"Everyone, get to the bridge right away!"
A voice with a gravely timbre rang out over the intercom system of the Great Fox, the flagship of the Lylat System's most famous mercenary team, Star Fox.
"We're getting an urgent message from the Cornerian Army and General Pepper himself!"
The second the message ended; four bodies sprang into action.
The team's young, rookie pilot and genius mechanic Slippy Toad quickly hopped out of the ship's enormous pool, vigorously drying himself off as he sped off toward his destination.
Krystal, the team's telepath and sole female member, set down the novel she'd currently been absorbed with and, in one fluid motion, gracefully exited her quarters.
Ace pilot and ex-gang member Falco Lombardi dropped the weights he'd been using for his workout in the ship's gym facility. Wiping his brow and partaking in a quick stretch, the avian jogged toward the bridge.
Team leader Fox McCloud quickly emerged from his piloting simulation unit, strapped on his fingerless gloves and briskly headed towards the bridge where Peppy Hare, the team's most senior member, was awaiting their arrival.
Once everyone had converged, with the swift pressing of a few keys, Peppy brought an image of the Cornerian Army's leader into full view.
"Star Fox," The general began, "It is a pleasure to see you all again. Unfortunately, I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Always a pleasure, General," Fox saluted. "What can we do for you?"
Slightly clearing his throat, the commander-in-chief of the Cornerian military began to speak, taking on a more commanding presence as he did so.
"Remnants of Andross' army have amassed and launched an assault just outside of Fortunian airspace. The Cornerian Army officially requests your immediate assistance."
"Of course, General! We'll warp there immediately."
With a curt nod and a polite salute on both ends, the transmission was cut.
"Well team," Fox said facing his teammates.
"It looks like it's back to work. Peppy, once ROB receives the warp coordinates from their side, have him load them onto our Arwing Navi systems. Everyone else, suit up and meet back here for a final briefing in twenty minutes."
"Roger!" Slippy chirped with his usual megawatt smile.
"You got it," Falco echoed.
"Right, Fox," Krystal added.
With that, the team dispersed.
Almost exactly twenty minutes passes and as ordered the team were now wearing their flight suits and were preparing to pass through the opened Warp Gate.
In seconds, the Great Fox made its grand appearance on the battlefield.
Not long after, another communications request came through and once again, they were greeted by a hologram of General Pepper.
"Star Fox!"
The genuine relief in his voice was audible and a slight smile flashed across his face.
"It looks like we're not too late!"
"Of course, General!" Fox responded with a salute.
"It's just so crazy!" Slippy gasped, taking in the scene unfolding before him. "I can't believe Andross had so darn many troops left behind!"
"He didn't." Peppy curtly added. "They're almost all common scum in it for the money,"
"They're quite dedicated for a bunch of hired guns," Krystal mused as she read over information being sent over from the front lines.
"The leader is none other than Andrew Oikonny," the General added.
"I see," Fox quickly replied, doing his best to remain visibly unphased at the sound of the familiar name. "So, we're here because..."
"We're here because we gotta put that creep on ice!"
The team's avian member's eyes did a barrel roll as his annoyance at his leader question made itself apparent.
Before anything further could be said, however, General Pepper once again reclaimed control of the conversation.
"Yes, you must take him down! We're all counting on you. Now, get prepped and go!"
"Right!" Fox shouted. "Star Fox! Move out!"
With the press of a few buttons, the Arwing Transport Elevator rose from the center of the bridge and the team rushed to their respective places, beginning their descent towards their vehicles, the Arwings.
Once they'd completed docking sequence with the cockpits of their fighter jets, from his station at the Great Fox's helm, Peppy made the final preparations for their launch.
"Oikonny's no pushover! Be careful out there," the wise hare called over the intercom as the pilots entered the codes for launch.
"Worrying a bit much, aren't you gramps?" Falco snarked.
"All right, team. We've got our mission. Let's get... things... done! Launch!"
The mighty roar of engines and the bright flares of exhaust streams thrust the quartet out into the fray.
Whipping and whizzing through enemy lines, it became clear to both sides of the conflict that the legendary Star Fox team had hit the scene.
"All ships! Avoid the armada's fire! Aim for Oikonny's flagship!" Fox called over the comm links.
"Yeah, yeah," came Falco's typical snarky reply. "This a'int our first battle, O Fearless Leader."
"Here we go!" Slippy yelled, his voice brimming with excitement.
"Hey, Slippy! Don't get cocky!"
Krystal's warning unfortunately went unheeded as sure enough, a few seconds later, Slippy was being assaulted from behind by a small swarm of enemies.
Having just dispatched of the enemies in his direct path, Fox sped over and dutifully saved his team's youngest member.
"You haven't changed a bit, Frog Boy." Falco teased.
Though he didn't say anything in return, Fox noticed that from then on, Slippy's flying became less erratic.
Taking on a more coordinated approach, the team made quick work of the enemies as they whizzed and blasted their way through the enemy fleet.
Explosions briefly illuminated the dark recess of space as one after another the mercenary quarter took out ships of all sizes, from small jets to a stealth squadron of enormous flagships with cloaking technology and even what seemed to be a prototype that took on a remarkably familiar shape.
Getting into a certain rhythm only they're capable of, the Star Fox team made quick work of subduing the enemy fleet.
Before long, enemy numbers dwindled to next to nothing, making the entire team suspicious.
These suspicions would be later proven right when the rebellion's leader, Andrew Oikonny made an appearance in his flagship.
Instead of going on the attack, however, the flagship did a complete 180 and headed full speed into Fortunian airspace.
"The enemy flagship is fleeing to Fortuna," ROB helpfully advised the team.
"That scum Oikonny's getting away!" Falco whined.
"Keep moving! Follow him into the atmosphere!" Fox ordered. "Let's take it in low!"
The team made all the necessary adjustments and headed into the planet's atmosphere.
Fox firmly grips his controls to steady his concentration as his ship violently rattles and shakes as it pierces Fortunian airspace.
The gentle sigh he lets out as the planet's renowned picturesque greenery springs into view is drowned out by the cacophony.
'How long has it been since I was here last? I never get tired of that view,'
His mind wanders back to a simpler time. Back when he wasn't the "Savior of the Lylat System" or even "the son of the Great James McCloud," just a kid with an adventurous
spirit and a terrible sense of direction.
Peppy's worried voice snaps him out of his trip down memory lane.
"Oikonny seems to have fled, but he may be lying in wait for us. Everyone, keep your guard up," Peppy warned from the Great Fox's command center.
"Worrying a bit much, aren't ya Gramps?" Falco shot back.
With a sigh demonstrating his dwindling patience, Peppy shook his head at the hothead's remark.
No one knew better than he did that Falco wears sarcasm like a suit of armor.
'Whatever keeps that boy focused...' he thinks to himself.
'I don't need Krystal's powers to know that everybody's more stressed than usual, given who we're up against.'
Star Fox's last run in with Andross' spoiled nephew was memorable to say the least.
The desolate planet Venom had become the base of operations for the Lylat System's greatest threat to date: the mad scientist known simply as Andross. With his technological prowess, scientifically enhanced abilities, and legion of devoted lackeys, the crazed ape had very nearly claimed the star system for himself.
His nephew Andrew was among the highest ranked of those devoted flunkies and was afforded all the privileges of being the closest thing to an heir the scientist would have. Oikonny, for his part, inherited all his terrible traits but was severely lacking in the intellect department.
'Given what we've seen today, I'm fairly confident nothing's changed,' Peppy inwardly chuckled.
'Still... I thought we'd seen the last of him during that battle. If he survived, then that must mean...'
A harsh buzzing sound brought him back to the present and alerted him and the rest of the team that Oikonny's signal suddenly vanished.
"Fox!"
"Yeah, I noticed. Don't worry. It looks like he's left some of his friends as trail markers. Let's do this team!"
"Roger!"
Forging ahead, saving each other's necks along the way, they came across the enemy's base.
With the ease of season warriors, they laid waste to the base and cut off all land-based energy sources, bringing the so-called rebellion to a grinding halt.
All that was left was to face...
"Oikonny!" Slippy suddenly shouted. "I'm picking up his flagship again on the radar. If we continue for a few clicks, we should run right into him.
Sure enough, the despot was exactly where the genius mechanic said he'd be.
Though he once again tried to flee, Star Fox gave chase and discovered that he was in fact luring them all into a trap.
Furious, Fox yelled into his comm link," Oikonny you ignorant ape! Just what are you up to?"
A hideous cackle was the first response they received.
"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, Star Fox. I'm afraid it's time I bring an end to our relationship."
With that, a piercing mechanical whirr rang out that was so loud, it even penetrated the pilot's cockpits. Portions of the ship began to move in place and his ship began to transform, taking a remarkably familiar shape.
Once the sequence was completed, an enormous robotic replica of Oikonny's head and hands were floating before them.
In an instant, horrible memories from the past began to flood Fox's mind.
'He looks just like...this is just like... Andross!'
His breathing began to hasten as flashes of his battle with Andross assaulted his mind.
That particular battle was Fox's hardest one to date.
Even though just six years had passed, the nightmares from his near-death experience would still occasionally haunt him to this day.
He can still hear the maniacal laughter...
He still feels the overwhelming aura of the mad scientist's sheer power...
He wouldn't be here to tell the tale if it hadn't been for his father... or perhaps the ghost of his father.
In his heart, he never really reached a satisfying conclusion regarding that.
After all, it all seemed real. He seemed so real. Despite his father being dead for quite some time at that point, his deep, hypnotic voice came through clear as a bell.
It had taken years of therapy, but fox finally felt as though he'd reached a point in his life where he could remain calm in a situation like this.
Being in a situation like this, however—with this copycat dredging up all those unwanted feelings all over again—wasn't anything he could ever dream of being prepared for.
Fox's rage went from 0 to 60 in record time.
"You think you can win?" He snarled, punching it the sequence for powering up his weapons system. "Don't make me laugh!"
Before anyone could ask about their normally calm leader's sudden shift in attitude, he'd sped off and had gone on the attack.
Taking the hint, they all quickly followed suit.
Despite his impressive hardware, the simian proved to be no real challenge.
His ship, even transformed, was easily defeated.
However, just before the final blow could be delivered, a devastating violet beam crashed down from the heavens, destroying him and his ship.
"What?! Reinforcements?" Fox asked. "Everyone should still be in orbit handling the main enemy fleet."
"Something's coming!" Slippy shouted.
With the flap of several pair of great luminous wings, a colossal insect-shaped monster suddenly appeared before them.
It was unlike anything any of them had ever seen before.
"Such strange thought patterns," Krystal remarked as she tapped into her telepathic powers, attempting to get a read on the mysterious lifeform.
"Aparoid! Aparoid! Aparoid!" ROB blared over the comm links.
"Aparoid?! What's..."
Before Fox had a chance to finish that question, the monster reared back and fired yet another devastating beam, this time narrowly missing Krystal.
"Looks like there's no time for pleasantries," Fox joked. "Everyone! Let's take care of this!"
Through a spectacular team effort, the enemy was expertly subdued and destroyed.
From his cockpit, Fox noticed an eerie glow coming from within the smoldering remains.
His curiosity piqued; he sent an image feed of it back to the Great Fox for analysis.
"I don't believe it! Fox!" Peppy frantically called once he'd received the image. "You have to get that!"
Knowing Peppy wouldn't tell him to do so unless it were absolutely necessary, Fox did as he was told. As he was making his way back to his Arwing with the item, Fox noticed
that there were now swarms of the enemy they'd just faced filling the sky and swooping in for an attack.
"Team, you've got to get out of there!" the hare called one more time.
Seeing no reason to refuse such a request, the team headed back to the Great Fox at full speed.