He had to keep running.

TJ's lungs burned as he kept running, he could not acknowledge the pain in his legs or else he would slow down permanently. Wailing sirens and flashing lights disoriented and blinded the teenager among the smoke, causing him to shriek as he covered his ears and closed his eyes. A million voices called his name, each one from every direction of the compass. They were cries for help.

He had to keep running.

Max was being cuffed by the cops behind him, Vic was surrounded by SWAT vans to his right, and Kylie's Elise had been wrecked by Sergeant Jackson to his left. He wanted to help, and while they were his friends, the screams ahead of him caught his attention over the chaos of the smoke and sirens. He could help them in a minute, or at least Royce could. The sounds of boots and whistles behind the driver caused TJ to increase his pace to a breakneck sprint, despite the pain he was already enduring.

He had to keep running.

The sounds of the sirens slowly subsided as TJ ran as fast as his feet could carry him. Even the boots and whistles of the police on his heels slowly faded as his house revealed itself through the hazy smoke of the world. To his horror, the smoke that surrounded him was emanating from his house, a raging orange fire engulfing the property. This was where the final cry was coming from. It was his mother.

He had to keep running.

Wasting no time, TJ leaped onto the patio in a single bound, grabbing the doorknob only for the brass handle to scald TJ's hand. With a dog-like yelp, TJ retreated his hand from the door. He had to get in somehow, and the fire was not going to stop him. Taking a step back, TJ ran full speed at the door, slamming into it with his shoulder. He winced in pain as a dull thud filled the air, meaning he had to try again. Stepping back again, TJ rammed the door hard, feeling some of the wood splinter as the cries got louder. Adrenaline pumping through his blood, TJ let loose a scream to the heavens as he charged the door a final time, bursting through and collapsing on the floor of his house.

He had to get up.

Picking his head up, TJ could feel the scorching heat of the inferno as his whole house was engulfed in smoke. The scent of burning timber and metal stung his nostrils and taste buds as he tried to locate his mother. The stairs had been shrouded in fire, but there was a clear line to the kitchen. Another scream ripped through the house, coming from the kitchen. The noise prompted TJ to scurry to his feet as he ran into the room.

He had to protect her.

Looking around, TJ quickly noticed his mother trapped under a wooden beam in the center of the kitchen, flames licking the pillar as she tried to push it off her body. TJ bolted to her side, crouching down and trying to lift the pillar to no avail. "Tyler… please… please get this off me…" His mother's pleas rang through his ears as he attempted to lift the pillar once more.

He had to keep trying.

"Sh…shit Ma, I'm tryin'! Thing's real heavy!" Putting his back into it, TJ gritted his teeth as he lifted with all his possible strength. Despite his burning calves and stinging biceps, TJ was not able to budge the beam an inch. Panting like a wild dog, TJ suddenly started kicking the beam, hoping to move it that way. Despite the sole of his sneaker audibly chipping the wood, no damage was visible, causing TJ to kick harder and faster. "Come on!… Come on!"

He had to keep trying.

"Why… why didn't you listen to me?" TJ paused his kicking to look down at his mother, her face twisted in despair as she tried to grab his hands. "You could've gone to college, made something of yourself." As TJ reached out to grab his mother's hands, it was like they were magnetically repulsive, the teenager unable to hold his mother despite his increasingly desperate swipes.

He had to keep trying.

An explosive crash sounded above TJ, the teenager diving to the ground out of instinct and covering his head to protect it from the falling debris. TJ felt wooden splinters impact his back, waiting a few seconds before uncovering his head. As soon as he picked his head up, TJ noticed that a cyan beam of light suddenly began to shine down on him. Looking at the blinding lights, he could tell that they did not belong to a police helicopter. As his brain tried to rack the possibilities of what was happening, his feet suddenly left the ground, slowly levitating up into the sky.

He had to get back to the ground.

Like he was in an ocean, TJ tried swimming back down to his mother, screaming as he extended his arms back down to the ground. He tried to grab his mother, but he was met with extended arms and a blank stare. The forces of gravity slowly ripped TJ away from his mother, thick black smoke obscuring his vision as he slowly lost sight of his mother. Tears stung his eyes as he tried in vain to continue swimming.

He had to do something.

Before TJ could formulate a plan of action, a sudden spire of fire from the inky black smoke of the house shot up into the sky, engulfing the teenager in a raging blaze. The cone of flames seared the driver's skin to the bone, causing him to shriek in unimaginable pain. The failure burned worse than the hellfire roasting him from the outside in.

Act 1

Chapter 4

"First Assignment"

~::::~

TJ suddenly sat straight up in bed, panting wildly as his eyes darted around the room. He was still in that barracks room that the fox lady led him to, unfortunately. TJ sighed as he swung his legs off the bed, hunched over and staring at the steel floor. This still had to be some crazy dream, none of it made a shred of sense. TJ began tapping his foot incessantly as he tried to piece together the puzzle in his mind, there had to be answers somewhere. Sadly, nothing came to his mind like he had hoped.

With a grunt, TJ pushed himself off the bed, staring out across the sea of empty beds. He needed some kind of release, the prison-esque feeling caging him in like a zoo keeping a wild animal in an exhibit. The thought of running crossed his mind for a split second, before he quickly wrote that idea off. Where would he even go? There had to be something he could do.

The door to the barracks hissed open, TJ's instincts taking over in a snap, causing him to duck down in a trained crouch as he peered over another bed to spot what was in the doorway. He quickly recognized the form of Krystal, standing with a smile on her muzzle. "TJ? Is that you? Why are you crouched down like that?"

The driver instantly noticed his position, blushing as he slowly stood up while Krystal approached. "Oh, uh, s…sorry about that. Got a bit spooked s'all. Reflexes, y'know?"

"Not used to being on the right side of the law?"

"Not exactly."

Standing face to face, Krystal put her palms out, facing the confused street racer with a smile. "Here, grab my hands and close your eyes."

TJ hesitated for a second, before doing as the fox asked. The silence of the room added to the awkwardness as TJ was quickly becoming impatient. However, as soon as he was about to open his eyes, a calm wave washed over him. It was as if a nostalgic song had begun playing in the back of his mind, mourning doves cooing as they basked in the warm summer dawn, whisking him back to years past. A warm smile cracked his lips as he let out a content breath, satisfied with the universe at large.

"Feel better?"

The accented voice of the vixen broke TJ from his trance, realizing he was still in the same room with the alien animal. "Uh, yeah. That felt… good? What was that?"

Krystal chuckled, pointing to her temple. "I gave you a short psychic burst targeted towards your dopamine receptors. Helps in calming nervous… well, people. You will be happy to know that we are now on the planet Corneria, so no more worrying about the vacuum of space." Like she was heeding a dog, Krystal turned around and tapped the side of her thigh twice before jerking her head to the left and walking out of the room. TJ needed no verbal confirmation to acknowledge that he had to follow.

The brisk walk through the Great Fox's halls led to an alcove, stopping just before what appeared to be the doors to a lift. Tapping away on a bright blue touchpad, the vixen inputted a few commands before stepping back from the doors. A few seconds later, the doors opened to reveal a decently sized elevator car, enough to fit at least six people in. As Krystal stepped aboard the lift, TJ followed, his eyes running over every little crack and crevice of the elevator. He felt like a lost child as he stepped aboard, sulking to the back of the elevator as Krystal interacted with some kind of touchpad while the doors closed. TJ assumed the touchpad controlled the elevator, but after a while, he did not feel any movement. He began to tap his thighs through his pants in a rhythmic manner before speaking up once more. "So, where we goin'?"

Krystal smiled as she turned her head around to face him. "To the bridge. I figured that's the best place to start a tour if any."

As soon as Krystal finished her sentence, the doors to the elevator opened only for TJ to realize that they were in a completely different part of the ship. While it still looked the same, the configuration of the hallway was obviously different compared to before. While this was also tucked away in an alcove, the halls led to different rooms and had different markings. Krystal was able to feel his confusion as she slowly stepped off the elevator, politely watching as TJ cautiously looked around like a newborn calf. "You appear as though you have never been on an elevator before."

"I… I have. It's just… we didn't move?"

Krystal chuckled. "We did, trust me. You can ask Slippy why, he will give you all the answers."

"Is this more magic?"

"When you hear him talk about it, you will swear it is. Now come on, I think it is time for you to say hello to the rest of the crew." The remainder of the walk was brisk, TJ sticking close to Krystal's tail as she led him through the final brightly light and sterile hallway before arriving at a foreboding door with yet another touchpad linked to it.

As the duo approached the door, the sounds of voices could be heard emanating from the other side. There was an air of elation to the voices, with the first one discernible being that of Falco. "Hey-hey, congrats you old geezer! 'General's Advisor', that's something you can put on your retirement home forms two years from now!" Laughter echoed through the muffling door for a second before a second voice piped up, this one unfamiliar to TJ. It sounded high-pitched, belonging to either a young boy or a woman. The voice sounded upset, the shrill whine piercing the steel separating them.

"Aw, c'mon Peppy! Why do you have to leave us?" The voice whined. A chuckle that sounded like it came from an old man followed, replacing the moaning.

"Relax, Slippy. You'll still see me, just less frequently. I'll still be here in spirit, it's not like I'm gone forever. Plus, I'll be the one assigning you all missions and contracts from the government, so you've got nothing to worry about. And since I'm the General's Advisor now, my first order of business is to give all of you a well-deserved vacation!"

The news caused another round of cheers to break out, causing Krystal to chuckle as she nudged TJ with her elbow. "Time to see what the fuss is about, yes?" Not giving TJ a second to respond, the vixen placed her palm on another touchpad, the door opening with a beep and another pneumatic hiss. Instantly, the feeling of being trapped in a sci-fi TV hit the kid like a sack full of bricks. Bright lights, holograms, and even what appeared to be a fully functioning robot standing at the helm of the ship were all present, flooding the brain of the kid. All eyes quickly turned towards the two as they entered, TJ acting like a cautious wild animal while Krystal had her normal stride. While TJ was able to make out Falco and Fox, the new bipedal animals threw him for a loop. A rabbit wearing eyeglasses and dressed in a red flight suit with a long overcoat was the center of attention, while a frog dressed in a blue flight suit with various tools sticking out of his pouches and a mechanic's hat on their head stood off to the side.

Before Krystal could say anything, a scoff came from Falco as the bird locked eyes with TJ as soon as he stepped into the room. "Huh, didn't know we gave prisoners the grand tour now. Why not give him a gun too, or even let him fly an Arwing?"

A squawk came from the bird as the rabbit smacked him roughly on the shoulder. As Falco rubbed the new injury, the rabbit narrowed his eyes at the avian. "Be polite. Don't be a smartass this quickly out of the gate, son." With the insubordination quelled for now, Fox gave a warm smile to TJ as he looked around the ship.

"Well, I guess you should meet two more members of the team. Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad, our soon-to-be former advisor, and technician respectively."

There was an awkward hand wave from TJ to the other two, and while the hare returned the wave with one of his own, the frog sprinted to Fox's side with excited eyes nearly bulging out of his skull. "Fox! This is that alien, right?!"

"Who else would it be, Slippy?" The comment from Fox was followed by a slight chuckle from the vulpine as the frog sprinted up to TJ, extending his hand out for a shake with a wide smile.

"Nice to meet you! The name's Slippy, in-house technician at your service!" As soon as TJ's hand left his side, Slippy began to shake it in a hyper manner, shocking the kid as he pulled his hand back. As TJ recovered from nearly having his hand ripped off, he looked back at the toad, his massive eyes sparkling as he tapped away on what looked like a touchscreen built into his wrist. "So that sports car we found in the cargo bay is yours? I had to push it into the hanger bay to work on it, sure, but I got it all fixed up and back in running order after your crash! Only took me a few hours, tops!"

Instantly, TJ's eyes lit up, gaining the same sparkle that Sippy had in his a moment ago. "Whoa, wait, you got the Viper runnin' again?!"

"Absolutely! Wanna check it out?"

"Hell yeah!"

As soon as Slippy and TJ tried to run off, Krystal stopped the two of them with an extension of her staff in front of them, acting like a red velvet rope that the two were unable to pass. "Slow down you two. While I can understand your excitement about having your car back, Tyler, I don't want you hurting yourself or getting lost. I will come with."

The driver sneered, rolling his eyes with a smirk. "Fine, whatever you say, Mom."

TJ soon found the end of Krystal's staff lightly bonking the top of his head as he moved his hand to rub the new bruise. Krystal meanwhile wore a smug smile, pulling her staff back and holding it by her side. "I will discipline you like a mother if I hear any more remarks like that out of your mouth. Understood?" TJ rolled his eyes and nodded, following the nearly bouncing frog down the halls and into the elevator.

~::::~

As soon as Slippy, Krystal, and TJ boarded the elevator, Fox's smile instantly turned into a frown as he faced his wingman. "Hey, what's your problem with the kid? You're acting like a real ass."

The avian rolled his eyes, throwing himself on the couch and putting his wings behind his head. "My gut's tellin' me that kid's gonna be more trouble than he's worth. The sooner he's outta here, the better in my humble opinion."

"So you're just gonna side with 'your gut' as the final judge?"

"Has my gut ever been wrong, Foxie?"

"I don't know, you trusted your gut with Patty Doebrook back in seventh grade…"

"…okay, it's been wrong once."

"Don't forget the time you tried to dye Katt's fur blue for All Heart's Day," Peppy chimed in, taking a seat in his chair with a smirk.

"Fine, twice, you still get my point. Sometime, probably soon, that kid's gonna do something really stupid, and we're all gonna pay for it."

Fox rolled his eyes, walking over to his command chair and sitting down with his hands behind his head and feet up. "Come on, Falco. He's a street racer, what's the worst that he could do?"

Falco's razor-sharp eyes landed on Fox, with a wing pointed in the vulpine's direction as soon as he posed his question. "Well, I'll ask you how your foot tastes in your mouth when he screws us. Until then, I'm keepin' a keen eye on him."

Before Fox could retort, ROB chimed in, his vocal processors silencing the room in a split second. "Attention, Captain McCloud. We have been offered a job, priority three. HVT; Mr. Erik Von Brunn, C.E.O of the East Fortuna Weltraumgüter Shipping Company.

Rather than continue arguing with his wingman, Fox decided to sit down in his chair and mull over the new report on his laptop, a mixture of both boldness and annoyance fusing together on his muzzle. "Well, looks like our vacation's just been postponed. ROB, patch the client through."

A few beeps emitted from the android, before a visibly distraught rottweiler appeared on the holo-screen above R.O.B. He wore a black two-piece suit with reading glasses crooked on his muzzle. His fur was disheveled and soaked, and dark circles were visible under his eyes.

"Greetings, Mr. Von Brunn, what can Star Fox do for you?" Fox began with an air of confidence.

"Oh thank Gods! Please, you have to help my daughter, she's been kidnapped!" His thick accent caused Fox to pause as he had to parse words. The canine's whole body was shaking as he waited for a response.

"Whoa whoa, slow down sir," Fox offered, attempting to calm the canine down a bit. "Take a deep breath and tell us what happened." Brunn sighed, removing his glasses from his muzzle.

"A few days ago, our daughter went out to Papetoon, but I lost contact with her shortly after she arrived. Earlier today, I got a video message from the kidnappers, demanding twenty million credits for Anna's safe release before cutting the feed. The police told me the signal came from some bunker in the south of a town called Drywell. They said they would do something, but the town is too far out from any major cities, and the cops can't touch them! I didn't know who else to turn to... But I can't just let these punks think they can get away with this! What if I pay up, and they keep her?! Or this happens again to someone else, with even more money demanded by these heartless schläger?!"

Fox flashed another dog and pony show of confidence and bravery after the canine finished his ranting, his confidant smile beaming through the screen like a ray from the heavens. "Luckily, you came to Star Fox. We'll have your daughter back to you in no time at all." The bravado-filled words caused a small smile of hope to break out on the rottweiler's face.

"Words can not express how grateful I am for you at this moment. I will pick up my daughter from the nearby CDF base once you retrieve her. Please, I hope this payment will be enough for her safe return."

With that, the video feed disconnected as ROB began beeping and typing on the computer. "Alert: A sum of two million credits has just been transferred to us via Erik Von Brunn. Accepting and verifying payment." ROB reported. Falco, who beforehand wanted to throttle the rottweiler, was now ready to go, salivating at the idea of a vacation with a fat bank account.

"Alright, so what's the plan, 'o fearless leader?" Falco asked in his usual sarcastic voice.

Rather than respond to the snark, Fox simply tapped away at his laptop, the clacking of keys audible over the various beeps of the bridge before the holographic command table in the center of the bridge displayed a map of the town of Drywell. The vulpine squinted at the rotating map of the nearly vacant town, slowly formulating a plan. "Hm… Drywell is one of the frontier towns. Buildings aren't usually more than two stories tall, plenty of open room, and it looks like these guys have run out most of if not all of the cops."

With his keen eyes, Falco took mental notes of each building, before a question picked at his brain. "Wait, Drywell? Doesn't Felix Amador's gang run that town?"

Fox nodded. "Yeah. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't asked his dear old daddy to turn it into some kind of concert venue."

Falco let a quick slip from his beaks before he put his wings on the table, letting the soft blue light of the town reflect off his irises. "All right, so we drop some knockout gas on the surface, stun anyone wannabe gangster who gets in our way, and get out."

Fox shook his head in response, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "Mmm, no, that wouldn't do. They've got anti-air defenses covering the place. Then there's any civilians who live in the buildings. On top of all of that, it would make a lot of noise. Reinforcements would be on top of us as soon as we set foot in the town, and probably a few extras waiting at checkpoints on the surrounding roads. It'll be enough of a fight to get in, let alone out with a V.I.P. once they figure out we're there…"

The avian huffed, shaking his head as he kept his eyes locked on the various points of interest. "No way in from the air, no way out from the air, guarded on all sides. We're not hiking through the Papetoonian Desert with his daughter, Fox. I ain't built for that kinda heat."

"I know, but it might be our only choice…"

Fox and Falco fell silent before Peppy chimed in with a smirk. "Well, who said anythin' about walkin'? This is gang territory, right?"

Fox and Falco nodded.

"And we just so happen to have a gangster on the ship with us now."

"Hey, I left Katt in control of the Hot Rodders, old man. She's freelance and I'm full-time here."

"Not you, feathers-for-brains! That alien that ran off with Slippy and Krystal to the hangar. We have him drive through the town, and act like he wants to buy the girl. You guys take out the guards quietly, get the girl, have her get in the kid's car, he drives her to the L.Z., mission complete."

Falco sneered as he backed away from the table, folding his wings as he did so. "Are you goin' senile already?! He's been on this ship for six hours, tops! What makes you think you can trust him?!"

Peppy shrugged. "Well, I trusted you, back when you were some snot-nosed chick who was sniffling in a drunk tank on Titania. Wouldn't you say I made the right call?"

"Cause I know me. I don't know him, and I don't like this plan."

Peppy chuckled, removing his eyeglasses to give them a quick polish before affixing them back across the bridge of his nose. "Well, it's up to Fox. What's the call?"

Fox stood up from his chair, crossing his arms as he kept his eyes locked on the hologram of the town. After a few silent seconds, the vulpine had his answer. "I trust Peppy on this. It'll be a lot easier if we can sneak in rather than go guns blazing. Plus, he looks antsy enough. Something to do would get his mind off his current situation and prevent him from doing something… undesirable."

Falco shook his head in response, letting his wings fall back down his sides as he did so. "Fine. But if he tries to run off with our paycheck, I'm holding you responsible, Foxie."

Fox nodded with a smile in response, sitting back down in his chair as he did so. "Alright, looks like we're all settled then. ROB, prepare for take-off and set us on a course towards Papetoon. Drop us off the CDF base closest to Drywell when we get planet-side."

"Affirmative, Captain McCloud."

~::::~

The sounds of pneumatic tools and electrical buzzing filled the hanger bay as the doors slid open, causing TJ's jaw to nearly hit the deck plating. Spaceships were hung from the ceiling on what appeared to be giant rails, a tank sat off to the side, and even a massive submarine was slightly visible from below the hanger. Looking past the crafts, TJ noticed that a thin blue forcefield separated him from the unforgiving and endless vacuum of starry space, even though it was currently holding back the skyline of a major metropolitan city. While the various vehicles scattered around caught his eye for a second, TJ was determined to find the Viper. Wasting no time, TJ took off in a jog, looking for the supercar. It did not take long to find it, sitting neatly next to a series of holographic screens in its own private bay. The red paint and white stripes meant it stuck out like a sore thumb; all the damage it took was gone. There was no way that was possible though, the car would not even start last time. It took TJ a few seconds to remember that what was possible on Earth might not apply here, so he began to inspect the car.

"I have to say, this car looks awesome!" The squeaky voice from behind TJ made him jump a little, before staring back at Slippy. "It's an engineering piece of art! I mean, it's a bit dated, but I like it. Did you do all this yourself?" He asked, his eyes wide with anticipation. TJ ignored the "dated" comment and shifted back onto his hood while throwing his head back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Man, I wish. It's a concept for the Dodge Viper, just about two decades old. Never ended up getting used, but the later models did end up taking some design cues from it. Haven't had too much time in the driver's seat, but man, it's off the chain! Can't wait to drive it some more, for real."

Slippy nodded, tapping the elongated hood with his knuckle and a smile. "Oh, you will! I gave this a few personal touches that I think you'll love! Hey, you wanna pop the hood?"

Without needing another invitation, TJ scurried over to the driver's side door and opened it, before locating the lever in the cabin that would release the hood latches. Giving it a quick pull, TJ heard a dull thump come from the front of the car before jogging back to the front. Slippy already had his fingers under the hood before TJ had gotten back to his spot, and lifted it with ease. Locking itself in place, the hood remained wide open as the two poked their heads in the engine bay. The shiny engine block stared right back at TJ, along with a whole new series of electronics and wiring that seemed completely alien to the driver.

The amphibian could barely keep himself from exploding in knowledge, watching TJ's eyes run over every last detail. "Well, what do you think? Pretty impressive, huh?"

"This stuff looks insane! What did you do!?"

Slippy chuckled, turning his hat backward as he did so. "I'm glad you asked! First, I had to replace that engine block, the thing was destroyed in the crash. I pulled it out, put it in my technical reader, and copied the specs onto the printer! While the engine was replicated, I made a few tweaks to the inefficiencies of the engine, like converting it to run on combustible hydrogen instead of gasoline with a small amount of beryllium thrown in for good measure."

"Wait, you printed the whole engine? And it doesn't run on gas anymore?"

"Yes and yes! Printed it in parts, and you've got one hundred percent recyclable power at your disposal! You'll never have to worry about running low on gas ever again! That's not even talking about the increase in power that it gave you too! You were putting out just over three hundred and seventy-three kilowatts of power before, but now you're putting out a megawatt of power!"

TJ's brain paused for a second before his eyes lit up. "A megawatt?! That's… that's as much as a freakin' One:1! How'd you do that?!"

Slippy's proud smile lit up the room as he pulled his trusty wrench out from his back pocket and tapped the engine block with it. "Hey, when you spend all day working with NTD64 Plasma Engines, something like this was a walk in the park!" Before TJ could follow up, Slippy pointed out a small blue fuse box that sat off to the side. "That right there is your new battery as well! The old one was super bulky and ridiculously inefficient, but this little guy right here supplies all the power you need, from your headlights to the G-Diffuser!"

"G-Diffuser? What's that?"

"Oh, it's a small device that produces a field to nullify all g-forces within a vehicle. It's on all of our craft and prevents g-forces from becoming too intense when we make sudden turns or loops. For you, it'll be like the car's sitting still!"

"Man, that's gonna feel pretty weird… Any chance I can turn that off? Just for now at least?"

"Sure! Just check your screen and run the diagnostics prompt, you can disable the G-Diffusers from there! Not sure why you'd wanna do that though…" Slippy trailed off in laughter.

TJ began to nod his head, walking to the driver's side of the Viper before opening the door. Peering inside of the cabin, everything was exactly as he left it, even the key was still in the ignition. With a smirk, TJ quickly sat down and turned the key. The engine sputtered for a second, before roaring to life. The sound bounced off of the walls of the hanger and right back into TJ's ears, causing a wicked smile to pass his lips. Planting his heel on the steel floor of the vehicle, TJ feathered the gas, letting the engine rev a few more times as he chuckled.

Slippy shared TJ's wide eyes and joy before he snapped his fingers, suddenly reaching into one of his jacket pockets. A few seconds later, he pulled out some sort of rectangular device from the pockets and held his free hand out. "Can I see your phone really quickly?" TJ complied, cautiously handing Slippy his smartphone. Slippy quickly swiped TJ's phone from his grasp in a lightning-fast motion before hooking up a wire between the two. After a few seconds, the new device beeped, causing Slippy to hand the device to the street racer. "Sorry, I meant to do this earlier. When I took your phone earlier, I noticed how outdated it was. I sourced a Techlazer P150 when we were on Corneria for you. It's one of the most state-of-the-art handheld PDAs out there. I just transferred all your files from your old phone to the P150. You can keep your old phone as a memento, but it's been factory reset."

TJ eyed his new phone for a minute, compared to his old smartphone. It was certainly much more light and smaller than his old phone, as a thin sheet of what appeared to be see-through glass was held in place by two solid ends at the top and bottom of the phone. Gently pressing down on the top of the phone, the glass screen suddenly retracted into the phone, leaving it as nothing more than a small black rectangle. TJ repeated this process a few times, making Slippy chuckle at his amazement. "The screen's made up of hard light, not glass. Trust me, you'll get used to it, especially once Fox gets you in an Arwing and flying!"

TJ nodded, but his attention was quickly grabbed as he ran Slippy's words over in his head. With an excited glare, he pointed towards one of the spaceships sitting neatly above the hanger floor. "Wait, I get to fly one of those?"

Slippy nodded. "If you get on his good side, get some training, and take it seriously, he'll bring you in without a doubt!"

Before TJ could celebrate anymore, a curt ping filled the air of the hanger. "Can Krystal, Slippy, and TJ please report to the bridge? All three of you to the bridge as soon as possible."

Slippy raised his brow, looking up at the PA system mounted on the wall as he did so. "What do you think Fox wants, Krystal?"

Krystal shrugged her shoulders. "No clue. But it looks like your playdate is over, boys. Let's move."

~::::~

The trio entered the bridge, Krystal making her way to Fox's side while Slippy quickly ran over to the holographic map. TJ stood by the door, his shoulders low and his stance wide as he looked around the room. Fox was sitting in his chair, his eyes narrowed at the display as he took a headcount of everyone in the room. "Alright, good, we're all here. While you three were down in the hangar, we got a new job. Nothing too big, and the pay isn't half-bad either. We'll be going down to the town of Drywell on Papetoon. Some gangsters have kidnapped the daughter of an East Fortunian shipping company executive, and we've been paid to free her and return her to her father."

The map zoomed in on a military-style bunker built into the dunes, complete with watch towers and military equipment. "Intel says that their hangout is this bunker, and it's most likely where they're keeping the girl. It's heavily fortified, and I'd like to leave with as few casualties and complications as possible. Krystal, you're with Falco and I. We'll be landing two klicks out and hiking through the desert. We'll be going non-lethal for this, so use stun shots only if you have to. Slippy, you'll run overwatch from here. Keep us informed on anything happening within a ten-klick radius. If something's using technology, I want to know about it before the gangsters do."

Fox looked up at TJ, a smile crossing his muzzle as he leaned his chin into his palm. "Hey, TJ?"

TJ looked up at Fox, caught off guard for a half second. "Y-yeah? What's up?"

"How do you feel about going undercover for a bit?"

TJ raised his brow, looking at the map before back to Fox. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, these guys have air defenses that surround the town. And we'd be spotted instantly trying to get through the town on foot. But you're an unknown here. So you're gonna drive through the town, drive up to the bunker like you want to buy the girl, and drive the V.I.P. out of town and to the meeting point without putting her in danger. Think you're up for it?"

TJ smirked. "How much am I getting paid?"

Fox stood up from his chair, turning off the map as he did so. "A fair share, like everyone else. I won't cheat you out of any credits, as long as you pull your weight."

TJ nodded, scratching the back of his head as he did so. "Hey, real quick. Where is… Papetoon? Is that a country?"

Fox chuckled, shaking his head. "No, it's a different planet. It's all dust and desert, and it's my home."