Man, I really need to get work done on my other works, but after reading a few Star Fox fanfictions, I decided that I would give it a shot. Then again, I already had the idea of Marcus and his team, shown at the end of the second ending of Star Fox: Command, taking on a mission as crucial as the one which Fox McCloud went on during Star Fox 64... however, unlike Fox, Marcus will not only have to defend the Lylat system, but also a few nearby systems, including Sol. Plus, there is a fifth member of the team, but he's more of a unofficial member/ally of Team Star Fox. Yet, this newcomer has his role to play in the upcoming quest, and not just as a pilot...

Mission 0: Prologue

Sol III, otherwise known as either Terra, or Earth to its inhabitants, might not be the most peaceful planet in the galaxy to live in, but until recently, it had gone under the galactic community's radar. True, the humans on Terra had managed to create space stations, but compared to the technology that some of the galaxy's inhabitants had, they were still fledglings when it came to interstellar transport and communications for a long time. However, a breakthrough in the year 2048AD put the world on the galactic community's radar, as mankind manages to complete its first FTL drive, nicknamed the 'Einstein Limiter' after the famous scientist who had originally proved that FTL travel was theoretically impossible. While the test was unmanned and short, it didn't go unnoticed… especially by those from the nearby Lylat System.

However, it would be some time before the people of the Lylat System would take advantage of this, due to the fact that around about the same time, activity on Venom begun to spike, which worried General Pepper to no end. In response, he sent out the mercenary team known as Star Fox off to check the situation out, but what he didn't know was that one member of Star Fox, Pigma Dengar, was hired by Andross, who has been banished to Venom five years ago due to an incident involving a highly untested bioweapon, to betray his two teammates. Thanks to his actions, James 'Vulpes' McCloud, the leader of Team Star Fox at the time, had his ship disabled, while Peppy Hare, James' long-time friend, managed to return to Corneria despite having taken heavy damages. Peppy informed James' son, Fox McCloud, that his father was betrayed and was most likely KIA, if not MIA, which led to the Cornerian spending a lot of time training to be a pilot, a process which took him six years as he joined the Cornerian Flight Academy. Eventually, he teamed up with fellow students Falco Lombardi and Slippy Toad – even though the latter dropped out of the Academy partway through – and, with the help of Peppy Hare, formed the new Star Fox team – and their first mission was to counter the assault that Andross and his Venomian Army had just launched. Facing tough challenges and the rival Star Wolf team, Team Star Fox manages to make it to Venom and, in a brave showing by Fox McCloud, he single-handedly confronted Andross, defeating him for the first time and ruining the Venomian Army.

Over the next few years, the Cornerians kept a close eye on the Sol system, until 2060AD, when the first manned FTL ship from Terra entered the Lylat System. Upon encountering the Cornerians, the pilot, James Armstrong, managed to communicate with them, especially seeing as Cornerian was almost the same as English by some stroke of luck. Through this, a partnership was formed between Terra's newly-formed United Nations Space Corps and the Cornerian Army, although for the next ten years, the relation is more like both sides keeping track of the other's status, mainly as the UNSC had yet to reach the right technical level for them to be worthwhile allies. During this time period, Star Fox had saved Sauria from General Scales, defeated the Aparoids before they could destroy Lylat and move on to Sol, and after disbanding for a while, regrouped long enough to defeat the Anglars and their Emperor. Afterwards, Team Star Fox was officially disbanded for good, and Fox married Krystal, who he first met during the mission to Sauria. This led to the duo finally having a child, who they named Marcus McCloud – although on the same day that Marcus was born, mankind made the most important breakthrough which they could make with regards to space travel, which led to the eventual collaboration between the UNSC and the Cornerian Army, collectively known as the Galactic Defense Force, or GDF. One of the first things the GDF did was to help integrate the two races – even though the Cornerians were as varied as a race can be – together, having humans live on Corneria while some of the Cornerians moved to Terra to live there. And, to no-one's surprise, some of the humans tried to interbreed with the Cornerians, although hardly any of the human females got pregnant this way which didn't end up leading to a still birth. However, some of the Cornerian females had better success, which included a female Kitsune Cornerian – a rare sight indeed, as not many Cornerians would have more than the standard one tail, if they had any – who got impregnated about three months in. Upon learning that she was pregnant, the father, unwilling to be a parent – it turned out that he only wanted her for the sex, and not to start a family – fled Corneria, leaving her to look after the new baby, which she gave birth to after five months of carrying him. The child retained the skin of his father, but he had a canine nuzzle for a mouth, fox-like ears and three beautiful tails, all elements he inherited from his mother. Seeing as his mother never had a surname before, and his father was missing, he became known as Mio Kitsune.

Twelve years after the formation of the GDF, Marcus McCloud joined the Cornerian Flight Academy in order to become as good as his father and grandfather, along with Mio, who joined to try and prove that half-breeds like him are just as skilled as those who are fully Cornerian or human. The duo became friendly rivals, often competing against each other during simulations, which often went down to the wire at times – although most of the time, Marcus' skill manages to win out. As for the combat exercises, Mio learned both the benefits and the downsides of having more than one tail – especially the downsides, as his tails were more easily grabbed during the hand-to-hand exercises, but eventually he managed to turn this disadvantage into an advantage, often baiting the others with his tails before using them to hold them long enough to land a direct hit on them.

And then, in 2088AD/34ALW, as Marcus and Mio were about to graduate from the Academy, disaster struck, as once again, the Venomian Army unleashed an invasion – but this time, not just of the Lylat system, but of some of the neighboring systems as well, including Sol. Although this time, it wasn't clear just who – or what – was leading the army. Marcus took the chance to start up a new Star Fox team, enlisting the help of Slippy's son, Eustace Toad, and Peppy's granddaughter, Tetty Hare… and even managing to convince the legendary pilot and old Star Fox member Falco Lombardi to join as an advisor. Mio planned to go solo, but after some convincing from Marcus and Falco, he allied with Team Star Fox. While he wasn't an official member of the team, which suited Mio fine, because it meant he could go and take jobs which Team Star Fox would be too much to take on, he agreed to help them out with any major missions, at a somewhat reduced rate. Besides, Mio wasn't in it for the cash, but to prove himself.

And, just days after the team had been fully sorted out, they were given their first mission: to repel the invasion the Venomian Army was making by any means. Marcus knew what this meant – he was about to follow in the pawsteps of his father, although his adventure would take him, Team Star Fox and Mio on a galactic race against time… one which would have unlikely allies, fierce rivals, and the return of a legend to his true calling…

And so, with that, the story of Galactic Assault is about to begin. The stage is set, the Arwing IIIs are fueled up... and Corneria is going to be the stage for Team Star Fox's first mission.

Current Members of Star Fox: (Role) [Current Location]

Marcus McCloud (Leader) [Corneria]

Falco Lombardi (Advisor) [Corneria]

Eustace Toad (Technician) [Corneria]

Tetty Hare (Communications) [Corneria]

Mio Kitsune (Allied Pilot) [Corneria]