Katt looked out the window of the shuttle at the passing space dust and streaks of light. Falco was sitting next to her, fast asleep, but before he had gotten to sleep there was nothing but contempt in his face. He had wanted to stay on Zoness, but they barely had spent enough time there to even relax. She figured she might as well contact the Macbethian Viceroy's kinsmen to let them know of her impending arrival. She had to tread lightly though. Olivia's plans were definitely dicey. Organizing several key members in Lylat for this meeting of delegates was going to be a hassle, especially if they knew Xavier Zan was going to be a patron, Lylat's biggest current threat. That information would have to be kept secret.
"Ah, Ambassador Monroe! What do we owe this pleasure for?" came a bright male voice from her PDA. She looked down to see a somewhat cute mole's face on the screen.
"Well, you seem to know who I am. Can you tell me likewise?"
"Forgive me, I'm Chairman Oslo, Number 3 to the Viceroy."
"Excellent, I'm currently en route toward Macbeth City, would you let the Viceroy know I'm on my way to meet with him?"
"Certainly Ms. Monroe, Macbeth out."
Katt sighed as a stewardess gave Falco a questioning look. He was sprawled in his seat, his legs stretched out under the seat of a canine, annoying him.
"Falco, sweetheart, get up." She pinched his arm making him growl awake. The stewardess smiled and continued on serving drinks.
"We're almost at Macbeth..." she paused and frowned a little. "You don't mind being dragged around Lylat like this?"
He thought for a moment and rubbed the feathers on his head. "Well, yeah I do, but I'm doing this for you Katt. I wouldn't leave you all alone." She smiled, but she still felt guilty inside.
Fox and Wolf stared nervously at the hovercar as Cecilia got settled in the driver's seat. She seemed to eye the steering wheel as though she had never seen one before. This only added to their nervosa. "Shotgun!" Slippy cried as he leapt into the passenger seat.
Both backdoors opened as Cecilia pushed a button. "You guys get to ride in the back!" she chirped with a smile. Fox and Wolf made another glance at each other as they made their way around the back of the car, entering in on opposite sides. Fox scooted over to Wolf who was grimacing a little bit. He kept shifting from side to side in his seat.
"What's wrong?" Fox questioned as Cecilia fiddled with more controls, Slippy trying to help her.
Wolf made a face. "Uh...nothing just...sore."
Fox stayed staring straight ahead, unsure of how to respond to that. Slippy frowned at Cecilia as she became more flustered. "It was starting before! I don't get it!" The tabby twisted the key repeatedly, finding nothing to happen as she did.
Wolf rolled his eyes, "Computer, unlock start sequence please."
"Confirmed, waiting for driver input."
Cecilia smiled sheepishly at Wolf in her mirror. "Start sequence unlock." She twisted the key and the engine rumbled to life. The car slowly lifted off the ground as the seatbelts came over Slippy and her. Wolf and Fox put theirs on quickly, unsure of what to expect. The short driveway leading up to the secondary gate was in front of them now.
"Ok, here we go!" cried the feline. The car lurched forward then came to an abrupt stop causing everyone to groan. "Er...whoops...hang on." She giggled nervously, tapping the accelerator again more smoothly this time. The car began to glide down the driveway as the gate automatically opened letting them out to the private road that led to other fancy homes on the mountain side. It was a quaint road with trees hanging over it only to allow small streaks of sunlight through. The car glided on, at about jogging pace. In fact there was a horse with a sweatband jogging past the car next to them. Fox recognized his neighbor and nodded toward him with a smile, feeling a little ridiculous as he got a humored look in return.
Wolf tapped a claw on his seat. "Cecilia...maybe you want to speed up if we're going to get to Arspace in a reasonable amount of time."
The tabby was rigidly holding the steering wheel, her arms stiff and straight. She carefully nodded and applied more pressure to the accelerator. The car's engine moaned to a higher pitch as they moved along at a slow but decent pace.
Slippy looked up from his tablet, "Alright you're gonna want to take a right here." Cecilia complied and the car glided around the corner a little too widely, going into the other lane for a second before coming back. It was a quiet neighborhood street with no traffic, so things looked okay for now, or at least Fox thought. The road ahead led out of the secluded neighborhood and toward the city.
Olivia stood across from General Pepper's desk looking somewhat flustered with a tablet in her hand. A lot was on her mind about what she was doing and what she planned to do. She had to have everyone on her side if things were going to work out. She had just gotten off the phone with the Katinian president. He agreed to the meeting she was planning. She was still waiting on word from Katt, and then after that she would have to convince Chancellor Leto of Zoness. There was a lot on her agenda, and co- coordinating it was taking a toll on her disposition. "General I wanted to talk to you."
The canine blinked and folded the binder on his desk, giving her his full attention. "Yes of course, please have a seat." She complied and continued on.
"As head of the military, I need to have your word of assurance on something." Pepper nodded and brushed one of the pins on his coat. "Over the next few weeks, the Senate is going to try and push the military to take action against the Tigrinian Federation on Zoness."
Pepper nodded again, "Ah yes, the rogue state that is dealing us a dose of terrorism, correct?" Olivia nodded and the canine smiled. "I'm guessing you're here to tell me that I should hold off on complying with senatorial orders if that were to happen?"
"Yes."
Pepper looked up at the ceiling as though studying it, "Can I ask why I should do that?"
"Look Pepper, Lylat has seen enough violence and military conflict as it is. I feel like I'm constantly repeating myself when I say this, but we have to handle this peacefully for the good of our people."
Pepper raised a paw smiling half-heartedly, "Olivia, I'm well aware of your political views on this, and your impending agenda." The cardinal twisted her face, she didn't quite like how that sounded. "But I have to ask why you're going through all this trouble?" She gave him a puzzled look as he continued. "Come on, a chancellor doesn't have to do all this. Why don't you just let the senators do their job and sit back, relax and enjoy your position?" He leaned back in his chair with a casual face.
Olivia rose from her chair and stepped up to the desk, "General, I am not going to stand here and let the government of this planet do what I feel is a fatal mistake when I have the power to change that."
"But you really don't have that power."
Olivia sat down again with a blank expression. Pepper unfolded the computer on his desk and rubbed his forehead. "Look, I'm sorry to put it like that, but when I put the government of Corneria back together after it was shattered, your position was more like a gift of thanks than a political move." He typed a few commands into the keyboard bringing up all sorts of text and data. "As I look at this you really have hardly any political or government experience. Born on Zoness, raised on Corneria, entered the Cornerian Guard Academy at 19, graduated at 22, positioned on several ships over the course of 5 years. I mean you're only 27. Do you know how old the last Chancellor was Olivia?" She stared with a hurt expression not bothering to ask. "67," he continued. "And he had been a senator for 20 years before that. Becoming a chancellor was like a retirement for him, it should be a vacation for you."
"A chancellor is a ten year position," Olivia stated harshly.
Pepper rubbed his chin. "I never considered that." He folded the computer screen into his desk as it was before, "Life is one thing you're full of Olivia, I just don't feel you should complicate yourself with issues other people can take care of. You're our figure head, not necessarily our..."
"You know..." Olivia cut in. "You're not the only one to tell me that these past few days. And each time I hear it, only makes me more pissed off at the system."
"That's not what I intended."
"You didn't have to, but you know what." She took a step back from the desk lowering her eyes at the canine. "I might not have this system on my side, but I got people. Lots of them, and with those people I can make some changes. So Akun, the senate or even you can stop what I feel is best for Lylat."
Pepper rose up from his seat trying to cool off the situation but he was frustrated now as he dodged Olivia's brutally sharp glare. There was a fire in her eyes, passion about what she believed in. Olivia was a one track person, she was going to stand up for what she thought was right. Pepper felt he had to get some sense into her. "Look Olivia. I'm not your enemy. Stop antagonizing me when I'm trying to help you! You want to talk about people? Let's talk about people. There are people in this world who can make you, or they can break you. Right now if you go through with whatever you have planned those people will break you. Why are you trying to mess up something that's already a good thing? Over the Tigrinian Federation? An island chain with a miniscule amount of people who are worth less than dirt? Don't be pissed off at me..."
"I'm not pissed at you!"
"Alright then don't be pissed off at the system! Because the system works!"
"I have to go," Olivia suddenly stated. She straightened out her coat and picked up a tablet off the chair. "I have things to do, and if you're not going to help me, I will help myself." She started for the door.
"Olivia don't leave like this!" But before he could finish, the door had already shut. "Dammit," he sighed. He was beginning to regret his decision to appoint her chancellor, but it was such an awkward situation after Fox and Wolf saved Corneria. Most the government was destroyed and he was nearly the only authority figure left to put it back together. Should he have put a little more thought into who he appointed?
"So what exactly is this meeting," started Maclar as he sat across from Katt. She ran a paw through her white hair and smiled. "Well Viceroy...even though I already explained twice, I will explain again. The delegate meeting Chancellor Cardus of Corneria has planned is a way for every planetary leader in Lylat to get together and discuss current events, the most obvious being the Tigrinian Federation and what to do about them."
The mole nodded and smiled, still staring at her eyes. It was obvious he wasn't quite listening to what she was saying. He looked like he was in his late thirties, not exactly attractive and somewhat round in the face. Most moles had similar features. Katt undid the top most button on her suit lowering a claw through it and smirking. "So what do you say Maclar, can I call you Maclar?"
"Of course."
"Yes, so will you come?" She pouted adding to the charm she was throwing out at him.
The Viceroy grinned even more, "Are you going to be there?" She nodded running another paw through her bangs. "Then yes, I will most certainly attend if you are there." He reached up behind his neck and undid one of the fancy jeweled necklaces he was wearing. It had green emeralds strung on white gold. It shimmered under the light as he handed it toward Katt from across his desk. "Please take this gift Ambassador Monroe."
Her eyes widened with shock at the piece of jewelry. It must have been worth millions, pure Macbethian white gold. "Oh..." Her face flushed along with her disposition. She stiffened her shoulders and shook her head. "I don't think I can accept that Viceroy."
"Please, call me Maclar, and I insist. It is yours. A beautiful necklace for a very beautiful girl."
The hair on her neck stood on end as her eyes shifted from the necklace, to his eyes, and back to the necklace again. Finally after what seemed like an eternity she reached for the piece of jewelry and took it in her hand. It felt heavy, almost filled with power.
He was grinning wildly now as she examined the pristine trinket. "It is very difficult to find a wife these days." She raised her head to look at him with a horrified expression.
"I wouldn't know."
"Okaaay," Slippy stated as the car came to another intersection. "You're gonna want to make a left here, and try not to take the turn so wide." The tabby nodded, she was in a cold sweat now, her hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel.
Wolf shook his head watching her. "Try to relax Cecilia, driving is supposed to be enjoyable."
"I am enjoying myself! I just want to be careful. If I get in an accident then my insurance will go sky high!"
Fox glanced out the window, noticing the velocity of the car. "Well we're going so slow, someone is bound to hit us."
"Are we there yet?" groaned Wolf with a half smile. Everyone gave Cecilia her silence as she struggled on at what seemed like a snail's pace. They were on a regular suburb avenue with stores lined along the sides and tall oak trees in the center. People on the sidewalk turned and looked as they heard the noise of dozens of cars honking. They were all stuck behind Cecilia's car, going well below the speed limit, desperately trying to find a way to get around her. Wolf put a paw over his face. "This is almost embarrassing..."
"Almost?" questioned Fox.
Suddenly Slippy looked up from his computer tablet. "Ok this road will be taking us onto the skyway which will take us straight to the Arspace center." Cecilia's face snapped, her whiskers becoming stiff.
"Er...skyway?"
Slippy gave her a quirky smile, "Yeah, you have to take one to get just about anywhere." Cecilia looked over at him then at the road ahead, and sure enough he was right. The road began to rise toward a huge complex of rushing cars. Organized chaos would be the best way to put it. Thousands of flying cars hundreds of feet above the ground zooming along at breakneck speed through a glass encased expressway. Wolf and Fox were familiar with it as were most people on Corneria. Cecilia was not. She began to panic.
"I can't do this." She started shaking her head.
"Oh hell," Wolf moaned. Cecilia kept shaking her head as the car continued toward the skyway, rising higher and higher.
"Auto-compensating speed," chimed the computer. The car's velocity began to increase, the engine whining louder. Cecilia was wheezing with fear as they approached the rush of the expressway. They entered a glass tunnel that connected to the encased skyway. It was the point of no return.
"Cecilia don't try and fight the speed, it has to automatically increase to match all the other cars."
"But I don't want to go fast!" she cried. Fox tugged on his seatbelt to make sure it was secure. Wolf did the same. Suddenly they too began to panic. It was clearly apparent the tabby had no idea what she was doing behind the wheel. Several holographic windows popped up on the dashboard giving her directions and information about the freeway. She looked all around them, feeling dizzy.
"Enacting auto-traffic merge," the computer continued.
Slippy shook his head. "Cecilia, ok just relax, let the car drive itself. Half of freeway driving is automa..." Before he could finish the car jerked forward at incredible speed on its own accord, zooming onto the skyway and weaving into the crazy frenzy of traffic. Cecilia closed her eyes and screamed as the car swerved itself around other hovercars.
"Someone open her eyes!" Wolf shouted. Cecilia slammed her foot on the brake in reflex from the speed and tried to fight with the steering wheel. The car groaned and jerked slower. Dozens of cars behind them swerved around with horns squawking at them. This made the tabby scream even more.
"Cecilia! Don't brake! Speed up!"
Wolf and Fox who were in the back seat turned their heads around to look out the back window. A huge hovertruck met their eyes, wailing a deep loud horn at them. Their first reaction was to howl in the same pitch. Slippy thought fast and slammed his hand on a button on the dashboard.
"Auto-drive," the computer stated calmly. The car blasted forward spooking the truck off as it tried to pass around them. It pitched left, losing control and swerving right, knocking into several other cars and then the glass wall of the skyway, blasting out of it. The cry of dozens of horns resounded from behind them again. Wolf and Fox looked at each other with wide eyes, then back at Cecilia who was near tears. Almost instantly blue and red lights began to flash from behind them, included with a police car's siren.
Cecilia turned white. "Oh no! I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't do anything!"
"Relax." Slippy coaxed. "Just pull over onto the service platform on the side." She complied and soon they came to a stop on the side of the freeway, edging up next to the floating platform. She looked in her rear view mirror, seeing the cop pull up behind them and stepping out onto the platform. The rush of the freeway next to them zoomed along as it normally would, the roar of the engines echoing off the glass. The cop was an eagle, tall and intimidating. He walked down the platform toward the car. Cecilia's window slid open as the eagle folded his arms and gave her a condescending stare.
"Y...yes officer?" The cop eyed her then glanced at the freeway behind them. There were several battered cars sitting on the bottom glass under the river of traffic. There were passengers getting out and looking at the damage done to their cars. "I need to see your license and registration." Cecilia's brow furrowed as she dug through her purse and handed the eagle the appropriate cards. He took them and examined them carefully. "Now Ms. Cecilia Riratot, I'm just going to say that I saw every bit of what just happened, and most of that was caused by your reckless driving."
Cecilia's jaw fell open. "That wasn't my fault!"
The eagle raised his chin, "I've been patrolling these skyways for twelve years ma'm, and I can honestly say all of that was your fault." He pointed behind them at a gaping hole in the freeway's glass wall. It was where the hovertruck had flown off the skyway and into the trees dozens of feet below. "I can say that was your fault too. You're just lucky the driver of that vehicle is alright." By now there were two other cops helping with the accident as traffic slowed to a crawl.
"Now it says here on your ID that you're a citizen of Zoness but a resident of Corneria."
Cecilia became flustered. "Well yes, I'm still processing my citizenship for Corneria, but that isn't necessary to drive." The cop looked over at Fox and Wolf who were sitting in the back seat, obviously enjoying watching Cecilia get berated. The eagle instantly recognized them.
"Hey...McCloud and O'Donnell right?"
Fox's window slid open and he saluted the officer. "You bet."
The eagle broke a smile, one you wouldn't expect from such an intimidating man. He shook his head. "Wow. You know, all the guys on the highway patrol worship your heroism. I can only say it's an honor seeing you two." He looked back at Cecilia. "Friend of yours?" Fox and Wolf nodded dejectedly, almost annoyed by the fact.
"She works for the government," Wolf finally said shrugging.
The eagle nodded, "That's quite alright then. I won't hold anyone here accountable for this incident, just try to make sure she's a little more careful when she drives." He eyed the tabby in the driver's seat carefully who looked back at him with thankful eyes. He returned Cecilia's ID cards to her and then walked back to his hover patrol car. She waited for him to pass before continuing on.
"How are we doing Katt?" Olivia propped her chin on her hand while looking into the computer screen on her desk.
The pink feline frowned a bit. "Well, Maclar Prole says he would agree to a meeting of delegates." Olivia's stress filled face brightened.
"That's great!" Katt didn't look so enthusiastic about it as though she weren't even comfortable to mention it. "Can I ask why you say that like it's a bad thing?"
"It's a long story." She rolled her eyes. "Let's just say I used the wrong tactics to convince him."
Olivia chuckled, "I'll take your word for it." She tapped her gloved fingers on the desk while thinking. "Now, all we have to do is get Chancellor Leto of Zoness to come. He'll be the most difficult to convince, I think I'll let myself and Wolf handle that one. You should come back to Corneria when you can. Also what we need to do is decide on a location for this meeting. I don't want to use the Cornerian Senate building so if you have any ideas let me know."
Falco scooted Katt over, pushing his face much closer to the screen. "Um...okay, I'm not really that important in all this, but I figure I can help. If you want a good place I would recommend the Kani hotel. It's in orbit around Zoness, it's got a great banquet hall and everything. I got a few old friends that own it and would be willing to let any government use it."
Olivia smiled. "Great! That sounds perfect." Several beeps fluttered from her console. "Ah, Katt I got another call coming in I gotta go. Will you be back on Corneria by tonight?" She nodded. "Good, have a safe trip, Cardus out." Olivia tapped another button on her screen and another window popped up. It was a gray dog with a gray female squirrel hugging him from behind.
"Ah! William and Elena! Good to see you two."
"Er...I like to be called Bill."
"Of course," Olivia shook her head. "What can I do for you?"
"Well," Bill started, adjusting his sunglasses. "I just wanted to let you know that we'll be making our return to Corneria tonight. Katt let us know about the meeting that's being organized and we'd be willing to help out too."
Olivia scratched her beak and flipped open the binder on her desk, looking through all sorts of information. She wasn't really looking at information though, just taking some time to think. She knew Bill was military, and that he would listen to the senate. She had to get him in her palm quickly. They didn't quite know each other personally. During the Androssian takeover they had been mostly separated, not really getting to know each other until after it was all over, but they were friends by association. Hopefully he'd side with her and not what the senate was trying to do. "Good," she finally said. "We could use all the help we can get." Her console beeped again telling her another call was coming in. It was her chief advisor Akun "I got another call William, and I have a feeling you better go, this might take a while."
Bill nodded, "Alright take care Olivia."
The cardinal sighed and pressed another button, suddenly feeling exasperated from all the calls that were being made. Akun came on the screen.
"Chancellor Cardus!" he boomed. "Do you think I don't know what you're doing?!" She propped her chin on her palm again and smiled, not responding. "The senate will override you no matter what you try to organize!" He sounded much more vehement now, even a little arrogant. It was greatly annoying her. In fact it was annoying her just a little too much.
"Akun," she finally said. "The senate won't be doing anything because you won't be there to influence them."
He raised his chin like he usually did when he felt threatened. "What exactly does that mean?"
"It means you're being removed from your position."
The raccoon gasped and quickly snapped into a horrified expression. "You can't do that!" He took several short breaths trying to figure out how to respond. Olivia continued to stare at the screen with a half smile. "You can't do that! I've been working on this government cabinet for nine years!"
"And now you'll be on our government pension plan. You've had a long fulfilling career anyway so you should take this as a vacation. Sort of as a gift from me." She was obviously enjoying this. The politics involved were like a chess game and Akun was the bishop. Fairly formidable but when you come at him from the right angle he becomes powerless. She knew she could do this because she had done her research. Pepper might have said she didn't have much political or government experience, but she can at least read. Many chancellors in the past had their advisors replaced. Her only regret was that she didn't do it sooner.
"I promise you..." Akun stated, sounding injured. "This will all come back to hurt you Chancellor..."
"We'll see about that," she answered coldly.
Slippy walked down the corridor of the Arspace Center lobby. It was a large gaping atrium with hundreds of scientists and technicians scurrying around. Fox, Wolf, and Cecilia tagged along behind him as he spoke and walked.
"Arspace is the largest provider in Lylat of the latest cutting edge technologies. G-diffusers, light drives, stabilizers, you name it, we make it."
"What exactly do you do here Slippy?" Wolf asked.
The toad kept walking poking into a digital tablet. "I'm head of research and development, where I work with teams of hundreds of people to design and implement new technologies. It's a real exciting job to have, because we get to decide the standard in Lylat's technological base."
A deer in a lab coat stopped Slippy, holding out another digital tablet toward him. "These are the latest research reports." He looked over at Fox, Wolf and Cecilia. "Guests?"
Slippy nodded while scanning over the tablet, "Yeah, I'm taking them to see the Great Fox's hull design and progress."
The deer smiled. He was young, probably in his early twenties Wolf figured. He had blue eyes and gold brown fur with small branching horns on the top of his head. They were liken toward antenna, somewhat awkward looking but he was a deer and he'd be kidding himself if he said he wasn't attractive. "Wonderful," the deer said. "Care to introduce me formally, Mr. Toad?" Slippy shook his head.
"Of course, what am I thinking. Fox, Wolf, Cecilia, this is chief of design operations Lance Hoofstone. He's one of our most talented producers in the R&D group as well." Lance blinked a few times and extended his hand toward Wolf first. He had a peculiar mannerism. The way he carried himself seemed somewhat light and airy. Wolf took his hand and shook it, quickly noticing the deer's azure eyes glance him down. Before he could blink Fox was already shaking the deer's hand as well.
"Well!" Lance started after shaking hands. "Let's carry on! I'm sure you three are anxious to see our progress on the Great Fox!"
Slippy frowned as he stared into his tablet. "Damn, I have to take care of a few things in the R&D group for now. Lance will you escort them to the prototype hangar. Just show them around."
"Certainly," he said. He stood beside Wolf and put a hand on his back giving him another smile. "Right this way." Fox raised an eyebrow at the gesture.
Max looked across from his plate of food at Olivia. They were eating in a fancy restaurant in a booth. The cardinal was poking around her plate of pasta. She had only eaten half of it. "Are you sure that was such a good idea?" he questioned toward her.
She looked up with tired eyes. She knew what the question pertained to but she still took a moment of silence to think about it. "Get rid of Akun?" He nodded. "I felt I had to. He was starting to undermine my authority." Max looked down and stayed quiet, poking around his salad.
"It might have been a bad move."
Olivia put her fork down. It clanged against the plate loudly and she looked up. "Not you too."
"I'm just saying, Akun has a lot of connections in the government, and he could use that to his advantage and to your disadvantage. It's a chess game out there Olivia. I don't want to see you in check."
She rubbed the tall feathers that stuck up from her head. "I know. I'm really trying." She looked up and smiled weakly. When she was a little girl she could recall watching the daily news broadcasts and how they talked about politicians and leaders. It seems a lot more simplistic from that point of view. They just made decisions, some people agreed with them, some didn't, but everyone had a voice and the majority ruled. Pepper was right when he said the system did work, but only when it was in your favor. It was more than just making decisions, you had to have power, you had to have people, you had to have connections. Things had to fall in place and the cards had to be in your favor. "Struggling would be a better word actually." She gave her pasta a ponderous look and took a sip of her drink.