-We Must Fight-
"They disappear into the trees, the snow, the water, the sands. Like ghosts and shadows. They're always watching, ready for anything, prepared for everything. They're not even mobian."
This is a story about a fox, a feline and a husky who were one of a hundred few chosen to be part of the next generation of what was a rumored, army spook-story; A unit of commandos that operated solely under the royal family. Uphold the right of freedom, to free the oppressed. This was their duty, their purpose. Trained and conditioned to adapt against any enemy, handle any weapon, Fight in any environment. These units usually operated with between 3 and 5 commandos, each capable of performing any role, tho each had their set of skills or specialties. But then, The Great War began. In the efforts to hold back Dr. Robotnik's invading forces early in the war, along with the rest of the military, the entire division was eventually wiped out on battlefields allover mobius. They only lived as stories told by the survivors they saved, at least those that could remember. But their valor, or heroism wasn't important. Many more lives were saved. Lives of future freedom fighters. That was believed to be the reason why they never retreated when they could have to live. Years later, stories of "Commando Remnants" began to circle around in the form of freedom fighter intelligence, and Robotnik's casualty reports.
This is a story about a squad who need to answer the new call to duty, and show the world that the rumors aren't just ghost stories.
This fox, is Sergeant First Class. "Raptor" S. Landfall of the 701st Special Response Division.
-Knothole Village-
0457 HRS- Outside of the "Barracks" tent.
Week 15
The stars above gleamed softly in the early morning sky. The wind was gentle and warm. It had been a decent night to be out under the stars. The fox looked down from the sky, to an old photo he was holding in his left gloved hand. He reached up, pulling his patrol cap and headset down off his head, rubbing at the top abit before seeming to relax alittle. Raptor looked down at himself- Boots, body armor, camouflage all the way up. Uniform dirty and faded from excursions in the passing weeks. He had sat himself on an old ammo crate that was filled with small bits of scrap metal. "Damn.. I need a shower."
Dirt crunching under the steps of boots caught the fox's ear, turning to his left to see a chipmunk coming around the side of the tent. "Sorry, but we don't have that luxury," Sally joked in a light tone, " Can't sleep?" She asked, a hand on one of the nailed-down ropes that kept the tent up. Raptor shook his head. "I don't sleep. What is this thing you speak of?" He joked, both knowing well why yesterday was a hard day. "How's your squad holding-" But the fox cut her off, "All of us are fine, ma'm.. for the 7th time."
The chipmunk walked over to the green fox, standing by his crate. "Something on your mind?" She questioned why he put her off so quick. Raptor sighed, holding up the photo for a moment before speaking. "I'm not too concerned for Haze, he's too enthusiastic these days. But I think Rina's loosing her sense of purpose... Well a better way to put it would be she just seems lost with herself. " Sally looked to him curiously. "What do you mean?" As she sat down he explained, "I mean.." He thought for a second, how to define it for her. "I mean her reason to fight. " He paused, "Every soldier fighting the fight," the fox had a habit of gesturing with his hands, "Has their own reason for why they do it. Some do it for the glory, or the rank. Some for honor, or because they simply believe in doing what's right." The fox said. "And you?" Sally questioned.
Raptor looked out to the woods ahead of them, thinking for a moment. He held up the photo he had in his hand to the light. It was a photo of a younger green fox and a grey cat, seeming to enjoy one another's company. "Her name's Calina. I met her after a mid-air malfunction brought us down near her home when I was 6, right?" He explained. "This girl." He pointed to the picture. "She taught me Integrity- doing what's right. About, being a good person and helping others.. living the life of an honest man, know what I mean?" The fox smiled lightly at the thought of the lifestyle "But.." He drifted off. "Well. Thing is, sometimes being a soldier means setting aside your personal life so others can live their lives. That's what commandos before me believed in." He ended it there before he said anything else, putting the picture away on the inside of his hat. "You of all people should know this."
Sally took his sudden cutoff as a surprise.. somewhat. The fox wasn't too keen of letting them in on alot of things. She still doesn't know where they came from. Commando's were thought long gone, yet here's one, just abit older than her.
The fox thought he would answer. But he didn't, he couldn't even think of what to say at that moment. Rather he thought about exactly that. WAS it worth it? His eyes read that he had drifted off into thought, thinking of what he's lost because of the path he's chosen to follow. "Well, Princess Sally. I'm only going to die once. So I'd like to think it'll be worth it."
Sally nodded, patting the young soldier on his shoulder. "Well since you can't sleep, why don't we go ahead and start getting setup for today. Sun should be coming up soon and we still have plenty of work cut out for us today." The fox nodded with a confirm of her order, grabbing the shotgun he always carried with him. "Yes ma'm."
"You know, you should start getting into the habit of calling me Sally like the others."
"When you 'get in the habit' of telling me when breakfast chow's ready."
And there you have it! If you found this little bit interesting, please take a moment to mention such. c:
If you catched the Dr. Evil reference in the summary, that's frickin' awesome.
Link to story cover art. Mind you, its old: /d3in921
