Hello Again Star Fox fans! I just want to say thank you for your reviews. I value every one of your inputs, and it really helps me shape the story to your liking. Please keep the reviews coming, and as always; enjoy the chapter!

11. The Next Push

~The team spent the entire following day recuperating on Corneria. Slippy and Amanda spent their time together with ROB and making repairs on all their fighters. Axios was still in Corneria General Hospital, Falco was passed out on the couch in the Great Fox lounge with a magazine covering his face, and Fox and Krystal were with Peppy in the bridge. Peppy was concerned however. Falco had explained to him how the team narrowly escaped with their lives from their encounters with the Black Suns, and he also told him about Axios's condition. "I'm not sure it will be a wise idea to send you out there on your own again." Peppy said.

"If any more Cornerian military get involved, it will only bring more problems and more death." Fox replied.

"The Black Suns have been moving throughout the Lylat system. They have been jumping from planet to planet, and now I receive information that they're headquartered in Venom?" Peppy took a moment to adjust his glasses. "I don't like this Fox, not one bit."

"What choices do we have? If we don't strike at the heart of the insurrectionists and the Black Suns, then all of Lylat will be at risk."

"It will be easier for the Great Fox to move on its own." Krystal added. "We've learned so much about the enemy, and we know how to properly combat them."

"It's their mother ship that concerns me." Peppy said. Peppy walked around Fox to a terminal in the bridge. He pushed a series of buttons and a holographic projection of the Void came up in front of the trio. "The Void is unlike anything the Cornerian military had ever combated. The ships is heavily defended by the main insurrectionist fleet, and the ship itself has fire power that our military cannot handle."

"When was the last time you saw this ship?" Krystal asked.

"The 5th Arcturis fleet ran into it about a month ago. There were five frigates, and three capital ships in that fleet. Only one frigate made it back."

"If it weren't for those modifications," Fox said, "the fleet may have actually stood a chance."

"Oh! That's right. I almost forgot. Slippy gave me the data about the Black Suns' modifications."

"And?" Krystal asked.

Before Peppy would respond, he walked over to the bridge door and locked it. He came back and pressed a series of buttons on the bridge console and shut down a set of security cameras. "Peppy?" Fox asked.

"Listen closely," Peppy discretely said, "what I'm about to tell you does not leave this room. That goes for you too Krystal. Their modifications were actually property of Cornerian Research and Development."

"You mean that they stole them?" Fox asked.

"That's correct. We don't know how, but the tech they received was stolen and smuggled off Corneria. Fox that technology was still in development and the projects themselves were classified; which can only mean one thing…"

"There was a high ranking Cornerian officer that was working with the Black Suns."

Peppy nodded his head. "So the Cornerian military has a mole?" Krystal asked. "That's just brilliant…"

"I ordered a covert investigation of all of the fleet commanders, and so far I had received nothing." Peppy said. "The only piece of evidence I was able to find was this recording."

Peppy pulled out a small communicator from his pocket and pushed a button. The trio could hear a distorted voice in the communicator. The distortion made the owner of the voice unrecognizable, and the signal was scrambled so that the original message could not be traced. "I have done what you asked me to." The voice said. "The parts you have requested had been delivered to the location discussed."

There was a brief pause. "I'm confident that they will work to your standards."

There was another brief pause. "No, that won't be necessary. I'll handle it on my own. When I am done here, I will join you."

There was one more pause. "That's not what we agreed to. I give you the fleets, and you give me the Shroud. Once I am ready, I will give you the signal and move my fleets to Fortuna. Now, I have a matter to attend to. This conversation is over."

Peppy pushed a button and silenced the communicator. "Fortuna?" Fox asked.

"It's where we brought the Oikonny Rebellion to a halt." Peppy said.

"I remember that." Krystal said.

"Ever since that message was intercepted, I have been keeping close tabs on fleet traffic. There hasn't been a single fleet that has made an attempt to jump to Fortuna."

"Or they could already be there." Fox said.

"We could investigate for you." Krystal said. "And report back anything we find."

Peppy gently adjusted his glasses and slowly paced to the side. He wasn't sure if it was a wise idea to send the team out again considering their current condition. However, he could not send a fleet at the risk of it being destroyed. After thinking about the decision for a moment, he came to his decision. "All right." Peppy said. "Your next mission will be on Fortuna. Go to the planet, and investigate for any signs of the Black Suns. Report any in all of your findings back to me, and me alone."

Fox and Krystal both nodded their heads. "However, you're not going alone." Peppy said. "I'll be damned if you kids end up in the afterlife before me. Since your last two near death encounters with the Black Suns, it has come to me that you're going to need help. I've got just the person to come with you."

"Who's coming with?" Krystal asked.

"I'll give you a hint, Falco knows her very well."

"Katt?" Fox hastily asked.

"Ms. Monroe has recently made a pit stop here on Corneria." Peppy said. "When I heard of her coming, I had her brought to me. She was trying to reach Falco to tell him something but she couldn't find him anywhere. I told her she could wait on Corneria for your arrival and she did."

"We could always use the extra help." Krystal said.

"Where is she?" Fox asked.

"She's staying somewhere in the capital." Peppy said. "I'll have an officer bring her here tomorrow and you two can discuss how to proceed afterwards."

"Falco's surely going to be surprised."

"At least we can count on Katt to help keep him in line." Krystal said.

"All Right. We'll stay the night here on Corneria and head out in the morning."

"All right." Peppy acknowledged. "One more thing, as you head out to Fortuna, I also want you to stop by Katina."

"Why is that?" Fox asked.

"We've lost communications with one of the outposts in Katina. Several pilots of the Bulldog and Husky squadrons, including your friend, Bill Grey, were sent to investigate. It's been two days and we haven't heard from them since."

Fox was a bit surprised. "Bill?" he asked. "I hope he's all right."

Krystal placed a hand on Fox's shoulder to calm him. "I'm sure he's fine." she said.

Peppy turned and walked to the bridge door. He unlocked the door and Fox reactivated the security cameras. Peppy was about to leave the bridge until he stopped in his tracks. "Oh Fox!" he said. "I almost forgot. While you're here, you might want to visit Axios."

"How's he doing?" Fox asked.

Peppy chuckled a bit. "Let me put it this way," Peppy said, "he hates hospitals."

"Oh dear…" Krystal said.

Peppy chuckled again and turned to leave the bridge. He waved as he walked away and soon exited the Great Fox. "I'm sure he's fine." Fox said.

Fox went over to a terminal and activated the ship's communicator. A holographic projection of a raccoon appeared on the bridge holo-projector. The raccoon stood tall and saluted Fox. "Captain McCloud! Sir!" He said.

"At ease." Fox responded as he saluted the raccoon. "I need a connection to Corneria General Hospital."

"Yes sir." The raccoon pushed a series of buttons on his end of the terminal. "Connecting you now sir." he said.

After a brief pause the image of the raccoon disappeared and a new image was brought on the holo-projector. A new image of a hare in a nurse's uniform appeared on screen. "Greeting Captain McCloud." she said. "How can we help you?"

"I'm looking for talk to a patient there. He goes by the name Axios." Fox said.

"Ok, just a moment."

As the hare disappeared from the holoprojector, Fox looked to the side at Krystal with irritation. "Something wrong?" Krystal asked.

"I hate being on hold…" Fox said.

Krystal chuckled a bit and the hare in the holo-projector returned to speak again. "Um, there's an issue." she said.

"What is it?" Fox asked.

"The patient you mentioned is not in his room. We actually can't find him."

Krystal and Fox became alert. "WHAT?" Fox said.

"Where is he then?" Krystal asked.

Fox and Krystal heard a door opening behind them and turned around. They found Axios leaning on the side of the door and he was panting heavily. "I hate hospitals…" Axios said as he was panting.

Fox quickly turned back to the nurse. "Ok, well when you find him will you have him contact me?" Fox asked.

"Yes sir." she said.

Fox pushed a button on the console and ended the communication. He turned and faced Axios. Axios was wearing a black jacket and was still in his white hospital pants. He had bandages wrapped around his abdomen and several more around his shoulders and arms. He had stiches on his head and a scar running down the front of his neck. "Well," Fox said, "it seems like you're making a quick recovery."

"Are you supposed to be walking?" Krystal asked.

"Probably not," Axios said, "but I can't stand sitting in a bed for hours at a time."

"How are you feeling?" Fox asked.

"Lousy, but alive. Thanks to you guys." Axios stood up straight and approached Fox and Krystal. He smiled at them both and they smiled at him. "I owe you two my life. Thanks for saving me."

"It's what we do." Fox said. "And we'd do it again if we had to."

"Well, I'll try not to make you guys do it too often."

The three chuckled a bit and heard the doors open again. They watched as Slippy came storming into the bridge with a face full of excitement. "Hey guys!" Slippy said. "Guess wha-" Slippy stopped when he saw Axios. "Axios!" Slippy ran up to him and gave Axios a hug. However, he held him rather tightly due to his excitement.

"Slippy!" Axios said as his wounds start to ache. "Slippy! Not so tight! Oh god…"

Slippy quickly let him go. "Ha ha. Sorry…" Slippy said. "But I have to show you guys something!"

"What is it?" Krystal asked.

"Come down to the hangar and I'll show ya! We should also get Falco, where ever he is."

"I'll find him and meet you down in the hangar." Fox said.

Krystal and Axios followed Slippy while Fox went to the lounge. He found Falco still sleeping on the couch. "Yep, that's Falco." Fox thought. He went up to Falco and slowly lifted the magazine from his face and he noticed Falco was passed out and snoring. "I wonder what I should do…"

A light bulb flashed in Fox's mind. He locked the lounge door and he went to the other side of a counter. He pulled out his blaster and took cover behind the counter. He started giggling to himself and he pointed the blaster to the ceiling. "Oh this should be good." He thought.

He pulled the trigger and the blaster went off. The sound caused Falco to jump from the couch into a frantic panic. "CRAP!" he screamed as he jumped form the couch. Out of instinct, Falco pulled out his blaster and started firing in multiple random directions while jumping over tables and chairs. He flipped a table and took cover behind it while reloading his blaster. He fired blindly over the table until his blaster ran out of ammo. "AAAAAAAAARRGHHHHHHH! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

He saw the door to the lounge and leaped for the door expecting it to open. Instead he went head first into a locked door and fell to the ground. After a brief moment of lying down on the ground, Falco lifted himself from the floor. He looked at the door and realized that is was locked. He turned and looked around the lounge and noticed the broken furniture everywhere and bullet holes all over the walls. He looked at the counter and noticed Fox slowly lifting his head over the counter top and he could see the smirk in Fox's face.

After a brief moment of looking at Falco, Fox fell down to the floor dying of laughter. "FOX!" Falco yelled. "THAT WASN'T FUNNY!"

"The part where you dove into a door surely was." Fox cheerfully responded

Falco rubbed his head to numb the pain. He slammed a button on the door controls and the door slid open. He went over to Fox who was still on the ground and held out his arm. "You're lucky I'm out of ammo…" Falco angrily said.

Fox took Falco's hand and Falco helped him off the floor. "Uh-huh…" Fox said. "Can't wait to tell Slippy about this."

"Whoa whoa whoa! The toad will NEVER learn what happened here!"

"Sure…" Fox said sarcastically.

The two left the lounge and went to join the rest of the team in the hangar. They found the rest of the team gathered around Slippy. "So what's the big deal Slip?" Fox asked.

"You're going to like this." Slippy said. Slippy walked over to the docked fighters. "I managed to repair all of our ships and I reinforced our hulls initial alloy with a layer of depleted uranium. They should take a lot more punishment now." Slippy also walked over to the Arwing II's laser canons. "Also," he said, "I got dad to help me out with improving our lasers. We're now packing Turan Heavy Lasers; the same firepower that the Black Suns used against us!"

Falco eye's widened as the knowledge of having more fire power filled him with joy. "Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!" Falco happily said.

"I'm not done yet." Slippy said. "In light of recent events, it would seem that their modifications kicked our sorry hides back here to Corneria." The team went silent. They did not like admitting defeat (even though they killed Eight and Six), but they narrowly escaped that confrontation with their lives. "So," Slippy continued, "dad and I have added a new weapon slot to all of our ships."

Slippy pointed out an extra canon on each of the fighters. The canons were installed underneath each of the fighters and the team noticed a long, triangular shaped barrel. "Slippy," Fox asked, "what is this?"

"That is a disruptor canon." Slippy said. "This thing fires EMP rounds at your target. If we lock on and hit the Black Suns with these, it will fry their modifications. And if we hit them multiple times with this, we can render their ship completely powerless!"

The team marveled at Slippy's inventions. "We'll have to give thanks to Beltino for this." Krystal said.

"Well your welcome!" said a voice from behind.

The team quickly turned to see Beltino Toad actually standing behind them. "Beltino!" Fox said.

"Ha ha…" Beltino cheerfully said. "It's good to see you all again."

"How's working like a lab rat?" Falco asked.

"Oh well it has its ups and downs. At least I'm busy; I can't imagine what else I could possibly do in my free time."

Everyone chuckled a bit. Beltino Toad is Slippy's father. He worked with the Star Fox team during the Apparoid invasion. He was also the Research Director for the Cornerian Defense Force. "Also," Beltino said, "You should thank your new friend here for his ship."

Axios was confused and pointed at himself. "Me?" he asked. "Why thank me?"

"Your ship is more advanced than the Star Fox ships and Cornerian fighters in almost every way. You're thruster modifications, your lasers; your ship makes the rest look like child's play. So, I worked with Slippy to reverse engineer all of your upgrades. The next generation of fighters will have the same features; thus improving the Cornerian aerial force."

Every one smiled at the good news, and Axios lowered his head. He was surprised that his technology was being copied for the greater good. He felt proud, but a question quickly surfaced in the back of his mind. "Speaking of which," Axios said, "has my ship been repaired yet?"

Slippy took his shoulder and pointed to a ship lock that was raised to the top of the hanger. "ROB!" Slippy called out. "Bring it down!"

The large ship lock lowered down to the ground level. Axios could not believe what he saw. The Nightshade had been completely rebuilt, and upgraded just like the rest of the Star Fox fighters. Its most noticeable feature is that its colors were different. The entire body was white and the wing connections were painted blue. He also noticed the Star Fox insignia on the side of the hull. "W-what the hell?" the surprised Axios softly asked.

The team smiled and Fox came up next to Axios. "She looks good doesn't she?" Fox asked.

Axios was dumbstruck. "Why is your insignia on my ship?" he asked.

"If you're going to fly with Star Fox, the least you can do is fly with our colors." Fox looked over his shoulder and the team nodded their heads at him. "Also, you might want this too." Fox held out his hand to Axios and was holding a Star Fox insignia pin. Axios looked at it and was completely speechless. "I think you've surely earned it."

Axios took the pin from his hand and stared at it for a bit. He then clenched his fist around it and held it close. He gave Fox a look of determination and pride. "When do we leave?" Axios said.

Fox turned to the rest of the team. "Get some rest." he said. "We're heading out in the morning."