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It was never a good feeling to have. That bitter taste of defeat was still stuck in the back of Fox's throat. This hadn't been the first time he felt this way, and if the Fireflies were as tough as they were today, then it wouldn't be the last. Sure, Fox completed his mission objective, but that didn't make him or anyone else on the team feel better. He found it strange as he talked to General Pepper inside the Great Fox as though the primary objective was accomplished flawlessly.

"So the mission was a success then, Fox?" asked the old hound dog.

Fox looked away briefly as he spoke to the general through the ship's comm-links. "Yes, for the most part."

"Hmm? The most part?"

"We ran into the Fireflies as we were flying out of the canyon, sir. I'll spare you most of the details, but they bested us in combat, and they took out Katt Monroe."

"I see," said the general solemnly, before pausing. "That's unfortunate, but the important thing is that your team's still intact. We'll deal with the Fireflies another time, but for now, we need to focus on finding Oikonny before he hits us hard. Get back to the CCC. We may need your team for another mission very soon."

"Understood."

Peppy cut off the communication channel and the screen in front of them went blank. Fox McCloud sighed heavily as he leaned against one of the handrails in the aircraft's cockpit. The old hare spun around in his chair as he looked up at Fox, who was still upset over his recent loss.

"You'll do better next time. No need to beat yourself up about it."

"It's not that we lost that upsets me, Peppy. It's just..."

"What?"

"They killed Katt, Peppy," said Krystal. "They almost killed Falco too. The way they flew, their style, their ship modifications; it was all savage, relentless. They wouldn't stop chasing us no matter what we did."

"Not to mention they trashed our Arwings! You know how long it's gonna take to repair all those?"

"Damaged Arwings are the least of our problems, Slippy, especially since we have reserves," said Fox, with exasperation in his voice. "We're going to run into this squadron again, and we need to be prepared the next time around. If we're not, then they won't just damage our Arwings. We're gonna end up just like Katt. Heck, the only reason why we're still alive is because of pure luck, and because they let us live."

"Okay, okay, I got it," said the frog.

"Well, if this threat about Andrew is true, then maybe you'll be able to brush up on your skills, use some of Andrew's goons as target practice, if you know what I mean," said Peppy.

Fox nodded. "I gotcha. We'll just use this defeat as a reason to improvise, learn from our mistakes."

"Exactly! For instance, now I know that our Arwings need better armor so I won't have to spend all day trying to patch it back up!"

Fox huffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I suppose so, Slips."

The fox paused for a long moment before he blinked and began to walk out of the cockpit.

"I'm gonna go check on Falco."

"Err, Falco doesn't do...personal stuff," advised Slippy.

"He's gonna have to make an exception today."

---

Falco was sitting in the medical bay, wincing as he looked down at the gauze wrapped around his midriff. ROB was standing in front of him, checking to make sure that the blue bird was doing okay.

"Are you still experiencing intense pain, Falco?"

"I dunno, ROB. I was in a dang plane crash; what do you think?"

The robot whirred as he turned his head. "I believe that your attitude is in need of improvement."

Falco scoffed and turned away, wincing again when he felt more pain in his side. The automatic door leading into the room whooshed open very quickly, revealing Fox in his standard flight outfit. Falco was still wearing the same clothes, albeit he was shirtless since ROB had to examine Falco's abdomen.

"How's he doing, ROB?

"Falco has suffered from scratches, a burn on his back, and he was lacerated with a shard of metal. I removed the object from his midriff and sealed the wound. Falco should be back to normal soon."

"Thanks, ROB."

While the robot continued to straighten up the room, Fox walked over to the bird to examine the wounds for himself. He did have some scratches on his face, but it was nothing serious. The worst wound he suffered had already been patched up by ROB.

"Guess those Fireflies was better than we thought, huh?" asked Falco.

"Not that much better, but yes, they won this round. We underestimated them, got cocky. But that won't happen the next time."

"Yeah? Katt won't get a next time, Fox."

"...I know that."

There was a very long pause after that. The only thing the two creatures heard was the air conditioning blowing wind through the vents and the occasional whirring sounds ROB made whenever he moved. Fox eventually asked the one question he should've asked the moment he walked in the room.

"Are you all right?"

Falco shrugged. "Just a few cuts and bruises."

"You had your side split open."

"Like I said, couple cuts and bruises."

"What about with Katt?"

Falco paused for a moment before shrugging again. "She's dead. I'm angry. I'm going to kill that scaly piece of filth that murdered her. What else is there to say?"

"You just don't seem--"

"What do you want me to do, Fox? Cuddle up with you as I cry into your chest like a little wimp?"

"You lost a very close friend! I'm not saying that she was your girlfriend, but you did care about her. Telling yourself that you don't feel anything except anger and rage isn't the way to go about this."

"Don't tell me what to feel and don't tell me how to feel it. Katt's dead. I'm mad, that much I'll admit. But otherwise, I'm okay. End of story."

"...Falco--"

"End of story," said Falco as he raised his voice.

Fox stared into the bird's eyes and knew there was no point in reasoning with him or talking to him. He'd let it all out when the time came. But right now Falco was in denial, and he was refusing to get past it. Fox knew when the falcon needed his space, so he sighed heavily and nodded.

"Okay then. End of story."

Fox turned around and walked out of the medical room, while Falco blinked and grunted as he ran a hand along his bandaged abdomen.

---

To say that the Cornerian Command Center was massive would be a huge understatement. The Great Fox was tiny in comparison to the whole station, which was big enough to hold thousands upon thousands of military personnel. Everytime the Great Fox slowly flew closer to the enormous station, Star Fox always seemed impressed by the sheer size of it all. The CCC was mainly composed of two gray disc-like structures, with one structure floating just above the other one. In the center of both discs was a light blue oblate spheroid, which connected to both discs via walkways and long bridges. About a kilometer south of the structure was another, flatter, circular structure that looked like a ring with a gigantic hole in the center. Various rectangular components were placed in the middle of the hole, and each one had some form of bridge connecting one to the other. A kilometer north of the spheroid was another flat circular structure, although this one did not have any holes in the middle of it, and looked more like a thin saucer or Frisbee.

In the center of the entire station was a very long elevator shaft that could take anyone to any section of the station, whether it was all the way down to the ammunitions dump, or all the way up towards the training centers. While the station looked like nothing more than four rings connected to each other, with a giant sphere in the center of the two thickest rings, it was actually one of the Cornerian army's primary defenses. As the Great Fox flew closer to the station, they could see the various gunships that were hovering along the perimeter of the CCC, the laser turrets fully charged and ready to blast any starfighters to smithereens. Members of the Cornerian Defense Force would occasionally pop into view of the Star Fox team, flying through space as they made sure no ships slipped through the defenses. There was a cube-shaped satellite that monitored communications from nearby planets and roaming ships, so anyone from the CCC would be able to pick up signals from approaching armored carriers or other malicious spaceships. But those were merely the orbital defenses. Even if the enemy managed to break through them all, they would still have to deal with the thousands of soldiers inside the giant station.

The Great Fox docked along the lower of the two thick discs. Star Fox could already tell by the various other massive aircraft cruisers and carriers that many other mercenary teams were here too. One carrier was painted red and had a stripe going along the back of it; one was blue and had a cockpit shaped to look like a beak; one had a huge logo on it that resembled a behemoth of a lizard riding a lightning bolt; all the giant aircraft carriers were designed and colored differently, just like the Great Fox was. And all of them could fit in one section of the station's docking bay without making the area feel crowded or cramped.

"Did you see the Rotter when we were flying in?" asked Slippy.

"I hope not. I'm not in the mood for smelling those rats' stench today," grumbled Falco.

"Could be worse. At least Remmy and Dumper are nice to us, unlike Doogan," said Fox.

"Being nice is not the same as wearing deodorant."

As the five Star Fox members exited the ship, Peppy turned around and gave the ship's robot an order.

"ROB, stay here and guard the ship. Contact us if you see something wrong or if someone tries to sneak onboard."

"Affirmative."

After the order was given, Star Fox stepped out of the massive aircraft and walked down a metal ramp that led to one of the docking bay's elevators. They all headed inside, and Fox pressed the "2" button on the panel; the docking bay was located on the "basement" level. The team rode the elevator in silence, still not trying to bring up what happened down on Macbeth for the sake of not sparking another awkward conversation. But the elevator moved quickly, and once the clear doors whooshed open, they were finally inside one of the main sectors of the station. When the Star Fox team stepped out the elevator, they could see dozens of soldiers of all shapes and sizes walking, running, or merely patrolling this floor of the CCC. Some of them were members of the CDF, dog soldiers clad in their standard blue uniforms and hats. Others were mercenaries like the Star Fox team, and their squadrons consisted of all sorts of species. The Star Fox team still didn't know everyone on the station; there were so many soldiers, mercenaries and pilots that it was hard for any of them to remember so many names from so many different backgrounds.

"Well, if it isn't the Star Fox team! Good to see you're back!"

The team all looked at the young Akita with a black mask and watched as he wagged his tail merrily and smiled.

"Nice to see you too, Alec," said Krystal as she forced herself to smile.

"I think the general wants to meet with your team in the Core. Didn't sound too urgent, but best not to keep him waiting!"

Peppy sighed. "All right. I'll meet with General Pepper and explain what happened on Macbeth. The four of you can relax for now and chat with the other teams. Maybe they're having the same amount of trouble that we are."

"Got it. We'll see you later then," said Fox.

Peppy broke away from the group and headed forward so he could reach the Core, while Alec went back to patrolling the corridor. After they were gone, the four heroes started walking towards their right, seeking out other friendly pilots who had come back from their recent mission. Star Fox usually stuck together whenever they were in the CCC; it was easy to get lost within the station. Right now the team was walking along the hard metal floor, their footwear clunking loudly as they advanced. The walls and ceiling were all the same color as the floor: a dark shade of green. Huge metal columns that were several feet high and many inches thick were set inside the corridor. There were various screens and monitors placed along the walls depicting televised advertisements or news stories about what was going on in the Lylat System. All the double-doors the team came across were automatic and would slide open with a soft hiss, revealing more rooms and areas the team could head into if they wanted. Slippy briefly got sidetracked when he saw the door to the mess hall slide open, revealing a gray canine who was busy munching on a sandwich wrap smothered in guacamole.

"Maybe one of the squadrons is eating in the mess hall?" suggested the frog.

Fox chuckled. "We'll eat in a moment," he said, as though he read Slippy's mind. "We should find Star Dog first and see what they've been up to."

"Ask and you shall receive! How's my favorite squadron doin'?"

Slippy laughed as he walked over to the chubby bulldog and greeted him. "Hey, Volcano!"

The Star Fox team watched as Slippy and Volcano did a special "secret" handshake that they always performed, which ended with the two creatures bumping their fists together. The chubby bulldog looked at the rest of the Star Fox team and noticed that they were keeping their distance.

"Aw, c'mon! None a' you wanna give your ole pal Rex a big hug?"

"Not when you don't have your shirt on, no," said Krystal.

The tan bulldog looked down at his pudgy white belly and noticed it was hanging out past the waistband of his white pants. Rex scratched his head as he laughed meekly and blushed.

"Right, that. Guess I forgot to put one on this morning!"

"Yeah, 'forgot,'" said a Saint Bernard a few feet away who was fixing some kind of device.

"You guys know I spend a lot of time working out in the gym! It gets hot in there; a dog can't work out when he's wearing a shirt drenched in sweat!"

"Then why didn't you find a clean one?"

Volcano blinked and changed the subject. "So what brings you guys back to the CCC so soon? You guys complete your mission already?"

"Kind of," said Fox. "We just wanted to check on your squad first."

"Oh, we're fine. Say hi guys!"

The Saint Bernard working on the mechanical device nodded slowly. "Sup? Got any spare washers for this thing?"

"Terry, people don't carry washers in their pockets," said Volcano.

The Saint Bernard scoffed. "You'd be surprised."

The other dog in the squadron was a burly fawn mastiff who was standing next to one of the monitors and wearing all yellow. The muscle-bound canine glanced over his shoulder and saw the Star Fox team standing only a few feet away.

"Hi, guys," he said in his deep, snide voice.

"Now don't be that way, Sid! It's not gonna kill ya to speak to people every once in a while!" said Rex.

The mastiff blinked and turned back around, folding his arms as he continued to stare at the news reports on the monitor. The last member of Star Dog was an equally burly canine, a black and rust-colored Rottweiler who was leaning against the wall as he chewed on his meaty sandwich. He knew Star Fox was there, but unlike Sid, who at least greeted them to some extent, the Rottweiler intentionally avoided them. He chewed noisily on his sandwich, paying more attention to the mustard and fried bologna and ham placed between two slices of bread.

"Hi, Doogan," said Fox.

"I'm eating," the Rottweiler blurted out, his mouth full.

"We can see that."

"Then why are you talking to me?"

"Because we can," retorted Falco.

"Maybe you shouldn't."

"Maybe I should knock your teeth in. You ever think--"

"Falco..." Fox interrupted.

The Rottweiler didn't respond. He just kept eating his sandwich.

"Forget him," said Krystal. "Look, the reason why we're checking up on you guys is because we ran into the Firefly squadron today. We took out the base, but they showed up just as we were about to return to the Great Fox."

Volcano whistled. "Hehe, I bet that must've been one heck of a dogfight! Guess you guys had 'em runnin' with their tail between their legs, right?"

Krystal looked down. "Actually, they defeated us. Falco almost died, and a close friend of his did die."

Volcano slowly started to frown. "Dang...sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, sucks when that happens. Lost a friend about a week ago, old college buddy named Albert Jenkins," said Terry.

"Was he attacked by the Fireflies?" Slippy abruptly asked.

The bulldog shook his head. "No, some mercenary squad called the Devil Dogs. They attacked us too just a few days ago when we were down in Fichina. I'm not sure why, but we've been seeing a lot of advanced enemy pilots lately."

Fox started to rub his chin. "Something tells me I already know who hired the Fireflies and the Devil Dogs."

The Rottweiler finished his sandwich and laughed as he chewed the rest of his food. He slowly walked towards the Star Fox team with a smug grin on his face.

"Who cares, Volcano? So long as we beat 'em, that's what matters. Clearly you're not capable of that, Fox."

Fox faced Doogan and started to scowl. "One loss does not reflect on all of my team's other victories. I'm sure Star Dog has had their share of losses too."

Doogan shrugged. "Even so, we're just getting started! If this is gonna happen everytime your team runs into a group of aces like the Fireflies or the Devil Dogs, you may as well leave the CCC and go on home. We'll let you know when you can crawl out of your holes once the fighting stops."

Falco stepped dangerously close to Doogan and snorted. "You're not such a fancy pilot yourself, Dog Breath! How many times have we had to pull your backsides outta the fire whenever it hit the fan?! How many times have your teammates practically begged us to come help them when the enemy was chasing them?!"

"We're still standing here, and we still have ears," said Sid snidely, without looking away from the screen.

"Sure, maybe they aren't advanced pilots, but I am. Tch, and I'm certainly better than your so-called glorious leader here."

"Do you even care that we lost someone today? That cat who was here only a few hours ago is dead!" said Krystal.

"Right, yes, her, that pretty little milk-drinker with whiskers. She talked a lot about you, Falco. I'm sure you of all people know how much she loved milk, don't you?"

"You watch your mouth," snarled Falco.

Doogan grinned so widely that his teeth were showing. "You should be lucky! If that had been a female dog you were dating, I'm sure I'd be referring to her using a different choice of words."

Fox stopped it just as it was about to begin. He reached behind Falco and grabbed his right arm just as the bird was about to punch the Rottweiler. Volcano and Terry did the same, grabbing onto Doogan from behind as they dragged him away from the hostile bird. Falco shouted and thrashed about as he angrily told Fox to let him go. Doogan wasn't smirking anymore, but he still had a cocky attitude hanging about.

"Don't you ever talk about Katt that way again!" screamed Falco.

"Why do you care?! She's dead anyway; if she couldn't even survive getting attacked by the Fireflies, then she's better off in the ground!"

Falco nearly elbowed Fox just so he'd let him go when Sid stepped in and quickly stopped the argument. Everyone on both teams stopped fighting when the oversized mastiff casually walked behind Doogan and wrapped a thick arm around his neck. Terry and Rex let go of Doogan's arms and backed away as Sid put Doogan in a headlock. The mastiff looked down at Doogan as he applied more pressure, gradually causing the Rottweiler to gag and cough as he started to get weaker. Doogan tried to squirm his way out of the dog's grasp, but even a canine as buff as Doogan wasn't stronger than the mastiff. Doogan coughed and slowly collapsed to the floor, sitting down beside the dog's legs as he gradually became weaker and more lightheaded. Sid eventually let go of Doogan, and the dog started to cough and gasp as he rubbed his throat and tried to get his breath back.

"Are you done now? Or should we see how many times I can smash your face into the wall before I break your nose?"

Doogan staggered as he got off the floor and breathed heavily. He scowled as he stared at the teammate who just embarrassed him.

"You...you can't do that to me! In case you forgot, I'm the leader of this squadron!"

Sid lowered his head and got in Doogan's face, to the point where their big moist noses were touching. "In case you've forgotten, I'm bigger than you."

Doogan didn't say anything after that. The two dogs stared at each other in silence while the rest of the dogs and the Star Fox team stared at the duo with bated breath, expecting one of them to punch the other in the eye. But after the long silence, Doogan backed away and shook his head.

"Don't grab me like that again."

"Don't mock fallen soldiers. Now turn around and apologize."

The Rottweiler did as he was told. He slowly turned around and glanced at Falco with folded arms. He mumbled something under his breath as he looked down at the floor. Sid wasn't impressed with his apology, so he smacked the Rottweiler on the back of his head.

"Louder."

Doogan huffed. "I'm sorry, Falco."

Doogan didn't say anything after that. He knew his words would get him into trouble, so he shut his mouth and casually walked away from Star Fox and his dogs so he could enter the mess hall and get more food.

"You're welcome, Star Fox," said Sid bluntly.

The mastiff walked back over to the monitor on the wall and continued to stare at the news program, acting like the Star Fox team had suddenly disappeared. Terry and Volcano looked at Star Fox as they awkwardly scratched their heads or tried to find a way to relieve the tension in the air. But after what Doogan did and said, it was pretty obvious that neither team should be around each other at the moment.

"I'm, uh, I'm gonna go get some grub," said Rex.

"Yeah, Blazer said he wanted me to help him patch up his ship's armor, so..."

The bulldog and Saint Bernard went their separate ways, with the latter taking the contraption he was working on so he could finish repairing it somewhere else. Sid still stayed where he was, and the Star Fox squad tried to forget the little spat they had with Doogan.

"I'm gonna go take a leak. Go find some of the other mercs; I'll catch up with you guys later."

Falco left before his other three teammates could say anything else. Krystal and Slippy stared at the falcon as he walked away, deeply concerned about his state of mind.

"He's not doing okay, is he?" asked Slippy.

"No," said Fox.

---

Despite how clean and hi-tech the CCC was, the men's bathrooms weren't very sanitary. There were dozens of other areas around the space station that the janitors needed to worry about cleaning; if there were a few stains and a bad smell inside the bathrooms, then so be it. Falco wasn't surprised to see that the floor (and part of the wall) was wet from what he was hoping was water. The tiled floor had some toilet paper on it, there was some graffiti and rude content scribbled on the walls in marker, and one of the sinks was broken. But none of that was the falcon's main concern. What the bird was fixating on (and thoroughly repulsed by) was the barefooted brown rat standing in the middle of the bathroom. The strong odor of urine filled Falco's nostrils, and the bird could see yellow fluids splashing onto the floor in front of the rodent. The brown rat briefly glanced behind his left shoulder and greeted the bird.

"Oh. Hey, Falco."

"WHY ARE YOU PEEING ON THE FLOOR?!" he bellowed.

The brown rat turned back around and shrugged. "Just seemed like the natural thing to do."

"THERE'S A URINAL RIGHT THERE!"

The rodent shrugged again. "So?"

Falco scoffed. "Move."

He didn't feel like arguing with the unhygienic rat, so the bird shoved him out the way as he walked over to one of the urinals. The rat grunted as he was shoved, which led to him accidentally stepping in his own puddle of urine--not that the rodent cared. The bird unzipped his trousers and started peeing naturally, trying his best to ignore the stench of the fetid rat standing only a few feet away from him. The brown rat faced Falco and sniffed.

"Smells to me like someone's a bit upset today."

"There's a lotta things you smell right now, and they're all coming from you!"

The brown rodent chuckled. "Fail another mission? I thought the Star Fox team was capable of taking out an itty-bitty base on Macbeth. Ah well. Maybe the general will get us to do it, give us a fatter bonus!"

Falco snorted. "We didn't fail the mission! And even if we had, what's the Rot Squad gonna do with all that money anyway, Manny? You gonna use it all as toilet paper?"

Manny chuckled. "Please! Everyone in this station knows that Remmy, Dumper and I never use toilet paper."

Falco didn't want to know what other disgusting things Manny would say, so he stopped talking altogether and kept peeing. He finished up around the same time Manny did, and the bird headed over to the sink and started to wash his hands. But Manny just zipped up his pants and walked towards Falco so he could get a rise out of him again.

"Lucky for you, I'm actually in a good mood today! Everytime your team fails gives other squadrons like the Rot Squad or Star Dog or the Seahawks another chance to shine, to earn the money they rightfully deserve! Your team needs to stop hogging all the good missions that pay a lot of money! Haven't you heard that sharing is caring?"

"First of all, I don't care about you. Second of all, even if I did, for whatever reason, share with you, the only thing I'd loan you would be my mouthwash. You and the rest of your team should try it sometime; you might reduce the chances of making someone pass out everytime you open your mouth!"

"And why would I want my mouth to reek of peppermint?"

Falco scoffed and shook his head. "Bottom line: my team didn't fail our mission. We're gonna get paid for putting out butts on the line today, while you and Remmy and Dumper sat around peeing on the floor or farting until you crapped your pants or whatever gross things you rats do! Sure, yeah, maybe my team got...roughed up today...but we won! We're gonna be here for a very long time, and we're gonna keep completing missions that earn us bigger rewards, so you and your team better get used to that!"

Falco didn't give Manny a chance to respond. He didn't even bother drying his hands because he didn't want the rodent to spout out something condescending or baiting seconds before he left. He just stormed out the bathroom, leaving the smelly brown rodent alone with his arms folded and a scowl on his face.

"We'll just see about that..."

---

It wasn't hard for Fox and the gang to find Remmy and Dumper. Shortly after the team took the elevator leading up to the level for the soldiers' barracks, they smelled the rodents the second the doors opened. The three team members spotted the two rats standing next to each other only a few feet away, still chatting about their recent mission.

"I don't know why you had to use your stun grenade! Ya coulda knocked out everyone in that room just by raising your arms!" said the grayish-brown rat with black feet.

The other rodent laughed. "And all you had to do was blast a giant fart in there and all those ruffians would've suffocated, Dumper! It's a shame you...oh, hey, Star Fox!"

"How long have you guys been standing there?" asked Dumper.

"You were saying something about your powerful flatulence," said Slippy.

The large rodent laughed. "You guys can relax your noses today! Mess hall's outta broccoli and beans, so I'm running low on gas!"

"I seriously doubt that," joked the black rat standing next to him.

"Anyway," said Fox loudly, as he awkwardly scratched behind his right ear, "we just got back from our mission. Everything went fine at first, but then we ran into the Firefly squadron."

"Oh dang, that must've been rough!" said Remmy.

"It was. All of us almost got shot down..." Slippy stopped himself. There was no need in blabbing to everyone that Katt was dead--or that they got their butts kicked, for that matter. If Falco was taking this as personally as Star Fox thought he was, then the last thing he needed was for everyone to know about his personal issues.

"Maybe you guys were the lucky ones. Can't even begin to tell you how bad it was when we ran into the Buzzsaws and their Bull Unit!"

Slippy's eyes grew wide. "Y-your team ran into the Buzzsaws?"

Remmy nodded his head. "Ghastly little pilots. You know they got these special missiles that don't even explode on contact? They just saw through your ship; rips the insides to shreds, including the pilot! My squad pulled outta there the moment they started to drain our forces. Heh, Dumper here almost crapped his pants when one of those saw missiles started chasing him!"

"I did not! The only reason why I nearly soiled myself was cause of all them prunes I ate the night before!"

"Sure, prunes. Were prunes the reason why you messed the bed last week?"

"No, that was after you, me, and Manny were dared into eating a five-pound bag of sugar-free gummy bears--"

"ANYWAY," said Fox very loudly as he rubbed his forehead, "we were just wondering if other teams have encountered aces like the Fireflies recently, and after talking to you and Star Dog, it seems like Andrew or whoever's working for him is trying to lead us all into a trap."

"Seems like it. Haven't dealt with pilots as devious as the Buzzsaws since Andross was still around."

"We might be able to figure out more if we just ask General Pepper what's been going on. He's probably still in the Core with Peppy," said Krystal.

Fox nodded. "Good idea. We'll find out what's been going on and let you guys know soon. We'll see you later."

"All right. Take care, Star Fox!" shouted Dumper.

The Star Fox team turned around and headed for the elevator again, leaving the two rats to bask in their noisome odors.

---

The Core was every computer scientist and software engineers' dream. The Core was the central command center for the entire station; everything was monitored or controlled within the giant sphere. The whole area was composed of multiple floors for multiple districts. The main level was filled with dozens of computers, technicians, monitors, control panels, and air vents to keep the area cool. Various programmers and scientists spent their time inside the room, trying to monitor and hack into enemy installations. Whenever someone tried to send a malicious worm or other technological bug into the system, the programmers inside the Core had to destroy it before it did too much damage. The staff within the Core made sure all the security controls were working, and that all of the station's defenses were in good order. Those not in control of security, programming, or any other cyber-related activities were more than likely a scientist or an architect turned scientist who spent most of their time thinking of new weapons and defenses to build for the troops and mercenaries. But General Pepper and Peppy Hare weren't inside this room for any of that. The reason why they were meeting within the Core was because of the new video feed the aging canine received only minutes ago.

Peppy couldn't believe what he was looking at. The hare could only watch in horror as dozens of Cornerian troops showed up on a giant screen. Peppy, General Pepper, and a few other mercenary pilots were watching as an entire fleet of soldiers on planet Fortuna were obliterated by the enemy. Pilots didn't even have the chance to take off before their starships were destroyed, and almost everyone on the ground was annihilated in mere minutes. Peppy and General Pepper couldn't exactly tell what kind of vehicles and weapons Andrew's troops were using, but the ruffians under his command didn't care about taking any hostages. By the time all the chaos was over, there were no Cornerians still alive. Only dozens of burning, ruined vehicles, and way too many dead bodies to count.

"Shut it off," said the old hound dog.

One of the technicians inside the core turned off the terminal. Peppy looked away as he huffed.

"This just happened?" the hare asked.

"No. Apparently those troops were hit hours ago, when we were all focusing on finding Andrew's bases. They must've all been decoys, small nuisances to draw our troops away from the real priorities. ...And we fell right for it."

The general and hare turned away from the massive screen and faced the Star Dog team, along with Falco and a team of reptilian mercenary pilots.

"Now do you understand how grave this situation is? Oikonny's going on the offensive now; he's done hiding from all of us."

Doogan scoffed. "He's just one stupid monkey. Let him bask in his narcissism for now; it'll bite him in the rear sooner or later."

"We would prefer it be sooner, before we lose a large quantity of our soldiers."

The general glanced at Falco and noticed that the blue bird was standing by himself. General Pepper looked all around the room, trying to seek out Fox and his other two members.

"Where's the rest of Star Fox, Falco?"

Falco shrugged. "Don't know. They should--"

Before Falco could finish speaking, the doors for the Core hissed open, and Falco's three other teammates walked through and approached the small crowd gathered around General Pepper.

"You're late," said Doogan, without turning around.

Slippy glanced at the Rottweiler with a scowl, but kept his mouth shut as he stood in front of the general.

"Since you didn't see the footage I just showed the rest of you, I'll be brief: one of our bases in Fortuna was attacked. As far as I know, Oikonny was behind it, and there are no survivors."

"What?! When did this happen?" asked Krystal.

"Just a few hours ago. They attacked the base right after we sent the Spunk Skunks to Titania to try and find a bioweapon after we've heard rumors about one being constructed in the desert."

"I'm gonna go on a limb here and say that they didn't find anything, and they ended up getting ambushed by several enemy pilots and a squadron of aces?"

Doogan chuckled. "Gee, Fox, maybe you should've become a detective instead of a mercenary!"

"And maybe you should've--"

Fox stomped on Falco's left foot, causing him to grunt and shut his beak. Sid slapped Doogan in the back of the head at the exact same time to shut him up too. All of them were standing in front of the general; the last thing they needed to do was embarrass themselves in front of him. The general blinked but ignored the brief argument between Doogan and Falco.

"Precisely. The Spunk Skunks were supposed to be protecting the base, but with them gone, Oikonny was free to attack."

Fox shook his head. "Now I understand. Andrew's been hiding all along, building all these dummy bases to fool all of us into destroying them. And then immediately after we attack--"

"--a group of highly-trained fighters is sent to eliminate the mercenaries that destroyed the installation. And once all of us are gone, Oikonny's forces are free to attack Corneria's strongholds without folly! Brilliant strategy; I wonder why I never thought of it. Well, duh, Lennert, because then you'd be the one working for Andrew! He would've noticed your brilliance and handpicked you to work for his army!"

"Lennert..." said the white-throated monitor lizard standing next to the black tree monitor lizard.

The black reptile scratched his scalp. "No, that's silly. I wouldn't dare work with that filthy monkey. Lizards are smarter and wilier than primates anyway. It'd be dumb of me to--"

"Lennert, you're doing it again," said the other monitor lizard firmly.

Lennert looked up at all the people around him and laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry. Just, y'know, rambling! Keep going."

General Pepper sniffed and resumed talking. "Anyway, that's what it seems like. To make matters worse, we've received Intel that an outpost in Katina and one of our weapons factories and refineries on Macbeth are currently under enemy fire."

The green iguana who was clad in black and standing beside his other lizards blinked. "Where do you want us deployed, General?"

Peppy took over. "The Lightning Lizards will head to Macbeth and protect the factory and refinery. We already have CDF pilots holding off the enemy, so once your squad gets there, you'll be in charge and giving all the pilots their orders, Darwin."

The last member of the Lightning Lizards was a massive, heavyset Gila monster covered in black and pink scales. He was sucking on some mints, rolling them around with his tongue and trying not to make too much noise. After hearing that his squadron would be heading to Macbeth, the gargantuan beast laughed and grinned.

"Good! It'll be nice to be in charge of an operation for a change!"

"We'd better get going then. The longer we stay here, the easier it'll be for Oikonny's troops to blow up that refinery and factory," said Darwin the iguana.

"Good luck," said the general.

The four reptiles all turned around and began to walk out of the Core. As the giant lizard with pink and black scales began to walk, his oversized tail swung back and forth slightly. The huge creature had no idea that his tail bumped against a table leg until the expensive item sitting on top of the table tipped over and fell on the floor. The lizard heard a small crash and stopped walking, knowing he just broke something. He slyly glanced down at the floor and craftily jerked his left foot to the side, kicking the broken item far enough so that it would slide underneath the table where no one would see it. Then he rejoined the Lightning Lizards and quickly departed before anyone noticed what he did. But Peppy and General Pepper saw what happened, and the hound dog could only sigh with exasperation as he slowly shook his head.

"As for the rest of you...given Star Fox's recent defeat, I'm sending the Star Dog squad to fly alongside you as you head to the Katina outpost."

"That-that's not necessary, General," said Terry.

"I know we got our butts kicked back on Macbeth, but that doesn't mean you need to punish us for it!"

"This is not a punishment, Falco," snapped the general, his voice rising as he steadily became irritated. "I am sending Star Dog with you for your own safety. If the four of you run into the Fireflies again, or any other advanced enemy pilots, you're going to need their help."

Doogan was just as indignant as Falco. "If they're gonna perform the same way they did against the Fireflies, then all they're gonna do is slow us down and get in our way!"

"Enough!" shouted Fox.

The blue bird and Rottweiler suddenly shut their mouths so the vulpine could speak. Fox was becoming annoyed over everyone's inability to cooperate with one another.

"The general is not saying we're incompetent, Falco. And the general also did not say that this is going to be routine from now on, Doogan. But after our last mission, we could use a little help until we truly know who and what we're up against. After that, our squadrons can go back to flying solo if that's what you all want."

Volcano shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"Yeah! Fighting alongside Star Dog is gonna be fun!" said Slippy.

Glad someone is happy about it, muttered Fox in his mind. The other three dogs looked at the Star Fox team with reluctance, wondering whether or not the general was making the right choice. Terry sighed as he began to ponder.

"All right, fine. I guess it won't kill us if we worked as allies. Maybe we could even 'teach' Star Fox some new combat tricks!" said the Saint Bernard.

"We are allies," Krystal corrected.

"No, we're just people working alongside each other in the same space station," sneered Doogan.

General Pepper snorted. "Since flying with Star Fox is so inopportune for you, Doogan, perhaps you should stay here. The toilets in the training barracks need to be cleaned."

"I can't do that, General."

Peppy folded his arms. "And why not?"

"Because my team and I are gonna be flying with Star Fox down on planet Katina so we can save an outpost from being destroyed."

Doogan sighed heavily and shook his head. "Shame. I was really looking forward to scrubbing dung out of all those porcelains."

Krystal rolled her eyes, while Fox couldn't help but smirk to himself. The general began to relax now that both teams had decided to work with each other.

"Does anyone else have any further objections?"

No one said anything. The last thing any pilot wanted was to be reduced to a common janitor. So the hound dog blinked and nodded.

"Good. Then everyone get prepped for the mission. This outpost is one of our primary strongholds on Katina, so failure is not an option!"

"You can count on us, sir," said Fox. "Let's go team!"

The Rottweiler nodded. "Yeah, let's get out of here. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back to fighting together with real pilots."

Doogan quickly turned around before General Pepper changed his mind about not making him clean the toilets. The rest of Star Dog followed after him around the same time Star Fox began to exit the Core. General Pepper watched as the two mercenary squadrons disappeared from the CCC's Core, hoping that they'd set aside their differences and save the outpost before it was too late.