A/N: This is a rework of my previous Operation Gamma story. Essentially it's the same, but I've changed a few things around, particularly the setting. I've realized while writing OG that adding humanity into the mix is a huge taboo and really difficult to pull off, so I stopped it. New setting, same basic plot, continuing where I left off. Enjoy.

~CL

Fox was bored. Really freaking bored. Things were getting tedious aboard the Great Fox with the lack of jobs as of late. It wasn't that he wanted to be lazy, but there was simply nothing for them to do. The ship was suffering from it was well. Things were breaking and the team just didn't have the money to repair it. Luckily, the Arwings were still in good shape, otherwise they wouldn't even be able to take on new jobs.

He was sitting on the bridge with Falco while he was going through the digital version of the Cornerian newspaper. Falco was on one of the other computer terminals just messing around on the internet and generally being unproductive. Not that Fox could blame him, there was really nothing to do other than train, which was becoming old very fast.

Suddenly, Fox was spurred from his thoughts when the door to the bridge opened and Peppy walked in. He had just as few things to do as they did, which turned out to be zero.

The older hare said, "You guys want to head to Corneria City for a bit? Floating here in space is just too tedious for me. Maybe some ground time will cheer us up a bit."

Fox replied without even looking away from his paper. "Honestly, I couldn't care less. Go ahead. It's not like we'll be turning away jobs or anything."

Peppy nodded and went to a third computer terminal to set the ship's coordinates. Right after he sat down and before he even managed to log on, the ship's com system began ringing indicating an incoming call. Fox turned around in instant surprise and excitement to answer it.

Falco said, "I swear to god if this isn't someone offering a job I am going to just scream."

Before the machine could even ring a second time, Fox answered it. The hologram projector in the center of the bridge flickered on revealing a figure that no one was able to quite recognize. But nonetheless, Fox began speaking in the hopes that this could lead to a job.

"Captain Fox McCloud of the Star Fox team. What can I do for you?"

The man on the hologram appeared quite stern, standing tall with his hands locked behind his back. He was dressed in professional attire giving an air of nobility to him. He was a black wolf whose fur had begun to fade to gray from age. He had dark eyes that matched the stern look on his face. The figure nodded before speaking. "Greetings. My name is Creswell. Don't ask me my first name because I won't tell you and don't ask me my last name because I won't tell you that either. Creswell is just my cover name?"

Fox was a bit confused with his greeting. "Umm…alright then Creswell. I can't say I've met you before though. Who are you exactly?"

Creswell nodded before speaking again. "I come from a planetary system not exactly close to yours called the Spanier Galaxy. I live on a planet called Stygia.

Fox said, "So you're not in the Lylat system then. I don't think I've even heard of that galaxy before."

"Understandable. Our systems were totally unknown to each other until only just a few years ago. But the reason I'm calling is to invite you to Stygia for business purposes."

The entire crew heaved a sigh of relief. They were finally getting a job and would be able to do some repairs on the Great Fox. But what type of money and job they would be doing was the next question.

"Ok," said Fox. "Exactly what type of job do you have for us?"

"To be honest, I can't say," said Creswell. "I prefer not to talk about missions unless it's in person. There's always a likelihood that the transmission could be intercepted by the exact person I do not want to do so."

"Well, I promise you the transmission is secure on this end. Our com system is working fine and would alert us if someone was trying to hack into the call."

"All well and good, but our communication technologies here on our planet are not exactly up to speed with yours. Someone else could be listening to me right now and I'd have no idea."

Fox wasn't quite sure what to say. He really didn't want to head out to another star system for a mission he knew nothing about. That was really unsafe and quite foolish. But quite frankly, they needed this job. He just wanted to be careful.

Fox said, "Ok, I understand. But you can't expect me to be willing to come visit you because I just trust you. I've never met you. How do I know you're not trying to set a trap for us?"

"Because people usually don't give money to the ones they want to trap."

"Ok, but how can I be sure you're going to pay us? Again, I can't trust you just yet."

"I already did."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "Beg pardon?"

"Check your ship's account. I knew you wouldn't come out here without incentive, so I went ahead and deposited money into your account already. Call it half now, half later. But I can assure you the second portion will be much larger than the first, should you take the job."

Fox turned his head slightly to look at Peppy. He was already typing away on the computer he was at. After a few moments, he turned around and nodded to Fox. The guy wasn't lying. That money was theirs now and Creswell couldn't take it back even if he wanted to.

"Ok. We'll take the job. But don't expect us to come unarmed. If this business has taught me anything, it's to trust no one."

Creswell nodded. "I understand fully. I'm sending the coordinates to you as we speak. Just arrive at the indicated place three days from now at noon. We'll talk business from there. If anyone asks, just tell them you're working with Creswell."

"Ok. We'll call you if there are any problems."

"Good to hear. One last thing. We only want you, Falco, and Krystal to come to the surface for this mission. I assure you the rest of your team will be more helpful remaining on your ship than they will be there with you."

Fox was a bit suspicious. How did this guy know the intricacies of his team like that? He could only speculate, so he said, "Ok. That shouldn't be a problem."

Creswell said, "Oh, and we're also hiring a second team to be working with you. The both of you will be expected to work together, but your pay won't be affected. We feel as though this job requires more personnel than usual. Is that acceptable?"

"Yeah, that's not a problem so long as they know what they're doing."

"I can assure you that they do."

Fox replied, "Ok then, that's just fine with me."

"Good. I look forward to working with you. Creswell out."

And with that, the hologram disappeared and the call was ended.

Fox turned to Peppy and said, "Did you get the coordinates?"

The hare replied, "Already set them. It'll take about two days in hyperspace to get there. We'll make it in time."

"Ok. And what about they money he sent? Was it legit?"

Peppy's eyes widened a bit as he nodded. "Oh yeah. 50 thousand credits worth of legit."

Fox was a surprised to hear that. "Are you serious? Hey gave us that before we even agreed to anything?"

Peppy replied, "Apparently. I guess he really needs us to take this job. I mean, what he just gave us should be enough to get The Great Fox fixed up, let alone what he'll pay us later."

Falco chimed in, "Fox, are you sure we can trust this guy? We have no idea who the hell he is and we also have no idea what we're getting into."

The captain replied, "That's why I told him we'd be packing heat. He said they were less technologically advanced than we were, and I'm going to go do some research to make sure he's right. If it's true, we'll be able to wipe out anything they can throw at us with our Arwings. Besides, if you have a better idea that'll pay the bills around here, I'm all ears."

Falco was silent. Fox was right. They needed the money badly. They would just have to go in cautiously and hope that this guy could be trusted.

Fox rose from his chair. "I'm going to go tell Krystal and Slippy what's up. I'll see ya later."

Fox exited the bridge to find the rest of his team, leaving just Peppy and Falco on the bridge. Peppy turned around to his computer and opened up the com channel to the Hyperspace Coordination Center to gain approval for warp travel to their coordinates. Falco just turned around to his computer and continued being unproductive. At least they would finally be able to get some money to fix up their ship. The only question was what would they have to do to earn the check?