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Chapter -16- Moonlighting

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Krystal kicked her clothing pile into the corner for the moment. She deliberated on cleaning up first, but after checking her watch, she decided to do it later. She removed her watch and set it on a magnetic charging base, exhaled through semi-clenched teeth, and walked past her bed to a small archway, leading up to the Cloudrunner cockpit.

She slid into the seat up at the front, booted the computer, followed by the engines, then called in to the flight tower. "This is Lieutenant Krystal; I need permission to leave the atmosphere in my personal ship."

"_Heard about your promotion! Congratulations, _Captain!"

She chuckled softly. "Thanks. Not for two more weeks, but thanks. I appreciate it."

"You have clearance! Just hurry, because our next squadron is landing in seven minutes."

"I'll be out of the atmosphere before that. Have a good night, Franklin." She thumbed the maneuvering thrusters' throttle bar. The Cloudrunner lifted off and quickly gained some altitude, rising away from the parking lot.

"You, too, Captain Krystal! Thanks!"

Krystal pulled back on the control bar and pushed forward on the throttle. The Cloudrunner tilted up and roared into the sky. She had to admit ... Captain Krystal had a sort of ... ring ... to it.

Within four minutes, she passed through the stratosphere, into the ionosphere. Another moment, and she was breaking orbit from Corneria.

Krystal opened an encrypted channel on the nearest communications buoy. She leaned forward and spoke into the microphone built into the dashboard. "Sargasso outpost." A pause, then, "Panther Caroso."

A moment later, his deep, creamy voice came over the speakers built into her cockpit. "Krystal! Where are you? We're prepping for launch."

"I'll meet you boys at the job. Send me the coordinates. Work ran late."

"Why are you even flying for the army again? Just fly for us full time."

Krystal scoffed. "You're outlaws. Moonlighting for Star Wolf is one thing, but I have bills to pay."

"What bills?" he asked with a laugh. "You live out of your ship. All that cargo space ... wasted on an apartment-on-the-go, instead of being used to haul valuables."

"Hey," she said with a laugh. "I'm out here getting paid to take out your competition. Don't forget it."

"Oh, I won't. Wolf appreciates it, even though he doesn't say much about it."

"Wolf just wants me flying for him because it amuses him to have stolen a pilot from Star Fox."

"Admit it, you're happy to fly with a team that doesn't have any idiots or jocks."

"Are you talking about Fox and Falco? Because..."

"No, Slippy Toad and Falco."

"Slippy wasn't an idiot. He's a genius."

"If you say so."

"Not only do frogs have the ability to see color in completely pitch-black darkness, he could wire up a broken G-diffuser, or build an engine in a completely enclosed area with zero light. Seeing color in the dark means he would even correctly wire up the wires by color. He might not be as accomplished of a pilot as the rest of the team, but he wasn't an idiot."

"I notice you didn't defend Falco."

"That's because Falco is a typical fighter jock. However, as entitled as he may act, he wasn't the annoying one of the group."

"Mm, yes. That was Slippy Toad's job."

"No, Panther. Fox was the annoying one of the group."

Panther laughed over the line. "More annoying than the frog? That says a lot, Krystal."

"All right, all right. I'll meet you at the job."

"See you then, beautiful."

"Uh-huh." She closed the channel. A moment later, she received a message of coordinates from an 'unknown source.' She plugged the coordinates into her autopilot, engaged at high speed, using the mysterious engine modification that she received back on Sauria seven months ago, and she walked to the back of her ship to straighten up, starting with the clothes on the deck.

She put everything into a laundry basket and kicked it into the far corner. It tilted over, half-spilling the clothes in the corner, but she paid the pile no mind.

Instead, she opened her closet, and withdrew a Star Wolf uniform from a lock box at the back of the closet. A wry grin tugged at her muzzle.

She stripped off her civilian clothes, tossed them on the bed, and carried her uniform to the bathroom. She draped everything over the sink, opened the shower stall, and stepped in.

This time, it was more than a wash and rinse.

She took her time in the shower to keep her body's hormones in check.

She had no intentions of sleeping with Panther Caroso, no matter how badly she wanted to mate.

She hated being the last known Cerinian ... all she ever thought about was finding ways to get pregnant. But her career came first, and she wasn't even sure if she could get pregnant with Panther.

She lowered to her knees, beneath the floating water mist. It swirled around her in the lower force of the artificial gravity net inside of her ship's deck. It was set even lower than the lunar surface of Miracle.

She buried her paw between her thighs, closed her eyes, and imagined a handsome fantasy man cupping either side of her face in his strong paws, and slanting his lips over hers. Maybe a long lost Cerinian male that also survived the catastrophe? Someone who could understand her, appreciate her, and truly respect her.

It was a nice fantasy.

Certainly, it was nice enough to help her achieve the shower orgasm she hungered for.

Much better.

That was what she needed.

The fog in her brain cleared up, leaving her mind clear and sharp again.

So. Much. Better.

Her jaw quivered. She exhaled through partially clenched teeth.

Her heart began to calm.

After her release, Krystal used shampoo on her pelt, then she rinsed clean.

She brushed her teeth in the shower, spit into the drain, used the detachable water wand to rinse her 'undercarriage' between her thighs, which triggered another unexpected orgasm...

She wasn't ready for that one, but it was most certainly appreciated.

She felt awake and refreshed more so now than ever.

Krystal put the water wand back on its clip above her head, turned off the shower, and stepped out. She toweled herself dry, picked up a hairdryer, blow-dried her headfur, and stepped out of the bathroom.

Afterward, she dressed in her Star Wolf outfit.

Krystal put her laundry basket in the bathroom, filled it with bras and panties, and closed the door. She left the pile of shirts and pants in a small pile in the corner of the bedroom.

She rubbed her face with a sigh and threw away paper bowls and plastic cups on her nightstand. She sighed in frustration at the sight of the trash.

Krystal made sure to throw away everything on her nightstand and anything that had fallen on the deck beneath her bed.

After straightening up her living space, she made her way up to the cockpit and wiggled into the seat.

She pulled the harness over herself, clicked it into place, and opened a channel to Star Wolf. "Am I too late?"

Wolf came over the speakers. "Hey, kid. Nah, you're good. You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for having just worked a long-ass patrol."

"Cerinia didn't have coffee. Lylat, on the other hand, well ... I live on it, now."

"Shit, no coffee? To hell with that. Wait, is your hair wet?"

"Yeah, so? I can't be arsed with a blow dryer, Wolf. Anyhow, what's the job?"

"Man ... I need a Wolfen with a shower in it. Ah, whatever. Okay. I'm sending you the job file. Stand by. We've got to break into two teams to get this right."

"How about the short run down?"

"Yeah, whatever, I guess. You and your boyfriend are going to take this rich fool hostage. The file says he'll be on his personal yacht, but I've seen jobs like this before where the target was on some pre-war destroyer or corvette outfitted for their needs."

"Well, since I don't have a boyfriend, I guess I'm doing this part of the job alone. Anyhow, go on."

"You know who I'm talking about. Smartass. Feel free to rough up the target - he's a fuckin' child molester."

Krystal's eyes widened. "Say what?"

"You heard me. Arrested twice for it. Conviction overturned both times on bullshit technicalities."

"You're serious?"

"Goddamn right I am, kid. Had the cases thrown out due to having a good lawyer and lots of money. Anyway, while you and your boyfriend take this guy, Leon and I will be putting the screws to the guy the pervert is supposed to be meeting. That slob will be carrying a briefcase from a prior sale, a few hours ago, that's gonna fund the team's operational costs for at least three months."

"First of all, Panther isn't my boyfriend. Secondly, why is this pervert meeting someone?"

Wolf chuckled with a sneer. "What do _you think? Child trafficking, of course_."

"So that we're bloody clear, my mark is buying or selling a child today?"

"Yeah, you heard that right. The rich fool you're taking hostage. Yeah, rumor has it that he's meeting the other douchebag to buy twins from some _other scumbag rich asshole. I'm not in the business of saving people, but, I mean, fucking ... kids? That's goddamn disgusting_."

"Yeah, it is. I'll confirm it when I'm in range of reading the beastly little wank."

"It's funny to hear you talk when you get mad. You say weird shit that makes no sense. But, I get it. Child molesters piss me off. I hate everyone, but sickos like _that have no-damn-place in society_."

"I know how you feel about people, Wolf. I can sense your hatred for almost everyone. However, I can't sense that you've ever had a bad experience, so, out of curiosity, why the extra hatred for perverts?"

"Seriously, kid, it isn't like people need a reason to hate child molesters. That shit's not natural."

"Not natural? Seriously?"

"Goddamn right."

"Are you suggesting that other criminal activity is normal?"

Wolf scoffed. "Okay, so, wanting to loot the rich? That's natural. But raping kids? That's not natural. Even if they're a victim, themselves, they know that shit is beyond wrong. They do it anyway. That's a level of sickness that shouldn't exist. I read this shit that says the brain grows until, like, 24 or 25 years old. These old sickos target younger people because its easy. Those are the people who need to be weeded out and shot. I've seen some shit during the war. War brings out the worst in people because people get in touch with their most fucked up instincts. Those are the people I love killing the most. I don't even need a paycheck to kill those sick pervs; I'd do it for fun."

Krystal blinked at his long-winded response. "You know I'm telepathic, right?"

Wolf groaned. "Nicky had a bad experience. Okay? No use lying to a goddamn telepath. No one else even knows about Nicky, except for Leon. So, keep your yap shut about her."

She nodded in agreement. "All right. I can respect that answer. You want this guy to suffer? I'm up for it. But, uh, what happens to the children being sold if you find them?"

"Oh, they're supposed to be on location. No confirmation from the source I'm using, but, pfft, you can bet your blue bottom they'll be there. We're putting the kids back on this dude's ship, setting the autopilot for the nearest planet, probably Katina, and then we're letting the Cornerian Army figure out where their parents are at. I don't need to be a hero to kids. That's not my scene. All I care about is money from those sick shits."

"Will you kill them?"

"Unfortunately, that ain't the job. I'm going to beat them senseless, but not enough to die from their injuries, kid. I'm being paid to make a statement, not to leave bodies."

"Understood. What about my part of the job?"

"Your target will probably be carrying physical cash for the purchase. My guy has that briefcase, plus access to a safe with a big-ass diamond I'm selling on the black market."

"Black market?"

"Yeah, already got a buyer lined up, too. This diamond has historical value to some chumps with a lot of coin."

"Brilliant." Krystal smiled a bit. "It sounds like you found the team a good score."

"You kidding? I get the best scores. I might have been stupid to do mercenary work for Andross all those years ago, but when it comes to piracy? I'm the goddamn best there is."

Krystal chuckled. "All right, Wolf. You're the best there is."

"The goddamn BEST there is."

"All right, all right. I believe you. I swear, I'm not about to wind you up."

"Fine, kid. It goddamn helps that you're using the Cornerian Army to take out the competition. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"You're welcome. See you boys soon."

"I mean it ... rough that guy up before you rob him. He's a goddamn pervert. It's sick. He's sick."

"Once upon a time, I was studying to be a healer."

"Yeah? You should definitely help him out if you know what I mean."

"Oh, I'll help him out. After all, he can't lie to me."

"That's why I'm giving you the guy with the cash. So that you can 'handle' him. Also, there's another part of the job involving ... well, you'll see when you get the file."

"Something to do with a ... syndicate member?"

"I love that you're the real deal with this telepathic shit. So, yeah, it's all part of your end, kid. This ship you're hunting ... if it really is a yacht, as suggested, I think you should take it. I expect it to be a beat-up corvette, though. If that's the case, do whatever you want with that crap. Scrap it or set it adrift. I don't give a damn about an old beat-up corvette - I can't sell that garbage."

Krystal grinned. Her personal communicator chimed. "All right. I just got your instructions. I'll meet Panther at the coordinates."

"Good, kid. Real good. I'll meet up with you in the morning with the spoils. Dock your fighters to his yacht and take it for a spin if you want. Avoid Cornerian military patrols ... obviously. If there's no yacht, well, whatever. You should probably know one more thing."

"I'm listening..."

"You'll literally have to dock with and board the ship, and that bit about a syndicate member you sensed? They'll have hired protection. Read the file. Panther will fill you in on the convoluted parts. Look, I didn't give you guys the easy part of the job. But, like I said, Panther will explain."

"Because he likes to talk so much?"

"You're a quick one, kid."

"You're talking as much as Panther right now, Wolf. This mark is loaded, then, yeah?"

"Yeah, I've got some bills to pay, and I need this cash. So?"

"Not judging you, mate."

"Good. Anyhow, I'll see ya' in the morning."

"See you, Wolf." She closed the channel and put in the new coordinates, which took her to where Panther was waiting for a private yacht in the next sector over.

Her computer chimed. A message on the screen showed that there was a tight-band encrypted message that arrived from one of the subspace comm-buoys in a nearby sector.

She didn't want to look at a picture of the pervert just yet. She wanted children so badly. The idea of looking at an image of a man known for trafficking minors for sex was beyond offensive to her. She was still high from her time in the shower earlier; she didn't want to ruin that by looking at the smug face of a pervert. That could wait until a little later.

For now, she had another forty-five minutes of autopilot.

Krystal made her way back to her bed. She sat down on the end of the mattress, closed her eyes, and tried to clear her mind to the best of her ability.

She focused on her breathing. In for four seconds, then out slower for eight seconds. She counted each second, but not the breaths she took.

Once she was in a rhythm, she meditated on finding her center. She focused on calming the storm raging in her mind and body.

She put all of her impure thoughts about Bill, Panther, and, worst of all, going back to Fox, completely out of her mind.

She cleared her thoughts, and focused on her own needs, and how to fulfill them. Not her need to restart her race ... that was honestly more of a 'want.' No, she focused on her need to provide for herself, on her own, with the contacts she'd made since arriving in Lylat.

She focused on an old vision she had long ago ... a visualization of being the best version of herself.

She focused on wanting to stay professional and sharp.

And then there was a distraction. Something far away. A beacon to draw her back out of her meditation. A beacon ... no ... a beeping.

Krystal opened her eyes. She uncrossed her legs, climbed off the end of her bed, and hurried up to the cockpit. She ducked going through the arch, leading up to the front of her ship, and grasped onto a handlebar built on the side of her seat.

She pulled herself up to the cockpit, settled into the chair, and tapped on a touch screen built into her dash.

Panther Caroso appeared translucently on her cockpit HUD. "Krystal!" he exclaimed. "There you are!"

"Uh-huh." She reached up, grasped her harness, and pulled it down over herself, until the safety belt clicked into place. A warning light on her dash went out, ending its protest of her need for a restraint.

Krystal wiggled her hips, getting comfortable in her seat. "I was on autopilot in the back."

"Doing ...what?"

She furrowed her brows. "How is it that everything you say, ask, or utter somehow sounds sexual and perverted?"

"It's a natural tal..."

"No," she interrupted. "It's not. I mean, unless you think that being creepy is somehow a talent."

"Krystal, I just speak in a smooth voice because of my birthright. I have to."

"Meaning?"

Panther chuckled in a guttural way, deep down in his chest. "Meaning that if I spoke with my diaphragm, it would be a roar. That's due to my species. I really have no alternative but to speak in a provocative-sounding whisper. I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. It's just how I've adapted to speaking at a pleasant volume."

"I've seen other similar cats since arriving in Lylat. You're the only one who talks dramatically like that."

"To be honest, I was hoping you would say that you were taking a shower, but I assumed you were cleaning your weapons, doing laundry, or some other ... menial but important task."

"I, uh ... I was meditating, actually."

"Oh. I've never tried that."

"It's healthy for you."

"I don't always eat healthy ... I enjoy simple indulgences. But, when it comes to a healthy mind, I am open to different ways of maintaining one's mental health. If you say it's healthy, I would be willing to learn if you are willing to teach."

"I don't know," Krystal trailed off with a shrug. "I mean, it's important to stay quiet and focused for a long period of time."

Again, Panther chortled in his devious sort of way. "I understand the basics of meditation. At least that much. I also understand there is a science to it. Sitting with good posture and saying '_omm' isn't how it's done, I'm sure, else any idiot would have mastered it. So, if you are willing to teach, I am willing to learn_."

Krystal opened her mouth, ready to protest, but she found herself surprised by his reply. She closed her muzzle, tilted her head while eyeing him, then, finally, she nodded. "All right. What, exactly, do you think meditation is?"

"I assume it's that moment when you are still awake, but before you fall asleep at night, where you have a eureka moment. You sit up at zero-dark-thirty, eyes wide, and you remember something you were trying to think of sixteen hours earlier, in a meeting. To me, meditation is likely the science of teaching your mind how to find that moment of inner peace without falling asleep."

She eyed him. "Keep ... going."

"When your mind is busy enough to stay awake, but your body is relaxed, so you find a way to relax your mind as well, then, when you're centered, you reflect on whatever it is your mind needs. Answers, a break in personal conflict, a way to beat an opponent, a solution to a personal problem ... things of that nature, and, sometimes, things of a deeper, possibly spiritual nature, depending on the reason for meditating."

Krystal blinked. "Sometimes, you surprise me."

"I know what you think of me. I'm not that."

"Oh, you're a telepath, too? Bloody blinding!"

"Ha. Funny. No, you think I'm just a grunt mercenary with a pocket full of Viagra, who wants nothing more than to copulate with any willing creature. You think my obsession with the rose is part of an act to ignite my confidence as part of a make-believe persona that I've created for myself as some sort of Casanova. To be honest, it's a calling card from my time as an assassin for hire. I only took jobs that had deep, relevant, personal meaning to me. Wolf hates that I've painted a rose on my Wolfen. He hates that I've taken art classes so I could paint it on my weapons, carve the rose into my bullets ... I think he hates flowers in general."

"He does?"

Panther grinned. "They make him sneeze, heh."

Krystal laughed at the last part of his explanation. She shook her head and rubbed her cheeks with her palms. "Okay, so you're a little more complicated than I was led to believe."

"If I've misled you, well ... shame on _you. You're the telepath_."

"Mm-hmm, and I don't need to be a telepath to know that you're trying to have sex with me because I have 'tits and a heartbeat,' Panther. There. I said it. I hung a big fat lantern right on it."

Panther chortled softly over the comms. "I'm not trying to have sex with just anyone. Only with she who catches my eye _and my heart_."

"No, just she who catches your eye."

"Just she who possesses a certain ... je ne sais quoi, you know?"

"Oh, you're going to speak Fichina's old tongue, are you?"

"It's a beautiful language. You know, not all of Fichina is frozen. Near the equator, where the language still flourishes, it's quite beautiful, even when the climate control center is broken ... which is rare. The capital of the naturally warmest continent on that world is a tropical paradise three-out-of-four seasons a year. It's a very nice place called Nice," he said, pronouncing the city's name like niece.

"I've heard of it. An oasis in an icy desert. I understand that the city is full of aristocrats."

"Aristo-_cats," Panther said with a soft chuckle. "_And artisans. Even when the rest of the world is frozen, as it often was in its old days, there is one continent on the equator, in a tiny bubble of a microclimate, where the city of Nice is always perfectly room temperature. It only rains before dawn and after dusk, and you only need a light jacket at midnight."

"Yes, I have heard it's quite lovely, but that region is tiny. So small you can't even see it from space when the climate control center is down for repair."

"Correct. It's only ten miles east to west by nine miles north to south."

"I've always wanted to set foot on that world, but I have flown around over Fichina."

"It's where I was born. My assassinations were considered artwork of the highest caliber for a time, but I was never as artistic as those with whom I was raised."

"Do you miss living in Nice?"

"Sometimes. It's where my grandparents, maternal and paternal, were born. It's where my mother was born. It's where my paternal great-grandparents were born. Most of my family has lived in or near that city since ancient times, when it was built by the five tribes that came together as one People over a treaty nearly a thousand years ago."

"And you grew up to kill people. I take it that didn't run in the family?"

"No, Krystal. They were appalled to learn that I was capable of committing a crime, let alone when I decided to go into business for myself as an enterprising criminal. But now? As a mercenary for the most wanted band of mercenary pirates in Lylat? They disowned me. I was barred and sued from using the family name."

"You were?"

"Yes. My actual surname is Caluroso. I go by Caroso to honor their wishes. Sometimes, I spell it 'Caruso' in business matters, as one of my pseudonyms."

"I ... am sorry to hear that you've been disowned by your family. At least they're still alive. So, maybe, one day, you can fix things ... even if it's with future generations of the family."

"Did you know the first people to build the climate control center was the Krazoa? It was always assumed that it was an ancient Fichinan race, until Sauria was properly studied. As it turns out, it was Fichinians who figured out how to repair it throughout history, but we never actually built it."

"Wait, wasn't it you that sent Star Fox to Fichina during the Aparoid invasion?"

"Yes. As I said, I was born there. I sent you there to stop the Aparoids and protect my homeworld. The equator was never in danger, but the climate control center was. I didn't want the Aparoids to gain control over that sort of technology. It was bad enough they managed to shut it down."

"You told us to go there to follow Pigma Dengar!"

Again, Panther chortled in a provocative yet devious sounding way. "You are so naïve, and it is truly the sweetest thing about you."

"Well, we actually did find Pigma Dengar there."

"Yes, he was working with the Aparoids. As I said, I wanted you to protect my homeworld from aggressors."

"So, you were banished, but you still wanted to make sure someone was protecting your home?"

"Yes, precisely."

"What if ... you could fix things with your family?"

"Again, you are adorably naïve. Ah, but who knows? Perhaps you are right; perhaps I should be more optimistic. Perhaps if I had an heir; perhaps if I had my name cleared. Perhaps if I changed my lifestyle, and if I professed to have found religion in my heart. Perhaps then my family would open their doors to me._ But, first, I would have to have my name cleared_."

"Cleared? I thought you kill people. That's against the law."

"I kill criminals with bounties on their heads. My kills are sanctioned by various planetary governments."

"So, this is all a misunderstanding? You're a bounty assassin for hire. You haven't broken any laws, is that what you're saying?"

"Mm, more or less. Except that I do not have an active bounty hunting license. One needs a license to hunt bounties. It costs too much to purchase such a license."

"I've considered getting one."

"Ah. I could teach you the art of hunting bounties if you're ever interested. The money is exceptional, if you have the stomach for being the judge, jury, and executioner of some of the worst scum in Lylat."

"Wolf and Leon have bounties on their head. Why not cash in on them?"

Again, another guttural chuckle. "Krystal, their only crime is working for the wrong side in a war that happened years ago. The truth is far more complicated - they only pirate other pirates. They only steal from the guilty. Have you ever heard of Star Wolf attacking a Phoenix star-liner or a rich yacht? Have you ever heard of Star Wolf attacking a supply depot or taking crops from a farm?"

Krystal thought about his question for a moment. She shook her head. "No."

"And has Wolf told you about today's target?"

"A twice-convicted pedophile who somehow beat the charges in his appeal cases."

"Yes, exactly. By bribing judges, destroying evidence, and either turning or killing witnesses. He gave the latest victim's brother a career job with benefits, including a massive signing bonus. The brother changed his story, saying that he had gone to therapy and now remembers things differently, upon 'deep reflection' of the situation from the past. Disgusting."

"So ... you really do have morals and scruples."

"Of _course I do, Krystal. One day? I will clear my name. I will be back in my family's good graces. But, for now, I will do what it takes to survive. Wolf doesn't target just anyone; I work with him because I believe in his work_."

Krystal rubbed the bottom of her maw in thought. "Mm..."

"Now, are you ready to work, my little moonlighter?"

"Yeah. Er ... yes. Yes, I am ready to work."

"Excellent. Have you ever taken a life before?"

"I, uh ... I've shot down bogies. Not all of them had time to eject. So, yes, I have killed people before."

"Have you ever killed an enemy up close and personal before?"

Krystal exhaled slowly through her nose. "Yes. I was outside of my cockpit several times during the Aparoid invasion. I know those Aparoids were attached to biological persons, some of which whose minds were still their own to some degree. I know those people were alive when I vaporized them with a blaster."

"Krystal, that is arguably different than what I'm asking about. Have you ever looked into an enemy's eyes and watched the light go out of their gaze? Someone who chose to be opposite of you in battle?"

She sighed softly. Her eyes dipped, briefly. In a softer tone, she replied, "Once, before I met Fox, I had to freeze an attacking Sharpclaw soldier. I shattered him with a quake attack. He didn't feel anything, but he died because of me. I did it to protect myself, and I came to terms with my actions. I would do it again if I had to."

"I supposed that will have to do. Our pervert isn't a pedophile, though. He's a hebephile - he targets children whose age has reached the double-digits. Eleven through fourteen, specifically. His partner, with whom he operates a sex-trafficking ring, is known as an ephebophile, targeting children between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, although that one will also happily rape and sell youth as late as age nineteen. Any form of chronophilia is disgusting to me. Sex is beautiful and powerful ... but the mind does not stop growing until roughly twenty-five for people of Lylat."

"I think I've heard that somewhere before, yes. Twenty-four to twenty-five on average."

"Mm, yes. That age, to me, is adulthood. Now, I'm not sure how it is in your race, but I am a teleiophile. When I desire a woman, it is because there is absolutely no doubt that she is a sexually-mature adult lady."

"What ... is a teleiophile?"

"A person with a healthy sexual attraction to adults," said Panther. "Those over twenty-five with fully formed and fully functioning minds. I find you attractive because of your mature, professional, and seasoned personality and appearance. The fact you have that special 'I do not know what' about you is why I flirt with you so heavily. It's not intended to make you feel uncomfortable - it is intended to show you that I find you desirable; I find you both intellectually and physically attractive."

"You lay it on a little thick, sometimes, Panther."

"I do, yes. But, when I love, I love completely and deeply. I am not a cheat or a liar."

"Yeah, but you're blinkered when it comes to the subject."

"Meaning?"

"You act like you're obsessed with sex."

"Nonsense. I have never been diagnosed with hypersexuality disorder, although Wolf has accused me of such on more than one occasion."

"I, uh ... that's ... so, uh, 'sex addiction' is a thing?"

"Everything is a thing for someone. It's a big galaxy. There are a lot of people. Some are addicted to money, music, sex, drugs, alcohol, killing, video games, food ... the list is endless. I knew a girl addicted to candles. Not fire, specifically, just candles. Different scents. Her abusive husband was one of my targets. She only stayed with him because he brought her candles from the furthest ends of Lylat. Her addiction kept her enthralled to him. She liked the sensation of hot wax cooling on her naked skin, so she shaved it down below her beltline."

"I ... uh ... wow."

"Mm. Wow indeed." Panther sighed softly and shook his head. "I could talk to you until late into the night. I adore it. But ... we have a sex trafficking ring to break. We know that he cannot be beaten in a court. We know that he has, in fact, committed these crimes. We know that the evidence was deemed inadmissible by a corrupt judge who accepted a bribe, in the second case, where the evidence and witness couldn't be touched..."

"What made Wolf target this guy?"

Panther laughed. "Would you believe it? _He wanted to hire Wolf! He wanted Star Wolf to move his 'merchandise' to a safe place. He wanted to pay us to keep these children fed and locked up. I told Wolf he should have taken the job simply to let those children free_."

"Why didn't Wolf do it?"

"Wolf is business smart. Smarter than most give him credit for, Krystal. Wolf knew that if he took possession of those children and let them free, this man would have turned it around to look like Wolf was the guilty one. Breaking a contract over something like morals would have hurt Wolf's business reputation with other potentially shady clients. Furthermore, we're up against a syndicate with a small army. Star Wolf is only three full-time members, and the job certainly doesn't pay enough to hire from Wolf's band of second-rate go-to mercenary members."

"Go on," she said.

"So, taking down the syndicate's leadership will destabilize the group. Then? We anonymously submit evidence that posthumously destroys our targets' credibility. The dead cannot defend themselves in a court of law."

"You want to legally expose your targets after they're dead?"

"Exactly right. The remainder of the syndicate cannot come after us if the evidence is submitted anonymously. Without the leadership, investigators will take apart the remains of the syndicate."

"Not sure if that's rubbish or brilliant. Maybe a bit of both. Okay, without wittering on about this for another twenty minutes, why don't you tell me what Star Wolf is getting out of this job besides a little money?"

"Let's say we are completely successful in stopping these people and rescuing those children..."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"We don't receive any accolades, but one day, when Star Wolf clears its name, we will release evidence that we dismantled these syndicates and handed over the anonymous information. We will be heroes in Lylat, just like Star Fox."

Krystal scrunched her nose a bit. "Why am I here, Panther? Why does Wolf want me working for him?"

"Wolf likes the idea that if Fox ever finds out you're working for us, well, he would be angry. But, also, the day we clear our names? You will be there to teach us how to handle the positive publicity. Let's face it, Wolf would punch the first journalist in the face that says something snarky. We need to be better than that if we ever manage to..."

Krystal broke into silvery peals of laughter. "So, because you helped save Lylat from the Aparoids, you guys have decided you want to be heroes, now?"

"Is that so wrong?"

"You've had your first taste of saving the galaxy, but now you want recognition for it. Is that about right?"

"Yes, Krystal. That's correct."

Krystal retorted with a chuckle, followed by muttering a name under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, Panther."

"I am not deaf, Space Flower."

"I was muttering a deity under my breath. I swore to them in vein. Okay? God."

"I didn't recognize the name."

"It was one of the more popular deities on Cerinia. People got into the habit of swearing to their name."

"You swear to your old gods? The ones that failed to protect Cerinia?"

"When you put it like that, they deserve to have their names taken in vein, don't they?" Krystal rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, followed by a scoff. "I ... haven't thought about those deities in years. I don't even know where that came from, when I said it a moment ago. Sorry. I just muttered it under my breath without thinking about it."

"Male or female god?"

"The one I mentioned didn't have a gender," said Krystal. "Okay, now we're getting sidetracked. What the hell are we doing out here in the ass-end of space?"

Panther chortled in amusement. "I've never heard you cuss before, Krystal. You were always so prim and proper."

"Fuck," she replied in a flat tone. "I'm a mercenary, now, Panther. I'm not a lady. Not anymore."

"You'll _always _be a lady. Just a highly adaptable one, who knows how to be whatever she has to be in order to be in control of her environment. That just prove my point about you - you're capable of anything."

Krystal sighed softly. "Is there anything I can do to make you dislike me?"

"If there is, I haven't figured it out. So, let's just say ... no."

Krystal grumbled with a shake of her head. "Bloody wazzock. Fine. I'll add up all the hours we sit here, and send Wolf my bill. I'll be well-rich by the end of the job."

Panther chuckled over the line.

"So, again, why are we out here, waiting, chatting it up at the arse-end of Lylat?"

"I like that we're ... chatting it up. Mm, we're waiting for the syndicate's transport ship to come through this area. They should be coming from Eladard and headed for something at the edge of Lylat. But their transport ships have come through this area multiple times. Then? They always seem to disappear. Wolf thinks they use the wormhole, and when they emerge, they engage a cloaking device, so that they throw followers off their scent."

"Clever," Krystal mused softly. She shook her head with a soft sigh. "Okay, what're we waiting for?"

"A transport ship or large syndicate yacht. Until they show, we have time to ... chat it up. So! You've done three jobs with us so far. Why, Krystal?"

"What?"

"Why_ are you helping StarWolf_?"

"I'm helping you, ya big dummy."

Panther chuckled in a guttural manner. "You want to make Fox jealous if he ever finds out ... is that it?"

"He told me this line of work was 'too dangerous.' I want to prove to him that this 'line of work' is no match for me."

"I hope to hear you word it to him just that way. While you're at it, refer to his Arwing as a 'tin can,' heh."

"I..." She cocked her head a bit as if trying to get better reception to read his thoughts on the matter. "I didn't know Andross used wording like that."

"I've watched the satellite feed and comms exchanges between Star Fox and Venom. It was compiled as part of a documentary, years ago." Panther shook his head with a chuckle. "Regarding McCloud, well..." Panther scoffed. "You have lost nothing; you gained perspective."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because, Krystal, he was merely a steppingstone in your life. Do not look back, only forward." A pause, then, "But, please, I am curious - did you wish to help me only to make him jealous?"

Krystal sighed. "He undoubtedly sees you as a potential competition for my affections, so yes ... helping you would make him jealous. Which, I guess, makes me shallow. Jilted. Whatever."

"Very well, my little flower. But, if I may, you are not jilted. You _feel jilted, and rightly so, but I am here as your friend. With a bit of water and a transplant to healthy new soil, you will flourish once more_."

She muttered the name of the forgotten Cerinian deity again. With a shake of her head, she added, "I am not your 'little flower.' Flowers get trampled. I'm not that."

"You are blossoming into greatness. You are a flower. Flowers are not necessarily girly or frail. Many have thorns. They are stung by bees on a daily basis and it makes them stronger. Being compared to a flower is a compliment, Krystal."

"If you say so."

"I do."

"Well, in that case..." She couldn't think of anything mean to say at the moment. She rolled her eyes, sighed, and flatly said, "Thank you." Again, she sighed softly. "What if this transport ship doesn't come through here because they see us waiting?"

"They come through here because long-range sensors don't work in proximity to the wormhole. They won't know we're here until they're within twenty-five miles of this position. And it's difficult to see a black fighter until one is right up on it. And a silver fighter, such as yours, will appear to be space debris until they're within roughly two miles or closer. So, we're using their advantage against them."

Krystal feigned a smile. "Smart."

"I would love to take credit for it, but the idea belongs to Leon."

"There's a man I don't trust. Leon Powalski. He's a cutthroat killer."

"His obsession with knives makes him seem like a killer."

"He also seems to talk about it with a lot of ... zeal."

"True. Also, he has no compunction when he kills, that is true. He's a sociopath, and he suffers from empathy deficit disorder."

"Mm, if you say so." She'd heard the term before but having it confirmed about Leon didn't make her feel any differently about the reptile.

"I do say so. Leon has a code. He loathes the mere idea of killing the undeserving. I assure you, Krystal, he's safe."

"If you say so."

"Trust me. He's the one I vetted before joining StarWolf. I was ready for 'kill or be killed,' but he's not a homicidal psychopath. He simply lacks empathy, but he functions normally in society."

Krystal grimaced. "All right. If you say so."

"You can trust him. He's very loyal. You know, he used to have a voice deeper and far more aloof than my own."

"Really? Deeper than your voice?"

"An injury to his throat in a crash landing over Venom caused his voice to sound the way it does, now." Panther chuckled softly. "I agree, the current sound of his voice is..."

"Creepy. Raspy. Like a cliché psychopath killer? Like an evil little verruca on your hind paw, with a collection of 'cool' knives and truncheons that would amuse and impress a teenaged boy. Maybe I haven't warmed up to him, but after a few jobs, he still seems like a toffee-nosed weirdo." Krystal tensed up. "Panther, look! Right there, incoming at one-one-six-niner-mark-twelve. I have a ship; I'm marking it on your sensors as zulu-kilo-zero."

"I ... see it. Keen eye! They only _just entered the sector. How did you see them so quickly_?"

Krystal smirked at the image of Panther on her HUD. "Uh, hello? Telepath here? I sensed them, Panther."

"I'm impressed."

"Good. I'm impressive."

Panther chuckled. "Yes, you most certainly are. How would you like to play this? Follow them? Board them? We can't destroy them - there are likely to be innocent young ones on that ship."

"Let's take their engines, dispatch their fighter escort, and go from there. We might board them, if the tosspot doesn't try to escape in a life pod."

"You wish to wing it?"

She smiled. "Yes, we wing it after they are adrift with no escort."

"I like it. I'm forming up on your wing."

"Good," said Krystal with a firm nod. "Keep the fighters off me while I damage their engines."

"Right with you, Night Rose," Panther replied.

"Don't give me a pet name," she quipped, followed by punching her afterburners. "We have eleven minutes before they reach the wormhole event horizon. Let's do it in four minutes."

"Aye-y'aye, fearless leader," Panther replied with a chuckle. He opened a channel to the incoming ship and fighters. "Surrender and prepare to handover your cargo."

"Who is this?!" asked a communications officer from the incoming ship.

"It is I, Panther Caroso. The thorny scourge of Lylat. Panther, the liberator of the innocent. And, for your information, Panther does not miss his mark. If you engage us, prepare to die."

"Our fighter escort has _six M-class fighters with war-class weaponry. Back off, whoever the hell you are_."

"Panther Caroso does not 'back off' from a fight! And M-class warplanes are _nothing before the might of_..."

"Take'em out, pilots!" said the comms officer on the public channel, purposefully interrupting Caroso.

The corvette ship increased its speed, shortening its time to the wormhole.

Krystal sighed. She opened a private channel. "Panther, we now have six minutes before they reach the event horizon."

"As you said, they shall be dispatched in four." He switched back to the public channel and exclaimed, "You dare engage Panther Caroso with ancient second-hand fighters?! You will die painfully for this insult!"

Krystal shook her head and thumbed her boost again, screaming through the void toward her target. She let Panther continue the banter with the enemies, and she locked herself out of the public channel so that she wouldn't be implicated.

She headed straight for the ship at high speed. Two of the fighters broke off to engage her, but she evaded them and headed straight for the corvette.

"Night Rose, let's take care of these fighters, first. You can't let them come after you like that."

"Panther, you handle them. I don't want this corvette to coast into the wormhole. We have to stop it and find a way to redirect them. I'll handle that part; you do what you've always wanted to do - cover my tail."

"And what a lovely tail it is."

"Just defend me." As an afterthought, she added, "Do a better job than Fox."

"Oh, setting the bar, are we? Very well. And, you know, my dear, a thought just occurred to me - why are you doing this in your personal ship? What if it's recognized?"

Krystal sighed in annoyance. "Look at your sensors, Panther. What does my ship look like in it?"

"Erm..." A pause, then, "It doesn't have a shape on the sensors, and the video monitor shows you blurry, so their black-boxes will show the same."

"Exactly. That's my backup plan. It's a disruption field. I came straight from a patrol shift. I was running behind. I didn't have time to go to find a way to Sargasso and switch over to that old Wolfen Mark-3 that you boys loaned to me. So, here we are. Sorry I'm being a bit irascible, I'm just tired."

A flash, behind her, caused her dash to light up from the proximity of the explosion. A bogey disappeared off the sensor scope.

Krystal strafed the corvette, destroying two anti-aircraft gun turrets on the rear port side. She dropped back, behind it, and hammered the port-stern engine boosters.

The large backside of the ship was roughly three hundred feet wide and sixty or seventy feet high. There were three large engine booster clusters, the largest was at the center, and a grouping of about five small boosters on the left and right side of the corvette.

She destroyed the port exhaust cluster with a shock-and-awe strike of blaster fire, followed by a smart missile to finish them off.

She saved a Nova bomb for the main booster, destroying it in one strike.

All that remained was the starboard engine boosters.

Krystal's proximity alarm sounded.

Her rear shields flashed, causing the back of her canopy HUD to turn red, briefly.

Krystal hit her brakes, causing her attacker to fly past her. She noticed it was already damaged from Panther attacking it. She opened fire on the fighter, destroying it from behind. "Ta-ra!" she said absentmindedly.

Panther pulled up, passing Krystal's fighter as well. "You're letting the target get away, my dear. Any reason? Change your mind? New tactic?"

"No, Panther. I spared their starboard booster cluster. Look at the corvette's heading."

The large ship veered slowly to port due to only having it's aft-starboard boosters.

She hit her afterburner and came up on the starboard bow side of the corvette. She spotted a maneuvering thruster, flipped a switch on her dash and switched to mass driver guns, and shot the corvette's front right maneuvering thruster. "We'll suss out a plan once I'm sure they won't escape. Then, maybe we find a hatch ... just have to suck it and see."

"That sounded ... naughty."

"Sweet Fanny Adams, mate, grow up."

Panther chortled softly "Aw, you called me your mate."

Krystal sighed in annoyance. "You really don't wanna see me throw a stroppy, Panther. I'm tired; it's been a very long day already." She hammered the side of the corvette with her ship's mass driver guns, trying to chew through armored plating on the hull.

"When tired or annoyed, you use words I've never heard before. But, the way you use them, it's easy enough to assume what you mean."

"Stoppy," she replied followed by a soft sigh. To throw a strop is to have a wobbler. It's when you're already a bit shirty, but some prat annoys you until you're narked. Plus, I'm clapped out, atop of everything else - boom, a recipe for disaster."

"Your language sounded fun. I'm sorry you're tired. Anything I can do to help?"

"Cuppa coffee, maybe. The only real cure is a quick kip. Else, one is liable to go around being cheesed off, starting a barney with every burking bloke. I shouldn't compare these idiots to a berk. Berkshire hunts are an annoying lot from home, but they're as dead as the rest, and I'm really wound up, aren't I?"

"Your tangent is adorable."

"Adorable? What are you on about? I'm a mess. I'm propped up on an amphetamine to get through the night." She kept thumbing the trigger for her ship's guns.

"Since when do you use stimulants?"

"Since a base shrink wrote a script? Staying focused helps my anxiety. Or have you forgotten that I am likely the last of my race?"

"Stimulants for anxiety is a bad idea, Space Rose."

"I get anxious when I'm bloody-well knackered. So, for me, they help keep me less anxious. Everybody is different, Panther. Look, let's just get through this, then, yeah?"

"Understood."

"Ta, then." She continued to attack the side of the corvette with her mass drivers. "C'mon, you!"

The fuel line and thruster port finally exploded, causing a cone of bright plasma fire to burn wildly on the front right corner of the ship.

"Sorted!" she exclaimed.

"Very clever, vixen. Hmm ... solid fuel cells shouldn't burn like that."

"That corvette uses fuel cells for its main boosters in the rear. But it apparently uses liquid fuel for its maneuvering thrusters."

"Ah, so that's why the rear boosters are burning differently than the thruster ... how'd you know the ship uses liquid fuel for its maneuvering thrusters?"

"I swotted the basics of post-war Lylat engineering on subspace internet, Panther. It didn't take but a moment."

"...Oh."

"What? Were you expecting me to say I sensed it from a mechanic?" She chuckled softly. "Maybe a silly wide boy in Y-fronts and overalls, who knows every black-market piece he's added to this junker to keep it flying?"

"A wide boy?"

"A bloody spiv. God, I can't witter on about all this right now." She rubbed her face with her palms. "I'm putting away my nonsensical Cerinian yammering, then." She glanced at her radar scope, followed by a sharp sigh. "All right, keep those fighters off me whilst I handle this."

"With pleasure."

"Yeah ... if you say so." She moved the Cloudrunner close to the hull of the ship, until her fuselage gently brushed up against their armor plating. She increased throttle slow and steady, until she helped guide the corvette further away from the wormhole's entrance point. The thump was more jarring than she expected. "Sorry for the prang. Guess you'll have to ring my motor assurance," she said to the corvette, just outside of her canopy glass.

Fuel gushed out, burning brightly at first, but quick to lose flame in the void of space. Liquid fuel sprayed her ship, immediately freezing to the armored plating.

Krystal grimaced. "Dammit."

"Ah!" Panther roared with pride. "Another fighter down! Wait, is that a _frown I spy marring your beautiful visage_?"

She glanced at his image in her HUD, then the dash-mounted lens pointed at her. A grimace tightened at the corners of her maw. "Their liquid fuel sprayed on my fighter. Any attempt at atmospheric reentry would be dangerous."

The corvette veered further and further away from the wormhole entrance, escaping its gravity. It floundered around, unable to escape the sector.

"Krystal, you out-pirated our competitors rather expertly." A pause, then, with an alluring smile, he added, "Come back to Sargasso with me. I am happy to _personally wash your fighter_."

She didn't like the idea of taking the Cloudrunner to Sargasso, because she didn't want it to be associated with Star Wolf, but at this point, it was the only feasible idea. She sighed, nodded, and forced a weak chuckle. "You're going to dirty your paws with menial tasks like washing a fighter? That's not the Panther I know."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah, the Panther I know is a bit up himself. Peers out his own navel to see where he's going."

"I was a professional assassin, Krystal. I know how to clean up a crime scene. A fighter will be a piece of ... cake. Chocolate cake. In fact, you can sit on a supply crate, eating chocolate cake, while I clean your fighter for you. I'm happy to show you that..."

"Panther, enough. We women like a man that will show, not just tell."

"I'm a grower _and a shower_."

"Okay, whoa. Too much. I get the flirting, but you need to be subtle and smooth. You're usually not so forward or crude."

"You're absolutely right, Krystal. I'm never this crass. Somehow, you bring it out of me. Although, please, do not misunderstand - I am not saying it is your fault in any way. It's just ... when I am around you, I have to learn self-control all over again."

She scoffed. After a moment, a wry grin of amusement tugged at the corners of her muzzle. "Is that so..."

"Indeed, it is. I pride myself on discipline, restraint, and willpower. But, Krystal, around you, well, I become a fool. For that, I apologize."

"Maybe you're trying too hard."

"It has been many years since I've experienced any semblance of..." He trailed off to think of an eloquent way to word himself.

Her wry grin broadened a bit. "...Of making an ass of yourself?"

"Yes, that."

"The first time we met, you were over-confident. Now I'm supposed to believe that I'm having some sort of effect on you? That I make you weak in the knees?"

"Yes, Krystal. Exactly that. When we had lunch after the Aparoid Invasion? I felt as though I met the real you, not just a pretty face or a pilot for a rival team."

"Mm, I did notice your demeanor changed a bit after we met that time. Still, I stand by what I said - you're trying too hard, Panther."

"If I'm '_trying too hard' it's because you're the first woman I've met worth all of my effort_."

Her grin evolved into a genuine smile. "Okay, that was ... actually sweet." She could sense his honesty ... his sincerity. It was unexpected.

"I'll endeavor to treat you with the respect you deserve. I'm hoping you already sense my feelings and intentions, but it needs to be said - I do not see you as some ... object." His fighter swooped around, chasing away a fighter that was targeting her ship. He moved the lumbering Wolfen about, herding the fighters away from her ship. "Perhaps an object of my affections, but by no means _an object. You are certainly much more than a pretty face with an attractive figure_."

"Oh, lord have mercy."

Panther continued. "You're a clever pilot, and your ability to defeat the capital ship's escape plan with no time to spare, while under fire by enemy fighters ... well, that proves you are in possession of that ... that 'something special' that has no name."

"Okay, okay. I get it. You have a crush on me. Don't put me on a pedestal. Just ... give me respect when I'm due."

"As in gender equality respect?"

"You know how Wolf and Leon treat you like a third wheel?"

"Yes, because our personalities are not compatible. It's simple chemistry."

"Don't be a thick naff, Panther. That's what you're telling yourself to accept the way they treat you. Don't swallow their bullshit. And don't tell me a lady doesn't cuss, either. I sense you're surprised I said that. My point still stands - you need to demand their respect, not ask for it. Respect is earned, but there are more ways to earn respect than to parade around, talking about your kill score. You can't swallow their shit until ya feel ropey. You man up and demand their respect."

"How do you suggest I earn Wolf and Leon's respect?"

Krystal sighed softly. "The same way I did, really. You remember, I know you do."

"When Wolf pulled a knife to gauge your response?"

"Yes. Wolf was being tetchy as hell, that night. He wanted to see if he could intimidate me; he withdrew the biggest knife he carries. The irascible little shit. So, then, if you recall, I snatched his forearm, struck him in a pressure point, slammed his forehead into a pane of acrylic glass, and then I guided his own knife to his throat, while holding his wrist firmly. I leaned in close, smiled, and told him..."

Panther recited her words to Wolf from a few weeks back. "Wolf, if you're going to threaten a girl, be prepared to make good on it. Oh, I'm sorry, did you blink? I didn't know that electronic eye-patch could blink. If you ever need a demonstration on the fact that I can handle myself, we can start by branding you with my name. Where do you want it? Your chest or your ass? Your choice."

Krystal burst into laughter. "Did I really say it just like that?"

"You did. Leon was impressed because you drew just enough blood from Wolf's neck to show you didn't mind the sight of it. Leon expected you to squirm at the mere spectacle; he was delighted it didn't bother you."

"I remember washing it off of my paw. Thank the goddesses that Wolf doesn't have any STDs."

Panther chortled. "Indeed. It might surprise you to find out that Wolf is a bit of a germaphobe. He has enough willpower to ignore it if he needs to show off in a bar or some such, but..." Panther shook his head on the monitor, followed by another chuckle. "Well, needless to say, Sargasso is cleaner than most pirate lairs because of that."

"I wondered. I mean, he employs mercenaries. He hands out jobs and writes wage packets like a businessman, but somehow Sargasso is always clean. Well, certainly cleaner than the Great Fox was when I first joined Star Fox."

"The 'ex' is a bit of a slob, hmm?"

"Falco and Slippy are, although Slippy has started growing out of it. Fox? Well, I think that was depression until he met me."

"So, how bad was it? By this time next year, will Fox be wearing the same shirts two and three days in a row...? Or will there be food cartons and beer cans on the bridge deck?"

"Both," Krystal replied in a soft voice. She looked away with a sigh, gazing out of her canopy at the corvette hull plating. "Let's change the subject. We need to get back on task. We have a job to complete."

"They're not going anywhere," Panther replied. A pause, then, "Perhaps you're right. What if there are children aboard that Corvette? We can't simply take over and fly it to Sargasso with damaged engines."

Krystal unfastened her safety harness and peered back into the heart of the Cloudrunner. "I ... could fit a few little ones, I suppose. Depends on how many they have. I doubt they'd have many, because it would be difficult to hide a large group in the event of being inspected by a Cornerian team."

"Fair logic. Do you sense children aboard?"

Krystal took a deep breath and calmed her mind. She ignored Panther's thoughts and the worries of the corvette's crew. She listened for the thoughts of youth ... of innocence. She shook her head. "There are young people, but not little ones. It's difficult to tell the age of individuals in a group. There are more than a dozen crewmembers and some that I ... can't be sure about."

"It's possible that they've been conditioned to accept their situation and act as part of the crew."

"Or they're teenagers. Every teen has a different maturity level, so some can be mistaken as children, and others can be mistaken as young adults."

"We'll have to board the ship and handle the crew. Then, we'll have to determine which syndicate leaders are aboard the ship, and if there are any young ones needing to be saved."

"We're going to have to make sure anyone we rescue won't report back to Cornerian authorities that they were saved by a blue fox in a unique Space Dynamics fighter."

"Mm, true. We should find a way to cover their eyes. Hoods for all who survive, and the destruction of their black box recorders."

Krystal nodded in agreement. "All right. Let's force our way onto their cargo hold. It'll be a tight fit for me, but your Wolfen might fit. I'll dock with a hatch leading to the bridge and we'll meet in the middle."

"Exciting!" Panther roared. "I will see you there, my Night Rose." A pause, then he cleared his throat, adding,_ "_It's not a pet name, it's something I will call you in the field, Krystal."

She groaned in annoyance. "Fine. Whatever. See you aboard the ship."

"Until we meet again!"

Krystal moved her ship forward, just a little bit, until the rear entrance to her ship was lined up with a hatch on the starboard side of the corvette. She pressed a button to make sure the stabilizers were locked into position, folded back with the G-diffuser pontoons tucked beneath the belly of Cloudrunner.

She checked the computer readout to make sure the rear side-entrance perfectly lined up overtop a hatch access section on their bridge. The bridge was located at the top-center of their ship.

She set the autopilot lockout controls, pressed a key to create a forcefield seal between the two ships, punched in a lockout pin code, and moved to the back of her ship. She retrieved her staff and opened the exit-hatch on the side. It slid open where the two hulls were nearly touching. An energy field created a small tunnel between her rear port-side entrance and the hatch leading to the bridge of the corvette.

Krystal took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "You've got this. We'll give it a bit of a welly, sort these fools, and take the kids back to Corneria. Easy as ya like." Another calming breath, then she nodded firmly. "Then I'll eat cake while Panther gives Cloudrunner a bath."

She put her staff against the hatch, froze it until the hinges were frosted and brittle, then she drew the staff back and thrust it forward. The 'quake attack' setting shattered the hinges. "All right, Krystal," she told herself, "Cerinia is gone. It's time to put those words in the past. When in Lylat, you walk and talk like a Lylatian."

She sensed the aggressive approach of someone and stepped back from the hatch. "Time to earn my wages, then." She took a deep breath to prepare herself for combat.

A boot kicked the hatch open, followed by blaster fire.