Star Fox: Sith Rising

[Star_Dragon]

[Mandalorian voice] And here it is! A salvaged Basilisk War Droid The Next Book in the Star Fox: Warring Guilds series! [/Mandalorian voice]

This is the next book in my Star Fox: Warring Guilds series. For those who haven't already done so, READ STAR FOX: WARRING GUILDS!!! Otherwise, you will not understand this book!

Star Fox: Sith Rising

Introduction

It’s been more than two years since the war between Star Fox and Star Wolf, commonly called the Guild War. In that war, Jedi Weapon Master Kyle Anderson defeated Darth Trayus, who had once been Wolf O’Donnell. Following the close of the war, Kyle married Katt Monroe, the woman who stood by him in his time of need. However, the galaxy is far from settled. Following Trayus’ death and the fall of Star Wolf, Remnants of the Sith, aided by traitors and heretics within the Covenant collective and by the Kemorainian imperial remnant, began gathering an army. Their location was unknown. Their intentions were unknown. But their forces were massive.

If the galaxy is to survive, its inhabitants will have to come together in the biggest alliance since the Kemoran Wars, the very wars that nearly destroyed the galaxy. Victory will yield a united galaxy, but defeat will shatter it, and not even Star Fox will be able to stop the darkness that follows...

Chapter One

1138 hours, Ikktar 37, 4834 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Class-II Dragonarian Warbird Dragon’s Rage in orbit of Eizo VI, AKA “Hell” in system NC-708

Kyle looked over a holographic map of the Elysium weapons research lab on the planet Eizo VI. It was an isolated world, with a harsh tundra covering the entire planet. Recently, the Interstellar Alliance of Alien Races, or the IAAR, lost contact with the Elysium weapons research lab, and Fox had sent Kyle and his ship, a Class-II Dragonarian Warbird called the Dragon’s Rage, there to investigate. Every hail went unanswered, and scans showed that their communications relay was perfectly operational. So, instead of persisting with the hails, Kyle decided to head down to the weapons lab to investigate. His wife, Katt, would monitor his situation from orbit, and provide support when needed.

Katt walked into the briefing room as Kyle looked over the map. She noticed Kyle staring intently at the map, slowly walked over behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her chin on his right shoulder.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Oh, this place just gives me the willies.” Kyle replied.

“Not the happiest of memories, huh?” Katt inquired. Kyle sighed.

“It’s been fully eight years since I rested eyes on this place... only last time I was here, so were the Kemorainians.”

“A lot’s changed since your last visit, eh?” Katt chuckled. Kyle smiled.

“That’s what I’m assuming.” Katt kissed the base of Kyle’s neck.

“Be careful out there, okay?” she whispered softly. She turned Kyle around to face her and added, “The last thing I would want is to lose you. You know how much—” Katt was cut off as Kyle leaned over and kissed her.

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I know how to survive in situations like this. Remember, I defeated Darth Trayus. Not an easy task.”

“Remember, you nearly went over to the dark side when you defeated him. Had I not been there to stop you, we wouldn’t be here... together.” Katt whispered. She kissed him tenderly as the quartermaster, Falco, came in.

“Hey, love-birds, save it for after the mission.” he said. Kyle chuckled.

“Is my armor and loadout ready?” he asked.

“Waiting in the armory.” Falco stated. Kyle nodded, winked at Katt, and left. Once he donned his armor and weapons, he would take his JX-49 down to the surface. After that, it should be trivial to head in and find out what happened to the lab personnel. A walk in the park.

Location: Elysium Weapons Research Lab, Eizo VI

Landing in a stable area on a snowy planet is bad enough, but doing so in the middle of a blizzard verged on suicidal. Luckily enough, Wes, Kyle’s AI, kept the JX-49 stable and aided in landing the fighter. Once all the systems were shut down, Wes transmitted himself inside Kyle’s armor, leaving a sub-copy of himself in the JX-49 to keep the fighter operational and to keep it from being stolen.

Kyle hopped out of the fighter cockpit and onto the harsh white snow, the boots of his armor leaving deep impressions. He checked the load of his MP340 Advanced Assault Rifle, checked the load of his M700 Semiautomatic shotgun, made sure he had plenty of ammo for both weapons, and headed to the edge of the ledge overlooking the facility. Looking through the scope of the MP340, Kyle spotted two black-armored Unggoy at the bridge going into the facility.

“Talk to me, Katt—friend or foe?” Kyle said.

“Definitely foe,” Katt replied. “Judging from the radio chatter, they’re with a Sangheili heretic named Ado ‘Mortumee. However, from the radio chatter I’m getting here, their mission went bad, and they were forced to pull out of the facility before they got very far. Heavy casualties. Feel free to crack some skulls.” Kyle didn’t need Katt to tell him to shoot the enemy. By the time she finished saying this, he had already shot both Unggoy in the head. This done, he headed down the path behind his JX-49. It wasn’t long before he came to the bridge, where the dead Unggoy lay in the bloodied snow.

The trip across the bridge was uneventful to say the least, but as Kyle got to the elevator, it started to descend.

“Welcome to Elysium Weapons Lab,” said a computerized voice. “Please remember to have your green identification badge displayed at all times.”

“Hey, Falco, did you remember to pack my green identification badge?” Kyle asked.

“Yup... should be right next to your pink library card.” Falco replied.

“Don’t worry about it, sir. I’ll hack the security system and they’ll never be the wiser.” Wes said.

“No, I’ll do that.” Katt interjected. Wes sighed.

“Suit yourself, but I strongly disagree.” A few moments passed before Katt said,

“Hm... tough security. This might take longer than I thought.”

“Take your time,” Kyle stated, “it looks like I’ll be on this elevator ‘till early next week.” The elevator got to the bottom of the shaft two minutes later, and Kyle went through the proximity-activated door. “How’s it coming with that security, Katt?” Kyle asked.

“Still hacking... done in a minute.” Katt replied.

Katt had no more than said this when an electrical force field went active, and a computerized voice requested,

“Please remain motionless for weapons scan.” a scanning sensor made a sweep of the entire room.

“Uh... guys?” Kyle mumbled.

“What the-- hang on, Kyle.” Katt said.

“Weapons detected.” the computerized voice said. Alarms went active, and the computerized voice ordered, “Relinquish all weapons. Thirty seconds.”

“Sounds like they mean it, Katt.”

“Twenty seconds.” The computerized voice warned.

“Anytime you’re ready, Katt.” Kyle commented.

“I’m working on it!” Katt stated.

“Ten seconds. Defense turrets online.” the computer announced. Instantly, two dual-chain gun turrets popped out of barrels and pointed directly at Kyle.

“Those look painful...” Kyle mumbled.

“Last warning: Relinquish all weapons.”

“Katt, a little help here would be nice!” Kyle said, readying his MP340.

“Got it!” Katt proclaimed.

“Security override. Disengaging defense systems. Thank you, and have a nice day.” the computer stated. The defense turrets went off-line, and the force field shut down.

“So,” Kyle stated as he walked toward the door, “did you have it all along, or do you just like making me sweat?” This was a joke, and Katt knew it, and it showed in her voice as she replied,

“Go to hell, Kyle.”

“Already there, sweetheart.” Kyle said. He and Katt then shared a soft laugh. As Kyle got to the door, he stepped through, got on an elevator, and continued with his mission.

NOTE: Chapters 5-10 are going to be split between two timelines. --Star_Dragon

[Guest DRL]

Lol, there are simply too much

fan fictions for me to read,

and, I do not have that much time...

I will still try to keep up with this if

I can. Sounds (or 'reads' would be a

more appropiate word) really cool.

[rainfyre66]

Off to a great start! You do write some good stories.

[Fluxy]

Loving the story start Stardragon! And from seeing the last story, I can only expect the best! i thought it was a little weird, Starfox & Lightsabers, but it turned out to be a great story. Keep it up!

[rainfyre66]

i thought it was a little weird, Starfox & Lightsabers, but it turned out to be a great story. Keep it up!

My thoughts were, Star Fox? Lightsabers? AWESOME!

[Star_Dragon]

Sorry for the delay in posting the next chapter! I was going to post as soon as I came on-line, but I signed off to play Troopers: Dawn of Destiny. Anyway, here's chapter two!

Chapter Two

When Kyle stepped off the elevator in the Ops area, a gigantic fire was visible on the far side, on the first floor. The walkway ended to his right, so Kyle was left with no choice but to go left. A short while later, Kyle came across a locked door with a keypad.

“Katt, any chance you can hack through this door?” Kyle asked into his armor’s communicator.

“The schematics look like spaghetti. You’ll have to figure something out on your end.” Katt answered.

“Wes?”

“The security override for this door is corrupt. Unless you know the security code, there’s nothing that can be done.” Wes answered. Kyle sighed, doubled back, and took a service lift down to the first floor. As he stepped off, two bodies were visible on the floor; a Terran and a red-armored Unggoy. The Terran had a melted face from where a plasma pulse hit, while the Unggoy had a bullet in his head.

The two of them had killed each other, Kyle reasoned, probably because they fired simultaneously. Kyle continued past the massive fire, through a series of circular doors until he came across another fire blocking the next door. Kyle took a left through another circular door and entered a medbay. He heard a cough on the other side of the room, followed the sound to its source, and found a Terran lying on an inactive regeneration bed. Kyle activated the bed, regenerated the Terran, and after the bed de-activated itself, the Terran got off of it.

“Who are you?” he asked

“Kyle Anderson, Vice Admiral for the Star Fox guild. Who are you?” Kyle answered.

“Jansen, maitenence for area nine.” the Terran said.

“Where is everybody?” Kyle asked

“Dead... they’re all dead.” Jansen stated.

“What happened?” Kyle asked.

“Alarms went off... and they told me to barricade the door. Then there was... an explosion. I crawled in here to get fixed up, but I must’ve passed out.”

“I have to check out the rest of the facility. How can I get past the fire in the Ops area?”

“Through the control room. I know the security code. There’s a lift on the other side.”

“Alright, follow me.” Kyle ordered. Kyle backtracked his way to the ops area, and spoke into his armor’s communicator. “You heard the man, Katt; everyone’s dead.”

“I guess that explains the radio silence.” Katt replied.

“But what killed them?” Kyle inquired.

“I’m picking up life signs further in. My guess is you’ll soon find out.” Katt answered. Kyle and Jansen took the service lift to the second floor, and Jansen opened the door to the control room. Kyle stepped inside, swept his MP340 from one side of the room to the next, and whispered “clear” to Jansen, who opened the next door. Before Kyle left the room, Wes stopped him.

“Excuse me, sir, but I believe we can learn more about what happened here if we examine our surroundings.”

“Acknowledged,” Kyle stated. He turned toward his right and something caught his eye—a flashing light. The flashing light was coming from a button. Kyle hit the button, and the computerized voice said,

“Most recent log entry – playback.” Seconds later, other voices were heard.

“Mayday... this is Elysium weapons lab,  issuing a priority-one distress call! We need help! We need military support. The experiments went bad... some of them got out and now they’re everywhere! We built a blockade, but we don’t know how long it’ll last! Mayday!” In the background noise, the sound of a loud pounding against metal was heard.

“They’re coming through!”

“Let ‘em come! I’ve got something for ‘em!”

“Back off, Sheffield! Those containers are flammable!”

“C’mon, you bastards! Eat flame!”

“No, don’t!” an explosion followed two seconds later. Kyle looked over the ops area.

“Did you get all that, Falco?” he asked.

“Yup... I suppose that explains what caused the fire.” Falco replied. Kyle quickly left the control room and took the service lift down behind the fire. The flames were so close to the door that Kyle could feel the heat through his armor in seconds.

He moved through the door on his right and came across a gruesome scene. There were a few crates stacked on either side of the hall, and pools of crimson blood were everywhere. Among the pools of blood was half the body of a Terran.

“Oh my god!” Jansen said. “Dogget’s dead!” Kyle glanced at his motion tracker, and it painted enemy movement – right on top of him!

Kyle raised his weapon and swept around the area... nothing.

“C’mon,” Kyle said, dragging Jansen along. “We have to keep moving.”

“Wow,” Katt said. “A little on the aggressive side, don’t you think?”

“Katt, there’s something in here with us, and it’s about to jump me.” Kyle stated.

“I know,” Katt responded. “Whatever it is, it’s in the walls.” Katt had no more than said this when two loud pounding sounds were heard, both in front and behind Kyle. The wall panel behind Kyle burst open, and a spider the size of a Baragwin Battle Tank sprang forward, landing on Jansen and tearing him to bloody shreds. Kyle clicked his MP340’s EMAC setting to maximum, took aim at the spider, and opened fire. The 7.62x51mm APPP (Armor-Piercing Plasma-Powered) bullets tore through the spider like paper, and the spider fell dead in seconds. Kyle turned around to face the next spider as it burst out of the other wall panel. A sustained burst to the head of the creature put it out of action for good. Kyle then spent the next twelve minutes fighting spiders—ranging from the size of a grenade to the size of a tank—until he reached an elevator.

“Damn, these things are tough,” he said, “Never saw—much less fought—a single creature like ‘em.”

“No one has,” Katt stated.

Kyle paused just shy of the next hatch. “Say what?”

“It’s brand-new DNA.” Katt replied. “I’m reading traces of a weird radiation that’s changed their genetic structure.”

“Great... I’m fighting giant, killer, mutant spiders!” Kyle exclaimed.

Katt watched as her husband fought through wave after wave of mutant spiders. A normal person would have freaked out, pleading for extraction, but Kyle was a war veteran. He’d seen many battles, and with them, many horrors. He had personally fought against every enemy the galaxy had to offer. He knew how to fight. On top of that, he was a Dragon Shifter, a species known for their unparalleled fighting prowess and near-suicidal disregard for fear. Almost like the Klingons and the Jem’Hadar. Katt watched and helped from where she was as Kyle hacked into the computer systems and learned what the weapons lab was doing when it referred to “the Experiments;” Elysium had found an artifact like the one that Kyle and Katt had found a couple of months back, and had been running a high-energy beam through it to test it on various materials, atmospherics, and other such test subjects.

Finally, Kyle came into the Biological laboratory. He took the service lift to the observation floor, and looked out at the scene. In the middle room, there was a high-energy beam, in the room to the left were several cages, and in the room to the right...

Kyle paused as he looked at the room to the right.

“So this is where they’re coming from,” he said. “It’s a breeding farm!”

“Biological experiments.” Katt responded. “The little ones walk through the beam, and suddenly, they’re huge.”

“And somehow, they got out.” Kyle surmised.

“Not only that, but this beam has been split. It has only a fraction of the original’s power. If one of the experiments makes its way to the source, there’s no telling what might happen to it.” Katt warned. She watched as Kyle ended the lock-down, headed into the right-side room, and made his way to the source beam.

As Kyle stepped into the central dome where the source beam and the artifact was, Katt spoke up.

“The artifact is in the beam. You’ve got to shut it down. The controls are right next to it, but be careful. There’s something else in there. Something big.” Kyle didn’t need Katt to tell him what was in here, he could already sense it. The queen spider. He could sense her presence even before she dropped in from above. Kyle laid his weapons aside and activated his lightsabers.

“Kyle, that thing is ten times larger than you. What the hell are you doing?” Falco demanded.

“Just brushing up on my Lightsaber skills, Falco. Stay cool.” Kyle replied.

“Do NOT tell me you are going to take on that spider with your lightsabers!” Falco exclaimed.

“Okay, I won’t tell you that.” Kyle stated. He then used the force to speed up and leap onto the spider’s back. He cut a hole into her back, primed a grenade, and tossed it in. He then force-long-jumped to his other weapons as the queen exploded into bits of spider chunks and red-yellow spider blood. “Has anyone ever told you you’re just *way* too efficient for ground operations?” Falco asked as Kyle de-activated the beam and collected the artifact.

“You mean besides you, or with you included? Either way, the answer’s yes.” Kyle answered. Katt laughed, and Kyle re-traced his steps back to his JX-49.

NOTE: Free sneak peak of a later chapter to the one who figures out what game I got the first two chapters from.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Very good!

[Fluxy]

Nice! I'm liking it a lot. just curious though, are we gonna see Fox and/or others? Was just wondering since the only three cast we have seen so far are Kyle, Katt, and Falco. But there is nothing wrong with them!  :D

[rainfyre66]

Pretty sweet! I'm liking the interaction between the three main characters. As for guessing the game, I can't think of it, unfortunately...hint?

[Star_Dragon]

@Julius: Thanks!

@Nick1349: Yeah, we'll see Fox, Krystal, and all the others, plus one more... mystery guest.

@Rainfyre: Do some digging in the UNREAL series (NOT Unreal Tournament, but the Unreal series. There's UNREAL, UNREAL: Return to Na Pali, and UNREAL II. Take your pick.)

Well, here's Chapter three!

Chapter Three

1246 hours, Ikktar 37, 4834 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Star Fox guild HQ, in orbit of planet Venom.

With multiple Transwarp coils and Dragonarian Warp Cores installed, the Class-II Dragonarian Warbird Dragon’s Rage reached Star Fox HQ from Hell in less than ten minutes. Once there, Kyle and Katt transported to the Main Promenade level to talk to Fox. Finally, they found him and Krystal playing cards on Holodeck one.

“Ah, there he is—Vice Admiral Kyle Anderson. Come on in. Tell me the scientists at Elysium were just too busy to talk.” Fox said.

“Unfortunately,” Katt replied, “It’s worse than that. Much worse.” She tossed him a datapad. Fox looked over it and the included video log, then looked to Katt.

“You mean to tell me that the entire weapons lab was wiped out by biological experiments that accidentally got out?” he asked.

“It was no accident, Fox.” Kyle said. “Someone let them out.”

Fox returned his attention to the datapad, and then raised his eyebrows. “I see... But the question is, why?”

“I’m not at all sure. Katt, Wes, Falco and I think they may have been after the artifact.” Kyle answered.

Krystal frowned, and looked up at Kyle. “You don’t suppose...” she stopped.

“Ma’am?” Katt asked.

“You don’t suppose this artifact could be related to the one you found on Sanctuary, do you?” Krystal inquired.

“I’m not at all sure.” Kyle replied.

“Okay, recap;” Fox stated. “What do we know about these artifacts?”

“They’re ancient--” Kyle started.

“--Nearly indestructible--” Katt continued.

“--And they emit energy in a way we can’t begin to understand.” Kyle finished.

Fox nodded. “Could we scan for energy sigs like that?” he asked.

“We already did. Aside from the ones we have, there are five others, scattered over a few million light-years.” Katt said. Fox looked to Kyle.

“Can you sense anything in the force?”

Kyle closed his eyes for a moment, getting attuned to the force. Finally, he replied, “I keep getting the same thing; Dark forces are massing on the horizon, and we are all that stands between them and a galaxy of darkness.”

“Who?” Krystal asked.

“We have faced them before; now we face them again.” Kyle answered. Fox slowly sat up.

“The Sith?”

“They’re gathering an army, and they have secretly declared war on an unsuspecting galaxy... on us.” Kyle stated.

“Why?” Krystal inquired.

Kyle sighed. “Killing Darth Trayus had more severe repercussions than I immediately saw. I was oblivious to it until I stumbled across a subspace transmission that said ‘All Sith groups: Initiate Incursion Alpha. Proceed to designated coordinates’ followed by a set of spatial coordinates.”

“Where did they point?” Fox asked.

“To a region of space six thousand light-years beyond the remains of Malachor V. I gave Panther a UNSC Prowler and sent him to investigate. He should be back in a few days, now.”

Fox relaxed a bit and nodded. “Right. You two get some rest. Hopefully, we’ll have something more for you soon. Great job out there.” Kyle nodded wordlessly and turned to leave, followed closely by Katt.

That night, Kyle lay in bed with Katt fast asleep next to him, her arm across his chest. No matter what he did, he couldn’t sleep. Nothing could shake this feeling of the dark side closing in all around him.

Suddenly, he saw something in the force. He saw a gas giant, Bespin. Near it, he saw a black silhouette against the stars... A UNSC Prowler.

But something was wrong. This black silhouette was billowing smoke and venting atmosphere. Then, without warning, a Sith Interdictor dropped out of hyperspace, followed by a Covenant destroyer and a squad of Cardassian Hideki fighters.

“Kyle!” Katt’s voice screamed through his head. Kyle’s eyes snapped open, and he found he was back in his bed. Before she could ask what was wrong, Kyle threw off the covers and rushed into his uniform and armor.

“Panther’s in trouble!” He exclaimed. Katt rushed into her clothes as well, and as they were grabbing weapons, Fox burst through the door with Krystal.

“What’s going on? Wes said you were having a--”

“It was a force-induced vision. Panther’s in trouble.” Kyle stated. Fox’s jaw dropped slowly. He shut it.

“Go. Get to him ASAP. Without his Intel, we’re flying blind.” Fox ordered. Kyle nodded as he secured his battle-helmet, and he and Katt transported to the Dragon’s Rage.

Once aboard the Dragon’s Rage, he ordered the ship and six others—a Romulan Noxerian, a Reman Bird-of-Prey, a Federation Akira-class cruiser, a Klingon Vor’cha-class attack cruiser, a Sangheili CCS-class Battlecruiser, and a Dragonarian Creed’err-class attack cruiser—to Bespin.

... Ah, hell, I'll throw in the fourth chapter for the hell of it.

Chapter Four

1730 hours, Ikktar 37, 4834 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: In orbit of Planet Bespin

The Dragon’s Rage arrived at Bespin in five minutes at maximum transwarp capacity. As soon as they did, Kyle issued his orders.

“Ops, Find the UNSC Prowler Midsummer Night as fast as you possibly can.”

“Sir, I scanned this area the moment we were in sensor range.” The Ops officer said. “Aside from the subspace white noise generated by the nearby Gas Giant, there’s nothing here.” Kyle frowned.

Katt looked to Kyle. “Are you sure it was Bespin? Could it have been another gas giant that looked similar?”

“I’m absolutely positive!” Kyle replied. “There’s the--”

The Ops officer’s console beeped rapidly. “Sir, there’s a starship dropping out of slipspace... It’s the Midsummer Night.”

Instantly, the UNSC Prowler dropped out of slipspace... perfectly unscathed.

“I... don’t understand.” Katt whispered to Kyle. “You said that Panther’s ship would be severely damaged.”

Kyle made no reply as his frown deepened. He closed his eyes, and after a fraction of a second, they bolted open. “Tactical, shields up! Lock the Bio-Pulse beam on the Prowler and fire at will!”

“What?!?” Katt exclaimed. “Kyle, are you NUTS?? That’s--”

“That’s not Panther.” Kyle stated. A yellow-orange bio-pulse beam lashed out and struck the prowler. Instantly, the Prowler shimmered and was replaced by a Sith Interdictor. The Interdictor lurched to port where the beam had struck and exploded.

Seconds later, another Prowler dropped out of slipspace. This one was severely damaged and was billowing smoke and venting atmosphere.

It was the Midsummer Night.

“Open a channel to the Midsummer Night.” Kyle ordered. The COM officer replied, and immediately, Panther’s bloodied face appeared on the screen.

“Kyle! At last, a friendly face!” Panther said.

“What happened?” Kyle asked.

“We discovered what was at those coordinates you stumbled across,” Panther answered. “It’s an asteroid field vastly rich in metals, minerals, and gasses. The Sith have established a base there, and are drawing in a wide assortment of ships. Cardassian, Jem’Hadar, Renegade Sangheili, Kemorainian Imperial Remnant, and even ships we haven’t seen—ships from a faction called the ‘Vasari Empire.’”

“Tell me the rest of the story at HQ. Can you make the jump?” Kyle asked.

“No,” Panther replied. “I blew out my slipspace capacitors just getting here. I had a battle group hot on my--”

“Sir!” the Ops officer exclaimed, “I have several ships coming out of light speed! Reading one Sith Interdictor, one Sangheili destroyer, and six Cardassian Hideki fighters!”

It was then that Kyle’s battle group exited light speed. “Panther, make your best speed and get to safety! We’ll handle them!” turning to his crew, Kyle gave orders. “Tactical, charge the mass driver and target that Sith interdictor. Charge all other weapons, as well.”

“Acknowledged,” the tactical officer responded. “Mass driver ready, Phaser capacitors up and charging, and all disruptors are functional.”

“Comms, open a channel to the battle group.” Katt ordered.

“Channel open, Ma’am.” the COM officer said.

“This is Admiral Kyle to all ships; select your targets and engage!” Kyle commanded.

The first ship to fire was the Covenant CCS Battlecruiser Retribution’s Requiem. It fired a plasma torpedo at the Sangheili destroyer. The torpedo impacted on the destroyer’s shields and made them flicker, overload, and fail. A second torpedo, fired in quick succession, impacted on the destroyer’s engines, boiled away layers of armor like plastic, and made a great crater in the ship. The Akira class cruiser USS Gettysburg fired a burst of Photon torpedoes at the Sangheili destroyer’s bow, followed by a phaser burst, that blew another hole in the destroyer. It was then that the Romulan Noxerian Romulan Fury accelerated for the destroyer, disruptors ablaze. The Romulan Fury targeted the crater in the destroyer’s hull and sent disruptor after disruptor after it. The Reman Bird-of-Prey Freedom fired a Photon Torpedo burst at the weak point, and detonated the destroyer’s pinch-fusion main reactor like a grenade. The resulting explosion tore the ship apart.

The Dragon’s Rage fired its Hyper-Velocity Mass Driver Cannon at the Sith Interdictor, which impacted on the bridge and blew it to hell, and Kyle followed up with an immediate Bio-Pulse beam that destroyed the ship. After that, it was a trivial matter to target the Hideki fighters and destroy them.

While Panther and what remained of his crew downloaded what they discovered to a data disc from their main computer, another battle group dropped out of warp speed. This group of ships was colored in various shades of black and gray, and they opened fire on the Dragon’s Rage with a sort of energy weapon.

As the ship rocked under the impact, Kyle ordered, “Fire the Mass Driver at the lead ship!”

The mass driver fired, and the slug impacted on the alien ship’s shields.

“Bio-pulse beam, Fire!” Katt exclaimed. The bio-pulse beam lashed out and struck the alien ship, and its shields failed.

“Now! Hit them with everything we have!” Kyle barked.

The Class-II Dragonarian Warbird fired Phasers, Pulse Phasers, Disruptors, Torpedoes, everything it had and obliterated the alien ship. The rest of the battle group joined in, and after a pitched battle that left one ship in Kyle’s battle group damaged, the alien ships were destroyed. With them out of the way, Panther transported aboard the Dragon’s Rage and the group headed for Star Fox HQ.

[Star_Dragon]

Okay, come ON, people! I neeed input and opinions before I can move on!

[Guest DRL]

It is G00D, a bit too much into details

like "helm officer, do this/that!" for my taste,

but it adds to the story in a way, so it is ok.

Overall pretty C00L. :yes:

[Star_Dragon]

Okay... Glad you like it [somewhat], DRL. But here's Chapter Five. Perhaps now, I might just post two chapters at a time. More to read. And here's Chapters Five & Six...

Chapter Five

1600 hours, Drakkus 36, 4860 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Corneria, residence of Krystal “Kursed” McCloud

Fireworks exploded in the sky. Cornerian fighters escorted the great Class-II Dragonarian Warbird to a specially-designed planetary dock in the ocean. There it would remain for the next millennium. Down on the ground, people cheered. The war was over.

“These should be familiar images,” said the TV Program announcer, “for all who remember the Star Fox guild’s triumphant return to Corneria after twelve years fighting the Sith alliance. Their victory inspired hope in all, so it seems fitting that on this, the fourteenth anniversary of their victory, we take a moment to remember the sacrifices made by the guild.”

“Computer, end display.” Kursed said. The screen shut off, and Krystal – known now as Kursed – walked over to a window. She looked up at the moonlit sky, silently mourning the losses during the Galactic War.

Much had been lost during that war. It happened after Kyle Anderson discovered that the Sith had made an alliance with every enemy the galaxy has to offer, and they launched an assault on everything that Star Fox held dear. Not all of the leading members of the guild survived. Fox had become mentally irreparably damaged and traumatized, and now resided at Corneria medical, forever separated from the woman who loved him.

But the worst loss to the guild had just happened recently. Had it not been for him, the Sith alliance would have conquered the galaxy. He saved the guild when Fox couldn’t. With his death and Fox’s inability to command, the guild fell into Krystal’s hands.

With this on her mind, Krystal went on to continue preparing her house for the Star Fox reunion. It was only an hour and a half before the first guests arrived. Within minutes, others arrived. For now, she would play the leader. When the guests left, she would play the depressed widow.

Panther stood alone, lost in his own thoughts, when someone tugged at his arm. He looked down and saw a young human girl. He knelt down to talk,

“Hi there,” he said.

“What’s your name?” the girl asked.

“Panther. What’s yours?”

“Sabrina.”

“Naomi’s daughter?” Panther asked. Sabrina nodded. “You’ve gotten so big.”

“How come I don’t remember you?” Sabrina asked.

“I haven’t come to one of these reunions in four years.” Panther replied.

“Why?”

“I’ve been on a deep space assignment for the guild.”

“For four years?” Sabrina inquired.

Panther chuckled. “Compared to how long I was fighting in the war, it seemed like a long weekend. Could you find your mother for me? I’d like to say hello.”

Sabrina nodded, and rushed off as Kursed came with Panther’s drink. “Here you are, Panther.”

“Thank you, Kursed.” Panther said. Looking back after Sabrina, he added, “I haven’t seen her since she was a baby.”

Kursed smiled. “It’s amazing how fast you’ve all grown.” Panther chuckled.

“How’s Fox?” he asked.

“Not well.” Kursed admitted.

“I was thinking about going to visit him this weekend.”

“Oh, that would be nice. He’s been asking about you, you know.”

“Look, I’m... sorry I missed the funeral. I should have been there.”

“You were on an assignment, everyone understood.” Kursed stated. With a sigh, she added, “It’s so good to see you, Panther.” Without another word, she left to go talk to Jenifer, Star Fox’s Liaison for the Klingons and Falco’s wife.

“The high council had a lot of questions.” Jenifer said.

“What did you tell them?” Kursed asked.

“The truth,” Jenifer replied. “With a Klingon twist. I told them that my beloved friend, Kursed, who had saved my life many times in glorious battle, would be honored to submit Korath’s house for consideration.”

“Do you think it’ll work?” Kursed inquired.

“I’m just the Star Fox liaison,” Jenifer stated. “But I like to think I have some influence.” With a slight sigh, she added, “You still haven’t told me why you’re trying to help Korath.”

“He’s an old friend,” Kursed stated.

“Would this old friend have anything to do with the mission you sent my daughter on?” Jenifer asked.

“Sorry, Jen, but you know I can’t talk about that.”

“Couldn’t you have waited until after the reunion? She really wanted to be here.”

“She’ll be home soon, I promise.” Kursed said.

“May I have everyone’s attention, please?” called out a voice. It was Commander Reggie Barclay, Star Fox’s liaison with the United Federation of Planets. “Fourteen years ago, tonight, this guild emerged victorious from the largest war since the Kemoran wars. Twelve years fighting together made you a family, one I’m proud to have been adopted by. So, let us raise our glasses to victory.”

Everyone raised their glasses and repeated, “To victory.”

“And to those who aren’t here to celebrate it with us.” Kursed added. A fitting toast to remember the friends that Kursed... and the guild... had lost. Slippy... Amanda... Lucy... dead, just like her home world.

Just like a part of herself.

(...And, Chapter Six.)

Chapter Six

0930 hours, Drakkus 38, 4860 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Star Fox academy, Corneria

Kursed sat in a small red chair and watched the students. Most, if not all of them, had been talking about how honored they are and how cool it is to be in her presence. After Fox lost himself to his... condition... Kursed and Kyle became the legends of the guild. The IAAR military even built and staffed an academy for the guild, the very academy Kursed was sitting in.

Finally, Commander Barclay came into the classroom. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “Meet the Sith.” Instantaneously, holograms of several humans appeared. One was dressed in black robes, one was in a silver set of armor with a black faceplate, one was in the same type of armor colored red, and one was in a gray uniform.

“Over the course of this term, you are going to become... intimately familiar with the Sith. You’ll learn about the Dark side of the force that corrupted them, the hierarchy of the Sith Empire, and the traditions of the ancient Sith.

“And when it comes to your performance in this class, my expectations are going to be no different than the Dark Lord of the Sith himself – little failures.

“This semester, we are very fortunate to have a special guest lecturer – the woman who literally wrote the book on the Sith – the leader of the Star Fox guild, Kursed.”

That’s my cue, Kursed thought. She got up and stood at the podium that had once been occupied by Commander Barclay. “Thank you, I’m glad to be here.” she said. Looking at the students, she noticed one had his hand raised; a young, freckle-faced boy. “A question already, cadet?”

The freckle-faced youngster stood. “Yes ma’am. On Ikktar 71, 4835, you aided the Sith resistance movement known as the ‘Order of the Cobra.’”

“Sounds like someone’s been reading ahead,” Commander Barclay commented.

“I thought you had a question, cadet.” Kursed stated.

“Yes, ma’am,” the cadet responded. “When you informed the Sith leader that you were going to liberate thousands of his troops, could you describe the look on his face?”

Kursed heaved a sigh. Digging into her past wasn’t what she was here to do. But before she could answer the cadet, another spoke up.

“Ma’am, some of us were talking before class and we were wondering; how extensive was Katt and Kyle Anderson’s involvement with the Order of the Cobra?”

This question dug into a painful memory, and Kursed did her best to remain calm. “I’d... prefer not to discuss Katt right now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” the cadet replied.

Before the conversation could continue, a human ensign walked into the classroom. He walked up to Kursed, whispered in her ear that she had an incoming subspace transmission from Jesse Lombardi, and left. Kursed followed the ensign out the door, headed to her office, sat at a desk, and activated the screen. The person that appeared was none other than a blue-feathered Phoenix, Jesse Lombardi – Falco and Jenifer’s daughter.

“I’m sorry to pull you out of class, Kursed,” Jesse said.

“Did you see it?” Kursed asked.

Jesse smiled. “Yes.”

“And?”

“It works.”

Kursed breathed a sigh of relief. “So Korath has agreed to the exchange?”

“Yes...” Jesse replied. Kursed could tell there was something she was holding back.

“But...?” she asked.

“He’s insisting on handing it over to you personally.”

Kursed hesitated fractionally, wondering why Korath would insist on that, and acknowledged Jesse. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Good work, Lieutenant Lombardi.”

Only after Kursed cut the connection did she feel a sense of...

No, she had to do this. This was her mission. There was no turning back now.

1238 hours, Drakkus 38, 4860 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Corneria Medical

Fox sat at his desk, working on his work. The room he was in was dark, with only some candles providing light enough for him to work. He had gone from the leader of Star Fox to something akin to an old hermit living in a cave. This wasn’t supposed to be the fate of a great leader. Did he wrong someone in another life? Or was it something he failed to see?

The door before him opened, and bright light shone in his eyes. A shadowy figure stood in the doorway.

“Hello, Fox.” the figure said. It was Kursed.

“The light!” Fox hissed like a creature fleeing from the sun.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Kursed stated as she moved away from the door, allowing it to shut. Fox returned to his work. “How are you?” Kursed asked.

“I’m close to completing my work,” Fox replied.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Kursed commented.

“It’s... difficult, with so many interruptions.” Fox stated.

“I’m sorry, would you like me to leave?”

Fox continued his work. “You may stay.” he said without looking up.

There was a long pause before Kursed spoke up again. “Fox...” she said, her voice quivering with grief, “There’s something I need to tell you. It’s very important.” Fox continued his work wordlessly. “I’m going away, and I may not see you again.” Kursed was close to tears. Fox stopped and looked up at his wife. “Commander Barclay and the others will continue to visit, they’ll bring you anything you need.”

Fox, either unable or unwilling to comprehend what Kursed was telling him, went back to his work. Kursed leaned over, gave Fox a kiss on his head, and walked over to his dresser. She set a picture down there, turned to Fox, and whispered, “Good-bye, Fox.” and left.

Location: Cornerian Cemetery

After packing a few things, Kursed headed over to the Cornerian cemetery and headed to a specific grave – one that was marked with both the emblem of Star Fox, and, more importantly, the emblem of the Dragonarian Star Empire. She stood there, then spoke.

“Any final words of advice for an old friend?” she said. “Oh, wait, don’t tell me: I’m insane. I have no idea what the consequences are. It’s too risky.” Kneeling down before the gravestone, she added, “Thanks for the input, But I’ve got to do what I think is right.”

Kursed cleared away the leaves that covered the gravestone to reveal the words “Here lies Kyle Anderson.”

“I know it wasn’t easy living all these years without her, Kyle.” Kursed said. Looking up into the sunset, she placed a hand on the gravestone and added, “But when I’m through, things might be better for all of us. Trust me.”

[Guest DRL]

But why suddenly...?

*Remembers*

Oh, the split timelines.

Do they intermingle at some point

I suppose? 

Overall, pretty sad chapter (for a chapter

meant to be sad, it means it is 'C00L' )

[Fluxy]

Sorry about being so long to reply. I am liking the progression. The second time line surely seems a lot sadder, and i can't wait to see how the two intertwine, or if they don't, just how it ends for them. Great stuff! :D

[rainfyre66]

Sorry for the delay in getting to read this! Great chapters. The split timeline thing is a nice twist that keeps the story interesting. Also, it's always refreshing to see someone treat Panther as a real character rather than the one dimensional Antonio Banderas-esque playa persona.

[Star_Dragon]

Glad you all like this. And to answer your question, DRL, Yes, they *do* intermingle. You'll see in one of the coming chapters...

Chapter Seven

1238 hours, Ikktar 38, 4836 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: On board Class-II Dragonarian Warbird Dragon’s Rage

Falco lay asleep in his bed in his quarters on the Dragon’s Rage. Next to him, his nine-month-pregnant wife, Jenifer. She awoke with a start.

“Falco...” she groaned. Falco didn’t make a sound. “Falco!” she exclaimed, hitting Falco to wake him.

“I’m sleeping,” Falco stated groggily.

“It’s time,” Jenifer said.

“Time for what?” Falco asked.

“I’ll give you one guess...” Jenifer stated as she turned on the lights. Falco opened his eyes and looked over to see Jenifer struggle to her feet.

Panicked, he reached for his communicator. “Lombardi to Medbay: It’s time!”

“Remain calm, Mr. Lombardi. Can she stand?” Came the answer of the Medical hologram. Falco looked over to see Jenifer getting a robe on.

“Affirmative.”

“Then I suggest you report to sickbay.”

“Acknowledged.” Falco stated. He hurried into a robe, and, noticing that his wife was already headed to Medbay, hurried after her.

In Medbay, the MH scanned Jenifer with a tricorder. “Hmm...” he mumbled.

“What do you mean by ‘Hmm?’” Falco asked.

The MH closed his tricorder as he spoke. “You’re going to have a very healthy baby... but not tonight.”

Jenifer groaned with annoyance. “Tell me you’re joking?”

“You’re experiencing false labor, ma’am. As I explained the last time, it’s a common occurrence, especially among your kind.”

Jenifer was angry now. “I want this child out of me NOW!”

“Misdirected rage, also a common occurrence among your kind.” The MH said.

“Can’t you induce?” Falco asked.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Falco scoffed. “If this keeps up, we’ll never get any sleep!”

“You think it’s bad now?” the MH asked. Falco argued no further. He knew what the MH was referring to.

“When?” Kyle inquired.

“0400 hours.” Katt answered.

“How many false alarms does that make?”

“Three that we know of.”

Kyle smiled and shook his head. “That baby’s as stubborn as her mother.”

“Panther’s starting a pool to see if anyone can guess the actual date and time of birth.”

“Tell him to put me down for next... Friday, 2100 hours,” Kyle said. “Anything else?” Katt laughed. “What’s so funny?” Kyle inquired.

“Listen to you! You talk to me as if I were a part of your crew!” Katt laughed.

Kyle walked closer to his wife. “Oh, and that amuses you, does it?”

“You can be such a comedian, Kyle.” Katt stated with a slight shaking of her head. Without a second thought, she embraced Kyle in a kiss.

“Senior officers, report to the bridge.” Came Krystal’s voice over the intercom.

Kyle sighed. “Next time we get a moment alone, we de-activate the COM.”

Katt nodded in agreement, and the two of them headed to the bridge. As they arrived, Krystal said,

“Sorry to interrupt your alone time with your wife, Kyle, but we have detected extremely elevated neutrino emissions from the center of this nebula.”

“I’m picking up a lot of subspace interference from that nebula, so we can’t say for sure if this is a wormhole... or something else.” said the Science officer.

Kyle frowned. “What do you mean, ‘something else?’”

“Well, sir,” answered the COM officer, “I’m picking up a lot of subspace COM traffic. However, due to the nebula’s interference, I can’t determine exactly who is in there. Just that someone’s extremely active in there.”

“I think... it’s worth taking a look,” Kyle stated. “Helm, plot a course for the center of that nebula.”

The Dragon’s Rage headed inside the yellow-orange cloud, shields up and weapons hot. It wasn’t long until they encountered a Sith Immobilizer 418 Interdictor Cruiser.

“Alert! Tactical, fire the Bio-Pulse beam!” Kyle barked. The yellow-orange beam lashed out and struck the Interdictor, and the ship lurched slightly to port. However, the ship wasn’t destroyed. It returned fire with a burst of bright-green lasers. The lasers impacted on the Class-II Dragonarian Warbird’s shields, and Kyle returned fire with a HVMDC slug. The slug smacked into the bridge, and the ship lurched forward and exploded.

“SIR!” the tactical officer screamed, “Sith Incursion-class Dreadnaught, bearing six-four-eight-mark-five-five! He’s right on top of us!”

“Take evasive action!” Kyle commanded. The Dragon’s Rage pitched to starboard and evaded the tip of the arrow-shaped ship poking its way through the orange nebula cloud.

“Contact Star Fox HQ, tell Fox to send reinforcements!”

“I can’t, sir! The nebula is interfering with our COM system! We’ll have to withdraw in order to get a clear signal!” The COM officer exclaimed.

“Damn it!” Kyle growled. “Deploy the Multi-Adaptive Ablative armor!”

“Impossible, sir! It won’t function in this nebula!” The Tactical officer reported.

The odds were looking grim as all eyes turned to the dragon-shifter. He didn’t hesitate as he gave his orders. “Helm, reverse course! Get us out of here!”

The helm officer did just that, and it wasn’t long before the ship was out of the nebula and at warp speed, headed to Star Fox HQ...

Chapter Eight

1245 hours, Drakkus 39, 4860 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Maq’Migh IV, Klingon Territory

Kursed transported to Korath’s base of operations on Maq’Migh IV, deep in Klingon Territory. Almost immediately, she was greeted by Jesse and two Klingons.

“Welcome to the House of Korath, Kursed.” Jesse said.

“I love what he’s done with the place.” Kursed commented.

“Korath is waiting. We shouldn’t keep him like that.” Jesse stated.

“Sorry, but this is where we part ways.” Kursed said.

Jesse frowned. “Ma’am?”

“You’re dismissed, Jesse.” Kursed stated.

“Ma’am, with all due respect, I’ve been working on this for six months and--” Jesse started.

“--And you’ve done an exemplary job, but it’s over.” Kursed finished. Placing hands on Jesse’s arms, Kursed added, “I happen to know your parents are anxious to spend some time with you. Take a few days leave, go and see them.”

Jesse nodded, and left, and Kursed followed the two Klingons to Korath. Korath was in a sort of laboratory, working on a gun.

“A Romulan Disruptor,” he said. “I’ve modified it to emit a nadion pulse.”

“Impressive,” Kursed stated. “But that’s not what I’m here for.”

Korath looked over to Kursed and smiled. “No,” he commented. “You’ve come for something a great deal more dangerous.”

“Where is it?” Kursed asked.

“Somewhere safe.” Korath replied.

“I went through a great deal of trouble to get you your seat on the high council, now give me what you promised.” Kursed growled.

Korath reluctantly put his tools down and walked over to a computer. Kursed followed.

“I’ve scanned your shuttle,” Korath stated. “It appears you’ve made some... interesting modifications. Your shields generator is of particular interest.”

“You like it, do you?” Kursed asked, somewhat irritated that the Klingon had changed the terms of their agreement. “I’ll tell you what; you give me what you promised, and I’ll send down the designs for the generator so you can build them yourself. Deal?”

Korath looked from Kursed, to the computer, then back at Kursed, and smiled. “Deal.”

Location: Corneria Medical, Corneria

“Jek’ari 76, 4844,  Jek’ari 76, 4844...” the patient paced all around his room, repeating the same thing over and over. Papers lay scattered about the floor, and in the patient’s hand was a picture of the team he was once a part of.

Fox was worried. Maybe more than worried. No one knew.

Nearby, two doctors stood watching him. The door hissed open, and Fox’s son, Marcus, stepped in.

“I’m sorry if I pulled you away from something important,” the doctor told Marcus, “but he won’t let anyone near him, and I thought you might--”

“You did the right thing,” Marcus interrupted. “Father’s condition has never been associated with violent behavior.”

“He seems more frustrated than violent,” the doctor commented.

“Long-range sensors have detected no trace! Her disappearance remains a mystery! I am deeply concerned!” Fox exclaimed.

Marcus grabbed his father. “Who? Who are you concerned about?”

“Jek’ari 76, 4844,” Fox repeated.

“He’s been repeating that same thing over and over again;  Jek’ari 76, 4844. Did something happen on that date?”

“ Jek’ari 76, 4844... If I remember correctly,” Marcus replied, “that was the day my mother was abducted by the Kemorainians...” Grabbing his father again, Marcus asked, “Is that who you’re concerned about, dad? Is it mother?”

“Her disappearance remains a mystery, I am deeply concerned!” Fox repeated.

“No, dad, you solved that mystery! You located mother and brought her back to HQ safe and sound, remember?”

Fox pulled free of his son’s grasp and continued repeating the same things.

“Maybe if Kursed paid him a visit to show him she’s alright--” the doctor began.

“Unfortunately, Mom’s out of town, and I don’t know when she’ll be back.” Marcus stated. Fox surprised everyone when he grabbed his son and exclaimed,

“She’s never coming back! Her disappearance remains a mystery...”

Fox’s ramblings hit home. In the past, Marcus had known his father to sense when Krystal was in danger. Now, it seemed, Fox sensed that his wife was in grave danger. With this in mind, Marcus left Corneria Medical and headed to the Star Fox Academy...

Location: Star Fox Academy

Reggie Barclay was going through a set of datapads when the door opened. He ignored it and continued with his work when he heard Marcus McCloud’s voice.

“Marcus McCloud to Commander Barclay, come in, Commander Barclay!”

Reggie turned and saw Marcus standing there. “Marcus! How nice to – Oh, I’ve forgotten our golf game again, haven’t I?”

“Relax, Reg,” Marcus said. “It’s not until next week. I’m here because I need to get in touch with my mother.”

“Uh... I’m afraid she’s out of town.”

“I know. Did she tell you where she was going?”

“I-I’m afraid it never came up. Why? Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Marcus stated. “I paid a visit to my father this morning. He seemed to think that she was in some sort of danger.”

“Oh, well, you know better than anyone else outside your family how confused Fox can get.” Reggie responded.

“I know,” Marcus commented. “But still... she’s been talking for months about how excited she is to be teaching with you.

“Then, just as the semester begins, she goes away – without even telling you where! I mean... don’t you find that... a little strange?”

Reggie knew that Marcus was catching on to Kursed’s plan. He had to end the conversation fast. “I’m... sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, Marcus. I’m sorry I have some... papers to grade.”

Marcus frowned and looked up at Reggie. “You’re stammering, Reg.”

“So?!?”

“I haven’t heard you do that in years!” Marcus growled. “I think you do know where she is!”

“She is one of the most legendary members of the guild! I’m... I’m... sure she can take care of herself!”

“You wouldn’t be saying that unless she was doing something dangerous!”

“You are putting words in my mouth!”

“Tell me where she is Reg!”

Right then and there, Reggie knew that he had no choice but to betray Kursed. He couldn’t keep her whereabouts a secret from her own family.

May Kursed forgive him for what he was about to do.

(Okay, so it isn't in this chapter that the split timelines merge, but it hapens soon!)

[Guest DRL]

Very good! :yes:

[Star_Dragon]

Okay, here's Chapters 9 & 10!

Chapter Nine

1025 hours,  Ikktar 39, 4836 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: On board Dragon’s Rage in Former Mirdakian Neutral zone

Kyle and Katt lay asleep in their bed. Katt had no trouble sleeping. Kyle, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep at all. Ever since he and his crew discovered the Sith presence inside a nebula, Kyle couldn’t shake the feeling of cold he had. It was the dark side of the force. But why was he sensing it? Come to think of it, he had felt it even before then, right when he collected the last Artifact the Sith were after. What were they? What did they do? And, more importantly, why were the Sith so interested in them?

Katt reached up and touched Kyle’s face. He turned his head to face her, and she opened her eyes.

“Are you alright?”

Kyle managed a warm, loving smile. “I’m fine.”

Katt chuckled softly. “Liar. Stick to telling the truth, it’s what you’re good at.”

Kyle’s smile faded. “I don’t know... ever since we picked up that last artifact, I just... keep feeling the dark side all around me. Moreover, I keep feeling that something’s about to happen... something that’ll change the guild forever. But I don’t--”

“Baby, you have to have faith in the force. An answer will provide itself soon enough.” Katt said softly.

Kyle chuckled. “And what do you know of the force?”

“Only what you tell me, and you tell me quite a bit.” Katt replied.

As if to provide an answer to Kyle’s question, Krystal’s voice came over the Intercom. “Senior officers, report to the bridge.”

Kyle and Katt got into their clothes, and headed to the bridge. On the main view screen, a shimmering blue portal was in view.

“What’s that?” Katt asked.

“If I’m reading the Tachyon emissions right, some sort of temporal rift.” Amanda answered.

“How is it being generated?” Kyle inquired.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Krystal stated.

Kyle reached out with the force, trying to ascertain what was on the other side of that rift...

1445 hours, Drakkus 39, 4860 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Former Mirdakian Neutral Zone

Kursed made all the necessary adjustments to her shuttle’s Ablative armor generator. The Temporal Rift was open. The way clear. It was now or never.

Kursed was about to begin the voyage when her AI, Scar, spoke up.

“Hang on, Kursed – I’ve got an incoming vessel... Republic Centurion, listed as the Infallible Courage... It’s Panther!”

Damn. Her plan had been discovered, that’s the only reason Panther could have tracked her here. “Engage the engines, full impulse power. Let’s not give them a chance to take us.”

“Armor?”

“Armor.”

The shuttle craft engaged its ablative armor just as the Centurion opened fire on the shuttle’s engines. Hopefully, the Dragon’s Rage was where Kursed thought it would be, and they would seal the rift.

1030 hours,  Ikktar 39, 4836 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: On board Dragon’s Rage in Former Mirdakian Neutral zone

For the longest time, Kyle reached out with the force, until Amanda spoke up.

“I’m detecting Republic ion discharges on the other side of the rift.”

“Battle alert,” Kyle ordered.

“There is a vessel coming through the rift,” Amanda announced.

“Sith?” Katt asked.

“No... Cerinian.”

All eyes turned to the main view screen as the arrow-shaped shuttle exited the rift.

“We’re being hailed.” announced Falco.

“On screen.” Kyle ordered. Instantly, a familiar face appeared on the screen.

It was Krystal, although she looked significantly older than the Krystal on the bridge of the Dragon’s Rage.

“Re-calibrate your Bio-Pulse beam emitter to emit an anti-tachyon pulse. You have to seal that rift.” she said.

“It’s normally considered polite to introduce yourself before--” Kyle started.

“There’s no time! Do it!”

Moments later, a yellow beam lashed out and struck the temporal rift, making it shrink into nothing before a republic Centurion could get through.

“I’ve done what you asked,” Kyle growled. “Now who are you, and what is this about?”

“My name is Kursed... but you may recognize me as Krystal. I’ve come to end the war.”

Everyone on the bridge looked at each other. If Kursed was here to end the war, then something must’ve happened down the road that she was trying to prevent. Kyle could only speculate what that event was, though...

Chapter Ten

Kursed’s shuttle had been beamed aboard the Dragon’s Rage, and the head Star Fox members that were on the Dragon’s Rage – Katt, Kyle, Amanda and Krystal – waited for Kursed to step out in the shuttle bay. When she finally did, everyone got a good look at her. She wore dark clothes, her hair was dyed permanently violet, and her fur had streaks of gray here-and-there. How old was she, Kyle mused?

“Welcome aboard.” he said.

“It’s good to be back.” Kursed responded. Kyle and the others guided Kursed to Kyle’s quarters, where Kyle, Krystal and Kursed entered while the others went about their tasks.

Noticing the steaming cup of Dragonaria II brewed tea, Kursed said,

“Ah – Fresh tea... Dragonaria II brew, If I’m smelling this right.”

“Would you like a cup?” Kyle asked.

“No, I gave it up years ago – I only drink Cerinian tea, now.” Kursed walked over to a window and added, “I told the curator at the museum that if he wanted to make this place look more authentic, he should always keep a steaming cup of fresh Dragonarian tea on the desk.

Kyle raised an eyebrow. “My ship’s in a museum?”

Kursed looked back at him. “Your ship is a museum – on the ocean of Corneria city. On a clear morning, you can see the Cerinian culture center from here.”

“You found other Cerinian survivors?” Krystal inquired.

“It was near the close of the war. We’ll get to that.” Kursed replied.

“No,” Kyle stated firmly, “We won’t. We shouldn’t be listening to details about the future.”

“Oh, the almighty Federation’s Temporal Prime Directive!” Kursed said mockingly. “Take my advice: it’s less of a headache if you just ignore it.”

“You’ve obviously decided to, or you wouldn’t be here.” Kyle growled, a hint of irritation in his voice.

“A lot’s happened to me since I was Krystal.” Kursed said.

“Well, Krystal is still herself, and this is still my ship, so no more discussion of what’s going to happen until I decide otherwise. Clear?” Kyle stated.

Kursed hesitated, then made her response. “Very well. Let’s talk about the past. Yesterday, you detected an extremely high neutrino emission coming from the center of a nebula. You thought it to be something of the Sith.” Kursed looked directly at Kyle. “You were right. I’ve come to tell you to take a fleet to that nebula.”

“Three things:” Kyle replied. “First, my ablative armor generators didn’t function in that nebula. Second, the interference from that nebula jammed our COM system. Third, it was crawling with Sith.”

“I’ve brought technological upgrades to get us past all that.” Kursed countered. Krystal frowned, and Kyle gave Kursed an incredulous look. “Oh, I don’t blame you for being skeptical. But if you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?”

“For the sake of the argument, let’s say I believe everything you’re telling us,” Kyle said. “The future you come from sounds pretty good. Star Fox has won the war, there are more Cerinian survivors... My ship even gets preserved for posterity...”

“... So why would I tamper with such a rosy timeline?” Kursed finished. “To answer that, I’d have to tell you more than you want to hear. But suffice it to say that if you don’t do what I’m suggesting, it’s going to take you another ten years to defeat the Sith alliance, and there are going to be casualties along the way.”

Krystal hesitated for a moment, and Kursed commented, “I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.” Kyle stated.

“You’re asking yourself, ‘Is she really who she says she is, or is this some sort of deception?’” Kursed said. Sitting down on Kyle’s couch, she added, “For all you know, I could be a member of Species 8472 in disguise.” Looking to Kyle, she ordered, “Have your people examine my shuttle. Tell them to take a close look at the weapons, armor, and unencrypted database. In the meantime, the Medical hologram can confirm my identity.”

Location: Medbay

For several minutes, the MH scanned Kursed. When he was done, he called Kyle and Krystal over for a private meeting.

“My scans of Kursed's cerebral cortex turned up something interesting.” he whispered. An image of Kursed's brain appeared, and, upon zooming in, a small implant was seen. “I've never seen this kind of implant before.”

“Alien technology?” Kyle asked.

“The circuitry has a Dragonarian signature.” the MH said.

“Of course it does,” Kursed stated. Everyone turned to face her, and the MH managed an innocent look.

“Ma'am?”

“You invented it – twelve years ago, from my perspective.” Kursed said.

“I'm sorry,” the MH said, “I didn't realize--”

“What?” Kursed interrupted. “That I was eavesdropping? I may be old, but my hearing's still excellent, thanks to your exemplary care over the years.”

The MH approached Kursed. “So, this... implant I'm going to invent... what does it do?”

“It's a synaptic transceiver. It allows me to pilot a vessel equipped with a neural interface.”

“Fascinating!' the MH exclaimed. “Tell me, what other extraordinary breakthroughs am I going to make?”

“Doctor!” Kyle exclaimed.

“I'm sorry, sir, but you can't blame a hologram for being curious!” the MH replied.

“Just finish your report.” Krystal ordered. The MH nodded, and did just that.

“My scans indicate that the two of you are genetically identical. Kursed is you – approximately twenty-six years from now.”

Right then, Katt walked in. “Well,” She said, “The technology that Kursed brought is... remarkable, to say the least. Much of it has been designed to defend against the Sith Alliance’s tech.”

“Could we install these systems on the Dragon’s Rage?” Kyle asked.

Katt nodded. “I believe so.”

Kyle looked from Katt to Kursed and back to Katt. “Do it.” He ordered. A wry smile split Katt’s face.

“Aye, sir.” she replied.

With that order, the crew of the Dragon’s Rage began working overtime to prepare the ship for the coming battle...

(Chapters Eleven and Twelve are still in the works, so it may be a while before they're posted.)

[Fluxy]

Sorry for not replying. no excuse on my part. Great chapters. I am really interested on what comes next! :D

[rainfyre66]

Sorry for not replying. no excuse on my part. Great chapters. I am really interested on what comes next!

Ditto to all this. You write a good story!

[Star_Dragon]

Okay, here's Chapter Eleven! WARNING: GREAT BATTLE AHEAD.

Chapter Eleven

1445 Hours, Ikktar 43, 4836 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Kuat Naval Shipyards

Journal Entry # 433

Krystal McCloud recording

}}} Initiated {{{

“Krystal McCloud’s Personal log, Time: 1445 hours. Date: Ikktar 43rd, 4836. For the past four days, we’ve been retrofitting a Star Fox battle fleet with Kursed’s upgrades. When we finish, we’ll head back to that nebula that Admiral Kyle discovered. With any luck, it’ll have something worth fighting for. Then again, it has to if Kursed came back in time and told us to attack that nebula.

“I must admit, I’ve had some strange experiences in life, but nothing quite compares to the sight of my future self briefing my friends on technology that hasn’t been invented yet. I do hold some reservations about Kursed – I can sense she’s holding something back. It makes me wonder what’s in that encrypted database.

“Signing off.”

}}} Recording Ends {{{

Krystal turned off the Voice memo device and turned to her computer. The list of refits to the Dragon’s Rage was extensive, to say the least. But it wasn’t the upgrades of her ship that was bothering her.

Kursed had come back in time to put an early end to the war – why? It made no sense. Just what was she trying to prevent? Could it be the death of Fox? Or something deeper than that, such as the death of Kyle and other lead members? Just what was in that encrypted database of hers?

Wes – Kyle’s AI – materialized over her holo-unit. As usual, he took on the appearance of a Terran Pilot, with an emerald-green jumpsuit and a helmet tucked under his left arm.

“You called for me, ma’am?” he requested.

“Yes,” Krystal replied, “Have you had any success in cracking the encryption on Kursed’s database?”

“Thought you ask that,” Wes responded. “I managed to decrypt a few fragments of information, only two gigabytes.”

“Anything will be helpful,” Krystal said.

“Well, when you put it that way,” Wes answered, “Most of the data I decrypted was just various fragments of Kursed’s journal, but among the bits of information, I found mention of something called a ‘Star Forge’. According to the decrypted data, it’s a factory, but beyond that, I know nothing.”

“Could it be that this Star Forge is within that Nebula?” Krystal asked.

“It’s possible,” Wes surmised, “But such a station wouldn’t emit such high neutrino signatures like the ones we found in the nebula.”

“So whatever’s in that nebula could lead us to this Star Forge?” Krystal deduced.

Wes shrugged. “Another distinct possibility. We’ll only know for sure when we get there.”

“Admiral Anderson to all hands,” Kyle’s voice said over the ship’s COM system. “We are about to go to warp. Our destination: the Nebula. All hands to Battle stations.”

Krystal got up as Wes disappeared. She headed out the door and to the bridge. There was still a war to fight.

1500 hours, Ikktar 43, 4836 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Sith Nebula, designated “Sith’ari Rift”

The Dragon’s Rage was the first vessel to drop out of warp to a battle fleet of Vasari and Sith vessels.

“Red Alert.” Kyle ordered.

“Aye, sir, red alert!” Katt exclaimed.

“Raise shields, power up weapons and load torpedoes.” Kyle commanded. Katt did just that as the rest of the Star Fox fleet dropped out of warp, slipspace, and hyperspace – a mixed bag of two hundred-fifty Romulan, Reman, Federation, UNSC, Sangheili, Lylatian, Klingon, Republic, Dragonarian, Kemorainian and Mandalorian ships.

“Opening a channel to the fleet,” Amanda announced.

“Warriors of the Star Fox Guild,” Kyle began, “This is the day that shall end the Sith War. Your superiority in battle shall bring great honor to yourselves, your crews, houses, and most of all, to the guild. Remember what you’re fighting for, fight with vengeance, and drive the Sith to their knees!”

While Fox had been present on the bridge of the Dragon’s Rage, he couldn’t help but smile. A moving—if short—speech that appealed to the entire guild.

“Admiral Kyle to all ships; select your targets and engage!”

At these words, the entire fleet charged for the enemy outside the nebula.

“Helm,” Kyle commanded, “thrusters to attack speed. Tactical, target the first enemy vessel that comes in range and prepare to fire.

“Acknowledged; thrusters to battle speed!” Falco replied.

“Target acquired; Vasari Vulkoras-class Siege ship, bearing zero-two-one-mark-five.” Katt answered.

“Fire the Mass Driver Cannon, APHE slug.” Kyle said.

The Dragon’s Rage fired an Armor-Piercing High-Explosive slug at the Vasari vessel, which, in turn, blew the vessel in half. The Class-II Dragonarian Warbird then fired its Bio-pulse beam at a Sith Interdictor, which lurched to starboard and nosed into an Immobilizer 418 cruiser and detonated both of them.

The Dragon’s Rage then targeted a Cardassian Galor and launched an assault. The Galor fired several photon torpedoes, followed by a Phaser attack, all of which impacted on the shields of the Dragon’s Rage with near-harmless effect. The warbird returned fire with a barrage of Dragonarian and Reman disruptors. In the Galor’s futile attempt to avoid the disruptor blasts, it ran headlong into a Sangheili Plasma torpedo, and the shields flickered, overloaded, and failed. The Dragon’s Rage took this opportunity to target their main reactor and fire a pair of Poleron torpedoes. The torpedoes penetrated the Galor’s hull and blew it apart.

The Bio-pulse beam of the Dragon’s Rage fired again, this time catching a Sith Centurion off-guard. The warship had its shields down and lost a good chunk of its port side. The Dragonarian Warbird then fired a series of Transphasic torpedoes and a concentrated phaser at the Centurion, which blew out the warship’s weapons and engines. When the Dragon’s Rage swung around, it fired some of its new weapons – Quantum-Cobalt and Tri-Cobalt torpedoes – and destroyed the ship. The Dragonarian Warbird then fired its new Quantum-Kadgeron Torpedoes at a Jem’Hadar Battlecruiser that was busy dealing with an attack from two Romulan Norexan warbirds and a Reman Scythe Battlecruiser. The blast ionized the Jem’Hadar warship’s entire power grid and overloaded the shields and weapons, effectively disabling it.

But the battle was far from over...

[Fluxy]

Ooooooouuu! Nice! Glad to see it continue on! :)

[Star_Dragon]

To all who read this, I am proud to announce that Star Fox: Sith Rising has been completed! I have already started on the sequel, which will begin to post here after this story is concluded. Anyhow, here's Chapter Twelve...

Chapter Twelve

2350 hours, 605 BBY (Sith Military Calendar)

Location: Sith’ari Rift

What began with as little as a suicide run by a Class-II Dragonarian Warbird quickly escalated into the fight for the Sith’ari Rift as Admiral Paul Karath found himself fighting an entire fleet of warships, all varying in race and design. From the safety of his Incursion-class Dreadnaught, he monitored the battle. Needless to say, the reports coming in weren’t good. Even with the help of the Cardassians, Jem’Hadar, and the Vasari, the Sith forces were being dispatched quickly. How this was, Karath didn’t know. The weapons being fired by the enemy were several years more advanced than what the Sith fleet had.

Finally, he had no choice but to order the retreat.

“All Sith forces, retreat! Fall back to the Star Forge! Kazon Nistrim fleet, cover our retreat!” he ordered. Turning to his Helm officer, he added, “Helm, bring us about. Take us to the Star Forge.”

The Kazon wouldn’t be able to hold off the Star Fox fleet for long, but they would be able to keep them busy long enough for the majority of the Sith fleet to get back to the Star Forge, where the bulk of the allied fleet lay.

Paul would live to fight another day...

2355 hours, Ikktar 43, 4836 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Sith’ari Rift

When Wes reported that the enemy fleet commander had given the order to retreat, Kyle rallied the Star Fox fleet to pursue them. What really caught everyone’s attention was the mention that Kazon Nistrim ships were in there.

But it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be handled by the Star Fox fleet. As the fleet headed into the Nebula, a Fleet of Sangheili warships dropped out of slipspace on the Starboard side of the fleet, followed by UNSC and Republic ships, while a fleet of Klingon and Federation ships dropped out of warp off the port side of the fleet.

“All ships, this is Admiral Kyle: Deploy Armor.”

Instantly, every ship in the Star Fox Fleet deployed their new Multi-Adaptive Ablative Armor. As they did, the Kazon ships came within weapons range of the allied fleet.

The Dragon’s Rage was the first to fire. It fired a Kadgeron Mass Driver Slug at a Kazon Predator, which impacted on the ship’s bulbous nose and detonated, tearing a wide hole in the enemy ship. The Bio-Pulse beam fired, struck the hole, and blew the Predator apart.

As the fleet fought toward the center, Kazon resistance steadily decreased. Kursed came onto the bridge as the fleet reached the center of the nebula. As the nebula clouds cleared, a massive structure was visible.

Krystal frowned and Kyle’s jaw dropped.

“What is that?” Krystal asked. Kursed turned to Katt and ordered,

“Tactical, target that structure and prepare to fire.”

“Belay that,” Fox commanded. “Krystal asked you a question; what is that?”

Kursed looked to Fox. “The road to victory!”

“It’s more than that,” Kyle stated. “It’s a Trans-Dimensional Intergalactic Gate Hub.”

Fox looked to Kyle in shock. “You once told me that there were none left in the galaxy,” he said.

Kyle glared at Kursed. “You knew this was here, and you didn’t tell us!”

“I’ll answer all your questions once that structure is destroyed!” Kursed exclaimed. “Prepare to fire.”

“Belay that, Katt,” Kyle ordered. “This is my bridge, and I will have you removed, if necessary!” Kursed shook her head with dismay. Kyle ignored it and turned to Fox. “Open a channel to the fleet and all allies; tell them to set up a perimeter and wait for further orders. If anything that doesn’t identify itself comes out of that hub – destroy it.” Fox nodded and went to work. There was still a war to win...

0600 hours, Ikktar 44, 4836 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Sith’ari Rift

A probe launched through one of the many gateways of the TDIGG Hub, followed by cloaked stealth ship scouting, revealed another massive structure on the other side of the center-most gateway. Kyle called a meeting of the head Star Fox members to discuss the fleet’s findings.

“This structure is referred to as the ‘Star Forge’ by the Sith.” Krystal said. “It is both an advanced factory and a battle dreadnaught. It has the capability of creating entire fleets of enemy ships in minutes.”

“So how do we destroy it?” Fox asked.

“There’s no need to destroy it!” Kursed growled. “Darth Malak himself has the entire Sith fleet waiting for you, and the rest of his allies are waiting, as well. You might be able to get a battle group through, maybe two – but by the time the battle groups get there, they’d be wiped out.”

“Tactically, there may be a way to bring its defenses down and destroy it simultaneously.” Kyle suggested.

“From where? Inside the Star Forge? The interior is swarming with Battle Droids and Sith. The group you send would be killed inside of a few minutes.”

Krystal grumbled. “Kyle, draw up a battle plan to destroy that station. Kursed, let’s take a walk.”

As Krystal and Kursed walked through the halls of the Dragon’s Rage, Krystal demanded, “I want to know why you didn’t tell us about that hub, and the Star Forge.”

“Because I remember how arrogant and self-righteous I used to be,” Kursed answered. “I figured you might try to do something stupid.”

“We have an opportunity to deal the Sith a crippling blow, it could save millions of lives.” Krystal said.

“I didn’t spend the last ten years looking for a way to end the war sooner for you to throw it all away in some intergalactic goodwill mission.” Kursed growled.

“Maybe we should head back to Medbay,” Krystal stated.

“Why, so you can have me sedated?” Kursed queried.

“To have the doctor reconfirm your identity,” Krystal replied as they stopped in front of a door. “I refuse to believe I’ll ever become as cynical as you.”

“Am I the only one experiencing déjà vu here?” Kursed inquired.

“What are you talking about?” Krystal demanded.

“Three years ago,” Kursed answered, “when Kyle saved Panther, you could’ve cut the Sith and their allies off from the resources they needed to continue their war effort. You destroyed their base in that asteroid field instead.”

“I did what I felt was right,” Krystal growled.

“Regardless, you can’t make the same mistake again,” Kursed said. “You have to destroy that hub!”

“You won the war,” Krystal started. “That means I will too. If that takes a few more years, then--”

“Katt Anderson is going to die.” Kursed interrupted.

Of all the prophecies Kursed spoke of about the future, this one hit home. “What?” Krystal whispered.

“Three years from now, she’ll be injured on an away mission. She’ll make it back to the Dragon’s Rage, and die in the arms of her husband.” Kursed explained.

“Kyle,” Krystal surmised.

“He’ll never be the same after Katt’s death,” Kursed stated, “and neither will you.”

Krystal slowly turned away from Kursed. “If I know what’s going to happen... I can avoid it.”

“Katt wasn’t the only one,” Kursed continued. “Between this day and the day I won the war, I counted Star Fox lost twenty-five ships... forty-eight hundred guild members. And then, of course, there’s Fox.”

Krystal turned to face Kursed. “What about him?”

“You’re forgetting the temporal prime directive,” Kursed said.

“To hell with it,” Krystal snapped.

“Fine,” Kursed stated. “Fox has a degenerative neurological condition he hasn’t told you about. There’s a cure for it on Corneria, but if he doesn’t get to it in time... Even if you alter course, limit your battles with the Sith, you’re still going to lose people. But I’m offering you a chance to end the war now and bring all of your guild home, safe and sound. Are you really going to walk away from that?”

“Excuse me,” Krystal said. “I have to talk with Fox.”

1040 hours, Ikktar 44, 4836 (Dragonarian Military Calendar)

Location: Krystal’s Quarters

“I appreciate your concern, Krystal,” Fox said, “But it’s premature. It will be several years before the condition gets serious. Until then, the doctor can manage my condition with medication.”

“Is it true what Kursed said?” Krystal asked. “That there’s a cure on Corneria?”

“Oh, it’s quite true,” Fox replied. “I don’t remember what it was called, but I know I told the doctors I would take the cure when the Sith Crisis was resolved.”

“But you weren’t expecting the crisis to turn into a war?”

Fox shook his head. “No.”

Krystal sat next to her husband. “Why would you keep that from me?”

“I... didn’t want you to worry.” Fox answered.

“Senior Star Fox members, report to the meeting room.” Kyle’s voice said over the COM system. Fox and Krystal got up to leave, and Krystal stopped.

“Promise me one thing, Fox,” Krystal said. “When this mission is over, you will take the cure.”

Fox smiled and hugged his wife. “I promise,” he replied.

[Redeemer]

Aww! Wow! Awesome stuff there dude. Very well done. :D