Moving right along, here's chapter 5. While shorter than the rest so far, it does hold one important event for the team. As always, please read and review.
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Chapter 5: The Evening
This base is just so empty. It's so silent as I walk around the nearly vacant corridors. At least there are some friendly faces scattered around. I'm just worried that the lack of staffing will be the end of us. - Fox

The four worked their way up to the 9th floor with Fox explaining his encounter with Kay on the way. While Peppy commented about the odds of running into someone that important at such an out of the way location, the rest of the crew thought it was nothing more than random chance.
They reached the proper floor after a short trip, and as the elevator opened, they saw Gary standing outside the lounge. The team waved to him as he quickly showed them inside.
They found the General already seated in the well-decorated room, a menu in his paws. Everyone else took their seats, looking through the menu as they got comfortable. Fox eyed some of the selections appreciatively. "Wow, you guys eat well up here."
Pepper put down his menu. "Actually, Junior, we, nor the staff we have that are allowed up here, tend to take advantage of this."
"Yeah," agreed Gary. "We eat the same boring food that everyone else does downstairs most of the time. Personally I think the pictures of Generals past and their achievements on the walls here creeps me out, so I don't come up here much. We do order pizza for up here every so often though."
Fox and his team laughed while Pepper just shook his head. "Let me know when you're ready to order." He gazed at the menu, trying to decide what to choose. After their eating habits on Papetoon these last few months, the selections available to him were extravagant. Making up his mind, he nodded to the General.
They had a few minutes to burn before dinner, so Fox decided to ask a question or two while they waited. "So, Pepper, we've been wondering - have you any guesses on when Andross is going to attack?"
Gary shook his head as the General looked over, making him answer the question. "As I said on the message to you before, the only indications we have are of a buildup of Andross' forces, and nothing more."
"Also, incase you were wondering, that is why we are rushing your training," added the cheetah. "Formal training would take quite a bit longer, but we are skipping quite a few of the basics in the hopes that you catch on quickly. Thankfully so far we've been right."
"That explains the combat test first day," said Fox.
Gary nodded. "That and you'll be going through more advanced training exercises tomorrow instead of staying with the basics."
"Sounds like fun." Fox was going to ask another question when he heard the door swish open allowing the catering service to enter. "Wow, they're quick."
Pepper smiled. "Well, Junior, as the chefs are ready at a moments notice for the entire staff on base, feeding the six of us is easy." Their selections were placed in front of them as he talked. "Eat up everyone."
With no further prodding, the team dug right in, going through their meals very quickly. Pepper passed around a fine selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and Gary kept them entertained with a collection of humorous stories from back at his academy days.
Fox leaned back in his chair, a glass of fruit juice in one paw. He thought about taking another glass of the wine that Pepper was serving, but he knew his limits. He glanced at his empty plate, amazed that even he could go through a steak that big in just a few minutes. "Pepper, I must admit, I haven't had a meal like that in ages. Compliments to the chef."
The General only nodded as he was in the middle of a bite. Peppy swirled the juice around in his glass as he said, "You know, Fox, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you haven't eaten in a week."
"Bah." Fox noticed that Peppy's wineglass was still clean. While it wasn't unusual, he expected him to at least take a glass. "No drinks for you tonight my old friend?"
He shook his head. "No thanks. You know I stay away from the hard stuff, unlike Falco over there."
The vulpine glanced at his teammate. As usual, he had just gone over his limit as far as alcohol was concerned. He never had enough to put him under, or really hamper him in any way, but Fox could identify the tipsy look in Falco's eyes. "What?" he grumbled, irritated at being stared at. "When was the last time we've had a good drink anyway?"
"Not long enough as far as I'm concerned," commented Slippy quietly from the other end of the table. He knew that his teammate's usual arrogant attitude was amplified by his drink, and he had seen him down one too many before.
"Quiet down you two," said Fox, quickly restoring order. "We'll have none of that here."
Gary put down his drink and said, "I do say, I haven't seen anyone eat like that in some time. Now, who wants dessert?" The groans from the stuffed pilots were clearly heard. "Fine then, more for me." He waved over a caterer to get himself more to eat.
The General looked over to his subordinate, shaking his head. "You four might eat quite a bit, but Gary over here eats us out of house and home."
"So I like to eat." The cheetah pointed a spoon over at Pepper's stomach as he continued. "At least I tend to work it off unlike you."
Fox and company laughed as Pepper almost dropped his drink in shock. "I don't know about you, Pepper, but that sounds like fighting words if I've ever heard them."
The canine quickly calmed down and took a sip from his glass as he decided on his response. "Well, Junior, Gary over here is just lucky that I respect him so much. A lesser soul would have been tossed out a window by now."
Gary waved his spoon around as he said, "See what I have to put up with around here? My boss has no respect for the work I do."
"No, I have nothing against your work, just your comments towards me and my stomach." Everyone in the room laughed.
"Don't worry about it, Pepper," said Fox. "A little extra weight is good for you. Besides, it helps your leadership look." He covered his mouth in shock, unable to believe what he had just said.
"Now everyone is against me." The room broke out into laughter again.
"Sorry, I think that was the alcohol talking." Fox was now glad he didn't take that extra drink as he realized that he had a tad too much already. He knew it was time to leave, before one of them said something that they all would regret tomorrow. "Pepper, I have a quick question for you, and then I think it will be time to call it a night for all of us."
"Getting rid of you seems like the proper thing to do, so ask away."
He grimaced, even though he expected it. "Ouch. What do we need to do to buy stuff around here on the base?"
Pepper and Gary both looked confused, so Falco added in his jumbled thoughts. "We need clothes."
Peppy was occupied stopping his laughter with a sip of his drink, so that left Slippy to clarify everything. "I think what our teammates mean is that its come to our attention that we have no clothing in our rooms."
The hare recovered enough to talk. "These flight suits are comfortable and all, but I wouldn't want to sleep in them."
The General finally understood. He wondered just how many important things he had forgotten to say with his mind so preoccupied thanks to recent events. "Ah, whoops. Care to explain Gary?"
"Letting me do all the work again?" The cheetah cringed under the sudden angry stare of Pepper, trying to get his alcohol-laden mind working again. "Okay, okay, I get your drift, let me explain. Your jackets contain an, uh, identification chip of sorts. There are scanners scattered over the base that keep track of that chip's signal. All items you can purchase have one as well. There are signs in the shops that tell you what to do. It's easy."
"Good," said Fox. "Unless anyone has an objection, I think it is time to go. Once again, Pepper, excellent dinner. The wine was a tad too strong though if you ask me."
The General laughed. "Agreed. Last time I let any one of you near the good stuff as it seems to go straight to your heads. Also, I'll see you all bright and early tomorrow at 08:00."
Falco groaned as Fox said, "Okay, see you then. Time to go shopping team."

Two hours later found Pepper and Gary in the control room of the base. The room was empty of people, short of a single female lynx who had the lone duty shift that night at the com station. The job was an interesting one though - watch all traffic passing into or out of Corneria, and to listen in on the general communication traffic between ships and planets. The night shift was the dull time of the day however, due to the lack of general travel on their side of the planet.
Pepper walked up to the lynx, smiling to get her attention so she would take off her headset. "Good evening, Celine."
She saluted, her tan fur ruffling from the sudden movement. "Good evening, sir."
"Anything interesting tonight?"
Celine shook her head. "No, sir. It has been a rather dull night so far. Although the few traders we still have flying around the system believe that something is going to happen soon."
"Anything specific?"
"Andross mainly. They believe he is going to attack shortly."
"Interesting." He figured he might as well say something to ease the worries clearly seen on her face. "For the record, I have not seen any activity as of yet."
"Yes, sir." She noticed Gary behind the General, standing at military rest. "Your usual survey into planetary security tonight, sir?"
Pepper nodded. "You know me too well I'm afraid."
"I'll go take a break then, sir." She passed her headset over to Gary, walking out of the room without a second glance.
The General watched the door close behind him then sighed, thinking out loud. "I hate lying to my staff like that. But if everyone knew what we know it would cause planetary panic."
"Which is why we do what we do, Pepper," said his second-in-command as he walked over to a lone computer terminal in a corner, passing by the many other consoles nearby, picking up and putting on the headset absentmindedly incase it was needed.
The canine on the other hand moved to one of the many windows surrounding the room and stared out into the night sky. "It is so quiet and peaceful out there. It's amazing to think that we're at war right now, as nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. He turned around. "Let's get an update, Gary, and get this over with."
"Aye," he replied as he typed in a multitude of passwords into the computer he was sitting at.
The computer in question had a single purpose - collect and report the data on the many satellites scattered through the system. While the general public thought they were nothing but an early warning system for galactic intruders, only a handful of people knew their true purpose - they could be used to spy most anywhere in the system, although their range was limited most of the time owing to the fact that they didn't want them to be detected.
Gary waved the General over, not liking what he was seeing on his screen. "It looks like Andross is finally coming. I'm detecting movement above Venom headed towards us."
Pepper cursed, knowing that Venom was the home planet of Andross' forces. "How long do we have?"
"I'm not quite sure - give me a second." The cheetah made a few calculations on the computer, coming up with an answer after a short delay. "Based on current speed and travel path, about two and a half Cornerian days."
"Damn. What are we going to face?" He looked down with concern as he realized that the ETA seemed to be off. "And why is he taking so long?"
"As for the time, I'm not quite sure. It looks like a standard Venomian battleship, the type that was used to start the war. If I'm remembering correctly, I know they can go faster than this one is." Gary turned so he was face to face with Pepper. "What are we going to do?"
The General sighed, knowing that there was only one thing they could do. "Nothing." Gary was about to object but he put up a paw to stop him. "What else can we do? We watch and monitor this as they get closer, and you work harder with the team."
He didn't like that answer at all. "But shouldn't we tell the public?"
"And cause the biggest riot in Cornerian history? We would have to tell the people about our little military program we have here, and we would lose what surprise we would have in deploying them."
Gary was silent for a moment as he debated on what was said. "I guess you're right."
He nodded. "I hope I am. Besides, something tells me Andross is going to use the same tactics he has used before - attack any military outpost before demanding surrender. That will stop or at least minimize any threat to civilians."
"Your theory seems sound. I hope it doesn't backfire in our faces." He pointed to the computer behind him. "Need anything else?"
He shook his head, not wanting to see any other problems in the system, especially since he never liked using the device in the first place. As far as he was concerned, the citizens deserved to know about this, even though it was beneficial that it remained a secret. "No, turn it off. I don't need any other bad news for tonight."
Gary powered down his terminal quickly, joining the General at the door afterward. Pepper turned around, enjoying the peace and quiet as he commented, "It's hard to imagine that we'll be at war in a matter of a few days here. I've so enjoyed how nice and quiet it is in this part of the world."
"Peace never lasts, Pepper," said Gary quietly as he returned the headset to the com station. "Our history is a rather nice example of that. Let's just hope that we succeed this time around."
"Agreed."
The two walked out of the command center, running into Celine the moment the door closed behind them. She turned towards Pepper and asked, "Are you all done for the night, sirs?"
Pepper nodded. "Yes we are. Enjoy the rest of your shift."
The two turned to walk off, but the lynx had one last question. "Sir, I have a question for you if you don't mind." He indicated that she could continue. "Truthfully, sir, are we going to win this war?"
The canine hesitated before giving an answer, surprised at the question. "I... I hope so. I will do everything in my power to get through this, and I know that my pilots will do the same. Just keep up with your job and we should all be fine."
Celine smiled. "Thank you for the honest answer, sir. Good night." She turned and walked into the command room.
Gary waited until they were alone again then said, "See, telling the truth isn't all that hard."
Pepper turned to his subordinate and laughed. "Don't you have anything better to do than patronize me?"
The cheetah laughed back. "Ah, back to your old self again, eh? Fine then. I need to get back to work. Talk to you tomorrow." The two split off, each with many things on their mind.