First Day
An alarm rang out from a phone. Its orange furred owner cut it off without looking. After his encounter last night, Fox decided to sleep on the Great Fox. The vulpine swung his legs out from under his sheets and stood up. He looked at his bandaged arm. Once he put his arm through a full range of motions, he determined that today would have to be a light workout.
The injury had only been skin deep thanks to his shoulder blade catching the knife for him. A paramedic was able to give him stiches on site that would fall out on their own in time. Supposedly only having to be inside him for a few days. Both the police and the medics mentioned how lucky he had been with the wound. Something he considered unlucky given what the odds were of meeting an armed robber in the first place.
Fox now had to take it just a little easier for the moment. As he put on a hoodie and some athletic shorts, he thought of today's itinerary.
'First things first workout. Then get ready for Krystal and her clearance interview.' That had slipped his mind until now. Last night while waiting for a response from the paramedics, Krystal said she wanted to join up. Right after her text he called a contact Star Fox used for contracts to initiate a security investigation.
Thankfully Krystal only needed a lower security clearance. One that really just asks a person to not spill classified information. At ten o'clock their contact was awake somehow and said they could meet at around eight but no later.
Everything seemed like it would work out, so Fox continued onto his day. The vulpine wandered out of the captain's quarters of the Great Fox and ventured down to the on board gym. Some core workouts and a few dumbbell curls on his good arm called his name so as not to aggravate the injury.
By the time he was done, a familiar noise could be heard coming from the hangar. At some point Thomas had made his way inside for his working day. Fox saw his grandfather pushing an air drill down on the engine Star Fox had acquired.
The engine measured taller than both men standing about five meters high. Thomas set a goal for himself to completely tear down the engine by the end of the month to see what was wrong if anything with the giant piece of machinery. Fox stepped down the gangplank to help his aging relative. Upon Fox's approach however, Thomas became concerned.
"What the hell happened there?" He said pointing to Fox's stitches. It was at that moment Fox realized that the stitches touching his neck wouldn't be hidable. Still the story behind them would be something that Thomas was not going to believe.
"Won a gunfight barehanded believe it or not." Thomas did not. He placed a hand upon his grandson's shoulder to see how far it went. Fox flinched at the pressure the old man put on him. "Pops I'm telling the truth." The older McCloud looked at him in an expression which could only be described as disbelief. Fox then went on to describe his previous night. Thomas, for his part, believed it but still had some convictions.
Fox went on to tell him something he left out of the original story. "Hey, you'll get to meet the girl who helped me. Thought she might make a good addition to Star Fox. At least for the Landmaster." Fox said. That intrigued Thomas. It had been a while since the last member of Star Fox had been hired. Whoever she was must have made an impression on Fox.
"Is she good?" Thomas asked.
"That what we're doing today. She'd only be the driver but I'm sure she'll do well." Thomas nodded his head. He knew Fox wouldn't put someone new to this business in a dangerous position. Really all Thomas wanted to hear was that his grandson had a dependable partner for where he was going. Now however, he saw a way to make him blush.
"Now is she good looking?" Fox's cheeks blushed up fiercely as he turned his head toward the engine.
"That has nothing to do with why I hired her." Thomas knew Fox wouldn't say anymore but felt proud at his jab.
Across town, Krystal was looking at her dresser stressfully. She never really had much in the way of clothes since living in Corneria. What do you even wear to your first day as a mercenary? Can't be too fancy or even fancy at all maybe. Would a sweatshirt work? She had seen him wearing one both times when he came into her store. If her new boss wore a sweatshirt then certainly, she could. But what if he only wore it after work?
Krystal looked at the time on her phone and panicked. It was about seven thirty and her drive would take about fifteen minutes. Being early on her first day seemed like a good idea. Quickly she grabbed a pair of black jeans and a pink polo shirt. They would do for today hopefully.
Under her arms was a black sweatshirt. She sent a quick text to Fox asking what she should wear. Krystal figured it would have to be one of these two styles. Not that she could wear anything else since this was as much variation in clothing she had.
She ran down to her new, at least to her, car. The once standard economy car was slowly turned into a tuned machine whose genius Krystal had not appreciated. At least that's how Tane saw it. To everyone else the car was too loud, too low, wore a ridiculous dark purple wrap job, and to top off the exterior, the underneath of the car glowed red. Krystal hoped Tane would remove some of the mods soon for stock options.
It did have a nice interior to combat the rougher outside appearance. A newer radio that connected to her phone, heated seats and steering wheel, and the same red exterior lights found their way inside here. Somehow, they worked better in here than outside. When Tane would come to retrieve the parts he put in the car, she would fight him to keep the interior the same.
Krystal pulled out of the refuge parking lot and started making her way over to the Star Fox hangar. A text came through the radio from Fox saying, 'Dress comfortably, you'll be kinda cramped so dress comfy.' Good enough of an answer for her. At a red light she threw on the sweatshirt.
Back at the hangar Fox and Thomas still fought the spare engine. Some bolts had been torqued on so tight that it took both men pulling desperately with a wrench to break them off. Once one part came off, it was segregated from parts with some life left on them, and parts which would need to be replaced. Thankfully the parts with life left outnumbered those that didn't.
Thomas came in the handiest here. Working on an air or space craft engine required licensing and permits. Fox couldn't thank his grandfather enough for doing it for him. The pair continued to work at the stubborn bolt. They both pulled down on a wrench long enough for them to each have both hands full. "Pops I have an idea." Fox said. The older man relaxed his grip and turned to look at Fox. "Gonna run and jump at it. Hopefully that'll have enough momentum to break the thing."
"Lord knows you'll get enough momentum." Thomas jabbed.
Fox shook his head. He knew responding would just play into the old man's hands. The younger McCloud stepped a good twenty meters back. He knelt down to help his running start. In an instant Fox broke out into a sprint. He jumped up with both arms up to grab the wrench which hadn't moved off the bolt.
When his hands grabbed hold of the wrench, he realized he probably shouldn't have put this much force on a stitched up arm. His arm gave way to the pain but his momentum had broken the bolt. Fox fell to the floor. He clutched his shoulder which had a mangle amount of pain.
What he hadn't realized was the bolt he broke off was holding back a reservoir of reserve engine oil. The black substance spewed out onto Fox's chest. For a moment he laid there contemplating if this was really worth it all. His grandfather could be heard in the background laughing at his expense.
Slowly he stood up covered in a black greasy coating. He took off his sweatshirt and the shirt under it which had become soaked in a layer of high intensity oil. The hit to his pride was manageable but the stains probably would never come out. A janitorial robot came up behind Fox to clean up the mess he just made.
A sound rang out with an accompanying flashing light. Someone was at the door. 'Shit.' Fox thought. It probably meant that Krystal was here. 'I'm definitely not going to walk up to her shirtless and covered in oil. But my alternative is him showing her around.' Fox thought this put him between a rock and a hard place. 'Fuck it. Pops can't be that bad with someone new right?' It was a question that Fox had legitimate concerns about.
"Hey pops, that's probably Krystal. The girl I'm hiring. I'm gonna go wash this off. If you could let her in that'd be great." Fox walked away from the pooling oil spill so the robot could do its work.
Thomas agreed as his grandson walked off to the Great Fox and its showers. The older McCloud strolled his way to the front entrance door of the hangar. He opened the door to find a very attractive young vixen standing outside.
The first thing to catch his eye was her blue fur and stunning eyes. Second was that she had an athletic build he wasn't expecting from a gas station attendant. She'll hopefully be fit enough to handle being in that tank they had. Not that sitting around was all too hard but the movements and ways one had to contort their body inside of that thing would be strenuous.
Krystals first impression was slight intimidation. The man clearly was related to Fox in her eyes. Aged but not much older than Randorn. He crossed his arms and looked at her with what seemed to be judging eyes. She could tell he was strong under a jumpsuit he wore.
"Are you Krystal?" He asked with a pleasant voice. She noticed his eyes held the same jade green that Fox's had.
"Yes, I'm here for the driving job. Are you Fox's boss?" The man then smiled and let out a small huff of a laugh. He could tell from her accent that she wasn't Cornerian or even Papetonian for that matter. Where specifically, he could not pinpoint.
"No Fox is mine if you want to call him that." He stepped back from the doorway but held the door. "Here come in."
She stepped inside as Thomas let go of the door behind her. Inside was an office with no one working at it. Thomas walked past the desk and motioned Krystal to follow. "You must be his father then."
Thomas looked back with a smile. "You made my day. But no, he's my grandson." Krystal didn't show it but seemed a little perplexed. This man was maybe only a few years older than her father. She wondered how old Fox's father was if his grandfather seemed so young.
Krystal followed Thomas through the door he went through and became awestruck by the sight behind it. A giant dreadnaught sat dormant inside the massive hangar. It had a fat armored hull with an opening for fighters. The bridge resembled that of a canine head with an extended neck.
Next to the giant ship sat two star fighters painted blue and white. Parked next to a wall beyond the fighters was a large canvas covered trailer. Yet closest to her right now was an enormous engine. A janitorial robot was cleaning up a spill from the large machine. Thomas walked past it and over to the other side. "How strong are you?"
A question that seemed to come from out of nowhere. The vixen followed behind him to see what he was doing. Around the corner the older man was digging in a massive tool chest. From the bottom he pulled out a heavy looking breaker bar with a long handle.
"I'd say I'm strong." Krystal said with a trace of hesitance. Thomas sought to see if she was lying or not. She had the arms but looks are deceiving sometimes. Thomas placed a socket on the bar and placed it up to a bolt on the engine. Krystal had a small amount of knowledge of tools from working with Tane a few times. Definitely not enough to be considered competent but just enough to know what she was looking at.
"Here help me out with this. I need you to pull while I push." She got into position in front of the bar. This so far wasn't the experience she thought it would be but if this got her paid then she would do it. The pair grabbed their side of the bar and started working at the stubborn bolt.
All at once the bolt broke free with the bar lurching forward at Krystal. It stopped at what felt like only an inch from her face by Thomas. "Yeah you gotta look out for when it finally swings back at you." Before Krystal could come up with something, Fox stepped out of the Great Fox.
"Pops! What the hell are you doing?" Fox blared from the gangplank of the ship. He jumped down and started a briskish pace towards them. For a moment Krystal thought she had done something wrong until she felt Fox's thoughts targeted at his grandfather. "She's been here five minutes and you put her to work on the engine."
Fox continued towards them at a brisk pace. After having been spewed upon by the thing not ten minutes earlier, he didn't want Krystal to have the same fate. First impressions were big to Fox and he didn't want Krystal to get vomited on by the machine.
The older McCloud looked at his grandson as he strode up to them. "If you're going to hire help, I'll put them to work."
Fox sighed with his head pointed up. He then looked to Krystal. "Did he show you around at least?"
"Um… no." She said hesitantly. Another sigh left Fox's mouth.
"Pops I'm gonna show her around the hangar and the ship." His voice had calmed down and his initial outburst had subsided. "I'm sure you'll be fine on your own. Come find me if Builter gets here." Thomas agreed as Fox motioned for Krystal to follow.
The two began walking towards the Great Fox. "Sorry if I got a little angry back there. Right before you got here, that thing blew oil all over me. Figured you didn't bring a change of clothes, so I don't want you working on that for today at least."
His earlier outburst made more sense now. Krystal was appreciative of his concern over her clothing. He led her past the offices and explained what each one was for. The only one she really cared about was free use of a gym Star Fox had in the hangar. He then brought her up the gang plank which led to a vehicle bay inside the dreadnaught. It held six fighters lined up two by three aimed at the front of the ship. Two sat in disrepair with parts missing and were the furthest away from the front. Another two were lined up ready to go it seemed but laid dark. The next two stood guard with canopies open and large power cables hooked up to them. The rest of the hangar was bare with just a few tool chests strewn about.
Krystal couldn't stop eyeing them the whole walk past them. If only for a moment she could fly one then she'd be content. Fox noticed her gaze but didn't blame her one bit. The arwing, or any fighter for that matter, was meant to be captivating.
"Stare much longer you'll burn a hole in one." Krystal snapped out of it.
"Sorry." She said swiftly. "I've never been this close to something like this." Fox formed a prideful smile at her comment on the Arwing. Would she let him, he'd tell her all about the Arwing and its capabilities. "You sure you don't need a new pilot?" She asked earnestly.
Fox huffed a laugh out. "I trust me I could use one, but I still don't have the time or money to train one." Again, Krystals dreams were dashed. They began walking further into the ship after that. The hangar took up most of the room on the lower deck, sharing it with the engine compartment.
Once past the hangar and up a set of stairs, Fox opened a door into an incredibly claustrophobic hallway. Bulkhead doors dotted the hallway every few meters along the tight hall. They soon wound up in room with command center written on a placard next to the door. Inside sat a round table with four chairs on each side. The walls were decorated with white boards, TVs, and a crest of Star Fox's logo in the center of the back wall.
"In order to conduct your clearance interview, we'll need a secure room so this will have to do." Just in time, apparently, Fox's phone rang with his grandfather's number. He knew what that meant so picked up and told him to invite Builter inside the ship. "Our interviewer just arrived so we'll get this out of the way now."
Krystal became anxious again. "Fox, what's going to be asked on this interview?" She asked.
"Don't worry about it much. So long as the government know who you are, you aren't a felon, and don't have ties to venom, you'll do fine." He said confidently. She did trust him but it still made her feel uneasy.
After a few minutes, a knock came from the door leading to the hallway. Fox opened the door to reveal a tall racoon man in his late twenties in a military dress uniform. Both men greeted each other heartily with a quick hug and harsh words towards each other's appearance.
The racoon turned his attention towards Krystal. "Good morning. You must be Krystal." He said, reaching out his hand. Krystal shook it hesitantly.
"Thank you for meeting me." Builter's ears perked a bit at her speech. He noticed her accent first of all. Knowing it wasn't local might make his job here a little longer. That would come later, however.
"My pleasure." In his right hand was a briefcase which he now laid on the round table. Out came a laptop, a tablet and a camera. "If you could please sit in front of the camera." Slowly she complied. Builter saw her slow, almost hesitant, movements and sought to reassure her. "Sorry if this is sudden, this is the first thing to do on my agenda. Got a busy day after this so I'm trying to make this quick."
It did little to ease her but still it was something. She took her place at the seat in front of the camera. Builter typed something into his laptop. He then plugged the camera into the tablet which both lit up blue. The racoon fiddled with the camera some and stared at the tablet. Krystal brought out her driver's license and passport. Eventually he seemed content with whatever was on the screen and continued on.
"May I see these?" He asked pointing to her documents. She agreed and handed them over. Soon a fury of typing ensued that neither Krystal nor Fox thought another could replicate. Once he stopped, he looked at the tablet, then at Krystal. "Are you ready to start?" He asked calmly.
Krystal figured now or never. "Yes." Builter tapped once on the tablet.
"Time zero eight hundred and twelve. I William Charles Builter am interviewing," He paused a moment to motion to Krystal, "Please state your full name."
"Krystal Atamai Itsumi." Said the vixen without missing a beat.
"For the purpose of getting a security clearance. With me as a witness is…" He now motioned to Fox.
"James Sabre McCloud Jr."
"Good." Builter looked to his laptop. "What I'm going to ask you is a series of questions pertaining to your history as well as your loyalties. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Krystal stated.
"Good then let's begin." He tapped twice on his touchpad mouse to bring up the first set of questions. "What is your citizenship status pertaining to Corneria?" Anxiety came back to Krystal. She couldn't lie but how far would they dig.
"Refugee." Both men looked at her. Fox sympathetically and Builter annoyedly. "Is that bad?" She asked worriedly.
"No, I just have to dig for more questions. You're actually the first refugee I've had so this'll be a first for me too hearing these." He typed some more until he hit his mark. "Here we go." He looked pleased with himself as he scrolled over the few questions on it. "Alright what is your place of birth?"
While she hated lying, this was something all the Cerinians agreed was worth the guilt. "Surpril space station." Both men flinched at that. At near the same time of the survivors capture, the space station Surpril had been annexed by a Venomian proxy. Thousands of refugees came from that crisis, and no one batted an eye at a few more found in a transport bound for Venom.
"Well, you have my condolences." Builter said while typing it in. It matched her history so he figured better not to dwell on it. The questions went on for over twenty minutes until eventually they stopped. Builter figured he'd grilled enough of her to get a picture that she wasn't a threat to security. He issued her a clearance which would be attached to the Star Fox company rooster.
The racoon packed up his things and left after a hardy goodbye to Fox. Krystal, who felt a little violated, sat back in the chair. Fox saw her already exhausted position. He couldn't blame her. Those felt a little more intense than the ones he had received years ago.
Fox sat across from Krystal. She looked over to him. "It's over, right?" Asked a drained voice.
The vulpine nodded. "Yes its over." Krystal sighed heavily with a smile. She brought her chair back and stood up.
"Alright, can I hear what I'm doing now?" Fox relinquished. From under the table, he produced a thick manila covered manual. M1790A1 Landmaster it read.
"You're going to be driving a tank." He slid the manual over to her side of the table. "I don't expect you to read all of that but give the drivers operations section some attention." When he said driving for a temp job, this hadn't been what she anticipated. She opened the book and found the driver section. It was short, only about a dozen pages long. Fox left while she read stating that he was going to uncover the tank from its canvas shell.
After finishing the section, Krystal left to go find Fox in the hangar. From the edge of the gangplank she saw him unlatching straps which held down the beast. It seemed small for something that could cause so much damage. Though she figured it had to be if they wanted to drive it down a street. She walked down to him to help him with the cleanup.
First chance to get into the driver's seat, she took it. It was cozy inside to say the least. Here she was surrounded by screens giving a three sixty-degree view of the outside. The front driver's seat was in front of the gunner seat making it just large enough for two people. Nothing more could feasibly fit inside.
Krystal began the startup procedure in order to back the tank off of its trailer. The hydrogen engine came to life underneath her. Each screen came online to give her the most situational awareness a driver could have. Fox didn't even need to help back off the trailer. After a little bit longer, Fox hopped up into the gunner's seat behind Krystal.
Fox put on a headset so Krystal could communicate with him. "So I told you my life story, what's yours?" Krystal asked.
"Not really interesting unfortunately." He was getting used to the lack of space inside the tank. "Born on Papetoon but moved here when I was two. My mother died when I was thirteen, so my dad sent me to the Cornerian Military Academy. Really it was just a boarding school. On the weekends me and my roommates would come here and use my dad's flight sim. It's actually how I taught the others on my team how to fly initially. Once my dad passed too, I inherited the company. The past few years I've been trying to keep the place afloat while also trying to get the ship space worthy again. That's pretty much it."
It was much more than Krystal initially thought but really what was she expecting. Fox directed her to follow a line outlining the inside of the hangar. Being a secret vehicle, driving outside on the road or the space port was off limits. In enough time though, Krystal got the hang of driving the massive thing.
By the time Fox felt she learned the basics of the Landmaster, it was around five. Thomas had left at some point during that. The man usually exited without announcing anything making it hard to know if he was ever here after three pm. Fox told Krystal that today was enough of an education and said she could leave if she wanted to.
But…she did have one request. "Hey Fox. You said there was a simulator here. Think maybe I could try it at least?" He thought to himself for a second.
'Better just give in. She won't let it go otherwise.' Thinking why not he brought her up to where the simulator now rested on the Great Fox. She immediately sat down once it came into her sight. Fox explained the controls and what the important buttons did. He loaded up the first thing every pilot struggled with. Landing.
In front of Krystal was a screen with a runway ten miles away. It initially sounded far but came up rather quickly when flying at over a hundred and fifty knots. Krystal lowered the gear using the lever Fox had just taught her and began the approach.
It seemed to be going well until she came in too fast. Her simulated Arwing seemed to float above the runway. Soon half the runway had passed and she knew she had to try something. Krystal pushed the nose down and slammed on the toe brakes hard. Fox flinched heavily at both. A thousand feet before the end of the fifteen thousand foot long runway, she stopped.
Nervously she peered back at Fox. "Well, you stopped at least." His expression didn't portray it but, he was impressed. First time Slippy tried, he went off the runway. First time Falco tried, he stalled right before the runway. While this wasn't perfect, or even really good, it was correctable. He reset the simulator for another ten mile final. "Do it again but don't touch the control stick too much."
Again she tried. This time she landed long but not as far as the first attempt. And again she tried but landed further on this go. A fourth attempt wasn't made. Fox had left at some point during the previous landing. He returned soon after with a textbook in his hand. Then he asked a question she could only dream of.
"How badly do you really want to be a pilot?" Words she hoped for from the beginning.
"I'd give anything." She said rapidly. He handed her the textbook. 'Basic Flying´ it read along the top with a military star fighter on the front.
"I'll train you if you take this as seriously as possible. Like I mean coming in to just practice on the sim and reading this front to cover. Your contract is up in three months. If you can show improvement in that time, then I'll train you on the real thing." She looked up in astonishment.
"You…you're serious?" She couldn't believe it.
Fox looked at her with hope and fear in his eyes. "Trust me It's not easy. But if you can show me that you can handle both the workload and the stress than I'll take you on." Krystal couldn't contain herself. She leapt up and hugged Fox.
"Fox there isn't a chance I'm letting this opportunity go. Thank you." She exclaimed loudly. She let go of the hug eventually while the two walked back into the hangar. The tod thought that today was enough of a lesson and let her go for the day.
He looked out to the Great Fox's hangar. Fox sighed heavily. "I really hope I'm not making a mistake."
A/N: Merry Christmas everyone.