Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Corneria City
8am

It was morning in the capital city of Corneria, and an average morning for the McCloud household. Which was to say hectic.

Krystal, clad in a blue bathrobe matching her fur, sighed as she brewed and poured herself coffee in their kitchen. Perking her ears, she heard mischievous yet innocent laughter from her toddler, emitting from the playpen in the living room.
Turning her head, she surveyed the area: her living room, a lavish white in color on both the marble floors and brush white steel walls, with a matching grey couch, and tv built into a wall. At the opposite end of the room was a hallway leading to the bedrooms.
The blinds of the windows were still down. In center of the room, a toddler-gate was set up stretching from the sofa to the pillar near the entrance to the kitchen. A blue rug was laid out on the ground, albeit now covered in a variety of toys: from different colored blocks to toy aircraft based on Corneria military models, to even a few plushies of the “feral” animals of legend, who walked on four legs. One such was an orange fox. But of course, her attention was more on the one who all this was set up for, as well as being the center of her world as of late.

Her son Marcus.

The toddler, a small light blue fox kit who had his mother's coat and blue eyes but father’s physical features, was currently wearing a red shirt and grey shorts.
Currently, he was going through a bout of the zoomies, dashing from one side of the room to another with little care in the world.

Taking a sip of her now complete coffee, Krystal grabbed the bottle of milk from nearby on the counter, which has been left next to Marcus’ half-finished bowl of cereal the kit had lost interest in. The bottle was made for toddlers and had a smooth ‘latch’ for their developing teeth to bite into.

“Right, here goes nothing,” Krystal muttered, walking back into the play area and sitting on the sofa.

Her son ran up to greet his mother, tugged at her robe, and reached up. Sensing his want with her telepathy, the adult vixen scooped him up and offered him the bottle.

Marcus kept squirming in her grasp, giggling like mad as his flustered mother tried to get him to even hold the drink. “Come on sweetie, it’s warm, just like you like.” She insisted. Marcus was technically able to eat more solid food but was not fully weaned; a nutritional habit of women from Cerinia, Krystal’s home world. The bottle was her way of weaning him to more “ independent “ drinking. His teeth made it hurt to nurse, which was all the more reason Krystal hoped she could get him interested in said bottle.
Again, the kit ignored her attempts to hand it over or to nudge him. Nearly giving up, Krystal fell back on her telepathic abilities, sending a mental message to her child.
“Sweetie, please take the bottle.” She insisted, followed by using her telepathy to give her son mental images of it.

To her delight, he understood and snatched the milk from his mother’s hands. Krystal watched him snuggle into her grasp and begin drinking. The adult fox smiled maternally at her child.
Footsteps entering the room alerted Krystal to her husband entering from the hallway to the bedroom, on the opposite side of the room from the kitchen area.
In walked her husband, clad in a green shirt and gray pants.

“Enjoy your shower?” Krystal asked, to which the orange fox smiled.

“But of course,” Fox replied, stopping over the toddler gate on the other side of the room and taking a seat next to his wife on the sofa. He briefly smiled at their son.
“Hungry little thing isn’t he?” He asked her.

Krystal nodded. “Yeah. Only ate half his cereal before wanting to play. He still prefers milk I guess. I got plenty I suppose but you know how it is.” She said, gesturing towards her bosom. “Can’t do this forever.” She noted.
“Did he respond to you asking him?” He inquired.

“Telepathically, yes. He came up to be to be held but still needed a nudge in to understand what to do.” She stated. “It’s lucky he inherited my abilities, I sense it in him. Nevertheless, I don’t think he understands verbal cues too well yet.“ she explained.
“He’s only just turned two a few weeks ago. Just give it time.“ Fox insisted.

Krystal nodded and the family shared a hug. Holding the embrace for a few seconds, Fox planted a kiss on Krystal’s head. “Thanks for handling him this morning Krystal.” He stated, to which his wife smiled.
“Oh, it’s no problem. It was my turn this morning after all. Besides, it’s your turn tomorrow.” She reminded him, with a cheeky smile.

Both shared a laugh as their son foisted his milk. He was set down and they let him go back to playing with his toys. Fox also turned on the television to a channel aimed at younger children, likely to distract their toddler and let himself and Krystal talk.
While watching their son play, Krystal took the chance to speak to the male vulpine. “Now… tell me what’s really on your mind.” She insisted. “I know you want to talk; I can sense your anxiety and frustration.” She reminded him.

Fox sighed. “Nothing gets past you.” He chuckled, as his expression fell. “ I didn’t want to go into right now but I guess while Marcus is distracted…” he mused. “I’m just thinking about our, well, situation.” He said.

Krystal sighed knowingly. “Yes. Finances and work, correct?” She pressed, being met with a nod.

Fox sighed. “The usual. I already checked my inbox this morning; none of the job offers pay what we need; just some low-level escorts on Fortuna and Fichina for some merchants. The pay would barely cover fuel for the Great Fox 2; it cost nearly as much just for us to fly over there at this rate.” He complained.
Krystal sighed in agreement. “Not a whole lot of work for mercenaries during peacetime, it seems.”

The pair shared a look. Both knew as well as the other how their lives had shifted in the past few years.

The rest of the Star Fox team had left years prior as the work dried up, pursuing their own paths in life, only Fox and Krystal remained.

Then of course came that fateful night the pair had “celebrated “ a successful takedown of pirates around a bit over two years ago.

Said night, of course, led to Krystal’s pregnancy and the eventual birth of their son. But fully leaving the life of a warrior for the life of a civilian was easier said than done; it’s not as if someone were conveniently waiting to just purchase their star ships and weapons, nor give them stable work.

“Any update from the CDF about selling the Great Fox?” Krystal pressed, wishing to hear from him rather than read his mind.
“I guess. They said some of their contractors would be interested in buying it from us but it’s a bureaucratic process to even get the approval. The legislation and paperwork will take months, and that’s only if one of those private contractors is interested. “ he explained. Fox shifted nervously. “But there is something else “ he added, Soviet nervously. Pulling out his phone from his pants pocket and handed it over to Krystal.

Krystal took the phone and looked at the screen on the small black rectangular device, The screen opened to an email from the CDF addressed to Fox. Glancing over the info to confirm it was legit, she confirmed it was legit, it even had their official logo and electronic signature on it, as well as specific information from a sender. A high-ranking officer named Atlas Black. Now certain of the details she looked over the details, although anxiously:

Addressed to Fox James Mccloud on behalf of the Cornerian Government and the Cornerian Defense Force, From Captain Atlas Black, under the authorization of both CDF and government leadership, as advised by the director of the Cornerian Science Corps:
“Greetings, Mr McCloud. We wish to offer you a proposition: the aforementioned parties above have need of your services. Given your illustrious track record in the past service of the CDF and your numerous feats, we feel you are the best pick for this job.
I am not permitted to disclose the assignment until you are under a binding contract. But I have been instructed to ensure you: you will be handsomely rewarded. And rest assured, should you decide to back out after hearing the details, we offer an exit but it would be under nondisclosure. If interested, General Hare requests an in-person meeting with you at your earliest convenience. I am told you already have the means to do so.

Sincerely, Captain Black.”

She handed the phone back, mentally processing what she just read. Nothing unfamiliar to her but that’s not what bothered her.

“Fox… I thought we were trying to get away from this sort of thing.” She said, a bit forlorn. Her husband nodded in agreement.

“Of course, they reached out to me anyway, not the other way around. It’s just… maybe we ought to consider at least looking at it?” Fox suggested. “I mean, Peppy clearly gave the go-ahead and you know he would never send us on a suicide mission or something he thought might get us killed.” He reminded her.

Krystal nodded. “Well, sure ,but is the money worth it? I mean, ever since Marcus was born, you've had us take safer contracts for a reason. “ she reminded him.

He looked over at his son, now glancing up at the tv, enthralled by some sort of show about a blue heeler girl and her family. Blueyy, if he recalled correctly. Seeing his toddler innocently watching a cartoon was certainly a fine reminder of what his priorities in life were.

“Of course, we have a child now. I don’t want to risk either of our lives and leave him without a parent. Our adventuring days are kind of behind us.” He admitted. “But Marcus, and you, are the whole reason I would even consider this job in the first place.” He began.

“I want nothing but the best for you and him, but I think you are well aware of how expensive all this is.” He said, gesturing towards around the apartment. “Costs of living here is crazy, coupled with maintaining the Great Fox, our Arwings, our weapons, fuel for the ships, general upkeep and Marcus’ baby supplies, and a lack of work, it’s been a bit costly.” He reminded her.

“Yeah, I can’t counter that. Plus, it’s not like finding another job is all that easy, especially for me. “Krystal conceded his point. “If not for “ member of famous Star Fox team” on my resume and your, Peppy’s, and Slippy’s vouching for me, I would not have even been considered for any of the stuff I applied for,” Krystal admitted. “Still, just getting the qualifications for one of these security or flight-related jobs requires months of courses to even be considered eligible for the job.”
Fox gave her an understanding look. “ Yeah. That flight instructor position I applied for is the same way.” He admitted.

He shook his head. “And that’s all why I’m doing this next thing: I want to look into this,” Fox said, simply. “If it pays well, it could help us tremendously. We could cover our casts for months, if not years. It’s just the answer we need to get us through this, let’s say, “ transitional” period of our lives. Because, frankly, it’s going to take a while until the selling of our old hardware and ships is done. And it’s impossible to say when exactly one of us might land a decent job otherwise. Not like working a simple retail is going to cover our needs.” He explained.

Krystal gave a sigh of resignation. “True. And we still rely on the Great Fox and such for our current contracts, so if one of them gets damaged, it’ll be hard to sell and expensive to repair, same with our other hardware.” She noted. She took a deep breath and uttered the resolve Fox was hoping for.

“Go and talk to Peppy about this job if you feel it’s right. But please: talk to me before agreeing to anything first. I trust your judgment but I don’t like this all the same; the CDF don’t offer “ handsome reward” for something that’s a walk in the park; and that they can’t do themselves.” She started.

Fox nodded and hugged her. “Of course. I’ll give Peppy a message in a bit ” He responded, glancing at Marcus seated by the TV. “But for now, why don’t we enjoy a nice morning together?” She suggested, brightening the mood.
She kissed him in response and he wrapped his arm around her, as they both made themselves comfortable on the sofa, observing their toddler and his show.
As it was, Blueyy and her sister, an orange heeler who looked a bit like her, seemed to be playing a game with their dad, a slightly rotund blue heeler dog.

Hours later, Cornerian General’s office

Fox was seated in the lobby outside of Peppy’s office, on one of the highest floors of the CDF’s headquarters in Corneria City. He had decided to take Peppy, or rather the CDF up on the job offer. Now it was just a matter of getting the details and accessing the true situation. Speaking of which, he had to sign a non-disclosure agreement upon entering the building.
The lobby was in truth a small waiting room, lavishly decorated with red chairs, a red floor, a beautiful view of the whole city via the, shielded, windows at the front of the room, and of course the CDF’s logo on the middle of the carpet: an image of Corneria with a red dog icon in the middle of it.

Fox was of course dressed in a formal black suit and suit pants, seeing as meeting the general of the CDF was of course, a formal event, friend or not.
A greyhound soldier in black security armor and wearing sunglasses appeared in the door frame to Peppy’s office, getting Fox’s attention.
“Me McCloud, Please come in.” The hound called, clearly a male voice.

The vulpine nodded and got to, walking over to the office door. Once inside, he scanned the room. It was a round room, with blue carpet, mahogany walls, and the CDF’s planet logo on the back wall. Glancing around, Fox noted a desk in the middle, bookshelves and shelves were put in the edges of the room to the sides of the logo. On them, various awards and accolades were on display.

Peppy himself was seated at his desk. The old gray hare was wearing a red general’s uniform with a black tie, and numerous awards were displayed on it, much like General Pepper before him. Fox noted the new glasses he was wearing situated to his face. Combined with the wrinkles and bags under his eyes, Fox could tell his position in leadership was taking a toll on him.

“Fox, good to see you here.” The old hare spoke, a slight smile forming on his face.

“Likewise, Peppy” Fox replied.
The general waved his hand and dismissed the soldier., to which he complied and walked out of the room.

Glancing at Fox after the greyhound closed the door behind him, his smile disappeared.

“I won’t lie to you Fox, I was kind of hoping not to see you here. I was hoping you might pass this over.”

Fox chuckled a bit. “Don’t like me? After everything we have been through?” He said, in jest.

Both shared a small laugh, understanding one another. Peppy’s gaze grew serious again.

“I don’t like calling you up for this and putting you at risk, especially since you have a family. I know you’ve been trying to exit the mercenary lifestyle for a while.” He stated.

Fox merely nodded to confirm.

“How are Krystal and little Marcus doing?” He inquired.
“Good. Marcus is growing fast, but still trying to get through his teething phase. Krystal’s doing fine, mostly. It’s been hard for her to get a job, without any sort of certification. Her homeworld is gone and it was mostly tribal, it’s not like she could have supplied a college degree. “ he stated.
The old general nodded. “Indeed. “

“I think she misses the action regardless but at the same time, she’s really been growing to enjoy the finer things Corneria life has to offer, so I think she’s coming around.” He stated.

“Oh really? Like what?” Peppy inquired.

Fox laughed. “Well, coffee, for one thing; she can’t get enough of it. We both need as much to take care of a toddler. Oh, and the park and flatscreen TVs. And shopping, when possible. She says it’s nice to have all kinds of conveniences close by.” Fox explained.
Peppy smiled at this.

“Cost a lot though; we’ve been struggling to keep up with Marcus’ care, housing, the bills on our starships and gear. And it’s not been easy trying to sell them, with the legal process and all.” Fox went on, to which Peppy frowned.

“I know you are gonna try to talk me out of this, but it won’t work: I need the money, Peppy. No sense in lying about that.” Fox admitted.

The old hare sighed. “Very well. “Resigned, he pulled out a small, round holographic projector from a drawer in his desk. Placing it on the table, he activated it, revealing an image of a red wolf in a lab coat.

“Who is that?” Fox asked.

“Before I tell you that, I am obligated to remind you what I tell you here is on a need-to-know basis. Only tell those who are on the job and sanctioned by me.” Peppy’s stared. “Now with that spiel out of the way: he’s your target. Galen Marik; a former scientist for Corneria; a colleague of Andross before his exile to Venom. He went missing a bit before the Lylat Wars.” He explained. “He’s being held hostage by a crime boss in the Titania system.” He explained.

Fox frowned. “You wanted me or someone else to rescue an associate of Andross!?” He parroted, his temper rising.

Peppy sighed. “He was never involved with Andross’ conquest or more… unethical research. He only worked with Andross for a year or two on some of medical and biological projects, before Andross started experimenting illegally with bio-weapons. He was one of those who blew the whistle on Andross; I met Galen before the Lylat Wars; he was disgusted by what Andross had become.” He informed Fox.

The vulpine’s amber died down. “I trust your word on it. But why did he disappear for so long? And how did he end up on a wasteland like Titania? “

Peppy frowned. “Mob mentally, Fox. People were growing increasingly weary of anyone even remotely connected to Andross after his exile. It got worse after the war ended. People tend to get angry and look for scapegoats after a tyrant kills countless innocents, pollutes planets and tries to conquer the galaxy.” He stated, solemnly. The weary look in his eyes spoke volumes to Fox, even guilt-tripping the vulpine a bit for jumping to conditions.

“If I had to guess, Galen was facing scorn and blame for working with Andross. His family vanished soon after he did. I vaguely recall hearing sneers and jeers targeted them during the war.”

Fox gave a look of anger. “Innocents should not suffer for something they didn’t do.” he stated.

Peppy nodded in agreement. “Sadly, there was nothing anyone could do. The government offered to move him from what I heard, but I guess he refused; most felt it better to just let him vanish.. But we’re getting sidetracked,” the general insisted.
He pressed a button on the holographic projector, and it changed to an image showing a detailed map of Titania

“As I said before, he’s being held captive by a pirate and crime syndicate lord known only as the Baron. We aren’t sure what his real name is, but we do know that he has a… let's say, illustrious history of being on just about every wanted list in Lylat. And to answer your previous question: According to my intelligence agencies, the Baron nabbed Galen off some transport shuttle traveling near the region.” he explained.Fox looked at him.

“What was Galen doing near Titania and what went down?” he inquired.

“Not sure. No one else was on that shuttle thankfully, but we suspect the Baron paid the pilot off to bring him there. No idea what he might have been doing prior to this nor what the Baron actually wants with him.” Peppy explained. “We got word from an informant near the space port Galen’s shuttle launched from, a floating station in the area, he was in Galen had been spotted. So we tracked the shuttle’s info logs from said station and found what happened from there, after a sweep of the area. A contact in the Titania region tipped us off it was the Baron’s doing

Fox hummed. “Anything more you can tell me about this “Baron”?”“Just that he’s a real piece of work.. Bastard has a lengthy criminal record; and numerous accounts of piracy, murder, theft, espionage, terrorism, trafficking, and drug smuggling. Hell, even a few war crimes; he’s been on the payroll of just about every crime syndicate you could imagine, even Andross.” Peppy noted, his tone oozing with disdain. “Suffice to say, he’s dangerous, got alot of tricks up his sleeve and; he’s clever. The bastard’s creativity knows no bounds and he’s up to something big if someone like Galen is in his crosshairs.” Peppy noted.
Fox nodded. “So what, then is the mission? Standard rescue? Break up the Baron’s little scheme

e?” he pressed.

Peppy frowned. “First and foremost: rescue. I need Galen out of the Baron’s clutches.” he insisted.

“Might I inquire as to why?’ Fox pressed. The mercenary knew things were not always as simple as they seemed.

Peppy sighed. “No point in lying. The Science Corps feels they could use Galen’s expertise; his research into biology and medical science was unparalleled. They have been trying to track him down for years; I believe they are under the impression Galen could spearhead breakthroughs in medical technology if they could get ahold of him and his research.” he noted.
“This sounds awfully familiar…” Fox muttered.

Peppy sighed, shaking his head. “This research was what Andross and him were working on, so the records indicate. They had some sort of experiments in the works; Galen refused to continue its development but Andross took their research and used it to develop his Bioweapon.”Peppy explained. “Galen’s knowledge could be dangerous in the wrong hands, but has the potential to save many lives. “ he added.

Noting Fox’s frown, he leaned forward, looking Fox in the eyes.. I have no clue what the Baron is up to but it can't be anything good; it is too great a risk, and if the Baron’s history is anything to go off, whatever his intentions with Galen are, it’ll bring nothing but harm”
Fox contemplated this for a few seconds, before shrugging. “So the government wants something out of him, not just for the sake of it. Nothing new, if our line of work ever taught us something.” Fox muttered. “Well, I’ll just settle for saving a man from some psycho, and doing it for my family Maybe even throwing a wrench into this Baron’s schemes while I am at it.” Fox offered.

Peppy gave a slight smile. “Always with the heroics and pay Fox. Glad to see you haven't changed,” he added, with a slight chuckle. “But i can assure you, there are good men in the Science Corps. If anything were to happen, you know I would make sure to nip it in the bud.” Peppy insisted.

“But I digress: so to summarize: you are to locate where the Baron is keeping Galen on Titania and bring him back to Corneria or at least to the custody of CDF forces safely. From there, we’ll make him an offer to rejoin us; compensation protection, a larger house, whatever it takes. If he says no, well, we’ll release him wherever he wants. So rest assured, he and his family will be welcomed with open arms.” Peppy assured Fox. “While you're at it, eliminate the Baron through any means you see fit; he’s too much of a threat, especially if he has some sort of plan that involves Galen’s research.

Fox was content with that, and nodded. “Fair enough. But where exactly is he? And why is it you needed to outsource this job instead of sending a rescue team?”

The old hair stroked his chin, as if in thought. “Well, liability for one thing. See, technically, Titania is sort of an undisputed “no man's land” No government lays claim over in Lylat, it’s outside of Cornerian jurisdiction. Now, you didn’t hear this from me nor will you repeat this, we could perhaps send a black ops team to extract Dr Marik, but there’s a lot of red tape involved with carrying out a military operation out there.”
“Can you give me the short version of it?” Fox insisted, to which the old hare nodded.

“Well, if a CDF or military vessel is seen passing through one of the other Lylat government’s territories unauthorized, it’s going to cause a scandal. If something goes wrong on the mission and word gets out CDF soldiers were on Titania it’s also going to cause a scandal. If things go south during the mission, I don’t expect my soldiers to be able to handle it. The Baron is a tricky, yet crafty man and my soldiers are trained to follow orders, not to improvise. So unless their leader is clever, it could be a death trap just waiting to happen, to say nothing of being cut off from the CDF’s main forces. They’ll be alone. “ he explained. “ Heck, just associating with Dr Marik could cause a scandal or uproar among… certain parties both on Corneria and those territories affected by Andross conquest.” He noted.

Fox scoffed. “Got it, you want to avoid any scandals involving rescuing a controversial scientist and an unauthorized military operation outside Cornerian territories. Got it.”
Peppy’s shrugged. “Blunt, but yes. This will be 100% off the books; I want it done quick and quiet. You’ll be on your own or with whomever you choose to bring; I have to give the authorization thought. I’ll cover your fuel and any maintenance your ships need.” He stated. “So, what say you then?
Fox didn’t have to think on his answer for long. “Well, I would say I’m on board, but I promised Krystal I would run it by her first.” He stated.

Peppy sighed heavily. “I understand, but we both know what she’s going to say: she’ll insist it’s dangerous and want to come with you.” He proclaimed. Before Fox could counter, Peppy overdid him.

“Fox, I want to be forward with you: There’s not the slightest doubt in mind that you can handle this job. Your father was a legend: he showed you the ropes, I trained you too. You led Star Fox through so many life-or-death situations and got us home safe. You’re, more or less, saved Lylat many times over from all manner of despots and threats. You’ve fought far worse than some pirate on a lawless wasteland.And Krystal as well. Heck, with her help this mission would be even more likely to succeed…”
He stood again and hesitated. “But I never wanted you to take this contract. I never wanted to involve you or Krystal., Fox.” He began. “You’re a parent now, and have a family. It’s hard enough sending soldiers I don't even know personally into dangerous situations but you, especially knowing you have a family? I can’t bear the thought. “ he insisted, his body language faltering a bit.

Fox calmly put a hand to his shoulder. “Hey, Peppy it’s me we’re talking about? We’ve been through worse, as you said. “ he insisted, nonchalantly.

“God damn it Fox, why do you have to be so stubborn?” Peppy frowned, flustered. “It’s at your discretion. Understand, I only ever entertained the idea of this because my advisors all recommended you; you’re are capable and we know you can be trusted. But Damn it, I still don’t want to send you. I almost considered contacting Wolf to do this; he’s still at it but is trying to be more.“ legit” nowadays.” Peppy’s mentioned.

Fox laughed, “You would send Wolf before me? I’m hurt.” Fox jested.

“Fox: don’t let your complacency blind you. You’’re going in blind to a madman’s fortress on a lawless world. Anything could happen; even the best can get caught off guard.” Peppy remolded him.

Fox nodded. “Yeah, but that’s why you are sending me, right? I can improvise. You know this.”

Peppy composed himself and gave a long sigh. “Fine. The choice is yours; talk to Krystal, being whoever you feel you need to get this done. Just let me know. “ he said, pulling out a tablet with the contract already on screen. “Just gonna remind you of the clause in case you change your mind.” He pressed.

Fox nodded and got to reading the contract.

“But Fox…” Peppy said earnestly. “Please. Come back unharmed and let this be the last time ; I think your mercenary days are behind you.” He insisted.
The vulpine nodded, a sense of understanding exchanged in the glance he showed Peppy.
“Will do.”

Chapter Text

"Sweetie, please get back here." Krystal called as her son ran around through the living room. The child laughed, as if thinking he were playing a game, despite his diaper being distended.

The toddler had proven himself rambunctious; despite desperately needing a change, the vixen was forced to chase him, nearly tripping over his toys while doing so. Having cornered him, she finally managed to scoop him up and take him to the changing table in his nursery elsewhere in the apartment. While she did so, she was tried to talk to him using her telepathy.

"Come on, sweetie. Mommy needs you to hold still." She tried, again.

Sadly, it seemed to have little effect. "Just hold still." Krystal groaned as she fastened the diaper around her fidgeting son's waist The squirming only intensified. Rolling her eyes, she held down the toddler as she finished up, and replaced his blue shirt.

Sighing in relief, she lifted her son off the changing table and carried him back to the living room, setting him down on the floor to play.; Immediately, Marcus started playing with some colorful toy blocks, arranging them in a sort of skyscraper-like fashion.

Smiling down at him, Krystal admired her son's enthusiasm.

"Having fun over there?" Krystal chimed in.

"Yeah!" Marcus said, excitedly.

Krystal smiled, as she looked up from her phone. "Almost makes me forget the hassle of changing him and getting him to eat breakfast." She thought to herself, as she turned on the tv, flipping through the channels on one of the streaming services built into it.

She booted one up, but before she could get settled she heard what sounded like a door opening and heard footsteps coming in down the hallway.

"Krystal, Marcus? I'm home." Fox called.

Krystal smiled as she got up and stepped over the baby gate to go hug him, to which Fox returned the gesture. He was still wearing his suit.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"We'll talk in a second," Fox replied, gesturing to their son bouncing up and down.

He and Krystal entered the living room, with Marcus running up to greet his father, who happily scooped him up.

"There's my little pilot." Fox greeted, holding his son up high. Marcus laughed.

After getting in a good doses of hugs and affection, Fox set down Marcus and Krystal turned on yet another episode of Blueyy to distract their son

"Sooo…. tell me how it went down." The blue fox pressed.

"Want the long or short?" Fox asked.

"Short. Spare details for later."

Fox took a deep breath. "Well, under contract, this stays between us and any associates but basically: The CDF wants to rescue a scientist named Galen from a notorious criminal called the Baron. He's held somewhere on Titania, a desert wasteland world. There's not much intel, but their sources confirmed the Baron hijacked a shuttle Galen was traveling on and brought him into custody." He explained.

Krystal frowned. "So a rescue mission on one of the most lawless planets in the Lylat System. And we will be going in blind…" she stated, her expression fading to one of worry.

Fox shrugged. "Risky, but we've done more with less." He replied nonchalantly.

"Fox… I know what you're gonna say. You've made up your mind, I can tell." She stated.

"Yeahs. We need the money, and the job's nothing we haven't handled before. Though I haven't officially given the " yes" to Peppy yet. He didn't want us on this, but I got the impression he was being pressured to ask.." He replied.

Krystal looked to their son and sighed.

"Fox, this one's not worth it. We have a family now. What if something happened to one of us? What would happen to Marcus?"

"This would be our exit. One last job and, we leave this life for good. Plus, this scientist worked with Andross; he didn't support his madness, but Peppy says his research could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. So, stopping this crime boss would also be like snuffing out another threat in the making, "

The vixen still looked uncertain when Fox thought up a different point. "Krystal, if I don't accept this we could end up homeless and on the streets.

Krystal sighed in resignation.

"I guess I see your points. I can't really counter, and I doubt I can change your mind." But I am coming with you; I refuse to let you walk into some risky situation alone; we'll be more likely to survive together." She argued, putting her hand on Fox's shoulder.

Fox looked hesitant but Krysral shot him her infamous " this is not open to discussion " look.

Fox sighed and looked again to their son, happily watching cartoons. "Alright. I'll give Peppy the okay." He said, putting a hand to his chin.

"Come to think of it… Falco used to be into criminal activity way back when, before Star Fox. Maybe he could help us navigate this…" Fox mused.

"Whatever finishes this quicker.." Krystal shrugged.

With that, they sat down and shelved the topic for the moment, as Fox wrapped an arm around Krysral and the pair enjoyed each other's company.

Later that day, on the Titania system

Bullets flew left and right across the shanty town, as chaos and fighting tore across it the town. Throughout the whole place one could hear the raucous sound of guns discharging every which way.

Bandits, of many different species, their features covered in ragged grey cloaks and gas masks, were running amok, opening fire with ballistic submachine guns. The townspeople were desperately fighting back.

A lone biker, a coyote wearing a red cloak, white skull-like helmet with visor, and a gray biker suit, rode amongst the carnage on her old gray dirt bike. Of note was a skull-shaped amulet on the coyote's neck.

Driving to the center of the town,. She found her prey. Driving close to her targets, she unholstered her revolver with practiced ease, discharging the weapon at two of the bandits. Within seconds, two of them dropped to the ground, dead. Not stopping, she drove around, dodging a spray of bullets from a third raider eager to avenge their fallen comrade

The biker continued around on her bike, circling back and lining up her shot.

With a pull of the trigger, her next target fell to the ground, dead.

Driving further into town, where the fighting was heaviest, various animals continued to stubbornly resist, the remaining raiders. Bullets flew, punches exchanged and even civilians without guns were picking up rocks to throw at the raiders.

Laika, unable to navigate her bike safely through there, parked next to a house composed of rusted sheet metal and dismounted.

Hopping off, she rushed over to engage in the fight, navigating past makeshift storefronts and houses.

Hearing movement down a nearby alley, Laika quickly shifted her head and noticed another raider, his face covered by a black gas mask and ragged grey cloak, about to take aim. She nonchalantly shit him with her revolver square in the head; his body hit the ground as she moved closer towards the larger battle ahead, where she saw two raiders using sub machine guns, providing suppressing fire for their friends.

Lining up her shot, she quickly aimed her pistol, discharging her final two bullets, killing both raiders with a headshot each.

"Crap, gotta reload." She muttered, reaching into a pouch on her belt for ammo.

She barely managed to load a single bullet into her gun before she heard another bandit burst through the door of a nearby house, charging her with a blunt metal rod.

Side-stepping the metal rod, she ended the raider's life with a bullet to the chest, his body falling over to the ground. However, just as Laika sighed in relief, she heard a hammer of a pistol cock behind her, soon feeling the weapon's muzzle at the back of her head.

"Don't move, you little witch. Drop the gun and put your hands in the air." She heard a grizzled voice order.

She quickly complied, dropping the revolver to the sandy ground below.

Slowly, another raider, his face covered by a mask and a hood, and his upper body cloaked, save for his dusty grey combat pants and boots stepped out in front of Laika, a pistol aimed directly at her head. Going off the grey fur on his hand, his claws, and the grey tail he had, she guessed this was some sort of canine. He patted her down for any sort of weapons or ways to fight back, then he stepped back a bit to ensure he was out of her melee range.

"So, THIS is dreaded 'Skull rider", the one the Baron's so eager to bump off… pathetic."

"Says the one who doesn't know how to pull the trigger." She retorted.

The raider huffed. "The Baron says he'll pay double for your ass alive, now move it, we have a ride to catch! Need you alive. The bounty the Baron put on your for screwing with his operations demands as such. Now remove your helmet, I want no funny business."

Laika's complied, yet she clutched her stomach defensively.

He growled. The female coyote appeared to comply, not willing to risk herself in her condition…

However, as they walked forward, the crack of a sniper shot rang through the air. Snapping their heads they noted a raider who had been on the rooftop of a building fall to the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Laika kicked away his pistol and slashed the bandit in the shoulder with her claws, eliciting a growl of pain. She attempted to snatch the pistol from his hand, making him engage in a tug of war for the pistol. Despite her efforts, she could not quite yank it from his grasp.

"Let go you bitc-"

The piercing sound of a gunshot silenced him, and he ceased his efforts. Laika relinquished her grip on the pistol and the raider fell to the ground, dead.

Within a few moments, she saw her savior: an antelope wearing a yellow-grey scarf that covered her torso, covering part of her face,.

Relieved, Laika caught her breath and put a hand to her womb, sighing in relief.

"Thanks for the save, Pebble. "

The sniper nodded. "No problem; how are you and the baby?"

"Fine. Things got a bit close for comfort there. Has the raid ended?" she changed the subject, noting the cessation of gunfire.

The sniper huffed."Yeah, we drove 'em off." she insisted, glancing down at Laika's belly.

"How is the child?"

The pregnant coyote sighed and held up her hand to signal she needed a moment; she moved away and sat down on a nearby staircase leading to a house just behind her. After catching her breath, Laika finally spoke up, albeit briefly.

"She's fine; but I'm tired."

Pebble just shook her head. "You did great out there Laika; you took down nearly half the gang with only a revolver. I expected nothing less of the "Skull Rider." she began.

"But I shouldn't have been out there in the first place, in my condition. Yes yes, I know, you only tell me that each time this happens. As does my mother." The coyote half-mocked.

Pebble's expression was unreadable between her stoic gaze and partially hidden face. However, Laika did not need to know what she would say next.

"Yes." Pebble answered. "While we appreciate your help, you're going get yourself or your baby killed if you keep this up; please just stand down next time. It's not worth losing your child; we've managed plenty of raids here." the antelope insisted.

Laika looked up at the stoic sniper and then to the amulet on her neck. The amulet was simple, carved of a bronze metal with a canine-like skull in the center. "I don't disagree but what else could I do, Leave you to the raiders?" She shrugged. "Well, luckily this amulet gave me good luck or whatever bull crap my mother claims it does."

Pebble rolled her eyes as she turned away, Laika being all-too-familiar with her "cold shoulder" routine.

"Rest up; I'll get you some supplies for your trouble. Then you are heading home to l rest." She ordered. Laika opened her mouth to reply but again the stoic antelope turned her head, her ever-stoic expression still lingering.

"This is not for debate; you'll accept the supplies and sit the next one out. We can handle the "clean up"; might even get some good supplies off these raiders. And I won't take no for an answer.

Laika a did not bother arguing with Pebble as she turned around, instead uttering a simple "thanks" as the sniper turned to leave. Additionally, she made a mental note to collect her revolver and helmet once she got back up.

As the sniper walked back up the shanty town's 'main street' Laika could not help but think one thing.

"Hey Pebble!" Laika yelled, making the sniper turn around.

"Yes?" She questioned.

"The raider who had me mentioned the Baron leaving a bounty out for me. Can you look into that?"

"Sure. Just keep your head down from here on." the sniper reminded Laika, before turning back really is a mother hen. Go figure." Laika joked to herself.

"Just look out and stay careful; this wasn't any normal raid. The Baron no doubt sent these men to attack us after we failed to pay his protection money. We had nothing left to offer anyways; the Baron must have been making a statement."

Laika growled. "Ruthless bastard…"

Pebble just sighed. "We'll figure something out. In the meantime, just get home. Someone in your condition should not be caught up in all this."

Both women bid each other farewell and Laika finally prepared to depart on her bike.

A bit later

The roar of a lone dirt bike was all that could be heard through empty wastes, as it and its canine rider sped across the sand dunes. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but sand, perhaps a few ruined old buildings and the odd cactus, but nothing more.

On the biker's clothing, bits of blood and dust-stained her grey riding suit, bronze metal amulet with canine skull on it around her neck, and a red cloak, which flowed in the wind. The cloak fit around her like a scarf, traveling the length of her torso in both front and back; it was tattered and had seen better days, not unlike her suit or white helmet,. Its visor had a few cracks, roughly repaired with transparent adhesive to ensure it continued to function. The bike itself was a simple grey dirt bike, the design of which was far out of date. Its chassis was worn and rusted,. On its sides, various bags and pouches hung, overflowing from use. Everything from fabrics to food, to scrap, and even a handful of scavenged weapon parts, looted from raiders the biker had killed.

The biker was well-armed: a knife in on her left leg, a vintage revolver on her right and a custom shotgun strapped to her ride, modified to shoot the scrap abundant in the wastes.

Blood, sand, and tattered equipment:

To Laika, there was no better way to describe her daily life.

Reaching into a pouch on the front, she pulled out a walkie talkie, flipping it on. "Mother, you there?"

There was a bit of static before an old, weathered voice answered back. "Laika? Done already? "

"Was doing guard duty in town. Raiders attacked." The younger coyote responded.

She heard a groan from the other end. "Damn, you and the baby okay?

"Yes."

"Hurry home and don't delay. See ya soon." Maya responded, hanging up.

Laika rolled her eyes under her helmet as she rode on.

After a few more minutes of travel, her destination came into view: a patchwork shack of stone and sheet metal, next to a small pond. Her home.

It was not much: cobbled together out of a mishmash of metallic sheets and crudely welded together to form walls and a ceiling. Said sheets woefully clashed with the yellow sand-stone on the left half of the "shack" that composed much of the original structure. The shack lacked any real windows, save for a few holes punched into the sheet metal. '"Home sweet home.'"Laika sarcastically thought, as she parked her bike by the house. Hopping off, she swiftly removed her helmet.

Before going inside, she took a moment to go to the small pond several to the right of the house. Kneeling down, she looked at her reflection; htan fur, skull earrings, red facial markings., Several red lines went around her cheeks and under her eyes, which remained untarnished by the desert, likely due to her helmet. She splashed some water on herself, noting the warmer temperature of it. She then removed her gloves and washed her hands and knife, removing the blood from her last fight.

'"Lucky I can even wash my hands. Don't know how it's still here but this damned nasty water is the only reason I still tolerate this crap hole of a house.' She thought, taking a glance at her cobbled together shack. '"Ava deserves better; but I guess this is the best it gets out here.'"

She returned to her bike and grabbed her satchels, before entering through the front door,.

Inside, she surveyed her living situation: the 'living' room, or rather a hybrid of that and a kitchen, was sparsely decorated. A worn-out, weathered rug was strewn on the floor under the wood table and the beaten up old grey couch lay along the back wall. In one corner a bookshelf was used for extra storage, in the other, built into the stone, was a cobblestone stove, with a few pots and pans. Towards the back of the room were two doors, each leading to Maya and Laika's room respectively.

A couple guns hung up high on the wall: an old double-barrel shotgun and a ballistic sniper rifle . Both of course well out of reach of Laika's small daughter. A red banner delivering a white pattern resembling a skull, with white lines circling painted across it. A few skull talismans were hung up in the corners of the room as ; a family " tradition "

Laika's mother was seated on the couch, idly watching the coyote pup playing with toy blocks on the floor. Maya wore a simple grey robe and red scarf much like Laika did; she was a bit round however, and her face weathered by age,. One could only barely make out the red "shaman" markings on her face.

"Welcome back." She muttered, barely looking up from her book.

Laika dropped the satchels just shy of the entrance after closing the door, and walked over to greet them, first attending to her daughter on the floor.

Ava reached up to her mother, who smiled slightly, and scooped her up then sat down on the couch next to Maya..

The two-year-old coyote pup wore a simple tan robe like her grandmother, with a matching red cape. She was also sucking on a red pacifier. Ava looked like her mother, even having the same fur color and hazel eyes, albeit hers were innocent, not yet tainted by Titania's harsh environment.

"So how's the haul?" Maya asked, a bit nonchalantly.

"As good as it can be, I suppose. Got some more scrap; traded most of it for supplies. I got us some dry rations, some fabrics, and some more diapers for Ava." She explained.

Maya huffed. "Good. You know, I like not having to change her diapers every few hours." She groaned.

Laika rolled her eyes. "Do you ever NOT have something to complain about?"

Maya merely chucked, sardonically. "Here on Titania, there's always something to complain about. Forgive me if looking after the little rascal gets taxing." She responded. "Not like she has a lot to get her energy out; I only have so much energy myself nowadays, I just can't keep up, I barely have any spare wood to carve her new toys out of to keep her busy." Maya responded.

The toddler stared at her grandmother with a tilted head. Maya patted her on the head. "Don't worry, sweetie, granny is just old and grouchy,you will understand one day."

Laika smirked. "Yep, that's one way of putting it. I appreciate you caring for her; but surely it's better than the alternative." She insisted.

"Hunting raiders? Getting shot at? Driving through the wastes? I'd take that over changing diapers any days." Maya schoffed. "I did so for decades; I'll still do it if you want to spend some time with Ava•

Laika hesitated. "You'd be killed; you're not what you used to be, mother." She insisted.

Maya rolled her eyes. " Says you…"

Laika looked to her daughter and sighed. "I wish there was something more for us…"

"Of great, this again," Maya muttered.

Laika growled. "Yes yes, I know what'll you say "It's an unforgiving world here; it's sucks, it's harsh but to be happy with what we've got. " Laika muttered, imitating her mother's voice.

"Sounds just like me " Maya joked. "But if you insist on bringing this up again, I'll remind you our family's been stuck here for decades. I would have loved to escape this dust bowl years ago too, Laika." She lamented. "Not like there's many ships ever visiting, besides the pirates."

Laika felt Ava pawing at her, trying to pick at her earrings. With a slight smile, she calmly pulled her child's hand off them. "No sweetie, leave mommy's earrings alone." She cooed, lifting the coyote pup up.

She passed the child over to Maya, who abruptly set down her book. The toddler started climbing on her, much to the old coyote's bemusement.

"What are you doing?" Her mother asked, watching Laika walk over to the satchels by the stove.

"Unloading supplies." She replied, setting food into the storage compartments.

Ava continued to climb around on Maya as the old coyote reluctantly resigned herself to being her granddaughter's 'play fort'. As she did, the old coyote could not help but wonder something.

"So what's got you in a tizzy today? Usually, when you get back you just sulk in the corner." The rotund coyote stated.

Laika groaned a bit. "As I told you, all this scrounging just doesn't feel worth it. I want to do more than just survive.." She lamented.

Maya was unfazed. "I've heard that part before,. I appreciate the sentiment but what's REALLY got you flustered today? You don't just break down over nothing." Maya noted.

Laika shook her head in frustration. "I was standing guard at Where We Live, and another raid happened. " she professed, briefly clenching her fists in frustration.

. "Well… I'm glad that it did not." she mused, frowning. "But what the hell were you doing, getting into a fight? You're about two months pregnant, Laika! I told you to stay away from fighting; you were only supposed to ride out for supplies or whatever non-fighting jobs you could get while out! You should have taken shelter, not blindly run into the fight!"

Laika sighed. "Thanks for the concern mom… " she mumbled."Look, I thought I could handle it but I guess it was wrong. " She said, putting her hand to her belly.

"You're slower in your condition. You could have gotten yourself or your baby killed! The people living in that town know how to handle themselves, they would be fine." Maya growled.

"I know!. " Her daughter replied.

"Thank the spirits you still have that amulet on you; I told you it would keep you safe. But who's to say how far it'll go." Maya noted.

Liaka huffed. "Yeah, sure. I guess it might have worked… didn't even get a scratch," she murmured, thinking for a moment.

"But the thing is… this fight was kind of humbling, ya know? We've both stared death in the face so many times, I thought I would be numb to it. Guess that's why I got careless." she admitted, hiding her face from her mother, wanting to conceal her anguish. "Yet, that was too close for comfort for me. I feel like something in me just broke… or changed recently." The younger coyote thought.

Maya huffed. "Could be a lot of things, Laika. And not just your pregnancy. You've not lost yourself to the wastes yet; maybe it's because you have something more to live for." she mused, gesturing to the toddler in her arms, still pulling at Maya's clothing. After that, she pointed towards Laika's belly. "I know I felt that way after you were born; it kept me going. But, well…, over the years I just sort of went numb, ya know? The loss of your father to bandits, all the violence, the hardships, the death… it's all scary when you have something to protect," she explained. " And now…well you know I've become a cynical old fart," she muttered, sardonically.

Both shared a slight laugh at that, the blunt admission, or rather an acknowledgment of her demeanor, eliciting a moment of levity between the two.

"Well… maybe I don't want to end up like that. Maybe I'm tired of all this. Honestly, even going into that fight and the last several, I felt a bit off." Laika admitted

"Could also just be age. You're 33 now. It starts slow but it wears on ya; especially in your start, as I said. " Maya muttered.

Laika sighed. "Maybe."

She finished her assortment of supplies and got up.

"Take a few days off from riding and, rest a bit. I think you could use it." Maya stated simply, handing Laika back her daughter. "After today, you're done chasing bounties. I'll handle those from here on." Maya finished, sternly.

"But you're in no state to fight either… you're slower than I am," Laika replied.

Maya scoffed. "I may be old but I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve. It'll be a nice change of pace from all this sitting around." She mused.

"But-"

"No buts. I will not have you or my next grandchild get killed because you were being stupid; stay out of combat. It's not worth it." Maya finished.

Laika sighed and nodded in understanding. She took Ava and carried her off to the other room, as Maya got back to her spot on the couch and picked up her novel from the table, returning to her routine.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the planet

"You failed me. Again, called a canine sitting on a throne of sorts, lording over his cowering subordinate.

The room was full of various individuals of different species wearing masks, ragged clothing, cloaks, and whatever else passed by for clothing in the wasteland.

The canine himself was a large black wolf, his once midnight plack pelt now graying with age.. He wore an eloquent black suit and pants, contrasting the ragged appearance of those around him; yet complementing the intricately carved sandstone that adorned the "throne" room" he was in. The chair itself was a rather simple tan sandstone chair built into the ground in the middle of the room.

"I-i'm sorry Baron, sir. I tried-" the raider stammered, kneeling before the throne.

"Yes you tried; you tried to take and loot that town. I told you to keep that gang of yours under control, to quietly survey the area and ambush the skull rider. Now my protection money is late and the Rider's guard is up." he growled down to the shivering raider.

"What will happen to me?" he pitifully squeaked.

The Baron smiled, unsheathing a large combat knife from his belt and approached the raider, looming over him. He yanked the smaller man to his feet, menacingly holding the knife to him.

"Oh, I could do plenty." he mocked, a coarse laugh emitting from his throat. He 'traced' the knife along the raider's body, making sure the point did not cut him but that he received the message. After a moment, the Baron held his knife to the raider's throat. "Do you have any idea just how many ways I could execute you? I could do painful, quick, clean, or prolonged. A variety really." He noted, gesturing to his knife, then claws, and finally his blaster pistol.

"Just one pull of the trigger or stab is all it takes… "he noted, taking his knife away from the raider's throat. "I should strip the flesh from your bones for this failure…but that would be a waste. Healthy manpower is stretched thin as it is; so instead why not make this a learning experience?"

The raider looked up in fear.

"One week. One week in the mines ought to be… enlightening," he mused.

The raider sputtered. "B-but sir-"

A knife landed just inches shy of the raider's leg, silencing him and making him shake with fear. The Baron, drawing a second curved knife from his belt, approached the raider again, his patience nearly gone. Yanking him towards himself by his neck, the Baron kept a knife to his throat.

"I spared you and gave you a chance to live, yet you dare question me?" he mocked.

"P-please, I-I'm sorry…" the raider tried, groveling.

The black wolf ripped off the raider's mask harshly, revealing his grey muzzle and face. He was some sort of wolf like the Baron, albeit he lighter in color and with green eyes.

The Baron kept his knife to the man's throat. "I will make this crystal clear, so that we avoid anymore confusion: you will work the mines until I see fit, you will reflect on your failure, and you will learn to obey!

Am I clear?"

"Y-yes sir! "

The older black wolf huffed. "Good, now get him out of my sight!"

The Baron kicked him to the ground and tossed his mask to the ground. Walking back to this throne, he signaled to the other raiders, similarly dressed in dirty cloaks, their colors dull and dusty, and gas masks concealing their features. "You two, escort Coben here to the mines and feel free to commandeer his bike and weapons; they are more useful in the hands of someone who can actually handle their orders," he finished.

With that, Coben was dragged off, not raising any more struggle, his two captors bickering on who gets his stuff. All the while, the Baron looked on with disdain, as he turned to the crowd.

"Alright, what's next on the agenda?" he mused, to which one of the nearby people brought over a ledger, and hastily scribbled into the paper. The black wolf took it and read it.

"Oh yes, the supply line issues," he huffed. Getting back up, he rolled his eyes. "Fetch my accountant, I need to have a word with him...: he muttered, begging to walk towards the room exit. As he left, he thought something more to himself. "That damned rider will regret crossing me; no one crosses the Baron and walks away."

Elsewhere in the palace

At a bar in the "party room" as it was know as by its patrons, a male coyote wearing a simple white shirt, grey duster jacket, black pants, and a wide brimmed hat tended to the bar.

The coyote glanced around at his patrons; to his right, a few thugs who just got off shift were drinking like there was no tomorrow. To his left, a mandrill dancer was being hit on by a rather buff looking prime ape, reciprocating his advances. Scanning around the room, he noted all manner of rough-looking customers going about their business.

Seeing no one was looking, the coyote took a moment to internalize his frustration. "I can't believe I ended up in a dump like this." he thought to himself. "From riding the wastes without care, to working in the lowest joint around."

To keep himself sane and remind himself of why he was working such a job, he pulled out a necklace from a hidden pocket in his duster, a golden circular necklace, and then opened it. He glanced at the photo of himself and Laika smiling next to a sand dune.

"I'm doing this for you and the kids, Laika. I hope it's enough."

Noticing a certain black wolf in a suit walking over to him, Jacob quickly put away the necklace and looked up. The black wolf gave no indication he noticed nor cared if Jacob was slacking, merely wearing a neutral expression on his face. Accompanying the wolf was a large bear, brown in a black trench coat and body armor.

"Jacob, my good sir, how goes things tonight?" The Baron greeted, as he sat in a chair.

"Same as always, boss." The coyote noted, in a respectful tone. The black wolf hummed, and looked around.

"I can see you got me plenty of business tonight; the usual batch of losers, it seems. It's so easy to make money off these fools; they know nothing beyond a bit of booze and indulgence," he noted, gesturing to the drunks passed out to his right. "Any good fights break out tonight?"

The coyote shrugged. "Not on my watch," he noted.

The wolf smirked. "Finally, something goes right. You're one of the only people I can count on, Jacob. " he complimented.
The coyote feigned a nod of respect. "Thanks." he forced out, as the wolf's head glanced over to some hookers not too far off.

"You know, I could let you indulge in some hookers, free of charge. The girls can't say no to what I say; least they know what's good for them." The Baron said, sadistically laughed

The coyote winced. "No thank you sir, I am not interested."

Content, the Baron shrugged and got up. "Well, I've got business to attend to; Sharliyov, you're free for the night." he mused, leaving.

The bear watched on with disdain as the black wolf walked away. He sat himself at the bar. Well acquainted with the bear, Jacob knew what he was to brew for him and got to work.

After making his favorite, a Titania Vodka, he poured a glass.

"The only way to keep myself sane through this Baron's antics," he muttered, and then downed it in one swig. He set the glass down and reached into his coat to leave some money.

Thanks, Jacob. You, true friend." The bear spoke, his thick accent and dialect easily discernible from anyone else in the room; a sign of him being a foreigner, specifically from a certain region on Corneria.

"As always, Sharli," Jacob replied, cleaning off his counter and taking the cub back. "How was the shift this time?"

The bear glanced around and noted no one was in earshot nor listening to them, nor would anyone really care. "Usual, he blabbers about how "useless" we all are and his plan to "put himself on the map" or something. Even his compliments feel hollow," he muttered.

Jacob sighed. "If he weren't the only one paying a decent and stable income on this backwater world, I'd never be here. I still don't know why you put up with him."

Sharlia shrugged. "Was bored on my Corneria after the war, thought this place might bring excitement; big mistake in hindsight." he put a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "So long as we work together, though, I am sure we can figure it out; there's always a just got to keep our heads down and move on; we'll get an opportunity sometime. "

Jacob shrugged. "I hope so; but thanks, man."

The bear simply smiled and went back to his drinking with a sardonic chuckle, once Jacob gave him another glass.

As he focused back on his job, a glimmer of hope ignited in Jacob. "Maybe he could be right; there's always a way out. I just got to figure out what that is…" his thoughts then drifted back to his mate, his daughter, and his unborn child. "For them, I'll do whatever it takes…"

Chapter Text

Corneria, the next day

Noon

Fox sat in the living room, watching his son play on the ground at his feet. To his side, Krystal was on the holographic tablet, engrossed in some sort of fashion video. Fox himself was on his phone, double checking a list of vital supplies they might need on their mission..
As it was, the McCloud family was simply taking it easy today, mentally preparing for the long mission ahead. Fox told Peppy that he and Krystal had accepted the mission the previous evening. Peppy, being the caring old hare that he was, authorized them a budget, to procure everything they could possibly need for the rescue operation.

The government advance covered the costs of fuel, necessary maintenance on their equipment and weapons, as well as any expenses they incurred at home in the interim. Such as, child care for Marcus and the basic utilities of their apartment. Peppy may have overstepped what the CDF would usually give, but Peppy insisted, and the finance office relented: After all, as the Commanding General, it was HIS interpretation of the “cover all necessities and dues of the client” that mattered..

“Nice of him to do this.” Fox thought to himself, again looking over the bills on an app on his phone. “No complaints here,” Fox noted with a smirk, elated to see much of the mission’s fixed costs handwaved away. He soon felt a wave of relief wash over him, as he finished balancing the accounts and editing his checklist. He tapped Krystal on the shoulder.

“Alright, I think I got everything mapped out for the mission,” he noted to Krystal.
“Give me the short of it,” she said, glancing up from her tablet

“Peppy worded the terms of the contract well; all our necessities are covered. The Great Fox 2 will be fueled, any needed repairs done, and all our utilities here covered for the next month. We even get an allowance for a babysitter for Marcus. “ he added.
Krystal cracked a smile. “Peppy’s being generous, and all this on top of the reward to boot.”

“I do think he’s going a above and beyond, but alot of this was already specified in the contract. I’m not sure how long we will be on this mission, Peppy told me it was both an incentive and a necessity; same with the other bills they’re covering,” he noted.
“They must really want this scientist badly to shell out all this money,” Krystal noted, with a shrug. Her husband nodded in agreement.

“So it seems. Anyway, do you have anyone in mind to watch Marcus? Slippy’s family is busy with work, and so is Peppy’s family. Falco might be coming with us and he’s really not the caretaker type. “ Fox stated
“I think my friend Telia might be able to; her husband just retired from the CDF, so they have some time on their hands,” Krystal noted.

Fox gave a slight nod. “Alright then. If not, we could always call a nanny from the service; either way, Peppy said he’ll ensure it's covered,” the vulpine continued, scrolling through his phone. “The maintenance work should be done in a few days. I suppose we’ll be leaving after that…” he trailed off as he got a text alert on his phone.

Scrolling over to the notification, Fox read a reply from Falco: “Sorry I’m late. Give me a call.”

Fox looked up at his wife. “Falco responded, Gonna give him a ring ” He said, getting up.

He walked over the baby gate at the end of the sofa and headed for the hallway, where the tv’s volume would not distract him.
Dialing the avian’s number, Fox waited for a response.

“Hey McCloud, different place, different time and you STILL need my help? “ Falco’s playfull voice came over the phone.

“Good to hear from you Falco.” Fox replied with a grin.

“Likewise. How’s life?”

“Bills are piling up, no worthwhile jobs and Marcus is a handful.” The vulpine responded, bluntly.

“Yeeesh; nothing we didn’t experience in Star Fox but taking care of kids sounds brutal. ”

Fox rolled his eyes. “Yeah… not my favorite task either, but it has its ups and downs. Anyways, did you read the details I sent you?”

“Yeah, now, let’s just get to the point: it’s dangerous, we’re going in blind, blah blah blah. You don’t need to worry about warning me; I know the drill. Frankly, that’s part of the fun, you know I love these kinds of things, Fox. And the money will be good too.”Falco insisted.

The vulpine shrugged. “So, you’re in then. GREAT!. Now, can you think of anyone who might be able to get us some intel on Titania? The CDF’s got nothing.

“Hmmm, I might.” Falco mused. “Tell ya what, let me try an old friend of mine. I’ll let you know what I dig up.. See ya.” Falco finished, hanging up.
The vulpine sighed and shrugged, content with whatever Falco could muster.

“So long as it gets us out alive.” Fox mused.

Walking back into the living room, Krystal looked up at him, a questioning look on her eyes.

Fox shrugged. “He’s on board, I’ve got him digging up some context on Titania.”

The vixen gave him a thumbs up and knelt to the ground to attend to their son. Fox took a deep breath.
“Hope this risk pays off. “

Meanwhile on Titania
Laika glanced over at the old coyote, noting her outfit: her mother’s old armor, just a dusty old obe fitted with metal knee pads, a chest guard, and a helmet, identical to Laika’s, within her hand. The suit was haphazardly scavenged together; the robe kept the dust off her while her armor was more for surviving a fall from the bike than anything.

“I don’t suppose I can talk you out of this.” Laika half-heartedly tried, her young daughter fidgeting in her arms.
Maya shook her head as she walked over towards the sniper rifle hanging on the wall.

“Nope; probably not. “ she joked, yanking the rusted rifle off the wall. “I shouldn’t have let you ride while pregnant anyways; there’s too much risk. I'd have had to stop you in a few weeks anyway, the pressure's not good for you.” She insisted.
“Riding is fine, until the third trimester.” Laika insisted.

Maya checked the mag on her rifle, making sure it was empty, before carrying the weapon in her hands towards the door.

“Maybe, but getting into fights like you did with those raiders is not!.” Maya retorted. “You made a mistake, and frankly any mistake on Titania can prove fatal. I’m not risking it; you’re a mother now Laika. Ava needs you, as does the little one on the way.” She insisted, gesturing to Laika’s baby bump.Her ears falling flat, Laika looked down at her belly and gave a conceited sigh.

“Please, just… don’t. You’re old, mother. Your eyesight’s getting worse, your body can’t handle-“

“The strain of riding through deserts?. I’ll get shot at, crash, heat exhaustion, kidnapped, and tortured by bandits and the Baron’s men?. Or eaten by some beast?. ” Maya replied, sardonically. She looked at her daughter sternly, a motherly edge to her next phrase. “Laika, I’d rather suffer this than you. I don’t know what else to say; I’m old, I’m jaded… bitter. Who's to say how long I’ve got between the desert, the drinking, the-“ she saw Laika’s ears drooping. Maya sighed, setting the rifle down and putting her hands on Laika’s shoulders.

“Just let me do right by you, okay? I know I’ve been a bit stern on you growing up; I had to train you to make sure you survive in this world. But I am not sending you out there while you are pregnant; “Puppy”, erm, Ava needs you, as does your next little one. So, YOU worry about them, and let ME worry about you..” Maya insisted

“Just don’t die.” Laika said, a bitter frown on her face..

Maya smirked, quickly grabbing her rifle. “I’m too stubborn for that; there’s nothing this world can throw at me I’ve not dealt with before. Besides, I’ve got ole’ reliable here”
She added, gesturing to her rifle. “So don’t worry your pretty little head; I know these sands better than anyone around, even you.. I’ll just take a few bounties, lure them bandits out, and pick’em off from the high ground. Those idiots can barely think beyond stealing what's not nailed down.” Maya laughed.

The old coyote finally walked out the front door, Laika carrying her pup with her to watch from the doorway.

Maya put the sniper on her back, donned her helmet and then hopped on the dirt bike, parked out front of the house.
“I’ll be back, hopefully by sundown,” Maya noted.

She ignited the bike's engine, revving it up a bit to warm it. Once the engine was roaring, she proceeded to drive off.
Laika watched her mother as she rode further and further out of view, over the sand dunes that surrounded their home. Eventually, Maya was gone. Laika shook her head in frustration, gazing at the trail the bike’s tires left in the sand.
“ Old fool. Gonna get yourself killed .” Laika thought, turning away and going back inside.

A few hours later and it was mid-afternoon, Maya had still not returned. Laika was seated on the ground, showing Ava how to play with toy blocks.

The mother coyote hoped to get the last bits of energy out of her daughter’s system before finally putting her down for a nap.A ringing sound suddenly hit her ears. The elder canine’s ears rose up in surprise. She turned her head over towards the source: an old long-range communications device, located within Laika’s room.
Scooping up her daughter, she moved in haste to answer the call.

He room was not unlike the rest of the house: a simple mish-mash of patched-up wooden walls and a floor. A simple bed with red sheets sat on the left side of the room, near Ava’s crib. A few skull totems a bookshelf with toys and old books, combined with empty gun mounts on the walls, made up her room’s decor. In the right corner sat a table, a small grey, circular device was left atop it, plugged into the wall; their hose had a few solar panels on top that were used to generate electricity. Not that this device got much use, electricity was a luxury out here in the wasteland.

Laika set her daughter into her crib, quickly placing a pacifier in the child’s mouth. She then sat down on the chair by the desk and tapped the “answer” button on the device’s front to take the call. The crude device was audio only, and lacked any sort of visuals like more modern hologram technology.

“Hello, anyone there?” A familiar voice came.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Laika responded.

“Hey, Laika. It’s Falco; it’s been a hot minute since I’ve heard from you.” Falco’s voice chimed.
“Been, what, a few years now?” Laika muttered.

“About four, I think. So, how are things?” The avian pressed.

Laika snorted. “Look, Falco, cut to the chase. I know you wouldn’t call me after so long without a reason. So what’s it you need?” She impatiently pressed.

She heard laughter coming from the device.”Blunt as ever, I like it. Well, if you insist: I have a job for you.” He responded.
Laika raised an eyebrow. “What job?”

“Well, it’s a secret you see, so I can’t tell you more until we meet in person. But let’s just say, it involves dealing with the Baron.”
Laika schoffed. “The Baron?!? What do you want with him? Do you have a death wish ?” She pressed.

“Nah, I like living too much. I also like the reward Corneria’s offering for the job, and thought you’d like a cut. ”

This piqued her interest.. “I see. You know I’ll keep the details between us. But if you need my help, I am gonna need some more info; what are you wanting to do?”

, Fox, Krystal, and I are on a mission to rescue a scientist from the Baron. We’ll get a bonus for taking him out while we're at it. Thought we could use your expertise in the area to help us get in and out..” He explained.
Laika hesitated, ideas forming in her head. “And what’s on it for me?”

“We could split the payday, maybe get you something worthwhile. Name your price.” He reasoned.
Laika sensed an opportunity and pounced on it right away. “Get me a decent cut and way off this world to something better,” she demanded.
Falco seemed content. “Sure, we can make something happen.”

He coyote felt a rush of excitement hit her, followed by a rare feeling of relief. “I’m in; we can discuss details of my payment later. When should I expect to see you?” She asked.

“Around a week, give or take. I want to get things squared away here. I’ll contact you when we are closer; just hang tight and see if you can get us some intel. “

“Will do” Laika finished, switching off the device.
She looked over to her toddler, who looked back innocently. Lifting Ava out of her crib, Laika smiled
“Well, sweetie, I think we just got our lucky break. “

The sound of footsteps in the house alerted the adult coyote, who held her daughter protectively, listening carefully and turning her gaze to the shotgun on the wall and the ammo cabinet under her bed. To her relief, however, she heard a familiar voice and any sense of fear left her.

“Laika, Maya, are you home?” Came Jacob’s voice.
A rare smile formed on Laika’s muzzle as she rushed to meet her lover in the living room. Upon seeing him in the room, she hugged him, while still clutching her toddler. Her lover embraced Laika and their child, and the two shared a kiss. He smiled down at their daughter, and Laika passed off Ava to be held by him.

“Long day? She asked.
Jacob shrugged. “As always, but it's fine. That dead-end joint is worth it as long as it lets me help you and Ava.” he insisted.

Laika seductively ran her fingers towards his chin. “Well, that's just good, because I’ve got some good news for you. Two things in fact.”
Jacob smiled at her in a romantic fashion. “Oh, whatever might it be?” he played around, catching on to the obvious lack of Maya in the house.

“Well, for once, mother is out of the house for a while…” Laika mused. “And Ava is about to go down for her nap…”

The coyotes shared a knowing, longing gaze into each other’s eyes. “And what might the other bit of good news be?” he inquired.
“I’ll tell him later, a moment like this is too precious to pass up. “ She thought. “I’ll tell you and mother once she gets back. For now…”
The two eyed the bedroom. Knowing what to do, Jacob went to put his daughter down in the second cradle in the living room and turned on the baby monitor. After ensuring their toddler was falling asleep, Jacob looked to his wife, à pang of uncertainty evident on his face.

“Last time we did this, I got you pregnant again…” he noted.
Laika shrugged. “Sure, that bit was not ideal in our circumstances, but I don't regret it. I think we both need this; besides, I’m already pregnant again. We’ve got nothing to worry about.” Laika insisted, smiling seductively.
Her lover returned the gesture, convinced.
With that, the pair of coyotes made their way to Laika’s bedroom…

The roar of the old dirt bike’s engine sounded through the waste as Maya raced home.
The old coyote gave a sigh of relief as her house came into view.

It was sundown by now, and getting increasingly darker. The journey had been taxing, in no small part due to the heat of the desert coupled with the weight of her biking suit’s materials. For Maya, these rides across the desert always took their toll on her aging body.
After a few more minutes stopped at the front of the shack, noting an all to familiar bike parked out front..
“Jacob’s here?” she wondered to herself.

Putting the kick stand down, the old canine removed her helmet and grabbed the bags full of metal parts and supplies from the bike’s saddlebags.
Entering the shack, she glanced around the living room, expecting to see Laika playing with her daughter.

Yet instead she saw Ava sound asleep on her cradle, with the baby monitor on. And she heard moaning…and movement for lack of à better phrase.

“Damn it, really? Again?” Was all she thought to herself as she moved to check on the toddler, then Maya set the bags down by the sofa, before taking the rifle off her back, replacing it on the wall mount. She heard the sounds in the other room stop.
“I’m back; feel free to say hi after you are done screwing each other.” The old coyote proclaimed.

She waited while the pair of coyotes put their clothes back on, laughing mildly to herself. It took about a minute or two before the pair were out of the room, blushing and looking like they had just spent a day in paradise.
“Gout that out of your system?” Maya half-teased, half-asked.

Jacob gave an unphased shrug while Laika went back to her usual stoic demeanor.
“Glad you’re back safe.” She greeted.

Maya nodded and pointed out the bags of supplies. “Told you I still had it in me; damned bastards never knew what hit ‘em. Saved a band of traders from a raider ambush too, got a nice reward.” “She noted, but could not let the other subject slide.
“Didn’t you two learn your lessons the last few times you did this? You already gave me two grandkids, the latest of which is not even born yet. Could you really not wait?” The older coyote bluntly stated.

The couple both shrugged, nonchalantly. Maya sighed. “Whatever; do as you wish.”

Laika cleared her throat to get everyone else's attention. “Alright, well now that i have you both here, I’ve got something to tell you:
The pregnant coyote took a seat on the beaten sofa, glancing expectantly at Maya and her husband-to-be.

Laika grinned and, well, as for that thing I wanted to tell you both, jobs, I think I got us a way off this rock.”

Maya went silent for a few moments, processing her words. Jacob looked surprised, too.
“Really? “ Maya pressed. Laika nodded earnestly. “I’ve not known you to pull jokes, but… how might you intend to execute this plan of yours?”

“Falco contacted me, offered a job. His team apparently has business here, something about saving a scientist from the Baron. And he promised a huge payout.”

Maya shook her head. “Oh godidamn it, what the hell are you thinking? Dealing with the Baron of all people? Laika, you're pregnant! Whatever this job, it’s liable to get you killed or maimed at least; why risk it?”

Jacob stepped in. “I am with her; it's dangerous. I have no problem with someone getting rid of the Baron, the bastard has it coming, but still. I don’t want you at risk. And there’s a lot that could go wrong with this plan …”

Laika rolled her eyes. “Ava and my next- born deserve better than this desert crap hole! I want out, and Falco just gave us the means. Laika insisted.

“He mentioned the rest of his team are present. Star Fox has friends in high places oin Corneria; they were the government's golden team after all. A former member of theirs is a general; they could help get us what we need to get away from here and get a better life. We just have to negotiate.” Laika reasoned.

Maya nodded slightly. “… perhaps. But can we trust them to keep their word? And surely it won’t be that easy.”

“It’s worth a shot. Mother, just think: this is our ticket outta here. Like I said, Ava and my next born won’t see a life of hardship and violence; we’ll be free of all this!“ Laika exclaimed, her voice beaming with a rare optimism.
Maya looked at her and shrugged. “Fair enough. But we gotta get through this first.”

“Yeah, yeah. But hey, Star Fox’s members are well known for their skill; with their help and my wasteland expertise, we’ll get through this. ”

Maya crossed her arms. “True. But what makes you think I or Jacob is gonna let you risk yourself in your condition?“ She looked to Jacob, who nodded in agreement.
Laika sighed. “Let’s just see how this goes first. Who's to say we will even need to fight?”

Maya raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“We bide our time until Star Fox arrives, gather intel on the Baron and his operations.” The younger coyote explained, looking to her husband-to-be.
“You could help us, right?” She pressed.

Jacob seemed to contemplate it for a bit. “Well, sure. I know a few in the Baron’s crew ho could help… and I really would not mind ditching that deranged crap house of a joint. I hate it and the Baron’s degenerate thugs..” he noted.
“Fine then. We’ll iron out the details later.”

Laika looked a bit uncertain, but her mother just shook her head and put her hands on Laika’s shoulders.

“I trust you know what you’re doing; I want to give my grandchildren a better life too ya know. But this CAN”T be that simple..”
Laika scoffed. “It never is on Titania, mother.”

Before Maya could turn away, the expectant coyote spoke up once more.
“How much food did you bring back?”

Maya hummed, putting her hand to her chin. “ I don’t know, a week’s worth or so. I just grabbed what I could from the vendor. Why?”
“Let’s just make it last; I don’t want to take any risks until we can start this job.”

Maya groaned. “Oh come on it, let’s not get paranoid-“
“Mother!“ Laika said, her gaze narrowing. “ Please, just trust me on this; one false move and we’re dead. Let’s not take any unnecessary risks now that we have a way out.”

Maya’s ears dropped and she gave a shrug. “Okay. Got it: no bounties, no fighting raiders. Just gonna play it safe; we’ll just sit here then and wait…. I guess. “

Laika gave a resigned sigh. “Close enough; we’ll have to go out to get intel on the Baron, but other than that, let’s just sit out the regular trouble.”

The older coyote shrugged. “Alright then. We’ll, I’m going to sleep, hope you get some good rest as well.”

The old coyote left the room and headed for her own, intending to strip off the biking suit and swap into her night garments. She noted her daughter doing the same on her way over, along with her fiancée.
As she entered her room, Maya could not help but think one thing.
“What has my daughter gotten us into?”

Later that night on Corneria, Fox’s apartment

It was late, dusk at long since fallen. Falco, who had arrived on Corneria some hours back from yet another mercenary venture for the CDF, was sitting in the McCloud’s living room seated in a chair. The floor was free of the usual toys littering the room. Fox was seated on a chair adjacent to him, and Krystal as well. The vixen was currently nursing their son, who was covered by a blanket, yet she insisted she be part of the conversation. Everyone wore their sleeping attire; the men in pajamas and Krystal in à night gown.
Falco was nearly done informing the group about his past with Laika.

“So yeah, we’ve done a few jobs before when I ended up on Titania for work. She’s: à decent sort deep down, but pretty hardcore. She knows the planet and its societies are working well, but I think she’ll see it, though, “ he explained.
Fox looked to his wife, then at him. “If you say so; you trust her, that's good enough for me. Remind me what it is she wants in return?”

. ‘Well the obvious being money, but also a way off Titania. And a guarantee of a better life.” the bird proclaimed.

Krystal and Fox looked at one another, as if sharing a thought.

“ If we talk to Peppy, we can probably make that happen,” Krystal noted, to which Fox nodded.
A whine from Marcus diverted his mother's attention to him. Krystal stood up. “Well, looks like Marcus is done. I’m gonna go put him to sleep in his crib. Have a good night Falco, Good seeing you.” The vixen said as she got up and walked in the direction of Marcus’ nursery. Falco waved goodnight to her before getting up.

“Well, that’s a bout all I got for now, Fox. Unless there’s anything else, I’m gonna head out, maybe find a hotel,” he stated.

“That should be good for now, we’ll talk more tomorrow. You’re always welcome to crash here if you need.” Fox offered.

The bird shook his head as he headed toward the exit. “Thanks, but I’ll have to decline. I need my own space and don’t wanna get in your way; the apartment is crazy enough with a little kid running around,” he jested.

The two shared a good-natured laugh, Fox conceding his point. He bid his friend goodnight as Falco let himself out the door. With that, Fox opted to get himself ready for bed.
Before he headed to his room, there was just a final thought in his head.

“I hope this Laika is as good as Falco says she is. Our lives and our families’ futures could depend on this… ”

Chapter Text

Where We Live, Titania. On the outskirts of town

"So, you're certain you are good?" Jacob asked as he helped Laika off her bike, much to her chagrin. They were parked on the outskirts of town, where few people and buildings were present, save for a few of the smaller shacks and houses, each made of sandstone. Their bikes were parked up against the back of one of said houses; not that anyone would mind.

"Yes, I know how to ride a bike." Laika huffed. She retrieved Ava from the baby carrier on her back, and set the carrier on her bike.

Even after helping her off the bike, Jacob did not let up.
"How's the baby?" He asked.

"Ava is fine. Our next-born is also fine." she noted.

"Are you sure you don't want me to hold her?" Jacob asked.

"Yep, I am fine." Laika insisted.

"Do you want me to scout ahead for danger?" He added.

"It's safe, that's why we brought her at all. Plus, Grandma needed a break…" Laika noted, nuzzling her daughter a bit.

Jacob, however, still was not done and fetched a wide-brimmed hat from his bike's storage compartment, placing it on his wife's head. Laika raised a brow.

"Sun's high, I don't want you to get a sunburn."

Laika rolled her eyes, but chuckled a bit. "You're just as overprotective as mother gets." she jested.

Jacob took it in stride and shrugged. "Whatever keeps you safe, plus we need to avoid drawing attention." he noted.

Laika thought for a moment. He was right.: Tthey were only risking being out on a market run for an important reason: to get supplies for their mission. Laika luckily had the advantage of few people outside the community knowing what her true appearance was underneath her usual skull helmet; she had built up that whole "Skull Rider" persona for this reason. But it was better to stay on the downlow.

As such, she noted their outfits: plain old maternity robes for Laika, and a child's robe for their toddler. Jacob had forgone his usual "cowboy" attire and wore the plainest shirt, pants, and cloak he could think of, while of course keeping a wide-brimmed hat for himself to avoid too many people recognizing him. Laika had also covered her face with a scarf, to hide her unique red markings.

Such concealing outfits were common on Titania to keep the harsh sunlight and sand off the wearers. Among the crowd of animals in cloaks, hoods, robes, dusters, and large hats in this town, the coyote family would fit right in.

Jacob took her by her hand and planted a kiss on her head, as well as Avs, before dragging them along further into town. The family began making their way towards the markets.
"Not gonna risk me wandering off?" Laika teased, noting her husband's iron grip. Jacob chuckled.

"Nope, you're far too precious. To say nothing of your "precious cargo," he noted, glancing at his eldest child and Laika's pregnant belly.

Laika smirked at him a bit; truth was, as annoyed as she might otherwise be at being coddled like a helpless pup, it honestly felt nice to her that someone was looking out for her. Also, considering her state and their young daughter with them, she was glad not to take any chances.

The three coyotes made their way through the market, Laika noticing the foot traffic was lower than usual.. Likely due to the attack that took place a few days ago. Laika took a moment to gauge her daughter's reactions. The little pup seemed enthralled by the marketplace, which Laika silently admired. She wished she could stop and show Ava around a bit more, but it was imperative they focus on their task and leave.

"Better this than nothing before we leave for good." Laika reminded herself.
Finally, they made it to a stall, composed of a few worn-out covers and a tent, run by a hare wearing a green cloak and traveling bags.

Jacob escorted Laika and Ava to the front of the stall. The hare looked up from his wares and at the family. He took a long glance at them before he realized who they were.

"Ah, look who's decided to grace us with their presence." Tthe hare smirked, looking left and right, lowering his voice. "Funny to see you out of the edgy biker get-up."

Laika rolled her eyes, but smirked under her face covering as the merchant went on. She had known this hare for years, so of course she knew he would recognize her build and species under her otherwise form-concealing outfit. Her tail and ears were hard to fully hide.
"Now, what brings you here? You don't usually bring your family with you…" The hare grumbled, looking at Jacob and Ava.

Laika leaned in. "We are getting off the world, Maniu. We need some… disguises to make it work. And a way into the Baron's...backrooms," she said, adjusting her grip on her daughter as she started fidgeting.

Maniu hummed. "...okay. I don't like the sounds of this. Call it intuition, but it's damn certain it's gonna be trouble. But yes, I've got something." he reached under the table to grab a dusty box. He then placed it on the table, and the coyotes peeked inside.

Cloaks, worn combat pants, a few hats. There were only a handful of them though. But what really was important was; an insignia emblem of a wolf; a pass to pass by the thugs guarding the Baron's back room. They would need these to convince the guards she worked for the Baron. The whole plan hinged on it.

Laika looked up. "How much you want?"

Maniu looked at him. "These clothes are cheap but …" he muttered. "How many do you need?"
Laika had a forlorn expression, and under her covering, looked uncertain. Jacob spoke up for her.

"We are expecting a larger crew… probably everything,"
Maniu got the hint. "I see. Well, this is all I've got. I might have some more things in a few days…"

Jacob looked to his lover. "We'll take it, these are going to be vital."
Maniu clicked his tongue before asking. "How much you got?"

Jacob reached into a pouch on his side and offered up his "salvage". A bunch of electronic parts, a few bits of scrap and bullets. Plus a plasma pistol cartridge . He dropped a small stack of lylatian credits.

Maniu gave it a scrutinizing gaze.

"Something wrong?" Jacob asked, his brows furrowing.

The hare shook his head. "Well, this seems a decent amount to be, but prices have been going up like mad. I think this should cover most of it, but…"Maniu cut himself off and glanced at Laika, then at Ava. "This works; I'll even cut you a discount and not barter more. Take them all." He corrected himself.

The coyotes seemed surprised.

"Are you sure? " Laika asked, her eyebrows raised.

The hare nodded. "Consider it a "debt" sort of thing. You saved my life countless times from raiders when you helped defend the town. Just like a few days ago. Plus I… I might have scavenged the fallen raider's supplies after the raid, it was too valuable not too, " he admitted, his gaze fixed on the ground for a few moments. He shook his head and looked back at the couple. " I owe you; this is the least I can do. "
He shoved the electronics back. "The ammo will cover it. All I ask is that you get out of here, and get a better life for yourselves." He insisted.

Jacob nodded in agreement , as he put the electronics and scraps back into his pouch.
Before leaving, Laika glanced back at Maniu, blinking just slightly faster.

"This is goodbye, Maniu, I doubt I'll be seeing you again. Thank you," Laika stated, a hint of sadness in her voice.

The merchant looked only half saddened. "If you are getting off this wasteland, it's for the better." He shrugged. "It was good knowing you. I hope things get better for your family,." he smiled.

The hare waved them off as the family thanked him. Again, they waved goodbye before Jacob led them back to the bikes.

As they started approaching their rides, a thought crossed Laika's mind. She tapped Jacob on the shoulder for a moment, and he stopped.

"Yeah?" the male coyote questioned.

"I wanna make a detour, someone I wanna say goodbye to.

Jacob complied and Laika led him off the market path, and down a walkway. Walking past a few houses, they arrived at a makeshift tower. It was a simple elevated platform with a fabric awning with guard metal panels to prevent one from falling off.

Laika knocked on the door.

"What is it?" An unamused voice sounded from atop.

"It's me." Laika replied. "Come down."

Sure enough Pebble stuck her head out and looked down at Laika and her family. The antelope climbed down, leaving her rifle on top of the tower.

"Good to see you again. Though I don't recall you bring your kid or boyfriend here often,." she commented. Laika had temporarily removed her face covering.

"Things are different. I'm leaving this world," Laika stopped for a second,. "I just wanted to say goodbye."

She knew Pebble well. She was one of the few Laika may call a friend. The antelope was a woman of few words; laconic was the only 'language' she received well.

True to her stoic nature, the antelope's expression barely changed. "Well, can't say I am not happy for you. I hope you get a better life out there."

Laika looked at Jacob and shrugged. "As do I. There are a lot of what ifs… not sure if I will end up as a housewife or what sort of job I will get in the "civilized" world of Corneira." Laika noted.
Pebble shrugged. "Better than dealing with raiders all the time."

Jacob decided to speak up. "With any luck, that will change soon. We are taking down the Baron; a buddy of mine, Sharly, intends to run a tighter ship, get things under control. At least among the Baron's forces. He hopes to help the planet's economy."

The antelope was completely unmoved by this. "Wishful thinking, Jacob. I hope it works out."
Laika knew Pebble did not approve of Jacob working at the Baron's bar. She did not imagine

Jacob's words would bring much comfort.

So she felt it best to get to the point.

"My family will be leaving the house. It's yours if you want it."

Pebble smiled a bit. "Thanks, I know the way. I think I can make use of it; my family could use a place that's out of the raiders' way."

Before the coyotes turned to leave, Pebble placed her hand on Laika's shoulder and patted Ava on the head with the other. "Stay safe, whatever this 'plan' of yours is. Just get the hell out of here and find a better life, will ya?"

Laika nodded. "Will do. Goodbye, Pebble. I hope we meet again one day."

The coyotes bid goodbye to the antelope, who waved them off and returned to her post.
As Laika led Jacob back to the path, she and her family continued their journey back to their bikes.

Minutes later

Once the bikes were within sight again, the pair of coyotes breathed a sigh of relief. Laika got to work getting their daughter strapped into her baby carrier on the bike, and adjusting a small pair of goggles and face cover to protect the child from sand.

"Glad that worked out. We should be set for the job," Laika sighed as she got the goggles on Ava.

"Likewise. You going to be okay?" Jacob pressed.

"What do you mean?" the expectant coyote responded.

"Will you miss this place or your friends?" clarified.

Laika hopped on her bike and got her own goggles on. "Yeah. We were never drinking buddies or something, but they were the closest things to friends I had. Until I met you a few years ago."

Jacob smiled. "Crazy to think it was at a bar here. Did you want to say bye to anyone else?" he inquired.
"Pebble will tell any townspeople who care; they'll understand. Pebble and Maniu were the only ones I really knew personally. And no, I won't miss this rusty little town; too many raids for there to be any good memories." She responded a bit curtly.

She looked back at her daughter in the baby carrier and patted her on the head. "Our family is my main focus. " she concluded with a small smile.

Jacob revved up his bike. "Then let's make this plan work."

Laika nodded in agreement. Her gazed turned to the town, as if testing if she had any sentiment or nostalgia for it. "Clearly not much," she noted to herself. "Let's go; I don't really care what becomes of the legend of the "Skull Rider' to the people here. I'm ready to leave that behind."
With that, she drove off into the wastes, followed shortly by Jacob.

As the pair entered the desert and the ramshackle little town became ever further from their line of sight, her gaze turned to her daughter, who was enjoying the ride.

"So ends the "Skull Rider" or whatever they call me nowadays. Whatever. Onto better things in life." Laika reminded herself as she turned her attention back to the road.

Meanwhile, in Corneria city

Fox stopped the car in front of their friend's house in the upper echelons of the city. Stopping,the vulpine glanced around his surroundings. They were in an upper-class suburb area of Corneria. As expected, the houses were new, yards were clean cut, people out in their yards with their kids and the like. Everyone here was clearly well off, way more than Fox could hope to be.
"Curse these skyrocketing house prices." Fox thought. "We could be living in one of these instead of an apartment."

He turned his head to the back seat of his SUV and looked at his passengers.

Krystal, who had relinquished her seat in the front for Falco, was sitting next to Marcus, who was strapped to his booster seat. Like a mother hen, Krystal had hovered over him the whole time and held on to him each time they hit a speed bump. Falco meanwhile had remained on his phone the whole trip, barely saying anything.
"We're here." He announced, not that the others barely noticed their stop until Fox told them. Falco looked up from his phone.

"Huh?. Oh, neat. Let's get this out of the way and get to the spaceport." Falco noted.
Fox hummed. It was true, today was the day their group left for their mission. But this part was a bit hard for Fox and Krystal.

Fox opened the door for Krystal , who got out of the back seat with Marcus in her arms. Falco let himself out of the front, embarrassed to even be in a minivan from the looks of it.

"You two really let yourselves go; I never would have thought you'd be caught dead in this soccer mom-mobile." Falco joked.

A quick glare from Krystal made him back off, and the pair moved to the back of the SUV. To begin unloading the trunk.

"Hey, it'sits a good car. When you have kids you'll be needing something like this too." Fox retorted. Falco was an old friend but he still couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Opening the back of the black vehicle, the three adults surveyed their supplies.
Food, cases for their weapons, doc kits, other necessities for the mission. And atop of all that, various supplies for toddlers.

Diapers, bags, toys, pacifiers, stuffed animals, a folded stroller, and so on.

Krystal had arranged all this for their sitters. Fox and Falco got to work gathering up all the supplies for Marcus, the avian looking less than enthusiastic.

The pair walked along the front yard with the supplies, and Krystal knocked on the door. Within half a minute later, a pair of wolves opened the door. One grey female wolf in a simple white skirt, the other was a well built black wolf with a scar across his eye and grey shirt and pants.
Both smiled at their visitors.

"Ah, Fox, Krystal, Marcus, Falco. Good to see you all." The female wolf, Telia, grinned Her husband, Fang, simply waved at the others and muttered a simple "Hi."
"Likewise. " Fox greeted as the group was welcomed inside.

The interior of the house was nice; wooden floors, white walls. The front door gave way to the dining room, and beyond that, a spacious living room near a kitchen.

"You can set the supplies over there." The black wolf pointed to a spot by the dining table. "Are you sure we'll need all that?"

Krystal chuckled. "Oh yeah, you will. Trust me, he's a handful."

Nearby, Falco was just watching the others talk impatiently, while Fox was explaining to Fang about what to expect from Marcus and such. Krystal did the same with Telia for another five minutes.

Falco, meanwhile, just remained on his phone over on a nearby couch, not really knowing much about the wolf family or having anything to add.

"Alright, and don't forget Marcus loves that Blueyy show, so play that for him if he gets bored. And don't forget his feeding schedule-" she was going on and on.

Telia chuckled a bit and held up her hand. "It's fine Krystal, I understand. We'll take good care of Marcus." she assured her, holding out her hands.

Krystal planted a affectionate kiss on the forehead to her son and handed him off to Telia, who started looking over curiously.

The men noted this and Fox and Fang wrapped up their conversation. Both of them walked on over and Fox gave his son one last pat on the head.

"I guess we'd best get going," Falco muttered, gesturing for the door.

The McClouds looked over their son, a bit forlorn.

"It's not too late to back out, Fox." The bird told him. Fox sighed, but shook his head.

"We need the money badly. If we don't do this, we could lose the house, drown in debt, and end up on the streets. The cost of our ships is just too great." he said, a bit defeated.

Fang put his paws on both Fox and Krystal's shoulders. "You'll do fine, you've taken on worse than this before. Just get in there, complete whatever mission it is, and get out. You have a plan, just execute. And don't worry; Marcus is in good hands." he assured them.

The two foxes nodded and thanked Fang. They had known him for awhile, along with Telia. So getting comfort from an old friend like him was comforting to say the least, especially one otherwise aloof such as him.

"And promise me you all will come back, safe and in one piece," the black wolf added.
"Affirmative," Krystal confirmed

After saying a final goodbye to their son, complete with a large hug, the McClouds were ushered out the door by Falco as the wolf family waved goodbye to them. Fox and Krystal glanced several times back at their son.

By the time the door closed and they were back in the SUV, both Fox and Krystal slumped into their seats.

Falco patted both of their shoulders. "Sorry, but we had to go. I know it's not easy, but you'll see him again soon."

The two parents shared a look.

"Thanks, Falco. But let's just get a move on." Krystal insisted.

Knowing the couple needed more time to think, Falco remained silent as Fox began driving the car towards the airport.

2 Hours later, Corneria city military spaceport.

The team had arrived at the spaceport port and had boarded the Great Fox 2 in a hangar. It was currently undergoing the final preparations for takeoff.

Onboard the Great Fox 2's heading , the team was seated at their chairs. To everyone, it was like bygone times, during the team's " golden years".

Everyone had their white flight jackets on and ànd R.O.B was operating a nearby computer terminal.

"Just like old times, eh, Fox?" Krystal called from the leftmost seat.

"A bit." Fox responded from his spot on the captain's chair.
"Happy to be back in the saddle?" Falco with a grin.
Fox thought for a second. There was a hint of nostalgia to all this. Memories of his young adult days, chasing adventure and taking out "bad guys" flashed through his mind. It almost felt exhilarating.

Back then, things were different. Sure they had their lows, like during the drought of jobs leading up to the Sauria expedition.

But it was something he missed. He felt free; they could go anywhere, do anything. No sleepless nights, no changing diapers, no fretting about selling off expensive ships to whoever would be willing to buy, just the team and whatever adventure they ended up going on…

But then he thought of how good he had it. His wedding, Marcus' birth the times he shared with his family. His lavish apartment. The promise of more stable income and less dangerous work. Actual safety and not worrying about getting shot at.

"Starting to recall why I left this line of work, " he thought.
"I had my run of it, but there's a reason I want to put this all behind us." He said, sharing a look and a smile with Krystal.

"Suit yourself. You positive you don't want me to handle this? Because once we leave there's no turning back until the job's done."

Both vulpines sighed.

"No, I don't want to risk anything happening to you for our sake. We do this together." Fox insisted.

Falco chuckled. "Oh you big softie…" He looked through the window.. "Crazy this might be our last official issue if you are retiring for good."

Fox and Krystal agreed, but had little else to add to that.

"R.O.B, set our flight path and get us off the ground," Fox ordered the android.
"Affirmative." The android responded.

They felt the ship begin the take off sequence and, after a bit, begin to exit the hangar.

The view outside the windows blurred out more and more as the ship left the atmosphere.

As they did, Fox had one final thought as they left Corneria.

"If this is the final mission of my Star Fox team under me, I hope it at least will go smooth.

A few days later
"Where are they? They said they were landing two hours ago." Laika complained from her spot on the couch.

She and Laika were seated in their living room, Ava's asleep in her crib behind the door.. Laika had moved their primitive long-range communications device to the table and was monitoring it intently.

"Oh be patient, they'll be here soon enough. Just double-check that everything is packed up and ready to go." Maya retorted, her tail fidgeting impatiently.

"Already did. Five times. We don't even have much junk worth bringing." Laika noted.

"Plenty of skulls at least." the younger coyote responded.

Maya snorted. "They are our tradition and must not be forgotten. I'm taking them and making sure we remember our roots."

"You're going to go crazy just sitting there, Laika.. They'll get here when they get here" The older coyote bluntly informed her. "I hope this Corneria is worth it; we are running low on food and supplies. " Maya added.

"It will be, but I can't miss their call." Laika shot back, her eyes never leaving the device's screen.

"You've been saying that all week. Hardly left the house because of it. On top of your over-worrying of course. "

Laika huffed. "My 'worrying' " is what is keeping us alive! We are so close to our ticket off this rock; why ruin it by getting ourselves killed for no reason and taking on more bounties?"

Before Maya could respond, the radio crackled to life.

"We're entering the atmosphere, Laika. We'll be touching down in minutes." Falco's voice sounded over the radio.

A visible smile formed on Laika's face as she dashed outside the house.

"Watch over Ava, Jacob." She called to the male coyote, who was in the other room, counting supplies and going over their stuff.

"Never seen her so giddy…" Maya muttered as she got up, following Laika out the door.

To the shock of both , a massive ship, round in shape with four wings protruding from the stern, finished its landing sequence hundreds of yards away from the house, blowing heaps of sand across it. The ship was painted grey and lacked discernible coyotes could not help but gawk as its main ramp opened from the underside, once the landing sequence was complete.

The pair were quickly approached by the new arrivals.
"You must be Laika," Fox said, extending his hand.; This is my mate, Krystal, and you know Falco already."

Laika sized up the team, her expression neutral. She extended her hand to answer Fox's handshake.

"I'm Laika Castillo. Falco's old 'partner in crime', I guess."

She mused. "That's my mother, Maya."

Fox quickly noted Laika's baby bump, which was becoming more evident.
Falco spoke up before Fox could.

"Laika, umm, congratulations on the kids, but…this job may be a little…tough for a pregnant woman."

Laika frowned. After a few seconds, she simply said: "That's my business."

"We are not putting a pregnant woman in harm's way!" Falco countered.

"Falco is right, this changes things. Just give us the intel and we'll take it from here, you can wait on the ship. " Fox interjected.

Laika huffed. "I have to fight and kill every week just to survive, I can handle myself." She insisted.

"Things go wrong. Why would you ever put your child at risk? You wanted off the world; just let us handle this and we'll give you a lift." Falco persisted.

Laika seemed to think about it, but then protested once more. "You'll be going in blind. You'll probably die without my guidance."

The Star Fox members wanted to press the issue but Maya's groan cut them off,. silencing them.

"Oh for the love of-, just don't. She's stubborn, I couldn't talk her out of this either. Let's just discuss the terms and get this over with."

Fox looked at her then back to Laika. He felt squeamish about Laika's condition, but Maya was right, it was her call.

. "Fine. You told Falco you wanted to tell me in person what you wanted."

"I want off the world. I want a better life." Laika said, without hesitation.

You have friends iIn high places on Corneria and I want you to pull some strings." "We'll help you pull off your mission" Laika continued. "But in exchange, we want Cornerian citizenship, a ride to our new home and a fresh start when we get there. Deal?"

The McClouds looked at each other for a few moments, but nodded.

"Deal. We'll get in touch with our friend, Peppy, he can get you what you want."

"Good," Laika nodded, inwardly breathing a heavy sigh of relief.

"Now, you said you had some intel," Fox said, bringing the conversation back to their mission. "Whatcha got?"

"I know the coyote who works as a bartender in the Baron's palace. He will be working with us to get inside; he's here now. We'll introduce you ."

"Can you count on him?" Fox asked curiously.

"He's my... partner. " She said, with a bit of hesitation at revealing her personal relationship to a stranger, even if Falco may have told Fox prior. "And father to my kids; bet your ass he is gonna help us. "

"If you have any lingering doubts, just know they screwed each other barely aroudn a week ago." Maya spoke up. "Their love runs deep; he would only be doing this if he was positive it could happen. He pulled out all the stops.

Everyone did a double-take at the old coyote's bluntness.

"God dammit, mother!" Laika furiously growled.

Maya took it in stride. "Do you think you could help us lift our stuff? My back's killing me, and Laika is… well, you know. Her boyfriend is inside, attending to the pup. He'll be glad to meet you. "

The Star Fox team looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure, might as well," Fox noted.

"I'll move my own stuff, thank you very much=… unless it's a bit too heavy." Laika insisted stubbornly, as Maya sighed.

"Come on, everyone, let's get inside," the old coyote insisted, guiding everyone forward to the house.

About 20 Minutes later, onboard the Great Fox 2

Laika took a seat on the couch in the living area, having just finished gathering up her most valuable belongings, not that she had much. Her duffle bag full of firearms, cloaks, and a couple of gifts from Jacob lay at her side

In her arms rested, her daughter happily poking at her mother's ears. The pregnant coyote was too exhausted to sit, though maybe not entirely physically. There was something about realizing just how little she had to say goodbye to or give up here that almost made her sad. Combined with the general physical exertion of pregnancy and even just lifting a few things, all on top of her daughter, got taxing.

As she caught her breath, Krystal, who had just entered the room, took a seat beside her on the couch.

"Hey, how you holding up?' The vixen inquired.

Laika sighed after catching her breath. "Tired. The baby's a bit rambunctious today…" Laika said, putting a hand on her midsection. "As is this little one." she said, ruffling her eldest daughter's fur playfully.

Krystal smiled at the child while Laika sent her a questioning gaze. "What about the others?"

The blue vixen shrugged. "My husband and friend are helping that other coyote man with your child's crib, and said they set up the room for you.I think they wanted to talk; your mother suggested I speak to you."

Laika raised a tired brow. "Something you wanted to say?" she pressed.

Krystal again shrugged. "I mean, if we've got time to kill and we are gonna work together, maybe we ought to get to know each other a bit more?"

"Like how you were trying to read my mind?" Laika replied sarcastically, a sly smirk forming on her face.

Krystal's eyes widened "W-what? I-I was not. But how would you have known?"

Laika smirked. "Falco talked about you; I was just yanking your chain. But I can sense your telepathy; your mind is different from that of most."

Krystal was at a loss for words. The coyote just chuckled.

"You're not the only one with special senses here. My family's had a certain '"gift'" for generations. It's part of how we survived the wastes for so long; I can't read minds but I can sense people's presence and intents. It's weird. Mother chalks it up to some kind of '"ancestral'" blessing,." she mused.

"Well, that's quite something. Does your whole family have it?" the vixen inquired.

"Just me, my mom, and perhaps my daughter. Not sure yet." The coyote answered curtly

As Krystal was about to ask something else, she looked to Laika's daughter, who kept picking at her ears. Laika took a moment to try to distract her daughter, but to no avail.

"May I hold her? You look like you need a break." Krystla offered.

Laika seemed to ponder it, with a quick look to her toddler, then to Krystal. She sighed. "Okay, fine. You seem nice enough, but only for a minute."

Krystal could discern her protective nature with ease. The coyote reluctantly passed off Ava to Krystal, who held her warmly. As she comforted the child, a thought occurred to her.

"I don't think we did properly get to know each other yet."

"You mentioned that earlier." replied the coyote. "Well, there's not much to say about me. Born and raised on this wasteland, like my mother, grandmother, and so on. Learned how to fight, and have been riding around the wastes for years as a mercenary of sorts. A town called Where We Live usually pays me for bounties on raiders or protection. " she explained. "They called me the "Skull Rider" or whatever; not that I ever cared. It was just a job." She explained dismissively. "Heck, I even helped Falco take on a few bounties before; pirates who hid away here."

"So you have quite the reputation…" Krystal summarized.

"Before you ask anymore, let me save you the effort: yes, I do. It's why Falco trusted me for this job. I've been at this for years, since I was 18. My mother has too, and even Jacob has a good number of fights under his belt. But frankly, I am sick of it; I never cared for the whole "Skull Rider" thing. I just want off this rock and something better, especially now that I have little ones." Laika told her.

"And what about Jacob? How'd you two meet?" Krystal inquired.

"At a bar in Where We Live, five years ago. Was bored one night, as was he. We struck up a conversation, and it turned out we could relate. He was a wanderer without aim, lost his family a long time ago to raiders, like what happened to my dad. Doesn't even have a last name. We hit off, did jobs together, and got as close to "married" as you can legally on this planet. And then well… we had these little miracles." she noted, a fond smile on her face as she pointed to Ava and the bump on her belly.

Krystal smiled. " It was similar for Fox and me. We met after he saved me on a mission to Sauria. I joined his team, we did mercenary work for years, got married a few years back and had a son." she noted. "We are not very different, you know. Fox and I are here; we want to retire from this life. We need the money."

Laika nodded. "I hear that, but won't you miss the adventuring? Warrior life or whatever it's called leaves one restless. You hardly seem like the type to just settle down and stay that way."

"I'll figure something out. My son is very young, I have an obligation as a mother to care for him; Fox feels the same way about being a father. After our son starts school, I'll have more time to start thinking about my own goals," she declared. "I've always wanted to settle down with Fox, but trust me, I am not just gonna retire to being a housewife. I am working out a career once we retire from mercenary for good, perhaps in the aviation industry." She announced.

Laika shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat. Me? I don't care.; Iif I end up as a housewife wherever we end up on Corneria, fine by me. All I want is peace and safety for myself and my family; even it's boring, I'll take it. I can't tell you enough how tired I am of all this fighting; I don't want my kids to know me as a killer. I want to be something more; I'll figure out a normal job at some point…"

Krystal put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get you out of here, I promise."

Laika said nothing more, but gave her a slight nod of thanks.

Footsteps sounding from the doorway, alerting the two. The rest of the Star Fox team and coyote family stepped in. Maya waved over to her.

"Packing's done," Jacob noted as Laika released a yawn. She gestured for Krystal to hand Ava back over to her, and the blue fox did.

"It was good talking to you, Krystal. " Laika said, as she got up to go and hug her lover.

"Everything's onboard, I filled Fox and Falco in on the details. They also set up a room for the two of us, Ava's crib is there too,." Jacob explained.

His wife gave him a "thumbs up" as Jacob shook hands with Fox and Falco, thanking them for the help.

Laika released another yawn and looked at her drowsy daughter. "It's getting late. We had dinner before you arrived. I'm heading to bed," Laika announced.

"You can have the bed, the recliner is mine." The old coyote proclaimed, sitting in the chair and laid back. "Ànd we'll be talking in the morning about you coming on this mission." She reminded her.

Laika just rolled her eyes and muttered a goodnight, as Jacob took her hand and led her away. "We'll talk more later, McCloud." She muttered to Fox as she and Jacob exited the room past the Star Fox team.

This left the only Maya with the team in the room. Before they could say anything, the older woman headed over to the recliner chair.

"Sorry, but I'm out of it. Perks of being old.; I take it Jacob filled you in on our departure time?"

"Ummm, yeah," Falco replied, still put off by her bluntness. "He said he will have to be gone early in the morning to get to his shift."

.
"Great, see you in the morning then. Have a good night. Just wake me when it's time to head out and I'll see you tomorrow." Tthe coyote continued dryly.

She then leaned back in the recliner chair, her paws coming up under her legs. As far as McClouds and Falco could tell, she had already begun to fall asleep.

Falco shrugged. "Well, guess that's that. Night," he added, as he too walked off.

Fox and Krystal exchanged a glance and shrugged. "Straight to the point, isn't she?" The vixen smiled

With that, the McClouds made their way to their own room, eager to retire for the night and brace themselves for the morning.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Baron’s Palace.

Baron’s room

“Probably the best food I’m gonna get on this joint,” the black wolf muttered, as he poured the last bit of some off-world cereal into a bowl along with milk. Some sort of grain-filled flavored

In any other world, this would be a commodity. Hear on Titania, however, this was basically luxury. Most people saw little more than mush soup, liquidized rations or stale old bread, or fruits grown at indoor farms. With offworld equipment.

For the former Venom soldier, he could not dare let himself fall to such a level of failure. So if the ‘fancy’ meal he ended up eating was this rainbow colored children's cereal, so be it. It was the latest thing he could import from off world, is usual supplies were a bit short-handed for some reason or the other.

He sat at his black painted mahogany table, alone. His room was lavish, though sandstone, he had the best furnishing he could import; a silk king-sized bed in the center. Lavish red rugs put all over the floors, a study in the west corner with desk, books, and so on.

In the east wing, just shy of where he was sitting, he glanced at his trophies; war trophies, the skulls of different alien creatures. A bomber jacket from the Venomian armor, his old pistol. And a few photos of him in his old soldier gear back in his hey day, serving among Andross’ elite. And to the side, a picture of James McCloud’s crashed Arwing.

He smiled at that; the day of his confirmed death was a glorious day for Venom and many among the Lylat System who hated Corneria. He personally had hated the McClouds for their reputation; envy of their fame, maybe. He would have loved a chance to take out the current generation of McClouds, but perhaps that was a matter for another time…

He only served on a mercenary contract, of course, but he prided himself on his old position all the same. It took him back to his glory years, before he wound up on some backwater planet. He had thought to make Titania, a lawless planet without much real organized rival syndicates nor authorities to worry about, his own Oasis; and he had in a way. He was king here, or would be once the last of the free towns submitted to his demands.

Finishing his meal, leaving it on the table for one of his servants to clean up later, he went over to his study, grabbing his wrist-mounted PDA from the desk drawer. He checked his logs; incoming shipments of off-world goods to sell through his vendors, marked up in price, of course. Taking a second, he read over the reports of the latest “Skull Rider” incident again.

The raid she had helped put down on that town, Where We Live, had caused him no shortage of trouble.

“Damn rider, been a thorn in my side for years now. If I keep losing men to her like this I am gonna look weak. If only I could harness that supposed enhanced sense of hers…
He thought.

He thought a lot of things in fact. About how he wanted to either mount her head on her wall or use her as breeding stock; both to humiliate her and, assuming she did have a sixth sense, produce an heir for him to use in his plans for the future. He’d be a legend among Titania for bringing her down…

He then looked over for any messages from his off-world clientele. He, however, was disappointed with the result.

“Still nothing huh? “ he moaned to himself. “Gotta get business flowing somehow. Perhaps I ought to pay another visit to my ‘friend’,” he mused.

Grabbing his favorite curved knife and backup off the table, along with his laser pistol, he kept in his desk, the Baron equipped them. He exited the room shortly thereafter, signaling one of his subordinates to clean up the table.

He wandered through the palace until he made it to his destination: the room of his prisoner. The guard let him in.

He entered; it was a lavish room with a sturdy bed, study, deserts, paintings, and rugs. At the desk sat the old scientist. The red wolf, Galen, if he recalled, looked forlorn upon seeing the Baron.

“Mr. Cain… to what do I owe the ‘pleasure’?” He half asked, half mocked.

The Baron took it in stride and pulled up a second chair, sitting next to him. “Oh, this and that. And please, “Baron” will do just fine. Few really know me as Flint Cain; that's a privilege,” he insisted. “One you could have if you join me.” he added.

The red wolf huffed. “Whatever, I am not interested. I told you that already; I just want to go home,” the older wolf huffed.

The Baron rolled his eyes. “And you will. In fact, you will go home one of the richest men in Lylat, if only you do as I say. It's not hard; just give me the info I want and I will have you out of here in a flash. Just ask my clients, I always keep my word. I never waste a resource; I didn’t even kill my subordinate after he failed to follow orders recently. Most people here would have, but I am not a monster like they are.” the black wolf noted, thinking about to the incident with Corben.

“I will never help you; I know what you want. My research will not produce weapons,” the red wolf said defiantly.

The Baron rolled his eyes. He would normally just threaten those who displeased him a knife, claw, or gun. But he needed this wolf, so he would try a different tactic.

“Funny you say that, it already did. Your buddy Andross worked all sorts of wonders with the research you helped him with; It's because of you the Venom Empire had such wondrous monsters at his disposal, like what he sicked on Aquas.” he noted.

“I had nothing to do with that! Andross did that on his own.” the red wolf spat.

“Ah, but you gave him the research to make it happen. The blood is on your hands, whether you mean't it or not. Lylat hated you for it; they still do. They always will. Your family and you were in hiding because of it; I was lucky to have found you via that spy I left on the shuttle we nabbed. I had been searching for you for a long time.” The Baron explained.

“So here’s my offer: just give me the research info I want. You walk free as a rich man; you can take your family and flee the galaxy. You already know I am a businessman, not a monster. I don’t kill needlessly; heck, I have nothing but respect for your aid to Venom. An associate of Andross’ is a friend of mine after all.”

“I hate everything I did to help you lot; I will not have blood on my hands. If I had known Andross was mad, I would never have helped him with his research.”

The Baron briefly glared but sighed and got up.

“Fine. Think on it some more; but know my generosity has its limits. I could put you in a less than accommodating cell you know. Its not like you have many options here; I offer a way out but you act like Corneria or someone else cares enough to save your ass.” The Baron taunted.

The red wolf said nothing and looked away.

The Baron walked out of the room shortly thereafter, wanting to go about the rest of his day.

Great Fox 2

The night had passed and the next morning rolled around, the team was anxious, but confident.

Having eaten breakfast, the Star Fox team was seated on the bridge, everyone geared up in cloaks and other wasteland gear.

“What’s keeping them so long, We’re burning daylight here,” Fox noted.
Krystal, who was checking her staff, hummed. “Yes, but be a bit more patient. Laika’s expecting and has a toddler to take care of; I remember my pregnancy made it hard to get out of bed at times.”

The avian shrugged, while the fox couple checked each other’s outfits to ensure everything was in order.

The sound of footsteps at the door alerted the group,
Everyone turned to see Maya walking into the room, dressed in her usual tan robe. In her hand was Ava, wearing only a short tan robe fitted to her and a diaper. She was absentmindedly sucking on her pacifier.

“Morning.” Maya half muttered, bags of stress visible under her eyes.

“Good morning.” Krystal greeted, while Falco simply waved.

“Yeah, good to see you and Ava up.. But what kept you? And where’s Laika? We need to get a move on.” Fox informed her.

The old coyote rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, I am aware. Ava… had an accident, and Laika’s dealing with morning sickness again.” The old coyote noted, looking at the puppy in her arms with a scrutinizing look.

A sympathetic expression formed on the McCloud’s faces.
“Oh, Marcus is the same way at times,” Fox noted.

Krystal nodded. “I get it; I went through the same during my pregnancy,” Krystal added. “We’ll wait up.

Maya nodded in thanks before taking a seat further ahead on the bridge. She sat down and reached into her robe pocket, pulling out a small container of what Fox guessed was baby food. It looked a bit mushy and colorful, perhaps mashed cactus fruits, so he guessed.

Maya fed her granddaughter after removing her pacifier.

As she sat and attended to her, Fox thought up a question.

“Assuming you need to come, are you sure you can handle yourself?” He pressed.

“I’ve been fighting, surviving, and doing mercenary work since before you were even born,

Mccloud. Heck, before the old Star Fox team even took their first job. I know every trick in the book. I might even be more inclined to worry about YOU handling this mission. Maya retorted, not even looking away from her granddaughter.

Fox was taken aback and left bewildered. Falco, meanwhile, was chuckling to himself at the old coyote’s bluntness.

“Well… okay then,” Fox muttered. “And I take it, you know the plan.”
“Yes, I made sure I knew what Laika was cooking up when she proposed this idea; I’ll get you in and out.” The older coyote responded.
Content with that, everyone completed their preparations.

A couple minutes later footsteps sounded at the door.

Everyone turned to see Laika walking into the toon.

“You good?” Krystal inquired before Maya could speak up.

“I… got it out of my system. Let's move on.” The pregnant coyote insisted.

Maya shook her head. “I’m going, you stay here and look after Ava.”

Laika growled. “They need me-“
“You’ll be endangering your child's lifeNow quit arguing, go have a nap instead, puking does a number on ya.” Maya huffed.

Sensing the argument brewing, Fox spoke up.

“You already helped us get the disguises and Maya can help us blend in further. just stay here and rest. Our android can even help with your daughter; he’s watched over my son before on another mission.” Fox stated.

“Thanks but you’ll still need me inside the palace, trust me.”
Maya growled. “Stop fighting this, Laika! Neither you, nor I, nor they want to put a pregnant woman in harm's way. Just sit this out.”

A small burp interrupted the argument; all eyes looking to the toddler, who had just finished her meal. Her grandmother lifted her up, wiped the remnants of her meal with her sleeve and patted her on the back, making sure she swallowed her food alright. The puppy groggily rested her head on Maya’s shoulder.

“Someone’s full. Laika and I will put her down for a nap; get the bikes ready. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.” The old coyote ordered.

Without another word, everyone cleared the room, Laika taking her daughter back from Maya and putting her pacifier back in her mouth.

Guest room
The guest room was a simple white room with little more than a spare bed
corner, a side table, and Ava’s crib.

Placing the sleepy toddler back down in her crib, Laika kissed her on the forehead.
“Mommy loves you, sweetie. Sleep well, we’ll be off this dust ball soon.” Laika whispered as she turned to leave the room.

Exiting into the hallway and closing the door behind her, she saw Maya standing further down the sleek white hallway, her arms crossed.

“Anything to say?” Maya asked.

“You first!.” Laika replied, bracing herself:
Maya sighed and uncrossed her arms.

“Might as well get it out.” She softly began, her volume soon jumping after.

“God damn it, Laika! Will you just stop and listen to me…just once! ! Think what you’re doing! You’re running headfirst into the palace of the most dangerous warlord on the planet, while pregnant! You’re gonna die or get your unborn child killed!” Maya growled, raising her voice. “Heck, you had us avoid taking any jobs for a full week before the Star Fox team got here. What happened to that?” Maya retorted.

“Well, things are different; this is all or nothing. Yes, yes this is stupid and likely to fail. I know I’m a fool. You and the others all reminded me that constantly.” Laika replied, a hint of sarcasm in her tone, as she checked her equipment.

“Then why do this? They already offered to let you sit it out and that blue vixen can just read minds. Let me handle this. Just. Stay. Put.” Maya finished, placing her hands on her daughter’s shoulders in desperation.

“ Because Star Fox doesn’t know what they’re up against.; They have a child too!. I am going and that’s final.”

Maya’s expression and body language shifted a lot over the next couple of seconds. From a look of seething anger and worry to bafflement, frustration, and finally begrudging resignation, all the while her shoulders stiffened. Maya took a very long, deep breath; closing her eyes and exhaling, almost to the point of trying to find a zen-like state.

She averted her gaze and simply removed her hands from her daughter’s shoulders and took Laika’s hand like a protective parent typically does, and walked her down the hallways towards the hangar the ship’s exit.

“You’re staying out of combat. And I’m accompanying you; and leave your helmet here, it’s a dead giveaway of who you are.”

Laika muttered a simple “okay then” as her mother took her along.

Outside the Great Fox
Just a few hundred yards shy of the of Great Fox the rest of the Star Fox team stood near the two prepared dirt bikes. Everyone eagerly looked on as the two coyotes approached.

“So what’d you decide?” Fox asked, eager to get to the point.
Maya huffed. “Laika’s a stubborn bitch; we’re both going, but she's staying out of combat. Now come on, let's get this damn thing over with and get out of here.” she added, a hint of anger lingering in her tone. Her daughter said nothing as Maya handed Laika a pair of goggles and both coyote women approached and started mounting the bikes.

Fox simply nodded. “Got it; I’ll order rob to supervise the child.” he said, typing in a command into the device on his wrist, under his cloak.

“Get on.” Maya ordered the Star Fox team.

The two foxes and avian complied and proceeded to mount the bikes, Krystal hopping on behind Laika along with Fox, while Falco had to squeeze to fit on Maya’s bike, with Falco on the rear end.
“Why do i have to sit in the back? I barely have any room.” the bird whined.
Maya and Fox both rolled their eyes. “It is the best we got.” Maya replied.

“Well can I double up with the McClouds and Laika? At least they have more space-” but the bird got cut off by a death glare from Maya.

“Keep calling me fat and I am dumping you in the desert,” she growled, shutting the bird up instantly.

“Now get your masks and eye protection on, it's a bit of a ride over to the Baron’s Palace; don’t want sand in your eyes or mouth.” Maya insisted as she covered her face with fabric from her red cloak and put. “I’ll show you the way once we get in there, but I'm gonna need you to follow my lead.” she insisted.

Fox hummed as he covered his eyes with a pair of goggles and put on his respirator mask. “Normally, I’m used to calling the shots.” Fox half joked.

“Well, McCloud, need I remind you hired us to guide you through this wasteland and give you a way to complete your mission? You’ll be walking in blind without my or Laika’s guidance so do you really want to argue with me about this now?”
The vulpine was taken about at the elder’s bluntness, as was Falco.

The fabric she wore concealed Maya’s smirk “As I thought. Now if we don’t have any other complaints, let’s get a move on.”
Without waiting, she raved up the bike's engine and drove off, Fox and Falco hanging onto her and each other for dear life. Laika and Krystal followed behind them similarly, with Fox remotely Great Fox 2’s ramp with his wrist device.
With the mission now underway, the group braces itself for the journey ahead.

A bit later

“Are we there yet?” Falco whined as they rode ever farther here across the desert.
“Shut it, Lombardi. We get there when we get there.” Maya huffed.

It had been a few hours since they departed the ship; a few hours of riding across the wastes in relative silence, save for the roar of the bikes’ engines. No doubt many thoughts crossed the minds of the team, yet it was a bit difficult to talk while their drivers focused on the journey and navigating the desert.

Fox himself has many thoughts; thoughts of his wife’s safety in a den of criminals, thoughts of his son, and thoughts of how to get everyone out of this alive. Truth be told, he was relying on the coyotes to see them through; they were heading for a den of vipers in a manner of speaking.

“Hope this works out; can’t believe I am risking a pregnant woman and her child’s life like gif this. Peppy will be pissed; my father would be too.”

“Hey, look ahead.” Krystal’s voice roused him from his thoughts.

Ahead, the group could see a large sandstone structure becoming ever clearer on the horizon; at first glance, it was none too pretty. It was large, built like a fortress, and lacked much in the way of decoration. Notably, it was very round, with almost a cylinder-like shape.. No doubt it was their target.

They sped up and after a bit longer, the group arrived at their destination. Parking the bikes a bit of a ways from the structure, Fox got a better look.

In front of them, an entrance, a massive steel door. Armed thugs dressed in typical wasteland gear stood watch over the various other people Fox guessed were patrons coming and going from the palace.

Falco eagerly hopped off the bike he was on as soon as the others did too.

“Finally, that was the most unpleasant ride of my life. I had no room and thought I would fly off.

“Oh, quit complaining.” Laika huffed, dusting herself off. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Krystal, meanwhile, stared up in awe. “Impressive, how did the Baron build it?”

“He didn’t, he took it over from some previous warlord. I think it used to be an old Venomian base during the last war. Built just before Andross; death.” Maya explained as she took the lead,“Let me do the talking, and don’t look at anyone funny. We only get one shot at this…” she noted, removing her face covering and googles.

“Won’t they recognize you?” Fox inquired.

“Nope; they know nothing about what I or my daughter look like. We’ll pass right in.”
Convinced, the group complied and followed in behind the older canine as they approached the huge metal door and the canine things guarding it. Their, features were hidden under the respirator masks, and dirty clothes. Each had a submachine gun as their weapon, albeit ones that had not been in circulation in decades.

“State your business.” The thug on the left said.

“Here for work; we hear the Baron’s hiring. Also for a party.” Maya answered
The thug looked her over. “You look a bit old to be a raider and that lady there’s knocked up; Baron hires only able-bodied people, get lost.” The thug responded.

We can be useful, I assure you.” She responded “let’s let the Baron decide.”.
The thugs exchanged a glance and shrugged. “Alright,. But no funny business in there; a; just a heads up. I’d hate to have to kill a pregnant lady.” He stated, reaching into his belt and pulling out a walkie-talkie. “Open the gate, we’ve got some newcomers.”

Rather loudly, the door began rising upward into the structure, until the path was clear for the Star Fox team and Castillo family to enter.
“Remember! No funny business, got that? You ll find our recruiters in the bar area; they’ll get you situated. Bars further down the hall, just keep going straight.”

“Understood,” Maya responded, leading the group into the palace. Laika briefly noted how it might have made sense to show the insignia she had, but that would draw suspicion since she was in a group and their cover story would look false otherwise

.
After they all were inside, the large metal door closed behind them, and Fox briefly looked around. The place’s insides were, in a manner of speaking, rustic; simple sandstone walls and floor, with little in the way of decoration beyond a few ancient light fixtures on the walls, There were a few other hallways and doors he noted around.

People of all kinds, thugs and otherwise, filled the halls, all going about their business.

The group walked further and further down the hallway until they’d left the crowd behind. Maya stopped and directed the group into a corner that strayed from the main path to the bar area.

“Krystal, do you sense anyone nearby?” the old coyote inquired.

“Nope, they are in the main chambers. We have a second,” the blue vixen replied.

Maya sighed in relief. “Good, but we need to hurry. Hand me any weapons you’ve got, guards search .”

Fox, Falco and Laika handed over their laser pistols, revolver, and knives, respectively, which the old woman hid under her robe.

“I’m keeping my staff; it’s made of a material metal detectors can not pick up. And I think I may need it later.” Krystal responded.

“Fine but be careful, we don't need any suspicion. Now, listen closely: Laika will lead you through the next phase of the plan. I’m gonna take a little “detour”; set up plan b.”
“Plan B?” Fox parroted.

“Yes, Plan B. If there is one thing I learned in this world, I'd say that things are guaranteed to never work out the way you think. I’ll see about getting a cover for our escape; you’ll know what I mean if push comes to shove,”

Fox sighed. “I hope it doesn’t come to that; the quieter we do this the better.”

Maya rolled her eyes. “Yeah…” she muttered. She looked to her daughter. “Laika, be careful out there. Same with the rest of you.” She added.

Taking a deep breath, she passed Laika the keys to her own bike and patted her on the backs before walking off.

Fox gestured for everyone to head back to the main hallway.

“This joint is not as fancy as I thought,” Laika muttered as she led the group onward from the hallway.

“I’ve seen better.” Falco added under his breath as they all got closer to the bar.

Once at the doorway, they are stopped by a pair of guards, two gray apes in black body armor and combat pants, each wearing a respirator mask.

“Hands up, all newcomers must be searched for weapons. Baron Flint’s orders.”
“Sure.” Falco replied simply, holding up his hands.

The ape guards checked each Star Fox member, searching their boots, under their cloaks and arms. Thankfully Krystal was wearing long sleeves under to hide her fur. The apes also used some kind of scanner, a small square device with a screen on it, to check them.

They did that to each, then came Laika’s turn. They started with the scanner.

“Alright…” he mumbled. “What’s this?” He said, gesturing towards the lump in her midsection.

She froze up, saying nothing.

“She’s pregnant.” Falco quickly said, electing to scrutinize looks from both guards towards Laika

“A pregnant lady? Here? That doesn’t add up.” The left guard noted.

“Yeah, we’re gonna need to check it. We’ve heard that one before.” The other guard noted.

The coyote growled. “Fine, need proof? Here, got the stretch marks to prove it.”

To the discomfort of everyone, the pregnant coyote lifted her cloak and shirt, exposing her bulging stomach.

Fox and Falco, respecting privacy, averted their eyes a bit. Krystal was unposed; the guards both shifted in discomfort.

“Okay, okay, you’re clean, get covered back up; you're gonna get the wrong kind of attention in this joint like that.”
Laika recovered herself at once, growling in anger. The ape guards patted her hastily, to her further annoyance.

“Alright, no weapons. But we got to ask: why're you here? The boss is happy to have new patrons but I don’t know what business an expectant mother has here; It’s not safe.” The guard on the left added.

Laika rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the concern. I’m just taking my gang to visit my boyfriend for a little R and R.”

“And who might he be?” The ape pressed.

“The bartender “
The apes exchanged a glance.

“Come to think of it… I recall hearing Jacob knocked up someone…” the left ape mentioned.
His buddy shrugged. “Fair enough. In ya go; but stay away from the drinks! It’s bad for the kid. And watch yourself, this is not a friendly crowd, lady. Oh, but congrats on the child, though.” The right ape added.

Nodding, Laika and the Star Fox members proceeded onward, stepping out of earshot towards the group in the middle of the room.

“That was close; I was worried they would cause a scene.” Krystal proclaimed.
“ Jacob sent a rumor to the guards on purpose. One that he… impregnated someone. It was the perfect excuse.” Laika explained as the group approached the bar. "Not exactly wrong."

Arriving in the bar area, the team looked around the Baron’s court. It was large, spacious, and full of rugged-looking patrons. It was sandstone like the rest of the structure but decorated with things like exotic cacti, banners depicting scantly clad red vixen women and skulls of various alien creatures from throughout Lylat hung from the walls. The center of the room had a sandstone “throne” that overlooked the room, with pillars on either side of it.

In the corner was a bar stocked with just about every kind of drink one could imagine. Only a few chairs and tables were present. On the other side of the room, further down, there was a band of different animals giving a performance. A vixen in a scant skirt singing for the crowd. Milling throughout the crowd were scantily clad hookers all in different dress and of different species.

Arriving at the bar, the group took note of the patrons; some tipsy thugs and rogues, each of a different species. Of note was a passed-out tab ape in a beaten-up black jacket at the bar counter.

But what really got their attention was the bartender, a tan coyote wearing a black jacket with shoulder pauldrons and a cowboy hat.

“Say nothing and let me do the talking.” The coyote insisted.

Not waiting for an answer, she walked over and sat at the bar, the Star Fox team following her lead. The bartender took one look at the group and then at Laika’s pregnant belly. It dawned on him who they were, despite their disguises. 

“Laika, why did they let you come…” he uttered.

“Jacob. Good to see ya.” Laika responded.

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes locking for a few seconds. He glanced at the team and turned to another worker, a grey wolf in a dusty, tattered shirt and black jacket, who was cleaning glasses behind the counter.

“Corben, watch the bar. I got business with these four.” He ordered.

“Kay” Corben responded.

“Come with me.” He noted, signaling the group to follow him through a door behind the bar, leading towards the storage room.

The male coyote dug around through a small box hidden on the floor behind other boxes, pulling out a couple of knives and old walkie-talkies.

“Alright, you know the plan, so let's make it happen, “ the male coyote explained, each team member taking a walkie-talkie and a knife.

“Let's go over it one more time for good measure.” Fox pressed.

“You three are gonna go back out there and put up an act, gather more intel. I know the Baron has your scientist, but he’s locked away in the Baron’s personal quarters; Flint’s been trying to butter him up to join his plan. Your telepath is gonna need to get the passcodes and exact location from the Baron’s mind, then one of will go in and help Laika extract him. And of course take out the Baron on the way out.”

Falco scoffed. “It can’t be that easy.”

Jacob sighed. “Of course not. Expect some surprises. You’ll have to improvise, but hey, you’re the best of the best. You’ll manage.”

Falco shrugged, as the coyote dug out a piece of paper from the box, as well as a few blue bottle caps.

“What’s this you got there, a little game to play?” Falco teased.

Laika shot him a glare and held up the paper, which turned out to have details of the whole structure. “Of course not. It’s a map; Jacob scoped out the whole structure; I told you he would come through.” Laika insisted, as her ex held up the caps.

“I even got you a way into the Baron’s quarters; take these caps and show them to the guards when you get back there. They’re on board with my plan; these are our “calling cards”; they’ll know it means to let you in.

“Yeah. And What’s in it for you?” Falco chimed, a distrusting edge to his tone.

“Look, pal, I am just looking for a ride off the world and a better life for my family. Laika already told you that. This job was okay, but the Baron is a prick who has this coming, so I have no love for him.”

The avian seemed content with that answer and looked over the map. Krystal looked less than appeased, however.

“You are risking your pregnant girlfriend and unborn child instead of doing this yourself?” Krystal pressed.

“I insisted I do this myself; I’m the better one when it comes to this whole mercenary thing. Jacob tried to talk me out of it but I kept refusing.” The pregnant coyote explained.

Laika rolled her eyes as Krystal shook her head in disbelief. “Alright, we're gonna arouse suspicion if we wait any longer; we got the tools, now let’s get to it! We’ll figure out the rest as we go.”

Everyone nodded, grabbed their knives, bottle caps, and radios and cleared out of the room.

Once out, the Star Fox team broke off from the coyotes, who stayed at the bar while Fox, Falco and Krystal headed towards the larger crowd near the middle of the large room.

At the bar, Laika watched her three teammates walk off.

Sitting down a moment, she looked to her former lover, who was averting his gaze, absentmindedly trying to clean the counter.

“Really going to make me ask first, huh?” The female coyote thought.

Taking a deep breath, she broke the ice. “You sure you are ready for this? Once we get off world, we’ll got each other; dear mother is getting old.. ”

Jacob stopped cleaning and looked at Laika in the eyes, yet hesitated as the words came out " We’ll make it work.”

Laika smirked. “You said that before the night we… spent together and made things official. And again, after I told you I was pregnant, you sure you’re ready to leave this life behind?”

Jacob frowned. “Drifting was and is all I knew, Laika. You know as well as I do it's a fact of life here on Titania; for people like me. So no, I don’t know if I am; but I'll give it my best shot. For you and for her.”

He looked at her bump, a smile forming on her face. Laika gave a rare smile under her mask, but her expression then fell.

“And what do I tell our child then? Neither of us really thought about the consequences after of “consummating “ our relationship that night; for the second time. “The female coyote looked away, embarrassed. “ Though admittedly I hadn’t learned my lesson from last time I got pregnant,” she joked.

Jacob sighed. “ It is what it is. That’s why I am making sure we get off this wasteland and towards a better life. But i just wish you would leave this job to me instead of risking yourself,” he reminded her.

Laika rolled her eyes under her mask. “I’ve got this covered; dealt with the worst. Hopefully, it's the last time.” she noted, with a glance to her lover.

The couple stared longingly into each other’s eyes; part of Laika just wanted to rip of her mask and high-tail it out of there with Jacob in tow. A worry suddenly overcame her; what if this job went wrong and she failed? What would happen then?

In need of comfort, she stood up, ensuring no one was looking, and dropping her mask a bit, she pulled him over the counter and kissed him. The male coyote returned the gesture, locking muzzles with her for nearly a minute.
“I love you.” He told her.

“I know.” Was Laika’s only response.

They broke off, and Laika got up from her chair at the bar, putting her mask back on.

“Take care. And I’ll help you as much as I can in what comes next. Just stick to the plan and avoid danger” The bartender finished.

Laika gave him one final look. “I’ll see you after this is done; things will be better, I just know it.”

Both briefly noted Coben staring at the pair, but each shot him a death glare. The cowardly wolf ducked away and went back to arranging the drinks.

He discreetly handed Laika the emblem pin they had bought from Maniu, as well as a pair of hidden tracking devices.

“Keep this on you. Just go and find the target, then get out of there. In and out. No getting into a fight, Got it?”

Laika nodded. With that, the two lovers parted ways, Laika knowing full well this could be the last time they would see each other.

“I hope we make something better with our lives; something our daughter can be proud of. Let's just hope we make it out of this alive.”

And with that, she finally focused back on her mission, navigating the too for a way into the Baron's personal quarters.

Palace club room
“Sooo, how is this gonna go down?” Falco asked, as they stood near where the Baron entertained guests.
In the center of the room, near the throne, stood a massive black wolf dressed in a fresh black suit and pants, in stark contrast to the dusty people around him. He seemed to be addressing a large group of thugs near him. To his side was rotound brown bear, wearing a ragged brown overcoat and dusty white shirt. He had a shotgun strap and yellow eyes along with scar over his right eye.

Krystal smirked under her mask. “Leave that it to me; I have a certain charm, shall we say.” She noted, cheekily. She did not have to look to know Fox would be blushing under his mask.
Her husband put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure? It could be dangerous; one wrong move and there is no telling what these bastards will do; they’re thugs!.”

Krystal swished her tail and rolled her eyes confidently. “I got this,” she said, approaching the Baron before Fox could stop her.

“Lucky for me all I have to do is get close to him for a second; those guards at the bar entrance didn’t find my staff.” she noted, grateful her hidden weapon was still on her under her cloak.

Taking a moment to steel herself for this, she made her way through the crowd, waiting for her opening.

The Baron was in the middle of talking to a group.
“Now, the people of the wastes are getting bolder. Fighting off our raids, killing our friends, heck I heard a team went missing at that dead-end joint; “Where We Live” as those morons there call it. Now that one we don’t know for certain… yet. But my point still stands: the people of Titania think they can stand up to us; that they can be safe! Well, to that I only have one thing to say…” the Baron stated, pulling out a knife and holding it up as if to prove a point.

“Any who cross us are dead. We’ll soon put those vagrants back in their place once and for all; then we’ll rule Titania!” the Baron shouted, eliciting shouts of agreement and cheers from the crowd. The black wolf basked in the praise for a bit before a devious smile crossed his face. “Oh, and that’s just the start; if you stick with me, you’ll soon know profit and power beyond your wildest dreams. If only you knew what I had in the works…” he laughed to himself, to the interest of the crowd.

“Ah, but I can't spoil the surprise just yet; all in due time. For now, carry on, good friends. We grow in power each day, we’ll soon be the scourge of Lylat.” he finished to thunderous cheers.

The Baron himself sat back down in his throne as the bunch of thugs slowly melted away back into different corners of the room. The black wolf himself, meanwhile, pulled up a shot of expensive-looking beer from the side of his throne and started drinking, surveying the bustling activity around him as he slouched in his chair.

“Show time.” Krystal thought to herself, walking up to the black wolf’s bodyguards. The obese bear looked down at her with a scrutinizing gaze. He towered over Krystal by a head.

“What do you want? Baron doesn’t like having his time wasted,” he said, in a deep voice.
“Oh, I just wanted to talk to the Baron a bit; I ‘ve got an ‘offer’ for him,” she added, seductively.

The black wolf on the throne set aside his drink and looked down at Krystal. He soon sat up, an amused look on his face. “Oh really? Let her through, Sharli, I am always down to deal.”

The bear, Sharli, as it seemed, huffed and let her pass without incident.

Charlie

“Now what ya want, lady?” the wolf asked “I’m a busy man!”.
“Well… I just have a bit of a proposal,” she added, putting on her best and most flirtatious tone.

The wolf seemed humored.” By all means, come a bit closer. “
She continued, now standing just shy of Baron’s throne. “Well, I was hoping I could maybe treat you to a good time…” she replied, posing with as much allure as her cloak would allow. Already, she was starting to read his mind.

The Baron eyed her for a moment, as if contemplating her offer. Then, to her shock, she started laughing. “Ha ha ha… no. I’ll pass,” he mocked her. “I’ve seen this song and dance before; you're just some, pretty face who thinks they can weasel their way into money by seducing me.” he jeered. “Well, bad news, sweety: I’m NOT interested.”

Krystal was a bit taken aback at his bluntness and tone; luckily, her face covering hid her frown and expression as the wolf ranted on.

“Oh, and word of advice: if you were gonna attempt this, at least try to put some effort into it: you came up here covered in sand and hiding every last inch of your body. Why would I want some dirty little desert rat? If you’re gorgeous underneath all that I might actually have been tempted,” he mused, mockingly putting his hand to his chin as if in thought. “Oh, you poor thing: the sun must have fried your brain if you thought this would work. Why not go get some water from the bar to cool off; its on the house!” he laughed.

“If you are smart enough to figure out it was free to begin with.” Krystal read the Baron’s thoughts.

“Thank you for your time,” she said, in a faux polite tone, walking off as the Baron continued to laugh.

She hurried back to her friends, barely concealing her anger. Fox and Falco both waited in a corner near a pillar, away from the party going on.
“So how’d it go?” Fox asked.

Krystal growled. “Bastards as unpleasant as his reputation, but I got what we needed. Codes, layout of the palace, everything,” she noted, a bit haunted.

Fox took note of the weariness in her voice. “You okay?”

The vixen nodded. “Yeah, just a bit shaken. This man’s a monster Fox; the things he’s done, the things he enjoys…” She shuddered. “Let’s just get this over with.” she insisted.

With that, the Star Fox team had what they needed and proceeded over towards the bar.

“

Chapter Text

The pregnant coyote calmly walked through the halls of the palace, doing her best to look inconspicuous. The bump on her midsection drew some confused or even scrutinizing gazes from passing guards. Ignoring this, she made her way further through the hall.

She stopped briefly to activate one of the trackers in her pocket for good measure.

She then continued her walk through the hall until she came upon a doorway protected by two guards, both lacking the cloaks and gas masks of others, instead wearing body armor and grey shorts and pants. One was a brown ape, the other a grey wolf.

“This is a restricted area, only those with the Baron’s approval can pass. State your business.” The wolf said.

She flashed the security emblem.

“I’m to relieve a guard out back.” She stated.

“Why don’t I recognize you then?” The ape inquired.

“I’m a new recruit,” Laika answered.

Both guards looked at her in disbelief.

“Baron is usually a bit more picky than to hire a pregnant woman…” the ape noted. “You sure you wanna be in this business in your condition? It’s not really, lets say, accommodating.” The wolf added, a hint of concern in his voice.

Laika,then remembered the bottle cap Jacob gave her earlier. Both guards immediately stopped scrutinizing her and looked around nervously. After ensuring the coast was clear, the wolf guard addressed her.

“So you’re Jacob’s girl… the “Skull Rider?” He parroted.

“Yeah sure, whatever you guys call me. Now where is the scientist?” The woman pressed.

“Further down the hall, on the right. A really nice room. Baron’s “guest room.” Just flash that emblem at the guard, he’s should let you through, “ the wolf stated. “

“Thanks,” Laika muttered.

“But, lady, word of advice: this is no place for a pregnant woman. Baron will go berserk when he finds his prized prisoner gone; I can't believe Jacob is risking his own unborn child for this.” He noted.

Laika just huffed. “It was my choice… she muttered, pushing through the pair. She felt this worked out well

The guards got back into position as the expectant mother trudged through the sandy but well kept halls of the palace, navigating down the path. She kept her ears perked for any sign of movement. Finally, she arrived at a relatively fancy door in the hallway, made of well-kept steel; next to it was yet another canine guard in rugged clothing. He seemed to be a husky, albeit with reddish fur and brown eyes. He had a simple laser pistol in his holster.

The second he noticed Laika, gestured to the security pin. He immediately understood what it meant and started to unlock the door.

“New hire? Wasn’t aware that you were brought on…” the guard mused. Laika could see the scrutiny on his face. To her relief, he simply shrugged. “Whatever, the Baron doesn’t pay me to ask questions. If the Baron wants you to talk to the old man, so be it. In ya go,” the guard noted.

Laika nodded and was ushered into the room.

Opening it, she quickly scanned around it was well furnished; a bed with red sheets, brown rug, a desk, bookshelves and paintings of desert landscape on the walls.

At the desk, Laika noted an older red wolf, wearing a simple white shirt and brown pants, idly sitting. Based off the book that was set on the table, Laika guessed he was reading.
“What does the Baron want now?” He asked, his voice dull and unfazed. His age was apparent in his voice.

The expectant coyote was about to give him a retort before a wave of sickness washed over her, followed by pain. She clutched her stomach in pain and groaned.

She heard the chair shift and the old canine get up. “Good lord, are you pregnant?! “ he questioned, walking over to the woman. “You okay?” He asked, his voice full of concern.

She got herself up. “I’m fine; you're Galen right? I’m here to get you out.” Laika insisted, getting up. “Unless of course, you threw in with the Baron. “ she added, brandishing her knife.

“No, no, of course not. Bastard kidnapped me and has been trying to get me to help him build biological weapons; I want off this wasteland.”

Content with that, the coyote put away the knife. “Well, you’re in luck. I’m here with a- ya know what? Scratch it, you’ll just have more questions. Now, let’s get a move on before the Baron finds out what’s going on.” she suggested, as something crossed her mind. She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the trackers. She turned it on and handed it to the scientist.

“Take this and keep it close, no time to explain,” she noted. She had been originally told to just give him a tracker and get out, but maybe she could skip a step and smuggle the old wolf out of here somehow. Or so she intended.

Galen took the tracker without a word, barely glancing at it for more than a second, and put it away. He then got up from his chair, but before they could do anything a low laughter followed by the cell’s door barging open.

In walked the Baron, along with about six goons, including the one from the door. The Baron and his thugs all aimed guns at Laika, the Baron having a laser pistol like the previous door guard, while everyone else had old-looking submachine guns.

“Well, seems your plan failed. How woefully expected.” The black wolf taunted.
Laika growled and said nothing. Having no weapons nor escape plan, shd held up her hands in surrender .

Nonchalantly the old black wolf strode towards Laika, keeping his pistol trained on her. “Move and you’re dead.” He searched her for weapons, finding her walkie, and knife and taking away both.In a warning shot, he flung the knife a few inches shy of the scientist, who flinched and stayed where he was. He then switched on the walkie.

“To the buddies of the dumbass I found in my prisoner's room: might I politely request you get lost? Your plan failed, and your little friend was not as clever as she thought. I don’t know who you are but I’ll tell you what: I’ll give you all one chance to get lost; your friend here will be fine… if she plays her cards right. Cross me, however…. There’ll be hell to pay.” the black wolf added.

He kept the walkie on him, likely to listen into conversations, put it on his belt and turned his gaze towards Laika.

The coyote growled under her mask as he trained his pistol on her, signaling for two of the other guards to come over.

“Take her to my quarters, I’ll deal with her in a bit.” he ordered, before turning to Galen. “You stay here, if you know what's good for you. I’ll get what I want out of you yet…”

The thugs handcuffed Laika and began escorting her out of the room, followed shortly by the Baron himself. The coyote woman did her best to hide her own fear…

Elsewhere in the palace

The old coyote was seething in anger after she heard that voice on her walkie. She had damn near hit a wall when she had heard the Baron . It took her several moments to calm down, as she collected herself.

“I’m gonna show those bastards a new meaning of pain! He’ll wish he was dead after I get my hands on him.”

At the moment, she was in the guard post of the palace’s prison area. Shooting a quick glance at the unconscious body of the security guard, the old canine plotted her next move carefully.,She grabbed her walkie-talkie and pressed a button on it to cycle between radio signals, ensuring she used a different channel than what the Baron had spoken on. Impatiently tapping her foot as she waited for a response, the static from the signal shifted to a proper sound.

“Jacob, do you read?”

“Maya? I had my walkie on mute before I saw the signal light keep blinking. What’s wrong?” She heard Jacob’s voice respond.

Maya growled. “That degenerate bastard Flint caught Laika; you sent her straight into a trap! My daughter and unborn grandchild are in the clutches of sadistic slave- driving murder! She growled. “He has them in his personal quarters.”

Jacob gaspoed. “What?! Damnit, I should have known something would happen; I’m sorry?”

“Why didn’t you stop her!? She refuses to listen to me, and you didn’t exactly tell her “no” about this mission either.” She accused.

“I-I thought this would be safe; if was supposed to keep her out of danger.”

Maya could barely contain her anger; she half wished she were there to punch him in the face. “I don’t give a fuck, you should have tried harder to convinced her to back out. You gave your okay for her to do this! Now your lover and your unborn child are now in harm' way; stop making excuses, get off your sorry ass and help me save them!” She screamed.

She heard what sounded like a chair falling over on the other end, as if Jacob had just shot up from wherever he was.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it. I left a tracker with her; I’ll get Star Fox but what about the Baron’s guards? How are we supposed to infiltrate his chambers?”

Maya looked over the thermal detonator on her belt and grabbed it. “I’ll handle it, just be ready!”
She hung up after that, mentally bracing herself for what came next. Looting an old pistol off the guard and a cell key, she plotted her next move.

In the bar area

Fox and his friends were now conversing amongst themselves on what to do.

“Damnit, what do we now? We still have our mission but we can’t just leave her to the Baron’s whims.” Falco insisted.

Fox glanced at the entrance out of the bar area, guarded by a few thugs. “Of course not; we just need an opportunity…”

The group was interrupted when the bartender, Jacob, came rushing over to them, a frantic and panicked look on his face. he signaled the team to quickly follow him to the back storeroom from earlier.

When they were out of earshot and visual range of the room, the flustered Coyote finally spoke.
“Did you hear what happened on the comms?” He pressed.

Fox gave him a solemn nod in response.
“Damn it, I screwed up. I sent her right into the Baron’s trap; she and my baby could die because of me,” he said, on the verge of a panic attack.

Krystal put a hand on his shoulder. “It's not your fault, you didn’t know…” she insisted.

Fox signaled Krystal to back off and put both hands on his shoulder. “Quit self-blaming, it's not gonna do anything for you. Collect yourself, focus, and give us a plan; you know this place better than any of us. We were trying to figure out a way past the guards before you showed up anyway.” Fox explained

The coyote took a deep breath. “Well, the good news is I do have one in motion right now; or rather Maya does. So we’ll have an opportunity to get back there.” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a circular device. “I gave Laika a tracker for herself and the prisoner.” he said, pointing out the dots. “She should be one of those.”

Falco raised a brow. “Great. We’ll be able to keep track of Laika and the scientist if they are moved; Krystal got the palace layout from the Baron. But what might this plan of hers be?”

The abrupt, yet distinguishable sound of an explosion somewhere within the palace answered that question. The foxes were visibly shocked, along with the coyote, while Falco himself just gave a hearty chuckle. The mercenaries merely stood and watched as the room descended into complete and utter chaos; the band stopped playing and jumped up while people started flocking too the nearest exit, wanting to get the hell out of dodge.

The guards, clearly unprepared, started scrambling to make sense of the situation, some trying to control the crowd while others turned and bolted through the back exits to go and assist in whatever situation was going on, while still others were talking on communication devices, desperate for instructions.

“Well that's our cue i guess,” Jacob stated, as he quickly tapped Fox on the shoulder and pointed out a door near the stage the band was playing on, with only one confused guard protecting it.

“ That exit will take us straight towards the Baron’s private areas; no doubt Laika and that scientist of yours will be there.”
With only a nod, Fox signaled the team to move out, navigating through the panicked room and uncontrolled crowds until they made it to the exit, where the bewildered guard stopped them.
“Halt, who are you?”

Falco stepped forward and spoke. “Back up; Baron ordered us to help secure his personal quarters. He wants us back there ASAP.”

The guard, yet another gas mask-wearing, cloaked canine, sounded uncertain. “Don’t recall hearing that… why is the bartender with you?”

Falco pushed past Fox and looked the thug in the eye. “It's the Baron's orders, he doesn’t need to tell every little guard everything. Now move it.”

Jacob seconded him before the thug could retort. “Baron told me he needed me. Now, are you gonna let us in or stall us? Because he doesn’t like to be kept waiting, Coben learned that the hard way.”

“Okay okay, just get a move on.” the thug, clearly afraid of his boss, relented and let the group past him.

Further into the hallways, the group walked, trying to keep a low profile. Jacob took the lead. “Alright, keep your heads down; the Baron has had a personal interest in Laika for a while. He’ll have her in his private room; might be a bit difficult without any guns but I think we can get the drop on him…”

“What about Maya?” Krystal inquired.
“She’s got it figured out; I’ll have my guys aid us where they can; now let's get a move on.”

Elsewhere in the palace

Laika

The pregnant coyote was tied to a chair within a rather lavishly furnished room, complete with a desk, paintings of landscape, bookshelves displaying rare crystals and gold, and as well a Venomain banner on the wall. The room had a red carpet, unlike the sandstone floor of the rest of the building.

The Baron himself sat in a chair adjacent to Laika, a sly expression on his face. Flanked by several of his guards wielding submachine guns,trained on the coyote, he was no doubt confident he had her. Laika’s mask was removed, as was her cloak.

“Well, isn’t this something; the infamous 'Skull Rider' finally within my grasp. It’s funny really, all these years of you screwing up my operations and taking out my men, only for you to then walk right through the door. It was disappointingly easy to catch you; I knew someone would try to spring Galen from my clutches. You couldn’t have gotten this far without help. No doubt a few government goons from somewhere,” the old wolf mused, looking the coyote directly in the eyes.
The wolf then glanced at her pregnant belly, and scoffed.

“Oh. and I thought see you took it up the ass. Didn’t mark you as one to… well, ya know. Guess even lone wolves get lonely. But I am curious; what is it they offered you? Surely you would not take such a large risk by coming here; especially not in your condition,” he said, gesturing towards her pregnant stomach.

The coyote growled at him, her maternal instincts overriding any thought to avoid escalating the situation. “Fuck you.”

The black wolf frowned. “Oh come now, no need to be hostile. I’m here to make you a deal, I am a businessman after all.: just tell who you are working for and I’ll give you whatever you want.”

Laika was caught off guard at this. “...you’re lying. Why should I trust your word; how do I know you’ll keep it?”

He shrugged. “I guess you don’t. But you saw me pay that guard who ratted you out right? Look, I’m a reasonable guy; just tell me what you want; everyone’s got a price,” he insisted.
Laika remained silent. The wolf sighed.

“Well, here’s a story for ya; I was actually in the Venom army once upon a time. Ben had been over twenty years, before even the Lylat wars began. Bastards there we’re taking bribes left and right; Àndross was the only thing that inspired loyalty; not to me though. I bailed out of that joint once it was clear Andross was losing during the war. Became a mercenary soon after, just like all the other former Vemon soldiers. You would not believe what people like us were willing to do for money.

Arms dealers, Star Wolf, Pigma Dengar, other corner Venom soldiers, mercenaries like us, always had a price. Pigma even let his best friend, James McCloud, get murdered just for a few extra dollars. “

“Is there a point to this?” Laika retorted.

The Baron sighed. “I take it you are working with mercenaries too, no doubt they promised you something. They’ll leave you to my whims and save their own hides before they risk their lives to save you. Don’t be an idiot and think they are any different than the rest of us here on Titania. Do what’s best for you and save your family.”

The coyote seemed to ponder his words for a bit, but stubbornly refused. “Mercenaries are selfish huh? And why would I think you are any different? I’ll not work with a psycho like you.”

The Baron was unfazed. “Interesting accusation coming from a woman who kills for money; raiders, sure, but blood is blood at the end of the day. “

“I’ll kill to protect my loved ones and survive, you do it because you like it. But is there a reason we are still talking?” Laika snorted.

“Fine, I’ll be more direct; I heard a lot about you. Your skill and your supposed “magic” you possess. Your enhanced senses and that amulet of yours; I’d dismiss it as drunken ramblings but you DO have a knack for survival and fighting; you’d be useful to me. I’ll pay you whatever you want, just name your price.” he noted, gesturing towards the skull amulet she kept around her neck as a good luck charm.

Laika rolled her eyes.

“I can always use your unborn child as an enforcer in the future, if this 'magic' of yours is hereditary.”

“You’ll regret ever threatening her!” She growled.

The Baron laughed. “Finally struck a nerve eh?”
“You know it’s ironic; you lose it when a threat comes your kid’s way, yet endanger her by showing up to this joint in your condition. So, who put the child at risk first?”

Laika could not counter his point and slumped down in shame.

The Baron looked content at this.”Well, I’ll let you cool off here, think it over. “

He got up and headed for the exit to the room. “While I deal with whatever caused that explosion, I suggest you think it over. I’ll not be so accommodating when I get back.”

With that, he walked out of the room.

Further down the hall

Jacob stopped the group around a corner, ensuring the coast was clear.

He pulled out his walkie and spoke into it. “Maya, where are you at?”

The sound of gun fire and yelling could be heard from the walkie, making Jacob turn it down. “Started a riot in the prison, got into a few firefights. Learned from a guard that Laika is in the Baron;s quarters. I am on my way; keep your guard up. See ya soon.” Maya responded over the device before it abruptly shut off.

Jacob put it down and looked to others. He did not need to to see their faces, hidden now under their masks, to know they would be looking rather frustrated at the turn of events.

“Well, things are going south, “ he began, and then he explained the situation to the Star Fox team.

Fox groaned. “This is getting crazier by the minute; just give us directions, you’ve got the knowledge of this joint.”

The coyote thought for a moment. “Well, good news is my guys confirmed earlier they got the bikes where they need to be in the back of the Palace. Exit is down there,” he said, pointing out an exit further down the hall. “I say we break off; Falco and I will sync up with Maya and bounce Laika; Fox and Krystal, I suggest you two free that scientist of yours. He’s down further down the hall to the east.” he said, checking his tracking device again and gesturing another way down the hall.

“Both Laika and the scientist are still in their respective spots. So here's the plan: we save Laika, you grab the scientist, then all sync up in the back entrance and go. Sound good?”the coyote finished.

“Sounds likely to fail, but to hell with it, it’s our best shot,” Falco replied.

Fox sighed heavily. “Let's just get this show on the road; we’ll see you at the exit,” Fox added, getting ready to break off.

“Also, if you still have your walkie-talkies on you, switch channels,” Jacob added.

The mercenaries each gave the “thumbs up” gesture and Fox and Krystal headed down the hall towards where the scientist was being kept, leaving Falco and Jacob alone.

Wasting no further time, the canine and avian made their way towards Laika.

Maya

The old coyote huffed as she made her way down the hall towards the Baron’s room, checking the ammo in her revolver. It was fully loaded still;six shots was all that the weapon held.

“Best make this count.” Maya thought as she walked through the conspicuously empty hallway.

“Guess my distraction worked wonders; that prison riot and explosion must have drawn most of the Baron’s guards away from this area,” she mentally noted.

Upon making a turn down the sandstone hallway, where the Baron’s quarters were, she noticed a certain male coyote and avian covered in masks standing outside the door. Wanting to make sure it was them, she grabbed her walkie-talkie from her belt and spoke into it.
“Jacob, look to your right.”

The male coyote in front of her picked a walkie out of his pocket and listened in, then turned to face Maya, a slight look of amusement briefly overtaking her face. The two men looked at her.
“What the hell did you do over there? The whole place has been going crazy! “

Maya scoffed.”Did what I said, created a diversion . She handed a Falco a small submachine gun,“Got this off à guard. I managed to take out most of the ones pursuing me and lost the rest in the chaos. “

Falco took it but spoke. “So what’s the plan?”

The old coyote gestures to the door to Baron’s room. “Simple; act like I’m your prisoner; Jacob can improvise the rest. Now get to it, my family is there.” She ordered.

Falco played along, pretending to hold the gun to her head with the safety on, while she kept her hands behind her back. Jacob took less and the group went to the door. The male coyote knocked on it.

“It’s Jacob, I got a high-value prisoner, “ he said.

“Jacob? Sorry, but Baron said not to let anyone in.” A thug's voice responded from behind the door.

“It’s the Skull Rider’s mom; she’s the one who caused the riot in the cell block. I got her just down the hall snooping around; Baron will want to meet her.” Jacob insisted,a snide tone to his voice.

“Oh he’ll meet me all right..” Maya thought. “Wait until I get my hands on that bastard…”

The thugs on the other end seemed to murmur between themselves before finally opening the door. Jacob was welcomed in with open arms and a barrage of compliments as Falco ushered Maya over towards a corner of the room. Laika, still in the center, flashed her a brief look of pleading.

Jacob meanwhile, was conversing with a jackal thug.

“Check it out, it’s the Skull Rider herself. Who’d have thought we finally bag her in the palace, no less? “ the jackal mused.

Jacob gave a slight nod and let him talk as they approached the captive coyote woman.
“She’s not too hard on the eyes; I’d gladly have my way with her if ya know what I mean,” the jackal sadistically mused, à lecherous expression on his face.

Laika snarled at him, but this only seemed to please the jackal “My my, quite the temper. Only makes it more tempting.”

Maya’s expression contorted to one of seething anger at that comment. She had to restrain herself from attacking until the time was right, however.

Jacob tried to mask his contempt. “Let’s lay off, Baron will want her unharmed, right?”

The jackal just waved him off. “Oh, come on, Baron won’t mind; think of the boast you could make. ‘Taming’ the Skull Rider. Ha ha!”

The thugs in the room laughed in agreement with him. Jacob’s fist trembled in anger.

“Tell ya what, you can go first. You’re the same species as her. You two will be compatible.” He laughed.

The thugs on guard got caught up in their own musings of what… depravities they would inflict on Laika. They began to turn their heads away from her to talk amongst themselves. All the while Falxo flipped the safety off on his gun…

Unable to control his anger, Jacob unsheathed his knife and plunged it into the jackal’s chest, the thug’s shirt turning crimson as he stared at the coyote in shock.

The room devolved into utter chaos as bullets started flying; yet just as fast as the chaos unfolded it stopped.

The other thugs all dropped to the ground, dead. Maya stood up, still aiming her revolver where her targets had just stood , Falco doing the same. Their shots had found their marks.

Jacob took the knife from the dead thug and immediately cut Laika free, bringing her up and hugging her. “Are you and the baby okay? Did they hurt you?” he asked frantically.

Laika shared the embrace and hugged him tightly while holding her stomach with one hand. “-I’m fine… just a bit shaken up is all.” she admitted, a slight tear falling through her eyes. “I-I thought they were going to… have their way with me. They kept musing about it while the Baron was gone…” Laika admitted.

Her lover hugged her harder. “It's done now; they're gone. We’re getting out of here and off this planet. “ The two shared a passionate kiss at this, to which Maya chuckled and Falco shrugged.

The older coyote approached the pair, and hugged Laika as well. “Thank god you’re safe; I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”

Laika reciprocated the gesture. After they finished, Maya handed Laika her revolver. “It's better in your hands anyways; now let's get out of here. Those foxes are handling that scientist.” “Let’s get out of here.”

The group quickly left the room and made their way towards the hallway. “Can’t believe I ever thought the Baron’s pay was worth being around people like this; I’m just glad I told my buddies to stay away today.” Jacob commented.

“You did say you were down on your luck when you first got hired here, before we hooked up.” Laika responded to him.

“You can reflect later; what about Fox and Krystal? I trust them to handle themselves but don’t want to risk anything happening to them.” Falco noted.

Maya groaned. “We need to get Laika out of here and make sure our getaways are still intact too; they’re strong. They’ll manage.”

Falco shook his head. “I’m not risking it; I’ll move to assist them. We’ll meet you at the planned spot.”

Not wanting to argue the coyote family wished him good luck and they departed for their escape route before any more thugs could show up. Falco dashed off in the direction of Galen’s cell.

At Galen’s cell
Fox and Krystal had finished subduing the guards, and had entered the prisoner’s room.
“Galen Marek? “ Fox called as they walked into the room.

He saw the old wolf hunched over in a chair, looking panicked. It took a second call to get him to respond. He looked over at the two foxes and gasped with shock as Fox and Krystal removed their facial coverings.

“Good lord, you’re James’ boy! Boy am I glad to see you.” He exclaimed.

Fox hesitated a second. “Yeah. We can talk later; we’re here to get you out. “ he insisted.

The old wolf got up. “We have little time before the Baron returns; he has your associate, a pregnant woman. You have to help her!” He pleaded.

“Our friend is saving her as we speak; Falco will get her out. Now come on, let's move!” Krystal replied.
Fox approached the old wolf and assisted him in matching their pace as they made for the door.
However, things were not to be.

“Leaving so soon?” A low voice taunted, followed by a certain black wolf in a suit, wielding a shotgun, entered the doorway. The foxes and scientist stepped back as the four of the Baron’s thugs filed in behind their boss, all wielding different kinds of pistols. Each had their weapons trained on the mercenaries.

“Should have known Corneria would send the great Star Fox team to bounce Dr Marek. He’s worth too much, just like you.” He taunted

“Should have grabbed guns off those guards we took out.” Fox noted mentally, wishing he’d had more time. “What do you want, Flint? I take it you have a reason for not just shooting us.”

The Baron laughed. “Perceptive I see. Well it’s simple; proving I beat you will make me a legend. Plenty of former Venom true believers would pay top dollar to get their hands on you; and that exotic, hot wife of yours.”

Fox and Krystal both growled.
“Go to hell, you bastard.” Was all Krystal responded with. She was met with a snide laugh.

“Oh, one day maybe. But for now, you gonna make this easy and give up? Or are we gonna do this the hard way? “

À anxious silence overcame Fox and Krystal, while Galen groveled in fear. Inwardly Fox was begging for a way out, but luck had run dry..
Or so it seemed.

One of the Baron’s men being knocked out with a blow to the head distracted the thugs long enough to give Fox and Krystal an opt king. Both charged towards the Baron and his men, the room devolving into a melee.
Too occupied trying to shoot Falco as he dove out of the way of their fire, Krystal was able to pull out her staff and disarm one of thugs while Fox got into a tug of war with the black wolf over his shotgun.

“Let go you bastard…” the Baron seethed, as he tried to aim his shotgun at Fox. Fox barely managed to shove away the muzzle as the gun discharged into a nearby wall.

Summoning all of his strength, Fox managed to shove the firearm from Flint’s hands, eliciting a growl of anger.
Fox then repeatedly hit the older canine in the face.
“Is that really the best you’ve got? I’ve faced worse back in my soldier days. “The black wolf retorted, unphased at the fox’s punches. He shoved Fox off him.
The Baron pulled out a knife and began slashing at Fox, who dodged with cat-like reflexes. The Baron kicked Fox to the wall and attempted to stab Fox, bringing his knife overhead. Fox grabbed his arms and attempted to hold him off.

“Just… a bit… more-“ the black wolf seethed, before a chair was smashed over his head by Galen. He lost his grip and grunted in pain.

Galen backed off as the black wolf death glared at him and shoved Fox back against à wall, hitting his head harshely. “You fucker…

Krystal, who had killed another of the Baron’s thugs, interrupted by smacking the old black wolf with her staff. He barely flinched and pulled out a new knife, attempting to slash at her. She dodged his attacks, before her grabbed her staff and threw her off balance.
The black wolf pulled out a laser pistol but Fox charged him before the baron could get his aim. Fox yanked his arm around in the struggle, wild shots flying from the gun. One laser blast hit the third thug, who was assisting the fourth against Falco in a melee fight. The thug dropped dead as Fox was grasped around his neck by the Baron’s free arm, as they continued to struggle.

“You’re not worth the profit anymore..” he coldly taunted as he choked the vulpine. Fox struggled but could not break his grip.

“Argh!” The wolf shouted as his arm was stabbed by Krystal with the sharp end of her staff.

He dropped Fox and his weapon but flew into a rage, coldly staring at both foxes. Another stray bullet barely missed his head, pulling him back to reality..
Fox noted Falco in a similar tug of war, with the last thug, as they wrestled over a submachine gun. Wild shots filling the room. Fox and Krystal got ducked to the ground, as Galen followed suit.

Seeing the writing on the wall, the black wolf growled à final time and bolted for the exit., Diving to the ground o avoid the barrage of bullets flying everywhere, before quickly crawling out the door.

As the Baron fled the room, Falco finally managed to shoot the last thug, who collapsed to the ground dead.
The Star Fox team wasted no time in getting up and checking on each other and the scientist.

“Thanks for save Falco; everyone okay?”

All present gave a collective yes.
“Well, minus my head hurting, same here.” Fox finished., helping Galen to the door.

“What about the Baron? He got away.” Falco note.
“Doesn’t matter. We got Dr Marek and we’re all alive. Let’s book it; Corneria can deal with that whack job later.” Fox responded

“Would have just shot him but I was worried about hitting you guys; that last thug had a crazy grip; biullets were flying everywhere.” Falco noted.

He and the others collected discarded pistols off the ground, and Falco offered one to Galen.

The old wolf hesitated but took it. “Not my strong suit but okay…”

Falco laughed. “Whatever floats your boat. Oh and we saved Laika; they are waiting on us. Now move it!” He insisted.
Everyone exited the room and Falco led them off down the hall to their designation, moving as fast down the hall as they could.

Out the back of the palace

Within minutes, they were at the destination, having found no resistance along the way.

The back of the palace appeared to have been converted into a garage of sorts; where they stood was a wide open space with vehicles , crates,work benches and even weapons strewn around. Like a mix of a mechanic shop and gunsmith, combined with a storage area.

Towards the middle, the two dirt bikes the team had taken here were parked next to a large, rusted truck. Said truck’s color, apparently once grey, had corroded away likely after years of neglect, but it had 6 large tires, two in front, two in the middle of vehicle and two behind the bed of it. It looked like it was once some sort of military troop transport.

More importantly were the three coyotes sitting both in said truck and on the nearby bikes.

“Took ya long enough.” Maya huffed, from atop her motorbike. She had a marksman rifle strapped to her back, Krystal guessed she took from a nearby weapons cache. “Glad you made it; I take it that’s your guy?”

Fox nodded as he and the others hurried to the truck and were helped into it by Jacob. “Yeah, we got into a bit of a scrap. The Baron got away though…”

Maya rolled her eyes. “Damn!. Whatever, let's just get out of here; someone else will deal with him later.”
“Wait, who' driving us?” Falco asked, as he was helped into the truck.

“Me, tiny bird.” A masculine voice sounded from the truck’s driver seat. Falco and his team noted a large bear was behind the wheel.

“Isn’t that the Baron’s body guard?” he asked, baffled.
“Sharli, Da. “ The bear responded.

“What the hell are you doing here; aren’t you working for the Baron?” the untrusting avian pressed.

“Baron was annoying, moan about lack of profit. Not worth the pay; Jacob offered me money and chance to take over palace. Run tighter ship. I say “Da, this good.”

Krystal shrugged as she got into the truck’s bed and sat down. “Well, thanks for the help.”

“ne za chto, vixen. Now, we go.” The bear insisted as Galen got ready to climb into the truck.

The sound of a warning gunshot ringing through the room froze everyone in their tracks. About out a dozen or so thugs rushed into the room, armed with a variety of firearms, followed by the Baron himself. Three of his men aimed their marksman rifles at Fox’s group, evident by the laser sights over Laika and his heads. Another laser was aimed at Sharli's head, to cut off their escape.

“Move and inch any you’re dead!” The Baron shouted harshly. When he got a glimpse of the bear and male coyote, he looked a bit disappointed. “Jacob, Sharli, my two most reliable employees… you betray like that? Got to say, I’m hurt.”

Jacob just flipped him the middle finger and the bear huffed. “No regrets.”

Rolling his eyes, the Baron glared at Fox.
“You’ve caused me no shortage of headaches today, Mccloud. Same for your little family, Laika! I’m giving you five seconds to toss out your weapons or we open fire; you’re still worth some money alive. But my patience is wearing thin.”

Krystal saw Laika eye a fuel container on the back of a truck just shy of where the Bron’s group stood. Laika rolled her eyes and stared at her teammates.
The black wolf started counting:“Five, four, three-“
The abrupt discharge of Laika’s revolver caused the canister, along with the truck the canister was attached to, explode near the Baron’s group. “Drive!” Laika shouted, as Maya sped off.

“Get your ass in the truck!” The bear should as he hit the gas pedal, the others barely managing to yank Galen into the truck bed in time.

The whole team sped out of the garage and into the desert. Everyone pulled on their masks and goggles to keep the sand out of their eyes.

From the bed of the truck, Krystal glanced at her teammates, all catching their breaths , the palace now becoming further away from view. However, her heart sank when she saw something else leave the garage.
Àn off-road pick up truck, with wheels and a modified muffler, as well as a few hover bikes manned by thugs. The Baron rode on the bed of the truck with an assault rifle.

“Heads up, that bastard’s giving chase!” Krystal shouted, as everyone in the truck besides Galen, readied their weapons.

A barrage of bullets and lasers started flying from the Baron’s group as they began closing the gap between themselves and the Star Fox team. Everyone ducked for cover while the coyotes on bikes took evasive action.
“Movbs this damn thing, Sharli!” Falco shouted.
“It’s not built for speed; hang on! I have an ideal” The bear responded, taking an abrupt turn to the right .
Krystal noted a lot of sand dunes popping up near where they were. Trusting the bear to handle driving, she and the others returned fire on the Baron and his men. Bullets flew from all parties.

The Baron’s men got closer, one of the hover bikes getting in range of the truck, only for its driver to be shot in the head by Laika, who kept pace.

“I’ve got something for ya!” The Baron shouted, as he opened fire with his assault rifle.

Laser blasts reigned hell on the group’s truck, as everyone ducked for cover. The truck’s side was singed, but it still drove on. To Krystal's relief, they had driven up a dune. Just as fast as they had gone up, thef truck descended the hill, throwing off the Baron’s aim. To his further detriment, a well aimed shot from Laika’s revolver hit him in the shoulder, eliciting a growl of pain as the Baron fell back into the truck bed.
“Slaughter them!” The black wolf shouted, causing the pursuing motorbikes to race forward..

As they approached, the group ducked down for cover, only for Falco to smile. Krystal and Fox gasp in shock as they noticed a round object in his hands; a grenade.
“ Found this bad boy in the truck.” He said, gesturing towards a near- empty crate further ahead in the truck bed.

The whole group had a collective gasp as he activated the grenade and tossed it, blowing up two more bikes in the process.

The remaining raiders only resolved their efforts to kill the group, their boss no longer caring to take prisoners. As the truck rounded another dune hill, a bullet hit Jacob square in the shoulder as he attempted to shoot down an incoming bike.

“Argh!” The coyote shout as he fell into the truck bed once again. Fox and Falco shot the r bike driver dead, while Galen and Krystal attempted to aid the coyote.
“Jacob!!” Laika yelled in worry.

“Pull the truck to the east. I got an idea!” Maya’s voice on Jacob’s walkie-talkie sounded.

Krysral saw her activate a booster on her bike and drive further ahead. The truck shifted east, away from the dune hills and back toward flat land. Again, the Baron’s men caught up and began pelting the truck with bullets. Another, the third to last bike, got closer only for Krystal to shoot them down with her pistol; the dead driver falling off the bike and the speeder stopping abruptly in the sand.

The chase only continued through the dunes, the uneven terrain throwing off both the thugs and Fox’s group’s aim. Worst yet was when Krystal realized they had run out of ammo.

“Damn it, I'm empty. Anyone got ammo?”

The rest of the group in the truck just showed their guns and replied “no” to her. “Should have picked up more magazines off those thugs in the palace.” She thought.

They were heading down a steep dune hill by now.
The last speeder bike-driving thuig sped up, clearly intending to take advantage of their lapse in fire. Before Krystal could consider using her staff’s magic “fire blaster”, a bullet hit the thug in the head, evident only by the muzzle flash from up top of another dune.
Enraged, the Baron shouted in anger, his vehicle finally getting closer and closer. He pulled up to the side of the group’s truck.

“Say goodnight…” he growled, aiming his shotgun, as everyone to cover.

Before he could pull the trigger, another shot rang out, hitting him in the shoulder.

“Argh!” He shouted as he fell back in the truck bed in pain.

Yet another shot rang out, this time killing the Baron’s driver with a head shot, the driver’s body going limp. The truck turned, flipped over and rolled down the hill. The Baron was flung off the truck and rolled down the hill harshly as well.

With the last vehicle down, the group's truck stopped at the bottom of the dune.

“Confirm the kill.” The bear insisted.

Fox, Krystal, and Falco climbed out while Galen and Jacob sat up and looked on. Maya arrived on her bike along with Laika shortly after.

The whole group approached the wreckage of the Baron’s truck, the driver’s body stuck on the driver seat and the black wolf laying on the ground, thrown yards away from the truck; the wind knocked out of him, but still alive.

With the whole group standing over him, the old black wolf made no attempt to move upon regaining his bearings. All he did was tilt his head up to look at the group.

“Well, you got me good. You beat me. I’ll admit that much, but still: fuck you all!”
Laika gave a slight chuckle. “That’s one hell of a thing to say; I thought you might have something more eloquent.”

Maya rolled her eyes. “He’s just as much as à degenerate as the rest of the raiders on this world. Only difference is an army.”
He chuckled. “She gets it; I don’t deny what I am.” He admitted.

Jacob, Galen and Sharli approached him and joined the others.

“Well, isn’t this ironic? Brought down by my most trusted employees; I thought we had something good going on.” He sarcasticly taunted.

“You only ever were a paycheck when Ineeded it. I’d never work at a twisted joint like yours otherwise.” Jacob retorted.

“Da. Your constant rambling is obnoxious. You disgust me with your degeneracy; I regret ever working for you.” the bear spat.

“Yet you still did; money and desperation will lead us to do crazy things.” He chuckled. “Now, are you waiting on something? Perhaps for me to beg for my life or repent? Well, I have no regrets; I’ve had my fun, and I’d do it again.”

Everyone just glared at him, but Galen looked perplexed . “I still wonder; what made you do all this? All this murder, slavery, and depravity? All your years of killing others, I might inquire as to what drove you in the first place?”

The wolf laughed. “I already told you; I’m a monster. I loved the profit to be sure, but the power over others money brought; it was a thrill like no other. Just like your buddy Andross; I joined Venom out of boredom. They let me have my fgun, then I moved on to bigger and better things. The killing never stopped being fun, sure, but money brought all sorts of wonders. It’s that simpley. “ he finished, à wicked laugh following his speech.

Maya rolled her eyes and gestured for Laika to hand her the revolver, which she did.

“Any last words?” Maya inquired, loading a bullet into the revolver.

The Baron just smiled. “As I said, I have no regrets; I had my fun and pleasure. If it’s my turn,
so be it. See you in hell one day.” He finished with a slight smirk on his face.

Maya finished loading the bullet. And looked unimpressed. “Noted.”

With one pull of the trigger and a resounding bang from the gun, the Baron was shot clean in the head. He fell over, finally dead. Everyone present watched the ordeal with a mixture of contempt and mild discomfort, to which Maya took note.

“Well that’s that. Was it too “cold” for your liking?” She sarcastically asked Fox.

“Never really liked the idea of straight-up executing someone.” The vulpine murmured as he and his friends turned away from the body.

“Bastard was a murdering warmonger and a slaver. We are doing the world a favor. We couldn't risk him surviving to continue his rein. This as close to justice as we can get on Titania.” Maya hummed and knelt down, tapping the Baron’s body to ensure he was dead, and then she grabbed his knife from his holster. “Proof of kill; take a photo if you would, unless your employer wants his head.” Maya noted.

Fox complied and took a photo of the scene with his wristpad. “What of the body?” He asked.

“Leave it for the scavenger birds; it’s what he’d do. “ Maya noted, a cold edge to her voice.

“I’ll come back for the head later. I need the evidence.” the bear noted, to everyone else’s discomfort. Everyone just coldly looked over the Baron’s body, Falco flipping it off.

“Bastard had it coming; besides this was more merciful then a slow death on the desert.”

Laika shrugged , as she approached her bike, along with everyone else returning to the truck. And Maya taking her dirt bike.

“Come on; the mission is over. Let’s get off this dust ball. I know I am ready. Ava is probably up by now.” She insisted, clearly unfazed by the black wolf’s death.
With that, the group drove off.
En route to the ship

About half way through their journey back to the hip, Krystal felt relaxed again. Everyone was mostly quiet, simply soaking in the relief of being free.

Krystal herself was rather undisturbed by the Baron’s fate; she had killed or seen monsters like him killed before. It was a fact of life for a mercenary and warrior; the violence was half the reason she had wished to leave that life.But she knew the black wolf had his fate coming. She had already put that out of her mind, and since the others had too

In fact, a wave of relief waged over her as she boarded the truck and sat next to Fox. Her thoughts quickly drifted to her current situation. “We did it; the mission was over.” She reiterated to herself. “No more worrying about money, no more worrying about one of us losing our lives. We can all get off this wasteland. “Marcus will no doubt be happy to see us again.”
She looked to her husband, who was looking over the endless expanses of sand almost stoically. She put her hand to his.

“Why so gloomy? It’s done, Fox. The mission is over; we can go home.”

The red fox glanced at her. “Huh. Yeah, it is. Thank the lord, we made it. We had a few close shaves back there; not that that’s a new experience for us.” He noted.

Krystal nodded. “Yeah. But it’s different now; we can finally put this life behind us. And we can ensure our son grows up financially secure. “

Fox smiled at that. “Of course. A bit bittersweet knowing this was our last mission, so I hope, but it’s worth it.”

Krystal nodded in agreement.

Fox hummed in thought. “ I’ll admit, I was starting to regret my decision to take this job when we got into that palace; Laika’s family really saw us through that one. We were fish out of water in that joint.” He admitted, glancing over at the female coyotes riding on their bikes to the side of the vehicle.

“They risked a lot for this; we’ll have to make good on our promise. Big time.” Krystal reminded him.

He nodded. “And we will; I’ll make sure Peppy secures them something decent. He owes me. But for now, let’s just enjoy the moment, huh?”

He and Krystal fell into each other’s arms as Jacob, Galen and Falco shot them smiles.

The group just let the foxes have their moment for much of the rest of the trip.

Outside the Great Fox 2, Laika and Maya stood watching Jacob say his goodbyes to the bear. In her arms, Laika held her daughter Ava, who was dressed in her little robe. The coyotes had ensured all their belongings were loaded up, including their dirt bikes and helmets.

Jacob and Sharli had a final handshake, before the bear drove off in the truck they had arrived in. With a final glance at the bear, Jacob turned back to his girlfriend.

“So what’s in store for him?” Laika inquired.
“He mentioned taking over the palace, running a “tighter ship”. He wants to reform whatever’s left of the Baron’s gang after the prison riot; Maya freed a lot of those who were wrongfully held by him. Sharli thinks he can build something better out of the gang.”

“What exactly might that be?” Maya asked.

“Well, whatever is left of the Baron’s thugs will be less organized with Baron Flint gone. The raids should cease; I think Sharli wants to do something to stem the tide of raiders on Titania.. Maybe he’ll build a coalition of something for the towns.”

“More power to him then.” Maya responded.
Jacob walked past Laika and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’m gonna head in and have a drink, you ready to go?”

Laika hummed. “Nearly. Just give us one moment, we’ll be with you shortly.”

Her lover nodded and headed up, leaving the coyote family alone.

Maya looked at her daughter.

“Crazy to think we’re finally getting off this dead end joint.” The old coyote muttered. “Not that I’m sad; I have very few good memories left of this place.”
Laika hummed. “Yeah; not sure why a small part of me is sad to leave it all. I guess I’ll miss our house, and my friends in Where We Live.”

Maya shrugged. “Pros and cons, Laika. You can't have it all; but I am sure they would want you to move on to something better. I for one won’t miss that run-down old shack we called home.” Maya joked, gesturing once more to their old house

“I hope Pebble finds use for it; at least it won’t go to waste.”

Maya patted Laika on the back. “Eh, it served its purpose. I’m sure Pebble will love it; now, let’s not stand on ceremony. We said our goodbyes to this place, there’s barely anything to miss about life here anyway.” The older coyote insisted.

Laika looked to her child in her arms and nodded “yeah, I’m just getting all sentimental. Let’s book it.”
She gave another look around and began walking up the Great Fox 2’s ramp with Maya.

“Oh, and just so we are clear: you are never endangering yourself or your child like that again “ Maya barked.” This whole mission was a fool’s errand.”

“Yes yes. You only told me about a thousand times.” Laika conceded. “Yes it was stupid to go on this mission while pregnant. I should have listened; I get that now. At least it all worked out,”

She gave one final look back to the desert and her old home, then glanced at Ava.

“Well, I guess that’s that. Can’t believe this is really happening. I just hope, wherever we end up next, it’s a step above being the “Skull Rider.” Laika mused to herself. “Goodbye, Titania; you were hellish and unforgiving, yet still the only home I knew. “

As they entered the ship’s halls, a final thought crossed her mind as the ramp closed behind them. The pregnant coyote looked at her belly, then at Ava.
“We’ll make a better home, and a better life for you my children. Mommy went through hell for you, but it will all be worth it.”

Chapter Text

In the Great Fox 2’s living room, the whole Star Fox team, the coyote family, and Galen
were gathered, merrily celebrating with the soda and other drinks Fox and Krystal had brought with them for the post-mission celebration; both had refrained from alcoholic beverages since becoming parents, and both knew from experience that drinking while technically still on mission was not a particularly good idea.

The coyote family mingled, as much as they could, with the Star Fox team members, and talked about what to expect on Corneria. Falco and Jacob in particular were hitting it off quite well. Galen merely drank water and slumped into his chair in relief of being freed saying little.

Laika held her daughter in her arms, the little coyote sucking on a pacifier and wearing her little robe. As everyone else mingled, Laika took glance around the room, then to Galen, who was seated beside her.

“Quite the party, huh?” The old wolf asked her.
“Yeah, it's something. Never really got to have occasions like this at home, everyone getting together.” Laika muttered in response.

“I didn’t get to thank you properly for helping me escape; even if it were just a job to you, it means the world to me.” The old wolf insisted.

Laika gave him a half smile. “It was just a job, but it's kind of you to be so appreciative anyway.” A thought then crossed her mind. “What's next for you then, if I may ask?”

Galen shrugged. “Whatever Corneria offers, I suppose.”
Laika nodded in agreement as her daughter started playing with Laika’s skull earrings. “Ditto. I just hope they hold up their end of the bargain.”

Fox, standing up and tapping his glass with a fork to get attention, silenced the room.

“Alright, sorry to interrupt, but I've got something I want to say. I want to thank everyone for seeing this mission through; I know we had a few close calls back, but I’m grateful we all made it out, “ he began, looking around the room.

“Krystal, as always, I could not have done this without you,” Fox stated, to which the azure vixen smiled.

“Falco, thanks for setting this up with Laika; without your connections and her and Maya’s expertise, I doubt we could have pulled this off.”
“Don’t sweat it,” the bird replied.

Laika and Jacob nonchalantly waved Fox off. “No problem; it's all in a day's work,” the coyote woman chuckled. Fox could tell part of it was out of relief that everything worked out; Fox felt that perhaps Laika was finally able to loosen up a bit.

Maya hummed. “Appreciated. But just be sure you hold up your end of the bargain, McCloud. We risked everything to make this happen,” she sternly reminded him.

Not taking any offense, Fox approached her and picked up a holo-pad from the center table. The 4 coyotes leaned in with interest as Fox showed them a picture of a rather lavish, high-rise apartment.

A collective “ooh” of astonishment sounded from the coyote family, followed by a few smiles; even Maya half smiled, to the shock of Fox.

“This ours?” She asked calmly.

Fox nodded earnestly. “Yes, I already checked in with my benefactor, General Peppy. He had to pull a few strings, but he secured an apartment like this for you, as promised. It's not too far from where my wife and I live. We’ll fill you in on the details, but he said the rent is paid for at least the first year, and he has stuff in the works to help you all adapt and learn skills needed for jobs you might find. You’ll find out more when we land; the apartment is scheduled to be ready by the time we arrive.”

Laika gave a, as far as Fox knew, uncharacteristically huge grin. Her eyes and expression brightened up in a way Fox had not imagined possible for her, in spite of her near-constant scowl and stoic face. She enthusiastically hugged her lover, along with her daughter, crying tears a joy.

“We did it; were finally free of this lifestyle.” Jacob stated, sharing a hug with his girlfriend.
Laika embraced him and kissed him on the lips. She then kissed her toddler’s forehead. “You hear that, sweetie? Mommy and Daddy kept their promise; I can’t wait to show you your new home.” Laika's baby talked to her toddler.

“Shiny; I like.” The toddler responded, glancing at the pristine surfaces of the image.
Her parents shared a life, while her grandmother kept a mostly stoic gaze.

“So you’re good for your word afterall. But i think i’ll wait until we actually get to the apartment before I start leaping for joy.” she stated.

Fox shrugged. “I assure you I am, you’ll see.”

Laika ignored her mother’s comment and yawned rather loudly, before resting her hand in her pregnant belly. “I’m going to bed, this momma needs a rest.” She announced, getting up slept. Jacob helped his lover up from her chair.

“Nighty night.” The toddler added, getting a collective “awe” from the room.

“I’m with you; all this action is wearing on my old bones. I need some rest( I just hope Ava sleeps through the night this time.” Maya mused, getting out of her chair as well. The coyote family was waved off as they started walking out of the room.

“By the way, you’re getting the chair, Jacob,” Maya informed Jacob as they headed to the door.
“What?! Why do I get the “ he began, as Maya stopped and looked at him.

“Because I’m old, Laika’s pregnant, and you are in better shape than the rest of us. And we all just went through the same dangerous mission.” The old coyote stated flatly and sternly.
Jacob took the hint. “Fair enough,” he then glanced back at the rest of the room.

“Good night.” The figure finished as he walked off with the rest of his family.

Watching the coyotes leave the room, Falco yawed as well and began to leave the room himself. “I’m tired too, all this excitement is a bit much. See ya in the morning.” he told everyone, who all wished him good night in turn.

Now, it was just the McCloud family and Galen left in the room. The old scientist took another sip of his drink and set it down.

“I was hoping we would get to talk, in private.” Galen began.

Krystal could already tell what he was thinking, but opted to let the red wolf speak up.

“First off, thank you all for getting me out of there. I thought that was the end; I was never gonna comply with what that fool wanted.”

Fox hummed. “What did The Baron want with you anyway? And how did he capture you exactly?”

Galen sighed. “He paid off a group of off-world pirates to track my location; I was taking a shuttle off Fortuna to where my family was on Katina; I had been doing some work researching the flora and fauna on it. Anyways, the Baron’s goons ambushed my shuttle and threatened to kill everyone on it unless I came with the. I complied and they kept their word, likely to avoid the heat from the authorities if they got accounts of murder. I am not sure how the Baron got wind of where I was; maybe I was not as careful with concealing my movements as I thought. I try to avoid the limelight in case people are still bitter about what they thought I did to cause the Lylat Wars. “ He explained.

Fox’s gaze narrowed, but he remained silent. “As for what the Baron wanted? He kept trying to get me to help him reverse engineer some of the biological and chemical weapons Andross created back during the Lylat Wars; I don’t know the full extent of his plans, but he certainly was dead set on getting the secret out of me. I guess that the Baron wanted to sell these weapons to the highest bidder or just flood the black market with them; it would have made him rich beyond his wildest dreams and immortalized him in Lylat’s history. Maybe that's what he wanted?” The red wolf shrugged.

Fox looked at him. “I see them; well, I’m glad the bastard is dead, in that case.”

Galen nodded, a bit hesitantly. “I never really liked the idea of being glad over one's death, but the Baron truly was a twisted piece of work. Titania and Lylat are safer without him, and now we don’t have to worry about him coming after any of us in the future. It's done.”

The McClouds nodded in agreement. The red wolf seemed to ponder something before he spoke up again.

“Fox, I know we never really knew each other well back before Andross’s exile and the Lylat War, but I want you to know I’m sorry about everything that happened. I know I couldn’t have controlled what he did, but with everything he did with our research… I still feel guilty for having ever helped him.”

Fox was silent for a moment. “I don’t blame you; it was Andross who abused the research. You were trying to help people.”

The red wolf looked moved by this, but frowned. “Didn’t end up doing akt of good; even now, I still don’t understand what drives men like Andross or Flint to the sort of depravity they indulged in, just for power. Even now, I still do not know what made Andross go mad. It’s lucky good people like you exist to stop people like them.”

He put a hand on Fox’s shoulder. “I may not have known your father well, but I did know him a bit. He would be very proud of you today.”

Fox gave him a slight smile. “Thank you.”

The red wolf hummed. “How is your mother doing? I only made her a handful of times alongside James, but still. “

Fox and Krystal shared a look and smiled. “She’s fine, still lives on Papetoon right now; but she has been thinking of moving over to Corneria for about a year; she started doing so a little while after our son, Marcus, was born.” Fox stated, smiling proudly.

The red wolf looked up. “Oh, that’s good to hear. And congratulations on the child. “

“He’s why we took this job; we needed to contract to provide for Marcus,” Krystal explained.
The red wolf seemed to understand. “No wonder, I don’t blame you. Mercenary work is hard; knowing Corneria, I am guessing they offered a lot for this; no doubt they wanted something from me?” The scientist pressed.

Fox sighed. General Hare authorized me to inform you that the Cornerian Government is interested in you and your… abilities. They offer you plenty: high pay, protection, housing, and benefits for your family, whatever you want. Even clear your name.” He stated.

“And I am guessing they are interested in my terraforming technology; no doubt they'll have use for it in the years to come on their more barren worlds. Dare I guess, I would imagine they want to see about making places like Macbeth and Titania more hospitable,” he mused.

Fox barely flinched. “I’m just the messenger; Peppy said you have the option to decline, but they’ll be very…persuasive. “

The old wolf gazed with a long sigh of resignation. “I’ll take their offer; it’s too magnanimous to pass up. If I can do some good and clear my name, it’ll make things much easier on my family. To say nothing of what this will do for my grandchildren and their parents; they will finally be able to get out of hiding, live lavishly for years to come…” he smiled at the thought.

“I’ll take up their offer, but we will have much negotiation to do.” He said.”I want to ensure my research doesn’t end up in the wrong hands either, so I’ll have a lot of rules to set.” He noted, mostly to himself.

“Soooo, yes then?” Krystal presented.

The old wolf chuckled a bit. “Always looking for a straight answer, it seems. Yes, I’ll accept these terms; it's too enticing to pass up, “ he yawned and got out of his chair, extending his hand out to Fox and then Krystal, who each shook it. “That’ll be that for now, if it's fine. I’m tired; I barely could sleep at that bastard’s palace. I’m going to bed,” he stated.

“There’s a guest room further down the hall, second door on your left. It should be set up.” Fox insisted.

“Thanks.” The scientist waved them off and exited the room, finally leaving the pair of vulpines alone.

Krystal sat down next to Fox again, the pair having moved to the sofa in the room.
Fox breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, guess it's finally over then. The mission is officially complete,” he noted.

Krystal laughed a bit, making Fox raise his brow.

“What’s so funny, Krystal?”

His wife finished laughing and smiled. “Oh, it's more of a laugh of relief. I’ve been on edge since the moment we got to Titantia; I kept thinking something would go wrong and one of us might get hurt or worse. This planet was wild, to say nothing of that palace. I had never seen a place so uncivilized. To say nothing of the constant violence from raiders.”

Fox shrugged. “It is nothing I am not used to in this line of work,” he replied.

“Which why i am glad all this is over. Everyone made it out and we can finally put this life behind us; I’ve been wanting to do that ever since you got me pregnant.” Krystal noted.

Fox put his hand on her shoulder. “You already know I’ve been thinking the same thing; Marcus really changed our lives. But I’m happy for it, the mercenary life just isn’t worth it anymore.”
“What, are you gonna trade all the adventuring and excitement for changing diapers and such?” Krystal jested.

Both shared a laugh. “Raising children is its own adventure,” Fox affirmed. “ But I’ll admit, at some point in my life it was, back when I started out. I was barely twenty when I first started leading the team; I felt like I could take on the world. Then the work dried up for a few years until Sauria and I met you,” he said. “Couldn’t imagine my life without you ever since.”

Krystal kissed him on the cheek. “We’ve had our fun, but as I said, I am glad it's behind us. I don’t know how much more of this life-or-death situation I can take.”

“We both felt that since Marcus was born; so let's make this our exit and end our careers on a high note.” Fox insisted.

The two shared a rather passionate kiss and held each other for a solid minute.
“I’m glad it's done. I’m glad we had our run of things, but now all I look forward to is seeing Marcus’ face again when we get back home.” Fox insisted.

“Ditto; I’ve been thinking about him nonstop. I’m just glad we left him in capable hands.”
The pair finally got up off the sofa and headed for the exit, hand in hand. “Let's hit the hay.” Fox insisted.

A day or two later, early morning on Corneria

About two days later, the Great Fox 2 was nearing the end of its journey back to Corneria. The journey back was rather uneventful; everyone simply went about their business, lounging around and conversing with each other. Fox had Krystal show the coyote family some of the conveniences of more high-tech conveniences they had on board the ship, such as the kitchen appliances and coffee, something hard to get hold of on their home world.

Between the talking, sitting around, and watching TV, the trip was rather normal, as far as the McCoulds would consider. There was a bit of turbulence with Ava’s crying, making it hard for other people to sleep during the trip, but everyone at least tried to be accommodating.
Now, the ship was due to arrive within Corneira in a few hours. It was currently morning and time for breakfast.

Fox and Krystal were the first to be up that day, used to having to wake up early. Falco followed soon after, along with Jacob; the older canines, Maya and Galen, were still asleep, however.
Having already finished breakfast, Fox and Falco conversed on the sofa not too far from the kitchen area, while Krystal went to get some more coffee.
The room door was opening up nearby.

Laika was wearing a maternity robe Krystal had given her on the flight over, one she had left onboard by mistake after a previous trip she and Fox had taken in the past. In Laika’s arms was Ava, who was wearing a short brown robe and sucking on a pacifier.
She looked at Krystal pleadingly. “Can you take her for a moment, please? I just changed her, and got over a bout of morning sickness again. I need a moment.”

Krystal nodded and complied, taking the toddler from her mother. “Thank you,” Laika added, before turning her attention to the coffee machine. She quickly grabbed a cup from the cabinet and began making her drink.

“Raiding our coffee, I see?” Krystal teased as she warmly smiled at the child in her arms.
“It’s addicting; I hardly got anything like that on Titania. I can’t fathom how I made it through life without; between the raiders, ‘joys’ of being pregnant, and the endless needs of my daughter, I tend to feel a bit drained of energy.” Laika notes, sarcastically.

She quickly made a cup of coffee and drank it voraciously, before reaching for her daughter back from Krystal. Pecking her on the forehead, and placing her daughter on her hip, she walked next to Krystal.

“How’re you sleeping?” Krystal inquired.

Laika sighed in relief after another sip of coffee. “Just fine, aside from Ava’s crying, this bed is better than anything I've ever had.” She took a sip of her coffee. “How far off are we from our destination?”

Krystal smiled and looked at a device on her wrist, a PDA like what Fox had.
“R.O.B. said we would be approaching very soon; he said so about an hour ago.”
Laika’s ears perked up in excitement as she finally looked over to the nearby windows, in the front center of the room, past the sofa and sitting area..

A lush planet of vibrating blue oceans and green land was clearly visible from what the rooms view. Laika gasped in shock, and approached the window, standing in front of it. She just stared at the planet in wide-eyed- disbelief.

“It’s… beautiful… I have never seen so much greenery and water in my life.” Laika proclaimed.

Krystal, followed by Jacob and Fox, approached Laika and stood near her.
“You can say that again; I wouldn’t believe it myself either. Been on Titania my whole life before this moment.” Jacob noted.

The foxes let them bask in Corneria’s splendor for a few moments more before Fox spoke up. “Yeah, it never ceased to be a sight for sore eyes for me either, after getting back from a long mission,” he stated.

Laika and Jacob both hugged their daughter. “See, sweetie, mommy promised you we would get to a better place.” Laika cooed.

She passed the child off to Jacob, who hugged her affectionately. “I knew we could make it happen one day. You’re gonna love it, Ava. I just know it,” he told the child.
Ava smiled up at him and stared wide-eyed at the planet just like her parents. “Its big! So blue!” she proclaimed.

“Well I’ll be, we made it.” An aged voice from behind everyone sounded. The voice’s owner, Maya, approached and stood next to her daughter. She was dressed in an old white night gown.
“I’ve only been off Titania a few times in my life; been so long since I've seen anything this green. Well, maybe I’ve not seen it to this extent,” she mused, admiring Corneria. “Wish I had the option to move us to a place like this sooner…”

Krystal shrugged. “Better now than never, right?” she tried.

Maya chcukeld a bit. “Yeah, perhaps. Thanks for the lift over here, but forgive me if I wait to jump for joy until we actually see where we’ll be living; the planet's nice, as is that apartment you showed us, but I save my happiness until I see the end results with my own eyes.”

Fox hummed. “You’ll see it soon enough; we’ll be landing very soon.” he said. “Now if you excuse me, i am gonna go wake up Dr Marik; he’ll want to be ready when we get to the hangar. “ he insisted, before walking off.

The coyote family stood admiring the planet for a while longer after he did so.

(An hour and a half later, at the Corneira City, Cornerian Defense Force aircraft hangar. )

By now, the ship had been cleared to land and had done so. Everyone had eaten breakfast, gotten dressed and were in the process of walking down the Great Fox 2’s ramp.
Fox, Krystal, and Falco led the way, glancing around the area. The hangar was massive, spacious enough to hold ships like the Great Fox 2. Various other spaceships, of differing sizes and shapes, were parked throughout the hangar, being attended to by CDF engineers and pilots. Military personnel of different ranks walked throughout the hangar, attending to different matters.

But what got the group’s attention was the group of government and military officials standing before them, a few dozen yards shy of the Great Fox 2. Most were canines wearing things from suits and sunglasses, to military uniforms of different ranks. There was no doubt in Fox’s mind that they were government officials here to collect Dr Marik.

In front of the group was Peppy, dressed in his red general’s outfit. Fox approached him first and shook Peppy’s hand.

“Great to see you back safe and sound, Fox. I got your message; I’m pleased to hear you and everyone are all right. And you succeeded in your mission; I’m sorry if I ever had my doubts.” The general stated.

Fox shrugged. “You were just coming from a place of concern. Things got a bit dicey, but it's over now; the Baron’s gone. And as you can see, Dr. Marik is right here,” he said, gesturing towards the old sicinetist, who was approaching the general.

Peppy glanced at Fox. “Give me one moment.” Then he turned to Galen and extended his hand to the scientist. “Dr Marik, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am General Peppy Hare; I understand you knew my old friend James a long time ago, but I don’t believe we ever met prior,” he noted.

Dr Marik nodded. “Pleasure to meet you as well, General. We never met, but I’ve heard many wonderful things about you and your work in Star Fox. I only met James a few times, but he was a good man; he spoke highly of you, though. Glad to see you in person finally.” The red wolf greeted.

He glanced at the canines in suits flanking the general. “If I may be forward, Fox told me about the government’s offer; I believe you had something you wished to ask me? “
Peppy nodded. “Yes. I won’t waste your time, I understand you have much on your mind. If Fox told you, then I believe you already understand what we have to offer,” he gestured for two of the canines in suits, a greyhound and a blue heeler, to come forward.

“These gentlemen are with the Cornerian Science Division, working on half of the Cornerian government. If you would be so kind as to follow them, they will escort you to an office and brief you more of the details of our offer. After that, it's up to you to decide your course of action; should you decline, we’ll arrange transport for you to return home, wherever that is for you currently.” The hare explained.

The scientist nodded. “Very well then, general. I’ll be taking my leave with them; i imagine we will talk more later.” the men shook hands and the Science Division representatives moved to escort Galen. They began walking away, towards the exit to the hangar.

Peppy turned back to Fox. “Thank you for waiting. I won’t hold you up, I know you will want to get back home and see your son, Fox. Your payment has already been transferred.”
Fox nodded and shook Peppy’s hands. “Thank you; Krystal and I will head out in a second; we want to see Laika’s family off.”

The general nodded and turned towards Laika and her family. He signaled for them to approach.

“You must be the Castillo family, yes? General Peppy Hare,” he said, reaching out his hand.
Laika passed her daughter off to Maya and shocked the hare’s hand.

“Plesaeure to meet you, General Hare. I apoloigze we weren’t better dressed for the occasion.”
Peppy shook his head. “No need. Now, it's a fine bit of work you did helping Fox and his team rescue Dr. Marik; I must thank you personally for doing so. Now, as I assume Fox told you, we have your accommodations prepared and a car already waiting for you once you get out of the hangar. I just need you and your family to read this document for legal reasons and sign off.”

One of the hound dogs in suits nearby handed a tablet off to Peppy, who then turned it over to Laika. The coyote signaled her family to take a closer look at it and held it in view.
Watching them glance over the document on the tablet, Fox heard the old coyote sigh in relief. She handed it off to Laika and Jacob, who each took turns going over everything.

“Just a disclosure agreement, we’re to keep this whole thing on the down low, in case we saw anything ‘vital’ to the government. It's just liability,” she muttered to her daughter and Jacob.
Laika took her finger and signed off on the screen before handing it back to Peppy.
“We understand it all then. We agree to your terms,” she stated.

Peppy nodded and signaled for one of the canines in suits to approach; it was a male foxhound. “Mr Whyte here will drive you to your new place then and help you get acquainted.”
Laika smiled like the rest of her family and gave the general a nod of thanks.

“Pleasure doing business with all of you; we’ll try to visit you soon enough.” she noted to Fox and Krystal as they began to leave.

“We have your address, we’ll be in touch.” Krystal stated as the coyotes were led away by the fox hound aid, waving goodbye to everyone, including to Falco.

“Take care, Laika. Hope you settle in well; I’ll talk to you more later.” Falco added.

With that, all four current or former Star Fox team members were left together.
“Well, I guess thats that. Great work, everyone. And Falco, thank you for helping Fox nad Krystal on this, I don’t know where they would have been without you and your friends there.” Peppy noted, referring the coyote family.

Falco casually smirked. “You know me, old-timer. I always see us through.”

Peppy smirked at him, “You never change, Falco. And honestly; I can appreciate that. Now, you payment as already been sent to your accounts.” Peppy noted. “I just like to remind you this mission is to remain confidential.”

Falco nodded. “Yes, yes. I recall the document you sent to me before leaving. All is good,” he noted, glancing at the McClouds. “Now, I think it's time I moved on; it's good to see you guys, and I am glad this worked out, but I think you two have more important things to be doing than hanging with me. I don’t want to hold you up from seeing your son.“ Falco noted.

Fox and Krystal each shook their hand and gave him a final hug. “Thank you again for all your help, Falco,” Fox noted, getting a nonchalant shrug from the bird.

“What next for you then?” Peppy asked the avian.

“Got a date with Katt, she’s waiting for me at a bar nearby. That and I will enjoy some R&R. I’ll just take a cab. Pleasure seeing you all again.”

He waved goodbye and proceeded to walk off towards the exit, with his former teammates waving goodbye.

Peppy looked at Fox and Krystal one more time. “Well, I guess that's that then. I want to again thank you both; I have more things I have to do now. My schedules never empty, sadly, but before you go…” he trailed off, placing his hands on Fox and Krystal’s shoulders.

“I want to say, I am very happy for both of you. I was nervous about putting you both at risk, especially now that you have a son to care for. But I am glad this worked out; you both did well. You have always been some of the best pilots and fighters I have ever known and had the pleasure of working with. But please, let this be your last mission, I beg you.”

“Peppy…” Krystal began before the hare cut her off.

“No, no, listen. I know you’ve been trying to leave the mercenary life since Krystal was pregnant, and that I said this before, but this time I mean it. So that is why I must ask both of you to promise me: this is your last mission. That you’re truly going to leave this life now.”
Fox and Krystal looked at each other, and a knowing glance was shared between the pair of foxes.

“ I swear, I’m done this time. I’m leaving the fighting life behind me.” Krystal assured him.

Fox sighed and nodded. “It's truly done this time; our time in Star Fox is over. Krystal and I are putting that behind us. We had a good run, but Marcus needs us now, and I don’t want to be away, risking my life for money while he grows up. I’ll keep looking for other jobs.”

Peppy sighed and nodded his head. “Thank you; I know its a huge thing for you two. It was for me, and Slippy. But I assure you, you’ll be happy; I was in a similar position once when my daughter was young, back when James led the team. You miss out on so much of your child's life staying in the mercenary business, Fox. I don’t want to see that happen to you.”
The group exchanged a hug.

“Now, go on. I don’t want to hold you up any longer; your son will no doubt be happy you are home.”

Fox and Krystal smiled. “Of course, thank you, Peppy.”

The McCloud began leaving the hangar, as Peppy and his entourage did the same. Fox and Krystal felt a large amount of emotions as they took a final glance at the Great Fox 2, but their thoughts about their son guided them out of the hangar and toward where their car had been parked before the trip.
For now, all they wanted was to get home and see Marcus’ smiling face.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city. Suburbs district

Fox and Krystal were finally back at their friend's house. Knocking on the door to the or apartment, a grey female wolf in a pink dress and a large black wolf in a red shirt and black pants answered. The female was holding their son in her arms.
“Tela, Fang!” Krystal greeted, exchanging hugs.

“Krystal, Fox. Good to see you both are back safe and sound. ”

Fox nodded. “It was crazy, but we made it; how was our boy?” He inquired, being handed his son by the male wolf.

“He’s fine, missed his parents. Not really a fan of naps but he was good.” Telia stated.

“We managed fine,” Fang added. “Where’s Falco?”

Fox chuckled. “He excused himself to go visit his girlfriend, Katt. She was waiting for him at a bar when he returned.”

“Thanks so much for watching him, you too. You were super helpful!” Krystal proclaimed.
“No problem; do you wanna come inside?”

The wolf couple exchanged a few more words of gratitude, and the McClouds said their goodbyes before departing the house for their car.

With the babysitters gone, Krystal and Fox set their son into a booster seat and shared a hug.

“Mommy and daddy missed you, Marcus,” Krystal stated.

“I miss you, too,” Marcus responded.

Fox hugged his son tightly.

“It’s finally done. We are in the clear.” He thought as he got into the driver's seat. “Now we can focus on raising you.” Fox thought.

The two looked to their son in the back seat with a smile and got ready to drive home. The longing to be back safely in their own home was all to abundant for the adults.

As they drove through the streets of the city, heading back towards their house, a feeling of relief washed over the two adults once their apartment building came into sight. Never before had they been so relieved to be done with a mission; for Fox and Krystal, this was the perfect way to end their careers as mercenaries.

Within minutes, they were getting ready to park their car in the garage of the building, and a few minutes later they were already upstairs in the house, to exhausted to bother bringing up their luggage. Once inside their house, both plopped down on the couch with their son, and shared a hug.

“I love you, Marcus, love you, Krystal.”

Fox added as the pair continued their embrace. “Everything will work out from here,” he promised his son and wife.

About two hours later, Corneria city residential district. Luxury Towers Apartment complex

Laika and her family stood in their new home, a lavish apartment with many amenities they had never seen before on Titania. Wooden floors, a lavish marble wall and ceiling, a kitchen with a view of the city, and three bedrooms, it had it all.

The coyote family had just been let into their new home and handed a key card. all their luggage from the Great Fox 2 retrieved by the the general’s attendants after they got to the escort car at the hangar, was loaded and was brought up to the apartment by the aids.

Now, everyone was glancing around at the lavish fixtures. From the new furniture, sofa, appliances, and beds, and even the new crib left for them for Ava, they felt content. Their dusty old bags, full of robes, books, a few firearms, and a few decorative skull ornaments of Maya’s, stood in the corner of the room.

After excitedly looking at everything, the family gathered on the sofa.

“Well, we did it,” Laika spoke out loud, in disbelief. “We got off of Titania.”
Jacob laughed in disbelief. “It’s like a dream; we finally did it.” He added, kissing Laika and their daughter on the cheek.

Maya Sherwin smiled. “Well, I’ll be damned, they told the truth. Not a bad place; far nicer than that old shack we lived in.”

Soaking in the moment, the family all collectively smiled.

Finally, Maya spoke.” Not to dampen things, but we’ll have a lot of figuring stuff out to do. Maintaining this place, bills, figuring out how to adapt to Cornerian life…” she noted her daughter's “ just shut up” glare. “But I think we’ll adapt.”

The parents kissed their daughter’s forehead while Maya got up. “I’m gonna go have a nap; the room on the right is mine. Glad we all made it in one piece.”

With that, she left the room, Laika looking at her daughter.

“See, sweetie, mommy promised we’d get a better life.”

The puppy smiled at her parents and looked up at her mother. Her parents embraced their child and sat there, finally feeling content and relief; a feeling they had scarcely felt in years.

4 months later

Fox walked through the door to his apartment and hung up his coat as he finally got home from work.

“I’m home,” Fox announced as he entered the living room, still a bit of a mess of toys as always. Marcus had grown beyond the need for play playpen, so the couple had set out toddler gates to the hallways instead, so there was less worry about tripping over anything.

Krystal, who was wearing a simple blue dress, held their toddler on her hip. The two-year-old was wearing a simple white shirt and grey shorts.

Approaching them, Krystal and Fox shared a kiss. “Welcome home, honey,” she greeted. “How was work?”

Fox smiled. “This new position they gave me is something new to me. I never really saw myself as a flight instructor.” Fox noted.

“You taught me how to fly.” Krystal jested. Fox shrugged.

“Yeah, but working at a commercial flight school is something else. So many rules and regulations we have to follow and learn, even for us instructors. It's a lot more stringent than what I learned. The Cornerian Airlines and Space Travel agency are a different beast from being a fighter pilot. ” Fox noted.

Krystal smiled at him as she passed off their son to Fox. “You’ll get used to it. Its only your second week out of training.”

Fox nodded, and the pair sat down on the sofa. “How were you and Marcus?”

Krystal smiled. “Great. I made some more progress in my online classes; soon enough, I’ll be ready to get my certification to take the proper test and work in the airline industry.” Krystal noted. “And Marcus is great; I’m excited about this new daycare he’ll be attending. It’ll be good to get him some more friends his age and playmates.”

The pair shared a hug and kissed their son on the forehead, who cooed in response.
The past few months had gone smoothly for the McCould family; the liquidation of their assets had finally made progress. Slowly, all their ships and remaining weapons, save for their blaster, which they kept on their person, were being sold off to Cornerian military contracts. The Arwings had been bought by the Aerospace Division of the CDF, under a new program Peppy had been overseeing to improve their CDF's fighter squadrons. Slippy and his family, a group of engineers and Aerospace researchers, have been brought in and appointed to oversee the project.

As for their mothership, the Great Fox 2 had been bought by the Cornerian Aerospace Museum for an exhibit about Star Fox and its illustrious history as heroes of Lylat. R.O.B. 64 had been given to Slippy and reprogrammed to serve as an assistant to him in his operations.
Fox and Krystal themselves had truly left the mercenary life, and, after about two months of further searching, were finally able to secure positions at their respective jobs and training. Their son Marcus, was due to start daycare once his mother started her job. The money they got from the mission had been used as a much-needed buffer to cover any expenses in the interim, beyond what the CDF covered as part of the mission contract.

Krystal seemed to think about something as they turned on a show for Marcus on the TV.
“You know, perhaps it would be good to have Laika’s family over again soon; Ava and Marcus enjoyed the last few play dates.” She noted.

Fox looked son, whose tail started wagging at the mention of Ava.
“Yeah. Laika did say they’ve been enrolling Ava in daycare at some point to socialize her,” he added.

Marcus started fidgeting and his father set him down to go play in the living room, watching him as he did. Marcus’ parents happily kept an eye on their son as he went to retrieve his latest toy ship, an Arwing Slippy had made for him, from the storage been under the tv stand.
Krystal and Fox shared another kiss as Krystal and Fox moved to the kitchen to start making dinner, gather the utensils, and conversed with Krystal about what to do next.

As he did this, he took a second to soak in the sight of his son happily playing with a toy in the living room while watching his favorite show, Blueyy, of course, while Krystal and he were preparing for dinner.

“It's gonna take a while to get used to this kind of downtime being the norm. But I could not be happier.” Fox thought-thought to himself. He knew getting used to a more mundane life would be like trying to unring a bell; even two years of living on Corneria, it was still crazy to think how different it was from the life of a mercenary. It was still hard to believe that that lifestyle was truly done for him.

But with a final glance at his family doing their stuff, Fox felt confident he would be content with this new life.

“For them, it's worth it,” he thought, before finally helping Krystal set the table.

Meanwhile, at Laika’s apartment

“Is this the best Corneria has to offer for children’s entertainment?”

Maya murmured as she sat in front of the TV in the living room in her chair, watching a certain show about a blue heeler and her family. Her granddaughter, Ava, was enthralled by it, watching the show intently from her spot on the ground. The little coyote wagged her tail in happiness.

“Oh, but come on, mother; she loves it,” Laika responded from her spot on the sofa. “It's pretty good; at least the characters aren’t obnoxious.”

Maya grumbled. “It's too saccharine and colorful.”

Laika just waved her off as she glanced at Jacob sitting to her side. He seemed pretty intently interested in the show as well.

“Hmm, I like the blue kid’s father; he’s funny,” the male coyote noted. His wife chuckled a bit.

As it was, Laika’s family had been adapting to the Corneria living quite nicely. The three adults had been given working permits, and their citizenship applications had been expedited by the government, courtesy of General Hare. They were done for full approval within the month, after which Laika wanted to look into daycare for Ava and her eventual next-born daughter.

The government had supplied them with an assistance program to help get the coyotes accustomed to Cornerian life, which had taken some time. Luckily, in recent months they had managed to get acquainted with people in the area, especially help of the McCloud family. As well as Falco, when he was in town visiting.

“Again, it's too ideal; I curse the McCoulds for getting Ava hooked on this. Where’s the danger and grit?” Maya huffed, breaking the silence of the room.

The other two adults just waved her off. Laika glanced around the room, taking into account its surroundings; the family had hung up a few banners and false skulls at Maya’s insistence, as a way to keep in touch with their culture and keep the memory of where they had come from. Upon the mantle above the TV, hug Laika’s old skull biker helmet; Laika had been unable to leave it behind, as she had it for many years, despite the nasty times it had both represented and gotten her through.

Laika could still not believe how different things were now; she wore a red maternity dress, cheap for Corneria, but newer than anything she had ever worn before. Most of her old clothing on Titania was simply handmade from old or worn fabrics or sold by vendors. Her mother simply kept to her habit of making her own clothing, wearing a brown gown, albeit the fabric had been less worn than anything she bought on Titania, as Cornerina’s shops prohibited a plethora of fresh material for her. Ava wore a simple red toddler dress handmade by Maya, while Jacob wore a newer white shirt and jeans.

For the coyote, it was nothing if not heavenly to just be able to sit and enjoy TV like this together, without any concerns of losing their lives to raiders or in gun fights. Laika put her hand on her stomach, noting how her bump had grown over the past few months. She was in her third trimester by now, with the baby due in the next month and a half.

“I’m so excited you will get to grow up in a peaceful environment,” she thought to her unborn child, as well as to Ava. “Certainly worth the cravings and morning sickness.”

Taking a look around at her family, Laika could not help but feel happy. She could scarcely recall moments she felt that in the past several years. Other then fleeting joy when she got home to see her daughter, the only times she could recall was Ava’s birth, her meeting Jacob, and perhaps a few other times…

But this time, the feeling felt less finite.

Sure, they still had to finish job training, figure out a long-term career, their children’s futures, and house bills.

But those were infinitely preferable to Laika than worrying she or her family was gonna die each day.

She thought about that a moment; the safety she was offered here was priceless. Even if she ended up a house wife awhile in lol after her kids, she felt just fine with that.

She looked up from her pondering at Jacob, who was looking over the holo-tablet to his side.

“Got another message from Sharli; looks like he caught the interest of some off-world merchants. He might visit Corneria in a few months.” The man noted. “Glad to hear he’s gotten an economy going on there.”

“I’m surprised he made good on his promise to run a 'tighter ship' or whatever you call it. Most people cave to the power they get.” Maya simply said.

Laika nodded, Maya having said what she was thinking. It was true, though, Sharlia had gotten control of the Baron’s place and was making progress bettering the quality of life back on Titania, via establishing a better trade system and getting rid of the raider gains. Courtesy of the Baron’s resources.

She felt happy with that, knowing that their home would be better off going forward.

The family finished the episode of the show, coincidentally, as Ava released a yawn. Her parents looked at her with a smile rather than at each other.

“Seems someone’s tired; lets put her down for a nap.” Laika suggested, getting up. Jacob scooped up their daughter for her and walked with them down the hall.

“I’m gonna take one myself too.” The older coyote said, leaning back in her chair.

A few minutes later

Laika planted a final kiss on her daughter’s head and set Ava down in her crib, having finished rocking her to sleep.

She briefly surveyed the nursery: composed red blankets, red walls, red carpet two wooden cribs, changing table, and a drawer. All of the furniture had been gifts from the McClouds, while the wall door was locked by Laika, whose favorite color was red.

Jacob and Laika looked over their daughter as she drifted off to sleep, their smiles evident.

What was once a rare thing on Titania was now all the noire common for them.

Jacob pulled Laika in close, then kissed her on the muzzle. They shared the kids for a few moments, then he looked at her baby bump.

“Can’t believe we did it; our girls will know a life without violence or raiders.” He affirmed, to which Laika nodded.

She looked at his finger; he wore an engagement ring, just like hers. A reminder of their upcoming wedding ceremony, something they never got on Titania.

Looking around the room, then at her husband and her own baby bump, Laika could not help but feel elated.

“I love you.” She told Jacob.

“I love you too…” He said, as the two shared another kiss.

At this moment, Laika knew she was finally, truly happy.