Chapter 6

Wolf awoke on the Fortunan jungle floor, still next to the cliff where he went unconscious. Blinking several times, he looked around. The rain looked to have stopped, although clouds still obscured the sky. The sun hovered close to the horizon, the yellow hue bathing the clouds and everything else in a golden hue. It looked to be either evening or sunrise, but Wolf didn't know which. If it was sunset, he sure didn't want to be out in the jungle in the dark. How long had he been out anyway? Wolf checked his watch, but he discovered it was smashed, the digital display blank.

"Damn…"

Looking around, he spotted his Cornerian laser rifle on the ground. He picked it up, dusting it off and wiping away the mud and the moisture.

As he did so, he considered his next move. Continuing to search for the case would be hopeless all by himself, so he decided to start hiking back to the shuttle. Hopefully, someone from the Retribution would still be there to find him. If not, he didn't know what he was going to do. But staying here wasn't going to do any good, so he decided to just get going.

Taking one last look at the jungle below, Wolf slung the rifle over his shoulder and started the trek back the way he'd came. It felt harder to go down compared to going up, like every step was admitting defeat. The trees soon reached far above him again, making it feel more like night rather than day.

Wolf looked around as he descended down the rocky slope, trying to get his bearings. But everything in the jungle still looked the same to him. He couldn't recognize anything from his hike up here. The lupine prayed he didn't get lost again trying to find his way back. The ever-present bushes and branches kept him from seeing farther than a few yards away. At least he could tell he was still descending a slope. If he kept doing that, he figured he was at least heading in the wrecked shuttle's general direction.

He pushed aside another large palm frond, and then saw something he thought impossible. The case. It was just there…sitting on a car-sized rock in a small clearing, faint rays of sunshine piercing the trees and highlighting it, making the metal gleam. A small voice nagged him in the back of the head, pointing out that he should probably be questioning why the case was there. The placement looked too perfect, as though someone just set it there for him to find. But he didn't care. He ran at the metal box like it was a steak dinner after days of fasting.

Wolf climbed on top of the rock, thrusting out a hand to grasp at the silver handle and—he bungled it. His hand missed the handle, sending the case tumbling backwards and out of sight. Snarling, he climbed over the stone after it…just in time to see it fall into a large mud bog adjacent to the stone. The resounding splash filled his ears.

Wolf growled, his ears folding back on his head. Wasting no time, he jumped right into the mud after the case, sinking down up to his knees in the cold, disgusting bog. He felt around under the muddy water, but no matter where he put his hands he couldn't feel the case. Nothing but mud came up whenever he brought his hands over the surface. When random searching didn't work, Wolf started going systematic and walked up and down the bog in lines, making sure to cover every inch. The case still didn't turn up.

"What the hell?!" Wolf kept pawing at the water, swatting it away. "Where is it?!"

He did a second search, feeling himself starting to panic. Nothing turned up. He did a third search. A fourth. Panic and confusion turned to anger. Anger turned to complete rage. Infuriated, Wolf started kicking the water out of the pit to drain the bog, sending the mud splashing everywhere. He looked like a five year old pup throwing a temper tantrum. He thrashed around with such anger that he didn't even bother looking where the water went.

Someone cried out, the voice sounding feminine. Startled, Wolf turned to see who it was: Sable. The mud covered her silky grayish-black fur, obviously shampooed and groomed to perfection until just now. Her cream-colored dress bore dark marks from where the muck splattered over it. Growling, Sable ran a hand through the filth, holding it up to look at it. She cast a dark glare at Wolf, her yellow slit eyes burning.

"Oh…oh no…" Wolf shook his head, not even bothering to wonder why she was here. "I am so, so sorry Sable."

"This dress cost me five figures." Sable flung her hand in Wolf's direction, sending some mud splattering back onto him. "Sorry isn't going to magically get it clean again, dog."

Dog. Wolf loathed being called a dog. But she was his client, so he held his tongue. Despite the earlier comment about the dress, the panthress walked down into the mud bog with him. He found himself too terrified to point out she was ruining her dress and fur even more.

Someone grabbed his arms from behind, lifting him up off of the ground. Looking back, Wolf saw two soldiers restraining him, dressed in solid-black combat gear with face concealing masks. Sable strode towards Wolf, withdrawing a curved knife from underneath her dress, the talon-shaped blade gleaming in the fading sunlight.

"Your time is up, dog. I expected far better from the so-called best mercenary force in the galaxy."

"But the case! Didn't you see?" Wolf struggled to break free, but his restrainers felt more like statues rather than men. "It fell into this mud! It's right underneath your feet!"

"Quiet!" Sable slapped him across the face, not bothering to retract her claws as she did so. "Dogs should know when to be silent for their masters! I'm tired of your excuses!"

He felt the cuts on his face burning, hot blood running through his fur. Still, he kept pleading. "But I'm telling y—"

Sable gave the claw to the other side of his face, before pointing the tip of the curved knife at his throat. "I've had enough of you. You're paying for my wasted time with your pathetic life."

She moved the tip of the blade to one side of Wolf's neck, preparing to cut across it under the muzzle. Wolf struggled with all his might, but it did no good. The blade began to tear the soft flesh of his throat…

Wolf opened his eye, snapping awake. A dream. Just a dream. While relieved, Wolf realized he wasn't at that cliff anymore. Rock walls surrounded him on all sides, so he looked to be inside a cave now. In fact, Wolf realized someone put him in a crude bed, with a homemade straw mattress and pillow, his blanket fashioned out of the furry hide of some unknown creature. A single candle burned on a rocky outcropping nearby. He was wearing only his fatigues now too. But the armor and the rest of his gear sat in a neat pile near the lit candle. Wolf blinked, not knowing what to make of all this. Who brought him here?

Wolf figured he was still on Fortuna at least. The rock walls looked like the same type of stone on the outcroppings he climbed up earlier. Wanting to find out more, Wolf slid out of the bed, standing upright. Then he bonked his head on the low ceiling. Grumbling, the lupine ducked down, rubbing his head and sending his flattened mohawk askew. Wolf walked down the only passage out of the room. Torches on the walls provided light at intervals, the light reflecting off of the condensation on the rock walls. He could hear water drops echoing in the small tunnel. It felt like he'd gone back in time to the caveman days.

The tunnel curved to the left, the end unseen. But Wolf could see a brighter light around the corner, casting itself on the walls. He stopped, wondering if he should just walk straight into the unknown. But then again, if the person who brought him here wanted to kill him, he would have done it already. He wouldn't have put Wolf in a bed like that.

His mind made up, Wolf strode into the next chamber. It was shaped like the inside of a bowl, the ceiling high enough for the lupine to stand at his full height. A fire burned in the middle, the smoke feeding up into a hole in the ceiling. A few rough-hewn, homemade chairs huddled close to the flames. Olive green ammunition containers lined the curved walls, but items like food, fruit, clothes, and tools filled them instead of rounds. Wolf spotted an old laser rifle and a machete hanging from wall hooks on the other side of the room. He could still hear the Fortunan rain outside, the sound echoing down one of the other side tunnels.

"Ah, you're awake."

Wolf looked towards the fire, the voice coming from behind it. He reached for his pistol…only to realize it wasn't there.

"No need for that, Wolf." The voice spoke with a warm, friendly air, almost sounding honey-like as it oozed from one word to the next. "I know you're confused, but don't worry. We're allies."

The stranger stepped out from behind the fire, revealing himself as a green iguana. The dim firelight gave the lizard a monstrous, alien air, the glow highlighting the spiky frills on his head and neck. Old, badly healed scars ran along his face and snout. Taking a moment to look at his clothes, Wolf recognized them as being Venomian jungle fatigues, from back in the Lylat Wars days. The threadbare, faded fabric barely held itself together, patched up with bits of metal, hide, string, and other scavenged materials.

The iguana offered a smile, but his long mouth full of sharp teeth made him look even more frightening. "It's an honor to finally meet you, sir." He gave a salute. "I am Lieutenant Tadao Samorin. Field medic."

Wolf stared at Tadao, not knowing what to say. This whole experience felt surreal. Still, he managed to find some words. "Uh…how do you know my name?"

"Who doesn't?" The iguana chuckled. "You're the most famous soldier in Andross's great military. Our dear leader puts your image all over our domain, after all!"

Tadao gestured towards a poster on the wall that Wolf hadn't noticed until now. Faded with time and covered with mildew spots, Wolf nonetheless recognized an image of his younger self, standing proud while flanked by his old wingmen: Leon, Pigma Dengar, and Andrew Oikonny. Above them, a massive space battle sprawled across the top of the poster, Wolfens leading the charge as the Androssian Navy easily overran a Cornerian fleet. The poster's text declared: Star Wolf's fangs rip the enemy to shreds! Follow them onto victory!

While Tadao looked proud of the poster, it only reminded Wolf of regret and failure. Star Fox shot him and his squadron down twice during that war, and Andross and his empire were both long gone. Besides that, Pigma embezzled money from Star Wolf while Andrew just up and left the squadron without a word after the Lylat Wars ended. Both of them died a year or two ago as well, around the time of the Aparoid invasion. Not a good track record for what this poster predicted, all things considered.

The lizard seemed to pick up on Wolf's sour reaction. "Is something wrong?"

Wolf shook his head, still gazing at the picture. "No. It's nothing." Wolf then remembered he still had a lot of questions. This situation felt so weird he forgot to ask until just now. He looked back over at Tadao. "How did you find me out in that jungle?"

"Wasn't exactly hard." Tadao settled into one of the crude chairs by the fire. He waved for Wolf to join him. "Please, sit."

With some reluctance, Wolf chose his own chair, backing away a bit from Tadao as he pressed into the seat back.

"I've held out here against the Cornerians for a long time. By my count…" Tadao glanced at a water-stained notebook near the fire, the pages covered with tally marks. "…I have served Andross here for nine years, three months, and twenty-two days. Long enough to learn how to live off the land here. Helps that I'm a medic. I learned how to use the plants here for foods and to make medicines. Learned how to track game too. That's how I found you."

Wolf cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"Forgive me." Tadao showed that shark-like smile again. "You may be a great hero, but you don't know anything about hiding a trail. It started when I heard a ship go down near me. Decided to go out and investigate. Ships sometimes crash out here. Always good for things that are hard to get out here…" The iguana glanced at the machete on the wall. "…once I liberate them for our emperor."

Wolf's ears folded backwards at that last remark, eye widened.

Tadao didn't seem to notice. "I found your ship. Saw it was a Cornerian vessel. Wasn't much inside…but then I noticed your footprints leading away from it. At first, I thought you were a Cornerian survivor, so I followed the trail. Was child's play tracking you. You left boot prints on the ground. Strands of grass crushed underfoot. Leaves streaked with mud, where they contacted your clothing. Very careless, I'm afraid. No offense." Tadao chuckled.

"…it's all right." Wolf spoke almost in a whisper.

He was too afraid of being in arm's reach of a serial machete killer to worry about offense. A machete killer who liked him. You'd think that would put Wolf at ease, but instead it made Tadao unpredictable. It was easy to know what to do with a psycho trying to kill you. Just kill him first. But a psycho who liked you? What do you do then?

Nonetheless Tadao continued the story. "When I saw you unconscious by that cliff, wearing that Cornerian uniform, I considered just hacking your neck off with that machete…" Tadao looked into the fire, the light reflecting off his slit eyes.

Wolf couldn't place the emotion in them. What did Tadao feel about almost taking Wolf's head? Sadness? Joy? Boredom? He found it terrifying that he didn't know.

The lizard shook his head and looking back to Wolf. "But lucky for you, I decided to take off your helmet so I could look you in the face. So glad I decided to do it now. If I had done that by accident, I probably would have been so ashamed I'd have slit my own throat after."

Wolf found himself speechless, not just from terror but at Tadao's extreme patriotism. This guy really believed all of Andross' wartime propaganda, even though he had outlived that ape's empire by many years. The isolation sharpened his resolve, rather than diminishing it.

"Speaking of…" Tadao leaned on his armrest towards Wolf. "Why were you dressed as the enemy to begin with? Why were you flying that shuttle? Were you undercover or something?"

This question gave Wolf pause. Should he tell Tadao the truth or not? This lizard lived in a warped version of reality, and Wolf suspected he would not react well to his view being challenged. Thinking of that, it made the choice very simple: just play along. The alternative was too dangerous. He'd probably be rid of Tadao once the Retribution's crew found him anyway.

Clearing his throat, Wolf started speaking again. "Uh….yes, I was undercover. I had a special mission." Well, it wasn't exactly a lie…

"Really?" The lizard's slit eyes widened in astonishment. "Andross has you spying in enemy territory now? How interesting. I never fingered you for going undercover, but I'm sure you did a great job."

"Heh heh…yeah…" Wolf chuckled to hide his nervousness.

"I'll understand if you don't want to say anything, since it sounds like classified information, but…" Tadao leaned forward in great interest, looking like he was fanboying on Wolf or something. "Could you tell me what your mission was?"

Wolf found the fanboying more worrying than flattering. "Well…. Andross needed me to steal a classified case from Corneria's military vaults, in their main base."

"How exciting! Straight into the enemy's main stronghold, for our great empire!"

Wolf wanted to laugh at Tadao's ignorance, but kept that to himself. Even so, the iguana's enthusiasm gave Wolf an idea. That case was still out there somewhere in the jungle. Tadao already proved he knew this area well by finding Wolf. He'd be a huge help getting the case back.

Wolf steered the conversation in the appropriate direction. "I did get the case, but I got attacked on the way back to Venom. That's why I crashed. The case is somewhere out in the jungle."

"Is that so?" Tadao grinned, standing up from his chair. "It would be an honor to help you find it. I would love to help the famous Wolf O'Donnell complete one of his missions!"

For the first time since they started talking, Wolf gave back a sincere smile. "And I would be glad for you to come with me." He didn't even have to ask Tadao to help. That mind trick couldn't have gone any better.

While Tadao looked giddy over Wolf saying yes to his proposal, he settled back down into his chair. "Before we go out, I need to ask you something. You were sick when I found you. Since I'm a medic, I did what I could for you. Don't have a lot of proper medical supplies left, but your life is too important to not use them. Are you feeling better now?"

Wolf had almost forgotten about that. "Actually yeah…I feel fine, come to think of it." Tadao bringing this up piqued his interest. "What was I sick with? What'd you do?"

"You had some poison in your system. Gave you some activated charcoal to absorb the poison. Seemed to do the job just fine."

The lupine blinked, surprised by the answer. "I was poisoned? When the hell did I get poisoned?" Wolf narrowed his eye.

Tadao leaned forward towards Wolf, suddenly looking a lot more like a doctor. "When was the first time you remembered feeling sick?" It was as though he were Wolf's primary care physician and this was a yearly checkup. Tadao just needed a white coat and tie for the look to be complete.

Wolf searched back in his memory. "It was right after I crashlanded on Fortuna. I threw up on the floor, then I went outside and—" He frowned. "I walked through the woods for a while, I hiked up to that cliff to find the case…and then I blacked out."

"Hmm…" Tadao looked away for a second, deep in thought. After a moment the iguana met his eyes again. "What did you eat or drink before you started feeling sick? Within the last twenty four hours or so?"

"Just some nasty rations in our stolen shuttle. We ate them on the way to Corneria. Plus some bottled water."

"And all of that was sealed up in its packages? No seals or caps broken until you consumed them?"

Wolf nodded.

Tadao narrowed his eyes. "Think harder. Was there anything else?"

Wolf searched deep and hard through his memory, going back to the start of the CCSNB infiltration and working forwards. As he did so he recounted to Tadao how the infiltration went. Before long he reached the bit where they fled the base.

"…so we just barely slipped out of the base. I thought we'd gotten away free and clear, but then this Cornerian pilot messed up everything. He shot up our ship, but we managed to escape here through a warp portal. But then the rear hatch came off and everything got sucked out. The benches, Franco and Harry, and even the cooler with the beer—wait." Like a videotape, Wolf's memory rewound backwards from that point. A realization struck Wolf. "Right before we got attacked in the asteroid field, Franco gave me a bottle of beer. I took one sip from it."

"Aaaaah…" Tadao breathed out as his mouth twisted into a big, gaping smile. The iguana let out a little chuckle as he leaned forward with his eyes closed.

Wolf raised an eyebrow. Why did Tadao sound so happy about figuring that out?

"That's when it happened." Tadao pointed at Wolf. "Franco gave you a poisoned beer. If it got you that sick, it's a good thing you only took one sip, or you'd probably be dead now."

While Wolf thought he'd be relieved to be alive, finding out that Franco poisoned him caused the lupine to freeze up. "You're saying that Franco tried to kill me? He's a traitor?"

"More like he was…if he got sucked out into space like you said."

"I know, but what if he's not the only one?" All sorts of other unpleasant possibilities started bubbling up in Wolf's head. "What if Harry was in on it too? And there could be more moles within Star Wolf." Wolf shook his head. "Shit…I've got to warn Leon and Panther. But I've got to find that case too…"

"Panther?" Tadao cocked his head.

Wolf frowned at Tadao, but then blinked with realization. "Oh…I'm afraid that Andrew and Pigma were killed in action. Panther Caruso is their replacement." Again, not exactly a lie.

Despite Wolf treating it like nothing, Tadao's mouth gaped open in legitimate shock. "What?! Two of Andross's best pilots?! Dead?! This is terrible news!"

Wolf found it strange that Tadao felt a lot more mournful over their deaths than he ever did. Nonetheless, Wolf pat Tadao on the shoulder to ease his concern. "It's all right. Panther's doing well…fighting the good fight and…carrying on where they left off." He tacked on the patriotic-sounding slogans for some flavor, adding a little fist pump to the end. "Anyway…I need to get in touch with the Retribution. That's Star Wolf's mother ship, and they're hovering over Fortuna. Can you help me?"

While Tadao still looked upset, he provided the information Wolf needed. "I might be able to. While you were out, I saw some small ships that looked like scouts buzzing around the jungle. I wasn't sure if they were enemies or not. You can actually kind of hear them over the rain…"

Tadao paused so Wolf could listen. Raindrops could be heard coming from one of the tunnels, and sure enough a dull engine roar could be heard every so often over it.

"Go get your gear. I'll meet you at the end of this tunnel when you're ready." The iguana pointed at the passageway where the sounds were coming from. Meanwhile, he walked over to collect his machete from the wall.

Wolf didn't need to be told twice. The lupine gathered up his things from the small 'bedroom' and walked down the corridor Tadao indicated. The passage made a few curves back and forth, before ascending upwards. At the end, Wolf found Tadao standing at a wooden door mounted into the ceiling, like the cellar door beneath a house. As the lupine approached, Tadao pushed up on the door, opening up the tunnel to the outside. Rain poured in, dousing the rocks at the entrance. It looked lighter compared to when Wolf got here though. Tadao moved to one side of the door, waving for Wolf to move up. Ship engines droned overhead in the sky.

Wolf moved to walk outside, but Tadao threw out an arm to stop him. "Don't step outside just yet. I don't want anyone to know where my hideout is if they're not friendly. I want you to identify the ships first."

Cupping a hand over his eyes to protect from rain, Wolf began to scan the stormy sky, his ears rotating to track the engine noise. A scout ship flew past as a thunderbolt struck, the lightning silhouetting the ship as an arrowhead.

Wolf sighed with relief. "Yeah…that's definitely one of my scout ships." He pointed at the aircraft. "We need to signal them."

"Be right back." Tadao walked back into his hideout, reappearing again about a minute later. He handed Wolf a red-colored tube. "Had a box of flares since I got here. Hope they still work."

"Let's find out then." Wolf pulled the cap off of the flare, exposing the flammable end. Two quick rubs with the cap's striking surface lit the red flame. He started to wave the flare into the sky.

The red glare got a response right away. The dart-shaped ship turned in the sky, heading right for them. It descended and went into a hover mode, approaching close enough for Wolf to see the pilot. When the pilot identified Wolf, he stuck his hand out the window and gave a quick thumbs up, then waved for them to follow. The dart ship turned around and took off, likely to look for a suitable landing site.

Wolf grinned, and started to step out of the door.

"Not so fast." Tadao placed a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. "I've got the area around here booby-trapped. I don't want you falling in a spike pit or anything. Let me lead you."

Booby traps? Spikes? Holy shit. That'd be quite a way to die. Wolf immediately stepped aside to let Tadao go first. After shutting the door, Tadao started hiking through the jungle in the general direction the shuttle went.

"I broke a branch wherever there's a trap, in case I forget where they are," Tadao said. "I'll point them out to you, but keep an eye out just in case. Clear?"

"Crystal." Wolf stepped wherever Tadao placed his foot, staying as close as possible. At the same time, he tried to look everywhere at once for those broken branches. But for the life of him though, he couldn't see any of them. Felt like being in the middle of a minefield.

As they turned another corner, Tadao stopped and pointed. "Broken branch. I put a paddle trap there. You step on one side of a paddle board. Then the other end of the paddle comes up and hits you in the face with spikes."

Wolf's eyes widened. He wouldn't have noticed the branch if it hadn't been pointed out to him. Already, Wolf found himself appreciating his new guide. They trekked down a hillside, following the sound of the scout ship's engines. Along the way, Tadao pointed out a few other traps. Wolf tried to commit their locations to memory, but he found it hard enough trying to figure out where they were relative to Tadao's hideout, let alone remembering any other locations.

Before long, they found their way to the bottom of the valley. Here the trees gave way to flat rocks, the footing slippery due to the light rain.

"Shouldn't be any more traps," Tadao announced. "Wouldn't be able to hide them down here anyway."

"That's a relief." Wolf found the walk across the rocks almost relaxing with the danger behind them. The dart ship could be seen resting in the distance, a couple of grunts from the Retribution walking towards them.

One of the grunts, a warthog, came up to Wolf first. "Boss…good to see you again." He saluted Wolf. The lupine returned it, giving a sincere smile back. His companion, a crocodile, quickly saluted as well.

"You two will be rewarded for finding me." Wolf dropped the salute. "Tell me…where are Leon and Panther? I need to talk with them right away."

"They'll be here any minute now. They're in their own ship."

"Thank you. Tadao, let's get out of the rain." The lupine took the lead, marching back to the grunt's ship and taking a seat in the back to get dry. The iguana soon joined him, wiping the water off of his old uniform.

"It's impressive that Andross gave you a full mothership and a fleet of smaller ships to go with it…" Tadao glanced around, noting the modernity of the dart ship and its amenities. "You must be doing a very good job to get all this."

"Yeah…sure am…" Wolf replied, not really listening. His attention focused on the rainy sky, as he waited for Panther and Leon to arrive. They had a lot to talk about.

Meanwhile, the waterhog and croc sat in the cockpit up front, each of them glancing at Tadao every now and then. They didn't seem to like Tadao's facial scarring and his rough-looking uniform, but felt too afraid to ask questions about it. Wolf didn't care either way.

Another scout ship appeared, landing close by. The doors slid open, Panther and Leon hopping out, the two of them wearing rain ponchos to keep away the wet. "Ah, finally!" Wolf grinned and jumped out of the ship, running back into the rain to greet them.

"You're a sight for sore eyes!" Leon chuckled. "Glad you're OK Wolf. What happened?"

"Got shot up while we were trying to escape through the Meteo asteroid field." Wolf glanced up at the cloudy sky. "I couldn't keep her in the air and had to crash here."

"It looked that way," Leon said. "We saw all the blaster marks all over the crashed ship."

"So… Do you have the case?" Panther asked.

Wolf's smile vanished, as he looked back at his companions. "No…it fell out of the shuttle while I was one the way down to the surface."

"That's not good…" Panther looked nervous, his eyes darting about as he shifted on his feet. Of course, all of them were anxious about getting the case back, but Panther seemed even more worried than that for some reason.

Wolf thought this peculiar, but brushed it aside.

"Say Wolf…" Leon looked behind the lupine. "Who's your new friend here? And why does he have a machete on his belt?"

Wolf turned around, just in time to see Tadao march up and salute both Leon and Panther. "Lieutenant Tadao Samorin. Field medic, and proud soldier in the service of Andross!"

Leon and Panther exchanged funny looks between themselves, not knowing what to make of this. Then together they looked back at Wolf, expecting answers.

Wolf grinned to mask his nervousness. "Tadao, this is Leon and Panther." He stepped aside and gestured towards them.

"The greatest squadron in Andross' military…" Tadao could not contain his excitement. He grinned, flashing his teeth as he strode over. "This is a real honor."

Leon and Panther returned the smile to be polite, but Wolf could see the confusion in their eyes.

Tadao extended a hand to Leon first. "You must be Leon. It's wonderful to meet you!"

"Pleasure…" Leon returned the handshake, but he gave an aside glance to Wolf every now and then.

After finishing with the chameleon, he turned over to Panther. Panther looked like he didn't want to do this, but accepted the handshake with reluctance.

"And you must be the new one, Panther." Tadao appeared unphased by his hesitation, the lizard's excitement and smile as strong as ever. "I regret that I haven't heard of you before, but I'm sure you'll make a great name for yourself in our empire's forces. I'm glad to see you're carrying on the proud traditions Pigma and Andrew left behind."

Panther gave a funny look to Wolf, considering he knew what bad pilots Pigma and Andrew were, but kept his mouth shut. Still, the jungle cat gave a bland smile to Tadao and shook hands as well.

"All right… That's enough for introductions." Wolf turned to Tadao. "If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with my teammates in private for a moment."

"Of course Wolf!" Tadao folded his arms behind him, and took several steps backwards to give the three of them space. "Anything for our emperor's greatest pilots!"

Wolf herded his two teammates some distance away. They kept glancing back at Tadao, looking perplexed by the iguana's remarks.

Once at a safe distance, Wolf started whispering rapid fire to them. "It may be hard to believe this, but…" Wolf took a deep breath. "Tadao is a Venomian holdout from the Lylat Wars. He thinks the war is still ongoing, and that we're still fighting for Andross."

"Are you serious?" Leon narrowed his eyes…somehow even more so than how he usually kept them. "He actually believes everything he's talking about?"

"I'm dead serious." Wolf cast a quick glance at Tadao, still standing as though he were in formation. "But we need him, at least for now. He's lived in this jungle for almost a decade, so he knows the area. I bet he'll be a big help finding the case."

"I see..." Panther stroked his chin. "So you want us to humor him then? Make sure his warped view of reality stays intact?" With the little halfway smile he put on, Panther seemed to find the idea amusing.

"Precisely." Wolf didn't like what he was about to suggest next. Tadao was happy to be with them, but he was also a crazy, unpredictable machete killer and Wolf didn't want to be close to him any longer than necessary. "We keep him with us in our own shuttle, and we search for the case with him. He can't talk to anyone else in our crew. Got it?"

"I don't like it…especially with that big knife, but you're the boss Wolf." Leon nodded.

"How many people did you bring down from the Retribution to find me?"

"Nearly everyone," Panther said. "The Retribution's being run by a skeleton crew right now."

"Good." Then Wolf wouldn't have to waste time mobilizing anyone. "We get the grunts down here hunting for the case now. You found my shuttle, right?"

"What was left of it." Panther smirked. "Surprised you're still alive."

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Yeah well… Anyway, the case must have fallen out somewhere along my flight path when I crashed. That's where we concentrate the search. Did the Retribution record my path?"

"Got it right here. I was on the bridge when we picked you up." Panther brought out a small tablet computer, showing him an image of the local Fortunan surface. A white line crossed the map, with an X at the end. "That's where you went down. So we check everywhere along this line, more or less?"

"That's about the size of it. But we have another problem." Wolf stopped, leaning in closer. "We might have moles in the Retribution's crew. And I don't mean the literal kind."

"What? Spies?" Leon's baseball-sized eyes widened.

"I found out that Harry and Franco tried to poison me before the shuttle went down. Tadao cured me and saved my life."

"They tried to kill you?" Leon rolled his eyes. "I told you Panther and I should have come with you instead of them."

"Believe me Leon, I would have preferred it that way, but in a place like Corneria's main base?" Wolf shook his head. "Non-canines would have stood out there. Just too dangerous."

"Considering what happened, I find that last thing you said rather ironic." Leon smirked.

"Well…what's done is done." Wolf shrugged. "So Leon… I've got a special job for you."

"And that would be?"

"Whatever we did with Harry's and Franco's background checks, it wasn't enough. I need you to go back to the Retribution, and look deeper and harder into their pasts. Find out everyone they've worked for. Go all the way back to when they were in grade school. Find everything on them. I want to find out if they were working alone or if they're part of something bigger. Like maybe they're Cornerian spies or something. Find out who their friends are on the ship. They might be moles too. Dig up everything you can, as fast as you can. You find out anything interesting, you call me. Got it?"

"No problem, Wolf," Leon smiled. "I'll get right to it. And I'll tell all the little grunts to start looking for the case while I'm at it. Good luck finding that case."

Leon hurried over to the drop ship, speaking with the two grunts and ordering them to take him back to the mothership.

As the ship took off, Wolf turned to Tadao and Panther. "Okay…you two are with me. Let's go looking for that case."

Tadao looked overjoyed at the prospect. As they walked back to the shuttle, he talked like an excited kid. "I can't believe this. I thought I'd never get to fly ever again."

Wolf looked over to the iguana for a moment. He wondered what he would have done if he had been in Tadao's place during the Lylat Wars. Gone insane? Committed suicide? Wolf thought he'd probably do those things if confined to a jungle for ten years. Amazing what kind of resolve Tadao had to have to make it this long. Wolf hoped they wouldn't have to keep him around too much longer. As soon as they got the case, Wolf was leaving Tadao behind and they were getting the hell out of here. He had no idea what Tadao would do when he found out the Lylat Wars were long over.

The three of them piled into the second dropship, with Wolf assuming the pilot's seat, Panther riding shotgun, and Tadao sitting in the back and looking over their shoulders. During the pre-flight checks, Wolf talked to Panther.

"So…how long was it between when you picked me up on radar and when you found me?"

Panther paused, checking his watch. "I think it's been about seven hours or so."

"That long, huh?" Wolf shook his head, as he adjusted some dials. "We've got to find that case fast. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cornerian Navy is on their way here right now."

After a few more moments, the drop ship's engines spun up, taking them over the canopy of trees. Panther guided Wolf back towards where he crashed the shuttle, as the lupine swooped the drop ship low over the trees. Within minutes, Wolf found himself back where this whole mess started. More ships buzzed near the crash site, many of his grunts visible on the ground as they picked through the brush and trees.

"Looks like they've got this area covered." Wolf spun up the ship's thrusters, pushing them faster. "Let's fly out further. Panther, keep us on the path. Tadao, keep an eye out."

"No problem, Wolf." Panther held his tablet close, as they flew low over the jungle trees.

"Ryōkai, Okami-san!" Tadao stood up, so he could get a better view out the front.

Wolf gave Tadao a funny look at that last bit, but kept watching the ground below. It was a good thing Corneria didn't have much of a presence on Fortuna anymore. Otherwise, this little operation would have drawn all sorts of attention. Nonetheless Wolf found himself annoyed by the whole thing. He shouldn't be having to do any of this right now. Right now, he should be dropping off that case with Sable, getting his reward, and sitting on a beach in Aquas somewhere. Instead he was stuck looking for a needle in a haystack down here, except the haystack covered at least several dozen square miles, and it was cold, wet, and rainy.

At least the rain had eased up compared to when he got here, but Wolf didn't think they'd have daylight for much longer. Finding anything in the jungle would be near impossible once night fell, even with Tadao's help. If they didn't find the case soon, they'd have to wait until next morning to resume searching. That was time they probably didn't have.

The ship flew onwards, leaving the other drop ships and search parties behind. The carpet of trees stretched outwards in every direction, occasionally broken up by a stream or a small grass clearing here and there. Wolf wondered where they'd even begin searching. Down below, everything still looked the same. He cut the ship's throttle, so they drifted slower over the trees. They puttered along like this for another forty-five minutes, the sky slowly darkening around them. No one said anything, as their eyes fixated on the ground. Wolf became very tense, clenching the flight stick tight as time continued to drain away. Still no sign of anything below but more trees and grass.

All of a sudden, Tadao put a hand on Wolf's shoulder. The little touch made him flinch.

"Hey…could you hover for a second? I see something." Tadao leaned forward, his head and frills coming into Wolf's view.

After slowing the ship, Wolf couldn't help it. He leaned forward too, intensely curious. "What did you see?"

"Look….do you see that down there?" Tadao pointed at a narrow strip of grass snaking through the trees, the ground exposed to the open air. A stream coursed along the bright green band, lined with rocks and mud.

Wolf cocked his head. "I see the grass and the stream. What's special about it?"

"Look closer… I can see tire tracks in the mud. Grass crushed beneath the wheels of a vehicle. Somebody's been driving along that stream recently."

"Is that normal?" Panther asked.

"No…not at all." Tadao shook his head. "I've never seen anyone try driving a car or something out this far. We need to go down and take a closer look."

"Let's do it then." Wolf pointed the ship downwards. He didn't know what the tire tracks meant yet or if they even had anything to do with the case, but at this point he felt desperate enough to check out any clue.

They landed in a wider spot on the strip of grass, hiking back to where the tire tracks began. Tadao walked ahead, stopping in a spot where the tracks could be seen in the mud.

The iguana gave a quick analysis. "The rain's muddled the tracks a bit, but it looks like something small…perhaps an ATV. And I can see tracks going in both directions, both to the northeast and the southwest. The same tires made both sets of tracks. So the ATV went one way and then doubled back for some reason." Tadao picked a stick off of the ground and walked beside the tracks, tracing them with the stick. "The prints going northeast look fresher, and they're on top of the first set in places. That's the direction they're headed now."

"So what should we do?" Wolf looked up from the tracks.

"Let's go northeast." Tadao looked up. "Maybe we can catch up to whoever made the tracks."

"But we don't even know if this has anything to do with the case," Panther pointed out.

"We may as well check it out since we're running short on time." Tadao looked up to the sky, the gray clouds a little bit darker since they landed. "Besides, it's very suspicious anyone would come out this far."

Wolf let Tadao take the lead, as they followed the trail left behind by the mysterious quad biker. Wolf hoped this led to something. The sky continued to darken overhead, their time to search running out. The trail led them away from the stream and back into the trees again. After about thirty minutes of walking through the brush, Tadao halted next to a series of tree stumps.

"These trees…they were cut down recently." The iguana pointed at them.

"Yeah? So what?" Panther asked.

"The trees weren't cut down because they were in the way. You can see the path goes right by them." Tadao waved at the tire tracks on the ground. "And the crude cuts make it look like it was done with hand-axes." Tadao indicated the rough cuts on the top of the stumps, along with the marks left by missed swings below.

Wolf found Tadao's talk interesting, but he didn't know where the lizard was going with this. "So why would they be cut down?"

"Likely to build shelter…" Tadao turned away, as he pulled out his machete and started to scan the area around them. The lizard crouched down, waving for Wolf and Panther to do likewise. Speaking in a whisper, Tadao said, "Quiet…they might still be close by."

Wolf's eyes widened. Taking the blaster rifle off of his back, he checked the charge and also looked around, but couldn't see anything but more brush.

Tadao waved for Panther and Wolf to follow, gesturing towards the ground. Stay low. No talking. Now crouch walking, the lizard slid through the foliage without making a sound, Wolf following in his wake.

The lizard moved through the brush and undergrowth, comfortable in his own territory. He made so little noise that sometimes Wolf lost track of Tadao whenever a large leaf or brush separated them. By contrast, Wolf winced whenever he snapped a twig or rustled a leaf. Not to mention, he found himself wound up over the possibility of combat.

After a little bit of creeping, Tadao suddenly stood up. "It's okay. I don't think anyone's close by. Look at this."

He pushed aside the last set of palm fronds, revealing a small clearing. Now Wolf knew where the trees had gone. Against a rock wall on one side of the clearing, somebody erected a lean-to out of the cut-down tree trunks. The remains of a firepit sat close by, doused by the rain. Logs arranged around the campfire served as seating. Bits of trash could be found here and there too. Water bottles. Food wrappers. Cigarette butts.

Eyeing the mess, Panther raised an eyebrow. "So people came this way. What if they were just campers?"

Tadao shook his head. "I doubt that. Besides myself, this is the first time I've seen someone set up shelter out here. You'd have to be a mighty dedicated camper to come out this far. Anyway, enough about that…" Tadao waved his hand around the encampment. "We should search this place."

"You think we'll find something pointing to the case here?" Wolf asked.

Tadao shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not, but we might as well look since we're here. I'll check over here." Tadao walked towards what looked like a little trash pile off to one side.

Wolf decided to look inside the lean-to. Someone had swept it down, leaving a bare dirt floor. However, he spotted a pile of leaves, twigs, and other debris in the back. Probably where the occupants pushed everything that used to fill the floor. Wolf started to pick through it, finding random odds and ends in the natural waste. An empty pack of cigarettes. A mostly used up tube of toothpaste. He was about to leave when his eyes caught the glint of something shiny in the pile, just barely poking out of a mess of dry leaves. The glint looked familiar…

His heart pounding, Wolf picked it up. While not attached to a case anymore, it was a silver briefcase handle. It bore the same Cornerian government tags as the silver briefcase he stole from the vault. There could be no doubt. This came from the case.

Wolf squeezed the handle in his hand. "Son of a bitch…"

A/N: I think I'm starting to become Elarix, as far as chapter length goes. But there honestly wasn't a good point to end on until we got here. By the way, I'd say I have about 2-3 chapters left of beta text at this point, and then we'll be in uncharted territory. Ooooh, scary! Not that I'm too afraid or anything. This chapter was about 95% original text.

Tadao is the reason for this. In the beta, Panther and Leon found Wolf in the jungle and Leon cured Wolf's poisoning. Then they had the conversation about Harry and Franco that Wolf and Tadao had in my final version. Also, the group would have discovered the case left an impact crater on the surface (since it fell from orbit in the beta). I figure a crater would be easy to spot from the air. However, Wolf would have searched a mud bog that formed in the crater, but he doesn't find the case. Wolf's dream is a remnant of that scene.

But now that the case is falling within atmosphere, there couldn't be a crater anymore. I had to invent a new way for Star Wolf to get clues on where the case might be. That's one of the reasons Tadao came to be. I also felt like I wasn't fleshing out Fortuna enough as a setting in the beta, and Tadao would be a great way to draw the reader into it. I just had this idea about Wolf encountering a crazy survivalist on Fortuna in my head when I got to this bit, so I decided to run with it. Tadao was a lot of fun to create, so I hope you enjoy him too. I think you can guess the historical inspiration too. You get an imaginary cookie if you tell me in the reviews :)