Great Fox II
Fox stood in front of the bridge's holotable, glancing about at his friends and allies.
"Alright guys, there's two possible places that Star Wolf and Bane could have gone."
The vulpine turned towards the holotable and brought up a map of Lylat. He quickly highlighted the planets Fortuna and Fichina.
"These two are the closest to Katina, so it's more than likely that those guys jumped to one or the other."
"What if they split up and went to both?" Falco ventured.
"It's what I'd do if I was in O'Donnell's shoes," Katt put in.
"Glad you two mentioned that," Fox said while giving a nod towards Katt and Falco, "I've considered that possibility, which is why we're splitting up."
Fox looked about the bridge, quickly making his choices.
"Krystal, Slippy, you guys are coming with me to Fichina. Fara, you and your team can check out Fortuna."
After receiving some nods and a couple of affirmative responses, Fox glanced towards his second in command.
"Falco, I want you, Katt, and Amanda to stay in reserve, just in case they haven't split up."
"Whatever you say, Fox," Falco huffed before turning towards Peppy.
"At least I get to boss you around while they're gone, gramps," the avian snarked, prompting an eye roll from the lepus.
Finally, Fox locked eyes with Louise.
"I'll leave it up to you to decide what role you'll play, Agent Dortmund."
The black-furred jackal put a hand on her chin before glancing towards the Firebirds.
"I'll go with Phoenix's team and be an extra set of eyes."
Nodding, Fox said, "Alright guys, let's rock and roll!"
Several minutes passed as Star Fox and the Firebirds manned their fighters and flew out of the Great Fox II's hangar before they jumped into hyperspace towards Fichina and Fortuna.
Nygard Outpost, Fortuna
The sight of an outlaw being dragged towards the bondsman's office was not an unusual sight for the denizens of the settlement. Such things had been going on since Nygard's founding.
But what was making the pedestrians do a double take on that day was the person doing the dragging.
Bane didn't pay much heed to the glances thrown in his direction by the locals. His only concern was getting Kayce Declan to the bondsman and getting paid.
Speaking of Declan, the caracal hadn't stopped talking since Bane had captured him on Katina.
"Look man, let me go and I'll pardon you."
When Bane didn't respond, the wildcat shouted, "Let me go!"
Patience exhausted, Bane stopped in his tracks and yanked the caracal's head back. He then drew one of his blasters and pressed the barrel under his chin.
"I'm not gonna tell you this again, Declan. Shut Up!"
"Please," the felid retorted, "I'm worth more alive."
Bane simply smirked.
"Don't kid yourself, hairball. You wouldn't be the first one I've taken a pay cut on."
That seemed to do the trick, for Declan didn't say anything more as Bane resumed his trek to the bondsman's office. Finally arriving, the Duros pushed open the door and tossed his bounty onto the floor, getting the attention of the weasel behind the counter.
Standing up from his chair, the mammal peered down and let out a hum.
"Kayce Declan, eh," the bondsman said before throwing a glance over his shoulder.
"Ivan, Nikita. Get this dirtbag into the holding cell."
Bane and the bondsman watched as two identical-looking wolves walked out and seized the caracal under the arms. After they dragged Declan away, the weasel stated, "Now let's see about getting you paid."
A few minutes passed as the bondsman gathered some credit chips into a briefcase before closing it up and handing it to Bane.
"Pleasure doing business with you," the Duros remarked with a tip of his hat.
Fortunan orbit
Fara watched as the green hue of hyperspace dissipated and was replaced by Fortuna. Reaching out, the fennec typed some commands onto her Arwing's console.
"Alright guys, you should be getting your search grids now."
After both of her teammates replied in the affirmative, the Firebirds took their fighters into Fortuna's atmosphere in search of the Star Wolf team and their alien ally.
Within the cockpit of her Light Arwing, Miyu alternated between checking her scanners and glancing out her canopy.
"The way this is going, we're gonna hit another dead end," the lynx grumbled to herself.
Almost immediately after she said that, there was a beeping from the console. Glancing down, Miyu grinned as Cad Bane's mothership appeared on her scanner.
After turning to head in the landed craft's direction, the wildcat keyed her comm.
"Heads up, gang. I've got the alien's ship on scanners."
"Nice work, Miyu!" Fay exclaimed.
"Keep us posted on what you see. We're on our way now." Fara put in.
It wasn't long before Miyu entered into visual range of the alien gunslinger's ship. Circling above the clearing where the craft was parked, the lynx looked for any signs of life.
"Doesn't look like anyone's home," she spoke into the comm, "I'm gonna land and have a closer look."
"Negative, Miyu!" Fara ordered, "Wait till we get there!"
"Come on, Fara. The sooner we stop this guy, the better."
"Miyu…"
Fara was cut off as the wildcat switched off her comm.
Further away, the Firebird's leader shook her head before depressing her Arwing's boost pedal.
"Double time it, Fay. Miyu's about to do something stupid."
"Oh dear."
From her seat behind Fara, Louise let out a quiet hum before saying, "I get the feeling that this isn't the first time she's gone maverick."
"No," replied the fennec, "Problem is, she gets in too deep and we have to bail her out."
…..
After landing nearby, Miyu crept through the jungle foliage with her blaster drawn. Once she got close to the clearing, the lynx stopped and listened, her pointed ears twitching. Feeling assured that she was all alone, Miyu stepped into the clearing, sweeping the area with her blaster.
Finally reaching the underside of the scorpion-shaped starship, the wildcat glanced upwards and quickly spotted a pair of creases that marked where a loading ramp would be.
"But how to get it open?" the lynx thought as she glanced up at a trio of buttons marked by symbols she couldn't understand.
"Well, here goes nothing," Miyu mumbled as she pressed the centremost of the buttons.
The lynx breathed a sigh of relief as the ramp began to lower. She was about to climb up when a voice from behind made her go rigid.
"Something in there you want to put your paws on?"
Looking over her shoulder, Miyu caught sight of Cad Bane. In his left hand was a briefcase while in his left was a blaster held at hip level, but still pointed in her direction. Reluctantly, the lynx let her weapon fall to the ground before turning and facing the alien bounty hunter.
"Tell me something, Bane. Does Star Wolf know about your little mapmaking operation?"
"Maybe they do, and maybe they don't," Bane replied as he walked towards the wildcat, "But for now, they have their uses."
"Yeah, that's it. Come a little closer."
Once Bane had gotten close enough, Miyu sprinted forward in a crouch and grabbed hold of the alien's right wrist, quickly twisting it to make him drop his weapon before throwing him over her shoulder.
Even as he crashed to the ground, Bane attempted to draw his other blaster, only for Miyu to kick it out of his hand. Nonetheless, the Duros reacted quickly and took the lynx down with a sweep kick.
Both of them were back on their feet in seconds, Miyu quickly assuming a fighting stance.
(The Bosskman's recommended listening: Jackknife by Jim Johnston)
"What's the matter, Bane?" she taunted, "Afraid to hit a girl?"
"I don't take pleasure in hitting women," Bane retorted while straightening his hat, "But I might have to make an exception for you, little lady."
After a brief staredown, Bane made the first move, feinting a right hook before moving in with a left. Seeing it coming, Miyu ducked and weaved before knocking the alien back with a palm strike.
Wasting no time, the lynx threw a roundhouse kick, only for Bane to catch it. Having been warned by Fox about the bounty hunter's stun gauntlets, Miyu quickly jumped up and kicked the alien with her other foot, knocking him to the ground again.
Bane rolled out of the way of a follow up kick and retaliated with a punch to the gut that sent Miyu staggering backwards.
"Best end this dance now, before more of them show up," Bane thought.
The Duros quickly thrust his arm out and fired a grappling cable towards the lynx. Caught off guard, Miyu felt the cable wrap around her and pin her arms to her sides.
"What the fu….!" the wildcat began before Bane kicked her legs out from under her.
Disconnecting the cable, the Duros quickly wrapped the loose end around Miyu's ankles before standing back and admiring his handiwork.
"You fucking asshole!" Miyu screamed, "I'm gonna get you for this!"
Bane simply shook his head.
"The biggest problem with you is the noise. Thankfully, I have just the solution."
The Duros picked up his dropped blasters and briefcase full of credits before boarding the Justifier. He quickly returned with a roll of yellow bonding tape.
"You're gonna pay for this, you… Ughhhh?!"
Miyu was silenced as Bane slapped a strip of tape over her mouth.
"There's your payment, I'm not killing you."
The bounty hunter merely smiled at the lynx's muffled threats and obscenities.
"Maybe we'll dance another time, little lady," Bane snarked while giving the restrained mercenary a mocking tip of his hat.
….
It didn't take long for Fara, Fay, and Louise to find the location of Miyu's fighter. From there , the trio simply followed the angry grunts until they reached the clearing and found the lynx bound and gagged in the center.
Fay put a hand over her mouth and suppressed a giggle while Fara walked over, shaking her head.
"Has this ever happened before?" Louise asked the spaniel out of the corner of her mouth.
"A couple of times," Fay replied.
Fara meanwhile, stood over her restrained teammate.
"How many times do I have to say this?" the fennec chided, "Wait for backup before you dive into something."
"Ghhhhg mghhh oghhhh og tghhhh!" was Miyu's muffled reply.
"Alright, alright," Fara said before leaning down and ripping off the tape, eliciting a grunt of pain from the wildcat.
"I'm gonna kill that alien!" Miyu screamed, "I'm gonna fucking kill him."