No Flight Home: A Star Fox Story

Chapter 3

Twelve-some years and four hours later, I was sitting in my general's war room

General Pepper was definitely an imposing figure to those who weren't used to his presence. He was a larger canine, with shoulders almost broader than a typical man's wingspan. Looking down, his ribbon rack was an imposing one as well: several rows of bars, devices, and medals pinned to his chest made him look like some kind of royalty. He walked with a gait that made him seem confident to a warlike-degree (which makes sense, given that he WAS a general.) He had "powerful" written all over his personality.

Then there stood Chief Master Sergeant Comanchi of the 16th Space Command. The corgi-built E-9 always seemed to have a stick up his ass about something or another. The guy always was complaining about what the new kids were doing. I guess when you've gone half a year without conflict after twelve in a war that you left with two Broken Arrows, you have a reason to bitch and moan, but personally, I just think he needs to chill out and get laid.

And then there was me. I was just a lowly tech sergeant with, compared to his, a ribbon rack smaller than my ego once was large. (I will note, however, that every civie girl at the bar would drop trow at the sight of me walking in all decked up.) What really pulled on my tail-feathers is that my Class A uniform seemed to be a little tighter around the middle on me than usual; perhaps Captain Andrews was right that I had been gaining weight. I guess that's what sitting at a desk for hours a day without getting to go out and do real shit for a living will do to your figure.

General Pepper looked at me with a tough look on his snout. He was obviously still a little nervous that he'd be caught doing something as dangerous as this. "Thank you coming. Take a seat, Sergeant Lombardi," he said, and I followed his order. "Like I said on the phone, I need this to be kept silent. Anyone finds out and we could have another war on our hands. Trust me, no one wants that."

"I understand, sir. So...James McCloud is alive?" I looked at him, a slight frown slowly layering itself onto my beak. I don't know why, but the concept that I would have to tell Fox that his father is alive after twelve years scared the living shit out of me.

"Our latest evidence makes us assume so. He survived the two gunshots to the chest. Somehow the two rounds never hit anything vital, and they didn't torture him to death. He has been held captive in a secret Androssian military prison on Zoness for the last thirteen years, with no rights of contact." 

My beak dropped slightly when I heard the location. "Damnit... it had to be Zoness. Alright. What do you need from me? Let me guess, you need me to get him back. And let me inquire this, general. How can we trust this new evidence? He was declared dead at the scene by a coroner twelve and a half years ago." I looked at Pepper skeptically, just wanting to ensure I wouldn't just get sent out there to the shithole I once called my home for nothing. "Beside, you know I hated to go back even the first time."

"I know, Falco. It irks you inside that you couldn't do anything. But that's the thing, ain't it: you couldn't have done anything to stop what Andross did. He does whatever he wants, and nothing and no-one will stop him or his men. He was hellbent on making an example of your people and your home, and he struck with the chemical bombs before we could even get men loaded onto our battlecruisers. It burned me inside when I saw the news articles of men, women, children running, covered head to toe in chemical burns, feathers falling off, smoldering on the floor. I was appalled. Right after that, of course, was the incident in Fortuna that leads us into today, a war-torn people in a war-torn solar system. I get that you will be upset, that it will piss you off. But remember this, my friend: I don't need you going off on some personal vendetta about your home planet. All I want you to do is get him back; we can handle Andross and his men."

"But what about MY men? My family died on that day, Pepper. All of them. Within 16 hours everyone I loved was ripped away from me by that cowardly, selfish, ungrateful son of a bitch who decided that he should send kids with crop dusters to fuck over an entire planet because he was too scared to do it himself!" I cried out, feeling emotions I hadn't felt since I watched Fox avenge his father's alleged death on Venom.

Again he came into my mind. Fox McCloud. My leader. The practical head of the firesquad that led us through twelve long years. It had been a bit since I had seen him, and I really didn't want to have the next run of communications with who was once the only family I had start off with him all confused and emotional from me telling him "Hey, bro, how's it going, by the by, your da's alive getting waterboarded in a Zonessian prison." 

General Pepper, however, found a way to bring me back to this side of reality. "Falco! I get it...I don't need you going off on a vendetta. Do what you do best, brother. Fly, fight, and bring him home."

I stood up as he did, and flashed him a salute. "By your orders, General, on one condition. I want my god damned Arwing back."

He returned the salute. "Don't worry, birdbrain, you'll get your Arwing back. I'll have you reinstated and prepared for launch. In fact, if you don't mind, and if it would help you keep your composure," he said the last part with nigh-annoyed conviction, "I'll even let you bring an old friend along for the ride with you..."

I turned around after Pepper pointed to the door, and for the first time since the end of the war, I laid eyes on my battle-buddy, my best friend, my brother, Fox McCloud. He really was a spitting image of his father, a hard-fought warrior having finally earned a hard-earned break. His jaw and cheekbones appeared to be chiseled out of marble, especially after having trimmed that awful mutton chop of his. In my opinion, he always looked better without it. That or I just never fancied guys with facial hair. He walked up to me, and locked me up in a hug.

"I think it would be good to leave you two alone for a while. Both of you are dismissed, but please meet me tomorrow for your assignments."

And off we went to spend the night together, for the first time since shore leave in the war.