FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(~4~) In Order To Profit, Pt. 1

It felt like a good morning, but the display installed in the ceiling overhead told him that it was actually 1300 in the afternoon. Both Fox and Krystal had seemingly squeezed in a few hours of sleep after their late morning romp. The vixen next to him was cuddled up to Fox like a kit needing its cradle. He had to extract and pull himself away to be free of her enough to climb off the bed. He felt a little sore but was otherwise in fair condition. The sleep he'd gotten last night was lackluster, but getting the extra hour plus of sleep after a good lay was leaving him feeling a whole lot better.

"You're a scoundrel, Mr McCloud." His vixen's voice came from behind him before he could finish making his way to the bathroom. He turned and saw her laying awkwardly on her side as she attempted to rouse herself from sleep. She looked like a child lying limp in a pile, as if to feign sleep to a watching parent.

"And why is that?" He asked her while stopping his approach to the bathroom.

"If you're planning on taking a shower you should let me join you." Krystal told him, her voice coming off as muffled from her face pressed to the mattress. She yawned and stretched before crawling off the bed herself.

"Do you need to be carried there, or can you manage?" Fox chided her playful while she strode over to him sleepily. She made it to his side and hooked her arm in his before leaning against him heavily.

"I'm a grown woman, Fox. I'll feel like a kid again after we shower." She replied. They took their second shower for the day and it was about as uneventful as the first one. Not that either of them minded. Hot fresh water over the body, liquid soaking the fur, and warmth soothing the muscles from head to toe. A good shower was its own unique pleasure to behold, and this was especially true if your mind or body was weary.

Fox cupped his hands over Krystal's eyes to shield her from the falling water. They kissed while she fumbled for the dial to shut off the flow. He held his hands over her face like a shield as the water dripped from both of them like a sluggish rain.

"I'm hungry." She told him.

"It's been awhile since either of us have eaten anything." Fox admitted. They had their last meal the day before. Before they left for the meeting with the Lokas. Fox knew he was starving. He'd been ignoring and suppressing it for so long, and he figured Krystal must have been as well. They'd both had too much going on within the last 24 hours to bother keeping their priorities in order.

The mess was empty when they got there. They were now fully clothed, of course, with Fox wearing an outfit nearly identical to the one he had been wearing before. He had other items but he preferred the simplicity of having one go to style. It was a leftover habit from his military past. Peppy, Slippy, and Falco also all shared a similar habit with Krystal being the only member of the team that actually had a wardrobe. She did tend to match the boys in attire when they were working, however.

She was dressed very much like Fox was. Matching green uniform pants and vest with a grey jacket over it all. Fox did notice that she chose to wear some red lingerie under her outfit that matched the short scarf he had wrapped around his neck.

Fox made them a fast meal of instant eggs and noodles. It wasn't much, but it was food and nothing that some salt and pepper couldn't make edible.

"I'll cook next time." She told him while slurping up some noodles. Fox had noticed a while back that she was a lot more proper at the table when the rest of the team was around, but not when it was just the two of them. He had guessed it was true that lovers become more casual with one another over time.

"You don't like it when men cook for you?" He asked her. She shook her head and swallowed her mouthful of egg.

"No, it's not that. But I don't think we are in such a rush that we can't take a little more time and have a nicer meal than eggs and noodles, Fox." Krystal told him. He chuckled and continued to finish off his own scrambled eggs. "And it's not even morning so why would you make eggs?"

He ignored her and just smiled. While they ate Krystal checked up on their messages and saw that Peppy and Slippy were currently trying to help with the last of the preparations to offload the twin space fighters taking up space in their cargo bay.

"We should probably go see if we can help them." Fox suggested after pushing away his plate. Krystal popped the last bite of egg into her mouth and set her empty plate over his so she could grab them both with the silverware.

"Not probably. Should." She told him before walking away to deposit their plates and forks into the dishwasher. Fox let her take the lead as they exited the interior of the Great Fox to step out into the expanse of the ship's cargo bay. There were currently more crew present than before and they were navigating a freight truck into place so the Great Fox's crane lift could deposit the fighters onto the trailer of the truck.

Fox saw that Peppy was watching from the sidelines with a cup of coffee while he could see Slippy's silhouette in the foggy glass of the crane's control pod. Their crane was a ultra heavy cube of metal that sat on a pair of treads. It had a narrow profile for easy maneuvering in the tight confines of their cargo bay, but also had a reliable swing boom and an adjusted counterweight. Both boom and counterweight could be folded upright so the entire machine to be stored into a tight space when not in use.

The two foxes joined up with Peppy, who greeted them both passively as he watched the work crew direct and wave Slippy into proper position to drop the first fighter on the trailer. As soon the the fighter touch the metal a group of four crewmembers hopped up and started throwing straps over and under the fuselage to lock the fighter in place for transit through Belter Sol.

"Looks like they'll be done awfully quick now." Krystal was the first to speak.

"Seems like it, after a lot of work was done to get it ready." Peppy agreed with her from over the rim of the steaming cup. "I don't like the idea that we're selling them to someone who might turn and use them later. I highly doubt that Corneria is in the business of buying up second hand Androssian tech. They have plenty of that from their own supply of salvage."

"One man's trash is another man's treasure. Someone thinks they have a bargain on their hands. Those fighters aren't any match for an Arwing, but against standard Cornerian fighters or anything a privateer might have? They'll match them toe to toe and then some." Fox added his own commentary. Peppy nodded and agreed with him.

"Hopefully it's just a privateer looking to better his odds with better ships." Peppy said.

"Privateers?" Krystal asked, turning from Peppy to Fox.

"The Star Fox team is a mercenary outfit. We do whatever we're paid to do: defense, offense, escort, search and rescue, demolition. A privateer is usually just a outfit that runs security. A lot of groups like that do business with private parties and corporations that don't want to pay the fees that mercenaries and the Cornerian military charge." Fox explained.

"Is there a lot of work in doing that?" She asked. Peppy hid a quiet laugh.

"There is, but it's all low paying with a lot of long contracts. They don't pay you a lot, but it can give security for months at a time or even years." Peppy told her. "It's more dangerous to be a mercenary that flies where the client points you, Krystal. You can make a lot more money doing what we do than by playing it safe as a privateer."

"If you can find work." Fox added with a smile and some cynicism. Peppy grunted in agreement and took another sip of his coffee. They all stopped and became quiet when one of the men from the work crew stepped over to them after the work team finished fastening down the first fighter. He was a Goannan with a white collar on his jumpsuit that was different from the other workers in the group. Fox suspected that he was a crew supervisor.

"Foxx McCloud?" The Goanna addressed Fox directly. Fox was sure the question was more for the sake of formality than due to any ignorance on the Goanna's part.

"That's me." Fox replied. The Goannan unzipped the upper portion of his jacket and slide a electronic tablet from his jumpsuit. He popped a stylus free from the side and worked its touch screen briefly before handing it over to him. Fox saw it was paperwork with a place for his signature. Fox took it and glanced at the document on the screen. He signed his name while Peppy peeked over to look at the tablet himself.

"Our Bossess thank you for your bussiness, Mr McCloud." The Goannan said after Fox returned the tablet to him. He checked the tablet to make sure the document had been signed, then keyed the document away into the devices storage. "As per our instructionss we have a dropoff to make with you before we leave with the cargo. Our bossess included a messsage with it."

Fox and team watched the Goannan lift two of his fingers to his lips to give a sharp shrill whistle. Almost every head in the crew turned to look at him, but their boss just snapped his fingers and pointed at the cab of the freight truck. One of the less busy crew, some scrawny canine fellow, jumped at the unspoken command and rushed to the cab and after a minute's worth of time was then walking over with a medium sized container in his arms. It looked like it had some slight weight as he walked it over. The worker that carried it over looked younger than the rest, which likely meant he was likely the errand boy of the group.

"Sit it down, Rod. Git." The Goannan in charge said and jerked his head back in the direction of the truck where the younger man quickly scurried off to. "The messsage reads: We regret that the entire Star Foxx team was unable to attend the celebration from yessterday. To make amendss to that faux pas we are donating a collection of liqueur to your cause. We hope that you will all make good usse of it. As a courtessy, we have included a bottle of non-alcoholic beverage for your lovely maiden who regretfully cannot drink very much."

Fox lifted his eyebrows at first mention of the donation of alcohol, and then fought to hold back a smile when the Goannan finished speaking. He looked over at Krystal who was struggling to suppress a frown. Peppy stepped over and opened the container's lid.

"Oh my." Was all he could say. Fox saw it looked like 8 different bottles of different sizes and shapes. "Well. I might have to make more coffee for later I think."

"You have your liquor, and we will soon have our shipss. Thank you for your time." The Goannan addressed Fox with his eyes and then gave a curt nod before walking away to return to the crew loading up the next fighter. It looked like it'd be another half or so before they finished loading the second one onto the truck for transport.

"A damn non-alcoholic drink." Krystal huffed. Fox and Peppy didn't say anything. Fox offered to take the container up into the Great Fox himself. The three of them left the cargo in Slippy's hands. Fox told Peppy to message Slippy to shut the Great Fox up tight as soon as he could, and that there was alcohol to be had by all.

"I'm curious to see what they've given us. I didn't recognise the names." Peppy said after he put his communicator away. Krystal remained silent about the alcohol.

"You know they don't buy anything cheap. It's all probably good." Fox replied. "Might as well tell Falco, too. This gift might actually get him back to the Great Fox."

Peppy laughed lightly and pulled his communicator back out to send a message. The mess hall was where they did all their lounging and drinking. Everything they had in stock was cheap beer and liquor they'd picked up along the way from their many stops across Lylat. The new bottles were an interesting additional that they had set out across one of the kitchen tables. Peppy was using a tablet to research each bottle.

"We got a brandy. And two kinds of whisky. Some kind of mystery bourbon. I think a lot of this is all from Corneria." Peppy was commentating. "I think this bourbon is actually really expensive."

"Well, of course they'd import expensive liquor from the other side of the system. This probably isn't even their best stuff, either." Fox replied. He was rotating a bottle of scotch in his hands. The bottle looked a lot like the bottle both Baccus and Kilroy were going to for their drinks the day before. Of course this bottle was unopened, but he suspected that this bottle was one of their preferred ones, as they were readily drinking it themselves. It made him also consider that perhaps they had actually given them really good liquor from their stock. Their private bar certainly did have a lot in stock by its appearance.

Krystal was still quietly sulking in her own little way.

"So, you going to try the non-alcoholic drink?" Fox asked, smiling.

"No." She replied. "I'll have whatever that is your holding. They were drinking it, and if they can drink it I can."

Fox shooked his head and sat the bottle back down on the table. If she did touch that bottle she'd be plastered after one shot, likely. The label claimed it was higher proof than most of what Krystal was accustomed to tasting.

Krystal became distracted by a ping on her communicator. She checked it and frowned. Fox noticed her expression, which was focused rather intently on the screen.

"What you got?" Fox asked her. She leaned herself forward over the table with her elbows on the tabletop. She started reading aloud from her screen.

"Do not repeat this message outside your circle. The Loka Brothers request that Fox McCloud of the Star Fox Team, accompanied by crew member Krystal, return this evening to their offices as they did yesterday. It is strongly requested that the Star Fox Team maintains a strong measure of secrecy about the contract they have just signed with the Lokas. When attending the meeting this evening behave as if negotiations are still ongoing. It will be to the Star Fox Team's great advantage if this secrecy is maintained. It involves the two large packages that were purchased from you and quickly resold. Please respond." Krystal finally finished her recitation.

"This is interesting." Peppy spoke up after a moment. He slid aside one of the bottles that blocked his view of Krystal while glancing at Fox. Fox found himself frowning. The idea of returning to the offices left him initially skeptical about their motivations, but he highly doubted that they would go through the elaborate motion of having them keep a tight lid on their contract and maintain an illusion of continued negotiations. They could have told a much simpler lie than that if all they wanted was more sex.

"Sounds like they might have sniffed something, and they think we need to be involved." Fox volunteered.

"But why? Pretending we're still negotiating something means that they don't want outside parties to think any ink has dried." Peppy said. With the alcohol forgotten for the moment Fox was considering the reasons why they'd want secrecy all of a sudden.

"Has Falco been bragging any? He's been out in Belter a lot." Fox asked Peppy.

"Not that I'm aware. He hasn't let things slip in the past, as miraculous as that is." Peppy replied. Fox wavered on that. He didn't like not knowing how tight Falco had been keeping his lips. "I can send him a encrypted message to let him know."

Fox nodded and agreed with Peppy that Falco needed to know. Whatever the Loka's reason was it must have been a legitimate one. It was frustrating that they dropped this issue in their laps suddenly. Fox tried to relax himself. If the brothers were anything it was efficient and orderly with their affairs. If they were acting this off the cuff then it must have been due to a development that just hit their notice. He did his best not to let it coax him into imagining worst case scenarios.

"I know Falco is not the most useful person when outside a cockpit, but I don't think he'd be telling our private matters to anyone with an ear. He's too street savvy to give away anything like that." Krystal spoke up in an effort to defend Falco in his absence. She wasn't wrong, but the falcon was absent and until he turned back up at the Great Fox they'd have no way to know what he had or hadn't done.

"I doubt Slippy has said anything to anyone. He's been on the ship the entire time hasn't he?" Fox asked Peppy. The hare nodded and replied that as far as he was aware both he and Slippy hadn't left the ship since they first docked. "Alright. Send him a message just to be sure, and let him know to get up here as soon as they are done down there."

"We're suppose to give them a response, Fox." Krystal reminded him. Fox wasn't sure what to do, but seeing as how their options were hidden from them, apart from agreeing to pay them a visit, he guessed they had no choice. A response was in the cards to give.

"Reply to them. Let them know we will meet with them this evening." Fox told her. She took up her communicator and began to finger in a response. "Ask them for a time."

"Ok." She complied while she typed.

"We should also change clothing, especially you. You were dressed like a CEO yesterday and it would look strange if you showed up looking like I did." Fox told her, and she nodded at him and said she'd change into something else. Peppy finished his own string of messages.

"Should I prepare anything here? I'm not sure if this situation calls for any strict measures, does it?" Peppy asked. Since no one knew anything about why the meeting was being called under the given circumstances, Fox wasn't sure quite how to proceed, but precautions weren't a bad idea.

"Plan so that after we leave everything is shut tight, per usual. Wait for a response from us when we get there. If we send a positive message, you can relax, otherwise just be awake and listening. The Lokas didn't include any warnings I feel warrant more than a careful eye." Fox told him. Krystal was finished penning her narrative and she showed it to Fox. He eyed it over and approved it, then told her she could send the message.

With their response sent Fox goaded Krystal into following him back to their quarters to change. Their lunch was a late one, but there would still likely be some time between the present and their meeting. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he felt that even with their secret arrangement, there had to be a legitimate reason for their meeting. The idea that they would also want sex didn't leave his mind either.

"You're not changing?" She asked him as she fished out items from their closet. Krystal was making an effort not to wear the identical outfit from the the day before.

"I always wear this. It would attract attention if I suddenly wore something else." Fox replied. "And I don't think attention outside the ordinary is what the Lokas want for today."

"Maybe." She said. Krystal pulled a dark navy vest out and held it up to her chest. She stood to face him while she wore just a pair of black leggings and the upheld vest. "This?"

"A vest is fine." He told her. She took it off the hanger and pulled it on. She picked a pencil skirt and jacket to wear with it, but both were black. Krystal looked as nice as she did in the previous outfit. Very formal. "Wear a choker."

"A choker, huh?" She asked. He shrugged.

"They look cute on you." Fox replied. She smiled and riffled through the closet until she had a navy choker in hand. She had a few different ones in her wardrobe. She walked over and unclipped the band before handing it to Fox. He took it from her and stepped behind her to wrap it around her neck so he could clip it shut.

Krystal turned around to face him before slipping her arms around his middle for a hug. He felt her squeeze herself tightly against him.

"Do you think you'll be ok?" She asked. He pondered the question briefly.

"I'll be fine." Fox replied while wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"I can tell them no." She said. He felt a measure of concern in her voice, but he couldn't find himself agreeing with her. There was a part of him that certainly wanted her to shout outrage at the Lokas, for sure. But then there was a prideful aspect of himself that felt like he couldn't be allowed to look weak in front of them. If she backed down from sleeping with them, if it came to that, then Fox would look worse in their eyes. There was no way to "win" as far as Fox was concerned. He could only play by their perverse rules and ride the wave until their was profit sitting in their coffers.

"Tell them yes. I won't be taken by surprise this time." He tried explaining to her. Fox felt he was putting on a strong front, and judging by her reaction he must have been somewhat successful.

"I love you." She told him. Krystal buried her face into his chest.

"I love you, too. Stop being a worry wart." He told her. She clung to him tightly still and so he decided to pinch her on the back of her neck in response.

"Ow!" she pouted and lightly hit him on the arm. He smiled down at her and she lost her pout and smiled back. "OK, fine."

"Go check if they replied." He asked her, and she stepped away to retrieve her communicator from the bed. He watched her manipulate her screen briefly before he turned away to look at himself in the mirror installed in the inside of the closet door. He saw himself, and readjusted his expression. Fox felt he looked too dour. He reached up and pulled the scarf free from around his neck and fixed his jacket collar back in place.

"They say they cleared their schedule for the rest of the day. We can be there as early as we want, but no sooner than 1600. They are returning from a meeting and won't be back to their offices until then." She told him. Krystal watched him walk toward her with the scarf in his hands. She smiled as he wrapped the scarf around her neck and tied it gently around her. "Now no one can see the choker." Krystal pointed out.

"They'll see it after the scarf comes off." He told her. "We can be fashionably late at 1700 hours. We should try to brief Slippy and Falco before we go."

"If Falco bothers to show up." She commented. Her hands ran their fingers between her neck and the scarf to adjust its comfort.

"I'm sure he'll try. He'll suspect something is up and do his best to show up modestly sober." Fox said. He was reasonably certain Falco knew where the draw the line between pleasure and business, and whenever things seemed off kilter for the team he usually drew the line and flew back to the nest. He had a habit of that at least, but it wasn't a 100% guarantee.

It was nearing 1600 hours now, and Fox urged Krystal to make sure she felt she was all in order before they left. Slippy was in the mess with Peppy, and they had both exchanged updates regarding the affair with the Lokas as well as the finishing touches on getting the fighters out of their cargo bay. There wasn't much to say about either the former or the latter, and Falco was a no show.

"He's coming back. Didn't say from where." Peppy told Fox when he asked. "I think he's making a beeline though. Are you leaving now?"

"They said we could be there as early as 1600, but Fox wants to show up late." Krystal replied.

"Fashionably late." Fox corrected her.

"This seems awfully fishy to me, Fox. It's weird." Slippy added, and it was clear he was less than happy about the arrangement. The toad had a history of not liking the Lokas, which he couldn't be faulted for, honestly.

To everyone's mild surprise Falco showed up with R.O.B. in tow.

"Falco, there are stimulants in the medical bay." R.O.B. was explaining to the falcon. He brushed the android off. He looked sleepy and hungover like he'd been on too long a binge from yesterday and today.

"So what's the deal?" He asked, looking at Fox. They spent the next half hour explaining the situation in greater detail to Falco, who was readily suspicious of the whole ordeal. The bird let it be known he wasn't pleased with the arrangement.

"We don't know enough about this, Fox. The lizards aren't usually this sketchy." Falco was saying. "I mean they're sketchy, but at least they are more up front about it."

"I know, but I think this time it has to do with whoever bought those two space fighters. The Lokas promised us more work, so my gut says this all relates to that." Fox told him. The entire team either sat or stood around the table like satellite orbiting the collection of alcohol arrayed on the table top.

"Yeah, well your gut might be wrong." Falco stressed. He was looking a lot more sober now without the stimulants R.O.B. had suggested. The current scenario had sharpened his focused through necessity. "You all ok with this? You?"

Falco had turned to Krystal. She nodded to him.

"We'll both be fine, Falco. I don't think they have any reason to betray us. I think they have more reason to do well by us than to do anything else, right Fox?" Krystal answered. She was sure in her voice, and Fox had to agree. Of course they had more reason to do well by the Star Fox Team. The Lokas wouldn't do anything to let harm come to their maiden. Krystal seemed to notice something from his mood, so he spoke to throw her off.

"Falco, we'll be fine. But, Peppy, I've changed my mind about what I want everyone else to do. If it sounds right to you all, you can keep the Great Fox quietly in standby and the three of you can double check the armory. I don't want you to sit and worry while we're gone, but it won't hurt to at least have a pistol close by." Fox told them. Krystal quickly agreed with them that being prepared would ease all their worries.

"My worries will go away as soon as the two of you are back in once piece." Falco say.

"I agree." Peppy added his own concern.

"Well, it's after 1600, Fox." Slippy spoke up. "I don't like any of this, but I can go and help R.O.B. get the Great Fox in order now. Peppy, you and Falco can handle checking over the armory, right."

"Right, Peppy, let's get it done. You don't do anything stupid Fox, and Krystal," Falco pointed at her. "Don't let him do anything stupid. You're the only one on this team we can trust not to be stupid."

"You're one to talk." Slippy said while making his move to the corridor to head to the ship's bridge.

"Ha ha, Slip." Falco replied. Peppy and Falco each wished the foxes good luck and the whole group departed the seperate ways. Fox and Krystal ran into R.O.B. in the corridor leading to the cargo bay.

"Krystal. I have stimulants for Falco, but he does not want them." He told them.

"You can put them back in the medical bay, if he wants them he can get them himself." Fox told the android.

"I understand you might be drinking with the Loka Brothers tonight, Krystal. Would you like the stimulants?" R.O.B. asked her before departing on his own.

"I really don't need them, R.O.B. but thank-" She began.

"Take them, Krystal. We both might need them." Fox told her. She shrugged and took them from the android. "Slippy needs your help, R.O.B."

"Yes, Fox. Good Luck." The android replied and began his journey to the Great Fox's bridge to join Slippy.

They hailed a taxi once they were free of Belter's outer ring. A taxi quickly flew in and dropped its feet to the metal landing pad. Fox held Krystal back as he saw another person approach the taxi first, but the driver refused to let the door open for him. Fox could hear the driver and the guy argue before the rebuffed passenger glared at both Fox and Krystal then marched off further down the strip to hail another taxi.

"For us?" Krystal asked. Fox started off to the taxi and Krystal trailed him.

"Let's find out." He said while they walked. The taxi's door slid open for them and the cabin was empty. It was obvious at a glance that it was a similar taxi to the one that dropped them off that morning. "It's for us."

Their driver didn't say anything, and the window pane between him and them was shut. The door slid into place after they'd entered and the taxi was on its way. Everything about it seemed planned out, like the driver had been instructed to wait for them, and then be the taxi to pick them up. Fox didn't feel surprised at the special treatment. If this kind of thing was going to be a recurring theme he wasn't completely against it. Belter Sol was a cesspit at the worst of times and a sleazy dive at the best. Having the option to take advantage of something better sounded good to his ears even if the reasons for why they were being treated so well made him uncomfortable.

"Fox?" Krystal asked him with a nudge from her shoulder into his own. They sat together on the leather seat and the vixen was keeping a sensitive eye on him. She smiled at him.

"Hmm?" He wasn't sure what she wanted, but her expression ended up giving it away. Fox didn't want to comment on it.

"You're feeling it again." She said. Krystal ran a hand over his thigh reassuringly. He smiled at her and put his hand over her own and squeezed.

"I know what we're walking into this time. Don't worry about me." He tried to tell her but she didn't looked convinced at all. Her face had line after line of worry for him. "You're as easy to read as my emotions are to you."

Krystal didn't pout, but she leaned into him instead and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I can say no, remember?" She said after a few moments. Her hand gripped his thigh.

"You worry about me too much. I know what's going to happen, and I'll be ok with it. Even if you feel something from me I don't want you to worry. This isn't something that is as easy for me to adapt to, is all." He told her while leaning his head onto hers. He hoped his physical strength could somehow dissuade her of her worries. It would make him feel better at least. "Krystal?"

"I'm just worried. I got really carried away last time. I didn't feel anything from you until afterwards. It has me worried that I... lost myself... that much." His vixen explained. Fox noticed her free hand was bunched into a fist in her lap.

"If I ever reach a point where I want it to stop, I will tell you, Krystal. I'll look you in the eye and tell you. I think I know you well enough to know that that would work anytime, anywhere." He told her firmly. He was surprised by the strength of his own voice. It sounded more confident than he was really feeling. She hugged herself close to him.

"I know you will." she said. Fox felt a mask of bravado swelling around him. He really did feel psyched up. By trying to convince her he was also convincing himself, and that was perfectly fine. He'd be needing it.

He could see ahead through the forward window that they were nearing the final approach to the Loka's headquarters. He kept a faint smile on his face while he hugged Krystal close to him. Honestly, Fox knew if Krystal 'lost herself' again that there would be nothing he could do to snap her out of it. She was right to be worried, he thought. It was better to allow her to find comfort in the illusion that he could step in and stop it whenever her wanted. A lie they could both share. Maybe she knew he was lying, but at least she was behaving a little more self assured now.

The landing procedure was quick and painless and they were greeted by a pair of Goannan guards. They didn't ask for any ID and they were escorted promptly up to the Loka's front lobby.

A myriad of ladies, all Goannan, were on display in the lobby at all their usual posts in the windowed office partition of the lobby. Fox recognised the blue one, Mynt, from this morning. She certainly noticed him from the other side of the window pane. She and a handful of other girls were making themselves look busy at their desks with nail files and polish. One girl was reading a magazine. Fox wasn't sure he'd ever seen any of them do any actual work.

"She likes you." Krystal whispered.

"They all kind of like me." Fox whispered back to her in return as they made their way through the length of the lobby to the receptionist at the other end of the room.

"Miss Mynt likes you." She repeated herself with emphasis. "Maybe being blue in color makes women weak in the knees for fighter pilots?"

He smiled at her joke. They were both still in view of the ladies behind the glass, and he was careful not to make it clear he'd noticed Mynt. He grabbed Krystal on the rump and squeezed. The vixen wiggled subtly and chastised him with a whisper.

"Don't be mean, she's fuming." She whispered to him. Fox thought he was hearing a dash of smugness in his vixen's voice. He grinned while keeping his eyes ahead at their destination.

"That so?" he asked. She glanced over at him.

"Jealousy is strong in that one. Women's intuition." she said with a wink and a smile. Of course there was no intuition about it when her empathic abilities. He was both amused and uncomfortable that he had a female admirer that could set off Krystal's senses.

"Maybe." He said.

"Misster McCloud!" The secretary girl exclaimed as soon as she looked up from her tablet. She had been chewing on a lock of hair absently. She was now upright and chipper. "Misster and Misster Loka are waiting for you both! And you are in perfect time, too! They arrived from their meeting not very long ago! Please do go in so they can greet you!"

They were offered the door to the Loka offices and they took it on their own. Fox was certain the girl at the desk would be right back to her tablet after the door was once again shut. Fox never believed the girls here were hired for their work ethic or business acumen. They were certainly assets, however.

Once inside they found the office was empty. The oversized desk was vacant as were the two idle chairs where they had sat the day before. Neither Fox nor Krystal were willing to roam out and explore. They decided to each take a seat and wait for what may come.

Now that he had a chance to wander with his eyes he saw the room's detail better. Fox noted the doors to his right that led to the lounge and the bathroom. Both were shut, and opposite them was another single door that lacked any discernible way to open it, as opposed to the other classical doors that weren't set to automatically open with sensors. It too was also shut. It made him wonder, if the door on his left led to the Loka's private chambers, and if there was more to this "office" of theirs than let on. He doubted that with their money and resources that they'd settle for only a single bedroom each. It just didn't feel like their style to settle for less when they could go a more ostentatious route.

"We could knock on one of the doors." Krystal suggested.

"They have to know we're here. They are just being-" Fox began to reply when the door on the left opened. Fox learned why it didn't have a doorknob due the door sliding open with a swish like a modern door. Kilroy stepped in, fully garbed in a black suit, but looking much more casual than normal. He wore a white button down under his blazer and both items were partially unbuttoned around the collar and untucked. Fox caught a glimpse past him into the rooms beyond and saw it was a modest length hallway with other doors, maybe three or more, both open and shut. He was right that they had more back there. For all he knew the entire floor of this building was their private sandbox.

"Baccus! We have guestss!" Kilroy surprised both of them by barking out his firsts words down the hall before stepping far enough away from the doors hidden sensors to allow it to automatically shut. "I hope you both enjoyed the ride from and to here. Our taxiss are better than the resst."

"Yes! We were surprised to see how nice they were on the inside, Mr. Kilroy." Krystal spoke first. "We appreciate you taking such care to transport us."

"You needn't call me misster, nor Baccus either." Kilroy strode around to his chair on the other side of the desk, but he did not sit down. "Jusst Baccus and Kilroy will do."

"Oh, of course! Certainly, Kilroy." She replied. Fox was eyeing him with suspicion, then whispered to Krystal to sent a short message letting the others know that they had arrived safely. She nodded and pulled free her communicator.

"We have a small fleet of private vehicless for different usess. If you have other bussiness to take care of on Belter Sol we can arrange the taxiss for you to use as well. It costss uss nothing to extend the courtessy." Kilroy replied. He was opening and shutting drawers on the desk as if in search of something. He seemed impatient about it. "Pardon my brother."

Kilroy moved back to the sliding door and rapped his knuckles on it. After a pause the door slid open for him. "Baccus! They are here. And where did you put the package?"

Fox and Krystal sat and watched as Kilroy left them alone again in frustration. The sliding door closed as soon as the Goannan's tail was out of range. They looked at each other silently for a moment before Krystal mouthed the words, "Well this is different." Fox nodded. He noticed she had tucked her communicator away. She'd sent the message. He was actually taken aback slightly by the change in mood in the Loka office, and he wasn't sure how to proceed. He had expected a tight and orderly affair like before. This seemed more rushed to a point of being casual. He'd wasn't sure if he'd ever seen the Lokas be casual.

The door slid open again with voices hitting their ears as soon as the door cracked the seal between the hallway and rooms. The door was clearly soundproofed, and the knuckle rapping on the door was not for Baccus, but to activate some touch sensor on the door. There may have been more to the security of the door than that, but from just his short observation that was what Fox could gather.

"-trying to find the package, Kilroy! Candi made a mess of the entire room and nothing wass wear it should be." Baccus was speaking. The two brothers entered in file and moved around behind their desk, but neither chose to sit.

"Then dock her pay if she can't leave well enough alone. Then fuck one of the other oness instead of her. Remind her that she is only one of several." Kilroy responded and reached the door to the lounge, as he was first in their brotherly lineup. Both foxes were a little stunned by the candid nature of the discussion. "Flyboy, Maiden, please join uss in the lounge. We have much to disscuss."

"Interessting developmentss have occured regarding thosse fighterss you so kindly sold to uss." Baccus joined before following his brother who had already opened the door and entered the lounge. The nicknames didn't sting like they did the day before, and Fox stood up first and Krystal quickly followed. Fox intended to keep that sting to a minimum. He didn't like being made to feel weak, and if he was to soothe Krystal's worries to any degree he'd have to be a bit more resilient to their verbal abuse than he had been. She hugged close to him as they walked, he noticed. Fox figured she was still anxious about how things would proceed. He had no idea what she was feeling from him right now.

"Take a seat." Baccus gestured to the corner of the lounge where there were couches and a large display screen mounted into the wall. Kilroy and Baccus were making there way to the bar. Fox noticed that Baccus was dressed the same as Kilroy. He wondered if they did that because they had identical tastes or if it was just for the visual effect of seeing them as a near identical pair. If it wasn't for Baccus' facial scar and Kilroy's capped tail end, it'd take their mother to tell them apart.

"Do either of you want to drink? We have a non-alcoholic beverage for the maiden." Kilroy hissed with light laughter. Krystal smiled, but Fox knew she was probably a little bit offended.

"I wouldn't mind having a glass of that scotch you were drinking yesterday." Fox replied, and Krystal grabbed his arm, but he wasn't sure if there was meaning to the gesture or not.

"Sure. And the maiden?" Baccus asked. They were both already pouring themselves scotch from a freshly opened bottle.

"I'll have what you are all having." She said patiently. Fox sighed and she tightened a hand on his hand in protest at him. He looked at her, and she looked back. There was to be no disagreement on her choice.

"Then we shall see how skillfully the maiden handless her liquor, then." Kilroy said. The brothers stepped away from the bar with glasses and the bottle of scotch in hand. The group of four made to seat themselves with Fox finding a spot on the couch, which turned out to be very comfortable almost like a mattress. Kilroy took a cushioned chair and Baccus sat near to him on the other side of the couch, which was curved to wrap around the corner of the room. Krystal was going to sit next to Fox, but Kilroy gestured to her to take glasses of scotch for her and Fox.

She retrieved the glasses, each now filled with the amber liquid, and she gave one to Fox and kept one for herself.

"Why doesn't the maiden sit next to me. We don't need to be so formal in the lounge." Baccuss suggested and Fox noticed her ears perk up. She seemed nervous to decide and Fox made up her mind for her.

"Sure, why not." Fox said. Krystal looked at him, and he gave her no indication that he had an issue. Krystal smiled at Baccus politely as she sat next to him, but it wasn't close enough for his liking and he reached around her middle to slide her over until she was right next to him, thigh to thigh. His hand drifted then to her hip and remained there.

Neither of the Lokas seemed displeased by this, and Kilroy was the first to speak.

"Now, Misster McCloud. We have successfully sold the twin fighterss to a buyer. It wass a very quick turn around. Someone out there iss in a painful need for firepower, and they were looking for anything that wass of certain makess and orgiinss." Kilroy explained. Krystal took her first sip of the scotch while she and Fox listened. Baccus almost snorted when she made an ugly face at the taste of the scotch. Fox's earlier assumption that the scotch was stronger than anything she'd ever had before was proven correct.

"Don't drink it took hastily, maiden." Baccus told her. "The buyer was interessted in anything that came from Andross. Very interessted."

"And thiss wasn't even very well hidden. They are ussing middle men to make the purchasess so that it is not obviouss that it is all going to one place, but their middle men are not skilled enough to deal with uss and maintain secrecy. We figured it out rather quickly." Kilroy continued. "We felt it was necessary to take extra measures for thiss arrangement, and we also did not let the illustriouss Star Fox Team drift from our thoughtss."

Kilroy finished and gestured an open hand to his brother. Baccus handed his glass to Krystal, who took it for him, then used his free hand to retrieve a small paper parcel from the shirt pocket under his blazer. Fox did noticed that Baccus couldn't be bothered to remove the hand rubbing at Krystal's hip and waist. Krystal seemed to be ignoring the hand on her so far, and she hadn't taken more than two or three sips of her scotch.

Baccus leaned away from Krystal just enough to extend the package over to Kilroy before returning back to his seat to hug Krystal tighter. She returned his glass to him and he took a swallow. Neither he nor his brother were phased by the beverage, and Fox's own handling of the drink was near to their level. He'd had scotch before, and was better adjusted to its bite.

"This here iss a gift to you." Kilroy said with parcel in hand. "It is a data chip with several frequenciess loaded onto it. I'm certain your mechanic and android can asscertain how besst to usse it aboard the Great Fox." He sat the parcel in front of him on the coffee table. Fox and Krystal both stared at the paper square with curiosity.

"And why would this be something we would need?" Fox asked, he sat his glass on the table and crossed his arms. Both brothers grinned enough to show their teeth.

"Our crew that readied the fighterss for transsport weren't just preparing them to be moved." Kilroy explained.

"In fact, they were bussy installing tiny transmitterss inside their interiorss were they would not be found." Baccus added. "Actually, even if they were professionally trained mechanicss that served under Andross I doubt they'd know the difference between our transmitterss and one of their stock model rivetss."

Fox exchanged curious glances with Krystal.

"Well, this is unexpected." Fox admitted. He leaned back into the coach and looked hard at the paper square on the coffee table.

"You've gone to a great length to secure this." Krystal spoke up. There was a note of worry in her voice. Baccus ran his hand up her side until he could cup her breast. Fox saw her hesitate for a moment before relaxing into his palm.

"Hardly, maiden. If they did find them, which we are both certain they won't, they will see the transmitterss are made from Cornerian parts." Baccus reassured her, and Fox, both.

"Not only that," Kilroy continued for his brother, "but they were actually manufactured ON Corneria. So, being that the Star Fox Team acquired the fighterss in the first place, who iss to say the Team wasn't trying to be clever and wanted to track to see who would buy the fighterss?"

Fox reach for his glass and took a good swallow of his scotch and thought. This was indeed interesting and unexpected, he thought. He considered that they were completely right. They had salvaged the fighters themselves and had ample opportunity to sabotage them or alter them in whatever way they wanted. They had them in the cargo hold for enough time to do whatever they wanted with them.

"So you feel that you both have an honest alibi if they found the fighters tampered with." Krystal volunteered, showing she had been thinking much of the same things Fox was considering himself.

"Yes, exactly." Baccus answered her and finished his glass. "If they accusse uss of anything, we will just say that we had no time to inspect the fighter beyond a curssory overview. The buyer wanted them as fasst as possible and we had lesss than a day to package them and deliver."

Krystal leaned out away from Baccus toward the coffee table where the bottle of scotch sat nearest to them. Baccus was about to pull her back to him until he realized what she was after. They all sat quietly while she retrieved the bottle and topped off Baccus' glass and then offered to do the same for Kilroy and Fox. Kilroy took a little more and Fox declined. He'd been sipping his more gingerly. Kilroy made sure to cop a feel on her rump when she returned to her seat. Baccus held her by the waist as she sat to force her to land on leg where she was now straddling his thigh.

"So the package is yourss if you desire it. It containss all that you need to locate the transmitterss." Baccus said while he busied his free hand by stroking Krystal's inner thigh. She looked at him and he smiled back at her. She seemed to be blushing and took another tiny sip of scotch, which made her bite back a sour expression.

"And how will they not notice the signal from the transmitter? Won't they pick it up on their own?" Fox asked.

"They will pick it up on their sensorss, yess." Kilroy admitted. "But the transmitterss are only broadcasting noise that are already in great abundance in the Lylat system. Radio, microwave, radiation. It's space noisse."

"But the transmitterss are sending out noise in a pattern. You have to have the data on that chip to know what to look for." Baccus added.

"Otherwise you are only going to hear the background noise of space. It will mean nothing unless you have the data chip." Fox nodded along. Slippy would know what to do with the data, and the Great Fox had the tech to be able to sift through just about anything being broadcasted out in Lylat.

"Are there a lot of them?" Krystal asked. She looked at Fox and eyed down at Baccus' roaming hand. They made eye contact again he felt the now familiar twinge of jealously and nerves. He smiled at her. She smiled back.

"That we know of? They now have at leasst two fighterss that need repairss to be functional. We have only a fragmented knowledge of their assets and numberss." Kilroy admitted with an apologetic gesture of the hand.

"But I would assume they have some measure of fighting capability, and the means to tend to damaged shipss." Baccus added. "At a minimum they must have a carrier or a functional basse of operationss, since they are doing the repair work themselvess. They have been shopping around for hardware for monthss, and with how tight Corneria is regarding Androssian salvage I'd susspect that they've had difficulty procuring large amountss of hardware."

"So we susspect. We could be grossly wrong, as our intelligence in this matter is underwhelming." Kilroy said. "But you can do with thiss what you will. It iss your decision to make."

"So long ass you speak nothing of our involvement." Baccus added firmly.

"Whatever we do, gentleman, we will always be certain not to bring any trouble to Belter Sol." Krystal replied. She poured the contents of her half empty scotch glass into Baccus' to top it off. The brothers drank quickly, but Fox had come to notice that from yesterday.

"I think it would be foolish to turn away the gift. My team will find a way to bring some good out of it." Fox replied to both of the brothers. Honestly, he did feel confident that something could be done, and they had worried where the fighters would wind up. It almost upset him that they hadn't considered the possibility that they could bug the fighters and track their location, or at least pass along that information to the General Pepper. He'd appreciate any help offered in weeding out the scraps of Androssian resistance that still plagued large swathes of Lylat.

"Then I think it'ss settled then, don't you agree Kilroy?" Baccus said. His hand was now firmly working its way between her thighs. Her skirt was slowly bunching up more and more up her legs as he wormed his hand closer to her crotch. She was leaning into him while he explored her while dodging her eyes from the two brothers, both of whom were eying her as well, and then to Fox. She looked expectant and nervous at once.

"I do agree." Kilroy replied. "Perhapss now that our first item of business iss in order we should move on to the nexxt item for the evening. If Flyboy doessn't have any objectionss, I feel we should conssult our lovely maiden about what to do nexxt."

Krystal was quiet and looked from brother to brother, seeming flushed with nerves and excited together. She looked at Fox. He took a swallow from his glass and tipped it back to finished its contents.

"This 'Flyboy' gets to enjoy his maiden whenever he wants. I don't see why I'd have object to sharing." Fox said. Krystal was surprised, if her eyes were anything to go by, and Kilroy lightly cackled.

"Well, then, shall we see what our maiden desiress, then?" Kilroy replied loudly. He looked to Krystal and Baccus grinned while waiting for an answer. His hand had worked its way deeper between her thighs now with his hand obscured by the fabric of her skirt. He was surely molesting her crotch by now, especially with how his wrist was rotating in plain view. She was breathing heavier and squirming.

"I think that," she looked at Fox again. He smiled at her, forcing bravado to the front of his mind, thinking boldly, staying confident. When he was in the academy, just a rookie, he was hazed a lot by the more veteran cadets. Even some of his instructors got into the deal. He wasn't the only one either. The hazing was harsh, it was physical, it was mental. They were hunting the ranks of rookies like him for weakness, and hoping to find strength. The tests were hard and when a rookie like him was found wanting the hazing got harder until they washed out. Fox didn't wash out. He took it and grew stronger from it. He was going to look at these brothers like a pair of asshole upperclassmen. Trying to push him until he broke. Fox wasn't going to let himself be broken. He smiled at Krystal with cool confidence and nodded at her. He hoped his bravado would hold out the night. "I think... I think I would like to enjoy everyone's company tonight. If our hosts didn't mind."