Sargasso
Slippy was getting crosseyed and his vision blurry from anxiety and lack of sleep. His work rate the last week had been nothing but insane. Not only had he been working on further upgrading the EMP protection software for the Arwings, but also adapting it for the Wolfen fighters and the Cat's Paw as best as he could. He'd made some hardware changes to further protect critical systems as well. Krystal's Cloud Runner had been in a sorry state, and he'd spent countless hours fixing it up, including adding some special equipment. On top of that he'd been peering over intel about the Cerinian ships, as well as analysing the tele-neuronic implant that had been extracted from his own head. That thing still freaked him out.
So did visiting the Sargasso Station, a stone's throw away from where the Great Fox was hiding. How ROB had managed to manoeuvre the carrier this far into the asteroid belt was beyond Slippy's belief. Still, that didn't make it any more comfortable to go to Wolf's turf to work on Star Wolf's and their loyal Ruffians' ships. When Krystal or Fox dragged him away from his work to get some rest, he still couldn't sleep from worrying about Amanda and his family, as well as from drinking too much caffeine.
For the moment he was back on the Great Fox, sitting at the large desk he'd set up in a workshop attached to the hangar, and subsequently cluttered with parts, tools and equipment. It may have seemed completely hap-hazardous, but he knew exactly where he had everything. It was just his own way of ordering things. He drained the rest of yet another can of caffeinated energy drink, rubbed his eyes, and went back to peering through the magnifying glass. He had pulled apart the tele-neuronic implant and was equally mesmerised and uneasy about it. The circuits making it up were microscopic, smaller than anything Corneria could produce. The drivers of it seemed to be tiny crystals, like fragments of the power gems from Sauria. A spectral analysis had returned unusually high concentrations of beryllium, but he had a nagging suspicion that there was more to them than that. Krystal had said they were magical, while waving the same magic off as powers that simply were not understood yet. Slippy hated not understanding things.
"Now, what's this thing for?" he mumbled.
"Talking to yourself again?" Slippy jumped high in fright, nearly knocking his work over, even though the voice was so familiar to him. He spun around and stared at a smirking Fox, who had snuck up on him. "You're a bit jumpy!"
"Funny that with all the Ruffians and other scum around." Slippy was less than amused, but he spoke quietly while looking around, just in case some of said scum were within earshot. Fox picked up an odd looking tool from the desk.
"Paws off! It's delicate." Slippy snatched it out of Fox's hand and put it back on the desk. Fox picked up the empty can of energy drink instead.
"'Viper Venom'? Where'd you get these from?"
"Err... someone gave me a box when I was over at the Sargasso Station. They're good! They really keep you awake."
"That figures." Fox studied the can intently, turning it around. "'Made on Venom.' Who knows what's in them."
"You're really not helping, Fox!" Slippy slumped back in his chair.
"Sorry, pal," said Fox, put a hand on Slippy's shoulder and smiled at him. "You're doing an awesome job."
"I could really do with some help though. Lucy might know this nanotechnology."
"Leon tracked her down, but she's on Corneria with an implant of her own, I'm afraid. She probably ran straight to Peppy with your seismic simulation results, and the Cerinians would have snatched her up." Fox turned his attention back to Slippy's work. "Are you looking at the implant again? Have you found a way to jam them?"
"Maybe..." Slippy rubbed his temples while trying to think of how he could explain it to Fox. "The implant emits microwaves, which are way too weak to reach any significant distance, so they are probably just a byproduct of the tele-neuronic waves-whatever they are. But if I place a Saurian power gem nearby and feed it with energy-a green laser beam into a green gem seems to work best-the microwave disappears, and hopefully the tele-neuronic wave with it."
"So we can jam them?"
Slippy pointed to an object on his workbench; a canteen sized metallic cylinder with three legs each ending with a palm sized disk.
"I think so. We can launch that and it will magnetically attach itself to a ship's hull, but the range is limited-maybe a hundred metres-and the power supply will only last for an hour."
"But it might be enough to block out some implants, if attached to say General Peppy's flagship?"
"Exactly!"
"I like your thinking, Slippy!"
They heard the noises of engines entering through the plasma gates, one of them with a distinct howling sound. Slippy rose and they both stepped out of the workshop, just in time to see the Black Rose and the Cerinian star-fighter touch down on the flight deck. Slippy ran towards them with surprising speed, Fox jogging behind him, while the two pilots disembarked their ships.
Slippy still wasn't used to the blue vixen's new look, with those leather pants and that black top, which matched her much colder and tougher attitude. He wondered what she'd been through to get that scar on her face and chipped ear, and even her accent had changed. Sometimes he didn't know what to call her, but he stuck with Krystal since he didn't like Kursed. She had been nothing but nice to him though. She and Fox were acting very professionally around each other, although even Slippy had noticed the glances they sometimes stole off each other. While the toad was still very uneasy in Panther's company, he was eager to learn the test results from his latest upgrades.
"How did you go?"
"I believe Krystal had a good time shooting me down," replied Panther and scowled at the vixen, who just smirked in return. The tests had simply consisted of Krystal firing the EMP cannons at the Black Rose from point blank range.
"I mean with the tests," said Slippy, practically bouncing on the spot.
"Not too bad I guess. I lost navigation and targeting systems for a few systems for half a minute, and the flight controls were a bit sluggish for a few seconds, but nothing shut down completely and the shields stayed up."
"I only dialled up the EMP to 40%," said Krystal. "Last time the Wolfen shorted out at 25% though."
Slippy pondered the news, while taking off his cap and rubbing his temples. "Then again, the EMP and laser cannons on that ship are something special. They make the lasers on the Cloud Runner and the Black Rose's zapper look like toys, no offence."
Krystal turned around and let her eyes run along the smooth curves of the Cerinian ship. "It's like a battering ram."
The toad could only agree. He'd analysed the data they had on the Cerinian fighters, and most of them were single-seaters and significantly smaller than the twin-seater Fox had got his paws on. Scans had shown that the single-seaters couldn't possibly have any weapons of the same caliber.
Slippy turned his attention back to Panther. "Do you have any news from Amanda?"
"Do you have to ask every time we meet?" The feline rolled his eyes. "But yes, I received this message from Leon an hour ago."
He tapped his wrist communicator and after some static a holographic image of the chameleon appeared.
"Everything is clear at the Star Wolf Centre," started the recorded message. "The subject and her family are still at their house in Corneria. I believe any rescue attempts to be very unlikely, considering the tight watch we are keeping, but still we're prepared. She won't be going anywhere."
"That sounds awful!"
"What do you think?" Panther scoffed. "That we're gonna say straight out that we're keeping your family safe for you? 'She won't be going anywhere' is just a coded message for her not being detained by the Cerinians."
That's good, I guess, but Slippy's mind was far from at ease. He'd be a lot more relaxed if his family was on Aquas, but he supposed it was too much to ask for them to be relocated with short notice. That is if the Cornerian authorities would let them go in the first place, which was unlikely, just in case Fox would come to get them.
His thoughts were interrupted by Falco's and Katt's ship arriving through the port plasma gate. Moments after another Wolfen entered through the starboard gate, this one Wolf's personal craft.
"Okay, everyone's here," said Fox. "Let's head to the briefing room."
With Leon on Corneria, there were seven of them sitting around the table in the briefing room, while ROB was standing by a computer to the side. Wolf let his gaze wander from person to person, trying to pick up on their body language, and it seemed Fox was doing the same. Slippy was fidgeting in his chair between Panther and Falco, trying to get as close to Falco as possible. Katt had her chin resting in the palm of her hand, and with her elbow on the table. She had a bored expression on her face, but her pink tail twitched excitedly behind her. Falco was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, glaring at Wolf with narrow eyes. Wolf crossed his arms too and met Falco's gaze, while keeping a poker face. I can do this all day, he thought. Panther was sitting next to Wolf, looking somewhat uneasy and hardly taking his eyes off Krystal who was sitting on the opposite side of the table. Occasionally his gaze would drop down towards her bosom. Krystal in turn just sat there with closed eyes, and Wolf assumed she was going through the others' minds.
"Please start the presentation, ROB," said Fox.
The android tapped some keys, the lights dimmed and a hologram showing Corneria appeared over the centre of the table. He commenced a droning monologue.
"The red dots on the surface of Corneria indicate active krazonium mining sites. The Cerinian starship, shown in blue, is as you can see in geostationary orbit approximately eight hundred kilometres from the Orbital Gate. Those Cornerian vessels, which are not spread throughout the system, are either down on the surface in the Corneria City base or located around the Orbital Gate. You can see these marked in green."
"The basic plan is simple," said Fox. He stood up and pointed at the hologram with a laser pen. "Katt and a squadron of mercenaries they've recruited will attack one of the mining sites, the one circled in red. This will catch the Cerinians attention and hopefully draw out a fair portion of their fleet. There were hundreds of vessels on the flight deck when I visited the starship, but many were shuttles or personal craft. I estimate that they have some fifty fighters, at most a hundred."
"Is that all?" interrupted Falco, trying to sound more confident than he looked. A whole bunch of Cerinians made Wolf slightly nervous too. He remembered how difficult Krystal had been in their training dogfights, and now that he knew she was telepathic, he understood why.
"Shortly after Falco will lead the Ruffians in an attack on the Cornerian forces." Fox pointed towards the Orbital Gate, the beam from his laser pen making a little attack of its own on the holographic ships. "There is no need for them to get too close, we just want them to keep the Cornerian fleet busy. They'll be using some Venomian ships too, to make it look less like the doings of Star Wolf allies."
"So it's just one big distraction," said Wolf in a rather matter-of-fact voice, hiding how he hated just being a pawn in the game. "What's our role?"
"You make your way to the Star Wolf Centre well ahead of the battle, and jump in the air as soon as the Cornerian forces are attacked. You will feign fighting with the Ruffians, but your real mission is to support Krystal and myself when we should up."
"And what's your contribution to this?" Panther asked.
"We'll be arriving in the Great Fox shortly after," said Krystal. "We have a plan, something Kamuy won't be able to resist, which will lure her and her remaining forces out of the starship. When she gets close to the Great Fox, you will engage, and we can take out her personal craft using their own weapons. Once she's captured, we can negotiate the Cerinians' retreat."
"How are you so sure she'll fall for it?"
"Sorry, I can't tell you that."
"In fact, the whole plan is a bit light on detail."
"You can trust me, we have thought it through, and don't you even think about attacking the Cerinian starship yourself." Panther startled at Krystal's remark. She continued in a pleasant tone, but her words were not quite so. "See how easily I can read your mind. What do you think the Cerinians will do once you get close?"
"So," said Wolf. "You're only telling us the minimum of what we need to know about the overall plan, because you think they will scan us?"
"I'm sure of it, but the less you know, the less Kamuy will know too. Fox and I will give each team more detailed instructions shortly."
"I don't like it..." Wolf drummed his fingers on the table. It bothered him that he couldn't come up with a better plan himself, not with the limited forces at their disposal. Krystal was doing the best she could, dealing with such a difficult enemy, yet there was a lot that could go wrong. But at least if the mission went pear shaped immediately, before the point where Star Wolf needed to side with Krystal, they had some level of deniability. "But I understand the logic."
The briefing was over and everyone was making trails for their own ships and bases. The two foxes were left alone for a moment, as they walked back to the living quarters of the Great Fox.
"What actually happened on the palace roof?" Fox asked.
"We fought but neither of us could get the upper hand. But you know that already."
"Who was she? A leader?"
Krystal just shrugged. Fox made her stop and put his hands on her shoulders.
"You're keeping something from me, aren't you?"
He looked her straight in the eyes, but he looked neither sad nor angry, as if he'd just stated a fact. She could only look back at him, not uttering a word. She wanted to tell him, she wanted to know if he would agree with her; that the old vixen hadn't taken her chances to end the fight because she didn't want to. Krystal had learned from that fight, as if the old vixen had trained her, without making it obvious. Was she trying to hide something from Kamuy, worried about being scanned? And why had the old vixen referred to 'Kamuy's decision'? Didn't she agree with it, and if so, were there others like her? If that was true, it was imperative that Fox didn't know, and therefore she couldn't tell him.
"You're afraid a telepath would pick your secret straight out of my brain, aren't you?" Fox had spoken with a soft voice, and just smiled at Krystal. Her ears flattened. "I understand. I trust you."
She rolled her eyes. "How can you trust a bounty hunter?"
"Why shouldn't I? You've never lied to me. Have you ever ripped a client off, taking the money without finishing the job?"
"Once! The mark didn't deserve to die." She scowled and started walking. That job had been a turning point for her, although she hadn't realised at the time. If that mark didn't deserve to die, did it mean all others did? Who was she to decide anyway?
"What happened?"
"I knocked him out, put him in a crate on a ship, and sent him to another system. I hope he got there and made a start with the credits I'd been paid for the job." She added with a growl, "I didn't want them."
"Ah, so sweet, the bounty hunter with the big heart!" Fox chuckled. "I knew Krystal never left."
She punched his shoulder, but it was a weak hit, a Kursed sign of affection. They'd stopped outside the door to her room, and she felt herself drowning in his gaze again. She just wanted to wrap his arms around him, pulling him into her quarters and more. But she needed to keep the facade up a bit longer, not letting emotions get in the way of battle with Kamuy, but it was getting harder every day.
"Just shut it, smooth operator!" she said and put a hand around his muzzle. Then she couldn't help herself and gave him a scratch under his chin, igniting a glow in those emerald eyes of his. And she kissed him. It was an intense kiss, like that kiss after the training session on the way from Kew, but this time it wasn't calculated. Losing herself in the moment, she savoured the taste of his lips, and soaked up his love. When they finally came up for air, she had to fight for control, and put a hand over his mouth to stop him from coming back for seconds.
"Soon," she whispered before she turned away and slipped into her room. "We've got things to do."
Three canines, a mother and her two children, stepped off the bus and started trudging through the dirty snow on the pavement. Although it was only mid afternoon, the sun was already setting somewhere beyond the heavy clouds, and it was starting to get dark. Bleak streetlights were doing their best to light up the sidewalks. The street was the border between a residential area and a factory district. With both being built out of grey concrete and steel, the mother didn't think they looked much different from each other, except there were more windows on one side and more chimneys on the other.
The woman reflected on the fact that it had been pretty much the same everywhere, since they arrived on Arctos after the long trip from their home world. Arctos had a harsh climate with long winters, and the denizens-mostly bears of various types-were not much for flair and fashion. Everything was utilitarian yet functional. Even the space port they'd arrived at looked more like a shipping port, and didn't see many passengers. Manufacturing and trade were what kept Arctos going, tourism was nearly non-existent. But as intimidating as the big bears looked, everyone she'd met had been very friendly and lovely.
After two weeks here, her children were bored and cranky, yet they continued their desperate search. She'd checked with local police and phone records for a specific name, going from suburb to suburb. Since the tablet she'd brought from Kew wasn't compatible with the local navigation systems, she pulled out an old-fashioned map from a pocket in her long overcoat. While she consulted it, it quickly became soggy from the falling sleet. Then she peered at the street signs and started walking again. Being a maremma with long and slightly curly platinum blond hair, her thick white fur-by now somewhat dirty-kept her nice and warm, so the cold didn't bother her anyway. It was the same for her son, which had inherited her physique, but her younger daughter had thinner fur with brown patches and floppy beagle ears. She whinged and pouted, and the mother didn't have the heart to tell her off.
Finally they reached their destination, a small restaurant on the corner of yet another grey building looking identical to the ones on the neighbouring blocks. A sign above the door read Kafé Smörgåsbordet in Ursian block runes. They stomped off the snow from their boots as best as they could, before entering the establishment. The inside was as plain and practical as the outside; simple rectangular tables in light timber, sturdy plastic chairs, a general lack of colours on the walls, and a couple of artificial plants in the corners. But the smell that assaulted them-rich paprika and meat-was a different story. The picture on today's specials board showed what seemed to be a hearty goulash, and all three of them suddenly felt very hungry.
The lunch rush was over, and there were only a couple of patrons in the restaurant. Behind the counter was a black bear, standing well over six foot tall. He looked down at them with a beaming smile and spoke in a baritone voice.
"Welcome! You seem to have come from far away. Please have a seat." He pointed towards an empty table, then turned towards the kitchen. "Hey Simon! Finish the dishes later. We've got more customers."
They took a seat at the designated table, the mother studied the menu, and tried to use her tablet to decipher the runes.
"Good afternoon," said the waiter who appeared at the table. "What can I get you?"
Still focussed on the tablet, which translated the waiter's speech into text, she tried to answer in what little Ursian she knew.
"Three goulash, two soda, kaffe, tack!" Then she tapped on the photo app, which brought up a picture of the man she was looking for. "He work here?"
"Maria?"
She looked up and first noticed the waiter's left hand, which was holding a notebook and missing its pinkie finger. Then she looked up at that familiar beagle face with the glasses, the same as in her photograph.
"Paul?"
"Daddy!" cried her children as they jumped out of their seats, quickly followed by their mother, and the family huddled together for the first hug in several months.
The Great Fox was hiding in Sector X. Fox was sitting in his chair on the bridge, peering out through the window, trying to see through the gasses to where he knew Corneria was. He was ready, but they were waiting for some last reinforcements and for Star Wolf to get back to their base. Slippy and ROB were busy on the flight deck with last minute enhancements to their weapons and defences. Krystal was no doubt going through the Cerinian fighter again.
He should really get a few hours rest, while there was still a chance. Sleep is a weapon. Who had said that? But his head was buzzing. This mission was different from any other he'd taken on. First of all, it wasn't even a mission assigned to him, and he'd never taken on his own home world. No, he was doing this on his own accord, because it was right. But what right did he, a simple mercenary, have to be righteous?
Then Krystal came onto the bridge, walked up to the window, leaned on a console and gazed out too. His eyes popped when he saw that she was wearing her old black and blue suit from her Star Fox days. She must have gone through his stuff, or rather her stuff that he had kept. The bodysuit seemed to hug her figure tighter than ever. During the Aparoid Invasion she had been twenty years old, but now she was in her mid twenties. Her body had matured and filled out, yet her lean life as a bounty hunter had made sure there was hardly an ounce of fat on her. Her hair was hanging below her shoulders, and she hadn't dyed it in a while, so cerulean blue roots were shining through the violet. She had definitely lost some of her femininity, but somehow he just found himself more attracted by that. He couldn't hold back the primal instinct that started coursing through his blood.
She looked over her shoulder at him.
"Do you like what you see?" she said while her tail softly swished from side to side.
He nodded slowly.
"Fancy you keeping it, you little perv." She turned around and looked him in the eyes. "Do you wear it?"
"What?" He jumped in his seat. "Why would I?"
"So you have worn it." She walked up to him and sat down on his lap, straddling him. "You're blushing. Do I need to take a peek?"
She poked his forehead with a finger. He just smiled and shook his head.
"I'm so glad to have you back, Krystal!"
"Krystal is gone," she growled. "This is nasty Kursed talking."
"Rubbish! You've been teasing me since the day we met. What was it you said? 'I'll join you if you kiss me.'"
She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, but then she suddenly got all serious.
"Why are we waging war on our own kinds?"
"Because we feel we're doing the right thing I guess."
"So what does that make us? 'Noble' mercenaries or terrorists?"
Fox was quiet for a while, knowing what she was getting at. Star Fox were a team for hire and not always working strictly within the law, but both his father and he had been particular about only taking on jobs that seemed to have a fair cause, whatever that was.
"It's a tricky one, isn't it?" he started. "I'd like to think we're the good guys. Maybe it's because we care for others. Maybe it's because we keep questioning ourselves whether it's right. There's no blind faith here."
"I suppose tomorrow we'll see if we're wrong or right. If we live to see tomorrow that is." She snuggled closer and whispered in his ear, "Thank you!"
"You don't need to thank me for anything."
"Yes, I do! Thank you for coming for me. Again!" She kissed his neck. "And for making me fall back in love with you."
He moved to put his arms around her, but she put her paws in his chest and pushed off, all seriousness and resolve in her gaze.
"But we can't let that get that in the way!"
"What do you mean?" Fox protested. Krystal grabbed his jacket firmly with both hands.
"You must promise not to protect me tomorrow. We can't let Kamuy divide and conquer us. If one of us falls, the other one must finish the fight. Our lives mean less than the fate of a whole world."
Fox met her gaze in desperation, looking for a crack in the facade, a sign showing that she wasn't serious.
"We could run away," he said. "Leave all this behind, just live happily together just you and me."
"Would you really do that? Could you really live with yourself?"
He sighed and shook his head. No, he'd always put the lives of others before himself, and he felt that deep within Krystal was the same. That was one of the reasons he loved her.
"So promise!" she repeated.
He could only nod. She let go of his jacket and slowly rubbed his chest instead. Leaning in she gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek. He felt her breath on his fur, and noticed how her breathing was slightly faster and more shallow. She kissed his lips, sending an electric shock through his brain, dissipating throughout his body. Then she pressed herself against him and his arousal that he could hide, didn't want to hide.
Maybe... She was in his mind. Just in case it's our last chance.
She kissed him again, their lips gently savouring every second, their tongues longingly seeking each other out. One of her hands ran through his hair, holding his head close to hers while they kissed. Her other hand freed his neck from the red scarf. His hands found the zip in her suit and pulled it down slowly, click by click.
Slippy was very excited, bouncing his way towards the bridge. After all the anxious fretting while toiling through his hard work, he'd found something terrible, and was convinced a disaster had been avoided. He couldn't wait to tell Fox and Krystal about the explosives he'd found in the Cerinian fighter. Ominously though, they were wired up to something that appeared to be a remote control, similar in design to those wretched tele-neuronic implants. He was delighted that he had removed it and turned it into something more useful. He walked through the door and stopped in his tracks, puzzled by the sounds of sighing, whining and moaning.
Krystal was sitting on top of Fox in his seat, the top half and sleeves of her suit hanging from her waist. Fox's hands were running up and down her bare back.
Didn't you forget something on the flight deck, Slippy?
He probably had, he thought, turned around and scampered down the corridor.
You'd better take your time checking everything over again.
Author's Note: Big thanks to Nail Strafer and Thespacedoge for input and beta-reading.
I'm also absolutely stoked for the cover art by the artist and aspiring writer Hazelwolfing (Hazelwolf on Fur Affinity).
I wrote that last scene with Krystal and Fox (and Slippy) about six months ago, and finally got to publish it, although it needed some editing to fit with the rest of the story an my current writing style.
