A Will to Live Part One: The Discovery "Morning Colleen." Said my mother. "Morning mom." I said cheerfully. Saturday morning, what teenager wouldn’t be happy, right? Certainly not me, not deep down. I’m suicidal. No one’s aware of it yet, because I haven’t attempted it. "I was hoping I could recruit your help today. I wanted to go through the attic." My ears perked up. Depressed or not, I liked the attic in our house. It was reasonably well lit, and had a lot of stuff that was fun to go through. "Sure mom." Half an hour later I was helping my mom go through boxes of stuff. Some of it was junk, but some of it was interesting. I bypassed the newer stuff and went to the back of the attic, where the really old stuff was, and opened a box. There were some smaller boxes in it, some folded up clothing, and what appeared to be stacks of journals and picture albums. What looked like a necklace box jumped out at me, and I opened it. Not a necklace, a gold medallion, heavy and worn. The ribbon it was suspended on was dark blue with faded white stars. I pulled it out and held it up to the light. The medallion fit comfortably into my palm, cool and solid. A slip of paper, yellowed and old, fell out of the box, and I opened it. This Cornerian Medal of Honor is presented to Fox McCloud for going beyond the call of duty... I looked at the medallion again. A Medal of Honor? Presented to Fox McCloud? My mind spun. Fox McCloud’s team was long gone. The wars he had fought in against Andross had been nearly 100 years ago, nothing that anyone talked about except in history class. I knew from history class that Fox McCloud was a legend, the best pilot the Lylat System had EVER seen. Shortly before his team started passing on from old age, the technology that his team had relied on had been called obsolete. The Great Fox and the Arwings were at the Cornerian Academy. No one was permitted on them. ROB, the old ship computer, had shut himself down years ago. "Mom?" I stammered, looking down at the medal in my hand. "I’m busy right now, just a second." I reached into the box and pulled out some of the clothing. It was a jacket made of a dull, heavy, soft silvery material. It was worn soft from use, and rustled when I slid it on over my shirt. It was comfortable, to say the least, hanging down just past waist length. I tucked the medal in my pocket and opened the first journal in the stack. The writing was a man’s writing, dark and spidery. At the top of the first page, the words Fox McCloud jumped out at me. "Mom?" I repeated. "Yes, sweetie...oh god, where did you get that jacket?" My mom stepped over a small box and ran her hand down the sleeve of the jacket, looking stunned. I handed her the medal, and she sat on the floor, holding the medal like you would a robin’s egg. "I...guess you want an explanation, don’t you?" She said weakly. "Yeah mom, I do. This stuff obviously was Fox McCloud’s. What is it doing in our attic?" She shakily took a deep breath. "Colleen. Fox McCloud is your great-grandfather." My jaw hung slack. "What...?" "It’s true. I met him a number of times when I was very young. He was a very nice man, very kind...but sad." She sighed. "When he died, all this was put up here, and I had very well forgotten about it. Silly of me to." "My great-grandfather?" I stammered. I fingered the jacket I was wearing. I was wearing the uniform jacket of the Star Fox team, the very one that Fox McCloud had worn so many, many years ago. My god. "Your middle name, Reinard, is also a name in history. Fox’s mother’s maiden name." I looked down in the box, at all the stuff. I pulled out a photo album and opened it. The pictures were old style colorized ones, brittle with old age, but I still sat down and started looking through it. The faces of that legendary team, so young in the album, looked back at me. This was a very old album. The pilots in it were James McCloud (Fox’s father), Peppy Hare, and Pigma Dengar. All were young; in fact, in the beginning they were wearing Cadet uniforms. Towards the end a girl started showing up in the pictures, the name on the back of the photos was Vixy Reinard, my great-great-grandmother. "You’re more then welcome to take that box down to your room and look through it, Colleen. Despite what history says, these are heirlooms to us." "Thanks, mom." I managed after a moment, picked up the box, and went down to my room. I was there all day. Most would have hastily taken off the jacket their ancestors had worn and the museums would have paid a fortune for, but the old cloth felt comfortable on my shoulders, so I left it on. The whole day, I sat on my bed, looking at the albums and reading the journals. In the journals, the really old ones were James McCloud’s. The newer ones (if you can call that newer), had a different handwriting and were Fox’s. To think that I hadn’t been aware of such a proud heritage! The battles of that war were here in rich detail, along with something I had heard only vaguely described in history books. After the first war, Andross had set his sights on Earth, and Fox had gone more then out of his way to stop him. Apparently human pilots had somehow temporarily served on the Star Fox team, because page after page told about the humans. Many had been Fox’s friends. Also in good details were descriptions of people. History books are so busy making people into legends that you don’t know what they were really like. Fox had excellent descriptions down of copilots and friends. His dry description of former gangster Falco Lombardi made me grin, and his very warm, loving description of his girlfriend (and later wife) Fara Phoenix made me smile a little. I wish I had known my great-grandfather. I got on the phone, and called my grandparents. My grandpa sounded surprised to hear from me, then stunned at what I wanted to know. I told him what I had found in my attic. Long pause. "Colleen, can I ask a favor of you?" "Sure." "My father’s Medal of Honor...I remember him wearing it sometimes. Could I have that? You can keep the rest." "Sure." I smiled. "You want to know what my dad was like, huh?" My grandfather’s easy, drawling voice made me smile. "Yeah, I do." "Well, you aren’t too far away from us, why not drop by and we can talk? I’ll see about getting my sister here too, while we’re talking about the past. She has a better memory then I do." "When?" "Why not after lunch?" Two hours later I inline skated to my grandparent’s house. My grandpa was happy to see me, smiling at me happily when I skated up the walk. He was sitting on the porch, alone, book in his lap. Now that I had seen pictures of Fox, I could see that my grandpa looked a lot like his dad, complete with crooked smile. "Hi Colleen, it’s good to see you." "Hi grandpa." I sat down on the porch swing and handed him the box. He opened it, and an expression of stunned happiness flickered over his face. "I never thought I’d see this again." He told me quietly, taking out the Medal of Honor and holding it up to the sunlight. "After so many, many years of my father being gone, this is a pleasant surprise." "What was he like?" I asked, disconnecting the frames from my inline skates and tucking up on the swing. Having skates with detachable frames is handy. "He was a great father. I think he was more devoted to my sister and I then he was to his job." Again, that crooked smile. "He was a mouth off though. It was funny watching the Generals try to order him around. He’d blow them off sometimes. He wasn’t part of the normal military, and therefore wouldn’t be ordered around by the military. The only one he really liked was General Pepper." "All the history books make the Star Fox team to be out as heroes." "I know. They weren’t really. My dad insisted upon it. I came home from school, and told him that some of my friends wanted his autograph. He found that amusing but refused. He said he wasn’t a hero and didn’t want to be thought of as one. He was a soldier doing his job. That’s one of the reasons I decided to go into the air force." "You were a pilot?" "Yeah, I was. Wasn’t really as good as my dad, never was. Wasn’t really in my blood. In fact," he coughed. "I was a better Engineer working for Slippy and Beltino then I was a pilot. Pilot or not, it was a damn tragedy when the G-diffuser system was announced obsolete. No one liked it when better systems, including those new hyperspace engines, came out. The Great Fox and the Arwings were all retired. They haven’t been flown in a long time. Then again they’re older then I am." He smiled again. "After all, it was a long time ago. My dad fought in those wars in 2000, after all. He died in 2060. I was 53 when he died. Now I’m 76." He sighed noisily. "The war wasn’t that long ago then." "No, it wasn’t. It was 83 years ago. People forget, though. I hope they don’t." "The Great Fox and fighters are on the Academy grounds aren’t they?" "Yeah, sort of. Locked up. No one has the courage to junk them, but no one is allowed on them...at least, not the general public." He rubbed his chin. "Me, I was on them last year! I have my pass somewhere. I know all the old codes. I should go out there again, make sure the old cruiser hasn’t been neglected." "Why don’t we? Sounds like a good grandpa-granddaughter thing." I grinned. He laughed, deep in his chest. "Yeah, why don’t we? My sister couldn’t get her old bones over here, so let’s go find something to do." He stood up. Twenty or so minutes of driving later, we were standing in front of a huge hanger on the Academy grounds. He ran his access card through and punched a code. "I don’t know if I’m cleared for this...ah, there." He grinned when the metal door unlocked. We went in. "WOW." I said quietly, staring up at the HUGE mother ship that sat in the hanger. It looked old, but was flawless. None of the new ships I had seen had had that grace. The launching bay low on its belly was open, my grandpa walked towards that. I followed him. He walked up the access ramp, and I noticed a sudden spring in his step. He smiled when he saw the Arwings sitting in the bay, alongside the tanks and the submarine. "It’s been a long time." He said to himself, I got the impression he was talking to the ship, not to me. The hanger door opened again and a tall figure walked in. He fidgeted, looking nervous. Someone had hacked in perhaps? My grandpa went to the top of the access ramp upon seeing the figure. "Looking for someone young man?" "No not exactly. Who are you?" "James Samuel McCloud. Fox McCloud’s son. I can be here if I want to be. The young lady behind me is my granddaughter. Now, who are you?" The figure blinked and vaulted up the ramp, screeching to a halt right in front of my grandpa. He was a lanky teenager, probably a senior in high school. At first glance an avian, but looking closer I could see something vaguely catlike about him. He probably had some feline in him somewhere. A catbird. He had nice green eyes though, and had to be a foot taller then me. "McCloud’s son? Really?" "Yes I am. Now, who are you?" "I’m Taylor Lombardi." He grinned. "Falco Lombardi’s great-grandson. I admit I hacked the door computers. I had to see this ship." "Another descendent like me? Coolers." I grinned back. "So what’s the good word? Permission to come aboard?" "Oh, well, what the hell, come on aboard!" My grandpa laughed and stepped aside so Taylor could come on. Taylor nodded to me, looking around at the ships around him, taking everything in. "Can these ships still fly?" "It’s possible." My grandpa frowned. "Possible, but not probably. They haven’t been flown in, say, 25 years." "They look like new." Taylor ran one hand down one of the Arwing’s sides, admiring the smooth lines of the plane. "Been well cared for." "What is this, a team reunion?" A teenage frog walked in from the main ship. "I’ve been caring for the planes." "Don’t tell me. Let me guess. You’re a descendant of Slippy Toad." I said. "Damn right." He laughed. "And yes, they can fly, if anybody had the skills and those stupid generals would let us." "Hi Alan." Said my grandpa. "Hey James, howzit going?" "Pretty well, considering. How about yourself?" "Pretty good. Everyone here is a descendant of one of the Star Fox team pilots." He looked halfway thoughtful. He reminded me of an aquatic version of Falco Lombardi. "Peppy Hare’s family doesn’t live in Corneria City, so we probably won’t be seeing them." He shrugged. "I’d show you around, but I think it would be more proper to let James here do the showing around. After all, he’s the most direct descendant here." "Sure, why not?" My grandpa smiled. He showed us around the ship, telling us stories along the way, what he remembered from the times he was on the Great Fox. We ended up on the bridge. "Engines on." Said my grandpa suddenly. "Do you have authorization?" The computer asked. "Hell yes." "Well, I don’t have clearance to turn on my engines." Replied the computer. "Otherwise I’d be in orbit, not trapped in this hanger. It’s got an opening top, but I can’t get out. It’s locked electronically." "Taylor, if I gave you access to a certain security level, can you get that top open?" "Yeah, should be able to." Taylor replied, stunned. "Why the wish to get the ships in the air all of the sudden?" "I’d love to see this ship in the air again before I’m dead, that’s why!" My grandpa started turning on the computer systems. "I may regret this. How would you kids like a crash course in how to pilot a G-diffuser system?" Us three kids grinned. "Wouldn’t mind." Said Alan. "Hell, I’d grovel if it got me in an Arwing." Said Taylor. "I’d like to fly." I said. "Well then, we have a common initiative. Let’s go down to the bay, and I’ll give you that crash course, forgive the expression. Of course, you do crash one of the planes, it’s out of your pocket and your hide." "Okay." We all said. Two hours later we were watching Taylor hack into the military systems. He looked a bit nervous, but my grandpa calmly told Taylor he’d take the blame if we got caught. "Got it!" He said suddenly. "It’s opening. I’ll be able to take off in a few seconds, if Alan has been taking proper care of my engines." Said the computer. "All right!" I whooped. "We’re going to get to fly!" Alan turned a cartwheel. "We’re going to get in trouble." Said Taylor. "Don’t be a wet blanket." I told him. "Firing up my engines. Hold on." The Great Fox started lifting. "Hold it! Just who cleared the Great Fox for takeoff!" Said the radio. "I thought that thing was a junk bucket by now! My god! Call the General!" "Control tower is going nuts." I noticed. My grandpa laughed. He’s pretty spry for a 76-year old. "Let’s go Great Fox! Let’s stretch your legs!" "Right, boss!" The ship shot for the atmosphere, engines firing fully to life. It came smoothly into orbit. Stars no longer twinkled; they were just points of white on a vast deep black. The newer cruisers spun around, and seemed to stare as the graceful Great Fox went around them and settled into a solid orbit. "Am I seeing things? Is that the Great Fox?" Asked the radio. "That’s right." Said my grandpa. "We’re taking her for a walk. She’s just like new, old or not." "I thought the government junked her." "Not by a long shot." I said, turning on the rest of the systems, including the radio visual. The ship commander who had radioed in studied me, and was apparently stunned. I was still wearing the silver jacket. Even over a black T-shirt and jeans, it was still surprising. The fabric is particular to the Star Fox team, I think. "Star Fox is back?" "No, not yet." I replied. "Who are you?" "I’m Aaron Grey, ship commander." "Oh no, another descendant." Cackled Alan. "I don’t know about you kids, but I’m going flying." Announced my grandpa, going to the launching bay. "Ship hold orbit." He called over his shoulder. "Right boss." "Wait for me!" I shouted, running after him. "Wait for us too!" Taylor and Alan sprinted after me. The instructions to fly a G-diffuser are simple enough. I had a harder time driving my friend’s sportscar. Maybe that’s the reason why they dropped the Arwings. Too easy to use. As we flew around the Great Fox, getting the hang of flying, the between-ship radios buzzed as word was passed along that the Great Fox was up and running, and G-diffuser fighters (namely the Arwings) were also fired up. I sat in the cockpit of the plane, looking around. The cockpit was roomy for a space fighter. The controls chirped, hummed, and buzzed. Clean or not, a thin layer of oil was on the polished controls. The chair I was sitting on was plush cloth, not vinyl, and was comfortable. I’ve been on plenty of flight simulations. This was WAY better then any simulation. I wasn’t depressed at all. It felt good to fly this plane, really good. While Alan and Taylor chased each other around, my grandpa and I flew side by side, enjoying ourselves without burning up so much fuel. "Hello? These the people flying the Arwings?" Said an officious sounding voice. "That’s us." Said Alan. "What the heck do you think you’re doing young man? Those planes haven’t been inspected in years. They’re unreliable, and extremely old." "Don’t think so sir, I’ve been taking care of them." "Who is this? Who gave your authorization?" "May I ask who’s talking to me?" Asked my grandpa. "General Terril." "Great. Terril. He hates these ships, wants to junk them. Don’t know why." Grumbled my grandpa. "Hi General. This is Lieutenant James McCloud. I have the authority to fly these planes. I am the rightful owner of these planes." "Fox McCloud’s son? Well, surprised to see you, out of the rest home and into the air." "You couldn’t drag me away." Snarled my grandpa. "These planes have been through a lot. Obsolete or not they should be in active duty." "You’re defending the right of planes?" "No. Defending the right for us to fly them." "Don’t go all defensive on me. You aren’t cleared, Lieutenant McCloud." "So? You going to come up here and catch me?" Another cruiser, about the same size as the Great Fox, approached. "As a matter of fact, yes I am." A tractor beam turned on. "Real smart. You can’t use your own systems against me. They won’t work." "Who’s flying with you?" "No registered pilots. Descendants of the Star Fox team, claiming a legacy." I said. "I’m descended from pilots Fox McCloud and Fara Phoenix." "I’m a direct descendant of pilots Katt Monroe and Falco Lombardi." Said Taylor. "I’m directly descended from Slippy Toad." Said Alan. A Cornerian fighter suddenly launched and pulled into ranks with the Arwings. "I’m descended from Bill Grey, and I agree with you. The G-diffuser system isn’t obsolete." Other cruisers began to pull in around us, and were taking sides apparently. Suddenly, the ship that had tried to drag my granddad in fired on the Great Fox. "STOP IT!" Screamed my grandpa. "Stop it!" He attacked the cruiser in question, soon to be followed by the rest of the Arwing pilots and Aaron. Utter chaos broke out as the fighters and cruisers attacked each other. "THAT’S ENOUGH!" Thundered a voice over all the frequencies. "THIS IS PRESIDENT NATHAN VINCENT, AND I SAY ALL COMBAT STOPS NOW!" All the planes stopped in midair. The Great Fox was burned in places, and one wing was nearly torn off. Our Arwings were battered, and mine was missing a wing because I clipped another fighter. One of the Cornerian cruisers was lopsided, the one which had attacked the Great Fox, and several of the fighters didn’t look very well off. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" "Get a grip, Mister President." Said my grandpa. "I was defending my property, because this idiot General Terrill attacked the Great Fox, and all hell broke loose." "James?" "That’s right. My copilots and I weren’t bothering anyone, we were just minding our own stupid business, and next thing I know we’re being attacked." "Terrill, what’s your version of this?" "Just that it’s my opinion that those planes and cruisers should be junked, and that James didn’t have the proper authorization to go flying like he did." "Well, well, well. For starters, James is over the cutoff age." Said the President after a moment. "Don’t go jumping for joy, Terrill. The Great Fox and Arwings are indeed his property, and unless he bequeaths them to the next heir, they won’t be junked. James, you and your group land now. Not at the Academy, at the base. You’re welcome to go and go as you please, but all pilots must be trained." "Yes, Mr. President. Come on you guys." My grandpa landed, and so did the rest of us, including Aaron. "Seems we have a new recruit." He remarked, examining Aaron. "My father had a nickname for the best pilots, including all of our forefathers. The Cornerian Elite." "I’m going to go to the Academy and get the training." I said. I was on the Great Fox, my heart was still in that Arwing. "So are we." Said Alan, and Taylor nodded. Part Two: The New Commander That was two years ago. Now, I was standing in the Cornerian City Hospital. "I thought I had the flu." Said my grandfather dryly. He was standing, in a robe, looking out the window. "I’d still think so if the doctors weren’t telling me otherwise." "And?" "Cancer. Terminal." He sighed. "Or it will be if they can’t operate." "Can they?!" "The doctors said maybe, which sounds suspiciously like a no to me." He sighed again. Two years flight training and I still burst into tears. Yeah, GI Jane that I am. Yeah right. "Hey, hey." He walked over to me and gave me a hug. We’re close, very close. "The reason I called you here though is because I wanted to talk to you about something." "Like what?" I mumbled. He handed me a tissue. "The point is, the Great Fox and the Arwings. Terrill still wants to junk them. I don’t want that to happen. So I’m telling you now that they are yours. You and your friend’s. I can’t take care of them and make sure no one destroys them anymore." He sat on the hospital bed. He looked old here, very old, and tired. In his plane he looked a lot younger, more energetic. "I have one request for you to carry out. Now that you’ve graduated the Academy as a pilot with honors, and there are all these people who want to take over the system, I want you to..." "Restart Star Fox." I finished. My heart took flight. I sat down next to him. "Right. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but that team was always there for Corneria’s darkest hours of need so many years ago. I think they’re needed again." I slowly nodded. "Yes, I will, grandpa. I can do that. I'll gladly do that." He smiled and ruffled my fur. "Hey, I'm not dead yet, kiddo." He sighed, looking ill. "You okay?" "It's the damn chemotherapy, that's all." A nurse came in. "Afternoon, James. How are you feeling?" "Could be better, Janice." He grumbled. "But all right." "Chemo." "Damn, here we go again." He stood up slowly, shoving his hands into his robe pockets. I paced him as we walked down the hall. "How's Terrill behaving?" I shrugged. "Terrill's Terrill, grandpa." "Yeah, but still....watch him like a hawk." He told me. "I'll have Taylor do that for me, then." I smiled a little. My grandpa smiled and patted my shoulder. "Take care, kid." I left the hospital and stood outside, then sat down on the lawn, staring off into the distance. My grandpa was dying. No ifs, ands, or buts. I sighed, feeling more tears come. My mom had known before me, because I had been at the Academy. That's why she had seen so bloodshot the day before.... And now, I was the new leader of the Star Fox team. "Col?" Taylor walked up to me, still in the 'Cadet Blues,' his uniform. "What's wrong? Is it serious?" I nodded slowly. "H-he's dying, Taylor." Taylor closed his eyes for a moment. "He's a good man." I slowly stood up. "Come on, we have to round up the guys. I've got some news, besides the bad." "I'm listening." "You'll hear it when I tell them." I replied, wiping at the sticky tears. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The three guys looked at me, stunned. I was wearing full Star Fox uniform, and had just told them what my grandpa wanted as his last request. "Well, what do you guys think?" "Permission to speak freely?" Aaron managed to say. I nodded. "I'm not a general or something. Just same old Col." "Right." He slowly stood up. "Colleen....I'm with you. I'll gladly pick up a Star Fox uniform and fly for you. James is right, this system will need help, and soon. I want to help." He saluted. I returned the salute. "What about you two?" Taylor stood up, came to attention, and saluted. "Lombardi reporting for duty as Star Fox wingman, Commander McCloud." Alan bounced to his feet. "Hell with it! I'm with ya Col." I grinned, and high-fived them. "Come on, we've got some work to do before we get to wear the Star Fox title." "Like what?" "The Great Fox and Arwings both need some technological updating. Alan, you've done a great job, don't get me wrong, but the computer systems are really, really old. And there's a number of small mechanical things." "Well, let's get to work." They nodded. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It took a lot of work to get everything in working condition. Space Dynamics came to the rescue, helping us getting everything up to date. It wasn't cheap but it was worth every cent. When the Great Fox pulled out of Space Dynamic's orbiting station, it looked brand new. The paint job had been refreshed, armor replaced, guns updated into ion cannons, engines updated into a faster, stronger G-Diffuser system. Carrie, basically just an updated, fem version of ROB, was installed on the bridge. The Arwings were all revamped. The new, mirror-shiny surface was to help reflect incoming shots. The slender wings were movable, had three positions like the old version my ancestor had flown. The weapons were changed to carry more intense weapons and more of them. We all had the Star Fox crest enblazoned on our planes, but the wing tips and nose color of the planes varied. Aaron's was tipped in green, Taylor's in red, Alan's in black, mine in deep blue. The finishing touch was our names painted under our cockpits. Some minor cosmetic changes inside the Great Fox, and we were ready to be called a team. I felt at home on MY cruiser. MY CRUISER. Just the thought made me grin, made my eyes sparkle. I had taken over my ancestor's position. Welcome home, Colleen McCloud. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So how do we break the news to the general public? We can't stay a secret." Taylor said, sprawled on a computer chair on the bridge. I propped my feet on the control council in front of me. "Tell Mr. President and ask him to tell everyone during a press conference. Make ourselves seen, perhaps?" Alan blew a cloud of cigarette smoke in my direction. His habit didn't surprise me. "There's an air show at the academy air field next week. High attendance is expected, plus it's being telivised all over the system. Why not drop in unexpected?" "No smoking on the bridge, Alan." Said Carrie. He rolled his eyes but snuffed the cigarette. "Not unexpected. Unlisted on the show list." Corrected Taylor. "If we show up unexpected, they're likely to shoot us down, or try to." "You call the air show people, I call the President?" I asked. "Fine with me." Strange. Now I can call the White House, say my name, and five seconds later I'm talking to the President. He was quite happy with the news, told me he'd gladly announce it at the next press conferance. I thanked him and hung up, then looked at Taylor. He pinned the reciever on his shoulder and gave me a thumbs-up. "We're in business!" Alan and Aaron high-fived, grinning. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So we get to crash a news conference, huh?" Alan asked. We were flying in Corneria City, weaving in and out of buildings, going toward the White House. "Right." I landed carefully, using the new vertical landing that Space Dynamics had worked out. The others also landed. No one asked. We just walked right into the White House, got directions, and went to the Conferance room. We grabbed some empty seats in the back, unnoticed by the news crews. President Vincent walked in. "Good afternoon." "Good afternoon, Mr. President." Said the news crews. "I have some good news. A few days ago, I recieved word that the Star Fox team is fully functional and will be able to fight in all upcoming battles." Immeadiatly, all the reporters were on their feet, waving arms. "Lisa." He said. "You say Star Fox. Meaning that pilots have taken over the team and are using the actual planes?" "Yes indeed." He looked over the news crews at us. "In fact, there they are now." He wove us forward. We got up and walked down the aisle to stand on the platform. He shook our hands warmly, nodding to us. "How's everything on the Great Fox?" "Ready sir. We're ready to fight." He smiled. "Good. Are you willing to answer questions?" We nodded. He turned back to the news crews. "Ladies and Gentlemen, residents of the Lylat System, I'd like you to meet Taylor Lombardi, Aaron Grey, Alan Toad, and Colleen McCloud. They are the new pilots of the Star Fox team, and yes, they will answer questions." He stepped aside. I reached over and took the mike out of the stand, looking at the news crews. "Um, you." I said, not knowing names. "Are you a descendent of Fox McCloud?" "Yes, I am a direct descendant of him." "Why did you choose to restart the Star Fox team?" I thought about that. "No comment." More shouts and waving hands. The President called on someone for me. "Are you at full battle readiness?" "Ready, willing, and able." Said Aaron once I had given him the mike. "I have a question for Colleen McCloud." Said a reporter. "Did you get your position of leadership through inheiritance or skill?" I thought about that once again. "Both." "Then are you saying you don't have the skills to lead, and just lead out of birth right? I'm sure a lot of people out there are wondering about just how good a pilot you are...." "Col, gimmie the mike." Alan grabbed the mike. "Listen, I don't care what you think, Col is a kick ass pilot. She may be a descendant of Fox McCloud, but it's SKILL that earned her the right to lead, and don't argue the fact, all right?!" The reporter stepped back, fell over a chair, and knocked over a number of stand-up cameras. Alan burst into laughter, passing the mike back to me. "Very smooth, Alan. Mr. President, I think we've caused enough trouble for one day." I shook hands with him again, put the mike back, and got off the platform, followed by my wingman. Alan was still laughing. "Very funny, wise guy." "Yes, it was!" He crowed. I rolled my eyes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Fall into formation, you guys. Let's show all of our friends down there watching the air show that we mean business." I said over the radio. "Right Col." Taylor fell into position at my right wing. "Ready when you are." Aaron came into position at my left wing. Alan took a position higher then us, then fell in so he was behind me and a little farther back then the others. "Let's show'em who's da'best, Col." I grinned. "R-ight, Al. We"Right on time. Let's go!" Said Aaron. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE REMAIN SEATED." Boomed the announcer. "WE HAVE A SPECIAL TREAT FOR YOU....COMING UP ON THE AIR FIELD IS THE NEW STAR FOX TEAM, READY TO SHOW YOU THEIR STUFF!" "Okay, let's do a fly-by of the stands and then split up." I told my group, wings on my plane opening. "Copy that." Three voices acgnoledged. We rattled the windows in the tower with our fly-by, then we U-turned, coming back to the main air field. "Aaron, you come with me." Said Taylor. "Copy that." "That means it's you and me, Col." Said Alan. "Right. Come on, fly boy." We split up and went through the routine smoothly. We had worked something out, or managed to. Double flips, figure-8 loops, gravity drops (engines off then back down just before impact), high speed rolls, and the like. The crowd loved it. Then, right in the middle of it, a fifth plane dropped into our formation and pulled in. It was burned gold all over, and wasn't an arwing. Staring at it for a moment, I came to the conclusion that it was an updated Wolfen3. "What now, Col? We'll look like fools." Groaned Taylor. "Continue. I have been watching you, and will add to the performance. I will explain my presense later." Said a deep voice. No radio visual came. "O-kay. Try to ignore him, guys." I told my pilots. "If you say so, Col." We finished the routine. The new pilot did add to the routine some-he had worked out a series of flashy, daredevil moves that brought everything together more. When the air show was over, we headed for the Great Fox, new guy tagging along. "So who the hell are you?" I exploded. "My name is Jonathan O'Donnel. A descendent like you, Colleen McCloud." "HEEERRREEE'S Johnnie!" Said Alan, quoting a horror movie. I shook my head. "Alan, you're just tons of fun today." "Yeah I know, isn't it great?" These people need help. I shook my head again. "So, Jonathan, why drop in on us?" "This is where I belong. Like you." "Wolf O'Donnel fought for Star Wolf." Protested Taylor. "Hm, yet another thing I'd like to clear up. That is, if you'll allow me to dock." "I guess so." I said. "Good." Once my team had docked, Jonathan did, climbing out of his fighter and sizing us up. He wore a black flight suit, and was a wolf--one with dark brown fur and a white chin and neck. He was tall, not as tall as Taylor, but taller then me. "Well?" He asked, waiting. I sighed. "Come on. I need to hear this, I guess." We ended up in the den, one of the many things on the Great Fox that made it different then other battle cruisers. "Actually, your copilot is right. During the main war, my ancestor did fight for Venom." Jonathan sat back comfortably. "But after the war, he was more then a little tired of the whole thing. When Andross called the Star Wolf team back and said that he was extending their contract, my ancestor said that no he wasn't, and left. Andross didn't take kindly to that. He ordered that Wolf be hunted down and killed. So my ancestor came here, to his enemies, for sanctuary." "O'Donnel came to my forefather for help?" I said, stunned. "Right. He came to all of your ancestors for help. And they helped him. In fact, Colleen, it can go down that Fox McCloud and Wolf O'Donnel became quite good friends. General Pepper was talked into helping as well. In the end, Wolf just established himself as a civilian and started a family. I'm the last in his family line." I considered what he had just told me in the silence that followed. "Why come to us?" Taylor asked. Johnathan turned his face away from us. "Sanctuary. Like my forefather." His voice was pleading. "From what?" Aaron asked. No reply for a while, then a shrug. "Hang around by all means." I told him finally. "We're going into battle soon. You're more then welcome to where our uniform and fight with us, and afterwards we'll decide if you're a permanent member." "Thanks, Col." "No problem." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I walked into the hospital, and went up to my grandpa's room. "Hi Col!" He smiled at me. My mom was there also, she mustered a smile. Grin and bear it.... I grinned, trying to ignore the IV, and sat down. "Carrie printed these out from the Great Fox's deep files. Thought you might want them." I handed the packet to my grandpa. He opened it. "My god, Col." He flipped through the pictures, smiling. They started with Fox McCloud in Cadet blues, standing on a runway and talking to his father. It was a picture history, really. There were combat photos as well as pictures from everyday life. "Hell, I remember this." He pulled one out, him sitting at a Great Fox computer screen and Slippy hovering in the background. "I was reprogramming the network. Managed to do it without too many mistakes and re-do's..." He grinned. "There's my sister. Such the dancer. She had and still has a lot of human friends....that's Ace. Sort of a hotshot guy hired by the government. Soldier of Fortune type..." A while later, he finished looking through the pictures and smiled at me. "Thanks, Col. Hold out your hand, I have something to give to you." I did so, and he pressed something into my hand. His father's Congressional Medal of Honor. I stared at him, stunned. "My dad got that for bravery, you know. You might be able to use that at some point soon." He picked up a paper and handed it to me. STAR FOX READY FOR BATTLE. "Venom's a tough nut to crack. Good luck." "I can't accept this." I protested. "I won't accept a 'no.'" I closed both hands around the medal, it was cool and solid. "Thanks grandpa." "Good luck, kid." I stood up and left, after giving both my mom and my grandpa hugs. Four days later, Venom declared war and sent its huge, destructive fleet into the rest of the Lylat System. "They haven't given us the get-go yet." Fretted Taylor, adjusting his engine and doing a final check. "We can't let the Venomians get to Corneria." I said firmly. "We could get in BIG trouble for jumping the gun, Col." Said Aaron. "Got a better idea?! I can't just sit here and watch Corneria get whupped!" I glared out the magnetic shield of the launching bay towards the Venomians. The cruisers were barely in sight, just blinking dots of light. "She's got a point." John studied his Wolfen3 Diamondback with a critical eye. The hyper lasers had just been installed, and the Star Fox crest painted on was still drying. "We can't just sit around." "I'm with ya." Said Alan. The other two nodded. "We don't have to go by the rules all of the time. We're mercenaries, after all." I remarked. "We have our own style." "Cornerian offence fighters just attacked the front part of one of the convoys." Carrie told us. "Shall we get a little closer?" "Yeah, let's make sure our guys don't get their butts royally kicked." Said Alan. "Keep this ship out of danger, okay?" I told Carrie. "Roger that." The engines fired to life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The fight looked pretty even. We stood on the observation deck and watched. Johnathan and I shared a silent glance, nodded, and went down to the launching bay, strapping on our helmets. Both of us launched, side by side. "Let's see how much trouble we can cause." John said to me, grinning. "Roger that. Let's rock and roll!" A wave of Venomian fighters charged us. My new friend and I let loose with a return wave of laser shots, most locked on. The minions scattered. We had gotten half with our initial shots. "COL WAIT UP!" The rest of my team launched and fell in, taking down the remaining fighters. "Break formation. Let's go." I said. We scattered. "We haven't hired Star Fox yet." Said Terrill in a stuck-up voice. "We're just practicing." Said John calmly. "Col, the cruiser on your port side. Let's go take it out." "Roger that." I fell into formation beside him. He dropped back some so I led. "Would you boys mind running interference?" "Copy that." The rest of the team went for a Venomian Medical frigate. "Go for the guns. I'll get the generator." "Yes ma'am!" John grinned and dove for the guns on the cruiser. I skimmed the surface of the cruiser, then went under it. "The hatches are open!" Aaron told me. My god, he sounds like Bill Grey! I thought, shooting out two of the eight launching hatches. "Jeez, this thing is huge!" "Need some help down there?" Asked John. "Nah. I'm fine. You keep working." "Okay." "I've got your six Col." Said Taylor, hovering back between the medical frigate and the cruiser I was working on destroying. I started humming, under my breath, waiting for the hatches to reopen. "The hatches are open!" Shouted Bill Grey. "Right!" I wheeled my fighter, taking out three of the four in one pass. "Damn! Not bad Fox!" Said Falco. "There's one down.....or is that one of ours?!" Said Peppy. "Hard to tell the good from the bad!" Said Slippy. "Yeah I know." I sighed. "We don't have much time!" Slippy said. "There's the core!" Bill told me. I flipped and flew for the core.... "COL?!" I snapped out of my sudden trance. I realized that only a few seconds had passed. "Yeah I'm here. Sorry about that." "Core's on the top." Reported John. "I almost ran into it." "Coming." I flew up to the top of the cruiser, and started shooting the core. It didn't take damage. "Can't do it that way. I've got an idea." I flew up, U-turned, and flew inside of the cruiser's engines. The heat was incredible. My shield didn't like it much needless to say. It buzzed as it ticked down, telling me I had only limited time. Bolts of energy lanced across the small passageway. It twisted, making me feel a little dizzy at first. This was familiar. I had done this before... Crazy talk!!! No I hadn't. I had never even fought a real battle before. But...I had done this before. Somewhere. Sometime earlier. I reached the end of the corridor, and came to the heart of the engine. Pale green light filled my cockpit. My shield alarm screeched at me as it started draining twice as fast. I was in the heart of the antimatter engine. I dumped all of my smart bombs into it and flipped, running. I was just in front of a wall of fatal fire. Come on baby, come on baby. I kept my eyes focused on the dark of space. I gunned my engines and pressed the accelleration pedal all the way to the floor of my plane. With a squeal of protest, the arwing engines gave one final burst of speed. I was out of boost. I felt my fur get soaked in sweat. The corridor seemed long and skinny, more so then before, twice as dangerous. I was not scared. I felt calm. I burst out of the ship just as the wall of fire almost caught up to me. I was out of danger. I flew in a half-daze towards my cruiser. Behind me, the Venomian cruiser burst into flame, falling lopsided and nose sinking. A flurry of escape pods escaped the inferno, only to be captured by Cornerian cruisers. "Bejesus Col!" Shouted Taylor. "You must be a god-damn fool! You scared the crap out of us!" "How did you know what to do?" Alan asked, stunned. I've done this before...no I haven't, I contradicted myself mentally. "I...I don't know. My fighter's busted, guys. I've got to land." "We really beat up the Medical Frigate...but besides what you did, Col, no cruisers were lost. No one knew how to beat them." Aaron said, flying beside me. "How did you know that?" "I...don't know." I repeated. "You know, you look a lot like your great-grandfather Bill Grey." "Wha...how do you know?" I shrugged weakly, and looked at myself in the reflection of a blank screen. I caught a different person looking back at me. I didn't see a gold-eyed, unsure, suicidal teenager. I saw a blue-eyed, confident warrior and pilot. ME? Nah. That can't be me. I must be tired, I told myself. And surely there's an explanation for that wierd flashback I saw in the middle of battle... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What's wrong with me?" I growled softly as I tuned up the engine of my plane. "What's wrong Col?" Taylor asked. "Oh, nothing." I grumbled. I shut the engine hatch and patted my plane. MY plane. Once it had been my great-grandfather Fox's. Now it was mine, along with everything including his responsibilities. That didn't bother me. I liked my position as leader of Star Fox, thank you very much. "It isn't nothing, or you wouldn't be growling to yourself." He said sensibly. I started removing damaged armor and putting new armor planes in. "You know, Carrie can do that." "I know." "Then why are you doing that?" "I dunno. It's calming, like." I shrugged, pushing the second heavy metal plate into place. "And while I'm asking dumb questions, how do you know HOW to do that? They don't exactly teach it in maintence classes." I shrugged again, locking the plate in place and pulling the next damaged one. My paint job was ruined, expect for the crests, which had somehow escaped damage. My arwing was burned black. "Apparently, you don't want to answer. Fine." He shrugged and went onto the main ship. I started humming to myself again, quickly replacing all of the damaged plates. "Nosy, just like Falco." I muttered, stepping back to study my plane. "What?" John looked up from where he was fixing his engine. I glanced at him. "Oh, hi John, didn't notice you there." "You just said that Taylor is nosy, just like Falco." He set the wrench down and stared at me. "Maybe I did." I wiped oil off of my hands and went onto the main ship. Strange what I remembered. I remembered the war. The war that Fox McCloud's team had fought in. I knew it from his standpoint. Racial memory? Maybe? And why me? Why not? After all, I'm a healthy teenager. I can take the heat of battle, and I'm more then willing to take up the responsibilities of being the leader of the Star Fox team. "Col, you're seriously wierding us out." My team stood in the hall. They had been talking, but had fallen quiet when they saw me. "Sorry guys. I'm jus' really tired right now." I sighed softly and brushed by them, heading for my quarters. I also shot a glare at Alan. "There's a smoking room for that you know." "Do I offend?" He replied, cigarette in hand. I reached over, removed the cigarette from his hand, took a breath, blew the smoke in his face, and passed it back. "NO. But I didn't spend Lord-knows how much getting new carpet and cleaning this ship to have it smell like cigarette smoke, understand?" He gawked at me. "Y-es, I believe I do." "Good." I started again for my quarters. "By the way, you might catch some shuteye. Once we go into battle, we won't have much time for sleep." I told them over my shoulder. Once in my room, I shut and locked the door, collapsing on the bed. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I asked the ceiling. The taste of the cigarette was still strong in my mouth. I drained the glass of water sitting on the bedside table in an effort to remove the nicotine taste. "Is this why I was so depressed two years ago? Because I was supposed to be flying a plane, not being a civilian? Did my subconsious know something the rest of me didn't?" I was quiet for a moment. My team mates respected me now, as a pilot and fighter as well as a friend. Before I had just been Col, their friend and 'leader.' Now I was REALLY the leader. I had proven my skills in battle. Now all that was left was waiting.