Great Fox II

Within the bridge of the old carrier that had served as Star Fox's mothership since shortly after the Aparoid Invasion, the members of the mercenary team were gathered around a holotable for a briefing.

Save for one, who was just setting her Arwing down in the ship's hanger.

Miyu hopped out and dashed towards the lift, quickly keying in the deck number for the bridge. As the doors closed and the elevator began to ascend, the lynx thought of the unexpected turn her shore leave had taken.

Waking up next to someone in her birthday suit was something Miyu didn't think would ever happen to her.

Especially when that person was Panther Caroso.

Before either of them could get a word in, Miyu's wristcom had started blaring. Realizing that her shore leave was over, the lynx had hastily gotten dressed and left the motel that her and Panther had ended up in.

From there, she had found a pharmacy and grabbed some morning after pills before trekking back to the spaceport where she'd stored her Arwing.

And in spite of everything that had happened, Miyu could not stop thinking about the jungle cat.

The opening of the lift doors brought the lynx out of her thoughts. As she began walking towards the bridge, Miyu thought, "Hopefully, I'm not too late,"

Entering the bridge as quietly as she could, Miyu took a spot between Fay Spaniel and Bill Grey. The former was a white furred Cocker Spaniel in a light blue flight suit and a gray jacket. The latter was a brown furred bulldog in the green flight suit and white jacket of the CDF. He was on loan to Star Fox for the duration of the manhunt for Marshal Koates.

"For however long that is," the lynx mused.

Turning her attention to the briefing that was currently in progress, Miyu managed to pick up on some key words.

"Pirate fleet."

"Weapons delivery."

"Katinese rebels."

"Oh, so I didn't miss much at all," Miyu thought to herself.

"You're still in trouble," a voice in her head sternly replied.

Miyu glanced across the holotable and met the gaze of Krystal Burrell, a blue and white furred vixen in a blue and black flight suit who served as the Star Fox team's telepath.

"Duly noted," the lynx mentally replied.

"I won't tell the others," Krystal continued, "But if what happened on Zoness comes to light, don't expect me to lie for you."

Miyu focused back on the briefing, which was just wrapping up. As the holotable shut down, the lynx found herself under the gaze of the team's leader, Fox McCloud.

"Well, Miyu," the orange and white furred vulpine said while crossing his arms.

For her part, Miyu shrugged apologetically.

"I slept in. I have no excuse."

Fox raised an eyebrow before shaking his head.

"Alright, just don't make it a habit."

"I won't," the lynx replied.

From there, Fox glanced around at the rest of the team. Aside from himself, Krystal, Miyu, Fay, and Bill, those present consisted of Falco Lombardi, a blue and red feathered pheasant in a red and grey flight suit who served as Star Fox's second in command.

To his left was Katt Monroe, a pink and white furred feline dressed in a yellow tank top, a black vest with orange accents, and denim jeans.

Similar to Bill, she was on loan to Star Fox. But instead of being a member of the CDF, Katt was an independent mercenary.

She was also a former member of the Hot Rodders gang alongside Falco. For reasons that Miyu wasn't completely aware of, and frankly had no interest in delving further into, the avian was reluctant to have Katt around, although nowadays, he seemed to at least somewhat tolerate her presence.

On Katt's left was Slippy Toad. As his name would imply, he was a green skinned amphibian dressed in an orange jumpsuit and a red cap that rested between his eyes. He served as the team's mechanic and inventor.

On Slippy's left was his girlfriend, Amanda Durante. She was a pink skinned frog dressed in a lime green flight suit.

To Falco's right was Fara Phoenix, a brown furred Fennec fox dressed in a pink and green flight suit and a white jacket. She was the daughter of Space Dynamics' CEO and Fox's former girlfriend.

To her right was Peppy Hare, a gray and white furred lepus dressed in a red flight suit and a white jacket. He was a founding member of the team along with Fox's late father James.

By and large, the hare had stepped back from active flying and acted in a supporting role.

And last but not least, typing away on a console was ROB 64, a gold coloured robot who served as the mothership's caretaker.

Clearing his throat, Fox ordered, "Alright team, ready your fighters, we're jumping in five."

From there, the Star Fox team and their allies filed out of the bridge and took the lifts down to the hanger bay. Within, everyone hopped into an Arwing, with the exceptions of Bill, who flew a standard Cornerian fighter, and Katt, who flew a modified Invader prototype dubbed the Cat's Paw.

One by one, the fighters boosted out of the carrier and got into formation. Besides the mercenaries and their mothership, there were also several ships of the Cornerian Navy and their fighter escorts.

As the news that Marshal Kalman Koates had survived Corneria's assassination attempt against him during the Lylat War and was now in control of the Venomian Remnant spread across the system like wildfire, General Pepper had made it clear to Fox that any available resources were his if he so asked.

To that end, along with bringing Bill and Katt onboard, Fox had requisitioned as many spare ships as he possibly could.

The result was the formation of a small task force. Since they were charged with the capture or elimination of Marshal Koates, they had taken to calling themselves Task Force Reaper.

Within her Arwing's cockpit, Krystal curled her muzzle back into a snarl and tightened her grip on the control yokes.

"I don't care if there's a capture order on you, Koates. When I find you, you're a dead man."

The cobalt vixen watched as a timer counted down on her HUD. Soon she saw the green hue of hyperspace as the small fleet set off on an intercept course.

CRS Lancer

On the bridge of the Cornerian battleship, Admiral Joel Yateman sat in his command chair, studying a datapad.

On the screen, a mugshot of a black wooled sheep with a scar running through his right eye stared back at the Dutch Shepherd.

"William Bartok," Yateman mumbled to himself, "I should have known the Remnant would hire you."

Standing up, the Admiral cleared his throat.

"All hands, battle stations. I doubt these people have any inkling to surrender."

Outside the front viewport of the bridge, the green hue of hyperspace dissipated and was replaced with the sight of a ragtag fleet of ships. Of particular note was the large frigate in the centre.

Yateman knew it to be Bartok's personal ship, the Wyvern.

"Hail that ship," the canine ordered, though he was simply following procedure at this point.

Admiral Yateman steeled himself as he was greeted by the scowling mug of the pirate captain.

"Captain Bartok," the canine stated in a calm, but firm tone, "This is Admiral Yateman of the Cornerian Navy. Shut down your engines and prepare to be boarded."

What happened next proved to be a surprise for the task force, for where pirate captains usually cut the line and tried to fight, never with any success, Bartok instead grinned sadistically.

"Heh heh heh," the sheep chuckled, "I had a feeling that you people would be showing up. So, I took out some insurance."

Bartok stepped aside, revealing an airlock behind him. An airlock that was full of people, including children, who were handcuffed and on their knees.

Cackling madly, Bartok stepped back into the frame.

"And now, Admiral, here's my counter offer. You let me make my delivery and I won't space these refugees. You've got one minute to decide."

After Bartok cut the line, his image was replaced by Fox's.

"How do you wanna play this, Admiral?" the vulpine asked in a concerned tone.

Shaking his head, Yateman replied, "Protocol is clear, McCloud. Pirates are not to be negotiated with."

Another square appeared on the display as Krystal joined in.

"Even if we let Bartok go, he'll still kill those people. I can sense it."

A third square appeared on the display, showing the image of Slippy.

"Fox, if we hit them with our new EMP missiles, they won't be able to operate their airlocks," the green amphibian explained.

"Good plan, Slip," Fox said.

Nodding in agreement, Yateman began issuing orders to his crew.

"All ships, concentrate fire on those escorts. And prepare boarding parties."

Meanwhile, onboard the Wyvern, Captain Bartok was issuing orders of his own.

"Wipe the computers and prepare to be boarded. I doubt that those mangy mutts are going to play nice,"

"Captain!" a crewman exclaimed, "Incoming enemy missiles!"

Lips curled back into a sneer, Bartok growled, "Are we blind? Activate the point defenses!"

As the EMP missiles streaked from the Great Fox II towards the Wyvern, the pirate ship and its escorts began firing lasers and launching fighters, even managing to knock out a couple of the projectiles.

But the pirates were soon met with the combined fire of Star Fox and the Cornerian fleet, with the smaller ships being outright destroyed and the Wyvern taking some damage, a situation that was compounded when the missiles struck it.

"Direct hits! She's offline!" Peppy said over the comms.

"Perfect," Fox remarked before contacting the others.

"Krystal, Slippy, Miyu. I want you guys to come with me and help the boarding parties. Everyone else, keep those fighters off us."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Falco replied.

While the rest of the team began searching for targets, Krystal, Miyu, and Slippy formed up on Fox's wing and began flying towards the Wyvern alongside CDF dropships.

As he set his Arwing down in the pirate frigate's hangar, Fox checked his Arwing's scanners and confirmed that the ship's oxygen and gravity generators, components of starships that were usually not connected to the main power grid for obvious reasons, were still running.

"Alright guys, move out on the double. Power's not going to be off forever." Fox said as he grabbed a CR-93 laser rifle and opened his cockpit.

Hopping out, Fox aimed his weapon forward as his teammates also dismounted from their fighters and the dropships landed and disgorged Cornerian Marines.

"Krystal," Fox said, "Do you sense where the hostages are?"

"I do," the vixen replied as she readied her staff.

"Alright, lead the way," the Star Fox leader ordered.

As the Marines spread out to different corridors, Fox, Slippy, and Miyu followed behind the cobalt vixen, weapons at the ready. Approaching a T junction, Krystal sensed several presences around the corner, one of whom was throwing a grenade.

"Get behind me!" she exclaimed to the others before planting her staff in the floor and throwing up a white energy barrier.

The grenade landed in front of the group and exploded, though the shrapnel was vaporized by Krystal's barrier. Once she determined that it was safe, the cobalt vixen mentally signaled to the others.

"I'm going to stagger them with a quake slam. Be ready."

"Ready when you are, honey," Fox signaled back.

Krystal took a breath and then leapt into the centre of the T junction, slamming the jeweled end of her staff into the ground. This created a small shockwave that threw the pirates off balance.

From there, Fox, Miyu, and Slippy leaned out and opened fire, Krystal drawing her blaster and joining in. The vixen put down one pirate with a couple of bolts to the chest and another with a headshot.

"Keep moving! The hostages are close," she said to the others.

The quartet continued to run through the corridors, taking down any pirates they came across.

"Bartok's just ahead," Krystal mentally told the others.

Suddenly, the ship's lights flicked on, indicating that the pirates had gotten their main power grid back online.

Directly ahead of the mercenaries was a large group of pirates, and behind them was a certain black sheep.

"Not one step further, mercenary scum," growled Bartok.

"You're one to talk about scum!" Slippy retorted.

"I'd keep that big trap of yours shut if I were you, froggy," Bartok spat while holding up a remote, "I press this button, and those refugees will be sucked into space. It's a horrible way to go."

"You can't win, Bartok," Fox snarled, "The Marines have taken pretty much all of this ship."

The sheep shook his head.

"I am well aware of that, McCloud. So here's my new offer; you can have my cargo and I'll drop my passengers off on Fichina. In exchange, I want safe passage back to the outer fringe."

Krystal had heard enough.

"You're a fucking liar, William Bartok! And now you're going to die!"

"I think not, you little…"

The pirate captain's sentence was cut off as he dropped the remote and grabbed hold of his head. Slippy and Miyu could only stare in shock as the sheep sank to his knees, howling in pain.

Bartok convulsed on the floor before finally going limp. His men looked between the corpse and the mercenaries a few times before one of them dropped his weapon and raised his hands, the other pirates quickly doing the same.

The timing proved to be perfect, for a squad of Marines came up behind Star Fox.

"They're all yours," Fox told the sergeant in charge of the squad, "We'll secure the hostages."

As the mercenaries pressed onward, Miyu fell into step with Fox.

"Okay, seriously," the lynx said under her breath, "What the fuck happened back there?"

Meeting her gaze, the vulpine replied, "She overloaded his thoughts and gave him a brain aneurysm."

"Has she ever done that before?" Miyu asked.

"Lots of times," Fox explained.

He was brought out of his thoughts as the quartet came across the airlock where Bartok's hostages were being held.

After deactivating the force field, Krystal knelt down in front of the still frightened refugees.

"It's alright. You're safe now," she said in a warm tone, punctuating it with a smile.

Great Fox II

Fox sat in his command chair on the carrier's bridge, conversing with Admiral Yateman.

"So far, all we've been able to get out of Bartok's crew is that they picked up their cargo in Sector X. Feel like checking it out?"

The orange furred vulpine shook his head.

"No point, Admiral. The Remnants are long gone by now."

"Hopefully the ESB can get more out of these guys. Yateman out."

As the canine's hologram disappeared, Fox rubbed the spot between his eyes and let out a frustrated huff.

"Another dead end."

Fox's ear twitched at the sound of the bridge doors opening. Looking over his shoulder, the vulpine caught sight of a frowning Krystal.

Shaking his head, Fox stood up.

"I know what you're gonna say, baby," he remarked while walking towards his girlfriend.

"And you're right, you're a hundred percent right," Fox continued as he stopped in front of her.

"If I'd shot Koates when I had the chance, we wouldn't be in this mess."

With a shrug of her shoulders, the cobalt vixen replied, "You weren't thinking clearly. I understand that. I mean, I don't like what happened, but I understand why."

Krystal turned to the side and walked towards a viewport. Fox meanwhile, thought of how the Mad Armadillo had paid someone to kill his mother, just to stop Star Fox from investigating Andross.

He also thought of how the current Remnant leader had been the one to execute his father on Venom in the lead up to the Lylat War.

But even as he went to join his girlfriend, Fox knew that she had even more of a reason to hate Koates. He had been the commanding officer of the Venomian force that had destroyed Krystal's home planet Cerinia. Then some years later, he had her parents killed.

Pushing his thoughts aside, the vulpine wrapped his arms around Krystal's waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

"He's bound to turn up sooner or later."

Reaching up and running a hand through her boyfriend's head fur, Krystal replied, "I hope it's soon, so we can make him pay for everything he's done."

Fox planted a kiss on Krystal's cheek and found himself thinking of how the Sharpclaw warlord General Scales had met his end. After being impaled by the vixen's staff, the tyrant had been assailed with a hurricane of fists.

He took a long time to die.

Astropolis

Within a conference room aboard the Venomian space station, Marshal Kalman Koates was in conversation with the hologram of a spider monkey clad in a black business suit.

"And so you see, Marshal, a good chunk of the Defence Force and the Navy will rally to your cause when the time comes," the simian explained.

For his part, the armadillo simply rubbed his temple with an index finger.

"For your sake, Prime Minister Freeland, that had better be true."

The monkey was clearly taken aback.

"Marshal Koates, I have been nothing but helpful to you. And we still haven't discussed my reward…"

"Bloody politician. He's as bad as Dengar," Koates briefly mused before cutting Freeland off.

"You'll get your reward if and when Operation Reclamation is a success."

"Marshal, if I…" Freeland sputtered before Koates cut him off again, much more curtly this time.

"Understand this, Prime Minister. Were you not in the position you are now, I would be dealing with you in a very different way."

The armadillo's statement was enough to make the spider monkey gulp.

"I… I see. Well than, I'll contact you if anything else comes up."

"Please do," Koates replied before cutting the line.

Glancing about the table as the hologram faded, the Venomian leader caught the eyes of his numerous commanders.

First of all was Grand Admiral Zoran Payne, the chief of the Imperial Navy. He was a red scaled salamander clad in a black and blue uniform and cap.

Seated next to him was General Felix Stone, an ocelot dressed in a dark grey uniform and cap. He was the commander of the Imperial Guard.

There was no doubting the bravery of the Guardsmen, just as there was no doubt in Koates' mind that the Army had better officers.

Next to Stone was Larry Barnes, a boa constrictor clad in a light grey uniform and sporting a pair of spectacles. The snake served as the Chairman of the Venom Security Secretariat, which oversaw both external intelligence and maintained internal order.

Barnes was the third man to hold the position; Walter Knight had been competent but had also coveted Andross' throne. His mistake had been trying to get Koates on his side. The Marshal still remembered how he had needed a new carpet for his office.

Knight's successor, Nikolai Volkov, had been both competent and loyal, but had chosen to put a blaster in his mouth rather than face Cornerian justice. And so it was Barnes who sat there on that day.

Last, but not least, there was General Nathan Hightower, a green scaled crocodile in the dark grey uniform and cap of the Imperial Army. He was easily the tallest man in the room.

Hightower cleared his throat and asked, "Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Granted," Koates replied.

Hightower then asked the question that was likely on the minds of all the commanders.

"Sir, why are we dealing with that two faced piece of shit?"

Koates looked around the table.

"I don't like it any more than you do," he answered, "But like the rest of our outside help, Freeland is an expendable asset. To be used for a particular task and then disposed of when he no longer serves his purpose."

That seemed to satisfy the other commanders, for Barnes quickly changed the subject.

"On a different note, my people have a location on Paul Rodman."

Nodding in agreement, Koates stated, "Good. This is a perfect job for the Night Fangs."

General Stone chose that moment to speak up.

"Marshal, if I may, how are we going to keep Star Fox distracted during Operation Reclamation?"

"My thoughts exactly," Grand Admiral Payne put in, "Besides flying a few sorties for the Katinese government, they seem to be spending most of their time searching for us."

Koates put his hand on his chin.

"Yes, yes," the armadillo mused, "Something needs to be done about them."

The tyrant then grinned wickedly as he typed on the holoprojector.

"And I think I know just the way to do it."

Papetoon

After another day of fruitlessly searching for Dash Bowman and Nikos Nalchik, Eugene Clegg and his gang had returned to their safehouse and started playing cards.

It seemed that luck was not with the iguana-crocodile hybrid on this day. He was glad when he heard the holotable chiming.

Tossing his cards on the table, Clegg got up and answered the call, being greeted by the hologram of Marshal Koates.

"Marshal," the lizard curtsied.

Tilting his head to the side, Koates replied, "Clegg, I have a slight change of plans for you."

The armadillo reached off camera and pressed a button, displaying an image of a pink furred hare. Clegg quickly took note of the doe's name.

Lucille Vivian Hare

"Peppy Hare's daughter," Clegg mused before meeting Koates' gaze.

"Do you want a clean kill, or do you want to send a message?"

Shaking his head, the Marshal said, "Neither. I want you to bring her to Papetoon; Alive and unharmed. No doubt that her father's team will come looking for her."

"And then what?" Clegg asked.

Marshal Koates grinned wickedly.

"I will gladly pay you for Star Fox's elimination. How does a million credits per head sound?"

Clegg raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds good, Marshal. But I'm going to need some guys. This is Star Fox we're dealing with."

The armadillo nodded.

"Feel free to bring in more of your associates if you wish, Clegg. I should also tell you that the Zimmerman brothers are on route to Papetoon. Perhaps they can provide you with some manpower."

"Noted. Send me the details, Marshal. I'll leave right away."

After Koates' hologram faded, Clegg glanced at his wristcom and saw that data had been uploaded to it.

Turning back to his gang, the green scaled lizard began issuing his orders.

"Carlo, get the Kolov twins on the horn. Tell them to meet me on Fichina."

The orange scaled salamander nodded while Clegg turned to the polar bear.

"Alexei, put out some feelers with the Zimmermans. See if they'll loan us some guys."

"Will do, Gene."

Finally, Clegg set his sights on the Rottweiler.

"Pete, you're in charge until I get back."

"Whatever you say, Boss," the canine replied before letting out a chuckle.

"Star Fox, eh? This is gonna be fun."

Clegg showed off a grin full of sharp teeth.

"Yes Pete," the hybrid mused aloud as his eyes fell on an axe leaning by the front door.

"Very fun."