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Shattered: Redux

Chapter I: What Pride Has Wrought

Pride comes before the fall...

-Anymonous

The Great Fox

Saturday, March 15th

9 ALW (Years after Lylat Wars)

A shaggy orange and white peaked tail slumped lazily off the side of a mid-sized bed which was connected to the hull of a starship. The owner of that tail was none other than Fox Mccloud, legendary fighter pilot and leader of the Starfox Mercenary group. The twenty-two year old vulpine was an experienced warrior and charismatic leader. He was also one of the most famous icons in Lylat, fame he had rightly earned in the concluding years of the Lylat wars and once again in the more recent aparoid invasion a few months ago.

Yet times were tough for Fox and his team. Peppy had left, ascending to the now ill General Pepper's job as acting military leader of the cornerian armed forces. The old bloodhound had been weakened considerably after his trying time in forceful servitude to the aparoids. And as such, retired from his duties, confident that Peppy (his old friend), would be a more than suitable replacement.

Since the end of the aparoid war, jobs for mercenaries had been scarce and trivial, not offering much in monetary means. The situation was further exasperated with the destruction of the original Great Fox at the aparoid homeworld.

Without their ship, they had been forced to purchase an old cornerian fighter carrier, a far cry from the fabled and venerable dreadnought Fox's father built. But the vulpine had taken out a loan for a Great Fox mark-II, and needed the money to get it built, which made it doubly unfortunate that there were so few jobs available at the moment.

That was where the Starfox team found themselves at the moment, one man down and bunked on an old dilapidated vessel that barely functioned. Poor Slippy could barely keep the ship running all on his own. And Fox was thankful that he worked so hard to keep it afloat.

Fox sighed and turned over on his bed, staring up at the dull grey ceiling with deep emerald green eyes. They needed a break, something that could pull them out of the rut they found themselves.

The communicator besides his bed bleeped softly and the diminutive blue light on it flashed brightly. Staring at the glowing device, the vulpine lethargically shifted over and pressed the answer key with his right paw. "Fox Mccloud, here." He drawled off absently, holding back another tired sigh.

"Fox, it's Peppy." A welcomingly familiar voice echoed in the silent chamber.

Fox's eyes widened and he sat up from his bed and looked at the device. "Peppy! I haven't heard from you in ages!" The young vulpine blared at the small comms device excitedly. Indeed, Peppy Hare, esteemed father figure and experienced merc, had not spoken with either him or the team in a very long time.

"I am sorry about that Fox; this new job can be quite a handful. The only reason I have the time to talk now is that I have a favor to ask of you."

Fox frowned, a little disappointed, but he still remained upbeat. "Well either way it's good to hear from you again. So what's the favor Pep?"

"I know that things have not exactly been...running smoothly with you and the others. And I may just have the thing to turn that around."

Fox's ears twitched in anticipation and he leaned forward, tail bouncing back and forth behind him. "Really, what is it?"

"There is an upcoming demonstration for some newly created technology at Beltino's research station in orbit, and it's big. All the high ranking officials both in domestic and military branches will be making an appearance."

"That certainly sounds big, what's being revealed?" Fox inquired as he sat up from his bed, clothed only in a pair of boxers. The vulpine cut a slim athletic build, defined muscle tone and well-groomed fur. In Fur Magazine, he was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the entire system. Something he wished desperately that they stopped printing, it was not fun being hounded by the paparazzi and female (and sometimes even male), masses, vying for the next scoop, or his ring finger.

As he went to the closet to get suited up, Peppy replied. "I can't tell you over the connection, but I can promise that if you take the job I have on offer, you will be paid a substantial sum."

It worried Fox a little that it could not even be spoken of over a secure connection, but the promise of a source of real, decent money kept him hooked. "How much are we talking about Pep?" He asked as he popped his muzzle through his green T.

"200,000 credits."

"200,000 credits!" Fox exclaimed in disbelief, falling to floor after tripping out of the pants he had been putting on. "What the hell are we going to be doing?!" That was more than enough to take out a sizeable chunk of the cost of the Great Fox!

"All you have to do is show up and provide additional security over the demonstration. Originally we were going to have members of the 48th commando division, but I managed to convince the others to let you guys interim in their place. I knew you could use the extra funds."

Fox smiled widely at that as he struggled into his pants and began to pull on a pair of socks. "That's good to hear Pep; we sure could use the extra dough."

"As I thought you might, but there are some additions to this price. You have to leave now and grab your team. The demo is today and you have to be at the station pronto. The demo is starting in a few hours, with or without you."

"Sure thing Pep, I'll get the others moving right now." Fox assured as he walked over to the bracer beside his bed, fully dressed. "See you in a few."

"See you soon Fox." Peppy disconnected from the call as the vulpine attached the comms device to his wrist. With a grin, Fox looked at his reflection in the small viewport in his room and fixed up his red neckerchief.

"Looks like things are starting to look up." He mumbled happily to himself and turned to walk out of his room.

He stepped out into the cramped and dimly lit hallway of the old carrier, and his grin diminished somewhat. Fox did not like to be reminded of how things had changed and the poorly kept corridors were a perfect reminder of that. Fox paced down the hallway, looking for the first member of his team to grab. He knew that Slippy would be around the reactor room somewhere, tinkering away at one of the many outdated and neglected consoles or panels.

Taking the lift down to the reactor room, he could hear the clattering of machinery and muttering in the hallway leading to the large chamber. Fox entered the compartment, spying a figure hidden behind an exposed panel.

Slippy was dressed in a yellow and black jumpsuit with a plethora of tools firmly tucked away on a belt and a dark blue ballpark cap on his head. The amphibian was short and somewhat rotund, more used to machines and electronics then the outside world. Yet despite that he was a loyal friend and a decent fighter pilot....okay maybe an alright fighter pilot.

"Hey Slippy, busy as usual huh?" Fox shouted over the sound of what looked like a blowtorch.

The obnoxious noise cut off and the toad peaked around the panel with blue eyes and removing a pair of ear muffs. "Oh you know how it is, this ship needs constant upkeep." Slippy put down the torch on a nearby worktable and dusted off his gloved hands.

"Yeah, it does." Fox sighed, studying the grimy and cluttered room.

"Don't worry Fox; I'll get it in tip top shape, eventually." The amphibian nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"I know you will Slippy, and I can't thank you enough. If anyone could do it, you could." Fox praised his hard working friend. "But that doesn't mean you can't take a break every now and then, every time I see you you're fixing something around here." Fox suggested, taking in his friends tired appearance.

"I get ya Fox, I'll take break."

"Well it starts now; I need you to get ready to leave." The vulpine said, turning to the door and gesturing for the toad to follow.

"Really, where are we going?" Slippy inquired curiously, following after Fox.

"Peppy has a job for us, and the pay is huge. But we have to leave soon." Fox explained as he ushered Slippy to the lift, keying in their next stop.

"But I have to get cleaned up!" Slippy muttered, glancing down at his oil and soot stained jumpsuit.

"Just wash it down Slip, we don't have time for anything else. I need you to go get Falco, I'll get Krystal. When you get him, head straight down to the hanger." The Lift opened to the crew quarters and the pair stepped out.

"Why do I have to get Falco, he always teases me!" Slippy complained as he turned to head down the left corridor.

"Just do it Slippy, please. I am sure he won't do anything, just tell him that we are going to get paid a lot. That should shut his beak." Fox replied as he began to walk down the opposite way.

"Fine, I'll get him." Slippy grumbled and headed off to the avian's room.

Fox watched him go before turning to travel down to Krystal's room. The cobalt vixen had hers far from the others, all the way at the end of the hallway where she could have her privacy. The vulpine was a little nervous talking with her; they had broken up over a personal dispute between him and her a little while ago. He had not wanted her to get hurt, and she wanted to be able to pull her own weight. Their disagreement had ended up fracturing their relationship. In the end, he had managed to convince her to stay along because he still didn't want to lose her as a friend. But she had one condition for that. Fox could not hide her away from danger any longer. The vulpine had been reluctant to agree to her terms, but she had become like family and if he could not be with her, he could at least look out for her. Now, months later, she was more like a sister to him, a friend when he needed her.

Fox stopped at her door and knocked softly. A few moments later and the door cracked open a few inches and Krystal's muzzle peered out from the crack. "What is it Fox?" She asked delicately in her slightly accented voice.

Krystal had a gentle, narrow slopping creamy white furred muzzle with a soft blue overtone around her features. Her emerald hued eyes complimented her delicate features and short sapphire shaded mane. Krystal was tall, looming a full head and a half over Fox as she looked at him from the door to her room.

"Hey Krystal, Peppy has a job for us, but we have to get going now. Slippy is getting Falco, and heading down to the hanger." He explained to her, doing his best to not stutter.

Krystal was quiet for a moment before nodding regally. "Alright Fox, give me a moment and I shall be right out." The vixen slowly closed the door and Fox waited until she appeared once more.

Krystal was dressed in a form fitting blue and black suit with elegant armored plates. It looked appropriate both on the battlefield and in a royal palace. The lithe vixen walked with a practically undetectable sway in her steps and was the epitome of balance and grace. The ease at which she projected elegance was almost alien.

Which was partially true as she hailed from a world that had existed on the outskirts of lylatian space, but she could never go back home. It had been destroyed, presumably by the venomian dictator Andross. Fox had found her on a planet called Sauria, and although it had been some time since then, she still mystified him just as much as when they had first met.

"Shall we depart?" She asked, shaking Fox out of his thoughts.

"Oh of course yeah, right. Let's go." Fox declared with a cough, turning and leading her back to the ship's hanger.

Fox and Krystal entered the lift and descended down to the large open hanger of the carrier ship. Parked inside the hanger were six magnificent fighter craft, called arwings. After Peppy had retired from their group, they had kept his, but with no sixth pilot, it remained neglected, as did much of their ship.

Falco and Slippy were already standing by the starfighters, talking to each other. Falco was dressed in a red and blue pilot's suit with a white jacket. His arms were folded on his chest and he had a permanent smirk splashed onto his beak. The avian was probably the most arrogant person Fox had ever met, but he was an ace pilot and great friend...when he wasn't being an asshole.

"What's the deal Fox, how much we getting paid!" He demanded as the two vulpines stopped with the group.

"A lot Falco just do as I say and you'll get yours." Fox retorted before sighing. "Look, we should get going soon, Peppy needs us their yesterday. It's a fairly simple job, we don't even need to fly. All we have to do is stand around and look pretty."

"Easy money eh, I guess that's alright." Falco conceded.

"Good, now get in your arwings, were heading to Beltino's orbital station." Fox stated to his team, as he headed for his ship.

"We're going to my dad's station?" Slippy buzzed excitedly at the prospect.

"That's right Slip we are. Just keep it together okay." Fox ordered as he clambered into his arwing's cockpit.

"Sure thing Fox, you can count on me!" Slippy saluted and jogged enthusiastically to his ship.

Falco watched him go and chuckled. "Sometimes Slippy cracks me up."

"You should be kinder to Slippy; he has much on his mind." Krystal recommended sagely.

"What could bother him? He always seems to bounce back from everything." Falco asked, looking at Krystal.

The vixen shrugged her shoulders and turned to walk towards her own ship. "It is not my right to say; perhaps you can ask him yourself."

"Freaking mind powers..." Falco grumbled as he jumped into his own ship.

**********

It was a short flight to Beltino's orbital research station. The carrier they were using had been in close orbit around Corneria and was not that far away. They docked their arwings with the station and entered the massive domed structure. Inside, hundreds of scientists spent day in and day out, trying to find the next big breakthrough. And today they found it.

"There are a lot of eggheads here." Falco commentated as he joined his friends in the outer hallway ring, leading to where they were supposed to be. There had been a CDF officer waiting for them to land and she had directed them to this wing of the facility. It would seem that Peppy and the other heads were already there.

The closer they got, the tighter security became. Every passage way had at least three guards with menacing laser carbines and they could make out the unobtrusive seams in the ceiling where deadly auto-turrets lay concealed.

"Wow, they really beefed up security." Slippy exclaimed as they entered the final room.

"Yeah, looks like Peppy wasn't joking." Fox muttered as he observed the ten heavily armed guards walking the perimeter of the huge circular room they found themselves in.

"I have a feeling that today will change everything." Krystal alleged as she followed after Fox.

"Is this a normal thought or a premonition?" Falco whispered as he kept pace with her.

"A little of both." She replied mysteriously, smiling as she noticed Peppy surrounded by several others. They were all kitted out in uniforms and suits, the elites of cornerian society.

Fox walked up the short steps and shook the respected Hare's paw and smiled warmly. "Peppy, it's good to see you again." The rest of the team arrived and made their hellos.

"Fox, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal, it is indeed a treat to see you all again. Things have been busy and regretfully, that leaves me with little time for myself." The old Hare apologized.

Peppy was wearing a gallant red, black, and gold uniform and had an officer's cap planted atop his head with his large floppy ears sticking out jauntily. But he also looked a little older, his fur was a few shades greyer then last they saw. The stress of running an army was taking its toll.

"It is all right Peppy." Krystal replied. "We understand that it is a taxing job. But we know that no one could do it better."

"Yeah you're the best!" Slippy piped in.

Peppy chuckled and shook his head. "I don't feel like the best. But I suppose you guys are right. Placing that aside I should introduce you to my colleges although, you already know of them." The Hare pointed to the three individuals behind him and made their introductions.

The first of course was Beltino Toad, the number one scientist and lead researcher. He had his webbed hands in every project and was involved in almost every type of scientific field one could think of. He was also Slippy's father and had helped the team in the aparoid war, developing a countermeasure against the indomitable aliens. He looked much like his son, if a little taller and not as round. He had a pair of glasses he always adjusted and a cultured voice.

"Hiya Dad!" Slippy beamed.

"Hey there Slip, doing well I hope?" The toad responded as he cleaned his spectacles.

"Of course I am."

Peppy smiled at that. "Yes well, let us move on."

The next person was Major General Leers, the CDF army commander and second to only General Pepper. The shepherd was a veteran of the Lylat wars and led the CDF in the defense of Corneria after Pepper had been incapacitated. He was an excellent leader and strong warrior. Leers wore an outfit much like Peppy's, although his uniform was green and black.

The next person was Prime Minister Daala, a cheetah. She was the governmental leader of free Lylat and had many agreed that she was the best they had since Truval, who led during the outbreak of the Lylat wars. It was her second term elected and there was talk of letting her run again.

After the introductions, Beltino was given the floor.

"Dr. Beltino, I think you should explain what we are doing here. I think that many of us are interested to hear what this is all about." Prime Minister Daala suggested with a wave of her spotted paw.

"Why yes of course." The lab coated toad agreed, clearing his throat and placing his hands behind his back. He walked over to a screen and pressed a button, revealing an oddly shaped device.

"My colleagues and I have been working on a new form of conveyance. And because of its ground breaking possibilities, it required the levels of secrecy you all may have noticed. We have uncovered the means of something you may have all heard of in old science fiction novels, interdimensional transit." He declared with a hint of theatrics, embellishing it somewhat. Still, it was astounding.

"Interdimensional...transit?!" Slippy muttered, his face shifting into disbelief as he began to comprehend what it meant. All the others not scientifically gifted stared unblinkingly.

Seeing that the majority were stumped, Beltino sighed. "In layman's terms, we will be able to pull things from other dimensions, such as resources, minerals, and even possibly energy."

"So you're saying that this machine..." Falco gestured to the device on the screen. "Can access other dimensions?"

"That is correct." Beltino affirmed with a sharp nod of his head.

The avian shook his feathered head. "That's hard to believe."

"That is why we are testing it today, to prove the theory." The scientific toad countered. "If the machine works, then we would have a practically endless supply of resources to utilize."

"That sounds well and all, but what of these other dimensions? Would it not be unethical to take from them, if they somehow supported life?" Major General Leers demanded. The canine was studying the screen as he turned to the toad.

Beltino shook his head negatively. "The chances of taking something from a dimension that is inhabited are low in the one millionths of a percent. And the chances of taking something that would affect that dimension are even lower. It is perfectly safe to do so." The toad assured.

The canine shrugged, satisfied with the answer.

"Well than doctor, when will this demonstration begin?" The prime minister inquired.

"It will begin as soon as my assistants are done setting up the machine." Beltino informed, gesturing to the outside window, where they could see several suited up individuals working on a huge radar-like dish on the outer hull of the station. "For many reasons the test will be conducted outside the station, safety being the biggest concern. If, for any reason, something were to go wrong, it would cause minimal damage and casualties."

His dismissive tone worried the viewers but the toad seemed exceedingly confident in success. A few minutes of talking later and a male voice cut in over the radio on the console beside Beltino.

"The device is set up and in place."

"Excellent!" Beltino clapped his webbed palms together. "Quickly, come inside so we can begin the test." They watched as the suited forms of the assistants made way for the closest airlock, and within the hour they were back among the console trench in front of the observation room.

"Start up the device!" Beltino exclaimed with anticipation. This was the culmination of several years of debate and research. If this worked he would go down in history forever.

One of the assistants, a male lion, typed into a console and the dish began to move. It swiveled to point away from the defense fleet and into the depths of space where nothing could interfere. "Now powering up the device..." He called out in warning, the dish began to brighten and they could visibly see power being siphoned into it along an assortment of thick black cables.

"The device calls for the consumption of a lot of power." Beltino commented before turning to the assistants. "Search for large concentrations of iron, titanium, aluminum, and nickel." The lab techs nodded and input the requirements that were fed into the machine's targeting system.

Beltino explained it to Pepper and the others. "With this, the machine could snatch a large volume of the elements and bring them here, from there it would be relatively simple to take it and refine the minerals into serviceable resources. Imagine! We could build anything we needed and not have to worry about depleting our own planets!"

They all had to admit it sounded fantastic. Although, most present could only think of the military applications, they could build fleets of ships and other machines of war. And all they had to pay for was the refinement of the raw materials. It would reduce the amount of credits spent on the military, credits that could be shifted to other departments.

They watched as the machine began to glow, and a large rippling fissure split in space. The blue and purple swirling anomaly was a little disconcerting based on its sheer size. It was big enough for several dreadnoughts to pass through side-by-side.

"How much exactly, is supposed to come out of that?" Daala inquired a little hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

Beltino hardly heard her, he was busy mumbling to himself and checking the projections. "This isn't right, it should be much smaller." He looked down to the console trench. "Power the machine down."

One of the assistants began to type on one of the consoles before frowning in alarm. "The device won't shut down sir. In fact it's drawing even more power throughout the station!"

Even as he spoke the lights began to dim and quite a few of the machines in the large room began to spark off. "The strain is enormous; it's bleeding the station's reactors dry!" A voice called out.

They watched helplessly as the dish began to vibrate and glow with barely constrained power, and what's more, something began to emerge from the dimensional fissure. First they mistook it for a huge lump of rock, but as it continued to draw forth, the obvious outlines of sentient manufacture were revealed.

In short order, a colossal rusty brown vessel emerged from the rent in space time and floated in space menacingly. It was massive, easily several magnitude larger than the small orbital space station. Then with a loud bang, the dish exploded and the power surge knocked out all power to the station besides critical systems.

Beltino and the others stood in the dark of the station and stared at the ominous vessel hovering outside the panned viewport. Leers chuckled fatalistically. "Well Toad, it looks like your millions of a percent chance just occurred."

Peppy frowned worriedly and looked to Fox. "What have we done?"

Fox stared at the alien vessel and looked to his old friend uncertainly. "I don't know Pep, but hopefully it is not too bad."

As he said that the entire defense fleet above Corneria moved to cordon of the strange titanic vessel that had just materialized in orbit.

**********

A lone pair of heavily armored boots thundered down a blood splattered hallway. On the heels of the boots inhuman screeching and distorted howls pursued relentlessly. The owner of the boots clutched their pulse rifle in trembling and blood soaked gauntlets. They fumblingly reloaded the weapon, sending the expended cartridge to the gore strewn deck and inserting a half-full mag in its place.

The howling cries increased to an almost deafening nightmarish wail and the figure turned to run faster, panting heavily as they rounded a corner. Something leaped out at them and they exclaimed in shock, weapon blazing a trail of bullets, scything down the attacker. Howling in an echoing rage, they brought a boot down on the aggressor until the splintering of bone faded into the squelching of pulped flesh.

Yet even as they expended their stressed emotions, the snarls and wails of the damned chased them onwards. As they ran down the hallway, the corridor shuddered violently and they were tossed to the crimson stained ground, scrambling madly to their feet, they doggedly continued running, even as the hallway continued to rumble.

Finally they made it to their destination, a large open room with a view of the celestial sky. They turned and locked the door down, shattering the interface. Even as they thuds and booms echoed off the reinforced steel, the lone and bleeding figure stumbled to the large bank of controls and began to slam away at them with fear and desperation.

While they worked they looked out the massive dome of reinforced glass, and dropped their weapon in disbelief. What should have been a canvas of desolate starry sky had been switched to a backdrop around a huge blue and green marble.

The figure was dumbfounded. 'That doesn't make sense. The ark was nowhere near a planetoid.'

As they stared into the alien space, they spotted a white and blue gleaming structure, and several oddly shaped vessels closing in. "No. No. No. NO! NO! NO! NO!" They denied vehemently. "There aren't supposed to be any living things nearby, this will ruin everything! They can't get out! I won't allow it! Not after we lost so much..."

The figure went to the comms console and opened a channel on all frequencies, hoping beyond hope that their message would get through in time. Meanwhile, the door behind them creaked dangerously and the sound of tortured metal screeched through the room as it was peeled open by what lay behind it.

Turning on the comms array they spoke over every channel.

"This is Sargent Alexander Jäger of the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces. I implore whoever you are. You must not board this ship under any circumstances. It is under an extremely lethal quarantine. I repeat do not attempt to dock or even close with this ship, there is a deadly plague onboard. Everyone on this ship has been killed, I am the only survivor. Please listen to me, do not board this ship!"

The man heard a condemning bang as the door to the bridge could no longer hold back the tide and it exploded open, vomiting forth a hoard of twisted and putrid mockeries of humanity. Bellowing their ear splitting and mind numbing lustful roars for blood, they charged forwards.

The soldier snarled in defiance and lifted his pulse rifle. Squeezing down the trigger, it barked thunderously as the creatures shambled closer, the sickening scent of decay preceding them. Pulse rounds burrowed into dead flesh and the warrior primed a grenade, preparing to toss it at the hoard. But a chitinous barb slammed into his shoulder in the middle of his ark, sending the explosive careening off course. Instead of landing smack in the middle of the oncoming horde, it bounced off the dome of the bridge and detonated. Instantly, the harsh screeching of wind howled throughout the chamber as air was sucked out into the void. The soldier's boots magnetized and they watched as the monsters were yanked out to freeze in cold and unforgiving space.

But a massive creature, an amalgamation of contorted bone and warped flesh, maintained its grip on the flooring and charged at the man. It slammed into him, impaling the soldier with a bone like protrusion and uprooting his boot's connection with the hull. The barb broke off the creature's body and the man was propelled into space. He clutched at the long spear-like object piercing his body in trembling gauntlets. The light at the back of his suit rapidly altered from a dull blue to a dark amber and the man floated silently in the black void, his breathing diminishing softly.

He passed the now frozen creatures and activated his suit's jets; angling for the strange facility. If they did not get his message he would have to deliver it personally. Wherever he was, they must be warned about the necromorph plague that had destroyed his people.

Frozen ruby red droplets drifted up into his vison as he neared the station. The man looked down to his torso. The barb from the brute had breached the suit and was lodged just under his ribs. Thankfully it had not nicked any vital organs so he would survive it, if he made it to the station.

Looking for a landmark he saw a carbon scored section of the space-born facility and then a hatch a hundred or so meters on from it. He twisted his wounded body and made for the airlock. The soldier maneuvered his boots to the hull and magnetized them, walking towards the entrance, watching as those crimson spheres continued to dribble from his injured side.

He managed to reach the airlock and banged on it weakly, hoping that someone would let him in. His vision was beginning to blur and he was gradually losing his balance, even in the gravity free space. Yet before he could assume that he had reached the end of the line, the massive steel doors opened and he stumbled inside. There was the hiss of air as it flooded the compartment and gravity returned, instigating his to fall to the floor in a heap.

The other set of doors opened and he tried to look up, only managing to raise his head a few inches. He heard voices but was so disorientated he could not understand them. Instead he tried to stand and faltered almost immediately, luckily he was caught by several pairs of hands and placed on some sort of stretcher and carried away.

Soon though, his wounds seized him from consciousness and plunged him into the nightmarish shadows of his dreams, where the horrific shrieks of the undead beasts and the screams of weapons fire warred with each other.