Aparoid Influence Chapter 4

Chapter 4:  Winning a War

In the Corneria City war room General Pepper is getting chewed out.

“I understand your anger prime minister.”  The military figure begins.  “But-”

“But, what?”  The leader of Katina hisses.  “This issss unacceptable.  I do not require your underssstanding, I require your compliance.”

“Today was a mistake-”

“Mistake?  Is that the bessst you could think of?  A missstake?  Your reinforcements never showed up!”

“The distance-”

“We lost a ccentral installation vital to our defense and a large number of troops to a mammoth girl who squashed most of them flat!  You knew of the distance when you promisssed aid.  Not to mention the actions of Ssstar Fox…”

“They are not my soldiers.  They are independent, I cannot control them.”

“They refused to attack the enemy! An enoromousss, hostile target and they landed one hit throughout the entire skirmish!  Their orders were to neutralize the enemy!  That was not the worst though.  They threatened to engage my forces if they attempted to attack her.”

“Oh no…”  Pepper shakes his head.

“Oh, yesss!  Alpha Team reports being directly challenged before they were forced to retreat.”

“I won’t believe-”

“Watch!”  The ceremonially clad snake disappears and footage of the battle is on screen.  Fox firing on the installation and tailing allied forces while Krystal ravages the area is captured on film.

“I will speak with them about that.”  The general promises.  “That is all I can do.”

“I recommend severe disssciplinary action.”  The transmission cuts out.

“What do you think?”  Pepper asks Peppy, who had remained silent.

“Fox sure did pick a pretty girl to go for.”  The old hare replies.  “Reminds me of my younger days.”

“Peppy, I’m talking about the huge liability Krystal represents and the P.R. nightmare that happened on Katina!  What about that?”

“What about it?”  The tactician asks, genuinely puzzled.  “I’m supposed to say something?  You seem to have covered it pretty well.”

“What am I supposed to say to Fox?  What is Krystal planning?  How do I stop her?  Come on; give me something to work with!”  The bloodhound is frenzied now.  “What do I do?”

Peppy shrugs.  “I don’t know…”  

Pepper turns red as an apple at that statement.  “Are you serious?”  He almost screeches.  “What do I pay you for?”

“Calm down, sir.  Getting worked up won’t fix anything.”  Peppy rubs his chin.  “Well, first off you can tell Fox whatever you want.  I don’t think it’ll matter that much.”

“I’m his superior!”

“He’s in love.  Don’t argue with me; take it up with him.  Nobody knows what she’s planning for sure but she has to be seeking an advantage.  Where these aparoids are coming from may be connected.  There’s always hordes of them…”

“How do I stop her?”  The general repeats.  “Any ideas?”

“You don’t want to hear what I think about that…”  Peppy says in a sad tone.  Before Pepper can question it he moves on.  “But, do whatever works.  That’s what anyone else would say.”

“Talk to Fox for me.  You might get through to him better than I would.  I don’t even think he’d listen to me.”

“I’ll have a word with him.”
***


On Great Fox the trio is going over the events of the day.  The Katina Prime Minister has just finished speaking with them about their performance, which may explain the overall not good vibe on the bridge right now.

“I knew before we left that it wouldn’t be worth showing up.”  Falco says.  “I don’t like that snake.”

“He wanted us to stop her.”  Slippy replies.  “Which we didn’t try to do.”

“Well they tried to stop her and you see what happened!”  Fox snaps.  “They blasted her half to death now look at her!  What happened was their fault!”

“I was just explaining why we didn’t get paid…”  The mechanic says quietly.  “I wasn’t disputing what happened.”

“Still, we scrapped a lot of aparoids and don’t get a penny for it?”  The bird shakes his head.  “That isn’t right.”

“So?  Get over it.”  Fox says coldly.  “We’ve got more serious issues to worry about now.”

“Like doll face and her new height.”  Falco concurs.  “I have to agree with Bill; she is a real cutie.”  The head honcho shoots him a weird look.  “She’s yours, I know.  I was just saying…”

Fox chuckles.  “Funny.”  He turns to Slippy.  “Which way did she go?”

“I checked the radar log as soon as I got back.  I don’t know.  She didn’t come up on it at all.  She left that ship of hers on Katina too so that’s not worth trying to track either.”

“It figures.”  The boss smacks his forehead.  “Can’t ever catch a break.  Couldn’t bring her back, couldn’t stop her, and couldn’t even see which way she went.  Today was a total washout.”

“Not to mention we didn’t net a cent.”  The Ace adds.  Fox shoots him another glare.  “We didn’t!”

“The new headgear worked.”  Slippy offers.  “Krystal didn’t get inside our heads again.”

“For all the good that did us…”  Squad leader murmurs.  The big video screen flashes.  Fox answers it absently.

“Hey guys.”  Peppy comes over the com link.  “We’ve got to talk.”

“If it’s about today then don’t bother.”  Fox turns away from the screen.  “There isn’t much more to be said.”

“Pepper asked me to talk to you so I’ve got to try.”

“I don’t need to be told he didn’t like what I did today.”

“Just listen.  The whole friendly fire fiasco’s done with.  I’m sure Katina’s Prime Minister spoke with you already.  I’m not here to talk about the General’s relations issues with him.  I’ve got something to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know if you did the right thing or not today but stick by what you believe in.  That’s all.”

“What, no hint?”  Falco sounds disappointed.  “We’re working with next to nothing here you know.”

“I’ve been thinking…Krystal sure does always have a whole lot of aparoids with her.  I didn’t think there were that many left.  I thought all the parts she stole may be connected somehow.  Maybe she’s gonna build them…”

“She’d have to build something that produces aparoids.”  Slippy says.  “That’s how she did it before.  Using those aparoid generators to produce an army.  That’s got to be what she’s doing now, come to think of it.”  The mechanic stumbles on a stroke of genius.  “That’s why she went to Sauria, to find pieces to rebuild one of those things.  She’s gonna make even more of them with the parts she stole I’m willing to bet.  This is not good.”

“On second thought I’d rather not have known.”  Falco decides.  “It’s depressing.”

Fox sighs.  “Any insight on where she’s headed, since you just seem to know things?”

“Can’t rightly say for certain.  But I’ll tell you what I told the general.  If she thinks this is a war she’ll be wherever she can seize an advantage.  You can be sure of that.”

“Hmm, a point worth considering.”  He turns to face the screen.  “Thank you Peppy.”

“Take care now.”  The screen goes blank.
***


In space the queen is traveling to her next destination.  Krystal, unwilling copilot in her own body, is along for the ride.

“I’m so lonely.”  Krystal thinks to herself.  “I didn’t think Fox would ever just leave me.  I thought he felt the same way I did.  I could understand if he hated me and wanted to be rid of me but the indifference hurt the most.  He just watched like I didn’t mean anything to him anymore.”

Are you surprised?

“Leave me alone.”

It is as I said.  I didn’t desert you.

“You tricked me into accepting your aid.  Now you’ve made me into what you wanted and gained even more control over me.”  Krystal rejoins with an exasperated sigh. “Aren’t you happy now?”

No.  Not until I have the entire galaxy as my family.

“You are never content.  A small comfort when I have nothing.”  The telepath thinks dryly.

You have us.  You have knowledge.  We can reach this goal together.

“I don’t care.”

You will help me whether you wish to or not.  You have no choice.  

“So what?  I don’t have to like it.”

In the end it will be us victorious.  Embrace it.

“Shut up.”
***


On Great Fox the team leader is catching some shut-eye.

“Where…I can’t think…”  He mumbles, tossing in bed.  “Where is she?”

“Right here.”  A familiar voice replies.

“…?”

“I’m here.”  Krystal giggles.  “I’ve got you.”

“Huh?”  Fox thinks a minute.  “Oh no…”

“Mm hm.”  She affirms. “But I don’t think you mind.”

Fox pokes his head out into open air.  Indeed he is lodged between her breasts again and she’s back to just 25 feet tall.  “Ah…”  He can’t quite refute her claim either since telepaths just know.

“You’ll be here a while.  I hope you’re content with your seat.”  Krystal takes a few paces and looks around.

“What?”  It is at this time he realizes his arms are trapped at his sides and no amount of struggle would free them.  “How-”

“Shh.”  Krystal commands gently.  “Stay a while, enjoy the view.”  She seats herself against a mountainside, facing the sunrise.  Morning twilight streaks across the sky, framing her face in its soft glow.

“But-”

“No buts; I’m in charge here.”  She giggles again.  “What do you have to say to that?”

Fox sighs.  Completely immobilized within her cleavage he’s in no position to argue.  He looks up at her beautiful face and can’t help but feel at ease even though.  It’s just like before.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything, either.”  Krystal says, smiling down at him.  “Believe me.”

Fox leans back.  “There’s something wrong with this picture.”  He thinks a moment.  “I’m supposed to be holding her…”

“Well, you had your chance.”  Krystal chides, peeking on his thoughts.  “You wouldn’t let me in the front pilot seat with you.”

“I’m sure your big butt won’t fit in there now.”  Fox chuckles.

“We can still switch places if you want though.  I’m certain that there’s room on your lap for me.”

“I’m not so sure…”  He pauses and considers it.  “I’m good where I am.”

“I’ll bet you are.”  The telepath teases.  “It must be to your liking since I don’t remember any complaints before…”

Fox flushes involuntarily for an instant but recomposes himself.  “Last time you plopped down on my lap you broke that climate device thing.  I don’t want to end up like that.  You sat on it and voided the warranty.”

Krystal giggles.  “Is it really that big?”

“I’m not going to answer that.”  Fox thinks.  “Though she is using the base of a cliff as a chair.”

“Fair enough.”  The purple fox laughs.

“Stop peeking!”

“I can’t.”  She falsely whines.  “And it doesn’t bother you so there.”

Once again Fox can’t dispute her.  “Can’t fool a psychic.”  She giggles again and they go back to watching the skyline.

The sound of a train whistle splits the morning quiet as it passes nearby.  They both look at it and the dawn behind it, surprised at how far up it is.

“How long has it been?  It’s flying by…”  Fox realizes.  “I don’t want it to…”

“I’ll do this as long as you like.”  Krystal reminds him softly.  “So it doesn’t matter, I promised you.  Remember?”  Fox nods relieved.  “So it won’t even matter when I become queen of Lylat either.  I’ll still hold you as often as you want.”

Fox is taken off-guard.  “Wait a second…”

“Don’t be surprised.  It’s what’s going to happen.  You didn’t keep your promise to me so I’m going to take over.  You said you would take care of it and not let anything happen to me.  You promised but…”  The vixen sighs despondently.

“I tried.”  Fox protests.  “I did all I could!”

“A splendid job you did, too!”  Krystal replies scornfully.  “Look at me!  Look at what I’ve become!”  She begins to grow.  “You abandoned me!”

“No I just couldn’t –whoa!”  Fox’s soft prison is expanding around him.  The cleavage of his captor widening to a valley that he’s falling into very quickly.  “Help!”  Now her breasts surround him on all sides and there’s but a sliver of light left.  “Krystal!”  He calls out desperately.

“I’ll keep my promise!”  Krystal yells, sounding like she’s crying.  “How about you?”  She starts sobbing.

Fox can’t reply.  The pressure is building and it feels like he can’t breathe.  Opening his mouth to shout he can find no air to scream and the darkness around him vibrates and pulses with the sounds of her sadness.  The last thing he hears is a locomotive bell and whistle as he finally gives way to the strain and bursts-

-out of bed and onto the floor with a thud, firmly entwined in the blankets with the pillow still stuck to his face.  He tears the cushion from his mouth and gasps, filling his lungs with sweet oxygen.  He lies there for a while just thankful for life before slowly untangling the bed linen and going back to sleep.
***


In the Cornerian War Room bright and early General Pepper is making a call.

“Let’s see.”  The bloodhound says to himself.  “I hope they’re up.”  

“Wolf O’Donnell.”  Comes over the connection as the screen brightens.  “What do you need?”

“Glad I caught you.”  The general replies.  “I’ve got a job for you and your team.”  

“Go on.”  Wolf is intrigued.  “It must be urgent, calling this early.”

“First, did you hear about the Katina incident?”

“No, we’ve been on R and R for the last few days.  Why?”

“It has a lot to do with the job.”  Pepper replies.  “I thought you would’ve known…”

“What happened?”

“It’s a long story.  I doubt you’re up to it.”

“I’ll get it done.”  Wolf growls.  “What is it?”

“I’ll brief you.  It’s about Krystal.”

“The girl on Star Fox team?  What about her?”

“I need you to take her out, that’s the short of it.”

“As good as done.”  Wolf chuckles.  “An unexceptional pilot, nothing serious.”

“She won’t be in an Arwing.”

“That makes it even easier.  I’ll take care of it myself.”

“She’s two hundred fifty feet tall.”

“Hold on, I don’t think I heard you right.”  Wolf looks at the screen with one eye much wider than the other, apparently disquieted.  “Run that by me again.”

Pepper sighs and shakes his head.  “I’ll let you judge for yourself.”  He reaches off-screen.  “Here’s footage from yesterday on Katina.”

The lead pilot of Star Wolf watches the video.  He maintains a stony demeanor all the way up to its conclusion.  “Hmm…”

“You see what I mean?”

“I’ll have to talk it over with the rest of my team.  When are you talking about doing this?”

“Whenever she shows up again.  Money’s not an issue either; just get back to me as soon as possible.”

Wolf nods.  “What’s Fox’s take on all this?”

“He and his team will probably try to stop you.  This is one of their own we’re talking about here.  But this is a serious matter that needs to be dealt with quickly.”

Wolf nods again.  “Right.  You’ll be hearing from us one way or another.”
***


On Macbeth, the production planet, a conductor at a central station is checking a train schedule.

“Let’s see…engine no. 91 is due here at 0956.”  The coordinator looks along the tracks.  “He’s pulling in a bit early.”  The rail official notes.  “He’ll have to lay over a bit.”

The engine pulls into the station with a squeal and comes to a stop.  The engineer opens a window and looks around.  “Good morning, Larry!”

Larry looks at his watch.  “You’re running early again, Theo.”

“Got to hurry as fast as we can.”

“The ore won’t rust that fast on the way to the refinery.  You’ll have to hold up a couple of minutes after the guys are done loading you up.”

“Fine.”  Theodore chuckles.  “You rail stiffs are all alike.  ‘Trains got to run on time.’  Were you born wearing that watch?”

“It’s standard issue.”  Larry smiles.  “If we didn’t make you run on time I wouldn’t have a job.”

“At the rate we’re hollowing this place out I won’t have a job soon.  The planet will be empty as a dry canteen just you watch.  There won’t be nothing left to dig up.”

“Well we haven’t yanked the core out of it so there’s still come left.  Don’t fret just yet, Ted.”

“You say that.  When the ground starts giving way cause there’s nothing under it don’t look surprised.”  The driver looks at his own watch.  “Can I go now?”

“Not till I say.”  The conductor chides, checking his timepiece again.  “Looks like it’s about time.”  He looks down the track.  “You’re good to- no stop!”  He yells, spotting an obstruction on the track.

“What now?  I’m a second off?  This is getting ridiculous.”

“Go back the way you came!”  The train official commands.  “I’ll call ahead and get you cleared!”

“What the heck’s the matter?  I’ve got somewhere-” He looks down the track.  “Shifting gears.”  The locomotive starts heading backwards.

The obstruction in the way happened to be an immense purple foot encased in an equally enormous boot.  This having completely warped the railroad ties rendering the path useless the conductor is at a loss for words.  He walks from beneath the roof of the train stop to get a better view.

“There’s no way I’m seeing this…”  Lawrence says in disbelief beholding the impossibly huge figure of Krystal.  “I’ve got to alert the other stations.”  She looks down and spots him.  “That can’t be good.”  He retreats into the building.

From her vantage point on high Krystal sees the man flee back under the cover of the shelter.  A quick scan of his mind reveals his intentions.

“It’d be a shame if you ruined my fun early.”  The vixen teases, stepping on the railroad station.  “That should buy me some time.”  She decides, thoroughly flattening the railway stop.

“What is the purpose of this?”  Krystal demands.  “Why did you do that?”

It is a part of my plan.  By conquering this planet the system will lose a valuable resource.  That man calling for help this soon could make things more difficult.

“That was wrong!”

The end justifies the means to achieve it.

“No, that is never true!”

Your objections are negligible.

Krystal doesn’t have a reply to that.  She only observes the queen puppet her body further starting a path of destruction.  Next she starts destroying the tracks themselves.  Bending over and grabbing a railroad tie in each hand she twists them into unrecognizable shapes.  “Hmm…”  She ties one set into a faultless bow.  “I like that.”

Still trains are coming into the area.  The queen advances on those as well, looking to cause more wanton devastation.

“What the heck is-”  The operator of the locomotive remains unfinished as a foot lands on the cab of the engine, bringing the entire procession to a halt.

Krystal takes this time to walk carefully in a straight line, crushing each car in turn.  Debris of all kinds rains from the ruptured compartments.  Steel, loose parts and unprocessed ore litter the landscape in seconds.  “This is too easy!”  She thinks, listening to the train crunch underfoot.

More convoys arrive and it’s a race to destroy them all.  The one woman demolition crew tries to run atop a shipment next.  Missing the lead engine with her first step the load continues to move forward.  This causes her to overbalance and fall on her face, rolling over the remainder of the goods and crumpling them in her clumsiness.  “Whoops…”  She giggles wickedly.  Disoriented, she kicks a third cargo train off track trying to get back up and falls again.  “I’m such a klutz!”  Luckily, a nearby mountain is perfect to brace against and she finds her equilibrium after causing a minor rockslide.  This gives her another idea.

“What better way to seal a mine than an avalanche?”  The queen ponders aloud.  Krystal cringes inwardly as her body sets about doing that next, slamming her fists and shoulder into the mountainside loosening large boulders to fall into the entryway of the mines nearby.  Tearing grooves into the landscape with her fingers she dumps handfuls of granite into the tunnels, smashing dozens of miners under numerous tons of rock and trapping countless others underground.  She’s content to do this until she remembers the last part of her plan.

“I’ve still got to bring down the buildings.”  The queen says aloud.  “Those factories especially.  According to my host they manufacture a lot of military vehicles.  They need to be taken care of.”  The possessed colossus turns to head to a more industrial district.  “But it figures that would have to wait.”

The planetary militia has shown up as best they can on short notice.  Mainly aerial, they all circle around their huge enemy warily.  None of them make any moves as of yet but that’s going to change.

“I’ll just amuse myself with this before finishing my task here.”  The queen decides drawing her staff.  “This won’t take long.”
***


On Great Fox the team is in discussion on the bridge.

“Let’s head to Macbeth.”  Fox says seemingly out of nowhere.

“And why should we do that, fearless leader?”  Falco asks.  “Do we have something on the To-Do list I don’t know about?”

“I have a feeling Krystal is there.”

“That’s not quite enough to go skipping across the galaxy.  I’m thinking maybe we could skip the wild goose chase and see about a job in this area.”

“I’m telling you she’s there!  I’m sure of it!”

“What, more of the Krystal scavenger hunt?”  The Ace rolls his eyes.  “Give me a break!”

“We’ve got more important things to worry about than money!”  Fox yells.  “Don’t you understand that?”

“This chasing after vibes stuff isn’t getting us anywhere!  This galaxy’s too big to play tag in!  How do you know where she is, huh?”

“Now isn’t the time to tell him that I had a nightmare involving Krystal and trains and Macbeth is the only planet I can think of with locomotives still in service…”  Fox considers.  “Actually thinking about it the whole idea doesn’t seem that solid…”  

“You can’t be that sure she’s anywhere!  And if you are, then what?  We get there and do what?”

Fox looks to be perplexed.  “…something!”

“Exactly.  This whole operation is costing more and more.  How long do you plan on keeping this up?”  The boss has nothing to say.  “See?  Be-”

“Shut up.”  Slippy interrupts flatly.

“What?”  Falco is taken aback.  Fox turns to Slippy as well.

“I said shut up.  You heard me.”

“You’ve got a better idea?  And don’t tell me you’re up for another game of galactic hide-and-seek!”

“What else is there?  Every world leader in this sector had to have heard about what happened yesterday.  Do you think they’re going to hire insubordinates like us?  Not likely.”

“This is costing us serious cash!  We won’t be able to keep up our ships soon!”

“You got something better to do?  The entire system’s at stake if you haven’t forgotten.  If we don’t figure out something Lylat’s going to have new royalty running things soon, what then?”

The raptor opens his beak to speak but claps it shut.  “What are we supposed to do?”  He mutters.  “Play follow the leader then what?”

The video screen flashes, indicating there’s a transmission.  Fox puts it through.  Peppy is on the display.

“Fox, do you read?  It’s Peppy.”

“Go ahead.”  Fox replies.

“There’s serious trouble on Macbeth!  Krystal’s wrecking everything!  They need help, quick!”

“What can we do about that?”  Falco asks.  “Next to nothing’…”

Peppy ignores that comment.  “Pepper’s already sent Wolf and his team to take care of her.  I’m a bit worried about her myself.”  The hare looks off-screen. “Got to go, the general’s coming.”  The transmission signal cuts out hurriedly.

“The general must not have wanted us to know where she was.”  Slippy states.  “Or that he sent Wolf over us.”

“I know why.”  Falco adds.  “He knows what we’d do if we found out.  Fox?”  He looks at the commanding officer expectantly.

The squadron leader sighs.  “Star Fox team, assemble!  Prepare for departure!  Hyperspace jump to Macbeth!  Move out!”
***


Meanwhile on Macbeth Krystal is annihilating the resident forces with ease.  Given the poor turn out of fast response law enforcement it certainly isn’t much to contend with.

“This was the best you could do?”  The queen says disdainfully.  “It’s almost laughable!”  She shoots a blast of cold energy from the staff, freezing the airborne resistance to watch it shatter on the ground.  “Tsk, tsk, tsk.  I guessed that something this crucial would be better protected but I suppose not.”  She advances on the factories.  “A shame really.”  A familiar set of thought patterns come to her attention.  She turns around and looks up.  “Actual pilots, this should be interesting.”

In the atmosphere above the rail-laced world Star Wolf is preparing to attack the violet villainess.

“We’ve been over the plan.”  Wolf states.  “Bring her down quick.”

“I got you.”  Leon replies.  “Painfully fast, I can do that.”

“Why did you accept this mission?”  Panther asks for the third time.  “I would really rather not participate.”

“Now is not the time to question my authority!”  Wolf snarls.  “You will do as ordered, understand?”

“Yes sir.”  The black cat replies reluctantly.

“We’ve only got one shot at this.  Pepper said she doesn’t fall for the same tricks twice.  So don’t mess up.”

“We’ve got the artillery to do it so it’ll happen no problem.”  Leon says confidently, referring to the red double lasers and the powered up bombs their Wolfens are equipped with.  “She’s as good as dead.”

Panther sighs.  “And to never have shared a moment together…a tragedy.”

“Let’s go!”  Wolf commands as they break the clouds.  “Take the girl out!”

The Wolfen trio approaches Krystal and begins to circle her.  Unphased by their arrival she actually smiles as they come closer to her.  She regards them with a strangely warm gaze that is eerily disturbing to the pilots as she strides toward her targets in the industrial district.

“Do you really think you can defeat me with those tiny little ships?”  The larger than life lady laughs softly.  “I invite you to try.”

“My ship's going nuts every time I lock on!”  Leon exclaims.

“Go manual; she’s disrupting our sensors somehow!”

“Cheap toys…”  Krystal says with a smirk.  “Poor you…”

Wolf, now thoroughly insulted, makes the first move.  “Take this!”  He fires a bomb at her midsection.  “We don’t mess around!”

Krystal reacts quickly.  She doesn’t get her protective screen up in time but does shut her eyes and shield herself with her arms to minimize the damage.  The sheer force of the blast knocks her backwards off her feet though, leaving her sitting in what are now remnants of a manufacturing plant.  “There may be something to all those big butt comments…”  She thinks ruefully, standing and dusting herself off.  “Who’d have thought it?”

“Don’t let up!”  Wolf commands.  “Keep her off balance!”

“Forgive me, milady.”  Panther says, strafing her left with red energy fire and watching as she squeals in pain.  “For I’d rather not.”

“Don’t you love the smell of lasers in the morning?”  Leon asks, strafing her right.  “Because I do!”  He chuckles at her pain.  “Your screams make it all worthwhile.”

Krystal gives her staff a twirl to ward off her attackers.  “My turn!”  She declares, opening fire on them with a salvo of her own.  Star Wolf goes into evasive maneuvers so she decides to press her attack.  She dashes forward, stepping on several belated vehicles to pursue one of her foes.  The leader of the team dodges behind a building trying to put distance between him and the force of nature.  To no avail as the staff tears the structure asunder and she traipses through the rest of it to try and swat him down.  He comes straight for her with a slight change in direction and barrel rolls left and boosts under her armpit to safety.  She giggles again.  “You have bitten off more than you can chew, Wolf.”  She turns around.  “We both know it.”

Ignoring the fact she had just spoken about something he had been giving private thought he addresses his team.  “Panther, Leon listen.”  Wolf begins.  “I’ll run point; you two blast her with your bombs.”

“Right.”

“Roger.”

The three come up in classic V formation with Wolf in the lead.  Krystal analyzes the situation with her unfair telepathic advantage and attacks accordingly.  She feints a thrust at Panther.  Watching him veer left over Leon, as she knew he would, she then follows up with a horizontal spin slash motion.  This almost broadsides Wolf’s rear and clips a piece of one of Panther’s wings as they retreat.

“How could she have known…”  Wolf wonders.  “It’s not…”

“That someone so pretty could be my undoing, ah cruel irony.”  Panther says to himself.

“Your compliments earn you no mercy.”  Krystal reminds, charging at the damaged craft.  “You shall be first.”

“Cover yourself!”  Wolf yells.  Panther fires off his bomb and dodges.  Krystal strikes it with her staff instead of the Wolfen and is surprised by the flash for an instant.  This buys him the needed time to escape.  “Hang back!”  The team leader commands.

“He can’t run from me.”  The colossal cutie says.  “None of you can.”  She lunges for Panther again but this time is stopped by something new.  Ground cannon fire impacts her now.  It’s not enough to bring her down but is a distraction enough.  “This is annoying.”

The street is filled with the tardy cavalry.  Having to traverse broken train tracks and fallen rocks they have finally arrived.  “Beginning bombardment.”  The infantry leader calls out.  The cannons begin to fire in concert.

“Good, some backup.”  Wolf says.  “Team regroup!”

But the reprieve was not to last long.  After not getting though their enormous enemy’s wall they found something equally depressing.  After firing off all their ammunition they have to reload.  Krystal takes this time to run right at them and start stomping.  The sound of metal crunching and grinding fills the air and the reinforcements quickly dwindle.  She laughs as she compresses the armored units into oblivion.  “Good help is hard to find, isn’t it?”  She taunts.

“Damnit!”  Wolf swears as she finishes the local excuse for assistance.  “This is falling apart!”

“Now for you…”  Krystal turns her attention to the mercenary team once more.  “Oh!”  Still another fusillade of ground artillery fire heads her way.  “Is there no end to this?”

It appears not.  All the side streets are teaming with members of the Macbeth Army.  Every kind of tank every color of the rainbow has surrounded the would-be conqueror.  And there’s no surprise there since this is where they are made.  “Commence barrage!”  Comes from somewhere down there and that’s exactly what happens.

Krystal doesn’t wait to be fired upon.  Thoroughly provoked by now she leaps up and charges her staff with energy.  As the first shots fly she comes down with awesome force.  Her quake attack eradicates the new wave of foes for a mile radius.  Not only that, all the buildings in the vicinity rock on their foundations and fall.  The sound of demolition rivals that of a war zone as the central part of the production planet’s industry simply topples over to ruins from the power of the shockwave.  A dust cloud thick enough to be confused for a sandstorm rises from the rubble and blankets the battlefield.  And through the arid, debris filled air over the cacophony of annihilation you can hear another disturbing sound.  Unmistakable cackling from the mountainous female juggernaut that is reveling in the devastation she has newly created.

“This is no good.”  Wolf realizes.  “Team assemble, fall out!”

“Are you sure?”  Leon asks, disappointed.  “We aren’t done yet, are we?”

“This is too risky; we can’t fight her like this.  She’s not even on radar and we’re in the middle of a dust cloud!  You can’t ‘t shoot what you can’t see!”

“True we are at a disadvantage but an exit is easier said than done right now.”  Panther says.  “We wouldn’t want to bump into the beautiful lady on our way out.”

“Don’t leave.”  Krystal says.  “The fun’s just starting.”  The statement is a mystery to her retreat minded opponents but not for long.

“We’ve got company!”  Wolf yells.  “Everybody look sharp!”

Indeed they do as three new blips show up on radar.  They come from above at high speed and are lost in the dust cloud on the opposite side of the field quickly.

“What’s this?”  Falco demands.  “I can’t see!”

“Careful team.”  Fox warns.  “Wolf is in the area.”

“What’s that sound?”  Slippy asks.  “What happened here?”

“Glad you could make it, Fox.”  The hidden enemy taunts.  “Let’s see how many ships I can hit with one swing.”

“Look out!”  Fox and Wolf yell at the same time.

“How?”

“The radar-”

It’s too late to get orders.  All six aircraft hit different evasive maneuvers to avoid being smacked, as it is no empty threat.  Even though they can’t see everyone takes a gamble.  Falco and Wolf go high and cross paths in the form of a minor sidelong collision.

“Watch where you’re flying!”  Falco snaps, pulling back with a broken wing.

“Don’t trip me up!”  Wolf counters with a similar injury.

Fox and Panther go low and fly a quick S shape though Krystal’s legs going opposite directions.  They manage to stay different altitudes and avoid catastrophe.

“Such beauty…”  Panther sighs.  “You’re lucky, Fox.”

“Strange.”  Fox replies.  “I don’t feel too lucky right now.”

Slippy and Leon chose to stay level and break opposite directions with a boost.  Given the visibility factor of next to nothing that translates to crash course in no time.

“Pull up!”  Leon shouts, jerking the throttle lever back.

“Drop down!”  Slippy yells, slamming the control shaft forward.  They both brake and nearly scrape ships avoiding each other.  But even though they missed each other slowing down made them easy targets still in range of the staff…

“Gotcha!”  Krystal declares, hitting both spacecraft with one downward swipe.

“Oh no!”  Slippy cries as his Arwing goes down.

“Idiot!”  Leon yells, bailing out of his Wolfen.

The dust settles as the two ships crash land.  Krystal steps forward and flattens both of them beneath her heel in turn, grinding the wreckage into the ground with purposeful twists.  “Two down.”  She says, proud of herself.  “Not bad, who’s next?”

“We can’t take her out with just two pilots…not with our ships like this.”  Wolf decides.  “This mission’s a failure.”

“Slippy?  Do you read?”  Fox queries.  “Star Fox report in!”

“A pity I’m all done here.”  The vast violet fox says.  “We could play some more.”  She looks around at the leveled area and giggles.  “This was too easy.  I didn’t even need any help.”  She shakes her head with a malevolent smile.  “Corneria’s next you know.  I can hardly wait.”  She thrusts her staff into the ground and performs a boost jump spell into the sky, blowing Fox a kiss as she departs.  “See you there.”

“You sure know how to pick ‘em.”  Falco chides.

“Shut up.”
***


In the Cornerian War Room General Pepper has just been debriefed by Star Wolf.

“Bottom line is we failed.”  Wolf concludes.  “We couldn’t stop her and we couldn’t protect the area.”

“I wasn’t sure if you were up to it.”  The general replies.  “There isn’t much to be done about it.”

“I’m not trying again, either.  I’m not putting my team at risk like that a second time.”  

“Fair enough.”  Pepper concurs.

“You said something else, Wolf?”  Peppy pipes up.  “I was listening and you said she said something…I didn’t quite catch it.”

“Aside from all the taunting and laughing she said ‘Corneria’s next’.”  The mercenary replies.  “That’s it.”

“Okay.  That’s what I thought, had to be sure though.  One other question…did you see any aparoids?”

“No.”  Wolf shrugs.  “Didn’t see any.  I thought there’d be some myself.”

“Hmm, I will take all of this into consideration.  You will still be reimbursed for your time somewhat despite the occurrences.  Thanks for your effort.”

“Right…Wolf out.”  The transmission ends.

“This is not promising.”  Pepper says.  “If Wolf didn’t come close to stopping her then what other options do we have?”

“Right now I don’t think she’s your biggest problem.”  Peppy replies.

“What?  Preposterous!”

“Well, there’s only one of her but there could be a whole lot of aparoids…”

“…”

“If we didn’t see any today you can bet she’s rallying for her assault here.  I’m betting she’s coming here to Corneria City to start in force.  I assume she’s amassed quite an army with those generators she made.”

“What can we do?”

“I don’t know.  Call in as much backup as you can.  It’s not going to be easy.”  Peppy stands.  “I have to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“It looks like my team’s going to need a hand.  I’ve got to help them out.”
***


On Macbeth Star Fox team is at a local repair shop.

“Sorry fellas.”  The ship technician says.  “I know you’re Star Fox and everything but no discounts.”

“I could get this fixed for half the asking price anywhere else!”  Falco counters.  “Get real!”

“Look, parts are at a premium right now.  Since that whole factory area got totally trashed earlier there’s no telling when we’ll get more parts in.  You can either pay the cost like Star Wolf or get lost.”

“But I could buy an Arwing and a half for what you quoted me on the parts for my ship!”  Slippy protests.  “I’ll do the work myself so take the cost of labor off, please.”

“Labor’s not included.  Either you take the quotes or leave them.”

“Come on guys, they don’t want our business.”  Fox says.  “Let’s go.”

“Sure we do, if you’ve got the cash!”

Star Fox walks out of the establishment.  After looking at the mile-long line of people trying to get in they leave the area.  Outright disgusted at the price gouging going on they move on to where they parked their ships.

“Okay, it happened.”  Falco says spitefully.  “Now we’re stuck.”

“We are not stuck.”  Fox replies calmly.

“I don’t know what you call it.  We hyper jumped from Great Fox all the way here in three ships.  Now we’ve got a ship and a half to cruise back in.  That’s what I call stuck.”

“Slippy can ride with me in the copilot’s seat.  It’s not that serious.”

“It is!  It’s going to take me forever to get back home.  I can’t jump like this!  My right wing’s gone, I won’t hit hyperspace!”

“It’s not that big a deal.”

“Yeah, it is!”  The bird yells.  “You see what they just tried to charge us?  Who the heck can afford to get off this planet?”

“Stop obsessing.  We’ll just go somewhere else after we return to Great Fox.”

“No!  I’m not flying like this all the way back there.  Not just to go somewhere, fix it and get it busted again going after your girlfriend!”

“Falco, that isn’t right.”  Slippy interrupts.

“So what?”  Fox asks.  “Are you leaving?”

“I’m about sick of this.”  The ace asserts.  “It’s costing too much and it’s too much trouble.”

“So go.”  Fox says flatly.  “Nobody’s stopping you.”

“Tell me what we’re supposed to do!”  Falco bursts out.  “How do we stop her without hurting her?”

“…”

“Tell me and I’ll follow you till it ends.  Say something, anything!”

“I don’t know.”  Fox shrugs.

“This is where we part ways.”  The raptor shakes his head.  “I can’t deal with it anymore.”

“Falco, wait.”  Slippy butts in, trying to salvage the conversation.  “We need-”

“Fine.”  Fox replies, ignoring his mechanic.  “Your decision.”  

“Good luck.”  With that the exchange concludes and the trio board Arwings headed opposite directions.
***


Out in space the galaxy’s next ruler floats, making plans.

“This…I…”  Krystal is still stunned at the events of the day.  “I hope Slippy made it…”

Today went perfectly.  The fools stood no chance of stopping us.  Soon it will all belong to me.

“Yes, enjoy it while you can.”  Krystal sulks.  “You can’t possibly expect to conquer Corneria even with all of your family and my powers combined.  That’s not going to happen.”

Ah, but I can.  Macbeth was just a test of my might.  They could not stop me alone; with the continual onslaught of my children there shall be no hope for them.

“Fox won’t let you.”  The telepath says smugly.  “There’s no way.  It’s his home.”

He is of no consequence to me.  Even if he could stop me he would not.  He won’t hurt you, he’s too weak.

“You underestimate him.  He knows what’s at stake!  If Corneria is lost then the system falls.  He won’t let you win, even if it means I have to perish along with you.”

You overestimate the man.  He would sooner allow himself to fall at my hands.  I will crush him because of that.

“He won’t be the only one!  There will be others, there’s a way!”

What can stand against me?  My powers are too great.  Their pathetic weapons cannot harm me.  I have evolved past their capability.

“Your confidence will be your downfall.  Star Fox has never failed.”
***


At Great Fox Slippy and Fox have just returned.

“Hyper jumps make me queasy.”  The toad laments.  “Oh, my stomach…”

“Maybe it’s the G-Diffuser…”  Fox says absently.

“There you go, blaming everything on the diffuser again!”

“You’re the one complaining.”

“If it was the G-Diffuser we’d be red, pasty goo!  That’s what stops 1000+ g forces from liquefying us from all the pressure involved in a hyper jump need I remind you?”

“Well, you haven’t fixed it yet.”  The pair walk onto the bridge.

“It’s not broken!”

“Whatever you say.”

“Were you two arguing about the G-Diffuser again?”  Comes a voice.

“Peppy!”  Slippy says.  “You’re back!”  He points at Fox.  “Tell him it’s working fine!”

“Nope, not getting into that.”  The old hare takes a head count.  “One, two…we lost Falco?”

“He’s gone.”  Fox affirms.

“Not like that.”  Slippy corrects.  “He left.”

“Wolf said one of you went down.  He saw the ship get smashed, he didn’t know who though.”

“That was me.”  The mechanic says guiltily.  “She swatted my Arwing down and I barely made it out in time.”

“We’re still short a pilot.”  The leader reminds.  “You want to fly with us again?”

“That’s why I came back.  Thought you could use a hand.”

“My ship’s still flat.”  Slippy moans.  “It wasn’t worth salvaging.  At least not for what they were charging.”

“That’s a bind…”  Peppy says slowly.

“Then you’ll have to fly Krystal’s Arwing.”  Fox says.  “It’s the only other ship we have right now.”

“Okay…”

“Fox, I’ve got that antidote Beltino promised.”  Peppy says, suddenly remembering.  “He gave me two doses.  He suggested using it inside a bomb to create vapor.”  The rabbit reads the canisters before handing them over.  “Introduce though contact with open skin.  We’ll probably have to weaken her first.”  The leader glares at him.  “It might not get through if we don’t!”  Peppy says defensively.

“You’ll need one of those headset telepathy blockers I made.”  Slippy realizes.  “I’ll get right on it.”

“Don’t bother.”  Fox says.  “He can take mine.”

“But Fox...”

“There’s nothing in here she doesn’t already know.”  Fox says, tapping his head.  “Get some sleep; you look a bit green…”  He chuckles.

“Funny.”  The mechanic laughs harshly then grabs his abdomen.  “Why’d you remind me?”  The amphibian ambles off holding his stomach.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”  Peppy asks.  “It doesn’t seem wise…”

“Don’t worry about it.  I’ll be fine.  I want you flying at your best.  No distractions.  I can handle it.”

“Right.”  Peppy turns to leave.  “Are you sure?”  He asks again, turning back.

“Yes.  Now go, we’re shutting down early.  Never know when she could decide to attack.  Let’s get all the rest we can.”

In the general’s second home, the Cornerian War Room, he’s trying to brainstorm ideas for protecting his planet.

“I’ve called in all the reinforcements I could on short notice.”  He says to himself.  “The entire planet is on high alert but it still doesn’t feel like enough.  What I want are some pilots…but Wolf won’t fight Krystal.  He won’t risk his team like that again.  Not versus her and probably Star Fox too.  I don’t think Fox is going to help either.  But he can’t possibly intend to oppose the entire Cornerian Army and put everyone in the system in jeopardy for her could he?”  Pepper shakes his head.  “Even he wouldn’t do that.  That still doesn’t give me a squadron to head up my attack with though.”  The entirety of the Cornerian Defense Committee sighs and stares out a window.

The namesake metropolis capital lies sprawled out before the general.  The familiar skyscrapers and streets climb up above the sidewalks.  People walk through the local park enjoying the scenery.  Rush hour traffic sits at the same standstill it always does when everyone gets off work.  Imagining a vast shadow falling over it all and the city being leveled again makes his skin crawl.

“No, not again.”  Pepper says, shaking his head.  “Never again.  I have a duty to this place.  I cannot allow that to happen.  I’ll lead the charge myself if I have to.  I’ll do whatever it takes to win this war!”  He looks at the empty seat that was Peppy’s.  “I’ll do it by myself if I must!”  A knock comes on the door.  “Come in.”  The bloodhound calls, regaining his composure.

“Sir.  The reinforcements from the southern hemisphere have arrived.”  A messenger says, crisply saluting.  “Where would you have them stationed?”

“Have them standby.  They will relieve the current watch at shift change.”

“Yes sir!”  The messenger leaves.

Pepper thinks a minute.  “I’d better pull out all the stops.  Wolf said Krystal’s really tough.  I’ve got some experimental weapons that might be perfect…if they work.  I’ll call in an old favor to get the pilots I need since these prototypes are from the air/space division and only fit aircraft.  If we fail when she comes there won’t be anymore I could’ve done.”  He turns to look out the window at the bustling city, the many medals on his jacket clanging together with the motion as a grave reminder of his duty.  “I will not fail you.”

To be continued...