Star Fox: Inertia
Chapter 2
By Tempo

*Fox McCloud struggles to repair a rocky relationship with Krystal while dealing with far more enigmatic dangers in the depths of the asteroid belt.*

~ ~ ~

Fox McCloud watched from the hangar walkway as the *Cloud Runner* sailed into dock. Out the bay doors of the *Great Fox II*, he saw a number of white shuttle pods lift up from the surface of Sauria and putter back to the cruise liner.

As mooring clamps locked onto her Arwing, Krystal popped the canopy, climbed out, yanked something from the cargo compartment, and stormed up the catwalk. Her tail lashed back and forth with every step, her expression dark as interstellar space.

He hit the control to seal the hangar bay doors and stood waiting.

Krystal walked up and shoved a basket of fruit into his arms.

He looked down, then at her and cocked an ear. "Angry fruit basket?"

"The fruit basket was the only good part of that trip."

"Krazoa spirits didn't show?"

"Oh, they showed up." Jewelry clinking, she crossed her arms over her armored bikini. "And our guests, at the most revered site on Sauria, in front of the leaders of every dinosaur tribe, accused us of showing them second-rate holograms."

"That must have gone well." McCloud fell in stride and tried not to stare at her loincloth or spill the overfull fruit basket.

"If Tricky hadn't been there, I'd've had a riot on my hands!" Her paw steadied the retracted staff, holstered over her naked thigh. "I can't help they're energy-based."

"You gave it a shot." He nodded, looking ahead. "It's not your fault our clients have decided the Universe is boring."

"They're insufferable!" The blue vixen clenched her fists. "I came out in my traditional Saurian outfit and the crowd split up into people who were outraged and people who pretended to be outraged while they ogled me."

Her fellow vulpine continued down the walkway beside her. "Dinosaurs aren't big on modesty."

At the exit, she paused and cast a glance around the cavernous deck. Even with spare parts, a squad of Arwings took up less than a tenth of the massive hangar. The carrier had been designed to catapult its dozens of fighters into battle as soon as it dropped out of light speed. "I think Falco's right—we should be running cargo."

"That would be easier, but let's take care of these guys first." He tilted his head at the bay doors, just as they closed on the gleaming white luxury ship.

The main reactor thrummed far under their feet, different enough from the original *Great Fox* to be noticed. They continued down the corridor, past the crew barracks. Falco had claimed the entire thing as his personal roost in return for letting Fox have the captain's quarters. They passed Slippy's quarters next, one of the old officer berths, though he just as often slept in his crate of mud in the hanger. Krystal's sandals rang against the deck. "If we start carrying anything of value, we'll need better defenses."

"Slip's on that." Fox hit the call button for the lift. "At the very least, he's rigging up a smart bomb launcher."

The doors opened and they stepped inside. The elevator made its usual worried groan as it took them down through the decks. "That wouldn't have helped us against those drones." Her eyes avoided his, tracing instead along a deep gouge in the bulkhead. The carrier's years of protecting Lylat had left their wounds, as had its decommissioning. "We're stretched thin covering the *Serenade* without worrying if we'll have a carrier to come back to."

"I worry about that…" Arriving on her deck, he followed her into the corridor. The lights flickered above them. The hum of the reactor fell into the distance here, though other sounds sprung up in its place: the whir of old air pumps overhead, the clatter of loose deck panels underfoot, and stranger mechanical sounds deep within the bulkheads.

The door opened to her quarters. Purple fabric draped the bulkheads. Potted plants sat on the floor, lush under gentle sun lamps. The vixen heaved an exasperated breath as she sat on the bed, then eased onto her back. Her eyes closed, the only movement the rise and fall of her chest.

Fox stood, paw on the doorway. His voice softened. "Wanna be alone?"

"No." Her body remained still.

"Wanna talk?"

Eyes still shut, she nodded.

He stepped inside. A thick rug muffled his booted footsteps. The door hissed shut behind him. A starscape hung outside the window, framed by silk curtains and slatted safety blinds. Deciding this probably wasn't the kind of conversation you had with a fruit basket in your paws, he set it on her dresser. He looked back to the bed, which took up a good portion of the quarters, and the vixen sprawled across it.

A long, unsteady breath escaped her muzzle. "It's not even really about them, it's about us."

"Us…" McCloud stood, paws folded. "We always used to talk."

"When you weren't making unilateral decisions that affected both of us." Those aqua eyes opened on him. "Sit down."

He found his way to the small, plush sofa, and sat. "You're still…?"

"Angry?" She crossed her arms. "You kicked me off the team, Fox. This was the only home I had."

His ears and heart fell. "I wanted to keep you safe."

Her eyes narrowed. "You don't think it's selfish, assuming you're the only one who felt that way?"

"I hadn't thought about it that way." His tail curled onto his lap. "I was surprised you were willing to come back."

"So was I." In a trio of graceful motions, she kicked off her sandals and curled up on the bed. "I'm not fond of being put on a shelf for safekeeping."

"I'm sorry, Krystal." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You know I'd never mean to hurt you."

"I know." Her tone held no touch of surprise. Piece by piece, she set her jewelry on the nightstand between them.

His glance traveled up her sinuous arm to that kind face. "Why'd you come back?"

"The fate of the Lylat System." She smiled, just a little. "And I wanted to be with you, even if you're an idiot."

"Be with me?" Heat flooding under his fur, he stammered. "You know, I… You…"

With patient interest, she sat up and studied his expression. "Is there something...you wanted to say?"

"I—" Fox broke eye contact and blinked back unexpected tears. "Thanks for coming back."

Her paw touched his. She drew him from the sofa and into her embrace. "I'm glad I did." Her paws stroked his back, not letting go. That delicate chin draped over his shoulder. "We're both sort of alone in the Universe."

Sitting on her bed, he held her tighter. "I don't feel alone."

"Good." A note of satisfaction rumbled against his shoulder, her tail swaying over the bed. "Neither do I." She pulled back just a little, though her paws stayed on his sides. "You've been very cautious about me. Not what I expected from an ace pilot."

Fox shrugged. "As a rule of thumb, I ask myself what Falco would recommend, then do the opposite."

She rolled her eyes, probably in the exact direction of Falco at that moment. "He'd be honored to have taught you so much."

"What about you?" His paw rested on her thigh, then tensed as he felt her bare fur, then decided jerking it away wouldn't do at all. "You've had me in your sights for a while."

"It's rare I find a place I feel at home." A distant sadness touched her expression. "When I find that, I'm careful with it, because I know how fragile it is."

Fox looked around the battered bulkheads. "Yeah…"

"I like knowing I'm not cursed to keep losing it." With slow ease, her muzzle brushed his cheek, exploring. "Take off your boots."

He cocked an ear. "Huh?"

Those electric eyes shone a smile at him. "To pay me back for kicking me off the team, you're going to hold me; I don't want you ruining the sheets."

A blush blazed under his fur. "O-okay." The vulpine, discovering the impossibility of taking off his boots with dignity, hurried out of his blaster belt and comm gauntlets. A quick check revealed nothing else too hard to cuddle with, outside of his trousers, so he glanced over his shoulder.

The blue canid met his gaze, bright white teeth set on her lip. Her limber body slipped back on the bed, leaving him room.

Tail tight against his body, he lay down beside her. His hands slipped around her, her fur soft as starlight against his paw pads. "Like this?"

That slender muzzle brushed along his, their whiskers mingling. "Mmmhmm." She reached around him to click a button on the nightstand. The room's lights dimmed to darkness. Through the window, stars shone on, their light having traveled lifetimes and light years to meet here in her quarters.

"You know…" Even after years of hearing her flirt with him, her whisper in the dark chased an unexpected thrill through him. "I was quite taken with you when I first joined the team." Her supple hands traced under his vest, tracing over shirt fabric. "Not everyday a girl has a hero swoop in at her hour of need."

His shy ears drooped. "You barely knew me."

"I read your feelings the whole time you saved Sauria. You didn't have that advantage." Curiosity crept into her tone. "Why did you help me? You didn't know who I was; I could've been evil."

He shrugged, tail tucked close to his legs. "I figured someone helping me keep the planet from exploding meant well enough."

"You were in my dream, when I was imprisoned." Her fingertips traced his back. "I thought I'd become delusional."

His shaky paws explored her curves, from shoulder blades to tail base. "And now?"

"I may still be deluding myself, but at this point I have no intention of stopping." Her chuckle danced on the recirculated air. "As for you, my feelings changed over time: from infatuation to friendship to… What would you say we are now?"

"Close." He squeezed her paw. "Closer than I've been with anybody."

She nuzzled him, her smiling lips tracing his. "You're sweet, Fox."

A nervous swallow accompanied his soaring heart. "I should warn you: I'm flying blind when it comes to a relationship."

She snuggled against him. "With you at my wing, I think we'll figure it out."

Drowsiness crept over his mind and loosened his inhibitions. In a moment of sleepy audacity, he whispered to her ear. "I've been afraid to ask…" His nerve faltered, though he managed to press on. "…but are you back for good?"

Drawing him close, she pressed her forehead to his. "Well, it all hinges on one thing."

His ears perked in anxious attention.

"I'll only stay…" Her breath stirred his fur, her voice his heart. "…if you'll kiss me."

With a wag, he leaned in and took his shot. Their lips met with a gentle heat. In each other's arms, they snuggled atop silk sheets on a second-hand assault carrier. Krystal buried her nose in his throat fluff, holding him with a curious mix of frantic trepidation and utter satisfaction. And Fox, though quite the opposite of a mind-reader, knew just how she felt.

~ ~ ~

Fox awoke in a strange bed with a very familiar blue vixen wrapped around him. Eyes closed, nose buried in his scarf, she looked more content than he'd ever seen her. He lay in bed, letting her sleep and enjoying her warmth. His thoughts drifted over the time they'd known each other, how ending up like this hadn't been anywhere as complicated as he'd feared.

At his side, she stirred. He turned to see her deep teal eyes met his, overwhelming in their silent affection.

His ears fell, hot with a blush. "Heh, um, good morning."

The vixen smiled, then nuzzled his cheek. "It is."

He nuzzled back, then savored the delicate kiss she planted on his lips.

Slipping out of bed, she stood and stretched. Then stripped off her clothes. The fur of her naked back shimmered in the starlight.

Fox's heart raced, ears erect, tail fluffed.

With a smile over her shoulder, she sauntered off to the shower. 

As the water hissed on, he sat up and stared at the bathroom door. Should he join her? That's how it worked in movies. She'd said she wanted him, after all. No big deal, right? His stomach hadn't done this many flips since training at the Academy. He steeled his resolve and got out of bed. He padded over in his socks, trying to think of something smooth to say. Should he take his clothes off before he went in? She'd taken off hers in front of him. That meant is was okay, right? Or was she just that comfortable in her own fur?

The bathroom door opened, emitting curls of steam and a blue vixen in a towel. Her eyes met his through wet bangs. "Waiting for someone?"

"Um!" He spread his paws in panic, looked up and down her body, and then panicked a little more. "Just for my turn."

"Be my guest." With an amused look, Krystal sat on the bed and used a second towel to dry her tail. 

Fox hurried into the bathroom and out of his clothes. It wasn't like him to freeze up. What was it about her that sent him for a loop? Water clung to the walls of the shower, steam to the air. He turned the flow back on and stepped in, standing naked in the space she had so recently occupied. He scrubbed down his fur, then worked in a pawful of shampoo. The scent, one he'd for so long associated with her, teased his nostrils. A quick rinse, then he climbed out, toweled off, and got back into his wrinkled clothes. Taking a deep breath of the humid air, he made sure to use his most sultry voice as he opened the door. "So, do you want to get breakfast or—"

She was naked.

Naked and fit and curvy and fluffy. She'd put on her tail bands and jewelry, t-shirt in hand. The light from the bedside lamp gleamed over her drying fur. 

Their eyes met. 

Her surprise faded to flirty amusement. "That was fast."

"Sorry! I, um…" Fox stammered, examining a bulkhead. "You have a lot of bottles in there, so I just used the pelt shampoo."

"Fox, you're in my room and you woke up with me. Nobody's been able to claim that since I was a kit at sleepovers." With easy grace, she sat on the bed, then curled her feet up, still in the nude. Her eyes never left him. "Of everyone in the Universe, I don't care if you see me naked."

He glanced her way, his face hot. "Okay."

She rolled her eyes. "Would it help if I put clothes on, Fox?"

"No!" His ears fell even further. "Umm, I mean, you don't have to."

She lifted an upturned paw to him, drawing him near. With a reassuring pat on his tail, she chuckled. "I want to be with you, remember?" 

"I know. This is just more of a rush than I'm used to." His own hand caressed her bare shoulder. "You really are beautiful."

"Aww, thank you." She nuzzled his chest. As his arms closed around her, he couldn't deny how right this all felt. Her warm body against his, their damp fur mingled, along with hot breath. 

His stomach growled. Right against her ear.

Fox's tail gave a shy twitch. "Umm…"

Her gentle laugh soothed him. "Maybe we should get breakfast." The vixen stood up and collected her clothes, tail swaying. 

Steeling his courage, he stopped her with a soft touch on the arm. As she glance his way, his shaky paw rose to her cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. A long, slow, beautiful moment passed, her lips on his, their arms around each other. 

As the kiss ended, she nuzzled his nose, looking impressed.

Fox wagged, glad he'd done something right. His paws rested on her naked hips. "Okay, now we can go to breakfast."

~ ~ ~

Fruit basket in hand, they walked into the mess hall. Maybe waking up next to a beautiful vixen had influenced his outlook, but whatever they had cooking actually smelled tasty.

Falco brooded, boots on a table, eyes out the main window. Beyond, the *Serenade* hung, gleaming and white.

Their mechanic sat across the table, merrily stuffing his face with waffles.

Krystal's laugh danced around the cavernous space. "Slippy! Where'd you get a steam tray?"

"The buffet!" He swallowed another mouthful of golden pastry. "Someone dropped the tongs, so I used my tongue to get one. Then the staff said I could have the whole tray. Then they asked me to leave."

"Ya shoulda licked a syrup bottle on the way out." Falco tossed the honeycombed cake from his plate back at the frog. "Nobody likes dry waffles."

Slippy's tongue sprung out, snagging the half-eaten pastry from mid-air. He chomped on it with obvious delight.

Fox grabbed a plate for himself and one for Krystal. "As long as the steam tray doesn't end up part of my Arwing, I guess I don't mind."

In front of the falcon sat a glop of marinara on a platter. Various shapes lurked under the surface, remaining mysterious even when they emerged.

The male vulpine glanced into the pantry, at the bulk sacks of freeze-dried food product. Each mono-colored cube, when placed in the hydrator, would swell into something food-like. After a few bad experiences, Slippy had learned not to eat whole and uncooked food cubes. The vulpine poked the heap with his fork. It came out with a string of mozzarella. "What was this supposed to be?"

"I dunno." The bird shrugged. "Pizza."

Fox looked around the sides of the food pile, then scooped a little onto his plate. "It has a lot of noodles for pizza."

"I think it's great." The frog scooped some onto a waffle, then placed another on top to form a heinous offense to all sandwiches.

"That's great, Slippy." Taking a seat, Fox nibbled at a waffle, which happened to be halfway delicious.

Leaning in closer than usual, the blue vulpine examined the food cube wrapper, which lay under the foodstuff to protect the plate from staining. "'Made with genuine Hyper-Tomatoes—taste the four dimensions of flavor.' What does that mean, exactly?"

Slippy looked up from his pizza-noodle sandwich. "Is the fourth dimension time?"

The bird scoffed. "That'd explain the food cubes gettin' so old."

Krystal hefted the fruit basket. "Come on, Slippy: let's see if we can dress up your waffles a little."

"Great idea!" He hopped down and waddled after her to the industrial kitchen.

As soon as they passed out of earshot, the falcon leaned forward in his chair. "So! Ya spent the night in her quarters."

McCloud poured himself a cup of coffee. "How do you even know that?"

He nodded to the door they'd come through. "Ya came from below, which brings me to my next item of business…" He crossed his wings and cocked an eyebrow. "Get access to her warp gate?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Use yer boost to get through?"

Taking cover behind a sip of coffee, Fox tried not to encourage him. "I don't know if you missed the bulletin, but we're not teenagers anymore. You can stop acting like one."

"Hey genius, I'm on your side." The avian punched him in the shoulder. "Yer balls must match her pelt by this point."

Eyes closed, Fox took another bite of waffle. "I didn't ask for you to get involved."

"But ya need it." He spread his wings. "I'm the one gettin' all the action around here."

"No Falco, you get the same action over and over." He gave the bird a sidelong look. "Followed by periods of intensive 'literary study'."

The avian winced. "Hey, things with me and Katt are complicated right now."

He patted the his wingman's shoulder. "I'm sorry about your porn."

"Nah, it's fine." The falcon tossed him a smarmy wink. "I keep my favorites in my quarters anyway." 

Trying to shake the topic of his friend's pornography, McCloud glanced at the blue vixen working at a prep table. "You don't think she had a thing with Panther, do you?"

"Nah." The bird leaned back and crossed his wings. "What would she see in a tall, muscular, suave fighter pilot who's got the stones to tell her how he feels?"

With a sigh, he pressed a paw to his face. "Falco, how are we even friends?"

"'Cause, for the savior of the Lylat System, yer a giant wuss." His eyes darted to the other half of the team as they finished chopping fruit and walked back across the mess hall. 

Krystal glided in, tail perked in a subtle wag. "I think this is the first fruit basket I've received that has four kinds of beans in it." She set down a plate of sliced dumbledang pods and came in for a landing next to her fellow vulpine. "Or smoked fish."

Falco perked up at the mention of fish, then hurried back behind his usual sullen affectation.

A few more bites into his noodle sandwich, Slippy spotted something deep in the steam tray and unearthed it. "Whoa: stray pancake!" His damp hand raised it in victory. "I call dibs."

A metallic scream rang through the ship, then a tremor in the deck plates. An echoing clang followed an instant later.

Everyone froze.

The sound came again, closer: the sound of shredding metal, the shaking, then a heavy clank. 

Fox found his paw on the handle of his blaster as he tried to listen over his heartbeat. 

Across the table, Falco's crest rose. "What the heck is that?"

Slippy dropped a handful of pizza noodles. "That was a pressure door!" The frog fumbled out his diagnostic tablet. "We just had two hull breaches!"

Another metal shriek erupted, followed by a slam.

"Three!" His webbed fingers called up the radar display. "I can't get a reading—sensors not showing any weapon signatures!"

Cold adrenaline raced through Fox's veins. With hits like this, they wouldn't last long enough to fight back. He slapped his comm gauntlet. "*Serenade!* This is Star Fox One: emergency jump now!"

Voices stammered at the other end of the channel. "Star Fox One, we'll have to get the captain up here to—"

"Jump now!"

A breathless moment crawled by. Out the window, the gleaming form of the *Serenade* flashed off into warp.

His fingers cold, as if the chill of space had already soaked into them. He forced himself to stay focused: they needed to retreat. Fox switched to the team channel. "ROB! Emergency jump!"

"Orders confirmed. Priming engines." The main reactor thrummed, then revved.

Falco turned from the window. "We're runnin' away?"

The ship shuddered, then the stars out the window streaked around them.

Fox gripped the table as the ship stabilized. A quick glance out the window confirmed the star pattern had changed. Good. The emergency jump destination had been chosen at random; assuming no one had leaked the coordinates, nobody could follow. Now that their deaths seemed less imminent, he spared a thought for the avian and nodded. "You think we could've gotten to the Arwings?"

The bird grumbled, walked across the mess hall, and hit the button to enter the corridor. The panel made an unhappy buzz. "Door's stuck."

Slippy looked up from his diagnostics. "Oh, the actuators aren't strong enough to open with vacuum on the other side."

The avian yanked his wing back from the button as if it'd burned him. "I guess I should be thankful."

The door groaned, then hissed with suction. 

Outside the mess hall window, the *Serenade* slid into view as ROB directed the *Great Fox* beside it as if nothing had happened. What would the robot do if they all got blown into space? How long would he follow the cruise ship before someone noticed they hadn't checked in and find their frozen bodies floating in space?

Inside the mess hall, food cube wrappers twirled across the deck like fallen leaves, clinging to the gaps in the doors.

Falco backed away. 

A faint draft brushed through his fur on its way to a cold oblivion. McCloud jumped to his feet. "Nearest spacesuit locker?" 

Slippy snatched his tool belt off the back of his chair. "Down the corridor in the armory."

"Move!" He grabbed Krystal by the arm and headed for the opposite door. 

At their heels, Falco sprinted across the mess hall, then shoved the frog forward. 

Fox hit the door control and watched it chug open. Only after he sealed it after his team did he feel the vixen's touch on his hand and realize he's been gripping her wrist the whole time. Through the moment's tension, he let go. 

She flexed her paw, making sure it still worked, then shot him a glance that promised this would come up later. "Spacesuit locker?"

As he shook off a shiver of dread, Fox wondered if Krystal ever felt underdressed. At the moment, he certainly did. 

~ ~ ~

Clad in a bulky space suit, Krystal slunk down the corridor. Most of the lights had survived the hit and decompression, though a few flickered, shaken loose. With artificial gravity still working on this deck, she left off the electro-magnets in her boots. The floor lay littered with hull fragments and crispy wires. With each step, she crunched over slag, only able to hear it through the air in her suit.  

Ahead, the rest of the team examined the hull breach. 

Krystal pointed to the cluster of holes. "I'd blame asteroids, but they don't target our main reactor."

Fox nodded to her, then turned to the amphibian. "Okay Slippy: what did this?"

"An iron slug." The frog tapped a blackened glob of metal. "One for each hole. They melted on impact." He rubbed the residue between his gloved fingertips. "Given the composition, I'd say iron dust with some kind of binding agent."

McCloud gave a curt nod. "The asteroid belt has plenty of iron."

"Oh good." Falco hefted a canister of hull sealant. "Industrious pirates."

The blue vixen twitched her ears against the top of the helmet, then aimed her own canister at the gap. "A magnetic cannon?" She pulled the trigger, spraying the silvery substance to patch the first crater. The fluid splattered in silent clumps on the charred bulkhead.

"Not a weapon most pirates bother with." Spraying more sealant, the avian radiated irritation. "Who wants to lead their shots and ration ammo when you can fire lasers?"

"What size ship could carry a mass driver capable of this?" Fox watched Falco fill in another puncture. The metallic foam clogged the hole in the bulkhead, sealing them from the twinkle of the stars and the howling void of space.

"I'd say the slug was around a meter long, with a small diameter." The frog shrugged. "The cannon wouldn't be much bigger."

"So we got no idea." Done spraying for the moment, Falco rolled his eyes. "Swell."

"Mass-drivers put out a big magnetic signature." Slippy swept out his hands. "Our scans should've picked it up."

McCloud stroked the chin of his helmet in thought. "Could it have been fired from range?"

"Doubtful." With another silent blast, Krystal sealed the last breach. "We're in the heart of an asteroid field."

He touched her shoulder. "You didn't sense anything?"

Feeling his gaze, she turned. Irrational anger flared in her throat, but she swallowed it for the moment. He wouldn't kick her off the team, it wasn't in his nature to break his word, but she could feel how much he wanted to protect her. That instinct made her a liability, and the only way she could think of to lessen that was to be a professional. So she bit back her irritation. "No, but I've been tuning out hundreds of tourists for the past month."

Taking her canister, Slippy touched up the remaining pinholes in the hull.

Silent, Fox pondered the situation as the metal foam expanded, slowed, and hardened in the hard vacuum.

The blue vixen stood close to Fox, watching as his breath fogged and cleared the clear faceplate. So many questions, both about them and about the attack. After a few moments, she came upon one she couldn't hold back: "If the pirates wanted to keep us from interfering with a raid on the *Serenade*, why not target the hangar bay? It's relatively exposed, while the reactor is buried in the center of the ship."

He met her glance, green-eyed gaze touching her as soft as his paws had last night. "I think they were after us."

"Then they're a bunch of suckers." Falco cawed a cold laugh. "Not only do we not have anything, we'll kill them for tryin' to take what we don't have."

Krystal looked down the shredded bulkheads that had been in the ballistic path. Tatters of magazines with names like "Fowl Play" and "Birdseed" clung to the jagged metal, sucked out when the molten metal hit Falco's quarters. She decided not to tell him, better to let him calm down first. However, that did give her an idea…

~ ~ ~

A pink cat flashed onto the screen. In the background, her fluffy tail bobbed up straight. "Hi hun! Long time no see."

Krystal sat on her love seat, beside her empty space suit. "Hello, Katt." She kept her voice a balance of professional and genial.

Head high, she prowled closer. "What's up?"

"You know that contract you passed to us?"

The cat examined the back of her paw. "Mmhm."

"Want it back?"

Amused and idly grooming, she straightened her hair in the reflection of the comm screen. "Tourists giving you trouble?"

The vixen shook her head. "We had a close call."

With a twitch of her ears, her signature coy cheer vaporized. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're fine. Falco's pride took the brunt of it."

"I'm sure that'll survive." Her blue eyes rolled. "What happened?"

"Some pirates decided the *Great Fox* needed another airlock."

Her whiskers jumped. "Surprised you let that happen."

"We were too." Krystal glanced in the direction of the damage. "When was the last time you got shot at with a mass driver?"

"Never, as far as I know." She straightened an errant whisker. "Why?"

"We had one almost take out our plasma reactor, without showing on radar."

The feline let out a long, low whistle.

"We were probably the target, but it's still possible they wanted the *Serenade of the Stars.*" She glanced out the window, to the boundless depth of stars beyond. "The *Serenade* won't wait for us to complete repairs, so this is safer for everyone."

Katt rolled to her back, lounging on neon pink sheets. "I can help you out."

"Don't take this one alone, Katt." The vixen shot a serious glance into the comm. "I'm serious."

"Okay. I'll call in a favor from Fay, Miyu, maybe Phoenix." Looking up from counting on her fingers, she gave a playful purr. "You owe me, hun. I don't like splitting my pay."

Krystal sighed. It didn't take an empath to figure out what she wanted. "When this is over, you can take me out for a 'girls night.'"

"Now that sounds like fun. We do make a colorful pair." Tail swaying once more, the feline cocked an ear. "We'll hit some karaoke bars, drive the local boys crazy."

A smile rose to the vixen's lips. "Thanks, Katt."

"Sure. I'd better get prepped if I'm taking the contract." She jerked her head in a little, confident nod. "See ya again!"

The screen went dark. Krystal sat alone in her quarters and let her thoughts settle. They still had a ship; they still had their lives: anything else they could sort out. As the vixen's gaze traveled the room, she wondered if Fox would mind if she demanded he come cuddle her. Even if she still felt a little mad at him. 

~ ~ ~

Corneria, blue-green and far above, hung half-lit and peppered with city lights. From the bridge of the *Great Fox II*, McCloud watched it through the scaffolding of the Space Dynamics drydock. 

Falco handed him a tablet with some hasty calculations. "Fox, tell me the *Serenade's* gonna pay for all this."

The vulpine's eyebrows rose at the total. "I should make you itemize this, but I don't think I want to know."

A ruffle of embarrassment rolled down the bird's body. "Look, there were some…additional losses from the rail gun hits."

Dropping the topic, he keyed in the final total to their invoice, then sent it. Seconds later, it came back approved and the credits started to roll in. "We only had a couple weeks left, so I had them prorate us."

As he circled the command deck, his beak bobbed in a nod. "What'd we lose?"

Fox double-checked the final total. "Thirty percent, not counting your porn."

The avian scowled, crest drooping. "I knew I shouldn't have lowballed. How'd you get outta the contract?"

"Considering this size of the holes punched in our ship, I asked for more money." A wry smirk rose to the fox's muzzle. "Suddenly, our safety was very important to them."

"At least we got paid." Falco sighed.

"At least we got away." Krystal strode onto the bridge. 

Fox squirmed as she stood next to him, then put his arm around her. Then he glanced back at the avian. 

Across the bridge, his wingmate made lewd thrusting motions.

He flipped Falco the bird, then turned his attention back to the pretty fox next to him. 

Giving no sign of noticing, she smiled down at him. "Promising them a replacement escort worked?" 

"Like a charm." The vulpine leader forwarded his report on the attack to the Cornerian authorities. Maybe a patrol would stumble across the pirates and take them down. He could stand one less worry.

"That’s good." Krystal brushed a lock of hair from her face, sharing a coy glance with Fox. "Took some convincing to get Katt to take back the contract on short notice."

"Katt's comin' here?" The bird stood up straighter. "Shoot, I got some confetti to clean off my floor." He hurried back to the lift. 

The foxes watched the doors close after him. 

Moments passed in silence. Fox looked up at her, ears down, and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about dragging you out of the mess hall."

"Your first instinct is to protect me and I'm not used to being taken care of." She patted his shoulder. "I'll try to remember it's because you care."

He nodded. "Might take a while for me to get out of the habit. Next time, I'll drag Slippy around instead."

A single chuckle yipped from her lips. "Sounds fair." Her paw traced down his back. "What now?"

Fox cleared his throat. "Well, Falco's going to be preening for a while. Slippy left to check in with his dad and buy spare parts." 

"That just leaves us." Her sly look made his heartbeat thunder. "How will we pass the time?"

His paw curled at her flank, brushing through her soft blue fur. His muzzle tilted up to deliver a small kiss. "I think we'll figure something out."

~ ~ ~

This story is shaping up to be more complex than I expected! Oh well. You guys like plot with your porn, right? ; )

Art: Zaush (Used with permission.)
Edits: Sillyneko345, :iconslate:, Archaesophilia, Eljot001
Proofs: Flack, Thefunkyone, Darkdragon, Dracovar, :iconnyaasu:

-Tempo