X

The Citadel

The superstructure of the Galactic Citadel was suspended in black space. It formed the largest of the mass relays in the dead center of the galaxy. The glow of its many decks blotted out the stars like city lights indicating that here was the epicenter of life in the galaxy. There were four macrodecks arranged like a cylinder with a connecting ring at the stern. Off of the lower deck was the main dockyard where freighters, starfighters, and cruisers docked to refill their energy cells before their next jaunt across the stars. The Great Fox docked at a vacant pier on the far end of the yard, connecting its jack-anchor to the giant steel mooring that doubled as a charging port. The hydraulic door hissed open from the undercarriage and out poured Team Star Fox with the Odyssey crew in tow.

"Welcome to the Citadel," said a young dock worker with a smile, his patchy blonde beard bristling at the corners of his mouth. "We don't have tracking data on this vessel. Where are you coming from?"

"Uhh…," Fox trailed off. The dock worker cocked an eyebrow, his smile fading a bit.

"Outpost mission," said Toad curtly. "Shiveria."

"Ah. That explains it. Been out there long?"

"Three tours," replied Toad without any effort to elaborate.

"Sounds rough. Me? I hate the cold. Go on through to Processing." He hit a few keys on his omnitool and the entry gate opened to allow them passage.

As they stepped across the threshold and out of earshot, Falco grabbed Toad by the arm. "That was close, scoundrel," he hissed in his ear.

"Not really," said Toad with a shrug. "These dock workers are buncha assholes. Doesn't take much to fool them. Listen, I need to speak with my employer. Can you escort these two to the medbay?" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate Daisy and Luigi.

"We're done running errands for you, Toad," Falco shot back with a raised voice now that the doors had closed and was certain they wouldn't be overheard.

"Falco's right," said Fox. "We've got our own business to attend to."

"Just one last favor, then I'm outta your whiskers."

Fox gave an almost imperceptible nod. Falco folded his arms and grunted his disapproval though said nothing more since he knew he was outranked. They reached the Processing center where they registered their omnitools to indicate their stay at the Citadel as was the standard procedure. Before splitting up, Toad stopped short and looked around. It was only then that he realized someone was missing.

"Where's Mario?"

"He went to visit the Council," said Daisy. He had revealed his intentions to her shortly before docking at the Citadel.

"What?" Toad exclaimed. The last thing he wanted was the Council sticking their noses in his business. "Why the hell would he want to do that?"

"He didn't say," said Daisy with a shrug, which she regretted immediately and winced from the soreness in her shoulder.

"Oh shit," said Toad, pacing back and forth. "He better not tell them that this thing went sideways. As far as I'm concerned, we did the job. We found the ping and we made it back. The Broker owes me."

Fox slapped his forehead as he realized the reason for Toad's secrecy. "I told you not to deal with him, Toad. That is a one way street to empty pockets or an early grave."

Toad stopped in his tracks and wheeled around to face Fox. His countenance was twisted up and angry, the stress breaking his feigned demeanor of calm and collected. "I didn't have any other choice," he spat.

Toad split from his companions and made his way down into the lower decks, where the destitute were left forgotten. The upper decks were full of nice people in nice clothes and crabbers that repaired damages and kept the decks clean. But down here, things were left to mold and decay. Toad could smell it in the air: the sweat and bad choices. The denizens of the lower decks played the part that was expected of them. Then again, they were never given a chance to be anything else. When the only company you expected from the outside was the occasional C-Sec raid, why make a go of it at all?

Toad approached the aging AI assistant, Avina, that flickered and glitched due to the many years of lapsed maintenance. "How may I assist you today?" she asked through garbled speech.

Toad was about to answer when he was cut off by the shouting of a stargazer, a member of a strange cult. "And He who dwells in darkness shall come forth," said the stargazer with authority and glazed eyes. "Named shall He be the Great Devourer. He shall rip the cleansing light from the heavens and cast the Galaxy into flame." He turned and saw Toad leering at him. His eyes grew wide and oddly focused. "You!," he said as he approached. "You have seen it. I can smell the darkness on you."

Toad shoved him off. "Get away from me, freak. I ain't seen nothing."

In the medbay, Fox and Falco waited patiently for Dr. Stewart to finish his examination of Daisy. It was a much larger and far more advanced facility than the one on the Great Fox, with three rows of fifty beds lining the room, each filled with patients in various states of unwell.

"Well, your shoulder was set correctly," said Dr. Stewart, testing the joint with a gentle touch. "It'll be sore for a few days but it will heal."

"Thank you, doctor," said Daisy politely.

"You on the other hand," he said, focusing on the bandage seal on Luigi's shoulder socket. "How in the stars did this happen?"

Luigi didn't know how to react. Their mission was secret and he was terrible at lying. "Uhh, well… Y'see, we ran into some, umm…"

"Racquids," said Daisy, thinking on her feet. "On Shiveria. We were stationed there for 3 tours." She added the last bit of flair after remembering Toad's lie from earlier.

"That doesn't make much sense to me. Racquids' teeth are sharp to be sure but they don't have the jaw size to rip an arm off."

"It was racquids," said Daisy definitively.

"I see," he sighed. "Best not to ask too many questions then. Ah me. I can replace the arm but I'm waiting for the coin transfer from your captain."

"I hope he comes through," said Luigi, wearing a worried look.

"For his sake, he better," said Daisy.

Mario lay on the elevator floor with his hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other. A snot bubble clung to his nose and grew and shrank with every breath. He might've been snoring but the rumble of the elevator drowned it out. It came to a sudden halt after what seemed an age and chimed as its heavy steel doors opened onto the Presidium. He popped up from his stupor and made his way up the clean marble steps to the Great Hall of the Galactic Council. I guess the crabbers make good custodians, after all, he thought as he caught his reflection in the spotless stone. He waved his omnitool at the toad guarding the arched golden doors that led inside. The toad gave a nod and stepped aside as the doors slid open.

The councilors were all seated in a semicircle at a rounded oak-top table at the far end of the room. Large slatted windows allowed the white light of the engines to pour in, the harsh beams turning the five figures into silhouettes. As he entered, one of the figures stood and said, "Welcome, Mario of the Odyssey."