The Scientist
Author's note: This is a freestanding short story in the same head canon as Kursed Beyond Redemption, since I wanted to get to know Panther better and plug a plot hole in KBR. Thanks to Kuairu for beta-reading.
So far so good, he thought as he walked across the empty lobby.
The clicking of his shoes on the marble floor echoed throughout the cavernous room, and he tried hard to keep his pace moderate, even though his heart was racing. He relaxed his facial muscles, attempting to look natural, but his large ears swivelled like radar dishes, expecting to pick up sounds of trouble. While he was of a predatory species, thanks to his slight build, he was definitely no prime specimen. Absentmindedly, he patted his coat, making sure that his 'life insurance' was still on his person.
"Good evening, Mr. Fanak," said the night watchman from behind the bullet proof glass. "Working late again I see."
"There's much to do and tight deadlines, the usual stuff," he replied, shrugged and swiped his wrist communicator in front of the security panel. "But the corporation is looking after me well, so I can't complain."
That was a complete lie of course, but the guard didn't know better. "Well, at least enjoy your weekend, Sir."
"Thank you!" He lifted his fez politely, waited for the doors to slide open, and then stepped out into the cool night air. A light drizzle was falling, so he pulled his coat closer around him, and walked across the mostly empty parking lot. Neon lights were reflecting off his sports car, so he briefly turned around and looked at the imposing building. From its perch high up on the roof, the Quango Quantumatics logo cast an eerie pale blue light.
The whole Quango system was rife with corruption and criminality, the business he had been working for being a prime example. It wasn't just that inferior quality products had cost lives, which had all been silenced with bribes. More seriously, banned weapons technology had been sold on the black market, while whistleblowers had vanished, after government officials had received a cut of the profits. People would kill for the secrets he had uncovered. In fact, his employer would kill him.
He shuddered, opened the car door and dropped down into the driver's seat of the low slung vehicle. After putting his light computer bag on the passenger seat, he pressed the start button. The dashboard screens lit up and the automobile's turbine engine spooled up behind him. He wanted to just mash the accelerator to the floor, but he couldn't look suspicious, so he drove off slowly. The engine whined impatiently, as if wanting more speed. Once out on the highways, he could finally open up the tap a bit.
When he hit the turnpike towards the city of Wellbourne's interplanetary spaceport, he turned on the vehicle's autopilot, and let the motorway's guiding system control the vehicle. He pulled out a tablet from his computer bag, paired it with the vehicle, and ran a number of diagnostics. If they had found out what data he had downloaded, they might try to hack the car, since a 'vehicle accident' would be such a convenient way to remove him and the evidence he had gathered. But this was what he was good at, and his analysis found nothing. He frequently did an old-fashioned check in the rearview mirror as well. Was there someone following him? Headlights appeared briefly, but disappeared again. He wasn't sure.
He exhaled, temporarily relieved, and leaned back in the comfortable leather clad seat. The data hidden securely on his person could be his death, but it was also worth enough money to secure his future, which meant taking on a new personality, and starting a new life.
Half an hour later, he arrived at the airport, and booked a parking spot for a week, consistent with the week's leave he had applied for and had been granted. He retrieved his small luggage from the trunk, used his wrist comm to approve the payment, and watched the parking system take control of the car and guide it to its designated spot. He watched it drive off with a sting of sadness; he was going to miss his drive even if it had only been a lease. He would never return to the vehicle from his faked holiday.
After a short hover shuttle ride from the parking complex, he stepped on a travelator to take him through the spaceport, which was the largest on planet Quango. Even this late at night, there was a hustle and bustle of activity. A quick check of an overhead display confirmed that QIST flight 6517 to the Arctos system was on time with a scheduled departure in two hours and ten minutes. That was the destination he had bought a ticket for, but not where he was going.
He took his time to browse through various duty free shops, wheeling his luggage behind him, using windows and mirrors to check for followers, did not feel safe. Heading into the gentlemen's, he discreetly looked for security cameras. It seemed like common decency had prevailed, because he found none. Ideally he would have liked to pull out his tablet and scanner to check for wireless signals, but that would be a dead giveaway if there in fact was anyone watching.
There were some people coming and going, but not many, so he slipped into a stall. After quickly removing his hat, coat and shirt, he also pulled off the ear extenders and removed his tinted contact lenses. Then he took out a small canister and a mirror out of his cabin luggage. While someone flushed in a nearby stall, the loud noise echoing off the tiled walls and floors, he closed his eyes and sprayed the contents over his fur. Using the mirror, he watched as the compound he had previously worked into his pelt reacted with the gas from the canister, and the fur changing from straw coloured to a silvery grey. The transformation from fennec fox to snow fox in summer pelt was complete.
Finally he took off his wrist communicator, crushed it under his shoe, and flushed it down the toilet together with the canister and the fake ears. He fitted a new wrist comm and put his clothes back on, while turning his coat inside out-one of the oldest tricks in the galaxy-to change his appearance in an instant. He exhaled a breath of relief as he exited the restrooms...
Only to bump into two buff hyenas. His heart froze, as he knew damn well the ruthless species were frequently employed as security guards and more, the bulges in their designer suits giving away where their blasters were concealed. He tried to act naturally and offered an apology. They pushed past him without a word.
The spaceport's speakers announced the check-in for a flight to Richmount on planet Kew, a shorter intra-system route. A wallaby greeted him with a wide smile at the counter and scanned his comm to confirm his identity.
"Thank you, Herr Konrad Weiss," she beamed at him. "I hope you have a pleasant flight."
Good thing the authorities don't know how easily the digital passports can be hacked, he thought. Then again, they probably did know but turned a blind eye as long as whoever wanted a fake identity paid enough. Going through security was a nervous moment, but as expected the memory units made from carbon nanotubes and polymers got through the metal detectors unnoticed. Walking towards the gate, there was an announcement over the speakers.
"Could Mr. Kumal Fanak on QIST flight 6157 please head to the service desk, thank you."
That was the name he had gone under for the past few years, but no more. They were on to it, but he turned his back on Quango Quantumatics, Wellbourne, and his previous life, and boarded his flight. A stewardess showed him to his designated seat, and he tried not to be too anxious, but he didn't relax until the spaceship reached escape velocity. The view outside the window turned black, and he could look down at planet Quango and the thin blue line that was its atmosphere. A tall maned wolf came around offering refreshments, and he graciously accepted the cheap wine. Anything to settle his nerves would do.
This was a new beginning.
He waved a black paw in front of the control panel and the near opaque panel of glass turned semi-transparent, letting the rays of the rising Lylat sun through. The pupils in his yellow eyes quickly adapted and turned into slits, letting him enjoy the view outside. He had not grown tired of it yet and thought he never would. He was surrounded by tall buildings glistening in the morning light, but none tall enough to block the view of the bay and the ocean in the distance, where half of the fiery orb that was Lylat has risen above the horizon. Corneria City was waking up far below him, people starting to emerge and mill about on the streets and avenues, while plenty of vehicles zoomed around on the motorways.
So different this was to the dark and dirty Sargasso Station on the backwaters of space, where resources and room were scarce, and the worst scum of the Lylat system would seek refuge. Even though Wolf O'Donnell ruled with an iron fist, the next fight was never more than a careless word away. He didn't miss it. After their smart move in the Anglar Wars, Star Wolf had risen to glory as the new Heroes of Lylat, whereas Fox McCloud slunk away, tail between his legs, doing whatever he did.
Panther Caroso didn't care. They were the new favourites, and received plenty of remuneration from the Cornerian Army to keep crime and unrest at bay in Lylat. Sometimes, those incidents were even instigated by contacts they had through Sargasso, but so what? It was good for their own business and wealth, while the belligerents would receive a cut of the revenue to keep their mouths firmly shut. Hence, Star Wolf was to their own surprise, living a life in luxury. They still took turns returning to Sargasso, keeping things there in check. Else he would have been more than happy to see the back of it.
He turned inside instead, and took in the view of the exquisite master bedroom in the suite. The furnishing was of highest quality, the artwork tasteful, and the bed huge. A slender ginger haired feline occupied one half of the bed, sleeping on her back with only the sheets only pulled up over her, offering Panther a thinly veiled view of her delicate curves. Next to her, a retriever with long and curly golden hair was sleeping on her side, a paw resting on the cat's stomach. Their clothes were spread on the soft carpet, as were several empty bottles of sparkling wine.
It had been a late night, and a pretty wild night, just like a few previous encounters with the pair. He had met them, two best friends, at a party to celebrate the end of the Anglar Wars. The two young women were nearly insatiable, but he had stamina to match. If he was honest with himself, however, the girls were probably as interested in each other as in him, but he didn't care. He just left that little detail out when retelling his amorous adventures to whomever wanted to hear.
Something stirred below his waistline, but so did the ginger cat. She moaned and rolled over, so he used the control panel to darken the windows again. He had business to attend to, but there was no need to wake up the ladies. They could use the hotel suite for as long as they desired. With a bit of luck, they'll still be here when I get back, he thought with a smirk, and walked out of the bedroom on his silent cat's paws, closing the door behind him.
He made his way to the living room with its kitchenette, and quickly made himself a protein shake to start the recovery from last night. He thought he would whip up some good breakfast in bed for his admirers as well. He knew just how to do that. Sitting down on a barstool at the granite top kitchen island, he picked up the Luna Stone Hotel branded tablet that belonged to the penthouse suite. He skimmed through the restaurant menu and ordered an assortment of juices, yoghurts, fruits, toast and eggs several ways, as well as some favourites of his bedmates: sashimi for the feline and bacon for the canine. He finished with coffee and some breakfast to go for himself.
Then he picked up his communicator and checked his messages and appointments. The meeting at the CDF base was in just under two hours. Plenty of time, although he did wonder what it was all about. Wolf had been a bit coy, even more so than was usual for him.
The suite was really like a luxury apartment, including a main bathroom equipped for the convenience of several different species. He stepped into the shower, but instead of just turning the water on, he selected the shower head with the imitation tongue. The plush yet coarse surface did an excellent job of removing loose hair, while a gentle flow of steam deep cleansed his pelt. He spent ages grooming himself, while sighing with pleasure.
Once he was done, he stepped out of the shower and pulled on a pair of underpants, checking his reflection in a full length mirror. His black fur was no longer matte, but possessed a shine of polished ebony. Playing with his pecs, he felt a sudden urge to wake up the women to show them his muscular body and more again, but it had to wait. Later!
He donned a freshly starched shirt and the Star Wolf uniform, which they wore whenever they did not need their flight suits. Leon had rolled his eyes as only he could at Panther's idea, and Wolf had huffed and puffed, but then let Panther have his way. It seemed like Wolf had started loosening up a bit, since their victory in the war. Panther had overseen the design. To him, appearances were important, and he didn't want them-Corneria's new heroes-to run around looking scruffy like that Fox.
"Morning, Commander!" A security guard saluted him as he exited the suite, and he nodded in reply. Another guard greeted him on the way to the elevator, where a third one waited, having already ordered a car for him. The security might seem excessive, but there were still some people who hated them though, both old enemies and those loyal to Star Fox. Even though the bounties on the Star Wolf members had been officially nullified, there were those who wanted to see them dead. Panther felt safer staying at a few different hotels when they were on Corneria, rather than in a house out in the suburbs. A moving target is harder to hit, he thought as the elevator whooshed down its shaft.
Yet another guard saluted him as he reached the basement carpark. The Doberman kept a keen eye on a little Dachshund wearing the hotel restaurant's uniform, who with tongue hanging out and skinny tail wagging at frenetic frequency, handed Panther his breakfast and coffee. A valet driver arrived with Panther's vehicle. Even with his hands full of sustenance, the black cat dropped into the driver's seat of the low slung sports car quite gracefully. The valet beamed Panther a wide smile, and closed the gull wing door. It was really quite old fashioned with personnel in the garage, since the vehicle could drive itself, but he didn't mind the pampering.
He entered his destination into the navigation system, and engaged the auto-pilot. While the vehicle traversed the criss-cross of Corneria City streets, he munched his food, while skimming through the latest news on the head-up display. But as soon as he reached the highway, he set the anti-collision system to its most lenient setting, and took manual control of the car. Whenever there was a big enough gap in traffic, he gripped the wheel hard and mashed his right foot to the floor. The superconductors would unload on the electric motors, letting the power and traction of the all wheel drive push him hard into the backrest. Toys were meant to be enjoyed after all.
All too soon, the CDF base came into view.
After parking his vehicle, clearing security while receiving more salutes, and being escorted by CDF soldiers through endless corridors, Panther finally arrived at the office of Joint Chief Peppy O'Hare. A middle aged doe sat behind a large desk, and her long ears flicked Panther's way as he made his entrance. Her large eyes focussed on Panther, staring at him over the reading glasses perched above her nose, but her face did not have the frightened expression of a herbivore facing a predator.
"Commander Caroso, a pleasure to meet you," she said in a voice that said the opposite.
"Likewise and good morning," he replied. One of the old guard. Star Fox worshippers, and Star Wolf haters. Ah well, at least there are not many of them. She offered no further pleasantries, so he continued, "I'm here for a meeting with the General."
"Please follow me. Commander O'Donnell is already present."
Wolf had been to Sargasso for a few days to sort out some internal dispute between two Ruffians gangs. "A union meeting," as he had joked. Panther assumed Wolf flew his Wolfen straight to the CDF base afterwards.
The doe rose from her seat and led Panther down another short corridor, walking without the slightest sway in her hips. She stopped outside a meeting room and opened the door immediately after knocking on it. Panther followed her inside. Three individuals sat around a large octagonal table with a holo projector in the middle. Wolf-still dressed in his flight suit sans metal studs-simply gave Panther a quick nod. Peppy was dressed in his Cornerian Army uniform, but had placed his cap on the table, and was busy cleaning his glasses with a cloth. With their back to Panther sat a person with long, curly and jet black hair. He wondered if her face would be as gorgeous as that hair. The person stood up, turned around and stretched out a hand. 'Not bad,' Panther thought before his brain froze.
"Ah, Panther Caroso, an honour to finally meet you in person," said the tall poodle with a deep, male voice and shook Panther's hand quite firmly. "My name is Jackson Peters."
"Pleasure, Mr. Peters," was all Panther managed to reply. He could swear that Wolf had a little smirk on his muzzle, enjoying that his wingman nearly put his foot in it.
"Please, just say Jackson."
Panther took a seat between Jackson and Wolf, noticing that the doe was still present in the room.
"May I bring you gentlemen any beverages?" she said in a voice that said she'd rather not.
"Yes, a cup of tea please," said the poodle. "Earl Bill if you have."
"Coffee, as black as Panther!" Wolf's voice was raspy, and there were dark rings around his eyes from lack of sleep. Panther thought he could see a few new white strands on the cheeks, the white from his muzzle spreading across the rest of his boss's face.
"And for you Commander Caroso?"
"I'm good, thank you." Panther still felt nicely alert from the coffee he'd already had. The doe glared at him as if he definitely wasn't good, but then she left the room.
"So, whatcha got for us, Peppy?" Wolf turned to the General as soon as the door had closed. Jackson cocked an eyebrow at the lack of formality, but Peppy didn't seem to notice. Panther couldn't help to admire the hare's relaxed coolness and down to earth manners; power certainly hadn't gone to his head, as it had for some other stuck-up Cornerian officers that he had met.
"A mission that will require discretion and swiftness. Jackson, could you please give us the brief?"
The poodle used his tablet to dim the lights and switch on the holographic projector over the table. An image of planets orbiting a star appeared, but Panther could immediately tell that it was not Lylat.
"This is the Quango System," Jackson explained. "It is located two point six parsecs from Lylat in the general direction of the Canis Majoris constellation. That's about a three-week one way trip by our best FTL drives. A fairly ordinary binary system, with a mix of rocky planets and gas giants orbiting a central star, followed by a small white dwarf star. It's nowhere as complex as Lylat, but there are two planets within the goldilocks zone, and one on the limit, all three being populated."
He started a slide show, presenting a series of images of mountains, seas, forest, deserts, populous cities, and spacecraft.
"The two main planets are the slightly bigger and wetter planet Quango, as well as planet Kew, which in many ways is similar to Corneria. Ethon is closer to the central star, very arid and scarcely populated. There isn't a great deal of unity in the Quango system, with each planet divided up in many smaller units with local governments. Technologically, they're a decade or two behind us. Criminality and racism is widespread, between species that we're familiar with here in Lylat, as well as a group of so-called marsupials; kangaroos, wallabies and wombats and whatnots."
"Thanks for the geography lesson." Wolf yawned. "But why are we interested in them?"
"The Aparoid Invasion and Anglar Wars have shown us with all necessary clarity, that the next threat can come from anywhere. We need to be prepared for anything, and that means gathering intel and technology from wherever we can."
The slide show ended and the lights turned back on. With perfect timing, the secretary delivered their beverages, and quickly vanished again as silently as she'd arrived. Jackson took a sip of his tea and smacked his lips with content, then turned to face Panther.
"We've had a handful of operatives and informers in the Quango system for a few years, and have recently established relations with governments on planet Kew. Something interesting has just popped up. A scientist who has worked several years for one the system's largest weapons manufacturers-Quango Quantumatics-applied for political asylum in Richmount on Kew, fearing for his life because of things he knows about the corporation. The local government worked too slow, as public institutions do, so the scientist has vanished again, but I've been told you are the right person to track him down, Caroso."
"But why would we bother, if our technology is more modern than theirs?"
"This scientist claims to know of extremely advanced and destructive weapons, which he didn't not want to hand over to the corporation he worked for, knowledge from his claimed home world." He paused and studied Panther with a curious look. "Cerinia!"
The name hit Panther like a slap in the face. Krystal! His thoughts filled with the face of the glorious blue vixen, who he had flirted with, stolen from Fox McCloud, and seduced... or rather tried to seduce. Panther was well aware of his assets-his charm and physique-and took full advantage of it. Women would fall to his feet wherever he went, but Krystal had been different. Love with her had been on her terms, but it had only made him want her more and double his efforts. Then she had left him heartbroken.
"I believe you knew a Cerinian?" Jackson's gaze was firmly locked on to Panther, studying his reaction closely.
"Yes, of course, we were close. She revealed a few things to me. I'm sure you know what she could do-jet boosts, fireballs, ice blasts, and quakes-and that was just with that Cerinian staff of hers." He had never seen her in action with it, only some footage, but he hoped it sounded convincing. "What she told me only scratched the surface of their knowledge, of course. I do wonder where that staff went."
"Supposedly it was lost when the Great Fox crashed into the Aparoid Homeworld." Jackson glanced at Peppy, who in turn avoided eye contact and was looking at a laptop computer with intent. "I would have loved to study it, but who knows what we can learn from a Cerinian scientist."
"But why Star Wolf, why do you want me to track him down?"
"Because we want it to be a discrete and small-scale undercover mission. Officially you will be sent as an emissary to Kew, for the purpose of establishing diplomatic relations."
"The system is also quite rife with crime and small warlords," Wolf mused. "You'll fit right in."
Panther rolled his eyes at his boss. "Okay, so when do I leave?"
"At 2200 hours," said Peppy with sudden authority.
Damn, there goes that night with the ladies. Panther tried hard to keep a straight face.
"We need to act fast, before the trail goes cold," continued the General. "The distance is on the limit of what the Orbital Gate can handle, even for a small ship. You've acquired a frigate of our smallest type, with just enough cargo room for your starfighter, and you'll be travelling with a crew of four including yourself. Still, it will take some time to calibrate the gate for the vast distance, so that's the earliest departure time."
"Go and buy yourself some nice suits, you're gonna need them," said Wolf. "I want you packed and ready at the Star Wolf Centre by 2000 hours. Your Black Rose will be loaded onto the frigate during the day, and you'll meet your crew there."
"This contains further background information on Kew, as well as details about contacts, and time and place for the first diplomatic meeting." Jackson handed Panther a tablet. "That concludes the briefing. I'm sure Wolf and yourself have plenty of things to organise, so I will not keep you. Godspeed Commander."
Panther half expected Wolf to make some sort of protest, but he let them be ushered out of the meeting room without fuss, leaving Peppy and Jackson alone to keep discussing whatever secret business they had. The secretary showed up on cue, and led the mercenaries out of the General's office. Panther tried to gauge his boss, but Wolf had a poker face on his muzzle.
When they were out of earshot, he finally spoke. "We'd better watch out for that Jackson. I have sources who claim that he belongs to SIRIUS."
Panther cocked an eyebrow. "Never heard of that."
"It's short for Strategic Innovation, Research, Intelligence and Utility Section. A very secret faction of the CDF, which obviously doesn't officially exist. Their job is to perform espionage and various black ops, all the dirty work that's not allowed to be traced to Corneria. They caused Venom a lot of grief during the Lylat wars; spies disappeared, research facilities were destroyed seemingly by accident and so on. Andross himself was on their track, but could never pin them down."
"So, is it good or bad news for us?" Few things phased the jungle cat, but this made him slightly uneasy.
"I don't know. But for now, it doesn't hurt being in their good books. Also, there's this." Wolf handed his wingman a small memory unit. "Plug it in."
Panther obeyed, pulled out the tablet he'd been given and connected the memory unit. A star chart over Lylat including the outer regions appeared. A green line showed the direction to the Quango system. "What's this?" There was a series of blue dots that crossed the system, looped around a deep blue vortex on the outskirts, then ran parallel with the green line for a while before disappearing.
"They are the last known pings from a tracking device Leon had put on a ship." Wolf had a coy smirk on his face. "The Cloud Runner."
Panther stopped dead in his tracks, and his heart skipped a beat. That was Krystal's ship, which supposedly had vanished without a trace. The memory was a very painful one.
"People hate me, I can't win," she had lamented.
"But we won the Anglar Wars," he had replied. Sure, he had heard that Cornerians called her a traitor, and they had deceived Star Fox, but he was too busy to bask in his newfound glory to see her despair. Officially she had gone missing in action during a reconnaissance flight, but he always thought-hoped-that she's upped and left, and that she was still alive somewhere. He'd never forgiven himself.
Now there was this. "Why haven't you told me before?"
"Because I knew you would run after her. I'd already lost too many good pilots, including Krystal. I couldn't afford to lose another." Wolf sighed deeply and he seemed to stare into space for a moment, perhaps recalling memories. "Maybe I'm going old and soft or something. The mission comes first of course, and I'll lynch you if you come back empty handed." He suddenly thrust a clawed finger into Panther's chest, a stern look on his face for a moment, before his expression softened. "But I insisted on you going instead of Leon, just in case you find something, even just a trace of her."
Panther's head was spinning, the image of her perfect face, petite muzzle and blue shoulder length hair occupying his inner eye. He'd do anything to see her again, and suddenly was very eager to get going.