Guiding Star
By Renard Vulpez.
Author’s Note: This is a prequel to the upcoming Star Fox Fanfic, Doomsday.
Andrew Kyron and Cyberax are SA Corporation Characters. Star McCloud is copyrighted by Kay Twilight. Blanche is copyrighted by me. Anyone else is copyrighted by Nintendo.
The Bureau of Weapons Technology (otherwise known as Bureau Two) is copyrighted by me, but you can use it without my permission, as long as you state that it is my idea.
Do not use these characters without proper consent from their creator’s.
Prologue
During the War against Andross, the Cornerian Government worked on an AI (Artificial Intelligence) Program called Cyberax. It was designed to think on its own and become self-sufficient. After the War against Andross ended, and Andross was thought to be dead, the project was not scrapped.
Andross, who was much alive, managed to hack into the Cornerian Army’s Military Base. He offered Cyberax a better proposition. It agreed to go with Andross and expand on the Internet. It soon had enough memory and knowledge to make itself far more superior than the humanoid animals that created it. Andross planned to use Cyberax to infect the defence systems of Corneria and Lylat, making it easier for him to invade. Thanks to a Cyberax Biofeedback Headset, which allowed people to actually interact with computers using their minds as if the machine were a part of their body, Cyberax managed to skip the species barrier, and became biological.
Luckily, the Star Fox Team destroyed Cyberax, and killed Andross with it. Everyone thought the worst was over. The reboot disks had been destroyed. However, they were wrong. Cyberax was very much alive, revived by Andrew Kyron, a former Lieutenant under Andross’ command. With his HQ in Banepolis, the Capital of Venom, he created an army of robots controlled by the Cyberax Program. They started to invade Lylat, much to the surprise of Lylatians everywhere.
All people that got in the way of the new Phalanx, as Cyberax’s and Kyron’s Empire was called, were assimilated; they were made a part of Cyberax, and were practically turned into biological robots. Now, the combined Star Fox and Star Wolf Team, under the new name of Star Ace, have to defeat Cyberax, before all of Lylat is wiped out by the Phalanx.
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Kyron sat in his big, black leather chair in his office. It had a large window that looked out on to the city of Technopolis, his city, a city that he had built.
" This city will become the capital of Lylat," thought Kyron. " It will be the envy of this galaxy, with its advanced technology, Cyberax Medical Units, and the Technopolis Tower as its centre piece." He looked around him. The Technopolis Tower was where his office was in. It had the fastest computers in that Galaxy and the biggest processing power as well. Cyberax had to have the best. He looked at the Cyberax display on his computer. " Go Cyberax," he said to activate Cyberax.
Cyberax appeared.
" Kyron, I have important news," said Cyberax. " The Doomsday Project has been completed. However, it lacks one thing. A power source." Kyron understood. He had to find the Lomac. " I will be copying all files and moving all my copied components to the Doomsday Project. However, the Doomsday Project needs a power source."
" The search for Lomac has turned out to be unsuccessful," said Kyron. Cyberax frowned.
" Unsuccessful?" echoed Cyberax. Kyron nodded.
" Yes," replied Kyron. " I have tried everything. However, security footage has revealed that Star McCloud has the clue. She is wearing a pendant, that has inscribed on it, the instructions on how to find the Lomac." There was silence. The only sound that could be heard was the whirring of the computer’s components. " But I will find her, and take the pendant away." Cyberax nodded in acknowledgement.
" You had better," said Cyberax, " or else. The Doomsday Project is near completion, and nothing must stop us from completing it. The Lomac is important to us. I don’t care how you get the pendant from Star McCloud. Just do it, destroy her if necessary."
Chapter 1: Technopolis, the City of the Future
Star marvelled at the place. Technopolis was completely devoid of factories, even though it was on Macbeth. There were trees everywhere and tower blocks everywhere. The entire city was deserted and incredibly clean, with statues and gleaming windows. This would be a wonderful place to live, if only it weren’t controlled by Cyberax.
Star was here, because she was concerned about Cyberax’s progress. She felt that its rapid increase in productivity could bring the Doomsday Project to the brink of completion. The Doomsday Project could spell the end of Freedom and Free Will in the Lylat System, and the end of life as she knew it. She was there to hack into Cyberax files and find out the Doomsday Project’s weaknesses.
Kyron sat amongst the many TV screens, that showed security footage of all parts of Technopolis. He couldn’t believe that Star could outwit her so completely.
" Ah-ha! So there you are, Star McCloud," cried Kyron in triumph. " Trying to get to my Tower, are we? Well, I’ll put a stop to that." He switched on his PA System. " All ESL and normal Sentinel units, in the Main Southern Quadrant, are to apprehend Star McCloud on sight."
" Wow, this is great!" exclaimed Falco, as he flew through Area 6, blasting away at the Phalanx Starwings and the other ships that came towards him.
" What did I tell you?" said Slippy. " Told you that Virtual Reality System could be good for something." He banked to his right and fired at another Virtual Starwing. It burst into flames and crashed into another. " Plus it’s so realistic!"
" You did a good job in fixing this thing," complimented Wolf. " Both you and Andrew." He fired a few shots over Fox’s Virtual Arwing and at a few more Virtual Starwings.
" Don’t thank us," said Andrew modestly. " Thank Blanche and Bureau Two. They helped us make this system safe for us to use. Now every one’s using VR, for tests and gaming." He did a somersault, letting four Starwings pass underneath. He levelled back down with them and fired furiously. The lasers tore the Virtual Starwings apart. " That’s four down."
" This’ll be great practice for when we finally do go into Area 6," said Peppy.
" We don’t need to do that anymore, remember?" said Fox with a smile. " Kyron and Cyberax have moved their HQ to Macbeth. Still not exactly sure where Technopolis is though." He barrel rolled in order to avoid an onslaught of virtual lasers. The lasers were reflected, and some hit nearby Virtual Starwings. He fired back at the attacking virtual enemy, shredding them apart.
" Fox, there is call for you from General Pepper," announced Rob.
" Really?" exclaimed Fox. " Geez, just when I get the hang of this. Okay, tell him I’ll be right there. Fox McCloud, logging off." Fox removed his VR visor from his face and looked over at Fara, who was on the other side of VR, running the computer as a safety precaution. " So, Fara, you still sure you don’t wanna go into VR?" Fara nodded.
" I’m sure," replied Fara. " I prefer normal reality, thank you very much." She smiled, as he gave her a small kiss. " Ooh, you wolf. Get out of here. Go on! Don’t keep General Pepper waiting." Fox smiled.
" Don’t worry," said Fox with a smile. He left the room, brushing his tail against her legs. She sighed, as he left the room.
" The wolf," she chuckled to herself. " He can be so much of a wolf at times. I bet he can teach Wolf a thing or two." She sighed and looked back at the screen. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong, and there weren’t any viruses. Things were going well.
Fox walked on to the bridge and turned the screen on. Gen. Pepper’s face immediately appeared on screen.
" Ah, Fox, what took you so long?" asked Gen. Pepper.
" Well, you caught me in the middle of a training session, sir," replied Fox. " So, what’s the problem?" The image on screen changed to one of Sector X. Fox saw Sentinels, Drones and Soldier Robots moving out into transporters.
" As you can see from this footage, something’s going down at Sector X," replied Gen. Pepper. " But we’re not sure what. It looks to me as if they’re moving out of Sector X, and retreating further back into the Phalanx." Fox frowned.
" Why would they do that?" asked Fox. Gen. Pepper, whose image had appeared on the screen, shrugged.
" We’re not exactly sure," replied Gen. Pepper. " But it’s very fishy, if you ask me. You can guess what I want you and your team to do." Fox nodded.
" Yes sir," replied Fox. " You want us to investigate." Gen. Pepper nodded. " Well, don’t worry sir. We’ll get down to the bottom of it." Pepper wished Fox and his team good luck, before ending the transmission. He turned round and headed back to the newly installed, Simulation Room, where they were currently training in a Virtual Area 6. He had to tell them about their new mission.
Chapter 2: A Preview of What’s to Come
Star looked around her, as the Sentinels crowded around her. They were going to shoot. She closed her eyes.
" I had promised Fox that I wouldn’t get into this type of trouble," sighed Star. " And I can’t even keep that promise." Her eyes widened, when she saw Kyron come toward her.
" Ah, the Daughter of James McCloud," exclaimed Kyron. He went over towards her and held her pendant in one hand. " Nice pendant, where did you get it?" Star stayed silent. " Ah, the silent approach, eh? Well, no matter. I don’t need to know where you got it." He pulled the necklace away from her neck. " All I need is the pendant." He found that it could open up, and inside were the words. However, they were all in ancient Titanian, full of identifiable symbols.
" What do you want with that?" asked Star.
" You’re very beautiful, do you know that?" continued Kyron. " Perhaps I should keep you unassimilated for my entertainment." Star hit him. " Argh! You’ll pay for that." Cyberax’s face appeared on a screen above Star’s head.
" Kyron," cried Cyberax. " Forget about Star McCloud. Translate the symbols on the pendant, so you can find the Lomac."
" The Lomac?" exclaimed Star. Kyron smiled, as he leaned towards her.
" Yes, my dear," said Kyron. " The Lomac, a compilation of Holy Books, much like the Christian Bible. It tells of the stories of Sages and Saints in the once fertile planet of Titania. It is holy, and has a power that is unrivalled." Power. Star knew why he wanted the Lomac.
" Your Doomsday Project is almost complete, isn’t it?" asked Star. Kyron nodded.
" Yes, and I will use the Lomac to power it," exclaimed Kyron. He turned round and started to walk away. " Get rid of her." The Sentinels aimed at Star. However, with the speed and grace of a cat, she managed to break away from the Sentinels and run back towards her ship, the Midnight Fox. " Get her! Don’t let her get away!" Star ran as quickly as she could, as the Sentinels rushed after her.
Fox led the Star Ace Team through Sector X. They had investigated ten Phalanx Space Bases so far, and all of them were deserted. Not a single weapon was left on the base, only the hull. They had even stripped the fuel and power generators away from the bases.
" I don’t like this," exclaimed Peppy. " It’s quiet… too quiet."
" There’s not a single Soldier, Sentinel or Drone in the area," exclaimed Falco.
" Not even any Granga Robots," said Pigma. They all stopped the chatter. Silence cloaked them all, almost suffocating all of them. Slippy checked the radar. Nothing, apart from debris and abandoned bases. Not even any signs of retreating or proceeding transporters.
" Hang on!" cried Slippy, breaking the radio silence. " Something’s up ahead. Looks different." They saw it coming towards them.
" Geez Laweez, what the heck is that?" cried Falco. It looked like one the mothership that attacked Katina in the game, Star Fox 64. However, they knew that it couldn’t be. " Looks like an enemy mothership. They’re planning an attack!" Falco couldn’t have been more wrong.
They flew towards it quickly.
" Something’s dropping down!" exclaimed Fara.
" Several somethings," exclaimed Andrew. Several guns dropped down from the bottom of the ship. They were all pointing away from the ship, circling it. They started to fire. The lasers hurtled outwards, destroying the debris and hurtling towards the Star Ace Team. " Destroy the gun turrets!" They all broke off from their formation to attack the mothership.
" I got one!" exclaimed Slippy.
" Just one?" exclaimed Falco jokingly. He fired at the gun turrets, destroying four. Fox fired at the mothership with a smart bomb. The explosion destroyed ten gun turrets and dented the mothership’s metallic body.
" Something’s coming out," exclaimed Leon, as he saw something drop down from the centre of the mothership’s base. It was a laser gun, that could rotate fully around 360°. It swivelled round and aimed at Slippy’s Arwing.
Slippy U-turned and flew away from the mothership in order to gain some distance. The laser gun fired, a yellow thick laser coming out of it. The ray hit Slippy’s Arwing in the rear, melting it completely. The Arwing flew out of control and hurtled towards the nearby planet of Titania.
" Help!" cried Slippy, as he careered away from his friends.
" Slippy! Hold on!" cried Fox. But the regular lasers stopped him. They seared through the left wing of his Arwing, making him bank to the right and curve back towards the mothership. In fact, this was no ordinary mothership, but a taste of what was to come. It was a Doomsday Unit, designed to destroy with lasers, and with a special heat laser that melts titanium like cheese. " Aim for the central gun," ordered Fox.
" Yes, that might do the trick," exclaimed Wolf. They all flew towards it quickly, barrel rolling to deflect laser fire from the regular guns. They fired furiously at the central gun turret. They were to succeed. " Keep it up, guys," exclaimed Wolf. " I’m sure that it’ll go any minute." There was an explosion, and all Arwings and Wolfen Jets U-turned and sped away from the Doomsday Unit, firing their boosters to gain extra speed. The Doomsday Unit exploded, sending its metal debris across Sector X.
" Yes! We did it," cried Falco.
" We sure did," exclaimed Fox, as they flew back to the Great Fox. " Rob, can you confirm Slippy’s location?"
" Affirmative," came the reply. " A distress signal is coming from Titania." Fox knew what they had to do. They had to go deep into Phalanx Territory and rescue Slippy, before he was caught by Sentinels.
Chapter 3: The Secret of Lomac
Star came back out and into the hangar of the Great Fox. She couldn’t find her brother or any sign of life within the Great Fox. At that very moment, Fox and his team came back, parking their Arwings and Wolfen Jets in the hangar. Fox got out of his and jumped on to the metallic floor.
" Hi Fox," said Star from behind him, making him jump up in shock. He whirled round, to find that his sister was behind him.
" Sis, please, don’t scare me like that," sighed Fox. " What are you doing back here? Get into trouble with Cyberax?" Star nodded.
" Yes," she replied. " And I think I’ve helped them finish the Doomsday Project." Fox almost fell back with shock. The Doomsday Project? Complete? No, he just wouldn’t believe it. " But I think we can stop him, as long as he hasn’t translated the ancient Titanian." He looked at her with those eyes that reminded her of James McCloud.
" What are you talking about?" asked Fox.
" Come on, let’s all go to the rec. room. I’ll explain it to you there," replied Star. She left some of the more testosterone induced males to stare at her, as she walked out of the hangar gracefully, her tail swaying about seductively.
" Now that is not like Star," said Fox, as they went after her.
It took quite some time, but she had managed to explain everything to them. She told them about what happened in Technopolis, how she got there, what it was like, and about the text written on her pendant. She told them that Kyron had stolen it, so he could find the Lomac.
" Er… Andrew… is there something wrong?" asked Star, as she noticed Andrew flinch, when she mentioned Lomac.
" Er… no," replied Andrew. " It’s just that… well… I’ve heard of Lomac before."
" You?" exclaimed Star. " But how?" Andrew hesitated.
" Well, near the end of the War against Andross, my unc… Andross found out about the Lomac," replied Andrew. " He had files on it contained within his vault in Banepolis." Wolf understood now.
" I see. So when Kyron took over the building, he found Andross’ files," exclaimed Wolf. It must have been so.
" Yeah, well, he knew about its powers, and wanted to use it as a weapon, but Fox killed him, or apparently killed him, before he could find it," said Andrew. " The only problem was that he couldn’t find it. He knew about the pendant, but had no idea that you had it. All that he knew, was that the Lomac was buried on Titania." Falco got up and went to the door.
" Falco, where are you going?" asked Fox.
" Well, I’m not waiting here," said Falco. " Let’s go! We’ve got Slippy to save, and the Lowark to find."
" It’s the Lomac," corrected Star.
" Whatever," exclaimed Falco. " Look, both Slippy and the Lomac thing are on Titania. We can split up, and go after the Lomac, while finding Slippy at the same time." Fox agreed with Falco. They were wasting time in the rec. room. They had to go out and find Slippy, before the hot Titanian Sun dried him up like raisin.
Slippy got out of his wrecked Arwing and looked around him. There was no oasis nearby and he hadn’t any water. He was going to shrivel up like a prune, if he didn’t do something fast.
" Oh man, what would Fox do in a situation like this?" muttered Slippy, just to hear his own voice. He tried to remember his Survival Training. He hadn’t any foil or a cup, so he couldn’t even collect any water. " A cave!"
That would provide the necessary shelter from the sun. He just hoped that there were no bio-weapons living in there. After Andross’ reign, many bio-weapons were left on Titania, since no one could have been bothered to go down to Titania and kill them off. They had become part of Titania’s wildlife, and had produced mutant creatures of all sorts.
Slippy walked into the cave cautiously, shining his still working torch into it. There didn’t seem to be anything here.
" Hello! Anyone here?" he called down the cave. No reply, apart from his own voice, that echoed through the cave. He entered and looked around him. His torch scanned the entire wall. " Writing!" He looked at it carefully.
The writing was in Ancient Titanian, and the symbols were similar to the ones on Star’s pendant. Someone had started translating the thing. He looked at it carefully. The symbols were sufficiently translated, so he could work out the rest of the message from what was already done.
" I wonder who started translating it?" he wondered. He turned his head to his right and nearly screamed at the sight. There was a skeleton in the cave with him, with a stalactite pierced through its white skull.
Chapter 4: In Search of Slippy
Kyron put his sunglasses on, as the strong, searing sunlight crashed on to him. He looked at the robots. They were almost overheating, and there metal was hot to the touch. He had missed breakfast, so he had smacked a few eggs on to the head of one Sentinel. He looked at it. It was cooking nicely. He turned back to his computer. He was thankful that the sunglasses were special. The top half was normal, but the bottom half allowed him to read.
" Cyberax, I can not translate the symbols," said Kyron.
" Nor can I," replied Cyberax. " I’m afraid you’re on your own in finding Lomac."
" But Andross tried digging up the entire Titanian Desert," cried Kyron.
" There is no other way," replied Cyberax. " There is no other choice." Kyron sighed. He had to agree with Cyberax. There was no other choice. He had to dig up the entire Titanian Desert, if he was to find the Holy Lomac, the Sacred Scriptures of Titania.
Fox led the former Star Fox Team to the exact co-ordinates where Slippy’s distress signal had come from. Peppy and Pigma had stayed behind on the Great Fox to look after it, so they were not with Fox and the rest of the team. They found his wrecked Arwing face down in the sand of the Titanian Desert.
" He’s not in here," cried Falco, as he inspected the Arwing.
" He’s not underneath it either," said Fara.
" He spends too much time underneath Arwings anyway," joked Falco. Fara gave him a disapproving look that almost withered him. Fox just chuckled a bit. Star was looking around her though.
" There’s a cave over there," she said. " Perhaps he’s in there." She went over to it, preparing a torch and readying her gun. After all, she didn’t want to be unprepared on Titania. She knew that there were many bio-weapons still left on the planet. Fox and the others followed her towards the cave. She peered into it. " Slippy, are you in here?" asked Star.
" Star?" exclaimed a high-pitched voice from inside.
" Yeah, it’s me," replied Star, she went in. She recognised Slippy’s voice. Fox, Falco and Fara followed her in. They found Slippy sitting next to a skeleton, and writing on a piece of paper.
" Hey, Slip, what you doing?" asked Falco.
" Translating that," replied Slippy, as he pointed at the inscriptions on the wall, without even taking his eyes off the paper. Star went up to it. The symbols looked familiar. She recognised them as the symbols on her pendant. It was Ancient Titanian! " Thanks to this guy over here," said Slippy, pointing towards the skeleton, " I’ve pretty much translated the whole thing. It’s to do with something called the Sacred Scriptures of Titania, the Lomac."
Kyron watched his laptop screen, as it showed images of the Star Ace Team. The images were being sent to him by a mobile spy camera, which had spotted them and followed them into the cave.
" So, Star Ace is close to finding the Lomac, eh?" exclaimed Kyron. He lifted the microphone to his lips. " Get closer and see what the frog has written."
" What does it say?" asked Star, who was genuinely interested.
" It tells us that there are two pendants," replied Slippy. " Two pendants with two instructions as to find the Lomac. One pendant leads to the Lomac, the other leads to the Lomac. Well, that’s what it says. I think they’re trying to say that there are two pendants, each with the different instructions as to how to get to the Lomac." Falco was getting quite confused. " I’m sure that the one pendant is sufficient enough to find the Lomac though," continued Slippy.
" Great," exclaimed Falco sarcastically. " This thing is no help whatsoever except to Kyron, who has the bloody pendant." He saw that both Fara and Star were glaring at him disapprovingly and angrily. " What? What did I say?"
Kyron smiled, as he lifted up the paper. Cyberax had translated the thing in an instant, thanks to Slippy’s translation of the inscriptions in the cave. Now, his Worker Drones were digging away at the sand. It was amazing as to how things work. The amazing thing was that they weren’t that far away from the Lomac’s hiding place.
" And to think, I was only five miles away from it," laughed Kyron. He looked over at the progress of the Worker Drones. " Dig faster!" He didn’t care if their oxygen supply ran out, as long as they kept at it.
" I’m still translating the last part though," continued Slippy.
" Well, hurry up," cried Falco, as he sat down on a rock. " Youch!" he cried. He sprang back up, and looked at the rock. He had sat on something. He lifted it up. It was a pendant, similar to Star’s one. He opened it up, the same symbols were inside it. " Guys, I think I’ve found the second pendant." They all looked at it, especially Star, as Slippy scribbled away on his pad of paper.
" Yep, that’s its second counterpart all right," exclaimed Star. " Guess we do have a chance of finding the Lomac after all."
" Open it up," cried Kyron. The Worker Drones lifted the stone lid off the sarcophagus shaped object. Inside was a small, decorated box. He went up to it, and picked it out from inside the sarcophagus. With trembling hands, Kyron opened it up. The Lomac was within. " What’s this?" he exclaimed. " No!" He threw the box down in anger. The Lomac dropped out of the box. It had been torn apart down the spine, and the other part was missing. He went over to the laptop, which was still playing his live coverage of Star Ace’s progress.
" Got it translated," exclaimed Slippy. " It seems as if the Titanians tore the Lomac into two halves. They then buried the two halves separately in different locations across Titania."
" Well, that’s sensible," said Falco. Yet again, he was glared at. " What? I wasn’t being sarcastic this time!" Slippy continued, despite the interruption.
" I’m guessing that the two pendants lead to the two parts of the Lomac," said Slippy. " The inscriptions here also say that the Lomac is very sensitive. If you put the two parts together, one of two things will happen, all depending on how you put it back together. If you put it together the wrong way round, then the Lomac will release a burst of energy that destroys anything it touches. If you put it together the right way round then the Lomac will release a burst of energy that temporarily empowers anything that it touches. The Lomac will then be restored to its former glory." Their mission was clear. They had to find the other half, and preferably both halves, before Kyron did.
Chapter 5: Search for the Sacred Scriptures
Wolf and his team of Andrew and Leon had found Kyron. He had found the Lomac.
" Fox, this is Wolf, Kyron has found the Lomac," said Wolf over the com-link.
" What? That’s not possible," exclaimed Fox. " The Lomac has been divided into two."
" Then he’s found one half then," said Wolf. " We’re going to take it off him."
" No," said Fox over the com-link. " It could be too difficult. Can you make out what he’s doing right now?" Wolf looked through his binoculars, as they lay flat out on the Titanian sand. He looked over at each Drone and Sentinel. There was Kyron. He looked closer at the display on his laptop.
" Yeah," replied Wolf. " He’s spying on you guys. He knows where you are." Silence. Andrew looked nervously around him. So did Leon. They were near very Holy ground.
" Guys, see if you can tail Kyron," replied Fox. " I’ve got a plan. If he gets anywhere near us, don’t attack him, until I pretend to hand him over the second half of the Lomac." Wolf agreed, and continued his spy job on Kyron.
Fox turned round to Slippy.
" Well?" asked Fox. Star shook her head.
" He hasn’t done it yet," replied Star.
" It takes time," exclaimed Slippy, as he translated as much as he could. " These seem to be numbers and not words." Falco sat as patiently as he could, with his arms crossed over each other. Fara had to keep an eye on him. Fox looked at Star. He tried sending the message to her telepathically.
" We’re being spied on by Kyron," thought Fox.
" What? The little sneak. Why I’ll…" thought Star.
" No," thought Fox. " We can trick him into following us with his part of the Lomac. He knows its been divided and he has the first part. If we play our cards right, we can get his Lomac for sure." Falco suddenly rose up and saw the spy camera.
" We’re being spied on," cried Falco, before raising his gun and firing at it. The camera quickly flew away, back to Kyron. " Yeah, you’d better run." The ears of both Fox and Star drooped down, giving them a rather pathetic and sad look to their faces. Their tails drooped down completely. " Well, that’s that problem taken care of. I’m just not sure how much Kyron already knows."
" He knows about the Lomac," replied Fox, " and that we have the second pendant."
" What?" exclaimed Fara. " Surely not. Are you sure." She looked at both Fox and Star. The expressions on their faces told her that they were quite serious and very sure about the situation. Fara sighed. " Well, I guess we can make the best of this situation." Fox nodded.
" We sure can," replied Star. " We can trick him into coming to us. All we have to do is find the 2nd half of the Lomac, and that’ll be easy. I suspect that Kyron will let us find it, so he can steal it away from us." Slippy immediately stood up.
" I’ve got it!" cried Slippy. " It’s done. It’s translated. We can find that Lomac now!" His attention then returned to the skeleton and the stalactite that was stuck into it. " Er… oops. Think we better be more quiet." He then walked out of the cave with his friends and team-mates. Slippy got into Star’s ship, which was a little bit roomier, while the others got into their Arwings.
Two hours later, the members of the Star Ace Team were flying through the pure blue sky of Titania, when Slippy said something that lifted all of their hopes up.
" It’s right below us," exclaimed Slippy.
" Okay, let’s land," ordered Fox. The Arwings landed on the desert sand below them. They looked around them. They were in the midst of ruins. This used to be the Religious Centre of Titania. They could make out a few spires that had fallen down on to the ground, but that was all they could see, a bunch of ruins.
Slippy got out excitedly and started digging as quickly as he could. He turned round to the others.
" Come on, help me dig it out!" cried Slippy. Falco sighed, picked up a shovel and went after him. It took an hour of sweating and digging, but they managed to get through to a stone coffin.
" Er… Slip, is this the right place?" asked Falco. He thought that they had uncovered a graveyard, instead of the Lomac.
" Sure it is," replied Slippy. " It must be inside this… Help me… lift this lid… here," he said, as he strained against the stone. Falco and Fox both put their way into the lid. It slowly slid away. " I can just about reach it. A little bit more. Push it a little bit… Got it!" He pulled out the tattered pages of the Lomac. This half was intact. All they needed now was a plan. " But… er… what are we going to do?" Fox smiled.
" It’s simple," replied Fox. " I thought up of this when we were flying towards this spot. We’ve got to get the other half back. If we put it together the right way round, it’s supposed to empower us with the ‘Wrath of God’ or something like that. We’ll be able to defeat Kyron and the Phalanx." Falco disagreed.
" That is stupid, Fox," argued Falco. " What if it doesn’t work? A better idea is to trick him into putting the two pieces the wrong way round, that would destroy him."
" But then what about Cyberax?" asked Fox. Falco and Fox started a bitter rowing over what they should do with the Lomac. The sound of a gunshot. They whirled round and saw Kyron standing behind them, with the Sentinels at his side.
" Hello, Fox McCloud," said Kyron with a smile. " I’ve got you surrounded," gloated Kyron with glee. " Now surrender the other half of the Lomac or else."
Chapter 6: This is the Most Stupid Title that I’ve ever seen!
Kyron pointed his gun at Star, who was the one holding the Lomac at that moment.
" Give that other part of the Lomac to me," said Kyron. Star shook her head. She was refusing to do as he wanted. " Give it to me!" Star stood still. He turned to a Sentinel. " Take the Lomac off her." The Sentinel marched down the slope towards Star.
Star held it outstretched in front of her. The Sentinel reached for it. She quickly shoved the Lomac into Fara’s hands.
" Get out of here!" cried Star, before she ran towards the robot. The others brought out their guns and fired at the Phalanx Sentinels.
Wolf, Andrew and Leon rose up from their hiding places and fired at Kyron’s Sentinels.
" You fools!" cried Kyron. " I’ve already sent one half of the Lomac back to the Technopolis Tower. You can’t get it off me!" He quickly ran after Fara, as the Sentinels opened fire on the Star Ace Team.
Fox was too engrossed in the battle to go after Kyron and save Fara. The others were also busy with fighting off the Sentinels, and defending their lives.
" Cover me!" cried Fox. " I’m gonna go for Kyron." Falco nodded. Fox steadied himself, as he hid behind the stone coffin that they were using for cover. " Okay… now!" he cried, as he sprang out of his position and ran as quickly as he could, away from the battle and towards Kyron. Falco fired furiously, providing Fox the right amount of cover that he needed.
Kyron closed in on Fara. She was stuck in an alley, without a gun, which she had accidentally dropped on her flight away from him.
" Stay back," cried Fara. " I swear, I know martial arts. I’ll be able to beat the sh*t out of you." Kyron laughed evilly.
" I don’t think so, Fara Phoenix," said Kyron with a sinister laugh. " There’s nothing that you can do to protect that part of the Lomac. I will have it, and the Doomsday Project will be complete. Freedom is doomed." He threw a punch at Fara. She ducked, and his fist slammed into the wall. He roared in pain.
Fara ducked and was about to escape, when he grabbed tripped her up. She fell to the floor. She looked up, as Kyron walked over to her, grinning sinisterly.
" You and all that you hold dear, are dead meat," snarled Kyron. He bent over to pick up the piece of the Lomac. A laser whistled past his rounded ear. His head snapped up to see Fox coming towards him.
" Didn’t your mother tell you to be more polite to girls?" said Fox with a smile. Kyron was now more infuriated than ever. Letting out the loudest roar in his life, he charged at Fox and rammed into him, shoulder first. Fox’s gun went flying into the air. He started choking, as Kyron’s hands gripped around his neck.
" Back off from him, or you’ll get it!" screamed Fara, as she held the Lomac and Fox’s gun. Kyron turned round and saw Fara.
" You can’t be serious," sneered Kyron. Fara shot at him. He roared in pain and fell off of Fox. She ran up to him.
" Are you okay?" she asked.
" I’m fine," gasped Fox. They turned round to look at Kyron. " What shall we do about him?" Kyron looked back at Fara and Fox with pure hatred in his eyes.
" You can go to hell!" cried Kyron, as he brought out his gun and fired furiously. Fara blocked the lasers with her part of the Lomac. Miraculously, the book survived without any damage to it whatsoever. It started to glow in her hands. She dropped it and stepped back. The energy that the pages absorbed from the lasers was sent hurtling back towards Kyron. It hit him square in the abdomen, making him double over in pain. " Curse you!"
" I guess that this Lomac has more power than we expected," said Fox. He went over and picked up the pages. " I suggest we keep it separated. That way neither side will have the advantage. If we put the pieces together, then all Kyron will have to do, is steal the whole thing and quickly put it into the Doomsday Project." Fara agreed. They looked at Kyron, who had disappeared.
" Where did he go?" cried Fara. The two looked around them, but couldn’t find a trace of Kyron’s whereabouts. He had completely disappeared from Titania.
" They’re retreating," cried Slippy with joy.
" Yeah, we showed those Sentinels a thing or two," exclaimed Falco with joy. They were celebrating their victory. " I just hope that Fox and Fara still have the other part of the Lomac." They watched as the Sentinels flew off in the transporter they came in.
" Bet they won’t try fighting us for a long time," grinned Wolf.
" You couldn’t be more right," said Leon with a smile, as they saw Fox and Fara walk back, with their part of the Lomac safe in their hands. " Looks like Fox and Fara beat Kyron too." The sun started setting on them, as they returned to their Arwings and Wolfen Jets.
Chapter 7: Finishing It
Fox showed his pass to the security officers, and they immediately buzzed him into the vault. He was in the middle of the CCRA (Cornerian Central Records Archive). He went up to the correct section, where the Head Archivist was waiting.
" Ah, Captain McCloud, nice to see you again," said the archivist.
" It’s nice to see you again too," replied Fox. " Say, have you been promoted or something?" The lemur archivist nodded.
" Yes, I’m the Head Archivist now," replied the lemur. " Do you have the Lomac?" Fox nodded. He opened his briefcase and took out the pages. They were old, browned and tattered.
" Here they are," said Fox. " All in order and in the same condition that we found them." The Head Archivist took it in his hands and placed the pages in a plastic airtight container, sealing it tightly, before filing it away on the shelf.
" Thank you, Captain," thanked the lemur. " Just in case you have any doubts, your new pass will allow you full access to these parts of the CCRA. You’ll be able to access this area and take out the Lomac pages whenever you need to."
" Thank you," replied Fox, before said goodbye, and then left the vault. The Head Archivist said his farewell, before returning to his task of sorting out the records in that section. He hated all that bureaucratic stuff, but it was necessary to keep the second half of the Lomac safe from the Phalanx. He was sure of it now, now that the Lomac pages had been put in the CCRA, the Doomsday Project would be delayed.
Star walked into the rec. room. Wolf, Leon, Peppy and Fara were the only ones in the room.
" Hey Star, what are you doing back here?" asked Fara. Star turned to Fara and flashed a smile.
" Came back to drop these disks," replied Star, as she showed her them to her friend. " Where’s Fox?" Fara sighed and looked over at the dozing Peppy. Her attention turned to Wolf and Leon, who were both talking about their views on what would happen after the war.
" He’s gone to the Central Records Archive," replied Fara. Star immediately shivered. She hated that place almost more than she hated hospitals.
" Ooh, tough luck," she said.
" Yeah," agreed Fara, as she leaned back into the sofa. Star flopped into the sofa, right next to Fara. " So, what’s on the disks?" she asked. Star gave a mischievous smile.
" Wouldn’t you like to know?" smirked Star.
" Aw come on, you can tell me," begged Fara. " Please! We’re friends." Star giggled.
" All right," cried Star, giving in. " I’ll just have to spoil the surprise then. It’s the schematics on the Doomsday Project. I managed to steal it, while Cyberax was concentrating on copying its components, and sending them to the Doomsday Project. Now, we’ll be able to stop them." Fara’s hopes were raised higher than the Heavens. There was a chance after all. They had a chance against the Doomsday Project, and against Cyberax.
" That’s brilliant!" cried Fara.
" What are you two talking about?" asked Leon inquisitively.
" Wouldn’t you like to know?" said both Fara and Star simultaneously, before walking up and leaving the rec. room, and leaving both Leon and Wolf with puzzled expressions.
Kyron lay on top of the Cyberax Medical Unit, the light from underneath, completing illuminating him. It went over Kyron one more time, before ending its task, switching off the light panels that lay under the plastic surface of the operating table. The CMU visor stopped, and Kyron’s eyes snapped open.
Cyberax was watching from a monitor next to Kyron. It would have displayed patient statistics, but maintenance workers weren’t operating it, so the statistics display weren’t necessary. Cyberax knew the statistics, as it operated the machine. Kyron got up and looked around him. He then looked back at Cyberax.
" So, did you get the other part of the Lomac back?" asked Kyron.
Cyberax shook its head.
" I’m afraid not, Kyron," replied Cyberax. " The only way we can get it back now, is to invade Corneria. And that means the Doomsday Project has to go ahead as scheduled." Kyron felt his guts make a knot inside him. He had failed in his mission. " Luckily, we have a backup plan."
" Of course," said Kyron smiling knowingly. " The fusion power generator." Cyberax nodded.
" Yes," replied Cyberax. " Worker Drones are already transporting the components, as we speak. The Doomsday Project may be delayed by two weeks, but it is worth it." Kyron smiled. So it wasn’t scrapped after all. " You will be transported to the Doomsday Project as soon as it is complete. As for now, all units that are not involved in the Doomsday Project are to maintain the Phalanx Territory."
" That is good to hear," said Kyron. He got off the CMU’s operating table, and started walking around. " And I see your machine has done a good job at healing my leg."
" Kyron, you have failed your programming much, ever since you have been whole again," said Cyberax. " Perhaps it is time for you to be disabled." Kyron shook his head.
" No, please, no!" cried Kyron. Cyberax opened up its mouth into an evil smile.
" Then you must not fail this time," replied Cyberax. " You fail, and you will become disabled again. The Doomsday Project is important to me, and I’m sure it is important to you. Your mission is to protect Doomsday." Kyron nodded.
" I won’t fail you again," said Kyron. He had cursed himself earlier on, for not being more prepared against Cyberax. Even Andross had a backup measure to prevent Cyberax from controlling him, but Kyron had forgotten that. Cyberax’s territory was too wide for him to be able to threaten Cyberax with death (the loss of electricity). Now, it had got him under its control.
" You had better not," warned Cyberax. " The Doomsday Project will mark the end of Lylat, whether you can protect it or not."
The End?
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank the company, Argonaut for creating the original Star Fox Game, and the Star Fox characters. I would also like to thank Nintendo for continuing to make them a popular success.
This opportunity should also be used to thank the SA Corporation for employing me.
I would like to thank the British TV company, Carnival Films, for creating the TV series, Bugs. Cyberax was inspired and borrowed from that TV series (Series 2, Episodes 9 and 10, and Series 3, Episode 10). You can learn more about this sci-fi TV show, by visiting http://www.bugs.co.uk/.