Chapter 15: Something To Believe In

With Voltimure and Agata extracted and access to Cerinia granted, Felix went into rapid planning mode. As soon as the transport carrying the two high value targets touched down outside Gaia's corporate headquarters, the executive contacted both Fox and Scarlet, requesting their presence in his main boardroom at their earliest convenience.

As part of the extraction operation, Scarlet was already there. However, in the interest of guiding Fox to the boardroom, she parked her fighter on the landing pad behind Gaia-9 and climbed out. Walking towards the facility's main entry doors, she stopped short of the doors themselves and leaned against the side of the building while the small number of employees nearby stole the occasional glance at her.

She looked upwards, expecting to see Fox's transport ship at any moment. However, after five minutes, she noticed a familiar fighter craft approaching instead.

"Why'd he bring the Arwing? That's kind of weird. I thought the goal was to load everyone up and get going as soon as this meeting is over."

Suddenly curious, she watched as Fox approached the landing pad and vertically descended. As his altitude dropped to 30 feet, he locked eyes with her. And his gaze did not appear friendly. Her heart jumped in her chest, its rate increasing by the second. As Fox finished lowering the Arwing to the concrete and powered it down, she slowly moved towards it, tail twitching behind her.

Popping open his canopy, Fox clambered out of the fighter and dropped to the ground. With only ten meters between him and Scarlet, he walked towards her. The vixen assumed a smile, but he kept his own expression stoic and austere.

"Hi, Fox—long time no see," Scarlet forced out.

Fox ignored her attempt at ducking the inevitable. "We need to talk," he spat, stepping to within three feet of her.

Scarlet took a reflexive step back. "About what?"

Fox clenched his fists at his sides. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you about what?"

Letting his canines slip into the open, he snapped, "Oh, I don't know—about how I have family living out here that I didn't know about, how you're my cousin, and what happened to my mom. Oh, and how you knew her, too."

Scarlet exhaled and steeled herself. "Well, first off—I was adopted. I was only your cousin by marriage. And since I took back my birth name, we're not related anymore. Second, we had a job to do. I didn't want to drop all of that family knowledge on you when we had things we needed to focus on. I planned to tell you eventually."

"I don't believe you," said Fox, narrowing his eyes. "You—understandably—don't like talking about your family. There's no way you were going to open those wounds for my sake."

Scarlet rounded her shoulders and looked at the ground. With a sigh, she admitted, "You're right."

"Look," said Fox, putting a firm—but not aggressive—hand on her shoulder, "I know it hurts you to talk about your family, but how do you think I feel? Apart from my grandmother and one cousin who I knew about, I thought my whole family was dead for years. So, now that I've suddenly found out that I have an aunt and an adopted cousin who both knew my mom, I would really like some answers."

Scarlet lifted her head and looked into Fox's eyes. "About what exactly? Vixy?"

The mere mention of her name gave Fox a subliminal gut punch. "Yes. Her. Your mom…I mean, my aunt told me that you were very close with her."

A faint expression of sadness appeared on Scarlet's face. "It's true. She was my best friend. The day she passed was the saddest day of my life. But at least she didn't have to suffer anymore."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She was very sick for quite a while. The chemicals and compounds she worked with when she was younger caught up with her eventually."

"I can't believe I have to ask, but what did she do?" Fox nearly pleaded. "I barely know anything about her except that she supposedly abandoned me and my dad—and that was a complete lie."

Scarlet locked eyes with him, and as he stared into her deep blue irises, he realized that she knew. She had the knowledge that everyone else around him was either not privy to or was unwilling to speak about. "Fox, this is one of the reasons I didn't want to bring up what I knew about your family out here. I can tell you the truth, but you aren't going to like it."

"I don't care at this point," he replied. "Tell me."

Scarlet hesitated for a second, then explained, "Vixy was Andross' main assistant before the Lylat Wars. And they were close outside work. Actually, him, your mom, and your dad were very good friends."

Fox's hands reflexively clutched at his head. "What? How?"

"Andross wasn't always like that," she answered. "And to be honest, he might never have turned out the way he did if it wasn't for what forced Vixy to leave the Lylat System and live with her sister here on Skallis."

Finally, the exact detail he desired to know about the most. "What was that?"

"Andross' research was controversial, to say the least," Scarlet explained. "He was so far ahead of his colleagues, and his willingness to bend institutional rules and to question morals that he felt weren't justified scared some of Corneria's leadership. Understand that I wasn't there for any of this—but this is what Vixy told me: the spooks came for both of them eventually."

"The spooks? You mean the intelligence agencies?"

Scarlet nodded. "Some of the higher-ups were scared of Andross becoming too powerful for them to manipulate, and as his chief assistant, Vixy was targeted as well."

"But what about my dad?" asked Fox.

"His ties with the military protected him. He knew all about what was going on with Andross and Vixy, but his relationship with the guy who eventually became the Master General saved his ass."

"He never told me any of this," Fox muttered. He contorted his mouth into the shape of a snarl, but quickly tilted his head as a burning question forced its way to the front of his mind. "Wait. How do you know that?"

Traces of barely repressed fear appeared on Scarlet's face. "That's what Vixy told me. If it's not true, then she must have been mistaken."

Fox allowed a sigh to escape from his mouth. "You know a lot more about this, don't you?"

The red vixen bit her lip. "Yeah… And I know you want to know about all of it."

"Well, yeah," Fox replied, almost mockingly. "I'm still mad that you've been hiding this from me all along."

"Look," Scarlet replied, holding her left palm in front of her in a 'stop' gesture. "We'll have plenty of time to discuss this on our way to Cerinia."

Fox crossed his arms. "You're a lot more optimistic about this than I am."

"What do you mean? You did get an access code, right?"

"Well, yeah, but it came with some serious terms and conditions," Fox explained. "Let me guess—Felix jumped the gun and told you that we had a free and clear pass to visit the planet."

Scarlet narrowed her eyes in concern and angled her head. "Not exactly. But what's the catch?"

"Our Cerinian contact told me that unless the person you helped bring here is someone important to them, we aren't welcome on Cerinia."

Scarlet frowned. "I see. Well, in that case, let's head inside and go to Felix's boardroom. They're waiting in there for us."

Having been in this building numerous times, Scarlet led Fox through the entry doors and into the atrium. The handful of employees inside eyed the two foxes, but enough of them were familiar with Scarlet that none of them moved to impede the two. A long walk down the clinical, white hallway interspersed with modern artwork and stylized, framed sketches of various vessels the Gaia Corporation had designed brought them to a frosted glass railing overlooking above the building's base level, which in this particular area looked like a lunch area of some type. Rows of sterile, white tables occupied the floor below, but considering the current time of 1534, it was almost completely empty.

Scarlet drew Fox's attention away from the floor below and turning towards a subtle door built into the wall behind them. Opening it, she led Fox up a narrow spiral staircase that ascended roughly twenty feet before ending in another door, which she pried open. The hallway outside was considerably narrower than on the floor below, and apart from the one behind them, only two doors stood out.

Hartmann—the husky bodyguard from Felix's manor—stood in front of the first door. The instant he spotted Scarlet and Fox, he stepped aside and pushed the door open for them. Crossing the threshold, the two took stock of the boardroom. Unlike the rest of the building, this room featured gray walls, hardwood floors, and a huge screen that dominated the left wall. A large, long table sat in the center of the room, with over twenty chairs arranged around it. However, only two of them were occupied at the moment. Neither Fox nor Scarlet recognized either of the people seated in them—specifically, a seven foot tall wolf wearing a white lab coat and a pair of diminutive rectangular glasses, and a slightly shorter but still towering woman who possessed a mixture of jackal and vulpine features along with black skin and barely visible blueish-black fur. She wore a black hooded robe that left every part of her except her muzzle, eyes, ears, and hair to the imagination. But what they could see of her sent a jolt of fear down Fox and Scarlet's spines when she stared at them with her piercing orange irises that cut a drastic contrast with her pitch black sclerae.

Fox froze in place, mirroring Scarlet. Two seconds later, Felix emerged from a door built into the left wall and approached the head of the table. Looking at the two foxes, he spoke. "Thanks for coming so quickly. We really need to get this ironed out as soon as possible. Have a seat." He motioned to the chairs across from the two mysterious guests as he pulled out his own chair at the head of the table.

Scarlet quickly claimed the seat closest to Felix, across the table from the monstrous lupine. This had the very intentional effect of forcing Fox into the seat next to her—across from the enigmatic woman. Her mere presence put him on edge. He struggled to read any of her body language, and every time he noticed her looking at him, he lost the ability to lock eyes with her. He suspected that a 'lesser' person would have felt the urge to cower under the table in the same situation. And as someone who had dealt with his fair share of tough customers over the course of his career, this frightened him almost as much as the woman did.

To his immeasurable relief, Felix spoke, shattering the tension in the room like candy glass. "Doctor, would you like to introduce yourself and your friend?"

The lupine across from Scarlet nodded cordially and replied, "Indeed. I am Doctor Voltimure Reige, and this," he motioned to the dark woman, "Is Agata."

Both Fox and Scarlet remembered seeing the old photographs of Dr. Reige on Felix's computer monitor a mere day ago, and the implication that he was somehow the same person caused them to look at him with incredulity. But attempting to square that circle would have to wait for later.

Felix motioned towards Fox and Scarlet and spoke, setting the course for the meeting. "Voltimure, Agata—this is Scarlet Rotfelt and Fox McCloud. They've been working with me to put this plan into motion. As you all know, we're trying to reach the Cerinian Council so that we can give them a proposition."

"I thought we simply needed to warn them about the upcoming invasion," Voltimure commented, his voice betraying elements of concern.

"That was the original plan, yes," said Felix. "But according to Fox, it appears that they already know that Asgard Industries has a plan in place."

Scarlet looked back and forth at Fox and Felix, frustrated and confused. "What? Well then, what are we supposed to do now?"

Fox answered. "Hyacinth—the Cerinian I talked to—doesn't think they'd be able to hold off Asgard's invasion without help."

"That's right," said Felix, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but now, the primary reason for your visit to Cerinia is to convince the Council to let us defend the planet alongside them. It really is that urgent."

"Felix," replied Scarlet, using a gentle but unmistakably patronizing tone of voice, "I knew this plan was a long shot, but that's almost laughable. There's no way in hell they're going to let a group of the 'unblessed' work with them. You know better."

"They aren't even going to let us onto the planet's surface unless we bring someone who's extremely important to them with us," Fox added.

"You're both right," Felix replied. "That's what Dr. Reige's friend—Agata—is for."

All eyes fell upon her, but only briefly. The subliminal fear and dread that she inspired forced everyone except Voltimure to look away.

Felix continued by posing a question to the massive lupine. "You told me that she doesn't speak any of our language, but she can still understand and communicate with us. How exactly is that, and how do you want to go about doing this?"

Voltimure took a quick glance at Agata, who whispered something into his ear in a language that Scarlet immediately recognized as a form of Cerinian. The red vixen considered speaking up and telling Felix that she likely had the ability to communicate via telepathy, but Voltimure spoke first. "I'll translate for her. I think it will be best for everyone that way."

Felix linked his fingers in front of him and leaned forward, trying his hardest to maintain eye contact with the woman. "Okay, then. Agata—Dr. Reige claims that the Cerinians will probably be 'receptive' to you. Is that true? What is your relation to them?"

Locking eyes with Felix, she replied, "Ana akun Ranakka Agur-Dhalva."

Voltimure picked apart her words for a second, then explained, "The translation is difficult to apply in a way that lines up perfectly, but the effect of what she said is 'I am their god.'"

Felix, Fox, and Scarlet became deathly quiet, unsure if this was some sort of joke or if they had actually stumbled upon a being who could theoretically pull any string they needed pulled when it came to the Cerinians—if she was willing to oblige them. Meanwhile, Agata glanced at Voltimure with an expression that implied that she had somehow been slighted by his interpretation. Keeping his voice down, he whispered something back to her. It seemed to assuage her anger.

"Uh, well then," said Felix, "If you really are their god, how do you think the Cerinians would react to you visiting them? Would they follow orders from you?"

At first, Agata replied without a word, instead choosing to stare at him with an 'of course, are you stupid?' expression that looked twice as terrifying as it would have coming from a 'normal' person. "Naem."

"That means yes," Voltimure explained.

Felix clenched his hands together more tightly and gritted his teeth just enough for Scarlet to notice. "In that case, there's something I'd really appreciate: you see, if we can convince the Cerinians to let us help them defend their planet, and if we take on Asgard together, I'm going to take a big financial and operational hit. I'm going to lose ships, soldiers, billions of credits. I'm willing to make that sacrifice if it prevents a worse outcome—specifically, Asgard succeeding—but you have to understand that this is difficult for me to fully align myself with unless I can get something of value in return."

Agata stared back at him, curiosity and dismissive frustration mixing in her black and orange eyes.

Felix continued, "If the Council on Cerinia agrees to let us help them and you have the kind of sway over them that you claim you do, I would like to request that you allow me and my company to set up a mining operation near Cerinia's south pole."

The room became eerily silent.

Scarlet suspected he would make such a request, but after hearing him put it out into the open, she suddenly felt less comfortable.

Agata looked down at the black table in front of her, tapping her left index finger on its surface as she mused over her response. Then, with her head lowered, she looked upwards at Felix and muttered, "Ana ahtaqir alnaas mithlak." The instant the words left her lips, she glanced at Voltimure and added, "Mi targmanir dhalik."

Voltimure nodded, then glanced at Felix and said, "She asked me not to translate that."

Agata spiked him in the ribs with her elbow, eliciting an uncharacteristic squeak from the massive lupine. "Visbad ghabiun!" she snapped. Collecting herself for a few seconds, she let out a tense breath and said, "Ladaya asyilat hawl kayfana eamaa yurid Asgard fieluh mae shaebi."

Smarting from being elbowed in the side, Voltimure translated, "I question how your proposal is an improvement from what Asgard wants to do with my people."

Felix nodded. After all, he expected to receive this sort of pushback on his idea. "That's a very valid question, and the difference is that I respect your culture and have no interest in interfering with how your people do business and run their government. It's just that the planet Cerinia happens to have tremendous amounts of a material that is extremely valuable and in very short supply. If I and my company were allowed to extract it—assuming we managed to head off Asgard's invasion—it would go a long way in making the military operation worthwhile to me."

Agata mulled over his words. Scrunching her lip, she replied, "Madha law asev voch?"

Voltimure glanced at Agata and then looked to Felix. "What if I said no?"

Felix frowned and hardened his posture. "Well, we do have one other option for dealing with this. But I don't like it, and I guarantee that you won't, either. If you say no, we might be forced to resort to it."

Both Fox and Scarlet correctly assumed that he was referring to the last-ditch 'orbital strike' plan to fire upon the planet's thyresium deposits in an attempt to render them unusable.

Agata stared at Felix, then solemnly nodded. As everyone else at the table looked warily at her, she closed her eyes and held them shut for three silent seconds. Then, she opened them again and stared into Felix's soul with an intensity that would put the fear of a god into the heart of even the most hardened mortal. Instead of speaking, she chose the form of communication that Felix suspected she may have had access to, but was hiding or avoiding for reasons that required little explanation.

"Felix Francis Sparta—I can sense who you are, and what you care about. You like to think of yourself as an altruist, and to a degree, that's true. But you always look for a way to twist your supposed generosity to suit your own ends. Your attempt at bargaining with me now is no different. You only care about my people as far as it concerns you. And I can accept that. After all, I don't care about you, either. If I had my way, I would have nothing to do with anyone here except Voltimure. But my hands are tied, and I'm forced to bargain with you for the fate of my people. So, my answer to your proposal is this: I will do what I can to allow you to set up a mining operation on Cerinia if we succeed in stopping Asgard. But the instant you try to interfere with our culture or our politics, I will make you and your organization suffer."

Felix sat in terror, unable to pull his eyes away from the searing orange irises of the woman seated close to him. He wondered to himself what resources she had to 'make him suffer' or if it was an empty threat intended to frighten him into compliance. But it certainly did not feel like an empty threat.

He took a deep breath in an attempt at calming himself and spoke, partially to Agata and partially to everyone else. "Very good, then. If we have everything we need, you should all get ready to head to Cerinia ASAP. I do have one question, though."

"Yeah?" asked Fox.

"Do you want to try to bring someone else along? Someone who's more familiar with Cerinia? I know that Specter's leader has a Cerinian in his organization, and Scarlet has close ties with him."

Scarlet shifted her lips to the side. "I guess that's an option, but from what the boss has told me, they don't like her. There's a reason she's with him and not on Cerinia. So, it's probably for the best that I don't try to bring her into this. The doctor seems to understand the language. Right?" she looked at Voltimure.

The lupine opened his hands and bashfully replied, "I do understand the language to at least a passable degree and am capable of holding basic conversations in it. However, I am nowhere close to what you would deem an 'expert.' The Cerinian language is complex and deeply nuanced."

"Well, it's better than nothing," said Scarlet. "I think it'll be enough, especially if Agata does enough of the talking with the Cerinians once we get there."

Fox tilted his head. "Couldn't we just communicate telepathically?"

Scarlet gave him a patronizing glance. "Your view of Cerinian telepathy has been warped by the few Cerinians you've run into being abnormally powerful telepaths. The average Cerinian can't talk with their mind like Neron or Krystal can. Most 'normal' Cerinians are strong empaths and can detect emotions and intentions, but being able to have mental conversations is only something the 'elites' can do, if that makes sense. We definitely need an interpreter."

"A role that I am more than happy to fill," Voltimure interjected.

"Glad to hear it," Felix spoke up. "Unless anyone has any other questions, Voltimure and Agata—get your clothes and supplies packed up. Fox—I assume you'll use your battleship to travel to Cerinia."

Fox nodded.

"I'll comp the cost of fuel," Felix continued. "As for getting Voltimure and Agata onto your ship, you can either take them there with your transport, or I can provide one for them."

Fox took a quick breath, then replied, "I need to head back to the Great Fox to get a few things ready. It'll probably take an hour or so. I'll let you know when we're ready to receive your transport."

Scarlet noticed traces of unease in Fox's voice, but said nothing.

Felix assented. "Very good, then. I'll get the transport ready immediately. Just let me know when you're ready." Turning to Scarlet, he asked, "Scarlet, can you take Voltimure and Agata to the Great Fox? I'll make sure your personal ship is kept secure."

Scarlet nodded. "Sure."

"In that case, I think we're done here," said Felix, moving to stand up. "Thanks, everyone. Fingers crossed that the Cerinians will be willing to work with us."

- § -

With the meeting adjourned, the five vacated the boardroom in short order, with Fox exiting first, followed by Scarlet. Still not knowing how to get back to the landing pad outside, he waited outside the stairwell leading down to the main level until Scarlet caught up with him. The vixen approached him with a serious, stoic expression. She sensed something was amiss. "Fox, is something wrong?"

Fox crossed his arms and looked at Scarlet with his peripheral vision. "I don't know if this whole thing is worth it." The instant he spoke, he glanced at the stairwell door for fear of Voltimure, Agata, or Felix silently emerging and hearing him.

"I understand," Scarlet empathized. "Let's talk about this outside, okay?"

Fox sighed. "Okay."

With Scarlet leading the way, the two traversed Gaia's corporate HQ until they reached the front atrium, which Scarlet guided Fox through until they walked through the front entrance and stood outside. All the same vessels as before sat motionless on the concrete landing pad directly outside the building—Gaia-9, Scarlet's interceptor, and Fox's Arwing.

Motioning for Fox to follow her, Scarlet walked to the left, out of sight of the main doors. Coincidentally, this put the two between Scarlet's fighter and Fox's. The vixen spoke, continuing her train of thought from inside the building. "You don't think the Cerinians are going to accept the proposal?"

In the moment, Fox struggled to meet Scarlet's eyes. He looked downwards, his posture less erect than usual. "They actually might—that woman doesn't seem like she's bluffing. They also might say no. But that's not what I'm bothered about."

Scarlet cocked her head, her ears perking up slightly. "Then what is?"

Looking directly at her—which required some level of determination since she was taller and weighed close to the same amount as him—he quietly answered, "Between me and you, I don't like this. I don't like any of this. I'm not a corporate pawn. I'm not interested in doing a soulless mega-corp's dirty work for them. I don't want to work alongside a race of xenophobic assholes. That woman is terrifying, and she has a god complex. I don't really want her on my ship."

Scarlet gritted her teeth. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, I don't like it either. You think I want to go to Cerinia? You think I want to help them?"

Fox opened his hands. "Well then, why are you going along with this?"

The red vixen narrowed her blue eyes, an aura of anger building in them. "Because if Asgard succeeds and I end up having to bow the knee to those blue fuckers after they monopolize thyre-whatever-it-is and start telling the rest of the people in this system what they can and can't do, I might light myself on fire with how angry I'm going to be. And honestly, on a more practical and selfish level, I want Felix to be able to keep his business going. After all, I live in his house and get a lot of work from him. And I could never repay him for everything he's done for me over the years."

Fox paused for a moment to take in her reasoning before simply replying, "I can understand that."

"What's your motivation?" Scarlet asked him, her tone of voice serious and assertive.

Fox grimaced and scratched at the back of his head. "I don't know, Scarlet. I think what it really comes down to is that I want to do the most good—whatever that looks like."

The vixen put her hands on her shapely hips, accentuated by her slinky flightwear. "No—what do you want? What do you want out of this? Don't be vague. That's how you get jerked around. That's how you become someone's pawn."

With a dejected sigh, Fox looked away from her and muttered, "I don't really know, Scarlet."

"Oh please, I know you want something," she spat.

Turning back towards her, Fox frowned, then replied, "Okay, fine—I want to fight for something that I actually believe in."

Scarlet returned a grim smirk. "There it is. You've just got to find it."

"Yeah…but I don't really have time to do that right now. We've got to get moving."

"Hey," said Scarlet, "We'll have plenty of time to talk about this on the way to Cerinia. And we can talk about your family, too. I think I owe that much to you."

Fox's suppressed anger at her for hiding the truth about his mother threatened to surface. "Yeah, I think you do." Trying to avoid clenching his fists, he moved towards his Arwing and prepared to climb in. But before he did, he looked back at Scarlet and told her, "I'll let you know when I'm ready for you to bring the transport up."

"You got it, Fox," she replied.

- § -

The digital roar of his Arwing's thrusters functioned as Fox's sole sonic background as he approached the Great Fox. In the aftermath of his tense conversation with Scarlet and the meeting with Felix and the enigmatic woman who claimed to be the Cerinian god, his doubts about his own involvement with the operation grew even more substantial than before. And if he was honest with himself, the thought of landing in the hangar and immediately leaving the Ichtosian System crossed his mind. After all, he reasoned, his own ability to affect the outcome of the operation was limited. Or was it? Regardless, he felt himself slowly accepting that Asgard's operation would succeed and that the supply of the galactic quadrant's most valuable material would fall into the hands of a xenophobic, unaccommodating race with imperial ambitions. Oh well. At least the 'good guys' sucked too.

Passing through the force field between the cold void of space and the Great Fox's hangar, he lowered his fighter to the floor next to Krystal's wrecked Cerinian ship, still in the exact place it was the last time he visited the hangar. He considered docking the Arwing in its launch rail—an act that would have signified his interest in bailing on Felix and Scarlet—but for the time being, he left it on the ground. Climbing out, he walked out of the hangar and made his way to the ship's bridge, where Peppy awaited him.

"So, how'd it go? What's the plan?"

Fox sighed and made eye contact with his mentor, but just barely. "I don't like anything about where this is going. To be honest, I'm starting to hate everyone involved with this shitshow."

Peppy nodded. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I need to talk to General Pepper. Do you think we can reach him from all the way out here?"

Peppy scratched his chin for a moment. "I think it's possible. You want me to try to give him a ring?"

"Please do."

"You got it, Fox."

Fox moved in front of the giant holoprojector in the center of the bridge as Peppy queued up the call. Three agonizing minutes passed before the hare announced, "Hey—he's on."

A split second later, the aging hound dog appeared above the projector, wearing his trademark red uniform. "Greetings, Star Fox! It's been a long time. What's so important that you felt the need to call me with no warning?"

Fox crossed his arms. "General, there's been a development in the system closest to ours. If I'm honest, I'm probably breaking a confidentiality agreement by talking to you about this, but it's too important to keep you in the dark about it."

"Oh? If you feel comfortable discussing it, I'm all ears."

Fox nodded. "Before I do that, I've got a question, sir: in the Cornerian high command, how concerned are you about the supply of thyresium in the Lylat System? What does that look like right now?"

The general's expression suddenly grew uneasy. "I'll be honest with you, Fox—it is looking increasingly grim. I'm sure you've noticed how much more it costs to refuel the Great Fox these days. Currently, we project that our supplies will be mostly exhausted in five years without significant rationing. We've already begun restricting the use of thyresium-derived fuel for small commercial vessels. The moons and asteroids we've been harvesting have been depleted of their viable thyresium deposits, and we have not found more significant lodes. To make matters worse, as our expedition crews have ventured closer to the Ichtosian System, they have been getting into skirmishes with Ichtosian crews who are also looking for thyresium deposits. So, it would appear that they are having the same problem."

"What happens if the supplies run out?" asked Fox.

"That would be a terrible eventuality," Pepper replied. "We would lose much of our ability to respond to conflicts in and around the Lylat System. Our efforts to conduct peacekeeping operations on the edges of the system—especially around Venom, Macbeth, and Eledard—would be greatly diminished. It would be a destabilizing event for all of the Lylat System. Our federation of planets would become increasingly fragmented, and there is little doubt that it would lead to an economic contraction."

Fox frowned. Letting out a sigh, he decided to reveal what he knew. "I see, sir. In that case, I think you need to know what I've uncovered. Right now, I'm in orbit around Skallis in the Ichtosian System. I've been made aware that an enormous thyresium deposit has been discovered on a planet called Cerinia. Have you ever heard of it?"

"In passing," said the general. "There is not much that is known about it. The people there mostly keep to themselves."

"Yes, that's correct," replied Fox. "Here's the issue—we have strong evidence that Asgard Industries—one of the two largest mega-corporations on Skallis—is planning a regime change of the planet's leadership. Their goal is to monopolize the material. And I and the people I've been talking with think that their invasion has a strong chance of success, because it's being led by Cerinians, and because the natives are angry with their current leadership. There is a bigger concern here, though, General."

"Go on."

"We think that Asgard and their Cerinian allies have an interest in making themselves something of a galactic kingmaker. If they truly will control most of the known thyresium deposits in this galactic sector, they might just be able to do it."

Pepper's expression shifted, becoming even more stoic than normal. "That is deeply concerning."

"I know," said Fox. "The people I'm working with have a plan for how to prevent Asgard from succeeding, but if I'm honest, I'm quickly losing confidence in it, and I'm also starting to hate the people involved with it."

"What is the plan, if you don't mind going into detail about it?"

"The plan is to travel to Cerinia and try to convince their ruling Council to allow us—by 'us,' I mean the Gaia Corporation, Asgard's main rival, to help them fight off Asgard's invasion force. Gaia's CEO sees it as being so urgent that he's willing to go to war when there's a huge chance of him getting no financial kickback from it."

Pepper took a deep breath. "I presume that he also expects Asgard to succeed with the regime change if no one else intervenes."

"Yes," Fox replied. "So, that brings me to the reason I called you: what do you want to do about this? What do you think I should do about this? To be honest, I don't care about the people out here. Skallis is a lost cause. The Cerinians are xenophobes. Ichtos is a dictatorship. I want what's best for Corneria and for us."

"Indeed," Pepper muttered, scratching his muzzle. "At the moment, it is not in our best interest to intervene in this situation, and by 'our', I mean Corneria. Political instability on the edges of the Lylat System is increasing, and sending large amounts of manpower into the neighboring system would only bolster the fears and concerns from the people out there that we're an empire masquerading as a democratic assembly. Not to mention that it would be tremendously risky and would have the potential to draw Ichtos into the conflict as well when they inevitably realized that our end goal was to secure Cerinia's thyresium deposits. This revelation about the planet's composition must be very fresh, because I'm surprised they haven't already started taking action."

"I think they already know, and they don't want to get involved with Cerinian politics and having to deal with an entire planet of telepaths who don't want them there," Fox replied. "But do you think they might swoop in after Asgard completes their regime change? After all, they'd be fighting a weakened enemy."

Pepper nodded his head. "I see it as being likely, based on what you described."

"But then they would have the monopoly on the material. How would that change things?"

"For us, not very much. However, Ichtos is an insular society. Although they trade with the other planets in the system that you're currently in and have a lot of hard and soft power in that system, they have shown little in the way of imperial ambition unless it explicitly serves their planetary interest. They don't pretend to know how to govern over societies that don't function like their own. So, although Ichtos gaining a monopoly on Cerinia's thyresium would be a negative for us, it would not be as bad as Asgard claiming it. Of course, that only applies if what you've told me is correct."

Fox sighed, collecting himself as a realization dawned on him. "General, here's what I'm starting to think: no matter what happens here, we're going to have problems sourcing thyresium. Even if Asgard's invasion fails, we're still going to be dealing with a shortage."

"Correct," Pepper replied. "And as it stands right now, for the reasons I mentioned, the Cornerian military does not have the ability or the appetite to intervene in this situation. You wanted to know what you should do, and since I and the Cornerian military have no skin in this game, all I can do is offer my opinion."

Fox opened his hands. "Well, that's what I'm here for."

"In that case," said the general, "The most beneficial thing you can do for Corneria is to damage and thwart Asgard's operation to the fullest extent possible. You said that you're working with a faction that you do not like. Use that to your advantage. Their success or failure is immaterial. All that matters is that Asgard's plan is either foiled or that their invasion force suffers a pyrrhic victory that would allow Ichtos—and potentially others—to stomp out their plans for monopolizing the material. And I suppose if we could reach a diplomatic agreement with the Supreme Commander of Ichtos after the invasion, our supply issues could at least be improved, if not completely resolved. I may be thinking too far ahead, but it's always good to have a plan, no matter how unlikely it is to succeed."

Fox let a faint sigh escape his lips. "That's how I've been operating ever since I got involved with the Gaia Corporation. Anyway, thanks, General."

Pepper nodded. "You are very welcome, Fox. If you pick up any new information that might be useful to me or Corneria, don't hesitate to reach out."

"Got it," Fox replied. "Again, thanks, sir."

"It's my pleasure."

With that, Fox reached for the holoprojector control panel and ended the transmission. Looking up from the display, he locked eyes with Peppy.

"So, what now, Fox?" his mentor asked him.

Fox response was convincing and determined, but ultimately unenthusiastic. "Now, we wait for our guests to land in the hangar. We're going to Cerinia."