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Mission No. 54

Corneria
Capital City

"Mimesis"

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Fara stared out the window of the Phoenix family car, watching the afternoon sun flash between the passing skyscrapers. She sighed, folding her arms atop the ledge. Even on their way to a dinner engagement, her mother insisted on pestering her with politics and business.

"…Did you pay attention to Finley's proposal? The one to reverse the merger?" Edelyn absently said, applying lipstick with a compact mirror. "If it gets enough votes in parliament, it may be a problem."

"Hm? Oh, yes."

Edelyn's eyes flicked to her, and she halted her lipstick. "Well, any tips? What would my bright, business-savvy student do?"

The younger fennec squirmed a bit. "Oh, uh… can't you just… lobby against it? Throw more money at the members of parliament?"

Her mother sighed and snapped her mirror closed. "If that was the solution to everything we'd spend much more of the company's funds doing it. Oh Fara, haven't you been paying attention to your lessons?"

Fara sat back down and crossed her arms. "I'm sorry mother, I have been applying myself, I really have!"

"Well sweetie, it doesn't seem like that when you can't—"

"We've arrived, Miss," the driver's voice came through the intercom.

Fara sighed in relief—but her mother pointed a finger at her with a stern look. "You're saved this time, young lady…"

The afternoon sun had just turned gold when the family car pulled up to their destination. The two fennecs waited patiently while their personal assistant, Ewen Drexel, came around to open their door. The zone-tailed hawk stood a full head-and-shoulders above both vixens, who were already quite short. Even the tallest of business cohorts had to crane their heads back to look Ewen in the eye, but someone with Edelyn's wealth and influence rarely bothered looking up when speaking to him. One peculiarity about his species was that they resembled turkey vultures from far away, and many a person were fooled till they met him up-close.

Ewen pulled the door open and stood aside, letting the two fennecs out. "Really ma'am, I wish you allowed some of your bodyguards to come with us. I'd feel much more at ease."

Edelyn stood up and straightened her scarf, smiling and looking around the street in a carefree manner. "Why? Who's there to be afraid of? We're just meeting Peppy—unless you're scared an old friend might stab me with a dinner knife!"

"Mother!"

"It's not your company I'm worried about. You're a powerful figure with a clear target on your back. Even the streets of the capital aren't safe these days, and there could be Venomian-sympathizers looking to get revenge on the woman whose resources defeated them."

"Terrorists? Here? They're just hob-goblins and ghouls the media props up to scare people."

"Besides," Fara said, "barely anyone knows we have a dinner engagement tonight. And we have you, Ewen," she added, referring to the assistant's time spent in Corneria's special forces.

"All the same," the hawk said, "we can't afford to be careless."

Ewen passed the keys to the valet and opened the door for them to go inside. After a long elevator ride up, they emerged into a five-star penthouse restaurant at the top of the skyscraper. Fara's eyes were immediately drawn to the view outside the window, which offered a panoramic vista of Corneria City as the restaurant slowly rotated in place. It was fortunate the skyscraper hadn't been demolished during the invasion like so many others. If Star Fox hadn't shown up the moment they did, perhaps it would have been…

Fox…

It was little more than a month since she'd left him and moved in with her mother on the east coast, yet she still couldn't shake him from her mind—especially not after hearing of his untimely disappearance.

Ewen started to show the host their reservation, but he quickly waved it off. He wouldn't even accept proof; not when Edelyn Phoenix, co-owner of General Dynamics was patroning his restaurant. He showed them to their table, walking past an ornamental fountain and fish pond, a chef preparing a flambé, and a piano at which a canine effortlessly played classical Cornerian music. Fara's translucent purple gown swished behind her as she glided after the host, for she had unconsciously dressed like she expected Fox to be there himself. Indeed, at their little dinner engagement, she hoped to finally learn a bit of his whereabouts.

When they arrived at their table, they found Peppy Hare already seated. The rabbit smiled when he saw them, exposing the buckteeth Fara adored so much, before standing to greet them.

"Edie! Fara! So nice to see you again." He moved to pull out Fara's chair, who offered him a pleasant smile as he seated her. "Young gal, you are looking prettier than ever!"

"Thank you, Mr. Hare!"

Peppy raised his eyebrows as he sat back down. "Oh, Mr. Hare now, is it? I miss when you used to call me Uncle."

Ewen seated her mother at the other side of the table. "Well Peppy, I see we've both found our way back to the east coast."

He nodded. "Yes, well, business called. I admit I already miss the warmer climate and easy-going atmosphere, but I can't afford to sit on my cotton tail forever." He turned to wink at Fara. "You see, I'm gettin' on in years, Fara."

She giggled. "Nonsense! You look just as young as the day I met you."

Peppy chuckled and bent his ear down to scratch it. "Well, if you say so…"

After they ordered their meals, the trio caught up with each other while Ewen sat on as a fourth wheel, only chiming in when the subject turned to current events, which the hawk was quite knowledgeable of. Fara did her best to remain polite and not change the subject to something touchier, but her thoughts kept turning to Fox, and she found it hard to contain her questions.

Finally when there was a lull in the conversation, she found her opening. "Uncle Peppy, have you any idea where Fox has gotten off too? I haven't seen or heard from him since we left the west coast."

At this Peppy's face turned serious, and his eyes flitted down to the table. Her mother froze with a bite halfway to her mouth before recovering, though wrinkles creased her forehead. Even Ewen looked over. Peppy busied himself with straightening his napkin and utensils, but he couldn't meet her eyes. "Sorry dear, but I haven't heard a peep from Fox either. Seems he just up and disappeared without any warning. Haven't been able to contact him, neither."

Fara exhaled in frustration. First her mother, and now Peppy was being evasive! "But isn't there anything he told you about where he was going, or any clues he may have left behind?"

Peppy sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I know just as much about his disappearance as you do, and that's all I could tell the authorities when they questioned me. I trust they're doing the best they can to find him."

"What about all the hubbub at the gate? I've heard rumors Fox had something to do with it."

But as soon as her mother spotted the waiter carting their meals over, she sat upright and raised her voice. "Ah, the food's here!" And before Fara could blink, they had busied themselves with sorting out their dishes and drinks instead.

The corners of the fennec's mouth drooped. It was clear there was something Peppy wasn't telling her, but she couldn't get any more out of him here. Maybe she'd have another chance to wheedle it out of her mother later…

When the meal was finished, Edelyn invited them onto the wrap-around balcony overlooking Corneria city. It was sunset now, and passionate gradients of orange and red reflected off the large glass windows facing back west.

"Would you mind having a moment alone with me?" Edelyn asked Peppy. "There are some things I'd like to catch up on in private."

The hare glanced back at Fara and Ewen, then nodded. "Sure, I think I'd enjoy that."

When Edelyn noticed her daughter's jealous expression, she patted her on the shoulder. "We'll only be a minute dear. Just for old times' sake."

Together the two of them walked out of earshot around the circular restaurant wall, but they were still visible through the spacious windows. They leaned on the balcony railing and began talking, but their words were lost on Fara.

With a frustrated sigh, the young fennec did likewise, leaning over the rail to take in the brilliant cityscape. Everywhere office lights blinked on, lighting up the sides of buildings and street corners. The clouds over the ocean glowed pink and dark blue in the fading light, and Fara's mind shifted elsewhere. She daydreamed about being able to fly again, testing the latest designs of her mother's new fighter craft.

"It's always so calm when you're high up," she remarked to Ewen. "You forget everything below you and just focus on what's above: the sky, the clouds, the stars… All the troubles in the world seem so insignificant."

Ewen joined her against the railing. "Hmm. They do… But we can't escape those troubles forever; we must eventually land again. We mustn't forget the plight of people below us, for they can't so easily escape into the clouds like those with the right set of wings."

While he talked, Fara snuck glances back through the curved windows at Edelyn and Peppy. On the one hand it was blissful and liberating to escape her mother's serious affairs, but on the other it felt maddening not knowing what was going with Fox and everything else happening in the world.

When Ewen next spoke, she noticed him staring back at her mother and Peppy, just like her. "In fact, those in higher places have more of a responsibility to look out for those below them. They must be willing to sacrifice much to rebuild and raise others up."

At that moment Edelyn said something that seemed to surprise Peppy. He took his eyes off the cityscape and looked at Edelyn in shock, ears as straight as lightning rods—but his words were lost on Fara.

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General Pepper stepped from his personal transport shuttle onto a bustling landing deck. The sun reflected off Aquas' turquoise oceans in a dazzling display which would've blinded him if not for his sunglasses. The beautiful sea made him reminisce fondly of his vacations spent on Zoness—the ones he'd never get back.

But his dreams of an island getaway soon vanished like a puff of smoke, for he hadn't come to Aquas on a pleasure trip. He'd come for a grueling meeting of the United Planets of Lylat's General Assembly, and he rued having to butt heads in what could only be a heated assembly room. Tensions in the system had boiled to an all-time high; with Lylat's common enemy gone, old divisions ruptured like reopened wounds, and they quickly fell into the same disagreements they'd argued and fought over for decades—along with a few new ones.

A contingent of Cornerian soldiers—which provided the majority of Aquas' defense—met him at the base of the boarding ramp. He returned the captain's salute and mumbled his way through the usual compliments his troops expected from a general, though if he'd been in a worse mood he would have found something to chew them out over. Perhaps on his way back…

When they'd exhausted pleasantries, the captain added, "One more thing General: your new personal secretary is here. She'll escort you to the assembly room."

Pepper raised an eyebrow—he hadn't heard anything about a new secretary, but these days he was so busy he could barely keep up with the little things. He hoped she was the quiet, unobtrusive-type. He was sure to get a headache today regardless.

The captain stepped aside to reveal a homely-looking otter in an olive-green pantsuit. She was neither ugly nor fair: just unremarkable, and quiet-natured from all appearances. Pepper wouldn't have noticed her standing there if the captain hadn't gestured to her; she blended right in.

"Greetings, General. My name is Selkie Williams." The woman stepped forward and extended her hand, which Pepper accepted. Something felt odd about the touch of her paw, but he didn't think anything of it.

"Well Ms. Williams, lead the way. I have a busy schedule today."

She held up a white index card. "Indeed you do. If you'll follow me…"

Pepper trailed her across the landing platform, feeling the refreshing mist of sea air against his face while weaving in between other military shuttles. She brought him to a large cylindrical tube that extended up from the platform, probably twenty feet in length. She pressed a button on its side, and a pair of doors opened to reveal a spacious glass elevator compartment. Pepper followed her in, and the doors closed behind them.

The elevator descended beneath the platform. They rode in silence for several seconds, only broken by the sound of soft mechanical humming while the elevator smoothly dropped. The concrete walls of the shaft were dark, only illuminated by a ring of lights around the extreme edge of the circular floor. Then, like a curtain whisking off, they passed beneath the bottom of the platform and were treated to an endless blue expanse.

Beneath the ocean's surface lay a sprawling stone reef nearly the size of a mountain range. The pock-marked, volcanic stone blossomed with pastel rainbows of blue, pink, and yellow coral, forming a horseshoe around the subaquatic city. Glass shields covered the rocky slopes like ceilings of giant bubbles, creating airtight habitats for the thousands of buildings underneath.

This was the underwater refuge, the capital of Aquas: Indigo City. Many such dwellings lay hidden beneath the sea, but none as expansive or magnificent as Aquas' capital. Here most of the planet's population had escaped Andross's wrath, and by the time his pollution began to seep beneath the waves, Star Fox arrived to beat his poisonous fingers back.

His vision drew to the largest building in the city, which lay apart from the rest in the middle of the horseshoe: Aquas' parliament, which had been chosen to house the UPL's headquarters for the next five years, until it passed to the next secretary general and host planet. The building was cut from the same indigo stone as the surrounding reef, and sported columns and portcullises reminiscent of ancient temples and governing places sunken beneath Aquas' waves thousands of years prior. Capping off the building was a large glass dome that shone like a crystal ball, beneath which was the main council room of Aquas'—and today, Lylat's—government.

Pepper scowled. Now that he was Morgan Fredersen's lapdog, he had to do what he said. Going into the assembly, the businessman had given him a number of key issues to press. For the moment, they were none he necessarily disagreed with in principle—but of course, how long would it be before that changed?

He clenched his fists, beginning to stew over the position he found himself in. If he tried to buck Fredersen, he'd just release the blackmail material and have him disgraced. Without him, who would be there to lead Lylat in these dire times? No, any move he made would have to be aimed at Fredersen first—and de Pon too, for that matter. Maybe, just maybe he could order some Cornerian special forces to make a simultaneous hit on the pair and—

"I'd advise against that, General."

Pepper's eyes drew inward, focusing on the figure of his secretary reflecting in the glass. When her features solidified, however, he was not met by the otter at all; instead, he found a vixen staring back at him with deep-blue fur that rivaled the waters outside.

With a start he spun around, but his new secretary was gone, replaced by a young Cerinian wearing the same olive-green garb as the otter. "What, another trick?!" Pepper demanded.

"I didn't mean to trick you, General." Her voice now sounded much more youthful than the otter's. "Only the soldiers outside."

Pepper blinked for several seconds. At first he felt threatened—trapped in the elevator as he was—but then it all clicked.

"So… you're the leash and collar Fredersen intends to keep around my neck?"

The young vixen looked past him. "I am to watch your every move and direct your actions, representing Fredersen's wishes in important matters. It's also my job to relay information to you as my handlers see fit."

Pepper fingered the pistol at his hip. "I could shoot you right now and no one would know you were dead—especially if you looked nothing like my new 'secretary.' "

She didn't even glance at his weapon, but spoke with a disconnected, monotone inflection. "If you did, Fredersen would release his footage of us, and you would be forever disgraced—with the addition of having the murder of a young woman on your hands. Besides…" She suddenly disappeared and reappeared on the opposite side of the elevator, so that Pepper had to twist his head to see her. "…You'd find I'm not as defenseless as I seem."

The hound's paw eased off his gun, and his jaw dropped open. "How did you do that? You can disguise and teleport?"

"Another illusion. I can take the form of whoever I want—as long as I have enough time to study them. They chose the otter secretary for me because she was unremarkable and wouldn't stand out—nor would she make your wife jealous."

Pepper's rage began to boil up again. "She has no reason to be jealous!" he barked.

Finally the girl raised her icy blue eyes to Pepper. Her detached, emotionless expression began to thaw, as a small grin cracked the corner of her lips. Coming alive, she cocked her head and placed a finger to her chin. "Oh? She doesn't have a reason to be jealous?" she cooed. "I thought for sure Celia would feel worried if she saw you with a personal assistant who looked like… this?"

Patch by patch, the Cerinian's fur transformed before Pepper's eyes. Now she resembled a supermodel of a lioness with a curvaceous figure. Even her clothes transformed, mostly disappearing to reveal as much of her gold, satin fur as possible. What remained shrank to an exotic swimsuit-like outfit of sparkling purple that curled up her torso like licks of flame. Pepper couldn't place her, but he swore he'd seen the model somewhere before. Maybe in a subordinate's naughty magazine he'd "confiscated"?

The lioness sauntered towards him, swinging her hips as she approached. The ease with which she'd transformed and the beautiful figure she'd assumed both stole his breath away. She stopped less than a foot from him, well within arm's reach—so close he could feel her breath tickling his chin.

"For someone so old, you sure haven't lost your vigor; you've proven that." She rubbed her shoulder against him. "Why not make use of it while you still can? No one will see us in here; we've got time before we reach the bottom…"

But Pepper finally recovered from his stupor and recoiled. No longer under the influence of illicit chemicals, he found her wiles much easier to resist. In fact he had some unfinished business to settle.

"You're the creature who seduced me at de Pon's party: an unscrupulous monster who makes a living of blackmailing honorable men!"

The woman paused and cocked her hips, twirling a lock of her lustrous hair. "A monster? Everything I've done has been in service of Lylat. Yes, I was a Venomian asset, but I belong to Corneria now. Don't you remember? You approved the continuation of the Cerinia Project yourself. In your service I've already used my particular skills against several targets—Venomian sympathizers, Eladard government informants, Macbethan CEOs—and now I've come to serve you personally, dear Cornelius."

She was right. He'd approved the reactivation of the Cerinia Project as part of the Venomian Containment and Reclamation Program. In fact, he faintly remembered a document he'd thoughtlessly added his signature to, approving the use of Cerinian assets in… covert situations.

Pepper sighed, realizing in a way he'd trapped himself. "Then, I cannot be rid of you?"

She grinned, flashing her fangs. "No. So you better get used to me. Now… which shape would you like me to assume?"

The hound raised an eyebrow. "The otter, of course. Wouldn't people be suspicious if—?"

"If I entered the elevator as one species and exited as another?" She shrugged. "I can show everyone else one form and you another. You could sit in the middle of the UPL's General Assembly with a ravishing lioness at your arm, and everyone else would see a homely, unexceptional otter. So tell me… does this body please you? Would you prefer a canine? Or perhaps you're into… sapphire foxes?" she winked.

Pepper waved his hand dismissively. "I'd just like to see who you really are, thank you very much."

The girl hesitated, and for the first time faltered. "You… you mean my Cerinian form, right?"

He looked at her funny. "Of course. What else would I mean?"

"N-Nothing." Once again she assumed her original body, the way Pepper had first seen her at de Pon's mansion, and the way she had revealed herself to him in the elevator—but her skimpy outfit remained, shrinking to fit around the vixen's less-buxom figure. "And what of my clothes?" she asked, regaining her confidence. "Would you like something less exotic? Lingerie? Or perhaps… nothing at all?"

Pepper lay a hand over his eyes, starting to prefer her colder, more robotic demeanor. "Modest, please!"

She sighed whimsically. "Very well. For the head of Corneria's military, you're not very exciting."

"Oh no, my life is so very drab. Only the fate of the system rests on my shoulders." Then Pepper caught himself. Did he really care what some lowly alien seductress thought of his rank? He decided not to press the matter further and simply watched in amusement as the ugly military dress sprang over her previous outfit.

He shook his head. "Truly amazing… How do you do it? How can you show two people different things—let alone change your appearance? If it's all in our heads, won't the cameras still record a Cerinian walking around?"

She smiled proudly. "I acquired a deep understanding and mastery of light—especially how it reacts to a variety of materials. Think of my disguises as holograms, if you will; I scatter the light off different surfaces I imagine. But I also know how to trick people's senses directly, manipulating how their brains interpret them. I can make you smell flowers in a polluted city, or hear a song rise above a deafening crowd, or see an otter when there's really a Cerinian. And when I lure my target into bed, I can even make his fingers feel what I want them to feel. For one person it's easy enough, but for a throng like the General Assembly it would be impossible to control everyone's senses at once. For them, a 'hologram' will do."

Pepper shivered in awe. "Someone like you has a terrible power—one that could cause untold chaos if unleashed on the world."

"Hm, yes. Then be glad I am on your side… You are on my side, aren't you?"

Pepper didn't answer. By "her" side, of course, she meant Fredersen's, and he only reluctantly served him at gunpoint. But the elevator began to decelerate, and that moment they passed through one of the protective shields above Indigo City.

"Wait! Before we leave, you must tell me your name."

The Cerinian sighed, her former playfulness disappearing. "I told you; I'm Selkie Williams."

Pepper rolled his eyes. "I mean your real name. If we are to be together for the foreseeable future, I'd like to address you by it. If you know mine, I should know yours!"

But the elevator lurched to a stop, and a bell chimed to signal their arrival. The Cerinian straightened her collar and turned to face the opening doors, slipping back into her usual, cold self.

"26," she bluntly stated. "I'm just Subject 26."

The General Assembly room, which normally housed the Aquan Parliament, was a spacious atrium roofed by a clear glass dome. It opened out onto fathoms of azure sea above them, which the sunlight had to filter through before reaching the assembly floor. It bathed the entire room in calming blue light that danced across each surface like ripples on the underside of a bridge.

"Selkie" led Pepper to Corneria's table, which sat in a half ring of others occupied by the diplomats of each planet. Further in the back of each row sat representatives and leaders of minor independent colonies, settlements, and interplanetary corporations which mostly self-governed. Selkie and Pepper seated themselves beside other Cornerian diplomats who would defer to the general on most matters, but were useful for advice. Behind the other representatives were smaller local officials from each planet, as well as security officers, swarms of press agents, and a large crowd of Aquan onlookers eager to watch the proceedings. A deafening murmur filled the council room like white noise before proceedings were to begin.

'We'll communicate telepathically from now on. Our conversations must be kept secret.'

Pepper jolted at the voice inside his head, then sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh no, don't tell me you're a mind reader on top of a shapeshifter."

'Shh! Not even your fellow diplomats can know. Thoughts only!'

The hound crossed his arms and slouched in his seat. He felt silly for trying, but it was better than getting funny looks from his constituents. 'So… not even my thoughts are to be kept from Fredersen?'

'No. If you have even a fleeting notion of betrayal, I will know. Do not attempt to resist him.'

Pepper frowned and grumbled to himself, staring darkly at the empty podium on the stage. Then, after a few moments passed and his anger simmered down, Selkie spoke again. 'I notice Eladard and Macbeth are seated as far as possible from us,' she pointed out. 'Their leaders have smug faces. Those nearby look to them with fear and great interest—even some diplomats close to us. I'm guessing they're Corneria's greatest rivals?'

Pepper raised an eyebrow. 'Astute observation. You read their facial cues and postures well. Are you sufficiently versed in Lylat's current politics?'

'I know as much as my handlers saw fit to tell me. I've also gleaned a thing or two from my Eladardan and Macbethan targets when I had them in talkative moods.'

The canine frowned. 'In that case, allow me to give you a crash course. The United Planets of Lylat formed after Venom's downfall. Its purpose is to speed along the system's recovery and to allow better cooperation for hunting down remaining loyalists of Andross. Ostensibly each planet is equal in the Assembly, but that would be nonsense. Corneria, Macbeth, and Eladard are the real players in Lylat and always have been. Corneria because of our strong military, free thinkers, and consumer market; Macbeth for its wealth of raw materials; and Eladard for its unparalleled factories. These three have veto power against resolutions drafted by the other two, yet unfortunately we form a—"

'Symbiotic relationship? One cannot exist without the other? You speak as if they're enemies.'

'They are traitors and opportunists, the lot of them,' Pepper mentally spat. 'Macbeth fell to Andross at the war's outset. They claim they had no choice, but some companies sold out to him faster and more readily than others. In the end I don't think they cared in whose hands their fuel and minerals ended up. Eladard remained neutral till the last days of the war, but their factories were the backbone of Andross's war machine… as well as ours. Their weapons killed millions of my men.'

'Then the rest of the planets all side with one of the three superpowers?'

'More or less, though in recent times Eladard and Macbeth have put aside their differences to oppose us. Now instead of a triangle, it's easier to map Lylat's alliances with one axis instead of three. The Close Cornerian Allies against the Cornerian Skeptics. Every other planet, colony, and company falls somewhere in between, carefully straddling the line like opportunists—or spineless cowards.'

He finished just in time, for at that moment a gentle bell chimed, signaling the assembly was now in session. As the noisy throng subsided, Pepper sent Selkie one last thought. 'Now hush! I must have absolute concentration during the meeting, so no more telepathy nonsense.'

'As you wish, General.' She betrayed him a teasing smile. 'This is Secretary Selkie, signing-off!'

Pepper shot her an angry look just before the UPL's current secretary general took the podium: a squat, blue-skinned frog with poofy gray fringes of hair circling his shining bald head. He began with his opening speech, stuttering a bit through Cornerian with his thick Aquan accent. He repeated the usual trifling statements praising unity and hope, and Pepper began to tune him out. Bored, he glanced down at his tablet, but the device showed a "no internet" symbol. Frowning, he tapped the notification and tried to reconnect, but to no avail. Selkie's tablet showed the same loss of signal, and she glanced over at him.

Damn internet, Pepper thought, flicking the screen.

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Aaaaand, that should do it!

With one last turn of Slippy's wrench, the bolt tightened the rest of the way, and the two sections of the undersea cable connected again. Only now an almost indiscernible node was attached between them: the results of his handiwork.

The last jolt of the cables joining sent up a cloud of sediment from the ground, and a few creatures about the size of Slippy's hand scattered in every direction. They startled him at first, but they were only a harmless group of cuttlefish. He watched as one settled atop the cable, changing its color and pattern from sandy speckles like the sea floor to match it.

"Whew, all set!" he said into his radio.

"Copy that; we're on our way for extraction."

Slippy pushed up from the small cluster of rocks in the sand and kicked his flippers, rising steadily in the dark blue water. For a few worrying moments he found himself floating in the deep with no sign of his friends. Close by, the Aquan Parliamentary building rose out of the rocks and sand like a sunken temple. Behind him, the lights of Indigo City pierced the murky blue water like fireflies, but often they were eclipsed by shadows, for a fleet of submersible vessels circled the Parliament: a mix of Cornerian security and Aquan Provisionals on guard duty. Due to Slippy's proximity to the seafloor, and the fact that he was already inside their perimeter ring, they were unlikely to spot him.

One of the submarines broke off from the rest and approached, its dark form looming against the backdrop of twinkling buildings like a sea monster. It came to a stop right above him, and Slippy paddled his feet to rise up and meet it. A hatch opened underneath, and he crawled inside.

A few moments later, Slippy climbed up the rungs out of the airlock. Slint Owens, his supervisor, gave him a hand up, while a collie with black, brown, and white fur shut the hatch behind him. Slippy breathed deeply and began de-suiting, eager to get free of the constraining… well, frog suit.

"Nice work out there, Slippy!" Slint slapped him on the back, then set off for the front of the sub with him in tow.

In the forward section they found a racoon named Melvin, their surveillance specialist, seated in a cramped space before four different monitors. Slippy and Slint crowded around him along with their resident software developer, a collie named Darcy.

"Well Melvin? Is the connection successful?"

The raccoon glanced between a few windows and nodded. "Bingo! We now have access to all traffic in and out of the LPU. Network downtime was less than seven minutes. You sure work fast, Slippy!"

"Thanks," the amphibian said awkwardly, reaching back to scratch his head. His elbow struck a downward-facing computer monitor; he still had to get used to the submarine's cramped quarters.

Slint raised a fist. "In that case Darcy; unleash the kraken!"

Slippy rolled his eyes while Darcy returned to her own station, pulling up the activation window for her programs. KRAKEN was the code-name chosen for her pet malware project, which created a vast network of compromised computers working in tandem to automate data retrieval. This way, they not only could archive all communications sent via undersea cable, but also gain access to any computer on the Aquan network they wished.

KRAKEN would be useless of course without a way of distributing it, but that was where another of Darcy's projects came in; CHAMELEON flawlessly imitated social media servers to intercept and respond to user requests before they could reach their real destinations. This way they could trick them into downloading their spyware.

Soon Darcy had everything set up, but for some reason her mouse hovered over the execute button.

"Something wrong, Darcy?" Slint asked.

"N-No!" The collie blinked and hurriedly clicked the button, activating CHAMELEON's servers and letting KRAKEN loose on Indigo City's net. "It's just… this is a big moment for me. While I was developing these two, this day seemed so far off. I guess I'm just excited."

Satisfied, Slint returned to the sub's controls, plotting a course back to the underwater hangar.

With nothing else to do but wait, Slippy changed into a work jumpsuit and decided to pass the time by watching a livestream of the UPL's current session. At the moment, the Secretary General had recognized diplomats from Titania.

"…Furthermore, Titania takes issue with the Cornerian government's confiscation of all Copperhead missiles. These weapons of war have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians alike, yet they are not immediately destroyed so that none may use them again? What possible use could Corneria still have of them? Venom is defeated!"

The Secretary General turned towards the Cornerian table, where Pepper looked like he was about to leap straight out of his seat. "The Chair recognizes our esteemed representatives from Corneria."

Pepper shot to his feet. "May I remind my colleagues from Titania that Venom is far from defeated? Many war criminals are unaccounted for, having slipped through the Allies' fingers during the crucial final stages of the conflict. We don't know what weapons they may have in their possession left over from Andross' stockpile. We cannot show them weakness, but must deter their use of Copperhead missiles with our own."

"Then why does Corneria insist on a monopoly of those missiles?" the diplomat from Titania continued. "Why not distribute them to outlying planets far from Corneria so that they may defend themselves? I'm sure we could reach mutually-beneficial agreements."

"The Copperhead missiles are too dangerous to entrust to other planets with inexperienced militaries," Pepper insisted. "Besides, our forces alone are sufficient to guard the system, and we have distributed defensive missiles to bases around Lylat."

"Yes, unwillingly to our very doorsteps! This is more patented Cornerian policing: an excuse to occupy other planets for your continued witch-hunt of Venomians! You see holdouts in every nook and cranny, under every rock and every bed! The war ended thirteen months ago. You no longer have a reason to nanny the rest of the system! Titania moves that Corneria's jurisdiction and interplanetary military bases be decommissioned and turned over to local forces—!"

"A brutal blood sport, eh?"

Slippy jumped, for Slint had come up behind him to look over his shoulder. He yanked his earbuds out. "Oh! I just wanted to watch for a bit. Eladard and Macbeth are really pushing Titania to get rid of Corneria's occupation forces."

"Yes, a shame. But don't forget our work can have a direct impact! We can provide important intel to Pepper and the CSA on the attitudes of member states towards Cornerian policy." Slint stood back and clapped his hands. "Alright! Next step is identifying important targets. On our return cruise, run the analytics program on each user we come in contact with. Specifically look for identifiers of news companies, diplomats, and their associates. The LPU Secretary General is our top priority."

"If the data's encrypted, will it be any use to us?" Slippy asked.

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Slint assured him. "We cracked the Aquans' video-conferencing encryption months ago."

That sick feeling from weeks before seeped back into Slippy's stomach. He felt like he had to speak up and say something, but at the same time he was forced into silence due to his own hidden motives. He was here to learn about Fox and what was really going on behind the scenes. Any dissent might expose him.

The submarine began to feel very cramped. His hands felt particularly-clammy, and sweat beaded his brow. He wanted out; he needed to breathe. He had to say something, or he felt like he'd pop.

Steeling his expression and balling his fists, Slippy opened his mouth to speak—but Darcy beat him to it, and he snapped his mouth shut again.

"Er, Mr. Owens, don't you think some of this might be a little… unethical?"

The stoat leaned against the bulkhead and folded his arms. "How so?"

"I mean… we aren't spying on enemies this time. The Aquan government, and many of the other reps here are friends and allies. It just seems wrong."

Slint shrugged. "I think they'd understand. After all, it's a hundred percent necessary for everyone's safety. We have to be aware of traitors and Venomian sympathizers hiding in their ranks. We already collaborate with the other four planets in Pentagaze to share intelligence. Think of this as… an extension of that."

"But if they would be understanding of our surveillance, why all the secrecy? Why not tell them?"

Their supervisor rolled his eyes and held up his hands. "Well, you can't just… tell someone you're spying on them! That would put them on guard and sound…"

"…Controlling?" she suggested.

Slint glared, his understanding tone disappearing. "Look, it's above your pay grade and mine. I just do what I'm told, and I make sure my team delivers what's asked of them. We're contractors. If you have any concerns, you can submit a report to the Ethical Review Board for consideration."

"Y-Yes sir," the collie stuttered, ears flattening as she looked back down at her monitor.

"What's more, if you do continue to have withholdings about your role here, I can request to transfer you to a different group if you wish."

"No sir, I'm fine here—"

"Oh, by all means, think it over. If it goes against your conscience, you shouldn't have to do it—but someone else will simply take your place and continue the operation of CHAMELEON and KRAKEN."

The tension in the sub was thick enough to slice, but Slippy felt relieved. He was glad he wasn't the one to speak up; Darcy had taken the bullet for him.

But now he knew for sure that dissent would not be tolerated.