A/N: Get your wicker baskets out, 'cause there's Easter eggs everywhere. From FC to any Star Fox related game, you guys try and find 'em all.

Also, get your notepads out, because there is quite a bit of information in this chapter as well. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

Lastly, you guys should check out a First Contact spin-off that was posted on the archive a while ago, if you haven't already. It's called First Contact: Nocturne, and even though it's short as of right now, it's still really good. I highly recommend everyone take a look at that, and give him some feedback too. Thanks in advance.

Keeping with my promise of shortening these, I'll leave you guys here. I'm really glad this has gotten so much feedback as of early on, but please, I'd love to see this upward trend continue. Hope you guys enjoy this update! Take care!


Chapter 3: Love and War


Fox felt a single bead of lukewarm sweat traverse from the base of his cream mohawk all the way down the right side of his face, tracing a line reminiscent of a river's path on his auburn furred cheek. Wiping the bead of sweat away before it got to his jawbone, he sighed almost inaudibly and continued to work on his transmitter underneath a rather large magnifying mirror, one that made his fingers look five times larger than natural. He carefully used a pair of tweezers to wire up a deep blue chip to the rest of the device, but this time he crossed the wires to different inputs instead of plugging them into their respective outlets like he had done the day prior. He closed up the covering on it and glanced over at Vince, who was busy typing a long string of coding into his screen.

"Vince, I… I think I got it," Fox panted, again wiping sweat from his brow.

"Can it wait a sec, Fox?" Vince grunted, gnawing on his left paw. He would always be like this whenever he'd be in the middle of a mentally strenuous project. He would chew on just about anything, ranging from a pen to his clothes to even his own arm at times. There was one time a while back when he was in the middle of a coding project, and he bit down on his paw so hard that he actually broke skin and covered his entire paw in blood without him even realizing it. He had gotten better about inadvertently hurting himself, but he still couldn't break that nasty habit of chewing on everything like it was a teething ring.

Fox grunted back in acknowledgement, but didn't feel like waiting to test and see if his invention worked. He stepped away from his rather small lab station, stood in the middle of the vibrantly white hallway with numerous office spaces and lab benches surrounding him on all sides except for his ventral side, then opened his transmitter HUD. He poked at the option that was located on his main screen just under his contacts, the one he attempted to press the day before, and was startled to find out that it finally worked this time.

As soon as the tip of his digit pressed the option, a short, high frequency burst of a sound comparable to scraping metal screeched from the device, and his entire frame along with about a half a foot of extra space all around him was enveloped in a pale blue hexagonal field of what looked like pure energy. The sudden energy field that had sprung from Fox's transmitter caused nearby papers to get tossed around and dust lining the floor to get picked up and cloud around his feet. A combination of the noise of paper rustling and the high-pitched screaming emanating from his transmitter caused the arctic fox to turn his head, then instantly gape at the forcefield.

"Fox!" Vince yipped, shooting up from his chair. He attempted to rush over to the orange vulpine, but the pure energy stemming from the pale blue field stopped him in his tracks as he felt the furs on his face and arms rustle. He didn't want to potentially try and touch the field for fear he would get shocked or singed by the pulsating polygons.

Fox removed his finger, then almost instantly afterwards the energy field retracted back into his transmitter so fast it was unnoticeable to the naked eye. As soon as it disappeared, Fox busted into a successful laughter so contagious that Vince himself couldn't keep a straight face.

"It worked!" Fox laughed mirthfully, somewhat doubling over. "Oh my gods I can't believe it worked!"

"What was that?" Vince asked after his own laughter had subsided.

"Energy field," Fox answered, smirking at the option on his transmitter. "If my calculations are correct, it should be able to produce enough concentrated energy to deflect small projectiles thrown or shot at it within a certain velocity or mass."

"Shut up," Vince scoffed disbelievingly. "Don't play games with me kit."

"I'm not joking," Fox whined sarcastically, then trotted over to his station and picked up a red rubber ball that fit perfectly in his paw. He shook it at Vince, then bounced it on the ground a few times before gently tossing it to the white vulpine, who caught it effortlessly after it popped off of the ground.

Fox pulled the option on his transmitter up again as he looked directly at the fox, who was squeezing the red ball in his own paw. "Throw it at me."

"You're serious about this?" Vince asked skeptically, giving the ball another hard squeeze.

Fox poked at his transmitter option, causing the pale blue energy field to reappear and screech quietly as the hexagonal polygons pulsated with energy. "Throw it hard," Fox shouted over the noise of the squealing forcefield and the sounds of rustling paperwork. Vince shrugged his shoulders, sized up the vulpine with his eventual throw after backing up a good ten feet, and then pulled back his arm and his leg as he hurled the rubber ball at Fox with the force, speed, and form of a baseball pitch.

The ball impacted the field, causing the hexagon around the impact sight to turn white and cause a ripple effect within the large polygon like waves in a lake after skipping rocks. After a loud and resounding ping at the recognition something had impacted the field, it forcefully rejected the ball, causing it to go flying straight back at the arctic fox's face at a speed that was somehow quicker than what was initially launched at him. Vince barely ducked in time as the ball went careening over his floppy snow white ears, not stopping until it impacted a shelving unit of various metallic objects up against the far wall. The ball hit the shelf with so much force that it tossed many of the objects lying comfortably on the shelf onto the concrete floor, causing a loud chorus of clanking metal sounds to echo throughout the lab space.

Vince turned his head to follow the streaking red ball, then cranked it back to the vulpine who had just retracted the energy field after the metallic sounds had died down and laughed out loud. "Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed, popping up from his knees. "That was amazing!"

"Now you see why I was working so hard on this all this week and last week," Fox remarked, removing the flap from the chip so that Vince could look at it. "It harnesses most of the unused energy these transmitters waste and produces a very temporary energy shield. It only works in short bursts so that the transmitters have time to recharge after using it. Maybe bump up some of its specs and give it a larger power source, and we might be able to have this produced for CDF ground forces to protect them against laser fire."

"This can deflect laser fire?" Vince asked with eyes wide.

"Only way to find out is to test it," Fox replied, pulling up the HUD display.

"I barely ducked under the ball I threw at you," Vince chuckled. "I'm not gonna try and shoot you, then have it work and me ending up getting hit."

"True," Fox nodded, closing the flap up.

"So, what made you think of that?" Vince asked after slipping back into his station.

Fox also returned to his seat and started messing with some coding in regards to his new invention on his own screen. "To be honest, I just used the Verians' idea of a condensed energy shield and reproduced it with our tech. It was difficult because of how much more advanced they are compared to us, but not impossible for someone like me to recreate."

"You stole the Verians' idea?"

"Borrowed," Fox corrected with a chuckle. "It's not their tech or their energy I used. I used our stuff to recreate it. They want to get pissy with us for supposedly stealing an idea, then so be it."

"They're already pissy," Vince added with a smirk. "Did you know I finally found out why they're so upset with us?"

"How so?"

"Supposedly they want some of our parliament officials removed," Vince answered unenthusiastically, continuously scanning the coding covering his holographic screen. "Ya know? The ones that approved of the First Contact war? They don't want them in power anymore, and they also want them to apologize for what they did, but they keep saying they have nothing to apologize for."

"Jeez," Fox moaned. "You'd think we'd try and mature a bit after that embarrassment that was the FC war."

"One would hope," Vince grumbled. "Believe it or not, but there are some government officials and some military officers that are still bitter against humanity."

"Still?" Fox echoed confusedly.

"They were extremely reluctant to even leave Earth in the first place," Vince added. "Those are the guys the Verian Kingdom want us to remove."

"Then why don't we?" Fox asked.

"Would you want to get rid of Secretary Andersen?" Vince asked right back, cocking his head at him. "Secretary Tavares? Hell, even Prime Minister Muzzin? I sure as hell wouldn't feel comfortable if they were removed, even if they are still somewhat hostile."

"And what if they start another war with the Verians?"

"They won't," Vince assured, finishing up his long string of coding. "I know the Verians are so more advanced than we are to the point where it's worrisome, and if they so much as breathe on us in our current state we'll go up in flames, but they have honor, and for them it's not honorable to sweep an entire race under the rug. They will do whatever it takes to try and resolve this conflict without spilling blood."

"So that's why they retracted the Verian Protection Program," Fox remarked, snapping his fingers.

"Exactly," Vince affirmed. "Hell, they could have wiped our blockade off the face of Lylat, yet they refrained to because they didn't want to start a war. They're doing everything in their power to prevent war, and the VCG's authority on Cerinia was another thing they had to sacrifice to keep peace. If anything, we will be the first ones to attack if the peace between our worlds degrades enough to merit open warfare."

"And let's pray that doesn't happen, for the CDF's sake," Fox grunted, sliding away from his station on his wheeled chair, then did a complete 360 degree swivel before he started speaking again. "I really hope war doesn't break out."

"That makes two of us," Vince said pragmatically.

"While we're on the topic of the Verians, what's your take on Wolf and Sheila's new jobs?"

"Their instructing positions over there?" Vince chortled, slouching as he spun to face the orange fox. "It's understandable because Veris Alpha would be the only place they would be welcome. Plus, they're two damn good pilots, so in all honesty I think the Verians came up as the victors in recruiting them."

"I didn't really ask them how well they got along with the people there… before they left last night," Fox remarked with subtle regret. "They are still Cornerians. Wonder if they're picked on kinda like how the human population is here."

"What, the fifty or so humans that we essentially abducted six years ago during the FC war?" Vince chuckled again, running a paw through his hair. "They're really nice guys. Especially that one little girl. You've met Emily, right Foxie?"

"Yeah, the twelve-year-old human girl that's living with the ex-Husky Squadron pilot Christina," Fox grinned. "She's adorable. Absolutely loves the people here. Speaking of loving the people, did you hear that some of the humans are marrying Cornerians?"

"You're joking, right?" Vince asked right back.

"No, actually," Fox answered, letting a grin crease his muzzle. "I think there's been six or seven instances of humans marrying Cornerians. Nobody knows for sure if they can actually start a family together though, but they are researching that right now as a matter of fact."

"Wonder what a human and Cornerian child would look like if they actually could…" Vince muttered under his breath.

"Anyway," Fox butted in, letting a burst of air out of his nose as he started spinning in his chair again. "Good thing the humans are really liking it here. Who knows what would happen if they didn't want to be here, and wanted to go back to Earth…"

"Even if they wanted too, Muzzin wouldn't approve of it," Vince replied sourly. "Parliament picks on the humans whenever they get the chance. In all honesty, the humans here aren't too lucky because the Loyalist sub-group in parliament is a very large majority. Hell, even Prime Minister Muzzin is a Loyalist, even though he doesn't openly admit it."

"Second in command is too," Fox added somewhat bitterly. "The only one that isn't a Loyalist that has a big say in parliament is Reeves, but when there's ten other guys opposing your viewpoint it's hard to hold your own in that kind of environment. I truly feel sorry for him."

Vince sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "I fuckin' hate the Loyalists, 'scuse the language Foxie," he remarked, showcasing a slight grin at the end of the sentence, then let it fade almost instantly. "They're gonna get us in another war, I just know it."

"With the Verians?"

"Who else?" Vince scoffed. "They're gonna keep instigating them, and pretty soon the Verians are gonna say enough is enough and go for the jugular. They won't go after civilians, 'cause of their respect for life and all, but they'll have no trouble in going after a very powerful political figure if it means that others will survive and the hostility will end. You've gotta remember that the Lylat Homeland Coalition is a massive network of political leaders throughout the system from Corneria to her colonies, so they've got a lot of options to choose from if they're looking for an appropriate target to slap some sense back into us."

"What…? You… you don't think they'll try and assassinate someone, do you?" Fox asked with his voice somewhat hushed, glancing at the front door for good measure.

"I'd hate to say it, but I wouldn't bet against them doing so," Vince admitted, crossing his legs in his wheeled chair. "That will either bring us to our senses, or be the catalyst… and with the way parliament, and for that matter the entire LHC has been acting I'd put credits on the latter."

"Too bad you don't have any," Fox sneered with a playful smirk, getting the white vulpine to finally smile truthfully.

"Well, you keep blowin' all our money on Arcene," he taunted, making the other tod blush slightly and inadvertently catch him slightly off-guard with the sudden conversation change. "You care about her a lot, don't ya Fox?"

Fox nodded and frowned slightly, lowering his ears in the process. "She means the world to me," he explained, avoiding eye contact with the older fox. "I mean… I… I've never cared about a girl this much before."

"So I've seen," Vince grinned. "Every spare moment you get you're either calling her or going to her place. It's been like that for, what? Two years?"

"Almost three," Fox added quietly.

"You slept with her yet?" Vince suddenly asked, making Fox's muzzle shoot up from the floor.

"Vince!" Fox yipped, feeling his cheeks warm up.

"I'm allowed to ask these things," the white fox chuckled, folding his paws in his lap. "Have you slept with her yet?" he repeated, smiling all the while.

"Well," Fox started, struggling to come up with an appropriate phrasing for his sentence. "We stay the night at each other's houses all the time, and there have been times where we've slept in the same bed because–"

Vince showed off a toothy smile at the mention of the vulpine sharing a bed with her, and as soon as he smiled Fox cut himself off and shook his head.

"Fo-oox…" the arctic fox cooed slowly, leaning forward in his chair. "You're not answering my question."

"I don't feel comfortable discussing my sex life, even with you," the orange vulpine explained, starting to lose his patience.

"So you have?"

"One time!" Fox shouted suddenly, cupping his head in his paws. He slowly lifted his head back up and continued in a hushed voice. "It was one time, alright? It was just a one-off thing… She had a really rough day after her sister died in a car accident last year, and... it was her idea. She wanted me to comfort her. I couldn't say no to her."

"That's all I wanted to hear buddy," Vince said reassuringly. "I don't have a problem with you sleeping with her just so long as you are putting her before yourself, and are making her happy above all else."

Fox finally let a grin surface. "Thanks Unc–"

"And as long as you plan on putting a ring on her finger, if you catch the drift," Vince added, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't worry," Fox assured. "As soon as I scrape up enough credits, I'm getting her the most beautiful engagement ring anyone has ever seen. She's worth it."

"Hey, with your invention, we'll be rolling in it," Vince replied with a wide smile. "Seriously Fox, something like what you created will sell for a lot, especially for the CDF. It'll get mass produced, and pretty soon we're up to our necks in credits."

"You really think so?" Fox asked, eyeing the option on his transmitter HUD.

"Sure do kit," Vince chuckled, leaning forward in his seat. "So, you've got yourself a brand new invention… what're ya gonna call it?"

Fox was yet again caught off-guard with his sudden question. "Damn, I've never really thought of that," he muttered, humming in confusion.

"You gonna try and throw your name in there somewhere?" Vince suggested.

"Nah, I'm not one to advertise myself," Fox grinned, continuing to stare at his transmitter. "Hmmm… How about the Reflector?"

Vince nearly snorted and let a small grin surface. "Reflector, eh? Seems… unoriginal. I think it might need a better, more creative name, ya know? It's not often you can create something this amazing, and you're just gonna–"

"What's my name, Vince?" Fox interrupted with a confident smirk, raising his eyebrows a few times for good measure. Vince clamped a paw over his muzzle to keep himself from exploding in laughter, then once he regained his composure he gave his own smirk to the vulpine.

"Reflector it is."


\/##########\/


Wolf grunted as he opened the door to his rather smaller classroom, and was startled to see all six of his cadets already in the room talking with each other. The four male Verian cadets sitting in the room all shared a similarly colored uniform consisting of a rather thin flight suit, boots, and a set of fingerless gloves, while the two female Verians had a rather similar set of apparel, just modified to accommodate for their feminine features. They all sat around a few chairs and shared a few laughs before the lupine shut the door with his foot; the noise causing his cadets to all glance up at him.

"Mornin' fellas," Wolf chuckled, removing his large overcoat and hanging it on the hook near the door.

"I'm surprised you showed up today sir," a rather flat snouted dragon remarked with a smirk, pivoting his head so that his dull crimson hide could glimmer in the light seeping through the windows.

"Come on Kaalney," a female golden Verian with a full head of long, jet black hair complained, narrowing her dull green eyes at the red dragon. "Commander O'Donnell just went on vacation for a while, right?"

"Just went to go see an old family friend of mine," Wolf answered with a grin, stepping over to his rather minimalistic desk and grabbing a holographic tablet off of the surface. "Alright, three twenty-seventh trainee, that's you guys right?"

"You were only gone for a few days sir," a forest green Verian with a slender looking snout chuckled.

"I know, I know," Wolf laughed back, suppressing a yawn. "I got back early this morning. You guys are lucky I'm even here today."

A low chorus of laughs cracked up from the six Verian cadets as Wolf scanned his tablet.

"Okay, Jakob?"

"Yup," a pearly white dragon with a rather short snout grunted, throwing his hand in the air aimlessly.

"How you doin' big guy?" Wolf asked with a grin, tapping the tablet with an audible click.

"Not bad sir," Jakob answered, flicking his long ears happily. Jakob Skathin, a rather small Verian at five foot ten was just doing what he did best, and that was staying happy. It was damn near impossible to get this pure white dragon with a rather long, full head of similarly colored fur either angry or upset, and some wondered how he even got accepted into the Royal Verian Air Force because of that mentality. However, he was a natural at flying, and it seemed as though his natural talent rubbed off on his teammates and squadron members, as well as his care-free and chill attitude.

Wolf nodded, then glanced up at a dark navy blue scaled dragon fidgeting with his tight uniform, not paying an ounce of attention to the conversation. "Rikthian?"

The dragon suddenly jerked his head up and widened his eyes, making his chair clatter momentarily on the concrete floors. "Oh, uh, yeah, sir?"

"Good morning?" the gray wolf smirked, getting a few chuckles out of the other cadets.

"Sorry sir," Rikthian said absentmindedly, avoiding eye contact. Rikthian Monmaro, despite being a very, very distant relative to a founder of one of the five political houses of Veris Alpha, wasn't a very big socializer. He'd never say anything unless it was absolutely necessary to, and that sometimes acted against him in training exercises. However, Wolf took quite a liking to the thin-snouted, thin-framed Verian because he reminded the lupine of Fox when he was rather shy, but had a very broad, yet untapped set of skills and potential. Wolf had quite a bit of patience for him, and did everything in his power to try and break the dragon out of his shell, although the dragon was extremely timid with the lupine.

"You're alright Rikthy," Wolf grinned, tapping at his tablet once again. "Uh… Jenna?"

"Mornin' sir!" The gold scaled female soldier exclaimed excitedly, waving at the lupine for good measure. Jenna Layvin, a very slim, tall, and beautiful Verian soldier was an absolute gem in the classroom and in the sky, as well as having the greatest hair among all female cadets. She took pride in her drop-dead gorgeous looks, ranging from her glimmering golden hide to her perfectly shaped feminine frame all the way to her piercing dull green eyes, pointed slender snout, and wavy jet black hair. She had a very calm, yet flirtatious attitude, and it always put a smile on the wolf's muzzle when the female would throw in a particularly suggestive remark into the conversation, although she knew good and well that he didn't tolerate that kind of behavior in combat or training.

"How you holdin' up beautiful?" Wolf remarked with a half-grin, making the dragon smile and bite her tongue, curling her long tail behind her seat.

"Sir, you're married, aren't you?" Kaalney questioned with an eyebrow raised and a sly smirk creasing his snout. Wolf snickered back after tapping his tablet and hissed quietly at the dark red dragon.

"She doesn't have to know, does she?" Wolf asked sarcastically, shrugging his shoulders. All six of the cadets erupted into laughter as the lupine snickered again and slowly paced towards the door on the opposite side of where his desk was located.

"Anyway, Kaalney, I see you've already made your presence known."

"Doin' what I do best, sir," the crimson Verian said confidently with his arms crossed. Kaalney Nemith, just like Jenna, is a very flirty, yet sure-footed soldier. His confidence around women transferred over to the sky, as he was one of the best pilots-in-training the RVAF had at the current moment. He made sure he was presentable in public with his short, almost crew-cut-like ink black hair and with his apparel. He was the only Verian cadet in the room that had his flight suit slightly unzipped, showing off a necklace that glimmered in the sunlight. Although flirty, he's had a reputation for not being able to keep a relationship due to his rather shallow sense of empathy and compassion, and often times his rather cruel sense of humor and sarcasm gets in the way of his relationships too.

"Besides not having a girlfriend," Wolf remarked, getting the rest of the classroom to erupt into laughter once more.

"Hey, that's cruel sir," Kaalney whined.

"And I'm a very cruel person," Wolf added. "You should know that by now."

"Yeah, he is a Cornerian after all," Kaalney muttered under his breath somewhat sourly, and to his relief the lupine did not hear him.

"Alright… Lilith?" Wolf continued.

"I'm here sir," a very small and cute light gray Verian female piped up awkwardly. Lilith Krosiiv was a rather new addition to the RVAF's 327th training regiment – which was Wolf's squadron – so she still had to get adjusted to her new teammates. Like Rikthian, she was rather shy and anti-social, but at least she made the effort to talk to her teammates unlike the navy blue dragon that was still avoiding eye contact with the rest of the room. Everyone knew that this smaller dragon with the rather uncommon curly white locks and a pointed snout that almost resembled a Cornerian vulpine muzzle had a crush on Jakob, but for whatever reason she was reluctant to talk to him about it. In fact, Jakob found it cute that she was so interested yet so shy when it came to him.

"How's it goin' sweetie?" he asked with a grin.

"I'm okay," she answered softly, but sweetly.

"Did your brother ever get that position in the VGC?" he asked. Lilith was rather shocked he still remembered, then struggled to respond as she was not expecting this kind of question so suddenly.

"No, they assigned him to air traffic control back at HQ," she answered with an unnoticeable stutter.

"Ah, that's still really good though."

"He's better at that kind of stuff, so I guess it is."

Wolf nodded and tapped at his screen yet again, then glanced up at the last dragon he had yet to call on. The forest green dragon suppressed a laugh and held up his hands in defeat.

"Last yet again," he chuckled. Wolf shrugged his head and poked his screen.

"It's not intentional, Arkédan, I swear," the lupine grinned, setting his tablet back on his desk.

"That's what you always say, sir," Arkédan remarked with a grin. Arkédan Grenvich, the tallest of all the squadron members at six foot six, acted smaller and younger than he actually was in lighthearted situations such as a classroom lecture he was currently in. He had a particularly curvy and slender snout that almost made him look like a female, but he counteracted that with a full head of unruly jet black hair and a very mature expression that has become synonymous with his name over time. In combat, he is very dependable and reliable, but as soon as he's not in danger he'll wreak havoc on people's sides and throats with the insane amount of laughter he can provoke. He had a great sense of humor, and just like Jakob, it was hard to get on his bad side.

Wolf clasped his paws together and trotted up to the middle of the room. "Alright, I know I've only been gone less than a week, and this stuff should be fresh in my mind, but I'm running on fumes and a few hours of sleep right now… not to mention I had it off with my wife last night, so I have no idea what we should be doing. Anyone care to help me out?"

After a loud eruption of laugher stemming from the class due to the lupine's last remark, Jakob regained his composure and spoke up politely, choking through laughter in the process. "Fighter classes, sir."

"Ah– aw shit," he growled, getting another chorus of overwhelming and mirthful laughter from his cadets. "I'm not good with describing these. Uh… alright. There's three main classes, right? What's one, Kaalney?"

"Eypon," he answered instantly.

"Ah, the big guns," he said with a grin. "Nasty, nasty ships. Do not want to get in the way of these guys. Fast, mean, powerful, dangerous, but they are ugly sons of bitches, lemme tell ya."

Wolf trotted over to his desk and picked up a small device, then after he poked a button on the side, a small holographic image of the fighter he was describing popped up.

"Like I said, these things have a little bit of everything," he explained, carefully scanning the image. "You name a weapon or system, this beast has one. Nose chain-gun, laser cannons, quad missile launchers that can be customized for specialized missions, hell you name it."

He closed out that image and pointed at Jenna. "What's another one?"

"Egret, right?" she answered.

"Yup… my wife's favorite," he added, pulling up an image of a rather small and sleek fighter. "Super-fast ships. Blazing top speeds. Light, yet effective if you can get a bunch of these little guys together. These little guys have rapid-fire pulse laser cannons which are good when you have more than just one, but they are very fragile and have very light shields. They are very aerodynamic and maneuverable, so it shouldn't be hard to shake an enemy if you do happen to get one on your tail. Like I said, it's very important you hunt in numbers if you have these fighters since they're rather unprotected."

Wolf chuckled after he retracted the hologram. "Alright, one more. My personal favorite. Which is it?"

"Raptor," Jakob announced.

"Atta boy," Wolf smiled, pulling up the fighter in question on his device. "Love these guys. Raptors; mean interceptor class fighters. They may be slower than the others, but you best make sure you don't have one of these stuck on your tail. They've got a longer range and a very broad arsenal to take care of enemy squadrons. Twin pulse lasers and twin missile pods, with a fairly large laser cannon for good measure."

Wolf powered his device down and made his way back to his desk. "Now, I have my own personalized Raptor," he said as he picked up another device. "Modified to my personal tastes. Faster, lighter, more maneuverable, and more destructive. Check her out."

Wolf pulled up an image of a very sleek and pointed fighter that almost didn't look like a normal Raptor. Not only was it more aerodynamic looking and less heavy, but it honestly looked nicer than normal Raptors. Its four thin inverted wings were also an inconsistency from the normal fighter, but it also made it look more maneuverable at the same time.

"The Wolfen," he remarked proudly. "Beautiful craft. And no, none of you guys can take her for a spin."

"Not even me, sir?" Arkédan asked, tilting his ears.

"Not even you," Wolf answered in roughly the same tone of voice, grinning all the while. He turned the projection device off again and replaced it with his tablet.

"Alright, I'm tired, and don't feel like teaching any more today, so last thing before I let you guys go," he stated as he scrolled through some options. "What model fighters do you guys want to specialize in when we start simulations? …Let's start with you Kaalney."

"I'm liking the Eypon," he responded.

"Alright… Jenna?"

"I like the Egret, sir," she answered.

"Awesome. Jakob?"

"I'll follow in your footsteps, sir. I'll go for the Raptor."

"Hell yeah," Wolf grinned widely, giving the white dragon a wink of approval. "How about you Rikthian?"

"Uh, Egret, please, sir."

"Absolutely. Lilith?"

"Same here sir. I'll go with an Egret."

"Good to know I've got a bunch of these," Wolf grinned. "You three will definitely need to stick together."

Wolf looked over at the green dragon, then nearly snorted as he realized the expression on his snout. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"Yes you did sir," Arkédan chuckled.

"Shit, dude, I'm honestly sorry I keep picking you last for everything," Wolf said sheepishly, trying to keep a smile on his face.

"Not a problem sir. Uh, I'll go for an Eypon."

"Sure thing bud," Wolf replied, then placed the tablet on his desk again. "Alright… You guys are free to go. I'm done for today. Just make sure you guys are back here tomorrow, eight hundred sharp. Take care fellas."

Wolf watched as the Verian cadets filed out of the classroom and out into the hallway. He let out a breath of air through his nose as he fell into his chair behind his desk, and unbeknownst to even himself he slowly started drifting off. He let his head fall back onto the chair as he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but the noise of his transmitter buzzing loudly instantly jerked his eyes open. He lazily flipped his arm up and accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Wolf," a voice the lupine instantly recognized came back, making him jolt up in his seat as a new found energy spike surged through his body.

"Oh, hey Jona," he said happily. "What's up?"

"Nothin' much," the Verian answered. "Sup with you?"

"Ah, just finished another lecture with the kids," Wolf said with a slight chuckle.

"I remember when I was in those classes," Jona chuckled back. "Wasn't the most riveting thing, but I really did enjoy it."

"Yeah, it's alright," he replied.

"You mind if I stop by in a few days and interrupt your class, just for the hell of it?"

"I would, but I'm teachin' tomorrow," Wolf answered. "Sheila has her class meeting in a few days, so you can jump in and interrupt her if you'd like. She'd love to see you again."

"Heh, I'd do a little more than just interrupt the class, if you catch the drift," Jona said in a rather low and scheming voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I know how you– wait what?"

Jona instantly started laughing. "I'm just screwin' with ya."

"You better just be screwin' me and not her," he said with a smirk.

"Hey, you've already had your way with her; I'm not gonna touch anything you've already contaminated."

"Oh, that's fuckin' harsh," Wolf laughed, practically doubling over in laughter. "That sarcasm of yours is gonna get you killed."

"Not if I kill you first," Jona instantly retorted, himself choking through laughter.

"I've about had enough of you for today," Wolf shot sarcastically, shaking his head in the process.

"Well, I gotta hit the road anyway," Jona replied. "Just wanted to call you and see how things were going on your end."

"I'm alright," he answered. "How are you taking the "not being able to go back to Cerinia" situation?"

"Hurts," the dragon instantly replied. "It hurts. I found out that one of my charges is in love with me, and the worst part is that I have to tell her she can't."

"Yeah, isn't Krystal a bit young for you, big guy?"

"That's the problem," Jona added. "Krys is way too young. I hate to do it to her, but I need to tell her. I'm more worried about how she will respond to that."

"True," Wolf nodded. "Well, good luck anyway bud. I'll see you around."

"Thanks. Take care Wolf," Jona said before terminating the connection.

Wolf let out a long breath of air through his nose as he slouched back down in his seat.

"He doesn't deserve to be put through that," the lupine muttered under his breath. "Jona is too nice of a guy to put down a girl, especially one of his charges… I feel sorry for him…"

Wolf closed his eyes once more, and let out one last almost inaudible remark before he let sleep overtake him.

"I just hope Krystal will understand."


\/##########\/


General Todd McClellan found the soldier he was searching for right where he expected him to be. Standing a few inches away from a guardrail overlooking the recently completed Cornerian-American warship was the General's son, First Lieutenant Joel McClellan. He stood there, staring at the ship intently with his unmistakable stance of letting his left leg bend backwards slightly as he had his rather muscular arms folded. The top portion of his camouflage uniform was missing, showcasing a sandy brown tank top that had visible patches of sweat all over it – implying he had just finished a rigorous day of training. Without another moment of hesitation, the general stepped alongside of him and got his attention by placing a hand over his shoulder.

"Hey Joel," Todd said very informally, patting his son's shoulder. "How you holding up kiddo?"

"Not bad, pops, not bad at all," Joel said warmly in a very mature voice, clutching the general's hand and leaned in to give him a quick hug. Joel was surprisingly taller than his father, standing at an even six feet, and weighed much more than him in pure muscle and strength. His black hair contrasted with his father's, and even at that, his hair was curly and long enough to flow over and past his ears, along with a similarly colored stubbly beard covering his face. He had a scar just off to the right of the bridge of his nose, and his nose was also slightly crooked as well due to an accident during training a long while ago. Joel grinned as he transitioned his gaze back to the warship that had numerous engineers working on it.

"She is just so amazing," he remarked, leaning up against the guardrail. "Never would have thought we'd be able to pull off travel like this. It's just incredible."

"You like her?" Todd asked as he too leaned on the railing, standing mere inches away from his son.

"Love her," Joel corrected. "She's a beautiful craft. Are we keeping the name on her?"

"What, the Great Fox?" he asked, pointing at the forest green letters that were painted just above the main hull, exactly how the Cornerian dreadnaught years before had those same words. "Of course. It ain't the Cornerians' Great Fox, but ours is easily five times better."

Joel snickered to himself, staring out at the lettering. "Hated seeing the Cornerians' versions of these, but now that she's got that 'made in the USA' look… She's absolutely beautiful."

"Would you want to command a ship like that?"

"Absolutely," Joel replied with no hesitation. "Wouldn't be able to fly her, per say, but I just want to be on her for a mission or something. Imagine the looks on the commies' faces when we'd storm in with these, eh?"

Todd and Joel both shared a good laugh, bumping into each other simultaneously as if they were hockey players prepping for a big game. Once the general's laughter died down, he sighed and started at the spacecraft.

"So you're saying you want to command her?"

Joel turned his gaze to his father and stared at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Todd chuckled and inched a bit closer to the soldier. "Your mom, she, uh… she gave the approval to launch her as soon as everything was in working order. She gave us the okay to use our plan to get our much needed revenge on those Cornerian bastards."

"Damn, that's awesome," he smiled, then let his smile fade a few seconds later. "Wait, dad, are you saying…?"

Todd nodded with a grin. "I want you in charge of the first reconnaissance mission to Fichina."

Joel's eyes instantly shot open wider than dinner plates. He tried to respond, but all that came out was a breathy grunt as he doubled over slightly and let a massive smile surface. He chuckled in that same exhaling voice for a good ten seconds as he shook his head in disbelief.

"You're seriously letting me?" he asked in a state of pure elation. Todd couldn't help but laugh at him as he nodded once again.

"Joel, you're… In all honesty, you're the best soldier I've ever gotten the privilege to train. I may be biased since you're my son and all, but… you've got skill, and I'm proud of you for it."

Joel kept his smile and let his head hang low. "Dad, I… This is an honor… I'm extremely eager and excited to command this mission."

"It won't be just you, kiddo," Todd remarked, wrapping his arm over Joel's neck. "You'll be the lead commander, but you'll be with nineteen other troops. I'll let you bring your squadron since you fellas have such amazing chemistry together, but I will provide some other troops for your recon group that will provide you with a tactical and strategic advantage."

"What's the plan once our group lands on Fichina?"

"Easy," Todd replied with a confident smile. "Hopefully you won't land too far away from the military base, but if you do, it'll be nasty. We received temperature readings from this frozen wasteland from the old Cornerian technology and intelligence, and from what we can convert to our measurements we're speculating it will be colder than Siberia. You boys will be geared up to combat that cold, and once you get to that military base, you guys can easily storm in and take it over effortlessly. I have faith in you."

"Wait, aren't the Cornerians really dangerous?" Joel asked, shifting his stance. "They're weaponry is highly advanced. They'd be able to hold us off, right?"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Todd chuckled. "With your crew, I have no worries. Keep your assault low-profile and quiet, but quick and merciless. They won't even know what hit 'em."

"Aren't you coming with?"

"I wish I could, kiddo," he replied sadly. "Your mom doesn't want me to go yet. I had to beg her to authorize you as our lead officer for this mission. But don't worry, as soon as you radio back the all-clear, I'll be on that first follow-up transport."

Joel nodded slowly, continuing to stare out at the large warship. "Thank you so much dad. I won't let you down."

"Good to hear," Todd grinned, patting Joel's shoulder. "Might as well start getting prepped now. I want you and your crew off of this planet by tomorrow."

"In a hurry to get rid of us, eh?" Joel chuckled sarcastically.

"Not really," Todd chuckled back, scratching his neck. "I'm rooting for you kiddo… stay safe out there. Always watch your ass."

"Will do pops," Joel laughed, popping off of the guardrail, then spun around and trotted towards his barracks.

Since Joel was a relatively higher rank than most of the other soldiers, and the fact that his father was a four-star general, he did get a bit of special and spoiling privileges. He and his four other platoon members had their very own quarters to stay in, although they were the same as everyone else's for the most part. A long, ten minute trek through the large army base later, Joel was slowly creaking open the door to his crew's room, with all of the members relaxing inside as well.

On the cot that was the closest to the front door was First Sergeant Erik Josef, Joel's best friend, albeit polar opposite. Joel's specialty in combat is marksmanship, while Erik loves to get up close and personal with the enemy, sometimes going as far as fighting hand-to-hand. Joel is a rather small and slim man, while Erik is nothing but gigantic – standing at six foot five and weighing in at two hundred and thirty-five pounds, and all of that is pure muscle. Erik's hair is also different, that being a closely trimmed coconut shell brown crew cut. With all of these differences, both army officers have developed a very strong friendship, and an even stronger bond on the battlefield.

On the cot behind the huge brown haired man sat blonde-haired Specialist Charlie Hemmingway, another close friend of the First Lieutenant. Charlie is smaller than Joel at only five foot nine, but he exhibits a rather broad knowledge of machines. He always was considered a nerd in school, but that was only because he was, and in fact he loves to get involved with any technical project the army has to offer. If that wasn't enough, he would always have his Gameboy on him at all times, and he would play it whenever he would have a spare moment. However, all of that didn't take away from his skill in handling a weapon.

On the other wall, a rather darker skinned bald soldier named Ramsay Wyle relaxed on his cot, polishing the muzzle of his customized FAL. Ramsay is a rather goofy Staff Sergeant, but when in combat he is irreplaceable. His chill and laid-back attitude makes him a very well-liked officer, and his skill with his semi-automatic rifle makes him a valuable asset in tense situations. Like the other two men in the room, he is one of Joel's closets friends.

Finally, a rather new addition to Joel's team, Corporal Eliot Sparks, was spread out on his cot with his massive German shepherd named Stryker sitting close by. Eliot was Stryker's trainer, and a damn good one at that. He had trained seven different shepherds for sniffing out bombs and explosives before he was assigned Stryker, but he loved this dog more than his other trainees. What was funny was Eliot's relatively longer dark brown, almost black hair mimicked the shepherd's fur color almost perfectly. Eliot had a special bond with this particular canine that none of his other group members could figure out, but nobody questioned it since he was just too damn good at what he did.

Almost as soon as Joel shut the door to the quarters, he walked over to the half-asleep shepherd and patted his head. "Hey there big fella," he said with a smile, making the huge dog's tail wag.

"I'm impressed," Eliot remarked with his eyes still closed and his hands folded behind his head. "Usually Stryker would've been all over you by now. Must be tired."

"You train him hard today?" Joel asked, scratching behind the shepherd's ears.

"He got an extra hour of advanced training today," he answered in a low groan. "If anything I'm the one that's exhausted."

"So I can see," Lieutenant McClellan chuckled, patting Eliot's chest. "Hopefully you ain't too tired for tomorrow. All of ya."

"I've got an off-day tomorrow," Elliot answered unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, same here Joel," Erik butted in, sitting up on his cot. "We're not scheduled for tomorrow."

"Not anymore," Joel said smoothly, making his way to his bed.

"What're you talking about?" Erik asked confusedly.

Joel couldn't help but smirk. "We just got assigned a reconnaissance mission. We leave tomorrow, and probably won't be back for another month… maybe longer."

"What the fuck?" Ramsay exclaimed with a raised eyebrow. "Where the hell are we going for an entire month Joel?"

"Yeah, this is just so sudden," Charlie piped in. "Where?"

Joel sat on his bedside and folded his arms confidently. "We're taking the war right to Corneria's doorstep."

"You can't be serious!" Ramsay bellowed, setting his rifle up against the wall.

"I sure am," Joel snickered. "We got assigned to the new warship they just finished building. In less than one week we'll all be in Lylat, planning an attack on these flea-bitten bastards."

Erik opened his mouth, but Joel already knew what he was about to say. The black haired man instantly raised his hand up and started speaking again.

"We're not the only ones," he explained. "We're apparently merging with another squadron, supposedly a total of twenty soldiers. We're the main platoon though. We go in, land on this barren icy planet with barely any civilization on it, and then take over the military base there. From what my father told me, it will be a simple operation. They're already crippled, so we can take them while they're hurt."

"How big is this base we're assuming control over?" Erik asked.

"Apparently not too large," he answered. "The population there is only a few thousand, so maybe only one hundred stationed soldiers? He never really explained that to me, but all he said was we would be able to take care of it."

"Hell yeah we can take care of 'em!" Ramsay said enthusiastically. "Hell, I can fuck 'em up with my bare hands, man!"

"Alright, settle Rammy," Joel chuckled. "Save the energy for the fight. The flight from here to that planet is supposedly only four days, so that's plenty of time to strategize and prepare."

"Plenty of time to write my will," Eliot remarked under his breath.

"We'll be fine," Erik assured, giving a grin to the Lieutenant. "I'm honestly pumped for this. Can't wait to add to my collection."

Sergeant Josef cranked himself around and picked a very long, white, and bushy object from the wall behind his bedside and stared at it proudly. Charlie raised an eyebrow at it confusedly with his eyes narrowed.

"Wait, that's a Cornerian tail?"

"Sure is," Erik answered, straightening out some loose hairs. "Came from the little fight we had years ago in Iowa, where that huge warship came down. I still remember launching that RPG at their little transport ship and blowing that to shit. Killed this guy as a result."

He chuckled yet again as he made the tail bounce around as it dangled from his hand. "Took this trophy from this giant husky lookin' creature. Tags said 'Anthony Garrison'. Said he was a pilot for this Husky Squadron. Must be an important little bastard."

"And you have his… tail…" Charlie muttered hesitantly, somewhat disgusted by the giant soldier's trophy.

Erik shrugged his head and continued to grope the bushy appendage. "Kinda soft though. You guys ever sit down and think how weird it must feel to have something like this hanging off your ass?"

"No Josef," Eliot grumbled impatiently, letting his arm hang off the bed as he stroked Stryker's sleeping head. "Swear to God, man, you are such a furry."

"Ha, ha; fuck you too," Erik grunted, hanging the large severed tail back on his wall. "You're just jealous you don't have a trophy."

"I survived the attack on New York, that's a trophy in and of itself," Corporal Sparks remarked with an uncharacteristic, yet almost unnoticeable low growl.

"You okay Sparky?" Ramsay asked concernedly. "You sound a little edged."

Eliot suddenly turned onto his side and cranked his head up to stare at the Staff Sergeant. "I'm just… kinda hesitant with this retaliation attack," he admitted, again letting his arm hang off the bed to rub at his shepherd's ears. "I was at New York helping the survivors after that attack six years ago, when all of a sudden another Cornerian warship lands right where Madison Square Garden used to be. Hell, I thought we'd get attacked again, but they started helping us… They said they had the wrong orders… They didn't mean to attack in the first place, they said."

Joel hummed curiously and leaned forward. "So they just went from overwhelmingly hostile, to peaceful and helpful in only a few days?"

"I guess so," he answered. "Like I said, they kept saying they had the wrong orders. I dunno, I'm just as confused as you guys are. They took about fifty of the injured civilians aboard to help them, then they suddenly just packed up and left with them still aboard. I didn't know if they were gonna treat them back home or capture them, but once they didn't come back I had my answer."

"They abducted civilians?" Erik asked.

"Seems that way," Eliot replied. "I… I remember talking with one of the Cornerians too. Little girl, probably still a teenager – couldn't have been older than thirteen. Cute little lynx creature. I think she said her name was Miyu. Said she was brought along to help out since they didn't have an adequate surplus of capable soldiers. They were struggling, which was probably why they left when they did."

"How do you still remember her name?" Charlie questioned. "Josef stole the dog's tags, but… how…?"

Eliot shrugged. "She was adorable. It pained me to see such a young girl forced to work. Her name just stuck with me."

"A Cornerian girl," Erik interrupted. "Her parents probably destroyed the Statue of Liberty."

"We probably killed her parents," Eliot shot back.

"What does it matter?" Joel butted in, standing up off of his cot and stepping in between the bickering soldiers. "They're all alien abominations anyway. They killed our kind too, regardless if they were soldiers or children. They're savages, and guaranteed the group that helped you, Eliot, got convicted for aiding the enemy or treason. The people they abducted were probably tortured and killed. They deserve the hell we're about to put them through."

"Agreed," Charlie grunted.

"I second that," Ramsay added.

"Lights out!" another voice barked from outside the door, lightly pounding on the wall a few times for good measure. Joel grunted in acknowledgement, then trotted over to the light switch by the front door.

"Get some rest boys," Joel said as he flicked the switch, plunging the room into pitch black darkness.

"We're gonna need it."


This place has a special kind of fallin' apart
Like they put the whole thing together in the dark
No one knows where the edge of the knife is
And no one knows what intelligent life is

No one knows me
No one saves me
No one loves or hates me
But it's fate
I only ever really wanted a break
I've been away for too long
Though I never really wanted to stay
I've been away for too long

*Soundgarden – Been Away Too Long*