WARNING:  This story has been written and posted free of charge
solely for entertainment purposes.  Fox McCloud Jr, Falco
Lombardi, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, Venom, Corneria, Fara Phoenix,
General Pepper, Andross, and all other principle characters and
places created by Nintendo are copyright (C) 1993 Nintendo of
America Inc.  Used without permission.

     Star Fox is copyright (C) 1993 Nintendo of America Inc. 
Used without permission.  All characters and places created by
me, Theodore P. Perrotti, are copyright (C) 1995 Theodore P.
Perrotti. (However, feel free to use all of this story's
characters, events, and places as you wish as long as you abide
by the conditions described in the next paragraph.)

     This story may be redistributed, stored, or archived in any
way just so long as it is unaltered, this entire disclaimer
remains with it, and such action is taken free of charge.  In
short: DON'T SELL OR ALTER THIS STORY!  Also, please give me
credit if you use any of my creations.

     Parts of this story were based on characters, places, and
events in both the Star Fox video game and the Star Fox comic
which appeared in Nintendo Power.

     You may also notice a "Star Trek" influence in this story. 
This is no coincidence.  Specifically, this story has been
influenced by the original series episode "Mirror-Mirror", the
Next Generation two-parter "The Best of Both Worlds", and the
Next Generation novel "Dark Mirror".

     I welcome your comments.  Please e-mail them to me at
author@galaxycorp.com.
_________________________________________________________________

     Epilogue

     Fara walked into the room, and saw Fox in bed, fast asleep.  After all he had been through,
she wouldn't be surprised if he slept for a week.  Even so, she wished he would wake up.  She
greatly needed to tell someone about her conversation with Andross, a conversation that had been
gnawing at her for several days now.
     Also, she wasn't sure, but he seemed to have something he wanted to tell her as well.
     Suddenly, she heard a voice.  "Long day?"  Fox asked, rubbing his eyes.
     "Long week,"  she corrected, "We've all been working overtime trying to put things back
together again.  I've heard that Dr. West has requested a delay in getting you a new ship."
     "Yeah, I guess he figures it'll be twice as hard to get me to rest once it arrives,"  Fox
remarked, "But, now that the action's over, I think I can withstand a little R&R."
     "Really,"  Fara said, surprised, "And what's brought on this sudden change in attitude?"
     "Well, I did a lot of thinking while I was out there.  I thought about a lot of things, but
mostly, I thought about you.  There were times when all I could think about was seeing you again. 
I think what scared me the most was the possibility of not seeing you again.  Before long, the
'Force's investigation into this invasion is going to turn to my involvement.  Once that happens, I'm
probably going to spend more time answering questions than I do flying.  Before that happens, I
want to spend some time with you."
     "I'm still on active duty,"  Fara noted.
     "All the time?"  Fox asked, grinning.
     "No, not all the time,"  Fara replied, smiling.
     "Well,"  Fox said, "There you have it.  Now, what's really on your mind?"
     "What do you mean?"  Fara asked quizzically.
     "I mean, you've been off in another world ever since I returned from the battle,"  Fox
explained, "Why?  What's bothering you?"
     "You noticed, huh?"
     "It's been pretty hard to miss,"  Fox replied.
     "Well, remember when you suggested that someone here talk to our Andross?"  Fara
asked.
     "Yes,"  Fox said tentatively, unsure where this was leading.
     "Well, I took it upon myself to do so.  Somehow, it just seemed right to me."
     Fox's eyes narrowed.  "What happened?"  he asked, now looking straight at her.
     "Andross claims that we, the SpaceForce, that is, are responsible for the death of his
family,"  she explained, "He says that a prototype nova bomb went off course and destroyed his
village, and that the SpaceForce then sat on its hands for two days while his people died."
     "He's crazy, you know that.  His view of things doesn't necessarily match reality,"  Fox
assured her.
     "Fox, I was there when he said it.  I'm telling you, he believes every last word of what he
said.  During my off-hours, I've been looking into the history of the area he claimed to have grown
up in.  According to what I've found, there used to be villages in that area, but they were destroyed
about sixty years ago by what official documentation calls a "natural disaster".  What official
documentation fails to explain is how that "natural disaster"  could have flooded the area with
enough hazardous radiation to cause it to have been sealed off ever since!"
     "The first nova bombs were fission-powered and left behind a lot of radiation,"  Fox
conceded, "The radiation sometimes spread to non-target areas.  So the 'Force redesigned them to
produce less harmful radiation."
     "Yes!"  Fara replied, "So, what he said could actually be true!  Our own people could have
had something to do with the start of the hostilities.  Here we are, thinking that the Alternates have
no respect for life when we could be working for a SpaceForce that killed a village of innocent
people."
     "Even so,"  Fox noted, "It was Andross who chose to start the Venom War, the biggest
bloodbath of all."
     "That may be so,"  Fara conceded, "But we may not have been as innocent and noble as
we've been lead to believe.  He believes we killed his family, which is powerful motivation for
revenge.  Remember what it did to you?"
     Fox thought back to the intense hatred he had felt toward Andross after his father's murder
and then again after he had been told what Andross had done to his mother.  He had been able to
put all that behind him until recently, but, at one time, he would have done anything to kill
Andross.  
     "She may still be alive,"  Fox said mysteriously.
     "Who?"  Fara asked curiously.
     "My mother."
     "Your mother?"  Fara asked incredulously, "What makes you believe that all of a sudden? 
For years you've been telling me that she died when you were young!"
     "I thought she had,"  Fox explained, "During this ordeal, I kept seeing this familiar young
woman in my mind.  I saw her when I was feeling threatened or scared.  Even now, I don't
understand many aspects of those dreams, and I was a little scared of her at first.  But, now it
seems she was trying to reach out to me and comfort me.  To give me strength."
     "Fox, we dream about things all the time, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there's
anything to them,"  Fara said.
     Fox merely continued on as if she hadn't spoken, "A doctor on the Cambridge saw the
picture of you in my mother's dress, and thought she was the woman who had saved him when
Andross' Venom base blew.  You're the spitting image of my mother.  I told him that you were on
my team that day and that it probably was you who had saved him.  But, he then remembered that
she was wearing a dress at the time, not a flight uniform.  He said he never saw her again after
that."
     "His memory could have been faulty,"  Fara warned, "That attack was, after all, over five
years ago."  She then asked, "Do you really believe him?"
     "I don't know.  I don't know any more than you know whether or not to believe Andross," 
Fox said, taking Fara's paw in his own, "But there is one thing I'm sure of:  After we find out
who's telling the truth and who's not, neither of our lives will ever be the same again.  Certainly,
our pasts won't be what we thought they were."
     With that, Fox rose and walked to the closet and opened the door.     
     "You think they'll choose to resume studying the wormhole after all this has been
straightened out?"  Fara asked.
     "I don't know,"  Fox replied, "But if they do, it won't be for awhile.  They'll have to rebuild
the station and send out enough military force to see to it that this doesn't happen again.  Anyway,
they chose to return myself and the other pilots to our
previous assignments, so it would seem that they don't plan on doing anything with it anytime
soon."    He paused momentarily.  "General Pepper's funeral will be the day after
tomorrow,"  he said, pulling something out of the closet, "His family asked me if, as a friend of
his, I would like to have anything buried with him."  He held out his old cape in front of him.  "I
do: an honorable past, as he deserves."


     The End