Corneria
"This is just a bad joke, right?"
Fox's call over the voice channel distracted Kursed.
"Shut up!" she replied. "I'm concentrating."
She was piloting her Cloud Runner over Corneria's night side. She knew Fox was in the stolen transport shuttle to the left of her, while Panther in his Black Rose was to the right, but she wasn't looking at either of them. She had her eyes closed, looking for someone else.
She had never done this before. Well, of course she'd read peoples minds and sensed where they were, but not over such as great distance as this. Fox had this crazy idea that maybe she could tap into those telepathic implants, myriads of minds, trying to find one. They had a fair idea of where the subject likely was, and had planned accordingly, but she needed to confirm before they could proceed. Recalling the persons particular thought patters, she searched and she sensed.
"Here's something! It's just outside Corner City. I can feel him. I can see what he sees. There are desks, computer screens, Arspace Dynamics logos, a space craft model hanging from the ceiling. It looks like the Great Fox, the real one, not your carrier excuse of a thing."
"Good! That's his office at Arspace R&D," said Fox. "Panther, let Leon do his magic."
There was a minute's silence before Panther replied, "He's done. We've got our cover."
"Let's go Panther. You hang back as planned, Kursed."
"I will be back soon with the bounty, my space rose," crooned Panther, slipping back into his smooth operator mode. "And I'll leave that pup on the surface."
"No, you'd better both come back," replied Kursed. "If either one of you gets up to anything, and trust me I will know, you know what I'm capable of."
Fox wasn't comfortable working with Panther, and he was struggling to keep his thoughts in check. She allowed herself to take a quick peek, not caring that he would notice.
So it is a test? Well, I've got nothing I need to prove. But what was that last remark about? Has he met you as Kursed somewhere?
She didn't reply. The Wolfen and the shuttle started their descent towards the surface. Fox made radio contact.
"Arspace Tower, this is November Sierra Six Four. Requesting permission to land."
"We read you, Six Four, what's your flight plan."
"I'm transporting parts from Fichina."
"What sort of parts are you carrying, if you need Star Wolf escort?"
"That's classified information," interrupted Panther.
"Very well. Flight plan confirmed. Please continue your approach."
After hearing the exchange, Kursed reached out on a very private channel.
Fox, take good care of it.
I will, he replied.
Panther was abusing his carefully rebuilt Black Rose. That's how he thought about letting the Wolfen descend at a leisurely pace, so that the shuttle could keep up, instead of blasting down through the atmosphere letting flames of friction heat the hull towards the melting point. Neither was he paying much attention to the ominous colour display of Corneria City below, where skyscrapers were reaching up into the night like immense spires of light piercing through the smoke haze. He much preferred the vibrant city to their Sargasso hideout, and would normally enjoy every approach to the Star Wolf Centre, but his company dampened the spirits.
He was however grateful for the connections Star Wolf had established with both the Cornerian Army and the CDF. That made it much easier for Leon - or someone on his payroll - to hack into Corneria City's airspace control and add their faked flight plan. Descending further he adjusted his course away from the Star Wolf Centre, and instead headed towards the private airfield of Arspace Dynamics on the opposite side of the metropolis.
He wondered what that sly vixen was playing at. Of course the plan made sense in part. With the status he currently enjoyed on Corneria, he could easily slip through under the Cerinians noses and retrieve the subject, but he definitely didn't feel that he needed help from that other guy. Deniability, she had said, but was she also playing them out against each other for her amusement?
The Arspace Tower soon came into view and he made a point of taking an extra turn when approaching the hangars, and performing a perfect touchdown with the Black Rose insignia facing the awaiting airport workers. The shuttle followed suit the minute after, touching down with the cargo hold towards the hangar. Panther opened the canopy of his Wolfen fighter and climbed down the ladder that had extended. The smell of sulphur in the volcanic smoke haze stung his sensitive nose.
Two CDF dog soldiers and some warehouse workers approached the two ships, as the shuttle's cargo ramp lowered.
"Commander Caroso," said one of the soldiers and saluted. Panther nonchalantly returned the greeting, not surprised at seeing military personnel at a private corporation's airfield, given how close the relations were between Arspace Dynamics and the army. The soldier continued, "Although it is a bit unusual with arrivals this late in the evening."
"These goods are vital for a high profile project and are required first things tomorrow morning," explained Panther with authority. "We cannot afford any delays, so make sure the cargo is unloaded promptly. The pilot carries a special delivery. I will escort him."
Panther pointed towards a man in a pale indigo Cornerian pilot suit, who was walking down the shuttle's ramp carrying two large aluminium suitcases. The pilot had his cap pulled down low covering his eyes and most of his face. He held his tail away from the lights, so apart from the canid muzzle and two pointy ears, there was little that gave away his exact species.
The soldier gave another salute as Panther walked off towards the main building with the pilot in tow. The airfield was quiet in the night and apart from the background hum of the city, all that could be heard was their footsteps on tarmac. He found himself thinking of Krystal. At the very first sight of her, he had been captivated by her unusual beauty. Immediately he'd known that he wanted to seduce her and take her away from Fox. That's how it all started anyway, but the more he got to know her, the more fascinated he'd become by her. Of course he knew that he had the looks and charms, and throughout his life he had used it to his full advantage. The rumours of him being a Casanova were not only true, he was proud of them. But that didn't mean he didn't have a big heart.
Krystal was different to other women. She had the strength to resist him, and he had never got as far with her romantically as he had wanted, so he'd had to satisfy his erotic cravings elsewhere. Yet, he found that he'd not only loved her, he had fallen in love. And then she had left him and that hurt.
In the corner of his eye, Panther could see how the pilot was stealing glimpses of him, an emerald eye glistening under the cap. The pilot broke the silence with a whisper. "So, how did you know she was Kursed?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, pup," was the only reply Panther offered. The memories were recent enough and the mental wounds still painful. Memories of a failed mission, where a certain bounty hunter had foiled his plans. She had hurt him a second time, humiliated him, though part of him felt a smidgeon of pride. Star Wolf had taught her well, a bit too well perhaps. Now that he knew about her psionic powers, he understood how she had been able to outsmart him. Still, even Wolf didn't know all the details about that mission, so he sure wasn't going to tell Fox anything.
"Commander Caroso!" There was another greeting and salute as they reached the guard at the security gate to the main building. The guard continued with a slightly nervous tone, "Identification please, just for formalities."
Panther gave the guard his best death stare through the glass panels, but still pulled out the card he'd been provisioned by the Cornerian Army, and flashed it in front of the scanner. To be fair, the security card gave him a level of clearance on Corneria that was beyond his wildest dreams. The pilot presented his card as well, and the fake id worked a treat, immediately resulting in a green light on the scanner.
"I need to check your cases," said the guard.
"That won't be necessary. The contents are classified, so open the gates, unless you'd like to explain the delay to the directors," growled Panther.
"Oh, okay, I'm sure it's all clear," replied the guard and opened the blast proof glass doors.
"We know the way," said Panther and walked off with the pilot huffing and puffing after him.
"First entry to the left of the reception," whispered the pilot. "Then right at the end of the corridor."
"I know the way," hissed Panther as they set off through the corridors. Who did Fox think he was? Panther was the one of highest rank here, while Fox was the one in dress-ups and with a bounty on his head, still Fox had slipped into his usual squadron leader manners.
Panther didn't know who to trust. Kamuy and the Cerinians had the Cornerian leaders eating our of their hands so quickly and easily. It seemed too good true, so he was convinced that some sort of telepathic manipulation was at play. Then again, Krystal had betrayed Star Fox, and deceived him, Panther.
His train of thought was interrupted by an earth tremor, which made the doors clatter and the framed pictures on the walls were swinging on their hooks. At the end of the corridor a Landmaster model slid off its pedestal and crashed onto the floor. Panther and Fox look at each other with wide eyes. This tremor was stronger than either of them had felt before.
Either way, at the moment it was in Star Wolf's best interest to gather more intel, and that unfortunately meant going with the foxes plan, concluded Panther. After another short walk they reached their destination and stopped outside a door with frosted glass and a plaque that read 'General Manager, Research & Development'.
"Remember the plan," whispered Fox.
"Hush puppy!" replied Panther and knocked on the door.
Slippy was rushing back and forth between an array of computer monitors and the hardware wired up to test equipment on a table in the middle of his spacious office. Between adjusting the connections on a piece of Arwing flight control system, he was feeding the unit with data and monitoring the test results.
He really should be back at his rented house getting some rest, but the work was too exciting. Sometimes he even slept in an armchair in the office. Occasionally he felt guilty about working too much, and he knew that Amanda wanted to relocate the family back to Aquas. But his current position at the company made that hard, especially since the arrival of the Cerinians. However, after they both had received their tele-neuronic implants, he felt that they understood each other so much better.
His current work project was also really important. One on hand it was patch work, plugging Cerinian technology into Cornerian hardware and systems, but on the other hand it still achieved great benefits. It allowed the Cerinian technology to monitor and override the Cornerian ship's systems in dangerous situations, for example to stabilise the G-diffusers. Watching the test plots on his monitors with satisfaction, he knew that they were nearly ready to put it into production. Sometimes he was worried about the amount of control the Cerinian technology would gain over the Cornerian fleet, but a voice of better judgment always told it was for the better.
His train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. Surprised at getting a visit this late he wandered over the door, then he recalled the message he'd just received from security.
"Come in," he said and ushered the Cornerian pilot into the room.
"Where would you like these?" The pilot spoke in a low and rather quiet voice, while looking down at the two large aluminium suitcases he was carrying.
"Please put them over on that desk for now," said Slippy and pointed to a mostly empty desk on the far side of the office. The pilot walked across the office with the tip of his fluffy tail tucked between his legs. Slippy was too intrigued by the suitcases to remember to close the door, and just trundled along behind the pilot instead.
"I must say I'm surprised at the time of delivery."
"I'm just following orders," mumbled the pilot and hoisted the suitcases up on the desk.
"Hello there," said a voice behind Slippy, a voice that Slippy had only heard a few times, yet he immediately recognised it and it made his skin crawl. He slowly turned around, hoping it would be someone else, but of course it wasn't. In Slippy's very own office stood none other than his old enemy Panther Caroso, studying the model Great Fox suspended from the ceiling.
"Fancy office," continued Panther. "This is certainly a promotion from being a mercenary's mechanic, isn't it?"
"W-what are you doing here?"
"Just overseeing a delivery ... and a pick-up," purred the big cat and walked closer.
Suddenly a hand clasped down over Slippy's mouth, as an arm reach around him and pinned Slippy's own arms to his body. He tried to fight and wriggle out, but he was stuck in an iron grip.
"Hurry up and take it," hissed the voice of the person holding Slippy.
Slippy froze in fear as the razor sharp claws of the Panther's left paw extended and reached ever closer towards Slippy's right eye. He could feel he claws digging into his skin around the implant, and then a searing pain went through Slippy's brain as Panther gave one forceful yank.
"What is this thing?" Panther asked with a face of disgust, as he watched the metal disc and its wriggling wires in the palm of his hand.
"Pure mind control," said that voice behind Slippy, which all of a sudden sounded very familiar. Slippy stopped struggling and the arms holding him relaxed. Slowly he turned his head and looked at the pilot, who removed his cap.
"Long time no see, Slip," said Fox and grinned.
"But ... what are you two doing together?" said a stumped Slippy, his gaze darting between the two foes.
"That's a long story for later," said Fox and walked back to the desk with the suitcases. "But I think you realise now what those implants have done to Amanda and yourself."
Slippy went cold as the memories washed over him with a renewed clarity; how he had betrayed Fox, how he had worked too much, neglecting his family in a way that neither he nor Amanda would normally accept.
"I... I'm sorry," stammered Slippy. "We need to save Amanda!"
"No need to say sorry. You were not in control," said Fox and unloaded weapons and his headset from the opened suitcases. "And we will save everyone, Peppy too."
"But right now we need to grab all the intel and research we can, and then get out," added Panther sternly. "It's not safe for us here. We need to hurry!"
Just like old days, thought Kursed where she sat in her Cloud Runner, gazing down at the night view of Corneria many miles below. She was left behind, being the backup, but at least one thing was different. Fox had reasoned and pleaded with her to stay back, but he had not ordered her. And she had chosen to stay back. He was right, she could not get caught. She was their hope!
So here she was with the ship's transponder off and radar deflectors on, scanning communication channels for any bit of information she could pick up. She took in the landscape too. Watching the lights from the cities, she recognising them, recalling their names and remembering how beautiful it was. Not the natural beauty of Sauria of course, but still...
Yet something was different. The lights were dim and reddish, like the cities were clouded in smoke. It seemed like every volcano on the surface was erupting, and there were jagged red lines sprawling out from them, where lava was oozing up from deep within the planet. Around them there were glowing streams of plasma engines from shuttles coming in and carrying out whatever they were mining, like evil bees collecting pollen in the night.
She reached out, trying to sense the people below. It was difficult, like trying to pick out voices in a crowd from too far a distance, but she sensed fear. Then there was the slightest of a tingle in her mind.
Krystal?
She startled and sat up straight in her seat. On instinct she touched a button on her communicator, which transmitted a millisecond burst with an encrypted message, impossible to pick up except for the few who was listening for it. The planet below her and the cockpit around her became blurry.
So it is you, the soothing and somehow familiar voice continued, yet it rubbed her the wrong way.
I am not who you think I am, she replied.
No, a long time has passed. You should come to my ship so we can talk face to face. I have been so worried about you, child!
Thoughts and memories came bubbling up, she didn't know from where.
You've been worried, Kamuy?
Yes, I knew you. I knew your parents. I can tell you about your past.
She wanted to confide in the voice. To let it all out. To be free.
You've said I joined the one who destroyed Cerinia!
You made a mistake. It led to a terrible accident, but you didn't mean it to.
Why did she always bring destruction? To Cerinia? To Star Fox? Tears were welling up. The voice continued.
I could have stopped you, I should have stopped you, and I should have come after you. But I didn't know you were alive. Please join me.
Can't. Betray. Fox. She clenched her fists, grimacing, trying to keep her thoughts in check.
You should bring your friend too. He's such a troubled soul, seeing but danger where there is none. We can help him!
Fox! She recalled the battle of Katina, where he'd begged her to come back, said how sorry he was in front of everyone.
Krystal, I was a fool, continued the voice. Please come back!
And in return she had let them taunt him and she had just left.
I'm truly sorry. Please... Please come with me. I need you with me.
Just what Fox has said. Krystal's eyes opened wide, then narrowed. Exactly what Fox had sad, word for word.
Oh, you're GOOD!
She hit the engine switch and turned the craft around.
Krystal? Krystal? What are you doing? Where are you going?
I don't know, she replied and engaged the auto-pilot.
Calling all fighters! Take out that ship.
I bet I wasn't meant to hear that last bit, thought Krystal as the Cloud Runner picked up speed. She relaxed and blanked out her mind, but that was when she sensed something else. Her staff! She switched off the auto-pilot again, and turned the fighter around towards Corneria.
Fox and Panther stopped and stared at each other as blue symbols appeared simultaneously on their communicators.
"What's going on?" Slippy wondered.
"It's time to hit the frog and toad," said Fox.
"Hit the what?" squealed the toad, looking nervously at the vulpine.
"Never mind, just some marsupial slang."
"We suspected they'd sooner or later detect that your implant has been removed," explained Panther. "They've found Krystal and that means they might know where we are."
"Krystal?" Slippy's eyes grew large as dinner plates.
"We'll explain later. Just grab whatever you can and let's get the heck out of here."
"What about those downloads, Slip?" Fox added.
"Three memory units done, and a fourth is halfway."
"Three will have to do." Fox shoved one more tablet into his backpack and then pulled out a taser gun. Panther's eyes narrowed as the gun was pointed his way?
"You're going to enjoy this, aren't you?" he said.
"A little," Fox confirmed with a smirk.
"What's this about?" Slippy had a bewildered look on his face.
"Deniability," growled Panther and with that Fox pulled the trigger. An electric bolt of several thousand volts shot out and embraced the feline's body as it fell backwards. He crashed onto the floor and lay motionless with wisps of smoke coming off his flight suit.
"Get a move on!" barked Fox and pulled a stupefied Slippy towards the door, both of them carrying a large backpack and a duffel bag each as they ran out of the room.
Panther came to after a minute. Groaning he sat up unsteadily as the vertigo eased and his senses slowly came back to normal. He looked down and saw charred marks on his white chest armour where the blast had hit him. It looked convincing enough. Then he trained his ears towards the door and could hear the stomping of several pairs of running boots.
"In here," he yelled when he saw the silhouettes through the frosted glass, then he just laid back down again and let whomever was outside fight with the door. Fox and Slippy must have managed to lock it after them, because there was several moments of shouting and banging, before finally the glass was smashed. A hand reached in to open the door from the inside, and several armed guards as well as a couple of CDF soldiers spilled into the room.
"Commander Caroso?"
He groaned again and pretended to struggle sitting up. Two of the men bent down to help him.
"Dizzy," mumbled Panther. "Been stunned."
"Sir, what happened?"
He stalled for a moment, swaying from side to side, and blinking several times.
"It was him. That bastard!"
"Who?"
Panther rubbed his templates and waited a little before answering, buying Fox and Slippy precious seconds to get a way.
"McCloud," he growled. "He must have ambushed the shuttle pilot and taken his place. I should have realised, but he'd disguised himself well. When we got here, he tasered me and kidnapped Mr Toad."
"Did you see which way they went?"
"Back the way we came from, heading to the shuttle obviously," said Panther knowing damn well that Fox and Slippy had gone in the opposite direction. "Although I'm pretty sure that Fox will try to steal my Black Rose because it's faster than the shuttle. He wouldn't know that only my paw prints can activate it."
"But we didn't see anyone?"
"No wonder with the amount of noise you made. How many men at the security gate?"
"The one guard as usual."
"You fools!" hissed Panther, a speck of saliva hitting the nearest solider in the face. "He will be no match for Fox. We must hurry?"
Still he made them help him to his feet, and put on a fake hobble the first few steps to slow them down. Only then did he look up and saw the two vulpine men in Cerinian robes, one with blue and one with dark grey fur, who were standing outside the door. How long had they been there? Had they read his thoughts? The two foxes looked at each other, and without exchanging a single word they ran off in opposite directions. Panther assumed that was good sign, at least for himself.
"Where's your Bullfrog?" Fox asked as he was jogging along the corridor, referring to Slippy's custom made and heavily armoured Arwing.
"Hangar three," wheezed Slippy in between breaths, struggling to keep up.
"Office work hasn't been good for your fitness, has it?" Fox tried to joke to keep Slippy's spirits up.
"No," panted Slippy. "I know a shortcut."
They sure could use that, Fox thought to himself, wishing that they could run much faster. Slippy pointed to a door which led them into an open plan office. Fox led the way between desks and chairs, since he could see much better in the darkness. The next door led them into a laboratory full of computes and all sorts of strange equipment scattered on desk and hooked up to test benches. Fox assumed that Slippy spent a lot of time in this room tinkering with stuff, but he only took in his surroundings because he was running at half-speed, so that the toad could keep up. The next door opened up into a cavernous warehouse full of shelves, crates and forklifts. Fox recognised some Arwing and Landmaster parts on the shelves.
"That leads to hangar three," puffed Slippy and pointed down a wide corridor. They continued their sprint, but as they approached the large, open roller door that lead into the hangar, Fox put up a hand to signal to Slippy to slow down. He led them off to the side of the entrance, put his back up against the wall and just listened with ears swivelling. Though it was hard to hear much over the amphibian's panting, he thought he could make out a couple of voices.
"All units to hangar one," a radio crackled. "Surround the shuttle. Open fire if it tries to take off."
"You head over there," said another voice. "I don't think anyone will come this way."
Fox poked his head around the corner for just a moment. Even though only minimal lighting was turned on in the hangar, his keen night vision could see one person running out of the hangar gate, leaving a single guard standing in front of a rather stumpy looking Arwing. That was Slippy's own Bullfrog.
Fox passed his duffel bag to Slippy and signalled for him to stay, then he slipped into the hangar, keeping to the shadows. The amphibian waited for a minute, then the curiosity got the better of him and he looked around the corner. Without the vulpine superior night vision, he couldn't see much at all. He definitely couldn't see Fox, and could only just make out the guard standing in front of the Bullfrog, but the canine guard on the other could easily spot Slippy.
"Hey, who are hmph..."
The guard's call was interrupted when a dark shadow fell upon him. Slippy could heard the noises of a brief struggle, a thump, and then something heavy being dragged across the floor. A few moments later Fox appeared and waved at Slippy. The toad hobbled over towards his ship as fast as he could, struggling with the two heavy duffel bags and his backpack.
"The guard...?" he started, afraid to ask what might have happened.
"He's just having a nap. Now, which ship did you say was flight ready?" Fox asked and scanned the other ships in the hangar. There were a shuttle and a Gyrowing, neither of which would make for a fast escape, and two standard Cornerian fighters. Slippy pulled out a mobile communicator from a pocket and fiddled with the screen for a moment.
"That one," he said and pointed to one of the fighters. "It's fuelled and charged but ... umm ... it's been used to test a new target tracking system, so the lasers are inoperable."
"Great," muttered Fox and eyed off the fighter as Slippy opened the canopy of his ship and climbed inside the cockpit. The vulpine climbed up after him and helped stow the bags and one of the backpacks behind the ship's single seat.
"Here's input for your auto-pilot from ROB," said Fox and handed over a memory unit, as Slippy went through the startup sequence.
"What for?"
"I'll tell you later, and don't look at the coordinates now. Have you upgraded your EMP shields?"
"Yeah, I did it as soon as I'd completed the program for your Arwing. Why?"
"It might just come in handy. Now get a wriggle on."
Fox jumped down from the Bullfrog as the ship's G-diffusors started spooling up. As he ran across the hangar floor to the Cornerian fighter, there was an odd sensation in the back of his head. Looking to his left back to where they had come from, a robed figure stood in the doorway and was pointing a staff Fox's way. Instinctively Fox dropped to the floor, sliding along it as a red orb of energy flew just over his head, temporarily blinding him. He scrambled back onto his feet, fired his blaster in the general direction of the Cerinian, and desperately sprinted the last few metres to the ship. Another charge flew past right behind him, making his fur stand on end as he could feel the heat.
He jumped up onto the wing and took cover behind the fuselage. More charges came his way, slamming into the hull of the ship, lighting up the hangar like crimson fireworks. Pieces of fuselage flew through the air like shrapnel, the fighter's tail stabiliser was torn off and the cockpit canopy shattered.
There goes that escape plan, thought Fox as he frantically rummaged through his backpack. He pulled out the item, something she had insisted that he should take, yet was very reluctant to hand over. He held up Krystal's staff and looked at it in wonder for a brief moment. The crude paint had started to peel off in some places, just like Kursed's hard shell was starting to crack. Would the staff obey him again?
He jumped down from the wing and held up the staff towards the Cerinian. Here goes nothing! Another shining red orb came his way, but the staff extended and the a field appeared. The blast hit the translucent shield and explored in a blinding red light. Fox was pushed backwards, sliding on his feet along the floor, but he was unharmed. By now Slippy had the Bullfrog up in the air and moved in between Fox and his attacker. Hovering mere feet above the floor, the ship was hit by blast after blast, but the shields held. Fox saw his chance to make a run for it, and sprinted towards and out through the hangar gate as fast as his legs could carry him. Through his painting, he could hear a voice in his head.
Fox, what's going on?
Krystal? You should have left by now. You're not sticking to the plan.
Neither are you. I sensed my staff. What's wrong?
Fox looked from side to side, a runway and open space to his right and to his left the cargo shuttle he'd arrived in over at hangar one. He could see CDF soldiers and another staff-wielding Cerinian closing in the shuttle, and Panther was already getting into the Black Rose. What should he do? He couldn't ride Slippy's wing out of the atmosphere. Between hangar one and himself stood a sleek ship, somewhat larger than an Arwing, gleaming like gold even in the night.
Just a minor detail. Can you help me fly a Cerinian ship?
What? Are you winging it again?
He made a dash for it, hoping and praying that Slippy would keep the Cerinian behind him busy. The Cerinian over at hangar one hurled another red energy bolt his way, which he deflected with the staff, and then returned the favour. Panther had the Black Rose up in the air and strafed the tarmac with laser fire, way too close for Fox's comfort. He thanked Panther for laying down the laser curtain hiding Fox from the Cerinian's view, but didn't doubt that the big cat used his skills to shoot as close to Fox as possible, just because he could. Was it imagination, or was the volcanic smoke smell in his nose getting mixed with the scent of singed vulpine fur? He reached the ship but only to face the next problem.
How do I get in?
I used the staff to unlock my old shuttle, Krystal replied, referring to the ship she'd arrived on Sauria in many years ago.
He saw some symbols and an indentation in the smooth hull, just on front of the wing. On inserting the butt end of the staff, the ship's canopy slid backwards and revealed two seats in tandem. With two giant leaps he made his way into the front seat, while flinging the backpack into the rear seat. In the corner of his eye he saw the Bullfrog making an escape with the Black Rose in pursuit, but in front of him the cockpit was filled with black screens and symbols he didn't understand. Another crimson blast hit the ship, which shuddered from the force.
"Tovodsoj uskalukot," said a calm and sweet female voice, as the canopy closed over Fox. Bewildered he saw a red outline of the ship appearing on one of the monitors, and then the outline changed to blue. The next blast from the approaching Cerinian just bounced off the hull like a ping pong ball.
The ship must be protecting itself, thought Fox. Impressive! But how do I start this thing?
What do the controls say? Krystal asked.
I can't read them.
Oh, to hell with it! Just relax and trust me!
Fox felt the tingling sensation spreading through his brain, immersing it, and his vision shifted out of and back into focus. Without him thinking about it, his arms moved and his fingers touched some controls. More screens came to life, indicators changed colour from red to blue, a whooshing noise increased in intensity. Then the ship started hovering, and she relinquished her control over him.
How'd you learn that?
By needing to survive as a solo bounty hunter in the arse end of the galaxy! I'll see you at the rendezvous point.
Fox took over the flight controls and turned the ship around, but it was really sensitive. A wing scraped along the tarmac, sending sparks flying. He managed to straighten up and increased the thrust. At first he was pushed hard into the seat, then the voice spoke again, and the G-force was automatically equalised. Amazed he pushed the throttle harder, and while he couldn't hear the sonic boom, people on the ground certainly could.
He followed the streamers after the Bullfrog and the Black Rose, quickly gaining on the two ships as he climbed through the atmosphere at hypersonic speed, with the nose cone glowing red from the friction. Occasionally a few beams of laser emitted from the Black Rose, but not hitting the Arwing. The noise level reduced as he passed through the stratosphere, and he could see the curved thin blue line that was Corneria's atmosphere under him.
He completely misjudged the speed of the Cerinian ship, overshooting Panther and Slippy, but enjoyed doing a loop to come back in behind them. Then he turned on his headset and opened a private channel.
"Slippy and Panther, what's your status?"
"All good," Panther replied. "They swallowed the bait and think I'm in pursuit. Enjoying your new ride?"
"Heck yeah, this thing moves," chuckled Fox.
"Where's Krystal? Where are we going?" Slippy asked.
Yes, where are you going, Fox?
He startled at the voice inside his head, because it wasn't Krystal's.
"I don't know!"
"What do you mean you don't know?" Slippy continued.
"I really don't know. That was Krystal's great idea! She asked ROB to evaluate several suitable rendezvous points, then pick one by random and not tell us. Because we don't know, the telepaths won't know."
You can run but you cannot hide, Fox! Kamuy hissed.
"The coordinates are in your auto-pilot now, Slippy. Hit it!" said Fox and relaxed in his seat with a satisfied smile on his muzzle.
Author's Note: Thanks to Nail Strafer for asking the tough questions, providing suggestions and compelling me to do better. In the original versions of this chapter I had Krystal forcing Fox and Panther to work together more or less just to see who would make a more trustworthy partner. Fox was leading the mission while Panther spoke in third person, flew the shuttle, and stole the Cerinian ship for shits and giggles. You know, just hop in and fly off. How hard can it be? Cringeworthy, right?
I hope this version works better and makes the plot somewhat more plausible. Plus, as you can see, I tried to plug a plot hole. How did Panther know about Kursed? That may or may not become a separate spinoff.
