Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction; I do not own anything.
/StarFox: Beyond The Gate/
The Lylat system had endured many trials in less than a century; it was no different now as the star system was picking itself up after the onslaught of the Aparoid invasion. The Corneria army found themselves stretched thin as pirates, rebels, and others tried to exploit their weakness in power to get themselves a slice of the pie.
Corneria's orbit, Beltino Gate, Cornerian Provisional Authority's Command Center, 10 ALW, 07:08 SCT
The mood in the orbital station was one of meticulous planning; despite the aparoid threat being neutralized at this point, the effects of their invasion would most likely be felt for decades. Commander-in-Chief General John Pepper analyzed further reports and requests coming from all around the system.
The aging general was in a position of extreme delicacy, still recuperating from the aparoids infecting his body, and now dealing with the stress of needing to solve all the system's problems had left him with deteriorating physical and mental health.
But he had no choice; most of Corneria's government officials had perished in the invasion, a feat Andross himself couldn't achieve. It meant that he was one of the few surviving high-ranking officials in the command chain and had to stabilize the government foundations.
Which brought him to the matters at hand. The reconstruction of Lylat was going smoothly on some fronts, but now with the existential threat that the Aparoids posed gone, many sought to use this moment of weakness from Corneria to gain something.
Power, money, or influence. It didn't matter; it came in the form of pirates and rebels trying to take their piece of the pie by force. Not even counting the greedy corporations trying to monopolize the market and to use the tragedies as a way to profit.
To combat some of these internal threats, the brutalized Cornerian army needed to be revitalized urgently. Which made his overflowing responsibilities have a good side, with which now he could invest a significant amount of resources into military defense. Something that needed to be balanced with their economic and industrial investment needs. Taking another sip of coffee, the old canine braced himself for a long day of work.
/StarFox: Beyond The Gate/
Katina, Helios Star Base, 07:12 SCT
Walking through the plain halls of the military base, Fox McCloud contemplated what the future had in store for both his team and himself. Losing the Great Fox, which had been their home for years, had left a hole in their hearts, not to mention the impact on Star Fox's operational capacity. Despite that, the vulpine thanked the Creator for the fact that all of them returned alive from the Aparoid homeworld.
His thoughts were cut as he reached the hangar that they were currently making use of. "Morning, Fox!" Slippy greeted him as he approached. "Morning, Slip."
"Hey, Fox! You look like shit; didn't you sleep?" Falco smirked at him. "Sigh. Morning to you too, Falco." His unamused response didn't seem to affect the avian.
"Despite the rude bluntness, Falco's right; you don't look like you had a good sleep." Peppy admonished Falco as he turned to him with a look of mild worry.
" Don't need to worry, Peppy. It was just the adrenaline from the last mission that made sleep hard to come." It wasn't a lie; they came back from another tiring mission, and yet the adrenaline had taken its time to let him sleep.
Falco chuckled, "With the way Corneria is assigning us missions, it's not a surprise; I only slept after getting a drink and passing out!"
"I don't even want to know how you got that in here." Fox shook his head at his teammate's antics. "Besides, we shouldn't complain; these missions are what is keeping us fed." He reminded the avian.
"Yeah, well, it won't matter how much we are paid if we aren't alive to spend it." Fox gave up trying to argue and decided to check up on his Arwing.
"Don't be so dramatic, Falco! Besides, if we were having few missions, you would complain anyway." Slippy retorted. It was true; Fox remembered how Falco acted after the Lylat Wars. With fewer and fewer missions, the more the avian complained, to the point that he chose to leave and go on his own, only returning after the Saurian crisis.
As his teammates bickered on, Peppy approached him. "Are you sure you are okay, Fox?" The vulpine turned to his mentor and gave him a smile. "I am Peppy; nothing a good night of sleep won't fix." Fox never liked to burden the people close to him with his problems. Peppy didn't seem truly convinced but relented.
"Morning." A familiar voice came from the hangar's entrance. Fox turned to see Krystal approaching them, looking worse for wear. Before he could say anything, Falco pounced. "Holy stars blue! Did you sleep in a washing machine?" The aforementioned vixen didn't seem to acknowledge him, or most likely didn't have the energy to do so.
Fox got up and neared her. "Morning, Krystal. You feeling good?" She seemed to acknowledge him at least, taking a few moments to process his question.
Yawn! "No Fox I did not." He offered her a cup of coffee, which she took in earnest. "Let me guess, it has to do with your telepathy?" She looked somewhat embarrassed but answered anyway. "It's not easy to relax your mind when you've got a base full of overstressed minds all times of the day." She admitted.
After getting a proper wake-up cup of coffee, the five of them began discussing their next step.
"If things keep going this way, we might have enough money to commission a replacement for the Great Fox in only a few years!" Slippy exclaimed excitedly, something Falco did not share. ""Only" a few years! Are you nuts? We are most likely to retire by then!" Fox understood the sentiment; while getting a proper replacement for their lost dreadnought, they couldn't really afford to wait so long. The original Great Fox was not a simple spacecraft to build, and with the surviving shipyards of the system occupied rebuilding the Cornerian fleet, it meant that it would take longer to get a new one operational.
"We might be able to buy some pre-built warships. I heard that Space Dynamics has some unused carriers that we can try to acquire." Peppy suggested.
"That's not a bad idea. Once we head back to Corneria, we will pay Space Dynamics a visit." Fox contemplates the idea. A pre-built warship would have the versatility of the custom-built Great Fox, but having a mobile base was crucial to the team.
"With that in mind, I already scouted some missions that would lead us to Corneria." Peppy said as he showed them a file of said missions.
"Ugh! Escorting missions? Babysitting cargo ships is so boring." Falco complained. Fox agreed that such missions tended to be monotonous, but the paycheck wasn't bad, and it meant making a profit while heading to Corneria.
"I mean, it's easy money and would pay for our trip to Corneria." Slippy seemed to be on the same wavelength as his leader.
"I wouldn't mind a simple assignment after the last ones. It would give us a moment to rest a bit." Krystal chimed in her two cents.
"Alright, fine! We will take the boring mission!" The avian ace finally relented as he found himself outnumbered.
As they wrapped up their next steps, the team readied themselves for the journey.
/StarFox: Beyond The Gate/
Corneria, Corneria City Center, 08:01 SCT
The battered city rises for another day of reconstruction; office workers, shopkeepers, students, and many more push forward with their heads high as they pick themselves up from another disaster.
The highway that cut through the city was seeing a lot of movement at this time of the day. A normal office worker was making his commute to his 9-5 when suddenly he had to shove his foot down on the brakes to avoid colliding with an unknown structure in front of him.
The man rubbed his eyes and took a second glance, confirming the presence of the strange building. Looking closer, he came to the conclusion that he was seeing some kind of gateway, although the inside of it was pitch black as if it didn't have an end.
He wasn't the only one to notice the gate; all around, people glanced with a variable degree of confusion. The structure had appeared in the blink of an eye like magic; it left everyone silent.
The silence was broken as thunderous sounds echoed from inside the gateway; marching footsteps, metal clattering, and other ungodly sounds permeated the streets.
Some began to back up while others decided to film and take photos of the situation; all of them watched as an army emerged from the gateway. Their alien appearance made many turn around and flee, while some insisted on staying.
Mounted on horses, a group of pompously dressed beings stepped forward. A speech was loudly heard coming from one of them; although nobody understood the language spoken, the tone was oppressive and filled with an entitled authority.
The strange men seemed to grow impatient as the people of Corneria tried to think of what to do next. Before any further communication attempts could be made, the man in front reached the bottom of his patience.
Time seemed to stop as an incomprehensible shout was heard.
And the slaughter began.
To be continued…