Mira's eyes slowly opened as she became aware of someone's arms wrapped around her stomach. She glanced down to see Will's human hands and she snuggled in more.
"Good morning Mira." She smiled as Will spoke and craned her head around.
"Good morning Will!" he sat up and she rested her head on his lap. She glanced around the room smiling at some of the others. Slippy was in a chair, sleeping on his head. Falco was on the other couch, his arms wrapped around Katt, Katt's tail wrapped around his leg. "Can I wake up like this every morning?" she looked up at Will, smiling slightly. He didn't look at her as he carefully stood up.
"No. you were crying last night. You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you." He was digging through the fridge as she sat up.
"Why not Will?" he was quiet for a few minutes as he dug out breakfast ingredients.
"Just can't Mira. I'm sorry. I sure as hell hope this bacon looking stuff is at least related to a pig." She felt her heart sink as she moved up beside him.
"It is bacon. A lot of food animals were killed during Andross's bio bombings. Earth wildlife can live comfortably here so they sent what they could years ago. Bacon, kinda caught on." He grinned as he pulled out skillets and started cooking.
"Well, everything is better with bacon." She rolled her eyes as he spoke.
"I'm going to step out onto the balcony. Let me know when breakfast is done." He nodded as she slipped through the door and leaned up against the railing. The balcony they had looked out over the shipyard. She counted at least three destroyers and one cruiser being built. Cruisers looked similar to the Cornerian destroyer, but longer, and the ventral stab was more shallow, riding toward the back of the ship rather than downwards. Most destroyers were only about five hundred meters long, and were the bulk of the Cornerian fleet. Cruisers were the troop carriers and flagships of the fleet. The sun started to rise higher in the sky as she watched the night crews switch off with the morning crew.
"Hey Mira." She jumped as Fox spoke. He walked over to the railing and leaned up against it, right beside her.
"Hey Fox. Sleep well?" he shook his head as he stared out at the shipyard.
"Not really. Ya know, this view right here is why we picked this for our HQ building. They built both the original, and the new Great Fox right there, on the pad the cruiser is on. Got to watch as they took her up to fit her armor and weapons on, last month of the project." A small smile crossed his face as he stared across the water.
"So you like it here?" he nodded as he glanced around.
"Mira, may I ask you something?" she nodded and he continued. "Well, I need your help with Krystal. I don't know exactly what I did wrong, but well, our relationship is collapsing." She nodded as she let herself think.
"Well, she's been questioning your relationship since at least when I came on board. Don't get me wrong, she loves you, she just doesn't know if it's right." He nodded and stayed silent. "Fox, just remember, she will come back to you. As long as you love her, she will love you. Even if it doesn't show." He nodded again, staring out at the water.
"So, you're saying this will just blow over?" Mira laughed as he spoke.
"Not exactly, but give her some space, and some time to realize how stupid she is being, and accept her back, no grudges." He smirked and nodded. "Fox? May I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's up?" she shifted nervously on her feet.
"Well, me and Will, I, I don't know if I'm just being irrational or stupid, but, I want to be with him. Now more than ever. And yet, he just shoves me away. I want to believe that he has feelings toward me, but I don't know." She stared down at the waves, almost fifteen stories down from her.
"Mira, you haven't really known each other very long. All I can tell you, is that you two need to stick together. As friends at least. Doesn't mean you can't be more but, doesn't mean you will be. Only time will tell. Come on, before Falco tries to take all of the bacon." She grimaced as they stepped inside. Will was portioning out food onto plates and passing them out. The main door slid open as Bill stepped in, followed by Lucy, Doc, Peppy, and Krystal on her crutches. Mira watched Fox as he seemed to freeze for a second.
"Alright, I am not cooking more food, I have a few errands to run, if yall don't mind." Will, stepped away from the plates and disappeared into one of the rooms. He came out in fresh clothes and disappeared out the door. Winters marched in from one of the bedrooms, holding his head.
"Alright, why do I remember someone getting thrown into a pool?" Falco was instantly laughing. He and Katt had taken to opposite ends of the room. Or, more correctly, Falco was staying as far away from her as possible.
"Because you jumped into the pond down there. That's why you're wearing Hawkins's clothes." Mira couldn't help but snigger as he glanced at his clothes and grabbed a plate of food.
"Oh…" he dropped into the chair Slippy had been sleeping in.
"So who's the new guy?" Bill was plopping onto one of the sofas as he spoke.
"Bill, this is captain Winters, Former leader of the Corsairs." Slippy was the one speaking.
"Oh cool. Thanks for the bacon." Before Slippy had even noticed, he had grabbed a piece and wolfed it down. Slippy smacked his arm as Fox and Krystal sat on opposite sides of the room, Fox staring at his plate and Krystal glaring at him.
I nervously looked around as I typed commands into the Subspace communication system. It started ringing for a few seconds before he answered. It was a human male in a bright white navel uniform, with steel grey eyes and greying jet black hair.
"Son? Why are you calling me, from Corneria no less?" I looked down as I spoke.
"I need some information, Rear Admiral. Not related to the war." I heard him sigh before he spoke.
"William, I know I could lose my job for this, but whatever you need kid." I nodded as I fought the urge to cry.
"I need anything you have on a man named MacDonnell. His name has come up a few times, and it seems familiar. I understand if he is military and you can't send anything but, well yeah." I glanced up as he spoke. He was smiling.
"Of course, and trust me, he is not military. He's the second in command of the Mohammad's Army militant movement. He was the one who executed your men. I'm sending all the files I have on him to you now." I nodded as silence fell between us. "I can't believe it's been over three years. Will, I regret what I said to you that day. I know I should think of you as my enemy right now, but I'm proud of you. The Star Fox team is one of the most elite groups of pilots out there. And although I can't say it, I'm proud you're a part of them. If we survive this war, I want to try to reconnect with you. If you would allow it." I nodded as I pulled the filled drive out of the terminal.
"Thank you, Dad. And we will, I promise. Good luck." He smiled as he spoke.
"It won't be me who needs it, stay alive kid, and I'm sure you're fighting with them for the right reasons." I terminated the call and turned around to find four Cornerian MP's standing behind me.
"You're coming with us, human!" I put my hands on the back of my head as I spoke.
"I know this looks bad, but I need to get this data either too General Pepper or Fox McCloud. It's important." The MP yanked my pistol out of its holster and cuffed me as the others trained weapons on me.
"Shut up and move, scumbag!" I let them stuff me into a squad car, still clutching the thumb drive.
"Car 28 to HQ, suspect apprehended. Human male, using a Sub-Space comm line to earth. Armed with one, human blaster. Dropped some big names at us." The dispatcher acknowledged as the driver pulled away and started driving. The radio buzzed a few times as he drove, ignoring most of the traffic until he reached his precinct building. They dragged me out of the car and I glanced down, noticing my knife still on my thigh.
"I have to ask, but where were you trained trooper?" he glanced at me confused. "Because you left a rather deadly weapon on my left thigh. Total length of twelve inches, very sharp for seven inches. You might want to check for it if there is a next time." He glanced at my thigh, wide eyed. He yanked the knife out as he spoke.
"Well, um thanks?" he looked bewildered as he marched me into one of the interrogation rooms. He stepped out after connecting my hand cuffs to the table.
"Well, this is just peachy." A detective walked in with his partner after I spoke, sitting across the table from me.
"So, contacting home?" I shrugged as I spoke.
"Sorta. Not home, but it was family. My home is a bit too mobile." He looked at me for a second as he stared at a PDA in front of him.
"Says here you're with the Star Fox team. That means you have access to some pretty high up information. What did you pass to earth?" I smiled at him as I spoke.
"Nothing, I was actually requesting information. Got the whole call right here on this drive. Plus the data I got. It won't help you or the war effort, call it, a personal curiosity." He stared at me for a second, as if he was trying to tell if I was lying. I slid the drive onto the table and he scooped it up before he marched out.
Fox jumped as his wrist started vibrating. He answered and Peppy's voice spilled out, his voice frantic.
"Fox! Hawkins just got picked up by the Military Police! They are saying he was trying to give military secrets to the UEC!" Fox was stunned for a second before he spoke.
"What? Where? I'm on my way!" he rushed to find a jacket, until he realized he left it in the main room.
"Precinct four HQ is where they took him! I'm trying to get Pepper on the horn now!" Fox rushed out as he hung up, frantically searching the room for his jacket.
"Fox? What's going on?" Mira had just stepped out of the bathroom as he spotted his jacket and threw it on.
"Hawkins just got arrested. Apparently called someone in the UEC!" he was just about to step out of the room as Mira yelled.
"Wait for me!" she rushed out and they were both tapping their feet as the elevator rode downward. They sprinted out of the lobby and slid to a stop hailing a cab down. Fox grabbed the door for Mira and slid into the seat beside her.
"Fourth Precinct police station! Quickly if you don't mind!" the driver nodded and Fox watched Mira clench and unclench her fists over and over. They were coming to a stop when he realized he was drumming on the side of the cab. They rushed into the building and a guard stopped him.
"Your weapon sir." He glanced down, not even realizing he had left his weapon on.
"Here, sorry." He rushed past to the front desk almost instantly speaking. "I'm here to see a recent detainee, human Male. He's a member of my team." The clerk flicked through her data base as he impatiently tapped his foot.
"Wait, are you a member of Star Fox?" he nodded, annoyance rising through his body.
"Yes, I am Fox McCloud, lead pilot. Now can I go see what my teammate got himself into?" she shook her head as she spoke.
"I'm sorry, he is still in processing. You will have to wait for him to be out of it." he cursed as he walked away and dropped into one of the chairs. Within seconds, a detective stepped out from behind the counter and marched over to him.
"Fox McCloud? Come with me. I need you to speak on your team members behalf." He nodded and they both stood. The detective placed a hand on Mira's chest. "Sorry, just Fox Ma-am." She scowled as Fox was lead out of the room. As soon as they were clear of the lobby, the detective was speaking. "William Hawkins is claiming he was receiving nonmilitary based Intel from his father. Said it wasn't an information trade. My partner is convinced it's some kind of code." Fox nodded as they turned a corner, stopping at a door leading to an interrogation room.
"And what do you think?" he shifted slightly as he glanced around.
"I think he was just talking to his father about something. They are family. Maybe asking a favor. I looked through the data he has and watched the call. Data is on a man named MacDonnell." Fox nodded, almost instantly speaking.
"We ran into that name a few months ago. Was in a pair of pirate bases we went after. Is that all?" he nodded and gestured at the door.
"He's in there if you want to talk to him." Fox nodded and stepped through the doorway. Hawkins was sitting in a chair, his hands handcuffed to the table. Somehow, he seemed perfectly relaxed.
"Hey McCloud. How's it going?" Fox let his jaw drop as he spoke.
"Seriously? You just got arrested and you're asking me how it's going?" he shrugged as he sat silently. "Alright, tell me exactly what you did and why?" he chuckled slightly as he spoke.
"Have a hunch. I know I've said this war makes no damned sense. Only pull able thread was this, so I'm pulling. I called my father. Asked for whatever Intel he could give me. Turns out, MacDonnell was last seen executing my men on Ganymede. And some of it was personal between us." Fox nodded as Hawkins spoke.
"Well, Peppy was getting Pepper on the comm line. I just hope he has enough pull to get you out." Hawkins smirked as he leaned back.
"Well, he won't need much, if they actually watched the recording. I recorded the conversation. And the data is clearly received data and in no way relevant to the current war, so I'm sure I'll be clear soon." Fox sighed as he spoke.
"Maybe not. One of the detectives is certain it's a code of some kind. Like your being given orders." He shrugged as he fiddled with the cuffs.
"Meh, doesn't matter. So long as you or pepper look over the data and start pulling, then I'm happy. Just have a hunch." He stared at the polarized glass for a second as he waited. The detective that had escorted Fox stepped in.
"Well, we got a call from Fortuna orbit. General pepper vouched for you, though he said, if it happens again, you're on your own." The detective was smiling as he pulled the cuffs off. "Hawkins, your weapons will be returned at the door. And here's that drive of yours." Hawkins accepted the small drive and pocketed it. They marched out the way Fox had come and Mira leapt to her feet at the sight of Hawkins.
"Will!" She rushed over and hugged him. Fox smirked at Hawkins's semi bewildered expression. The guard returned all of their weapons as they marched out onto the street.
"Well, that was a fun little adventure. Did you know, the Cornerians missed my combat knife when looking for weapons?" Fox and Mira both laughed as she responded.
"And you call being arrested an adventure! I do not want to know what a bad situation is in your book!" he smirked as she continued. "Did you really call earth?" He nodded as he spoke.
"Technically an orbital weapons platform above earth. Talked to dad, got what I wanted. I need to talk to pepper though, I need all the Intel I can get on pirate activity over the past year." Fox nodded as he hailed a cab.
"You realize you're on leave right?" he nodded as a cab stopped on the curb.
Katt slipped out of her room and into the main room of the HQ. Will was in one of the corners, flicking through several PDA's at once. Most of the crew seemed to not be around, but Falco and Bill were hovering over the counter, Mira across from them in a very tight t-shirt and short shorts. She had what looked like a steel tube in her hands, shaking it back and forth.
"You weren't kidding about being a bartender before you joined up. This is one of the best damn cocktails I've ever had!" Falco was sipping on an orange and red drink, clearly thoroughly enjoying it as Katt trotted over.
"Hey Mira, whacha making?" Mira barely glanced up from what she was doing as she responded.
"A pair of human Margaritas, on the rocks. I like em and Bill wants to try it." Katt leaned up against the counter, seeing the array of different alcohol bottles in front of Mira. Katt and Mira had chatted a few times about Mira's time as a bartender after she left school, several of them about her fellow bartenders waking up next to random strangers after their shifts and explaining to them what had happened. She rarely ever drank, the night a couple days back being a rare exception.
"I'd love to try one too." She smiled, pouring the green liquid out into a pair of glasses, blocks of ice already in them. She slid one to Bill and the other to Katt.
"I can always make more." Katt toke a sip, getting a powerful punch of both alcohol and citrus in what she would call perfect proportions. "Will! Do you want anything?" Mira hollered across the room at Will, rinsing out the shaker as he did so.
"Working Mira, can't. Maybe another time?" she sighed speaking in a much lower tone as she mixed up a fresh drink for herself.
"He hasn't left those damned devices alone since he got arrested." Katt could see the sadness in Mira's as eyes as they remained fixed on Will. She gave Bill and Falco a very pointed look, Falco seeming to catch the memo and drag Bill away before Katt spoke.
"Mira, I know this is a little late, and I've been meaning to tell you, but, you know Will said he wouldn't date you, right?" a flash of pain crossed her eyes as her attention focused on Katt.
"What are you talking about?" Katt sighed, setting her drink down and leaning her rear up against the counter.
"After you two got back from Sauria, I asked him about your feelings toward him. He was fully aware of them, he just said he didn't want to date you. Well, to be more accurate, he said he didn't want to date anyone." A single tear slipped out of Mira's eye, just before she closed them and nodded.
"I understand." Katt gave the smaller woman a half hug, trying to give her a reassuring smile.
"Just don't go too far over for him. It's okay to care about him, just don't plan on it being any more than friends, okay?" she nodded, setting her empty drink in the sink before walking off without saying goodbye. "Wait, Mira!" she didn't look back, leaving the HQ building entirely. She sighed and stepped out onto the balcony, speaking to herself. "Yeah, like you're one to talk Katt." A few images of herself waking up next to Falco shot through her mind, a few of her own tears slipping out of her eyes.
Fox looked out over the ocean from one of the benches he used to spend a lot of time on, sighing before he let his head fall into his hands. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what to say to Krystal, and the thought of losing her seemed to draw closer and closer in his mind. Someone dropped into the seat beside him, making him nearly jump. He realized that it was only Peppy, putting on a faint smile for the old hare.
"Hey Peppy. Enjoying leave?" he shrugged, gazing out over the water with a small half smile on his face.
"As much as I can, with the way things are. I hate to see you hurting Fox." Fox glanced at him again, seeing a small spark of sadness in his eyes.
"Well, it's fine. I brought it on myself." Fox looked away from him, not wanting to make eye contact with Peppy.
"That doesn't make it fine Fox. If anything, it makes it hurt worse. I don't know if you still see it, but Krystal loves you, probably more than even she realizes. It's hard, but don't give up on her Fox. You can't make her stay, but you can at least give her a place to come back to. And when the time comes, trust your instincts. Your mind and emotions will betray you Fox." Fox sighed before he nodded, his mind bouncing back to his conversation with Mira on the balcony.
"Mira said almost the same thing to me." Peppy chuckled, crossing one of his legs as he leaned back, resting his paws on the sizable girth he had acquired as he aged.
"She is a smart girl, even if that intelligence eludes her at times." Silence fell between the old friends for several minutes, both comforted by the other's presence. Suddenly, Peppy broke the silence, a sad smile on his face. "Did you know that James and Vixy met in a park just like this one? He was just a cocky fighter jock then, on a weekend pass when he saw her, just sitting on a bench and reading a book. Not one of those electronic books, a real bound paper book." Fox gave him a puzzled expression, knowing that peppy rarely spoke of James and Vixy.
"Really?" Peppy's smile broadened, his voice seeming to spell out the scene as if he was watching it at that very second.
"Yes. We had been throwing a ball between us, simply enjoying the day when James 'accidently' threw the ball too far, landing it right at her feet. He trotted over to her, stooping over to pick up the ball when Vixy suddenly put her foot on it. She had this furious glare on her face that threw James so far off it was just priceless. When he tried to speak to her, all that came out was this mumble about throwing the ball too far. But she was too clever for him, and somehow knew he had thrown the ball to her on purpose. She just picked the ball up, gave him one look and plainly said that if he could find her and get the ball back from her, she would go out on that date he wanted to ask her out on. James was so dumbstruck that he didn't even try to grab the ball as she walked off." Peppy fell silent for a second, clearly still lost in his memory, prompting Fox to speak.
"I'm assuming he did find her?" Peppy chuckled and nodded, already speaking again.
"Yes he did, but it took him two weeks. He and Fara's mother were school friends, and he found out where she lived through her. When Vixy answered her door, she had the ball in her hands, simply handing it to him and closing the door without a word." Fox smirked, unable to help himself from speaking up.
"But, did she let him take her on that date?" Peppy nodded stretching as he spoke.
"Yeah, he started walking back to the street with this utterly defeated expression on his face when she opened the door, walking out with her purse in hand and demanding where he was going without her. From that point on, they were simply inseparable." Fox couldn't help but grin, the grin fading before too long as a thought crossed his mind.
"Why didn't dad ever tell me this?" Peppy shrugged finally standing up of the bench and straightening his shirt.
"I guess because it hurt too much for him to think about her. He almost never spoke about her after she died, even rarer still did he ever say her name." Fox nodded and stood up himself, stretching and yawning in the process. The sun was setting in the distance, Fox not even realizing that they had been sitting there for so long.
"Well, good night Peppy. Thanks for the talk." Peppy waved goodbye, heading back to the street to drive back to his home, Fox heading toward the HQ building, only a couple of blocks down the street.
Wolf stared at the sand blasted planet below, just a few thousand kilometers away from his flagship. He grunted as the thought crossed his mind. Flagship, humph only ship more like. The comm line beeped and he answered the call. Admiral Douglas was on the other end.
"Mr. O'Donnell, we just received intel that the Great Fox is at Corneria. Any chance you can get over there?" Wolf crossed his arms as he spoke.
"Cant. Sorry. Were bogged down out here, my crew is missing down there. I can't leave them." The admiral nodded as he typed in a few commands.
"Based on the damage done by Russian Intelligence, they will be there a while. Two of their members were seriously injured." Wolf almost jumped as he said that.
"Who?" apprehension filled his gut. Damn, I've changed more than I thought. The Admiral grimaced as he spoke.
"Report wasn't very specific. Just said two females." Wolf nodded as he moved over to one of the consoles.
"Well, that leaves four options there. Anything else?" the admiral nodded as Wolf looked through one of their orbital scans.
"Yes, I'd like to send a battle group to Titania to help you." Wolf shook his head as he spoke.
"No. there is a platoon of Cornerian Pathfinders lost down there. Panther found some of them before he dropped off the grid. UEC assets would cause a new conflict to erupt. We need to keep them down, protect the fleet ships, not get them killed." The Admiral seemed to sigh as the image flickered.
"Well, I just got a message from the rear admiral. Said one of the Star Fox team is digging into MacDonnell. So at least they are starting to be on the right track. I'll update you when they leave Corneria." Wolf shut the screen down as he faced the admiral.
"Good luck Douglas. I hope we get the evidence we need. I'll send you a report when I'm done here." He killed the transmission as he stared out the viewport. "Panther, you fool, where the hell are you!" Leon's high-pitched voice filled the bridge.
"Down there being a fool. What else does that damn cat do? Why do we have him again?" Wolf grunted as he brought up the latest thermal scan.
"Because he can be a good pilot at times. How's Dash doing on Corneria?" Leon crossed his arms, scanning the image with his eyes.
"Don't know. I gave you his last report two weeks ago. Not uncommon for him to go quiet." Wolf shut the projector off as he strode for the exit.
"Riley, you have the ship. Kill anything that gives us a funny look." The ape saluted as he passed. "Leon, let's go find that cat, so we can skin his ass!" Leon grinned as they marched off the bridge.