Zack looked up when he heard the door to the brig slide open. It was wolf, carrying a tray of food. He walked over to the bench and plopped down, the tray on his lap. "Shouldn't you put up the bars?" Zack asked with an inquisitive look on his face.
"Nah, its fine. 'Sides, how am I supposed to give you your food if the bars are up?"
"I think you're just supposed to put the tray down and leave. That's probably what Leon expects you to do," Zack said, a bit amused.
"Yeah, well, screw Leon, he doesn't have to know," Wolf said with a bit of a growl.
"You mean there aren't security cameras in here?" Zack asked with disbelief.
Wolf chuckled "No, there aren't. When we bought this hunk-of-junk, we only had money enough for bare minimum security functions. Most of the stuff we have now got added in later, including security cameras, and we only really put them in places we needed them: the bridge, the flight deck, cargo holds, storage rooms, and what used to be Pigma's room."
Zack gave Wolf a confused expression "You didn't think it was important to have security cameras in the brig?"
"Well, to be honest, we never used it, and never planned to really. I think we used it for storage once, but I can't even be sure of that. You're the first prisoner we've ever had," Wolf replied.
Zack thought for a moment. "Well, what if I tried to attack you."
Wolf chuckled again. "Honestly, I don't think that's very likely. But even if you did, do you really think you could take me?" Zack knew Wolf was probably right there. "Besides, I'm the one with the blaster," Wolf brought his hand to rest on the weapon. "Now are you do you want this food or are you just going to keep arguing?"
"OH GOD YES." Zack dove over to the tray, knelt in front of Wolf, and tore into the bread. About halfway through the bread, he grabbed the bowl of soup and guzzled down the soup. The food had virtually no flavor, but he didn't care, he was just glad he had something to fill his stomach.
Wolf sat there, mouth slightly agape. After Zack had finished he smirked and said "Hungry are we?"
Zack looked up and, blushed, and went back to his bed. He sat down on and looked up at Wolf. "Thanks…" he muttered and slumped back against the wall.
"Something wrong?" Wolf asked, though he knew it was a dump question. It was Zack's turn to laugh, though it wasn't so much of a chuckle as it was a snort.
Zack sat up and said with a touch of sarcasm "Well, let's see. I failed my first mission as an official Cornerian pilot. As a result, an entire colony was wiped out. As if that's not enough, I got frozen for 24 years, only to be thawed out and turned into someone's prisoner, even though I've never even done anything! No, nothing's wrong, everything's peachy." Zack found himself yelling. He blushed slightly and slid into a lying-down position on his bed. He hadn't meant to yell at his only real company, but the whole situation made him angry.
Wolf stared at the floor. After a while, he got up, strolled over to Zack's bed, and sat on the edge. "Look, I don't like this anymore than you do. I suppose it won't make things better, but I can at least explain why you're here."
Zack sat back up and looked at Wolf with a stiff expression. "I'm listening."
"Well…" Wolf began, "Not too long ago, there was a war I got kinda mixed up in. Not too far after the legendary pilot James McCloud's death."
"James McCloud died!?" Zack interrupted, gaping.
"Yeah, was killed actually. By a former teammate of mine. Don't worry; we kicked him out ages ago." Wolf was reminded of what he learned earlier and wondered if he should tell Zack or not. He eventually decided against it. "Anyway, his son, a bit of a rival of mine, re-formed Star Fox after his father's death. He ended up on the Cornerian side of the war, and I figured the only way I may get a chance to take him on was to join the other side."
Zack interrupted Wolf again "Wait, tell me more about this war? Who fought? What was it over?"
Wolf responded "Right, sorry. Andross, leader of Venom, amassed a pretty large army and challenged Corneria for control of the galaxy. It was pretty clear that he was corrupt and evil, but I was young, and I just wanted a chance to get at Fox. It was a pretty big mistake, and it cost me quite a bit. Anyway, I formed a team, Leon, this guy named Pigma, the one who betrayed and killed James, and then Andross' nephew Andrew. Together, we were probably the strongest team the Venomian army had. We still were no match for Corneria. Of course, our team really hadn't done anything wrong. We were just following orders, we were perfectly willing to accept Cornerian rule. But the universe don't work that way. Regardless of what we had and hadn't done, we...were criminals. Outlaws. We either had to resort to a life of crime to stay alive or give ourselves up. We decided that second option was out of the question. Long story short, teammates came and went. Pigma went rogue and got himself killed, and who knows what the hell happened to Andrew. We were in desperate need of a third member when Panther asked to join. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I wished we hadn't let him because by joining us, he pretty much ruined his life. All I've really wanted was to go legit after the war ended, but it's become increasingly apparent to me lately that that is pretty much impossible. It's funny, a little while ago we even helped Star Fox fight off these malicious aliens called Aparoids, but when all was said and done, no one even remembers. Honestly, I hate this. More than anything. It sucks, ya know? It's gotten even worse recently. We're some of Lylat's most wanted men, so we have to resort to small, petty stuff. Even the people down at Sargasso, an outlaw haven, give us dirty looks because they think we'll bring the whole army with us. We can't leave the system, because the increased border security. The whole thing just sucks." Wolf stared back down at the ground again.
"So…" Zack said, piecing the things Wolf had told him together "What does that have to do with me?"
"Well" Wolf looked back up at Zack. When we found you, Leon was ready to just let you be. The only way I could get him to let me pick you up is to suggest using you as…a hostage. Well, I didn't really suggest it, he came up with the idea himself. Still, Leon plans to ransom you back to Corneria for a hefty price."
"Oh." Zack replied. That's all he could think to say. He still didn't like the situation he was in any more than he had before, but he couldn't hate Wolf for what he had done. Quite the contrary, Wolf had saved his life, and he actually felt grateful. After an uncomfortable silence that seemed to last ages, he managed to mutter a "Thanks."
Wolf stared at Zack, bewildered. "For what!?"
Zack looked Wolf in the eyes. "For talking Leon in to picking me up. And for being honest with me. I get that you're just doing this to survive. But I do have one question. If you're the leader of this time, why would you have to talk Leon in to anything? Don't you make decisions?"
Wolf looked back down at the floor. After another brief silence, he spoke again. "Well, I don't relish this meager existence at all. And it shows. Leon on the other hand, he loves it. He lives for crime, and the criminal lifestyle. After a while, I stopped wanting to plan heists and such and just sort of sat around, kinda depressed. When that happened, he kinda took over. So even though I'm the leader officially, I suppose you could say he's the real brains behind this operation…"
"Ah," Zack answered. He understood.
Wolf hopped up. "Speaking of Leon, he's probably wondering where I am. He wouldn't like to find me in here talking to you. I'm sorry, but I gotta go. I'll be back though, and I'll make sure your meals actually taste like something next time." Wolf headed over to the door.
"Thanks" Zack called after Wolf, and Wolf flashed him a smile before leaving the room. It wasn't a smirk or a cocky grin, but a genuinely warm smile. Zack himself smiled a bit before lying back down on his bed and falling asleep once more.