Starfox

Season One

2nd Edition

Episode Nine

Brighter Days Ahead

"Quickly now! They're in here!" A voice exclaimed from outside of the ship. Juniper dizzily looked up with her vision blurred. She felt dry blood on the console she was on. There was a light from the ceiling what sounded like buzz saws cutting through the top of the engine room. The room smelled of blood and smoke.

Suddenly, a large panel fell from the top of the room and light filled the area. Juniper looked up and saw the bright blue sky from where the panel had fallen. Four ropes were thrown down the gap in the ceiling, soon, four people repelled down to the deck. "Quickly, they're dying!" The voice exclaimed as the four people began searching the room. A light flashed at Juniper and she looked at them. "I think I found one." A deep voice stated.

(Cornerian Medical)

(Earth Date: July, 2nd, 2092)

"Ugh! This coffee tastes like crap. I can't believe Joseph likes this stuff." Falco mumbled to himself as he placed a white mug of hot coffee on a small table. The small table was next to a silver medical bed. "Here's your coffee, woman." He added before he left the room. The room was painted sky blue and white. It was a tiny single bed room which was brightly lit by LED lights.

His eyes slowly opened as his head ached. His vision was blurry, but it soon became clear as he looked around. He blinked four times before turning his head to his left side. Krystal was sitting in a folding chair next to the bed. "Joseph?" Krystal asked.

Joseph attempted to speak, but all that came out was gibberish. "Don't try to speak. You need to go through mental and physical therapy because you took a bullet to the left side of your brain. Do you know who I am?" Krystal asked. Joseph thought about it for a moment before slowly nodding. "Here, sit up. Falco brought you some coffee only minutes ago. It's hot though." Krystal explained as she picked up the coffee.

Joseph slowly sat up and grabbed the coffee. He carefully took a sip of it before spitting out the sip and dropping the mug on the tile floor. The ceramic mug shattered as the coffee spread across the floor. "Oh, you dropped it." Krystal stated as she looked him in the eyes.

"I see he's awake now. It's about time." Fox stated as he entered the room. His left arm was in a cloth sling and his right ear was flat. Joseph looked at Krystal with a confused look.

"Joseph, it's been over a year since you crashed the Jäger. You've been in a coma ever since. Fox only woke up five months ago and there was a woman with you. A human woman. She survived the crash and her illness was cured, but we never got her name. She woke up two days after she arrived here. It's been quite a long time Joseph." Krystal explained as Joseph became more interested.

"Krystal never gave up on you, Joseph. The doctors here have been bothering her about taking you off of life support for the past four months, but she never gave up. You owe her your life." Fox stated.

"He doesn't owe me anything, Fox. He saved many lives. The least I could do was keep him alive after the fight was over." Krystal replied as she looked at Fox.

"What happened here?" Fox asked as he looked at the shattered coffee mug on the floor.

"Joseph dropped the mug after he spit out the sip that he took." Krystal replied.

"He can speak?" Fox asked.

"No. Not yet. I can hear his thoughts. That's all." Krystal answered. "But Fox is right. The doctors kept bothering me about you. They were quite persistent about me taking you off of life support. I don't know why." Krystal stated.

"I'm just glad they didn't take you off of life support when Krystal was being put back together. Moving onto a better subject. The newest Great Fox was finished being built three months ago. Sadly, we don't have enough crew to run her. We need two more people. I'm hoping you're one of them." Fox suggested. Joseph thought about it for a minute before nodding in agreement. "Wonderful. Now, we need one more person, but the person in mind is quite hard to contact. They live in the agricultural area of Corneria." Fox added.

"We're going to go over there and talk to them. You need to stay here and take your therapy classes. How does that sound?" Krystal asked. Joseph looked at her and reluctantly nodded. "Good." Krystal added as she smiled.

)(

"This is terrible. The rice plants are dying. But how? They have humid weather and great sunlight. Maybe it's the water." Miyu mumbled to herself as the whithered and dead root in her hand nearly dissolved in the breeze. She looked up at the sun high in the sky. "The entire crop is dead." She added as she stood up and looked across the dead and gray field of crops. She wore a large straw hat and a baggy dark brown jumpsuit covered in dust and dirt.

Suddenly, she felt the wind pick up as she heard the sound of maneuvering thrusters, a sound she never wanted to hear again. She looked around and saw a small gray ship with a long pointed bow landing about fifty meters away. It set down on top of the dead crops causing Miyu to growl. She ran up to the starboard side of the ship and drew a ballistic rifle from her right boot. She held it like an assault weapon as she silently stepped towards the bow.

The cargo bay door opened and Miyu ran in front of it with her rifle aimed at the ship. "Hands in the air, scumbags!" She exclaimed as she put her finger on the trigger.

"Miyu. Calm down, we're unarmed." Fox stated as he came out from the ship with his hands in the air.

"Who else is with you?" Miyu asked while keeping her sights on Fox's forehead.

"No one." Fox answered.

"Good. Now, what do you want, boy?" Miyu asked as she lowered her rifle.

"Well, we need more people on the team." Fox stated as he put his hands down.

"No. I left all of that behind when Ruth took control again. I'm done with being a mercenary. I can't stand all of the political nonsense." Miyu explained.

"Well. As I can see, your crops are dying and you're out of money. So, either you take this job, or you don't eat." Fox explained.

"Hmm...you're correct on that point. Give me some time to think about it. Until then, leave." Miyu replied.

"I'll give you a week to think about it. I'll be back then." Fox stated.

"Fine. Now, leave." Miyu commanded. Fox nodded and stepped back inside of the ship. The cargo door shut and the ship began to lift off. Miyu took a few steps backwards before the ship took off and flew away. She looked at the ground where the ship had landed. The ground was burnt and torn to pieces. Miyu sighed and began to walk back to her home. It was a small wooden cabin where she and her sister lived.

She closed the door behind her as she entered the small home. "Being a mercenary again. I need the money, but I'm done with fighting. I can't kill another being. I can't." Miyu thought as she leaned against the adjacent wall. Her sister, Katsuki, entered the room from a smaller room that branched off of the main house. She scowled at Miyu with her dark green eyes and folded her arms.

"What? Fox offered me a job that payed. I'm still thinking about it." Miyu asked as she looked at her. Katsuki looked down at Miyu as she walked up to her. "Hey, I know you're taller than me, but don't do that." Miyu added. Katsuki stared at Miyu angrily.

"What? I'm still thinking. The crop is dead anyway and we need the money. With this I would have a home and a full time paying job. You could stay here and tend to the crop." Miyu explained but Katsuki continued to scowl. "Look, you may be older than me, but I'm not five anymore! I know you care about me and that you don't want me getting hurt anymore, but we need the money!" Miyu exclaimed as she looked up to her sister.

Katsuki left the room and came back with two travel bags. She threw one at Miyu and continued to glare at her. "No protesting? No disagreements?" Miyu asked. Katsuki lifted up her travel bag and unzipped it. "You're not going with me. He only asked for me." Miyu stated. Katsuki angrily threw the bag at Miyu and stormed out of the room, into her room. Miyu sighed and sat on the cold dirt floor before looking at her boots.

Katsuki reentered the room with a rifle and a pistol. She tossed the pistol to Miyu and slung the rifle over her back. "Huh, no arguments, right?" Miyu asked. Katsuki nodded and picked up her travel bag. "Well, I guess that settles it. We're both going." Miyu reluctantly stated.

(Corneria City)

"Well, I spoke to Miyu. She's either going to die out there or join our team again. Expect to see her in a few days." Fox stated as he stepped off of the Endeavor. Falco walked up to him as the cargo door to the Endeavor shut and locked.

"Good. It'll be interesting to have her on the team again." Falco said.

"Yeah. The days of buying cinnamon sticks will once again drain our money." Fox replied as he continued walking.

"I can't stand cinnamon. How does she eat those things?" Falco asked as he walked with Fox.

"Falco, you have to remember she lives in the in an area where dirt is in the air and water is scarce unless directly supplied by Corneria. Cinnamon sticks are much better than dirt." Fox jokingly explained.

"I don't know about that. I'd prefer dirt." Falco stated.

)(

Miyu closed the door to the wooden cabin and sighed as she looked at it. "I'm gunna' miss this place." She stated. Katsuki pulled out a stone cup from her travel bag and dipped it into the dirty plant water. She walked over to Miyu and held it out to her. "I'm not drinking that. That's plant water." Miyu stated as she looked at the cup. Katsuki continued to hold it out to Miyu.

"Fine. I'll take a sip." Miyu stated before grabbing the cup. She took a sip and immediately spit it out. She covered her mouth and looked at Katsuki. "It's not the dirt. There's fluorite in here. That's what killed the crop." Miyu quietly stated in shock. Katsuki took the cup from Miyu and dumped the water before walking over to a metal pipe sticking up out of the ground.

"You think it's Corneria? They wouldn't put fluorite in their water. Not even Ruth would do that." Miyu stated. "C'mon, we've got a long way to walk to the train station." She added as she began walking down the dirt path leading to a larger gravel road.

After the perilous fighting and after the many losses, the Starfox team can now rest easy, knowing what they have done will support many others. Joseph Lemming still remembers his time aboard the Jäger and his time fighting to stop the Fhetakehom Empire. He will never forget the bloody fighting and the bloody battles he fought through. They never do.

John Pepper was convicted for false orders, but was later released from the courts as a free man. He would soon retire and live in a comfortable home on Macbeth.

Peppy Hare would soon take over for John as the military needed a leader.

Juniper of Jehj would never be seen again and would never surface back to Lylat.

The Jäger, after the war, was towed back to Jehj where she was scrapped and sold. Her memory still lives on in those who served aboard her and survived the war.

Slippy would finish the new Great Fox and the team would soon take back to the dark ocean of space.

Miyu and Katsuki would join the team and fight alongside them.

The team would continue their ways. They would remember their past and never forget it. Always looking forward to the next day and to the encroaching years to come.

This was not the story of how they tried to survive.

This was the story of how they fought and prospered.

This was their prelude.

The prelude to their greatest adventures yet.

[The End]

[End of Episode Nine]

Hello ladies and laddies, remember the end of this season? NO! You don't because it never happened. ;)

Okay, basically, I had to move a few things around and cutting out the entire plot for the next season was in order for me to do. So, I will be continuing this season for another ten episodes. Wonderful, ain't it? Do read on. I plan to create far more quality stories from now on. I'm also creating a Starfox Comic Book on DeviantArt. It will be out in the winter of 2015.

Until then, read on...

This Episode Was Uploaded On: May, 16th, 2015.