Fox's decision

The system's star, Lylat, was just edging over Corneria's horizon. Fox was wrapped in a fuzzy dream, as well as the sheets and blankets in his bed. Within moments it was all shattered as his alarm went off, a loud buzzing sound that would alternate between the buzzing and nothing. Fox groaned, reaching for the small metal clock, the blood red numbers pulsing in time with the alarm. After slapping at it for a few moments, hitting the wooden table it was sitting on, he finally managed to stop it. The orange vulpine sat up and yawned, looking outside at the slowly rising sun and muttering under his breath about having to get up so early

Fox stretched, slowly sliding out of bed and groggily stumbling to his closet, grabbing a random pair of pants and shirt. After he looked at each article of clothing he picked out, he saw that he ad grabbed a white collared shirt, with short sleeves and a front pocket with the crimson symbol of a red fox running, a wing jutting out of its back. He slipped it on, then began to fumble with the cargo pants, black, white, and grey camo, and finally got them situated on himself. They were slightly baggy, so he tucked his shirt in and grabbed a belt, slipping it into the belt loops and tightening it.

He stretched and popped his neck, rubbing his eyes. Fox moved to his door and twisted the knob, opening it and walking down the hall. A door opened behind him, squeaking loudly, but quieting as the person opening the door slowed the opening. Falco emerged from the room, shutting the white door behind him. He yawned as well, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, shifting the crimson feathers around his eyes, then groaning as he fixed them back. Fox's wingmate and best friend had emerged from the room in a black tank top and jeans. He waved a wing at Fox, sliding down the banner of the stairs and into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to look for something to eat.

Fox rolled his eyes, knowing that Falco had a habit of eating whatever he saw that looked appealing, wether it was cold or not. The squadron commander padded softly down the wooden steps, feeling certain steps creak and sag from little use. The house had been around for a few years, but the team rarely used it, preferring the well known corridors of the Great Fox. As he reached the landing at the ground floor, he looked over to see Falco tossing a large square box into the trashcan sitting in the pantry. The squadron had ordered pizza the night before and the blue and crimson avian had just finished it off.

Fox's feet felt cold stepping across the linoleum in the kitchen, reaching into one of the oak cabinets sitting just about a foot from the counter top and grabbing a box of cereal, latching onto a bowl as well. Letting the two items rest on the counter, he wrapped his paw around one of the handles for the refrigerator, peering inside the steel box that held most of their food. Finally spotting the milk and pulling it out.

He was still a bit groggy as he poured the cereal into the bowl, frowning at the bland, flavorless shapes sitting there. He thought inwardly to himself about shopping for more food, at least, some that had flavor in it, pouring the milk in and returning everything to where it was. He thought for a moment and reached back into the refrigerator and grabbed a bag of sugar out of the depths of the chilled confines of one of the drawers, dipping a spoon in and then sprinkling it on his cereal. Fox smiled to himself at how clever he had thought he was as he replaced the bag from where it had come.

Dipping the spoon into the bowl, he gently carried it to the oak table sitting just outside of the kitchen. Four chairs were placed, one on each side, all made of the exact same type of material as the table. As Fox finally took his seat, he raised the spoon to his muzzle and stopped as his ear twitched. He lowered the spoon and began to listen. He could hear a soft knocking on one of the doors upstairs. He stood and tiptoed to the banister at the bottom of the stairs, looking up he could see that Slippy was waiting at the door of the room where Krystal was staying. Within a few moments, the blue vixen had opened the door, a puzzled look s to what Slippy needed. Fox's sensitive hearing picked up on the conversation that Slippy was starting.

"Krystal, have you settled in well?" The toad looked concerned, Krystal already knowing from the frog's demeanor that if anything was wrong, he would quickly do his best to make it more comfortable for her. She smiled softly at the little mechanic, speaking in little more than a whisper. "Yes Slippy, everything is perfect. Thank you for asking" She said, a hint of amusement in her voice. Slippy perked up and smiled. "If you need anything, I'll be downstairs" He ended with a cheery tune in his voice. Krystal closed the door behind him as he stared down the stairs at Fox, bouncing down to meet him.

He greeted his wing mate with a smile and a wave and bounded into the kitchen to prepare his own meal. Falco was already gone, his motorcycle's trademark roar upon ignition having almost scared Fox senseless, but had soon faded to a distant purr, and then into nothing at all. He knew the bird was off to find Katt Monroe, a pinkish feline pilot that had aided them during the Lylat Wars, assisting with their assault on Zoness and then even dropping in out of nowhere to help protect the Great Fox from missiles that had targeted it in an ambush in Sector Z after enemies had knocked out its systems with an electronic pulse.

Fox sighed and went back to his cereal, poking at it with his spoon and taking a few bites, then just stopping his involvement with the grain based breakfast food altogether. He got rid of the cereal, to Slippy's dismay at wasting an almost full bowl of cereal. Fox knew he should be eating more, having only eaten indigenous plants while on Sauria. He hadn't liked the taste going in, or the after taste the Dumbledang pods would leave in his mouth. He shivered at the memory of the first time he had eaten one. Tricky had been a little worried after he had heard Fox gagging after eating one, the little triceratops whimpering in concern at the vulpine.

Fox made his way into the main room of the house, where numerous gaming systems wee situated around a single tv. His footsteps not making a single sound as he padded into the room. The hardwood floor was cold against his bare feet, but he didn't really notice it, just happy that he was out of his combat boots for the first time in a two weeks.

The squadron commander plopped onto the couch, turning on the plasma screen and sifting through the channels. Finding nothing, he groaned at how boring his house was now. He missed the Great Fox already, and could already assume that Falco didn't find much enthusiasm in staying at the house either. That was probably why he left, if not just to see Katt.

Now Fox began to wonder: How was Katt? Or Bill Gray, his old friend from back in the academy. He and the dog soldier had competed for grades while keeping a close friendship. The Lylat Wars held memories of so many of his old friends, but he hadn't seen those friends in eight years. Eight long years. He knew the dog had become a squadron commander in the Cornerian Army as well, nd held command of the base on Katina, a planet not too far out from Corneria.

Fox wondered what it was like to be in command of a base full of soldiers. He pondered on the question that General Pepper had asked him when the Great Fox had re-entered Cornerian air space, victorious in the Star Fox team's invasion of Venom, Andross's base of operations during the war. He remembered it clearly, thinking back, he wondered if he should change his decision on what the general had said.

Fox closed his eyes and then, within moments, opened them again. He was back in the Cornerian military headquarters, looking at the steel door in front of him. He looked down to observe his attire. He was back in his green flight suit as well, the tan colored flight jacket hugging his shoulders, the blaster holster tight against his leg with its meager pistol sitting snugly inside. Peppy spoke up, nudging Fox with a wrinkled paw. "Fox, it's time" Fox nodded as he began his short journey to the doors.

The moment he reached it, the titanium bulkhead slid apart silently, thudding as it stopped in place after fully opening. Hundreds of Cornerian soldiers were standing in formation, even in the small room. Fox estimated that they were the size of a standard infantry battalion, consisting of three to four hundred soldiers, all stuck in a rock solid salute. He looked past the sea of green and blue uniforms to see the trademark crimson of a general, and there was only one of those. He slowly led his team down the red carpeted hall, feeling hundreds of eyes glued to him and burning into him. Fox could hear the sound of one single breath , noticing that all the soldiers were breathing in unison. It unsettled him a bit, but eventually it was drowned out by the sound of his own nervous heartbeat.

After what seemed like n eternity, he finally reached the General, seeing the grin on the hound's face. Pepper looked at each team member, nodding in turn to each of them. He finally decided to cut to the chase. "Star Fox, we are in your debt. I would be honored to have you as part of the Cornerian-" Fox knew what he was going to say and cut him off before he had the chance to finish "Oh no sir, we prefer doing things our own way" He knew the rest of the squadron had nodded in agreement behind him. He heard his communicator start beeping, a message was coming in. he ended the annoying blare by answering it, touching the small holographic button lightly watching as a much newer looking ROB materialized in front of him, a small hologram of the robot looking at him and giving his message. "Great Fox is ready to go" He droned on in his mechanical monotone. Fox nodded as the hologram disintegrated, turning back to Pepper. "It's time for us to go now." Pepper nodded solemnly as the team turned on their heels and left the room, quickly returning to the Great Fox to receive the notification that the funds they were to receive had been transferred to their account. Satisfied, the team retreated inside the dreadnaught, the Great Fox slowly lifting into the sky and disappearing.

The memory ended and Fox looked around. He spotted a clock and was shocked to realize he had been daydreaming for over an hour. He frowned and stood, stretching. The vulpine looked back toward the kitchen and noticed nobody was there. He reached into his pocket, latching onto his communicator and pulling it out. Fox quickly typed in a message to Peppy, Slippy, and Falco to return to the home. He knew that Peppy had planned to go back to the Cornerian Flight Academy to try and train a few recruits, a position that General Pepper had offered him while the team was planet-side. Fox didn't need to wait long, as he began to hear a purr in the distance, quickly growing louder as Falco's bike returned to the driveway. He revved the engine a few times, as if he was doing it just to get on Fox's nerves.

The avian chuckled to himself as he turned off the engine, strolling into the house and feeling the cool air hit his face. It was hot outside today, yet Falco still wore the thick leather that he had worn every day he went out on the jet black Harley. Fox didn't understand how he could do it in this sweltering heat. Falco came in and sat down, leaning back into the soft khaki colored couch. Sooner or later, the two heard Peppy's car park in the driveway. Peppy had dropped by where Slippy was in the engineering department of the academy, offering him a ride back as they got the message.

Then the team waited for their newest member, Krystal. As soon as the front door shut behind Slippy and Peppy, the vixen slowly made her way down the stairs, pulling at the clothes she was wearing. The cerulean fox had put on a pink shirt and white pants. Both were tight, but not tight enough to be uncomfortable, at least not on a person that was used to wearing this type of clothes. She was more accustomed to wearing the clothes native to the people of Cerinia, her home planet. She didn't enjoy wearing these, but decided he might as well if she was ever going to get used to them.

Finally, as the team turned it's attention to Fox, he began explaining why he had called them all back to the house. "Listen, you guys remember what Pepper asked us at the end of the Lylat Wars, right? About joining the Cornerian Army?" The veteran members of the team nodded, knowing what he was going to say already. Fox paused for a moment, looking at them, then continued. "I've been thinking, and maybe we should take that offer. Before the Saurian crisis, I didn't think we would ever get another job, I thought the Great Fox was eventually going to just shut down from disrepair. That was too close. We were running low on almost everything essential to staying alive, and I don't want to take another chance like that." He said, looking at Slippy and Peppy, who had stayed on the ship throughout the mission. The two nodded as they remembered how close they had come to losing quite a bit with their little gamble. Fox went on "I don't know when we'll get more work, and if we fuze with the military, we'll get a salary. Maybe not as much as we like, but enough to where we don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. The Great Fox can be paid off, because I don't know when we can get the loan paid off that my father took out to get it. We can even get her repaired and refitted with some more weapons, maybe an upgrade or two. I don't particularly like this idea, but it's going to become my only option sooner or later. That's why I called you all back here, to ask your decisions on the matter."

Fox looked around, his gaze passing over each member's face as he finally stopped on Falco, noticing the avian staring intently. Falco opened his beak, about to speak, so Fox stopped and looked at his wing mate. The bird started off much different than Fox had thought. He had expected a cocky remark or a comment on how it was a stupid idea, but he got something else entirely. "Fox, I know you don't like the idea, and I don't think any of us do, but no matter what you decide, we're a team, and your our leader. It's your decision to make, so whatever you take, we're gonna follow you through with it." The avian stared at Fox, who was in a state of mild shock at what Falco had just said. The former gang member smiled and sat back into the couch. Apparently, none of the other team members had expected it.

Fox slowly came to his senses and nodded at the avian, "I'll go to the base in Corneria City and speak to him about it." He stated, standing and walking to the door. The vulpine wrapped his hand around the doorknob, pulled, and stepped out into the bright sunlight, knowing his day's as a mercenary were coming to an end today, and his days as a soldier in the Cornerian Army were going to begin very soon.