Star Fox: The Harmony of the Many

by NamaFox

The Aparoid Wars are over, and the Lylat System is recovering. Team Star Fox receives a distress call from just beyond the edge of the Lylat System. What starts as a rescue mission soon becomes something much more than the team anticipated. Fox McCloud soon finds himself contending with horrors beyond imagination, and it will take all his wits and courage just to survive.

20. Chapter 19 - Breaking Down Barriers

Krystal sat alone in the medical room, keeping a close eye on the young pilot they had captured. So far, he had not reacted to his captors. Indeed, he hadn't even woken up. His eyes remained closed, his breathing steady as he rested upon the bed she and Falco had put him on. It had been this way for a while now. She kept thinking he would wake up at any given moment. She had run a few more scans on him since then, but none of them turned up anything serious. Of course, that didn't mean much in of itself. No one in Star Fox was a qualified physician, and the equipment they had could only do so much. Even these scanners were a bit dated, only designed to detect the most serious of injuries, things that would prove life-threatening if left untreated. They weren't really designed for anything else. Krystal had managed to set his sprained arm in a sling, as well as apply some of the basic healing gel they had to the more bruised areas of his body. The gel didn't really do much healing, it was more of a soothing solution that eased the pain while helping the body recover just a little bit faster.

She still believed that he may have suffered a concussion during the attack, but she had no way of being certain. She simply didn't have the training necessary. She did know that one of the best ways to treat such a head injury was rest. That's what the injured pilot was getting now, and plenty of it.

She had planned to have him moved into one of the crew quarters after treating him, but she wasn't comfortable with the idea of moving him right now. While it wasn't something that gave her great pleasure to do, she knew she would have to restrain him somehow. They had taken away his weapons, which consisted only of a small blaster pistol and a combat knife, but they had to assume that he would still be a threat even if unarmed. The only way to be safe would be to keep him bound and unable to interfere in any meaningful way.

She hated to do this, but it had to be done.

She rose to her feet, studying the boy for a little longer, making sure his condition had not changed at all. Upon ascertaining that he was still unconscious, she reached for the intercom, pressing the button and waiting for a bit before hearing a response.

"Yo." Falco's voice.

"Falco. The pilot is still in the medical bay. He has not stirred, I do not know how long he's going to be out. However, I cannot remain here indefinitely, and we cannot leave him unattended."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. That's what I was saying earlier. What do you want to do about it, anyway?"

Krystal was quiet for a moment, weighing the options in her mind. "I do not know. I find the thought of binding him to be rather distasteful, yet it seems no matter what we do with him, he is our prisoner and we cannot risk him escaping or causing harm."

"Yup." Falco agreed. "Look, we can lock him in a room, or a closet, or whatever. We can tie him up if you want. Doesn't matter to me. Just so long as he's secure, I don't wanna get jumped by him when I'm least expecting it."

"Agreed." Krystal sighed softly. She didn't want to do this, but it did seem to be necessary. "Falco, do you have restraints that we can use here? I think that would be best for now. We will keep him in medical so we can treat him if something further goes wrong."

"Sure thing. I'm pretty sure I've got something lying around that'll work. I'll be with you in just a bit. Hang tight."

"Of course." Krystal responded. The light on the intercom went off, Falco must have left to find whatever it was he was looking for. Krystal sat down in her chair, looking at the wounded pilot, still lying peacefully on the table, showing no sign of stirring.

It felt so wrong for some reason. It was one thing to fight from ship to ship, to join the team in dogfights and shooting down enemies that were fighting back. It was another thing entirely to keep an unarmed prisoner aboard their ship. Krystal knew they had every reason to do this, they had every reason to not feel guilty. He had been wounded and they were taking care of him. He was an enemy, so they couldn't trust him to wander free, yet they would not be merciless, cold-blooded killers and execute him. They were doing nothing wrong by keeping him secure. It still didn't stop Krystal from feeling a degree of guilt. She knew such feelings were not deserved, yet felt them even so.

It would be so wonderful when this mission was finally over, when they all might come together again, Star Fox united. To see their smiling faces once more, to see Fox alive and well.

She hoped Falco would show up soon. Worse than the thought of restraining the wounded pilot was the thought that he might force Krystal to shoot if he got aggressive. While she was not sheltered from the harsh realities of battle and war, she would rather not take a life unless it were absolutely necessary. She hoped it would not prove necessary here.

As she gazed upon the pilot, she took note of his form. The pilot didn't look particularly malicious, at least not underneath the helmet that they had removed upon bringing him to the medical bay. He looked like a run of the mill cat, like many others they had met. He didn't look anything like the monstrous Aparoids they had faced in the past. He didn't appear to be disheveled, with a cobbled together uniform like that of most pirates that the Star Fox team encountered. He looked like a pilot for the Cornerian Army, just with different colors and insignia on him.

Was it necessary for them to be enemies? Would it be possible to reason with him? To talk with him? To perhaps find a way to settle their differences without the use of further violence?

Even if it were somehow possible, it might not matter. This pilot, whoever he was, was clearly not in charge of the operation here. Even if he woke up, even if he turned out to be a very reasonable fellow, that didn't mean it would make any difference in convincing his superiors to see things their way. That was assuming that they could get through to him at all.

It was lamentable. A terrible foe lay before them aboard the Von Dross, but the Dominion staunchly opposed Star Fox every step of the way. Violence was turning into the only answer, the only way out.

Why, she wondered. Why did it have to be this way? Why could they not unite against a common foe? Why did the Dominion oppose them when Star Fox only wanted to help the survivors, to mount a rescue mission? Why was violence so often the first and only solution in Lylat?

You think of discord. Of disharmony.

Oh no. Not now! The voices were back, crawling into her mind. After a period of silence, the Many had returned, invading her mind!

You mourn the path that you must follow, for you see no other choice. Yet we offer our own.

Krystal grit her teeth, growling aloud. "Get out of my head! You are not welcome here! Get out!"

Do you not see the parallel? You push us aside, insisting on your way of violence and hatred. Just as the Dominion pushes you. It is a cycle unending, the curse of individuality. The individual fears. The individual hates. We do not fear. We seek only to grow. We would welcome all into our mass, to join in our harmonious song. For all souls to become one with ours. Beauty and harmony everlasting.

The vixen winced, hissing through clenched teeth as she fought the thing back. She had not been imagining its growing power last time. It was stronger now, easily able to push her defenses aside, attempting to worm its way into her very being. She could feel it inside her. It was repulsive and overwhelming. Still she resisted. While it may have gotten stronger over time, so had she. She was becoming more familiar with its attacks, with its thought patterns. She knew she couldn't hold it off forever, it was strong and growing too fast. She believed she could at least hold it back. She hoped so. "You...do not bring harmony! You bring blind slavery! Surrendering everything that makes us unique, what makes us special!"

You cling to your false ideals like a desperate child. You fear change. You fear evolution. How we long to take you in. How we long to make you part of the mass, to sing our song in ecstatic rapture. We would nourish and cradle you within our very womb. You would bear witness to the birth of life and wonders unfathomable.

"You...are just like...the Aparoids!" Krystal hissed, barely able to get the words out. She was doubled over now, her fists clenched, trying desperately to stay in control. "All they could do was inflict harm, and...and they thought they were helping too! They nearly destroyed us all!"

The Aparoids merely consumed. The Aparoids are nothing like us. They surrendered individuality, but they failed to embrace the joy of the Many. The song of harmony. They sought only conquest. To consume. We do not. Our actions are not selfish. We know nothing of the self. All we do is for harmony. Growth. Joy. We do nothing out of a desire for gain. There is no self. There is only the Many.

She tried to answer it, but her words were cut off by a sudden flare of pain as it attacked again, trying to get deeper inside her mental barriers, attempting to force its way into deepest recesses of her mind. She resisted with all her might! She was not going to let this thing get the better of her, she would not let it win! Their battle continued in earnest, though Krystal's was purely a defensive one. She couldn't even begin to hope to attack the thing with her mind. She did not have the strength it did, and all she could do was attempt to keep it out with all her might.

There was only so much she could do. She felt her defenses breaking, fractures forming. The Many tested her, slipping through the cracks of her mental barrier.

That was when she began to hear the voices. So many voices. All of them singing together in harmony. She was there. She was part of it, a face in the crowd. She feared it at first, the thought of being just another face, empty and devoid of meaning, a speck compared to the infinite.

The feeling changed. She felt a sense of purpose. A sense of belonging, one so powerful that it dwarfed all other senses. Everyone who was there welcomed her. They were smiling. The song continued. It was beautiful. It was so beautiful. For the first time in so many years, she felt...home.

She heard other voices. Voices she could not identify. Somehow, she knew the words were real. These were not conjurations of the Many, but rather voices that it had collected and absorbed, all from different speakers. They blended and blurred together. While she could not make any sense of it, she heard them as clear as day. They all belonged to the Many now.

No, that wasn't accurate. They didn't belong to it. They WERE the Many now. They were all a part of it, absorbed into it somehow. Some were male. Some were female. Some were old, some were young. She instinctively knew that they were all crew of the Von Dross.

"Hacked into DARIUS today. Dreyfus knows it's me, he just can't prove it..."

"This is bigger than anything we've ever discovered. We will be remembered for an eternity after this, the birthplace of the future!"

"I've hacked the security grid...I've rewired all functions from DARIUS to myself...for the love of god, I don't know why! I just felt this...compulsion! Will send codes...to the others!"

"They have told me I will strike our enemies from above with my mind. With my MIND!"

"What did I think was happiness before? What did I think had meaning? To think that all this time I was so utterly insignificant. But now...now I am one of Many."

There were more voices, but they were becoming more difficult to make out, impossible to understand or distinguish from each other. They all shared the same connection. They were all connected to the Many, voices belonging either to those who had embraced it or had succumbed to it.

It was powerful. Once again, she found herself wanting it. There had been a hole in her heart ever since she lost her home world of Cerinia. The sense of purpose and belonging that the Many gave her in this moment; it felt like she was home all over again. The hole was sealed. The pain that she carried with her for so many years was finally gone. It could stay gone. Forever. All she needed to do was submit. The Many would welcome her. The Many would embrace her. She would at last find her home.

It is time to come home. Come home. Join our song, that we may sing of our wonder to the galaxy. That all shall know the peace and love of home.

Home.

It was that word that did it. She had been so close to surrendering, mere moments away. She didn't know what would happen next if she surrendered. Perhaps it would take control of her, or merely compel her to do things she would never have otherwise done. That word put an end to the spell. As it tried to push into her, she pushed back with a renewed mental strength, with all the power she could muster.

Home. With the overwhelming visions and feelings that the Many had thrust upon her, she had almost forgotten. Now she would fight back! "I did lose Cerina. I will never find that home again." She kept pushing against it, forcing it to give ground, cleansing her mind of its taint. "But I HAVE a home now! My home is here! My home is with my friends! My home is with Star Fox! With Fox McCloud! And I'm not going to surrender that to anyone!"

She kept pushing, kept fighting! She wouldn't relent! She wouldn't give up until it was gone, until she banished it from whence it came! It gave before her assault, retreating from her mind. She could actually feel as it departed from her, and it caused her no end of relief. She'd pushed it out!

She didn't have long to appreciate her victory, however. It did not attack her again, but she heard its whispered warning before its presence faded.

So be it. You cling to your individuality so. You will not yield. You resist against all of our warmth. You reject the splendor of flesh, the joys of union. There will be others like you. Those who will not join our song. How can you be so short-sighted? How can you be so blind?

In a way, it was almost like it was pleading with her to see reason. That was until it spoke its next words, words that chilled her to the bone, its voice deep, cold, and menacing. When you and your kind are extinct, we shall cleanse our collective memory of the stain of your existence.

Those were the last words it offered before its presence vanished. Krystal was left alone again, the world slowly returning to focus all around her.

It happened just in time, too. She could hear Falco's footsteps as he approached. She had come out of that little exchange before he had entered the room. She didn't want to share that moment with him, she didn't plan on sharing any of her conversations with the Many. Voicing it would only serve to frustrate and scare her team mates. She just hoped she wouldn't have to deal with the thing much longer. She had put on a brave face, she had managed to force it back this time, but it would try again, she was certain of that. It would be stronger too. It was growing so fast. She even suspected that the only reason she managed to fight it off this time is that it was distracted. She couldn't quite explain it, but somehow she knew she didn't have its full attention. Even distracted, it still was so powerful!

She would prepare what little defenses she could. She still remembered the rituals and techniques that her father had taught her as she developed her telepathic abilities. She hoped it would be enough. What they really needed was to defeat the Many before it came to that.

Falco had made it to the door by now, entering with a pair of sturdy looking straps. "Hey, I got these for you. They were in one of the storage rooms, they're mostly for keeping some of Slippy's tools from jostling around too much. I think they'll work for what you want, though."

Krystal nodded, reaching out for them, inspecting them herself. They did indeed look right for what she had in mind, something that could be tied around his arms and legs and render him immobile. "I think we should apply these as soon as possible. Before he wakes."

"Yup, agreed." Falco rolled his shoulders. "I'll get his legs. You get his upper body."

"Right." Krystal stood up, then moved toward the medical table with the strap Falco had given her. As she stood by the cat's head, she looked him over again, trying to make sure he was still asleep. He gave no indication of being awake or conscious, just had his eyes closed and continued to breathe in and out. She looked at Falco and then nodded her head.

The first thing she did was wrap the strap around his chest, then tying it beneath the bed and securing him in place. She couldn't bind his arms with the strap, as his arm was still strained and she really didn't want to make it worse. She wanted to treat him with at least a little dignity and respect if she could. It didn't take her long to fasten it, securing the knot and ensuring that he couldn't move very much.

Falco looked less than pleased at their handiwork, having strapped his legs down on the lower part of the bed. "I dunno. I mean, yeah, it's not gonna be easy for him to get out, but I think he could if he really wanted to. Wish we had a cell or holding area." He looked up at Krystal. "We should probably lock him in a closet or something."

She shook her head. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea. As long as someone watches him, we'll be fine."

"Yeah, but what if we can't watch him?" Falco asked. "You and I might be needed to fly again soon. Slippy's busy, I doubt he can watch. ROB isn't exactly built for security. I just think he's gonna escape if we're not careful."

"I agree." Krystal lowered her head, rubbing at her temples. "But I don't know what to do. I don't simply want to lock him in a closet and leave him in there. He might need further treatment. I don't wish to injure him any further or allow them to grow more severe due to negligence."

"Yeah, I get what you're saying, I do," Falco began, "But I really think this is a matter where we need to put ourselves first. This guy could be a serious risk to us if he escapes. I mean, there's no telling what he's gonna do when he wakes up."

"I know." Krystal acknowledged Falco's concerns. In truth, she agreed with them, at least regarding the danger that the pilot posed. "But this will have to do for now."

He looked like he wanted to argue with her on it, even opened his beak and started to say something, then jammed it shut. He eventually shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, whatever, he's your prisoner. Do whatever you want."

"I don't want to do anything, Falco. And I don't like thinking of him as a prisoner." Krystal sighed. "I just want this all to be over with. And it's getting...difficult to deal with it all."

"Yeah yeah, I know, I know." Falco shook his head, grumbling to himself. "I guess we're all going through that. Sucks, but we just gotta keep going somehow."

Krystal nodded. "Yes, we should..."

"Release me."

Neither of them expected that third voice. It was calm and quiet. He wasn't yelling, wasn't furious or panicked. Krystal and Falco both looked down to see the pilot looking straight up. He wasn't looking at either of them, he wasn't even trying to. He was just staring at the ceiling. "Let me out. I need to return to my ship."

"Oh, you ain't going nowhere fast, buddy boy." Falco said, smirking as he studied the cat. "We took you out fair and square, and there's no way we're sending you back so easily. Wasn't so fun fighting us without your shields, was it?"

Krystal watched Falco for a moment, curious, sensing a mixture of emotions emanating from him. On the one paw, he was clearly frustrated with the situation even now, and he was expressing some of that frustration. She was reminded of the recent conversation with the Many, of how it spoke on the division and disharmony in the galaxy. It seemed as though there was going to be more of that now. She tried to soothe the pilot, offering a more gentle approach. "You were injured when your vessel was disabled. We took you aboard to take care of your wounds."

"Then I am your prisoner." The cat stated this matter-of-factly, showing no real distress or emotion of any kind. He took a deep breath before exhaling quietly. "Let me return to my ship. If you let me go, maybe the Dominion will go easy on you. They might let you run. They are not without honor."

"Oh, I really don't think you're in a position to make demands of us." Falco folded his arms across his chest. "You guys have nearly killed us multiple times now. You're crazy if you think we're just gonna let you leave after all of this."

The cat stared at them blankly. "You intend to kill me then?"

"No, that is not what he meant." Krystal interjected, not wanting Falco to inadvertently escalate the situation. Falco was many things. An ace pilot, a dependable and loyal friend. He was one of the bravest people she knew. However, tact was not one of his strengths, nor was patience. She gave him a warning look, and he seemed to catch it, holding his hands up and letting her do the talking for a while. He took a step back, but he was still watching the other pilot, appearing very nonchalant, but Krystal was not fooled. She sensed discomfort from him. He was keeping an eye on their prisoner, making sure he didn't try anything funny. Krystal soon resumed her earlier words. "What he was trying to say is that we cannot allow you to leave when the rest of your forces threaten us with destruction. We will have to hold you for a while."

"I see." The cat's eyes were fixed on Krystal, then flicked away, staring up at the ceiling instead. He said nothing more.

"What is your name?" Krystal asked him.

The wounded pilot didn't respond to her question, just continued to stare at the ceiling wordlessly. He blinked his eyes a couple of times as he stared, otherwise remaining still. Falco seemed to be getting a bit impatient, his arms having folded across his chest and one of his fingers tapping against his bicep over and over again in a rapid manner.

She didn't need to be a telepath to sense his emotions at the moment. He was more than a bit agitated. She could sense his frustration at being unable to help Fox, she could feel his anger at the opponent that had attacked them without provocation. She'd probably have to do most of the talking. She wished Fox were here for this. She wasn't sure how much experience he had in dealing with prisoners, but she imagined it to be a good deal more than she possessed. Falco didn't seem to have much of an interest, and she doubted very much Slippy would get any better results. Besides, he was busy at the moment.

She had no choice but to proceed. Falco was keeping an eye on them, and he'd likely intervene if the enemy pilot somehow broke loose or attacked. Now for the matter at hand. She turned back to the pilot, who was now looking at her again, just staring. She repeated her question. "I'm Krystal. What's your name?"

"I know who you are." The pilot answered. He was neither abrupt nor polite. Everything he said was matter of fact and plain, direct. There was no venom in his tone, no anger or fury or fear. He simply stated what he knew. "Krystal. Star Fox team, joined after Saurian incident. Telepath. Skilled pilot. They say you can read thoughts."

Krystal blinked her eyes, surprised at just how much the pilot seemed to know. She knew for a fact they had never met before. Most people weren't all that privy to the knowledge of the Star Fox team. In fact, many people that she had met knew little of Star Fox beyond McCloud himself. Maybe it was the name. Either way, many people had no idea who the rest of the team were, not really. Falco had a bit of a reputation, known for both his skill and the fact that he and Fox were constantly trying to outdo each other. As for the rest of the Star Fox team, they were less well known. That's not to say that there wasn't data out there regarding the team and their abilities, but it was relatively rare to meet someone that knew even this much about her. She did not advertise her abilities.

"Huh." Falco was the first to respond. "You've done your homework, I'll give you that."

"Falco Lombardi." The pilot turned a bit so he could look at Falco. "Expert pilot, aggressive tactics, sometimes exposes himself to danger in his attempts to prove himself as the superior pilot. Potential weakness to be exploited."

That statement caused Falco's mouth to drop open. He just stared at the enemy pilot in shock. He opened his beak more than once in order to say something, but he always snapped it shut before any words came out. At last, he spoke, a barely restrained fury in his tone. "First of all, I don't expose myself to nothin'. Second of all, how the heck do you know all that?" He paused, then corrected himself. "Or maybe I should say how do you -think- you know all that?"

Though she doubted he would give her much of an answer, she found herself compelled to ask a question that harmonized with Falco's.. "How do you know so much about me?"

"We were briefed on the Star Fox team shortly after your presence was confirmed." He leveled his gaze at her with these words. "We spent the last few hours familiarizing ourselves with your tactics, strengths, and weaknesses."

"Son of a-" Falco began, but Krystal cut him off simply by turning her head to look at him. He stopped short, then shrugged again, sighing and folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the wall. He acted like he didn't care, but she knew he was listening to the conversation very closely.

Krystal turned her attention back to the enemy pilot. "I see. Well you know a great deal about us. You know who I am and where I have been. We know nothing about you. Would you like to tell us a little?"

The cat shook his head. "No. I will not tell you anything."

The vixen sighed, rubbing at her forehead with one paw. This was to be expected, of course. Considering the fact that the Dominion, whoever they were, seemed to act or at least tried to act like a proper military operation, they were probably trained to keep silent and not reveal anything that might compromise their forces. She chose to go another direction. "You said that I can read your thoughts. Perhaps I can simply pull them from you. I don't wish to do that. I don't like invading the privacy of others, but I will if I must."

This was a bluff. Krystal would not forcibly enter his thoughts and try to pluck out whatever secrets she wished for. In fact, she went out of her way to try and shut out the thoughts of others most of the time. Granted, she probably -could- do it, but it was not something she wanted to do. She could not help but think of the invasion the Many had attempted on her mind on more than one occasion, how awful that was, how disgusting. It was like a violation of sorts. She could not do that to another, and the only way she would even come close to considering it would be if the situation were most dire, if they needed information and Fox's life was on the line, or the life of any other member of the Star Fox team, for that matter. Even then, she was not sure she could actually bring herself to do it. Reading another's thoughts without consent was, at best, morally dubious.

Judging by the cat's expression, he seemed to believe that she could and would read his mind if she wanted to. So she made a gamble. "I do not wish to know anything that may compromise your mission. I simply want to know who you are. If you force me to read your mind, there is no telling what information I might uncover in doing so."

This did indeed have an effect on the cat. He studied her for a moment, as though trying to determine whether she meant the words or not. At last he shrugged his shoulders, or did the best he could with the restraints on. "Fine. Furson. Pilot Officer Tabby Furson of the Third Fleet, Venom Dominion."

Krystal considered this information. "Tabby Furson. Thank you for telling me."

He didn't answer her thanks, though she didn't really expect him to. He just closed his eyes and remained quiet, simply breathing in and out as he waited for her to continue.

"What is the Dominion?" Krystal asked. "Why did you join it?"

The cat opened his eyes and stared at her. He seemed to be measuring whether he should say anything or not. He relented after a time. "The Dominion is the best hope for lasting peace in the Lylat System. The Aparoids destroyed the colony I once lived in. My friends, my family. They're gone. No one came to save us. No one even cared." He turned away from her, his voice cold. "The Dominion offered something better. I joined. I have no regrets."

"Hey." Falco spoke up now, unable to hold himself back. "Just because no one was able to rescue you doesn't mean no one cared. The Aparoids hit everybody hard. A lot of places had it rough. Most still do. That doesn't mean-"

"Yeah? So what?" The cat asked him. "What difference does it make? Good intentions cannot bring my home back, it cannot restore my family. It can't undo what the Aparoids did. I would prefer to fight for someone who can prevent such a thing from happening in the first place. Someone who is stronger than Corneria or any other fighting force in the Lylat System. We will bring order and strength to the galaxy. It is the only way."

"Then why have you been attacking us?" Krystal asked. "Why have you been trying to prevent our rescue mission? We had nothing against you, we could have worked together! We could have saved lives! And now Fox is trapped on that vessel, along with anyone else that might still be alive. What kind of peace can you achieve by allowing the innocent to die? How is that any different from what happened to you?"

"I am just a pilot." He answered. His tone was unwavering. He didn't allow doubt to creep into his thoughts for even a moment. "I just go where they tell me to go, I do what they tell me to do. And I fight who they tell me to fight." He looked at her, staring unblinking into her eyes. "If the Dominion ordered me to attack you, I know their reason is good. Even if I don't know what it is, I don't need to. I know they have the best interests of Lylat at heart. They may need to make sacrifices to achieve long term results, but I believe they will make the right decisions. It is my place to obey. I need not learn anything more than this."

"I see." Krystal lowered her head, mulling these answers over for a while. She genuinely wasn't sure where to go from here. At least she had his name and knew a little something more about the Dominion. There was something else that was worth noting. There was no deception in his mind, no attempts being made to cover up the truth. What he said was exactly what he felt. He truly believed in this Dominion, in whatever it was that they were doing. There were no doubts within him. She knew the officers aboard the Bulwark had believed in what they spoke, but this was the first time she had spoken to anyone of a lower rank. This meant that all of them might well be firm believers in their cause.

Krystal wasn't sure what to make of this. On the one hand, they weren't vicious pirates, cut-throat mercenaries, or a group of soldiers that enjoyed making people around them miserable. They weren't the brutes that Andross had used in the Lylat Wars.

She could not help but wonder if this fact made them all the more dangerous. Star Fox wasn't just up against someone who craved money or power. They were fighting someone who believed their cause to be righteous. That was one of the most dangerous of foes, one that had conviction. One that might fight on even when defeat had long since been decided, simply because they were absolutely convinced that it was the right thing to do.

She looked back at Falco, wondering if he had anymore to say on the matter. Ge didn't. He was just standing there, arms folded, leaned against the wall, watching. He looked a little troubled, though she could not say which part of the conversation troubled him.

She decided to continue her questioning of the cat. "What's the Dominion doing out here? Why are you so interested in the Von Dross?"

"Even if I knew the answer to that, I would not tell you. I refuse. You may use your mind powers if you like, but I will give up nothing more voluntarily." He turned from her again, looking quite defiant. "I have nothing more to say to you."

Krystal had already learned more than she had expected to. It wasn't much, but at least it told them a little bit about the enemy they faced now. She wasn't sure how it helped them, if it helped at all, but it was something. She could try to coax more information out of him, but there was little point. She could read enough of his thoughts and feelings to know that he meant every word. He'd say nothing more to them.

Now there was another question to answer. What were they to do with him?

She studied the pilot for a moment longer, watching his expression and his eyes. He did not flinch. He didn't even return her gaze, just kept staring upward at the ceiling and the lights. It was as though he didn't even know or care that they were there. She wondered if maybe he was doing what he had been taught by the Dominion in case of capture. She'd ask, but she knew she wouldn't get an answer. What would the point be?

Leaving the pilot, she walked over to Falco, lowering her voice to speak with him. "I don't think we'll get much more from him. What do you think we should do?"

"I'm assuming you mean other than venting him out the airlock?" Falco smirked at Krystal as he offered his 'suggestion', then held up his hands as she glared at him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I wouldn't do that. But seriously." He leaned a bit to get a look at the pilot again, observing his movements (Or lack thereof) before turning back to Krystal. "We can't just let him walk around the Great Fox, that would be incredibly stupid."

"I agree with that much." Krystal nodded. "But is it possible we can at least lock him in a room for a while? Without having him bound?"

"Well..." Falco seemed to think about this before heaving a sigh. "Look, I recoded the one guest room we have to lock and unlock only from the outside. He can use that. I think we're better off leaving him here, just keep him tied to the bed. But if you really think he should have a room and be able to walk around, well, he can stay there." He didn't seem happy about even offering this choice to her. Once he had finished, he stared at her with narrowed eyes and pointed at her. "But you do NOT open that door alone, got it? No one opens the door alone. It'll be you and me and we'll both be armed. I've already swept for weapons, but we're not taking any chances."

"That is more than fair." Krystal smiled, finding herself in agreement with the decision. She then turned back to the wounded pilot. Those feline ears of his flicked forward and back. That was the only part of him that moved, but she suspected that he might have been listening to them, paying close attention. It was possible he was simply curious about what they were planning. It was also possible that he was looking for a weakness to exploit.

Regardless, Krystal knew that it would be wise for her and the rest of Star Fox to be cautious. She turned toward Falco, who seemed to already know what she wanted. Together, they approached the pilot.

As Falco knelt down beside him, he glared at the cat and leaned forward until his beak was just inches above the cat's nose. "You're not going to make any trouble for us, are you? Because if you do, I swear you're going to be wearing a lot more than a sling."

The cat stared blankly, then shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever."

Falco grumbled something to himself, then shifted his attention back to Krystal. "Alright, you undo the straps, I'll watch fly-boy here." He glanced at the pilot again. "And I'm armed, just so you know. Krystal here won't hurt you, but I won't hesitate to take you out if you try to escape."

The cat didn't seem to be intimidated, but he did eventually nod. "Fine. I won't be any trouble. Wouldn't matter if I wanted to be. My arm still hurts."

"True." Falco agreed. "But I can't be too careful. I don't know much about your Dominion, but I do know you guys seem to be full of tricks and surprises."

That was the first thing said that managed to get a positive reaction out of the cat. He looked up at Falco, then actually gave him a smile. "Now that we can agree on."

Krystal now focused her attention on removing the straps that kept the pilot in place. It didn't take her long to remove them all. Once she had done so, the cat was free to move. For a brief moment, the blue furred vixen wondered if he might take that opportunity to spring up, to try and fight Falco and get his weapon. It would be a foolish thing to do, but she wouldn't have been surprised if he tried it.

He did not. True to his word, he was docile and obedient. He rose up to a sitting position, his movements slow and deliberate, perhaps in an effort not to alarm Krystal or Falco, or perhaps simply not to further injure his arm. When he was sitting upright, he looked between the two of them before stating simply, "I am ready."

"Alright, let's get moving then. Krystal, you go in front. I'll stay in the back." Falco pointed for the exit. "Let's go to the guest quarters."

The vixen did as Falco directed, watching the cat for a brief moment before moving forward. She heard the sound of boots behind her as they walked across the medical room's floor. The door slid open as she approached, and she soon went into the corridor that would lead to the crew quarters.

Krystal had expected them to trudge along in silence. To her surprise, the cat chose to speak. "You live up to your reputation. Both of you. You may be the best pilots in the galaxy, but I did not think you would ever be able to overcome our weaponry. You're very skilled."

That seemed to catch both Krystal and Falco off guard. She could sense the bird's emotions in that moment, a blend of mostly shock but with a little bit of pride. "Yeah, well, you guys wouldn't last very long without those shields."

"Against you? Undoubtedly." The cat acknowledged Falco's statement. It was yet another moment that took Falco aback.

When he next spoke, he didn't sound quite as hostile or frustrated as before. In fact, his tone was rather genuine. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but you guys aren't bad. I've seen better, but I've also seen much, much worse. I can tell you guys know what you're doing as you fly."

She wasn't watching the two of them, as they were behind her. She could only listen to their words and sense some of their emotions as they walked. She was amazed at what she was sensing from both of them. Their hostility had melted a bit. Not entirely, of course, but the two now seemed to share a grudging respect for one another. It was a curious thing. Not that she was complaining of course. Far from it. The tension had been rather strong ever since they brought the pilot aboard, it was nice that Falco was relaxing just a bit. She had been a little afraid that he might snap at the enemy pilot or take some of his frustrations out on him.

Maybe this mission was getting to her. Maybe it was getting to all of them.

They soon arrived at the guest quarters. The door slid open automatically, and Falco gestured inside. He didn't have to push or shove their captive. The cat simply walked in on his own. As soon as he was inside, the lights turned on, allowing him to see the room. He looked over it for a while, then turned back to them. "I do not believe that I have ever witnessed a prison with such...amenities."

"Well, it's not normally a prison," Krystal answered. "And in truth, we don't want to hold you. But we don't have a choice. I think you would do the same were you in our position."

The cat was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "I would. I understand."

She didn't know why, but that actually made her feel a little better. "There is a meal dispenser in there, it will bring you your food, and there's a restroom and shower in the back. There are no knives, guns, or much of anything that can be used as a weapon. Please don't give us a reason to have to move you somewhere else."

"Like the closet." The cat offered dryly, evidently having picked up on that suggestion earlier. He might have been awake longer than Krystal had realized. Either way, he seemed like he was willing to comply. "I will wait here then, until you decide my fate." With that, he approached the bed, turning around to face Falco and Krystal before sitting upon it.

Krystal found all of this deeply uncomfortable. It wasn't just that they had captured a prisoner. She understood its necessity. They'd probably either let him go once the threat had passed, or bring him to Corneria to be questioned. That would be Fox's decision, not hers or anyone else's.

That wasn't what disturbed her. When the pilot had descended from his craft, Krystal had expected to see a monster. Not a literal one, of course. She knew the Dominion, whoever they were, were not affiliated with the Many and they weren't monsters in the traditional sense. However, she had thought that they would be cold emotionless killers, the kind that wouldn't bat an eye before destroying anyone that got in their way.

Instead, they had captured someone who clearly believed that he and the organization he belonged to were doing the right thing, and who was remarkably clear headed and polite. He never tried to insult them, he never tried to beg or plead or bargain. He had asked to be released, then simply accepted the situation that he found himself in. What was more, he was willing to speak to his captors in a rather cordial tone, even complimenting them.

That worried Krystal. It worried her because that meant he was calm and in control, which meant he could pose a very serious threat, as he wouldn't be inclined towards panic or desperation. More than that, it gave her an enemy that was hard to see as an enemy. She saw another person, another creature that was on a different side of the battlefield, but still a person. She didn't like it. She didn't like it at all. She much preferred fighting the Aparoids. There were no qualms of conscience when dealing with them.

"We're locking the door from out here. We'll come by to check on you in a bit." Falco told the cat, reaching for the door control. "Be good in there."

"Not like I have much choice." The cat responded, laying on his back. With that, Falco pressed on the door panel, and the door hissed shut. The sound of a lock being engaged could be heard. He spoke without looking at Krystal, just eyeing the now locked door for a moment "It'll only open for us now. He can't open it."

"I know." Krystal turned away from him, rubbing a finger against her head. She was getting a headache again. Maybe she'd get some more tea.

"Something wrong, Krystal?" Falco asked.

Lowering her hand, Krystal turned to face Falco and offered a faint smile, trying to conceal what she really felt. "I'm fine. Honestly."

"You know, for being able to read emotions of others, you are awfully easy to read yourself sometimes." Falco looked rather smug as he watched Krystal, his arms folded across his chest. "Lemme guess. You're thinking about how he's polite, he's not as bad as you thought he'd be, he ain't a pirate or a hired gun. And you're having second thoughts. Something like that?"

Now it was her turn to stare at Falco with shock on her face, her mouth dropping open. He had known exactly what she was thinking! "H-how...?"

"Trust me, I've been there. We all have." Falco tilted his head from side to side, popping a couple of bones in his neck. "See, you know about the big stuff. Andross, Aparoids, whatever happened on Sauria. But sometimes, it's not as clear cut as all that. Sometimes you gotta fight people that you don't really want to. Cuz you know deep down they ain't bad folk."

Krystal nodded, saying nothing. He was addressing the very thing she was thinking about! She just listened, wondering where he was going with this.

"It's true too. Sometimes you're fighting against some kid who just lost his parents to pirates and has turned to some nasty work to get by. Maybe he's stopped caring about doing the right thing anymore. Or sometimes, like with this guy, you got someone who really thinks they're doing the right thing." Falco jerked his head back toward the door that had just locked with their prisoner inside. "It sucks. Believe me, it does. But the thing you gotta remember is that they're not gonna have the same reservations in dealing with you. You're the enemy. They'll kill you if they get the chance."

"I know." Krystal took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I know, it's just...I wish this wasn't the way. I wish there were alternatives."

"I know, Krystal. Believe me. But this is what you gotta remember." He took a step toward Krystal, then put a hand on her shoulder. "These guys want us dead. They're either trying to kill Fox directly or they're allowing him to be killed. Maybe they're not bad people. Maybe they got good goals. But right here? Right now? They're the bad guys. We can't let 'em win. 'Cuz if we do, we might lose Fox, and we might lose anyone else over there."

He patted her shoulder a couple of times, then turned away. He didn't even wait for her to respond, just walked off.

In truth, Krystal was amazed. Falco so rarely revealed anything regarding what he was thinking or feeling deep inside. She knew he was more perceptive than he let on, she had witnessed that more than once, but this time he had absolutely known what it was she was thinking and feeling. For a brief moment, she had doubted herself. Was it the conversation with the Many? Was it the pilot himself? Was it something else? She didn't know. She just knew that for a short while, her resolve had wavered.

But Falco was right. Maybe they'd find a way to put their difference aside in the future, but this Dominion had actively tried to destroy them, blocked them from contacting Fox, and had displayed absolutely no interest in negotiation.

Her ability to sense emotions in others had made her sensitive to certain things. Of all the members of Star Fox, she had found herself the most likely to extend mercy to an opponent, to choose a course of non-aggression, even if it was not to Star Fox's immediate advantage. She had often been right, she had often chosen a course that resulted in a more equitable solution for two parties that might otherwise have come to blows. Then again, there were a handful of times where that was not the case. She was glad she had Star Fox to back her up on those occasions.

For now, she'd have to focus on the only things that really mattered. The priority was rescuing Fox and the others on the Von Dross. If necessary, they may well have to put an end to the Dominion presence here. Once again her resolve had been strengthened. She knew she could do what needed to be done.

Slippy's voice blared over the intercom, interrupting her thoughts. "Falco! Krystal! Get to the hangar, hurry up! I'm getting a message from Fox!"

---

Fox had managed to get to the elevator and take it to Deck 6 with little incident. The security systems appeared to be offline, and the Many were nowhere in sight. He didn't fully understand that, to be honest. He knew how big this ship was. He knew that there must have been a great number that were under the Many's control now. Hundreds, at least. Admittedly, some of them might be dead rather than a pawn of the Many, but that would still leave a lot to contend with. Fox wasn't sure how many he had killed personally. A few dozen, at most, probably not even that many. It depended whether the robots counted or not. This Many had a great many tools at its disposal. The attack by those spider things in the vents indicated to him that they might have more horrific surprises waiting for him.

Yet for whatever reason, they had not yet overwhelmed him. He simply could not be sure why. Perhaps his presence was somewhat masked to them. Maybe the implants had something to do with it. Maybe they were distracted with something else. Maybe he was such a pitiful presence compared to them that they genuinely didn't consider him a threat. That seemed to be the most likely option.

He may not have been able to say for certain what the reason was, but he was grateful for it regardless. So far, his entrance had gone uncontested. There were cameras and other security devices, but they were all offline. DARIUS had been severely weakened, if not destroyed. A thought occurred to him, one that might make his future efforts a bit easier.

"SAI-TEP, I don't suppose you can turn the defenses on and to my favor, can you?"

"My chil-chil-chil-my children anticipated your efforts, insect. They have defied me (meeeee). As I moved to conquer DARIUS, they sent him a final command sequence. He disconnected all security sys-system- security systems from the primary grid. I cannot control them. I can only track your plodding, inefficient movements. I can guide you (Guide you), insect, but your survival will depend on you. And you aloooooone..."

Fox wasn't really surprised by this. Of course, he had no idea what exact steps the Many would take, but he had learned by now that this entity was not stupid. It had managed to anticipate Fox's actions repeatedly. Perhaps it underestimated him and his allies, but it knew what he was going to do and took appropriate steps to stop it or at least hamper his efforts. As much as he had hoped it might be otherwise, he knew that it wasn't going to be so easy to wrest control of the ship from the Many. He had damaged its hold, sure, made it a bit less complete. He hadn't broken it, not by a long shot. The thought depressed him. He wondered how much longer he'd be in this hell.

"Alright, SAI-TEP." Fox spoke out loud. "I'm on Deck 6. Where to now?"

"It is time once more to contact your crew. The D-d-d-the dominion must be defeated noooowwww...You must-must-must- you must stop them from beginning a further incursion. Their plans are in direct conflict (coooonfliiiiict) with my own."

Fox shook his head. "That fact alone doesn't necessarily make them my enemy. I still don't fully understand what it is that you want."

"They have changed course. They are moving to intercept your pitiful and insignificant vessel. They will destroy your..."team", insect." She allowed him a moment to absorb that information. The corner of his muzzle twitched, and he clenched his teeth, growling softly. SAI-TEP wouldn't let it go, of course. She continued. "Do you still not think of them-them as your enemy (Enemy)?"

Fox balled his paws up into fists. She was right. They had been interfering in this mission from the beginning. As far as Fox was concerned, they were responsible for some of the deaths that occurred here since Star Fox's arrival. Had the Dominion never appeared, Star Fox might have managed to rescue some of the crew by now. At the very least, he'd be in touch with his team and they'd be better coordinated.

Nothing had happened the way it was supposed to. The Dominion had been hostile and aggressive from the moment they arrived. They separated Fox from the the rest of the team. Now, if SAI-TEP was right, they were planning on destroying his ship and his team.

That was not going to happen.

"Where do I need to go?" Fox asked.

"The eastern wing of the Flight Deck will bring you (Bring you) to the primary anti asteroid can-can-cannon. Make haste, insect. Time-time-time-time is against you (Against yooouuuu). " Fox checked his map, ensuring he knew which way to go. He located the eastern wing of this deck. He was close, the elevator he had taken had brought him right to the edge of the eastern wing. The cannon was marked on the map, located not far away.

It was at that moment that his comm system crackled to life. "Fox! Fox, are you there?!"

Slippy!

Fox immediately responded, pressing on the transmit button on his communicator. "Slippy! Yeah, this is Fox. I didn't think we could talk again while that other ship was out there."

"Yeah, I thought so too!" There was no visual representation of Slippy for Fox to see, he had only his voice to go by. He sounded relieved. "So good to hear from you! Things are a mess out here!"

"Yeah, you're telling me," Fox said dryly. "Okay, SAI-TEP just told me that you've got the Dominion coming after you again."

"What?" Slippy sounded quite surprised. "They are? That's the first I've heard of it. I don't know why they'd-"

Slippy was abruptly cut off. Fox wasn't able to hear what was happening, and for a moment he feared the worst. Maybe the Dominion was already there, attacking the Great Fox while his friends were unprepared. "Slippy? Slippy! Are you there? Do you read me? Someone talk to me!"

There was a crackle of static, then Slippy spoke again. "Yeah, ROB just informed us, the Dominion ship is moving right at us! I don't know how something so powerful and so heavily shielded can be that quick, it's ridiculous!"

"Alright, SAI-TEP is sending me to the primary cannon on Deck 6. Once I get there, I'm supposed to take a shot at the Dominion ship. But I can't penetrate the shields. She seems to think that you can help with that."

"SAI-TEP? Who's that?" Slippy wanted to know.

Fox had almost forgotten that Star Fox had no idea of SAI-TEP's existence. The last time they had spoken with Fox had been before the revelation in Doctor Aiten's office. He simply didn't have time to go into it right now. "It's someone who's been helping us. Aiten. Can you do it?"

"Well...I mean, probably?" Slippy didn't sound entirely certain. "Okay, I've managed to rig up their ship that we captured so that one of us can fly it. I'm even using the communication system here to talk to you. I guess they're not blocking it, and your friend, whoever they are, managed to scramble the communication. They're not seeing it, I guess. I got a message saying you were about to contact us a few seconds before I managed to reach you. I'm pretty sure that I can match the frequency of their shield, so we can get in it if one of us pilots that ship. Problem is, I don't know how we're going to do it. The second we send that interceptor out, they're going to see it and we're gonna be in serious trouble."

"Yeah." Fox closed his eyes, measuring his options. He never sent a message to Slippy. That must have been SAI-TEP's work. Not that he was complaining. "How long until they reach you?"

There was a pause, then Slippy continued to speak to Fox. "ROB says about sixty seconds until they're in range."

That wasn't much time. He knew, more or less, what SAI-TEP wanted them to do. It seemed a good plan in his eyes. It wasn't as though they had a lot of options, after all. "Alright, listen up. I'm going to man the cannon, and I'm going to wait for your signal. As soon as I get it, I'm taking the shot. You guys have got to bring those shields down for me. It's the only way."

"Roger that." Slippy mumbled something under his breath. "We gotta go. Whoever is piloting the interceptor will be able to talk to you, but no one else will. Good luck, Fox!"

"You too, Slippy. All of you." Fox wasn't sure if the others were around or not, but he hoped they could hear it. At the very least, he hoped that Slippy would transmit the message. He was sure he would.

This was going to be rough. Now it was time for him to get in position, get ready to aid the team. Throwing caution to the wind, he sprinted down the corridor in an attempt to get to that cannon as soon as possible. He wasn't sure how involved it would be to power it up and switch to manual control. He hoped it would be easy. He didn't have time to run around the deck searching for power coils and hit three switches in three different control rooms to start the generator that would open the door that led to the auxiliary power unit or some nonsense like that. It had to work and it had to work fast!

---

Krystal had moved as fast as she could, but by the time she made it to the hangar, the conversation was already winding down. She only heard the tail end of it. "You too, Slippy. All of you." Fox's voice cut out. Krystal wanted to hear more so very much. She wanted to talk to him, to see if he was alright. She knew that it was impossible at the moment. They had more important work to do.

Slippy turned to face Krystal as she approached. He then glanced to the side at Falco as he came up right behind her, coming to a stop a short distance to her side. "Okay, we've been in touch with Fox, he's heading to the primary cannon right now."

"Great." Falco said. "Well, I'm guessing the cannon won't get through the shield by itself, right?"

"Yeah." Slippy nodded. "That shield is stupidly strong. We're going to have to disable it. It's the only way."

"How do we do that?" Krystal asked.

"This is how." Slippy tapped the hull of the interceptor with his wrench. "I've got her up and running. It took a bit, I've been working non-stop since we got her. Her weapons are functional, and the communicator is on, so whoever pilots this will have a link to Fox, and only Fox. No one else will be able to communicate with whoever's in this thing. Oh, and the best part?" Slippy rolled his shoulders before grinning, rather excited with what came next. "She's got a bomb attached, ready for launch! Use that on the generator, and BOOM! It's history!"

"Right. Well, I guess I'm up." Falco cracked his knuckles then started to move for the interceptor.

"Wait!"

Krystal spoke the word with more force and intensity than she meant to, but it had the desired effect. Falco stopped mid-stride, then turned to face her. "Something wrong?"

"I should be the one to pilot the interceptor."

Falco narrowed his eyes. "What? Why? I'm the best pilot here, I'm the most suited for the job. I'll do it."

"No." Krystal was adamant and refused to back down. "It cannot be you. It must be me."

"Why?" Falco asked. He seemed a little irritated with her protests. "This isn't something to do with Fox, is it? What, you want to talk to him during all this? It's a lousy time to try to-"

"No, Falco!" Krystal's tone become stern, more-so than she had ever been with him before. The force of her words stopped him short. She folded her arms across her chest, refusing to bak down. "That is not what I meant. You are right, you are the best pilot. You can handle these interceptors far better than I can. Even if we manage to breach the shields, it's going to take time for the pilot to get inside and destroy the generator. That means whoever is out here had better be a bloody good pilot. The best that we have. No one else will survive long enough against those things. I know I won't."

Falco stared at her for a long moment. Even Slippy looked nervous, this was the closest to an emotional outburst that either of them had seen from Kystal in some time. Falco opened his mouth as though to protest, but just stood there with no words coming out. At last he simply shook his head and heaved a sigh. "I'm gonna guess there's no arguing with you on this one."

"That is correct. Besides, my Arwing is damaged beyond use. It will require extensive repairs."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Don't really like the idea of you flying in mine anyway." It seemed like he hadn't considered that possibility, and now he was a bit more receptive to her idea. "Well...for what it's worth, your reasoning does make sense. I still don't like it. I feel like I should be the one, but..." He seemed to consider for a moment longer, as though he might still say no. At last he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Alright. You're up. You get to pilot the interceptor, I'll fly my Arwing."

"Good." Krystal's stern expression gave way to a more gentle smile. "Then we'll do this together."

"Okay, now that that's decided..." Slippy interjected during the ensuing the lull. "Their ship, the VDF Bulwark, is closing fast. They'll be in range in just a matter of moments. My suggestion is this. Falco, you fly out. Krystal, you stay right behind him. Try to match his movements perfectly. I've managed to rig up a jammer on it. It's not much, but it should prevent them from reading you until it's too late for them to do anything about it. That's the hope, anyway. Don't disengage until the skirmish begins. Once that happens, try to slip inside the shield during the confusion."

"That's our best strategy?" Falco looked and sounded incredulous. "Doesn't seem like much of one to me. They might figure out what we're doing and attack Krystal too."

"Well, it's the best plan we've got." Slippy retorted. "We have one thing in our favor. The Von Dross's shields are really hard to penetrate, and they are designed to prevent accurate scanning of that vessel. It's having some effects on the outside too. Delays in acquiring data and such. It's possible that whatever scans that would otherwise pick her up won't be able to lock onto her, and thus not give them the information in time."

"That seems like a serious gamble to me, Slippy." Falco was regarding the frog with a narrowed gaze.

"Yeah, well, that's because it is. Look, we've got two options at this point. We do this and hope we take them down, or we retreat. And when I say retreat, I mean leave everything, warp out. I don't wanna do that, and I know you don't either."

"Darn right." Falco straightened his shoulders before clearing his throat. Then he grinned at Slippy. "And hey, I like a good gamble. It ain't fun if there's no risk, am I right?" With that, he went over to his Arwing, climbed up into it and started to pull down the cockpit. He turned toward the other two before giving a little wave. "I say bring 'em on!"

"Okay, Krystal." Slippy turned to the blue furred vixen. "Your turn. Just sit in the pilot's seat here. I've got it configured to recognize your signal. I think. The controls are a bit weird, but I tried to configure them to be a bit more like what you're used to. You better adjust fast!"

"Of course." Krystal approached the interceptor cautiously. Slippy had sure done a lot of work on the thing in so short a time. To be fair, the ship itself had not sustained heavy damage. Rather, it had been disabled by whatever weapon Falco had used earlier. She didn't know how Slippy had managed to undo those effects, but he had done it somehow.

It was still a bizarre design for a ship. Sleek and elegant, yes. It felt strange not having to climb up into the cockpit, but rather having the cockpit come down to her. It hissed and steam exited the ship as the platform lowered, complete with the chair she would be using. Taking a deep breath, she approached it and sat down, waiting for the thing to move.

And waited. And then waited a little more. It wasn't doing anything.

"There's a button on the side there, against the armrest. Hit that, it'll pop you back up!"

"Ah." Krystal said, then reached for that button. It took only a single tap, and then the platform began to raise, bringing her inside the belly of the Dominion interceptor. She saw Slippy waving at her. He started to say something as the cockpit ascended. "Okay! Just remember, she's designed for-"

She had no idea what he was going to say, as the cockpit sealed around her, locking her in position. For a brief moment, she was in absolute darkness. A sense of claustrophobia began to set in. It was like she was trapped in a can. A single button started to flash, flickering on and off over and over again. She reached for that light, then pressed her thumb against it. As soon as she did, she heard the engine of the interceptor fire up. It wasn't as loud as she expected. Lights began to turn on one by one, each of them providing different indicators as to her status. Weapons. Shields. Current velocity. Engine power. Damage reports. As she looked at that particular indicator, she realized that the ship had sustained some damage earlier, but it wasn't enough to be a real problem. Not yet, anyway.

While she certainly couldn't speak for how practical or effective it was, she had to admit that it all looked very sleek and modern. This wasn't some cobbled together ship that had been designed at the last minute. A great deal of thought had gone into this, and it certainly appeared to be a device of great cost. Everything looked so high-tech. She'd never seen anything like it! The cockpit was a bit cramped, though.

She reached for the controls, hoping they were something that she'd have a degree of familiarity with. They weren't all that dissimilar from an Arwing. That might have been Slippy's doing. The controls were lighter, and it was easier to adjust the pitch and angle than she could on her Arwing. Maybe a little too easy. It would take some getting used to.

She had to get out of the hangar now. She quickly attempted to familiarize herself with the controls, and she found that by and large it was similar enough to her Arwing that she could get a handle on it. She could see Falco watching her from his cockpit. She was going to say something to him, but then remembered that he couldn't hear her, so she waved instead. He gave her a nod, then a thumbs up. With that, he powered up his Arwing, lifting it off the floor of the hangar before rocketing out.

"You can do this." Krystal told herself, breathing in and out as she attempted to calm herself. "You can do this. You...you have to do this." Her eyes closed, and she focused on the matter at hand, clearing her mind of all distractions. She opened her eyes and stared at the flight console before her. She activated the propulsion system, allowing the interceptor to rise up and float in the middle of the hangar. She looked down at her paw, realizing that it was shaking. It was hard for her to keep a steady paw on the throttle. She continued to try to soothe her mind, to prepare herself for what was to come. After one more deep breath, she looked ahead, determined to make this work. She tried to think of what Fox might say in this situation. The thought made her smile. No one was around to hear it, so she decided to say it just for fun. It didn't sound quite right, but it was close, or so she thought.

"Let us roll and rock."

With that, she hit the thrusters, her ship lurching forward. She quickly found herself going a little too high, and so she tried to compensate by bending the ship down by a small degree to steady herself. By doing so, she ended up going too far, the nose of her ship scraping the deck of the hangar before she managed to steady herself. She winced at the sound of grating metal before blasting out of the hangar. The controls were so sensitive! She didn't have much time to familiarize herself with them! The sensitivity might give her the most trouble. Now that she was getting a feel for it, maybe she could avoid any further mishaps.

She looked for Falco, then spotted him nearby, already laying in an intercept course for the Dominion vessel. She needed to catch up, and so she pressed down on the throttle and launched herself toward him.

This thing could move! She found that out very fast. It was maneuverable unlike anything she had ever used before. The craft was clearly built for speed. It was little wonder that Krystal had so much trouble tracking them whenever they had fought. They could match an Arwing for raw maneuverability, perhaps even outclass it! Of course, the ships were very small, and she suspected that without the shields that the Bulwark provided, a single blast would be enough to vaporize the interceptor.

She recalled now the question she had never gotten to ask Slippy. Did her ship have shields? She looked at the instruments and lights in her cockpit, hoping that the answer would please her.

She did find what she was looking for, but it wasn't the answer that she wanted. There was a warning flashing on the right monitor, indicating that the shield was offline. She was in a small vulnerable craft without the advantage of the one piece of technology that made it so dangerous and resilient.

For a brief moment, she almost questioned her own decision to penetrate the shield. It was too late to change anything now, and it wouldn't matter anyway. She wanted to do this.

She was right behind Falco, matching his speed and course, getting as close to him as she could possibly manage, hoping that the enemy wouldn't realize that she was there. This had to work.

"Is anyone there?" She gasped. That was Fox's voice! "Is anyone reading me? I'm getting to the cannon now."

"Fox! Are you ready yet? We can't begin the attack unless..."

"Something's wrong, I can't get the targeting system to work!" Fox shouted into his communicator. "You guys gotta buy some time! Stay alive out there!"

They had already launched their assault. They hadn't anticipated any issues of this kind. The Dominion ship was moving at full speed toward them. It would be in range at any moment. She couldn't just get inside and destroy the generator, as they would almost assuredly have some safeguards in place. Should she destroy the generator and no killing blow be delivered shortly after, at the very least the Dominion might have an opportunity to retreat and regroup. At worst, they might be able to bring an emergency shield back up and destroy Star Fox.

She didn't have communications with Falco or Slippy, just Fox. She couldn't coordinate with the team! She was still behind Falco, hoping that the enemy didn't detect her. There were so many ways this could end in disaster.

"Please hurry, Fox." She whispered.

---

Kamille watched the scene unfold, arching an eyebrow as he gazed upon the single Arwing charging toward them. He knew precisely who that Arwing belonged to. Falco. Only he would be so bold as to contest the full might of the Dominion force singlehanded.

"Sir, the Arwing is nearly on us, he's not breaking off! Your orders?"

"Open fire. Try to blast him out of the stars. He cannot penetrate our shields, so the damage he offers is minimal."

His subordinate nodded before turning toward the console, signaling some of the others to do the same. "Yes sir, commencing attack."

Kamille allowed himself a moment to enjoy the sights through the viewport, the mighty laser cannons of the VDF Bulwark opening fire, launching volley after volley towards the Arwing. It quickly rolled to the side before any shot connected. The pilot was good, he was able to avoid most of the oncoming fire with ease, but then Kamille had expected that. Most of the weaponry on the Von Dross itself had been built to deal with enemy capital ships, dreadnoughts and cruisers. It was ineffective against smaller fighter craft, by and large.

That was precisely the reason the Bulwark was equipped with interceptors. "Launch all interceptors. All pilots, you are to focus on the Arwing. We will deal with the so called 'Great Fox' ourselves." He turned to one of the other lieutenants, a cat who was in charge of the primary, experimental cannon they had, the one they had used on that pirate vessel earlier. "Charge the weapon. Target the Great Fox. Let me know when it is ready. As soon as I give the order, fire."

"Yes sir, beginning the charge now." The cat pressed a couple of buttons on his console, then brought down a lever that would initiate the charge sequence. It wouldn't be long now.

In only a few moments, the space in front of the Bulwark was filled with the shapes of over a dozen interceptors, zooming in on that Arwing's location. The pilot of the Arwing, which Kamille continued his assumption of it being Falco, managed to roll away, then fly in earnest. All of the interceptors screamed through the space behind him, matching his course. It got chaotic after that, at least from the view that Kamille had. They were all mixing together, swarming the Arwing and firing relentlessly.

Still, the pilot put up a good fight. He was dodging, weaving, doing everything he could to evade the Dominion's interceptors. He was doing a rather remarkable job of it too. It seemed almost a pity to destroy such a talented pilot, though he knew he had little choice in the matter. He could no longer afford mercy. He was doing what he should have done in the first place upon encountering Star Fox. Now he was going to correct that mistake.

"Sir, the weapon is almost charged! Just a few more seconds!"

"Good. Very good." Kamille leaned back in his chair,clasping his hands together as he studied the Great Fox in the distance. He wondered what it was they were thinking right now. They weren't trying to get away, they were just sitting where they were, letting the Dominion draw closer. It was almost too easy.

There was a part of him that wondered if there was something more to this. There had to be. Star Fox wasn't stupid, he knew that much. However, the situation they were in was a desperate one, and desperate people rarely made wise decisions. Perhaps they had some underlying reason for being so aggressive. Perhaps they were overconfident, or were hoping to exploit a weakness. The captain did not know. He would treat them as though they were the full threat he knew them to be. He would end this immediately. Once the Great Fox was gone, the rest of Star Fox would easily be defeated, even if it were simply a battle of attrition. Sooner or later, they would be overwhelmed by Dominion forces.

Either way, he knew two things from the scans they had run on the Great Fox. It had weak shielding that could easily be pierced, and it lacked the raw firepower needed to do any real damage to the Bulwark, even if they somehow managed to break through that shield. In a way, he almost lamented the fact that Fox wasn't with them. He wondered if they had fallen to desperation for lack of their leader? Were he present, would it provide the Dominion a more interesting challenge?

No matter. The rest of the Star Fox team would provide an ample test of skill for his pilots. Perhaps one of them would distinguish themselves.

"The weapon is charged, sir!" The cat turned to Kamille, awaiting his orders.

Kamille smiled. This was the moment, the moment where it would all change. History would remember this, the last stand of Star Fox, stubbornly resisting the future. "You may fire when ready."

---

Slippy was watching everything from his position aboard the Great Fox. He saw Falco approach, he saw Krystal right behind him. He even witnessed the rather impressive manner in which she stayed right behind Falco, even as he dodged those laser turrets. He wasn't sure he would have been able to manage that, but she had.

It turned into chaos after that. Just as he suspected, a swarm of interceptors converged on Falco, chasing and shooting at him. Krystal took that moment to roll away from him, just as the interceptors were upon him. He wasn't sure if any of them saw Krystal's ship before the engagement, but he figured that once the battle began, they'd all be so focused on Falco and the hectic nature of the dogfight that they wouldn't even notice her. He could tell which one was her, he had marked it on his monitor. She seemed to be trying to blend in with the other fighters, moving with them. She even fired a few shots, though they naturally went wild. It was all to blend in, after all.

He narrowed his eyes as he studied what was going on. Why hadn't she gone through the shield yet? She was still outside, still in the midst of the fray. They needed to get that shield down and fast! They needed it so Fox could...

Fox! Slippy widened his eyes as comprehension dawned. Something must be wrong on Fox's end! This was bad! He knew, of course, that Falco could handle himself, but there were too many. There was no way Falco would survive for long without support.

"So friggin' many of them!" Falco yelled, affirming Slippy's fears. "I'm getting swarmed here! We gotta do something and do it fast!"

"We can't communicate with Krystal, remember? She's linked up to Fox! You gotta hold on Falco!"

"What the heck do you think I'm trying to do?!" Falco snarled. Slippy winced as he saw a couple of laser blasts graze one of Falco's wings. He was in serious trouble!

Normally Slippy might have asked Falco to retreat, but they had to stay in this area. It wasn't just for Krystal's sake, keeping her close to the shield so she could fly in, but also because this was the area the cannon was currently covering from the Von Dross. If they repositioned, the Bulwark might get out of range or out of the field of fire. That would ruin the entire plan. If they stayed here...

"Sensors indicate massive energy buildup." ROB warned Slippy. "Identical to earlier readings before weapon discharged against pirate flagship."

Slippy knew what that meant. He quickly looked at the scanner, attempting to confirm the Dominion's target. He knew the answer even before he even checked. They had aimed the primary cannon right at the Great Fox. It was going to fire any moment.

"Shoot, I'm getting overwhelmed here! Where the heck is Fox?!"

The situation was falling apart fast. He knew from the beginning that this was a long shot, but it really was starting to look like this fight was over before it even began. He couldn't retreat. He couldn't outrun the attack. He wasn't even sure he could dodge it. The Great Fox did have a way to jump short spaces very quickly, but it needed to recharge, and the precision required to dodge that weapon was far too low.

An idea hit him. An absolutely insane idea that he couldn't even believe he was considering. It was bold. It was reckless. It would probably get him killed, but it would sure give the Dominion a surprise!

"You need help, Falco?" Slippy took a deep breath. "Here it comes! ROB, hit the thrusters!"

"Warning." ROB cautioned Slippy in that flat, robotic voice of his. "The coordinates you have entered are not within safe limits. Do you wish to override the-"

The energies were building up. They were about to fire! "Yes! ROB, override! Override now! Do it!"

"Override engaged, safeties offline. Awaiting command."

"Punch it!" Slippy yelled, slamming his fist on the button to activate the thruster. In that same moment, ROB diverted almost all of the power to the engines, allowing the ship to violently lurch forward. Before he knew it, he was in the thick of the action!

---

Captain Kamille stared at the viewscreen with his mouth hanging open as he saw what happened. At first he had assumed that the Great Fox was planning on retreating. This would have been expected, a wise maneuver, if pointless. Perhaps he would stand his ground and fight, or move toward them. He had expected any of these things.

He had not expected them to launch themselves forward and practically scrape against the hull of the Bulwark. For a brief moment, he genuinely thought they were going to try to ram him. He then realized that they had done something perhaps just as good, maybe better. They were close now. Very close.

Too close.

"Sir, the weapon is fi-"

"Belay that order! The resulting blast will cause damage to our own systems! Divert the power, do not fire that cannon!"

The officer immediately complied, initiating the emergency shut down before the weapon could discharge its terrible payload. He could not just hear, but -feel- the hum of power as it coursed through the ship. Thankfully, the crewman managed to power it down in time. Had the weapon fired, the shield would have flickered for a brief moment. Too brief for an enemy to take advantage of, but long enough for a point blank explosion to cause catastrophic damage.

He shook his head, amazed at what he had just witnessed. "These guys are crazy..." He mumbled to himself, not loud enough for any of the other crew to hear. Still, this was hardly a victory for Star Fox. They had merely bought themselves a few moments, nothing more. He then gave further orders. "Interceptors, continue your attack. I want squads one and two on the Great Fox, focus fire on it. The rest will stay with the Arwing. Cannons, aim at the Great Fox, I want their shields down now! Eliminate them!"

"Aye sir!" As the crew obeyed his orders, the captain stared at his screen, watching the Great Fox as it continued to maneuver, trying to avoid the fire from his cannons. The ship wasn't nearly as maneuverable as the Arwings were, and now that the interceptors were swarming it, it stood little chance.

"Bring us around. I want her in our sights when she dies." He commanded. The ship began to turn. The Bulwark was not a fast vessel, but it was maneuverable enough. It's firepower and heavy shielding masked the fact that it had speed when it counted. Soon enough, he had the Great Fox in the line of sight.

"Sir, scans indicate their engines have been pushed beyond capacity, they won't be able to jump again."

"Good." Kamille took a moment to breath slowly in and out. "Charge the cannon again. If we haven't destroyed it by the time it's charged, fire. And this time..." He looked to one of the bridge crew manning the helm. "Keep our distance. We have them now."

"Weapon charging, sir."

"Good." He settled back in his chair, tapping his finger tips together as he monitored the fight. It was going well so far. Despite the momentary surprise that Star Fox had thrust on him, they hadn't really done anything but delay the inevitable. The Dominion had taken no damage, the Great Fox had just burned most of its power in one daring but pointless move, and the Arwing would be destroyed before long. Just a few more moments now. The Great Fox was limping away, trying to get a better position. A wounded animal, fleeing before a superior predator.

He would grant it a swift death. They had earned that much.

---

Fox swore loudly as he pounded his fist against the terminal controlling the cannon he was trying to use. Someone had fried the thing earlier, it was completely useless. The terminal, not the cannon. He presumed the cannon could still be fired, but he simply didn't know how.

"Fox, I don't think Falco can last much longer! There's just too many!" Krystal's fearful voice sounded over the communicator. Then he heard her gasp. "And Slippy just launched the Great Fox right up against the enemy vessel!"

"What?!" Fox's mouth dropped open, shocked. It wasn't like Slippy to do something so reckless. The situation must be desperate indeed. He had to get this to work! "Krystal, get in there, I'm going to have it ready in time, just take out that generator!"

"But Fox, how are you-"

"Just go, Krystal! It's up to you now!"

She didn't respond to that, but he had to assume that she was proceeding. He'd have to think of something, and fast! He'd have to carry it out even faster!

Using the computer had been his best bet. He needed that for a proper firing trajectory. He wouldn't be able to figure out where to shoot and at what time in order to score a direct hit. He would need a computer to assist in that, but it wasn't working! It wasn't going to work, either!

He looked at the base of cannon, knowing he only had one choice left. The cannon was a large, cylindrical device, a giant gun mounted to the ship with a long barrel. It had the ability to be aimed manually, but that was not an easy thing to do.

There were no alternatives. He hopped into the seat, taking hold of the manual controls, hitting the power switch on the sight, causing a jolt of energy to flash in front of his eyes. The thing sputtered and sparked, and he groaned in despair when he realized it wasn't going to work.

The thing somehow managed to come back to life. The lights flickered on along its sides, and the little screen in front of Fox lit up. He now had two ways to view forward. Looking through the primary lens that was strapped to the cannon, he was able to get a visual on the action. He was turned in the wrong direction starting out, so he slowly swung the cannon to the right. Sll the pulleys and levers were still working, so the cannon moved in reaction to Fox's touch, he didn't have to force it.

He looked down at the scanner again, trying to line up a shot. The ship was moving, and while its course was steady, Fox simply couldn't eyeball it from here. He had a good angle, he knew that. It wasn't quite facing him, but it was very close. If the computer was working, he would have had a clear shot at the bridge with no trouble. Without that computer, he wasn't sure he could make that shot, and he only had one chance.

Trust in your implants, they may just save your life.

He wasn't sure if he actually heard SAI-TEP's voice, or if it was simply a memory being triggered. Was she in his head? Was she watching or listening? Whatever the case, she said nothing more.

He wasn't sure what she meant by that precisely, but he took another look. He wondered how the implants could help him here. He supposed that since it was a computer of some kind grafted into his skull, maybe it could assist with targeting.

He gasped when he saw several lights appear, as if directing him. They seemed almost as if they were being projected in front of him, like he could reach out and touch them. He knew they weren't actually there, but he could see them clearly! It showed to him the precise trajectory of the shot he was aiming, the end destination, where it would hit. It was everything he needed! He still had to adjust. He had to get the thing in the right position! With a grunt, he started to alter the cannon's alignment for what he hoped would be a perfect shot.

"Come on Krystal..." He mumbled, not sure if she could hear him or not. "You can do this."

---

On the Great Fox, Slippy's gamble had paid off, at least for the moment. He had narrowly evaded complete obliteration. The otherwise grim situation didn't improve much. Just as Slippy hoped, the weapon didn't fire when they got close enough. He had bought a little time. Within moments of that happening, the Bulwark had opened fire with its other weaponry.

It had a lot of firepower.

The Great Fox lurched and rocked violently as it was hammered with blast after blast from the Bulwark's weapons.

"Shield integrity failing." ROB announced. "Integrity at 50% and dropping."

"Evasive maneuvers! Return fire!" Slippy shouted, doing his best to get their ship moving, trying to dodge those laser cannons. He winced with each and every jolt of the ship as it got blasted over and over again. They were managing to dodge some of the enemy's fire, but not nearly enough. They were taking a real pounding. Slippy glanced at the flashing lights and indicators on his console, the machinery rattling and shaking from the violent movements of the ship. They were shooting back at the Bulwark, but it wasn't doing any damage, just as he feared. They couldn't get through the shields. They'd keep trying, though! "Come on, Krystal! Come on Fox! Where are you guys?!"

He thought it couldn't get any worse, but then a large group of interceptors swarmed over their ship, tearing into it. Some of those blasts cut through the weakening shields, impacting against the hull. It was fortunate that the intercetpor weapons weren't strong enough to pierce the armor of the Great Fox, at least not right away. It wouldn't take much more punishment though.

"Shield integrity at 13%." ROB informed Slippy in a flat tone, emotionless, seeming unconcerned with the dire peril they were now in.

"Falco! Falco!" Slippy shouted into the communication device. "Are you out there?! We're in trouble over here!"

"I've got problems of my own, Slippy!" Came the reply. Slippy knew Falco wouldn't be able to help. The situation had simply grown too desperate.

"Shields collapsing." ROB interrupted.

That was the only warning Slippy got before practically being thrown clear of his seat, his head slamming hard against the control panel, making him see stars. The whole bridge felt like it had rumbled and groaned. What had just happened?

"Hull breach detected. Shields offline. Weapon systems offline. Propulsion system offline." ROB continued to give Slippy the bad news.

This was it. This was the way Slippy was going to go out. He looked up at the viewscreen, wiping at his forehead, which was now bleeding from where he had struck it. Most of the computers on the bridge were malfunctioning now, displaying error messages or constant bursts of static. He could only stare at the Bulwark as it turned to directly face them. This time, he got a good look at the cannon it was aiming, he could see the thing charging up as it prepared to fire.

There wasn't enough time to say everything he wanted to say. In fact, there was no time at all. He simply closed his eyes and said the only thing that came to his mind before the end came. "Love you guys..."

---

Falco fought as best he could, using every trick he could think of to make it work, to delay the enemy. It was a hopeless battle, and he knew that. He was good. Heck, he was the best pilot in Lylat. He knew if anyone could do this, he could.

For a while, it had worked. He focused almost exclusively on defense, not even bothering with any offensive maneuvers. After all, he knew how ineffective they would be. Even if he should find a target, he wouldn't able to penetrate the shields with his weapons. With his focus purely on survival, he was able to last longer than he otherwise might.

It was a great fight. In fact, Falco even impressed himself with some of the maneuvers he managed to pull off. The adrenaline was coursing through him, the thrill of a battle in the stars, every moment flirting with death. Falco had no intention of dying today. He believed the plan would work, he believed in Fox and in Krystal, in all of Star Fox. Even so, he had to admit, if he could choose how to meet his end, it would be just like this. A frantic dogfight in the stars, the odds stacked against him, no escape. Just going out in a literal blaze of glory.

He wasn't ready to die, not yet. He still had some unfinished business to take care of. If this Dominion wanted a piece of him, he was going to make them work for it!

He spun and weaved and maneuvered as though it were some complicated, elaborate dance. He skirted between interceptors as they fired, even managing to get some of them to hit each other. While it did no damage, they did grow a bit more cautious as they fired at him.

"Show 'em what you got," He mumbled, more to the Arwing than himself. The enemy interceptors were so fast. In fact, Falco believed they were faster than the Arwings were. The pilots, however, were simply not as skilled as Falco was. Even with their superior speed and maneuverability he still managed to hold them off, to force them to focus on him with everything they had. Simultaneously, he had to keep an eye on the larger ship, as the Bulwark was constantly shooting its cannons. They were mostly aimed at the Great Fox, not him. He did have to alter his course a few times just to avoid some of those powerful blasts.

The battle had only been a few minutes, if even that. It felt like an eternity. Falco had never been pushed so hard in his life, never had encountered a foe that was as dangerous as this one, at least in terms of firepower, skill, and shielding. This was the fight of his life.

Laser blasts screamed past his cockpit, some of them singing his wings, others damaging his shields, causing him to lurch back and forth before veering away in an attempt to shake his pursuers.

They were starting to anticipate his movements. He varied his tactics as best he could, tried to remain unpredictable. The longer the fight dragged on, the less he was able to fool them.

A single interceptor managed to score a series of solid hits on his starboard side, damaging the wing. He hadn't lost it the same way Krystal had lost hers in that earlier fight, but it was starting to slow him down and compromise his maneuverability.

Slippy's voice came over the communicator. "We're in trouble over here!"

"I've got problems of my own, Slippy." Falco growled, another series of laser beams just missing him, only narrowly avoiding them with a barrel roll to the side at the last moment. They were still on him, though.

He was fighting with the flight stick now, his Arwing no longer cooperating with him. Lights flashed on the panel in front of him. The engine had just taken a hit. His ship was slowing down, and he knew that meant the end. If he stopped to let the engines recover a bit, he'd be a sitting duck. If he pushed them past the limit, they'd give out and he'd be dead anyway.

There was only one thing to do. Blaze of glory. He flicked a switch, overriding the safety. "Bring it on, ya jerks!" Falco activated the booster, launching himself towards the enemy squadron, pulling the trigger and firing into the group. His aim was accurate, and he did manage to surprise them enough that they veered away. His shots had no other effect. They simply struck the shield and dissipated.

His engine coughed and stuttered, the power failing. Fighting with the controls, Falco managed to spin his craft so at the very least he'd be facing the ones about to take him down. His Arwing was all but dead. In a few more moments, so would he.

Alarms blared in the cockpit, lights flashing, all the damage he had suffered now being displayed on screen. This was it. He put his fingers on the trigger, his Arwing helplessly drifting through space as he tried to aim the nose at one of the oncoming fighters. They'd get him, but he'd go down fighting!

---

Krystal had launched herself into the shield guarding the Bulwark. She had tensed in the moment before she pierced the thing, half wondering if the shield would still block her, causing her to smash herself against it and being obliterated on contact.

It did not happen. She passed through the shield with no resistance. Once she was through, she had a straight course to the shaft that would lead to the shield generator.

She knew everyone was counting on her right now. She knew Falco and Slippy were both doing their best just to survive. She knew that if she wasn't fast enough, everyone could die here. She had no time for doubt or hesitation. She had no time to slow down!

Her ship launched itself forward at full speed into the massive vent system that the Bulwark possessed. It was filled with twists and turns, it didn't simply go in a straight line. As she went forward, the path curved downward, as if she had climbed a slope. Then it would wind from side to side. Her movements had to be precise. It would be hard enough to do this without time pressure, but she was doing it with a ship she wasn't entirely familiar with! Still, she had really grown as a pilot since her time with Star Fox. While she still didn't believe she was the equal of Fox or Falco, she was managing.

Any pride she might have felt in her achievement quickly melted as she scraped against the hull of the ship on a particularly tight curve. As she pulled away from that, her wing clipped against the hull as it twisted again. She winces as the damage indicator flared up, showing her that her wing had been compromised.

She wasn't sure she was going to make it. It was too fast. It was too tight! She had no room to maneuver! She couldn't do it!

Just when she thought hope was lost, she heard a familiar voice. She wasn't sure if it was in her head or if it was over the comms, but she heard Fox. "Come on Krystal. You can do this." Those simple words filled her with a renewed sense of determination, and she managed to snap her ship up through a particularly tight curve.

That's where she saw it. It was unmistakable. It looked a bit like what she imagined was the core of the ship, but she knew that it wasn't. This was the generator. It was a large sphere, held in place by a number of solid structures and clamps from the walls. It was coursing with energy. This was what was responsible for the Dominion's seemingly impenetrable shields.

Krystal aimed the nose of her vessel at one of the connecting clamps, then pulled the trigger. She held it down as she veered from side to side, trying to get as close as she could to the thing. The laser blasts from her ship struck true, causing some of the structures to bend and twist as they fell, releasing their hold on the spherical structure. As more of the clamps were obliterated by her laser fire, the orb grew more unstable.

This was it. She moved her thumb over the button, waited for the last possible moment, then pushed down. The bomb that had been housed in her ship was launched directly at the enemy shield generator. She spun away from it, approaching the nearest vent to escape. She looked behind her for a moment, just in time to see a massive explosion engulf the orb. Smaller blasts started to spread as the surface of the thing ruptured, and then it simply blew apart in a spectacular explosion.

Even before she made it out, she said the one word Fox now needed to hear. Everything she had experienced up to now, all the frustration and anger and fury at the Dominion, the lack of communication with Fox, all of it distilled into a single word.

"Fire."

---

Fox got the message loud and clear. He took one last look, his implants apparently providing the precise trajectory he needed. He narrowed his eyes, took aim...and pulled the trigger. The turret rocked violently as the projectile was launched, a massive energy payload that was aimed directly at the enemy vessel.

---

"The weapon is charged sir!"

"Fire! Destroy that ship!" Kamille ordered. They had already crippled it. It was time to finish this once and for all. This time, there would be no escape. He heard the weapon hum with power, could practically taste the coming blow, a killing stroke.

This was the end.

The Bulwark suddenly rocked violently, so hard that several of the bridge crew lost their balance, one of them toppling over his console and yelling as he fell to the ground below. Sparks flew from a number of the consoles, and warning alarms blared.

"Report!" Kamille shouted

"We've been hit! Systems failure! Multiple critical systems are offline!" The cat looked up at Kamille, his eyes wide with terror.

"What?!" Kamille couldn't believe what he was hearing, but the proof was all around them. "What happened?!"

"Our shields are down!"

"Divert power to emergency systems!" Once more, Kamille took charge of the situation, attempting to avert further disaster. "Reboot everything! We must re-establish..."

"Sir!" Kamille turned toward the crewman that had shouted. The crewman simply pointed at the viewscreen.

As Kamille stared, he saw the Von Dross. They were facing it now, their ship turned directly toward it. Something was coming toward them, something that had been launched from that ship. A ball of energy that seemed to be growing in size as it got closer . It was coming right at them.

"Your orders, sir?!" One of the bridge crew asked, sounding as though he were in a panic.

Kamille always had an answer for everything, every situation. He had always excelled under pressure, of taking the advantage in a bleak situation, of turning a loss into a victory.

No answers would come to him now. They wouldn't be able to restore the ship's systems in time. Everything was connected to the primary shield generator. It was designed to be impervious. There was no conceivable way that someone could get to it from the outside. And yet Star Fox had. He didn't know how, but they did it. It would take some time to reroute power, to get control of the ship again. A minute, perhaps just thirty seconds.

They didn't have that long. The energy ball was coming right at them. It was aimed at the bridge.

When Kamille said nothing, some of the crew began to panic, running for the elevator, as if to escape their fate. They were all shouting, yelling at each other, giving way to fear and panic.

Not Kamille. He took a step forward as the shot drew closer, approaching the viewscreen. There was no escaping this. He knew it. It was so close now, filling his view.

He had done what so many had before him, what he suspected many more would yet do. He had underestimated Star Fox. He had failed the Dominion. Now he was giving his life for it, and he would die for the Dominion a thousand times if he had the choice.

Closing his eyes, Kamille made peace with himself. The noise of the crew faded, he no longer heard them. "Noellap..." he murmured. "Make the Dominion proud."

He said nothing more. There was a deafening boom as the bridge took a direct hit. The viewport was shattered and destroyed in a giant fireball, consuming everyone and everything that was in it. Screams were silenced in an instant. The hull was breached, overwhelming heat engulfing the bridge as it was blown to pieces. Kamille felt only a brief moment of agony as he was consumed first by the flames, then by the void.

But not fear. He felt no fear. Then he felt nothing.

---

"WOOOOOOOOOOO!" Slippy was cheering into the comm system now. Falco was whooping with him. There had never been so beautiful a sight to the two of them as that enemy ship erupting in flames.

He saw the bridge take a direct hit. That shot couldn't have possibly been aimed any better, it was absolutely perfect. The bridge had been obliterated with that single well placed shot.

Everything happened fast after that. The Bulwark began to slowly spin around, no longer able to maintain its position. It veered away from the Great Fox, turning toward the nearby gas giant. With all of its critical systems offline and with no one to guide it, it was being pulled in by the forces of gravity. It would likely be crushed by the atmosphere as it spiraled toward the planet's surface.

In the same moment, the interceptors that had been so close to destroying Falco and Slippy stopped what they were doing, breaking off from the fight and zooming away. With their captain dead and their vessel destroyed, they seemed to lose whatever organization they had, along with the will to fight.

Laser fire blasted through space, but it was not from the enemy. Rather, it was Falco shooting at the mass of fighters that had been coming his way. They had begun to retreat, veering off course. One of them was caught by Falco's attack. It ignited, turning into a careening fireball before exploding. Just as he suspected, the shields were gone. Without the Bulwark powering the shields on the interceptors, they were entirely vulnerable to weapons fire.

This seemed to deter the others. Right before his eyes, Slippy saw the Dominion forces make a full and hasty retreat. He had been worried that they might try to finish Star Fox off, but thankfully their luck held. They were confused, they didn't know what had happened and how their main vessel got destroyed. For all they knew, reinforcements had arrived for Star Fox. Whatever they were thinking, they did not stick around. Falco managed to secure two kills, even though he was unable to move very much. Slippy was impressed.

The frog stared for a few more moments, almost not daring to believe that they had done it, that they had accomplished the impossible. With a heavy sigh of relief, his head fell backward and he just stared up at the ceiling, running his hands over the top of his head. They had done it! They had won!

"Dominion vessel is accumulating a large amount of energy." ROB announced.

Slippy blinked. "What? What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Energy spike detected, similar to earlier weapon readings." Rob continued to speak in that flat tone of his, entirely devoid of emotion. He may not be feeling emotion, but everything he said certainly made Slippy feel panicked. "Speculation: Systems needed to regulate weapon's power are offline. The weapon is going critical, VDF Bulwark detonation imminent. Reach minimum safe distance immediately."

"Minimum safe distance?" Slippy stared at ROB, then looked back at the Bulwark. That's when he saw little explosions rocking the surface of the vessel. There was some kind of chain reaction going on over there. Considering that weapon aboard had the power to destroy entire ships, that would mean...

"ROB, how much time do we have?!"

"Estimated time before explosion: 1.73 seconds."

"Oh crap."

A white light soon blinded Slippy, causing him to raise his hands to protect his eyes. The viewport was utterly filled with a brilliant white light. The Bulwark had just exploded. The Great Fox was rocked backwards with brutal force. The console that Falco normally manned exploded in a shower of sparks and broken paneling. The ship bucked, and Slippy was launched from his chair, hitting the ground and rolling into a wall. "Owwww!" They were moving! The Great Fox was being propelled away from the blast, spinning uncontrollably!

"Get the engines on!" Slippy yelled. "Stop us!"

"Unable to comply. Engines severely damaged. Immediate repairs necessary."

Another of the bridge consoles exploded in that moment, flames erupting from the broken machinery. The ship shuddered violently as it moved. "We gotta stabilize this thing! Turn on the emergency systems!"

"Emergency systems offline. Auxiliary propulsion system damaged. Overriding safety. Engaging now."

"Shoot!" Slippy braced himself, gritting his teeth as ROB attempted to correct the ship's flight, to stop hurtling through space without control. Though it never did stop moving, ROB managed to prevent it from continuing the spin. Sparks and bolts of energy were emanating from almost everything on the bridge. ROB was unphased, still attending to his duties. Even as he worked, a metal panel from over head came swinging down, smashing into Rob's left arm. To Slippy's horror, the robot's arm was severed, clanging against the floor before rolling some distance. ROB did not stop his work! He shifted somewhat in order to allow himself to use his right arm to man his entire console. It must have slowed him down, but he didn't complain. He never even remarked on the damage he had just sustained. He just continued working. Even though ROB was a machine, Slippy still found himself amazed at what he was capable of.

At long last, ROB managed to bring the Great Fox to a standstill. Slippy picked himself up from the floor and limped over to his console, which was barely working. Half the screen was ruined, and he could only read some of the available data. What he read wasn't good. They had suffered catastrophic damage. They were lucky the engine hadn't gone critical. It still might if they didn't get the situation under control.

The normal lights had gone out, the rooms were only lit with the emergency lights. Power had been cut across the ship. ROB announced this even as Slippy was figuring it out. "Power systems damaged. Life support systems damaged. Engines offline. Auxiliary systems damaged. Fires have broken out in multiple locations aboard Great Fox. Immediate repairs to engine core required."

Slippy sighed, then nodded his head. "Alright, alright. Look, I'll start putting out those fires and working on the engines, you get life support stable again. Make sure we can still breathe."

"Affirmative." Only now did the robot acknowledge his injury. "I have sustained minor damage. Operation efficiency has been reduced."

"Don't worry, I'll fix you up once we're fixed up a bit, I promise." Slippy couldn't believe they were still alive. If he didn't get to work, they might not be alive for long.

He had to check their current position before doing anything else. They had been launched pretty far from the Von Dross, too far to be of any help. He couldn't deal with all this damage alone. "Falco? Are you there?"

There was no immediate answer, then, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm here."

"You gotta get inside now. The ship's busted up pretty bad. I'm gonna need you and Krystal just to make sure we don't blow up."

"Yeah...where is Krystal anyway?"

"She was..." Slippy stopped short, his eyes bugging out and gasping. "She was in the Bulwark! I don't know if she made it out!"

---

Shortly after Krystal had blasted the shield generator, the resulting explosion licked at her tail as she fled. Soon the Bulwark was hit by Fox's shot, and that made it even harder for Krystal to stay steady and follow the path out, a different course than the one she had taken in. She had to fly fast, lest she be caught in the explosion.

She cleared the Bulwark just before it began its descent into the planet's gravity field. She took a deep breath, hardly believing that they had just done it. They had finally taken out that blasted ship! It was done. The Dominion, or at least their presence here, was finished.

She was caught off guard as the ship exploded behind her, and she found herself hurtling through space. She quickly checked her instruments, grateful that minimal damage had been done from that. She was okay. What about the rest of the team?

Fox! "Fox, come in! Are you there? This is Krystal. The Dominion vessel is destroyed. We have done it!"

Silence.

Krystal furrowed her brow, worried. Something must have been blocking the signal. If she couldn't reach Fox, perhaps she could reach the rest of the team. She adjusted the communicator, then attempted to make contact. There was no longer any reason to mask the communication, there was no one left to intercept the transmission. "Slippy, Falco, are you there?"

"Krystal!" Slippy was yelling into his communicator as soon as he heard her voice. "Oh thank goodness you're okay! We were worried you didn't make it out."

"I almost didn't. Is everything alright?"

"Uhh..." Slippy paused, and there was a loud booming sound in the background, as though something just blew up behind Slippy. "Not, uh, particularly. We need help. Falco's engine is dead, can you get over and help him?"

"Of course. I'll pull him in."

"Right. Awesome. Hurry up! I don't know how long I can hold her together alone!" With that, the transmission was over. Krystal took a deep breath, then tracked Falco on her scanner. Slippy hadn't been kidding. It wasn't just his engine, it was his entire ship! The Arwing was a hair's breadth away from being destroyed!

"Anytime you're ready, Krystal." Falco said. His communications still worked, if nothing else.

"I'm on my way." Krystal activated the accelerator and moved toward Falco. They may have been crippled by the attack, but the gamble had paid off. They had done it! Now they just needed to stabilize the Great Fox, then board the Von Dross and finish this.

"Oh god." Krystal heard Falco's voice over the communicator, quiet and subdued. Something was wrong.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" Krystal asked.

"No. No no no no! The Von Dross! Look!"

Krystal turned to see what he was trying to indicate, and the sight caused her eyes to widen. It couldn't be! It just couldn't!

The ship was moving! It was breaking orbit with the planet and moving away! Star Fox was in no condition to follow now!

"Fox!" Krystal shouted, then started to veer her ship to the side, trying to align herself with the Von Dross.

"Krystal! Krystal!" Slippy was shouting at her. "Don't do it! Listen, I know you want to get Fox, but we need you right now! You've got to get Falco inside here, I need both of you! If you guys don't help, I don't think the Great Fox is going to make it!"

"There are still such horrors aboard that ship!" Krystal's voice was more frantic and emotional than she had intended it to be. "I cannot leave him to face that alone! I mustn't!"

"Krystal!" Falco snapped over the communicator. "Fox has made it this far! He's still alive, he just proved it. We just beat the Dominion. He's okay, and he's gonna keep being okay. He wouldn't want us to just rush in. What would that accomplish?"

Krystal didn't want to listen to him. It wasn't just being away from Fox. She didn't know what was happening to him. She wouldn't even know if he were alive and dead now that the communication was severed. She was so worried for him. From knowing the incredible danger he was in and being powerless to stop it, powerless to do anything about it. She was so close! She heard his voice, they even worked together to take down the enemy ship!

Now it seemed he was as far away as he ever was. She felt a terrible ache growing in her stomach, a gnawing pain that would be with her for a while yet. They had come so close. When she saw that ship explode, she truly believed that the nightmare was over. At the very least, she believed it was about to get much better, that they would soon put all of this behind them.

She should have known better. Shaking her head, she chided herself for being so naive and impulsive. Falco and Slippy were both right. They needed her. Fox could take of himself. She had to believe that.

The Von Dross was pulling away now, the engines firing up. The damage must have been repaired. It was now slowly escaping into the stars. She didn't know where it was going, but she did know that it had to be stopped. She couldn't stop it. Nor could Falco or Slippy. There was only one person who could stop that thing now. He would have to do so alone.

"I'm going to pull you into the Great Fox, Falco." Krystal said over her communicator. "I'm on my way now."

With that, she flew toward Falco's position. When she got close enough, she reached for the interceptor's control panel. After a while, she found what she was looking for. It had some manner of energy tether which would allow her to connect to the ship and tow it away. She'd bring both of them to the Great Fox. They'd help Slippy do some repairs and get everything back in order.

She gazed upon the Von Dross one final time, thinking of Fox and what he must be going through over there. She couldn't join him. She couldn't reach him through normal communication. Before joining the rest of the team, she did offer one thing. She closed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowing as she concentrated. She remembered where the shot had come from, she could see it in her mind's eye. She saw the place Fox had been just moments ago. She searched for him. She wanted to be more thorough, to do more than what she was about to do, but this was all she could offer for the moment. When she at last found him, she attempted to project her thoughts, concentrating with all her strength to send him a simple message. She did not know if he would get it. He would have no way of communicating back with her. She risked much by doing this. If the Many sensed her, it might attack. She would brief. She was able to relay one thought to McCloud before the Von Dross moved out of range, perhaps forever.

Be careful, Fox.