Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 0- Introduction

Corneria. The fourth planet of the Lylat system. After generations of peace, troubles began brewing when emergent forces from other planets threatened the stability of the Cornerian government. General H.D. Pepper led the Cornerian Army- along with notably esteemed pilots James F. McCloud and Peppy Hare- against the rising forces. After a seven-year conflict, Pepper and the Cornerian government's chief science officer- Arthur Monkeyvitch- began to set about to prevent war from sparking again. However, Arthur's remarkable intelligence and groundbreaking research into bio-technology saw him descend into the pits of madness, and his attempt to turn the recovering Lylat system into a wasteland of chaos and destruction. Confronting his once trusted friend, Pepper successfully had Monkeyvitch arrested and exiled to the barren, desolate world of Venom, at the opposite end of the Lylat system. Ten years later, General Pepper and the Cornerian government noticed strange activity coming from Venom. Calling upon the freelancing mercenaries that arose during the '10 Years of Recovery', one such team of soldiers-for-hire heard the General's call: The Star Fox Team, led by esteemed Cornerian Flight Academy pilot James F. McCloud, along with Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar. Hired by the Cornerian government, General Pepper sent the mercenaries across the Lylat system to investigate. Upon their arrival, McCloud and Hare were betrayed by Dengar, and they were subsequently captured by the heavily mutated and madly insane Arthur Monkeyvitch, now calling himself 'Andross'. Managing to escape the mad monkey mogul's wrath, James sacrificed himself to allow Peppy the chance to escape, albeit barely with his life. Peppy returned home to Corneria and told James' young son- "Fox"- of his father's fate. Five years since that day, Andross has invaded the Lylat system, gradually pushing the Cornerian Army's control over the star system back to their home-planet. With few options remaining and his forces scattered across the system, General Pepper has called upon the next generation of the Star Fox Team, captained by Fox McCloud, to save Corneria and free the Lylat system from Andross' madness once more...

From the top of the Corneria City Watchtower, General H.D. Pepper stared up to the skies, awaiting for the arrival of Andross' forces. The weary General- an old dog adorned in a red uniform with black boots and a red cap- watched with a serious demeanour on his face, as a cloud of Venomian starships blocked out the light of the Lylat star, descending upon the capital planet Corneria like a plague of locust. At the head of the invading fleet, the dreaded Venomian flagship, dubbed the 'Attack Carrier'. Sleek and imposing, the Attack Carrier was a monolith of technology, the crossing point between Cornerian technology and Venomian culture.

General Pepper looked down from the now blackened skies and into the shadowed streets below. He frowned from spite as to the panic that was likely roaming the streets below. Just as quickly, his hate-filled frown turned into a empathetic look, knowing all too well the terror the Cornerian people were feeling.

"Five years..." The General barked, a voice filled with sorrow. "Five years of fighting... And he's done it. He's finally pushed us back onto our home turf." He returned his gaze to the skies, where Venomian starfighter ships began to zoom and zip around the airspace of Corneria City. "Five years... Damn you, Andross. What have you become, old friend?"

At that moment, a captain of the Cornerian Army burst into the room. Dressed in a blue uniform, the husky captain barked out, "General Pepper, sir!" and stood tall and stiff, a proud salute to the general.

"Captain Husky." Pepper responded, turning to the captain and saluting back.

The captain loosened and approached. "General, the Venomian forces have completely overrun our outposts across the Lylat system. If the army falls... Then it won't be long until Andross reaches the Inner Worlds, sir. He'll be able to rule the entire system!"

Pepper turned back to the window. Closing his eyes, he then barked, "Put out the call, Captain! We need a freelance team!"

"Yessir, General Pepper, sir!"

Meanwhile...

Within the depths of the Lost Corners of the Lylat system, a lone mothership known far and wide as the Great Fox listed lazily through the black frontier. Aboard the ship bridge, a mechanical servant designated 'ROB' helmed the Great Fox through lone asteroids and passed distant planets. The robot tick-tocked its way around the bridge, watching the stars and planets upon the horizon glimmer in and out of eyeshot. The bot's gold body frame shone as the ship went passed stars at close range, heating it warmly (or so it would have liked to think). Approaching a terminal close to the back away from the observation deck, ROB monitored a group of Cornerians on the security footage. The first the robot saw was an old rabbit, brown fur greyed over the years, dressed in a white duster with a red jumpsuit underneath with silver boots and a white undershirt, as he wandered the storage units to check the ship's supplies; he held a holographic clipboard in his right hand, and chewed on the end of a stylus in his giant buckteeth. The next was a frog, who hopped from wall to wall around the hangars, scanning starfighter ships from top to bottom looking for any needed repairs. He wore a white jacket over a blue jumpsuit with the same set of silver boots as the rabbit, as well as a red cap upon his green head. As he hopped to one starfighter ship, he angered another figure: a bird of some kind, blue feathered with red eye plumes, with a black jacket, orange jumpsuit and again with the silver boots. The arrogant bird snapped at the frog- 'Slippy'- for getting slime on his 'Arwing'. Slippy laughed and hopped away, whilst the bird- whom the frog called 'Falco'- returned to tinker with his ship, annoyed from the frog's interruption. Finally, ROB watched a red fox sitting alone in the mess hall, his eyes closed, twisting and turning his body as if he was piloting a ship through an asteroid field. The fox was dressed in a green jumpsuit, with a white jacket over the top and a bright red scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. After weaving his body around for a few minutes, the fox opened his eyes- a bright set of green- and flipped into the air, kicking and punching, before changing direction as if he were under attack from invisible forces. Amongst his movements, the fox pulled a black blaster pistol from a holster at his waist, aiming it across the room and mouthing fire sounds from the weapon.

Suddenly, a blaring siren sounded on the bridge, alerting ROB to the command point. The robot quickly tick-tocked over, and read the warning light that appeared. EMERGENCY MESSAGE, it read.

Activating an intercom, ROB boomed, "Message from General Pepper. Priority One!"

With that, the four men from across the ship dropped their duties and raced to the bridge. The fox and rabbit charged together, whilst the bird and frog constantly tried to outpace one another. The four pounced upon the elevator to the bridge at the same time, struggling and squeezing to fit. The frog Slippy- being the smallest- slipped out and allowed his friends in first, who all whiplashed into the elevator.

"Ha, ha!" Slippy laughed. "You guys are jumpy!"

"Slippy, what are ya doin?! Come on!" Falco yelled, getting to his feet, again annoyed with the frog's happy-go-lucky attitude.

"Calm yerself there, Falco!" The old rabbit- Peppy- calmly boomed, placing his hand on Falco's shoulder in a bid to calm him down. "Slippy ain't yer enemy." Falco meekly scoffed and folded his arms.

The fox stood, dusted and straightened his clothes, turned to his friends and proclaimed, "Okay, guys. Let's get to the bridge! Slippy?"

"Sure thing, Fox!" Slippy stepped into the elevator and pressed a button to send the group to the bridge. Within just a few seconds, the elevator had reached the bridge, and the four assembled at the command point where ROB waited for them, ready to activate the message.

"We need your help, Star Fox! Andross has finally crossed the Lylat system and is invading the planet! Our army is spread across the system and can't do the job alone! Hurry, Star Fox!"

"Message end." ROB spluttered, turning to the others who watched on.

"What 'cha thinkin, Fox?" Falco quizzed.

Fox looked to each of his friends before proudly proclaiming, with a large grin and a wave of his hand, "Set a course for Corneria, ROB! Our home needs our help!"

"Affirmative! Right away, Captain Fox!" ROB turned back to the command point. Activating the holographic controls, the robot began to set a direct course for the fourth planet of the Lylat system, and the home of the government, Corneria. "Course ready! Jumping now!"

Back on Corneria

General Pepper commanded what he could of the Cornerian Army to maintain their current orders. "The home-planet may be under attack, but to withdraw all troops from across the system will be futile! Maintain your defence, boys! We'll take back Corneria with what we have, and then send on backup to push back the Venomian forces!" he proudly commanded over a meeting with his officers, who all chanted a patriotic "Hoorah!" when he finished and their holograms dispersed. The General returned to the window, where Cornerian fighter ships began their counterattack against the Venomians. Laser fire lit up the skies of Corneria City, and the explosions of fire and metal from the ship as they were shot down by enemy fighters was a sight to behold. Even Pepper, for his father-of-his-men ethic, couldn't help but see the twisted beauty of the war-torn fireworks. His heart weighed down with sorrow as his troops willing gave their lives, defending the innocent people of Corneria. His pride in the military force he had led for well over 20 years knew no limits.

Captain Husky returned to the room. "General Pepper, sir!" He saluted again, tall and stiff in his stance.

"What is it, Captain?" Pepper questioned inquisitively, returning the salute.

"An unknown assault carrier has been sighted entering the atmosphere, sir! Permission to open fire?"

The General's eyes brightened and a smile worked its way back onto the old hound's face as he saw the ship was shown on radar. "Permission gladly denied, Captain. It's the Star Fox Team!"

"Understood, sir!" The captain reached a communicator and loudly boomed, "Disengage, A-SAC! Repeat, disengage and allow ship passage!"

The General began to place a direct transmission to the ship. Pepper proudly smiled as he recognised the architecture of the Great Fox as if it were a regular site. The Star Fox Team appeared on the windows of the Watchtower as a holographic projection. "It's about time that you showed up, Star Fox! Our forces are stretched thin across the Lylat system! You're our last hope to reclaim Corneria."

From the Great Fox, lead pilot Fox McCloud stood proud and quipped in a confident voice, "We'll do our best, General! Andross won't take over Corneria! Not with me around!"

"Begin your approach to the city, Star Fox. The Venomian forces will likely kick up a fuss. Your main target is the Venomian flagship, the Attack Carrier. It's disappeared since the initial invasion of Corneria. Good luck, Star Fox! Pepper out!"

"Message transmission end." ROB spluttered.

"Alright, Star Fox. You guys heard the General. Let's get to it!" Fox proudly shouted, turning back to the elevator with the other following close behind him.

"You bet, Fox!" Slippy cheerfully croaked.

"Right behind ya, Fox ma boy! Just like your father before you!" Peppy chattered.

"Finally! Some real action!" Falco cockily squawked.

Racing through the corridors and along the gangways of the Great Fox, the Star Fox Team- consisting of lead pilot and captain Fox McCloud, ace pilot and second-in-command Falco Lombardi, veteran pilot and mentor Peppy Hare, and rookie pilot and mechanic Slippy Toad- boarded their individual Arwings. Fox's held the trademark Star Fox emblem on both wings, Peppy's was edited with a set of rabbit ears and a small angelic memorial centred around the letter 'V'. Falco's customisations to his Arwing had given the ship a custom eagle-like paint job, advanced G-Diffusers for greater speed and agility (at the cost of shield strength) and even Needler cannons to pierce through enemy ship armour. Slippy's ship had been coloured with small lily-pads and wrenches.

"Ready for launch!" ROB announced over the intercom, as the Arwings shot from their holds in the hangar and out through the clouds and emerged in the skies of Corneria.

"Open your wings, guys. Check your G-Diffusers." Fox relayed to his team.

"Falco here. I'm all good, and pecken' for some action!"

"This here's Peppy. All systems a-go!"

"Slippy here. Everything's green!"

"I see Andross' goons up ahead! Let's rock 'n' roll, Star Fox!"