Chapter 15: Calm before the Storm

(Aboard the Great Fox)

Fox was up early the next morning, getting everything ready for the next day. He was already up for a good thirty minutes when Peppy walked into the living area.

"Morning, Fox." Peppy yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning, Peppy." Fox said, rushing around the table, setting up the plans for the team's entrance into the Solsen Defense Outpost.

"You been working on this all morning?" Peppy asked, surprised at the level of attentiveness Fox had, despite the early hour.

"Yeah." Fox confirmed. He finished inputting the last of the commands, then sat down to admire his handiwork. When he was done appreciating what he had done, he stood up and started heading for the kitchen. "Ready to make breakfast, Peppy?" Fox asked.

"Sure thing." Peppy said, ascending the stairs behind him. While the two toiled away in the kitchen, Slippy and Krystal slowly filed into the living area, Slippy having a slight limp as he walked. When they smelled the aroma of food wafting down from the kitchen, they quickly perked up, sitting down at the table patiently.

"Morning, team!" Peppy called out from the kitchen. "Food will be ready in a couple of minutes. Is Falco and Katt up yet?"

"Not yet, Peppy." Slippy responded.

"Well, tell them food's ready, would ya?" Peppy asked, retreating back into the kitchen.

Slippy started getting up, his arms shaking as he pushed off the table.

"Want me to get them, Slippy?" Krystal asked, taking note of Slippy's condition.

"No, it's all right. This has to be physical therapy or something." Slippy said, letting go of the table. He dashed clumsily across the living area, stopping at the couch to support himself. He then slowly positioned himself to the opposite side of the couch, letting go once again, dashing headlong into the wall. Once he found a comfortable enough position from which to support himself, he turned on the communicator on the wall.

(Falco's Room)

Falco sat up in his bed, awaking from a night of sound sleep. He looked down at his arms, the bulk of his injuries already fading away. Small scrapes and burns could still be found here and there, but that was to be expected. Slowly, he lifted his legs over the side of the bed, letting them dangle over the edge. He took a deep sigh, then proceeded with standing up. When he put pressure on his legs, a driving pain shot through them, forcing him to sit back down.

Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected it to be this easy.

Falco took another deep breath, then tried standing again. The pain coursed through his leg, but he endured the pain. Slowly, he limped to the door, wincing with each step. Just when he reached the button for the door, a face popped up on the communicator next to him.

"Hey, Falco." Slippy called over on the communicator.

"What!?" Falco yelled, aggravated at the toad for disrupting his concentration.

"Katt's not responding to any communicator messages, you mind checking in on her since you're already down there?" Slippy asked, slipping slightly as he tried to reposition himself against the wall.

"You do realize that if I do this, you owe me, right?" Falco asked menacingly.

"Why's that?" Slippy asked, thinking he was just asking a simple favor.

"Because I'm in incredible pain right now, and the only reason I'm in this pain is because you blew us up!" Falco roared, wanting to strangle the toad through the communicator screen.

"Ok, ok. Fine. I owe you. Just go get Katt, ok? Breakfast is ready." Slippy said, disconnecting the link.

Falco sighed, then opened his door, limping out into the cold expanse of the hallway.

(The Guest Room)

Katt tossed and turned in her bed, a cold sweat breaking out all over her body.

"No! Let me go! Help, Falco!!!" the feline called out in her dream.

"Katt!!! No!!!!" the avian called back, reaching out his bloodied arm.

Katt jolted awake when she heard a knocking come from the door.

"Come in." she said meekly, still shaking from the horrors she had just experienced, pulling the covers up to her neck. The door opened, revealing a blue avian. He limped inside, then reclined against the wall.

"You ok? You didn't answer any of the messages Slippy sent." Falco informed her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just…sleeping." Katt responded

"Well, come on, breakfast's ready." Falco said with a smile. He held out his arm.

When Katt looked at his arm, her mind flashed back to her dream, Falco reaching out, blood running down his arm. She shook her head, taking a deep breath, dismissing the images out of her head.

"Ok, let's go." Katt said, getting out of bed. She helped Falco walk to the living area.

(The Living Area)

Slippy attempted to get back to his chair after finishing using the communicator. On his way back, however, he stumbled, falling face-first into the floor. Krystal rushed over to him, nearly dragging him the rest of the way to his chair. She propped him up, making sure he wouldn't fall over.

"Thanks, Krystal." Slippy said in a dazed tone.

"Slippy, you're going to have to be more careful." Krystal said with a sigh.

"FOOD'S READY!!!" Peppy called out, walking down the stairs carrying trays of food. Fox came out after him, carrying the same amount. They set the food on the table. As the plates were being set, Falco and Katt walked in.

"Morning, everyone." Falco said, limping to his seat with Katt's aid. The two sat down, reaching for plates of their own.

"Ok, everyone, dig in!" Peppy announced. The team began piling food onto their plates. When everyone had finished eating, Fox started getting the plans set up on the table.

"Ok, everyone. Now it's time to get serious." Fox said, his expression showing his determination. Everyone turned towards him, giving him their full attention. He pulled up the plans on the table's computer, displaying a diagram of the Solsen Defense Outpost.

"Here's the entrance to the Outpost." Fox indicated, a red box focusing on a spot on the diagram. "It's large enough to house the Great Fox, so we'll make this our base of operations, that is, assuming it wasn't too severely damaged in the attack."

"What if it is too damaged?" Falco asked, knowing Fox had planned out every situation.

"If it is too damaged, then we'll have to leave the Great Fox outside, entering the Outpost by Arwing. Any survivors we find we'll have to ferry back." Fox explained. "Once we're inside, we'll do a systematic search of the entire base, starting from the upper tiers, heading downwards." Fox said, a red line going from the top of the diagram to the bottom, illustrating his plan.

"You all be careful now." Peppy called out, carrying dishes back into the kitchen.

"We know, Peppy. You say that every time." Slippy said, stretching his arms.

"No, Slippy. He's right. Remember, this attack only occurred yesterday. We have no idea who coordinated it, or how much damage is done. We're flying into this blind. Which brings me to my next point…" Fox said. He typed in several commands on his communicator, then showed everyone the screen. "This base is pretty big. I just turned up the wavelength of my communicator. I suggest you all do the same, that way, we can easily find each other on radar."

As Fox said that, everyone pulled up the same screen on their communicators, bringing up the wavelengths to the same level as Fox's.

"Ok. Remember to keep checking your communication's link. There's the possibility that whoever attacked the Outpost is still in there. If they set up a jamming signal, then we won't be able to communicate. That's why I have this." Fox said, holding up a small pin. He pressed on it, a small bulb on the large part of the pin began blinking over and over again. "This pin is our alert signal. It runs on a separate frequency than our communicators, differing from radio waves. It won't be affected by any jamming signals. If you press on the button on the pin, everyone else's will also start blinking. That way, we'll know there's an enemy onboard the Outpost." Fox explained. He passed out the pins. "Is everyone clear on the plan?"

"No problem, Fox. We'll take care of this." Falco said for everyone.

"Ok, good." Fox said, sitting down. He pressed a button on the communicator, the face of a robot appearing on the screen. "ROB, how much longer till we reach the Outpost?"

"Estimated time to Solsen Defense Outpost: 22 hours, 12 minutes." the robot responded.

"So, what do we do in the meantime?" Slippy asked aloud. "I can't even really remember what we did before we had the Orbital Gate…"

"How about some practice?" Fox said with a sly smile.

"Practice? Practice for what?" Slippy asked.

"If everyone would follow me." Fox said, heading towards the door.

(The Training Room)

Fox led the rest of the team down to the lower levels of the Great Fox. At the end of the trip, he opened a door, showing the rest of the team the training room. It was a large grey room, with many different types of training equipment in different areas. The team walked inside, looking around at the large room.

"Why didn't we know about this?" Falco asked, sitting on a bench used to weight-lift.

"I didn't know about this room either until I checked out the detailed map of the Great Fox." Fox said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hey, we have a flight simulator like in the Academy!" Slippy said, going over to a capsule-like pod in the far corner of the room.

"Yeah, and we have these screens to see what's going on." Fox said, walking over to a plasma-screen near the simulator.

"Hey, Foxy, why's this corner blocked off?" Katt asked, indicating the corner opposite the one from the flight simulator.

"That's the target range. You can practice with a blaster there."

"Hmmm. I guess saving the galaxy over and over again has some perks." Falco said, looking around at all the equipment.

"Good. So now's the time for your physical therapy!" Fox said, smirking. He pulled a pole off the wall and tossed it to Falco. He took another one for himself.

"What?" Falco said, just catching the pole.

"I don't want you to get rusty. This next mission could be a matter of life and death, and I want you to be ready." Fox said. "Hey, Slippy. You should come over here, too."

"Uh, no thanks Fox. I think I'll pass this time." Slippy said, immediately rushing over to a treadmill instead.

"Hey! If I have to do this, then you should too, frog!" Falco called out to him. As he said that, Fox rushed over to Falco, swinging the pole down, attempting to hit his head. Falco barely had enough time to raise his own pole in defense. "Are you insane!?"

"Keep talking and you're gonna get bruised!" Fox laughed, continuing his assault. He swung the pole at Falco's left side. Falco blocked it again. Fox then countered by smacking his shin with the opposite end of the pole.

"OW! DAMMIT!" Falco screamed, clutching his shin with his arms, hopping on one foot, his pole dropping to the ground. Fox stood and watched.

"See? If you don't get ready, you're gonna put everyone at risk."

"Shut up! You just whacked me with a pole!" Falco said through gritted teeth.

"If you have enough energy to talk back, you should be able to defend yourself." Fox said, swinging at Falco's head. Falco ducked, grabbing his pole from the ground, retreating into a battle stance.

"That's more like it." Fox smiled.

"Fox, be careful. He's still hurt." Krystal called out. Fox only waved to her, blocking one of Falco's swings.

"C'mon, Krystal. Those two aren't going to listen. Let's check out this flight simulator…" Katt offered, walking over to the pod. She climbed in and put on the helmet. In moments, she was flying an aircraft, with several other ships closing in around her. Krystal watched Katt fly the ship on the screen outside the pod, the screen showing several angles of the simulation.

Slippy, not wanting to get involved in Fox's and Falco's fight, checked out the recreational gear. He turned on the treadmill, going at a walking pace.

I did have trouble walking before…

Slippy could feel the pain in his legs as he took his steps. After a couple of minutes, though, the pain started fading away. Slippy increased the speed, gaining tolerance to the pain in his legs. After a good five minutes, Slippy was at a jogging pace. He pumped his arms as he jogged, building tolerance to the pains there, too.

(The Living Area)

Peppy finished washing the dishes from the breakfast. Tired from his duties, he went to the couch in the living area. He turned on the television. Unable to find anything interesting, he proceeded to the bridge.

Might as well try to become more familiar with this ship.

Peppy found ROB already on the bridge. The robot continually typed upon his virtual keyboard, keeping the ship's systems constantly in check.

"Hello, ROB." Peppy said, heading over to a section of screens depicting ship information.

"Greetings Peppy." the robot said, no tone of any sort in his metallic voice.

"The ship doing alright, ROB?" Peppy asked, pressing some buttons on the keyboard before him, bringing up several schematics of different parts of the Great Fox.

"Affirmative, repairs to Great Fox have been completed while on Corneria." the robot informed Peppy.

"Repairs?" Peppy asked aloud. "Oh that's right. Those ships on Jatria…"

"Affirmative." the robot answered. Peppy rolled his eyes.

That robot will answer any question.

"Hey, ROB. What exactly was damaged during that fight?" Peppy asked, curious now.

"Damage Report: 88% Shield Damage, 4% Bridge Damage, 7% Hull Damage." the robot listed.

Bridge Damage? When did that happen? I don't remember any damage…

"ROB, bring up video recording of that battle." Peppy ordered.

"Affirmative." ROB said, walking over to a separate set of keyboards. He typed in several commands, bringing up a video of the dogfight, choosing the footage from the camera that sat atop the Bridge. Peppy walked over, inspecting the video for the precise moment when the Bridge was damaged. He watched for several minutes, then found what he was looking for. A missile flew out from one of the opposing ships. It weaved through the laser fire, connecting with the Bridge. The shields blocked most of the impact, only a fraction of the original force reaching the Bridge.

Ah. That's right, I remember now.

Peppy rewound the video, trying to find out which ship fired the missile. Peppy looked intently at the screen, watching the missile fly out from the ships.

"ROB, zoom the image on to the missile." Peppy ordered.

"Affirmative." ROB stated, typing in more commands. The screen zoomed in, the missile now the focus of the image. Peppy looked on, identifying the ship that shot the missile. "So, he's the lucky son-of-a-gun."

As Peppy continued watching the path of the missile, he noticed something in the background.

"ROB, focus the image on that light in the background." Peppy said, curious again.

"Affirmative." the robot said, doing as commanded. The screen now focused on the light in the background. Peppy allowed the footage to play. The light moved behind the enemy's armada.

There's no way that can be a star.

The light continued moving, coming into view again for only a moment after passing behind the last ship, the screen shaking as the missile connected with the bridge, the camera losing track of the light.

"ROB, zoom in again."

"Affirmative."

Peppy inspected the light again. He now recognized where the light was coming from. It came from a G-Diffusor.

That's a ship!

"ROB, zoom in one more time."

"Affirmative."

Peppy tried making out what type of ship the light was. He couldn't quite see, the light disappearing behind an armada ship. He kept watching, waiting for it to emerge. Just as he was about to see it, the camera shook again, the missile had connected.

"Damn! The camera shakes just as I'm about to get it!" Peppy cursed. Just as he did, ROB stirred into motion again.

"Incoming message from General Pepper." the robot stated.

Peppy pulled away from the video.

"Ok, ROB, let it through." Peppy said.

"Affirmative."

In the center of the bridge, the Cornerian Emblem popped up, soon followed by the visage of General Pepper.

"Hello, General." Peppy said.

"Ah, Peppy. Where is the rest of the team?" the General asked.

"They're in the training room, I believe. What can I do for ya?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you had all the supplies you'll need before you reach the Outpost." the General said. "You don't want to run out of medicinal supplies. If you use all of it for the survivors, you might not have any for yourselves if you're injured as well."

"Oh, of course, General. I'll go check right now." Peppy said.

"Thank you, Peppy. Well then, I'll leave you to it. Good luck out there. Pepper out." the General said, his head disappearing behind the Cornerian Emblem before turning off entirely.

"Oh well, time to do stock checks, then." Peppy said, heading down to the medical wing. "Hey, ROB, you come help too."

"Affirmative." the robot said, following after the hare.

(The Training Room)

Falco reclined against the wall, breathing deeply. He raised his pole to the side, blocking a swing, only to be struck in the chest by the opposite end of the opponent's staff.

"C'mon…Falco! Keep…going!" Fox panted, using his pole to support himself now.

Falco took a step forward, starting up another assault. He swung to Fox's left. Fox blocked. Falco immediately countered with a swing to Fox's legs. Fox jumped it, spinning in the air, crashing the end of his weapon into the side of Falco's head. Falco dropped down to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Gonna…have to do…better…than that." Fox continued to pant.

Falco struggled back up to his feet, using his pole to help himself the rest of the way up. He raised his staff, bringing it down forcefully. Fox blocked it, raising his own staff up with both hands. His feet slid backwards due to the sheer force of the attack. Falco then quickly kicked Fox's shin. Fox flinched at the pain. Falco immediately seized the opportunity, putting his staff through the loop Fox created between his staff and his arms. He pulled violently, ripping the staff from Fox's grip. Fox staggered forward as he lost his weapon. He then went flying backwards as Falco bashed him in the chest with the hilt of his staff. Fox lay flat on the floor, panting heavily. Falco sat down, letting his weapon fall away from him. He was breathing just as heavily.

"Are…we done…now?" Falco asked.

"Yeah. Let's…stop now." Fox said, still laying upon the floor.

At that moment, a voice rang over the ship's intercom.

"Everybody, come back up. I'll be cooking dinner soon." Peppy's voice said.

Slippy, entirely focused on running, was startled by Peppy's voice. He lost his footing, getting sent flying backwards off the treadmill. He crashed into the weight set behind him.

Katt, who was watching Krystal use the Flight Simulator, rushed over to the toad.

"You alright, Slippy?" Katt asked, helping him up from the pile of weights.

"I think I'm done exercising now." Slippy joked, the pain running through his body.

"Yeah…you heard…Peppy. Food's…ready." Falco called over to them. Katt helped Slippy back to the door as Fox and Falco stumbled over. She then went back to the pod, tapping on it.

"Hey, Krystal! It's time we went back up!" Katt called into the pod. Krystal nodded, taking off her helmet. She opened the pod and walked to the door with Katt. The team then proceeded back to the living area.

"I think I'm going to clean up, first. Falco said, looking down at himself. He was covered in sweat, which wasn't the most comfortable feeling.

"Yeah, I am too." Fox said, following Falco down the hallway.

"Me, too. I need some water on me after all that. I lost too much." Slippy said, stumbling after his teammates.

"Let's go help Peppy with dinner." Krystal offered.

"Ok." Katt agreed.

(The Living Area)

The team enjoyed the dinner, finishing quickly after having their extensive workout. Fox and Falco helped Peppy clean the dishes while the rest of the team rested in the living area.

"So, what did you do while we were working out, Peppy?" Falco asked, cleaning another dish.

"Oh, I just did some supply checks in the medical wing. General Pepper wanted to make sure we had enough supplies." Peppy explained.

"General Pepper? How'd you get the call? I didn't hear ROB announce any messages…" Fox asked.

"Oh, I was in the bridge earlier, checking some footage from while you guys were on Jatria." Peppy recounted.

"What were you watching?" Krystal asked, bringing in another dish.

"Well, while you guys were on the surface, some warships came out and started attacking. I was just watching the battle."

"Really? Sounds exciting." Katt remarked, following after Krystal into the kitchen.

"Yeah. I took care of them though." Peppy said triumphantly. "But, then I found something quite interesting on the video…"

"Well?" Falco asked, being impatient as usual.

"Well, there was this light. I didn't notice it before, I was too busy fighting off those warships. But I saw it in the video. I can't remember what it was though…" Peppy said, trying to remember the conclusion he reached. "It's on the video, I could show you."

As the team got up to head for the bridge, the intercom turned on again.

"Estimated time to Solsen Defense Outpost: 8 hours, 5 minutes. Team should commence REM Sleep soon." ROB's metallic voice reminded.

"Oh, well. We'll check out the video after we finish our mission tomorrow. Ok Peppy?" Fox asked.

"Alright. ROB's right, it's getting late. I think I'll head to bed. G'night everyone!" Peppy said.

"Night." the team said in return.

"Finally, sweet sleep." Falco said, imagining rest.

"Let's go." Slippy said, trudging towards the door. The two of them stumbled towards the door, bumping into each other at the doorway.

"Come on, you two!" Katt said, grabbing both of them by their arms. She dragged them down the hallway after her, the two struggling to keep up. Fox and Krystal watched the whole scene from a distance, slowly walking after them.

"They remind me of children." Krystal laughed.

"Katt always did act like a big sister. Sort of." Fox said. "Well, time for bed."

"Good night, Fox." Krystal said, looking into his eyes.

"Night, Krystal." Fox said, turning towards his room's doorway. Krystal slowly walked down the hall. Fox watched her, then proceeded with going into his room. Krystal, when she was sure no one was around, ran up to Fox and pecked him on his cheek. Fox stopped, surprised by the sudden action.

"Sleep soundly, Fox." Krystal called back as she rushed down the hallway.

Fox merely blushed, then went into his room.

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Author's Notes: Well, I didn't get to the action this chapter. Hence the title. Affirmative. Haha. Anybody notice the robot abuse in this chapter? Poor ROB, always doing as told. I know I used 'Affirmative' a lot in this chapter, but the team forgot about Robonukah and I wanted to show how they mistreated ROB. Just kidding, I just needed them to do some stuff, and ROB was a good way to get it done. Don't judge me. So yeah, night terrors and beating on cripples. Life is good. And, as promised, the action starts up again next chapter. So here's another chapter. Another notch in the belt. Hope you enjoy. Time for reviews.

P.S. Did something happen to the XBeat? She didn't review and I'm kinda getting worried…

Reviews:

-Days of the phoenix 2009-01-02 . chapter 14

Wow... what a jerk. Anyway here's that list of dogs you asked for
Position Breed
1 Labrador Retriever
2 Yorkshire Terrier
3 German Shepherd Dog
4 Golden Retriever
5 Beagle
6 Dachshund
7 Boxer
8 Poodle
9 Shih Tzu
10 Miniature Schnauzer
11 Labrador Retriever
12 German Shepherd Dog
13 Staffordshire Bull Terrier
14 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
15 Golden Retriever
16 Border Collie
17 Pug
18 English Cocker Spaniel
19 Dalmatian
20 Rottweiler
(listed by popularity, of course.)
Katt, you're so mean to Falco on occasions! Anyway! I've fulfilled my duty! Don't stop writing!

Yes, he is a jerk. And THANK YOU FOR THE LIST!!! I really need this. It's hard to think of dogs to use in the Cornerian army, so this will definitely come in handy. And Katt is sometimes a sadist when it comes to Falco. It's mean, but she means well. Thank you again for the list, and don't worry, I won't stop writing! Here's to another chaper!

-Forever Fades Away 2009-01-02 . chapter 14

0.o... He flamed YOU, Too! this guy is out of control. I like the chapter... I wonder if anything will be left alive by the time the team reaches the outpost?! I'lljust have to wait and see...

~PSC, Victim of flamers and memory shortage.~

P.S. I cant think of other dogs, either... have you used Pit Bulls yet? Let me re-read the chapters...

Forever Fades Away 2009-01-02 . chapter 3

One thing I forgot to mention. You said the Solsen outpost would be like Bolse Defense Outpost? So, does that mean it's a satellite? Or is it a planet used as a military outpost? Well, I guess I'm going to have to wait and find out.

~PSC, who apparently uses chapters he forgot to review as a way of tacking onto other reviews~

HA! I just beat SF: Adventures! Kind of sad, though. There's nothing but the Andross Fight over and over and over again... No more exploring the planet. Oh well... All I have to do now is find something to hold me over until Pokémon Platinum arrives.

Yes, this jerk is out of control. If he does anything else, I swear I'm going to report him. TO ALL OF THOSE READING THIS: IF FLAMER LUCAN FLAMES YOU, REPORT HIM! WE DON'T NEED THIS JACKASS RUINING THIS SITE! Sorry dude, had to get that out. I don't like people that insult my friends in any form, especially when it's unfounded. New name, huh? Nice partial alliteration. Just one question, you still sign 'PSC' so should I refer to you by your new name, or paranoidsocialclub still? I'll use the latter one in the meantime. So yeah, Solsen will be like Bolse, a satellite type thingy. And don't worry about the using other chapters to review thing, it looks better on the story stats if I have something there instead of a big ol' 0. Yeah, it sucks that if you save at Krazoa Palace, the only thing you can do after that is fight Andross. I miss exploring. I've only beaten SF: Adventures twice. I always had trouble with the Test of Fear. I hated that one. You should totally play Pokémon Diamond or Pearl while waiting for Platinum! Try chaining for shinies! That's what I do while I wait. Thank you for being a loyal fan. Here's to another chapter!

-notfromearth7 2009-01-02 . chapter 13

Hiya! Good chapter! Gotta run!

notfromearth7 2009-01-02 . chapter 14

I think Flamer Lucan just got served. Anyway. good job

Thanks. I just got one thing to say, 'Don't trip!' Haha. Puns. And about that Flamer…all I have to say about that is: AHH! IT'S OOOOOON NOW!!! He' gonna get SUUURVED!!!! Here's to another chapter, yo! (Hah, slang.)