Hoppsfamilyfarm: Jst spoke to our daughter Judy + confirmed she is safe. V scary times. A reminder to value ur family. Thoughts + prayers out to Zootopia.

"I'm going to give you one last chance," said Carmelita, "to tell me you're kidding."

They had found a meeting room. Though presumably intended for discussions of military strategy, it was oddly mundane for its location. There was a map on one wall, with the Zootopian metropolitan area meekly peeking out from the southwest corner. But otherwise, it was just a long table surrounded by chairs. A boardroom which could have plausibly been in any government building.

The others would arrive soon. So Carmelita had only a few moments to fold her arms and glare disbelievingly at Bentley.

"I assure you," he said, "I confirmed it every way I could think of. But all the evidence fits together. I even determined the one he's using, it exactly matches the-!"

"Okay, okay." Carmelita glanced up. Nick and Judy were at the door, and she answered their silent question with a nod. They entered, soon followed by Fox and Murray and Sly. "Then I suppose you should tell everyone else."

"Yeah, what's happening?" Nick took a seat, flanked by Judy and Sly. "You sounded serious."

Carmelita watched Fox sit on the other side, and Murray awkwardly try to sit across two of the comparatively small chairs near the end. Almost reluctantly, she took her place at the head of the table. "Bentley… thinks he's found where Andross is working from."

"That's great." Sly settled onto his chair, tucking his legs up on the seat in a position that did not look, but nonetheless was, comfortable. "What did you get?"

"Um…" Bentley wheeled closer to the table, and unprompted, Fox moved a chair out of his way. He set his laptop down between Fox and Carmelita, hesitated, and spoke. "Space."

There was a pause.

"What?" said Murray.

"Space. They're in space."

"Oh," said Murray. "Yeah, that's what I thought you said."

Another pause.

Judy's voice cracked. "Space?!"

"Hear him out," said Carmelita, her voice rising over the hubbub that was about to break out. "He has evidence." She glanced to him. "Don't you?"

"Of course."

With two clicks, Bentley had activated the room's overhead projector - again, mundane, a brand popular with schools - and was displaying an image on the blank wall behind Carmelita.

"This," he said, "is one of the data fragments I was able to recover from Andross' systems. As you can all plainly see-"

"Bentley," said Sly, "this is just a solid wall of numbers."

"Okay, as maybe Lieutenant McCloud can see, it's a series of geographical co-ordinates."

"Yes!" Fox's smile faltered as he looked more closely. "Except… they're all too high."

"Exactly. I noticed that myself. I believe these co-ordinates describe the location of a satellite in the planet's orbit. And that's where Andross is working from."

"Hold on, hold on." Nick frowned. "All you found was a… line in the sky. What made you immediately jump to 'space station'?"

"If you'd let me finish?"

He flicked on to a new slide.

"This is one of several unsettling devices Andross has been using. A combination of his own lifelong work and some posthumous input from Clockwerk."

"Bentley, you're just showing us numbers again. Although there's a picture of a tube, now…"

"It's not a tube, Sly. It's some sort of… accelerator. Think of it like a cannon, albeit one with the capability to also recall the object it ejects."

"A boomerang cannon," said Murray. "Got it."

"This device would be capable of generating almost instantaneous speeds… but only in the right circumstances. For one, the object being accelerated needs to be attuned to its specific frequency."

"Like a horrible, scary jet," said Judy. "Which just shows up and disappears without a trace."

"Precisely. I'm glad you're all following along. But there would also need to be enough empty space, in a straight line, between the accelerator-"

"Boomerang Cannon," said Sly.

"Between the Boomerang Cannon," sighed Bentley, "and its target. Far more space than exists between Zootopia and here. The only two data points we have, aside from, well…"

"Space."

"What you're suggesting," said Carmelita, "is that Andross' main base of operations is above us. And that ugly bird was able to appear and disappear so quickly in Zootopia, and here, because it was being shunted back and forth from a space station."

"That's correct."

"That sounds," said Nick, "fake. But I guess you'd know more about it than me."

"Yes. I would."

Bentley flicked on to a new slide. This one was slightly clearer, showing the blueprints for a large building that looked like a bulky box with a circular core.

"Since you clearly need more evidence, Officer Wilde, I'd like to present Bolse Defence Outpost. This was-"

"Oh, I know this!" said Judy. "It was a multinational project proposed several years ago - well, decades, more like. It actually got really far into the design process, and had even been launched into orbit with a skeleton crew so they could make sure it worked. But the funding ran out, and priorities changed in the space program, and everyone went home."

"I…" Bentley blinked. "Yes. That's all accurate."

Judy smoothed her ears back down sheepishly. "Um - a friend of mine back home wanted to be an astronaut."

"And a story about millions of dollars going nowhere does tend to stick in the memory, doesn't it?"

"So, what?" said Nick. "They left it up there?"

"What else would they do? It had a stable orbit, and removing it would cost even more money. Bolse has been hovering over our heads for twenty years. Everyone who knows about it assumes it's just an empty shell."

He pointed back to the schematics.

"But I found repeated references to it in Andross' files, and its current location would fit those co-ordinates. That's where he is. I'm sure of it."

"This is a difficult prospect," said Carmelita. "But I believe it. Good job."

"Thanks."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I am going to try," she said, "to focus on the practicalities, here. Let's start from the very, very questionable premise that we all need to get out of the planet's atmosphere. Into… space." Her eyes fell on Fox. "How could we accomplish that?"

"Equipment is limited," he said. "There's still one jet here, and we should be thankful we have that much. We're not about to get anything else."

"Is it spaceworthy?"

"Maybe with the right modifications - ensuring that the cockpit is totally airtight, and a lot more power to the engines - it might reach the satellite. But there are two problems. It's not built for re-entry. It might go up, but I don't think it can safely come down."

"That's not a dealbreaker," said Sly. "There's gotta be another way on and off that station. I say we just steal our way home."

"Thank you," said Carmelita, "for contributing something relevant to a tactical conversation, for once."

"First time for everything." He turned to Fox. "And the other problem?"

"It's a fighter jet. There's only room for one pilot. And a small one at that."

"Yeah, that's an issue," said Nick. "It was cosy enough when me and Sly shared one. I doubt we could've even fit Carrots in with us."

"Don't be silly, Nick," purred Sly. "We can always make room for Ju-"

"Sly," said Carmelita, "you have officially squandered your right to contribute to this discussion."

"I have no regrets."

"Bentley, is there any way of getting all of us up there using only one jet?"

He frowned. "Well, the key issue, obviously, is survivability. We'll have to pass through the vacuum of space to reach our destination. If we don't take the proper precautions, we'll literally be dead on arrival."

"Yes," she said. "Yes, we would…"

"But assuming we accomplish that, we shouldn't push our luck. One, maybe two people could reach the satellite in that jet. So that's what we should do."

"Woah, woah." Sly shot a quick glance to Carmelita. "Wait, sorry, I know I'm banned from talking-"

"Are you kidding?!" said Judy.

"Okay, she'll say it."

"We've only got seven people here," she continued. "Unless you called in any reinforcements?"

"I didn't," said Bentley guardedly. "Our allies are either very far away or trapped in Zootopia."

"So there's only seven of us. And you want to cut that down even further?"

"I don't. But we have to be sensible about this."

"Uh…"

"He has a point," said Carmelita, "though I don't like it either. For starters, we'd have to pick which two people get to go."

"Guys, I…"

"Me and Fox," said Sly immediately. "He'll fly us, I'll get us through the base. There. Solved it."

"You're only saying that because-!"

"Hey!"

They all looked up, suddenly, and Murray wilted under their combined gaze.

"Oh jeez. Uh. Sorry."

"On the contrary," said Bentley. "If you have a suggestion, the floor is yours."

Murray glanced at Carmelita - who realised she was probably glaring and tried to seem more receptive - before continuing. "Right. Thanks. So, like… me and the guys can't swim. At all."

Nick quietly snorted and Sly punched him on the arm.

"So once I was thinking," continued Murray, "that maybe the Van could swim instead?"

His huge hands fidgeted as he spoke.

"I don't have a slideshow for this, but, y'know… I did think about it. I decided against it, because when we're on the road we kinda, like. Live in it. But the Van has survived some weird stuff just fine. It wouldn't take that much effort to make it completely airtight. The main problems were that you can't really fit a big air supply in there, and also, like, the water pressure would be dangerous. But if we were just taking it through space for a hot minute, neither of those would really come up, right?"

He rubbed at his neck.

"So yeah. Maybe we could, like, duct-tape the Van up real good, and tow it with the jet? That way we could get everybody up to the space station. If it worked."

He coughed.

"Thanks."

The others glanced between themselves. Bentley was the first to speak. "I remember those plans of yours, Murray. A huge factor in discarding them was your unwillingness to risk the Van. Has that changed?"

"Bentley," said Murray, "you know that van is my baby. But all babies must grow up… even face their mortality. And if my child goes out in a fireball, high above the planet it seeks to protect, then that will be a death worthy of Valhalla."

"Love the sentiment," said Nick, "except for how we'd all be inside that fireball."

"Nick's right," said Carmelita. "I would need a full guarantee of safety before I let anyone take a van to space. I'm not convinced."

"Oh," said Murray. "Yeah, no, that's fine. Sorry."

"Big guy, you have got to stop apologising."

Sly leaned forward in his chair, eyes sharp.

"No-one knows that Van better than Murray. And he has an impeccable talent for keeping me alive. If he thinks it'll work, it'll work." He met Carmelita's gaze with an unbreakable smile. "I vote Space Van."

"Your confidence is noted, and adorable," said Carmelita. "But the answer's still no."

Judy planted a paw on the table. "Darn it!" she said. "I agree! I also vote Space Van!"

Nick boggled. "Carrots, no!"

"Carrots yes! We have to work with what we have. This is a ridiculous problem, and if it needs a ridiculous solution, well…!"

Sly's smile grew. "Looks like demand for Space Van is surging! That's three. One more vote, and we have a majority."

Carmelita wasn't smiling. "This isn't a democracy."

"It isn't? Then what's the point? What makes this table any better than Andross?"

"Fine. Have your vote."

"Thank you."

"Felons are disbarred."

"That's - hey, wait, no!" Sly's ears shot up. "You're joking!"

"You wanted democracy. This democracy practices felony disenfranchisement. Judy's vote remains valid. Yours, Murray's and Bentley's do not."

"I hadn't even voted!" protested Bentley.

"Thank you, Madame Inspector," said Nick, "for showing strong leadership. Sorry, Carrots, now it's three to one."

"Actually," said Fox, "I like this idea!"

"…I'd say 'You're kidding', but I know you never do."

"I think it could work! The jet would be able to support a vehicle like that with the right rigging." He smiled. "So it's two to two."

"Well," said Nick, "that's still-"

"Nick?"

He turned. "Carrots?"

"Carmelita said anyone who committed a felony can't vote."

"And?"

Judy smiled. It was a small, sweet, innocent smile. A harbinger of death. "Felony tax evasion."

There was a moment of silence as Nick Wilde's soul slowly left his body. He sank back into the chair. Destroyed.

"Two against one," sang Judy. "Justice prevails for Space Van."

"Well, what do you know?" said Sly. "The system works after all!"

"Enough!"

Carmelita's fist slammed into the table. And instantly, the air in the room went cold.

"How any of you children manage to accomplish anything is beyond me. This isn't a game! And we don't have time to sit around and joke about this."

Her eyes burned. The authority in her voice was unquestionable.

"I'm the closest thing this pathetic excuse of an outfit has to a leader. If I say no, that means no! I'm trying to stay on target, here. I'm trying to approach this properly. Because if we don't, there's no second chances." There was a snarl to her tone. "If you keep treating this as some vacation, I can't be held responsible when some of you - all of you! - die."

When she stopped talking, there was nothing to fill the gap. No rhythmic banter. Silence crept in and settled.

Carmelita retrieved her fist from the table. She had barely felt the impact.

She fixed her hair and closed her eyes and took a breath. One breath. Short. She was in charge of the situation.

When she opened them, she kept her eyes on the table for a moment. Her expression was controlled. She looked like she was just in thought. Calm and focused.

Finally - unwillingly - she checked on her team.

Most were on the defensive. Murray seemed smaller, Judy's ears were down, and Fox - still professional - betrayed his feelings similarly, his ears slightly tucked back. Bentley was very pointedly looking at his laptop, as though just waiting this out. Sly was defiant. He met her gaze with that same glassiness, that same eerie anger, that had been weighing on her so much lately.

But what really caught her attention was Nick's expression. He didn't seem sad, or angry. With the slightest twitch of his eyebrow, he spoke to her.

Not a leader?

Carmelita, caught off guard, stared back. And then she sighed.

After a moment to order her thoughts, she spoke. "I don't want to yell like that again," she said, and meant it. "I'm sorry. I'll be better about my temper. But can we please save any jokes for later?"

There was a quiet murmur of agreement. Carmelita glanced to Nick, who gave her a nod and a ghost of a smile. All the encouragement she needed.

"Murray." She turned her attention to the other side of the table. "Your idea isn't bad. My problem is your lack of certainty. Can you really modify the Van that way?"

"I think so?"

She shook her head. "I need a yes or a no. Take the time you need to think about it. We can wait."

Murray lapsed into a silence, eyes on the floor. And then his fists lightly hit the table. When he spoke, it wasn't the shaky voice of his early years. "The Murray will not rest until that van is safe and spaceworthy!"

The atmosphere in the room immediately lightened. It felt easier to breathe. Carmelita seized the new energy, pushing forward. "That's great. But more time spent on the Van means less time spent on the jet. Do we just accept we could be stuck here for a few days? Or does anyone have ideas on how to - safely - speed things up?"

"Actually," said Bentley, "I've just had an idea."

"Please, go ahead."

"It occurs to me that we may be able to use Andross' own inventions against him. A device as power-intensive as the, uh… Boomerang Cannon… leaves behind a replicable energy signature. And with only one object attuned to that frequency - namely, the Clockwerk Jet - there's no security programming in regards to synchronization. In other words…"

Carmelita noted his smile was extremely devious. She was glad that wasn't her problem any more. Quite the opposite.

"We can hack it."

"Wonderful!" said Fox. "If we can tap into that energy ourselves, we can focus our modifications on safety instead of engine power! That's a great plan."

"It is," said Carmelita, her voice far more measured, "but I'm afraid I don't understand the technicalities."

"Trust me, no-one else does," said Sly good-naturedly.

"Walk us through it, Bentley. I assume you'll do the bulk of the work, but is there anything we can contribute?"

"As it happens," he said, "I'll need more data if I'm going to try to piggyback on the Cannon. And what I'm looking for may be hard to find. Our best bet of nailing down the frequency is if we install a series of signal-boosters in a wide perimeter of this location. Although I appreciate that's mostly dense forest, or mountainous terrain…"

"No problem!" said Judy, leaning forward. "Me and Sly can handle that."

"Absolutely," agreed Sly. "I'd love to help out. Especially if it boils down to me and Judy sharing a nice hike…"

"I object in the strongest possible terms," said Nick from between them, flatly.

"Objection overruled," said Carmelita, giving him a brief smile. "This is a good division of labour. Bentley, do whatever prepwork you need for those boosters, then help Murray and Fox modify the Van and that jet. Sly, Judy, follow Bentley's instructions to the letter. I want everything set up as soon as possible." She looked around. "Who does that leave?"

"Me." Nick folded his arms. "I'd like to confirm the timeline, here. How long is this gonna take?"

Across the table, Bentley, Murray and Fox shared a look. "If we get a clear run at it," said Bentley, "I'd say we'd be ready to move by tomorrow morning." This earned a nod from Carmelita. Time was vital.

"Then I," said Nick, "am going back to the mess hall, sorting what's there into 'edible' and 'inedible', and pre-preparing seven units of breakfast. You'd be surprised at the difference that makes. This is already a ridiculous, impossible plan. I refuse to try it on an empty stomach."

"Yes," said Murray. "I'm glad someone at this table is thinking big picture."

"Agreed," said Carmelita. "We need to be in the best possible shape. Thank you for volunteering, Nick."

He shrugged. "I'm no scientist. But squeezing nutrition out of subpar ingredients? This I can do." He caught the gentle smile Judy was giving him, and returned it.

"Excellent. That's everyone accounted for." Carmelita frowned. "Except me."

She took a moment to weigh her options. She had no technical expertise to speak of. She could easily keep up with Sly and Judy, but two people were already plenty for that task. She could continue trying to contact Interpol, but even if she got through, what would that achieve? Could Barkley really offer her anything more solid than this sad, desperate plan?

Carmelita locked eyes with Nick. "Hey."

"Uh, yeah…?"

"Would you, um…" She coughed. "There seemed to be a lot of supplies in the mess. Do you need any help?"

He blinked, but soon melted into a fresh smile. "Don't need it. But could definitely use it."

"Then I'm with you."

She looked around the table. Six pairs of eyes returned her gaze. Six mammals with renewed purpose. They were alone out here. Alone with each other.

"Well then." She gave them a smile. "Let's begin."