Chapter 5
For a while, it was smooth sailing for Star Fox. The team was getting relaxed and having a little fun; they talked to pass the time. ROB was making sure they stayed on the right course and nothing went wrong.
"So, how have you and Slippy been?" Krystal asked Amanda.
As Amanda opened her mouth to reply, Slippy excitedly cut in, "We've been great! Wonderful! Haven't we, Amanda?"
"Yes…" Amanda agreed, slightly irritated. She went on, "We've been just fine. Just been living quietly until we got the news about the war. How about you?"
"Okay I guess," Krystal replied. "Really, I'm glad to be doing something exciting again."
"I know I am," Falco spoke up. "I was getting real bored not having any action. I belong in a ship. How about you, Foxie?"
Fox hesitated before answering. He wasn't entirely sure himself, even though he had been a pilot for many years. He was happy to be back in a familiar environment, with all his friends back, but he still didn't know if this was what he wanted forever. To always be a warrior…
"I don't know, Falco," Fox said.
"Aw, come on!" Falco whined. "Don't we always have fun? You need this excitement more than the rest of us, anyway."
"I suppose," Fox admitted. "It's great to be back. Just don't know about the long-term future, you know?"
"Whatever," Falco said, brushing aside Fox's comments. "I'm gonna fly 'till I die!"
Fox nodded silently, figuring that would be his friend's response. Fox had no problem with it, but he wished he knew what he wanted for his own future. He was more than willing to fight for the galaxy again, but how much longer could he do it?
What do I really want…?
He immediately thought about Krystal. About how much he loved her, having grown closer and closer to her through their time in battle together. A life with her would be all he needed…
"After all, what would the world be like without Star Fox?" Falco asked his teammates, arms spread.
Nobody answered, and the room became awkwardly silent. Truthfully, Falco was the only one who was certain about wanting to stay on the team forever. The rest, like Fox, were thinking about what they wanted.
"Come on, doesn't anyone want to keep on fighting bad guys?" Falco asked, clearly let down.
"Well, I'm not sure," Slippy finally replied. "Amanda and I were thinking about having some kids soon!"
"I see…" Falco said. Then he asked, "You, Krystal?"
"I'm not sure either," Krystal said.
"Geez," Falco exclaimed. "Guess I'll have to find some new pals in the future…"
After another moment of awkward silence, an alarm sounded. Each of the mercenaries jumped from their seats, startled by the noise. It was a much louder, different alarm than the one on the original Great Fox.
"Distress signals coming from Fichina and Titania," ROB announced to the crew.
Unsurprisingly, the new Great Fox was built with a detector for distress signals. Often times the team would receive these signals during wars and aid whoever needed help. With her telepathic abilities, Krystal also often sensed trouble coming from another planet, but not this time…
"Great," Falco muttered.
"What do we do?" Slippy asked.
"Yes, what's the plan?" Amanda asked.
"It's your call, Fox," Krystal said to Fox.
Fox thought for a moment about the situation. He definitely wanted to help the planets in need, even if it delayed the trip to Venom. He decided it was best to split into groups.
"I'll check out Fichina," Fox announced. "Someone can come along if they want. I need the rest of you to take care of Titania."
"I'll go with you," Krystal happily volunteered. "No need for you to go alone."
Fox smiled. "Thanks, Krystal. If the rest of you check out Titania, then hopefully we'll finish up quickly and regroup. Krystal and I will use the coordinates of the distress signal from Fichina. You guys can have the Great Fox. Make sure everyone keeps their communicators with them at all times. Krystal, let's get to the Arwings."
"Good luck!" Amanda said.
"Yeah, let's all come back in one piece," Falco wryly suggested.
"Let's get to work!" Slippy said.
Fox nodded. "ROB, stay in touch so we can have the coordinates for Fichina. Stay safe, everyone. Let's get it done."
Fox and Krystal took off for the Great Fox's hangar containing the Arwings. Luckily, the geography was the same as the original Great Fox, so the two were able to easily find the hangar, which was at the bottom of the ship. There were also still cabins for each of the team members to rest in. Once Fox and Krystal reached the hangar, Krystal abruptly stopped Fox before he could climb into an Arwing.
"What's wrong?" Fox asked.
"It's just… well, I didn't sense any danger," Krystal told him.
"What do you mean?" Fox questioned.
"You know how I've usually been able to sense danger in these situations?" Krystal asked him.
"Yes…" Fox replied.
"Well, I just didn't feel any disturbance on Fichina, despite the distress signal," Krystal explained. "We should move carefully; it could be a trap."
"You're right," Fox agreed. "Wouldn't surprise me if Bowman tried some kind of trick."
"Yes," Krystal said. "Let's go."
Fox and Krystal got into the first two Arwings; there were six in total. They closed the hatches and started up the Arwings. Each one contained a blaster and a missile launcher for when they needed to fight on the ground. Since the Arwing could receive information from the Great Fox, it would be easy for ROB to send the coordinates. Fox used his Arwing's intercom to contact ROB once he and Krystal were ready.
"Alright ROB, give us the coordinates for Fichina," Fox spoke into the intercom.
"Affirmative. I will transfer them from the Great Fox to your Arwings. Which are they?" ROB asked.
"Uh, the first two on the left," Fox answered.
"30873 and 26351?" ROB asked.
Fox checked for one of the numbers inside the Arwing. He found the first one ROB had mentioned below the dashboard.
"Must be," Fox replied.
"Transferring the data," ROB confirmed.
The coordinates had to be transferred since they were never constantly stable. Fox and Krystal promptly received the numbers on their Arwing screens, and they were ready to go.
"Open the hangar door, ROB; we're moving out," Fox told the robot.
"Affirmative. Good luck," ROB said.
"Thanks, ROB," Fox said while the hangar door was being opened.
Once it was finished opening, Fox and Krystal sped off in their Arwings, leaving the Great Fox behind. Fortunately, Fichina wasn't too far from their current location, and Arwings moved very quickly. The two pursued the coordinates to seek out the distress signal.
Fichina was covered in snow and ice, and due to its freezing temperature, not many people lived on the planet. Most residents at all lived in Fichina City, including Lucy Hare, Peppy's daughter, who taught astrophysics there. Star Fox had traveled to Fichina a few times in the past to resolve conflicts, so coming back wasn't a big deal.
However, Fox and Krystal immediately noticed a massive blizzard when they entered the planet. They both knew this meant the climate control center had been tampered with, since they had a similar incident occur during the Aparoid War due to an old enemy. The climate control center had been built to help regulate the weather on Fichina, and allow the planet to be habitable. Still, there was next to no civilization outside of Fichina City, and the coordinates of the distress signal were away from it. It was actually somewhat near the climate control center, which was built by itself away from city to discourage tampering with it.
"Who do you think turned the climate control off?" Krystal asked Fox.
"No clue," he answered honestly. "But remember last time it was Pigma. Let's watch our step."
"Maybe it broke?" Krystal suggested. "The distress signal might have just come in since they lost climate control?"
"But why would it be coming from right around the center…?" Fox wondered.
Just then, laser-fire penetrated the two Arwings. After the shock, Fox and Krystal turned their ships to try to find their attacker. Through the blizzard they were able to make out five ships, which now decided to hold their fire.
"Long time, no see Fox!" a familiar voice screeched.
Fox recognized the voice at once. It was Andrew Oikonny – back at it again.
"Oikonny…" Fox growled.
"Haha, yes!" Oikonny laughed. "I wanted you to know who bested you! On the orders of Dash Bowman, I have come to annihilate you! I set this trap, and I knew you would fall for it!"
"So, you're taking orders from him, huh?" Fox said, trying to provoke his foe.
"I-I, of course!" Oikonny said. "He's Andross's grandson! And he treats me as his equal!"
"I didn't think anyone was above the great Andrew Oikonny – nephew and 'heir to the great Andross,'" Fox taunted, smirking to himself.
"Enough!" Andrew yelled. He then commanded to his soldiers, "FIRE!"
Before Fox and Krystal could swerve out of the way, they were hit again, and their Arwings were beginning to sustain the damage. They returned fire rapidly, managing to shoot down a couple of the enemy ships. They then went after Krystal's Arwing, and though she tried to get away, their laser-fire was too much. Her ship began to plummet.
"Fox!" Krystal cried.
"Krystal!" Fox yelled back, distraught.
Before Bowman's ships could shoot down Fox, Fox angrily launched the one bomb in his Arwing, attempting to finish the remaining forces. The bomb went off and hit the two soldiers' ships, while Oikonny slipped away in time. In response, Oikonny hurled a bomb from his ship to Fox. Fox tried to speed away from it, but the bomb sideswiped his Arwing, destroying the wings on one side. This was enough to bring Fox's ship down.
"Hahaha! I win, Fox McCloud! I win!" Oikonny gloated.
Fox slowed his ship down to brace for the impact. Luckily, Arwings were built to be able to survive crashes from large heights, so long as the pilot took the right precautions. Also, only one side of the Arwing had been reduced. Fox did his best to avoid exploding, landing his wrecked Arwing in the snow as delicately as he could.
Despite the circumstances, Fox kept his quick thinking. He grabbed the missile launcher and opened the Arwing hatch. He wasn't ready to let Oikonny get away.
Fox hopped atop his broken Arwing and took aim for Oikonny's ship as it was flying away. He concentrated hard in the snowstorm, trying to be as precise as possible in quick time. When he was confident, he took the shot, sending the missile to his enemy. The accuracy was dead-on, hitting Oikonny's ship and causing a brilliant explosion. Fire had swallowed the ship instantly. Judging by how massive the explosion was, Fox knew Oikonny couldn't have survived.
Fox got off his Arwing, and threw the missile launcher back inside of it. It was too bulky to keep carrying around. He grabbed the blaster instead, just in case he should face an attack on-foot. He had to find where Krystal's Arwing had crashed.
At least Oikonny had been taken out. But a big problem still remained. They were stranded…