Wolf shook his head as he watched countless soldiers swarm towards Pepper after his conference. The sight nearly sickened him. If they only knew the full truth of why they were going to face Venom again; none of them would be anywhere near Pepper or Peppy.

Sure Leon and Panther knew the full truth, but Star Wolf was being paid to keep quiet about it. The amount promised to them almost made Wolf think Corneria had taken his old business and made it their own. He was pulled out of his thoughts as he saw Anner walking towards them, with a hologram in his hand.

"Star Wolf." Anner said handing over the hologram to Wolf. "Here are you orders; you'll be leading a scouting party on the Venom Corneria border."

"Great, we're stuck with the guys that picked the short straws." Leon hissed, looking over at Panther. "You'd better act quick if you want to get your escort booked before we take off."

"Damn it Leon for the last time I do not buy escorts!" Panther growled.

Wolf handed the hologram to Leon before walking away from the group. "Head to the Wolfens and get them prepped. I'll meet up with you shortly." Anner quickly moved to catch up with Wolf, who seemed focused on Pepper.

"Uh, Sir? You seem, uh, well a little more angry than normal. Is it because of your orders? If so I can put in-"

"Anner, shut up." Wolf barked, turning to face the husky. "I've got to speak with Pepper before I leave, about shit that is beyond our pay-grade. And if you knew what I was going to talk about you would completely understand why I'm angry."

"With respect, sir. Everything seems to make you angry." Anner saluted Wolf before walking into the group of soldiers. Wolf tried to watch where the husky went but quickly lost sight of him within the sea of men. With a growl of annoyance, Wolf continue his way to Pepper who had been joined by Peppy in a more secluded part of the stage.

"Ah Wolf." Pepper said as Wolf got within talking distance. "What can we help you with?"

"And I'll assume this isn't about your recent orders." Peppy chuckled. Wolf glared at Peppy for a moment before looking at Pepper once again.

"While I can't outright say you lied to these people. I know you didn't tell them everything." Wolf sighed. "I honestly don't know why I'm going to ask this, but it'll be my last chance before this blows up in your faces. What do you gain by lying about this? To the people you're protected by?"

"Think of it this way Wolf." Pepper began. "If we gave all the information we had in one conference than one of two things would happen. Either people would accept what we've said as fact or they will wonder if we're telling them everything. The thing is that these soldiers are paid to protect Corneria, from every threat. Dash Bowman is a very real threat."

"Yes but you didn't tell them that you basically funded this threat. In some sort of twisted way of gaining control." Wolf turned to leave, but stopped and cocked his head back. "I only wish I could be here when they all find out."

"Good luck Wolf." Peppy voice dripped with sarcasm. "You're going to need it."

"That's his beacon alright." Ghost tapped her console. "He's about four hundred clicks from Dash's base. You gonna make it Jay?"

"I told you this ship would make it, and she will." Jay replied with a smirk. They were about twenty minutes from their rendezvous. There he would make contact with Shattered and Kursed again. Who were more than likely already on the trail he left for Slippy. "You think they figured out the Katina riddle by now?"

"That would depend on if Falco brought Katt along. She does speak Zonian. That riddle would be a walk in the park for her." Ghost sighed. "So, are you just going to call them like nothing's happened or send them a secure message?"

"I'm not sure yet. I mean, once they get to MacBeth they'll know where the hack source originated from. I could only bounce it off so many satellites you know." Jay chuckled as Ghost groaned; he knew she was a fan of action, and not so much technology. "Alright, I'll spare you the good parts."

"I only need to know who, when, and how much. I thought you knew that by now Jay, jeez." Ghost looked out at Venom, taking a deep breath. "If I didn't know what was going on down there. I would say that Venom is actually a beautiful planet."

"You can still say that. The planet is actually quite charming, in its own way." Jay looked down at this scanner as it began to beep. "What the... Ghost you getting that?"

"That huge looking force coming out of Venom... yeah, I kinda am." Ghost swore as she saw her entire scanner light up with red. "We'd better hurry and get down to Venom before those guys think we're hostile."

"Why are they leaving now? A force that size is only used for one thing." Jay grimanced and pushed his ship faster. "If we're lucky they'll think we're two freelance pilots. If we're not well..."

"Well, we'd best not be unlucky then." Ghost grumbled.

They flew as fast as they could towards Venom. Jay checked his scanner every second to make sure they weren't being followed. It was a tense few minutes before they broke Venom's atmosphere, giving both pilots a moment to breathe again.

They didn't speak until again until they reached their rendezvous site. They landed their ships a few yards away from a third ship. The ship looked like a medium-large sized cargo ship. To anyone else it would be just that. But both Ghost and Jay knew that this ship was more than that.

They jumped out of their ships, and jogged towards their mutual contact who seemed to be listening to a broadcast of some sort.

"I repeat, Dash Bowman has begun the attack! All able-bodied men and women are to report to Military HQ for immediate departure and war!"

"Well shit." Ghost swore as the message began to play over again. "How long has that been playing asshole?"

The grey furred vulpine turned around and faced Jay and Ghost. His expression was the same as it had always been; more or less emotionless. With a sigh he turned down the volume on his laptop. "It's been playing for the better part of an hour. Glad to see you haven't died yet Ghost."

"Oh don't you even start with that death shit Mister 'I've-got-more-important-shit-to-do.' You left me with an entire town to defend with a gang. A damn gang of Falcos! It was more work getting them to leave me alone than take the damn town in the first place!" Ghost growled. "So yes Ty, I'm still alive!"

Tyronos chuckled and looked over at Jay. "If you still want to send them a message you'd better act quickly. If they're coming after you with a Cornerian ship they won't make it here without facing the entire military might Bowman has."

"I thought we'd have a week Hopeless. Any ideas on what sparked this jump in schedule?" Tyronos shook his head. "I figured, excuse me you two."

Ghost looked over at Jay then to Tyronos. "You think he'll tell them who he really is during that message?"

"Doubtful. I suspect he'll wait until they get here." Hopeless looked over at Jay's ship. "I can't believe he still uses that hunk of junk."

"Oh like you're one to talk Ty." Ghost playfully hit his arm. "How long have you had that ugly ass bucket over there?"

"Hey now, be nice." Tyronos looked up as another frigate passed over him. "Corneria certainly has stirred up the nest here. I'm not even sure how this will end."

"The track record would show Corneria as always coming out on top. And that's against every enemy they've fought against." Ghost stretched before sitting down. "One would assume they'll win this war as well." She paused a moment, looking up at the grey vulpine. "Do you think they're any contracts here?"

Tyronos smirked. "Oh I would imagine so. If Jay wasn't paying you I bet you'd have gone looking for one already."

Ghost shrugged. "Can't blame a girl for trying to make a living."

They turned to see Jay coming out of Tyronos's ship. "I'll assume you've encrypted that message. We wouldn't want to make things too easy for Star Falco now would we?"

Jay smiled. "No, I sent it straight to Rob. He'll get it to Shattered. Corneria needs to be warned Ty. The week we thought we had isn't going to stop the war machine Bowman has started. And if Corneria gets hit by a surprise attack then has to deal with Andross... They very well might loss this war."

"Are you sure you just aren't getting sentimental? You do understand how they're going to react when they get here right?" Tyronos crossed his arms. "It's not only just Shattered either, you'll have to face your past."

"I'm tired of living a lie Tyronos." Jay's smile faded. "Plus, he deserves to know the truth. I know he'll likely hate me for it. But..."

"Don't worry Jay. With me and Ty here, it should make things go smoothly." Ghost laid down, resting her head on her hands.

Jay looked up at the sky; he could only imagine what would happen once Star Falco arrived. The message he sent contained a beacon, and it would definitely send the team directly to Venom. However, with fleet after fleet of Venom's forces being shipped out how could they get here undetected? "Do you think one of us should fly out to meet them?"

Tyronos smirked. "You certainly have been out of the loop Jay. Corneria has developed a cloaking device powerful enough to cover and entire ship, regardless of its size. The only thing is it only works in bursts. They'd have to time it for themselves." He picked up his cantinee and took a long pull of water before tossing it to Jay. "We've got a bit of a wait ahead of us. So I suggest we start putting together some plans to help out Corneria as much as possible. And before you ask Ghost, yes. I did bring some anti-shit show with me."

"I'd be shocked if I didn't." Ghost laughed. "Be a good host and fetch it for us would you?"

Jay watched in awe as the two old friends exchanged 'terms of endearment' to each other as Tyronos made his way to his ship. Secretly he wished that he could have that type of relationship with his own friends again. But it was something he could only wish for; no one in his situation could every hope for more than simply existing. With a heavy sigh he looked to the sky once again, knowing things were truly out of his hands now.

The liquor poured before they even separated into smaller groups within their makeshift den. Falco, Fox, and Slippy stood close to the TV. While Katt and Krystal sat on the opposite ends of the couch across the room. Things had a near sense of normality to it, considering the circumstances that brought Star Falco to this room in the first place. And while the conversations were borderline friendly, there was still more than enough tension.

Katt sipped at her whisky sour while staring daggers at Krystal. She had thought the vixen was her best friend, until she was knocked out and robbed. That had left a bitter taste in her mouth; all she wanted to do was make sure Krystal had thought it all through. Fox was stubborn, and an idiot for kicking Krystal off Star Fox. But he deserved a second chance, she knew how happy they made each other and that was all she wanted Krystal to realize. But it simply didn't happen like she had planned.

Sure, she had made back the money quick enough by helping Falco teach at the Flight Academy. But money wasn't the reason she was still mad at Krystal. Had the vixen told her everything, and not ran off on her own, she would have helped her. But all Krystal wanted to do was sit around her apartment and mope. By the time Krystal let, she had enough of the same old shit, and told Krystal that if she felt like a traitor than she must have been one. After that one thing left to another and she woke up the next morning with a killer headache and all the credits she had on her stolen.

"Katt, I don't even know where to begin." Krystal had turned to face the feline, trying to make herself as open as possible. "I guess I should start by apologizing for putting a gun on you. But I think all of our tempers were high."

"It isn't the first, or likely the last time I'll have a gun pointed at me." Katt muttered, not wanting this conversation to appear easy. "And I pretty much know what happened so you don't need to remind me."

Krystal nodded, bowing her head slightly. "I know we likely won't be as close as we once were Katt. For that I am truly sorry. I never had a best friend until I met you, and to do what I did..." She took a breath, nearly instantly controlling her emotions. "Even if I thought what I was doing at the time was right, it doesn't excuse my actions."

"You're damn right it doesn't." Katt snapped, taking another small drink before setting her glass down on the table in front of them. "I can't say that I'll ever really forgive you for that Krystal. I lost two good friends because of that. Seeing you again... it's going to take some time for us to even be on a friend level. Right now I'm keeping my temper in check because we have a mission together. That's it."

Krystal sighed. "It's true; you did lose two friends Katt. But I lost my second family."

The two fell silent once again, both looking over to the other group while they thought of the future. Maybe they would be friends again, or maybe it was simply too much to overcome. Only time would tell.

Across the room Falco pointed a finger at Fox before taking a large gulp from his glass of what could only described as 'mixed' alcohol. "What I don't understand... is how you managed to get out of Corneria undetected! I mean, shit, don't we have a program for that we put in place during the Lylat Wars?"

"That was our Arwings, Falco." Slippy replied. "But I am wondering the same thing myself."

Fox chuckled. His plan of getting out of Corneria had been pretty well thought out. "Using the ship we were turning into our mobile base for that F-Zero idea you had. I took off with Rob and never looked back. Man that sounded a lot more impressive in my head."

"I'm sure a lot of things went better in your head Fox." Slippy forced a smile. While he would never admit it to Fox he was hurt that the vulpine didn't confide in him what his plans were. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had so many projects going on. He is the lead researcher for the Cornerian Army after all. Still, Fox was here now; even if he didn't approve of his actions, he was still happy to have his friend back.

"Yeah, you could say that again Slip." Fox looked back at Falco who tried to hand him another drink. "Come on Falco you've drank more than you've spoke. And you're the one who ordered us to be here."

Falco opened his mouth, but didn't reply right away. He took a moment, still pointing at Fox while holding onto his drink. "It's how I'm dealing man. I fucking watched them put your coffin into the ground. And now, you're back like nothing's happened!"

Fox took the glass out of Falco's hand and down its contents in one gulp. "For eight years I expected to get something from your old gang telling me that you had died. And when you came back after we saved Sauria I welcomed you with open arms. Now, I'm not expecting the same thing from you here. But this is something we had to get used to, death I mean. We're not immortal."

"Damn it man, I was gonna finish that." Falco pouted letting his hand fall to his side. "But I guess you're right. I just, fuck man, I wish you had've said something at least. We would have kept it self-contained. Even with all that media shit, we would have figured something out."

"It was my only option at the time Falco. And would you have really gone along with me leaving to chase after Krystal back then? You're the one who got me on board with that F-Zero thing!" Fox looked over his shoulder at Slippy. "Would you have let me take the ship knowing where I was headed?"

"We would have tried to reason with you Fox. Krystal was simply an unobtainable goal for you back then. And I mean, what are the odds of you two finding each other years later?" Slippy chuckled to himself. "I don't have the exact number but I can tell you it's slim to zero."

"Damn it Slippy, don't make me think while I'm drinking." Falco sighed. "Listen Fox. I understand where you're coming from. But I still think you handled the situation like a damn kid."

Fox grinned. "So, like you then?"

Falco tried his best to scowl at the vulpine. But eventually he matched Fox's grin. "Shaddup."

"We good?" Fox asked while looking at from Slippy to Falco. Raising his fist up to bump theirs.

"Good? Far from it." Slippy replied, bumping his fist against Fox's. "But it is good to have you around again."

"We're brothers Fox." Falco took a few tries but eventually bumped his fist against Fox's as well. "Besides, all teams need a fuck up to blame shit on."

"I'll take it." Fox smiled. He was glad that the awkward part was over. He looked over at Krystal, noticing that her and Katt had finally stopped glaring at one another. "Want to move this to a bigger group?" He led the other two over to the couch, sitting on the arm rest closest to Krystal while Falco sat in between the two women. Slippy opted to sit on the table across from them.

For a few moments no one said a word. It was if their few hours of conversations were for nothing, and all of their doubts, and angers had returned.

"We are currently thirty minutes from MacBeth!" Rob announced over the PA. It cause everyone to look at one another. "There is also a message for both Fox and Krystal. It is addressed to their bounty hunter aliases. Rob out."

"So do we want to listen to that message first or see if we can't get the next clue from Jay?" Slippy asked.

"Let's see who this is from. Maybe one of our contacts has some info for us." Fox looked at Krystal, who seemed to be lost in thought. "Or maybe..."

"Let's listen to it." Krystal said, tapping her wrist comm and quickly bringing up the message.

'Shattered, Kursed, It's Jay.'

A partly covered face appeared before the group. "He's never sent us a recorded message before." Fox whispered.

'You don't have a whole lot of time. As I speak, Dash Bowman is sending his entire army towards Cornerian territory. And while I had planned to lead you on a merry little hunt through Lylat. I've decided to lead you straight to me. By now I assume that Slippy's programs have already started tracing this so by the time I'm done you'll know where I am.

Once you get here with Star Falco I will give myself up. I'll face whatever punishment that Corneria has, and I will become their newest scapegoat. Believe me; they'll need someone to blame once the rest of Corneria figures out what they kept hidden.

Jay out."

"Well that's just wonderful." Falco stood up. "Come on let's get to the bridge."

"Rob should announce the results of that tracker program. I'm just surprised that Jay knew about that program to begin with." The rest of the team quickly followed Falco towards the bridge.

"We were given a damn week. What the hell spooked Bowman?" Katt thought out loud.

"Who the hell knows? Dash has been damn near silent for the last couple of years. I hope Jay isn't damn well near-"

"Trace complete. Transmission originated from Venom." Rob announced as they entered the bridge.

"Venom? What the hell is Jay doing there?" Krystal shook her head, casting a glance over at Fox. "Do you think he's been working for Venom on the side?"

Fox thought for a moment. "Well, I followed the paycheck. But I would have never worked for Venom. But if they're giving him money..."

"You guys never wanted to ask where that money came from huh?" Slippy sat down next to Rob. "I can understand that. Kinda like where the money that funds Corneria's research comes from; I don't ask how, I just oversee its use."

Falco growled, causing everyone to look over at him. "Why the hell did it have to be Venom? We're flying a giant target, and even with all this tech we've got once we're spotted we're fucking done." He sat down with a huff. "Might as well wait here for back up."

"I never thought I'd see you back down from a fight Falco." Katt walked up to him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "We've all been in this kinda situation before. And correct me if I'm wrong, but we're all still alive to talk about it."

"But I've never been the leader when we were up shit's creek without a paddle." Falco looked over at Fox. "I'll be honest man; I don't know how you kept a level head."

"It's never easy Falco. But you've got to think of it like a leader would." Fox replied. "I've lost the mindset of a leader, and I don't think I'll ever get it back. But what I can tell you is that we're going to Venom. I'll go by myself if I have too. Jay is the only way I'll be able to get Peppy off my back; he's the only way I might be able to start faking my way through a normal life again."

"If you go, I'm going." Krystal's tone held no room for argument as she grabbed Fox's hand.

"Hold up, no one is splitting up." Falco rested his hand on Katt's briefly before spinning his chair to face Fox and Krystal. "If we're going to get Jay in Venom we're going to need everyone here ready to defend this ship at all costs. We'll get word to Corneria about the impending attack, hopefully they can get the planets mobilized before they get slaughtered."

"Rob, set a course for Venom." Fox ordered, he grinned as Falco raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, old habits."

"We're going to need our active camouflage prepped. In case we run into Dash's forces." Slippy turned to his holoscreen and began setting up the camo for the ship. "And let's really open up the throttle."

"Confirmed. Arrival time approximately one hour at projected speed." Rob replied. "Confirmation required for increased speed."

"Let's see if she can't match our Arwings. Open 'er up Rob." Falco smiled as the familiar pull of the G forces threatened to push him out of his seat as Cayuga bolted forwards.

"Cabin pressure regulated, ETA confirmed for one hour."

"We've got an hour. Let's get our ships prepped and ready for anything. Slippy when you're done head back up here and be ready with that cloak. If we're lucky enough to evade those Venom ships then we'll need it for when we land. Katt, I'll need you to send the message back to Corneria about the impending attack. The sooner the better. Fox and Krystal, you'd best relearn how to fly an Arwing. Simulators are on the third level, the entire level is reserved just for that so it'll be hard to miss. Any questions, comments, queries, or concerns?" Falco looked at each team member individually. "I've wanted to say this for a long time... Star Falco, let's move out!"

A unanimous affirmation was all Falco heard before everyone started heading towards their respective duties. Falco couldn't help but smile, even if this was surely a suicidal idea, at least he'd be going down with his crew.

Beltino opened the small office door, and quickly shut it behind him. Across the desk sat Pepper with Peppy standing next to him. "What the hell are we going to do about this?" He asked placing a hologram with Andross's picture on it on the desk. "This is pretty much flooding all over our systems. And that's barely even going into where it could have been leaked too by now."

Peppy looked down at the image, tapping the screen twice to close it. "We control what makes it to the media Beltino. I doubt it'll reach them anytime soon."

"Unless Jay sends it directly to them." Beltino quickly opened a new image on the hologram, this time of a live feed from just outside Headquarters. There was at least fifty different reports standing outside, each with a film crew.

With a flick of his finger Beltino switched the feed to the news, showing a partial image of Andross, as well as CDF Headquarters in the background. "I'll ask you two again, what the HELL are we going to do about this? If Jay leaked this to the media, then the names attached to that file will be next. And we all know what that means."

Pepper got to his feet, with some assistance from Peppy. "We're going to act first. I will go deal with the press, let them know we just received that image as well. I tell them that Slippy's program filled in the blanks and confirm that we've seen Andross outside of Venom. That will give the media something to talk about while we work on shutting down Andross remotely. I just hope their scientists aren't as brilliant as ours."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let's focus on-" Peppy stopped as there was a knock at the door. "Enter."

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt. But we've just got a message from Cayuga." Anner took a deep breath before continuing. "Bowman has up'd his attack schedule."

Peppy swore under his breath. "To when?"

"An hour ago."

Beltino held in head in his hands. "Well that's just wonderful."

Pepper sighed. "Anner, send word to all planets under our protection – Give them some warning before they get blindsided! Now!" Anner quickly disappeared, not even bothering to salute. "Peppy, you'll need to handle things here while I go update the media. Beltino, keep looking for a way to stop Bowman from using Andross!"

The older hound moved as quickly as he could, Beltino followed suit, leaving Peppy alone for the longest time that day. "I certainly hope we didn't sign our own death warrants."

In case you are wondering, yes Shattered and Krystal are still using their real names. But they will still respond to Shattered or Kursed respectfully.

I will do my best to get another update to you guys as soon as possible!

H-T

As always Ghost is owned by Chondra and is used with permission.

In a reply to:

Troygroomes - Haha, yeah Katt is having a hard time controlling her temper, but now we know why! And know is half the battle!

Blazehunter64 - I'll say, but it's nothing a little (lot) of alcohol can't fix! Kampai, BEER!

dajuanwilliams - Thanks! x3

bryan mccloud - Those are some great ideas, but I've got something planned for everyone don't you worry!

cam2016 - Thanks!

Chondra - Yeah, I could relate as well! Glad to hear you're enjoying it!

KaijuKnight - Holy hands down one of the best reviews I've ever gotten Batman! Also I was hoping that no one would notice that I didn't really explain how Fox/Krystal concealed their idenities. But to be fair, at the end of Command Fox walks right by Kursed and doesn't recognize her at all. Which is why I never really went into detail for Kursed/Krystal. But with Fox/Shattered, by the time I realised that I didn't describe what was different with him I was about 5 chapters in. So I used the interrogation scene to explain what he did. Thanks again for that wonderful review!