Slip-shot

"Look out!"  Slippy yelled as a stack of crates nearly fell on Fox.
 "Geez, Slip!  Don't you ever clean up back here?"  Fox asked, pushing
some boxes out of his way.
 "Why should I?"  Slippy asked, rummaging through a box. "It's not my
ship."
 "Yeah, but it's your storage area,"  Fox said. "What are you looking
for?"
 "An external add-on that will enhance an arwing's capability to divert
laser discharge better than the G-diffuser,"  Slippy answered.
 "Whoa, I'm sorry I asked," Fox laughed. "You're starting to sound like
Star."
 "Well, so is Falco.  If you noticed he's back talking Pepper more than
he used to."  Slippy replied, pulling something out of the box and
squinting at it.
 "Yeah, I noticed.  But what am I supposed to do about it?"  Fox asked.
 "I dunno, you're the leader.  I think I found what I needed.  Let's get
outa here."  The frog lead the way out of the dark storage room.
 "Hey, Fox,"  Falco said, walking down the hall.  "Whatcha doin'?"
 "Looking for something to do.  What are you doing?"  Fox answered.
 "Looking someone to play Hover Hockey with.  You game?"  Falco asked.
 "Sure,"  Fox answered.  "I'll meet you in the gym in five minutes."
 "Can I play, too?"  Slippy asked.
 "Sorry, Slip.  Then the teams would be uneven.,"  Fox said.
 "Yeah, and we don't want you running into us,"  Falco said.  "I'll be
in the gym."
 Slippy sighed as he watched Fox head to his room and Falco head to the
gym.  Maybe he wasn't Lylat's best pilot, but he liked to have fun and
relax like Fox, Falco, and Peppy.
 Slippy walked to the docking bay and worked on his jet, checking the
oil, brake fluid, buffed out dings, fixed a burn from a laser.  After
that Slippy sat back to rest.  He loved working on his arwing, but
flying in it was a different story.  He couldn't fly and he knew it.
The only reason Fox had wanted him on the team was because he was a
great mechanic.
 Slippy walked up to the lounge and got a can of soda.  "Hey, Peppy,"
Slippy said, sitting next to the old hare.  "Whatcha doin'?"
 "Sshhh.  I'm watching the news.  They're just about to tell us what the
latest reports are on Venom."  Peppy said.
 "Oh, c'mon.  You know they always say they don't know what's going on
and besides, Star can give us more up-to-date news,"  Slippy said.
 "I still want to hear what they say.  Now get lost, Toad.  I'm busy,"
Peppy sipped his carrot juice and watched the T.V.
 Slippy went back down to the docking bay and found Arctic, Star's new
jet.
 "Star where are you?"  Slippy called.
 "Over here,"  Star replied, stepping out from behind Slippy's jet.
"You been fixing this thing up?"
 "Yeah, just tune-up, but I was going to add that extra deflective part
to see if it would work."
 "It'll work.  It works on both of my jets, anyway.  Where's Junior?"
Star asked.  She was the only one who got away with calling Fox
"Junior".
 "He's playing Hover Hockey with Falco in the gym.  Could you help me
with the addition?"  Slippy asked, hopefully.
 "Maybe later.  I wanna play around of Hover Hockey with my bro.  You
wanna come?"  Star asked.
 "Sure!"  the frog followed Star down the hallway to the gym.  Slippy
liked Star, if only because she paid attention to him.
 "Hey, Star.  Hey bug-breath,"  Falco called as he shot the puck at Fox,
who deflected it.  Hover Hockey was played about three inches above the
floor, so the players could glide as easily as if they were on ice.  Fox
turned off his hovering boots and walked over to Star.
 "What brings you to my humble abode?"  Fox asked.
 "Can it, Junior.  Got an extra pair of boots?"  Star asked.
 "Yeah, over in the cabinet.  You're not going to play, are you?"  Fox
asked, warily.
 "Yeah, why not?  I haven't played in a while and I want to see if I
still have my edge."  Star walked to the cabinet and pulled on a pair of
hover boots.  She picked up a stick and tested it's weight, then picked
up another, trying to decide which one to use.
 "Oh c'mon, Star.  You always beat me when it comes to hockey,"  Fox
whined.
 "And you always beat me at soccer.  Just one game, Fox,"  Star said,
choosing a stick and clicking on her boots.  "First one to get five
goals wins."
 "This should be good,"  Falco said, turning off his boots and sitting
on a chair.  Slippy walked out, feeling left out.
 Slippy had never been the athletic type, even though he liked to play
sports, he stunk at them just like at flying.  I should have just been a
mechanic like Dad, Slippy thought, walking back to the docking bay.
 In the next hour, Slippy had added on the extra deflector and shined
his arwing till it gleamed.  As he waited for the wax to dry so he could
add an extra layer he walked over to Star's jet.
 Sipping his soda, Slippy walked around the aircraft observing every
detail.  "I wonder how the brakes work,"  Slippy murmured to himself,
walking closer and leaning over the left wing.
 "Slippy!"  Star yelled from the doorway.
 "Huh?"  Slippy jumped up, surprised.  His soda spilled onto the wing.
 "Look what you did!  Get away from my jet.  Fox get me a rag and a tool
kit.  Falco I left my jacket in the gym, can you get it?"  Star said.
 "Sure, Star,"  Falco ran off to get her jacket.  Fox got a box of tools
from the cupboard on the wall and got a soft rag for Star.
 "Can I do something?"  Slippy asked, feeling guilty for spilling his
soda on Star's jet.
 "No, let me take care this,"  Star said.  Slippy sat down to watch Star
carefully take the brakes off Arctic's wing and she carefully cleaned
them off with a rag.  "Fox, I'll need a glass of water, could you get
that for me?"
 "I'll get it!"  Slippy said, jumping up and running into Falco.
 "Get out of my face, Slip-shot!  Go talk to Rob or something,"  Falco
said, shoving Slippy out of the way.
 "I-I was only trying to help,"  Slippy said, his eyes tearing.
 "Why don't you help by getting out of here,"  Falco snapped.  Fox got
the water and brought it to Star, who wiped off every bit of metal that
the soda had touched.  She carefully cleaned the wing and re-attached
her brakes.
 "It should be O.K. now,"  Star said, standing up.  She turned to
Slippy.  "Do you know what you almost did?  Until Midnight Fox is fixed,
she's my only transportation.  Don't you ever let me catch you around my
jet again, understood?"
 Slippy nodded, not trusting his voice.  If he spoke he might cry.
 "Nice going, Slip-up.  Get lost before Star loses her temper and really
hurts you,"  Falco sneered.
 Slippy ran to his room and slammed the door.  I really should have been
a mechanic, he thought, laying down on his bed.  Blinking away tears,
Slippy reached for the picture of Beltino Toad on his night stand.
Beltino looked short and a bit pudgy, but he was full of life and
enjoyed everything.  I could just quit Starfox, Slippy thought.  Star
could take my place.  She's a much better pilot and is as good as a
mechanic as me.  But even as Slippy thought about it, he knew he
couldn't quit the team.  His dad had been so proud of him when he found
out his son would be famous and Slippy didn't want to let him down.
 There was a knock on the door.  Slippy hid the picture of his father
under his pillow.  "Come in," he called, cautiously.  Star walked in.
 "Hey, Slippy,"  she walked across the room and sat down on the edge of
Slippy's bed.  "I'm sorry about yelling at you down at the docking bay.
I just freaked when you spilled the soda.  That jet's even better than
Midnight and I don't want her messed up."
 "I'm sorry, too.  I was trying to figure out how the brakes worked.
The jet's you make are better than the ones Priority One makes,"  Slippy
explained.
 "Yeah, Priority One really needs to start making better models of
jets.  Andross's Invader fours are almost better than the Cornerian
fighters,"  Star pushed Slippy's pillow out of the way and picked up the
picture of Beltino Toad.  "Great guy.  I met him once.  He reminds me of
my dad."  She handed the picture back to Slippy.  "Doesn't the light in
here ever bother you?"
 The room was lighted with two flourescent bulbs and it was pretty dim.
"No, this is the way I like it,"  Slippy said.  "Is Arctic O.K.?"
 "Yeah, she's as tough as her sister even though she looks smaller.
Let's get out of here, this light is really getting on my nerves."
Slippy followed Star out of his room.
 "How is Midnight?  I heard she got pretty messed up on Venom,"  Slippy
asked.
 "Yeah, Starwolf nearly killed her.  I just barely got her home.  I
fixed the engine, but I still need some parts for the outside.  Both
wings were totaled."  Star went to the bar and got a Pepsi.
 "You're talking to him after what he did to your jet?"  Falco asked.
"You should feel lucky, Slip.  From what I hear from Fox Star doesn't
often forgive people."
 "Fox, you been telling stories about me?"  Star asked.
 "Only the interesting ones,"  Fox grinned.
 "Well, since your into stories, I've got a few,"  Star smiled, evilly
and sat down on the couch next to Falco.  "Remember the first time on
the Revolution?  After thirty seconds you threw up!"
 Fox blushed as everyone else laughed.  Revolution was a device used in
the Academy that spun you around very fast to make you could handle
hyper drive.  "Yeah, but I set the record on that thing later."
 "O.K., how about the first time on the target fields?  You forgot to
check what level you laser was on and it knocked you over!  Or when you
were supposed to do that speech in front of the Academy and your zipper
got stuck while you were in the bathroom?"
 Fox blushed a deep scarlet red as his teammates laughed so hard, tears
were rolling down their cheeks.  "C'mon Star, I didn't say anything like
that about you."
 "Alright, I'm sorry, Fox I didn't mean to be mean."  Star said, trying
to stop laughing.
 "Yes, you did,"  Fox said.
 "I know,"  Star started laughing again.  "Remember the time-"
 BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEP!  The audio/visual screen beeped until Slippy,
wiping tears off his cheeks, pushed a button and the call came through.
 "Starfox, I want- what's going on?"  General Pepper asked, looking at
Falco, practically rolling on the floor with laughter, Peppy trying to
hide his laughter behind his hand, Slippy biting his lip to keep from
laughing and Fox blushing deeply.
 "Well, sir, it seems that Andross has taken control of their minds and
is making them laugh uncontrollably whenever you call so that they are
useless when you call,"  Star said, seriously.  Once again, the team
broke up laughing.
 "Alright, that's enough,"  Pepper said.
 Peppy stopped laughing first.  "What is it, General?"
 "I just heard reports of Venomian activity on Zoness.  Would you check
it out?"
 "Sure, Pepper.  We'll get right on it,"  Fox said.
 "Thank you, Starfox.  Will you be helping Star?"  Pepper asked.
 "Maybe.  I'll probably stay on Great Fox and give them technical
support.  If they need more help, I will assist them."  Star said, still
completely serious.
 "Great, General Pepper out."  The screen blinked off.
 "Alright team,"  Fox said, standing up.  "Let's go.  Star, try to keep
the ship in one piece for about two hours."
 "Don't you trust me, big bro?"  Star asked looking innocent.
 "No,"  Fox answered, bluntly.  "Try to find out what's going on on
Zoness.  Let us know when you find out.  See ya later, Star."
 "Hey, wait a minute, Fox,"  Star said, following the team down to the
docking bay.  "I'm not on your team, you can't order me around.."
 "Like it or not Star, this is my ship and while you're on it, I'm in
charge,"  Fox pulled his comlink on.  "See ya later, sis."
 Star crossed her arms and watched as the arwings took off.  "We'll see
whose in charge,"  Star said to herself.

 "Rogers, is the jet finished yet?"  Wolf barked at the leopard lying
under his jet.
 "Yes sir,"  Ben hurried out from under the Wolfen three.  "Your oil is
refilled, I checked the brakes, and rotated the landing gear tires."
 "Good, now get out of my face,"  Wolf snarled, getting in his jet and
taking off.
 "What's his problem?"  Ramsy asked, coming up behind Ben.
 "I dunno, but as long as he pays me, I'm happy,"  Ben wiped some oil
off his shirt.  "With all the budget cuts, I'm lucky to have gotten this
position."
 "Your good with machines, they probably wanted you here years ago.
They've needed a good mechanic."  Ramsy handed Ben a drink.
 "I'm more of a computer specialist than a mechanic,"  Ben sipped his
drink.  "How's Guy earning money?"
 "He says he doesn't need, too.  Knowing him, he's probably slacking
off, eating birdseed,"  Ramsy turned and saw a ship pull into the
docking garage.  "Back to work,"  he sighed.

 Ramsy was right on one point, Guy was slacking off, but he wasn't
eating birdseed.  He was drinking a Martini with Andrew Olkonny.
 "So, what's with all the budget cuts?"  Guy asked, stirring his drink.
 "Some expensive equipment was damaged during the raid Star McCloud led
awhile back.  Also, we lost some of our best pilots and fighters.  You
gonna get another job?"  Andrew asked.
 "No, I've got enough to live past the budget cuts.  Besides, why get a
job when I enjoy hanging with you?"  Guy laughed.
 "You got a point there,"  Andrew sipped his drink.
 "Olkonny!"  the angry shout came from the doorway.  Andrew looked up to
see Wolf storming towards him.
 "Uh oh,"  Andrew gulped.  "You can finish my drink if you want, Guy."
 "If he's gonna hit you, I'm not just gonna stand by and let you get
hit,"  Guy warned.  Andrew nodded, nervously.
  "Andrew that uncle of yours gave us a mission to do, he said you knew
about it.  Let's go now, Leon and Pigma are waiting outside."  Wolf
grabbed Andrew's arm and yanked him outside.
 "I didn't know about any mission,"  Andrew whined.  "I'm not psychic, I
don't know what my uncle's thinking."
 "Shut up and move,"  Wolf said, dropping Andrew as he walked to his own
jet.  Andrew dripped and fell on the street.  The air burned his lungs
for a moment.  He didn't even notice the poison atmosphere unless he'd
been drinking.
 "C'mon you little brat," Leon yelled, "Let's go."
 "Hey, how come he gets to spend the day in a bar and I've gotta do
paperwork and stuff?"  Pigma whined.
 "Because you're too lazy to walk to the bar,"  Wolf snapped, angrily.
"Let's get moving."  The Wolfens took off into the air.

 "Fox, watch your six,"  Star instructed from Great Fox.  She was
watching the action on Zoness interestedly.  "The sea life has mutated
more since you were last here."
 "Thanks, Star,"  Fox said, pulling a loop and shooting down three
Z-gulls in one shot.  "How much farther until we get to the base?"
 "Two miles and closing,"  Star reported, switching the image on the
screen to look ahead of the team.  "Uh oh."
 "What's 'uh oh'?  Star what's going on up there?"  Peppy asked.  "Star
can you hear me?"
 "Yeah, I hear you,"  Star switched the screen back to Starfox.
"Starwolf is closing in half a mile."
 "What?"  Falco asked.
 "They're not on the radar!"  Slippy protested.
 "One fourth of a mile,"  Star reported.
 "What do we do, Fox?"  Peppy asked.
 "An eigth of a mile,"  Star reported.
 "Attack formation,"  Fox said.  "Get ready for a doggfight."
 "A sixteenth of a mile, and they should be coming up on your
radars..."  Star clicked some buttons quickly.  "....now."
 "They're on my radar, but I can't see them,"  Slippy said.
 "Me neither,"  Falco reported.
 "Star, are you sure the equipments not malfunctioning?"  Fox aksed.
 "Fox, Move!"  Star yelled.  Fox barrel-rolled quickly to the right as
red lasers shot at him.
 "What the-!?"  Fox stuttered for a moment."
 "Shoot!  Their ships have cloaking!  I'll disintegrate the cloaks as
soon as possible.  Be careful,"  Star went to work on the cloaks right
away, trying to find a weakness.
 "Oh, well, you're no fun,"  Leon scoffed, catching Falco by surprise
from underneath him.
 "No fair!  They've got Star in Great Fox an' she's watching out for
them!"  Andrew said.
 "She can't get rid of the shields right away so let's take out Starfox
while we have time,"  Wolf snarled, firing at Fox from behind who
flipped out of the way.
 "Use your night vision!"  Star said.  "You'll be able to se them
better."
 "You couldn't have told us that earlier?"  Falco asked, slipping on his
night vision goggles.
 "Next time I'll wait until you're shot down,"  Star promised.
 "You'll hafta wait a while for that, babe,"  Falco laughed, flipping
behind Leon and firing at him.
 "Help!  My engines are failing!"  Slippy yelled, his jet was careening
toward the water.
 "Pull up, Slippy!"  Star commanded.
 "I can't!"  Slippy yelled, panic in his voice.
 "Pull up now, Slippy, or your fish food!"  Star yelled.
 "My controls are jammed!"
 "Kick the damn control panel,"  Star instructed, leaving the computer
room and pulling on her jacket.  She ran at top speed for the docking
bay, listening to the fight on her comlink.
 "I can't, I'm stuck!"
 "Finish him, Andrew,"  Wolf said.  "His voice is getting on my nerves."

 Suddenly, Star's sleek arwing shot out of the docking bay on Great Fox
and gracefully flew past Wolf and Pigma, surprising them both.
 "Bail out, Slip!"  Star yelled.
 "My escape pods jammed!"  Slippy shrieked.
 "I don't care about the damn escape pod,"  Star pounded her fist
against the interior of her jet.  "Bail out!"
 Shakily, Slippy pushed open the top of his arwing, just as it hit the
water.  He fell back inside and struggled to stand up.  Star dropped a
net from her ship to Slippy who crawled inside it quickly.  As Star
pulled up, Slippy watched as Zoness's water swallowed his jet.  He
almost cried.  His father had made that jet specially for him and he
could spend hours at a time fixing it up.  But there was no time for
remorse.  Star must have destroyed the cloaks on the Wolfen fighters,
because he could see Andrew's ship heading straight for Arctic.
 Star saw him too and barely avoided his fire.  Wolf broke away from Fox
and headed for Star.  Leon dropped a smoke bomb on Falco and Fox and
covered Wolf's wing.
 Star felt panicked, not knowing what to do as Wolf and Andrew came
straight at her.  Normally, she would stay put until the last second and
pull a loop, causing the other two jets to crash into each other, but
with Slippy in the net below her, she couldn't even barrel-roll.
 Slippy had never seen anyone as mad as Fox when he tore out of the
smoke and flew at top-speed toward Star.  He nearly took out Leon's jet
and killed Wolf's left wing.  He looped and fired at Andrew until hew
backed off from the fight.
 "Star, land somewhere and get Slippy out of here.  I'll cover you,"
Fox followed Star as she flew to the closest island.
 "Thanks Fox,"  Star said.  "I owe you one."  Star lowered her jet until
it was hovering over the island and she released the net holding Slippy
and headed back to the fight.
  Slippy landed on the island hard and his elbow hurt when he landed on
it.  He watched the fight as he tried to disentangle himself from the
net.  Pigma's ship was weak and looked ready to collapse the next time
he was shot.
 "Wolf, I've gotta get outa here,"  Pigma whined, echoing Slippy's
thoughts.
 "Stay right where you are!"  Wolf demanded.
 "I can't!"  Pigma landed his ship on the far side of the island.
 Wolf swore and shot at Peppy, his ship's engine sputtered and began to
die.
 "Peppy, land before you get any further damage,"  Star shouted over the
comlink.  The hare obeyed and landed next to Slippy on the island.
 "Shoot!  My wings are gone!"  Falco said.  "I've gotta land."  He
landed and at that exact moment, Star sent Andrew crashing down into the
water close to the beach.  He swam to shore.
 'Fox, remember the Twin Trick we used to pull at the Academy?'  Star
thought to her brother.
 'Yeah, do you think it'll work?'  Fox thought back.
 'Only one way to find out,'  Star replied.  'We'll take out Wolf
first.'
 Star and Fox flew behind Wolf and turned their arwings on their sides
so that they were flying vertically.  They shot at Wolf's engine until
it exploded and Wolf flew out in an escape pod.  They didn't have long
to celebrate, because Leon flew up behind them and took out Fox's
already damaged ship.
 As he escaped through the escape pod, Star shot out the parachute on
Wolf's pod.  Leon darted to his friend and caught the ropes on his
Wolfen's wing.  Star caught her brother's ship as well and deposited it
on the ground beside Falco's ship.  Star landed seconds later and jumped
out.  Slippy had completely gotten out of the net and helped Fox get out
of the escape pod.
 "Now what?"  Falco asked looking at Star.
 "Don't look at me, look at him.  He's in charge,"  Star nodded to Fox
as she leaned against her jet with her arms folded, an unreadable
expression on her face.
 Fox sighed and thought a moment.  "Well, alright, ummm...."  Fox
thought for a minute, then turned to Star.  "You have better training
than me in these situations.  You're in charge."
 Star grinned.  "I knew you'd say that.  O.K., first thing, rations are
limited, so everyone gets a can and a half of food a day.  Second, we'll
need shelter, so we should start on getting tents up and maybe a
make-shift hut for our supplies.  Third, we need to fix the arwings.
I'd say we'll be here for a few days."
 "Why can't we just call Great Fox and Priority One?"  Slippy asked.
 "Because this planet is too close to Venom for Great Fox to come close
to safely.  I'll contact Priority One, but I doubt they'll send a
transport."  Star jumped back inside her jet and pulled out a small
package.  She set it on the ground and pulled the cord.  The package
sprung up into a large tent.  "If anyone needs help setting up they're
tent, I'm here.  Just give me a minute to call Priority One."  Star
walked inside her tent and closed the flap.
 Slippy sighed.  He wished he had a tent, but his was at the bottom of
Zoness's ocean by now.  "Slippy, get firewood and wood suitable for
building a small shelter,"  Fox said, once again taking charge of the
group.  "We'll set up the tents."  He glared at his siter's overly large
tent.  "Some of us will actually have to work to set our tents up."
 "I heard that!"  Star yelled.
 Slippy looked around, observing the island carefully.  It was about two
or three miles wide and had a forest in the middle, about a mile in
diameter.  Starwolf was probably on the other side of the island.
Slippy wondered what Starwolf was doing as he slid off into the forest
for wood.

 "I can't believe you crashed in the water!"  Wolf yelled at Andrew.
 "You wouldn't have even made it to the beach if it hadn't been for
Leon,"  Andrew yelled back.
 "That's what friends are for, but that's something you don't know
about. isn't it?"  Wolf sneered.
 "I have more friends than you'll ever have,"  Andrew quipped.
 "The only friends you have are your friends because your uncle pays
them to be nice to you,"  Wolf said.  "Now let's get the tents out get
ready for bed.  Tomorrow we'll sneak over to Starfox's camp and steal
their arwings.  Hopefully we'll be able to get back home in those pieces
of junk."  Wolf reached into his escape pod and pulled out his tent
Leon and Pigma did the same and began to set them up.
 Andrew walked to the edge of the woods and sat down to think.  He took
his shirt off and wrinkled his nose in disgust.  After swimming in
Zoness's water he found that he actually preferred the polluted water on
Venom better.  At least he knew what was in it.
 He wrung his shirt out and wondered if Guy was really a friend, or if
Andross was paying him.  People had used Andrew before to get to his
uncle, but Guy didn't seem like that kind of person.  I'll find out when
I get back, Andrew thought.
 He looked toward the camp where Leon had started a fire and two tents
were set up.  Pigma's tent still laid on the ground as Pigma searched
through his ration pack for food.  "I wonder what I'll have to use for a
tent,"  Andrew grumbled, and walked toward the camp.  Wait-did he just
here a noise?  Instinctively, Andrew turned around, laser in hand.  He
couldn't see very well; the forest was dark and Solar was quickly
disappearing over the horizon.
 Straining his ears, Andrew listened for another noise, but heard
nothing.  Must be one of those mutated animals, he thought, and walked
away.  He didn't see Slippy slip away from his hiding place in the
undergrowth and run to his camp.

 "Falco, I said the shorter pole,"  Fox said, pointing to a metal rod
lying oin the ground.
 "But this is a short one!"  Falco protested.
 "No, it's a medium one,"  Fox explained.  "Give me the smaller one on
the ground."
 "There's several poles on the ground, which one do you want?"  Falco
asked.
 "The one by your foot!"  Fox said, his patience running thin.  Falco
turned around to pick up the pole, but as he was turning around he
tripped on another pole and fell.  Fox laughed, until Falco tackled him
around the knees and soon the two were wrestling in the sand on the
beach.
 Star stepped out of her tent and crossed her arms, looking at Fox and
Falco rolling on the ground and throwing punches at each other.  Falco
finally pinned Fox and was about to hit him, when they both looked up to
see Star looking cross.  They grinned, stupidly not knowing what to say.

 "Uhh...Fox fell and I was helping him up,"  Falco said, still
grinning.  He stood up and offered a hand to Fox.  "Isn't that right,
good buddy?"
 "Yeah, absolutely,"  Fox said, taking Falco's hand and pulling himself
up.
 "Honestly, I can't understand why you boys can't get a job done without
fighting,"  Star said, turning around and shaking her head.  As soon as
her back was turned, Falco let go of Fox and he fell back down.
 Star sighed, not even turning around.  "Peppy, could you assist me in
putting up these tents?"  Star asked.
 "Sure,"  Peppy replied, looking up from his jet.  He walked over and
helped Star set up a tent.  Within a five minutes the tent was up, where
as Falco and Fox had worked for half an hour on one tent.
 "Hey, we coulda done that,"  Falco said.
 "Yeah, of coarse,"  Fox said.
 "Alright, boys.  You can do the next one,"  Star smiled,
challengingly.  As the two friends started setting up the tent, Slippy
ran up panting.
 "Star, they-they're going t-to at-tack us for the ar-"  Slippy panted,
trying to catch his breath.
 "Slow down, Slip,"  Star said.  "Now what happened?"
 "I saw Starwolf,"  Slippy explained.  "They're closer than we thought.
They're going to attack our camp and steal our arwings."
 "They won't get very far,"  Star scoffed, looking at Falco and Peppy's
damaged arwings.  "My jet's the only operational one here."
 "When are they going to attack?" Fox asked.
 "Tomorrow.  They didn't give an exact time,"  Slippy said.
 "Well, we can't do much about that now, except protect our camp."  Star
looked around.  "We can set up some traps, but the best thing to do
would be to send a spy to watch them.  Is there a channel on our coms
that Andross hasn't tapped?"  Star asked.
 "Yeah, I think so,"  Slippy said.  "I'd need a computer to find it
though."
 "I've got a computer.  You guys set up whatever traps you can.  I'm
going to take a nap so I can stay up all night."  Star headed inside her
tent.
 "Wait a second, why are you staying up all night?"  Fox asked.
 "I said the safest thing to do would be to send a spy over to they're
camp,"  Star explained.  "I'm the only one here trained to be a spy, so
I'll watch them.  The computer's in my jet, Slip.  Maybe Falco should
get it though,"  Star said, looking at the distance Slippy would have to
climb to get into the jet, where as Falco could just reach in and grab
it.  "Wake me up when you guys go to sleep."
 Falco watched as Star went into her tent, then walked to her jet to get
the laptop inside.  He handed it to Slippy and then looked around the
interior of the custom-built jet.
 "Whoa, Fox, your sister's got leather seats and ration packs to
spare!   Check it out, med-kits, extra blankets,-Hey!  The seat's
recline-able!"  Falco exclaimed.
 "Get out of there,"  Fox said, as he walked over to Falco.  He was as
interested in Star's jet as Falco was.
 "Hey, what's this?"  Falco asked, picking up a small vile from one of
Star's medical kits.
 "I wouldn't mess with anything in there, Falco,"  Fox warned.  "Star's
is pretty particular about her stuff."
 "It's just one vile!"  Falco protested, twisting off the cap and
looking at the contents.  It was a powdery substance that Falco couldn't
identify.  He sniffed the vile cautiously and immediately started
sneezing.  He was sneezing so hard, Fox pulled him out of the jet to
keep from damaging it.
 After almost a minute of sneezing, Falco stood up and looked at the
small vile Fox was holding.  "Damn, that thing packs a punch,"  he
laughed and stood up.
 "Is that Star's sneezing powder?"  Slippy asked.
 "I guess so,"  Fox capped it and put it back in the jet.  "C'mon Falco,
let's set up some traps.  Can you help us, Peppy?"
 "I'll be there in a minute,"  Peppy said, covering his jet with a
tarp.  He followed Fox and Falco to the edge of the woods.
 Slippy watched them as the laptop booted up on his lap.  I wonder what
we'll do if our jets do get stolen, he wondered.  We'd probably steal
them back, he answered himself.  Suddenly he realized he hadn't gotten
the wood he needed for a shelter!

 About two hours later, Fox, Falco, and Peppy returned from the setting
up the traps.  Slippy had found the communications channel that Andross
had not tapped, and Star woke up.  Solar had disappeared from view and
Zoness's water seemed to glow from radiation and pollution.  Star
scooped up some water in a bucket and boiled it.
 "Hopefully, boiling this will get rid of the pollution.  I have
something that should take the radiation out of it,"  Star rummaged
through a small packet in her jet.  "Hey, who was messing with my
sneezing powder?"
 "Umm...I accidently knocked it over,"  Falco replied, sheepishly.
 Star sighed and tightened the lid on the vile.  She took out a
container about two inches in diameter and poured a drop of liquid into
the boiling water.  It hissed for a moment and then looked normal.  Star
rummaged through her jet again and took out a radiation tester.
 "You just happened to have that with you, didn't you?"  Fox asked.
 "Hey, you can never be too careful,"  Star replied, testing the water
for radiation.
 "I never knew you to be careful," Fox scoffed.
 "I'm reckless, not stupid,"  Star said, looking at the water and
checking the radiation counter again.  "Alright, this water's pure.
Slippy you saw how I did that right?"
 Slippy nodded.  "Yeah, how come?"
 "'Cuz this water's for me.  You'll have to make more for the rest of
you."  Star poured half of the water over her head and then took a small
bottle of shampoo from her pocket.  She rubbed it into her hair until it
lathered and then rinsed her hair with the remaining water.
 "Oh, great,"  Falco said.  "We're stranded on a polluted planet and
she's washing her hair."
 "Hey, we've got enough water and de-radiation liquid to last until we
get off this planet.  I'd rather be clean and stranded than dirty and
stranded.  Besides, if I don't wash it now, I'll never get this smell
out of my hair,"  Star took a small towel out of her tent and dryed her
hair.  "Slip, you can sleep in my tent tonight, since I'll be spying.
Stay out of my jet.  See you guys tomorrow."  Star covered her jet with
a tarp and walked through the woods avoiding the traps and running her
fingers through her hair.
 Slippy watched Star walk off, then turned off the laptop and set it
inside Star's tent.  Peppy was in his tent, probably meditating.  Falco
had taken a blanket out of his damaged arwing and stretched it out on
the ground.  He was looking up into the sky.  Fox joined him soon after,
lying next to him on the blanket.  Slippy stretched out on the sand
close to Fox.
 "I remember coming here years ago when this planet wasn't so dang
polluted,"  Falco said.  "I used to come here a lot."
 "Yeah, me and Bill used to come here every holiday off from the
Academy.  We'd surf and relax.  It's almost hard to remember those days,
you know?"  Fox said, looking up at the sky.
 "Could you surf good?"  Slippy asked.
 "Yeah, but Bill was always better than me,"  Fox's blue-green eyes
turned misty, remembering.  "Star would come with us, sometimes."
 "Now there's one body I wanna see in a bathing suit,"  Falco grinned.
Fox glared at him.  "Whoa, sorry.  I was kidding."
 "Anyway, Star was a great swimmer.  She could surf, too, but she didn't
like to often.  She preferred laying on the sand and getting tanned."
Fox turned to look at Falco, who was smiling.
 "What?"  Falco asked, seeing Fox look at him.
 "Are you and Katt back together again?"  Fox asked, changing the
subject.
 "No, I think we broke up for good this time,"  Falco said.  "What makes
you ask?"
 "Just wondering,"  Fox shrugged.  The three teammates lay still for a
while, looking up at the stars.  Slippy could see Macbeth as a
grayish-blue dot in the black sky.  An orange smear that could barely be
seen was Sector Z.
 "The sky looks pretty tonight,"  Slippy said.  "You can see every star
clearly.  Isn't that Felinus Major?"  Slippy pointed to a cluster of
stars that represented a Rikash O'Connor, a great warrior cat who won
many battles but was finally died for his loved one, Celine Feral who
had fallen in love with Rikash's faithful sidekick, Johan.  Johan didn't
even care for Celine and had followed Rikash to his death, in trying to
kill a sea monster and was drowned.  It was a tragedy written by Keerg
philosophers.
 "Yeah, and there's Felinus Minor,"  Fox said, indicating Johan, ever
faithful, at Rikash's side.
 "I wonder where that treacherous female cat is,"  Falco said.
 "I think you could see Celine near Sector X right now,"  Slippy said.
 "Not her, I mean Katt,"  Falco said.  "She's probably at the mall with
some of her friends."
 "Why do you care where Katt is if you broke up?"  Fox asked.
 "I don't.  I'm just thinking.  Cats are such unruly animals, you
know?"  Fox shook his head, not understanding.  "Well, look.  Rikash was
all strong and everything, but when he falls for Celine, he totally goes
to pieces while she plays him like a piano.  Then she leaves him for
that little runt of a cat who doesn't even know she's alive!  I mean...
One, why didn't Celine stay with the hero?  Two, how could Johan pass up
a girl like Celine?"
 "He was too loyal,"  Slippy said.
 "You make him sound like a dog.  He'd hafta be gay or something to
ignore someone like Celine.  I mean, have you seen the pictures of her
in the mythology books?"  Falco whistled.
 "I figured you read those mythology books for something besides the
stories,"  Fox laughed.
 Slippy remained silent and looked at the stars...
 "Seems like you can see just about every star up there tonight, doesn't
it?"  Peppy said, coming up behind them and startling everyone.
 "Yeah, all except one,"  Fox said, meaning his sister.
 "She's alright, Fox,"  Peppy said, understanding Fox's feelings of
concern for his sister.  "Let's get to bed.  We've got along day ahead
of us."
 Falco stood up and stretched.  "At least there's one good thing about
this planet."
 "What's that?"  Fox asked, standing up.
 "The bugs didn't mutate, they just died,"  Falco smiled and shook out
his blanket.  Fox helped him fold it up and get it in his tent.  Fox
went into his tent soon after Falco was in his.  Slippy stayed outside a
moment later, watching the sky.  It was a warm night, but not too hot.
He considered sleeping outside, but decided against it.  He crawled
inside Star's tent and curled up inside the sleeping bag.

 "What's for breakfast?"  Pigma asked, walking out of his tent and
buttoning his shirt.
 "Whatever you have in your ration pack,"  Leon answered, opening a can
off bacon and cooking it over the small fire.
 "But, I finished everything last night!"  Pigma exclamed.
 "You should have thought of that before,"  Leon said.
 Pigma looked at Wolf eating a can of uncooked beans and Andrew watching
him hungrily.  "You have extra food right, Andrew?  You always do."
 "My ship is at the bottom of the ocean, along with my rations.  You
want my food your welcome to it,"  Andrew sighed, watching Wolf gulp
down his breakfast quickly.
 "If you two want breakfast, why don't you fish for it?"  Wolf asked,
between mouthfuls.  "I'm sure you'll catch a few good mutants."
 "You think they're edible?"  Pigma asked, thoughtfully.
 Andrew and Wolf froze, exchanging glances saying, "he's gone completely
insane."
 "Oh yes, and I'm sure they'd taste great with a little salt,"  Leon
said, nodding.
 Pigma looked like he was actually considering fishing for his
breakfast.  It wasn't a strenuous activity and he could probably catch a
nap while doing it...
 "O.K., here's the plan,"  Wolf said, interupting Pigma's thoughts.
"We'll break up into twos.  Pigma, your with me, Andrew, your with
Leon.  If we take them by surprise they should be-"
 "Hey, what about my breakfast?"  Pigma interupted.
 "Shut up and let me finish,"  Wolf snapped.  "As I was saying they
should be unarmed and unprepared.  Leon, you and Andrew hold them off
while Pigma and I steal the jets."
 "What!? And put me right in the line of fire?"  Andrew asked.  "I don't
think so!"
 "Leon's gonna do it and I don't see him complaining,"  Wolf said, his
little patience wearing thin.
 "I don't see Pigma complaining either and he's a better shot than me.
How about me and Pigma switch places?"  Andrew asked.
 "Because if you went with Wolf you'd get into a fight and ruin the
entire thing.  Let's go Andrew,"  Leon said, standing and walking away.
Andrew followed reluctantly.
 "Let's move it, pig,"  Wolf growled, standing up and walking in the
opposite direction of Leon and Andrew.  Pigma stood and started to
follow when he noticed Leon's bacon and Wolf's half-eaten can of beans.
He grabbed the bacon and the can following his leader quickly.

 Star had heard the entire plan from the tree she had climbed to keep
tabs on the Starwolf team and was racing as fast as she could through
the foliage toward the camp.  She had already alerted Starfox and was
racing back to help defend her friends.  When she got there, Falco was
holding a laser and turning up the power to level three.
 Peppy was cleaning his gun and Slippy was checking his recharger.  Fox
met Star when she stopped at the edge of the forest with a cup of water
from her arwing.
 "Think we stand a chance?"  Fox asked, handing Star a towel to wipe the
sweat off her face.
 "I think so, but I'm not sure.  Andrew's nervous about the fight so we
can probably scare him into hiding behind Leon instead of fighting.  If
we provoke Wolf enough he'll probably forget the arwings and come after
us,"  Star caught her breath for a minute.
 "What about Pigma?"  Slippy asked.
 "He's already eaten all his supplies and he's hungry, so we'll just
leave some food out to lead him off track.  Maybe into a trap," Star
snatched a piece of bacon off someone's plate and ate it.  Falco walked
up the beach a bit and set some dried fruit there as if it had been
discarded by accident.  "A Venomian transporter will be here for Andrew
and Wolf, but Pigma's ship is repairable.  Even if we win this fight
there's a chance they'll get out of here before us and then attack from
their jets.  Then we won't stand a chance."
 "So what should we do?"  Falco asked, putting his laser in it's holster
on his hip.  Peppy sneezed suddenly, surprising the rest of them because
he'd been so silent.
 "That's it!"  Star said, suddenly.  She ran to Arctic and pulled out
her sneezing powder vile.  "Slippy, your the best mechanic on Zoness
right now and I need you to slip this into Starwolf's engines.  Just a
bit, this stuff isn't exactly easy to make.  Just tap a little into
their air vents so when the engines come on, they'll blow sneezing
powder back into their faces."
 "So what?  A little sneezing won't effect their flying ability,"  Falco
said.
 "So you ever sneeze while flying?"  Star asked, Falco nodded.  "A
sneeze renders you helpless for one point oh two seconds.  A sneezing
fit for up to a minute or more will make them helpless long enough for
us to do some serious damage to them.  Can you do it, Slip?"
 "Sure, but they'll notice it if I try to get away during the fight,"
Slippy said, trying to sound brave.  He was actually afraid.  If he
failed, the team could be in serious trouble.
 "I'll distract them.  Be ready to slip away at a moments notice,"
Star's foxen ears swiveled at the sound of a slight noise behind the
group.  "Here they come.  Act natural until they attack,"  she growled,
quietly.
 A laser sliced through the air just missing Falco.  The fight was on.
Falco turned and fired straight into the trees where the shot had come
from.  Star darted behind Peppy's arwing and fired into the woods where
she could just barely see Andrew's outline.  Andrew dodged at the last
moment and hid behind the tree.  Slippy kept up a volley of fire in that
direction, keeping Andrew from getting a chance to fire back.  Star
turned her attention to Falco's unprotected arwing on the edge of the
camp.
 Wolf was walking towards it silently.  He paused a second to see where
Pigma was.  He saw his teammate farther up on the beach looking at
something in the sand.  He cursed himself for not keeping a closer eye
on his fat co-pilot.  He steadily approached the jet until he heard
Pigma yell in surprise.  Wolf looked up to see Pigma swinging in a net
above the beach.
 They were expecting us!  was Wolf's first thought.  But how could that
be?  Then he remembered Star's training as a spy and cursed himself
again for not checking to see if the coast was clear before revealing
his plan.  A small sound caused Wolf to turn quickly, his knife that he
kept at his side at all times was unsheathed, ready to fight.
 Star stood beside the arwing, smiling.  "Whatsa matter, Wolfy?  Cat got
your tongue?  Or are you afraid to fight me paw-to-paw?"  Her voice was
loud and clear, allowing everyone to hear the challenge.
 "Are you asking me to fight you?"  Wolf asked, ready to laugh.  The
others stopped their fighting and looked at the to canines, watching
each other carefully, both smiling.
 "Yes, I am,"  Star said.
 "I'll kill you,"  Wolf threatened, his voice dropping to a deadly
whisper.
 "Then so be it," Star smiled, a dangerous smile that one could only
make when flirting with death.  Slippy saw his chance and slipped
silently off into the forest toward Starwolf's camp, the vile safely
tucked in his pocket.
 Star and Wolf circled each other for a moment before Wolf attacked,
jabbing with his blade as Star quickly darted back and away from the
sharp edge.
 Wolf darted close to Star to knock her laser from her holster and
nearly sliced her side, but Star flipped quickly taking herself out of
harm's way.  Fox got scared for his twin.  Star was completely unarmed
and he didn't know how she could fight against a real opponent.  Sure,
Star could fight well against him, but their fights were never
threatening, nor with weapons.
 Star ducked under another of Wolf's slashes and pulled a dagger from
her boot.  She darted at Wolf's ribs, but he backed away in time.  Star
intercepted Wolf's next jab with her dagger.  The two deadly blades came
hilt to hilt, a dangerous and rare position where the weaker opponent
would get knocked down and killed.  Star couldn't hope to over power
Wolf, but she could out smart him.  She started to fall, but stopped and
gave Wolf a swift kick in the chest, winding him for a second.  Star
took advantage of that instant to wipe the sweat from her eyes and then
darted in with her dagger again.
 "Twenty credits says she dies,"  Leon said.
 "Your on,"  Falco replied, never taking his eyes off the fight.

 By then, Slippy had reached the camp and was carefully putting the
powder inside the engines.  He was careful not to put too much or too
little, shaking the whole time.  He didn't want to spill a drop of the
powdery substance, but he didn't want to inhale any either.  So in order
to get close to what he was working with, Slippy had to hold his breath
for quite a while.  It's a good thing I'm an amphibian, Slippy thought,
trying to cheer himself up.  He wondered how the fight was going...

 Hurry up, Slippy, Star thought, while jumping back from Wolf's blade
and slashing with her dagger.  She could finish this fight at any time
and she wanted, but she wanted Slippy back before she ended it, to
conceal the surprise hidden for Starwolf.
 Star feinted to Wolf's left side and as he turned to block it, Star
tossed the dagger to her other hand and cut into Wolf's unprotected
side.  He yelped and jumped back as he felt blood dripping down his
side.  Furious, Wolf slashed at Star, his one eye barely seeing her.  A
lucky slash caught Star across her cheekbone.
 Out of the corner of Wolf's eye he could see Pigma finally get lose of
the net that held him and roll to the ground.  When he turned to keep
from getting slashed again he saw Andrew watching from the safety of the
trees and Leon watching silently, close enough to kill Falco in one
laser blast.
 Star noticed Wolf darting glances at his teammates and took advantage
of these quick moments to dart in, but be pushed back in defense.
Suddenly, a rustle in the bushes behind her told her that Slippy was
back and that she could end the fight.
 Backing up a few steps, and avoiding another slash, Star kicked Wolf's
hand, sending his knife flying.  Wolf looked at his knife lying several
feet away and looked back in time to see Star land another kick on his
chest.  Wolf fell flat, winded for the moment.  Star darted in with her
dagger, aiming for his throat, but suddenly, someone caught her wrist.
Before she could spin around, her wrist was twisted and a loud crack was
heard.  Star yelped and fell to the ground in pain, holding her right
wrist.  She saw Pigma Dengar smiling down at her as he raised his laser,
aiming right between her eyes.
 Fox darted in, knocking Pigma down onto Wolf, grabbing the laser from
his hands.  He stood in front of his sister, guarding her from another
attack.  The pain in his own wrist was almost causing him to scream.  He
wondered how Star could handle it.
 "Go away,"  Fox said quietly and menacingly.
 Wolf, with respect in his eye, backed up a step and picked up his
knife.  "We'll be back.  Just feel lucky we're out gunned now,"  Wolf
backed away, Leon and Andrew holding their guns ready until they were
beyond laser distance.
 Fox turned around to see Star bandaging her wrist with a red
handkerchief.  "How is it?"  he asked.
 "Bad,"  Star replied, with clenched teeth.
 "Falco, get something to brace it with, Peppy, we need more bandages.
Slippy, could you get the anesthetics from Star's jet?"  Fox said,
yelling out orders.
 The team hurried to carry out their orders.  Slippy arrived back with
the medicines first, and Fox rubbed a numbing oil gently into the skin
on his sister's wrist.  Soon, Star couldn't feel it anymore.
 Falco and Peppy came back and Fox held Star steady as Falco braced her
wrist and Peppy bandaged it tightly.  Slippy got some of Star's fruit
out of her jet and gave it to her.  Star ate it, gratefully.
 "Thanks, guys,"  Star said, when she trusted her voice.
 "How did you learn to fight like that?"  Slippy asked, awed.
 "I was trained in martial arts by the best Siamese cat fighters,"  Star
answered proudly,displaying her knife.  "I can fight with any weapon I
can get my paws on.  I got this from the master sensai.  He thought I
was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself."
 "Doesn't that hurt?"  Slippy asked, awed at the fight.
 "Hurts like Hell,"  Star replied.
 "Why didn't you cry?"  Peppy asked.
 "I don't cry.  I haven't cried since mom died,"  Star stood up and slid
her knife back into it's sheath in her boot.  "Did you get the job done,
Slip?"
 "Yeah,"  Slippy said.
 "Alright, let's fix those arwings,"  Star said.  "We've gotta get out
of here today.  Venom could send a transport at any time.  Fox, you and
Falco work on his jet, me Slippy and Peppy will work on his."
 "Now wait a minute, Star,"  Peppy said, stopping her.  "I don't think
you should be working with that wrist.  It's broken bad."
 "I know it's broken bad,"  Star replied.  "You can't tell me what to
do."
 "Peppy's right.  Star, you should rest.  You were up all night and Wolf
put up quite a fight."  Fox said.  "We can fix the jets."
 "I'm not letting you do all the work, I'm in this as much as you are,"
Star started towards Peppy's jet.  Falco reached out and caught her arm.

 "I don't think so, foxy,"  Falco said.  "You've gotta rest."
 Star struggled against Falco's hold, but couldn't pull free.  Falco was
nearly three feet taller than her, and he was stronger.  Falco half
dragged her to her tent, Fox following.
 "Star, you can help by monitoring Starwolf,"  Fox said.  "Find out if
Venom's gonna send a transport."
 "Sure, make the walking wounded type instead of work.  Cheap
substitution,"  Star grumbled.  She jerked her arm away from Falco and
sat down in her tent with her laptop.
 "Geez, your sister's somethin' else,"  Falco whistled.
 "When you find out what, let me know,"  Fox grumbled.  "Let's get
started on your jet."

 "Where did she learn to fight like that?"  Wold said, bandaging his
side.
 "She took martial arts in grade school, but I had no idea she was that
good,"  Pigma said, scrounging through a ration pack for food.
 "Gimme that, you glutton!"  Leon said, snatching his food away from the
pig.  "Did you know about the knife in her boot?"
 "No, I guess that was something she kept secret from everyone.  I don't
think her brother even knew about that."  Pigma grunted, and sat down
disappointed.
 "That makes her twice as dangerous," Leon said, bringing his pack with
him as he sat next to Wolf.  "If she's got secrets even Fox doesn't
know, than how much do we really know about her?"
 "All I know is, I'm never fighting with her paw-to-paw,"  Andrew said,
settling himself next to Leon.
 "And dog fights are just as dangerous when she's in the air,"  Leon
said, opening a bag a chips from his ration pack.  He handed some to
Andrew and then passed the bag to Wolf.
 "We'd better get off this island soon,"  Wolf said, munching on some
chips.  "She' a spy too, and she was probably the one who warned the
rest of the team we were coming.  In fact, she could be here now."
Instantly, the three looked around, looking for something that might
give away Star's presence.
 "Fat chance of that,"  Pigma said, smirking.  "I broke her wrist.
She's probably in such pain right now, she can barely type."
 "All the same, we should get out of here as soon as possible.  They've
got the tools to fix those arwings, and maybe get out of here before we
do,"  Wolf stood up, brushing some crumbs off his shirt.  "Andrew,
contact Venom and get a transport over here.  I don't care how you do it
just DO IT!  Leon, you, me, and Pigma are going to work on the other
jets."

 Two hours later found Starfox sweating and just finishing repairs on
Falco's ship, when Star jumped out of her jet.
 "Venomian transport, coming this way!"  she said.  "We have to get outa
here now!"  Star had already packed up her med-kits, ration packs and
other things.  Falco took down her tent for her while Slippy took down
his.
 "Star, can you fly with that wrist?"  Fox asked.
 "Sure I can.  It doesn't even bother me any more."  Star held out her
wrist and rotated it slowly to prove it didn't bother her.  "Hurry up!
The transport has an extra ship for Andrew to fly, Leon's ship is fine,
except for some minor damage, Wolf and Pigma are repairing their ships.
We don't have much time."

 "No, you idiot!"  Wolf yelled.  "I said to take off the brakes, not the
shield!"
 "Brakes, shield, it's all the same to me,"  Pigma grumbled.  "If you'd
give me some food, maybe I'd be more helpful."
 "You couldn't be less helpful if you tried!"  Wolf yelled again.
 "Calm down, Wolf,"  Leon said, walking over to the two.  "While Andrew
finishes on Pigma's ship, I'll help you out here."
 "Thanks Leon, but I think we're done as soon as Stout-Snout here, fixes
the brakes,"  Wolf sneered at Pigma.  Pigma made a face and continued to
fix the jet.
 "Great, the transport should be here any moment."

 "Venomian transport closing!  Estimated landing time: five minutes and
counting!"  Star reported.
 Slippy was crammed in the back of Peppy's arwing, while Fox was
crunched in Falco's.  Star's jet was too small to fit a passenger.
 "Two minutes!"  Star said.
 "Alright team,"  Fox said into his com.  "Let's go!"  The three
aircrafts took off quickly, only to be chased by three more.  Starwolf
had seen the other team take off, and left Andrew to wait for the
transport.
 "When is the powder supposed to work, Star?"  Peppy asked worriedly, as
the Wolfen II's chased them.
 "Give it time,"  Star said, feeling nervous.  What if Slippy hadn't put
the sneezing powder in right?
 "Give it up, Starfox!"  Wolf said, laughing.  Leon followed Falco's
ship and Pigma chased Peppy's.  Star gave Wolf a hard time, flying in
loops, circles, squares, and other patterns Wolf couldn't follow.
 "Ah-choo!"  Pigma sneezed.  It was just enough time for Peppy to get
away.  As Pigma's sneezing fit continued, Peppy got behind him, shooting
mercilessly.
 "What's wrong with Pigma?"  Leon asked, when suddenly a fine dust
filtered into his jet through the vents.  "AH-Chooo!"  Leon went into a
sneezing fit as well.
 "What-ah-choo!"  Wolf sneezed.  The Starfox team wasted no time in
sending Starwolf back to the island they had just gotten off of.  The
transport landed and Andrew helped his still sneezing teammates out of
their jets.
 "You can't win against us, Wolfy,"  Star said.  "Why don't you find a
new line of work?  Like learning how to fight with a knife?"  Star
laughed, and flew off behind Falco and Peppy, who were heading towards
Great Fox.
 I'll get you for that,  Wolf thought through his sneezing fit.  Just
wait.

 "Great job with the sneezing powder, Slippy,"  Star said, patting the
amphibian on his back as the team headed for the lounge.
 "It wasn't that hard,"  Slippy blushed.  "What are we having for
dinner?"
 "I'll make whatever you want,"  Star said.
 "Yeah!  I want Bug Bits soup, moldy bread, salad-"
 "Slippy, calm down!"  Falco demanded.  "Star's wrist is still broken,
remember?"  He dropped his arm around Star's shoulders.
 "Yeah, that's right.  How about we order out tonight?  Slippy, you can
pick what we get,"  Fox said.  "Star, we should get you to a hospital to
have that looked at."
 "It'll heal!"  Star protested.  "I don't want to go to a hospital."
 "Chill babe,"  Falco said, pushing Star into a chair.  "Relax.  We'll
talk after dinner."

*Author's note*

Star McCloud, Ben, Ramsy, and Guy are my characters and can't be used
without permission.  If you have questions, direct them to
K.Starr@usa.net.  Ciao!