Author's Notes:
Thank you everyone who left a review! The encouragement means the world to me. So, first, the reason for the delay is that I took some time to sort out the rest of my plot outline. Hopefully this will make for a more coherent story in the end now that I know everything that will happen! Secondly, I've tried to take some advice I got in the initial reviews that my chapters can be longer. This isn't grossly long still, but certainly much longer than the first two! Hopefully you Enjoy! R&R please!

June 30, 2014 Update: Chapter updated and attempted to make the fight scene clearer by switching viewpoints less. Brought some elements in the story that I decided on later up front where they belong.

Fichina Air Space – Day 2 – 01:27 Local Time

The near silence in the cockpit of the Wolfen was unnerving. Wolf found himself straining to hear the absent hum through the ship that normally accompanied the engines and various systems as they propelled it through space. Only four systems had been left on - life support, short-range sensors, cloaking, and the landing thrusters that usually weren't used outside of atmo but would function in vacuum.

Wolf hung back from where the edge of the long-range sensors in Fichina city watched until long after most of the city would be asleep. Transport ships wouldn't be landing at this hour, drastically unlike the 24/7 activity around the much larger Corneria City leaving fewer eyes watching the skies. Powered down this far, the ship wouldn't show up as anything more than space trash if anyone picked it up at all. It's pilot was busy watching the read outs on the console, using the landing thrusters as little as possible to guide him and relying on the gravitational pull of the planet to provide most of his motion.

He cut the main engines in once he was on the opposite side from the city itself, confident in his ability to wait as long as theoretically possible and still land. The small cockpit came to life again with all the sounds that to him were as familiar as the wind or the rain were to others as he guided down to a valley that would have some manner of shelter from the storms that had taken over the landscape again. Landing gear depressed into the otherwise undisturbed snow, followed by the landing of boots as he dropped down off a wing and took a glance around getting his bearings and recalibrating his eye piece for the local maps before setting off in the direction of the base. Wind whipped through the air carrying still-falling snow in circles and into the fur on Wolf's face. It reminded him of what he'd once called home, half expecting to hear the howls of others of his kind. But they weren't here, and he would never set foot there again.

The lone figure, dressed entirely in white other than his boots, trudged through the snow for several hours finding nothing worth his attention other than evergreens and dead logs from other species that had grown up here during the climate control. His cybernetic eye picked up the structures ahead long before his normal one did. Heat signatures, an amount of luminance that was far greater than sun or moon reflection would account for. The rumors that the base was still powered certainly were true, which made him wondered how true it was that the place was actually abandoned.

He came to the fence marking the perimeter of the base, that familiar tingle of standing too close to something powdered running through his body as his fur lifted up from the charge near by. Wolf crouched down, and backed into the trees again, watching as he worked his way around the entire fence looking for his entry point. Robotic patrols came by every few minutes, but no living ones that he could see. It was impossible to figure out if anyone was actually inside from out here. Digging a thick wire with a hook from his pack he tied one end to a metal rod he stuck in the ground, shoving it into the layer of frozen dirt below the snow. The other end he swung towards the top of the electric fence, letting the insulated wire run through his gloves before letting go entirely as the cable grounded out a section of fence. Wolf ran, leaping to grab more than halfway up the tall chain fence and hoisted himself over the barbed wire at the top. The moment his paws touched the ground again he darted for a spot between two of the exterior heater units and the building, pausing to catch his breath and wait to hear if the alarms blared.

He muffled a fit of coughing into the sleeve of the thick parka he wore, relieved but still wary when no sounds of discovery reached his ears. Between patrols he cut through the glass of one of the windows into a darkened office, and reached through to unlatch the mechanism and let himself in. His remaining eye scanned the room for motion and found none. For all intents and purposes, it looked as if the office had been abandoned in a hurry and untouched since.

Papers were scattered everywhere, a thick layer of dust covering everything. Personal items such as photo frames and a few books and knick-knacks were left scattered on the desk. Binders and manuals still sat on shelves, the file cabinet drawers left open with folders still inside. Wolf almost snarked into his com about the state the Cornerians always left things in when he remembered there was no-one left on the other end to hear the banter. He frowned and rifled through a few of the files and binders, before quietly setting them back down and putting one big ear to the door and cracking it open.

The hallway revealed a series of doors, many of them left open to rooms that were in similar states to this one. Whatever reason this place had been abandoned, it had been done in a heck of a hurry. Which was strange, there were no signs of anything wrong other than that inside or outside the facility. "Huh." Maybe this is just gonna be a cakewalk after all.

No sooner had he thought that than the sound of engines landing outside. Damnit all. Would be my luck. He darted out into the hallway, blaster out, going as fast as he dared while trying to be cautious of what might be still here. Several doors were kicked in without worry for leaving the broken locks as evidence someone had been here. If he didn't find the encrypted data unit that was supposed to be here soon, he never would.

Fichina Military Base – Day 2 – 07:48 Local Time

A quad of Arwings landed onto the fenced in grounds in front of the base, each broadcasting a code identifying them as official Cornerian Military ships. Slippy had installed the code-generators after finding out that the bases automated defenses were still active in parts. Falco hit the ground first, blaster at his hip but not drawn, as he glanced around with a shrug to the others as they climbed down from their own ships.

"Ok. Pity mission. No way this was urgent." He remarked as the group headed inside, making sure to watch their backs out of simple routine as opposed to anticipation.

"Beats another military press conference or dinner. At least you get to bring your gun and not that awful thing you call a suit." Fox quipped back, far from tense about this particular mission. Dissapointed was more a sum of what the team leader felt, pity mission was right. "Y'know guys, maybe we ought to start looking at private sector jobs again."

The old hare was still getting out of his fighter, muttering about the cold under his breath. "Don't know that they'd hire us Fox. Most of them don't think they can afford us, even if we never really did raise our rates. That whole prestige thing is kind of biting us in the tail these days."

"No kidding. I haven't been able to say what I really think about of anyone or anything in a couple of years. If I have to vouch for the support of one more company that somehow we used their stuff along the way..." Falco had often been tapped to speak on behalf of Space Dynamics, or a few other companies when Fox wasn't available which was often these days.

"At least you aren't the one they call in for the political stuff. Maybe I ought to run for office myself just so they'll stop asking me to speak for other people." Fox interjected, rolling his eyes. "That or go be a recluse. The soccer moms and teenage girls flocking me everywhere I go..ugh."

Peppy laughed as he checked his ammo "Funny, you don't see them doing that to me."

Krystal rolled her eyes. "Says the married member of the team. I think we've established Fox is impossible to live with." The red furred vulpine cringed, although he knew his ex meant it in good humor. They'd managed to stay friends although he hadn't figured out quite why that had happened either.

"Okay, down to business you guys. Besides, why don't you just tell them all that Krystal, maybe then they'd leave me alone." Fox looked out over the landscape and everyone fell quiet for a moment evaluating what was there just in case. This might have been a cake walk but none of them were foolish enough to walk into it quite as if it was one.

Krystal paused as something else skirted the edge of her awareness, and closed her eyes a moment and felt the world around her rather than saw it. "We're not alone." The others gave her a brief look of disbelief, although they knew she would be right. Granted, it might as easily be a spirit, or something else left behind instead of another living person but the warnings that blue-furred fox could provide her team were worth heeding.

"Slippy, take the right, Falco take the left, I'll take the main entrance. Use the comms if you hear or see anything. Krystal, follow me and let me know if you sense anything different." The orders silenced any ponderings or chatter, as the team spread out towards the facility.

A quick glance through a window from the inside was enough to make Wolf want to cuss loudly, and enough to keep him from doing so. Arwings. Great. Starfox. Did someone see me land? Even if they had they wouldn't be here so soon. If this is a setup I am going to wring that weasel's neck and use his pelt for a rug.

The next door didn't kick in as Wolf expected, he backed up and slammed his shoulder and weight into it and was met only with a loud thud. Ow. Okay, armored door. Good sign for finding things, bad one for getting in. He didn't have time to pick the lock and simply took his blaster and shot it giving the door another quick kick while the bolt was still hot enough to warp and let him in.

A quick glance around the room, and the lupine spotted what he was looking for. He'd seen it's type before, in circumstances far different than this. He stepped over to a blue enameled metal box that was roughly the size of a small suitcase. The front had the logo of the Corneria Military on it. A complicated physical lock adorned the top, next to a port for a data stick to be inserted to undo the more intelligent security built inside. Wolf yanked the power cord that hooked it into the grid and hefted the remarkably heavy thing up on a shoulder, holding his blaster with his other hand. Once he had it balanced, he took off for the route that would lead him back the way he had come in. There was no chance he was getting out the front door now.

Behind him, he heard the voice of a female that he knew he wouldn't see if he turned around. Ember... Wolf turned the setting on his blaster down a couple notches, hoping it wouldn't mean his own death.

The static over the comm unit told Fox that someone was about to start talking. "Falco to team. Pretty sure I heard blaster fire inside. No visual yet. Falco out."

The vulpine frowned, glancing at Krystal beside him while he replied "Fox to Falco, rodger that. " He turned his head as a noise down the hallway caught his attention. The layout of the base gave him more than choice as to where it had come from. He drew his blaster and started heading towards where he thought the noise was from, letting the telepath with him motion which turns to take. He whispered quietly "Stay behind me, alright?"

Fox, seriously, I know what I'm doing. One day you're going to get that through your thick skull. The blue fox didn't reply audibly, but Fox heard her voice anyways. He felt a moment of guilt, he'd just been trying to protect her not imply she was incompetent. It had been the thing they'd fought most often about. I know you mean well, but stop it! Also, go left here.

Letting his blaster lead, he took a quick peek around the corner and caught a glimpse of a split tail vanishing around the other corner. "Fox to team, it's Star Wolf. East side of the complex headed south for Wolf. Haven't seen the other two. Set your weapons to stun." What the hell are they doing here? Fox couldn't make heads or tails of a lot of things, and Star Wolf's behavior the past couple of years was one of them.

"Ugh. Figures that ugly mutt would be around to screw things up. On my way." Falco answered first, followed not to far behind by Peppy and Slippy

"Be careful, Fox!"

"I'm coming too!"

Despite the fact it was unsettling, the excitement of something that might turn out to be a real mission after all thrilled the team leader. He'd missed this, feeling alive instead of just stepping through the motions. A safe and settled life was driving him off the deep end slowly. He'd not known anything else really, graduating the Flight Academy's youngest pilot with the second-highest marks ever. The only records he hadn't managed to break were his own father's. He took off running towards where he'd seen the other mercenary go.

Rounding the corner again, he saw Wolf in between him and Falco who had just come around to to the opposite end of the hall. "Give it up Wolf! You're outnumbered."

"Not a chance McCloud! You want to take me down we do this in the air. Otherwise to hell with all of you!" Came the gravelly reply as the lupine dove for the recess of one of the doors in the hallway, the shots from both sides of the hallway narrowly missing him. Gray pointed ears poked out a moment later again as he fired a quick shot at the avian at the other side of the hall. Fox narrowly missed again and cussed, while he watched Falco get hit squarely in the shoulder let out a yell.

"Shit! Wolf just shot Falco. He's not shooting to stun guys, we probably shouldn't be either!" Krystal's voice came over the comm as she passed him chasing after the lupine while Fox stopped to check on his teammate.

"I'll be alright, hurts like hell but it's not going to kill me. Go get that stupid asshole Fox!" The blue feathered pilot grimaced and got up, one arm holding his shoulder and bolting.

"Fall back to the Arwings, that's you too Peppy and Slip. There's no way he's beating us in the air if he gets to his ship. Keep an eye out for the rest of StarWolf I still haven't heard anything from them." Fox yelled over the comm before he turned putting everything he had into catching up to the other two. Wolf, why this and why now? You haven't gone near military targets for over a decade, and normally Leon and Panther would be tormenting us by now. And I thought we had stopped trying to kill each other...

He would have loved to known the answers but right now making sure Wolf didn't kill anyone on his team was Fox's main concern, followed by not failing their mission. So much for StarWolf saving them instead of fighting them, that hadn't lasted very long. Fox as usual found himself carried by events he felt like he had no control over and could only do his best to handle the fallout. He spied the open office door and threw his back up against the wall outside of it before checking to see if Wolf was still in there. The back of the mercenary was to him, having just thrown the box out of the window he'd opened earlier and Wolf turned hearing the noise. "Wolf, stand down. I'd rather deliver you alive than dead."

"I'm probably a dead man sooner than later, Fox. Try a better threat sometime." With that Wolf ducked down behind the desk and fired a couple of shots in the direction of the vulpine who ducked back around outside the doorway. O'Donnell took his moment and out the window he went, and headed across the back of the grounds picking up the box as he went.

Fox leapt out into the snow behind him the chase becoming silent other than the sound of harsh panting as Wolf tried to outrun him and also carry the heavy datastore in the cold. When O'Donnell didn't slow down at the sight of the electrified fence, Fox wondered if anyone knew what was going on at all. While he wanted to capture Wolf watching him get crispy fried by the security system wasn't entirely a thrilling prospect. "Wolf, the fence is hot!"

"Some of us actually plan these things out pup!" Was the snarled breathless reply as the mercenary leapt towards the fence, which didn't spark or send him flying, and threw himself over landing awkwardly.

The landing gave Fox the moment he needed and he flipped the setting on his blaster up a few notches with a thumb and aimed, catching Wolf's leg as his target tried to scramble away The lupine didn't reply other than with snarl and raised his own blaster without bothering to get up. The mercenary narrowed his one eye, and Fox could see he was debating whether his rival actually wanted to kill him, or not although he didn't have time to react and had nowhere to bolt for cover.

The blaster in his hand as suddenly it became absolutely unbearably hot from Wolf's shot and Fox stared at Wolf as he tossed it quickly in the snow. "Can't let you do that, Fox. I've got no more time for your pathetic games today." Wolf got to his feet despite the hit and darted off into the snowfall and forest beyond.

Fox was still staring at the blaster he'd tossed and Wolf running from him. Why hadn't Wolf killed him? And what was so damn valuable in that stupid box? Krystal came up behind him "Go after him?"

"Yeah, but lets get the Arwings to do so. The snow will make tracking him hard enough I'd say lets forget going on foot. Krystal, did you get anything on what he thinks he's up to?"

"No, not really. Just a lot of emotion, I didn't have the focus to pry for thoughts. He was as shocked to see us as we were to see him. Also, you jerk. Stop trying to make me stay behind you. I am perfectly capable and competent of handling myself thank you very much! Your stupid over-protectiveness is part of why you and I aren't together and if you want met o stay on the team you're going to stop it! Now I see why Katt never would join up with you guys." Krystal's eyes were alight with anger.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. That was my fuck up. I know. It wont happen again."

"It better not." Krystal knew Fox meant well, but sometimes she wished he'd gotten a little bit more of a social clue along the way.