Infinity’s Reach

 

 

 

            “How many ships?” Peppy asked, stirring sugar into his coffee, watching the lighter color swirl through it. The Great Fox was the head of the formation, and what a formation. The several dozen ships had been holding their poses for three days now, silently flying through space, the glow of their engines making it seem almost eerie.

            “Well, let’s see. Twenty mother ships, six escorts, six scientific vessels, the Genesis, plus us… that’s thirty-four altogether.” Fara replied, making a face at her herbal tea then begrudgingly drinking it. ROB’s medical programs had banned her from large amounts of caffeine. At nine weeks, she wasn’t showing yet, but morning sickness was kicking her rear.

            “I still can’t believe we pulled it off.” Falco remarked. “All of those hundreds of projects, completed on time and on target.”

            “Miracles do happen.” Peppy replied. “Now we need another one. We have to get off this galaxy arm and find a system we can settle in that won’t blow up under our feet.”

            “What race would do that? Seed planets for destruction, potentially causing the extinction of millions of creatures?” Fara asked.

            “A very heartless race.” Wolf came in, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Get any food down today Fara?”

            “Some toast, little bit of juice. That’s about it.” She moaned to herself. “This is hell on wheels.”

            “It isn’t a cup of tea for the rest of us either.” Falco said. “You’ve ran me over twice diving for the bathroom.”

            “Would you rather I not make it there?” She smacked him.

            He ducked. “Worse, now Katt’s getting all lovey-dovey. ‘Oh, Falco, isn’t it sweet that Fox and Fara are having a child?’ That’s usually my cue to leave the room before I’m collared into being a dad. I’ve already been collared into being an uncle.”

            “Could be worse.” Wolf took a drink. “Fox says I get to be an aunt.”

            “What?

            “HUH?”

            “Beg pardon?”

            Wolf just smiled and took another drink. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

            “Actually, I don’t want to know, and you can get the hell over there.” Falco pointed to the other side of the room.

            Fox set the weight bar down, blinking, and stuck his head out just in time to watch Falco tear by, Wolf laughing and chasing him. “What was the scream about?” He asked, wiping sweat away as Fara and Peppy walked up, still carrying their mugs.

            “Falco was asking for it.” Fara replied. “Though I admit that caught me off guard…”

            “What? What’d I miss?”

            “Falco bugged Wolf, Wolf kissed Falco.” Peppy said.

            “Uh-huh. Ho boy.”

            “We have a half-mechanical gay man on board?”

            “No, he’s bi.”

            Fara gave Fox a look.

            “He told me ok?” Fox shrugged. “And yeah, I agree, Falco was asking for it. Especially since ROB put Wolf on some antidepressant medication a few days ago.”

            “That explains why he watched Breakfast Club with me at two this morning while giving me a manicure.” She sighed. “Boy, he’s a weird one all right. He acts all macho but there’s a gentler, feminine side hiding under there.”

            “If you’re having problems sleeping, just tell me all right?”

            “I think this is where I came in. I’ll be in the kitchen.” Peppy shook his head and left, mumbling to himself.

            “You’re still having problems sleeping?” Fox asked, nuzzling one of Fara’s ears.

            “Yes, sometimes.” She returned the nuzzles. “I get restless, and my instincts start to kick in.”

            “Instincts?”

            “Yes. The ones that say ‘find a safe warm hole to have your kits in.’” She shook her head. “Why the heck are we still saddled with such outmoded urges?”

            “Don’t look at me, I still burrow under blankets when I’m sick, and shake off to get dry.” He shrugged. “I guess nature figures if it ain’t broke…”

            “I suppose.”

            Fox slowly smiled and pulled her close. “Does our bed count as a safe warm hole?”

            “It does once you’ve showered.”

            “I’ll ignore that.” Fox dropped to his knees and closed his eyes, leaning his cheek against her stomach, pressing one of his ears in. He knew it was far too early for movement or sound, but just the fact that there was something alive there sent a thrill through him, and if anything he listened for a heartbeat, a second drum accompanying the steady, soothing beat of Fara’s heart.

            Fara chuckled, rubbing the fur between Fox’s ears. “If you’re like this now, I can’t wait to see you in seven months.”

            He smiled, looking up at her, eyes soft and gentle. “I can’t help it.”

            “I’m not complaining. Go take a shower.”

            Fox chuckled and stood, walking down the hall with an easy swing to his step.

            “Now that the tender moment’s over, I’ve got some good news.” Slippy walked up, trailing printouts behind him. “It looks like in a week we’ll be able to start scanning for a possible colonization spot. Until then, we can assume the damage has been done to every system around us.”

            “Any proof of that?”

            “Well… enough. The science teams have looked at a few planets, and every one is the same. Rigged to blow, or already wrecked.” He met her eyes. “Some of the planets have wreckage in orbit that suggests a high degree of culture. Satellites and ships, for example, long since derelict but still orbiting. A few were brought in for study, we left most of them alone. One scientist remarked that it’s like walking on a grave, looking at those ships.”

            She shivered. “What could do this? What could wreak such devastation across so many planets?”

            “I don’t know.” He replied honestly. “But I hope whatever it is; it’s dead and gone from the universe.”

 

            “So this is the transportation of an alien race.” Beltino said, running a hand down the dully glittering side of the derelict craft. It wasn’t large, about the size of a medium shuttle, and was clearly many thousands of years old. The six wings had long-since been ripped off, the engines burned out, holes ripped through the hull by space junk. But it was still beautiful to him, a mystery, a wonder to explore.

            The derelict was made out of a silicon alloy that was closer to diamond then glass, leaving a surface that refracted dim rainbows around the research bay even if the hull was pitted and scarred with age. The wings had been flexible and fully moveable at one time, and had been shaped almost like a butterfly’s wings from what Beltino could see. The engine itself was small and compact, with multiple ports for propulsion.

            “It must have been a work of art, once.” Andross said, sketching a picture of the craft quickly, lightly drawing in what was missing as he saw it. “Has it been opened yet?”

            “No, not yet. We’re trying to find a way in without cutting.”

            “No luck finding a door?”

            “Not as such, no.”

            “Well, let’s get cracking then. I want to see this thing’s computer system.”

            An hour later they were still standing there, watching as a pair of heavy loaders groaned and creaked, the robots trying hard to get traction on the metal floor as they forced the spiral-opening door to open, having to fight for each inch. Eventually, though, they finished opening it and locked it into place, then clomped off for a well-earned rest and recharge. Andross and Beltino nodded to each other, picked up their equipment and walked through the door, pacing down the slender corridor and turning toward the front of the ship. Moments later they were in the cockpit, and came to a dead stop, staring in silence.

            “Do you see what I see?”

            “Yes. A skeleton.” Andross walked forward slowly and reached out, touching the skull. The bone was smooth under his hand, somehow glasslike, an array of horns still visible along the eye ridges. “Four eyes, I’m guessing…” He traced the sockets as Beltino stepped up beside him, swallowing hard. “I don’t think they’re focused the same way. Two pairs, independent angles of vision. Must have been a very complex-minded creature. Look at these ear grooves, the angle of it…” He closed his eyes. “These people were brilliant, Beltino.”

            The older toad just stared at the ape, who seemed to be on the verge of tears. “I’ll take your word for it. Shall we call the boys in the lab, have them remove this poor fellow?”

            “It would be for the best.”

            Andross stayed where he was as the other scientists arrived and removed the remains, leaning against the computer panels, arms crossed, the same look of regret on his face. But at the same time, an old heat was returning in his heart, and that was the heat of rage. It was bad enough that a race had had the gall to wreck planets and destroy living creatures, but the fact that they had destroyed an entire alien race that had plainly been so brilliant, so beautiful and advanced… it broke his heart, but at the same time filled him with an indignant fury.

            Once the body had been removed, Andross turned to the controls, running his fingers over them. “Let’s see if we can find anything out from this old ship.” He remarked to Beltino. “Any information would be useful.”

            “Agreed. Are you all right, Andross?”

            “Yes, I’m fine, I’m just… bitter, I suppose. Indignant that I cannot meet the makers of this once-fine craft.”

            “That I can understand. Let’s get to work.”

 

            Wolf sighed, sloughing further into the chair and staring out the view port and the blurred, distorted vastness of space.  Falco had threatened to hurt him with extreme prejudice, so he had laughed and backed off, but now it was bothering him. He still wasn’t sure if Falco had been completely serious. So what if he liked both girls and guys? It wasn’t his cheerful choice in the matter, after all.

            He wasn’t completely surprised that the dry, briskly professional med program in the sick bay had labeled him bipolar and prescribed a medication against depression. It had helped him a little, but he was pretty sure that it wasn’t meds he needed. As happy as he was for Fox and Fara, it made him realize that there wasn’t much going on for him that was decent.

            “You do realize that the last thing we need is someone depressed, right?”

            He glanced up. “Oh, hey Bill, Sugar.”

            “Evening.” Bill wandered in and flopped on the couch, his cat jumping off his shoulder and climbing into Wolf’s lap, circling then laying down. “What’s up?”

            “Feeling lonely and useless, as normal.” He scratched Sugar’s ears absently using his still-living hand. “Especially with the more recent events.”

            “What, the fact that Fox is going to be a dad? I can agree with you on some of it then. He and I have been friends for ages, but his mind is definitely elsewhere nowadays. Not that I blame him mind you. It’s instinct to protect those you love.”

            Wolf continued to stare out the view port. “I lost most of my instincts when I died. Any reaction I give is just the AI cuing it for my safety.”

            “Sweet Jesus. Really?”

            “Yeah. I kinda lost touch with my more primal side when the chip was put in my head. I don’t notice it 99% of the time, we rarely use our primal instincts anyways.” He shrugged.

            “Oh, only for sex and violence, right? Just the unimportant stuff.”

            Wolf laughed out loud.  “Right, just the unimportant stuff. Not like I’ve gotten in a fight or gotten lucky since my accident anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.”

            “Still, though, there’s much to be said for instincts. At least in my opinion.” Bill shrugged and stood. “I’m going to go take a nap. Keep Sugar, if anyone needs a kitten to cuddle it’s you.”

            Wolf snorted, looking down at the calico as Bill left, and scratched her ears with a sigh. “Now, if you were larger and sentient, I’d be really happy about you being in my lap.”

            Sugar purred.

 

            The fleet slowly glided to a near-halt, coming out of hyperspace and taking another formation, this one purely for defense. It was the fifth day of travel, and they were making a six-hour stop for between-ship transfers and diagnostic checks. This had been the plan from the start, of course, the scientists had practically demanded the downtime.

            Fox sighed, pulling on his jacket and leaping out of his fighter. There was a meeting called on the Genesis, and he had been asked to come as the representative of his team. A meeting over what, damned if he knew, but he wasn’t one to argue with the president or Pepper.

            “You’re late.” Pepper remarked when he finally found and entered the meeting room, the rest of the people looking up as he did.

            “Have mercy General, I got lost. I’m not used to the layout of this ship yet.” Fox complained, sitting down at the large table. “I take it you were waiting on me?”

            “Yes indeed. Let’s get started gentlemen.” He wove at one of the scientists, who stood and awkwardly cleared her throat.

            “I’m Vanessa Walker, an environmental expert. I asked for this meeting to be called because my fellow scientists as well as I are concerned about the colonization plans that are currently in effect.” She cued up slides, and the pictures shown made all of those present wince.

            Vanessa and her fellows had collected pictures of some of the atrocities that had happened in the Lylat system. The horrible pollution of Zoness, Katina’s heavy air pollution and computer-rendered charts of Corneria’s heavily damaged ozone, the strip-mining and clear-cutting, pictures of extinct animals.

            It was Andross that broke the silence. “We have all made some horrible mistakes, and I admit that I am guilty of several of them at the start, but will you please explain to us the point of this guilt trip?”

            She turned the lights back on. “I would like to propose that at our new home, we avoid the mistakes of the past. Now that other systems have been introduced, we can completely ban fossil fuels as a power source, and therefore ban that source of pollution. We can mine off-planet, on moons and asteroids, and void strip-mining almost entirely. I think that if we make the effort, we can become an almost completely eco-friendly society.” She looked around at them. “It won’t be easy, though. Everyone in cool sleep is used to a set routine. Given, since we’re starting at square one it will be easier to convert as everything has to be built from ground up, but as the saying goes, old habits die hard.”

            “I think we all agree that that is a good plan indeed.” Said Corneria’s President, smiling tiredly. “Where do you propose we start?”

            “Clean power.” She immediately replied. “From vehicles to homes to whatever else. Also, the banning of all dirty industry to other areas—a barren moon, perhaps, or orbital stations. Strict and enforced regulations on logging and other practices. It’s possible, my friends. It can and will be done.” She paused, and took a breath. “But this brings up one other problem.” She met everyone’s eyes. “We have brought with us everything, with the aim of reestablishing everything. Lions on the savannahs, oak trees in the front yard, you know what I mean… If we do this, we will completely wipe out what is there before, turn a natural order upside down and destroy it. We would be no better then the race that destroyed our own home.”

            “Great.” Fox rubbed his eyes. “So what do you propose?”

            “We don’t know yet, other then we keep strict tabs on what is released when we reach where we’re going, or at least until we figure it out. We don’t want to become what we have grown to hate.”

 

            “Hi, Katt.”

            Katt jumped three feet in the air and looked up at Slippy, who was sitting on the ceiling, reading a book. “Ok. I’ll bite. How are you managing that?”

            Slippy flipped down and landed beside her, staggering and holding his head as the blood left it. “I’m testing some stuff for my dad.” He pulled at the shirt of the flight suit he was wearing, which glittered dully in the light. “This is nanofilament clothing, specifically, it manipulates a personal gravity field through these gloves.” He held up his hands.

            “Ok…” Falco leaned onto the bridge, scratching his head. “Once more in English, please?”

            “A spiderman suit, without the ability to shoot webbing. I can walk up walls, upside down, float, you name it.” He shrugged. “Andross and my dad are working on scaling down environmental protection suits, you know, the ones we wear while in vacuum. They think with a little work they could cut it down to a suit of heavy clothing and a sealed helmet.” Slippy moved his fingers around and took a seat in midair.

            “That would be an improvement. Anything else they’re working on we should know about?”

            “Nothing else this interesting.” Slippy laughed. “Well, other then the derelict they’re working with. You guys hear? We found ourselves a genuine extraterrestrial skeleton. Andross is really, really shook up about it.”

            “Why so?” Katt asked, blinking.

            “Not sure, he won’t say, but my father says it really bothers him. He’s kinda mourning, according to my dad, even though the ET died at least five hundred years ago.”

            “Everyone’s got their passions.” Falco said. “What would it take for you to let me try that suit out?”

            Slippy laughed.

 

            “According to genetics, as far as we can break it down, our dead friend was female and fairly young at the time of death. The bones weren’t completely developed, though close, so I suppose that puts her at an equivalent of about nineteen, maybe twenty. Just finishing off the growth spurts.” Andross said, bringing up information on the screens. The other scientists watched silently, not questioning. They knew that Andross was THE expert on DNA analysis, if this was what he got from the code, then it had to be true as far as anyone of Lylat culture knew. “When they lost their world, they weren’t too far from us in technology, just with a different technology.”

            “If this particular specimen was in orbit, how did she die?” Asked the scientist, looking down at the skeleton, which stared back with four empty eye sockets.

            “That can’t really be determined, but… I think asphyxiation. The air tanks on her ship ran out, and she suffocated.”

            “Good lord. That could have been us.”

            “But it wasn’t. We have a second chance gentlemen. Let’s make sure we use it.”

            An hour later the other scientists had shuffled out, and Andross was left sitting, looking at the skeleton as it stared back, the 3D rendering walking around on the screen behind him. He had spent hours working on it, transferring the skeleton design to the computer, creating the ligament systems, working from bone up to render a living creature on the screen. He had been completely satisfied with the result, but now he was wondering if he was bordering on obsession.

            Whoever had done this, had wiped out an intelligent race, was going to die, he decided. By his own workings if needed.

            “You still here?” Beltino came in. “I would have thought you’d shut down after the meeting… oh well, it’s a good thing. I have a present for you.” He set down a large, clunky object on the table in front of Andross. “We started dissecting the ship… this is the black box recorder. And the memory seems full.” He met Andross’ eyes. “And I bet in under ten minutes I can patch it into our machines.”

            Andross’ eyes lit up. “What can I do for you in return? Genetically engineered slaves? My life savings?”

            Beltino leaned on the box and laughed, shaking his head. “Let’s get this thing networked in before the suspense kills us.”

 

            Fox startled awake, body tensing up as he pried his eyes open with a yawn, sliding his hand across the bed, fingers automatically questing and finding nothing. That woke him up fully, and he sat up, looking around the bedroom then pushing out of bed, throwing on a tank top and sweat shorts then leaving the room, padding down the hallway.

            “I keep telling you to just wake me up, Fara.”

            Fara glanced up from where she was sprawled on the couch, an emptied carton of ice cream sitting on the coffee table and Pretty in Pink playing on the TV. “You need your sleep, hun.”

            “So do you, and at least we can be miserable together.” He sat down on the couch next to her, looking at the carton. “Cravings getting worse?”

            “Bit by bit. I’m hungry all of the time now.” Fara pulled herself into his lap, cushioning her jaw on his leg. “You made a lot better pillow before you were working out all of the time.”

            He laughed softly. “Are you really complaining?”

            “Hell, no.”

            “Insomnia and the hole in my head.” Remarked another voice, and Wolf wandered in, wearing sweats and a rich wine-colored robe, yawning wide enough his molars were briefly exposed.

            “Song by Live. What’s keeping you up?” Fara patted the sofa, and Wolf flopped down willingly, stretching with a soft moan then relaxing.

            “I keep having nightmares. I can never really remember them completely, but I always wake up terrified with a scream stuck in my throat.” Wolf sighed, shaking his head. “It’s been years since I had night terrors, but I guess they’re kicking back in.”

            “As far as I’ve heard, no one’s sleeping very well.” Fox remarked. “Too much going on to bother, I guess.”

            “We need a spa, or something.”

            “Sorry, those weren’t standard issue on a cruiser.”

            Fara chuckled, nuzzling Fox’s knee. “I’m too damn comfortable to get up.”

            “Who am I to disrupt that then?” Fox shrugged. “I can sleep sitting up.”

            “I don’t feel like carrying you to bed again, Fox, and I certainly don’t feel like carrying both of you.” Wolf remarked, frowning. “You two should just go to bed.”

            “After the movie.”

            An hour later the movie was over and rewound, and Fox and Fara had curled up on one half of the couch, Fox curled up protectively around Fara, arms tight around her, one hand on her stomach. Fara had curled her arms over Fox’s, holding him in place, sleeping peacefully.

            Wolf sighed, rubbing one of his temples, looking at the Kodak moment that was sharing the couch with him, and feeling bitterly lonely. He didn’t want to go back to his room, he knew the minute he was alone he’d start having the terrors again, but exhaustion was starting to nip at his muscles. He sighed, hugging the pillow he had picked up half an hour before, and fought the urge to nuzzle it. If only Fox and Fara knew just how truly lucky they really were.

            Eventually he fell asleep there, head cushioned on Fox’s calf and arm wrapped around both Fox and Fara’s legs, and for once, the terrors left him alone.

 

            “So what’s the occasion, Beltino?” Falco asked, leaning against one of the shuttle wings absently. The convoy did of course still have a development laboratory for vehicles, but production was limited to conversions. No new models could really come out until a colony was established.

            “We think we’ve discovered the secret to the alien material.” Beltino grinned. “That, and I need to get your guy’s permission for something.”

            “And that is?”

            “Jesse! Get your striped rear end down here!” Beltino yelled at the ceiling.

            The team looked up, and saw what seemed to be a ring-tailed mongoose peering down at them, sitting on the leg of a robot that hung from the ceiling. “You didn’t inform me I was on PR duty.” Was the slightly indignant reply, the voice young.

            Wolf laughed. “You recruit high school kids?”

            “All of the time. I enjoy giving people with talent good jobs. JESSE! NOW!”

            The robot clomped across the ceiling and down the wall, and Jesse hopped off and walked over, tail waving, the robot still following. “Greetings.” He held up his fingers in a peace sign. Though it was natural for his race, his fur was such an intense color it almost seemed artificial—a rusty red, banded with gleaming black bands. His eyes were glowing green emeralds, shot with gold and framed by long black eyelashes.

            “This is Jesse Patterson. He’s my newest expert in robotics.” Beltino grinned. “He wants to upgrade ROB for you guys.”

            “That, and I was hoping one of you would be nice enough to help me test ergonomics at some point.” Jesse sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes. Most of his waist-length hair was in a loose ponytail, but a few strands had fallen out. “The scientists here are cowards, man.”

            “What exactly are you testing?” Fox asked, blinking. In his experience, the engineers and scientists that Beltino employed were always eager for new toys to try out.

            “Battlesuits and worksuits with neuro-connectivity. I need to make sure I have the programming right, but no one’s willing to help.”

            “Because he’s nuts, mostly.” Said a nearby researcher. “He does his work jazzed on four jolts. I’m not going near anything of his that could hurt me.”

            “You shut up.” Jesse frowned, then looked back to Fox, tail switching. “So, what do you say? Care to let me upgrade your AI?”

            The team exchanged a look, and Slippy nodded just slightly. He trusted Jesse, he had seen the work the younger man could do, and it still astonished him. “All right. But be aware of one thing.” Fox set a finger on Jesse’s chest. “ROB’s considered a team member. If you hurt him, you’re the next one hurt.”

            Jesse smiled. “The day I hurt a robot is the day I deserve to be hurt. Don’t worry, I’m good at what I do, or so I’m told.”

            “Bring what you need, you’re welcome to stay over on the Great Fox until the next break in travel.” Watching as Jesse ran off to pack, Fox turned back to Beltino. “You said something about the alien technology?”

            “Yes, the substance is basically something like a synthetic diamond, but silicon based instead of carbon. Amazing stuff, pretty soon we’ll be able to make some armor for your fighters with it.” He led them to another part of the lab, showing them inch-thick plates of what looked like glass. “We’re going to rebuild the shuttle and use it as an exploration vehicle.” He looked to Fara, who was eating an apple she had brought with her. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen her without food in hand, but he understood, he remembered when his wife had been pregnant. He almost pitied Fox. “Are you going to still be available for a test pilot Fara? Assuming you aren’t in your last trimester?”

            “Sure.” She nodded. “No danger in that.”

            Jesse skidded back up, bare feet loosing traction on the metal floor, and collided into Peppy, falling to the floor with a crash. Wolf laughed and helped Peppy up, then Jesse, dusting both off. “Sorry.” Jesse finally said breathlessly.

            “I keep telling you, you have to wear shoes in the lab.” Beltino glared. “You’re going to end up with a broken foot.”

            “I hate shoes. And that’s why I have Legs do the heavy work.” As he spoke, the robot he had been riding earlier clacked up, carrying an equipment case on its back. “Thanks Legs. I’m ready to go, let’s get out of here. This place is so clean it gets on my nerves, man.”

 

            “If we take any more people aboard, we’ll start getting crowded.” Peppy remarked, passing Slippy a tool.

            “I’m not going to argue this last addition. I’ve seen Jesse do what he does best, and the kid is so brilliant he makes me look like an idiot.” Slippy grunted, taking the plate off and thrusting his arms up into the electronics of the arwing. “I’ve seen him beat AIs at chess.”

            “That’s impressive.”

            “No kidding. How many people are up to? Us four, Katt, Fara, Wolf, Bill, and Jesse, right? We can take one more person on and be at full capacity.”

            “I didn’t mean technically, geek, I meant as far as personal space is concerned. What with Fara’s pregnancy, Katt and Falco’s regular fights, Wolf’s moodiness, and the rest of us, this ship seems crowded nowadays.”

            “That why you spend your days hiding in the den?”

            “Admittedly, it keeps me out of the line of fire. On the other hand, now that Wolf and Fara have taken over the cooking, our meals have taken a few leaps upward in quality.” Peppy sighed and braced the toolbox as the Great Fox leapt back into hyperspace. “So what do you know about our newest addition?”

            “I’ve known him since before the war. He won the system-wide robotics competition when he was eleven, got a perfect on the ACT at fourteen. Or so I’ve been told by my father, and I know it’s all true. He’s always wired on caffeine, and he gets really shy if you try to talk to him alone.”

            “Classic geek then.”

            “Completely. He made Legs from spare parts around the development lab at Arspace, and no one had the heart to charge him the price of the parts. Legs used to wander around the corporation buildings when Jesse was at school, beeping at the maintenance bots. That robot loves the hell out of its master, that’s for sure. It’s not even a true AI, though.”

            “Mm, speak of the devil.”

            Slippy peered out as the eight-legged robot shambled up, presented Peppy with a pair of sodas, and a voice recording played. “Figured you guys were thirsty.” Katt’s voice purred, then Legs shambled off again.

            “Oy vey.” Slippy sighed. “And robot makes ten. We’re at full capacity.”

            Peppy laughed.

 

            “Cold, cold, COLD!” Fara yelped, swatting at the robots arms. The med robot responded by shaking the sonar device at her in annoyance.

            Fox laughed, slipping in behind Fara and restraining her. “Hon, relax.” He whispered, licking her ear absently.

            “You aren’t the one whose stomach is covered in goo! Do you have any idea how long it’s going to take to get this stuff out of my fur?” She moaned, struggling, then giving up and relaxing back into his chest, sighing as he preened her fur absently. She was now officially out of her first trimester, and the med programs were stuffily insisting on doing a sonogram. She forced herself not to squirm when the palm-sized device ran across her stomach, staring at the screen. Her own heartbeat echoed back to her through the TV, pulsing through the many large veins, strong and just slightly faster then normal with nervousness. The device was shifted, and another drum started pounding with hers, double time, lighter, smaller.

            Fox stared at the screen, heart caught in his throat, at the image there. The image was blurry, of course, but he could see what it was. Curled up in a ball, the start of a tail curled up by the blunt forming muzzle, small limbs tucked up, was his child. Still strange seeming, almost extraterrestrial, because of the early stage of development, but there all the same. The head was smooth, dark spots where the ears and eyes would form, the tiny jaw working as the form squirmed a bit.

            “Fox? You ok?” Fara twisted to look at him, and blinked when she saw the love written all over his face, fascination, adoration.

            “My heart just stopped, but other then that, I’m fine. Oh, Fara…” The last two words came out choked with tears of absolute joy as he buried his face in her neck, and she returned the nuzzles as she could, the pair wrapped up in each other, ignoring the med robot as it took the measurements on the screens.

            “It’s really too early to tell without a genetic scan, which I imagine you don’t want to proceed with.” The robot finally said, handing Fara a towel, which she gladly used to try to get the goo off her, growling when she saw it had gotten on her jeans.

            “I think we’d prefer to find out the old-fashioned way.” Fox replied, nuzzling Fara’s neck. The robot nodded once and shut down, leaving the pair to speak in privacy.

 

            “Well, that’s that. We are officially off our home arm of the galaxy.” Pepper said, leaning back in his chair and looking at Fox through the screen. “The NASA geeks are loving it, being we’re so close to the center. They’re getting some great pictures and answering some long-posed questions, but aren’t really telling us in what direction we need to be going now.”

            “Well, that really helps us then.” Peppy rolled his eyes, leaning on the back of Fox’s chair. “We’re taking the original path then?”

            “Right, you’ve got all the jumps mapped already as far as I know. The chances of one of the planets being decent enough for us is pretty low, but we need to check.”

            “Naturally so.”

            “What the devil is going on in the background?”

            “One of Beltino’s geniuses is working on ROB.” Fox moved his chair, letting the General see ROB’s chair. ROB was leaning on the control panel, talking in code to Jesse, who chattered back just as quickly. ROB’s back panel was open, and several of the mother boards were out, wired into other ones for data transfer. “If anything goes wrong, I’m shooting him, mind you.”

            “Your license to kill does not cover needed scientists, so please don’t.” Pepper smiled wryly.

            “Thank god for that.” Said Jesse, looking at the mess of wires. “Did you do this? Why’d you do this? This shouldn’t even work!” He told ROB, who laughed and didn’t answer. He leaned over and picked up one of his books from where Legs was sitting with a stack of them on its back, flipping through. “For god’s sake, you’re crosswired, you should have burnt out.”

            “The books aren’t always right. What that did just overclocked me a bit.”

            “You are crazy, even for a robot.”

            “I pity you.” Pepper said. “I’m out.” The screen blanked.

            “Well, if these originally went here, then these have to be dumped to these cards…” Jesse grumbled, searching behind him for needlenose pliers. Wolf, who had been watching with amusement, handed him the pliers with his mechanical arm absently. Jesse took the tool automatically, then gaped at Wolf’s metal hand, the dully gleaming metal with elegant etchings Wolf had done in his spare time gracing the back of his hand and going up his arm. “Who did this work? This is beautiful.” He took Wolf’s hand, studying his fingers. “Full articulation? Can you use all your strength?”

            Wolf looked at Fox, who covered a grin, struggling not to laugh. “Andross did the arm, I did the etching, yes I have full articulation, and yes I can put all my strength on it. Can I have my hand back now?”

            “Yes. I’m still being worked on. Fiddle with his robotics later.” ROB said, looking over his shoulder and buzzing in irritation.

            “Oh, uh… I’m sorry.” Jesse blushed bright red and turned back to his work.

            Fox laughed. “How’d you end up in robotics, Jesse?”

            “My mom got my older brother some erector sets when I was five, the ones with the motors, and I made off with them. After that, it was all she wrote. I knew basic by the time I was seven, C+ by ten. Embarrassed the hell out of my family, let me tell you, due to the fact that I’m so socially inept. I didn’t even go to prom.”

            “They should be proud.” Peppy said.

            “Eh, they are now, I make twenty an hour working part time for Beltino. My dad still wants me to go into sports though. Look at me, I’d snap like a twig.” He gestured at his slender body, which was softly curved, not built to carry heavy muscle. “Besides, I do enough exercise hauling around parts. Legs can’t handle everything.”

            “Long as you’re healthy, why should they care?”

            “Eh, they worry about me a lot.”

            Peppy shrugged. “Parents do that.”

            Fox laughed. “Yeah, mine’s not even born yet and I’m worried. Speaking of which, I need to go coax Fara into eating something, so excuse me.” He stood and left, Peppy following.

            Wolf stayed behind, sitting backwards on one of the spinning chairs so he could rest his lower arms on the back of it, jaw propped on his crossed wrists as he watched Jesse move, completely absorbed in what he was doing. As far as appearances went, Jesse was almost androgynous, more pretty then masculine, but the voice was clearly male, as was the sarcastic half-smile that showed small, sharp canines. As time passed, Wolf watched less of what Jesse was doing, and contented himself with just watching Jesse.

            “What would it take for you to let me look at your arm?”

            Wolf jumped, surprised. “My arm? Why would you want to?”

            Jesse looked at him as he screwed ROB’s back plate back in. ROB was making happy noises contentedly. “It’s a beautiful job. It’s not often I get to see something so marvelously done. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything. I just want to get a closer look at it.”

            “Mm. I don’t have a problem with it. Might be a break in the monotony around here.” Though still a little wary about a robotics expert looking at his arm, seeing Jesse’s face light up when he said it made his slight worry worth it.

 

            Andross sighed, looking at the foreign code which flashed at the screen. Oh, they had managed to hook the black box up to his lab computers, but it was locked out in the ET’s language with a code, and it was really starting to frustrate him. That damnable piece of alien technology had eluded everything he could think of to get the information inside, from hacking to translation. One of the reasons, he knew, was because it was inherently unstable. The power he monitored from it changed all of the time, in spite of a steady power supply that it was fed. The code was plastic, changing as he tried to find the pattern. It frustrated him to no end.

            He sighed, hitting the touch screen in a quick succession, cuing up some of the foreign lettering for translation, the program for which was open over the code screen. He sighed, watching the timer spin, leaning his chin on his hands wearily.

            The timer froze tilted, and the cords running from the black box to his computer shot sparks suddenly. He shoved back, his chair knocking against the table where the skeleton laid sprawled, covered by a sheet, watching as the screen warped chaotically, and then the timer started spinning again, the unknown language slowly resolving into a word he recognized, followed by a symbol.

            Why?

            He blinked at the screen, slowly pulling himself back to the keyboard, and tried to exit the translator program. Nothing. He didn’t even have mouse or touch control. He growled, hitting the keys that should have restarted the computer, and still the screen stayed, the one word flashing on the screen. He stared at it, then slowly typed, watching the letters he pressed form under the flashing question.

            “Why what?”

            The translator spun again, and he watched in shock as his question was put back into the foreign language, watching the transfer lights flash, meaning information was being sent to the black box. A reply came back, translating for him without him prompting it.

            Why was my home destroyed?

            He fell out of his chair, staring at the black box, and had a sudden, brutal realization. Something was alive in there.

 

            Beltino jumped when the door of the docking bay banged open, Andross coming in toting a laptop. “Andross! You look exhausted! What’s up?”

            “We’re wrong. The design is totally wrong.” Andross said, thumping the laptop down next to Beltino and running a connection cable to Beltino’s computer. “You’re on the design network right?”

            “You got the black box to decode?”

            Andross looked at him, and smiled. Though it was a very tired expression, there was a joy in it Beltino was almost stunned by. “Even better.” He finished the connection.

            All of the computers in the bay spontaneously restarted, much to the dismay of the engineers working there, and a message printed across the screens slowly, confidently.

            We have much work to do.

 

            “Toss the dice, roll a critical botch.” The voice echoed over the radio, bitter and angry.

            Fox stared at the window. The first planet marked for exploration filled the view port, a cloudy bluish planet. “Is it even solid?”

            “Yes, but it’s atmosphere is completely toxic to us. Our ships can’t even go in, they’ll dissolve. This is a complete no-go.”

            Falco cussed and punched a computer terminal, which protested but wasn’t damaged. “Why did this have to happen to us?! WHY?!” He shouted angrily. Fox hurriedly turned the overhead off for the radio as Katt tried to calm Falco, who very suddenly gave up being enraged and slumped to the ground, holding his head and gasping, seeming to hold back sobs of complete and utter hysteria.

            “We’ve got six or seven more planets we can check before we’re allowed to panic.” Slippy said. “As depressing as this is, we have to move on.”

            The team dispersed, finding ways to wind down, trying to make their depression leave. An hour ago, they had been filled with hope, but now that was struck down, utterly destroyed. In the end the last two on the bridge were Katt and Falco, who were still sitting on the floor, Katt rocking Falco back and forth as she tried to sooth him.

            “I can’t go through that six or seven more times.” Bill remarked to Peppy, turning into the weight room and stripping off his shirt, tossing it against the wall.

            “None of us can.” Peppy replied, taking off his overshirt and stepping onto a treadmill, rubbing his eyes. “Jesus, especially Falco. Just this once ripped him apart.”

            “Falco may like space, but I think the fact that he lost his home is starting to drive him a bit bonkers.” Bill sat on the bench and slid up, lying down and wrapping his hands around the weight bar. “He’s got his weaknesses, just like everyone else.”

            “There’s a true statement if ever there was one.” He settled into a rhythm absently, feet thumping along easily on the treadmill, glancing up when Slippy came in. “What’s up? Joining us?”

            “There is… some good news.” Slippy said after a moment. “That ET shuttle is completely rebuilt. My father wants to launch it tomorrow morning for a test flight.”

            “That’s cool.” Bill said, grunting as he pushed the weight bar back into it’s rest. “It’ll be neat, seeing an alien ship in flight. Will the technology really help us?”

            “It already is. On our next break our fighters are going to be rearmored.”

            “Might want to tell Fox and Fara that, since it’s his ship and she’s the test pilot.” Peppy remarked. Slippy nodded and left the room again. “I guess that is good news. Fara will be happy at any rate; she’s been waiting to fly that thing.”

            Bill merely nodded, glad that in the wake of the bad news, at least some good had come to balance it.

 

            “So, you did these etchings yourself?” Jesse sat cross-legged on the couch beside Wolf, looking at his arm. Wolf was wearing jeans and a tucked-in tank top, which let Jesse look at all of his arm.

            “Yeah. I got bored. They turned out really good though. They’re actually reproductions of the tribal tattoos I used to have on that arm.” Wolf flexed his fingers absently, trying very hard to ignore the slender, reddish-furred fingers that were running over the etchings with fascination. The tribal tats had been there for a few years before he had lost the arm, and had actually been a mark of honor of sorts, because he had fought alongside a wolf pack in Corneria City. Gang fights had been common there, once upon a time, and he had known where his allegiances had stood. The tattoo had been a badge—a sign that no matter what happened, he would have a home with the pack.

            “Why did you have this done, anyway?” Jesse’s bold green eyes met his, questioning.

            “It wasn’t my choice, it had to be done.” Wolf looked away. “I died. Everything that you see that’s metal, I lost. My heart and lungs are artificially supported, my brain was damaged to the point I have an AI chip keeping my mind straight for me.”

            “Jesus, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” His hand moved to his shoulder. “I’m sorry I asked.”

            “It’s ok. I hated it at first, hated that Andross had me brought back, but I’m cherishing the second chance now.” Wolf smiled without knowing it, eyes distant, thinking of what he had gone through since he had woken up from that brutal surgery. Yes, some of it had been terrible, but some of it… falling asleep curled up in Fox’s lap, knowing he was accepted by his former enemies, knowing he had a family now… some of it was wonderful.

            Jesse watched silently, watched the emotions pass over Wolf’s face, hand still on his new friend’s mechanical shoulder. True, the work was beautifully done, but it was also an excuse to look at the person entirely. While everyone else spoke freely to him, Wolf was a mystery, not saying much, revealing little of his past. Jesse had of course heard of him during the war, about how dangerous he was, but he couldn’t see it now. Wolf seemed gentle and caring, with a fire backing his eyes and emotions that drew Jesse like a moth to a flame, the effect doubled by the fact that he knew nothing about Wolf.

            His hand dropped from Wolf’s shoulder to his leg, keeping on the outside edge, unsure of what to do. When he moved his hand, Wolf startled out of his reverie, blinking at him. “Yes?”

            “Nothing.” Jesse forced himself to look away, hand staying where it was.

            Wolf felt little ripples of fire edge through his nerves as he frowned at Jesse’s hand. The touch was gentle, uneasy. After a long moment Wolf reached out a hand and turned the younger man to face him, forcing his gaze to be firm and not betray the fact that what was left of his instincts were growling with pent-up desire. “I’ve been alone since I died, and I don’t particularly have any preferences. Be careful where your hands go.”

            Jesse blinked at him, and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m bi too. Pisses off my parents to no end.”

            That hit Wolf like a punch to the gut. Jesse was underage, maybe a senior in high school. Hell, he still lived with his parents. And here Wolf was, lusting after him. He staggered to his feet and walked over to the view port, leaning on it and staring out, trying to calm himself down. Even with the current situation, a relationship with someone underage could still get him in deep trouble, and he knew it. Still, though, some part of him was relieved when he felt Jesse touch his back uncertainly.

            “What’d I say?”

            “Feeling old. That’s all.”

            “Oh, what are you, twenty-two?” That made him laugh.

            “A whole five years older then you. Hell, Jesse, you aren’t even legal.”

            “Which has what to do with my choices?” Now he was getting angry, frustrated that Wolf wasn’t looking at him, finally ducking under the metal arm so he could see Wolf’s face, trapping himself between the window glass and Wolf. “My parents aren’t going to be waked up for months, and who would press charges against you?”

            “I don’t want to find that out.”

            Something in Wolf’s voice made Jesse’s face fall, and he bowed his head, hair lapping over his face. “I’m sorry.”

            Wolf shocked him by cupping his face in his hands, kissing his forehead and nibbling one of his small ears. “It’s not your fault. Check back with me when you turn eighteen, tiger.” With that he turned and left the room, feeling those green eyes burning on his back and forcing himself not to return the look.

 

            Fara smiled, settling down into the comfortable seat of the redone alien shuttle. Now at nearly four months, her stomach was more obvious, but her flight suits still fit, and she was wearing the uniform of Star Fox, proud that she was considered a member. But it felt good, still having her old job as test pilot.

            She reached out and ran her hands over the controls once she had secured the seatbelt, clicking the harness into place then closing the shuttle’s ramp. “We are go for launch.” She announced into the ear piece.

            “UFO One, you are clear to proceed.”

            She chuckled to herself, flipping switches to bring up the huge engines behind her. They whirred to life, and the shuttle lifted.

            She looked out the cockpit glass, and saw Fox standing at the observation window, watching with a small worried smile. He let her have her space, but she was always amazed by the emotions in his eyes. He absolutely adored her, and already loved their child, laying awake at night listening at her stomach, overjoyed when he could finally hear the life inside her, sleeping to the even rhythms of two heartbeats.

She didn’t think that she deserved to be loved so much. Did anyone? She laughed to herself again, wondering what her mother would say about this, her unmarried and four months into pregnancy. Her mother never really got used to the fact that she was dating Fox, but she didn’t care anymore. Fox was hers, and she knew that nothing would take him away from her.

The magnetic shield dropped, and she gunned the engines, launching and flying through the vastness of space, doing barrel rolls with easy moves of the controls. The ship flew like a dream, the many wings moving smoothly. She reported this in, and flew farther away from the convoy, dancing around some minor asteroids, grinning happily.

Then the ship rocked, and she frowned, checking her shields. No impacts, yet the ship wretched around her again, shaking. She fought the controls as the ship shuddered, and an explosion went off behind her as space warped and sucked her in.

 

“What happened?!” Fox shouted, pounding the view port with his hands, staring at the place where the shuttle had once been. There had been a blinding flash of light, and it was gone. “Fara? Fara answer me!” He said, tapping the headset. “Where is she?!” He spun around to look at the researchers, who were racing away at their terminals. Horrified silence filled the room, those not trying to find out answers were speechless.

“We don’t know.” Beltino finally said, staring at the radar, feeling dread fill him. “We don’t have the shuttle anywhere on our screens. Whatever happened, she’s out of range.”

“Fara!” Fox shouted into the radio, and heard only static-filled silence. “Was that… some sort of warp? A wormhole?”

“That’s our guess, given the emanations around the shuttle that happened right before it disappeared.” A researcher said very slowly. “We don’t know where the shuttle is, we don’t know if it even completed the jump… It’s gone. Commander McCloud.”

Fox leaned on the glass, hands splayed, shoulders shaking, and thumped his fists into it hard enough it bloodied his knuckles. Those words had ripped his heart out of his chest. Fara, his beautiful Fara, their child… gone? He collapsed to the floor with a choked sob, chest jumping, his noises of sorrow ripping through the air in the silent room.

“Sweet Jesus Christ.” Katt whispered, Falco holding her from behind. No one on the team was able to believe it at all. They had all believed that Fox and Fara were going to live out their days together. The look in their eyes had said nothing else. And now half of the pair was quite probably dead.

The clack of a gun filled the room, and Wolf shouted, lunging and grabbing Fox’s arm. The harsh rapport of the gun filled the room, and Fox yelped harshly as blood splattered into the air. Wolf’s interference had made him miss, and the round had ripped through his right ear, ripping half of the tender flesh apart. Fox looked at Wolf blankly as Wolf shook him, blood streaming down the side of his head, and passed out.

 

The convoy didn’t move out for three days after that, active radars on full time, searching for some sign, any sign that Fara Phoenix was still alive. Everyone who was staffed in the convoy has heard that Fox had attempted to kill himself, and all were soundly disturbed by it. Fox was known as a hero, and the fact that he had given up all hope, that he wanted nothing more then to die, hit all of the crew members harder then anything else.

The Star Fox team was stunned that he had tried to do it, that he had actually tried to take himself out, and they were all very thankful for Wolf, who had not only stopped Fox, but had carried him to the Genesis’ medical bay, getting himself covered in Fox’s blood in the process but ignoring it. Fox had lost almost half his ear, and there was nothing that could be done but try to seal it off, stitch up the ragged edges. Wolf and Peppy had stayed in the medical bay, wanting anything but for Fox to wake up alone. The rest of the team consigned themselves to restless busy work, many helping as Slippy and Jesse did every bit of maintenance they could think of. The Great Fox shone, but everyone’s health slipped a notch for lack of sleep.

In the end, Wolf sent Peppy back to the Great Fox to abuse some sense into everyone, and he stayed alone with Fox, who had stayed unconscious the entire time, his living hand laced with one of Fox’s. He was tired, but he wasn’t going to leave Fox alone.

 

Fox moaned, holding his ruined ear as blood streamed, looking around. The ship was empty and dark, he knew he was dreaming. Still holding his bloody ear, he staggered down the corridor, leaving a sticky scarlet trail in his wake.

Eventually he came to the bridge, which was also empty and dark, the control lights barely on. He saw the warnings for low power, low air, and ignored them, staggering over to where ROB was, touching the robot’s shoulder. ROB slowly turned to look at him, and seemed surprised, his low-battery lights blinking as well.

“Where is everyone, ROB?” Fox let his bloody hand fall, ignoring the blood streaming from his ear. It wouldn’t stop, and he knew it.

“Gone. Dead. You are too.” ROB looked at his low-battery lights, frowning. “I suppose I am hallucinating.”

“No, I’m here, I’m here. I’m not dead.”

“Yes, you are. You launched without permission and detonated your arwing. You killed yourself.” ROB fiddled with a few exposed wires, apparently he had been working on shutting himself off for good as well.

“How… how long ago was this…?”

ROB looked at him blankly. “Two hundred years.”

 

Wolf startled out of his doze, falling out of his chair when Fox suddenly clutched his hand, heart rate spiking radically as he screeched quietly, tossing in his sleep. Wolf picked himself up off the floor and grabbed Fox’s shoulders, pulling Fox into his lap and wordlessly holding him. “It’s a dream, Fox. It’s just a dream…”

Fox startled awake, sobbing hysterically, and looked surprised to see him. “Uhm. Hi, Wolf.” He choked out, wiping at his tears.

“Good afternoon, commander.” Wolf smiled, using the edge of his jacket to wipe away Fox’s tears. “You’ve been asleep for three days now.”

Fox reached up and touched his stitched-up ear, then closed his eyes. “It wasn’t just a nightmare then. Fara’s gone.”

“I’m afraid that might be true. We haven’t picked up anything, and the entire convoy has been trying the whole time you slept.” He saw the tears threaten again, and held Fox close. “I know it hurts, Fox, but please don’t destroy yourself. Please. We all need you.” Fox just whimpered and accepted the hold, hiding his face in Wolf’s shoulder.

“Mm. It’s Kodak moment.”

Both jumped and scowled at Falco, who stood in the doorway holding a covered tray. Katt peeked around him, smiling a little.

“Give him a break, Fal, he had a nightmare.” Wolf said in an exasperated voice, keeping his arms where they were, deciding to enjoy this for the brief time it lasted.

“Hey, I didn’t say anything.” Falco set the tray on the bed and uncovered it. “Katt cooked. Eat, Fox. We need you back.”

Fox sat up on his own after a moment, not surprised when the rest of the team filed in, all looking tired and worried, but relieved to see that he was awake. True enough that his chest ached with loss, but he knew then that death would be selfish, not a release. After a moment he picked up a fork, rubbing his eyes. “Would someone get me some normal clothes? I’m not going anywhere in a hospital gown.”

Falco laughed, and after a moment the others joined in, relieved.

 

Fara moaned faintly, opening her eyes. Gravity had stopped on her ship, and the harness was keeping her in the chair. She looked out the view port, and saw unfamiliar planets and stars. The radar wasn’t showing the convoy, either.

“Fox?”

Static was the only reply as she reached forward, hitting the switches to start the engines. It was starting to get cold on the ship, apparently the power had been off for several hours. The engines moaned, refusing to start, but after a moment a generator kicked in, and gravity returned as well as heat.

She sighed and unbuckled, standing and stretching slowly, looking at her watch, and doing a double-take. It had been seven hours since her launch. “Computer, where are we?”

The female voice replied quietly. Fara had been told it was an extension of the AI that had been found inside the alien black box. “The Torge’da system. The warp damaged our engines.”

“Why did we warp? I did not issue the commands to do so, or hit the controls.”

“I did it, Fara.”

She scowled at the AI’s camera. “Why? I’m out of the range of the convoy! Fox is probably going crazy!”

“Your people seek answers to many questions. I was just trying to help.” The AI sounded insulted.

Fara sighed, looking at the controls. “Our beacons are on at least…” She went to the back of the ship and flopped on the couch, rubbing her stomach in silent worry. She didn’t have her prenatal prescriptions, which wasn’t good. But worse, she didn’t have a way to contract Fox. She would have given anything for him to be there. “Is there any way to fix our engines?”

“No. We are stuck until picked up, Fara.”

She sighed and let her eyes close, drifting back to sleep wearily. Within twenty-four hours, the oxygen tanks would run dry. They hadn’t been completely filled for the test run, as was standard procedure, but now it was going to kill her, slowly and gradually. She just hoped someone would find her before then.

 

“This is my fault.” Andross moaned, rubbing his eyes. “If I hadn’t ordered the changes, this never would have happened…”

“Andross, this is nobody’s fault.” Beltino said soothingly. “As awful as it was, accidents do happen.”

“This accident cost the lives of two innocent people, two people who were very loved. It’s my fault.” He pounded a fist into the metal wall, which flexed and rattled under the abuse. “The ship wasn’t even warp capable until I stepped in.”

“We don’t know for sure that it warped…”

“The other option is that it blew up somehow, Beltino. Which is almost a better option. If she’s alive and can’t get to somewhere she can refill her air tanks, she’s going to suffocate.”

“Oh, Jesus…” Beltino blanched.

“I suggest we rewrite those regulations.”

“My schedule is changed for the day. I’m going to go through that entire damn manual.”

“I’ll help.” Andross finally said, rubbing his eyes. He had told himself when he had returned to Lylat’s side that he would never kill anyone ever again, and now he had.

 

Katt stirred slowly, waking up bit by bit, yawning widely. The room was dark, starlight shining in dimly through the small window. The bed, while soft and comfortable, wasn’t meant for two people, and Falco was nestled close to her, face tucked into her chest, arms wrapped around her, holding her as he slept. This had come to be a habit in the past week, because Falco was fighting depression and didn’t want to be alone at almost any time. She didn’t complain, for almost the first time ever he was readily showing affection to her, almost shyly, seeming scared of hurting her.

She looked down at him, letting her eyes wander his face. He looked vulnerable and open when he slept, and he sighed happily in his slumber when she started grooming his feathers absently, nuzzling them. He grumbled when she stopped, a sleepy-voiced protest as his eyes partly opened, looking at her and yawning.

“What time is it?”

She looked at the clock on the wall. “Four-thirty in the morning.”

“Hell with this, I’m not getting up yet.” He yawned and stretched, rolling over and settling back down into the bed, feathers fluffing slightly. She snuggled into his back, tucking her face into the dip his shoulders and neck made, and was soon asleep again, purring softly as she dozed. Falco sighed, listening to the comforting noise, staring at the wall across from his bed. It hadn’t seemed like anything had really changed: this was his room, he was sleeping in as usual, in his usual position. But before, Katt hadn’t been spooned up to his back purring blissfully, and he had never imagined he’d enjoy it so much. He had always thought Katt was annoying before everything had started happening, denying how he felt, but now there was no reason for denial, no real image to uphold. There was just Katt, sleeping cuddled into him, holding him as he slept and keeping nightmares at bay.

And, as he drifted back to sleep, he couldn’t help but think he could get used to having this every night for the rest of his life.

 

Wolf sighed, running his finger down the line of disks and tapes as he stood with his head sideways, trying to figure out what to watch. He had woken up early, and now had nothing to do. He had gotten used to watching movies with Fara at odd hours of the night, and that memory struck a pained chord in his heart, remembering snuggling down with her and Fox, and just being happy, though he knew the only reason he had gotten away with it was because they had already dosed off on the couch. He still enjoyed the memory, though.

Eventually he chose a random action movie and tossed it in the player, flopping on the couch and staring at the screen without really seeing it, hands shoved in the pockets of his flannel PJ bottoms.

“What are you doing up so early?”

He jumped and turned toward the doorway, blinking at Jesse, who was standing there holding a carton of ice cream, chocolate syrup, and a spoon. The mongoose smiled back sheepishly, holding up the ice cream. “I, uh, couldn’t sleep… want some ice cream?”

“Sure.” Wolf heard himself say, and almost banged his head against the back of the couch intentionally. He had been keeping his distance the last few days on purpose, not trusting himself entirely. The AI in his head thought it was ridiculous, of course, but he usually made a point at ignoring the chip anyways when it came to emotions.

Jesse came around the couch and sat beside him, looking at the screen. “Ah, Predator. Arnie kicks ass. I didn’t bring bowls, that ok?”

“Eh, that’s fine.” Wolf stretched his arms above his head, popping his shoulders. Jesse tucked his feet under himself on the couch, and the pair spent the next half hour trading the spoon back and forth and nursing a few ice cream headaches. Wolf was glad for the distraction of food, but eventually the carton ran out, and he was left to lick his fingers and try very hard not to meet Jesse’s eyes.

“They got the second Predator?” Jesse bounced over to the movie rack, buzzed on sugar, practically vibrating in place, which did nothing to help Wolf’s control. “Oh, cool, they do.” He skipped over to player and changed movies, tail snapping around. Wolf almost hit himself, realizing that he hadn’t even noticed the first one ending. Looking at the clock, he realized it was coming up on seven in the morning. The rest of the team would be waking up soon.

Jesse nuzzled into Wolf’s side absently as the movie started, barely realizing what he was doing. All through Predator he had been trying to work his way closer, but Wolf just keep leaning away, barely noticing what was going on. This move was bolder, though, and Wolf looked at him in surprise, blinking.

“I thought we agreed that perhaps it would be better to wait…”

“I never agreed to anything.” Jesse stuck out his tongue. “Besides, I wasn’t aware there was a law against cuddling.”

“There isn’t, technically.” Wolf sighed, hands curling into fists. After a long moment he wrapped his arms around Jesse and pulled him close, nuzzling his ears. Jesse melted with a sigh, not protesting when Wolf stretched out on the couch, pulling him close so they could watch the movie lying down, Wolf’s muzzle resting on the top of his head, hand playing with his long, loose hair. Jesse eventually dozed off, leaning back into Wolf’s chest as he snored very quietly, tail draped across Wolf’s hips.

Wolf himself just watched Jesse sleep, wondering if he had done the right thing. Eventually he decided he didn’t really care, he was comfortable, nuzzling his new companion’s neck then dozing off himself.

 

            The shuttle continued to drift in the vast emptiness of space, falling into a distant orbit of a desert planet, slowly getting sucked toward the small blue star that was the sun of the Torge’da system. Fara was still unconscious, breaths slowly wheezing in and out, lungs struggling to get oxygen out of the foul, stale air so it could be routed to her child. Inside, the baby writhed its four-month-old body helplessly, feeling the same dizzy ache its unconscious mother did.

            The AI came fully active again when a large, graceful shape eclipsed the faint blue sunlight that gleamed over the shuttle’s hull, and a somewhat large alien ship glided up, seeming to study the shuttle. Transmissions in an unknown language came in, and the AI pleaded in the languages it knew, pleaded for help, looking through its camera eyes at the slowly expiring Fara.

            The cruiser responded and drew in the small shuttle, landing it in one of the docking bays. The AI checked the air, found nothing dangerous, and opened the door with a sigh of relief as Fara coughed, then started breathing easier. It didn’t argue when the owners of the cruiser arrived—it knew it was for the best.

 

            Jirest was surprised to find that the unknown ship had already opened its doors up, apparently whatever aboard was unafraid of their entry. Seeing no movement, he gestured at the guards to hold back, holstering his sidearm and walking slowly up the cool ramp, ducking his head in, feelers extending forward cautiously. When he saw no movement, he stepped the rest of the way into the shuttle.

            The cruiser had been surprised to find it, drifting toward a star, beacon on. The language was unknown, the bland, computer-generated voice pleading, so they had drawn the ship in. Galaxy law demanded they assist, anyway…

            Hearing a soft moan, he wheeled around, hand dropping to the large gun, then freezing, suddenly fascinated. The creature was small, soft looking, nothing like his race’s leathery, armor-like skin. Female, he realized, seeing the mammary glands, then feeling his eyes widen when he saw the rounded stomach. Carrying? What was she doing alone? Where was her care-giver?

            Maybe this race didn’t have care-givers, he thought, slowly stepping forward and crouching, brushing the creature’s cheek with a feeler. Her face was pointy, starting round then gracefully narrowing into a slender, wedged muzzle. Pointed ears graced her skull, and long soft hair fell around her shoulders. A very elegant race, gentle-looking, he decided, sliding his arms under the unconscious form and picking her up, three-fingered hands bracing her small body as she walked back down the ramp.

            “Do we have a care-giver on board?” He asked, looking around at the guards. “She’s alone, and I think she’s carrying.”

            The guards called into the hospital bay, leaving Jirest to stand there holding the little alien. He couldn’t help but wonder why she was alone. Hopefully, they would find out soon enough.

 

            “Another dead end.” Fox growled, playing with the bandages that he still wore to cover the damage he had done to his hands. “Another no-go planet.”

            “Sulfuric atmosphere.” Slippy sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Terra-formable, mineral rich, but not worth much of everything for starting colonies and crops.”

            “How many more times do we have to go through this?” Falco moaned, slumping in his chair, staring out at the orange-green orb that floated in front of the Great Fox.

            “As many times as it takes until we find a home.” Peppy replied. “It may hurt, but we have to do it. We can’t give up, not with as many people relying us as there are.”

            Fox moaned to himself, remembering the nightmare he had before where they had failed, and everyone was gone. It terrified him, it really did, the thought of slowly asphyxiating while desperately searching for a new home, and it was worse now that Fara was gone. He slouched, itching at the bandages irritably, blinking when Jesse reached over and moved the hand that was doing the scratching.

            “You’ll reopen the wounds.” Jesse chided.

            Fox grumbled and stuck his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t start scratching again.

            “Well, onward.” Katt said, nodding to ROB. “Let’s keep moving. We’ll find a place. We’ve got to.”

 

            Slippy sighed, picking up a block of cheese and grating it, watching the fine slivers fill the bowl without really seeing it. The ship was almost unbearable lately. The whole team was keeping an eye on Fox, who was enraged and almost psychotically depressed, though no one blamed him. They had known how much he had loved and adored Fara, and knew that her death had ripped him apart. But Fox was their unity, their driving force, their pillar of support. Without Fox, there was no team. It was that simple. They tried to make sure he ate, forcing him to attend at least two meals a day, and sent him to bed if they found him awake late at night, working out or watching movies.

            Adding to the problem was that Falco wasn’t too much better, his morale crashing more and more as the possible colonization planets were marked off as unusable. Katt comforted him as much as she could, they shared a room now. The rest of the team didn’t try to help, they knew it would just make Falco worse.

            “You volunteered to be my new cooking partner, hmm?” Wolf came in and opened the walk-in refrigerator, coming back out with an assortment of ingredients stacked. The Great Fox had been fully stocked; they would be self-sufficient for at least eight months now. Wolf took advantage of it to no end, stunning all with spontaneous creations.

            “I’m one of the sanest people left on this ship, so it seemed for the best. I saw the recipe you picked, are you trying to clog our arteries?”

            “Everyone is working out nowadays, Slip. We can get away with it, and this is true comfort food if ever I’ve tasted it.” Wolf replied, stopping his hand. “And that’s more then enough cheese.”

            Slippy looked down, saw that he had filled the bowl, and laughed out loud. “Sorry, my mind was wandering.”

            “No problem. You work on the batter and sauce, I’ll do the rest.”

            Peppy walked in, following his nose and grinning when he saw the two at work. The air was heavily scented with grease, thanks to the fact that Wolf had pulled out the fryer, which he was managing absently. Slippy was chopping up a salad, and tossed Peppy a carrot slice when he came in. Peppy caught it automatically, smiling.

            “Where did you learn to cook, Wolf?”

            “One of my former girlfriends was a chef.” He replied, draining the oil and loading the platters, then covering them and carrying them over to the table, which was already set for the entire group. “She’s the one who taught me the good stuff. I knew the basics of cooking before that, but I wasn’t that good.”

            “She must have been one hell of a chef.”

            “Made some decent money running her own restaurant in inner Corneria City, once upon a time.”

            Slippy tossed the salad together and set the huge bowl on the table next to a basket of breadsticks. “Hey ROB, tell everyone that soup’s on.”

            A chime sounded through the ship, echoing down the hallway, and moments later the thunder of feet sounded throughout the ship, everyone skidding through the door, inhaling as they came in.

            “What’s for dinner?” Falco asked, flopping into a chair as everyone else did, and gaped when the platters were uncovered.

            “Dig in everyone, that’s what it was made for.” Wolf sat, smiling when arms darted out, people grabbing food and passing platters around, a few descending to pull a boarding house reach to claim their share of the food. “Thanks for the help Slip.”

            “No problem, it’s a welcome break from the monotony.”

            Fox closed his eyes halfway as he chewed, smiling to himself. He recognized what the recipe was; it was an alteration of a famous restaurant’s meal, sandwiches that had been breaded and deep-fried, then dusted with powdered sugar. “Damn.” He finally said out loud. “Lord, I thank thee for this meal and the people who made it, amen.”

            This drew laughter and agreement from the others, Wolf smiling a bit. If it was anything he new, food could be a wonderful way to increase morale, and if there was anything the team needed, it was that.

 

            Bill grumbled to himself, digging through one of the boxes of personal effects he had brought with him onto the Great Fox, sighing. Which box of books had he put those damnable things in anyway? Eventually he grinned, wiping dust off the hardcover of the large book and setting it to the side, coming out with other books and folders, a huge pouch of dice, and eventually a ranger’s hat. He put the hat on, hefted the rest of the stuff, and left the cabin he was using, going to the den, where most of the team was frying their brain on the Lethal Weapon movies. He hid a smile when he stepped in, doubting that the big news companies ever thought that the Star Fox team looked like this. The couch was crowded with people, so to make more room some people had ended up in other’s laps. Jesse sat on the floor leaning against Wolf’s legs, half asleep as Wolf brushed Jesse’s long hair out absently. Katt was perched on Falco’s legs, eating his popcorn, Peppy was leaning on one of the couch arms, and Fox had wedged himself between Falco and Wolf, which subjected him to being used as a footrest for Katt. Slippy had commandeered a beanbag chair, sitting in front of the couch, reaching back and snitching popcorn from Falco’s bowl as well.

            “Boy, we’re a sorry bunch.” Bill said, walking in and thumping the stack of books down, grinning at everyone.

            Fox looked at Bill’s hat, and rubbed his eyes. “No. Nein. Niet. Non.”

            “AKA, hell no.” Said Falco. “Bill, you brought your role play stuff? Why?”

            Bill grinned. “Personal effects. Come on guys, it’ll use more of your brain then these movies do.”

            “I think we’re trying to kill our brains, Bill.”

            Bill wrested the control from Falco and turned off the VCR. “Aw, come on.” He wheedled. “I’ll accept monster races… within reason, of course…”

            “What have I missed?” Wolf asked, having watched this with confusion, stopped mid-stroke in brushing Jesse’s hair. Jesse grumbled, leaning harder into the brush, yawning and looking at the books. He recognized them of course, he used to play those games all of the time. Still did, when Beltino’s crews got bored and had nothing else better to do…

            “Dungeons and Dragons.” Bill replied brightly. “We used to play twice weekly, until our last year of the Academy, when we were too busy.”

            “That game is single-handedly responsible for me not having a personal life, Bill.” Slippy complained.

            “Aw, you know you enjoyed it.”

            “I wanna play.” Katt said, tail switching. “Come on, guys.”

            Everyone looked at her, and she looked back, crossing her arms and sticking out her lower jaw defiantly, daring everyone to argue with her. They all decided against it, Katt being the only girl on board and therefore considered relatively omnipotent.

            Fox sighed, rubbing his temple, then smiled ruefully, remembering his last character, a half-dragon that had ended up with a harem. Bill had a sick sense of humor sometimes. “Do you have enough dice, Bill?”

            Bill held up the bag, which was the size of a small grocery bag. “Is that a trick question?”

 

            Jirest sighed, setting the tray down on the table, then leaning on the edge of the nest, looking at the alien female, which was still asleep. There were no care-givers on board, but the doctors had said she was fine, and had issued a mild sedative after analyzing her chemical composition and blood. She was carbon based, as he had suspected, from a two-gender race that his people hadn’t met yet. That unto itself had surprised the patrol ship, they had wandered three different galaxies, and knew of five intelligent races, all of which they had a peaceful alliance with. His people, though advanced, had no wish to wage wars, so they made sure they didn’t have to.

            He reached down, carefully fluffing the husiyl fuzz that made up the soft cushion of the nest, which the female had nestled into, burrowing in and sleeping peacefully. The doctors had figured out what temperatures would be comfortable for her and removed the cloth covering she had worn, revealing fur that shimmered in his refractive vision, fluxing pale colors. She slept so she covered her front, arms wrapped over her stomach protectively.

            A beautiful race, he thought as he left the room, locking the door behind him and returning the command room. “My leader?”

            Wrin looked up from the image screen that floated in front of her, antennae perking up. “Sky’s grace to you, Jirest. Anything new to report?”

            “Nothing, I took her the meal that our doctors suggested, she’s still asleep. Have we had any luck deciphering the information on her ship?”

            “Not yet.” She brought up pictures. “Interestingly enough, it seems that the ship she was on is not of her race’s make, or at least that’s what we assume from the pictures and thus forth we have found on board. We can also assume that her race is fairly powerful as far as their military aspect goes.” She reached down and showed him a gun, small compared to them, but he could tell it was a decent sized weapon for the alien’s race. “This was found on board, in a cabinet full of hand-carried projectile weapons. Our best guess is that they’re on board for self-defense.”

            “Pardon my many questions, my leader, but… do our researchers have any idea why she was alone? She seems so fragile.”

            “We can only assume that she wasn’t meant to be alone.” Wrin shrugged, the retractable armor on her shoulders extended so graceful spikes trailed down her arms. “I understand your concern, Jirest, the fact that a soon-mother was left alone on a ship, dying for lack of air, disturbs us all. But you show more compassion then anyone except our doctors.” She looked at him, searching his teardrop-shaped face with her crystalline eyes. “Why?”

            “I suppose she just struck a chime in my hearts, my leader.” Jirest looked at the floor, feelers slicking back in embarrassment. “Feel free to reassign me if it bothers you.”

            “No, no. I’ve just never seen this level of emotion from you before.” She sat back, rubbing her eyes. Jirest was a soldier, commander of the guards stationed to her patrol ship. She’d known him a long time, and he was almost always infuriatingly distant, doubly frustrating because she found him attractive, especially liking the dark bands of color that circled down his arms. She sighed to herself, looking at Jirest and resigning herself to the fact that he was, for all purposes, unreachable.

            A researcher strode into the command room, excitement glittering off his skin. “She’s awake, my leader.”

            Wrin stood, smiling. “Lead the way, Rost.”

 

            Fara woke up with a start, sitting up and looking around. She didn’t recognize where she was. The room was circular and spacious, the ceiling gently curving to meet the floor, so it was like there were no real edges anywhere. Light emanated from slender bars on the walls, filling the room with a warm, soft glow. She had been put in an oval bowl-type bed, which instead of a cushion was filled with fluff of some sort.

            “Where am I?” She rolled to her hands and knees, and almost got sick as morning sickness made her head spin, her growing stomach lurching. “God…” She groaned to herself, letting herself collapse back to the fluff, reaching out automatically as she closed her eyes, then letting her hands fall. She wanted Fox. His presence was soothing to her; he brought her food as her cravings came and went, he knew where to rub on her back and hips to ease the tender muscles. Laying awake at night, unable to sleep, she often contented herself by watching him sleep—watching the expressions flicker across his face as he dreamed, smiling when he came partly awake, because when he did he automatically made sure she was there, often grooming and licking at her ears and neck to satisfy himself, hands sleepily brushing her arm or stomach. Animal instincts, in a way, and she enjoyed every minute of it.

            And now, she didn’t have that, didn’t have his warmth wrapped around her back, his heartbeat soothing hers.

            She moaned to herself, fighting the urge to burrow into the fluff, and slowly sat up, smashing down the morning sickness as she crawled over to the edge of the nest, hooking her fingers over the edge and setting her chin on it, looking around.

            The rest of the room’s furniture had the same soft, rounded look as the room and bed. Comfy, nestlike chairs, low circular tables, a smaller room connected by an open oval door—a bathroom, she guessed. A covered tray sat nearby, and she reached over and uncovered it, blinking down as steam rushed up, scents filling her nose, making her stomach growl and lurch at the same time.

            She didn’t recognize any of the foods, or the drink. It was a small meal, the main part being some sort of grain or similar plant, cooked and mixed with some sort of meat. Unknown fresh plants sat in another section of the plate, and a glass full of a cool bluish liquid sat in a corner of the tray.

            “Where am I?” She asked herself blankly, looking around, and blinked when she saw what seemed to be a camera in the corner, instantly aware of her nudity. Drawing her tail up and covering her chest with an arm, she reached out and slowly picked up the glass, almost dropping it when it conformed to her hand, then took a sip, flicking her tongue out absently. A fruit drink, perhaps, mild and just slightly sweet. It cleaned the sticky dryness from her mouth, and she drank most of the glass in the next gulp, licking her lips and setting the glass down, puzzling over the eating utensils. These too tried to conform to her hands, which just made it harder to figure them out in the end. Eventually she just made them sticks and ate like it was oriental food, holding the plate in one hand and her improvised chopsticks in the other, perching on the end of the bed and ignoring the camera entirely. Food first, decency later, she had decided.

            She almost choked when the door on the far side of the room slowly slid open, preparing herself for anything. After a moment the person who opened the door slowly stepped into her view, and she blinked in bewilderment. The creature had at least eighteen inches on her, plus long antennae that stretched at least three feet, feathery appendages that were currently angled toward her. Her first thought, looking at the creature, was ‘insect,’ though she knew that wasn’t quite right. It was bipedal like her, with long legs and arms, three-fingered hands held out, empty and palm up. Its head was shaped like a dull teardrop, crystalline rainbow-colored eyes flickering reflected light.

            “Hi.” Fara finally said, waving with one hand and smiling weakly.

            Jirest looked over Rost’s shoulder, listening as the alien spoke. He didn’t understand it, of course, but he recognized the feelings in it, mostly uneasiness, but no fear at all. Rost fiddled with something absently, then tossed it up in the air, where it hovered then drifted to a midpoint between them and the small alien as they stepped the rest of the way into the room.

            Fara watched the orb spin thoughtfully, then cleared her throat and spoke again, stabbing another bite of food with her chopsticks. “So… where am I, exactly?” She looked down at herself then back at the aliens. “And why am I nude?”

            The orb spun idly, then turned to face Rost. “The translation program is only half complete. She wants to know where she is, but her second sentence was not yet understandable.”

            “All right.” Rost and Jirest both looked to Wrin. “It is your ship, my leader, so I suppose you should introduce us.”

            Wrin nodded once and stepped forward. “You are on board the patrol ship Wings of Light. We found your ship drifting and brought you on board.”

            Fara’s eyes widened, listening to the alien’s soft, musical chattering, which was promptly translated by the orb to Lylatian. The accenting was completely off, but it was understandable. “Thank you.”

            “What shall we call you, small one?” Wrin asked, walking across the room and pulling a chair closer to the nest, sitting down.

            “My name is Fara.”

 

            “Traitorous coward! Don’t you dare push that button!”

            Fox was deaf to the screams over his radio, turning the keys slowly then flipping up the cover. His fingers brushed over the surface of the button, then he pressed his whole palm into it. The Great Fox exploded around him, fire and vacuum eating at him, and he didn’t regret it at all.

            Fox woke up with a screech, sitting bolt upright, holding himself and rocking numbly. Shock edged through his system as he rubbed his upper arms, shivering. More nightmares. Just what he needed, dreams of his own betrayal and death. Usually he put a lot of belief into dreams, he had had a few that had been right, but now that idea scared him.

            Death without regret. What could press him to that? Fara’s MIA status weighed heavily on his heart, but he knew that he had a lot of people depending on him. His own happiness didn’t actually matter in the long run, and he knew it.

            He tossed off the tangled covers and staggered to his feet, popping his back and shoulders, then giving his ears a thorough scratch as he stared blankly at the clock, waiting for it to register with his sleep-clouded mind. Three in the morning, what a godforsaken time, he mused with a yawn, pulling on a flannel after zipping up a pair of jean shorts, wobbling out the door to his room. The Great Fox was silent, floor vibrating just slightly from the hyperspace warp, his footsteps echoing quiet noises down the corridor as he walked to the kitchen, pausing when he heard voices inside, then opening the door and leaning in.

            Jesse was sitting on the counter, kicking a foot, tail waving idly as he watched Wolf read a recipe. Peppy was sitting at the table, drawing pad resting on the table, pencil darting across the surface as he watched the pair. The counter was cluttered with baking supplies, and the oven was clicking softly as it went through its warm-up cycle. Both looked up when he walked in. “Good morning.” Jesse remarked, blinking. “Welcome to insomniacs anonymous.”

            “Hello, my name is Fox, and I’m an insomniac.” He recited with a sour smile, leaning around Wolf and snitching some cookie dough, licking it off his finger. Peppy flipped pages and started a new drawing, smiling to himself. “So, why are you three up?”

            “Same reason as you, I imagine.” Wolf replied, smacking Fox’s hand with a wooden spoon. “I’ve already had to make Jesse stop eating my cookie base. Hell I already had to remake it once. I don’t need you doing the same thing to me.”

            “It was worth it.” Jesse grinned. “So, what kind of cookies are you making?”

            “Not sure yet.”

            “I say we just eat the cookie base and call it good.” Fox made another grab at the mixing bowl, and Wolf’s spoon connected with his still-bandaged knuckles. “Ow! That’s not very fair.”

            Peppy chuckled to himself as Fox walked over, shaking his hurting hand. “You really should go back to bed, Fox.”

            “You guys aren’t sleeping, why should I?” He replied, sitting down, looking at the pieces of paper scattered over the table. There was at least a dozen drawings torn out of the notebook, mostly quick sketches, but he could see what had been going on before he had come here. He blinked, turning one of the drawings around so it was facing him. It was Wolf and Jesse, pouring over a few dessert-specialized cookbooks. Wolf was leaning back against the counter, and Jesse was perched on the counter behind him, arms wrapped over Wolf’s shoulders and muzzle leaning against Wolf’s cheekbone. There was a unity about the picture, a comfortable completeness, and he had to wonder if he and Fara had looked like this once. “Cute.”

            “He’s been up longer then us.” Wolf said, dumping butterscotch chips into the cookie base, along with more flour and chocolate chunks. “We all have our talents.”

            “Eh, this is just a hobby.” Peppy smiled. “It keeps my hands busy, so I don’t fall into the smoking pit like you and Falco both did.”

            “Bite me, old man, I’m down to two cloves a day. I’m working on quitting.”

            “Good for you. Oh, I’ve been wanting to give this to you, Fox.” Peppy pulled another sheet out of the sketchbook and handed it to him slowly. “I didn’t figure you had any decent pictures, so I colored this one in for you.”

            Fox took the picture and stared at it, heart fluttering in his throat. It was one of him and Fara, asleep together on the couch in the den. Their fingers had laced together over Fara’s stomach, and his muzzle was resting in the curve made by her neck and shoulder. “Thank you, Peppy. I’ll have to find a frame.” He finally said in a choked-up voice. “And you’re right, I don’t have any pictures at all of her.”

            “You’re very welcome.”

            “Don’t you dare start crying.” Wolf pointed the wooden spoon at Fox. “We have enough depression on this ship as it is. Get over here and grease cookie sheets.”

            Fox smiled.

 

            “This won’t do at all.” Wrin said, staring at the flight paths Fara remembered. “These planets are not friendly to your life type at all, little mother-to-be.”

            “It was all guesswork, our scientists trying to find places we could go.” She replied. “We were panicked, frantic. The death of our system was practically imminent.”

            “The planet-devastators.” Jirest sighed softly. “Our race lost many colonies, many people, before we found out the source of the destruction. We are very sorry that your people lost your home.”

            “We got out in time, and that’s what matters.” Fara replied, leaning on the table and looking at the floating star chart, shifting as her stomach did. Her new friends had given her new clothing, a graceful skirt and top that showed her stomach. From what she had inferred, pregnant mothers were practically worshipped among her new friends’ people, and children were sacred, not to be harmed. These facts elevated her to a goddess stature on the patrol cruiser—alien representative, and mother-to-be on top of it. “But the convoy will be following this path. If we follow it backwards, we’ll find them, and they won’t be easy to miss. It’s over thirty ships, and they’re all big. Most of them aren’t well armed, because the mother ships aren’t supposed to fight.”

            “Your mate is with that convoy?”

            “Yes, in one of the battle cruisers guarding the convoy. I miss him so much.” She touched the star that she knew was Lylat and closed her eyes. “How soon can we go to the convoy?”

            “We’re waiting on our own ships right now, a pair of scientific vessels to interact with your people, as well as some diplomatic vessels.” Said Wrin. “As soon as they arrive, we’ll start moving. I know you wish to return to your mate, Fara. I’m not going to deny you that.”

            She smiled. “Thank you Wrin. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

            “It is the least that we can do.”

           

            ROB, who was in the process of trying to beat Jesse in chess while the rest of the AIs cheered him on from cameras and speakers, barely noticed when the radar started picking up large, moving blips coming toward the convoy. They had stopped for another cool-down period, and the convoy had fallen into a defensive flight pattern, resting their engines and letting people exchange cruisers. It took a good thirty seconds before he realized the radar disturbance, and by then there was a grand total of five large ships approaching, all of unknown origin.

            ROB sent the notice out to all of the convoy, slapping the timer after his move and turning back to his screens, shaking his head when he heard Jesse say ‘checkmate, ROB’ behind his back. “We’ve got company, everyone.”

            Fox leaned over ROB’s shoulder, staring at the screens. “Who are they?”

            “We’re gong to find out soon enough, they’re transmitting.”

            Fox looked around at the others, who had arrived on the bridge, some still pulling on their uniform jackets or buckling on their sidearms. They all nodded slowly, prepared for whatever was coming at them, and Fox looked back to ROB. “Accept transmission.”

            It became a silent face-off, the convoy versus the alien arrivals, no moves on either side, just waiting. The transmission came in, echoing to all cruisers.

            “We are told your race has a saying, ‘home is where the heart is.’ Your home is gone, by no fault of yours, and now you search for a new heart for your race to base from.” The voice was melodious, soft and chattering. “Do not fear us, little aliens. We have already become your allies.”

            “When did this happen, exactly?” General Pepper asked, voice cautious.

            Another voice came on, Corneria-accented, feminine. “Don’t worry, General. They’re cool. Fox? Can you hear me?”

            Fox backed away from the view ports, eyes wide. “Fara?”

            “That’s me, baby, in the skin, alive and well. Why don’t you guys power your weapons down so we can mingle, eh?” Fara grinned, listening to Fox’s voice, the relief and hope that filled it. “How are you doing?”

            “A lot better, now. Not so good, before.” Fox reached up, fingering his stitched, torn ear, suddenly worried again. How was he going to explain to Fara that he had done this to himself?

            Wolf reached over and wrapped his hand around Fox’s shoulder, tightening his grip until Fox looked at him, recognizing the silent support. The rest of the team echoed this, Falco energetically pounding Fox on the back as the convoy fell into a looser formation, the alien ships drifting up, branch-like wings moving on solar winds. The shuttle launched, docking automatically with the Great Fox, and joy surged in his heart as it hit his conscious mind that Fara was alive, that she was fine and their child was fine. He tore out of the bridge, skidding down the hallway, almost loosing his footing as he tried to turn into the docking bay.

            Jirest leaned slowly out the open door of the shuttle as Fara walked down the ramp, looking around at the silver docking bay, all sharp corners and angles compared to his people’s ships. He jumped when another small form streaked into the room, and Fara made an ‘oof!’ noise, sitting roughly on the floor as another of her people tackled her down, careful not to hit her stomach, wrapping his arms around her and crying. Fara laughed and returned the hold, the pair holding each other on the slick metal floor.

            Fara smiled, brushing her hand over Fox’s muzzle, wiping away the tears of relief and joy, fingering his ear. The damage was recent, the stitches still new enough that the medical thread glistened. “What happened, Fox?”

            He looked up at her, ears slicking back. “When you disappeared… I…”

            She understood, and held him to her chest, rocking him. “It’s all right. I’m here.”

            Peppy smiled, walking into the docking bay and looking at the pair. “One big happy family again.” He remarked to the others.

            “That just keeps on getting bigger.” Falco said, sounding annoyed, looking at the shuttle. “Looks like an ET has joined us.”

            Jirest, seeing himself being looked at, walked over and held up his hand. “Hi. Jirest is my name, I am guard to soon-mother Fara for the time being.”

            They all blinked at him, and Slippy smiled weakly as Fox and Fara walked over, arms securely wrapped around each other. “Welcome aboard, Jirest.”

            “I very pleased to meet of you.”

            “So, Fara, what exactly happened?” Bill asked, looking frustrated that no one had explained it yet.

            She smiled. “Come on guys, I’ll explain everything in the kitchen. I hope someone is willing to cook, I am starved… ”