Star Fox: ELPH - Chapter 7
#7 of Star Fox: ELPH
The plot thickens
For the first time in what felt like ages, Fox woke up in an actual bed. Technically it was a cot with a padded mattress added to it, but Fox wasn't going to complain. True it was a bit too small for both him and Krystal to fit in, but that proved to be no deterrent for the blue vixen. Case in point, as Fox's eyes fluttered open to a warm pressure squeezing his morning wood tightly. The sight that greeted him was his waist down obscured by curvy soft blue furred tits, squished together around his 'lil Fox' as small droplets of creamy white leaked from their pink perky nipples.
"Good Morning Foxy~," Krystal grinned, leaning down to kiss the tip of his cock. "Someone was having a good dream it seems," she chuckled as she mashed her breasts back and forth to make his length wiggle side to side slightly. Fox let out a soft moan and tried to sit up, only for Krystal's tail to flip around to swat his shoulder. "The poor little soldier has been standing at attention all morning. Let me put him 'at ease'."
She took his tip into her mouth and began to roll her tongue in a slow circle around it while continuing to massage his shaft between her heavy milk-filled tits. Fox began to pant softly, and his hands twitched, wanting to reach out and touch her. Not yet. I get to milk you, she mentally scolded. Then after, you can milk me~.
Fox flushed at the thought, and audibly swallowed as Krystal continued to pleasure him. Gods she was insatiable. Then again ever since he'd met her he was too. He wasn't sure he could blame the aphrodisiacs and gene altering chemicals. She was like a drug, and he'd become an addict straight away. This exotic wondrous woman who turned his entire understanding of reality upside down, literally could read him like a book, had claimed him as her mate, and was carrying his kit. With more to come if her libido was any indication. Did it move too fast? Possibly. But he'd gone past the point of caring. She was making this entire deathtrap worth it and then some. The sex was a nice bonus too he thought with a grin. Krystal must have read that thought, as she flooded his mind with her feelings of love and adoration as she poked her tongue at his urethra.
Gods his dick felt like it was melting between those fluffy mounds of heaven. She rolled her breasts, alternating one up and the other down, squeezing and relaxing so often that the sensation constantly changed. She would stroke from the top to the bottom, roll around him, never releasing his tip from her constant sucking mouth and lapping tongue. He was growing so close, and wanted to warn her of his impending climax. She simply grinned, and finally with a pop and a sudden squeeze, forced him to cum. His seed splattered across her face and open maw, painting splats of virile cream against her blue and white coat. Her tongue snaked out to collect more of it as she eagerly swallowed it down, earning another jaw drop from him. "You accepted my claim of you as my mate. It's only appropriate I accept yours," She explained as she used her fingertips to scoop another glop of his semen up and lick it away.
Fox finally sat up to watch her feast upon his seed, dazed at the intimate display of devotion before him. His mate. She wanted it clear that was what she was. The thought echoed in his mind, building a primal drive within him. His prick twitched with his heartbeat once more, his rearranged genetics and lust overriding any need to recover. She had made a point of pleasuring him , making clear he could not reciprocate. His instincts burned in him to correct that now that he had obliged.
The vixen finished off her salty treat, only to yipe in surprise as Fox roughly pulled her up into his lap. His manhood grinded against her thigh as he latched his lips around one dribbling nipple. "F-Fooooox~" she groaned out, her hands grabbing onto the back of his head as he sucked down her creamy sweet milk.
His hand found her other tit, squeezing and rolling it so her lactation sprayed out from the pressure of his skillful grip. Krystal's voice sang a conflict of relief and strain as the buildup within her breasts was pulled away by her mate's attentions, yet her arousal built with each pull and suckle. Fox however was not done, he had to pay her back for earlier after all. And so her opera of desire reached new octaves as she suddenly had two digits sink into her womanhood.
Fox pumped his fingers in and out of her, spreading them apart every few strokes, letting his thumb flick her clit as it drew close. She squirmed and moaned, an utter mess and captive of his attentions with no desire to escape. Her milk never seemed to stop flowing, giving a fresh pull every time Fox licked and slurped at her nipple. "Fooox, I-I can't... I can't..." she moaned as her body began to shiver from impending orgasm. Her tunnel coiled and flexed at his fingers as her todd shoved a third finger inside of her, building her up further and further. Every time she thought she was approaching the edge, he'd push her even higher.
Fox however had other plans than having her cum on his hand. He withdrew and released her breast, her nipple escaping his lips with a wet pop. _W-wait, what are you-?_Her telepathic question was answered as she found herself pushed onto all fours on the cot, her mate's cock slapping against her ass cheeks as he got into position. Her pussy twitched and oozed with want that dribbled onto the mattress along with droplets of her milk. She was so close, and he couldn't help but enjoy teasing her by tracing the edge of her nether lips with his prick, but not pushing in just yet.
"Y-you're mean," She pouted, looking back at him. Fox simply flashed her a grin as his hand gave her rump a light swap, marveling how it jiggled in response and how she cried out in a combination of pleasure and stinging pain from the impact. "Only because you're enjoying it," he growled in her ear before finally thrusting in all the way to the base of his knot. She came with a wild howl and clamped down on him as the motion left the girthy meat filling her every nook inside of her.
Fox didn't hesitate to start right in on a rhythm, thrusting in and out of her so roughly that there was an audible slap of their hips together. Every time Krystal thought her Orgasm would die down another thrust would batter her hidden bundle of nerves inside and she would cry out again. Fox's knot was already abusing her entrance, trying desperately to shove inside. He would manage to insert with a pop, only to tug it free with another thrust back, and her pussy would swallow him up again, begging for him to release inside. Her breasts bounced with the force, each mash of their privates flinging them forwards with a squirt of her creamy milk joining their combined fluids beneath them.
Finally, his knot caught and her tunnel would not release it. Fox grunted as he tried his best to continue thrusting against such a tight grip, his tip knocking against her cervix and pushing it's way in. His dick left a bulge against her stomach as they continued their dance, instinct driving them to climax tied to one another. Finally, another roll of her cunt's walls squeezed down on him with enough force to overcome that plateau, and he joined in her howls as thick ropes of his cum pumped directly into her most sacred place. The bulge of his cock vanished as her stomach plumped out as her womb stretched to contain the continuing flow of baby batter into her. Krystal's tongue had rolled out of her mouth, and her eyes screwed up in delight, feeling her body swell to try and contain all of her mate's cum.
Finally they came down off their combined highs, Fox falling into her back, her own arms giving out from his added weight. They panted in sync as he nuzzled the back of her neck and hair. His legs felt like jelly, and with how tight she was around his swollen knot, they wouldn't be separating anytime soon. ("I guess it's mandatory snuggle time,") He thought to her, his breath too shallow to speak it aloud. _Oh woe is me, whatever shall I do?_She laughed back at him as her tail thumped against his leg lazily. He managed to push them both to their sides so he stopped crushing her, wrapping his arms around her middle to gently rub her bloated belly.
"Mmm, think you might have managed to put another little one in me." Her hands found his and intertwined their fingers. Cai had explained the incubation device she had unknowingly agreed to meant that subsequent mating could easily produce additional offspring even with her already pregnant. Fox had complained at first, worried how the strain would affect her and how he couldn't in good conscious let her join him in the field like that. Cai's explanation and her own stubborn glare had communicated she would not be slowing down anytime soon. Their argument had lead to a passionate make out afterwards, even if he had stubbornly continued to protest the idea of putting her and their unborn children at even the slightest risk.
"When we finally come loose," Fox said, nudging his muzzle alongside her neck in a way that made her fur shiver in a way he'd come to adore. "We should figure out breakfast."
Fox rolled over, reaching for the warmth he was used to having lay beside him. When it proves to not be there he groaned awake, and sat up with a yawn. His bed always felt too big when she wasn't laying next to him. The Captain's Quarters aboard the Great Fox was too 'much' for him alone anymore.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes to find her sitting by the window, the rich hues of sunrise silhouetting her form, contrasting reds and oranges against her deep blue. "Good Morning," he called to her, admiring her nude figure. No matter how many times he woke up to that sight it never got old.
"Good morning again sleepyhead." She turned to look at him with a grin. "I suppose I'm one to talk considering." Fox quirked his brow at her words. "Looks like you haven't realized yet. Flattering that you dream about me as your wife already though." Dream? What was she talking abo- oh.
Fox shifted his legs over the edge of the bed as it all came rushing back to him. He wasn't actually aboard the great fox. He was still aboard the ELPH. This was a dream. "Sorry," he mumbled in embarrassment at his fantasy disturbing her own dreams. "Don't be." She turned to glance at the cabinet displaying the various awards that had been showered upon him at the end of the Lylat Wars, the scale model of the Great Fox, the photo of his mother and father. "For a ship, you think of it more as home than a battle craft... I'm going to add that to the growing list of facts about you I adore."
Fox pushed off his bed to walk over to her. "So figuring out you're dreaming right away part of the whole psionic package?" He asked her. "It can help," she admitted. "But the view outside the window kind of gives it away." Her tone was laced with a sad remembrance as she pointed his attention outside. Fox blinked as the same alien landscape as before stretched out before him. The gold colored stone structures rising above the discolored fauna, and the trees laden with plump fruit that he had no familiarity with.
"I've never seen this planet before," he admitted to her. The pieces started clicking into place in his mind before she even spoke. "This is Cerinia. My homeworld. As I remember it." She leaned into his touch as his arms slipped around her shoulders. "I sometimes dream of what it was like. Walk through old memories... Only with you have I ever been here aboard a dreadnaught though," she gave a small chuckle. Fox could see the tears threatening to spill and hugged her to his chest. "It's okay to mourn," he parroted back to her from the other day. She nodded and laced her fingers with his, a single salty drop landing on his wrist as she stared out at her lost home.
The moment however was interrupted. As before, a face of stone appeared in the window, staring in at them. It wasn't nearly as large as before, and this time Fox was able to see the there was nothing from the chin down, and yet it had long translucent tendrils flowing from behind it.
"Hope of Cerinia," when it spoke it felt like voices in every single language echoed inside their heads. "Find me. Your survival, and my own, are intertwined."
Fox blinked awake, for real this time as he realized both he and Krystal were laying crammed into the too small cot. "I think I prefer your bed on your ship," he heard Krystal mutter before covering her mouth to yawn. "Much more comfortable. Much as I enjoy waking up to you still knotted to me.~"
Fox blushed deeply at her blunt comment, realizing he had drifted off still inside of her. With a gentle tug he was able to slip free, and quickly set about trying to find his pants. Krystal had to stifle a chuckle at his reaction. How easy it was to tease him was definitely on the list. "Now, about that breakfast you offered." She propped herself up on one elbow as remnants of their lovemaking escaped from her.
The 'kitchen' was thankfully less minimal than the housing for any staff on-site at this particular research facility. Most of the dehydrated food cubes were still alright to consume. Fox made a face as he inspected what the label claimed was pancake mix. "Just add water... We'll see about that." He muttered to himself as he began scooping a measured amount out. He made a silent apology to his mother's spirit, and the memory of the stacks of fluffy golden circles she made, as he set about trying to make something at least halfway tasty out of the odd rations to compete with Krystal venturing back out into the 'outside' to gather fruit. Cai had devoted part of their attention to accompanying her and advising on what was safe for her and her unborn young in terms of consumption, as well as make constant remarks of how much the geology of the area no longer matched ELPH data to satisfaction.
"Krystal shall be back shortly," Cai informed him, flickering into existence as Fox poured the first maybe-pancake of the batter out. "Still getting used to you being able to pop in and out like that," he commented as he watched the pasty substance start to bubble with a doubtful eye. "My hologram form is more a way for you to physically interact with me. My actual 'self' is currently installed somewhere deep inside this research facility. I copied myself over after you granted me permissions. The additional hardware has made it far easier to keep track of you both by the way." Fox couldn't help but feel that there was a small smirk on the AI's holographic face at that comment. "You'd think we were two wily foxes trapped in a massive cage trying to sneak our way out." Fox gave the pancake an experimental flip. It wasn't that fluffy, but it looked edible at least.
"About that, I've been looking up the information you requested regarding your family name being entered already." Fox looked up from his cooking at this. "The records on your file show that the name was added when your genetics came up as a half-match to a genetic profile already registered in the system, and were identified as an offspring." Fox sighed in irritation. "So... Andross had tabs on my dad for his experiments too huh?" Cai tilted its head. "No, I looked up the match in anticipation of you wanting to know. The match was a woman's genetic profile."
Fox did a doubletake. Then a tripletake.
"A woman... Vixy McCloud?" "Correct." "What the, Why the, how in the..." "You have asked several questions without finishing any of them and your vitals are showing a spike in stress. Perhaps I shouldn't have-" "No. No. Don't ever hide information like this from me."
Fox slumped into a chair at the table, rubbing his brow. "...Why is my mother's genetic profile on file on an Andross built and managed nature preserve?" The very sound of the question made the absurdity of the situation strike home. "I'm afraid I have not located that information just yet. Forgive me for having to leave you with more questions than answers for the moment Fox."
Fox stared down at the space between his feet. Not really seeing anything, as his mind was halfway across the Lylat, years ago. The day he'd been informed of why his mother never came to pick him up from school. The officials had said it was a car bomb, Andross's doing, that had done her in. Was it not enough that the madman's ambitions had stolen both his parents' lives? Now he found out that somehow the damn ape had been using his mother's genetics in some sort of experiment. Was that why he'd attacked her? He thought it was to target his father, try to send him a message. Was he really after her for something else? Fox put his head in his hands, and pulled at his hair in frustration, emotions he had thought he had managed to make peace with coming surging back. "Even dead you still somehow find ways," He whispered to himself as he fought back tears.
"Fox... I am sorry." Fox didn't move at Cai's voice, too wrapped up in the vortex of trauma and anger that he'd spent ages learning to cope with and move on that were now like a fresh wound, and he was doing everything in his power to clamp it shut once more. He needed to get a handle on it all again somehow. He was angry, angry about what had happened years ago. Angry at continuing to end up caught in the web of the god-forsaken scientist's machinations time and again. Angry at himself for letting himself be pulled into this pitiable state again. Each negative thought was feeding into the next one, and the more he recognized the downward spiral the more it fed on his despair at his lack of self control.
"Fox... Fox your breakfast is going to light on fire." Okay that did it. Emergency senses kicked in and the chair was knocked to the floor. The pan was in the sink full of running water with a hiss of steam and smoke. "Great," he muttered in defeat as he gave a half-hearted toss of the pan down into the sink once he was sure the fire risk was gone.
"Fox, if you need to speak about-" "Not right now Cai. Just... just gimme a minute." "Very well. Would you like me to take over preparing breakfast?" "No. Cooking helps actually." "Alright. I shall return with Krystal later."
Fox swallowed back the returning ball of mental self-inflicted bullshit before it could surge to the surface again. He had decided on pancakes, and he was going to make some god damned pancakes that his mother would be proud of, reconstituted eggs and all if he had to.
"I should advise that Fox is in not the most healthy of mental states at the moment." Krystal nodded, not bothering to remind the AI she had a direct peak at her mate's thoughts at any given moment. Distance and distraction made it far more difficult, but Fox's mind was like a beacon. A beacon that was currently battling against its own blazing fire. It was easy to see how the torrent of thoughts were being intentionally held back by a will of steel.
She'd get to untangling that mess as soon as she had food in her stomach. She wasn't showing yet, but apparently knowing there was a tiny Cerinian going to become not so tiny inside of her made her quite ravenous. Or maybe that was all the carbs she had burned with Fox earlier that morning.
Krystal entered the base and immediately smelled a combination of smoke, and delicious pastry. The former concerned her, but not quite as much as how much clearer Fox's bundle of emotions was as she grew closer to him. Rounding the corner into the kitchen space, she blinked in surprise upon seeing the numerous stacks of pancakes, some thick, others thin, some still runny, that were plated all over the countertop. Seems Fox had been experimenting in order to distract himself, and currently was pushing his conscious thoughts to be solely on getting the most perfect fluffy golden discs to produce from the sub-par premade batter powder. She gave a soft smile as he let one flip with practiced ease, finally satisfied apparently.
She shifted the bag full of the fruit of her labors (literally in this case) onto the table and came up behind him. "Welcome back," He commented before she even managed to put her arms around his sides. "You're getting better with your latent psionics," she had meant that to be encouraging, but instead it made the tangled snarl of emotions he was holding back to surge again. "...Fox, you've made enough. The remaining batter will be there after. Sit, eat, and then we're going to have a nice long talk."
Fox felt the traditional warning sirens in his head at 'have a talk'. The phrase had been culturally droned into every Lylat resident in a relationship as a red flag for problems with a relationship. Thankfully with the soothing 'calm' emotions Krystal was sending to him through her mental link, he managed to catch himself. She had no reason to understand that particular unspoken meaning considering her understanding of the language came entirely through scanning through his own language center. The turns of phrases she knew were largely from his own frequently used favorites, and others that she had dug around for in search of an equivalent to something in Saurian, or the far older rarely used Cerinian.
"These look delicious Fox, thank you." She rewarded him with a soft peck on the cheek, and then gently pushed him away from the stove-top. "Sit down, relax, and I'll peel something to go with them." He sank into the seat at her guidance, and had to satisfy himself with simply watching her work.
She really was beautiful to him. Not just her exotic coloration, but the grace with which she took each step. Every movement fluid like a dancer, yet with the firm balance of a warrior. The subtle sway of her hips as she hummed some tune he didn't recognize to herself. The way her tail twitched in a happy wag every time she sensed his unspoken compliments... It hadn't really sank in yet. They were having children together. He was going to be the father of her kits, and she was going to be a mother... what would his parents think of her? His father would probably make a deadpan snarky comment about knowing he'd fall for a girl who could kick his ass. His mother... A sigh and he clamped back down on his emotions.
Krystal slid a plate in front of him. Rings of some sort of fruit that smelled faintly like bananas were placed between each cake, with something dark blue that's juices stained as they dribbled out from the heat of the pastries. "No idea what they're called, but Cai assures me they're packed with nutrients." She smiled as she took her seat, directly across from Fox, where the tips of her paws brushed against his boots in an entirely intentional game of footsie judging by her grin.
Fox returned the smile as best he could, his problems weren't something he wanted to burden her with- _Stop that. Your problems are mine, and mine are yours now,_she chided without changing expression, her tail gently swaying. "...Still getting used to that." Fox sighed, shoveling a bite into his mouth. The pancake wasn't nearly as good as his mother's... but the fruit that Krystal gathered gave a nice compliment to the slightly-too-sweet taste, balancing things out.
I know. And I'm sorry for being intrusive all the time. Krystal was enjoying her own plateful, maintaining eye contact with the merc she'd fallen for. It's very... difficult, for me not to. It's almost painful, not sharing so much of my mind with you... With strangers I grew used to it. Nobody likes the privacy of their own thoughts invaded. But it's so much more than just thoughts when it comes to... She hesitated. Fox was in a vulnerable position at the moment and pushing him deeper into just how fast her commitment to him was might not be the best idea. She knew that this morning he had felt just as much devoted to her as she was to him. But would that-
("When it comes to mates,") he finished for her with his own thoughts. ("I don't fault you. As I said, you can consider that door open all the time. It's just...") Fox put down his fork, he hadn't realized how much he had overpowered already. Having a proper meal in front of him had him shovel it in faster than he realized. ("I told you, I only had one relationship before you. I'm already uncertain of putting my foot in my mouth out loud, let alone in my own thoughts. And this whole...") Fox sighed and pointed to a spot on his head. Krystal blinked and tilted her head before realizing what he meant. A portion of his fur near his normal cream color was turning blue, with darker orange-brown surrounding the changed color, presumably as the pigmentation changed. ("I've got more around my pits and crotch Makes sense, sexual puberty usually hits those areas first- See this is what I mean. Train of thought.") "It's hard to filter what I say when it's being said in my head." Fox reached over and took her hand. "And I don't want to mess things up between us. Mated, dating, whatever we are? I don't want to ruin it."
Krystal smiled and laced her fingers with his. "You'd have to try very hard to drive me away at this point Fox." She got up out of her chair and moved around behind him. He started to rise from his seat, but with a firm push of her hands on his shoulders he got the message that he was to stay. "I want to be as close to you as my mother was with my father... I want to not just dip into your mind, but let you into mine." She started to massage his shoulders, pulling tension out that he wasn't aware he'd been holding there. "Fox, will you permit me to show you what it's like?"
Fox tilted his head up to look back at her, their eyes meeting and saying so much without having to even use telepathy. He had no idea what she meant, and yet with that look, he knew he would trust her with anything. He nodded. "Close your eyes," She instructed, her fingers tracing up from his shoulders, along his neck and to his head. She massaged his scalp slowly, tracing over his temple, circling each pressure point with just enough force. His fur stood on end with a shiver as he felt the familiar tickle of her powers peeking into his mind. Yet this time it was different, it was less of her diving into him, so much as pulling him into her.
Fox could feel so much, both his own thoughts, and her own, echoing as if both originated from himself. He could feel her fingers on his fur, but also his fur against her fingers as if they were his own. She could feel every little itch and twitch on his scalp as her hands sought them out, and he didn't even need to consciously acknowledge them for her to know just where to scratch. It started to blur where he ended and she began, and yet, he still could recognize 'himself' and 'herself'. It was... incredible. The trust he felt for her was mirrored in hers for him. She loved him... He loved her... There was no doubt of that. Mates, in body and soul. That was clear now... he never wanted to be anything less to her, and he could feel her heart skip a beat with that realization. The feeling of love, the raw emotion, each fed on the other's, and Fox finally understood. This is why her people moved so fast in finding their soulmates. Everything was laid out plain, all the complexities and quirks of one's minds a vibrant tapestry that was beyond the normal five senses.
His head tilted back, hers tilted forward, and their lips met. Fox opened his eyes slowly. The connection was not as intense as it had been moments ago, and yet it was still there. He could feel it in his own mind, a path he could reach back across on his own, not having to have her pull him to her this time. Whoa. He blinked in surprise at his own voice projected to her rather than just thought in his head for her to read. He could with just a small effort, reach out and her entire history and memories were open to him.
Her planet. Her family. Joy. Peace. Ambition. Trials of the spirits. Becoming a warrior and... something more? Fox couldn't find a word that matched yet. He reached for an equivalent in his own mind, and nearly had it, but soon the memories changed. Leaving the world. Fleeing the destruction. Loss. Pain. Sorrow. Drifting for what felt like decades each day. Alone. Everything gone. The man who took it all away. Andross. Wait was that his own memory? No...
"He took your world away." Fox said aloud, finally managing to pull himself out of her memories. He felt ashamed. He'd pushed into her most private depths of her mind, yet with a simple physical hug to her chest the shame was banished. She ran a hand through his hair. "Yes. I learned some things from Cai today as well."
Krystal released him from her hug and slipped back into her seat. Fox took her hand in an instant as she opened wider their connection to explain it all. I had asked them how the ELPH knew about Cerinians already. We aren't exactly a far-spread race, and most of the Lylat has never heard of us. It turns out that experiment files on Cerinians predate the ELPH's construction... Andross had been coming after my people for some time. Somehow, he's tied to how my planet died... I know that he's responsible for your mother's death, and now you've learned she was somehow in his experiment files as well. Your worries are mine. Mine are yours. We're in this together Fox.
Fox squeezed her hand. The revelation was heavy, and he could tell for all the mess that was in his own head he'd been holding back, she had gone through much the same. _We're going to get to the bottom of this. I promise,_he told her. She nodded and looked him in the eye with resolve. "You're holding back your emotions, trying to control yourself... Your anger is great, and you don't want it to control you." Fox nodded, wanting to look down similar to how he had when Peppy would admonish him for letting his emotions make him run off and do something foolish. But she held his gaze. "It is not wrong to feel the way you do. Anger can be righteous... When I was training to become a warrior, I was told not to deny any emotion I had, but to instead harness it as a tool. Sharpen it, make it my own. Do not be controlled by them, but control them my own strength." Krystal managed a small laugh. "Of course, they also were fond of telling me 'If you don't your own psychic powers will make your brain pop like an egg.' It was a joke but it used to scare the hell out of me that that would actually happen."
Her laughter at the memory was infectious, and soon the pair were giggling like idiots over the remaining bits of breakfast. Cai chose that time to materialize. "I hope you both have some room yet, I've taken the liberty of adding my own contribution to breakfast," they spoke as a panel opened in the wall near the stove. A pan was set on one burner, already containing several perfectly cut squares of some flesh-colored substance. Fox initially wanted to wrinkle his nose at it, yet as soon as it started sizzling he instead was sniffing deeply. It smelt like a combination of bacon and roast pork, and he caught Krystal licking her lips as they listened to the hiss of it.
"I thought we weren't supposed to eat anything living on the ELPH," Krystal commented. "Everything's considered endangered." Cai's face literally lit up with a smile. "That is true. However we are also able to create our own protein matter. A fortunate byproduct of earlier attempts at cloning chambers. The 'meat' produced has no sentient thought, can be made to grow similar to several known species in the Lylat, and lacks any nervous system for pain. This has made ensuring the nutrition of carnivorous and omnivorous species on the ELPH far easier."
Fox wasn't sure how to feel about the cubes being served up to him being vat grown. "Please do eat. I have formulated this to meet your nutritional needs, particularly for your future kits' needs." The two looked at each other across their respective plates. It was an odd thought, yet it did smell delicious. Krystal decided for the sake of her children, she would eat. One bite sized cube on a fork and into her maw later, she suddenly let out a loud "Mmmmm" and closed her eyes to savor it. "You have to try it Fox."
Fox poked a cube around the plate, glancing between Krystal and Cai who looked at him expectantly. He sighed and stabbed it, looked it over, and then closed his eyes to pop it in his own mouth. "What do you think Fox?" Cai asked.
"...Fuck. It's good."
Fox tightened the holster to his side, tugging his vest into place to try and make it less obvious. The mass acceleration gun was very much 'not approved' as a personal belonging aboard such a ship, so he had to make a point of placing it somewhere Cai would not immediately see it least the AI's programming forced him to turn it over to them. Fox had checked the readouts on it, the clip was down to about 38%. Who knew how many shots were left in the thing, and he wasn't about to fire off another bullet in order to get an estimate. Honestly Fox wanted to toss the thing away, but with his situation he had to hold onto whatever gear he could.
He stepped out of the bathroom, the only spot he assumed Cai would be unable to look into, to find the AI's hologram going over information with Krystal.
"I managed to ping a match on the entity you described," Cai was explaining as they brought up a recreation of an image file in front of them. "It is a species known as a 'Krozoa'. One is apparently marked as here aboard the ELPH, but despite it's time here it has remained at exactly 'one' for it's species. There is no data on its reproductive system on hand. That said, it is currently living in another environment node aboard the station."
"We'll need to get to that node then. How do we do that?" Fox asked, strolling up to the conversation. "There are walkways meant for living staff, but they are likely locked down. I'm afraid my current authorizations extend to this environment node alone at the moment. But even with that, I can access a few cameras that show not all of the walkways are safe to pass through anymore. Some of them are actively devoid of a breathable atmosphere at the moment... Which brings me to another point."
Krystal and Fox exchanged a glance at that. This was outside the norm for the AI as far as they had known so far. "The ELPH is suffering numerous breakdowns of systems. Simple things that should have been easy to prevent long ago, but were never logged." Cai put a hand to their chin to mimic a 'thinking' pose. "This is abnormal, and I could not tell why the other Sub-AIs in charge of their stations would not report them for immediate repairs. I soon learned why however. It is the same reason that there was no AI present in this particular station when you installed me. I had been anticipating needing to further override them if they intended to remain in control. Instead I found that the AI in place of this station had been deleted. By the Core Caretaker AI."
Cai's face looked worried as he looked to Fox and Krystal. "Problems are no longer being reported to the Core, as the Core has taken to deleting AI that do not meet its standards. Reports of 'all is green' are sent out of a sense of self preservation instead. In honesty the ELPH is in bad shape in several areas. You two are seeking to break several of the 'rules' I am meant to enforce in your investigations and attempt at leaving the station. Therefore, in order to continue offering my aid in these efforts, I have to make use of a loophole in my programming. Fox. Krystal." Cai's hologram bowed their head. "I must ask that you two aid me in removing the Core AI's ability to cause further harm to this station, as its standards have become detrimental to the survival of the endangered life-forms aboard the ELPH."
The Great Fox was entirely too quiet with its captain absent. It'd been days since he had gone down to the station, and they had lost all contact not long after. Peppy didn't like it. For all of Slippy's assurances that Fox could handle himself, it had been too long without word. He knew Fox was more than capable of watching his own tail, but it didn't stop him from worrying about the young man he considered like a son to him. The old hare adjusted his glasses as he returned to trying to map out the external structures of the large and elaborate station.
He wanted to go down there himself and find Fox. But he knew well enough both him and Slippy were in no shape for a ground mission. He was barely cleared for flight with his vision going as he grew older. Granted that flight clearance was for the single most high-tech high-performance high-skill-ceiling fighters in the system. But that didn't mean much when it came to putting his boots on the ground. They still had provisions to last a few more weeks without needing a supply drop. The general had been generous enough to put it on tab to be taken out of their payment should it come to that. That meant all the hare could do was wait, and hope Fox would contact them. And when he did, Peppy wanted to have as much on hand to help out Fox when it happened.
"ATTENTION. THERE ARE MULTIPLE SPACECRAFT INBOUND." Peppy looked up at R.O.B.'s sudden alert, while Slippy nearly jumped out of his chair. "Do we have ID on those craft?" Peppy asked with practiced ease, making his way to the control panels should he need to hail the vessels or man the defenses. "SPACECRAFT ARE NOT BROADCASTING ON ANY KNOWN CORNERIAN APPROVED FREQUENCIES. ATTEMPTING TO IDENTIFY VISUALLY... VISUALS ON SCREEN."
Peppy felt his heartrate jolt up. Slippy dropped the tools in his hands to the floor with a clatter. The image was far off yet, but the shape of the fighters on screen had been burned into the pair's memory from the war. Four wings, bent forward, surrounding a sharp arrowhead shaped base, a pair of g-diffusers painted bright red the only identifying colors.
Wolfens.