A new mission begins, but not one taken at home. Millions of eyes are watching, and every choice will have consequences. Leave a review if you'd like, and as always; enjoy the chapter!

Lumia

~Moments upon leaving the hangar, the Star Fox team took their shuttle into Lumia's atmosphere. The night sky darkened the city of Arcer, but the city lights paved way for air traffic to see the ground. The Star Fox team neared their destination, and they looked through the windshield to gaze upon the city below. "Not much for tech." Fred said as he looked at Arcer. "This place is really low key."

"Most likely due to the fact that most people here are of the lower to middle class." Jack added from behind Fred. "Like I said, a lot of the people here are farmers. Those bio-domes on the city edges is where they spend the majority of the day time. At night, they're most likely at the bars."

"Good thing it's a bar where we're going." Marcus said in response. "You guys head to the back, I'm taking us into the star port."

Fred, Abigail, and Jack left the cockpit and sat in the benches of the shuttle's main cabin area. Marcus and Sierra navigated their shuttle towards Arcer's star port. "See the docking bays?" Sierra asked as she worked with her controls. "There's an open bay on the left side."

"That'll do." Marcus responded.

Marcus brought the shuttle to a hover over an empty docking bay. He lowered it inside and a large circular door closed over the shuttle. As the shuttle touched down, Marcus powered off the main engines and the rest of the shuttle's systems. He and Sierra unstrapped themselves from their chairs and joined the rest of the team in the main cabin. "We're good." Marcus said to the team. "Jack, get the door."

Jack nodded his head and walked to the side of the ship. He pressed a pair of buttons and the side door slid open. The team stepped out of the shuttle and noticed an elderly rat approaching them. The rat wore thick winter clothing and a pair of goggles rested over his winter hat. "Howdy there kids." The rat said to the team. "Name's Linas. What brings y'all here?"

"Looking to visit a few friends." Marcus responded. "Can you take care of our ship?"

"Oh I could make sure ya lady there is all pretty by the next time ya need 'er, but I don't work for free junior. Y'all got some-" Linas quickly stopped himself as a familiar feeling went through him. He looked more closely at Marcus and he walked close to him. He looked up at Marcus and squinted his eyes, and soon a large smile went across his face. "Wait a minute!" He exclaimed. "You're- You're that Lylat hero!"

Marcus took a half step back as Linas continued to approach him. "My name's Marcus McCloud." He said. "I'm the leader of the Star Fox team."

"Yea, yea!" Linas responded. "You're that kid who saved Lylat! Ha! Well I'll be damned!"

"Yea, that's me." Marcus reached into the back of his jacket and pulled out a credit chip. "How much to keep our ship here?"

Linas put his hands up and smiled. "I'll let ya off this one junior." He responded. "Y'all go on ahead. Don't want to keep ya friends waitin'."

Marcus smiled and nodded his head. "Appreciate that." He said.

The team left the docking bay and exited the star port. The bitter cold of the night hit the team, and they buried their necks and faces into the collars of their jackets. "N-not cool!" Fred complained. "I'm a toad! I don't like the cold!"

"Our thermals are still adjusting." Marcus said as he looked at his wrist gauntlet. "We should be fine in a few moments, just try to relax."

"Easier said than done, Marcus." Abigail said as she shivered.

"I second that." Jack added as he shivered.

"Abbie, Jack, just take deep breaths and relax your body."

Jack brought his hands together in front of his mouth and breathed into them. His breathing slowed as he tried to relax his muscles, and soon he felt the warmth of his thermal layer. "My thermals are kicking in." He said. "Where to Marcus?"

Marcus pressed a few buttons on his wrist gauntlet. "We're looking for the Last Breath Tavern." He said as he read a city map. "That's where our two contacts are. Let's get moving."

The team quickly paced away from the star port and into the city streets. The bitterness of the cold soon faded as their thermals kept their bodies warm. As they relaxed, they stood tall and began to walk casually through the streets instead of burying their faces within their jackets. The team studied their surroundings as they walked, and they noticed very few people walking about the streets. "Wonder where everyone is?" Fred asked as he looked about. "So much for a night on the town."

"They're all inside, Fred." Jack responded as he looked through the building windows. "The night time cold isn't something these people would willingly deal with. They're all inside enjoying the warmth."

"Wish we could say the same." Abigail commented as she still shivered.

"Are your thermals not working?" Fred asked.

"They are. I'm still just trying to relax."

"Don't worry." Marcus interjected. "The bar is up ahead. We'll be out of the cold soon."

"Remember, be passive." Jack added. "Small towns like this are not generally fond of outsiders. We're not looking for trouble."

Marcus turned his head and nodded back at Jack. "You heard the man."

The team continued down the street and they noticed a large sign illuminated with bright red lights. They read Last Breath from the sign, and they could hear all of the mingling from the inside. The team entered the tavern and looked about the spacious interior. The bar counter resided against the far wall from the entry, and while there amassed a large amount of people on the ground floor, a stair case on the side provided access to another level above.

As the team entered, all eyes turned to them. People stared at them with an unwelcoming gaze, and the team stood stunned for a moment. However, Marcus looked about the people and did not sense any hostile intentions. He nodded his head to the crowd, and led his team forward. They walked through the middle of the ground floor towards the bar, and as they walked the people inside looked away and returned to their drinks.

Marcus approached the bar and set his eyes upon a large boar cleaning a pair of black mugs. He tapped into the boar's mind and learned his name. He confirmed that this was one of his contacts, and he sat on top of a stool while the rest of his team surrounded him from behind. "Yea yea, I'll be right witcha." Paolo said as he set down his bugs.

Paolo turned around once more and looked upon Marcus and his team. As he looked into Marcus's eyes, he felt a very familiar sensation. Marcus's gaze made Paolo reminisce about his past, and he recalled meeting someone else who gave him a very similar gaze. He knew that Marcus hadn't come for drinks, but for information instead. "So, now I have another one of ya kids running up in here playin' bounty hunter." He said to Marcus as he approached him.

"You know why I'm here?" Marcus asked in his surprise.

"I know that look, kid. I've seen it on one too many faces to not know it. I didn't even have to take a look at ya, but I could tell that when you was walkin' up in here, you stared me down and could tell right then and there: that's the guy I'm looking for." Paolo sat down upon a stool in front of Marcus and leaned in closer to study Marcus's appearance. "But you isn't here for no conversation. You is here looking for someone."

Marcus became curious and he looked deep into Paolo's eyes. He tapped into his mind again and found memories of Axios, Isaac, and Joey. "I believe you know some friends of mine." He said as he continued to read Paolo's memories. "Axios? Does that name ring a bell?"

Paolo immediately recognized the name, and a small sensation of relief went through his system. "Yea yea…" He softly responded. "I know that name. He came by some time ago lookin' for a friend of mine. When he came by he gave my friend an offer he couldn't pass up, and now he's out there fightin' with your buddy Axios."

"He's my god father." Marcus responded. "He's also got his resources, and he-"

"You mean the Black Mist Coalition?"

Marcus's eyes widened as Paolo's words stunned him. "Heh heh, don't look too surprised kid." Paolo said. "Information is my business. Although, a broker like my self is nothing without a sense of honor. I ain't told no body about your secret Cornerian army. I owe it to that friend of mine."

"I haven't even told you my name, let alone who I work for or where I'm from." Marcus said.

"You got wax in them ears of yours kid? I just said that information is my business. You is Marcus McCloud of Star Fox. The famed hero of Lylat. A name and face like that ain't something I'd forget easily. Besides, you already knew who I was before you even walked in here."

Marcus chuckled for a moment and relaxed himself. "All right then, Paolo." He said. "Can we get on with business?"

The rest of the team stood guard while Marcus and Paolo continued to converse. As they looked about the bar, they carefully monitored the hands of the many people within the area. "See anything?" Fred asked the team.

"I'm looking at everyone's hands." Sierra responded. "No guns, no knives; we're leaving here with no conflict."

"As long as we stay passive, we should be in and out of here without a hitch." Jack said as he crossed his arms.

Abigail looked to the side and noticed a pair of wolves rise from their table and approach the team. The two wolves could barely walk straight as they were intoxicated from their drinks, and they both stared at her and Sierra. She noticed their eyes trace their bodies up and down, and their looks revealed their perverse intentions. "Sierra." Abigail quickly said.

Sierra looked to her side and the rest of the team became alert. "Ex- excuse me ladies." One of the wolves said as they approached. "I couldn't help but notice that you is here without a drink."

"We're not big into drinking." Abigail responded.

"Aw, come on." The other wolf said. "Every pretty face ought to enjoy a drink here and there. What say you join us? We'll buy you a round or two."

"Sorry boys, but we're both taken." Sierra responded. "Just do us a favor and leave us alone."

The two wolves became irritated and took another step towards them. "Now come on lady, don't be like that." Said one wolf as he reached out towards Sierra's shoulder. "Come hang out with us and we'll show you a great time."

The wolf grabbed Sierra's shoulder and she quickly panicked. Out of instinct, she grabbed the wolf's wrist and held it on her shoulder while she took her other arm and struck the joint of the wolf's elbow. The resulting impact broke the wolf's elbow and he cried out in pain. Seeing his friend wounded, the second wolf became furious and charged Sierra. Abigail quickly stepped in the way and used the wolf's momentum to swing him over her shoulder and onto the ground. As she quickly placed her knee into the wolf's throat, the rest of the bar quickly became alert.

Marcus and Paolo quickly ended their conversation and Marcus could sense hostile intent coming from everyone in the tavern. He looked to his side and saw the two wolves being restrained by Sierra and Abigail, and he looked to the crowd to see everyone giving his team angry glares. "Who do you think you are?!" Someone shouted from the crowd. "You've got some nerve kids!" Another shouted. "I say we kill them!" Shouted a third.

"There ain't gonna be no killing in my bar!" A loud feminine voice shouted from upstairs. Within moments, all eyes within the room turned to the corner on the second floor. A grey furred cougar wearing black winter clothing and an eye patch approached the balcony arm rail and looked out over the crowd. "Y'all are so thirsty for ya drinks and trouble that y'all didn't even recognize who just walked in." She said to the crowd as she leaned against the rail. "Them kids… are Star Fox. Y'all heard of them?"

The people in the crowd looked amongst each other and they nodded their heads. As they looked back at Star Fox, they could see the team reaching behind their jackets preparing their blasters. "I know y'all heard of them before." Continued the cougar. "Them kids there are the ones responsible for bringing down the Children of Red, and the Crimson Organization. Y'all remember when those two group came around 'ere? What they did to people like us?"

Again, the people in the bar nodded their heads to each other. "Them kids there." Continued the cougar. "They're from the Lylat system, and only ever leave that system if they on business. So for those of you brainless morons who can't put two and two together, they here on business. You know what you get for messin' with their business?" The cougar pointed to the two wolves on the ground in pain and the crowd became nervous. "Now, I'd advise y'all to leave them kids be. Unless you're looking for a painful way to end your night. Paolo! Send them kids my way and bring us a pair of blacks!"

"Yes ma'am." Paolo responded. "You kids run upstairs now."

Marcus nodded his head and the team left the counter. The team approached the stairs to ascend them, and Marcus walked towards Sierra and shot her a quick angry look. "What the hell was that?" He asked her. "We're not here looking for trouble."

"He grabbed me." Sierra quickly responded. "I wasn't about to let him have his way."

"Fine. But next time try to defuse the situation without causing a panic."

"Easier said than done, Marcus. Give me a break, would you?"

As the team reached the top, they turned the corner and walked towards the far side of the second floor. There they approached a large corner table, and as they neared it the cougar sat back and rested her legs on the table. "Well slap me sideways and call me lucky." The cougar said to the team. "Marcus McCloud, in my bar."

Marcus pulled up an empty chair and sat across from the cougar while the rest of the team stood behind him. "Well, "Lucky", I suppose we owe you one." Marcus said as he brought his hands together.

"With the way them boys downstairs been treating your ladies I'd say I owe you an apology instead." The cougar responded. "I'm guessin' by the way y'all walked in here y'all already know who I am?"

"Janelle "Jeep" Eperson. Born and raised in Philat. Mother died giving birth and father died in a factory accident. Went in and out of a few foster homes until you were adopted at the ripe old age of fourteen. Rebellious in youth, you stole your foster parents' family shuttle and ran off. Spent the next ten years running around with a group of bounty hunters learning about the drug trade and a bit of combat. After that was all said and done you stole your group's hard earned credits, disappeared for another few years, and opened up this here bar."

Jeep smiled at Marcus and reached into her coat to pull out a pack of cigarettes. "Not bad kid…" She said as she pulled out a lighter to light her cigarette. "Not bad at all."

As Jeep exhaled, the smoke slowly floated towards Marcus. Marcus gently blew the smoke away from him and brought his attention back forward. "That's just what we got on file." He said to her. "But if you're as good as our boss says, and done your homework on me; you know I can tell you what we don't have on file."

Jeep took another breath form her cigarette and exhaled off to the side. "Can you really do it?" She asked. "Are you really one of them mind readers?"

Marcus took a moment to tap into Jeep's memories. "About two years after you opened this bar…" He said as he read her memories. "That bounty hunter group you stole from found you. A firefight broke out in which your old bartender was killed. A plasma round broke through your cover, through your eye, and scarred the side of your face. Despite the pain you killed them off. Since then you wanted to prevent another incident like that from happening, so you entered the information trade. Been brokering secrets for credits ever since."

Jeep tapped the butt end of her cigarette to dump the excess ash into a tray. She turned her head to the side and traced her finger on a linear scar leading from her eye to the back of her temple. "Most memorable fire fight of my life." She said. "One that I ain't looking to relive." She took another breath from her cigarette and straightened her head. "You are really something, sweetie. I ain't told that story to nobody before."

"I won't spread the gossip." Marcus responded. "Now that introductions are aside, I'm looking for information."

"Before we get to that, I got something for you."

Marcus felt a presence behind him and turned to find Paolo bringing a tray with two mugs. "Ma'am, pair o' blacks. Ripe and ready, just the way you like it." He said as he placed them on the table.

"Thanks hun." Jeep said to Paolo. "Be a dear and put 'em on my tab."

"Yes ma'am."

As Paolo walked away, Jeep reached forward and grabbed one of the mugs. Marcus looked down at the mug and looked at the dark beer inside. "This here is a Lumen Black Widow." Jeep said to Marcus. "Darkest, most savoring beer on this planet. We're the only bar that brews it, so we only break it out on special occasions."

"Sorry to say I'm not much of a drinker." Marcus said to her as he leaned back in his seat.

"Come on now sweetie. You want to work with me? Then take a load off. Besides, I've got plenty of records that'd say that one beer ain't gonna ruin your flying skills."

Marcus took a deep breath and leaned forward to grab the mug. He stared down at the drink for a moment before bringing the mug to his lips and taking a drink. The taste of the beer was unlike any Marcus had had before, and it caught him off guard. After swallowing, Marcus coughed and set the mug down while Jeep giggled in her seat. "There it is." She said with a chuckle as Marcus coughed. "Let 'er out kid, she comes back out with a vengeance. That there is the kicker, and she ain't no smooth dancer."

After Marcus caught his breath, the after taste of the beer lingered in his mouth but became more tolerable. "Never had something that dark in my life." He said.

"You'll get used to it sweetie." Jeep buried her cigarette in the ash tray and held her mug close to her. "Now, let's talk business. I've got two guesses as to why y'all here but I'm only gonna need one."

"We're looking for Tanner Lloyd." Marcus said.

Jeep sighed upon hearing the words. "Yea… thought so." Jeep took another drink and set her mug down. "Drink up, cause you is in for some bad news."

Marcus reached for the mug and took a larger drink than before. As he set the mug down Jeep lowered her feet onto the ground and leaned forward. "The whole damn Philat system is lookin' for Tanner Lloyd." She said in a softer tone. "That man, he's a ghost. On top of that his PL boys have put a few of my contacts into the grave. He's costed me time and money that I officially don't have."

"He also put a friend of ours in the hospital, so you're not the only one with a score to settle." Marcus responded. "Where can I find him?"

"Like I said, sweetie, he's a ghost. Truth be told, not even Paolo and I know where he is. You'd figure that a wanted criminal like that would be found easy, but this man knows how to cover his tracks. Could be anywhere for all we know, and you can read my mind too if ya don't believe me."

Marcus quickly tapped into her thoughts and learned she was telling the truth. "I already did." He said. "So if that's the case, what about the PL? Got anything on them?"

Jeep looked off to the side and nodded her head at a group of drunk coyotes in the corner. "See them boys there?" She softly said. "Them boys there are from the PL. They come in once a week to drink their credits away. However, tonight since they showed up they be running their mouths about some new shipments and a warehouse district up north."

Marcus discretely looked over his shoulder and focused his attention onto the coyotes. He tapped into their minds from a distance and read their thoughts and memories. "They've got a new shipment of weapons coming into the system." He said as he continued to read their minds. "Some new stolen tech from the Philat Military. New guns that'll allegedly give the PL an edge in their insurgency. The shipment will be coming in an hour to warehouse district about 20 miles north of Arcer. There's going to be a lot of PL there, a lot of guns too."

Jeep took another drink from her mug and smiled. "Sweetie, you really are impressive." She said.

"I suppose you want some compensation for the information?" Marcus asked.

"You kill that Tanner Lloyd and that'll be compensation enough."

Marcus stood from his seat and reached into his coat. He pulled out a few credits and tossed them onto the table in front of Jeep. "What's this?" She asked.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I wasn't sent to kill him." Marcus said as he reached or his mug. "So here's for your trouble." Marcus took a breath and took a long drink form his mug before setting it down on the table. "Thanks for the beer. Maybe we'll be back once this fight is long over."

Jeep leaned back and rested her legs on the table once more. She smiled at Marcus and took another drink from her mug. "Come back any time sweetie." She said as she raised her mug to Marcus. "Last Breath is always open to you."

Marcus nodded his head and walked away. The team followed him downstairs and out of the bar back outside. "So where to?" Jack asked.

"We're going to the star port and we're heading north." Marcus responded. "The PL own a warehouse district up north and there's a shipment of guns coming in. We're going to go to disrupt the shipment and learn what we can."

The team walked back to the star port and found their shuttle. As they boarded, they bid their farewells to Linas and powered up the shuttle engines. The shuttle slowly lifted into the air and soon flew away into the sky.

Marcus equipped an ear piece and pressed a button on his wrist gauntlet. "So here's the deal." He said into the team's communications channel. "We don't know what we're going to find up there. To make things clear, we're going in for a stealth op. Our mission is to infiltrate, and evaluate. But if push comes to shove then prepare for some sabotage. If we can give the PL a black eye that'll help the BMC."

"BMC?" Asked Jack through the channel.

"Black Mist Coalition." Freddy responded from across from him.

"Oh yea, right."

"With that said, the warehouse is coming up on long range scanners." Sierra said into the channel. "Freddy, you're up."

"I'm on it." Fred responded. Fred stood form his seat and pressed a trio of buttons near the door controls of the shuttle. A floor panel rotated and revealed a holotable on the ground. The holotable slowly rose from the ground and Freddy approached it. "I'm running the scans now." He said as he operated the controls.

After a few moments, a holographic rendering of the warehouse district appeared over the table. "So here's what we got." Fred said into his ear piece. "The districts got five warehouses in the center, and an office building with a watch tower in the corner. The warehouses are in the open, so approaching them won't be easy. However, there's a road with trucks frequently going in and out of the main site. If we're looking to infiltrate, that'll be our best bet."

Marcus pressed a few buttons on his flight console and the holographic rendering of the warehouse district appeared before him and Sierra. "I see it now." He responded. "I like the truck idea, but we need to deal with the office building and the watch tower."

"We can place a sentry in the watch tower." Sierra suggested. "Clear the office building, so that we can have eyes and ears with the security cameras. And then have that same person perch up on the watch tower for sniper support."

"Nice thinking, Sierra." Abigail said in agreement. "Do we have any volunteers?"

"Right here." Jack said as he stood from the bench. "My pops and I would spend at least fifteen hours a week on the range back in the day. If you're looking for a good shot, I'll be your guy."

"Sounds good to me." Marcus said. "Ok, then here's what we'll do. We'll land on the outer edge of the district and clear out the office and watch tower. Jack, Freddy will give you a bug to monitor their security. You'll have their eyes and ears on your PDA. Then we'll stow away on some truck and infiltrate the district."

"Copy that." Jack responded.

"Freddy, Abbie, Sierra, the four of us will split up and search a different building. We'll move our way to the fifth warehouse and regroup there."

"Understood." Abigail and Fred said in unison.

"Remember, our primary objective is to obtain information on Llyod's whereabouts." Marcus continued. "Our secondary objective is to sabotage the PL's operations in this district. Freddy, we'll need an explosive solution."

"I've got micro pulse bombs in the weapons kit in the back." Fred responded. "Plant one in each of the buildings, that'll surely disrupt their operations."

"Sounds perfect." Sierra said as she unstrapped herself form the co-pilots seat. "Let's gear up."

As Marcus continued to fly the shuttle, the rest of the team opened the weapons cabinet in the back of the shuttle. They armed themselves with tactical cold gear and each grabbed a sub machine gun. Jack reached for the end of the cabinet and grabbed a sniper rifle and wrapped it around his shoulder. "Suppressors." Fred said as he reached for them. "We don't want to be heard."

The four of them grabbed one from Fred and attached it to the barrel of their weapons. They each finished gearing up and noticed a yellow flashing light on the cabin roof. "I'm bringing us down." Marcus said into their communicators. "Take a seat, we'll be flying low."

The team quickly took a seat within the cabin and Marcus lowered the shuttle towards the ground. As his speed slowed down, Sierra rose from her seat and approached the cockpit. She and Marcus could see the warehouse district within the distance, and Marcus slowly touched the ship down on the ground. "We're a quarter mile out from the district." He said to the team. "Let's hope they didn't catch us on radar."

"So far I don't see any alarms." Sierra said as she looked at the console. "We're in the clear."

Marcus rose from his seat and walked into the cabin to approach the weapons cabinet. He geared up and Abigail handed him a suppressed sub machine gun. "Thank, Abbie." Marcus said.

Abigail nodded her head and opened the side door of the shuttle. The team dismounted and quickly moved through the cold field towards the edge of the district. They took cover behind a set of rocks and looked out into the district. As they scanned all of the patrols, the trucks, and gauged the level of danger, Marcus took a deep breath and set his eyes on the office building. "Show time." He said.