I truly did not believe he had it in him to show up here, yet here he was.

The harsh and opportunistic chief of the Limpiadores, Gus, had not only arrived at our doorstep but also insisted that he come inside and have a gander at my Cloud Runner. I had no desire to allow this fiend anywhere near my precious Arwing, but he was adamant when I arrived at my summons, and swore that he had come unarmed and wished to arrange some form of diplomacy with us. I didn't question how he knew of the Cloud Runner; the friends I had made in his organisation were transparent with him on what they were helping me with, which was part of their agreement with him.

Knowing Gus by the couple of times we had met, I imagined he had his reasons as to why he wanted to see what we accomplished. No doubt seeing an opportunity with the Cloud Runner's requisition. I wasn't very trusting at first, but I was initially surprised to see that he appeared trusting of us and that we wouldn't act on him once he entered Red Bay, by himself while his escorts waited outside, leaving him only armed with the cane he used to walk with.

Gus said nothing as we walked him to the warehouse; he regarded me with a brief glare but not much else. I did notice how determined he was to keep his mind blank while he was here, especially when within my presence. That wasn't quite how it worked, but I did not air such a correction. He hadn't forgotten that I was able to read his thoughts after telepathically responding to one of them as I was leaving his mind, and seemed to be playing it extra safe around me by keeping his head clear of contradictory intentions and maintaining his limping stride.

Regardless, I kept a hawkish eye on Gus as he looked around our fine town. He might not have been the sharpest foe I have faced, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. He still possessed plenty of power even when at our mercy.

Showing him to the warehouse several minutes after seeing him through the gate, the bearded rebel leader in the tattered trench coat limped his way through the door flanked by two armed guards and welcomed himself inside first. He hardly made it past the lip of the doorframe when he staggered to a stop, gazing up at the stunning Arwing prototype sitting silently in its new ceilinged confines. I was able to tell that Gus had seen and experienced many extraordinary things in his life, but what he saw right before he hit a little differently with him.

Myself, Sabrine, Matthew Bridger, and a couple of other associates began circling behind him as we entered the building. Rob, Aaron and Shephard vacated the premises after knowing that our antagonistic neighbour would be looking at my ship. Rob and Aaron knew to listen and stay clear out of our business, though Shephard seemed more intent on staying to see things play out for himself. He was disciplined enough to know when he would just end up stirring trouble, so he left with the others. I knew he wouldn't leave far, though.

"Well, I'll be damned…" Gus whistled in wonder. "Looks like Francis's trust yielded some results after all."

"May I finally ask now why you are here, Chief?" Sabrine spoke up, sounding cordial enough, but her voice was discernibly stark as she crossed her arms, not enjoying having this man in her town.

Gus staggered a bit as he turned to face her, wearing a face of feigned sincerity. "Well, being that I'm curious, for one," he explained. "And two, I realised that I may have…misjudged our initial differing goals. Your blue friend here opened my eyes to a more productive coexistence between our two groups. There are many ways I can see us helping each other; sharing assets, and whatnot…"

"If you want that space plane, you're not having it," Sabrine told off boldly, clearly not daunted by her longtime rival. Her conduct was unbreaking, but I could just feel her ready to tell Gus off for everything that he was. It was still so uncanny having one's emotions begin to resonate with me along with their thoughts now.

Though visibly irritated by Sabrine's resolute disposition, Gus continued to smile genially. "Now, Mrs Grace, I never once suggested that I wished to steal this thing from you. And even if I intended to, I would have nowhere to put it. It's right where it should be as far as I am concerned." Gus shot me a glance in the guise of looking around the room for a moment. He knew that this was my ship, and he wisely stayed clear of any hint that he wished to have it for himself―even when I knew it was amongst his deepest desires.

"Now, for real, here. Let me pour myself out for a moment," he continued, with a genuine reach for an appeal. "I'm not going to undermine the impacts of certain strains that I might have put on this town for its differences in priorities. My loathing of the Combine has made me do inhumane things to my fellow humans who are simply trying to get by. I plea that you all find it in your hearts to forgive my past hostilities, at least someday when you think I've earned forgiveness."

Sabrine still looked unconvinced, knitting her brows more inward. I took it as a good thing that Matthew spoke up before she had the chance to cuss Gus out the way she wanted to. "I suppose that truly hinges on how you envision our groups cooperating," he said, critical like Sabrine, but pragmatic enough to hear Gus out.

"I'm pleased you asked, Berry," Gus said, already assigning Matthew a name of his own, which made the man raise a slightly offended eyebrow. "I'm a man of vision, see? I see an opportunity and I try to harpoon it in like Ahab did. You folks by the seaside, ironically enough, seemed to have hauled in quite the whale of an opportunity. Nobody painstakingly hauls a heap of wreckage across fifteen miles of land if they don't intend to use it for something.

I am under the confident impression from my loaned trucks and troopers that y'all plan on making this thing fly, yeah? I wasn't so sure of what y'all were cooking over here until now with it being right up in my face. I wanna do a little more now than lend a couple of trucks; I wanna send over some of my esteemed engineers.

I'm acting as a bit of an advocate while I'm here, see? They've been hearing tell of an alien spaceship getting salvaged and are hoping that I come back with the news that they can come here and help get it flying again. I'd imagine having folks around here having the know-how to fix up alien hardware are few and far between. Would you be interested if I lent some of mine?"

He was unfortunately correct; we had nobody here who could even entertain the notion of being able to know how to fix up a plasma-powered multi-purpose space fighter of any sort. A situation like this dearly made me miss Slippy even more. If he were here, he would have found a way to completely rejig the Cloud Runner using nothing but baling wire, duct tape, and the coils from the toaster over by the mess hall. So much of my life here would have been grander had my friends from Star Fox been with me.

"What inspires confidence that they'll have an idea of what they would be working with here?" Matthew said, more curious now than he was sceptical.

"Hell if I know, Larry; that's why I wanna see what they think!" Gus shrugged, indirectly confirming that his inability to learn names was more out of passive disrespect than an honest bad memory. "My boys have been tinkering and toying with Combine tech for years now, whether it be from salvaged wrecks or diving through their dumpsters. It's practically a homebrewed science, see? I have more than enough confidence in my tech-savvy accomplices; they could build brand-new ships and artillery if given the opportunity and resources. I reckon they could get this big puppy working again one way or another. Doesn't hurt to try, right?"

I looked up at my Cloud Runner in consideration. His proposal was certainly a surprisingly enticing and resourceful one for what was available. I couldn't sense any deception or alterity motive attached to his idea, nor was he trying to hide any from me. As much as I writhed on the inside accepting help from this crippled schemer, there were many in his organisation I trusted, and perhaps many more would be willing to trust me.

I had been expecting Sabrine or Matthew to follow up on Gus, but I soon realised that they were both looking at me. Surprisingly, as much as Sabrine regularly vexed her loathing for Gus, it appeared she had nothing she wished to say to him―nothing worthy of her care anyway―and Matthew gave me the impression that whatever happened to the Cloud Runner would ultimately be my say. I looked at Gus once I felt him looking at me too, following the others.

We stared intensely at each other, his propped-up friendly face wavering somewhat the longer we did. Wanting to avoid a dispute that could have disconcerting ramifications, I relented. "If you think they would be of help, then by all means. I welcome their help," I accepted.

"Wonderful," Gus grinned happily. "I'll be on my way back to the mines then. My engineers will be jumping like jackrabbits once they know they've got a job."

He began limping towards the door again, leaning extensively against his cane. He stopped about halfway over when he realised he had forgotten about something rather important to him. Or at least used to be important until certain interventions were made.

"Say, Doctor Mofuni isn't around here somewhere, is he?" he asked us, swivelling around on his boots to face us.

"He's napping," Sabrine said sternly. "He can't be disturbed."

"Ah. Very well," Gus shrugged, resuming his wobbly stride towards the door as we followed behind him watchfully.

Our journey back to the eastern gate was as eventful as our trip to the Cloud Runner's warehouse. Little to no words were exchanged between any of us as we led the chief of the Limpiadores through the vacated strip of Main Street, at least no verbal exchange. 'Mangy bitch from Yorkshire thinks what?'

I darted my eyes in Gus's direction, who made a deliberate jab at me when he loudly broadcasted this sentence so that I would pick up on it. He noticed me looking at him, and his own eyes were broiling with hatred.

'You are not charming, Gus,' I thought back bluntly, refusing to take that petty bait, and making him internally fume that I dared call him by his real name again. 'What was your true purpose in coming here?'

'I meant what I said: I wanna help you losers make that spaceship work again,' he answered back, looking ahead. 'But I just wanna make something perfectly clear, darlin'. To you, specifically. I don't care how clever or magical you might be, I won't be threatened in the manner in which I was. Make an ass out of me again like you did at my desk and I'm pulling those pretty pearly canines out of your mouth.'

'You don't intimidate me,' I retorted. 'I am only honouring your aid because those you have allowed to help us have proven themselves noble and trustworthy. For their sake and sanctity, I will not seek any more friction with you. But I am no fool.'

'No. You're not, aren't you?' Gus replied. 'Folks around here may start disappearing should you get up to any funny business while on my terms."

Gus then covertly glared at me again, and his gaze projected the coldness in his heart uncomfortably closely. 'Ain't no lightning show is gonna keep me cowering in the corner, mutt-face. You're on my planet, and anything that doesn't belong on it will feel retribution one day. Better get that furry blue tush of yours out of here on that ship of yours before then if you value your life and the lives of everyone who's adopted you…'

I watched Gus and his escorts return to their transport and drive away out of sight around the hill outside the gate.

I was feeling quite soured on the inside. The nerve of that thug to threaten my friends over his prejudice. Perhaps the engineers he would send over truly meant well and would be an invaluable addition to the Cloud Runner's restoration, but I felt compelled to keep an eye on them whenever they would arrive. I was not going to risk calling Gus out on his bluff it posed a danger to anyone in Red Bay.

Sabrine and Matthew dispersed and went in separate directions, leaving me to return to the route to my Cloud Runner, holding my arms as the end of my tail brushed against my calves. It was irrational to assume that Gus, all by himself with no help, posed a danger to us, but I knew how important it was to never underestimate how dangerous a weak individual like him was. What would he have to lose if most of his followers decided to help us regardless of his verdicts? He didn't have to hold back anything if he had nothing to lose.

"A…party…pooooperrrr―as the phrase insinuates," a familiar growl suddenly said, coursing my left ear. I stopped and looked over to see Ben emerging from the alleyways. The sight of my vortigaunt friend made my tucking tail sway with elation.

"Ben. It's good to see you," I grinned, walking over to hug him, prompting him to give me one in return.

"Likewise," Ben agreed as we parted. "You have reclaimed your ship. How does this make you feel?"

"Excited," I said. "It looks like it won't be easy to repair like I had feared. It also might seem to be bringing out the worst in someone we don't want to have steamed up."

"The chief of the Limpiadores casts a great shadow of mistrust over this occasion, yes, but his threats will yield no fruit in his favour at the end of things," Ben reassured.

"That sadly doesn't make him less dangerous."

"Hmm…" Ben grunted in mutuality. "Cast him aside for now. You must remain jubilant, Krystal. Today inscribes a great moment in our history. Great change will follow the Cloud Runner's awakening. The time to wake it draws close."

"Well, I don't suppose you would have a few pointers as to how to make that moment come any closer?" I invited. "Fixing her is going to be difficult with what we have."

Ben said nothing at first, giving me a coy vortigaunt smirk as I began to sense a commotion approaching us. Before I knew it, one by one, every vortigaunt living in the sanctum on the other end of the bay began emerging from around the corners of the buildings in front of us, almost like they had been staging this dramatic reveal on purpose. Even Jerry, the vortigaunt with a lame eye, emerged before me and closed his hands together.

"If the Krystal Randorn is willing, we offer our obdurate servitude in the quest of restoring your vessel of high importance," Jerry said humbly with a light bow of his head. "Accept our assistance, and your path to the stars will once more be yours to traverse…"

All of the vortigaunts behind him began to mimic Jerry's humble gesture in unison. I couldn't help but grin with overwhelming gratitude. I now knew for a certainty that my dream would become reality once the vortigaunts thought they could help.