Short Notice: I do not own any of the Star Fox characters, but any OC are most exclusively products of my imagination.
Author's Note: I'd like to thank Shadow Commander and LnCpl. Luke Tamaken for commenting on the first chapter of this story. Your feedback has been very helpful and influential in the writing of this new chapter.
Badlander
Chapter 2: Meeting the Locals
Hazel couldn't hear her own thoughts. The sheer power of the masculine roar of the alien fighter overpowered her sensitive hearing. She couldn't believe any military would ever produce a vehicle so loud. She discovered right then and there just how much she had taken the silence of the Arwings and other Cornerian fighters for granted.
Alongside her, Falco clutched the sides of his head, screaming out something that sounded like "truck" as the numerous pilots and engineers alike attempted to signal the pilot to shut off his godforsaken engines.
Suddenly, the noise from the engines began to die and Hazel could make out the barely perceptible form of the pilot pressing buttons within the canopy.
As the noise settled and Cornerians recuperated, she wondered for the first time what this human might look like. Sure, she'd seen pictures and videos of them on the news, but she had never seen one in person. It was difficult for her to imagine a creature without fur or scales, or goddamned slippery skin like the amphibians. She shrugged the thought off. Whatever this human looked like, he'd probably be hideous anyway, she decided.
Why the hell am I worrying what he's going to look like? God, I sound like a little girl. She silently chastised herself and shook her head.
"You okay, Hazel? That engine killed my birdbrain!" Falco emphasized as he approached her.
"I'm okay, it's just…" Did she really want to talk about what she was really shaking her head about? "Nothing, Falco. Let's get ready, I still have a human to punch."
The blue avian grinned, "I think you oughta add me to that list!"
They smiled at each other. Hazel appreciated how nice it was to still have friends left in the world despite the numerous challenges the universe had been throwing at Lylat as of late.
Their smiles faltered when they heard a hissing sound coming from the direction of the giant alien fighter, which easily dwarfed the Arwings lauded so jubilantly by the Star Fox team.
There was a collective gasp from the crowd as the transparent cockpit lid slowly rose with a low hiss. A dark figure rose from the cockpit and stood on the edge of the fighter facing them. The figure, cold, dark, and faceless, regarded them with invisible eyes from behind its state-of-the-art reflective helmet.
Hazel was keen to note that the pilot's archaic-looking Colt .45 sidearm stood attached to his hip, mere inches from his right hand, and drew back a few steps. The figure seemed to sense this and distanced his hand from the powerful pistol. Hazel drew in a small sigh of relief.
There was another collective gasp from the crowd as the figure took a step forward and allowed himself to fall over ten feet to the ground, sending a clap over the silent crowd when the figure's boots collided with the black pavement.
Slowly, the figure stood and walked toward the group. Hazel could make out her own warped reflection in the pilot's helmet. The pilot stopped mere feet from the group. None of the Cornerians spoke. Even Falco was silent. The feathers on his head stood up as he surveyed the alien pilot before him.
The figure reached his hands up and depressed some nozzle on the side of the helmet which made a hissing noise and began to take the helmet off.
Geez, what is with these people and hissing sounds! Hazel thought, as the figure removed his helmet and stood before the group with his face uncovered.
Hazel studied the human's face with unexpected fascination. The figure before her had pale white skin, cold blue eyes, and dark black hair close-cropped military style. Besides the skin, Hazel thought Captain Waller looked more like a close-combat warrior than a fighter pilot.
The most striking feature Hazel could make out were the icy blue eyes, which screamed out the pale depths of the pilot's face. Aside from the eyes, the figure looked to be no older than her, but those blue eyes were ancient, and spoke of hundreds of years of experience, or at least the war-time equivalent.
"Um, hello everyone," the human stammered quietly, utterly shocking Hazel by not reaching for his sidearm and killing them all.
"Hello!" Falco replied enthusiastically, reaching out to shake the human's hand. The human looked down hesitantly at the feathered wing the bird offered to him and reciprocated.
It was going to be an interesting day.
"According to military sources, the Communists have seized control of the city of Kaeto, which stands nearly two thousand kilometers from Corneria City-"
An orange vulpine clicked the remote.
"-represents the closest Communist forces have asserted control near Corneria City-"
He clicked the remote again and the telescreen went blank. The orange fox stared into the blank screen for a moment before tossing the remote onto the nearby table. Around him, a couch, coffee table, several chairs, and a distant kitchen greeted his desperate view.
The fox sighed and slumped down into his white couch. His back dug deeply into the soft cushions and for a brief moment he was tempted to sleep and forget about the universe's problems. But, as always, whenever he had those thoughts, the distinct fatherly voice inside his head told him to get his ass back up and keep moving. That was the same voice that prevented him from hesitating when he was tasked with destroying Andross, and later the invincible Aparoid Queen. That voice was screaming at him now, drawing him out of his half-slumber and forcing him to face the world.
"Yeah, thanks Dad," he voiced aloud.
"What is it, Fox?" a warm, feminine voice further roused him, though this time he didn't mind.
He shook his head quietly and spoke softly, "It's everywhere, Krystal. The Reds have taken over Kaeto. That's only a couple of thousand kilometers from here." He hung his head out so the light carpet dominated his vision. "I don't know what I'm going to do."
He turned his head and gazed into the beautiful vixen's emerald eyes, which were a lot like his own, although her fur was a unique shade of blue only found on a handful of mammals. Krystal put a paw on his shoulder and he covered it with one of his.
"You'll get us through this, Fox. You always have." Krystal softly replied. Always the optimist, she kept him strong in times he'd have rather fallen apart.
He smiled weakly and was about to say something before the comm system within his apartment began its unsubtle beeping. Krystal grimaced at the noise and Fox was instantly reminded of all the times the blue vixen had pleaded with him to change the ringtone. Normally, he needed the ringtone to be loud, because he never knew when he would be summoned to fight another enemy of Corneria. But this time he had to agree; the noise was oppressive.
Fox walked over to the comm system and retrieved the earpiece to listen to whatever message had been recorded in the system. His face seemed to further drain itself of color as he put the earpiece down.
"What's wrong, Fox?" Krystal asked, her once-calm voice taking on a worried tone.
"Remember that human I told you about?" Krystal nodded and he continued, "Well, he's here now. Pepper wants us down at CADA as soon as possible so this Captain Waller can brief us on Soviet flight maneuvers."
Krystal instantly recognized the hostile tone of Fox's voice, which he generally reserved for dangerous creatures like Wolf O'Donnell, Pigma, or Andross. He did not like this human, and for good reason, Krystal decided. She would have to be extra cautious in the near-future.
The reception Gideon received after landing on Runway 3 had been almost friendly, all things considered. The more he played the scenario over in his head, the more he couldn't blame the Cornerians for being hesitant to greet him, save for the jovial bird Falco he had instantly taken a liking to. There was another figure who caught his interest, a reddish Cornerian vixen who stood in the back of the crowd and surveyed him with bright pretty amber eyes that glittered with unabashed intelligence. He instantly wondered what it was she had been thinking at the time.
He shrugged off the thought and turned his head to survey the land. Aside from the dark pavement of the CADA runways, much of the surrounding land was enveloped in countryside greenery. It was a stark contrast from his overdeveloped home world of New York City, which was more of a moon, orbiting in a figure eight pattern around adjacent planets New York and New Jersey.
The city itself was an urban wonder that spanned hundreds of miles, competing with the distant stars of the cosmos for the privilege of illuminating the galaxy. New York was a triumph of American innovation and ingenuity, and the center of American life and of much of the Western Cosmos.
But beneath the spectral wonders of the great city, the streets, littered with trash and unclaimed corpses of the dead, was a breeding ground for crime, homelessness, and disease. For every New Yorker who lived well, it was said ten lived in abject misery. Yet the city of over one hundred million people still went about its business. Because the city of New York never slept.
A bump in the road drew him out of his silent reverie. He looked back into the land vehicle which was carrying him to some undisclosed destination. A nameless soldier sat in the back seat with him. Gideon leaned in closer to get a better view.
The old, grizzled canine regarded him with narrow stone brown eyes which seemed to see right through him. Gideon had no doubt that if he made any move to harm any important Cornerians, the soldier sitting next to him would not hesitate to kill him. It was his duty, and duty was all he knew. Gideon nodded in understanding. The soldier reciprocated.
"The situation is worse than we thought, Mr. President. It seems the Red forces have managed to infiltrate and assume control of Kaeto, a city within striking distance of Corneria City." The old hound-general dictated, standing in front of the large telescreen. On the other end, a white-haired human with large spectacles around his eyes drew his left hand to his chin in a thinking pose.
"Are you expecting an attack?" The President asked, fully aware of the hound's answer.
"We are. And normally we'd be able to defend ourselves with little difficulty. But after our conflict with the Aparoids, we just don't have the resources to deal with a threat of this severity." The hound sighed and his voice began to take on a more desperate tone, "They're going to bomb us to the Stone Age and laugh as our citizens shrug us off their shoulders." He looked at the stale tile floor of the CADA Command Center and spoke softly, "God damn you people for ever contacting us."
If the President on the other end of the communications link heard that last sentence, he made no visible facial acknowledgement.
"General Pepper, we can't send forces without motivating the Soviets to do the same. Things are tense right now. The conflict on the Korean world isn't going smoothly. Its proximity to the PRC*, a major Soviet ally, isn't helping the issue either. MacArthur, one of my top generals, believes that if these conflicts escalate, it could lead to an unprecedented level of warfare. I happen to agree with him," The President stated, his tone calm and level despite the increasingly dire situation.
"You mean an unprecedented level of slaughter," the hound replied. "We only agreed to serve as a staging point for your goddamned K-Bombs because you assured us that something like this wouldn't happen. I've read the reports. I saw the damage those things can cause! You're talking about universal Armageddon for crying out loud! So don't go telling me you don't want these conflicts to escalate; they already have! Delaying now will cost us everything."
The President nodded and General Pepper silently cursed himself for venting his frustrations on the most powerful man in the free universe. Heaven knew that if Pepper was stressed defending one solar system, how much stress was the man before him suffering in order to defend an entire galaxy?
"There will be no direct American intervention in the Cornerian conflict for as long as there is no direct Soviet intervention. We can't risk open war right now," the President stated matter-of-factly, "but," he continued, allowing a sad smile to form on his face, "since Captain Waller is already down there with you, I don't see any reason he shouldn't be able to help you, as long as he isn't flying American colors. He's all yours if you want him. Just bring him back in one piece; he's done his country a grim, but necessary service."
"Well, this sure is a big round room…" Gideon thought aloud as the grizzled canine from the car led him into massive spherical space underneath CADA. He turned back to the ferocious dog, "Don't tell me you have giant super-soldier hamsters that use this place as their secret exercise room," he exclaimed, earning a voiceless scowl from the dog.
"Oh, I'd almost pay to see that!" an enthusiastic voice chimed behind him. Gideon turned to see a crowd of Cornerians of various species walking toward him. He recognized the blue bird, Falco, the reddish vixen with the pretty eyes, and some others from his awkward landing reception. Three other figures; a short, bulbous toad-like creature, an orange vulpine, and a vixen with a peculiarly bluish fur coat walked up that Gideon didn't recognize.
The crowd gasped, apparently recognizing the figures. A general chorus of phrases like, "Look, it's Fox McCloud!" and "Wow, I can't (explicative) believe it's Star Fox!" echoed throughout the gigantic sphere.
Gideon shook his head disapprovingly. "Celebrities, eh? Well ain't that swell…" he grumbled under his breath.
"Captain Waller! These are my teammates on Star Fox!" Falco drew the human's attention toward Krystal, Fox and the toad, who scratched the top of his slippery head nervously.
The blue avian introduced Waller to the toad first.
"I'm Slippy! Slippy Toad!" The green amphibian's high pitched voice resounded nervously throughout the room as he held a sticky hand out, which the human shook, though Krystal could tell he did so with reluctance, as if he were thinking: Now, which apocalyptic plague will I catch from this hand?
Krystal was, of course, a telepath, and an instinctive analyst of sentient psyches. Reading the emotions and intentions of others was second nature to her, even without her abilities. Her studious, analytical nature would have made her an excellent interrogator, but she could never bring herself to hurt another person to attain information.
That's all she planned to do when she met this human; attain information, she told herself. She just had to wait for him to shake her hand.
"And this is my good friend and leader Fox McCloud," Falco gestured delightedly toward the orange vulpine. Fox emitted a low, threatening growl and stretched out his right paw as his bright emerald eyes tore into the human with barely remitted hostility.
What on Corneria has made Fox so hostile toward this human? Krystal wondered, and lost herself in the realm of her own thoughts before Falco's voice brought her back into reality when he introduced her.
She stretched out her blue arm, which seemed to hover in the air in front of her for an eternity before the human shook her paw. Then there was silence. She opened her mind, desperately searching the being before her for some semblance of a memory or thought, but she couldn't find anything. Inside the mind of Gideon Waller, she felt nothing. Not a single emotion or memory revealed itself to her. Krystal had felt this feeling of cosmic emptiness before from the cold, dead dinosaurs of planet Sauria, and the millions who evaporated along with her home world Cerinia.
Krystal was certain that Gideon Waller was dead.
A/N: Okay, so things are getting interesting. I introduced the President of the United States and I'd like to confirm that it is in fact President Harry Truman (1945-53). As always, I thank you for reading, and if you have any feedback for my story, please don't hesitate to review. And, most importantly, have a happy New Year!