Author's note: Merry Christmas!!! Here's a new chapter for your holiday enjoyment, and thanks to notfromearth 7 for reviewing and adding me to their alerts. I really appreciate it. That being said, I notice that I've had many more hits than that, almost 50 now. I'm going to keep working on this, regardless of how many reviews I get, but I'd really appreciate it if I could get more reviews, so I can know what might need improvement and maybe alter the story's directions based on popular demand (though I don't make any guarantees about that last bit). Anyway, Star Wolf enters the picture this time, with a new addition of my own design. Hope you like her! Have a blessed holiday, folks :)

Disclaimer: The only things I own are Kip, CID, Marl, and now Skadi.

P.S. What do you think of Wolf's audio log? I'm thinking of using it as a recurring device, so we can get more of Wolf's thoughts. If you like it, you should check out Obsidian Thirteen's SF story "Hero", where a similar device appears in one chapter (figured I'd give this story a nod, seeing as it was here first, and is really good, in my opinion).

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Chapter 1: Boredom Interrupted

Audio Log: August 21, year 3534 of the Cornerian Standard Calendar. Time – 17:35

This is Wolf O'Donnell, captain of the Star Wolf mercenary outfit, and overseer of the soldiers and staff on the Sargasso Industrial Station. This is my first audio log in… well, it's pretty much the first one ever. Things have been slow as hell on the station recently, and Star Wolf hasn't flown any major jobs since we moved back onto the station. Just sporadic raids on merchant freighters, which basically only yields enough to keep the station running and everyone living here fed. It's the damn bounties; we can't take most of the contracts that are offered to us because, if we show our faces anywhere near anything owing allegiance to Corneria, we'll be dead or captured in a matter of minutes. I'm getting damn sick of it, too. It's been a year and half and, despite the fact that McCloud and Lombardi, of all animals, have both gone on record multiple times recommending that my boys and I be pardoned for our past crimes in light of our assistance with the Anglars, the damn Parliament still keeps putting off a vote on the matter. Heh, ain't democracy grand? I swear, bombs and armadas are the only things that make those assholes do anything. I mean, I was never fond of Andross, but the old ape sure proved that point.

Bah, I'm ranting again, and I feel like killing something. Why am I even doing this? This lull is making us all go nuts. Powalski started one of these audio journals, too; in fact he was the one suggested I start one. "Helps you keep your thoughts straight" he said. Pfeh, yeah right. As for Panther… well he's really gone off the deep end. The cat's been writing poetry, of all things, and of course he's been pestering Skadi, Star Wolf's new mechanic and, since she seems to have knack for it, Sargasso's security chief. She tracked us down just over six months ago looking for work, and Panther as usual has been relentlessly pursuing her. He's been getting worse lately, since there's not much else to do, and it's easy to see that she's getting sick of it. Uggghh, normally I just let Panther alone. He's earned my trust, and I'm not one to meddle in personal affairs, but at this rate, I'm gonna have to step in. Heh, maybe if I get lucky, Skadi will just haul off and vaporize Panther. That'd be perfect. Of course, Powalski would be more than happy to "administer justice", if I asked him to, but if Panther's overt fondness for anything with a double X chromosome is going to get him killed, I'd rather not have it be by my order. Meh, I guess I'll bring it up with Skadi and see what she wants. If she says something, I'll talk to Panther.

(Sounds of arguing muffled by a door. Hiss of a door opening, Voices become audible)

What the hell?

"For God's sake, Panther, when are you going to quit!"

"Mmmm, so angry! Why so upset, Belleza?"

"Why am I upset!? You inconsiderate, unprofessional, low-life…"

Speak of the devil. Guess this is it for now, I better play peacekeeper. I'll mention if Panther's alive at the end of the day in the next log.

"Calm down, dearest Snow Angel. Here, Panther shall comfort you."

"Touch me again, and I will castrate you with this arc welder."

…Looks like it's gonna be a great day.

"Were you two just looking for an audience for your little drama" Wolf growled at the pair of arguing animals, switching off the recorder on the kitchen table in front of him, "Or is it safe to assume that at least one of you has actual business with me?"

Panther and the white vixen both fell silent, the vixen clearly mortified, while the big cat appeared only slightly amused at having a witness to the argument. "Sorry to disturb you, captain, Panther didn't see you there" he apologized with his trademark, velvety tone, and flashed a sly smile. "I was just telling el Angel de Nieve here how lovely she is, and she seems to have taken offence for some…"

"Stop playing dumb, lecher!" the vixen, Skadi, retorted, her sharp accent, similar to a Russian's, coming through like a bell. "You've been trying to get me out of this uniform and into your bunk for six months. I've tried letting you down nicely, but you're incorrigible!" Her already ice hued eyes grew even colder, and she gripped the arc welder strapped to her hip tightly. "Now you try to lay those greasy palms of yours on me, and expect me to believe you didn't mean to! Give me one reason why I shouldn't make good on my previous threat!"

Panther held his hands out before him, frowning. "But my dear, an accident is precisely what it was." His voice took on an indignant tone. "Besides, Panther cleanses himself daily. There is not an inch of him that is 'greasy', oh frigid Beauty."

"So I'm supposed to believe that the button of my coat just popped off, without any help from those claws of yours?" Skadi demanded, somehow managing to make it look like she was glaring down at the cat, despite the fact that Panther was easily at least 25 centimeters taller than her.

"Panther is sorry for that," the black cat apologized, and if he was faking remorse, he was certainly doing a good job of it. "But Panther takes pride in keeping his body in top form, and that includes sharpening his claws." He broke eye contact with the vixen a moment to glance downwards. "However, if Panther may be so bold, the look suits you. Such a beautiful figure should not be hidden in shame, my dear."

Due to her snowy fur, the vixen could not hide the crimson hue her cheeks adopted as she turned her back to Panther and crossed her arms, depriving him of the view of what his claws had wrought, while simultaneously allowing Wolf to get a good look. Skadi's high collared, black jacket, styled after those worn by Fichinan military officers, had been stripped of the second button the top, and she had unbuttoned the two snaps adjacent to it, revealing just enough of the neckline of her grey undershirt to provide onlookers with an idea of what exactly was underneath it. Truth be told, it did remind Wolf that she was actually a rather attractive vixen, something her modesty and rather formal attitude often made him forget, but he was simply too irritated and, he told himself, professional to dwell on that fact.

"That's enough!" the lupine snarled, standing up with enough force to send his chair sliding a good distance from him. He glared at Skadi and Panther, his new biomechanic eye's iris flashing the color of a bright orange flame, and finally spoke to the vixen. "Explain what happened" he commanded.

Skadi straightened up like a soldier at attention, and recounted the incident as if it were the results of a scientific experiement. "I was on my way here to relay a message to you, sir, when this… beast" she spat the last word out and glanced at the sable cat, her almost deadpan tone cracking with veiled anger, "waylaid me. I tried to ignore him and get on my way, but he wouldn't hear it. He blocked my path, and that" she fingered the hole in her coat where there had previously been a button, "Is when he popped the button off my coat."

Wolf turned his burning gaze to Panther, clenched his right fist, and raised the eyebrow above his good eye, daring the feline to lie to him. "She telling the truth, Caruso?"

Panther merely leaned on the wall, and flicked a piece of lint off of the sleeveless, dark green flight vest he'd come to favor after the Anglar War. "Mostly, but as Panther already said, the loss of the button was not intentional. He merely attempted to trace the outline of the little snow angel's neck as he spoke. A harmless act of flirtation where Panther was raised…"

"You must have been raised in a brothel," Skadi huffed, and Panthers yellow eyes flared with a dangerous light.

"Be angry if you must, Skadi" the big cat warned, "but refrain from insulting Panther's home. He will not suffer such dishonor."

Wolf scowled and raised his hand, motioning for Skadi to hold her tongue. "Keep it civil, or I'll call Leon and let him decide what to do with you two." Once the two had been calmed by the, in truth, idle threat, he waved Panther on.

"Yes, well" Panther cleared his throat. "To shorten the tale, she recoiled from Panther's touch, rather violently he'd like to add, and the button of her coat snagged on Panther's claw."

Wolf sighed, sensing a soon to explode headache. Neither one of them was outright lying; his eye was currently set to scan the vital signs and heat signatures of living things in his sightline, including heart rate, and neither of their vitals had altered in such a way as to imply a lie. Regardless, he decided to lay down some new ground rules. "Panther," he said at length, making sure he had the big cat's undivided attention. "I don't give a damn how things were where you came from right now," the steel willed captain explained, "but you have gotta cut Skadi a break here, enough is enough. Now" Wolf nodded toward Skadi, "apologize to our mechanic."

Panther, thankfully, didn't seem to be in the mood to argue, and bowed slightly to the vixen. "Forgive Panther, Senorita, for being blinded by your beauty."

Skadi rolled her eyes. "Well, at least it's something."

Wolf nodded, pleased, but didn't smile. "Good, now do us all a favor and leave her be for a while." He turned to regard Skadi again, "Now, what did you need to tell me? Is something going to delay the jump tomorrow?"

The artic fox, still standing at attention, quickly went into her message. "Not exactly, sir. Station Security detected an unidentified ship approaching the station about" she glanced at her timepiece, "twelve minutes ago now. The pilot has made contact, claiming he's a smuggler, and that he'll only discuss his business on the station with you, Captain O'Donnell. We have all defenses ready to shoot him down, as per protocol, but I thought it would be best to clear it with you first, sir."

Wolf blinked, surprised. Skadi and the other engineers on the station had finished fashioning the parts Star Wolf had been purchasing (and occasionally stealing) into the massive set of seven warp drives required to make the old industrial platform a fully mobile base four months ago, in order to allow no one to find them unless he, or another Star Wolf member, wanted them to. It seemed a useful investment, considering they were still wanted men. Whoever this pilot was, he had a lot of guts to show up uninvited, and Wolf was curious as to how he'd known to find them here. Years ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to hand down the kill order; to play it "safe". Now, however…

"Return to communications, and tell security to hold their fire. I'll be there momentarily to talk to the pilot."

Skadi gave the lupine a bemused expression, then slowly nodded before turning to leave the room. "As you wish, Captain."

"And Skadi" the mercenary captain added, acting on a sudden thought, "The titles aren't necessary; the only reason you haven't flown any jobs with Star Wolf is that you haven't got a ship yet." He smiled at the young vixen, his biomechanic eye reverting to a cool grey tone, matching his good eye. "It's just Wolf."

Skadi's expression went from confused to surprised, and a crimson blotch began to creep onto her face again. "I was, umm, just trying to show the proper respect, Cap…"

Wolf held up his hand. "You're a hard worker; that's all I need" he assured her, assuming a serious expression once again, "or do I have to order you to treat me like an equal?"

Skadi beamed at the lupine. "Thank you, sir… err, Wolf," She stammered, "I'll let Communications know to expect you". With that, she excused herself again and left the kitchen in a rush.

Wolf turned his attention back to Panther, fully prepared to warn him once again against touching the engineer, but was stopped mid thought by the curious and, worse, amused expression on the ebony feline's face. "What?"

A fiendish grin snaked its way onto Panther's face, and his long tail twitched with mirth. "Wolf, Wolf, Wolf," he muttered in disbelief. "Unless Panther is forgetting things today, you have never been an animal that made a habit of smiling, even at females."

Wolf froze, replaying the last few moments in his mind. He had smiled at Skadi, hadn't he? What the hell had gotten into him? Stranger still, he realized that he actually began to laugh a little as he shook his head in shock. "Well, I'm not sure how to explain that," he admitted. "Maybe Leon's right; maybe all those encounters with McCloud have softened me up a bit."

Panther let out a long, deep laugh. "Ah, Wolf, you are nothing if not amusing." The big cat slapped Wolf on the shoulder and smiled wide, showing a mouthful of needlelike teeth. "Well, if you find such a change undesirable, then Panther recommends that you avoid the little Snow Angel. Females can do much to hinder one's attempts to 'toughen up', in his experience."

Wolf narrowed his eyes. There were only so many things that Panther might be implying with that warning, and the mercenary didn't like any of them. "Just get your ass over to communications, Caruso. I'll be there once I've returned this recorder to my room." The lupine snatched the recorder from the table and retreated from the room, but not before his ebony comrade threw one last verbal barb at him.

"See what Panther means, dear friend? She leaves the room for a matter of seconds, and you're well on your way back to your old self! Panther knows what he's talking about, no?"

The cat's raucous laughter chased Wolf all the way down the hall.

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Mere minutes later, the door to Communications slid open to allow Wolf, now clad in his signature black and grey flight suit with spikes in the shoulder pads, to enter. He glanced around the chamber, taking in his surroundings. Panther was reclining against the far left wall, a bored look on his face. He gave the wolf a lazy salute when the two locked eyes. Leon, apparently, must have been informed of the situation, as well, for the chameleon was standing beside the railing overlooking "the pit", a recessed portion of the room where the communications officers, a pair of apes, were patching Skadi through to one of the main hangers, no doubt in case the ship was aloud to land. Pleased to see things running smoothly, Wolf decided to take a moment to check in with the only other charter member of Star Wolf in the room. "What do you think of all this, Leon?" He asked the reptile, moving to stand at the opposite railing.

A scale-armored eye pivoted to regard the mercenary, its beady black pupil betraying none of the thoughts of its master with its blank, calculating gleam. "As always," he declared, "I shall wait to pass final judgment until after I've seen the face of this smuggler we are dealing with. However" the eye facing Wolf turned to rejoin its partner in focusing on the primary video screen in the chamber, upon which the words "Uplink Requested" were displayed in bright red-orange lettering, "I would advise that you watch this pilot, and any companions he has carefully, should you allow him to board Sargasso. I've seen the scans of the vessel" the reptilian continued. "For a simple smuggling ship to have taken such a beating, and for the pilot to take such a risk as to chase after a station that can move at almost any time, well, let's just say somebody must be mad at him, and he's pretty damn afraid of what they're capable of doing to any companions of his, if not to himself." The scales enshrouding the assassin's eye contracted, covering up the tiny pupil with a shield of green, and the lizard sighed. "Still, the fact that he's angered someone powerful also makes him potentially useful to us in a number of ways, depending on the why of the matter." The scales receded again, and the pupil once again focused on the steel grey wolf. "I have faith that you'll make the best decision, once you've talked to him, Wolf."

The lupine mercenary smirked and nodded, wondering once more at the chameleon's odd personality. Ever alert, Wolf had only seen Leon fully relax three times in the decade plus they'd been flying together, and on one of those occasions it was only because the reptilian had been near death. On the battlefield, the lizard's personality could only be described as predatory; he approached combat the way a physician approached surgery, and carried his orders out to the letter, even taking a twisted sort of enjoyment out of toying with his "prey" in the team's early days, earning him the reputation for which he was feared by every law-abiding citizen of the Lylat system; that of a psychopath. Wolf, however, had come to understand that the chameleon was far beyond such a simple categorization. True, Leon had come off as a little… blood thirsty when he'd first joined Star Wolf, but after he'd nearly been killed by Star Fox over Fichina during the final Lylat War, he'd changed considerably. The battlefield was still one of the only places where he seemed comfortable, and though he still relished the prospect of a fight, especially whenever the team encountered McCloud and his cronies, Leon began to show a kind of respect, perhaps even remorse, towards those he eliminated.

Powalski's analytical mind wasn't just another weapon in his arsenal of silenced blasters and combat knives, either. Though Wolf was the "heart" of the team and made the tough, split second decisions in battle, the mercenary readily admitted that, when the situation was more akin to a spider's web than a set of doors, Powalski was the one that everyone expected to trace the many threads of the web first. He could weigh consequences, explore possibilities, and make projections like a professional statistician, and Wolf only went against the reptile's reasoning when his own instincts or personal code dictated that he should.

In fact, the only thing that Leon didn't apply his normal mode of thinking to, apparently, was Wolf. Even when Wolf ended up tying the team to the single greatest threat the Lylat System had ever faced, Dr. Andross, and they'd subsequently been ostracized for it, Leon appeared to remain confident in the lupine. Years later, when they'd been forced to leave Sargasso, the only "home" Star Wolf ever had, for almost two years following the Aparoid invasion, he had never shown the faintest hint of discontent with the decisions Wolf made to keep the team off its enemies' respective radars. True, Panther had been largely supportive of Wolf's leadership during his tenure as a team member, too, and Skadi was quickly proving herself to be an equally stalwart ally, but if those two were "loyal", then Powalski's dedication, not just to Star Wolf, but to Wolf as a leader, was on another level entirely.

"Skadi," Wolf grabbed the vixen's attention. She turned to peer up at the lupine, and though it was small, smiled at him for the second time that day. Well, she was certainly happy all of a sudden, he mused. He didn't show it, and certainly didn't stop to wonder why it happened, but he was briefly aware of being pleased by that fact. "You can patch me through to the pilot now" he told her, putting on his best poker face to greet their "guest". "It's time we saw who we're dealing with."

Skadi motioned to one of the apes at the communications console, and a moment later the large, blank video screen blinked to life, revealing the image of what, at first glance, appeared to be a vaguely familiar male fennec wearing a black and grey paddy cap, but upon closer examination was actually something more complicated. His fur was brown, rather than the sandy blonde that "true" fennecs' tended to be, and his ears, though large, were not as big or rigid as a fennec's should be, and the right one in particular began to flop over upon itself towards the tip. Wolf concluded that he must be a mixed species, likely fennec and canine blood mixed in roughly equal proportions. Like Wolf, the half-breed had a biomechanic left eye, though this one apparently hadn't been designed with subtlety in mind. The iris of the eye was a rich purple, compared to the brown of its natural counterpart, and a pair of small, but still obvious wire casings curled out from the top of the eye, and up into the smuggler's forehead. He appeared to be addressing someone off camera, but upon realizing that Wolf had finally contacted him, flashed him a rakish, confident grin.

"Well, as I live and breathe! Wolf O'Donnell, in the flesh!" Wolf maintained his scowl, hoping to intimidate the half-fennec into skipping to the point, but the nut job actually laughed at his expression. "Well, we're looking happy as a Sand Stalker in heat, if I do say so myself. I didn't wake you up from a nap, did I?"

Wolf's scowl deepened. Great, a comedian. Well, at least he'd get along well with Panther, but that really wasn't doing much to improve the first impression this guy was making on him. Mentally gritting his teeth, Wolf pressed forward. "Real cute, pal, you've got me in stitches" he said low and even, his expression barely altering enough to allow the words to escape his muzzle. "How's about you give me a name to go along with that 'winning personality'?" He made a subtle hand signal, asking Skadi to run a records check on the guy. The vixen, shortly after arriving on the station, had provided the team with total access to the criminal and civilian records of the Cornerian Archives. He'd asked her how she'd managed the feat once, for she'd never shown much aptitude for hacking in the time she'd been with the team, but she'd dodged the subject, claiming that she'd worked briefly in the Archives, and had secretly preserved her account in the system before leaving. It was bullshit, but she hadn't given him any reason to press the issue, so he'd accepted the benefits of her "gift" and went about his business. Right now, they could tell if this guy was giving his real name by cross checking any records they could find on him. If he lied about his own name, it would say a lot about just how on edge this guy was, and about whether they could trust him.

The half-fennec paused a moment before he spoke again. "Kip Phoenix, at your service, chief." He smirked again, and the iris of his biomechanic eye brightened a little. "Nice trick, by the way, checking my statements against the records in the Archives."

Wolf tensed, and glanced down at Skadi, silently demanding to know how the smuggler was spying on what they were doing. The vixen shrugged and rushed over to the ape that was running the records check, shoving him out of the way so she could take control. A couple seconds later, the half-fennec laid a hand on his forehead and shook it before returning his gaze to Wolf. The iris of his biomechanic eye, Wolf noted, had returned to its original tone, but that damn smile was still plastered on the smuggler's face. "Got yourself quite a technician there, O'Donnell" he said with a chuckle. "Most folks have a much harder time kicking me out of their systems."

"He's using a neural interface, Captain" Skadi reported, not looking up from the console. "He was using the communications link to boost the signal and monitor us." She pressed a button and the main viewscreen split in half, a record for one Kip Phoenix taking over the half that the smuggler's face wasn't dominating. "There's what we could find on him. I'm going to make sure he hasn't got his hands in anything else."

Wolf scanned the record, noting in particular that the smuggler had used his real name, and that he was in fact related to George Phoenix, CEO of Aerospace Dynamics. Other than that, only the usual was included in the record: birthdate, which made the smuggler roughly twenty-two years old, place of birth, and so on. The last time the record had been updated was six years after the end of the Lylat Wars, when the kid had apparently dropped out of the Aerospace Engineering Academy on Eladard. Despite the half-fennec's admission to being a smuggler, there was no criminal record in the Archives, and only several starport records noting the presence of one K. Phoenix's freighter in one of the hangers attested to the fact that the kid had been operating as an itinerant of some sort within the boundaries of Cornerian space. Nothing particularly fascinating, but then again that would be how smugglers preferred their records to look. Wolf also couldn't shake the feeling that he'd encountered the name before. It took him a moment, but his head snapped back to glare red hot fire at the half-fennec when the memory of their last meeting hit him. "Phoenix," he growled, "I knew I recognized that ingratiating smile from somewhere." He gripped the railing of the platform tight to keep himself calm. "How'd those parts for my Wolfens treat you? Fetched a good price, I hope."

Kip's smile faltered slightly, but to the smuggler's credit, he didn't seem particularly frightened by Wolf's anger. "Wolf, please," he attempted to reason with the lupine, "I was merely carrying out the task I was being paid to perform." He pouted a little, making his best "I'm sorry" face. "It was just business; either I jacked your parts, or I'd be unable to fuel my ship. Surely you of all animals can understand that I had little choice in the matter."

Wolf growled. In truth, he knew exactly what the half-breed was talking about. If you didn't have a government's backing, like Star Fox did, there was no guarantee that you wouldn't be forced into things by the many demands of life on the move, but Wolf also knew that, compared to mercenaries, smugglers were almost never hard pressed for work. There were simply too many people looking to dodge tariffs and trafficking laws for such a thing to happen, if one really looked for the work. Kip Phoenix had no doubt taken the job simply because, out of all the offers he had, it paid the most. No, this guy wasn't getting off that easy. "Don't assume our lives are even remotely similar" he snarled. "I don't care if you're ship was about to fall apart at the seams," he continued, "you wrecked one of my transports, stole valuable parts that took the better part of a month to find, and set my operations back several weeks. Now," he concluded, cutting to the chase, "you've got about two minutes to persuade me not to reduce that scrap heap your piloting to ash." Behind him, he could hear Panther chuckle, obviously amused at the shocked look that sprouted on Kip's face, finally taking the cocky edge out of the smuggler's smirk, if not erasing it entirely.

The smuggler let out a long sigh, and his good eye took on a sad glow, "Cutting straight to the heart of the matter, eh Wolf? I can respect that." He broke eye contact with Wolf, glancing towards his invisible companion again as his voice took on a decidedly more somber tone. "My partner and I, about a week ago, were approached by a regular client, asking us to pull a job for him. It seemed simple enough; board a Cornerian vessel while it was refueling at a station near Sector Y, and recover a prototype missile launcher for mass production on the black market. Our client had all the necessary identification and documentation to get us onboard and into the armory forged prior to offering us the job, so basically all we had to do was show up at the right time, get the launcher, and jet. The weapon was already in high demand, so we were offered a substantial cut of his profits, enough so that my partner and I could hire a couple of pilots and lay the foundation for our own shadow corporation."

Wolf raised an eyebrow, and Panther scoffed. "That's a hell of a lot of credits for one job, kid" the mercenary captain said, not quite convinced. "You sure that's all there is to the story?"

The half-fennec smirked again, making an effort to appear innocent. Wolf swore to God, or whatever higher power might exist in the universe, that he was going to wipe that thing off the smuggler's face the first chance he got. "Pretty much, chief; we just made off with the weapon. As for the damage to our ship," an embarrassed chuckle escaped Kip's mouth, "well, let's just say that the Cornerian's decided to check with Central Command regarding our 'visit', and took offense when our deception was made apparent."

"He's lying," Leon suddenly piped up.

Kip heard the accusation, and glared at Wolf. "Who the hell is listen…"

"Think you can hold a moment, Phoenix?" Wolf demanded more than asked, urging Leon to keep quiet with a crippling glare.

"I don't have much fuel left, chief, so…"

"Good. Then you won't be going anywhere." Wolf signaled Skadi again, and the vixen put the smuggler on hold.

"Make sure he doesn't try to hack the system again," she told the communications officers before joining the rest of the team on the room's upper level. "Got a plan, sir?" she asked

Panther chose that moment to jump into the conversation. "Panther thinks it would be best if the Green One told us what possessed him to interrupt the conversation. He assumes much about this smuggler's story."

Both of Leon's eyes snapped onto the feline, and a throwing knife appeared in his right hand. "Are you questioning my judgment, warm-blood?" The chameleon demanded. He sounded eager, like he wanted Panther to say "yes".

Panther tensed, one hand straying to the blaster on his hip. "Easy, Green One; Panther merely wishes to know what you do, for once. Let's not make a mess of this lovely room."

"Actually, I think the walls could do with a coat of red paint," Skadi commented, a vengeful smile dancing behind her cobalt eyes.

"Stop, all of you! Act like a team, damn it!" Wolf shouted, clamping down on the platform railing even tighter. He could feel the metal about to start warping under his vice grip, but then again maybe the team could use a reminder of just how much strength wolves could muster when given reason to. He decided to save Maintenance a hassle, and let go of the railing before addressing Leon. "Panther, despite his bluntness," he began, tempering his voice's volume and tone, "has a point. You said that Phoenix is lying; why?"

The chameleon sighed, put away his knife, and went into another dissertation. "Cornerian military protocol normally favors disablement over destruction when pursuing a vessel that has stolen military supplies, weapons included." He began to tick of the reasons for the policy on his scaly, clawed fingers: "It allows them to bring the thieves in, find out who they deal with, and administer justice to anyone who's within their jurisdiction." His eyes split up, dividing the assassin's attention between Wolf and Panther. "If you get caught, nearly every dealer and crime lord you've ever dealt with is at risk of being found out and indicted. It's one of the major reasons why the Federation has been so effective at eliminating black market operatives operating on their planets and stations recently."

Wolf shook his head in amazement, and didn't suppress a chuckle quickly enough to completely muffle it. Instead, it came out as a short, bark-like sound. "Care to explain what that has to do with this, Leon? You're losing me."

"I think I understand," Skadi chimed in, talking around the longest of three hairs that, unlike the rest of her pale fur, matched her eyes. All three were long enough to partially obscure an eye, but the longest one came down low enough that the vixen could chew on it, as Wolf noticed she often did when she was nervous or thinking. "Basically, you're saying that, judging by the damage, someone didn't bother to try disabling him. That means that he may be lying about who he stole from, or worse, he's stolen something much more damning to the Cornerians than a simple weapon." She stopped a moment and let the hair slip out of her mouth, "Unless I missed something."

Wolf could've sworn Leon grinned slightly before he spoke, something even more uncharacteristic for the assassin than it was for himself. "No, you've grasped the gist of it, Skadi," he affirmed, "our new 'friend' may not know it yet, as unlikely as that may be, but he's in possession of something incredibly important to its owner. You know as well as I do that the Cornerians, if that is indeed who he stole it from, won't stand by and let him do what he will with it, Wolf. They'll hunt him down and gut him like so much raw fish before they allow that."

Wolf leaned on the platform's railing, scratching his chin. If Leon was right, there was a veritable firestorm on Kip Phoenix's tail right now. The only questions now were: Did Wolf want to place himself and, more importantly, his team and station in the path of this storm, and how much time would they have to prepare before it hit? This wasn't the kind of decision he could make on his own in good conscience, so he turned to his team for their opinions. "Well, he definitely ain't going to make it to another berth with his ship in that condition," the lupine mercenary declared, "so our choices, in short, are: let him land, or let him die." His eyes settled on Skadi, who stood up even straighter under his gaze. "Your opinion, Skadi?"

The vixen hesitated a moment. She wasn't normally the one approached first on such matters. "Well," she began, "I honestly don't trust this guy. I mean, he's quite the actor, seeing as none of us would have seen through his story, if not for Leon's foreknowledge of Cornerian protocol, and that neural interface of his is going to make keeping the station secure much more dicey with him onboard, not to mention the people who might come looking for him." She crossed her arms underneath her breasts. "Add in that the guy is clearly trying to hide things from us, and under normal circumstances, I'd turn him away without a second thought. He's manipulative, and that makes him too dangerous for my liking." She sighed and shook her head, "Considering that turning him away is the same as killing him at this point, though, I'm loathe to do so." Her eyes met Wolf's, and a tiny smile graced her face, "I will stand by your decision, sir."

Wolf nodded. "Noted, Skadi," he said. He turned his attention to Panther, but caught himself, and glanced back at the vixen, "And didn't I tell you to call me by my name?"

The artic fox blushed for the third time in the past hour. "Sorry. Old habits die hard, Wolf," she apologized.

Wolf kept his expression nondescript, something he was finding rather difficult all of a sudden. It irritated him, but not as much as he felt it should have, which in turn irritated him even more. "No apologies needed, just don't forget this time," he said, quickly tearing his eyes from Skadi to regard Panther again, but not before an amused snicker entered his ear from Leon's direction. Now what the hell did he find so funny, Wolf thought? He decided to ignore the chameleon, "How about you, Caruso? Your thoughts?"

The panther's tail twitched back and forth, a sure sign the cat was considering his words carefully. "Panther agrees with the Snow Angel that this Kip Phoenix is a dangerous man," he admitted. "He's got a quick mind, and to take as much fire as his ship has, and still manage to escape his pursuers, he and this partner of his know what they're doing. They'll be a challenge to keep under control, at best. And yet," a toothy grin appeared on the sable cat's face, "and yet Panther finds the half-breed's mannerisms, how you say, endearing, and Panther so enjoys knowing the little half-breed has enraged the Cornerian money-changers. Panther thinks the gutsy little fellow might become a valuable friend, if you will but trust him."

"Do you now?" Leon scoffed.

Panther shifted his gaze to the chameleon, and winked at him. "Such was one of the thoughts that persuaded Panther to join Star Wolf in the first place, Green One. Besides" the big cat paused for dramatic effect, "if this smuggler has something of importance to Corneria, then should we not see if Star Wolf can benefit from it?"

"The panther has a point," Leon affirmed, "though it does pain me to admit it. We may find what Phoenix has rather useful." The chameleon closed his eyes as he continued to speak. "Judging by what I've seen of his character, getting anything out of him would be akin to pulling the teeth of an enraged Earthwalker if he were on his own and in a better situation. However, given the numerous glances off camera, he is highly concerned for his partner, as I suspected he would be. he will be willing to give quite a bit for their sake. We can use that to slowly back him into the corner and extract the truth from him." The assassin's eyes snapped open again. "All in all, this little piece of prey will likely prove more useful as a potential friend than as a corpse, as Caruso has suggested. Be cautious about it, but I say we let him dock."

Wolf leaned back against the railing, focusing on nothing in particular so his gears could begin to spin freely. Finally, his lips parted in a toothy sneer, and a throaty, delighted rumbling built up in his throat. "Take Phoenix off hold, Skadi. I have a proposition for him."

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When Wolf's face finally reappeared in the communication's window on the pilot's console, Kip barely suppressed a sigh of relief. The lupine mercenary wore the same scowl as before, but there was a peculiar gleam in his eyes that Kip wasn't sure he liked. "You still breathing, Phoenix?" he asked.

Kip grinned once more at the wolf on the screen, falling back into his practiced manner of speech. "Right as rain, chief, though I'll be running on fumes soon." He glanced over at Marl, who gave him another reassuring smile, though the emeralds set in her face belied the same nervous tension that the smuggler felt gripping his own chest at the moment. She needed rest, they both did; not the best situation to be negotiating in. "So, can I land my ship or not?"

Wolf's muzzle split in a toothy grin. If Kip wasn't frightened before, he certainly was now. "Sure can, kid, we're prepping hanger four for you."

Kip cocked his head, not sure he'd heard what the mercenary said correctly. "Come again, chief?"

"I said you and your partner are welcome to stay on Sargasso while you fix your ship, provided," Wolf paused a moment to let that last word sink in, "you give me and mine something for our trouble."

Kip chuckled despite the tightening noose around his heart. He'd expected this obstacle, and was prepared to deal with it. "How's about the standard pauper's fare, Wolf?" he proposed. This was, normally, the best kind of deal one could extract from a smuggler in the Lylat System. Basically, Kip had offered to let Wolf analyze and take notes on any material goods he found in the smuggler's possession, make copies of any useful data he had, and take possession of any useful goods Kip might have a surplus of. "I actually took two of the prototype launchers, so you can have one for that crafty little engineer of yours to play with." He smiled expectantly at his video screen.

Murmurs could be heard through the comm. link, and Wolf glanced to his right and nodded before responding. "Not a bad deal, Phoenix," the lupine captain said, "but I'm going to be honest with you. My team doesn't trust you, and neither do I." His eyes narrowed dangerously, and his voice took on a deep, ominous tone. "I think you're hiding something, and even if you aren't, there's likely some trouble on your tail anyway. I'm going to have to add one item to the bill."

Kip raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what the wolf could possibly want, unless he somehow already knew what Marl and he had really gone after on the Dreadnought. "I'm listening."

"One job of my choosing, no charge, redeemable at any time."

Kip failed to suppress a grimace, and he heard Marl breathe a barely audible curse. If there was one thing a smuggler in his right mind avoided at all costs, it was being forced to owe someone a favor. Most animals used such arrangements to force the smuggler to do something ungodly risky, if not outright suicidal. He recalled an old saying that he overheard in a cantina on Fortuna once: "If you owe an animal a favor, you might as well buy a casket now." Suddenly feeling as if all the sleep he'd missed the past few days had caught up to him, the half-fennec rubbed a hand over his eyes and let out a tired sigh. It was a horrible situation, but he had to do something. He didn't rightly care if he suffocated in the vacuum, but he had promised to keep Marl safe, and he'd be dammed if he'd let himself screw that up. "All right, Wolf, deal," he conceded, staring at mercenary with cold eyes, "but the free job only applies to me; my partner's not going to be obligated to you or anyone on that station. Take it or leave it.'

"What are you doing?" Marl gasped, clearly not pleased with Kip's decision. "No way in hell am I…"

Phoenix cast a blazing red glare in her direction, demanding silence.

Wolf's eyes took on a thoughtful gleam for a split second. "Done. The team and I will meet you in hanger four momentarily," he announced, the wicked smile returning to his face. "It'll be a real pleasure to meet you in person, kid".

The communication's window closed, and Marl jumped on her partner. "What the hell's your problem?!" she demanded. "There's no telling what kind of sick meat grinder he's going to put you through!"

"Did it look like I had a choice, Marl?" Kip demanded, defeat and anger evident in his tone. "It was either do what he wanted, or drift until we run out of oxygen." He got out of his chair to and kneeled next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I couldn't let that happen, sis."

The she-wolf stared at him, the anger on her face slowly being replaced by sadness. "I know that," she admitted, "but did you have to limit the deal to yourself? Can't you trust me?"

Kip smiled. It was similar to the one he'd given Wolf, only much warmer. "Don't be silly" he whispered. "There are very few animals I truly trust in this system, and you're at the top of that list." He broke eye contact with her, determined, "I just couldn't put you at risk. I swore to take care of you, and…" he snapped his jaw shut, not wanting to say the words that had suddenly popped into his skull. No, he couldn't think like that right now.

Marl leaned forward. "And what?" she asked, laughing a little. "You aren't usually at a loss for words, Kip. Out with it."

Kip's good eye met her gaze, and the cocky grin returned. "Nothing. I just refuse to let Wolf push my little sister around."

Marl sat up, scowling and crossing her arms in front of her. "Kip Phoenix, I will not be babied, even by you," she stated with enough force to stop a tank. "Besides," she said, smiling again, "if I wasn't around to pull your ass out of the fire, who would?" She took Kip's hand off her shoulder, and held it firmly in her own. "I'm going to follow you, whether you want me to or not." She winked at her partner, "Get used to it, brother."

Kip sighed, trying to hide his fear from the piercing green orbs that held his own in place. "I know" was all he could manage to say. He stood up again, and Marl followed suit, easily standing at least ten centimeters higher than him. "We'll need to clean this place up before we land. I'm going to split up what we decrypted onto three separate discs, and hope Wolf doesn't take to close a look at any that he finds. Head to the hold and unpack those launchers. We're going to want to make sure Wolf's men get an eyeful of those as soon as they step onboard." He returned to his seat, and made a few pre-landing checks. "Oh, and tell CID to play dumb. He knows the drill."

"All right," Marl said, and made her way out of the cockpit.

Alone again, Kip let his grin slip, and he began to break up the files. He'd promised Wolf the pauper's fare, but that only applied to what the mercenary could actually find, and Kip Phoenix was nothing if not a master of turning the system against itself. Nonetheless, he knew that life wouldn't be much easier with Star Wolf watching Marl and his every move. Well, at least they weren't running anymore, he thought, but a now familiar knot of fear gripped his chest, causing the smuggler to wonder how long the reprieve would last.

"Dear Lord," he prayed as he worked, "it's been a while, I know, but I'm not calling for myself." He looked out the cockpit window at the rapidly approaching space station. "Just watch out for Marl, ok?"

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Millions of miles away, Peppy Hare, five star general and commander of the Cornerian Federation's military forces, was busy arguing with the only animal capable of giving him a direct order: the Prime Minister.

"Sir, are you certain that this is necessary?" the aged veteran asked. "I mean, we're not certain that they stole the intel you claim they have, are we?"

"We're close enough, General" the Prime Minister, a blood hound named Damien Briggs, informed him. "The Sagittarius reported an unauthorized transfer of data to Phoenix's ship via remote link before he and his partner fled the scene in it. That's what tipped the crew off to the smuggler's plans." Briggs took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "Besides, the mere possibility that he has data on the Excavation is enough to warrant the use of all available resources to apprehend them. Your men are to detain anyone even remotely resembling the descriptions of Phoenix and his partner relayed to us by the Sagittarius, and you will contact Dept. I to commandeer any agents they have free to spearhead the hunt for them on the neutral and Directorate controlled planets. I've already posted a bounty, so hopefully we'll receive mercenary help, as well."

Peppy shook his head, causing one of his long ears to flop over and nearly knock his glasses off. The Excavation had been nothing but a pain in his backside ever since it had began, and the Prime Minister and Parliament were still forcing R&D to withhold information on the project from him, so he still didn't even know for certain what it was. "It just seems like a lot of effort, just to catch two smugglers" he explained as he straightened out the offending organ, "I mean, wouldn't extra patrols at ports and bounty hunters normally be enough?"

The Prime Minister shook his head. "Not this time, General. Those two made a laughing stock of the Sagittarius, and the Venomian's have taken notice. They think we might be getting sloppy, and capturing the thieves ourselves would do much to debunk that theory. Besides, on the off chance that the Venomians hired Phoenix, we need to catch him before he hands off the data to them, or Bowman may very well decide that he has not choice but to declare war upon learning of the Excavation. We're not ready for that, not by a long shot, and you know it even better than I."

Peppy sighed; Briggs was right. He might be overestimating the advantage the Excavation would afford the Federation, but the last thing anyone needed right now was a war with the Directorate. "As you wish, sir. I'll hand down your orders," he assured the bloodhound before cutting the connection. He sat down in his chair, suddenly feeling very heavy and sluggish. The old hare switched on his intercom to call his secretary. "Patch me through to Dept. I, Lawrence," he paused to rub his forehead with a grey hand, "And bring me some aspirin, please."

"Right away, Pep" the secretary said.

Leaning back in his chair, Peppy stared at the glass of scotch on his desk, and a brief pang of sorrow hit his aged heart. It wasn't for anyone or anything that he normally though of with sadness, but for the smugglers who had hit the Sagittarius. They might be criminals, but the hare wasn't sure anyone deserved the hell that he was going to have to put them through to get that data back.