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Mind Games
A StarFox Novel

by Ozzie K. Wolf-Master
Copyright © 1997.

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Based on characters by created by Nintendo™  in 1993/1997 (used w/o permission).  NOTE:  This story was written and posted for entertainment purposes only.

SUMMARY:  An ingenious invention sparks a cruel plan of action for Andross’s next attack on Corneria.  With nanoprobes, he can control the thought process of anyone and destroy them.  His first victims are the StarFox team members, knowing that if he defeats them, Corneria would be exposed for invasion.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
1.  Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, Fara Phoenix, General Pepper, Andross, Corneria, James McCloud, Vixy Reinard and all other characters and places created by Nintendo are copyright and TM 1993 Nintendo of America Inc.  Also Katt Monroe, ROB64, Bill Grey, StarWolf team, and other principle characters are copyright and TM 1997 Nintendo.  USED W/O PERMISSION.
2.  Special thanks go to Julia Glassman, who created the following:  Iliria, Nikki McCallister, Nolan Ventura, Sidney Canberra, Buck Woods, and Red Leopard, Narconi, and Annie (Andromeda Hare), etc...
3.  Special thanks also go to Kenny Weaver, who created the following:  Grey Landry, Taresa Caracaraess, Otter O’Brian.

(If I missed listing any other characters and giving their creators credit, I apologize and would like to thank those responsible for creating them)

Characters created by Ozzie K.:  Jasen Farou, Theo Brassett, Vince Sylvilagus, Kira Strauss, Alex Coonts, Geranium, Ben Tittel, John Croony, Alisha Swift, Captain Jerrod Cameron, Captain T’relek and other characters and inventions are copyright 1997 Ozzie K..  This story may be redistributed as long as I receive credit and this entire disclaimer remains with it.  Please do not sell or alter it.  Feel free to use my characters as long as I get credit for them, and please let me know how you use them prior to releasing them as FanFic.  You can find my regulations for the use of my characters on the home page of my FanFic.

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StarFox
Mind Games

TIME FRAME:  A year after Bygones (aka:  Fox’s Challenge) by Kenny Weaver.

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*   Chapter 1   *

 A lone starship glided through the cold darkness of space. On the ship’s starboard side, single bright star glinted red off its titanium white hull.  The black letters on the side of the hull could be read ‘CMS Phoenix.’  It traveled at a slow cruising speed, less than seventy-five percent of lightspeed.

 Aboard the ship, the crew of the CMS Phoenix went on about their daily duties as though it were an ordinary day.  The ship’s internal sensors were set to standard Lylat time, which was one and the same with Cornerian time.  There wasn’t a crewmember onboard that wasn’t busy.  There wasn’t a lazy soul on the ship.

 With the exception of their lone passenger, Fara Phoenix, a young fighter pilot had who had accompanied them on their most recent mission to Fortuna.  She was in her quarters, resting after a hard days work.  General Pepper and her father--a spaceship magnate owner of this ship in particular--had sent her to get top secret cargo there.

 The Phoenix had been chosen for the mission because of her tremendously competent crew and captain, and not to mention the ship’s excellent capabilities.  After boarding the cargo onto the ship, they had immediately left Fortuna SpaceDock, headed back for Corneria.  Fara’s simple orders had been to see to it that the cargo was loaded into the starship’s cargo bay and make sure that the crew got it to Corneria safely.

 However, that was only the official reason; Fara had stayed out of the crew’s way.  The Phoenix’s crew knew exactly what they were doing, and her skills weren’t needed on the mission; instead, she had taken the mission in order to see her best friend at Fortuna SpaceDock.  She had left disappointed, having discovered that Pika Yihn had been transferred to StarBase Four, the base over the hostile planet of Zoness.  Even though Pika hadn’t been there, she didn’t let it stand in the way of having a decent trip to one Lylat’s premier worlds.

 She had spent several hours in the Phoenix’s recreation room with some of her friends aboard the ship.  During that time, she received a good workout, including a lesson in fencing, boxing, and even arm wrestling with the ship’s best.  After proving herself to be one of the finest athletes aboard, Fara had returned to her quarters for an hour’s rest before dinner in the mess hall.

 She lounged lazily on the sofa in her quarters as she watched news on the television.  Though most of the crew had holo-vision in their quarters, none of the passenger’s quarters had been equipped with such luxuries.  Not that she missed not having three-dimensional viewing; the news was horrible.  There was nothing involving StarForce, nothing very exciting nor least bit interesting.  It was mainly the local news at Corneria and the only reason she was watching it was so she didn’t miss anything, if something important happened.

 Still, she was relieved that nothing important had happened in her absence from StarForce.  Dan Croffa, the anchorman, bid his viewers another of his famous fond farewells.  The screen went blank as she pressed a key on her remote and set the device aside.  She made her way to the closet; a button operated the door, and it hissed open when she pressed it.  Inside, she found the only article of clothing in the closet, her white jean jacket and slid it on.  She had transported the rest of her belongings to the cargo bay not long after departure from Fortuna.

 On the far wall of the small room, a brass clock chimed, marking the passage of time.  Fara glanced to the mirror and tugged gently on the front of her jacket in her best seductive pose.  She grinned and ran a hand through short, light brown hair to smooth it and adjusted her jean jacket collar.  Memories of Fox insisting she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen came to her in a flood; she longed to feel his hot breath on her neck again...

 She let out a heavy sigh and cursed herself, pushing the thought out of her mind, embarrassed though no one was there.  She and Fox had called it off a long time ago.  It almost felt like a crime to even think about it.  She headed for the door.

 The door hissed open softly as she walked up to it.  She stopped at the doorway to grab her comlink on the counter there.  Before she left, she hesitated, taking a last look at the crowded but quaint room that she had inhabited on the trip.  It had been a decent room, tiny yet comfortable and tidy, with a sofa, desk, closet, chair, bathroom, and hide-a-bed.  There wasn’t a kitchen in any of the accommodations; all meals aboard the ship were served in the mess hall.

 There were six decks on the starship.  She walked down the corridor of deck three, which was just wide enough for comfortable passage.  Fara wondered if it became too crowded when the crews were dodging back and forth during emergency situations.

 At the end of the corridor were six doors larger than the others lining the hall.  Here were the quarters of the senior officers, the most permanent positions on the ship.  Normally, the captain and his top crew served aboard their starships until retirement, and transfers to other ships were rare under normal circumstances.

 The largest door in the corridor lay at the very end of the hall, on the opposite side of the turbolifts.  Behind them were the largest accommodations aboard the ship.  It was the captain’s quarters.  She glanced in its direction as she walked by and moved to the turbolifts.  Just before she entered the lift, the door hissed open behind her.  “Fara,” a voice called.

 She turned to see a wide, stout badger stood in the doorway of his quarters.  He was dressed in his finest uniform, a red tunic and slacks, a white turtleneck, black boots, and a golden StarForce insignia.  Four gold ranking strips were pinned under the emblem.  He held a white hat at his side with a similar logo embroidered with onto it with gold thread.  She grinned when she saw him and moved over to him.  “Good evening, Captain,” she said.  “Any particular reason you’re so spiffed up tonight?”

 She had known Captain Jerrod Cameron for fifteen years.  He had been a good friend of her father’s, and was the first captain to command a starship for Phoenix Star Enterprises, the name of her father’s company.  She was older now, out of grade school and a lieutenant in StarForce but she enjoyed to think back to the past and remember the man who used to play with her during his vacations.  She had been eight years old when the first met, and he had towered over her.  Now she stood several inches taller than him.  Other than that, she mused, he hasn’t changed a bit.

 “You goin’ to dinner, right?” he asked, glancing down the hall.  Fara wondered if he was suspicious of something.

 “Yes sir,” she replied.  “You’re lucky to have such good chefs.”

 “Well, I s’pose I’m lucky that it’s the only cuisine I know, anyway,” he muttered, staring off into space.  Then he focused back on her and she saw a hint of the playful man she once knew.  “Mind if I join you?”

 Fara grinned, remembering that summer when her father had invited him to stay with the Phoenix family at their condo on Capricorn Heights Beach on Corneria.  Only nine years old at the time, she was thrilled that he had entertained her for most of his visit.  “Sure, Captain,” she replied.  “You know you’re always welcome.”  She led him to the turbolift.  “Deck two, rec. level.”  There was a beep, and the lift hissed on its way.

 “Thank you, Fara,” Jerrod said.  “It means a lot to me.”

 “You’ve been very good to me,” Fara replied.

 He chuckled, which sounded like a grunt, and turned to the lift door.  “Demetric has always put food in my mouth, Fara,” he said.  He wrapped his arm around her hip and squeezed.  “Least I can do is be nice to his daughter.”

 She smiled and straightened a wrinkle in his tunic.  Stepping back, she took a moment to eye him.  It seemed strange that he had put on his best dress uniform.  Even despite his friendly attitude towards her, he wore a sour expression.  “It’s my birthday,” he explained when he noticed her studying him.

 “Why didn’t you tell me!?” she cried cheerfully, gripping him in a tight hug.  She kissed his cheek.  “Happy birthday, Uncle Jerrod!”  That was her informal name for the captain.

 He pretended to despise her cheerfulness, though he liked it when Fara was happy.  “That’s why,” he muttered, rubbing his cheek roughly with hand, a disgusted look on his face.  “Everybody fusses too much over the damn things.”  With that he slammed his hat violently on his head and tugged it low over his eyes.  He took out his pipe and tapped it gently into his hand.  The lift swished open and he stepped out, leading her to the mess hall.

 It was a short walk to their destination.  He stopped at the door, muttered something under his breath, and tugged his cap further over his eyes.  Then he glanced back to Fara and stepped aside.  “Go in first.  With any luck, they won’t even see me.”

 Fara snickered at this and moved to the door; it hissed open as she walked through.  Instantly she was surrounded by the crew of the starship, mostly from Corneria and her sister planet Katina.  There were also a few Titanians, Papetoonians, and even a couple Pandorans.  Fara grinned, seeing that most of them held drinks and several others held packages.

 If I didn’t know better, she mused, I would think I just walked in on a surprise party.  After she entered, Jerrod stuck his head in the door.  “Happy birthday!!!” the crowd cheered in unison.  “Three cheers for Captain Cameron!” someone yelled out.  “Hip-hip-hooray!”  The others surrounded joined in them joined in the cheer.  “Hip-hip-hooray!  Hip- hip-hooray!!!”

 Fara burst out laughing and led the applause for Jerrod.  “Congratulations, Captain!” she called out.  He glared at her for a moment, but she could see in his eyes that he wasn’t angry.  He was delighted.

 Someone handed him a dark, thick drink, and he sniffed it.  “Venom ale?” he questioned; instantly the celebration ceased.  It was deadly silent.  “Why is there Venomese ale onboard my ship?”

 “What?!” the cougar asked.  “Venomese ale?  I thought it was grape juice.”  Hysterical laughter followed until the captain raised his hand.

 “This can’t be Venomese ale.  That beverage isn’t to be served aboard any vessel of the PSE.  It’s illegal for any Cornerian starship to transport Venomese liquor.”

 “I...I’m sorry captain.”

 But Jerrod continued.  “As I said, this can’t be Venomese ale.”  He took a long swig, swishing it in his mouth to taste it.  “Nope.  You were right,” he said.  “It’s grape juice.”

 Laughter exploded throughout the mess hall.  Then, came to an abrupt halt as Fara snatched his drink away.  “Wait a minute here,” she said.   “You guys know the rule.”  She took a few sips, carefully tasting the contents.  The sweet and sour taste of Venomese ale burned the whole way down her throat.  She glared at him with a sour expression.  “And you know, captain, you’ve just committed a major crime.”

 “Fara!” Jerrod started, his eyes opening in shock.  “You wouldn’t!”

 “You're really in trouble now, Captain,” she hissed with a straight face.  “The law is meant to keep guys like you in line.”  She raised the glass in his face.  “Always offer the lady a drink first, or you shall burn in Hell.”  She finished off the drink and then panted, fanning her hand under her neck.  “Man, that is some strong grape juice.”

 Again, the room exploded into laughter.  “Well, Fara, I’ll be sure never to break that law again.”  The captain smiled.  “And I’m very sorry.”

 “You should be,” she teased, and turned to the cougar.  “Why are you just standing around with that supid grin on your face?  The captain’s waiting for his drink.”

 As the laughter died down, but the party continued.  After a short time, however, the intercom chimed.  “Bridge to Lieutenant Fara Phoenix.”

 She hurried to a nearby panel and punched the button.  “Phoenix here,” she called out quickly; the room became silent.

 “You’ve got a transmission coming in from StarForce.  It’s Captain Fox McCloud.”

 Fara glanced to Captain Cameron and frowned.  “Why would he call me now?” she asked.  “He’s in the Battenuse system.”

 The Captain shrugged.  After all, it wasn’t his business to know why Fox would be calling.

 “Lieutenant Phoenix?” the voice over the intercom asked.

 “Patch it through to my comlink,” she called up, and headed for the door.  It hissed open, and she went out into the empty hall.  Making sure she was alone, she took out her headset and set it on her head.  “Fox?”

 “Hey Fara,” a friendly voice replied.  “How’d the trip go?”

 “Fine.  Pika was relocated last month, but otherwise the trip went pretty smooth,” she said.  There was a pause before she added:  “I saw the top student Arwing pilots in the system.  They were pretty good.”

 “Good enough to replace me?” he asked.

 She chuckled at his cockiness.  “Don’t worry, Fox.  Your job is gonna be safe for a long time.”  Then she took a deep breath.  “What’s wrong, Fox.  You didn’t send a message over a priority channel from Battenuse for nothing.”

 There was a long pause.  She heard him draw in a deep breath.  “You’re right,” he said.  “Fara, this is important.  Is there anyone with you now?”

 “No, I’m alone.”

 “Fara, Slippy doesn’t think we’ll be back anytime soon.  We’ve been out here for six hours and ran six sweeps with the most powerful equipment of any ship, and the Great Fox can’t pick up a thing.  It’s all a big waste of time, anyway.”

 “Can you be sure?  Slippy doesn’t make many mistakes, Fox.”

 “Fara, I’m bored,” he told her.  “I’m hoping he didn’t make a mistake.”

 Fara smiled.  “Look, Fox, take care.  I’m in the middle of the party.  As soon as I get home, I’ll give you a call.”

 “Okay.  Thanks,” he said.  He told her goodbye, and then blinked off the screen.  He never told her he loved her anymore.  She forced herself not to remember that; she had been the one to end it.

 “Dammit, Fox,” Fara whispered.  She took her headset off, leaned against the bulkhead, and cupped her hands over her comm, between her breasts and sighed.  Her left hand went to her head.  She suddenly had a major migraine.  “You still get to me.”

*   *   *

 Wolf stood in the center of the docking bay of the Dark Wolf, the StarWolf squadron flagship.  It was right next to the Phoenix, although the Cornerians would never realize it until it was too late.  It had a cloaking device, new, just like the ship that used its power.

 “You guys ready?” he asked.  He had a patch over his left eye, lost in bar fight several years before.  Although he could still work without the eye, it wasn’t a scar he’d come to live with.  He blamed Fox McCloud, even though his mortal enemy had nothing to do with it.  His primary purpose for leading StarWolf was to outdo and see the defeat of Fox McCloud.  It was all Fox’s fault; he had destroyed Wolf’s life.

 “Of course we’re ready,” Leon Powalski grumbled.  He rolled his eyes.  “This is gonna be nothin’.  StarFox is three days away.  By that time the treasure’s all ours.”

 Pigma Dengar, a former member of the Cornerian StarForce, grunted.  “Don’t be stupid.  Look, I know Phoenix is gonna be there.  You know with her onboard, someone will always be nearby.”

 Wolf straightened as the name rang in his ears--Fara.  “Phoenix?  She’s here?” he grunted.  “Keep your eyes out for her.  She would be good bait for McCloud.”

 Andrew Oikonny snickered.  “Sure, Wolf.  Uncle Andross would be pleased, but I think you’re looking for more than a prisoner here.”

 “Shut up, monkey-fart,” Wolf grumbled.  He glanced to his watch.  “Get to your DarkWings.  We have five minutes to Operation Bird Snatcher.”

 Leon Powalski scowled.  “That long?” he groused.  “I think we could go out now.”

 “Patience, Leo,” Pigma said cheerfully.  “It’ll take three minutes to start the damn things up anyway!”  With that he turn and headed for his DarkWing, whistling good-naturedly, although poorly as well.

 Andrew stood with Leon for a moment.  “He’s always acting cheerful,” Leon whispered.

 “I know,” Andrew said, “but he is a pig, and he’s a good pilot.  Us Cornerians are the best.”

 “Us!” Leon laughed.  “That is the biggest bunch of bull I ever heard.  You three Cornerian frauds are the best fighters that ever fought against your own world!  That’s all.”

 “I wouldn’t say that around Wolf,” the baboon said softly.  “When he’s mad he could spit nails.”  A small, lightweight wrench hit him in the head, and he grabbed it.  “Who threw that!”

 “I did, monkey!” Wolf growled from his fighter.  “And Andross will be spitting more than nails if you don’t get to your DarkWings.  And I mean now, dammit!”

 “Yes sir!” Andrew called up and the two broke for a run to get to their DarkWings.

 Once they were all in and suited up, Wolf tapped his comlink.  “This is StarWolf leader.  StarWolf pilots, check in.”

 “StarWolf two, check,” Pigma grunted.

 “StarWolf three,” Leon said.  “Operational.”

 Andrew finished out the StarWolf role call.  “StarWolf four, ready to rumble,” he crowed.  “Let’s get the loot and get out ‘a here.”

 Wolf shivered.  Andross would skin him if his crew failed.  Andrew was the emperor’s own nephew, and the biggest whiner Wolf had ever met.  Wolf had never wanted him on the team, but Andross had insisted on giving his nephew a job and he could fly a fighter, so he became one of Wolf’s teammates.  “Andrew, you follow my orders and don’t do anything reckless,” the wolf warned.  “I don’t want you goofin’ it all up again.”

 “That’s tellin’ him boss,” Pigma chuckled.

 Wolf ignored him, switching on to the bridge.  “This is StarWolf team leader to Captain T’relek.  Requesting permission to engage mission.”

 The voice filtered through all of their speakers.  “Bridge to StarWolf team.  The mission is a go, Commander.”

 “Roger, bridge.  Initiate the tractor beam.”

 There was a rumble deep within the vessel as the Dark Wolf prepared to connect to the Phoenix.  Let the massacre begin.

*   *   *

 Even though the party had died down, there was still a good majority of the high ranked officers in the mess hall.  The cooks were serving Papetoonian cabbage stew, a cheap but precious meal to Papetoon and a nice change for someone used to the StarForce meals, as Fara Phoenix was.

 She carried her tray over to a table where three female ensigns sat, talking and laughing.  She’d met one, Erissa Min, a thirty-year-old Pandoran who reminded her of Andromeda, Peppy’s wife.  The other two were younger, one being about her age, a beaver, and the other in her late twenties.  She was a soft-shelled turtle, trim and beautiful.  She smiled down to them as she came over.  “Hi,” she said.

 “Fara!” Erissa smiled.  “Come sit with us.”

 Fara almost did, but then remembered the captain, who was walking their way.  “But the cap-”

 “The Captain?” Erissa asked with a laugh.  “He can sit here if he wants.  Not like I haven’t been here for eight years.”

 “No shit,” the turtle grunted sarcastically, allowing a tiny smile.  “So you’re Fara Phoenix.”  It wasn’t a question.

 “Yep,” Fara smiled, and shook the turtle’s hand and sat down just as the Captain came up.  He sat down beside her without making a fuss, smiling to the three other women after he did.  “And what’s your name?”

 “Edith Coonts,” the turtle said.  “I came from Cieda 2.”

 “Oh!” Fara smiled.  “That’s a beautiful planet.”

 The turtle smiled shyly as the beaver introduced herself.  “Alicia Stub,” she said, and shook Fara’s hand.  “So, tell us:  You and Fox McCloud tying the knot anytime soon?”

 Dammit, she thought.  Didn’t anyone ever drop that subject?  Old news.  “Actually, we broke up for good a year ago.  We promised never to talk about getting together ever.  To anyone, because it’s not going to happen.”

 “Oh, how sad,” Edith sighed, stirring her stew as she studied Fara’s young face.  “I thought you made a nice couple.”

 Fara rolled her eyes.  “Didn’t everyone but us?” she asked.  No, that was wrong.  Fox thought they made a great couple.  After the incident with Grey, though, he thought it would be better if they didn’t go back out for awhile.  Meantime, she’d had a chance to analyze the situation from afar.  In time, she’d gone to Fox to say maybe it would be better if they never went back out again.

 Captain Cameron chuckled and spooned up a hunk of cabbage.  “I had a chance to talk to Fox on Papetoon three months ago.  He told me the whole story, and he added some, too.  He said that you came up with the terms, and it hurt his feelings.  He didn’t want to upset you though, so he agreed.”

 “Hmf.  I figured that,” she grumbled.  Then she shook his head, obviously upset.  “Why does he always make me out to be the bad guy?  Sure, I like him, but he’s more like a younger brother.”

 “Maybe that’s the problem with him,” Edith suggested.  “You do treat him like a kid.”

 “What gave you that idea?” she shot back.  Then, realizing her mistake, she fidgeted.  “I mean, he shouldn’t act like a kid if he doesn’t want to be treated like one.”

 “Well, think about it, Fara,” Cameron said.  “It’s just not fair to treat him that way.”

 “Shit,” Fara grumbled, and stood to leave when the ship suddenly came to a jerking halt.  She fell over, dropping her tray, and landed hard on her right elbow.  “What the hell?” she muttered, rubbing it as she came up to a knee.

 “We’re under attack!” Edith gasped, standing.

 Cameron stood and help Fara up as he clicked his comlink on.  “This is Cameron to bridge.  I’m on my way.”  He signed off.  “Come on, Commander.  You’re needed.”

 Fara jumped to her feet and followed Edith and Captain Cameron out of the mess hall.  The other occupants were filed out as fast as possible.

 Deep inside the cavernous ship, there was a massive metallic clangor, followed by an intense vibration.

*   *   *

 A few minutes later, the entire bridge crew was set up at its stations.  Edith came in, followed by Cameron, who immediately said, “Report.”  Fara came in and stood beside him at the Captain’s chair.

 Lieutenant commander Weasley Gesak, a gazelle, reported from the ops.  “We’ve got a parasite locked into the solid fuel converter.  It’s draining the whole damned tank, sir.”

 “Can you give me a visual?” he asked.

 “Not yet, sir,” Lieutenant Eries, a cheetah, replied from her communications station.  “We’ve lost all outer cameras.”

 “Not even a damn forward view?” Fara asked.  “We can’t see a damn thing to save our lives?”

 “Sorry ma’am,” she said.

 “I’ve got something new,” Weasley said with a grimace.  “We didn’t loose anything; it’s been rerouted.”

 Cameron moved over.  “What was rerouted?”

 “Everything but main computer and communications.”

 As Cameron cursed, and shouted questions at the gazelle, Fara ran to Eries.  “Send a distress message!” she roared.

 Behind him, Eries was saying, “This is the Cornerian Freighter-class starship Phoenix, at section 2-5-3-3-4-Papetoon.  We’re under attack.  Attackers are unknown.  Repeat, attackers are not known.”

 Shaking his head with frustration, Weasley’s fingers blurred over the console.  “No...” he growled.  Then the console went blank.

 He had no access to anything.

 “What the hell happened?” Cameron asked.

 “Someone has the entire damn system,” Weasley grumbled.  He stood, tossed his comlink aside and dashed over to the helm.  The wide-eyed ensign, a sheltie, moved to allow Weasley sit in his chair.  The higher ranked officer never bothered wasted his valuable time in taking the empty seat.  “The fuel’s gone!  Dammit!”

 “What about weapons?” the captain asked.

 “Inoperative,” the weapon’s manager, a wolf, groaned.  He was a twenty-eight year old junior Lieutenant.  “We’re screwed!”

 Fara stood over the weapons console, staring down as the screen flashed ‘inoperative,’ and then went blank.  The bridge was silent.  Fara had headache.  Rubbing it, she asked quietly,  “Did the message get through?”

 “Yes,” Eries replied.  “A small victory, I guess.”  She sat back, sighing as her screen went blank.  “Damn,” she murmured.  “Got out only three repeats.”

 Cameron moved over, glanced down at her screen, and shook his head.  “Let’s hope that’s enough,” he sighed.

 “It won’t matter,” a voice said.  They all turned to the viewscreen and saw a wolf with a patch on his left eye.  He sat in his DarkWing, the one eye glaring at her.  “I thank you for turning over your antimatter.”

 “O’Donnel,” Fara grumbled.  “Should have known Andross was behind this.”

 “Spare me, Phoenix.  A delight to see you again, though.”  He squinted at her.  “Let’s see, my orders were to destroy the vessel, but I see something valuable on the inside.”

 “You better destroy us then,” Captain Cameron growled.  “I won’t let you have anything!”

 “Oh, I don’t need your permission, Captain,” Wolf mocked.  “Besides, I will trade you your lives for hers.”  He gestured to Fara.

 “Never!” Cameron shot back.  “If you want any lives, you have to take us all.”

 Fara moved in front of him.  “No, Captain,” she whispered.  She turned to Wolf.  “I’ll come aboard on one condition.”  With a victorious grin, he leaned forward with anticipation.  “Let me make contact with my father.”

 Wolf scowled.  “What?!  Andross would-”

 “Screw Andross,” she said.  “I know he wants me, or you wouldn’t be here.”

 “Actually, we didn’t know you were onboard,” Leon’s voice said.

 “Shut the hell up, lizard,” Wolf growled.  “Terms accepted.  Go to Cargo Room Two of the Phoenix.”

 “You have to release the Phoenix before I turn myself over.”

 “Geesh,” Wolf muttered.  “Keep your skirt on.”

 He ended the transmission, and Fara slammed her fist into the Captain’s chair.  “Damn!  Asshole.  I hate skirts.  I’m gonna tear out his other eye!”

 “I’d like to help you,” Cameron growled.

 “I want you to go straight home when you get out.  Go to General Pepper, and good luck.  And clear the cargo zones.”  Before he could argue, Fara tossed him her blaster and dashed off the bridge.

*   *   *

 For twenty minutes they waited in disturbed silence.  Then, without warning, Eries saw her communications console light up.  “We’ve got our communications back!” Eries shrieked in delight.  All over the bridge, the consoles regained power.

 Wolf appeared on the screen.  He now stood on the bridge of a new, advanced starship.  “Your ship is free, but you’ll be adrift with no fuel.  Send transmissions to Zoness, Captain Cameron.  The Venomese soldiers there will have you repaired and refueled and will see to it you get sent home.”

 “We’ll do it the way we want to, asshole,” Weasley growled.

 “Very well.  Zoness is closer, though.”

 “We’ll deal with that ourselves,” Cameron said.

 Wolf shook his head.  “Ungrateful...” he murmured.

 “Bullshit,” Cameron growled.  He signaled to have Wolf cut off; he saw the surprised in the enemy’s eyes when it happened.

*   *   *

 “Is she onboard?” Captain T’relek asked as Wolf moved onto the bridge.

 “She is in the brig,” he replied coldly.

 “You know StarFox won’t let this go unanswered,” the lizard reminded him.

 Wolf groaned at the memory of StarFox.  Time and time again, it was Fox McCloud who destroyed his dreams of fame.  He had never wanted to be truly evil; it had been Fox’s fame that had turned him to a life of hate in their sophomore year of Corneria City High.  He glared at T’relek.  “That is not your concern, Captain,” he growled.

 He grinned to himself when he went into the his ready room.  Andross would be pleased.  A member of the StarFox team was now his hostage.

*   *   *

 It was an hour later when he finally came to the brig, wearing his repulsive, cocky grin.  “Fara Phoenix,” he mocked, arriving to her detention cell.  Two robotic guards stood on either side of the cell’s entrance.  “And how are you this morning?”

 Morning? she wondered.  Of course.  Right now it was morning on the Venom base.  “Go to hell,” she snarled.

 He cocked the eyebrow above his good eye.  “Now is that anyway to treat your host?” he asked.  From behind him, a cart piled high with gorgeous breakfast dishes, including her favorite, Pandoran-raspberry honey rolls, was wheeled in by two Venomese lizards.

 “You’re kidding me,” she said, her eyes on the food.  “You actually have a decent cook?”

 “Of course,” he muttered sarcastically.  “The Venomese are very particular about meals.”

 “Then who cooks all this?” she asked.

 He took an apple from the cart and bit into it.  “We got a few professional Pandoran chefs onboard.  Those dimwits couldn’t cook if their lives depended on it.”

 His bad English made her come to her senses.  “Let me contact my father, now, Wolf,” she said quietly, the tray of delicacies rolled in front of her.

 He frowned.  “What?”  Then he grinned.  “Of course.”  He pulled out a syringe as well as a holo-phone.  “I’ve added a new detail to the agreement.  You can only send a message.  Now, take off your shirt.”

---

*   Chapter 2   *

 The glistening, titanium hull of the Great Fox glistened in light of the yellow sun called Battenuse, three light-years from the Lylat system.  Three tiny Arwings floated nearby, one occupied by each of the StarFox squadron except for Slippy Toad, who was on the bridge of the starship with ROB.  His high voice filtered through Fox’s comlink on a break during their mission.

 “Still n-n-nothing Fox?” he asked.

 “Roger, that, Slip,” Fox McCloud replied, his voice annoyed and impatient.

 Falco’s voice interrupted the link.  “You know, we’ve been out here for ten hours, guys, and still nothing.  I still think that distress call was a hoax.”

 The avian was going to say more, but Slippy interrupted him.  “Let’s search for a c-c-couple more hours.  If n-n-nothing happens, we c-c-can head home.”

 “That’s what worries me,” Falco grunted.  “Nothing will happen, except for a raid on Corneria.  It’ll take three days to get back, and Andross doesn’t need three days.”

 “Damn,” Fox said.  He hated not being back there, where he was needed.

 Then Slippy frowned.  “If we g-g-go now, and someone is stuck out here, then we’d b-b-be ab-b-bandoning them.”  He sounded as though he truly believed that the distress call was genuine.  “Besides, I’m still w-w-working on this r-r-radio amplifier.”

 Fox knew that Slippy was wanting to get his machine fixed and search for the stranded ship, if there was one.  But they didn’t have to sit out in their Arwings and wait for it.  “Very well, Slippy.  But we’re coming back aboard.  ROB, fix us some coffee or something.”

 “Acknowledged, Commander McCloud.”

 With a short, easy sigh, Peppy turned his Arwing around towards the Great Fox.  He slowly followed Fox and Falco to the docking bay.  “You really think that the transmission was real, Slip?”

 “No q-q-question, man,” the toad replied.  “Bill and I went over the data for hours.  It is real, sent from here by a Nexep-class fighter.”

 “Well then where the hell is it, Toad?” Falco scowled.

 Fox shook his head, watching as the docking bay port slid open in front of them.  “Falco, don’t start.”

*   *   *

 Five minutes later Fox soaked in his shower, humming softly to classical Cornerian orchestra.  ROB went about his business, preparing his leader’s desk to begin work.  “I do not understand why you listen to music, Commander,” the robot said.

 The pilot rolled his eyes.  “ROB, I’m not going to explain it right now.  I just want to relax.”

 He had just grabbed the shampoo when his door beeped.  “Not now!” he shouted.

 “It’s important!” Falco called back.  “Pepper’s online!”

 Pepper? Fox thought.  Why would he be calling...?  Fox’s heart skipped a beat.

 He had been out of the shower and dressed in a robe for less than a minute when he went into the holographic chamber.  He was still dripping wet.  The rest of his squadron was crowded around the holo-phone.  He scanned over his other two teammates.  Falco looked pissed.  If Slippy had been wrong, Fox was sure the toad was in for it.  However, he looked very confident.  He was seldom wrong.  “Power it up, ROB,” Fox said.

 Moments later the fat, large hound jumped out in front of them in a soft blue glow.  It was General Pepper.  “Fox, we have an emergency situation on our hands.”

 Fox leaned forward, waiting.

 “What happened, General?” Peppy asked.

 The general removed his sunglasses, staring to the ground for a long few moments.  “The Phoenix was raided by StarWolf earlier today.  We received a transmission from Captain Cameron a few hours ago, and... uh... uh-a short time ago we received another, from-uh...”

 Fox’s jaw dropped.  “No...”

 “What about Fara?” Falco demanded.  “Is she okay?”

 “Fa-Fara was taken captive,” Pepper choked.  “She was allowed to send us a transmission, and it’s very serious and upsetting.  I’m sending it to you now...”

 Fox moved forward.  “So Andross isn’t planning on invading Corneria again.”

 “That,” Pepper said, “may or may not be true.  It depends on your decision.”

 “Wh-wh-what in the name of f-f-Fortuna is that s-s-supposed to m-m-mean?” Slippy asked.

 Pepper choked.  “He’ll stay out of Corneria if the StarFox squadron stays out of the Lylat.”

 “Not in a million years!” Fox growled.  “If Fara’s in danger, then we’ll be there in a second.  There’s no stopping me!”

 Pepper swallowed.  “Fox, that’s just it.  Fara’s not in danger.”

 Falco gritted his teeth.  “What the hell do you mean by that?”

 “You’ll see it in Fara’s transmission,” Pepper replied.  “Andross isn’t going to injure her.”

 Fox didn’t have a comeback that he dare repeat out loud.  He forced down the anger and breathed in deeply.  “What do you want us to do, General?”

 Pepper sighed.  “You know, Fox, I’m going to leave it up to you.  I trust your judgment.”

 “Dammit,” Fox muttered.  He didn’t have anything else to say.

*   *   *

 Fara Phoenix stood and stretched in her cell.  She had eaten the breakfast, to Wolf’s pleasure.  If not for the predicament she was in, she might very well have enjoyed it.  Her father may be rich and had good chefs, but these chefs aboard the Dark Wolf were definitely topnotch cooks.

 She forced herself to hate it nonetheless.

 She had almost cried when she sent her transmission home to her father’s estate in Coville, a small suburb of Corneria City.  Wolf was a fool; surely he should have known that her father would send it to Pepper--and of course Pepper to her teammates.  The StarFox squadron wouldn’t stand for it.

 Fox wouldn’t stand for it.

 She knew it.  Wolf knew it.  Andross knew it.

 Everyone knew it.

 Fox would come to save her, and that worried her.  Surely it would worry everyone else.  Andross wouldn’t let her live long if Fox tried to rescue her.  Sadly, it was very likely he would die, too.  He was too reckless.  She would have begged him to stay away.

 If she could reach him.  That was the impossible part.  No way she would be allowed contact with her StarFox teammates.  Instead she would be stuck in her cell, more than likely to watch them die, or them to watch her die.  She didn’t know if she could bear it.

 She knew Fox wouldn’t be able to.  No one would.  The thought that Peppy might have died two years earlier on Narconi 4 had been hard on all of them.  In fact, he had been declared dead at one time, but he came out of it.  She still noticed that on cold days he still limped bad on that leg.  It had taken him weeks to get out of the crutches, but even then the limp remained.  Only a few weeks before Fox’s abduction by Andross was he able to walk on it without any pain; the buzz of the implant on his knee was all she needed to be reminded of that horrible day, let alone the brace he still wore on his leg, and would for the rest of his life.  Still, he was one tough hare, and he’d learned to life with it.

 Fara knew that as strong as Peppy had been, she could be just as strong.  She just prayed that Andross didn’t choose to eliminate her.  Permanently.  She sighed, trying to push the thought out of her mind.  She walked over to the right of her cell, and back to the left...

 “Pacing, Miss Phoenix?” a grunting, evil voice laughed.

 Pigma.  “Why you dirty...”

 “Cut the crap, Phoenix,” he growled.  “I have a proposition for you.”

 “You greedy-”

 “Phoenix, shut the hell up and listen.  You love Fox, right?” he asked.

 She was caught off guard, staring at him with hurt eyes.  Of course she loved Fox, a part of her tried to admit.  The other half held it in.  “He’s a teammate, that’s all,” she murmured.

 “Answer the question truthfully,” Pigma said, pulling out a keycard.  The one that shut down the force field that held her in.  “Do you love Fox McCloud?”

 “No,” she lied, trying to sound firm.

 She didn’t think he believed her.  “You want to go home, don’t you?”

 Her eyes narrowed and she asked, “What are you talking about?”

 “I’m giving you an opportunity to go home, Phoenix,” Pigma whispered, and ran the card through the slot.  She tensed, only to fall back when he brought out his weapon, a shining new blaster, fully charged.  “Don’t think about it, Phoenix.  This puppy’ll fry you to nothin’ in a matter of microseconds.”

 “What do you want, Pigma?” she demanded.

 “I’ve got quite a few demands, all simple to follow,” he said, holstering his blaster.  “First I want a pardon on all treason accusations on me”--she knew that was coming--“and an apology from the Cornerian government and Fox McCloud.”

 Where the hell is he going? she asked herself.

 “I also want compensation money for my bad rap on Corneria.”

 Fara blew her top.  “You’re scum, Dengar,” she growled.  “How dare you come to me with such an idea.  If you don’t get out of here in two seconds, I’m gonna make sure Andross hears about this.”

 “Damn it, Phoenix,” he scowled.

 She cocked a brow.  “One...” she began.

 “Go ahead and tell him,” the pig spat, and spun around.  He stormed out of the brig seconds later.

 When he was gone, she began to snicker.  It had all been an act; obviously it was one of Wolf’s schemes to get her in his bed willfully.  “What a loser,” she murmured, and sat down.  She reached into the inside of her jacket and pulled out a picture of her mother.

 She had never known Molly Fennec Phoenix, nor her twin brother Darren.  When she and her father had divorced, before they were born, they had agreed that they would each take one of the kits at birth, and that Molly would move to Titania, never again to return home to Corneria.  Fara wondered where her brother was at the moment.  She sighed, realizing she might never even meet him.

 Wiping the tears from her eyes, Fara stood and went to the force field that kept her in the cell.  She shook her head.  “This sucks.  I wonder what the guys are doing right now.”

*   *   *

 Fox watched Fara’s message sadly for the second time.  Peppy sat in the corner, staring out a viewport into the Battenuse star, obvious fear and helplessness vibrating all around him.  Falco, on the other hand, hadn’t said a thing and repressed his emotions, again.  He had gone to his quarters to do something and never returned.

 Fara’s eyes showed obvious pain, fear, and anger.

 “...I’m worried that some of you might attempt to rescue me.  Don’t.  I don’t want anyone to risk their lives for me.  I’ll be okay.  I’m fine.  They haven’t done a thing to me.  I’m in a cell, and they’re feeding me, keeping me comfortable--a little.

 “Look, I’m okay.  I don’t think they’re planning anything drastic.  I’m a little worried, but don’t do anything that would endanger anyone.  Please, just wait it out, and we’ll see how it comes along.”

 All that mattered was that she was fine, and would be that way as long as they stay away from Venom.  Fox didn’t like that one bit.  Then Andross’s face appeared on the viewer.  “If the StarFox squadron dares to return to the Lylat system, I will personally see to her execution.  And keep in mind, she’ll be at my side ninety-nine percent of the time, McCloud.”

 Then the tape ended.  Fox shook his head.  “Dammit, Peppy.  What do we do?” he asked.

 “Exactly what Fara said, for now.  We need to have another Cornerian starship to come out and-”

 “This is sl-sl-Slippy.  Get to the Arwings, g-g-guys!  A large v-v-vessel j-j-just appeared out of n-n-nowhere on our s-s-starboard!”

 Instinctively, Fox jumped up and headed for the docking bay.  Peppy was right behind him.

*   *   *

 Standing in the docking bay, Fox strapped up his piloting gear.  Peppy was at his Arwing, already climbing up into it.  The leader tapped on his comlink.  “Where are you, Falco?” he demanded.

 There was no reply.

 “What the hell?” he muttered, tapping on the headset.  “Fox to ROB, can you locate Falco?”

 There was a moment’s pause.  “Falco is in his quarters.”

 Slippy’s voice intervened.  “Why doesn’t he answer?”  It was the obvious question.

 Fox grunted.  He had no answer.  “Slippy, send ROB2 on up to Falco’s quarters to-”

 His voice was cut off by a familiar one, and he almost breathed a sigh of relief.  “Falco to Fox, we’ve got a problem on our hands.  I’m staring out a viewport at a Hot Rodders’ vessel.”

 Fox gasped at the name of Falco’s former gang.  “Get to your Arwing, Falco.  Slippy, try to make contact with them.”  Fox slipped on a pair of gloves and climbed into the cockpit of his Arwing.  The glass canopy closed over him.  He adjusted his comlink, a decade’s old device that was practically a helmet.  It glinted a soft blue.  Compared to his teammates’ comlinks, it was bulkier and heavier.  The others had new, sleeker versions.

 “But I’ve got-”

 “Now!”  What in Fortuna was wrong with him?

 And suddenly the Great Fox rocked under the fire power of the Hot Rodders’ ship.

*   *   *

 Falco was knocked to the floor, blaster in hand.  He had the strangest feeling.  Red alert klaxons blared in his ears, but that wasn’t bothering him.  For some reason, it seemed that the shields of their squadron starship had gone down...

 From behind him, he heard a low whisper.  He turned and he saw three mean looking Lylatines: a bear, a bald eagle, and a crocodile, each gripping a blaster.  “Stand up, Lombardi,” the eagle demanded, pointing his gun toward the former gang leader.

 “Cheg,” Falco murmured, half in awe and half in irritation.  “What are you doing here?  How did you get onboard?”

 “Taking the Great Fox for Hot Rodder use,” Cheg said.  “As for the second question, that is not for you to know.  Stand up, and toss your blaster away.”

 “Jack?  Thoman?” Falco said, glancing around at his old friends with a rare smile.

 Cheg grinned as well, and they embraced.  “It’s been a long time, man,” he said.  Then he took Falco’s blaster and comlink.

 The falcon shook his head.  “Don’t do this, guys,” he said.  “My teammates won’t let you win.  You could be killed.”

 Thoman, the croc, gave him a toothy grin.  “I know you won’t like it, buddy, but you’re going to be our hostage.  If they don’t turn over the ship...”  He ran his right index finger along his throat and grinned.  “Unless...”

 His former gang leader eyed him.  “Unless what?” he asked.

 “Unless you join us.”

 Jack Grizzly chuckled.  “Knowing StarFox, I’d suggest you join us!”

 The avian shook his head.  “Sorry, Jack.  You know I won’t do it.”

 “Very well,” Cheg sighed.  “I was hoping you’d say yes.”  He turned to address Jack.  “Cuff ‘im up and let’s get headed to the bridge.”

 Shit, Falco thought.  Slippy was the only one up there.  He couldn’t even warn him.  “Are you going to kill the others, if you can?”

 “Someone’s got to fly the ship and keep it going.  Your team will be the crew.”

 “Well,” Falco muttered.  “Thank goodness for that.”  He allowed Thoman to handcuff him and asked, “You know your way to the bridge, don’t you?”

 “Of course we do!” Cheg scowled.  “We’ve spent weeks planning this!”

 Falco shook his head, honest worry in his eyes.  “It’s not wise to do this, man,” he warned.  “Fox is too smart.  He’s gotten us out of worse than this before, and it wasn’t hard, a lot of times.”

 “Shut up.  If you’re not going to switch sides, then I want you to keep quiet.”

 “And if I don’t...”

 Thoman howled with laughter as Cheg replied, “Then we fry you.”

*   *   *

 Fox and Peppy had decided that after a few minutes, Falco was being held up by a major problem.  Still dressed in their flightsuits, they had headed for the turbolift.  As the lift hummed along, headed up to the quarters’ level, Fox was very worried.  Peppy’s hand was at his temples as he searched for Falco’s mind.  “Falco’s worried about something, and he’s pissed off.  Something’s going on and he doesn’t like it.”

 The squadron leader nodded, thinking, not for the first time, that having a telepathic on the squad was a great advantage.  He spoke into his comlink mike:  “ROB, do you have a report?”

 “Not as of yet, Commander McCloud.”  At that moment, the turbolift stopped and slid open, showing an empty hall in front of them.

 “He’s on the other one,” Peppy sighed, shaking his head.  “He must be headed down.  Why didn’t he use this one?”

 Fox glanced over to a console to his left.  “I have no idea.  This is weird.  According to the map, the other turbolift’s on the bridge.”

 “Damn.  Why’s it up there?  It’s only for emergencies.  If he were headed down, I could understand...”  His eyes met Fox’s.  Falco was telling them that something was drastically wrong, because he needed a password for that turbolift.

 Fox drew out his blaster, narrowing his eyes.  “Turbolift, take us to the bridge.”  The door slid closed and it headed two levels up, to the bridge.  When it slid open ten seconds later, he stepped out, Peppy right behind him, both gripping blasters.  They scanned the bridge, seeing consoles, ROB64, and the main viewer.  Other than that, nothing.  “Where’s Slippy?” he asked Peppy.

 He touched his head.  “They’re both up here, but I’m reading-”  He was cut off by a red blast that streaked between them.  They both jumped to the ground behind a console.  “Dammit!” he said.  “We’ve got intruders!”

 Nothing happened for a few seconds, and Fox put his finger to his lip, signaling the Pandorian to keep quiet, and pointed up.  Peppy nodded, gripping his blaster tightly.  Fox quietly adjusted his comlink, took a deep breath, and slowly came to his feet.  He peered over the console, staying low.  Peppy quietly made his way to the right, carefully watching for the enemy.

 Still nothing.  He scanned over the bridge, and that’s when he noticed that ROB was shut off.  He needed that robot.  He searched between the captain’s chair, and saw a green tail sticking out through it.  He grinned; Slippy didn’t have a tail.  It was a crocodile tail, probably a Ciedanian, from Cieda 2.  He carefully aimed his blaster, which was set on stun.  Take this, Asshole, he thought, and fired a beam of yellow into the padded green flesh.

 There was a high-pitched yelp, and someone cursed.  “Thoman, you dumb-”

 Peppy stood, blasting wildly.  There were more screams of surprise, and an eagle shoved a green ball of flesh in the way.  “Slippy!” Fox shouted, but Peppy accidently stunned him.  “Shit.”

 The bald eagle gripped Falco, shoving his blaster in the falcon’s head.  “Drop your weapons, or I’ll fry his brains.”

 Fox hesitated, and then tossed his blaster aside.  “No, Fox!” Falco said.  “Dammit.”

 Peppy had already dropped his blaster and was at Slippy’s side.  “Sorry, man.”  However, the toad was unconscious.  He was surprised to see the bear aiming a blaster at him, and he froze.  “I shot you...” the Pandoran said, moving slowly backwards.

 “They’ve got shields protecting their hides,” Falco scowled.  He’d since been let go by the eagle.  “This is Cheg Riley, that Jack Grizzly, and the croc’s Thoman Crusha.”

 Thoman was gripping his injured tail.  “How the hell did he get that shot through my tail?” he demanded immediately.

 Falco chuckled.  “I set our blasters to match your shielding on the turbolift.  Clever, huh?”

 Cheg snickered.  “Still a devil, huh, Falco.”

 “Whoa!  Time out!” Fox said, throwing his arms in the air theatrically.  “You know him?”

 “Uh....yeah, Fox.  We were friends when I was with the Hot Rodders.”  He was quick to add, “I would never sabotage any mission.”

 Peppy had leaned Slippy against a console.  He felt that Falco was telling the truth.  He also felt that Fox already knew it.  Their avian partner was standing there, shrugging hopelessly.  “They want us to fly the ship into Cambenia 3 and fire on the planet.”

 “Never,” Fox said.  “There are too many innocent people there.”

 “Pepper Bombs are not innocent!” Jack scowled.

 Peppy glanced down to Slippy, who was just coming to.  “It’s okay, man.  Just relax.”

 “And the Hot Rodders are?” Fox asked Jack angrily.  “You’ve killed forty innocent people in the last seven years, and that’s forty more than you killed before Falco left.”

 “Forty-two, and they weren’t innocent,” Cheg replied.  “They got in the crossfire.  Besides, the members who killed weren’t the main branch of the Hot Rodders.  They were outbreak fights between smaller branches.  We’re going to finish off the Pepper Bombers, even if it means killing the other people on that rock.”

 “Over my dead body!” Fox growled.

 “Fortunately,” the eagle replied.  “That can be arranged.  Kill him, Jack.”

 Jack raised his blaster...

 ...and was shot from behind, vaporized in front of their eyes.  Behind him stood a six foot, three inch tall male humanoid, a blaster in hand.  “The human!” Thoman growled.  “He killed Jack!”

 “Freeze!” a voice said calmly, standing behind him.  He dropped his blaster.  The owner off the voice was a young Pandoran wearing a Pepper Bombers jacket.

 Thoman turned around to see what was going on, but froze when a third newcomer stuck a gun in his face.  She was a small, slender, pure-white mouse.  Wearing a blue turtleneck and jeans and a white Pepper Bombers jacket.  She snickered as she shook her head.  “Looks like the tide’s turned, Rodder,” she said, using the nickname for all Hot Rodders.

 “Well, Bomber,” he replied.  “Looks like you’re right.”

 She tore off her jacket.  “Correction.  After what I’ve seen the last two weeks, I quit the Bombers.”  She glanced behind her to the other Pepper Bomber who guarded Cheg.  He already had his jacket off.  She turned to Peppy.  “How’s the toad?”

 Peppy glanced down at Slippy, who was just getting up, and grinned.  “He’s fine.”

 The hare picked up his blaster and replaced it as the human moved up alongside the former Pepper Bomber, who was talking to Cheg, his blaster aimed at the eagle.  “Looks like you goofed up big time.  You’re robot guard malfunctioned after Kira over there faked being pregnant.”

 “The robot malfunctioned?!” he growled.  “It’s a medical/guard robot.  He should have known she wasn’t pregnant.  Damn thing.”

 The human laughed.  “Way to go team,” he said.  He turned to Fox.  “So, you must be Commander Fox McCloud.”

 Damn.  How famous was he?  “Who are you?” Fox asked.  He’d never seen a creature quite like this human before.

 “Lieutenant Alex Coonts,” he replied, holding out his hand.  “United Nations StarForce, Earth.”  Fox hesitantly shook it, looking the human in the eye.

 “Peppy Hare,” Peppy said, shaking the human’s hand.  “Earth?  Where’s that?”

 “Oh, say about twenty-six thousand light-years from here,” he replied.  “I got caught in some warp transit and wound up six light-years away from here in the Cambenia system.  Kira Strauss and Vince Sylvilagus over here found me wrecked on a moon there two weeks ago.

 “We came out here when we heard of a battle between the Rodders and Bombers, which turned out to be a rumour, and spread by these two and the other one, and they captured us as prisoners.  They were gonna kill us, but wanted to capture you first.”  He paused, and then smiled to Kira.  “I talked to these two and they decided to quit their gang.  Now they’ve helped save your life, Commander.”

 Fox nodded, sat down in the closest chair, and thought.  “Peppy, Falco, show them-” he signalled the Hot Rodders “-to the brig.  Take Kira and Vince with you.  Then we’ll talk.  Slippy and...” he stammered a moment.  “...you,” he said finally, pointing to the human, “stay here.  We’ll need to wait ‘til they get back.”

 Slippy moved over to ROB64.  “Don’t worry, guy,” Slippy said.  “I’ll have you up in two minutes tops.”

 ROB was online forty seconds later.

*   *   *

 Ten minutes later, they all stood in the bridge meeting room, staring back and forth at each other for a long time.  Falco looked very uncomfortable to Fox, who held Alex’s blaster in his hand.  “This type of weapon is illegal in the Lylat and Cambenian systems, Alex.  Did you know that?” the StarFox leader asked.

 Alex cracked his knuckles and took a prolonged looked up to the ceiling before answering.  “I haven’t been here long enough to learn the laws of your peoples, but they aren’t ours.  The weapons, I mean.  We got them from the Rodders’ ship.”  He looked over to Kira, who nodded.

 “We found them at their transportation unit,” she added.  “They were all they had, and we used one of their shuttles and got into the same hatch that they came in.”

 “My room,” Falco said.  “They got in through the ERH.”  Fox sighed and nodded.

 “Then we found our way to the bridge.”  She grinned smugly.  “I know my way around the ship, too.”

 “If we had any better weapons, we would have used them, Fox,” Vince added.  Peppy twitched his left ear, a signal that he was being sincere.

 “Well,” Fox sighed after catching Peppy’s signal.  “There’s a mystery solved.  Welcome aboard the Great Fox.  Slippy, have ROB assign them the guest quarters, and then we have to figure out what we have to do about Andross.”

---

*   Chapter 3   *

 Commander Nolan Ventura slammed his comlink into the desk for the third time that day.  “Dammit!”  He turned his chair around and looked back at his computer.  He typed in a quick o-mail message to his brother and picked up a pen.  Then he began writing in a thick, disorderly, beat up notebook.

 His mind raced as he filled in detail after detail of good, interesting fiction.  He never heard the door to the commanders’ office open and Nikki, Sydney, Buck and the other members of his squadron filing in.  The beautiful, long-furred squirrel leaned over his shoulder and said, “That’s good work...”

 “Aghhh!” he yelled as he jumped up, slamming the notebook shut.  “God!  You gave me a heart attack!”

 She backed away, as well as the rest of his teammates, each cowering down a little.  “Sorry, Nolan...”  He sighed and flopped back down in his chair.  “Are you planning to get that published?”

 His eyes were wide with fear, and she was worried that he might hyperventilate.  “Yes-no... I don’t know, Nikki.  Look, let’s all just keep this here, and don’t tell anyone,” he pleaded.  Then he shook his head and laughed.  “If I finish this and like it enough, then yeah, I’ll send it into World Publishers.”

 Buck smiled.  “Way to be, Ventura,” he smiled.  “I’m all for you bein’ more than a Commander and a pilot.”

 “Shut up, Buck,” Nolan smiled, and then changed his mood.  He was suddenly serious and furious.  “You all have heard that Fara was captured by Andross and the rest of McCloud’s squad is suppose to stay at the Battenuse system?”

 “No,” Sydney said in his heavy Papetoonian accent.  “What’s the deal?”  It sounded like “Wot’s thu deal?”

 Buck spoke for their leader.  “StarWolf attacked the Phoenix on its way home from Fortuna, and they took Fara prisoner in exchange for the rest of the crew’s lives.”

 Sydney leaned against a chair, wondering why no one told him sooner.  “Let me guess,” Sydney moaned.  “If the guys come back from their mission, then Fara’s a dead duck.”  Nobody had to answer him.  They all frowned.

 “We could go save her,” one of the others suggested hopefully.

 “No good,” their leader said, shaking his head.  “First of all, there’s no hope for him sparing her life if we go in.  Second-”

 “I ordered you to stay,” Pepper’s deep voice interrupted.  They all groaned and turned to see the General.

 Nolan stood.  “Sir,” he saluted.  “I thought you were at Central Command.”

 The hound chuckled.  “When Zyro informed me of your meeting, I decided to check it out.”

 “That was wise of you,” the leopard retorted.  “There’s no telling what a pissed off leopard’ll send his crew into.”

 “So you were going to go?”

 He sat down.  “General, I am very busy, and I think-”

 “I will tell you when your busy, Commander.  When-”

 “Shut up,” he said.

 There were gasps all over the room as they were dumbfounded by his words.  “What did you say?” the general demanded.

 “You heard me, big ass.  I told you clearly to shut up.”  He paused, and before the general responded added, “Now get your fat ass out of my meeting.”

 “Commander, you are suspended until I decide on a suitable puni-”

 “Thanks sir!” he said, handing him his military badge, Red Leopard tag, and blaster, and then turned to his squadron.

 Nikki was the first to catch on.  She, followed by Sydney, Sara Cassaby, Jasen Farou, and Theo Brassett all turned in their badges and weapons.  “What the...?” Pepper stumbled, and looked at Nikki.  “Why?”

 “You drop the commander, you drop us,” she replied smugly.

 Buck, the final member of the squad shrugged and hesitantly delivered Pepper his military badges and gun.  He offered a friendly smile and joined his squadron.  “What in Fortuna are you doing, Red Leopards?” the general asked, curiosity in his voice.

 Nolan smiled.  At least the big guy wasn’t pissed off.  “Thanks, General.  We’re gonna go think about what we’ve done.”  Then he and his squadron bolted out the door.

 “Wait!  I haven’t-” the door slammed shut before he completed his statement.  “Dismissed you,” he finished with a sigh.  He picked up Buck’s blaster, stared down at all of the badges and guns that rested on the tabletop in front of him.  “What was that all about?” he asked himself, his voice soft and low.

 He turned and removed his sunglasses.  He walked around to the notebook Nolan had left at his seat.  Picking it up, he walked over to the desk with the leopard’s computer and put it in the top left-hand drawer.  On the screen of the computer, he read the o-mail that had been left on:  “Fara’s been captured.  We’ll come to try the stuff.”  The o-mail had been sent to Nathan’s brother, Carl, a dealer who sold Beltino Toad’s inventions to StarForce.

 “Holy Fortuna!” Pepper thought.  He took his comlink.  “Pepper to security.  Find the Red Leopard squadron and keep them from leaving the base!”

 Just outside the door of the commanders’ office, Nolan and Nikki helped Buck leap up and over a six foot high windowsill as he complained.  “What is this all about?” he asked.  “What if they need us?”

 “I don’t think Andross will kill her,” Nolan replied as he hoisted Nikki up after him.  Moments later, he joined his friends outside the window.  He brushed the dirt of his jacket and said, “My brother’s got a few Arwing2s set up for us that Beltino Toad sent to him for testing.  Here’s our chance to test them.”

 “Great,” Theo muttered.  “We’ll be suspended until we’re sitting in wheelchairs and eating jello at the Cornerian Old Folks’ Home.”

 Nikki smiled.  “I tell you what, Theo, you’re probably right.”

 “Well,” Nolan said, pulling out civilian clothes for his friends that he’d hidden in a bush.  “I don’t plan on getting suspended for nothing.  We’re gonna go in and get Fara outta there.”

*   *   *

 Fara stood in front of Andross, her hands cuffed.  Her spine ached where Wolf had given her the shot that numbed her whole body for two hours.  She still had no idea why they gave it to her, but she was sure it wasn’t anything pleasant.

 The ape walked around the vixen, humming a tune that the vixen didn’t recognize.  She kept her eyes straight ahead of her, not watching the StarWolf team, who stood nearby, not to mention the twenty-or-so Venomese guards who surrounded her.  “What are you going to do to me, Andross?” she demanded, trying to keep her voice calm.

 The primate chuckled as he came around and looked into her face.  “Oh, it’s not what I’m going to do to you, it’s what you’re going to do for me.”

 She kept her cool, staring past Andross to the potrait of the emporer behind his giant, metallic throne.  “Andross, you’re crazy to think that I’d do anything for you.”

 “That’s where your wrong, my dear,” he said calmly.  He reached behind his back and pulled out a comlink.  “You will serve me well, Phoenix, whether you like it or not.”  He rose the comm to his mouth.  “Bring her in, Lieutenant Bergs.”

 “Right away, your highness.”  Fara shuddered at the cold Venomese voice that answered as Andross went back to humming his tune.

 Wolf O’Donnel glanced over to Andrew.  “Who’s the new prisoner?” he asked in a whisper.  The emporer’s nephew shrugged, and Wolf stepped out.  “Andross?  What is this all about.”

 “You’ll see soon enough, Commander,” Andross replied.  Then he headed over to his throne and sat down.  “You are in for a surprise, Phoenix.  A very large one.”

 “I’ve come to expect surprises, Andross,” she scowled.  “Can you take these damn things off?”  She held up her cuffs and stared the emporer cold in the face.

 “Go ahead, Ensign,” the ape sighed, pointing to her.  “She won’t escape, even if she tries.”

 The Venomese soldier hesitated a short second before he took his keycard and unlocked Fara’s handcuffs.  He jumped back when she rose her hands, gripping his blaster, but she ignored him and began to rub her left wrist.  “Thanks,” she said in a sarcastic tone.  “Where’s the other prisoner you wanted me to meet?  Is she going to be my cellmate...?  Possibly a torture-buddy?  No, probably just a brainwashed freak-”

 The door opened behind her, and two guards walked in leading a...

 Fara stared the newcomer in the face for a long minute.  She wore a gorgeous evening gown, soft and blue with green highlights.  Her eyes were a soft, sparkling blue, large and beautiful.  Fara was caught totally offguard; she heard Wolf gasp behind her.

 “I never said she was a prisoner,” Andross said as he walked up to Fara’s side and then looked down to her.  “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” he said with a smile.  “Come now, Phoenix.  I’ve never seen you so flabbergasted.”

 The woman spoke in a sweet, honest tone.  “Andross, who is this?”

 Andross walked over to her, taking her hand.  “This is Fara Phoenix of the Cornerian Military StarForce,” he replied.  “She is our prisoner.”

 Fara locked her eyes onto the woman, a fox in her early forties, with an oddly familiar complexion.  My God, Fara thought.  She looks just like me...  Except the fact that she was a few inches shorter, and had blue eyes, rather than Fara, who had green eyes.  Fara took a step forward, and then tried to force out a name that haunted her.

 “This is some kind of trick,” Fara decided, coming to her senses.  “It’s one of you illusions.”

 “No illusion,” Andross replied dreamily.  “She is the real thing.”

 “v-v-Vixy?” she stammered.  “Vixy Reinard?”

 The vixen cocked an eyebrow, a little surprised.  “Yes.  How do you know my name?”

 “Your son...” Fara replied, her voice dropping off.  She turned to Andross.  “What is this?  Some sort of illusion?”

 The emporer laughed heartedly.  “No, young Phoenix.  This is all real.  I thought I’d killed her, and I was wrong.  I found her at Aquas some two years ago.  During your battle at Narconi 4.  That is why I didn’t attack Corneria during the fighting.”

 “Andross saved my life, Fara,” Vixy said with a grin.  “I-”

 Fara turned on her immediately, seeing a way to trap her.  “How did you get to Aquas?” she demanded.

 Her attack was turned on her when the older vixen replied, “I got on a vessel to visit my mother at Fortuna, but a few Hot Rodders attacked us and chased us to Aquas.  We got in life capsules when the ship was destroyed and crashed into the sea there.  I was the only survivor.  The capsule kept me alive in suspended animation for two decades!”

 Fara crossed her arms and swung her hips deftly to the side.  “Bang up your head any?” she asked.

 “What does that have to do with anything?” Vixy asked.

 “You obviously don’t know the good from the bad.  Your son is with the Cornerian Military StarForce, and your on the side of the same guy that tried to kill your husband.”

 “What are you talking about?” Vixy asked.  “I never had a husband.  I’d been going out with Andross for a long time, and as far as I know, I have no children.”  She walked past Fara, over to the emporer, when the fifth StarFox suddenly noticed a small patch of metal attached to the back of her head at the base of her skull.

 “Stop, Vixy,” she demanded, and walked over to her, eyeing the device.  “You were told to stop brainwashing innocent people, asshole.”

 Andross jumped, and then shook his head.  “That supplies oxygen to her brain.  She needs it to live.  She was unconcious for so long, that her brain was damaged.”

 “Her memory?”

 “No.  Of course not.”

 Fara shook her head.  “Either this is a brainwasher, or you’re a liar.  You’ve been warned, Andross.  Stop the brainwashes.”

 Andross scowled, but said nothing.  “Take her down to her cell,” Vixy said.

 “What gives you the right to order the guards around?” Fara asked.

 With a victorious laugh, the emporer put his arm around Vixy Reinard.  “Vixy is my future empress, Miss Phoenix.”

 Noooooo!

*   *   *

 Fox McCloud was shocked when Peppy Hare grabbed his head.  “Noooooo!” he screamed, falling to his knees.  Slippy was at the hare’s side instantly, and the former Pepper Bombers were there as well.  Fox moved over to watch what was going on.  For Peppy, the telepathic pain was gone as fast as it came, and he stood shaking his head.  “Man, what was that?” he muttered.

 “I was hopin’ you’d be able to tell us,” Fox sighed.  He helped the hare to the captain’s seat of the bridge.  “You okay, man?”

 “Yeah, had us w-w-worried,” Slippy said.

 “I heard Phoenix,” he whispered.  “She took a shock pretty bad.”

 “Torture?” Fox asked.

 The Pandoran shook his head.  “Just a shock.  Something that surprised her.  Andross has something up his sleeves.”

 Fox turned, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand.  “Damn, I hate this.”

 “We all d-d-do, Fox,” Slippy said.  “I h-h-hate everything ab-b-bout this.”

 Peppy still had his hands on his temples.  “I don’t know, but there was something in her pain,” he sighed.  He took his hands away.  “It seemed clear, but I can’t decipher it.”

 “That sucks,” Fox muttered and sat down in the chair besides his friend.  For awhile nothing was said.  He sat there, staring down at his comlink.  His father’s comlink.  What would you do in this situation, Dad? he asked his father, wherever he was.  Then, when he saw Peppy staring at him thoughtfully, he also saw the hull of the Rodder One, the Hot Rodder’s ship, in his viewscreen.  An idea began to take shape.  “Thanks, Dad!” he said.

 “What d-d-does that mean?” Slippy asked.

 “Slippy, how did the Hot Rodder ship ‘appear out of nowhere,’” he asked.

 “I think they had a cloak...”  His eyes widened as he realized what Fox was thinking.

 Fox didn’t ellaborate.  He hit a button on his comm.  “Fox to Falco.”

 “Here, Fox,” Falco scowled.  “What is it?”

 “Could you check on the human and his friends, and then come on up to the bridge.  I have something to discuss with the squad.”

 There was a moment of hesitation.  “Yeah, sure Fox.  On my way.”  He signed off.

 Fox looked over to his navigator robot.  “ROB, bring the Great Fox around and prepare to capture the Rodder cruiser into the docking port.”

 Peppy grinned.  “You’re going to run the Rodders’ cloaking device through the docking bay computer!”

 “Good idea, huh?”

 “Interesting tactics,” the Pandoran said with a nod.  “You’re inventive, like your father.”

 “I try,” Fox McCloud said, and watched the viewscreen.

*   *   *

 Falco quietly slid his comlink off.  “I’ve got to go to the bridge, guys,” he told the Hot Rodder gang members.  “Something’s up with the boss.”

 “See ya,’ Falco,” Cheg muttered, fiddling with the pillow on his bunk.  He was quiet for awhile, long after Falco left, before he finally burst.  “Dammit!  I hate being locked up!”

 “Shoulda thought of it before we attacked,” Thoman muttered.  He was massaging his tail, which had a tiny blackened wound where the laser had struck him.  “You brought us here on a stupid, no win, job, Cheg, and I’m pissed about it.”

 “Just shut up, Thoman.”

 The croc stood up.  “Damn you,” he said.  “You destroy our friend’s life and you don’t give a damn.  I hate the Hot Rodders, and I quit.”  He took of his jacket and tossed it into Cheg’s lap.  “Take your gang and shove it.”

 Cheg stared at the crocodile.  “You know, you’re right.  I quit too.”  He slid off his jacket and set it on the floor.  “I feel like an ass.”

 “Good,” Thoman said.  “Then you’re sincere.”  He turned around and sat on his bunk, lay back, and five minutes later he was asleep.

*   *   *

 Falco arrived at the bridge five minutes after he left Thoman and Cheg on the brig.  He looked depressed, Peppy thought, when he saw the avian staring to the ground.  “Fox?”

 “Yeah?” the fox replied, standing up the moment he saw his friend.

 “What’s going on?” he asked.  “You called me up here.”

 The leader nodded.  “We’ve got three days to go before we get home.”  He turned to ROB.  “Set coordinates for Papetoon.”

 “Yes Commander McCloud.  It would take exactly three days, two hours, six minutes to get there.”

 “Good,” Fox nodded.  “How much longer until ROB2 returns with the goods?”

 “Ten minutes,” Slippy smiled.

 Falco’s eyes lit up.  “Action!  What’s the plan?”

 “Simple,” Fox replied.  “Once we’re within twenty minutes, we stop all engines, start up the Rodder’s cloaking device, and cruise from there on at light-speed.”

 “Coordinates set, Commander McCloud,” ROB said.

 “So,” the avian said, coming to his friend’s side.  “How did you think of this?”

 “It’s what my dad would have done.”  He stood tall, confident.  Glancing down to ROB, he nodded.  “Engage.”

*   *   *

 Iririan fighters surrounded a large, Iririan starship with large black letters marked Night Maiden.  The convoy was headed to Venom.  The large vessel sped at a speed twice light-speed, and didn’t realize that they were about to run head-on into StarFox.

 Geranium ‘Gina’ Hart sat on the captain’s chair, surrounded by ten bridge officers.  She was a hare with black and white zigzagged fur, like the rest of her species.  Although she was going to attempt to put together a new alliance with Andross, her true purpose was to avenge her mother’s embarrassing failure to take control of Andross’s flailing empire.  She was going to destroy Fox McCloud.

 “Captain, we’ve got a beep on the radar.  It appears to be a starship in hyperspace.”

 “What are they?” Gina asked.

 He frowned, searching for the information.  “Cornerian.  It appears to be following us.”

 “How far away?”

 “Six minutes intercept,” he replied.

 Gina frowned.  “Try to figure out what vessel it is.  Be prepared to increase power to weapons on my mark.”

 “Yes, Captain.  I’m on it.”

 She felt a wave of aspiration hit her.  What if her fight with McCloud came so soon?

*   *   *

 “Whoa!” Peppy said.  “We’ve got Iririan fighters about two minutes away... No, make that thirty seconds.  They dropped out of hyperspace!”  He plugged figures into his console.  “Forty fighters and a starship, Fox.”

 “Full stop ROB.  Set up battlestations, ROB.  Let’s get going,” he said.  The StarFox team headed for the Arwings.

 On their was to the docking bay, they stopped to speak to Vince, Kira, and Alex.  “We’re going to fight the Iririans in a few minutes,” Fox said.  “Any of you fly?”

 Alex pointed through the viewport, where they could see the Rodder One, which looked puny next to the Great Fox.  “I have a space fighter in there, if it’s not too much a pain to get me there.”

 “No prob,” Slippy replied.  “l-l-Let’s get to it.”

 “Got any other Arwings?” Kira asked.

 “Two extras.  You mind joining us?”

 Vince and his companion smiled widely.  “Fox, we’re the best damned pilots you could have, if you didn’t have any others.  I can’t say we’re better than StarFox, but we’re damn good.”  Vince held out his wallet.  It was picture of a Pandoran in a Pandoran fighter, giving a thumbs up.  “That’s my dad in the Pandirian wars,” he said quietly.  “He taught me how to fly, and I’m damned good.  He lives at the HomeWorld.”

 “And Vince taught me,” Kira said, leaning against the taller, more muscular Pandoran.  “We’re both pretty good.”

 “Wait a minute!” Falco scowled.  “Why would Iririans attack us?”

 “Yeah!” Slippy agreed.  “The Al-l-liance is over!  Hell, it’s b-b-been over f-f-for two years!”

 “We won’t attack until they do,” Fox replied.  “That caught my attention, too.”  He turned to the three newfound teammates.  “I’m the leader on this attack.  You are StarFox six, seven, and eight.  Make your decisions now.”  They did it quickly decided who was who and Fox continued.  “It’s Star for short.  I am Star one.  Falco is two, Peppy three, and Slippy four.  Got it?”

 “Who’s StarFox five?” Alex asked.

 Fox’s eyes narrowed, as he growled.  “Andross kidnapped her.”  He spun around and headed for the turbolift.

 “Andross?” the human murmured.

 “The emporer on Venom,” Kira replied.

 “w-w-We’ll fill you in l-l-later,” Slippy promised.  “n-n-Now let’s get g-g-goin.’”

 “You come with me to the my jet, Slippy,” Alex said.  “The Rodders had three fighters.”

 Slippy nodded.  “th-th-They each had one?”  Alex responded with a mere nod.

 With that the StarFox squadron, old and new members, followed their leader.  They were in the turbolift with Fox in a few seconds.  It took a few more to get to the docking bay.  Before the team split up, Fox pulled Slippy over to the group.  “You’re going to fly one of the Rodders’ fighters?” he asked.

 “That’s what I’m h-h-hoping,” the toad replied, getting into his flight gear.  “I’m a l-l-little nervous about tr-tr-trying to fl-fl-fly a fighter that I’ve never w-w-worked on b-b-before.”

 The leader chuckled, zipping up his flight jacket.  “Good luck, Slippy.  See you in the fight.”  Then he set on his comlink helmet.

 “You t-t-too m-m-McCloud,” the toad stuttered.

 Fox grinned, shaking the hand of his partner.  “See you, four.”

 They lead their three new friends to the docking bay.  Slippy directed Alex to the center of the docking bay floor and began to open the airtight seal.  In a few second, there was a click and the door popped open.  After another moment, the black space inside the ceiling of the Hot Rodder cargo bay.

 After a few moments, they found their way down with the help of an orange maintenance ladder.  When they stood there for a moment, their eyes adjusted to the dim light.

 The bay was smaller than the Great Fox docking bay, but it was loaded with equipment.  “Whoa,” the toad said, looking around, seeing three Lylatine fighters and a longer, wider jet next to them.  “This is am-m-mazing.  I wonder how the Hot r-r-Rodders could afford such a thing.”

 “I’m don’t know,” Alex replied, taking a helmet out of a locker nearby.  “That freaking eagle stuck my gear in here,” he muttered, and started pulling out an orange flight suit.

 “Why orange?” Slippy asked.  His, along with the rest of the StarFox squadron, was a green, like the Cornerian planet.  Alex ignored it and the toad adjusted his comlink, and waited for his new friend to finish.  Slippy always thought it was better to wear darker colors, so the pilot didn’t look so much like a target.

 “There’s a map radar on the wall to the left,” Alex said, adjusting his boot size.  A little electronic motor zipped it tight, and then he locked down the strap.  He went for the other boot.  Slippy glanced over to his human friend before complying; he still had to connect his life support system.  “See if they’ve left the Great Fox, yet.”

 Slippy ran over to check, and when the machine sputtered to life, it showed the center--the core of the Rodder One--and a giant blob that made out the Great Fox and the smaller vessel they were in at the moment.  Outside of that it showed some forty fighters as red dots, and a larger vessel, the Iririan vessel in a blob of red.  He whistled.  At sixteen hundred sm’s, it was almost twice the length of the Great Fox.  It also packed twice as much firepower, with fourteen major torpedo tubes and five laser cannons.  “Dammit,” he muttered.  “W-w-we’re in for it n-n-now, g-g-guys.”

 “Let’s go, man!” Alex called.  “I’m ready.”

 Slippy tapped into the Great Fox network and downloaded the information to ROB.  He took his comlink.  “Four to ROB.  Did you get that in the system?”

 “Confirmed, Slippy.  Good luck.”  The robot had true concern in his electronic voice.

 “Thanks, ROB,” the toad said, and signed off.  He turned on his life support pad and ran to one of the Hot Rodders’ fighters.  Two were StarForce-class, and there was one other that he’d never seen before.  He glanced it over; it was black, small, and sleek.  He walked around it as Alex got into his jet.  He whistled.  Surely his father had developed this jet...

 Sure enough, on the side of the ship, was the name.  DragonFly, Arwing2-class fighter.  He grinned.  Arwing2...  The name stuck in his mind.  He climbed up the ladder to the cockpit, touched the keypad’s Beltino code, which was known only to Slippy and his father, so he could have access to any Arwing, and watched it open up.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alex’s ship, the Black Cat, begin to roll down the ramp.  He climbed in, setting his helmet on his head, and then turned on his comlink.  “Slippy to ROB.  Give the rest of the team my fighter signal, so I don’t get blown to bits by my own team.”  Then he climbed in and powered up DragonFly.  The cockpit top closed down and he glanced over the controls.  It was pretty much the same as his Arwing, but had fewer controls.  It was more organized than their Arwings, which made him think for a minute.  “Why didn’t we think of that?”

 “Come on, Slippy!” Alex called through his helmet comm.

 “Oh, yeah.  C-c-coming,” the toad muttered, and put his hands on the joystick.  “I’m with y-y-you, f-f-Fox.  Four is go.”

*   *   *

 “Yeeeee-hah!” Falco shouted as he broke through the first line of the Iririan defences.  Fox had ordered them not to fight unless attacked, but unfortunately, the Iririans didn’t wait for them.  The avian proved himself to be as good as any fighter, blasting them right and left.  “Fox, this is too easy.  What did they do?  Recruit Venomese fighters?”

 The leader chuckled.  “Just watch your back, two.  You’re gonna get snuck up on.”

 “You watch out for your own hide, one,” he scowled, and continued to blast Iririans.  “Yeeeee-ehhhs!”

 Peppy chuckled to himself as he watched Iririan after Iririan blink off of his screen.  He sighed; in a matter of minutes Fox and Falco had single-handedly wiped out a good percentage of the enemy.  He hadn’t fired a shot.

 “Look out behind you, three!” Falco cried.

 A light shot skimmed across Peppy’s shields, and the hare yelped.  “Oh, shoot!”  He glanced down at his status bar:  shields at 97% efficiency.  Barely a scratch.  He breathed a sigh of relief, even though he was still in trouble.  “Can’t shake him, two!  Can you give me a hand?”

 “No can do, three,” he said, obviously upset.  “Got a bogy of my own!”

 “Four’s got it, three!” came a familiar, yet unfamiliar voice through his comm.  Suddenly a fast, sleek fighter came up from under his bogy, shooting once.  The bogy turned into a small ball of bright orange fire as it exploded.  “Aw-right!”

 “Slippy, is that you?” the hare laughed.  “Where’s your stutter?”

 “Wh-what are y-y-you t-t-talking ab-b-bout?” the toad asked, moving in beside him.

 “Nothin,’” Peppy said.  “I thought I heard something I didn’t.”

 “Ohhhh,” Slippy replied.  “I see.”

 “Star six, seven, eight, report!” Fox said.

 Alex’s voice filtered into their comlinks.  “This is six, leader,” he said.  “Seven and eight and I are going under the belly of the enemy ship.  Shielding and fighters are light here.”

 “Odd,” Fox murmured.  “That’s a pretty vulnerable spot.”

 “Keep on your toes, six, seven, and eight,” Falco said.  “We’ll keep the fighters off you.”

 “Three, go with him,” Fox said.  “Four, come with me to the back.”

 “I’ll cl-cl-clear your p-p-path, one,” Slippy said.

 Peppy laughed.  “Is it just me, or is that guy so much more confident in that fancy new fighter?”

 “You b-b-better b-b-believe it, three,” Slippy said, an obvious smile on his face.  He blasted a closing Iririan ship, bursting through the debris while executing a victory barrel roll.  “I l-l-love my j-j-job!”

 “How many fighters, three?” Fox asked.

 “I’m not sure.  I’ll send a query to ROB.”

 “Shoot.  I’ve been hit,” Vince grumbled.

 “Not bad, though,” Peppy said.  “My scanners say you’re on 89% power.  I’m down to 72%.”

 “If it gets any worse, Peppy, retreat to the Fox,” Fox said.

 “I won’t sit out here for long once it gets down to sixty!” the Pandoran said, blasting an Iririan fighter who came in his path.  “Take that, you Iririan bastard!”

 Suddenly Fox’s comlink beeped, and ROB’s voice filled his ears.  “Incoming transmission from General Pepper.”

 “Just a second,” Fox said, blasting an Iririan fighter.  “I’m gonna pull off, guys.  I need to take this transmission.  Don’t get yourselves killed!”  With that he pulled up on his stick and headed for the Great Fox.  Once he was safely in sights of his starship, he said, “I’ll take it now, ROB.”

 Pepper’s face flashed onto the tiny viewscreen to his right.  “Yes, General.  This is Fox.”

 “We’ve got a major crisis here, Fox,” the hound said, his voice fighting away the panick.  “The Red Leopard squadron has run off to face Andross without permission.  They plan on breaking Fara out.”

 “That’s crazy!” Fox scowled.  “They could be killed!”

 Pepper showed a small hint of emotion.  “So could Fara, you know.”

 Fox choked.  “The idea crossed my mind,” he sighed.  “But I don’t think she will.  She makes too valuable a hostage for Andross.  He’ll wipe out the Red Leopard and laugh at us.”

 “How could you be so sure, Fox?” Pepper asked.

 “Simple,” the fox replied.  “He wants me.”

 The general knew the truth to that.

 “One more thing, Pepper,” Fox said.  “The Great Fox ran into what looks like a small branch of Iririan forces that are on a course to Venom.”

 Pepper let the thought sink in.  “Okay, Fox.  See if you and your men can take them out, and I’m sending a fleet in to grab the Red Leopards.”

 “Sounds good, sir.  Anything else?”

 “Don’t get yourself killed, Fox.  StarForce out.”  With that, the little screen went blank, and the speakers shut off.

 Fox headed back to his team.  Upon arriving at the scene, he saw several enemy fights had blinked into nothingness.  Only twelve remained.  “Good job, team,” he said.  “Now, report.”

 “Where have you been, McCloud?” Falco demanded immediately.  “We’re kicking tail and you’re not even in it!”

 “Three’s having some trouble.  Down to fifty-six percent shields,” Peppy said.  “I’m go for another run, though.”

 “I’m r-r-ready, one,” Slippy announced proudly.

 “Six is go,” Alex said militarily.

 “You guys are good,” Vince said modestly.  “Seven’s operational.”

 Kira was last.  Her voice was smooth, calm, but worried.  “I’ve taken a beating, Fox.  I’m down to fourty-three.”

 “Get back to the Fox, eight,” the leader ordered.  “No need in getting yourself killed.”

 “Understood, one,” she replied, and pulled her Arwing away, headed for the Great Fox.

 Fox waited a couple of moments, and then adjusted his targeting gear.  “Here’s the plan.  Two, four, and six follow me to the belly and plummet it with all we’ve got.  The rest of you knock off any fighters who get close.”

 “Got it,” Vince replied.  Peppy said nothing, but he didn’t need to.

 “Fox to ROB,” the leader said.

 “Here, Commander,” the robot said.

 “Once we draw their fire, hit them with everything you’ve got.”

 Peppy chuckled.  “Sounds like a plan, one.  Now, watch your backs.”

 “Hopefully that’s what you’re for, Hare,” Falco scowled, trying to stifle a chuckle of his own.  “Plan is go, Fox.”

 “Plan is g-g-go,” Slippy announced.

 “Go,” Alex said.

 “I’m on your starboard,” Vince said.

 “That makes me your port,” Peppy said.  “Now that that’s covered, make your run, guys.”

 Fox and his team moved into position and struck the belly of the Night Maiden.  Hard.

*   *   *

 Gina slung forward in her seat.  “Report!” she scowled, although she knew that someone was tearing apart the belly of her fine starship.

 “Three Arwings and an unknown fighter are on our underbelly, Captain.  We must stop them!” a husky voice said.  “They’ll tear us apart!”

 An Iririan next to her pointed to the viewscreen.  “If we take our attentions off that, we’re done for anyway, Captain.”  Gina saw the Great Fox, and nodded in agreement.  “We’re getting slaughtered!  We’ve lossed thirty-two men!”

 Thirty-two out of forty.  Gina stood up.  “Another day, McCloud,” she sighed.  “Send word to the fighters, and resume course for Venom.”  Her order was met with immediate action.  She watched the viewscreen as the hyperspace engines came to life.

*   *   *

 Fox glanced back, seeing Alex’s jet on his port side.  The other Arwings, including Slippy’s beautiful, black fighter.  “Can you see anything, six?” he asked.  “They pulling out?”

 “It looks like it, leader,” the human replied.  At that moment, the ship and its fighters disappeared.  “They headed for Venom still?”

 Peppy answered him:  “Only God knows, six.”

 “Wrong,” Fox said.  “I know.  They’re headed for Venom, all right.”

 “How can you be so sure?” Falco asked.

 “Andross needs them, and they know it,” he said.  “And Fara needs us.  Let’s get to the Fox and get the hell out of here.”

 Slippy broke in.  “th-th-This was a g-g-good t-t-test, guys.  My d-d-dad built the Arwing t-t-two, and here it is.  b-b-Best d-d-darned b-b-bird I ever flew.”

 “Nice peice of equipment,” Fox said, admiring it.  Then he tapped onto his computer, checking the details of the fighting.  Data blurred across the screen.  With the exception of Peppy and Kira, they had kicked ass.  “I haven’t seen seen one faster, myself.”  He frowned.  “Peppy, what happened to you today?”

 The hare was reluctant to answer directly.  “Good job, Slip,” he was saying.  “You saved my ass twice back there.”

 “Hey, I d-d-did, d-d-didn’t I?” the toad stuttered.

 “Sure did-”

 “Hey, Peppy!” Fox interrupted.  “What happened to you back there?”

 “No-nothing, Fox,” the Pandoran stuttered.  “I just had some problems getting into the action.”

 “You were down to seventy percent in under three minutes!” Fox sighed, shaking his head.  “I just never thought I’d see that happen.  You’re arguably the best pilot here, man.”

 “Hey!” Falco scowled.

 “Shut up, Falco.  Peppy is the oldest, wisest, and makes fewer mistakes than both of us combined.”

 “t-t-Times eight!” Slippy added on Peppy’s behalf.  “Or more.”

 “Thanks, guys,” Peppy sighed.  “I don’t need you arguing over a stupid thing like this.  It was just an off day for me.  I’ve had quite a few since my run-in with Narconi 4.”

 “One at the most,” Fox said.

 “The simulations!” Falco reminded them.

 “Simulations don’t mean squat, Falco,” Fox argued.  “You said so yourself more than once.”

 “Damn,” the avian muttered.  He’d been sniffed out.  “Guess you got me there.”

 “Yeah,” Fox said.  “Guess so.”

---

*   Chapter 4   *

 The Red Leopard squad landed on Venom’s dark moon, Tibeth, and began checks on their new, black, sleek, powerful Arwing2’s.  Nolan stood underneath the nose of his fighter, reconnected the ship’s cloaking device cables.  “How you comin’ over there, Nikki?” he called to the squirrel as she came up to him, holding two mugs of coffee.

 “Okay, Nolan,” she replied.  “My cloak’s up and ready.  The others are ready.”  She handed the leopard one of the two mugs of coffee.  “Two sugars, no cream,” she said, and he took a sip.  “How is it?”

 “Fine, fine,” he replied, and set it down on the ground so he could continue work on his fighter.  He glanced over the gravity-diffuser and frowned.  Reaching up with a wrench, he tightened a few bolts and continued to look over the innards of his new Arwing.  “So...  How’s Carter these days?”

 “Oh, please!” she groaned, tossing her long, beautiful hair back out of her face, and leaned against his Arwing.  She gripped her helmet under her left arm tightly next to her thin, feminine body...  God, she’s beautiful, he thought, but that was interrupted by her saying, “I haven’t talked to him since last week, and he’s gotten sort of stuck up.  I don’t know what his problem is.”

 “I do,” Nolan muttered.

 Nikki glared at him with sarcasm in her eyes.  “And what is that supposed to mean?”

 “Well, you’re a beautiful woman, only twenty-three, and he’s twenty-nine.  I, on the other hand, am twenty-four, and I was going out with a twenty-three year-old woman-”

 “So?” she scowled.  “What has that got to do with anything?”

 He shrugged, going back to his Arwing.  “You’re right.  I guess I’m just running my mouth-”

 “Again!” she shouted.  She took a sip of her coffee, and shook her head.  “It’s the atmosphere, Nolan.  We’re fighting because we’re so damn close to Venom.  It makes us uneasy.”

 “I’m not fighting, Nikki,” he said softly, and closed up the slot in his Arwing.  “Go gather the crew.  We’re ready to start.”

 She straightened up quickly, turning to run to gather up the rest of the team.  “On, my way, Nolan!” she called back behind her.  He couldn’t help but watch her, thinking how beautiful she was.

*   *   *

 Pepper was pulling out hairs.  They had stopped searching for the Red Leopard squadron for almost six hours after they’d disappeared, with no luck.  Now, two days later, he sat at his desk, thumbing through reports over the last few hours.

 “S-sir?” a soft, female voice murmured.

 He glanced up.  “Yes, Katt?” he said, rising to his feet.

 “Give me an Arwing,” she said.  “I’ll take it to Papetoon.  I have a sneaking-”

 “Why you?  Why Papetoon?”

 She rose a small chip.  “This has a hidden message on it, General.  Slippy sent it, coded, through Fox’s last transmission.  They’re going to Papetoon using a Rodder One.  They’re gonna sneak up on Andross.”  She touched his arm.  She was a smooth and sophisticated feline, and she got his goat this time around.  “I promise a victory, General,” she said sweetly.

 General Pepper groaned.  The tension between Venom and the rest of Lylat had grown considerably heavy the past two days.  He hated sending his pilots out on any assignment when it was so dangerous, even if he had no choice.  Especially those not in StarForce.  Then again, even though Katt wasn’t a really a member of his fleet, she very well could be.  Besides, she was a pilot he could trust.

 Finally, he reached down into his desk and pulled out an assignment sheet.  He scribbled a few things down and gave it to her, standing.  “Careful out there, Miss Monroe.  And good luck.”

 She smiled.  “Thanks sir!” she squealed, and ran for the hangar.  Pepper sighed.  Kids these days, he thought, and slammed heavily back into his chair.

*   *   *

 Andromeda stood in the hangar, staring up at the Arwing that was being prepared by two workers.  “What is this for?” she asked a another worker who was tapping figures into a datapad.  She was pure white, with flowing, white blonde hair, her eyes were black, framed with red irises.

 The young man looked up.  “That?” he asked.  “I believe volunteer pilot Katt Monroe is taking her out to Papetoon to do some work, ma’am.  That’s all I know.”

 Annie nodded.  She touched the Arwing’s sleek underbelly and then heard the cat’s voice from behind.  “Annie?” she said.  “What are you doing here?”

 She turned around and whispered, “I know what you’re doing.  Take me to-”  She coughed twice melodramatically.  If the place was bugged, Andross could pick up their voices clearly for sure.  “-please.”

 Katt picked up the hint.  “You sure?” she asked.

 Annie took the other’s hand.  “Positive, Katt.  I might be helpful.”

 With a smile, Katt nodded.  “Okay.  That’s good enough for me.”  She turned to the worker with the datapad.  “Change in plans.”

 “What?” the worker sighed.

 “I noticed you had a two-man cargo jet set up already.  I want it, instead.  I’m taking Annie with me.”

 He threw his pad aside.  “What the hell.  All it needs is to be on the runway.”  He picked up a comlink and sent word across to the other end of the hangar.  Off in the distance, they saw several workers already moving the fighter into place.  “It’s a new model.  All the ability of an Arwing, but occasionally leaves you as an open target.  The weapons won’t stall, but the targetting system has bugs periodically.  Got a cloaking shield, though.”

 Katt smiled.  “Great.  Thanks.  Come on, Annie.”  Before continuing on their way, she asked the worker, “Could you have them get a life support unit ready?”

 “Workin’ on it, ma’am,” he replied and went back to the comlink.

 The cat and hare made their way across the hangar.  “How’s the little guy, Annie?” Katt asked, trying to make small talk.

 “James?” she asked, and abruptly thought of Peppy.  Their six month old son, James, was named after his best friend, James McCloud, who had been lost some time before she’d met the StarFox team and her husband.  “He’s doing really well.  He’s staying with his grandmother in Jamestown for a week.”  They fell silent, the sound of their shoes clicking on the ground.  Andromeda wore work clothes, her long fur done back in a braid and placed neatly over her left shoulder; she looked younger than her thirty-eight years.  She didn’t look as glamorous as she had when they first met; she apparently expected to work with Katt.  A workman ran up to her, handing her a suitcase and a flight suit.  “Thank you.”  She looked up to Katt, who was a few inches taller, if you didn’t count the Pandoran’s ears, of course.  “I’ll go get changed.  Don’t get in such a hurry to leave.”

 Katt grinned.  “No, you don’t have to go anywhere.  We’ve got a bathroom in the back of the jet; change in there.”

 Annie was inside the large fighter aircraft a few moments later.  Katt got inside behind her and headed to the cockpit.  “Is the heating system on, Ben?” she asked a worker who was down underneath the cockpit console.  She didn’t see his face, but she knew who it was.

 He gave her a thumbs up and continued working without looking to her.  “It’s fine, Katt,” he replied.  “So, Pepper approved you request?”

 “Yeah,” she said.  She tapped on a console, which instantly came to life.  It was beautiful...  No, she shook her head.  It wasn’t beautiful to others, just to her, and maybe someone like Slippy Toad, a pilot and a mechanic.  She was a pilot, and she admired the high-tech details in her line of work.  She scanned down, muttering, “Looks a hundred percent... Good weaponry... Cloak power...  Looks good, Ben.  You finished?”

 “Just about,” he said, slamming a panel shut and sliding out from under the console.  He went over to her console and ripped another panel out from below.  “Hmmm...let’s see...”  He looked up.  “This system checks out.  You’re set, Katt.”  He jumped up after slamming that panel back in place.  Ben was a black puma, his fur sleek and handsome, and he had eyes for Katt.  “Be careful out there.”

 Katt grinned.  “Don’t worry about me!  We’re just gonna go to Papetoon.  A two hour trip at lightspeed.”  She tapped his shoulder in a friendly gesture.  “Just follow your orders.”

 He frowned theatrically.  “I always follow my orders!” he said.  Then he took hold of her elbows, while she grabbed his in surprise.  His eyes showed his worry.  “I’m serious, Katt.  Be careful out there.  I mean, you’ve got Annie’s life to look out for now, not to mention your own.”

 “I will,” she said, her voice becoming just as serious.  “Now let me get this plane up and on its way.”

 He pulled her into his arms, embracing her lovingly.  After a moment, she returned it.  “I know you worry about me, Ben, but I can take care of myself.  I’m a big girl.”  That was an understatement; she was twenty-two.  She wasn’t even considered a girl anymore.  She was a young woman; she laughed on the inside, knowing Fara would have called the term “a big girl” sexist.

 He looked into her eyes, stroking her cheeks.  “You’re so beautiful.”  She seemed to melt under his touch, and he kissed her softly.  “I love you.”

 At first she allowed it, even closed her eyes and moaned softly.  Then her conscience whispered to her, Falco...

 “I guess I should leave,” a voice said from behind her.  She pushed him away and turned to see Andromeda standing in the doorway.

 “Annie...” Katt stammered.

 “Don’t worry!” the Pandoran laughed.  “No one will ever know.”

 Ben picked up his toolbox and began to move to the door.  “Wait a moment,” Katt ordered, and he spun around.  “We’re gonna have to stop that stuff for now, Ben.  Maybe someday when I’m ready, but not right now.  Don’t say a thing to anybody.”

 He surprised her with a caring smile.  “I won’t, Katt.  But get your mind off the bird.  He’s not likely to go out with you, and that’s his own choice.”  He moved to her, fighting the urge to take her in his arms again.  “You two weren’t meant to be together, but I know in my mind, in my heart, every muscle, bone, and whatever the hell else that’s in my body that you were meant for me.  I just hope that I was meant for you.”

 ‘He’s a very honest young man, Katt,’ Annie’s voice said as it entered her mind.  Telepathy.  ‘I happen to like him.  If you want what’s best for you, grab him.  Don’t let the oppurtunity slip away.’

 She shook Annie out of her head.  “We’ll see, Ben,” she said finally.  “Now, Annie and I need to get going.”

 Ben shook his head, obviously upset, and left.  When he was gone, Katt pointed to the passenger’s seat, a little seat behind the pilots seat.  “Sit, Annie,” she demanded.

 The Pandoran hesitated, knowing that her friend was pissed, and then did as she was told.  “Annie,” Katt began, trying to remain as calm as possible.  “I have no doubt that you’re only trying to help me, but you’re not helping.  Don’t you dare enter my head like that unannounced.  It’s my head, and I deserve the privacy.”  She slammed into the pilot’s seat hard.  “Surely you know what privacy is, Annie.  You’re race had to learn it a long time ago to stay halfway sane.  It’s hard for us when you enter our minds like that.”

 “You’re right,” Annie replied, and tried to turned on her life support unit.  She inspected it with a frown.  “It won’t happen again.  I promise you.”  There was a brief pause as she tapped the button again.  “Is this thing working?”

 Katt turned around and laughed.  “That’s just the motherboard!  It keeps track of your life support.”  The cat bent over her and punched a different button on the units side, and it hummed to Annie’s chest.  It was activated; after a few moments, the unit came to rest, and was working perfectly.  Katt sat in her seat and fired up the plane.  Annie asked, “How long until we’re out of here?”

 “Not long now, if they keep that damned runway clear,” her partner replied.  She punched a button on her comlink.  “Acting Lieutenant Katt Monroe, requesting permission to take off, Command.”

 “Commander Bill Grey, Command Control bridge, Lieutenant.  You’re cleared for take off.”

 “Excellent.  See you in a few days, during the victory party, Grey,” she said.

 “During the victory party,” Bill agreed.  “Good luck, Katt.”

 With that, the fighter began to roll down the runway, and picked up speed  quickly.  Slowly, surely, the jet went through the tube launcher and then was catapulted at twice the speed of sound out into the clear blue sky over the Cornerian StarForce Base.  “Katt to Command.  We’re up and on our way!”

 Annie placed her hand to her head.  ‘We’re on our way, Peppy.  See you on Papetoon.’

*   *   *

 Peppy sat up in his bed, stripped from his waist up.  He’d recieved a message from Annie in his sleep.  Why, he wasn’t sure yet.  He listened hard, thinking into the future, eyes closed, mind open.  He breathed in deeply, wondering.  He heard it again:  ‘We’re on our way, Peppy.  See you in Papetoon.’

 What was she doing?  The last thing they needed now was Andross sending scout ships to spy on them.  ‘Dammit, Annie.  You’re gonna get us killed.  You’re gonna get yourself killed.  Go home.’

 His concentration was interrupted by a beep at the door.  He jumped up, running into the living area, putting on a white T-shirt.  Who would be up so late, besides me?  He tapped into the psyche of his midnight visitor.  It was Falco.  “Come on in.”

 The door slid open and the avian came in.  He normally wasn’t the type to come by for anything.  What was more, he wore a discouraged look on his face.  Peppy moved over to his friend.  “What is it, Falco?” he asked cautiously.

 “Something’s been on my mind,” the avian replied.  “I thought that...”

 “Maybe I could help you,” Peppy finished for him.  “Sure.  Take a seat.”  He motioned to the round, glass and metal table, where five chairs were set.  A chess set, playing cards, poker chips, and a variety of other game materials were piled neatly around its center.  Falco sat down silently as Peppy made his way to the liquor cabinet.  “Something to drink, Falco?”

 “Sure,” the avian replied.  “Coffee, black, with maybe a dash of hard liquor.  I’ve got a whopper for you, man.”

 “In that case I’ll get two,” Peppy said, picking a flask with the strongest Pandoran whiskey he had, and the he moved over to the coffee synthesizer.  “And then I need to tell you something else.  I need your opinion.”

 His friend grunted.  “After you hear my story, you won’t want my opinion on anything.”

 “Two coffees,” Peppy said into the synthesizer mike, as he set two mugs under the spout.  There was a hum as the machine did its thing.  The mugs were filled with strong, black, steaming liquid.  He brought it out and around the counter to the table.  “You’re probably right.  I won’t want your opinion.  But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t ask.”

 Falco chuckled, surprising the hare slightly.  “Well, here goes,” the avian said.  “When we left Corneria five days ago, I was stopped in the hall by Katt Monroe.”

 “What did she have to say?” the Pandoran asked, handing Falco a mug.

 Before replying, he took the flask of liquor, poured some into his coffee, and stirred it up.  He took a sip and delivered the cask to his friend.  “Well, actually she ran into me, but I think she did it on purpose.”  His face changed expressions again; now he had a sour look.  “Anyway, it was right in front of Ben Tittel.”

 “The engineer?”

 “Yup,” the avian replied.  “Anyway, after she’d left, he gave me a dirty look-”

 “Maybe you were giving him one first, man,” Peppy suggested.  “You always are giving people dirty looks.”

 “Let me finish,” he scowled.  Another dirty look.  “Anyway, I asked him what it was all about, and he said I’m keeping him from having a perfectly happy relationship.  ‘What the hell is that suppose to mean?’  I asked him, and--get this--he tells me that I’m stealing Katt away from him.”

 “What?” Peppy said, raising an eyebrow.

 “I know.  It’s absurd.  Everyone knows that I’m a no-relationship type of bird.”  He ran his hand through the feathers on his head.  “So I asked around some of Katt’s friends, and they say that she’s been trying to get my attention for four years!  Four years, Peppy.  Well, she hasn’t tried very hard, or I would have noticed.”

 Peppy nodded understandingly.  “You know, I do remember hearing rumors that she liked you a few years ago, but I never took them seriously.”  He shrugged.  “You’re right; she isn’t trying hard.  But I understand Ben’s predicament.  He deserves that girl, and she’s apparently too busy trying to get your attention that it’s too much to try for him instead.”

 “That’s just the bird’s eye view--excuse the pun.  He’s holding a grudge against me, and I actually like the guy.  Isn’t that ironic?”  Peppy laughed heartily--Falco definitely was picky when it came to choosing friends--and tge avian continued.  “I like Katt, too, but it’s a different story than the plot she’s following.  She’s a pilot, and she’s on our side.  We’re supposed to like each other, to a certain degree and point-of-view, I mean.  She’s a superb pilot and she’s on our side.  She could be a member of StarFox, but nooooo, she has to be in love with me, and that just makes me a bishop.”

 “I think you mean ‘pawn,’” Peppy said.  “But I understand completely, Falco.”

 “Really?” Falco asked.  “You sure?”

 Peppy nodded with a teasing grin.  “Utterly.  You keep repeating the same thing.  I should understand.”

 Falco actually ignored Peppy’s joke.  “What do you suggest?”

 Peppy took a deep breath, sipped his coffee, and sighed.  “Talk to her, man.”

 Falco kept his composure enough not to loose his temper.  “Dammit!  I knew you were gonna say that,” he scowled.  He picked up the cask of liquor and began to drink it straight.

 What the hell, Peppy thought.  It’s nonalcoholic.  With that he chuckled and took another sip of his coffee.  His avian friend twisted his head first left then right, bringing upon a cracking sound.  “Hell, man, I’m a bachelor bird.  I-I’m not ready for any relationship.”

 Once, again, the Pandoran nodded understandingly.  “Tell her that.  Just tell her you’re not interested, and you might tack on that you know someone who does have an eye for her.”

 “That would help Ben out.  Sure could use some brownie points with the cat.”  He handed Peppy the cask, which was still half full.  The hare shook his head with a chuckle, and then placed the lid to his lips, taking a sip for himself.

 He looked at the bottle for a moment, and said, “You know, Falco, this is the first drink I’ve ever shared with you...alone I mean.”

 “Yeah, ‘course I know,” he sighed.  “Now what do you have for me?”

 “Well...” Peppy began.  “It’s something to do with Annie...”

 “Look man, I’m not married and I don’t think I’m the one to tell you how to handle your wife.”

 Peppy shook his head with a grim smile.  “It’s not like that, Falco.  She’s got ahold of a pilot and they’re going to Papetoon to meet us.”

 “Crap,” Falco muttered.  “If Andross’s men get ahold of them, then we’re in a world of shit.”

 “Exactly what I thought you’d say,” Peppy said as he set down his coffee mug.  He grabbed his comlink.  “Get the team to the conference room.  We’ve got a meeting to hold.”

*   *   *

 Nikki locked her cockpit door down with a sigh.  Turning on the comlink, she said, “You in yet, Nolan?”

 “Just now, Nikki.  What’s up?”

 She waited a moment before asking, “What was going on back at the base, before Pepper showed up?”

 She knew he was frowning.  “What do you mean?”

 “Don’t give me that crap, Nolan.  You know what I mean.”  She waited, and then said, “You were saying that there was no way that Andross would let us get her out alive.  He’d kill her if we came close.  You remember.”

 “Of course I remember.  Our conversation was bugged,” he said.  “They always know what’s said in the commanders’ office.  I was giving them a little show.”

 “Oh, you were, were you?” Nikki asked.  “Why?”

 Nolan said nothing for a few moments.  “Power up Arwings, Red Leopards!”  All around her, the Arwings of her team were revved up.  “Team leader go.”

 “Two is go,” Nikki said.

 “Three is go,” Sydney said.

 Buck followed, “Four is ready.  Let’s kick some ass!”

 “Five operational,” Theo gulped.  He bit his lower lip and tried to become focused.  He found it hard.

 Jasen, the final, newest, and youngest member, checked his settings.  “Six is go, Leader.”

 “Andross won’t kill her,” Nolan said, to answer Nikki’s last question.  “You know that, Pepper knows that, Fox and his guys know that, I know that, Andross knows that.  Every fuckin’ person in the Lylat system knows that, if they care.  I just was workin’ up to get us out of there.  He’ll torture her, but he won’t kill her.”  He put his hands on his stick.  “Let’s get airborne!”

 We’re comin’ for you, Fara, Nikki thought.  Just hold on.

 For the first time, she noticed Venomese fighters coming down on them.  “Get airborne now, guys!” she shouted.  “Bogies are all over us!”

 She screamed when she saw Theo’s Arwing burst in flames and then explode.  “Theo!  Nooooooooo!”

*   *   *

 Standing in his chamber, Andross scratched his beard with a chuckle.  His wife was wearing a beautiful dress, but no matter how beautiful it was he would rather her wear the dress that the real Vixy had worn a long time ago (at the prom with--Andross grimaced--James McCloud).

 “Get dressed, Vixy,” he said.  He held out the replica of a pink, beautiful dress with veils hanging beautifully, glittering.  “The battle has begun, and we should get to the throne room, where we’re needed.”

 “Yes, Love,” she replied, taking the dress and letting him kiss her cheek.  “I love you very much, my dear.”

 Andross grimaced secretly; he felt like a heel.  She didn’t know about James anymore.  The device implanted in the back of her skull had, as Fara had said it did, brainwashed her, taking her memory away.  But this was no typical brainwashing, oh no.  This Vixy had the very same memory as the original, without her memory of James McCloud.  She remembered what Andross wanted her to.  It may be artificial, but it was very, very real to her, and if it was real to her, he found that he could accept it.

 She began to undress in front of him.  “I really do love this dress,” she sighed happily.

 “I know.”

 He knew StarFox was coming.  Very soon he would meet face to face with Fox McCloud Jr., and then destroy the team from inside out, through McCloud.  Leon’s idea to inject Fara and Fox with nanoprobes would be the end of Fox’s squadron.  It would make them fight, for no reason!  The fighting that took place between two lizards tested with the nanoprobes ended with one dead lizard and another seriously injured one.  With the short fuses that those two foxes had...

 He laughed harshly.  “What is it, Andross?” Vixy asked, coming up to him with a look of concern.  She was wearing her dress by now, and ready to go.

 “Oh, nothing, my dear.  I was just thinking...  Nah, it ain’t important.”  He hugged her.  “Let’s go.”  He chuckled.  The nanoprobes were controlled by a computer, but they weren’t to kill or toture, merely to destroy friendships.  He could make them love each other, hate each other, or whatever else he wanted.  That’s why the nanoprobes would work.

 They turned and walked out of the room, side-by-side.

*   *   *

 Fara looked up as three Venomese guards and one one-eyed wolf moved toward her.  She shivered, wondering what was up now.  Again she wished that they hadn’t made her change her clothes.  They now had her wearing a simple orange prison garment, and that was too small.

 The vixen stood as a guard unlocked the cell, taking his blaster.  “Don’t you attempt to escape,” the lizard croaked, “or I’ll blast ya.’”

 “Back off, Lieutenant,” Wolf growled.  He carried a small, silver plate.  “I managed to retrieve something decent for you to eat.  Andross’s wife-” he paused, snorting, angry that Andross hadn’t informed him of Vixy two years ago. “-gave me a plate of her food.”

 “They aren’t married yet, are they?” Fara asked, trying to sound polite, but too pissed off to really do it.

 Wolf shrugged.  “I suppose you’re right,” he muttered, and handed her the plate.  “I suggest you eat it.  They’ll stop sending it if you don’t, and you don’t want to eat the shit they serve down here.”

 “I’m sure I don’t,” she replied, taking the plate.  Looking down on its occupants, she noticed what might be served to the top officers back at StarForce Base.  “Yep, this looks better than what they serve at the cafeteria back home.”

 “No shit,” he muttered.  “Nonetheless, the crap they serve down here is barely recognizable as food.  I’ve seen what they serve at StarForce, and that looks damned good compared to what they serve us here.  Andross’s feeding budget is definitely NOT at the top of his list of important duties.”  He chuckled.  “You don’t give a damn, anyway.  Enjoy it while you got it.”

 “What are you trying to do?” Fara asked him.  “You’ve been feeding me this ever since I got here.  Why aren’t you treating me like they treated Fox?”

 “What do you mean?”

 “Stupid question,” she muttered, plopping back down on the cot.  She looked down at the plate for awhile longer and them back up to the wolf.  “Thank you.  You mind if I eat in peace?”

 “Why not?” Wolf shrugged.  “Let’s go.”

 Suddenly his comlink beeped.  “Andross to StarWolf the squadron.  Get to your DarkWings.  We are under attack by Cornerian forces.”

 One of the guards took the plate.  He gripped her arm and said, “We’re off to see the emporer.”

 “No!” Wolf said.  “Leave her here.  Keep a guard or two with her.”

 “You sure, sir?” the lizard asked.

 “Damned positive.  Get movin’!”

*   *   *

 “Major disturbances in Venom space!” Zyro announced.  Pepper and Sargeant Umari, a thin, pale avian, glanced up.  “It looks like a battle.  We’ve lossed one Arwing, sir.  Theo Brassett!”

 The General moved over and scanned Zyro’s monitor.  “Damn!  We’ve found them!” Pepper growled.  “Prepare backup squads, and get them there.”  As an afterthought he said, “Send StarFox out there too.”

 Umari frowned.  “What about Katt, sir?”

 “I can’t worry about that now,” Pepper said.  After a moment, he added, “Have someone get her ass back here.  I can’t send her into battle with Annie onboard.”

 “I’m on it sir,” an ensign said, raising his hand.  He immediately went to work on the message to Katt.

*   *   *

 Katt Monroe replayed the message again.  “StarForce to Katt Monroe and Annie Hare, return to base.  Repeat, return to base.  That is an order.”

 Blue light filled the cockpit from the dash, displaying the text of the order.  Scratching her head, Katt let out a long, tired sigh.  “Crap.  We’ll, I guess we should head home.”

 “No,” the Pandoran said, shaking her head.  “Pepper’s sending them to Venom.  Let’s go give them a hand.”

 “You sure?” the cat asked quizzically.  “I’m not sure we should do that.”

 Annie smiled.  “Believe me, Katt, they’re headed for Venom.  We should go, too.”

 Katt sighed, glancing down at the dash; the message was too clear to her.  “I know that you’re right, Annie,” she said.  “But I don’t need to be at the top of Pepper’s shit-list.  I just got my shot to get a spot on a squad, maybe even my own, and I hate to waste that.  I’m not exactly their favorite person.”

 “You’re their friend, Katt.  Peppy tells me that Fox wanted to get you instated on the StarFox squadron.”

 Looking up, the cat grinned.  “Really?  You’re kiddin’ me!”

 Annie shook her head, returning the smile, her pearly white teeth sparkling under the soft blue light in the cockpit.  “This is your chance catch their eye.”  She touched Katt’s arm.  “Believe me, girl, do this for your future.  I know you’re a good pilot, and they know that, too.  You know it yourself.  Now you have to do something that any great pilot would do.  Break the rules, kick some ass, and help your planet win a battle.”

 Katt chuckled.  “Whew, gal; man you’re hot!”

 “What?” Annie asked, raising her eyebrows.

 “That’s the first time you’ve ever said anything close to that.  It makes me feel...dangerous.”

 “What?  ‘Ass’?”

 “Of course,” Katt said, smiling widely.  She was punching in coordinates into her computer.  “Let’s get...dangerous!”  She hit the hyperspace stick, and the thousands of stars out in front of them stretched into long lines of light as they were pinned to their seats.  “We’re goin’ ta Venom!”

---

*   Chapter 5   *

 Wolf O’Donnel breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Andrew, Pigma, and Leon making their way down toward him.  He was already set up into his gear, his life support up and running.  He glared at each one individually, and then grunted.  He turned to his DarkWing and began to climb up the ladder.  “If you’re coming, you’re on your own.  I’m headed out now.  Keep your links open to me, in case I call for the team to meet somewhere.”

 The three members of the evil squad looked at each other and then scurried off to their lockers.

 Wolf shook his head.  He was in his DarkWing moments later, flipping switches.  Two lizard guards moved in and rolled the ladder away.  “You’re cleared, O’Donnel,” a voice said to him.

 “Check that, tower,” he replied into his comlink.  It took a few more minutes before his DarkWing was totally powered, and then he opened the link again.  “Wolf one is go, tower.”

 “Roger that, Wolf.”  That was odd.  A new voice, a Cornerian voice, had spoken to him that time.  The voice was very familiar...

 He shook it off.  It couldn’t have been.

 Soon, his DarkWing was in space, and he saw the enemy.  Rows of Cornerian squadrons surrounded many of the Venom branches.  Then his eyes fell upon a large Cornerian starship, which was firing upon Cornerian fighters!  No, he realized after a moment.  It was an Iririan vessel.  What in the name of Fortuna were they doing here?  He decided a second later that he didn’t care, as long as they were fighting on his side.  He opened a hailing frequency.  “Commander Wolf O’Donnel of the Venom forces, calling Iririan fighter.  I’d suggest you explain yourself; you are trespassing above Venom airspace.”

 He was surprised by the sound of a female’s voice.  “Wolf, this is Gina Hart, Captain of the Iririan vessel Night Maiden.  Looks like you guys could use some help.”

 “Excellent,” Wolf said with a nod.  “See if you can force the Cornerians toward Tibeth.  It’s the dark moon farthest from the planet.  We’ll cut ‘em off and destroy ‘em there.”

 “You’re a leader, I see,” Gina replied from the opposite end of the link.  “We’ll see what we can do.  Good luck on your end.”

 “Same to you, Captain,” he said, and leaned back.  It looked like victory was closer than he realized.

*   *   *

 “Pulling out of hyperspace!” Peppy shouted over the roaring engines.  “Looks like we’re gonna be crashing a major party!”

 “ROB, can you give us a report of the battle so far?” Falco asked, moving close the turbolift.

 “Casualties light so far.  The only two are Red Leopards, both dead.”

 Fox bit his lower lip, feeling nauseous.  “Who?”

 “Buck Woods and Theo Brassett,” ROB said slowly, almost a hint of sadness in his voice.

 “Oh, God,” Peppy whispered.  Alex, Vince, and Kira kept silent in the back of the bridge.  Alex bowed his head to show respect.

 “Let’s get goin,’” Fox muttered, and with that the StarFox team, new and old members, made a break for the turbolift.

 Falco grabbed Fox in the turbolift.  “You and I should go directly into the base.  Maybe take someone else?”

 “To get Fara?” he asked.  “Agreed.  Vince, you go with Falco to get Fara, and I’ll go and face Andross.”

 “Not a g-g-good idea, f-f-Fox,” Slippy stuttered.  He was ignored.

 Peppy turned to Fox.  “I know you love Fara, Fox.  This could be your chance to get her back.  If you saved her...”

 Fox shook his head.  “I have every confidence in Falco to get the job done.  I’ve got something else to handle.”

 The Pandoran tried once again.  “I would be the one who insists on saving that girl, if she were Annie.  You can prove yourself to her, show yourself you love her like I love Annie.”

 Fox’s mind was made up.  “You lead the raid outside, Peppy.  Slippy, Kira, Alex, stay with him.  We’ll bring Fara back here to the Fox.  Good luck, all of you,” Fox said, and the turbolift opened up into the hangar.  He finally spoke his mind to Peppy.  “I love her very much, Peppy, and she knows that.  If Falco can take care of her, I’ll finish Andross off for good.”

*   *   *

 Ten minutes later, Buck stood in Venom’s air traffic tower, gripping the Air Traffic Control mike.  With great skill he’d sent several Venomese squadrons out on false missions.  He’d already sent three members of the StarWolf squad out, sending the one named Andrew off on some crazy mission...  He snickered at the great stunt he’d pulled.  It wasn’t everyday a man got to get the chance to be famous for a day at the StarForce base.  He would probably be famous for a whole week!

 “Freeze!” a Venomese voice ordered from behind.

 He rose his hands into the sky.  The gig was up.

 “You’re off to the dungeon, smart boy,” the guard said, their eyes meeting a moment later.  “You sure got yourself into trouble now.”

 “I just hope my little trick gets you all screwed up, dickless,” Buck replied.  The lizard cuffed him and led him away.

 “You can answer to Emporer Andross himself after we wipe our asses with you,” the lizard countered.

 “Whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean,” Buck sighed.

 A few minutes later, the lizard opened a cell, shoving him in.  There was a pause as he glanced around--the cell was nice, not what he expected--and his eyes came to rest on a familiar face, and he grinned and rushed forward to meet his cellmate.  “Buck!” she cried, embracing him excitedly.

 “You had us worried, babe,” he said.

 “I’m sure the rest of the guys are still worried,” Fara sighed.  “What’s the plan?  I know they have a plan, or they wouldn’t be here to rescue me.”

 “Actually, the Red Leopards came here on our own to rescue you.  We were sorta’ suspended.”  He looked down, blushing in embarrassment.  “We risked discharge for you, Phoenix.”

 She smiled.  “Wow,” she sighed.  “We didn’t do that for Fox.”

 “Regardless, this mission is now up to you and me,” he said.

 “What do you mean?” she asked.

 He pulled out a keycard.  “Every cell here has emergency locks on the inside.  I mooched this off a dead guard.  They didn’t even check me, the battle going on and all.”

 Her mouth dropped open in shock and amazement.  “Oh, Buck, I could kiss you!” she exclaimed.  Moments later she did.  He could only blush.

 “Now we’ve got the chance, we’re getting the hell out of here.”  He went over to the emergency slot and slid the card through.  The red light on the slot blinked green and the door opened.  He glanced back and smiled.  “After you, Miss Phoenix.”

 “What happened to the guards?” Fara asked.  “Wolf left two of them here.”

 “Maybe they were ordered to the throne room or something,” Buck suggested.

 They made there way down the corridor, Buck in the lead, ready to fight the first guard that came along.  The corridor was actually well lit.  It surprised her a little.  The elk came to a stop at a room with a bronze sign on the door that read:  “Dungeon Guard.  Need keycard to enter.”  Buck used the little card again, and the door slid up, revealing a large, square room, computer and consoles all around the outside against the walls.  In the center was a large computer core, and more computers around it.

 “Hmm...” Buck murmurred.  “There are bound to be several hundred innocent Lylatines here.  We could open all the cells right now.”  He touched the nearest console, being careful not to press a button.

 Fara moved around the empty room.  “We need weapons,” she muttered, looking all over, and finally came to the far, right-hand corner of the room; there was a large, diagnal wall.  She touched it.  “A locker!” she said.  “See if you can get it opened, Buck.”

 “I’m on it,” the elk replied, and began to type on the nearest console.  “Come’n up...”

 “How did you get yourself down here, anyway?” Fara asked.

 “I...don’t know, really,” he replied.  “I and the rest of the team had just seen Theo’s Arwing blown to bits-” he paused, choking back tears.  “I-I got my Arwing off the ground and made a run for Venom.  I was about there when something went wrong.  Everything jammed up and I had to eject.  I was in Hangar Two, and I lost conciousness.  When I came to I’d been thrown from my Arwing.  The seat had ejected, and I was sitting under the Traffic Control Tower.  I went in and locked it out and did a bunch of shit before they finally caught me and brought me down here.  Not sure how I got away from death.”

 “But Theo...?” Fara stammered as the locker flipped open.  Buck shook his head quickly, glancing down.  He looked about ready to cry.  The vixen changed the subject, grabbing two laser rifles from inside the locker.  She also grabbed a black jump suit and grinned.  “Think this’ll hide me better?” she asked, holding it up.

 He glanced up.  “Sure couldn’t hurt,” he said, cracking a sincere smile.

 “Thanks,” the vixen said, and began unbuttoning the front of the orange outfit.  Before she slid it off, she glanced up, grinned, and motioned for him to turn around.  Respectfully, he did so, going directly to the closest computer.  There he began to work on finding a map of the fortress.

 He went quickly through several files when the console to his left beeped.  He looked over to it, seeing the turbolift module.  With a frown, Buck realized that it was the turbolift next to them.  “Fara...” he said slowly.  “We’ve got company.  They’re in the lift, comin’ this way.”

 Fara was by his side a moment later, glaring at the screen.  “We’ve got forty seconds,” she said as she buttoned the last two buttons on her new outfit.  “Come on.”  With that, she handed him a laser rifle.  “Don’t fire until you have to.  We’ll just hit ‘em when they walk out.”  Soon they stood outside the turbolift, one on either side, gripping their guns.  “I’ll hit first,” she whisper, and he nodded.  They both jumped when the turbolift began to slide open a second later.

 Fara struck hard, bringing the butt of her rifle down on her adversary’s head.  He was taller, she noted, when he fell to his knees, yelling out in pain.  He didn’t go unconcious, though.  Instead a familiar voice rang out.  She realized the man was pissed.  “What the fuck!  Man that fuckin’ hurt!  I’m gonna whoop you’re ass!”  The avian jumped up, turned to face her, and jumped back.  “f-f...Fara?” he stammered.  He was obviously surprised, but he tried not to show it.  The bird had a young Pandoran partner, Buck noticed.  “What the fuck did you hit me for?”

 Fara tossed her rifle aside and gripped the bird in a tight hug.  “Good to see you, Falco,” she said, sighing with obvious relief.  “Thank God.”

 Falco hugged her back, and then pushed her away, holding her shoulder with his left hand and gripping his head with his right.  “Dammit.  I could almost shoot you, girl.”  He moved his hand down to look at it and found the palm covered with blood.  “Aw, shit.”

 Fara made him lean over so she could see his injury.  It was a fairly deep gash, but just a gash.  No major damage.  “Sorry, Falco,” she said.  “I didn’t mean to.”

 “Still hurt like hell.  Now let’s get the fuck out of here.”

 “Not yet, Falco,” she said, and took a white clothe from Buck’s back pocket.  “First we tie you up.”

 “Hey!  My hanky!” the elk groaned.

 Falco tried to back away.  “That better be clean, Buck,” he warned.

 Fara looked back to Buck questioningly.  “’Course it’s clean!”

 “Then I’ll use it,” the vixen said, and tied it tightly against the gash.  “There.”

 “So,” Buck said, trying to make small talk with the Pandoran.  “I don’t believe I’ve made your acquaintance.”

 “No,” the Pandoran replied.  “Vince Sylvilagus.”  He shook his hand warmly.  “You must be...  Who are you, anyway?”

 “Buck?” Falco muttered, then realizing that he’d already been pronounced dead.  “You’re not dead?!  ROB said you were.”

 “Nope.  Last time I looked I’m still very much alive!”  He grinned.  “I know why they might think I am.”

 “How?” Vince said curiously.  He had recognized the name.

 But Falco turned and went into the lift, pulling the Pandoran in with him.  “Not now, Vince,” he said.  “We need to find Fox and get the hell out of here.”

 “Fox is here on the base?” Fara asked, gripping her rifle tightly.  She walked onto the lift, Buck by her side, and wondered what Fox would do when he realized that Vixy had not died in the car bomb twenty-nine years ago.  Where was Fox, anyway?

*   *   *

 Fox wondered why he was sitting under a table in the Venom Fortress cafeteria.  He gripped a blaster, looking for the feet of his pursuers.  He had been searching the upper level of the fortress for the throne room, which had been moved from its previous spot, when six Venomese guards spotted him and shot at him.  He’d avoided the blasts and ran through the closest door.  There he found a tiny kitchen, and a dumbwaiter.

 Fox used it to arrive here, but he knew he was followed.  Somewhere in here, he had an enemy nearby.  He could feel it in his bones.  Across the room, he heard his evidence; a pile of dishes crashed to the floor, followed by a very harsh swear word.  He rose his blaster.

 Poking his head out to see what had happened, Fox saw several Venomese guards and one Cornerian soldier in a Venomese uniform, obviously brainwashed, moving around the mess they’d just made.  He took a good look at the Cornerian.

 A black cat about the age of twenty-five, he stood a good three inches taller than Fox, and he was built broader as well.  The pilot shivered; a man that big could snap his spine very easily.  He leaned back again to keep out of sight, closed his eyes, and began to pray.

*   *   *

 Peppy shivered.  He heard Fox in the back of his mind, praying for help.  His leader was scared out of his wits.  It was strange, the Pandoran thought, that Fox was that scared.  Normally the younger StarFox was the bravest person that he could depend on.  Then Peppy shook his head hard.

 Brave or no, Fox needed his help.  After all, why would he pray without good reason?

 He closed his eyes, concentrating hard.  I’m comin’ for you buddy.  Just hold on.  He pulled his Arwing out of battle.  “Star three calling star six.”

 “Six here, three.”

 “Get four, eight, and yourself back to the Great Fox, Alex.  I’ve got some business to attend to.”  With that the Pandoran signed off and headed for the Venom hangar.

 Pigma grunted when he saw Peppy’s Arwing move out of the battle and towards his hangar.  He immediately opened hailing frequencies.  “Hey, Peppy!” he sneered.  “Long time, no see!”  With that he hit his joystick’s trigger, and Peppy saw lasers shooting at him from inside the hangar.

 “Oh, shit,” Peppy muttered, and when the lasers struck he collided into the ground.  He sat there a moment, remembering the incident on Narconi 4.  He checked for injuries, finding none.  Then, after a sigh of relief, slowly, carefully, he undid his belts.  When the cockpit opened, he saw four laser rifles trained at his face.  “I surrender!” he insisted, holding his hands up for them to see.

 After a brief, intense moment, the leader nodded.  “Oh, I see... Take this one up to Andross himself.”  He was a Pandoran in his early twenties.  He had a mechanical gadget attached just above his left eye, a brainwasher.  He restrained himself from saying anything, and allowed them to take him into custody.

 He cursed at himself inwardly; he knew he had failed Fox.

*   *   *

 Back in the cafeteria, Fox was still in the same spot, and could hear them draw nearer.  Not daring to make a sound, the pilot held his breath and gripped his blaster as tight as he could.  They were getting closer now.  Very soon he would have to decide on what was more important.

 His life.  He could surrender to save it.

 Or his planet.  His people’s freedom.  His home.  He could risk his life for the sake of Corneria.  He raised his blaster.  Okay, Fox, he thought to himself.  On three.

 One...  Two...

 He suddenly heard the loud whine of a blaster being fired.  For a moment he thought he was dead.  Then he heard whooping and hollering; Falco’s voice!  Fox decided it was now or never.  He popped up, raising his blaster, firing over and over again into the crowd of Venomese soldiers.  The numbers had increased to twenty, but they were all dropping like flies.

 Shortly, there were no standing Venomese soldiers.  “Fox!” Falco called.  “Get your ass over here!”

 The leader of the StarFox squadron didn’t waste his time reacting to his best friend’s voice.  He lowered the blaster and ran to them.  He glanced around, his eyes falling on Falco, Vince, Buck, and Fara.  “My God,” Fox muttered.  “Two surprises for me.  They said you were dead, Buck.”

 “I don’t know how I survived, but I did,” Buck replied proudly.  “Now let’s make like an jackrabbit and hop outta’ here.”

 “No.  Not yet,” Vince said, grabbing his head.  Then he looked up, a new, determined expression on his face.  “Andross has Peppy.  In the throne room, according to the message.”

 “Oh, shit,” Fara said.  “Let’s go.  I know where the new throne room is!”  Fox made no attempt to question her, but motioned to her to lead the way.

*   *   *

 Andross grinned as they brought Peppy toward him.  He had sent Vixy away, to keep her out of the Pandoran’s sight.  The last thing he needed was for him to know about her.  Fara, on the other hand, was another story.  He could alter Fara’s thinking, keeping her from telling them.  She would always know and remember, but she wouldn’t be able to tell.  He knew that because he could control her.  “When he gets here,” he told the closest guard, “inject him with the nanoprobe.”

 “My Lord,” he replied, taking a syringe.

 Peppy had two guards at his side and two behind him.  He glared up at Andross.  “This battle wasn’t meant to be, Pandoran,” Andross scowled.  “We had an...understandment.”

 Peppy gave no ground.  “Obviously you didn’t reckon on someone fighting back.  The Red Leopards decided not to listen to your warning.”

 “What if I’d had her killed?” Andross asked, waving his hand outward.  “Just like that?”  He looked to a guard nearby, who stuck Peppy violently with the needle.

 Peppy cringed a little, but stood his ground still.  “We knew you wouldn’t.  She’s too precious a hostage for you to kill her.”

 Andross did know that.  He knew they knew that.  His plan was coming to a close, for now.  He grinned.  “I knew you’d see it that way.  Of course she’s too important.  Once we’ve taken your precious Corneria and set a new fortress, I will see to it that your imprisonment is a short one.”

 Peppy narrrowed his eyes.  “Execution,” he said softly.

 “I’ll be damned if I let that happen,” a voice growled from behind Andross.  The ape spun around.  “Let him go, Andross.”

 “McCloud!”

 A guard raised his weapon.  “Try it and I’ll fry your brains,” Fara growled.  she stood behind the guard, and Peppy sensed that she wanted him to try.  Vince, Falco, and Buck--his heart leapt for joy--all stood nearby, holding blasters.  A Venomese guard took off toward the group.  He leapt toward Falco, sticking a syringe in his arm.  The avian cried out in shook.  Everything was motionless for a moment, as they stared back-and-forth.

 Then Falco glared at him.  “Asshole,” he scowled, and rose his blaster and disintegrated the guard.

 Fox rose his blaster to Andross.  “And you’re next.”

 There was a long silence.  “A truce!” Andross said, and glanced to Peppy.  “If you leave now, I’ll call off my fighters and you can go freely..”

 Fox narrowed his eyes.  “Take it Fox,” Peppy said.  “Another day, but not now.  We started this attack; let’s finish it peacefully.”

 Fox nodded to Peppy.  “Let him go, and get me an escort to our Arwings, Andross,” he demanded.  The emporer nodded to a group of guards, who immediately obeyed.  “And don’t try anything, or I’ll blow this place to a billion pieces.”  He held up a small, metal device that looked like a lighter.  “We planted bombs all over the place.”

 No you haven’t, you lying son-of-a-bitch.  You just are clearing out an easy path home.  Andross stood back, showing fear in his face, though it was false.  I’ll be glad to let you have one nonetheless.  “Go, McCloud,” he said, acting cowardly.  “You’ve won.  Please don’t let off the bombs.”

 The guards let go of Peppy, who made a run for Fara.  Once standing beside her, he was given a blaster by Buck.  “Let’s get out of here, Fox,” the Pandoran said, and backed away from the throne to the front door.

 Fox waited a moment, the gun still trained on the emporer.  “We’ll continue this later,” he said, and then followed his friends to the door.

 In a matter of six minutes they were gone.

*   *   *

 “Thanks, guys,” Buck said over the comlink, and then went to join his team.

 Fara smiled, watching Buck’s DarkWing break to the left, away from them.  “Thanks to you, too,” she replied.  “I owe you one.  See you back at StarForce.”  He signed off, and she sighed.  “Well, how was Battenuse?”

 “Y-y-yellow,” Slippy replied.  “And br-br-bright.”

 Fox laughed.  “I liked it,” he replied, for a system.  “We missed you out there.”

 “I’m sure you did.  Nonetheless, the Phoenix would have been destroyed if I didn’t go with it.”  She stopped talking, leaving the link open, and took a last look at Venom.  She wondered when the next time Andross would open his doors to battle.

 “Give him a week or two, Fara,” Peppy replied.  She couldn’t help but smile; Peppy was telepathic, afterall.

 “What was that, Peppy?” Falco asked.

 “So, when did you decide to come save me?” she asked, ignoring the avian.

 Fox chuckled.  “I want to talk about that when we get back to the ship.  You know, privacy.”

 “Yeah,” she said, hiding her sarcasm.  “Privacy.”

 Peppy, on the other hand, heard it well, and was about to mention it when someone linked onto the StarFox comm channel.  “Katt to Commander McCloud.  Looks like we missed a helluva show.”

 “Welcome to the end, Katt.  Annie, do you hear me?”

 The sweet, soft voice of Peppy’s wife made them almost forget about the action that had taken place a few short minutes ago.  “Yes, of course I do, Fox.  Peppy?”

 The hare didn’t respond for a moment, and he tried not to sound mad when he did.  The simple fact was, however, that he was pissed off.  “What in the hell were you thinking, Annie?” he demanded.  “If you had gotten here fifteen minutes earlier, you could have been killed!”

 “Peppy...” Fox sighed.

 “Shut up, Fox.  This is important!”

 The team leader kept his cool.  “Captain Hare,” he said formally.  “You will stop this foolish arguing right now.  We’re not even on the damn ship yet, and here you are, yellin’ at poor Annie, and all she wanted to do was help.”

 “Poor Annie!” Peppy boomed.  Then he remembered how much he loved her.  “Oh, God, I’m sorry Annie.  I don’t know what got into me.”

 Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that, with Andross’s help, things were about to go from bad to worse.

*   *   *

 “What is the position of the StarFox Arwings?” Andross asked as he entered the control room of his fortress.

 The closest lizard, a Venomese Captain named Trebba Servoss looked up from the console he was standing over next to Lieutenant Krang, another Venomese officer.  “They are entering the Great Fox now, my Lord.”

 “Excellent,” the evil emporer smiled.  He glanced  to the right, seeing Wolf and his squad waiting for the fun to begin.  Anytime soon, he thought, and then glanced over to Gina Hart, who glared at him darkly with red eyes.  “What is it, my dear Gina?”

 “Nothing, your Highness,” she replied, but didn’t take her eyes off him.  They stared back and forth at each other for a moment, and the tension seemed to mount between them.  “I am not as strong telepathically as most Iririans.  In fact, I’m part Pandoran, which weakens what I do have further.  Do you know who my mother is?”

 Andross said nothing.  He just kept his dark eyes on her.  She was dangerous, he knew, but what she offered him outweighed the dangers.  “No,” he said finally.  “Who is your mother?”

 She laughed and broke eye contact and moved over to the StarWolf squadron, circling them as she spoke.  “I’m only sixteen years old, and I already own my own moon, starship, and starship fleet, Andross.  Iririans are very...persuasive.  My mother was, at one time, the most persuasive of our people.  I’m sure you’ve heard of her.”  She ran her hands along Leon’s shoulder.  “In fact, I know you have.”

 “Really?” Andross muttered.  “You wouldn’t be the daughter of an Iririan warlord, would you?”

 ‘I would,’ she replied telepathically.  “And I will see to the destruction of Fox McCloud, myself, if you give me the opportunity.”

 “Very well,” Andross said evenly.  “Once we’ve gotten the team split up, you’re responcible for McCloud.  If he or any of his team discover our little secret, kill him.”

 She frowned, and finally agreed.  “Very well, your Highness,” she sighed.  “After your plan succeeds, should it, then I want to claim the right to his life.”

 “Very well, as payment for the use of your starship, you get to end McCloud’s life.”  He turned to Lieutenant Krang.  “Engage the nanoprobe.  Make the Pandoran fall in love with the vixen, and vice versa.  That will piss off McCloud, and be the beginning of the end of the StarFox squad, and eventually the entire Cornerian armed forces.”

 “The nanoprobes are in place, your Highness,” Krang said.  “It’ll take a few minutes for them to take effect in their brains’ systems, but they will.”  He leaned back against his chair and glanced up to the Emporer.

 “Good job, Lieutenant.  If this is indeed the end of StarFox, then you will be rewarded greatly, possibly promoted.”  He glanced to Captain Servoss.  “Carry on, Captain.  Krang and an ensign can stay here and monitor the nanoprobes.”

 The Captain stiffened and saluted.  “Yes, your Highness.  Thank you, my Lord.”  Then he was gone.

 Andross turned to Gina.  “So how is your mother?  She was lucky she escaped me, you know.”

 “I know you would have killed her, Andross, so don’t push me.  I don’t need your crap.”  With that, the Iririan turned and left the control room.

---

*   Chapter 6   *

 Fara stood in her quarters, glancing around.  It looked like a normal bedroom that was built to her standards.  There were several mirrors and dressers, each holding spare clothes.  The bed was clean, with pink sheets and a canopy.  She hadn’t been here for weeks, she noted.  It had been on SpaceDock in Corneria’s orbit for over two weeks, receiving major repairs from an accident in Meteo.  Things had been a little boring, and when it was finished, things were still slow.  They’d remained on Corneria until a distress call came in from Battenuse.  Of course, she’d gone with the Phoenix to Papetoon, and the rest of her StarFox team went to help whoever had been sending the message.

 They had told her not a few minutes before of the reality behind the message, a hoax to nab a Cornerian Starship for the Hot Rodders, who had been acting up recently on the planet of Cambenia 2.  Of course, now that one of the Hot Rodders’ ship was under Cornerian control, they wouldn’t grab a starship anytime soon, out of pure reluctance.

 With a heavy sigh, the vixen began to peel off the black jumpsuit.  She moved over to the closest wardrobe, pulling out the outfit she’d worn the first day she met Fox.  After she finished undressing, she glanced at herself in the mirror.  Damn, I need a bath, she said to herself.  However, she started to dress; Fox had called a team meeting for 0400 hours, which was only three minutes away.

 She was only halfway dressed when an headsplitting migraine seemed to explode in her skull.  She screamed in pain, falling to the floor.  It lasted for only a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity.

 After it had passed, she remained on the floor for a moment.  When the door opened and someone came toward her, she didn’t move.  Suddenly she heard a familiar electronic buzz, and then strong arms gripped her and hoisted her up.  “Fara?”

 She looked up into his eyes.  “p-p-Peppy?” she stammered.  For a strange, brief moment, she could have sworn...

 “You okay, girl?” he asked.

 “Of course,” she replied.  “Did you feel it, too?”

 “Yeah, but it was real for me, too.  It was weird.”

 Then they both realized that she was still part naked.  He started to help her with the outfit, and then their eyes met.  “Peppy...” she began.  Then, unexpectedly, she kissed him hard, compassionately.  He didn’t try to stop her, but instead kissed her back.  Her hand blindly reached over to the door and hit the button.  It slid shut and locked, concealing them in the room.

 He picked her up, taking her to the bed.  He lay her on it, kissing her neck softly.  Then he began to take off her clothes again.

* * *

 Annie and Katt sat in the conference room, staring across the table at Falco, Alex, Kira and Vince, and even the two Hot Rodders, who claimed to have had a change of heart.  Annie couldn’t help but believe them, even after Fox and Falco had told them their story.  Everything was silent in the room, and for an instant, Annie could have sworn something was wrong.

 She turned when the door hissed open.  Fox and Slippy came in, ROB right behind them with a tray.  The leader of the team glanced around to look at the faces of whom were already there.  Falco, the Hot Rodders, Katt, Alex, Kira, and Vince looked back at him.  Glancing at his watch, Fox said, “It’s 0405, and Slippy and I were going over something on the bridge.  Where’s Fara and Peppy?  They’re never late.”

 They glanced around at each other, and finally Annie said, “When I came up, Peppy was going to check on Fara.  That was almost ten minutes ago.”

 “Maybe they got hung up,” Katt suggested.

 Annie stood, moving over to Fox and pulled him outside to the bridge, the door shutting behind them.  Then she whispered, “Peppy’s closed his mind to me, Fox.  Something is dreadfully wrong.”

 This surprised Fox.  Peppy and his wife never kept secrets, and closing off his mind to her, to anyone, was rare.  “Do you know when he did it?”

 “Just after splitting up with him on the lift.  He went to get Fara, and suddenly he had a major headache.  The next thing I knew, nothing.  I can’t even read Fara; that means he put a block between me and her.”

 “If they were dead, the computer would’ve said something,” Fox muttered.  He saw Annie’s red eyes filling with tears.  He bit his lower lip, nodded, and then they returned to the conference room.

 “What’s wrong, Fox?” Falco asked.

 Ignoring his friend, the team leader turned to ROB.  “Where are Peppy and Fara?” he asked.

 “In Fara’s quarters.  They have been there since 0358.”  The robot stopped there, not adding details.  He never did.

 “Okay,” Fox nodded.  Then he turned to his team and began to rattle off orders.  “Falco, you notify the rest of the fleet that we’re gonna be late getting home, and get the ship stopped, Slippy.  Annie, come with and me.  Katt, you, Alex, Vince, and Kira keep an eye on our prisoners.”

 They moved into action.

* * *

 Standing outside the door of Fara’s quarters, Fox banged his nose into it.  “What the hell?” he muttered.  The doors were supposed to open when he walked through it.  “Computer, emergency override, unlock door to Fara’s quarters, room SFQ-003, authorization Commander McCloud, Fox 7-3-1-9-James.”

 Suddenly, the door slid open.  What he saw inside horrified him.  Unfortunately, Annie saw it too.  “p-p-Peppy?” she stammered, sounding a lot like Slippy.  Fox couldn’t force himself to look to her, but he heard the tears nearly choking her.   “Peppy...?”  She turned and ran out of the room.

 Fox stood there, still stupefied, and then something inside him snapped.  “What on Fortuna are you two doing!!!?” he growled.  “Get yourselves dressed and report to the conference room...IMMEDIATELY!!!”

 He stormed out of the room and slammed on his comlink.  Pressing the button near his left ear, he opened the link.  “Slippy, I’ve just sent Peppy and Fara to the conference room.  I want Falco to stay in up there and watch them.  Take the rest down to the simulator and do something with them, but keep them off the bridge.”  He paused.  “I might be a little late, myself.”

 “g-g-Gotcha, Fox.  What’s the pr-pr-problem?”

 Fox could barely control his anger as he came upon Peppy and Annie’s door.  He closed his eyes, sighed heavily, and finally replied, “The original squad can talk about it after awhile.  It’s disturbing, and I don’t want to talk about it over the line.”

 “I understand,” the toad said, and signed off.

 Fox left his comlink on his head.  Reaching out to the keypad, he wished he wasn’t here.  He wasn’t the type to be a good psychiatrist, and Annie would have filled his spot better than he would.  Probably not now, though; he knew Annie would be torn apart.  What had gotten into Peppy, anyway.  Just a few hours ago he was concerned with Fox and Fara’s relationship, and now he was going behind his wife, not to mention his leader’s, back.  It just didn’t make sense.

 He hit the button.

 Inside, Annie looked up, her face buried in Peppy’s pajamas.  She used it to dry her tears when she heard the chime of the door.  “C...come in, Fox,” she called, her voice muffled between sobs.

 The door slid open and Fox Jr. moved in cautiously.  “Annie...  I’m so sorry,” he whispered.  He held up his hands hopelessly.  “I don’t blame you if you want to blame me.”  She stood and ran to him, burying her face into Fox’s jacket.  He embraced her cautiously, gently stroking the white blonde fur on her nape.  “Annie, I’m so sorry.”  He didn’t say anything more, but couldn’t help but think something was fishy about the whole situation something more than what he already knew.

 “It’s not your fault, Fox,” she mumbled, the tears still flowing.  “I don’t know what I did wrong...”

 Fox held her away from him and looked into her eyes.  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Annie,” he assured her.  “I...I don’t know what the hell to think.  Dammit, I can’t see Peppy doing such a thing.  He loves you so much...”  Or at least I thought he did, he said to himself, still looking into Annie’s eyes.

 She heard what he thought, but didn’t show that she did.  Instead she just hugged him tightly.  “What’s going to happen to the squad now?” she asked.  Regardless of her position, she still put the StarFox team in front of everything else.  Fox admired her for it; he really adored her, like the rest of the team.  This new predicament provided Fox with another unstable element, and it would have to be removed.  He now decided what he must do.

 “You meet me down in the docking bay in fifteen minutes,” he whispered.  “We’ll take Katt’s ship back home, okay?”  She looked to the ground, nodding.  With that, he kissed her cheek gently and left her standing there, barely able to control her tears.

 Then Fox McCloud Jr. met Fara and Peppy in the halls, staring at him with worried looks in their eyes, and clinging tightly to one another.  “Get your asses moving!” Fox growled, and then following the into the turbolift.  “Bridge.”  They stayed on one end, clinging to one another as Fox glared at them.  He didn’t speak, but he wanted to gripe them out right there.

 The turbolift door slid open onto the bridge, and Falco stood.  He eyed Peppy and Fara suspiciously as they were closer together than normal.  “Fox, Peppy, Fara...  What’s wrong?”

 “Falco, why don’t you go down and join the others wherever they are,” Fox sighed.  “I won’t be needing you.”

 The avian grunted.  “Yes sir,” he said sourly and then moved passed them onto the turbolift.

 Fox motioned for the conference room door.  “High-tail it on it there, love-doves,” he barked, and followed them in.  They seated themselves close together, gripping their hands together tightly.  They looked up, almost regretfully, at Fox.  He moved around them, sighed, and found his way to his seat and looked out the viewport at the still space.  The pilot had little experience with such incidents, but he did have a little.  “What’s gotten into you two?” he said, finding it surprisingly easy not to yell.

 “I don’t know, Fox, but I just found the woman I love, and she’s the only one I love,” Peppy said.  Fara gripped his hand tightly, brushing her nose along his shoulder, trying not to look at Fox.

 Fox shook his head.  “Fara, look at me.”  She did, not willfully, but she forced herself to do so, Fox noted.  “If it was anyone but Peppy, I could understand.  I mean, we’re not going out, officially, and, I mean, it wouldn’t be illegal for you to sleep with...Falco, for instance, but look at who we’re talking about.”  He saw her glance to Peppy suddenly, and Fox exploded.  “Not Peppy, you dimwit!  Annie!  You two have committed adultry, and that’s the worst kind of crime, considering the innocence at stake.  Annie didn’t deserve that, Peppy.”

 Peppy jumped up.  “Don’t you call my girl a dimwit, McCloud,” he growled.  Fox’s mind raced.  The fact that Peppy wasn’t concerned with Annie’s heart frightened him.  He shook his head, and was about to speak when Peppy continued:  “I’ll tear your throat out if you ever call Fara anything like that again!”

 “Get a grip on yourself, Peppy!” Fox shouted.  “What about Annie?”

 “Screw Annie!” the Pandoran screamed.

 Fara was near tears.  “I love Peppy, and he loves me!”

 Suddenly Fox blew his top, but didn’t show it.  “You whore,” he whispered, glaring into her eyes.  “You’re nothing but a tramp, Fara.  I suggest you-”

 Peppy lunged, wheeling a knife.  Dodging to one side, Fox grabbed his arm and threw the Pandoran against the wall.  “That wasn’t the brightest thing you’ve ever done, Captain Hare.  You and Lieutenant Phoenix are formally discharged from the StarFox team.  I suggest you go get yourselves packed up.  As soon as the Great Fox is docked, you are both to get the hell off my starship.  And I’ve got two words for you both:  fuck you.  Get the hell out of my sight.”

 Peppy, his eyes lit with anger, gripped the knife tightly but didn’t strike.  “Very well, McCloud-”

 “That’s Commander McCloud to you, sir,” Fox growled, baring his teeth.  He held up a blaster.  “Now get out.”

 They did so without hesitation.

 “McCloud to StarFox squadron,” Fox said.  “Get to the conference room, Falco and Slippy.  The rest of you can breath easy for now.”

 Ten minutes later, Slippy and Falco shook their heads in disbelief.  “Why would they do such a thing?” Falco asked, his normal scowl now a mere look of defeated confusion.  “Something funny’s goin’ on around here.”

 Fox shrugged.  “All I know is that Captain Peppy Hare leapt at me with a knife when I called Fara a ‘whore’ for having sex with him.  This whole situation pisses me off.  They are off the team.”

 “f-f-Fox,” Slippy began.  “We c-c-can’t just r-r-relieve them w-w-without knowing what the h-h-hell is g-g-going on.”

 “Well I have, Slippy,” he said. “I’m taking Annie onto Katt’s fighter.  We’re going to Corneria on our own.  I can’t stand to be on the same team with those fuckers.”

 “Come on, Fox,” Falco said.  “We can’t-”

 “Jump to conclusions?” Fox finished for him.  “When I walked into the room, Peppy had his fucking tongue so far down her throat that he could lick the back of it.  I saw what I saw, and that’s all there is to it.”  He slammed his hands hard down onto the table.  “Don’t tell me it could’ve been mouth to mouth, because his hands were cradling her fucking breasts.”

 “He c-c-could’ve b-b-been d-d-doing ch-ch-chest c-c-compressions,” Slippy stammered.  Falco whacked him up side the head.  “s-s-Sorry, Fox.”

 “Slippy, you and Falco are in charge here.  Make sure those assholes stay in their quarters.”

 “Where’s that?” Falco asked.

 “Her’s more likely,” Fox muttered disgustedly, and left the conference room.

* * *

 Katt looked over her ship one more time with a frown on her face.  “You sure you wanna leave, guys?  You know you’re welcome to stay with me, Annie.”

 The Pandoran shook her head.  She clung onto Fox’s arm, her eyes dazed, still torn apart inside after the horror she’d witnessed in Fara’s quarters.  The team leader spoke for her:  “We’ll see you at Corneria, Katt.  We just can’t stay here with those two on board.  You know I’m pissed off about the whole situation, and I think she doesn’t need all that much company right now.  I’m just gonna let her sleep, if she wants.”

 “Okay, Fox,” the cat replied.  “She’s all yours, then.”

 Fox hugged her.  “Thanks, Monroe.  You’re a life-saver.”

 She looked at him sadly, trying to think exactly what to say.  The whole incident had caught them all off guard, and she didn’t want to worsen it.  Fox knew that, but didn’t think there was any way possible.  “Things are gonna change here--on this ship--Katt, and I want you to be a part of the changes.  I wish to instate you as a part of the squad.  You would-”

 “Replace Peppy?” she asked, suddenly tears coming to her.

 Fox gulped, suddenly finding his feelings tearing him apart.  Peppy had been like a father to him...  “Yes.  Would you join us?”

 She thought a moment, and finally nodded.  “Yes, sir.  I would be honored to be a member of StarFox.”

 “Then you got it,” he whispered, and turned to the two-man jet.  “Your first duty is to fill out the form on the computer, program 2-5-2-2 McCloud Junior, StarFox dash 6.  It’s your query form.”

 Katt nodded.  “Understood sir,” she said weakly.  “See you...see you back at Corneria.”

 Fox didn’t look back as he helped Annie onto the fighter.  He felt wrong about the whole situation, and suddenly wished he had stayed in the Battenuse system.  None of this would have happened if he’d remained there.

 It was almost as if Andross wanted them to come to him...

* * *

 Peppy ran his hands along Fara’s waist as they kissed.  They lay naked in the bed, the quilt sticking to their moist bodies.  They nuzzled their noses together, but suddenly Fara sat up, a scream of pain, and grabbed her head.  “Oh, God, not again,” she whispered, once the pain went away.  “The headaches, Peppy.  What in the world are they doing to us?”  She sat up, rubbing her temples, staring down, but not really looking at anything.

 “I didn’t have one that time,” he whispered.  Then he sighed.  “But you’re right.  They just hit us at the same time.  None of the others have had them.  You and I were the only ones...”  He trailed off, and an instant later the there was a jar rattling pain in his skull.  He didn’t scream, but he wanted to.

 Once it were gone, they lay back on the bed, side by side, staring up at the ceiling.  For some reason, Peppy was afraid to hold her.  “Fox isn’t here,” he muttered.  “On the ship.  I can’t help but feel responsible for this...”

 “You aren’t responsible for it.  We both are,” she scolded, and leaned over to kiss him.  “It is for our hearts, though.  That weighs over the team.”

 Peppy sighed.  “What would James think?  It was practically his team to begin with, and I go and fall in love with you.  The funny thing is-”

 “You don’t have a reason, do you?”  He looked at her, and shook his head.  She took his hand.  “Neither of us have a reason.  We just fell madly in love with each other in about five seconds, Peppy, and we don’t have a damn reason for it.  I didn’t feel this in Andross’s fortress.”

 He rolled over onto his side, looking into her eyes.  “When did you feel it, Fara?”

 She frowned.  “It was after the first migraine attack...  When you came in and helped me up.  I just looked into your eyes...”

 “And wham-o,” Peppy sighed.  “I just don’t get it.  This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

 “But it did,” Fara added.  “It did and for some reason, I don’t feel guilty.”

 “Don’t you?” he asked with a smiled.  “Neither do I.  Not now, anyway.”  They leaned toward each other and kissed.

 The door chimed, and they sat up again.  “Computer, identify the visitor.”

 “Lieutenant Katt Monroe, StarFox pilot three.”

 Peppy sighed.  “Damn, I loved that number,” he muttered and stood up and called out, “Just a moment, Katt.”  He and Fara dressed quickly and silently and then sat at the foot of the bed, side-by-side.  “Come on in.”

 The door slid open, and the feline stood in the doorway, staring at them.  She remained there for a long while as they stared back and forth.  Finally she walked on in, taking her eyes off of them, and moved over to the closest chair and slammed down into it.  On the table next to it she saw a padd.  Picking it up, she read:  “StarFox information, Arwing2 data.  Property of Commander Fara Phoenix, StarFox five.”

 She read it outloud.  “So Fara,” she said, looking up.  “When did you know you loved him?”  The vixen didn’t reply.  She just stared at the ground.  “Peppy, same question.”  Again, no answer.  Katt let out a defeated groan.  “Come on, you two.  Your destroying perfectly good relationships and friendships, not to mention the best damned squad in the fleet.  You must have a reason!”

 They continued staring at the ground.  The feline shook her head, feeling defeated.  “You know, I can forgive you both for your mistakes, and I know even Annie, no matter how broken hearted you’ve left her, Peppy, can forgive you both.  But Fox won’t.  He’ll hate you both forever, for destroying the two friendships that he’s fought hardest to keep.  I just...  I just don’t see what’s going on.  Fox cares for you both, dearly, and it’s something-”  Katt stopped abruptly in midsentence to cry, and didn’t stop until she’d fallen asleep in the chair.

 Peppy and Fara watched in disbelief, and then quietly moved over to the bathroom door and went inside.  They sat on the floor, staring off blankly, and cuddled, both wishing they could explain the strong feelings they felt for one another.  After a long while, Fara buried her face into Peppy’s shirt and cried herself to sleep as well.

* * *

 Fix listened to Annie’s sniffles as the Pandoran forced herself not to cry.  He sighed, wishing she would just let it out.  He knew that sometimes a person needed to cry, and now was the time for her.  However, he didn’t need to say a thing, and forced himself not to.  Annie could take care of herself.

 He bit is lower lip, wondering if he should break the uneasy silence.  Closing his eyes, he prepared a question in his mind.  Where are you going to stay tonight...  He was about to ask her out loud when she replied, “I’m not going home.  I thought maybe I would get a motel.”

 “It’s too expensive, Annie.  Why-”

 “I’ll just get a couple hundred credits or so from Peppy at the base, and then I’ll search for an apartment tomorrow...”

 “No, no need for that, Annie,” Fox said quickly.  “You can stay with me.  My room’s a little tight, but I can always stay on the couch.  Pepper was supposed to send his daughter over to clean for me.  I gave her twenty credits to make the house as clean as possible.”  He looked back to her, waiting for a reply.  For a moment he thought she wouldn’t respond, so he reached over to take the autopilot offline.

 “Okay, Fox,” she said.  “I’ll stay with you.”  With that the Pandoran turned away and looked out the window.  “Stop the fighter, Fox.”

 He did so immediately.  It came to rest in the middle of space, somewhere between Fortuna and Corneria.  “What is it, Annie?”

 “The black hole,” she whispered, and closed her eyes.  Now the tears fell; not for her, but for Fox.  He realized this instantly, and wrapped his arm around her, looking out into space.  “Your father would be able to handle this.  He would have set Peppy straight, and somehow I can’t help but know that he was the reason that Andross is trying to kill you.”  She looked over to him.  “Take Peppy back, and Fara, too.  The team needs them, but it doesn’t need me.”

 “Well you know what, Annie,” Fox whispered.  “Fara always thought I’d see her as my mother.  She was wrong.”  He leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek.  “You’ve been the closest person to me the past few years.  As a maternal figure, I mean.  I’ve grown quite fond of you, and you know it.”  He turned back to the console.  “I wish Dad were here.  I think we could both use his expertise.”

 “Yeah,” Annie sighed.  “I’ve read a lot about him, seen him in the news.  He was a great man, in our dimension.”  She smiled for the first time since she and Katt had met with them in Venom space.  “Now he’s being a great man in another dimension.”

 Fox smiled too.  “You know, Annie.  This is all starting to seem like a bad dream.  Maybe we’re waking up right now.”

 She sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder.  “I only wish that were the case,” she murmured.  Then, she allowed tears to fall, and he couldn’t help but cry along with her.

* * *

 When Fox and Annie arrived at SpaceDock, the Great Fox sitting there.  Immediately, the StarFox leader sent a hail to his starship.  “Fox to Commander Lombardi.  Do you read me?”

 “Falco here, Fox.  Where’ve ya’ been?”

 “Annie and I made a stop awhile back,” Fox replied.  “We needed a minute to patch up a hole in our lives.  Are Fara and Peppy still onboard?”

 “Nope,” Falco replied.  “They made they’re getaway to Cornerian as soon as we docked.  They’re at StarForce base.  Alex, Kira, Vince, Thoman, and Cheg are being held.  General Pepper wants to see you and Peppy in his office as soon as you get the message.”

 Dammit, Fox thought as he looked down on the blue and green planet of Corneria.  “Thanks, Falco.  Tell Katt that Annie and I are going to StarForce base in Corneria City.  She can get her fighter back there.”  He looked back to Annie, who was sleeping behind him, wrapped in his StarFox jacket.  He bit his lower lip and shook his head.  Pepper was going to be pissed off.

* * *

 A half an hour later, Fox knocked on Pepper’s office door.  As soon as he heard the gruff, soft voice of General Pepper telling him to come in, he knew that the General was indeed very angry with the two of them.  He didn’t care.  Opening the door, he slid in, closing it silently, and then glanced around the room.  Peppy sat slumped over in a chair in front of Pepper’s desk, the hound turned away, standing, staring out the window at the red, evening sky.

 Fox moved over to the seat beside Peppy and stood straight and tall.  He didn’t glanced in the hare’s direction.  The hound turned and glared at Fox, and he knew he was in serious trouble.  “Commander Fox McCloud, reporting sir,” the pilot said, saluting.

 Pepper glared at him, down to Peppy, and back.  “Have a seat, McCloud.”

 Fox narrowed his eyes.  “General, if it’s okay with you, I’d prefer to stand while I take my tongue thrashing, and then I intend to do a little thrashing of my own.”

 Pepper put his hands to his temples, moaning loudly.  “Holy Fortuna, Junior.  I’m not mad at either of you, yet, and I’m not going to gripe you out.  I am going to have you and Peppy reconsider your positions.”

 “Reconsider?” Fox scowled.  “You want me to reconsider my position, General?  Frankly, Captain Hare should apologize to his wife and dump Phoenix.  Adultery is an evil, cruel thing to do.”

 Peppy grunted.  “I will never dump Fara, Junior,” he growled.  “As far as we’re concerned, Junior, we will never break up.  And I’ve talked to a lawyer already.  Andromeda and I have an appointment at court in three days.”

 Fox turned away, shaking his head.  “What’s gotten into you, Peppy?”

 “I don’t know,” the Pandoran replied.  “But I like it.”

 Pepper looked back and forth between the two, and closed his eyes.  “What would James think?” he sighed, and turned to the bookshelf behind him.  He looked at a picture that showed James standing in the hospital, holding Fox Jr. as a baby.  Peppy stood next to him with a big grin, his arm around his friend’s shoulder giving the the camera a thumbs up.  Vixy Reinard McCloud sat up in her hospital bed, looking up into her husband’s eyes.  “You were the two most important people to him, other than poor Vixy, and now your letting a perfectly good friendship crumble to dust.”  He turned around and looked Peppy in the eye.  “What’s gotten into you Peppy?  We’re talking about Andromeda here, for Fortuna’s sake.”

 “I don’t love Annie anymore, General,” Peppy replied.  “I want to join the VixenFire.”

 “You’re not joining anyone, as far as I’m concerned, until your divorce,” Pepper said.  “Fox, you’re dismissed.  Peppy, I want you to stay here for awhile.”

 Fox glared down at Peppy, his hands in his pocket, and then remembered something.  He touched a single coin in his left jacket pocket and pulled it out.  A Pandoran half-credit, an inch in diameter and a few milimeters wide.  It was encased in a parabola-shaped case, the top with a message on it:  “To Fox Jr., a good friend.  Hope this brings luck to you... Peppy.”  He sighed, and then handed it to him.  “I don’t need your luck anymore, Peppy.  Annie will see you in court, and I’ll see you in hell.”  With that he saluted the general and was gone.

 Peppy looked down at the coin, his mouth opened slightly.  He had given it to Fox for his eighteenth birthday, when the StarFox team was instated.  The hare frowned, turning the coin around in his hand.  On the back of the golden case was an engravement:  Fox McCloud Jr.  He frowned.  “He told me he’d never give this up,” he murmured.  Then he lay his head in his hands and stared to the ground.  “I...  What have I done?”

 Pepper was silent for a long moment, and then said, “If you explain it to Fara, you can still work it out with Fox, and even Annie.  She’s very understanding.”

 “But I love Fara.  I won’t destroy our relationship-”

 “Get a grip, Peppy-”

 “No!” the Pandoran shouted, standing up.  “You listen here, General.  Fara and I are in love, and even if it means discharge from service, I am not going to leave her!”

 Pepper was caught off guard.  Never before had he seen Peppy loose his temper.  For some strange reason, the Pandoran was falling apart, becoming more unstable then even Falco Lombardi!  The hound grabbed Peppy by the collar, hoisting him up to his nose.  The frightened hare could only stare at Pepper, whose eyes were wide with rage.  “Captain Hare, you blockhead!  What the hell is wrong with you?!”

 “S-s-s...Sir,” Peppy stammered, but the hound shook him fiercely before he could continue.

 “I want you...no, order you to dump Fara.”  Peppy trembled underneath Pepper’s brow, and answered with a jerky shake of his head.  “Then you leave me no choice.  Peppy Hare, you are formally discharged from the Cornerian Military.  You have exactly five minutes to get the hell off of my base.”

---

*   Chapter 7   *

 Fara turned when Peppy came into the cafeteria.  He carried a large, metallic suitcase and wore street clothes, along with drooped ears and a heavy frown.  She moved up to him and embraced, ignoring the fact that his hand was in his jacket pocket.  There were several others in the room, and most of them stared at the awkward couple.  Fara ignored them, kissing his cheek.  “Where will we stay?” she asked.

 “My apartment,” he sighed.  “It’s just as much Annie’s, but she’s staying with Fox tonight.”  He fingered the coin in his pocket again, and decided not to show it to Fara.  “We’d better be going.  I’ve been discharged.”

 “What!?” Fara shouted.  “How?”

 “You know as well as I do it’s the fact that we’re in love,” he said, and kissed her cheek.  “In fact, I knew I’d be discharged for this.”

 “He won’t discharge me,” she said.  “If I join the VixenFire, again.  I want to enlist you as a volunteer pilot, please.”

 He grinned.  “Of course,” he said, and they embraced yet again.  This time however, they got a rude awakening.

 “My g...God,” Falco muttered, walking up to them, and Peppy saw him stumble.  He was drunk, wearing a trench coat and hat.  “I thought you...two were dis...charged.”

 “Falco, relax,” Peppy said, and helped the bird to a chair.  “Come on, sit down, and if you want me to, I’ll leave.”

 The avian grunted, trying to focus on the Pandoran.  “Yeah...  I’ll just...just sit right here, P...Peppy,” he mumbled, and leaned against the table.  “May...maybe I’ll just...take a nap.”

 “Yeah, you do that,” Peppy muttered, shaking his head.

 Once again, the door opened behind them.  Fox McCloud and Annie walked in, Annie turning away immediately and headed to the bar.  Fox glared at Peppy and Fara, and joined her soon afterward.  Behind them, Slippy hobbled in, wearing a trench coat as well.  “I’ll t-t-talk t-t-to you later, f-f-Fox,” he called.

 Fox waved behind him, not looking back.  The toad shook his head and sighed.  Then he walked over to meet Peppy and Falco.  “Hey,” he muttered, and glanced down to the drunken avian.  “Darn it, f-f-Falco.  D-d-drunk ag-g-gain?”

 Peppy shook his head and shrugged.

 Slippy chuckled and sat down by the bird.  “I’ll w-w-watch him, p-p-Peppy,” he said.  “I hear you and f-f-Fara need t-t-to g-g-get g-g-going.”  No answer.  “Well, s-s-see you around.”

 Peppy sighed heavily.  “Yeah, Slippy,” he said.  “See you around.”

 When he went to Fara, Falco opened his eyes and glared at the new, awkward couple.  He watched them leave the cafeteria and pulled out a bottle.  He took a swallow and stood.  “Hey, where ya’ g-g-goin’?” Slippy asked.  Falco ignored him and began to follow them.  Slippy grabbed his arm.  “f-f-Falco?”

 He jerked away from the toad.  “It’s okay, Toad,” he said.  “I’m goin...home.”  His voice was slurred heavily by the drink.

 Slippy let him go.  Once the avian was gone, he glanced over at Fox and Annie, who were sitting alone against the far wall, both nursing drinks with long faces.  He saw a several members of the Red Leopard squad walked over to join them, and he thought maybe it better to keep an eye on Falco rather than trying to cheer up Annie and Fox.  He buttoned up his trench coat and followed Falco out the door.

* * *

 Fara sat with her new boyfriend in a nice bar on the nice side of Corneria City.  The bar was a place called “Calel’s Plaza,” and it was practically empty, not counting the bartender and the three regulars who were seated at the bar with him and drinking beers.

 She couldn’t take her eyes off him.  Peppy sat there, staring down at a martini, fiddling with the olive.  He sighed heavily; for some minutes he’d had a strange thought.  Their unexpected discovery for one another seemed...well... artificial.  Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he remained silent.

 “What’s wrong, Peppy?” she asked unexpectedly.  He glanced up.  “You haven’t said a thing for ten minutes!”

 “Oh, Fara, I don’t know,” he muttered.  “I’m just a little downtrodden about this whole situation.”

 She nodded understandingly, sipping a milkshake.  “You know, me too.  Why?  I mean, we’re supposed to feel good about this.”

 “I know,” he said, shaking his head.  He shoved his martini aside, and then turned to the jukebox behind him.  It wasn’t being used at the moment.  “Say, what about a dance?”

 She grinned.  “Oh, I’d love to...”

 “Hmmm...  Let’s see...” Peppy said, looking down the menu bar.  “Okay, got it.”  He slid a Cornerian credit coin into the slot and pressed a button.  In a moment, beautiful, flowing jazz filled the room.  He took Fara’s arm and led her to the dance floor, the bartender, a koala, and the regulars now watching the couple, astounded by the fact that two famous Cornerian soldiers were in their bar.  They recognized them from the holo-vision.

 The door opened, but no one in the bar paid attention to the tall figure who moved toward the couple.  He wore a trench coat, his hat pulled tightly down over his face; only a beak peeked out from under the hat’s rim.  He stopped at the jukebox, waiting.  Fara and Peppy paid no more attention to him than the other four people in the bar.  He waited, watching the couples’ every move.  Then, when Peppy leaned in to kiss her, he drew a blaster, aiming for them.

 Slippy burst into the bar at the same instant, firing a blaster into his back.  The man stumbled forward, loosing his hat, dropped the gun as Fara screamed out in shock, and he fell over on the floor, unconscious.  “Oh shit, oh shit, oh sh-sh-shit,” Slippy muttered, putting his blaster up and running to Falco, whom had just tried to kill the team traitors.  “He’s dr-dr-drunk, p-p-Peppy,” Slippy explained as Fara and the Pandoran moved in to check on their fallen friend.

 Fara glanced over to the bartender, who was calling the cops, and shook her head.  “He’s also busted,” she sighed, shaking her head.  She picked up the blaster, which was set to kill.  “Look at this.  Good thing you got here, or Peppy and I would be dead right now.”

 Slippy ignored her, and raised Falco’s head off the ground.  The avian was still unconscious, but, to Slippy’s relief, was breathing smoothly and in stable condition.  “C-c-can you c-c-call an amb-b-bulance, too?” Slippy asked as the bartender hung up the phone.

* * *

 Ten minutes later, Peppy, Slippy, and Fara stood next to a group taking care of Falco, who was on a stretcher.  They took him head-first into the vehicle.  “s-s-See you at the j-j-jail,” Slippy called up as they shut the door.  Then he turned to see Fox and Annie running up to him.  They both ignored Peppy and Fara, who seemed to get closer together when they arrived.

 “What happened?” Fox demanded.

 Slippy was about to answer when Fara growled, “Your damn friend just tried to kill us, you asshole.”

 Fox closed his eyes, trying desperately to ignore her.

 “Fox, Peppy and I can dig into our funds to pay for the bail, and we can pay the bill for the bartender, however much that might be.”  She grinned secretly, hearing Peppy curse inwardly.  “It’s my money, too.”

 Peppy dug out his credit card and handed it to her.  “You know the password.  You do it.”  He took Fara’s arm, kissing her cheek.  “Let’s go.”

 “Mr. Hare,” a cop said, grabbing him by the arm.  “I’m afraid you, Miss Phoenix, and Mr. Toad ‘ill have to come down to the station to answer some questions.”

 Fox sighed.  “We’d better go too, Annie.  If you’re going to pay, you’ll have to sign the forms.”

 “Of course,” she replied, and turned to the bartender.  “How much do we owe you, sir?”

 The Koala nodded in silence, bringing out a credit card scanner.  When Peppy heard the price total, he groaned.  “Shhhhit,” he scowled.

 Fox grinned as Annie happily scanned her card through and gave her identification.  Then she typed in the total price for the bartender, who checked it, gave his identification to the device, and smiled.  “Pleasure doin’ business with ya,’ Mrs. Hare.”

 “Oh, that’s Ms. Hare,” she said.  “At least I will be after the divorce.”  She heard Peppy gulp.  She had hoped he was feeling guilty.

 Now she knew he was.

* * *

 Peppy felt extremely guilty.  For some awkward, unexplainable reason, he loved Fara, who sat beside him in the waiting room.  Somewhere deep inside, he still loved Annie, too.  When he saw Falco, moving toward them in cuffs and led by a pig in a police uniform and Fox, Annie, and Slippy next to him, the Pandoran gulped.  Standing to face the avian, he saw the bird was submerged with grief as well.

 Falco held out his hand.  “Sorry, guys,” he said.  “I guess I’m not a very controlled drinker.  They’ve agreed to keep this...incident...off my permanent record as long as I go to a month’s worth of AA.”

 “Sorry about that,” Fara said, concerned for her friend.  She had apparently forgiven him for his actions.

 “It’d do me good, anyway,” Falco sighed.  He turned to Slippy as the cop uncuffed him.  “Give me a ride home, little buddy?” he asked, rubbing the stiffness from his wrists.

 “‘Course,” the toad replied.

 Falco turned and gave Annie a huge hug.  “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver, girl,” he whispered.

 Annie hugged him back.  “What are friends for?” she laughed, and again Peppy was overcome with grief.  She felt it, but ignored it.  Then she grabbed the avian by the arm.  “Are you okay?  I mean, you don’t look so good.”

 Falco rubbed his temples.  “Got a major migraine and a class-ten hangover.  I’m feelin’ pretty low.”

 Then it was Fox’s turn, and he grinned to his friend.  “Go home and get a goodnight’s sleep, man,” he said.  “If you’ve got a hangover, it’s either the rum or our green pal here.”  He took off Slippy’s cap and gently rapped on his head.

 Falco and Slippy were the first to leave.  They could hear the conversation as the two bachelors made their way down the hall to the front office.  “S-s-sorry I had to bl-bl-blast ya,’ Falco.”

 “Don’t worry about it.  At least I didn’t murder Peppy and Fara...”

 Soon, their conversation disappeared.  Fox stared at Peppy for a long minute and shook his head.  Then he looked over to Annie.  “Let’s go get a pizza and head home.”  He put his arm around her shoulder and they walked away.  “You look like you need some company, anyway,” he commented, shutting the door behind him.

 Peppy shuddered again.  Then he turned to Fara.  “Let’s go home.”

 They made love that night.

* * *

 On the trip home, Falco gripped his skull and screamed out in agony.  Slippy, frightened for his friend and himself, decided not to take any chances.  He knew that Dr. Eliza Burkowitz, the fleet physician, was the best in the business.

 He headed for the base.

 By the look in the Titanian’s red, watering eyes, he knew something was deadly wrong.

* * *

 When Fox awoke at six a.m., he wasn’t sure why he was on the couch.  He sat up, feeling the pain in his back, and rubbed it.  On the coffee table were three, large, empty pizza boxes, a two liter bottle of soda, and several bottles of beer, one half-full.  He wondered how he ate that much.  Groggily, he walked up the stairs to the bathroom to get some aspirin, and when he saw the bathroom door shut, the light on, and heard the water draining from the tub, he remembered.  Popping his neck, he cursed softly and went into the computer room, and switched it on.

 As it rumbled to life, he saw the pot of coffee on the table.  Annie’s notebook lay open there, as well as an empty mug and a plate with crackers and cheese spread.  He got out his coffee mug, filled it, and went to his computer.  He turned on the o-mail server and clicked on “Send and Recieve.”  Three messages:

<Fara,
< I thought I’d better write you before we left today
<so here it is.  I’m sorry you couldn’t make it, but I wish
<you luck with your trip.  I’ll probably have gone before
<you get this, so I won’t be here when you write.  Sorry.
< By the way, Pepper called.  I was told I might be
<promoted to Commodore by the end of the week!  I can’t
<wait!
< We’ll see you when we get back.  I’ll take good
<care of your Arwing!
<       xoxoFOXoxox

Fox,

 Thanks for the o-mail.  I was surprised to see it before I left, but Pepper jumped up the time of departure so we can make a run to Fortuna and Titania.  We should get back around the same time, so you’ll probably see this then.  I hope you completed your mission successfully.  About your promotion, good luck!

       Love you, Fara

Fox almost deleted that message, but saved it instead, and then he saw the second was from Bill Grey, a former teammate of the StarFox team, and a close friend from the academy.  It was dated the day that the StarFox team left for Battenuse.  He wrote:

Fox,

 Why didn’t you tell me you were going to Battenuse?  I would’ve gone with you, if you would have let me, of course.

 I heard about your mission from Pepper at the same time he told me of my new team!  Yes, that’s right, I’m getting my own squad!  We’re called the Blue Badgers.  The oldest member is Captain John Croony!!!  He’s been one of my idols for years; you remember?  Well, gotta go.  I’m taking a few of the younger members of my five team squad out to test pilot brand new Arwing2s!  I’m really excited, as you might expect.  SEND ME SOME MAIL!!!

       Bill

Fox wrote back:

Bill,

 Good to hear from you.  Congratulations about your team.  I’ve done a little work with John, and you’ll be pleased to find our that he works well with others.  I’m surprised that he doesn’t have his own team.

 I’ve got something I want to tell you, but you’ve probably already heard.  Peppy was discharged from service for having an affair with Fara.  I know, it sounds strange, but it’s true.  I don’t know what’s gotten into them, but Annie was there.  She’s really upset, and she’s staying with me.

 Gotta go now, but I’ll see you at the next meeting.  Catch ya’ later, maybe...

       Fox

He went on to the next message.  This one was from Slippy, brand written only a few hours before:

Fox,

 I’m worried about Falco.  He’s really taking this Peppy/Fara thing hard.  I know you and Annie are too, but you have an excellent reason to.  He should feel some remorse, of course, but it’s a little more than that.  He’s complaining about headaches and has actually been crying the last few hours.  I brought him to the base.  Call me ASAP.

       Slippy

Fox sighed and grabbed the phone.  He dialed Slippy’s comm number.

 Fox took note that Slippy was slow to answer his call.  When he finally answered, he spoke soft and groggily:  “h-h-Hello?  sl-sl-Slippy Toad sp-sp-speaking.”  Behind him, across the hall in the bathroom door opened.

 “This is Fox.  What’s going on?  Falco’s been crying?” he said.  “Tell me what’s wrong with him.”  Fox listened carefully as Slippy explained what had happened since departing from them at the police station.  He heard Annie at the door, but didn’t look to her.  When the toad finished, Fox sighed again.  “Okay, I’ll be over shortly.  I’ll make sure Annie is taken care of first...  Yeah, bye.”  With that he hung up and turned around in his chair.

 “What’s up?” Annie asked.  The Pandoran was still a little wet, wearing his robe and slippers as he’d told her too the night before.  She had a spark in her eye, something that surprised Fox.  He would have thought she would still be devastated...

 He walked over next to her to tell her about Falco, and was about to when he noticed that her eyes had fresh tears.  Then he said, “Falco’s in the StarForce base hospital.  He’s having tests done.  I’ve gotta go.”

 “I’ll have dinner ready at six,” she smiled.  “I hope you like cabbage stew and cheese balls.”

 He grinned.  “Sounds good,” he said, giving her a hug.  “Thanks.  And make yourself at home.  Anything you need, it’s yours.”  After that he dressed and was gone.

 As his car pulled out of the drive, Annie was flooded with a horrible moment of déjà vu.  She saw Peppy, reaching out, crying to her, pleading her to forgive him.  She place her hand on her head, went to the couch, fell on it, and began to cry again.

* * *

 Falco was better by the time Fox walked into his hospital room.  Dr. Eliza Burkowitz, a beautiful, middle-aged collie, stood by his bed, reading a clipboard.  She glanced up when the StarFox leader walked up beside her.  “Fox,” she said, and went back to her clipboard.

 “Doctor,” Fox acknowledged.  Then he looked down at the avian.  “You okay, man?”

 Falco shrugged.  “I’m not sure, Fox.  It hit me like this a few hours before we reached SpaceDock.”  He shuddered, trying to remove what seemed to be a bad thought.  He couldn’t so continued talking.  “I just wanted to kill Peppy.  Just kill him-”

 “That’s no surprise,” Fox muttered.

 “No, it’s not like that at all,” Falco said.  “I wanted to kill him just because...because...I don’t know why the hell I wanted to.  I just wanted to.”  He shook his head.  “I’ve had terrible migraines ever since you caught them making out.”

 Eliza looked up.  “You know, I do remember a case a few hours ago, before you came in; Buck Woods.  He was caught in Pepper’s office computer, searching through vital files, something that would be killers if Andross got ahold of them.  He was put in the brig, but he complained of a headache and they brought him here.  He’s in the brig now.  And Fara came in complaining about major migraines last night while Peppy was in the office being discharged.”  She glanced up to the light and chewed on the end of her pencil.  “Come to think of it...she mentioned that Peppy was having them, too.  Major migraines.”  She murmured something that they couldn’t understand, and suddenly a horrified look fell upon her face.  She glanced to the door, picked up a padd next to Falco’s bed and rushed out, not saying where she was going or why.

 “What the hell was that all about?” Falco muttered.  Fox shrugged, and a few moments later Slippy walked in the room.  “Did you see the Doc, Slip?”

 “Huh?  Oh.”  The toad jerked his thumb behind him.  “She’s at the c-c-catscan computer.  She’s ch-ch-checking on s-s-something.”

 “Well, we’ll sit here to she comes back,” Fox sighed, and plopped down in the closest chair.  He decided not to talk to Falco about his crying incident.  It would save a lot of pain, suffering, and definitely a fight.

 Falco rubbed his head.  “It’s not as bad now...only...when I stand.”

 “Why a catscan?” Fox murmurred.  Was she afraid Falco might a tumor?  The idea caused his heart to skip a beat.

 A few minutes later, Eliza came in muttering, “Oh God...oh God, please...  No...”  She held a handheld computer, the monitor with a big red “working” sign flashing on and off.

 “Doctor, what the hell is going on?” Falco demanded.

 Suddenly the computer beeped, and said “done” in large green letters.  Then it switched to a screen, which she read through quickly.  “Well Fox, there’s good news and there’s bad news.”

 “Good news first,” Fox said, closing his eyes.

 Eliza removed her glasses, rubbing her temples.  “The good news is that Peppy and Fara aren’t in love, and Falco isn’t going crazy.”

 “Could’ve fooled me,” Fox muttered.

 “So, what’s the d-d-deal?” Slippy asked.

 She sighed and turned to Falco.  “Located in your cerebral cortex, there is a tiny, tiny device that’s controlling your emotions.  It got there through the bloodstream.  Can you think of anything that might explain that, Falco?”  The avian looked up at her, silent.  “That’ll go down as a no,” she sighed.

 “Wait a minute,” Fox said.  “That lizard stuck the syringe in your arm.  How small is the device, Doc?”

 “The size of an average T-cell, Commander McCloud,” she replied.

 Fox’s eyes lit up as the pieces of the puzzle began to fit into place.  “It’s Andross!” he said.  “He had both Fara and Peppy in his paws; Buck too...  That’s it!  He was gonna destroy us by having us destroy us!”

 Eliza frowned.  “Yes,” she whispered.  “Yes.  Now it all adds up!”

 Now Fox’s eyes turned cold and angry.  “I’m gonna go in there and wipe out his little scheme,” he said.  “Can you deactivate the probes?”

 “Sorry, Fox,” she sighed, shaking her head.  “They’re too small; too sophisticated.  You’ll have to destroy the main computer that’s sending the signal, or Andross will have them under his control whenever he wants to use them.”

 “What is the pr-pr-probe doing to th-th-them?” Slippy asked.

 “All I know at the moment is that it only recieves messages, and that it can’t kill.  It’s not strong enough.”

 Fox growled, “Well, if Andross wants to finish us, I’m gonna finish him first.  Boy, I can’t wait to tell the others!”  He looked around.  “How long do you have to keep Falco?”

 “He’s free to go now,” she said.  “He may suffer more headaches, but they won’t be as severe.  I’ve given him, as well as Fara, Peppy, and Buck, a very powerful aspirin.”

 “Okay,” Fox nodded.  “Head on up to Pepper’s office when you’re ready, Falco.”

 The StarFox team knew about Andross’s scheme, now.  They were pissed off, and they were going to get their lives back and rebuild their team...

* * *

 “My stars,” Pepper muttered when Fox finished explaining the situation.  “Well, let’s get the fleet up and ready.  I’ll only send three squads directly to Venom.  Perhaps StarFox, of course, the BlueBadgers, and...”

 “The VixenFire,” Fox said.  “Fara and Peppy deserve to be there, along with the rest of us.  It’s only fair that they join the attack, seeming that they’ve been invaded in more ways than one.”

 “Very well,” Pepper nodded.  “The Red Leopards’ll go, too.  You got yourself a strike team, McCloud.”  With that the hound turned to his handcomm.  “Pepper to Commander Umari.  Call the fleet to an emerency meeting.”

 “Yes, sir,” Umari’s voice replied, and the avian signed off.

 “Thank you, General,” Fox said.  He breathed in deeply, letting out a long, low, sigh of relief.  Peppy and Fara weren’t really in love afterall.  This made the whole situation different.  He remembered Annie.  “I’ve gotta go use the phone.”  He left them standing there in General Pepper’s office, staring at the door as it hissed shut.

* * *

 The meeting room was filled with the Cornerian squadrons, Pepper standing at the pedestal at the front of the room.  His face was stern, angry, as he read through the StarFox report, and then Dr. Burkowitz’s, he became even more and more angry.  The damn ape was messing with minds...his pilots’ minds.  He wanted this mission to succeed more than any other one.  He planned out the attack while most of the pilots made pleasant conversation, or asked around what was going on.

 The StarFox team sat with the Red Leopards and Blue Badgers.  The StarFox team included Fox, Falco, Slippy, Alex, Kira, Vince, and Katt.  Pepper had approved the four new members, and if Fara and Peppy would end up joining the team again, then something new would have to be done with the three newcomers after Andross was defeated.

 They were still waiting for the arrival of the VixenFire.

 Fox sat, in his chair, his head drooped.  When he saw Vince looking at him, he shuddered.  “What’s wrong Fox?” the Pandoran asked.

 He sighed, glancing around at the team, whose attention had fallen on him.  “Annie’s not back at my apartment,” he said.  “I’m worried.  I think she might have run off.”

 “Don’t worry about Annie, Fox,” Katt said.  “I’m sure she just went out.  Maybe she went out to get groceries.  She was going to cook for you.”

 “Yeah...” he said.  Then he looked up to her.  “How did you know about that, anyway?”

 Katt shrugged.  “We talked on the phone this morning.  She said she was going to.”

 Fox sighed.  “I’m worried she might have taken off.  She really took this whole situation pretty well.  I was surprised.”  Then he looked up to the platform, where Pepper still went through heaps of papers.  “Maybe she’s taken it harder than I thought.”

 Nolan glanced at his watch.  “Looks like Pepper’s about finished, guys.  VixenFire’s gonna be late today.”  Just as he finished, the door slid open and Fara, Taresa Caracaraess, Otter O’Brian, and Peppy casually walked in, looking around at the other group.  When Fara saw the StarFox team, she began to lead her team the opposite way.  “I stand corrected.  Over there, Fox.”  He pointed to the group.

 Fox jumped up.  “Hey, Fara!” he called across the room.  “The main strike force is over here!”

 Fara stopped, grimaced and looked around at her team.  “We can get along with them for a few hours, Fara,” Peppy whispered to her, and she nodded.  “Okay, then,” he said.  “Let’s go.”  The VixenFire made their way to greet the rest of main strike team.

 Fox stood as they arrived, and nodded.  “As long as you’re here, Fara, Peppy, I’m gonna tell you something you don’t have to believe.  I’m not holding any hard feelings... anymore.”

 “Th-thanks, I think,” Fara stammered.

 “Sit down,” Fox said.  “Pepper’s got some news for you.  I hope you won’t be too disappointed.  I really wasn’t.”

 “What’s this all about?” Otter asked.  His Papetoonian accent made it sound like ‘Wot’s thes ole a’bet?’

 “Exactly what I want to know,” Peppy agreed.

 “Remember the headaches?” Falco asked.

 “How’d you know-” Fara started.

 Falco shrugged.  “I’ve had ‘em too, Fara..”  The vixen stared at him in confusion

 “It’s r-r-really quiet simple,” Slippy said.

 “What’s quite simple?” Peppy asked, glancing around at all of them, baffled.  Suddenly Pepper’s voice boomed throughout the room.

 “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began.  “May I have your attention please?”  Peppy and the VixenFire turned to see him, and then they found their seats.  He was between to Fox and Fara.  “Some of you have been witnessing strange headaches,” Pepper continued once the noise had vanished.  At this statement, the squads began to chatter amongst themselves again.  He rose his hands.  “I know who you all are; some of you anyway.  Peppy, Falco, and Fara stand up.  This all started about the time the rescue mission on Venom yesterday.  Has anyone else suffered a strange, horrible migraine who went on the surface of Venom on the last mission?”

 Buck glanced around, coughed, and stood.  Immediately Dr. Burkowitz moved over to him and began a brainscan with her handheld med-scanner.  Everyone watched as Pepper continued.  “We have reason to believe that Andross’s new scheme involves an ingenious, microscopic device that is injected into the circulatory system and somehow finds its way to your brain.  It bores itself into the brain somewhere between the medulla and cerebrum.  Did I get that right, Doc?”

 “Yes, General,” Dr. Burkowitz replied, not looking up.

 “Good.”  Then his voice lowered, full of regret and sympathy for his pilots.  “Peppy, Fara, both of your minds have been invaded with this...nanoprobe.  Your love for one another has been falsified by Andross.  Lieutenant S. Toad has a theory on how they send the signal.  Go ahead, Lieutenant.”

 Slippy stood, cleared his throat, and spoke loudly so that all of the pilots could hear.  “This sp-sp-specific nanoprobe is linked with r-r-radio waves.  A radio d-d-dish sends the m-m-message to the n-n-nanoprobe, and the nano g-g-gives it to the victim.  The m-m-message seems so r-r-real that he or she will actually b-b-believe that they thought they c-c-came up with it.

 “Also, I think the c-c-computer that is used to pr-pr-program the thoughts is v-v-very large.  It should be ob-b-bvious, wherever it is on the f-f-fortress.  The d-d-dish itself is small and p-p-powerful, about the s-s-size of an HV s-s-satellite d-d-dish.  I d-d-doubt that its v-v-very v-v-visible.  I g-g-guarentee that Andross d-d-doesn’t have it with the m-m-main c-c-computer.  I b-b-believe if we c-c-can  d-d-destroy the c-c-central computer, the n-n-nanos will shut d-d-down on their own.” With that he turned and sat down again.  Before Pepper continued, he added, “It’s a very cl-cl-clever d-d-device.  We c-c-can only hope it d-d-doesn’t d-d-drive our men, and lady, cr-cr-crazy b-b-before we d-d-destroy it.”

 Fara’s hand found its way to Peppy’s.  The Pandoran looked to the ground.  He wanted to prove to himself that it was all a lie from Pepper, a way to tear him and Fara apart.  Still, he knew that, in the bottom of his heart, it was the truth, and he looked up again.  “Somehow, I knew this wasn’t true love, but it still feels like it.”

 Pepper waited a moment for Dr. Burkowitz to inform them about Buck.  The moment of silence seemed to be as tense as any meeting Fox could remember.  Then the General took a brief moment to inform the original four members of StarFox were recieving brand new Arwing2s.  Fara and her team already had three stashed.

 “He’s got the nanoprobe, too,” Eliza called.  “You were all injected with syringes?”

 They glanced around at one another, each nodding slightly.  Fara, Fox could tell, was shaking.  First, he could see tears welling up in her eyes.  She was fighting hard not to cry.  Then her jaw clenched, and she was shaking a moment later, this time full of rage.  “That asshole,” she growled.  “I can’t believe this.”

 “Well I can,” Fox said.  “He’s been doing this to me for the twenty-nine years.  First Mom, then Dad, and then... then...”  He shook his head, and then looked over to Pepper.  The general saw anger in the his best man’s eyes, and the pilot stood a moment later.  “What’s the plan, sir?”

 “You are going to lead the strike team of the StarFox, Red Leopard, Blue Badger, and VixenFire,” Pepper said, “and kick Andross’s ass.  You need to destroy the central computer for the nanoprobes.  Eventually they will shut off by themselves, if Slippy’s theory is correct.”

 “That’s right,” Dr. Burkowitz added.  “It will take a few minutes, but the nanos will eventually deactivate themselves.  I fear...I fear that there will be a major migraine, I mean a major, gigantic migraine for each of those infected by the nanoprobes when they shut down.  There’s...there’s a chance they could be so painful that they’re fatal.”

 There were gasps, but the majority of the people spoke out to those around them, and the chattering was renewed.  It all calmed when General Pepper spoke again:  “You must keep contact with the Great Fox, so ROB64 can get you out if the migraines hit.

 “I’m leaving everything that goes on at Venom up to you, Commander McCloud.  I will have the rest of the fleet set up at Meteo so we are ready in case we’re needed.  Now, you go, and good luck.”

 Fox grinned.  “Thank you, sir.  Andross better be ready, too, or he won’t stand a chance.”  The four squads on the strike force were already moving to the door.

 As it slid open, Fara growled:  “When I get my hands on him, he’s gonna wish he was fighting you, Fox.”

 With that, the strike force was on the move.

---

*   Chapter 8   *

 Peppy glanced over his shoulder as Fara and Fox slipped into flight suits.  He bit his lower lip, wondering whether or not he should ask about Annie.  To start the conversation, he finally said, “When we succeed, and I don’t have feelings...feelings for, you know...F-Fara anymore...  Do you think Annie will take me back?”  He spat the question out quickly.

 Fox looked at him, decided not to tell him that his wife had split, and quickly said, “She loves you very much, Peppy.  Call to her telepathically, and you can find her anywhere.”  Fox began to turn away, but Peppy gripped his hand.  He placed something in it.  Glancing down, Fox saw the coin he’d returned to Peppy the day before.

 “Good luck, Junior,” he said quietly.

 “Thanks, man,” Fox said, embracing the Pandoran.  Then he ran to his brand new Arwing2.  To Peppy, he looked like a little boy getting a hold of his father’s gun...  The Pandoran chuckled; Fox was more dangerous than that.  The young pilot would more than likely lead a successful, kick-Andross’s-ass mission.

 Peppy looked up to his own Arwing.  It was his second, having gone through some modifications over the last year.  Two years ago, he’d lost his first one in the Narconi battle.  Everytime he heard the buzz of his implant, he thought about that ill-fated day.

 Slippy came up to him.  “c-c-Captain Hare?” he said.

 “Yeah, Slip?” he replied.

 “I want you t-t-to take my Arwing2.  The one I g-g-got on the Hot r-r-Rodder ship is th-th-the one I want.”

 Peppy looked down at his friend, and then nodded.  “Thanks, Slippy,” he said.  “I think it’ll do me some good.  It’s time for me to retire old Lola, here.”  He put his hand on the older Arwing’s wing.  “How is it to fly a Two?”

 “Oh, they’re gr-gr-great!  They’ve g-g-got the b-b-best d-d-damn equipment I’ve ever used.  Dad d-d-did a great j-j-job on them!”  He walked Peppy over to the brand new Arwing.  Then he whacked Peppy on the shoulder with a friendly grin.  “Let’s g-g-go whip Andross’s ass!”

 “Amen to that, Slip,” Peppy said.  They gave each other a high five and Slippy left him with his new Arwing.

 A few minutes later, all of the strike force fighters waited in their Arwings.  Fox opened up a link.  “Okay, Blue Badgers, check in.”

 “Blue one is go,” Bill said.

 “Blue two is ready,” John Croony said.

 The rest of the Blue Badgers, including Pedro Wilkins, Kathy Foster, and Reggie Farge reported ready.  All of the VixenFire reported in, as well as the Red Leopards.  “Okay, I’ve got to choose my replacements.  Nolan, you’re my backup.  Fara, you’re second.  Bill, you’ve got third.  After that, it goes to Falco.  If we need anymore than that, then we’re in trouble.  Fara, you call in backup if we’re both gone.”

 “What about the Venom strike?” Fara asked.

 “You, me, Peppy, Katt, Reg, Slippy.  When I call for the Venom squad to form, head for the Great Fox.  We’ll take the cloaked Rodder’s ship in from there.  The rest of you will stay in the battle.  Now until we reach Venom, you’ve got your squads, Nolan, Bill, and Fara.  Head out!”  Reggie Farge, a.k.a. Reg, was an expert with explosives.  He would probably come in handly on the Venom fortress.

 With that, he fired up his Arwing and called for his team.  “StarFox one is go.”

 “Star two is operational,” Falco said.

 “Star three is go,” Katt followed.

 “Star four is g-g-go,” Slippy acknowledged.

 Vince followed.  “Star five is go.”

 “Star six operational,” Alex said.  He still flew his Earth fighter, called a SpaceHawk.  It was low, like the Arwings, but wider and with more powerful blasters and two missiles to go with it.  Smartbomb boosters had been added by a maintenance team before the meeting.

 Kira was the last to report in.  “Star seven is operational!”

 Fox grinned.  Even the new team members seemed to fit in.  This had to be the most memorable moment in his career at StarForce.  “Let’s Rock ‘n Roll!” Falco crowed, and Fox’s grin widened.  He was full of pride for his team, and he knew they were going to see Andross had paid for this new, ingeniously evil new scheme.

 Once they were in space, they met the other three squads and two starships.  “This is Star Leader,” Fox said.  “Split up here, go into hyperspace and regroup at MacBeth.”

 The freshly assembled Cornerian StarForce team made their run toward the Venom, the Great Fox and Cornerian Moon following them through hyperspace.

*      *      *

 Andross sat with Vixy at a gorgeous dinner table in a beautiful room in his fortress.  It wasn’t his room, originally.  He had it fixed up to please the vixen.  It did, very much.  She loved the room, the emporer could see it in her eyes.  The ape cassually watched her as she ate.

 She ate swordfish from Aquas, which she had turned out to enjoy very much.  Andross was pleased, but he didn’t eat anything.  He stared at the vixen, waiting...

 “Honey, why don’t you try to eat something?” she asked.  “You haven’t eaten with me in days.”

 Andross didn’t tell her that he always ate in the command center now.  He was really interested in how his nanoprobes were doing.  All he could see, however, was whether or not they were still activated.  “I’ve been busy, dear,” he replied.  “I’m really not that hungry.”

 She grinned and took another bite, and at that instant a Venomese lizard burst into the room.  “My Emporer!” he said.  “Bad-”

 “Who told you to interrupt us!” Andross demanded.

 He backed up a small step.  “L-Lieutenant Norak sent me...sir.”

 The emperor sighed.  “‘Bad?’  Bad what?” he said, narrowing his eyes.

 “B-b-bad news, your Highness.  There is battle fleet from Corneria mounting at Meteo,” he said.  Andross’s eyes widened.  “There are also two starships and twenty-two Arwing-class fighters are headed toward MacBeth in hyperspace, and most likely they’ll be headed here.”

 “Have the fleet assembled for the defensive strategy.”  The code was his stress of the word ‘the.’  The Venomese man nodded his head twice in responce.

 “Yes, sir,” he said, and he was gone.

 Andross stood.  Moving over to Vixy, he gave her a caring hug.  “I’ll be in the command center defending the planet again, my love,” he whispered.

 “I’ll wait up for you,” she replied, running her hand over her chest with a suggestive smile.  Andross leaned over, kissing her, and then straightened up and left the room.

*      *      *

 The VixenFire squad had recently come out of hyperspace, the beautiful Sector X nebula making her cockpit glow bright blue and purple.  It was standard space travel procedure to do hyperspace engine checks every once in awhile, and those had to be done in real space.  Fara felt that there was something to remember, but she could place her finger on it.  Something she learned back while in the custody of Andross.  She knew it must be important, and it frustrated her not being able to remember.

 “Fara?” Peppy said.  “Is something wrong?”

 It was as though she was jarred out of a trance.  “No, Peppy.  I’m a little worried about something.”

 “What?”

 “I...  I don’t know.  It must not be a very big deal.”  She still wondered, though.  If Peppy sensed this, he made no show of it.  She glanced up at Sector X, which glowed bright red.  The vixen was wondering how in the world she could have forgotten something, if it really was that important.  She sighed:  “I just hope it won’t hurt the mission any.”

 “I’m sure it won’t,” Peppy said.  “Just relax, sweetheart.”

 “Hey, hey, hey!” Otter growled in his heavy Papetoonian accent.  “None of that stuff during the mission!”

 “What are you talking about?” Fara asked.

 “You know damn well what he’s talkin’ about, sister,” Taresa said.  “If you do that, you could endanger the mission.”

 Peppy sighed, realizing that she was right.  “Okay,” he said.  “You call me Vixen 4, and I’ll call you Vixen 1.”

 “Now that’s better, y’all,” Taresa sighed with a fake southern accent.  Then she became instantly serious.  Fox had told her to watch over the lovedoves, after all.  “Fox would blow his top if he heard this.  Plus, he’d probably loose control and throw another one of his little...excuse me, big...shit fits.”

 Fara sighed.  “I...I just...oh, I don’t know,” she mumbled. “Something...something about the fortress.”

 “Could it be a trap?” Peppy said.

 “N...no, I don’t think so.  It’s something...someone in the fortress.”

 Otter broke in.  “Who?”

 “That’s the problem,” Fara sighed.  She was just as stumped as she was minutes ago.  Suddenly her comm beeped.  She hit the switch.  “Vixen leader,” she said.

 “This is Red Leopard two,” a familiar voice said.

 “Nikki?  What’s up?” Fara said.

 “Just recieved word that the Black Hawk team from Titania is entering itself in.”

 Taresa grinned.  It was her old team, after the original VixenFire broke up.  “We’re closest to the planet.  Are they going to join us?”

 “Yeah.  They should meet you at MacBeth,” Nikki said.  “I’ve notified StarFox and Blue Badgers.  Good luck.”

 “You too, Nikki.  VixenFire out.”  With that, she signed off.  Fara glance to her side, where Otter’s Arwing had come up next to her.  “Sounds like good news,” she said.

 “Indeed, one,” the Papetoonian replied.  He didn’t say anything else.

 “Okay, lets make the jump again,” Fara said.  Suddenly the VixenFire burst into hyperspace once again.

*      *      *

 “We’re coming up on MacBeth,” Falco announced.  “I’m reading a Venom defense fleet nearby.”  He shuddered; he never thought he’d see a true Venomese defense force.  It was ironic, really.

 “I see them,” Alex replied.  “Six bogies at six mark five-three-two.”

 “Be ready to break formation,” Fox said anxiously.  “Slippy, see if you can take Kira and Vince around behind.  Falco, you, Alex, and Katt follow me straight in.  On my mark...”

 Katt gripped her stick.  “More bogies at six mark three-four-oh.”

 “Okay,” Fox said.  “Once you’re past the first wave of defence, drag them over toward MacBeth.  The others should arrive here in time to help us ward off some of the attackers.  We’ll go to Venom from there.  Now mark!”

 The fighters went to action.  Slippy took his team up and over the main action to go in from behind.  Fox lead his down the throats of the bogies.  “It looks like about thirty,” Katt noted.  With that, she blasted the first Venomese fighter, which spun out of control and stuck another.  Both fighters exploded into debris.  “Take that!  I love my job!”

 Fox barrel rolled around an oncoming fighter, leaptoadged another, and hit the next wave with his blasters.  He flipped around the cloud of debris and met Falco there.  “Fancy meeting you here, one,” Falco said.

 “Keeping out of trouble, I hope,” Fox commented.

 Falco ignored it.  “Do you notice something about this situation, Fox?”

 “There aren’t very many fleas.  I know.”

 “Exactly,” Falco agreed.  “If Andross was really defending his fleet, he would have a few starships and a hell of a lot more fighters out here.”

 “I can’t agree more.”  He looked over and saw more bogies, coming in on them.  “Be careful, two.”

 Falco blasted through several Venomese fighters before responding.  “I’m never careful, one.”

 “We all know that, two,” Katt said, coming in on a fighter behind the avian and blew it to bits.  “Watch you ass, Honey.  That fighter nearly took you out.”

 “I saw him!” Falco lied.  “I was lettin’ him follow.  Mind your own business, Monroe.  And don’t call me ‘Honey’!”

 Fox sped through Venomese fighters, blasting everything close.  “Slippy, check in.”

 “Four h-h-here, Fox,” the toad replied.

 “I need an estimated time for VixenFire’s arrival.”

 There was a pause, and finally Slippy reported, “B-b-between three and four m-m-minutes, one.”

 Vince’s voice filtered into his Arwing.  “Bogies on me.  Can anyone help me out?”

 “I’m on it, man!” a new voice said.  “Break starboard!”

 The Pandoran did as he was told as an M-class fighter broke in on the scene.  The fighter’s blasts ripped apart the closest fighter and sent the others out of control.  One of them regained it, but Slippy took advantage to destroy the other with a blast of his own.

 “Is this StarFox?” the newcomer asked.

 “Yes,” Fox replied.  “And you must be Black Hawk.”

 “Affirmative,” was the reply.  “I am Captain Rice.  Falco, you there?”

 “Yeah, I’m here Rikko,” Falco replied.

 Fox grinned.  “Know each other?”

 “Know each other!?” Rikko cried.  “I arrested him twice and offered him a spot on my team numerous times.”

 “Yeah,” Alisha Swift, Black Hawk two, agreed.  “Can’t believe you didn’t take it.”

 Falco chuckled.

 Fox sighed.  When his father and Peppy had decided to form his own squad, Alisha was just a graduate from the academy.  She was the perfect pilot:  young, smart, and quick.  It was Fox that met her first, and they’d become fast friends.  The sad thing about the whole situation was that two days after she had decided to sign onto the team, James was supposedly murdered by Andross.  The team, which would have been named StarFox, was never developed.  “Hey, Ali,” Fox said, a hint of strong emotion in his voice.

 “Hello, Fox,” she murmured.  Her voice was just as kind as ever.

 “Bogies at three mark eight-seven-two!” Alex warned.  “Watch out!”

 Then Fox saw the new fleas coming down on them, blasting at them.  He instantly forgot the reunion.  Alex was the first to warn the squads.  “Let’s stick it to ‘em,” Alisha said, moving out of formation to destroy the closest of the new fleas.

 Moments later, another voice came in.  “StarFox, this is VixenFire.  Has Black Hawk arrived?”  Fox grinned; it was Fara.  That meant that the VixenFire had arrived.

 “Affirmative, VixenFire,” Fox replied, chasing one of the bogies.  “Let’s take care of these fleas and wait for Red Leopard and Blue Badger.”  He took careful aim and blew it to hell.  “Take that, asshole!”

 “Oh, yeah,” Fara said a moment later.  “I’m supposed to tell you that Red and Blue had to regroup and go around an Iririan fleet.”

 “What?!” Vince exclaimed.

 “How many ships?” Fox asked.  Only now did he see the VixenFire fighters joining the attack.  They destroyed several fighters, clearing a path between them, StarFox, and Black Hawk.

 “A starship and a helluva lot of fighters.  The other squads made a course correction around Aquas and head directly for Venom.  The Titanians are backing up there.”  Fara scratched the nape of her neck and eyed a few of the closing fighters.  “What’s the plan here, Fox?”

 “Let’s break up into squads and hit them from three quarters,” Fox said.  “Split up and get past the enemy lines.  After we hit the edges of their force, we make our break for Venom.”

*      *      *

 Wolf led the StarWolf squad down the docking bay corridor to the DarkWings.  The four black DarkWings, the wings split into X-es, sat, already powered up and ready to go.  The StarWolf leader gripped a hand blaster, the three other members of his team weren’t holding anything.

 “According to readouts,” Wolf explained, “there are four Titanian fighters, M-class, three Arwings, seven Arwing2-class, and one unknown.  They will all enter Venom airspace in the next ten minutes.”

 “That’s it?” Leon asked quizzically.  “Hardly a challenge.”

 “I know,” Wolf agreed.  “Nonetheless, this is Corneria and we’re most likely talking a about Fox McCloud and the StarFox team.  Take nothing for granted out there.  Any mistake could mean a major loss, and Andross would skin us all if we lose this.”

 Andrew nodded, but said nothing.  He glanced around at the rest of the team.  Pigma slid on a pair of flight gloves and cracked his knuckles.  “Is the defence crew in orbit?”

 “They should be,” Wolf replied.  “They had plenty of notice.  I talked to Andross for a brief moment in the conference room, but he was much to busy to go into major details.”  He glanced around at his four team members, each excellent pilots.  That’s why he enlisted them.  Of course, Leon was ignorant, Pigma greedy, and Andrew whiny, but other than that, they were good.  He wasn’t proud of them--far from it--but they did have a certain chemistry.  They worked together when they needed to.

 “One thing I don’t understand,” Leon said.  He was rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  “Why would Corneria attack us?”

 “I know,” Andrew agreed.  “It’s strange.”

 “They’re just trying to get the drop on Andross to try to end him attacking them,” Pigma snorted.  “Good luck to them.”  They all heard the sarcasm in his voice.

 Wolf still had the feeling that it was something else; Leon and the others didn’t know of Andross’s sick plan with the nanoprobes.  Maybe Fox had discovered them sooner than the Emperor had anticipated.  He wondered if they’d somehow discovered Andross’s plans.  “Okay, get to your DarkWings, guys,” Wolf said.  “Let’s kick the shit outta StarFox.”

 The StarWolf squad moved into action.

*      *      *

 Fox McCloud narrowed his eyes as his Arwing came out of hyperspace.  He glared at the ugly color of the dead planet Venom.  Andross was poisoning the planet with his experiments.  He’d killed millions of Venomese citizens in his thirteen-year reign, and those surviving blamed Corneria.  That’s why Andross controlled them so well; he was taking advantage of them.  Fox couldn’t blame them for their actions; they thought Andross was helping them.  But he could fight back, and that was how Corneria had chosen to handle the situation.  With StarFox’s help, anyway.

 Fox was sixteen when Andross’s reign of tyranny was young and weak, the people of Corneria feared his two major assets:  the Venomese, who fought wars fairly regularly, and Andross’s chemical weapons.  Andross had developed many of them, and, although he had yet to use them, they feared he would.  That was why the Cornerian StarForce had backed down early on.  It was a sad situation.

 Fox, because of Andross’s past and the attempted murder of his father and the chemical weapons that he built, wanted Corneria to stand up against Andross, to destroy him when his control was weak.  However, they backed down, and forced him along with three of his friends out of StarForce and eventually off the planet.  Venom controlled much of the system within weeks after the incident.  For two years, Corneria backed down again and again as Venomese took more and more under their emperor’s supervision.  It wasn’t until Pepper had become the commanding General of the Cornerian StarForce when he decided to fight back.  Venom had recently attacked Corneria, and he called in the StarFox team...

 “Fox, you okay?” Slippy asked.

 Fox, as if jumping out of an angered trance, found himself looking at Venom again.  “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied.  “Anyone see anything?”

 “Tibeth is two hundred kilometers off port bow, Star one,” Peppy replied.  Good.  The VixenFire had arrived, too.  “I don’t see any fleas.  Not even a single peice of space junk.”

 He took a deep breath.  “All squad leaders report.”

 “VixenFire leader standing by,” Fara said.

 “Black Hawk leader, standing by,” Rikko announced.

 Fox grinned.  They had all arrived within two minutes of each other.  “I just hope Red Leopard and Blue Badger aren’t too late,” he said.  He glanced at his radar, which showed the large blob that represented Venom.  It covered half of the screen.  Tibeth wasn’t in the radar, which showed everything within one hundred kilometers.  “Stay close, team.  Let’s head to Tibeth.”

 The three squads moved toward the large, icey moon.  “Vixen leader, can you give me an estimation?  When should the other two squads arrive?”

 “Anywhere from ten to thirty minutes, Star one,” she replied.

 “Shit,” Fox muttered as they came up on the large moon.  “I hope we can stay hidden for that long.”

 However, as if on que, just as they were beginning to slow to land, they were showered on by hundreds of laser bolts.  “Oh, crap!” Falco yelled.  “They’re using cloaks!”

 “Evasive manuvers!” Fox cried, and the team broke up.  He fought his way through a thick hoard of Venomese fighters.  Firing at the closest, he executed a barrel roll, surprising another.  He got the jump on several and then released a smart bomb.  As it exploded, it cleared his way.  He had an opening to Venom.  He had burst out of the wave of fighters.

 Fara was followed by Peppy through a light part of the defense force.  The vixen paved the way for her false lover, and he covered her from above.  “Be careful there, swee...uh-Vixen one,” he said cautiously.

 “Just watch my ass, four.”

 Peppy gulped back a lump in his throat.  “Poor choice of words, Fara.”

 Falco fought through with Alisha Swift and Jim Makaw.  “You guys cover me good,” Alisha said.  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this...”

 It was several more minutes before Fox finally decided to call in on his own squad.  “StarFox two, three, four, five, six, seven, report.”

 “Star two here.”

 “Star three here,” Katt said.  He almost jumped, not hearing Peppy’s voice.

 “Star f-f-four here.”

 “Star five here,” Vince reported.  “I took a pretty major hit back there.  My shields are down to sixty!”  Fox shook his head in sympathy.

 “Star six here,” Alex said.

 “Star seven here,” Kira said, finishing the list.

 Fox shook his head sadly.  This StarFox team was so jumbled up.  He noticed that Kira’s shield was down to eighty-three.  No one else was under ninety-five; Alex’s was even tipping the scale over one hundred.  “Okay, VixenFire and Black Hawk leaders, report in.”

 “Vixen leader here.  My squad is ready,” Fara said.  “Little or no damage.”

 “Black Hawk leader here,” Rikko said.  “I’ve got Hawk two and four with me, but three is still out there somewhere.”

 Suddenly Avis Thorton’s voice rang out loud and clear in Fox’s ear.  “Watch your back Star one.  DarkWings!”  She was the oldest and possibly the best member of the Black Hawks.

 Fox saw the white dot on his radar that represented the Imperial DarkWings, the same fighters flown by the StarWolf squadron.  He grimaced.  “See if we can handle ‘em until the others get here.”

 Wolf sat in the cockpit of his fighter, glaring at the Arwing2 ahead of him.  He flipped the switch on his comm.  “McCloud, this is Captain O’Donnel of the StarWolf team.  Are you here?”

 Fox immediately answered, “Wolf, you better watch your ass, because I intend to blow it outta the galaxy.”

 “Strong words for you, Fox.  You’ll be seeing your Dad soon.”

 You don’t even know where my father is, asshole, Fox thought as he jammed Wolf’s frequency.  The next instant, laserblasts burned past him from behind.  He fought furiously to get away from the DarkWing, and thought to himself that his opponent must be Wolf O’Donnel.  “Dammit, I can’t shake him.  Wolf, if you are Wolf, you’re getting on my nerves!”

 He saw an Arwing2 speeding toward him, coming head-on.  “Go down, Fox,” Peppy said.  “I’ll get your bogy!”

 Fox did as he was told, and Peppy jabbed at the stick.  The DarkWing was struck in the wing and it went into a horrifying spin.  Wolf kept his mind in full concentration as he tried feverously to maintain what little control he had.  Somehow, he avoided collision with two seperate Venomese fighters.  Eventually he gained his control again.  “Wolf two, three, four, check in.”

 “Wolf two here,” Pigma grunted.  “You okay, one?”

 “Yeah, fine,” Wolf scowled.

 “Wolf three here,” Leon said.

 There was a long pause; for a moment, they thought Andrew was dead.  Finally, in a whiny voice, Andross’s nephew bawled, “I got shot at by one of our own fighters!”

 “So, you’re okay,” Wolf muttered, rolling his eyes.  It wasn’t a question.

 Suddenly, an M-class fighter whizzed by, blasting at the DarkWings which had come together fairly close.  “Damn.  Missed, Hawk one,” Jim scowled.  “Star six and seven, can we tie ‘em in here so they can’t get away?”

 “I’m coming in to help, Hawk three,” Fara said.  “Vixen two, three, four, can you get here?”

 “I’m coming,” Peppy said.  “Keep out of their line of fire, guys.”

 Fox flew in with the Pandoran.  His eyes were locked onto the DarkWings, and all were pretty damned close to his line of fire.  Just one smart bomb...  “Guys, get ready to fall back,” he said.  “I’m taking them out with a bomb.”

 “Hear that Vixen squad?  Hawk three?  Fall back now,” Fara said.

 “Launched!” Fox crowed as he released the smart bomb and pulled away.

 None of the Wolves were killed, and each got away unscathed, except for Wolf.  He had panicked, but managed to spin away from the smartbomb at the last second.  Venom, wide in his range of sight, would normally have sickened him, but instead the shockwave of the bomb sent him spinning out of control again.  He fell from the battle scene and entered the Venomese atmosphere.

 Fox watched the single DarkWing fall toward the ugly, green planet.  Disgusted that none of the targets had been instantly destroyed, he could only hope that this one died on his collision with the surface.

 “What happened back there?” a familiar voice asked with a laugh.  “You had ‘em that close to death, Star one!”

 “Nolan!” Fox scowled.  He shook his head.  “When you get here?”

 “The starships’re at Tibeth,” Nolan reported.  Fox knew that the second starship that Nolan was refering to besides the Great Fox was the Hot Rodder’s vessel, the Rodder One.  “They’re cloaked, Star one.”  It took him a few moments more, but he did answer Fox’s question.  “We got here just in time to see that smart bomb go off, Fox.  Did you notice that you took out a few Venomese fighters with that shot?”

 Fox chuckled, then pulled up on his stick, just enough to see his next target coming straight at him.  He shot once and disintegrated the fighter.  “Do they have the Iririans under control at Titania?”

 “Yeah,” the Red Leopard leader replied.  “But they had to send a few squadrons to help out.  Probably a cruiser, too.  We haven’t heard anything in awhile, but it sounded good.”  He paused to fire at a duo Venomese fighters halfheartedly.  He only destroyed one.  “Shit.  Missed him.”

 Fox fired a moment later, and he didn’t miss, destroying the fighter cleanly.  Then he switched on him comm.  “This is Star one, calling Venom squad.  Get to the rendezvous point.”

 “Luck, Fox,” Nolan said.

 “You’re in command, now, Nolan,” Fox said.  “Watch your ass!”

*      *      *

 Once the strike team had all arrived onto the Great Fox, Fox briefed the team near the airtight sealed trapdoor.  They all wore their green pilot suits, though they removed anything that might get in the way.  Then they took the Rodder’s ship, cloaked, to the Venomese surface and landed near the base.  Peppy handed out blasters as Fox spoke.  ROB2 stood nearby, awaiting orders.

 “We’re going to split into three groups of two,” Fox said.  “Reg and Slippy, Katt and Peppy, and Fara and I.  Katt, should Peppy get one of the headaches Pepper warned us about, contact me immediately and watch after him.  If it gets bad in there, make sure you get him out of there as soon as possible.”

 “Got it, Commander,” Katt nodded.

 Fox turned to Peppy and Fara, who were successfully ignoring one another.  He appreciated their help.  “I’ll do the same for you, Fara.  Understand?”

 “’Course I do, Fox,” Fara nodded.  “We’re not much help if we’re rollin’ on the floor grabbing are heads.”

 The whole group laughed for a brief moment, and then Peppy checked his watch.  “So, Slippy.  Think we’ll know what we’re looking for when you see it?”

 “s-s-Sure, no pr-pr-problem, Peppy,” he replied.  “r-r-ROB t-t-two, you’ll need to monitor us all so yiou know exactly where we are in the future.  pr-pr-Preferably all t-t-teams near the c-c-control center, b-b-but not all t-t-together.”

 “Got it, Slippy,” the robot replied, standing over the computer for the transporter pad.  He tapped in the controls and waited for a few moments longer.

 Fox rose his charged blaster.  “Now, the plan is to destroy that computer and get out of there with our lives.  Keep the channel open to us, ROB2, in case we need to let you know anything.”  When Slippy began handing out bombs, one to each group, Fox said, “Each team gets a bomb.  Use it wisely.  And good luck, guys.”  He stepped took a deep breath and headed out of the rear of the cargo jet, and onto the mukky soil of Venom, the others following him.  The three teams stood with one another, taking glances that were silent and awkward.  “Move out,” the team leader said, and in moments the were gone.

---

*   Chapter 9   *

 Silently walking on the cold, metallic floor of the lower levels of Andross’s Venomese fortress, Wolf made his way to the death trap that Andross had set up for Fox.  He had  been able to eject out of his DarkWing before it collided with a mountain some couple hundred miles from the fortress.  He had contacted the Dark Wolf and had asked the Venomese captain onboard to send him a transport to the fortress.

 He was happy to be alive.  The smart bomb had nearly taken that from him, but he had always been lucky enough to slip out of dangerous episodes alive.  Fox McCloud often found himself that lucky, as well.  It was amazing how truely close they resembled one another.  Both excellent pilots from Corneria with bright futures and very smart, both well educated as well.  However, where Fox had used his mild temper and modest nature as his motivator to do good, Wolf had used his animosity and self-idolizing to turn against his planet.  That had been his undoing, when it had come to the point that he could have killed Fox before.

 He came to a large door and entered it.  A wide, lengthy hall followed, and then a large, hexagonal room.  Every other wall was connected to a hall similar to the one Wolf entered.  In the center of the hexagonal chamber was a single chair.  He glanced up, where the holographical light shown down on him.  “Computer, activate hologram.”

 An instant later, a vulpinian, about fifty, sat in the chair, hunched over.

* * *

 Slippy and Reg watched as Andross left the command center, carrying a blaster and being followed by several Venomese guards.  The closest one to him said, “It’s not looking good for our space battle.  We haven’t been able to destroy a single fighter!”

 “Good,” Slippy whispered softly.

 He and Reg watched from the shadows as Andross turned, glanced around down the halls, and enter a the door of a turbolift.  The toad tapped his comlink.  “Star four to St-st-star one,” he whispered.

 “Star one here.  What have you got?” Fox’s voice asked.

 “We’ve m-m-made our way t-t-to the c-c-command center.  We’ll wait out here, for awhile.”

 “Good.  Be careful, Star four.”

 “Ditto, one.  Four out.”  He glanced up to Reg.  “Now, we wait.”

* * *

 Fox and Fara glanced to each other as the transmission came to a close.  “Well,” he said.  “Looks like we’d better haul ass and get up there.”

 “Yep,” Fara nodded.  She rose her blaster.  “I haven’t been this deep before.”

 “We’re in the level below the main dungeon,” he explained.  “Where they held you, from what I understand.”  He saw a console to the left and tapped the button.  “This...this is a list of everyone who’s been imprisoned here for the last thirteen years!  Some of these guys’ll still be alive!”

 He took Fara’s comm and connected it to the console.  “Fox to ROB2.  Download all the information you can from Fara’s comm.”

 “Working,” the deep, robotic voice replied.  After about thirty seconds, it said, “Information downloaded.  Being transferred to Corneria StarForce database... Done, Commander McCloud.”

 “Thanks ROB2.  McCloud out.”  He shut off his comm and shook his head.  “Maybe it can tell us what happened to some of our people,” he said.  “Let’s go, Fara.”

 The duo headed toward the nearest turbolift, each moving slowly and readying their blasters.  They had to watch for guards.  In the back of his mind, Fox wondered if Andross knew what they were doing.  Surely the maniac realized they knew it; Corneria wouldn’t attack him without a good reason, and the ape knew that, too.  Silently, after a long few minutes, they arrived at the turbolift.  It opened without incident.

 They stepped inside...

* * *

 “They are in the turbolift, my Lord!” Lieutenant Krang announced.

 Andross chuckled, taking the lizard’s hand-monitor. He laughed when he saw the image of Fox standing in a turbolift, Fara Phoenix next to him, both gripping blaster rifles.  “Take them to the LavaPit,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

 The lizard began tapping on the hand-monitor, and moments later, the lizard turned to report.  “Done, sir.”  Andross watched the monitor as the two Vulpinians stepped into the large, hexagonal room from one of the opened doorways.

 Andross laughed as turned to the screen.  His smile widened when he saw Wolf and the hologram, his StarWolf team leader aiming his blaster at the his head.  Good effect, Andross thought.  “Let’s head to the LavaPit, Krang.”

* * *

 Fox stared in disbelief at the scene before him, with Fara next to him, barely able to grip her blaster rifle.  Wolf, nearly trembling with ferocity, stood over James McCloud, who was slouched over, unconscious.  “W...Wolf,” Fox began, beginning to lower his blaster.  “Please...reconsider your options.  Don’t kill him...”

 “It’s all your fault, McCloud,” Wolf growled.  “If not for you I would be in StarForce right now.  That’s what makes it so damned easy to finish him off!”

 “Wolf, no...please,” Fara stammered.  “Let him go.”  She lowered her blaster.  She and Fox stood, side-by-side, their weapons at their sides.  “You don’t have to do that.  Please, don’t kill him.  Show him the same compassion you showed me.  You don’t have to kill him.”

 “Yes I do,” Wolf said quickly.  “I have to to...to...uggghhh...”  Suddenly the StarWolf pilot slouched over, staring at her; Fara saw the bags under his eyes, and realized what he was thinking.  He had always had a infatuation with her; she remembered the joy in his eyes when she’d removed her shirt for him, just before he had injected her with the nanoprobe.  He had taken a very good look at her bare upper body before and after inserting the needle  into her arm.

 With tears moistening his eyes, Fox moved forward.  “What the hell?” Fox muttered as he arrived there.  He pushed his hand easily through air, where James was sitting.  “It’s a hologram!”

 Suddenly, a laser bolt burst through the holographic image from behind, barely missing Fox.  He looked up to see Andross, holding a blaster.  The ape stood in one of the three corridors with several Venomese guards, each holding blaster rifles.  They glared at each other for a long moment, when Wolf slowly stood.  “Don’t bother moving, StarFox,” Andross said.  “I don’t have to be a good shot to hit you from this distance.”

 “I’m going to die anyway,” Fox growled.

 “Toss your weapon aside, Junior,” Andross said.  “I may consider a pain free death for you.”

 Fara broke in:  “We know about nanoprobes, Andross.”

 The ape laughed loudly.  “Of course you know, my dear,” he said.  “I knew you’d find out.  I’d expected it sooner, though.”  He cocked his brow.  “It brought you to me, didn’t it?  Now drop your weapons!”  Fara agreed to immediately, but Fox hesitated.  Finally, he did as he was told, not taking his eyes off his enemy.  Wolf took them quickly and backed clear away from them, walking into a different corridor.  “This is the perfect opportunity for me to test my brand new torture chamber!” he said gleefully.  “You’re really going to hate this, Fox.”

 “Oh, I’ll have to agree with you on that,” he said, suddenly gripping Fara’s hand.  At first she thought it was an attempt to make her feel better, but instead, she realized, it was because he was scared.  She huddled closer to him, and he put an arm around her to comfort her, never taking his eyes off his nemesis.

 “Such a beautiful couple you two make,” Andross grinned, glistening white teeth shining in the soft light of the room.  “Allow me to tell you how my beauty works.  I dump you into a large pit radioactive poison.  There you will stay, slowly being decayed for a period of five to six months, Fox.  If you decide to share any of your secrets with me between the time I drop you in and the time you die, I will end the pain for you both.”  The ape laughed heartedly.  “Get ready to drop them in, and go ahead and close the walls up, so we aren’t infected by the poison.”  A Venomese lizard made his way over to the main control panel, which stood on Fox’s left of the corridor.

 Fara’s eyes shown with fear, Wolf noticed as he stood alone in his corridor.  Wanting to prove to her that he did love her, he moved to a control panel to the left, where Andross couldn’t see him, and ripped the cover off the wall.  Quickly, the StarWolf leader began punching buttons.

 When Andross’s wall of the hexagon began to close, as well as the other, empty one, Wolf’s didn’t.  As soon as the other two were shut, Fox cursed.  He felt the floor spreading under him and glanced down.  Underneath the cracks in the floor, he saw a strange ooze, a dark purple color with a faint, gray aura.  “Fara, Fox, if you want to survive, get over here!”

 Fox looked up to his enemy, and for once listened to him.  He gave Fara a mighty shove toward Wolf and dashed forward himself.  At that moment, the floor gave way, crashing down under the two foxes.  Fox leapt, grabbing the ledge where Wolf stood.  Seeing Fara had missed, he almost screamed.  Then he saw Wolf diving and grabbing her sleeve.  “Hold on, Fara!” the one-eyed wolf growled.  “I won’t let go.  I promise!”  Fox saw him cringing in pain, but he also knew that Wolf wouldn’t let go; his one eye showed a fierce determination that Fox had never seen before.  He hoisted himself onto the platform and leaned over to help Wolf haul Fara up as well.  Fox and Fara embraced and then looked down at Wolf; they remained silent.

 Blindly, with one arm, Wolf reached up and hit another button on the console.  The third wall of the hexagonal chamber slammed shut next to them, banging Wolf in the side of the head as it did.

* * *

 Outside, in heat of the battle, Nolan and Falco had taken control of the squads.  Nolan’s plan was simple; they just had to keep the Venomese fighters and what was left of the StarWolf team away from Tibeth.  Falco rethought it before he sent out his next order:  “Red two, take Star five through seven and Red six into the Venom atmosphere.  Try to draw the enemy with you.”

 “I’m on it,” Nikki replied.  “The rest of you hear that?  Let’s rock!”  She made a cut left, into the opening, followed closely by her temporary team.  “Let’s go!  Stay away from the fortress!”

 Falco nodded and hollered in victory as he hit the a closing Venomese fighter with his blasters and joined Nolan in a strong attack on the remaining StarWolf pilots.

 Nikki glanced back at Vince’s Arwing as it swerved past oncoming fighters, but he was unable to avoid a major hit; his left engine exploded in a mass of plasma fire.  Warning lights flashed inside his cockpit.  “You okay, Vince?” she asked.  “Alex, can you help him?”  Suddenly, a DarkWing swooped into view.  “Move your ass, Vince!” she screamed.  “StarWolf at two mark zero-”

 She never finished.  Instead, the DarkWing fired with full power on the poor Pandoran’s fighter.

 “I can’t loose him!” Vince cried.  He took a glance back.  His mind raced as he reached out for the eject lever...

 His hand never got there.  Within his cockpit, a faint, white aura began to cover him.  He glanced at his hand, covered suddenly with gold and white flashes.  In space, Falco saw a bright flash as a clumsy Venomese fighter collided with Vince’s Arwing head on.  Both fighters erupted into a ball of sparks and flames.

 “Vince!” Kira shrieked.  “Nooooo!”

 “No time to worry about it now, seven,” Alex said.  “Break for Venom!”

 No one, however, felt as badly as he did.

* * *

 “Slippy, Katt and I found the dish!” Peppy’s voice blasted through the toad’s comlink.

 “The r-r-radio dish?” Slippy asked, gripping his blaster tightly.  He almost cried out happily, but held it in.  “Destroy it!”

 “My pleasure,” Peppy replied.  “Then Katt and I are reporting back to the Rodder One.  We’ve done all we can.”  Then the Pandoran signed off.

 “Now to m-m-make our move, r-r-Reg,” Slippy said.  “Got the b-b-bomb ready?”

 He held it up, ran for the command center door, and stuck it on with duct tape.  Then he set the timer on it and ran like hell, pushing Slippy along the hallway as he did.  They dove down, and seconds later the bomb went off, shredding the door into three large peices and a lot of rubble.

 They stood, gripping their blasters.  “g-g-Go in shooting,” Slippy said.  They got up and ran back for the door.  A Venomese soldier came out of the door as they arrived, and Slippy fired his blaster rifle from point blank and shoved the newly slain carcass aside, and they both ran in, firing wildly.

 “Whoa!” Reg cried.  Slippy rose his gun up after he stopped firing and went to the nearest computer.  On it was a single monitor showing the radio dish, destroyed as Peppy and Katt embraced.  Then they stood apart and the transporter took hold of them.  “Was that all they had in here?  One stinkin’ guard?”

 Slippy moved over to the left with a smile.  He inspected the next computer.  “Oh well,” he said.  He ran his fingers over the closest dial, a radio wave frequency adjuster.  “God...” he said.  “This is it.”

 “That’s it?” Reg asked.  “Let’s put it out of commission for good!”

 Slippy ran his hands over the computer.  The Venomese language was inscribed all over it.  “Hmmm...”  He pressed a button next to a closed console, and the tiny door popped open.  “Yep, th-th-this is it, all right.  The ex-x-xact frequency th-th-that the nanos were operating!”

 He rose his blaster and fired.  The machine’s monitors went blank, and then read, “ERROR:  this computer is no longer in operation.”

 “f-f-Fuck that,” Slippy said, and turn to see Reg.  Behind the bird, stood Andross, and four Venomese guards.

 “That was the last mistake you’ll ever make, my dear toad,” the ape said, narrowing his eyes.  “Kill them.”

 The closest Venomese guard stepped forward, raising his blaster.

 From behind, four beams of light lanced around Andross.  The guards all fell dead without so much as a grunt.  “Don’t move, Andross, or the wolf gets it,” Fox’s voice echoed through the command center.  “And Fara’s got a blaster on your ass as well.”

 “Not again!” Andross howled; he didn’t even turn around, knowing very well that if he did, Fox might kill him.  “How do you do that?!”

 “I have my secrets,” Fox sneered, and trained his own blaster on Andross’s skull.  “Now drop the blaster.”  Andross complied without hesitation as he returned Fox’s sneer with one of his own.  Slippy and Reg moved to Fara and their leader’s side.

 Fara rose her handcom.  “Fara and team to ROB2.  Are Katt and Peppy safely on board?”

 “Affirmative, Commander Phoenix.”

 “Thanks,” she said.  “We’ll be along quickly.”

 Fox hit Andross with his blaster, which was set to stun.  Then, he winked at Fara and shot a look to Wolf, giving a slight nod.  Then, they were gone, making sure that they weren’t being followed.

 Minutes later, Andross moaned as he sat up and glared at Wolf.  “Are you okay, sir?”

 “Dammit, why do they always do that!”  Then Andross glowered at him.  “How did they escape the LavaPit, O’Donnel?”

 Wolf shook his head.  “I don’t know, sir.  They knocked the crap out of me in turbolift six.”

 Andross looked at Wolf’s head, seeing a large gash in the side of it; blood oozed from the wound.  That backed up his story.  “Go to sickbay and get that cleaned up.  I can’t afford to have you get an infection.”

 Wolf stood tall.  “Yes, my Lord.  I’m sorry that my team failed the mission, sir, but I was knocked out early.”

 “I know,” Andross scowled.  He walked by Wolf and went to see his future Empress.  Wolf bowed his head slightly in false respect, and headed for sickbay.  He would never tell Andross that he had cheated him, giving Fox and his team a free trip back to their ship.  They, in exchange for Fara and Fox’s life, had decided not to kill him when they had a chance.

 In sickbay, he saw Vixy sitting in only a robe on a table.  “I’ve had a terrible headache...” she muttered when she saw him.  Wolf had a moment to inspect the device in the back of her head, and squinted sharply to observe it, and then yelled, “This is an android!  A fuckin’ android!”

 The doctor, who had just came in, glared at him.  “Is something wrong?”

 “Of course there’s something wrong!  This ‘person’ is an android!”  Wolf turned and left the room quickly.  Andross was always quick to fall in love with androids; he’d often seen them as true people.  He was that crazy.

 “What the hell was that all about?” Vixy asked, turning to see the doctor.

 “You are an android?” he asked.  “No wonder you’ve never been in here before.  Well, I don’t treat androids, so get out of here, now!”

 Vixy stared at him in shock and ran out of the room.

 She headed for Andross’s quarters to find him.

* * *

 Andross sat in his quarters, gripping a blaster, tears streaking down his angered, sweaty face.  Fox had once again destroyed his plans, and now he felt as though he was vulnerable.  He had the blaster trained on the door.

 When it opened, he lowered it.  “Vixy?” he called softly.

 She ran to him, throwing his arms around him.  “I’m not the real Vixy Reinard, am I, Andross?” she sobbed into his chest.  Andross’s heart sank.  Did she...did they know she was an android?  “I’m a robot, aren’t I?”

 For some, uncontrolled reason, Andross shoved the android into the wall and rose his blaster.  “Andross,” she murmurred.  “No...please.”

 “I...I’m sorry...my V-Vixy,” he whispered.

 “No...” she stammered, and he fired.  The blaster was set at full power, and the robot burst into hundreds of peices in front of him.  He stumbled back, fell to his knees, and cried.

 “Fox!  I’m gonna rip your lungs out!” he screamed, and fell face first into the ground.

 He was still a failure.

* * *

 Fox stepped out of his Arwing2 on the Titanian surface along with his team and the VixenFire.  The Black Hawk team was there to meet him, along with the Titanian military Admiral, Terry Ferret.  “Kick-ass work out there, McCloud.  Your crew was excellent.”

 “As were the Black Hawk,” Fox said with a nod.  “I thank you for their time.”

 “Don’t thank me,” Admiral Ferret said.  “It was Captain Rice’s request that I allow him to join you.”  Fox grinned, glancing back to Rikko, who nodded.  “General Pepper boasts that you’re the best in the system.  Perhaps the galaxy.”

 “Thank you, sir,” Fox replied.  “You’re very generous.”

 “No, thank you for allowing Titania the honor of joining in this victory.  Let us celebrate!” Admiral Ferret cried with a heavy laugh.  His fleet had kicked the shit out of the Iririan forces that had attacked his planet, sending them back to Venom, and he was indeed feeling very generous.

 And suddenly, the party began.  Loud music was blared on speakers from the M-class fighters of the Black Hawk team.  Drinks were served by some of Ferret’s people, and the festivities were just beginning.  The StarFox team--Fox, Falco, Slippy, Katt--and the VixenFire--Fara, Peppy, Taresa, and Otter--grinned amongst themselves as they watched the Titanian peoples celebrate.  Only Kira and Alex had skipped the party; they were on the Great Fox, mourning together for the loss of their friend.  Despite the loss, Fox’s grin widened as he saw the Red Leopards and Blue Badgers approaching.  “Hey, Fox!” Bill grinned.  The two close friends embraced.  “What’s up!”

 “After that victory, my spirits are up,” Fox replied.  He turned and glanced at Fara and Peppy, who stood side-by-side.  They were looking at one another.  When they embraced, Fox began to worry.  A moment later, they released each other and went their separate ways.  Peppy was headed for his Arwing.

 Fara was headed for Fox.

 He straightened as the fennec arrived.  “Fox, the nanos finally croaked.”  She was grinning ear-to-ear.  “I don’t love him anymore!”

 His smile was sincere.  “Great,” he replied.  “So, was it all really that real...when it happened?”

 She frowned.  “Yeah, Fox, it was.”  She shook her head.  “But at the same time, I knew it was just in my head.  I didn’t really love him with my heart.”

 The pilot fidgeted for a moment.  “S...so,” he began, trying to sound casual.  “Who...who have you loved...with you’re heart, I mean.”

 Fara smiled through her pursed lips.  She shook her head, leaned forward, kissing him gently on the lips.  With that, she turned and walked away.  After a moment of watching her, Fox looked up as Peppy’s Arwing soared away overhead.  He was heading to Corneria, probably looking for Annie.  Fox sighed, and turned to join the party.

 A half an hour later, another fighter soared overhead, coming toward him.  It was a DarkWing, escorted by three other M-class fighters.  It lowered near Fox himself, who didn’t move.  Fara moved over next to him, looking up.  A minute later, as the cockpit top popped open and the pilot hopped out.  It was Wolf.

 A Titanian pilot moved next to Fox.  “He said it was urgent, sir.  He says he has no weapons.”  Fox nodded, and the man backed away.

 “Did Fara tell you about Vixy?” Wolf asked as he landed next Fox.

 “Vixy?” Fox said.  “Why in the world would she-”

 Fara choked.  “Vixy...Vixy’s under Andross’s control.  She doesn’t remember you, Fox,” he said.

 “What the hell are you guys talking about?” Fox growled.  “My mother’s alive?”

 “Yes,” Fara said.

 “No,” Wolf countered.  “Andross created an android that looks like your mother.  He was obsessed with her.  He’s got a thing with androids...you know his past.  I just thought I’d tell you, he created the android because of what he did to your mother.”

 “You mean to tell me that Andross was going to marry a robot?” Fara asked.  Before Wolf replied, she turned and snorted.  “He is insane.”

 Fox stared to the ground, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.  “God,” Wolf muttered.  “I didn’t mean to make this a mother, son episode.  It was just an android.  Listen, Fox:  I don’t think Andross will try to attack Corneria for awhile.  He’s going to move on, for now.  I’m afraid that this has to be our last moment of truce.  I’ll leave, so you can celebrate, miss your mother, or whatever else the hell you want to do.”  Fox shook his head as Wolf continued.  “Good luck with Fara,” he said.  “She’s a good woman.  You know, at first I was jealous, but now I see who deserves her.  You are a lucky man, McCloud.  And I see now that it wasn’t your fault that I’m a bad guy.  It was my choice.  Even with you here, I had a chance.  And now I’ve blown it.”

 Fox shook his head.  “You don’t have to go.  Come back to Corneria with us, and you won’t have to go back.”

 “And what good would it do me?” Wolf said.  “I’ve murdered close to a hundred Cornerians; my own people, for Fortuna’s sake, and not until today did I feel a single brief emotion about it.”  He shook his head.  “I wouldn’t have a life on Corneria.  I brought my life upon myself.  I have to live with it, and die with it.  Fox, until today, I honestly hated your guts.  Now we are just two different people, fighting for different causes.  I happen to be the bad guy, and you’re the hero.”  He grinned.  “That’s why I always get my ass kicked, and you always kick ass.”

 “Yeah, I know.”  Fox turned to see Fara, who was trying hard not to look at Wolf.  “You’d better go,” Fox said.  “You are on enemy grounds.”

 Wolf smiled, a true, friendly one.  “Yeah, I suppose.  You know, next time we meet, I’ll have to kill you.”

 “Yeah, right,” Fox replied.

 A few minutes later, and Fox was heading to his own Arwing.  He was stopped along the way by Falco.

 “Where you going?” Falco asked.  A young falcon female was with him.  “The party’s just getting hot.”

 “Did you hear what Wolf said?” Fox asked.

 “No, I was too far away, but I tried.”

 “Andross had an android version of my mother, Falco,” Fox said.  He shook his head, staring at the ground.  “He was going to marry it.”

 “Good God,” Falco muttered.  “Andross is so demented.”

 Fox knew he was about to say more, but instead he turned away.  “I’m going to Corneria,” Fox sighed.  “I’m going to try to get a vacation.”

 “Well, I’ll be headed home after the party,” Falco told him as he walked away.  “You know the number.”  Falco smiled and kissed his dance partner.  “Let’s go, sweetie,” he said.  “No action here.”  She giggled, and the two returned to the party.

---

*   Epilogue   *

 Peppy came to the door of Annie’s parents’ home, a bright yellow house with a beautiful pink loveseat on the porch.  He wore trenchcoat, dark sunglasses, and his wedding ring.  He had asked around some of her closer friends, and had found her in Jamestown.  He hesitated before reaching for the doorbell, wondering how she’d react.  She had blocked her mind of his pleas for her to listen telepathically.  Now there was only one thing to do.  He looked down at the official battle report in his hand, and reached up and rung the doorbell.

 After a few moments, the door opened up, and he looked through the screen door into the eyes of Andromeda.  She was holding a young, six-month old baby Pandoran, his son, James.  Her eyes fell into his, and they stared at one another for a long time.  Finally, he spoke.  “Hi...Andromeda,” he murmurred.

 “P...Peppy,” she choked.  “What are you doing here?”

 “I came to see you, Annie,” he replied.  “I called up Peter and had him cancel the divorce case.”

 “What?” Annie said.  “Why?  You think you can patch up what you’ve done?”  He saw tears coming to her eyes.

 “Andromeda,” he said.  “I’m very sorry.  I need to talk to you, badly.  It’s about the battle.”

 “The battle?” Annie said, drying her eyes.  “They never send out any information.  Why did they reinstate you to go into battle?  You attacked Andross.  StarForce is supposed to defend us from him.”  Then, she thought past her questions, and again she saw Fara in Peppy’s arms, locked in a loving embrace.  She shook her head sorrowfully.  “I’ve got to go.  Maybe you can see James after court.”

 “Dammit, Annie, there’s a lot I need to tell you.  This is very important.”  Peppy was wondering if she would ever listen.  “Open your mind and listen to me.  And if you can’t do that, at least read this.”  He laid the report on the porch at Annie’s feet.

 He stood slowly and looked into her baffled eyes.  “Annie, I love you.  You know where to find me.”  He turned and began to walk down the sidewalk toward his car.

 He heard the door open behind him, but kept his eyes on the car door.  As he opened it, he felt emotions emptying from Annie at an enormous rate, and heard soft sobbing.  He turned, seeing Annie holding James close as she let the paper drop to the steps beneath her.  Peppy began to walk back to her.

 He took his son from her and sat her on the loveseat.  He sat next to her.  “I wish I knew about this sooner,” Annie whispered between sobs.

 “I’m sorry, Annie.  It couldn’t be prevented.”  He took his wife in his arms for the first time in days.

 She was hurt, but greatful that Peppy didn’t truely love Fara.  “God, Peppy,” she whispered.  “I’ll bet you never think of Fara the same way again.”

 “Actually, you’re right--I won’t.  But she’s my boss now that I’m with VixenFire.”  He shook his head.  “I haven’t been officially reinstated into the fleet yet.”

 “Are you going to join StarFox again?”

 “I’m sure I will, eventually.”  He looked down at his son, who was staring up into his eyes.  “Gosh, it’s been forever,” he whispered.  He looked up.  “Can we patch things up again, Annie?  Is it possible, for you I mean?  It’s really not fair what you had to put up with, and I’d hate to rush you.  If you want to take it slow...”

 “It’ll never be the same between us, Peppy,” she whispered.

 “Because I slept with her,” Peppy sighed.  He kissed his son and handed him to Annie.  “I understand.  Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”

 Annie glanced up.  “No, that’s not what I meant, Peppy.”

 The pilot glanced back to her, moving closer.  He knelt down, taking her hand, meeting her at eye level, there faces a foot apart.  “What did you mean, Annie?” he asked.

 She sighed.  Her dark eyes, the pupils outlined with the red irises that he found so beautiful, were moist with emotion.  “I meant that we’re going to be closer than ever.”

 The two Pandorans kissed.  In another brief moment they fell madly in love with one another.

 Again.

 This time, however, they would never part.

* * *

 Two days later, the StarFox and VixenFire met in General Pepper’s office.  Fox and Fara were talking on behalf of their squads.  It was payday for the fleet, and they all held onto the envelopes that held their monthly checks.  After a brief meeting between the three, Pepper looked around at the rest of the group.  The others were Falco, Slippy, Katt, Alex, and Kira of the StarFox and Peppy, Otter, and Taresa of the VixenFire.

 “Okay,” Pepper said.  “Now that that’s taken care of, it is time that you inform me which way each of you are going for the future.”

 Katt, Alex, and Kira looked amongst themselves, and Alex stepped forward.  “Actually, sir,” he said.  “Katt, Kira, and I have been talking about this for the past two days.  We want to separate from StarFox and instate our own team into the force.”

 “But that leaves three people on both StarFox and your team,” Pepper said.

 Fara coughed.  “Uhhh...  That’s where the VixenFire come in, sir.  Peppy and I want to rejoin StarFox, and Taresa and Otter would be available for Alex’s team.”

 Pepper leaned forward, a little intrigued.  “Good thinking, Commander.”

 “This is Taresa’s idea, sir,” Fara said, and moved aside.  All eyes fell on Taresa Caracaraess.

 “Lieutenant?” Pepper said.  “Why do you think this would be such a good thing?”

 She breathed in deeply.  “Well, sir.  The VixenFire hasn’t done so well in the past, and Otter and I have tried desperately to stay together, even when our own teammates boot us.  We just though that this was the best way to stick together.”

 “I see...” Pepper replied.

 “We knew you would,” Otter said with a smile.

 Pepper rose his eyebrows, and chuckled.  “Yes.  That would handle your little dilemma, wouldn’t it?”  He turned to Alex.  “Would you accept that?  Since no one on your team is an official member of StarForce, I would suggest you accept.  It would be easier for the rest of us to accept you.”

 Alex grinned.  “Of course, sir.  That would be great.”  He looked over to Taresa.  “Sure, we’d love to have you guys.”

 “Great,” Taresa grinned.

 Pepper looked to Fox.  “How would your team feel about having Peppy and Fara back as teammates?”

 Without hesitation, Fox replied slowly, “Well...I’m not sure...”  Fara rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh.  Fox was just trying to be funny, but he was doing a great acting job, nonetheless.  “Why the hell not?  Sure.  We’ll reinstate you.”

 “Great,” Fara replied, and she walked around, shaking the hands of Falco and Slippy.  When she got to Fox, he pulled her in and hugged her.

 “Welcome back, Fara,” he whispered.

 She pulled away a little too quickly.  “Thanks.”

 Fox glanced around at his team, back together, like they were a few days before the StarFox mission to Battenuse.  “So,” Fox said.  “Who’s up for going out for pizza and a few beers?”

 “Sounds great,” Falco said.

 Peppy coughed.  “Uh, I can’t, guys,” he said.  He flashed the envelope with his paycheck that Pepper had just given him.  “I’m going on a hot date to Papetoon, with a hot chick.”

 Falco laughed.  “Great.  Peppy’s goin’ out with roasted chicken,” he joked.

 “Funny, big beak,” Peppy replied.  “Now I gotta go.  My wife’s waiting, General, if I’m excused...”

 “Sure, sure!” Pepper said.  “Go ahead Peppy.  You’ve earned a vacation.  You all have.  Get goin,’ Peppy.  In fact, you’re all dismissed.”

 Peppy grinned.  “See ya,’ guys,” he said.  In a moment he was out the door.

 Fox shook his head.  “So, who’s in for that pizza?” he asked.

 “Uh, I c-c-can’t either, f-f-Fox,” Slippy said.  “I’ve g-g-got an ap-p-pointm-m-ment in the observatory.”

 One by one, everyone came up with a reason for why they couldn’t go, until all that were left were Fox, Fara, and Falco.  Fox looked at Falco, who shrugged.  “Uh...I think that maybe Chelsea might be in town...” the avian muttered.  “You two go out and have fun.”

 Fara looked at Fox, and Fox looked at Fara.  They both glanced through the crowd.  “So,” Fox said.  “This is a setup, isn’t it?”

 Alex patted Fox on the back.  “Yup, McCloud, it’s a setup.  Now go enjoy yourselves.  Make a...date...out of it.”

 Fara placed her hand on her brow.  “Call Dr. Burkowitz,” she muttered.  “I’m thinking that headache might be a little later then she anticipated.”

 Fox chuckled, nudging the girl’s shoulder.  “You know, Fara,” he said.  “Maybe this could be a chance to get to know each other, again.  You know that I love you, and I know you have had similar feelings.  Let’s go out tonight--as friends--and maybe, eventually, we can get back together again.”

 Fara shrugged.  “Why not?”  She glared at the crowd.  Everyone was now laughing at them.  “Shut up,” she said.  “We could set you up, too!”

 With that, Fox and Fara walked out of Pepper’s office.  In the turbolift just outside his door, Fox looked to her.  “I want to be honest with you, Fara,” he said.  “I love you more than anything...anyone...I’ve ever met.  I’m praying that this night goes well, because I want to go out with you again.”  She said nothing, but she listened very well, looking at him as he spoke.  “Fara, will you help me work this out?” he asked.

 She didn’t reply.  She just stared at him.  Something about her eyes...

 Fox sighed and turned to the turbolift door, and suddenly felt her wrap her arms around him.  They kissed, a long, passionate kiss.

 They were still holding on as the turbolift door opened.

 When they looked up, they were relieved to see that there had been no witnesses.  They looked at each other, and then he lead her through the door and out into Corneria City.

The End

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