"Please, Uncle Silly?"
"No," Slippy responded firmly as he continued to go over data readouts of the ship's status.
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
Krystal shook her head as she watched the interchange. Much as she'd anticipated, Sunset had immediately started begging everyone for an Ar-Wing of her own. Admittedly, she was still limited in language, but she'd been able to make herself clear rather easily. Thankfully, Krystal had been able to break free of her own siege of pleas rather easily.
"Mommy! Can I have wings?" Sunset pleaded, pointing out the view screen at the Ar-Wings Fox and the others were flying.
Krystal chuckled softly. "Sunset, even if I were so inclined to give you an Ar-Wing - which I'm not - I don't have any way to give you one. Not only won't I, but I can't, and no amount of pleading can change that."
Sunset pouted momentarily before perking up. "Then-"
"And I won't help you talk the others around either."
The resulting pout was absolutely adorable.
Once free of Sunset's attempts at wheedling her around, Krystal was able to watch her attempts at bringing the others around with amused tolerance. Her first attempt had been on Peppy, and his method of deflection was most inspired.
"Grandpa!" Sunset called out eagerly as she rushed towards Peppy. "Can I have wings?"
Peppy blinked in surprise and confusion. "Wings, Sunset?"
"Like you and Daddy have!" Sunset declared, pointing out at space.
Peppy paused as he parsed that, then smiled indulgently. "Oh, you want your own Ar-Wing?" Peppy clarified. When Sunset nodded eagerly, he chuckled softly. "Yes, I remember that feeling well. I remember the first time I saw Ar-Wings in flight..."
And so he had gone, segueing into a story of the past, Sunset becoming totally enthralled until she slipped into slumber. Realizing how she'd been thwarted, she'd confronted him again...only to be distracted by a different story. This had repeated several times until Sunset fully caught wise...and Peppy's counter stratagem was truly masterful.
"No!" Sunset interrupted as Peppy started to tell yet another story. "Don't want story! Want wings!"
Peppy let his face fall as he stared at Sunset. "You don't want my story?" he asked sorrowfully. "Well, I suppose it would come eventually." He sighed regretfully. "Younguns always grow up eventually. I knew it wouldn't be that long before you didn't need me anymore, outgrew the need for Grandpa. I guess I'll just...sit here idling my days away, missing the days you'd crawl into my lap for a story, wasting away..."
Sunset was on the verge of tears. "No Grandpa!" she wailed, throwing herself into his lap to cling to him. "Don't go! Need you! Love you!"
Peppy smiled warmly, returning the hug. "So you still want my stories?"
Sunset nodded desperately. Chuckling, Peppy broke into yet another tale.
After that, Sunset didn't ask Peppy for anything other than stories. Peppy managed to look inordinately smug whenever Sunset wasn't looking.
Sunset's discussion with Fox had been quite short.
"Daddy!" Sunset called out, running up to Fox in the Ar-Wing hangar. "I want one!" She pointed peremptorily at the Ar-Wing.
"Maybe when you're older," Fox replied readily without even blinking.
"Not maybe!" Sunset whined. "Want wings!"
"Would you like to go for 'no'?" Fox countered.
Sunset stared up at him. "...Maybe good."
Krystal had been nervous when Sunset had approached Falco, though. She knew Falco had a temper, and a foul mouth when roused. However, to her surprise, Falco was surprisingly creative when censoring himself around Sunset.
"Flock no!" Falco snapped the moment Sunset had asked him for 'wings'. "Fly me to the Alps, no! There is no way in Helheim a pupping three year old is being put into farting space! It is far too flying dangerous!"
Sunset stared up at Falco, her ears going back as her eyes started to water.
"Don't gimme that shingles!" Falco chided angrily. "You and I both know the waterworks is a big fake to get what you want and you yell and scream when actually upset!"
Sunset's expression turned to angry, and she spun and delivered a hard side kick to his shin with her hoof before toddling away.
"Yeah..." Falco whimpered as he clutched his leg. "Like that. ...fighting good form there, though."
And now it seemed Sunset had turned her attempts on Slippy, though he seemed to be holding strong against it. The 'Please?/No' exchange had been going on for nearly an hour, and Sunset showed no signs of stopping...while Slippy showed no signs of even being disturbed by it. Eventually, Sunset was the one who broke. "Why?"
Slippy smiled as he held out his data-pad, showing her the image on it. "This is the G-Diffusion system of the Ar-Wings," Slippy explained. "It's central to all its systems. Engines, shields, maneuvering, weapons, bomb dispersal...everything goes through it to some degree. But it isn't perfect. Sometimes the energy slips. Sometimes one of the systems it controls...blips. As such, there are safeties for all of them. However...one of the systems it controls is its primary function, controlling how the G Forces of the flight affect the pilot. You've read my science notes, so you can imagine what would happen to a pilot if that system blips."
Sunset shuddered. She could imagine. She'd seen what extreme G Forces could do to fruit. "Safety?" she asked hopefully.
"As I said, the blips only last a few moments," Slippy explained as he reached into a bag, pulling out his cybernetic leg enhancers. "But if that system blips, the Gs will force all the blood in the pilot's body into their legs, which can cause them to black out...or cause blood vessels to burst." Setting the leg enhancers down, he sat back and rolled up his pant legs.
Sunset stared as the metal prongs sticking out of Slippy's legs became visible. "Those...?" she asked, her voice now afraid.
"Surgically implanted cybernetic interface points," Slippy confirmed. "Hurts like the dickens putting them in, and anesthesia isn't an option since they have to link up properly to the nervous system so they can receive mental commands." Slipping his legs into the boot shaped enhancers, he focused. He gritted his teeth as a metallic clanking heralded the interfaces grasping the boots and locking them into place. "And because we had to get the cheaper models back when we got them due to being low on cash, they hurt like the dickens when we put them on. Fox got lucky, since his Dad sprung for the model that stays entirely within the leg when not in use. Falco and I...not so lucky."
He slowly stood up, balancing his weight on the boots. "These strengthen the muscles, bones, and blood vessels in the legs, allowing them to handle both a sudden increase in G forces and maintaining standard blood pressure should the system blip. All research shows this system prevents black outs in the event of momentary G-Diffusion System failure. Anything more than momentary, you're already dead." He turned to Sunset. "They don't make these in child sizes, and one of the requirements to legally pilot an Ar-Wing is to be of age to have these installed, and either get them installed or prove your biology doesn't need it. Some species don't." He glanced down at Sunset's hooves. "You might not, given the shape of your legs. But we can't get it tested until you're at least 12, when you're old enough to enroll in the Academy."
"Y-yeah..." Sunset murmured in a quiet voice. Krystal could see it in her eyes. She still wanted her own 'wings', but she no longer wanted them 'now.'
At that moment, Rob broadcast an announcement to the whole ship. "Message from General Pepper! Priority One!"
Slippy immediately leapt to his feet. "Krystal, hold onto Sunset!" he directed as he raced for the hangar.
Krystal quickly snatched up Sunset, racing for the hangar herself. Something big was going down.
Taking 3 different parenting methods to heart here, Falco aside they were all brilliant in deflecting a 3 year old successfully with hilarious side effects
I give her a month, tops, before she designs something to let her pilot without having to worry about the G-Forces killing her in event of G-Diffusion blip.
Lets see now... We have three different games all vying for the position of "First" game in the timeline. They might even be mutually exclusive. I have hopes for 64 to follow Zero in this story, with the original being generic enough to be placed randomly on the timeline, but I have to accept that at least one of the three will be dropped, if not two. And Starfox 2 hasn't even been officially released yet, so that is up in the air as well.
8290168
This isn't Twilight "Supra-Genius" Sparkle we're talking about. I could see Sunset taking the time to learn about the Ar-Wing's systems so she'll know how to fly it, but if she needs any gadgeteering done, she goes to Uncle Silly, and he's already made his stance on the matter clear.
And besides, the law says 12. No fancy devices is going to change that fast enough to matter for her. Or at all, really.
Slippy could always make some sort of flight simulator for her so she can practice.
Hmm... On purpose?
Peppy's deflection of Sunset certainly is a story to tell.
Well, Sunset certainly got a kick from trying to get an Ar-Wing from Falco.
To sum up what Slippy told Sunset: "You can't skip leg day."
8290168
8290219
Not to mention, she's more likely to disassemble and reassemble an Ar-Wing... or three... so she can better understand what would need modification to suit her body-type first, then pass that along to Slippy so he can get started on the modifications themselves.
Of course, the dis- and reassembling may or may not occur as she kills time through the years before she turns twelve.
i wanna see a out long video of sunset and slippy doing that back and forth
Tonight, the part of Falco will be played by TFS Vegeta.
Spoken like a father already.
8290264
That was Slippy.
So the Great Fox's G-Diffuser is safe for children... well I guess it makes sense because a fighter has less stability because of the smaller size and all the stuff they are forcing it to do at once. A larger ship would have a more stable system.
At least the Land Master and Blue Marine are safer than piloting an Ar-wing, they can't reach deadly G-force speeds.
8290364
Whoops, guess I... Slipped up.
Good explanation, Slippy, not to mention the best way of handling the question compared to everyone else. Actually addresses the request and describes why it is impossible for now.
8290379
More that the Great Fox isn't a fighter craft that pulls double digit G-force maneuvers (if not triple digit ones)in rapid succession; the way the Ar-wings turns and rolls, without G-force compensation the pilots would pass out or die in a matter of seconds from the stress on their bodies.
This has been a major limiting factor in jet fighter design for decades; coming up with a jet that can handle the stress of maneuvering is easy, but doing so with out killing the pilot is near impossible. I would not be surprised if modern drone fighters can easily out-maneuver any piloted jet for exactly this reason. (Not that the military would openly admit such a thing, both to keep piloted jets around (and let pilots (officers)get flight pay) and to avoid advertising an advantage to perspective enemies.)
8290396
media2.giphy.com/media/b9aScKLxdv0Y0/giphy.gif
Mhm. Excellent reasoning. Though Sunset can still assist with the Great Fox with weapons or supercharging the shields.
You know, I can imagine a little something... Given what Krystal wears while piloting an Ar-Wing.
"So this pressure suit will do everything needed to keep your blood pressure regular! Why you won't even need the cybernetics at all!"
"But isn't this more expensive than getting the leg enhancements?"
"Have you SEEN your legs? We cannot be going around ruining those million-credit-perfect-legs!"
Slippy did this the best way, with his EXPLAINING why the no.
"Pleeeeease?"
8290193
Um, TECHNICALLY, Star Fox from the SNES, Star Fox 64 from the N64 and Star Fox Zero from the Wii U are all the same game.
Star Fox 64 is a reboot of the SNES version and Star Fox Zero is a reboot of the N64 version.
8290264 I'd say it's more Falco that got a kick out of her request...
Wow I enjoyed Peppy's way of handling it. He didn't get to be as old as he is by not being highly intelligent.
Loved Peppy the most.
Glad Slippy was able to part some knowledge onto Sunny. The real reasons "why" are usually the best explanations. "Because I said so" should never count.
Someone give me a refresher: "Starfox 64" is just a retelling of the original game, right?
8290608
Yup, and Star Fox Zero is a retelling of that.
Dude. You know how to make bad characters great. I like your Slippy...
And I'm hearing my uncle's voice. I'M NOT IMPLYING ANYTHING; GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!
All members of Star Fox and Krystal did an excellent job of pacifying Sunset in her quest for wings. Still, I half expected Slippy to pull out a remote control Ar-Wing drone that she could fly around the ship and maybe an augmented reality game with some simple hologram enemies scattered around the ship. Hey, if humans can come up with THIS then Slippy should be able to set up something even better with his more advanced tech.
8290931
My first thought was Slippy demanding that only if she would manage to understand all the technical stuff she could come again and ask, but he would probably still don't give her some if she turns out like a little genius.
8290608
One of the worst things an adult can say to a child is that phrase. That, and the old 'do as I say, not as I do.'
Neither one of those are something you should ever say to a child. Not only is it rude and insulting to the child, but both are enormously immature.
I like how you implemented the pilots getting amputated and issued sith cybernetic legs. That was a mind-blowing explanation when I happened upon it on the internet years ago.
Peppy is a genius and Falco was funny.
8290504
Oh, I've been mentioning that for a while. It just seems a shame to loose 64's character interactions. Hence my post.
And once again, Krystal sees that Slippy is far smarter, and street smart, than she believed.
I love that you made Slippy competent in this story, as well as providing an excuse to his "clumsiness" that actually makes sense. Most people just use it as a running gag, if they're not flat out bashing him.
Gosh dang it to heck, Falco, you're such a badbutt!
8291070
Starfox SNES is the original. 64 is a remake of SNES, and Zero is a remake of 64. The only real differences are voice actors and graphics, and maybe the extra scene to better describe what's happening in the lore.
8291161
He didn't say amputation. He said they got implants that basically let them bolt exoskeletal legs on during flight prep.
Edit: Really just says "leg enhancers", so maybe it's more like leg bracers.
8290272
While I agree that she would disassemble-reassemble an Arwing to figure out what makes it tick, Sunset wouldn't have to make changes for body-type. She has the same body-type as everybody else, humanoid.
Krystal: Dad method ("Go ask someone else, I can't help you with this.")
Peppy: Grandpa method ("Let me tell you a story...")
Fox: Mom method ("Stop asking or no wings for you!")
Falco: Big Brother method ("No! You're my (Insert relative type here)! Just... no!" (Goes off to increase security around dangerous object))
Slippy: Uncle method ("This is why you shouldn't do that." Proceeds to scare the feathers out of the kid.)
Note: These do not represent the actual emotional connection each member has to Sunset, nor do they always match up perfectly.
There is no way they'e amputating her hooves.
Cool as it'd be to have her with cybernetic hands, there is now way...
8292317
She only has two legs in this.
She's anthro like the rest of the cast.
I was pretty certain that was made blatantly obvious by now. By the cover art, if not where it's explicitly spelled out in the story!
8292025 Ah, perhaps I read that wrong.
8292336
It's actually kind of hard to tell by the cover art unless you look closely and realize those are fingers, especially on mobile. However, I think you indicated it in one of the early chapters.
8293127
The very first chapter, as a matter of fact.
8292336
(squints eyes at the cover image)
Nah. You can't tell from the image.
8290338
This. Absolutely loved it. I kept expecting Falco to end his rant at some point with, "with a god damned pig!"
...Tats has had a few TFS things sprinkled about his tales, now that I think on it, and they're almost universally perfect.
Peppy you genius
Don't they have enough money to get the good stuff nowadays? Why are they still using the cheap ones?
8751096
Because getting the good ones would involve having the cheap ones surgically removed and the good ones put in their place, and none of them are willing to go through that process a second time, let alone a third.
With how much she likes flight, who do I suspect that she'll end up with LITERAL wings at some point, like Trixie (but hopefully not cranky this time)?
I can already guess she'll be able to pilot a ship without augments, though...
8290168
Vitural reality drone flying like those in vol 2 guardians of the galaxy.