Chapter 21: The Beasts of Girinja
(Quanzan Airspace)
"All right, team, we're heading in." Fox announced as the red expanse of Quanzan drew inevitably closer.
"Beginning to enter the atmosphere." Slippy notified, red streaks of flame appearing on the fronts of the Arwings.
The ships entered the atmosphere, leveling out after breaking through the layer of ozone. A barren, rocky landscape stretched out beneath them as they drew towards their destination.
"How much longer till we reach Gedinja?" Falco asked, staring at the arid expanse beneath him.
"Girinja, Falco. And it should be within sight soon." Fox answered.
Soon enough, a silver dot appeared on top of a rocky cliff. A winding river weaved below the cliff, outlined by rocky out juts that bore towards the sky like snarling fangs.
"Let's head in." Fox said, leading the group down towards the city.
(Girinja Airspace)
"Krystal, can you sense anyone down there?" Fox asked via communicator.
"No, the town is completely empty. Unless they're using some sort of jamming signal." Krystal concluded.
"I wouldn't put it past them. Who knows what technology they've developed on this planet?" Slippy said, checking his ships sensors. "I'm not picking anything up though. If they're using a jamming device, it's so sophisticated I can't pick it up."
"Well, we're getting nothing done by hanging around in the air, we should land ASAP." Falco finished, looking around at the eerily empty city. "Should we land atop that building?"
"No, don't. Think about it, we don't know if there's actually anybody in the city. What if we land atop that building only to find it filled with hostiles? And even if there are people and they aren't unfriendly, if we do encounter hostiles, we'll have to rush back to the top of the building." Katt explained with uncanny reasoning.
"She's right. Let's land over in that corner near the wall. It's relatively open and we'll be able to see if anybody comes running." Fox said with finality.
The team landed off in the open corner as instructed, exiting their Arwings to take to the city streets. All of them had their blasters drawn, the unnatural quiet causing an uneasy anticipation.
"This just doesn't feel right." Slippy thought aloud, peering around a street corner to inspect for any signs of life.
"Slippy's right. The city shouldn't be this empty. Let's inspect the buildings." Fox commanded, trying to open the nearest door. When it refused to open, he took a couple of steps back, and proceeded to kick the door in. He rushed in shoulder-first with his blaster drawn. He looked around, keeping his blaster pointed directly in front of him.
The building was a small house. In the center of the room sat what appeared to be a dining room table. Picture frames sat around the area on top of small desks and various other pieces of furniture. A staircase sat in the far left corner of the room, leading to the rest of the house.
"Alright, let's split up. Katt, Slippy, and me will inspect the rest of this house. Krystal, you and Falco start on the next one." Fox ordered, heading up the staircase.
"Got it, Fox." Krystal agreed, heading out the doorway to find the next building.
(Girinjian Building Upstairs – Fox, Katt, Slippy)
The room upstairs appeared to be a living area, containing a T.V. and a couch. A hallway split off to the left at the top of the stairs, with a kitchen easily visible through an opening in the opposite wall. The room showed no signs of being used recently.
"Where the heck is everybody?" Katt asked, heading into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, finding some items in it that were just about to go past their expiration date.
"I don't know. People were here not too long ago. But they left a while back." Fox commented, watching as Slippy inspected the house with a gadget from his backpack. Fox then turned on his communicator. "Find anything, Krystal?"
"Not much, but we think there's something here you ought to see." Krystal responded.
"Alright, we're on our way."
(Girinjian Building – Krystal and Falco)
Falco kicked in the door to the next building in the same manner Fox had done with the first building. He and Krystal filed in, inspecting their surroundings. They were in a living area, a couch facing a large screen T.V. The T.V. was on, but only a blank screen showed.
"I don't think a normal person would be willing to pay for this much electricity." Falco said, changing channels. The T.V. acted normally except for the original channel.
"What channel is that?" Krystal asked, watching as Falco channel surfed.
"Public access. Figures, huh? That the channel that would tell us about the community is just as creepy as the community itself?" Falco joked aloud.
"That might not be a coincidence." Krystal mused. Suddenly, her wrist communicator sprang to life.
"Find anything, Krystal?" Fox's voice asked from the communicator.
"Not much, but we think there's something here ought to see." Krystal told Fox, indicating the television set.
"Alright, we're on our way." Fox confirmed.
After a few moments, the rest of the team entered the house.
"What did you find?" Fox asked as he entered the building.
"Look." Krystal said, tilting her head towards the television.
"So, it's a blank T.V. screen…" Katt stated, looking perplexed.
"Yes, it's the public access channel." Krystal continued. "I was thinking that maybe Slippy could find out where the channel is broadcasting from."
The group turned to look at Slippy, who had been snooping around the interior of the house.
"Well?" Falco asked the toad, bringing him into the conversation.
"Well what?" Slippy asked, not having paid attention.
"Can you backhack this T.V. or what?" Falco continued to interrogate, slightly annoyed at Slippy's lack of attention.
"Oh, sure. Give me a sec." Slippy said, pulling a wire out from his wrist communicator. He connected the wire to the television, then proceeded to press a few buttons. The group merely watched as Slippy did so. After a few minutes, he disconnected the wire and returned it to its holding place.
"Alright, I got the coordinates. It looks like the broadcast was sent out from the center of town." Slippy said, looking at the map on his communicator.
"Let's head out then." Fox instructed, holding the door open for the rest of the team.
The team rushed out into the streets, neglecting the rows of empty buildings as Slippy led them to the coordinates.
"It should be right…here." Slippy said, staring at his communicator map.
"Well, we were bound to show up here eventually." Falco said, staring at the sign on the side of the building labeled Girinja Crest Military Base.
"This is the source of the public access channel?" Fox asked, looking at the base for any signs of movement.
"That's where the coordinates led me." Slippy confirmed.
"Alright, let's head in. Maybe we'll finally get some answers." Fox said, holding his blaster aloft as he opened the door to the interior of the base.
(Girinja Crest Military Base)
The team walked into the base right past the surrounding training grounds. Footsteps could be seen around the entirety of the base, but whether they were soldiers' or not remained a mystery. Fox led the team as they entered the interior of the base. The entrance hallway was illuminated by a steady red glow from the exit sign above the entrance, the adjacent hallway around the right corner pitch black as the wall blocked out the ephemeral glow.
"Can you sense anyone inside, Krystal?" Fox asked, looking from side to side to make sure there wasn't an ambush lying in wait for them.
"No, I'm not picking up any type of life signs." Krystal replied sullenly.
"What the hell is up with this place?" Falco asked no one in particular.
"I don't know, but let's keep moving." Fox commanded, turning the corner into the darkness. He turned on his communicator backlight to make up for the lack of light. The others did the same.
The hallway then branched off into a series of doorways down the entirety of the hall, with another hallway stemming off to the left near the middle of the wall.
"Slippy, see if you can do anything about these lights, the rest of us will begin checking the rest of these rooms." Fox instructed, opening the nearest door. The rest of the team followed suit, meandering off to their own respective rooms to inspect for clues. Slippy merely stood in the center of the hallway as he used his communicator to hack into the base's system.
Fox closed the door behind him as he finished inspecting the room, which had been nothing more than a faculty room. He went down to the end of the hallway to inspect the last room on the right.
Katt exited her room, which had been a supply closet, and upon finding the rest of the current hallway devoid of any more rooms, headed down the corner that pulled off to the left. More doorways stood parallel to each other, so Katt entered the nearest one.
"And…GOT IT!" Slippy yelled as the lights in the hallways burst into luminance. Everyone had to shield their eyes from the immediate change in lighting.
Katt slowly opened her eyes to inspect the room before her.
"AAAAAGGGHHHH!"
Everyone rushed out of their rooms and charged down the hallway towards Katt's voice. Falco reached her first, seeing her hold her face in panic, her eyes peering between her fingers.
"KATT! WHAT'S WRONG!" Falco pleaded as he rushed up to her. When he finally got to her, he followed her gaze to inside the room. "Damn it."
An officer was bound to a chair at the far end of the room. Blood smeared the floor around him, as well as on his shoulders and the several medals that adorned his chest. A large gash pierced through his skull, large enough to easily allow a fist to reach through to the other side. In the middle of the blood pool on the floor sat a scorch mark, which was slowly being covered up by the surrounding puddle.
The rest of the team caught up, while Falco pulled Katt's head to his neck. An audible gasp was heard as they viewed the body.
"Oh…n-" Krystal trailed off, staring at lifeless corpse.
"We know now that Girinja's missing populace wasn't an accident." Fox stated coldly, entering the room to look for signs of clues. He walked up to the corpse, inspecting the wound upon the beagle's head. "This was caused by a charged blaster at point blank."
Slippy, unable to cope with viewing the dead body, continued to meander through the halls. He found a door labeled "Data Banks" and went inside. Inside, he found a large white room with a huge computer covering the left side of the wall. He walked over to the apparatus and turned the power on. The screen immediately blinked to life, showing shipping documents and schematics of the building.
"It's still logged on…" Slippy said as he sifted through the information. After a couple of minutes, his eyes dilated. "FOX!"
In a matter of seconds, the rest of the team was at the room. Slippy stood in front of the controls and beckoned them to come over.
"I think I found out what happened here." Slippy said as he pulled up a projection. "This is what was displayed on the public access channel before it was disconnected."
The projection showed the beagle from the other room, tied up in the same manner as they found him, except he was alive and struggling with his bonds. Soon, a cloaked figure emerged into the projection, slowly approaching the beagle. He turned around as he reached the captive, facing the camera. An insignia depicting a hand with an eye in its palm sat upon the cloaked figure's right shoulder. After a few moments, the figure cleared his voice and addressed the camera.
"Citizens of Girinja. We appear before you today with a message." the figure stated with an arrogant, resonating tone. "That message is, that the Hands of Lylat will soon establish control over the Lylat System, and restore the balance of power under the almighty Mind. Yet, to do that we require digits, as well as the removal of pesky thorns such as the General here. Thus, we shall accomplish both tasks in one fell swoop!"
Another cloaked figure appeared in the projection, handing a blaster to the speaker. He pointed it aloft to the beagle's head. Slowly the tip began pulsating with color, turning from green, to blue, then to red. Just as the figure steadied his hand, the beagle chewed through the cloth covering his mouth.
"PEOPLE OF GIRINJA! DO NOT LOSE HOPE! THOUGH I MAY DIE, I DO NOT WANT MY GOALS TO DIE WITH ME! CONTINUE TO STAND TALL AND UPHOLD THE LAW OF GIRINJA! NEVER SHALL WE BE FRIGHTENED INTO THE CORNER BY THESE VICIOUS ACTS! WE SHALL NOT BE DOMINATED BY THESE TERRORI-"
The cloaked figure smirked, then released the trigger. Krystal and Katt cringed away from the sight, while Fox and Falco gritted their teeth in anger.
"Alright, activ-" the projection voiced just as it turned off.
"Those bastards." Falco said, his shoulders stiffening with anger.
"Slippy, see if you can pull up any information about what they were doing here." Fox ordered, his thoughts racing after the murder he just witnessed.
"I can't get much, most of the system had been wiped clean before I even got here. Whatever they were doing, they made sure to clean up after themselves." Slippy explained, frantically typing. Images danced around the screen as Slippy dug his way into the system. "The only things I can really get was that video, the list of personnel in the base, and some news articles and shipping records."
Fox looked at the screen as Slippy tried salvaging information. He saw a news article that had in big letters "General Howton establishes order on Quanzan!" A second later, another one popped up saying "Howton, Worker for the People!" Several pictures on the news article showed the beagle carrying heavy building materials, surrounded by other workers that all had smiles on their faces. Slippy then reached a large document that filled up nearly the entirety of the screen, pulling Fox's attention back to Slippy.
"This here is the shipping records for past month out of Quanzan." Slippy pointed out.
Fox scanned the list, looking for any clue as to what else had occurred on Quanzan without their knowing.
"It looks like they all left." Krystal pointed out, indicating the ships at the bottom of the list. "The Charon ship class is used mainly in the transport of people, right?"
"Yeah." Katt verified. "Though, it's usually used for things like cruises or other mass-public things like that. But I don't think all of Girinja just decided to go on a pleasure cruise after witnessing that assassination."
Fox continued to scan the list as he listened to the conversation. His eyes probed over the different ship classes and dates as he tried to deduce what possible purpose those ships could have served. His concentration was broken as Falco spoke up.
"Hey, what the heck is with that?" Falco asked, pointing up to the top of the screen. "Can you get any more detail on that one, Slips?"
After several seconds of typing, the information for the shipping report popped up on screen.
"Yeah. What happened to that Leviathan-class ship? How can it be damaged? Those things are the size of frickin' cities!" Falco exclaimed.
"What were the contents of the ship, Slippy?" Fox asked, now intrigued.
"I can't get it! This part was wiped clean too!" Slippy cried out. "The only thing I can get is the shipping numbers and packages…"
The team looked at the numbers, overall, there were about 300 different shipments, all labeled "Living."
Well, that explains why they used a Leviathan-class ship…
"This has to be the ship Dr. Menoway was talking about." Falco said, his eyes glued to the screen.
Fox continued to stare at all of shipments. Some of them were in small packages, or cages in this instance. Others were larger, needing cages the size of small trees. There was one that caught his eye though. Its cage size was roughly as large as the Great Fox itself.
"Hey Slippy, can you get any more info on that one?" Fox asked, indicating the large container.
"Not really, only that there were two other cages that size." Slippy responded. "Oh wait, there's a shipping notice on that one package."
Slippy pulled up the notice, all its said was "KA."
"KA? What the hell does that mean?" Falco asked, voicing the question on everyone's minds.
"I don't know, but it looks like this is all the information we'll get here on Quanzan. I doubt the other towns and cities will have any idea what was going on here, assuming they weren't abducted either. Let's head back to the Great Fox, we have to tell General Pepper what we found out. Then, it looks like we have to find this Leviathan-class ship…" Fox contemplated aloud.
"Ok, let's head back then. I'll tell Peppy we're on our way." Krystal said.
The team headed back outside, after removing General Howton from the chair and placing him in the base's medical bay.
"Rest in peace, General." Fox saluted before rushing out into the hallway with the rest of the team.
The team quickly got into the ships and returned to the Great Fox.
(Quanzan Airspace)
The team rushed through the halls of the Great Fox, meeting Peppy in the hallway.
"Hey team, how'd it go?" Peppy asked, holding a cup of coffee.
"Not so good." Slippy said glumly.
"We're going to report to General Pepper now." Fox stated, heading towards the elevator leading to the bridge.
"Alright then." Peppy said, turning around to follow the rest of the team.
(The Bridge)
Fox sat in his chair and quickly pressed a couple of buttons on his armrest. Soon, the Cornerian Emblem appeared, followed by the face of General Pepper. His forehead had a coating of sweat, and his tense face depicted hours of strenuous work.
"Ah, Fox. What have you found out about Girinja?" Pepper asked, sounding drained.
"It was the Hands of Lylat, sir. They abducted the entire town, and killed General Howton."
The General's eyes widened at the last two statements.
"Howton! Damn it all, he was a good man. And what is this about abduction?"
"The entire town is missing, sir," Krystal explained. "There wasn't a soul there. They all left relatively recently, according to shipping information. We assumed they left with the Hands of Lylat."
The General let out an exasperated sigh.
"Alright. Thank you, Team Star Fox. I will update you as soon as possible. General Pepper, over and out." the General stated, disconnecting the link.
Fox turned to face the team as soon as the link shut off.
"Well, it looks like we've got some planning to do."
"Oh joy." Falco sighed, slumping into the chair behind him.
Author's Notes: Well, these two chapters aren't the most exciting end to a 2-3 year hiatus, but they are vital to storylines to come. And, as I promised earlier, I will explain the reasoning for my hiatus. It started out when my computer caught another bug. For some reason, it just refused to function, and I couldn't even access my own account. It wouldn't even get past starting up. It would loop continuously in that Windows Loading screen, with the little bar at the bottom pretending to show signs of progress. So, I was not able to access my computer for about a month because of this. Then, I had to use Linux on it to even get desperately needed access to the Internet and a Word Processor. Before I had the bug, I already had a good chunk of Chapter 20 written out, but that was locked away in the Windows half of my computer, unable to be accessed by the Linux half. So, I decided not to sully my work by rewriting it, because I knew I liked what I had written previously and probably would not be able to duplicate it, so I decided to wait until I got my computer fixed to continue writing. Well, it took a while for me to even send in my computer to get fixed, and the only viable option Windows gave me was to reboot the entire system, which would mean an entire system restart. Which meant anything that did not come with the default package would be wiped out. Goodbye, previous Chapter 20. That took about all of three months. By that time, my friend had introduced me to MMORPGs, which I now play a little too much. :3 I also had many social interactions during that time, which ate up a lot of my usual free time. Then school started again, and everyone knows how that is. Being bogged under piles of work we aren't going to remember how to do in a decade is real fun. Which now brings me to my current situation. I started writing again because, after obsessively playing Maplestory for hours on end, I've been getting a little bored. So I've been going back to my roots. Playing Legend of Zelda and Pokemon and such. And, you guessed it, Starfox. So, remembering that I had this little story already underway, I have decided to continue adding to my epic saga of the Star Fox team. I'll update whenever I get the chance, so here's to another chapter! Now for reviews! :D
Reviews:
-TimeTurned Fragile
2011-01-24 . chapter 19
inb4youchangedyournameagain
Yay! An update! It's been a while. I actually had to go back and re-read the story, but it's completely alright! I'm still a fan of the series, but I'm starting to notice that the chapters are leaving out more detail and becoming a bit more dialogue heavy. Anyway, thanks for the update, and I'll keep my eyes peeled for any future installments!
-Time Turned Fragile
2011-01-24 . chapter 20
Oh, wait? Excuse me, It appears I spoke ahead of myself! I actually really liked this chapter, it re-introduced me to some of that captivating detail I'd been missing. though not quite as long as the chapters I've grown accustomed to reading on other sites, this story, in general, is one of the more involved, more thought out, more apropos of the starfox fandom than most of the other fics I've read.
A cookie and an internet for you.
Hooray! It is another update! It's been a very long while! :P To tell the truth, I had to go back and re-read the story myself. :3 I'm glad you're still a fan, and got to reviewing so quickly. I wasn't looking forward to having to build up another fanbase. Now I don't have to! Huzzah! So yeah, if you thought the last chapter was text heavy, well *cough* *cough*. Yeah. UBER TEXT! :D These two chapters are some of the more text heavy ones, but that's because they hold a lot of story. Other chapters in the very near future will be more of the actiony stuff people have come to love. But, I'm glad you think this is one of the better Star Fox stories. I aim to please. :D So, yeah. And hooray, again! For I can haz cookie and internetz! :3 Here's to another chapter.
P.S. If anybody has access to or knows theXbeat08 and notfromearth7, tell them I'm sorry and I want them to come back. I will share TTF's cookie with them. :)