It had been six minutes since Slippy had beaten his very hasty retreat, and the three remaining members of Star Fox were gathered to discuss a plan of action. Any explanation of the reasons for Slippy's unexpected departure was put on hold while they plotted his course courtesy of the onboard tracking system installed in Great Fox's computer.
On its monitor, a green dot blipped on and off, inching slowly away from the center. They'd reached a natural break in the discussion and now watched the screen less intently, except for Peppy, who soon piped up once again.
"I can't stop thinking we should flag him down out there, and try to talk some sense into him…" he repeated for the umpteenth time.
"We've been over this," Fox exhaled deeply. Peppy's concerns, though well-meaning, were getting the better of his judgment and holding up the proceedings.
"I tried to stop him," he noted. "Merely catching up to Slippy isn't going to solve anything, without a way to get him to come back with us."
Falco shrugged. "Maybe he just needs some time to cool off, to blow off some steam," he offered, with a snide grunt. "He was pretty pissy earlier. If he wants to fly around a little, let's not bother him."
Peppy was visibly irked by the statement. "Some attitude you've got there. He could be putting himself…" he intoned, voice trembling, "his life in danger!"
Falco clapped his hands down on the desk, leaning towards Peppy, eyes narrowed. "Slippy's a big boy; he knows what he's getting into. If he wants to run off, it's not my problem," he grumbled.
Peppy slammed his fists down hard on the desk, startling both Fox and Falco, who staggered back a half step in surprise. It was unlike him to have such a forceful outburst.
"It's our problem if he gets himself killed!" he snapped. "We're a team, Falco, if you haven't noticed, and it's about time you started acting like it."
Falco glared angrily, the sneer on his face forming into a full scowl. He knew where this was headed.
"You better not try to lay the blame on me for this, you old hack. It's not my fault he pulled this crap while we're still on call. If he knew his responsibilities better, and hadn't hit me in the face, maybe I'd start acting like his damn team mate."
"I'm sure if he hit you in the face, it was only to smack that smart mouth right off it," Peppy shot back.
Fox could tell the situation was getting far out of control. "Please," he implored, "would you two stop bickering until we've come up with a way to stop Slippy!"
Both rabbit and bird turned in unison to look at fox, their guards lowered, and the edge gone from both their voices as they agreed to return to the task at hand.
Fox pointed to the screen. "He's heading towards Fortuna, quite quickly I might add…"
He tapped a finger pensively on the monitor, wondering what, if anything, Slippy could possibly hope to find on the desolate planet of ice and snow. The possibility still remained that he could turn around at any time, but with each passing second, it seemed increasingly unlikely.
As well as being a tracking device, the homing beacon, which Slippy himself had designed, also measured the integrity of the monitored ship. The gauge remained unchanged since Slippy had departed. I can't believe he's gotten so far unharmed, Fox thought, then chastised himself for thinking so little of Slippy's piloting skill. But it couldn't be denied – without anyone to cover him, Slippy's survival was in a heightened degree of peril. But then, there was absolutely no one was stationed around the insignificant Fortuna, friend or foe.
Peppy chimed in. "Well, he'll probably be alright for the time being… but if he's out much longer, I'm going to go out after him. At the rate he's burning fuel, he may not even have enough to get back."
"Unless, of course, we followed him in the Great Fox, against orders…"
A glance passed between Fox and Peppy that meant, Leave it to Falco to come up with that suggestion. They would have to again indulge his rebellious side with a negative reaction.
"Falco, you know that just can't happen. We have to remain stationed here until we know for certain that the threat to Katina has been neutralized." Fox recalled that it was standard procedure to scour the surface for 2 days following battle for any remnants of the enemy force that may have taken up hiding in the transfigured landscape.
"If anyone goes, they will go alone, until they are overwhelmed and intervention is absolutely required."
And so, the seconds ticked past in the flicker of the monitor, as the crew studied the trajectory of the single dot as it entered, then cleared Fortuna's airspace.