It was the best day of Fox McCloud’s life. The sun shone high in the sky, casting heavenly rays through the tall windows of the church, the same one his parents had been married at. The high rafters and stone walls echoed the beautiful sounds of the organ’s procession music while the countless guests in the pews turned to watch the bride. Fox stood at the end of the red-and-white carpet and glanced at his parents in the front row, his father smiling at him and his mother wiping a tear from her eye. He smiled back and looked again at Vixy, escorted down the aisle by her father. Fox’s heart started beating harder in anticipation and excitement and he tugged at the collar of his tuxedo.

     Edward Hohleran placed a hand on Fox’s shoulder and handed his daughter’s arm to him. Fox took it and gazed through the thin white veil into Vixy’s wide eyes. She gazed back, and Fox could see a tear sparkling in her left eye. He was beginning to get choked up himself. Reluctantly, they broke their gaze and turned to the priest on the altar, an old white tiger, again the same who had married his parents. They stood hand-in-hand under the shining rays of light, ready to pledge their love for each other.

     The priest cleared his throat and began. “Do you, Fox McCloud, take Vicenzia Hohleran for your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

     Fox looked again into Vixy’s eyes, swallowing back his tears long enough for him to say, “I do.”

     “Do you, Vicenzia Hohleran, take Fox McCloud for your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

     The gray vixen gazed back into Fox’s eyes and opened her mouth to speak…but stopped. The light in the church seemed to dim a little as her eyes widened into a look of surprise. She looked down slowly, hand over her chest. Fox followed her stare and saw blood seeping out of her white wedding dress, oozing over her hand and dripping to the floor.

     “Fox…” she whispered, and went limp in his arms. Fox was speechless. He had no idea what was happening and looked around for help, but no one in the pews moved…except his parents. Fox reeled back as their fur and skin melted off their bones and turned to dust, leaving their skeletons to fall to the ground.

     Fox frantically looked around, sobbing and shouting for help, praying to the God who was letting Vixy die in his house. She lay motionless on the carpet, her blood soaking it and expanding a pool. Fox looked up to the priest, the one man who was sure to help, and instead saw a black jaguar in a black-and-blue uniform, grinning and holding a smoking blaster. He shifted the aim of the gun from Vixy to Fox’s head and grinned the same humorless grin. But Fox didn’t care. His life, his dreams, his hopes and future were lying dead on the floor.

     Stefan pulled the trigger…
 

     Fox’s eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright in his bed, breathing heavily, his body covered in cold sweat. He looked around the room slowly, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, slowly remembering where he was. The dream was still burned into his mind, Vixy’s voice still echoing in his ears. It had happened again.

     Fox sighed and collapsed onto his back again, covering his eyes with his arm just as his door flew open. Falco stood in his doorway in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, his feathers a mess.

     “What the hell was that?” he said, looking around the room. “Are you ok?”

     Fox sat up again, his heart slowing to a normal pace. “Yeah, I’m fine. Was I shouting again?”

     Falco let out his breath and leaned on the wall. “Loud enough to wake up only half of Corneria from here. The dream again?”

     Fox nodded. The same dream had played over in his mind countless nights since Vixy’s death, but he hadn’t actually screamed in most of them. “I haven’t had it in a while, I thought they were finally over.” He shook his head and lay back down on his damp sheets.

     Falco tried to think of something to say, but couldn’t. He was no good at this kind of stuff. Whenever Fox was like this, Peppy would take care of it, but he and Slippy left for vacation a week before. Falco and Fox had their turn for a vacation when Peppy and Slippy got back.

     “Well…”Falco started, grabbing for words.

     Fox chuckled lightly. “It’s ok man, don’t strain yourself. I’ll be fine.”

     Falco nodded, relieved and annoyed at the same time. “Just try to get some more sleep, and keep it down this time.”

     Fox grinned weakly as his friend left the room, closing the door behind him. That was about the best anyone could get out of Falco.

     The grin faded as Fox was left alone in the dark room to remember the horrible dream. He turned on his side and closed his eyes, trying to drive it out of his mind. He was close to succeeding when another thought entered his head. The conversation he had with Peppy right before they left for Katina after Fox had been framed. Fox had asked Peppy is he was doing the right thing, and wished his father was there.

     ‘It never goes away, does it?’

     Fox remembered his own voice asking that questions to which he already knew the answer. The pain of losing a loved one, their memory.

     It never goes away.
 
 
 

     * * *
 
 
 

Great Fox, bridge
1026 hours
 
 
 

     Fox snapped his head up and groaned as he began dozing off for the tenth time in as many minutes. He hadn’t fallen asleep again after the dream, and he had no desire to try again. It was still too fresh in his mind. Instead he had spent the whole morning in the commander’s chair on the bridge, staring idly out into space and watching ROB do whatever Slippy programmed him to do.

     ‘It’s this damn chair, it’s too comfortable.’

     With that decided, Fox stood up and stretched as he heard the low hydraulic whistle of the bridge door sliding open. He turned and saw Falco walk in, smoothing the feathers on his head.

     “You just wake up?” Fox asked, rubbing his eyes.

     “Yeah, for some reason I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night,” Falco replied, the sarcasm nearly tangible. “What about you, you look like hell.”

     “I didn’t go back to sleep.”

     “Damn man. You’ve been up here with that bucket all morning?” He gestured towards ROB. Fox nodded. “Well, that’s not going to help anything. Come on, let’s go to the range, I’ll show you how to shoot.”

     Fox rolled his eyes. “Can you even remember the last time you beat me in a shooting competition.”

     “Sure,” Falco replied, heading for the door. “I’ll tell you later.”

     Fox grinned and started to follow when ROB’s monotonous voice sounded in his ear. “Incoming call, request location instructions.”

      “We’re right here, ROB. Put it on hologram.”

     The bridge was the only room in the ship that had a hologram receiver, all the others had screens. Slippy promised that once they had the money, he could put holograms in the other rooms, but Fox was doubtful. They were barely bringing in enough money to maintain the ship. As much as he didn’t want to, Fox knew they would have to start taking the bigger jobs soon. He would have to put the past behind him.

     Fox sat back in the commander’s chair, hoping he wouldn’t doze off while talking to whoever was calling, while Falco slumped into a swivel chair and faced the hologram receiver. After a few beeps, a blue light sparkled over the receiver, followed by General Pepper’s head. Fox was a bit surprised at how old he looked, but he thought it could’ve been the hologram playing tricks on his perception.

     “Good morning Fox, Falco.” Pepper squinted towards Fox. “Are you ok Fox?”

     Fox realized he was resting his head on his hand, his eyes only half open, and straightened up. “Yeah, sorry. Rough night.”

     “For both of us,” he heard Falco mutter, and gave a menacing glance in his direction. Pepper just shrugged and continued. He was used to their bickering.
     “Fox, we might have a bad situation. We’ve had staff working around the clock down here on some information that we’ve put together. I guess I’ll start from the beginning.”

     ‘That always works,’ Fox thought, not in the mood for a long talk.

     “Six months ago, an army outpost on the coast outside Corneria City began noticing some strange activity at the docks. Unscheduled boat arrivals and departures, large shipments with unusually edgy personnel, and some shooting was once heard from inside a cargo storage area. The outpost sent a soldier disguised as a dock worker to investigate, and he reported that a large cargo ship had left the dock with armed passengers aboard. The undercover soldier detained a worker and managed to get some information out of him, namely that the ship was Venom’s.”

     “A Special Forces team was scrambled and took over the ship hours later. They also made a disturbing discovery. The cargo holds were full of people, mostly civilians, some soldiers. The ship’s destination was a spaceport on the far coast where they were to be shipped to Venom as slave labor.”

     Fox furrowed his brow in thought. “To work on what? Doesn’t seem normal for Venom to risk doing this in plain view of an army outpost.”

     “I’m getting there. We’ve intercepted other such shipments, some in space, some on land, mostly on Corneria but also on MacBeth and Fortuna. We finally received some useful information a few weeks ago from paperwork found on a raid. Read this.” Pepper’s eyes averted as he typed on his computer. Moments later a slip of paper slid out from the front of the hologram, which Fox picked up and read.
 

 Captain Rohmer,
 

   I know that you need not be told the importance of the cargo you carry. Keep your security at the highest level at all times and neutralize anyone and anything that

seems the least bit suspicious. The Cornerians are beginning to catch on to our activities, but it is too late. There is nothing they can do to stop it now. With your

shipment and a few others, we will be at full strength and our goal will be completed on schedule.
 
Overlord will rise again.
 
 
 
 

     Fox’s eyes hung on the last sentence, feeling a pit form in his stomach. Overlord, the curse that started this whole nightmare. His torture by Wolf, returning to rescue Vixy, his framing by IceStorm… even Vixy’s death. All were products of that damn weapon. Seeing the name again hit Fox like a right hook to the face.

     “Fox?”

     “Huh?” Fox snapped his head up. “Sorry, brought back some memories.” He handed the paper to Falco and leaned back in the chair as Pepper continued.

     “Needless to say, that note concerns us. It’s not signed, which leads us to believe it’s directly from the commander of the Venom Army. We don’t know his name, his face, nothing, and any extremely important documents we’ve come across have so signature.”

     “So not having a signature is kind of his signature,” Falco muttered absently as he read the note.

     “Something like that. In any case, we’ve dispatched scouts all over the galaxy to find out anything they can about this. If they really are trying to rebuild Overlord, this is a serious issue. We’ve investigated the ruins of the destroyed Overlord, and there appears to be no activity there.”

     “So what is it you want us to do?” Fox asked.

     “Well, you’re probably the most knowledgeable person in the galaxy when it comes to Overlord. You’re the only person who’s seen it from the inside and knows the security systems. I want you to join the search. I want you to investigate any suspicious locations that our scouts come up with and give me what you find.”

     “Well, I told you a week ago that Peppy and Slippy would be gone on vacation, and we don’t know exactly where they are, so we’re a little understaffed.”

     Pepper looked away from Fox again, followed by another slip of paper sliding out from the receiver. “I know that, which is why I took the liberty of giving you a temporary replacement.”

     “Replacement?” Falco asked, scowling. It took him long enough to function well with the team, and he didn’t like working with people he didn’t know.

     “Does the name Birse mean anything to you, Fox?” Pepper asked.

     Fox thought back, over a year back when Overlord was still a threat. Ike Birse, the commander of the Special Forces team that was going to accompany him inside the facility to open the doors for the fighters. Fox had gone in before them to rescue Vixy, and the plan was to meet on the roof. Just as he was climbing the ladder to meet them, the ship exploded, shot down, wiping out the entire team.

     “The team that was going to come with me into Overlord, he was the commander. Why?”

     Pepper nodded downwards. “Read the paper, it’s the physical profile and psychologist’s evaluation of your new partner. Don’t worry, he’s not crazy, every soldier has an evaluation.”

     Falco scoffed as Fox picked up the paper and read.
 
 
 
 

Name: Gage Birse

Position: Captain, Dagger Strike Team, Cornerian Army Special Forces

Species: Red Fox

Gender: Male

Marital Status: Single

Home Planet: Corneria

Age: 23

Height: 6’0’’

Weight: 163 Lbs

Eyes: Hazel

Hair: Light rust-colored fur, white muzzle/neck/inner ear

Distinguishing Features: Scar behind left ear

Family: Father alienated, Mother deceased, Brother deceased

Special Achievements: Cornerian Medal of Honor, pistol and rifle marksman

Interests/Hobbies: Marksmanship, martial arts, racing, learning to fly

History: It is my opinion as a psychologist that Gage and his brother Ike, who was four years older than him, grew up as normal kids until their mother was killed during the first attack on Corneria during the Lylat War. They hated living with their abusive and constantly drunk father, so they ran off and joined the Cornerian Army, seeking vengeance for their mother. Both exhibited great skill and leadership qualities and quickly rose through the ranks, taking part in many battles during the war. Ike was soon given command of Dagger, an army Special Forces group, while Gage kept up his training, looking up to his brother and hoping to one day be a part of Dagger alongside him. He received his chance, though not in the way he expected, when his brother’s entire unit was wiped out during the attack on Overlord five years after the war. Gage was given the responsibility of re-forming and commanding Dagger.

Personality: According to accounts from fellow soldiers, Gage was a vigorous and courageous soldier, more than earning his place as an officer in the Cornerian Army through his efforts during the war. During a battle on MacBeth towards the end of the war, he and his platoon were captured after a vigilant attempt to hold a city from the forces of Venom. He organized and executed a successful escape, freeing his comrades, who even now thank him for saving their lives, and earning the Cornerian Medal of Honor. This harsh and unimaginably painful experience in the Venom prison made him slightly detached, often seen brooding or just staring into space, a common trait in post-torture victims. This experience also, however, made him more determined then ever to bringing Venom down.
        Gage also has a deep resentment for Fox McCloud. He blames McCloud for his brother’s death, claiming that his brother’s unit would not have had to wait for him above Overlord for so long if he had not gone in ahead to rescue Vicenzia Hohleran.
 

     Fox shook his head and laughed as he finished reading. “General, did you actually try to find the worst possible person for me to work with? He hates me, it’ll never work.”

     “Lemme see,” Falco said, reaching for the paper. He scanned over it and laughed, seeing what Fox was talking about. “I’m on Fox’s side with this one.”

     Pepper gave them an annoyed look, his drooping eyes falling further. “Don’t you think I thought of that? Listen, if you’re the most knowledgeable on Overlord, then Gage is the second most knowledgeable. After the incident, he researched extensively into Overlord, going over blueprints, talking to the pilots, digging in our security files. Guess he felt he owed it to his brother or something. In any case, you’re both professionals and I’m not going to let a personal squabble endanger the galaxy. If Overlord is really being built again, we need all the strength we can get. Now do you want the job or not?”

     Fox recognized Pepper’s annoyed tone and backed off. He was right; it would be stupid to let a personal issue endanger lives. He was also right about Fox being the only person alive who had ever seen inside Overlord and its securities. And he had been thinking about accepting a big job…

     Fox looked over at Falco, who shrugged and said, “Your call. Was getting boring around here anyway without Slippy to beat up.” Fox grinned and looked back at Pepper.

     “Ok, we’ll take it. When do I meet this guy?”

     “Tomorrow morning, come down to my office. We can discuss payment there too.”

     Fox sighed, hoping he would get some sleep that night. Meeting the brother of someone who blamed him for a family death would be quite an experience. “I’ll bring some flowers. See you tomorrow, General.”

     Pepper rolled his eyes and his face disappeared from above the receiver. The light clicking and beeping of the countless consoles and instruments in the room echoed in Fox’s ears as he contemplated what had been discussed. Maybe it was all for nothing, maybe there was no new Overlord.

     ‘Or maybe I’m getting myself into an even deeper pile of shit. Do I really want to get involved in Overlord again?’

     Fox shook his head hard, trying not to think about what Overlord had already done to him. Maybe this was an opportunity to set some things right.

     “Come on,” Fox said, walking towards the door. “Let’s do some shooting.”
 

    [Chapter 2 coming soon]