Chapter 4: A Day at the Office

Fenris opened his eyes the next morning, finding himself sleeping in after yesterday's events. He rose from his bed and looked out the window seeing snow still falling and piling up on the roads. Tossing the sheets aside, he started walking toward the kitchen of his apartment, stepping into his slippers and throwing one of his flight jackets on to at least have something on his shirtless body.

The coffee machine sputtered to life after Fenris flipped the switch on it, slowly heating the water and pouring it into the coffee grounds before dripping to the bottom of the pot. The wolf then opened the fridge and took out a couple of eggs, grabbing a pan from the dish rack above the sink before turning to the stovetop. He smiled as he found enjoyment in cooking, grabbing whatever spices and vegetables were appealing to his nose. This enjoyment was cut short however as his phone began to ring before he was able to crack his first egg. It was Cornerian Intelligence. He picked up the phone and answered, hearing a female voice on the other end.

"Please verify security authorization."

"Authorization Yeager four-five-seven-seven Juliet Tango Sierra."

"Please confirm you're speaking on a secure line."

Fenris pulled his phone away from his face before tapping a few settings to run a special program, the border at the top turning blue. He brought the phone back to his face before responding. "Confirmed."

"You have new orders. Report to Beltino Station at 1200 hours and prepare your squadron for a Zypher Ring Gate jump to Papetoon. Confirmation Hare-one-niner-niner-three-Alpha."

Fenris sighed before responding. "Yes ma'am."

"Have a pleasant morning, Captain." The line went dead as the intelligence officer hung up the phone. Fenris deactivated the encoding algorithm, returning to the normal civilian lines before moving back to the stove. He checked the time, seeing it was still 0800 hours; still early enough to make a nice breakfast before going starside.

After eating his food and drinking his coffee, Fenris began making his way to Cornerian Central Command, or C Cubed as some called it. It was a large tower located in the center of the city, with smaller buildings surrounding it. The mountain ranges made it a more difficult target to attack, but its location made it a threat to the civilian population of the city. As a result, more defensive measures had been installed over the past few months, such as a dome shield that would protect the entire city, or regular patrols that skimmed the outskirts, flying over the farmlands that surrounded the metropolis.

Fenris lived close enough to Central Command that he could walk to it, opting to do so to save someone from taxiing him in the snow. Some of it had accumulated on his winter wear as he walked under the gold words "Per Audacia Ad Astra" on the main entrance. He often wondered what made it different from the academy motto as he walked up to the security check-in, only bringing himself since his equipment was in the launch bay lockers and any personal belongings would be left behind during the mission. He gave his ID to a cheetah sitting at the security desk, letting him verify it.

The guard kept a smile on throughout the day, enjoying the quiet post. "They callin' you in, Yeager?" he asked.

"Indeed they are. How's your morning going, Dean?"

"I can't complain. Still on Corneria, still working my nine-to-five."

"Heh… Still saving up for that dream car?"

Dean brimmed with excitement at the mention. "Just signed the title last week!"

"Hey, congrats! Try not to wreck it this time, eh?"

Dean's demeanor immediately plummeted as he furrowed his brows. "Hey now, that was back in my racing days, and I've sworn that off. The broken collarbone was enough of a reason to stop…"

Fenris gave the cheetah a light punch in the arm. "Hey, nobody's perfect. Everyone's got something to work on. Your risk taking, my patience… And we do our best to work past them."

Dean nodded to Fenris, the smile returning. "Just try not to roast me and I'll try not to put you in another headlock, deal?"

"Deal."

The cheetah handed Fenris back his ID before the wolf walked past the security gates, making his way into the main concourse of the complex.

Fenris looked up at the large golden model Arwings hanging from the ceiling as he walked through. He couldn't help but smile as he admired the golden scale models shimmering in the warm lighting higher above. He continued past the decorative waterfalls, boots quietly rolling against the marble floors and brought his ID up to a scanning device next to a large blast door. The began to slide open as the scanner turned green, prompting Fenris to remove his ID badge.

Fenris entered the door, feet now clanging against diamond plated flooring as he walked out onto the transport docks. He felt the winter breeze once again in tandem with electric coils above, heating the area and melting the ice before it had a chance to build up on the dock plates. He headed toward one of the transport shuttles bound for Beltino Station, following the LED signs suspended from the ceiling that led the way. He found the shuttle, ducking his head down under the bulkhead of the matte white boxy craft with blue livery streaking along the sides. The military shuttle was barebones, built for efficiency rather than comfort. All of the troops felt like they were packed like sardines, but Fenris didn't mind. He had been through much worse over the years. He sat at a window seat, always wanting to take advantage of being a passenger so he could watch the world go by.

The transport soon took off, slowly circling the tower before accelerating into a skylane through the city. Fenris looked out the window, observing the skyscrapers they passed before they turned into mountains. The shuttle exited city limits before rapidly ascending, the passengers lurching backward as the engines went into full thrust. The nose tilted upward toward the sky, the world soon turning into a fog while the shuttle passed through the clouds. Eventually, this fog turned into pure daylight, briefly blinding some of the unsuspecting occupants as they continued streaming to the heavens. This was the part where some would either throw up or pass out, but most on this shuttle were conditioned by this point. Fenris kept looking out the window, watching the sky turn from blue to black, the stars appearing as they had left the atmosphere and entered the void of space.

The shuttle soon found its way to Beltino Station, named after the lead scientist behind the Aparoid Self Destruct program as well as one of the designers who cracked the G-Diffuser formula. Fenris was always confused as to why the station got its name from a living scientist, but never openly questioned it as the man didn't have an inflated ego, or at least didn't appear to.

He looked on as the station repairs were nearly complete, and its expansion into a shipyard was ahead of schedule. The ringed design was now becoming stacked, with two new modules added to the bottom and top of the station, the central ring now having a proper airtight core with several new decks and sections inside of it. There were more plans to expand the station, including civilian habitats and ship manufacturing, but scientific research was always its top priority.

The transport soon passed through a low energy force field before coming to a halt and lowering onto the landing deck. Feeling the craft thud against the flight deck, Fenris and the other personnel onboard began to unbuckle their safety belts and rise from their seats, exiting the shuttle in an orderly fashion as was drilled into each one of them from the beginning of their training. Fenris was somewhere in the middle of the line, stepping out onto a busy flight deck, with transports moving in and out. Some carried military personnel, but most of them carried construction materials and workers that were contracted to expand the station. Fenris began to make his way to the military wing's entrance, passing many pilots, contractors, and civilians along the way.

After countless corridors and checkpoints, Fenris would finally make it to the section of the fighter bay allocated for Blue Squadron. The V-Type fighters were tucked away in alcoves with their wings folded in and fuel lines connected. Fenris took his pilot's gloves out of his pocket and started to slip them on. Flynt and Claire were waiting for him, both arriving earlier than expected.

The otter smiled at her squadron leader, hopping off of a crate she was sitting on before approaching him. "Afternoon, Sir! All fighters are fueled and armed. We're ready to go!"

Fenris was pleased to see her on time. "Excellent. Intel says we're going to Papetoon, but I haven't gotten any other word yet."

"That's because I wanted to brief you personally," said an old but familiar voice. Fenris turned around, his eyebrows raising as he saw General Peppy on the deck walking toward them. He had a data pad on hand with images relevant to the mission stored on it, tilting it toward the three as he approached them.

"We finally got word on where Leon is going. He's not trying to whack somebody today. He's trying to abduct one of our lead engineers, probably as a bargaining chip for Panther."

Fenris seemed intrigued at the idea. "I guess there really is honor among thieves," he remarked.

Flynt made a disapproving growl. "I wouldn't call that honor, boss."

Peppy continued. "The target is General Dynamics Engineer Arnold Phoenix."

Claire lit up at the name. "The lead designer of the Arwing?"

Peppy nodded in response. "The same one. It'll be your job to make sure no harm comes to him. I'll send you backup to deal with any reinforcements Leon pulls, but you three need to cut straight through and go for him. All three of you."

Fenris crossed his arms, listening to his instructions. Three pilots on one target was a bit much to him, but Leon was not an assassin to be underestimated.

"Unless you have any questions, I'll let you be on your way. We plan on opening the ring gate right as they begin their first pass, giving you the element of surprise," said Peppy. He had an air of confidence around him as he smiled at the three.

Fenris turned to his wingmen before making the call. "Alright then. Blue Squadron, move out!"

Claire and Flynt started dashing toward their fighters, with Fenris following quickly behind. Peppy brought his hands behind his back as the team reminded him of the old days of the original Star Fox team: A group of young pilots eager to get the job done, each with their own unique quirks. He turned to exit the hangar bay as Blue Squadron took off, the fighters engaging their VTOL hover before the wings deployed. They slowly approached the forcefield before thrusting forward, exiting through the main hangar doors into the starry sky.

Fenris and his team were placed in a holding pattern around the station, though many would mistake it for a patrol assignment as they circled the area, waiting for the signal to approach the ring gate. Fenris was starting to get fidgety as the three had been waiting for around thirty minutes.

"It'd be nice if they didn't keep us cooped up in these things all day," said the wolf with a sense of annoyance. His eyes were half lidded as his boredom was on full display.

"I'm just happy they let us bring the big booms!" said Flynt excitedly.

Fenris couldn't help but laugh as he cracked a smile. "Just remember to save your missiles for any stray pirates, not the VIP or Leon."

"Don't worry, boss! I know the exact blast radius of every explosive they give us."

Fenris nodded. Good thing one of us did their homework. He turned to Claire on his left, checking in on her next.

"What about you, Burnham? Ready to bring your A-game?"

Fenris was met with silence for a few moments before paging her again. "Burnham?"

Claire jumped a bit, looking around before looking back to her instruments. "Sorry, Captain. Just thinking."

"About what?" asked Fenris.

"It's nothing important. Besides, it would take forever to explain," she said with a hint of depression.

"Well, we appear to have plenty of time," said Fenris. "I know I'm at least willing to listen."

Claire sighed, slumping back in her seat. "Just thinking about home. About my family."

Fenris tilted his head as he started making his assumptions. "Back on Zoness?"

"Yeah… My family's had it rough for the last few years. Finding work on Zoness is almost impossible with the waters as polluted as they are." Claire was clearly distraught at the state of her homeworld. "Ever since Andross occupied it, the seas have had a coat of oil on the top. There's been nothing but offshore drill sites and disgusting tankers because that's all people can do there anymore."

Flynt decided to chime in. "Is it because the tankers are dangerous for your family to work on?"

"No. It's because they're fishermen."

Flynt put on a face of sheer terror as he realized he stepped on a social landmine. "Oh… Alright, then."

Fenris looked ahead thinking. That explains everything… He turned back to Claire as their flightpath hit a straightaway. "That's why you applied to the academy. Why you put in all the late night hours studying and practicing. You're trying to help your family." Fenris had a genuine look of concern as he spoke. He felt for Claire's plight and her reasons for joining the military. "If it helps, I think that's a very noble thing for you to do."

Claire was still depressed, no longer bottling up her feelings as she was hunched over and looking down at her flight instruments. "It might not matter at this rate… Even as an officer, Im not making enough to help them with rent…"

Fenris leaned back, thinking to his conversation with Fox. "Well… Slippy Toad has been working on an environmental restoration project. I heard he wants to bring it to Zoness to restore the waters."

Claire looked back up, thinking of the possibilities of crystal clean waters. "I mean… It'll take years for the wildlife to return to normal…"

"But it's a start," said Fenris. The wolf looked forward again, relaxing in his seat.

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

Fenris smiled, hoping he was able to help his wingman refocus on the mission.

The commlink buzzed in their ears before the flight controller chimed in. "Blue Squadron, report to gate zero-one-zero, ASAP. Forming gate archway now."

Fenris called out to his wingmen. "You heard him, team. Hard right and head for the gate!" He tugged hard on the flight stick as all three fighters banked to the right, cutting around the station before aligning to a series of arches that began to expand. They fired a green beam at the center of the circle the arches made, which then began to expand into a portal.

The flight controller broadcasted again. "Targeting Papetoon, lower orbit. You are clear for emergency entry."

Fenris gripped the throttle on his fighter. "Punch it!" he said, throwing the throttle into full speed. His fighter, followed by Claire's and Flynt's, passed through the ring gate, disappearing into the other side.