Ok. After I submitted the last chapter I noticed that screwed up my upload. I have re-submitted it with this chapter. Hopefully that fixed a few mistakes. Also, I know I said not to expect a lot of chapters swiftly. That is still true. I just happened to have this chapter already in the works at the time. Any future chapters need to be fleshed out still. They might come sooner, but don't bank on it.

~Preparation~

General Pepper looked at the report at his desk grimly. A new race of intelligent lifeforms. The last time this had happened, the Lylat system had been welcoming the Vulpids, the very race the McClouds hailed from.

But that was a peaceful encounter. This was far from peaceful. Women and children being captured for God only knows what and the rest living in fear and running out of time. He prayed for their safety as he did everything within his power to get them the help they needed.

However…

The facts were that Corneria couldn't spare much in that regard. The Lylat Wars had been devastating across all worlds. The Cornerian Forces were spread thin enough as it was which was why he had Starfox investigate into those smuggler rumors in the first place. As it stood, the best he could offer the Cerinians was a carrier, a handful of fighters, a couple brigades of ground forces and Starfox themselves, without crippling his own defenses.

It wouldn't be enough to free them without finding the pirates base.

The old war hound leaned back in his chair with a weary sigh. In all his forty-seven years of life we had never felt as tired as he did now. He felt much like his forces. Spread thin and run ragged.

Pepper looked to his left, at the picture that stood next to his terminal. He, his wife and his son were at an amusement park with giant grins and bright eyes.

'How long that's been…' he reflected. He looked much younger then. He looked stronger. Back when he was just a sergeant. A smile crept along his muzzle as he looked at his son he was so proud of, before glaring back down at the report.

For a while he just stared at it, before reaching for his terminal and hailing his general on base. The terminal pulled up an image of a middle aged, black furred wolf with sharp yellow eyes.

"Command General Pepper, sir. Fourth General O'Carrel reporting."

"At ease O'Carrel. You've read the report?"

The wolf nodded once, "I have sir. I never thought I'd get to be a part of meeting another alien race. I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"That is precisely why I'm pulling you from your current assignment and sending you to their aid," Pepper gruffed out.

The wolf's eyes widened at such a sudden order. "But…But sir, my forces are part of the defense fleet. If we go, Corneria will be significantly undermanned. I understand that they need help sir, but we're not much better off."

Pepper shook his head slowly. "You read the report. You know that statement isn't true son."

The wolf looked admonished then, but slowly nodded his agreement.

"I'm not sending your entire fleet. Just a portion, roughly twenty percent. You'll also have an extra carrier, a handful of extra fighters, and a token force." Pepper looked at the wolf, a fire settling inside him. "You're right that this will cripple our defenses. But, they have nothing to defend them. They have lost more than I dare to imagine, and by God's grace will I be damned if I don't make sure they get all the help I can give them." He paused then to look at the wolf, seeing the effect his unremarkable speech had brought. He saw that doubt was still there, but he also saw understanding, which was all he needed. "On site you will be in command of all forces. While in command you act with my authority. Understood?"

The wolf looked at him, determined, before raising his hand to his head in a salute. "Yes, sir."

"Then prepare your soldiers General. And make me proud."

Three days.

It had been three days now since Fox crash landed on Cerinia. Three days to notice exactly what kind of benefit the Cerinians had as telepaths. For one, they only needed a brief moment of contact to share information amongst each other. For two, once the knowledge that Fox and his team were providing more help, the blue foxes immediately started dropping their guard around him, trusting him openly. And finally, as he pulled the Landmaster next to his Arwing, that technical skills that would take weeks to figure out, could be learned in under a day.

Krystal had been learning how the Landmaster worked for when Fox's Arwing was finally fixed.

Of course, "learning" being the operative word. All she had done was pull the skill and know-how from Fox's mind.

The only question that still ran through Fox's mind most of the time, was how did this race of primitive foxes manage to hold off a technologically superior force? Telepathy or not, they should have been easy pickings for pirates. Either the pirates were just lousy at their jobs, or these Cerinians had a couple aces in their hands.

The moment Slippy had touched down with his own Arwing, he and Fox had brought the downed ship to the village, to which ROB and Slippy went straight to work on the repairs.

Fox's Arwing was coming together faster than he thought it would. Granted, most of it was superficial damage, with the exception of the life support and the engine. Slippy and he had both agreed that the G-Diffuser would be the last fix, considering that was mostly so their blood didn't get forced to their feet when they were in a dogfight. Their prosthetics had already taken care of that part long before the equipment was installed on their ships.

"ROB hand me the torch," the toad's voice called out from under the Arwing. The automaton whirred and hissed his hydraulics, replying with a static "affirmative" before handing the toad his requested tool.

"How's it coming Slip'?"

Slippy didn't even pull out from under the ship while replying. "Should be up and battle ready by tomorrow. But it won't be at a hundred percent for another forty-eight hours tops. How're the Landmaster upgrades working?"

"The flight mode felt a bit sluggish but I couldn't tell if that's because of the upgrades themselves or my preference to an actual fighter."

Slippy hummed in that high voice of his, "I'll take a quick look at it tomorrow after your ship. See if there's anything I can do about that."

Fox rolled his shoulders, "Thanks Slippy." His nose twitched then, a strong smell hitting him unpleasantly. He looked around before sniffing at his own self, before shaking his head quickly as the stench he exuded hit him full force.

"Out of curiosity Slip, you wouldn't happen to know where Krystal might be. Would you?"

Slippy let out a grunt of effort, before a metallic thud hit the ground, before Slippy replied. "Nope. Haven't seen her. Why?"

"Just wondering where I can at least wash. I haven't had a shower since we landed here. Talk to you later Slip." With that said, Fox turned on his heel and began to stroll through the village.

During his walk, he noticed things that helped him profile the pirates. The first was obviously the women. Every one of them was gorgeous. It didn't help that their fur colors made them exotic, ranging from sky blue to dark indigo, or that their figures could turn every head down Corneria's streets.

The second thing was their telepathic abilities. If they could be trained, or in this particular scenario forced, to reading someone else's mind, there's no limit to what some people could do. Bank accounts robbed completely blind, identities stolen to a point that even the military would fear a breach, not to mention just straight blackmail. For that they would need the younger Cerinians simply because children were more susceptible to threat of injury or, more likely, Stockholm Syndrome.

And finally, the last reason was also obvious. These people were a new race. A person, and Fox used that word loosely, with enough wealth could buy them like pets simply to show off to their buddies and/or cohorts.

A small but sharp snarl escaped his throat at just those reasons. He didn't want to go any further down that line of thought, mostly because the whole village would be able to read him and the last thing they needed was more reasons to fear and lose what little hope they had.

Turning his head behind him, he saw some little girl he had never met following him with big green eyes, similar to his own actually. He offered her a smile and a friendly little wave before a chirp sounded on his comm.

"Peppy. What have you got for me?"

The old hare gave the tod a smirk and a nod, "Good news. Pepper is sending some serious reinforcements. Enough so that we can get some defenses, not just to the villages, but also orbital. They'll be here in less than a standard day he said."

A wide grin stretched across the vulpid's, "I knew we could count on that old war hound."

"And, as an added bonus, he's doubling our usual fee for this. So now we have to get the bastards."

Fox did a fist pump with a subdued "Yes" at the news. "Good. The Greatfox could use some improvements."

Peppy gave him a reproachful look at that, "Not to mention cover the replacement parts for our Arwings. That's good too," he said in that 'told-you-so' tone.

"You still upset over that? No one got hurt and it worked towards everyone's benefit!"

"Don't do it again Fox."

Fox rolled his eyes with a groan before spotting the vixen he'd been looking for. "Fine Peppy I get it. I gotta go now. Call if something comes up." Fox hung up and pocketed the communication device before jogging up to the vixen, who was walking down a street with her staff in hand.

Krystal turned her head swiftly, giving him one of her warm smiles. Fox smiled back before giving her the news he had received, forcing a brighter smile from the blue vixen.

"Fox that's wonderful news. I cannot thank you enough for all you've done."

Fox felt his cheeks warm again, a goofy smile on his muzzle as he scratched the back of his head. "I haven't done anything yet."

Krystal shook her head enthusiastically before grabbing him by his shoulders, making his face jump up a few more degrees, before spinning him around to face the street he just walked down. He didn't really know what she expected him to see. The other Cerinians were walking about yes, some even staring at his machines, Slippy and ROB, but otherwise this village was still a borderline ruin.

"You can't feel it. You aren't born with this gift. Because of that, you have no idea what sort of life you've brought back to my home. But, I can. And I can still not thank you enough for this." Fox felt her hands tighten on his shoulders. He looked back at her, but she wasn't looking at him, she was smiling down at the street, most likely feeling whatever the village was feeling.

The blue vixen looked at him suddenly, smile still present, "But I can still say thank you for this. So thank you."

As was starting to become the norm whenever Fox was around Krystal, the vulpid's face began to heat with a blush. He smiled back sheepishly, before turning toward her. "Well, if you wouldn't mind terribly. The reason I was searching for you in the first place was to know where I can wash out my fur. I'm starting to smell a little rank."

She tilted her head a bit before nodding at him eagerly and grabbing him by his hand. "Of course. The bath houses have been prohibited since the attacks, but there is a stream that we have been temporarily using. I'll take you there." With that, Krystal lead Fox down the street and out past the walls.

Fox did not think about how soft her hand was. He did not wonder if the rest of her body was just as soft. And he most certainly did not imagine anything elicit about Krystal.

He did however, continuously think about burnt toast. It was starting to become a habit of his, since landing on this planet, to think of simple yet unappetizing foods to keep his mind from betraying him.

"Are you hungry as well Fox?"

His head snapped to the blue vixen leading him by the hand. She was looking at him curiously as they walked.

"Oh no no I'm-I'm fine really. Just thinking about…breakfast."

She stared at him for a moment, before shrugging off his strange thoughts and continuing to lead. She still had not let go of his hand as they made their way through the forest. Before long, his ears flicked at the sound of running water. It didn't take long after that before a stream came into view, along with a fresh smell of spring water hitting his nostrils.

"Here we are Fox. Just don't go further up the stream."

"Got it. Thanks for this Krystal," Fox said with an appreciative smile. He didn't have any soap, shampoo, or anything like that, but he just needed to get the dirt and grime off his usually clean fur. So, this stream would be plenty.

He moved over to the water, cupped his hands beneath the surface, and splashed his face. The water was cool, but refreshingly so, not cold as ice. His ears flicked as he heard footsteps behind him. He let loose a sigh as he began shedding his clothes, starting with his shirt, before leaping into the stream.

Luckily for him, his prosthetic legs were high end military grade. Meaning they were made of a rust proof metal, and were sealed so tight that the circuitry would never get damaged by water. So he could still enjoy swimming, bathing, and other aquatic activities, he was just heavier under water. So staying afloat was a bitch, but not impossible, and Fox had always been a good swimmer. Plus, this stream wasn't very deep, only coming up to his chest.

Fox submerged beneath the water after a bit, getting his short hair and the rest of him drenched in the cool water, staying under for just long enough, before breaking the surface with a gasp for air.

A splash caught his ears, triggering his battle instincts and turning around. He didn't see anything. But then, another splash resounded away from him at his left, forcing him to turn suddenly-

-and immediately blush so fiercely he was sure the white of his fur had turned bright red.

Krystal had stripped herself of every bit of revealing clothing she had and decided to join him in the water.

Burnt, blackened, spit on, moldy toast immediately ran through his head over and over like a prayer, as he spun back around, covering his unmentionables.

"K-Krystal?!" he yipped out.

Krystal had turned to look at him, in some part concerned, in other parts confused. First, the most unappetizing pastry had taken root in his head. And second, his eyes had shut immediately at the sight of her. A slight sting had taken to both her pride and her confidence. Everyone in her village had stated that she was a prized gem of beauty, much like her mother. Did Fox find her so repulsive that disgusting looking food was more interesting than her?

"Fox, is something wrong?"

"Why-why are you naked?!"

Now she really was confused. He was naked when he bathed. Did women in his culture not bathe? Or did they bathe with clothing on?

"Because I thought I would wash as well. It's a bit warm today too."

"Yeah you're telling me…" the tod mumbled under his breath. He summoned every bit of willpower, mental fortitude, and determination to not imagine the blue vixen behind him naked.

Now, Krystal felt a bit miffed. Something was wrong with Fox and it clearly had something to do with her. Distress and anxiety literally rolled off him in waves. Feelings he didn't have when she was leading him here. So what was the actual problem? She waded over to him and placed a single hand on his shoulder, to which he immediately flinched, much to her chagrin.

"Fox," the blue vixen said in her kindest tone, "what is wrong? Did I do something to offend you? And if so, what?" she asked.

Fox took in a deep breath, steadying himself, and answered her carefully. "Do men and women usually bathe with each other here on Cerinia?"

Krystal's brow furrowed as she slowly answered, "Yes. Why wouldn't we?"

"You're not worried that something bad could happen? Like someone taking advantage of you or something?"

"…why would they do that? They would share my distress…immediately…" She trailed off as it dawned on her, and a small knowing smile crept along her muzzle. "I'm sorry Fox. I had forgotten that your people lacked the gift we Cerinians share."

Now it was Fox's turn to be confused. What did telepathy have to do with this?

Apparently Krystal had read his mind again as her answer came immediately. "For us Cerinians, reading people is similar to breathing. We are constantly feeling what each other is feeling, hearing what each other is thinking, and seeing what each other is imagining." She removed her hand from his shoulder and moved over to the bank of the stream, where she sat on the edge, letting her feet soak in the cool water.

"These situations you're mentioning…our people couldn't commit them, simply because the backlash from such distress would cause us actual pain. I can't even imagine the ramifications of what our people would do to such an individual, on a community level. Not to mention that, considering that we do indeed read each other constantly, that such a thing couldn't actually happen."

Fox…actually didn't have an argument for that.

Why would she fear the idea of rape, molestation and other such despicable actions, when she can just know if someone would do so to begin with? For all intents and purposes, this race of foxes wore their hearts on their sleeves in the literal sense.

"But if that's the case then why do you wear clothes at all?" he asked.

"Comfort, protection from certain elements, and practicality for when we need to hunt or gather our food."

Fox turned that over in his head a bit, before conceding the point.

"Of course, that doesn't explain why you are apparently afraid of me now," the vixen said, "Am I truly that unsightly to you."

"Oh trust me, that's not even close to the actual reason."

Krystal let out a small chuckle, mostly from exasperation, "Then why are you so afraid to look at me?"

Fox could have answered in a number of ways. He could have said that it was considered rude to ogle and lust after a female without their consent. He could have said that he was raised better by his mother to take advantage of her custom differences to ogle her unabashedly. He could have even said that the he didn't want to be that type of guy, simply because he thought himself as better than that.

Instead, he turned and looked at her face, staring her down and keeping his thoughts as pure as he willed himself.

She was beautiful. There was no other word to describe her. Her body was fit and lean, yet soft and inviting looking. He kept his eyes on her face sure, but she was far enough away now that he could see all of her. And by god what a sight she made. Her blue fur contrasted with the setting beautifully, making her stand out all the more.

And that smile. That same friendly and warm smile that made him weak in his metallic legs.

'God she's beautiful…'

His mind had finally betrayed him then. No willpower he summoned could stop that thought from running through his head at that moment.

Of course, she heard him think so, and giggled in her throat. "I'll accept that honest compliment Fox, graciously."

She stood up suddenly, to which Fox actively did turn away with a blush, a fact Krystal would no longer mind, conceding to the fact that it wasn't a norm for his people bathe together. After picking up her clothes and making herself decent again before turning back to him and retaking her spot at the bank.

From her vantage, she gave him her own examination. He was indeed as handsome as she first thought. He was clearly built for a fight, considering his body was lean, with a much defined set of muscles. Not just in his arms either. His back was wide and built, his waist was toned and tighter than a drum, and his hands were tough.

She noticed when she watched him disrobe and jump into the stream that he hadn't removed his leg armor. It didn't seem to bother him obviously and the water wasn't that deep. But, wasn't he trying to get clean?

"Fox," she called to him, feeling his tension lessen considerably when he saw she was back in her huntress' garb, "Why are you still wearing your armor?"

He shot her a confused look before looking down at himself, before realization set in. She meant his legs of course.

"Uh…" He hesitated as he thought out what to say next. "It's a bit of a story… but first, know that these metal bits are my legs, not armor."

She looked at him curiously, but remained silent. And there she sat in silence, as she waited for Fox to elaborate. He didn't say anything for a while, just scrubbed at his fur for a bit as he thought of how to put his experience to words.

"Can you hand me my pants?" he asked politely.

Krystal hesitated for a moment before reaching for the said article of clothing and handing it to him. Keeping his back to her, out of modesty, Fox removed himself from the water before slipping his metal legs through the sleeves of his pants. After making himself decent, he sat down beside the blue vixen and rolled up one of his pants legs.

"These are artificial limbs. The whole leg is nothing but metal, wires, and circuitry. And no, before you think it, my people don't have metal legs." He looked at her with a teasing smile, to which she rolled her eyes at. "You know those ships we fly in?" Krystal nodded. "Well you see, they can move really fast. So fast in fact, that if we were to fly at top speed on this planet, the blood in our bodies would be drained to our feet, causing us to pass out. So, in order to stop that from happening…we cut off our legs and replaced them with these metal ones."

Krystal looked shocked. He cut his own legs off?! "Why?" she asked quietly.

He shrugged and rolled his pant leg down, "We were at war. Andross wasn't gonna let up at all. It was either let him win and let our lives be run by a tyrant, or sacrifice a part of our bodies for our futures." He looked at her seriously before cracking a smirk.

"Wanna know the worst part?"

She leaned in a bit closer to make sure she heard him clearly.

"Two years ago, they actually developed a device that deals with that issue. So now people no longer have to replace their legs to fly. Lucky me huh?" he had said with a rueful chuckle. He wasn't honestly that upset about losing his legs. Yeah the yearly maintenance was a pain, but hell that was free, so who actually cared?

She did apparently. Enough that she reached down to rest her hand on his prosthetic, a sorrowful look lining her pretty face. He couldn't feel her hand on his leg. Technology wasn't that advanced. He simply gestured, coaxing her to look him in the eye, which he gave a reassuring grin.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not that bad actually. Yeah I can't feel grass under my feet, but hey, I don't need to worry about breaking my legs ever again."

She stared at him, her expression warming a slight bit. "Does Slippy also have these…legs?"

"Yep. About half of the forces that are on their way are in the same boat as me and Slip."

She looked lost for words at that moment. On the one hand, she felt for all those people who had such an important part of themselves ripped from them by fate. On the other, she did not fully know what circumstances that forced them to make a decision. Would her people be able to make the same choice if their fates were switched? While their minds were their treasured gifts, the body was the temple that housed them. To cut off parts of themselves and replace them so easily…she couldn't actually fathom such an existence.

Fox saw the conflict of thought clear as day on her face. He took that moment to stand and finish dressing himself. After dressing himself he looked back over to the blue vixen before calling out, "Trust me Krystal, while we all appreciate the concern, it's not necessary. It happened. The only thing that matters for us now, is that we keep moving forward."

She didn't look relieved. Not in the least.

However, now she knew it didn't plague him, and wouldn't plague others for generations forward. So, she picked herself off the ground, and put on a smile for him.

"All washed up?"

He nodded once, before a rumble came from his belly.

"Oof. If you're still in the mood to thank me, another one of those…jesks?..Would sit real well." He said with a chuckle.

She let out a small giggle before taking his hand and leading him back to the village, "They're called jhesksa. And I can certainly cook one up for you and Slippy."

"They haven't left that village yet correct?"

"No sir, boss. It looks like they're making repairs to one of those Arwings."

A pause of silence filled the room.

"Status report on the captives. How many do we have?"

"Sir. By our last count taken last night, we have a total of six-hundred and eighty-three total. With four-hundred and seven females of estimated ages sixteen, Cornerian standard years, or higher. One-hundred and forty-nine small boys and one-hundred and twenty-seven small girls."

The raven nodded before pressing a button at his terminal, pulling up a screen of a greying cat with a chipped ear, "Doc. How are the shuttle preps coming."

"Should be done within an hour boss."

"Good. We have what we came for. Start loading the cargo and prepping for evac. Do the fighters know the plan?"

"Yessir. One captive per fighter as ordered sir."

"Excellent. By this time tomorrow I want all crafts operating and ready to leave planetside. They are to head STRAIGHT for The Market."

"Yessir."

The Raven cut communication then and started his way to his own ship, his second falling behind him shortly. A grin spread over his beak as he thought of the next day, and the dumb looks on each Cornerian soldiers face when they figured out his plan.

And boom second chapter. Alright a couple things.

1: the jhesksas are never gonna be explained so don't ask. Just think about weird plump bunnies with two sets of eyes and longer tails.

2: As stated earlier the mistakes from last chapter should be fixed with this one. If not then I'm fixing them before I even START to flesh out the next chapter.

Hope you all enjoyed. Have a good day.