Star Fox Squadron
 

Commander Fox McCloud(Male red fox from Corneria)

Captain Falco Lombardi(Male falcon from Corneria)

Brevet Captain Avia Flyr(Female black hawk from Corneria)

Sergeant Slippy Toad(Male frog from Aquas)

Sergeant Peppy Hare(Male rabbit from MacBeth)

Flight Officer Ratner Sly(Male mouse from Venom)

Brevet Captain James McCloud(Male red fox from Corneria)

Star McCloud(Female red fox from Corneria)

Rendaar(Male grizzly bear from Kasala)

Katina Defense Corps and Cornerian Air Force
 

Colonel Bill Gray(Male husky dog from Katina)

Commander Puncher Doggy(Male golden retriever from Corneria)

Captain Danny "Bull" Dozer(Male golden retriever from Titania)
 

Other Pilots loyal to Cornerian Cause
 

Commander Fang O'Riley(Male grey wolf from world unknown)

Flight Officer Phoenix Blaze(Male phoenix from Katina)

Captain Mac "Tiger" Keeler(Male tiger from Zoness)

Katt Monroe(Female cat from Zoness)

Colonel Delrara Cutter(Female human from Earth)

Captain Lone Starr(Male human from Earth)

Lieutenant Arrow Stark(Male human from Earth)

Brevet Captain Wing Turner(Male human from Earth)
 

Cornerian Military and Intelligence
 

Lt. Colonel John Robertson(Male white fox from Corneria)

General Pepper(Male Golden Retriever from Corneria)

General Shaun Miyamoto(Male fox from Fortuna)

Major Benton Zed(Male human from Mars)

Lieutenant Briggs Janson(Male arctic fox from Fortuna)

Lieutenant Kole Forhan(Male arctic fox from Fortuna)

Lieutenant Albert Kane(Male chameleon from unknown)
 

Star Wolf Squadron
 

Commander Wolf O'Donnel(Male wolf from Titania)

Captain Leon Powalski(Male chameleon from unknown)

Lieutenant Pigma Dengar(Male pig from Corneria)

Flight Officer Andrew Oikonny(Male ape from Venom)

Flight Officer Bane Redfox(Male red fox from Aquas)

Captain Samuel Kenn(Male mouse from Venom)

Venomian Military and Communist Confederacy
 

Lord Andross(Male ape from Corneria)

Admiral Andy(Male ape from Venom)

General Krang(Male crocodile from Aquas)

Colonel Tiger(Male tiger from Zoness)

Viceroy Aliya(Female human from Earth)
 

prologue
 

Ratner Sly let his fingers dance over the keyboard as he plotted his Venom Class Fighter towards Corneria, which was on the other side of the system from where he was. He briefly checked the radar and communications systems, then sat back in his flight chair as the fighter automatically went through the pre-light speed checkup which took about five minutes. Sly contemplated what he was doing; leaving the empire he had grown up in for seventeen years, due to the fact he now knew the truth about their intentions. His parents had even tried to brainwash him of all things. Sly also thought about the friends he was leaving behind.not that he'd had many, but he was still leaving some of the people he had known since he was a kid; Travis, Keith, Samuel.Samuel was the only real friend of the group, and he had known the truth all along.but fought for Andross's Empire anyways. Showed how much Sammy cared about the other people in the universe then Sly did.

A beep on the communications console made Sly sit up, knowing something was immediately wrong. He tapped his keyboard and brought up the radar, and saw ten fighters closing in on him. He turned in his flight seat, the mask pressing against his face as he saw them closing in. A communications line beeped and he turned it on, hearing the smooth voice of Commander Wolf O'Donnel filter out of it.

"Turn your fighter back, Lieutenant," Wolf said.

Sly said nothing.

Wolf sighed irritably. "I said, turn your fighter back, Lieutenant. I don't want to have to shoot you down, not that it would be a challenge," he said, as if he was filing his nails, which, being the superb pilot he was, he probably was doing. "Last chance. Turn back.or die," he said.

"Make the right choice, son," came his father's voice.

Sly keyed his comm. "Dad?"

"Come back to us," his mother said.

Don't fall for it. They're just trying to bring you back under their control so they can brainwash you so it will be like none of this happened, he thought, and said nothing.

"Come on, Sly," came Sammy's voice.

Sly felt a tinge of anger inside as Sammy pleaded with him. He was against Sly too, although he would never openly admit it.

"You had your chance," his father said, his voice taking on a cold edge. "I'm sorry to have to do this. Locking on," he said and Sly heard alarm bells ring in his cockpit. His hands were on the control stick, but he made no moves. "I have you locked, Ratner. Turn back now!" he ordered in the voice of the Colonel that he was.

Sly did nothing.

"Fine," said his father and a missile streaked out across space towards Sly's ship. Wait for it.now, thought Sly and he broke right as the missile jetted mere centimeters past. "What the." his father started.

Sly keyed his comm. "Not today, Dad," he said.

"All fighters engage," his mother ordered.

Why are you doing this, Sly thought angrily as laser blasts arced out towards him. Let's give these bastards a run for their money here. Sly broke left and turned his fighter into a kickspin. "You asked for it," he said and opened fire. The fighters scattered, but one was too slow and exploded under the barrage of laser fire. "See?" he asked. "Why don't you turn back and leave me be?"

"I've got orders. Unlike some, I follow them," his father said coldly.

A fighter came in on his tail. "Sorry, Ratner," said his mother.

"Bullshit," Sly said and punched the brakes, seeing his mother fly by. He turned the fighter away. "I had the chance to kill you right there, Mom. Make a note of that," he said as he blew a fighter to pieces.

"Two fighters? Is that the best you can do?" taunted Leon Powalski, one of Wolf's pilots in Star Wolf Squadron, as he came in on Sly's tail. "You're toast, little rat," he said as missile lock warnings sounded.

Sly grinned. "See how you like this," he said and pressed the decoy button, releasing smoke and hail directly into Leon's fighter.

"What the-" Leon said and his fighter spun away, the lock alarms fading away from Sly's cockpit. "You'll pay for that, scum!" Leon hissed.

"Not damned likely," Sly said as he came in behind another fighter. "Take this," he said and fired, blowing the fighter's wing off and hurtling it back towards Venom.

"No!" shouted the voice of Pigma Dengar, another of Wolf's guys, the one Sly had just hit, as his fighter careened towards Venom.

"Oh, yes," Sly said.

Locks sounded and he looked back. "Now I've got you," said his father. Sly punched the brakes, but his father matched the move. Sly turned the fighter into a kickspin, coming head to head with his father. "Bad move, son," his father said.

"Go ahead," Sly said, engaging heat seekers and firing, then breaking hard left and pulling up.

"Sly!" his father screamed before the fighter broke off, seconds before the missile hit the target behind his father, which was Andrew Oikonny's ship. Andrew let out a yelp and ejected. "How dare you fire at me you ungrateful bastard!" he shouted.

Sly narrowed his eyes. "Shut up, you sonuvabitch," he said. "For all those years, you tricked me," he said.

"Yes," his mother said as she came in behind him. "But now, you're trying to trick us. Won't work, I'm afraid," she said and locked on, firing her lasers repeatedly. One laser scorched his back shields and Sly broke high and right, but his mother followed easily. "Such basic maneuvers. Is this all they teach you these days?"

"You wanna see 'basic', Mom? Try this!" Sly said and spun his fighter. For a split second, there was a lock, and in that second, Sly's finger hit the trigger and a missile flew out. It hit his mother's wing and her ship spun out of control as Sly got back in control of his own fighter.

Sly's father was aghast. "You'd shoot at your own mother?" he breathed.

"When they're pure evil, as you are," Sly said. "Yes, I would and will," he said.

"You ungrateful maggot," his father breathed. "I'll kill you myself."

"Not if I get him first," Sammy said, coming in behind Sly. "Remember in the academy, where you always beat me? Now its my turn to win, Ratner," he said with a maniacal chuckle. Sly grimaced as lasers seemed to come from everywhere. He expertly maneuvered, but the occasional blast from the remaining fighters hit him, dampening his shields.

Even a pilot like Sly could keep this up forever.
 

"Why do we have to take the long patrols?" asked Avia Flyr on the bridge of the Great Fox as the massive ship flew through the wreckage of the former planet Titania. "I mean, I thought we'd be seeing some flight action here. Come on," she whined to Commander Fox McCloud, who looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Fox sighed. "There's more to it then that," he said calmly, smoothly. "You have to take other responsibilities. Besides, the pay is good, and right now, that's what matters," he said, and looked beyond Avia. "Hey, Dad. Anything out there?" he asked.

Avia turned to see James McCloud standing there, dressed in his flight suit, with his helmet tucked under one arm. James was shaking his head as he walked up. "Not a thing," he said. "I think we nailed the bastards too hard for 'em to come back."

"Hopefully," Fox said. "Next patrol in four hours. Volunteers?" he asked, and looked at Avia.

"No," she said.

"How about you, Avia? You're the one who's been aching to fly. Oh, and I'll pair you up with Falco. He's really exciting to fly with.if you're used to flying with a complete and total psycho," he said.

"I flew against him. He burned me good, I know," she said.

"Against him?" Fox pried.

"After you killed Andross," she said. "Falco and I had a little competition; which he won," she said.

Fox and James chuckled lightly. "All the more reason to pair him with you," Fox said. "You'd better go break the news to him. I'm sure you two will have fun," he said with an easy smile, when a loud bell rang out. Fox looked around. "What the hell is that?" he asked.

A Tactical Officer looked up. "Sir, there's six fighters attacking one small ship," he said.

"Any visuals?" asked Fox.

The Tactical Officer, who had replaced T.O. Pike after the battle at Titania, was calculating the operation. "No, Sir. Long range scans picked him up coming towards Titania. According to the vectors, they came from Venom," he said.

"Odd," James stated.

Fox looked at his father. "Decoy?" he asked.

"Not bloody likely," James said. "Can you get our fighters up and ready?" he asked, putting his head gear back on as Avia and Fox moved towards the edge of the bridge to go get ready and summon the others.

"Yes," the T.O. said.

James nodded as he started to leave. "Good. Summon the other pilots, tell them to get their asses down to the hangar and into the fight immediately," he ordered and left the bridge, leaving the T.O. to do his job.
 

Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad and Peppy Hare looked up as Fox opened the door, dressed in full flight gear. "Get your butts in gear, guys. We're flying. Six fighters are attacking one, they came from Venom. We're flying, so get ready," he said.

"Let's rock," Falco said with a grin.

They tore down the corridor towards the hangar day as red alert lights flashed and technicians, officers and medics ran through the corridors, all getting to their battle stations. They arrived at the hangar bays as the last techs finished their fighters. "Good to go, Commander," Rob64 said to Fox as he hopped in and sealed the cockpit.

"Ready to launch," he said.

"Acknowledged. You are.go for launch," came the Flight Control Officer's voice over the communicator.

Fox punched the engines and blasted out of the hangar bay into space, shortly followed by the other five members of the team. "All aircraft report," Fox said coolly, with the command he gave so well.

"This is James. I'm good to go," his father said.

Avia responded next. "Avia, here. Let's kick ass."

"Slippy, here. I'm okay."

"This is Peppy. All systems go," said Peppy Hare, the wise and oldest member of the Star Fox team.

Fox knew who was next, and the modest voice came over the communicator as predicted. "Falco, here. I'm fine," said the deep voice of Falco Lombardi.

"Right. I've got 'em on visual," he said, seeing the dogfight and grimacing. "Holy," he muttered.

"Nothing holy about this, Fox," Avia stated.

Fox rolled his eyes. "All range mode. Engage," he said, and accelerated into the fray.
 

Sly rolled right, barely avoiding another missile, but not the laser blasts that followed. They took down his rear shields and he cursed. Without shields, I'm as good as dead, he thought. "Time to die, Ratner," came his father's voice as a lock alarm sounded. Sly closed his eyes and prepared to die, when an explosion behind him made him turn to see his father's fighter gone. Huh?

Wolf and the other five fighters were engaged with several Arwings, when an Arwing came up on his wing. A black hawk was at the controls, looking over at him. "Who're you and what's your story?" asked the hawk.

"None of your business, but thanks for the help," Sly said.

"It is now officially my business. This is Lieutenant Avia Flyr of the Star Fox Squadron, and we are bringing you into our custody. My scanners are telling me you have no shield capabilities, so stay on my wing and I'll take you in."

Star Fox. They're the good guys.you freed McCloud's father, so maybe they will show some pity for you, he thought and nodded. "All right," he said, and staid on Avia's wing as she guided him towards the massive white ship which was the flagship Great Fox.
 

"So, what's your name?" asked Fox as he looked at the mouse who was sitting across the table, wearing a fighter pilot's uniform, Androssian Black, and he was sipping from a cup of coffee.

"Lieutenant Ratner Sly, ex-Androssian army, lieutenant first class, serial number seven-seven-seven-three-two-five-zero-four-two," he said. "I served Andross up until about the time where he died, when I learned the truth," Sly said bitterly.

Fox leaned forward. "The truth?" he asked.

"I grew up, thinking that Andross was a peace loving man trying to restore the Lylat System to its glory, and protecting it from the evil lord General Pepper," he said, and that drew some snorts from the Star Fox team. "Until a few weeks ago until I flew against you guys," he said. "My parents tried to have me brainwashed.and they were flying against me out there."

Fox grimaced. "Ouch," he said.

James McCloud stepped in. "Hey, I got." he stopped as he looked at Sly. "Oh.its you," he said.

"James, nice to see you," Sly said.

Fox looked from Sly to James. "Dad, you know him?"

"He let me out of my cell shortly before I helped you get out of Andross's base. Trust me, this guy is a good find," James said. "I never got the chance to say thanks for that, did I?" he asked.

Sly shook his head. "You didn't need to," he said.

"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Fox.

Sly shrugged. "I was hoping to get a job with the Cornerian Air Force, because I belong in the skies," he said.

Fox looked at his father. "Why don't you stay with us?" he asked. "We could use another good pilot," he said.

Sly raised a brow. "You're kidding, right?"

"No," Fox said blandly.

Sly frowned, as if in thought, then shrugged. "All right," he said.

Fox turned to James. "Dad, could you get." he looked at him. ".since you're a newcomer, you're being placed back at the Flight Officer rank." he turned back to James. ".Flight Officer Sly a quarters ready?"

"Sure," said James.

Fox cocked his head in James's direction. "Follow him. Welcome aboard, Flight Officer," he said.

"Thank you, Sir," Sly said.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter One

ONE WEEK LATER
 

"What's the report, Rob?" asked Fox McCloud, stepping onto the command bridge of the Great Fox and looked at the mechanical Rob64, who was tapping on a keyboard rapidly, while Fox politely waited.

Finally, Rob64 twisted his servos to look up at Fox. "We've got a new mission. Orders from General Pepper; some rebels from Andross's Forces are striking out on Zoness, and their defenses are still depleted. We've been ordered to take out the rebels and restore peace," he said.

Fox nodded. "Right. Plot us a course, maximum speed," he said. "Time to target?" he asked.

"Two days," replied Rob64.

Fox sighed. "Good. Then I'll have time to run up some of this mission data. Did the General leave us anything good to use?" he asked.

"Negative," came Rob64's reply. "He did however, say that there was a high probability of cruisers waiting to pounce on us, so we'd best be cautious," he said.

Fox nodded. "Good work, keep it up," he said and left the bridge, almost running right into Fara Phoenix, who had been moving towards the bridge at the exact time. "Fara, what brings you to the mechanical stench of the battle bridge?" he asked.

"You," she said. "What's new?"

Fox sighed. "Well, we've gotta go to Zoness. Apparently, some Androssian Rebels are there trying to take over, and Zoness has no defenses.Katt can't hold herself on her own," he said.

"Ah, yes. Katt Monroe," Fara said. "Right. When do we arrive?" she asked.

Fox looked at his watch. "When do you want to?"

"Don't play games with me. When?" she asked.

"Two days," he said and kissed her softly before moving off without a word. Fara moved off in the opposite direction to the pilots lounge.
 

"I'm betting twenty bucks," said Falco, placing several chips in the middle.

"Ah, shit," muttered Peppy and threw his cards in.

Slippy bit his lip and looked at Sly, who simply looked dumbly at his cards. "I'm in," said Slippy, being bold. "Sly?" he asked, and the young mouse looked up. "You in or out?" he asked.

"Uh.I bet forty," Sly said, dropping down several tokens.

Falco chewed on that for a second. "You sure?" he asked, looking at his cards.

"Why? Is that bad?" asked Sly.

Falco shrugged. "If I have a better hand and I stay, then yes, it is very bad," he said.

"Then I'm in," Sly said.

Slippy chuckled, throwing his cards on the table. "I fold," he said and leaned back, mimicking Peppy as a waiter brought them some sodas, since alcoholic beverages weren't aloud on the ship.

"You sure?" Falco tried one last time.

Sly raised a brow. "Is that fear I detect in your voice?" he asked.

"No," Falco quaintly replied.

"What're you guys doing?" asked Avia Flyr as she and Fara Phoenix stepped into the room, crossing to the poker table. Avia looked over Falco's shoulder, and Fara over Sly's. They looked at eachother and shrugged.

"Playing poker," Falco said, not taking his eyes of Sly's.

Sly raised a brow. "Well?" he asked.

Falco put in two more tokens. "Sixty," he said.

No one said anything.

"What're you gonna do?" asked Fara quietly, but Sly gave no sign he had heard her.

Sly looked over the tip of his cards at Falco and placed in three more tokens. "Ninety," he said quietly.

"Shit," Falco hissed angrily and threw his cards down, revealing two pairs. He looked at Sly. "So what have you got that's so good?" he said.

Fara broke out laughing. "Nothing," she said.

Falco looked confused. "Huh?" he asked.

Sly put down his cards.

"Sonuvabitch!" Falco shouted. "You mean you bet ninety bucks on nothing? What the hell!" he said and shoved the tokens towards him. "Take your money, jeesh," he said and left the room, leaving the others standing there.

"He doesn't like losing, as you can see. Don't take it personally," Peppy said.

Sly nodded. "I can understand that," he said. "What now?"

"Well, Fox has the next mission lined up," said Fara.

"What mission?" Sly asked.
 

Fara shrugged and picked up one of the sodas off the table, snapping it open. "We're going to Zoness," she said.

Slippy grimaced. "That shithole?" he muttered.

Sly sighed. "I guess that cancels out our rest and relaxation, huh?"
 

"Lousy sonuvabitch." muttered Falco, slamming his fists repeatedly into the punching bag that was designated for those who wanted to let off some steam. "Open a can of whup-ass on him," he muttered.

Fox stepped up. "Falco, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Envisioning this as that bastard Sly," he said and hollered a war cry and started pummeling the punching bag.

Fox stepped back. "What did he do?"

"Must've cheated somehow." Falco muttered.

"You mean he beat you in poker? That's what this crap is all about? Falco, you've gotta learn that even in Star Fox you don't win all the time, got it?" he asked. Falco looked about to say something to the contrary, but Fox waved him silent. "You're starting to piss me off with this, all right? Just pipe down and shut up."

"Something going on I should know about?" James McCloud asked as he came in the doorway, wearing a tanktop and jeans. He had his sunglasses propped up on his forehead and both Fox and Falco turned to look at the eldest McCloud as he stood there, a towel over his shoulder.

Fox spoke up. "I was just having a chat with Falco about his taking losses so seriously," he commented. "Maybe you could help him with these problems he seems to be having," he said and stepped out of the room.

"Falco." James said and threw his towel on a chair. "We win some of the times because we have skill, cunning and luck all on our side, all right? Some people don't always have it. Not that they don't have it at all, they do, but not all the time. You can't take losses so hard, whether in the air or in a game of poker. Got it?"

"But-" Falco started, but was cut off by an upraised finger from James.

"I've taken heavy losses, Falco," he said. "I lost my wife when Fox was just a cub. I lost my dad at the age of fifteen, and my mom just two years after. I had no relatives to stay with, so General Pepper brought me into the Academy to learn discipline and flying.and I excelled in both. Yet I had basically no friends until I met Peppy and, God help me, Pigma, before he was a traitor."

Falco would not meet James's gaze.

"I was held prisoner for eight years," James said. "Eight years of my life, robbed from me. Eight years of seeing my son and my daughter grow up, taken away. Eight years severed from the outside world.I've lost a lot of things, Falco, but I don't really let them get to me. Think about that," he said, turned on his heel and left.
 

The red alert bells sounded at approximately three in the morning, as the Great Fox rumbled from attack blasts. Fox was knocked from his bunks and everyone shouted in dismay as the entire ship shifted wildly to the side, knocking tables and people over. The lights shorted momentarily then came back on.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Fox.

"Red alert! We are under attack! All hands to battle stations," came the voice of the Tactical Officer and laser blasts sounded. Fox moved to the viewport to see ten Androssian Cruisers barraging their ship.

"Holy God." he muttered.

"Get to the hangar bay!" James shouted.

Fox turned. "Right away, Batman," he said and they moved out.
 

"This time, the renegade won't be so lucky," said Wolf O'Donnel as he climbed the ladder and sat down in the cockpit of his Wolfen II class fighter. Hundreds of fighters had already launched, but Wolf had decided to add himself into the fray of fighters. "Star Wolf, report in," he said.

"Powalski, okay."

"Dengar, here."

"Oikonny, systems go."

"Balok, armed and ready."

Wolf's eyes narrowed. "Then let's go kick some Cornerian ass!" he said. "Launching!" he cried and hit the accelerators, blasting out of the hangar bay and into the freeness of space. He grinned. "Star Wolf Squadron, let's beat them down," he ordered.

"Right," said Pyro Balok, one of the new guys.
 

"This is Commander McCloud, requesting flight clearance," Fox said into his communicator as the cockpit canopy sealed around him and the recycled air, a familiar sensation, filled his lungs.

"Roger, Commander. You are go for launch," came the Flight Control Officer's voice.

Fox nodded to no one in particular. "Thank you, Control. This is Star Fox Squadron Leader.launching," he said and threw the throttle forward, flying out into space. "Okay, guys, let's keep this up and rolling. Smooth and by the numbers," he said. "Sly, how're you doing?"

In his Venomian Fighter, Sly nodded. "I'm fine, Sir," he said. "Just give me my orders."

"Right. You'll be on the second wave with James and Peppy," Fox ordered and Sly obeyed, piloting his fighter in towards the other two. "Falco, Avia; with me. Slippy, you bring up the rear and engage any spares," he finished. "Bringing my HUD on-line," he said and flicked a switch.

"I count multiple bogies. Approximately twenty-four of them," reported Falco.

"That's two full wings. Okay, Star Fox. Split up and take it to 'em," he ordered and hit the accelerators to full thrust and opening fire with his dual hyper laser capacity launchers. He flew through the first wave, blowing down two fighters as Falco and Avia swooped by along with them. Fox didn't see the damage they did, but hooked back and came in behind them, with Avia and Falco on his wings. "Okay; Peppy, James, Sly; pincer attack," he ordered and all six fighters opened fire, catching the Androssians in the cross-fire and blowing them to pieces.

A few ace pilots managed to escape, and one came in on Sly's tail. "Renegade," hissed a voice that Sly knew too well.

"Pyro Balok," said Sly. In the academy, despite that Pyro had been an instructor, the two had hated each other and had looked for excuses to get rid of one another. Pyro was now chasing after Sly. "Want a run for your money, Balok?" Sly asked.

"Make it fun," Pyro said.

"Then here goes," said Sly and banked to the left, barrel rolling through Fox's hyper lasers, and somehow, they all missed his craft. Pyro wasn't so lucky as he followed, lasers brought his shields down and Sly turned his fighter into a kickspin.

"What are you doing, Sly? Are you trying to kill yourself?" Fox hollered at Sly as he went head to head with Pyro, both of them swerving to avoid the other's laser blasts which came deathly close to the other. "Dammit," Fox muttered, coming in behind Pyro and locking on. He recalled one of Avia's friends, Syra White, telling them of her twisted brother, Pyro. Why they weren't of the same race, Pyro was a deathly opponent, and Fox didn't like the idea of Pyro chasing one of his own. "Locking on." he said automatically and the HUD glowed red, signaling lock.

"What the-" started Pyro.

"Game over," Fox said and pressed down the lasers, and they tore through the engines, ripping the back of the fighter apart and blowing the stern half into a glowing fireball as the cockpit flew away, Pyro had safely ejected. "Dammit," he said. "Sly, don't ever try a move like that again. You got lucky this time, but luck wears down sooner or later," he said.

"Watch your six, Fox," was Sly's reply, and he turned to see a Wolfen II class fighter behind him.

"Hello, Fox. I'm going to kill you, you sonuvabitch," he said angrily.

"Not as long as I'm here. Oh, and I'm not a bitch," came James's bass voice as he flew in behind Wolf.

"James McCloud!? Alive? What the." started Wolf when his ship was blown apart, but not before he managed to eject. James flew through the clouds of dissipating dust and came in on Fox's wing.

"You okay?" James asked.

Fox nodded to James's face on the communications system. "Fara, Slippy; how're you guys on the back line?" he asked.

"Nothing getting through, yet," reported Fara.

Fox nodded. "Good. Keep up the good work," he said.

"Scratch one bogey," Falco said and an enemy fighter disappeared from the radar scopes. Fox grinned at that. Falco had gotten over his childish loss in that poker game with Sly, and he was doing some good work for the team at the moment. Fox hoped it would stay that way. "You're dead meat, pal," Falco said as he vaped another fighter.
 

Leon Powalski turned hard left and narrowly escaped the lines of fire from one of the ships. He came back up, coming into line with the Great Fox and locking onto the massive ship. He launched his missiles and lasers, raking the huge ship and explosions blew out from several stations. Leon chuckled as he completed his pass, leaving a row of devastation in his wake as he flew on.
 

Rob64 whirled as fast as his servomotors would allow as the consoles on the left side of the bridge exploded, sending three officers flying across the bridge, dead of burn injuries before they hit the ground.

"We need a fire crew to the bridge," Rob64 ordered.

"Yes, Sir," said one of the officers and started to carry out the orders when his own console exploded in his face, and when the fire died down, the officer's head was gone. Rob64 cursed, a new addition to his servo chips, and turned to the next officer.

"Fire and medical crews to the bridge," he ordered.
 

Sly turned his fighter hard, curving around and coming in on a fighter's tail. "Locking on," he said into the comm," his finger hovering over the quad laser battery fire guns button. The HUD glowed red and he pressed down, arcing out green bolts of energy which tore through the enemy craft and blew it apart. "Splotch one," he said.

"Good work, Sly," came Fox's voice.

"How're you two handling those cruisers?" Sly asked Fara and Slippy as he dipped down to the left to avoid an explosion of debris.

Slippy's face came on the screen, jumping a bit. "We're holding our own. You guys just hold up your end," he said and the comm cut.

"Damn, we need help," muttered Sly.

"Did someone ask for help?" a familiar voice came over the communicator, one that Sly knew very well from enemy engagements.

"John!" cried Fox.

"That's me," said Captain John Robertson as he led his fleet of Cornerian Fighters, complete with a series of cruisers, into the fray. "Cornerian Battle Group, break formation and open fire," he said.
 

Captain Puncher Doggy flew along, with Danny "Bull" Dozer flying tight on his wing. "Whoa," he said. "Looks like a pretty bad fight we arrived in, huh Dan?" he asked of Dozer.

"Yeah," came Dozer's reply. "You fly point, I'll cover you," he said.

"Right," Puncher said, flipping a switch and taking the lead, Dozer falling in behind him. "Engaging Heads Up Display," Puncher said, flicking a switch. "Using single laser fire to conserve energy," he droned on as the HUD flashed red. "Locked on and firing," he said, pressing down the trigger.

The green/white lances of laser energy tore out at the fighter, tearing into the cockpit. It shortly hit the engine fuselage and the fighter blew in half, blowing the pilot out into space.

"Nasty fate," Dozer said with a chuckle.

Puncher nodded. "Okay," he said. "Split up and assist the others. I'm gonna go help Fara and Slippy," he said, rolling hard to the right.
 

Slippy grimaced, steering his fighter to the right hard. "Dammit," he said. "We can't take much more of this, Fara," he said.

"I know!" Fara Phoenix's voice crackled over the comm. "But what're we gonna do?"

"Have no fear, Puncher is here," came the voice of Puncher Doggy over the communicator as his Cornerian Fighter swooped in. "Can I help you guys out at all?" he said with a chuckle.

Fara nodded as she locked onto the bridge and started barraging its shields. She sighed as the laser batteries started to aim towards her. "Crap," she said. "This could be a little difficult."

"Captain Robertson, would you mind sending some assistance fighters over here?" Puncher asked as he punched through the shields of the lead cruiser and started blowing the command bridge in front of him apart.

"Hmm," John said. "Okay; Delta Group, you go," he said.

"Right," came the voice of a pilot whose name eluded Puncher for the moment. Edward Lynx, was it?

Fara grunted as she shifted the gears on her fighter and turned into a kickspin. She opened fire on the bridge and it exploded in front of her. "Oh shiiit!" she shouted, pulling up abruptly, but the bottom of her fighter hit a considerably large piece of debris. Alarms sounded in her cockpit. "I'm hit, I'm hit!" she said.

"Punch out!" Fox shouted.

"I can't control it!" Fara screamed.

"Punch out!" Fox screamed.

"Ejecting," Fara said, pressing a button as her fighter spun rapidly. A long tearing sound made her look up.

.and the harness broke, hurling her headfirst into the cockpit canopy of the fighter. She went limp in the Zero G ensuing, the cold consuming her as she slipped away from consciousness.
 

"She's punched out, okay," Slippy reported.

Fox keyed his comm. "Rob, we need an Emergency Evac vehicle out here," he said.

"Affirmative: launching," Rob64 said.

Fox keyed another comm channel. "Fara, you okay?" he asked. There was no answer. "Fara, are you there? Fara?"

"I'll do a flyby," Puncher reported.

"Not a chance," came a strange, punkish voice, and Fox looked up to see a huge robot spider floating through space. "The party's only beginning, Star Fox. I can't allow you to go any further."

"Oh shut up," Falco said angrily.

The spider straightened its legs and laser beams shot out, one of which splashed against Fox's shields, causing a major distortion which blinded him. "Godammit!" Fox cried. "I can't see through the shield scatter!"

"Watch out, Fox!" Peppy cried.

Fox reached for the control stick, but too late. He could just barely see the huge missile punch through his shields and blow apart the left side of his fighter. He grimaced. "Ejecting," he said, pressing the button. He jerked his hands back as it sparked and blew up. "Shit! Eject controls malfunctioned," he said.

"I'll cover him," said Avia. "You guys take out that robot, ya here?" she asked.

Fox grimaced, wrestling with the control stick in front of him. "Dammit," he hissed. "I can't do a damned thing!"

"Bogey on my six," Avia reported. "Fox, can you handle yourself for a minute? I've gotta get rid of this guy," she said angrily.

"Sure," Fox said through clenched teeth.

"No! Look out!" Avia said, almost as soon as Fox had affirmated. He looked up to see another missile coming at him.

Oh shit, he thought, wrestling with the stick. But all for not, for his fighter didn't move.

Suddenly, a Venomian fighter was blocking the past to the missile, and lasers erupted, scorching the missile. "Can't get a positive lock," Sly said over the comm. "Going for missiles," he said.

"Sly, get outta there!" Peppy hollered.

"I gotta get this thing," Sly said calmly.
 

In his cockpit, Sly's paws were a blur over the controls as he fired missile after missile into the huge missile coming in front of him. "Computer, range," he said.

"Thirty meters enclosing," the Computer said.

"Dammit, blow up already," Sly cursed.

"Twenty meters enclosing," the Computer droned.

Sly fired repeatedly, barraging the missile with missiles and lasers. "C'mon, c'mon," he urged.

"Ten meters enclosing," said the Computer.

"Blow up, Damn you!" Sly screamed.

"Sly, get the hell outta here!" Fox shouted at the top of his lungs, but Sly remained in place firing.

"Five meters. Four, three, two-"

It exploded.

"Yee-haw!" Sly shouted, rolling up and away.
 

Fox resisted the urge to shout at Sly for taking yet another stupid gamble, but the enemy robot was still there, firing as all the cruisers continued moving. "Dammit," he hissed. "Rob, have you got Fara yet?"

"Negative," Rob64 replied.

Fox cursed. "This is getting bad," he said with a hiss as his fighter spun away, out of control.

"Ha ha," the robot said. "Prepare to die, infidels," it said as more missiles and lasers flew out.
 

Falco cursed, rolling to the right then coming up on his port wing to avoid another missile. "Peppy, get me a weakness report," he ordered.

"Coming right up," Peppy said. "Aim for the head."

"Duh," Falco said to himself and locked on with his HUD. "Okay," he said. "Have some of this!" he switched to outward lock. "All fighters concentrate on these coordinates and fire to blow this thing apart!" he said and followed his own orders, firing.

"You annoying flies!" cried the robot.

Falco poured it on.

"You people are crazy," the robot said, trying to blast at all the fighters at once in desperation.

"Thanks for the compliment," Falco said.

"Noooo!" shouted the robot as it exploded. The shockwave pulsed out.

"Uh oh," Falco said. "Turn tail and fly, everyone!" he said, turning on a dime and hitting the accelerators. "Come on! Lynx, hurry it up!"

"Engines are showing a complete failure!" Ed Lynx shouted.

"Lynx!" Danny "Bull" Dozer said.

"Aaaahh!" shouted Lynx as the shockwave hit his ship and blew it apart.

"Damn," Falco whispered.
 

"Sir, they've destroyed the robot we placed, and we've taken heavy damage," said a console officer.

Admiral Andy nodded. "Retreat then."

"Aye, Sir," the lieutenant replied.
 

"The fleet is retreating," Slippy said as the shockwave died.

Fox was now in a tractor beam, being pulled in towards the belly of the Great Fox. Before his fighter had even touched down, he was unbuckling his harness and popping the canopy. He hit the ground hard and scrambled to his feet, running to the emergency shuttle as a stretcher emerged, carrying Fara.

"Code Blue!" shouted a medic.

"Fara," Fox whispered as he got to her side. A surgeon was holding a bandage and ice to her head to stop bleeding, her eyes were swollen and she was unconscious.

"We're getting her to medical now, Commander," said one of the medics.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Two
 

Fox paced along the waiting room, where the others were sitting, waiting intently for news on Fara's condition. Fox closed his eyes and mouthed a silent prayer for Fara's safety, praying she would be okay.

The door opened and Fox looked up to see the chief doctor there. He motioned for him to come forward.

The others watched as the doctor and Fox exchanged a few words. Suddenly, Fox looked shocked. "You're certain?" he said, his tone a mixture of dismay and surprise.

The doctor nodded.

"May I see her?" Fox asked a bit more quietly.

The doctor said something and Fox nodded, moving back and sitting in a chair, looking dazed. "Fox?" asked Avia. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Fox shook his head.

"What is it, Fox?" James asked, sitting down beside his son. "Fox? What is it?"

Fox looked at him. "Fara's pregnant," he said.

James looked taken aback. "What?" he asked.

"She's nine weeks pregnant," Fox said. "She doesn't even know yet." he said.

"Oh.well Fox, this is great! You have a son!" James said as everyone started murmuring quietly.

"That's great!" Avia said.

"Uh.yeah! Ditto!" Falco said cheerfully.

Peppy nodded sagely. "I can hear the pitter-patter of little paws already," he said.

"What're you gonna name him or her?" Slippy asked.

Sly just looked confused and shocked. "Uh." he said, looking for the right words. ".congratulations?" he asked more then stated.

"Thanks, Sly," Fox said.

Sly shook his head, turning and leaving.
 

"Sly?" came a voice through the door, and Sly looked up from the window.

"Enter," he said, his voice keying the electric servos in the door and it swooshed open to reveal Avia standing there. "Hey," he said.

Avia stepped in, the door closing behind her. "You didn't say much back there," she said.

"I didn't know what to say," Sly replied.

Avia sighed. "Sly.did you ever have a good time on Venom? You know, like playing cards like Falco does, going with friends.even have a girlfriend?"

"No to all three," Sly stated matter of factly.

"Don't you ever wonder about that?"

Sly sighed. "That's what I'm thinking about," he said. "Its just confusing, switching life styles so fast," he said. "I mean.I learn that our Commander's girlfriend is pregnant, but she's in a coma."

"That's been rough on him," Avia said.

Sly nodded. "I know," he said. "Being rough is the only thing I've ever known."

"Are you seriously telling me you've never had a girlfriend before?" she asked.

Sly looked at her. "Once," he said. "There was one. She was named Janita," he said. "She was.beautiful. We spent a lot of time together," he looked at the ground. "Anyway. There was one mission.the mission before Bolse.where we had to go to a planet, just the two of us, and inspect a distress beacon.

"I was the only one to come back," he said quietly, closing his eyes. "I can remember.her screams clearly. Calling my name.I've dreamt of her every night since her death," he continued. "And it's the same: She's calling me.begging for help.but I can't," he finished.

Avia said nothing for a few seconds. "I'm sorry if I brought up some bad memories," she said.

Sly held up a paw. "Not your fault," he said quietly. "Could you just tell Fox I said something good? Like.well, what would be a good thing to say?" he asked.

"You've got a lot to learn, Sly," she said with a chuckle. "I'll come up with something."

"Thanks," Sly said.
 

Corneria. Such a beautiful planet, filled with life and energy. Its wide, blue and white expanse seemed to go on forever from the surface, and from space, it looked like a beautiful marble, not a hint of vulgarity or evil, as there would be on a planet such as Venom, but Corneria was far different: A place of solitude, beauty and sanctuary.

And my home, thought Fox McCloud as he stared out the viewport on the bridge of the Great Fox as the massive white ship moved forward. "They're asking for clearance," Rob64 stated.

"Give it to them," Fox said.

A face popped up on the communications screen, one that Fox knew well. He straightened and saluted. "General Pepper, Sir," he said.

"Dispense with the formalities, Fox," Pepper said cheerfully. "What is it?"

Fox sighed. "I wish I could be as cheerful as you, old friend," he said. "But I come here on a non-social visit," he continued.

"Is something wrong?" Pepper asked, sounding concerned now.

"Fara is in a coma," Fox said. "She's also pregnant. I want her transferred to the best medical facilities available," he continued. "Is that all right with you, Sir?" he finished, sincere as ever.

Pepper nodded. "Of course," he said. "Unfortunately, all landing areas accustomed to a ship the size of the Great Fox are full. You'll have to bring her in on a shuttle. I'll send out Captain Doggy and Lieutenant Dozer to escort the shuttle," he said and gave the orders to someone off screen. "Will you be coming on planet?"

"I'm afraid not, Sir," Fox said. "I have to go. We've got a call from Charon Base Colony by the remains of Titania," he said. "Pepper.take good care of Fara and my child, okay?" he asked.

Pepper nodded. "I will, Fox. Best of luck to you. Pepper out," he said and the comm cut.

"Shuttle ready. Fara is aboard," Rob64 said.

Fox nodded. "Launch," he said and turned on a comm channel to Dozer and Puncher. "You guys? Take good care of 'em," he said.

"Will do, Sir," Puncher replied.

"Shuttle has successfully launched and has fallen into escort pattern. Diverting course to the Titania Jump Point," Rob64 said, his digits dancing over the keyboards and the Great Fox shuddered as it changed course. "Course correction complete. Jumping in seven minutes," he finished.

Fox nodded. "All right," he said.

Falco Lombardi stepped onto the bridge. "How long to jump?" he asked.

"Six minutes, fifty-seven seconds," Rob64 said.

Falco looked to Fox. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine," Fox said. "Let's get down to the hangar bay, make sure they haven't screwed around with our ships a little too much," he said.
 

Charon Base was under attack. Even from a distance, the fighter pilots could see the explosions crippling the base. There were twenty cruisers, a fleet which was more formidable then the small one the Star Fox Team had seen before. Fox sat in his fighter, running over the checkup again. He flicked a switch. "Open the wings," he said as his wings snapped into attack mode. "Charge lasers and even out the shields," he continued, pressing the keys to activate his orders. "All wings report in."

"Falco, here. I'm fine," Falco said.

"This is Peppy. All systems go," Peppy chirped.

"Slippy, here. I'm okay."

"James; hocked, clocked, and ready to rock."

"Avia, ready to roll," Avia said.

"Sly, checking in."

Fox sighed and engaged his HUD locking system. "Okay, everyone. Split up and take it to them," he said. "Accelerate to attack speed." He flicked a switch and was pressed back into his seat by the G Force which was the result of his going so fast. His HUD quickly locked onto an enemy fighter and he pressed the trigger, unleashing a hail of lasers upon the fighter, blowing it to pieces. "Splotch one."

"Get lost, you fiend!" cried Peppy Hare.

Fox turned his fighter to see Peppy pulling into a steep incline, swerving left and right to avoid the blasts of a fighter which was coming up below him. Fox's HUD quickly passed over Peppy. I'm only gonna have a split second to hit this bastard, Fox thought. "Firing," he said, and as suspected, the enemy fighter flew into his line of fire, splitting in two and cartwheeling away from the battle. "You're tail is clean, Pep," Fox said.

"Thanks, Fox!"

Fox came up into a barrel roll and sliced to the left, avoiding a fighter's laser fire. He flicked a comm switch. "Charon Base, do you copy? Come in, over," Fox said loudly and firmly.

A face appeared on the screen. "Commander! We need help! We have breaches in four vector sections," said the hound in front of him. "They're boarding us and taking hostages for POW camps! We're fighting them as best as we can, but they're armed to the teeth!"

"We're going to assist with evacuation shuttles," Fox said. "I need you to get all your people into the shuttle bays. Can you do that?"

The hound looked off screen as an explosion wracked the base, and the comm screen fuzzed. He looked back to Fox. "We'll try, Commander," he said. "Things aren't looking so good for us. We think we know that they want," he said.

"What is it?" Fox asked.

The hound drew a laser pistol from his holster as bangs sounded on the doors. "They want our Bio Nucleus Research," he said. "The Sector Z information on how to tap the radiation which we gained from Andross back on his conquest," he continued. "If they get that and crack it, then every living planet in this system is doomed!"

"Rob, you getting this?" Fox asked.

"Affirmative," Rob64's voice crackled in his headset.

Fox nodded. "Okay. We're sending in the evacuation shuttles now," he said.

"Right," the hound replied and a loud explosion sounded, and the hound leaned forward as fire and debris leapt in the background. Laser fire erupted all around the area. The hound jumped back up. "Hurry! You can still save them! I'm activating the colony wide alarm! Good luck!"
 

Jack Hellhound fired his pistol at the invaders and fired, rewarded with a cry of dismay and one of the lizard invaders fell to the ground. Jack sprinted across the room to a control console and put down his pistol. "Voice activate," he nearly shouted.

"ID?" the computer asked, annoyingly calm.

"Jack Hellhound," Jack said as he fired back at the invaders as others ran for their lives.

"Code?"

"Zero-nine-delta-charlie," he said, grimacing.

The computer processed the data over a period of time that seemed to take forever. "What changes do you want to make?"

"Access unbreakable codes, zero-one index," Jack said.

"Accessed. Apply changes?" the computer asked.

Jack felt searing pain as he was shot in the back. The pistol fell from his hands as the computer repeated the question. "Affirma.tive." he said as another blast hit him in the head, killing him instantly.
 

Fox cursed as one of the evac shuttles loaded with civilians exploded. He keyed the comm. "James, Peppy, that convoy of escapee shuttles needs cover!" he shouted over the comm as another exploded.
 

"I'm on it, son," James said. "Come on, Peppy. You just watch your own butts!"

Fox rolled down below the line of fire and stopped dead in space, swiveling his fighter up to face the fleet of ten cruisers above him. "Let's try this," he said and rapidly fired nova bombs, separately locking onto the cores of the ten different frigates. "Everyone get clear!"
 

Sly saw the bombs streaking towards the cruisers. "Ah, shit," he muttered, turning his fighter around and punching the afterburners. "Time to impact is four seconds," he reported.

"I know," Fox's voice crackled with communications distortion. "Just get clear, dammit."
 

"We have the information, Sir," said a lieutenant. "Every other cruiser has been locked except for ours."

Admiral Andy nodded. "Good. Deploy our robot and jump to lightspeed before they can destroy us, too," he said, leaning back in the command chair.

"Aye, Sir," said the lieutenant. "Helm, lightspeed now," he said as the robot was deployed.

"Lightspeed in four.three...two.one," said the officer and they jumped.
 

"Enemy robot has been deployed," said Slippy from somewhere Fox couldn't pinpoint. A large blip appeared on his radar screen as the one remaining cruiser made the jump to lightspeed, and the other nine exploded. Charon exploded at the same time as the last of the shuttles escaped.

Fox keyed the comm. "We don't have time for this."

"Too bad," said a slick voice. "You're not going anywhere."

"All Range mode," Fox ordered, flicking a switch and spreading the wings out even further as the enemy robot came up on his visual scopes.

"I'm going to teach you brats a lesson," said the robot.

"Says you and what army?" Falco asked.

"This one!" the robot cried, and an army of missiles were deployed towards the Great Fox.

"Oh shit!" cried Falco.

"Rob, you've got incoming missiles! Take evasive action!" Fox commanded.
 

"Yes, Sir," Rob64 said. "Evasive action. Set a course for directly beside the robot. We're going to give it to him the old fashioned way." The ship shook as a missile hit its starboard shields, but didn't get through. "Steady as she goes," Rob64 said again.
 

Sly pivoted his fighter and opened fire with his green single laser energy battery. He set his teeth as he aimed for the midsection of the large robot, when the laser fire from the machine pivoted towards him and splashed against his shields. He diverted course and nosed down, then up again, all the while firing his lasers.

"Starboard shields weakening," reported Rob64.

More missiles streaked out from the enemy robots. We only have to hold it off until Rob gets the weapons systems up. So, fire some missiles at it, Sly thought and locked on, blasting at the robot.

"Argh! You annoying bastards!" cried the robot.
 

"We are side to side with the robot," said a console officer, looking up at Rob64 as fire and medical teams worked all around the combat bridge.

"Launch all weapons," Rob64 said.

"Fire!"

Missiles, lasers, bombs, nukes, machine gun fire of all sorts streaked out from the Great Fox and hit the robot at point blank range, tearing through it easily. The three nuke bombs fired hit and detonated, blowing the robot to pieces.
 

"Yee-haw!" Falco cried over the comm as Fox sagged back into his seat, flying through the debris of the late enemy robot. "We cooked 'em, baby! And boy, did we ever cook 'em good, man!"

Fox nodded. "But we lost Charon," he said.

"We got most of the civilians out alive," Falco pointed out.

"This is Commander Fox McCloud, requesting landing clearance," Fox said, turning off Falco's frequency so he wouldn't have to argue with him.

"Granted," said the Flight Control Officer's voice. "Welcome back, Commander."

"Thank you," Fox said.
 

"Sly? A word?" Fox asked, opening the doors to his office. Sly stepped inside and remained standing until Fox asked him to sit. "Sly," he said. "You didn't have very strict policies as a Venomian, did you?"

Sly squirmed a bit. "We did what we had to."

"Including taking silly risks? Sly, when that missile was coming straight for you, you staid in its path until it exploded. Why?"

Sly shrugged. "I knew I could blow it in time."

"No, you didn't," Fox said. "No one has that kind of knowledge."

Sly sighed.

"Look, I need all my pilots alive here, Flight Officer. I don't want you taking any unnecessary risks, got it?" Fox asked.

"Sir, yes, Sir," Sly said.

"Good," Fox replied. "Dismissed."
 

Falco Lombardi punched the punching bag as hard as he could, when there was a knock on the door. He ignored it and punched at it again and again, when a loud beep came and the door opened, admitting Avia Flyr into the room. Falco whirled away from the punching bag, sweat matting her feathers to his skin. "How did you do that?" he asked.

"Little trick of the trade I learned from Sly and Slippy," Avia said. "What are you doing?"

Falco turned back to the punching bag. "Blowing off some steam. Whenever we lose a battle, like we did today, I get mad. So, since I can't take it out on anyone, I let the punching bag have it."

"Where do you go when you just want to scream?" Avia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Falco looked thoughtful for a minute. "That's Fox's department. Quiet time belongs to Slippy and Sly, talk time goes to Peppy and James," he said.

"Uh huh," Avia said, and noticed Falco had no shirt on. "What's this?" she asked, gingerly touching a break in his feathers that went up his left side.

Falco grimaced. "I got that on Solar," he said. "When we were fighting the Bio Weapon, I had to save Fox's butt. The fire made the metal really hot, and I was thrown into the side of my cockpit, cutting a really bad burn in my side. A few days of secret therapy managed to heal it though. The medics think it may be a permanent scar."

"I can do better," Avia said, lifting her pant leg to reveal a dark mismatching in her feathers. "When I was in the Academy," she said. "There was a guy there named Cade Wells. He went insane after he was hit in the head, and started waving a blaster around at me, saying it was my fault. He shot me dead in the leg before General Pepper beat the crap outta him."

Falco nodded. "I got ya beat," he said, turning around to reveal a patch of feathers which were darkened from his healthy blue. "See those?" he asked. "Those are fakes." The patch was rather large. "When I flew with the Space Hot Rodders," he said. "We fought on a very big ground basis. I was shot four times in the back. Miracle I made it," he said.

"Hmm," Avia said. "Aha! I got it," she said and knelt down so Falco could see the top of her head. "Right there?" she pointed to a scar which ran along the length of her head. "Had to open my skull for corrective memory placement surgery when I was captured by Venomians."

Falco nodded. "Remember that earthquake in which your egg was found?" he asked, and pulled of his shoe. "There," he said, pointing to a nasty scar on his foot. "Rock fell and broke my foot. The doctors had a helluva time doing surgery on such small bones."

"Yeah, I bet," Avia said. "Well.let me try this," she said, lifting her shirt part way to reveal a nasty scar on the side of her stomach. "Blaster scar. Never had it treated. I fixed it up with some medical fluid and a bandage. It was from my time on Venom, apparently. I knew Fox would've made a big fuss about it if I'd told him."

"Damn," Falco said. "Ya beat me, all right. You know? We've got a lot in common, except for I'm a better pilot. That little challenge we had after Andross's death proved it," he said, puffing out his chest stubbornly.

Avia scoffed. "You won with a lucky shot," she said.

"Lucky shot? You call going into a Negative 5 G dive while I was inverted and rolling to lock on a lucky shot? It was the move of a pure professional, Ms. Flyr," he said, shaking a wing at her.

"Yeah, right," Avia said. "You're a real professional, aren't you, Falco?"

Falco nodded. "Damn right."
 

"General Pepper is on the line, Sir," Rob64 said to Fox as he stepped onto the bridge, which was still affecting repairs after the damage suffered at Charon Base. "We successfully dropped off all the rescued colonists at Katina. We picked up Commander Gray in the process."

"Bill's here?" Fox asked.

Rob64 nodded.

"Cool," Fox said and walked up to the communications console and pressed a key. Pepper's face came up on the screen. "General, good to see you again," he said. "What's the problem?"

Pepper sighed. "General Miyamoto and Major Manoya of the fleet stationed at Zoness have reported large movements at the Sector Z nebula. Major Manoya was sent to investigate with three Cornerian cruisers and disappeared. Miyamoto reported a heated battle, and they need assistance."

Fox turned to Rob64. "Divert course heading to Zoness, maximum warp," he said.

"Aye, Sir," Rob64 replied and carried out the orders.

Fox averted his attention back to Pepper. "We're on our way to assist, Sir. How's Fara?"

"She's not getting any worse, that's the good news. She's still in her coma."

Fox nodded. "Take good care of her, Pepper," he said.

"I will, Fox."

"Fox, out," he said and the comm cut. "All right. Where's Bill at right now?"

Rob64 turned from a console. "He is currently in the mess hall with the other pilots and awaiting your arrival, Sir," he said.

"Good. I'll see you around," Fox said and left the bridge.
 

Bill Gray's black sunglasses hid his smooth blue eyes which blended nicely with his golden fur. He wore a green flight blazer jacket over his white tanktop, and wore loose baggy blue jeans. His white and green cap was turned backwards on his head as always, and Bill's physique was as it always was, attractive to females.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Bill," Falco said. "What have you been doing?"

Bill leaned back in his chair, taking a long gulp from a soda. "Well, I've been helping with the re-building movements on Katina, rescuing some trapped people. I've also been rebuilding Bulldog and Husky Squadrons. Other then that, I haven't been doing much. It'll be good to get some action outta this."

"Action is what we guarantee, Bill," said Fox McCloud as he stepped into the mess hall. He gave his friend a warm hug and then stepped back. "We've just been called to Zoness for an emergency distress call."

Bill nodded. "All right," he said. "When do we arrive?" he asked in his punkish surfer voice.

"Three hours," he said. "We just have to hope they can hold themselves up."
 

The Cornerian Fleet orbiting Zoness was peaceful, sitting gracefully. The ships made up a dazzling armada, and inside one of the rooms, Nat Tool was sitting at his control console, drinking his coffee. He was looking at the radar with a bored expression on his face. Nat hated his job, there was no doubt about it. He sighed. Well, it can't get any worse then this.

"Nat, could you cover me for a minute? I gotta take a piss," said fellow console officer Ian Griz. Before Nat could reply, Griz was up and gone. Correction; it just got worse, Nat sighed and positioned himself between the two consoles so he could observe them both equally.

Suddenly, a loud sound came over the left console, his, the radar station. He moved towards it and saw hundreds of small red blips on the radar screen. "What the.?" he started when Griz's station beeped to. His was the Beacon Camera system, and it showed hundreds of Venomian Fighters approaching. "Sound the alarm! We're under attack!" Nat shouted over his shoulder. Alarms started to blare throughout the armada fleet.
 

"What the hell is going on?" asked General Hakuri Miyamoto as he stepped onto the bridge of the lead fighter, the Eagle's Claw, where his top notch officers were working. "Where the hell are we? Paris?"

"We're under attack, Sir," said a console officer.

Miyamoto turned to the docking control officer. "Launch all fighters, including the ones on Alert Five. And send out a message to Star Fox, that we're under attack," Miyamoto ordered. "Shields full, weapons charged. Load the missile bays and prepare to attack. Gun stations loaded."

"Aye, Sir," came affirmations from around the bridge.

This isn't gonna be pretty, Miyamoto thought to himself. "Wait for it," he said. "Order the neighbor ship to stand by for a pincer attack," he said as the communications officer carried out that order. The fighters flew between Eagle's Claw and the other ship. "Fire!"

Lasers arced out and struck the fighters, exploding them right there in space. Miyamoto gripped the rail as missiles hammer the ship's shields and shook the cruiser entirely. "Fighter status?"

"We're empty, Sir," said the flight control officer.

An explosion on the left side of the bridge made Miyamoto look just in time to see an officer get blown across the bridge. "Holy shit," Miyamoto hissed.
 

"All pilots to your ships, repeat, all pilots to your ships. This is not a drill. Now entering war zone. All pilots to your ships, repeat, all pilots to your ships." the computerized voice of the Great Fox's computer droned on as Fox tore down the hallway, slipping on his headset and fastening his flight jacket as he entered the hangar bay, which was abuzz with activities preparing for battle.

"Commander, your ship's ready to fly!" a tech said.

Another said: "Good luck, Commander!"

Fox climbed the ladder to his ship, taking the rungs two at a time and sitting down in the flight chair as techs moved the ladder away. Fox powered up his fighter and closed the canopy, which came down slowly with the hiss of hydraulics. He waited as the fighter turned in the hangar bay to face the doors which led into space, and he could see the battle raging outside.

"This is Commander Fox McCloud, requesting take off clearance," he said into his comm channels as he ran through the pre flight checkup, as all the other pilots were getting to their ships.

"Clearance granted. Good luck, Commander," said the flight control officer's voice.

Fox hit the accelerators and plasma collected in the engines, blowing out the back to propel him forward, through the forcefield of the hangar bay and out into the cold, black emptiness of space. He banked right. "I'm engaging," he said, flicking on his HUD screen and immediately locking onto a Venomian Fighter. "Firing. Let the games begin."
 

"Star Fox has arrived, Sir," said the lieutenant, Dougherty, in the crew pit to Admiral Andy. Dougherty didn't look the slightest bit worried, and Andy knew he had absolutely no reason to be.

"Tell the other ships to come out of cloak," he ordered.

"Yes, Sir," said Dougherty.

Twenty cruisers and literally thousands of fighters came out of cloak on the other side of the Cornerian Fleet and opened fire with all guns, crippling the fleet right where it was before it could muster a defense. "Excellent," said Admiral Andy with a chuckle.
 

"Holy shit!" Falco cried over the communicator, and Fox could see why. The cruisers were crippling the Cornerian Fleet, and Fox knew better then anyone there was almost nothing they could do about it. "What the hell are we gonna do, Fox?" Falco asked.

Fox grimaced. "We attack. Dad, Bill; with me. Sly, Slippy, you go with Peppy. Falco, you go down to Zoness and get your cat friend to get the hell up here and give us a hand, will you?" he asked.

"Affirmative," Falco replied and blasted off.

"Let's kick ass," Fox said and accelerated to the left with James and Bill, flying towards the new cruisers which had just de cloaked. "Okay. Dad, Bill; have you got locks on those cruisers, yet?" he asked.

"Yeah," James replied.

"Dude, totally," came Bill's affirmation.

"Switching to nova bombs," Fox said, hitting a switch and waiting as a slight tremor went through his fighter. "Open fire!" he said, and the three nova bombs streaked towards the first cruiser and hit the bridge, the bow, and the spot where the core was. Explosions wracked the cruiser, and fighters deployed straight towards them. "Okay. Dad, Bill; you guys divert their attention. I have an idea. I'm going it alone."

"You sure, Fox?" James asked.

Fox nodded as James and Bill broke off. "Trust me here, Dad. I almost think I know what I'm doing," he said as he punched the accelerators. As expected, the group of Venomian Fighters chased after the bigger threat, Bill and James. Fox locked on the bridge of the lead cruiser with his nova bombs.
 

"Sir," came a voice to the side which made General Krang Ploor turn to look down into the crew pit. "Our bridge has been locked on by the lone Arwing Fighter, coming at us on an intercept course."

Ploor nodded. "Excellent. That must be McCloud. Don't let him escape alive.and prepare to unleash our trap."

"Yes, Sir," said the console officer.
 

Fox grimaced. Something wasn't right. No way there's no fighters coming at me when I'm going for the lead cruiser, he thought. "Uh oh," he whispered, firing his nova bomb and breaking off, accelerating away.
 

"Dammit!" Ploor cursed. "He's realized the trap!"

"Pursue?" the console officer in the crew pit asked up to him, and Ploor looked down, his gaze giving the answer that the officer needed. He turned to the communications officer and nodded. "Order fighters to pursue that Arwing."

"Aye, Sir," came a voice from the crew pit which started to carry out the orders.
 

"Shit! Bill, Dad; I've got a problem! They're deploying what must be about twelve fighters right on my ass!"

James heard this over the comm and immediately turned away from the fighter he was kicking the shit out of. He accelerated as Bill came in on his wing, and they moved straight past Fox and opened fire on the fighters. "Break now, Bill!" he said.

The two fighters split up, and while two fighters stuck with Fox, the other ten split up and followed the other two. "All right, Bill. You know the drill for this situation," he said, punching the breaks. He immediately opened hyperlaser fire blindly, raking down the fighters which passed through his crosshairs.

"Splotch two," Bill reported.

"Three, here," James replied. "Fox, how you holding up?"

Fox swooped back in towards the fight. "I vaped one and the other chickened out."

"Good. Then give us a hand," Bill said.
 

Sly destroyed a fighter which cruised a little too close and grimaced as lasers splashed against his shields. "This is beginning to piss me off," he said, mostly to himself but partly to the others. "Locked on and firing," he said, launching a missile into a fighter, depleting its shields, then launching his lasers, ripping the armor apart and exploding it in space. Sly flew through the debris field and grimaced. "Okay," he said. "Splotch one bogey."

He banked left and came up on his Y Axis, firing crazily, but somehow destroying a fighter in the process. He flew right of a rather large chunk of debris, one of the late Venomian Fighters' Solar Panels, and locked onto another one. "You're mine, now," he said and fired, ripping the fighter apart. "How's the situation, Slippy?"

"Two cruisers and forty-two fighters have been destroyed of our forces," came Slippy's reply.

Sly nodded to no one in particular. "And theirs?"

"Zero cruisers, thirty-nine fighters."

Sly grimaced. "We're losing this battle," he said and flicked a switch. "Computer, get me an open comm channel with the lead cruiser in that battle group," he ordered and the computer obliged.

"This is General Miyamoto, Fleet Command Cornerian Battle Group. Who is this?" asked a gruff officer on the screen.

Sly straightened. "Flight Officer Ratner Sly of the Star Fox Team, here, Sir," he said. "We need you to hold up a defense grid until General Pepper's backup troops from Aquas arrive."

"Yes. We're doing our best, but our ships are being crippled," Miyamoto said. "We could really use Manoya's Armada right now."

Sly nodded. "Major Manoya has disappeared, and we believe that Venomian Forces are massing in Sector Z. A defeat against them here will blow them back severely," he said.

"We'll try our best. I'm ordering a split of the fleet. Four of our cruisers and half our remaining fighters will attack the new fleet, while the rest will attack the original fleet before the trap was sprung."

Sly nodded. "Do your best, General. We'll assist both battle groups if possible. Sly out."
 

Falco Lombardi ran from his fighter as the air raid sirens sounded in the capital city of Zoness. Katt Monroe was half way up the ladder to her fighter when Falco found her. "We need help in orbit, Katt."

"I'm on my way, honey," she said, winking at him.

Falco fought back a shudder. "Just get up there with your squadron, all right?" he asked.
 

General Miyamoto squinted through the smoke collecting on the battle bridge as teams worked to put out the electrical stations. They were approaching the fleet at a rapid pace. "Weapons ready?" he asked.

"Aye, Sir," said the weapons control officer.

Miyamoto leaned forward. "Fire!"

Lasers, missiles, nova bombs, nukes, biological weapons of all kinds launched out of the four cruisers as the fighters contributed as well. They exploded against the shields of the cruisers, rapidly weakening them. "Keep the missile bays fully loaded! We are not backing down!" Miyamoto ordered.
 

"Sir! Our shields are at thirty percent and dropping!" cried Dougherty from the crew pit below, causing Admiral Andy to curse in frustration and anger. "I recommend we escape while we can, Sir!"

Andy whirled. "Why isn't that blasted Caiman doing his job?" he hissed. "He should have carried the weapon into the center of the fleet by now and." he stopped as Dougherty looked relieved. "What is it?"

"Message from Commander Caiman, Sir. All fighters have successfully returned, and the trap has been set. All ships reporting ready for lightspeed," he said, back to his normal calm manner.

"Excellent," said Andy. "Jump now."
 

"What the.?" Falco said as he arrived to see all the Androssian Cruisers jump to lightspeed. "We missed all the fun?"

"It appears-" started Peppy.

"Holy SHIT!" shouted Fox as an explosion rippled space, creating a blinding white light so powerful that Falco screamed, throwing his hands up in front of his face. Seconds later, the tremendous boom hit, and space itself shook with the enormity of the explosion as it wracked space. "What the hell is that?" Fox asked.

"Forty G Shockwave approaching! Let's get the hell outta here!" shouted Slippy. "All craft go to lightspeed or we die!" he shouted.
 

"I don't have lightspeed capability," Sly hissed, banking his fighter and flying for the Great Fox's hangar bay.
 

"Get us the hell outta here!" Miyamoto cried. "This is gonna wipe out everything in its path for a seven mile radius! Luckily it doesn't include Zoness itself! They must have hacked the radiation formulae they got from Charon!"

"Aye, Sir!" cried the console officer and the ships hastily jumped to lightspeed.
 

Shit, this is gonna be tight, thought Sly. He was about a click away from the hangar bay, and he had ten seconds to get to get in before the end of the world tore him apart. Come on, you sucker, WORK, he pleaded silently. Half a click, six seconds.

He jetted into the hangar bay just as the massive ship entered lightspeed, escaping the destructive path of the shockwave. Three Cornerian Cruisers and nine wings of fighters weren't so lucky, carrying thousands of people to their deaths.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Three
 

"Terrible losses," said Wolf O'Donnel as he sat at the bar, sipping from his glass filled with amber liquid, beer. He wiped his snout as he, Leon Powalski, Andrew Oikonny and Pigma Dengar sat together there. Since their obligation to Andross had ended, they had been bumming out and using the paid money that had been rewarded to them for their efforts against Star Fox. "Yeah, right. They're still playing the part of the hero. Come on," he said.

"You got somethin' to say about Andross's Empire?" asked the bartender.

Wolf looked up at him. "Not talkin' 'bout Andross, you dumbass," he said. "I'm talkin' 'bout Star Fox. They're just a cheap copy of us," he said, thumbing his chest. "We're the real good pilots."

"And I'm Andross's nephew," Andrew said.

"What's that mean to me?" asked the bartender.

Wolf cocked a gun and pointed it at him. "Open the cash register and give us your money is what it means, chubby," he said, as Andrew, Pigma and Leon drew identical blaster pistols.
 

Admiral Andy sighed, looking down in the crew pit. "Yet you failed to destroy the Great Fox or any of the Star Fox team for that matter?" he asked Lieutenant Dougherty, who shook his head solemnly. Andy leaned back on the railing and cursed. "What does it take for these people to die, may I ask?" he continued.

"We do have Zoness under Imperial Control, now," Dougherty said. "Situation is the same with the Titanian Belt."

Andy nodded. "But that," he said. "Is not the supreme power. I want what they could not get. They meaning Andross," he continued. "I want Corneria. What the toughest couldn't take."

"Intelligence has some interesting information from Cornerian Agents," Dougherty said. "One of the Star Fox Team, Fara Phoenix, is in a coma on Corneria.and she is also McCloud's girlfriend.and carrying his son."

This got Andy's attention. "What?"

"Details are sketchy, and it is highly classified, but our best agents managed to get some information out. Its one hundred per cent true, Admiral," Dougherty said.

Andy nodded. "Split up the fleet," he said. "I want one half fleet to make a full scale assault on Katina, and when the Cornerians arrive.the other half will strike on Corneria."

"A rope-a-dope?" asked Dougherty.

"Precisely," Admiral Andy replied. "Carry out the orders. I'll be in charge of the Cornerian Attack, General Krang will command the Katinan assault," he commanded. "Get to work, Lieutenant."
 

Bill Gray held the welder over the broken panel and started working, his mask protecting him from the blinding light, and all the techs working in the hangar bay didn't make for a quiet concentration period, but it was what Bill was used to back on Katina and Corneria. The small fleet of Cornerian Cruisers and the Great Fox was now at Aquas, orbiting the planet. Most of the Star Fox Team had taken the offered leave and gone on the cruise ships that had become a popular tourist attraction since the Star Fox Team had cleared it when Andross had reigned.

He hoped.
 

"Nice cruiser," said Fox McCloud as he looked down at the crystal clear blue waters of Aquas. "I have to go indoors for a minute. They're taking the tours down to the engine levels of the ship. You two can handle yourselves up here?" he asked of Falco Lombardi and Avia Flyr, who nodded. "All right then. I'm off."
 

The part of the destroyed Bio Weapon, one of the snake parts, looked up, its incredibly hard and arrow shaped head seeing a target to puncture. The white bottom of a cruise liner. The damaged Bio Weapon kicked off the bottom and swam towards the cruiser, aiming straight for the midsection of the massive white creature.
 

"Nice place indeed," Avia said as she looked down, the wind whipping through the pair of birds gracefully. She looked at Falco. "Don't you think?"

Falco nodded. "Ah, I have many fond memories of this place," he grumbled.

"You and I are alike," Avia said.

"All too much so."
 

As the Bio Weapon came closer and closer, its speed and instincts to kill were rising rapidly. Its eyes glowed red in anticipation of the kill.
 

Falco and Avia were getting closer, slowly but surely. "I think I like the fact we're alike," Falco said quietly.

"I do too," Avia said, closing her eyes as Falco moved closer, the lips inches apart-
 

-the creature hit.
 

Falco and Avia were thrown apart and Falco hit the ground hard as the cruise liner bucked in the air under them. Avia skidded along the deck as water splashed incredibly high as the cruiser hit the water again and it settled. Low grumbles and loud bubbling and sucking sounds became audible, and the ship shifted angrily.

"Falco.?" Avia asked in a frightened voice.

Falco helped her up. "C'mon," he said.
 

"Oh SHIT!" Fox screamed as the water threw him across the huge bay, slamming him into the wall as the steerage officers screamed and hollered. The boilers mixed with the water and exploded, hurling Fox into the wall again. "Get the hell outta here!" Fox shouted.

"Move!" cried Chief Engineer Loimy, who was already hitting the switch to close the water tight doors.

Fox waded through the increasingly high water when the ship bucked to the side. Fox was swathed in water again and pushed under, but he kicked his strong back legs and got back to the surface. He swam for the closing door when the ship bucked again. Fox pulled his communicator.

"Rob! We need you down here! We're sinking!"

"The watertight doors are jammed!" Loimy said.

"Affirmative. Diverting course to." Rob64 started over the small communicator.

"Don't waste time! Just carry out the Goddamned orders!" Fox shouted at the top of his lungs and hurled the communicator away. He moved into the next room which was also filling with water. He saw a ladder and quickly scaled it as others screamed below him.
 

Sly gripped the side rails, trying desperately not to vomit as the ship bucked and groaned beneath him. He saw Falco and Avia and released the railing, immediately regretting it as he slid forward. "Shit!" he cried, sliding past Falco and Avia, heading steadily towards the bow. "Dammit," he hissed as slivers raked the fur and skin along his back. He let out a low, guttural snarl and drew his blaster as the rails came increasingly closer. He opened fire, blackening the rails, when he hit.

He flew through the now weakened rails, knocked unconscious by the impact, and flew off the bow of the ship, hitting the water with a hard smack. He floated on the water, unconscious.
 

"Urgh!" Fox grunted as he was knocked off his feet by the water on his way to the stairs. He flew past the stairwell, being pushed towards the elevator. He saw the doors open and people scream as water rushed into them. They clambered out as Fox was shoved in. He hit the side of the elevator and groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his left leg. He turned and punched the "up" button on the elevator.
 

"Just cut the damned ropes!" shouted and officer as the others brought out their knives and cut away the ropes which held the life boats to their stations. The motor engines were up, and the officer who was assigned driver was already revving it up as others piled in.

"Come on, get in!" Falco said, pushing Avia into the baot when the ship bucked again. Falco slid backwards along the deck.

"Falco!" Avia screamed.

The last rope was cut and screams rang out as the lifeboat flew towards the water.
 

Fox waited as all the water drained, when suddenly, the lights blinked out and the elevator stopped. "Oh no." he said. "No! Not now! No!" he said as water quickly began to collect at the bottom.
 

Falco flew out the rail which he had seen Sly blast earlier and flew through the air. He grimaced and spread his wings, gliding and flapping angrily to stay in the air. He looked down and saw Sly's lifeless body slowly starting to sink into the waves. "Sly!" Falco shouted and twisted into a nose dive, plunging into the water and scooping up Sly. When he hit the surface, he saw blood running down the mouse's face.
 

Fox shoved his claws between the doors and pried them apart. A mistake. There was no door on the other side, and water collected in faster. It pushed him up and away from the doors, impacting with the ceiling. He twisted, his head underwater, and kicked hard.

A section of ceiling blew away and he swam out on top of the elevator. He saw the door there and pried it open, jumping out and running away from the elevator shaft as others ran and screamed through the hallways. Fox took the stairs three at a time and came out on the deck.

"Fox!" came a voice he knew, and he turned to see Bill Gray running towards him, the Great Fox hovering in the air. "We've picked up most of the others! Come on!"

"Most of them? Who's missing?" Fox asked as a steep incline in the deck almost knocked him down when he hit the ramp of the large ship.

"Sly, Falco, Slippy, Peppy and James," Bill said.

"Dad's missing? Slippy, Peppy and Falco?"

Bill nodded. "Just get in! We're finding them!"
 

James McCloud coughed, sputtering water on the deck as he clung to the railing, the incline in the deck increasing. He could see the flagship of the Star Fox Team at the bow, helping the passengers off, but there was no way he could get there. Another incline almost made him vomit, when the sound of a pistol being cocked behind his head made him whirl.

"Hello, James," said Wolf O'Donnel.

"Wolf," hissed James.

Wolf nodded, the black patch over his eye missing, and his fur matted and wet. "The others are around, ready to ambush you," he said. "As for me, well, why settle for your son when I can get you?"

"You bastard," James said.

Wolf shrugged. "Possibly, maybe even probably," he said and the grin faded. "Now you die."

"I don't think so," James said and his back paw swept out, hitting Wolf in the back. Wolf's gun clattered away and James leapt onto his enemy as the ship started to slurp beneath the waves. Another steep incline made James lose his balance and Wolf seized the opportunity and flipped James off him.

James tumbled off the rail and fell onto a wall, looking up. Wolf leapt off, flying down towards him. James rolled out of the way and kicked Wolf in the back of the head when he landed.

On the ground, Wolf found his face dug into the gun, he whirled, gun in hand and fired, hitting the McCloud in the shoulder. James stumbled back, blood pouring from the wound when Wolf fired again and again and again. James took the shots all over and finally tumbled off the wall, over the railing, and down the long drop to the water.

"Yes!" Wolf said, standing up.

"Come on!" came a voice behind him, and he turned to see John Robertson there. John realized who he was dealing with and quickly drew his blaster, but not fast enough. Wolf whipped his blaster up and fired, hitting John in the gut. John let out a scream and tumbled down towards the submerged bow.
 

"John?" asked Fox as he saw Robertson start to slide by. He grabbed John by the scruff of his neck and saw the wound. "Medic!" he shouted as he hauled him into the ship. He whirled to Bill. "Anything on the others?"

"Peppy and Slippy are back. So is Avia. She was in a lifeboat," she continued. "She said she saw Falco dive into the water off the bow."

Fox nodded. "Get a boat out there now," he ordered.
 

"Easy," Falco said in what he attempted to make a soothing voice as Sly bucked in his arms, trying to escape. "You're gonna hurt yourself! Sly stop! That's an order!" He said, getting Sly in a full-nelson and holding his head above the water. "Stop!" he shouted.

Sly's back paw struck him in the stomach, but Falco somehow kept his grip. "Dammit." Falco wheezed when he saw a small boat come around the corner of the sinking ship. He kicked in the water. "Here!" he called.
 

James could see the surface a meter away, and despite his wounds, kicked for it. He could see Falco holding Sly another few meters away, and hit the surface, drinking in the air like water. "There too!" called the captain of the small ship.
 

"They found the others," said Bill.

"Not so fast, Star Fox," came the slick voice of Wolf O'Donnel, which made Bill and Fox whirl to see Wolf holding a blaster at them. "Did you like what I did to Robertson?"

"He'll live, so you failed," Fox replied.

"Will your father be so lucky?" Wolf asked.

Fox cocked his head. "Huh?"

"I shot him too. A lot more then once," Wolf said with a chuckle.

Fox let that sink in for a moment, and crimson came over his vision. Wolf grinned, and his mouth worked, surely emitting words but Fox didn't hear them over the sound of blood rushing through his ears, his heart pumping. "Sonuvabitch!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, but to Fox, it sounded like a mere whisper. He was dimly aware of Wolf firing as he lunged, and also dimly aware of a laser blast tearing apart his shoulder bone when he hit Wolf. He slammed his fists into his foe's face as hard as he could.

Wolf worked his mouth in screams, but Fox didn't hear them as he pummeled his opponent. He stuck out his claws and started raking the skin off Wolf's face. The wolf's screams hit his ears this time, and Fox raked harder, determined to let Wolf feel a terrible, agonizing death. Fox screamed over and over again, asking Wolf he liked what was being done to him, and Wolf just screamed.

"Fox!" a voice shouted behind him, and Fox whirled, seething, jumping off of Wolf and facing his new foe. "Wait!" said the person, holding up her hands. "Its me, Avia!"

"Avia?" Fox asked hoarsely, the crimson fading from his vision.

"Get in here," Avia said, pulling Fox into the ship as Wolf tumbled down the decks to the waters below.

"Now, Pigma!" hollered Wolf.
 

Under the belly of the Great Fox, Pigma Dengar, Andrew Oikonny and Leon Powalski pulled a trigger which attached the flagship of the Star Fox Team to the massive cruiser which was sinking faster and faster. Pyro Balok nodded, affirming a successful attachment. "Let's get outta here!" he said and the four of them ran.
 

"Take off," ordered Rob64.

"Something's wrong," said the Pilot. "We're not moving! We're stuck to the ship!"

"We're going down," said the Tactical Officer.
 

Falco Lombardi's eyes widened at the sight of the water coming towards him. He swallowed. Even in the great ship Great Fox there was nowhere to hide from the waters of Aquas. "Well what're we gonna do, Fox?" he asked. "Wolf has really screwed us this time."

"I know," Fox nodded. "How's Sly, Dad and John?"

"James and John are fine," Falco said. "Probably recover from physical injuries in about three days. Sly is a different story," he continued. "He's suffering severe mental trauma, maybe a concussion."

"Nice work, Doctor," Fox replied, pulling his blaster out. "Care to give me a hand finding the connectors holding these two ships together so we can stay alive?"

Falco drew his own blaster. "Sounds good to me."
 

"Get out," Peppy said, sitting down at the console. "Re routing all un-necessary power to the engines," he continued, his paws dancing over the keyboards. A shudder went through the ship and he set his teeth as he waited. "Come on, come on!" he shouted.

"Nothing doing," Slippy said from the T.O. Console.

Peppy grunted. "Use manual."

Slippy ran across the bridge and broke open the display kit and hit the emergency engine power boosters.

"Activating in three, two, one." Peppy counted and an extra rumble went through the ship as it attempted to pull up. The Great Fox was starting to be lapped at by the waves. "Close the hangar bay doors!"

Slippy shook his head. "They're not functioning!"

"Dammit," Peppy hissed. "On screen," he ordered and the T.O. put it up, showing the water coming increasingly closer to the large ship. "We don't have much time."
 

Fox was underwater and hated it, but he and Falco had to find what they were looking for. They were in scuba gear and swimming quickly. "Anything?" Fox asked into his mouthpiece.

"No," Falco replied as they swam along. Another rumble came from the submerged cruiser below them. "I can't see a damned thing with our ship blocking out the sun like this," he finished.

Fox squinted, shining his flashlight on a small device emitting a strange green glow. "I see something," he said. "Okay. Fire at that green thing."

He fired and regretted it.

It exploded.
 

"We have liftoff!" said Slippy. "But Falco and Fox aren't on the ship yet!" He finished.

Peppy shook his head. "We're not leaving without them."
 

Fang O'Riley grimaced as the water swamped his legs. His Mercenary Squadron had landed to assist and gotten in deeper then they had expected. Fang coughed as the water swashed around him, getting higher and higher.

"Help!" came a voice which Fang knew. He whirled and saw Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi, trapped under a large piece of metal which was slowly submerging under the water. Their paws were extended for help.

Fang whistled. "Guys! Two survivors here!" he said and he and Wolfpack Squadron's members ran forward, lifting the metal off the two Star Fox Team members and helping them up. "These are the last! Get 'em to the Great Fox!" he ordered.

The others helped them to the ship as Fang sloshed after them. "Hey, Fang!" came a voice behind him and he turned, seeing Phoenix Blaze there. "Shouldn't we be going down to the bottom?"

"No," Fang replied, looking down at the water below him. The part of the Great Fox he was standing on was partly submerged. "We're too late for them already."

"You think it was Andross's Forces?"

Fang shook his head. "Too simple. We would've seen it coming," he said. "More like something that Star Fox left over when they cleaned out Aquas while Andross was alive," he said, looking thoughtful. "Anyhow. Our fighters are in the hangar bay, and Fox has requested we stay. So let's get in before they leave without us."

"Aye, Sir," Blaze replied.
 

Avia sighed as the doctor finished the physical examination. "Everything seems fine, Ms. Flyr," he said with a small smile. Lieutenant Rendaar, a bear they had picked up from Kasala, had had a very badly damaged ship. They were still affecting repairs, but Rendaar was a jack of all trades, because he was skilled in everything, including doctor kinds of things. "You may leave the medic lab. Check back if you have any nausea or sickness or headaches of aching severity, all right?" he asked.

"Right," Avia said and left.

Rendaar sighed, turning to one of the healing vats that Sly had been dropped into. "You, my friend," he said. "I'm not so sure about."

"About what?" asked Phoenix Blaze, stepping in from the door. "That's my friend in there. I checked the roster for anyone I knew, and I found his name. Quite a surprise, yep," he said, looking at his suspended friend.

Rendaar cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"He used to work for the Venomians," he said. "Until he learned the truth about Andross and stuff like that."

Rendaar grimaced. "He's pretty shady, then. Never told me a thing, but sure as hell made me feel welcome on this bucket of bolts."

Blaze scoffed. "You think this ship is a bucket of bolts?"

"Kasala had better craft," Rendaar said.

Blaze leaned back, sipping the coffee in his hand. "So why did you leave the Kasalan Army if it was so great, grand and noble?" he asked. "It seems like you guys had it good there. Hell, it was better then the Lylat System. We had to fight these idiotic wars for years."

"We fought wars," Rendaar said, staring off into space. "But not the same kind as you."

"Viruses?" Blaze asked.

"Aliens," Rendaar said coldly. "That's all we ever referred to them as," he said, meeting the tall avian's eyes. "They get in your head, you see. They take over your brain and can act just like you would. They can tap your subconscious, right down to the way you walk and talk."

"Wow," Blaze replied.

Rendaar left. "A few of us who had been cleared left. Such as myself," he said. "We have special devices which can detect the bastards if the need arises," he continued. He looked at Sly. "And Sly, like you, listened to every word and offered support."

"He can do that," Blaze replied. "He's just mad. Ever since I met him when he was fifteen in a bar on Katina, we put our differences aside and actually became friends," he said. "I don't think he's made many of those."

Rendaar nodded. "Well, I guess I qualify for one."

"Yes," Blaze said and finished his coffee. "Tell me when he wakes up."

"Right."
 

Patrick 'Paddy' or 'Fang' O'Riley looked at the picture of his childhood; himself and his family. He put the picture down in the quarters which the entire of Wolfpack Squadron now shared. Blaze arrived. "I just got the third degree from Rendaar and what his story is."

"Good tale?" asked one of the pilots.

Blaze grimaced. "Rough story, told with a lot of heart," he said.

Fang said nothing as Blaze sat down, and Fang walked over to him, standing and refusing to sit. "Don't make fun of other people's pasts," he said. "We all have made mistakes." he searched the young flyer's eyes. "Including you. So don't say a word about another's."

"Sir?" Blaze asked.

"Just keep your mouth shut when you need too, and now is one of those times, got it?"

"Yes, Sir," Blaze said.
 

Admiral Andy was looking out the bridge window as reports came in, but he listened to none of them, seemingly transfixed by the endless space, until Lieutenant Dougherty came up behind him. "Sir, the ship is leaving Aquas and heading for Katina as we suspected they would. They have Wolfpack and Moon Deer Squadrons with them, along with several mercenaries."

"Hmm," Andy said. "The resistance at the moment?"

Dougherty paused, reviewing the information on his datapad. "Apparently, Husky and Bulldog Units consisting of two hundred fighters each all commanded by Colonel Bill Gray," he said.

"Colonel?" Andy queried.

Dougherty nodded. "Promoted since the Battle of Katina," he said. "Returned from Aquas earlier then the others and sent out the call for help."

"Try and eliminate him first," Andy ordered.

Dougherty nodded.
 

"Time to Katina?" Fox McCloud asked tersely as he rubbed his eyes, tired and wanting to go to bed.

"One day and four hours and three minutes and." Rob64 droned on.

"Roughly a day, I get it," Fox said.

Rendaar stepped onto the bridge.

"How's the Medical Status with Sly?"

"He's come out of the coma, but his shock is still wearing on. He can understand us, but he's lost his voice. He'll get it back in about a day or so, but I wouldn't recommend asking any questions that he can't answer."

Fox nodded. "And my father and John?"

"They're fine, like I stated earlier," Rendaar said. "No signs of any infection or sickness," he said. "Same deal with Avia. She's fine."

Fox sighed. "Will Sly be in flight condition in time for Katina?" he asked.

"Most certainly, yes," said Rendaar. "Well, I'll be on my rounds. Seeya," he said and left the bridge, leaving Fox to watch the white star streaks of light speed as the huge, massive Great Fox flew onward.
 

Everyone was in the mess hall, chatting nervously. Fox had called a meeting. Fang O'Riley, Syra White, Oski Sharpe, Falco Lombardi, Avia Flyr and the others all waited when Fox walked in. "Okay," said Fox. "The situation at Katina is as follows; they are under attack by an armada."

Gasps from around the room.

"Peppy, show them the necessary steps. As before, there is only one Mothership with re-built weapons and defenses, and they've made huge technological advances which Peppy will explain," Fox said, standing aside so Peppy Hare could step up.

Peppy cleared his throat. "You can see here that the hangar bays deploy fighters. They are to be eliminated immediately if the fighter threat is to be stopped," he said. "Afterwards, the energy reaction will be different; it will cause a massive flux on the top of the ship which will create an explosion which can rip time itself.

"If any fighters get caught in it, they will be obliterated like we were at Zoness. Katt has managed to gather some information of the weapon itself. Katt?" he asked, stepping back as Katt activated a holoprojector and showed them a huge missile.

"This missile system has been built into the new Mothership, designed to take the enemy down with them. If you blow up the ship, the Time Rip Missile will cause disaster," Katt Monroe stated. "We must take the necessary steps to deactivate it. Slippy, Sly, Fang, James and Avia; your all going in for a Covert Op. The mission; deactivate the Time Rip Missile Activator so we can destroy it."

Falco snorted. "Easy for you to say," he growled.

Katt ignored him. "Anyhow," she said. "Once the Op Team has deactivated the TRMA, our fighters will move in to destroy the Mothership. Until then, they will be holding off the Venomian Fighters the ship will deploy."

"Why is only one ship there when they could have sent so many more?" asked Rendaar from the back of the room.

Fox stepped up. "A plan by the Venomian Command," Fox said. "They're planning something we will least expect."

"Such as?" Fang queried.

Fox shrugged. "I dunno yet."
 

Bill Gray barrel rolled left. He'd been flying for hours against the Venomians. "Scratch one," he said tiredly, blowing another Venomian Draket Fighter to pieces and watching them fall to the ground of Katina far below. He rolled to the right and saw more fighters moving out from the approaching Mothership. The base was under attack again. He hated his job.

"Bill," came the voice of Jack Kallan. "We've got problems. Apparently, Corneria has reported under attack," Kallan said.

Bill's eyes widened. "Oh, shit." he whispered. Fara Phoenix was receiving medical treatment on Corneria at that exact time. "Damn. Somebody get on the horn to Fox! Tell him to help Corneria!" he shouted.

"Communications are down," said Kallan sadly.
 

Puncher Doggy rolled hard to the right as the Cornerian Attack Force engaged the Venomian Attackers. The tremendous fleet was striking hard against Corneria. But where was Star Fox to help them? Danny "Bull" Dozer was on his wing as usual. "Danny, we gotta get contact to Fox really fast!"

"They're on their way to Katina to help Bill!" said Dozer.

"Shit!" Puncher said. "I'm not gonna ask him to take priorities, here," he said angrily. "We've gotta do something! Send out a distress call to whoever will listen! I gotta tell General Pepper!"

He keyed the comm. "General!" he shouted.

"I'm getting Ms. Phoenix out of here via shuttle. I never break a promise. As soon as I get her to safety, I will return," Pepper said.
 

In the shuttle, Pepper looked back to see the expert medics standing by her. "Okay. Go for launch," he said and blasted into the air as his burn-scorched uniform pressed to the fur of his body. He grimaced as the gees took effect. "We've broken atmosphere! Jumping to lightspeed to rendezvous with the Great Fox!"
 

"Battlestations!" ordered Fox McCloud as they arrived at Katina, guns blazing at the cruisers in orbit. As people scrambled, Fox picked up his head gear, turned, and ran in the direction of the hangar bay. He saw other pilots running in the same direction, the heat of battle fresh on their faces, ready to fight and defend. Fox could remember his first battle, but it wasn't now that he wanted to worry about it. Sly was ready, and so was everyone else. This was going to be a hard battle to win. Fox had a long way to go to the Hangar Bay before Falco Lombardi reached him. "Falco, good to see you," Fox said.

"Katina's really getting it hard," Falco stated.

"No shit, Sherlock," Fox mocked. "We've got to help. I owe Bill that much, after all he did to help us during Andross's Reign," he said. "We're going to save Katina. Why is it that Andross's Forces would attack a lesser planet like Katina, anyway?" he wondered.

Falco shrugged as they ran. "Maybe for some kind of minor victory. They've taken Zoness, but we stopped them from taking Aquas. We're going to have to restart this little war from stage on after we take Katina."

"This is only a small portion of the Androssian Fleet we'll be dealing with," Fox said. "Don't you wonder where the rest of the fleet is?"

"Not really," Falco said.

Fox rounded a corner and Falco staid close. "We're vastly outnumbered in all situations," he said. "Yet against all odds, we're going to try and save the galaxy! Its like we do it daily for crying out loud!"

"Tell me about it," Falco said. "Name one day since before Andross's Reign we haven't had a mission."

"The day Andross died," Fox said.

"Smart ass," Falco murmured.

"Just keep sharp in that fighter of yours. Don't take any dumb risks like you usually take," Fox said sharply. "I'm not losing anyone like we did Fara on the first damned mission we had!"

Falco nodded solemnly as they arrived in the hangar bay. "Completely understandable," he said. "I'll do my best."

"Your best?" Fox asked, half way up the ladder. "Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and screw a prom queen. Now are you gonna do your best or are you gonna be the best?"

"Be the best. Yeah," Falco said as Fox sealed his cockpit shut and activated the Arwing Fighter. He flicked the com switch and ran through the pre-flight checkup as he spoke into his head mike.

"This is Commander Fox McCloud, requesting takeoff clearance, over," said Fox into his head mike. "Reporting systems go in ever field and awaiting clearance." He finished, sitting back in his chair and waiting as the Flight Control Officer ran his clearance through.

"Roger, Fox. Good luck," he said.

"Thank you," Fox replied and flicked a switch. Plasma collected in the engine coils and exploded into the jet engine flame behind the fighter. Fox was propelled into space, and got control of the speeding fighter. Falco quickly followed, coming in on his wing. "Don't leave my wing, Falco. This could get a little rough."

Falco's face appeared on his screen. "I read ya, Fox. There's a lot of activity on the surface of Katina," he said, looking at his screens which Fox couldn't see from his point. "I'm reading a pitched battle. As suspected, the Mothership is there and ready to go."

"Infiltration team ready?" Fox asked.

Falco nodded. "The shuttle has touched down and they have successfully boarded the ship. They're keeping radio silence for a while. They'll report once they've destroyed the TRM device," he said.

"Right. Until then we're just killing fighters, right?" Fox asked.

"And bingo was his namo." Falco said with a grin.

Fox nodded. "I see 'em up ahead. Let's rock an' roll," he said, jetting forward with his boosters and bringing up his HUD display. "Computer, display targets and paint them as numbers one through twelve." A second later, he said: "All right! Bring up target one!"

A Venomian fighter came onto his HUD and he locked on, the systems turning red signaling a target lock. He fired his hyperlasers and blew the fighter apart, debris and white oxygen mixtures hurtling through space endlessly, to be stopped by nothing but an object of equal mass.

"Splotch one," Fox said.

"Nice shooting," Falco replied. "But they've taken notice of us. They're coming in hot and fast," he finished.

Fox nodded. "That's what we want. Prepare to signal the others," he ordered and Falco nodded, looking off screen. "Bring up target two," Fox ordered the computer and Fox blasted another target. "Another one down. Falco, ya ready?" he asked.

"I am ready, baby," Falco punctuated the 'baby'.

Fox waited until the fighters were a safe distance from the cruisers. "Now," he ordered.

"Rendaar; bring 'em on out!" Falco shouted.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the rest of the fighters came out of cover and flew in towards the rear of the fighters, lasers blazing. "Let the games begin!" Rendaar shouted over the communicator.

"Break formation?" Falco asked Fox.

Fox shook his head. "No. We have to stay tight if we're going to get to the surface okay. Peppy, have you got the link to Bill established yet?" he asked.

"Yep. Here it is," Peppy said.

"Bill!" Fox said. "Great to see ya! How's the situation?"

Bill shook his head. "Shut up and listen. It was a trap! The main fleet has struck at Corneria! General Pepper just sent a transmission, saying that he's gotten Fara safely off planet and taking her to a safe location, and Puncher's got his hands full holding the defenses together."

"Can he handle it?" asked Falco.

Bill nodded. "He reports yes," he said. "But as soon as your done here, you should head for Corneria ASAP."

"Right," Fox said. "We're entering atmosphere. We'll be down in a minute."
 

Sly squinted in the dim light of the mothership, his SMG Sub Machine Gun 54 clutched tightly in his paws. He squinted, his head light spawning a small ray of yellow energy into the blackness. "Down here," said Avia. "According to the plans Katt gave us, its down here."

"Right," Sly said.

Suddenly, a group of lizards jumped out in front of them. Sly leapt back, firing a concentrated burst and taking down two of them. The next one came at him but Sly side stepped and kicked him in the face. He then pressed his gun to the lizard's head and fired. "Keep moving," Sly grunted.

Fang lifted his infrared goggles off his face and looked down at the bodies. "Whoa," he said. "How much further?" he asked Avia. She glared at him. "Hey, you're the one with the pictographic memory, genius," he said.

"Whatever," she replied. "Maybe out another kilo."

Fang sighed. "We've got a long way to go."

"It ain't gonna be boring," Slippy said.

"How do you know?" Fang asked.

"Because the motion sensors just lit up like New Years Celebration on Corneria!"
 

Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson ached to be back in the cockpit of a fighter, but his place was on the bridge of the Great Fox, supporting his fighters. "All guns target that main cruiser," John ordered and he saw the tremor of activity. "Get ready." he said. "Fire!"

Lasers and missiles streaked out. The lasers brought down what remained of the cruiser's shields and the missiles hammered the metal plating of the ship. The cruiser exploded into two halves, the lights blinking out as each half separately exploded.

"Two more to go," John said.

Rob64 stepped up. "Shields down to eighty-two percent, but holding," he said.

"Hmm," John said. "Keep the guns going."

"We also have a shuttle claiming to be General Pepper requesting boarding clearance."

John's eyes widened. "Must be Fox's girlfriend. Right. Let them board."
 

Fox rolled to the left, blowing a fighter to pieces but barely missing one of the Katinan Fighters that was defending. He grimaced as he and Falco flew along, trying to help in the hopeless situation in front of them. "My God," he said. "We'd better hope they get the TRM down soon."
 

James McCloud squinted as he fired his SMG into the lizards approaching. The team had taken cover positions along the sides of the halls. He set his jaw and stepped forward, spraying the lizards with laser blasts. "Dammit!" he said. "We have to get to the damned TRM Console in time for Fox to make his attack!"

"I'm open to suggestions," Sly said calmly.

Fang O'Riley grunted. "The air ventilation ducts above us?" he queried.

"Perfect," Sly said. "You guys keep them occupied. I'll get to the console. Be careful," he said and jumped off the wall and caught the grate, hurling it into the lizards and climbing in. "Whoa, shit, its cold!" Sly cursed as his paws hit the freezing cold metal. He climbed along, turning on his pen light and putting it in his mouth and crawling along.

"Okay, baby! Come an' get it!" Fang hollered, firing his SMG as James took cover again. "Godspeed, Sly!" Fang shouted.
 

Falco Lombardi grimaced, flying left and right. "The TRM still isn't down, Sir," he said, talking to Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson over the communications dish. "And.wait! The shield is still up!"

"What!?" cried Fox, looking at his gauge. "Oh SHIT!" he cried. "All craft pull back now!" he cried and turned into a kickspin.

"You heard the man and you know the drill, assholes and elbows! Pull back!" John shouted over the communicator as all the cruisers diverted course heading. A few fighters weren't so lucky and crashed dead on into the shields and screamed to a fiery death.

Falco grimaced as his right wing skimmed the shields. He finally managed to steer away from the shields. "Whoa, that was close," he said.
 

Sly dropped down to the TRM Console. "Bingo," he whispered and pulled out his hacking equipment. He slipped it in and the passcode came up. "Was his namo," he finished and typed it in.

Do you wish to deactivate the Time Rip Missile Mechanism?

Y/N?

Sly typed in a Y.

Time Rip Missile deactivated. Bring down shields?

Y/N?

Sly typed Y twice in a row, taking the next decision as good. When he took it, he knew what he had done and grinned.

"Self destruct sequence initiated. You have ten minutes to evacuate this vessel," said the computer voice of the ship. Sly clambered back into the vent, before shooting the console to disable any chances that the Venomians had to deactivate it.
 

"What the hell is that?" Fang asked.

"Self-destruct," Avia mused.

James. "Oh. Shit. Get back to the ships!" he cried and they turned and ran as Sly dropped out of the vent and tore after them. "Move, Sly!" James hollered over his shoulder as they tore through the doors into the hangar bay, where startled technicians were running everywhere.

"There! The shuttle!" Avia shouted to be heard over the commotion.

"Anyone here know how to fly Venomian craft?" Fang asked.

"Yeah," Sly said, running into the cockpit. James hopped into the seat opposite his and the doors closed.

"You now have one minute to evacuate this ship," said the computer voice.

Sly hit the engines and gripped the controls.

"The doors are closed!" Avia exclaimed.

"I have the code," Sly said calmly.

James looked puzzled. "You do? How the hell did you get that?"

"Simple. Its called blasters," Sly said and punched the blaster weapon fire, and blew the hangar bay doors open.

"That's a pretty small hole," James said worriedly.

"Don't worry about it. Sly knows what he's doing," Fang looked to Sly. "Right?" he added.

Sly nodded. "Of course," he said, flying out the hall and hitting a button which brought up the communications display. "This is Infiltration Team! All fighters pull back! The Self-Destruct system as been activated!"
 

John Robertson nodded. "Rob, pull us back," he said to Rob64 who nodded and pulled the Great Fox away from the action as General Pepper stepped onto the bridge. "General, good to see you," John said, saluting.

"What's going on, Mr. Robertson?" Pepper asked.

"We're pulling back. That ship will explode-" he stopped in midsentence as the huge Mothership exploded. They were sent flying, the huge ship rocking. John lost his footing and slipped.

"Steerage systems out!" cried the pilot.

Another: "We're out of control!"

"Blackout!" cried another as the lights and systems died. The ship started drifting back towards the atmosphere of Katina. "I can't get them back online!" the officer shouted when the ship listed sternly forward. John crashed into a wall and groaned.

Pepper clung to a console. "Get the medical systems on line, dammit!" he shouted.

"I can't! The only way is a manual overload!" shouted the console officer, when his console exploded and he was killed when it blew up in his face.

John rolled his eyes. "Where do we find that?" he asked the T.O.

"In the bottom decks, but you'll never make it in time! The odds are four-hundred and seventy-million to one!"

"Never tell me the odds!" John said as he ran off the bridge. Fires were everywhere in the halls when the ship listed to the sterns. John cried out in dismay as he fell face first along the hallway. He slammed into a wall and realized his foot was in the flames. "DAMMIT!" he shouted in pain as he batted out the flames.

"John!?" Pepper shouted down the hallway as John got to his feet and opened the door, hobbling down the next hallway.

"Impact in twenty seconds," said tech.

John found the switch and started pushing. "Come on! Come on!"
 

"Why ain't they turning?!" cried the T.O.

"Is it hard astern!?" shouted Pepper.

A pause. Then: "It is, yes Sir!" shouted an officer.

The Great Fox continued to plow forward, people bracing themselves for a collision. "Come on," Pepper whispered. "Come on, come on, turn," he hissed.
 

"Yagh!" John hollered as he threw the switch up. Lights returned and the ship pulled sharply up, once more leaving the ground of Katina behind.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Four
 

"My God," Fox uttered as they walked along the rubble of the streets of Corneria. Everything they knew was trashed, not a single thing roamed the streets. Blast marks scorched the ground and created small craters, soot hung thickly in the air like a fog, and the dead cluttered the streets, bleeding or half covered in rocks, rubble and debris. "How did this happen?" he finished.

James kicked a rock. "Those bastards," he said. "Someone hit us hard."

"Venomians," Bill Gray said.

Fox looked away from a dead woman cradling a dead baby, each half submerged in huge rocks. "Dammit," he whispered.

General Pepper stood up. "The devastation Venom can cause is unsurpassed," he said. "But I fear the worst. They stole our cloning technology," Pepper said. "Which means they have a chance to bring Andross back."

Fox whipped his head up. "What?"

"We're in very, very big trouble," Rendaar stated, surveying the damage done as rescue teams began to start moving in to help.

"I don't believe this," James cursed.

Sly swallowed. "So what do we do now?" he asked shakily, and everyone looked to Fox.

"If the Venomians want a war," Fox stated. "Let's give 'em a war."
 

"Is it online yet?" Admiral Andy asked tersely, looking at the huge cloning vat in front of him. His best scientists were working on it at the very moment. "Well?" he asked angrily, looking at his watch. "I have a very important meeting in a few minutes."

The chief scientist adjusted his glasses. "Sorry, Sir," he said in a thick Venomian accented voice. "Its just this Cornerian technology. We're not very used to this kind of equipment."

"Then bring in some people who are," Andy said.

The scientist, John J. Marachet, shook his head. "We have no experts in that field. The cloning equipment should be up and ready by the end of the meeting, Admiral," Marachet said.

"It had better be, or its you're head, Marachet," Andy said and walked out of the room.

"Sir?" came a voice behind him, and Admiral Andy turned to see a lesser-Admiral walking up beside him. Admiral John De Vargus was a very thickly built man. Both his son and wife served in the Venomian armies. De Vargus was a loyal officer. "The meeting is waiting for you, Sir," he said.

Andy nodded. "I know. Do you know what this is about?" he asked.

"Yes, you're heading it. It was in the standard classified briefings," De Vargus said.

Andy nodded. "Very good. You know as well as I do we need Andross back."

"Yes, we do," De Vargus replied as they stepped into the meeting room. A long table cluttered with people were there. De Vargus and Andy sat down.

"This meeting is now in session," said a colonel.

Andy nodded. "As you know, our recent raid on Corneria was a perfect setup. They were occupied with Katina, and could not stop us," he said and applause came from around the room. "However, there is even better news," he said. "We have stolen Cornerian cloning technology, and as we speak, our people are going to bring back our glorious leader; the great Andross!"

More applause.

"And as further ado," Andy continued. "More and more ships and people are signing into our consortium of power. So remember; our chain of power is growing greatly, especially with our taking Zoness and obliterating Corneria. Our next target, is to set up an intelligence base in Meteo."

More applause and a few chatters.

"Now, we must look at the tactical side of our battle," Andy said, and pointed to a display on the wall. "The Cornerians are vastly outnumbered, and our outer rings intelligence satellites have picked up a new system. It has a heavily populated planet which they call "Terra"."

"What are we going to do with this?" asked General Krang.

Andy nodded. "Simple, really," he said. "We take Terra and her system, gather up more peoples and supplies, and then we take the war back to the Cornerians. Its quite a simple plan, since the Terrans don't have as highly advanced technology as we do."

"So what does the remainders that stay back here do?" asked De Vargus.

"Attack," Andy said coldly.
 

Aboard the Free Canadian Vessel, the FCC Star Fist, Colonel Delrara Cutter stood on the bridge, watching the progress. "Heavy life in this system, ma'am," said the Tactical Officer. "But one of the planets seems to be in ruins from a recent attack. There are many life forms."

Cutter nodded. "Then we'll set down and help."

"Colonel? But we don't know." started her Captain, Lone Starr, but Cutter cut him off with an upraised hand.

"We are going to help. Set course for that planet, Pilot," she said and turned to Starr.

"Ma'am, we don't know if they're hostile or not," Starr said.

Cutter nodded. "But they're in trouble. We must help."
 

"Star?" came a voice which Star McCloud vaguely recognized. She looked up. "Star? You're alive!" said the fox.

"Daddy?" Star groaned.

James McCloud nodded. "Fox! Fox, help me!" he shouted and Fox appeared, the two of them pulling her out from under the rocks. Star coughed noisily as rescue teams came over. "Are you okay, honey?" James asked.

"Just fine," Star said with a weak smile as she was packed onto a stretcher.

Rendaar looked at Fox and James. "She'll be fine," he reassured them.

"How's Fara?" Fox asked General Pepper when he had the chance.

Pepper nodded. "In good condition," he said. "She's in good medical care on Fortuna. I'm afraid she still hasn't come out of her coma."

"And the baby?" Fox asked worriedly.

Pepper again nodded. "Just fine," he said.
 

"Well?" Admiral Andy asked, stepping back into the lab where Marachet was just finishing the final details. "Have you got it up and running yet?" he asked.

Marachet nodded. "Now all we need is the DNA sample," he said.

"Excellent," Andy purred.

Marachet slipped a sample in. "Are you sure that with such a small sample we can bring Andross back, Sir?" Marachet asked.

"No, that's your department," Andy said. "If this does not work, Doctor Marachet, I will have your head given to me on a silver platter."

Marachet nodded and tapped several keys. The tube glowed, and then, a blinding white light caused Andy to shield his eyes and look away. When the light receded, an ape was standing in front of the tube.

"What is going on?" asked Andross.

Admiral Andy stepped forward. "You have been.cloned, My Lord," he said.

"Well, bring me some champagne. Have we destroyed the damned Star Fox Unit yet?" asked Andross, not even bothering with anything else but the one thing he despised and hated the most.

Andy shook his head as the champagne was brought in. "Star Fox lives, but we have put McCloud's girlfriend in a coma. Plus, we have done severe damage to Katina and Corneria, and we have retaken Zoness."

"Excellent, but not enough," Andross said, looking out the window, sipping the universe's most expensive champagne. "Yes," he said. "We must make the ultimate strike against the Cornerians. We must strike swiftly," he said.

"We were planning to strike at a planet called Terra."

Andross raised a brow. "Earth?" he asked.

"You know about it?" Andy breathed.

Andross nodded as he went to the viewport where he had watched the proceedings of the Area 6 battle. "Yes. Earth is a highly defended planet," he said. "With much.betrayal in their blood. Many of them are two faced."

"A Terran Vessel has entered the system and is heading towards Corneria," Andy stated.

Andross nodded, waving his hand. "We will not strike Earth," he said. "We want to make as many allies as possible. We're going to ally ourselves with the Terrans. Send out a transport to make some arrangements with this vessel."

"If the Cornerians don't reach them first," Andy said.

Andross nodded. "We have to pray for that to happen, Admiral. Now, what else has happened in my absence?"

"Star Wolf has received a new member, and the Star Fox Team has grown immensely. Including one First Lieutenant Ratner Sly."

Andross looked up, remembering the name from the Notice of Defection given to him by Andy shortly before he had gone to Venom to face-off with the Star Fox Team. "I ordered him brought back or killed."

"He was a better pilot then expected," Andy said.

Andross cursed. "He could give the Cornerians the locations of several of our most important bases. His Mother and Father?"

"Both dead," said Andy, bringing up profiles. "Apparently, Jack and Alicia Sly were both killed by Lieutenant Sly in the proceedings of that battle."

Andross nodded. "Colonel Jack Sly," he said. "My most loyal official, present company excluded," he added to Andy. "Dead. And so is Alicia, from Intelligence?" he asked.

"Yes," Andy confirmed.

Andross sighed. "Everything's gone to hell in my absence, in simple terms?"

Admiral Andy shook his head. "No. As I said; Corneria is crippled, we have rebuilt the fleet, and Zoness is ours again," he said. "We've managed to do quite a bit."

"Yes, but not much," Andross said, sipping his champagne. "Divert all forces to MacBeth."

Andy looked taken aback. "Sir, MacBeth is useless. The Weapons Depot was destroyed in the explosion of the Forever Train when Star Fox raided them! It has no substantial value whatsoever!"

"Ah, but it does," Andross said, bringing up a datapad. He punched in a few keys. "Population; sixty five million," he said. "POW camps galore."

Andy nodded. "But aside from that."

"Pepper never leaves people," Andross said bitterly. "We can build MacBeth to her former majesty. But for now, divert all forces not defending Venom and Zoness to MacBeth," he said. "Our assault begins now."
 

"Sir," said a bruised Puncher Doggy as he and Danny "Bull" Dozer walked up. Puncher had bandages around his forehead as he came up to General Pepper. "Venomian fleets are massed at MacBeth."

Pepper scanned the sheets that Puncher handed him. "What value does MacBeth have to the Venomians?" he queried.

"POW's," Dozer said.

Pepper realized this. "Oh no," he hissed. "They must have found out some way. The same strategic thinking that Andross had."

"You don't think they used the cloning technology." Puncher suggested.

Pepper shook his head. "Let's avoid that for the moment. Right now, we need a plan."

"It isn't strategically possible for us to get to MacBeth in that amount of time, Sir," Dozer put in.

Pepper crunched the sheet in his hand. "Shit," he hissed. "We can't let the Venomians do any more damage then they've already caused," he said. "We must organize some kind of counterstrike," he said, turning to Rob64, who was working over some readouts. "Rob, are there any ships in the vicinity of MacBeth?"

"Yes," Rob64 replied. "There's Katt Monroe's team."

"Excuse me," came a voice behind them, and General Pepper and the others turned to come face-to-face with a strange looking alien. The alien and its comrades seemed taken aback as Pepper and his people. "Uh.your animals."

Pepper growled. "Likewise," he said, and noticed the colonel's rank on the alien's shirt. "Who the hell are you?"

"Colonel Delrara Cutter, Free Canadian Armed Forces. And you?" the woman asked.

"General Pepper, Cornerian Armed Forces," said Pepper.

The woman identified as Cutter nodded. "We're here because we know there is trouble. We're from the Terran Armed Forces."

"Are you all of these 'Free Canadians'?" Pepper asked.

Cutter shook her head. "The Viceroy Aliya has built up the Communist Confederacy against us. She has forced us from Terra. We still fight, but they are stronger in military forces then we."

"We have the same problem here," said Pepper. "Andross leads his forces against us."

"Andross? The Andross?" Cutter asked as if the name carried a curse. "He is allied with Viceroy Aliya, and his forces have been aiding hers ever since this idiotic war between the Canadians and the Confederacies started."

Pepper nodded. "We share common enemies," he said.

Cutter nodded. "Allow me to show you my associates," she said. "This is Captain Lone Starr. He-"

"Who are they?" Fox asked as he, James, Sly, Falco, Fang, Avia, Rendaar and company came up. "They look weird."

Sly seemed hypnotized for a moment. "Hmm? Uh, yeah, General. Who are these people?"

"We're humans," Cutter explained. "I am Colonel Delrara Cutter of the Free Canadian Armed Forces. These are my associates; Captain Lone Starr, Lieutenant Arrow Stark and Brevet Captain Wing Turner."

Sly shook hands first, then the others followed.

"We share common enemies, as I was saying," Pepper said. "Andross has apparently allied with the." he trailed, looking at Cutter.

"The Communist Confederacy."

Pepper nodded.

"Andross?" Fox asked.

"He's alive."
 

The bridge of the Communist Confederacy vessel was abuzz with activity. A tall woman with copper-red hair stepped onto the bridge, her crisp brown admiral's uniform betraying her rank. Viceroy Aliya was imposing, with her advanced hand-blaster pistol in a holster on her side, war medals decorating her chest, and her hair tied back into a ponytail behind her head. Her green eyes were keen and farseeing, and she looked ready for action at any moment, her slim figure and well trimmed muscles fitting snugly into the uniform. She looked around the bridge at the people working hastily.

"What's the report?" asked Aliya, stepping down into the crew pit where her Captain, a dog with a rough, gravelly voice, was.

"It seems that the Free Canadians have landed on Corneria," the dog said. He was chief of Intelligence ops.

Aliya nodded. "We must not give them the chance to ally."

"We're needed at MacBeth, Viceroy," the dog said.

Aliya looked at him. "I am. But you," she said, shaking a finger at him. "I have a job for you, Deeogee."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Five
 

The fleet massed over the white and blue orb of MacBeth. On the command bridge of the main vessel, Admiral Andy stood with his hands behind his back, watching as fighters massed into wings and prepared for the attack they were about to deliver. Andy looked down into the crewpit where Admiral De Vargus was giving orders. De Vargus looked up.

"All clear and stand by, Sir," he said.

Andy nodded. "Hold here until I return," he said and turned, striding off the bridge. He climbed up a ladder to the next level and went to the highest observation port. Colonel Tiger, General Krang and Doctor Marachet were there, with Andross sipping his champagne while staring out the window. "We're in attack position now, Sir," Andy said.

"The Zoness forces are attacking us," Andross said.

Krang spoke up. "Our forces are holding them off admirably, Sir," he said.

"Good. Try and keep the fighters intact, we need them. Admiral," he said, turning to Andy. "Begin the attack and fire at will."

Andy nodded. "Aye, Sir," he said.
 

Space; the blackness was never ending, the white specks that resembled stars, the occasional planet, usually not containing life, but several solar systems existed, and some had small quantities of life. One such system, was the Milky Way, which contained several systems of its own. One, in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, named that because of its long, stretching white form, was the Lylat System, with several planets and nebulae stretched across its thin area.

Several of the planets were populated, but none more so then the blue and white, rag-tag planet MacBeth. MacBeth was a heavily populated planet, the blue and white sphere of uselessness the grandest planet in the small Lylat System.

An explosion rocked the space around the peaceful planet, and a huge white hole opened, spewing out a fleet of war cruisers, carrying the emblem of the most hated figure in the Lylat System: Andross. The now revived Andross had struck fear into the hearts of many civilizations, and now, it was back, and under his command. On the bridge of the lead cruiser, an impressive vessel, an ape stood.

"Sir, all ships report weapons ready and fighters along with troop transports are ready to deploy," said a lieutenant from the crew pit below, snapping the admiral out of his reverie as he looked down. "Awaiting dispatch of orders, Sir," he said.

Admiral Andy nodded, looking back out the window, but speaking with his gravelly yet stern and bass voice. "Deploy all fighters to take down their air defenses while our cruisers barrage their buildings. Deploy the troop carriers into the major towns and capture all possible people as slaves for the rebuilding of our Empire," he ordered.

"Sir," the lieutenant said and began to filter his orders to the attack forces. The impressive fleet of Androssian Cruisers had arrived from the jump point they had used to escape from the battle of Area 6 two weeks ago. While they had been rehabilitating, Admiral Andy had met with the remaining command and organized an offensive against the Cornerians who had robbed them of their victory. "Sir, we are awaiting start command," he said.

Andy looked at him, then back out the window. "Begin," he said and the lieutenant gave the signal. The cruisers shook as thousands of fighters and troop carriers blasted by. "Enter atmosphere, Mr. Hulway," he said to the driver who tapped his keyboard and the lead cruiser shook and accelerated towards the sphere, which filled their viewports.

The fighters were way ahead of them, disappearing into the clouds of the planet. Andy's eyes narrowed as a communication came online in the console in front of him. The familiar face of Commander Caiman appeared on his screen. "Initiating attack phase, Sir," he said.

"Excellent," Andy replied and watched as explosions rippled the planet as the cruisers entered atmosphere and the explosions became audible. Triumphant cries sounded over the communicator as Andy leaned back and sat in the command chair as they broke through the ground cover. "Hmm," he said as the crippled Macellan City came into view. Troops herded civilians through the streets as Lylatian Soldiers attempted to stop them. "Where are the fighters?" he asked.

"North of here," reported the lieutenant from the crew pit.

Andy nodded. "Then our job is here," he said. "Charge the laser and missile batteries. Prepare to let them feel the wrath of Venom," he said.

"Weapons primed and ready, Sir," said the lieutenant a few seconds later.

Andy paused for a second, all eyes on him. He raised a hand and pointed to fingers straight forward out the viewport. "Fire," he said. The fleet of cruisers shook again as laser blasts ripped the planet apart beneath them, tearing apart buildings in one flash of yellow-green light. Andy grinned easily as the dirt and wreckage flew into the air as the laser blasts hit the ground. "Launch the missiles," Andy ordered and the lieutenant affirmated that as missiles streaked in, creating tremendous explosions and taking out Lylatian Soldiers. "Excellent," Andy said smoothly. "Any casualties yet?"

"Two foot soldiers and one fighter," the lieutenant said.

Andy nodded. "Very good," he said, keeping his voice even under the circumstances that they were beating the living crap out of the Lylatians inhabiting MacBeth.as they had done at Area 6 so short a while ago. "How many nukes in our bays?" he asked.

"Two thousand," the lieutenant said.

"Fire four of them straight at the Command Buildings," Andy said, his eyes narrowing at the militaristic structure in front of him. "I want as many POW's to be as important as possible. Send in the shock troops to get them out and then fire," he said and the lieutenant affirmated these orders again, and there was a loud cha-chunk four times as the nukes were dropped. "Is the area below us cleared?"

The lieutenant nodded. "Yes," he said.

"Good," Andy said as a bright flash made him blink momentarily, and when he looked back, the command center, along with five miles around it, was nothing but a large, smoking, smoldering crater in the ground. "Excellent," he hissed. "How many hostages do we have?"

The lieutenant asked the question, nodded and looked back up at Andy, a smile on his face. "One million from all the collected cities, Sir," he said.

"Excellent," Andy said. "Continue to press the attack. I want all survivors to be placed in immediate POW camp.especially that annoying General Miyamoto," he said between clenched teeth. "Any sign of backup support arriving?"

The lieutenant checked. "None, Sir," he said. "The Armada Fleet is still stationed at Sector Y, they'll never arrive in time," he said with a grin.

"And their defense fighters?"

The lieutenant looked at a radar screen, then looked back up. "There are several, but nothing our pilots can't handle, now," he said.

"Good," Andy said. "Prepare to launch three more nukes. I want this city leveled until there are no survivors left, clear?" he asked.

"Crystal, Sir," said the lieutenant and carried out the orders. Three more shudders ran through the cruiser as the massive nukes were prepared to launch. "Nukes are in place, countdown to launch, three minutes," the lieutenant said with an easy smile.

Andy nodded. "Good," he said. "Bring in a communications channel with Commander Caiman. I want as many POW's as possible, Caiman," he said sternly to the crocodile on the screen.

"Aye, Sir," said Caiman.

Andy nodded. "Good. How many POW's and how many hostages, Admiral?" he asked, turning to the crew pit where De Vargus was watching the proceedings.

"Twenty-two million hostages, eight-hundred-thousand-and-nine are dead," De Vargus said.

Andy nodded. "Those are good numbers," he said, turning back to the screen which was featuring Commander Caiman's face. "Keep up this work, Commander. Andross demands as many POW's as possible. Andy out," he said. "Admiral, you have the bridge until I get back," he said and went up to the next level again.

"Sir, the proceedings are-" Andy started.

Andross turned and nodded. "I know, I heard," he said. "The Zoness forces, what about them?"

Colonel Tiger put a datapad down on the table. "We're holding them off pretty well, but they are pressing their attack diligently," he said gruffly. "Our best option would probably to fire a Behemoth at them to at least make them scatter."

"No," Admiral Andy said. "We need all our Behemoth's for our taking of Corneria."

Andross nodded. "The Admiral has a point, Tiger," he said. "Until then, fire nuclear missiles at them. That should give them something to think about."
 

Katt Monroe blew a fighter to pieces and steered clear of the debris field expanding around its exploded remains. She grimaced as a fighter came in on her tail. Her renewed Spear Squadron was dropping like flies, and Katt wished she had taken the time to get all of her pre-flight training done, because they sucked at what they did right now, except for Spear Two, the only remaining survivor of the original Spear Squadron.

"Two, you with me?" she asked into the comm.

"Yeah," Two's voice crackled over the comm. "Commander, we have incoming nukes. I suggest we scatter formation to avoid a huge loss," he said intermittently. "We should do so immediately."

Katt looked at the radar and saw them, nodding gravely. "I see your point," she said and flicked to an open frequency, hoping her squadron could at least follow orders. "Spear Squadron, scatter! They're firing nukes at us!"
 

"We have detonation," said General Krang, looking up from his read out sheet.

"Any kills, and if so, how many out of how many?" Admiral Andy asked impatiently.

"We've dropped their squad down to three pilots, and they had twelve to begin with."

Andross raised a brow. "That's all they were? A squad?"

"Yes," Colonel Tiger said.

"Kill them."
 

The next day, the Star Fox Team, the Free Canadians, and the Cornerian Air Force arrived at the ruins that were MacBeth. They staid clear of it, for the Androssian Army in front of the planet was very imposing.

"Damn," hissed Fox McCloud. "They've taken MacBeth."

General Pepper walked up beside Fox, putting a reassuring paw on his shoulder. "We'd best had back to Corneria, to make plans for the war," he said and opened a comm channel. "Colonel Cutter, we're heading back to Corneria. You with us?"

"Yes," said Cutter.

Fox McCloud sighed, walking away from the bridge and entering the long corridor, walking past pilots and personnel from the Star Fox Team, when he almost bumped into a tall tiger. "Fox, hi," said Mac "Tiger" Keeler as he stood in front of Fox. "How's it going?"

"Fine, thank you, Tiger," Fox said and continued walking.

Tiger continued walking down the hall until he arrived at a door and pressed the button. A youthful voice responded: "Enter," and the doors opened. Tiger walked in to see Flight Officer Ratner Sly standing there.

"Tiger, good to see you," Sly said, embracing his friend. "How's the well been treating you?" he asked.

Tiger shrugged. "Got a position in Fang's squadron," he said.

"Please, sit down," Sly asked, pulling out two sodas. "Coke?" he asked.

Tiger nodded gratefully and Sly tossed him a coke. "Ya know, Wolfpack gets a lot of missions. Not just in the Lylat System, either. There was a time we were called to a system called the Firma System, with a planet called Kasala which was being raided by aliens."

"Kasala? That's where Rendaar is from," Sly stated.

Tiger nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Phee told me all about that," he finished.

"Wait a minute! Phee is here to?" they were both talking about Phoenix Blaze, a good pilot and a cheery friend. He was one of Sly's best friends in that department. "Holy crap! This is turning out to be a big reunion!"

Tiger nodded. "I heard about your defection," he asked. "Did Sammy make it?"

Sly stopped, the attempted smile vanishing from his face. Samuel Kenn had been his best friend while growing up on Venom. From their first days of school, to the last days of military training. Samuel hadn't been in a family as well done as Sly's. His father and mother had served the ground shock troops, and killed long ago. Sly and Sammy had been like brothers, until Sly's defection.

I thought Sammy would have agreed, to come and fight for the right cause. He must have been bribed or something, Sly thought sadly. Sammy had been a good guy, but hadn't turned down money often. Sammy had pulled the most outrageous pranks for about three bucks back on Venom. If it weren't for money, he would do a thing. They only thing that had kept him in school had been Sly.

"Hello? Sly?" asked Tiger, and Sly snapped out of his reverie and looked at his friend. "Did Sammy make it?"

Sly nodded. "He lived, yes, but he still serves the Venomians," he said bitterly.

"I'm sorry," Tiger said.

Sly waved a hand. "The others have given me a home here. Captain Robertson actually staid on this ship."

"Bet you taught 'em a thing or two about flying," Tiger said. "But, not as well as I could," Tiger said, taking a swig from his Coca-Cola.

Sly rolled his eyes. "Oh, right. We all know how your last training-instructor session went. Remember?" he chuckled. "You wound up face-first in the dirt, Tiger, and you certainly weren't gloating about that, were you?"

"That was an error of judgement on part of Phee," Tiger said tersely.

Sly chuckled. "Blaming poor ol' Phee for all your problems again, are you Tiger?"

"Ah, shut up," Tiger said. "Any idea what our next mission is, yet?" he asked.

Sly shrugged. "The McClouds keep it between themselves," he said, referring to James and Fox. "What with Fox's girlfriend in the hospital with a coma and she's pregnant, and one of his sisters there with a concussion, and the other somewhere on some damn fool mission.they pretty much keep to themselves."

"Just a bunch of useless old fogies," Tiger muttered.

Sly raised a brow. "Those 'old fogies' are only about half a year older then year, with the exception of a few," Sly said with a chuckle. "That would mean you're only about a half year away from that fate."

Tiger grimaced. "Please, don't gimme any ideas," he hissed.

The doors swooshed open and Falco Lombardi stepped in, trailing Slippy behind him. Sly, Falco and Slippy all used the quarters. Sly's bunk was over by the window. "So where do you stay?" Sly asked.

"Oh, down by the hangar bay. Pretty damned noisy down there," he said.

"We're havin' a game of poker if you two are gonna join us," Falco said, slapping down a card deck on the table as everyone brought up chairs. Sly walked over to the fridge and brought out a twenty-four pack of sodas.

"Let's play," he said.

"Pull me up a chair," Tiger said.
 

Star McCloud groaned and sat up, the bandages around her head were looser now that her concussion was gone, but the cuts on her head were still pretty nasty. "Uhn," she muttered as Rendaar walked over and looked at her. "What happened?" she muttered.

"Took a nasty bump on the noggin when Corneria was attacked," Rendaar said. "But, you're vital signs are looking good. You should be outta here by the next morning," he said and yawned. "It is getting pretty late. You should get some sleep," he said.

Star raised a brow. "Sleep? I just woke up," she said.

"If you want, I could give you some sedatives," Rendaar suggested, walking over to a medical cabinet and bringing down some syringes.

Star shook her head. "No," she said groggily. "If there's one thing I know about this team, its that Falco always plays poker. May I go see?"

"Well, Fox said." Rendaar trailed.

Star shook her head. "I'll say I left after you'd gone," she said.

Rendaar sighed. "All right. This better not come back and bite me in the ass," he said and started to leave.

"Rendaar, it'd take all day to bite your furry ass," Star said after him and Rendaar flipped her the finger as he left. Star hopped up, pulling on a loose blazer and leaving the medical lab, turning off the lights as she left.

She walked down the hall to the door where Falco's room was. She let a bit of fur poke out over top of the bandages to make it look more sexy and unzipped her jacket halfway to reveal the white tank-top she wore underneath. She knocked on the door.

"Yeah, come on in," Falco's voice drifted out.

Star stepped in.

"Holy." muttered Mac "Tiger" Keeler as he saw Star step in.

Falco raised a brow. "Thought you were supposed to be in medical," he said smoothly as he leaned back, still looking at his cards without sparing her a second glance. He held all five in one hand as he took a sip from his coke, slipped them all into one smooth deck, and looked at her. "Weren't you?" he asked in his I'm-the-greatest-poker-player-ever-so-run-for-your-life-people voice.

Star raised a brow. "I got out today," she said, opening the closet and pulling out a fold-out chair. She pulled it up. "Deal me in."

"All right," Falco said.

"Haven't seen you two around here before," Star said to Sly and Tiger as she picked up the cards she was given. "Your names?"

"Lieutenant Mac Keeler. Friends call me Tiger," Tiger sputtered, shaking her paw.

Star looked to Sly. "And you?" she asked the youngest pilot.

"Flight Officer Ratner Sly," he said coldly. "Nice to meet you, Star."

Star smiled. "Likewise," she said, averting his joyless gaze. Man, he's probably one of those cold types, she thought and turned back to the game. "Okay. Who's winning, here?" she asked.

"Sly," Falco said bitterly.

Sly shot a glance at the small mound of chips in front of him then went back to his cards.

Star raised a brow. A cold, emotionless poker player who is good at the game. Hmm, she thought.
 

The next morning, Ratner Sly woke up lying on top of the covers with no shirt on. He groaned and pulled on his teeshirt, seeing the others still asleep. It was about six-thirty in the morning. Sly reached under the bed and pulled out a soda, snapping it open and taking a long gulp, letting the caffeine wake him up.

Sly walked out the doors and almost ran into one of the "humans", Colonel Delrara Cutter. She gave him a brief smile and a once over. "Good morning Mister.?" she trailed, inclining she wanted to know his name.

"Sly. Ratner Sly," he said, but didn't take her proffered hand and she put it back to her side. "So what brings you people to the Lylat System anyway?" he asked smoothly, folding his arms.

Cutter shrugged. "We're trying to figure out where The Viceroy keeps her base of operations, so we thought there might be something here."

Sly looked thoughtful. "Maybe," he said.

Suddenly, a sonic boom rocked Great Fox and alarms started blaring. Doors opened and groggy half dressed crew members came out. Sly looked around, finishing his soda, hurling it in the trash and running to the bridge with Cutter in hot pursuit.

"What happened?" Sly asked as he came onto the bridge.

Rob64 looked up. "We were hit by something," he said.

"What?" Sly asked.

"Computers are working out," the T.O. said and looked up. "It was huge asteroid, about five times the size of this ship."

"Diverted by lasers from an incoming battleship," Rob64 added.

Fox came up. "Battlestations," he ordered.
 

Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson looked up, bringing his head off a pillow as one of his friends, Karl O'Cade stood in the doorway. "What is it, Major?" John asked sleepily, looking at the clock and seeing it as six-forty-five.

"Distress call from the Great Fox," O'Cade said. "They're under attack by Communist Confederacy forces."

John nodded. "Divert course headings and head full speed to their position," he ordered.

"Aye, Sir," O'Cade replied.
 

Colonel Cutter usually didn't bother going into dogfights, especially against people like Viceroy Aliya. But since the good guys were vastly outnumbered in this situation, Cutter had made an exception. She hopped into her Banshee Fighter and closed the cockpit, slipping on her helmet and flipping a switch on its side to lock it on in place and bring up some of the systems that came with the helmet mask, including the HUD.

"This is Snake, ready to go," she said, using her rarely used call sign to signify it.

"You are cleared for launch, Snake," said the Flight Control Officer of the Great Fox and she hit the accelerators, waiting for the split second where plasma collected in the engines and fired up the coils to blast her off into space. Her stick jerked in her hands for a moment, but she finally wrestled control of the Banshee fighter.

"This is Cutter, I'm hot," she said, doing a quick barrel roll and then settling back. "Range to target, two clicks, nominal to profile," she said, looking up from the radar readouts.

"This is Starr, I'm comin' in on your wing, Cutter," he said.

"We're in the pipe, five-by-five," Cutter said. "How long 'till the Arwings launch, Rob?" she asked the mechanical Rob64 as his robotic face came up on her communications screen.

"Two minutes," Rob64 replied.

Cutter looked at the radar. "Click and a half," she said to Starr as Wing Turner and Arrow Stark came into formation with them. "Wing, you stick with me. Arrow, go with Starr," she said.

Two "copy's" came over the comm and Cutter looked ahead as Turner settled in on her wing. "Any sign of bogies yet?" she asked.

"Negative," Starr replied.

Suddenly, a shimmer in the space ahead turned into fighters, as hundreds of Confederacy Dogbat Fighters de-cloaked and opened fire. "Holy shit, they've got cloaks on those friggin' things!" Cutter shouted, breaking hard right.

"Three of them coming in! Twenty degrees!" Turner reported.

"Cut to the left, I'll take the leader," Cutter said.
 

"The Free Canadians have engaged," Rob64 reported over the comm as Fox McCloud hopped into his fighter, his sister Star getting into the one on his left, his father James on the right.

"Like a big happy family," Star said cheerfully.

"Let's keep it that way," James replied as they all closed their cockpits.

Fox flicked a switch and brought all his systems on line. "This is Fox, requesting take off clearance, over," he asked into the communications screen, and the face of the Flight Control Officer came up.

"Permission granted. Good luck, Commander McCloud," he said.

Fox blasted out into space, rolling up on his Y Axis and accelerating forward. "Whoo! I'm hot," he shouted as he flew forward. "Click and a half to the others," he reported.

"Cutter, what's your position?" James asked.

"We're engaged with multiple bogies!" Starr reported instead of Cutter. "We're engaged with multiple, we're in deep shit!"

"Let's get some," said Fang O'Riley as he commanded Wolfpack Squadron forward. "Yee-haw!" he hollered as he leapt forward in his fighter and his squadron followed, Phoenix Blaze and Mac "Tiger" Keeler going with them.

Bill Gray, Katt Monroe, Ratner Sly, Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare and Moon Deer Squadron commanded by Syra White all flew in towards the action. "Let's kick some Venomian ass!" Falco chided.

"I'm all for it, dude," Bill said in his punkish, surfer voice.

"We've got 'em now!" Slippy said.

"Cut the chatter, everyone," Fox said as he accelerated forward, seeing the others involved in the dogfight already. "Holy God," he whispered. "All-range mode!" he ordered and they panned out their wings. "All units, ATTACK!" he shouted and hit the accelerators.

"Cruisers are moving in to attack the Great Fox," Peppy reported.

Fox looked at the sensors and saw the hare was right. "Shit! Rob, you've got incoming and I don't think they're comin' over for ice cream and a soda!" he shouted into the communicator.

"Roger. All guns fire," Rob64 said in the background.

Yellow-white lasers lanced out from the Great Fox, firing at the cruisers. One was hit hard in the forward compartments and exploded into a cloud of white oxidized dust and fragments of debris. The yellow-white lasers continued to pepper the enemy cruisers of the Confederacies.

"Looks like Rob is handling himself fine," Fox said and turned back to business. "Break formation and open fire," he ordered smoothly and broke off to the left, following a Confederic Fighter, his HUD tracking it as it juked across his screens. "Come on, baby, lock on, baby." Fox whispered and flicked a switch.

The HUD went red.

"Locked on!" Fox said, then his eyes narrowed. "Firing," he said and pulled the trigger, letting blue hyper laser blasts arc out across space and tear through the fighter's quantum armor, blowing it to pieces. Fox flew through the debris shield, the metal bouncing off his shields. "Splotch one!" he reported.

"Bogey on my six," Falco said tightly.

"I'm comin' in behind him," Rendaar said over the communicator. Fox turned to see Rendaar's Arwing come in behind the blocky Confederic fighter in front of him. "Locked on and firing," Rendaar finished off and fired his lasers, blowing away the fighter. "Got him! Your Six is clear, Falco!" he said and pulled away.

"Thanks, Rendaar," Falco replied.
 

Sly looked at the Confederic fighter racing towards him at a head to head encounter. It opened fire, but Sly took his time, locking on with lasers and firing. He blew the fighter apart and pulled up abruptly, his new Arwing Fighter had Venomian Controls, suited for his needs. "Gotcha," he whispered.

"Sly, watch it! Ya got one comin' in on your tail!" Cutter warned and Sly twisted in his harness to see the Confederic Fighter roaring in behind him, firing its orange-white lasers at him.

Let's see if I can give ya a run for your money here, Sly thought and started to nose down then pulled up in a loop de loop. As suspected, the Confederic had gone down, and Sly came in behind him now. "Ya call that flying? Better put it through your pension, pal!" Sly said as he blew apart the fighter.

"Good shot!" Cutter praised.
 

Fox rolled hard to the left as a missile detonated, splashing his shields with distortion rays. He grimaced, wrestling for control of his fighter which he finally got. "Whoa!" he grimaced.

"This is Star! Should we fire one of our Goliath's yet?" she asked in query.

Fox nodded. "Yes! Rob! Fire the Goliath!"
 

Rob64 nodded and General Pepper gave the order to the weapons console officer. "Fire," he said.
 

"Everyone get clear!" Fox ordered, pulling back and accelerating away, pushing his fighter to the maximum. He saw the huge missile fly by and it exploded. Everything went white, and shockwaves rippled out, slamming into the Arwings and Banshee Fighters that were flying away. Finally, it died down.

"All aircraft report," Fox said hoarsely.

Everyone checked in, absolutely everyone.

"We are good," Peppy said.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Six
 

Andross sat back in the chair, the classical music playing out a loud tone and bass, so perfect that he could hear it not just with his ears, but with his body as the bass rumbled through the room. He sipped his champagne from a diamond glass, leaned back in his chair and sighed, relaxing.

The doors opened.

"Sir!" Admiral Andy snapped to attention, coming into the room rather noisily.

"What is it now? Did the Viceroy's fleet destroy them?" he asked hopefully of good news.

Andy shook his head. "No, Sir," he said. "Aliya still has hundreds of cruisers at Venom, her among them, but the entire fleet she sent out there was destroyed by what they called a Goliath missile," he said.

"Dammit," Andross hissed.

"So what do we do now?" Andy asked.

Andross leaned forward. "If McCloud, or any of his friends interfere with our plans." he said, looking towards the Time Rip Missiles display in the corner. "Eliminate them as quickly as possible."
 

"How is she?" Fox asked, looking down at the prone, sleeping form of Fara Phoenix in the medical lounge. Rendaar was standing over her, writing down her current condition on a chart.

Rendaar sighed. "She's fine physically," he said. "Now, its just a question of when she'll come out of this coma. I'm sorry, Fox, but that's the best I can do. We may have been able to bring her out of this with the Cornerian Technology which was on its way, but now, with that technology destroyed, we have to wait it out."

Fox sighed. "Thank you, Rendaar," he said.

Rendaar nodded and went back to taking his notes. As big as he was, Rendaar didn't seem to be the strong, silent medical type of guy, but his skills were numerous, so he took the jobs rather well.

"The baby?" Fox asked.

Rendaar put down the clipboard. "The ultrasounds we preformed say the baby is fine both physically and mentally," he said, showing Fox the charts of the small baby growing inside of Fara's swelling stomach.

"That's good," Fox said.

Rendaar nodded.

"When's the due date? I mean, when's the baby coming?" he asked.

Rendaar pulled out a calculator and did a quick calculation. "Actually? In about four weeks," he said silently, and Fox sat down beside Fara's bed, looking at her.

"Four weeks until I have a child?" he said meekly.

Rendaar nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Thank you, Rendaar," Fox said again.
 

"Anyone up for a game?" Falco said as he, Slippy and Star McCloud sat down for a game of Poker. Mac "Tiger Keeler, Phoenix Blaze, Ratner Sly and Delrara Cutter all pulled up their chairs. "All right," he said as Slippy brought out the twenty-four pack of sodas.

The doors opened and Fox stepped in.

"Can we interest you in a game of poker, Fox?" Falco asked, holding the deck up. "We were just about to start."

"Now, Falco; you know that I'm not a very good poker player," he said.

"Oh yes," Falco said with a grin. "We know."
 

"We were too late?" asked John as the two ships docked and he stepped aboard the Great Fox and looked around as Fox McCloud bounded up. "Fox, sorry I couldn't be much of a help to you in that battle. We were too far away," he said glumly.

"Don't worry about it," Fox said cheerfully.

"But I-" John started.

Fox held up a hand. "We were just about to play some poker. C'mon, we'll deal you in!"

"But I can't play poker!" John exclaimed.

"That's the whole point!" Fox retorted as they entered the room where all the others were sitting playing their game of poker. "You'll be worse then me! At least I won't be the very worst player there!"

John rolled his eyes. "Oh, that's encouraging," he said sarcastically.

Fox grinned. "I know."

"You forget," John said as he sat down, raising a brow. "I am a lieutenant colonel, and you are simply a commander. I have authority, and your actions can be booked as 'forced play'," he said.

Fox rolled his eyes. "Please, John," he said. "Spare me the dramatics and let's just have some fun."
 

The next day, Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson felt great and well rested. Despite being a lousy poker player, he had actually raked in quite a bit of cash from Slippy, Star, Falco, Sly, Tiger, Cutter and the others. John sighed. Things may be looking up after all.

"Good morning, John," General Pepper said as John arrived on the bridge to be standing there. "New progress reports have arrived. I thought you might like to take a look over them," Pepper said, handing them to John.

I hate this job, John thought bitterly as he took the pad from Pepper. He belonged in the seat of a cockpit. Hell, Cutter outranked him and she still flew. Why couldn't he? Lyltians and Terrans must have different ideas about how this works, he thought. "What is this?" he asked.

"Reports of the Venomian fleet movements at MacBeth. They're massing, for some kind of invasion," Pepper said.

John looked up, looking skeptical. "Of what?"

"That's where our Intelligence is stumped," Pepper said, shaking his hand. "Whoever has control of that fleet is very good at keeping things highly quiet and classified," he said. "We're going to have to figure out one way or another. I've ordered every planet to have their battle fleets ready and at full charge."

John nodded. "We should take every precaution necessary," he said. "We don't want to lose another planet like we did with Zoness and MacBeth," he said.

"We're stepping up to Blue Alert, standby," Pepper said. "I don't like this."

John shrugged. "What's to like, Sir? We've got some alien allies, and we've got a tactical genius running the Venomian Empire."

"Hmm," Pepper said.

"What's going on?" James McCloud asked as he stepped onto the bridge, sipping a cup of coffee. "Hey, General. So, what's going on?" he asked again.

John sighed. "The Venomian Fleet is massing at MacBeth," he said.

"Planning an invasion?" James asked.

"The question is, where. They've got MacBeth, they could make tactical strikes from anywhere, and we're not going to risk taking that planet by force, because they have a lot of POW's," Pepper said.

James nodded. "So what do we do?"

"We're going to have to try and second guess them," John said.

"If we're wrong, there'll be hell to pay," Pepper warned.

John nodded. "I'm well aware of what the consequences of failure will be, but do you have a better suggestion, Sir?" John asked bluntly. Pepper shook his head. "Then we're going with this. Okay, whoever this guy is, he wants to take less important but heavily populated planets."

"So what do you think is next?" James queried.

John sighed. "The least important planet? If Charon at the remains of Titania hadn't been destroyed, that's what I would have said, but it isn't there. So, I'd probably say he'd go for something more along the lines of Fortuna or Katina."

"What if he wants to take a nebula?" Pepper asked.

John shook his head. "No strategic value there," he said. "Whoever is running the show up there wants hostages, so he has the power to make demands. We have to deny them that," he said. "Taking one of the blank sectors like X, Y or Z would get him nothing but blank space."

"So you think its either Fortuna or Katina?" James asked.

"Katina can defend itself and has a lower population, so I'd be leaning towards Fortuna," John said, looking up at the two of them.

Pepper leaned forward. "What if our spies could hack the computers, see where they're going.?" he asked.

"They'd get us the information, but only by the time they had struck. That takes a long time to figure out," John said, shaking his head. "Our only chance right now is to second guess them, and I'm putting my money on Fortuna."

James nodded. "He's pretty good at these types of gambles," he said.

Pepper sighed. "Right. I'll assign about three cruisers and a battleship to every other planet and sector in the system in case, and I'll get a federal detail to wait in the Meteo jut out of reach of Fortuna in case they turn up, so the asteroids will cover them pretty well."

"Good," John said. "Tell Rob of the course change plans, 'cause we're movin' out," he said.

Pepper turned to Rob64. "Divert course heading and head for Fortuna, maximum warp, Rob," he ordered.

"Aye, Sir," Rob64 replied in his mechanical voice.
 

The mess hall was crowded for breakfast. The Terrans had blended in well with the others, and John had filled in the entire group of the Fleet Actions being taken by the Cornerians.

"Are you sure this is smart?" Falco asked.

John raised a brow. "Which part?" he asked as he chewed on some egg, considered a regular breakfast by the humans. Most of them had transferred over to the Terran Carrier Death's Hand for breakfast and population reasons, but the entire Star Fox Team and Colonel Cutter's crew had stayed. Since none of them were very good cooks, Cutter had brought some "beacon and eggs" over.

"The part where we second guess the Venomians," Sly finished Falco's query before the avian could say or do anything about it.

"Yeah. That's right," Falco asked.

John sighed. "No, not really, but there doesn't seem to be an alternative at this point. We do what we have to here," he said.

"But surely we can do something more then just second guessing them," Avia said. "I mean, maybe our spies could find something for us."

John shook his head. "We'd have to tell them a few weeks ahead of time, because gathering that kind of information takes time, and time is something we don't have a lot of right now, Avia," he said.

"So what do we do?" asked Phoenix Blaze from his table.

"Yeah," Fang asked. "We just sit here, wait, and hope that the Venomians decide to grace us with their presence and be blind to our own?"

John shook his head. "Fortuna doesn't have that much military value, but it has a lot of POW value and can be used as a very well done base of operations for the Venomians," John said. "That's why we have to defend it."

"Why not Katina or something?" asked Tiger.

John sighed. "Katina can defend itself fairly well," he said. "What with Colonel Gray leading the defense forces there, they could give the Venomians Hell, and with Corneria in ruins, its pretty useless."

"So we're pretty sure its Fortuna?" Fox asked.

"About fifty-fifty sure," John said. "Yeah."
 

Andross looked out the window. "Are we ready?" he asked Admiral Andy without even turning to look at the ape behind him.

"Yes, Sir. The fleet is ready to make the jump to Lightspeed to reach Fortuna."

"Excellent. Begin the countdown," Andross said.

"Aye, Sir. Twenty seconds," Andy said.
 

About three hours later, things were starting to cool down at Fortuna. People were having a good time, and on the bridge, things were so relaxed that the radar officer almost fell asleep, and almost didn't notice the fleet come out of lightspeed on the other side of the planet.

"General Pepper! Venomian Cruisers have just come out of lightspeed!" he cried.

Pepper cursed. "Robertson was right," he said. "Battlestations. Red alert," he ordered.

The officer flicked the switch which made the lights flash red. They heard startled cries and feet pounding through the corridors as the crewmen rushed to their stations. The officer spoke: "General Quarters alarm! We are preparing for battle! All pilots to your ships and all crewmen to your posts! Man your battlestations, repeat."
 

".man your battlestations!" the voice continued as Flight Officer Ratner Sly fixed his headgear on, his head mike dangling in front of his mouth. He arrived in the hangar, his brand new Arwing with modified Venomian Controls sitting in front of him.

"Ready to go, Sir!" said the technicians once they'd finished.

"Thank you," Sly said and climbed up the ladder into the smooth ship. The cushioned flight chair was warm against him. He buckled in as the spotless cockpit canopy lowered towards him, and he started the pre-flight checkup. "Engines, go, shields, go, weapons, go, non-important systems, go, important systems go!"

"Flight Officer Sly, give me a go-no-go for launch," said the Flight Control Officer.

Sly flicked the comm switch. "This is Sly, and I am a 'go' for launch, Sir," he said.

"Roger that. Good luck," said the FCO.

Sly punched the switch for the engines and blasted out into space, the landing ruts retracting into the Arwing Fighter as he blasted out of the hangar bay with the other fighters. "Estimated time to target, four minutes," Sly reported.

"This is Syra. Everything's looking good," said Syra White as she and Moon Deer Squadron came forward. "We're ready for action."

Sly waited, waiting for Fox to come out so he could give the orders.

Finally, Fox arrived.

"Okay, everyone. Keep it tight until we arrive," Fox ordered, and Sly moved in, all the fighters staying close into smaller, organized groups. The Terrans kept their Banshee fighters over to one side, and Wolfpack, Moon Deer, Star Fox and the Cornerian Squadrons all kept evenly spaced. "On my mark, we break formation and open fire," Fox said. On a personal channel, he asked Sly: "Time to target?"

Sly let his paws dance over the keyboards. "Two and a half minutes," he replied.

Fox opened a comm to everyone. "Time to target two and a half minutes," he said.
 

"Sir, something on the radar," said Lieutenant Dougherty, causing Admiral Andy to look into the crew pit where Admiral De Vargus was observing what Dougherty was doing.

"Some kind of energy distortion?" De Vargus asked.

"Not bloody likely," Andy said, looking down. "Any visual contact yet?" he asked.

Dougherty shook his head. "No, Sir. Profile suits an anomaly, since its so big and clustered."

"No," Andy said. "Anomalies don't just appear like that. We have an enemy fleet on our hands," he said. "Alert battlestations to get ready."
 

"Fighters deploying," Falco Lombardi reported and Fox looked at his radar to see the scattered yellow dots dispersing all over the radar. "Holy crap, there's a lot of them," Falco finished uneasily.

"Time?" Fox asked Sly.

"Thirty seconds," Sly responded.

Fox settled back in his chair and brought up his HUD. "Break formation and open fire! MARK!" he shouted and hit the accelerators and flew forward over the top of Fortuna and into view of the ominous Venomian Fleet.
 

"Star Fox," Andross hissed, his voice dripping with hatred. "I should have known they would be able to second guess us!"

Admiral Andy swallowed as General Krang and Colonel Tiger looked from one to the other. "Uh, we can still take this planet, Sir."

"Ah, yes," Andross said, turning from the window as he sipped his champagne. "We can, and we will, Admiral," he said. "Send two hundred battleships and four wings of fighters to engage them, the rest of the fleet-" Andross was cut off by Krang.

"And how much is that, Sir?" Krang asked.

Andross drew a blaster and shot Krang in the forehead, killing the reptilian instantly. "Don't interrupt me. Oh, and the fleet which will be attacking Fortuna consists of six thousand cruisers, two thousand battleships, and nine thousand wings of fighters."

"Wow," Tiger said. "Spared no expense."
 

Fang nudged his stick to the starboard to target a Venomian fighter making a run for the Great Fox and his HUD Display glowed red. He fired, sending out a dual pair of blue-white hyperlasers out. They hit the fighter on the starboard side, crippling its wing array and blowing its engines out of proportion and the fighter collapsed on itself, blowing up with the expansion of oxygen.

"Splotch one," Fang said.

Fang then came in behind another fighter, which was making a strafing run along one of the Free Canadian Cruisers. Fang turned on his HUD and slipped in silently behind him. He'd have a matter of seconds before the pilot heard the steady drone of the lock in the other cockpit, so Fang would have to fire relatively fast.

The HUD went red seconds after Fang pulled the triggers. The blocky Venomian Fighter came apart in small pieces, until the cockpit was hit by fuel, sparked and exploded in a brilliant green ball of gasses and fusion oil. "Splotch two," Fang said, looking back at the battle.
 

"Good work, Fang," Fox said as he juked to the right and fired a laser blast, tearing through the cockpit of an enemy fighter. He jetted past the crippled fighter which was blowing oxygen across space, and went towards the cruisers. "Okay, guys," he said. "Let's divide into our flight groups again. Star Fox has the lead, with Moon Deer and Wolfpack Squadrons bringing up the sides, the Free Canadians and the Cornerians bringing up the rear."

Everyone fell into formation and Fox switched to nova bomb firing. His HUD, a now bigger box, engulfed one of the star cruisers. "I have a firing solution," he said and switched it onto an expanded frequency. "Switch your HUD to channel fifteen and launch a nova bomb on my mark. Mark!" he cried and fired.

Hundreds of nova bombs streaked out at the cruisers. Individually fired nova bombs would have done almost nothing against these re-powered shields, but the grouped bombs punched through and hit the hard, plastisteel armor underneath.

"Get clear!" Fox shouted as the first one blew up in the middle, snapping it into two halves. The lights flicked out and the ship whined and screamed as vacuum tore at the separate holes made by the explosion. Finally, it just seemed to come apart, tearing into small chunks, as if someone had taken all the screws out of it and watched a good toy fall to pieces in front of them. Finally, something hit the core and both halves were engulfed in the explosion.

"One cruiser down," Fox said. "Rob, how's Fortuna doing?"

"General Pepper is moving his fleet to assist, but I say we are not doing that good at all," Rob64 said morosely, as morosely as a robot could be.

Fox sighed. "Okay, people. We gotta finish these cruisers of pretty quick if we're gonna save Fortuna," he said. "So, follow my lead. We're heading for that battleship there," he said and steered towards it. "Hey, Rob; can you spare us any of the Goliath missiles?"

"We have to at ready, but we thought we'd use them on the surface of Fortuna," Rob64 replied.

Fox shook his head. "One is enough. Trust me. Fire one into the center of this fleet," he said.

"Affirmative. Great Fox will cover you," Rob64 said.

Fox flipped his comm. "Okay, everyone, get clear right now or we'll all be dead!" he said and turned his fighter into a rough kickspin, pulled out of it, and headed for Fortuna. The missile came into view and shot past Fox's rear, and the pilots got clear just in time.

A blinding white light filled Fox's eyes and everyone else's and he looked up. Then, the tremendous sound of the explosion hit his ears and he screamed as the shockwaves slammed his ship forward and he started to spin. He grabbed the stick and got control as the blinding white faded away, and small licks of fire slowly disappeared as the wreckage of the fleet came into view.

"Everyone okay?" Fox asked.

"Free Canadian Squadron is all here," Cutter reported.

"Moon Deer is fine."

"Wolfpack, A-OK."

"Cornerian, fine," said Puncher Doggy.

"Falco, here. I'm ok."

"I took a few hits but I'm okay," said Peppy.

Slippy paused briefly before saying: "We've got 'em on the run!"

"I'm fine," Sly said bluntly.

"Me too," Rendaar said.

"Me three," Star McCloud put in.

"This is James, hocked-clocked and ready to rock," James said cheerfully.

"Let's do it."
 

Andross sighed. "So the space fleet was destroyed by one single missile?" he asked angrily, but somehow didn't look or sound angry while saying it. He looked up at Admiral Andy, and the promoted General Tiger since General Krang's unfortunate demise.

"Yes, Sir," Andy said. "They also used it against the Viceroy's fleet. It's what they called a Goliath," he said and swallowed.

Andross looked at him. "Anything similar to our Behemoth project?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," Andy said.

"Are the jammers for that project in case of emergency up?" he asked.

"Yes, but they're experimental," Andy said.

Andross's eyes narrowed. "We'll be using those," he said, in a tone that made both Andy and Tiger know that the ape did not want to be reckoned with on this one. Andy saluted and went to it while General Tiger went back to taking notes on the battle for future strategies.
 

"Okay, people; split up and take it to 'em," Fox said as his Arwing Fighter roared in towards the icy surfaces of Fortuna in front of him. Fox then pulled up abruptly to see the Androssian Forces attacking the Fortuna base. "Holy God," he whispered. "Falco, stay on my wing."

"Right," Falco said, cruising up on Fox's port side, his starboard wing array inches from Fox's port. "Orders and strategy?" the avian flyer asked.

"Attack."
 

Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson gripped the bulkhead as his cruiser rocked underneath him. They couldn't take much more of this, and John knew it. He opened up a comm channel to Fox. "We need to fire that Goliath missile, Fox," he said.

"I know. Fire it into the center of that fleet," Fox replied, his voice scratched by the static.

John nodded to one of his console officers who pressed the button. There was a low rumble, then nothing. Something had gone wrong. "What's going on?" John asked the console officer.

"I don't know," said the officer as John walked up and looked at the screen. He gasped.
 

System Jammed

System Nonfunctional.

System Jammed.

System Non.
 

"Oh, SHIT!" John cursed, moving back to his communications center. "Uh, Fox, we have a serious problem," he said shakily into the comm as the battleship shook again under the steady fire of turbolaser batteries from the Venomian Cruisers.

"What?" Fox asked, his picture appearing on the screen.

"Something's jamming it! We can't fire," John said. "We're either going to have to fight them manually or retreat," he said sadly.

Fox shook his head vehemently. "Retreat is not an option," he said. "We stay and fight."
 

"It worked!" General Tiger said, astounded.

Andross grinned. "Continue to press the attack."
 

John bit his lip. There was a way to de-jam it, but it was incredibly risky for a living being to do. Usually, they had service, remote controlled robots do it, but there were none active as of the current time, and John knew they had hardly any time before the Venomians had Fortuna in their greedy claws.

"Captain," he said to Captain O'Brien, standing in front of him. "What deck is the De-Jamming device on?"

O'Brien did some quick thinking. "Level E-4, but you're not thinking." O'Brien said.

John nodded. "There's no other choice. You have the bridge, O'Brien," he said and turned, running off the bridge. He tore down the corridor when a huge blast rocked the cruiser, tilting it to the right. John was knocked against a wall, but he stumbled on.

"Dammit," John muttered as he reached the turbolift and opened the doors to see fires inside. "Double dammit," he muttered and tried to open the staircase doors, but they wouldn't. "Shit," he whispered, stepping back, drawing his blaster and blowing the door open. He kicked it down and jumped through. "E-4," he said to himself.

Suddenly, a section of roof fell towards him as he was running down the stairs. He leapt but it caught him and plunged through the next few flights. John screamed as he felt his leg snap with a wet crack.

"GOD!" he screamed as he hit the cold, durasteel ground. He managed to raise his head, blood spilling from split lips. The sign, covered in smoke and dust read: E-4.
 

"What!? That's suicide!" Pepper exclaimed when O'Brien told him of what Lieutenant Colonel Robertson was about to attempt. "If he fails, then he'll die! Even if he succeeds he'll die!"

O'Brien shook his head. "He said there was no alternative," he said sadly.
 

John pulled himself along the corridor, the control panel in sight. He felt light headed due to the loss of blood. He pulled out his personal comm link and dialed a number. O'Brien's face appeared on the screen, and the man gasped when he saw John's battered face. "Sir." O'Brien said.

"When I give the order, try firing the missile and don't stop," John said gruffly.

"But Sir! You'll be killed!" O'Brien exclaimed.

John grimaced, pulling himself to a standing position in front of the console. "Maybe," he grimaced. "But millions will live if I succeed," he said. "Ready?" he asked, and, reluctantly, O'Brien nodded. "Now!" he shouted and pulled the lever.

Electricity coursed out and blew up in the fox's face.
 

"HOLY SHIT!" Fang O'Riley cried as a huge missile dispatched from the lead cruisers.

"He did it! The sonuvabitch did it!" Fox shouted.

"Yee-haw!" Falco hollered.

"Everyone get clear," Fox ordered, turning into a kickspin. A huge detonation shook the planet, and when he looked back, half the fleet was gone, and the rest were turning and retreating. "We did it!" Fox whooped.

"Great balls of fire," Mac "Tiger" Keeler said.
 

The medics found John sprawled on the floor on the E-4 deck and immediately rushed him off the medical, where he was dumped into a healing vat. O'Brien came in just as they were sealing the lid. The teams were going back to their respective ships. "Status?" he asked the medic.

"Broken spine, third degree burns on his face and chest, broken tibia in his left leg, and pulled ACL Ligament in his right knee," said the medic. "He's lucky to be alive, Sir," the medic finished.

O'Brien nodded. "How long until he gets out of that thing?" he asked.

"About four days," the medic said.

"Good."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Seven
 

"How's John?" asked Flight Officer Ratner Sly as he came into the medical bay of the Great Fox and looked at John Robertson, who had been brought out of the tube. John had been transferred from the Cornerian vessel to the flag ship of the Star Fox Team due to their better facilities, and now, John was out of the tube.

"I'm fine, you don't need to speak like I'm not here," John said, looking as if nothing were wrong with him. The healing vats worked miracles, and John was a living example of them. He grinned.

"Of course we do," Sly said coyly. "It's only proper to refer to a high ranking officer in the third person," Sly said with a chuckle.

John flipped him the finger. "Shut up," he said.

Rendaar came away from John. "Well, you're fine. Nothing wrong with you. You're clear to go back to active duty," he finished, finishing his notes and then putting the pad down. He saluted John.

"Dismiss with the formalities, Rendaar," John said as he pulled on his uniform. "I'm still on leave, and I have three more days of it."

Rendaar shrugged. "Okay, John," he said.

"Watch it," John said as he and Sly walked out of the medical lab. "Imagine it; General Pepper holding a ceremony in my honor to give me a medal. Ya know, things are really looking up for me," he said.

Sly snorted. "Braggart," he said.

"I dunno. I think you look good in a uniform," he said, looking at Sly. They were all dressed in uniforms for the ceremony that they were having. Sly was noticeably uncomfortable in his.

Sly balled his fist in John's face. "Watch it, buddy," he said unceremoniously.

They entered the audience chamber and sat down to wait for General Pepper to start the ceremony. Everyone else was filing in, but John noticed the one person who was missing, one almost as important so as the others.

Fara.

Fox was still depressed since his girlfriend carrying his child was still in a coma, despite that both her and the baby were in excellent condition, Fox was still worried as hell about their conditions.

General Pepper walked up to the front of the room and cleared his throat, then observed the audience as they slowly quieted down to a dull silence, and Pepper brought out several sheets which held his lines.

"In the heat of war," Pepper said. "Hasty decisions are needed, but no matter how hasty they be, they must always be rational and reasonable," Pepper said. "We have an officer among us, who went to the very limits of all of those rules and limitations," he said, eyeing John. "And in doing so, he saved an entire planet."

Murmurs came up from the crowds.

"So," General Pepper said, bringing out a suitcase and opening it to reveal medal. "I call upon the following officer to come forward and receive this medal," he said. "The Medal for outstanding Bravery under Fire.Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Robertson," Pepper said.

John stood up rigidly and walked crisply and militaristically down the aisle and stood in front of Pepper, bowing his head slightly so he could receive the medal. Applause roared through the audience. John turned, the medal pinned well against his shirt. He walked back.

"The rest of you," Pepper said. "We have organized a small victory party. Enjoy," he said and the doors opened leading into the mess hall where there was a dance floor and snacks. Everyone walked in, parading in, and some started dancing. Namely Falco and Avia.

"Aren't you gonna dance John?" asked Sly as they both sat down at a small table.

John grimaced. "Not really any girlfriends here," he said.

"No," Sly said sarcastically. "That's not true!"

"Care to dance?" came a voice behind John and he turned to see Star McCloud standing there. John inclined his head.

"Certainly," he said. He turned back to Sly. "It's called being attractive; look into it."

Sly rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right," he murmured.

Colonel Delrara Cutter came up and sat down in the chair. "Looks like Robertson's having a good time," she said.

"Mm-hmm," Sly said. "It is his party, in a sense of the word."

Cutter nodded. "Almost all too much so," she said.

Sly looked at her. "Do you want to dance?" he asked.

"Huh?" Cutter said. "I.don't really know how," she said looking at them. "I was brought up in a military family, I don't know the steps!"

Sly pulled her up out of her seat. "Neither do I, just go with the flow!" he said.

John grinned from his vantage point where he was dancing with Star.
 

Mac "Tiger" Keeler sighed when his sister, also a member of Wolfpack, Jacky "Panther" Keeler came up. "What's up, Panther?" he asked. Panther, despite being a tiger like Tiger was, had stark black fur and so had earned the name Panther.

"This is interesting," Panther said. "Everybody seems to be dancing but you," she said, eyeing her big brother. "Anything wrong?" she asked.

"No," Tiger said bluntly. "I just don't dance."

Panther shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna ask Captain Doggy from the Cornerian Air Force to dance with me," she said and ran off in pursuit of Captain Puncher Doggy. Tiger looked at the ceiling.

"Then may God help him," he muttered.
 

Puncher Doggy turned to see Jacky Keeler standing there. "Yes, may I help you?" he asked, diverting from his conversation with Danny "Bull" Dozer.

"Care to dance?" Panther asked.

Puncher handed his drink to Dozer who scoffed at him. "Certainly," he said and lead her onto the dance floor, leaving Dozer holding two drinks unsteadily in his hands.

"She goes for what she wants," Tiger said, coming up beside Dozer.

"Mm," Dozer said. "Care to hold this?" he said, handing Puncher's drink over to Tiger. Tiger put it down on the table. "I think she likes Captain Doggy," he said, observing the couple as they danced.

Dozer looked around the dance floor. "A lot of people here like each other," he said. "Lieutenant Colonel Robertson and Star are having a good time," he said, motioning to the couple drinking as they took a break from the dance floor.

"Oh My God," Tiger said goodnaturedly. "Thus my eyes deceive me? Ratner Sly dancing?" Tiger asked himself the rhetorical question as he saw Sly and Cutter dancing.

Dozer raised an eyebrow. "Is that unusual?" he asked.

"Damn straight," Tiger said, taking a long gulp from his drink. "You know Sly was Venomian by heritage until he defected a few weeks ago."

Dozer was surprised. "Really?" he asked.

Tiger nodded, taking a healthy swig of Coca-Cola from the bottle he was holding.

"So why don't you dance?" Dozer queried.

Tiger glared at him. "Why don't you?" he countered in a deathly tone that made Dozer stop that query short. "I dunno. Phee is having a good time," he said, looking at Phoenix Blaze talking with quite a few females in the corner. "Heh. He'll probably be drunk as hell tomorrow."

"There's beer here?" Dozer asked.

Tiger thought quickly. "No," he said.

"Then why-" Dozer asked.

"Shut your damned mouth, boy," Tiger said and went back to watching his sister and Captain Doggy. Panther had many skills, but Tiger knew she tended to be rather reckless at times.

"Hmm," he muttered. "She'd better take care of herself."
 

"Thanks for the dance," Cutter said as the two of them sat back down, Sly grabbing two bottles of Coca-Cola and snapping one open. "Cheers," Cutter said and took a long, healthy swig from it.

Sly took a long gulp. "Man," he said. "This is one big party," he finished as John and Star came up.

"There enough room here for two more?" John asked.

Sly moved over and the other two pulled up chairs. "Sure," he said.

Suddenly, a low rumble went through the ship, and the lights blinked out. Screams filled the mess, and a few seconds later the lights went back on, blinking red for a red alter. "This is bad," John said.
 

"What the hell is going on?" General Pepper asked, stepping onto the bridge of the Great Fox to see the Venomian Fleet in front of them. "Oh, Shit," he whispered. "Order a General Quarters alert," he said to one of the console officers in front of him.

"Aye, Sir," said the C.O. and got to work.

"Battlestations," Rob64 said into the shipwide comm, and the alarms blared.

This was war.
 

Sly closed the cockpit canopy with the hiss of hydraulics. As it closed, he pulled out the harness and buckled it in snugly as he fitted his head mike over his head. He flicked a few switches and brought his system on line as the ship shook with the impact of missile blows against the shields again. Sly settled back into the seat as his HUD came on. "This is Flight Officer Ratner Sly, requesting take off clearance."

"Roger, Sly, you are cleared for launch."

Sly flicked the accelerator switch and sat back as the gravity force shoved him back into the soft cushioning of his seat. He blasted out of the hangar bay of the massive ship and did a quick barrel roll. "Sly is airborne," he said matter of factly.

General Pepper's face appeared on the screen. "You have permission to engage the enemy," he said.

"Thank you, Sir," Sly said and settled back, bringing his HUD into laser lock sequence and switching to hyperlasers. I have a lot of payback to give these guys.the guys I grew up with and who told me the lies, the same way my parents did, the same way Sammy did, he thought bitterly.

He locked onto a Venomian fighter which was cruising out ahead of the squadron, and as soon as Sly locked, it looped back and tried to escape. Sly painted it with lasers and sparks appeared in the cockpit, and white clouds of oxygen flew away from the fighter. The pilot ejected into the cold blackness of space. "Splotch one," Sly said and turned to the left, prepared to engage the next fighter.

He watched as the HUD came towards the next fighter, which just finished blowing one of the Cornerian Fighters to pieces. "C'mon, lock on baby," Sly muttered to himself and the steady monotone which signaled a lock. "I've got tone! Firing," he said and let loose a blast of hyperlasers which hit the engines, blowing the fuselage. The cockpit of the fighter filled with fuel, killing the pilot instantly until the canopy cracked and fuel leaked out into space. "There goes another one," he reported.

"Good work, Sly," came John Robertson's voice.

"Banking left," Sly said as he saw another one of the Venomians come up on his radar, trying to take him by surprise. He came right in front of him and went head to head, putting his shields full front as lasers blasted. He hadn't expected the shield scatter to be this bad, to cloud his vision. "Crap," he hissed and somewhere through the loud, electrical buzzing, came the monotone of a lock and he fired. He heard and explosion and flew through a ball of fire. Finally, the shield scatter died. "Whoa," he said.

"I'm hit, I'm hit!" shouted one of the Cornerian pilots.

Sly waited until the scatter was completely gone before turning towards the cruisers. He saw a huge battleship at the back of the fleet, probably coordinating the action. And that's where this tactical genius is, Sly thought bitterly. He activated the comm. "General, I see the command ship. Should we go for it?" he asked.

"Not yet," Pepper replied. "Wait until we have a clear path to it."

Sly nodded.
 

Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson gripped the bulkhead again as a small explosion rocked the ship. "Damage report?" he asked.

"Buckling in the aft-decks hull, Sir, oxygen leaks and breaches in Vector nine-by-four," said one of the officers.

"Seal off Vectors nine-by-four," John ordered. "Fire the phasers into that lead cruiser there," he said, pointing at the cruiser causing the least damage.

The weapons officer looked at him. "But Sir, its not causing any damage! We should." he trailed as John waved him to be quiet.

"Do it," he ordered.

The weapons officer pressed a few keys and orange phaser blasts raced through space, punching through the shields and detonating the entire cruiser. The shockwave took the cruiser causing the most damage and tore it apart. The officers gaped.

"All it takes is the brains of a tactical genius," John said with a grin.
 

Fox McCloud grunted as a laser blast detonated right next to his fighter. He juked sharply to the right to avoid flying through the small energy distortion it created in the space continuum. It wasn't bad, it just gave you some bumps and jolts, and Fox didn't much like those. He came in behind one of the blocky Venomian Fighters and brought up his HUD with Nova Bomb lock, getting ready to fire into the wing of fighters the pilot was heading for. As the pilot reached the wing, the HUD locked and Fox fired, looping and flying away as all those fighters exploded.

"Splotch one wing," he said.

John's face appeared on his screen. "Fox, we have a serious problem," he said, almost quoting what he had said in the last battle when the Goliath missile hadn't fired, and he had done it manually.

"What is it?" Fox asked, blowing a fighter to shreds in front of him.

"They have some kind of missile too! A mimic of Goliath, and they're firing it!" John said.

Fox looked straight ahead and saw it. "Oh shit." he whispered and opened a comm frequency. "Pull back! All fighters and cruisers pull back!" he shouted and turned into a rough kick spin.
 

"Behemoth has fired," Admiral Andy said, entering Andross's personal viewing room and watching the proceedings as General Tiger recorded the happenings in the battle log.

Andross turned, sipping the galaxy's most expensive champagne. "Excellent," he cooed. "With these craft pulling back, we'll be able to take Fortuna after all," Andross said. "Despite substantial losses, we have won. I want Fortuna brought up to military standards, Admiral," he said.

"Aye, Sir," he said.

"And what reports from Commander Caiman? Is that fellow still a Commander?" he asked.

Andy nodded. "Yes, Sir," he said. "One of the best pilots we have remaining in this fleet."

"Hmm," Andross said. "Then wave the idea of a promotion. We need all the good pilots we can get," he said.

General Tiger gasped.

"What is it?" Andross said.

"Sir, the Star Fox Unit with the help of a few Banshee vessels form Earth are staying!" Tiger said, looking up, worry painted on his face. "Great Fox is making a run at us," he finished.

Andross nodded. "Suicide tactic," he murmured. "Sounds like something General Pepper would think off. Has our missile detonated?"

"Yes, Sir," Tiger said.

Andross looked at him. "And?"

"Half the fleet was destroyed, the rest jumped to light speed," Tiger finished. "But the Star Fox Team has remained from some reason."

Andross nodded. "Eliminate them," he ordered and turned back to the window to watch the battle. "Oh, and dispatch Star Wolf. Tell them to use any methods necessary to destroy them."

"Aye, Sir," Andy said.
 

Wolf O'Donnel lifted his head off his pillow as a loud knock came on the door. The small, cramped area where the Star Wolf Team had been assigned to was far from luxurious, and Wolf got up in a tee shirt and shorts to open the door, seeing Admiral John De Vargus there. "Whaddya want?" Wolf asked.

"Admiral Andy wants your squadron battle ready. The Cornerians have retreated; its just the Star Fox Team against us now," he said.

Wolf nodded. "We'll be up and ready in no time."
 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Falco asked Fox as he headed the squadron forward towards the armada of cruisers in front of them. "You know that we're probably gonna get our asses kicked."

Fox sighed. "Falco, leave the negativity to someone else, okay? Just do it. We're not giving up Fortuna in a million years," he growled.

"I have to concur with Falco," said Turner, one of Cutter's pilots. "This is not a good idea."

"Keep your opinions to yourself," Cutter said bluntly. "Let's just do this already!"

Fox swallowed. "Everyone switch over to nova bombs," he said and flicked the switch to affirmate his own command. His HUD automatically went red as it came over a battleship. The Free Canadians took separate ones. "Open fire!"

Twelve nova bombs streaked out. A cruiser exploded, already damaged by the earlier fighting, and a battleship was rippled with smaller explosions. Fox fired his hyperlasers at the bridge, blowing small sections to pieces and it crumbled on itself, blowing up in a brilliant red-white explosion.

"Can't let you go any further, Star Fox," came the silky voice of Wolf O'Donnel over the comm and Fox looked up to see several Kaying Fighters come roaring in at them.

"We've been ordered to eliminate you," Leon Powalski hissed.

"Jimmy, ol' man! Let's see whatcha go!" Pigma Dengar squealed.

"Prepare to die," Pyro Balok said.

"In the name of the Uncle!" cried Andrew Oikonny.

"Cut the chatter, and let's get at 'er!" Bane Redfox said and the pilots engaged them.

Fox rolled his eyes. "Just what I need to see," he grumbled. "Star Wolf."

"Seems we're always meeting at Fortuna, no?" Wolf asked as he settled his fighter in behind Fox's. "You won't be so tough when your remains are scattered through space. I think I'll try and rebuild your head so I can hang it on a wall," Wolf chuckled.

"Go to hell," Fox said. Lemme see if I can give ya a run for your money here, O'Donnel, Fox thought bitterly and punched the accelerators forward. He then cut back on the throttle, pushing the brake button and watching Wolf fly by. I've got you now, he thought.

"Not so fast, Fox," Wolf said and did a tight loop that only the Kaywing could manage. He came in behind Fox again and opened fire, skimming Fox's rear shields. Fox let his paws dance over the keyboards and redirected all shields aft. He then steered hard right, but Wolf followed in his Kaywing.

"Dammit," Fox hissed.
 

Jacky "Panther" Keeler came in behind of the fighter chasing Fox. She brought up her HUD which locked onto the Kaywing fighter in front of her. "I've got tone!" she shouted. "Firing!" she finished and let lasers streak out at the fighter.
 

Fox swooped away as Wolf's fighter came apart, but not before he could eject. "Yee-haw! Nice one, Panther!" he said. Suddenly, an alarm blared. Fox keyed the comm. "Rob, what the hell is that sound?"

"Fortuna base has been breached by Venomian troops!" Rob64 said in a worried tone.

Fox looked ahead as explosions rippled the base. "Ah, shit," he hissed. "We can not let them win, here," Fox said.

"We're not going to give you a choice," Bane Redfox said, turning and coming towards Fox. "We're gonna kill ya right now and never have to worry about that damned Star Fox Team again!"

"Stay away from my Son, you sonuvabitch!" James McCloud seethed, coming in behind Bane. The fox tried to evade, but James launched a nova bomb and knocked out Bane's engines.

"Shiiiiiit!" Bane shouted as his fighter careened into the ground and exploded.

"I'm goin' down!" Falco shouted, a laser blast snipping his wing.

Fox saw it happening. "Eject, Falco!" he shouted.

"I can't! Wait! Redirecting all aft steerage functions to.and keeping." static started to scratch at Falco's transmission.

Fox set his jaw. "Falco, get out of there!"

"I.do this.gimme a chance.I." a short, curtailed scream came over the communicator and then Falco's fighter exploded into flames as it collided with the ground.

"FALCO!" Fox screamed.

"We have to clear out, Fox," James's bass voice came over the comm, but Fox shook his head, tears straining his fur as he looked at his father's image on the comm screen. "Come on, Son. Just stay on my wing," James said soothingly and his Arwing appeared beside Fox's.

"But.but Falco." Fox said.

James shook his head. "We'll come back for him. But right now, we have to go," he said calmly.

"We can't give up Fortuna-" Fox started.

James sighed. "Fox, we have no choice. Just stay on my wing and do as I say," he said firmly, and reluctantly, Fox nodded and nudged his control stick to stay with his father tightly as they broke atmosphere.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Eight
 

"Fortuna is ours, Sir," Admiral Andy said, coming into Andross's viewing room with a data-pad with the full report on it. Andross turned, draining what was left of the champagne in his diamond glass and placing it gingerly on the table. He took the pad from Andy and quickly scanned it.

"What's this?" Andross smiled. "One of the Star Fox Team is in our hands?" he looked up at Andy.

Andy nodded. "Yes, Sir," he said. "Falco Lombardi. Was shot down towards the end of the battle. He's in our most heavily guarded prison cell," the Admiral said proudly. "No doubt the rest of the team will try to rescue him from our 'vile clutches'," Andy said.

"They have done so in the past, due to.defection on our part," Andross said, referring to the First Lieutenant Ratner Sly fiasco a short while back before he had been cloned with the Cornerian Technology. "But not again. I want full guarding on that cell."

Andy nodded. "Already done, Sir," he said.

"Double it."

Andy looked taken aback. "Sir? We already have over twenty men guarding that cell! There's no way in hell he can get out, with all the security precautions! Electric fences line everything, heat sensors, the works!"

Andross looked at Andy, a deadly gleam in his eye. "I just said," he said in a deathly voice. "To double security. Is that a problem for you, Admiral?" he asked.

"No, Sir," Andy said with a swallow, snapped his feet and left the room.

Andross brought up a holoprojector and tapped some keys. Falco Lombardi's image came up. "Hmm," he said. "One of that blasted McCloud's best friends, eh? Maybe we could make this public as to the Star Fox Team's failure," he mused aloud. "See their.invincible.image be shattered like glass is by a rock." He chuckled to himself as a waiter brought in another bottle of champagne and poured the ape leader a glass. "Thank you," Andross said and went back to looking out the window.
 

"I just can't damned believe this," John said, pacing madly around the room. "First, we're ordered to retreat, and then, while we're gone, Falco gets captured! If only I'd been there, I would have kicked that army's-" he was cut off in mid-sentence by Colonel Cutter.

"Don't resort to harsh language, Lt. Colonel," she said. "There are still other matters at hand to deal with."

John raised a brow. "Such as?" he asked.

"Such as who's commanding that Venomian army that is such a tactical genius," Cutter explained. "He's taken MacBeth, Zoness and Fortuna. We can't allow him to take any more planets or nebula."

John sighed. "Tell me something I don't know," he said and looked at her. "So what do you suggest?" he asked.

"A raid on Venom," Cutter said.

Pepper came up beside her. "That would be suicide, what with Venom's renewed defenses, and all," he said.

"We'd have to find a backdoor in there," Cutter said.

Pepper shook his head. "There is none."

John looked at the golden retriever and then at Cutter, then back again. "Wait a minute; what about the Area 6 Defense Zone?" he asked. "I know it's a longshot but it might work."

"Are you kidding?" Pepper asked. "Area 6 was one of Andross's most heavily populated areas for militaristic forces," he said. "Why wouldn't it be a Defense Zone any more now then it was when he were killing Andross when he had almost complete control of the Lylat System?"

"If it is still there, we will fight through it, but the best way to resolve this is to attack Venom herself," Cutter said.

"Why?" Pepper asked. "Simple question; why?"

Cutter leaned forward. "We'd be extinguishing one enemy while severely limiting the resources of another," she explained. "The Communist Confederacies have gathered many of their supplies from Venom, and whoever this genius is driving the Venomian forces, would do the same and the army would crumble without that planet."

"So you're suggesting what, a commando raid?" John asked, still skeptical.

Cutter nodded. "Exactly," she said firmly.

"They're ground forces vastly outnumber is in almost every way," Pepper explained. "It will be very difficult to execute an air mission, much less send in the shock troops as you plan too, Colonel," he said and shook his head. "No matter how skilled your people may be, this mission will be suicide," he said.

John shook his head. "Not entirely, Sir," he said, raising a paw. "You see, the problem here is whoever this tactical genius behind the Venomians's success must be stopped. We figure that if we take Venom away from them, the rest of their Empire will fall apart, allowing us to take back Zoness, MacBeth and Fortuna," he stated. "Now, it may seem like suicide, but there is a very real chance of success on this mission. We could trigger some kind of explosion in the core of the planet that would blow Venom apart." he said.

"We've destroyed enough planets. Look at Titania! Andross destroyed it to try and get rid of four pilots! Four pilots!" Pepper exclaimed.

John shook his head. "You're missing the point here," he said. "We're not going to destroy an entire planet. We target every single Venomian settlement on that rock, dig down to the core of that damned thing, drop nukes down them. Then, that will cause a mini-volcanic reaction to destroy every one of those settlements, setting Venom back by a few Millenia," John said.

"But they still have their forces in Space, which is basically all of their military might," Pepper said.

Cutter spoke up. "Its only a matter of time for us to deplete their forces repeatedly until they have almost nothing left. We will then destroy them as swiftly as they try to do us," she said.

Pepper sighed. "It appears," he said. "I am outvoted. There is still the matter of Lombardi," he said, referring to Falco.

"We lost him on Fortuna. There's no sign that any ships have gone back to anywhere yet, so he must still be there," John said.

Pepper nodded. "It is vital we get him back," he said. "I'll leave you two to plan all these operations. I have a lot of things to do back on Corneria. I can give you some of my pilots and staff," he said.

"Really? We would appreciate that," Cutter said. "For these next few Ops, we're gonna need all the help we can get," he said.
 

Space seems endless, and I'll probably end up floating through it in tiny pieces on the day I die fighting in the cockpit of an Arwing, thought Flight Officer Ratner Sly as he stared out the window of his quarters and the vast reaches of endless space.

"Hey, Sly," came a voice behind him, and he turned to see Mac "Tiger" Keeler standing there.

"Hey," Sly said.

"Normally, there would be a poker game going on here, with Falco heading it," Tiger said, rubbing his hand along the table as he walked towards Sly.

Sly nodded. "Nobody's in the mood for playing without Falco here, I guess," he said morosely. "Can I get you a drink?" he asked.

"Sure, thanks," Tiger said and sat down at the table as Sly pulled out a pair of sodas. "John wants us in the mess hall immediately. Apparently, there's something big going down and we've all got major parts in it," he said. "So we should get moving."

Sly snapped open his soda and took a healthy gulp. "Right," he said. "Any idea what it is?"

"Scuttlebutt says that its an Op against Venom and a separate Op to save Falco," Tiger said.

Sly grimaced. "Those are biggies," he said. "Let's get down to the mess," he said and slipped on his jacket as they both left the room, Sly turning off the lights and locking the doors behind them. "So which do you think comes first, and which is the highest on the priority list?" he asked.

Tiger shrugged. "Priorities? For us, Falco. For the Cornerians, probably taking Venom."

Sly grimaced as they entered the mess hall. John was standing at the center of the room and he straightened as the last two of them arrived.

"This session is now in order," Captain O'Brien said.

John cleared his throat. "Lights," he said, and the lights dimmed and a holograph appeared in the center of the room. "This is Venom, the stronghold of the Venomian Forces," John said, stating the obvious. "Our plan is to attack Venom from the inside, distracting them with an aerial strike," he continued. "The Shock Troops will go in and plant these," he said and a new picture came up of a long, see through tube. "Core Reaching Tubes, underneath each city. Then, they will drop a nuke down it, and when they detonate, mini-volcanoes will destroyed the settlements, ruining Venom, and leaving it for us to take."

Lula Cel raised her hand. She was one of the shock troops. "A question," Lula said. "While we're on the ground, will there be any risk of our transports leaving without us? Because that has happened before," she said.

"Not this time," O'Brien said. "Captain Stan Largha, Commander Kole Forhan and Briggs Janson will be flying the shuttles, and they are the most brave soldiers that these days have to offer," he spoke up from Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson's side.

Lula nodded. "Just checking," she said.

Briggs Forhan nodded to the holograph. "What about the mission to save Falco?" he asked in a gruff voice. "That should be one of the things on our priority list before Venom," he said stubbornly.

"Sounds like Fox has been talking to you," John said with a chuckle. "Yes, there will be two separate forces so we can confuse the Venomians. One team will attack Venom, and the other will go to Fortuna to get Falco out of there as quickly as possible."

Lula raised a hand. "Have you figured out the teams, yet?" she asked.

"Yes," John said. "They have been chosen due to who will work best together. The rosters are out on the walls outside the Mess," John said and a picture of Fortuna came up, zooming in on the base on its surface. "Now, Intelligence reports that Falco is being held in this facility," he said. "A team, headed by Lieutenant Cel here, will go in and free him," he said.

Lula nodded. "Guess that answers my question as to what team I'm on," she said.

"Now, that is all. Dismissed," John said and people stood up and started to crowd outside to see what teams they would be going on.

Sly saw he was going to Venom.

"How practical," he said.
 

"Sir, reports have come in that the Cornerian Fleet has split up," Admiral Andy reported, stepping into the darkened personal quarters of Andross's. Paintings and strange, different objects lined it, and Andross sat, meditating in the center of the room. "Sir?" he asked, expecting Andross to get angry that he disturbed him.

Andross opened his eyes, only in dim slits so small, that Andy was surprised his lord could see. "Please come closer," Andross said. "This art originated from Corneria, from my family's generations before I 'went mad' as that damned General Pepper so eloquently put it," Andross said, a hint of anger creeping into his voice which instantly vanished. "So, the fleet has split up?" he asked.

Andy was surprised, he hadn't thought Lord Andross had heard him when he'd said that. "Yes, My Lord," he said bluntly.

"Then they are planning something," Andross said, opening his eyes fully and looking at the paintings from generations before of his family. "We must figure out what. Have your Intelligence officers gathered anything?"

Andy nodded. "A report from our Chief Spy," he said. "Apparently, there are two missions arriving; one to Venom to destroy the planet, and another here to rescue Lombardi," Andy said proudly.

"Too bad neither will occur," Andross said. "Triple the security to Lombardi's cell, and cloak half of our fleet and send them to Venom to lie in wait of those pathetic Cornerians," he said. "If they think they can defeat us, they have another thing coming."

Andy nodded. "Aye, Sir," he said.

"Computer," Andross said as Andy left. "Bring up a holo of the dining hall for Star Wolf," he asked. Time to see if the tension between my nephew and Wolf has settled any since my "death", Andross thought with a chuckle and leaned back.
 

"I should be the leader of this team," Andrew Oikonny grumbled from his end of the table as he ate his food miserably. "Damned Wolf.can't fly worth a crap," he muttered again, hopefully so no one could hear it, but everyone did, and Wolf wasn't pleased.

"Not this again," Wolf said with a sigh.

Andrew looked up. "Well it's true," he said. "You can't fly worth a damn, and you suck, literally."

"At least I don't have to pick on little frog's to make myself feel like a good pilot! I go after the best," Wolf said angrily.

"You take that back!" Andrew shouted.

"Not a chance in hell," Wolf said.

Andrew let out a battle cry, leapt onto the table and dove, taking Wolf out of his chair and they both went to the ground. Wolf brought his knees up under the ape's chest and shoved him off him, flipping to his feet. He spun and hurled a side kick into Andrew's head. The ape stumbled back and leapt forward, giving Wolf a hard punch to the face which drew blood.

"That was a mistake," Wolf said.

"Prove it!" Andrew said and punched him again, following up with a kick in the groin. Wolf's eyes widened and he drew back his fist, socking the ape with all he had, and that was a lot. The ape went to the ground and stumbled back up to receive a foot full in the face. Andrew came up, blood running down his face, and picked up a chair, slamming it into Wolf's side.

Wolf went down with a startled yelp and got back up, being tackled into the wall behind him by Andrew. He slammed his elbow into the ape's back repeatedly until he backed off, and then Wolf gave him a sharp uppercut which made him fall back on his butt.

Andrew slowly got up and almost regretted it as he leapt to the side, Wolf plunging both fists forward in a power punch that barely missed the ape. He brought his hands together into fists and smashed them down as hard as he could over the back of Wolf's head.

Bane put a paw on Andrew's shoulder. "That's enough, come on-" he started but Andrew punched him full in the face. Bane was big and that only made him take a step back. He drew back his fist and punched, sending Andrew across the room.

"Whoa," whispered Pigma Dengar from where he was sitting.

Bane grabbed Wolf as he started to charge the downed Andrew. "That's enough, Sir," Bane said sharply, but Wolf turned to him. For a glimmer of a second, it looked as if he would try and take on the huge fox, but after a moment, Wolf just nodded and walked back to the table to resume eating.

"Bastard," hissed Andrew and he charged at Bane, hitting the big fox in the gut. They both tumbled to the floor, with Andrew on top. He started pummeling his face and muzzle and blood seeped from cuts opening on Bane's face. He kicked the ape off him, picked him up and hurled him into the wall which creaked and groaned under the pressure of the throw. Andrew fell to the ground with a weak cry.

"Have to give him some medals for determination," Pyro Balok said from his seat.

Andrew slowly got back up, blood now staining his formerly white shirt. He picked up a chair and hurled it at Bane, the same as he had done to Wolf, only it had less effect on Bane. The chair hit in his knee and tore the cloth and the skin, but otherwise did nothing. Andrew picked up a small tree that was used for beauty and luxury in the dining hall, and rammed it into Bane's gut, momentarily knocking the wind out of him.

"Andrew STOP!" Wolf shouted, but Andrew kicked Bane in the face as hard as he could while he was buckled over and the huge fox fell back, blood oozing from his nose. Andrew started towards him when every single member of the Star Wolf Team tackled him.

"Holy shit, this guy is a wildcat!" Pyro cried as they all strained to keep the bucking ape down. Security came in and he finally calmed down.
 

"Very resourceful," Andross said with a chuckle as the medics came and carried Bane Redfox away from the scene of the devastation which his nephew had caused. "Maybe he should be a shock trooper instead of a pilot," he mused with a chuckle, sipping from the galaxy's most expensive champagne in a diamond glass.
 

"Report," the face of Admiral Andy said to the Chief Spy who quickly looked around and then back to the ape-face of Andy.

"We've been split into two teams for certain, now," the Spy said. "The deal is this; I'm gonna pin the whole traitor gag on that guy Sly, who thinks I'm one of his best friends. I'm on the Venom team so I can do some damage to that squad," he said. "We're gonna have to do something about this 'Lieutenant Cel' because she looks like a tough one."

Andy nodded. "You know what to do," he said.

"Roger," the Spy named Deeogee said and turned off the comm.
 

Lieutenant Lula Cel heard a knock on the door and opened it, seeing the big, grizzly bear form of Rendaar standing in the doorway. "Rendaar, hi. Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, Lula, you can," Rendaar said, stepping past her and coming into the room. He turned and looked at her. "You're commanding the mission to Fortuna, I heard," he said, an icy grip overtaking his voice.

Lula nodded. "Yes," she said.

"Congratulations," Rendaar said. "My last command was when I was with the Star Fox Team.but they blamed me for treachery and threw me out like yesterday's garbage," the bear said bitterly.

Lula was confused. "Then how did you get back on the team?" she asked.

"Have you ever even heard of the planet Kasala?" Rendaar asked, looking up at Lula with a deadly ice cold expression. The woman shook her head, and Rendaar let out a throaty laugh. "You see," he said, stepping forward, unsheathing his claws with a click. "There is no such place as Kasala," he said.

Lula gasped as Rendaar held up his claws.

"Who are you, then?" Lula asked, trying to stay calm.

Rendaar chuckled. "I will tell you, but only because there will be nobody else around to hear us," he said and put a paw to his lips. "Shh, this can be our little secret," he said. "I am Deeogee."

Lula recognized the name from Intelligence reports. Deeogee was one of the biggest traitors to the Lylatian Cause, spreading lies and all sorts of falsified information which sent hundreds of good people to their deaths. Lula was so lost in thought she almost didn't see Deeogee/Rendaar's hand coming down towards her, claws extended.

Lula jumped back but the claws tore through the flesh of her leg. He screamed and swiped out her other foot, kicking the bear's feet from under him. Lula pulled herself across the room towards her blaster holster, hanging off the edge of the bed. She was almost there when he felt a hard paw wrap around her foot. She looked back and saw Rendaar pulling himself forward.

"God Damn you!" Lula shouted, drawing her other foot back and kicking Rendaar across the face. Her momentarily let go, enough time for her to pull her foot free and grab her blaster as Rendaar got to his feet. He came forward as Lula aimed at him, firing a blast that went over his shoulder and hit the wall behind him.

He swiped his claws across Lula's face and she fired a shot into his gut before he could do anything else. Lula sagged, her body ransacked with injuries as Rendaar looked at the wound in his stomach with something like awe. Lula exhaled, and felt a hot, steamy sensation in her throat. When she coughed, it was wet, and blood seeped from the corners of her mouth.

"Damn." Rendaar hissed, following back on the floor with a loud wham. ".you." he finished.

Lula felt blood running from the corners of her mouth and from the wounds he had inflicted. She looked down and saw her intestines had spilled out over her legs, compliments of the claws on Rendaar's feet. She looked back up, black nibbling at the corners of her vision.
 

"Lula is dead?" John Robertson asked Rendaar who nodded solemnly. "Did you get a good look at the intruder's face?" he asked. According to Rendaar, he had been talking to Lula when an assailant had jumped out of the closet and grabbed him. Rendaar concluded that the assailant had to be very big to hold him, and as Lula jumped for her gun, the assailant shot Rendaar through the back and out the gut, and ran towards Lula, mauling her and then leaving Rendaar to die.

Rendaar described the assailant as a mouse, who may have been even stronger then he was in a sense of the word, and was therefore able to outmuscle him. Lula Cel was dead, and John wanted to know why. "So why do you think this person tried to kill you two?" John asked.

"I dunno," Rendaar said, looking thoughtful for a moment. "He hardly said anything aside from just a few grunts along the line, but that was it," the big grizzly bear said. He rubbed his stomach where the blast wound had been.

John sighed. "Do you think the assassin is still on this ship?" he asked.

"In all likelihood, yes," Rendaar said. "How many mice do you have on your staff?" he asked.

John pressed a few keys. "Just one.Sly."

"Well." Rendaar sighed. "I guess we have no choice."
 

"Grab him!" came a voice behind Flight Officer Ratner Sly and two burly police officers tackled to the deck. Sly struggled as they snapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. "You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the Court of Law," said the person.

"What the hell is all this!?" Sly shouted.

"You're under arrest for the murder of First Lieutenant Lula Cel," said one of the cops as they hauled Sly onto his feet.

"What?" Sly asked, dumbfounded. "I didn't kill anyone, much less one of my own allies!"

"Yeah, tell it to the judge," said one of the Cops.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Nine
 

"Why did you do it, Sly?" Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Robertson asked the mouse sitting across the table from him. John wasn't entirely comfortable, seeing Sly dressed in the drab colors of a prison uniform, and he swallowed. "Kill Lieutenant Cel, I mean."

Sly said nothing, but finally shook his head. "I didn't kill anyone," he said in a barely audible voice.

John sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "Look, Sly," he said. "I'm on your side here. But you've got to understand," he said. "If you admit the crime now, I can lessen the charges to maybe fifty years instead of a life sentence," he said.

"There's nothing to admit. I didn't kill anyone," Sly said, keeping his gaze locked straight ahead instead of following John's movements with his eyes.

"Okay," John said. "Let's suppose you're right. Who do you think did it?" he asked.

"Who told you it was me?" Sly asked.

"Rendaar," John replied.

Sly's jaw dropped, and for the first time, he stood, turning to face John and the Lt. Colonel instinctively dropped his hand to the butt of his gun. "Rendaar said he saw me kill Lieutenant Cel?" he asked.

"And shot him in the stomach," John said.

Sly looked around for a minute. "Have you looked into Lieutenant Cel's records?"

"Meaning?" John asked pensively.

"Did she keep any hidden cameras in her room or anything like that?" Sly asked.

John shrugged. "I'd have to get Intel to run some checks, but maybe," he said and his eyes narrow. "What are you getting at, Sly?" he asked.

"Nothing, yet," Sly said. "Just a theory."

John spread his hands. "I'm open to theories," he said. "So what is it? Why do you wanna know if there's any hidden cameras in her room?" John asked.

"I think Rendaar did it," Sly replied.

John was taken aback. "What? Rendaar?" he asked, but suddenly, a few things occurred to him.

"Have you ever even known a place existed called Kasala?" asked Sly. "I never bothered before this guy wrongfully accused me."

John shook his head. "Not to my best knowledge, no," he said.

"Get your Intel guys to run a background check on him, too. I wanna know if this guy's the real thing," Sly said.

"He's your friend, you know," John said.

Sly shook his head. "I'm not sure who my friends are right now, John," he said. "Just get the info and come back to me when you're done."
 

"Can you believe they threw Sly in jail?" Fang O'Riley asked and everyone around the table grumbled. "Rendaar, you were there. Was it really Sly?" he asked.

The big grizzly looked up form his meal and nodded solemnly. "Saw him with my own two eyes," he said. "I would have asked him why.but I didn't have the strength since he shot me in the gut."

"Talk about betrayal," muttered Phoenix Blaze.

"You don't really believe that, do you?" asked Colonel Delrara Cutter, stepping up to the table behind Blaze. He turned around to face her accusatory glare and started to speak but she cut him off with an upraised hand. "You do. You're long time friend, and you think he's a killer."

Rendaar stood up. "Well he is," he said sadly.

"What were you doing in the room in the first place, Rendaar? Lieutenant Cel doesn't talk to other people that much," Cutter said.

"We had to discuss plans for Fortuna," Rendaar said stubbornly.

Cutter's eyes narrowed. "There was going to be a briefing this morning. Couldn't it have waited?" she asked in an icy tone, and everyone looked from Cutter to Rendaar as the tension built.

"Probably, yes, but I wanted to discuss some things with Lieutenant Cel," Rendaar said, leaning forward, his tone as equally icy as Colonel Cutter's.

Cutter stepped back, and said nothing, leaving.

"What's her problem?" muttered Blaze.
 

John sipped from his coffee and blinked his eyes several times as his Intel Agent, Al Kane, was accessing hundreds of data files. "The search is on Rendaar? Is that his first or last name?" Al asked.

"Don't really know," John said. "He doesn't seem to, either," he finished.

Al hit a few keys. "Nothing on the name Rendaar."

"I need a planet search then," John said. "In every single system. We've visited the system that Rendaar supposedly came from, and I want to know if anywhere in the galaxy, is there a place called Kasala," John asked.

"Doesn't ring a bell," Al muttered as he tapped the keys. Index scrolled across the screen and a sign flashed at the bottom.
 

No match found. Please select another target.

Thank You.
 

"No such place as Kasala?" John whispered.

Al looked up. "He's bullshitting you, Boss," he said to John. John sighed and stood, sipping from his coffee.

"It just doesn't make any God damned sense," John said. "Run the checks across Cel's quarters. I wanna see if she's got any hidden cameras or security systems or anything that could lead to proof against Rendaar," John asked.

Al shrugged. "Sure whatever," he said and pressed several keys. Another sign flashed, this time in the center of the screen instead of the bottom.
 

The Following is Classified Government Information.

Please Enter Your CGI Password.
 

"Aw, great," muttered John.

Al waved away his comment. "Not a problem," he said and brought a small device out of his pocket, which looked like a calculator. He hooked it up to the back of computer and typed in several codes. Lines drew across the calculator, and they all finally came together.

Al typed in a frequency of letters and numbers.
 

Access Granted. Select an Option;

Scan person's room.

Back Ground Check.

Employer.
 

It went on and on. "Select 'scan room'," John ordered and Al clicked on it. A schematic of Lieutenant Cel's room came up on the Computer screen.

"What am I lookin' for, Boss?" Al asked.

"Cameras or security equipment," John replied, and Al typed in the orders. A line went across the screen, and something beeped by the bed area. "And bingo was his namo," John whispered.

"Holy Shit," muttered Al. "Looks like Cel was Captain Paranoia after all."

John opened his cell phone and dialed a number. "Pepper, this is Robertson," he said. "I need you to fax me a warrant to search both Lieutenant Cel's and Rendaar's quarters," he said.

"You know what you're asking? That kind of paperwork will take time," Pepper said gruffly.

John rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well time is something I have plenty of. I'm just trying to figure out who killed Lula Cel," he said. "Get me the papers, Pepper. Please," he added.

"All right. They'll be comin' over the fax in about half an hour," Pepper said. "I hope you know what you're doing, John," he said and hung up.

John clicked the phone shut. "Yeah," he said to himself. "Me too."
 

The search in Lieutenant Cel's bed area finally turned up a camera hidden inside one of the hollow poles which supported the bed over the ground. The forensics team had to analyze it, and finally, they switched it onto VCH and played it on the VCR.

"Okay, let's see what this has," John said.

They waited. There were pictures of Lula as she sat drinking coffee.

"Aw, man, this is nothing," muttered Al.

"Fast forward it until Rendaar's arrival," John ordered, and Al pushed the fast forward. Finally, in speed motion, Lula got up, went to the door, and opened it to allow Rendaar in. "Okay, stop," John hissed. "Everyone quiet!"

".and threw me out like yesterday's garbage! Now, I've gotten back in," Rendaar said, looking at Cel.

"And how did you do that if you were a traitor?" Cel asked, her voice tinted with mechanics from the camera's bad sound quality.

Rendaar laughed. "Have you ever even heard of Kasala? No? You know why? Because there is no such place as Kasala," he said.

And then, he proceeded to kill her.

"Good thing I got that warrant," John whispered as the scene of carnage was displayed in front of them.
 

Rendaar hit his fist hard into the first cop, knocking him into a wall which broke under the impact. The next soldier came in firing, but Rendaar wasn't there when the bullets hit the space where he had been. He sliced the man's head off with his claws and kicked the next one, his claws tearing the man apart. He picked up a gun and switched the mode setting to kill and opened fire on the soldiers.

"STOP!" came a voice behind him and he felt a weight on his back as Fang O'Riley jumped on, accompanied by the rest of Wolfpack Squadron. Rendaar roared and hurled them all off. He took a huge, lumbering step forward, which shook the ground, the cops sprawled on the ground the other way down the hall as the alarms blared. Fang and his unit backed away, except for Mac "Tiger" Keeler, the biggest of the bunch.

"You'd wish you had stood down when you had the chance," Rendaar said, licking some blood off his claws.

"Likewise," Tiger said and unsheathed his, leaping at Rendaar with a fierce battlecry, the two collided and fell to the ground, rolling, biting, and swiping at eachother. Rendaar raked his huge claws across Tiger's face and drew blood, but Tiger didn't stop his attack. He swiped his claws repeatedly at Rendaar and he screamed, kicking Tiger off him.

Tiger lay, prone on the ground and Rendaar walked up to draw his foot back for the kill.

"No!" came a voice behind him and he stumbled forward, pushed hard from the back and tripped over Tiger's body fell to the ground with a heavy thud. He turned to see John leap onto him and roar as he started repeatedly punching Rendaar's face.

Rendaar punched him hard in the gut and John buckled, and Rendaar kicked the Lt. Colonel off him. He moved towards him as he got up. John drew his pistol and switched off the safety and fired at Rendaar before the massive grizzly could do anything.

"Dammit!" hissed Rendaar. "I hate.all of you." he whispered and fell to the ground, blood draining from the wound in his neck.

John could feel the blood running down his face as medics came around the corner. "Tiger and those officers, too," he said as one started to tend to the wounds on his face. John lay back against the wall, breathing heavily, as medics finished with Rendaar and the cops dragged him off to the prison.
 

Flight Officer Ratner Sly's eyes snapped open as a key turned in the lock and the door to his cell opened. John was standing there, a few bandages on his face, but John nonetheless. "Rendaar was arrested for the murder of Lieutenant Lula Cel. You're free to go," John said with a tight smile.

"Thanks, John," Sly said. "I never would have been proved innocent without you."

John waved it off. "No problem," he said. "We've put Rendaar in our most secure facility, so I don't think he's going anywhere. We're gonna have to make him talk as to why he killed Lula and who he was working for."

"Right," Sly said. "First order of business is to get out of these crappy prison clothes," he said as they walked to the quarters Sly, Peppy, Falco and Slippy usually shared. "And what's the scoop on the missions?" he asked.

John sighed. "Replacing a person like Cel isn't going to be easy," he said. "But I think we can find someone."

"Who?" Sly asked.

"I've got a friend. Really good with computers, used to have command of a Mercenary unit before he came to the Cornerians looking for better money. His name's Al Kane," John said.

Sly nodded. "Sounds good. Can he live up to Cel's stature?" he asked.

"Maybe, I'm not sure. I'll have to talk to him," he said, the death of Cel and Rendaar's betrayal still fresh on John's mind as he thought about the two missions and how they were going to work out in such a drastic and improvised way that was probably suicide.
 

Venom.

The green, yellow-green planet looked much like the secretion a Cobra or a poisonous snake would secrete, henceforth the name. In the cockpit of her Banshee Fighter, Colonel Delrara "Snake" Cutter sighed. "Banshee Wing, Report In," she said.

"Turner, standing by," said the eldest of the group, Lieutenant Wing Turner.

"Stark, here," said Brevet-Captain Arrow Stark.

"Starr, here. Let's rock," said Captain Lone Starr.

Cutter flicked a switch. "Lock S-Foils in attack positions," she said and the Banshee wings separated for better maneuverability. Her ship flew in towards the planet. "Turner, anything on the radar scopes?" she asked.

"Yeah," Turner replied, his voice being chopped by static.

Cutter keyed the comm and Rob64's face appeared on the screen. "Rob, we have incoming bogies. Stand by to launch the other fighters and bring the other cruisers out of lightspeed," she ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am," Rob64 replied.

"Wait! Something de-cloaking almost directly in front of us!" Stark said worriedly over the comm, and Cutter looked ahead to see the distortion of space, and thousands of cruisers started to take shape. "Oh, shit." she whispered. "Break off! We're gonna crash if we don't! Break off!" she ordered and pulled her stick high to the left.

She soared over the first cruiser.

"Fighters coming in!" Turner shouted.

Laser blasts erupted all around Cutter and like the expert pilot she was she maneuvered around all of them. She keyed the comm. "Launch the other fighters now, Rob!" she shouted, not looking at the face of Rob64 as fighters roared out of the hangar bays of the cruisers.

"Three of them coming in, twenty degrees," Turner reported.

"Cut to the left, I'm on the leader," Cutter said and steered over to the pointed out fighters. She brought up her HUD Display and centered the crosshairs on the lead fighter as Turner did the same. The other one was left to fly around the exploding fields of debris that were his squad mates. "Split up, Turner. I'm on this guy," Cutter said.

"Aye, Ma'am," Turner said and broke off.
 

Mac "Tiger" Keeler and his sister Jacky "Panther" Keeler looked at First Lieutenant Al Kane as they waited in the shuttle which was prepared for the drop down to the planet below. Captain O'Brien was in the cockpit working the final checkups for the pre-flight checks.

"Good thing we came in on the opposite side of Venom," Panther muttered.

Tiger nodded gravely. "Let's just hope they do their jobs," he said, then looked to Al. "When do we drop?"

"Cappy, when do we drop?" Al asked of O'Brien.

"Two minutes," O'Brien's voice came from the cockpit and Al nodded to the troopers sitting there.
 

"We could really use some help out here!" Cutter shouted over the communicator to John Robertson, who was squinting at something. "So what's taking you so long?" she asked as she narrowly avoided a chunk of debris from an exploded battleship.

"General Miyamoto doesn't want to launch yet," John tried to explain.

"Well tell him to screw himself, we need help!" Starr shouted over the communicator.

John flipped a switch and said something. He turned his face back to the screen. "We're launching. Good luck, Colonel," he said.

Cutter pulled the stick hard to the right and crossed paths with a Venomian fighter, its blocky wings skimming Cutter's cockpit. She pulled to the port and came in behind the fighter, bringing up her hyperlaser HUD Display. It immediately went red and she fired, but the fighter juked and it hit the wing, blowing it apart. The fighter spun off and crashed into the bridge of one of the battleships, flames spouting from the super heated oxygen explosions.

"Dammit," Cutter hissed.

"We've got to endure a lot of this!" Turner said blatantly over the communicator. "I've got an idea!" he said. "Cover me," he said and flew in towards the lead cruisers, an impressive display of flying avoided him getting hit and he launched a nova bomb directly into the bridge of the cruiser, and fired another before breaking off. The bridge exploded and shockwaves rippled out.

"Nice one, Wing!" Starr shouted over the comm.

"Thanks," Turner replied.

Cutter flicked a switch. "I've got more of them coming in. Starr, watch out! You've got two coming in from above!" she said.

"I see them," Starr replied.

"Bogey on my six!" Arrow Stark said through tight teeth. "I need some help, he's got me pinned in tight and I can't shake him-" the picture fuzzed. "Damn, he's aiming for my communications array! Executing maneuver oh-three-mark-two," he said and flicked a switch. A rumble sounded. "It ain't workin', he's still on me!"

"Cut left," Starr ordered.

Stark started to when the comm fuzzed again, and sparks exploded, barely visible to Cutter. "Dammit!" Stark hissed. "He's hit my left engine! I'm starting to have a little problem with my steering control! My rudder's a bit sluggish!" he said.

"Stark, cut to the left!" Starr ordered.

Suddenly, Stark sat up. "Your own fate, Captain," he said. Cutter looked out the window and saw Stark's fighter turn around and fire a missile dead center into Starr's fighter. It erupted with the scream of metal and Cutter heard Starr scream over the comm.

"STARR!" Cutter screamed.

Suddenly, a locked on warning came. She looked back to see Turner's fighter there, and she saw the missile streak out towards her. She banked hard right and the missile detonated against a Venomian fighter. "This is Snake! We've got two traitors and they killed Starr! I'm alone out here, I'm in deep shit!" she shouted.
 

"What's taking so long for the fighters to launch?" John asked of General Shaun Miyamoto, who looked up.

"Malfunction in the hangar doors. The Venomians are jamming are systems. Cutter's alone out there," Miyamoto said.

"Can't we launch the dropships?" asked John.

Miyamoto tapped a key. "Negative. We have to break through the jamming field," he said. "Which means Cutter's gonna have to disable the frigate doing that."

"Can you get a positive source one which cruiser is doing it?" John asked.

Miyamoto tapped several keys. "Here's the solution. Transfer it to her fighter," he ordered.
 

Cutter grimaced as she got the orders. "Take out a whole battleship on my own?" she grimaced. "Will do, Sir," she said and aimed for the cruiser pointed out by her fighter. Despite the fact she could see Turner curving around behind her to get a good shot, she activated missiles and bombs and let them streak out to the core and bridge. She finally emptied her batteries and engaged lasers, firing her blue-white blasts of ion-energy into the battleship.

A brilliant white filled her field of vision and she was heading straight for it, and she saw fire coming straight towards her. She screamed as her fighter plunged into the fighter, and the control stick bucked out of her hands, sending her into a flat spin across space. She heard Turner scream over the comm.
 

"The jamming has stopped!" Miyamoto said triumphantly.

"Then launch the fighters!" John hissed.
 

Flight Officer Ratner Sly gave a salute out the cockpit canopy to the techs in the hangar bay and settled back into his seat as he blasted off into space, doing a barrel roll and then coming flat out. "I'm airborne," he said.

"Same here," said the commander of the Venom team, Fang O'Riley. "Let's take it too 'em," Fang ordered as he commanded Wolfpack, Moon Deer and Star Fox forward. "Puncher, you have the Cornerian Squads," he said.

"Roger," came the voice of Puncher Doggy. "Split up into your two man formations. Bull, you're on my wing," he said to Danny "Bull" Dozer.

"Let's kick some Venomian Ass!"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Ten
 

Falco Lombardi sat glumly in the prison cell. It was cold, but then, almost everything on Fortuna was that way. Falco sighed and leaned back against the wall. They're never gonna find me. We're gonna lose this friggin' battle, Falco thought morosely to himself, and it wasn't the first time he'd thought like that too. There had been other times when he'd lost faith in the Squadron, but somehow, they'd always pulled through. Maybe this will be one of those times, but highly unlikely, Falco thought.

Suddenly, the doors opened, admitting in a reptilian being. "Hello," said the reptilian in a voice that Falco recognized as one of the Air Commanders at the battle of Area 6 when they were heading for Venom. Commander Caiman laughed as he stepped forward. "You took down most of my squadron and defeated our armies, but not this time," Caiman said.

Falco said nothing.

"Still as stoic as ever, hmm?" Caiman asked, circling the avian pilot. "Not so tough when you're not in the safe cockpit of you're advanced Arwing Fighters, are you?" he asked. "You can't fight like a real man, one-on-one, hmm?" Caiman asked again.

Falco stuck his chin up and remained stubbornly silent.

Caiman sighed. "You think you're being so noble by not talking to us," he said. He looked at his claws. "You know I could slit your throat right here and now?" he asked, gently rubbing his claws against his uniform and sheathing them again. "I could kill you, but I don't, because I'm on orders," he said.

"Orders from who?" Falco finally spoke.

"Ah," Caiman said, seemingly delighted that Falco had finally said something. "The defiant 'hero' wishes to know who the mastermind behind all these operations are," he said with a little chuckle. "I have no reason to tell you, because in all probability, you will be rescued, so I won't," Caiman said.

"Tell me. I'm not going anywhere," Falco said.

Caiman shook his head. "No, I'd rather keep that a secret for now," he said with a laugh. "Is this what your armies are trying to find out? Who our mastermind behind these projects we've been working on? The brains behind the capture of MacBeth and Fortuna?" he asked.

"What about Zoness?" Falco chided.

Caiman shook his head. "We did that on our own," he said. "And we have your Katt Monroe friend, in a prison facility there," he said. "You know we plan to take Katina next, and we have many allies."

"Like the Communist Confederacy," Falco said.

Caiman nodded. "Exactly," he said. "And we have a lot of spies in your network, three of which have now been discovered," Caiman said with something like pride. "And since they've been discovered, I'll tell you who, why and what they really are.

"First off, there's Rendaar."

Falco's head shot up. "Rendaar?" he asked in a tone that suggested he was going to be sick. "He's a traitor?" he asked.

"He murdered Lieutenant Lula Cel and pinned it on Ratner Sly but they found out the truth; that it was he," Caiman said with a chuckle. "Wing Turner and Arrow Stark, as well."

Falco sat down on the cot.

"A few blows there, no?" Caiman asked. "I'll tell you more when the time is right. But if you care to tell us of your plans.?" he inclined.

"No," Falco said.

Caiman threw up his hands. "They never take the easy way out of this," he muttered and left the cell. The doors closed again and Falco sat back on the ground and put his head in his hands.
 

"Launch," Fox McCloud said and his Arwing Fighter blasted out over the air of Fortuna from the belly of the cruiser he had disembarked from. The Great Fox had gone to Venom for strategic reasons, but it wasn't needed here since most of the Venomian Fleet had apparently gone to Venom for the battle. Someone had tipped them off. Most likely Rendaar.

"I'm on your wing, Fox," Peppy Hare said.

Fox sighed. "Star, you go with Slippy. Dad, you're with Blaze," he said, referring to Phoenix Blaze who was flying this mission with Star Fox. "Let's take it to 'em," Fox ordered. His radar came to life with blips. "Fighters coming at us."

"Let's go," James said.

The fighters came into view at the same time as the base did, gunfire erupting all around as the small troop transports carrying Falco's rescue team moved along the ground, firing back. "Let's give them some air support," Fox said and opened fire on the turbolaser batteries setup on and around the base which were firing at them.
 

Briggs Janson steered the APC to the left as turbolaser shots blew craters in the ground. "We need some air support, Fox," he said gruffly into the comm and steered around the incoming laser blasts. He saw an Arwing, shortly followed by another, roar in and fire on two of the batteries, blowing them to pieces.

"Thanks," Briggs said.

"My pleasure," came the voice of Slippy Toad over the communicator. Briggs steered to the side again. "Should we take another run?" Slippy asked.

"That would be the desirable option from our point of view," Briggs said between clenched teeth.

"Right, coming about," Slippy said, and Briggs leaned forward in his chair, looking out the window to see Slippy and Star McCloud come around and roaring in. "Set for position three, attack pattern Delta," he said.

Briggs leaned back and shouted up the ladder which lead into the APC's gun turret. "Let's give 'em a hand! Open fire on those turrets!" he ordered and green laser bolts flashed out towards the turrets as Slippy and Star's guns blew them apart, exploding them into melted slag. "Thanks again, Slip!" Briggs said.

"What now?" Slippy asked.

"You guys take care of the fighters," Briggs replied. "I'm gonna signal the Ground-Shock Troops to move up from their cover," he said and affirmated his own orders. Snow moved and Cornerian Troopers dressed in white to blend in with the Fortunan surroundings came up and ran forward, firing their blasters.

Briggs held his convoy of APC's on course. "We need to hit those batteries without damaging too much of the base," he said.

Suddenly, the APC shook rapidly and a blast hit the ground directly in front of them, and another made the crater even deeper. Briggs threw his hands up in front of his face as the APC tottered face-first into the crater and well below ground level. They smashed into the ground and the window broke, cold, Arctic Winds whipping in.

He heard a voice. "Janson, are you all right?" it was the second APC driver over the comm.

Briggs grimaced. "Yes," he said, the visual comm system was out. "Proceed on mission, we'll walk," he said as fires exploded on the control consoles. He drew his hand blaster. "Let's get the hell outta here," he said, looking up the gunwell. The gunner was dead, his skull crushed by a protruding rock from the crater edge.

"Open the back hatch," ordered one of the troopers.

Briggs was the last out, holding a hand-blaster in his hand. He could see the Venomian Troopers pouring out of the base and coming towards them. Briggs was going to command his unit. "Get to cover positions! Hold them with what you've got!" he shouted a battle cry and rapidly pressed the trigger and he saw two soldiers fall, the rest scattered as they ran over the hills towards them.

"Die you motherf-" a soldier screamed before a blast tore his head off.

Briggs shot the soldier who had done it and ran past the corpse of his fallen friend and fired another blast, hitting a soldier in the left flank and tumbling down the hill. Briggs fired another shot, ending the soldier's life.

"Aah!" cried a Cornerian next to him as a blast hit him in the stomach. The soldier arced his head back and blood poured out his mouth as he died.

Briggs looked ahead and opened fire.

"They're sending out tanks!" shouted a trooper.

Briggs squinted to see the oncoming tanks. "Oh shit," he whispered. "Target those tanks and fire!" he shouted to the bazooka officers who fired mini-missiles at them. They detonated against the tanks shields, but finally punched through and blew the tank apart.

"Help me!" cried a voice and Briggs saw a man pinned under a piece of wreckage, and saw why he was so desperate. A capsized tank's laser was raking through the ground, towards him. "Help!" he shouted.

Briggs rushed forward, putting down his gun and grabbing the piece of wreckage. He lifted with all his might and it came a few inches off the soldier. "Get out!" Briggs shouted and the soldier squirmed out. Briggs dropped it and grabbed his gun, sprinting away as the laser hit oil and an explosion rocked the area. Briggs was propelled off his feet and face first into the snow. "Dammit," he hissed as he got to his feet.

".do you read? Come in, over!" Slippy's voice shouted over his personal comm link.

Briggs grabbed it. "Yeah, I hear ya, Slip," he said. "What is it?"

"We've entered the base! You have to hold them off!" Slippy shouted into the comm, but bursts of static still made it barely audible for Briggs.

"Wasn't that the battalion's job?" Briggs asked.

Slippy sighed. "They were blown up by turbolasers a couple of minutes ago. It's your job now," he said. "Slippy, out," he finished and the comm cut.

"DAMMIT!" Briggs shouted and hurled the comm away, hefting his blaster pistol. He ducked behind a piece of wreckage and opened fire. "Show 'em what you've got!" he said and opened fire on them as his troopers held them off.

He could see missiles firing in at the base and rippling it with explosions in the distance. He grimaced and turned to see more of the Venomian Troopers coming out of hidden entrances, and suddenly wished he hadn't thrown the comm away, because they needed help.

"Looks like we go down fighting," Briggs said and opened fire on them.
 

Kole Forhan fired his pistol, taking a soldier down and he ran forward, his computer specialist hacking into the mainframe. "What've you got for me, Spunkers?" he asked. Spunkers looked up.

"Prison chambers are on Level 5-G," he said.

Kole nodded. "Then we're headin' ta 5-G!" he said.
 

Briggs felt a blast hit him in the back of the thigh and he fell to the ground with a scream of pain. He fired and pegged a soldier dead-center in the face and then a blast hit. The rocks he was on collapsed and he skidded down a cliff, tumbling and falling and finally hitting the ground at a high velocity. Rocks pinned him and he screamed again. He saw soldiers coming towards him and clawed for his blaster, finally getting it.

"Die you Venomian sonsabitches!" he shouted as he fired at them. He hit two of them before the other four took cover. He pegged one more in the head and hit another in the shoulder. The one who was hit in the shoulder stumbled into the other one and Briggs lifted the rocks off him and started to crawl away, shooting both of them before they could regain their balance. He crawled towards them and grabbed one of their comm's. He switched it onto channel fifty-seven. "Slippy, you there?" he asked.

"Briggs, where are you? You're men're getting raked down by the second," Slippy said.

Briggs shook his head. "Can't help it here, Slip," he said to his long-time friend. "Was shot down a cliff.broke a leg and was shot.just took down six of them." he grunted as he put pressure on the wound.

"Can you hang on until the end of the battle?" Slippy asked.

"I'll.try my best," Briggs said and then more troopers came around the corner. He dropped the comm and rolled behind the rock as the area he had so recently vacated was peppered with laser shots. He pulled himself up and opened fire, hitting one of the troopers. A shot skimmed the rock in front of him and he ducked. He picked up the comm. "I'm under attack again," he hissed.

"What's your position?" Slippy asked.

Briggs was about to say it when the comm was blasted out of his hand by a fluke blast. He held his blaster in one hand and picked up one of the dead soldiers's carbines in the other. He pulled himself up and opened fire with both, killing four of the soldiers, leaving one left. He blew apart the rock and the soldier stumbled back before Briggs shot him.

"Dammit," Briggs hissed. "Gotta get outta here," he said, looking around.
 

Fox grimaced as a fighter exploded right next to him. He turned his fighter into a kickspin and jetted in the other direction as Slippy called for help. Star was tied up, so she could help, and that left it up to Fox and Peppy. Apparently, word from the ground was the Battalion had been destroyed and that Briggs Janson's group was holding them off, and Briggs was severely injured, while Kole Forhan had gained entry to the base.

"Whoa! Help me!" Slippy shouted.

Fox brought up his HUD and came in behind the bogey. His HUD started beeping as he tracked the blocky Venomian Fighter, and finally, he got a lock. "I've got tone, I've got tone! Firing!" he said and let lasers streak out. He tore the fighter apart and it crumbled to the ground. "You're clear, Slippy," Fox said.

"Fox, bank hard left!" Peppy shouted.

Fox turned the control stick hard to the port and his fighter rolled over to that side. He grimaced as the G's piled in on him, forcing his lips back into a perpetual grin he didn't mean to have. He heard an explosion which rocked his fighter, which was Peppy destroyed the fighter which had been coming around onto Fox's tail.

"Thanks, Peppy," he said. "Dad, what's your status?" he asked.

"Shields are still full, I've wiped out four of them," James said between clenched teeth.

Fox nodded. "Keep it up, Dad," he said. He switched comm frequencies. "Kole, what's the scoop?"
 

"We've encountered resistance!" Kole Forhan said into the comm as his troopers fired at the lizards in the hall. Machine guns blared as Kole pocketed the comm and opened fire with his own SMG S&A 25000.
 

"This is wonderful," Fox commented. "Slippy, have you heard from Janson?" he asked.

Slippy's face appeared on his comm screen, and the amphibian was shaking his head. "Lost contact with Briggs five minutes ago," he said. "His group is doing a good job of holding the Venomians off, though."

"We have to find Briggs," Fox said.

"I'll do a ground sweep, Fox," Peppy said and dipped below the surface of the fight towards the ground and activated his sonar.
 

Briggs Janson dropped the Venomian Energy carbine and held his blast pistol in check as he found the Med-Kit in one of the dead Venomian's bags. He found a small container of healing fluid. "Yes!" he hissed. That would heal the blaster wound, allowing him to walk, although it wouldn't do much for the bruises. He emptied it onto the wound and stood. His leg felt like new. Then, more Venomians came around the corner. "Ah, Shit," he muttered and ducked as laser blasts rang out. He searched for a comm to alert Slippy but there was nothing. Briggs hopped back up on the rock and fired at them, knocking four of them down in the first barrage before a grenade landed in front of him.

"SHIT!" he shouted, turning and sprinting as the Venomians tried to blast him. The grenade exploded, the force of the explosion sending Briggs flying through the air. He grunted and saw the battle raging, saw his own troops. He ran towards them, firing back at the Venomians as they tried to hit him.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Eleven
 

A fighter exploded to the left of Ratner Sly as he banked hard left. The cruisers were fighting their own battles, leaving the fighters to scrap all they wanted to. Sly came up on his Y Axis, firing his lasers at the Venomians. Wonder if Sammy's among these guys, thought Sly as he flew around the debris that the fighter expanded into space.

"This is Snake!" came the voice of Colonel Cutter. "Watch yourselves, guys! They've got reinforcements coming up from Venom!" she shouted, and Sly looked down at Venom to see the specks of multiple fighters coming up from the poisonous looking planet.

"Damn," whispered Sly.

"This is Puncher. The drop is complete and they're starting to move in the shock troops," Puncher Doggy said and Sly nodded in his seat as he came in behind a fighter, blowing it apart.

"Watch yourself, Sly! Two from above!" John's voice came over the comm.

"Puncher, Dozer; pull in," Sly said smoothly.

"Got it," the two Cornerian pilots said in unison and came in behind the Venomian Fighters which were so desperately trying to get a lock on Sly's fighter. They opened fire and the two Venomian Fighters were blown apart.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

"Keep it tight," Puncher said, looking out the cockpit canopy of his fighter. "You never know what happens around here."

"Whoa, shit," said Ed Lynx, a rookie pilot. "I am reporting four, report four bogies," he said.

"Bull, we got four bogies," said Puncher.

Dozer looked at his radar. Two more appeared. "There's six now, Captain," he said.

"Right. Shields full front, arm your laser batteries," said Puncher. "This could get a little rough. Lynx, to the right. Bull, to the left. I'll take them down the middle. Stay in standard flanking formation until I give the order to break, is that understood?"

They both gave their affirmations and went to their assigned positions as the specks appeared far away in space. Puncher flicked his communicator. "This is Captain Puncher Doggy, we have six bogies coming in, over," he said.

"Right. We're reading and deploying some backup," said the voice of the communications officer.

Puncher looked up. "Configuration is Androssian," he said. "Okay, everything charged, you guys?" he asked.

Dozer and Lynx gave their affirmation.

"Then let's mosey," he said. "Accelerate to attack speed," he acknowledged his own order by pressing a button and felt himself get pushed back into his seat by the sudden acceleration. "They have their weapons primed."

"Whoa, look out!" came Lynx's voice. Puncher rolled to the right instinctively and saw laser fire arc across the flight path he had just been on. "There's eight of them, now!" Lynx finished.

"Dozer, we got eight," said Puncher. He punched the comm again. "We need that backup craft up here now," he said angrily.

"They'll be there in four minutes."

"We're not gonna be here in four minutes if these pilots are any good," Puncher said. "Speed them up and launch the fighters on alert five. We need as much backup here as we can muster."

"We'll see what we can do," said the comm officer.

"I don't want you to 'see', I want you to 'do'," said Puncher. "We're engaging. I'm slicing through the middle of these guys," he said and flew through the six-flight formation of fighters. "Dozer, Lynx, stay in the standard flanking, over," he said. Lynx and Dozer acknowledged as Puncher curved the fighter around. "I'm on their tails.locking on and firing," he said and pressed the trigger.

"Two more just came out of hyperspace," Dozer said.

"Bull, Lynx; engage the two new ones, I'll hold off these guys," he said as he vaporized two of the fighters. The rest scattered in all different directions. "They've taken basic scatter patterns. Follow their maneuvers quickly," Puncher ordered as the two new fighters followed suit, splitting into two different directions.

"Copy," said Dozer.

Puncher brought up his HUD, Heads Up Display, and locked on. "I got red," he said and his eyes narrowed. "Firing," he said and let loose a hail of lasers. The fighter exploded and his Cornerian Fighter flew through the explosion. "How ya guys doin' over there, talk to me," he said.

"I'm zeroing in on him," said Lynx.

"Vaped one, coming back to help," Dozer reported.

Puncher rolled left and came in behind another one. He looked at the HUD but the fighter was juking too much for him to get a lock. "This one's gonna be tricky, but I can handle it," Puncher said. The Androssian Fighter pulled into a roll and pulled up to the right. Puncher followed suit, the speed and the G-Force pushing him back in his seat. "I'm locking on," he said as his HUD turned red. "Firing," he said and fired the lasers. The Androssian Fighter exploded. "Got him."

"I've got one on my tail," said Lynx as he rolled to the right and avoided the red laser fire of the enemy fighters. Puncher brought his fighter into line and saw there were three of them chasing Lynx. How did that happen, thought Puncher. "I can't shake 'em," said Lynx.

"Firing," said Puncher and raked his hyperlaser fire across the fighters. Two of them exploded while the third split and pulled up and to the left. Puncher staid with him. "You're clear, Ed," he said. "Bull, how're you doing, talk to me," he said.

"I just vaped one," said Dozer. "I'm falling in on Lynx's wing."

"Right," said Puncher. "How many left?"

"Four," Dozer reported.

Puncher nodded. Slightly more even odds, a three on four. Better then three on ten, man, he thought as he vaped another fighter. Now the odds are even. But what use have I for odds, he thought. "Dozer, Lynx; each of you take a fighter. I've got the leader." Puncher came in behind one. "Locking on."

Suddenly, the fighter juked. "Oh, he wants to play," said Puncher and followed suit, staying tight on the fighters tail. The fighter started to nose down. Puncher brought up his HUD. "Locking on." he said again, his finger hovering over the trigger. The fighter pulled up abruptly, a steep maneuver that only Androssian Fighters could manage.

"I got mine," said Dozer.

"Mine's a little tricky." reported Lynx. Puncher continually tried to lock on with the HUD, when alarm bells screeched inside his cockpit. "What's that?" asked Lynx as he continued his attack.

Puncher looked at the radar. "We're in trouble," he said.

"Why?" Lynx and Dozer asked in unison.

"'Cause more Androssian Cruisers just came outta hyperspace and it's deploying fighters towards us," he said. "Break off the attack and turn towards the Cruiser. Get rid of that and some of their confidence should be destroyed."
 

"Break right," Puncher ordered and Lynx obeyed. As expected, the fighter on his tail followed, and went right through Puncher's HUD Lock System. Puncher squeezed the trigger and four bursts of quantum laser energy pierced the enemy fight, punching through the cockpit. For a microsecond, oxygen spilled out of the ship, before the lasers went through the pilot and hit the engines, destroying the ship. "Got 'im," said Puncher.

Danny "Bull" Dozer rolled up and started spraying laser fire at the cruiser, shortly joined by Puncher and Lynx. Puncher keyed his communicator. "Where's our backup, Major?"

"It's on its way," said Major Zed, who was working currently with General Miyamoto and Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson. "It'll be there in thirty seconds on the supersonic."

"Good," said Puncher as he rolled right, then left, all the while firing his lasers on the rapid fire frequency, trying to knock out the turbo laser capacity that the Androssian Cruisers had. "Dozer, I need you to fire one of your bombs, Lynx, you next, then I will, over," he said.

"Right," Dozer said. "We'll fire at three second intervals. I'm firing," he said and a flashing blue nova bomb flew out from the launcher of Dozer's fighter. He watched as it flew forward and smacked into the bridge shields, which flashed a deathly red before they disappeared. Three seconds later, Lynx fired and the same reaction, only this time, it dented the shields inward a bit. By the time Puncher fired, the shields were gone. The bridge was hit by the nova bomb and exploded, flames arcing everywhere on the ship. "Uh, oh." Dozer said.

"What?" asked Lynx and Puncher.

"Two more cruisers just came outta hyperspace, and they're launching fighters," Dozer reported.

"It's a full scale assault!"

"When did you figure that out, Sherlock?" Lynx asked sarcastically over the communicator.

"We need some of that backup right now," Puncher said to John over the communicator.
 

"I hear you," John Robertson said and turned to General Miyamoto. "Well?" he asked, turning his gaze between Miyamoto and Major Zed. "Let's launch the backup before we lose this war," John said.

"Right," Major Zed replied. "All fighters on Alert Five launch," he said into the shipwide comm, and two hundred more fighters streaked out into space. "It's the best we can do right now," Zed said to John who nodded solemnly.
 

Ratner Sly pulled a small lever in his cockpit and accelerated slightly. He grimaced as he flew by an exploded frigate, swerving around large pieces of debris. Sly looked down at the planet. Tiger, I hope you know what you're doing, he thought to himself.

"More cruisers coming out of hyperspace," Puncher Doggy reported.

Lynx coughed over the comm. "We'd better figure out what to do about them!" he warned.

"Let's just hope Lieutenant Kane does his job down there," John said tersely over the communicator.
 

"Freeze!" Kane shouted as they came into the superstructure of the main city complex. "Digging team, move up," he said as his men kept the Venomians at bay. He heard the drill go.

"Eight hundred feet, nine hundred, ten." reported the officers. Finally, it was right. "Ready, Sir!" he said.

Kane cocked his head. "Bomb Squad up," he said and he heard the troops grunting as they brought up the nuke, the beeps as they set it, and then the shwoop of the nuke going down the tube.

"Success!" shouted the lead officer, Panther Keeler.

"Let's get outta here. Tiger, you know what to do," Kane said to Tiger who opened fire, raking down the Venomians. Tiger turned and they all left the area.
 

"One reported success. They've got a half-hour before the nukes detonate. O'Brien is getting them to the next installment," Major Zed reported. John looked at the control pad.

"They have to do six majors in the time of a half hour. We're not looking so good here, General," he said, looking at Miyamoto who bit his lip. "Can we do anything else?" John pressed.

Miyamoto shook his head. "Nothing."
 

Andross looked out the window at the proceeding battle from the lead cruiser, the Ape's Head. He kept his eyes locked on the raging battle even when Admiral Andy entered the room to give him a full report. Andy cleared his throat. "Reports from Venom, Sir," he said.

Andross extended his hand and took them. "Shock troops of landed?" he asked icily. He handed the report back to Andy. "Eliminate them."

"But Sir, they're the only ones-" Andy started, but Andross turned to look at him.

"I said eliminate them," Andross repeated.

Andy swallowed. "Aye, Sir. Viceroy Aliya's reinforcements should be arriving within the next ten minutes," he said proudly.

"We'll seal the fate on these damned Cornerians for good," Andross said with a chuckle.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Twelve
 

Avia Flyr grimaced. Being on the ground wasn't where she belonged, but she wanted to be with Falco when they got him the hell outta the prison cell. They had checked four cells so far, and Lieutenant Kole Forhan seemed to like taking his sweet time. "Maybe its this one," Kole said, when more laser fire came down the hallway. The Cornerians scattered and hopped over the corpses of prison guards they'd killed. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around Avia's neck and pulled her into the shadows.

"Now you die, birdy," came a slick voice, that which belonged to Commander Caiman.

"Here's my 'die birdy', you bitch!" Avia said and rammed her pistol up into Caiman's chin. "Eat that you shit!" she said and fired. Blood exploded in fountains from Caiman's head and his body slumped forward, his face missing. Blood spilled over Avia and she rolled out from under the corpse. "Make sure you keep your hands off me."

"Ave? You okay?" asked Kole as he came in. He looked around. "I saw Caiman. Where is he?" he asked.

Avia turned back to the corpse and Kole's jaw dropped. "He lost his head," Avia replied. "C'mon. Falco's gotta be in one of these cells," she said. "Try the one everyone was guarding," she said.

"Blow that door open!" Kole ordered.

The door exploded and they entered to see Falco, lying on the floor, his hand pressed over a wound to his stomach, pale due to a loss of blood. "Falco!" Avia said, kneeling down beside him. "Falco, how do you fell?" she asked.

"Like I've been shot," Falco replied, his voice a hoarse whisper.

"Medic!" Kole shouted back over his shoulder. "We've gotta get outta here! C'mon!" he said as the medics arrived, a stretcher ready.

"One-two-three-and liiift!" the medics said and they strapped Falco to the gurney.

"Now let's get the hell outta here!" Kole said.
 

Briggs Janson fired another blast and hit a Venomian in the chest, knocking him down the slopes. Briggs had been reunited with his unit. He had a working comm. "Slippy, what's Kole's progress in there?" he asked.

"There on their way out!" Slippy said over the communicator.

Briggs grimaced. "We're gonna have to make it fast!" he said. "'Cause we're really, really low on men out here right now!" he hissed.

"Kole just called. He needs help in the base right now," Star McCloud said tersely over the comm.

Briggs rolled his eyes. "Right! I'll get a few men in there," he said. "You guys," he said to a group of ten. "With me! We're going in!"
 

"Get to your ships!" Kole Forhan shouted as lasers blasted across the scorched and charred landscape. Avia ducked behind a pillar and the two medics shielded the stretcher with their bodies until they were safely behind cover. Avia fired a laser blast and hit one of the troopers.

"Kole, get down!" shouted one of the soldiers.

Kole turned and started running back when a blast hit him in the small of his back and punched out through his stomach. He arched his head back and spewed blood before falling to the ground in the middle of the crossfire.

"KOLE!" shouted Avia.

One trooper went out and grabbed Kole and dragged him back to cover, as he tried to speak, but whenever he did, more blood came out his mouth.

"Can you do anything for him?" Avia asked the medics.

The squirrel, Derek Flerrel, shook his head. "No," he said. "There's nothing we can do."

Kole raised his hand and gave a slow thumbs up before it fell back to the ground and he coughed, spewing blood over his chest, before dying. Flerrel shook his head. "He's gone," he said.

"We've gotta get outta here," Avia said, reaching into Kole's pocket and pulling out a communicator. Fox's face appeared on the screen. Before he could say anything, she cut him off. "Kole is dead, he got shot," she said. "We need some major backup in here right away."

"Lieutenant Janson is on his way in!" Fox shouted.

As if on cue, the doors on the other end of the hall exploded, and eleven troopers, headed by Briggs Janson, came in. The Venomians realized they were caught in a pincer attack and formed a wall, half facing Briggs's group, and half facing Kole's.

Avia stepped over Kole's corpse and opened fire.

Suddenly, Briggs's head flew off, his body slumping to the ground. "Briggs." whispered Avia and she picked up an energy carbine dropped by the Venomians and rattled off, raking down the troopers.

"Let's get the hell outta here!" Avia shouted, stepping past Briggs's body, leaving Briggs and Kole's bodies behind.
 

Fox heard an alarm blaring in his cockpit as a spark jumped from his shield gauge. He flicked a switch and turned off the alarm, hearing a small hissing of steam from somewhere. He looked at the gauges to see his Oxygen gauge falling, and his Carbon Dioxide rate rising. "Oh shit," he whispered. "Dad, I've got a CO2 leak, here," he said to James.

"How bad is it?" James asked.

Fox flipped a switch. "Not that big, but I've got about another ten minutes," he said glumly.

"Briggs is dead too," Avia's voice crackled over the comm.

"Well aren't we the ones to lose everyone today!" Fox said angrily.

"More fighters coming out of the base!" reported Peppy.

Fox flicked on his radar and grimaced as it sparked, but stayed stubbornly online. He looked and saw more blips moving out from the Fortuna Base. "Ave, how's that rescue mission coming?"

First there was static, then, Avia's voice came over the comm. "We're on our way out! Briggs's group is giving us some good cover, but we're gonna need some Air Support, so get ready!" Avia shouted.

"Right," Fox said and flicked a switch as he came in behind a fighter and randomly fired his lasers. The blocky ship flew into his line of fire and came apart, crashing into a cliff edge with a loud crackling explosion. "Slippy, Peppy; form up on my wings and get ready to supply some air support for Ave's group!"

Two "copy's" came over the comm and two Arwings came up beside Fox.

"How long until you hit the surface?" Fox asked.

There was a pause. Then: "'Bout two minutes! This is gonna be tight!" Avia said.
 

"We need backup!" an ape shouted into a communicator. As if on cue, hundreds of soldiers lined the corridor, coming up behind pillars and taking fire positions. "Freeze!" shouted the ape.

Avia looked around and drew two pistols from her holsters as everyone broke away, opening fire. Machine gun fire erupted all around the hall as Avia sprinted forward, firing her two guns, dressed in all black. Her shades stayed on miraculously the whole time, and she finally hit two soldiers before she ran out.

She hurled the first to pistols away and brought out to ZMG Uzi Pistols. She opened fire with those and started raking down apes as she ran by, emptying her clips and hurling the guns away. She reached onto her back and pulled out an Auto-Shotgun, opening fire, pumping and shooting. Pumping, shooting, pumping, shooting, pumping, shooting. She hit the end of the hall and ran into the elevator. She propped the doors open with the Auto-Shotgun and pulled out two more Uzi's. She opened fire, spraying the apes in their backs with bullets as they realized she was attacking from behind.

The medics pushed the gurney which Falco lay on through the remains of the hall and Avia hurled the two emptied Uzis away as the rest of Briggs and Kole's units ran forward to escape. She pulled another Auto-Shotgun from a separate holster in her back and pumped it as she kicked the other one away from the door. They closed and they started to move up.

"Let me be the first to say," Falco said. "Whoa."
 

"Yes, you heard me, I said closer! Get as close as you can, and blow those turbolaser batteries to bits at point blank range!" Fox shouted into the comm and switched frequencies. "Ave, time?" he asked.

"One minute," she said.

"You'd better be right about this. Slippy, Peppy, get ready for the air support. Dad, you and Star ready?" he asked.

James nodded. "We're ready, Son."

"NOW!" Fox shouted.
 

Avia came out firing. The Venomians had gotten the time to take cover but it made no difference as they moved towards the APC's which were parked and ready. Avia stood in front of the gurney, making sure they didn't hit Falco as she pumped off her shotgun. She set her jaws and fired repeatedly until it was empty. She drew a pistol and opened fire.

"A pistol?" Falco asked in his best sarcastic voice.

"Shut up," Avia said and continued firing at the enemies as the medics loaded Falco into the gurney. "C'mon, lady!" said the first one, Flerrel. Avia clambered in and slapped the hatch close button as five Arwings flew by overhead, firing at the troopers on the ground as turbolaser batteries tracked them and fired.

"Anybody know how to drive this thing?" Flerrel asked.

"Jus' like piloting a Landmaster.Fox knows how," Falco muttered.

Avia sat down at the controls. "Yeah, well Fox isn't here. I'm gonna have to do it," she said and flicked a switch, bringing it on line and reversing the engines. She turned it into a hard turn and heard people buckling up behind her. She accelerated away from the base. She opened a comm channel. "Okay, Fox! You'd better have that transport ready!" she shouted.

"It's ready," Fox replied.
 

"They're clear," James reported.

"Everyone come about and head for the base," Fox said and turned his fighter into a kickspin as everyone else mimicked the maneuver.

"You got a plan?" Slippy asked.

"We're gonna blow that base apart," Fox said. "Switch over to Nova Bombs," Fox ordered and affirmated his own orders by switching over. "Fire five. Launch!" he said and twenty-five nova bombs streaked out in rapid succession. "Now break off! All craft pull up!" he shouted and they all broke off as the nova bombs detonated against the base and the whole structure exploded.

"Avia, you on the Transport yet?" Fox asked.

"We're in," Avia replied.

Fox flicked a switch. "All craft prepare for jump to lightspeed to Venom," he said and settled back as they broke atmosphere and came into space. "In five.four.ready.and steady-go!" he shouted and the pinpoint stars turned to elongated lines as they jumped.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Thirteen
 

Colonel Delrara Cutter flew past the bridge of one of the Venomian Battleships, looking out the viewport as turbo laser batteries were melted into slag by Cornerian Cruisers to protect the assaulting fighters. She looked out the viewport as the battleships fired back. "Man, I seriously don't like this," Cutter said.

"Yeah, well what's to like?" came Turner's voice as he looped around and came in on her tail. Cutter banked hard left then straightened and turned hard to the right. She grimaced as the G's tugged at her face. "Lock on baby, lock on," Turner was whispering, and the monotonous sound of a lock sounded in Cutter's cockpit.

"Oh shit," she whispered.

"Punch out, Cutter!" came Sly's voice as lasers penetrated her shields and tore through her ship's armor plating. "Punch out!" Sly said again, but Cutter pulled her Banshee up into a steep incline, oxygen and frozen fuel trailing out behind her.

Turner cackled. "I've got you now," he said and fired again. Sparks and fire erupted all around Cutter and she hit the eject button, her cockpit flying away from the fighter as it exploded. "Damn!" Turner said.
 

Sly saw her eject and edged his fighter over, when suddenly, a hyper space jump appeared. "Is that Fox?" Sly asked and looked on his radar to see the bad news. Confederic Vessels were coming out of hyperspace and deploying fighters. "John, we've got a serious problem."

"I see it. All craft prepare to retreat," John said.

Sly shook his head. "Give Tiger a chance. He'll get rid of Venom," he said.
 

"Guards!" Panther shouted.

The group opened up as apes came in from all directions, and Tiger had the feeling that they had just become SIA, Screwed in Action. He hated that feeling.
 

"Ground teams report resistance!" Major Zed said as the reports came over the radio. "But our space forces are still seriously out gunned and out manned, especially with Cutter down."

"We need to get a rescue boat out there for her," John said.

"But we can't-" Miyamoto started.

"Please, General! Send the damned shuttle!"

Miyamoto nodded.
 

Andross breathed in deeply and watched the proceedings as a mouse entered the room behind him. He turned to see the officer there: Samuel Kenn. "Ah. Mr. Kenn, please, sit down," he said. "Now, it has come to my awareness that you were rather close to First Lieutenant Ratner Sly," he said.

"Yes, Sir," Sammy said.

"And who was the better pilot?" Andross queried.

Sammy bowed his head down. "Uh, I hate to admit this but he was," he said.

"Tell you what," Andross said. "I'll give you your dream shot, here. I'll let you fly with Star Wolf," Andross said.

Those guys? They always lose, Sammy thought. "No, thank you," he said. "My dream shot was actually to go in Dragon Squadron, your personal defense force," Sammy said. Commander Caiman was in charge of Dragon Squadron, so it was unlikely that Sammy would get in unnoticed. He was going to have to do some important things at this battle.

Andross nodded. "Certainly. Your skills are enough to be in that squadron, you are a good pilot," he said. "But here's the condition; you bring Sly to me," he said smoothly and coldly.

Sammy hesitated. Do I really want to do this? My future is here, but this means betraying my best friend.again. "Affirmative, Sir. I'll do it," Sammy said. "But his fighter is better then my blocky Venomian fighter."

"Not anymore," Andross said and dimmed the lights. A holo-projector showed a Kaywing Fighter on it. "This is your new vessel, the same kind Star Wolf used, only I think you can do better. Here is Mr. Sly's vehicle designation. Make sure to capture him alive, he is no use to me dead."

Sammy nodded. "Aye, Sir," he said and threw a salute. Andross nodded as Sammy left. Admiral Andy stepped in.

"Did it work? Did he accept it?" Andy asked.

"In more ways then one," Andross said with a chuckle.
 

One of the cruisers exploded and lasers splashed against the shields of the Cornerian Command ships. "Damn, I wish Pepper and his fleet were here!" John cursed as the ship rocked. "We need a Goliath missile!"

"The only one we have is Under Construction!" Zed said.

"DAMMIT!" shouted John, slamming his fist onto the table. "We need something to stop those damned cruisers!" he said.

Zed shook his head. "There's nothing we can do, Sir," he said solemnly.
 

Sly banked hard left when a Venomian fighter approached. "Who the hell," he whispered.

"Sly!" a voice said.

Sly felt his insides turn to ice and he keyed the comm unit very slowly. "Sammy?" he asked carefully, hesitantly, his ship flying out and away from the battle. Then, a blocky ship was beside his own. He ID'd it, and it checked out as Sammy's.

"Yeah, it's me," Sammy said back. "And I'm here to offer you two choices; return to the Venomians where you belong.or stay with your people and die," Sammy said. "I really want you to come back to us, Ratner," he said.

Sly hated his first name, hadn't known why his father had named him that. "Forget option one."

"Then I am forced to kill you," Sammy said and looped in behind him.
 

Admiral Andy stepped in, the doors cycling open behind him. The high backed chair wasn't facing him, in his crisp black Admiral's uniform, his cap straight on his head. The cap was red with a white "A" stenciled on it, and he straightened as the chair turned.

"Sir," Andy said to Lord Andross. "We can't fight a fleet this big on our own."

"I don't intend to. Our help is arriving now."

A group of Communist Confederacy cruisers dropped out of hyperspace, at least seven thousand ships. The Cornerians were vastly outnumbered now, and the Confederacy started deploying fighters.

A woman's face came up on the screen. "Your assistance has arrived, Lord Andross," she said.

"Excellent, Viceroy Aliya," Andross said. "Now we shall wipe out what little is left of the Cornerian forces."
 

It was sad, really. Samuel Kenn was flying against Sly, and he hated every minute of it. Despite that fact that as soon as the Confederic Forces had arrived, so had Fox and the others, reporting mission success, Major Zed had reported a retreat. It was a sad day.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Fourteen
 

Colonel Cutter and Fara Phoenix were in sick bay, and from the looks of things, they were going to stay that way for a while. Cutter had taken shrapnel to the legs and had received some bad burns, while Fara was still in a coma. Star and James were with Fox, but it didn't seem to do anything for him that this was happening.

The doors opened and Captain Puncher Doggy entered. He looked at the scene and slung his flight helmet under his arm. "Fox," he said and embraced his friend. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine," he said. "Looks like you've done all right for yourself, Puncher," Fox said.

Puncher looked at his captain's insignia. "Yeah, well. After the battle against Andross, most of our captains were dead, anyway," he said with a tight smile. "MacBeth is still under Venomian control. They managed to regain control of it from our guys after we left."

"What?" Falco exclaimed.

Fox cursed. "I should have known. They still had almost half a fleet over there, and over a Legion of ground troops," he said loudly. "Zoness, Venom, Fortuna and MacBeth! Jeez!"

"Is there anything we can do about it?" Sly asked.

Puncher shook his head. "Not much. They've overrun the base, plus they've managed to equally wipe out our remaining forces there," he continued. "General Pepper and Major Zed are looking into it right now."

"So what do we do until then?" asked Fox.

Puncher swallowed and pulled a file out of a briefcase and Dozer looked down. "I really hate to be the one to tell you this, especially after all you've done," he said and handed the file to Fox. "You're off the job. You're on your own," he said.
 

"I can't believe this," Peppy said as the Cornerian Fleet jumped to lightspeed, leaving the Great Fox behind, orbiting Katina. Colonel Bill Gray stood off in the background, having rode up in the Gray1 to greet Fox. "Why would General Pepper not want our help?" he asked.

"He does," said Bill in his punkish surfer voice. "Only the Cornerian Military put it to a vote. Senator Kalm, General Miyamoto and Major Manoya voted against having your help. I know, I was there, as the representative of Katina. It was a three-to-three tie until Katt Monroe, the representative of Zoness, voted no."

Falco shot up. "She did what?" he asked.

"She voted 'no' on your help," Bill said, sounding more then a little annoyed at Falco's interruption. "I understand you two have a long history, together. Anything you wish to add, maybe reasons?"

Falco shook his head.

Fox sighed. Bill was still a pilot, but he was more of a politician now since he had been elected the representative of Katina in the Lylat Council. Bill was a decorated war hero, same with Fox, but Bill was the ruler of a planet, so he had a bit more class then Fox did.

"So what should we do?" asked Slippy.

Bill smiled, a smile Fox recognized from their days in the Cornerian Flight Academy together. "I suggest," he said. "We employ a strategy we haven't used since the battle against Andross," he continued. "Fight them ourselves, without the help."

"Are you crazy? If anything, the Venomian army is stronger then it was when we fought Andross, and there's some kind of tactical genius at work at the head of that army," Star exclaimed.

Bill raised a brow. "And this frightens you?"

"Shut up," Star muttered.

Fox looked at Fara's prone form on the medical bed, and made his decision then and there. "We'll do it," Fox said. "We can't keep running from this, so we're going to take it head on," he finished off.

"That's our leader!" Falco said.
 

"Is the Landmaster prepped?" Fox asked, looking at the tank as people worked on it repeatedly, checking it over for any flaws. It had been a while since Fox had climbed into the cockpit of the Tank, but it was a comfortable spot. He remembered when Titania had been exploded just to get rid of the Star Fox Team.

Slippy Toad looked up from his readouts. "We're just running over some small modifications I made to the shields and weaponry systems," Slippy explained. "After that and a few tune-ups, you'll be ready to go," he said. He put the data pad down. "Fox, we'll be assaulting a heavily armed base on Fortuna, first. Are you sure that a direct assault is the best solution?"

"It's not the best, I'll hand you that," Fox said and ran his paws over the smooth, white metal of the Landmaster. "But it's the only option that doesn't involve us running like scared turkeys," he finished off and faced his friend from Corneria. "Slip, this thing is a good vehicle. It'll get me through, and you guys are good at supplying air cover. But you'll have to hack down the shields with your computer console."

Slippy nodded. "Don't worry about a thing."

That's what I'm afraid of, thought Fox.
 

Fortuna: The icy planet was a frozen, barren wasteland of snow, ice, and bitter freezing cold temperatures. Battles had been lost and won, here, both Venomians and Cornerians had at one time or another been on the small blue-white marble, built into the vast, black blanket, dotted with small white specks called stars, which was space. Fortuna's winds roared across its surface, freezing the most heated object in no more then a few minutes. The winds blasted the surface, charring over the long dead corpses from previous battles, such as the mission to rescue Falco Lombardi. And now, with a huge, white, almost chameleon shape in the snow and winds, the Great Fox lumbered over the landscape, its engines firing out an inky red plasma which pulsed as the flagship was propelled forward. Hardly anything of the ship was visible as it slipped past frozen sensor arrays, now useless in the storms. It was the perfect time for attack. And attack was on the mind of every member of the Star Fox Team, and all their additional help.

"Deploying the Landmaster Tank," said Rob64 in his mechanical voice and swiveled his head to see Bill Gray sitting at the weapons controls for the Great Fox. Slippy's people were going over Bill's ship making a few "Arwing-class" modifications, so he had decided to make himself useful on the huge ship while the others engaged in the vicious dogfight. The servos in his neck joints whined with the hydraulic, mechanical hiss as he swiveled his head back around. Darna Croc was working at a control station, as was Tactical Officer Daulty. "Good luck, Fox."

"Thanks.Rob.need it." Fox's voice was chopped up by static from the storms, but judging from memories and how well Rob64 knew Fox, he could piece it together pretty well without having to hear the entire thing. "No.what.life support.must keep.understand?" Fox asked. He was asking Rob64 to keep his girlfriend alive no matter what the circumstances, and Rob64 would be true to his commander.

"Understood. Great Fox will cover you," he said.

A burst of static came from the communicator as a dull shape came into view on the front viewscreen. T.O. Daulty brought up an analysis of the schematics they would need to liberate this base from Venomian Control. The battle would be difficult, considering no help would be coming from the Cornerian Fleet. The base which was shaped like a three-dimensional T with a half-hexagonal platform at the bottom came into view, and Rob64 could tell immediately that they had been second guessed. Venomian fighters and captured Cornerian fighters were already flying around, opening fire on the Arwings.

"Open fire on the base's shields," Rob64 said.

"Aye," Bill said and started pressing keys. Yellow-white laser blasts lanced out towards the base and detonated against the shields, which glowed a vermillien blow at the impact. Bill continually fired, watching the viewscreen as the intrepid pilots took up the battle with the Venomians.
 

"Bogey on my six," Falco reported as he juked left and right to avoid the yellow-green laser blasts coming from the bulky, square shaped Venomian fighter behind him. Falco barrel rolled at the precise moment and the shield scatter deflected the shot straight back into the Venomian fighter's guns, detonating them and hitting the navigational array, which knocked out the rudder. Smoke billowed from the fighter as it fishtailed and pinwheeled all the way down until it smashed into a cliff-side, where it scattered into pieces. The flames died in the freezing wind almost immediately. "I'm clear," Falco said.

He squinted. "Where's the shield generators?" he asked.

"I can't see worth a damn in this fog!" Avia Flyr cried in frustration, but it did them no good. Falco looked at his radar which was also suffering problems due to the fog. "We're blind as bats up here!"

Falco keyed his comm and saw Fox's face come up. "Fox, have you located the shield generator?"

"Negative," Fox said, the transmission being cut and chopped by the occasional burst of static. "They've got it well hidden, and in this fog, I don't have a chance of finding the damned thing."

Falco bit his beak. "Dammit," he whispered. "We'll have to think of something fast."

"Or die," Fox agreed.

"Someone call for help?" came a feminine voice that Falco knew all too well from the comm. Fox's astonished picture was replaced by that of Katt Monroe's, and Falco felt the seething anger he had had before at learning she had voted against Star Fox's assistance in battling the Venomian threat boil up to the surface.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Falco asked.

"My sentiments exactly," Avia said bitterly over the comm, sounding incredibly testy all of a sudden. Falco ignored that and looked back at Katt's picture on the comm, her pink fur surrounded her face with the lock of silver-white hair coming between her ears.

Katt smiled as she shot down a fighter. "I've come to help you guys out," she said.

"You could have helped more," Fox said tightly. "By letting us help the Cornerians."

Katt smiled coyly. "Oops," she said. "That did screw a few things up, didn't it? But if I had voted yes, I would have been able to get this little avian flyer alone, now, wouldn't I?" she asked, coming in on Falco's wing and winking at him from her cockpit.

"All this is for him?" Ratner Sly exclaimed. "Damn!"

"No time for that now," Fox said suddenly. "I've picked up a new group of signals coming from point oh-four-seven, scattered groups of fighters coming in," he said. "I'm bringing my HUD up. This is going to be rough."

The comm beeped and Falco listened as Fox answered the call. "Venomian troops are deploying towards you on the ground, Fox," Rob64 said.

"Where, I don't see anything!" Fox exclaimed. Laser blasts sounded over the comm and Fox cursed. "I've got my hands full! You guys handle those fighters, I'll take care of these guys first!"

A chorus of "copy's" emitted from the communications array and Falco settled back in his seat. He breathed calmly, maintaining his composure and keeping his anger with Katt in check as the fighters sliced through the fog and straight towards them.
 

Fox grimaced as he heard the sounds of laser blasts hitting the Landmaster Tank's shields. Slippy was in the gunwell, firing down at them with the main guns, while Fox used all the secondary weapons and missiles to take down the remainders.

"How're we doin' Slippy, talk to me," Fox said into his head mike.

"There's more of 'em comin' over the hill," Slippy said testily. "Fire a nova bomb up at 'em."

"Roger," Fox said. "Brace yourself."

He pushed the button and the red sphere shot out and hit the tank in the center of the ground troops and detonated, a star of pink light and fire appearing and ripping through the Venomian Forces. Fox cheered as he saw the flaming wreckage topple to the ground and embed itself in the snow.

"Good shot!" Slippy said.

"Thanks," Fox replied.
 

"Wait a minute," Avia said, flicking a switch in her cockpit to check what she was seeing on her radar. The fog had lifted slightly, enough for her to get enough of a heat reading on the shield generator. "I've got it! I've got the shield generator!"

"Where is it?" Falco asked over the communicator, his face coming up on the screen.

Avia looked at her comm. "Turn to mark-two-ten," she said. "Check your fire and put all power to front deflector screens, because this thing looks well defended," she said as she saw the blips representing Venomian fighters scattering around the Generator.

"Not today, Star Fox," a silky and smooth voice came over the communicator, one which Avia knew from reputation and personal meeting. She looked up to see the Kaywing Class fighters roar in towards the planets, knew Wolf O'Donnel, Leon Powalski, Pyro Balok, Bane Redfox, Andrew Oikonny and Pigma Dengar were again back for more.

"We've been ordered to take you down right away," said Leon.

"You killed my uncle!" Andrew screamed.

"Death to all who oppose the New Order," Redfox said.

"Money! Moneeeeeeyyyy!" Pigma screamed.

"Shut up," Pyro said simply.
 

"Star Wolf?" breathed Bill as he watched the Kaywing fighters move into the midst of the battle. "Rob, we have to destroy that shield generator while Fox and the others have them occupied!"

"Roger," Rob64 said and activated the controls. "Full thrusters activated."

The Great Fox lumbered forward, listing heavily to the right and forcing everyone to take a hold on something. Rob64 saw the shield generator appear on his radar screen and looked up, using his visual scanning enhanced receptors to see the generator.

"Locked on," Darna Croc said.

"Weapons charged and ready," Bill said from behind him. He tipped up his shades to look at Rob64. "We've got the nuke slammed into the bay and ready. One shot and those shields go down."

"And all hell is liable to break loose," said Daulty.

"A perfect distraction for Fox to poison the base and kill off everyone inside," said Bill. "That's the plan."

Rob64 nodded. "Fire."

The nuke screamed out, trailing a tail of grey-black smoke behind it as the red-yellow-orange flames jetted out as it propelled towards the huge satellite dish which was the shield generator. The nuke hit and detonated, a huge mushroom cloud rising up in the air, the orange-yellow light coursing through the fog and penetrating everything.

"Holy hell!" Bill shouted.

"Ohmigod!" exclaimed Croc.

"Holy shit," whispered T.O. Daulty as everyone looked at Rob64. The blue-tinted shields around the base came down, and fighters and troops deployed everywhere. "We're not done yet," Daulty whispered.
 

"I'm takin' us in," Fox said and gunned the engines forward. "Slippy, get the poison bomb working. Put on your gas mask-protection suit," Fox said and pulled the helmet on over his own and made sure the blaster was within easy reach as the area darkened around the tank. "Field Lights on," he said and a purple light flooded the area.

Slippy jumped down behind Fox and he twisted in his seat to see Slippy unlatch the bomb.

"I attach this baby to the air ventilation system and we get out of here, mission accomplished," Slippy said with a broad grin.

Fox pointed outside. "We still have Star Wolf to deal with."

"True," Slippy replied. "All the more reason to get done fast. This is the second time I've worked with a bomb in this facility," he said.
 

James McCloud barrel rolled hard right and dropped in behind Wolf's easily-identifiable Kaywing. James followed tightly, firing his lasers repeatedly and rapidly at the fast little ship. "Hold still and lemme shoot you," James whispered under his breath.

Suddenly, his fighter shook violently, and smoke spewed from his engines. A small Venomian fighter roared by, a Wolfen Ship. Samuel Kenn at the controls watched James's ship tumble towards the ground. For a split second, Sammy thought he had taken down the legend, but then he saw the tell-tale inflation of a parachute as James punched out, his fighter slamming into a cliff edge. "Got one," Sammy said.

"Good work, Captain Kenn," said Wolf. "Now let's get the others and take care of the other McCloud."
 

"Hurry it up, Slip! Dad just got downed," Fox said as he listened to the radio chatter. Slippy was letting his amphibious fingers dance over the controls. In the bulky gloves and contamination suit that didn't fit right, it was difficult, but the frog was still going acceptably fast. Fox had sealed the Landmaster from the inside so they could be de-contaminated before they went back in, too be safe. It was a precaution Slippy's people had made on the way here.

Slippy looked up quickly. "Think they know we're in, yet?" he asked of Fox who looked down at him. Slippy couldn't see his face behind the mask, but could tell Fox wasn't pleased with the predicament.

"Not likely," his voice was electronically tinted. "The aerial battle outside should be keeping them busy. You got that bomb ready, yet?" he asked.

"Almost," Slippy replied and pressed a few more keys.
 

Enter Authorization Code, Please.

*******

Code Accepted. Detonation in 1:00.0:59.
 

"It's moving!" Slippy said and slapped his case close, standing up. Fox was already moving back to the immobile Landmaster, when alarms went off.

"What the hell is that?" Fox asked.

Slippy paused for a moment, his expert ears picking up a mechanical dialogue. "A bomb detector alarm! I didn't know this place had them installed!" Slippy said angrily, slamming his fist into a control panel to stop the closer alarms from blaring.

They had been second guessed.

Again.
 

Falco barrel rolled, shooting at the engines of a Venomian fighter, but the shields deflected the shot easily, simply shaking the fighter slightly from its course. "I'll show you," Falco said and locked on with his Super Laser Blast. He fired and the green orb punched the shields down and Falco then opened fire with his hyper lasers, ripping through the armor on the back of the ship which went spinning down into the remnants of the Shield Generator.

"The Bomb has been activated," Rob64 said finally.

"Yes!" Falco exclaimed. "Okay, everyone. Back to the Great Fox. Peppy, stick with me to supply air cover for Fox and Slip," Falco said and Peppy came in on his wing as Sly and Avia retreated back towards the flagship which was firing at the scattered Venomian fighters.

"Where are they?" Peppy asked.

Falco squinted down at the base. "They should be out in a few seconds," he said.
 

It was mayhem.

Slippy watched from over Fox's shoulder as he drove through the running Venomians. They must have realized by now there was no way to stop the bomb, and they were making a run for it. The prison cells had opened, and the calmer Cornerian Prisoners were getting away by slipping out exits that only they knew about. Obviously, the Venomians hadn't gone over the schematics for the secret exits very well, and were all flocking for the major ones, which were mostly locked down by the threat of a bomb.

"I can't believe this," Fox said.
 

Explosions rippled the landscape as bombers from the Venomian Forces roared across. Bill knew exactly what they were looking for, and was anxious as to why it hadn't come, yet. Fox was still in the base, and there was probably roughly thirty seconds left until they were all going to die. Bill squinted through the smoke and fog, looking carefully to see if there was any sign of the Landmaster, but there was still none.

"Fox, where are you?" Rob64 asked for the third time into the communicator, but still, nothing but static came over. Bill bit his lip and lowered his shades to look out the window at the battle scene. Peppy and Falco were still flying around to offer assistance to Fox when he came out of the base in the slow moving tank.

"I don't like this," said Katt Monroe as she came on the bridge.

"What's too like?" Bill said, snarling. Katt stuck her tongue out in a flirting manner, and looked back out the viewport, staring intently at the two Arwings circling around, blasting at the Kaywing and Venomian designs. Bill sighed. "Fox, where are you?" he muttered.
 

"There it is!" Slippy pointed ecstatically to the huge hangar exit, but it was starting to close. "Hurry, Fox!" he said and pointed again.

"Okay," Fox said and punched the accelerators.

Nothing happened.

"What the hell!?" Fox exclaimed. He tried again and again but there was no result from the thrusters. "Oh, shit, and we're out of bombs," he said, firing his lasers. He cursed. "No good. They're blast doors, we need some bombs down here! Dammit!"

Slippy pounded the wall in frustration.

Suddenly, an Arwing flew in. "Did I hear someone ask for a miracle? Let me hear ya say 'owwwwwww'!" Falco whooped over the comm.

"Falco!" Fox and Slippy exclaimed.

"Damn right," Falco said and fired a nova bomb into the doors, jamming them where they were. "Peppy an' I are here to cover ya. Let's get the hell outta here," he said and jetted out of the hangar bay. Fox rolled the Landmaster out the doors. Slippy looked at his watch.
 

0:04.0:03.0:02.0:01.
 

A huge explosion went up behind them, ripping apart most of the lesser used sections of the Fortuna Base, where as leaving the important parts alone. Green gas came out of broken windows and doors, and the Cornerians were already being picked up by shuttles from the Great Fox. Fox smiled over his shoulder as he saw it.

"Good news, guys," said Falco over the comm. "John's cruiser just arrived, and he's dropping in Shock Troops to retake the base," he said with a hearty cheer. "Job well done! Hell, we are back, baby!"

Fox high-fived Slippy as the Great Fox moved into position ten meters overhead. Fox punched the hover jets and thanked the lord that they weren't fried as he hovered on into the hangar bay. He popped the hatch and people were everywhere, applauding and greeting him.

"Great job!" Bill said and the two exchanged a quick hug.

"We've got 'em on the run, now!" said Slippy as he shook hands with all of his repair team from Aquas. He grinned and they exchanged congratulations all around.

"Shuttle coming in from the SS Bova," the Flight Control Officer said and everyone backed away as a classy, brand new looking shuttle came down and Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Robertson walked down the ramp.

"John!" Sly exclaimed.

John smiled tightly, wearing a casual dress of a leather-blue jacket, jeans and black knee-boots. His blaster was low slung on his right hip, and he looked more like an ace good guy then he did a high commanding officer.

"How's it going, Sir?" Fox asked.

"Not so formal anymore, you're not in the service, for which I am angry," John said, and Fox could hear the anger in his voice. He looked at Katt. "Something which I am still wondering about, Ms. Monroe."

Katt was standing beside Falco, who seemed very unhappy with the situation. "Something wrong, pretty boy?" she asked.

John ignored the remark and turned to Fox. "We'd like to offer our assistance to you," he said. "And even if you say no, we're staying. I've got some of the best people in the fleet working here."

"What kind of fools would we be to refuse your help?" Fox asked.

Sly spoke up. "Yeah, you've pulled us out of hundreds of hot spots before," he said.

"I also have the assistance of a certain mercenary squadron," John said and Fang O'Riley stepped down the steps, closely followed by the others, including Sly's friends Phoenix Blaze and Mac "Tiger" Keeler.

"Where too?" asked Falco.

James stepped into the hangar bay, stepping up behind Fox. He was breathing hard. "Fox, come quick! It's Fara!"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Fifteen
 

Fox McCloud burst into the medical room to see Fara Phoenix sitting up in the medical bed, her eyes open, and she looked incredibly drowsy. He ran over to the bed, past cautious doctors and kneeling beside her. He kissed her quickly. "Hey, you're awake," he said, barely containing the joy he felt, and resisting the urge to hug her until she popped like a balloon.

"I feel dead," Fara said. "I need something to drink."

Fox snapped his paws and two medics brought a glass of cold water over, and Fara drank the entire glass in the space of a few seconds. She looked at Fox. "Now, the doctors were about to tell me something important before you came in," she said.

"If you'd please, could I tell her?" Fox asked the doctor.

The doctors nodded.

"A little privacy?" Fox asked and the doctors nodded again, leaving the room. Fox turned to her and took her paw in his. "Fara," he said. "We only just learned about this after you'd gone into your coma."

Fara raised a brow. "Coma? How long have I been out, Fox?" she asked.

"About three weeks," Fox said.

"So? What's the news?" Fara asked, and Fox could tell she would be caught completely unawares by what he was about to tell her. "Fox? What is it?" she asked, impatience and curiosity mixing into her voice.

Fox exhaled slowly. "Your pregnant," he said quietly.

"What?" Fara asked, astonishment taking over all precedence in her voice.

"Twelve weeks now, that's three months," Fox said. "Your pregnant with our son. It's a boy," Fox said.

He could see tears well in Fara's eyes. "You mean.we're going to have a baby?" she asked, joy seeping in.

"Yes," Fox said nodding.

She laughed, nervous at first, then overflowing joy as she wrapped her arms around Fox. They sat there for a few minutes, hugging and holding each other, both of them laughing, when Fara pulled away. "Do the others know.?" she asked.

Fox nodded. "I told Dad, first," he said.

Fara hugged him again and they kissed quickly. When they pulled away, Fox could see tears rolling down her cheeks. He wiped them away, then wiped his own away. "If it's a boy, we have to name him."

"What do name him?"

"I think-" Fara started when a knock on the door came and James and Star stepped inside. "Hi," Fara said and hugged Star. The two were like sisters, and James stepped over to Fox.

"Everything good?" James asked.

Fox nodded. "We're just figuring out a name," he said quietly. "So could you lend a hand?" he asked and James nodded.

"Something simple, but something nice," James said with a small smile. "That's what Vixy said when we were having you. That's why we called you Fox," he said with a broad grin.

Fox smiled back.

"What are you naming him?" Star asked of Fara and the Fennec Fox looked at her, smiling.

"We don't know yet, really," she said and looked at Fox. "Well? Do we have an idea?" he asked.

Fox looked at his father. "How's James Jr.?" he asked.
 

It was decided. The child's name would be James Junior McCloud. Fox had requested some serious time alone with Fara, who seemed overwhelmed with joy, so the crew basically left him alone. But in the prison section of the ship, Rendaar sat, watching the seen from holo-videos. He hated being forced to watch some happiness, but it was part of John's "treatment" for prisoners. He thought it helped the psychological part of a brain, but Rendaar didn't feel any better.

"Yo, ya got a letter," said a guard from the front of the cell. Rendaar fell into his practiced roll, keeping his eyes on the screen, a look of slight sadness and confusion on his features, as if he were in a trance. No guard had seen him otherwise since he had been thrown in for Lula Cel's murder. The guard shrugged and left, leaving the holo-pad where Rendaar could get it.

When the guard was gone, Rendaar darted over, his massive body moving surprisingly fast, he picked up the holo and sat back down. He pressed the play button, and a picture came up. A picture of an ape. The people never screened the messages, only for bombs. But this was no bomb. Rendaar recognized the ape as the man who had ordered him to betray the team.

"Rendaar," he said. "Your mission has failed, but you took down one of the best Cornerian Soldiers, well done, and you also gave us a lot of information which we needed," said Admiral Andy. "But, we require your service more. Please make sure no one is around to hear your orders, and plug in the head phones."

Rendaar did so and listened.

"Lockpicking devices for the undoubtedly difficult holdings of your cell are built into this device. You must break out, find a weapon from the near-by weapons cache and do the following. An assault team will be coming at approximately two o'clock A.M. too raid the ship. You must activate the Self-Destruct, download the Star Fox Team's future plans, and escape with the commando team.

"Once off the ship, you will be transported to a hidden location, away from Star Fox, where you will await further orders," he said. "End transmission."

Rendaar looked around and started to pry apart the holo.
 

It was getting on to 11:00, so most of the crew was getting ready to hit the sack for the night. But as usual, the block shared by Falco, Peppy, Slippy and Fox, was bustling with activity. The activity: Poker, hosted by Falco. Most of the mercenaries, all of Moon Deer, and Sly had decided not to come. Sly, Tiger, and Blaze had decided to have guys night out at the bar down on Fortuna.

Falco shuffled the deck and dealt out the cards. "So after ya named the kid, what'd you do after?" he asked.

James and Fox exchanged a glance.

"This is now," James said. "Officially a Bachelor Party."

For a moment, nothing was said. Then congratulations were handed out all around, and the Poker resumed with a keg of beer being brought into the room by Tiger. The trio had another keg for themselves, and were going to the theater to watch some movies.

"This is fun," Slippy said as he drank from the amber glass and grinned.

"I haven't had this much fun since Jimmy's party," Peppy said and grinned at his friend. "Yeah, Jimmy was a crazy fool on that day."

"Shut up, Peppy," James said menacingly.

Fox spared a glance at James. "Do tell, Peppy ol' chum," he said.

"Yeah, spill the beans," Slippy said. Falco nodded his ascension. James shook his head menacingly but that didn't stop Peppy.

"He stole a Police Speeder and drove at ninety down the streets with his pants on his head, all the while singing "Twinkle Twinkle little Star"," Peppy said with a laugh and James fingered his friend.

"Ha," said Peppy.

They played for hours, getting drunk. What they didn't know, was that Tiger hadn't really brought that keg of beer. It had been a Venomian Officer, working for Rendaar. Tiger, Sly and Blaze were still off the ship, and the beer was poisoned.

"Guys, I don't feel that great," Slippy said.

"What's wrong?" Peppy asked. "Fox is the same age as you, and he's handling the beer just fine," he said. "An' James an' I are great at it, right, Jimmy?"

"Tell the truth, I don't feel that great either," Fox said.

"Me too," James said.

"Me three."

Peppy, who had been the last to start drinking, went over to the food machine as Slippy started to go to sleep, quickly followed by the others. Peppy wasn't feeling all that great either. "Computer, do a scan for anything non-healthy in this beer."

"Scanning," the computer said. "Poison Number G-45-2 found," it said.

"Sweet Jesus! Fix five antidotes!" Peppy said.

Five small ampoules appeared and Peppy gulped one down. He then helped the others drink it down and watched them shoot up in their seats as Peppy told them what had happened. "I knew that didn't look or sound too much like Tiger," he said. "It must be an ambush."

"Let's get to the bridge," Falco said.
 

Colonel Bill Gray licked his lips as he started to raise the first amber glass of beer to his lips. He waited for the warm sensation against his muzzle-

-when Fox knocked it clear from his hand.

"Hey!" Bill exclaimed. "I was gonna drink that, dickhead!" he said angrily.

"It's poisoned," Peppy said.

"What?" Bill asked as he stood up. "Whaddya mean?"

"It's a Venomian ambush. We're making the jump to lightspeed," Fox said and started to key the controls, when a laser rifle was cocked behind his head.

"Wrong again, McCloud," came the smooth voice which Fox knew. The prisoner: Rendaar. "Turn around, slowly," Rendaar said and Fox turned to look at the grizzly bear. "Now; I'm just gonna blow these controls, okay? Make it a little easier on Commander Karzlo's troops."

Bill snarled. "It was a trap! You set that poisoned beer up!"

"Almost worked until Mr. Hare here screwed it up, didn't it?" asked Rendaar. "We'll just have to work with a bit of a better method; simple gunpoint operations," he said with a smile as he ripped cords out of the hyperdrive controls. "You are the only ones on the ship. O'Riley's mercenary Squadron, Syra White's Moon Deer Squadron, Avia and Sly are all off the ship."

"You forgot one thing, buddy!" Katt Monroe said as he swung in, her steel toed boots hitting Rendaar hard in the side of the head. The big bear stumbled back, dropping the gun and Fox dove for it, but was kicked away. He scrambled to his feet, feeling screaming pain in his chest. "I'm here!" Katt said.

"Get lost, feline!" said Rendaar and back-handed Katt across the bridge. She slammed into a bulkhead and Peppy hit Rendaar low and hard, tripping him from behind. James leapt onto him, pinning an arm and pummeling his face. Rendaar howled in rage as Fox picked up the gun and pulled the trigger.

Jammed!

Rendaar threw James and Peppy off him and stood, moving past Katt's fallen form. "Curiosity killed the cat," he said and raised his claws.

Falco hit him in the head and the two rolled away. Fox picked up a steel chair and cracked it across his head. Bill had pried a pipe from the wall and he cracked it across Rendaar's skull, knocking the bear backwards. Slippy was holding a fire axe.

Falco swiped the steel chair at Rendaar as Fox worked, trying to get the gun to work. Slippy leapt and drove the axe into his back. Rendaar screamed and flipped Slippy over his head, the amphibian slamming into a wall and sliding down and hitting the floor with a sick plop.

Fox screamed, hurling the gun away and launching himself at Rendaar, anger fueling his speed. He rammed into Rendaar, which felt much like ramming himself into a steel wall. Rendaar still fell onto his back and Fox started pummeling his face with his paws, then raked his claws across his face.

"Get clear!" Bill screamed.

Fox rolled and Rendaar started to get up.

The mini-rocket hit him dead center in the chest and Fox dove behind a bulkhead as it drove him into a wall and exploded, showering the entire area in gore. Fox peeped his head around to see a blast burn on the wall.

"Good work, Bill," James said. "Now we have a hell of a cleaning job."

Slippy groaned and sat up at the same time as Katt did in the other corner. He was all business right away. "I'll have my people fix the hyperdrive right away," he said. "Until than, we can have John slave-circuit the two ships together."

"Right," said Fox.

Katt was more worried about Falco. "Are you okay, Falco?" she asked. The avian nodded, but that was it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Sixteen
 

The Fleet of Venomian Bulk Cruisers sat in orbit around MacBeth, where their secondary base of Operations had been established. The main fleet was at Venom, guarding the mother-world, but Admiral John De Vargus found that MacBeth was a much more needed place right now. Venom was heavily guarded, both on and off planet. MacBeth was still in progress, having a few touch ups made. De Vargus breathed in deeply.

"Sir," came the voice of Lieutenant Dougherty in the crew pit. "Report on Rendaar's mission aboard the Star Fox Team's flagship: Rendaar is dead," he said, and De Vargus was seething with anger immediately. Dougherty swallowed. "Shall I send a message to Admiral Andy?"

De Vargus nodded. "Yes," he said. He turned. "Captain Kenn," he said and a Venomian pilot stepped into view. Samuel Kenn was a mouse, that was apparent. He wasn't the usual ape, like everyone else on Venom. Kenn had also been at the Fortuna operation. "We have suffered two major losses today," he said.

"Two?" Kenn asked.

"We lost Rendaar in the middle of an operation, but not before he gave us the location of several undercover Cornerian Agents," De Vargus said. "I am charging you, Captain, with their swift execution."

Kenn nodded. "Who are these agents?" he asked.

"Most of them are in high ranking places," he said and handed him a datacard. "This holds all the information you will need."

Kenn nodded and left.

De Vargus turned. "Raul," he said and a short ape stepped barely into the light. De Vargus turned. "What have you found out?"

"Not much," Raul said. "Only that one of the Star Fox pilots is a former Venomian, Ratner Sly.once a friend of Captain Kenn's. Another is the foster daughter of General Pepper himself. Plus, they are linked up with a renegade Cornerian Bulk Cruiser at the moment."

De Vargus nodded. "We must take action quickly," he said. "Raul, I want you to find the location of the Cornerian Fleet so we can make our move," he said. Raul nodded curtly and disappeared back into the shadows. De Vargus looked out the viewport at the orb of MacBeth, and then left the bridge.
 

Sector Y was the green nebula only a short while away from Corneria. The nebula housed the remnants of a Venomian and Cornerian battle that had taken place during the time period now known as Andross' Reign. Aboard the Great Fox, in the briefing room, Fox McCloud was heading the briefing. And for the first time in weeks, Fara Phoenix was among the pilots, a welcome change. With the near escape of Rendaar the other night, and the attempted sabotage by Venomian troops, it was amazing to Fox that Fara was all right.

"Our next target is Zoness," Fox said. "According to Intelligence, provided by Lt. Colonel Robertson, that is the next least guarded place. After that, the hard stuff begins. The main problem will be the main military installation, where High Admiral Sonnira will be."

Sly's hand went up.

"Yes," said Fox, nodding his head in the young pilot's direction.

He brought his hand down. "In my time in the Venomian fleet, I only learned a little about Sonnira. Do we know anything else about him?" he asked.

Fox nodded. "High Admiral Sonnira is one of Andross' longest standing officers, and the highest ranking. He helped engineer the destruction of Titania, the construction of Bio Weapons on Aquas and Solar, and much more," Fox said. "He also is renowned as an expert tactical genius and an ace pilot," he said. "We must exercise extreme caution when dealing with him."

Avia rose her hand next. "What kind of defenses can we expect?" she asked.

"Definitely not as tight as when we raided it during Andross' Reign," Falco said. "But we should expect some of those tactics used, since Sonnira was in charge of that planet during the time."

Slippy spoke up. "Which means we can expect another one of those robots at the installation, which we'll have to deal with," he said.

"I can handle that," Katt said, remembering the death of her Spear Squadron comrades in that battle.

"Right, then," Fox said. "Everybody, to your stations, let's go!"
 

A day later, High Admiral Sonnira was sitting in his huge oval office. He was watching over the construction of more Bio Weapons in the science department, ordered by Admiral Andy. He smiled. Unfortunately, Star Fox had not died when his "dead" Bio Weapon had attacked on Aquas, sinking the luxury cruiser. Now, Sonnira would make sure he wouldn't lose again this time.

"Sir," came a voice behind him and he turned to see a young ensign standing there. "Incoming fighters with two cruisers," he said.

Sonnira nodded. "Deploy fighters, raise base shields and deploy the Bio Weapon," Sonnira said. The ensign nodded and left. Sonnira pressed a button and the roof slid back to reveal a plastidome overhead, so he could see the action from his office. The walls faded to reveal plastidome structuring so he could see all around.

"Let us see if this works."
 

Fox lead the tightly clustered Star Fox Team forward. This time out, they were joined by Moon Deer, Mercenary, John Robertson and Bill Gray on the field. They flew tightly together, staying in a cluster no wider then that of the Great Fox's hull.

"Okay, everyone, let's roll," Fox said.

Suddenly, something came from the sea. Something huge, easily more then ten times the size of the Great Fox. It opened a huge, toothy maw, and engulfed all of the fighters. Fox's wing was ripped apart and his fighter tumbled down into blackness.
 

"All fighters were captured by the Bio Weapon. Now they will fight the Virals," said the Ensign, Tokura, as he came back in.

"Ah, yes, Professor Snail's project, yes?" Sonnira asked.

Tokura nodded.

Apes infected with a mechanical virus which doubled their size and strength. Sonnira smiled. The Star Fox Team would not live this time.
 

"My ship is ruined!" Avia screamed, kicking a twisted chunk of metal which lay on the flesh inside the creature which had swallowed them all. "This sucks! And Rob probably doesn't even know where we are!"

Bill cursed as he looked at his warped fighter. "And I just had this fixed up, too," he muttered.

"We have to figure out a way out of here," Fox said. "We need to remove some of those nova bombs from the fighters and make a bomb," Fox suggested. "If we do, we may be able to punch a hole in this thing."

John nodded. "Seems to be the best plan we've got."

Whirr-whir!

"What the hell was that?" asked Sly, drawing the blaster from his pocket. Colonel Delrara Cutter turned around, her gun already in hand. "There is something alive in here!" Sly said.

"Don't get jittery, its your imagination," said Falco.

Suddenly, something stepped into the light. Something mechanical. It grabbed Bill by the collar and lifted him up, hurling him. Bill flew over the pilots' heads and crashed onto the damp ground behind them.

Sly opened up, firing his laser quickly. Laser blasts hit the machine's armor and the armor blackened. It roared, a strange, high pitched screeching sound which made Fox's eardrums want to pop with the strain. Sly's blaster shots seemed to do nothing to help the current situation.

As if to make matters worse, more of the strange robots came into the light.

"Crap," whispered James.

"Run!" Fox shouted.
 

"Too bad there aren't any video feeds," Sonnira said as he watched bubbles form in the murky, polluted waters of Zoness. Ensign Takura simply nodded his affirmation and sat back. "They should be dead, soon, there is no way they can live," Sonnira said with a chuckle.
 

"Rob!" Fox shouted into the busted comm, and barely heard Rob64's voice on the other end. "Destroy the base! Don't ask questions, just do it!" he shouted over Sly's blaster fire and everyone else's screams. Fox dropped the comm and picked up a led pipe and cracked it across one of the robots' face. It looked back at him, a dent in the machinery sending electricity sparking along its body. It drove its fist back and Fox swung the pipe as it swung its fist.

Its arm came off at the elbow, spewing dark blood.

Fox then cranked the pipe across its head again and again until it fell over. Fox twisted the pipe so the jagged end was facing the machine and drove the pipe into the head, watching it writh in agony until it died. Fox took back the pipe and turned.

Falco and Bill were working to get the nova bombs out of fighters while the others were fighting the ten machines. Sly was on one's back, firing his blaster at point blank range into the thing's head, but it seemed to have no effect. The others were swinging makeshift weapons of wreckage from their broken ships. Fox leveled his pipe and charged at one, swinging at its face. To Fox's joy, it toppled over backwards, and Fox cranked the pipe into its face a few times, watching machinery split and break all over. He then drove the pipe through its head and stepped back, looking at the others.

Falco and Bill had step up the bomb now.

"Sly, fire!" Falco shouted as they moved away from the bomb.

Sly hopped off and fired, the blast bolt precisely aimed as it hit dead center in the collection of nova bombs. Everyone dove for cover behind something, but Fox thanked the lord that the machines were dumb, for they stood dead center in the middle of the room.

Fox felt the ripping explosion behind him sent him sprawling into the fleshy wall, and he set his teeth against screaming as he felt burning pain of shrapnel digging into his leg. He turned to see blood gushing, and then, the thin wall of flesh keeping out the water broke, and water surged in. Everyone screamed as water came quickly.

"Let's get out of here!" someone screamed.

Screams erupted from everyone.

Fox's mind centralized on Fara as he saw her splashing about. He grabbed her and pulled her out the hole, keeping their eyes tightly shut against the polluted waters, they kicked upwards. They broke surface and Fox opened his eyes.

.to look up into the barrels of hundreds of different guns. Fara gasped twice, once for breath, once at the realization of what was going on as she saw all the guns. High Admiral Sonnira stood there, looking down at them.

"Pity," said Sonnira. "Guards, take them to the dungeon and wait for the rest here," he said.

Fox looked over his shoulder.

Everyone appeared save John, Sly, Avia and Falco.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Seventeen
 

Late night on Zoness was odd. The water seemed to glow green, and teams were still combing the waters looking for the corpses of the four missing team members. The rest were in mourning, wondering if there was anything they could have done to save them. High Admiral Sonnira had reported this information to Admiral Andy, who had said he would be coming along personally, with a surprise for Sonnira.
 

Out on the waters.

Falco's head broke the surface, quickly followed by Sly's, John's and Avia's. They breathed for a few minutes. The air pocket had lasted until they knew the danger was over. Now all they needed was a way back. Falco brought a sparking communicator out of his pocket.

"Rob, you there?" Falco asked between coughs.

"Roger," Rob64's chopped reply came back. "Captain Lombardi, what is your current position so we can come in for pick up?"

Falco pressed a button. "Come down on this signal and get us out of here before they scramble the defenses," he said.

"Affirmative. Location confirmed," Rob64 said.

"It'll be a couple of minutes," Falco said.

"It's very cold," Avia whispered, and Falco began to notice how bitter cold the water was. They had been treading in the air pocket for hours before John had swum up to look, told them it was all clear, and they'd all gone up.

Falco smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be on the ship soon," he whispered.

"Jeez, how could a mission screw up so fast in such a short time?" Sly whispered.

John looked at him. "With Venomians, you'd be surprised," he said with a grim certainty. "Where is he? He shouldn't be taking this long," he whispered and squinted up at the sky.

"They have to come in cold, so as to avoid the scanners," said Falco. "But once we're safe in orbit, we can power up again," he said.

"Cold.the last thing I need right now," Avia said.

Sly looked at her. "Think warm thoughts," he said. Avia looked at him in surprise.

"You're starting to sound a little-less-than-cold-hearted yourself now. Where'd you pick that up?" Avia asked thinly as she shivered.

Sly smiled. "Heard Fox say it to Fara before she went out," he said. "In the coma, I mean," he finished off and Avia nodded knowingly. They all looked up at the sky. "So think about something warm."

"There it is!" John hissed and they could see the mammoth ship coming in. Falco pressed a homing flare and set it off. He saw a ramp drop, several people with ropes tied around their waists standing on the edge. The bottom of the ramp submerged so the four could get their feet on it. They were hauled up and the ramp closed, blankets wrapped around them.

Rob64 tromped up, followed by a frog Falco recognized as Slippy's father, Beltino Toad. "Beltino, nice you see you again," Falco greeted the frog warmly.

"I was notified of your situation and came to offer any assistance I could, Falco," he said. "Right now, I'm worried about getting my son and his friends back, and I will do anything to help you."

"What we need right now," Falco said. "Is a plan."
 

The plan was hatched later on in the night, about three A.M., in a very sophisticated plan. Beltino would take the Blue Marine Submarine he had brought along and go in on a decoy mission to deploy the Defenses, making them think that Falco and the others had returned. Then, a small strike team would enter the base and free the others.

Simple.

Yeah, right.

Falco watched as the Blue Marine dropped into the murky green waters below and then turned his attention back to the front viewport. The laser rifle slung over his back as heavy, but not so much so that it would be enough to slow him down.

Avia, Sly and John stood with Rob64 at the main control console, watching and waiting for any sign of information that would lead to the Zoness/Venomian Defenses deploying. Finally, that signal was given.

"Shuttle, now," John ordered crisply, and they ran, joined shortly by the commando team.

Falco sat in the co-pilot seat beside Captain Rick Long, who keyed the controls to the hatch as the last of the team came in. There were seven altogether, but discounting Avia, Sly, John and Falco, they were crack recruits.

"Okay, we're ready to go," Rick said.

"Roger, you are go for clearance, go for launch. Good luck," said the Flight Control Officer.

Rick saluted. "Thank you, Sir," he said and ground the engines and blasted out of the hangar bay. "We're going stealth, so it's gonna get a little cold back there. Turn on your thermal suits," he said and flicked a switch. "We're registering emergency power only," said Rick in a lower voice to Falco. "Are the coordinates set?"

"Marked and locked in," Falco said.

"Right. We're gonna have a time window of about ten minutes, so we'd better make this quick," Rick said quietly.

Falco nodded. "Once we have the others, we'll easily be able to overpower them. There's three squadrons in there, I think we can manage."

"Good," said Rick. "We're coming up on the landing zone, so stay sharp," he said. "Eyes open, Spookeyes on," Rick finished on. Falco switched on his Spookeyes, to allow him to see as if it were the equator on a sunny day.

Rick piloted them in easily past what little defenses were left and landed. The hatch opened and everyone moved out silently. Rick switched on the auto guns to wait. Falco lead the way across the platform, leading because he knew his way around the Zoness Base best from his time on the planet, and also from Katt's stories.

Falco opened the door and a guard turned to ask for registration when he saw who it was. Falco fired a burst of silenced laser fire and the guard fell to the ground, dead. "This way to the stairs," Falco said. "Jake, hit the power."

The soldier named Jake found a control box and cut the power.
 

"Now what?" Syra White moaned as she sat up in the prison cell. Fang O'Riley's Mercenaries, Syra's Moon Deer and Fox's group all looked around. "D'ya think its some kind of drill?"

Suddenly, a laser cutter appeared in the door.

"Think that's part of the drill?" Star McCloud shot back at her and Syra fingered her as Falco Lombardi entered.

"C'mon! We've gotta run!"
 

Beltino Toad had a problem.

He hadn't expected them to have submersibles. He could easily out-maneuver their shots, but if he lead them back to the Great Fox, all the other forces would concentrate on that, and he couldn't do that. Not after all the Star Fox Team had done for him. He went deeper, the hull squealing against the pressure.

"Computer, pressure dampers on," he ordered.

He heard implosions as submersibles exploded behind him due to the pressure. He grinned and rolled down into the darkness. "Field Lights," he ordered and lights snapped on in front of him. "Set course two-one-one-zero," he ordered and the Blue Marine Submarine leveled out on a course leading on a steady but slow incline.
 

"Hurry!" Rick shouted down as the fighters started to swarm back. Everyone crowded into the shuttle, which was more then a little overcrowed. "Hang on!" Rick shouted and took off. Everyone cried out in dismay and tumbled to the floor in a big clump of limbs and torsos.

Falco looked back. "Great," he muttered.

Sly pulled himself free of the shouting and cussing group and moved up to the cockpit. "Beltino back in the ship yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," Rick said. "He's-wait! He's just surfacing at the rendezvous point! I'm punching in full thrusters to get us out of here!" he said.

He accelerated and more startled cries came from behind.
 

When they finally got aboard, they knew the mission had been a success. What Falco had not shared with the others was that he had notified the resistance movement, and they had capitalized on the opportunity and taken back Zoness, forcing the Venomians to leave.

Which meant High Admiral Sonnira was in big trouble. Admiral Andy walked down the hallway in front of Sonnira who had stun-cuffs on as he was lead to the luxury suite at the end of the hall. The high backed chair turned.

.and for a moment, Sonnira couldn't accept what he was seeing. Andross.alive?

"You disappoint me, Sonnira," Andross hissed.

"My Lord?" Sonnira sputtered.

Andross leaned forward. "You lost Zoness to me," he whispered. "I lost Fortuna, and now Zoness. Two hard one victories for myself, turned into pushover defeats for two measly cruisers and a trio of troublesome fighter squadrons," he said. "Is this how you became a High Admiral in my navy? How did you become a High Admiral in my navy?"

"By.by playing a major roll in your New Order!" Sonnira said.

Andross leaned forward again. "And my New Order crumbled, didn't it?" he whispered. "I had everything save Corneria, all thanks to the likes of you. I would have been pleased, everything was going according to plan. Then you lost, you lost everything," he said and grabbed Sonnira by the collar. "And you lost again today."

Sonnira swallowed. "We couldn't have known-"

"You should have," said Andross. "I learned to second guess those twits long ago, and that is no easy task, which is why I assumed the worst as we entered this system," he said angrily. "We are currently moving all our ships to guard MacBeth and Venom."

Sonnira swallowed.

"And you will not command any of them," Andross said. "Have him killed."

"No! Please!" Sonnira screamed.

Andross watched as Sonnira was dragged out of the room, and he turned towards space.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Eighteen
 

The trip to MacBeth was shoved into a forced delay, due to the loss of all the ships to the three squadrons. General Pepper's people had gone into overtime to prepare new ships, as had Colonel Bill Gray's people. But they wouldn't be ready for weeks, and Pepper's people were ready to defend until such a time as they were ready.

The Star Fox Team had been totally set back by this, and was floating beside the SS Bova close to Sector X, which was also close to the ruins of Titania. The moon orbiting Katina, Kamik, had just decided to join the war on the side of Corneria, lead by Princess Kamikaze.

Bill had had some questions about the young Princess' name, but she did bring skill and two other pilots to the prestiged flight group, and added an air of royalty and superiority to the Star Fox Team. For these tactical advantages, Fox had let her and her other two pilots take the tests. They had passed and been initiated.

Unfortunately, Princess Kamikaze and her other pilots were not available for this last mission: A raid on a Venomian production post where Bolse Defense Station had been. It could be seen in the distance, and everyone was read.

"I will supply air cover for you," said Rob64.

"Thanks, Rob," Fox said as he slung a backpack with necessary gear over his shoulder. "With our fighters gone, we need some new ones. And what better way to go on covert missions then having your own Venomian fighters?" he said with a smile.

Rob64 would have smiled if he was human, but settled for the normal cocking of his head since he was a robot. "General Pepper estimates five weeks until the ships you request are ready," he said. "So this would be the wisest way to strike against the Venomians."

Fox nodded. "We just have to hope they don't move against any planets in the meantime," he said.

"Indeed," Rob64 said. "Colonel Gray and Commander Monroe have volunteered to stay aboard and help the crew with gunnery and communications," he continued.

Fox nodded again. "You're a wonderful vixen, Rob," he said and walked up the ramp to the shuttle. Fara hadn't been cleared to go on the mission because she was suffering morning sickness. While Fox would have liked to stay behind and be with her, duty called.

"I will make sure Fara is okay," Rob64 said.

"Thanks, Rob," Fox said from in the shuttle.

Beltino Toad finished prepping the shuttle and scooted out from under it. "Okay, Rick," he said to Captain Long who was already in the cockpit and preparing it to go. "You've got yourself a go."

"Right," said Rick from the cockpit. Everyone else was already inside, so they were ready to go. Rick pressed a button in the cockpit which closed the hatch, sealing off the crew from Beltino, Rob64, Katt, Bill and Fara.
 

"We're going in hot," said Rick as he flew in towards the Construction Station. He did a roll to avoid an electrical storm and caused a few shouts of dismay from the back. "Sorry," said Rick as he flew them in. "Everyone get ready back there, get your parachutes on."

There were shouts and affirmations from the back, and Rick popped the hatch.

"Go!" he said.
 

Fox squinted, the goggles tight on his face as he soared down towards the artificial atmosphere processing moon of Venom. Fox popped open the parachute and drifted steadily to the ground, where he proceeded to pull out an Energy Carbine and cock his rifle.

"What now?" asked Falco.

"Sly has the schematics, so we wait," Fox said, and thanked the lord silently that Sly had so much information on Venomian bases and technology. Fox pulled out some binoculars and looked at the base ahead. "Doesn't look too heavily guarded, this should be easy."

Peppy looked up. "Where's the Great Fox?" he asked.

Fox looked at his watch. "Arriving soon," he said quietly. "When they arrive we make our move against that base," he said.

"Yup," Slippy said, joining them as the others touched down. "Rick's headed back to the ship to tell them mission go, so we have to wait for a few minutes. Avia and John have the bombs to blow down the hangar doors."

Fox nodded. "Sly, you're gonna be workin' overtime to decipher those controls and make them Cornerian so we can use them," he said.

"Yeah, yeah," Sly said, pressing a button on a holo-pad. "We're at the south end, where we're supposed to be. We'll blow open the hangar doors, run in, snatch the ships, and get out of there. I briefed you all on how to steer, use weapons, and start her up and land her. You'll require some more extensive training to be as good as you are with Arwings, but not too much."

Suddenly, the white form of the Great Fox appeared in the distance, firing yellow-white lances of super-heated lasers into the base. Aircraft deployed and guns pointed up, deflecting off the shields.

"Move!" Fox hissed. They all ran across the landscape, sprinting, the battle sounds becoming louder and more audible in the distance as they sprinted forward. Fox saw a guard rushing towards them, perhaps thinking they were reinforcements. He was met by an Energy blast from the muzzle of Falco's gun.

"Doors!" Fox hissed.

John and Avia ran up, the others flanking them and taking up cover positions as they brought out the bomb that Beltino and his men had prepared for them. "It's set! Get back!" Avia said and they took cover behind boulders that were conveniently there.

The sonic boom hit Fox's sensitive ears hard and he grimaced. Wreckage and twisted metal flew over their heads, and Fox was up. A few dead guards were sprawled on the floor, and those alive were firing. The team was flawless, firing their Energy Carbines and hitting them down.

Fox was in heaven.

Fighters everywhere, of all kind.

"Okay, let's grab 'em," Sly said. "Activate the Self-Destruct System," he told Slippy who pulled out a small device and got the system readied. When everyone was safe in their cockpits and starting the pre-flight, Slippy set the timer for two minutes.

Fox settled back in the seat, the blocky craft feeling alien compared to the normal Arwing design he sat in. "I'm prepped and ready to go," he said and keyed the comm. "Rob, back off, we're coming out."

"Roger, Fox. Good luck," Rob64 replied.

"Okay, guys, let's go," Fox said and hit the button that Sly had told him was the accelerator. He blasted out of the hangar bay, an ion trail fanning out behind him in the dark. He could see the Great Fox pulling up and away from the battle.

"I'm hot and ready to rock," Falco said.

"I'm okay," Peppy chirped.

"Me too!" Slippy said.

James, Star, Sly, and Avia, the rest of the Star Fox Team reported in. Fang and Syra looked after their own respective squadrons as the fighters flew up and away. They hit the atmosphere when the base exploded, sending the sky white and causing Fox and the others to close their eyes.

When the explosion faded, and they started to file into the ship, Fox knew they had won, their second major victory against the Venomians.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Epilogue
 

The ship flew through space at speeds almost unimaginable, coursing through star systems at the time it took to walk around the block. The ship was massive, the size of forty city blocks, and much bigger then that. Its lasers were deadly looking weapons, and it was a sleek, white craft. The flagship of the Star Fox Team was a memorable craft, remarkably well designed, and the Team was residing in it right now.

On the bridge, Fox McCloud sat there, staring out into space, pondering the mysteries of what had brought him to be here, of what had brought him to the SF Team, of what had made him become a pilot. Mostly because of his father, James, who had been an ace, and still was. James had been presumed dead for five years. Another reason was because all his friends had been pilots. Fara, who was now pregnant with his child.

Bill, who was his life-long friend and the representative of Katina in the Lylat Council. Jeff O'Neil, who had gone into the Cornerian Intelligence Agency and died several years ago. Jeff had been one of Fox's best friends, and the original plan for the new Star Fox Team had been Fox, Jeff, Bill, Fara and Peppy. Then, after Fox's death, they had all split up. Bill had gone to Katina, Fara had remained on Corneria to finish academy and train younger pilots, and Fox and Peppy had started from scratch, finding Falco and Slippy.

Fox sighed, leaning back in the chair again. James and Jeff were his main inspiration, but Andross had also killed his mother, Vixy Reinard, when he was just a cub. Star McCloud, his sister, was as skilled a pilot as he was. But that combined with the fact that the Star Fox Team was growing to be a full squadron with the assistance of all the people he could find, something was disturbing him.

Most of the Venomians' invasions had been so sudden. Normally, they would have waited for weeks after Andross' death. Any colony that had lost its leader would immediately strike back, unless they had a plan for the dead. The tactical genius may be.

.but that was too radical. There was no way Andross could still be alive, Fox had killed him himself. He had made sure of that when the entire superstructure around the three of them, three including James who had saved Fox at the last minute, had exploded. Andross was dead. Had to be dead.

Didn't he?
 

To Be Continued.