Five weeks. That was how long it took the Eagle's Eye to reach Corneria without its hyperspeed jets. By that time, Falco, Krystal, and Slippy had run out of ration packets and were living off of the moisture that the engine grates collected. ROB was a bit more well off, drawing power from the Eagle whenever he needed a boost.
At times the journey wasn't so bad. But at other times it was agonizingly slow. Sometimes the crew found themselves aimlessly meandering through the corridors, looking for something to do. There was nothing except a battered virtual chessboard for Falco and Krystal to bide their time with, and ship repairs to keep Slippy busy. By the time they reached the capital planet of the Lylat System, the toad had tuned the freighter so acutely that all it needed were a pair of hyperspeed jets and a refueling to be in tiptop shape.
"So who are these people that are going to help us?" asked Krystal often.
Falco never really gave her a straight answer. "People I used to work with," he would sometimes say, or, "Some girl I used to be involved with."
It took Krystal almost half the trip to get Falco to spill the beans about these mystery repairmen.
"Alright, fine, I'll tell you. It's just this gang I used to fly with when I was younger– when I was stupid," he said.
Krystal raised an eyebrow, wondering what Falco meant by "when I was stupid". In her eyes, he still was stupid. Stupid and arrogant and even pompous at times– but one of her most powerful allies and, with this recent adventure, a close friend.
Falco noticed her expression and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, they call themselves the Hot Rodders. I used to smuggle illegal weapons with them. Now don't worry, last I heard they'd cleaned up their act and were running a legitimate business on Corneria," he continued.
"And this girl that you were involved with? Who's she?" Krystal asked.
Falco sighed and glanced around at the walls, as if saying her name would suddenly make the Eagle break down. "He name's Katt Monroe," he said. "She was like the leader of the little gang."
"You had an affair with her?"
"Well... not really. I mean, we had a few moments, but after..." Falco trailed off.
"After what?" Krystal asked suspiciously.
Falco rubbed his eyes. "I kind of stole this ship from her," he said. "I was in a tight spot and needed a ride... I'd planned to return it, but got caught up in other things," he said slowly.
Krystal rolled her eyes. Great. Falco's debts could once again get in the way of their escape.
"I mean, don't worry. That was years ago. I'm sure she's forgotten about it by now," Falco said, smiling sheepishly.
"I hope you're right," muttered Krystal darkly.
Finally, after five agonizing weeks of nonstop flying, they reached Corneria.
It was a beautiful planet, its natural glimmer barely touched by the horrors of the civil war that was tearing the Lylat System apart. Trees still swayed gently in the morning breeze, the light of Solar glimmered brightly off her oceans, and the sky was clear and blue. The occasional city would appear on the horizon, still beautiful but in a much different way, with their steel and glass towers casting imposing shadows across the ground. Neon advertisement lightings lit up the streets, shedding patches of color on the otherwise dull grayness.
Corneria was one of the few places that the Andross Empire didn't have its full grip on. Being so large and so distant from Venom, it was difficult for the empire to keep a steady stream of weapons and supplies to the troops trying to enforce law on the planet. And so Corneria remained free... or at least, relatively free.
The Eagle soared over the rooftops of Corneria City, trying to keep steady as a security fighter escorted it between skyscrapers.
"What is your docking password?" barked the pilot over the radio of the Eagle.
Falco was beginning to get fed up with him. "Look, for the last time, I don't have a docking password. I'm trying to reach Hot Rodders Garage. Do you know Katt Monroe? I have business with her!" he cried.
"You may not land without a docking password," said the pilot rigidly.
"Look buddy, I don't want any trouble, but if you don't patch me in to Katt Monroe's radio–"
"Are you threatening me, sir?"
"What? Um... no, I was–"
"A threat against a Cornerian pilot is a crime, sir."
"I wasn't, just patch me in to Katt Monroe–"
Zak! A red-hot laser blast glanced off the deflector shields of the Eagle, causing the freighter to wobble violently.
"Woah! Now come on, that wasn't necessary!" Falco shouted angrily.
"You do not order a Cornerian pilot, sir," snapped the pilot.
After almost a half hour of bickering with the man at the other end of the radio, Falco convinced him to contact the Hot Rodders Garage and tell them that there was a Falco Lombardi there to see Katt Monroe. For a moment Krystal thought that they wouldn't be allowed to dock. Then the pilot buzzed them again, and they were permitted to land on the rooftop of a lofty skyscraper decorated with a red sign reading HR & Co. Apparently the Hot Rodders business had become more prosperous than even Falco had thought.
"Just follow me, everything's going to be alright," said the blue bird as he extended the entry ramp on the Eagle. He led Krystal, Slippy, and ROB out onto the rooftop, shielding his eyes from the glare of the morning sunlight.
Waiting for them on the roof were three figures: a bulky raccoon, a tall bat, and a short, slender cat with dark gray hair and deep blue eyes. The cat stood firmly, her hands on her hips and a steely glare on her face.
Falco stepped forward with his arms spread wide and a phony grin plastered on his face. "Katt! Baby! It's great to see you after all this time!" he laughed. The feline, Katt Monroe, continued to glare at him.
"Falco Lombardi," she hissed at last, slowly sauntering forward. "I tell you, you've got a hell of a lot of nerve to show up here again."
Falco feigned a look of confusion and hurt. "What?" he asked innocently as Katt stopped only a foot in front of him.
She glared at him for a moment longer, then stepped forward suddenly.
Falco flinched and raised his arms up as though to ward off a blow. But Katt never struck him. Instead she laughed merrily and threw her arms around him, crushing him in a friendly hug.
"Falco, you old bastard! How come I haven't heard from you all this time!" she laughed, stepping back and grinning at the bird.
"Uh..." Falco didn't know what to say. At length he turned to Krystal and motioned towards Katt. "This is, uh... my friend," he said slowly, relieved that Katt had obviously forgiven him.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Krystal," Krystal said pleasantly, extending her hand. She knew it was rude, but she took a peek at Katt's emotions, just to see if she had actually forgiven Falco. There was relief there all right, and happiness too, but something else. Doubt and fear. But then again, Krystal didn't blame her. She herself never felt secure with Falco around.
"Likewise, name's Katt," Katt said, shaking Krystal's hand.
"I'm Slippy," Slippy piped up as Katt took notice of him.
Katt nodded and shook Slippy's hand as well. Then she glanced past the toad and caught sight of ROB, who was standing at the edge of the roof marveling at the city below. "Hey, robot! I'd suggest getting away from there unless you want a shuttle to fly by and knock you off the roof!" Katt called.
ROB looked down at the streets, then hurried back towards the rest of the group, scanning the skies for any stray shuttles.
"Well don't just stand there! Come on, come in!" Katt grinned, motioning for the rebels to follow her into the building. Katt dismissed the raccoon and the bat, then lead the others deeper into the building.
"Nice place you have here," commented Krystal, looking around at the white-washed walls and polished tiling on the floors.
"Yeah, I try to keep it clean," said Katt, nodding.
Falco chuckled, peering into a room where a group of engineers were working on designs for a hover transport. "So, a businesswoman? Wouldn't have expected you to end up like this," he said.
"I know, me neither. I thought I'd be in an imperial holding cell by now," Katt grinned. Then she looked at each of them. "So what brings you guys here? Need a harbor from the Andross Empire or something?" she asked.
Falco scratched his feathered head. "Ah, not really, no. We kind of need repairs," he said.
Katt frowned. "What have you done to my ship this time?" she asked sternly.
"Nothing, nothing! The hyperspeed jets are just shot, and, you know, this was the closest repair center that we could find," Falco said.
"If it's any trouble, we could try to find a different garage for repairs," Krystal cut in.
Katt just shook her head and grinned. "Nah, it's no problem. I can't turn down an old friend. As a matter of fact, you don't even have to pay for it," she said.
Falco blinked. "Wow, great. Thanks, Katt," he said, surprised. She was surprising him more and more with her friendly manner.
"Sure, sure. But it won't take just a few hours, more like a day or two. My workers won't be able to get to it for a while," Katt warned.
"That's fine, as long as you can get it fixed soon. We'll just find a hotel or something in the city," Falco said.
"You can stay here if you want," offered Katt.
Falco and Krystal looked at each other. "Are you sure that wouldn't be a problem?" asked Krystal hesitantly.
"Not at all. I can't stiff an old friend," Katt said.
Falco thought it over for a moment, looking around at the building. It seemed like a very nice place, in a nice city, and on a safe planet. "Why not?" he grinned.
Katt nodded. "Follow me then," she said.
She led them to three large elevators, talking about how their ragtag gang of space pirates had found legitimate work transporting mechanical parts and vehicles to different cities, how they were eventually able to set up a small garage, and how it became prosperous enough to become a corporation. Slippy especially found the talk about the new machines the corporation invented fascinating.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but I have been wondering where a maintenance level for androids are. I could very well live plugged into a simple charging outlet as well as Captain Lombardi and Mistress Krystal could in a suite," said ROB.
Katt looked at ROB in amusement, then pointed down the corridor. "We're on a maintenance level already, just go to the third door on your right and plug yourself in. Some of our workers should come along and clean you up," she said.
"Thank you," said ROB, walking off in the direction Katt had pointed him in as the others entered the elevator. He tottered down the corridor, his metal soles clacking against the tiles loudly, until he reached the darkened room and entered. Inside were control panels and wide power outlets, with a dim orange light illuminating the room. ROB opened up his chest panel and was about to plug himself into one of the outlets when a dark shape moved in the corner.
"Who are you?" barked a voice.
ROB jumped. "Oh–!" He began backing up, his metal hands raised in the air. "I did not mean to intrude, I am recharging myself!"
The shape moved closer, and a small whine of a blaster rifle being powered up reached ROB's audio receptors.
"You will receive no trouble from me– no!" ROB shrieked. A sizzling blaster bolt hit him square in the chest, blasting him back against the wall and blowing his body apart.
***
"So how do you like it?" Katt asked, looking around the large, triple-room that she had granted Falco, Krystal, and Slippy.
"I think it's great! Hey, Krystal, check out this view!" Slippy cried, pressing his face against a large window pane set in one of the walls.
Krystal looked out the window with Slippy, admiring the vast, glimmering city down below. The hovercars driving through the streets seemed to be tiny ants crawling through a giant, steel maze. "Wow," the vixen breathed, awestruck.
"I think it's great, too. Geez! Thanks a lot, Katt!" laughed Falco, plopping down on one of the three beds in the room and staring around. The entire suite had been polished clean, with glimmering white walls and soft, cream colored carpeting. A small bar sat in the corner of the room, with an assortment of free beverages and foods for them to take.
"No problem. Well, whenever you're situated, come on down to the third floor for supper. I'll be waiting for you," Katt said. Then she left the room, leaving the three heroes alone.
Falco clapped his hands together. "Well," he said, looking around the room, "I think we made a good decision in coming here."
Krystal looked a tad skeptical. "It's nice," she said slowly, crossing her arms and leaning against a wall. "But I've got a strange feeling about this place. Like this is all just a false sense of security."
"Aw, don't worry about it," Slippy grinned, hopping up into a seat by the bar and pouring himself a drink. "Nowhere is completely safe. And besides, we're only staying here for about a day," he said, picking up a small nutfruit from a clay bowl on the bar, tossing it into the air, and catching it in midair with his tongue.
"Yeah, I trust Katt. I mean, I wasn't sure how she'd act at first, but I think we're okay now," Falco said, sliding off the bed and walking over to the bar. He poured a drink for both himself and Krystal, and then handed a glass to the blue vixen. "We get here okay, so let's celebrate. Come on," he grinned.
Krystal sighed and took the glass from Falco, taking a small sip. Then she frowned and looked at the liquid. "This tastes familiar," she said slowly. She glanced at the blue bottle it had come from, and blinked with surprise. "This is Cerinian wine," she said slowly. "I thought there was no more left after my planet was destroyed."
Falco held up his glass to her. "Well, it's good. So I guess we should enjoy it while it lasts," he said.
After they had each washed and changed into a fresh set of clothes, provided in the dressers in their triple-suite, Krystal, Falco, and Slippy headed down to the third floor to meet up with Katt. She was waiting for them by the elevator, as she had promised.
"Looks like you're all ready," Katt said. She smirked at Falco, who was dressed in a light green tunic and tan trousers. "Nice set of clothes," she snickered playfully.
"Shut up, it's not my fault there wasn't anything my style up there," Falco scowled. The trousers were a bit too big for him, so he'd brought his belt along with him to hold them up, his blaster still tucked into it securely.
Krystal glanced around, frowning. "Hey, Katt, have you seen ROB around?" she asked.
Katt shrugged. "Your android? Can't say I have. Don't worry, he's probably still being worked on," she said.
They walked through the winding corridors, sometimes having to press against the walls so that the mouse engineers that worked in the building could lug a large piece of machinery past them. Katt would often warn them not to tamper with it or drop it.
"So, Katt, how do you keep this business running without the empire leaning over your shoulder all the time? I'd think that with how big this all is, they'd want you to make them new prototype fighters or walkers," Falco said. He had been pondering the question for a while, but just remembered to ask at that moment.
Katt shrugged. "The Andross Empire doesn't have a very good grip on this side of the system, as you know. We've had a few incidents here and there, but I've managed to drive them off. But we don't have to worry about that any more. I've just made a deal that'll keep Andross out of this corporation for good," she said. She stopped in front of a large blast door leading to the dining hall and opened it.
Falco didn't have time to ask what the deal was. The door slid open, and a black specter rose from its seat at the far end of the long dining table.
Before anyone else even knew what was happening, Falco had whipped his blaster out of its holster and fired two energy bolts at Cain's head.
The dark lieutenant calmly raised a hand and let the blaster bolts sink into his palm harmlessly. "Captain Lombardi, we've been expecting you," he said, lowering his hand and tilting his helmeted head almost coyly.
Krystal and Slippy whirled around in panic, hearing sounds of shuffling feet behind them. The corridor they had come from was packed with at least a dozen imperial shock troopers, all with their blasters trained on the three heroes.
Falco felt the muzzle of a blaster press against the back of his head.
"Long time, no see, Lombardi," hissed the voice of Wolf O'Donnell from behind him.
Falco let his arm go limp and dropped his blaster to the floor, realizing that they were surrounded. Then he slowly turned to Katt, a look of outrage and fury written on his face.
"They got here just before you," Katt said solemnly. "I'm sorry."
Falco looked back at Cain, then glared at Katt again. "Me too," he mumbled softly.