StarFox Fan Fiction ❯ A New Enemy ❯ Chapter III: A Discovery ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Dropping out of hyperspace, the Cat's Eye orbited the small forested planet of Rellonai. “Scanners are picking up a large battlecruiser on the far side of the planet,” Jeresh said.
Taylor nodded. “Then he’s here.”
“Yeah. I really don’t like the idea of him being this close to Altair.”
“Unfortunately,” Jacen replied, “Our orders are to merely investigate Adek’s stronghold. ‘We are not to provoke him without due cause,’” he finished, mimicking their latest orders from the Altairian High Command.
“And building said stronghold only fifty light-years from Altair isn’t due cause?” Taylor groaned.
Jacen shrugged. “I feel the same way about this that you do, guys, but we can’t go against the Director again. He’ll disband us this time.”
Taylor sighed. “I know, man, I know. If a Reshetell so much as sends a plasma needle our way, though, I’m gonna consider that cause enough, and fry that place.”
Jeresh pumped his fist. “I’m with you on that one, Taylor!”
Star nodded. “Yeah, Jer! Let’s do this!”
The four warriors ran down the halls of their ship and into the hangar bay of the great vessel. Leaping into their Thundersabre-class fighters, one by one the group powered up their engines and ran through the pre-flight checks. The fighters themselves were designed in the canard-wing fashion with the rear wings forming two near perfect triangles. The front wings were uniquely designed; they were a two-part swept design, one part at about forty-five degrees, the other part extending nearly straight back. The flight checks finished, the team of warriors soared into yet another mission to save the known galaxy.

After about a half hour of cruising over the surface of Rellonai, Jacen encountered a blip on his sensors. “What do you make of that, Taylor?” he asked.
“I’m not really sure,” was the confused reply. “It reads like a base, though.”
“Let’s see how close we can get without tripping the perimeters,” Jeresh quipped, injecting a little humor into their situation.
“Wait a minute,” Star said. “This thing isn’t big enough to be a base. But it's huge in its own right.”
“Then what in the world is it?” Jacen asked.
“Dunno,” Jeresh replied. “We’ll find out soon enough, though. It’s right over this next ridge.
Cresting the hill in question, the four pilots were greeted by the sight of a smoldering hulk of a ship.
“Holy God…” Taylor breathed. “This thing’s nearly as big as the BladeWraith-class ships! I thought the Cat’s Eye was huge until I saw one of Adek’s cruisers. Those things could blow one of the Krell-class battleships out of the sky with a sneeze. This ship looks like it could have gone toe-to-toe with them.”
Jacen nodded in assent. “You’re right about that, Taylor. The question is now; where did it come from? And is it friendly?”
“Well, Adek certainly didn’t like it,” Star stated.
“Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s our friend, though,” Jeresh replied.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Taylor said. “Come on! Let’s take a look around this thing.”
Jacen chuckled. “All right, but if we get killed,”
“It’s on my head,” Taylor fired back in conclusion to a familiar joke. “Yeah, I know.”
The four fighters landed in a semicircle a short distance away from the crashed cruiser, and one by one, the four warriors climbed out of their craft. Running his hand over the crashed ship, Taylor sighed softly. “Man…this poor thing really got beat up. Whoever her crew is, they’re going to have--” his voice trailed off suddenly, and he stood standing, open-mouthed, at the insignia on the remains of the tail section.
“What is it, boss?” Jacen asked.
“Th--this is impossible!” Taylor breathed, his voice barely audible. “They shouldn’t be real!”
“Who? Who shouldn’t be real?” Star asked, now starting to worry about her boyfriend. What had vexed him like this?
“St-Starfox,” Taylor managed to stammer out. ‘This ship shouldn’t exist!’ Taylor thought. ‘It’s a videogame, back on Earth!’ He rubbed his eyes, almost expecting the ship to disappear. ‘Did Terra know? Did they somehow make secret contact, and then create the game?’ The odds of that were almost impossible, but the odds of this happening coincidentally were almost even more incredible. “This ship…it is part of a videogame back home, on Earth,” Taylor said, turning to his comrades. “I would recognize that symbol anywhere!” He pointed to the red firefox on the tail section, still easily discernible despite the damage. “B--but I don’t know how Terrans created a videogame that would match this so precisely.”
Jacen shrugged. “I don’t really know, but maybe we can turn this to our advantage. What was the goal of ‘Team Starfox’ in the videogame? Good? Or evil?”
“The same as ours,” Taylor replied. “Save the galaxy from an evil madman.”
“Then maybe we can trust them.”
“If they’re still alive,” Jeresh said flatly.
“They have to be!” Taylor whispered. It just wouldn’t be right if four of the galaxy’s great heroes met their end in a spaceship crash.
“Well, what do you propose we do?” Jacen asked.
“Well, first,” Taylor said, turning to Jacen, “If we run into team Starfox, it might be best if you and I are anthromorphs, because if their reality is anything like the game, they’ve never had contact with a non-’morphed species.”
Jacen nodded. “Sounds good.” He pulled his crystal that was the source of his power from his pocket, and Taylor did the same. “La’rus te lerio!” they shouted as one.
With a flash of light, both Taylor and Jacen had transformed into anthromorphs. Taylor; a black fox with green eyes and white markings and hair, and Jacen, a black cat with yellow markings, blond hair, and his piercing blue eyes. Using their crystal also transformed them into meta-state, a form in which their myriad psionic powers could be used.
“Now,” said Taylor, grinning. “I think we should do what we originally planned to do. Explore the ship.”