Author's note: Figured I should list off character ages, to keep this story consistent. Please note, I don't know if dinosaurs would really age like this, even in the universe, it is more for convenience, plot-wise.
Fox: 26
Slippy: 26
Peppy Hare: 50
Krystal: 24
Scales: Unknown, likely late 40s to early 50s
Pepper: 55
Falco: 27
Kyte: 11
Tricky: 9
Captain Kree: Unclear, seems to be in his thirties
Queen Saffali: Unclear, likely in her thirties
King Earthalker: Forties
Queen Earthwalker: Unclear, likely in her mid-thirties though.
Meanwhile, in space, a massive ship was approaching orbit around Sauria, having been drifting for some time. This was the Great Fox, the mothership for the legendary Star Fox team. For years, it had been a symbol of hope wherever it went. But it was no longer a sight for sore eyes. The once-grand ship was now worn, beaten, and in dire need of repairs, withered by years of neglect. Its occupants were little better for the wear.
The morning alarm had awoken Fox from his slumber. Slowly, he got up and started going about his daily routine. He walked over to his drawer and glanced at the photos of his friends and family he kept, briefly thinking of better days. Brushing these thoughts aside, he grabbed his clothes and proceeded to the restroom to take his daily shower before brushing his teeth and get dressed. After this, he would have breakfast and do scan the computer for job requests. That's all he had seemed to do as of late.
"Another day, adrift. When does it ever change?" He thought to himself. Everything was just on a downward slope, it seemed. Nothing really invigorated him anymore; it was just an endless cycle of dead-end jobs that kept his team afloat. He could not believe how far he had fallen.
Once, he had been hailed as a hero across the Lylat System for his defeat of Andross and many other adventures. But, those times had faded by. It had been about 4 years since the Lylat Wars. Now, the Star Fox team drifted seemly aimlessly in their neglected ship, waiting for work.
"There's always hope for something to happen," He thought of what Peppy always said, trying to brighten his mood.
The fox finished his routine and made his way to the bridge of the ship. Upon entering the bridge, he could already see his Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad working away at their usual routines. Slippy was busy looking over schematics for his latest project, an Arwing X-2 as he called it. He mostly just used his cut of the paychecks to fund this endeavor, Fox wondered when the prototype would actually be ready for testing.
Peppy, meanwhile, was busy mapping out the corners of Lylat they had traveled while also monitoring for job offers. The old hare had retired from active flight duty, instead preferring a role as mission control. He mostly worked on his maps in his free time.
Notably, there was a noticeable lack of a 4th team member, Falco Lombardi. After the incident with Captain Shears, he had left the team and the tension it created between the two friends. Falco started preferring to go his own way as a result. His lack of presence was still felt among the team, who missed him greatly. Fox brushed these thoughts aside, though he secretly didn't blame Falco for wanting to leave after that incident. To say nothing of the members of the team who had left before that.
There was Miyu Lynx, of had dropped the team some time again for better work. Then there had been Fara Phoenix left a bit after the Lylat Wars to return to AeroSpace Dynamics due to her tensions with Fox over their former relationship. She wasn't spiteful, but it became clear the awkwardness of their situation made her uncomfortable living and working out of a cramped ship with her ex. Things between her and Fox had just not worked out.
Beyond them, they had been requested to join a young Cornerain flight academy cadet named Fay, but she was too young to join the team legally, despite her proficiency in the aerospace field.
Closer to the maintain control scheme, Fox noticed the ship's onboard robot, ROB64, tending to the ship's systems. He noted how rusted, and stiff the robots' joints were, as they had neglected his maintenance due to lack of funds. Slippy had to repair them almost every other day manually.
"Hopefully, today will bring us some fortune." The vulpine mused. Resigning himself to his routine, he greeted the others and sat down in his chair, beginning to monitor his computer.
"Peppy, any job new job requests?" Fox had asked the old hare.
"Nothing much, Fox. A few cargo jobs, but the pay is rather low. We would just barely break even on most of them." Peppy replied.
"No good. This ship is in dire need of repair, and we can't waste our resources on jobs like that." Fox sighed, looking up from his computer, before walking off to a window to clear his thoughts. It was not just the lack of jobs that was killing him; it was the complete boredom. In years past, he never wanted adventure; it always found him. But now, things were slow. It quietly begged for something, anything to happen to them to alleviate his boredom (and, with luck, his costs)
"Maybe buying a new game console might be in order. Sure it was not a necessity, but anything to alleviate the boredom might help." Fox muttered to himself.
He then noticed something out of the corner of his eye: a planet that seemed to have several chunks of it broken off and floating in its orbit. Fox stared in awe before alerting his crew.
"Guys, come take a look a this," Fox called, causing everyone present to drop what they were doing and join him at the window.
"Good heavens, what happened here?" Peppy asked, shocked at what he was seeing.
"This is horrific! " Slippy gasped. ' What could have caused this?"
"Scans indicate it to be planet Sauria. ROB replied. "The planet seems to have been forced apart, but the cause is uncertain."
This caused Fox to stop and think for a second. He had heard bits and pieces about Sauria in the past, but he never gave much thought to it. It had been famous for its dinosaurs, but it was never relevant to any of the wars in Lylat's history. From what he saw, it looked like it could blow up if left unchecked. The loss of life on the planet would be horrific, but the consequences would also be felt to any other planet whose orbit was within the massive blast radius that ensured.
There had to be something they could do. He was never one to stand by and watch a catastrophe happen
"This looks bad." Fox began.
"That's an understatement." Slippy retorted.
"Whatever is going on down there, I feel we should at least look into. Something tells me that whatever is causing the planet to be like this could prove a risk to the greater galaxy if left unchecked. To say nothing of the nearby worlds that could feel the aftershocks of its explosion." Fox went on.
Peppy and Slippy thought for a moment, while they needed to focus their resources to keep the ship running, it was never like them to ignore a world in crisis. And their leader had a point; planets don't just explode or crack on their own. At the very least, they felt, they could investigate and report it to Corneria if there was a new crisis in the works.
"Fair enough, I believe it would be-" Peppy was cut off as the alarm for an incoming holo message came in. And from the symbol is displayed, it was something important.
The emblem of the Cornerian army on the center console before the team answered it and the face of General Pepper appeared.
In an instant, the team gathered around and addressed the general.
"Greetings, Star Fox Team, It's been some time, hasn't it?" Pepper addressed the team.
"Indeed it has, general. It's an honor to see you again." Fox replied.
"The feeling is mutual. Now, as I am sure you are aware, this isn't a social call. I have a new mission for you, Fox. "Pepper began to explain. "Cornerian scouts have reported strange activity coming from an ancient world on the edge of the Loyalty system, called Sauria. Though some call it the Dinosaur Planet, but I am sure you can guess why. Anyways, the planet has been known for its rich magical energy and its ancient ruins and dinosaurs. Recently, reports have been coming in that energy readings from its core have proven unstable. We believe the planet could be at risk of exploding." He finished.
Fox immediately looked out the window. "Yeah, funny thing, general. I think Sauria is right outside our window." Fox said, somewhat amused at the coincidence.
The general looked exacerbated for a brief second before shrugging. "What are the odds of that?" He said before shrugging it off. "In any case, that's very convenient."
Fox then frowned. "Though, I think the situation is worse than you might think. Chunks of the planet are breaking off and surrounding it in orbit." Fox added.
The general frowned before going on. "All the more reason to send in your team. I need you to investigate the planet and see if you can reverse whatever caused it to break. Its destruction could prove catastrophic to the orbit of many far-off planets. A major fee has already been authorized for you upon completion of your task." Pepper finished
The Star Fox team was in complete unison about what to do. "Consider it done general," Fox replied.
General Pepper nodded before speaking on." Very good. We will transmit what intel on the planet we have to you soon. But there are a few more things I must warn you. We are going in blind here; we have done some research on the planet in the past, but it has never been of much significance to Corneria. We haven't interfered with the planet before because we respect their autonomy. We're not Venom, after all. But I won't lie to you; this isn't exactly out of pure altruism." General Pepper said sternly. "Sauria's destruction would be tragic due to the loss of life, but this is more about saving our territories. The magic energy that the planet contains is unlike any other world we know of. Due to this powerful energy, the planet's destruction would release it and could shake up the orbit of many planets under our control, doing lord knows what kind of damage to them. "Pepper finished.
The Star Fox team was not surprised. The general had to look after the interests of Corneria; it was his job as general after all. Governments and militaries don't just do acts of charity like this out of the kindness of their hearts. Regardless, this cause seemed just to the team.
"We understand, Pepper. We will begin preparations." Fox responded
"And theirs one more thing. I will have to ask that you leave behind your blaster and rely on melee weaponry. The natives of the planet are, for the most part, unfamiliar with the technology. We believe its use here could frighten many of the natives and cause some distrust amongst them. Furthermore, we are aware of a local tribe, the Sharpclaws, subjugating the planet. Reports are limited, but we are not fully aware of their capabilities. We do know they have not yet discovered firearms, and we would prefer you not risk such technology falling into their hands."
Fox was a bit irritated but shrugged. "If that's the terms of the contract, so be it."
"Good, contact me more if you need further guidance. The information on the rest of the tribes is being sent to you as we speak. Furthermore, we will be sending in blueprints for a translator device. I am sure your mechanic can help construct it. Pepper out" The hologram then shut off.
The team was relieved, in some regards. While the fate of a whole planet, and possibly countless others, were resting in their hand now, the group was at least happy to have a large source of income on the table finally. The payment could be just what they need to get the ship up and running.
Besides that, Fox was secretly excited at the prospect of a new adventure. It was just like the old days to him, saving lives and getting paid while doing it. Turning to the team, he spoke.
"Looks like we have some work to do, team." Standing up, he addressed the toad and hare. "Slippy, ready my Arwing for deployment. Peppy, see what kind of maps you can pull from the data they sent us. I will go and gather all the supplies I will need for the journey to the surface." Fox ordered the other two. Each nodded, and everyone got to work.
Yet, despite their eagerness and bravado, they had little idea of the depth of the crisis they were about to plunge headfirst into.
(Meanwhile, elsewhere on Sauria)
Things were in chaos for the Cloudrunner tribe. Having already lost their princess to Scales, the mood was already down. Then, out of know where their fortress had suddenly been lifted into orbit. To say this caused a panic would be an understatement. Most of the tribe had been sent into a frenzy, with the soldiers being forced to help quell the more frenzied amongst them.
After the initial shock had passed, however, Queen Saffali had been able to regain her wits and devised a plan of action. She knew that it must have been Scales behind this, as only the removal of the Spell Stones could have caused such a thing. And they were Scales' goal after all.
The queen had set into motion her contingency plans. She ordered another high-ranking royal guard to take command over the fortress while she took a squad of soldiers and elite guards to find and regroup with the rest of her army down on the planet, as the majority of them were out on patrol or fighting the Sharpclaw when it happened. The queen had to come along as she was the only one who could open a portal to and from the planet and back, due to her status as a gatekeeper.
Before leaving, she had ordered two of her most trusted guards to keep the younger princesses and princes safe. Assigning a pair, the tasks of "babysitters," as they had put it, were to ensure the queen's children's safety in such times. She knew it might only be a matter of time before Scales made his move and used the chaos to capture Cloud Runner Fortress and likely other vital civilizations on the planet.
"What a mess." Queen Saffali had thought to herself. "That bastard will answer for this. My tribe will never fall. I at least hope Kree and Krystal were able to rescue Kyte. With luck, I might run into them." The queen finished her thoughts, brushing them aside as she refocused on the task at hand. Turning to the guards flying near here, she stopped and addressed them. They each waited patiently for her orders. The large group of Cloudrunners was perched high up in some mountains, near where their fortress was supposed to be located.
"It is of the utmost importance that we regroup with our displaced forces and ready a counterattack. We have to inform them of the situation and devise a plan." She began. "I want those of you good at long-range flights to report to our usual patrol spots. Our displaced forces might likely have retreated to those locations. As for my royal guard and I, we will see about locating the Spellstones."
"Yes, our queen." The soldiers said in unison before flying off to their usual assigned patrol areas. Suddenly, a royal guard member spoke up. "Your grace, if I may make a suggestion, I feel as though we should try to coordinate with some of the other tribes. This chaos is unprecedented; there's little doubt other holds were sent off into orbit like our home. Scales undoubtedly would make his move and grab control of the remainder of the planet in this chaos." The guard finished.
The queen pondered on this for a moment. He raised a point: the situation was now far out of her control. She wondered if her displaced army could even regroup fast enough to counterattack. But, she still wondered if what allies they could even gain by this point. The only other tribe with the might to stand up to Scales' army was the Earthwalker tribe. The Cloudrunners and them still did not see eye to eye on hardly anything. Even if she looked past her pride, she doubted they could raise an alliance. She didn't even know where to locate the Queen Earthwalker to propose it. She shook her head.
"Maybe, but we don't even know where to start. We can try to make contact, but the only viable choice for an ally is the Earthwalker tribe, and we all know what they did to us. "She said, a hint of anger in her voice. "Regardless, we must focus on finding the Spell Stone." She stated before preparing to retake the flight.
With any luck, her group could locate intel on the Spell Stones' whereabouts. Or, hopefully, at least find Kree.
Determined, the queen and her guards retook flight.
Author's note: I changed a few of the details, shortening the years since the Lylat Wars, to make the story seem a bit more coherent. And yes, let me just address what I know will be a source of frustration to some: Not having Fox bring his blaster.
Realistically, he probably should bring it. But the problem with that is, in a story like this, giving Fox a gun would mean almost no enemy would really pose too much of a threat, besides the larger bosses and such. (Example: Since the Sharpclaw doesn't have blasters or much protection against them in this story, Fox would be able to mow them down with ease. Unless I just kept coming up with convenient reasons why he can't use it situations, there would be almost no tension for a good part of the story, and fights would end anticlimactically (like the fight with Scales later on).
So, in brief, I am aware of how stupid that is, but it pretty much breaks the story. However, I might have him use it at a much later point.
Regardless, I know I will catch flak for this.
Side note: I considered the Fire Blaster on the staff less deadly than their modern firearms, in case anyone compares using it to using the blaster.