Chapter 7: Kamino
The day after the battle against the CIS fleet, the USS Enterprise was fully repaired and ready to head back out to the Parvenian System. Jim informed Fox that for this war, Star Fox was to be added to Starfleet. Fox asked Peppy if he wanted to help them fight, but he turned him down stating that not only was the Great Fox getting too old, but he was too.
Fox agreed and Peppy wished the team good luck. Fox, Krystal, Falco and Slippy boarded the Enterprise and Jim showed them to their quarters. He also informed them that as long as they were on the Enterprise, he was their commanding officer. His first order to them was that they report to the bridge during the launch.
The group began settling in to their quarters when the alert for the launch was sounded. The Star Fox team quickly reported to the bridge as Starfleet prepared to depart for the Parvenian System. The fleet involved in this operation was much, much larger than the fleet that fought the Separatists the day before.
The Federation massed over 1000 starships and nearly five million troops. Fox and the group had never seen an army so big. Their jaws dropped as they saw the fleet in orbit over Corneria. Suddenly, Jim ordered maximum warp and the fleet was off.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, it'll take us twenty-four hours before we reach the Parvenian System. Report to the assembly room in four hours for briefing." Jim said. He looked over at the Star Fox team and dismissed them from the bridge.
Fox headed back to his quarters and Krystal could tell that there was still a lot on his mind. Although she had decided to give Fox some space the day before, she thought that she would follow him this time.
He sat on the edge of his bed and lowered his head. He heard the door slide open behind him as he saw Krystal standing there. She offered him a reassuring smile, which Fox returned.
"Hey, Krys." Fox said.
"Hey, Foxie." Krystal said with a smile.
"Is everything alright?"
"I just want to talk to you. I'm really getting worried about you."
Fox looked away. Krystal lifted Fox's chin and brought his eyes level with hers. Fox smiled as he looked into Krystal's beautiful blue eyes.
"I know there's been a lot on your mind, and I want to talk to you about it. You know you can talk to me, right?" Krystal said. Fox smiled and hugged the blue vixen. Krystal sighed as she held Fox.
"It's just that…I was hoping that we wouldn't get involved in another conflict. The last thing I wanted was to get you mixed up in another war. I don't want to see you get hurt." Fox said.
Krystal smiled and rested her head on Fox's shoulder. Fox kissed her head as he hugged her.
Krystal rolled her head up and gave Fox a deep, passionate kiss.
"I've never felt this strongly about anyone before in my life." Krystal said. Fox smiled and kissed Krystal's head again.
"I know I've had a lot on my mind, and I've been a bit stressed out, and I'm sorry. It's just that so much has happened in not very much time. But I want you to know that I still love you."
A tear of joy fell from Krystal's eye as she heard what Fox said.
"Just promise me one thing." Krystal said.
"Anything." Fox said.
"While we're out there, don't do anything…out of your league. Just be safe." Krystal said.
Fox smiled as he gave her a tender kiss.
"Don't worry, Krys. I'll be fine. Just be careful yourself."
"Are you implying that I can't take care myself?" Krystal said in a playful tone of voice. Fox smiled and stroked his hand through Krystal's blue hair.
"Not that." Fox laughed. "It's just that this is the biggest conflict we've ever been in."
Krystal smiled and gave fox a peck on the cheek.
"Don't worry, Foxie." Krystal said.
"I love you so much, Krystal."
"I love you too, Fox."
The two vulpines began to share a passionate kiss as the VAC beeped and Jim's face came up on the monitor.
"Hey, Jim what's up?" Fox asked.
"Hey, Fox. Ah good Krystal's there. In a few moments, look out your window. The fleet will be coming out of warp soon to pass through the Aqua Nebula. I'm told it's quite a sight." Jim said.
"Thanks." Fox said and turned off the monitor just as the fleet entered the nebula.
Fox and Krystal looked out the window and were amazed at what they saw. The nebula was beautiful. It looked like a giant wave but with a silky texture and was a beautiful shade of cerulean blue, about the same color as Krystal's eyes. The sight of the fleet passing through the nebula took the away the feeling of fear and war that was in the heart of every soldier and crewman in the fleet.
Fox looked over at Krystal, whose eyes were still glued to the sight of the nebula, and put his arm around her waist. Krystal looked into Fox's eyes and Fox into hers. The two vulpines smiled at each other and Krystal leaned her head against Fox as they stared off into space.
Suddenly the, lights of the ship went out, as the engineering crew had to conserve as much energy as possible to get through the nebula. The blue light from the space clouds illuminated the room.
"Isn't it beautiful, Fox?" Krystal said in a soft voice.
"It sure is." Fox replied.
"It's amazing that we get an opportunity to see this." Krystal said. "Not even the sunsets on Cerinia were this amazing." A tear came to Krystal's eye as she remembered her planet and her parents.
Fox saw the tear fall from her eye and wiped it away. Krystal looked up and smiled at him.
"I wish I could have gotten a chance to see your planet, Krystal." Fox said with a tone of compassion towards the young blue vixen.
A loving smile came across Krystal's face as she gave Fox a kiss on the cheek. Fox gave Krystal a slight pull of affection with the arm around her waist and the two continued to stare at the nebula. They were completely oblivious to the rest of their surroundings. The even forgot that they were on a ship.
The ship's lights came back on as the exited the nebula and reentered warp.
Just then, Lieutenant Data's voice came over the ship's intercom, ordering all personnel to the assembly room for mission briefing.
"Well, there goes that moment." Fox said. Krystal giggled and gave him a quick kiss as the two headed for the assembly room. They found Falco and Slippy who were already sitting down. They had saved two seats for Fox and Krystal. Just as they sat down, Lieutenant Data arrived and the whole room stood at attention.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated." Data said in his unmistakably calm voice. The crew was seated as the briefing began.
"Our first target of the war will be the planet of Kamino. The Separatist forces have captured a Kaminoan cloning facility in the city of Topica, and are now using it to manufacture battle droids. Our job is to land three regiments near the southernmost facility and capture it. Once that is in the hands of the Federation, an additional seven regiments will take the midsection of the cloning facilities. This section is vital to the operation, as these platforms serve as landing pads for the Separatist's smaller ships. If we can hold these, we will be able to capture the anti-air defenses on the platforms and prevent the CIS from launching air support. Farther north, there should be a platform overlooking the entire cloning facility. This platform must be captured if additional troops are to be landed on the surface. From there, all troops will converge on the final cloning facility. If we are successful, the CIS will be forced to shut down their droid manufacturing centers. The Enterprise will be accompanied by the USS Farragut, the USS Intrepid and the USS Gettysburg, along with seventeen other smaller cruisers. There is also one thing that the admiral wanted me to emphasize. During the battle, prisoners will be a requirement. We will need to capture some of the droids in order to scan their memory banks and attempt to locate the Separatists' main base of operations. The admiral has also instructed me to inform you that he will be fighting alongside the troops in the battle. That is all. You are dismissed."
Fox and Krystal looked at each other, a surprised and almost shocked look on both their faces. Jim was going to be fighting alongside the troops? This was a very unusual action for any officer in any military, let alone the Federation.
Fox and Krystal went up to the ship's command bridge to have a word with Jim.
"Yes, Fox? What is it?" Jim asked as he spun around in the captain's chair to see the two vulpines standing there.
"Jim, could Krystal and I have a word with you?" asked Fox.
"Very well. Ayel, take the Conn." Jim said as he followed Fox and Krystal to Fox's quarters.
"So what is this all about?" asked Jim as he sat down in the armchair next to the desk.
"Fox and I heard some…interesting news during the briefing." Krystal said. "Data told us that you would be fighting alongside the troops on the planet's surface. But surely he must be mistaken."
"Of course he's not. I gave him that information myself." Jim replied.
Fox went wide-eyed when he heard this.
"You can't be serious!" he said. "You're an admiral not a private!"
"Apparently, I haven't told you about my nickname in the Federation Army. I'm known to the troops as The G.I. General. Whenever there's a battle, I'm always down there, fighting with those men. If they're going to die, then I will die as one of them." Jim said.
Fox and Krystal still couldn't believe that Jim was going to do what no high-ranking officer would ever think of doing. General Pepper would have laughed at the idea if he could hear what Jim was saying now.
"I know that it seems odd to you, but I'm not going to let those troops fight without me. Besides, in this big of a conflict, I think it would add some morale to the troops if a high-ranking officer were down there with them."
Fox thought about it for a minute and finally decided that Jim's argument made sense.
"Well, it'll be interesting to see what you know as far as ground combat." said Fox.
"Oh, trust me when I say that you should be…fairly impressed." Jim replied with a reassuring grin on his face.
Fox chuckled at his remark and wished him good luck as Jim headed back to the bridge. Fox and Krystal spent the next few hours exploring the ship. They were amazed at the size. Seeing it from the outside was amazing enough, but their tour made them fully realize that when Kara had told them that it was easy to get lost on the ship, she wasn't lying.
By the time they had finished exploring the ship it was 11:00 p.m. Fox walked Krystal back to her quarters.
"Well, I guess tomorrow's gonna be our first big battle." Fox said.
"As if the Separatist attack on the Federation Headquarters wasn't big enough." Krystal said.
Fox smiled as he put his arm around her shoulder.
"I guess you have a point there, Krys."
The couple arrived at Krystal's quarters, only a few doors down from Fox's. Krystal gave Fox a tight hug before entering. She looked into Fox's eyes and Fox into hers.
"Fox, remember, while we're down there…please be safe."
"I will, Krystal." Fox said as he gave her a tender kiss.
"I love you, Krystal."
"I love you too, Fox."
Krystal went inside her quarters and Fox went back to his. Before he went to bed, he decided to do a little research on the planet that they were about to attack. He learned that it was a planet covered with water and the cloning facilities had been used to create an army for the Kaminoans some 300 years ago.
After his research, he lay down on his bed and began to fall into a rather uneasy sleep.
The next morning, Fox was awakened by the sound of the ships PA system alerting the crew that the fleet would be entering the Parvenian System in about an hour and a half.
Fox got up and popped the bones in his back as he got up. He immediately got dressed and went to the Enterprise's armory to prepare for their landing on Kamino. While he was walking he bumped into Falco and Slippy. They had already geared up and were headed to the hangar to check and see which wave of troops they were assigned to.
Fox met Krystal in the armory. Krystal smiled as she looked at Fox and he smiled back.
"Morning, beautiful." Fox said as he walked by and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Morning, handsome." replied Krystal with a giggle in her voice.
Fox walked over and grabbed a Federation automatic rifle. From what he had heard, the Separatist resistance on Kamino was going to be pretty heavy so he decided to take extra ammunition. He stuffed eight 50-round clips into his bag along with four thermal detonator grenades and his blaster that he usually carried.
Krystal had the same equipment except for the fact that instead of her own blaster, she had a Federation commando pistol.
"So, Fox, are you ready for this?" asked Krystal with a weak smile.
"As I'll ever be." He replied.
Krystal took a deep breath, thinking about what would lie ahead of them. Fox smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace. Krystal felt a surge of relief as Fox held her.
"It'll be alright, Krys." Fox said in a soft voice. "I'll protect you."
Krystal smiled as she looked into Fox's eyes and gave him a tender kiss.
"I know you will." she said in a warm, loving voice. Fox felt Krystal's tail against his and he began to wrap his tail around hers. Suddenly, Data ordered all troops to prepare for battle. The Enterprise had reached Kamino.
Fox and Krystal headed down to the hangar to check and see which wave they were assigned to. They were both assigned to the first wave. Jim had made sure that they were on the same wave, in the same company, and in the same regiment.
Jim made a final speech to the troops, wishing them good luck, for he knew that the faces of some of these brave men were about to be lost to the Separatists. Jim would be landing with the second wave of troops with Falco and Slippy.
Ayel gave the order for the first wave to board the landing shuttles. Fox and Krystal boarded. When they got on, they could easily pick out the newer recruits from the veterans. The newer recruits were either scared stiff or flat out arrogant and kept going on and on about how the Separatists were pushovers, while the veterans were virtually unmoved and kept scolding the new troops.
Suddenly, the shuttle jolted and the first wave headed to the surface. As they began their descent to the surface of Kamino, Ayel's voice came on the intercom.
"Alright, so you all know the drill. You're tasked with taking the southernmost cloning facility. Once that's cleared up, the second wave can land. You're probably going to be under fire the minute you land, so be careful. Good luck men. Ayel, out."
Fox looked at Krystal, and Krystal back at Fox. Fox offered a reassuring smile as they ships began to enter the atmosphere. There was a strong storm above the cloning facility, which was able to hide the shuttles.
This protection only lasted for so long. When the shuttles touched down, they immediately fell under fire. The troops scrambled to get out of the shuttles and find cover. Fox and Krystal found a few metal crates near the edge of the platform and began firing on the droids. suddenly, something caught Krystal's eye.
She looked at the inscriptions on the boxes, and her eyes widened.
"Fox, we have to move!" she shouted.
"What? Why!" Fox said with a bit of confusion. Then, one of the Super Battle Droids launched a wrist rocket at the crates on the other side of the platform. They exploded, killing the troops who were hiding behind them.
Fox looked at the inscription on the crates: AMMUNITION. HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE!
Krystal grabbed Fox and pulled him away from the crates just as one of the Supers launched a wrist rocket at them. The crates exploded, and the shock wave knocked Fox and Krystal to the ground.
Krystal's vision started to go blurry and she could barely stand up. Fox picked her up and ran behind the shuttle, which was now wrecked. He laid Krystal down and let her come back to her senses.
"They sure pack a punch, don't they, Krys." Fox said. "Are you alright?"
"Mm-hmm. I'm fine, Foxie. I just had the wind knocked out of me. I'll be fine." Krystal said.
Fox bent down and gave Krystal a kiss. The two vulpines smiled at each other. Fox went over to the windshield of the shuttle, using the wrecked ship as cover as he fired on the droids. As soon as Krystal was back on her feet, the commander gave the order to press the attack. All of the troops began to advance across the bridge that connected the platform with the cloning facility.
The troops overwhelmed the Separatist forces. The saboteurs then placed bombs on the droid manufacturing machines.
"Clear! Clear!" they shouted as the troops ran out of the building. The bombs detonated, destroying the droid manufacturing machines. The commander then gave the go-ahead to the rest of the troops to land.
Back on the Enterprise, Ayel gave the order for the second wave to board the shuttles. Falco, Slippy and Jim boarded and got ready to "kick some Separatist ass," as Falco put it. the shuttles took off as they saw the planet that they were going to land on.
"It looks just like Aquas." Slippy said.
"Yeah, only with a cloning facility and droids." Falco replied.
The shuttles entered the atmosphere. As soon as they cleared the cloud cover, they were met by a barrage of anti-aircraft fire. Two shuttles took direct hits and fell to the surface, crashing into the water. Falco went wide-eyed and tense. Once the shuttle landed, he quickly ran out and found cover. Slippy did the same.
Falco saw that the AA guns were now pointed at the cloning facility and were firing on Fox and Krystal's regiment. Falco pulled out a thermal detonator grenade and hurled it at the gun. It exploded, doing minor damage to the gun but destroyed the droid controlling it. Jim pulled out a fusion cutter and repaired the gun
"What are you doing? I thought we were supposed to destroy those!" Falco said.
"We're charged with capturing them so we can prevent the CIS from launching air support." Jim said.
Fox and Krystal's regiment started to move toward the center platform, where the second wave was located.
"Man, you guys are a sight for sore eyes." said Falco.
"Did you take the cloning facility?" Jim asked.
"Yes, we did. The droid manufacturing machines are destroyed." Krystal said.
"Excellent. Now we just need to take the southernmost facility." Jim said. "We also need the take the southern platform so more reinforcements can land."
"Okay. We're gonna need to move fast. I don't think the Separatists are too happy about us destroying their facility." said Fox. As soon as he said that, the droids launched a counter attack. The Federation soldiers manned the AA guns and the anti-infantry turrets and the battle was underway.
Fox, Jim and Slippy found some cover and began to fire on the droids who were trying to cross the bridge. Krystal found a sniper rifle and began to take out the droid snipers, known to the Federation as Assassin Droids. Falco was in one of the AA guns.
Jim soon ran out of ammo. He looked around and saw an ammunition crate. He began to run for it, but just as he was about to reach it, a Magna Guard fired a rocket at one of the turrets. The turret exploded, sending a bit of shrapnel into Jim's right leg and the shock wave knocked him to the ground.
Like Krystal, Jim's vision began to go blurry, his breathing was heavier and he could barely push himself up. He crawled to the ammo crates and called for a medic. A medic arrived to take care of Jim's leg. But just as he got out his medical kit, the medic was cut down by an Assassin Droid. Krystal saw the shot and quickly destroyed the droid who fired it.
Jim grabbed the medical kit and began to heal himself. He managed to extract the shrapnel and bandage his leg. He then unsheathed his combat knife and pried open the ammo crate.
Fox was running out of ammo too. He looked back and saw Jim, lying on the ground with a bandaged leg, collecting ammo. Falco gave Fox covering fire as he ran over to meet Jim.
Jim looked up to see Fox and a grin came over his face.
"You see this is the kind of stuff that screams 'I need a raise.'" Jim said as he gestured to his injured leg. Fox chuckled as he began to collect his ammo.
"I wonder how the Separatists were able to get their hands on Federation ammo." Fox said.
"Probably from Naboo and Tatooine." Jim replied. Fox ran back to his position while Jim limped back to his.
Falco aimed his AA gun for a Separatist ammo dump on the platform and fired. The blast quickly cleared the way for the Federation troops. All troops began to advance. Jim ordered half of the troops to take the cloning facility and the other half to take the southern platform.
Both groups ran into high resistance. Jim followed the troops who were heading for the facility while Fox, Krystal, Falco and Slippy started moving it to take the platform.
Jim threw a thermal detonator down the entrance hall. It detonated, destroying all the droids. The troops moved in and captured the facility. The engineers began to move through and use their bolt rifles to disable the droids so that they could be captured and the Federation could scan their memory banks and located the Separatists base of operations.
The troops then exited the building to assist the soldiers on the southern platform. The Star Fox team was making the most kills out of the entire regiment. As soon as the army grouped back up, they began to press their final attack.
The droids were quickly defeated and the platform was taken. The battle had ended.
"Well, that was one hell of a fight." Jim said to the Star Fox team. They all laughed in agreement, except for Falco who was just laughing out of shock. That was the biggest battle he had ever been in. He was amazed that he was still alive.
"Kavannagh to Enterprise."
"Enterprise, Lieutenant Ayel."
"Ayel, contact the rest of the fleet and tell them to land the rest of their troops to secure the rest of the city."
"Aye, sir."
"Well, I'd say that's enough excitement for one day." Jim said as the rest of the team laughed. Suddenly, the rest of the shuttles arrived, each one carrying more troops. Fox, Krystal, Jim, Falco and Slippy boarded one of the shuttles and it took them back to the Enterprise. Ayel and Kara were waiting for them in the hangar.
Kara ran up to Jim and threw her arms around him.
"Easy with the leg, Kara." Jim said with a laugh. Kara saw his leg was bandaged.
"What happened, Jim?" Kara asked with a tone of shock.
"Maybe next time I should run a bit faster." said Jim. Kara giggled and kissed Jim.
"I'm so glad you're alright. All of you." Kara said.
"Well, I'm going back to my quarters for a while. I'll be back up on the bridge soon."
"Alright, Jim. You deserve a little rest."
Jim went back to is quarters, and the Star Fox team did the same. As usual, Fox walked Krystal to her quarters. The two walked back hand in hand, Krystal resting her head on Fox's shoulder the whole way.
"Thanks for protecting me, Foxie." Krystal said in a soft voice.
"Anytime, Krystal." Fox replied.
The couple reached Krystal's quarters. The doors slid open as Krystal spun around and gave Fox a passionate kiss.
"I can't wait for our next assignment." said Krystal with a playful smile on her face.
"I just hope it won't be as bad." Fox said. Krystal laughed at his remark and hugged him.
"I'd better let you get some rest. We've still got a whole war ahead of us." Fox said as he gave the blue vixen a tender kiss.
"Goodnight, Fox. I love you."
"I love you too, Krystal."
Krystal went back into her quarters as Fox went into his. He sat down at his desk as he led out a breath of relief as he thought about the battle.
Krystal was sitting on her bed removing her jewelry from her hair. He sat at her desk and smiled at a picture of Fox that she had taken with her on the voyage.