Chapter 19: Future Tense
(The Bridge)
"General, what are you talking about?" Fox asked, his attention turning away from the previous conversation.
"It's bad, Fox. We just lost contact with our contacts in the Quanzas sector." the General explained.
Fox turned back to the team, surprised to hear the relevancy of the topic. After a reassuring glance from Krystal, he turned back to the General.
"Is it the Hands of Lylat?" Fox continued.
"We don't know, Fox. There was no distress signal. No sign of opposition. That's what has us worried. A whole military complex doesn't go down quietly." the General stated, his lack of sleep permeating through his eyes.
"Ok, General, we'll be right on it." Fox assured him.
"Thank you, Fox. I'll brief you more when you leave the atmosphere. Pepper out."
The holographic head disappeared, allowing the team to mull about their thoughts for a couple moments. Fox broke the silence when he finished absorbing all of the new information.
"Well, you heard the General. Everybody, get ready to head back into orbit." Fox instructed. Everyone did as told, filing quickly out of the room. Fox waited until the room was empty to confront Dr. Menoway.
"Doctor, this is going to be a dangerous mission. I'm going to have to ask you to stay behind." Fox stated.
"Yes, yes, I understand." the Doctor agreed.
"Head to the Cornerian Command Building. General Pepper will provide you with a room. Meet with ROB, he'll have your Command pass ready for you." Fox instructed.
"Thank you, Mr. McCloud." the Shih Tzu said feebly. He started heading for the door, but stopped just before leaving. "Mr. McCloud, avenge my fallen comrades."
Fox turned towards the Doctor, and watched as he slowly stepped passed the doorway, letting the door close behind him.
"Don't worry, Doctor, they won't get away for the crimes they've committed."
(The Living Area)
"Ok everyone. Are you all ready?" Fox asked the team, looking around at everyone.
"C'mon, Fox. We all know the protocol by now, we're not new cadets or anything." Slippy laughed.
"Right, I'm going to hold you to that Slippy. Falco, how's your chest?"
"To tell the truth, it's kind of itchy." Falco said, thoughtlessly scratching at his chest.
"STOP THAT!! Didn't anyone tell you not to scratch your scabs!?" Katt yelled, smacking his hand down.
"Ow, calm down!" Falco whined, rubbing his hand. Katt merely huffed.
"Ok. But your chest isn't going to bother you?" Fox asked again.
"Yeah, it'll be fine. Remember, this is the fast-acting stuff." Falco said with a grin.
"Alright, then. Let's head back up to the bridge, we're heading back out." Fox stated.
"Aww. We're never gonna get another break, are we?" Slippy moaned.
"C'mon Slips. You're coming with us whether you want to or not." Falco grinned, pushing Slippy in front of him up to the bridge.
Fox watched the team pass in front of him, then noticed Krystal give an expression just as she headed for the stairs.
"Krystal, are you ok?" Fox inquired.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just have this feeling." Krystal explained.
"What do you mean?"
"I just have this feeling that something bad is going to happen."
(The Bridge)
"Open the hangars!" Fox commanded.
"Yes sir, Mr. McCloud." the soldier complied.
Within seconds, the hangar bay doors opened, allowing the Great Fox to exit the Cornerian Atmosphere.
"Well, back into the great void." Falco sighed.
After the ship had finished breaking through the atmosphere, the holographic projector jumped to life again.
"Greetings, General" Fox instinctively said.
"Yes, Fox. Now, for the mission." the General quickly stated, moving right on topic. "We have our base located on Quanzan, the central planet of the Quanzas system. We've had no trouble maintaining contact with the base until just recently. We need you to go investigate."
"Alright, General, we'll get right on it." Fox stated back.
"The base is located in the capitol city, Girinja." the General added.
"Thank you, General."
"Good Luck, Team StarFox."
(Cornerian Command Building)
"Are you going to bed for the night, Dr. Menoway?" Kim asked the Shih Tzu.
"Hmm. Oh yes, yes I am. I've had a long day." Doctor Menoway replied.
"Alright, good night Doctor." Kim said pleasantly.
"Yes, thank you." the Doctor thanked, heading into the elevator.
He exited when he reached his floor, Floor 43, Apartment Complex. He walked down the hotel-esque hallways until he reached his room, Room 218. With a sigh, he put the key card through the slot and unlocked the door. He walked inside and removed his jacket, placing it on the coat rack.
He proceeded to sitting on the bed, looking out the balcony window. An impressive view of the Cornerian night-life could be seen outside the window.
So many lost. So many. Yet, here I am.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He walked over to the doorway and peered through the eyepiece. He saw two soldiers, one slightly taller than him, and one the size of a delivery truck.
"Dr. Menoway? Open up. We have business with you." the average sized one stated. He held up his ID card to the eyepiece. The Doctor unlocked his door and opened up.
"Yes?" the Doctor asked.
"We have urgent business with you, we'll need you to come with us. If you'd follow my associate." the soldier said, indicating the tank.
"Oh, alright then." the Doctor complied, following the giant through the hallways. The shorter one held back for a moment, pressing a button on the side of his helmet.
"Task complete, we have Menoway in our possession." the Soldier informed. A shadowy outline of a figure sat in front of him, only a faint outline able to be seen in the darkness.
"Good. Was there any trouble?" the figure asked gruffly.
"No, he came without resistance."
"Excellent, return now. May the Hands guide your way." the shadowy figure concluded. The transmission cut, the image of the shadow figure replaced by an emblem. The emblem had a yellow-hand with an eye in the center, where the palm would be.
"Yes sir. Returning to base." the Soldier stated darkly.
He quickly turned on his heel and followed after the large beast and Dr. Menoway.
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Author's Notes: Yay! Another Chapter already. I'm back in the saddle…again. So yeah, yet another filler chapter. In retrospect, this one was kind of short too. Oh well, it's out of the way! Guess what's gonna happen next chapter? ACTIIIIIIIIOOONN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's taken about a year or so, but there's more kick-ass story coming up! So here's to another chapter! Now for reviews!!!
Reviews:
-theXbeat08
2009-05-17 . chapter 18
DUDE. Before I even read your response to the last review, I was like "Holy **. I'm gonna kill this cliffhanger guy." I mean COME ON!
Besides that, nice update. I missed this story, and I'm glad it isn't dead. I knew I'd never be able to update, so I just ended mine. Teehee.
Very good fight with Falco and Fox. Super-intense. I wonder who would win though. I feel like they both would have strangled each other to death if they kept going.
And about the whole 'new story' thing...um. Well, I'm kinda not gonna be on the site at all starting at the end of June and ending in August. So I don't know if I should start a new story yet, even though I have ideas. We'll have to see on that. Maybe I'll just wait for you to finish. Bwa-ha-ha.
Good luck!
theXbeat08
So uh, yeah. Cliffhangery ending, huh? *backs away slowly*. But all avoiding imminent death aside, at least this ending wasn't quite as cliffhangery as last time. Don't worry about this story ending, the only way it's going to end is when I finish it and start the sequel, or I die in a horrible accident involving my knees snapping in half. That or explosive amnesia. And thank you for the fight compliment. I drew inspiration for that from one of my old Taekwondo sparring matches, except for the strangling part. Frankly, I think the two would probably kill each other before actually finishing a fight. So I really have no idea who would win. And you're not going to be here? Aww, does that mean no more reviews until August? Fooey. Oh well, that's how the chicken wraps I'm eating crumble. And don't wait until I finish, this has at least a good year and a half left of writing if I factor in all my time management. So here's to another cliff-hanger chapter!
-notfromearth7
2009-05-17 . chapter 18
Sweet job. It doesn't really matter that you haven't updated, as long as you update at some point. Good chapter my man.
Why thank you, kind sir. It's encouragement from fans like you that make this all worth while. Know that this last chapter is dedicated to your honor. Here's to your dedicated chapter.