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Star Fox Odium

_ Chapter 2 - Mission _

Another day, another barfight. And this time, it even wasn't their fault.

The day had started off like many others before it - another seedy dive at the outskirts of Lylat, killing time between contracts. Wolf was ignoring Panther trying to chat up one of the bar girls - a rather curvy raccooness - the wolf himself focused on his cards and (largely unsuccessfully) trying to decipher his other teammate's expressions. Reptiles were damned hard to read, and Leon was a particularly good example. The chameleon's cool, near-mechanical demeanor lead most to think that the assassin didn't have emotions, discounting occasional annoyance.

Wolf had a small scout drone's worth of sensors built into the bionic bolted onto his skull over where his left eye'd used to be, and if he didn't know better he would've been inclined to agree. The fact that it was hard to keep eye contact with someone who could look behind himself without turning his head only made things worse.

"Full house, sevens and jacks." Wolf put his cards down, one of Leon's eyes swiveling down to look at them while the other was pointed somewhere behind and to the left - Wolf would've made a crack about always keeping one eye on their backs, but it would've been wasted on the crowd. Instead, he did his best to try and not imagine how the reptile must've seen the world - he'd ended up doing that, once, bored out of his skull, and the thinking about it too much had given him a splitting headache.

"Four queens," the chameleon rasped, brightly smiling girls on the cards seeming to mock the lupine. Wolf cursed quietly, rolling his good eye as he reached out to push a bunch of chips Leon's way-

"CHEATER!"

Wolf was halfway out of his seat by instinct before realizing the shout wasn't directed at him - instead, a big, shaggy bear was roaring into the face of a rodent of some sort, on the other side of the room. Around them, people were standing up and looking their way - out of the corner of his eye, Wolf could see the bartender already hiding away the good stuff.

Now, four hundred kilos of pissed bear screaming into your face is terrifying, at best, and every bit of common sense said that the rodent - could've been a mouse, could've been a gerbil, could've been a bit of both, whatever he was he must've been about fifty kilos, tops, fully geared and soaking wet - should've backed down. Instead, he taunted the ursine - something about his mother and berries, Wolf didn't quite catch it.

The bear responded with a haymaker that should've, by all accounts, taken half the little guy's face straight off. And that should've really been it.

Instead, gerbil boy shook his head, lying on the deck, spat out blood, looked up at the bear, and honest-to-gods snarled before pouncing - and going straight for the throat. The bear stumbled back, crashing into a table - there was the sound of breaking glass, and a cougar yelled something about his drink before joining in. It snowballed from there.

What felt like half a second later, Wolf had his back pressed to Panther's, the lupine growling while both his hands were busy keeping a rat - damn strong for one, too, and he reeked - from strangling him. Behind him, a skunk, his face bloody from a cut above his eyes, swung a broken bottle at Panther - or tried to, getting a knee to his gut for the trouble. Wolf hadn't even met either of them before, and to his knowledge they hadn't stepped on any toes lately, either - so why the hell were these guys getting up into their face?

A loud smash of glass sounded, followed by little chips of glass raining down on him from above. The rat twitched, and Wolf took the chance to use his favorite kick - kneepad smashing straight up between the rat's thighs with enough force to actually lift him an inch or two off the floor. His arms went slack, muddy yellow eyes crossing with pain, and Wolf headbutted him, taking him out of the picture before looking up - and seeing Leon, the sticky pads of his palms and mag-boots clinging to the bulkhead, out of the melee.

A shotglass exploded against the wall right next to the chameleon's face, and Wolf looked down to see one of the bar girls, a squirrel about half the chameleon's size hissing epiteths, bombarding him with whatever happened to be handy - until two seconds later, one of the other girls pounced her. The two went down in a screaming, hissing, struggling tangle of clawing limbs and flying fur. Any jokes about catfights died before he could even think about them - ten minutes ago the two had seemed like the best friends, and now - there was blood flying_._ Weirdly enough, no-one had pulled a gun, not yet anyhow - a place like this, more than half the customers had to be packing heat.

"Was it something I said?" Panther yelled at him over his shoulder, before ducking a swipe and repaying the favor. The rat Wolf'd knocked out was picking himself back up, and the lupine fully expected he'd get pounced again. Instead, a random combatant caught the rodent's attention - not that it made things any easier for him, since three other people, gangers judging by the decorated leather coats, spotted them at the same time. "These guys are crazy!"

"Tell me about it," Wolf snarled. The 'cooness Panther'd been flirting at came at him like a bat out of Hell, screaming something incomprehensible, seemingly unaware of the blood on her lips or the fact that her dress was barely hanging onto her - Wolf turned, ducking away from the mad rush, the side of his palm catching the base of her neck as she rushed past. She let out a soft whimper, swallowed up by the roar of the fight, and collapsed just as ganger swung a length of chain at him, throwing sparks from the deckplate, missing by a hair's breadth. "Need to get out of here.. Everybody, cover up! Leon, dazzle 'em!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Wolf saw Panther kick away at the ganger going for him, the feline closing his eyes and covering his ears. Wolf himself ducked a swipe, ears folding back as his palms smacked up over them, closing his good eye, the view of his bionic going dim as the lens polarized itself - there was a soft thunk as a metallic object clattered to the deckplates - and then Leon's dazzler grenade went off like a disco ball from Hell.

Regular flashbangs were bad enough, but this one didn't go off with a concussive thump but an incredibly loud, painful, electronic screech, resonant vibrations sawing along Wolf's bones and making his teeth rattle in their sockets as the thing added its own personal brand of hellish racket to the melee. Over at the bartop, several bottles straight-out exploded from the noise in showers of shards and alcohol, the big mirror on the wall cracking. All over the hall, people went down from the aural assault - screams drowned by the noise, trying to cover their ears. And that was just half of it - there was an incredibly bright flash, so bright Wolf could still see parts of it through his closed eyelid, the grenade's one-shot holoprojector overloading itself like a disco ball from Hell - a chaotic flash of pulsing, vibrating, swirling colors, every shade and hue he could imagine and a couple you wouldn't see on any rainbow, an insane, painful kaleidoscope..

Reaching out to grab Panther's upper arm, trying to shake away the afterimages and ignoring the shrill whistle in his ears, Wolf yanked at his teammate and took off, Leon thumping to the floor right behind them - despite the seeming awkwardness of the chameleon's long limbs, he could get up to a fairly respectable clip, and now all three of them were putting all they could into it, ducking and weaving through dazed people, sidestepping prone (and mostly groaning) bodies as they dashed out of the bar. Off in the distance, the whine of sirens was getting closer as Security was stepping up to the job - too late, maybe, though. The fighting was already spreading out into the streets of the station.

Wolf'd been through wars, and he'd still never seen anything like the chaos that'd hit them, the naked, insane violence and aggression they'd just experienced. The whole altercation had taken only a couple of minutes, and it felt like hours. Out of all three of them, it was Leon who put words to what they were all thinking.

"What," the chameleon hissed, pebbly, scaly green skin having turned a bright mix of reds and oranges from the excitement, eyes flicking every which way, "the hell is wrong with these people?"

<<<<<>>>>>

Increasing unrest and violence in the northwestern sections of Lylat has lead the Cornerian Military into deploying additional forces in the area for peacekeeping operations. Experts claim that such deployments near the Xechek border may be considered an act of aggression; General Pepper, of Corneria, has urged the citizens of Lylat to..

"Mute," Fox snapped, one arm wrapped around Krystal's waist as the two padded into the rec room. There was a faint obliging chirp from the multi-screen, the feline newsreader's lips moving silently. The vixen, now clad in a warm, fluffy bathrobe, quite happily leaned against Fox, drawing support from him - the presence she'd touched in her dream.. she'd only skimmed the surface, and yet she'd dipped much deeper into the sensations and instincts in the storm that she'd intended to. Now her body felt oddly wrong to her - she had to adjust for a different point of balance, into a body differently shaped, smaller than her confused senses were trying to tell her - she was fairly sure that whatever she'd touched had had more limbs beyond the traditional five, too.

Besides, she thought to herself, allowing the faintest of smiles on her muzzle as they took over one of the sofas, Fox felt wonderfully focused - a steely determination, mine, keep-her-safe, keep-her-happy. It was nice to feel he cared. He made the perfect anchor, to help her push away the sensations still whirling away in her mind - though she had to physically keep herself from just curling up right against him. Not that she would've minded the thought.. and touching Fox as she was, she could tell he certainly wouldn't have, either.. but right now, it was better to keep away from the.. distraction.

"What happened?," Fox asked - dark green eyes were so warm on hers, and she didn't need to be a telepath to know he cared, that he'd do anything to keep her safe. Blushing a little, folding her ears back, Krystal looked to the side, purposefully breaking the connection. Focus, she told herself. You're not some lovesick kit looking for comfort. You've been through much worse than a bad dream.

"I.. I had a dream," she murmured, shaking her head, willing her thoughts into organization - or trying to, anyways. Despite her determination, she suddenly realized her fingers were clenched into the sleeve of Fox's flight jacket - and that neither of them seemed particularly to care. Flicking her tailtip, she coughed a little, loosening her grip somewhat.

"I mean, a.. I don't know what to call it. A vision? Sometimes, when I sleep, I.. I tap into the dreams and thoughts of nearby people. Like you. Slippy. Peppy. Falco." It was a good thing, for her, that the Great Fox was mostly automated under ROB's control. A cruiser this size would've had hundreds of people crewing it, otherwise - and she wouldn't have had a minute's worth of peaceful sleep..

She paused for a moment, feeling an odd sensation from Fox, and looked up just in time to catch a slight flush growing under the male's fur, the insides of his ears distinctly pink. Blinking, Krystal focused a little, mentally reaching out just a tad towards him - and then blushed intensely when she got a mental image of just what kind of dreams he was thinking of. "Stoppit," she murmured, reaching out her free hand to poke at his chest. "If it had been that kind of dream, I wouldn't be here."

"Sorry," Fox coughed, looking away from her, and she could feel him pushing the thoughts aside. Despite herself, she couldn't help but smile a little, stifling a giggle. It was a little flattering, afterall, in an odd sort of a way. And to be honest, it was a welcome distraction from.. before. "But what you saw tonight," Fox finally murmured slowly, "It wasn't anything from.. one of us. Was it?"

"No," Krystal assured him, with emphasis. "No, it wasn't. I.. I don't know what it was. But it was.." She shivered a little, and felt Fox's arm tighten a little around her waist. "Alien," was the only word she could think of, at first. "I've never.. never felt anything like it. Old. Powerful. And so far away - but to feel it from such a distance.." She shivered again. "I don't know.."

Fox made a thoughtful churring noise in the back of his throat. "Do you think.. Is it going to be a threat? Like the Aparoid?"

"I.. I don't know," Krystal had to say. She could remember the feel of the half-cybernetic monsters, the yawning, soul-gnawing hunger from the Queen, the thirst that wouldn't ever be sated - "No. Not like the Aparoid. It's powerful, but I.. I didn't sense any malice from it. Just.." A deep, yearning need, searching, ever searching.. "It's.. It's like it was almost lonely," she whispered, shivering as memory brought up that mind-voice again, like the scream of wind and the rumble of thunder had formed words. Where are you? "Looking for something.."

Only when a not-quite-delicate cough sounded from behind them, did she realize just close she'd curled up against Fox, seeking warmth from his frame. Startled, the two of them fell apart, two sets of green eyes snapping up - to find a blue-feathered avian leaning on the doorway to the rec room, a cocky smirk on his beak. "Sorry to interrupt," Falco drawled, amusement radiating from him, "But there's a call for you in the comms room. Pepper wants to speak with you."

"We'll be there in fifteen," Fox growled, irritation washing against Krystal's mind. She couldn't help but flush a little - she could also sense a certain disappointment, too..

<<<<<>>>>>

Thirteen minutes later, clad in her flight suit and having sorted out her hair, fur and thoughts to an extent, Krystal was feeling much more.. herself. The phantom impressions left behind by the mental contact had largely faded, too, so she could rely to stay on her own two paws. Not that that kept Fox from hovering protectively over her shoulder all the way from her door to the comms room. Nor did she mind, really..

"Star Fox." A plume of light above the dip of the center conference table flickered before focusing into the slightly blue-tinted face of a grayhound. The man.. Krystal would've never said it out loud, but he'd clearly seen better days. Red-brown fur was beginning to gray out in places, giving him a dignified mustache of sorts - but those eyes.. they were as smart and bright as Krystal had ever seen them, clear and determined. "Thank you for responding."

"General Pepper, sir," Fox greeted back - the hound was about the only person Krystal'd ever seen who the male vulpine would show outright respect to. Except perhaps Peppy - though that was more often hidden behind their camaderie.

It felt.. interesting, to sit here, with the team in the same place - the crew didn't share her gifts of her mind, of course, but she could almost 'feel' how they all fit together. Confident, skilled Falco, intelligent and excitable Slippy.. Peppy, old and wise, and Fox. Certain, courageous leader Fox, the lynchpin who bound them all together, into a whole more than the sum of its parts. And sometimes.. sometimes she could feel herself sliding into that unity, as well. When they flew together, when death was but a hair's breadth away and all standing between it and them was pure passion and instinct, of acting before thinking, of knowing where your friends stood with you..

"What can we do for you?"

Krystal folded her ears back in embarrassment, realizing she'd let her thoughts drift away from her. Shaking her head just a little, she focused on the hologram of Corneria's prime General - it still felt.. strange.. even after all this time, to see him but not feel him with her mind - and perked her ears.

"Negotiations with the Xechek Hegemony are finally starting in a week's time," Pepper's voice crackled over the comms. "They've agreed to send an ambassador of theirs over to our side of the border. Seeing as they're our largest neighbor, I don't have to explain to you how important these diplomatic negotiations are going to be for all of Lylat." Pepper paused, letting his words sink in. "I am contacting you officially to ask for the Star Fox team join in as a part of the diplomatic entourage."

There was a soft ruffling noise to the side as Falco perked up from his spot on the seats - he must've spent too much time with Katt, because there was something distinctly feline about the way he managed to lounge on the somewhat uncomfortable chairs. "You want us, to take part in a diplomatic mission? You didn't forget about the big damn lasers on the main hull, did you?"

"Falco!" Fox snapped, before shaking his head. "He's got a point, General. Why do you want us along? We're a lot better at blowing stuff up than building peace."

"Apparently, Xechek traditions expect the delegation to include members of both their.. Worker and Warrior castes," Pepper murmured, head dipping down thoughtfully. A faint rustle of papers sounded from off-screen.

"Ah, yes, there it is. Yes. To ensure the benefit of both halves of the people, and those who lead them, so that all may prosper. While we have no such.. caste division, they'll be expecting us to have both skilled diplomats and strong arms along." There was a second pause. "Also, the Xechek are an insectoid species. After the Aparoid War.. well, most of the Lylat System have low opinions about them. It'd ease the people's minds, to see the heroes of Lylat there." Another pause, the hound's muzzle scrunching up in displeasure. "And last, with all the trouble stirring up in that part of Lylat.. I'll be honest with you, Fox. I'm worried. It'd ease an old man's mind to have you there, in case something happens. I'm not expecting you to do any of the diplomatic heavy lifting - leave that to the professionals - but just.. be there. If I'm wrong, if this is nothing - well, consider it a paid vacation."

There was a second silence, the hound's eyes expectant upon Fox, while the mercenary himself glanced around the group, one after another - Peppy, Slippy, Falco, and finally Krystal herself. Those green eyes looked into hers, searching, and she could see the decision there forming almost before she felt it, a spark deep within the male. Every now and then - every now and then, he made her wonder if they didn't share her gift after all..

"Alright, General. We'll do it. Just send us whatever information we'll need."

Relief washed over Pepper's features, an expression that seemed to make a few years fall off his shoulders. "Thank you. This means much to me.. and all the people of Lylat." Despite his words, Krystal could see not all the tension had left his eyes. "I've lived through many enough wars for one lifetime, Fox. I'd rather not see a new one started if we can avoid it. Pepper.. Out."

<<<<<>>>>>

"Hey.. Who's that?"

Damon looked up, muzzle twitching as the shepherd craned his neck a little to see over the crowd of the Wayfarer's mess hall. "Who?" he rumbled, straining a little - the snow leopard was too damn tall for him, and he had an easier time peering through the mass. Tech, tech, Marine, the cute scientist from Planetary, and.. the crowd split just right, and Damon lifted an eyebrow. At the other end of the hall, alone at his little table - Fox, was his first impression. Fairly tall and broad-shouldered, if he could tell, and.. blue? Sure, he'd seen 'blue' foxes before, but not that particular shade of blue - deep and rich. Dressed in dark leather and simple coarse-looking fabric for the most part - standing out like a sore thumb, now that he'd been spotted - skeptically eying the order pad for the mess hall diner.

"I.." His brow furrowed, ears twitching thoughtfully. "I.. have no idea. Where'd this guy come from?"

"Who, him?" Mathias, a thick-maned lion from Engineering, lifted his head to eye the newcomer. Blissfully unaware of the scrutiny, the male was still poking experimentally at the order terminal, a focused look on his blue-furred face. "Some native the Captain picked up on Calthan IV. Had a funny name - Cloud or Sky or Rain or something.."

"Hmmn." Damon twitched his tail, the shepherd's ears twitching thoughtfully. Rumor and gossip - on a small ship, it tended to reach FTL speeds. "What's a native doing all the way up here? I thought they weren't advanced enough to trade with, yet."

"Pshaw. He's no ambassador." Mathias rolled his slit green eyes expressively, waving a sandy-furred paw. "Way I hear it, he just walked up and asked to come along."

"A native? Man's got a set of solid cast brass. Last time I heard, half the villagers thought the sky was going to fall on them when the Wayfarer set down."

"Solid set of cast brass or no, doesn't explain why the Captain let him on board in the first place," Christopher - the snow leopard - murmured, thick long richly spotted tail twitching. "Not her style."

"Maybe he's just that persuasive," Mathias chuckled, shrugging. "You know, big tall todd, exotic, savage, easy on the eyes.."

Damon instinctively bristled in defense of his SCO, opening his muzzle for a snappish retort - and was interrupted by a distinctive sharp 'buzz!' of electronic displeasure from said todd's direction. Three sets of eyes watched as the fox tapped at the console with a distinct snarl of irritation settling over that azure muzzle, golden eyes flashing.

"Hasn't quite gotten the hang of modern times yet, has he?"

"I doubt he even knew the language two weeks back," Mathias pointed out calmly. "Give him time.. oh hello, now this'll be interesting.."

Damon's ears twitched. The fox had gotten tired of his resisting terminal - and turned to reach out, flagging a passing labtech. Though the background chatter of the messhall drowned any voices, the German shepherd could easily see the dynamics - a big, strong, powerfully built male, and a short, slender, pale-furred mouse-girl..

"Isn't that Cali?" Christopher rumbled thoughtfully, rounded feline ears perked curiously. "You'd think she'd be all over him by now."

He was right, too. Damon knew the slim girl had a thing for bigger males, particularly canines - he'd caught her giving himself some looks, too, particularly on the gravdeck training areas. Not that he complained about a cute little thing like her watching him working out - but now.. Instead of that shy blush he'd come to expect, Cali was visibly shying back, ears folded back along her skull, long slim tail twitching and flicking nervously. Predator senses were unmistakable - the girl was about one loud noise away from bolting, and heading for the deepest hidey-hole she could find.. It wasn't like the newcomer seemed to be intentionally frightening her. There was irritation clear on his face, sure, tail twitching in an agitated fashion as he gestured at the console, and he probably had enough mass to make three of her, but..

Three sets of eyes watched as the girl, nervously, padded in, bent over a little to make a few adjustments, pointing out something - slim fingers flicked over the touch-screen, and there was a cheerful happy 'ping!' from the device. Moments before an aperture in the wall slid open, and a trayful of food came rolling out. The fox eyed the thing, tail flicking, before nodding - the mousette nodded back, trying to look polite - and as soon as the fox's back was turned.. well, she didn't quite run. But that had to be about the most urgent walk he'd ever seen, at least before Mathias flagged her over with a cheerful 'Yo, Cali!' and an inviting wave.

Damon tried not to grin at the hurry she took when she slipped their way, scampering up to the seat beside him - grin just widening as the mouse leaned in for a moment, almost pressing herself against him before catching herself. That smile, though, died just as fast when he realized she was still shivering a little..

"I see you met the newcomer," Mathias rumbled, the lion's tuft-tipped tail twitching as he leaned in. "Not to your liking?"

"Cali?" Damon glanced around himself, then carefully reached his hand out to clasp her shoulder, leaning a little towards her. "What's wrong? Did he say something to you?"

"He..." Cali gulped a little, big blue eyes wide, before shaking her head. "He.. Nothing. He just wanted me to help him order some food. I.."

"Bull," Christopher murmured flatly - ignoring the curious look tossed his way by a nearby bovine Marine. "You don't get that terrified if someone asks you for pointers on the menu. He threaten you or something? He's big, yeah, but we've got a whole marine compliment on board."

"No." Cali shook her head, reached a slim hand up to waft some hair out of her eyes, and took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm herself. "I'm serious. He.. he didn't say anything. Nothing bad, anyhow - in fact he was.. kinda polite. I think. I was too.. yeah.. to really tell."

The mousette shuddered again, curling up on herself a little. "You know.. you know when you talk to a big pred type you don't know? Bigger than you? And there's a little part of your brain, that no matter how much you know they won't hurt you, that makes you want to run and hide..?"

Damon winced a little. He did know the feeling - primitive instinct, yeah, but no less irritating for it - though being a predator himself, he'd never felt it too badly. Cali, though, was a mouse, both very much a prey type and what instinct said was pretty much the smallest of them around.. "Cali, I'm about his size," the shepherd pointed out with a soft growl. "And I remember the first time you saw me. Tongue-tied, sure. About to run screaming? No."

She favored him with a flat look at being described as 'tongue-tied', though a little part of him did notice a little pleased flash in those big blue eyes at being told he remembered meeting her for the first time.. "Yeah, well," she murmured, shaking her head, "He's handsome and all, but he doesn't feel like he's your size. He felt like a freaking lion.. no offense, Mathias.."

"None taken," the big lion grinned, white teeth flashing. Cali shuddered visibly at the view.

"Yeah. Or.. bigger. You know. It's silly, I know, but.. not like in the way he was gunna eat me or anything. More like, so big he'd step on me and wouldn't even notice if I got underfoot." Cali paused for a moment, leaning closer to Damon again - who, quite happily, reached his arm back around her shoulder, ignoring the grins they were getting from the felines.

"It must've been nerves or something," she finally decided. "He didn't seem like a bad guy. But.. You know, I heard someone say he was looking for something," she murmured thoughtfully. "And from a distance.." She shook softly again. "Whatever it is.. I'm not sure if I should feel jealous or sorry for it."