After the Team finished on Fichina, they detoured to the Sector Y combat zone where the Corneria main fleet was having serious difficulty with Andross' forces. Upon arrival, this was revealed to be due to a fundamental incompatibility of forces. The Cornerian fleet was made up of large battleships with heavy weapons and unmanned drones. Andross' forces, on the other hand, were composed of a few large carriers filled with drone ships and three manned mech fighters designed to tear battleships apart from the inside out after ripping into the hull. Thankfully, the arrival of Team Star Fox evened things enough to rout Andross' forces, not requiring any intervention from the Great Fox beyond dispensing of supplies.
As they watched, Krystal asked a question that had been niggling at her mind ever since they reached the zone. "Why is it called Sector Y?" she asked Rob curiously.
Rob turned to stare at her for a time. Upon realizing she was serious, he pointed to a prominent nebula in the zone, bright green and in the shape of a letter Y. "It is named for the nebula."
"Wait...that's a natural phenomenon?" Krystal gasped in surprise.
"As natural as it can be assumed," Rob allowed. "What else would it be?"
"I thought someone had named it 'Y sector' and reshaped the nebula as some sort of joke!" Krystal countered incredulously.
"Negative," Rob countered, not wanting to think about someone who could reshape a nebula so permanently for a whim. "There are three such nebula in the Lylat System. This one, and the ones in Sectors X and Z respectively. They are actually useful, as their positions at the edges of the System make them natural reference points for plotting coordinates within the system, since the lines drawn from them intersect at Solar, a rather noticeable red dwarf star." He hesitated. "At least, it is assumed to be a star. No one's ever bothered to investigate it before."
Krystal nodded thoughtfully, inwardly glad of the distraction as Rob set course for Aquas. Sunset had shown a little too much interest at the mention of 'reshaping a nebula' for her comfort.
Aquas was, appropriately enough, an aquatic world with a single ocean that covered almost the entire surface of the planet. Reports showed that Andross had some sort of bio-weapon based in the oceans, and Team Star Fox had to eliminate it. Unfortunately, the Ar-Wings - despite being designed for all environments - were of limited use in deep ocean. As such, the Great Fox was lowered to rest on the ocean's surface so Fox - alone - could deploy in the Blue Marine, the Team's submarine.
Unfortunately for everyone left aboard the Great Fox, the Blue Marine's communication rig could only work so well in the ocean's depths. Rather than the continuous stream of data they'd received from the Ar-Wings, they only received occasional bursts of data - including position, hazards, hull integrity, fuel consumption, and the like - from the Blue Marine, leaving Krystal to pace worriedly as Sunset huddled in Peppy's lap.
What information they received didn't help much, as it showed how much both ocean and wildlife had altered due to Andross' interference, making nearly everything hostile from the fish to the very plants. Peppy, Slippy, and Falco sent back any bits of information or advice they could think of to help, but there was no way to tell if Fox even heard...especially after the last burst of information they received was Fox calling out he'd found the bio-weapon, and that the Blue Marine was hit.
For the next half hour, everyone aboard the ship fretted and worried as Rob scanned the oceans as best he could...which did not show promising results as all he was able to pick up was a large explosion at Fox's last known coordinates. Krystal did her best to keep Sunset from crying, both to protect her from what might have happened and to avoid a surge that overpowered the ship's ACSU system. It was a huge relief to all when the Blue Marine slowly puttered into sight along the surface, the only damage to its engines, its comm rig, and its transponder.
Fox stepped out of the sub once it was docked, a smile on his face. "Bio-weapon eliminated," he offered happily. "The oceans should return to-oomph!"
His exhalation was due to Krystal having rushed up and pulled him into a fierce embrace. Only when she heard Falco snickering did she pull back, blushing slightly.
As Sunset flew up, Fox chuckled. "Maybe I should take the Blue Marine out more often-OW!" Sunset, apparently, had strong opinions about that as she slammed bodily into his gut before crawling up to hug his face. "I guess not..."
"Given how she's been about you two getting close, be glad she didn't aim lower!" Falco called out jokingly. He then leapt into the air with a 'Yipe!' as Sunset fired a beam of magic at him dangerously close to the implied target. This spawned more laughter from everyone, though it had a tinge of hysterical relief.
With the Blue Marine under repair, Rob sent the Great Fox back into orbit before setting course for planet Katina.
Katina had a climate and environment much like Corneria, though with much less surface water as it had only a few large inland seas rather than oceans, making it an oddity as far as planets in the Lylat system. The focus of the battle on Katina was yet another military base, though this one was still being defended.
As Team Star Fox flew into the fight, they received a communication marked as a friendly frequency. The image displayed a bull dog in an Academy graduate flight suit. "Fox!" he called out happily. "You made it!"
"Bill?" Fox gasped in surprise. "Is that you? I can't believe it!"
"As much as I'd love to take the time for an emotional reunion right now, we are in the middle of a war," Bill pointed out playfully. "But once it ends - or I'm off duty - just tell me where to swing by. For now, help me deal with these fighters before the Mother Ship gets here!"
"Got it Bill!" Fox responded immediately. "Let's go!"
There was a bit of a problem at first for Team Star Fox as the enemy fighters had been painted to match Bill's Bulldog and Husky squadrons, but quickly engaging their Advanced Targeting Computers let them track friend from foe via transponder signal.
"Mothership incoming!" Bill called out as a large flying saucer shaped ship slowly approached the base.
"I will assist!" Rob declared as he shifted the Great Fox into position. "Sunset is not the only one with new tricks. Target locked on. Safe zone clear. Firing main mana cannon."
"Wait, what-" Krystal began in shock.
From the front of the Great Fox a beam of pure, concentrated magical energy shot down, punching straight through the Mothership before creating a massive explosion that billowed out in a sphere, incinerating the entire ship and all unfriendly targets within the sphere...and decimating a good chunk of landscape.
"It appears the mana cannons have some issue with collateral damage," Rob observed idly.
"Big badda boom!" Sunset squealed happily, clapping her hands.
"Slippy, what the hell was that?" Bill gasped out in fear.
"I'll...be sure to look into it once we're back on the ship," Slippy allowed nervously.