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CHAPTER 36
Pink Tears
Fox breathed in and out rhythmically, the treadmill underneath him set to a high speed as his feet pounded down again and again, his tail flapping behind him. Even wearing nothing but a tank top, workout shorts, and running shoes, he was sweating up a storm trying to keep up the pace.
He could've stopped for the day if he wanted to, considering he'd been at this for well over an hour already. He just needed a distraction. But this distraction wasn't doing it for him. The more he ran in place physically, the more he realized he was also running in place trying to get away from his intrusive thoughts. Those thoughts were for Krystal. He simply couldn't get her out of his head, no matter what he tried doing.
"Screw it…" he muttered, hitting the stop button on the treadmill in front of him.
He wiped away the worst of the sweat with a towel, making his way to the shower. As he let the water run through his fur and he washed himself down, Krystal still invaded his mind again and again, his regrets piling up one after another. You were wrong to let her go alone to Thaljista. Why did you do that? Why didn't you go with her? Why did it take you this long to follow after her?
He fired up the shower's blow dryer mode, his fur soon drying out, but these thoughts still dirtied his mind. He'd tried all kinds of things to distract himself. Movies, video games, lifting weights, sparring, reading… He always ended up right back with her again, no matter what he was doing. If he was going to be like this the entire trip, it was going to drive him insane. What else could he do now though? Was there anything else he could try?
Hmm…you know, I guess Tadao did leave his uniform in the brig. Guess I could get rid of it while I'm looking for stuff to do?
He frowned, thinking about the idea. The final exchange with Tadao at the Beltino Gate came back to mind:
"I'm just something to be discarded and forgotten about once I'm no longer needed."
That uniform was the last trace of the iguana aboard the ship. But as much as Fox didn't want to prove Tadao right, he also couldn't just leave that uniform there forever. Might as well just get it over with now, he supposed.
Several minutes later, the door to the Great Fox II's brig slid open. Fox looked inside, having changed back into his regular clothes now. A frown was on his face as the lights switched on, the vulpine's ears flattening to his skull as he approached the cell Tadao occupied before.
But when he turned the corner and looked inside, the uniform wasn't there.
"Hmm…?" Fox poked his head inside the barren white cell, although there wasn't anywhere to hide anything in the tiny room. That was the point of its design, considering he didn't want prisoners hiding weapons or other contraband.
A loud clank echoed through the corridor behind him.
Fox snapped his head around. His vision lingered on the ceiling where he thought he'd heard the sound. But after waiting for a minute, all remained quiet.
He turned back, giving the cell another quick look over, but again there was nothing.
"Weird…" Shrugging, Fox walked back out of the brig, hands in his pockets. Maybe someone else had picked up the clothes already? He would ask the others later.
Anyway though, maybe instead of distracting himself, he could do something to prepare for when it came time to search for Krystal. That being said, he still had one big problem on that front: Who would lead the team while he was gone searching? He hadn't been able to think of a solution that made him happy. Stan did suggest that Katt pose as the leader of the team while they were on Thaljista though, but that was only supposed to be pretend. He would still be the person actually leading them when no one else was looking.
What if I trained Katt to lead for real, while I was gone?
He cocked his head. The idea sounded ludicrous to him. I would give Star Fox to her? My father's legacy and my livelihood? She's a good friend, but would I trust her that much? He immediately thought of all kinds of awful ways this could play out. Like maybe the Great Fox II crashed in the middle of Thaljista's deserts or something.
What else could be done though? He was the guy who pulled together all the various personalities of his team and made them into an organized force. He couldn't just disappear whenever he felt like it and hope his team figured out how to do stuff on their own. How would the Lylat Wars have gone down if say Slippy and Falco didn't have him in the middle as a moderating force? What if Katt had been the one leading the team instead in that situation?
Yeah, but weren't you a rookie at the time too? You'd literally just dropped out of the academy right before taking charge of Star Fox. And you didn't have any time to get ready, either. At least with Katt, you've got a month to train her up, right?
That was also true… Plus she and Falco did run the Hot Rodders gang years ago, so she wasn't totally inexperienced in leadership. Hmm, guess I could give her a chance. And I do have a month to figure out if this is going to work too. I can pull the plug on the whole thing if I know everything will fall apart without me.
He nodded. No matter what he did though, he wasn't going to have an ideal situation for finding Krystal. But then he was in this situation because he'd been foolish enough to let Krystal go alone to Thaljista, a mistake he'd been regretting for months. Whatever the cost, he needed to fix his mistake. He wouldn't be at peace until he found her again. It was decided then. He would train Katt to lead Star Fox.
Let's go find her.
~X~
"So, you're the one I'll be looking after on the way to Thaljista?" The doctor sat next to Nail's bed as if meeting an old friend, a smile on her face. "I'll have you back on your feet before you know it, Mr. Strafer."
On the other side of the bed, Canma watched the mare. This friendliness…it wasn't genuine. After how the interrogation went the other day, the vixen hesitated to trust anyone affiliated with the Cornerian government.
"Of course." Canma forced a smile in return, crinkling her eyes to make it look more authentic. "I'm glad to hear that, Dr…?"
"Deberti. I am a Cornerian military doctor with plenty of experience, so you'll be in good hands." Dr. Deberti gestured to Rachel, giving her another smile. "Rachel here will be my assistant."
"Hi there!" Rachel was a lot more casual than Dr. Deberti was, extending a hand towards Canma across Nail's bed.
The vixen accepted it.
"I'm Rachel Mimosa! Just graduated from army nursing school, but don't worry, I've already got experience."
"Is that so?" Canma smiled back. This one was much younger and fresher than the doctor. More authentic. While she found Rachel's strange goggles a little off-putting, she already felt better being in the cat's presence. "You'll have to tell me more about that later."
Rachel turned to Nail in the bed. He regarded her presence in silence, with little other reaction. She raised her hand for a shake as well. Nail stared at the hand for a moment, but returned the gesture.
Rachel winced. "Wow, you've got a strong grip… Aaah!" She almost fell backwards when he released her hand.
Meanwhile, Dr. Deberti walked over to a terminal close to Nail's bed, tapping through the commands and menus. After a few more taps, she disconnected the monitor from the wall, carrying it in her hand as a tablet.
"So…I have reviewed your charts, Mr. Augustine Strafer. With most patients, I would tell them to relax and stay calm before I give them a dire diagnosis, but from what I understand that won't be necessary with you. Am I correct?"
Nail remained silent, but replied with a curt nod.
"Okay, good. That makes this easier, especially compared to some eighteen-year-old kid who had an accident in basic. Anyway…" She flipped through X-ray charts featuring his skeleton and spinal cord. "Says here you took a long fall. Several stories, and then you fell in a river, and the only thing that saved your life was that special suit you were wearing. And that was even after torture, I understand. Barbaric." She shook her head. "I hate to say it, but between that fall and having pieces of your tail sliced off, you've taken multiple injuries to your lower spinal cord. You may not be able to walk without mechanical assistance ever again."
Canma winced as the doctor summarized everything Star Wolf had done to him. She couldn't stop thinking of that horrible, rainy day on Fortuna. Seeing Nail after he was pulled from the river was just the cherry on top after losing Giichi and the case, plus the deaths of many other comrades. For all she knew, because of their failure, the Separatists didn't even exist anymore. Star Wolf…those bastards. All of this laid at their feet.
Nail for his part remained stone faced.
Dr. Deberti waited for him to say something or react, but gave up after a while. She flipped through another screen. "I brought aboard a few things to help with your treatment. A wheelchair at first, some parallel bars and stairs, then we'll move onto crutches, and finally…an exoskeleton system that will strap to your legs. With practice, you'll be able to move around with the exoskeleton legs as if they were your natural legs. Do you want to pursue this rehabilitation program?"
"Yes." Nail replied.
Dr. Deberti said before she was happy to be dealing with an unemotional patient, but now she appeared to be changing her mind. "Umm…okay then." She had a nervous chuckle. " I'll have all the equipment moved in here as soon as possible, and then we can begin. All right?"
"All right." Nail echoed her.
While keeping a close eye on him—like he was an alien creature that would attack as soon as she looked away—Dr. Deberti slid her chair aside, putting the tablet back in its slot on the wall. "I will be back shortly. Let me see if I can round up some help from the others. Rachel, come along."
"Yes, ma'am."
The two of them left the room, leaving Canma and Nail to themselves.
Canma sighed, before letting out a laugh. "An exoskeleton is the best they can do?" With how far behind they were, no wonder Corneria was obsessed with learning all of the technological secrets of Thaljista. At least this helped her stop thinking about taking revenge on Star Wolf for the moment. "Don't you think that treatment plan is dumb, Nail?"
"It's better than nothing," he replied. "I'm no good if I'm stuck in a bed or a wheelchair. I can't rescue Giichi from Gerrant like this." He said it so matter-of-factly, as if it were a minor inconvenience his spine and legs were busted.
Canma smirked. "Suppose you're right. Poor Rachel too. Stuck with those goggles to see." She wanted to discuss their situation more, but she was near one hundred percent certain there were surveillance bugs in the room listening to their every word.
Also, Dr. Deberti? They needed to watch her closely. As much as this doctor tried to put on a friendly face, she was another Cornerian stooge, no doubt having her loyalty groomed over decades of service. It would be safe to assume any information provided to her would eventually end up back with the OIC and Cornerian high command. Rachel seemed nice though. Young enough to where they didn't fully have their clutches in her yet. But she couldn't be talked to freely either. She also seemed naive, and would share everything told to her with the doctor.
The only solution was to follow Nail's example, and only speak when necessary. It'd be a long trip if she needed to watch her tongue closely, but maybe she could use this time for rest and meditation. There would be much to do once they made it back to Thaljista, assuming the Royalists hadn't taken over yet. Canma settled back into her cot and closed her eyes, doing her best to clear her mind in spite of the hard road laying ahead of them.
However, hard as she tried, she couldn't do it, and it wasn't because of the thought that this journey might be for nothing before it even started. Something in the back of her head was bothering her, like a bony finger scratching the inside of her mind. Could it be because the doctor reminded her of what they went through on Fortuna? This feeling reminded her of that horrible time.
After a while though, it slipped away, and she was able to go to sleep.
~X~
Down in the cargo bays, Slippy affixed a small yellow device to the side of a large metal crate. After pushing the red button on the device, the crate lifted up into the air with a small hum. He undid a catch on the side of the device, allowing a rope to spool out with a handle at the end of it. Now that the box had an anti-grav unit, all you had to do was pull it behind you, like a pet on a leash. It'd glide right over everything without any friction. No need for large groups of people or heavy machinery to move around cargo with a bunch of these handy things.
"Here you go!" He passed the handle over to Rachel.
"Thanks for the help, Mr. Toad!" Rachel smiled at Slippy.
"It's nothing!" Slippy smiled at her. "And just call me Slippy, okay? We're not the military. No need to be so formal around here. "
"I understand, Mr.— Ha, sorry. I better get going. Dr. Deberti's pretty impatient."
Slippy waved her goodbye as she took off, tugging the large box behind her. He reached over for a water bottle sitting on top of a shipping crate, only to realize it was empty. Wow, it'd sure gone fast, hadn't it? It'd be a bit of a walk to get from here back to the galley in the crew quarters, so maybe he could refill his bottle at a nearby restroom sink. Not as sanitary, but he didn't feel like walking a long way to get water right now. It wasn't like most of the restrooms on this ship got used, anyway.
Outside the cargo bay, he stepped onto a catwalk, looking over the hangar where the Arwings, Landmaster, and the Catspaw waited for the coming mission. The space was massive, with every step echoing back to him. Even after a year of Star Fox being based in this old Cornerian carrier, he was still getting used to finding his way around some parts of it, given it was originally designed for a crew of at least hundreds. Since they'd automated it to where a small crew could run it, there wasn't much of a reason to go to many parts of the ship for weeks or months at a time. Being in such a huge ship all alone would creep out most people, but he'd already gotten used to that from the original Great Fox.
The catwalk transitioned into a hallway closed in on both sides, rows of doors leading into storerooms alongside one wall. He absentmindedly hummed a tune in his head. Wasn't sure where he remembered this tune from though. Maybe it was some jingle from one of his retro games or something. He bopped his head with it, even closing his eyes and putting a little spring into his step as he did so.
Upon reaching the restroom, he put his bottle under the sink's faucet and turned the handle, water filling the container. His communicator trilled, showing it was ROB calling him.
Slippy tapped the button. "Yeah ROB?"
"Sensors reported a strange power draw in your area of the ship," the robot droned. "Suggest you check in the utility passageways."
"Okay, got it. On the way." Slippy finished filling the bottle and snapped it closed, and then looked for the nearest access hatch. Didn't sound like a big problem to him, but best to keep the Great Fox II in tip top shape as much as possible. They wouldn't have a lot of support on Thaljista if they ran into mechanical issues.
He found a hatch nearby, opened it up, and clambered inside a cramped passageway full of pipes, wires, vents, and other utilities snaking their way all throughout the Great Fox II. A series of dim lights activated as he climbed in, only just bright enough to see where you were going, but not much more than that. Being small compared to the other Star Fox members gave him an advantage here, considering how cramped these spaces were.
"Got an exact fix on the problem, ROB?" Slippy pulled out a flashlight, aiming it ahead of him.
"Suggest checking nearest access panel for power. Forty meters ahead, make a right turn at the junction, then another ten meters. Panel will be on the left."
"Thanks."
He followed ROB's directions, soon arriving at the spot. On first glance he didn't see anything wrong, but then he noticed the cover appeared to be slightly crooked, with one of the latches undone. He popped the cover open, looked underneath to see if anything was amiss, didn't notice anything, and then slammed the cover shut, putting everything back the right way. He glanced around the area, waving his flashlight around, but didn't notice anything abnormal otherwise.
"ROB, is that power draw still active?" Slippy asked.
"Negative."
"Okay, I didn't see anything that stood out to me over here." He made his way back towards the access hatch he'd used to enter the utility corridor. "Guess we'll wait and see if the power draw happens again later."
"Affirmative."
~X~
Katt's tears flowed down her cheeks, mixing with the water that flowed through her fur as she leaned against the wall of the shower. The water made little pink streams down her body, coursing every which way.
I work so hard to keep this dye in perfect shape. Now I'm flushing it all down the drain! She held up a bottle of special shampoo, a variety designed to flush out dye fast. Never in her worst nightmares did she think she'd be using something like this.
Hesitating, she poured some of the shampoo into her hand, and started running it over her other arm, watching as more of the pink dye came right off, turning the pink streams into rivers. Pink dots splashed all over the wall as she rubbed back and forth. This was so painful, those drops might as well have been her blood. Shutting her eyes, she cleaned faster. If she had to do this, she wanted it done quickly. Like ripping a bandage straight off your arm. She clenched her teeth, still crying as more of the pink ran off and circulated down to the bottom of the shower. After working her arms, she ran her hands over the rest of her body, going down her chest, legs, and running a hand over her tail. What the hell happened? How did I get to this point in my life?
After several more minutes of vigorous cleaning with her eyes shut, she was afraid to open her eyes and wished they could stay shut forever. But of course, she knew she'd have to look eventually, and built up the courage to crack them open. Her precious dye covered the white walls and floor of the shower, tinting everything a shade of blush. If that was what the walls look like, then what about herself?
Gulping, she raised up her hands.
Her eyes widened, as she turned them over and over again. Dark gray fur covered them, with lighter spots of cream in the center of the paws. This is me? This is what I actually look like? She turned off the water, opening the door and reaching over to switch on the shower's blow dry mode, when she froze. The mirror was only a few steps away. Katt's heart raced. Just do it. Let's get it over with. She stamped over to the mirror with her eyes shut, before she snapped them back open again.
A complete stranger looked back at her, as shocked as she was.
Like her hands, most of her natural fur took on a dark gray color, along with cream portions on her muzzle, the insides of her ears, and along her chest. She couldn't stand it anymore, closing her eyes again and clutching her arms around herself. What have I done to myself?!
Someone rapped on the door of her cabin.
Ugh, why did someone have to come to her room now, of all times?! "Wh-who is it?" she called out, water still dripping off her fur.
"Fox." His voice was muffled by the door. "Katt, can I talk to you about something? It's kind of important."
"I-I need a minute…" To mourn, that is.
"Okay," Fox called back. "I'll wait."
Once she pulled herself away from the mirror, she got back into the shower, activating the blow dryer mode. Hot air scorched her fur, hitting her from all sides and blasting away the rest of the water like a shockwave. After a few minutes she was clean and dry, back into her favorite clothes: jeans, yellow tanktop, and a black vest with red accents. It made a great contrast to her pink, which was why she liked the color combination, but now–she kept looking at her arm–it was all ruined.
Once she felt ready, she headed over to the door to let Fox in. But when she reached it, she hesitated to hit the button. How could she show herself to anybody in her current state? She was an alien in her own skin right now.
Like ripping off a bandage. Just do it fast.
Grimacing, she hit the open button. The door slid open, but she shut her eyes.
"Um, Katt?" Fox said. "Are you all right?"
Though it was like trying to pry open a bank vault's door, Katt nudged her eyes open again, looking up at the vulpine's face.
He seemed just as startled as she had been when looking in the mirror. "Wow, I thought you were a stranger at first. It's freaky." His ears curled back in embarrassment. "Um…sorry. I shouldn't have put it that way."
Katt mumbled, "It's okay." She was in too much of a daze, barely registering his words and avoiding looking him in the face. This whole situation was like a weird dream. She kept hoping she'd wake up, as she curled her tail around herself. "So…what did you need?"
"Do you mind if we sit?" He gestured to the cabin's desk chair near the bed.
She nodded, sitting on the bed while Fox took the chair.
He leaned forward, looking at the floor and pressing the palms of his hands together, a long silence between them. It took him some time to gather himself up before he could speak. "So uh…do you remember when Stan said you were supposed to be the 'leader' of Star Fox? Since many cats on Thaljista will only respect us if a cat is leading us?"
"Uh, yeah?" Her ears perked up, looking at him. "But I also remember he said you'd stay the leader in reality."
"That's right, but Katt… You, uh…" He paused again, looking straight at her. His mouth moved a few times, but he couldn't quite seem to form the words. At long last, they came out. "You… I want you to lead Star Fox for real."
Silence settled between the two of them, eyes locked together, no sound but the water dripping in the shower's drain pipe.
"Um, you're serious?" Katt tilted her head.
He didn't even seem to believe what he was saying, but he nodded with reluctance.
"But why? You worked so hard building Star Fox. And you're just going to…give it to me?"
When she described it that way, a mortified expression crossed his face, as much as he tried to hide it. She could see it. Like it was only now sinking in just how terrible of an idea this was. He said nothing though, his tail trembling next to his leg.
"Are you sure about this?" She asked. "What's wrong with just play acting I'm in charge?"
"Uh…I think if I trained you to lead the team for real, it'd make your performance more authentic, right?"
"That's true, but you make it sound like you're going to just give me your whole PMC and then…I don't know, just vanish."
"No, no Katt!" He raised his hands up, his eyes frantic. "Nothing like that! This is only temporary. Until the mission's complete."
Katt reared back, eyes wide. Wow, he got real sensitive all of a sudden. While puzzled by this reaction, she said "Even so, these are big shoes to fill. I'm standing in for the great Fox McCloud."
"Don't worry." He forced a smile. "This won't happen all at once. I want to train you while we're on the way to Thaljista. What do you think?"
Katt frowned, looking back at him. I don't know, especially with how weird Fox is acting.
"I'm sorry Fox." She looked down at his feet, still brushing the fur on her arms. Tears threatened to form on the edges of her eyes. "But I need some time to myself first. I'm still dealing with…all this." She held up her gray-furred arms. Aside from her color, nothing else about her had changed physically. Normally she was the one acting all arrogant and sure of herself, teasing her opponents, flirting with her friends, but all of that attitude had been washed away along with her fur dye, leaving her nothing but hollow, unsure, and scared.
Though disappointed, Fox nodded back. "Okay, I understand." He stood up from the desk, making his way to the door, turning around once he reached it. "Let me know how you feel later, okay?" Fox gave a sad smile as he left, the door sliding shut behind him.
Katt took a long stare at the door, before she flopped backwards onto the bed, a tired sigh escaping her mouth. She held her arms over her head, and couldn't stop running her hands over their fur again and again. It was like her subconscious believed the gray fur was soot, and if she just scrubbed hard enough, the pink fur would be revealed again. But no… even she couldn't deny the gray went all the way down to the roots.
Time passed, Katt didn't know how much. She laid frozen on the bed, a blank stare as she looked at the plain gray ceiling overhead. As plain and soulless as her new color. What am I going to do? I can't lay on this bed forever. It was inevitable she'd have to face the rest of the team like this. She supposed the first step was to stand up. That wasn't too hard, right? Well, here goes… She dragged herself off of the mattress, standing tall, and facing the door. Okay, I'm ready.
Someone pounded on it.
Startled, she almost let out a small shriek. When I said I was ready, I didn't mean right this instant! "Uhh…who is it?"
"It's Falco!" the bird called out. "Katt, you've been layin' in your room for like two hours! Aren't you gonna come out? Fox said you lost the dye. I wanna see what ya look like! Rachel's out here too!"
Taking a deep gulp, she pushed the button and slid the door aside.
Once Falco got a good look at Katt, his mouth hung wide open, curling up into a sarcastic grin. "Who are you and what have you done with Katt?"
Katt considered slapping him—claws out—but she was still too upset over her fur to strike.
Rachel's response was more pleasant though. "Come on Katt! You look great that way." She ran a hand over the dark gray fur. "I like your new look! Your natural color is fine. There's no reason to be ashamed or anything."
That lightened Katt's spirits, but she wished they'd stop staring at her. Sure, usually she loved being the center of attention, given she liked flirting and being sassy. But being without her pink for the first time in decades? It was like being stark naked. And not in a fun way. She pulled her tail around from behind herself, looking at the white tip. It twitched in her grasp. "I remember now. I couldn't stand being gray as a kid. It made me think of slush after a winter storm, or an ugly cloudy sky on a rainy day. That's why I went pink and never looked back."
"Gray can be beautiful too." Rachel said. "Like the gray on a sleek space fighter. Besides, your blue eyes go really well with gray too."
"Come to think of it…" Falco looked closer at Katt's face, smiling. "She's right! I've known you for years, but I never noticed your eyes until now. The pink always drowned them out. They're such a deep blue. I feel like I could swim forever in them!"
Wow, a compliment from Falco? That was a rare thing. If he gave you one, you earned it. She finally cracked a smile. "Falco, thank you." It wasn't much, but for the first time, she didn't feel so bad about her new look.
"No problemo, Katt!"
However, Katt's smile soon faltered, as she looked away from the other two.
"Hey, are you okay?" Falco asked.
She shook her head. "You know how Fox wanted me to stand in as the leader of Star Fox while we're on Thaljista? Apparently he wants me to do it for real."
"What?!" Falco gasped. "You're kidding! I work for Fox for years, and then I get passed over?!"
"Falco!" Rachel hissed at him. "That's not what this is about!"
Even if Falco was trying to make this about himself, Katt wasn't bothered. In fact, his words got a chuckle out of her. "Falco, you know you've dumped Star Fox like…what? Two, three times now? Is it any wonder he passed you over for me?" Her smile soon faded though. "Honestly, I wish it could be you instead of me, though."
"What?" Falco raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"In battle, you've been Star Fox's second in command for the longest time. You'd be the natural successor after Fox. Also, you were the one who led the Hot Rodders while you were still around. You were the one always looking out for me back then. Always coming to save me."
"But when I left our gang, didn't I say it's because I knew you were ready to look after yourself? That you could handle things on your own?"
"I know, but me taking over the most famous mercenary team in Lylat?" She gestured to the ship around them. "That's a lot to live up to, Falco."
"Come on Katt!" he held her by the shoulders. "Where's your spirit? Where's you calling me 'little man' and all that? Where'd all of that go? Besides, we're only famous in Lylat. Nobody knows who Star Fox is over in Thaljista. That's the whole reason Stan wanted us to go with this plan in the first place. You don't gotta worry about our rep! And if you need pointers on how to lead, don't worry! You've got both me and Fox here to give you advice if you need it. We're all friends here and we know how to work together, don't we? It's why Peppy pulled us back together in the first place."
"You're right about all that. But doesn't this whole thing feel strange?" Katt asked. "First this was only supposed to be pretend, now Fox wants me to actually become the leader. When has Fox ever given even a hint he wanted to let someone else take the reins?"
"But if Thaljista is the way it is, he may not have a choice," Rachel said. "If we didn't have to do this, I'm sure he'd be happy to stay as commander."
"That is a good point Rachel," Falco said. "He doesn't want to do this, but he has to regardless. And that's why he's so upset over the idea. I totally get why he's so nervous." Falco patted Katt's shoulder. "Anyway, don't worry. It'll be fine. We're all here for you."
Though Falco giving her a reassuring pat was meant to encourage, it weighed more on her than he probably intended. These people she was about to command were not just friends. Far more than that. They'd been going on missions and adventures together for years now. It'd mostly been Fox keeping them all in line, and he'd done a great job ensuring they'd still get to fly together in the future. How did he deal with all of that pressure? Sure, off the battlefield, he could be clumsy with his words, or turn into a bashful mess around Krystal, but it was like he transformed once he got into the cockpit. He always knew just the right order to give to ensure they all made it through and the mission succeeded.
And now I have to be the one to do that.
She looked Falco back in the eyes, an uncertain expression on her face.
I need to stop fretting about this fur. Compared to what's ahead, losing my pink color is nothing compared to that. If I don't get my head on straight, I could lose some people who are very close to me, like Falco. Okay, I'm gonna do the best I can to get over my stupid problems with my fur color. It's time I took this seriously.
"Thanks, both of you. Guess I'll tell Fox I'm on board with the plan." She smiled again, but it soon faded away as she looked down at herself again. I just hope I don't get too much attention from my makeover…
~X~
"Whoa, Katt!" Slippy looked her over as he entered the Great Fox II's bridge. "Wow, I didn't—"
"You didn't recognize me, I know." Katt sighed.
"Come on Katt, cheer up." Fara walked in behind Slippy. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. You look fine that way."
Katt clenched her teeth.
Fox could feel her anger secondhand, even from the other side of the bridge. Maybe I should've waited longer before calling the team together. I'll just start the meeting now and end it fast, for her sake.
"Okay guys, let's get started." He settled back into the captain's chair while everybody else either sat in nearby chairs or stood near him. "So, Falco already knows, but Slippy and Fara… I'm going to train Katt to lead Star Fox for real, even though Stan only wanted us to pretend she's the leader."
Fara and Slippy looked at each other, before Fara stood up and turned to Fox.
"Why are you doing this?" Fara asked.
"I just thought it'd be the best way for our mission to succeed. It'd make her performance look more realistic."
Fara glanced at Katt. "Hey Katt, do you agree with this?"
"Well, yes," she said, although she couldn't seem to stop scrubbing the gray fur on her arm while she spoke. "Fox…he can't lead us on Thaljista due to the local culture. If we want to get the support of the locals, we have to do this. If it'll help us finish the mission, I…I'm going to do my best." While she tried to put on a brave front, her voice had an air of uncertainty.
Though Fara didn't look satisfied with Katt's reply, she returned to sitting back down, giving Fox a hard, judging stare.
A small silence settled over the room after that, but Falco decided to change the subject to keep the conversation rolling. "You think we should redesign the team's logo while we're at it? I don't think this 'Katt is the leader' business would work if our fighters had that winged fox emblem on them."
Cover up my insignia too? Fox froze, a blank stare in his eyes.
"He is right, Fox." Slippy said. "I don't like it much either, but it would be noticed if we did nothing about it."
Fox chewed his lip. They were right. It had to be done to keep up the illusion. And it was just a symbol, right? It's not like there wasn't anything stopping him from changing it back once they were done with this mission. Even so, the idea made his stomach churn. Dad came up with that logo when he founded the team. What would he think of covering it up with something else? But again, Krystal. If it's to save her, I'm sure he'd understand… He gave a reluctant nod. "Okay, guess we'll do that too…" What a test this was for him. And they hadn't even gotten to the hard part yet.
"I guess we really are going to have Star Katt be a thing, huh?" Falco smiled and looked at the others. "We do want to call it that, right? It's kinda cliche, but it's the obvious choice. Star Fox, Star Wolf, Star Katt… What do you think, Katt? It's gonna be your outfit."
"Um, the team name?" She seemed confused by the question.
"What do you want to call your team?" Falco repeated. "We can't be callin' ourselves Star Fox if we're being led by a cat, after all."
She glanced around the faces, everyone looking to her for an answer. This was going to be her first decision as leader. "Umm, I guess you're right. We do need another name. But I don't know. It didn't cross my mind." She seemed just as uncomfortable with changing the name and logo as Fox was.
"Maybe we could paint all our ships neon pink to match the Catspaw!" Falco joked.
"Okay, I draw the line there!" Fox made a slashing motion with his hand.
The bird let out a great big laugh, as he turned over to Katt. At least that got a small smile out of the feline.
"Besides, I don't think we've got any pink paint aboard anyway," Slippy said.
"You know I was kidding, right Slippy?" Falco smiled. "Anyway Katt, what do you think our new name and logo should be?"
Katt leaned against a nearby console, deep in thought. "I need to think about it. Maybe I'll go with Star Katt, maybe not."
"Take your time," Fox said. "No need to rush. We've got a month." While he felt better now that Katt had accepted his proposal, he couldn't believe he'd just given somebody else permission to change his team's name and emblem. He kind of hoped she would decide to pick Star Katt. At least that wasn't too far off the name Star Fox. Maybe they could make some slight tweaks to the winged fox emblem to turn it into a winged cat. Not quite the same, but close enough to where he didn't think it'd bother him too much. He went to the next topic on the agenda.
"So…training. I want us to do some exercises in the simulators with Katt leading us." He turned to Slippy. "And Slippy, I'll work with you on designing some mission scenarios. Stuff that'll require Katt to direct the rest of us in an organized way for success. We downloaded some topographical maps of Thaljista before we left, and we'll integrate those into the sims. It'll help us get familiar with the lay of the land before we make it there."
"Leave it to me, Fox!" Slippy saluted with a smile. "I'll have some stuff built in no time!"
Fox smiled at him, before looking back at Katt. She did her best to put on a brave smile, although he could see that lingering doubt in her eyes. At least she seemed more eager to fill the role now compared to before. It was a start, hopefully something they could iron out in the sims.
"Well, guess that's it for now," Fox said. "I'll call you up once we're ready to start doing sims together."
From there, the group dispersed. Fara left the room with a sour look on her face, still giving Fox the side eye as she departed. Meanwhile Slippy went over to ROB and started talking to him as well, likely about some tech issues.
Falco walked up to Katt and spoke to her. Fox couldn't quite hear the words, but the two of them left the bridge together, having an animated conversation. Katt had a smile on her face. The two of them had a good talk while Katt was still down about her fur, and that was what had gotten her more confident about the idea of taking charge of the team. Maybe this would work after all, with Falco around to help Katt build up her confidence. Sure did help the two of them had been close for a long time, even before their time working with Star Fox.
Fox decided there was nothing left for him to do here, and opted to leave the bridge. He stepped out through the door, not knowing what to do next, when he spotted Fara leaning against the wall in the hallway outside, glaring right at him.
"You need something?" Fox asked, slight irritation in his voice.
"No." She stepped in his way. "It's you who's up to something."
"And?" Fox folded his arms.
"This isn't like you at all. This team is your baby. You wouldn't just hand it over to someone else like this, no strings attached."
Fox grumbled under his breath. "It's only temporary."
"It might be. But I think there's more to this than just ensuring Katt looks more authentic as a leader. What is it, Fox?"
He refused to answer, trying to push past her.
She blocked his path again, slamming a hand into the wall in front of him. "Did Stan give you some secret orders or something you're not sharing with the rest of us?"
"Absolutely not." Fox hissed. "This was my decision alone."
"Then what's your reason behind your decision?"
"I already told you. To make Katt look like our actual leader. I think it raises the odds of mission success on Thaljista. That's all it is."
"I know you, Fox McCloud." She pointed at him. "I knew you before you ever took over this team, before you met Krystal. You wouldn't hand over your dad's team to someone else like this."
"Look…" His lips curled up, showing a glimpse of his sharp teeth, but he hid them again quickly. Her mentioning Krystal got him flustered. "I'm not happy about having to do this. In fact, right now, I'm scared of what might happen during our first real battle with Katt leading. But if we don't put Katt in charge, we won't have the support of the locals. And if we don't, we're doomed to fail. We're going to be a long way from home. We will need all the help we can get out there. This is the only way to ensure we make it back in one piece. You got it?"
His answer appeared to put Fara off guard, as she took a step back. While she still seemed to suspect something, at least his answer appeared to have satisfied her for the moment. "Okay then. Maybe it is just your nerves showing, and that's all it is. But look, if you've got problems, don't be shy talking to the rest of us. It's not healthy to keep that stuff bottled up. You can talk to us."
"All right." Fox let out a long sigh of relief, glad that she appeared to be backing off. "Glad you understand now. Maybe I'll feel better after I've seen how Katt does in the sims. I'll see you later, okay Fara?"
"Okay."
He gave her a curt nod, as she finally let him past. Though he could feel her eyes burrowing into the back of his head, he chose to not look back. That'd been a close one, and he didn't think it'd be the last time she'd confront him like that. How would he escape the next line of questioning?
~X~
The next day, Slippy floated around in a digital world, hovering above the facsimile representation of Thaljista. He waved his hands about, arranging various icons meant to represent things like enemy forces, civilian settlements, landmarks, and the like. Being able to simply arrange things on the map with a flick of his hands made the process fast and easy. Here was an enemy squadron, over here was an enemy tank unit, and over here were some friendly Separatist forces… Just standard stuff, nothing too complicated. While he wanted a bit of challenge, he didn't want things to be too tough for Katt on their first sim mission.
He waved his hand again, pressing a virtual 'Close' button. The digital world blinked out of existence right before his eyes, as he pulled up the VR headset. The device was hooked into a terminal port leading into the simulators in the training room. Putting the headset on the table, he rubbed his eyes. Wow, did he feel cross-eyed or what? These things sure did wear out his vision. He reminded himself he needed to take more breaks…
A loud clank sounded behind him, Slippy almost jumping out of his seat. He whipped his head around.
"Jeez, don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry Slip…" Fox said, stepping into the simulator room through the cracked door. Somebody had left a chair too close to the door, and Fox had bumped it by accident. "Is the mission design going okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine." He held out the headset to Fox. "Here, take a look. I set it up the way you wanted it. Multiple enemy forces spread out over a large area, escorting transports. There's a VIP hidden on one of the transports, and we have to rescue them. A random number generator decides which transport they'll be on at the start of the mission, plus a few other things."
Fox put on the VR headset. "So Katt has to spread us out efficiently to find the right transport, before the VIP is taken out of the mission area." He waved his hands around to enter commands.
Slippy stepped out of the way a bit to keep Fox from hitting him by accident. "Yeah, plus the randomness means the mission will never play out the same way each time. Once we save the VIP, what the enemy uses next to stop us is random too. Might be more fighter squadrons. Might be a bunch of anti-air units. Or maybe even the VIP will have turned out to be a decoy, and the real one is somewhere else. Not too tough, but she'll have to stay on her toes."
"Sounds good, Slip." Fox removed the headset, smiling at him. "Hope she does a good job."
Slippy returned the smile, but Fox's words hit him hard.
This is really happening, huh? Slippy had basically worked his entire professional career under Fox. And now just like that, he was going to have to work under Katt? I mean, she's not a bad person or anything…but I've never had any other boss besides Fox. I'm just so used to him. I have no idea what it's going to be like when Katt needs to direct us for real. What is Fox thinking right now, anyway? I get his reasoning for making Katt seem more authentic as a leader, but Fara is right to ask questions. Something feels off about this whole thing.
"Wanna go get somethin' to eat?" Fox grinned. "You've been working pretty hard over here."
"Yeah, sure!"
Fox and Slippy walked down the hallway away from the simulator room, headed back to the galley. They passed the familiar view of the Arwings, Landmaster, and the Catspaw in the open hangar bay before they headed down the storeroom corridor. What to eat once he got back to the galley? Hmm…he was so hungry that anything sounded good right now. Amazing how he could get wrapped up in something so much he just forgot to eat.
His communicator trilled again, Slippy again seeing it was ROB. He pressed the button. "Yeah, ROB?"
"Strange power draw detected in that area again. You requested that I inform you if it happened again."
Slippy shook his head. "Déjà vu."
"What's goin' on?" Fox asked.
"Oh, ROB's just picking up strange activity on the grid in this part of the ship." Slippy shrugged. "It's not a big deal."
"Hmm…" Fox crossed his arms, thinking.
"Where's this happening, ROB?" Slippy asked.
"Suggest checking same power panel as last time."
"Wow, this really is déjà vu. Okay, I'll go check it again."
"Mind if I come with you?" Fox asked. "I just want to make sure–"
"–that the ship stays in good working order." Slippy nodded. "I know. I'm kinda nervous being this far away from Lylat too. Okay, if you like."
After a time, the two stood before the same power panel Slippy had checked earlier.
"Man it's cramped in here." Fox kept looking at the walls, keeping his arms close so he didn't bump into anything. Unlike Slippy, he had to slightly hunch over to keep from bumping his head into stray pipes and whatnot. "Glad we got you for this, Slip."
"Huh…" Slippy examined the power panel cover. "It's crooked again, and one of the latches is out of place again too."
"Again?" Fox asked.
"Yeah. Why would someone besides me come in here to mess with this panel?" Slippy turned around. "It was like this the first time I looked at it too."
Fox blinked, seeming to remember something. "Hey…do you know how we took away Tadao's uniform and gave him that blue jumpsuit instead? For him to walk around in the Beltino Gate concourse?"
Slippy thought he knew where this line of questioning was going, and he didn't like it. "Uh, yeah?" He clutched his hands together, starting to tremble.
"I remember we left his uniform in the brig. A couple days ago, I went in there to pick it up, but it wasn't there. I completely forgot to ask, but did you pick it up? I remember you were in a hurry to get rid of his machete, so I thought maybe you did it."
Slippy shook his head no, a nervous tremor running down his spine.
Fox narrowed his eyes, tapping on his communicator. "Hey, guys? Remember how Tadao had a Venomian uniform? He left it in the brig. Did any of you go in there to pick it up?"
A chorus of no's came back over comms. Nobody had picked it up. No one had seen it since they'd set off for Thaljista. Fox and Slippy locked eyes, both of them putting two and two together. They glanced both ways down the utility passageway. The lights only gave them enough illumination to see the walkway, but not enough to tell if somebody might be hiding behind a power box, or a pipe, or something.
Fox whispered into his communicator. "Everyone, go to the armory right now and gear up. We've got a stowaway…"