The Great Fox was sitting in Corneria's orbit, easier to find than I had expected. I radioed in to the massive ship and got an immediate reply from Peppy.

"Well, hello, Skye. I didn't expect Craig to send you."

"Give me a break, old man. I'm all he had to spare. You better be lucky that I took this job. Otherwise, you wouldn't be getting anything until tomorrow."

"Now, now, no need to get snippy. I'm just surprised that you didn't mind coming here."

"Oh, believe me, I mind. I just like getting paid. Now, can I dock or not?"

He sighed over the com. "Of course. Make yourself at home."

I docked my ship inside the Great Fox. Slippy, Fox, and even Falco were waiting for me. I hopped out of my ship and met them. Slippy came to me first.

"Skye! It's so good to see you!"

I couldn't help but smile. "It's good to see you too, Slippy."

Fox came to me next. "I assume your trip went well?"

"No Star Wolf attacks, if that's what you're asking. I don't think I'll be seeing Wolf for a while."

"You mean because you got him out of prison?" Falco said.

Shots have been fired…

I gave him a dirty look. "If I recall correctly, you were the one that told me that I did the right thing in getting him out." When he couldn't give me a decent comeback, I smirked. "That's what I thought."

He and Fox went to work on unloading my ship. As soon as they opened the door, I noticed that the giant packages in the front weren't packed well enough to stay up. They began to fall toward Fox and Falco.

"Look out!" I cried as I ran toward Falco to push him out of the way. Slippy managed to get to Fox in time before the crates came down on top of them.

I looked down at Falco and instantly got embarrassed. I landed on top of him and happened to be straddling one of his legs. I pushed myself up quickly before anyone else could notice. He seemed to be just as flustered as I was.

I helped him to his feet then went to check on Slippy and Fox.

"Are you two alright?" I asked as I helped Slippy.

"Yes, thank goodness," Fox said.

"That was a close one!" Slippy cried.

I stepped over to where the crates had fallen and looked into the back of my ship.

"The rest of them are packed correctly," I noted. "It was just these in front…" I looked to Fox. "These were packed that way intentionally."

"Craig let this happen?" Fox asked. "I thought he oversaw all of the ships getting loaded."

"He didn't this time," I told him. "He's teaching a new employee to take his place. Still, something isn't right. I have to talk to Craig."

I ran off into the ship to get somewhere alone to call my boss. He picked up on the first ring.

"Skye? Is everything alright?"

"I think you need to have a good talk with your replacement. The crates in the front nearly made Fox and Falco pancakes."

"Is everyone alright?" he asked, sounding very concerned.

"Yes. With some quick thinking on mine and Slippy's part, they're just fine."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Leonard will get an earful from me the next I see him."

I was confused. "When you next see him? What do you mean?"

"He disappeared shortly after you left. No one here has seen him. There's something in the log about a ship leaving but, no sign of him."

I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Falco.

"Are you alright?" he mouthed silently to me.

I gave him a nod then turned my attention back to my phone call. "As soon as I'm done here, I'll be there to help investigate. Until then, keep a close eye on any more suspicious activity. And please look out for Melissa."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Craig said. "We'll get to the bottom of this. See you in a bit."

I hung up with him after that. I faced Falco as I put my phone in my pocket.

"I'm sorry that this happened," I apologized. "Craig and I will take care of this and the man responsible will be dealt with."

"Well, if not for you, I wouldn't be able to stand right now."

I let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know how to deal with you. You're rude to me one moment then thankful the next. I'm tired of the hot and cold bullshit that you keep pulling. Between Katt's comments and your actions, I can't freaking deal with it. I just can't."

I tried to step past him but he gently grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"Please, listen for a second. That's all I'm asking of you right now."

I turned to him and crossed my arms. "Spit it out already."

"Look, I… I'm sorry that Katt said what she said in front of you. I'm extremely embarrassed about it. And the waltz…"

I stopped him there. "I really want to know what that was about."

He seemed confused. "What do you mean?"

"I felt a change in you that day… You were dancing with me because Conna had asked you to but, something was different. You were different. And then you show up with Katt at the ball and…" I took a deep breath. "I'm not going to lie to you, Falco. I feel a connection to you that I feel like I shouldn't have. I feel something for you and I can't decide if it's irritation that I may like you or irritation at the fact that you can't even be honest about your feelings. I don't expect us to have a relationship or anything, I don't even want a relationship with you or anyone else right now. But I do expect your honesty. If you can't be honest with me then, whatever this is, doesn't need to go farther than acquaintances. I can't even have a decent friendship with you if you can't be honest with me."

There it was… My heart on my sleeve. Or, at least as much as I was willing to put on my sleeve. He just stared at me for a few moments after my rant. I watched the emotions play in his eyes but, he couldn't seem to put it into words. He looked away from me for a second.

"I… I don't know how to respond to that…"

I huffed. "At least you're being honest now."

"What do you want me to say, Skye?"

"I don't care, as long as you're truthful. If you hate my guts, say it. If you never want to see me again, say it. I just want to hear it from you. That's all."

He paused.

"I… I just…"

"Hey!" Slippy called. "Are you two going to stand around all day or help me and Fox unpack?"

I let out a sigh. "We'll be right there, Slip." I looked up at Falco. "My heart can't take the uncertainty, Falco. And it certainly can't take the back and forth nonsense. I'm not a yo-yo and I'm not some lovesick little school girl that's going to follow you around and hope that you return my feelings. I'm not going to wait around for an answer. I'm not going to waste my time and energy on something that might or might not be. If and when you figure it out, then come talk to me. Just be prepared for the outcome, good or bad."

I took my leave of him and went to help the boys with unloading. As soon as we were done, Fox came to me.

"Falco didn't come to help. What did you say to him?"

"I'm sure if you ask him, he'll tell you. You seem to be privy to our adventures."

"Skye…"

I sighed. "I'm sorry, brother. I'm just frazzled. Between this mishap and Falco and now Craig is telling me that the guy responsible has disappeared-"

"Wait, what?" Fox interrupted. "The new guy is gone? How?"

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling about all of this."

"And Craig? Surely he knows something."

"I think he's in the dark just as much as we are. It wouldn't surprise me if he was the target." The realization hit me as soon as I had said it out loud. "Craig's the target… But why? Why would somebody…" I glanced up at Fox. "I have to go. He has to know."

"Skye, wait a second." I gave him my attention. He looked like he was about to say something but then thought better of it. He gave me an assuring look. "Go warn your friend." He glanced over as Falco entered the hangar. "I'll do damage control here."

I smirked. "Believe me, there's a lot of damage. Good luck with that."

I climbed into my ship and went straight back to Gilford Station. Melissa was waiting for me as I docked my ship. I met her and walked with her toward Craig's office.

"So you're not going to believe who is here," she told me as we rode the elevator up.

"After today, I don't think I'll be surprised about anything."

"Oh, really?" her interest piqued. "Told Falco?"

"Oh, I told him alright," I chuckled. "But I told him what he needed to hear, not what he wanted. I'll tell you everything later."

We got off the elevator and stepped into Craig's office. I stopped in my tracks when I saw his visitor. Craig sat in his giant chair behind his desk while Wolf O'Donnell stood before him. Wolf turned to Melissa and me. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

Melissa giggled. "You were saying?"

"I stand corrected…" I murmured.

"Hello again, Kell," Wolf said to me.

I shook off the shock and stepped toward him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"He came to warn me," Craig answered for him. "Apparently Leonard stays at Sargasso."

"Sargasso? He lied about who he was?"

Wolf nodded. "He's been receiving coms from an unknown employer for some time now. After you got me out of the brig, Leon and I did some digging into your crash that got me dragged to Corneria in the first place. Turns out that your guy is the same one that tampered with your ships."

"Why?" I demanded. "Why go after me if Craig is the target?"

"Besides me, you're the closest person to my husband," Melissa explained. "If something happened to you, it would draw Craig out into the open. Perhaps that was the plan."

I thought for a moment. "He timed our ship malfunction perfectly to put us down on the green planet. But he didn't count on Wolf to rescue us. He packed my ship the way he did in hopes of crushing me instead of us being able to avoid it. Which means…"

"He was lying in wait around the green planet and at the Great Fox for me to show up," Craig said. "And when I never came…"

I looked up at Wolf. "Did he return to Sargasso before you came here?"

He shook his head. "Leon will contact me as soon as something out of the ordinary comes up." Wolf turned his attention back to Craig. "You wouldn't happen to have any enemies, would you?"

Craig grinned. "Sure I do. But not as Craig Masters."

Wolf seemed confused. Craig got up from his chair and let out a sigh.

"If you find any more out, Wolf, please don't hesitate to come back. I'd like to keep this situation under control as much as possible. I can compensate you for all that you've already done."

"That won't be necessary," Wolf answered quickly. "I'm not doing this for you. This idiot is going to ruin everything we've built at Sargasso. Even I have a little bit of honor. He's a coward and his boss even more so. I'll be damned if I let him come back without figuring out what he's doing and who his boss is." He shot me a look that made my heart flutter. Something told me that he was doing this for a different reason than the one he explained.

Craig noticed then smiled. "Of course. Let me know when you catch him at least. I would like some questions answered."

Wolf gave my boss a nod then excused himself. I quickly followed after him.

"Please, wait, Wolf," I called.

He faced me when I caught up to him.

"I just wanted to thank you. You didn't have to come warn Craig but, you did, so, thank you for that."

"Again, I didn't do it for him."

"Then who or what did you do it for?"

He looked away from me, inadvertently answering my question. I was surprised.

"You did it for me…"

"I was paying you back for busting me out. Nothing more."

His answer deflated me.

"Glad we got that out of the way," I huffed. "For a minute there I thought you cared about me. Or my boss."

"I didn't want to give you the wrong impression. My apologies."

I went to walk past him but stopped right beside him. "When you find this guy, don't bother Craig with him. I want to take care of it."

"Why?"

"Because he's threatened one of my best friends. He will pay for that. Dearly."

Wolf chuckled. "We'll make a criminal out of you yet, won't we?" He put a hand on my shoulder. "Watch your back, Kell. He's going to try again. Considering that he's already failed twice, he's going to try something a little more drastic to try and keep you down."

"I'm a big girl, Wolf. I think I'll be fine." I left him at that.

He was right though. I had to keep my guard up. No doubt Leonard's boss was getting antsy about getting me out of the way… The next time he tried, he wouldn't be pulling any punches. He was going to make sure that I was down for good. One thing was for sure; there was no way I was going down that easy. Not without a fight.