A/N:

10 years goes by faster than you think. That's exactly how long ago it was when I posted the first chapter of The Oasis, which went on to become my most read story. Unfortunately, it had some enormous issues, which I wanted to fix because I felt like the underlying idea behind the story deserved it. For better or worse, addressing those problems completely altered the plot; so I can't really call this a rewrite. It's a complete overhaul. There will be many elements taken from the source material, but this is not the same story. Also worth mentioning: if you're here expecting a pairing fic and waiting for Fox and Krystal to hook up or you were a fan of the love triangle in the original, you're going to be disappointed. This is not that kind of story. I know that's going to reduce the readership, but time is a valuable resource, and I don't want to waste yours by stringing you along with hopes and dreams that never materialize. The starry-eyed, naive barely-adult who wrote the original ten years ago is not the same person now.

This story has a soft M rating. There's nothing overly graphic here, but there will be mature moments and themes at various points.

Chapter 1: Outsider

The passage of time in the void of space could have been described as an illusion, kept alive only by onboard ship clocks calibrated to their crew's common time. Despite the unchanging surroundings, Fox had, through the sheer force of rote routine, become acclimated to the illusory day/night cycle aboard the Great Fox. He walked towards the ship's bridge, having awakened only a half hour prior.

The long, silent walk gave him pause for thought. Andross had been dead for eight years, and in those eight years, the Cornerian army and fleet had gradually reestablished its power and preeminence throughout the system. Their reach, while beneficial for the security and prosperity of Lylat's citizens, had the effect of crowding out most mercenaries and military freelancers except in the cases of minute jobs too small for the military to care about, cases requiring special skills and equipment—uncommon in this day and age—and jobs of a more "gray" legal nature.

Unwilling and unable to accept more sketchy contracts on account of his reputation as an upstanding hero of the Lylat System, Fox found himself and his team accepting fewer and fewer jobs every year. His balance sheet turned increasingly red as time passed, and he knew that his only two remaining teammates were considering throwing in the towel. Already, he knew Slippy had begun testing the waters in applying for engineering jobs back on Corneria, and Peppy's enthusiasm and energy level descended towards retirement every day. Falco, meanwhile…

Perhaps having sensed the inevitable, the team's ace pilot bailed on Star Fox two years ago. Falco made no attempt at hiding his reasons for leaving—sheer boredom, and a lack of purpose and direction. As much as it angered Fox, he knew Falco had a point.

Fox sighed and continued his habitual march towards the Great Fox's bridge. Maybe this time he would find some sort of work waiting for him. But he doubted it. "Maybe I should quit while I'm still ahead," he mused, a frown crossing his face. He thought about the offer from General Pepper—marked as unread in his inbox for the past six months—to buy back the Great Fox.

He finally entered the bridge, walking so quietly that Peppy did not even hear him, at least until he moved closer. Fox descended the steps towards the ship's control suite, at which point Peppy looked over his shoulder. The middle aged hare sat in the co-pilot's chair with a tablet in his lap, playing a skill game intended to test and improve reflexes and cognitive skills.

Fox took a seat in the designated captain's chair and glanced at ROB out of the corner of his eye. Then, he turned his attention to Peppy. In the flat tone of voice Peppy had become accustomed to hearing from him, he asked his mentor and crewmate, "Did anything show up today?"

Peppy momentarily looked up from his tablet. "Actually, yes."

Fox's ears shot up, although at this point, he knew to temper his expectations.

"I got an interesting message an hour ago," Peppy continued. "I didn't want to wake you up, though. It didn't sound like the kind of job you'd be crazy about."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Fox.

Peppy turned off his tablet screen and placed it in a pocket on the side of his seat. "It came from outside the Lylat System. Planet called Skallis. Supposedly, one of the major power brokers on that planet has an offer for you specifically. I did some quick research on the planet and the person who contacted us, and all of it checks out."

Fox crossed his legs. "So, what makes you think I wouldn't be interested?"

"He didn't seem like the kind of guy you'd want to be associated with. Not necessarily evil, but you have to understand that you would be under contract by the owner of an immensely powerful corporation that has its tentacles in the military operations across the Ichtosian System. If you're looking to avoid morally questionable work—which I know you've turned down many times before—I think you might want to steer clear of this one."

"But he did request me specifically," Fox replied, eyes narrowing slightly.

"That's right. I found that a bit strange, too," said Peppy.

Fox leaned back in his chair and scratched his muzzle. He mused over his options for a moment, then leaned forward and asked, "Can you play the message? Did he want us to call him back?"

"I can," Peppy nodded, "He said that he was very busy and wouldn't be able to take a return call at the drop of a hat. If you wanted to speak to him, you'd need to arrange for it. However, he did leave an option to simply reply 'ACCEPT.' I thought he explained himself well enough that a return call wouldn't be necessary. He said the offer was only good for 24 hours, though."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "I want to see this. The worst that can happen is that we pass on it."

Peppy shuffled in his chair and stood up. "I agree. I'll queue up the projector."

While Fox climbed out of his seat, Peppy lumbered up to the large holoprojector in the center of the bridge and cycled through the various menus on the control screen. After pressing a short series of buttons, he located the message in question and pressed play. The holoprojector flickered to life, revealing the image of a slender vulpine with dull red fur. He wore a set of narrow, rectangular glasses along with a perfectly tailored suit and tie. In slight contrast to the perfection of his outfit, the businessman had tousled but intentionally styled shoulder-length dark blonde hair. Nothing immediately sinister about him stood out to Fox.

The message began. "Greetings, I hope this finds you well. This offer is specifically for Fox McCloud, so if this message reaches someone else, please delete this immediately or inform him. My offer only stands for the next 24 hours after the delivery of this message, so please respond in a timely manner."

The projection froze for a split second, indicating a quick jump cut during the recording process. It continued, "My name is Felix Sparta, owner and CEO of the Gaia Corporation on Skallis in the Ichtosian System. You might not be familiar with us, since we don't do much business in Lylat. Anyway, one of my closest associates requested you for a mission that she is about to handle for me. I thought it was a bit strange, but I trust her and decided to humor her this time. Due to the sensitive nature of this assignment, I can't go into detail about it in this message; but I think it will be worth your time. If none of this has caught your attention yet, then maybe the equivalent of 10,000,000 Cornerian Credits will." The holographic fox seemed to stare directly at Fox with a subtle smirk.

"Completing this job will reward you with the aforementioned sum in the currency of your choice. I will warn you that it will not be easy or safe, but you want the reward, do you not? If that isn't enough for you, I will sweeten the deal further. Regardless of whether you choose to work with my trusted associate, I will book a three-day stay for you in the prestigious Oasis Resort on Saijivo. If you aren't familiar with The Oasis, it's an unforgettable place to stay—a true 5-star experience. The reservation has already been made in your name. All you have to do is reply 'ACCEPT' to this message. At the very least, you will have an amazing vacation. I know this might sound too good to be true, but I assure you that I'm not pulling your tail here. My associate spoke highly of you and pushed me to make all these concessions. Look—you don't have anything to lose. Take your ship to Saijivo, check into the resort, and meet up with my associate. She's hard to miss. I know it will take you a few days to reach the planet, which is why I'm contacting you now. If you leave the Lylat System within the next 24 hours, you should still be on a good timeline for this contract."

The holographic vulpine opened his hands and asked, "So, the choice is yours. Are you in? Seems like an easy choice to me. Anyway, I have other business to attend to and need to wrap this up. Respond with either ACCEPT or DECLINE. Managing this company takes a lot of time and effort, so I will not be able to accept any return transmissions. My apologies, that's just how it is right now. Take care, Fox. Ciao."

The message ended, and the projector shut itself off. Fox stared at Peppy and curled the corner of his mouth. "Well, that's an interesting offer. I wish he would have explained what exactly he wanted me to do, though."

"I know," said Peppy. "I have a feeling that it involves some information that would be very dangerous if it were to leak out. The vacation offer is awful generous, but he wouldn't be offering to throw that much money at you without a good reason."

"Yeah," Fox replied, "He did say it wouldn't be easy. Which means that in reality, it's going to be one hell of a challenge."

He took a deep breath, then walked around to Peppy's side of the projector. The hare stepped aside as Fox approached the display, scrolled to the bottom of the message, and tapped ACCEPT.

Peppy's eyebrows lifted. "Well, then. Looks like we need to get moving. I'll open the star chart and find out where we need to go. The Ichtosian System isn't a huge jump from here, but we'll need to refuel once we get there."

"I knew the free vacation was a lie," Fox replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Nevertheless, Peppy noticed a renewed sense of purpose and excitement about Fox's person.

"I'm glad you weren't that naïve," Peppy chuckled.

Fox walked to the front of the bridge and clipped himself into the captain's seat. "Let's roll."

- § -

Two days of faster than light travel brought the Great Fox into the sprawling Ichtosian System, a varied group of seven planets, five of which supported life. Saijivo, according to Peppy's star chart, featured the tightest orbit around the system's sun. Comprised mainly of deserts and rocky wastelands with small oceans, the planet had the lowest population count in the system but made up for it in some ways as a tourist hub due to the exotic nature of its numerous oasis biomes. Major cities were few and far between on the planet, although the ones that did exist functioned as tightly packed metropolises. Saijivo's lack of natural resources naturally predisposed it towards importing products from neighboring planets, and its status as a tourist hub meant that a significant portion of the planet's population at any given time was not native-born.

After disengaging the Great Fox's lightdrive and guiding the ship into Saijivo's orbit, Peppy pinged one of the numerous orbital docking and refueling stations surrounding the planet and secured a docking point. The station itself showed considerable wear and resembled a giant scaffold of sorts, although its purpose did not require it to be anything more than that. A small number of transport ships zipped in and out of the platform's docking bays, but the Great Fox seemed to be one of the few armed vessels.

After following the approach instructions from the station's controllers, Peppy docked the Great Fox in the platform's largest bay. An array of mechanical arms extended themselves and locked the dreadnaught in place as Peppy powered down the engines and placed the electronics in their security mode.

Unfastening his safety belt, Fox stood up and stretched. He glanced at both Peppy and Slippy. "Guys, if you want to come down to the planet, you're more than welcome to. Obviously, I can't book you into the same hotel that I'm in, but if you want to see what this place has to offer, I think you've earned it for sticking with me for so long. It's a lot more interesting than floating in orbit. I don't think we're going to need the Great Fox while I'm here, so we can leave it docked."

Both teammates nodded, and the trio exited the ship's bridge and traversed the battleship's internal corridors before finally exiting the ship through one of its side doors. Fox stepped through the door first and was immediately hit with the unpleasant aroma of poorly conditioned air, a common 'feature' of orbital docking stations where the majority of the people there at any given time were not expected to stay for long.

Fox, Slippy, and Peppy walked through the station's dingy halls as a group, observing the spacers and workers as they ambled about. For the most part, the trio attracted little attention—although the Great Fox had the opposite effect. The station's hallways sported composite windows that ran along its entire circumference, allowing a clear view of the docked ships outside the climate controlled interior. Still taking in the nuances of a foreign star system, Fox noted the names and titles of brands, companies, and factions that he had never seen before. However, the ship docked next to the Great Fox attracted his attention the most. The vessel seemed to have a similar effect with several other individuals, because Fox found himself amidst a small crowd, all staring at a medium-sized frigate. In terms of size, the Great Fox dwarfed it on a scale of 3 to 1, but the frigate's angular, crystalline appearance and its iridescent black and blue coating struck an enormous contrast to the other ships docked at the orbital station.

Mystified by the strange vessel, Fox nudged a nearby badger and asked, "What are we looking at?"

The spacer glanced at Fox out of the corner of his eye and replied, "That's Cerinian. We never see those here."

Fox's intrigue and confusion grew. "I'm not from this system. What's a Ceri…?"

"A Cerinian?" the badger interjected, "A lot of people ask the same question. The Cerinians mostly keep to themselves. They've got their own planet on the outskirts of this system, and if you try to visit it, you're in for a bad time, or so I've heard. They've got their own language, they don't share anything with the other planets, and they try not to interact with anyone outside their own circle. Just them being here is making me uncomfortable. Did I mention they're blue?"

Fox raised an eyebrow. "Blue?"

"Yeah," the badger chuckled, shaking his head. "Blue foxes, the lot of them. How the hell a planet full of these freaks came to be is beyond me."

Choosing not to ask further questions while at the same time being unable to take his attention away from the strange ship in front of him, Fox shook his head and glanced at Slippy and Peppy. "I'm going to get in my Arwing and head down to the planet before long, but before that, let's see what kind of horrible space food they've got in the food court."

"Sounds like a plan!" Slippy replied.

As the three turned away from the docked ships and looked for a sign directing them towards the food court, Fox glanced over his shoulder in time to see a single figure step out of the alien frigate. They wore a lightweight black robe and tunic with a hood, which mostly obscured their face. They wore no shoes, although cloth wrappings adorned their lower legs. A fluffy blue and white tail poked out from behind their figure.

Suddenly, the figure stared at him, even though seventy meters separated the two. Fox's breath caught in his mouth, and he stumbled backwards. At the same time, a foreign, distressing feeling enveloped his mind. The sensation of snakes and tentacles scratching and scraping the underside of his skull consumed his reality. For the briefest of moments, he heard a voice in his mind; although paradoxically, it carried no sound and more closely resembled a suddenly gained piece of knowledge.

"Stay in your lane, outsider."

Something about the tone of the inaudible voice pissed Fox off. This, combined with the unsettling feeling in his mind, caused him to bare his teeth. That is, until Slippy grabbed his vest and shouted, "Fox, are you alright?"

The physical touch was enough to snap him out of his trance. He glanced at Slippy and lied. "Yeah, I'm fine." He turned around to follow Slippy and Peppy towards the food court. His curiosity implored him to look over his shoulder again, but he shut down the nefarious urge and kept walking.