Precious

Chapter 1 - Hired

I hurled myself into the couch, pulling off my gloves and grabbing the first aid tool. I highlighted my scrape with the disinfecting ray. The wound on my left forearm wasn't bad, but they way it stung me made me annoyed and uncomfortable.

"You okay there, Wolf?" Panther asked me without looking, probably guilty. He took his time to say that, as he was just sitting on the opposite couch. It was his fault after all - I told him to guard my back from the goons while I prepare the bomb, but I guess he got careless. My vest was also a bit too thick for agile movement to protect myself, which I should have thought before going on a ground mission, so I might as well forgive him.

"Yeah, I'll live."

"I've seen worse," Leon chuckled. I knew why.

It was supposed to be an escort mission. We got hired by some company to protect their goods from trade route bandits, probably because they thought official security would be crap - not that I disagree though; they were like drop-outs from an academy. The mission itself wasn't hard though. Nothing we couldn't handle. It was also high-paying, so was a win-win situation.

"Well, this just means a better mothership for us then," Panther added as he removed his laser-proof armor. "Couldn't expect more from good ol' Corneria, eh?" Yeah, he was right - this mothership was starting to break down. This was a gift from the Cornerian Defense Force after saving them from the Anglar Invasion, although now it seemed like a rejected, recycled junk waiting to break down. Now that I thought about it, we were soon forgotten as heroes the moment they stopped needing help. "So... Wolf... what's our next job?"

I didn't really want to move myself. The wound was already treated and the sting stopped, but I felt lazy after recalling what we did in our previous mission. I had no choice though. Besides, Leon had already opened the console.

"My, my, Wolf, are you into escort missions lately? Our next job seems to be like it," he spoke with an irritated voice. I never took jobs with similar activities - it's boring. I wonder what made me took it.

"G.P.?" Panther asked.

"Anonymous client," I told them. Yeah, I had a policy of not taking anonymous clients, but for some odd reason I felt that I could trust this one. "Look at the offer - five hundred thousand credits. All we have to do is protect this Doctor Faust Reginald's cargo going from Corneria to Zoness. We'll rendezvous at Permissons Port at eleven o'clock."

"Sounds iffy," the feline commented. He pointed to me the fine print. How could I miss that? "There'll be other guards as well, and we are expected to work together. I know I can cool myself, and Leon would probably stay put if you tell him to, but I dunno about you..."

He was right to be honest. Unless it was Panther or Leon, I would have trouble getting along with other people, especially military people. However, the contract had been accepted, and the client was unknown, so canceling the offer would be both pointless and dishonorable. I always kept my word.

"We'll do it."

I decided to go to bed. It might give me the mood for tomorrow.

I decided to be more prepared this time. While Leon and Panther suited up with their usual gear, I thought of trying a different look - I want to be at least more agile. I separated my shoulder pads from each piece, allowing my vest to be unzipped. Instead of the usual black sleeved undershirt, I picked the sleeveless black wife-beater for an easier movement. Fingerless gloves for claws... I might as well put them on just in case. A small booster pack at my back wouldn't hurt much.

"Are you accessorizing?" Panther suddenly blurted out at door of my room. "We're about to go, you know."

I was about to go when I forgot to put on my belt. It was hanging on the clothesline, with the golden wolf emblem buckle shining. It made me remind of something... the locket. I grabbed both and put them on. They were precious to me. You could say that I lived through the dangers because of them.

"All right, I'm coming."

It wasn't easy crossing the streets of Corneria before. You know you weren't welcome in the city when people would shut their doors and windows upon seeing your presence. A sign of fear? Yeah. A sign of rejection? Yeah. The hero parade we had upon the defeat of the Anglars pretty much opened doors for us here, although now, it felt like it was nothing. Heroes tend to be forgotten after all. Heroes like them.

"Persimmons Port... that Persimmons building," I thought to myself. I recalled that fight against the Aparoids. Something drove me to save his life back then. Was it because I wanted to crush him myself? Was it because our rivalry made me less rejected? It had been a year after all, and I had not heard something from him.

"The general?" Leon gasped, taking my attention as well. It was Peppy, General Peppy. G. P. "Now this is getting interesting."

"Ah, Star Wolf," the old rabbit spoke. "It's been a while. How are you doing?"

"Pardon the question, General, but why did you call us?" Panther asked. I was about to cry out the obviousness of the answer when I realized what he meant - why us, not them?

Peppy just chuckled. "Don't be modest! I've heard of your recent exploits, and I must say, you're one of the finest squad out there."

"Don't you usually call them first?" I asked. It seemed like he ignored it.

"I'm sorry but I'll have to answer that later. Dr. Reginald is here."

The three of us were a bit surprised to see a brown dog carrying a paper bag full of paper clip boxes and masking tape. He seemed eccentric with his clothing, and his hair showed that he didn't have a bath for days. "Boys, this is Dr. Faust Reginald, a bio-engineer and an old friend of mine."

"Ah yes, yes. My bad! The lab ran out of paperclips and sticky tape. Too much paper work for me, hah!" he jerked out as he rested his stuff on a table. "So this is Star Wolf, eh? You three look quite... healthy!" He suddenly laughed. We were so surprised that even Leon felt an odd sensation.

I really couldn't help but ask, "Are you... mental?"

"Oh, ho, ho, Mister Wolf, if I was mental," he answered as he emptied his paper bag, turned it upside-down and placed it over his head, "I would be going like this - LOOK AT ME! I AM A PSYCHO! FAUST! FAUST PSYCHO! I AM PSYCHO!"

Peppy cleared his throat. I could tell he was feeling a bit embarrassed. "Anyway, Dr. Reginald is researching on various medical breakthroughs. He has sent many a proposal letter to various planetary medical research facilities, and out of all of them, one responded. An offer came to him, given by the Institute of Medical Research in Zoness. He would have to move his work there - the cargo you will be delivering. Normally, there's no need for escorts, but as you may have already know, space goons have become more aggressive after the Anglar invasion, not to mention the Defense Force being crippled and haven't fully recovered yet."

"And it's our job to keep an eye on this, right?" Panther responded quite eagerly. He seemed to like chivalrous deeds after all. "It doesn't sound so bad. What about the doctor?"

"He'll be taking a separate transportation vehicle," the rabbit replied. Somehow I felt the idea of having the doctor in a different ship a bad one, but I trusted Peppy's decision in this one. "He won't be targeted because he wouldn't be in a cargo ship but in a usual civilian transport. Space bandits are more into the materials rather than taking hostages, especially with the idea that most Cornerian citizens taking public transportation have little money to give." I never thought of that.

"Hmm... nice... but still," Leon asked, "where is this group who should cooperate with us?" Yeah, it was in the deal after all, and I had not seen one guard.

"You mean the ones that you will team up with... Hmm..." Peppy looked around a bit and sighed. "They're usually not late."

For some odd reason, this group gave me a familiar thought.

"Sorry, we're late. Had to deliver something somewhere around the city." A figure came running along with three others. Star Fox!

"Aw... don't tell me," the bird Falco stammered. For once, I would like to share the same reaction.

"Heheheheheh... The rabbit really pulled the strings to make us come together! I don't mind though. Having them around would make the trip less boring!" Leon smiled. I agreed on the first part, it seemed Peppy had pulled a fast one on both of us. I could tell Fox and lackeys were also shocked.

"Look, both of you," Peppy spoke, this time, in a stern, gripping voice - basically a real general's tone. "Your teams are both known as the best Fox, Wolf. This mission is vital - research for medicine, for the benefit of the people of Lylat system, it all rests on your ability to work together."

"I know me and my team can do it. All we need is cooperation," the kid suddenly talked. What an overconfident fool.

"Just don't get in our way," I growled at him. "You don't know how space pirates think, so I suggest you leave them to us."

"Please, will you two stop fighting!" his girl suddenly stepped in. "Let's just get in the ship and get through this." She crossed her arms and entered the ship.

"Indeed," Panther responded as expected, following Krystal. "The journey is five days if I am not mistaken... Perhaps a time for us to get to know more about each other...?"

Get to know more about Fox? Please.

"Sheesh, just get in," the bird growled. Leon and the frog went in inside as well. I looked at Fox's eyes first before giving him a growl. He simply closed his eyes and shook his head before boarding the cargo ship. What the heck was that for?

"Better get this thing done," I sighed. I was about to step inside when Peppy whispered to me something.

"Sorry about the ship. I knew it wouldn't last a year under the conditions your teammates always face, but it was too late for me to replace the gift supposedly for your heroic actions. After this, I promise to make it up and give you a better one, and I won't cut it from your reward."

I glanced for a bit, a bit touched, and smiled.