Star Fox Reborn Chapter One
The Team spends their "day off" goofing around--but the mission on Sauria is about to bring out the Team's true colors, and put a strain on all they know about each other.
Star Fox: Reborn
Chapter One: Fooling Around
Gray McCloud looked warily around the Mess Hall of the Cornerian Third Division's Mothership. The place was rather grim; the ceiling was low, the walls and floor were plain white tiles. The climate control left the room chilly and unwelcoming. Gray actually thought he could see his breath. He sat on one of the cold, hard steel bench seats welded to the cold, hard steel tables. He had come to the Mess Hall immediately after the briefing with Dax and the Team; it was around supper time. If Katrina or her team would be anywhere, it'd be here. Gray looked over his shoulder again and sighed contentedly. "Good, she's not here," he muttered under his breath. "Who's not here?" Katrina Monroe, the white-furred feline commando and ace pilot, asked. Gray sighed again, this time void of contentedness. "Y'know, I swear somebody's pulling the strings here." "What do you mean?" Katrina asked curiously, taking a seat next to Gray. Other than a few other soldiers at the other end of the thirty-foot slab of metal, the table was deserted. Gray turned around in his seat and leaned back. "Monroe. Monroe, Monroe, Monroe. Lombardi. McCloud. These names ring a bell?" Gray asked rhetorically. Katrina giggled. "You mean, like, the old Star Fox team? Like Falco and my, what, great-great-great-grandmother? Like what--the past is coming back to haunt us? Don't be silly, Gray. Do you see Andross anywhere? How about a massive army of Anglars? The only Anglars left are floating through space. They're terrorists. They're hardly a threat." Gray shook his head. "They still managed to kill my parents." Ever since Gray and Katrina had met, she had a powerful respect for him. His father, Jack McCloud, had resigned from the Cornerian Army and decided to become a gunsmith for them. He moved his family to a simple farming village at the foot of a mountain on Corneria and had built a life as a master engineer for the Cornerian Army. Whenever they needed some new firepower, Jack McCloud was there. His existence was peaceful, until a rogue squadron of Anglars had decided to raid the village. He had sent his two young sons, Dax and Gray, out into a nearby city to buy supplies the day before. When the two returned, they found the village obliterated--the Anglars had vaporized everything. Having only been thirteen at the time, Gray had nowhere to go but the Academy--with Dax already living in the Third Division Barracks and no family to speak of, Gray was all alone in the world. Gray usually didn't bring that up. When he joined the Third Division, he had been rather cheerful and excitable. Katrina looked up at the back of Gray's head and frowned. He hadn't been like this since his time at the Flight Academy. Recently, Gray had been quiet and unresponsive. The two had met at the Cornerian Flight Academy a month after Gray had been admitted. He was thirteen at the time--normal admittance age was sixteen, and that was under special circumstances. Most didn't join the Academy until eighteen or even later, but his and Dax's parents were gone and he had had nowhere to go. Gray was put in a class of students whose parents had sent them to the Academy either for discipline or because of their outstanding performance in the Lylat Junior Pilot League. The League was established by Marcus McCloud to help find new, young, skilled pilots for the Cornerian Army and to help establish a powerful, youthful military for the Lylat System. Gray had done extremely well piloting, but his other skills had been near-failing in the League. He was a relatively bad shot with a blaster and, since physical combat was usually discouraged, didn't get much chance to shine outside of the piloting tests. Katrina was forced into the Academy by her parents who deemed her as "undisciplined, immature, and having massive potential." Indeed, she was a descendant of Katt Monroe, and was even named for her, who had served in the Hot-Rodders Team generations before her. She was two years older than Gray and had always pushed him around at the Academy. Everyone had--he was much too young to be there, even for remedial punishment. The other "youngling" in his class was Darco, who was only a year younger than Katrina but was still put under pressure. Despite that, Darco and Gray were usually bright and talkative, especially around each other and the fox who served as their mentor, another "remedial" student named Malik. "Gray," Katrina whimpered sympathetically. "Look, Katrina, I...I'm sorry. That's not what I came here to talk to you about," Gray muttered miserably. "Look at me." Gray merely growled. "Gray McCloud, look at me now," she said, more sternly. Gray sighed and turned around. His green eyes shone youthfully, but held pain she had misunderstood during their time at the Academy. He was a bit odd back at the Academy. He wasn't exactly a loner, but he didn't go out of his way to be friends with everyone. He and Darco spent some time together, and the two of them spent a good deal of time with an older fox named Malik Clare. He did well in his studies and went on several of the field missions that the Academy offered. That is, until Malik went M.I.A. during one of the missions. Gray subsequently went a whole year without doing any field training, and then passed his graduating exam with flying colors. He'd rather silently joined up with his brother's team as the youngest member. Within a month he had gone on three very successful missions with Darco, Dax, and the rest of the team, and had been promoted to Corporal. No one asked about Malik or Gray's time at the Academy--much at Dax's persistence. Darco and Katrina had both graduated by the time of the mission that Malik went missing on, so they were totally in the dark. When asked, Gray would ignore or dodge. Darco and Dax had both given up trying to squeeze the answers out of him. "I'm sorry about your parents. And for everything I did...at the Academy," Katrina said sincerely, touching Gray's paw lightly. Gray pulled it away and shook his head. "Look...I'm here about that burst transmission from Sauria," he said darkly, and then looked around. "Why the secrecy?" Katrina asked, becoming more and more troubled by the steel-blue fox's recent attitude. She saw him around the Mothership often; she knew how he normally acted--and this wasn't it. "We think there's something...supernatural going on. Well, Dax doesn't, but...Darco and I, and Milani, and Marcus do. Cody and Dax are sure they just got lost inside some temple, but there's gotta be more to it than that, right?" Gray said. "Dax told me to ask you, but...I wasn't going to. 'Til I thought about it, and...I dunno. It's a gut feeling. There's gotta be more to this," Gray said, regretting that he hadn't grabbed Katrina's hand when she touched his. He felt terrible and had a strong sense of foreboding about this mission. Katrina nodded. "I'll tell the Star Cats to get ready." "Dumb name, Katrina," Gray said shakily, managing a nervous laugh. Katrina smiled. "Call me 'Sarge.' And I inherited the team from my sister. Sorry. Didn't feel right to rename it." "So what's she doing nowadays?" Gray asked curiously. "You didn't' come here to make small talk," Katrina pointed out. She tapped Gray on the nose and swaggered off. Gray stared at her as she walked. Darco sat next to the fox and waved a hand in front of his mesmerized face. "Her eyes are up...there," Darco pointed out, pointing to the back of Katrina's head. Gray blushed and looked down. "She's, uh...Nice looking." Darco burst out laughing. "Yeah, yeah. So?" "So...what?" Gray asked obliviously. "Oh, come on, Gray. Did she join up on the next mission? To Sauria?" Darco asked. "Oh! Uh...yeah," Gray answered distantly. Darco smiled broadly and shook his head. "You like her way too much." "I think she likes me," Gray said happily. He apparently hadn't heard the pheasant's comment. "She told you to call her 'Sarge,'" Darco pointed out. "Yeah," Gray replied, completely out of his head. Darco chuckled to himself. "So we've got the Star Cats?" "Absolutely," Gray said, getting up and beaming. He felt giddy, but couldn't put his claw on why. "Good to see you acting normal," Darco remarked gratefully. Gray shrugged. "I've been really hung up on not getting my own Team," he admitted, a frown forming. Darco scratched at his beak idly. "You can't expect one so soon." "No, but I want one," Gray muttered. "That's immature," Darco pointed out rather bluntly. Gray looked up at his long-time friend and occasional rival. "I s'pose it is. But can you blame me?" "Your brother isn't all that bad," the red pheasant replied. Gray sighed. Darco chuckled. "Stop that." "What?" "Sighing. You sigh all the time. It's getting annoying." Gray laughed. "Yeah, yeah, all right. Fine." Darco punched Gray on the shoulder playfully. "C'mon, now you've got Katrina to stare at while we're on this mission." "I was not staring," Gray defended loudly, blushing. "Sure, sure, just like I'm not a better pilot than you," Darco taunted seriously. "Oh, here we go, again..."
Dax held up the two sheets of paper and dropped them angrily. "This doesn't make any damn sense," the brown fox growled. He pounded his fist on the heavy wooden desk in his luxurious room. As a Sergeant and Team Leader, he was given a room above the Barracks, with the rest of the higher-ranking soldiers. Above his floor were the officers, and above that, the Cornerian War Council Meeting Room. It was often deserted; the Third Division didn't seem to be very important to the Cornerian Generals. He stood up and paced around the room. He was in his study, which the lower-level Barracks lacked. The room was small but homey compared to the smooth, cold steel of the main bedroom and the harsh white tiling and lights of the bathroom. There was a thin red carpet underfoot that barely kept you from feeling the cold of the metal floor, a large desk, and a bookcase--which was rather outdated. Books hadn't been used in generations; Dax's bookcase had only a few books in it: an extremely old copy of a Cornerian history book, a biography of Fox McCloud, and a translation guide for every language in the Lylat System. "What is it now, Dax?" Milani called from his bedroom. "Keep it down, please?" Dax hushed quickly. "You know you're not supposed to be in here." "Oh, like anyone really cares. Or follows that rule. I see vixens going in and out of all these rooms, every day," Milani said softly. Dax chuckled. "What about cats?" Milani rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant." Dax stood up and grabbed Milani and pulled her in close. "This mission's going to be dangerous," he murmured lowly. "Since when do I care? According to you...Me being in this room is dangerous," Milani pointed out, and pecked him on the nose quickly. She broke away and sneaked back into his bedroom. "Such a tease," Dax muttered, grinning. He ran his hand through his crew-cut hair and threw his pilot's jacket on the floor. "Now, what doesn't make any 'damn sense'?" Milani queried curiously, mocking Dax's low growl on the swear. Dax sighed as he walked into his bedroom. "The last report from that area, from a military scouting party. It was...over twenty years ago." "Ok? What's that mean?" Milani asked, not seeing any relevance. She lay back on the hard mattress and hugged the thin gray pillow. "They went missing," Dax growled, sitting on the edge of the bed, troubled. Milani sat up quickly and wrapped her arms around Dax's chest. "What do you mean? They just...vanished?" she whispered. She did her best not to let her fear seep into her voice, but to no avail. Dax grabbed her hands and squeezed softly. She took one away and ran it through the short fur on his head. "Disappeared. No word. The local tribes never, ever set foot in that area, and Cornerian Intelligence wanted to know why...But...They just vanished," Dax muttered helplessly. "Do you think it's a trap?" Milani asked, her voice trembling now. Dax shook his head. "No. I have a gut feeling, though. Something is definitely wrong. This is going to be tough...I really hope my little brother got the Star Cats in on this one." "You only did that to tease him," Milani pointed out, slapping the top of Dax's head like he was a mischievous little kit. "I know. He likes Katrina Monroe," he admitted. "A lot." "Is it that obvious?" Dax broke out laughing. "Oh, it's pretty clear to see. But they're a talented bunch, especially Katrina. She's a Monroe, through and through. We could use her, and her team." Milani nodded. "Well, ask him tomorrow. We've got all day, then a good night's sleep, then...Sauria." Dax nodded. "I'm nervous." "Me too. I'm scared, actually," Milani whimpered weakly. Dax turned around and kissed her. "We don't need a good night's sleep tonight," he pointed out.
Katrina smiled and kissed him back.
The next morning, Darco met Gray in the Mess Hall for an oddly early breakfast. "You're up?" Darco called to Gray when he saw him collecting his meal. "Couldn't sleep," Gray replied groggily. "I keep thinking about this mission. Something's horribly off about, Darco." Darco merely cocked his head to the side and shrugged. "I know what'll get your mind off it." "What's that?" Gray asked, rubbing his eyes and gulping down some black coffee. "I don't know how you drink that stuff straight," Darco muttered, wrinkling his nose at the smell of the coffee. "Add milk or something." "To the point, Lombardi," Gray pressed irritably. Darco threw up his hands innocently. "I wanna race." Gray nearly spit coffee all over his teammate. "Race? Me?" he asked arrogantly. He threw down his napkin and stood up. "All right, Lombardi. You're on." Darco grinned excitedly. "You really think your ancient piece of machinery is gonna beat my brand-new Sky Claw VI?" "The Arwing II runs as well as it did when Fox flew it. Better, even," Gray snarled, crossing his arms and sticking his nose in the air. "I still don't know how. Why'd your brother pull that thing out of retirement, anyway? Marcus McCloud didn't even use it once he got his own," Darco asked. "Because it's a great craft," Gray cried. "Sure, sure. Prove it out there," Darco said, pointing straight up. "Hey, boys," Katrina Monroe called. "Oh, no," Gray muttered. "Where are you two off to?" she asked, putting her hands on Gray's shoulders and putting all her weight down. "Racing," Darco said clearly and loudly, grinning as Gray squirmed. "Do you want the whole room to hear you?" Gray growled. "Absolutely! Hey! Anybody wanna see a good old-fashioned race?" Darco boomed, turning heads all around the Mess Hall. Gray stood up violently, gulped down the rest of his coffee, and cracked his knuckles. "All right, birdy. You're on. You can come, too, Katrina. And apparently anybody else, too!" he yelled this last bit, challenging everyone in the room. A couple chuckles rose around the room. Several people stood up and made a ring around the three soon-to-be-racers. "Show 'im, McCloud!" someone called. Gray smiled. "I will." "Oh, no, no, don't you get a big head," the white feline said quickly, cutting Gray off as he made for the door. "I'm gonna win." Darco laughed. "Lombardi blood runs thick. I've got this in the bag," he said. Gray shook his head. "Let's just do this. And hurry, I gotta get the Arwing before Dax realizes it's gone."
The three trotted out of the Mess Hall and toward the Hangar, with a small tangle of a crowd following them.
Dax woke up and smiled widely. "I love you," he whispered in Milani's ear, then put his arm around her. She smiled before she even opened her eyes. "I love you too," she said, then yawned. "What are we doing today?" Dax asked, scratching his head. "Resting," Milani teased, rubbing Dax's chest with a claw. He chuckled. "Oh, yeah. Really relaxing." He kissed her on the snout and grabbed her hand. "We should quit fooling around," he pointed out. "We've got preparing to do." "Oh, please," she said, kissing him. "Whatever your brother is doing is surely worse."
Dax chuckled. "Yeah..."
"Wooo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Gray roared as the Arwing II flashed around a turn. Darco's Sky Claw VI was in hot pursuit, almost directly behind Fox McCloud's old jet. Katrina Monroe's Growler III was a good ways ahead of both of the boys. The three, as well as some spectators, had arrived on Corneria within an hour of deciding to race and had some technicians set up a simple circuit race track using rings of laser "balloons". The "balloons" were floating rings of red light that the trio had to fly through. First pilot to make five laps around all the rings won. The course required constant vigilance--some of the rings were precariously close to mountain peaks or trees. And it was a pulse-pounding race. Katrina had only recently taken the lead, but was plowing ahead rather alarmingly. "Come on! Come on!" Darco growled, thrusting his spacecraft into a higher gear. He blew past Gray and yelped as he nearly scraped a mountaintop. "You're gonna wanna pay attention," Gray's voice came over Darco's earpiece. "Shut up," Darco muttered, smiling as he pulled closer to Katrina, leaving Gray far behind. "One lap left, boys," Katrina pointed out as she flew through the "start" ring. The crowd on the ground went berserk. Gray sat back in the old, worn seat of the Arwing II. "I'm not lettin' you down, Fox," he promised his ancestor. He activated the boost on the Arwing and screamed wildly as the old jet burst forward at ludicrous speed. "What the hell?!" Darco howled as Fox McCloud's old craft bolted past him, barely visible. "What's wrong, Lombardi?" Katrina taunted. "Cat got your tongue?" "No," Gray chuckled. "But the fox has this race."
"Wha--?" Katrina was cut off by a sonic boom as Gray flew past her, putting a sizeable difference between them in mere seconds.
"You cheated!" Darco accused violently after the three had landed. Gray dusted off his shoulder absently. "How did you do that?" Katrina asked, troubled that her new craft had lost to the comparably ancient machine. Gray shrugged simply and grinned. "Dunno." Darco shook his head. "I still beat you, though," he said, jabbing a finger at the feline pilot. Katrina shrugged. "Oh well. I'm a lover, not a racer," she teased, then walked back to her jet. The crowd dispersed in good spirits, laughing and happy chatter leading to an awkward silence between Darco and Gray. "How is the boost on that thing that powerful?" Darco asked, at a total loss. "Apparently Fox McCloud liked his thrills," Gray answered simply. Darco shook his head. "Well that killed a lot of time. We should probably get back. Big day tomorrow." "Yeah, that's enough fooling around, I guess," Gray replied and hopped into the Arwing. "I have a damn horrible feeling about this mission," Gray muttered to himself. He sighed and flicked the engine on. "I wish I could fly you more often." He imagined Fox sitting in that very seat and shuddered. "Do I deserve this jet? This name?" he sighed.