Chapter 2

LFSC Lylat's Pride

Sa-Kathona System

The Expanse

Visible through the window of Boniface Whitefur's ready room, Sa-Kathona rotated slowly on its axis. Standing there, leaning against the window frame, the arctic fox tried to find the sight of the planet below him wondrous and calming. Instead it only provoked a brief flash of anxiety, and the knowledge that down there, somewhere, was a device so valuable people were willing to start an interstellar war over it.

He let out a soft sigh. His own ship in six years. It didn't seem so long ago that he'd been a lieutenant junior grade assigned to the LFSC Standing Up in the final year of the Lylat War. A few months into his deployment his ship had been part of a fleet making its way through Sector Y, attempting to cut off a vital Androssian supply line. The fleet had been ambushed, suffering heavy casualties. Standing Up was among the first ships to be hit in the initial barrage of missiles and laserfire. Then a group of Androssian space mechs had strafed the vessel, and the bridge viewscreen had been blown out before the shields could be raised. Boniface had been lucky enough to have something to hold onto, allowing him to avoid being sucked out into space long enough for the emergency force field to activate and life support to restore pressure. By sheer dumb luck-or bad luck, depending on one's perspective-he had been the only surviving officer of any experience left on the bridge. He'd taken command.

His ship had been badly damaged, but she hadn't been knocked out of the fight just yet. An Androssian carrier was flying nearby, and had made the mistake of assuming the Standing Up had been completely disabled. Boniface ordered all hands to abandon ship, then he'd taken control of the ship's helm. Using what engine power he had he set a collision course for the carrier. Knowing he wouldn't be able to reach an escape pod in time, he'd gone for a storage locker he knew would contain vacuum suits. He sealed himself in one of the bulky space suits, deactivated the bridge's emergency containment field, and jumped out into space, barely managing to use the tiny thrusters on his suit to get clear of the ensuing collision and explosion.

After that he'd floated in space, watching the battle unfold through his limited field of vision. He mostly focused on taking shallow breaths. The fleet managed to fight its way out of the ambush, helped by the arrival of Star Fox and a group of reserve vessels scrambled from a nearby staging area. He'd been picked up by the LFSC Requiem, commanded by rear admiral Nadira Hatch, future chief of staff for the Lylat Federation Space Corps. And so began his meteoric rise through the ranks, until now, six years after what his girlfriend Fara Phoenix referred to as "the stupidest thing you've ever done", he was commanding his own ship, in orbit above a world in the Expanse, trying to prevent a war that would drag in the Federation, the Androssian Empire, and probably most other members of the interstellar community. Why do I have the feeling that I'm in over my aristocratic head?

The comm panel on his desk beeped and Boniface turned to his desk. He tapped the answer button and said, "Whitefur."

"Sir," it was the comm officer, "Incoming transmission for you from Command. Timestamp indicates a nine hour time lag."

"Understood, put it through to me here," Whitefur replied, grimacing at the mention of the time lag. Unlike the explored and inhabited space surrounding Lylat and her neighbors, the Expanse lacked the sophisticated and interconnected series of comm outposts, relay stations, and subspace amplifiers that made instant communication possible. Instead, they had to rely on unrelayed, unenhanced subspace radio bursts, which, though infinitely faster than a standard radio burst, were still deathly slow for a situation like this.

Sitting down in his chair he tapped the play button on the comm panel. The face of admiral Nadira Hatch materialized in holographic form above his desk. Hatch was a native of Fortuna, a somewhat butch looking lioness with four ex-wives and one ex-husband. According to the rumor mill at Lylat Federation Space Corps headquarters, she remained in contact with all five. Beyond that Boniface knew very little about her personal life beyond what she'd occasionally seen fit to confide in him. He avoided the more salacious rumors that desk bound military bureaucrats enjoyed spreading.

Speaking with the lilting accent common to the Greater Leonia region of Fortuna, Hatch said, "Captain, just wanted to give you an update. Intelligence has reported that the Amanoi Imperium is continuing its ramp up to mobilization, despite the compromise we managed to hammer out to put Star Fox and Star Wolf on the ground. There is one piece of good knews in that both sides are, for the moment, promising not to send additional troops to Sa-Kathona, in the hopes that that will help slow the escalation of the conflict." Hatch paused for a moment, her expression turning even more grim than it had been at the beginning. "But I doubt that anything we do from here on the diplomatic front is likely to ease tensions or prevent a war. These are two cultures that have been locked in a blood feud for centuries. A blood feud that started as a holy war. For the moment both governments insist publicly they want a peaceful solution, and that may be true for the Cerinians, but we both know that no one these days actually comes out and says they want the shooting to start." Another pause. "For now though, your orders remain the same. Both President Vulpine and the Federation Council want you to do whatever it takes to prevent a war." She leaned forward, her eyes aflame with intensity. "I have no doubt that the ultimate decision is going to fall on your shoulders Boniface. I want you to know that, whatever decision that ends up being, I'll support it fully. Good luck out there. Hatch out."

The transmission ended and Boniface sat back in his chair, letting out an explosive sigh and an undignified number of whispered obscenities. He would never-could never-show it to his crew, but he harbored his own doubts about whether he was capable of handling this assignment. But the admiral had faith in him, and that spoke volumes. Bumping his fist against the desk he made a solemn promise not to disappoint her.

Jungle Route,

Planet Surface,

Sa-Kathona,

Wolf cursed as he hacked his way through the jungle. They were on the right path, following the same route that the archeological team and their mercenary escort had followed, but whatever foliage they'd cleared when they came through had since grown back. Typical. Sa-Kathona felt like every other jungle Wolf had walked through in his life. Hot, humid, with the air thick and smothering. A variety of smells, most of them unpleasant, assaulted his sensitive canine nose, and his ears swiveled constantly at the sounds of birds and other creatures in the surrounding forest.

Fox seemed to be having a slightly easier time of it, no doubt because he was younger, and smaller. It bothered Wolf that the vulpine appeared to be doing better than him at roughing it through the elements. Maybe he'd been spending too much time on Sargasso. Breathing recycled air in a temperature controlled environment, where everything he might want or need was within arms reach. Food, entertainment, luxury. He sighed. Yeah, he'd been taking it way too easy over the past year. Time to get Star Wolf out into the thick of things again. Assuming, of course, he survived this particular shit hole.

After a few more minutes of walking, Fox paused, and Wolf stopped just behind him, staring over his shoulder at the map. Fox studied it for a moment, then started walking again, having turned a bit more towards the west. He offered no explanation, but Wolf had noticed they'd been getting slightly off course. Something occurred to him as they walked, and as Fox glanced down at the map from time to time. "Can I ask you something?"

"I don't know, can you?" Fox replied, flicking his ear, his tail twitching in obvious amusement at his own tired, lame joke.

Wolf just glared with his one good eye. "Why aren't you just homing in on Krystal? She's a telepath isn't she? Shouldn't she be able to communicate with you?"

Fox paused, considering his answer. Wolf was sort of right, though he obviously didn't possess the intimate understanding of Cerinian telepathy that Fox now did. An understanding he'd first started to gain during the Saurian Insurrection. "It doesn't work like that."

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked, snapping a branch of an obstructing tree in half as he walked. Fox just ducked under it.

"She can't communicate over long distances," Fox said. "If we're farther than a few kilometers from her she won't be able to sense us. And we'd have to be even closer in order for her to communicate. And that's assuming she has her focusing gems."

That caught Wolf's interest. "Focusing gems?" As he asked he slapped a mosquito-or whatever passed for a blood sucking insect on Sa-Kathona-that had settled on his bare arm. "Damn bugs."

Fox paused and took a hypospray from his pack. Handing it to Wolf he said, "Take this."

"What for?" Wolf asked, eyeing the hypo suspiciously. He didn't trust injections given to him by strangers or by people that he knew hated him. But then, he also had the good sense to realize Fox was unlikely to be handing him a narcotic or a sedative or some sort of exotic neurotoxin. For the moment they needed each other.

"It's a nanite injection," Fox explained. "Medical nanites, don't worry. They'll take out any foreign viruses or harmful bacteria that get into your bloodstream, or that you ingest in the food or water."

"Nice." Deciding to take the risk Wolf injected himself. He didn't feel a thing, despite the knowledge that tens of thousand of microscopic robots were now flooding through his veins and into his body. "Where'd you get these?"

"Miyu," Fox said. "She and Slippy have been working on them with the Lylatian Institute of Research and Development. They're going to get them patented once they get approval from the Federation Health Department. In the meantime we get to be lab rats." Fox intoned the last two words with a cartoonish version of an Alsatian accent.

"All that red tape." Wolf shook his head. The Federation did love its regulatory bureaucracy, even if it sometimes seemed a bit overbearing. Then again, they had lowest corporate recall rate in the civilized galaxy. "Should I be worried that these little buggers will try and take over my higher functions?" Images of Aparoidedation appeared in his mind's eye.

Fox shook his head. "Don't worry. They're just like a vaccine, but more generalized. They'll probably pass out of you in about three days. I have more if we need them."

Wolf cocked his head. "Pass out of me?"

With a smirk, Fox said, "Think lower functions."

"Ah." Wolf nodded. Well, at least they were microscopic.

The two resumed their trek, and after a long period of silence from Fox, Wolf decided to prompt him for the information he really wanted. "So, focusing gems?"

"Ever wondered why the Cerinians and the Kursed always wear jewelry?" Fox asked, stepping over a pile what looked, and smelled, like blue, unrefined manure.

"Who are the Kursed?" Wolf asked, momentarily confused.

"Sorry." Fox shook his head. "The Amanoi. It's what Krystal and her people call them. I've gotten into the habit of using it when I think about her." Fox didn't mention just how much he'd been thinking about Krystal. He'd been silent the past few hours mostly because he couldn't stop worrying about what he might find once they caught up with her. He'd convinced himself at this point that he would know, on an instinctive, primal, perhaps even telepathic level, if she were dead. But did that mean he'd know if she were wounded? Captured? Being tortured? He forced all the possible horrific images out of his mind, reminding himself that she could take care of herself, and that there was no reason to assume the worst.

Wolf noticed that Fox seemed preoccupied. Probably worrying about Krystal. The two were dating, and had been for at least a year now, according to what he could recall from Panther's ramblings on the subject. "No worries. The gems have something to do with their telepathy then."

"They use them to channel their psychic energy." Fox nodded, glancing back at him. "Without them they'd just be basic empaths, able to sense generalized feelings and emotions. They could tell if you were lying, but not what you were lying about. The gems make it more specific and communicative."

"Interesting." Wolf nodded back. Strange though, for a non-Cerinian to know so much. From what Wolf understood the Cerinians could be a bit cagey about their mental powers. Ostensibly because they didn't want to intimidate other species, but Wolf guessed it had more to do with not wanting to draw the paranoid ire of societies with a greater emphasis on mental privacy. Not everyone was as kumbaya about cultural and evolutionary differences as the Federation. "How do you know so much?"

Dodging the flight of a panicked bird Fox was silent for a moment. This was Wolf, and he wasn't sure how much he wanted to reveal to him about his relationship with Krystal. Then again, Wolf probably knew the basics, considering his best friend and teammate Panther Caroso had been trying to get into Krystal's pants for years. Unsuccessfully, thank the almighty. "Krystal and I got shot down over Sauria during the Scales deal. The Insurrection. I learned a lot from her back then."

"Hmm." Wolf put two and two together. "You two started dating after that, didn't you?" He'd suspected, but he'd never been one hundred percent certain.

"Yes," Fox said. He looked back at Wolf with an irritated expression on his face. "And tell Panther to lay off. He's getting annoying."

Smiling at being able to deliver the vulpine some good news-why do you care?-Wolf said, "Already did."

Fox stared at the older lupine for a moment. Mentally he was flabbergasted. He was also horrified at what came out of his mouth next, "Thanks." In response Wolf just grinned at him. His violet eye lit up in a manner Fox would have called teasing if they were friends. "What?"

"I never thought you'd thank me for anything is all," Wolf responded with a shrug, his grin only getting wider as he rubbed it in. McCloud owed him something. Not that he thought for a minute the vulpine would ever do him any favors because of it. Still, at least it felt good as a moral victory.

Fox just glared at him, his tail flicking as a little swarm of insects flew by, and said, "Yeah. Neither did I. I'm not in the habit of thanking people who attack civilian ships and take money from drug dealers than want to operate in their territory." Fox turned around and kept walking, fuming at the idea that he'd actually let the word slip out. Not because he was prideful-okay, maybe a little-but because of course Wolf had decided to rub it in.

Shrugging it off Wolf said, "You're broadening your horizons."

"Great," Fox said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "My dad would have been so proud."

An awkward silence fell, then Wolf said, "You ever wonder what our parents would think about us working together?"

Fox didn't even need to think about it. Glancing back at Wolf he said, "They'd both have had strokes." Then he added, "And, for the record, when this is done, I fully intend to go back to blowing your ships out of the stars whenever I come across them."

"Same Fox. Same."

By nightfall Fox estimated they'd traveled about six kilometers. Not bad considering they'd been going through rough terrain, following a path on a map that seemed to have no corresponding real world equivalent. They'd also managed not to get eaten by any wildlife, but they still had a good day or two ahead of them before they reached their destination. Shucking off his pack he set it on the ground and double checked the charge on his particle side arm and plasma rifle. "We should camp here tonight."

"You sure?" Wolf looked around. From the look of things there would be barely enough room to set up their tents, and setting up a functional perimeter would be difficult. Motion sensors would be going off all night no matter what setting they put them at. Once again Wolf found himself cursing the concept and existence of the jungle ecosystem.

Settling down on the ground Fox began unpacking. "According to the map this is the only clear area for the next few kilometers. Feel free to walk ahead if you prefer."

With a shrug Wolf set his own pack on the ground. "I'm good." He took a seat across from Fox, checking his laser rifle and grabbing what he'd need to give it a cleaning. Keeping a weapon clean was vital at all times, but doubly so in an alien environment. Wolf didn't want to be caught at a critical moment and have his primary means of self defense rendered inoperable by some exotic fungus.

They spent the next few minutes silently field stripping their weapons. Fox spread a thin film of protective gel over his. When it dried and hardened it would provide an additional layer of protection for the vital components inside that might be attractive to mineral degrading fungi or compounds. Fox didn't know if Sa-Kathona had any of those, but he knew planets such as Fortuna and Sauria did, and it stood to reason that Sa-Kathona might as well. Snapping his weapons back together he stowed his rifle in his pack but kept his sidearm at his hip.

Next he needed to set up some sort of basic perimeter to prevent an ambush. Reaching into his pack he took out a small drone. He activated it and keyed it to hover above the campsite. Rising on its anti-grav repulsors it did a quick scan of the area, and then trilled in a manner that almost seemed happy. It activated a lamp on its underside, bathing the camp in soft yellow light.

"Sensor drone?" Wolf asked, looking closely at it.

"Yes."

"Slippy make it? I don't recognize it."

"Yes." Fox looked over at him. "And don't get too close. I keyed it to detonate if it detects lupine fingerprints on it."

Wolf stared. "Seriously?" Fox just looked back at him silently. "Wow, you don't trust me, do you?"

"Should I?"

Wolf chuckled. "No. But don't worry, if I need to know about your toys, I'll just have Leon hack into your system."

"Right." Fox rolled his eyes. Reaching into his pack he pulled out a small square made of synthetic fibers. Setting it on the ground he tapped the button in the middle. His tent folded out and erected itself.

"Not bad." Wolf said, arching his eyebrows. Star Fox certainly seemed to be kitted out for this sort of thing. They must have had a better year than he'd realized.

"Where are the poles?"

"It doesn't need them," Fox answered, obviously reluctant to share any information with Wolf about his team's equipment.

Recognizing that he'd have to be a bit more probing if he wanted an answer to even the most innocuous of questions, Wolf said, "What keeps it up then?"

"Tensor fields," Fox replied. His ears flicked in annoyance. He didn't remember Wolf being this chatty the last time they'd met. But then again, the last time they'd met they had been shooting at each other. Fox remembered the look of utter disgust on Wolf's face as Star Fox had forced his raiding group into retreat. It was a good memory.

Wolf nodded, stretching his arms behind him. His nose twitched as he caught his scent. One day and he already felt like he was in desperate need of a shower. Not that Fox smelled any better. "Must be expensive," he noted.

"Not really." Fox shook his head. "They're standard Federation issue."

"Exactly," Wolf responded. "The Federation military isn't known for cutting costs these days."

Fox shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me, as long as I get paid. And besides, I've got some friends in their procurement division."

"Figures." Wolf grunted. He elected not to bring up the implication that Fox was skimming military supplies from his employers. Then again, knowing Fox he'd probably come to a legal and upfront agreement for the equipment. The little orange furball didn't have a corrupt bone in his body. More's the pity. On the other hand there was another button Wolf knew he could press. "I don't know why you don't just let them fold you into the military."

"I like my independence," Fox said, looking only slightly less offended than he felt. Fox could respect the military for the sacrifices it made, but he still felt as if the rules and regulations they imposed smothered the type of individual heroism that could turn the tide of a war. And on a more practical level Fox just didn't like the idea of not being in charge of his own destiny. He wanted to be able to choose his battles, and if he were to become part of the military, even in special operations, he knew he'd never have the sort of freedom he enjoyed with Star Fox.

"So do I," Wolf said, opening his pack and taking out his own tent. It was nice and folded, but it didn't rely on the tensor fields that Fox's did. Privately Wolf thought maybe that was a better idea. Less could go wrong with a pole than a gravity manipulating field generator. And, if it did go wrong, it would be an easy fix.

"Don't act like we have anything in common," Fox shot back, doing his best to keep his voice level. He knew Wolf was trying to get a rise out of him, and he was a bit annoyed that it was working. Setting his ears he took a calming breath. He was bigger than this.

Setting his tent up Wolf said, "I don't know, we might have one thing in common."

Fox took out his field rations and tore off the wrapper, stowing it in his pack rather than discarding it. He knew Krystal would have a fit if she found out he'd littered on what was considered sacred ground. Man, good thing I didn't bring Falco. He can't use a garbage can to save his life. He looked back at Wolf. "What?"

"Emotional immaturity," Wolf told him, his face and tone deadpan.

Fox just stared at the lupine for a moment, then started to smile. He even laughed. Just a bit. Wolf chuckled in response, his tail wagging slowly. Fox wagged in response rather than be rude, then bit into his field rations. "Ugh." His tail stopped mid wag.

Giving his tent one final check over Wolf pronounced it good and sat down. He pulled out his own food and started eating. "Rations packs?" Wolf asked, presuming that if everything else Fox had seemed on par with the Federation military, his food probably would be too.

"Nutrient cubes," Fox answered, holding up a pale, almost translucent cube about the size of a brownie bite. "All the nutrients you need, with absolutely none of the flavor."

"I have regular rations if you want some," Wolf offered. "Don't taste that good, but they do taste like something."

Fox considered it for a moment. The nutrient cubes may have been tasteless, but they could sustain him for the next twenty-four hours pretty easily. They also tasted like melted dust. Fox held out his hand. Wolf tossed him a package and Fox started to tear the wrapper off. He paused when he noticed the red letter "A" emblazoned on it. "Androssian?" he whispered.

"Yeah, why?" Wolf asked, taking a bite of the unidentifiable brown bar of...food, that Andross fed his army. Wolf had grabbed whole cratefulls of the things in a raid a few weeks prior.

With a shake of his head and a look of disgust Fox tossed it back to Wolf. "I'll stick to the nutrient cubes."

"You sure?" Wolf asked, tearing off another bite. It actually didn't taste all that bad. Panther would have gagged on it, but then Panther didn't consider anything to be food unless it came off of a gourmet menu. "They're actually not half bad. This one comes with..." he glanced at the one Fox had thrown back at him. "Oo, Eladardian spices with hydroponically grown bean paste." Trying to lighten the mood he added, "An explosive combination."

"I don't take anything Androssian," Fox replied, spitting the last word.

Wolf nodded. "I understand." And, surprisingly, he did.

"Do you?" Fox downed his last nutrient cube, letting it melt in his mouth. All of a sudden, when compared to the idea of eating food grown in the Androssian Empire by farmers taking Androssian money, it tasted like the best food he'd ever eaten.

"Yeah, I do." Wolf finished his own rations, swallowing the last bite before continuing. "Andross had your father killed, so you don't want anything associated with him. I get it. I feel the same way about Andross sometimes, even if I didn't lose who you did."

"Really?" Fox looked at him incredulously. "You don't seem to have a problem taking his money for this job. Or running arms to the SharpClaw on Sauria for him."

At the mention of the arms running Wolf's face went studiously blank. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh give me a break." Fox shook his head, his tail stiff and his ears back. Wolf just stayed silent. Seeing that he wouldn't be getting anything out of Wolf Fox just grunted and said, "Fine, stay quiet. But don't kid yourself that the Federation doesn't know. And don't think for a minute I don't know that you also run weapons to the sand cats on Titania for the Federation."

"Got a problem with that?" Wolf frowned. He didn't like the fact that Fox knew so much about his operations. But then again, if Wolf could figure out a good amount of what Fox was doing it stood to reason Fox could do the same for him. It wasn't like Slippy was incapable of hacking into Sargasso. Not to mention the fact that the arms running Fox was referring to was something of an open secret. Both the Feds and the Andies needed someone to run their weapons that they could easily disavow, and since Star Wolf was the only criminal enterprise left in Lylat with the infrastructure for the job, both sides pretended not to notice him playing both sides. It was a tidy little arrangement, and one Wolf had been profiting off of quite nicely.

"I have a problem with the first one," Fox answered. "Not the second one."

Interesting. "Why not?"

Feeling that sense of bitterness that always came with any discussion of Andross and the Lylat War, Fox replied, "Because if it kills Androssians or their allies, I'm all for it." Taking a field lantern from his pack Fox opened his tent. "Goodnight Wolf."

Wolf watched Fox enter his tent and settle in. Then he said, "Goodnight Fox." And headed for his own tent.

A/N: Not a whole lot to say here, other than that we've gotten some more world building/backstory. I'll be fitting as much of that as possible into this story, since this is the primary means for everyone to get acquainted with my AU, and it helps me iron the occasional wrinkle in the universe.

Now that I've got this updated I'm probably going to shift focus briefly to a one shot for some Fox/Krystal fluff. Probably set in this AU, so we'll see a little more world building and such. It'll be mostly cute and fluffy though, so I hope those of you who like that kind of stuff will enjoy it.

Anyways, go ahead and leave a review, a follow, a fav, or whatever else you can think of, and I'll see you next time!