Chapter 19;"GDFR, Part 2"

"Krystal! Get Clear!"

Fox had involuntarily disconnected from the call as lasers were fired in all directions from what appeared to be a refurbished Androsa, but with a whole host of notable upgrades. It had more armor than what they had previously faced in the past, along with more weapons. Wherever Andrew got this thing from, it was not here to play.

Krystal was barely able to duck the shots, while Falco narrowly skirted the gap in between the shots. "Jeez, an Androsa?! Where the hell did Andrew get one of these things?! And how'd he upgrade the thing so much?!" Falco exclaimed, pulling his Arwing around as more drones flew from behind the flying tower of death.

"I've got no clue, Falco. But we've gotta take this thing down however we can," Fox growled as he tried to find an opening on the ship, ignoring the onslaught of drones heading his way as focused fire onto the cannons of the Androsa. To both his shock and horror, his lasers barely even dented the thick armor plating on the cannons.

All it did was make him a massive target.

Once his volley of lasers finished, Fox felt as if every cannon on the Androsa turned on him, before they each fired a volley of their own lasers. The vulpine grit his teeth and steeled his nerve, before pulling out all of the possible stops he could. Barrel rolls, loops, weaving, he could feel his fur standing on edge as he narrowly avoided each laser. After ducking and weaving for what felt like hours, Fox was about to breathe a sigh of relief, before his eyes caught a faint red glint. Judging by the flying red ball, it was a guided charged shot, ready to blow him out of the sky.

Fox began pulling more tight turns, but the shot followed his movements exactly, without any error. Fox found himself only able to brace for the shot, waiting for it to hit him before he could deal with the fallout.

The vulpine waited to feel the impact of a charged shot, only for it to never come. Looking back, he noticed that a green ball of death intercepted the red ball of death, the two colors joining to form a bright yellow explosion just behind Fox. The vulpine's jaw dropped in relief and surprise, before he saw a blacked-out Arwing speed by him, doing a quick barrel roll for show. Fox's brain pieced two and two together, before he was given the full answer in the form of a call.

Patching into the comms channel was Fara herself, a bright smile coating her lips and a scouter on her head as she waved to her onboard camera. "Fara? What are you doing up here?" Fox quickly asked.

The fennec chuckled. "You three are dogfighting over my company's headquarters, and I want in. You look like you could use a fourth anyhow."

"Yo, we got Big Ears in the sky again? How're you flyin' in a suit by the way?" Falco interrupted.

Fara looked down at herself for a second, remembering how quickly she tossed her flats off in favor of her spare set of steel-toed piloting boots, as well as quickly pulling on her fingerless piloting gloves. She looked like a business warrior at the moment, and smirked. "It's a bit uncomfortable, but I'll manage."

Locking eyes with the Androsa, Fara sighed as she spared a quick glance back at Fox. "By the way this thing looks Fox, you're going to need a really big gun to punch through the armor. Got any ideas?"

Fox smirked back. "Yeah, I've got a few."

~::::~

"I'm sorry, you do what?"

Both Miyu and Fay kept their eyes glued on Katt as the pink feline was busy filing her finger-claws on the couch. Katt simply shrugged her shoulders and looked at the duo, ignoring the TV as she put her claw file down. "Yeah, I sell my feet pics online. You two really didn't know this?"

Fay had become too shocked to close her mouth, while Miyu rapidly shook her head from side to side. "No, of course we don't know this! Why in the name of all the gods do you sell your feet pics?!"

Katt chuckled as she pulled out her phone, logging into her Just4U account, and opening up her metrics, hiding any inappropriate photos from Miyu and Fay. "Because it's stupidly easy, girl! I take pictures of my feet, post them online, and watch the credits come rolling in! I don't even get naked, I just wear what I usually wear every day! Look!"

"Katt, I'm not looking at your feet pics!"

"Not those, I'm talking about these metrics!"

Miyu took the risk of looking at the feline's phone, eyes quickly bugging out of her head as she saw a stream of credits and usernames. "Thespacedoge, 200 credits, VrAno, 250 credits, SauceGuyHimself, 400 credits, Kuairu, 500 credits, SpaceCat010, 1,000 credits, MrMcStabson, 2,500 credits?! Are you kidding me? People actually buy this stuff? And pay this much for it?"

Katt only nodded her head as she went back to filing her nails with a mischievous smirk, as Fay looked over Miyu's shoulder to notice the amount of hidden money rolling in. "Does Falco know about this? And do people know about you and Falco?" Fay innocently asked, prompting more giggling from Katt.

"Of course people know! But, that's never stopped anyone from fantasizing, now has it? And if I can make money off of people's fantasies, then you can call me the dream weaver."

"Katt, you know what your "supporters" do with these pictures, right?" Miyu asked.

"Yep. Like I said, dream weaver."

Miyu thought her mouth couldn't drop any lower before she noticed another tab right below how much Katt was making off of the pictures. "Chikushō, Katt! You do videos as well?! What is wrong with you?!"

"What? You know that we felines love to groom ourselves, right? The way I see it, I just groom two specific parts of my body and record it. You should see the money I make off of those," Katt replied with a sultry tone of voice.

"Yeah, I noticed, and it's still blowing my mind that people pay this much for this stuff."

There was a moment of silence before a mischievous smile cropped up once more on Katt's lips. "Say, I could cut you two in on a slice of this lucrative pie. What do you say?"

"No way!" Miyu and Fay shouted simultaneously, both wearing grossed-out expressions as Katt simply chuckled some more.

"You sure? I know people would kill for the whole tough tomboy and shy schoolgirl thing you two have going on here."

"Can we just drop this subject, please?" Fay begged, her face heating up from Katt's suggestion.

Miyu however huffed, adopting an angry visage. "Anyone who would buy those kinds of pics, or any kinds of pics from me, is just sad. And if they do what I know what they'd do with those pics and videos, then those people are sick and twisted in the head! They need to get a girlfriend in real life or something, and stop fantasizing about me!"

For some reason, Miyu suddenly snapped her head to the right and narrowed her eyes, before pointing her middle and index fingers at her eyes then directly in front of her. Fay quickly became confused, and looked in the direction that Miyu was pointing in, which was nothing but a sea of endless buildings outside of the bridge's windows.

"Uh, what exactly are you pointing at?"

"Oh, they know, Fay. They know."

"Emergency call from Fox McCloud, priority one," R.O.B suddenly called out, breaking the tense and inappropriate air on the bridge. Fay and Miyu breathed a sigh of relief while Katt simply shrugged.

"Put him up on the big screen, Robby," Katt ordered.

Fox's worried face quickly cropped up on the screen, his eyes only darting down fast enough to show that the call had connected. The trio could tell something was wrong, as Fox's camera had a slight shake to it a bit of static feedback on the video. "Guys, we've got a problem!"

"What's wrong, Fox?"

"It's Andrew! He's got an Androsa and a whole fleet of drones trying to destroy Space Dynamics HQ, and it's got layers of armor! Our lasers and bombs can't cut through it! You guys gotta bring the Great Fox around and see if we can punch a hole in the Androsa's armor with the MAC! We're running out of time here, so have R.O.B run a priority one route right now!"

The bridge barely had any time to react before Fox quickly dropped the call, the danger obviously real. "Fay, go get Slippy! Katt, we're getting airborne!" Miyu barked out, the three women taking their places. As Miyu ran around the bridge prepping for the sudden take-off, Katt quickly hailed the tower.

"Corneria Center, this is Katt Monroe of Star Fox requesting an emergency priority one route to Space Dynamics HQ! Emergency code is six-four-one-nine-nine-seven! Clear all air traffic ASAP!"

Katt could tell how shocked the tower was from the sudden call, the operator barely able to get on the line as he picked up the call. "U-uh, right! Emergency code cleared, we've cleared a path for you straight towards Space Dynamics! All of the air traffic in your path will be cleared out and told to divert their course! Good luck, and may the gods bless over you!"

The second that Katt disconnected from the call, the Great Fox's massive engines whirred to life, kicking up clouds of dust and smoke from the landing pad. Slippy quickly sprinted into the bridge a few moments later, with Fay trailing him close behind. The amphibian quickly ran through the diagnostics on all of the weapons at the dreadnought's disposal, before taking a seat at the head of the bridge. Katt, Fay, and Miyu all followed suit as the Great Fox began ascending into the sky.

~::::~

Even with Fara at their side, the fight was quickly becoming one of guerrilla assaults rather than head-on fights. There was no time to lose as each movement meant life or death. Fox understood this and constantly threaded the needle between shots from the Androsa, trying to find any weak point at all on the weapons at least. Flying for his life, Fox could not help but at least be impressed by Andrew's design. A flying saucer with armor as thick as a dreadnought combined with stealth capabilities, all on a shoestring budget? That was impressive at the very least, even if he was a maniacal dictator.

Fox quickly flew under the Androsa, praying for a blind spot. A laser suddenly rocked his Arwing, giving him his answer. The shields took the brunt of the shot, allowing Fox to breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Of course, the fight was far from done, and the news continued to worsen. The hit taken turned out to be devastating, as the laser nearly punched through his entire shield, draining it by half with just a single shot. Three shots in rapid succession would punch a hole clean through the Arwing. Where was Andrew getting his funding for lasers that powerful?

The vulpine tactically retreated to behind the Space Dynamics HQ, with Krystal, Falco, and Fara all following him. The second they were able to get a minor breather, Falco quickly hopped on comms. "As nice as it is t'have Big Ears back with us, I'd like to live for a celebration. Got a plan, Foxy?"

Fox huffed, keeping the Androsa in his sight as it began to move around to where the team was taking a breather. "Not one that we could pull off. A laser hit me, wiped out over half of my shield. It just got back up to sixty percent. This thing is big, powerful, and can go invisible. All we can do is wait for the others to show up in the Great Fox, see if our MAC gun can punch a hole in the armor." Fox quickly turned towards Fara, facing the businesswoman's face on his screen. "Fara, do you have any defenses left around the building?"

Fara thought for a moment before a pout crossed her lips. "Only the unmanned ones. They're pretty powerful, but nowhere near as strong as the manned ones…" The fennec quickly spared a glance towards the smoldering remains of a guard tower, now a pile of rubble and bodies. "…and those are unavailable right now. I'm going to have to attend a lot of funerals…"

Fox kept his eyes narrowed as he racked his brain for a plan. But the Androsa was closing in on the back of the facility rapidly. There was a small beat before the sound of the Androsa peeked Fox's ears. "We have to move, team! Fara, get any defenses you have left up and running, draw the Androsa's fire! Maybe we can disable one of its turrets!" A wave of head nods accompanied the vulpine's order, as the four Arwings shot off in an attempt to bring down this behemoth.

It was another dangerous dance of death as the four Arwings tried dodging everything the Androsa had. If one of them slipped up, it would mean certain death. The time spent dodging with no offense was quickly getting to Falco. As more bolts flew by the avian, he cut a hard left and banked towards the Androsa, looking for anything. Without Slippy present in order to analyze weak points on the ship, Falco took matters into his own hands.

"What are you trying to do, Falco?" Fox's concern resonated throughout the avian's cockpit as he kept trying to dodge the rapid-fire bolts being flung by the behemoth of a ship and drones gaining on his tail.

"Everythin' has a weak point, Fox. Even somethin' this big. All we gotta do is find it!" Falco punched it one last time, trying to move his eyes in separate directions as he flew by the ship.

As Falco was practically scraping metal, he noticed something glowing from behind one of the guns. A bright red light hidden behind layers of armor and moving parts. The avian's ship was suddenly rocked by a laser, nearly vaporizing both him and his shields. "Fox, I got it! There's this bright red light comin' from behind the guns, meaning it's gotta be some kind of battery or somethin'! Only problem is that they're guarded by layers of armor. We gotta somehow get close enough to where we can bomb the crap outta them without gettin' blown to pieces ourselves."

"Then that sounds like a job for Husky and Bulldog, dudes!"

The four pilots looked up to notice a squad of Interceptors and Swordfish bombers cresting the hills, with a certain grey-furred canine leading the pack. Fox could not believe his luck as he noticed Bill's face pop up on screen. "Bill! I'm glad you're here! Did you catch what Falco said?"

"Loud and clear, dude! You're in luck that reports came pouring in from locals that saw the fight! To be honest, you could see what's goin' down here from Corneria Square. Don't worry though, dude, we'll have these guns down as quickly as possible! All bombers, aim for the back of the turrets! All Interceptors, draw the fire away from the bombers and take care of those drones!"

Fox breathed a sigh of relief as the tide seemed to be turning slightly. The drones were ill-prepared for Husky and Bulldog coming in for support, along with Falco's incurable blood-lust. Despite the drones tagging a few fighters, they failed to down any of them as they were caught in a constant crossfire between Star Fox, Husky, Bulldog, Space Dynamics Piloting Reserves, and Space Dynamics automated security.

The sounds of explosions filled everyone's ears as the bombers quickly blew through the layers of armor guarding a few of the turrets. Finally, now the tide was fully beginning to turn. Like a predator eying hapless prey, Fox whipped his Arwing around, spotting one of the red lights that Falco had called out. Upon closer inspection, the red light turned out to be a battery cell powering the cannons. Given the size of the light, accurate shots were required. The targeting matrix on Fox's headset lit up, quickly locking onto where he had to aim. A grin spread across the vulpine's lips as he danced his finger over the trigger.

Click

Bright beams of green light flew from the mouths of the cannons on the Arwing, striking exactly where Fox's targeting matrix marked them. The red light was snuffed out, before quickly being replaced with an explosion that engulfed the entire cannon. Bright flames and black smoke shrouded Fox's vision for half a second, before he quickly flew out the other side, gaining a thin layer of soot on his craft.

Fox quickly gained the attention of the remaining drones, but it was not like he noticed. Husky Squad quickly downed any craft coming after Fox, allowing him, Falco, Krystal, and Fara to focus solely on the turrets.

"Alright, Bulldog, you're up! Take the rest of those turret's shields out!" Bill order was responded to in the form of multiple Swordfish Bombers lining up their shots for another bombing run as they each banked over the hills.

"Copy, Captain Grey. Bulldog Squad, get ready for a second barrage."

As soon as the call was made, A flurry of smart bombs flew from the mouths of the bombers, their guidance systems telling them where to strike. The bombs left a sweet pink trail as they zeroed in on their targets.

Bright flames suddenly erupted from the remaining turrets, their armor completely disintegrated thanks to the barrage. Despite how hard the drones tried to protect the Androssa, they were unable to defend the ship as Husky Squad had them on the backfoot, along with Space Dynamics turrets taking potshots at them.

"Alright, we've got a window! Let's take those turrets down!" Fox felt full of energy now, and he could tell that his wingmen felt the same. Shortly after the turrets were exposed, their batteries were sniped out by Fox, Falco, Krystal, or Fara.

The Androsa was now nothing short of a flying fireball, with the ship pockmarked by shots and fireballs. Fox wondered how it was still even airborne as it continued to hover over the headquarters. The question would not be answered as a pink portal suddenly appeared over the burning ship. Flashback to the Lylat Wars froze Fox in place, as he knew what that portal meant.

"Team, the ship is getting called back! We gotta take it out now!"

"We can't scratch the thing, Fox!"

"But we can!"

An ear-splitting boom pierced the air before a bright blue bolt cleaved through the Androsa. Now it was truly a fireball. "Aw, yeah! Direct hit!" Slippy's voice echoed through the comms, making an earnest smile crop up on Fox's mouth.

"Slippy! Great shot!"

"Thanks, Fox! Now, let's ground this ship!"

More blue bolts were fired from the massive cannon underneath the Great Fox, each one tearing a new hole in the massive ship. It was going to go down, and it seemed as if Andrew's forces knew that. The portal began to close, clearly determining the ship to be a lost cause.

An idea suddenly hit Fox as the portal slowly closed. "Krystal, fire a tracking beacon through the portal! Let's see if we can figure out where this thing came from!"

Krystal nodded as she cycled through her weapons system before she fired a tracker. Much like a smart bomb, the tracker exited the ship at breakneck speeds, with a green trail following it. The tracker's guidance systems steered it towards the rapidly closing portal before it slipped through just in the nick of time.

With the Androsa going down in flames, there were still a few straggling drones left behind. Something about these drones was different, however. They seemed to be enraged if that was even possible. They had gone for the throw-whatever-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks method, unleashing everything in their arsenal.

The sudden shift from robotic precision to blood-thirsty rage caught those comprised of flesh and fur off-guard for a second, sending them reeling on the back-foot as the drones began their assault. Fox quickly composed himself, scanning the battlefield and patching a line to a certain amphibian for a layout of the remaining fight and information. "Slippy, how many more crafts are present?" Fox's question was soon answered by the toad, with the vulpine being gratefully for Slippy's presence in battle once again.

"Just a handful of bogeys, Fox! But I'd be careful, Katt and I did a quick scan of these drones, and something must've tripped in their computers! They're doing whatever they can to win!"

"But that makes them sloppy," Fox interjected, growing a cocky grin as Slippy nodded.

"You got it! I'm shooting combat info to every possible scouter in the vicinity, this shouldn't take you more than a few minutes! Good luck!" With a ping, Slippy disconnected from the sudden call, letting Fox patch back into the main frequency the teams were using to coordinate the battle. It was clear that the drones were giving the group some trouble, but the newfound emotions were interfering with their accuracy, allowing a lot of would-be hits to slip away.

However, once Fox re-entered the battle, all eyes were on the leader of the mercenary team, including the drones. Whatever engagements the drones had, they quickly broke off and all engaged Fox. In a split second, a flurry of five red dots filled the vulpine's scouter, letting him know the speed, heading, payload, and class of each ship that was after him. They carried an almost suicidal pace to their approach, with Fox having to maneuver in order to avoid being rammed by crazed drones.

After a few barrel rolls in an attempt to dodge the ramming robots, Fox grew a wide grin as he noticed Fara's blacked-out Arwing zip towards him. "Fara, I've got a plan, are you game?"

Fara grinned as she looked towards her camera on her ship, staring directly into Fox's eyes. "What's the plan, Fox?"

"Over-Under."

The fennec's eyes went wide in surprise, before a steely yet excited glare crossed her face. "Let's do it!"

The vulpine nodded back before getting in touch with Husky One, watching as the husky's visor-covered face filled his screen. "Husky One, I need you and your team to draw fire from the drones! I have a plan, but I need them off my tail for this to work!"

The husky simply nodded on screen. "Roger, McCloud. We'll buy you some time." The call was disconnected as quickly as it came. Fox pushed the throttle as far as it could go, attempting to lose the drones as a few ships from Husky Squad tried to draw their fire. It worked, and it distracted the drones for long enough to allow Fox and Fara to slip behind the Space Dynamics HQ. They were only out of sight for a few seconds, but when they emerged, Fox had suddenly pinged his onboard emergency S.O.S beacon. Like gnats, the drones once more broke off engagements with the Husky squad and set Fox in their sights.

It was like the most dangerous game of chicken being played as the drones all shot directly towards Fox. If they only took a moment to think, however, they would have realized that they had already lost.

Moments before impact, Fox suddenly yanked back on his stick, angling his Arwing towards the sky to reveal Fara right behind him, who angled her craft downward while releasing a cluster of smart bombs, set to drift forward. The confusion of the drones was palpable as they practically short-circuited mid-air, giving Fox and Fara the time they needed to cut their engines. Drifting on momentum now, Fox angled downward while Fara angled upward, before the duo released a maelstrom of laser fire at the crafts still gunning forward.

The maneuver took less than half a second, but that's all the Sly Foxes ever needed. Caught between laser fire coming from above, laser fire coming from below, and a mobile minefield dead-ahead, there was next to no hope for the remaining drones. Laser fire tore any unfortunate cockpit asunder like the duo were skeet shooting, while the bombs caught any stragglers. To add to the confusion, Fox and Fara would occasionally restart their engines and cross over before cutting them again, switching from above or below before continuing to rain laser fire on the craft as well as keep the confusion at a fever pitch.

Try as they might, each of the remaining drones fell to the maneuver, lighting up the sky in a mix of green, red, and pink. The second the final drone turned into a free-falling fireball, celebratory cheers echoed throughout the testing grounds and what was left of Space Dynamics HQ. Fox let a sigh escape his muzzle. Another battle won, another day he gets to keep drawing breath. And now for the after-party.

~:::~

The quartet of Arwings gently came to a stop in the hanger after every other pilot had landed, ensuring a celebration was already underway. Falco popped his canopy, only to be greeted with raucous cheers as he jumped down and basked in the well-deserved limelight. Fox, Fara, and Krystal were all much more reserved, letting the blue avian wear himself out.

"Heh, dude always was the party animal, right?" The voice of Bill Grey quickly made itself clear as most if not all eyes were on Falco. Fox looked to his left and noticed the squad leader almost materialize right next to him, his visor open to reveal his emerald green eyes, not unlike Fox's own.

The vulpine was unable to reply as he noticed Bill's expression drop, his face losing the cheery attitude. After a long silence, Bill finally spoke up again, his voice void of joy. "They're holding a private funereal for Pepper finally. Tomorrow, at his plot. Family only. Figured I should let you know at the least, since Fay's gotta go there as well. Once this whole thing with Andrew is over, then we can visit." Fox deeply sighed as he turned to face Bill, the sadness of losing his General clearly impacting him. The fact that he knew it was going to be an empty grave only hurt him all the more.

For others, it would have shocking to see the commander of two of the most elite fighter squads in the entire CDF showing this much emotion, but to Fox, he was just talking to Bill Grey. Stoner and surf enthusiast. And best friend. Fox put a hand on his friend's shoulder, his sensitive ears picking up the sound of Bill's fists clenching tight. "Thanks, Bill. I know how close of a friendship you two had."

Bill nodded, loosening his fists as he looked over to the impromptu survivor's celebration occurring, eying two of his energetic pilots loudly celebrating their victory. "It's not just Pepper. I've lost way too many friends in combat at this point. It never gets easier telling the family that we couldn't recover a body. It hurts, Fox. You remember what happened to Angel Valentine?"

Fox was caught off-guard from the question before flashes of a brown bulldog filled his mind from the Academy. The vulpine knew where this was going and only nodded. "You never know how scared a man can get until he knows he's going down too fast and is in too much shock for the ejectors to even matter. Guy was tough as nails, yet his last moments were him crying for his mother before it all went static. They say you get used to it, but I don't."

Fox could only nod sympathetically as Bill sighed, before looking over at the men and women he swore to protect as their commander. "But I know it's all worth it in the end. We've all gotta sacrifice a lot, huh? We must look crazy to normal people, right Fox?" The earnest smile was back on Bill's lips now.

"Right, Bill."

"Hell yeah. Now, do me a favor and kick Andrew's ass for me when you finally catch up to him. He's got a hell of a lot to answer for."

With a fist bump and a tight hug, Fox sealed the promise to Bill. Even though Krystal was standing right next to him, Fox didn't need her to tell him that it meant a lot to the canine.

As Bill walked away to celebrate and get his mind off of the conversation, his presence was filled in with a certain fennec "Well, Fox. It looks like you haven't lost a step," Fara complimented, looking at his Arwing as she walked up to the other two vulpines as she admired Fox's Arwing.

"Neither have you," Fox replied, Fara turning her head to look him in the eyes.

There was a moment of silence between the two, before Fara's face took on a look that could shake even Wolf to his core. That business look. The look of knowing how to turn any deal her way. The look of knowing how to get anything she wanted. Fox knew what she wanted.

"I want the chance I never got."

Fox simply sighed in response, before realizing that a sigh would not deter the fennec. "Still? Fara, what about Space Dynamics?"

The fennec shrugged. "Remember what I said before the attack? I want to fly again. Doing this only makes me crave it more, especially after that Over-Under. This is my chance to make up for a missed decade."

Fox sighed once more, before turning to notice Krystal politely standing by his side. "It's ultimately up to you, Fox. But, in my opinion, she could be a fantastic asset."

The orange vulpine nodded, before looking back to Fara. Her face was completely blank, like she had no clue what the word "emotion" meant. She was determined to join up. And she was not taking no for an answer.

"Alright, if you can square things away here, we can add you to our roster."

The smile that Fara had been holding back exploded onto her face. Instantly, she looked as young as she did back in the Academy, the years of stress caused by the business world washed away instantly. Her first action as part of the team was to envelop Fox in a tight hug, making him exhale from the pressure on his lungs and making Krystal giggle from the ridiculousness of the squeeze.

"I need to make "no hugs" a more clear rule…"

Fara broke the hug before adopting her business-centric look and whistling loudly, catching the ears of the party as she quickly jumped up onto a nearby munitions crate.

"Alright everyone, listen up! I've got an announcement to make. This has been a rough day for all of us. We are very lucky to be alive. We unfortunately lost a lot of good men and women today, and they will be dearly missed by us all." Fara took a pause, adopting a scowl as she surveyed her workforce.

"When most companies get attacked in a manner such as this, they flock to social media, television stations, and cry fake tears for all to see. But not me. This is an attack not only on my job and yours, but on my family. And I am not going to sit and let those responsible get away with hurting my family. Starting effective immediately, I am temporarily resigning as C.E.O and joining Star Fox to take the fight to those responsible while we rebuild. The Board will temporarily fill in for me during my absence, and should something happen to me while I am gone, a new C.E.O will be appointed."

The scowl was gone, and a smile was on Fara's lips. "Each and every one of you represents Space Dynamics. I know you won't let me down." There was a few moments of silence before a few claps became audible. The claps increased in volume before they were replaced with a sea of cheers. It seemed as if every able pair of hands were clapping at the announcement as Fara jumped down from her munitions-filled soapbox.

With a smile wide on her lips, Fara sauntered up to Fox, her massive ears swaying in the soft wind and storm of cheers. She stopped inches from Fox's muzzle, before looking up at the mercenary. "So, now that I'm on the roster, what information do you have for me?"

Fox sighed, slightly breaking Fara's stride as he leaned up against his Arwing's ladder. "I hope you've got some spare time, cause this is gonna take a while to explain."