Krystal and Chase: Fichina
      
      Part one: Icy Reception
      
      As the warp tunnel opened over the planet, a white carrier exited the swirling vortex, soon fading from the blinding white light to it's standard gray coloration.  As it did, a black furred cat glanced out the forward view port.  Her tail flipped from side to side as she shook her head.
      "Never thought we would end up here of all places." The cat sighed to herself, looking around her at the crew that was piloting the carrier, "Fichina might be a tactical point, but it's basically useless.  Only things down there are an abandoned Cornerian outpost and a weather station.  Hiigan, this had better be worth our time."
      "Captain Raye, we're receiving the weather conditions from the station now." A rabbit stated, "Should be up in a few seconds."
      "Very good." The cat replied, tapping at the panel in front of her, "Keep to the shadowed side of the planet.  We don't want to announce our arrival just yet."
      Suddenly, something caught the rabbit's attention, "Uh, Captain?  We just lost all communication with the station.  Could just be an ice storm moving past though."
      "Keep an eye on it, then." The cat replied.
      A few of the other crew members made a few adjustments to the carriers thrusters, slowing the craft to a stationary orbit.  As it did, many of the weapons systems slowly came online.
      "Main weapons systems online." A badger stated, "Bringing up the shields and defensive systems now."
      "Do we have long range yet?" The captain asked.
      A wolf girl checked her readout, "No ma'am, not yet."
      "Shields can wait then!" Raye snapped, "Get me long range sensors, now!"
      "Sensors coming online." A silver fox girl replied, then after a short pause, "Long range is online now."
      Captain Raye rubbed the bridge of her nose slowly, "Keep me posted on anything we pick up.  As soon as our friends are picked up, give them my regards, all weapons authorized.  We cannot let them reach the surface."
      A few minutes passed as the remaining systems came back online from the jump from Sauria outpost F-386.  As they did, the rabbit reported that their connection with the weather station's main computer had been re-established.
      As she looked over the readings before her, a lynx walked up to her.  As he did, the younger furry saluted to her, gently clearing his throat to get her attention.
      "The Ronins are almost ready for insertion." The lynx said when she looked to him, "Hiigan is briefing them now."
      "Good.  Tell me as soon as their interceptors leave the hangar." The cat replied.
      "Yes ma'am." The lynx stated. 
*           *          *
      "So let me get this straight." A red fox said as he tapped his handgun, "You want us to go out there and find some sort of large weapon?"
      The holographic human simply nodded, "Not just any weapon, Ronin.  An Apariod weapon of great size and power."
      As the fox paced, a blue-furred vixen sat down, watching her partner.  Her emerald eyes glanced down at the hologram of Fichina, knowing all too well exactly what Hiigan was after.  As she examined it, the vixen unconsciously fidgeted with one of the three, white bands holding her tail fur in place.
      "So...what exactly makes you think that we'll be able to find a weapon that was destroyed years ago, Hiigan?" Ronin asked the hologram, "By now, it's probably buried under a ton of snow and ice."
      "You are not to find the weapon itself." Hiigan replied, "There is a team down there excavating it already.  But, due to the Sev`fel attack on a colony close to this planet, we have agreed to protect them while they recover the weapon."
      That did not help the fox feel any better.  The last thing Chase wanted was to do anything besides fighting for those he was paid to protect.  The fox wanted to go to that colony and fight the Sev`fel, not waste time on a froze ice ball no one cared about.  But that was not the only problem for Chase.  It was also about who had asked them to do this.
      "So now we're babysitting a bunch of scientists and diggers all because Lylat Command Central asked us nicely to help out?" Chase asked, the annoyance in his voice very clear, "Hiigan, you had better have another team going to help that colony!"
      "At least they are acknowledging that the Sev`fel have returned, Ronin." Hiigan replied calmly, not at all fazed by Chase's reaction, "That is a major step in our fight against them."
      "Alright, say we do help them out." Chase replied, "What does that get us in return?"
      "Lylat Command could be a valuable ally, Chase." The vixen said, finally speaking up, "They have the vehicles, weapons, and trained soldiers we might need to fight the Sev`fel if this escalates beyond them attacking our colonies."
      Chase simply smirked, "You just hope to see Fox again, don't you Krystal?"
      The vixen blushed, averting her eyes from her partner, "No!  I just think that they could be helpful...that's all."
      While she knew Chase was only playing, Krystal still felt a pang of sadness and guilt thinking about the one she had once been so deeply in love with.  While she had tried to move past Fox McCloud, Krystal still found herself thinking about him.
      "Ronin-2 is correct." Hiigan said, not seeming to have noticed this at all, "Lylat Command Centrals new general has agreed that, provided we help with this operation, they will re-evaluate the Sev`fel threat.  We do not have the man-power to continue to fight as we have been.  Several more colonies have fallen under Sev`fel control and the teams that were dispatched to help them have been either been eliminated or are currently listed as MIA.  If all of this goes as planned, we can reverse that and possibly save our remaining colonies."
      Chase sighed, patting Krystal's shoulder, "Fine.  But if all of this goes to hell, you're the first to get blamed."
      "I shall keep that in mind Ronin." Hiigan nodded, "Now, you will meet with the science team in the weather station.  They will inform you from there."
      "Got it, over and out." Chase replied, ending the transmission.
      As he did, Chase paced restlessly, his tail flipping from side to side.  Fichina was notorious for sudden ice storms that could easily knock out all communications and effectively render him and his partner helpless if they were ambushed.  Just to be safe, Chase had decided to wear a heavier armor type, fully insolated against the weather and could support his AI unit within it.  If things did go wrong, Chase wanted to be sure he could get Krystal off Fichina alive.  Plus, Chase had a feeling that Hiigan was not telling them the full story.
      "I guess we had better get going." Krystal said, standing up.
      Chase nodded, "You sure you're alright going down there?  I can handle this one on my own."
      Krystal smiled to him, her emerald eyes shining playfully, "Like you said, we're only babysitting, right?  Shouldn't be that difficult."
      The fox smirked, glad to see his partner in high spirits again.
      "Yeah." Chase agreed, "And Krystal?"
      The vixen glanced to him, "Hmm?"
      "Sorry about that comment.  I forgot that it's still a tender subject."
      "It's alright.  I have to move on eventually anyway right?"
      Chase nodded, knowing that it would be a while longer before Krystal was ready for that step.
*           *          *
      Shortly, Chase was looking over his weaponry choices for the mission.  The carrier held a full armory, from pistols and knives to rocket launchers and other explosives designed for maximum destruction to their targets.  Despite the many choices, Chase chose to use his usual weapons of choice, duel Stinger handguns, a couple grenades, and the arm blades he had been training with.
      The fox took a second to examine a heavy machine gun.  While Chase did feel that the weapon had more ammunition and better penetration, the heavier weapon took longer to reload and was notorious for its low accuracy against ranged targets.  The Stinger handguns were more accurate and could easily remove short to medium ranged targets.  With a smirk, Chase decided to stick with the weapons he knew best.
      The blades had been redesigned yet again by the techs before the mission.  Now, the blades were slid back against the fox's arms, hidden within the steel barrier between Chase's arm and anything that wanted to cut into it.  A button was installed on the top of the handle for the blades.  When Chase grabbed the handle, his thumb pressed the button down, extending the sharpened blade in a split second, ready to fight.
      As he checked the mechanism of the blades, Chase glanced over to Krystal.  Chase had to smile a bit, seeing the blue furred vixen holding her usual choice of weaponry.  The vixen had picked out the S-32 Heavy Assault Rifle once more, but this one had an upgrade.  Latched onto the top of the weapon was a newly developed scope, able to allow the shooter to see anything using cloaking technology.  At least, that was the theory.
      The scope had been developed shortly after the two had encountered a style of Sev`fel robot that was able to turn invisible.  This new scope was their answer to that problem.
      "Finally going to test that thing out, huh?" Chase asked as he picked up a few magazines of ammunition.
      "What?" Krystal asked, looking to him, then she realized what he had said, "Oh!  Yeah.  I figure that, if it can see clocked robots, maybe it can see anything in the snow too."
      "Makes sense to me." Chase shrugged, slipping in a few more magazines before closing his pouch, "You ready then?"
      Krystal nodded as she slipped a few magazines into her pouch as well.  Although she thought she had plenty, the vixen grabbed two more, thinking that the extra magazines might come in handy.  As Chase tossed her a handgun, Krystal slipped it onto her side, strapping the weapon into its holster as she placed a couple of magazines for it into her other side pouch.
      "You are bringing your AI with you, right?" Krystal asked, watching as Chase checked the slides of each handgun.
      "Yeah, I have to." Chase replied distractedly, "Protocol, after all.  Besides, I always have a hard time following what scientists say.  She can translate it."
      Krystal nodded, remembering the artificial intelligence unit from her last mission with it.  The vixen had never gotten used to working with a robot on their side, let alone a holographic AI program.
      "At least Jennifer isn't as monotone as ROB was." Krystal thought to herself, following Chase to the hangar, "And with her upgraded computer system, she's a lot more intelligent." 
*           *          *
      As Chase climbed into the cockpit of his Phoenix GX-4 Interceptor, the fox took a deep breath to calm his nerves.  Quickly activating the crafts systems, Chase had to smile as a familiar voice came to his ears.
      "I have received the coordinates to the weather station." A female voice said calmly, "Conditions are currently fair enough to land without difficulty."
      "Keep an ear open for any updates." Chase replied, "If there's even the slightest hint of a snow storm approaching, tell me ASAP."
      A blue wolf girl appeared in the corner of Chase's HUD.  As her symbols flowed easily along her body, the wolf nodded, her green eyes looking distracted.  Chase could understand that, Jennifer being the one who watched over everything within the Phoenix interceptor.
      "I will tell you if anything changes." The wolf said.
      "Thanks Jen." Chase smirked, "Once we land, prep yourself for transfer to the armor.  I'll need you in here if I want to make any sense of what those scientists will try to tell us."
      The AI wolf nodded with a smile, "Just glad to be of assistance."
      Chase nodded and checked over his weapons systems.  If they ran into trouble, the fox wanted to be ready for a fight.  Luckily, the Phoenix GX-4 class interceptors were made to handle just about anything that was thrown at them, unlike their heavier counterparts the Dark Eagle assault craft and the Caliber class heavy bombers.
      "Are you sure these things will handle alright in the snow and ice, Chase?" a second voice asked over his headset.
      "I'm sure, Krystal." Chase replied, "You going to be warm enough?"
      "The armors are insulated against the cold, right?" Krystal asked, "I think I will be alright."
      Chase smiled as the hangar depressurized, opening the bay doors.  Within seconds, the two Phoenix interceptors raised off the hangar floor, hovering in the air for a minute before their thrusters lit up with a blazing display of power.
      "We have confirmation of the green light." Jennifer stated calmly, "Good to go."
      Chase nodded and shot out of the hangar, Krystal following him closely.  As they passed by the huge carrier they had left, Chase glanced back at Krystal's Phoenix.  The fox knew well about the mission Krystal had seen on the planet below during the beginning of the Aparoid wars.  With that in mind, Chase lit up his thrusters, sending his Phoenix speeding forward towards their mission. 
*           *          *
      Watching the two crafts leave the hangar, the captain nodded and turned to her crew before her.  With those two on the planet below, the carrier's job was now to keep them safe from any Sev`fel forces that might try to attack them.
      "Let's just pray we haven't arrived too late." Raye thought to herself, "No telling how long the Sev`fel had to make their move before we got here."
      "Ma'am, we're cleared to engage any and all hostile forces." A falcon stated, "Shall we move in?"
      "Not just yet." The cat replied, her eyes glancing over the located Sev`fel carrier, "First we have to be sure the Sev`fel have not made the first move.  Once the Ronins have landed, I want communications with them."
*           *          *
      After passing through the planets atmosphere, Chase watched the waypoint on his HUD shift to the location of the weather station.  The numbers below it counted down rapidly as Chase kept his eyes open for anything that could be a threat.
      "Try to establish a connection with the station." Chase ordered, checking his shields, "If you can, tell the scientists we're close."
      "Establishing." Jennifer replied in his ear.
      As the AI worked, Chase opened a channel with is partner, "You OK back there, Krystal?"
      "Yeah, I'm good." The vixen replied, catching up to his craft and taking her place on his right wing.
      "I cannot connect to their communications relays." Jennifer stated, "They might be having system troubles from the ice storm that was picked up upon our arrival."
      "That or maybe something else is wrong." Chase thought as they approached the weather station, "I just hope I'm wrong." 
*           *          *
      After landing, Krystal pulled on a pair of warm gloves, flexing her fingers to make sure she could still grip well enough to shoot.  Once she was sure that she could still move easily, the vixen picked up her rifle and grabbed the handle of the canopy over her cockpit.  As she pushed it forward so she could get out, the cold, arctic air met her in a chilling blast.  With a quick shiver, the vixen was suddenly glad she had insulated armor to cover almost all of her body.  The only things that were exposed to the elements were her head and tail.
      "Good thing we won't be outside for too long." The vixen thought as she pulled herself out of the cockpit, "I guess I could grab a hood from one of the scientists if they have any extra.  This wind is freezing!"
      As Krystal slid down the Phoenix's side, the vixen looked around her.  The icy wasteland seemed barren of life.  Her boots hit solid ground, the snow around her melted by the heat of the Phoenix's still glowing engines.  Anywhere else, snow and ice covered the ground, showing no signs of anything that could be solid ground.  Above her, the skies were clouded and gray, a menacing sign of more storms yet to come.  Icicles were cast into her exhaled breaths, the tiny clouds disappearing quickly as the cold breeze pushed it away, nipping into her exposed fur.  The station itself was almost covered in snow, a path having been dug from the entrance to the landing areas.
      "This place looks almost the same as when Fox was here." Krystal thought to herself, looking up when she heard Chase's cockpit open.
      The fox climbed out of his interceptor, pulling a hood over his ears as he did.
      "Forget to grab a hood, Krystal?" Chase asked, walking to her side.
      "Y-yeah." Krystal replied, her jaw starting to chatter, "D-didn't expect it t-to be this w-windy."
      "Let's get inside and warm up a bit." Chase advised, "Maybe they'll let you borrow a hood."
      Krystal nodded in agreement, following Chase up the shoveled trail to the door.  But as they approached it, Krystal suddenly felt that something was wrong.  Her worries were confirmed as Chase tried the door codes.
      "Figures." The fox sighed, "And I'll bet it's too thick for a knock to be heard.  Jen, can you hack the door remotely?"
      "I shall attempt to." The AI replied over the shared communications channel between Chase and Krystal's armors, "This is an older model that has taken a lot of environmental abuse.  It would seem these were installed to replace the ones from the Aparoid attack a few years ago."
      As Jennifer attempted to interface with the door, Krystal focused her ability.  Something just was not right in her mind about this place.  Thanks to her telepathic abilities, the vixen was able to scan the inside of the building for any activity.  But the result of her search shocked her!  There was nothing inside!
      "I really hope that I just couldn't sense anything through this material." Krystal thought to herself as Jennifer reported that she could not interface with the door systems.
      "Alright, let's try the old fashion way." Chase growled quietly, drawing his Stinger, "Should take too much force to open this sucker up."
      Chase bashed open the door panel with the grip of his weapon.  To Krystal's surprise, it worked, the panel falling out of place to reveal the wiring underneath it.  As the fox crouched down before it, Krystal watched carefully as her partner attempted to bypass the door.
      "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Krystal asked.
      Chase looked at her quickly, "To be honest, I'm trying to do this by memory from a long time ago and gloves don't exactly make this any easier...no promises."
      Krystal sighed and tried to cover her ears with her hands to keep them warm.  If they could not get this door open, they would have to find another way around the building and try the other doors.
      "Cross this wire here....I think this goes here..." Chase mumbled as he worked, "And...now to see if it worked."
      The fox pressed the panel back into place.  With a click, the panel held, even with the large dent across the top from the grip of Chase's weapon.
      As the door opened slowly, Chase smiled to Krystal, "Told you I knew what I was doing."
      Krystal simply smiled, thinking, "Sure you did, Chase.  We both know that you got lucky."
      After the door was opened, Chase stepped inside.  But as Krystal walked in as well, shutting the door behind them, what greeted their eyes was very far from what they had expected to see...