Chapter 4:

The greasy burger landed in front of Miyu. She licked her lips and grabbed it. Wolf kept his face neutral, but she could see that he was struggling to keep it that way.

"What?" she asked. "Does the place gives you the shivers?" she grinned.

"No... It`s quite charming." He said, giving a look around.

They had walked through the streets for around fifteen minutes, neither saying a word. Of course, they walked through a less watched part of town: while she could have passed as anyone, it was quite difficult to confuse Wolf O'Donnell with anyone else. The eye patch was just a dead giveaway…

"Charming my ass." She said, taking a huge bite off of her burger. She was hungry as all hell. "I know the place is anything but that."

It was true. The place was cramped, dirty dinner near her house. She did not live in a pristine part of Corneria City to begin with, but this dinner was pushing the limit. She had been going to the restaurant for about ten years, and she had grown used the grime around her. There were a few patrons as well that night. The cook, Jack, an old fat dog, knew the way she liked her food: packed to the brim with everything she was allowed to.

"You got that right." He said, looking back at her. He put both his elbows on the table. She took another bite off her burger. "Can we discuss my proposition?"

"Sure. Just let me swallow." She said, her mouth full. She gulped down. "Don`t take that the wrong way."

He rolled his eyes, making her smile widen.

"I`m not here to discuss innuendos, Ms. Miyu." He said.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, leaning back in the chair.

"I`ve had plenty of time waiting for you to get here. Sorry about your ship." He said, nonchalantly

"You could have been more gentle. You nearly ripped it in half." She said, leaning on the table. He leaned back further in his chair.

"We were dogfighting. I don`t regret it; I am just apologizing." He said, with his eye closed. He opened it. "Now, can we move on?"

"Sure. What is this business proposition that you seem to think I am in dull need of?"

"Aren`t you? From what I noticed, I just busted up your pay on your last job."

Miyu paused for a moment, thinking. Wolf looked at the TV screen on the wall. The Corneria News Report was on, and Moyu soon listened what they were talking about.

"In Breaking news this morning, the carrier Longshot has been shot down and it`s cargo has been stolen. Pirates? Maybe, but eye witness say otherwise. Who they are? Find out later this evening."

Miyu looked at the screen. A lion and an owl were presenting the news.

"As you can see, news spread fast. You aren`t within the casualties list, but neither are you there, alive and stranded. That means you are officially MIA. And people will start looking for you soon."

Miyu looked back at him, now serious. He continued.

"And both the Corneria Space Military and the Katinian Ministry of Excavation have no reason to keep you alive when they find you."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"You were not a soldier, so they didn`t trust you. The mission was a failure, but the ship was highly secretive and protected. For an outsider, this does look like an inside job…"

She fixed him with a glare. He didn`t even flinch.

"So, the way I see it, you have two possibilities…" he said, raising both hands. He opened one. "Either you turn yourself in and pray for whoever you believe in to keep you alive…"

She continued to glare at him. He opened his other hand.

"Or you accept my deal, and live to tell the tale."

"Are you threatening me?" she asked, deadpan.

"No, I am not."

"Then what are you doing?"

He approached the table, and looked her like he was looking through her.

"I am offering you an opportunity to join Star Wolf."

She widened her eyes. Her brain froze for a second. Had she heard just right?

Wolf`s expression remained unchanged. She leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling. Then, she chuckled.

"Wait a second."she said, raising her hands. "Did you really just offer me a job, or do I need to get my ears checked."

His gaze hardened. She stopped chuckling and ran a hand in her head.

"Holy shit. You did just offer me a job…"

She rubbed her temples and breathed deeply. This was just a lot to handle.

" Let me get this straight: you, Wolf O'Donnell, leader of probably the best group of mercenaries in the galaxy, is offering me, Miyu Lynx, a freelancer on the run, a spot in your group, Star Wolf?" she asked. He nodded. "Why?"

He crossed his arms. His eye was still fixed on her.

"Look, kid, I`ve been in this job for a long time. I know talent when I see it. You went against my team, which you just called the best in the galaxy, and managed to knock my two wingmen, one who has about the same experience in piloting Wolfens as me, out of combat. That takes three things: a good ship, more courage than half of Corneria`s High Council put together, and an impressive amount of skill. You have two. All you are missing is a good ship."

She looked at him with some sort of a death glare.

"So, what do you say?"

"Me? How do I know this isn`t some sort of trap?" she asked. He seemed confused by that.

"How come?"

"You…" she said, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Were declared dead. KIA. Big goddam heroes."

"Actually, MIA would be a better definition. We were just like you are now, except we actually helped someone instead just vanishing. Also no one came looking for us. Why bother? If they had found us, we`d kill them. If they didn`t, it was just three more criminals missing in the Lylat system. It didn`t offer them any advantages from what they had without looking for us." He leaned to the table. "But that is beyond the point. This is no trap, you have my word. I simply want the best of the best, and from what I read in your service record and from what I`ve seen personally, you more than qualify."

She let her guard down a little. He did sound sincere, and what he was offering her was the opportunity of a lifetime. She smiled.

"You know, the last person who offered me a job is dead now."

He grinned.

"Well, let`s hope you get rid of that curse."

He extended one hand to her.

"What do you say? In or not?"

She looked at that hand. She was being offered something she had never dreamed she would be able to achieve. To cross the stars and be part of a legendary team. Fay would tell her to go for it. She would work with the man himself, and receive good pay for it. She smirked. She brought her hand up and squeezed his. With a firm handshake, she firmed the deal.

"I`m in."

"Welcome to Star Wolf, Miyu."

00000

The room was dark and cramped. A table occupied almost one half of it. On one side, stood three people. On the other, someone was sitting down on a chair. A TV to the side was just finished reporting on a news flash about the recent attack on the Longshot. The person sitting behind the desk lit a cigarette and dragged, leaving the room in silence before he exhaled.

" You get it? The people who did this are our new targets." The person was clearly a woman. One of the people on the other side of the table, a brown eagle, placed a hand on the table and said:

" Why, Liz? Why would we want to chase down a couple of pirates?"

Liz leaned forward. She was a bloody-red lizard with black messy hair, and a claw mark ran over the right side of her face.

" Because those aren`t just pirates, Pharris. Those people…" she dragged once more on her cigarette. She exhaled very slowly, letting the smoke dissipate before continuing." … are none other than Star Wolf."

Pharris`s fist clenched.

" Yeah, you do understand, don`t you? This…" she pointed at the TV. "Isn`t like all we did before. They have the Cornerian Military on their tails. They have the Eye of Katina. They have the Wolfens. This would be our first calling to the Lylat System…"

She leaned in closer to the table.

" We are watching."

00000

Wolf released her hand. She intertwined both her hands and placed her chin on her fingers.

" Does this means I am getting my own Wolfen?"

The question had gotten him by surprise. He hadn`t thought that far ahead. Luckily, or unluckily, they had one spare.

" Yes, but it`s not optimal. You will have to make a few modifications to it."

" I don`t mind that. Though why do you have one to spare." She asked, and he was caught in a tight spot. He did manage to maintain his cool, however.

" Let`s just say we don`t have a fourth member in a long time."

That seemed to put a dampener in her mood. Her smile dropped, but it was quickly reformed.

" Well, I am anxious to meet the rest of your… our… team." She said. "Can we go?"

Wolf raised an eyebrow. That mood swing was very quick. He hoped he wouldn`t have had problems with Panther and Wolf because of that.

" Maybe I should brief you on them before we get there. That way, you won`t have to ask much of them." He stood up, but Miyu looked at him and shook her head. He looked back at her, confused. " What?"

" The deal said that you would pay for my food." She said, smiling. He rolled his eyes and took his credit chit out of his pocket before walking to the counter, Miyu following him.

"This is going to be a long day…"

This chapter is smaller than the others, but I can`t fill the blanks with flying segments. I`ll answer a question from a reader, then. Let`s see...

Troygroones asks: Is Wolf falling for Miyu? And is Fox married to Krystal?

EddyPM answers: Well, I can answer one of those. Yes, Fox and Krystal are married. Fox and Krystal will make an appearance, as will the rest of Star Fox.

Well, that`s all. I hope you enjoyed it. Keep on the lookout for the next chapter

Keep strong

Eddy