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Fox was sore as hell, but thanks to Krystal's studious care of the Great Fox's medical bay he didn't have any trouble finding pain pills to soothe the ache coming from most of his body. The amount of work it took to go over not only their Arwings but also the large stockpile of salvage the Cornerian military had loaded onto the Great Fox was more than he'd expected it'd be. He'd known it'd be a lot of work, but for it to be so backbreaking? That had been a surprise.

Most of the salvage had been dumped into storage containers provided by the military with enough surplus to fill a few empty ones they already had on hand in the docking bay. It was all like trash tossed into a bin save for the intact pieces of starships and supply crates they'd acquired. Those had all be fastened down with cables wherever there was room to spare.

Krystal and Peppy were given the task to go over the supply crates whereas the younger men spent their time and effort to slowly pick their way through the rest of the salvage to try and figure out what all they'd been given. The Lokas would likely want to do their own assessment as well, which would take a while given their track record for thoroughness.

Later, from what Fox had gathered from Peppy's report, he'd learned that the supply crates weren't much good for the Star Fox Team. It was predominantly supplies meant for manufacturing bullets, some portable tents, and other field items. The Venomian forces in Meteo seemed to have been trying to build up a supply cache of goods that would let them develop a legitimate outpost, but they'd not managed to buy enough time to put anything into action.

"None of this is anything we'd need, Fox. What few things might have been useful we already have in stock. I don't see why we'd any more field tents than we already do." Peppy had told him earlier in the bay. It was a little disappointing to find out all those supply crates weren't things they could keep and use right away. At least they could turn it around and sell it off. There'd be a buyer somewhere that would want these types of goods, and the Lokas would be sure to find them.

The 'fast acting' pain pills weren't kicking in as quickly as he'd hoped so Fox took his time to get back to the bridge from medical. There he found Peppy and R.O.B. at their stations.

"What's to report?" He asked before easing into his chair with a stifled groan.

"Docking permissions granted by the Belter Sol Port Authority. We've been instructed to use Bay 13." R.O.B. answered. Fox nodded and looked over at the hare who had a display up with dozens of lines of text scrolling.

"I'm putting together the manifest, Fox. It's a mess and I'm sure they'll find mistakes. I'm trying to write it up so it doesn't make us look like we didn't try to figure out what we have." Peppy replied.

"I'm sure they'll appreciate the effort when they see what it is we had to deal with, Pep." he told him. "How is everyone else doing? Slippy still with the Arwings?"

"Fox, Slippy is in the hangar bay working on your Arwing. Falco and Krystal are in their respective quarters." R.O.B. added.

"Thanks, R.O.B. About how long until we are in Belter orbit?" He asked.

"Approximately six hours." the android replied. Fox leaned back and felt his back pop. It didn't make his ache feel any better.

"Peppy, can you pen a nice message for the Lokas to let them know we'll be arriving in six hours' time. I'm sure they already know, but it would be good to let them know ourselves that we come bearing gifts." Fox said to the hare and stood back up. He had six hours to kill and needed to figure out how to spend them.

"Will do, Fox. I'm sure they'll be salivating at how well their scheming has paid off." Peppy replied. Yeah, Fox was sure they would be salivating alright. He excused himself from the bridge and worked his way through the ship to the crew quarters. Fox contemplated bothering Falco, but he'd been doing about as much of the work and lifting that he had been, and maybe a little more than that, so he decided to leave the bird alone.

Fox found himself alone in his own quarters with Krystal running the shower in the bathroom. Fox couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety as he paced the room. Between his aches and pains, the restlessness of travel, and the impending visit to Belter Sol he was not feeling as well as he could.

Physically, he'd rested from the last mission, all his aches aside. Mentally he still felt drained. It occurred to him that Krystal would likely be sensing all this from the shower.

A few minutes later he heard the water shut off and that was followed not too long later by the vixen stepping out into the bedroom with nothing but a towel on her head. Fox looked her up and down and saw she'd lightly dried herself and was looking damp from head to toe. She shook the towel through her hair several times and then tossed it back into the bathroom to be dealt with later.

"How are you feeling, Fox?" she asked him. Krystal stepped over to him and gave him a kiss on the lips before slipping her arms around him for a hug. She could sense him, clearly.

"Dealing." He told her.

"I love you." The vixen told him and nuzzle her face into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. He kissed her on the cheek.

"I know." Fox replied. The continued to hold each other. There was a gentle sway to her hips he was noticing as she tried to gently rock herself against him affectionately. He exhaled into her hair and smelled the scent of the perfumed shampoo she liked using. He wondered how she felt about all this. They'd scarcely talked directly and bluntly about what they've been through with the Lokas. Mostly his fault. He wanted nothing more than to ignore most of it and move on. Out of sight and out of mind.

"Thinking of something?" She asked.

He thought on her question. There was an itch he needed to scratch. He was being forced to admit to himself that he was dreading going to the Lokas offices. It was a curious gut feeling that had him feeling anxious and confused. He'd have to watch them lay their hands on her again, and then see her respond and act... different than he was accustomed to seeing her behave.

"Fox." She prodded him with her nose.

"Do you enjoy being with the Lokas." He asked her at last. She didn't say anything and there was an awkward silence hanging between them. He felt her grip tighten on him and her face buried itself into the crook of his neck where it then remained as she spoke.

"You know I love you, Fox." She told him quietly.

"I know. I love you, too, Krystal." He told her and adjusted his grip on her to remain tight, but to also press her against him better.

She sighed into his fur. He wasn't empathic like she was, but with her so close to him he felt like he could feel her nervousness and anxiety as much as she could feel his own. Maybe it was an illusion, but he felt like he could sense her almost. There had been other moments where he'd felt that sensation as well, but they were always few and far between. Maybe just a trick of the wind.

"I... When I'm with them I enjoy it." She finally said after a long pause. He felt himself flush red and cold. It was certainly different to be suspecting it and then hearing her admit it. She sighed again into his neck. "We can find a way to avoid it this time. Take Peppy or Falco with us."

Fox kept holding her and swallowed a dry lump he was surprised to find there. He could tell that she knew he was upset from how she moved against him in his grip. He rubbed her with his hands and held her a little tighter.

"I haven't stopped loving you or trusting you." He said out loud. "It's just really hard to deal with when I see and remember what they do to you."

"They are very aggressive and dominant, but they have never meant me any harm. I can sense them when we're with them alone." She said. Her voice was very quiet, but she was so close he had no trouble hearing her. "They don't see boundaries, Fox. I think they only see puzzles to solve and mazes to navigate. They enjoy winning."

Fox's thoughts were idling. He listened to her, but he went back to his wondering. She shifted and spoke.

"I think... I think they are hunters of things they shouldn't possess. It excites them knowing they can fuck me." She finished.

"Do you think less of me?" he asked her with a note of shame. She moved against him as he spoke like he'd hurt her somehow.

"Fox, I would never!" Whatever emotional upset she'd kept in check was beginning to bleed out. "I don't!"

He squeezed her tightly and listened as she repeated herself a few times that she didn't. Her slender hands were tight on his arms. She exhaled hard and fidgeted in her distress.

"It's ok, Krystal. It's alright." He shifted and kissed her on the cheek but she knocked him aside with her muzzle so she could plant her lips on his. It was a hard kiss and she was deploying excessive force. He pushed her gently back.

"I trust you." He told her after breaking away from her kiss. He looked into her eyes, which were watering. "Now, tell me if you're ok with all this."

She sniffed and shrugged. "They have a way with women, Fox." She tried to laugh it off. "They make you feel... strange, and good. They know what they're doing. I can sense their emotions whenever they are there, and it's, sometimes intoxicating. Overwhelming."

Fox listened.

"They are raunchy and degenerate, but when they look at me all I feel is this incredible desire. Like an intense hunger. It's powerful. It's almost like what I feel from you, but there isn't any love buried within the lust. Just a primal desire for sex. Breeding. It's intimidating once I get past that first sense of them. I feel like I'm looking into the guts of a pair of machines built for only one thing. Their women are like that, too, but it's never aimed at me."

He felt a mix of hot and cold, and that last comment wasn't shocking. He'd felt it in his own way the very depth of a goannan woman's lust. It was palpable. He sighed, and her hand came to rest on his cheek to stroke across his fur.

"I feel safe with them, Fox. I don't feel like they are trying to steal me from you. They only wanted sex, so I thought it was ok, and then they find ways to get whatever they want from me. I didn't know what to do last time, and you were ok with it." She continued, sounding distressed with a quickening of her speech. "I could sense you were feeling so nervous and wrong, but you were acting like it was ok, so I had to choose. I wanted to trust you, so I let them keep going, and they, they know what to do to get what they want, and it felt..."

"If I say something is ok, then it's ok. I know you might feel something from me, but just understand it's hard to deal with seeing you with someone else." Fox wanted to protect her in that moment rather than himself. A part of him was thinking he should have been thinking about his own feelings, but Krystal's distress was bringing out his protective nature.

"You're always like that." She said. "We need... we need to think of better rules on what we should do when we're with them, Fox. I can't always give in to them, and you shouldn't either."

He sighed. Fox didn't know what to say. She was right. The Lokas were sleazy opportunists. The fact they turned those space fighters around as soon as they got them and pawned them off on a group that they then sicked the Star Fox Team on was proof enough that the Loka Brothers had little to no qualms with working anything to their advantage. After all they were now getting another shipment of salvage and materials to resell from the Team.

The communicator in his pocket began to throb. He ignored it at first, but second thoughts got to him, and he slid it from his pocket. She watched him answer it as he put it to his ear.

"Fox, we got a reply from Belter Sol acknowledging our arrival. Looks like they want all of us to show up this time." Peppy said into his ear. The volume was high enough that Krystal could also hear. Her ears perked up at the mention that 'all of us'.

"All of us? Anything else?" Fox asked.

"They want us to deliver a manifest of what we're bringing to sell. I let them know ahead of time that there might be some discrepancies between what our manifest shows and what they figure out. But, yeah, Fox, just seems like they want the whole Star Fox Team to show up. It was a cordial message. Looks like they expect us there about an hour after we dock." Peppy replied. Fox removed his arm from around Krystal and rubbed his face.

"Well, I guess we should make sure we're all washed up by then and ready to be dressed in our best." Fox added. Peppy agreed and told him he'd let Falco and Slippy know. Fox looked at Krystal who tried to smile in reply. "I would normally say we should bring a gift, but I guess everything on that list we're giving them would be sufficient, don't you think Peppy?"

"Well, I would certainly hope so! Let me get back to this thing, Fox, I just wanted to give you an update, ok?" the hare replied, and Fox let him go without much protest. He tossed his communicator over onto the bed and looked back at Krystal.

"Well, at least you're already showered and clean." He told her. She hugged him close and kissed him. They shared a look, and he could tell she wanted to talk more. "We'll be fine today. We can make excuses and be back here and we'll talk more in the evening."

She frowned. "Fox."

"It'll be fine. We're going to be there for a few days at the bare minimum. I don't think the Lokas are so short in fuse they can't wait an extra day or two." he said, and then after a moment's pause, "To have you."

She frowned sadly at him. "Promise me we'll talk more about this."

"I promise." Fox assured her. "I love you."

She leaned in and they kissed. "You might could help Slippy, but I think you're better off taking a shower." She suggested. It was a good suggestion, and then he could fetch another dose of painkiller to keep with him for later. Hopefully it wasn't anything that would react badly with alcohol.

"Yeah, but how about you go and check on him?" He asked her. She hugged him again and nuzzled at his neck affectionately. He hugged her back for a moment before she broke away gently.

Krystal looked him in the eyes, then squinted. "What?" He asked. She pouted her lips and made a scolding face.

"Fox McCloud, you are such a mess! You really DO need to shower." She accused him and poke him in the chest with a finger. He looked down and saw nothing, then reached up and touched his face instinctively looking for something that might have been on his face.

"What? I'm not filthy." He replied.

"You have a spot right here." She whispered slowly at him as she grabbed him by the belt and knelt in front of him. "Let me help clean it for you."

Fox felt a genuine grin creep onto his face for the first time that day. "I guess it's a good thing I keep you around, isn't it?" he said while she smiled up at him, looking like she was feeling a lot better. He was feeling a lot better himself by the time she found her way onto his cock. A mouthful of cum later and the blue vixen was back in the bathroom to finish getting herself ready while Fox hopped into the shower for a well-deserved rinse.

Much later, but right on schedule, the entire Star Fox team was piled into a Beltan taxi and being shuttled over to meet with the Lokas at their HQ. They were each dressed as well as they could. Fox and Krystal had both worn their dark formal uniforms with Peppy and Falco doing the same. Slippy with the only one still dressed in typical attire, because the toad hardly had half the wardrobe the rest of the team owned.

They'd left R.O.B. behind to watch the ship as eager work crews reviewed everything, they were going to sell off to the Lokas and compare it to the manifest Peppy had prepared beforehand.

"It's been a little while since I've actually been up to their offices." Peppy commented. He was sitting to one side of a center console with Falco next to him on the other side of said console. Opposite them was Fox, Krystal, and Slippy in that order.

"You haven't missed much." Fox replied. The Lokas, best as he could tell, haven't updated their decor in a while. It was usually the same every time he ever saw it. The only thing that did fluctuate was the faces of the goannan ladies working as secretaries. Sometimes they came and went. Probably maternity leave considering who they were working for.

"They have expensive tastes." Krystal said. Falco laughed.

"Little bit more than that, Krystal." The falcon added and started messing with the center console to see if he could open it, which he did after a short moment. It was a storage compartment containing multiple glasses and other drinking accessories.

"Save it for the party, Falco. We don't want you drunk before we even get through the door." Peppy scolded the bird and the rest of them laughed at Falco's expense. Fox was feeling some anxiety about meeting with the Lokas, but he did trust that the lizards could and would be discrete for all of their benefit. Judging by Krystal's demeanor she was sensing his feelings despite being crowded into a taxi with several people. She was supportive in her expression and body language.

"Let's all just try to be decently behaved while we're there, ok?" Krystal urged them all and patted Falco on the thigh while looking at him. He rolled his eyes and leaned back into the seat with his arms crossed. None of them had bothered to pop open any of the drinks left available in the console.

It wasn't a long trip and they were all escorted up to the Lokas with cordial haste. What awaited them was a happy pair of brothers and a small army of waitresses. When the Star Fox team made their entry into the main lobby, they were greeted with modest fanfare by the myriad of goannan women with their short dresses and gaudy decoration.

"Foxx McCloud! Baccuss and I both welcome you and your Team with open armss." It was Kilroy speaking. The metal cap at the end of his tail tip looked polished up and his black pinstripe suit was freshly dry cleaned and fitted to his frame with perfection. His brother Baccus stood next to him in a matching suit and looked about as immaculate. Together they both looked as intimidating as they did chipper.

"It'ss been quite some time ssince we've had the entire Sstar Foxx Team ass guestss, Kilroy. I hope our hospitality ssuits them!" Baccus added and the two lizards approached them. There were four goannan ladies off behind them with a bottle of alcohol in each of their arms. Each bottle had a small white and gold ribbon tied around its neck. Gifts no doubt.

"We appreciate your generosity, Baccus. Kilroy." Fox said, addressing them both in turn. He forced a genuine looking smile and extended a hand. Baccus took it and his own smile bordered on looking like a smirk. His brother joined him and shook Fox's hand next with a smile of his own that did seem genuine.

"I think you are all due ssome celebration. You're mission was a ssuccess after all." Kilroy said and clapped Falco on the shoulder just hard enough to rock the bird to the side.

"Yeah, I hope that means-" Falco started but Krystal jabbed him in the ribs from behind.

"You've got fine wine and women, I think Falco was going to say very politely." Krystal finished the falcon's sentence much more cleanly than he would have himself. Both brothers laughed and invited them all to follow. Fox watched as Kilroy lifted a hand and snapped his fingers as a gesture to the women.

At once, all four goannan ladies rushed towards them. Each being a bit curvaceous and scantily dressed had left them bodies looking rather 'luscious' as they bounded toward the group. A bottle of alcohol was thrust into each of their arms and the ladies swiftly placed themselves behind them all and with firm grips on their shoulders, gaudy painted fingernails in view, they were ushered in behind the Lokas to the back room Fox and Krystal had both become well acquainted with.

Krystal must have noticed this and passed him a glance. No one else caught it, save maybe some of the lizard ladies, and she looked optimistic if a little bit concerned. At least one of the ladies urging them along caught his gaze and Fox had to look back to the door they were approaching. Her look had him convinced that it wasn't a secret amongst the slutty staff that the Lokas were fucking the blue vixen. Maybe it was paranoia or anxiety, but something in his bones told him it was a rumor in the office that everyone knew was true.

Thankfully, it turned out neither of them had anything to worry about. Apart from the knowing looks Fox caught on the lizard's faces there was no attempt made to 'out' the arrangement made between them and the Lokas. It was just a nice celebratory party. During the festivities it was clear the Lokas were getting updates from their work crews. It was looking like the manifest they'd prepared for them was holding accurate so far, and the two lizards seemed pleased. They must have seen value in all the salvage.

"Foxx McCloud," Baccus approached him from behind and put a hand on his shoulder. He stifled the instinct to flinch and turned to face the grinning lizard. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand. Having gained Fox's attention, the goannan removed his hand from his shoulder and slipped it into his blazer. Fox was watching the tall lizard's face and couldn't help but look over at the angry scar over the side of Baccus' face. He pulled a plastic card from his inside breast pocket and handed it to Fox.

Krystal stepped up to both of their sides and looked to Fox. She was being protective. Baccus turned his own attention away from the card and to the vixen.

"Did I tell you your dresss is quite fetching, Krysstal?" He said while Fox snatched the card from the goannan's hand. He turned it over and saw it was some kind of business card. It looked like an advertisement for a shipping company. He'd seen the name in and around Belter Sol. There were several dozen 'local' businesses around this part of space that used Belter Sol as their home.

"Yes, Baccus. This would be the third time." She replied with a patient smile. Somewhere in the background they heard Kilroy and Falco laughing loudly at something. Fox glanced their way and saw Falco 'flapping' his arms high as he was telling some kind of story. Knowing the falcon he was either bragging about his prowess as a pilot or regaling their business partner with the 'I fell off a balcony once' story. That story was actually really funny.

"Have I charmed you, Maiden?" Baccus asked. He whispered Krystal's 'nickname' as to avoid others from hearing it. Fox looked to the vixen and she sighed and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I do think I look rather fetching, don't you agree Fox?" She then turned to him with a smile. He looked her up and down again and agreed. The black pencil skirt hugged her hips really tight. It was actually very pleasing to see her covered from head to toe. Dark blue stockings under her skirt and a matching vest. Her jacket was as black as the skirt and the ensemble looked gorgeous. The only bit of fur that was visible was on her head and neck. The vest did lead the eye down to her cleavage...

"Always, Krystal. Too bad Baccus hardly gets to see you." He smirked and turned to look up at the lizard. Baccus chuckled in reply and gestured to the card Fox was holding.

"Touché, McCloud." He replied and clapped Fox on the shoulder before giving him a squeeze. "That card iss a potential job for you."

"Oh?" He asked back and ignored the hand on his shoulder. The goannan nodded.

"Sshipping in and out of Belter Sol can sometimes be dangerouss bussiness." The lizard began. Fox eyed the card in his hand again. He could already feel the nature of the work taking shape in his expectations. "We work often with the Bradley Brotherss. They are in need of an escort for a very expensive purchase of ours."

"Details." Fox said and let Krystal take the card when she reached for it. The vixen took her own turn to read it before slipping it into her jacket and pulling out her personal device. While she was no doubt researching the company Baccus ignored her activity and explained.

"We're purchassing new drilling equipment and a furnace from another mining company. We've found out that they are attempting to offload older hardware ass they upgrade their own. They'd never ssell to uss knowingly. They wouldn't want competition outside of legal sspace." Fox listened to Baccus intently. "Ssome of our equipment iss very old and wass in use before Kilroy and I took charge of Belter Sol. We're using a shell company to purchase the hardware, and Bradley Brotherss is sshipping it to us here."

"You think they are aware you're buying it?" He asked. The lizard shook his head in reply.

"All of our sshell companies are older than ten yearss, McCloud. We even inherited ssome of them from the lasst director of Belter Sol. The people who work for these companies don't know we're ssigning their paycheckss the majority of the time." Baccus replied. "You would be ssurprised how many people on Corneria own a product with our name on it."

Fox frowned at that, then felt Krystal tap his elbow. He eyed her sideways and caught her eye. There was something serious about her expression, but she was trying to hide it from Baccus. Something about the look she gave him said that she was picking up something suspicious from the lizard.

Was Baccus lying about something?

His thoughts switched back to what the lizard had said and Fox kept himself from frowning. 'A product with our name on it' was just the lizard trying to jab back after Fox's reminder that he didn't get to put his claws on their 'maiden' as often as they'd like. Fox smirked and gestured to Krystal to hand him back the business card. She did so, and Fox looked again at the face of the card and the business' name.

He wondered if the Lokas used them because they, too, we're brothers in business.

"So it's just an escort to guarantee it makes it to its destination?" Fox asked. Baccuss smiled back with a nod.

"It's very expensive equipment, McCloud. Far more expensive than what we normally use the Bradleys for. They're nervous about being attacked in transit just for that alone." The lizard told him, and Fox tucked the card into his jacket this time with Krystal again touching his elbow. This time it wasn't to get his attention. She saddled up next to him by hooking her arm in with his.

"Sounds fun." She spoke up. "I'm sure we'll be well compensated."

This time the vixen took her turn to smirk and now all three of them were standing and looking at each other with an odd tension in the mix. Then, Baccus hissed out a chuckle and retrieved a personal device from his pocket.

"I'll transsfer detailss." He replied and began to work his device. While he kept his eyes on the small screen, he leaned toward them both and began to speak in a low whisper.

"That's a tad too low for us to hear with Falco squawking, Baccus." Krystal pointed out when neither of them could quite catch what he'd said. The goannan audibly growled, and as if on cue Falco Lombardi laughted particularly loud, and along with him they could hear Kilroy's laughter and two of the goannan serving girls giggling with them.

"Make time to vissit uss alone and we'll add in a bonuss to your pay." He said a bit louder. Fox shrugged, and Krystal tightened her grip on his arm.

"With such an important mission coming up Fox and I will have to make sure the team is well prepared for the job. That might take up a lot of time, and I'm sure you're in a hurry to get your new equipment in. Right, Fox?" Krystal took initiative. He looked at her with mild surprise. Was she deliberately opening the door for them to snub their offer? Fox shifted his gaze to Baccus who was hiding a frown. He didn't look pleased.

"She's right, Baccus. After we go over the details you send us, I'll see if we've got time to spare to pay you a visit to go over anything else that we might have missed. How about that?" He told the goannan who then stood back upright and finally let a smile settle over his face.

"Whatever it takes to keep us from losing millions of credits, McCloud." The lizard replied. The goannan looked very serious when he said it. Fox eyed back to Krystal who was wide eyed and watching the lizard. It seemed there was a lot of money at stake. A whole hell of a lot.

"We won't let you down, Baccus. The Star Fox Team knows what it's doing." Krystal said with a soothing tone in her voice. The goannan nodded to them both then tapped his device and tucked it back into his pocket.

"Good." He replied.

The following day they had to the review, as a team, the details sent to them by Baccus. It was straightforward, but that betrayed what was at stake. It was also odd that the details given were so scant. It was like reading through cliff notes. Only basic information like were they would rendezvous with their escort and the route they would take to return to Belter Sol. Their payment would be through the shipping company who would act as middle man between the Lokas and Star Fox.

But he had a feeling this was going to be their most 'expensive' job. He knew the Lokas to be willing to pay good money when it was needed, and there was this vibe he got from this mission. They really needed it, but until he spoke with the shipping company they wouldn't know how much it'd affect their future budgets.

Now the only thing left to do was to meet directly with the shipping company. The Bradley Brothers had insisted on meeting Fox in person before they would actually agree to even do the job. It wasn't just a matter of getting the Star Fox Team to agree to the terms. Apparently, the Bradley Brothers were throwing their hands up refusing to transport something to valuable, and apparently so desirable. The Lokas had no choice but to bribe them heavily and find a merc group with a great reputation to agree to protect the Bradley's ship and crew.

It looked to Fox like the Lokas were in a bind, and Baccus had been good enough about hiding it that it was only after they're ended their party and got back to the Great Fox that the truth began to unravel. Well, it felt good having more power in this situation. You could never have enough bargaining power, as any good merchant would tell you.

And pursuit of that power now left him standing out on the Belter Sol streets in front of a the Bradley Brother's office.

Fox looked up at the neon lit sign. In bright green tubing against the red backdrop of rusted metal 'The Bradley Brothers Shipping and Handling Services' was writ large. It was as gaudy a sign as one could pay good money for. He stepped up to the sturdy looking steel door and noted that it was scuffed with dints all around the handle from past break in attempts. Fox doubted anyone could kick in a door like this, but you couldn't deny a desperate man his effort.

He knocked on the door with the back of his knuckles several times and waited. His eyes were naturally drawn to the thin rectangle of metal about 6 inches higher than his eye level. It slid open after a bit, but Fox couldn't see anything through the slat.

"Yeah?" A deep voice asked.

"Fox McCloud. I'm here to speak with the Brothers." He replied. The slat was left open for only a moment before it was slid shut. About a full minute and a half later he finally heard something in the door began to slide and click. He was almost about to knock again, too. The steel door slide to the side and greeting him in the doorway was a very tall canine of mixed ancestry. The dog stepped aside and let Fox through.

Upon entering the business, he saw the store front looked more like a dive bar. There was a single long counter across one side of the room with plenty of stools. There were men both seated at the bar and several more were milling around a pair of pool tables. There were no women. It looked to Fox like he'd interrupted several conversations as well as a good game of pool.

Twelve men of mixed species were now staring at him, and all of them were tall brutishly built guys. Fox was only slightly intimidated, but the weight of his blaster was something that offered a lot of comfort.

"The boss has been waiting for you patiently, Mr. McCloud." The big canine next to him said a lot more politely than he'd have expected from the dog. "Mr. Bradley is eager to discuss business with you, but he would feel a lot safer if you left your firearm at the door."

There went some of that comfort. He eyed the canine with well-hidden suspicion, but he also knew the entire room was eying him just the same. Their suspicion; however, was not veiled. About half of them were visibly armed with a gun of their own. Fox reached to his side and unholstered his blaster, and let it hang casually off his finger from the trigger guard.

"Of course." Fox offered his gun to the canine who took a hold of it by the barrel, and then Fox let it go. Now disarmed the canine simply smiled and gestured a free hand to another steel door opposite the front entrance.

Fox walked with a dozen pairs of eyes following him. Sitting next to the door was a skinny, but toned with lean muscle, lizard. He kicked the door with the back of his heel and the door slid open a few moments later. Standing in the doorway was a nervous looking rabbit with spectacles. A petite female.

"Oh, hello! Mister McCloud? Oh, hey Vinny, Mister McCloud the boss is waiting for you!" She was nervously glancing between Fox and the lizard. Fox smiled back to her.

"I'm eager to hear what he has to say." Fox replied and caught her attention. She nodded and stepped aside and ushered him in through the door. Once inside she slid the door back shut with a push of a button and quickly zipped back ahead of him while walking backwards.

"Would you like anything to drink, Mr. McCloud? We have a lot on tap, and plenty in the bar we could open fresh!" She offered him, but Fox merely shook his head and gave her a wave of the hand.

"Strictly here for business, ma'am." He told her. She nodded and spun quickly on a heel before leading him down an empty hallway with a myriad of doors. Another strong looking man stood at the end of the hall. The horse was leaning against the wall playing with a portable device. He eyed Fox briefly but paid him not much else. Hanging off a clip on his hip was a sawed-off ballistic shotgun. Don't see those much anymore.

"Mister McCloud, right this way." She said after leading him around the corner with the horse now eyeing their backs. The rabbit pressed a button and slid open a door. Smoke drifted from the doorway as soon as it opened. She stepped to the side and beckoned him inside.

Fox resisted the urge to blink as he walked into the fog of smoke. A small and elderly tortoise sat on a pillow at the other end of the room with another rabbit sitting next to him with a large portable display in her lap. In the room was a pair of burly men, a tiger and another mixed heritage canine, that each had themselves perched on a metal stool tucked as close to the corners of the room as they could be. Neither of them was smoking, but the tortoise was puffing at some kind of hookah setup. Fox wasn't particularly familiar with the things.

He slowly stepped deeper into the room and eyed his surroundings. There weren't any other doors that he could see, but every wall was draped with large curtains dyed a deep red and orange. They all sagged onto the floor in big heaps you could sit on like a clutch of pillows. Between the richly colored curtains and the smoke in the air he felt like he'd walked into a very strange place.

"Mister McCloud." The tortoise said with a labored patience. Fox watched the aged reptile's face carefully. He was watching Fox intently behind a pair of very youthful looking eyes. He took a long puff of his pipe and exhaled. Resting in his lap was a free hand. One of his fingers twitched, and the rabbit that had escorted him to the room bowed and rushed to a corner in the room behind Fox and grabbed a large red pillow. She had to drag it across the floor due to its obvious weight. The tortoise twitched his finger again and the rabbit nodded and beckoned Fox to sit there in the middle of the room before the tortoise.

Fox sat and found the pillow to be a bit too firm for his liking, but at least he wasn't standing.

"Thank you for coming." The tortoise began before adding, "The Brothers brought you to me with high recommendations."

The tortoise's speech was slow and labored with age, but his eyes never waved from Fox's. That was having an unsettling effect on him. The tortoise was looking at him, but it felt to Fox like he wasn't the object that had the elder's eye. There was something behind him that had held the tortoise's attention, but only in the figurative sense.

"I'm happy they've spoken highly of me." He replied. The tortoise took another slow drag before exhaling it in a large cloud in front of him. The old hand twitched again, and the hare moved and pulled out an electronic screen and offered it to Fox. He took it and began to review it.

It was a ship's manifest. All crew and cargo. It was only for a single ship, but it was a Nautilus class freighter. Those were very old, but he'd seen them from time to time around Corneria. Massive vessels that cost a fortune to build back when they were new, and over the course of decades they were being phased out of shipping fleets in favor of smaller, but cheaper to maintain, alternatives. Losing a ship this size would be pretty bad so he could sympathize with the tortoise on that.

"An old ship." Fox said, then offered the screen back to the hare, but she refused to take it.

"The Marionette is the largest ship in our fleet, Mister McCloud. It is the only vessel large enough that can carry the shipment for the Lokas." He replied before adding, "It's also the only ship in all of Belter Sol that can carry a shipment of that size."

The tortoise took another long drag. As he exhaled Fox now understood an additional layer of Lokas' needs. They had no choice but to use this one shipping company it seemed. There were no less than several dozen shipping companies around Corneria that could haul this sort of manifest, but those would all be suspicious. Fox wasn't aware of the Lokas ever directly using a legitimate company from anywhere in Lylat when there was a Belter alternative to use.

"They seem to be in a bind then." Fox pointed out. The tortoise's face cracked the faintest of smiles. It was creepy. The smile only effected the lower half his face and didn't make it to his eyes. There was such an unsettling stillness to the old turtle.

"If you agree to be our escort then we both stand to profit greatly." Came the slow reply followed by another slow drag. Finger twitch. The hare reached out a hand and used her finger to alter the display. Now it showed numbers. Big numbers. Staggeringly big numbers.

"Is this a joke?" Fox asked.

The tortoise exhaled and Fox was made to wait until he was finished.

"No. That is what the Lokas will lose. Paid in advance so I am told. No refunds." He added, then the smile cracked a little more. It was that much more unsettling as his eyes never wavered by even a millimeter. Staring straight through Fox.

"I see." Fox replied, then looked back down at the screen. Baccus hadn't been joking in the slightest. 'Millions of credits' had been an understatement. Fox had figured it was a seven-digit number. Maybe a low eight digits.

They were 2,211,993,000 credits in the hole. He was familiar enough with the interface to know to tap a finger on a few of the items. More information was revealed. He saw the names of various pieces of hardware that he was unfamiliar with. A few of the words stood out and he knew they were related to mining, refining, and the like.

Why were they spending this much money on something that wasn't the Lokas' bread and butter? Even if they wanted to reenter the business of it the asteroid Belter Sol orbited wasn't supposed to be a source of metals anymore. Just a bunch of rock. Slippy would understand this manifest a lot better had he been here.

"Send me a copy of this." Fox asked. He looked back up to the tortoise. Finger twitch.

"Yes, Mister McCloud!" The hare spoke up and moved to take the device away. Fox pulled it back from her hand, which caused her to snatch her hands back to her chest. He looked at the numbers and the items again. Over two billion on something that wasn't supposed to be making them any money. He handed her the device, and she took it gently and began to input commands.

"It's only the single ship we will be escorting. No others?" Fox asked.

"Only the Marionette." The tortoise replied.

"We've got experience in missions like this. The Star Fox Team is well equipped to handle it, Mister Bradley." Fox assumed he was speaking to one of the Brothers Bradley. The tortoise's smile widened enough for Fox to now see a thin gap form between the old reptile's lips. No teeth that he could see. Just a line of black framed by old green skin.

"Good." Was the reply. The tortoise took a drag again. Finger twitch. The hare started working her finger over the device. She handed it back to Fox.

"Sir, this is the agreement given to us by the Loka Brothers for this assignment. Payment is being handled by escrow, and both our parties will receive a payout according to these terms." Fox looked at the new screen and saw that he was now looking at an invoice. All he had to do was sign.

He hid the trembling of his hand as he reached out to tap the screen. This felt like a deal with the devil. They stood to make just shy of 5 million credits. This was several times what Corneria paid them after the war! Why so much?

"Why so much?" He voiced his thought to the elder. The tortoise exhaled a large cloud of smoke.

"Are you a gambling sort of man, Mister McCloud?" The tortoise asked. Fox narrowed his eyes and pulled his finger away from the dotted line on the screen.

"There are better ways to spend one's money." Fox answered, and that was met with a raspy laugh that only widened the toothless smile of the tortoise.

"A man is most vulnerable when he believes his next hand will be the one." The reptile replied. "He'll bet everything he owns."

The tortoise laughed again, and his lips warped into a crooked smile. He stopped his laughing only to take another long drag. Fox looked back down at the invoice.

Protect one ship. Just the one. They'd done that before. Fox knew they were good at it. They'd make so much money he could refit the Great Fox so it'd be double the might of even the newest Cornerian warships. He could even commission new Arwings, couldn't he? Add one or two more to his own manifest. He couldn't stop his hand from trembling as he drew it near the dotted line.

He couldn't tell if it was excitement or fear that he felt as he drew his signature across the screen.

When he returned to the Great Fox his crew knew something was different about him. Peppy and Krystal were the ones to react first with the vixen cutting off the hare mid-sentence.

"Something's wrong." She told him in the corridor. Fox had only just barely gotten inside the Great Fox and was now walking with Peppy and Krystal behind him as he made his way to the bridge. He didn't want to start answering questions or giving details until everyone was present.

"Get Falco and Peppy to the bridge. We've got a new mission to prepare for." He told her, and then tossed a glance to a now worried Peppy. The hare nodded and pulled out his communicator and started telling the rest of the team to assemble at the bridge asap. The hare's voice got a worried reply from Slippy while Falco merely gave a curt reply that he was on his way.

Krystal stepped close to him and hugged herself to his arm. He smiled at her, but that didn't ease her expression any. They reached the bridge and Fox extracted himself from the vixen and took a seat in his chair. Krystal took a seat of her own, and Peppy chose to stand near to R.O.B. The android appeared to be unaware of the tension.

They waited until the other two joined them.

"Ok, so what's the big deal?" The bird said as he entered. Slippy was right behind him trying to keep up with his much small gate. Fox waited for the bridge door to slide shut before rocking back in his seat. He exhaled, then sat back upright.

"The Bradley Brothers shipping company is making a delivery for the Lokas, and I've signed us up as their security detail. We'll be in charge of defending a single Nautilus class freighter." He explained and judging by the expressions on the gathered faces none of them were convinced that this was why Fox was anxious.

"Yeah, so?" Falco again took a chance to speak.

"We're going to be paid five million for it." He told them and the response varied across the team. Falco thought he was joking, and Slippy seemed to be trying to do the math as to how they could ever justify charging that much for an escort mission. Peppy was thoughtful, waiting for Fox to contribute more information. Krystal only looked at him with a grim expression. She could sense what he was feeling.

"Fox, what are we escorting?" Peppy asked.

"Yeah, nobody pays that kinda cred to keep an old rust bucket like that in one piece. Those things aren't even fit for a museum!" Falco added and stepped forward with a cross of his arms to strengthen his point.

"Falco, it's not the ship! It's what's in the ship we're really protecting!" Slippy corrected him. Fox lifted his hands and waved them both silent, which fortunately Falco heeded.

"Whatever is in that ship cost the Lokas over 2 billion credits. Upfront." That left the crew silent. Peppy broke the silence.

"You should not have taken this job, Fox." His disapproval was immediate. Falco was busy rocking his jaw back and forth. You could hear the click of his beak.

"What's the cargo?" Slippy asked. Fox shrugged, and then lifted both hands to gesture that he had no idea.

"I had them send us the ship manifest, Slippy. I think you'll understand it more than anyone else would." He replied.

"And yet you signed us up for it anyway, not knowing what it was!" Falco shouted and raised his own hands skyward in exasperation.

"We're going to be sitting on a big payout if we do it. I know it sounds like a gamble." He replied to them all, and he knew it was more than just a gamble. Something really valuable was in that freighter. The resistance he was getting was putting him even more on edge about it.

"Fox, why did you accept?" the vixen asked. He looked at her and saw through her concern that she was feeling everything he was feeling in that moment. He clenched one side of his jaw and looked back over to Peppy and the others.

"Whatever they've gone and bought has already been paid for. Everything that we stand to make, as well as the Bradley Brothers, is currently in escrow. The Lokas have, for whatever reason, decided to gamble on me saying yes to this mission and they ponied everything up in advance." Fox explained.

"We can bail." Falco suggested. He'd crossed his arms and was looking aggravated.

"We should look at the manifest." Peppy said, and Fox nodded his head.

"It should be in our client inbox." He answered. Peppy moved to his personal console and started working the controls.

"What if this is some kind of trap? The Lokas are dirty fellas, Fox!" Slippy stepped up. Six months ago, he'd have agreed wholeheartedly that this could be a huge trap, but as of late the Lokas had something to gain from the Star Fox Team that they couldn't gain if something were to happen to them. Not just good business, or a reliable mercenary group to call upon, but there was Krystal. Fox doubted they would be so callous as that, but then again, he didn't really know them.

"I doubt it would be a trap, Slippy." Krystal spoke up before Fox could. "Every time I've been near them, I can feel if they are lying to us or not. I can sense that they've not been acting maliciously against us. Have they said anything to you, Fox? Anything you've not shared?"

He looked to the vixen and shook his head. The team didn't look convinced by her word. As far as they knew all the contact Krystal had with the Lokas were business meetings. They'd have no idea just how intimate she'd been with both of them. There were lots of opportunities for the Lokas to let something slip that she might catch... He sighed.

"No. But I want to talk to them in person now that I've signed us up. I don't think they're not in a position to tell me no." Fox announced. At his console Peppy scratched behind one of his ears and turned back toward the group.

"Fox, I think that'd be best. Slippy, come here." The hare gestured for Slippy to come over to his console before continuing. "2 billion is a lot of credits, and that puts us in a lot of danger if we're not the only ones in the know. The Lokas, us, and the Bradley's. Three ways for something to leak."

"Well, it's not like we're gonna run around tooting out horn about how much we're about to make." Falco interjected a bit ironically since he was the one who liked the brag every time they made a big payout for a job.

"The Lokas have a lot of people that work for them, and I don't know enough about the Bradley's. I had to walk past at least a dozen tough looking guys just to get to his office. I'm sure he has dozens more employees I couldn't see." Fox agreed with Peppy.

If someone leaked it out that the Lokas had dropped that much money, then it would mean someone might be curious as to what would cost that much. That would certainly attract a lot on unwanted guests mid-transit.

"Fox, this manifest is weird." Slippy spoke up. He turned to see the toad was leaning over the console with his finger tracing down long lines of text. He turned to look at him.

"What's weird about it?" Fox asked, and everyone had their attention focused on Slippy.

"This manifest is just a list of random aftermarket machinery." He told them all, then straightened himself back up.

"What do you mean random?" Peppy asked on everyone's behalf. The toad visibly shrugged before scratching his chin.

"Well, it looks like it's a list of parts for ore acquisition and metal refinement. There's digging equipment here, splash condensers, separators, hoppers... But it's all mismatched. Like, they list a blower here, but this is what they'd use on Corneria. Belter Sol can't use it on their asteroids. This thing is built to take in air from a normal atmosphere under standard gravity. All of Belter's asteroids are zero G with no air." Slippy explained.

"And then look at this thing." He added. "It's got a fancy name, but it's just a blast furnace. They had these things at Katina. You literally just dump ore in the top and let gravity drag it down to melt at the bottom of the furnace."

"So, they can't use it?" Fox asked.

"What I'm trying to say is that some amateur tried to make this list look real by searching the net for parts names. Any engineer that understands metallurgy at a 101 level will know that this manifest is full of shit." Slippy told them all.

"So, what you've really told us is that we don't know what they bought for 2 billion credits." Falco asked.

"Yes, Falco, that's exactly what I just said." He replied.

An hour later Fox was seated in the backseat of a taxi with Krystal right next to him. A small group of two making a surprise visit to the Lokas. When they left the Great Fox together there weren't any available taxis, which was good. Fox was wondering the entire time they made their plans if the Lokas were expecting them to come knocking at their door.

It's possible that they weren't. What also helped was that they did not send a meeting request ahead of time like they normally would have done.

Instead they were both dressed in their traditional attire. Nothing formal, but what they wore as mercenaries. The grey and green ensemble with a splash of red. It felt appropriate to approach the Lokas dressed as true mercenaries seeing as how that was what the pair wanted out of them and their Team.

His communicator silently vibrated from within his vest pocket in a quick double note. It was the custom vibration he had rigged up on the fly on the Great Fox before they left. It had been Peppy's idea.

Everyone knew Krystal was empathic, and that she made regular use of it in personal meetings. The old hare had the idea for her to have a key fob that could be used to send two signals to Fox's communicator. Old morse code finding itself a modern application. A short vibration (the dot) for anything true and a long vibration (the dash) for anything she thought was a lie. Slippy put it together in 45 minutes using an old projector remote and a piece of electrical wiring. Krystal wore it like a small braclet with enough slack for the metal square to drop into her palm if she held her arm down at her side.

Fox looked to the vixen on his right, and she crossed her legs and looked back at him.

"Just checking." She mouthed silently to him.

Their driver was an unknown. They had walked through the port unmolested, and once they were standing in the interior cylinder they waited for a free taxi and took it. The driver was reluctant to comply with their request to fly them to the Belter Sol Central Authority. When Fox name dropped himself with a note of seriousness, then namedropped that the Lokas were expecting them, the driver turned himself to face the windshield and started ferrying them to their destination.

The entire ride Fox discretely scanned the airspace around them. They weren't picking up any escorts. That was good.

"You want me to radio ahead, sir?" The driver asked them when he sat them down on the tarmac.

"No. We're arriving on time." Fox wasn't lying, since they were arriving according to his own schedule. He assumed the driver would notify them anyway. That's how everything worked here. No matter how free commerce was on Belter Sol the realty was that God sat above them all in their Central Authority.

A pair of guards, both goannan, approached them at the front doors. Beyond the wide panes of glass were more guards mingling, but otherwise ignoring the activity just outside.

"Your business?" The taller of the two asked with a hand uplifted to stop them.

"Fox McCloud, and this is an associate with my Team. We're here to see Baccus and Kilroy." Fox replied, and the big goanna tilted his head, and he could hear the lizard's joints pop.

"We don't have you in the sschedule." He answered with the telltale hiss. Fox frowned, but with the short vibration he felt in his jacket told him that Krystal thought the guard was being truthful. It filled him with some relief that the Lokas were unguarded enough right now to not have fast tracked the two of them into their schedule.

"That's because we aren't in the sschedule." Fox replied with a mockery of the drawn out 's', which pulled a mirrored frown from both the lizards. "Tell them we're here to talk business."

"No one gets to ssee the Bossess without an invitation." The other lizard spoke up. There was a long vibration, the 'dash'. The lizard was trying to get rid of them with a lie.

"They'll see me, or they'll lose my business. How about you go ahead and tell them that." Fox replied and gestured at both of them with a dismissive wave. The taller Goannan sneered but lifted his hand to his temple where a headset was glued.

"Two guestss, Fox McCloud and a bitch, want to ssee the Bosses." The taller want spoke into the small receiver. The short one sneered along with the tall one and passed a look at Krystal who chose to remain stoically silent during the whole exchange Fox was having.

After a few moments the lizard sneered and pressed his finger to the headset.

"No, they're at the tarmac, you leatherhead! They just sshowed up at the door." He spoke into the receiver while the other lizard sneered along with his companion looking even more annoyed. Fox looked over at Krystal. He felt two rapid dots against his chest. They'd decided that a double vibration would mean the same thing as a single vibration, but that Krystal was absolutely certain she knew the speaker was being honest or not.

Whatever Krystal was getting from the pair of guards they were being completely genuine at the moment. Too bad her empathy had a limited range. If the subject wasn't in the same room as her things got too 'blurry' for her to make an accurate assessment.

Suddenly, the tall one cut himself off mid-sentence and shut his mouth. He looked grim. Fox watched him eye his companion who then caught notice of the change in his partner's demeanor. The lizard dropped his hand from the headset and his body language slipped into a professional stance, which his companion awkward followed in confusion.

"The Lokas will see you in their office. Follow me, Mr. McCloud." The lizard looked like he'd bitten into a lemon. Krystal buzzed him a double dot.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to remind them that their security is as impeccable as always." He told them both. Neither of them had a reply to that and remained silent the whole time.

The pair of guards led them to the doors and through the tarmac's lobby. They passed by several more guards but were left alone as they were taken to an elevator. When the elevator doors slid open, they were not joined by their escorts. Instead the guard keyed in a floor and stepped out of the lift just before the door shut. They were left alone in the elevator as it began to rise.

"No escort." The vixen said. He hummed in reply.

"There'll be more when we get there." Fox said.

And more there were, but only one. Another goannan. They were silently led back to the familiar decorative room that led to the Lokas main office and private rooms. Fox noted familiar looking faces in the groups of goannan women that were the Lokas' 'secretaries'. It stood out that it felt like the entire staff was purposely ignoring the two of them while they walked.

"The Bossess will ssee you now." Their escort said and took a hold of one of the big wooden doors that led to the brothers. The door was opened, and Fox stepped inside with Krystal right behind him. The door was then shut and Fox maintained his best poker face while he was stared down by a pair of well-dressed lizards.

Baccus and Kilroy matched in their attire, as always. Kilroy was leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, with one leg crossed over the other. Baccus looked agitated with both feet planted to the floor and his back straight up in his chair. He was strumming his fingertips together impatiently.

"Foxx McCloud. You sshould have called." Baccus spoke first. He felt a dash buzz against his chest, and he smiled. He had the suspicion that Baccus would have rather Fox stay on the Great Fox instead.

"Then it's unfortunate that I didn't, but we're past that now." He replied and stepped forward to take one of the available seats across from the brothers. Krystal joined him in a seat of her own before speaking.

"We we're in a hurry and forgot to send word that we were coming." She said apologetically.

"Certainly." Baccus was curt in his reply.

"Sso what bringss you to uss today, Flyboy." Kilroy said with a smile. He uncrossed his legs and switched them.

Fox relaxed in his seat and mimicked both of the brother's postures. He leaned back in the comfortable seat and crossed one leg over the other before propping his elbows on the armrests to clasp his hands together.

"I had a meeting earlier today with the Bradley Brothers, or at least one of them. I did not meet the other half of the pair." Fox began before offering a pause. He thought for a quick moment.

"There iss only one Bradley now." Baccus added. He felt a dot. So there was only the one tortoise in charge of the company, then.

"Ah, then that explains that." Fox continued. He looked at Baccus and smiled. "The two of us agreed to the job. I have to thank you both for letting the Star Fox Team in on this. It looks to be like a very lucrative mission for us to take. It's been a while since we've seen that many digits in an invoice."

"We thought it would ssuite your tastess." Kilroy took his turn. Another dot.

"Oh, normally it would!" Fox replied loudly.

He needed to figure out what the hell he was being asked to transport. He put on a smile and directed his attention to Kilroy.

"But in my meeting with the remaining Bradley I was taken aback by some of the numbers. It looks like the two of you have spent quite a large amount of credits. It's put me on edge." Fox told the Loka to his left, then swung his gaze to the right and watched as Baccus curled his lip in an irritated sneer. Between the two lizards it was Kilroy that was doing a better job of maintaining a poker face. It was unusual to see one of them lose face in a meeting.

"We often engage in ssuch transactionss, McCloud." Baccus replied, and there was a dash against his chest. He smiled back and was grateful that Peppy had thought of a way for Krystal to tell him if they were lying to him or not.

"It'ss not unusual to pay up front with a purchase as expenssive as that, Flyboy." Kilroy added, and he felt a dot. Fox turned to Kilroy then and let his body language show that he was in agreement.

"Yeah, I've had to do that a time or two. I'm just uncomfortable knowing that so much money is on the line. If it got out that two billion was sitting in that ship I might be in for a hell of a time protecting it." He said. Kilroy looked to his brother. There was a flicker of confusion between them.

"McCloud, the sshipping company hass a copy of the ship'ss manifest." Baccus answered, and while a dot buzzed against his chest Kilroy lifted a hand and add something to that.

"We could ssend it to the Great Fox for you to review if you've not sseen it." He told them. Seemed like Kilroy was being the good cop, as per usual. Fox made a show of looking down to the floor in a thoughtful manner with his hand rising to his temple to scratch himself.

"I've already seen the manifest, but I'm still concerned." He told the pair. Baccus leaned back in his seat and exhaled with frustration.

"Why the lack of confidence, Flyboy? You've dealt with far more deadly oppossition than imaginary thievess." Baccus backhanded him with a compliment. Fox looked him in the eye, then paned to his right to look at Krystal. Their eyes met, and she shifted in her seat. He wanted her to say something. It would be strange if she never said a word. After a brief hesitation she spoke.

"Thieves are only imaginary in story books, Baccus. I'm sure you and brother are well aware of the sorts of people that would be interested in selling off two billion in goods. That's a lot of credit to make off a single job." She told them, and Baccus let out a low laugh, but Kilroy took the chance to reply to her.

"Maiden, we're buying mining equipment. Thiss iss not the type of cargo that can be easily ressold. If they are ssmart enough to figure out what is in the sship, then they will know it's being protected by the great Star Foxx Team. I don't think any thief or mercenary is fool enough to fight you over thiss cargo." As Kilroy was talking a series of dashes started to vibrate on his chest. She was spamming his comm with Lies, Lies, Lies. A great sense of alarm welled up in him, but he swallowed it down to keep his composure.

"You know, I'd normally agree with you on all that." Fox cut the lizard off and raised his hand to gesture that he had more to say. He lowered his hand. "But that manifest is full of shit."

Neither lizard had an immediate reply. Kilroy frowned, and looked to his brother. That one was trying to stifle his sneer and keep his expression placid.

"Perhaps we should send you a copy of the manifest, McCloud. You seem to be mistaken on its contents." Kilroy finally said. A double dash fired silently on his chest.

"We're not stupid, and Slippy is a very skilled engineer. He knows enough about metallurgy to know that everything on that manifest is a mismatched list of net results for 'mining equipment'. The Bradley Brothers might be too dumb, or too careless, to notice it, but we're very much aware that you're not being honest with us." Fox stopped them. The accusation was now on the table.

Baccus was now openly sneering with his teeth beginning to show. Kilroy shifted in his seat and raised his hand to his brother to stop him from blurting out whatever was about to come out of the goannan's mouth.

"Foxx, you're misstaken." The lizard pushed back. Fox tilted his head. First name basis all of a sudden. He didn't say 'McCloud', nor did he use 'Flyboy'. That was an interesting tell.

"We're paying you 5 million creditss to do the job, McCloud. It doessn't matter what'ss in the sship." Baccus said curtly, which forced Kilroy to suppress his body language as he leaned back in his seat. The lizard was smooth, but not smooth enough to completely hide that he was just about to shrug in defeat. Kilroy was trying to keep up the lie, but Baccus let his temper blow it.

"So, I'm correct that the manifest is false, then?" He pushed right back. Kilroy made an effort to speak up, but Baccus cut his brother off.

"You are not the only mercenary within our reach, Flyboy." Baccus reminded him, and that was true. There were a lot of hungry men with ships, and all of them wanted to eat. 5 million credits was a lot of money, but it was too much money. Most people that sold their time and aircraft miles weren't qualified to do what they were bidding on. This didn't stop Krystal from sending him a dash that Baccus was full of it.

They paid two billion in advance for something, and then dropped 5 million up front in an escrow account for a escort team. Fox knew it wasn't a coincidence that Baccus just happened to have a job for them to do. They wanted the Star Fox Team to do this job, and the old tortoise wasn't going to risk his ship if he didn't have Fox on board.

All that money was already sitting in accounts waiting for them before that business card ever left the lizard's hand. They'd bet everything they owned, just like the tortoise had said.

Who else would they trust two billion to? Fox could think of some names that had raw ability, but those names didn't have the reputation of Fox McCloud attached to them. Fox permitted himself to audibly exhale and let his body language relax.

"But I'm the only you're willing to entrust two billion credits to." He replied. Neither lizard spoke. Baccus was biting into something sour, but his brother saved him from whatever his next outburst would have been.

"You are all very qualified, Foxx McCloud, but you must understand that we do not need to explain every intimate detail to our contractors." He said, and Baccus shifted and crossed his arms. No response from Krystal. Fox passed her a glance and saw she was still seated as stoically as she could be, but he could tell she was concentrating hard on this exchange.

He looked back to the brothers.

"You both have a reputation, Kilroy." Fox replied. Baccus twisted his head and you could hear the pop.

"As do you." Kilroy replied back.

"We're very aware that there are a lot of truisms on Belter Sol. One of them is to never cross the Loka Brothers." He added, then reached up to run fingers over the fur atop his head. "But it's also well known that you're curiously honest with your dealings. You're shrewd, ruthless, and immoral, but you keep your hands above the table at all times. I've always liked that last part."

"It's good for business." Kilroy agreed. It was good for business if everyone knew you wouldn't knife them in the back. You play honest ball with them and they'll return the favor. There was honor among thieves.

"So, why are you lying to us?" Fox pressed. To his side Krystal made a quiet cough.

"Don't you think we've done enough for the two of you to earn more trust than this? Haven't I done enough for you?" She started soft, but he could heat her voice slowly shift as she bled in small amounts of playfulness. Fox and Krystal alone had done plenty for the brothers behind closed doors. She was right. They'd done enough to earn some trust.

Kilroy for his part relaxed into his chair with a sigh. Baccus was struggling to soften his expression, but now he was telling them too much with his hands. Crossed as his arms were, he couldn't hide his hands, and he was strumming the fingers of his left hand over his sleeve.

Fox watched as Kilroy and Baccus eyed each other for a long moment. The strumming of Baccus' fingers stopped, but then Fox noticed he was twitching his fingers one at a time. A subtle twitch, but in a pattern with an unknown meaning. It was similar to what he'd seen the tortoise doing. This finger talking must be a Belter trick.

Fox darted his eyes to Kilroy whose own eyes were watching his brother's fingers. The fingers came to a stop and Kilroy sighed before nodding.

"No." It was Kilroy who broke the silence.

"You're not being paid to assk questionss, McCloud. You're jusst keeping the sship safe." Baccus added. Fox looked to Krystal who in return gave him a look. It told him she was still concentrating on the brothers. He almost missed the flex of her right hand as she touched the bracelet with her middle finger. He felt a dash against his chest...

She thought they were lying? Maybe they were bluffing. He looked back to the lizards and he thought it out. Fox didn't care then if he left an awkward silence in the air.

If they were bluffing then he could call it, and possibly win. If so, then he'd get answers on what the hell was in that ship, and then he'd know if it'd be worth it. It might very well be worth it, but at the same time he was feeling awfully big balled right about now. He could get up and leave the bargaining table and leave them scrambling to find a replacement. Their money was already spent, and they obviously weren't willing to send that ship off without an escort.

If the cargo was something beyond the pale, he knew he could walk. The Lokas wouldn't like that and the Star Fox Team could kiss their arrangement with Belter Sol goodbye. Who would that hurt more? Not the Lokas. Unless that cargo was something so outrageous it'd put a bullet between their eyes if something happened to it. He just didn't know enough to be sure.

Thinking more now, confidence building... If they were bluffing, he knew he'd win if he and Krystal stood up and walked right out. They'd call him back. They wouldn't dare risk losing the Star Fox Team as a war asset and added to that they would lose their 'maiden'. Were they cliché enough to count a woman as a business asset in this situation? Yeah, they were.

Fox stood up abruptly, and Krystal must have predicted he would since she didn't seem surprised. She stood up almost in tandem with him. Both lizards now wore mixed expressions. Uncertainty, surprise, irritation.

"Find another mercenary." He told them both and started stepping around his chair to make for the door with Krystal in tow at his side.

"If you quit thiss job you quit everything, McCloud!" Baccus shouted from his desk. Fox turned back to look and saw Baccus was now on his feet with both hands pressed to the desk. Kilroy had his hands on the arms on his chair looking alarmed. Baccus was wide eyed and caught somewhere between shock and confusion.

"Everything?" Fox turned a bit more and let himself relax. If he was going to call their bluff, he'd go all in with it.

"Our contracts! Future work! We won't even allow you to pass through Belter space!" Baccus shouted angrily. Kilroy stood up.

"All this over cargo, Foxx?" Kilroy asked with hands outstretched as he struggled to keep on as the good cop at the table.

"Yeah." He replied. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

He touched the door handle and gave it a turn. It had no lock and he was free to push it open. Before he stepped through the doorway he stopped and looked to Krystal.

"Tell the brothers goodbye, Maiden." He told her very deliberately. She smiled back at him, knowingly, and tilted her head at the two lizards.

"It really was a pleasure to meet you both, but some things just can't be bought." She told them, and then turned to touch Fox on the arm. He took that as the signal to go and he stepped through the door with her close behind. He half expected another outburst from Baccus, but none came as the door closed behind them.

Now outside the door he exhaled hard and wondered what to do. Krystal hooked her arm in his.

"When we get back to the Great Fox we can ask Peppy if it'd be better to go to Katina or straight to Corneria." She said. Her arm tugged at his and he started walking with her keeping up beside him.

"Corneria. Longer trip, but it's been a while since we've been to the capital." He said out loud. The secretaries were all watching them curiously, but none approached them. No one stopped them at the elevator either. He remembered the floor number for the tarmac and thumbed it.

As they rode the elevator down he looked to Krystal. Did he just lose? At what point was he allowed to say that the Lokas weren't bluffing? That wasn't a question he could ask her out loud while they were still standing in the beast's lair.

"I think I'll miss them." She said. He eyed her a bit harder. The vixen turned to him and sighed almost sadly. He was about to be confused until he started feeling a continuous series of dashes vibrate against his chest. "They were so good in bed, Fox."

When she said that she leaned her head against his arm. He turned to look forward, but the dashes were still buzzing. He patted her on the arm.

"It'll be fine. Just means I'll have to take you shopping on Corneria." He replied.

"A new dress?" She asked. He grinned. They were still very much in the Loka's office. If they wanted to, they could watch and listen to the two of them as they left the building, and maybe even in whatever taxi they took to return to the Great Fox. If they could act like they were making peace with their decision to leave Belter Sol behind them, then that would strengthen Fox's gamble. He could play pretend just fine and took the opportunity to prove it by leaning his head toward hers.

"You stopped using your toys, so how about I find a nice green one for you?" He squeezed her arm with his. She giggled and covered her mouth.

"You don't seem depressed about this at all." She commented. He shrugged. The elevator was getting close to their destination.

"Krystal, you know I'm ready to drop anything I have to for the Team. This isn't any different. They were already asking enough of me, and now this? No." He said with a shake of his head, and honestly he didn't feel like he was lying when he said it.

"How long has it been since you gave General Pepper a serious call? How many months? A year?" She asked. He thought about that seriously, and knew it'd been quite a while. When the General couldn't pull any new strings for them to get them some work Fox had stopped asking.

"Maybe it's time I give him a call." He replied.

"Just don't make me sleep with him, he's so old." She laughed, and Fox laughed, too. It was still a challenge to imagine Krystal with the Lokas. He'd never want to have to do the same with someone older than Peppy Hare!

The elevator opened and there were four guards posted outside watching them.

"We'll be needing a taxi to take us back to Bay 13." Fox told the closest guard. The burly goannan wasn't either of the two they'd met when they had arrived. None of the four said anything, but they looked at each other for a few moments. The guard reluctantly stepped away and started talking into his headset about bringing a taxi up to the tarmac.

Fox started walking casually and Krystal followed with her arm still hooked. No one stopped them from walking out of the doors either, but there was no taxi immediately available. There were benches handy for people that were waiting, or maybe just for the guards to use when they wanted to take a smoke break. There were ashtrays built into all the waste bins.

"Normally they're quicker." She remarked of the taxi that was slow to arrive. He nodded in agreement.

"Maybe they're regretting letting us go." He replied.

"Too bad." The vixen looked to him, then leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

A taxi did arrive. Between the guard sending the request and the taxi actually landing on the tarmac it took about fifteen minutes. Two guards exited the lobby and escorted the pair to the taxi, and before Fox could step one foot into the open door one of the guards called for his attention from behind.

"Misster McCloud," The guard said. His hand held up to the headset at his temple. "The Bosses ssay they were too harsh in their negotiationss and would like the Star Foxx Team to reconsider."

Fox pulled his foot back from the taxi's doorframe and looked from the guard to Krystal. She smiled at him, and he looked back at the guard and lifted a hand to point to the headset.

"Tell them the line has been crossed. If we walk back into that office their hands better be above the table." He told them, the guard looked uneasy, then looked to his companion who wore a similar expression. His hand flexed on the headset like he was now listening. Eyes downcast and nervous. Fox watched as the lizard gave another look to his companion, who shrugged to say, 'don't look at me like I know what to do!'

Suddenly, the lizard went stiff with fear and yanked the headset off his head and held it out to Fox. He took it and lifted it to his ear.

"Fox McCloud." He said his name.

"Everything iss on the table, McCloud." Baccus' voiced came through the earpiece. The Lokas were smart. He doubted they bluffed in negotiations very often. They didn't need to cheat. On Belter Sol they were in control, at the tippy top, and that gave them power very few people have when they enter into a bargain. Fox hoped he wasn't pressing his luck.

"We'll be right up." He replied and handed back the headset to the confused guard.