❶ Awakening ❶

"My memory… for some reason, it keeps slipping. I think there was a time when I could recall everything that led me to this point, but I can't pull up anything now. I don't even know who I am anymore. This cluelessness, this meaningless existence – why has it come to this? If only there was something that would help me remember even the slightest detail about myself, I might stand a chance at getting out of this wretched place – assuming that I'm even alive. I'm fairly certain that I'm still alive, at least. At the very least, death would mean complete nonexistence, not being reduced to a mindless void who doesn't even know who they used to be. Am I thinking straight, or am I gone already? Please – somebody help me. There's nothing I can do to save myself now.

"Please…help…"

- § -

Morning aboard the Great Fox could hardly be described as such, at least in normal, everyday terms. In space, the sun never rose or set. The stars always provided the same degree of light, and the only way to be certain of the time was to check with the ship's onboard chronological unit, which was calibrated to Corneria City Standard Time. Without a reliable day/night cycle to base his sleep off of, Fox often found himself forced to rely on electronic means to rouse himself.

This morning was different, though. Although he had not suffered from a lack of rest, he awakened twenty minutes before the time that he had programmed his bedside alarm to activate. Not wanting to have to deal with the unpleasant ringing sound once the clock reached the specified 0630 hours, he reached over to the nightstand on the left side of his bed before returning to his previous resting position. In the process, he nudged the vixen sleeping next to him and caused her to stir.

With a whimper suggesting that she had no desire to wake up, the sandy-furred fennec shifted beneath the covers and rolled onto her side to face Fox, who had placed his head back on his pillow.

"It's not time to get up already, is it?" she asked, squinting her eyes even though very little light filled the room.

In response, Fox reached over, draped his arm around the vixen's shoulder and whispered, "Not just yet, love. We still have twenty minutes until we need to be up."

Fara groaned at the mention of the time, although Fox understood the reason for her tiredness considering what the two of them had been doing during the late hours of the previous night. While Fox's mind began to clear after a well-earned night's sleep, Fara drifted back into unconsciousness. Before relapsing, she placed her arm on Fox's chest and sighed in a way that suggested that she felt both disappointed about having to leave the bed and in turn losing the feeling of her mate resting beside her. While Fara's breathing slowed down, Fox caressed her hand and ran his fingers over the ridge that marked the location of her diamond-encrusted wedding ring.

For Fox to say that he married up was nearly preposterous considering his fame and success as a mercenary leader, but as the heiress belonging to one of the Lylat System's wealthiest and most prestigious families, Fara far exceeded him in terms of influence and societal status. The fact that she was the first in line to inherit several billion credits worth of her family's fortune didn't hurt, either. The two vulpines had wed two years prior to the present date, and although the sheer passion the two of them initially shared had faded somewhat, their friendship had only deepened. In times past, Fox would have spurned the idea of marriage, especially if he was to remain in command of Star Fox. Now though, he realized that he had been mistaken. If anything, being married to a fellow teammate only knit the team closer together. With a solid – if somewhat sparse – mission base to draw from, the team of mercenaries found themselves in an enviable position that most mercenary crews could never hope to attain.

The minutes passed until Fox's alarm clock reached the dreaded 0630 hours, after which he nudged Fara and murmured, "Time to get up."

The fennec moaned in disappointment and slowly sat up in bed, the minimal light in the room revealing the eye patch she wore over her left eye. A casualty of the Aparoid War, it had become infected after an unexpected scuffle with a small Aparoid creature while defending Corneria City from the parasitic onslaught. As a result, no option remained apart from removing it and replacing it with a mechanical unit designed to resemble an eye patch. To the present day, Fara bemoaned the loss of her eye, as did Fox. Still, both of them knew that injuries, scars, and potential death awaited them on every sortie; and neither of them regretted their decision to take up their shared career.

Having showered the night before, Fox rolled out of bed and approached his dresser. While Fara forced herself to leave the comfort and warmth of her and Fox's bed, the vulpine pulled out the black and red flight suit that he had favored during the Aparoid War and dressed himself with it. He took a quick glance in the mirror and then turned to Fara, who still had not cleared the front right corner of the bed.

"Tired this morning?" he asked with a grin.

Fara feebly swatted the air in front of her and growled, "Man, I have a splitting headache. Next time you want to get frisky with me, try to make sure it's before two in the morning. I hope Slippy bothered to make coffee this morning, because I'm going to need it."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist myself," Fox smirked.

Shaking her head, Fara replied, "Same here. Anyway, you should go to the bridge without me. I'll catch up later. I think I'm going to need a shower to wake up."

"Okay, love," said Fox, walking over to Fara and planting a quick kiss on her lips. "I'll let you know if anyone left a message for the team."

"Thanks," Fara muttered in response. "Man, I just want to go back to bed."

"Maybe you should ask Falco if you can have one of his energy drinks. Some people say they give you wings."

Fara cringed and shook her head. "Please no. Those things are disgusting. It's like drinking battery acid."

"Are you saying that you have experience with that?"

"No, Fox. It's just a figure of speech," Fara growled, walking into the bathroom and turning on the shower.

Smiling, Fox stepped out of the bedroom and entered the Great Fox's empty main corridor. Considering that the rest of the team struggled to report to the bridge punctually – except for Slippy, of course – he found it to be completely empty. His boots created a haunting series of echoing reverberations on the metallic floor as he walked towards the ship's bridge. Unsurprisingly, the door to the piloting area hung open, meaning that either Peppy or Slippy had reached the bridge and reported for duty before him. Stepping into the bridge area and looking down towards the control area, he noticed Peppy reading a paperback biography of General Pepper's military career, while Slippy sat next to the ship's main holographic map which indicated that the Great Fox was roughly halfway between Corneria and Aquas.

Neither of the two seemed to notice Fox's presence until he descended the short set of stairs to the bridge's lower level and asked, "How long have you two been here?"

Startled by Fox's entrance, Peppy placed his book on the control panel next to him and replied, "Er…I've been here for about twenty minutes. Slippy was here before I came in, though."

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep last night," Slippy explained. "Something about the engine thrust balancing system hasn't been acting right lately. I've been concerned about it, and it's been making it hard for me to get any rest."

Fox shook his head and replied, "You two never change. So, is there anything to report? Anything new?"

"As a matter of fact, yes - although I'm not feeling too sure about it," said Peppy.

"What do you mean?"

The old hare leaned forward in his chair and answered, "It seems like the director of the Cornerian Department of Internal Security has offered us an invitation."

Fox frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. Raising his hand to his muzzle, he stroked it and muttered, "I don't like this. I've made it a point to avoid the DIS as much as possible. It seems like all their independent contractors end up either dying or having their reputations smeared. Not to mention that some of their practices aren't exactly legal."

"Well, we can choose to say 'no' if we want. It's not like they're forcing us to do anything," Peppy replied.

"Still, you've made me curious. What are we being offered?"

Peppy pushed himself out of his chair and stood up. "Nothing yet. The director has requested that you reply to his invitation before he explains anything else. I have a feeling that it's about something too sensitive to talk about over a vulnerable long-distance communications line."

"Sounds likely. In that case, I'll wait until the rest of the team is here before I reply," Fox responded, crossing his arms and glancing out the ship's front windows at the near-infinite sea of stars ahead of them.

Several minutes passed before Fara entered the bridge, wearing a green flightsuit with a white utility vest covering her upper body. Giving Peppy and Slippy a brief nod, she came to Fox's side and kissed him on the cheek before she directed her eyes towards the galley near the back of the bridge and headed towards it. It took Fox very little for him to realize her caffeine-fueled intentions; and his supposition proved to be correct when the fennec reentered the bridge holding a cup of steaming black coffee in her hand.

Carefully walking down the stairs to the area where her husband stood, she glanced at the team's amphibian mechanic and said, "Once again, thanks for making the coffee, Slip,"

"Not a problem, Fara. You know I can't function without at least two cups of that stuff," Slippy replied before redirecting his eyes to a technical readout on his wrist interface.

Fara took a sip of the coffee, then asked Fox, "So, is there anything available today, or is this going to be another one of those days where you and Falco play your stupid video games for six hours straight?"

Fox laughed in response to Fara's snide question and replied, "I don't think it's going to be one of those days. We've got something available, but the only thing is that I don't feel too sure about it."

Fara tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's an offer from the DIS supervisor."

"Oh…" Fara murmured. "I see. You're not sure you want to get yourself involved with them, am I right?

"Right. I'm not sure it would be good for our publicity if we took a job from Corneria's most disliked and distrusted agency. On the other hand, there might be some good money in it."

"The money is always right," came a voice from the back of the bridge. Startled, Fox glanced at the area where the voice had originated from and noticed Falco standing next to Miyu Lynx, the final member of the team. While Falco wore a rough blue jacket and navy blue pants, the feline next to him had chosen an even less formal outfit consisting of a white tank top and a pair of snug-fitting camouflage-patterned cargo pants.

Fox's expression softened. "Ah, good morning, Falco. You too, Miyu."

"Good morning Fo…" Miyu attempted to force a reply, but she found her words cut off by an exaggerated feline yawn that caused both Fara and Fox to chuckle.

"I take it you didn't sleep well last night," Fox hinted.

Miyu shook her head in response and replied, "Nope. This 0630 wakeup time is murder."

"Well, there's coffee in the galley back there. Drink it if you need it."

The lynx twisted her face into an unsightly grimace and growled, "Yuck. No thanks. Falco, do you think you could spare another one of your energy drinks?"

Falco glanced upwards, placing his wing under his beak to give the illusion of deep thought. "Hmm…" he grunted, "That all depends. I only have three cans left, and if you take one now and I run out before we get the chance to hit up a grocery store, I'm going to make you fly out and get more for me. If you do, you'll also have to pay for your Arwing's fuel, of course."

"Dammit – Falco, please?"

"Hey, I didn't say you couldn't have one. I was just warning you about what's going to happen if I run out because you didn't buy enough of your own the last time we stopped to get groceries."

Miyu sighed and fixed her lips into a scowl before she trudged into the galley and retrieved one of Falco's energy drinks from the ship's refrigerator. Cracking open the red and black can, she returned to her position next to Falco and took a sip. For a moment, her entire body twitched in response to the combination of caffeine and abnormally high levels of vitamin b12. Then, all returned to normal.

Fox shook his head in response to Miyu and then raised his voice to speak to the entire group that had congregated in the bridge area. "Good morning, team. According to Peppy and Slippy, we've been given an invitation to meet with the Director of the Cornerian Department of Internal Security. It's not an official mission yet, but it might lead somewhere. To be honest, I'm not entirely comfortable with this, but I still think it's worth looking into."

"It's not like we've had any jobs lately," Miyu opined. "What's the worst that could happen anyway? If we don't like what we're being offered, we can turn it down and leave someone else to do it."

Fox frowned and replied, "This is the DIS, you know. We're not on a first name basis with their leadership like we are with Pepper and the CDF. Keep in mind that we're dealing with an intelligence agency, not the military."

Falco placed his hand on his hip and muttered, "That's kind of strange. Why would those spooks want our help with anything? Don't they have their own special units to take care of their problems?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Fox agreed. "I guess we won't know anything until we listen to what the DIS Supervisor has to say to us. Slippy, patch him in if you can."

Slippy stood up from his chair and pressed a series of buttons on the holoprojector in front of him. For a moment, the only sound that filled the bridge was the faint mechanical whir of the projection unit. Then, the transmission connected, revealing the face and upper body of a large, imposing panda wearing a dark gray officer's uniform. Recognizing the Star Fox team from his side of the communications channel, he addressed them in a sober voice devoid of emotion. "Good morning, team. Thank you for getting back to me so quickly."

Fox turned to face the holoprojector and replied, "Good morning, sir. First things first, I need to ask why you contacted us in the first place. We've never worked with your agency before."

"That's correct," said the panda. "The reason I've reached out to you is a bit complicated. Simply put, I need your services for a task that I cannot afford to assign to government personnel. There's more to it, but I can't risk putting it out there on a line that could very easily be tapped by our enemies. If you're interested in what I have to offer, I'll arrange for an in-person meeting on Corneria."

Fox looked at Falco, Fara, and Miyu out of the corner of his eye and betrayed a wary expression. Then, he redirected his eyes to the holographic image of the DIS Supervisor and asked him, "How much are you willing to pay us for our services?"

The supervisor scratched his muzzle for several seconds, pondering his contact's question before he placed both hands on his desk and answered, "I can't offer you anything solid at the moment, but I can promise you that it will be worth your while."

Fox crossed his arms. "I'm going to need to know more than just that, sir."

"Here's what it comes down to, then," the supervisor sighed. "For reasons that I cannot disclose at this time, I can't pay you in credits. Almost any other form of currency – recognized or not – I can do. That includes armaments, vehicles, or even property."

"Not bad," Falco hinted from the elevated bridge entry that stood above the main floor.

Miming his avian teammate, Fox nodded in approval and replied, "Now you've got my attention. How can we arrange for the meeting with you?"

The supervisor opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a dossier, which he flipped through until he located the piece of information that he had been looking for. "How soon can you dock your ship on Corneria and make it to the planet's surface?"

Not knowing the answer, Fox hinted for Slippy to explain the travel details to the supervisor, which he did. "We can be planetside in roughly four hours, sir."

The panda allowed a faint smile to appear on his muzzle. "Very good. I'll set up the meeting for twelve noon, then. I'm afraid that I can't give you the specifics on the location. Don't worry though – my men will make sure you arrive there without any problems. Oh, I forgot – there's one more thing: only two of you will be permitted to meet with me. Captain McCloud, you're the leader, so I'll let you decide who you bring based on your analysis of the situation."

Feeling uncertain of the supervisor's demands, Fox turned away from the holoprojector and ran his eyes over the rest of his team, staring with Fara, then Miyu, Falco, and finally Slippy. "I'm not sure I like this," he whispered into Fara's ear.

"I say go for it. If it helps, I'll be the one to go with you," she replied, placing a hand on her mate's shoulder.

Fox nodded and looked into the holographically-represented panda's eyes. "Alright. I'll accept those terms. Where do you want your men to meet us?"

Folding his hands, the Director replied, "In the event that you accepted this offer, I reserved a private hangar in the Corneria City military complex for your use. The number for this hangar is 3A. By the time you arrive, I'll have cleared your name for landing and you should be able to put down without any problems. My men will be waiting for your arrival. Don't worry – you won't have any problems with identifying them."

"3A. Got it."

"I apologize for giving you and your team such sparse information, but it is unfortunately necessary. Once you and I are in a secure location, we can begin to discuss the specifics of my offer. Until then, I'll be keeping the details to a minimum."

"Understood, sir. We'll see you when we get to Corneria," Fox replied.

The Director smiled. "Very good. I promise you that this will not be a waste of your time. Director Ling, out." With that, the holographic projection faded out, leaving Star Fox to themselves.

Wasting no time in voicing his opinion, Falco spoke out. "He's only going to let two of you meet with him? What's with that?"

Opening his hands and shaking his head, Fox replied, "These guys in intelligence – they're sketchy, or so I hear. I don't think that guy trusts having our entire team meet with him, so he decided to limit it to me and one other person."

"I take it that would be Big Ears," the avian remarked, exuding a mild amount of disapproval.

"That's correct," Fox replied. "And please don't call her that. She really hates that nickname."

Falco threw up his hands in defeat. "Oh sure. Fine, whatever."

Feeling her frustration coming to the surface, Fara placed her hands on her hips and growled, "Falco, that's ridiculous. Stop acting like a five-year-old already. This isn't even something worth getting upset about."

The vixen's point seemed to affect Falco, who bit his tongue and fell back into his normal, relaxed posture next to Miyu, who took another sip of Falco's punch-flavored energy drink and twitched again.

Pretending not to notice his feline teammate's exaggerated caffeine reaction, Fox directed his attention to Peppy, who remained seated behind him. "We'd better make arrangements for a dry-dock over Corneria. We'll use our Arwings to reach the planet's surface. I don't think the hangar the Supervisor gave us is going to be large enough to house the Great Fox."

"It's doubtful," Peppy concurred. "I'll get to work on that. Slippy, go ahead and chart a course to Corneria. I'll handle the rest."

"Got it," the frog replied, standing up and walking to the front of the bridge, which housed the majority of the ship's main functions. While the rest of the team made their way to the various seats positioned throughout the bridge, Slippy seated himself in the pilot's chair and began tapping numerous buttons that only he and Peppy knew how to use. As he watched the amphibian's fingers fly across the myriad switches and controls, Fox mentally chided himself for not having bothered to learn the ins and outs of the third variant of the ship that his father had entrusted him with. Still, he reasoned that as a pilot and solider as opposed to a mechanic like Sippy, he had the right to remain oblivious to the ship's more oblique functions.

After a momentary lull in activity, the Great Fox lurched forwards, gaining speed rapidly until the stars ahead of them began to appear as white streaks in the team's vision. The force of the dreadnaught's acceleration pushed them back into their seats until the vessel reached its terminal superluminal speed. With the lightdrive jump completed, Fox unbuckled his seatbelt, followed by the rest of the team. While Falco and Miyu departed from the bridge area, Fox and Fara stayed behind with Slippy and Peppy, who began arranging for the authorization to use a Cornerian dry-dock.

Several monotonous hours passed until the Great Fox reached its destination and pulled out of superluminal. Far ahead in the distance, the outline of a large Cornerian space station made itself known to Fox, Fara, Slippy, and Peppy. The station marked the dreadnaught's docking location, and the significant amount of space traffic surrounding it identified it as one of the largest and busiest spaceports in the Lylat System.

Knowing that Peppy had arranged for a docking station in the oversized space structure and had far more experience piloting the Great Fox than he did, Slippy surrendered the main pilot's seat to Peppy, who awkwardly dropped into it next to ROB. Thankfully, the robot did not laugh at his clumsiness as the hare fidgeted in the seat in an attempt to make himself more comfortable.

Slippy walked over to Peppy's previously-held seat and sat down in it before the voice of the space station's operator resounded through the bridge speakers. "Great Fox, you are cleared to land in the oversized dock, number 8. Please confirm."

"Confirmed, Spaceport Control," Peppy replied. "Send a refueling and maintenance crew down to the hangar if you can."

"Affirmative, Great Fox. Crews will be awaiting your arrival. Maintain your current course and follow any special instructions if we need to give you any. For the next ten minutes, all space traffic around Dock 8 will be ordered to clear the area for your arrival. I cannot emphasize this enough—don't try to rush the landing."

Peppy dismissively waved his hand in response, even though he had no one to visually interact with. "Relax, Control. I've done this before."

Closing the transmission channel, Peppy swiveled his chair to the side and motioned for Fox and Fara's attention. "Hey you two, I think now would be the best time for you to launch your Arwings and head down to the planet's surface. If you need anything from me, call my personal comms unit."

"Got it, Peppy," Fox replied before placing a hand on Fara's shoulder and asking her, "Are you ready for this?"

Fara smiled and answered, "Of course, Fox. I think you're making more out of this than there is, anyway."

"Maybe, but I don't want to overlook the possibility that there is more to it."

"You make a good point," Fara admitted.

While Peppy continued his approach to the oversized dock, the two vulpines made their way through the Great Fox's main hall until they reached the hangar entrance, marked by a heavy sliding door that opened for them after Fox swiped the keypad to its right. Inside the spacious hangar, the team's six Arwings – including Peppy's, even though he rarely used it – hung from the ceiling, suspended by a series of mechanical arms responsible for guiding them out of the hangar after launch. For the most part, the fighters looked to be in generally good condition, although the Arwings belonging to Miyu and Slippy showed noticeably more wear than the others. Fox assumed this was the case because of Miyu's daring tendencies in the cockpit, while the wear on Slippy's fighter originated from the frog's less-than-stellar combat skills. This was not to say that Slippy was a bad pilot – rather, it was more likely because he feared space combat more than the rest of the team did.

Fox approached the first of the six Arwings and climbed into the opened cockpit while Fara claimed the fighter to the right of his. Shutting the canopy over himself, he primed the fighter's engines and ran the required pre-flight checks before igniting the rear-mounted powerplant. The engine quietly whirred to life, reminding Fox that the SFX Arwing was known for having the quietest and most efficient fighter engine available to the Cornerian Defense Forces even though it saw very limited use due to its high initial cost.

Activating his onboard communications relay, he checked the system by asking Fara, "Are you all set?"

"Everything's working correctly. Launch when you're ready," the fennec replied.

"Copy that." Fox hovered his finger over the green tab on his flight interface that read 'LAUNCH' and then pressed it. One second later, the mechanical arm holding the Arwing in place began to move forward, steadily increasing speed until it had reached the fighter's cruising speed. Then, the arm released Fox's craft and spat it out of the hangar. To release his wings, Fox performed a single aileron roll and took a deep breath as Fara's Arwing came alongside his.

Feeling no need to explain what his fiancée already knew, Fox entered the coordinates for the Corneria City military base into his navigation interface. A yellow guide arrow soon appeared on his canopy's HUD, indicating the location of his destination on the planet below. A cursory glance around the space surround the orbital station revealed a plethora of satellites, orbiting space vessels, and other geostationary installations similar to the one that would house the Great Fox for the time being.

The looming world of Corneria drew closer as Fox and Fara began their descent towards the planet's surface, with the large mainland area acting as their destination. After a quick and tumultuous pass through the mesosphere, the two Arwings reached the upper stratosphere. Even from the extreme height, the highest pinnacles of the main Cornerian metropolis could still be faintly seen. Very few clouds floated through the sky on the warm July day that was expected to reach over thirty degrees Celsius.

As the two foxes approached the outskirts of Corneria City, the air traffic increased, although not to an unbearable degree. Fox's yellow navigation arrow continued to point him in the direction of the military base, which soon appeared in the distance. The appearance of the large landing area preceded a transmission from the base itself. Both Fox and Fara's communications interfaces chirped in response to an incoming transmission, which came from one of the base's canine air traffic controllers.

"Star Fox 1 and 2, we have a reservation for you in hangar 3A. Confirm this by continuing on your current course."

"Affirmative," Fox replied.

With Fox and Fara's intent to land confirmed, the communication channel cut out. Below the two Arwings, numerous military vehicles raced across the sprawling concrete pad, which occupied the space belonging to more than twenty hangars, over one hundred small fighters, a smattering of gunships, transports, and even a small number of starborne frigates not currently in use. Although the cluttered area offered very little help in the way of navigation, Fox's guide arrow altered itself to point straight downwards at the hangar which the DIS supervisor had reserved for them.

The hangar roof had been left open in anticipation of Fox and Fara's arrival; and as the two pilots lowered their engines' output and lowered their fighters into the hangar space, they noticed two gray-cloaked figures standing in front of the building, next to a black SUV that lacked any kind of identifying marks.

As the two Arwings touched down on the dark concrete hangar surface, the roof closed over them. The light level in the area dropped, leaving only the opened front door panels as a channel for the Cornerian sunlight to enter the otherwise dark area. Shutting off his engine, Fox opened his canopy, unbuckled his seat belt, and climbed out of his Arwing. The sharp clap of his boots against the hangar floor was mirrored by Fara as she did the same. Without a word, the two foxes stepped towards the opened front of the hangar, where the two uniformed figures stood. The man on the left passed as a large Doberman, while the uniformed individual to his right had a feline build with dark gray fur that matched his uniform.

As Fox and Fara neared them, the canine of the two spoke up and pointed towards the large SUV to his left. "Here to see the Supervisor? Get in the back. We'll handle the rest."

Fox nodded in assent and escorted Fara to the SUV's back door, which the gray feline opened for them. Climbing into the surprisingly well-appointed cabin, both vulpines noticed that an opaque partition separated the front seat from the back. In addition, the rear and side windows possessed a thick tint that prevented them from seeing anything outside. After the two had seated themselves and the feline had closed the back door, the only illumination that filled the back seat came from the ceiling-mounted utility light. Fox quickly deduced the reason for the abnormal treatment, which amounted to the reality that they were not intended to know about their destination.

Shortly, the SUV's suspension vibrated as their two handlers stepped into the vehicle and closed their respective doors. The engine roared to life a moment later, followed by the first tire rotations as the black vehicle began to track across the concrete slab upon which the Corneria City military base rested.

With their vehicle on route to its destination, Fara glanced to her left at Fox and whispered, "Was this all really necessary? Is it that dangerous to know where we're going?"

"Something tells me that what the Supervisor has in mind for us is more serious than I thought it would be," Fox replied. "I still don't even know what he wants. I really hope this isn't some kind of trap."

Fara patted Fox on the shoulder and stated, "You're overthinking things. I can see where you're coming from, but there's probably a good reason for all this secrecy. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this soon."

"We'd better. I hate being left in the dark like this. Then there's the part about only the two of us being able to meet with the Supervisor. What's with that?"

Fara hesitated for a moment to collect her thoughts and then answered, "If what we're being asked to do involves some sensitive information, it might not have been the best idea to bring the whole team to the meeting. What they don't know can't hurt them, or so they say."

"Hmm," Fox sighed, languishing in his seat and resting his head on his hand as the SUV continued to close in on its unknown destination, weaving through the narrow, complex streets of downtown Corneria City.

More than ten minutes passed before the black vehicle took a sharp turn to the right and entered a structure that caused the exhaust note to change enough for Fox and Fara to realize that they had more than likely reached their destination. As a confirmation of this, the vehicle's driver slowed the SUV to a stop and opened his door before moving towards the back of the car and pulling Fox's door open for him. The feline co-driver did the same for Fara, who sat on the right.

The first aspect of the area that Fox noticed was that the room he stood in looked to be in a state of construction. Steel girders and i-beams crisscrossed the space above them, while rudimentary fluorescent tubes hung from the makeshift ceiling and provided the medium-sized room with a marginal amount of light. Contrasting the incomplete state of the room was the white floor, which looked like a recent addition that could not have been older than a week. Apart from him, his wife, and their two handlers, not a single soul stirred inside the building.

However, before Fox and Fara could give the room a thorough once-over, their two escorts motioned for them to follow their lead as they walked towards a glass-covered door on the left side of the room. The door led into a hallway that only looked marginally more complete than the area where the SUV had been parked, even though the walls remained bare of any kind of decorations. The Doberman and the gray cat led their two vulpine guests down the unadorned corridor until they reached the final door on the right, just before the hall concluded in an undignified dead end suggestive of a future elevator that still had yet to be installed.

Upon reaching the metal door, which had no glass viewport or similar window, the two handlers took up positions on both sides and silently motioned for Fox and Fara to enter the room. Before proceeding forwards, both foxes shot each other a concerned, yet determined glance. Fox prepared himself for the possibility of a set-up, while Fara began to wonder if her mate's misgivings about the mysterious mission had a foundation in reality.

Grasping the silver door handle and pushing the door open, Fox stepped into a small office in a state of incompletion that matched the rest of the building. On the back and left walls, even the uncovered insulation could be seen. No furnishings adorned the room apart from a well-worn silver desk that looked like it had been fished out of a landfill outside Corneria City. Behind the desk, the panda who had contacted Star Fox sat in a metal chair that looked disproportionately small compared to his enormous frame. Two identical chairs stood in front of the ramshackle desk; and Fox took the hint, seating himself in front of the Supervisor and silently hinting for Fara to do the same.

With his guests present and accounted for, the panda murmured, "I suppose I should introduce myself before we begin. My name is Xiao Ling, most commonly referred to as Supervisor Ling. As my title would suggest, I oversee the large-scale operations that the Department of Internal Security is responsible for. I'm aware that you might not have much knowledge about this organization, which is understandable. After all, if you don't know about us or our dealings, it means that we're doing our jobs correctly." The Supervisor cracked a dry smile, prompting both Fox and Fara to chuckle in a nervous, insincere fashion.

After an awkward silence, Fox spoke up and asked, "With all due respect, sir, why are we here, and why were only two of us allowed to meet with you?"

"There is a very good explanation for both questions," Ling replied, hinting about the seriousness of the situation with both his voice and facial expression. "The answer is that I cannot risk having the knowledge of our conversation leave this room. After running a personality profile on each of your team members, I determined that it would only be safe for two of you to meet here. As for the location, it is for the purpose of absolute secrecy. This building will be a state-sponsored information technology center when it is completed, but for now, it serves as an ideal cover for our discussion."

"Is it that serious?" asked Fara.

"Very much so. But there is another aspect to it that forced me to arrange for our meeting in a partially-constructed high-rise, and that is that I cannot allow any of the information I am about to give you to end up in Venom's intelligence database. At first, I and the other heads in the DIS believed that the Venomian data collection program lacked sophistication and did not pose a threat to Cornerian interests. However, the reality is that it is far more advanced than we first thought – possibly even superior to our own Information Collection and Exchange Database. That is why I could not describe the mission to you over a comm line. Chances are that the contents of the message could have been compromised. Recently, even our central control center has come under attack by hackers employed by the Venomian government. With that in mind, I knew I had to take precautions with what I am about to request of you."

Fox leaned forward in expectation. "And what would that be?"

The panda reached for a folder on the edge of his desk and opened it to reveal a stapled document that he briefly glanced over. "Are you familiar with Makaara? They've been in the news a bit lately."

"The terrorist group based on Titania?" Fara asked in response.

"Yes – so you're aware of them. The reason I brought them up is because they play an important role in what I'm proposing for you to do. Now, I assure you that you will not have any sort of actual contact with them, thankfully."

Fox narrowed his eyes and muttered, "What do you mean by that?"

"Before I explain myself, I need to also elaborate on the background for our plan. First off, it's important to know that diplomatic relations between the Cornerian Federation and the three planets most loyal to the Andross Agenda have been very stressed as of late. Venom, Macbeth, and Eledard never entered the Federation under good terms, and it doesn't look like any progress has been made since then. We're in a sort of cold war with those three systems as we speak. They're not willing to make a move militarily; but then again, neither are we. However, I am concerned that this could change very soon."

Taking a quick breath, Ling continued, "Two weeks ago, scans of the Echelon mountain range on Macbeth returned an abnormal, disruptive energy reading over the rumored location of an Andross-era subterranean base. The data didn't help to pinpoint what kind of energy it was exactly, so we entrusted one of our top agents with the task of uncovering the source of the mystery. Unfortunately, he was discovered and killed before we could learn anything other than the fact that the energy source was indeed coming from the aforementioned base. If Andross's remnant is developing lethal weaponry as I believe they are, this needs to be put to an end as quickly as possible. However, there is one catch; and this is where you – and Makaara – come in."

"Go on," Fox urged, tapping his foot on the ground.

"Sending Cornerian operatives to purposefully subvert Venomian operations would be a catalyst for war. As I said, we are relatively safe from that now; and I'd like to keep it that way. So having said that, the best way to subvert the issue is to send an unpaid, uncontracted unit to Macbeth, disguised as another group known to have hostilities to the Venomian cause. This is where your task begins. The plan is for you and your unit to land on Macbeth and assume the character of rogue Makaara operatives. We have all the clothing and weaponry you could possibly need to make yourselves look convincing. Once on the planet's surface, you'll meet up with a small detachment of the SPIRE mercenary group who will act as scouts for your approach to the base. The Venomians will doubtlessly have security measures set up in the mountains around the facility, and having scouting backup will greatly assist you in the mission. Once you get inside though, it'll be all up to you and your team. Dismantle and sabotage any kind of weaponry you find inside the base, and if possible, don't leave any survivors. It would be best if no one lived to report what happened to them."

"Sounds interesting," Fox stated, albeit somewhat flatly. "My question is 'how do you intend to pay us?' If we're not on a contract, who's to say that you won't shortchange us if we complete the operation?"

The Supervisor crossed his arms and replied, "Partially, you'll have to take me at my word, but I have also drawn up a written agreement that will remain in my personal folder until the mission is complete. After that, it will be destroyed." Pulling out said piece of paper, he placed it in front of Fox and Fara and spoke to Fox. "If this operation interests you, please sign your name on the black line as the leader of Star Fox. I promise you that I will compensate you for your services if you complete your objective."

"Alright then. I accept," he replied, reaching for a pen provided by the Supervisor and signing his name in the designated space. "Now, what's the next step?"

"The DIS will provide you with covert transportation to Macbeth, where you'll meet up with SPIRE in the mountain town of Silverhurst. They will have all of your Makaara replica gear and more detailed information on the mission. However, it should be stated that while they are able soldiers, they are not equipped for close quarters combat like what you will likely encounter in the base. They will only be able to provide support until you arrive at your destination."

"Noted. I guess this meeting's over now?" Fox suggested.

Supervisor Ling placed his hands on the table in front of him and replied, "Yes, it is. My men will take you back to your hangar, where a generic G61 transport will be waiting for you. Use it to travel to Macbeth without arousing any suspicions. I know it isn't the most inviting vehicle to use, but your mothership is far too noticeable; and its presence on Macbeth would raise too many questions. And of course, be careful."

"Will do, sir."