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CHAPTER 38
Kinnor
The time was approaching. Everyone aboard the Great Fox II could feel it: the moment they would drop out of warp over Thaljista. They all drifted towards the bridge, ready to look out the front viewport.
Fox spotted even Nail there, apparently not immune to cabin fever despite his stoicism. By this point he could walk again, aided by Dr. Deberti's exoskeleton construct around his legs. The servos, gears, and hydraulics made small hisses and whirs with his every movement. It suited his machine-like demeanor though.
They'd allowed Tadao to watch as well, and he'd chosen to talk to Rachel of all people. Fox didn't understand why at first, but their conversation revealed the reason.
"You were a medic?" Rachel asked him. "In the Lylat Wars?"
"That's right." He nodded. "And you are too?"
"Sure am…graduated not too long ago." Rachel beamed, but her smile faded. "Already been through a lot, though. I served during the Aparoid Invasion."
"I heard about that." Tadao got a far off look in his eyes. "What happened to Corneria City sounds awful."
Katt stood at the front of the bridge by herself, sparing glances at everyone aboard. It was starting to feel normal seeing her in gray and cream fur. Though she seemed to have gotten over her new look, her hands shook a bit as she clutched to a tablet in her hands. Well, why wouldn't she be scared? Up until now they'd only been practicing in the simulators with her leading the team. Soon she'd have to do it for real.
"You feeling okay?" Fox approached her. "You know…standing in for me?" Damn it was strange to say those words.
"I guess so." She smiled back, though underneath he could see a glimmer of shakiness. "I'm feeling better after the sims. Being in charge is like the Hot Rodder days again."
"Yeah." Fox chuckled. "Good job seeing through that decoy VIP in that last mission. Slippy thought for sure you were going to fall for it."
"Things are different now though, compared to the Hot Rodders." Her ears folded back. "Back then me and Falco were just dumb teenagers, having a blast, thinking we were invincible and we'd live forever. But now I realize there's so much to lose. We've all grown up together, had so many adventures together. It's why I run on my own most of the time now. I don't have to worry about watching anyone's back but my own." She looked at him one more time. "How do you deal with it, Fox? The responsibility of keeping everyone else alive?"
Good question. "I suppose I've been doing it for so long I've come to terms with the risk," he said. "I don't even think about it. There isn't time on the battlefield to have doubts." And I might not like the guy, but Wolf made an excellent point when he told me this. "Don't hesitate. When the time comes, just act."
"Hmm…" Katt smiled. "Good words to live by."
"You'll do fine with that attitude," Fox gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Also, didn't you say you were going to show the new team logo now?"
"Oh, right. Yeah, I better do that." Katt looked down at the tablet in her hands. She cleared her throat, grabbing everyone's attention.
Fox took a few steps back to give her the stage.
"So everyone…" She kept the tablet behind her back, in a mock-ominous sort of way. "Ready to see the new name and logo?"
Even though this was a temporary change, Fox's heart pounded. What had she come up with? He had no idea what to expect, other than maybe it would be pink-themed.
"You changed it to Star Katt, didn't ya?" Falco smirked.
"Nope!" Katt teased.
"What is it?" Fox asked, sweat in his palms. The anticipation was killing him.
"I decided to call it…" She flipped the tablet around. "Nine Lives!" The screen showed a simple logo with a pink '9' and pink 'L' combined at their stalks. "We like to say cats have nine lives. Of course it's not true, but it sure does feel like that after being a mercenary for so long. But that's not all. 'Nine lives' also represents rebirth. How we are able to reinvent ourselves and adapt to any situation. Well, what better name then for Star Fox's reinvention, right?"
"Hmm…" Falco smiled. "It fits well, Katt! Sounds great to me!"
Everyone else appeared supportive as well, even Canma smiling despite not having a stake in this.
Well, that was a relief. Fox thought he wouldn't have considered something like Katt's idea.
"One minute until arrival at Thaljista." R.O.B. picked this moment to chime in.
Everyone hushed, watching as the timer counted down to zero. The ship lurched as it came out of warp, the space around them coming into focus.
Fox got his first look at Thaljista. It was covered in deserts and high mountains, but he noticed a few green spots along with a river here and there, plus larger bodies of water in places. ROB took them towards one city by an inland sea. The display indicated it as the city of Kinnor, the Separatist capital. The metropolis spread out underneath them, bordered on one side by a large landlocked sea, on another by desert reclaimed as farmland, with mostly sand making up the rest of the surrounding area.
"It's still intact." Canma looked down upon the city. "That's a good sign."
"Pardon?" Fox turned his head.
"Star Wolf got away with the case, didn't they?" She glanced at him. "Thaal-Ja's Calling was inside, I'm sure you know by now? And we have been in transit for a month. I thought for sure we'd be coming home to a smoking ruin."
Well, isn't she a rain of sunshine?
Nonetheless, Fox couldn't believe he was finally here. At long last, he could do something about finding Krystal. Somewhere down there, she would be waiting for him.
Fox looked at the faces of his teammates, all of them lost in their own thoughts as they too observed their final destination. Katt, Falco, Slippy, Fara… How would they do without him? Despite his little pep talk for Katt, the awful possibilities wouldn't stop swirling around in his head. Would he even have a team left, when he found Krystal and brought her back? His stomach churned as he thought about it.
But he couldn't back out of his mission to find Krystal now though. Not after he'd come all this way.
~X~
About a half hour later, the Great Fox II settled down on the tarmac at Kinnor's spaceport with a rumbling thump.
Fox led the others towards the far end of the starboard hangar bay, the large exit doors waiting for them. Wait, hold on. He turned around, looking at Katt. The two of them exchanged a look, Fox nodding for her to walk in front. Just thirty minutes and he'd already forgotten. She was supposed to be the leader now.
Though tentative, Katt took the lead.
The exit doors pulled open, heavy machinery rolling them out of the way while also lowering a ramp down to the pavement. Despite the late hour, blinding sunlight hit Fox in the eyes, followed by a blast of heat slamming into him like a truck. The setting sun bathed everything in an orange hue, making it feel even hotter. The vulpine whipped off his flight jacket, going down to the green jumpsuit underneath. He pulled a pair of sunglasses out of one of his pockets and put them on as fast as he could. Thank you, Dad. Even with the shades, he still needed to keep his eyes covered with his hand.
"Holy crap!" Falco whipped off his own flight jacket, throwing it over his shoulder. "Makes Solar back in Lylat feel like a skiing resort!"
Everyone else did what they could to shed some heat, except for Tadao. He smiled and closed his eyes, basking in the light. Well, made sense didn't it? Lizards did prefer more warmth than most species.
A military ambulance and a troop transport truck waited at the bottom of the ramp, alongside a few people, only their dark silhouettes visible because of the sun behind them. One of them had a black outline that looked familiar. A little too familiar.
General Pepper?
No way it could be him, but the shadow cast by the clothes…the pointed military cap, the coat with the shoulder pads, the flared pants, the boots… It was all the same. As Fox approached and the glare faded, the uniform turned out to be olive green instead of red, and the person wearing it was a gray wolf with familiar golden eyes, his dark hair slicked back under his cap and down the back of his head. Fox remembered him now. General Gail Strafer, Nail's father. That was who Canma was talking to when she hooked up that crazy device that let her talk all the way over here. Fox supposed he shouldn't be surprised by his clothes though. The Cornerians helped Thaljista modernize centuries ago. It only made sense that Thaljistanis would adopt similar military uniforms.
"Am I glad you're here at last!" the wolf called out as he approached, smiling. But even though Katt was in front, he walked past her and held out a hand to Fox instead. "General Gail Strafer, at your service! You must be Fox. Heard a lot about you and your team!"
"Uh, yes." Fox accepted the handshake, baffled. A smile and a handshake were the last things Fox expected from Nail's father. "I'm not going to be leading the squadron while we're here though."
"Eh?" Gail raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about? You aren't going to lead your own team?"
Fox's tail slumped behind him. Well gee, this Nine Lives thing was off to a great start. "Katt Monroe is going to be taking over as the leader." Fox gestured to Katt off to the side. "We thought having a cat as the face of the team would be better around here."
"The Separatists don't care about that," Gail replied.
"But the tribals out in the desert will. Might inspire more of them to side with the Separatists."
Gail gave Fox a questioning look. "I don't think it's necessary, but if you say so." He turned to Katt, extending a hand and regarded her with the same smile. "Good to meet you, Katt! Welcome to Thaljista!"
"Thank you…" Katt did her best to smile back. "I'm glad to be working with you." A bland greeting, though maybe she'd get over her initial awkwardness with time.
Gail turned his attention to something off to the side, his jaw dropping open. "Oh my god, Aug!" He brushed past everyone else, straight to Nail in the back of the group.
Aug? Oh wait, Nail's actual first name is Augustine. And Gail called him that on the call too.
Gail couldn't stop staring at the exoskeleton around the Nail's legs. "Are you all right, Aug? Goodness, your tail!" He looked at the small tuft behind Nail. "Most of it's sliced off!"
"It's not important." Nail maintained his default glare. He didn't bother looking at his father, metal boots clanking as he walked. "With the medical technology we have here, you know I'll be fully functional again in no time."
He treats his father like that? Fox clenched his fist, ears curling back. It's not fair. Why is his dad alive and mine isn't?
"Well even so, I…" Gail shook his head. "Never mind, I forgot who I was talking to. Let's get you to the hospital." He put a hand over Nail's back, escorting him to the ambulance. "Such primitive treatment, these legs. Who put them on you?"
"That would be me and my assistant Rachel." Dr. Deberti hurried to walk alongside Gail. Though peeved over Gail's assessment of her work, she kept it to herself when she spoke. "Dr. Patricia Deberti, Cornerian Medical Corps."
"I can't believe Corneria is still using these things." He tutted at Nail's legs, looking back to the doctor and Rachel. "Could you two please go to the hospital with him? Bring any data you have on his treatment."
"I would be glad to." Dr. Deberti forced a smile.
"You too Canma." Gail nodded to her. "I'll stop by to debrief you and Aug later." He seemed to remember something else. "Oh, that's right. You did tell me you two were the only ones left, after the main Sentinel ship escaped." His mood darkened. "Now that you're here, we're going to hold a little memorial service. Would you like to come?"
"Of course." Canma's ears folded back as she looked down at the ground. "Shuro, and the others… I would like to have a proper goodbye. But for now, let's get Nail fixed up."
Gail and Canma helped Nail into the back of the ambulance. Canma, Dr. Deberti, and Rachel jumped in the back with him, the ambulance setting off towards the city.
Gail returned his attention to the rest of the group. "Prince Razir Azer is waiting to meet you personally. We'll take you over to HQ right now."
Fox blinked, surprised. Already? Back in Lylat, usually government leaders were far too busy running their planets to meet with him directly, outside of official ceremonies or something like that. That was why Fox's main contact with Corneria was General Pepper. Who knew though? Maybe things worked differently over here. The Separatists weren't anywhere near as big as the planetary governments in Lylat, anyway.
Gail was about to lead the way when he stopped, turning to look at someone else in the back of the group. A stern glare came to his golden eyes. Now Fox knew where Nail got that from, even if he had little else in common with his father. "Hold on, who are you?"
"Umm…" Tadao hunched over, eyes to the ground. "Tadao Samorin."
"I was briefed on everyone who would be coming with Star Fox." Gail kept his glare on the lizard. "I don't know you. Why are you here?"
It was like back at the Beltino Orbital Gate station all over again.
Fox cringed as he watched. "My apologies," he said to Gail. "This was a last minute arrangement. Tadao heard about the civil war on Thaljista, and decided to accompany us here since we were on the way anyway. He wishes to fight for the Separatists." I'm hiding some details, but none of that was a lie…
"Oh, that so? Well that's great!" The wolf surprised Fox once again with his smile returning, looking back to Tadao. "We need all the fighters we can get right now! You got any special skills?"
"I was a field medic," Tadao replied.
"Even better!" Gail's grin broadened.
"Really?" Tadao's yellow eyes lit up.
"Why are you so surprised?" Gail said. "If you wanna fight for us, we don't care who you are or where you came from!"
"I like this place already." Tadao smiled at Fox.
"Go talk to one of the boys over there." Gail pointed towards two nearby Separatist soldiers waiting by a jeep. "They'll give you a ride over to the spaceport's recruitment station."
While Tadao had a huge smile, it softened as he looked over to Fox. "I suppose this is goodbye, huh?"
"Not necessarily," Fox said. "We're still on the same side in this war, right? Maybe we'll meet on the battlefield again."
"I hope that happens." Tadao winked, patting Fox on the shoulder. "Best of luck on your mission, and thanks for looking out for me."
"My pleasure," Fox returned the gesture.
Tadao walked towards the jeep, waving to the group as he left them. Fox waved back, although he noticed his friends appeared to hesitate before they waved with him.
"All right," Gail walked towards the troop transport. "Then let's be on our way too."
Fox, Falco, Katt, Slippy, and Fara followed the wolf over to the truck, climbing up into the back and resting on the benches lining the sides. Gail knocked his fist on the back of the driver's cab, and they were off. Though they didn't have any protection from the heat aside from an overhead tarp, at least sitting in the open air let a nice breeze blow past them. Also, with the sun going down and the sky turning a darker orange, the temperature dropped fast.
As they left the spaceport, Fox noticed a lot of military personnel and vehicles around. They even had point defenses set up like laser batteries and surface to air missile sites. Made sense though. Considering a proper base was never built in this region of Thaljista, this place was likely the best the Separatists could do.
Leaving the spaceport, they hit a highway crossing the sandy desert towards the city proper in the distance. Not much traveled the road besides military vehicles, with regular checkpoints along the route. A monorail track also ran alongside the highway. From what he could see, soldiers made up most of the passengers. Sand whipped by in the wind, Fox hearing the ticks as grains bounced off his sunglasses. They wouldn't stop trying to get in his mouth or nose, so he pulled up his red handkerchief to cover his muzzle. Not a pleasant sensation. Better get used to it though.
The highway passed along the inland sea Fox had seen from space. The beach between the highway and the water was without plant life. Also, the sand had a curious crusty formation to it, almost like the crust of a pie. It didn't seem to discourage beachgoers though, with some of them sunbathing while others floated in the water.
"The Bahr Sea." Gail said. "Centuries ago, it was the reason Kinnor was founded. Used to be a small village, but people would come for hundreds of miles to bathe in the salty sea, for medicinal therapy or relaxation. Good for skin treatment, or for congestion, or all types of other things. Or just if you feel like having a nice spa day. Also, this is one of the lowest points on this planet, so the atmosphere is thicker here. Blocks some of the sunlight's harmful radiation."
"What's that big thing over there?" Katt pointed to a large metallic structure far off in the distance, stationed on a large beach near the water. A large mass of cranes, construction equipment, plus piles of metal and other materials surrounded it. Even from here it looked massive.
"The old Cornerian battleship…the Brigadier," Fox spoke up. "Remember our briefing?"
"It was used by Corneria to hold control over the planet, until our forefathers took it for ourselves, that is," Gail added on. "Obviously, I am of Lylatian ancestry, but my ancestors were tired of the excessive taxes and laws Corneria put on us, despite being so far away. That's why we sided with the Azerian Kingdom." He looked at the rest of Star Fox. "But things change, you know? Yesterday's enemies can easily become tomorrow's allies, and vice versa. Hence the mess we currently find ourselves in. Cornerians fighting with Azerians against other Azerians. Let's hope our relationship holds up better this time, hmm?"
Doubtful. With Stan and the OIC calling the shots for Star Fox, this alliance was already tainted before it had even begun.
Gail continued on. "Anyway, we kept the Brigadier as a museum, but now we've decided to push it back into combat duty. Considering over half of our navy stuck with the Royalists, we need any ship we can get right now. I don't see the Brigadier doing us much good in a fight against a modern capital ship, but it should work for keeping Royalists ground forces away from the city."
They arrived in the city of Kinnor proper. Much like his initial meeting with Gail, it wasn't what Fox expected. He thought they were going to be in some sort of war-torn urban hellscape with destroyed buildings, bombed out roads, and whatnot. Instead, if you took away all the barbed wire, barricades, and troops wandering around, Fox could almost imagine himself going on vacation in a place like this.
Gleaming white buildings rose up into the sky, reflecting light off of the sea to the west side of the city. Palm trees rose out of elaborate planters along the highway. They passed by hotels, casinos, shopping malls, spas, theaters, restaurants… A lot of them were closed up, but even so a fair few were still running, drawing in troops and civilians. The monorail from the spaceport networked through the entire city, as they kept passing under its tracks. Also, while cats made up a large percentage of the people they saw, at least every other person appeared to be a different species.
"Awful nice lookin' place," Falco quipped.
"There's a good reason for that." Gail kept his gaze fixed along the side of the road. "Before the civil war, the Azerian Kingdom decided to turn the Bahr Sea area into a tourist destination for foreigners. They spent a ton of money setting this place up. Was almost finished, but then war broke out. That's why we moved in. The infrastructure was already here but there were no long-term residents yet. Plenty of housing, plenty of warehouse space, waterfront, a spaceport… Why not make some good use of it all? Shame things turned out this way, but it was a big blessing for us." Gail smiled. "You know, we've even got a Lylat Town here."
"A Lylat Town?" Falco asked.
"Oh yeah, a whole area themed after all the planets of Lylat! Maybe check it out later if you get homesick, huh?"
"You got a Ted's too?!" Rachel pointed as they passed by the burger restaurant on the side of the road, everyone looking at the familiar red and white color scheme of the building, plus the sign with the mismatched letters.
"It's pretty good. Just opened a couple years ago, even with the war going on." Gail licked his lips, looking at it. "I've never actually been to Corneria, so I don't know if our Ted's burgers are quite the same as yours, but I still love it. Who knows, maybe we could eventually get the Royalists to eat them too. Everyone would enjoy the taste so much we'd all put aside our differences and just have a cookout. Why use weapons and destruction to try to bring about world peace, when we can do it with the power of food?"
Almost brings a tear to my eye. Nonetheless, this general was setting a good first impression for Fox. He'd feel bad if Stan told him to betray this guy. But for the moment, maybe Fox could get a little help from him.
"Say…" Fox slid closer to Gail, lowering his voice to not let the others overhear. "Could you do me a favor?"
Gail turned to him, listening.
"This is Krystal." Fox pulled out a photograph of her and her Cloudrunner. "She arrived in Thaljista about six months ago, and I haven't heard a word from her since. Could you check if she came through here?"
"I heard she joined your team a year or two ago. Thought it was a bit odd she wasn't with you." Gail took a long look at the photo. "You two married now?"
Fox's face turned red under his fur. "Um…no." His tail curled up behind him. Damn, it was like Tricky on Sauria again. "Not yet."
"She's not running from you, is she?" Gail put on a sideways grin, teasing him. "She changed her mind about you?"
Fox snarled, his ears curling back.
"Whoa!" Gail raised up his hands, not expecting Fox's harsh reaction. "Sorry, just joking. My mistake. Anyway, don't worry, I'll look into it. Do you mind if I keep this picture?"
Though he still wanted to wrap his hands around the wolf's throat, he grudgingly nodded. The photo was a copy anyway.
"Okay, good." Gail scanned the photograph with the camera on his personal device, then typed out some texts and sent them off. After slipping the picture into his pocket, he said "Shouldn't be too hard for my guys to find out. With that blue fur color and that unusual fighter design, she would have stood out."
Although he was glad the wolf wanted to help, Fox didn't feel like talking to him anymore. He leaned against the guardrail behind him with his arms crossed. The other members of Star Fox gave him weird looks. Why'd he have to get emotional like that?
After a while, the troop transport drove past a large fence carved out of yellowish-brown marble, surrounding a huge hotel on the other side made of the same stone. The building appeared to be styled after some sort of old castle or palace, with its impressive turrets and towers reaching up to the sky. Elaborate murals covered the sides, depicting the Bahr Sea nearby. There used to be a sign on the front of the building, but it had been torn down, leaving behind an outline of the words 'Hotel Kraliyet'.
"Kraliyet was designed to be the finest, the most luxurious, the most exclusive hotel in the city," Gail said. "The aesthetic was designed after the Azerian palace within Gerrant. Since it already had plenty of security measures built in, we made it our HQ building."
A decorative iron gate loomed over the truck. That appeared to be original to the structure, but the soldiers had added barricades, guard houses, and turrets. Gail leaned out the side of the truck to present a badge, and a soldier waved them inside. The truck passed a huge garden of dense grass, plants, flowers, and ferns, the colors of them a more vibrant green compared to all of the greenery lining the streets. While beautiful, it seemed like a waste of water to Fox, especially on a desert planet in the middle of war.
Fox appreciated the shade though as the truck pulled up under the awning in front of the entrance. After jumping out of the truck, Gail led them through the front door. Fox removed his sunglasses as they entered.
The impressive marble theme continued inside, Fox definitely feeling like he was entering some sort of residence for royalty. Impressive artworks on the walls, rich red carpets underfoot, ornately decorated columns… Signs pointed to amenities like bowling alleys, banquet halls, shops, and currency exchange.
They even had a restaurant that wouldn't look out of place in the ritziest districts of Corneria City with its fancy white tablecloths and gold furnishings, albeit Fox noticed they'd turned it into a cafeteria serving cheaper, mundane fare for the soldiers and officials here. Boxy, silver carts on wheels filled with food trays lined one side of the room. They looked like something pulled straight out of a military warehouse.
A casino was on the far end of the ground floor too. From what little he could see through the open entrance doors, the Separatists had re-purposed the space as a command center, with technicians, monitors, and information displays filling it. Fox spotted what looked like blackjack tables being used as desks. The official in charge of the room even sat on a raised podium that had a sign with 'WIN THIS CAR!' written on it. Funny they hadn't bothered to remove that.
What an odd sight this all was.
They stopped at an elevator with another guard checkpoint, but with Gail in front they were waved inside. The doors shut and they were on their way to the top floor.
"I almost forgot to say this," Gail said as the elevator hummed around them, "but please don't refer to Razir as Prince Razir, or his excellency or anything like that. He doesn't want to be prince; he wants to be king. So just use his first name instead."
The doors opened into a penthouse suite with windows looking out over all of Kinnor, now bathed in a deep red as the sun had descended below the horizon. The penthouse had even more of its own murals chronicling the Azerian family's history. Fox recognized the scene of Azer conquering the lions in the final climactic battle in Gerrant two centuries ago. Not surprising Razir would keep something like this around. Gail waved them towards a large set of double doors, pushing them aside to reveal a large wood-paneled office.
A few officials stood around a large desk to one side of the room, looking at a map on top of it. Curiously, not one of them was a cat. They all turned to look as Fox and the others entered. As they did so, they revealed one more person sitting behind the desk.
It was Razir Azer, in the flesh.
Despite being eleven years older than his brother Giichi, Razir looked so similar it was eerie. Both sand cats almost had the same face, height, and proportions, with the only key physical difference being that Razir's yellow fur was a bit more faded and raggedy, likely from his older age and the stress of leadership. And for someone who wanted to be king, Razir sure didn't dress like it. He wore a green T-shirt with an armor vest over it, while all of the officials around him wore military caps and coats like Gail's.
If Fox had any illusions about Razir being like his more jovial brother Giichi, they were soon dispelled. Razir regarded Star Fox as if they were intruders in his domain, narrowed and studying each of their faces one by one. He looked up at his officers. "We'll talk about it later. Could you excuse me for now?"
The officials nodded and left the room. Only the guards and Gail remained behind. Razir observed the Star Fox group in silence for an uncomfortably long time, leaning back in his chair. Fox glanced at Katt. She spotted him out of the corner of his eye, realizing he wanted her to say something.
Turning to Razir, she said, "Good to meet you, Razir. We are—"
The sand cat waved his hand to silence her. "You're Star Fox. I know. My brother Giichi told me all about you. He was in Corneria City the day the Lylat Wars broke out. Once Nail brought Giichi home, he wouldn't shut up about you. So, I suppose I should say thank you for saving his life." However, the frown on his face didn't match his praise.
Katt was caught off guard by the reply. "Oh, uh, really? Well never mind then. We've changed our name for this mission, though."
"What? Why?" Razir looked at her quizzically, studying her. He pointed a finger. "You're…Katt, right?"
"Uh, yes?" Katt waited for the next question.
"Funny, Giichi said you usually dye your fur pink, but you went back to your natural color." He looked over to Fox. "How come she's doing the talking?"
Fox's eyes widened as he got Razir's attention. What had Stan said about cats being more respected around here? Also he thought Star Fox would be unknown here.
"Well…" Fox started. Man, this was awkward. Here he went again. "Katt is going to lead the team for this mission. And we're going to go under the name Nine Lives. We thought a cat leading the team would appeal more on this planet. You might need the support of the more conservative feline factions outside of this conflict."
Another long silence settled over the room, Razir scrutinizing Fox and Katt. It was hard to tell what he was thinking as he observed the two of them. But as tense as it was, Razir sighed, closed his eyes, and ran a hand over his face. "I suppose that could help," he conceded. "Probably not necessary, but I appreciate your attention to detail, Fox. The most important thing though is whether you can protect us or not."
After Gail's reception to the Nine Lives idea earlier, that was a better reply than he'd hoped, although Fox felt the tinge of disappointment. So much for all the work they'd done changing the team. Katt also didn't look happy, considering that was the second time she'd been brushed aside in favor of Fox.
"I must apologize if I sound rude," Razir said. "We've all been on edge around here ever since the Royalists obtained Thaal-Ja's Calling. So I'm sorry I'm not dressed in something better for this occasion." He knocked a fist against his armored vest, in addition to pulling a kinetic pistol out from behind the table. "Thaal-Ja created us, but the Cornerians made us equal, am I right?" He smirked, putting the firearm back. "My sister—Queen Kula—wouldn't decide this on her own, but Sable might try to convince her to assassinate me in advance of an attack. We are fortunate that it hasn't come to pass yet. Come over here and I'll tell you why." Razir stood up and waved for them all to come to his desk.
As they approached, Fox realized this desk was also a flat surface display, showing a map of Thaljista and what territory each faction controlled. The Separatists held a fair bit of territory in the southern hemisphere of the planet, indicated as blue, while the Royalists controlled land further to the north around the equator, indicated red. Elsewhere on the planet, more colors marked a bunch of smaller factions, each one having a name attached to it. Those were the other factions Fox had been referring to earlier. He'd done his research while en route to the planet, so he knew some of the names. They were warlords, tribal chieftains, and other leaders outside of the Royalist/Separatist conflict. While the lions had been routed centuries ago, they seemed to still control the biggest land holdings outside of the two major factions.
"This is where Thaal-Ja sleeps." Razir pointed his finger towards a fertile valley indicated as the Cradle, deep inside Royalist territory. "When we observed my sister here plus a large Royalist force, I thought for sure they were about to raise him, and that would've been the end."
"So why didn't it happen?" Katt said.
"I got intel from one of my agents in the Royalist capital." He pointed towards a large mountain marked 'Gerrant'. "They're missing the gem at the end of the staff, and thus can't raise Thaal-Ja. So for now, we are safe. But that doesn't mean we can rest easy. I know she's looking for ways to fix that problem as we speak."
Staff gems… Fox stroked his chin. Peppy had shown him the original back on the Beltino station. He considered telling Razir about it but decided against it. If no one on Thaljista knew about it or where it was, then that would be one less avenue for the Royalists to raise Thaal-Ja. But what about the gem at the end of Krystal's staff? Her staff looked a lot like Thaal-Ja's Calling. Could its gem be used in its place? If I told Razir about her staff, maybe he'd help me find her faster. But then it would also put her in great danger, if word about her staff spread too far. Everyone would be hunting her down to get to it first. Royalists, Separatists, bounty hunters, mercenaries… Besides, I don't even know if her staff gem is compatible anyway. No, I should keep anything about her staff to myself. Good thing that photo he gave Gail earlier didn't have the staff in it.
"You know, Kry—" Falco started.
Fox burst out with a loud series of coughs. It did the trick, everyone in the room turning to face Fox. He mock choked on his coughs, patting his chest. "I'm sorry about that. Got a lot of sand in my mouth and nose on the way here." He gave Falco the stink eye about what he almost said. Of course, that bird would almost blurt it right out.
Lucky for him, Falco seemed to pick up on the signal, as did everyone else in the room.
"You get used to it," Razir shrugged. "Anyway, let me make this absolutely clear." Razir looked everyone at the table in the eye. "This is about more than stopping my sister from obtaining more power. In fact, she won't be able to control what happens next if Thaal-Ja is awoken. This planet will be destroyed, and the destruction will be indiscriminate. Royalists, Separatists, everyone. All will be wiped away." He swept his hands over the entire map, as if he were Thaal-Ja himself and cleansing the entire planet.
How strange. Stan had made Razir out to be this wannabe dictator who wanted to be just like his bloodthirsty ancestor Azer. Azer sought power at any cost, yet Razir did not seek Thaal-Ja's power for himself. A curious amount of restraint. Then again, you usually didn't see a dictator outing themselves as such until their power was cemented, with no one and nothing left to challenge them. Razir could just be lying about not wanting Thaal-Ja for himself to get Corneria's cooperation for now. Perhaps it was time for some questions.
"So I've heard a lot about this god Thaal-Ja." Fox said. "How would he destroy the world?"
"Imagine fire from the heavens raining across every corner of the globe. Entire cities reduced to rubble in seconds. Plagues unleashed and ravaging entire populations." Razir looked him dead in the eyes, hands grasped hard around the edge of the table. "These things are mentioned in the religious texts regarding Thaal-Ja, and as outlandish and mythical as they sound, the texts are true."
Fox thought Razir sounded like a crackpot doomsday preacher delivering a sermon on a street corner as he said these things. Perhaps it wasn't so hard to believe a god slept underground on this planet, when Fox himself had seen mystical powers in action on Sauria. However, he had never been to a briefing where he got his mission intelligence from ancient scraps of paper written by monks centuries ago.
"Um… Pardon me?" Slippy spoke up. First time he'd said anything all day, but he sounded nervous about talking to Razir.
"Yes?" Razir glanced at him.
"Do you have any…um, more scientific evidence of what will happen, if this Thaal-Ja god comes back?" He timidly wrung his hands.
Though Fox anticipated Razir would be angry about his religious beliefs being questioned, the prince didn't mind. In fact, he had an answer ready. "I'm sure by now you've heard of the Thaljism creation story, when the first Thaljistanis were born around a millennium ago at the Cradle?" He looked around the room, getting nods in return. "The people who wrote those texts were writing them from stories passed down through oral tradition, long after the original witnesses had perished. Details will be forgotten, remembered wrong, or interpreted incorrectly. They aren't one hundred percent reliable."
"Didn't you just say we should trust those texts, though?" Slippy asked.
"Up to a point. At least the portions that can be backed up with what you asked for: evidence." Razir tapped some commands onto the screen, changing the image to show a picture of a cave full of feline skeletons, all of them laid side by side. More pictures appeared overlaying the first, giving a better look at each individual set of bones. They were twisted into agonizing positions, as if the person had been thrashing around in their last moments and unable to control their limbs. "About fifteen years ago, an archaeological dig team examined these corpses found within the Cradle. Not much intact genetic information left, but one thing unified the dead within this tomb: all are victims of a plague. Around a millennium ago, right when our creation story took place. Do you notice anything else in common amongst all of these people?" An image of every single skeleton appeared, all laid out next to each other and taking up the entire screen.
Despite making a lot of them, Fox didn't spend much time examining corpses, so he didn't understand what Razir might be getting at.
Slippy figured it out though. "They…they're all adults? I don't see any small skeletons."
"We have a winner," Razir pointed a finger at him, smiling. "Whatever this plague was, it only seemed to afflict adults and teenagers, leaving behind the children. And with the adults gone, a great deal of generational knowledge and history was lost forever. Almost like a giant reset for the Thaljistani race. When we say we are children of Thaal-Ja, it's not just metaphorical. Back then it was literal. Over time, those dead adults were forgotten, and the surviving children believed they were the first generation on this planet."
"And the fire from the sky and the earthquakes you talked about before?" Fox asked.
"It also happened at around the same time as this outbreak of plague." Razir changed the image again, starting with the map of Thaljista focused on the Cradle, but zooming out to focus on the wider terrain. Circles appeared over numerous craters, spread out over hundreds of miles in the surrounding area. "An asteroid fell from the sky, raining debris across the land. The debris entering the atmosphere burned on re-entry, setting the sky alight. Also, no doubt space debris crashing into the ground must have felt like quakes to whoever was down there."
Slippy had a skeptical look in his eyes. "But that all sounds like natural phenomena. Where does the god Thaal-Ja figure in?"
"He was the one who punished the Thaljistanis, like it says in the texts." Razir rolled his eyes, as if he figured the rest of them should have figured that out on their own. "You want to know why I'm so afraid of Thaal-Ja's Calling?" All of a sudden, he became much more serious with his voice. "What I've just described is what happened the last time that staff was used to wake Thaal-Ja up. My sister is crazy to think she can control him. What is a queen to a god? No…if she uses it, there will only be the children of Thaal-Ja. Again." He clenched the end of his desk, glaring at the Cradle. Then as he stared at each of them in turn, he said, "And that is why you are here. To make sure that doesn't happen." If Razir was lying about his desire to not use Thaal-Ja for himself, he deserved an A for acting there.
Even considering this, Fox found himself momentarily swept up by his words. "How should we start, then?"
"For now, we need to let my intelligence network do its job. We don't have enough information about my sister's contingency plans right now. I don't want to break the cease fire unless we know for certain that Thaal-Ja's rise is imminent. We stay out of Royalist territory until it comes to that, or unless they attack first."
"Sounds like a bad idea to me…" Falco muttered. "Why give them time to get ready to attack? Why not just crush them now? Star Fox…uh Nine Lives could do it no problem."
"This isn't the Lylat Wars, Falco." Razir didn't seem upset about Falco's attitude though. In fact, he smiled a bit, like he'd heard about the bird's arrogance and enjoyed seeing it firsthand. "Both me and my sister may be enemies, but we do share one thing in common: we both wish to see the Azerian Kingdom peacefully reunified. The problem is we don't agree on who should sit at the top. Of course, I want that to be me, so..." He laughed, shaking his head. However, the laughs almost sounded sad instead, like it was coping instead. He glanced over to the nearby window, looking out over Kinnor. They'd been talking for so long the sky had turned dark.
Fox had a look too. All of those tall white buildings they'd admired were lit up with a kaleidoscope of color. Neon lights across the facade of one building depicted a traditional Thaljistani dancer twirling around in a dress with elaborate sashes whirling around her. On another building, there was a moving advertisement of some mecha show that Fox remembered from back in Lylat, with the main character's robot Pixie Thermal flying all over the place. He noticed other signs hawking the various businesses they'd passed by earlier, plus even signs for brands he recognized from Lylat like Space Dynamics or that Ted's place. It reminded Fox of the middle of downtown Corneria City from here.
Razir smiled, standing up and moving to the window. "I love seeing this every night. Reminds me of what we're all fighting for. It almost looks normal, doesn't it? Helps people forget at least for the night that there's a war going on. Sure, the energy could probably be put to more practical use elsewhere, but I think the morale boost is worth it. You can't put a price on that." He looked back to Star Fox. "How about you all enjoy a night on the town tonight? You can just ride the monorail around town, then take it back to the spaceport when you're done. In the morning, I'll have one of our pilots take you along on an air patrol so you can get a lay of the land. I don't expect anything to happen, but arm up, just in case. You're dismissed for now."
As they left, Gail walked up to Razir, talking animatedly with him about something. Fox stopped to try to catch a word of what they might be discussing, but he was soon shooed out of the room by one of the guards. They took the elevator back to the ground floor, and within minutes they were out on the sidewalk outside the marble walls.
"Well, Razir's nicer than I thought he would be," Katt said. "Didn't seem to care much about our name change though."
"Eh…" Fox shrugged. "It's fine. Don't worry about that Katt."
"Looks like the monorail is this way, guys!" Falco hurried over to a nearby sign indicating the nearest station. He read over the stops on the line, glancing at what was waiting for them at each stop. Clearly he was already thinking about the possibilities of how they might party.
Fox wouldn't mind a good party right now either…but he was here to find Krystal. Gail did say he had some guys looking into it though, but how long would it take for them to get back to him? He wanted to leave the city now, but it was pointless without any idea of where she'd gone. Maybe for tonight, he'd just relax a bit, then check back with Gail in the morning. Surely his guys wouldn't be working overtime tonight to get him that info, especially since he'd just asked for this as a personal favor.
His personal device buzzed in his pocket.
Blinking, Fox looked around, wondering if one of his friends had texted him by accident or something. No one else had their phones in their hands though. Confused, Fox checked the message. It was from the wolf himself. Fox tensed up as he opened it.
Hey Fox, got some good news for you! Krystal did come through Kinnor, just like you thought. One of my guys just sent me this. Check the attachment.
- Gail Strafer
Fox opened it up, gazing in wonder at the data on the screen before him. All of the Cloudrunner's flight paths were shown before him, each one with a matching date and time. This felt too good to be true. After over seven months, he had his first solid evidence of Krystal's whereabouts. He switched off his phone, looking up at the night sky.
There was only one thing left to do now: jump in his Arwing and chase after her. Tonight.
~X~
A/N: Apologies for the seven-month gap between updates on this story. Two reasons for this long wait: First, I wanted to finish off Silent Dark Crisis Eve of Evil since I was close to completing that. Second, I didn't think I had planned out this story well enough for the upcoming chapters, so I took some time to outline. Hopefully chapters will come quicker, now that I better know what I want to do with this story.