Hello everyone,

Hope you're all doing okay.

I'm in a big bubble of sadness at the moment whilst writing this.

My cat was put down last week (25th). She wasn't doing well for the last 2 weeks. Getting weak, meowing less, hardly eating anything. After a week of antibiotics I saw no change and asked for a x-ray. Which immediately showed the cause of her discomfort, it was cancer in her lungs at an incredibly advanced stage. Therefore we decided to put her down. I had her for 16 years, born from one of my parent's cat, so she was extra special.

It feels very empty in our house now. We don't have any other animals.

2021 so far is looking a lot like 2020, but I reckon it is for a lot of us.

Let's get on with the next chapter, shall we? Writing always helps :)

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 4 -Time to step down

Mars

"You can't be serious?"

"Is this not the face of a serious mouse?"

"Maybe you of all mice should think twice before asking such a question." Carbine frowned at the Martian currently standing in front of her with his arms stretched out, hands placed on top of the table.

"Okay, so maybe my face says something different, but my mind and heart don't." He simply replied shrugging a little.

"So that's it?" The female mouse stood up straight and crossed her arms. "You're just going to stop fighting along with the others? No more guiding them or leading them to new victories?"

"Carbine, I'm not not going to be there. I'll just no longer be standing on the front lines. That is all." Stoker explained once again.

"It's not that simple, Stoker!"

"Isn't it? Give me one good reason why I have to be the one. There's plenty of other fighters equally as good as me, ready to take over." He paused and crinkled his nose. "Alright, maybe not equally, but you know what I mean."

Carbine rolled her eyes. This was highly unexpected. Everything had happened at the drop of a hat. Stoker and Izzy arrived at headquarters and by the time she got wind of that, he was already standing in front of her office. There she was, ready to give him an earful on stealing the spacecraft, as well as a welcome home, when he told her he was going to resign.

"See? You don't have one. Look,-" Stoker straightened himself and walked around the table. "I'm not abandoning my post today. But I am planning on it, rather sooner than later."

Carbine scoffed. "You're only doing this because of the human female you brought back with you."

"Yes, I am." The hazel mouse admitted. "But don't even think of pinning any of this on her. This is my decision, Carbine."

The general let out a sigh. "I am not. I'm simply stating facts. I was not against her coming here, you know that. My concerns lie entirely elsewhere."

"Such as?"

"The response those fighters are going to have, because you know there will be,- don't puff your chest like that!" The woman quickly added as Stoker looked rather pleased with himself.

"The other is, who will follow into your footsteps and how we're going to set that in motion?" She paused and looked up at him. "You wouldn't happen to have any suggestions yourself?"

Stoker shut his eyes for a moment, he hadn't really thought that through. The most logical answer was currently back on Earth. But that was impossible for the time being. There weren't many mice on Mars who he deemed qualified enough to take his place. Then again, one did not become a leader overnight. It would take time, months, years of dedication and most of all, a lot of difficult decisions.

Even though the war with Plutark was behind them, it was never a quiet moment on Mars. And now with the microfilm in his possession, once that device was built, who knew what the consequences would be?

"I guess for now I'll just keep an eye out for possible candidates. With the guys back on Earth, I'll have to direct my attention to those here." Stoker eventually said.

"You were considering one of them?" Carbine asked, her voice suddenly changing. "Do you mean Throttle?"

The older mouse scratched the back of his head. "Or Vinnie."

"Vinnie?" She practically spat out his name. "Even Modo is a more likely candidate than that loose cannon."

"Honestly, you'd be surprised how much Vinnie has changed since being on Earth. Modo will never want to be in a position of power or leadership. Besides, all his focus is on Charley at the moment."

Carbine had to blink a couple of times to make sure she was hearing him correctly. Modo and Charley? Did Stoker mean what she thought he meant?

"Modo and Charley are...together?"

Stoker nodded and immediately Carbine's brow lifted. "Oh."

"Surprised?"

"Well,- maybe a little. I always thought that Vinnie..." But she stopped when she saw the other mouse shaking his head whilst letting out a chuckle.

"That's what most of us thought at first. But it doesn't matter now. Modo is head over heels. She's his match, alright."

"I'm glad to hear that, really I am." Carbine quickly added as Stoker gave her a skeptic look. "It's unexpected."

Stoker shrugged. "Not really, if you ask me."

"Just know that some ladies will be disappointed once they hear the news that Modo is taken. Same goes for you,- Will you stop doing that? Honestly..."

Again Carbine shook her head at Stoker's pleased smirk, which seemed to make an appearance every time she said something that boosted his ego. Though she wasn't lying. Stoker was very much sought after. He was a leader, strong, confident and had the looks. Despite the fact that he's a loudmouth didn't make him any less wanted amongst a lot of Martians.

The same thing applied to Modo. He was one of their strongest and toughest fighters. Any girl would be lucky to have him. Throttle and Vinnie weren't any different in that aspect. But seeing as Throttle was taken. Carbine smiled for a quick second. That left Vinnie as the only one of the golden trio left available. If they ever were to come back to Mars, he was in for a real welcome home treatment.

"You're not seriously thinking about appointing Vinnie as your successor, are you?" She asked once more, just to be sure.

"Time will tell. Like I said, as long as they're on Earth, appointing them...any of them, is not on my mind." Stoker stepped away from the table.

"Where do you think you're going?" Carbine shouted after him as he headed towards the door. "We still have other things to discuss!"

"Later! I have other important things to attend to." Stoker replied walking out of Carbine's office.

::::::...::::::

Izzy swallowed a lump which had formed in her throat as she kept her gaze focused on the tall grey mouse. Apparently he had had no problem entering the room and she wondered what she had done wrong herself. Perhaps the door only opened for Martians? She honestly hoped that was not the case. The mouse stepped closer all of a sudden. His expression over the top gleeful looking.

"You must be Isabel." The Martian known as Havoc grinned, his hand still hoovering towards her. "I must say, you made a great first impression. On all of us actually."

Izzy's eyes moved from left to right. Was he mocking her? Even if he was, she couldn't let that get to her. First impression or not, she had to show this unfamiliar mouse that she was not some puny little human.

"I was actually trying to make a complete fool of myself." She retorted.

Havoc blinked, his lopsided grin remaining right as it was. Then an unexpected chuckle followed. "In that case, you failed. It was very enjoyable. Please,-"

He moved his hand closer. "I promise, I won't bite. I'm simply trying to be polite. This is how people from Earth greet each other, isn't it?"

Izzy doubted he was going to lower his hand anytime soon. The one thing she learned about Martians rather quickly, or at least the ones she knew, was that they were stubborn to the core and if they wanted something they would do all they could to get it.

Firmly, she grabbed Havoc's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Havoc."

"The pleasure is all mine, Isabel." He let go and smiled. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it? I understand we can come across as rather menacing, but we were very excited to see Stoker again. And meeting you, of course. General Carbine informed us Stoker was bringing someone with him."

Havoc paused and lowered his eyes. "Anyhow, Stoker placed me in charge to keep an eye on you while he was talking with the general. But if you'd like, I could give you a tour as we head their way?"

A part of Izzy was a little reluctant. So far Havoc had been quite the surprise. Intimidating demeanour, but kind with his words albeit a rather bold approach. And seeing as he apparently knew where Stoker was, it was the better option to go with him than staying in Stoker's room with that exotic looking poster.

"Is it far?" She asked him first.

Havoc shook his head. "Just down the hall and then to the right." He told her. Stepping aside he motioned for her to go first.

Walking out of the room, Izzy noticed that the corridor looked a lot like the tunnel at the entrance of the cave. One major difference was that the floor had some sort of concrete walkway instead of sand and dirt. The walls were partially covered with metal panels, like the ones in Stoker's room. Havoc appeared next to her and Izzy could hear the door slide shut behind them.

"This is mainly the living area of those in the upper ranks. You've already seen Stoker's sleeping quarters. General Carbine's office is where we're heading, but her room is not too far from here." The tall mouse explained as he placed a hand behind Izzy's back and pushed her along with him.

"And this..." Havoc paused and pointed at a door. "Is my place. If there is ever a mouse that gives you trouble and Stoker is unavailable, you can always call upon me." He raised his chin a little.

It seemed this was yet another mouse who acted somewhat like Vinnie in the presence of a female. Did this mean that Havoc was a mouse with a high rank? Based on what he said earlier that these quarters were for those who were a grade above the other fighters.

"Moving on." With his tail he urged Izzy forward once again.

They walked down the hall and rounded a corner, followed by another turn to the left. Hadn't Havoc mentioned that Carbine's office was down the hall on the right? But before Izzy got the chance to ask, a large open area appeared in front of her, or down below to be more precise.

"I know I said I'd take you to the General, but then I thought, now that we're here I might as well show you something a lot more interesting. Welcome to the hangar!"

Izzy placed her hands on the iron banister to look down at the ground. Bikes, dozens of them. Various types and colours, all lined up perfectly. Her jaw dropped at the sight. In the back she spotted a couple of spacecrafts, but none like the one she and Stoker had come with. Then she tilted her head back and looked up. This entire space was shaped like a circle, incredibly large with high walls reaching up towards the sky.

Her eyes widened and she glanced over her shoulder at Havoc. "Is this a volcano?"

"Clever. Yes, it is. What do you think?" He answered.

"It's positively amazing." Izzy gasped.

"I agree."

Izzy!

Izzy frowned and turned her head recognizing that voice immediately.

Izzy, where are you?

"Everything alright, Isabel?" Havoc furrowed his brow and moved into her line of sight.

"I think we might have to continue this tour some other time." She told him.

Havoc was about to open his mouth, when his ears perked up and there came Stoker from just around the corner. The hazel mouse stopped for a second as he spotted his subordinate and Izzy a couple of feet in front of him.

"There you are." His shoulders visibly relaxed as he walked over to them. "When I noticed your scent in the hallway, I got worried for a second."

He quickly slipped his arm around Izzy's waist and pulled her against him. "You feeling alright?" He asked.

"I do."

"Good." Stoker turned his attention towards Havoc. "Thanks for watching her, major."

Havoc gave a short nod. "No problem, Sir. My apologies, for not coming your way sooner. My enthusiasm to show her some of our facilities made me neglect duty."

"You're forgiven. I'll take it from here."

"Aye aye, Sir." The grey mouse saluted and left the two of them alone.

Once he was out of sight, Stoker moved his metal tail and loosely wrapped it around Izzy's leg. "And I am sorry for leaving you alone like that. I sort of took the opportunity of you passing out to have a quick talk with Carbine."

Izzy groaned and pressed her face against Stoker's chest. "Must you mention that? I'm embarrassed enough as it is. I can't believe that happened."

She could feel his body move as he chuckled. "It was unexpected, but it gave me the chance to catch you, ever so gracefully, and leave the scene as quick as I could."

"My hero."

The Last Chance Garage

"You can go with them if you like." Charley assured him as Modo stared out of the window at two silhouettes on bikes riding off into the distance.

"Nah, I'm good. I'd much rather stay here and make sure you're okay." He replied moving the curtain back in its place. "Besides, they can handle Limburger themselves. That is if they actual plan on confronting him. Throttle doesn't completely agree with Vinnie's idea."

"He doesn't?" The woman arched an eyebrow. "I thought he did?"

"Oh, he's all for kicking stink fish's butt. The only thing holding him back is the consequences it might have on us. On Mars. You." Modo sat down next to her and took her into his arms.

"Me? With you by my side, I've got nothing to worry about."

Modo felt his cheeks heat up and his fur tingle. He did love it when she talk to him like that. As if he was the only one in the world who could protect her from all the bad things in life.

He leaned in closer and stroked her jawline with his fingers. "I love you, Charley."

"Mmm." She replied, waiting patiently for him to capture her mouth with his.

Unfortunately, peace and quiet was not in the stars for them as of this moment. Modo heard it loud and clear, Charley didn't. The mouse let out a loud groan of frustration.

"Why does this always happen?"

Charley looked at him with confusion. "What are you talking about?" She asked, surprised by his sudden change in attitude.

Modo got off the couch and his eye glowed. "The radio."

"The radio? Do you think it's Stoker and Izzy?" She followed his example and together the couple rushed down the stairs into the garage.

But the voice coming from the transmission wasn't Stoker, nor was it Izzy. However, the voice was that of a female. A confident and familiar voice.

"Mars calling Earth. This is Carbine calling the Last Chance Garage. Is anybody there?"

Charley quickly sat down on a chair as Modo reached for the microphone and answered the call. "This is Earth, Modo answering. Receiving you loud and clear, Ma'am."

"Glad to hear your voice, Modo." General Carbine replied. "Any chance that mouse of mine is in the vicinity? I tried the scoreboard but all I got was static."

Modo's eye flicked towards Charley for a second, who waved her hand in front of him. She opened her mouth and whispered to him to ask about Stoker and Izzy as soon as possible.

"That's a negative on Throttle, Carbine. Quick other question, have Stoker and Izzy arrived yet?"

"They have and they are well. Although I haven't seen Izzy for myself so far. But I'm sure she is doing just fine." A long pause fell.

Modo was unsure what to say next. At least coach and Izzy had arrived safe and sound, that was good to hear. He could see and feel the slight frustration coming from Charley. Obviously she had rather heard from those two herself instead of having Carbine tell them. But it was better than nothing.

"Modo, did you know Stoker was planning on resigning his position as Army General?" Carbine suddenly asked.

Wait, what? Had he heard her correctly? Even Charley looked at him with great surprise, her mouth slightly agape. "Stoker?" She said softly.

"I,- no, Carbine. This is new to me. Did he say why or when? He never mentioned any of this to us. I'm sure Throttle and Vinnie don't know either." Modo replied.

Ge could hear the general sigh. "I guess I spilled the pebbles then. It doesn't matter, for the time being he'll keep his position. Could you tell Throttle I called? I'll try later in the day again."

"Will do, ma'am. Say hello to coach and Izzy for us. If you could tell them to contact us too?" He quickly added.

"Affirmative. Carbine, out."

Modo set the microphone back on the desk and placed his hand on Charley's knee. "Stoker resigning."

Charley cocked her head and looked at him. "You worried?"

"Me? Nah, not really. I mean he's got someone to look after now. Stoker is known for making split second decision, but this...I think he probably gave this some thought. I'm surprised he didn't tell anybody, he must have thought about it while he was here."

"If he calls, you can ask him?"

"I wonder who will take his place." The grey mouse wondered, not hearing Charley's suggestion. "We all thought Throttle would take his place some day."

The female mechanic nodded. "That's still a possibility."

"But if that happens..." Modo paused and stared into her turquoise eyes. "We might have to go back home."

Thank you all for reading, would love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time.