppy possibly the Commissar's way of saluting.
Nero and some of the Imperial officers present once again appeared shocked as Sturnn said, "General Sturnn of the Cadian 412th Regiment of the Imperial guard."
Peppy held the salute as he responded, "General Peppy Hare of the Cornerian Army Defence Forces. And if I may direct you to your seats behind me…"
Peppy stepped out of the way and allowed the Imperials to take their seats at the southern end of the table, at the least the 'purebred' Imperial Guard officers sat down, while the Space Marines stood behind their less-enhanced brothers-in-arms, partly in due to their enormous sizes, especially with Calgar. The Cornerian officers all sat down as well.
"Where are the Tau and the heretics?" Nero asked without hiding his contempt, emphasising what he referred the Jacques, Alexander and their forces to as.
"Right here."
The door leading into the western side of the room was opened and revealed Star Fox, Jacques, Alexander, Vash and the Eden fleet officers. They stepped forward into the light and approached their seats, sitting down. Peppy nodded towards Fox, acknowledging his presence as he sat beside Krystal, moving a hand over to her under the table. All eyes then turned to the eastern side, and seconds later the door opened and in stepped the Tau delegation, with Aun'shi and O'Shovah stepping forward, followed by Water Caste diplomats. Jakob were present as well, and stood behind his superiors besides his fellow Fire Warrior escorts.
The Commissariat cadets kept to the edges of the room behind their superiors and stood to attention, watching over them. The same went for Calgar's Honour Guard, who stood behind their Lord Macragge, Chief Librarian and Master of the Sanctity. The Fire Warriors were at hand as the Aun, the Water Caste and O'Shovah took their seats. La'Jakob kept to the Ethereal's side, feeling several of the Imperial officers from before still stare disdainfully at him. He simply rolled his eyes in annoyance.
'First chance they get they will probably try to burn me at the stake,' La'Jakob thought, appearing bored, 'Suppose that first chance I get I will tear the heart out of the first Imperial that tries to betray us.'
Peppy was the first to speak, standing from his seat to address the entire meeting.
"First off, I want to thank you all for coming here and giving us the chance to settle our differences through simple talk."
The Imperials and Tau all the begun to murmur amongst themselves, while the Space Marines, Star Fox and Eden officers looked at him attentively.
"I really do mean it, by the way…"
The Imperials and the Tau felt their attention drawn to him impeccably now.
"When I say 'thank you', I generally mean it. This would probably be the only time in history where humans and non-humans alike would interact with one another across a conference table. And Lylat feels honoured that you are doing so here instead of your own galaxy where it continues to tear itself apart through war."
Calgar smiled, "Circumstances or if you prefer, fate; brought us all here. Now, one must ask the obvious question."
Sturnn nodded and asked bluntly, "Who's keeping a leash on the apes? Last I heard the dogs and the monkeys were are each other throats and tails?"
Peppy turned around in his seat and waved his finger forward, "Preator Oikonny?"
No doubt Star Fox was surprised (and in Falco's case, peeved) to hear that name again. Jacques and Fox's eyes widened in surprise, and they said together, "Oikonny?"
Fox's hand found itself on his blaster holstered to his side and Jacques clinched the gauntlet with the storm bolter built into it. They looked over at one another and glared, Fox bearing his teeth almost in a feral like manner, making Peppy cringe gently.
They then all heard as sigh as footsteps sounded off from a darkened corner, "General Hare, I prefer to be called by my mother's surname."
One of the Cornerian simian pilots from the battle above Corneria stepped out of the shadows, the mere sight causing Fox to calm down, and his voice immediately reminded him of someone else. Jacques relaxed as well.
"And who may you be?" Jacques asked.
The simian stood behind Peppy and responded, "Dash Bowman, recently elected Preator of Venom. If you must know, I'm the one keeping the 'leash' on the apes."
He then smiled at Star Fox.
"It's good to see you escaped from Corneria," Dash said, sounding rather pleased, "I hope I gave you enough cover back there."
"That was you," Krystal asked, then bowed her head gently and responded thoughtfully, "Thank you very much."
Dash nodded, "Alright, General Hare. I think we should get down to business now…"
Sturnn raised his hand and said, "Before we do, one question: Why did Hare refer to you as Oikonny?"
Dash sighed and scratched the side of his head, "My uncle is Andrew Oikonny, and my grandfather is none other than Andross."
Calgar's appeared interested, 'Well…that is what I would call a surprise.'
'Well, rub my beak into the dirt and call me crap,' Falco sniggered mentally, 'I thought I was seeing a younger version of that hairy, disembodied bastard.'
Nero was infuriated at the sight of him, and pointed out, "It was your uncle who was a worshipper of Chaos, particularly that of the Destroyer himself, Khorne. How do we know you and the apes won't attempt to taint us the first chance you get, xeno?"
Sturnn gritted his teeth and was tempted to punch him in the head in an effort to keep his xenophobic tongue in his mouth. However instead, he noticed Dash smiled and nudge towards Jacques.
"The Grey Knight here would have sensed it already and try to 'cleanse' me," Dash replied calmly as he faced Jacques, "Isn't that right, Mortensen?"
"Correct," Jacques replied, then added, "Though I would not have killed you right, rather I would try to purify you with the power of Krystal's staff. And how do you know who I am?"
"General Hare would have told me who you are if I didn't already know the superhuman who chased my uncle through the Immaterium and onto one of the worlds within the Eye of Terror and skewered him. It's public knowledge who you are among the Venomian simians, and a calculated 70 percent of the population fear you."
Jacques looked emotionless as he asked, "Should I be proud?"
"At any rate, now is the time for strategy," Dash said, then called out, "Lights…"
The lights in the conference hall darkened, and immediately the holographic projector into the centre of the table broadcasted an image of the entire Lylat System. Several of the worlds and sectors including Corneria, MacBeth, half of the Cython Sector, and Sector X were completely blotched over with red, signalling their occupation by enemy forces. Other worlds including Fichina, Fortuna and Katina were half coloured with red, pointing out they were still being defended. Projection of several fleet battlegroups deploying from Corneria and taking alternate paths across Lylat towards the outer edge were also broadcasted.
Peppy cleared his throat, "As you can see, the Chaos invasion of our system begun when they somehow took control of the Beltino Orbital Gate and poured through, immediately descending on Corneria and taking our military by surprise. Continued communications with the worlds outlying Corneria suggest that defences are still holding, but casualty reports point out that they are not going to last."
"How long until the mont'au finally conquer this system?" Aun'shi inquired.
"Only a matter of days," Peppy replied, "Which is why that now that the Imperium is here we will deploy immediately to secure points of defence against this incursion. But before we do…"
He addressed the Chief Librarian Tigerius.
"We would like to know what we are truly up against?"
Tigerius nodded and tapped into his centuries worth of knowledge, "We are possibly confronting Abaddon the Despoiler's next Black Crusade, which is considered fresh from his previous foray just months earlier – The 13th Crusade if you will. No doubt that this 14th Black Crusade once again has support of all the Traitor Legions in existence, as well as the Four Chosen Legions dedicated to each of the Four blasphemous and false Gods of Chaos."
Fox licked his lips and said, "Care to elaborate?"
Tigerius leaned back in his seat as he continued to speak, filling the room with a sense of dread already felt dozens of times over.
"The World Eaters – The Chosen Legion of Khorne, Chaos God of Blood, War and Hatred. They favour melee combat above everything else and half of the legion is made up of Bezerkers, vicious fallen Marines who have given in to their bloodlust and every time they kill, they sacrifice to their Dark God. If there is anything relieving about them is that they do not have any sorcerers among them and believe sorcery is weak compared to physical prowess."
'Oh, that is relieving,' Falco snickered mentally, 'Won't have to worry about my butt-feathers getting' fried.'
"Emperor's Children – The Chosen of Slaanesh, Chaos God of Pleasure, Excess and Sensualism, which is among other degrading, slothful stuff," Tigerius continued, "It wields the power to easily seduce and draw the weak-spirited and hearted into it's cause, often throw it's physical sexual manifestations in it's armies of allied Daemonettes."
"And that is another point of troubling concern," Cassius continued, "We estimate that because of long ancient human sexual views on kemonos or animal/human hybrids no doubt that Slaanesh himself would double it's efforts on ascertaining more Lylatian cult groups than any of the other Dark Gods."
Sturnn chuckled, "So what they could tempt us? Imperial records state the last batch of kemono enthusiasts was burnt alive at the year 345.M38. The mere thought of believing kemonos as mere sexual objects is absolutely crazy."
"If what you say is true," Fox said, looking over at Krystal concernedly, "Then we'll have to stay on our toes."
Krystal's eyes widened, 'Oh Cerinia protect me. The Emperor's Children would think I'm the pinup girl for their twisted, sick desires.'
Jacques realized that as well, and made a mental note to not let her out of his sight if they go up against the servants of Slaanesh.
"The Death Guard – The Legion of Nurgle, Chaos God of Death, Decay and Disease. Their entire legion and cults are teaming with all kinds of wretched diseases and ailments, designed to infect and plague those brave or stupid enough to get close to melee. They are almost made up of Plague Marines, who are all immune to pain."
"And that would make them all difficult to slow down, then," O'Shovah said, then smiled, "That is fine by me. I prefer a challenge once in a while."
Fox and Peppy exchanged worried glances, the same between Sturnn and Plymouth. Nero appeared to be slightly more apprehensive, while Alexander shook his head softly, remembering the Tau back on Kronus weren't as complicated as Commander Farsight himself. Aun'shi noticed La'Jakob looking at him with an interested, supportive look. Aun'shi narrowed his eyes, and Jakob immediately resumed looking disciplined and stood to attention.
The Space Marines didn't seem interested in what O'Shovah had to say, and Tigerius continued with the briefing, with possibly the most intriguing deity of all.
"The Thousand Sons – The Legion of Tzeentch – The Changer of Wars, Chaos God of Sorcery, Hope and, of course Change…"
Dash raised a finger and interrupted, "I'm sorry…did you say 'hope.'"
"Yes."
"What is so chaotic about hope?"
"Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment, Bowman," Cassius quoted, "To believe that something would come along to set things right is dangerous, as we humanity must safeguard ourselves as well as pray to the Emperor to show the way."
"I…see," Dash rubbed his chin, "Continue."
"The Thousand Sons are masters of sorcery and bending the warp to suit their own dark cravings for knowledge in the dark, arcane arts. Half the legion are all powerful psykers and sorcerers while the other half are their mindless, formless minions – former Marine reduced to automatons by the rogue Librarian Ahriman and his most dangerous experiment – the Rubric."
"He sounds nasty," Fox stated, elbows propped up on the table as he leaned forward.
"Believe me, you would not want to meet him or any of his followers," Tigerius pointed out, "And hopefully we will not, as he no longer serves the Chaos Gods and rather seeks to fulfil his own ambitions. To be the most powerful, knowledgeable sorcerer in the whole, entire universe."
Calgar stood from his seat and spoke, "The other traitor legions all serve the False Gods equally, a pantheon if you will – the most prominent being the Word Bearers and Abaddon's own Black Legion."
"We've already taken out the Alpha Legion and the Night Lords," Fox said, "And they were both unusually too easy."
Alexander shook his head, "We took both of those traitorous legions by surprise, and there's bound to be more companies around. We must stay vigilante in case they return."
Peppy nodded, then looked up at the hologram of the Lylat System.
"Now that we know what we are up against, we must plan our moves carefully," Peppy explained, "We must concentrated on increasing the defenses on the planets and defense stations we still hold, reinforce the planets currently under attack and commence retaking worlds already under Chaos control with discretion."
"What about Venomian defenses?" Dash said, "In case a heretical fleet guns for Venom?"
"The Eden fleet can bolster the orbital defenses, Colonel," Alexander said, "And the Kronus 1st can be stationed on the planet's surface. It can be it's planetary defense force if you will."
He looked over at Sturnn, who stared back curiously.
"We don't have the resources to take on the Ruinous Powers, and I think we should stay out of the true Guardsmen of the Emperor's way," Alexander continued. He was hoping to spare his men from retribution should they be mixed with the Cadian 412th, and to instead keep them posted on Venom.
Sturnn shrugged, "That's fine by me."
He then turned to Peppy, then glanced up at the Lylat projection.
"MacBeth and Fichina," Sturnn pointed up at the 'train' planet and then the ice planet, "They're the closest worlds from our position. I'm deploying the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions, with attached Armored Companies, one each. 1st and 2nd will deploy to MacBeth. The 3rd will deploy to Fichina."
Dash cleared his throat as he stepped closer to the light, "Why two battalions to MacBeth?"
Sturnn sighed, "Judging from the amount of activity detected around the planet according to this projection, it's being hit hard."
"That is true," Calgar said, "1st and 2nd Battalions with have twenty-five Brothers attached, as one as one Scout Marine Squad. The remaining half will support the 3rd Battalion."
"If it will help," Aun'shi spoke up, "The Cadre will split and deploy alongside you. You could use the long-range firepower and witness first hand what drives the Greater Good forward beyond our own galaxy."
Falco smirked, "Oh goody."
Nero twiddled his fingers, "Our fleet will spread out amongst our controlled systems and make sure no more Chaos incursion will incur. I suggest we keep the 4th and 5th Battalions in reserve on those ships."
"Agreed," Jacques said, "Hare, Bowman, what of your forces?"
"We'll deploy separately from the Imperial Guard and the Ultramarines at the same hot zones as backup, and where they can rout the enemy if they try to flee from the Imperial forces. They will also be deployed to the border worlds and make sure no enemy forces leave the system. And to greet the Imperial reinforcements once they arrive."
"And let us hope they do not get blasted to oblivion by them," O'Shovah said, then addressed, "You did mention to them that you would be allied with Lylat, is that right General?"
Sturnn appeared plain as he replied, "You would like to believe that, would you?"
He then turned to Pepper.
"No, we skipped that detail," he continued, "I hope you'll understand."
Peppy shook his head, "Unfortunately. Mortensen…?"
Jacques stood up from his seat abruptly, startling nearly everyone present.
"Do you have a problem with these arrangements?"
Jacques shook his head, "No, General I do not. United, we stand a chance against the Black Crusade and will doubt keep them out of the Emperor's realm, and at the same time save billions of lives from the foul clutches of Warmaster Abaddon?"
Peppy then addressed Fox.
"McCloud? Will you agree to this alliance?"
The vulpine smiled widely, "I will."
"Bowman? Will Venom cooperate with the Imperium and the Tau Empire?"
"So long as Chaos get wiped out from Lylat?"
"General Sturnn?"
"Our combined forces will rout Chaos from the system. You and your troops will be designated as friendly for the duration of the alliance."
"Admiral Nero? Will the Imperial Navy assist?"
"We will…grudgingly…assist with space and aerial operations."
"Governor-Militant Alexander?"
"The Kronus 1st will keep order on Venom, and I myself will gladly see that my leadership is put to good use on the campaign."
Sturnn looked up at Plymouth, who looked back and nodded. He then said, "In that eventuality, you can lead 3rd Battalion to Fichina, so longer as a Commissariat unit is dispatched to monitor you."
Alexander eyes widened a bit, before he nodded in agreement.
Peppy continued, "Shas'O Shovah and Aun'shi?"
"The Tau Empire and the Farsight Enclaves will stand beside Lylat, for the future of both our nations" Aun'shi declared, "You have our word."
Peppy appeared determined as he stood from his seat now, "Alright then, as of right now War has now been officially declared on the Forces of Chaos by the Coalition – consisting of Corneria, Venom, the Imperium of Man and the Tau Empire. All hostilities that may have existed between our nations have now been put aside, at least until the threat is over. Are we clear?"
"Yes!" everyone exclaimed.
Peppy smiled slightly, "We will deploy our forces in approximately four hours. Until then, I suggest that all of you prep yourselves for your respective theatres of war. Oh, and I forgot to ask…"
He turned back to Fox.
"Where will Star Fox go first in assisting the counterattack?"
Fox looked as hard as steel, "If intel on the Chaos troop deployment is true, then we'll head for MacBeth first. If it's getting hit the hardest, the defenses down there could use our help."
"I will be accompanying you," Jacques said, "If you do not mind my presence?"
"Never."
He then turned to Alexander and Dash, "Will you be able to handle the Guard to be deployed to Fichina?"
Alexander smiled and crossed his arms, "I think we can handle it. We have no reason to no longer serve the Emperor."
Peppy then stated, "This meeting is adjourned."
--
And so that Coalition was formally created, and in the space of four hours all available troops readied themselves for war. The Ultramarines said their prayers beside the Chaplains as they loaded up their boltguns with their sanctified ammunition and prepared their war machines and sacred Dreadnoughts for deployment. The Imperial Guardsmen within the fleet charged up their lasguns, loaded up their heavy weapons and divided themselves according to their platoons and battlegroups, ready to be divided in retaking Lylat. Meanwhile, their cousin within the Kronus 1st landed on Venom and found themselves being divided to guard the underground refugee camps and communities in the event that Chaos attacked Venom directly.
The Tau readied their powerful technology and weaponry, while their Farsight allies retreated to their quarters on board the Infinity, silently preparing both their pulse, plasma and melee weapons for war.
The Imperial Navy steered themselves away from the Venomian defence zone and prepared to scatter themselves away from Venom, their respective armies of Guardsmen ready to deployment.
Before all this were to happen however, Star Fox itself found itself standing stubbornly outside the door into the conference hall, waiting for it's leader to step out and join them. Krystal was confused when they left the conference room, with Fox and Peppy now alone together in there, with Fox having told her and the other members of Star Fox that he wanted to speak to Peppy alone. She hoped that he would relay what Peppy would tell him to her and the other guys, as she too was curious as to what had happened to his father James so many years ago. She looked over towards Falco, Katt, Slippy, and Jacques, all looking equally questionable as well. Krystal could see that Jacques looked anxious, which was hardly like him.
"Hey Jacques," Katt called out to him, "Judging by that look on your mug, you know something about what Peppy mentioned in the hangar."
The Grey Knight shook his head, "Only what we heard once we arrived. And somehow it will affect Fox in more ways than one and that has me concerned."
"You think Fox will spill the beans once he comes out of there?" Falco asked.
"If he feels like he needs to," Jacques replied, "If he does not, I will simply examine his mind and find out for myself."
Krystal frowned, remembering La'Jakob telling her about him prying into his mind, "I don't think Fox would appreciate that."
Jacques' eyebrows raised at the expression and tone of voice Krystal used. He complied, "No he would not."
Falco was surprised at the exchange, "Huh?"
"Brother Mortensen?"
All eyes turned to see an Honour Guard Ultramarine approach them, holding what appeared to be a gold-encrusted ornate sword case in both his hand. Jacques stepped forward towards him, and the Ultramarine much to the surprise of everyone bowed his head slightly and presented the case to him.
"The Lord Maccrage wanted this to be respectfully returned to you," the Honour Guard responded, "He said you dropped this on the day of your Initiation."
Curious, Jacques took the case and was about to open it when the Guard stopped him.
"He also says for you to not open it until you once again plunge into battle."
Jacques nodded and took the case under his left arm, replying, "You have my thanks, Brother."
He then turned to the others behind him and appeared hard, giving him that look he always has before going into battle.
"Let us prepare then! MacBeth awaits!"
Slippy smiled nervously, "We'll be right…behind you out there."
Jacques shook his head and smiled down at the frog, "Not behind me…beside me."
--
Peppy was still seated as he watched Fox pace around the table, mentally prepping himself for what Peppy had to say to him. Fox was somehow feeling on edge, nervous about how this involved his father and the Imperium, as well as this mysterious (to him) Tau Empire. Peppy frowned when he saw that Fox wasn't going to stand still long enough to talk to.
"Fox, stand still. You're making me dizzy."
The vulpine did so, facing Peppy from the other side of the table.
"Now we can talk."
Fox crossed his arms, "What about? The weather, the sports, finances?"
"Relax, Fox."
"I'm as relaxed as I'm going to get," Fox stated annoyed, "Somehow that you and dad had adventures within the Imperium itself and the fact that you, or him, never told me about it until, conveniently, the worst aspects of that galaxy decide to come here."
He was slowly becoming angrier.
"What the hell is up with that?"
Now Peppy felt his patience with the normally calm vulpine wearing thin, "If you just relax for a minute, I'll tell you everything. And I mean, everything!"
"You better! I feel like I'm losing my mind."
Fox closed his eyes and relaxed, and for good measure waving his hands around as if circulating the air around him. He then sat down and composed himself some more as he smiled with utter malice at Peppy.
"I'm calm now," Fox said, "And I'm listening."
"After we returned from the Segmenta of the Imperium me and your father swore we would never speak of our year of never-ending conflict ever again. He was shaken through experiencing a year exactly like a human and he made me promise never to tell you, because he didn't want you to ever know that humans…or such a thing as Eternal War, ever existed. And right now I'm breaking my word because it may save your life in the long run."
Peppy saw Fox's eyes tense, bringing himself to continue.
(A/N: I know I've probably messed up Peppy's age. I'll retcon it in previous chapter's later on)
"38 years ago, when I was 22 and James was 24, we graduated from the Cornerian Military Academy and became were fresh Airmen for the Air Force under Colonel Pepper. That was when it happened, and that it shook the System long after the Kew War and before the Lylat Wars
"A rogue Venomian Clan Leader, The Maquis, had stolen a decommissioned tactical atomic from a storage complex on MacBeth and threatened to detonate it on a civilian target unless Corneria finally recognised Venom as a major power. Naturally the military responded, and we were part of the Fighter Group sent into to bring him in, dead or alive."
"And naturally, something went wrong," Fox groaned.
Peppy nodded and continued, "Me, James and…would you believe it…Pigma Dengar, as well as two other Cornerian pilots, managed to get close to shoot him down just outside the Lylatian borders leading to Kew. That was then that The Maquis activated an experimental warp drive engine on his freighter and was about to jump out of there alone, but we followed him into the unknown.
"Later we would find out that this certain drive engine drew upon the power of the Immaterium – the Warp, and this slingshoted us all into the next galaxy and smack right in the middle of Segmentum Ultima and the Borders of the Damocles Gulf – and the Imperium of Man."
Fox's eyes widened, "Oh dear God."
"Yes, we prayed to God that it was just a nightmare," Peppy muttered, "And we were all immediately captured by the Ordo Xenos, the Alien Hunter branch of the Inquisition, and were…were…'familiarised with humanity'."
"They treated you like shit?"
"I think excrement is treated much better than non-humans," Peppy stated with much apprehension. "Those two other pilots died quickly, and we three were about to give up on life after a week of that Hell until the Tau under Commander Farsight attacked the Inquisitorial palace and broke us out. The Maquis escaped with the atomic, now driven mad by the torturous machinations of the Ecclesiarchy, and threatened to blow up the nearest human civilian target.
"That would be an act of war between Lylat and the Imperium. We explained ourselves to O'Shovah and he agreed to help, lest Maquis attack a Tau sector in his madness."
Fox was taken back by Peppy's near epic storytelling, managing to utter, "Wow. What happened then?"
"With James at the helm, you could say things were a blur. We spent months pursuing the Maquis, avoiding Imperium, Orks and other horrors this galaxy threw at us. By the time we caught up to the Maquis he had just had his head crushed between the palms of Calgar and the Ultramarines. They disposed of the atomic and threatened to kill us for threatening the Emperor's realm unless…"
He wiped under his left eye with his finger.
"…we broke into the same Inquisitorial fortress we were held in and gathered evidence that the Ordo Xeno were conducting illicit genetic experiment involving genetically enhancing human DNA with alien in the hopes of creating a new kind of alien-hunting Space Marine with their natural senses and abilities intact. James got himself captured and it was another week before he managed to escape himself, along with a Tau human helper."
Fox felt tears roll down his eyes, just imagining what kind of Hell his father would have been through…twice.
"We got the evidence back to Calgar, and he allowed us to return back to Lylat through the same space tear the Maquis had created in coming to Segmentum Ultima. Cassius and Tigerius made us swear not to tell our superiors about what had happened with the Ordo Xenos through threat of holy war on Lylat. We gave our word…and we returned to Lylat as heroes."
"I can imagine so," Fox said, "And that was it."
Peppy nodded, "You could say life resumed afterwards. Your father soon met your mother and years later had you; I meet my wife Vivy and had Lucy. By the time you were born, Falco would be a one-year-old and Slippy wouldn't have been far away from coming into this world. Need I say more?"
Fox breathed harshly, letting everything that Peppy said sink into his strained main. He now looked more than high-strung.
"This is all still fucked, though."
Peppy was shocked, hearing that particular word come from Fox having listened to Peppy's epic about himself and the vulpine's father, "Excuse me?"
Fox stood up and rubbed his forehead, "Why is this all happening, though? Just when we were getting our lives back together and Venom wasn't going to launch another blitzkrieg anytime soon; those rotting devil-worshippers come to ruin our lives. Why do they do it?"
He placed his free hand on the table as he leaned forward in his grief.
"Why is nearly everything in the next galaxy so goddamn…evil? It's hard to tell whose worse: The Imperium, or the Forces of Chaos we all agreed to stand against. Do they hate peace? Can they even feel anything besides the need to make war?"
Peppy appeared sympathetic to Fox's plight, "War is all that humanity knows, Fox. If I didn't know better I'd say they've been fighting for the right to exist all their lives. The Chaos we fight against is what I believe to be the physical manifestations of our antithesis, just like how Tigerius explained. Those Daemon Gates in Lylat proves that you can't escape Chaos – further explaining that order cannot exist without…"
Peppy then sighed.
"…well you get the picture. Besides…"
He smiled as Fox turned his head to face him.
"If Jacques is any proof that there is good in humanity, I don't know what is."
Fox chuckled darkly, "Yeah…if you happen to be messed in the head from birth and can't tell your own species from your supposed enemy, which is to say everything else, then to you all is right with the universe."
"What?" Peppy's exclamation rang through his own ears, "What are you…?"
"Jacques said he was raised amongst aliens, and alien-sympathising humans, and if his mind is that powerful I'm sure they hard a hard time trying to brainwash him and teaching him how to hate," Fox was he one to now explain. He then shooks his head and chuckled lightly, "No wonder Krystal fancies him."
Peppy now stood up, looking at Fox dumbfounded. Fox now appeared deep in thought as he continued.
"I…I thought we already went through this," Peppy said hesitantly.
"I mean…he saved her life like some knight in shining armour on not one, but two occasions; second time I could have jumped in, but I didn't. He speaks to her as if she was still royalty. She enjoys hanging around him and shows him nothing but loyalty and kindness even above me and the other guys. "
He paused to take a breath, noticing Peppy staring at him questioningly.
"And every time I see them together…it's like they have their own little world, and barely notice me at all."
Peppy frowned, believing Fox to be bordering on jealously now. He had always sensed how Jacques and Krystal felt for one another, and as far as he was concerned it was a brother sister bond in a spiritual sense. And he believed that the both of them were clear-minded and pure-hearted enough to be repulsed if they felt something more for one another, possibly believing it to be a form of incest. Besides, Jacques wouldn't have been able to feel anything romantic for Krystal…for all the right reasons.
Peppy walked up to Fox and patted his shoulder, "Listen, Fox. You have to be rationale about this. You can't let your personal feelings cloud your mind and judgement. Whenever I see you and Krystal, I see that she is in love with only you. Jacques to her is merely her guardian, her best friend, her brother…your brother as well."
"Huh?" Fox looked Peppy straight in the eye, more confused then ever.
"I thought you would have noticed that by now," Peppy said, "The moment he had formally taken the pledge in joining Star Fox he immediately considered us all as brothers. You know the Imperial phrase 'Whoever stands with me shall be my brother.' But he feels a repour especially with you."
Fox nodded slowly and responded, "I always sensed Jacques thought of me as more than a team-mate."
He then smiled.
"Now if only he was my brother for real, there'd be someone else to carry on the McCloud name once the inevitable happens. Behind a foot thick of blessed armour he'll survive this."
Peppy frowned and shook his head sternly, "It's not going to happen. We're all going to survive this."
Fox now backed away from Peppy and glared, "That's what you like to think? But with Krystal hanging around the both of us when we jump back into the fray, she's going to be the first thing they go after. If they don't kill her…"
He shuddered heavily, his fur sticking on end, the language barrier when it comes to cursing now broken.
"…they'll fucking do what I, you and what anyone else would, think of what they would do to her."
Peppy slapped his hand over his eyes and groaned, "Listen to what you're saying, Fox. It's like you're planning to hide her away forever. What would your father say?"
"He wouldn't say anything," Fox casually retorted over his shoulder, "He's dead."
Wanting to snap Fox out of this predicament for good, Peppy said sternly, "This is Krystal's fight too, Fox. If worse comes to wear and you and Jacques aren't able to be there for her…well…she can take care of herself. This is Total War, Fox. To the Imperium it's a Holy War. To Chaos, it's a Unholy Crusade."
He grabbed him by both of his shoulders, gripping them tightly.
"You can't protect her from reality forever."
Fox's eyes widened. He then spun around toward Peppy and grabbed him by the shoulder, pushing him against the wall. Though he was surprised at Fox's reaction, he didn't make a sound, electing only to look at him shockingly, which did nothing to change the furious brow on Fox's face.
Fox then shouted angrily, "If what is happening now is called reality, then you sure as hell bet I can protect her from it…and Jacques as well! He'll live to be about a thousand years if I have anything to say about it! Just watch me!"
He then let go of Peppy and backed away.
"Now if you'll excuse me, General Hare, sir," Fox said with contempt, "Team Star Fox has got work to do."
Fox stepped away from the table and headed towards the exit. Before he reached the door however, he turned his head so he was facing Peppy, who was still backed up against the wall.
"You said that the Inquisition was involved," Fox said, "I bet there was some 'Grand Inquisitor' or someone like running the show with you and dad."
"Yes, Fox," Peppy replied calmly.
"What was his name?"
"Kryptmann. Inquisitor Lord Kryptmann."
Fox glared, "What happened to the bastard? Did you or dad get even with him?"
Peppy downcast his eyes and said, "No."
The vulpine appeared to intensify his glare, before nodding and saying, "Hope the crime for creating a freak of nature is burning, or something just as painful."
Peppy stopped himself from sinking down to the floor as Fox left the war room. He shook his head and sighed. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Fox, remembering that in the years he spent standing alongside Fox. Whether it would be familiarising him with the controls of the Arwing when his father couldn't in his younger years or amidst a massive firefight, Fox had never at once let his raw emotion take hold of him.
But now that he was, of all things, in love and that she happened to be on the same team. And she expected to be right there at the fronts lines besides ranks of marching zealous Imperial Guardsmen and Space Marines as non-humans among them and that they could turn on the Coalition at any time, he was now definitely seeing things in a more critical sense. The human's religious beliefs were all crazy, but that was what drove them all on. Peppy felt sorry for Krystal as well, knowing what would happen if one was to lose the other.
He straightened his uniform, "James…I hope your son is up to the challenge this time. And I hope his brother…"
He chuckled slightly, mentioning Jacques in his conversation to himself.
"…can have the strength of mind to keep him on the straight and narrow. But…old men can only dream."