The young fox walked off towards the academy, with the Reynard watching him. Fox had asked for this. He wanted to fly with James. And he would learn how. The boy made him proud. It was unfortunate that he would not see him for years to come.

"James. Are you there?" The communicator squawked, betraying Peppy's voice. "We have a mission straight from General Pepper. Where are you?"

"Watching our kids go to school." James said, pulling the mouthpiece down to his mouth. "You're really lucky to still have your wife. I'll be at the Great Fox shortly. Over and out."

"Okay, James. You're right. Over and out."

"ROB, come in. I need you to leave a message at the house. Tell Fox that I've gotten another mission and will probably be gone for the week. He should stay at the Toad's place while I'm gone." He started to walk away from the academy as all the students had filed in. "End it with 'Practice well. I hope to fly with you soon.' That is all. Over and out."

StarFox

"Remember the incident about five years ago involving a scientist named Andross?" Peppy said, standing next to a hologram.

"How could I forget?" The fox replied, pushing the sunglasses back up his nose. "What I don't get is what it has to do with the mission."

"Who cares what the mission is as long as it pays?" The fat pig said. "How much does it pay?"

"Pigma, I hardly think that is important. You always get your cut of the reward." The rabbit sighed. "And the reason I bring up the incident is because it does pertain to the mission. He was banished to Venom shortly after the incident by General Pepper. However, General Pepper did not think to post sentries to keep a watch on the planet and the scientist. He can't really be blamed. He was just starting as the General."

The reynard sighed again. "Peppy, we all know that. What is the point?"

"You have no patience, James." Peppy smiled. "Strange things have been happening on Venom. General Pepper wants us to do recon, take care of it if we deem it dangerous."

"Oooo! A cross galaxy flight. He must be paying us a lot." The pig squealed in delight.

The rabbit sighed again. "Honestly, Pigma…Do you ever think of anything else?"

"Nope." The pig laughed. He began to walk off. "I'll be in my quarters till you need me."

After Pigma had left, Peppy turned to James. "I don't trust him. All he cares about is money. We can't trust him."

"He has the skill we need. Even in this line of work, beggars can't be choosers. Just be glad that it's no longer just you and me." The reynard smiled. "Set a course for Corneria. I have a good feeling that we will want to talk to General Pepper before we head off to Venom."

StarFox

The large ship docked in the military bay. "We have docked. You may disembark in fifteen minutes."

The hare smiled, standing up from the chair he was occupying. "Finally. I hate these long trips." He started for the ship's entrance.

StarFox

"Ah, James McCloud. It is an honor to see you again. You as well, Peppy Hare." The bulldog said, walking up to the team. "It is a good thing that you accepted this mission. I don't think that anyone else has the skill to take it on."

"You flatter us, General." James laughed. "We're just mercenaries. If we were that special, you would want to recruit us."

"Don't belittle yourself. I prefer it this way. I don't have to pay you like this all the time." The General laughed with the reynard. "I suppose that you came for more information on the mission. How about we go to my office? It is secure in there."

StarFox

"So…you suspect that Andross is up to foul play?" Peppy said after the general had finished his briefing. "This sounds like a very dangerous mission. Why send a small recon team instead of an entire armada?"

"We want to ensure that nothing wrong is happening before we send in the troops. We know that you will be able to do this and survive."

"Yeah, yeah. I was never told. How much is this paying?" The fat pig said, eating some meat.

"Do you have no sense of patriotism?" General Pepper and Peppy chorused at Pigma.

"Look, money is money. Makes the world go round. No matter who is in charge. If someone else were to take over, disestablish your government, where will you and your patriotism be? Probably dead while I'm spending money. Convince me to keep you in charge. That's how you get me to work."

The two couldn't help but stare at the pig incredulously. James McCloud just stared at the holographic map floating in the center of the room.

StarFox

"Fox!" The young hare shouted, running down the hall. "Please wait up."

The young vulpine stopped and turned around to face his friend. "Hey Lucy. Did you want something?"

"Slippy told me he had gotten his flight simulator working. I wanted to know if you'd like to head over there with me."

"Sure. Slippy asked me and Bill to come by this morning. We were going to walk, but if you're going too, could you give us a lift?"

"Yeah…I can give you and Bill a lift." She started to walk beside Fox. "Be a pleasure."

StarFox

The StarFox team walked down the street. A young wolf darted from around the corner, pointing a blaster at James head. The three men stopped, but otherwise seemed unperturbed by the danger.

"What do you want, kid?" James said, looking straight down the barrel of the gun. As he said this, a falcon jumped out from inside a doorway and pointed a blaster at the back of Peppy's head. "Or kids, I should say."

"We want to join your StarFox. We figured the best way would be to prove our worth." The wolf said.

"I am impressed." James said, standing still. "Most people wouldn't think to attack the top ranked mercenary team in Lylat."

"I'm impressed too. I only heard you about four minutes ago." The hare said. "You show impressive skill in shadowing targets."

Pigma reached out and grabbed an invisible target by the neck. The shock made the lizard drop his cloaking device and blaster. "Your information sucks. It doesn't take much digging to find out that my eyes have thermal sensors in them."

James grabbed the blaster the wolf was holding and wrenched it from his grasp, drawing his own and pointing it at the falcon. "Drop the blaster." He clicked a button on the side of the wolf's blaster and pointed it back at the wolf. "Now."

The falcon let his blaster drop at a nod from the wolf.

"Next time you have someone at gun point, make sure the safety is off." James clicked the button on the one blaster again, dropping it at the wolf's feet. "What's your names?"

"Wolf O'Donnell."

"Leon Powalski."

"Falco Lombardi."

The fox smiled. "All three of you show promise, but you're not ready for working for me. I'll contact you when I get back on planet. You just may be good talent for the team."

The members of StarFox walked away after Pigma dropped Leon.

Wolf stared at the pilots. "This isn't over." He mumbled. "I won't give up easily."