The next day, the team said their farewells to the Cerinians and headed for their Arwings.
"Come back soon." the priestess told the team as they climbed into their ships, "Especially you, Falco. You and Lucy are always welcome in the temple."
The team waved at the Cerinians and took off for the Great Fox. Within minutes, they were entering the hangar.
Once on board the Great Fox, the team headed for the recreation room. Fox contacted Rob on her communicator.
"Any messages while we were gone?" Fox asked.
"Zero messages." Rob answered.
"Set a course for the Lylat System." Fox commanded.
"Roger."
"I'm going to slip into something less revealing." Krystal told Fox as she left for their room.
A few minutes later, Krystal returned in her battlesuit. Moments later, Fox got a message on her communicator.
"Looks like the scientists want me to return as soon as possible." Fox sighed.
"Then let's go." Krystal told her, "It's been so long since I've worn this thing. Maybe they can upgrade my boots too."
"I just want to relax for now." Fox said as she sat down on the couch. Krystal and Fara sat down next to her and began to cuddle.
"Don't get too frisky out here." Falco warned the trio, "You have your own rooms and I don't want to have to burn the furniture again."
"We make no promises." Fara told him.
"Seriously." Falco warned, "I still have nightmares over the aftermath of whatever Slippy did. It was messy and unholy."
"So we'll just keep it clean." Fara told the other vixens as Falco walked to his room.
"So, do you want some fun after we visit the scientists?" Krystal asked, "I've been wanting an upgrade for my boots similar to Fox's."
"The company's already using data provided from Fox boots to produce an experimental model for you." Fara told her, "The pair will be made with your preferences in mind. So, what fun did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking we could explore more of what Corneria has to offer." Krystal suggested, "Maybe Fox or you know of any exciting or interesting spots."
"I know of a few places." Fara told her, "Let's go after I get changed."
After Fara left to get changed, Krystal began wondering.
"Does Corneria have a word for what Fara is?" Krystal asked.
"The closest I can think of is 'mistress'." Fox answered, "It's a little taboo when the main couple is still dating and more taboo when they're married."
Krystal nodded. One more reason to move back to Cerinia after the whole Andronian mess is dealt with. The only problem with that is getting Fox and Fara to go along with it.
A few minutes later, Fara walked into the room wearing her Star Fox uniform.
"Shall we get going?" Fox asked. The three vixens headed to the hangar. As soon as the Great Fox stopped in the Lylat System, the trio headed for Corneria. Soon, they were landing outside the facility. While Fara and Krystal waited, Fox walked inside and headed for the lab. After some brief greetings, the scientists were examining Fox's suit.
"Interesting." the scientist said as he looked over the results of the scan, "It looks like this suit accepted an upgrade meant for the staff and adapted it. It also looks like it developed some sort of ai. And another upgrade that seems designed to... stimulate... something."
"A mind or body boost of some sort?" his assistant suggested.
"Let's just stop talking about that specific upgrade." Fox told them, blushing, "Can you tell me anything new about the map I brought back about a week ago?"
"It's definitely a map of a large chunk of the galaxy." the scientist said as the map appeared on his computer screen, "Here, you can see the Lylat System. Sauria seems to be marked as important, as have a number of other planets in various systems. We ask that you gather information that can be used to potentially decode what these various markings mean. You might even find this elusive armor that's compatible with the tech you brought us."
"I'll think about it." Fox told him.
"I think I figured out what the upgrade does." the scientist's assistant said, "I think it stimulates the..."
"I don't want to talk about the upgrade." Fox interrupted. The assistant made a few hand signals to silently finish his sentence. Fox watched the scientist do a few hand signals in response. She sensed this was a language the two had developed over the years and blushed when she sensed the topic.
"There also appears to be an ai." the scientist told Fox, "This is odd as we didn't program any ai nor is the suit designed to download one. Well, that appears to be everything new we can detect. We hope you find that elusive armor."
"You'll be the first outside my team to know." Fox assured him as she left. Fox left the facility and found Fara and Krystal looking at a notebook.
"Any ideas of where to go next?" Fox asked.
"Fara knows of a shop for mercenaries near a hiking trail." Krystal told her, "We could go on a hike and then do a little shopping."
"I don't see why not." Fox told Fara, "Lead the way."
The trio hopped in their ships. Fox followed Fara as she led the group east toward the mountains. Upon landing, the group quickly got out.
"I'm not sure why I agreed to do this without returning to the Great Fox to change boots." Fox thought out loud to herself.
"It's because you want to get more used to them." Krystal explained, "The boosters do help in combat."
"Less talking and more talking." Fara said as she led them to a hiking path. Krystal enjoyed walking past the exposed rock and patches of greenery. It all seemed strangely familiar, yet also exotic. Unlike Fox, she wasn't in any hurry to complain about her impractical footwear. She liked they still got a subtle reaction out of Fox.
A mile into the hike, the trail began to get steeper and the greenery became less common. Krystal intentionally slowed down to let Fox pass so she could get a better view of her favorite orange vixen. Fox blushed upon sensing Krystal's reaction, but decided against saying or doing anything about it. Fox didn't want to admit it, but she liked the attention from Krystal.
An hour later, the trio reached the top of the trail. Krystal was surprised how high they climbed. Perhaps Fox could have the team do this once in a while to maintain peak fitness before the inevitable battles with the Andronian forces.
The walk down wasn't much easier as the trail was slightly steeper. The trio carefully made their way down as it would have been easy to tumble to their deaths. Krystal appreciated the challenge, though Fox just wanted the hike to be over soon and Fara began regretting choosing this hiking path. A few hours later, the trail ended not far from their Arwings. Fara then led them to a nearby shop.
Inside was a wide assortment of weapons and gear. Fox began thinking of ways their arsenal could be expanded. The team's weapons were state-of-the-art when they were purchased, but you'd never know what weapon designers could have come up with since then.
Krystal was browsing the survival gear when she nearly walked into Wolf.
"What brings you here?" Wolf asked, "Your team usually shops online or buys directly from the weapon manufacturers."
"Just wanted to see more of Corneria." Krystal answered, "Fara suggested this place since it was near the hiking trail."
"See anything you like?" Wolf inquired.
"Not yet." Krystal answered, "I'm trained to make most of the survival gear I'd need, having been raised in the middle of a forest. I might buy something to see how it compares. You guys should visit Cerinia now that we've driven away those Andross guys."
"I've heard about that." Wolf told her, "Intercepted Andronian communications talk about being driven off the planet by half-naked natives wielding magic sticks."
"Everyone else seems to underestimate sticks, but blunt force trauma is blunt force trauma."
"My team got our invitations to your wedding." Wolf told Krystal, "What's the dress code? Would it be Cornerian formal or whatever your culture considers formal?"
"We should take your team to Cerinia." Krystal told him, "I'm not sure this system can do Cerinian formal right. Maybe bring a small offering to Cerinia, unless you want to perform a service. Most of the services requested are combat-related, but the main priestess there might accept a different, funner 'service'. You'd need three nights, though."
"I'll think about it." Wolf told her, "How have things been on the team? There have been a few rumors flying around."
"Things have been good." Krystal answered, "And as far as rumors go, I still don't know all that much about Lylat culture, but we haven't done anything taboo by Cerinian standards."
"Are you talking about what you may have done with Fox or Fara?" Leon asked as he stepped out of the aisle he was browsing.
"I can assure you as long as I'm in Lylatian territory, I'm not going to break the Lylat System's unwritten rule concerning privacy." Krystal told him.
"That didn't sound like a denial." Leon pointed out, "So, does that mean you'd have looser lips where privacy customs are less strict?"
"Now you've got him curious." Krystal told Leon, refering to Wolf, "All I'll tell you is you might want to travel to Cerinia for the appropriate attire. Free room and board will be provided the nights before and following the wedding."
"We'll pay a visit to Cerinia." Leon told her, feeling somewhat satisfied with the answers he got.
"It was nice meeting you." Wolf told Krystal, "We'll see you in a few weeks."
Wolf and Leon walked away from Krystal and spotted Fox not too far away. The two decided to pay the orange vixen a visit.
"Hey guys." Fox greeted, "Didn't expect to run into you here. Is Panther here too?"
"Panther is at home talking with your bird." Wolf answered, "How are things?"
"Busier than usual." Fox replied, "It looks like we drove the last bit of Andronian forces off of Cerinia, so that's taken care of."
Wolf nodded, wondering if it's only a matter of time before the Andronians come to his team asking for their services again.
"There have been a few rumors flying around concerining certain vixens." Leon told Fox, "And concerning some... cultural differences. Just thought you'd like to know before they get out of hand."
"I'm not in the business of confirming or denying any rumors." Fox told him, "Both only seem to feed rumors."
"Well, we'll see you at the wedding." Wolf told her, "Just thought we'd say hi since we were in the area."
"See you then." Fox said as they left. As soon as Fara and Krystal made their purchases, the trio went back to their ships and headed back to the Great Fox. The trio relaxed for a few hours before Fox received a notification. Fox looked down at her communicator and saw Corneria was contacting her.
"We have an emergency mission for your team." General Peppy told her, "A large, unknown force has entered the Lylat System and has already engaged Corneria's forces. Our forces are spread too thin to deal with this and the Andronian threat.
"We'll check it out." Fox informed him.
"Please exercise caution." General Peppy warned, "From the battle reports, we have reason to believe this new threat is hiding something, perhaps a weapon of some sort. We should be able to hold them off for now, so rest up until you're ready to engage tomorrow. We can't afford to lose the Lylat System's best team to exhaustion."
"Roger that."
"We'll send you the relevant data. Peppy out."
Fox looked at the data her communicator was receiving.
"Do we have a new mission?" Fara asked as she walked into the recreation room.
"Tomorrow." Fox told her, "For now, we relax."
"Would you and Krystal like some pre-mission fun?" Fara asked.
"Maybe in a little bit." Fox told her.
"Krystal and I will be in my room." Fara told her, leaving the room, "Whether you're there in ten minutes or not, we'll know if that maybe was a yes or a no."
Fox thought for a moment. Who else suspected anything about her and Krystal's thing with Fara? Did Wolf and Leon really suspect anything or did they dismiss the rumor? It's too late to do anything now. Rumors would spread even if there really wasn't any truth to them.
Minutes later, Fox walked to Fara's room. Inside, she found Fara and Krystal had already stripped.
"There's room for one more." Krystal told Fox, "Just close the door and remove the suit. Leave the heels on, though."
Fox did as Krystal asked, mentally commanding her suit to dematerialize.
"We still have access to your... stimulation." the blue hawk pointed out. Fox had completely forgotten she was there.
Krystal grabbed Fox's hand and pulled her to the bed. The pair sat down and started kissing while Fara watched eagerly. Sensing Fara's eagerness, Krystal motioned for her to sit next to Fox. When the fennec sat down, Krystal stopped kissing and gently pushed Fox's face towards Fara's. Krystal then watched the other vixens kiss.
"Should I turn it on?" the blue hawk asked. Fox ignored her as she continued to kiss Fara. Eventually, Fox and Fara lied down on the bed. They were about to take things further when Fox got a message on the communicator.
"I have to go." Fox said disappointedly as she got up and activated her suit, "Take over for me, Krystal."
Fox left the room right as Krystal began spooning the fennec. She walked to her room for privacy and answered the call from Wolf.
"Hey Wolf." Fox said, "What's up?"
"Some woman named Katt has been asking about you." Wolf explained.
"We try to keep our association with her to a minimum." Fox explained.
"She's been asking about some sort of rumor concerning you and certain teammates." Wolf elaborated, "She's been talking about hiring people to dig up dirt on you. She didn't elaborate on what the rumor was, only saying you would know what she was talking about."
"If she asks again, tell her my lover is Krystal and that Fara and Lucy are teammates." Fox told him, "She knows what kind of fox I am."
"So, these rumors..."
"Just ignore them." Fox told him, "I don't know how they started. Not even Falco would start a rumor like that."
"Finally, is there a book or pamphlet about Cerinia?" Wolf asked, "Do we just ask someone or go somewhere?"
"I'll have Krystal make and send you a pamphlet." Fox assured him, "It's not an overly complicated society for visitors. Certainly far from a minefield of accidental insults and faux pas."
"That's good to hear. I'll see you at the wedding."
"Hope ot see you there."
Fox hung up and walked back to Fara's room. By now, the two vixens were relaxing on the bed.
"Who was that?" Krystal asked.
"Wolf." Fox replied, "He'd like a pamphlet about Cerinia telling them where to go and who to ask."
"Care to join us in bed?" Fara asked, "We could always use another warm body."
"Join us." Krystal pleaded, "You already missed the best part. Might as well deactivate that suit and sleep with us. I'll work on the pamphlet while you two relax."
While Krystal left to work on the pamphlet, Fox deactivated her suit and crawled into bed with Fara.
"Sorry you had to miss the fun." Fara apologized.
"Apparently someone's been spreading rumors about the three of us." Fox told her, "And I doubt Falco has loose enough lips. He knows better than to say something that might encourage Katt and her friends."
"Someone probably thought we were being a little too friendly." Fara told her, "Almost makes one wish they were still on Cerinia. At least they don't care enough to spread such rumors."
Fox nodded as she fell asleep. Tomorrow, they had what looked to be another big mission.