Regret Chapter 17
#17 of STARFOX-6: Reflections of REGRET
Chapter -17-
"Political Message"
"You're the only one I can trust." The simian shrugged a bit then placed his gear on a table and turned to the android pig. "Herbert, I don't even trust your son. I don't trust Wolf or his current team. I certainly don't trust my nephew nor do I trust my grandson."
"Yes, yes I suppose you're right about Pigma. He's soiled the Dengar name so far as I am concerned." The android turned about, fixing the table. He placed a plate in front of Andross and tilted his head in a mechanical way. "Eli, it isn't healthy to act this way. You trust no one. You live your life alone, like a hermit. I'm a machine with the consciousness of Herbert Dengar. But I'm not a real person. What is driving you to keep going against the odds of such solitude?"
"Revenge, of course." Andross smirked. "Hmm. 'Eli'. I've not been called by that name in quite some time."
"Well, you'll always be Eli to me. I know I usually don't call you by any name but... it seemed appropriate to be personal. Now eat."
Andross took the fork from besides his plate and smirked at the robotic man. "I have a great amount of pieces to put into place before I can exact my revenge on Fox McCloud and his family. I've given up on Corneria or even Lylat... I don't have illusions of grander anymore... I just want to kill Fox McCloud and his family."
"That will have to wait, won't it? Now eat before it gets cold. You need to keep up your strength lest you end up as dead as the real me." Dengar's head swiveled first then his body followed and walked back across the small, makeshift kitchen.
The doctor pushed his fork into the plate of food and scoffed. "I won't die until I've carried out my vendetta."
"You've not even mentioned a plan... do you have one, old friend?"
"I do," replied Andross. "I'm going to devise a way to crush him with gravity. A bomb that will temporarily simulate incredible gravity should crush anyone within its blast radius."
"How close are you to completing such a device?"
"Many years... It will take a decade if not longer... But I won't rest until this is over. This weapon will be my legacy. It will be a scientific breakthrough and it will be Fox McCloud's final doom."
Herbert shook its metallic head. "Seriously? His 'final doom'? If you say so... That's an awfully cliche line for an ex-dictator. No offense - I'm just saying."
"So, someone tell me," Falco thumbed a piece of gum into his beak and turned to face Fox and Krystal, "What's the plan?"
"Well, we know Shears is involved which means trouble." Fox began pacing. "We know he's working with Oikonny. The only thing I can't figure out is... why? Why work for an idiot?"
Krystal offered Fox a dubious look. "Fox, it seems a little obvious, doesn't it?" Everyone turned to face Krystal. She shrugged gingerly and said, "Andrew has access to whatever money his uncle left to him. Shears needs a sponsor for his research or... whatever it is that he's up to. He's an easy read in some respects... he's greedy. Why? Because greed helps him to achieve his personal goals. In the end, he's helping Andrew for financial gain. Besides, if this Shears fellow is up to his old tricks then he'll want Andrew's resources. Computers, laboratory equipment - the works. Now that we're all on the same page... we need a plan, just like Falco suggested."
"Exactly," exclaimed the falcon. A vibrant pink bubble emerged from the far left corner of his beak. It snapped loud enough to cause Fox and Krystal's ears to flicker. "There's no reason to let this guy do ANYTHING. Who cares what his 'ulterior motives' are or whatever... we need to shut'em down and put that dude six feet under."
"Killing without provocation, Falco?" Fox sighed with a frown. "I'd rather have him arrested. He deserves a harsh military tribunal to find him guilty of treason from the things he did over a decade ago. I didn't strike him down last time and I refuse to strike him down this time. We're not at war with him and I won't go out of my way to purposefully slay him."
"Okay, okay, calm down." Falco cut his gaze to the left, glaring at the floor. "It was just an expression... We need to take him out by whatever means necessary. Let's contact General Hare and have a military bounty placed on Shears' head so we can make some money."
Slippy glanced at his wife then back to Fox and Krystal. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Business first, right?"
"Right," Fox replied with a nod. "Okay, so, first thing is first... we need a plan of action." He buried his left fist into his right palm.
ROB swiveled about at the far end of the bridge and announced, "Calculation's complete... A ship has left Oikonny's vessel. The ship has a sensor-jamming bubble around it. However, the ship just left that bubble and I've traced its point of origin to Oikonny's hanger. The ship belongs to Panther Caruso."
Krystal's brows furrowed. "Then it's time for answers." She crossed the bridge and opened a channel to Caruso on an encoded message. His imaged appeared on a small screen set into the wall-mounted console. He grinned upon seeing her. She smirked in return. "Scraping the bottom of the barrel, Panther? You must be desperate for money."
He snarled with laughter, deep at the back of his throat. "I see you're broadcasting your signal from the Great Fox Carrier... I'm not the only one scraping the bottom of the barrel, sweetheart. And here I thought you'd left this system forever. What brings you back? Fox McCloud?"
She scoffed. "Fox grew up. You obviously haven't."
"You're blinded by emotions, then."
Krystal tilted her head, suddenly amused. "Really? See, I was naive when I dated Fox the first time. I didn't realize I had the best. Then I lowered my standards and slummed it with you for a while, only to realize how good I once had things in my life. That's my fault, I admit... I simply had no idea how good I really had it in life until I learned differently."
"I'm sure you don't really mean that, my dear. Again, you're blinded by emotions."
She casually eased a paw back through her hair. "Panther, if all you've known is gourmet cooking, you have no idea how good life really is. Then, one day, you feel adventurous and taste dollar-menu food. Only then would one realize just how good they had things all along. I just went back to fine dining because you left me with indigestion and a bad aftertaste."
He stared at her for a moment, drew in a slow breath then chuckled slightly as if to laugh off the insult. "Fair enough. So, why are you calling me, my dear?"
"I want to know what you were doing for Andrew."
"Sorry, they're paying me a retainer fee. As much as I love mixing business with pleasure, Krystal, I fear that the pleasure is all yours and I'm left with one option: Business. So! What else would you like to talk about?"
Krystal touched a 'mute' button on the console and turned to Fox. "Can we take him hostage and force him to answer us? If we get him drunk, I'll be able to get passed his mental defenses."
"Let's keep that option open but... I'm not ready to jump right to that."
Falco nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Fox is right. Abducting Panther? It isn't worth the drama, sister."
She turned back to the monitor and released the mute switch. "How much are you charging for your services? I'll pay you to become our informant."
The feline grinned deviously. "You wish to pay Panther? In sex or in money?"
Krystal's eyes widened. "How dare you! I'm not some ...town tart!"
"No, you were certainly no tart - far from loose as I recall. Furthermore..."
Fox gritted his teeth and approached the communication's terminal. "You've insulted my fiancée, Panther Caruso. I highly suggest you treat her with more respect before I personally get involved. Don't think for one second that I won't lower myself to your level. If you insult her again, I'll re-introduce you to my Arwing."
"Fox! How are you? Enjoying Panther's 'sloppy seconds', my fellow aviator? And engaged? Congratulations! Just know that Krystal will eventually come to her senses and return to the better man soon enough. I wish I could speak to the two of you longer but I'm quite busy. Ciao." The connection ended; the logo of a rose filled the screen momentarily. It faded and the display went dark.
Krystal's muzzle twitched slightly from the way she clenched her teeth together. She felt Fox's arm slide around her waist. The vixen turned to her mate and buried her face into his neck. "What an idiot." Her tone was muffled against Fox. "I didn't realize he would react with such jealousy and hatefulness." Her eyes glistened but she held back her tears.
Amanda came to Krystal and put her hands on the vixen's waist. "Let's go take a walk." She glanced at Fox who tilted his head in reply. "Please. A little fresh air and a good shoulder are just what you need. Trust me."
A nod then a sigh, Krystal patted Fox's chest and he reluctantly withdrew his arm from her. She kissed her fiancé and offered him a slight smile. "Thanks for understanding, love." She pivoted and walked away with Amanda. "I just... I feel tired for some reason and I need to stretch my legs. We'll be right back, Fox." She followed Amanda off the bridge.
Fox, Falco and Slippy looked at one another. McCloud ran his fingers over the fluffy short fur of his face. "That was awkward. I really want to slug that guy in the jaw."
"I'd pay to watch that brawl." Falco grinned and patted his long-time friend on the shoulder. "He's good at what he does... it would be a great fight. Thing is... I can almost guarantee that guy fights dirty."
"So, back to square one." Slippy shrugged. "How about this... We all know that Andrew Oikonny is a war criminal. He's wanted for inciting war against Corneria, he's wanted for helping the Anglars wage war against Corneria... he's a fugitive war criminal. A felon."
Falco groaned. "To be a fugitive, Slippy, you've got to escape legal custody, man. He's just a wanted criminal."
"Yeah, w-whatever. I say we go and blast that guy out of the stars and report him as 'successfully dispatched'. He's wanted dead or alive - no problem. We're Star Fox. A stupid little ship like his would be no match for US!"
"Slow down, bud." Fox brought a paw to his chin. "Jail will be sufficient. We just need a way to lure them out of that ship so we can take him down. Shears too; this won't be easy, though. The thing is, we have the element of surprise. Let's use it."
Toad stuffed his hands into his pockets. "But that takes patience."
"I'm tired of waiting," murmured Falco with a sigh. "If we can figure out what they wanted from Panther, we could..."
Fox shook his head. "You saw how that just turned out, Falco. Slow down. Another way will present itself soon enough. Let's start gathering intelligence."
"Whatever." Lombardi folded his arms and left the bridge. "Patience sucks, man."
The city lights shimmered creating a twinkling effect in the window. Caruso dropped his duffle bag on the sofa and opened the sliding glass door. His balcony was lined with red roses on either side. He passed through a trellis of lavender roses, leaving this sliding glass door wide open. He turned about and eased his paw beneath a particularly lovely specimen, cradling the rose like a wine glass with the stem between his middle and ring finger.
A bee crawled out of the center and took flight, headed straight for his face. Caruso brought his other paw up, impaling the insect with his index claw. Its wings flapped several more times and each one of its six legs wiggled about in randomized patterns. He flicked the dead bee away then leaned forward until his nose brushed the delicate purple petals.
He inhaled deeply then sighed softly. Panther furrowed his brows then he lifted them, causing his facial-fur to bunch up on his forehead. He kept his nose in the flower but casually brought his free paw to his pants pocket. Caruso recognized the scent from Venom and from Andrew's bridge, earlier.
"What brings you to my condo?"
"Business." The deep reply also sounded somewhat familiar. "I require your services, Mister Caruso. I also require your silence - how much will that cost?"
The feline turned about and released the rose. Standing in the doorway, Doctor Eli Andross-Oikonny smiled casually at the pilot. He placed a cane against the balcony and ambled out until they stood face to face. Caruso lowed then lifted his gaze. He tilted his head a bit. "I've never spoken to a dead man before. Your ghost on Titania..."
Andross smirked. "...Was a bio-weapon designed to scare away unwanted guests. We live in a world of fact and science, not fiction and fantasy."
"Of course; I'm still surprised. Why approach me of all people?"
"You're younger and quite stealthy. I am getting too old to be running around anymore. You were quick enough to survive that little skirmish on Venom. I watched in amusement as you scurried out under a hail of gunfire, boy. I require your ability to survive - so... how much will you cost and how much for your silence?"
"You're going to PAY ME for my silence?"
Andross smirked. "You're a chatty one, aren't you? I want to pay you to continue pretending that I'm still dead. What's your price?"
"Let's go inside and talk about billing." He passed the aging doctor and headed back into the condominium. Panther led Andross to an office and sat down at a rather expensive looking mahogany desk. He pulled out a calculator and began tapping numerical keys.
Doctor Oikonny rolled his eyes. "You need to calculate your worth?"
"I need to calculate my bills, Doctor Andross. I have expensive tastes... I live beyond my means due to the fact that I no longer have regular work. Peace is an expensive pill to swallow for a mercenary and an arms dealer. It filters down to my unique skill set. The last year has been lacking in good work. I still fly for Star Wolf but O'Donnell has several business endeavors to oversee and... Star Wolf hasn't been getting a great deal of business lately, so... I supplement my income with odd jobs. If you're offering carte blanche, I need to crunch numbers to determine the value of my services."
"You do talk too much."
"Thank you for noticing." Panther continued to type on the calculator for a moment then he glanced up from his desk and smiled. "One-point-four million Cornerian credits will bring me current. Do we have a deal?"
"I don't pay in credits. Credits are traceable. I pay in gold, platinum, palladium, diamonds and raw planetary resources. Since I assume you'll have no need for oil, uranium or other natural resources, let's talk about methods of payment you would accept."
"Platinum is quite heavy - gold and diamonds will be fine. I doubt you carry such things on you, though."
"That's quite a shame. I have a small piece of platinum on me, right now, that would cover your asking price."
Panther tilted his head a bit. "On you?"
Andross walked out of the room and returned with a duffle bag. He placed it on the floor and withdrew a six-inch cube of shiny white metal. He placed it on the desk, which caused the wooden object to creak softly.
Caruso blinked, intrigued by the sound his solid mahogany desk caused. He reached for the little six-inch cube but found it to be surprisingly heavy. "As I said," he murmured, "Platinum is too heavy."
"It weighs as much as an average man," remarked the ex-dictator. "Even in my advanced age, one hundred sixty pounds is nothing. My duffle is reinforced and made specially to carry heavy things. This six inch cube isn't the heaviest of its contents."
Panther peered over the desk at the duffle. It was about the size of the one he left on his sofa. "How heavy is your bag, doctor?"
"Approximately two hundred fifty pounds, now that I've taken the platinum cube out. So, do we have a deal?" He folded his hands together.
"We have a deal."
The doctor smiled brightly. "Excellent." He offered his hand across the table and said, "Call me Eli."
"Am I going to regret working for you, Eli?"
A smile crept across Andross' face. "Probably." His eyes sparkled with mirth. "But what is life without a healthy balance of happiness and regret?"
Caruso glanced at his watch. The broad-shouldered feline lifted his eyes back to the blue metal door. He stood up and approached it then stood off to the side. It opened and a man dress in a lab coat stepped out with a cigarette between two fingers. Panther hooked an arm around his neck and drew the man into a headlock. "Smoking is bad for you, Professor Adams. It even deadens your sense of smell." He brought a blaster to the nape of the man's neck. "I require your services."
The surprised badger struggled for a moment then released the cigarette. In a choked voice, he managed to say, "What's the meaning of this?"
"You're working on a top-secret university-approved cryogenics experiment, correct?"
Adams stopped struggling. "No one even knows about that! Besides, we can't do anything with that project until medical technology catches up."
"But you're one of the only theoretical scientists capable of reviving someone in cryogenic stasis, correct?"
"One of the only living ones, yes."
Panther smiled brightly. "Then you're the very Professor Adams that I've come to see. I want you to wake someone up for me."
"I... who are you? I just told you that we couldn't wake her up for at least fifteen more years. Her father would have a heart attack!"
"Who is the girl you speak of?"
Adams swallowed, nearly gagging from the wrist against his throat. "I can't tell you her name."
"I'm the only cat that curiosity cannot kill. At least give me a first name."
"Fara."
Panther shrugged, not recognizing the name. "Very well. I don't require Fara to be woken up. I require your expertise - my client requires you to wake someone up from cryogenic stasis. You are to come with me. If you are successful, we will let you go."
"It's never been done before!" exclaimed the professor.
"Then this girl, Fara, will thank you in fifteen years. It's better to pop your proverbial cherry for my client. Time is wasting. I have a weapon trained on you, so come with me and look natural."
"How did you even know who I was or where I would be?"
Caruso released the man and placed his gun into his jacket pocket, keeping the weapon out of sight for now. "The same reason I knew you take a smoke break every day at exactly the same time. Let's go. You're not my first - nor are you my last errand of the day. As I said, time is wasting."
"I've arrived at the fifth objective, Doctor E." And with that, Panther closed the communication patch and climbed from his cockpit. He dropped from the fuselage and looked out over the rooftop at the other buildings throughout the city. The onyx-furred cat withdrew an intricate-looking object from his pack and attached it to the metallic gauntlet on his right wrist.
The object popped open looking similar to a miniature crossbow. He aimed it at an antenna atop of the next building over and fired the hook-shot. Panther gave a tug on it then tied off the end of the line to a solar panel mount several feet from his ship. He gave a firm tug on the line then crawled out onto it, crossing his legs around the cable.
He carefully pulled himself up the line to the next building. Once he was there, he glanced back at the lower one where his ship was located. It had a flatter rooftop and the gritty surface shimmered in the afternoon sunlight like a sea of black diamonds. His ship's waxed surface sparkled in a similar fashion.
Caruso took a moment to admire it then he turned about to face a door leading into the building upon which he now stood. Time for work. He kicked the door in and took to the stairs, two at a time.
Once at the bottom of the staircase, he moved to an elevator and called for the next car. The doors swished apart and he stepped inside. Panther pressed the thirty-seventh floor key and waited while the elevator descended down the shaft. Ninety stories later, the doors swished apart.
With casual grace, he strolled off the elevator and turned right. At the end of the hall, he turned a knob and walked into an office. "Senator Sharrah? Samuel Sharrah?"
A well-dressed jackalope looked up, confusion in his eyes. "I've not been a senator since the Lylat War. How can I help you, mister...?"
"Caruso," replied Panther. He shut the door behind himself and approached the man at his desk. "Just one moment - what I have to say must be said in private." He walked by the desk and checked the series of small offices in the hallway behind Sharrah. Satisfied the man was alone, Panther returned to the main office and locked the main door leading out to the rest of the thirty-seventh floor. "Now, down to business. My client is a fan of your senatorial work."
"I'm afraid I'm not sure what you're talking about, Mister Caruso."
Panther beamed, taking pride in what he was about to do. "You're one of the people responsible for exiling Elijah Andross Oikonny from Corneria. I'm very pleased to tell you that you're the last one on my list."
The jackalope's eyes widened with a flash of terror. He reached for the phone on his desk with a trembling paw.
A chuckle was offered. Panther withdrew a sizable knife and brought it down atop of the desk, severing the phone cord. "Who even uses landline telephones anymore, Mister Sharrah? Really... it's so... quaint."
"Mister Caruso... I... I don't know who you're working for since Andross is dead... but whatever they're paying you... I'll double it if you leave me alone!"
"Nonsense. Your credits have no value to me... they can be traced. I'm simply here to tie up a loose end, my good sir. You have thirty seconds to become religious then I'll do to you what I've done to your colleagues. ...And... twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven."
The man's lower lip trembled from adrenaline. "C-can I at least call my wife and tell her something f-first?"
"How you spend the next twenty-five seconds is your choice."
"I need more time, please!"
"Twenty-three, twenty-two, why do you need time? Twenty, nineteen..."
"My twenty-two year old daughter is in college and I want to make sure my wife knows where the key is to my safe deposit box, so she can continue to pay for my little girls' education!"
With a reluctant sigh, Panther nodded. He knew he was a sucker for the needs of women and, because of that, he held a bit of respect for Sharrah. "Okay. You've got a few minutes. But if you try anything funny... your time is up."
Caruso crossed the room, sat down on a posh chair and put music headphones upon his ears. "I'll give you privacy. But my eyes will be on you - don't call anyone else." He waited until the man dialed home and his wife answered before turning on his personal music player. He toggled through a set list programmed into his communicator then leaned back and relaxed.
Little did the man know, Panther could read lip movement and followed the man's conversation carefully. To his surprise, the ex-senator was true to his word. At the end of the conversation, Samuel began telling his wife to send the police to his office. Caruso calmly stood up, removed his headphones and placed them back into his bag. "Very well then. Your time is up Samuel."
"Honey, it's time... I've got to go. I'm sorry... and I love you."
Caruso smirked. "Touching. I especially liked the part about sending the police here. But it'll be too late by the time they arrive." He took the cell phone from the man's paw and said, "Parting is such a sorrowful thing, sweetness. My condolences to you, madam. Take care, Mrs. Sharrah. Your husband's last concern is that you and your daughter were taken care of... Be a good girl; make sure you do just as he asked so he can rest easy." Panther crushed the phone in his paw and dropped it on the floor then pointed at the knife sticking up out of the desk adjacent to the fancy desk phone. "Pull that free."
Sharrah reached for it and gave the knife a hard tug but wasn't able to free it. He looked up at Panther then back down at the handle and stood up. He pulled hard on the knife but wasn't able to dislodge it from the desk. Instead, it caused the desk to creak softly from nearly being lifted. "It's stuck."
Panther placed a knee against the desk then jerked the knife out left handed. He came around the elegant office desk and with one graceful swoop he drove it into the man's ribcage. Sharrah began gasping for air. Caruso jerked his wrist to the side then watched the man flail from having his heart and left lung punctured.
"This is where it gets tricky, you see, as my instructions were quite precise." Next, Panther jerked the blade free of the man's torso and brought it up beneath the man's chin, making an extensive yet crude incision. He withdrew the knife, causing a macabre flood of sanguine vitae to rush down the front of Sharrah's throat. Next, Caruso drove it into the man's forehead rather firmly. Blood ran down over his face, matting down the jackalope's facial fur.
Caruso pushed his fingers into the incision beneath the retired senator's chin, clenched his paw into a fist then pulled upwards, carefully, causing Samuel Sharrah's facial flesh to rip. His jaw muscles bulged and began to spill away as Panther ripped the furred flesh of his face up and away. Blood gushed down his neck, drenching his shoulders and collarbone. Instantly dead, Sharrah's body writhed wildly.
The man's face continued to peel upwards like skinning the top layer of fruit. It stopped at where the knife was buried in Sharrah's forehead. The ex-senator's eyes spilled down his face, dangling from the sockets. His jaw dropped, no longer supported by his facial muscles. Mucus from his sinuses began to dribble down from beneath the eye sockets. Gurgling came from his nasal passages and the back of his throat due to his inability to close his jaw. The death rattles grew in their intensity from blood filling the man's stomach and lungs, even though his heart had already stopped beating shortly after the first stab.
The phenomenal gore splattered onto the desk, Panther's shirt and all over the floor. Caruso drew the knife from Sharrah's forehead then pushed it back inward to pin the flap of flesh up over his victim's head at the hairline. Caruso walked back to the waiting chair by the wall and withdrew a clean shirt from his pack and changed. Once finished, he picked uphis bloody shirt and balled it up then used it to write in blood on the wall. He dabbed the fabric against the jackalope's missing face and carefully created an elegant crimson scrawl on the wallpaper.
_"Andross has his revenge..."_Job done, Panther left the room, locked the door behind himself and took the elevator to the top floor. He used the zip-line to return to his ship on the next building over then retracted the line and vaporized the evidence with his blaster. The ship lifted off the rooftop and hovered straight up into the stratosphere.
With a smirk of satisfaction, he called in to the same frequency as before. "Eli, yes, your list is now complete. He tried to bribe me - I believe his blood money might even be 'bloodier' than yours." A pause, Panther listened to the reply through his wireless headset. He cleared his throat then said, "Yes, that is correct. It was done just as you ordered. ...No, although if I were squeamish before, I wouldn't be now. Your idea of creating an intense image borders on artistic. Truly you are mad - this sort of thing isn't my typical style of assassination. Take this however you like - I'm not as deranged as you, my good Doctor." Again, another pause, then, "...All right, Eli, I'll see you there." Panther ended the channel.
*With a sly grin, * Fox released Krystal's wrist and trailed his fingers up the back of her paw. He leaned forward, kissed her softly on the neck then eased from bed. "I just had an idea."
She sat up and looked over her fiancé with a curious smile. "Fox? You're sure?"
"Luring Shears away cuts their command chain apart. The best thing we can do is put their people into disarray. I know Andrew fairly well. If he thinks Shears is dead, he'll assume full control and the whole thing will implode. When Shears is disconnected from his support, we'll snag him and shut him down."
"So how do we get them separated?"
Fox's expression brightened significantly. "When Shears is sent back to Macbeth, we jam their communications and force Andrew's ship to move by staging an attack. Slippy can hack the sensor grid and create a decoy signal so that their sensors show an incoming army of ships. They'll think the Fourth Fleet of Corneria is descending upon them and they'll flee. Here I've been thinking we need an all-out-attack to make things work..."
"Every good leader needs to know the strengths and weaknesses of his team. You're certainly playing up on Slippy's strength - I'll call him up here for you." She slid out of bed and took one of Fox's shirts off the dresser. She pulled it on over her head and it came all the way to her knees. The wide collar hung from her right shoulder. Panties came next. She slid her feet into slippers and pulled a robe on but didn't bother tying it. "Fox, what about a backup plan? Just in case."
"You're absolutely right. We need something to fall back on... but we also need to start talking to the team and get feedback from them."
Krystal slid her slippers back off and reached for small cotton shorts. She drew them up her legs then stepped back into the slippers, although the shirt still came down to her knees so that the shorts were hidden. Fox looked her over and rolled his tongue in a flirty way. In a slow, drawn out way, he murmured, "Hubba, hubba, ...hubba."
A coquettish grin started at the corner of her lips. "You love me, don't'cha?"
"Boy do I," whispered Fox, licking his lips playfully.
She giggled in spite of herself. "Okay, okay. Be good Fox. We have work to do, sweetheart."
With a mock-whine, Fox said, "Aw, but Krystal..."
"Sorry, honey. Pouting doesn't work on me; you know that." She winked, fluffed her hair then turned about and patted herself on the rump then left the room to find Slippy and Amanda.
McCloud cracked his knuckles then began to hop up and down to get his blood flowing. He jabbed at the air a few times, dancing on his toes then he stretched his legs with a partial-split, unable to go all the way to the deck. Fox stood back up and swished his tail. He crossed his den and stepped up onto the scale. Fox stepped off, opened his mini-fridge and withdrew a pre-packaged protein shake. He put it on the counter and got dressed in denim pants, a t-shirt with an un-zipped vest overtop. Next, Fox retrieved his favorite red handkerchief and ran it through one of his belt loops and tied it off. He laced his boots and headed out into the hallway.
Once on the bridge, he crossed paths with Falco. "Hey man."
"Hey," said Lombardi. "What's going on? We figure something out yet?"
Fox nodded firmly. "Damn right I did. It's a doozy of a plan. The only problem is I don't have a backup plan. So we need to talk about that." He saw Falco's head tilt and so he over-explained himself to the falcon. "We need to talk about ideas for what we're going to do if the main plan fails outright in the middle of execution."
"Cool, I get it. When do we go to work?"
"I just need to contact Corneria. I think we'll get started today. Like you, I'm ready to work."
Falco smiled slightly. "Really? Now you're talking. I'm frickin' ready, Fox."
McCloud turned to ROB. "Okay, put Oikonny's ship up on the main screen. Start monitoring that shield bubble so we can tell when a troop transport ship heads to Macbeth. That's what we're waiting for." He glanced back at Falco. "Okay, start prepping the fighters. Sky Claw, Cloud Runner and my ship will be the first to launch. I want Slippy here because he has his own job. Amanda's ship should sit at the ready so have it put up onto the launch rails."
"What about this plan-B crap?"
Fox nodded, tapping a finger against his bottom lip. "I'm feeling impatient today. How about this... For once I think we're going to take your approach... we'll improvise if plan-B happens."
Falco's eyes lit up. "Now you're talkin' my language!" He headed off the bridge, leaving Fox alone.
ROB glanced back at Fox. "Having a backup plan would be..."
"Yeah, yeah. It'll set back our schedule. If we sit around and try to think of our options, we'll lose our chance to pull off plan-A. I don't care about percentages or anything else. I want Shears and Oikonny in a jail cell... or worse."
"You got it." ROB turned back to the controls.
Fox turned back to the doors as they slid open. Slippy, Amanda and Krystal entered the area. Fox offered her a devious looking grin because of how good she looked.
Krystal returned his grin. "Clear your mind and think about how we're going to take down those yahoos over there." She pointed at the main view screen. "C'mon sweetheart."
With a nod, Fox got himself into a business frame of mind. "Okay. Let's talk about how we're going to pull off this attack. I've got several steps; I'll have Falco in a fighter to keep everything calm. Krystal and I will go down to the planet and take down Shears once Oikonny is out of range."
"Well, I'm here," Slippy announced. "What's your big plan, Fox?"
McCloud rubbed his paws together. "Gather around you guys."
"Excuse me," ROB interrupted. "General Peppy Hare is contacting us."
Fox blinked. "Put it on the main screen, then."
Peppy's image showed up on the screen instead of the holo emitters. He nodded to the assembled group. "Krystal, Slippy, Amanda... Fox... Listen, I'll make this quick. We've just had a half-dozen assassinations on two planets; they occurred over night and the reports are coming in now... You guys really need to know what was written on the walls of each site."
"Written?" Slippy stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.
"Yes, written... in blood," said Peppy with a sigh. "Whatever is going on... it's serious. We're going to need your help."
McCloud frowned. "Understood, General, but we're in position to take down the ship above Macbeth. We think Shears might be restoring Andross."
Peppy looked at Fox in a semi-suspicious way... "Fox... he might have already succeeded, based on what we've seen at these murder sites."
Fox bit his lower lip, glanced at Krystal then back at the main screen. He ground his teeth together then took a slow, deep breath.
"What?" Andrew Oikonny raced across the bridge and put his hands against the tactical console. He leaned over the display, watching as more and more red 'dots' appeared at the edge of the sensor scope. His head lifted. "Show it on screen at full magnification!"
Seconds later, the view screen displayed hazy, distant Cornerian ships. They continued to amass at the edge of the sector with a green flash at the back of the row. Andrew clenched his fists. "They're coming in through the sector jump gate. The nebula gasses from the next sector are causing them to appear hazy."
"They're SO numerous, sir," said one of the crewman.
"Yes... but they're so clumped together that the enormous amount of metal is probably shortening the radius of their sensors. We should move because they've probably not seen us just yet. Head towards the Titania orbital track and take us into Sector-X. We can hide in the densest part of the blue gasses and lay low for a short time." He cut his gaze to the other end of the bridge. "Contact Shears and inform him that we've had a temporary setback. Tell him to lay low in the ruins and that we'll be back to get him shortly. Tell him to employ radio silence for the time being. We can't accidentally allow Corneria to find out what we're doing." Andrew moved to the chair at the center of the bridge and folded his arms while the crew worked diligently to carry out his orders.
The ship broke orbit from Macbeth and picked up speed in retreat. Meanwhile, the Great Fox came from its hiding spot behind one of the moons of Macbeth. Once Andrew's personal ship left the sector, the Star Fox carrier moved took up its new position - a standard orbital pattern above Macbeth.