Chapter 6: In Control

(The Great Fox Hangars)

The team had assembled down in the hangars after finishing their talk with General Pepper. They had gotten their gear together and were preparing to descend down to Jatria. Peppy was going to stay behind, he was getting too old to do most physical activities nowadays.

"Alright, gang. The plan is to meet up with the soldiers down at the base. Give us a call back when you get there." Peppy told the group.

"Ok. See ya later, Peppy." Fox said, entering his Arwing. Everyone else followed suit. ROB had finished the repairs to Katt's ship early last night, repairing all damage done to it before. It was also fully stocked with fuel cells. Her Cat's Paw looked almost new after the treatment it received.

"Time to get this started!" Katt yelled, jumping into the cockpit of the Cat's Paw.

"Hahaha. Good. Talk to you guys when you get to the surface." Peppy said, backing away from the ship's.

"Open the hangar doors, ROB." Fox said.

"Affirmative."

"Ready the G-Diffusors. Launching in 3…2…1…GO!" Fox yelled, the ships pulling out wings opening as they entered out into space. The ships hurtled downwards, entering the atmosphere of Jatria.

"Ok, then. Guess it's just you and me, ROB." Peppy said, walking with the robot back to the interior of the Great Fox.

"Affirmative." the robot said, walking behind Peppy.

(Jatria's Orbit)

"Ok team, we're nearing Jatria's atmosphere." Fox announced to the rest of the team. He stared down at the large planet, a gleaming gem floating in space.

"So what's Jatria like, anyway?" Fox asked Slippy, who had pulled up a file about Jatria, given to them by General Pepper after their meeting on the Great Fox.

"Says here, it has abundant flora and fauna. Lots of forests, jungles in places where it's warmer. There are also plains and savannas in specific areas." Slippy explained.

"So it's a giant ball of grass?" Falco asked.

"Pretty much. There are cities and towns dotting the planet. Their technology revolves around their surrounding, getting their energy from the trees and sun. Actually, its slightly more advanced than our energy technology." Slippy told the team. "Corneria has started prototypes of their tech, trying to create eco-friendly equipment as well. Lucky for us we made an alliance with these guys."

"Sounds nice." Fox said.

"Wait, Fox, what's that." Krystal asked. "There's something on radar."

"It looks like a fleet." Falco said, boosting to get a closer look. "What? They sending a welcoming committee?"

Suddenly, one of the ships shot out a laser at Falco's Arwing. He barely had time to roll out of the way.

"I don't think they're here to welcome us!" Falco yelled, his heart rate calming down.

"TAKE EVASIVE ACTION!" Fox commanded as the Jatrian fleet started a downpour of laser fire. "Slippy, get their shield analysis!"

"Wait, Fox! They're not attacking us on purpose! It's the same brainwave pattern that I felt on Corneria! It's the same thing that took over Anthony Cooper!!!" Krystal yelled "They're citizens from Jatria!"

"Damn! Attacking them might cause a conflict between Corneria and Jatria!" Fox thought aloud. He started racing through his head for options.

If they're being mind-controlled, they're not going to listen to reasoning. We have to get past them, but they'll just attack us…if only we could disarm them…THAT'S IT!!!

"Attack the ships' engines and weapons!!!" Fox ordered, boosting his Arwing towards the fleet. "Be careful not to strike any vital areas of the ship! Only do enough damage to incapacitate them!"

"Alright, Foxy, you got it!" Falco called out, boosting towards the fleet himself.

Fox was the first to reach the fleet, he weaved in between the lasers of the front ship, looking for where they were coming from. The ships were Cornerian warships, sent to Jatria when it was accepted under Cornerian protection. It took only a moment to find where the lasers were, he knew the layout of most of the ships in the entire Cornerian army. He focused his targeting reticule on the ship's turrets. He fired his laser, sending out several green beams, each one connecting with the first turret. The turret exploded shortly after.

One down.

Fox flew his Arwing underneath the fleet, pulling up to shoot at several turrets on each ship. When he finished his attack run, he had destroyed five turrets, leaving only some ships with all of their turrets. Suddenly, an explosion sounded off of one of the back ships in the fleet. Fox looked over, seeing smoke trail from behind the ship.

"One engine down! Moving on to the next ship!" Falco called.

"Hey, Falco! You forgot an engine!" Slippy called out.

"I thought we were only disarming them, Froggy!?" Falco yelled back.

"He's right, Slippy, if we take out both engines, the ships will be pulled down back onto the planet. We need to leave them something to work with, or it's the same thing as attacking them directly." Fox explained.

"Oh." Slippy said, realizing the mechanics of what Fox just said.

The team continued their assault of the fleet.

"Haha, stupid turret!" Katt yelled out, finishing off the last of the turrets on a ship.

"I think we can make it to the planet now. Go!" Fox yelled, boosting past the remainder of the fleet, dodging lasers as he did.

"FOX!!! LOOK OUT!!!!" Krystal yelled.

Fox looked to see what Krystal was warning him about. He looked up, seeing the underside of one of the cruisers come crashing down upon his Arwing.

"Rrgh!" was the only thing Fox called out, his comm. link cutting off. The rest of the team watched as his ship plummeted downwards, heading for Jatria.

"Follow his ship!!!" Falco yelled out. Boosting towards the planet himself, following Fox's signal on the radar.

(Jatrian Sky)

The team rocketed through the atmosphere of Jatria, following the streak of flame left behind by Fox's Arwing as it plummeted downwards. They followed it as it crashed into the surface of the planet, creating a gash in the ground as it landed, right on the edge of a forest, landing in savanna.

Krystal was the first to land, her Arwing a couple of yards away from Fox's. She ran over to his Arwing, which was overturned, trapping Fox's cockpit between the bulk of the ship and the ground. Krystal reached the Arwing, kneeling on the ground, calling his name as she saw him hanging there, held up by his seatbelt.

"Watch out, Krystal." Falco said on Krystal's wrist communicator. She turned around and saw Falco's Arwing hovering in the air, the grass of savanna blowing in a radius around the ship. Behind him, Katt and Slippy were landing their ships next to Krystal's. "Here I go!"

Falco slowly pushed his Arwing forward, the tip of it going underneath Fox's wing. He pushed forward, Fox's Arwing slowly rolling up. Finally, with one final push, the Arwing made a complete turn, and rolled into an upward position.

Krystal rushed back to the Arwing, jumping up to the cockpit, pressing the switch to open it. She reached inside and unbuckled Fox from his seat, bringing him down into the grass of the savanna. She let his head rest in her lap, he had cuts and bruises all over his body, and some blood leaked from his lip. She shook him a little, calling his name over and over again. After a couple of moments, he coughed out some blood, and opened his eyes.

"Oh, Fox." Krystal said, hugging him tightly as she saw he was okay.

"McCloud doesn't die that easily. His ship has to be blasted into a thousand little bits and even then, he'll probably escape on some piece of wreckage." Falco laughed.

"Whoo. At least now we're on Jatria." Slippy said.

"Yeah, but where's that base we were supposed to meet up with?" Katt asked. "Although, now, I don't think we want to go there, considering it was their ships that were used to attack us."

"According to our radar, it's about seventy-two kilometers to the east." Falco said, checking the radar on his wrist communicator. "Some of us could go check it out. 'Cept someone should stay behind with Slippy while he fixes Fox's ship."

The team looked at Fox's Arwing now. It was pretty damaged, there were burns on its hull from entering the atmosphere at an awkward angle, and the cockpit windshield was cracked from where the enemy cruiser struck it. It was missing a wing as well, snapping off as it bounced along the ground like a skipping stone.

"I'll stay." Katt said. "My Cat's Paw could use some treatment, too, I took a couple of hits up there."

"No, I'll stay. I need to be here with Fox." Krystal said, taking out her medical kit from her backpack.

"Well, I can't go alone!" Falco yelled. "I guess we're staying here until Fox is better!"

"Ok, I'll get started on Fox's Arwing then." Slippy said, running to his ship. A moment later, he pulled his Arwing over to the impact site and landed, taking his tool kit out the cockpit.

"I'll get Fox's wing, then." Falco said, going back to his Arwing.

"I'll start my own repairs, shouldn't be too long." Katt said, rushing to her ship.

"We…need to call…Peppy." Fox coughed out, sitting up. "We should…tell him to…be careful."

"Ok, Fox. I just need you to sit still, I can't clean you up otherwise." Krystal said through her tears. "Slippy, when you can, call Peppy."

Slippy, who had started repairing the cockpit, popped his head up, pulling his welder's mask up.

"Ok." He said, pulling his welder's mask back on. He called the Great Fox and continued working.

"Hey, Peppy!" he called through his mask.

(The Great Fox)

Slippy's masked face appeared on the screen next to the door in the living area, light from Slippy's tool glinting off of it. Peppy sauntered over to the screen, eager to get any information.

"Slippy? That you? Good. So did you guys make it to the surface?" Peppy asked from the Great Fox.

"Yeah, but we were stopped by some Cornerian warships." Slippy explained.

"Warships!? Is everyone ok!?"

"Yeah, everyone except Fox, he tackled by a cruiser and crashed into the surface. He's got a bunch of cuts and bruises, but he's fine. I'm fixing his ship now."

"Oh my. Just make sure he's ok." Peppy instructed. "We lost the last leader of StarFox before, don't do it again."

"Ok, Peppy. He's the one that told me to call you anyway. He also says be on the lookout for any ships. The guys that attacked us were citizens of Jatria. According to Krystal, they were being mind-controlled or something." Slippy explained.

"Ok, thanks Slip."

"Ok, call you later Peppy!" Slippy said, disconnecting the link.

(Impact Site)

"There. Finished." Krystal said, biting off Fox's bandages from the roll. He looked better now, bandages covering all of his injuries. They weren't all too severe, the Arwing taking most of the damage.

"Thanks, Krystal." Fox said, getting up. "How's my Arwing looking, Slip?"

Slippy had finished the cockpit and started reattaching the wing, which Falco had brought over.

"Almost done!" Slippy yelled. They got Slippy a pair of tools for his birthday. They were the most expensive ones on the market. In Slippy's hands, he could make a small warship in less than a day.

Falco, after dragging Fox's wing back, helped Katt finish repairing her ship.

"How 'bout you guys?" Fox called to them.

"Finishing up, too." Katt called.

Fox checked his wrist communicator, which had been adjusted to Jatrian time. It was only a little past two.

"Ok! When everyone's done, I say we check out what happened at the base!" Fox told the team.

"But, Fox, you're still injured! I just finished wrapping you up!" Krystal exclaimed.

"I know, but I feel fine." Fox said. "And the longer we stay out here, the more innocent people could be getting hurt."

"I know, but…"

"Krystal, look at me. I'm fine." Fox told her, staring straight into her eyes.

"O-ok." Krystal submitted.

"DONE!" Slippy yelled.

"Us, too." Falco called.

"Ok, back into your ships! We're heading for the Cornerian base!" Fox ordered.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Notes: Dogfight! Ok, the last part gets kinda boring, but the dogfight was good. I'm just leading up to the adventure at the base. My weekend starts today, so I'll be getting in a bunch of chapters in. If I could, I'd tell you what to look forward to, but I'm making this stuff up as I go. My thanks go to paranoidsocialclub. Your reviews are really encouraging when writing this. I'm glad to have an avid fan. Now for the reviews, which there is one:

Reviews:

-paranoidsocialclub 2008-11-25 . chapter 5

well, sorry for the lack of reviews... I couldn't keep track of the updates...
The chapters were flawless. I'm surprised your story doesn't have that many reviews. Well, I'm hoping for more chapters to come.
Cheers!
~PSC~

Thank you for keeping up with the story. I know they were a lot of updates, I got out early on Monday, my building lost power early in the morning, so I had all the rest of the day to write. I just wish I had more reviews from people like you. I looked around at the other stories and they have like 30 reviews and their stories were published like 2 days ago! But, oh well. This'll probably pick up steam after a month or two. Until then, thanks for your encouragement!