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X

Chapter -3- The Calm Before the Storm

** Falco scoffed over the comms** in his trademark cocky tone. "Is this guy serious? He's running away...? What kinda craptastic move is that?"

Slippy replied first. "His forces are scattering. According to the computers, most of them have put in direct routes to Venom. Not that I need a fancy computer to tell me what I can see with my own eyes - brake lights and boosters, but I'd love to look at the lines of code that predicts trajectory like that."

Fox's voice was usually thinner over the comms than in person, but the new Arwing cockpit speakers made him sound anything but tinny. "Okay, okay guys. Calm it down. The attack is over. John, we haven't even signed the paperwork on these ships, yet. Do you want us to return to Great Fox, or go after him?"

"You're ... letting me decide?"

Krystal feigned a slight smile. "Of course, Mr. Salt. Your company still has ownership of these fighters."

"Actually," Salt trailed off to clear his throat, followed by a weak chuckle. "Everything has been in your name since before you arrived at the factory, today. We transferred everything to your name as a gift. Sure, we were going to have you put your paw print on a pad to show you took possession of them ... you know, for insurance purposes, but everything is already yours. And, I know it's not my place to suggest this, but we initially avoided the media for you, Mr. McCloud, but then Venom attacked our facility. So, you know the media is watching this. In my opinion, you should go after Oikonny before he gets away, regroups, and causes more problems. If you don't, the media will question your actions publically."

Fox exhaled softly through his front teeth. "What about you, John?"

"I'm delighted to have been a part of this, but I have a transport shuttle on the flight deck. My plan was always to let you test drive your new ship, then leave from the shuttle bay and head home. I mean, I have four hours left in my shift, then I have to watch my niece and nephew for my sister."

Lombardi chuckled softly. "Nine-to-Five'er, eh? That's all right. You'll have a story to tell them kids, y'know? Besides, it's not like we won't see you again. We'll be placing orders for personalized ships. And if Fox is too cheap to buy them as a team expense, I've finally got good enough credit that I'll finance it."

Fox grunted. "C'mon, Falco, I'm not cheap. I just didn't see the need to upgrade Great Fox's armor plating until after the Saurian mission made it financially possible."

Krystal smiled at the boys' bantering. "Falco, he upgraded Great Fox just before the Aparoids invaded, yes? Fox has a keen sense of timing; we can all most-certainly agree upon that. Perhaps it is luck, perhaps skill; perhaps he's attuned to something the rest of us are not ... my point is that he was prepared in time for the invasion. He provided his team with the protection of an upgraded dreadnaught and he upgraded to the latest Arwings shortly before the Aparoid Assault."

"Aw, jeeze, sister, give it a rest. Fox panicked and updated everything because Corneria had intel that Oikonny was preparing to attack Fortuna. You don't gotta fluff your boyfriend. He did what I'd do ... he waited till the last friggin' second. Procrastination. That's how we do. Bachelors with the capital 'B' emoji."

Krystal rolled her eyes. "If the media is indeed watching us and listening to our comm stream broadcasts..."

Falco groaned over the comms. "Okay, okay. I'll shut my yap. I get it. Look good in front of the fans. Still, I want to call mine Sky Claw, heh. And it needs multi-lock! And faster speed, and lower weight. I don't need this armor - I need to be the first one into the fight." He cleared his throat, followed by, "Sorry. Keyed up over these fighters. I have so many design ideas. I, uh, I'm still willing to pay for it if Fox cheap's out like he did leading up to the Dino Planet job. Heh."

Krystal sighed. "Falco, my goodness..."

Fox sighed. "Falco, you know these radios are full duplex, right? Just like a communicator. We can talk over each other if you want. I could have interrupted you by telling you to stop talking before you finished your sentence. But the truth is ... I prepared for way more than taking down Andrew. We could have done that with the old gear. You and I could have done that with speeder bikes, jackets, and oxygenated helmets. But I wanted my team to be ready. So, I got an advance with Pepper to upgrade and update everything before Andrew was ready. It was a lot easier to outfit a squad and a single ship than for Andrew to prep an entire invasion force."

Krystal shifted her weight in her seat, forming up along with Fox, Falco, and Slippy. "To be honest, Falco, Fox was worried about being broadsided by Andross or some other threat while fighting Andrew. Like I said, his timing was impeccable. Little did we know it would be a threat far more dangerous than Andross."

Falco groaned long and low. "Okay, okay. Jeeze La-weeeeze, we get it. You're Fox's biggest fan, sister. And, Fox, I don't know why you were worried about Andross. The dude is dead. You and I put that guy out of his misery. I kept his defenses busy and jettisoned you the stuff to fight the old ape."

John Salt came over the line again. "Can I ask a personal question of you, Mr. Lombardi?"

"Yeah, whatever. Shoot it."

"You're supposed to be the team's ace pilot. Why didn't you put Andross down that day over Sauria?"

"Jeeze, you got a lot to learn about battlefield etiquette."

"Etiquette?" Slippy scoffed. "That's a big word for you, Falco."

"Yeah, shut it, Froggie. Anyway, John, it's like this, pal. Fox and Andross got beef. But me? My fight against the old guy is political and, like, to defend home and all that, right? Well, Fox's thing with that guy is real-friggin'-personal." Falco pronounced the last word, 'poi-suh-nuhl.'

"So, you let Fox defeat Andross? You're saying you could've done it, too?"

"Could I fight in an Arwing? Hell yeah. But, like ... would I have stepped on Fox's toes against the guy personally responsible for ruining his childhood family? Hell no. I listen to McCloud because he's team leader. I respect my wing commander because he's the only fighter pilot I do respect. The man fights almost as good as me in the sky. The man fights almost as good as Slippy in a Landmaster and Submarine. The man fights as good as Peppy Hare, back in his prime, with a blaster. And he's got CQC skills where it counts. Well rounded guy. But, John, here's the thing - Krystal wasn't wrong when she said Fox is prepared for a fight. The man knows how to get into the heads of his enemies, and he does all that tactical and strategy crap. See, but, here's the thing you gotta remember..."

No one spoke over Falco's attempt at showing rare respect for someone else.

Falco continued, "...When it came down to two ships in space? Andross had the advantage yet Fox had the edge. I backed my boy because we're brothers 'till we die. But, like, here's the thing: I would never deny Fox his chance to get revenge on the son-of-a-gun that did in his folks. You got all'a that?"

"I, uh ... I did." John sounded rather humbled.

Fox looked up the visual of Falco above his HUD and smiled a bit. "That's..." He trailed off to find the right words. "That's..."

Krystal finished her mate's sentence by adding, "...Really appreciated to hear, Falco."

Fox cleared his throat. "I, uh, I was, actually I was going to say it was the most he's ever said at one time, before."

Falco chuckled like a typical jock.

Krystal glared at her boyfriend's video feed. "Your best friend has never opened up like that before. Acknowledge it, Fox."

"He did," Falco replied with an amused grin. "That's how we do. Like, back when he told me he was gonna give you a ring, I told him he's a big ole' stupid sap, but that I'll buy the cigars the day he ties the knot."

Fox grinned. "It was a little harsher than 'big ole stupid sap.'"

"Yeah, you prolly freakin' deserved it at the time." Falco pronounced the word, 'duh-zoy'ved.'

"Probably so." Fox looked to the left and right, checking on his team's fighters just outside of his cockpit. "Well, since you guys formed up, I guess we're going after Andrew Oikonny together. Uh, Slippy, head on back to Great Fox, land and stow your gear, and see John Salt off, so he can get home in time to babysit."

"Copy that!" Slippy squeaked.

"And, uh, Falco? We fight so the rest of Lylat can have some nine-to-five normalcy."

"Yeah, yeah, I know that, you big goof."

Fox continued. "Krystal? Can you get Peppy back on the line and let him know what the team is up to? He'll get the paperwork filled out on his end so that we're handling things on the legal end - space combat in Lylat is controlled, unless you're a pirate like O'Donnell. This team does things legally."

"On it," said Krystal.

"Returning to base," said Slippy. He arced about, and headed directly for the Great Fox Carrier, in the distance. "ROB, lay in a course based on Fox's trajectory. I'll be up to the bridge after I finish my post-flight inspection."

ROB replied, "Try not to become too distracted by all the new equipment on your way to the bridge. Kidding, of course."

"Really, ROB? I get enough guff from F-F-Falco - I thought you had my back."

"I always have your back," said ROB.

"Uh-huh. Slippy out." Toad signed out of the video uplink, and his ship disappeared into the front bay of the new Great Fox Carrier.

Krystal changed the canopy opacity level to its clearest setting and looked out the cockpit glass at Fox. She gently rolled a few degrees port then a few degrees starboard, followed by leveling out.

Her slight movements caught Fox's attention. She smiled and blew him a kiss. She could see him grin in reply, even though the polarization tinting of his canopy.

She glanced up at his image above her HUD and saw the side of his face over the video feed, because he was looking out his canopy. A smile tugged at the corners of his muzzle.

"What're you two doin'?" Falco asked.

Krystal answered before Fox. "Giving one-another a nod of praise for a job well done on this flight, Falco. That's what couples do. They acknowledge one another's work, so that the teammate feels more like a partner and less like a coworker."

Falco scoffed. "What the hell for?"

Krystal rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "We're in love, Falco. That's how it works."

"Yuck. No thanks. Katt gets all sappy like that and it's annoying. We fight a squad of targets, we win, we go about our day. Don't need all that kissy-face validation nonsense."

Krystal laughed. "I acknowledge that you really do understand how emotional validation works after all."

"Doesn't mean I like that crap! I don't need to coddle a girl's feelings; she doesn't need to coddle mine. That crap is annoying."

"Oh, Falco, that's what a jealous person says. I don't sense it from you, so ... are you lonely?"

"What!? Give that foo-foo crap a rest, girl."

Fox chuckled. "Falco doesn't care about being jealous, being alone, or anything else. He's got buddies, and he's happy with that."

"See?" Falco crowed. "That's why Fox and I make a badass team. He gets it. We both kick ass, and that's that. Moving on. Now, speaking of kicking ass. Let's hunt down Oikonny. Looks like he's headed for that little moon in orbit around Sauria."

Krystal smiled. "We're returning to Sauria again?"

"A moon," said Falco. "Not the same place, sister."

Fox offered a smile over the video communication, and told her, "We can swing by afterwards, if you want to visit King Tricky."

"Excellent!" Krystal's smile broadened. "The Venom forces aren't even on the scope anymore. Let's head after Andrew and arrest him."

"Or kick his ass," said Falco with a chuckle.

"Or both," Krystal replied with a wry chuckle.

"Let's determine our next course of action when we get there," Fox told them both. "Because I like 'both' options equally, especially at this point. He knows what Lylat has been through after his uncle's drama, not to mention the Aparoids, and then Saura coming apart."

"Which," Falco trailed off into a pause, a slight chuckle, and a huff of annoyance, "...Was even more of his uncle's drama."

Krystal's tone became serious and heartfelt. "It's time for this system to heal."

X

X

Fox lifted his eyes from the sensor scope and watched through the canopy glass as John Salt's transport shuttle distanced itself from the Great Fox Carrier.

He opened a channel and said, "Thanks again for all your help. We'll, uh, have to do some sort of photo op for Space Dynamics."

John's voice was a little tinny over the speakers built into the sides of the cockpit, due to the aging microphone tech on Salt's shuttle. "Thanks for some memories I will never forget. I mean that in a good way."

Fox grinned. "We'll make more, uh, grounded ones the next time we meet."

"I'll hold you to it."

"And for the record, these seats are really comfortable."

"Yeah, you guys are known for flying from Corneria all the way to Venom in one sortie. R&D took that into account."

"Yeah, well, I appreciate that."

John chuckled softly. "All right, off I go. Until next time!" John's transport shuttle became a blur, then it disappeared into hyperspace.

Fox looked away from the empty spot where Salt's shuttle had been. He cleared his throat and turned his attention to the moon over Sauria.

The Saurian lunar surface had an enormous crater.

Fox recalled the crater was made from where it once brushed against a chunk of the floating Saurian surface, back when the planet came apart a few years ago.

Krystal spoke over the comms on the team's channel. "I love how Sauria's lunar satellite was named 'Miracle.' I've always found that inspiring."

Falco scoffed. "Miracle? Pft. They should've called it 'science' because that's all you need to explain that chunk of rock getting an atmosphere after the planet came apart. How the hell did technology pull the planet back together, anyhow? All those dinosaurs should have died when that thing came apart like a giant jigsaw puzzle."

Fox sighed. "Falco, look it up."

"Like I got time for that. Whatever. You don't know the answer, that's why you're telling _me_to look it up."

Fox scoffed the same way Falco had a moment earlier.

"No, no, fearless leader. I want to see if you really know."

"Fine," said Fox with a grunt. He paused, looked up at the moon again, and said, "The Krazoa were afraid of dying. At least ... according to the archeologists and anthropologists that have been studying the planet. They've been studying it since my job, there. Apparently, the Krazoa were technological geniuses. When they discovered a looming extinction level event, they drilled down into the Saurian surface, and the planet was designed to be turned into multiple interstellar vehicles."

"Wait," Falco said with furrowed brows over the video feed. "I didn't hear about that part. Are you serious?"

Krystal chimed in next. "The working theory is that the Krazoa turned each section of the planet into an ark. It was supposed to come apart and launch each part of their world into deep space, and the core would explode to provide them with inertia. The sections had force fields to provide atmosphere, gravity, and protection. Each section of the world would go flying into different directions to populate the deepest parts of space with their species. They could live on the parts of their world by continent, and they would heat and light it with ... you guessed it: technology."

Fox came back into the conversation, picking up where she left off. "The planet was set up to do this in stages. First, the pieces would come apart from the core, so that when they detonated the core, it wouldn't destroy the land arks. So, each section came apart from the core to a safe distance, tethered by tractor beam technology. The next stage was to detonate the planet's core, and send each 'ark' in a different direction. Luckily, I got the Force Stones back to the Force Point Temples before the core detonated."

Krystal spoke again, adding, "Andross was using energy from the planet to restore himself. He used the Force Point Temple Stones to great effect, but that caused the interlocking parts of each continental 'ark' to go into separation mode. Without the Force Stones, the mag locks failed, and the planet drifted apart. Stage two automatically initiated. The tractor beam held the planetary sections together in orbit, but separated from each other. From what the scientists have learned, if the arks stay in parked orbit around the core for a long while, it will initiate a countdown sequence."

"Why?" asked Falco.

"Because the core would get cold and burn out over time, so if the planet was left spread apart for much longer, it would have triggered the explosion before the core could die out."

"Good thing Fox got the job done before the timer got to zero, then, huh?"

Krystal cleared her throat and said, "Falco, it wasn't set for a certain time - Cornerian science teams think it was set for whenever the Saurian core dropped to a certain temperature. Either way, Fox stopped Andross before the core's auto detonation sequence."

Falco rubbed the bottom part of his beak in thought. "Okay, fine. I get it, now. And you used the Arwing to fly from section to section to stop Andross, find the Force Stones, and stop the countdown by using the Krazoa spirits and the Force Point temples to cancel the final stage - full planetary separation, and core detonation. But what I don't understand, is..."

Fox interjected, "Let me guess, you don't understand why the Krazoa died out before they could utilize their plan to populate the rest of the galaxy?"

"Hey, extinction level events can happen to anyone," said Falco.

"So, then, what? You don't understand why the moon could withstand touching a landmass without being pushed away by inertia, or how the landmass could be called back to the planet without pulling the moon with it?"

"Jeeze, Fox." Falco shifted his weight in his cockpit seat. "No, I get how forcefields work, and how the length of the tractor beam could make it so that the moon's gravity was attracted to a floating piece, without hitting too hard. I guess what I'm trying to say is..."

"Wait, let me guess," said Fox, knowing it would annoy his friend. "You don't understand why the Krazoa decided against just doing it, after putting all that work and money into making a planet that could come apart like that, right?"

"Damn, Fox, you're doing that on purpose, aren't you? God. No. I remember watching that part on the TV documentary - the damn Krazoa realized that if they took a planet out of the Lylat System, it would jack up the orbit order of other planets, and they didn't want to hurt the fledgling lives on the neighboring worlds, because we were all smart enough to speak and think, 'n crap like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. My question, Mr. Smart Guy, was ... why the Miracle moon got its own atmosphere after colliding, all gentle-like, with a piece of Sauria, y'know, during the split. What's up with that?"

Krystal cut back into the conversation. "When it connected with the land ark, the landmass's automatic atmospheric bubble field surrounded the moon. Cornerian scientists that are studying Sauria have theorized that the 'ark' landmasses are designed to trigger a terraforming protocol with any world they touch, so the Krazoa would be able to colonize any world they sought to repurpose."

"How would someone steer a chunk of a planet?"

Krystal shifted her weight in her cockpit seat to get comfortable. "Volcanos designed to release a sustained blast. They acted as maneuvering thrusters. Those thrusters would be used to change the trajectory of a landmass ark, so the Krazoa could land on worlds that are the correct distance from a system's star. One of the working theories is that when one of those ark landmasses touched the moon, it terraformed it, automatically."

"Jeeeeze. Did the moon and the floating landmass touch by accident?"

Fox added, "The moon came to the landmass. Gravimetric attraction."

"Yes, what Fox said," Krystal agreed. She went on to explain, "You see, Falco, a chunk of Sauria terraformed the moon when the two masses made contact. But the distance caused them to come together slowly, so they didn't destroy one another. It was a miracle that either survived that."

"Wait, I thought there was already a section of the planet where the moon crashed into it. Moon Mountain Pass or whatever, right?"

"Sauria used to have two moons," said Fox.

Krystal added, "When the Krazoa were testing the technology, but before they decided whether or not to go through with it, separating the planet with the Force Point Temples caused their section's lunar satellite to enter a trajectory that brought it to the planet's surface within a hundred years of the Land Ark project."

"So, what happened?" asked Falco, uncharacteristic curiosity in his tone.

Krystal continued. "The current theory is that the guy in charge of the planet during that project died or a new successor was elected, and then the successor decided to cancel the project when they discovered that several other planets in this system had life on it, and that leaving Lylat would cause destabilization of the orbits of the other worlds. The orbits would change, and there was no way to predict if those worlds' species would survive the changes."

"Damn," Falco muttered. "So, the Krazoan race was wiped out when that second moon struck the Saurian surface and created Moon Mountain Pass?"

"That's the current theory," said Fox. "No one seems to be sure what caused the ELE that wiped out the Krazoa. But, Cornerian scientists will figure out the full truth eventually. It's taking a network of super computers to rebuild the ancient computer records that were archived by the Krazoa roughly a million years ago."

Falco scoffed. "You think those files will still work after that long? Pfft, yeah right."

Fox added, "The records can't be accessed before being rebuilt ... else the originals will be destroyed. Anyhow, this second moon was rumored to have had its own atmosphere back in the original time of the Krazoa."

"How the hell they know that?"

"Because, Falco, there are buildings on the moon. Ruins dating back untold years. But, at some point, it became a dead secondary world, and the Krazoa that lived there either died out or returned to the Saurian surface long before the planet-dwelling population designed their world to become multiple landmass arks. Again, this is all just a current working theory. No one knows for sure, yet."

"So, the atmosphere on the remaining moon was a mistake...? An accident...?"

Krystal feigned a smile. "Yes, Falco. At least the experts seem to think so. It was an accident. And that's why the Interplanetary Defense Coalition gave it the new designation of 'Miracle.' The real question, here, is why would Andrew Oikonny retreat to Miracle? It's completely unexplored, and satellite studies seem to indicate that the technology utilized on Miracle is far beneath the Saurian Krazoa."

Fox nodded in agreement to Krystal, adding, "Plus there's no food and minimal water on Miracle. The ice at the caps evaporated thousands of years ago, and the water that was transferred to it from the terraforming protocol being triggered a few years ago ... well, it wasn't enough water to sustain life on Miracle. Just enough to make rain for the localized plants that started growing after the atmosphere took hold. Hell, it's just ... a miracle any of that stuff even exists in the first place."

"Geeeze laweeze, talking science with you two is just ... annoying. Look, I just wanted to know why the planet suddenly got an atmosphere a few years ago. I didn't need the long-drawn-out crap. Let's just go find Andrew. It should be easy, since he'll be the only living thing down there, right?"

Fox looked up, above his HUD.

Krystal did the same in her cockpit. She saw the bottom-side of Falco's beak on his video feed.

Slippy's visual filled the canopy HUD. "Hey, guys!"

Krystal touched a button on her control panel, shrinking Slippy's visual down, above the HUD, to line up with the rest of the team's feeds. "Hello, Slippy. Have you contacted Corneria for us?"

"Yeah. I have Peppy on the line, along with General Pepper, who is still 'officially' on medical leave. Also, I'm scanning the moon, right? And, check this out, it's filled with some sort of rare metal that isn't catalogued in the Periodic Table of elements. It's messing with our sensors."

Fox frowned. "Is it radioactive?"

Falco laughed. "God, I hope so. I'd love for Andrew to cook himself from the inside out. Plus, we'd never have to worry about him spawning."

Slippy chuckled. "I doubt we have to worry about that, anyhow. Andrew isn't exactly much of a catch. He was voted by Play Vixen magazine to be the ugliest currently-living man in Lylat, beating out the lead singer of that one band, DimeForward."

Krystal offered her teammates a moue of disgust. "DimeForward. The face of generic formulaic corporate rock. I agree, their lead singer isn't exactly a very attractive pug."

"A face only a mother could love," said Falco with a chuckle. "I'm surprised Oikonny beat out that guy for the esteemed category of 'system's ugliest dude'. I guess he's just that hated, now."

"Yup." Fox chuckled.

A pause, then, "Wait, Slippy, you read Play Vixen??"

Slippy coughed into his hand. "For the articles. Don't start with me right now, Falco."

Fox covered for his friend. "Slippy, did I hear you correctly? You said you reached Pepper and Peppy?"

"I have them on the other line. I figured I'd wait until we stopped joking around before patching them in."

"Good idea. Okay, everyone. Game faces, please. Slippy? Patch in Pepper and Peppy."

"Rodger that, Fox. Stand by." Slippy paused to type in a command on his capacitive keyboard. "Okay, get ready, everyone..."

A few seconds later, Peppy Hare and John Pepper showed up, side-by-side above the canopy HUD of each pilot's new Arwing.

Fox offered a wave, Falco lifted a single finger as a half-wave, Slippy waved boisterously, and Krystal issued a polite smile and nod.

Peppy smiled back at the group. "Hey, everybody. Hello, again, John."

General Pepper reached up to remove his uniform hat, but it wasn't on his head. He casually saluted the group, instead. "Just so we're clear, I am no longer the acting fleet General, and I am not representing the IDC."

Falco scoffed. "The I.D.C. can suck my D.I.C., General. We worked for you, not them."

General Pepper cleared his throat softly, to try and maintain his composure. "Mm, yes, well ... they wanted to convey their blessings for you boys to put Oikonny in prison."

A grin tugged at the stiff corners of Falco's slightly-malleable beak. "Good. We have Oikonny cornered. A moon isn't very large, so he doesn't have many places to hide."

John Pepper cut his gaze from left to right, and said, "Peppy, you have full authority to speak in my name until the end of this mission. Star Fox, this is not something to post about on Social Media. Just handle Andrew Oikonny discretely, and bring him in to answer for all the war crimes in which he participated while under the employ of his uncle, and for his war crimes while he was based on Fortuna, before the Aparoid Assault."

Krystal frowned. "General, sir, you're not going to be our contact for this mission?"

"I am headed in for my physical therapy appointment. I have deputized Peppy to act in my name in an official capacity."

"To be clear, kids, I'm not a General," Peppy told the team. "I'm a liaison. If you guys crash Miracle into Sauria, or something, then I'm culpable. So, for Vivian and Lucy's sake, _don't_destroy anything. At least not until I get there."

Fox offered a tender smile ... at least tender for a man who was about to turn thirty. "You're coming out here, Pep?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way, actually. My FTL drive spooled up right after Slippy patched in my feed. I'll engage it as soon as I get off the line with you boys."

"What's your ETA?" asked Fox.

"Corneria is on the other side of Solar from Sauria right now. It should take five hours to reach that far, but I can't exactly go in a straight line; I have to go around Solar ... so, maybe six and a half hours? Seven tops."

"You want us to establish a basecamp on the surface before you arrive, or do you want us to stay in orbit?"

John Pepper cleared his throat. "Peppy, this is your operation, so far as I'm concerned. Star Fox, I have to leave. My ride is here. I'll check in with you all soon enough." Pepper's video feed vanished from above the canopy HUD.

Peppy cleared his throat. "Perhaps get into orbit and establish a safe landing zone. I'm not trying to be shot down by surface-to-air missiles when I get into the area. I'll contact you when I'm in orbit. Can this new Great Fox Carrier even land?"

Falco scoffed. "Wait, you didn't know about all this stuff in advance, did you?"

Krystal rolled her eyes at Falco. "Don't be absurd. He would already know its landing capabilities in advance if he was read-in, like General Pepper had been." She cut her gaze to Peppy's video feed. "We'll establish a landing zone, then have Slippy land the carrier on the surface. You won't have to worry, Peppy."

Fox added, "Well, at appears at least half of my team knows the protocol. All right, I'll wait for your contact. If we don't hear from you in, say, seven hours, I'll pull the team back and try to establish contact with Corneria. Sound reasonable?"

"Make it eight hours," said Peppy. "Just in case. But, yeah, you'll hear from me as soon as I drop out of hyperspace. I'll just need to establish connection with the nearest sub-space communication relay buoy. Try to keep that idiot from separating Sauria like his uncle did."

Fox chuckled. "He's not on Sauria, Pep. Stop worrying."

"Fox, there's something that never made it into the televised and holo-vised documents about Sauria's separation ... the Krazoa relay station to broadcast the command for planetary separation was at a small facility located on Miracle. It was used as an emergency control station in case of any problems with the planet-based station. If you're going to dismantle a planet, you need to have redundant control facilities for an emergency."

"Jeeze laweeze," Falco muttered. "So, Andrew could blow up Sauria from the moon's surface?"

Peppy added, "Yes, Falco. A back up unit of the tractor beam is located somewhere on Miracle. It's believed that Andross discovered that when going through records on the planet's surface. According to military intelligence, Andross is believed to have used that asteroid-sized 'face' ship he loved so much, and he headed up to the moon's surface. He studied the design, then came back to Sauria, stole the Force Stones to use them for ... whatever reasons he needed, and activated the setting that pushes the planet apart, but he left the planetary arks tethered around the core. He was the only one who figured out the exact location of that device. That's possibly how-and-why Andrew headed to Miracle."

Falco groaned. "You've got the folder in front of you right now, don't you?"

Peppy lifted it, showing the group a manila envelope with the word 'classified' stamped on the front. "Classic cliché-looking folder - check!"

Fox sighed. "Great. Well, with any luck, the gang and I will have this job wrapped up before you arrive."

"See you in roughly six-and-a-half-hours, Fox, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal. Remember not to blow up the moon or the planet. At least not before I arrive." A pause, then, "Peppy out." Hare's visual disappeared from the video feed.

A little icon showed up over his name, with an 'X' over his image, and a small warning that stated, 'user is in hyperspace and cannot be reached at this time.'

Krystal cleared her throat. "Well, Fox? We're awaiting your orders."

Falco said, "How about we form an escort pattern around the new carrier, and land it on the surface? No waiting."

Fox shook his head. "No, having it in orbit would give us leverage and defense. It would protect us from Venom attacks, and we would have the option of striking a ground target with bunker busters or a plasma cannon attack from above."

"Fine, that makes sense." Falco shrugged with a snarky smirk. "Let's just get it done."

McCloud nodded in agreement. "I'm willing to wait for Peppy to show up before we head down to the surface." Fox rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then added, "Andrew wouldn't pick that moon by accident. He must have orders from his dead uncle that he recently found or something. We're going to handle this situation quick before Andrew uses that device as a weapon against other planets. But, first, I want to fly a patrol and scan the moon, from orbit, for any signs of Andrew or his people."

Falco cleared his throat with wide eyes. "Wait, you mean the Force Stone Temple contraption? You think it could be weaponized?"

"Yeah. If a tractor beam that powerful was somehow pointed at other worlds, it might_ be_capable of pulling other planets out of their orbital tracks. He could wipe out entire worlds that way, then establish Venomian dominance over Lylat. Can't let that happen." Fox raised his tone a little, and said, "Form up on Great Fox. Slippy, let's do an orbital pass to get some landing zone intel, then we'll wait on the carrier for Peppy to arrive."