Random, yet awesome update! K, well the awesome is up to you. Do apologize for the shortness of the chapter, I simply wanted to get more than my prologue out on this :P

"And... recording." Shattered sighed, strapping his last piece of gear to his belt. His combat knife, five inches of certain death. It was a gift from Peppy on behalf of his dad, one of those birthdays he'd missed. The blade had rarely been used before he became a bounty hunter, but a lot of things had changed in the last four and a half years. Star Fox was long since forgotten. Lost to the new heroes of Lylat, Star Wolf, and all those that followed them. Falco and Slippy left to seek out better things in their lives. He didn't blame them, and in fact gave them his blessing, even going as far to lend Falco the Great Fox. It wasn't like he needed a big ship now. He borrowed a transport ship from Peppy, modifying it to better suit his employer's needs. It wasn't a good live he had now, but nothing really was good now that she was gone. "Krystal..." he whispered, longing for her warmth. To him she was either dead and gone or simply didn't wish to see him. His mistake cost him more than he admitted. It was bad enough that any thought of the past led him to think of Krystal, but when he really thought of her, he began to beat himself up until he wanted to end it. A ping from his headset pulled him out of his memories, when he looked through his scouter he noted that he had only thirty minutes to contact his employer, and he knew that his employer wasn't someone to be kept waiting. 'Suppose I should get cleaned up and try to eat.' Shattered sighed again, reminiscing on his always put a damper on his day, to say the least. The only thing he could find that would make him happy, was inflicting pain on criminals.

"Shattered?" A voice rang out, it sounded surprised, as if they knew him. Shattered knew that wasn't a good sign. He tapped his headset, calling the hotel owner.

"Yes?" The owner answered, expecting Shattered to come up with some excuse for paying him a month late again.

"Someone in the hotel just yelled my name, is there any Military personnel in here? Have I been found out?" Shattered whispered, locking his door and pulling out his blaster. Shattered could almost taste the anger coming from his landlord. "This place is compromised, I cannot stay here."

"What about this month's expenses? You can't leave me high and dry!"

"Screw off, how do I know you didn't give them info? Forget it, and if you even try to send collectors after me, I'll put a bounty on your head and come get it myself got it?" Shattered tapped his headset, ending the conversation. He had to move, and fast. He didn't keep much in his room, but it had served him well as a steak out for his last bounty. He was planning on jumping ship soon after he got this new job. He grabbed his projector, a gift from Slippy, and made a copy of himself sitting at the small kitchen table, it would be enough to give him a decent head start on his would be captors.

"Shattered! Open this door and come peacefully!"

"Just a second!" Shattered yelled as he opened the bedside window. As he got out he looked down, regretting almost instantly getting a top level room. He began to climb down, deciding to just go down one level and chance the elevator just across from the door. It wasn't going to be his stealthiest escape, but he would still make his call on time. Kicking the window open, Shattered flung himself in, causing the couple occupying the room to jump in fright. "Nothing to worry about, film exercise, congrats, you're both going to be famous actors!" Shattered waved as he opened the door and dashed towards the elevator. He hit the button to take him to the ground level, smiling at his quick escape. "Maybe this wont be so bad." Shattered figured the military had found out his projection was just that, and knew they'd soon be all over the building within minutes. He pulled up his hood, covering most of his face. The door opened to a lobby nearly full of military personal. Shattered swore under his breath, as a few officers moved towards his elevator. He jammed the button to take him to the parking lot, he couldn't let anyone else get on with him. "Wrong floor!" He said as he waved to the officers, grinned as they begun to notice who he was.

"Shattered! Get him! Stop that elevator!"

Shattered walked calmly out of the elevator, moving towards a hover bike he planned on borrowing. After a quick hack he sped out of the parking lot and into the hot Titania sun. He looked back only once to the ant hill that was his hotel, it was literally crawling with military personal. Shattered looked back towards the road, his target was the spaceport. This planet was to hot for him to stay on. 'Hard to believe that these guys used to adore the ground I walked on. Things change, better or worse.'

30 Minutes Later

"Shattered, how nice of you to call."

"Sorry, my save house was discovered." Shattered replied setting his ship to auto pilot, flying slow and straight just off radar range of Titania. "You have a hit for me I hear."

"You heard correctly." His employer sent a file to his ship. "First off, I trust you enough now to call me by the letter of my first name. You can refer to me as 'J' or Jay, however you wish to pronounce it." Jay continued as he saw Shattered nod. "Now then Shattered, the file I sent you contains information on your next target." Fox watched as a picture displayed on his holo-screen. "He goes by the name of 'Beast' but really is anything but. This Lynx is really just a pussycat, barely worth our time."

"So, why bother?" Shattered folded his arms across his chest. "I mean, if this is the first mission you've given me with the pay raise, why give me an easy one?"

"Don't sound so offended Shattered." Jay grinned. "This 'Beast' guy has already managed to capture my other trusted bounty hunters. I need you to go in, get them out, and kill that Lynx."

"Alright, sounds simple enough, but I think Beast's protection must be what got the other guy captured, if the boss himself isn't the problem. What's the fee?" Shattered watched in awe at the numbers, they seemed to endlessly go up."

"I know it looks like a lot, but I think you've earned it. Plus it's half of the fee I was going to pay her." Jay waited for Fox's reply.

"Her?" Shattered gasped, he knew that some females had been in this type of job before, but he never thought he'd be saving one.

"Before you waste both of our time with questions, remember I asked her to take him out before you, so she is more that capable to handle herself once you get her free. After that, you will both take out Beast. If you have any further questions, review the notes on file. Good luck Shattered."

Shattered watched the file open up for him. It was quite detailed, more so than the normal files from Jay. He figured it was like this for all higher up hits. "Rob. Send this file to my personal computer, I'm going to rest for a few hours, have the combat simulator up and running."

"Affirmative." The old robot replied. "Transfer will be complete in twenty seconds. An alarm will sound to rouse you as per previous request."

"Thanks Rob." Shattered watched the robot move slowly around the cockpit. Seeing him sent memories flooding to his mind. Starting the cycle of torment anew, cutting old wounds. Shattered collapsed on his bed, he hadn't slept well the previous night, and likely wasn't going to sleep well now either. He had the same recurring nightmare, it had gotten worse over the years, watching on a loop as Krystal left him. He wanted to cry, but years of being a bounty hunter had long since seal his emotions. He knew Krystal would be the only one to break this shell he'd formed around himself, and the chances of him seeing her was zero. He closed his eyes, picturing happier times, hoping that these images wouldn't fade into their last few days together.

Again, not sure when I'll be updating this next, I really want to get the two 'main' stories down now, then focus on other projects. Thanks for reading!

Peace,

H-T