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CHAPTER 42
Some Coffee?
When Fox decided to come to Thaljista to search for Krystal, he thought getting here was going to be the difficult part.
Until recently, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Star Fox would go out of business if he ceased operations to come here. He was barely coming out ahead with what little work he could find, and most of that went to maintaining the Great Fox II and the Arwings. Heck, even before this whole briefcase incident, he'd considered throwing it all away anyway to find Krystal.
Now by a miracle, he was here with all of those concerns put to rest by the Cornerian government. Actually, he'd even be making a net profit on this venture. He should have felt relieved.
But now that he'd begun his search, he realized he did not understand the full scope of his mission until now.
Endless expanses of desert and mountains stretched out beneath his Arwing, tinted dark blue by the moonlight. For all he knew, he could be looking at Krystal right now, too far away to properly see her. But was she even still here? It had been months since her last sighting in Kinnor. She could've left Thaljista long ago. Or maybe she'd succeeded in finding the colony, and she was just enjoying her time there before she came back. Right?
Or…she'd decided she was happier there and didn't want to come back at all.
Fox grasped the controller stick harder, his gloves squeaking from the tension. She wouldn't do that. No, they loved each other too much. They were perfect for each other. Some might even argue a little too perfect.
Yet he remembered how she spent many nights on the Great Fox II looking out the viewport at the stars, a sad look in her eyes. When he asked, she admitted she yearned to be with her people again, even if Cerinia was destroyed. That was one wish he couldn't grant for her. He was not a Cerinian. That's why he gave her permission to come here. By being eager to please her, had he missed the signs that something was wrong?
Maybe Krystal wasn't happy with him after all?
A grimace stretched across Fox's face. How dare he think these things about her. But the seed of doubt had been planted now, and it rapidly took root. Perhaps he'd been a fool to think he could satisfy her. What she really wanted in the end was her own people, not him. Maybe she'd found another Cerinian at the colony. Perhaps they were sleeping soundly together right now, with Krystal already forgetting about Lylat…
He grasped the control stick tighter, the tips of his claws poking into his flight gloves, a growl emanating from his muzzle.
"Something wrong, Fox?" Tadao yawned behind him.
Fox jerked in his seat, his ears standing on end.
Now that he'd remember he had a passenger in his Arwing, he let out a sigh, trying to release as much tension as he could from it. "Nothing…nothing's wrong," he lied. Before Tadao could say anything else, he said, "You have a good rest?"
"As good as I can back here, but I'm used to sleeping on moldy grass on a cave floor. It's not too bad by comparison." He laughed a little. "We almost to Malquae?"
"Yes."
Malquae was an independent city-state, like many other communities in the Outer Territories. Based around an old rock quarry built by a Machbethian company that had long gone out of business, Malquae appeared to be a popular trading post out here, considering non-cats were allowed in.
And hopefully, interviewing the locals there would lead them to Krystal. This town was his only lead right now.
Going by Gail's flight data, Krystal arrived on Thaljista about six months ago with her Cloudrunner, hitching a ride on a transport ship with her fighter in the cargo hold. Once she was here, she made several trips in and out of Kinnor to explore the Thaljistani deserts. The trips took place over about three months. However, the last time she left Separatist territory was over two and a half months ago, along this flight path to Malquae. She'd gone to this town multiple other times as well. Maybe she'd found a clue to the colony's location over this way, and was using this place as a home base?
As the hours of flight passed, a warm red glow appeared in the east behind them, the sun beginning to peek over the horizon. It reminded Fox of how tired he was, considering he hadn't slept since arriving on this planet. But he needed to make up for lost time.
Malquae appeared ahead, Fox appraising it with droopy eyes.
A dome-shaped mountain lay in front of him, the inner part hollowed out with perfect vertical rock walls, created by machines rather than nature. Old dilapidated factory buildings stood around outside the dome, formerly for processing the ore that would have been mined here before, although most were just husks of their former selves, not much left behind except weathered concrete and rusting metallic beams. Outside the mountain, a lot of activity centered around a tunnel that led to the inner crater. Further away a variety of vehicles parked in a sandy field, with more people moving from there towards the tunnel entrance.
Fox gulped. His first meeting with the desert people of Thaljista. He didn't exactly expect the red carpet treatment.
Shifting over to VTOL mode, he guided his Arwing towards the edge of the makeshift landing field, kicking up a red dust storm as he decended. As he cut the engines, the landing ladder extended downwards. Fox and Tadao clambered down, their boots hitting the red sand.
The sun only partially crested the horizon, but Fox could already feel the heat coming on. He slipped a tan robe over his clothes and a wrap over his head, followed up by pulling out his father's sunglasses, flicking them open and slipping them over his eyes. Tadao likewise put on his own robes.
Someone called out. "Hey, hey!" Fox and Tadao turned to see a tabby kitten wearing blue robes. "Yah need to pay to park here!" He held out a hand, his yellow slit eyes standing out against his striped fur.
Fox pulled out some Separatist coins.
"That's not worth much here." The kitten frowned. "Gimme more."
Sighing, Fox handed over a few more coins.
"Thanks!" the kitten smiled, running off to collect payment from someone else.
As he watched the kitten leave, Fox noticed people's eyes. No matter which way he looked, at least several feline faces stared at his Arwing in shock and awe.
At first he didn't understand, but then it hit him. Sure, the Arwing wasn't factory-fresh, with all the battle damage and repairs over the years, but its metal hull gleamed like a mirror in the morning sun. Almost every other vehicle here looked like something pulled out of a junkyard, and barely willed to run by ramshackle repairs. While he could identify some Lylatian model trucks and cars under their rust and damage, other vehicles were little more than seats, an engine, and wheels welded to rusting frames with balding tires. No wonder the Arwing got so many surprised looks around here.
All of a sudden, Fox didn't like the idea of leaving the Arwing out of sight. This was like parking a fancy car in the wrong neighborhood. His ship had security measures to deter theft and tampering, but he didn't feel like putting them to the test. But what could be done? If he didn't enter this town, he wouldn't learn about what Krystal was doing here.
"C'mon…" Fox said to Tadao, nodding towards the town's entrance. "Let's get going." They joined the herd.
Fox knew Kinnor was the exception and not the standard for living conditions on Thaljista, but even so the crowd of felines caught him off guard. It was like going back in time several centuries. One cat bore a crude backpack almost as big as him, and looked just as heavy. Had this guy walked all the way here from home with that? He must have done it many times, with the hobbling way he walked. Another cat sat at the front of a covered wagon, whipping at a bovine-like creature pulling the vehicle. Fox couldn't remember the last time he'd seen so much manual labor. In Lylat, machinery was so plentiful and cheap and versatile that you simply didn't need such basic labor anymore.
He got that feeling he was being watched again, and noticed the cat driving the wagon staring right at him. So were most of the other cats in the crowd with their strange expressions. Some of them did double takes when they noticed his pointed cat-like ears, but then spotted his longer muzzle and fluffier tail.
"What is that?!"
"Look at its skin!"
"Is it diseased? Stay away from it!"
Fox thought he was the one getting the comments, but it turned out to be Tadao. After all, the iguana was the only one here with green scaled skin, spikes, and a reptilian tail. With how isolated this planet was, this could be the first time any of these cats had seen a lizard person. Mouths dropped open and eyes went wide, all the cats nudging their companions, bringing on even more frightened comments and insults.
As the crowd realized who (or what, from their perspective) was in their midst, they backed away, opening up a hole around Fox and Tadao, making them stand out even more.
Oh, I don't like where this is going… Fox cast a tense glance around at the agitated crowd. Tadao seemed to be having the same thoughts, a nervous look in his eye as his right hand drifted close to the folds of his robe.
Where he kept his machete.
Fox snatched the iguana's hand and pulled him away. It sounded like an exaggeration, but lives may have been saved by that one simple act. If the cats were frightened by the mere sight of Tadao, a drawn weapon would start a riot.
At least the crowd parting made it easier to move to the town's entrance. Several guards in old desert camouflage clothing watched the tunnel, some of them processing those entering, while others milled around with old kinetic assault rifles, keeping an eye on things. Fox spotted a large machine gun nest higher up on the hill over the entrance, equipped with an old anti-aircraft gun. He gulped. Of course, the town needed defenses against invaders, considering the lawless nature of the Outer Territories. But given the crowd's reaction, what would the guards do once they saw Tadao?
A cheetah guard waved them over to a table set up in front of the tunnel, appraising both of them with a mixture of surprise and contempt.
"What's your business here?" the cheetah addressed Fox, but gave a disgusted look towards Tadao's green-scaled face. "You selling or buying?"
"I'm just looking for someone who might have come here," Fox said.
The cheetah narrowed his eyes. "Do I look like I've got time to help you with that?" He gestured towards the huge crowd of people behind Fox and Tadao, waiting to enter. "Like I'd remember everyone who comes through here, even if I did have time."
Fox pulled a photo of Krystal out of his pocket, holding it up to the cheetah. "Please, I just want to find out if this person was here." The picture was from a day of walking in a park in Corneria City. She smiled at the camera, dressed in a white tanktop that showed off her figure, arms hanging off of a tree branch over her head, a soft twinkle in her eye. "She would have been here about two and a half months ago."
Though Fox thought the photo was harmless, showing it turned out to be a mistake.
"A blue angel…" The cheetah suddenly switched from pissed off to outright enraged. "What the hell do you want with one of them?! It's bad enough you're running around with this…thing." He gestured towards Tadao.
Tadao sighed and bowed his head, trying to cover up more of his body with his robes.
The guards with rifles looked over at the commotion too. Oh, wonderful. People with guns added to an already tense situation.
Fox's instincts screamed at him to turn around and leave, yet he persisted. He wasn't giving up now. "Listen, if you can tell me where she went, we'll leave and get out of your fur."
"How 'bout you just turn your tail 'round right this instant, before things even nastier?" The cheetah glared at him. "I don' care what Rossiro says. You long noses are nothin' but trouble, 'specially if a blue angel's involved. 'Sides, if you ain't doing business, we don't want you here."
A caracal guard wielding a rifle approached from behind the cheetah guard, emphasizing his point.
Fox changed tactics. "All right, what if I am doing business? I got money. You need me to buy something, I'll buy something." He showed him a few Separatist notes. Perhaps he'd have better luck getting information inside.
The cheetah guard didn't buckle. "I don't care, fox face. Like I said before, leave before I—"
The guard with the rifle patted the cheetah on the shoulder. "Son…" he said, his voice more on the gravely and aged side. "Why you making such a big fuss? Just let the fox in already. You know our policy."
Fox let out a sigh of relief at the caracal's words. A voice of calm reason compared to his younger compatriot.
"It's a bad idea. You see he's lookin' for a blue angel?" The cheetah jabbed his finger at Fox's photograph.
"So?" The caracal shrugged. "It's not like she's gonna poof into existence right here because you saw her picture." He shook his head. "Listen, I'll handle this one. You just keep working the line." He looked up at Fox. "My apologies for the rookie here sir. Just follow me." He moved off to a guard hut nearby, gesturing for Fox to follow. "You mind showing me that picture again?"
Fox smiled, handing it over.
The caracal gave a most interested expression on seeing it. "I'm astonished you got such a clear photograph of such a creature. Where did you find it in the first place?"
There was that 'it' word again. First Tadao, now Krystal. Fox decided to let it slide though. Best to not piss off probably the only reasonable person he'd meet here. "It's a really long story. Anyway, her name is Krystal. I think she may have come here before. You would probably recognize her."
"You're right, you know. With a fur color like that, I'm sure we'd remember her." The caracal gave a disappointed shrug. "But since this is the first I'm hearing of this person…I'm sorry, but I don't think she's been here before." He handed back her photograph.
Fox's ears deflated. Feeling desperate, he showed a picture of her Cloudrunner next. "She flies a ship like mine. It has the same shine to it." He indicated back towards his Arwing at the airfield, over a half kilometer away now. But even with that distance, it was easy to see with the sunlight reflecting off it. "Surely you would've remembered seeing a ship like that."
"Oh my…" The caracal's eyebrows raised, glancing between Fox's Arwing and the Cloudrunner. "That is quite a ship. As is yours, good sir! Yes, I do believe there was some talk about a ship like that not too long ago. It's a very unusual ship. We don't see anything that fancy out here often."
Fox's heart raced. Was he on the trail then? However, something bothered him. "But if you recognize her ship, how come you didn't recognize her? Who was flying the ship?"
The caracal kept glancing between the photo and Fox's Arwing. He shook his head. "I didn't meet them personally, but I did hear they weren't a cat. Non-cats aren't common around here, so they do tend to be remembered."
"Please, do you know anything else?!"
The caracal shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm too busy keeping the young lads in line to keep track of everyone who comes through here." He stroked his chin. "Perhaps you could talk with Rossiro, the town's leader. He's always concerned about the town's profits, so he keeps real detailed records on the transactions of everyone who passes through here."
"Yeah, you and the cheetah mentioned him." Fox nodded. "So who is he? How can I meet him?"
"He runs the town's general store when he's not busy managing the rest of the town." The caracal turned around to look down the tunnel. "I'm sure he'll be opening up shop around now. Tell him I sent you."
Fox smiled. Progress. "So I can go into the town now?"
"Of course you can." The caracal nodded, holding out a hand. "Do you have any weapons though? They aren't permitted here."
Fox paused. He needed to give up his blaster? In a place like this? Though he hesitated to give up his only means of self defense, his desire to find Krystal won out in the end, as he reached under his cloak and handed over his gun.
"Thank you." The caracal accepted it. "I'll make sure you get it back when you leave. You can enter now."
Fox nodded gratefully. Maybe all the cats around here weren't all so bad after all. He moved to enter the tunnel.
Behind him, Tadao approached to hand over his machete, but the caracal shook his head. "I'm sorry, I only meant the fox. Not you."
Fox spun around. "Say what?!"
"You saw what the crowd did, right?" The caracal turned to Fox. "He's making a giant fuss, and that's bad for business."
Tadao sighed and looked off to the side, muttering something under his breath about wishing he'd stayed in Kinnor. The iguana looked back to Fox and said, "Look, it's fine. Someone needs to watch the Arwing anyway." And before Fox could protest, he turned and left, getting all kinds of gawks and insults as he passed the crowd. Even this far away from Lylat, Tadao couldn't catch a break over his species, could he?
Fox glared at the caracal. So much for what he'd thought of him earlier. Shaking his head, Fox turned and walked into the tunnel. Oh well, he'd probably never come back here ever again. He joined the herd of people flowing through the tunnel, taking his aviators off to better see in the dark
A not-so-secure-looking arrangement of rusting steel beams held up the tunnel's rock walls and ceilings. It looked like the tunnel had been used for a long time without incident, and no one around Fox seemed concerned by the crude reinforcement, but a pebble fell on his shoulder every now and then. He increased his pace through the passageway.
Midway through the tunnel, the crowd slowed down. At first, Fox couldn't understand why, but then he saw a large group of people gathering around a small carved-open hole on the left side of the tunnel. Inside the hole was a lit candle, a black void behind it, and little else. Everyone took turns bowing and praying at it. Maybe it was a shrine. A place to get Thaal-Ja's favor and be granted good business in the market today, perhaps. Fox didn't care and pushed around on the right side of the tunnel. A few cats gave him some dirty looks for not praying, although they stopped once they saw his appearance.
Sunlight hit him in the face as he emerged at the other side, his eyes adjusting to see the crater in the center of the mountain. A bustling array of market stalls spread out before him, vendors already hawking their wares in the early morning as crowds moved between the various shops, looking at all kinds of goods. Foods, glassware, farming tools, clothing. He could also see where the building materials from the rusting factory ruins outside had gone; much of them had been recycled to construct buildings and other structures inside the crater.
He wondered how he'd find Rossiro's shop, but it turned out to not be a problem. The largest building here—also constructed of recycled materials—had a crazy array of goods outside on display, from sneakers to food to phones to gaming systems to chewing gum and everything in between, all of it in bright, flawless packaging. If anything was going to be the general store, that was surely it.
Fox made his way over, walking past the displays and inside. He removed his headwrap to better look around the store. Despite the rugged exterior, inside it looked more like a modern day shop you would find in Corneria, with clean white walls, bright lighting, signs marking aisles and products within, plus neat shelving filled to the brim with stock. Even the packaging of many products was the same as it was in Lylat. Fox briefly wondered if he was still on the same planet.
Customers already filtered in behind him and crowded the aisles, even though the store had just opened. But with the way the rest of the town looked, he could understand why they'd want to take a look in here. Probably nothing else like it existed in this wasteland. He soon found himself pushed out of the way, the other cats not bothering to be polite with him.
Oh well, he just needed to find Rossiro and… Hold on, I didn't ask what he looked like. How will I find him?
Fox looked around the store, spotting a few cats wearing blue aprons over their robes, as they ran around setting up displays and filling in empty spots in shelves. Clean and neat uniforms, considering the environment.
He walked over to the nearest employee. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Rossiro?"
The brown panther was still busy putting boxes on the shelf but said, "He's here, but he's kinda busy—" The cat turned to Fox, jumping back a little when he saw he wasn't talking to a cat. "Oh…" The panther got suspicious. "What do you want with him?"
At least he didn't call Fox a slur or something. "I need to ask him some questions. There was this caracal at the gate who said—"
"Oh, Jamesh…" The panther's face softened. "Yeah they're good buddies. Well, if he sent you, I suppose it's OK." He turned around to another cat stocking a nearby shelf, a much smaller ocelot. "Hey Rossiro, there's this fox who wants to talk to you. Says Jamesh sent him."
The ocelot turned away from his work, wiping his hands as he appraised Fox with the same narrowed eyes and suspicion. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two. In spite of Rossiro being a bit shorter, Fox didn't like being under that cat's gaze. On a whim, this guy could have Fox thrown out of town or worse. There was no law here but his, after all.
"So…" Rossiro never broke eye contact. "What's so important that Jamesh thinks I should talk to you?"
While the encounter at the gate had been uncomfortable, Fox now found himself grateful for having spoken to Jamesh. He got the impression that the ocelot would have refused to talk to Fox at all without that name drop. Remembering how poorly the cheetah had responded to Krystal's photo, this time Fox just said "My name is Fox McCloud. I'm looking for a person named Krystal. She's a vixen who might have come through this town a while ago. Jamesh said you might be able to help me?" Perhaps he sounded a little too pleading when he'd raised his voice at the end there, like he'd been asking a question.
"I might." Rossiro pulled a white rag out of a pocket on his apron, wiping his hands, and still not taking his stony gaze off Fox. He stayed quiet until he appeared finished washing his hands, putting the rag away again. "But I'm also busy, as you can see."
Such cold indifference, but not surprising. "I'm sorry, I know what it's like running a business. Time is money." Fox replied. "So if you can tell me what you know, I won't take up any more of your time."
"You think I'm just going to give that info away for free?" The ocelot frowned. "You said it yourself. If you want my time, there's going to be a price for it."
What an asshole. Fox did his best to keep his face neutral, but he could feel a grimace slipping across his mouth. "All right, I know it's not worth much here, but I got Separatist currency. Will that help?" He offered a bill.
"Hmm…" Rossiro took the bill from Fox, glancing at it before slipping it into his pocket. He stroked his chin with one hand, in a mock thoughtful stance. "So a vixen. Maybe I remember seeing one in my shop…" He held out his other hand towards Fox, rubbing his fingers together.
Frowning, Fox handed him another bill.
Rossiro slipped the second bill into his pocket. "Yeah, she was flying a pretty fancy ship… Real shiny-like." He stuck his hand back out again.
Of course, Fox already heard that from Jamesh. What if Jamesh just called ahead to Rossiro with that info and Fox was just being strung along here? Nonetheless, he slipped Rossiro a third bill.
"I think she had some kind of fancy staff too…" He gave Fox an evil little smirk, not even pretending to be subtle anymore.
Fox couldn't help but feel his heart racing. Rossiro saw her staff? Who else could that be but her?! This ocelot was obviously playing upon his desperation, but where else was he going to get this information? A bit more eagerly than he wanted, he pulled three more bills out of his wallet and handed them over.
Satisfied, Rossiro flashed a toothy smile as he slipped the last set of bills into his pocket, gesturing for Fox to follow. He led Fox to a doorway at the back of the store, up a narrow staircase to some rooms above the shop. They entered an office with a solitary desk and crammed full of paper ledgers in cabinets, something you didn't really see anymore in Lylat with how computerization had taken over book keeping. There was a solo modern day computer at the desk though, with an important-looking cable running into the wall. A set of windows with blinds was behind the desk, looking over the neat rows of shelves down below in the shop.
Rossiro strode over to his desk and took a seat behind it. "Make yourself comfortable." He gestured for Fox to take a seat in one of the chairs in front. "Would you like some coffee? I have brands from Lylat, if you'd prefer that." He gestured towards a nearby coffee maker, a warm pot ready to drink.
"No, thank you." With how scummy this guy had been so far, Fox didn't feel like accepting anything served by him. He settled into a chair, getting back to business. "So you saw—"
"Ahem…" Rossiro raised a hand to cut him off. "I don't mind since you obviously don't know our customs, but what you just did would be considered very rude around here."
"What?" Fox raised an eyebrow. "Not wanting coffee?"
"If you're about to talk business and the host offers you refreshments, it's customary for you to accept them. It is a major insult if you do not. Just a little free advice, that's all. Do you want coffee now?"
Fox didn't appreciate being lectured on manners by a guy who'd not so subtly hustled him into giving up a lot of money, but nodded.
"Normally it'd also be customary to have a little friendly chit chat before business too, but we can skip that." Rossiro walked around to the coffee maker, preparing him a cup and handing it to him. "You may continue."
Fox glanced at the cup, taking the tiniest possible sip from it, then got back to his question. "So you said a vixen come through here with a staff and a fancy ship, you said. What did the staff look like?" He still had a photo of Krystal's staff with him, but he wanted to make sure this guy wasn't spouting BS first.
"If I remember, gold colored." Rossiro crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "Had elaborate markings in blue along the shaft. I believe it had a tear-shaped tip at the top, a precious gem set in it. She was carrying it in a collapsed state." He rattled off the details like he'd memorized them.
Fox's tail twitched in excitement. That sounded like her staff, all right. But Rossiro's accuracy with his description was uncanny. It almost felt a little too perfect.
The ocelot picked up on what he was thinking. "It's not because I have a perfect memory or anything. But I do have the next best thing…video surveillance. Want to see?" He waved for Fox to look at his computer monitor.
The vulpine practically flew out of his chair, hurrying to the other side of the desk.
Rossiro clicked through folders on his machine, opening up a video file dated to two and a half months ago, when Fox knew Krystal had passed through here last. It showed the interior of the shop down below, focused on the door Fox had walked through a few minutes ago. He held his breath, watching as Rossiro fast-forwarded, the customers in the shot zipping in and out of frame at lightning fast speed. The ocelot stopped the video moving forward, rewinding and sending the people walking backwards, when he finally released the track marker and let it play.
A figure in a brown robe entered through the front door, their face and ears mostly concealed by their hood. Their tail was hidden under their robes too. Given the reaction Fox received at the city gates, he understood why they'd want to cover up like that if they weren't a cat. That did make it harder to identify if it was Krystal though. Whoever they were, they looked around with caution, noting other customers and potential exits out of the store. Their right hand stayed close to their side, as if ready to draw a weapon hidden under their cloak.
For an instant, the person turned to the camera, giving Fox a clear look at the bottom half of their face. He recognized the muzzle of a vixen poking out from under the hood. To Fox's excitement, it almost looked like the exact same shape as Krystal's. However, while the grainy video quality made it hard to distinguish colors, he could see this person didn't have blue fur, instead more of a yellowish-brown color. Fox's heart sank.
"You look disappointed." Rossiro glanced up at him.
"Not the same fur color."
"Well, let me show you this." Rossiro opened another video showing a different aisle. "I remembered serving this person when they came to the store this day. They've been here a few other times too."
After moving the clip to the appropriate spot, the hooded vixen entered the aisle, the camera catching her back.. The brown cloak encircled her almost completely as she walked through, glancing at the goods on the shelves. But for one instant, a fold in her cloak parted, giving Fox the briefest of glances at a collapsed staff hanging from her belt underneath.
Rossiro rewound, freezing the tape so that Fox could get a better look. The vulpine got closer to the screen, squinting his eyes. It wasn't the best shot, and the grainy footage pixelated most of the details, but he for sure recognized the head of her staff, plus the blue details on the shaft. It was like Rossiro said.
"Holy shit…that's it. That's her staff." He'd carried that on Sauria. He'd know it anywhere.
"Hmm…" Rossiro smiled, stroking his chin. "I had a feeling you were looking for her, being a fox and all. So what's the story? She dump you and run away?"
Fox snapped his gaze to the ocelot, giving him a dark glare.
"Okay, sorry!" Rossiro held up his hands. "I was just kidding."
It wasn't just Rossiro's joke that offended Fox, but that he might accidentally be correct. Now he couldn't stop thinking of all those dreadful thoughts he'd had a few hours ago in the cockpit, when he had too much time to think.
"Anyway, I can tell she's real important to you. You've come a very long way to get here. You definitely didn't grow up in Separatist territory."
"How do you figure?"
"Not knowing customs, of course. Plus your robes. They're too new and clean." Rossiro rubbed a finger across the fabric of Fox's robes. "I can tell you just bought them a day or two ago. Nobody traveling out here is going to dress up that nice, given the wear and tear the desert puts on everything. You should throw some dirt on them and dust them up. You don't wanna get marked as a clueless tourist around here."
Fox glanced at the fabric of his clothes. Come to think of it, they were sparkling clean compared to the clothing of most other people he'd seen around here. He'd thought they'd be good for blending in, but of course he'd overlooked an important detail.
"So for real this time, why is she so important to you?" Rossiro asked, indicating towards the mysterious robed figure. "But I think you said her fur color was different?"
That was true, but how many other vixens were running around the Outer Territories with a staff like Krystal's? As he thought about it though, he realized there might be a simple explanation. If that random cheetah had such a big freakout over a mere photo of her blue fur, how could Krystal travel around here with her natural color on full display? She must be dyeing it. That would also explain why the people at the gate remembered her ship, but nobody with blue fur.
"I get the feeling she didn't want to be recognized. Anyway, you said you served her." Fox turned back to Rossiro. "What was she buying? Did she say anything about where she was going? At what times did she come here?"
"Jeez man." Rossiro chuckled, shaking his head. "You're starting to sound like a cop. Anyway, you did pay me, so…" The ocelot leaned against his desk, looking off into space. "She hardly spoke whenever I saw her. Other people who served her said the same thing. Mostly just paid for her crap and left. Lots of survival supplies like water canteens and MREs. Used a mixture of currencies. Cornerian, Royalist, Separatist, some lion coin. Also bartered a time or two with other goods. Whoever she is, she's been running around and meeting all kinds of folk. Obviously some shadier than others, given what kind of goods she had to trade, but hey we aren't picky around here. The benefit of running my own operation outside of Royalist or Separatist control, after all."
"What goods did she barter with?" Fox asked.
"Old Thaljistani artifacts, rough diamonds…drugs." Rossiro rattled them off casually.
"Excuse me, drugs?" Fox sure didn't think Krystal was the type to deal with that crap.
"Look, it's no big deal." Rossiro sighed, sounding like he was explaining something obvious. "Drugs aren't taboo in the Outer Territories. A lot of people use them strictly for trade. They're small yet valuable, so they're perfect for bartering. It's not that unusual. I'd guess she's some sort of…soldier for hire, maybe? A mercenary? The drugs were probably her payment. She sometimes had the smell of gunpowder, ozone from laser blasts, and dried blood on her robes."
Gunpowder, ozone, blood, drugs… If that was Krystal, what the hell was she getting mixed up in? What happened to her quest to find the colony?
It'd be a gamble showing Krystal's photograph again. The cheetah had gotten angry, but Jamesh the caracal had been reasonable. How would Rossiro react? Fox decided he needed to take the chance again. He needed to make sure this was her.
He pulled out Krystal's photo again. "Did she look like this, aside from the fur color?"
Rossiro's eyes widened as he saw her blue fur. He took a deep gulp. "You know one of them?! The blue angels?" His smug, casual attitude had vanished, replaced by all-encompassing terror.
I may have made a mistake. "Listen, I don't know anything about this 'blue angel' talk." Fox said. "It's all new to me. Like you said, I'm not a local. Why is everyone freaking out about this photo, anyway? The cheetah guard at the gate hated it."
"Because you should be dead if you got that close to one of them." Rossiro shivered, looking at his hands. "If she was one of them I should be dead too, honestly. Or the rest of my town. No wonder she smelled of death."
"I should be dead?" Fox's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"
"Whenever you hear stories about blue angels, usually there's death and destruction involved. Towns wiped off the map by fire. People disappearing or found dead later under mysterious circumstances. But you not only know one, you are in love with her. What you've done should be impossible."
Fox wasn't sure if he should feel horrified or complimented by Rossiro's words. "I've spent a year and a half around her. She's the last person I'd think of as dangerous to me."
"I'm still shocked you don't know anything about blue angels, after spending so much time around one." Rossiro stared at Fox as if he'd managed to tame some kind of deadly cosmic beast. "How did you even meet her?"
"It's a very long story." Fox said, "I don't think I've got the time to tell it all." Particularly with what Rossiro charged for his time. "But I can tell you I found Krystal in Lylat, on a planet called Sauria. She told me her homeworld was a planet called Cerinia, which was destroyed a few years ago. These blue angels…do you know if they're Cerinians too?"
Rossiro stared blankly at Fox, not seeming to know how to respond. "I…I didn't even know blue angels had a proper name like that. Growing up, I thought they were myths. Our old religious texts mention them, even as far back as a millennium ago when it's said Thaal-Ja created us. But I just thought those were old stories exaggerated over generations. Like the blue angels were just made-up boogeymen to scare kids into being good little boys and girls." He wrung his hands. "But a few years ago, it started happening for real! You hear stories about stuff going on in the lion territory to the northwest of here. Villages being wiped out by them. People being kidnapped or murdered. Almost no one survives to get an up close look at them. Most of the time if you hear something, it's only somebody who was lucky enough to be away when their town got destroyed." He glanced at the photo in Fox's hands of Krystal once again. "You wanna know why everyone flips out when you show them that photo? There's your answer."
Fox didn't know what to say to that. He turned the photo around, looking at Krystal. Though Fox thought she was the most beautiful person in the universe, Rossiro regarded her as if this were a photo of the most vile beast to come out of the darkest corner of the cosmos.
"You said you showed that picture to a cheetah at the gate?" Rossiro continued. "His name is Bashir. And he's one of those people who got his village destroyed by one of those blue angels."
Damn. Now Fox felt awful for that cheetah. Must've been like reliving the worst day of his life seeing that photo. "I'm terribly sorry. I don't want to offend anyone. But Krystal…she's not one of those blue angels. She has nothing to do with what they've done. I just want to find her and bring her back home to Lylat." He put away the picture. "You said there were attacks by these blue angels in lion territory to the northwest of here? Can you tell me more about that?"
Rossiro shook his head. "You don't want to go there."
"What do you mean?" Fox glared at him.
"You think people around here are awful to you? You haven't seen anything till you enter the lions' domain. At least the Royalists respect all cat species. The lions only care about themselves, and see any other species as slaves at best or something to be exterminated at worst. Nothing has changed in a thousand years."
"I can look after myself." Fox almost reached for his non-existent blaster. "I'm a mercenary. I helped train Krystal, even."
"Even then, chasing after a blue angel is like chasing a ghost. The vast majority of people who have lived on Thaljista have never seen one. And it's not just lions you need to worry about. There's lots of ways for trouble to find you here. The gangs of bandits roaming the desert love outsiders like you. Easy marks, considering you're far away from home. I think you'll get taken out by one of them a long time before you get anywhere close to a blue angel, or a Cerinian or whatever you call them." Rossiro sighed. "Are you at least traveling with someone else? You can't take on this wasteland by yourself."
"Yeah, I've got Tadao. He's a capable guy."
"Two's definitely better than one, although those bandits don't like a fair fight. They're gonna come at you with at least twice as many."
Fox pursed his lips. "Well, I've had worse odds than that." Like facing down Andross' entire military with just a squadron of four.
"I'd like to see how long that bravado lasts, but unfortunately I won't be there to see it. I think you're a madman with this quest of yours, Fox McCloud, but it's not my business what you do. I'm simply giving you what you paid for."
Fox frowned at that. "I feel like I've paid too much already. Even the parking here was a ripoff."
"What do you mean?" Rossiro asked.
"Oh, some kitten told me I had to pay to park my ship here." Fox rolled his eyes.
"Parking is supposed to be free here. You got scammed, my friend." Rossiro reached into his apron pocket and handed back one of the Separatist notes. "Here, compensation for your trouble. I'll make sure this offense is dealt with."
Fox looked at the note, then back at Rossiro. He sure didn't see that coming.
"I do not tolerate scammers here," Rossiro said. "I believe it is key to running a successful trading post that I maintain a trustworthy relationship with my clients and suppliers. It's how I've cultivated enough ties to get rare goods you'd never see in the Outer Territories otherwise. I'm sure you've seen the shop down below. Those goods would have never made it here without forming reliable, trustworthy ties."
Fox glanced at the windows behind the desk, looking out over the orderly ship beneath. He supposed that made sense.
Anyway, while Fox had learned a lot of new information about what Krystal had been up to since they'd seen each other last, it mostly just raised more questions and didn't exactly point him in another specific direction like Gail's information did. She didn't appear to be looking for the colony anymore, using her Star Fox training to do her own mercenary work, and she was trading in all sorts of currency and goods, none of which pointed to a specific location she might have gone. And she was even trading in things like diamonds and drugs.
Fox narrowed his eyes. That gave him an idea. "What sort of drugs did she barter with?"
Rossiro smirked, standing up and walked over to one of the many filing cabinets near his desk. After pulling it open, he brushed aside some folders of files, and pulled out a small thimble-sized vial of a turquoise-colored powder. "We call this 'breeze' around here. You take this stuff, you feel like you're just floating on the wind without a care in the world. Lots of people around here want to forget about their many troubles living in this hellhole, so it's fairly popular. It's from a flower of the same turquoise color that grows in more humid regions of Thaljista."
Fox glanced at it. Though he thought of it as distasteful to be in possession of such a thing, this might be a new lead. "Can I buy that from you?" He handed back the bill Rossiro had just given back to him.
"Of course," Rossiro smiled, giving him the vial.
Fox held it between his fingers. Perhaps he could analyze this, figure out who produced this, and discover the other steps of Krystal's journey. He could follow up on that lion territory lead later. Maybe she'd gone to investigate the attacks, maybe not, but this drug seemed like a more surefire lead right now.
Again, Rossiro appeared to be on the same wavelength as Fox, as he produced a rough diamond, about the size of a pea. "She also had this to trade on a different day she was here. Might help you find her as well."
He reached out to grab it, only for Rossiro to shake his head. "Ah ah, only for the right price."
Fox rolled his eyes and gave him another bill, taking the diamond.
"Don't be so glum." Rossiro smiled. "Think of this as a currency exchange. I'm helping you get rid of those worthless Separatist bills for something you can actually use around here. You'll thank me later."
Fox slipped the diamond and vial into his pocket, glaring at Rossiro. He couldn't say dealing with this ocelot was exactly pleasant, nor was it cheap. It was very difficult for Fox to imagine himself thanking this guy, now or later. Instead, he gave a small nod and turned to leave.
The walk out of town felt much shorter than the walk into town, not that Fox minded. He collected his blaster from Jamesh as he left through the tunnel. At least that went smoothly, he supposed.
Fox found Tadao standing guard by the Arwing just as he said he would do, leaned up against the front landing gear. Giving a hard stare to any cat that got too close seemed to be enough to drive them off, given the lizard's appearance. Fox was already thankful to have someone else with him on this trip. Who knows what could've happened to the Arwing if Tadao wasn't there to watch it.
"How did it go?" Tadao asked.
"I might have some new leads." Fox jingled the vial and diamond in his pocket, which he suspected he'd paid too much money for. "Anyway, I don't want to stick around here. Let's go. I need to send some messages to Fara. Got some research for her to do."
Within a few minutes, they were back in the air and away from Malquae.
~X~
Rossiro poured himself a cup from the coffee pot. Needed something to help calm his nerves. The vulpine's cup rested on the edge of his desk, still steaming and with only one sip taken from it. That man had absolutely no time for niceties, did he?
Anyway, Rossiro didn't mind at all that Mr. Fox hadn't bothered to say goodbye. The money was thanks enough, and the vulpine's presence unsettled him regardless. Any man who was willing to travel so far and sacrifice everything for somebody was dangerous. Rossiro wanted to make sure he was well out of the way.
The ocelot also hoped he'd acted sufficiently shocked there when he saw the picture of that Cerinian. That's what Fox called them, right? Anyway, not like that was the first time he'd suspected one of those…Cerinians was in his store. But if Fox knew that, the vulpine probably would've hounded him all day asking more questions. At least until he ordered security to drag Fox out, but a scene like that didn't look good.
Anyway, any time Rossiro saw a fox in his shop, he always wondered in the back of his head if they were hiding something. Those blue angels were frequently described as looking like strangely colored foxes, after all. Fox probably wasn't one himself though. He didn't seem to know how to fly under the radar. Not like the rest of those foxes who'd shopped here. It could get him killed.
Oh well, not my problem. Anyway, I need to make a phone call.