Torzan, Kew
It had been fairly easy for Panther to get Marshal Koates' goons to follow him out of the spaceport.
Getting them off his tail, however, was proving to be a very different story. In spite of the crowded streets, the Venomians were able to stay on him. A glance over his shoulder showed that Algy, Bandera, and the monitor lizard were still in pursuit
"I've gotta shake these guys."
The wildcat brought his attention forward, only to crash into an orange and white-furred lynx. Both felines tumbled to the sidewalk.
"Ah geez, miss. I'm…."
Panther stopped mid-sentence as he caught sight of the winged fox insignia on her flight jacket.
"Oh dear." the jungle cat groaned before picking himself up and fleeing through the crowd of pedestrians.
Behind him, he could hear her call out "Hold it, Caroso!"
….
Miyu got out her blaster, but Panther disappeared into the crowd before she could line up a shot.
"Damn!"
Bringing up her wristcom, the lynx contacted her partner.
"Fay, do you have eyes on Caroso?"
"I do. But I can't get a shot."
Miyu was about ready to give chase when she noticed a trio of armed men pushing and shoving their way past pedestrians. She did not recognize the monitor lizard, but she found the simian familiar, having seen his face on the bounty lists while en route to Kew.
Although for the life of her, the wildcat could not remember his name at the moment.
"Bader? Bandy?"
Miyu's train of thought was interrupted when she laid eyes on the final member of the trio: a primate she knew from the war.
"Hoffman." she growled and began pushing through the crowd. She was soon joined by Fay.
"Is that who I think it is?" the spaniel ventured.
"Yeah." Miyu replied with venom in her voice.
Unknown to either of them, the brown-furred vulpine known as Rossington was seated at one of Torzan's many fish and chip vendors. The fox swallowed a piece of deep fried Kewian Bass and then activated his ear piece.
"Captain Reiner, you have two members of Star Fox on your tail."
"Acknowledged. Thank you."
Elsewhere
Panther grit his teeth as a laser bolt zipped past him. Whipping around, the jungle cat returned fire and forced his pursuers back around a corner.
Looking around, Panther's yellow eyes fell on a subway entrance.
"It's worth a shot." the wildcat mused as he went towards it and began descending the stairs.
Suddenly, he heard his wristcom come to life and crackle with static. However, Panther could still tell that it was Leon on the other end.
"Pan….t….. Co…n"
"I don't copy Leon. Say again."
Hearing pounding boots and shouts, Panther switched off his comm and continued down the stairs. His eyes soon fell upon a maintenance door.
The jungle cat attempted to open it, only to find that it was locked. Grunting in frustration, Panther lifted his blaster, shot out the door handle, and charged through it.
Not far behind, the trio of Venomians stopped outside of the door. Listening carefully, they soon heard two more sets of footsteps descending the stairs.
Motioning his two subordinates towards him, Captain Reiner whispered "You two draw them off. I'll keep on Caroso. Remember the Marshal's orders; No killing, no serious injuries."
"Yes sir." Algy and Bandera responded as they set their weapons to stun.
….
Miyu and Fay had reached a landing and just turned the corner when two of the Venomians opened fire on them and forced them into cover.
"Stun blasts?" Fay said with a raised eyebrow.
Miyu simply shook her head.
"What's your business with Star Wolf, Hoffman?"
"Nothing that concerns you, or your war criminal boss."
"You're one to talk." Fay retorted. "You and your pal Mouradian were the attack dogs for Marshal Koates and General Hightower. I heard about what you creeps did on Macbeth."
There was a brief pause.
"Well, you know what they say. Those who cross Andross will die."
"Oh yeah." Miyu snarled as she grabbed a flash bang grenade off her belt.
"Prepare to meet him!"
The wildcat chucked the explosive around the corner and then averted her eyes and covered her ears.
After a deafening bang and a flash of light that was still visible through their closed eyelids, Miyu and Fay whipped around the corner, blasters at the ready. All they found was an empty landing and the sounds of footsteps headed away from them.
"Sounds like they've split up. You go left and I'll take the right." Miyu said.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Fay asked with a bit of worry in her voice.
The lynx shook her head.
"If Star Wolf is mixed up with these creeps, then we need to find out why. Besides, I'm sure those two will fetch a nice bounty."
"Well, when you put it like that."
From there, the duo split up, Fay taking the left path and Miyu taking the right.
Elsewhere
Captain Reiner advanced up the maintenance corridor, the flashlight on his blaster activated.
"Here, kitty kitty kitty." he called out.
The monitor lizard opened a closet door and swept the room with his blaster. Finding it empty, the reptile pressed onwards.
"You can't hide forever, Caroso. You might as well come on out. I promise, I'll make it quick."
Out on a platform by the tracks, Captain Reiner spotted a ladder and an open hatch. He also smelled fish in the air.
"Must be a market up above."
Suddenly, the monitor lizard heard a boot scuff behind him. He whirled around and ducked just as a blaster screeched. Even before the shot had cracked past him, Reiner brought up his own weapon and returned fire on Panther.
The jungle cat reacted by rolling forward, the laser zipping inches over him. At the end of his roll, Panther punched the Venomian in the gut, causing him to drop his weapon and double over. The wildcat took aim, only for the monitor lizard to tackle him and cause him to lose his grip on his blaster.
The Venomian pulled out a combat knife and attempted to stab Panther. The wildcat grabbed the lizard's wrist with both of his hands and managed to prevent it from being driven into his abdomen. After a brief struggle, Panther was able to slam the Venomian operative's hand onto the platform, forcing him to let go of the knife.
The monitor lizard shoved Panther off of him, and the two of them quickly assumed combat stances. Captain Reiner made the first move, swinging his fist in a right hook. Panther ducked under it and concentrated his attacks on the bigger man's midsection.
Eventually, the jungle cat was able to back the reptile into the service ladder. He landed a couple of more punches before Reiner caught one and delivered a headbutt.
Panther barely had time to register the warm sensation on his forehead before he was hit by several heavy punches and a kick to his chest that knocked him to the ground.
Captain Reiner meanwhile, picked up his combat knife and then walked over and hauled the wildcat up by his collar.
"I think I will feed you your intestines." the monitor lizard growled.
Thinking quickly, Panther unsheathed his claws and swung them towards the lizard's face. Screaming in pain, the Venomian released his grip on the jungle cat.
Panther wasted no time. He jumped up and did a spin kick that hit the reptile in the chest and caused him to slam into the guardrail.
It seemed that the barrier hadn't been maintained in some time, if indeed, it ever had been in the first place. It broke as the monitor lizard hit it, and he fell off the platform.
And landed on the third rail.
Panther averted his gaze from the sight and began heading towards the ladder. The Venomian's dying screams and the smell of charred flesh made the jungle cat want to vomit.
"Poor bugger." he thought as he climbed out of the tunnel.
Elsewhere
Miyu kept her blue eyes laser-focused on the fleeing form of Algy Hoffman, the Venomian pilot and assassin known as the "Blue Baron".
Just as the primate whirled around to take a shot at her, the lynx launched herself forwards and tackled him to the floor. Miyu aimed her blaster, only for Algy to reach up and hit the eject button for the power pack. The primate then batted the weapon out of her hand and shoved her off of him.
"Damn, he's strong for a short guy." the wildcat thought as she stood up.
For his part, Algy also stood up and cracked his knuckles.
"Alright, kitty cat. You're asking for it. And now you're gonna get it."
He followed up with a punch towards Miyu's head. She dodged and countered with a jab to the chest that knocked the primate into a trash can.
"Gee, Hoffman, for the guy who put several of my wingmates on ice during the war, you aren't very tough."
The lynx threw a punch towards the sportive lemur, only for him to catch it. He then used Miyu's momentum against her and threw her over his shoulder.
Not long after Miyu had hit the floor, Algy was wrapping an arm around her neck in a chokehold.
"I killed a lot of people during the war, lynx. You're gonna have to be more specific than that."
Miyu responded by elbowing the lemur in the gut, forcing him to release his grip.
The two of them stood back up, fists raised in combat stances. They soon began exchanging punches and kicks, most being blocked or countered, but a few hit their mark.
As Algy caught a roundhouse kick from Miyu and spun her around, following it up with a drop kick to her back, the lynx came to a realization.
"He's holding back. Why?"
Picking herself up, Miyu saw Algy simply standing there with his fists raised. She decided to try getting under his skin.
"What's the matter, shorty? Afraid to kill a girl?"
The lemur grimaced and narrowed his red eyes.
"Oh, you are so lucky, lynx."
As they went back to exchanging blows, the wildcat wondered to herself "He's been told to hold back. That's strange."
Elsewhere
Fay ducked around a corner as the simian she was pursuing opened fire on her.
"Seriously, what's with the stun blasts?" the spaniel called out.
"That's for me to know and you never to find out."
Rolling her eyes, Fay quickly noticed the sign on the wall showing the way to the train platform. It seemed that there was more than one route.
Hearing her quarry run the other way, the spaniel quickly took off after him. After following the simian for a time, Fay ducked down another corridor.
After descending a few flights of stairs, the canine found herself on the boarding platform. She soon heard footsteps coming from another entrance and took cover.
Peering around the corner, Fay caught sight of the simian. He was aiming his blaster back the way he came, clearly thinking that the canine was still on his tail.
Smiling, Fay leveled her blaster at the Venomian's back.
"Drop it!" she called out.
After going rigid from surprise, the simian obeyed, dropping his weapon and raising his hands.
As she walked toward him, Fay remarked "Well Borden, looks like this is the end of the line for you."
The monkey rolled his eyes and retorted "Lady, if you're gonna do that, at least get it right. It's Bandera."
"Okay then, Bandera. What's going on between you guys and Star Wolf?"
The Venomian shook his head.
"Like I said, that's for me to know and you never to find out."
Fay simply smirked.
"Oh really? Let's see how tight lipped you are when you're faced with another prison sentence."
Bandera grimaced.
"I ain't going back to jail."
He then reached out and grabbed Fay's wrist, forcing her to aim her blaster upwards. After struggling for a moment, the monkey managed to make the canine drop her weapon.
Fay reacted by kicking Bandera in the shin and following it up with a couple of punches. As the simian staggered backwards, the spaniel ran up and slapped on a chokehold.
"Zachary Bandera, on behalf of the Cornerian Republic, you're under arrest."
"Oh, shut up!"
He elbowed Fay in the gut and shoved her away from him.
Straight towards the edge of the platform.
Fear seized Bandera as he saw the canine about to fall off the edge and as he heard and felt the rumble of an approaching train.
Thinking quickly, the simian reached out and grabbed the Star Fox member by her flight jacket. He then threw her back onto the platform, and not a moment too soon, for a train came thundering past.
Bandera breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he went to pick up his blaster, only for Fay to knock him down with a running kick. Before the canine could continue her attack, Bandera snatched up a fistful of dirt and hurled it into her eyes.
With Fay temporarily blinded, the monkey snatched up his blaster and fled the platform. After rubbing the dirt out of her eyes, the spaniel picked up her own weapon and set off in pursuit.
Elsewhere
Algy blocked a punch from Miyu and forced her back with a palm strike.
"Come on, short stuff. Is that all you've got?"
The lemur grit his teeth. As much as he would have liked to end the annoying feline, he knew it would likely land him on the bottom of the ocean with a Kewian necktie.
Suddenly, behind him, Algy heard "Hoffman! Duck!"
The primate did just that and watched as a series of stun blasts forced the lynx into cover. Picking up his own weapon, Algy joined in.
Miyu pressed herself further against the wall, unable to get to her blaster on the floor. The feline suddenly heard a boot scuff behind her and whirled around with her fist raised, quickly stopping herself when she saw that it was only Fay.
"Don't scare me like that." the lynx scolded.
"Sorry."
Hearing the Venomian's footsteps heading away, Miyu signalled Fay to cover her while she retrieved and reloaded her fallen weapon. The two of them then set off after their quarries, but soon became lost in the maze of corridors.
"This isn't working. We need to get topside and regroup with the others." Fay said.
"Agreed." Miyu replied.
The two of them began ascending a stairwell, but stopped after hearing footsteps coming their way. A pair of caracals soon walked into view, their eyes tracing the girls up and down.
"Don't even think about it, creeps." Miyu snarled.
Both her and Fay leveled their blasters at the hoodlums, though it didn't seem to be doing much to deter them. Indeed, one of them attempted to draw his own blaster, only for Fay to shoot it out of his hand.
As the caracal clutched his wrist, Fay remarked "Last warning, boys."
The wildcats seemed to get the message, for they quickly turned tail and ran. After making sure that they weren't doubling back, Miyu and Fay pressed on, neither of them aware that Agent Rossington was watching from the shadows.
Elsewhere
Algy and Bandera had just entered the service corridor when the smell of burned flesh entered their nostrils. Quickening their pace, the lemur and the monkey soon came upon the maintenance platform and saw the remains of their CO on the tracks. Algy's features contorted into rage.
"I'm gonna gut that son of a bitch." he snarled as he climbed up the service ladder.
"Yeah, we'll skin him alive." Bandera called out from behind.
Meanwhile, up above in the midst of the fish market, Panther contacted Leon.
"Panther to Leon. Come in."
"Where the hell have you been?" the chameleon asked in his scratchy voice.
"I got chased into the subway."
There was some grumbling on the other end of the line.
"Get to the docks. I'll pick you up there."
Grunts and cries of annoyance brought Panther's attention behind him. The jungle cat saw Algy and Bandera shoving their way through the crowd.
"Make it fast." he said before setting off for the docks.
The sounds of pounding boots caused the jungle cat to quicken his pace. He was relieved to hear Wolfen engines once he reached the docks and even more so when two of them swooped down and hovered over the water. The wildcat quickly hopped into his fighter and strapped himself in.
"Where's Wolf and lovely Carmen?"
With an annoyed hiss, Leon replied "Showing some old friends the canyons."
Panther nodded in understanding.
"Well, shall we join them?"
Twin Canyons, Kew
The area to the northwest of Torzan consisted of two canyons formed by the Coba and Noguccini rivers as they flowed out to the sea.
Since arriving on Kew, the so-called Twin Canyons had been used by Star Wolf to practice flying as well as a potential escape route.
And they would serve as an escape, but not before Wolf had a little fun with Star Fox. The lupine checked his scanners and threw a glance over his shoulder to make sure that the three Arwings were still following him.
"Perfect." he thought.
Just as Wolf started to wonder who was piloting those ships, his comm buzzed and the visage of a blue and red feathered pheasant appeared on his console screen.
"Well there's one." Wolf thought.
"Alright, O'Donnell. You might as well give up now and save yourself a lot of humiliation."
The lupine shook his head.
"The only one who's gonna be humiliated is you, bird brain."
After Lombardi's image vanished, Wolf remarked to Carmen "Grab a hold of something."
The dingo tightened her grip on the seat's armrests and mentally prepared herself for whatever was about to happen. Nonetheless, she was still shocked when Wolf stomped on the boost pedal and she was thrown back into the seat.
Just as Carmen was getting used to the speed, the lupine sent his fighter diving straight into the canyon. The dingo felt her stomach lurch as the Noguccini River drew closer at a high speed and was reminded of going to the amusement park with her godparents and foster brother.
Except unlike a roller coaster, their current situation could quite literally end with them crashing and burning. Carmen was tempted to say as much to Wolf, but decided not to distract him. She once again felt her innards lurch as Wolf pulled a sudden sharp turn into the mouth of a cave.
As the lupine skillfully weaved the Wolfen around and between stalactites and stalagmites, Carmen was amazed at how easy he made it look.
"He's probably flown through here millions of times." she mentally concluded.
The dingo was brought out of her thoughts by Wolf.
"Do me a favour, keep an eye out for anyone on our six."
"Right." Carmen replied and turned around in her seat as best as she could.
The wild dog kept expecting to see the white and blue shape of an Arwing, but none appeared. Carmen was tempted to breathe a sigh of relief, but chose instead to keep her eyes glued to the canopy. At least until Wolf spoke up again.
"Brace yourself, we're almost out."
Turning back around, Carmen saw daylight at the end of the cave. Almost as soon they were out, Wolf pulled up, his ship dangerously close to the canyon wall. The lupine threw a quick glance at his radar and saw that the three Arwings were still in the other canyon.
"Good." he said to himself.
Wolf inched his fighter along the wall so that he would come up behind Star Fox. After dodging a couple of rock formations, the Wolfen emerged above the canyon.
Star Fox meanwhile, were completely baffled that Wolf had seemingly disappeared.
"Do you think he has a cloaking device?" Amanda asked.
"Nah." Slippy replied. "There's no way in Lylat that Wolf could afford one."
For his part, Falco contacted Peppy.
"Hey Peppy, mind running a scan and seeing where Wolf's hiding?"
"Easier said than done, Falco. Some of those caves are down so deep that scanners won't penetrate the rock."
"That's real helpful, gramps." Falco replied while rolling his eyes.
"Wait, I think I've got something. It's faint, but it's approaching fast."
Falco glanced at his scanners and didn't see anything. Turning his head about, the avian squinted as his eyes fell on Solar.
As it stood, Wolf had positioned his ship so that Solar was at his back, meaning that Star Fox would be hard pressed to see the Wolfen until he was practically on top of them.
"And so it begins." Wolf said as he set his sights on an Arwing.
Muzzle curled back into a toothy grin, Wolf boosted towards his quarries. They must have picked up on him, for they began attempting to evade.
"Too late, Star Fox." the lupine remarked as his thumb stabbed the fire button on top of the control yokes.
The pilot reacted with a barrel roll, but not quickly enough, as some of Wolf's lasers hit their mark.
"Take that!" he gloated over the comms.
Slippy's head snapped in the direction of his girlfriend's ship.
"Amanda! Are you hurt?"
"Just my pride." the pink frog replied.
Slippy breathed a sigh of relief and checked his HUD, seeing that a quarter of Amanda's shields had been lost. Keying his comm, the green amphibian angrily said "That wasn't fair, Wolf."
He was soon greeted with the grinning mug of Star Wolf's leader.
"A credit's worth of free advice, Toad. Life ain't fair."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Amanda interjected.
Wolf seemed a little surprised, but then regained his cocky grin.
"Ah, got yourself a girlfriend."
The wild dog tilted his head to the side.
"What the hell is she doing with a guy like you?"
Slippy reacted by firing at Wolf, only for the lupine to deflect the lasers with a barrel roll.
"What's the matter, froggy? Did I make you angry?"
With that, Wolf dove towards the river until he was skimming the surface, jinking and weaving his ship to dodge laser fire from the Star Fox team. While he was successful for the most part and the lasers splashed harmlessly into the water, a few hit their mark.
"Give it up,Wolf. You can't win." Falco taunted.
Wolf simply narrowed his eye.
"You're good, Lombardi."
The lupine then braked suddenly and banked his Wolfen to the right, throwing it into a spin. The action threw a small wave of water up at the Arwings, temporarily blinding their pilots. Wolf took the opportunity to settle in behind an Arwing as it was pulling up and take some potshots.
"But I'm better."
A beeping brought the lupine's attention to his HUD, where he saw two friendly signatures approaching.
"Bout time you two showed up." he snarked.
Star Fox also took note of the new arrivals. Falco let out a huff and sarcastically remarked over the comms "Leon Powalski. How swell."
To the pheasant's surprise, when the chameleon's image came up, he looked rather filthy. But before Falco could get in a snide comment, the lizard responded "So, annoying bird. We meet again."
Amanda found herself greeted with the visage of Panther Caroso, who looked like he had been in a fistfight.
"Ah, a new addition to the team. And quite lovely."
The pink amphibian rolled her eyes and retorted "Buzz off, Prince Charming. I'm taken."
"My mistake." the jungle cat replied, seeming taken aback.
The members of the mercenary teams split off to engage each other. Wolf dropped in behind Slippy, Falco went after Leon, and Panther went after Amanda.
Having not had a chance to duel him during the Aparoid invasion, Wolf was surprised to see that Slippy's piloting skills had somewhat improved since the Lylat War.
Somewhat was the key word, as while Slippy managed to dodge or deflect most of Wolf's shots, he couldn't get the lupine off his tail. It was getting to the point where Wolf had to miss on purpose, lest he make an already difficult situation even worse.
"It would be a shame if I had to blow you out of the sky in front of your little girlfriend."
The toad pulled a loop that Wolf quickly matched.
"You know, Wolf, I really thought you had changed when we were fighting the Aparoids. But I see now that you're still the same."
Wolf grit his teeth, fighting very hard to not give into his rage.
"You're not worth the seconds it would take for me to tear you to shreds."
He punctuated that with a burst of laser fire.
Higher up above the canyons, Leon and Falco dueled. The chameleon had just taken a hit.
"You'll pay for that, impudent avian."
The reptile quickly slammed on his air brakes, forcing Falco to evade and allowing Leon to get on his six. The lizard was able to score a few hits before the Arwing dove down. Leon followed and fired some more shots, but Falco was on guard this time and dodged them.
"Heh, I think I'll torture you before turning you into scrap metal, bird brain."
"Oh, stuff it, lizard boy!"
The Arwing promptly u-turned and opened fire on Leon.
Panther had discovered that Star Fox's new member clearly had some flight training, albeit, not as a fighter pilot. While the pink frog was doing fairly well at dodging and deflecting his shots, it was obvious to the jungle cat that she didn't understand the finer points of dogfighting.
Granted, she had been able to get on his six a few times, but he was always able to turn the tables. He could also count the amount of hits she had scored on one hand and still have fingers left over.
"And this is me holding back." the jungle cat thought.
"Now's about the time you jet off to your mothership."
Amanda simply smirked.
"Caroso, I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you."
As if on cue, a beeping sounded from Panther's console. Checking his long range radar, the wildcat saw five incoming hostiles.
"Wolf….."
"I see them. Disengage boys, we've had enough fun for today."
"Hmh, just when things were getting good." Leon grumbled.
Star Wolf broke off from their respective dogfights and got into formation. After flying through the canyon for a bit, they came upon a cave and moved into single file, Wolf bringing up the rear.
"Leaving so soon, Wolf?" Falco taunted.
"Much as I'd like to stick around and blow you all out of the sky, I have things to do that don't involve you lot."
Not long after entering the cave, the lupine tapped a button on his console. Looking behind them, Carmen quickly noticed that a nova bomb had dropped behind them.
"Uh, Wolf. You do realize that bomb could end up bringing the whole cave down on us?"
The wild dog shook his head.
"I never ask myself those sorts of questions."
"Well that's comforting." the dingo quipped.
Seeing the bomb about to go off in his rearview camera, Wolf remarked "Brace yourselves."
There was a flash of light as the bomb exploded and caused part of the ceiling to collapse and block the entrance. Though the shockwaves rattled the Wolfens and made a few stalactites fall, the rest of the cave mercifully didn't collapse.
Back in the canyon, Falco flew past the cave entrance and saw that it was sealed.
"Damn, guess I'd better call Fox."
Elsewhere
The beeping of his comm brought Fox's attention to his console.
"Falco, what's going on?"
The pheasant shook his head.
"Sorry Fox, they got away. Blew up a cave behind them."
The vulpine let out a frustrated huff.
"What's your status?"
"We took some hits, but we're all fine."
"I guess that's the important thing." Fox said, not for the first time that day.
Continuing, the Star Fox leader ordered "Send the coordinates of that cave to Peppy. We'll see if a scan can show us where it leads."
Not long after, Peppy appeared on the console.
"That cave's pretty far down. I may not be able to get a complete reading."
"Doesn't matter. A partial map is better than no map."
The vulpine took a moment to consider what to do next. Keying his comm, Fox ordered "Team, a geological scan might take a while. Let's regroup back at the Great Fox II and report to General Pepper."
With that, the Arwings began heading out of Kew's atmosphere and back towards their mothership.
Elsewhere
Star Wolf had flown through the cave in silence, a silence that Carmen decided to break as the Wolfens emerged over the ocean and u-turned back towards land.
"We were pretty lucky back there."
"Hmh." Wolf replied. "Half of everything is luck."
Intrigued, Carmen asked "What's the other half?"
The corner of the lupine's muzzle turned up in a grin.
"Fate. As my father and my uncle would say, when your number's up, your number's up."
After flying over a forest for a while, the outlaws set their ships down in a clearing. After taking a moment to stretch their legs, as well as Panther patching himself up and Leon changing into a clean flight suit, Wolf fixed his one eyed gaze on Carmen.
"Alright, first things first. How do you know Fox?"
Ignoring the shocked looks on Leon and Panther's faces, the dingo tucked her hands into her jacket pockets and replied "From when we were kids. My godfather was pretty good pals with James McCloud, so naturally, we hung out a bit. Not much to it, really."
Wolf tilted his head and kept his face impassive. After a short silence, he shrugged.
"Well, okay than."
From there, the lupine used his wristcom to check their location relative to Zalbar Island.
"We'll camp out here tonight and head for the island first thing in the morning."
Noticing Carman's raised eyebrow, Wolf waved his hand.
"It's alright, we've got four tents. I pulled all the survival gear out of Andrew's ship when he left the team."
"I would still be happy to keep you warm, Carmen." Panther put in.
The wild dog shot the feline a glare over her shoulder.
"You do that in a dream, you'd better wake up and apologize."
From there, the quartet went about setting up their makeshift shelters, during which time, Wolf wondered about the fourth Wolfen that the team had kept around for spare parts.
"Probably blown up. Or gathering dust in a CDF impoundment lot."
After pitching his tent, the lupine walked back to his ship and noticed that there was some minor damage from the dogfight. Not wanting a problem during the long flight to Zalbar Island, he grabbed a repair kit from the cockpit and set to work. He soon noticed Carmen walking over.
"Say, do me a favour. Hand me a size ten sprocket wrench. It's the…"
Wolf stopped talking as he saw that the dingo had already grabbed the tool and was holding it out to him.
"I don't have to tell you what anything in there is, do I?"
Carmen shook her head and handed Wolf the wrench.
"My foster brother's a pretty mechanical guy, so needless to say, I know my way around a toolbox."
"Right."
As he started wrenching on his fighter, Wolf decided to strike up a conversation with the dingo.
"So, you were adopted?" the wild dog ventured.
"Yeah." Carmen replied as she leaned on the Wolfen and crossed her arms.
"My mother died giving birth to me. My father died when I was five. I found out later on that he was an intelligence operative."
Wolf raised an eyebrow.
"Gee, I…."
Carmen held up a hand.
"It's okay, you didn't know."
As the two canines continued to talk, neither of them noticed the jealous look that Panther was aiming in their direction. Nor did they hear Leon mutter "Great, now I have two teammates thinking with their pants."
Great Fox II
Aboard their mothership, the Star Fox team discussed what they had seen on the planet.
"Venomian operatives?" Falco wondered aloud. "What the hell would they want with Star Wolf?"
Krystal shook her head.
"I don't know, but one thing is very clear. They're in danger."
Fara crossed her arms.
"My big question is, how the hell does Carmen fit into all this?"
Fox looked around at his team.
"I'm not sure."
The vulpine looked over his shoulder and down at Kew.
"But I do know that something very strange is going on down there."
ROB droning got everyone's attention.
"Contact has been established with General Pepper and Director Richter."
"Thank you, ROB."
Fox took a breath as he and the others gathered around the holotable, soon being greeted by the holograms of the bloodhound and Labrador Retriever.
"Greetings, Star Fox. What news do you have for us?"
Fox let out a sigh.
"I wish I had more good news. Star Wolf managed to give us the slip, but we're working on picking up their trail again. We have also learned a couple of details."
The vulpine met Richter's gaze.
"Art, this is going to be a bit of a shock. But the person working with Star Wolf is Carmen."
The canine's eyes widened in shock.
"That, that can't be." he stammered.
"I saw her with my own eyes."
He pressed some buttons on the table and transferred the image Vekman had given him to the two canines. An uncomfortable silence passed before General Pepper cleared his throat.
"What else have you learned?"
Fox threw a look around the table.
"My team has a couple of sightings of known Venomian operatives."
Once again, the vulpine pressed some buttons and brought up the images and dossiers of the operatives the team had seen in Torzan. Both Pepper and Arthur's expressions hardened as they looked upon the images. After they dissipated, Arthur glanced around at Star Fox.
"I may as well come out and say this. Carmen didn't work for Space Dynamics, she was a field agent for the External Security Bureau."
The retriever's statement shocked the Star Fox team, particularly Fox and Fara.
"My god." they both said.
Arthur shrugged.
"I'm in sort of the same boat here. As for the Venomians, I believe there may be a connection."
"How's that?" Peppy asked.
"Indeed." General Pepper put in.
Arthur let out a sigh.
"Well, before the explosion, Carmen was looking into Venomian personnel who didn't swear allegiance to Oikonny. Her theory was that they were being led by Kalman Koates."
"That can't be." Pepper stated. "We assassinated Koates after his suppression of the Macbethian Uprising."
Arthur simply shook his head.
"It's pretty hard to get a positive ID from a charred corpse. Carmen is walking proof of that."
After another bit of silence, Arthur asked Fox "So, how did it go with Aaron Vekman?"
The vulpine let out a sigh.
"Frankly, I'm a little suspicious of him. He seemed nervous when I brought up the possibility of the Remnant being involved."
Both Arthur and General Pepper contemplated that.
"I admit, it's not much of a lead." said the bloodhound "But we can't afford not to check it out. Of course, you will need to pull someone off the hunt for Star Wolf. My orders regarding them still stand."
"That's alright, I volunteer." Krystal piped up.
"Well, there's that settled. Good luck team, and Godspeed."
With that, Arthur's hologram disappeared, leaving only Pepper.
"Track down Star Wolf and find the connection to the Venomians. Pepper out."
After the general's hologram had disappeared, the team began leaving the bridge, intent on unwinding after the events of the day.
That was not the case with Fox and Krystal, who were headed to the armoury where the latter would gear up with surveillance equipment for her solo mission. While riding the lift down, the vulpine glanced at his girlfriend.
"Krystal, I don't need your powers to know why you took this mission."
As the cobalt vixen met his gaze, Fox continued.
"You do realize that Marshal Koates may very well be dead, right?"
Krystal let out a sigh.
"I wish I could believe that, Fox. But all my senses are telling me otherwise. I have to know for sure."
She tightened her hands into fists.
"If he is alive, than I need to kill him. Not just for myself, but for all of Lylat."
Fox was about to respond when he heard his wristcom beeping. Looking down, the orange furred vulpine saw that he had received a text message from an unknown person.
All it read was; We need to talk.
Yet in spite of the sender being unknown, Fox still had a very bad feeling about who it was.
The lift reaching its destination got his attention. As the doors opened, Krystal set a hand on Fox's arm.
"You'd better get that. I know my way around the armoury."
"Alright." he replied and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
After Krystal had exited the lift, Fox took it back up a couple of floors and walked down a corridor that housed his office. Locking the door behind him, the vulpine sat down at his desk and powered up the communicator, soon being greeted with the image of a familiar canine.
"I'd ask what this is about, Art. But I think I can take a guess."
Arthur let out a breath and set his hands on his hips.
"Fox, just hear me out, okay?"
The Labrador retriever cleared his throat.
"Me and Maggie raised Carmen from the time she was five. She's as much our child as Derek."
Fox folded his ears back, not liking where the conversation was heading.
"Look, I could care less about Star Wolf. A bit of time in the slammer would do those three a lot of good. But I can't stand the thought of Carmen in prison. Whatever she's doing down there might very well be considered a rogue action. In that case, she'll be lucky just to get fifteen years."
The orange furred vulpine leaned forward in his chair.
"What are you asking me?"
Arthur shrugged.
"If you do end up finding them, could you give her five minutes?"
Understanding what he meant by that, Fox let out a sigh.
"Art, I can't do that. I would be risking the team's reputation."
The vulpine averted his gaze. Looking back at the Cornerian Intelligence Director, he continued.
"Besides, I'm sure that you know there are senators who want greater government regulation of mercenary units. If I did let her escape and the press caught wind of it, I'd be handing those people a reason on a silver platter."
A tense silence passed between the two. A silence that Arthur finally broke.
"I don't mean to put you in a bind, Fox. I really don't. But there are things like the law and following orders, and than there is what is just and right. They are not always the same."
Fox scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to respond.
"Fox, will you at leastthink about it?"
The vulpine let out a sigh and met Arthur's gaze.
"I will, Art. But no promises."
The Labrador retriever smiled a little.
"Thanks Fox. Good luck with your mission."
"See you around, Art."
After the call ended, Fox leaned back in his chair and massaged his forehead.
"This job's getting weirder by the minute."
Catching sight of a framed photo of his father on the desk, Fox couldn't help but wonder aloud "What would you do?"
Letting out an exhausted huff, the vulpine stood up and left the office. He found Krystal leaning against the wall in the corridor.
"Your father would do what he felt was right, just as I'm sure you will."
Fox lowered his head and let his ears and tail droop.
"It's not that simple."
The cobalt vixen walked up and took hold of her boyfriend's hands.
"Forget about politics, Fox. Carmen's your friend, you should at least let her explain herself."
Fox's gloomy expression lightened up somewhat.
"You're right." he said and pulled her into a hug.
After they parted, Krystal smiled.
"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."
As the couple walked back to the lift, the cobalt vixen suddenly felt a pang of regret. She was privy to many secrets, not the least of which was the true circumstances of James' death.
She wanted to tell Fox so badly, but only one thing stopped her.
Advice imparted to her many years ago by her mentor.
"Your gift may allow you to know the secrets of others. But that does not mean that you can go around revealing them. Discretion is the better part of valour."
Krystal let out a sad sigh as her thoughts turned towards Randorn Glidewell, the wizard who had defeated and exiled the dark mage, Cain Davros.
The vixen also thought of his grandson, Sabre, a Cerinian Knight. Being an only child, Krystal had looked to him as a big brother figure.
They were both gone now, reduced to stardust like the rest of Cerinia's inhabitants.
"You okay?"
Turning to Fox, Krystal replied "Just thinking of some old friends."
Knowing exactly what she meant, and seeing a couple of tears falling from her eyes, the vulpine gave his girlfriend another hug.
Castillo Manor
As he drove up to the iron gates of the manor, Valen Capaldi glanced over at the family cemetery and noted the presence of several large crates, as well as an excavator digging a hole.
Focusing ahead again, the hyena handed his ID card to the guards at the gate. After checking it over, he was allowed to pass through. Parking his hovercar, the wild dog held up his hands and allowed the guards to search him.
When they were finally finished, one of them said "The Marshal is in his office, Sergeant."
"Thank you."
With that, Valen entered the mansion and walked up the numerous staircases until arriving at Marshal Koates' office. At the moment, the armadillo was staring at something. Something that hadn't been there the last time Valen stood within the office.
The statue resembled an armadillo in a seated position, arms wrapped around the legs. The hyena paid it little mind and snapped off a salute. Koates eventually turned around and waved him at ease.
"So, sergeant, what news do you bring?"
Valen cleared his throat.
"I regret to report that Private Maitland and Captain Reiner are both KIA."
"Hmh. Unfortunate. I shall have Wilkeson and Pyle brought in as soon as possible."
Koates tilted his head and smiled at the hyena.
"Looks like you're promoted, Captain Capaldi."
"Thank you, sir."
The nine banded armadillo took a couple of steps forward.
"That is not the only news you have brought, is it?"
Valen shook his head.
"Our listening post on Thayern picked up a transmission from the Star Fox team's mothership. They're going to put Vekman under surveillance."
He tapped a button on his wristcom.
"I think you will find this part very interesting."
"That's alright, I volunteer."
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Koates' snout curled back into a wicked grin.
"Very interesting indeed." the marshal said as he began walking to his desk.
"Sir, I think she'll go to his penthouse. I will intercept her and finish what we began eleven years ago."
Koates stopped and glanced over his shoulder.
"Yes, but it will not be you who snuffs her out."
Valen raised an eyebrow.
"Sir?"
"You have too much personal investment in this matter. If we are to deprive Star Fox of one of their most valuable members, than the task must be performed by someone with no ties to Cerinia."
The hyena nodded.
"Be that the case, sir, send Collins. He was the most adept of my trainees."
"Very well."
Reaching his desk, Marshal Koates poured a glass of scotch and a glass of wine.
"Besides that, I need you and your team with me on the island tomorrow. Star Wolf is bound to show up."
Walking back, Koates handed the wine glass to Valen.
"Let her death be the final word in the story of Cerinia."
"I'll drink to that, sir."
Valen clinked glasses with his superior and took a sip, confident that Emperor Andross' work would soon be finished.
A/N: For those wondering about this particular interpretation of Sabre and Randorn, it's based on Newcomer24's take on the characters.
Full credit goes to him.