A/N: 2018/1/15 – I've given this chapter a rewrite, plus a retcon to the reason Krystal isn't with Star Fox anymore. Reviews before this date will not reflect the new chapter.

Chapter 8

Fox and Fara had spoken only a few times since he dropped out of the Cornerian Flight Academy. She congratulated him after he won the Lylat Wars for Corneria, and they called each other on their birthdays every now and then, but that was it. When Peppy let her tag along on this mission, Fox had worried about what it might be like to work with her after all these years. Now though, those worries seemed silly.

He strode down the corridors of the Great Fox II, grinning ear to ear as Fara walked beside him. To pass the time on the way to Fortuna, he'd decided to give her a tour. His ship rarely got visitors anymore, so he relished every moment of it. With enthusiasm he told her everything about his ship, sometimes with her mentioning some little thing that she knew. It was a decommissioned CDF carrier after all, so she recognized the basic layout and where the critical systems were located. Despite familiarity she took it all in like it was the most amazing thing in the galaxy, warming his heart. Why did he think it'd be awkward having an ex aboard his ship again?

When they got bored talking about the carrier, they changed to trading stories from their school days. A ski trip to the snowy mountains north of Corneria City, a run down to the beach, walking in the park… There was also going to the movies at the big multiplex downtown, even though their tastes in movies didn't match; Fara would drag Fox into her romantic comedies by the scruff of his neck while she texted through his superhero and action movies.

While the longing in his heart for Krystal persisted, Fox still enjoyed the walk down memory lane with Fara. She'd become an old friend now instead of an old girlfriend, and that suited him fine.

"And here's Hangar 1!" He waved his hands towards a set of doors like he was a game show host. The vulpine wondered if he was being too enthusiastic, but with her smile she didn't seem to mind.

Fox punched the button next to the door, revealing almost complete darkness. They stepped inside the large echoing chamber, footsteps echoing back at them. Off to one side, a carpet of stars was visible through the open port of the docking bay, the invisible force field keeping the hangar pressurized. He flipped on a few switches, bathing them in a small oasis of light.

As his eyes adjusted he saw four fighters in large storage racks along the back wall, visible in the dim light. Three of them were Arwings decked out in the traditional white and blue Star Fox color scheme, while Fara's own Cornerian fighter sat in the far right slot, looking out of place with its green and purple stripes. In a nearby alcove the Landmaster tank rested in shadow, its long gun barrel very prominent.

Fara looked over at the Arwings, smiling. "I feel like I'm in a parallel universe right now."

"What?" Fox raised an eyebrow, turning to look at her.

"Well, think about it." She grinned, tail dancing behind her. "Back in the academy, you wanted to follow in your dad's footsteps. I wanted to go into the military. We went our separate ways, but I've always wondered what could have been if I stuck with you. Joined Star Fox, you know. This is kind of like that, even if it's only for a short time."

Even if it's only for a short time. Fox smiled back, but that reminded him of how this was a temporary arrangement. He didn't think they'd go back to dating or anything, but even so the past few months had been lonely for him without Krystal around. Seeing another friendly, familiar face on the ship did wonders for his mood, and he'd be sad about losing the company.

"Dad would have been heartbroken if I actually did this." Fox leaned against a nearby stack of cargo pallets. "But sometimes I wonder how things would have gone if I'd stuck with you and gone into the military."

Fara chuckled, shaking her head. "Back then, I would have loved it so much if you did that. But you made the right choice."

"Really?" Fox raised an eyebrow. "What, I'm not good enough for you?" He grinned, his tone sarcastic.

"Oh no, it's not that." Fara shook her head, liking him keeping the mood light. "We wouldn't have won the Lylat Wars without Star Fox around. See, I was just a rookie back then, so they kept me far away from the front lines. I didn't get to see much action outside of defending Corneria. The same thing would have probably happened to you too. You would have never gotten the chance to go after Andross and he would have won."

He never thought of it that way. Amazing what small choices could have on the outcome of something much bigger down the line.

"I remember how you felt about the whole training routine back in the academy." Fara chuckled.

Fox winced. Every morning, the academy pulled them out of bed at 0500 and made them all run five miles, followed up by a regimen of pushups and sit-ups before breakfast. He complained about it non-stop whenever his superiors were out of earshot. It was not something he missed about his younger days. Plus…

"I didn't get along too well with the drill instructors, did I?"

"Yup." Fara giggled. "They knew your name and that sure didn't help. After all, you were…" She made a whooshing sound as she put on a dramatic pose. "…the son of the great James McCloud!"

Fox's face screwed up in a grimace. Because of his dad's illustrious past in the Cornerian military the instructors singled him out a lot, making him do extra pushups and laps in front of the other cadets. Her dramatic pose and tone of voice copied the way they mocked him about his old man.

"Hey though." Fara leaned next to him. "You took on all the extra crap they dished out on you, so that was pretty cool. Everyone thought you were amazing you didn't let them get to you."

Fox smirked. "Well, I'm glad I got away from all that, but being a merc's not all stardust and rainbow nebulas." His smile faded, remembering all the troubles hanging over his head right now. "You're not really your own boss, you've got lots and lots of bosses… your clients."

"Oh?" Fara blinked, looking surprised. "I never thought of it that way."

"Yup." He nodded. "Plus you have to take care of all your own expenses too. Times are pretty tough for mercenaries right now. Not much work to go around. I've got to cut back where I can." He pointed to their ships lined against the wall. "Look at your fighter, then look back at the Arwings and the Landmaster."

Fara turned to follow Fox's finger, and her eyes lit with realization. Her Cornerian fighter looked fresh, like it came straight out of the factory. In contrast, the Arwings and the Landmaster bore the scars of many past battles, between dents, scratches, and obvious replacement armor panels. Most of the replacement panels didn't match the original material or color of the stock metal.

"The military would never let fighters get in that condition, not if they could help it." She looked pained as she observed the damage. "I didn't notice till you pointed it out."

"They may look bad, but they all still run great." Fox grinned at her. "Slippy's a genius mechanic. We don't have near the budget Corneria does, but he makes up big time for it with creativity. You could stick him in a junkyard, tell him to build an Arwing engine and warp drive from scratch, and he'd just say 'when do you need it?' I'm so glad he's stuck with me this long. I'd have been out of business long ago without him."

"I hope Slippy's doing okay." Fara stared off towards the tapestry of stars outside the hangar's force field, as if trying to look back to Corneria. "I saw what state Beltino was in, and how Slippy took it."

"I'm worried about him too." Fox sighed, remembering the reason they were here right now. He shook his head. "I trusted Wolf. He helped us save the galaxy from the Aparoids, and this is his thanks, you know? Shooting Slippy's dad and attacking the Corneria City base?"

Fara's mouth pursed. "He's just a despicable pirate. What do you expect?" A snarl almost came out of her mouth. "All he cares about is himself and making a quick buck. He only helped you because your goals lined up at the time."

Fox's ears folded back. He wouldn't admit this to Fara but instead of anger he felt disappointment about Wolf going back to his old ways. He saved Fox's life multiple times throughout the Aparoid invasion, and the Aparoid Queen would have won if he hadn't helped in the final battle. The lupine claimed he saved Fox only because he wanted to have a real fight later, to truly determine who the better pilot was. But was that the truth? Or was Wolf lying so he wouldn't look like he was getting soft? Fox didn't know what to think, but somehow he felt there was more to Wolf's motivations than mere piracy and their rivalry. Something changed him after the Lylat Wars. What though? Fox wished he knew.

"Whatever Wolf did before, we have to get the case back regardless," Fox said, pushing his musings away. "There's one more place on the ship I wanted to show you. Want to go take a look?"

Fara nodded. "Okay, sure."

After leaving the hangar and heading down some more halls, they stopped in front of a double metallic door. Fox punched the button nearby. "So in here we've got our common room…"

The doors whooshed aside, revealing a large and disorderly space. A big screen TV occupied one of the walls. It looked sleek and modern, not even an inch thick and yet occupying a huge amount of wall space. Wall-mounted speakers flanked the unit, numerous game systems and video players filling a stand underneath it. In contrast, old furniture huddled around the television, including an old navy blue couch and some recliners. Holes and tears covered all the pieces, roughly patched over with amateur sewing and duct tape. Wooden end tables and a coffee table matched the look of the seats, all of them covered with scratches and a dull finish.

"That's definitely a guy thing," Fara laughed, ribbing Fox in the side. "The entertainment center's always the first priority, huh?"

"Well, it gets awful lonely wandering around space for weeks or months at a time you know." He grinned, liking her teasing. "If we didn't have all of that there, we'd go stir crazy."

They walked past the living area, and over to the galley and dining area. The cabinets, island, and table appeared to have been gleaming white when new, but time stained them a dingy gray and covered the cheap plastic material with scrapes, scuffs, and baked-in stains. Fara glanced inside the fridge, finding little there besides a twelve pack of soda, some alcoholic drinks, and a few restaurant-sized jugs of ketchup and mayonnaise.

"This is all you've got for food?" Fara frowned, closing the door. "Where's your fresh stuff?"

"We can't afford much of it. Instead we have to rely on this." Fox opened the pantry's door, showing the inside packed from top to bottom with canned goods, sacks of beans, instant noodles, and various other grain products. Anything really that could be bought cheaply in bulk and last a long time. "I've been living off of this stuff ever since the first Great Fox got destroyed."

"Oh goodness, you even have to cut back on food?" Fara's eyes widened in sympathy. "It's a good thing Peppy found some work for you, huh?"

"Yeah, but…" He closed the pantry door, walking over to her with a smile. "It's great having you here though. I'll be sad when it's time for you to leave again." He could feel a deep longing in those words, the weight of them heavy on his mind.

Fara seemed to notice Fox's tone, her ears perking up at the sound of his voice. That hadn't come out the way he wanted it to! His expression changed to mirror hers.

"Whoa, I'm sorry!" He held up his hands. "I didn't mean to say it that way!"

"Wha?" Fara tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"

Oh crap, she thinks I want to date her again! His heart pounded, his breath coming back in short gasps. He rubbed a hand on the back of his head, looking away.

"Are you okay?" She walked behind him, Fox sensing she was about to reach out to him. "Ha, you know, I remember you being this awkward when we dated. You remember, right?"

She added on a little laugh, which did not soothe his worries at all. This was not what he wanted to be reminded of right now. Krystal's spectre beckoned to him before he could close that line of thought.

She paused for a moment, seeming to realize she'd said something wrong. "Hey, are you okay Fox?"

A grim look crossed over the vulpine's face. He couldn't speak for a few seconds, looking away and waving off the question. "It's nothing, Fara." His fists clenched together.

She took a few steps closer to offer comfort. Ironically, that made him even more uncomfortable than he already was. He crossed his arms together, as if to close her out.

"Fox?" Fara put a hand on his shoulder.

Her touch shot through his body like an electric pulse, causing his tail to jump upwards. He grit his teeth, cursing himself for the little involuntary reaction.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Fox went quiet, looking at Fara, worried about how he was staying quiet. Should he tell her? As much as he wanted to keep his thoughts about Krystal to himself, the rest of the trip might be awkward if he brushed this off. He figured she might guess what was upsetting him before long anyway. She hadn't asked about Krystal yet, but he sensed it was on her mind.

"You know how I said I used to get nervous about you?" Fox took a deep breath, looking at the floor as he gathered himself up. "Krystal said that too."

"Her?"

He nodded, closing his eyes.

"Do you mind if I ask something?"

Fox knew where this was going. He didn't feel comfortable talking about this, although he supposed avoiding the topic would be like ignoring the elephant in the room. "Okay." Better they get it out of the way now.

"The news made a pretty big deal about you and Krystal after the Aparoids were defeated."

Fox remembered all too well. Everyone asked about when they were going to get married, between his friends, the media, and random passerby on the street. It was bad enough when Tricky asked about it on Sauria.

"Well…" Fara looked around the room. "I noticed Krystal's not here, and I thought it would be impolite to ask about it. That's why I didn't bring it up until now."

Krystal's not here. Turning away from Fara, he closed his eyes, rubbing a hand over them. Leaning against the kitchen island, his other hand grasped around the edge of the counter, he said, "She left."

Fara's ears jumped up. "You broke up?"

"Not exactly." Fox crossed his arms, looking at the floor.

Fara tilted her head. "Not exactly? What does that mean?"

"It's a little complicated." He shook his head. "I've had a long time to think about it." He forced a smile on her though, but it felt as insincere as his following words. "Uh, we don't have to talk about it though, I'm fine."

"No... You're not." She put a hand on Fox's muzzle, rotating it to face her. "Look, there's no need to bottle yourself up like this, just because I'm here."

"I'm not trying to bottle myself u—"

"I've seen you do this before, back in the academy. Whenever something really hurt your feelings, you always tried to hide it. You'd push everyone else away and disappear for a while."

Fox glanced away from her. She was right, now that he thought about it. In fact, he acted like that after Fara herself broke up with him. He hid in his dorm room for the better part of a week after it happened, refusing to talk to anyone and only coming out when he needed to eat.

"I'm just…" Fara sighed. "You look really upset about Krystal, and it doesn't look like it's doing you any good to keep it all to yourself." She put an arm around his neck and shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it some?"

Tears hung on the edge of Fox's eyes as he looked back at Fara. What did he have to gain keeping all this heartbreak buried deep inside himself? It didn't make him feel any better, and he didn't have anything to lose by talking to her. Maybe it was time to try opening up to someone else about this. "Okay…" He wiped his tears away. "I guess I'd like to talk about it. But…maybe we should do this somewhere more private?"

Fara gave a gentle nod, understanding his concern.

Fox led her out of the common room and over to the dormitory section of the ship, the pair of them entering Fox's cabin. Everyone noticed one thing right off the bat about his room: photographs. The walls overflowed with pictures from past chapters of his life. A prominent black and white photo covered most of the back wall, showing twelve-year-old Fox, his mother Vixy, and his father James. They stood in front of a spaceship's window, showing the original Great Fox under construction at Space Dynamics' orbital shipyards behind them. Another showed the Star Fox team after they defeated Andross in the Lylat Wars, waving to the cheering crowds from the back of a convertible in a victory parade, confetti and streamers flying all around them.

But tonight, his eyes focused on one particular photograph on the nightstand. The framed picture showed him and Krystal on Sauria, dressed in outdoor gear and hauling large rucksacks, massive smiles on both of their faces. She was giving him a huge hug from behind, rubbing his white tuft of hair askew with a free hand. Fox looked sheepish and embarrassed but he still grinned all the same. A large jungle spread out behind them, High Top dinosaurs munching on the leaves of the tallest trees with their long necks. The two foxes took a little vacation there after defeating the Aparoids. It happened a year ago now, but to him it could have been another lifetime at this point.

He turned to look at Fara, noticing her eyes focused on the picture as well.

"You two look so happy there…" She glanced over at Fox, taking a seat at the desk while he sat nearby on his bed. "What happened?"

"Well…" Fox frowned, looking at the floor with clasped hands. He couldn't speak for a few moments. Fara let him gather his thoughts, which he much appreciated. "You know the story behind her homeworld right?"

"Cerinia?" Fara looked at the picture of them again. "I don't know a lot, other than it's destroyed now."

He nodded. "It only happened a couple years ago. I knew she was still hurting about that, as much as she tried to hide it…"

Several months earlier…

Fox crouched underneath his Arwing, a panel open in front of him. Something seemed to be wrong with the portside laser cannon and he was inspecting the inner mechanics of it. Normally that duty would have fallen to Slippy, but the toad was busy with something else and Fox decided he'd try to fix it himself. Alone in the massive Hangar 1, every sound bounced back to him multiple times over. He dropped a wrench to the metal floor, but the sound was magnified into something that sounded more like a church bell clanging. Ears turning back in annoyance, he picked it back up.

A set of soft footfalls approached, a light sniffling heard over the top of them. Fox's ears rotated towards the sound, as he moved out from under the ship. Krystal walked towards him, rubbing a finger underneath one of her teary eyes. Usually she put on a smile whenever he was around, but he understood why she would cry like this every once in a while.

Fox gave her a warm smile as she approached, holding his hands out. Normally she'd fall right into them, but this time she hesitated. Seeing him waiting and his concerned look, she gave him a big hug. Even so, her arms felt stiff, the sniffles still prominent, like she was bracing herself against him instead of melting into his grasp. Whatever this was, it was something serious.

"Krystal." Fox pulled back, frowning. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, aquamarine eyes feeling like they were staring deep into his soul. "There's something I need to ask you about."

"What?" Fox smiled, running a hand through the fur on the side of her face. "You can ask me about anything, you know."

She sniffled again. "This is something I've been thinking about for over a month. I've been too afraid to ask until now."

An ominous feeling descended on him, a slight chill running down his spine. Nonetheless he nodded for her to continue.

"Umm…" She averted her eyes from him. "I've heard a rumor about something. I don't know how true it is but…there may be a Cerinian colony out there that survived the destruction of my homeworld."

"That's great news!" Relief washed over Fox, his eyes brightening back up again. "Why are you acting like this?"

Krystal's ears rolled back, as she shut her eyes. As soon as it happened, Fox found the happy mood gone again, replaced by the dread. This was probably the part she was preparing him for. "If you don't mind, I…" She took a deep breath. "I—I want to leave Star Fox."

His hands clutched a little bit tighter around Krystal, as though he were afraid she'd vanish. "You're leaving me?!" he blurted out.

"Oh no, no, no, Fox!" she shook her head. "It's nothing like that! I just want to go out and look for that colony."

He was on a rollercoaster of emotions right now, each thing she said sending a new shockwave through his system. If she wanted to search for that colony then— "I want to go with you!" He said the words without hesitation, a huge smile on his face, as he felt relieved all over again.

"R—Really?! You will?"

All the worry melted away from her face.

"Of course!" Fox nodded.

She buried herself into his arms, putting her muzzle right underneath his and nuzzling into his chest fur. The two of them held onto each other, letting each other's glow wash over them. And to think both of them had been worried. Pulling back, Fox grinned at her once more.

"Okay, so this colony, where is it exactly?"

"Umm…" Krystal's ears folded back, looking away from him. "The system it's in… It's the uh… Diaspora System."

Fox narrowed an eye. He'd been to a lot of places, but that system sounded new to him, raising an important question. "How far is it from Lylat?"

Krystal cleared her throat. "A couple of weeks away by warp… I think." She looked away from Fox. "One way."

Fox's tail dropped. The air let out of his enthusiasm like it was a leaky balloon. A trip that far would be expensive. Plus Star Fox would be missing out on business while out of system. He ran some figures in his head: how big his bank account was right now, the cost of fuel to fly out there, the extra wear and tear on the Great Fox II, and a number of other costs he would need to consider for such a trip. Maybe they could get a ride on a spaceliner and he could store the Great Fox II somewhere, but the docking fees would be horrendous and it'd be expensive and time consuming to start that ship back up again. Even doing the mental calculations in his head, he knew the math wouldn't work out. Sighing, he looked back at Krystal.

"I'm sorry Krys, but I can't afford to make a trip like that. I don't have the money to shut down Star Fox right now."

Moisture welled up on the underside of Krystal's eyes. Given her abilities, she probably knew what he was going to say even before he'd spoken it. Fox hated dashing her dreams. In fact, he would have loved to go with her. What a shame.

"Can I go by myself then?" she stepped in a little bit closer.

"By yourself?"

He knew she could take care of herself. Before they met, she'd travelled the galaxy alone for two years after her homeworld was destroyed. Even so, Fox had a terrible feeling if he let her leave, they might not see each other again. But she'd been agonizing over being the only Cerinian left ever since she joined Star Fox. Was it fair to make her wait to be reunited with her people? What if their roles were reversed? He chewed his lip, wincing as he weighed it all up in his head. He tried to think of some way they could make this work better, but ended up drawing a blank.

"I'm sorry Fox." Krystal took his hand. "I know I've forced a hard decision on you here."

Big understatement there. He looked at her, staring deep into her eyes. Even though she'd only been on the team for a little over a year, she already felt like an indispensable part of it, and he knew there'd be a massive hole in his heart without her around. But if this healed the hole in her own heart, he could stand her being away for a little while.

"Well Krystal." Fox forced a smile, looking back at her. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

Krystal frowned at the question. "Probably a month alone for the travel time, plus the time I'd need to investigate the system. Maybe…you could give me about three months?"

"Three months? Okay." Fox nodded. "I can live with that. I'll tell you what, three months from now I'll make sure we're docked over on Corneria. Give me a call when you're headed back. We can meet at that little café you like in downtown Corneria City and you can tell me all about your little adventure when you get there." He chuckled. "I'm going to be really jealous when you get back. This sounds like an incredible journey you're going on."

Krystal chuckled too. "That sounds great Fox. Okay, three months it is."

"Kiss on it?"

She didn't even wait, pulling him into the biggest, longest kiss they'd ever shared, the two of them embracing and holding onto each other like they would die if they let go of each other.

"She loaded her Cloudrunner fighter for the trip and I waved her goodbye the next day." Fox sighed, tears welling up in his eyes. "Exactly three months later, I went to that café like I promised I would. I waited there all day, and even went back there for a few days afterwards. She never showed up, never even gave me a call. I don't know where she is now." He buried his head in his hands. "I had that feeling I might lose her forever if I let her go… I think I was right."

Not knowing why she didn't come back made it all the harder to deal with it. Did something happen to her? Was she dead? Captured by pirates? Stranded somewhere? Did she decide she was happier staying at the Cerinian colony instead of coming back to Lylat? What could it be? It could be any of those reasons or none of them, and not knowing had been eating away at Fox ever since the lonely day in the café. He'd spent almost every free moment dwelling on her disappearance and what a big mistake he'd made letting her go on her own.

Fara laid an arm over his back, pulling him in closer. She patted him a few times, letting him rest against him. Fox appreciated the gesture, nodding his approval.

"You know where she went. Ever thought about going to the Diaspora System to look for her?"

"I've considered it, but I still don't have the money to make the journey. I could sell off some of Star Fox's assets to finance it, but that'd put me out of business. I love her, I really do. But this is putting me between a rock and a hard place. There's no telling if she's even still in that system." Even so, over the past few months, he seriously considered shutting down Star Fox and selling everything off so he could follow after her. Should he do it or should he not do it? The question tormented him endlessly.

"Peppy's paying you pretty good for this mission though, isn't he?" Fara asked.

"Yeah, I'd say so." Fox smiled, wiping his tears away. "And it will be enough to make a trip out there."

She chuckled. "All the more motivation to get this job done quickly, huh?"

"I would say so." He glanced over at the alarm clock on his night stand. "Oh, looks like it's almost seven. We should get going on supper."

"I am so looking forward to that bountiful feast of instant noodles and whatever you've got in those cans." She shook her head, chuckling.

Laughing, headed back towards the common room. Once there, Fox and Fara set out on a mission in the kitchen to throw together something vaguely appetizing. They tossed canned meat and canned veggies into a pot, cooked the instant noodles in a separate pot, and combined them to create a vague stir-fry concoction. They couldn't do a whole lot with the ingredients they had, although he admitted it looked better than anything he or his other teammates ever cooked. You'd think everyone in Star Fox would learn to become creative chefs, considering how much free time they had to learn between jobs.

After calling Falco and Slippy in, they sat around the dining table, eating what Falco dubbed the 'beef noodle thing' when he first saw what they'd made.

"So…" Fara said between tentative mouthfuls. "This is what it's like to dine as a Star Fox member, huh?"

"I might have missed working with you Foxie," Falco smirked, slurping some of the noodles. "But I sure didn't come back for the food. No joke, I've eaten better jail food than this." He pointed at it with a fork.

Fox was in the middle of a bite, and he choked for a moment. "Jail?!" He coughed, covering his mouth with his hand. "What happened?!"

Falco held up his hands, leaning back in his seat as he laughed. "Hey, whoa Foxie. Don't get the wrong idea. It wasn't a Cornerian jail or anything. No, this was some jail being run by a warlord on Zoness. Katt and I had a job in his turf, and we got in trouble with him and… well yeah. It's okay though. One little bribe and the guards let us walk right out. Warlord didn't pay 'em enough." He burst out laughing. "That's what you get for underpaying your goons."

"Sounds like you and Katt are still having wild times out there, huh?" Fara grinned, as she took a sip of some water.

"Yeah…I hate to say this Fox, but I definitely prefer Katt's company to yours."

"Oh, I'm soooooo jealous." He gave a sarcastic flirty wink. "So Katt let you come over to help out, huh? Can she hold up business on her end without you?"

"It'll be harder without me, for sure, but she knew how important it was for me to make sure everything was OK with Slippy's dad and you. She's all right on dealing without me."

Fox smiled, but inward he felt jealous about how Falco and Katt were still in contact and he could easily join right back with her after this job was done. Would he ever find Krystal again? Who knew where she was these days? The odds of running into her again would be slim to none…

A buzzer sounded next to Fox. The nearby comms screen beeped on the wall, showing ROB trying to contact them from the bridge. He hated being interrupted while eating, although he supposed it was probably important. Sighing, he walked over and pressed the button to answer. "Yeah ROB, what is it?"

"Incoming message for you from Fortuna."

"Fortuna?" Fox raised an eyebrow. Everyone turned to the comms screen with rapt attention.

"The message originated from a Cornerian scout ship in the area. It is intelligence related to your current mission."

Could this be a lead on Star Wolf's location? A smile tugged on the edge of his face. "I'll be right there ROB." The vulpine turned back to the table, waving for them to get up. "Well, come on guys! We better see what this is!"

The four of them hurried to the bridge, Fox excited about the prospect of getting some new intelligence. He never did like sitting around the Great Fox II waiting for jobs or new information to come to him. Going over this new data would be a pleasure, not to mention a relief. He was worried about Peppy sending them off to Fortuna without knowing anything else about what was going on. Hopefully this would fix all of that.

They dashed into the bridge, screeching to a halt next to ROB's slot at the front of the room.

"ROB, what you got for me?" Fox asked.

"Playing on the main screen now." ROB's turned his head around to face them.

The main screen lit up, displaying an image of a Cornerian dog soldier, wearing the traditional blue and yellow helmet along with a gray jacket. Pointed ears stuck out of the helmet, gray fur showing wherever more of his body could be seen.

"This is a message for the Star Fox team. Sir, we have new intel on the location of Star Wolf's mothership, the Retribution." The canine sounded almost as robotic as ROB, the visor adding to the impression. "They are docked on the dark side of Fortuna's moon Genma, currently operating in a reduced power state to conserve energy and to hide their signature. If you hurry, you can catch them and take them by surprise. See the attached data."

A 3D hologram popped up as the soldier finished his speech, showing a detailed model of the Retribution with specs and statistics to match. Fox stepped closer, examining the data. "That ship's got some serious firepower." He stroked his jaw, looking at the point defenses. "Missile batteries, laser turrets, a full carrier's worth of fighters and other ships…"

"Amazing Wolf's still got all that, even with how much of his force we captured back at Sargasso." Fara moved to look at the model beside Fox.

"Eh…" Falco waved a hand dismissively. "It's just one carrier and some fighters. What's the big deal? That's peanuts compared to Andross or the Aparoids."

"Don't underestimate Star Wolf, Falco." Fox turned around. "We've always beaten Wolf in the past, but one thing I know about him is he never gives up. Shooting him down twice during the Lylat Wars didn't stop him. The Aparoids didn't stop him." He looked over at Fara. "And losing Sargasso didn't stop him either. He's full of surprises, and that's why we can't treat this like business as usual."

"Come on, this will be a piece of cake!" Falco chuckled, sliding into one of the chairs around the bridge and leaning back into it. The bird put his feet up on the console in front of him, folding his arms around the back of his head. "Once the shooting starts, it'll be over in five minutes."

"It'll be over in five minutes for you Falco, if you don't watch it." Fara narrowed his eyes at him.

"We've lived this long in the merc business. We can handle this just fine."

"Yeah? Well I remember how being hotheaded and cocky kept getting you in trouble at the academy and—"

"Oh, you're gonna bring that up again?" Falco narrowed his eyes. "Well how about—"

Fox watched the two bicker back and forth. He wasn't worried though, grinning at the little argument. Those two fought all the time back in the flight academy. They'd get over it eventually.

Wait a second. Where was Slippy? Looking around, he spotted the toad studying the Retribution's 3D model, an angry scowl on his face. He'd never seen his friend with such a vicious expression. Slippy looked like he wanted to hurt someone. Badly. Fox felt scared to see him like this.

Nonetheless, he stepped over, putting a hand on the toad's shoulder. "You doin' OK Slip?"

Slippy didn't answer. Fox raised an eyebrow, resorting to snapping a finger in front of his face to get his attention. "Slippy?"

The toad glanced over at Fox, giving him only a periphery look. "I'm fine..." He turned back to the model.

Fox sensed his presence wasn't wanted. Even so, this was a conversation they needed to have. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Slippy's eyes stayed fixed on the data. "Just… looking for weak spots we could shoot. That's all I'm good at, after all."

"Maybe I could help you?"

"Just…" Slippy extended a hand to wave Fox away. "Go away, please?"

Fox's eyes widened, astonished at his friend's words. The vulpine couldn't recall a time in recent memory when Slippy outright rejected someone trying to make friendly chatter.

"Slip…" Fox put a hand on Slippy's shoulder again. "I know you're upset about your dad. You've hardly spoken since we left Corneria. But look, you can't fight Star Wolf like that. I need you to be focused and level-headed once we're out there. Can you do that for me?"

"I'll try," Slippy muttered.

Fox didn't like the way he'd said that. "If you want revenge, you have to stay alive. Letting emotions cloud your judgment could be fatal. Remember how I flew off to fight Andross by myself? It was a stupid mistake. I wanted to get back at Andross over my dad. I almost got killed when Andross triggered the self-destruct for his base. If it wasn't for—"

Fox stopped. He never told anyone about how his father came out of nowhere to save him back then, guiding him out of the exploding base. He still wasn't sure if that was real, or if it was something his subconscious cooked up as part of survival instinct. So he supposed it was best to keep it to himself.

"Anyway…" He coughed. "If I'd waited for the rest of you, we might have been able to destroy him before he got a chance to do that. I'm not gonna lie, it felt great to make him pay for what he did, but I really shouldn't have done what I did. I was a lot younger and stupider. I don't want you making the same mistake, okay Slippy?"

Slippy's eyes remained focused on the Retribution's model, but he did turn to give Fox a small nod.

"Okay, Slip. Look… We'll get back at Wolf. We'll take the case back, and maybe even put Wolf out of business for good while we're at it. But we can't do that if you're acting like this in the middle of battle. A team's only as strong as its weakest link."

"Like I need to be reminded of that." Slippy closed his eyes, sighing. "You always have to save me."

Fox winced. Big mistake saying something like that."S—Sorry Slip. But it doesn't have to be that way, okay?" He glanced back at the model of the Retribution. "Tell you what. How about you help me come up with a strategy for how we can deal with Star Wolf? Identify all the weak spots in their offense and defense? You're really good at that analyzing kind of stuff. It was a big help in the Lylat Wars."

"Analyzing kind of stuff?" Slippy gave Fox a small smile. "That's a weird way to put it."

Fox laughed back. "I guess so. Anyway, what do you say?"

"That sounds… good. It sounds good Fox." Slippy pointed at the 3D model. "Speaking of analyzing, this is a very detailed schematic here, even more than what my own programs and custom-made computers can do. I've got locations of ammunition dumps, fuel stores, turret locations and types, number and types of fighters; number of crew members, what divisions the crew members work in…" Slippy turned over to Fara, still bickering with Falco. "Fara, could you come over here?"

Fara looked up. While surprised at first, she seemed glad to have a chance to get away from Falco for a moment. She gave a sideways smirk to the bird, who in turn shrugged and returned to leaning back in his chair. Striding over, she said, "Sure! What's up?"

"Look at this." Slippy stepped aside to give her a better look at the images. "Is it normal to get all this data from Cornerian scout ships now? It's almost like they got ahold of the actual blueprints, inventories, and personnel records of the ship."

Fara looked at the model, examining the reams and reams of information. "No, this is crazy!" Her eyes went wide, ears turning back. She shook her head. "It's like Corneria upgraded its intelligence gathering services. The type of equipment needed to produce this data would have to be in testing back on Corneria. It wouldn't be on some random scout ship near Fortuna. It's almost… it's almost like…"

"Like you have a spy on the Retribution?" Falco called out. He slipped out of the chair, walking over to get a closer look at the 3D model with the others. "Can't think of any other way the information could be that deep."

"A spy?" Fox raised an eyebrow.

"We don't have any spies in Star Wolf that I know of." Fara leaned against a console, tilting her head as she wracked her memory. "But then again, I'm a test pilot for the military. I wouldn't know anything about our spy ops."

Fox folded his arms. "We're already going to Fortuna anyway. We know for a fact Wolf used Meteo's warp holes to get there. So either way, this doesn't change our original plan a whole lot. I hope the intelligence is underestimating things though. That's a big force." His eyes swept over the tabular data next to the ship's 3D model. He turned back to the group. "Anyway, let's look over all this tonight and use it to come up with a plan. If we can catch them while they're powered down, this shouldn't be too much trouble. What do you say? Ready to figure out how we're going to get back at Star Wolf?"

"I'm all in." Fara smiled.

"Sure!" Slippy piped in, some of his old bubbly voice returning.

Falco shrugged. "I'd just prefer to wing it, but Fox, you're my…" He paused, then grinned. "Well, you're not my boss anymore. But I'll go along with it this time."

Fox smiled. Falco could be an ass sometimes, but the vulpine missed having him around. "All right, let's get started team!"