Star Fox: Eclipse

Chapter 5: "Friends" in Low Places

Fox McCloud leaned back and stretched in his spinning chair in the control room of The Great Fox. He was surrounded by his companions, some familiar and some new, who had taken seating positions nearby to discuss what had recently happened at the ceremony on Corneria. Fox felt that they needed some time to debrief and determine what the next course of action would be.

"So what's all of this about Oikonny?" Katt was the first to speak up, her pink tail curling toward Falco. The pink-furred cat had chosen to sit near her old friend, still unfamiliar with many of the other members gathered. She was not involved in the aparoid invasion and knew little about the affairs of Corneria. Fox guessed that she spent most of her time solo or flying with different gangs from time to time.

"Andrew Oikonny, Andross' nephew, was supposedly killed over a year ago." Fox explained how they had cornered him on the planet Fortuna, where he had been shot down by an aparoid moth. The Star Fox team was convinced that he was dead, but they were wrong. There had now been two confirmed sightings of their ape enemy.

Katt nodded slowly while Lucy, who had positioned herself between Falco and Fox, added, "Peppy told me about Oikonny's death shortly after your Fortuna mission. The majority of the planet was swarming with aparoids for quite some time... I was relieved to think that the wars with Andross' army would finally end. Who knows how long it will take to catch him again?"

"We need to think of some plan of attack," Falco suggested. "What do we know about that crazed chimp? Do we have any leads?"

Unfortunately, not much was known about Oikonny's sudden appearances. Fox was still concerned with the events leading up to the return of his enemy. "How is it possible that Oikonny is alive at all? We watched his ship explode after the aparoid moth attack. We had to evacuate the planet immediately, it was completely overrun. Somehow, he must have survived the explosion, or abandoned his ship while..."

"While what, Fox?" Falco interrupted him when he paused. "Do you think this has something to do with the aparoid attack?"

"I'm not sure." The leader of the Star Fox team found it strange that aparoids had attacked Oikonny just in their moment of victory. It was as if they were trying to take him out for them. But why? "He might have abandoned ship while we were distracted by the aparoid's appearance, or while we were combatting it," Fox finally confessed.

"That's crazy," Lucy argued. "The aparoids destroyed his ship. Surely they wouldn't have done it with the purpose of covering his escape? Surely they would have attacked him once they realized he was still alive."

Fox wished that Slippy and Krystal, the other two witnesses to Oikonny's "death," were with them now. Krystal was still missing, and Slippy was in the hangar bay repairing Fox's damaged Arwing. "You're probably right," he sighed. "There just has to be something that we all missed..."

Katt frowned. "Why are you all so focused on what happened in the past? Oikonny is alive here and now. What are his motives? Why did he attack you at the ceremony?" She questioned. Fox was hardly surprised by her direct, blunt approach.

We don't really know much," Falco spoke directly to her. "One day he shows up on Zoness, and the next he attacks us on Corneria. From what Krystal said, he made it seem like he wanted to be seen. He sure made an appearance at the ceremony."

Fox spun in his chair one full rotation and faced the others again. He was no longer leaning back, but had hunched forward in thought. He flew in on a Wolfen. He might be allied with Star Wolf, as he was before... But he was removed from the team, and I doubt that Wolf has the kind heart to welcome him back with open arms. "Something about Oikonny's appearance flying in a Wolfen is strange. I find it hard to believe that he is a part of Star Wolf again. It's not like Wolf to take someone back."