Chapter One

"Finally, the day of Unonian superiority will be recognized!" screamed a fiery vixen amidst a chorus of cheers from her crew. "Position for attack!"

"Excellent, my child," an aging fox muttered from the corner of his mouth. He placed a hand over her shoulder as the both stepped down the main catwalk above the crew working feverishly to get the commanding word out for the thousands of battleships, carriers, cruisers, fighters, supply ships, and various other forms of naval warfare, all a well-tuned instrument in the greatest symphony of Unonian might ever witnessed across the galaxy. Even as the slender vixen gazed out the main viewing window to the first wave of fighters accelerating toward the empty space, an awe-inspiring hush fell across the transmitter waves.

"You've become so strong, my child," the old fox added as he turned to view the blue-furred vixen. "No one has ever risen to the ranks the way you have, ever in our tens of thousands of years of existence!"

Shaking her head, she placed a hand on his shoulder as she glanced at him. "You were the only one who believed in me. You were the only one who trusted me. Even when I was a filthy orphan, you weren't afraid to hold my hand. Even though my parents were killed mercilessly by Careinians, you've been a second father to me. Thank you, Damiano. Thank you."

"No, my child, thank you."

Smirking, all the vixen could do was observe her command organize into perfect position. She was completely content within the walls of her personal battleship, The Elitist. Even as a vast crew of soldiers worked feverishly below her on hundreds of commands from advanced computers and machinery, her silent reverence for the spectacular array of weaponry was undimmed. At last, the day has come, she thought as she moved to the front of the window. Reaching out her hand, she swore she could touch the beautiful array of ships in front of her. Almighty, grant me the strength to fight for the Unonian will. May we never be threatened or oppressed anymore by these Careinians. May all us foxes truly live free. May we all finally be free. Her fists clenched tightly as she stood straight and proud. May the name Selvala McEvo ring throughout the galaxy! May they fear the Unonians! May they fear me!

"Kral Commodore McEvo!" a high ranking officer barked as he nervously placed his hand on the opposite shoulder in a common salute. His black, red, and white uniform was spotless, his appearance was even sharper. "Terrestko gives their warmest regards as they look forward to the demise of the Careinian might and the beginning of freedom!"

Kral Commodore McEvo nodded with a smirk. "Even though the Careinians have managed to migrate to their own planet, they still kept attacking and oppressing us. But this will end today. The vulpine race will seek them out and destroy them! We've lived under their thumbnails for far too long! Now they are the thorn in our side." She turned away from the impressive display of thousands of fighter planes skimming in front of her ship, moving their wings back in attack formation.

"Indeed, my child," Damiano chimed with a chuckle. "And we owe the day to you!" With a wrinkled hand, he led her down the catwalk closer to her troops. "Now that we have taken the Careinians completely off guard, we shall finally have access to interior of the galaxy, where we can establish greater ties with stronger planets."

"And the allied support of those already established within our federation will reap great rewards!" the officer from before added. "This plan is utterly flawless!"

Pride began to seep from the collar of her red, black, and white leather dress, complete with rankings and medals displaying her adroitness. "Just wait for my signal. Pryok is almost within our range. Let the sun cast over it like a crescent. Let us see the light before they do."

"Yes m'lady."

Turning to her side, she noticed the old fox had placed a wiry hand on her bony shoulder. He grinned like a wrinkled prune, but it was a warm smile, the kind only a caretaker could bestow, the kind which words fail to describe. "I'm so proud of you, my child. Now all Unonians will truly live in peace." He drew a breath from within his cavernous nostrils. "Peace. That's what the guardians promised. That's what Fox McCloud and Todd McEdek fought so hard to accomplish centuries ago." Chuckling, he adjusted his black robe. "Even they could have never envisioned where we would be today. Now the entire vulpine race, the Unonians, occupy Terrestko, as the other races left, save the small populations of the skunk and raccoons. Canvhis moved next door, sadly, and immediately began to wage war with us, vying for more territory. But we fought back. Their demise will soon follow." He paused as a large supply ship flew across the large window in front of them. "What would you tell them if they were alive today? What would the humble Fox McCloud say or the impulsive Todd McEdek do?"

She turned to her caretaker. "I would tell them that as long as I am living, they will never be put to shame. Those men were more powerful than anyone we've ever seen or known." Shaking her head, she noticed the first glimpse of sunlight appear over the horizon of the large, dark planet that was quickly coming into view. "I only hope to become a fraction of what they were."

"Of course, my child. As they did, may the fire within you torch the sacrificial light that leads all vulpine men and women to freedom."

Smirking, she watched as the planet soon occupied the entire viewing area. Though it was probably only the reflection off one of their vehicles, she swore she could spot the glow of the large cities dotting the terrain. "Like waiting for a fat cow to die in the open field at home," she muttered.

As she was about to order for an attack, the harrowing chorus of dozens of sirens and alarms suddenly chimed in. The crew underfoot was frantic, moving across the command room of the ship at a rapid rate. Shouts soon littered the air.

"M'lady!" the officer from before spoke, out of breath from running up a flight of stairs. "We've just lost sector seven!"

"What?" she screamed with a short, stabbing burst. "How? Thousands of ships-"

He pointed to the display window, and she immediately turned around. To her horror, as the sun began to make its way across the terrestrial landscape, it exposed the hiding spot of some tens of thousands of small Careinian elite class fighting ships, barreling toward them just around the bend of the floating sphere.

"Almighty!" She grabbed a microphone on a control deck nearby. "Move all of sectors six and eight closer to the center! Regroup the first three to face the brunt of the force! Have The Requiem and The McVanke concentrate their firepower on any A-class Careinian dreadnaughts!"

"We can't repel that kind of a force!" screamed a general from below as explosions began to rock the hull.

"M'lady!" another fox hollered amidst the chaos, "sector eight has just been annihilated! Sectors nine and ten are too disorganized to repel!"

Kral Commodore McEvo glanced back at the viewing window, leaving the sirens and screams at bay. She beheld an all-out battle, as the strong-armed Careinians burst onto the scene and quickly overcame her once impervious force. Blasts erupted across the scene. Lasers flew at the great battleship in haste. Unonian fighters, advanced to the highest standards across the galaxy, were swept across the wave of invaders. Hell never seemed so dark.

Selvala quickly gripped a railing as a supply ship's dying screams rocked the interior of her ship with incredible force. Turning to her crew, she couldn't spot her beloved caretaker, Damiano. He always seemed to have the right advice and could speak the key phrases that would ease her nerves. As another explosion echoed across the confines of the ship, she grabbed the microphone once more.

"M'lady!" an officer cried. "The Requiem is on a collision course with the planet! Their g-diffuser has sustained a critical hit!"

"What are the reports on this ship, commander?" she frantically asked.

"The Elitist has lost its main shields, fusion torpedoes have been damaged beyond repair, and we're quickly losing power!"

The noise was horrible, so intense that she couldn't make out any of his words. "Retreat! I repeat – a full retreat! I command all sectors to take evasive measures and escape!"
"Where should we rendezvous, m'lady?" a man shrieked as another explosion shook the contents of The Elitist.

"We can't lead them to Terrestko! Their shields must stay on high alert! We will move to Yang-Tzu!"

"Main shields have been lost!"

"The McVanke's hull has been breached!"

"M'lady!"

The Kral Commodore turned to see where the shouts were coming from, but as she caught a glimpse of the display window, she noticed a gaggle of Careinian fighters heading directly toward them. As the first few Unonian ships nearby quickly left to the safe planet, the vixen heard gunfire coming from the nearby cannons of The Elitist, but she knew it was too late. Running as fast as her legs would carry her, she jumped as the dark cloud tore through the command room, bursting through the display window with ease.