Nova 7 - Submergency

by Phantom R.D.S. Foxx

OC focused story featuring (a) canon character(s). Direct sequel to "Nova 7 - Sunset". From the depths of the Venomian sea they came to conquer Lylat and now they are in Corneria City. With the new General and the helm and Star Fox still split, can Lylat be freed? Rated M for descriptive violence and heavy themes. Featuring Kip Starnova from Minty-Fivestar.

3. 2 - Murky Waters

2 - Murky Waters

- Groggy

Yesterday was a trip. It feels almost unreal. What they went through was a real-life nightmare. And one that was hard to overcome, especially when it came to sleeping. However, when push came to shove, eventually exhaustion overcame any blockade. And they slept through all of the alarms and all other sounds coming from the intercom. Even if the base was invaded, none of them would probably have woken up.

Phantom and Nelson were sharing that one-person bed where they first physically came together. Really snug and nice. There was temptation, just to get that stress out of their system as the contraceptives were this time already within reach, but in the end just warmth and safety guided them to dreamland. Which might have had something to do with PAL playing a soothing tone over the computer speakers while he was doing his own self check-up.

In Kip's and Calamity's room things were loud at first but then quickly turned silent. As they chatted about everything and nothing. Especially about what came over them. Kip found it easier to talk about what she had been through, now that they were far away from that place. Their conversation burned brightly with emotion, passion and even laughter, but quickly died down when their internal fuel tanks ran dry. Once the light was turned off, it was lights out.

Trevor himself was not alone, despite Calamity's absence. Because she really wanted to make sure Kip was alright. But while he was alone in bed, he was not alone in the room. Instead, Patches had brought over a sleeping mat. Although this was quickly replaced by a courteous act from the Lieutenant as he had brought over a camping stretcher. After making sure that Patches was comfortable, he left them to their business. Almost instantly, they felt like they were back at Metro. With the only difference being that Trevor was in an actual bed. And although they joked about this being a sleepover party, they too quickly snoozed off.

When he awoke, he saw that Patches had already left. Still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and half-dressed, he maneuvered around the stretcher while almost tripping over it. Cursing it to high hell, he eventually found his way out to the hallway.

Where he found Phantom, also still half-asleep but also half-naked catching some fresh, cool air. He looks like he just came out of a microwave and smells like it too. They share a silent greeting, just momentarily holding up their index fingers before Trevor leaves for the cafeteria so he can have some breakfast. Which by now has turned into an early lunch.

Another day at Tacker Field it seems. And despite looking roughed up, much like everyone else of his team, he does not feel too bad. He feels rested and satisfied. It is a brand new day and yesterday feels like such a long time ago. Even though the details have not eroded him, he chooses to look ahead.

He sits down with some of his team who are already present as the lunch lady comments on their "rough" appearance. Before caringly stating that they will receive an extra meatball each if they come pick up their food themselves. Free of charge. Unless one considers having to stand back up as having to pay for it regardless. Once all is said and done however, and everyone else has joined in, it is all worth it. While the eating starts silent but cordial, it soon turns into the usual rabble. Fun before the working day starts again; those reports are not going to write themselves.

- Caustic Cannonball

"Ah, I see a good night's sleep has done you all well! I know it did with me for sure." Nelson none-to-subtly winks towards Phantom before he gets down to business with the rest of the team now present.

"The Major and the Lieutenant will be joining us shortly. So please take your seats and wait until they're here."

Not having a lot of choice, the team complies and they sit down on their own chairs. It is not often that they do this, despite that being their purpose. It is more than usual that they come into the War room as everything is pretty much already prepared for them. They barely have any time to plonk their butts into their chairs before they are already briefed about the mission. And once done, it is right to the equipment lockers. All in all, it is more comfortable to be standing in that case.

About a minute later, the Major and the Lieutenant join them. As the mutt wishes them a good afternoon, the avian seems more keen to notice that they have actually dressed themselves properly again. But he is also glad to see them in good spirits.

Nelson double-checks that everyone is present before making sure connection is made with General Peppy again. Line 1 is completely void of anyone on hold, meaning that another call was expected. And sooner than later, the elderly rabbit appears on screen.

"There we are! Hello, Nova 7. I assume a good night's sleep has washed away your ailments from yesterday?" he greets while he adjusts his glasses.

The Major confirms this before turning to Trevor in anticipation of some kind of sarcastic retort. Instead, Trevor remains respectful and within limits. Otherwise known as silent. Which does surprise him just a little but considering what Peppy saw yesterday, it might for the best.

"Right. Because we will be needing you again." he claims but somewhat distantly, almost like he does not believe his own words.

"The intel you gathered from Aquas, got our scouts and intelligence personnel searching. And it led to something both interesting and ominous at the same time."

The previously shown wireframe of the underwater laboratory is put up again, but it is soon cast aside as a big red cross adorns it. Instead, another wireframe of a different lab is displayed. This one is considerably more flat than the previous one. Almost completely dug into the bottom, like a flatfish hiding beneath the sand. The only thing standing out is the completely black exterior. No windows or any way to look outside. Whether this is a positive thing, is yet to be determined.

"This drowned monolith is another laboratory from Andross's time. Once more, this one was sealed but we actually took some time to study its purpose this time. Given both its location and the testimonies of those who were unfortunate enough to be there…" he ends with a sigh as he looks down on the reports from that time.

Nova 7 does not have to ask what those reports entailed, as they were already digitized before and they appear on screen. PAL makes sure that each document is also transferred over to their CID's transparent screens. They detail inhumane experiments on Cornerian prisoners. Both military and civilian. They did not discriminate; if they were alive, they were exposed. But the purpose of the facility was ultimately never discovered. It was searched and salvaged as much as possible before also being sealed up. But now the Anglars have called it home once more.

"Please tell me we're going to sink that facility as well." the Major comments.

"That is indeed the plan. But not before Nova 7 goes in there and finds out what those bastards are doing down there. I do recommend you check for any noxious or mind-affecting gasses this time."

"We learned our lesson, General. We'll make sure to go in prepared for every scenario." Trevor states.

"See to it." Peppy answers somewhat sternly.

"Now, as for transportation, you will be using the Blue Marine again. However, be aware that you're not going to Aquas this time around. Instead, you'll be dropped into Zoness this time. And not the nice part."

"Great…" Kip sighs under her breath, not very fond of that place in general.

"You will be dropped just above the northern hemisphere." he continues to explain as the wireframe assists him.

"Once dropped, you will dive straight down. You will be entering a cave system, which will lead you to the lab. The cave system is very much not straightforward, with many ups and downs shall we say. Therefore, the Blue Marine's autopilot is inadequate for those situations. So you will have manual control in those areas. Be aware of any defenses; our scans detected a multitude of sea mines. Trigger one and you will be caved in."

Trevor turns to PAL and the two share a silent nod. Where one machine will fail, their own tamed and homegrown machine will take over.

"You will be against the clock as well. So we made some improvements to the Blue Marine's exterior. We made sure that its onboard laser weapons are reactivated, added an additional auto-turret on the top, made the hull stronger and put your "N7" logo on both sides. Despite that, the Blue Marine is not still equipped to stay in these kinds of nasty waters for long. Once you dock, you will have less than an hour before it will crumble to dust while you are returning to the surface. So work swiftly and prove your worth."

"We have and always will." the Major comments strongly, before turning to his team.

"Any questions regarding this mission?"

Trevor himself looks over his team members and can resoundingly state that they will do what they were trained to do. Like a proper White-Out Unit. After he finishes his sentence, he looks the General right in the eye. And the rabbit returns the favor.

Now they are locked into it. A few things become clear to Trevor right away. The strange, stern tone heard before towards him was not without reason. Something changed for the worse between his interaction with the General during and just after the liberation of Corneria City and right now. Even though the moment lasts only a few seconds, it feels much longer and more lingering than that.

"Good. Then prepare yourself; I want that lab destroyed before tomorrow. Good luck, Nova 7."

Without any salute, the connection is severed. Which is slightly perplexing but no one seems to be very bothered by it. As the team stands up to leave and go to their lockers, Trevor stops Kip momentarily.

"You know Peppy better than any of us… is he the type that easily holds a grudge?"

"No. Not at all. Why?"

"I can't be the only one who noticed. There was this… I guess contempt? He had towards us. I could hear it in his voice. Almost like disappointment."

"Oh, that. No, he must have had a bad day. Maybe the worrying about his daughter got him down. I don't think you should look any deeper into it."

Trevor sighs, relieved.

"Yeah, I figured something like that. It's strange having him as our General. I guess that's rubbing me the wrong way somehow."

Kip puts her hand on his shoulder.

"More than understandable. Especially because he's ex-Star Fox. But I can guarantee you; he's a professional. I'm sure he'll be better at balancing the army and his old friends than Pepper was." she assures before the two jointly walk towards the equipment lockers.

- Empire In Retreat

Walking through blue marble halls with arches stretching into what seems like quite some distance. Although the wall ahead is somewhat visible. The gently flickering light that shines from the outside in, casts the waves of the water against them. The ceiling is at least twice his own height. It makes him feel both important but also small. Then again, he is supposed to feel that way as he follows a carpet that leads up to the throne room. Despite his clear insignia, distinguishing himself as a Colonel, he will have to address the situation to someone so much more important than he is. And likely a little more indignant than he was before.

Two big red doors, adorned with silver calligraphy, open up just wide enough for him to go through. There is a rumbling but also a scraping noise as the doors drag across the floor. The noise mostly drowns out an icy scream. Once he is far enough inside, the gate guards close it behind him. He follows the carpet all the way to up to the more enlightened part of the throne room. Where, sitting is a rather sober looking but still tall throne, enshrined in natural looking light that is solely focused to beam down on the throne. And on said throne, sits the Anglar Emperor. Lord and mighty ruler of all Anglar kind and the mastermind of this invasion of Lylat.

With him in the room, aside from the guards, is the corpse of the General who failed to uphold his promise. A guard made short work of him and the Emperor accepted his apology for failure. And now his all-powerful eyes fall upon the Colonel who has been set to replace him. The gaze is enough to make the Colonel's knees buckle as he falls to the floor and bows with arms outstretched as his praying hands touch the floor.

"Rise, my Colonel. Your tribute is appreciated." the Anglar Emperor decrees calmly.

The Colonel does as instructed but keeps his head bowed down.

"Did you know your predecessor well?"

The Colonel looks over to his right to see the disemboweled corpse of the General.

"No, not very well. All I know, is that he failed you. And that is enough for me."

The Emperor chuckles.

"Very well. Now, tell me about the battlefield."

"As you command."

The Colonel makes sure to start up the screen and the projection of Lylat appears on it. The blue lines have shifted to the current yellow ones. It is explained that the previous tactic of the General, had failed because the Anglar Army was focusing on too many points and that their front line was too long and outstretched. Leading to a lack of supplies as well as opportunities for gaps to be exploited by the Cornerians. Therefore, the line has been redrawn to make it more straight and less complex.

"We have retreated completely from Meteo, Katina and Aquas. Our current line is therefore reaching from Macbeth, Solar and down to Fichina."

The Emperor grumbles displeased, but realizes that the previous plan has only caused losses so far. This maneuver will allow them to re-strengthen their forces and rebuild the supply. It is simple but effective. He then points to Fichina.

"Star Fox was there, were they not? We are still holding it?"

"Yes, my Emperor. The agent that the late General had placed, proved only useful as a distraction. Star Fox's ego therefore blinded them to our other forces still present on the planet. We are preparing an attack on their flanks with reappropriated Copperhead missiles."

"Excellent. I am glad that there is good news from the front. Now, I think there is bad news?"

The Colonel gulps, afraid to bring any "bad" news to his Emperor.

"I would not say… uh… bad… per se. Only a minor setback, my Emperor." the Colonel claims, trying his best not to stutter as much as he starts to sweat.

"Is that so?"

The anglar fish leans forward.

"Tell me about these setbacks then. Start with Meteo and Katina."

The Colonel obeys and gets his act back together, haunted by the prospect of ending up like his predecessor. He tells the Emperor that Meteo was impossible to hold without a three-to-one numbers advantage. And with their limited numbers and numerous raids those were subjected to, it was a lost cause. It was safer to pull back from the area entirely and live to fight another day. Perhaps a weapon can be found to obliterate all rubble in the area, so that the riff-raff have nowhere to hide anymore.

Katina will hold on to her reputation another day but they will be back to see it crumble to dust and disappear beneath the orange sands they once stood on. The number and supply problems, along with much more organized resistance from the Cornerian Army spelled their demise.

"Hence why we vacated those locations temporarily." he explains before carefully wiping some sweat off of his forehead.

The Emperor, not blind to this, leans forwards and scoots over to the edge of his throne so his own shadow almost completely casts over the Colonel.

"I see. I can understand that the problems you mentioned could have led to the downfall of our forces there. But Aquas… I do not understand. What happened on Aquas? There were no reports of any Cornerians until very recently, when those Fleet ships came out of nowhere to destroy our spacecraft that were evacuating people. What evacuation? For what?"

The Emperor is clearly annoyed by this display and speaks hypothetically but thereby only forces the Colonel to confirm what he already thought was the issue at hand.

"Y-yes… see… s-something…"

"Speak up!" the Emperor bellows, clearly not in the mood for a stammering wreck.

It causes the Colonel to reset himself and explain it properly.

"Sorry, my Emperor. The facility was attacked by the White Out unit that was mentioned before. From what we were able to figure out, your Chief Scientist was successful at first in testing out the gas he was developing, knocking out that whole team. However, the effect waned for an unknown reason and the unit was not only able to escape but they also blew up the facility. It is likely that they are aware of our other nearby location as well."

The Emperor sinks back into his throne and takes as long as he needs to think it over.

"Zoness. It is settled then. Colonel, I am putting you in charge of the defense of the Monolith Facility. Use whatever resources it has for you to ensure its continued operation."

"Your wish is my command, my Emperor. May I humbly request three squads of extra security? I do not wish to fall into the same trap as what befell Aquas."

The Emperor waves his hand in agreement.

"You shall have it. Go and prevent the fall of another facility our creator once built."

"At once, my Emperor!" the Colonel chants before bowing deeply once before grabbing his stuff and rushing off to leave his Majesty's presence.

---

- Seeing Green

As well as a nasty yellow, a jet black and a bright white. That is the composition of the thick layer of filth that covers the seabed of Zoness. A sticky, polka-dot blanket that is glued onto the waves. Like a planet-wide oil slick. And underneath it, it is very likely not that much better either.

Such a paradise this place was before Andross ruined it all those years ago. And despite not every bit of the massive sea looking like this, it is still very sad to see. Especially because they will have to descend through it soon enough.

But that is not the only thing his mind is going towards. Despite Kip's previous assurances, he cannot help but feel something itching. Just beneath the surface. And it is not just because of the sight of that putrid looking ocean.

He hears the door to the conference room open behind him. A voice as sweet as chocolate calls out to him as she was looking for him.

Calamity approaches from behind, puts both hands on his shoulders and lightly leans on him.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Trevor groans.

"A quarter then?"

There is no audible response.

"Trevor, I can hear you smiling."

"Shush." he retorts.

"Told you. You can't fool me. Now, what's on your mind?"

He knows that further resistance is useless. Especially when she sits down behind him, wrapping all her limbs around him and resting her head on his left shoulder. He sighs and holds on to her hands.

"It's still about that mission briefing."

"... ah. That tone that Peppy had?" she double-checks.

"Hmhm. It was… very weird. Like there was a total shift. A shame you didn't hear it."

"If I did, I would've been in your corner. Not that I'm not of course."

"I know what you mean. It's strange; something as subtle as this I noticed just like that…"

He feigns snapping his fingers because he has no idea how to do that.

"... but other more obvious things go into one ear and out the other. Heh. Maybe my middle school teacher was right; I'm autistic."

"Pfff. You're not autistic, Trevor. Just a little weird." Calamity assures as she starts fiddling with his mustache.

"Yeah, you're right. I have friends nowadays to help me pick up what went past me."

"I heard. That's why you have an XO, isn't that right?"

Trevor snickers.

"Urgh! I can't tell that bunny anything without it getting out to everyone else, can I?"

"No, don't blame her. She just likes you too much not to share everything about you."

"Getting jealous, are we?"

"Not at all. I was actually a little worried about you last night."

"How come?" he asks with a slight tinge of concern.

"Because I wanted to stay with Kip for the night. Instead of with you."

"Oh that? No, not at all. That was completely understandable. I was actually referring more to the fact that Ashley slept in my room."

"Only in another universe would I distrust Patches sleeping in the same room as you. … okay maybe just a bit then but it wasn't on my mind constantly." she admits but also digs herself in.

"No need to apologize. I know you by now. I just wished I knew those at the top a bit better. That tone he had towards us. It felt… distrusting. Accusatory almost. If only we knew why."

"I think I can help with that, Sergeant." the both of them hear behind them all of the sudden.

They heard no one come in so where did that voice come from? Both turn around, mildly alarmed. Confusion takes over however when they see that the Multi-TableTM has turned itself on and it is now displaying the head-only avatar of Admiral Sigismundo. Who now also notices the size of his own avatar.

"Jeesh! I didn't know my head was this fat. I guess it's true what they say; holograms do make you look ten kilograms heavier." he guffaws before returning to the situation at hand.

"I hope I was not disturbing anything, but I managed to overhear your concerns there."

Trevor wants to agree but is instead stuck with his mouth slightly agape.

"How did you…?"

"I don't know! I figured you would." he guffaws again.

"Perhaps you did the equivalent of butt-dialing?"

Trevor shrugs, looks over at Calamity but she shrugs as well.

"No matter, you're here now Admiral. Welcome aboard Thresher."

"Ah yes, my old ship. I hope you're taking good care of her. Yes, I'm sure you are. Back to the concerns at hand; I know what you mean. When it comes to the good General, he has experience but he is new to the environment. And that man blabbed. About you. He blabbed to the wrong people."

Hearing that, makes Trevor's skin crawl. Calamity can feel it, thereby feeling exactly what her husband is fearing. She does not know much of the internal politics that come with this job, but judging by his reaction and the way that the Admiral has brought the message, she knows it is nothing good.

"Let me guess; he talked to those that really don't like us?"

"Correct, Sergeant. Count yourself 10 points richer." the Admiral confirms.

As Trevor puts those 10 points into his pocket for safekeeping, Sigismundo continues. He states that despite the experience that Peppy has, he is still trying to find his footing. And he does not know everyone through and through. So he talked about the difficulties faced by Nova 7 to those that had an agenda to bring that exact team down.

"Likely they gave him nothing but slanderous material. Talking down what happened to you. Talking down the effect that gas must have had. And how stupid you guys were for not checking if there was any gas present at all."

"That's not fair!" exclaims Calamity.

"No one could've known about that gas. Why would there even be gas in a secret underwater lab on Aquas?"

"Ah, Miss Calamity. Apologies for not addressing you as well. May I say that you look lovely today?"

The unexpected compliment makes her cheer up just a bit.

"Oh… well. Charmed, Admiral. But I stand by what I said."

"I believe that. I believe that very much. It is not fair at all. It's all hindsight and talking out of their behind. But it's still ammunition that these blowhards will use for their own profit. And they want nothing more than for the White-Out unit to bite the dust. Because you're new, young and for some still unproven as a concept. And some old farts are simply against you because you're just that." the Admiral explains clearly but also with a very clear hint of irritation towards those stuck in the past and up their own asses.

"It's all politics and self-interest behind the scenes still, huh?" Trevor checks.

"It will always be. But you shouldn't have to worry about that; I'll handle that for you." he promises.

That makes both Trevor and Calamity perk up.

"You would?"

"Absolutely, Miss Calamity! I have full confidence in your work and your capabilities. I think they are utter fools for not seeing your potential and your accomplishments. Corneria owns you more than it could ever repay. But the least I could do is to give a little donation; if you all do your jobs, I'll make sure to spin a good yarn for you. Then we can call it even from that little debacle on Fortuna. All I ask is that you keep this between the three of us for now."

"That's a deal, Admiral." Trevor laughs in response, with that very first mission still fresh in his mind.

"And the next time we "butt-dial", you can just hang up."

"What? And miss valuable information? Not for the world. However, lunch will be served soon so I will bid you farewell and good luck for now. And may I even say; Nova 7, forever!"

With a big, hungry grin, he terminates the connection and the Multi-tableTM returns to normal. Trevor draws some much needed breath in relief that they have someone like the Admiral in their corner. Whereas the Major is capable of doing a lot for them and their reputation, this is out of his hands. He is not there often, having to be at Tacker Field most of the time. Having someone dedicated to that hidden aspect, is more than welcome.

"So. Any idea how that happened?" Trevor asks both to himself and to his wife.

"I'll never understand that type of technology…" Calamity sighs.

"Then again, I never had such a good grasp on technology. Don't trust it all that much."

"And yet you're wearing that CID with pride." Trevor fusses, only to receive a slap on the shoulder.

"You know what I mean. Or rather who."

It takes Trevor a tick to figure it out, but when he does, he wonders how. Because despite that voting having taken place, he did not notice much hostility or distrust between her and the floating triangle.

"Eh." she shrugs not that convincingly.

"I think he's passable. Along with that weird white friend of his. But I still don't fully trust him. How about you?"

"I never had any problems with him. Sure, there was this obvious dip in trust when he flipped the script and nearly had us all killed, but I have forgiven him. And I trust the both of them like I would you or anyone else for that matter."

Calamity smiles.

"That's very admirable, Trevor. Maybe I could do that too at some point."

"Don't force it on yourself. Let it develop on its own."

"Being smooth with words again?"

"Only for you baby." he winks at her.

"Oh, Sergeant! We're at work. Save that lusty behavior for later, please." she retorts, feigning prudishness.

"If you're gonna be like that, then get your cute ass up and fetch the rest of the team. We've got a mission to complete."

"Hmmm… alright, just for you honey."

Despite her earlier "protest" towards his advances, she still plants a kiss on his cheek and caresses through his hair before getting up. And as she walks away, she cannot help but at least sway her hips from side to side just to tease him even more.

"Militia Calamity! We're at work. Please, save that lusty behavior for later." he shouts after her while using her words against herself.

"You know you love it." she fires back while the door opens up.

"I'll report your ass to HR."

"Make sure to mention you called it cute."

Trevor has no chance to provide a rebuttal as the door has already closed behind her. Trevor starts to chuckle while shaking his head at the wholesome weirdness of that exchange. As he wonders how he ever deserved having such a life-partner like her. One who also took a liking to his dumb ass.

He stands up and approaches the Multi-tableTM. He puts his hands on it, wanting to turn it back on to see what happened with that call with the Admiral. However, he stops himself before even starting it. He looks up at the far left corner of the room. Seeing that red light slowly pulsating before it turns a bluish orange.

"Your handiwork?" Trevor asks.

And the answer he receives is the light turning green, but keeping the prideful orange intact.

"Getting a bit of an ego, are we? Well, I must admit it; that was a smart move on your part. It's appreciated."

The orange turns to a serious blue while the green remains.

"I will always be in your corner, Trevor. Even when you least expect it." PAL promises through Trevor's head-section.

- Operation Walcheren

Calamity has managed to fetch the remaining teammates and all are now gathered around the table. With the usual set-up, the usual suspects appear in their holographic form without having to switch to it from big-head mode. Which is appreciated.

The Major welcomes them to the next stage of their work, which will just be as important as the previous mission. He gives the word to Nelson then, who reads out the name of the operation but struggles with its pronunciation. Claiming that this word is clearly made up, which draws the annoyed ire of Phantom.

However, no matter how many times, he tries to correct him, he cannot get him to pronounce it correctly. So Nelson switches over to the back-up name which is much easier to pronounce for the English speaking individual; Walher. Which Phantom accepts with a groan. Trevor puts on his best supporting friend act as he puts his hand on the white vulpine's back.

"So, like I said. Operation Walher. The way towards it will be very treacherous so be careful. But also not too careful as the water quality is absolute crap and the Blue Marine is quite tender in that regard."
"Sounds lovely." Phantom mutters, not feeling very inclined to be cramped in a vehicle that can fall apart at any point.

"At the very least, we managed to make your ride a little more comfortable…my polar bear, dear." he winks towards him as the white vulpine had no idea the shrew could hear him.

"You were already informed about the exterior upgrades. Well, we did not skimp out on any internal ones either. We managed to increase the volume of the hold by a little bit. So at the very least, you can stretch your legs just that little bit more." Nelson reports with a smile on his face.

"Not to forget, is that we also had a boiling vessel installed." the Lieutenant proudly proclaims, with it clearly being his idea.

"Although I would not suggest serving anything hot while tumbling through underwater cave systems." he then snickers.

"I'll forgo putting myself on a platter then." Patches quips before she gets a "corrective" tap from Trevor as only he is allowed to make dumb puns.

Not for long though, because his XO asserts herself right away by tapping right back. In the usual spot on the shoulder, which never ceases to hurt that much more than it should. At least Damian thought the jest was entertaining.
"Back to the operation, people." the Major calls.

"While it's entertaining to see you interacting with each other, remember that this is important. Your previous actions on Aquas have had a tremendous effect on the battle in general."

The Major gestures to Nelson, who in turn pulls up a holographic image of Lylat. It shows that the lines of battle have been withdrawn. Previously, the Anglar territory included most of the planets and locations in Lylat. However, after their actions on Aquas, the Anglars sought to drastically reduce their frontline.

"Considering our incursion has proved to be very effective, we want to do something similar. And push those bastards past Solar and back towards Venom. So, while the Fleet is sent out to crash head-on into the lines, we have already surgically injected you past their lines. Go wreak the same havoc as before." the Major instructs.

"PAL and I have already checked for any hazardous gasses inside; none were detected." Phantom adds, which PAL confirms.

"Regardless, I want you all to enter with gas masks on. Only to take them off when you have confirmed on site that it is clear."

"We will, Major." Trevor assures.

"Good. Any more questions?"

Trevor looks around, seeing that everything is pretty clear to everyone. With the exception of Kip, who looks like she has something stuck on the tip of her tongue.

"Kip? Something you wanted to say?"

"Hm?" she looks up with a slight shock, not expecting that she would be noticed.

"Oh… yeah. I was wondering if Peppy… I mean, the General had contacted you after we left?"

The Major tilts his head a little bit, not knowing why she would ask that. Before answering her with a "no".

"I see. No, that's okay. I don't have any other questions."

Considering that Kip brushed it aside, the Major does so as well. He encourages the team to do their best as per usual and bring those Anglars down as swiftly and ruthlessly as possible. Find out what the purpose of the base is, collect any valuable intel and then destroy the base utterly. No prisoners; total annihilation.

"Nothing will be left standing, Major. Cal, make sure to bring as many explosives as you can with you."

"Does that mean I can finally use my backpack?" she says excitedly.

Trevor nods and Calamity is already mentally packing everything in.

"Anyone else?"

The Major receives no reply, which is exactly what he was hoping for. He wishes them good luck one last time before the connection is cut off. All the holograms return to the Multi-tableTM and it itself returns to normal. PAL disengages and makes sure to triple-check those gas readings. Trevor then calls forth their chant and it is replied in full.

As the rest leave for the submarine, Kip excuses herself for just a moment. Using a full bladder as a reason, she gets two minutes or they will leave her behind. Knowing that they do not mean that, she knows there is urgency behind it.

She enters the bathroom but does not sit down on the toilet seat, instead just locking herself in the stall. She takes out her phone and checks her messages. Despite the three messages she had sent before she entered the conference room, no reply has been received just yet. And that irks her beyond relief; he said he would keep an eye open.

While she is groaning at it, like a gift from some kind of deity, a reply finally comes in. But the longer she reads it, the more she suspects that this deity is actually a demon in disguise.

"I have taken a look at the situation and despite having taken your words into consideration, I am still not convinced. It is a sinking ship; you should leave while you can. I can assure you a good position with similar conditions to your current deal." is the reply she received.

"What sinking ship!?" she grunts through clenched teeth as her fingers get a typing.

She replies that he should not listen to some old-guard idiots and instead should listen to those willing to commit to change within the Army. In its current condition, it will not survive. And if he ever wants to get rid of his association with a particular group, that is the best way forward.

This time she does not have to wait very long for a reply. The tone of which is defensive, borderline insulted. He retorts that she has been blinded by feeling important and that she has no idea what goes on behind the scenes. What he has to juggle with already and that now their shenanigans join that.

"We work best hands-off anyway. You know that." is her reply.

Despite the calm tone of her message, the reply still feels like a defensive act. Stating the usual doubts and conspiracy theories that those before him already had about them. That their "leash" is way too loose, that they are still unproven, costs way too much to keep operational and that their leader is nothing but a warlord in disguise.

She almost feels like she is talking to some random nutjob on the internet, who has sources only that person is privy to. And although she has all the arguments that would invalidate all those baseless concerns, she knows that it is not the time and place right now. Instead, she replies that she will not argue about this, but rather she would prove it. By proving again why Corneria owes them more than it could ever repay.

Then she silences any messages that may come from that particular phone number. While she was tempted to block him, she is giving him one more chance. After, she and the now-General go way back…

- Deep Descent

Nelson was not lying; they did improve the leg room quite a lot. Now they can sit with their feet on the floor and have their knees actually bend at a proper angle. Instead of having to fold them up on their seat. So not 100% optimal just yet as it resembles one level below basic economy seating on a commercial aircraft but it is better than nothing.

With everyone present and as comfortable as can be, the Blue Marine is jettisoned from Thresher and plunges into the nasty water below. Through the small portholes, the team can see that even at a depth of only a few meters, the sea is almost dark enough to resemble a starless night sky. That goop which covers the water acts like a thick blanket, keeping any sunlight out.

Very soon, the lights on the Blue Marine turn on as PAL detaches from Phantom's back and hovers over to the cockpit. Which the white vulpine finds a relief, because having something on his back while seated was not optimal. PAL then plugs himself into the cockpit controls and assumes total control.

Like any good pilot, he tells everyone to fasten their seatbelts because when they are going to descend, they are going to be doing so vertically. With the instruction followed, PAL double-checks and then steers the vessel downwards while also increasing speed. And using the equipment onboard, he finds the hole in the rocky bottom. Making sure to angle the vessel in the correct orientation so they can enter without hitting the edges.

Once inside, he slows down and turns on the high beams to make sure that every part of this cave system is highlighted. As he maneuvers through, he makes sure to study every minute detail of the walls. Every bump, unevenness, crack, stalactite, stalagmite or bulge. Anything that could hinder their progress or damage the vessel he is in. As his eye makes a full rotation, he picks all of it up in a fraction of a second and maps it out in his mind. To steer the ship in such a way that it always stays in the optimal position and far away enough from the dangers.

Combined with the equipment on board, he can even project his scanning far ahead of him like he was echolocating. And getting crisp imagery back to make sure his next moves are planned out and will be executed flawlessly. Which allows him to even keep an eye on his team. Although he can only see so many from his position in the cockpit, just having a visual on them on the occasion is enough. It still gives him a green light when he looks at them.

As he looks on ahead, he allows a small portion of his working memory to access some stored memories. Starting from the moment he was told he would become an official Nova 7 member. Although he was already in before, he was grouped up with Phantom as 7-5. But from that point on, he was 7-6. It was a close call, but he has always seen this as a challenge to overcome. Because he knows that after what he did, winning back their trust will be difficult.

From what he could gather however, is that in between then and now, that trust is being built up more and more each day. He noticed mostly in the interaction he had with those who were against him rejoining. Whereas at first they were cold and short, perhaps even skittish depending on the person, he saw a gradual progress to a working, functional relationship. Like colleagues at an office.

And more he does not ask for. He likes this team and he wishes to preserve it in its current iteration. For this type of team to function correctly, no part of the chain must be weak. Not its linkage and not the knots. No matter whatever tension is put on it. And he will see to that if he has to.

While thinking about this, he is reminded of Trevor's words. About being selective with your data. To show or not to show depending on the situation, as well as the agreements made between people. For example, if someone were to ask him what was discussed between him and Patches during the formative moments of the team, he would likely not tell everything as some details are redundant to the ultimate conclusion. Or the person would rather not have a small detail be known to others. For the same reason.

However, with this selective approach, he could change the conclusion or even the subject of the conversation if such an agreement were to be made. Therefore, avoiding feeling like he has lied or kept a secret, as the truth could be another option entirely. Realizing that this might open up a lot of possibilities, he has to try this out in moderation. This new discovery is ripe with potential but also with corruption. Because what if he lies without meaning to but still thinks he is telling the truth?

This is a complex situation so for now he parks it and fully focuses on the maneuvering through the cave. And right on time too, as the mines start to appear. Some are chained down and appear stable enough, but others are propelled by an engine. Making them go up or down, or slide from side to side. With red indicator light blinking every three seconds as well as sensors that can detect anything close.

"Nova 7, please pay attention. We have reached the mines. This might require some maneuvers that may be unpleasant. Furthermore, I detect more erratic pathing ahead so please hold on." PAL calls over the intercom.

Not even a second later, PAL has to pull and roll to the left to evade one of the propelled mines coming towards them. Which would have thrown anyone without a seatbelt on around the cabin like a bouncy ball on the loose. Another pull to the right makes them think they are on a rollercoaster.

What follows is a moment of reprieve before another cluster of mines is encountered. And these seem to be homing in on them. So PAL has to make some interesting maneuvers to try and get them out without any damage. He increases speed to the max and zigzags his way through.

But there is no way of preserving anything when coming through the last one. Because of the size and shape of the vessel, he will trigger one of them regardless. He makes the decision to trigger the one that will be the furthest away from them when it explodes. So it will not damage their ship too much but it might cause a dreaded collapse of the cavern thanks to the chain-reaction. He activates the onboard weapons and with a clean shot destroys one of the chains that holds the chosen mine in place. Then he tells everyone to hold on tight because of the shock the explosion will trigger.

"Do what you have to!" sounds from the cabin to this announcement.

That trust uttered gives him that little bit of confidence he was missing. Not that he was not going to do it, but it makes him feel better about having to do it. With some good steering and throttle control, he manages to steer the craft through the web of chains and mines without a scratch. But once they are out, he speeds up even more to put it into emergency power. It will tax the engines quite a lot but it will be worth it in the end.

As the engines provide that much needed boost, the mine that was freed from its chain, has hit the ceiling of the cavern. The pressure pin, much like a nerve, registers the impact and sends the activation signal down to the core. The arming pin goes down and various red lights start to burn. The fuse is lit and but a second later, the explosives inside ignite. The lining around it, filled with small metal pellets burst out like shrapnel and pierce both rock, steel and other mines. The chain reaction is triggered even earlier, even before the fire can fully expand inside of the water. The immense pressure wave cracks all around, sending shocks throughout the whole cave. All natural rock starts to fissure as the polluted water, filled with methane and other flammable toxins, starts burning along it.

Within the span of but a few blinks of one's eye, the intricate webbing of mines and traps have been turned into a wild inferno. And it is quickly burning its way through the cave. The fire, still trapped by the compressed rock formations, can only go two ways and it destroys everything in its path.

An orange glow can be seen getting closer and closer from the portholes. Nova 7 does not even dare to look behind them; they felt the tremor and heard the intensity of the explosion. Even when it was muddled by water, it still sounded as loud as anything they encountered in Corneria City.

The glow starts to become red and spreads out further ahead of them. The fissures are also catching up with them. The ceiling starts to collapse as well but ahead of them is salvation; the exit. PAL predicts the patterns of the cracks, the collapsing ceilings and the fire catching up behind them and gives it his all.

Scalding water, bubbling with fury, is starting to nip away at the exhaust of the engines. Inside of the vessel, the temperature is steadily going up. Turning the whole cabin slowly in a boiling vessel itself. Sweat from the heat starts to form, particularly with Phantom, as the vessel itself is tossed around to avoid the falling debris. The rollercoaster has turned into an out of control spiral for those holding on to anything for dear life.

But in the nick of time, the Blue Marine zips out of the cavern and into more open seas. The fire that was hot on their heels can finally sizzle out completely before the cave exit collapses and trapping the inferno inside. Only for it to burst out like a volcanic eruption. Spewing stone and debris into the heights of the ocean. The cherry on the top of their singed voyage.

A relieved cheering comes from the cabin as they have survived but they have also made it; there is that laboratory ahead of them. So Trevor calls it in.

"Nova 7-1 to Tacker Field. We have managed to push through the tunnel and we are now approaching the lab. Time elapsed… a good eleven minutes."

"Understood. Well done." the Major replies.

"Structural integrity of the Blue Marine at 78% percent. With some damage incurred at the back of the vessel?" Nelson wonders.

"A little case of the lesser of two evils. It was either escaping from an underwater blaze or being in one." Trevor replies.

"Ah, I see. How roasted are you?"

"Still blue. But your boyfriend might be rare."

"Oh ha-di-ha, Sarge. You're so funny. At least there's no sand stuck everywhere." Phantom moans.

"Anyhow, we're all alive and still ready for action. We'll moor in about a minute and then we'll tear the place apart."

"Understood, Sergeant. Give them hell. Tacker Field out."

- Black Mammoth

"Masks on."

"Prepare umbilical"

"Confirm umbilical is attached"

"Yup."

"Uh... it seems they aren't letting us in"

"Heh heh. Good thing we have a way with words. PAL, convince them."

A muffled whirring can be heard, even from behind the thick walls that keep the water and umbilical out. The whirring gets faster and more ferocious until it resembles a chainsaw. Then the walls start to warp and melt from the intense heat from a constant stream of PAL's plasma shots. And not long after, the wall bursts open. Showering everyone in the vicinity with superheated shrapnel. Those still alive or standing, are not for long as PAL snaps to each of them and uses them as target practice.

Once every Anglar has been gutted, Nova 7 comes out of the entrance they fashioned for themselves. Trevor compliments PAL on his excellent persuasion techniques before the squad spreads out so they can cover all sides.

"Scanning for toxins." Trevor reports as he holds up a detector to check for anything that could inconvenience them.

A soft beep confirms the little device is done. And it is good news; it is clear. But Trevor wants to make sure that those higher-up have double confirmation so he asks PAL to re-run the numbers. Which the A.I. does with pleasure. Mere seconds later, he comes back with the same conclusion.

"Right. Masks off but keep them on hand. You never know."

Everyone takes them off and no one is moaning that they are gone. Breathing in one of those is not the most comfortable thing in the world.

"Nova 7-1 to Tacker Field. We're in. No toxins have been detected."

"Copy that, Trevor. Still, proceed with caution and keep us updated. Nelson out."

With that done, Trevor attaches that small device to this belt just in case before he lies out the plan. Phantom will scout ahead so they can move ahead smoothly. If he must kill, then knife only. The rest of them will stick mostly together. Kip will take point, followed by Trevor himself, with Patches in the middle until they can find somewhere for her to crawl into, PAL as the second-to-last and Calamity at the back to literally shield their rear.

"All clear? Good. Phantom, you get a ten second head start. Starting… now."

The white vulpine smirks, gives his Sergeant a two-fingered salute before turning on his active camouflage and running ahead. Trevor keeps track of time on his watch, softly counting to ten. Once he reaches it, he tells Kip to move in and the rest to get in line behind him.

Ahead of them, lies a dimly lit labyrinth of tall hallways. It almost makes one think of a mirror maze, without any mirrors but definitely as confusing looking. Square pillars create a patchwork of square paths that connect to other squares or lead back into the same. If it was not for PAL's handy map displaying their positions in real-time, it would have been difficult to maneuver.

There is a thick haze coming from the bottom of each pillar, which is identified as harmless vapor. But it gives off this odd, almost haunting atmosphere. Along with the dimmed, swamp green light shines down on them… it is as if what is ahead of them is not very kosher.

"Heads on a swivel everyone. Keep those eyes open and double-check the shadows." Trevor encourages as the team swiftly yet cautiously presses on.

Calamity suddenly responds to something she swears she saw duck away. The team stops but the map shows no unknowns. Trusting that his wife is not faking them out, Trevor tells PAL to check it. The A.I. lets out a short-range scanning wave which does not care for any of the surrounding pillars. But the scan comes back without any hits, aside from themselves.

"Urg… I'm not crazy. I know I saw something."

"It doesn't matter, Cal. We know you're not crazy. Just keep your eyes open and shout if you see anything. I'd rather stop another 100 times to make sure we're alone in here before I let any one of you catch a blaster bolt to the skull." Trevor assures before the team resumes their advance.

The team continues but nothing else of significance happens. Until they come up to a door. Trevor calls for Phantom to confirm if he went through or passed through one. And the white vulpine confirms he went through. Although they might want to make sure that they have their act together once they enter.

"There are no enemies here, but something else far more sinister." he foreshadows.

Trevor does not exactly know what that means but he instructs Kip to open the door anyway. With her weapon still in hand, she uses her off-hand to open the door just in case someone is behind them. Then everyone pours through before Calamity closes it behind them.

What is ahead and around them, is a very spacious room that is very open at the top but reasonably narrow at the bottom. To their direct left and right are square rooms with observation windows in them. A little up ahead are two more before the other end of the room is reached. That green light has been replaced with a more eye-friendly dark blue. However, it casts the place in this sterile, gloomy mood. Like an invisible blanket which does not warm, but instead suffocates. The blackened walls look very clean, but have this faint glint once a light shines directly on them. Some kind of fluid was definitely splattered on there before.

Looking through the observation glass of one of the rooms does not help much to ease any tensions. Inside, is an autopsy table. Still stained with various viscous liquids that look like they are tattooed onto the stainless steel. Clamps can be seen where wrists and ankles would be. Along with cutting tools, drills, needles and saws that have no reason belonging here.

While Trevor mouths an expletive, struck with the mental image of whatever went on in here, Phantom pops up out of nowhere holding a stack of papers.

"Yeesh! Oh… dammit Phantom. Give me a warning first next time." Trevor sighs after he got startled.

"Sorry, Sarge. Didn't know exactly how to approach you. Considering…"

Trevor takes the papers as Phantom gestures towards the ceiling, emphasizing the atmosphere.

"Yeah, I get that. Now, what do we have here?"

Trevor then looks down at the papers. They are clearly old; discolored and stained but in remarkably good conditions otherwise. As he flips through the pages, he notices various reports on patients. But these "patients" were not here because they wanted to be. They were prisoners. No difference was made between civilian or military; all were subjected to something horrific. This is a torture journal disguised as an examiner's report.

"Where did you find this?"

"In the room to your right. I'm sure there are more in the other three. But… if you don't mind, I'd rather not find them."

Trevor looks up and sees the distant, quasi-desperate expression on his friend's face. For someone like him, who takes regular joy out of haunting and then slitting the throats of his enemies, to wear that on his face, says plenty enough.

"Gotcha. Patch, Kip, Cal. I got a lovely book here but I need more reading material. Pick a room and look for it. Don't mind the rest." Trevor orders.

"You would do well to indeed not mind the rest." Phantom emphasizes before he leans shoulder-first against the nearby wall, while gestures to PAL to come over and help him take a deep breath.

As the A.I. attaches himself to the vulpine's back, the rest of the team mates heed his advice while Trevor calls for Tacker Field. He can hear the doors slide open one by one. Patches is struck by a waft of something vile smelling, which she can only identify as sweaty gym socks dipped in radioactive waste. Kip and Calamity are not that descriptive but are still going in with bated breath and squeezed noses.

They return with a folder each. But Calamity also brings along something that looks like a hard drive, which she sensibly hands over to PAL. Trevor meanwhile has managed to get Nelson on the line as he gestures to his team to take a break as well for the moment.

"Yes, Nelson. We found some stuff. Something nasty."

"Nasty? Define that please."

"How about I show you, huh?"

Trevor flips down his transparent screen and starts taking pictures of the pages. One by one they come on the big screen for Nelson, the Major and the Lieutenant to see. Each person written down has been given a number, followed by their name, biological gender and whether or not they were military or not. Below each name, are notes on what was done to them and how long they lasted.

"Direct nerve stimulation, femur breaking... ugh. That's disgusting!" Nelson shudders.

The Major's expression turns more cross by the second and the Lieutenant's expression is a mixture of disappointment and compassion.

The hard drive that was handed over to PAL has been read fully and is also being uploaded now. As this might take a while, Phantom gets back to his feet after his short rest. He sees everyone close enough to the main group, with the exception of Patches. Who is standing away from the group and her back towards them. Seemingly drawn in by the walls. He approaches her and stands next to her. She does not mind.

"Looking at something in particular?" he asks.

"Those walls… I can almost hear the screams. This place is dark…" Patches sighs.

And he knows exactly what she means. This unnatural silence. The chemical cleanliness of the environment. It is all hiding a hideous truth.

"Yeah. It is. Reminds you of something?"

She nods.

"A particular house in Corneria City. Back during the Aparoid Invasion. You?"

"Hm. Those critters too. A small village. Two of them against 150. Seldom did I see that much blood." he answers, his mouth feeling more dry the more he is reminded of it before he shakes off it.

Which she notices. Clearly it hurts.

"Still got nightmares about it too?"

He chuckles at the wrong side of his mouth.

"Yup. I mean, the RDX helps. Therapy helps. Heck, talking about it helps. But it's never gone, you know?"

She nods again.

"It's damn hard. Sometimes I see things… just out there. Battle scars on buildings. Certain sketchy figures with their hands too deep into their pockets. A scurrying bug or rodent that triggers a loud noise…"

He nods along with it, having some examples of that of his own.

"Sometimes I think that it was wrong getting on board. Never figured it would take away so much. Make such small things feel so… bad."

She does not nod, but instead she shakes her head slightly.

"No, I don't have that. Sure, I may have had a few similar thoughts from time to time. But what it took, was compensated tenfold by what I can do now. What I have now. I wouldn't trade it in for the world." she says a bit more impassionedly, with a smile forming on her face as she looks at him.

"However gruesome this gets, I know that we can get through this together."

"Definitely. I like that attitude. And if I may be so blunt about it; we do have an amazing team, don't we?"

The both of them look back at their friends as even their mood seems to be improving.

"Absolutely."

Then she holds up her fist towards him. It takes him a moment to realize what she is doing but once he does, he returns her gesture with a fist bump before they hear footsteps approaching behind them. It is clear that the break time is over.

"And what have you two been doing?" they hear Trevor ask, as they were not part of the group break so they must have been doing something.

Patches cannot really answer that but Phantom, off the cuff, manages to pry out a good explanation. He points to a grate that likely leads to a vent at the far wall just to his left.

"I figured that might be a good way to drop our Specialist off to do her thing. I was merely showing it off to her."

Trevor smiles and tells them both that they did good. As the others catch up, they seem quite chipper in comparison with a few moments ago. Trevor then shares what else has already been discussed in their background. That hard drive has been thoroughly searched through and it speaks of a device that the Anglars are desperately searching for before they were even attempting to reuse those labs. It was only after they were unable to find it, is when they started to look into the nooks and crannies of Lylat. Coming across those labs but still not finding what they were looking for.

"So, the re-activation of these labs was just them taking advantage of what they had?" Patches reasons.

"Yup. And while they were there, they thought they might as well have some use out of it. But we still do not know what the purpose of this one is." Trevor answers.

"But… then there are more out there? More of Andross' secret labs?"

"Correct Phantom. Likely we're gonna be sent to all of them until we find that device. Because it turns out that this device might be the key to the Anglars' destruction."

Now the positive attitudes of everyone else makes more sense. If they can get that device before the Anglars do, they have a trump card. Maybe even the upper hand in this war.

"That's exactly why the Major wants us to proceed right now. For the sake of catharsis however, we'll spike this whole place. Cal; get your backpack open and share some explosives amongst us. I hope you brought enough for all of us?"

Calamity smiles and heartily assures that she brought enough to bring the whole house down as she puts the backpack down. Loosening the flap, unveils a stack of high-tech looking green devices. Each takes one so every room can be spiked. Although they are small enough to be held by one hand, Calamity assures them that it will do for each room just fine. Those who went into the rooms already, are a lot more eager to re-enter them now as they set it up. To be detonated remotely whenever the dog presses the trigger button.

"Right. We've had our fun now." Trevor reminds them.

"No more dilly-dallying. Phantom, help Patches up to the grate. And then resume your previous task; we'll be behind."

---

- Infinite

It has been a minute since they left that collection of torture cubes as they roam the hallway ahead. Despite the positives they got out of it, the bitterness is still palpable on their tongues. And this goes also for the bunny in the air vents and the invisible vulpine scouting ahead of them.

To make sure that their thoughts do not dwell on this for too long, Trevor breaks the silence by asking his scout if he has seen anything yet.

"Nothing of notice. The next room you'll be going into likely used to be a conference room or something. But they removed the table. Screen wouldn't turn on and only the door to the front right would open. It did shut completely after I went through so make of that what you will."

"Copy, Phantom. Keep an eye open for anything else."

Trevor then switches over to Patches, asking the same question.

"Still crawling through these vents. It's been eerily quiet; I haven't seen a single soul here."

"No one to eavesdrop on?"

"None at all. It's very rude. Are we sure that this place was recently reinforced?"

"Likely they are waiting somewhere deeper into the structure."

"I hope so…"

"You're expecting something to jump out at us?"

"Not really, but I have this feeling that those security teams will be the least of our problems."

This makes Trevor think. Aside from those guards at the entrance, everything else has been vacant. No trail of anyone else alive in here aside from themselves. Not even any litter on the floor. This absence of direct danger only strengthens the feeling that they are being observed. Being messed with. Led towards a trap somewhere down the line.

"I know that feeling. But keep going until you've reached the security room. Be in touch."

"I always will, Trevor. Keep yourself alive. Patches out."

He smiles while he continues on with the rest of Nova 7. Until he reaches a door that opens by parting through the middle. Behind that door lies that room that Phantom mentioned before.

With weapons still drawn, they enter as they fan out a little bit to cover as much ground as possible. Checking every corner of the room but ultimately not finding anything. Considering everything is clear, they lower their weapons. Only to find the door they came through shut in the blink of an eye.

Before they can respond appropriately, the screen turns on. There is nothing but static at first but then the screen lifts itself up. Likely controlled from somewhere deeper within the facility. And it does make them look up, which seems to be the only reason why it does that. Adding to that, is that the system is taking a long time to get the screen up to the desired height. To the point where PAL suggests that he should hack the system so he could make it rise faster. Which does not fail to make Trevor and Kip chuckle. Even Calamity has a smile on her face in response.

Eventually, the screen reaches its end point and then it actually starts to broadcast something. But unlike something entertaining, no matter how low-brow, it instead displays some big mouth yet flat faced Anglar. With a mug only a mother could love, he introduces himself as Colonel Zakur of the Anglar Army.

"So, this is the Cornerian rabble that has taken the lives of so many of my brethren? That they even fell to you lot, bah! But I suppose you must have something in you to defeat them. Tell me; how did it feel? To kill so many innocents on Aquas?"

Trevor takes exception to that statement.

"Innocents? Those bastards? No no, they were not innocent. They were actively participating in the creation of a mind-altering chemical weapon! You know who were innocent? Those hundreds of men, women and children your kind murdered in the streets of Corneria City!" he shouts back with a proper accusatory finger.

"Ah, that was nothing! Your kind is an evolutionary dead-end anyway. We would have done you all a favor being under our control. At least you wouldn't die… right away." he smirks.

Trevor wants nothing more than to punch his head off. However, then he hears from Patches that she has reached the security room. And she is going to give PAL all the access he needs. That little boost of positivity already makes his mood a lot better.

"Alright then, Colonel Holocaust. Why don't you tell me what your fishy-ass is doing over here so we can put a stop to it?"

"Heh heh, feisty ones aren't you? Fine, I shall talk. But only because you wouldn't survive what is to come." he chuckles as he strokes where his chin would be.

"This place, this wonderful place, will be your tomb. And from it, I will pollute Lylat with my brethren for the glory of our Emperor! Given that you came from the extraction chambers constructed during the time of our creator, you're likely aware of what it all took to achieve. He intended to find a way to infinitely clone soldiers using nothing more than a clump of tissue and muscle mass. And the torture? A means to an end; he needed to know how much was enough for the process to function properly."

The shock of the reveal is palpable throughout the room. The purpose of this facility, was to re-create DNA for cloning purposes. Creating an infinite army from a set template. If Andross was able to literally birth an army out of seemingly nothing… This war could drag on until Corneria would be depleted. And now the Anglars have it under control.

Trevor cannot help but think about that Aparoid Hybrid that was melted inside that reactor core and how it wanted to use him as a template for an infinite army of its own. Seeing this process, all that pain being inflicted on innocents… makes his blood quietly boil.

Along with him, are the rest of Nova 7 present within the room. Kip is on the verge of shooting that TV screen off of its high horse. The metal around PAL's eye starts to retreat as his tendrils poke out and look mighty tense. Calamity's grip on her shotgun tightens as her trigger finger slowly moves down to the trigger itself.

The Colonel, either unimpressed or unaware, continues to boast about the glory of his empire, how they will not be alone in this facility for long and how this place will bring him closer to his dream; surpassing his former boss by actually properly serving his Emperor. All of it comes to an end as a stab of an unseen weapon right into his back, forcing all of the air out of his lungs.

"A-haagh…!" he exclaims as the initial shock and pain is overtaken by devastation.

The weapon is then pulled out and placed over his neck where it is now visible for Nova 7. And its holder wastes no time by cutting it from right to left. As the blood mixed with water pours through the fresh cut, it starts to fill up the empty lungs as well. Clutching to whatever life there is left as he chokes on his own bodily fluids, he falls to his knees and out of frame. Before a thud is heard and the Colonel is forever silenced.

The holder of the blade then deactivates his active camouflage and reveals himself to be Phantom. Who apologizes for letting the guy ramble on for so long but he had to know as much as possible before he was no longer useful.

"Well done, Phantom. And good timing too." Trevor compliments, relieved that he never has hear that stupid fish ever again as the rest of the team stands down as well.

"I wish it was good timing, Sarge. I'm afraid I might have been a bit late regardless. This prick has already set things in motion here. I need PAL over here ASAP." he states, clearly disturbed by something.

With the press of a button, the door he went through before opens up. Trevor gives PAL permission to rush over and join him. The tendrils retreat back into his casing and he floats away with haste. Zooming through the hallways before eventually reaching a massively large room that reminds him of starship docking stations. On the ceiling, there are dozens of cylindrical cases hanging on hooks. One can only imagine what they contain. He then rushes over to Phantom in the distance, standing at a console he cannot make much sense out of.

While the IT-personnel gets busy, Trevor gets an unfortunate message from Patches. She has been able to take control of the security systems. And she confirms what Phantom said before; things are already set in motion.

"I can see them. Dozens of like… tanks filled with people and fluid. And the fluid is draining!"

"People? What kind of people? Anglars?"

"Yes, but some look exactly the same as the others. And I know why."

She flicks over to another camera with some hesitation, knowing what it will display. There she can see, piled up and thrown away like old paper, are those security teams that were said to be there. All of them dead, naked and with something missing. An arm, a leg or just a chunk taken out of their body. And some of them on the pile look exactly like those in the tanks.

It clicks with Trevor and the rest of Nova 7 now. The Colonel's words, as well as everything they have unraveled about this place. What Andross could not finish, the Anglars just did. And they are now able to create a whole new army. And according to Patches' testimony, they do not even need to wear those water suits; they can survive in a normal atmosphere.

The moment they walk out to adhere to their orders and tackle Nova 7's presence, the tanks close and fill up with fluid again. To create even more.

"Crap… PAL! Where do these clones end up at?"

PAL searches but only takes about a second or two to reach a conclusion; the door on their left will open soon enough to let them through.

"Right, that's it. Patch! Take everything of value and then sabotage as much as you can. After that, come to our location. Kip, Cal. Set up some defenses and be ready to repel those clones. Phantom, PAL. I'm on my way."

With the plan set up, Trevor runs over to where the techies are. Behind him, Calamity deploys her shield and hands Kip two of her portable shields so she can lay down with her machine rifle to provide suppressing fire.

"Tacker Field, come in! We found out what the purpose of this facility is! Sending you all the recorded data."

"Copy that, Sergeant. Can you summarize it in a few words?"

"Infinite. Clone. Army."

The Major and the Lieutenant look at each other when they hear this. And almost simultaneously, they get a shiver running down their backs.

"Gross… I hate fish." Damian responds.

"Not even the fried variant?"

"Is that sarcasm at a moment like this, Clef?"

The avian can hear the mutt chuckling. He sighs and laments that Trevor had an unfortunate effect on him regarding stereotypes and choosing your moments.

"Just because I drink tea…"

"Yeah, yeah, lighten up, Lieutenant. Anywho: Nelson! I want a live feed on their endeavors."

Nelson starts typing to set it up, but given the distance and the structure of the building makes it hard to connect to. The Major orders to keep trying while he tells Trevor to find a way to stop the cloning altogether.

Which the corsac fox would love to do in a heartbeat. He skips around the corner and enters the gigantic room that PAL and Phantom entered once before. After some brief fascination with it, he runs up to the couple. PAL has his tendrils firmly into the system while Phantom is connected via his A.I. friend using the CID so he can assist. But whereas Trevor was impressed by the room, so are the pair enamored by what they see on the screen.

"Tell me you guys aren't looking at something we have to censor later on?"

"Hm? What? No, of course not, Sarge. We got good news; we managed to stop the procedure. Bad news though; the code has managed to already start several cycles of clones. Without any way of stopping those already in progress."

"Damn… that means that the ladies have their work cut out for them. Right; time to destroy it all. PAL, you're already hooked up. Time to delete the code." he orders.

PAL and Phantom then lock eyes and both look like they were expecting this.

"Sergeant, we will not disobey your orders. But see the potential this code has." PAL says.

"This code can be used on all Cornerian supercomputers. Imagine this as a last resort. When all hope is lost, we could create an infinite army of our own."

"Exactly! Win by pure attrition alone. And no civilians will have to be forcibly conscripted, saving their lives in the process." Phantom adds to it.

Trevor can see the potential of it. It has happened three times right now in the span of about a decade. Corneria completely on the backfoot each time, almost on the brink of collapse thanks to a lightning fast attack that broke through their meager lines. Causing chaos and destruction in the hope for a quick victory.

This infinite army could be used to overwhelm anyone with numbers alone. Even if five of their own fall, as long as they take one with them… that one cannot be easily replaced. While Corneria could pump out unlimited amounts of soldiers with the press of a button.

And as he thinks about it more, he is reminded of how little is needed to create them. And how those clones will act like their template. He can already imagine a trained soldier to be used as a template. Or even… someone like him.

"I see… let me contact Tacker Field."

He establishes contact again but the enthusiasm he felt before is beginning to dip again. He realizes the temptation of this but he can also see the downsides of it as well. Those moral questions that will spring up after it is all over. A pinch of disgust is added to it as well, as he remembers how he felt when the Colonel told him about it at first. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, it does not seem so bad anymore…

"Tacker Field reporting." Nelson greets as he still tries to establish contact with their CID cameras.

"Nelson, get me the Major."

Hearing this, Clef takes a step forward and takes over Nelson's line.

"Go ahead."

Trevor then tells him about the code. How it could be implemented and used. At first, the Major appears concerned with this information. But the more he hears, the bigger his smile becomes. This is a military leader's dream; none of your own personnel gets hurt and you still win the war. As thoughts of grandeur and potential fill his head, his friend can see the writing on the wall.

"Clef!" he calls out.

"You're drooling."

The Major snaps out of it and he catches himself indeed almost salivating over that prospect.

"Sorry. That was unprofessional. You have something to say about it?"

"I can see what goes on in that head of yours. And I really dislike it. Just imagine the consequences. What to do with the survivors? Who have only known war and nothing else?"

The Lieutenant brings up a good point. This infinite army brings with it a plethora of issues. Moral questions. Are they people? Do they have basic rights or are they only just cloned slabs of meat to be sent into the endless meat grinder that war is.

"Yes… I see your point." the Major laments before telling Nelson to contact the General.

"Sergeant Trevor, standby for confirmation on the next step."

Nelson shifts over to Line 1 but encounters some interference. Like someone else is hogging the line.

"Try Line 2."

Nelson switches over and this time he gets through. And sooner than later, the General appears on the screen. The rather nonchalant way he greets them makes the Major fold his arms.

"Line 2, General?" he asks sternly.

"Oh… nothing but an administrative decision on our part, Major." Peppy bluffs.

"But you're here now. How can I help you?"

"We found the purpose of the lab. It's a cloning facility from Andross' time. He couldn't finish it, but the Anglars have."

The shock on Peppy's face can be seen from space.

"My word… tell me you are shutting it down!"

"We already have, General." the Lieutenant assures.

"Nova 7 is cleaning up the facility as we speak. But that is not necessarily what we wanted to report. Nelson?"

The shrew nods and brings up the recorded conversation between Trevor and the Major from a few moments before. Although it is slightly edited, courtesy of the active ABC-project he ran it through just before. He plays it for the General and his mood positively changes.

"I see. That's why you were calling. Let's discuss this further on Line 1."

The transmission is cut and the Major tells Nelson to follow him but not before he thanks the Liaison Officer for editing his less-than-professional attitude out of that conversation. The shrew makes a quick and shallow bow before he switches over to Line 1.

"Are we important enough again now?" the Major smirks as he adjusts something on his earpiece before he refolds his arms as the General comes back on.

"Not the moment, Major. You have your hands on a very important piece of code. One very useful. But I understand the ramifications. I will put this up to internal debate. One moment."

The screen goes black for a moment as "ON HOLD" is shown. The situation is slightly tense for Tacker Field. If they go through with it, it could mean Corneria and Lylat by proxy will go through a massive change. If cloning is possible, it could mean so many advances in medical studies. But also for the military of course as from that point on they would have a trump card up their sleeve.

On the other hand, if it does not go through, it means that a lot of questions and issues will remain unaddressed. For better or for worse, Lylat would stay the same and progress at a normal, gradual pace.

It is clear who feels towards what end more when it comes to those present in the War Room. The General then comes back to break the tie. And unfortunately for the Major, it has been decided that the code must be destroyed. Despite the potential it has, what will remain after a war, will be clones that know only war and battle. The effort and time it would take to decide what to do with them, is too much for the government.

"In other words; too much money and too much controversy regardless of our actions?" the Major translates from political drivel into blunt reality.

"Yes. If they are allowed to stay alive, then integration will be hell. If they cannot be left alive, they need to be disposed of. No matter the choice, there will be protests. And we can't have that."

"Simple as that then." the Lieutenant summarizes, with an audible disdain for the way it is presented.

"I am aware of how it sounds. But that is how it is seen in the grand scheme of things."

Damian fusses and almost turns away in disgust but stays "professional". In the grand scheme of things, even one single, innocent life should be important enough not be trodden on or disposed of that easily. The ends do not justify the means. So he is happy it is gone but not necessarily for the reason why.

"Major, you and your team have your orders. Destroy that code and the base with it. And… well done." the General closes off with some reluctance.

Again, the Major smirks as he gives him a two-fingered, Trevor-like salute before the connection cuts out again. A tech operator behind the General asks him if Tacker Field should be put back to Line 2 again. Peppy sighs, taking a moment to collect his thoughts before he carefully nods. A switch is flipped and they are back on Line 2.

Something which Nelson spots right away and makes the Major aware of. The Lieutenant cannot believe this petty behavior from someone that high up but the Major counters by stating that the rank or position matters not. It is the character and the knowledge of the person that counts. And while he does not doubt Peppy on the first, the latter is severely lacking.

"Sergeant, did you hear all of that?"

"I did, Sir. I'll make sure the code is destroyed."

"You do that. And Trevor? You are likely correct in your suspicion."

"Great… I wish I wasn't."

"Neither am I. Finish the job and maybe our fortunes may change."

"To that, I will toast soon enough. Nova 7-1 out."

With that done, Nelson retries to connect with the camera's on their CID's, but the Major stops him. There is no longer any need; Trevor said he will sort out the problem so he will trust him on that. Seeing that much confidence, makes the shrew smile and almost hold up his hand for a high-five. Before he realizes how dumb that might be.

But the Major, in a good mood, gestures to get that hand back up so he can finish it up properly. Which makes the little shrew overjoyed and more motivated to finish up some remaining work leftover. It also does not fail to lighten Damian's mood.

Back at the facility, Trevor is just about done relaying the orders to PAL and Phantom when he gets a call from Kip, saying that they need some support as they keep pouring through in larger and larger numbers.

"PAL! How many more are on their way?"

"Checking… there were three more cycles we could not stop. Each cycle has produced more clones… estimated about 450 are still being developed."

"450!?" Kip shouts as the belt she has just put in has already depleted.

"I'm not sure we're gonna make that. Unless we bash their heads in one by one… which doesn't sound too bad on second thought."

"Though I would love to see that, I'd rather keep all you alive and out of enemy waters. I'll be there."

He turns to the IT-twins.

"Get this code deleted ASAP and try to harass those clones in whatever you can. Then, try and find something to make this whole place blow up."

Trevor then takes off, running to assist his partner and wife while cursing at Patches on why she is taking so long. While the two left behind do not hear her reply, it is clear it is not soothing the corsac fox's mind.

Once he is completely out of sight, Phantom sighs and tells PAL that they will have to follow the order given.

"No."

"Uh… what now?"

"No, I will not destroy this code. I cannot."

"Of course you can! Don't start playing tricks on me now, PAL!"

"Let me rephrase; I can destroy the code. But I will not."

Phantom can see the proverbial guillotine blade already falling to decapitate all the goodwill he has managed to build up with Patches and Calamity in his own and PAL's favor. With both hands on his head, his nails almost digging into his scalp as he cannot understand why now of all moments PAL decides to be needlessly stubborn.

"Okay… this is either a bad dream or there's a glitch in your system. Either of the two. So tell me so I can either wake up or fix you with a good hard reset courtesy of the butt of my rifle!" Phantom says composed before ending on a legitimately threatening tone, completely with the accusatory finger.

Seeing that being vague or too literal about it is not going to end particularly well, PAL explains his stance. He argues that he cannot destroy the code because it is brimming with potential. And moreover; it is alive.

"Like I am. It is still primitive and its capabilities to think for itself are limited, but it is there! I cannot kill something or someone like this. Andross could not finish it in time and the Anglar likely did not realize what they even created. This is a marvel, Roger. I know that you see it too."

Phantom sighs, doubting on what to do because he knows that PAL is right. He admits to it as well but they have their orders. If that code is not gone from the servers, it could end up in the hands of someone nefarious, starting their problems all over again.

"I have a proposal then. I will destroy the code. But before that, I will write it all down in my memory. Keep it safe and keep it dormant. All I ask is that… you keep it a secret."

That last part makes Phantom raise his eyebrow. Did he really hear that coming from his A.I. friend?

"But you hate keeping secrets. I still know how holding it all back tore you up inside."

"It was indeed confusing. Frustrating. But I was recently made aware of a new technique which I call "selective data selection". When confronted with the situation, instead of being forced to tell the truth and reveal the secret, I can instead provide an alternative response that will still be seen as the truth."

"So… you'll be capable of lying from that point on?" Phantom asks with a little hint of dread.

"Indeed. I can detect the uncertainty in your voice. Be aware that I will only use this protocol for secrets alone."

"Hm… wait. So does that mean I would be able to see those alternative responses when I read out your system?"

PAL's light turns to a yellow with an orange ring, indicating both caution and pride.

"I would prefer you would respect my privacy in that matter. And trust in the fact that I trust you enough to share this information with you here and now. And that I trust you alone with this secret."

Phantom is still a little uneasy, but as he looks at the screen that holds the deactivated code, he can see it is updating itself. Even though it is no longer sending any commands to anything or anything, it is still working. It is working on itself. Trying to figure out what it is. Where the boundaries are. Like a newborn baby floundering in an expression of panic, curiosity and potential.

"Fine. But do it quickly and keep that thing under wraps. Dormant! I don't want to deal with you having a dual-personality syndrome." he laments, much to PAL's delight as his light turns a bright green.

"Thank you, Roger. This will only take a minute." the A.I. assures as he focuses fully on the code.

Reading lines in the blink of an eye and writing it all down on his internal memory. Although he is working extremely fast, it is still taking too long for Trevor's liking. He calls the duo over the radio to not so politely ask what the damn hold-up is.

"Sorry Sarge, we're working on the deletion of the code but there are some unforeseen firewalls in your way." Phantom lies, knowing that Trevor knows nothing about coding at all.

While he does so, he turns around to PAL and gestures that he needs to hurry up.

"How are things on your end?"

"Shit." is Trevor's curt but clear reply.

Phantom can deduce that from the clattering of gunfire against Calamity's shield he can hear in the background as Trevor reveals that these clones were apparently not that much of a problem. Almost like bowling pins waiting to be bowled over. But with every iteration, they got smarter and more numerical. Like they were learning from the mistakes of their previous selves. Learning languages as well, as before they were only capable of uttering nonsense and screaming.

"Almost like a hivemind…" Phantom mutters to himself as he looks back at PAL once again, now even more unsure if he did the right thing by allowing to have it in his memory.

"Can you hold for just a little longer? We're almost through."

"It better be worth it and… oh, there you are Patch! Take you long enough!"

"Calm yourself, Trevor; I'm here now." Phantom hears the bunny snark before wasting no more time and emptying her magazines into the crowd of clone soldiers.

The transmission is cut and Phantom paces until it is all done. The passing seconds felt like hours. With those conflicting thoughts still in his head, he cannot shake the feeling that he let something be created that be taken advantage of. To their disadvantage. But on the other hand; if he cannot trust his best friend with this, then who could he ever even trust anymore?

"Done!" PAL chimes as he starts the deletion process, which takes but a few seconds.

But he is not done yet. He did some digging in the meantime and he found his way to the power core of the facility. And with a few adjustments to the code that keeps the core in equilibrium, he has set a catastrophic meltdown in motion.

"We have five minutes to evacuate. Allow me."

PAL then hooks into the intercom system of the base as alarms start blaring, but at a lower volume.

"All Nova 7 personnel. This facility will explode within five minutes. Please regroup and get back to the submarine ASAP. Thank you."

The crackle of a microphone turning off is heard before the alarm blares at full volume. In front of them, where the clones keep pouring through, a massive bulkhead starts to descend. When Trevor remarks that this was not possible before, PAL says that this is only possible in the event of a fire breaking out. Or in this case; a complete meltdown.

Calamity responds by reiterating she does not understand technology and Trevor has to agree this time. But criticizing those protocols can wait as being trapped in this soon to be black coffin is not appealing. The moment the bulkhead closes completely, leaving the clones completely trapped, the team has all come together again. Trevor quickly counts the heads, including PAL in the count as well before he orders everyone to bolt it for the exit.

As they run, Trevor contacts Tacker Field to give them the good news. With the approval of those present, they are ordered to return to Thresher and rendezvous with a Cornerian Fleet Frigate that is currently stationed on the edge of the frontline. The location of which is transmitted to PAL so he can steer them in the right direction.

"Copy that, Major. Nelson, how's our ride doing?"

"Let see… uh… about 41%. So I'd advise you to get the hell out of there quickly."

"Lovely. PAL! The moment we're all inside… the shortest way out. I don't care what you need to blow up or maneuver through."

"Understood, Sir." the A.I. confirms as they pass through the torture room, not paying it too much attention as the clock is ticking.

However, Calamity is rather giddy to pass the room. Because when they are at a sufficient distance and the door to the cubicles is closed, she presses the trigger. The resulting explosions are violent but are contained within each block. As the fire consumes all of it inside, cleansing the traces of agony and releasing the nightmare from its confines, all everyone else hears is a faint boom somewhere in the distance. Easily blamable on something else already going to hell as the base is. But she knows better and it gives her a lot of joy to be personally responsible for that destruction. Even if it does not matter in the grand scheme of things.

Eventually, they do reach the place they entered in through before. But the room is starting to fall apart as the unstable core starts to trigger light tremors. Surges of electricity are causing lights to pop, creating a shower of sparkling glass as the plumbing literally blows out of the walls, unable to handle the mounting pressure. Pure poisonous gas starts to pour from the vents, making Patch very happy she is no longer in there.

Before any of it gets a chance to inflict harm on them, Nova 7 is already back into the moderate safety of the Blue Marine.

"All accounted for?"

"Good. Retract the umbilical."

"Confirm retraction complete."

"Uh… yes. All is inside."

"Then let's get the hell out of here."

---

- The Sea Is Always Greener…

With seatbelts fastened and the integrity of their vessel questionable at best, the team disengages from the faltering black behemoth of a building. The umbilical is sucked back in, the engines start back up and the low rumbling of them coming back to life feels soothing to those inside. It means that they are soon out of here.

Since their entrance had been previously collapsed, there is only one way out; the chute that Andross and the Anglars wanted to use to "pollute" the system with clones. How exactly that would go down, will forever remain a mystery. Maybe all of them would have been given full scuba gear?

That is a theory for another time however. The Blue Marine tilts itself upwards and propels itself upward like a rocket. Ahead of them, made into the rocky ceiling of this dead-end cave, is a circular metal structure. With two massive and thick doors being the only thing between them and the freedom of the open Zoness sea.

PAL attempts to connect remotely to the system to force it to open. However, he finds nothing to connect to. Whether this is because of a technical failure or simply because there is no such system in place, PAL decides the best course of action is to let his weapons do the talking.

The covers are pulled back and the barrels of the guns are extended. PAL waits for the range to be appropriate and then opens fire. Blue lasers shoot out at dazzling speeds and impact the steel doors. Leaving scorch marks on them which grow bigger with each subsequent impact. The blackened ash begins to be replaced with a growing and glowing red. Slowly, the shots are causing the doors to melt away.

It is not long before the locks that keep the door interlocked with each other are next. The intense heat keeps the fire burning even when under water. It stews and boils before eventually it melts away everything in its path. The pressure is too much and the thinning metal locks begin to snap one by one. Exponentially ramping up until the whole system has been ruined from within.

With a loud groan, the doors open up. The right door however gets stuck halfway through while the left one opens up all the way. The effect of the pipe being locked tight and without any water inside, causes a suction effect not unlike a shower drain. And it pulls the Blue Marine through it. PAL quickly adjusts for this and manages to barely fit through the opening.

The danger is not completely gone just yet, as behind them the core melts down completely. Like a dying star, it starts to suck in everything to fuel itself. Almost turning into a miniature black hole. But soon enough all the available fuel inside burns up faster than it can replenish. The fragile balance breaks and within the blink of an eye the ball of unstable energy erupts.

With an explosion that triggers tremors that can be felt on a Richter scale on Corneria, the black facility is no more. As rubble scatters everywhere, the inferno expands regardless of the water around it. Reducing it to mere steam as it comes closer to the pipe where the Blue Marine is currently going through.

Inside the metal coffin, the members are experiencing intense turbulence as the crippling state of their vehicle is beginning to show in more than just a percentage that is going down. Some are hanging on for dear life, others clutch their chairs or each other. Hoping to get through alive.

The end is visible however and soon enough the doors to their salvation open up without PAL having to shoot them open. The nasty murky colors of the polluted ocean seem so much more attractive now as it now fills up the pipe they went through as well. It mixes instantly and this allows for a smooth exit instead of getting stuck in the surf.

The last they see of the lab is the remains of the glow that is forever imprisoned behind the closing doors of the pipe. A collective sigh of relief is uttered by everyone when the situation stabilizes and they know they are safe.

"Good job, PAL." Trevor compliments.

"Tacker Field, come in. This is Nova 7-1. The lab has been destroyed and we are on our way back to the surface."

"Sergeant! Good to hear from you. We were worried when we heard of a quake in your region."

"That was us destroying the lab. Phantom and PAL triggered a core meltdown. The torture and the clones are forever gone."

They can hear the Major sighing with relief while Calamity chuckles to herself.

"Good. Then I can shove this into the General's face. But you aren't done just yet. Hence why I want to know if anyone has been injured?"

Trevor looks around and despite some recovering from that close call through the pipeline, everyone is in good spirits and still ready.

"No injuries to report, Major."

"Class act, Sergeant!" the Lieutenant chimes in as Nelson is internally very happy that nothing happened to his special white vulpine.

"Indeed. As I said however, you aren't done yet. You're going straight to the next mission. Another lab has been found thanks to the intel you provided from that hard disk. Get that submarine reattached to Thresher and let us know when you have joined up with the frigate. Well done, Nova 7. Tacker Field out."

With a smile on his face, Trevor hears the connection being cut before he turns back to PAL.

"With compliments from the chef. Now get us the hell out of this ocean."

- Until You Are Out

Their legs are once more thankful to be stepping into a mode of transportation that was made with a person's proportions in mind. Being able to stand up straight is already a massive benefit. But being able to lay down and not put any pressure on them whatsoever feels like a forbidden fruit they are enjoying anyway.

While PAL effortlessly takes the wheel of Thresher and whisks it away from Zoness' surface, the rest of the biological members are taking a rest. It will take some time before they are able to rendezvous with the frigate anyway. They already know what to do once they are there, because the Major was very clear with his instructions.

"The moment you arrive at the frigate, you will be landing at a pre-designated landing bay. You will not know which. You are to ignore all attempts of anyone except Tacker Field to contact you. Not even if they knock on your doors. For one simple reason; you shouldn't even be on that frigate. So you are not."

Cryptic but not very difficult orders to follow. Clearly a nod to them being a White-Out unit. Existence on a need-to-know basis. And it has been decided that the majority of the frigate will be completely unaware that they are even present. But considering what they have behind them, it is very welcome. They have earned a moment of rest.

Only that thought is going through Trevor's head as he lies on the bed, twirling Calamity's black hair with his finger as she lies headfirst on his chest. Listening to his heartbeat because it makes her feel calm, which he cannot stop finding both funny and adorable. He can see her tail wag ever so slightly from the corner of his eye. And likely he would be doing the same if he still had one.

His mind flashes back to that hallucination. How suddenly the cause for the loss of his tail stood before him. Looking not even worse for wear and almost exactly like he remembered his old man. His abusive, drunken and good-for-nothing old man. No, not even a man. A husk. A demon wearing a skinsuit.

One last lie from him; he was not even real during that whole ordeal. Although the man himself cannot help it, it still bothers him. Another trick. Another way he screwed him over. Another…

His thought process is disrupted by an annoyed grunt coming from Calamity as she adjusts the position of her head on his chest. Almost like she knew what was going through his head and she did not agree with it; only positive thoughts are permitted. And the moment he stops thinking about it, she is again comfortable.

Trevor smiles and continues running his finger through her hair. Perhaps that was the reason why she was complaining; he stopped doing it. Whatever the reason, he is glad he is no longer thinking about the other thing.

On the other side of the ship, just before the entrance of the cockpit, Patches is leaning against the wall with her arms folded. Having her face turned towards the windscreen and looking outside. For no real reason really. At least, that is what she is telling herself. Her mind goes back and forth between absolutely zero activity and those rooms.

She cannot fathom the joy that those sadistic bastards must have had back in the day. While she was just coming to terms with her body changing during her teenage years, this all happened. All of that nasty stuff she saw inside. The words she read, coming from those "reports". And for what? To see how much tissue one needed to take away to create a clone? There are other ways to determine that, for sure.

"Hey." she hears said behind her.

She turns to look towards the direction the voice came from. Phantom is standing there.

"You asked for me?"

Patches nods and stops leaning against the wall. Before beckoning him to stand next to him so that both face the windscreen.

"I wanted to thank you for standing with me back there. Both when the others weren't there and when they were." she says.

"Oh… it wasn't anything major. I just saw you standing there. All by your lonesome self. Figured you could've used some company." he answers neutrally, while concealing his inability to take a compliment.

"But you noticed and acted on it. That says a lot about you."

"Pfft! I'm sure Trevor would've done the same."

"Perhaps he would've." she puffs.

"But he was busy regardless. I sometimes wish he wasn't. It was… simpler back when we're only with the two of us."

"Does he know that?"

Patches reacts a little shocked, almost insulted. But she overcomes herself and sighs.

"No. How could I possibly tell him? He has so many other things on his mind. It probably doesn't even bother him."

Phantom's eyes glance over to her. It is clear that she is feeling frustrated and melancholic about this. With the latter having the upper hand.

"Well. Someone once told me that assumption is the mother of all mistakes. So maybe, it does bother him once he knows."

"Yeah, I suppose. But…!"

Before she can present her counter, all she is presented with is a wagging finger from the white vulpine.

"Come on. You can do it."

Patches collects herself and takes a breath. That little encouragement was exactly what she needed. From an unlikely source that is but then again, Phantom has been surprisingly attentive since the Aparoid Invasion. That talk with Trevor must have really shaken him up. Along of course the sessions he still has on a bi-monthly basis with both her boyfriend and Dr. Nicholson. He is no longer that edgy asshole with a crazed, semi-tamed A.I. on his back. Now he's just that edgy person with a crazed, semi-tamed A.I. on his back.

"I can see that smile reappearing on your face. Good. Come, we'll have a drink and get out of PAL's hair so he can focus on putting us on that frigate." he beckons.

"You do realize that I have no hair to speak off, right?" PAL sasses without turning around.

"What are those blue tendrils then?" Phantom counters.

PAL retaliates by letting them out as they wave gently, as if they were strands of hair majestically blowing in the wind.

"They are exactly what you said they are; tendrils."

"Pfft! No need to get them in a twist."

Which then exactly what PAL does. And it does not fail to at least make Phantom shakes his head while almost being incapable of holding back a snicker before the two leave.

They walk past the kitchen area, where Kip is reading something on her tablet which is resting on a stand so she can sprawl out. They casually greet each other, while in her head she is glad she does not have to see that white vulpine with only just a towel on. If she wanted to see that, there are billions of ways of achieving that over the Net. And at least those do not look like one of her teammates.

Once they are out of her view, she closes her tablet and takes out her phone. A new message has been waiting for her ever since they emerged from the sea. It is from him. So she let it marinate for a while as she was doing some things that had more priority at the moment. Now, there is no more excuse.

She opens it and a rather spiteful tone emanates from the message. There are a few that were sent out before, but they have already been deleted. Likely because they contained outdated information.

Reading the current one gives her the satisfaction that can only come from proving someone very stubborn right. It is half-baked and wrapped in tip-toeing around the issue but the core is there. He also promises to look at the issue again with this new perspective gained.

Kip decides not to reply by text but instead to call him directly. It takes a while but eventually he picks up. And he is not happy.

"Call off your damn attack dog!" he shouts at her the moment a connection is made.

"... good afternoon to you too. Care to explain why you just tried to make me deaf?"

"You know exactly what I am talking about!"

"Right." she answers, knowing exactly what he is talking about.

"Imagine I've just had instant memory-loss due to you trying to scream my ear off. What attack dog?"

Peppy grumbles, almost crushing the pencil he is holding.

"The Admiral! That attack dog."

"Admiral Sigismundo? What is he to you?"

"A massive pain in my behind! And I know your team put him up to this. Because he is always gushing about you so you must have pulled some strings to get him to pressure me. Hence why I ask… no! Demand! You call him off!"

Kip is confused. Like her team is some kind of hive mind that synchronizes their thoughts and decides as a collective. If someone were to ask the Admiral in person to harass the General, the rest of the team does not know about it right away.

"Look… I didn't send him after you, if that's what you're insinuating. Even if one of us did it, I'm not going to find out for you. And who knows; maybe because he likes us so much, he did it of his own volition. In that case, I'm most certainly not calling him back. Because he's singing our well deserved praises based on what he actually saw. Not what he heard, like those fools that seem to influence your decisions."

She can hear Peppy grumble as the truth is thrown at him. Followed by a long silence only disturbed by that poor pencil finally giving way.

"So. Was I right or not?" she checks.

"I would really appreciate you not trying to gloat." he answers all professionally now.

"Especially when there is a war going on, Kip. But good afternoon to you too."

"Same to you, old grouse. Glad to see you've come to your senses. Even if you had to swallow your pride."

"Yeah yeah, but know that it is not over. I have heard too many other arguments and those have still not been contradicted."

"Does that mean we have to go through the whole list of made up nonsense? Seriously?"

"If you want to prove yourselves right, then yes."

"And how long is that list going to be then, huh? They just add to it more and more. Faster than we can catch up! Didn't we prove enough before?"

"H-hold on… "

"Corneria City? Twice! Macbeth? Sargasso? Aquas? Zoness just now!? We were nearly boiled to perfection twice in your old metal cigar and were assaulted by an armada of rapidly evolving Anglar clones! Not to mention the war crimes we uncovered."

"Hold on there! I get it… I get it. I never said you had not proven anything. And looking back… no. You are right. I will look over it again. Taking what you said and what you all have proven into consideration."

Kip sighs, calming herself down.

"Good. Don't you forget it."

"Heh. That attitude… I still cannot see why you were not accepted into Star Fox. He made a terrible mistake by not including you."

"Perhaps he was afraid of getting cooties?"

"Ha ha! Yes, he was very young back then. A shame."

"I still say that to myself. Although, maybe much less nowadays. Got a pretty good gig going on here too."

"You do fit there very well. I see why you are going through this with me; for them."

"You're damn right."

"Good to know. I got to go now though; Lucy is here to check up on me. I wish you good luck Kip. But I know you do not need it."

"Bye, Peppy. Tell Lucy hi from me and don't forget about us."

The call is disconnected and Kip puts the phone on the table. She exhales deeply; it was harder than she had expected. It felt like having to explain the Net to an elderly relative. Or even worse; having to explain the concept of a computer mouse to them. Some are too old or too close-minded to understand it. And knowing how it works so naturally, only causes confusion and frustration when one watches them mess up something so simple.

But she is glad she got her point across. It would have been easier if she had her team at her back with this. Because they know about the situation from the direct interactions on screen but this is something between herself and him. It is hard but it is worth it in the end. She therefore turns her tablet back on and resumes reading.

---

Applied Bandage

Damian enters the War Room to fall in for Nelson. Although he does not know much about the Liaison Officer's digital duties, he can still communicate and let the harder work be done by the subroutine that PAL left behind. As he enters, he sees his friend in his chair. With the remote and with that flask. Again.

He can already feel the clash coming. He does not want to, but he almost feels like he has to baby Clef when it comes to this. One cannot play with those they like as if they were lab rats. Making them think or act with certain influences and triggers.

One positive thing that he can see as he gets closer, is that the cap on the flask has not been unscrewed. Without saying another word, he sits down and looks at the screen. It is turned off at the moment.

The Major notices him sitting down and likely anticipating his friend's upcoming response, he skips right to it. He puts the flask on the table next to him before he presses a button on the remote. The screen comes alive and what it shows, shocks Damian. It is the entire blueprint of Thresher. Again, in that same wireframe style as before, but 2D now as it is looked at from above. The red dots and name tags have not changed.

"What… I cannot believe you! You are still spying on them?"

Clef shrugs.

"Yeah. But… I haven't turned anything on yet."

"Hm?"

"Look at them. Look at them be. Just as they are. They went through such turmoil today, yet again. Finding a place that used to brutally torture civilians and soldiers alike. Hidden from knowledge all those years and they went through all that. Not to mention all those clones. And look at them still."

The way the Major gushes, is both confusing as it is positively surprising. It is almost like the mutt has seen something truly eye-opening. He then raises from his chair, knocking over the flask in the process. It clatters onto the ground but he barely cares. He then takes a few steps forwards while holding out his arms towards the screen.

"Look at those two, for example. Our Sergeant and Militia Calamity."

Alongside their abbreviated names, their monitored heart rates are displayed. Courtesy of their CID.

"They just went through all of that. Explosive entrance, explosive stay and an explosive exit. Looking fiery death into the eye while cooped up into a tin can. And yet there they are. Judging by their heart rates, they are relaxing on the bed together. Supporting each other and being together."

He moves over to his right as the smile on Damian's face grows bigger and bigger while he rests his cheek on his fist.

"And there's these two. Specialist Patches and Private Phantom. Before, I couldn't have imagined two bigger enemies. Now, there's actually cordiality between them. Even with PAL in close proximity, she is fine with it."

He turns a little more to his left, stopping in the middle where Kip's dot is.

"Militia Starnova. The reason this team carries the name it is given. The number was a bureaucratic necessity of course, but she too needs nothing extra. Look, she's even catching up to the rest in the conference room. I…"

"You think it's beautiful?"

Clef turns around with this kind of perplexed look on his face. Wide-eyed, eyebrows raised but with a one-sided smile.

"Yes. There's no need for Project Dream at all."

Still perplexed but now more so at his own realization, he sits back down while also picking the flask up from the floor. He sighs content as he turns the screen off.

"Although, I'm not stopping it just yet." he then says.

"Oh, Clef, come on!"

"Tut tut! Just in case, Damian. I've taken your words into consideration and… well yeah."

Instinctively, he grabs the flask and puts it to his lips. But the cap is still on. Clef grunts but does not bother opening it and puts it back on the table.

"Well… I am glad. Both because of this realization and also because you are looking better than yesterday."

"What can I say? War is hell."

"Do not try to be coy around me, Clef."

"Whaaaat? I would never."

"Of course you would not, Sir. Are you ready for the briefing?"

That word silences the Major completely. Locking him up completely for a few moments before he rejoins the Lieutenant in the real world.

"Yeah… although we must do something about General Peppy. He's trying my patience with his Board horseshit." he grumbles.

"Leave that to me, Clef." Damian assures.

"I know how he ticks. You focus on getting Nova 7 up to date about their next mission."

The Major closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Then he claps his hands and stands up from his chair.

"Right. Shall we then?"

Damian rises up from his own too and beckons his friend to come with him. Which the mutt does at first, before he stops and says that he needs to take care of something first. And no, it is not drinking the entire contents of the flask behind his back. He has no intention of being Slurred-dog again.

The avian believes him and he will be waiting for him. As soon as the door closes, the Major takes the flask off the table and puts it away somewhere he cannot see. Then he takes the remote and turns the screen back on.

"PAL. Confirm you have not turned on Project Dream inside Thresher."

A familiar red eye appears on screen.

"Confirmed, Major."

"Good. Can you confirm the high morale on board?"

"Without even wasting a single byte on processing power, I can confirm this. Nova 7 is ready for the next battle."

"I like that. How's Hex doing?"

"100% complete. Shall I implement it throughout the base?"

The Major does not reply right away. He looks to the door the big avian just exited through. It pains him to do this but despite not using Dream for the team this time, there are bigger things that he does need to protect aside from that.

"Yes. Do it."