A soft metal clang echoed down the hallways of team Star Wolf's mothership as Wolf rapped his gnarled knuckles against the wall in anticipation. The majority of his day had already passed him by and he'd spent most of it looking at maps, taking inventory and being up to his fuzzy ears in liquor. He wasn't sure if he'd made the right decision with handling Leon but took solace in the knowledge that whatever happens he wouldn't be putting him in harm's way. All that was left to do from here was loop Panther in, something that he knew wouldn't be easy to explain.

Just like always Wolf found Panther in the gym getting in some training before their early departure the following morning; time-permitting Wolf was normally right there next to him. The two liked to maintain a bulky physique and worked well together, constantly pushing and competing to try and prove who was stronger. Wolf enjoyed this a great deal, it was something he didn't get much of when he was partnered with Andrew and Pigma.

Tonight, it looked like Panther was working on his speed. He had some thin knuckle gloves protecting his fists as he hammered them into the suspended punching bag in front of him over and over. He threw out a few punches before stepping back and weaving to the side, practicing keeping light on his feet to remain unpredictable for whatever poor victim awaited him in the future. His fists were heavy, making frighteningly loud impact noises against the nylon with each connection. This kind of business definitely weeded out the weak.

Wolf hatched an idea, noticing that Panther was too distracted with his music and his punching to see him slip into the room. Slowly he began to sneak up- stepping one foot at a time and being careful not to give away his presence, arms raised up in preparation. The second he was close enough he lunged in for the kill.

"H-HEY, WHAT THE HELL-" Panther yelled over his music, caught completely off guard as he stumbled backwards.

"Caught you, you mangy cat! Get the hell out of my gym!" Wolf teased. He'd pounced up against the larger feline and wrapped his arm around his neck, pulling him down into a headlock.

"Get off me you mutt!" Panther strained to speak, he tried to use his paws to wrench himself free but Wolf's grip was too tight.

"Call me mutt again and I'll really choke 'ya, how about that?"

The cat gritted his teeth and started to use his elbow to hit Wolf in his ribs, aggressive but they both enjoyed the roughhousing. This wasn't the first time he'd taken a grapple from his captain and he knew it certainly wouldn't be the last. It took a few good smacks before he finally hit the right spot, causing Wolf to let go and falls backwards on his tail- chuckling as he coughed to reclaim his breath.

"Oh, I didn't hurt you did I?" Panther asked, grinning as he rubbed his neck. He stepped over to Wolf and extended a paw to him to help him off the floor.

"You *cough* couldn't hurt me if you tried, tabby." His captain retorted, smacking his paw away and getting to his feet on his own. "You havin' fun in here all alone? What, decided you're too good for me?"

"You seemed busy, captain."

"Well somebody's gotta figure out how we're going to avoid winning a long nap in the dirt on Fichina tomorrow."

Panther shrugged. He took an offensive stance in front of Wolf, bouncing on his feet and giving the canine a few gentle taps on the chest with his gloves.

"I think you need to relax." He spoke, "We'll handle this like we've handled the others, I can't imagine a group of dogs is enough to keep us from extracting just one target in the middle of the night." To punctuate his sentence he tried to surprise Wolf with a wild left hook. Wolf was ready for it, ducking out of the way and deflecting with his paw.

"I appreciate your confidence." The captain replied, trying to read Panther's body language to look for the next punch. "But this is different than what you're used to." There it was, a strong right straight. He quickly moved to the side, letting it hit the air behind him. "And hey," he placed a paw on Panther's shoulder, "I'm being serious about this. This isn't a game."

"I understand, captain." Panther's ear folded back, toning the energy down as he understood the gravity of Wolf's visit.

"This isn't going to be an easy fight, we haven't done something like this together. I need to know that you're on my level here, this is a jailbreak at a real military base- an aggression against a nation. Not just roughing up some idiots."

"O'Donnell, I wouldn't have said what I said if I didn't mean it. I may have come late but I owe the Oikonny family at least this much, especially in their time of need. Besides, you know as well as I do that I harbor no respect for Cornerians. I'll happily jump at an opportunity to spill their blood on their own soil."

Wolf nodded slowly, thoughts ran through his head but he chose not to vocalize them. Instead he held his gaze, staring into Panther's eyes intensely, trying to determine if his teammate was ready for something of this caliber. It took a few moments before Wolf had decided that he'd had enough, giving the feline a clap on his broad shoulder.

"I'm glad we understand each other."

"I'm sure something like this isn't new for you and Leon though, hm?"

"Nah," Wolf waved dismissively, "But… Leon won't be joining us tomorrow. It's just us." With a renewed confidence in his teammate's commitment he figured that now would be as good of a time as any to drop the bomb.

"Wait- what?" Panther looked surprised, as was expected. "What do you mean? I thought he volunteered?"

"He did, but I've got different plans for him. I gave him a special assignment."

"I can't imagine what kind of assignment would be special enough to warrant us going in on our own."

"Leon's running reconnaissance, he already left. He'll be on the surface before us to keep an eye on things but he won't be fighting."

"You're wasting his talents on reconnaissance? Wolf, why couldn't you just get some mook from Sargasso to do it?"

"…I feel safer keeping this within the confines of my own team."

"Captain… This feels like a mistake."

"I won't have you question me." Wolf shot back, he gave Panther a rough shove. "So what, no Leon and you're out? I won't force you, but I'd prefer if you didn't make me go in alone." The feline sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"No… No. I trust your decision-making abilities. You're my leader and... I'm sure you know what's best."

"Damn right I do. Now, how's your shotgun doing?"

"You know how well I take care of my toys." Wolf smirked.

"Good, because you're going to need it. Clean up and get dressed, we'll meet in the briefing room in thirty. Understand?"

"Understood."

The two went their separate ways; Wolf heading to the briefing room to prepare his presentation and Panther to the showers- curious as to what waited in store.