Author's Note: Okay! So I managed to finished this, and I hope it wasn't too bad. xD I have to thank Sanitarium for beta-reading this. I have absolutely no idea on how to depict the story in a military POV so thanks a lot! Even though I probably still messed up a bit on a few parts. I'm still working on 'Last Wish' and 'Summer's Eve' and their chapters will be out shortly PLUS a proper prologue for this story. They'll be uploaded within this month (hopefully). xD

For now, I hope you enjoy this piece. Leave a review if you can! I really appreciate any and all sorts of it!

Love in War
Chapter 1: Misty Vale

May 13, 30 C.A (Conflict Age)

"All recruits assigned to the Misty Vale, please move to transport hangar five and await further instructions. I repeat; all crew assigned to the Misty Vale, please move to transport hangar fix and await further instructions." The female monotone voice echoed throughout the orbital platform, bringing attention among the many animals on the station.

One in particular sighed and continued to pack his things a little bit faster. His fiery orange fur contrasted the dull olive military uniform he wore along with a single badge pinned to the left of his chest that indicated he was a squadron leader.

Of course though, the strange habit of his planet's military was the fact that they don't assign the whole batch of recruits and cadets to the same ship. The high ranked officials would decide which ship the cadet would be assigned to depending on his or her progress during training, meaning that he would probably have a very low chance of having someone from his old training squadron to be on the same ship as he was.

He stood back up after a while of bending over the stuffed duffel bag on the bed of his temporary dorm, inspecting it and seeing if he had missed anything. Taking one last look around without another trace of his belongings left, he grunted and walked into the dorm's small bathroom, turning the water tap and dove his hand under it before getting enough water in his hands and splashing it over his face.

Allowing the coldness of the water to scare away the last trace of sleepiness, he looked up to see his reflection; a vulpine with a white muzzle and bright emerald eyes. The Mohawk-like strip of white fur between his ears was his own distinct trait that he had gotten from his father which separated him from other ordinary cadets.

His father was a highly respected admiral of the Cornerian fleet, commanding the fourth fleet near the front lines in the war against Cerinia, having the achievement of successfully winning consecutive skirmishes in space during one of the major battles in the war. Everyone considered the great James McCloud as a hero and a legend within the military.

And because of that, many had high expectations on him. But that hardly bothered him. In fact, he liked a challenge and the challenge in his mind was to reach their expectations, whether it was the fast promotions or just being a legend just like his father.

Not wasting another moment, the fox left the small bathroom and quickly grabbed the duffel bag and marched out of the room. But as soon as the door slid open, he was instantly greeted by a hard stare from a feline in officer's uniform.

It was surprising that an officer would be waiting at the door and it took the vulpine a few seconds to snap back to reality. But instinctively, he jerked rather awkwardly to his attention stance and saluted, stuttering out. "Ma'am!" But the cat only continued to glare daggers at him.

"Follow me." She ordered after a few seconds had passed, turning to the right and walked down the corridor. Not wasting another moment, the vulpine jogged to catch up to her.

He glanced down at the officer's right sleeve and noticed the same symbol that was on his own. The trees that are stitched into the small circular patch stood out and covered by a fabric that made it appear like 'fog' or 'mist' around them. Circling around the picture in the margin of my patch was the name of the ship; The Misty Vale.

They walked through numerous corridors, all lined with doors that lead to dorms. Some were still occupied while others were deserted. He could see that some of them were just starting to leave as well. Those that were outside their dorms snapped to attention when he and the officer walked past them.

Huh, I wonder what other ships were called.

It was clear that the ship he was assigned to had only less than twenty that were to board. But so far, he had seen more than that number leaving their dorm and couldn't help but wonder.

"Are there other ships that are announced to be boarded?" He finally asked out of curiosity,

"Yes, two others had arrived at about the same time as ours, all three ships will head back to the front lines after they pick us up."

As they rounded a corner, the next corridor had its right wall made of special hardened glass allowing the vulpine to see outside the space station. His eyes widened by the size of three ships that were docked outside. On the right docked a large battle cruiser while on the left had two smaller destroyers but all three were large nonetheless. He could guess that they were over a mile long.

"We're assigned to the battle cruiser if you're wondering." The cat said matter-of-factly as they continued down the corridor and past the last of the large window. "It's the same model as your father's flagship except this one isn't as armored or armed as the Red Aegis."

"But it's still count as a flag ship?"

"Apparently so, we are the second in the line of that ship class." She turned another corner with the young McCloud following close behind as they entered a larger part of the station where small vehicles could drive through.

The second in the line, huh? Nice.

The large corridor was filled with activities, light cargo transports occasionally drives by, forcing the pair to walk near the sides where the majority of other fellow soldiers and military personals were, whether it was exercising or running errands, they all had to share the small spaces at the sides for the vehicles' sake.

Soon enough, they spotted a large exposed elevator, its sliding fences acting as the gates. It was large enough to allow a light vehicle in and still would have enough room for people to fit inside. The two of them made it in just as the gates closed, cramming inside with thirty or so other personals before it descended downward to the next few floors.

He hated these kinds of elevator, mainly because of the smell it had since they only bothered to clean it once every week or so, the scent within the lift was an unbearable barrage of odors mixed together from thousands of animals that used the same elevator within the time between cleans. The vulpine wrinkled his nose in disgust, trying his best not to breathe in the air with it as if it was toxic.

It wasn't all quiet within the ride down to the hangar. Many of the ones inside were chatting amongst each other, mostly talking about their excitement of boarding and finally able to 'go out and wreck them'.

Yeah, I couldn't wait to shoot some bogies as well…

Soon enough, they were down at the hangar level, the smell of fuel and usual space dock scents overpowering the odors within the elevator which the vulpine gratefully accepted it since it was extremely less traumatizing and felt more at comfort.

Being the pilot he was, he had gotten used to the smell of engine fuel of ships, causing him to let a small smile of excitement tug of his muzzle as he continued to follow his CO to the shuttle.

"It's about time you've come." A weasel called out from the shuttle's side hatch as he got out to greet them. "The rest have been waiting for a while."

Without answering besides the usual salute and nod of greeting, the two walked past the weasel and entered the shuttle, being greeted by stares and glares from many that were already seated within. The vulpine couldn't help but feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment as he was led to a seat.

Quickly, he tossed his duffel bag over his head, putting it inside the trunk above his seat before sitting down next to a bulldog which as soon as the vulpine sat down, he immediately shoved a hand in front of his face.

"So you're the famous son of the admiral, huh?" The bulldog asked as he watched the vulpine nod and shake the hand. He grinned after a second before adding in, "William Grey, but you could call me Bill."

"Fox. Fox McCloud." The vulpine replied before releasing the handshake before noticing the all too familiar badge. "You're a pilot too?"

"Yeah, one of the best of my batch!"

He smirked at his new acquaintance's cockiness. But then noticing the rank pins given on the bulldog's uniform shoulder, he was a bit in doubt of the canine's claim.

As an Ensign?

He cracked a smug smile before looking back forward as he leaned back into the shuttle seat, wanting to dose off into sleep until they arrived onboard the Misty Vale. He'll meet everyone on the Misty Vale then.

To be honest, I barely slept…So I guess I'll just make up for the time spent staring at the ceiling…

But as quick as he was about to enter his dream world, he felt a hand grab his shoulder and shaking him back to wakefulness, causing him to growl out of irritation before opening his eyes to glare at the bulldog he just met.

"What?"

Instead of a verbal reply, the canine smirked and jabbed a thumb at the window behind him that, from Fox's point of view, showed nothing but the empty darkness of space. He stared at it for a second before looking back at the bulldog with a confused yet annoyed look before the bulldog leaned back for him to get closer to the window.

Finally after awkwardly struggling to switch seats with Bill, the fox looked out the window before noticing the large ship in front of the shuttle, getting a silent 'woah' of wonder from him. From the orbital station, the ship was already impressive enough but now up close, there's no word that could describe the newly built battle vessel.

"Ain't that ship a beauty." A voice spoke out in awe behind the pair, but the vulpine barely paid attention besides drinking in the view of the Misty Vale as it got closer and closer.

The massive cruiser was bigger than he'd thought. Now that they were so close to it, his guess turned from having the ship length at one and a half mile to two or maybe three. Another surprising fact that he'd found out was how far away from the station the ship was.

It wasn't docked at the station, it was in the same orbit of the station with a distance between the two.

I could tell why it couldn't dock on the station.

He couldn't help but find it funny. Why build such a big ship if it couldn't fit at the station? Another question popped up then another. The most intriguing question now was how would they get supplied if they couldn't dock? Sure there's supply ships that accompany fleets but they were used only when it was urgent and in the midst of a battle.

His answer came up as the shuttle turned to the other side of the ship. It was then that he noticed another ship parked up to the side of the Misty Vale; he could tell it was a modified frigate, its only weapon being the main cannons that were still intact on top of the ship. Then it came to him and he smirked at the idea.

A modified frigate acting as the Misty Vale's portable supply package? Smart.

Soon, they were closing in on the large cruiser's hangar bay. The entrance was divided into five separate openings lining side by side on each side of the ship, their exposed opening well shielded from the vacuum with a light passable barrier. Just from the size of the entrances made the vulpine drop his jaw, imagining how many fighters could fit into the hangar of the massive cruiser.

"Oh man, I'm going to enjoy staying on this ship for sure!" Bill whispered, bumping Fox by the side with an elbow as he grinned the other direction.

Following the bulldog's line of sight, he traced it to a few females sitting not far from them. One of them happened to look their way and made eye contact with the vulpine. She was a fennec fox, around a year younger with a different military uniform that were worn by those that work on a bridge.

After a second, both had realized they were staring and quickly looked away with their faces flushed red, with Fox feeling the most embarrassed just as Bill noticed the two of them staring which he let out a sharp whistle.

"Hey, looks like you've got one with just an eye! Good one!" The bulldog chuckled, giving the vulpine a hard friendly slap on the back. "And she looks pretty hot as well!"

"Get real…" The fox retorted, trying his best to hide the blush. "We're here to fight in the war, not hook up with fellow soldiers."

"Whatever man." The canine said before leaning forward and adding in with a whisper. "But don't worry, if ya change your mind, I could set it up for you guys. I'm a lady's dog after all."

The vulpine smirked at that, shaking his head before leaning back against the seat and sighing as he tried to sleep again. "Yeah, yeah..."

But because of the fact that he'd forgotten that it was just a short flight from the station to the cruiser, he didn't get his little nap as he was jerked back to reality by the vibration caused when the shuttle docked inside the hangar. He suppressed a low growl in his throat as he opened his eyes and looked out the window.

Guess I'll have to wait before I could hit the hay.

Just as soon as he was about to get up, the shuttle's hatch slammed to the side with a bang and everyone paused in that very moment to look right at the figure that held the hatch against the shuttle's inner wall. The stern look of the coyote officer glared each and every one of them as he started to bark out the orders.

"Get out you maggots! Double time!" He shouted as he brought out a whistle that hung around his neck and blew into it, causing nearby recruits to pin and cover their ears painfully. "C'mon! We ain't got all day!"

Everyone rushed at a faster than normal pace, grabbing their luggage like greedy kids fighting for pieces of chocolate cake. The first few that were able to get everything among the chaos dashed straight out of the shuttle in a blur which the vulpine mimicked as he left the craft and out into the large open hangar bay.

"Get in formation!" Another officer waiting outside barked into his ear as soon as he exited, causing him to flinch and pin his right ear as he rushed to where the rest were already lined up side-by-side.

Soon, the rest of the batch of recruits were out of the shuttle, falling in line with those that were out earlier. They were organized into 5 ranks with eight in each row, having Fox at the front along with a blue avian, Bill, the vixen he made eye contact with and four that he couldn't make out from the corner of his eyes.

They were all stiffly at attention, not even a muscle moved for god knows how long it was, most afraid of getting the bat which happened often at where ever they had been training. Soon, the officers that barked at them moved to the front, facing the organized recruits along with the feline officer from before.

The whole stood there in silence, the officers at the front shooting daggers from their eyes at everyone until one of them snapped straighter and shouted, "Captain on the deck!"

Everyone instantly snapped to full attention as a badger with a black-gold-red uniform of a captain walked by, stopping in front of the officers with a pipe held in his left hand. The captain turned to face the recruits, his one good eye studying the latest batch of cadets with intensity before nodding and tipping his captain's hat in a form of greeting.

"At ease."

Immediately, they switched to the at ease stance, their feet no wider than the length of their shoulders and their hands crossed behind their backs. Many of them let out silent sighs of relief from the stress of standing so straight for a long amount of time even if they were trained.

"I'm Freo." The badger started to speak, getting the attention of everyone. "Captain of this ship."

A silent wave of whispers and murmurs filled the air as the captain introduced himself.

"Captain Freo? Is he really the Captain Freo of the 41st Fleet?" The vulpine heard from someone behind him, sparking curiosity in his mind. But the curious thoughts were vanished when the badger started to speak again.

"You're all probably wondering why I'm here to address you as it is unlikely that a captain would come all the way down to the hangar to give a greeting to mere recruits. But you're no ordinary recruits. Not to me. You were chosen to be here on this ship because you are the best of the best and only those can get on board the Misty Vale."

He paused, looking at everyone with icy blue eyes. Some of them shivered from the intimidating stare they've received from the badger. But after a good few seconds, he continued.

"I could see that a few of you seemed scared; afraid to be under my command. I understand that but rest assured, I'm not as cruel as the media depicts me. But there are a few things that you should know."

Another pause of silence filled the air as they continued to listen to the captain. There was not a single sound emitted from anything as they stood there and it was agonizing for everyone. The silence was unbearable for the few seconds the captain stopped speaking but it was broken once again.

"I do not guarantee that all of us will make it through before the war ends. Some of you may die. We on this cruiser are the first that will charge in. We are all standing and waiting on a Trojan horse, preparing to siege the walls of our enemies." He paused again; head bowing a bit before looking back up to continue. "I've fought countless battles and have lost many under my command but for the sake of a better world. You are under my command now and I expect you to do your best."

"Sir, yes sir!" The whole formation of recruits barked, determination overwhelming the slight hints of doubts in some of them.

The captain nodded as he readjusted his hat. "Welcome aboard the Misty Vale."

One of the officers barked a command, immediately they obeyed and saluted the captain. He eyed each and every one of them again before his gaze rested on the young McCloud. Fox had noticed this as he felt the pressure of the captain's eyes weigh on him. But soon, he stopped and walked away, returning the salute as he did so.

"Stand at attention! Your living quarters are as assigned!" The feline officer announced sharply as she stepped forward with a clip board held. She looked down at the paper and started barking out names and room numbers but the vulpine didn't pay attention to it.

He stared hard at the ground, replaying the captain's words out. The way he sounded was grim and the eyes that studied him and the rest had no spark but held the aura of a veteran but it didn't show pride or assurance, only weariness and fear mixed together. Just from how the captain looked made him wonder if his father had such a look while he fought at the front lines.

People had said when they fight in the battle, the feeling would be glorious but from the look of his current leader, he started to have doubts.

"McCloud."

Upon hearing his name, the vulpine jerked his head up to the source. It took another second to realize that he was the last one to be called as he looked around and noticed that everyone else seemed to be gone. The feline officer that picked him up earlier stood a few feet from him with her foot tapping impatiently as she waited for the cadet to speak.

"Ma'am?" He finally responded hesitantly, unsure if he had missed the call on his name and room earlier.

"The captain wants to see you. Follow me." The feline turned around before looking over her shoulder as she waited for the vulpine to catch up.

"What for?"

"I don't know. You'll find out when we get there. He just wants to speak with you alone." She said as they exited the hangar.

That doesn't sound good…Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

He shook the feeling away, not wanting it to be visible when confronting the captain. Instead, the vulpine replaced the worried expression with determination as they walked down another set of halls before stopping at the elevator.

Whatever it is, I'll find out.

IIIII

Author's Note: There goes chapter 1. Hopefully not badly written as I said, military stuff isn't really my thing. xD And don't worry, romance will be around the corner. Just scarcely in the first few chapters. I think I've re-read this nearly six times before I decided to upload but I might have missed a few..Being the clumbsy person I am so please do point out mistakes! It'll help a bunch! Thanks!

Once again, thank you Sanitarium for the beta-reading and tips! And those that reviewed the short thing that is currently the placeholder for the prologue. xD I can't believe it! 12 reviews! :D Thanks a lot guys! Hope you liked this and if you do, don't be shy to give me feedback!