"No, no, no, no, NO!" Falco Lombardi howled, cradling his feathered head in frustration. "Look what you did to my ship!" Slippy Toad squinted at the vehicle in question, trying to figure out what his avian teammate was so upset about. Then he saw it. A single black scorch mark slashed across the Arwing's engine compartment, marring the silver paint job.

"It wasn't my fault!" he protested, "The welding torch got away from me!"

Falco sneered. "I don't care! From now on, I don't want you messing with my machine anymore! UNDERSTAND?!" he yelled, his face turning even more purple than usual. Before Slippy could respond, Falco let out a string of curses, followed by unintelligible muttering. He turned on his heel and stalked down the hall. Slippy watched him go, then sat down on the floor and began to cry. He was unaware that a security camera was silently watching him the entire time.

Meanwhile, up on the Great Fox's command bridge, Fox McCloud stared intently at the video monitor connected to that particular camera, his muzzle set in a grim frown as he attempted to sort out what he had just witnessed. Noticing her fellow vulpine's unusually somber demeanor, Krystal stood up from her station and strode over to him.

"What's wrong, Fox?" she inquired, peering over his shoulder at the screen, which showed the still-dejected Slippy now wringing his red-and-white cap like a wet sponge. "Is he alright? What happened?"

"Falco stepped out of line," Fox muttered angrily, clearly unsatisfied with his feathery comrade's conduct. "I'll go deal with him. You head down and do what you can to help Slippy."

Krystal nodded and headed over to one of the ship's elevators, which beeped in acknowledgement as she stepped inside. A moment later, the platform slowly descended to the main hangar, where the blue-furred vixen knew the amphibious mechanic would be.

"Slippy?" Krystal called as she stepped lightly off the platform, "Are you okay?" Stepping out from behind a LandMaster tank, Slippy sighed and shook his head.

"I guess you saw what happened between me and Bird-Brain, huh?"

"No, but Fox told me everything. He's dealing with Falco right now."

"Why, Krystal? Why does he always treat me like this?"

"It's not just you, trust me," the empath murmured, placing a consoling hand on her emerald-skinned friend's shoulder, "Falco just has…people issues. And since you're not as quick to call him out on it as the rest of us, he often gets more carried away than he normally would. But he doesn't really mean any harm." She smiled and began to walk back to the elevator. "Come on, let's head up to the bridge."

Back on the bridge, Fox had just finished lecturing an extremely humiliated Falco when the lift came to a stop, depositing Krystal and Slippy before lowering itself back into the hangar.

"Perfect timing, guys," the canine pilot said, "I think I've got everything squared away here." Turning to his longtime ally, he prompted, "Falco, isn't there something you want to say to Slippy?" Falco nodded.

"Look, buddy…I'm sorry. It's just that my ride means a lot to me, and I don't like seeing her damaged. I know it was an accident, and I really shouldn't have reacted like that, but…" he trailed off, unsure how to continue. Slippy smiled.

"I understand. And I'll try to be more careful next time." He held out a hand. "So, are we cool?"

"Frosty." Falco replied, grinning and shaking the proffered hand.

"Incoming transmission," ROB warbled mechanically, switching on the hologram generator with one robotic finger. Everyone stood at attention as the image of General Pepper appeared, his face grim.

"Members of Star Fox," the old hound growled, "We have received a number of reports indicating the presence of a group of pirates operating from an as-of-yet undiscovered base somewhere in the Meteo asteroid belt. As that region borders several important space lanes, it is imperative that this threat is neutralized as quickly as possible.

"You can count on us, General!" Fox declared, the others nodding in agreement.

"I certainly hope so. Good luck, my friends. Pepper out." With a loud bweeoop, the hologram vanished. Fox turned to his team, teeth bared in a fierce grin.

"You guys ready for another adventure?"

"Totally."

"Always."

"Heck, yeah!"

"Alright, then. Team Star Fox, let's roll!"

The End