I

Captain's Log, Stardate 2762.08.16 - Just another usual day. Slippy is playing his "power ballad" again, working on a new personality chip for ROB. This one will make him more subservient, finally allowing him to function as a decent waiter for meals - that incident with the motor oil parfait will go down in history. Peppy is mapping out the underwater surface of Aquas, saying that it would make quite a nice vacation spot if we could make a larger version of the Blue Marine. Falco is down at the shooting gallery, having some fun before we reach Katina. Once we land, I'm going to introduce Krys to Bill, and give her a tour of the base. We've grown pretty close since I rescued her, and I'm trying to find any way to get us some time alone - Falco just can't stand to stay away for long, apparently getting a kick out of seeing two Foxes dating. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, seeing as it's coming from an Avian who used to live with a Feline.

Fox McCloud, captain of the light attack cruiser Great Fox, leader of the Starfox team, and system-renowned pilot, was once again demonstrating his immense courage, daring, and tactical wit.

He had just beaten level nine on Tetris.

"Yeah! I did it! Hey Slippy, I beat level nine! Take that, computer nerds! Bring it on, level ten, I'm on fire!" Fox had way too much coffee this morning.

First, he slept in until ten. Then, he slogged his way to the mess hall for some cold bacon and eggs, before drinking what passed onboard for coffee. As if there wasn't enough caffeine in there to kill a Gora, he had to have three more cups, each with two lumps of sugar. He spent the rest of the morning bouncing off the walls, almost literally - he trashed the rec room, because he thought the jogging machine was too slow. He practiced hand-to-hand combat with Krystal, got his tail whipped again, and resorted to kissing her instead. when Falco intruded, he came upstairs and sat down to play games on his command chair console. Since then, he had been completely engrossed in an ancient Terran game called Tetris, shouting obscenities when he lost and dancing about triumphantly when he advanced a level.

On level ten, Fox lost. As he unleashed an unholy barrage of obsceneties, Peppy suggested that they find a way to get Fox to "sober up", fast. He and Slippy quickly left for the mess, passing Falco on the way.

When Falco entered the bridge, he was just in time to hear the climax of Fox's outrage, using language too foul even for Falco. "Geez, Fox, I didn't know you knew that word. What's so terrible and world-shattering to deserve that kind of abuse?" He looked over the festering Vulpine's shoulder, at a large GAME OVER screen, covered in spittle. "You know, you could always just ask Slippy to turn the AI down a notch..." Fox mumbled a curt reply, and Falco went to his seat, grinning smugly - his record was level twelve. He secretly started up the same game, taking care not to let Fox see, lest another outburst begin. He had beaten level ten on numerous occasions, being quite the video game buff.

A few minutes (and two levels on Falco's console) later, Peppy and Slippy returned with one of their "special recipes" that they had concocted over the years. They handed it to Fox, who accepted it begrudgingly. As he drank it, all his fur stood on end. Afterwards, he coughed and gagged several times, almost dropping the glass on the deck. Afterwards, he looked about with wide eyes, completely normal. "Whoa, what did you guys put in this, napalm?"

"Just a special cure for an extreme caffeine high." Slippy explained, resuming his work on ROB's personality chip - when he had a project going, even Slippy wasn't much of a talker. Fox nodded, and handed the glass back to Peppy, who smiled and turned towards the mess hall once more.

Fox checked his wristcomp, with a nice built-in digital watch. it was 1600 hours, just in time for an early dinner with Krystal. He left to find her - noticing Falco's game on the way out, but wisely deciding not to mention it.

Fox found Krystal ten minutes later, in her quarters standing at a desk cluttered with various maps and charts. She wasn't wearing her uniform, instead choosing a burgundy robe the stopped just above her blue-furred ankles. Around her slim waist was tied a matching sash, and she had on a faintly sweet perfume that tickled Fox's nose.

"Hey Krys, whatcha doing?" he ambled up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, affectionately rubbing her stomach. Her ear flicked, but she remained otherwise concentrated on her work. "Still looking for Cerinia?" She nodded slightly, and flipped through a few maps before stopping at one with a star system Fox was unfamiliar with.

"I found this in with Peppy's maps of various constellations and such. I think it may be Cerinia, or at least the right system." She handed the map over to Fox, who forced himself to let go and examine it.

The map was very old, the paper was of a low quality and yellowed. The edges were tattered, and it had obviously been folded many times. What it showed, however, was rather intriguing - a large star system, with a small, yellow sun. there were nine planets, and one asteroid belt. The first planet was similar to Papetoon, and the second to Titania. The third, however, was described as very similar to Corneria, only slightly larger. It was also written that this planet was inhabited.

"The map doesn't give any coordinates, or anything that could give us an idea of it's location - just the planetary data." Krystal turned to Fox. "What do you think?" Krystal stared at him with her deep, cerulean-blue eyes. It was all Fox could do to blink, much less break away from her gaze.

"I think we should talk about it over dinner. How about salmon?"

"Sounds great, as long as ROB isn't serving." She laughed slightly, and Fox smiled. She had ordered the grease parfait. That, and he kept spilling small mechanical parts in the soup, and getting grease on all the dishes and silverware.

"I promise, he won't be allowed near the Mess Hall. Not even if Slip finishes that upgrade - we can test it another time." Krystal smiled again. They turned and left, arms wrapped around each other - except for Fox's left, which was still carrying the map.