General Pepper
AFFILIATION Corneria Defense Force ROLE Commanding officer
INTEL As the longtime leader of Corneria's premier peacekeeping force, General Pepper is responsible for protecting the freedom and security of not only the planet Corneria but the entire Lylat System. It is a responsibility to which he is deeply committed.
General Pepper sits at the top of the Corneria Defense Force command structure and so oversees the full scope of operations across land, sea, and aerospace theaters. He also contracts with outside paramilitary units, which allows him to temporarily expand operational headcount in emergency situations—and to execute missions deemed outside official Defense Force scope.
It is in this latter capacity that General Pepper began working with the original Star Fox team—co-owned by James McCloud and Peppy Hare, both of whom had previously served in the Defense Force under the general's direct command.
As the senior-most Defense Force authority, General Pepper often makes final decisions on critical matters of security. Such was the case during the events surrounding the fall of the renowned scientist Dr. Andross.
At the time, Andross served as head of the Corneria Defense Force Research Laboratory. Widely regarded as a genius, Andross conducted groundbreaking research in physics and energy production that led to important technological advances. However, with each success, Andross's ambitions grew—and his experiments became increasingly unethical and dangerous.
Eventually, one of Andross's experiments went awry, causing an explosion on Corneria and chaos across the Lylat System. A military tribunal found Andross guilty and sentenced him to death—until General Pepper intervened. The general requested that the doctor's sentence be commuted to banishment, and so Andross was exiled to the remote planet Venom instead.
Five years later, General Pepper began receiving reports of suspicious activity on Venom. He turned to Star Fox, sending the squad on a secret reconnaissance mission to the planet. That operation, of course, would not only prove catastrophic for Star Fox, but would reveal the true scope of Andross's villainy and become the opening salvo of the Lylat Wars.
Dr. Andross's banishment to Venom had been an act of mercy on the part of General Pepper. If the general regrets this moment of kindness, he keeps that regret close to his chest.
ASSESSMENT Confident and respectful, General Pepper projects an air of calm authority in personal interactions as well as when addressing the public. He takes evident pride in the work of the Defense Force and in his role within the organization. While his professionalism is indisputable, he has been known to demonstrate a soft spot for certain trusted and respected allies.