Note: Welcome back to the story, everyone. As the year approaches its end, this will be my last chapter for the year. Work on this will continue in January. The same goes for my other stories. Before we move on, I have something to say to two reviewers.
Big Bossk Man 92: Maybe he will, maybe he won't. You'll have to see for yourself, man. Stay tuned for what happens next.
UltimateCCC: I'm sure they did, but Krystal wasn't giving that speech out of feminism. Rather, she was doing it to show up the jerks who were hassling her (and to show that she was capable of flying a ship). It's still empowering, though. I hope that you like this chapter.
Now that I've said that, it's time for chapter sixteen.
Chapter 16: Talking to the General
Now that she was at General Pepper's tower, Krystal was following Bill and Captain Armstrong to him. They entered the building, making sure to close the door behind them. After that, Bill went to tell the receptionist the reason they had come in. Once that was out of the way, the greyhound gestured for his compatriots to follow him down the hallway. He was quick to look for an elevator, knowing that the General wanted to speak to Krystal immediately. The cobalt vixen followed the canine into the elevator, with Captain Armstrong following her.
Once all three of them were in the elevator, Captain Armstrong pressed a button. Said button would take it to the top floor, where Pepper's office was. As the elevator moved, Bill decided to speak with Krystal.
"Well, are you ready for the little talk you're going to have with the General?" Bill asked.
"Yes." Krystal spoke. "In fact, I think that our conversation will go well. Hopefully, he doesn't get freaked out when I tell him all that I've gone through."
"Trust me," the greyhound said, "he's spoken to a lot of interesting people over the years. If anything, you'll just be another one of those Individuals."
"I'll be honest with you, I'm kind of anxious about this." The cobalt vixen said.
"Are you nervous because of your fur?" The canine asked.
"No, it's not that." The vulpine said. "I'm a little nervous to be around Captain Armstrong. He's a little intimidating, and I'm getting a secretive feeling from him."
"You do know that I'm standing here, right?" Captain Armstrong asked.
"I'm sorry, Captain, but it's true!" The Cerinian apologized.
"Kid, while I'm obliged to assure you that there's nothing to be sorry for, I accept your apology." The red wolf said. "I admit, I have done some crazy things in the past, but it's for the greater good."
"Steve might not be the most ethical person at times, but he's still in our side." Bill said, putting a hand on Krystal's shoulder.
Feeling reassured, Krystal calmed down a little. However, her telepathy was telling her that Captain Armstrong had something planned. The cobalt vixen decided to ignore it for now, as she had bigger fish to fry. Knowing that the elevator would arrive at the top floor at any moment, she regained her composure, not wanting anyone to get worried. With only two floors away, the Cerinian could tell that it wouldn't be long until she was speaking with the General. As the elevator approached the top floor, she waited for it to stop, wanting to get out.
General Pepper was sitting in his office, talking to one of the soldiers from the CDF. Said soldier was a Yorkshire Terrier with light green eyes. He was dressed in a turquoise uniform, a white jacket, and boots. The canine even had a bandana around his neck, with it being neatly tied on the back. As the General sat behind his desk, the soldier was speaking to him while pacing back and forth. He seemed annoyed, almost as if he wanted to punch someone in the face.
"I'm telling you, General, Armstrong's up to something!" The terrier spoke. "Every time I pass him, he seems to be on the phone with someone named Maria! Whenever I ask him who this woman is, he either tells me that it's none of my business, or that the woman is just an old friend of his! I think we need to investigate what's going on in his life, because if -!"
"Art, we've been over this." General Pepper interrupted. "While I'm willing to investigate what Captain Armstrong has been doing in his free time, I think that you have a few screws loose. Maybe you should take a vacation in order to calm your nerves."
"Oh, sure, send me on vacation." Art said. "Maybe you'll believe me when the CDF is attacked by killer droids sent by the Maria Armstrong has been talking to!"
"I just want you to take it easy, soldier." The General said. "I can't have an army if one of my men is distrustful of the others."
Art let out a sigh, unable to say anything else to Pepper. He walked out of the office in a huff, wanting to head somewhere else for a while. Walking to the elevator, the Yorkshire Terrier hit the button that lead to the fifth floor of the tower. The canine waited for the elevator to arrive, as it was still working on reaching the top floor. Once it was at the top floor, the elevator opened up. Before Art could even get in, he saw that there were people inside of it: two he knew well, and one he didn't know.
Inside the elevator were Captain Armstrong and Bill Grey, Art's fellow soldiers in the CDF. The person who was with them was a young woman who couldn't have been any older than nineteen. She was a blue fox with green eyes and additional white fur. The vulpine was dressed in an outfit, much different than the ones the soldiers of the CDF wore. Art got an odd feeling from the vixen, much like he was looking at an ancient artifact or mystical animal. He didn't say anything to her, focusing his attention on Captain Armstrong and Bill. Nonetheless, she smiled at him, wanting to look friendly.
"Going somewhere, Art?" Bill asked.
"Well, I was planning on going to the fifth floor." Art spoke.
"Go ahead and get in, we're leaving for the General's office." Captain Armstrong said, walking out of the elevator.
"What for?" The Yorkshire terrier asked.
"So that our new friend can speak to the General." The red wolf said. "Now, would you please move?"
Art stepped aside, allowing Captain Armstrong, Bill, and the cobalt vixen to walk out of the elevator. Before he got in, the Yorkshire terrier could see the fox leaning back, as if to speak to him.
"I'll talk to you later, sir!" She said. "By the way, my name's Krystal!"
Once Art had gotten in the elevator, Krystal followed Bill and Captain Armstrong to General Pepper's office. As they walked to the door, the cobalt vixen kept a straight face, not wanting to look weird in front of the General. Even if what Bill had told her was true, she still wanted the meeting to be professional. Years of being a Princess on Cerinia reminded her that she had to make an impression whenever she spoke to someone of power. The vulpine kept her chin up during those meetings, even if the King had threatened her with violence on every other occasion. Krystal figured that, if she could keep it together whenever she spoke to those diplomats and politicians on Cerinia, then she could keep it together when she spoke to General Pepper.
Bill knocked on the door, hoping to get a response.
"Come on in!" A voice came through the door.
Pushing the door open, Bill let Krystal in. Captain Armstrong followed them both in, closing the door behind him. Now that they were in the office, the three saw General Pepper sitting behind his desk. He smiled warmly, giving off a friendly presence to his visitors. Krystal took a seat near the hound dog's desk, wanting to rest her legs for a bit. Bill and the Captain were still up, standing near the cobalt vixen as a way of showing she was with them.
"I was wondering when you would get here, Grey." Pepper spoke. "Armstrong, you look good."
"It's great to see you, too, General." Captain Armstrong said.
"We can't stay for long, sir." Bill spoke. "However, the lady sittin' in front of you is someone who wanted to speak to you."
Looking over at Krystal, General Pepper was surprised. She was a fox, but most of her fur was a cobalt blue color. Her eyes were a pleasant green, looking like two polished emeralds. The vixen was even wearing a black and blue outfit, which didn't seem to resemble the outfits that anyone in the CDF wore. Despite looking like someone that he would occasionally talk to, the General could tell that the vulpine was definitely someone new. It didn't take him long to see that she was not from Corneria, or any other planet that he had been to.
"Who might you be, young lady?" General Pepper asked.
"Krystal Bodimead." Krystal spoke, reaching out to shake his hand. "Former Princess of Cerinia, former resident of Sauria, and a new member of Star Fox!"
"You must be the person Star Fox saved Sauria with!" The General said, giving her a handshake. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am!"
"Thank you, General." The cobalt vixen said. "It's an honor to meet you as well."
"So, how have you been doing?" The hound dog asked.
"I just got my pilot's license, and I'm ready for my first mission!" The vulpine said.
"Was the test your first time in the air?" The canine asked.
"Of course not, I have flown ships before."
"Where did you take your lessons at?"
"I took them back on Cerinia, so I had plenty of experience from that."
"So, was your new test any different than the ones you took on Cerinia?" Bill asked.
"Were you limited?" Captain Armstrong asked.
"Gentlemen, please, let the lady speak!" General Pepper spoke.
"It's fine, General, I'm used to being interrupted." Krystal said.
General Pepper looked around for a brief moment. Knowing that Krystal was a Cerinian, he didn't want her powers to be scanned by the cameras. While the tower had tight security, that didn't mean that spies and thieves couldn't break into it anytime they wanted. Chances were, the spies could get footage of Krystal and give it to anyone, exposing her to whoever requested it. If it came to that, then the Lylat System would've had a new threat that could withstand a Cerinian's powers. Pepper couldn't risk that, and neither could Corneria.
"Krystal," the General said, "why don't we go talk somewhere more private?"
"That sounds good to me." Krystal said.
Getting up from his desk, Pepper opened the door to his office and walked out, with Krystal following him. He gestured for Bill and Captain Armstrong to follow as well, needing them to go with him. The four walked down the hallway, being cautious of those around them. Reaching the end of the hallway, the General gestured for the three to stand back. Inputting a code in the door, he unlocked it. Once that was out of the way, the hound dog held the door open for Krystal, letting her into the room.
The room that Krystal was standing in was almost completely empty, apart from a table and a few chairs. It seemed like an area that a captured criminal or suspect would be interrogated in. However, there wasn't a camera in sight, not even one that was embedded in the ceiling. In addition to that, there wasn't another room that was meant for those recording the interrogation, which was often separated by a mirror. Aside from the linoleum floor and the metal ceiling, the walls looked like drywall, mainly the kind that gave a room soundproofing. Whatever this room was used for, Krystal felt a tad uncomfortable standing in it.
"Take a seat, ma'am." General Pepper spoke.
Not wanting to argue with him, Krystal went over to the table and pulled out a chair. Sitting down, the cobalt vixen watched as Bill and Captain Armstrong walked in, pulling the door closed. She didn't say anything, only looking around at her surroundings. General Pepper seemed to notice, as he put his hand on the Cerinian's shoulder.
"Anything wrong?" He asked.
"This room is creepy!" Krystal said. "It looks like a room that would be in an asylum!"
"It's a soundproof room that is free from any surveillance." General Pepper said. "Admittedly, it could use some updates, but it's the only room that we can talk in without anyone knowing about your abilities."
"That's understandable, given how an enemy could find a way to counter my telepathy if they studied the footage." The cobalt vixen said.
"Did all Cerinians have telepathy?" Bill asked.
"No." The vulpine said. "In fact, there were Cerinians who had no psychic abilities or proficiency in magic. We called them the 'Unique Ones' back home, even though my mom told me not to treat any of them as different."
"Does anyone else know about your telepathy?" Captain Armstrong asked.
"Aside from the population of Sauria, my team, and their associates, I told Mr. Tarplin."
"Mr. Tarplin?" Bill asked. "The gym teacher at the base?"
"In that case, we should call him in." Pepper said. "Tarplin may teach in a room without surveillance, but he can be quite talkative some days."
"I can tell." Krystal said. "I don't blame him, he's a very interesting person."
"What makes you say that?" Captain Armstrong asked.
"Because he's a former boxer." The cobalt vixen said. "My friends used to talk about him whenever we were at school. A classmate in my third grade biology class even said that he wanted to be just like Mr. Tarplin."
"General," Bill said, opening the door, "we're going to call him in. Krystal, stay in here with the General."
Krystal nodded, signaling that she would do so. Bill and Captain Armstrong left the room, closing the door behind them. For the next few minutes, Krystal spoke with General Pepper, discussing what they would do if a new threat had arrived. They even spoke about current events, such as the film festival that happened two months ago. The General admitted that he was disillusioned with events like that, saying that he found them rather monotonous. Krystal told him that she wanted to go, but couldn't because she was busy on Sauria. Even if she could go, the ship that was being made for her would've had to have been finished sooner.
After talking for a little longer, Krystal sensed that Bill and Captain Armstrong had come back. There was a third person with them, presumably Tarplin. The door came open, its creaking getting the General's attention. He looked over, seeing that his soldiers had returned. Standing between them was a cheetah who looked to be older than the two. He followed them into the room, walking near Krystal, while Bill and Captain Armstrong went near Pepper.
"Hello, Bart." The General spoke.
"Good to see you, General." Tarplin said.
"Now, Mr. Tarplin, Krystal said that she told you about her telepathy." Bill spoke. "Is that true?"
"She did," the cheetah said, "but I didn't tell anyone else."
"That's good." Pepper said.
"Why did you ask that?" The feline asked.
"It's so that we don't record footage of Krystal's telepathy in action." Bill stated. "For all we know, an enemy could use the footage against us."
"With that in mind, we brought Krystal to this room so that we could speak to her in private." Captain Armstrong said.
"But I came to the building with Bill and the Captain." Krystal said.
"You can call me Steve, Krystal." The red wolf said. "There's no need to be formal to everyone."
"Sorry, I was just raised that way." The cobalt vixen said.
"How are we sure that no one will find footage of Krystal using her telepathy?" Bill asked.
"If possible, we can erase footage from surveillance cameras from all around Corneria." General Pepper said. "Other than that, as long as no one presses her for information, then she's in the clear."
"What's the next course of action, General?" Tarplin asked.
"Our next course of action is to have Krystal get some combat training." The hound dog said, looking at Krystal. "I take it that you have some fighting experience."
"I fought on Sauria, so I can throw a punch and kick someone in the side." Krystal said. "I have a staff, in case you want to see it in action."
"For the next month or so, you will be training with Mr. Tarplin and Art Douglas at the gym." The canine said. "I would also recommend practicing in yoga, so that you can be more flexible."
"I'll do that, sir!" The cobalt vixen said. "And I promise, I won't let you down!"
A few months had gone by, and Krystal had been training at the military base in Corneria City. Tarplin was her primary tutor, having agreed to teach her some boxing moves. During her training, the cobalt vixen had kept her telepathy from reading the mind of her classmates. However, there were moments when it would detect whatever move someone was about to make, but she didn't tell anyone. When she trained with Art Douglas, however, the vulpine left her telepathy on. It just keep telling her to dodge whatever came her way, even if it was right in front of her. Luckily, they had trained in the forest, where there was no surveillance to speak of.
When she wasn't doing combat training, Krystal was attending a yoga class at a recreational center near Corneria College. The class' instructor was Katt Monroe, who was told about her, but wanted to meet her after her pilot test. Strangely, the cobalt vixen found yoga to be more difficult than hand-to-hand combat. While it was easy for her to pull off each pose, she found her body growing sore from the amount of stress she was putting on herself. Nonetheless, the vulpine pulled through, refusing to let pain keep her down. Fox would always have to escort her out of the center, as she was often dropped off by Falco or Peppy.
Apart from all of this, Star Fox had barely anything to do. It had been a year since the team had met Krystal, and it had only been a few months since she had joined. While they would get the occasional mission, there wasn't much going on in the Lylat System. On each mission, former members would help out, wanting to keep their former allies away from an early grave. Katt would even help out every so often, although it was because she wanted to be near Falco. Despite that, Star Fox felt like the same routine would keep on happening.
One day, Star Fox had received a call from General Pepper. Intrigued, the team had gathered around the control panel, ready for Peppy to answer the call. After he had done so, they were greeted by the General, who was standing in front of a star map. He seemed stern, letting them know that it was urgent.
"Star Fox, there's a rebel alliance of Venomians set up on Fortuna, and they're itching to take over the planet!" The General spoke. "And it seems that the leader of these rebels is Andrew Oikonny!"
"Don't worry, General, we'll be down there as soon as possible!" Fox said.
After that, Star Fox went down to the docking bay. One by one, they got in their Arwings, ready to start their mission. The team then flew out of the Great Fox, setting a course for Fortuna. Now that they were out in space, they agreed that they would stop Oikonny from taking over the planet. If the mission ended in either his capture or death, then so be it. Oikonny was planning to follow in his uncle Andross' footsteps, and Star Fox wanted to make sure that it didn't happen.
Note: And that's it for this part of the story. Up next is the battle on Fortuna. Will the team stop Oikonny? Will he prove to be a threat? Is he alone, or does he have a secret weapon? Could the secret weapon be something he planned, or something beyond his control?
This is my last chapter for the year, and I will resume work on my stories in January. I was planning to do a Christmas chapter for Our Family, but I didn't know what to write. Other than that, I'm pretty much done for the year. Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace! Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
