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Chapter -13- Star Fox Commanding

The next morning, Surface of Miracle ...

Krystal took a deep breath, as if emerging from a deep swim. Her heart pounded in her chest, thudding in her ears like a hammer against textured rice paper. She exhaled through clenched teeth. Her lower lip trembled.

The vixen's ears lowered back, and all of her tension bled out of her shoulders.

Her body pulsed in a way she'd never felt before now. She felt light and, to a degree, also light-headed. She placed her paws upon Fox's shoulders for support, to keep from slouching too much.

"How was that?" he whispered softly. His paws eased back from her waistline and moved to her forearms.

"Worth waiting for," she replied in earnest. Her paws went to his, and she interlocked her fingers with his own. "You ... sly dog, I didn't know you could do that to me."

"I'm glad you liked it." Fox looked up at his vixen, perched upon his lap. He smiled at her with a gaze of admiration and adoration. "I hope I make you cum like that every time I touch you."

"You would have me undone," she said. "I doubt I could handle something that intense _every _time we have sex." She glanced down where their bodies met. "I'm too sensitive to move. What did you call that, again?"

"Tantric."

Krystal exhaled slow and deep. "You really put time and effort into that."

"That's the point. Slow build up. I've never tried it before. You're worth trying something new, Krystal."

She offered him an exhausted smile. "You're being sweeter than I've ever seen from you in the past. More impressive than that is ... how you're being consistent with your actions and emotions. I appreciate that."

"You're worth it," Fox replied. He gave her paws a gentle clench, then he released her fingers from his own. "I know that, well, once we leave this world, or once we find and disable the pheromone distribution center, things will be less intense, but ... they don't have to be."

"I agree. It seems like we've been more affected than when we first arrived."

"Yeah, I think it's starting to build up in our bodies, maybe."

Krystal nodded. "Either it's something that is building in our bodies, or we're getting closer to the source. I'm thinking it's the latter because my sense of smell and taste are changing."

"Oh, I'd not considered a saturation level. You're right, we might be getting closer to where it's more ... concentrated. So, your senses are being affected? How, exactly, would you say they're changing?"

"Like a pregnant woman, I think. That's what I've read." Krystal rolled her paw outward, looking for a way to explain. "For one, our MREs taste difference. My sense of smell is getting stronger. I don't know how to explain it better than that. And your musk is driving me crazy. That's not something I ever thought I'd admit, but there it was."

Fox grinned up at her. "Yeah, I could use a shower. That's for sure."

"I've never found the smell of sweat 'sexy,' but my god, I can't get enough of you. That's why I think we're getting closer to the distribution center for the pheromone."

"Ah, that makes sense." A grin tugged at his maw. "I'm glad you're not doing this mission with anyone else."

Krystal laughed. "Yeah, but I've always had feelings for you - ever since you saved my life. Ever since I met you. It's been an instant bond of trust. You have treated me as an equal, and you have respected my desire to fight for something. I know you have my back. I'm just glad we both feel the same way about one another."

"Just ... promise me you won't ask to go on missions if-and-when you're pregnant."

"That's ... reasonable, Fox. Just so long as you take a break when I do. I want to experience this together. Whether we're at war or not, if we're bringing a family into this life, it has to be together. As a team."

"Krystal, if we're attacked and I have to go into battle, I would want you home, keeping the children safe. But if you want to organize and take control of the situation back home, then..."

"Fox. Listen to me. I am a telepath. My race? We already know how to anticipate one another's needs. We speak ... spoke out of social courtesy, and we did our best not to pry into the thoughts and dreams of our neighbors, the same way Cornerians try not to eavesdrop on their neighbors, especially those with fantastic hearing, like Peppy. But my race does everything together. Did. It ... once did everything ... together. And, well, now, I crave that. A feeling of belonging. It's how I'm hardwired."

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

She sensed his inquiry and frowned. "The reason I was alone in my shuttle, is because I was a volunteer, performing a study and repair on a distant orbital probe at the edge of our system. It gave me the chance to get away and be alone with my thoughts for a few days. That is very different than being alone with my thoughts for the rest of my life."

"Wait, you didn't know your system was about to be doomed?"

"I knew there was a problem with our system's star. I didn't know it would doom the planet. My parents made sure I got on that shuttle. They figured out that the system didn't have long. They made sure I wouldn't be in harm's way, and they made sure I had more than enough fuel. They made sure I had provisions, and my mother packed family jewelry that was a heritage right - it's how I knew she knew. I wore the ruby tierra out of the system, but then I found the emerald tierra she always wore. It was packed away on my ship. Now I wear it to honor her. Needless to say, Fox, I didn't run away when the world began to freeze. I was beyond range to help."

"I can respect what your parents did, Krystal. They protected you. They protected their legacy."

"Fox, we talked about this. I'm like my parents - I want to do what it takes to protect my child, just like they did, but I also want nothing more than to be the one that stands for something - I could never run from danger."

"Yeah, well, Krystal ... I'm literally afraid to put you into danger, especially if we go forward with having a family, because I don't want to lose another important person in my life. And, well, you're possibly the last of your race. I can't be responsible for the last Cerinian to die."

"You are not responsible for the death of Fara Phoenix. It was war. You're a small team, and you were spread thin."

"Krystal..."

"Fox..." she replied.

"Krystal, listen ... if there is serious danger, I wouldn't want my child to grow up without a mother. I know what it's like. It sucks."

"I don't want to hear it. I may change my mind once I have a child in my arms, but I won't promise you anything, because, let me tell you, I will fight tooth and nail to protect my baby's home."

"Krystal..."

"I'm serious, Fox. I would happily give my life to protect the future legacy, culture, and heritage of Cerinia. Our child would be all that's left of Cerinia, and I will fight to protect that. You can't deny me the right to fight if it becomes necessary."

"Krystal..." he repeated.

"Fox, please. If we're going to do this ... if there is going to be an us, it has to be total and without reservation. I am your wingmate, your teammate, and your mating partner. Sober, squiffy, or sloshed, we do everything together. No more waffling about it. We're a team. Got it?"

Fox took a deep breath, followed by a firm nod. "All right. I can respect that. I mean, you know, I'll do my best. I want to make you happy."

Krystal sensed his reservations, but she also sensed that he wanted to try for her. She leaned down with a smile, still perched upon his lap, and kissed his lips softly. "Thank you," she whispered against his maw. "I appreciate the respect you're showing me. At the risk of sounding vulgar, I have fallen arse-over-tit for you, lover boy."

"I'm a little on the traditional side at times. I'll do my best not to mess things up."

"Fox, my love, you were denied the right to enjoy a normal childhood with both of your parents. You were denied the knowledge of a healthy loving relationship, and you were denied a childhood of your mother's attention. It is unfair what Andross took from you. Just as it is unfair that I have to endure a life without my family, my race, and so much more. But, the fact that I want to fight for Lylat because I was denied the chance to fight for Cerinia ... and the fact you want to fight for a safe star system where you can father a family in the way you've romanticized about the things that 'could have been' with your own family..." She trailed off and shook her head.

"Yeah?"

"...It is both gut-wrenchingly sad to me, and so very moving to see that you want what you could not have. It's very pure, it's very wonderful. And I want to be the woman to give you that. But only if you give me what I need - a relationship where we share whatever happens, no matter what it is, together as a team. Now, I know you have your reservations..."

"Yeah, I do."

"But the fact you said you're willing to try and work through them? That means _everything_to me, Fox."

"I'm glad. I'll do my best."

"That will have to be enough. After all, I need for my children to have a father. So, you know I'll have to have your six. I can't let anyone shoot off that handsome tail you have."

Fox chuckled and looked away, briefly. "I've never heard anyone else compliment my butt."

"Were Fara and Miyu blind?"

Fox choked on his nervous chuckle. "Uh, I hope not - they were pretty good pilots. I thought you felt it was weird to bring them up."

"No, it's weird that you try to suppress your memories of them. You cannot mourn or learn from your past if you do not reflect on it from time to time."

"I'm a McCloud, and the way we handle pain and drama is to bottle it, lock the lid, and handle whatever life is throwing at us."

"That's unhealthy," she said with a nervous sounding chuckle. "Bordering on dangerous, really."

"Yeah, probably. But it's how I put my feelings about my family aside, so I could focus on fighting Andross. I couldn't let him beat me, and I had to be the one to put him down. So, I bottled everything the way my father taught me, and I forced myself to focus. It kept me alive."

"All right, well, things will be different for us, Fox. We can fight side-by-side to keep each other alive. Our children will never have to endure the pain we did. They will never suffer the losses we felt. They will have their parents until they are old and mature enough to handle our elderly passing."

Fox feigned a slight smile. "That sounds nice. I hope it happens that way."

"Yes. Me, too." She placed her paws on his shoulders again, braced herself, and gently dislodged her hips from his body. She flopped onto her right hip, at his side, and exhaled softly. "Do you, uh, have any napkins or...?"

"What for?"

"That bloody aubergine you gave me, earlier? Are my pupils dilated?"

"Uh, well, yeah. They are."

She nodded firmly. "Mm-hmm. And why else do you think my pupils are wide as saucers? You gave me the nightshade." She grinned at her joke. "Not sure if your people ever did that. Mine liked to use nightshade to make our eyes look 'sexy.' Nightshade fruits and flowers soon became euphemisms on Cerinia for a man and woman's..."

Sudden realization dawned on Fox. "Oh, right!"

"Giving someone the nightshade became a euphemism for lovemaking. So ... napkins?"

"Uh. Yeah. Right, sorry. I have..." he sat up, turned to their gear packs, and rifled through them. "...Something." Another brief pause, then he added, "...Somewhere. Geeze, it's around here somewhere. How'd cave-dwelling types deal with this? A big ole leaf?"

Krystal shrugged. "My ancestors had no sweat glands until about fifteen-to-twenty thousand years ago. We did a lot of things differently. Women probably let their man's release mat down the pelt on their inner thighs with no concern for societal niceties. If they were with a man of status, they probably wore it as a point of pride. Or, if they were more civilized, they took a quick wash in a nearby stream, since they could not stray too far from water back then."

"Yeah, true. Cornerian scientists seem to think that our ancestors didn't have sweat glands until fifteen-to-twenty thousand years ago, too." He continued to rifle through the pack. "Funny how both of our species evolved the ability to sweat around the same time."

"Funny how our species are genetically compatible," Krystal added. "Did you find anything?"

"Uh, no. You, uh..." Fox offered a slightly wicked smile.

"...Want to clean me up? I'm sensitive after all that!" She looked down at his gauntlet computer. "Well, no one is in the area. So ... maybe ... it might ... be our best bet."

"I'll clean you up really well."

"You'd better." She leaned back, propped up by her elbows.

Fox crawled forward, between her knees, and leaned down, first teasing her by breathing warm air against her exposed pink flesh.

She shivered from the sensation. "Don't make me beg."

"Oh, but I want you to."

"Please," she whispered.

"Louder," he commanded. "Be a good girl and beg for me."

It was such a turn on to see him so ... commanding. She breathlessly said, "Please, Fox. God, who would have thought I would ever willingly give another the one thing I cherish the most - control over my life." She took a deep breath, then, in a huskier tone, added, "Please, Fox? I am yours."

Fox buried his muzzle between her silky cerulean-furred thighs without another word.

Krystal groaned long and loud. She reached down, firmly grasped his head-fur, and pulled him close to her, while panting softly. "Not as sensitive as I feared," she mouthed, followed by a sigh of content. Her tongue lulled out the side of her maw. "Oh, my goddess..."

X

X

An hour later...

*Bill Grey's fighter launched from * the Fast Attack Carrier, which had eight tubes for launching fighters, and was designed for high speed and intense battles. The launch caused intense gravity force against his chest. His adrenaline spiked, and he tensed up with excitement. "This is Lieutenant-Colonel Grey; I'm joining the fray! I need the first four teams to form up on me!"

Bill tightened his right paw on the control stick, and, with his left, he eased the throttle forward just a bit. His right foot eased inward on the pedals.

With a clear head, he cut his gaze between the sensor scope and the canopy HUD. A flashing indicator on his HUD displayed Delta team show up on his port, Charlie team show up on his starboard, and, seconds later, Alpha and Bravo joined him as well.

A slight smile tugged at the corners of his muzzle. "All right, boys and girls, let's show Oink-o-nee's forces how we do things in the Air Defense Corps. I want to lay a clear path of ordinance on the coordinates I'm uploading to your targeting computers. That'll ground a quarter of their forces from taking off, and it will keep the rest of them from being able to refuel. Ready, gang?"

Each of the four wing commanders replied something to 'aye, sir!' in order from Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta's team leader.

Bill reached forward with his left paw and flipped a silvery-colored physical switch to open his bomb bay doors. The switch clicked in loud reply, followed by the sound of a mechanical whir beneath his fighter. "Okay, this cap-ship that was hassling Sauria is the brunt of the remaining Venom forces. It's virtually the only thing that stands in our way of liberating Venom. But we can't let them call for help. So, the Venomian comms buoy is my target, and the defense satellite is your first target, team. Those satellites have amazing shields, so everyone here has to hit it with a missile. Ordinance hot, team. Is everyone ready?"

A series of overlapping replies came over the comms.

Bill's grin broadened. "Outstanding! Let's do our best work today. On my mark ... three, two, one, and ... release your ordinance now!" He thumbed a button atop of his control stick, while pushing forward, then he pulled back on the stick.

His dash cluster reflected the shadow of his helmet from the bright explosion behind him. The communications buoy flashed into a charred hunk of metal. It glowed, briefly, then the scrap metal iced over rapidly.

Someone shouted over the radio, "And that is how we kick some ape-ass!"

Another added, "Made a handbag out of those lizards!"

Bill smirked. He glanced back at the debris of the defense satellite. He cleared his throat admonishingly, and said, "Now, now, there's no need for racial comments like that. We have a few Simians and reptiles flying and fighting for Corneria, too."

"All right, all right," said one pilot. "Everybody heard the man. Any objections to stowing the racism talk?"

No reply from the others.

Bill used his left paw to manipulate a touch screen on his dash. He dragged his fingertip from his location and dropped a ghosted logo overtop of a symbol for a distant capital ship. "Now, let's sink ourselves a battleship. I just sent you guys my new target."

"On your wing, Colonel!"

"Lieutenant Colonel," said Grey.

The pilot, Alpha squadron's wind commander, said, "I heard you're going to be a full Colonel when we get back to Corneria. This win is going to make your career, boss."

Another pilot, one of the boys from Bravo, said, "You're going to have to change your callsign from Big Dog to Top Dog."

Bill chuckled. "That's John Pepper, not me."

"No way," said the wing commander for Charlie squadron. "He's retiring. New guy is a rabbit. Lapin types are too defensive. Not aggressive enough to lead a war pack. Rabbits are good at running away and they're good at making strategy. You'll have his job in no time."

Bill shook his head. "Boys, that rabbit is Peppy Hare. His strategies took Star Fox, a single squadron, to the finish line against Andross and the Aparoids. I've flown with Hare. He's never run away. Not once. I can vouch for him."

Silence.

Bill added, "Peppy was hand-picked by General Pepper to lead the IDC. And, for the record, he's asked me to head up the Air Guard. I haven't given him my answer yet. But if I lead this fight to the checkered flag, I might take him up on his offer. I've been assured that if I do everything by the book, it would fast track my career to becoming a one star general."

A few overlapping whoops filled the airwaves.

The capital ship loomed in the distance. It was long, cylindrical, and impressively menacing, even from three miles out.

Bill double-tapped his finger on the symbol for the enemy vessel on his scope. A screen on the dash brought up a scan of the capital ship. It appeared to be roughly two miles in length, with cannons on all sides, top, and bottom. It spit out fighters.

Bill shook his head. "Man, it looks like a stream of roaches dashing out of a hiding spot. Everybody read to squash these cockroaches?"

"Aye!" exclaimed several pilots over the line. The radio elicited a chirp to follow their responses.

Bill watched the fighters fan out in all directions.

"Sir!" said one of the pilots from Charlie Squadron. "That thing is covered in gun batteries. How are you going to approach it? Looks like the engine boosters are very well protected."

Someone from Delta added, "Damn. That is one hell of a ship. If you take over the IDC, can we get some of those, LC?"

Bill replied with a dry chuckle. "Yeah, sure, but not that one. Because that one is going down."

Another voice. "LC Grey, there is no way to attack that ship."

"Sure there is," said Grey. "I've been studying it since leaving Corneria. Falco Lombardi sent me a data dump from the Great Fox, which had been monitoring that thing while it was over Sauria. The intel we've gathered suggests the only way to take it down is from inside. But, we can't get a man in there, so ... it'll have to be me."

"You're going to fly in there?!" exclaimed someone from Bravo.

Bill grinned. "If Fox McCloud can do it to a core base, I can do it against a carrier ship. I'll fly right in there, while you guys distract the guns. While you guys keep'em distracted, I'll get a running start from far enough back that they won't pay attention to me until it's too late and I'm in. That's the plan. If that Prayer Play doesn't work, I have an Ace-in-the-hole play that will do the job. You guys will finish the job ... if I die."

"Lieutenant Colonel," said another one of the fighters in the comms chat. "This was never the plan, sir!"

"Sure it was, Delta squadron Wing Commander!"

"This better not be something the new guy wants us to do!"

Bill blinked. "The new guy?"

"Aye, sir! General Pepper, knows that cap-ships like that one would be a nightmare for fighters to even try and get close. That's our dog!"

"Our dog?" Grey replied with a scoff. "This plan was something I worked out with 'the rabbit,' not General Pepper. It's a bit more paws-on, and not quite so protocol, but I think it will work."

Someone from Alpha said, "I'm not sure I trust the plan if it was dreamt up by a rabbit, sir."

Bill sighed. "Peppy Hare has more experience with unconventional tactics that are tailored around the pilots flying the missions, not Cornerian battle cruisers who can't get in close enough to fight cap-ships that size."

"By the Lion Born of a Tigress, Lieutenant Colonel, if this mess doesn't work, you're going to be remembered as the cocky dog that threw away his chance to defeat Venom's forces once and for all. All because you're willing to risk doing something based on a stunt instead of flying by the book."

Bill grimaced. "What's your name, pal?"

"Arthur. James Arthur, Commander Air Group with the..."

"I don't care," Bill interrupted. "Listen up, Arthur-James-Arthur, I have actionable intelligence on this thing. I selected you four squads because you boys and girls have the highest kill scores, and you stay alive the longest. I needed to make modifications to your shield frequency settings for this plan to work."

"Do you really believe you can get inside that thing and pull off a direct attack on the core?"

Bill chuckled with a nod at his holo-lens. "I had my ship outfitted with ordinance for this plan to work. I had a holo-emitter installed for this plan to work. 'By the book' flying has taken Corneria as far as we could against Venom."

"Sir? Are you talking about the Lylat War against Venom?"

Bill nodded. "Damn right. We were in a hot war, then we were in a cold war, and now we're in another hot war. The thing about John Pepper is ... he had to think outside of the box. His stunt was hiring an untested mercenary group of teenagers flying under the banner of a retired squadron. If people expect a fastball and you throw a curveball, well, we don't have time for sports metaphors, so get onboard or jump ship. But whatever you decide to do? Do it now."

There was silence over the radio.

"What's it going to be Arthur James Arthur?" Bill grimaced, glad his expression was hidden by his helmet. He'd just dressed down the CAG of the largest fleet carrier group to protect Corneria, and he knew the man was a fantastic pilot.

Finally, James Arthur replied, "I'm not a deserter or a coward. Just know this - I have a baby that was born earlier in the week. And if you make that kid grow up without a father, I can't promise that my wife won't hunt'cha down, sir."

Bill chuckled. "If you die, it's only because I'm already dead. This plan puts all the risk on me. I'm tired of losing pilots. This war ... the original war has taken some of the best, most talented, and most impressive pilots I have ever met. Too many pilots to name. I don't want to lose any more pilots. Not today."

"With all due respect, sir, just..." The CAG trailed off with a soft sigh. "Do me a favor and name one. I don't want to think that my own death would become a forgotten name."

"I don't forget names, James Arthur." said Bill. "I learn them in the after-action reports and memorize them."

"Sir? Just name one."

Bill pursed his maw tightly shut. After a moment to internalize this highly unprofessional conversation on the battlefield, he took a deep breath and decided to cut the new father some slack, knowing the CAG would have been tired. "Fine. Fara Phoenix."

"Wait, the daughter of Zerda Phoenix? That daddy's girl was a fighter pilot?"

"Damn right," said Bill. "Finest special operations agent and hot-shot-pilot I have ever met. She could have flown circles, squares, and triangles around Fox McCloud. No one knows how she died - likely with her boots on the ground, because she was too good of a pilot to be killed in action in a cockpit, despite what the media claims."

"Sir, I grew up in Westtown outside Corneria Cap., and I heard that Zerda Phoenix's daughter was shot down, sir. Right over Westtown. She was saved by Fox McCloud. I heard she was a test pilot, not a fighter pilot. There's a huge difference between the two."

Bill scoffed. "The only time she was shot down, it was in an untested prototype Arwing, and she was fighting in unrestricted airspace with zero intelligence on the battlefield. She was hit by an ion missile. The original intel on those things suggested that an Arwing's shields should have been able to handle one ion missile. And, for your information, Phoenix broke a direct order to liberate Westtown, so you should have thanked her."

"She liberated Westtown? I heard it was Star Fox."

Bill chuckled, followed by a soft sigh. "Who do you think led StarFox into Westtown airspace, pilot? It was her and a handful of mercenary Arwings against Andross' entire Front-Line battalion. Five against several thousand. Westtown was liberated, as was Corneria Capital. Most importantly, she survived to fight again. So, yes, the goddamn daughter of Zerda Phoenix was a warplane pilot and a star fighter ace. Read up on her, then maybe you'll give her the respect she deserves."

Absolute silence.

Bill cleared his throat. "Arthur, James Arthur, did you copy that?"

"Sir, yes sir."

"Outstanding. Let's go and take down Venom's largest-ever capital ship. Who's with me?!"

There was some whooping from a handful of the other pilots, which caused the radio to distort slightly.

"All right. Attack formation Sierra Oscar Lima! Form up! When I give the signal that we're entering the range of that ship's guns, you boys break; make yourselves impossible to hit. I'll appear to run away, turn around, then hit the boost, and fly right into their main hanger. Any questions?"

A handful of pilots replied with something akin to, "Sir, no sir!"

"Outstanding!" Bill punched the throttle. "Let's go put Venom's capital defenses out of commission!" He double-tapped the large sensor scope symbol, depicting the outline of the carrier on his screen. His eyes shifted from port to starboard, counting the fighters projected on his HUD all around the canopy.

Everyone was with him.

Bill made a direct line for the massive carrier in the distance. It was larger than anything he'd ever seen before. "God, building that thing should've crashed the Venom economy. It sure will be a pleasure to force it into a decaying orbit over Venom's moon. Okay, boys, thirty seconds ... mark."

Silence. The pilots flew for the longest half-minute of their lives.

Bill glanced at his left wrist, spying his heart monitor on a little wristwatch he wore. His heart raced at a steady one hundred thirty beats per minute.

"God, that thing should have won the war and rescued Andrew Oikonny from the moon over Sauria. Thank the goddess, Lylat, that it was afraid to go up against Star Fox's carrier, directly."

No one else spoke.

Bill opened a private channel, briefly, to Falco Lombardi. "Hey, you still out there."

"Katt and I are doing the job you paid us for, Bill. We're handling the Venom Ace Pilots that were left behind to protect the planet. The ones that went missing when you had Venom 'officially surrender,' earlier."

"Everything okay? I haven't seen you two since the fight began."

Lombardi scoffed. "You probably won't see us, either. We're fighting on the dark side of Venom. Don't sweat it. Those 'Aces' won't be joining the fight against you."

Katt piped up over the line. "These ace pilots are no joke. Toughest fighters I've ever engaged. We'll keep them off your back, Bill."

"Thanks, you two." Bill closed the private channel and switched back to the channel he had open with Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta wing. "Almost there, boys and girls!"

A warning on Bill's canopy HUD displayed, "Weapons lock detected!"

"Okay!" Bill shouted. "Break and evade!"

His large team dispersed into multiple directions. The warning on his HUD disappeared, reappeared briefly, then disappeared again, due to the ship trying to target so many other ships at once.

Grey occasionally dropped bits of chaff to make sure he wouldn't make himself a target, while his pilots confused the cap ship's turrets.

Bill turned about, hit the afterburn toggle, and raced away from the group. He kept his eyes on the 'distance from target' display in the lower right corner of his canopy, directly above the dashboard, where the cockpit glass met the frame of his fighter.

Once it reached '1,000 KM,' Bill pulled back on the control, turning to face the distant ship again. It was just a tiny speck of light, ahead of him. There was an orange circle around the ship displayed on his HUD.

"All right, Venom ... this one is for you, Fara Phoenix." Bill reached down and toggled an unlabeled physical switch on his dashboard. A simple crimson LED illuminated adjacent to it.

Bill put the throttle to maximum, thumbed the boost, and watched the 'distance from/to target' display roll backward. The twinkling light in the distance began to grow in size.

When the target distance indicator reached twenty-five kilometers, he squeezed a tertiary trigger, beneath the main guns, on his control stick.

Bill's ship bucked. A black-painted object blasted forward in front of him, but the object's booster design suppressed the tail flame. It raced ahead of him like a scramjet screaming toward its target.

It struck the shields of the enormous capital ship, and it released an enormous amount of high-frequency energy, causing the carrier's shield computer to reboot. In that seven second window, Bill followed the missile-like object right to the main hanger bay of the super carrier.

The missile struck the carrier bay doors, blasting them apart with an enormous explosion.

The initial explosion was designed to blast inward, to keep fighters and pilots from being blown out through Bill's makeshift entrance.

He cut throttle, and simultaneously switched to atmospheric flight mode. With the flip of a switch, he changed over to mass driver cannons.

Fighters, damaged by the initial concussive blast, lifted from the flight deck, and seemingly floated upward, toward the hole in the hanger bay doors.

Bill skillfully dodged the debris as if it was a training simulation. He opened fire on one fighter directly ahead of him, throwing it clear across the hanger bay, so that it bowled over several other fighters, which had been secured. The entire group of them lurched upward, passing through the massive hole in the hanger bay doors.

He switched back to ship's blasters with the flip of a switch.

Bill noticed, from the corner of his eye, the elevator doors leading to the barracks ... they opened, and five pilots were pulled from the elevator in an instant. They flailed through the air, unable to stop themselves from being blown out, across the hanger, and through the hole leading into space.

Bill cringed at the sight of people flying through the large flight deck. "That's why _our_carriers have pressurization airlock elevators! Get with the times, dudes!" Despite deflecting, he disliked killing pilots in such a way, no matter whose side they were on. He held his thumb over the button for his guns. A particle build-up began to glow at the nose cone of his fighter.

The lieutenant colonel cruised at low velocity through the hanger. His targeting computer displayed a large yellowish-green marker over a tall flat bulkhead at the far end of the hanger.

Bill fired a charged shot into the wall, blasting it open. Beyond was an enormous conduit leading into the heart of the massive carrier.

"God, to have so much un-used room in a ship this size - it makes no sense!"

The CAG, still flying outside the carrier, said, "Sir, it's probably to vent heat from the core. The core likely has several shafts like that one, and, in an emergency, like a critical overload, the skipper could vent heat into the hanger as a last resort, channeling a core reaction away from the crew quarters and bridge."

Bill blinked. "Jeeze, Arthur, how do you know so much about carrier design?"

"Because my brother-in-law builds yachts for Zerda. I used to work for him, too, but after the battle of Westtown, the very same fight that you claim Fara Phoenix sacrificed her Arwing to save, I joined the academy, and went into the Air Guard."

"Small world," Bill murmured to himself. His eyes shifted left to right, taking in the enormous shaft that stretched out before his fighter. "My God, this thing is enormous. I'm about one-fifth of the way into the conduit."

The CAG grimaced. "They're spooling up their FTL drive, Grey."

"All right. I'm increasing speed," Bill replied. He eased into the throttle bar.

"Lieutenant Colonel, if the skipper of that ship decided to..."

"Major, he's already decided. How much time do I have, CAG?"

"I don't know! If their hardware spools up for an FTL jump, you would be vaporized in that damned tube!"

Bill eased the throttle bar further. He eased the control stick a little port then starboard, avoiding blast breakers that jutted out into the tunnel. To Bill, it looked like ramps sticking out of the wall in the system's largest skateboard pipe. "I'm hurrying."

"I'm reading a large energy spike in the core. Their engines apparently spool up faster than a Cornerian cruiser."

Bill launched a dumb-fire missile into the bulkhead. It detonated long after his fighter zipped by, blowing a hole into the siding of the tube. "That'll slow'em down. If they use their FTL engines, the heat will get into another section of the ship. At the very least, the computer will end the sequence, and they'll have to start over by doing a manual override."

"You're right, Grey, the energy buildup readings have dropped. You bought yourself some time, but once they manually override it, you won't have that option again."

"There are hatches in here," said Grey. "They're open. You said you used to build ships - why would there be hatches inside of an energy dispersion conduit for an energy core?"

Arthur cleared his throat. "Because they dump cold air into the tube after using their FTL drive. They leave the hatches open until just before energy spooling is complete. Don't hit one of those hatches - they'll act like obstacles. Think of that chamber as a giant exhaust pipe, but without baffles."

"Yeah, figured that much." Bill moved his fighter left, then right, then up, and back down, avoiding random open hatch lids that jutted outward, in his way. "The tube is starting to get narrower, so I'm about two-thirds of the way to the core."

"Yeah, a muffler gets larger at the end of the exhaust pipe. Same principle for that conduit, Grey. You still have the option of turning around and getting the hell out of there."

"Yeah, no. If McCloud can do it, I can do it. This isn't some piece-of-junk M-Class that I'm flying. I've got this."

"You're making me nervous, Grey. You're going to wind up joining Zerda's kid if you don't..."

Bill interrupted. "Ahem! I need to focus. It's becoming a tight fit in here."

"This was that rabbit's plan, wasn't it..."

Bill groaned. "Yes, Arthur, James Arthur! It was! And I'm backing the play! So, shh for a minute. We'll talk about what a stupid or brilliant idea this was when I've destroyed the core."

James Arthur groaned. "Okay, team, we need to buy him any time we can. Bravo, Charlie, start poking the bear. Hit the bridge with nova cluster bombs. Alpha and Delta, I want you to hammer the engine boosters at the aft section. Dive in, open fire, then retreat before you wind up as target practice for a turret. Got it? I'm going to start making runs on the turrets and pick them off the hull as quickly as I can."

Bill smiled. "By the book, eh, CAG?"

"Damn right, Grey."

"Work your magic, James Arthur. I'll see you guys again shortly. Your signal is starting to distort because I'm going into the shielded section. Nearly there. Wish me luck!" Bill exclaimed.

A split second later, green letters showed up along the top-front portion of Grey's canopy, reading, "Comms signal lost!"

Bill chuckled. "Good. No more arguing from him." He continued to evade the sections of the chamber that jutted inward, in his way. "Kind of genius, in a way, these unintentional defenses." Bill dodged another large metallic hatch lid.

A metal drone flew into the tube from one of the hatches up ahead. It matched his speed and began firing blasters at him, up ahead.

Bill laughed. "It's about time they tried providing a challenge!" He glanced at his sensor readout. He was nearly to the core. "Almost," he mouthed with a grin.

The 'Comms signal lost!' warning briefly disappeared from his HUD, due to pilots being just outside of the cap-ship, on the other side of the armored hull plating that separated Bill from space.

Bill could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It felt like it was at the base of his throat. He steered clear of another set of hatches. It took him back to the old days, fighting alongside McCloud in the Lylat War.

He chuckled under his breath. "The hatches are open."

"Come again?" asked a female pilot over comms.

Bill cringed with a chuckle. "Nothing. Inside joke. Between me and McCloud, back in the war. I've always wanted to do the crap he does just to prove that any pilot worth his weight in salt can pull it off. I'm probably, I dunno, deflecting or something. I talk when I'm nervous, which isn't often. Not nervous about getting it wrong - just nervous about..." He trailed off.

She replied, "You're nervous about how many underaged girls are going to ask for a signature in an inappropriate place?"

Bill chuckled. "Activate imagination, Captain."

"Oh, does my ID show as captain on your side, sir? I was recently busted down to Lieutenant. Heh. So, what're you going to do about all those girls who want your autograph?"

Bill chuckled. "Obviously I'm going to have to break all their hearts and tell them to wait until they're 18. But, since all of them will have older sisters, I'll make do, Lieutenant."

"Now who is the one with that active imagination, Lieutenant Colonel?"

"Yeah. Today, I guess it's me." Bill spied the drone in his rearview HUD display, and eyed it. He aimed his ship for one of the hatches that were open into the core pipeline, then cut to the port and hit his brakes.

When the drone came up alongside of him, he used his fuselage to give the drone a bit of a bump. It went careening into the hatch, forcing the hatch shut, and destroying the drone with a fiery explosion.

Bill smirked. "Almost there ... almost..."

"Losing your signal, Lieutenant Colonel. You're at the edge of my range, sir." Her voice was laced with static.

Bill couldn't help but feel the voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it.

His HUD displayed 'Comms Signal Lost' again.

Another drone entered the pipeline through one of the hatches. It opened fire immediately, but its initial blaster volley was absorbed by Bill's shields.

Bill eyed a narrow gap up ahead. He lined up his ship by centering the targeting reticle on his HUD, to the best of his ability, and said a silent prayer to Goddess Lylat. "May the leader of the pantheon of the old gods guide and steady my paws."

He held his breath and passed through the narrow space so closely that he sheered the red and green strobe lights from the tips of his stabilizing wings.

The transfer of kinetic energy from barely touching the sides caused his fighter to go into a slow spin-out, but he recovered by powering into the flat spin.

When his ship came out of the brief Frisbee spin, he was facing the core, which spun around him, causing his ship to seemingly hover in a way.

The drone came through the narrow gap, brushed one of the sides hard enough to widen the hole, then it lost power and skipped across the bottom of the core room, like a stone on a pond, and exploded against the far wall.

Bill exhaled with a sigh of relief. "God, this is like the Rotor or the Gravitron from the carnival when I was a kid."

The spinning room caused the debris from the drone to slide up against the wall, becoming pinned by centrifugal forces. All the electricity flowing through the room caused Bill to hover.

Even inside the cockpit, loose strands of fur floated in front of him from static electricity.

He tapped the maneuvering thrusters, causing his ship to strafe from port to starboard. He lined up his ship's guns on the core and opened fire.

Counter measures and defensive weaponry opened fire, outward, sending arcs of raw energy into the siding.

One bolt of lightning forked in a way that narrowly avoided Bill's left stabilizing wing. By all accounts, it should have hit his ship, but the natural forking pattern caused it to avoid his wing by a distance too close to seem realistic. It was so close that Bill attributed the narrow miss to a higher power.

He continued to open fire on the core, followed by a smart missile and a Nova bomb.

An enormous crack split the ceiling. The broken chunks of metal were quickly sucked to the cylindrical wall, becoming pinned.

Bill tilted his ship, using its maneuvering thrusters, and lassoed his tractor beam around the drone's remains. He pulled it toward his ship, then flew to the starboard, circling the core, until the drone's tractor'ed fuselage struck the core.

The power supply for the drone immediately ruptured, followed by a small explosion.

Bill tapped his maneuvering thrusters, hovering back to the port until his ship was, for the most part, lined up with the venting hole he used to enter the core arena.

He opened his bomb bay doors, took a deep breath, and released all of his remaining ordinance: two smart missiles and three Nova bombs.

The Nova Bombs waited until after both missiles struck the core. They floated to the center of the room, and all three went off in unison.

All the lighting inside the reactor went dead.

Bill reached for his exterior floodlamps switch, and flipped them all, lighting the interior of the reactor with omnidirectional white lamp lighting.

The core released a burst of energy, blasting his ship back, through the hole, which had been widened slightly by the drone, earlier.

His shields glowed bright from the way he skipped off the siding of the large exhaust pipeline.

The computer reacted faster than him, and righted his fighter, so that he faced the exit, with his engine exhaust facing the core, behind him.

He quickly realized that all the hatches had closed. His eyes widened with realization that the core was about to release all of its heat to avoid going super critical, and that closing the hatches meant it was going to vent the heat out into space at any moment.

"Aw crap!" Bill slammed the throttle bar forward. His ship's engines responded with a split second to build a reaction in the plasma particle combustion chamber, followed by a trail of blue light behind his ship.

The fighter rocketed forward, pinning him against the backrest of his seat. He thumbed the afterburn button on the side of the throttle bar, opening the boost.

A small warning graphic appeared in his HUD: 'Wide Open Throttle is never advised. Use caution, as loss of control and / or overheating may occur!'

Behind him, the small port widened on one side, but the other side, which was struck by the tips of his wings, and by the drone, remained stuck in place. A loud warning tone rang out, due to being unable to open the ventilation port all the way.

"Okay," Bill said to himself. "The port is trying to open all the way in preparation of venting a massive amount of heat from the core, which is approaching critical status. That's how it works," he told himself. "But it's partially damaged."

Bill reached his left paw to the touch screen interface on his dash, and he manipulated his power settings. He moved his weapons energy over to his engines, as well as energy from his front-shields, and all reserve energy, stored in the batteries for emergency purposes.

The engines screamed at maximum output.

The 'Comms signal lost' warning disappeared from his HUD, showing low reception with other nearby ships, just outside of the cap-ship.

Bill shouted, "Flank speed ahead! Clear a path, pilots, I'm on my way out!"

"We're on it, Lieutenant Colonel!" The voice belonged to James Arthur, who had assumed command of the super squadron in Bill's absence.

"The tunnel has moved along the bottom of the ship, so that it's pointed directly out into space, like a giant booster!"

Bill chuckled nervously. "Well ... at least I won't have to fly through the hanger! Look at the bright side, right?" As an afterthought, he said, "Keep Venom forces away from the exit, boys! I don't wanna be ambushed when I come out of the exhaust!"

Arthur barked back, "Just get the hell out of there alive!"

"Lylat willing," Bill whispered.

The siding of the massive exhaust chamber appeared as a blur in the lighting of his floodlamps. The closed hatches were slightly discolored flashes in passing.

Bill flipped another switch on the dash, opening a rear-cargo panel. He deployed a handful of mines in his wake.

"I'm dropping some explosives, so when this thing becomes a volcano, it won't be contained the way it was designed. With any luck, it will damage the ship to the point it won't be a threat anymore."

"Remote magnetize them, boss! Put holes in the siding! It'll cause the energy release to be vented into the cap ship!" The advice came from the female pilot he spoke to earlier. The one with the familiar voice.

Bill's eyes widened. He tapped the screen, and marked a small check box, next to the option for the mines, so that they became magnetized.

The mines quickly moved to the sides of the tunnel and latched on to the metallic walling.

"Stick'em to the bulkheads! Yeah, great idea, pilot!"

"I have my moments," she replied with a light chuckle.

Bill glanced at his rearview camera feed and noticed a brilliant glow behind him. It was so bright that it caused distortion in the monitor. The distortion was followed by image artifacts showing in various places around the small screen.

The rear monitor began to distort heavily from heat.

Bill imagined the rear lens was bubbling up, likely melting on the spot.

A warning on his HUD showed that his rear shields were dropping rapidly from thermal thresholds being exceeded.

Bill turned about in his chair, stressing his harness belt. He squinted at the sight of the paint bubbling on his wings. "Crap," he muttered. "Guys, my sensors are acting up. Does anyone know how much further I am from the end of this thing?"

"Almost there, Lieutenant Colonel!" The voice belonged to the familiar female. "Just keep'er steady! It's about to explode! When you get clear, cut hard, and get clear of the line of fire that's going to follow you out!"

"Will do," Bill replied. He watched the flashes in his rear monitor, from where the mines exploded. They blew massive holes in the siding of the exhaust chamber. The liquid light followed him, gaining on his ship.

"Warning!" The computer exclaimed. "Thermal threshold is double the tested parameters!"

"Ah, shaddaup, ya bitching Betty," Bill groused.

"Warning! Space Dynamics Warranty has now been voided! Safety seals now compromised!"

Another symbol showed up on Bill's HUD, with a red circle and a slash over the word 'Eject.'

Bill glanced down at the ejection handle between his legs, which glowed red, as if to suggest the option had been disabled.

Various alarms blended together in a cacophony of discordant tones, competing with one another for Bill's attention.

The opening of the tunnel twinkled up ahead from a distant space battle raging just beyond the exit of the tunnel.

A computer graphic on Bill's HUD displayed 'Exit in meters:' but the numbers were rolling backwards too fast to see the count. It was less than a thousand, and in the blink of an eye, the hundred mark reached zero. Less than ninety-nine meters left.

Bill lifted his gaze just in time to see the exit port ahead. He took a deep breath and tightened his right paw on the control stick.

Grey's fighter screamed through the exit. Bill slammed the control stick to the port for a split second, then centered it. With the change of heading, the core eruption vented into space, tearing through a squadron of enemy fighters. The enemy ships exploded on the spot, melting the Venom pilots and their ships in an instant.

Bill cut back to the starboard, coming parallel to the long blast of fire that roared into space. Plasma lightning flickered around the immense lengthy cone of flame.

"Sweet Lylat," Bill breathed.

"This is Arthur - everyone form-up around Lieutenant Colonel Grey and protect his damaged fighter. Wing Commanders of Alpha and Delta, I want you two to switch to fire damage control. I want you guys to get close and douse his fighter in Compound B-60. That should mitigate the fire on the back of his stabilizers and engine compartment."

Bill gawked. "I'm on fire?!"

"There's a plasma fire; it's fueled by electricity being fed to your armored plating. The plating is turning to liquid metal. If we don't stop it, it will melt through to the fuselage. Your wingtips are also on fire," said Arthur.

"I bet I look amazing."

"This isn't a damn airshow, boss! Fire shouldn't exist in space, which means this is a plasma burn and it's eating through your tail!" Arthur cleared his throat, adding, "Alpha and Delta, move into positions! Get ready to release the B-60 solution on my mark!"

Two fighters moved near Bill.

"Now!" shouted the CAG. "Everyone else, form up and create a protective detail around his ship! Wing Commanders for Bravo and Charlie, move ahead of the group and take up escort detail! I'm sending out coordinates where we can regroup away from this cap-ship! We need to put some distance between ourselves and their flight hangers before the next wave of fighters is launched!"

Without warning, the capital ship erupted with a flash of silence. A shockwave followed, throwing all the fighters in the area.

One fighter from Charlie clipped a heavily damaged fighter from Alpha, causing the Alpha ship to explode. The Charlie fighter regained attitude and got into formation.

"Jones ejected!" Arthur barked. "Someone, quick, pick him up! Use a tractor beam; put his ejection pod into your ordinance bay! Who here, besides Grey, has an empty hold? We need to work together and get Jones' pod in an ordinance bay! It'll be snug, so you boys and girls need to work together to get Jones in there without damaging the fighter or the pod! Who has steady hands or paws!?"

"I've got it, sir!" The voice belonged to a woman from Bravo. Her HUD marker showed 'captain.' Her signal was clearer than before.

Bill recognized the Bravo pilot's voice. It sounded so familiar, but he just couldn't place it at the moment.

Arthur sighed softly. "Not you, lieutenant!"

"But, sir!"

"No!" Arthur barked. "You're only here because of a clerical error, Lynx."

"Sir, I can do this. We can beef later, when Jones is safe, and we get our tails out of the shit-storm we're in."

"Language, Lynx!"

"Really, sir?! Let me deflect in my way, while I save that man."

Bill Grey perked his ears. "God," he whispered to himself. "I know I recognize that voice. Why can't I place it?"

Arthur snapped at the Bravo pilot. "This is why I didn't want you on the team, Lynx. You argue with everyone in a position of authority, goddammit."

"Yeah, well, I'm not apologizing for complaining or voicing my opinions. What you fail to acknowledge, Major, sir, is that I have followed all my orders. I was just vocal with overly tonal ones that I didn't like."

"Lynx, you're dismissed. Get the hell back and join the perimeter group."

Bill snapped his fingers a few times, trying to remember where he knew the voice. "Lynx, Lynx ... who do I know with that surname?"

Lieutenant Lynx continued her argument with the CAG. "Sir, you said you need someone who can do this, someone who has an empty ordinance bay, and someone who has steady hands. Well, these paws are steady enough for sniping."

"You're not patient enough to be a sniper," Arthur quipped.

"Yeah, well my paws are steady enough, patience or not. They're certainly steady enough for this job."

Arthur sighed in aggravation, but he didn't say anything this time.

The Bravo pilot took a deep breath of her own, exhaled slow and calm, and said, "All right, I need a hole, everyone. I'm coming into the circle and I'm going to snag Jones' ejection pod. This is where it gets a little tricky! So, I'm going to line him up, then I'm going to guide my fighter down, and I'm going to swallow the pod. I need reliable eyes on my ship's belly. Jones, if you're listening, I'm going to need you to tell me what you're seeing from your vantage point."

Silence.

The female pilot grunted in annoyance. "Don't all volunteer at once."

Bill's eyes widened with realization. "Miyu?!"

"Yeah, Bill, it's me."

Arthur groaned. "Be a goddamn professional for once in your life, Lynx!"

"Fine. Yeah, Lieutenant Colonel Grey, it's me."

Bill chuckled inwardly. "James Arthur, give her the space she wants. She really does have the paws of a surgeon. I know Miyu Lynx from way back. She can do this."

The CAG muttered. "We don't see eye to eye. She's here by accident; she's supposed to be banned from flying, due to pending litigation."

"Wrong," said Miyu. Then, as an afterthought, she added, "Respectfully, sir, you're wrong. I was cleared of the lawsuit that grounded me. I was found innocent."

"Yes, Lynx, you were, but the person suing you filed an appeal, and since this lawsuit has direct bearing on your flying, you should be grounded until after you are cleared in the court of appeals."

Miyu ground her teeth together. "Sir, with all due respect, the paperwork was filed, but the court has not officially granted the appeal because it's a weekend. So, please, sir, let me save that pilot's life."

"I want that pilot saved!" Arthur exclaimed. "But I don't know if I can trust you to do it. You were supposed to have been transferred out of Bravo before this mission!"

"Yes, sir, but the paperwork didn't have all the proper signatures. Whoever wanted me out didn't know how to do their job, but I know how to do mine. I promised I'd stay out of the way during this operation. And I did. Until now. Because, goddammit, lawsuit or not, Jones needs me!"

"Jones can't stand you! He's the reason you're being sued to begin with! Letting you interfere with him, directly, will influence the result in the outcome of your case."

Bill sighed, immediately annoyed with the situation. "Arthur, please. Let her do this. She can do this. She has problems with authority, but she's got this."

James Arthur sighed. "Sir, with all due respect..."

"Major, let her do this. She's the only one that has an empty ordinance bay, besides me. But I'm too damaged for this job."

"Sir," said Miyu, "I've got this, Major Arthur."

"I believe in her," said Grey.

"You're the ranking pilot, Lieutenant Colonel, so..." James Arthur trailed off into a firm sigh of agitation. "Okay, everyone heard the man - give Lynx some space to work. I'll be your eyes, Lieutenant Lynx. Everyone else, fan out and defend the four of us. Jones, Lynx, and Grey are the priorities, though. Break and Defend."

Miyu sounded giddy. "Jones! You awake?! If so, respond! I see your vitals on my screen, but I need to hear from you!"

Silence.

"C'mon! Don't be sour about getting your tail saved by the chick you're suing! Let's put that behind us and get you out of hot water! I need feedback from you, because you'll be seeing my ordinance bay from a unique angle! What'cha say? Same team?"

Silence.

A sour expression crossed Grey's muzzle. He moved in a bit closer and squinted. "Hey, Lieutenant, from my angle, it looks like his comms unit is damaged on the ejection pod."

"Oh." Miyu chuckled inwardly. "Well, damn, that sucks. Okay, well ... Jones, if you can hear me, I'm not saving you because I feel guilty about our disagreement. I'm saving you because it's my job."

No one spoke.

Miyu moved her ship about and captured Jones' ejection pod with a tractor beam. "Okay. Now for the hard part. But I have an idea."

Bill watched the fighter move slow with the ejection pod beneath. The fighter's ordinance bay opened - it was as empty as promised. A weapons' rack ejected from the bottom, leaving a large rectangular space in the bottom of her fighter.

"Okay now..." Miyu whispered over the open comms.

Bill cleared his throat and asked, "Mind sharing your idea?"

"Well, without Jones' feedback, Bill, there's no way I can rely on anyone to give me the right information to make minute changes. He's floating, and if he so much as shifts his body, it might cause roll or shift that would mess up my work."

"Go on. What's your idea?"

"I need to put him down, then hover over his pod, and land upon it. That's the only way I'm sure..."

"Miyu, wait..." Bill cleared his throat, staying beneath her fighter at an angle. "If the object you set him on moves..."

"No, with large objects, I can eye the object and move with it. I need to sit him down on something. Without his comms line open, it's the safest way."

Bill looked around at exploding enemies, the burning capital ship, a distant satellite, smoldering in a decaying orbit over Venom, and enemy fighter squads in the distance. "We don't have anything you can land on!"

"That Cap Ship is dead in the water, sir. It's perfect."

"It's on fire! It could blow up if its engines go critical!"

Miyu replied, "We have time. My ship's computer can plot the trajectory of its attitude, and help me to match it. I'll set him down on the outer hull, then hover his pod, settle down on him, and use my tractor beam to push against the hull, while using my maneuvering thrusters to stay with it. It will be enough to push the ship a fraction of a degree, which will put a few inches between it and the pod. They will drift apart, and I'll be able to close my bay doors beneath Jones' pod."

"Incoming!" someone shouted on the comms. Someone from Charlie squadron. "Reinforcements are coming inbound from the planet's surface! We've got six squadrons! Medium and heavy fighters! Each has two escort fighters! Stay sharp!"

Miyu groaned. "Okay, we're out of time. We do it the original way."

Bill frowned. "Agreed."

"Agreed," James Arthur repeated. "This is a goddamn nightmare. I see them - they're coming this way."

"Keep'em off me, Arthur," said Miyu.

"Don't tell me how to do my job, Lynx." After a brief pause, Arthur announced, "Those are war-model Wolfen II's! They're immune against charged shots, Nova bombs, and smart missiles! The shields are specifically designed to absorb those attacks! We can't fight those!"

Bill blinked. He reached up and pinch-zoomed on the canopy HUD glass. "I haven't seen Wolfens in person since Katina ... since the war. I didn't know there were any left in service!"

"Fall back," Arthur exclaimed. "They're coming right for us!"

"What!?" Bill's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?! We outnumber them almost four to one!"

"They're considered weapons of mass destruction for a goddamn reason, Lieutenant Colonel! We'll lose the entire team trying to save one pilot! Get the hell out of here, Lynx, the rescue is scrapped!"

"James Arthur, just give her five minutes!"

"With all due respect, Lieutenant Colonel Grey, I'm the CAG because I bring my pilots home. But you're talking about one pilot against fifteen others, and yourself. That's an unacceptable loss. I will cover your retreat. We'll regroup on the carrier, then we'll let the skipper decide how best to proceed with our assault on Venom!

Miyu groaned. "God, Jim, I'm glad I'm not the one in the pod. You'd have cut and run on me long before..."

"That's goddamn Star Wolf, Lynx! Stand down and return to base!"

Miyu grit her teeth. "Negative! That is not Star Wolf! They don't fly the Wolfen II's anymore, and they don't operate out of Venom airspace anymore! It's just some pilots flying old Wolfen II's."

"Doesn't matter! Those ships aren't even allowed to be used in operation because they're weapons of war that have been banned by..."

Miyu interrupted her commanding officer. "Jim, get a hold of yourself! I volunteer to stay behind and grab Jones. You get Bill out of here; get the boys back to the barn, so you can regroup and rearm! Send Search and Rescue for me if you don't hear from me."

"Goddammit, Lynx, there won't be any S&R in an active warzone!"

"So, finish the job, then look for me! Let me save this damn kid!"

What is your issue with arguing with superiors, Lynx?! He filed a lawsuit against you that nearly cost you your pilot's license! Then he filed an appeal to get you off this mission! His brother was the next on the goddamn roster and would have taken your place. He and his brother wanted to do this together, because if we're successful, everyone here will be celebrities."

Miyu burst into laughter. "Go home, Jim. Get Jones' brother. I have an entitled pilot to save." She cleared her throat and her tone relaxed a bit. "Bill, it was good flying with you again. Good work on the Cap Ship."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Grey. "If Fox McCloud can shoot down all four of those ships over Venom..." Bill shook his head. He reached up and pinch-zoomed on the canopy glass again, watching the approaching Wolfen II's. "And you've flown for Fox. You know he's not some sort of god in the cockpit. He's just a good pilot and he flies with good wing mates."

Miyu chuckled. "You want to tangle with those things? Shit, that sounds exciting, not gonna lie." She beamed over the comms feed. "I'm down to party."

Bill exhaled. "Okay, new plan! Arthur, I want you to tractor Jones' pod back to the carrier. It will slow you down, so have the rest of the multi-squadron cover you. Come back with reinforcements. Miyu and I will cover your escape by putting these Wolfen II's out of commission. Then come back, refuel us, and we'll worry about the rest of the Venom offensive when you get back."

"My God, Lieutenant Colonel, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. We'll be fine. Miyu and I will buy you some time. Now hurry the hell up."

James Arthur overturned his fighter and engaged his tractor beam. He snagged the ejection pod from Miyu and hit the boost. "Okay, pilots, form up on me, and get me back to the carrier with this pilot. I'll allow up to _two volunteers _to join the fight against the Wolfens."

No one broke formation. Instead, the other fighters tightened their positions around James Arthur's ship. The entire group went into immediate battle against light fighters and a handful of mediums that were inbound from the damaged hanger of the Cap Ship.

One of the Wolften IIs changed direction.

The other three Wolfens came around and headed for Bill and Miyu.

Bill pulled Miyu's visual up on his dash. "Good God, Miyu, you've not aged a day."

"Aw, you opened holo-chat just to compliment me?"

Bill chuckled and shook his head. "No, I wanted to ask ... are you ready for this? I mean, are you sure you're ready for this?"

"What, you mean being a target so that the others can get back to the nest? Yeah. Let's engage them before they go after the group."

"It's me they want," said Bill with a chuckle. "I'm the ranking CO out here, and this offensive is mine. I should be on a bridge because I just finished peace negotiations in downtown Shray-Lek, but then I saw the big cap-ship was recalled from Sauria. I needed to handle this myself. I had something to prove, I guess."

"Bill, you are a typical dog. I swear. You have nothing to prove with Fox McCloud."

"You didn't fly for him very long, Miyu."

"Yeah, so? What's that supposed to mean, Bill?"

Grey chuckled. "No offense, but I knew him better than you. I'm not trying to prove myself to him. I'm trying to prove to myself that I'm everything he is in a cockpit."

Miyu scoffed. "Well, I disagree that you knew him better than me." She closed her ordinance bay doors, then hit the boost and headed for the incoming three Wolfen II fighters. "Unless you know what his junk looks like. Do you, Bill? Do you know what his junk looks like?"

James Arthur, growing further and further away from Bill and Miyu, shouted over his comms. "Enough, Lynx! The audio patch is still open, and you're being inappropriate and unprofessional!"

Miyu ignored the CAG. "Well, Bill? Did you? That's what I thought. Didn't think so."

Bill chuckled with a shrug. "I mean, we had to share showers in the academy, so, yeah. Actually, I did."

Miyu giggled in a high-pitched squeal. "Okay, fine, well, I know what his junk feels like. My point is, I know him really well. Trust me when I tell you that he already respects you as a pilot. He just resents the fact you turned down his offer to join Star Fox back before any of this mess started."

Bill sighed. He watched her fighter go into an immediate loop, tangling with one of the three remaining heavy fighters up ahead.

"C'mon, Bill! I heard that! Don't be upset! You're a rules and regulations kind of guy! I know you pretty well, too! You're not the mercenary kind of guy."

Bill cut hard to port, punched his boost, then he killed the throttle and slammed his stick back to starboard, so that his ship went sliding sideways through the cosmos. He opened fire on one of the Wolfens in passing. There was a direct hit, but their shields didn't register any damage. "What the hell?! It's not hurting them!"

Meanwhile, Miyu twisted about with one of the fighters, avoiding its blaster fire. She rolled and swooped about, evading one attacker, while zeroing in on another. She charged her blaster shot, causing a glow in front of her fighter.

"What are you doing, Miyu?! You heard Arthur! Those ships are immune to charged shots!"

"Yeah, but blasters aren't working on these guys, either. That means newer shielding. So, watch and learn." She released the charged shot.

The glowing ball of plasma struck the Wolfen II, throwing it through the inky void. The fighter slammed into another Wolfen II in passing, damaging both slightly.

Miyu opened fire on both, striking the two ships with her standard blasters. Her ships guns managed to register damage on their shields. "Ha! Woo! See that?! I threw them into one another, now they take standard blaster fire damage!"

"That third one hasn't been damaged yet. His shields won't take damage," said Bill. He looped about, avoiding enemy fire.

Miyu hit her boost and swooped around. She glanced her shields off of the shields of the third Wolfen engaged in the dogfight. It forced the fighter to bounced away. His shielding field changed from a light translucent blue to a light translucent yellow. She pulled away and hit the boost again. "HE-YAHHH! That's how it's done!"

"You just brought your shields down to eighty percent, Miyu!"

"Yeah, but it worked, didn't it? Now, let's shoot down these shitty excuses for Star Wolf wannabe pilots. I've had enough. I wanna get back and see Jones' face when he finds out _I_saved his tail, heh-heh."

Bill came about and opened fire on a Wolfen from above. He laid into their shields, but he was also able to see the pilot inside the canopy. "That's not Star Wolf."

"No crap," Miyu snapped. "I literally just said that. You think Wolf O'Donnell scares me? Hell no. He's just a big-dicked fighter jock. Stay to his port side, in his blind spot, and he becomes an average pilot."

"Good God, Miyu, have you slept with him, too?!"

Miyu scoffed with a sarcastic chuckle. "No. I was in the academy with Panther Caroso. Same graduating class. Pretty sure he's bi, by the way. Met O'Donnell through Caroso when we caught up years later, after the war."

Bill jerked back on the flight stick and hit the throttle, narrowly avoiding a charged shot from one of the Wolfens. "Okay, well, so long as you've never slept with O'Donnell."

"God, no. No interest in lupine men. Been with Panther once, though."

Bill choked on his own breath. "You what?! He's wanted for war crimes, too!"

"Yeah, but who helped Lylat against the Aparoids? Who helped Corneria? I was fighting on the ground during that mess, but I saw what happened. So, yeah, I had a one-night stand with a bad boy. But he's not a bad man."

"So how the hell do you know Wolf is big?"

Miyu shot back, "What is John C. Pepper's middle name?"

"Okay, fine. John Cornelius Pepper. So, how do you know Wolf is 'large' if you haven't slept with him."

Miyu laughed softly. "Because Panther said he was."

"God, have those two banged?"

Miyu laughed again, followed by a half shrug. "Beats me! I mean, I don't think so. Wolf sure doesn't seem like the kind of guy to be interested in Panther, but you never know! But, no, Panther told me they were irradiated due to getting their paws on radioactive metals. They had to destroy their clothes and share adjoining detox shower stalls."

"Oh."

Miyu continued. "Anyway, men who are obsessed with their own dick size, like Panther and Wolf, are the same kinds of guys who are constantly trying to prove themselves, because they secretly crave validation. They act like the source of their powers comes from their dick. Just like O'Donnell's personality. Now, are you going to shoot these damn things down or do I have to do everything around here?"

Bill looked up in time to see Miyu tear through the engine boosters of a Wolfen, sending it into a spiral. The powerless ship flew off into the Venom atmosphere and plunged into the ionosphere. A red glow surrounded the ship, then it disappeared from view.

Miyu roared, "Yeah, baby! That's what I'm talking about!" Her high-pitched squeal of delight was, if nothing else, amusing to hear.

"Is that your victory roar? Sounds more like a squeak."

"Ah, shaddaup and fight, Bill! I might leave you one of these things to kill if I'm feeling charitable."

Bill laughed. He came around and fell behind a passing Wolfen. He opened fire, chewing into its rear shields, bringing the force field down to about sixty-percent power.

The Wolfen pulled up and punched its throttle.

"Remember, Miyu, they can't pull nearly as tight of a loop as our fighters. Even in the vacuum of space. At least not the II's. They fly wide from the maneuvering thrusters being mounted to their poorly placed wings."

"You act like this is my first time taking down a Wolfen II. C'mon. I flew for Star Fox. Let's put these pilots down and go after the one that's trying to hunt our people. We're running out of time with these fools."

Bill grinned. "You can fly on my wing anytime, Miyu." He pulled back on his stick, chasing the Wolfen before its shields could replenish themselves.

"Aw, aren't you sweet! Now, let's do the job, babe! Woo!"

"Yeah, something like that." He climbed a tighter loop, meeting the Wolfen at the end of its loop, but from above it.

The pilot looked up and met Bill's gaze. Inside was a Venomian lizard, with its gloved hands wrapped tightly around the controls. He lifted his hand from the throttle bar and gave Grey the middle finger, a distinctly Cornerian gesture adopted by Venom lizards to taunt Cornerians during the war.

Bill took his left hand off the throttle, saluted the lizard, who knew he'd been beat, and pressed his right thumb on the guns button.

The Wolfen's shields held out far longer than Bill would've liked.

"This is for flipping me off..." Bill's standard issue fighter's nosecone pressed up against the Wolfen's tailfin with a feather-soft touch. The Wolfen's tailfin buckled, the shields flickered and glowed from the Cornerian fighter's hull passing through the field.

"He gave you the finger?!"

Bill continued to mash down on the main guns. "Yup." Grey swiped his thumb from left to right, causing the button atop the control stick to flip. The button rolled over beneath his thumb, on a hinge, so that a blue button replaced the red one.

"Switching to Mass Driver Cannons," Bill announced, and continued firing.

The rounds plunged into the Wolfen's armored plating. Pieces of metal flew off the top, struck Bill's canopy, and left scratches on his synth-glass dome.

"In Venomian languages, the middle finger means 'brother' or something. He must know enough Cornerian to also understand our sign language."

"Or just that one gesture," Bill replied. "He doesn't have long, though."

The two fighters, grinding up against one another, slowly grew apart with the Wolfen's powerful engines pushing the heavy fighter through the last arc of the loop. He began to gain distance between himself and Bill's Cornerian ship.

Bill continued to hammer the top of the Wolfen until it evened out enough that its rear section was presented to Bill's targeting reticle.

Bill's mass drivers continued to spit heavy mass projectiles into the rear shields. The shields gave out, and some of his rounds struck the armored plating around the rear boosters.

The Wolfen rotated with its maneuvering thrusters until it swiveled around, presenting its front-facing shields to Bill. A particle build-up began glowing in front of its nosecone.

"Bill! He's gonna...!"

Bill hit the boost and mashed his fingers down on the missile trigger. His fighter lurched forward, so that the ordinance bay doors scraped the cockpit of the Wolfen.

Bill's smart missile dropped down and fired in passing, so that it hit the cockpit of the Wolfen in an instant. The warhead erupted immediately, throwing Bill's fighter away from the Wolfen.

Grey spiraled through the inky void; the world spun around him.

"Bill! Holy-effing-Lylat!"

Bill hit his boost again, powering out of the spin, then he mashed down on his retro reverse rockets. All of his maneuvering thrusters fired at the same time, and he came to a rather jarring stop.

He craned his neck and arched his back, peering over the side of his cockpit portside walling. He watched the Wolfen, a little way's below, erupt into plasma fire, inside the cockpit. The canopy was gone. The pilot's remains, broken and in pieces, were frozen chunks of singed meat.

Part of the seatbelt harness was cooked to the front of the pilot's flight suit, over the torso. Only one leg was still attached. The other limbs were missing or short stumps from the concussive force.

Bill exhaled in relief. He cut his gaze back to his instruments, eyeing the damage report to the belly of his fighter. A message in orange was displayed across his HUD, reading, 'Damaged Ordinance Bay Doors. Press any key to perform an emergency ejection of (1) remaining Nova Bomb...'

"Okay, Miyu, I've got one Nova left and I need to dump it. I have a plan. We can use it to blind that third Wolfen. Then, do your thing."

"He's behind me. I'm going to blink when you tell me, and then I'll break into a loop. Ready?"

Bill looked around. He spotted two distant dots tailing one another. "I see you!"

"Good! Let's do this!"

He hit the boost, approached the two fighters from their left, and said, "Okay! Nova Bomb's away!"

"Got it!" Miyu shut her eyes, hit the boost, and pulled back on her flight stick.

The Nova Bomb went off with a flash.

Bill's canopy briefly polarized to shield his eyes from the bright rays. It cleared again.

The Wolfen had pulled up, but it continued in a forty-five-degree angle upward.

Miyu came out of her loop and came up beneath the Wolfen's belly. She opened fire, switching between blasters and mass drivers until she punched a hole through the Wolfen's shields. Seconds later, her rounds ripped into the armored belly of the Wolfen. It didn't last long. She fired faster than the enemy pilot could think.

In an instant, the Wolfen exploded.

Miyu kept firing as she flew into the debris cloud, emerging with a victorious aileron roll. "Woohoo!" she cheered. Before even finishing her shout, she cut her heading back toward the retreating fleet.

Bill saw her heading change. "Okay, almost done. Let's punch it!"

"Aren't you damaged?"

"My bay doors were blown clear off. That's why I had to dump my last Nova Bomb. I'm fine. Won't be able to land, though."

"You're not fine," she replied in a flat tone. "Your shield generators for the bottom of these ships? They're located in the ordinance bay. According to my sensors, you have no shielding beneath your ship."

"I'm the ranking pilot. I'm coming with you. Now, let's go!"

"Dammit, Bill, do you know how awkward it would be to see Fox McCloud at your funeral? I'm not trying to meet his pretty little side-piece."

"Whoa, you have something against Krystal?"

"What?! Me? No! I'm sure she's cool ... for an alien. But I'm not trying to be approached by my 'famous Ex' and his 'Femalian' babe. No. No thank you. You'd better stay alive."

"Eh, you have nothing to worry about. Fox is liable to push that girl right off the team. He blames himself for what happened to Fara, and he is terrified of doing it again. Trust me. I know that boy. He's confident about fighting, sure, but he's insecure as hell when it comes to relationships."

Miyu formed up on Bill's wing, taking a defensive position to protect him as they closed on the distant squadron of fighters up ahead. She sighed over comms. "Yeah. I warned him about that."

"You did?"

"I broke up with him because he wasn't over Fara."

"Miyu, I mean that he'll sideline Krystal to keep her safe. I'm a good judge of character - I can read people. Krystal will resent him for it."

"You think so?" Miyu blew soft raspberries over her lower lip. "He didn't sideline me. I mean, he acted a bit nervous when I was in the cockpit, but not like that."

"If you gave it time, he would have gone down that road with you," said Bill. "Was it weird? Right after Fara's passing?"

Miyu sighed. "I need a couple of beers if we're going to talk about this. But, uh ... I mean, like, things were complicated physically, but I'm the one that left. He needed to get over Phoenix first, else he was doomed to hurt anyone he tried dating."

"Okay, first two rounds are on me when we land. First thing's first, though ... we're catching up on the group. That Wolfen is already closing in on the group. He's nearly in range to try and pick off pilots. He's approaching James Arthur at the center of the group. Can't let that happen."

"Yeah, no crap. You gonna tie me for Wolfen kills today, or am I going to have a three-to-one ratio lead over you?"

"Game on," said Bill with a grin.

"Good. And I'm holding you to those drinks when we land."

"I'm holding you to drinking it. But I refuse for this to become a thing where we talk about Star Fox's leader. So, you'll dish, I'll dish, then we'll talk about how much better our lives are flying for the Air Guard."

"Better living conditions, better health insurance, better nights and weekends..."

Bill chuckled. He glanced at his HUD readout. The two pilots were getting close. In the distant, the Cornerian carrier sparkled in the sunlight, partially hidden in the shade behind Venom's moon.

"Almost there!" Miyu said in a soft but excited tone. "Not much further."

Bill opened the frequency of his comms, and said, "Venom Wolfen. We've taken down your three wingmen. You're next."

A feminine voice came over the line in reply. "They were trainees," she sneered. "Do you know who I am?! I am an ace pilot and reputed commando!"

Miyu frowned. "Something familiar about her voice, but I can't place it."

"I don't know who you are," said Bill to the Venom pilot. "Why don't you enlighten me."

"My name is Colonel Adler, and I will be your undoing! I am a legend in the Venom military, as both a soldier and as a pilot."

Bill opened his maw, but nothing came out.

Miyu gawked. "Adler?! The only Adler I know is a dude!"

"Not anymore, Mammal."

Miyu cleared her throat. "You're ... transitioning?"

"You dare judge me? I thought Cornerians were 'woke' or whatever you call yourselves."

Miyu shook her head, seen only on Bill's HUD display. "No, Adler, I'm not judging your transition. It's cool. I'm just surprised you're still alive, after all the times that Star Fox kicked your scaly ass around Lylat. Look, honey, the war is over. Why don't we talk instead of fight? All your wingmen are gone. Venom's last cap-ship is a giant dumpster fire floating down a river, approaching a high waterfall."

"What?!"

Miyu scoffed. "I said the damn thing is in a decaying orbit over Venom. You're all that's left to hold the line. Let's just ... call it quits, huh?"

Adler sighed in reply.

"Come on. I love shooting down Wolfens, but I don't want my boss to tie my record for today. How about we just talk. Woman to woman if you prefer."

The Wolfen pilot sighed again. "I retired from this lifestyle after the war ended. I didn't even want to be here. I was recalled when your people attacked Venom."

"No," Bill chimed in. "We didn't attack. We came to liberate - you're the ones choosing to stay loyal to Andrew Oikonny. He's ruining your economy for God's sake."

Adler spoke in a softer, higher pitched voice than either Cornerian remembered of Adler in the past. "I have your CAG and wounded pilot in my sights. They're damaged. It wouldn't take but one missile to finish them both."

Miyu thought fast, then said, "Hey! How long have you been transitioning? Is it a recent thing, like an epiphany, or have you been considering this for a while?"

"I have always been."

"Like, back when you went toe-to-toe with Star Fox, you were transitioning?" Miyu was trying to keep the subject on something she could use to bond with Adler. "I'm just curious."

"Yes. Reptiles do not have mammary glands, but the only drugs I could find to aid in my transition were those designed for Cornerian mammals. So, my armor was designed to handle the expanse of my mammalian-like chest growth. Very sensitive for a while. Is _that_what you wanted to hear, mammal?"

Miyu sent her holographic feed to the Wolfen. "Look at my face. Do I look like I'm judging you for this? I'm proud of you for going through something so ... complex."

"And why is that?"

"Because, well, I imagine that it takes staying power. I imagine it takes ... deep commitment to follow through with something so ... life changing. Am I right about that?"

Adler's image appeared on Miyu's HUD. "I ... appreciate hearing you say these things to me. I am now post-op. Why are you asking about this?"

"Because I think it's awesome," said Miyu. "It takes motivation and dedication to get through the red tape and drama involved in transitioning. How long have you been post-op?"

"Not terribly long. A few years."

Miyu took her left paw off of her throttle bar and waved it about, using light-hearted hand gestures to talk to Adler. "Shoot. Sometimes, I wish my vagina was that new." Miyu chuckled at her own backwards sense of humor, deflecting the absurdity of such a deep topic being discussed on a battlefield of all places. "You know, to be honest, all that hard work you had to endure...? It's inspiring. I imagine it's a lot of work to be the version of yourself that you've always wanted to be."

"I ... don't know what to say to that, mammal."

Miyu continued. "I'm just saying, I respect the journey. You know? It couldn't have been easy to bust your tail to become the woman you've always wanted to be."

"Lizards do not have mammalian breasts. But I used drugs designed genetically engineer my body, because Venom does not produce hormone therapy medication for sexual transition. So, now, I am a freak because I have the bustline of a mammal female."

"Nah, that's awesome. It makes you unique. One-of-a-kind, girl!" Miyu cleared her throat, and, in a softer tone, added, "Please, lady, don't make me shoot you down. I'll feel like shit if I do. You deserve to be happy and wholesome. You've overcome your birth biology to be a woman, so that your body matched your heart, mind, and soul. Am I right?"

"I..." Adler exhaled and glanced away with an emotional expression.

Miyu noticed a shine in the lizard's eyes, even over the holographic feed. Her smile softened, as did her voice. "Let's talk. You already said you retired from this life, right? It's over, girl. Let's all just walk away from this fight."

Adler sighed through clenched teeth. "I..."

Silence.

"We can all go home tonight, you know?"

"Not me. If I don't come home with all of your heads, literally and figuratively, then I cannot return to Venom."

"So, move to Corneria."

Adler didn't reply.

Miyu finally caught up with Adler's ship. She moved into formation alongside of the last remaining Wolfen. "Hey, c'mon," said Miyu, adding, "Beers are on Bill Grey. The first two rounds. Corneria offers insurance to residence so that you can get a lifetime supply of the hormones you'll need. Does Andrew-friggin-Oikonny's regime cover anything?"

"No..." Adler sighed again. She glanced away from the hologram, gazed out the window, and stared at Miyu over in the other cockpit.

Miyu cleared the polarization of her canopy glass and waved to the adjacent fighter. "Hey there."

Adler grimaced and said, "You ... you're the lynx that dated Fox McCloud."

"Yeah. But that's all in the past. We didn't work out. Meh. To be honest, since you're being so open, I guess I should show some vulnerability too, huh?" She cleared her throat, followed by a half-hearted shrug. "My failed relationship with Fox is kinda ... a sore subject for me. You know? I broke up with Fox. Maybe if I had tried to work things out, we could have become more. I don't know."

"Don't ever change yourself to maintain acceptance of your mate. If they do not accept you for who you are or who you become, then you were not meant to be together."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience, hon." Miyu frowned.

"Mm."

The feline set her autopilot to mirror the adjacent Wolfen. She lifted both of her paws, throwing her hands up. "Shoot, babe, move to Corneria. I'll sponsor you for expatria."

"How can you say that when I have caused so much grief for that man?"

"Which man?" asked Miyu.

"The one for whom you obviously still have feelings, mammal."

Miyu grimaced. "I broke it off with Fox. A long, long time ago. He's engaged to be married, now, hon."

In a soft voice, Adler asked, "You're seriously willing to try and sponsor me as an expatriate? You expect me to immigrate to Corneria?"

"Eh, if you want. Don't make a decision right now. Just try it out, see if you like it, and decide when you're ready."

Silence.

No one in the entire multi-squadron group dared to speak.

The Wolfen cut power to its main guns, followed by its targeting and weapon systems. "I still have your pilot in my sights. If this is a trick..."

Miyu cut power to her own weapons. "Heyyy, damn girl. I haven't had any female friends to go shopping with. I mean, there's Fay, but she's got her own life, being the daughter of aristocrats and all. Plus, I went into the Air Guard ... I just ... y'know, I could really use a fellow pilot buddy to be my wingmate for a mall-run, you know?"

"Ah ... malls. A Cornerian staple of their decadence."

"Don't knock it until you try it, girl."

"I ... I don't know." Adler sighed again. "I have had so much aggression for so long. Public places do not suit me. I have attacked public places on Papetoon, Katina, Corneria..."

"The war is in the past," Miyu replied with a soft, endearing tone. "Girl, every woman needs a girlfriend who gets her. It's just the way many of us are hardwired. You've not had that, have you?"

"I ... no, I haven't."

Miyu clapped her paws. "It's gonna be great! And it's not like you're defecting!"

"How do you figure that?" asked Adler.

"Because, girl! Andrew's regime is over! The Venom governments will have to get together and make their own thing, now. Andrew is being arrested over Sauria as we speak."

"He ... he is?"

"Yup. The drama between Corneria and Venom is in the past, starting today. So, you with me?"

"Why are you being so ... nice to me?"

Miyu kissed her paw and blew across her palm toward the camera lens in her dash. "Because, girl, I need a rebel friend in my life. Be my rebel friend, girl! C'mon! We'll try on all the best clothes in Persimmons! Not that I can afford them, but it's free to try'em on!"

Adler sighed softly. She reached out and flipped a switch on her dash. Her shields lowered. "I have nothing else to lose but this ship, and it's not even mine. Fine. If you will sponsor me to go to Corneria, I accept. I have no mate on Venom. I have nothing but ridicule. I am _tired_of the ridicule."

"Oh, those guys will come around in a few generations. You're just ahead of the curve."

Adler nodded with another soft sigh. "Very well. What of your friend? He cannot land with his bomb bay doors open like that."

Bill cut back into the conversation. "Leave the landing to me, ladies. I'll figure it out."

Miyu asked, "Do you have any personal ties to Venom we should know about before relocating you?"

"I have a young son, Kyong. His mother left me because of my transition."

Miyu brought a paw to her muzzle. She whispered the words, "Oh, damn, girl..."

Adler continued. "My wife told Kyong that I died in the Great War. She made me out to be some sort of ... war hero, but in truth, I was in Black Operations, and never received any heroic recognition for my work."

"So, your wife straight up lied to him?"

"Yes. I am not a decorated hero. I have no heroic deeds attributed to my name. And, to be truthful, when I look back on the life that I lived all those years ago...? I am disgusted. The estrogen therapy helped me see clearly. I was in the wrong, and I acted rash and foolishly. I treated my enemy with aggression and spite. I hate who I was during the war. I..." Adler's voice lowered. "I have never told anyone that before."

Miyu afforded a gentle smile. "That took courage to admit something so personal. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you for opening up to me."

Adler looked away and bit her lower lip.

Not wanting to push away the Wolfen pilot, Miyu decided to revert the subject. "So ... your son doesn't even know you're alive?"

"No," said Adler. "Kyong thinks I am dead. Perhaps it is best to move on and give him space to mourn a war hero. That would be better than thinking I abandoned him because his mother wanted me out of their lives. At least he will hold me in high regard."

Miyu didn't reply.

Bill was at a loss for words.

Silence.

Adler sighed. "You may call me Tanya. I left 'Eric' behind. I was retired and living in the slums. My pension goes to Kyong's support. The chance to start over on another world is ... more than I thought possible, and I ... believe it is time to embrace your offer. Will I have to answer for my war crimes as Eric Adler?"

"Are you really repentant?" asked Miyu.

"You have no idea," said Adler. "We were given testosterone in our food. The women, too. It made us aggressive fighters under Andross' rule. I did things that haunt me in my sleep. When I wanted to reinvent myself, my wife was not supportive. She told Kyong that I was killed at the hands of Fox McCloud in the battle of Fichina ... the one leading up to the Aparoid invasion. She told him I am a hero to my kind, and that Fox McCloud was lucky, and that I died honorably in combat against a team of Arwings, but that I was only bested by the team leader."

Miyu said, "I'm sure you can ask for leniency and..."

Bill interrupted Miyu. "Negative, Miyu. Listen, Tanya: Eric Adler died in a cockpit. You're Tanya, and you've stolen a valuable warplane and brought it to us in return for asylum."

Adler blinked. "Wait, what?"

Bill eyed the lens of his dash cam, as if looking right through the digital eye, at Adler. "It's like this, Tanya: You're exchanging a Wolfen II fighter in trade to the Cornerian government for payment to relocate. I'll see to it that the proper paperwork is filled out - you can live off the money you receive from selling that ship to our government. It'll be enough to find a home, take some classes and get a degree, and then you can work and live on your own salary. Eric Adler died. Eric's wife receives death benefits and Eric's pension. That way she continues to support Kyong Adler."

"What of my connection to Eric Adler," asked the lizard.

Bill shook his head. "You've never met that guy. You're not him. This stays between you, me, and Miyu Lynx. We're the only ones on this channel."

Miyu grinned. "I'm lookin' forward to showing you the ropes around Corneria's Capital City. Of course, you can live somewhere quieter if you prefer."

"I will be hated by Cornerians simply for being a lizard," Adler quipped.

"Tanya! Honey!" Miyu laughed and shook her head. "Quite a few lizards left Venom, girl. There's an entire section being developed in Corneria, west of the market district, that is being built up from the rubble left by the Aparoids ... it's called RepTown, like a play on the word 'reptile.' It's a handful of Sharp Claw from Sauria and a large community of Venom expats, and you'll be one of them ... if you want. I think there are roughly two million lizards living on Corneria."

Adler swallowed back her emotions, but her lower lip quivered ever so slightly. "Two million?"

"Give or take," Bill chimed in. "Cornerians see them as people who rejected Andross' empire, so they're treated well. Plus, lizards are obsessively hardworking people. They're treated like people who contribute a lot to society. It'll be easy for you to get a degree because there are special programs and scholarships for minorities."

"I don't know what to say." Adler exhaled. She reached up and wiped at her eyes. "Please, do not tell anyone. Especially not Fox McCloud. I have done terrible things to his friends and loved ones. I hated him for a very, very long time. I don't want his forgiveness; I do not deserve it. I simply want to be Tanya."

"You are, now!" Miyu exclaimed. "Look, not all Cornerians will understand transitioning. Half will, half won't. But both of us? We do. We get it. I certainly do. See, I'm bisexual."

"Meaning?"

Miyu shrugged her shoulders. "See, honey, the bi, gay, and transgender community stick together on Corneria. We've all suffered judgment together, so we are a community. We support one another. The majority of Cornerians do, too, now."

"I ... see. My race cannot seem to wrap its minds around the concept of homosexuality or genderqueer lifestyles. My operation was the last straw for my wife, because I had to have it done on Fichina. I was there when Andrew Oikonny arrived with his fleet. I was there when the Aparoids attacked. She told me not to come home as a woman. So, Fichina is where Eric Adler died. We have spoken a few times since then, but not face-to-face."

Miyu frowned. "Sounds like you loved her."

"I love my son," said Adler. "But there was only enough room for one mother in Kyong's life - according to her. I returned to Venom, and she had already filed the papers saying I was dead on Fichina. Since the Aparoids killed anyone who could have argued about my presence in the operation against Star Fox, a civil court granted her death benefits. I have been living in the slums of Shray Lek as Tanya ever since."

Bill asked, "What made you steal a Wolfen and launch it against us?"

Adler sighed. "Venom was under attack. Our defense ship was destroyed. We all watched the sky, and we all saw the explosion. The news was reporting on a surrender and peace treaty at the heart of the capital. I assumed it was a forced peace, not a break from Andrew."

Miyu and Bill listened intently.

"I contacted my old squadron. All of them were dead, except for their trainees. I dressed in my old uniform and helmet, and I spoke with a deeper voice. No one questioned it. We traveled to the abandoned city, which is still quarantined from fallout due to power plants going critical back during the war. We entered the exclusion zone; no one was around to patrol the border fences. I knew the location of the Wolfens. We broke in, and their power supplies still held a charge. The fuel cells were still viable. We launched because we thought Corneria was invading."

"And ... now?" asked Miyu.

"You haven't launched a single ship into the atmosphere. I realized it was a liberation effort once I was in orbit. The four of us argued with whether or not we should break off our attack. They convinced me I had nothing to lose, and that dying in battle would be honorable. But they're all dead and I'm the only one left. And dying for a dead regime isn't honorable, it's foolish."

Bill nodded firmly. "I'm glad you came to this decision."

"The only way to ensure peace is to find someone who would have had the respect of Andross. He restored Venom and repaired the economy. Andrew Oikonny may not be the right man for the job, but if you can find someone who would fit that description, who can act as a ranger or steward of Venom, the people of Venom will stay complacent."

Bill nodded in understanding from his cockpit. "I'll keep my eyes out for someone that fits that description. You've got my word, Tanya. All right, I'm going to open our channel up to the rest of the group. No more talk of Eric Adler. That guy died on Fichina a few years ago."

Adler nodded.

Miyu smiled. "It's a shame we can't tell Tanya's story. It's really moving to me."

Bill said, "Those fighter jocks aren't ready. That's why I cut them from the channel, earlier. Discreetly. We're taking a chance, here. I'll tell Hare and I'll tell Pepper, and this back-channeling might mess up my chances of a promotion, but it's the right thing to do."

Miyu sighed in understanding. "All right, then. It's settled. No more talk about Tanya's transition from Eric. Not in public or around the military anyway. I'm ready."

Bill nodded again. "Okay, here we go." He punched a few keys on his dash. "Arthur, sorry I had to mask the comms for a moment. And thank you for your patience, team. This Wolfen Pilot, Tanya Adler, is not going to attack. She's with us."

James Arthur's voice came over the line. "Wait, with you? A defector?"

"A revolutionary," said Bill. "I'm here to bring her home to Corneria. She's going to trade her ship for her figurative forty acres and a mag-lev plow."

Arthur chuckled over the line. "God, I haven't heard that term since my grandparents used to say it. All right. I'm going to let the skipper know that we're not at a stand-off with a Wolfen anymore, and that they'll need to board. What about you? Can you land with your damaged bay doors?"

Bill laughed. "Damn right I can. Miyu? Will you do the honors?"

Miyu said, "Lower your shields and prepare for surgery."

Bill lowered his shields.

Miyu moved into position beneath Bill's fighter and with one shot, she blew off the ordinance bay doors, leaving an empty square hole in the bottom of his ship. She lifted her left paw, made a 'gun' shape with her fingers, and blew across her index finger. "Like a surgeon," she sang with a chuckle.

Bill grinned. "See, Arthur? She told you she had steady paws, didn't she?"

James Arthur shook his head. "All right, all right. All squadrons! Call in and get your assigned landing order from the deck commander. The second wave will launch a cleanup crew operation, then we'll have troop transport dropships head planet-side to secure the area and make it safe for the politicians to do their jobs. Fine flying today, everyone."

Miyu grinned at Bill's image on her HUD. "It was fun, Grey. Drinks are on you."

"Damn right they are, Miyu. You fought hard, you were integral in diplomacy, and you made it possible for me to land safely. You really should have your own squadron."

Miyu laughed nervously. "Me? My own squad?"

"Why not?"

"Oh, jeeze, Bill ... I don't know! I mean, I'd love that, but ... are you sure?"

"Unless you'd rather go into the private sector for way more money. I have some connections if you want me to make some calls."

"I need to sleep on those options, but I love'em both. The thing is, I'm in the middle of a court martial from Captian to Lieutenant right now. I shouldn't even be up here. It was a mistake that I received a call to action notice in my optic-mail. The robo-call couldn't be reasoned with, either."

"Let's land, and we'll talk after I debrief Tanya. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to take her under your wing. Think you could do that for me?"

Miyu nodded. "Yeah. I'm down for it. Tanya, you like to drink?"

"It's ... it has been quite a while since I could afford the luxury."

Miyu beamed. "Tonight, we are getting lit up, girl. Bill, don't you forget that you owe us two rounds whenever you catch up with us."

"I won't forget," said Bill with a chuckle. A number showed up on his HUD. "Oh, look at that. I'm next to land. I guess they want me to debrief the skipper right away. See you ladies when you land."

Miyu moved alongside the Wolfen. "Later, Bill! So! Tanya! I've always wanted to see who could win a drinking contest - reptile or mammal. You game for a friendly little competition?"

A rare smile spread across Tanya Addler's face. "Yes. Yes, I believe I am. I just received a landing sequence order. I will see you down below."

Miyu chuckled. "I just got mine, too. I guess I'm coming in right behind you. That didn't sound right, but you know what I mean."

"No, it sounded fine. I appreciate your help, both of you." Tanya rubbed her face so as not to get emotional. "I would buy the drinks for all if I had anything to use for payment. But I look forward to your hospitality, Miyu Lynx and William Grey. All right ... I am now also joining the public channel again. Stand by..."

Silence.

Tanya cleared her throat and said, "Wolfen II pilot, civilian Tanya Adler, coming in for a landing on runway Golf-2." The Wolfen descended onto the fast-attack carrier's seventh of eight runway tubes.

Miyu moved around to landing strip Hotel-1.

Bill landed on Charlie-2. Halfway into his landing, the ship's tractor beam captured his ship.

Bill looked down at his comms and pressed a flashing button. "This is Grey."

"Lieutenant Colonel! This is General John Pepper and acting General Peppy Hare." The speaking voice belonged to John Pepper. "Looks like you've sustained some serious damage to your fighter. Impressive that your landing gear still seems to work, but let's not take any chances. I've been monitoring your private transmission. I now have Peppy with me; he hasn't been briefed on that information. I agree, however, that the information should remain between yourself, Miyu Lynx, and Tanya Adler. I'm going to start on some paperwork that will move things along, but I'll need your full report before you have a single drop of alcohol. I'll redact it as necessary and forward it long to the skipper. You will only use what I choose as the official information. Understood?"

"Understood," said Grey. "No one is to be read-in on it, is that correct?"

"That is correct. I'm personally on my way to the carrier, where I will make it my flagship for the time being. It will be my last act as Fleet General, most likely. Peppy Hare will stay on Corneria for the time being. I want that report by the time I arrive. I'm using a jump gate, so I should be there within the hour."

"I look forward to seeing you, John."

"I look forward to promoting you to Colonel. It's long overdue and well deserved. You acted as a diplomat and signed a truce treaty with Venom, and then you stopped a resistance movement. That's some fine soldiering. Pepper ... out!" The line ended.

Bill chuckled, watching as the tractor beam emitter maneuvered his ship into a hanger storage locker. "Shoot, I wouldn't have had Miyu bother with shooting off the bomb bay doors if I knew this fancy new carrier came with all these fancy amenities." Bill folded his paws, leaned back in his seat as best as he could, and waited for his ship to be set down safely.

Miyu and a deck hand hurried over with a ladder.

Bill grinned and shook his head. "Guess I'm buying drinks for two women tonight. Geeze. Lucky me. Something tells me I'd better open a tab and set a limit with the tender before I get started."