FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Great Fox, once a beacon of greatness and symbol of good, now the mobile port of elite mercenaries. After Star Fox fell apart, the grand vessel found itself under new management. An older, wiser and darkened Krystal now stands upon the bridge. From there, the blue vixen barks orders without mercy as she rents out her pilots to whoever offers the highest price.

"Great Fox to shuttle, you are cleared to land in docking bay 3."

"Acknowledged, Great Fox."

Lance watched out of the shuttle's window as it passed along the side of the once beautiful, white ship. Numerous scorch marks and scrapes now littered the hull, marring what was left of the Great Fox's 'golden' years.

Top of his class for piloting skills, Lance had been told many times that a promising future awaited him within the defence forces of Corneria. But the black wolf's talents came at a price. Prone to reckless manoeuvres and solo endeavours, Lance was deemed unfit for proper military assignment and his application for a military fighter pilot position was denied. With his hopes of becoming a great fighter pilot dashed, Lance turned to solitude for comfort... until Krystal returned to the Lylat System.

Lance had heard stories of the Great Fox and its team, Star Fox. He once dreamed of joining them and flying alongside the great Fox McCloud. But those dreams had also been crushed when news spread that Fox had been shot down and the Star Fox team had disbanded. But now, new tales sprang from the mighty vessel; tales of fortune and daring piloting skills rivalled only by the Great Fox's commander herself. The life of a mercenary wasn't Lance's ideal dream, but it offered him a chance to fly how he flew best and become the great fighter pilot he wanted to be.

A jolt brought Lance back to reality as the shuttle set down inside the docking bay.

"This is your stop, kid," the shuttle's pilot called out to Lance. "Good luck."

No sooner had the 27 year old wolf stepped off the shuttle, than its doors closed and engines whirred as it lifted off, leaving Lance alone in the large, mostly empty docking bay 3. Unsure of where to go, Lance just looked around, feeling almost like a child at a new school. At one end, a force field blanketed the entrance, preventing the vacuum of space from sucking the atmosphere out of the docking bay. Its subtle blue tint was barely visible against the blackness of space. Further in, a cougar and jackal were stacking crates against one of the side walls. They paid no heed to Lance's presence. Looking towards the back of the bay, Lance saw two Arwings nestled in the shadows. One was half covered by a large, dark blue tarp and the other was missing a wing. It showed no signs of damage so Lance figured it was either in the process of having maintenance done on it or being assembled for the first time.

"Hey, you! You going to stand around all day? Over here."

A female voice caught Lance's attention and he looked over to where the cougar and jackal were. Several meters down from them, in a single doorway, stood a lithe panther with short, black hair. She was waving to Lance and beckoning him to follow her. With nothing else to do, Lance grabbed his bag and made his way over to the female panther.

"Name's Jessica, but you can call me Jess," the panther said as Lance approached her. "You're the new pilot, yeah? Come on; I'll show you to your quarters," she added without giving the wolf a chance to reply.

As Jess led Lance through the interior of the Great Fox, she pointed out the "important" parts of the ship, such as the kitchen, mess hall and other necessities. For the most part, the panther seemed to ramble on to herself. She spoke of several other pilots and even warned Lance to steer clear of one of them. Eventually, Jessica stopped in front of a door and opened it, revealing a simple, but relatively spacious room with a bed, cupboard, desk and even a TV inside.

"You'll need to commandeer a chair from the mess hall and the TV is only good for movies. No channels. We move around too much," Jess finished explaining. "Any questions?"

"Uh, just one..." Lance looked at the panther with an almost sheepish look.

"You want to know when you'll get to meet Krystal, right?" Jess guess correctly. "Short answer, probably never. The Commander rarely mingles with the rest of us 'common folk'. She assigns job details via digital device and keeps to herself as much as possible. If you're lucky you might get to see her in passing. If you're as good as your record says you are, maybe you'll impress her enough that she'll call you up to her quarters for a little midnight snuggle." Jess winked at Lance. "Don't count on that last one, though. I just made that up."

As Jess spoke, Lance's expression changed from disappointment to hopeful joy and finally to meek, unimpressed resignation. Sighing, the wolf tossed his bag into the room and followed behind it.

"Thanks for the tour," Lance muttered.

"Any time," Jess beamed. "Welcome to the Great Fox."

After putting away his few personal belongings, Lance ventured out from his assigned quarters and cautiously probed the interior of the ship for the lounge. It didn't take him long to find it as he soon heard laughter echoing through the hallways and followed it to its source.

"Ah! There he is," a male voice announced as Lance entered the large room.

Jess quickly took up position next to the newcomer and hooked her arm around his, drawing him closer to the group of pilots. The gathering consisted of five others; Jess and Lance making a total of seven. There was a tall, rather well curved and busty rabbit with fur as black as Lance's and ears that looked as though they could be used to fly. With her was a Collie that had a young but experienced face, a tan stallion with an 'upper class' posture, a seemingly nervous, 'dirty white' jerboa and a very large, dark brown bear that sat apart from the rest of the group.

"Welcome to the Great Fox," the stallion greeted Lance, speaking with a refined and 'proper' tone. "I'm Arnold Tobias Larrage the Second. But you can just call me Arnold."

Lance was able to shake hands with the stallion just before being approached by the rodent.

"Jeeves. You can call me Jeeves," he said, his words fast paced and jittery.

"And that's Bell, Ruby and Curtis," Jess interrupted, pointing out the rabbit, collie and bear.

"Ruby?" Lance raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long story, kid. I'll tell you another time," the collie said.

Bell, the rabbit, looked Lance over without saying a word. She was exceptionally tall for a lapin, reaching almost seven feet, mostly leg. Lance guessed that she probably rivalled even the bear for tallest of the group. Curtis, himself, only glanced at Lance as the introductions were made. He then closed his eyes and continued to simply be a part of the atmosphere. Having previously been warned by Jessica that Curtis preferred keeping to himself, Lance made no attempt to approach the bear and eagerly joined the rest of the group.

At first, the wolf talked about himself, answering the questions posed to him like where he came from, what he did before, why he chose to become a mercenary. But soon, the focus shifted off Lance and some of the other pilots shared their own stories with him. From there, the conversation drifted from topic to topic like an aimless breeze. It wasn't long before Lance had found himself a welcome member of the group.

A loud knocking ripped Lance from his slumber.

"Wake up, Newbie. Things to do," a strong, female voice chimed through the door.

It took Lance a moment to get his bearings and remember where he was. When he did, he pushed aside the bedcovers and dragging himself out of bed. Naked and just a little sleepy, Lance made his way into the small bathroom that was attached to his quarters and splashed his face with cool water from the sink.

Once fully awake and dressed, the new mercenary pilot emerged from his room and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Bell, who'd woken him, hadn't waited for a response and left as soon as she'd knocked on the door. With the hallway empty and no idea where to go, Lance decided to make his way to the lounge in the hopes that someone might be there to inform him where he should be.

To the wolf's surprise, almost everyone was in the lounge, waiting for his arrival.

"A job, already?" Lance asked with a confused expression.

"No job. Evaluation!" Jessica grinned as she abruptly approached Lance and pushed him back the way he'd come.

"E-evaluation? I don't understand!"

"Your record states that you are a highly skilled pilot," Ruby explained as he followed behind Lance and Jessica, with Curtis, Jeeves and Bell behind him. "But that's all it states. In order for you to be assigned a job, your skills must first be evaluated in more detail. It needs to be determined in what areas you excel and in what areas you do not."

"Assigned... I don't-"

"Pick?" Ruby finished the wolf's question for him.

Lance was suddenly very confused.

"Contrary to popular belief," the Border Collie continued, "mercenary work isn't all 'pull a flier off a board of ads', Kid. This is an established business. Clients come to Krystal with jobs and she screens them for us. We're not some group of back alley scum who'll take on any old task someone wants done. While not necessarily the most popular of people, the Krystal Mercs are widely respected for being among the most reliable and skilled pilots this side of the galaxy. And that is because Krystal assigns her pilots jobs based on their skills, to ensure a greater chance of success."

"There's a reason we're called 'Elite Mercs'," a gruff but soft, male voice added from further behind Lance. They were the first words the wolf had heard Curtis speak since he'd first met the bear.

Eventually, the group filed out into another docking bay. But, unlike the one Lance had arrived in; this docking bay was packed with ships that looked like Arwings. They were arranged in a symmetrical pattern, lined up along the sides of the bay at an angle, their noses pointing towards the centre of the bay so they could easily taxi forward and fly out. Lance stared in awe at the magnificent sight. Each of the craft had a different colour scheme but all of them had an identical marking on the left side of the nose, a pale blue diamond shape with a dark blue M imposed across the middle. On the opposite side of the nose, each of the spacecraft bore a different symbol that was the pilot's personal insignia.

"These are the Arwing Mk3's," Jessica introduced, walking out ahead of the group. "Eventually you'll get your own. But for now, you'll be piloting a Mk2."

"They're huge!" Lance exclaimed.

"Almost twice the size of the original Arwing design," Jeeves added, following up behind the wolf. "And four times as powerful."

"This way," Jess instructed, waving Lance towards the back of the bay.

Lance followed the panther to where a much smaller Arwing sat, waiting patiently in a dark corner of the docking bay. It was of the original Arwing design and appeared to have had several major repair jobs done over its lifespan. The paint was badly faded and small scorch marks dotted the hull along with unpolished repair panels that gave the impression the craft had been very badly mistreated.

"This is a modified Arwing," Jess said. "Its weapons systems have been removed and replaced with simulation equipment as well as had its engine upgraded to better mimic that of the Mk2 you'll be flying once you're on a mission."

Jess' words seemed to go unnoticed as Lance stared at the iconic fighter. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow and even contempt for its condition. All the storied he'd heard of Star Fox and Fox McCloud now stood before him, gutted and patch worked like some old rusty car.

"Well, get in," Jess said impatiently.

Pushing his feeling for the once glorious relic aside, Lance climbed the ladder and seated himself in the cockpit.

"Remember, kid; this isn't some test," Ruby said. "How you perform out there won't stop you from working with us. You're already here, so there's no need to feel like you're under any pressure to pass. However, your performance will influence jobs selection; so take this evaluation seriously."

"Just sit tight for the minute and we'll get things started," Jess told the wolf. A moment later, her and the rest of the group left Lance alone and made their way up to a small control room at the back and top of the docking bay.

The cockpit of the Arwing was small but comfortable with an intuitive and surprisingly basic design. Despite prior feelings towards the appearance of the craft, Lance now felt excitement rushing through him as he realised he was now as close to his childhood hero as he'd likely ever get.

Moment's later, Jessica's voice piped through the docking bay's speaker system, informing Lance he could begin when ready.

After a quick look around the cockpit, Lance identified the ignition and gave it a press. Adrenaline pulsed through the wolf's veins as the Arwing's systems began lighting up and the gentle vibration of its engines massaged his body through the seat. Though the design of the Arwing was significantly different to any other fighter craft Lance had piloted, the basic operating controls were much the same so the wolf felt confident he could fly it without difficulty.

As he taxied forward and turned the nose towards the massive door that covered the docking bay entrance, Lance almost felt as though he was floating. Like a child seeing a wondrous sight, Lance watched the docking bay doors open, his gaze taking in the view of the stars as if he was seeing them for the first time. Then, wonder turned to lust and Lance bid the engines push him forward. Liking a prisoner breaking free of their bonds, the Arwing shot from the Great Fox and soared out into space.

It only took Lance a couple of minutes to grow accustomed to the highly responsive controls and exceptional manoeuvring capabilities of the modified Arwing. Lance felt like a kid with a new toy as he looped and banked wildly, pushing the craft to its limits. It wasn't until Jessica's voice sounded in the wolf's ear that his mind refocused on reality.

"Alright, enough joyride time," she said, "It's time to begin the evaluation."

Forcing his excitement down, Lance levelled out the Arwing and reduced speed. Quietly, he listened to the panther as she spoke through the cockpit's audio feed that connected directly to the Great Fox.

"You should have noticed by now that there's a rather out of place looking button on the right hand side. If you haven't already, give it a press to activate the holographic sensor display."

In his excitement, Lance hadn't noticed anything looking out of place. But now that he searched for it, the button did appear to not belong. When the wolf gave it a press, he was greeted by a translucent projection display that seemed to encompass the entire cockpit.

"I told you before that the weapons systems had been replaced with simulation equipment," Jess began explaining. "That display will show you a simulation of weapons fire as well as targets and checkpoints you'll need to shoot and follow. Feel free to fire off a few shots before you begin."

Though Jess said the weapons fire would only be simulated, Lance felted a compulsion to face away from the Great Fox before opening fire on the empty void of space. He wasn't sure what he'd expected to happen, so when a pair of light green pulse lasers shot forward as he fired the not-weapons, Lance watched them sail off into nothingness with mild surprise. After a moment's pause, Lance fired off another volley, followed by several more. The simulated laser fire continued unhindered for a considerable distance before eventually phasing out of existence as it reached the edges of the sensors' range.

"Alright, Kid. Let's see what you've got," Ruby spoke up. "Look around for a silver ring; that's where you begin. Each time you fly through a ring, another will appear in front of you. They will form a sort of obstacle course for you to navigate. Don't worry about which side to fly through from, it doesn't matter. Shoot the orbs."

Lance looked around outside the cockpit and soon spotted the ring Ruby had spoke of. After a deep breath to calm himself, the wolf made his way towards the ring and passed through.

The rings took Lance on a lengthy path that looped around the Great Fox several times. At first, the path was simple, but as it progressed, it began to incorporate tight, careful manoeuvring as well as predictive flight adjustment where Lance had to pilot the Arwing through moving rings. It wasn't until the second lap around the Great Fox that the orbs started showing up. As with the rings, they too started out simple. First, there was just one at a time. Then there were two, or three. Eventually, they also started moving and even started waiting before appearing, showing up at almost the last moment. By the final lap, the orbs were even shooting back.

Lance quickly got immersed in the exercise and lost himself in the experience. The rings whipped past as he flew through them one after the other and the orbs appeared for only a few moments before vanishing again after being shot. Lance felt his heart racing as he tried his best to hit each target and reach each goal. Finally, when the course was complete and no more rings or orbs appeared, Lance shouted out victoriously.

"Yeah!"

"Don't celebrate just yet," Jess said. "I'm resetting the course. Go again."

"Again?" Lance asked.

"Again," Ruby instructed.

Lance completed the course an additional two times and each time it was harder than the last. The rings and orbs never appeared in the same place or order. This prevented memorisation of the course and ensured accurate evaluation of the pilot's skills. Each fresh start, the path of the rings and placement of the orbs was randomly generated depending on the difficulty level being attempted. But Lance pushed himself to do his best and after a couple of hours, the evaluation was finally over.

"Impressive work, Kid," Ruby said.

"That's it?" Lance asked, half expecting more target practise.

"That's it," Jess's voice chimed through the cockpit speakers. "Bring her in and come have some breakfast."

---

"He flies like Fox used to," Arnold observed.

"Let's hope he doesn't share Fox's attitude, as well," Krystal replied coldly.

Unimpressed by Lance's prowess behind the controls of an Arwing, the blue vixen turned from the massive display screen that blanketed the forward wall of the Great Fox's bridge. With swift and defined strides, she left the stallion behind and made her way towards the back of the bridge where she disappeared into her private quarters. Arnold turned to watch the fox leave, but all he saw as she moved out of the display screen's light was the curve of her back, left bare by the sheer, loose gown which draped from elbow to elbow across her otherwise naked rump.