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CHAPTER 39

Departures

"Fox…hey Fox!"

"Eh?" He looked away from his phone to see Falco. "What is it?"

"Dunno about you, but I wanna go get some nice food! I'm tired of all that high preservative space food after a month!" Falco pointed at one of the stops listed on the monorail's route sign. "I'm looking at my phone and it says this stop's got some awesome places to eat!"

"Yeah, I want to go too!" Slippy chimed in.

"Same here!" Katt said.

Hmm… Stuffing his belly with something like actual meat that hadn't been frozen or wasn't artificial sounded excellent. In fact, now Fox couldn't stop thinking of a nice steaming plate full of steaks. Would've been awesome to go to a restaurant and order a few plates of that local Thaljistani delicacy, thoriece meat or whatever it was called.

But Krystal was far more important.

With a heavy heart, he sighed. "Sorry guys, but I have to run back to the ship. ROB just messaged me that there's some mechanical fault I need to check."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Slippy asked.

Damn, picked the wrong thing to lie about. Fox let out a nervous smile. "No, that's okay Slippy. I'll call if I need you."

"You sure?" Slippy asked, concerned. "No offense, but I could probably fix whatever it is faster than you."

"No, really. I'll head back to the spaceport." Fox smiled and shook his head. "You guys should go and have a good time. You've earned it."

"Um…" Slippy glanced at the others, twiddling his thumbs. "Okay then, if you say so."

They split ways on the monorail platform above, Fox waving them goodbye as he hopped onto a train headed to the spaceport while the rest of Star Fox took a train headed towards the city center. He watched the other train as they fell further and further apart. They probably wouldn't be back at the spaceport until dawn, in a mist of booze likely if Falco was leading the way…

He would've loved to give them a longer goodbye, considering he didn't know when he'd see them again, but that would've exposed what he was up to. He couldn't have anyone following after him. How terrible he had to do this to them. Seemed cruel and deceitful. Once their train was out of sight, he settled back into his seat, crossing his arms as he watched the skyscrapers whisk past him, the train gliding along the rails.

Better enjoy the smooth ride now. Things were about to get a lot bumpier.

~X~

"That's about everything that happened in Lylat," Canma said to Gail, Aug sitting beside her. They were in a small waiting room at Kinnor's central hospital, having closed all the doors for a private debriefing. Gail could tell Canma felt even worse about hers and Aug's failure in Lylat, after he told them more had died on Thaljista trying to stop Thaal-Ja's Calling from reaching Queen Kula afterwards. "Star Fox didn't tell us anything while we were on the way here, but I'm pretty sure Corneria didn't send them here out of the goodness of their hearts."

Gail frowned as she said that. "Don't worry, I figured that too. Damn Corneria's been like this the whole war. They might call themselves the good guys, but we know they're only helping because there's something in it for them." The wolf sighed. "We'll keep Star Fox under close observation. You think they might be getting direction from someone? OIC, maybe?"

"All but certain." Canma nodded. "I saw this goat in a suit hanging around them before we left. Guy screams Cornerian G-man."

Gail shook his head. "Fox is a good kid. So are the rest of them. Shame they're having to take orders from those goons."

"You think we should do anything about it?" Canma asked. "Keep Star Fox…umm…Nine Lives under surveillance? See who they talk to?"

"We pretty much already will be, since we'll be working closely with them for territorial defense. For now, I think we'll just sit back and observe them. Might give us a little insight into OIC operations on world." Gail rose from his seat, yawning as he looked at the late hour on the clock nearby. "Speaking of...Aug, I need to talk to your nurse one more time before I head home." He smirked and shook his head as he looked at the Cornerians' idea of medical treatment on his son's legs. "You just head to the experimental wing and get yourself patched up. I'm sure I'll have something for you before long. We will need to rescue Giichi eventually."

For the first time since he'd made it home, Aug's eyes lit up, turning towards Gail. "Of course, general." He rose to his feet, the servos and gears whirring as he did so.

Gail grimaced on the words 'general', but nodded to dismiss his son. Aug still didn't get it through his head to say 'dad' or 'father', even after reminders.

As Aug departed the room, Gail remembered something, turning to Canma. "Oh, um…the memorial service for the fallen is tomorrow morning. You still coming?" Aug would've shown up if Gail ordered him, but the wolf figured it'd be a bit pointless. Aug didn't have the capacity to grieve anyway.

Canma smiled but shook her head. "Thank you for the invitation, but I don't think I'll have time."

"What?" Gail raised an eyebrow. "But didn't you say you were going before?"

"I've got something important I need to take care of." She rose from her chair. "You probably won't see me around for a few days, or a week or so."

"Hmm…" Gail stroked his chin. Interesting. When he spoke to Razir back at the hotel, the sand cat had anticipated that Canma might say something like this. He didn't explain why though, only that he should let Canma go. "Well, take all the time you need. There isn't much going on right now anyway. We can't make any moves on the Royalists until we've got more intel."

"Thanks, Gail." She gave him a little side hug.

He smiled as she left. A rather informal gesture considering the difference in rank between them. But Razir had always let the Separatist military run more casually compared to something like Corneria's, given they were a lot smaller. He had a close relationship with many in the Sentinel program, considering his son was in it. And that would make the funeral tomorrow all the more painful, now that Canma had confirmed the deaths of everyone in their unit except for herself and Aug. Shame she wouldn't be there.

Well, onto the next thing he had to do. He stepped out into the hallway. Dr. Deberti's little assistant sat on a bench outside.

"Rachel, was it?" Gail smiled at her. "Thank you for waiting. You've done a wonderful job caring for Augustine." As best as you can do with old Cornerian tech.

"Thank you," she beamed at him, the lenses on her goggles adjusting and zooming to focus on him as he sat down next to her. "Why'd you want me to wait though? You sent Dr. Deberti off first instead of me."

He smirked. Dr. Deberti sure was none too happy about being dismissed instead of Rachel, once she gave the medical staff her report and data. Oh well, Gail didn't like that mare's attitude anyway. "You need those goggles to see, right?" Gail asked.

She frowned. "Yes?"

"Do you want to be able to see without them?"

Though the goggles obscured the top half of her face, seeing her mouth draw in a gasp was all he needed to see to know how shocked she was. "You…you can do that for me here?"

"Of course!" Gail laughed. "I'd be glad to arrange it, if you're interested."

"But won't it be really expensive, or something like that? It sounds too good to be true."

"Nonsense. It's not expensive. I can cover the cost for you. You'll have to spend some time with your face in a tissue regeneration bath, but having your eyes back again will be priceless, won't it? You being a feline will make it even easier. This treatment was developed for cats first, after all."

Rachel looked off to the side, pondering Gail's proposal. "I can't believe it's that easy, though." She looked at him. "You aren't joking about this?"

"Why would I be? It's not a new treatment around here. Its track record spans decades. I could have you visit with patients in this hospital undergoing it, if you like. Even in peacetime, you'd be surprised at the stupid shit some of the grunts under me get into."

Rachel listened to his proposal, mulling it over in her head. After a few minutes of silence, she turned back to him, the blue lenses of her goggles shining. "Okay…I'd like to hear more."

"Splendid." Gail tapped the seat next to her, standing up as he put his military cap back on. "Well, come by tomorrow morning. I'll drop in a word with the staff, so they'll be expecting you." He took one last look at her. "You know, I think you and my daughter would be good friends."

"Your…daughter?" Rachel hesitated, needing a second to process that. "Wait, so you're telling me that Nail has a sister?"

Gail blinked a couple of times, but then he realized what he'd just said. He smirked. "Ahah…they're both in their thirties now. It's been so long that I don't even think about how unusual that sounds. Since you've cared for Aug, I guess you know by now the unusual circumstances of his birth."

"Right, your wife is a fox? So normally, you'd be unable to have children with her."

"Yes, my wife Jeanine." He nodded. "Well, Aug wasn't our only child. My daughter Carrie is the other, born a couple years after him. Another hybrid." He sighed. "At least she got to grow up and live a normal life, unlike him. Do you think you'd want to meet with her?"

"That sounds interesting but…" She frowned. "Why did you let Carrie grow up as a normal person, but let Nail become like an emotionless killer robot?"

Gail lowered his eyes. She'd just broached something that he didn't want to talk about. He didn't even like thinking about it. But for the past thirty-nine years, he could never stop going over and over in his head if it was moral to bring Aug into existence in the first place, given his son's life had already been decided before birth. And it was Gail himself who decided to put him in the Retinue project, as payment for Carrie. Another living person…as payment. Like Aug was a slave. How am I any better than a slave trader out in the Thaljistani deserts?

He lowered his cap over his eyes, pushing past Rachel. "Just be here tomorrow. They'll be expecting you." Gail quickened his step, hurrying to get away from her.

~X~

After leaving the monorail station at the intended stop, the rest of Nine Lives found themselves within the city central square. What a spectacle it was. High rises towered above them, shining in the night sky over their heads. Palm trees lined the sidewalks, covered in streams of lights that kept the surroundings so brightly lit it was like daytime. Pedestrians went to and fro around them, as if this were nothing but a typical night out despite the war still going on. The only thing that gave a hint of the conflict was the large number of soldiers in uniform. Albeit they just seemed to be grunts out to have a fun night on the town. It didn't take long to spot drunks in their midst. In fact, Katt saw one dog soldier dancing around on top of a bus stop with his pants down and a bottle in his hands, heckling everyone below him. A police car headed his way to handle the situation.

"He's having a good time." Falco smiled. "I was afraid we'd be stuck in the middle of a desert out here. This place ain't bad at all!"

Though less enthusiastic about the display of public drunkenness–as it reminded Katt of some of Falco's less proud moments–she appreciated the levity after those meetings with Gail and Razir.

"So, fearless leader," Falco said. "Wanna pick where we eat?"

Katt waited for Falco to say something else, only to realize he was talking to her. "Huh? Oh…yeah." It still didn't feel right to her standing in as team leader, especially when Gail and Razir both wanted to talk to Fox instead of her. Regardless, she gazed around the square, trying to spot a restaurant. But with the amount of people running around plus all of the noise and flashing lights, it was hard to focus on any one thing in particular. "I'm not sure… I don't know this city. Fox studied up on this place before we left, right? Maybe we could call and ask him?"

"Hello folks! Ya'll new in town?" a twangy voice echoed in her ears.

A flyer got shoved into Katt's hand before she even knew what was going on.

She turned around to see a hawker holding more flyers, wearing a simple blue jacket and pants, plus a red ballcap over his face. "Lookin' for somewhere to eat? Try out Khalil's Kebabs just down the road! Best thoreice meat kebabs for the lowest price!" He energetically pointed towards a side street jutting off the square. On a building, there was a sign with the same words in orange neon lettering. "Good weeknight discounts!" Without missing a beat, he moved onto another group, already repeating the same spiel. "Hello folks! Ya'll new in town?"

Katt glanced at the flyer. While she'd never heard of thoreice meat, the picture of the kebabs tantalized her. Rows of sticks packed with chunks of meat and colorful vegetables laid over a grill. Something like this would be amazing after subsisting on space food for a month. The last couple weeks were especially hard…

"Y'know what?" Katt said. "This might be a scummy tourist trap, but let's go anyway. It's been a long day."

They crossed through the crowd, stepping up to the kebab place. It was kind of a dump, though. One of the windows was cracked, the neon letters occasionally flickered, plus there was a fair bit of trash laying around that probably should've been cleaned away days ago. Looking in through the windows, she saw the interior was little more than a kitchen, a small dingy dining room with no decoration, and a counter separating them. There weren't any customers inside.

But in the kitchen, the cat chef cut off slices from a chunk of meat on a rotating vertical spit, the machine spinning it past a glowing red heating element. It wouldn't be ladylike, but Katt had to admit it was tempting to sink her sharp teeth straight into that. She couldn't wait to have some slices of that on a plate, as she led them inside.

After they took their seat at a table, a chimp wearing a white shirt and an apron approached with a notepad. "Good evening! Thanks for coming in! What can I get for you?" His fur looked very well groomed, and he took all of their orders with a smile. After he left, he brought their food back in about ten minutes, but even that felt too long.

Nonetheless, they all happily chowed down on their own kebabs. Falco was like a machine, moving up and down each kebab like a typewriter moving a piece of paper back and forth. Katt had to agree with his enthusiasm. The juicy meat and roasted veggies on her own stick were like heaven to her taste buds. Even Slippy was into it, having ordered something with veggies instead.

Pretty good stuff, considering the price. Clearly this place had put most of their money into the food instead of the decor, which was fine by her.

The chimp returned one more time, no longer wearing his apron, a stern look on his face.

Katt scrutinized him. "You got the check or something?"

"No." The chimp said. "Something much more important than that."

"Hold on." Falco took a harder look. "I didn't get a good look at your face in the square, but didn't you give us the flyer before?"

"That I did." The chimp folded his arms. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings. With how easy I got next to you, I could've killed you all in the blink of an eye. Or I could've slipped something into your food."

Falco reached for his blaster under the table. "Okay pal, who the hell are you?"

"A representative of Stan."

"Stan?" Falco said. "You mean you're with—?"

The chimp covered Falco's beak with his hand instantly. "Don't say it out loud. People are listening." Then he pushed Falco away, almost sending him tumbling out of his chair.

Falco was peeved over his mouth being grabbed, rubbing it, but he kept his emotions in check.

"You can call me Quint. Consider this our meet and greet," the chimp said with a frown. The man carried himself with a wholly different stature compared to his hawker and waiter personas, standing tall and glaring down upon them, the cheerful tone of his voice replaced with a dead serious tone. He looked around the table. "Where's Fox?"

"He said he had to go back to the Great Fox II to check on something," Slippy said.

Quint mulled his response for a moment, though he didn't dwell on it. "What'd you discuss in your meeting at the hotel?"

What? He didn't care that Fox wasn't here? Then again it wasn't like Quint had told them in advance about meeting. Katt said, "Not a whole lot. They just talked about how it would be the end of the planet if Thaal-Ja were to rise. They want us to do a survey flight tomorrow, help us get a lay of the land."

"I see." Quint nodded. "Nothing big for you yet, apparently. But that'll change, I'm sure. Stan and I hope to see a good performance from you for the Separatists, plus detailed mission reports of anything you see while you're out there or anything they tell you about the situation on the ground. You are going to be our eyes and ears in the Separatists' war room. I might have some special orders for you on top of what the Separatists want you to do. I'm sure Stan warned you about this."

That he did. Katt got that sinking feeling in her stomach he felt when they'd talked to Stan back at the Beltino station, where they might have to betray the Separatists in favor of the Cornerian cause. She didn't think much of it back then, but now it was much more real to her. And as the leader, she would be the one telling the others to betray their clients.

"If you need to contact me, don't worry about finding me, because I'll find you. We thank you for your service. Oh, also, I'll get the check."

Without saying goodbye, Quint whipped out his red ball cap and blue jacket, slapped a few bills on the counter in front of the cat chef, then took off into the night, all within a few seconds. As the chef quietly slipped the bills into his wallet, everyone at the table looked at each other. Their meeting with Quint was over so fast that Katt herself wondered for a second if it had even happened, like it was nothing but an idle daydream.

"Curt guy," Fara quipped.

"What a jerk," Falco fumed, still rubbing his beak. "But these are the guys paying us, so what can we do?"

"He's spooky." Slippy seemed to curl up, stealing glances at the front door, as if expecting Quint to be peering at them. "I didn't think the…you know…would be watching us as soon as we landed."

Katt leaned against the table, a hand against the side of her face. Stan had given them a little taste of what working with the OIC was going to be like, but she didn't think they'd be meeting their handler like this. They must have eyes and ears everywhere in the city if Quint tracked them down that fast. What the hell else would they be watching them doing? What was Nine Lives about to get itself into?

She wished Fox were here to tell her what to do.

~X~

Fox walked through the terminal at Kinnor's spaceport. Like the city, not much expense had been spared here by the Azerian Kingdom. A large undulating roofline swooped over his head, mimicking the waves of an ocean, while various colors cast by hidden lights made it glow all the colors of the rainbow. A large clock with four faces stood tall in the center, letting out a pleasant series of chimes as the clock struck ten at night. He passed over a kilometer of empty ticket counters, baggage carousels, and empty restaurants and shops. The huge flight board dominating the main hall–no doubt meant for a constant stream of tourists going to and from Kinnor–only showed three passenger flights at the moment.

Although that wasn't to say the spaceport was empty. Much like the rest of the city, it was full of military. Separatist soldiers trooped all over the building. None of them gave Fox much of a look, other than keeping an eye on him since he was a stranger in their midst. Looked like Razir or Gail hadn't passed down word to the grunts about him and Star Fox.

Fox arrived where he'd been going, stopping at a duty-free shop that had been converted into the space port's recruitment post for the Separatist cause. A hastily created banner covered the shop's original sign, simply saying 'RECRUITMENT' in black lettering. While the walls of the shop still showed advertisements for various brands of alcohol, cosmetics, tobacco, and other goods, all of the product was long gone, replaced by a front counter with an office and medical checkup station behind it. There was only one lone cat Separatist soldier here, leaned back in his desk chair with his feet on the counter, eyes closed as he listened to music over his headphones.

Fox glanced around in the corridor outside the shop, spotting Tadao sleeping on a nearby bench.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." Fox shook his shoulder. "We got work to do."

Tadao's eyes opened instantly, like he'd been expecting Fox any minute. "We're about to go?"

"Yeah, it's about time." Fox smiled. They'd been planning to meet up like this for a few days. "Think you could help me load up my Arwing first? It'll be a bit cramped sitting behind me, but it should be enough room for you."

"Of course!" Tadao grinned back, sliding off the bench and into a stand with one smooth motion. "Thank you for bringing me along. I feel like I owe you after what you've done for me."

"I feel kinda bad about what I did to you back on the Orbital Gate station though," Fox said, as they headed towards the tarmac and the Great Fox II. "Didn't think you'd take it that hard."

"Well, I'm used to being rejected and not wanted." Tadao kept pace alongside him. "I got over it. Happy you changed your mind about me lending you my skills."

"No problem." Fox smiled back. "I'll need backup out in the desert, but I can't bring my team."

A couple hours later, they had his Arwing loaded up with about everything he thought he'd need for a trip into the wastes. Spare fuel, spare food, weapons, a tent, clothing to help him blend in… He found himself going over the compartments on his Arwing one more time, making sure it was all there.

"Guess that's everything." Fox slammed the last compartment closed, as he looked through the open hangar door to the night sky. "You go ahead and climb aboard. I'll be there soon."

Tadao climbed into the copilot seat, while Fox made a few more final checks around the outside of the Arwing.

"Hey."

Fox whirled around. The voice was female, coming from the direction of the hangar doors. It was Fara!

"Huh?!" Fox raised an eyebrow, caught off guard. "How come you're not off with the rest of the team?"

"I decided I was done once I ate dinner." She strode across the hangar to him, arms crossed. "Also, I knew you were up to something."

His tail curled up behind him as she approached. He didn't know if she'd seen Tadao in the back of the Arwing.

"It was obvious when I heard you asking Gail about Krystal. Like you training Katt to replace you didn't make it obvious enough. I was hoping you were only doing it as part of the facade for the Thaljistanis, but it looks like that's not true, what with you planning to run off in the middle of the night."

Fox's ears flattened behind him. Of course Fara would figure out his plan to ditch the team. She knew him too well. He frowned at her. "Okay, so you caught me. What are you going to do now? Gonna try to stop me? Talk me out of it?"

"No." She shook her head. "Why bother? My words would just fall on your deaf ears. You're going to look for Krystal, no matter what I say to you. You spent the last week of the trip locked up in your cabin, doing all that research on Thaljista and making plans for today. You've been aching to do this for a long, long time. Why would you stop now?" She'd more or less read him like an open book, even better than Krystal.

"But if you knew I was going to do this and you wouldn't stop me," Fox said, "why are we even talking now?"

"I just want you to live, Fox."

"Live?" Fox repeated.

"I will only ask you for one thing: send me an update every day on where you are and what you're doing."

"So you can snitch on me to the rest of the team." Fox's tail thrashed behind him. "Or Razir and Gail. Or Stan and the OIC."

"No, Fox. I just want to be able to help you if you run into trouble. That's it. If I don't hear from you for more than a day or two, I can get the rest of the team to come look for you. Or you can contact me if you've got an emergency. You're taking an awful big risk going out there alone, you know."

"I'm taking an awful big risk letting you in on what I'm doing. Can I trust you to keep this a secret?"

"Did we ever snitch on each other back in the academy?" She smirked at him. "We did a lot of stupid stuff back then, but we never told on each other. I don't plan on changing that now."

"We're not stupid teenagers anymore though, Fara."

"You're right. We're stupid adults now, aren't we?" Fara laughed. "I still wonder if I'm being stupid letting you go off on your own like this, but I don't see any better stupid ideas right now. It'll be hard to explain to Razir, Gail, Stan and…whoever else on why you aren't around, but I think I can come up with excuses. Like maybe you're getting supplies for the team, or gathering intel for us on the ground or something. But I can't go with you. Two fifths of the team missing all the time? I don't think that'll fly. Plus Katt's already stressed out enough taking over from you. She may be too prideful to admit it, but I think she's going to be scared without you around. She respects you enough to see this as an important responsibility, and I think you're doing her wrong by not being there for her. But I'll do what I can to keep her spirits up while you're gone."

Fox's face softened. "Thanks Fara. I mean it." He'd actually been worried about a lot of those things.

Fara sighed. "Whatever you do, be careful out there, Fox. It's not just for Krystal's sake. It's also for the rest of Star Fox, plus probably even the fate of this world. If you do anything, at least come back alive."

"Of course I will. You know I always come back in the end. I handled Sauria on my own, almost."

"You did, but don't push your luck. It might run out at the worst possible moment." She seemed to want to say something else, her mouth opening a time or two but with no words coming out.

"What?" Fox asked.

She hesitated for a few more moments, before suddenly reaching out for him, throwing her arms around him and giving him a big hug, pulling him in tight.

Fox was startled, stumbling backwards by the embrace. When was the last time they'd hugged? They'd been just like this so many times back during their school days, and also more than that too. Though surprised at first, he embraced back, hugging just as tight as her. He had no idea he was going to get one more hug from her. Sure, they hadn't dated in years, but how she went out of her way to talk to him before he left, plus this hug… He had no idea how much he still meant to Fara. Was he being awful and selfish by not even thinking of her as he made his plans? And for all he knew, this could be their last hug. Best to make sure it was one that both of them would remember.

An indeterminate amount of time passed before the two separated, both of them looking into each other's eyes. She gave him one more sad look, before breaking eye contact, pushing past him and heading off to the back of the ship, looking at her watch. "You better get on your way. The rest of the team might be coming back soon."

"Oh…yeah." Fox checked his own watch. "Well, good night Fara."

She paused as she left the hangar. "Good luck out there, Fox." Then she disappeared through the doorway into the Great Fox II's corridors, and she was gone.

He stared at the door for a long time, before turning around back to his Arwing.

Well, this was it, wasn't it? He had everything he needed to begin his search. All that was left was to jump in and take off. But what the heck would happen while he was gone? He had no clue if the team would even still be functioning once he got back, or when he'd get back, or anything like that. He couldn't stop but stare out the open portal of the Great Fox II's hangar bay, the night sky waiting for him to take off into it.

"So can we go?"

Fox spun around again, caught by surprise. Then he let out a sigh. "Oh, sorry. I forgot you were still there."

"You mean a lot to her." Tadao let out a small chuckle as he peered out from the Arwing's cockpit. "I can tell. She is right though. Don't throw away your life. I did that for ten years, and it ended up being for nothing. Anyway, shall we?" He gestured towards the night sky awaiting them.

Tadao was right, as Fox looked towards the sky one more time. Enough waiting. Now it was time for action.

With that, he hopped inside, feeling the Arwing detach from its restraints and slowly float out through the open portal. Was taking it slow considering he wasn't launching into space this time. As he departed the Great Fox II and floated up into the sky, he contacted the tower for clearance to depart. Within moments he was already leaving behind the city he'd sworn to protect.

He hoped his not being around didn't lead to its downfall.

~X~

Back at the recruitment station in the terminal, the young cat soldier bopped his head to the music in his ears. He didn't care that he looked like he was slacking. Command wanted the recruitment station staffed twenty-four seven, but who was going to randomly drop by the space port at this late hour just to sign up for recruitment? Seemed pointless to him. He'd been working these night shifts for weeks now and only a couple people had dropped by at most. Oh well, at least with him alone on the graveyard shift, no one was here to tell him off for being casual. He hummed along with the music, letting the lyrics slip to his lips for one part. Didn't know where he'd found this song, probably downloaded it off some illicit site years ago, but he liked it.

"So so real…it's no big deal…just another day in delaaaaaay…"

"Wake up!" someone screeched at him.

The cat flailed around, his foot accidentally knocking over his bottle of soda and sending it bouncing off the floor, sending the syrupy liquid everywhere. He fumbled to grab it back off the floor, preventing the worst of it.

Once he'd taken care of that, he looked at who'd woken him up. A small orange lizard stood on the other side of the counter, seething at him. The cat didn't recognize him. He was a little guy, but then the cat noticed the very large crocodile behind him, easily twice the small lizard's height. He glared down at the cat with an ominous stare, looking at him silently, his pose as still as a statue.

"Uhh…" the cat reached over for a nearby box of tissues to clean up the rest of the spill. "Sorry, can I help you? You want to sign up?"

"This is an emergency, buddy!" the little orange lizard shrieked. "Did you see an iguana pass through here earlier today?"

"Iguana?" the cat tilted his head. Then he remembered. "Oh yeah…" the cat pointed at the bench in the concourse. "Saw one lie down over there a few hours ago."

Little Orange Dude got a bit more excited, hopping up and down on his feet. "Oh Momo! That might have been him!" He turned back to the cat. "Where is he now?! Did he sign up?"

"No." The cat leaned down to clean up the mess behind the desk. "He just sat over there for a while, and then he left at some point. I don't remember when."

Orange scaled arms reached down behind the desk, pulling him back up and face to face with the angry little lizard. "You better tell me more about where he went, buddy!" Flaps of skin unfurled around the lizard's face, suddenly increasing the size of it eightfold with his gigantic frill. "We're on a mission to find him!"

"Holy—!" the cat pushed him away, caught off guard.

The giant crocodile pat the smaller lizard on the shoulder to calm him down. "Keenan…" he wheezed out, struggling to even say that one word.

"But Momo!" He turned to the croc. "We just missed Tadao! Where the hell could he be now?"

The two lizards wandered off on their own, the loud orange one yapping about grabbing someone named Ooveh or something.

While they argued, the cat observed something through the glass windows across the corridor. A fighter was taking off, and it wasn't a Separatist fighter. It had a strange angular design to it. Oh well, he didn't care, as he went back to his slouching position to listen to his music.