Chapter 3
Fox's fighter screamed through the gap between the asteroids as they clashed
together. The other three Arwings that comprised Alpha wing formed up, weapons
primed and pilots hepped up for action. "Stay frosty people, they're out here some
where," Fox said, he was far more confident this time. He was in the cockpit; his
battleground of choice and no one was going to beat him this time.
"Don't get too cocky Fox. The rocks are interfering with my active sensors. I can't
scan more than a couple of hundred metres in any direction with any degree of
certainty," Fara called over from Alpha two. "Then they won't be able to detect us
either; every body keep your eyes open and don't get separated. They'll try to pick off
stragglers," Fox returned.
Space was deathly quiet as the asteroids rolled. Occasionally two asteroids would
collide, breaking off chunks. Most were just small gravel chips that simply bounced
harmlessly off the Arwing's shield reinforced hull. Others were bigger than large cars;
the other pilots dodged these quickly. Fox on the other hand seemed to enjoy tempting
fate by playing chicken with them, not turning until the last possible second and then
dodging past on full burn. But even these added to the deafening silence as the rocks
collided noiselessly in the frozen vacuum.
"Alpha one, I have some thing here. Its an intermittent signal…I can't pin it down,"
Alpha four called. "What? Where is he? I don't see anything," Fox replied hurriedly.
"At last some action," He thought. "The signals all over the place…it might just be
asteroid interference…"
Alpha four was suddenly blown out of the stars as a fighter pounced out from a
crevice in one of the larger asteroids and blasted him. The attacker trailed flames for a
few seconds as he shot through Alpha four's fireball. "DAMMIT! YOU'RE MINE!"
Fox shouted as he hit full afterburner and chased after the fighter into the darkness.
"FOX, WAIT…" Fara shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the static from the
rocks.
The fighter wasn't a design Fox was familiar with, the basic hull layout was similar to
an Arwing with a tapering stiletto shaped fuselage, but the fuselage was longer and
the wings were forward swept with guns slung under the wingtips. The fighter was
more like a flying dagger in appearance. It was jinking and dodging in and out of the
asteroids, Fox was pushing his Arwing to the limit to keep up.
"C'mon, c'mon…" He growled as his targeting computer struggled to get a lock. The
red lock-on box swung wildly, trying to catch up with the darting fighter as it flew
behind another asteroid. Snarling, Fox dived through a hole in one of the asteroids and
shot out the other side. Catching the fighter in his crosshairs, the lock-on tone
sounded. He grinned and his finger tightened on the trigger. "Goodbye," He hissed.
Suddenly, an explosion tore off his port wing. His ship spun violently as its
gyroscopes and manoeuvring thrusters malfunctioned, throwing him around the
cockpit like a rag doll. Fox wrestled with the controls, bringing his Arwing under
control. His fighter came to face the ship that had ambushed him while he had been
focused on the decoy. Staring across at the fighter's cockpit as it hovered there, he
could just imagine those bright blue eyes and glinting white teeth, grinning back at
him. In the last few seconds he had left, Fox gave his opponent the finger as one last
gesture of defiance.
His opponent's cannons blazed and Fox's canopy flashed red. Everything went black
for a few moments before the canopy on the sim-unit lifted and the computer chimed
"Simulation over, please report for debriefing." Fox pounded the console in front of
him. Cadet Weldon strode away from his sim-unit quietly and confidently. He had lost
the limp he had when he had arrived at the academy a week ago, but he still had med-
patches on his muzzle from his fight with Fara. But he wasn't grinning as Fox had
expected, instead he was as quiet and impassive as ever.
It infuriated Fox even more that he could be so emotionless about beating him. It
couldn't be that easy…it just couldn't. "I'm the best damn pilot here. HOW DID HE
BEAT ME FOR CHRIST'S SAKE?" He shouted at himself, pounding the console
again. "Divide and conquer Fox…" A voice said from behind. Fox spun and saw Fara
stood next to his sim-unit, helmet in hand and an annoyed look on her face. "He got
you to chase after his wingman, then he and the rest of his wing jumped me and Alpha
three. Once he dealt with us, he came after you. Divide and conquer, one of the oldest
tricks in the book and you fell for it," She said and walked away quickly.
Fox jumped from the cockpit and ran after Weldon. Fox grabbed Weldon by sleeve of
his long black coat and swung him against a nearby wall. "WHAT THE HELL IS
YOUR PROBLEM?" He shouted, teeth bared and ears flattened against his skull.
"Excuse me? Don't you mean what is your problem Mr McCloud?" Weldon replied.
However threatening Fox was, Weldon was absolutely calm. "You think you're SO
great don't you. You come on down here with your shiny boots and 'I'm better than
you are' attitude, just to make me look stupid," Fox snarled. "No Mr McCloud, you're
doing that all by yourself," Weldon replied, his sharp white fangs showing ever so
slightly.
"WHY YOU…" Fox balled up a fist and lashed out at Weldon. The white furred
canine caught his fist and squeezed on a pressure point between Fox's knuckles.
There was a low cracking sound as a grinding pain shot through Fox's hand and up
his arm. He was forced down onto his knees as Weldon pushed him back in agony.
Weldon just stood over him with a vicious growl. "You're right Mr McCloud, I am
better than you are and there's a reason for that. When you've figured that reason out
we'll be equals, but for now your are still beneath my time." With that, Weldon
kicked Fox onto his back and walked away, the coat adding menace to his
movements. Fox just lay there for a moment or two, cradling his fist in pain. If he had
wanted to, Weldon could have just killed Fox right then and there. Fox didn't doubt
that, what Fox doubted was would Weldon have cared.
"This worries me Mr Weldon," Dr Heller said, as she checked over Edward's growing
collection of cuts and bruises. Weldon was sat on an examination table, stripped down
to the waist. Dr Heller was a coyote in her early thirties, with a kind and motherly
disposition.
"So long as there's nothing serious, I don't really see what the fuss is about," Weldon
replied as the doctor ran her hands over his torso to double check that nothing was
broken. In the short time he had been at the Cornerian military academy, he had been
sent to see her almost daily. "The fuss Mr Weldon, is that if you keep pushing
yourself like this, soon it may become something serious," She replied, deeply
concerned by Weldon's apparent lack of concern for his own safety. Weldon just sat
quietly for a moment.
Dr Heller then picked up a data-pad that had been sitting on the counter and said,
"There are a couple of things I need to discuss with you…and do remember, any thing
said here is in the strictest confidence." Edward had an apprehensive look on his face,
like something he had wanted to avoid had just come up. "On your bio, it says that
you are a wolf…but…I have noticed a number of discrepancies in your skeletal
structure and anatomy that would suggest otherwise…I'm going to be as frank as
possible here. Are you…are you a…"
"A hybrid? Yes, I am. Can I go now?" Edward snapped. It was obvious that the
subject of his heritage made him uncomfortable. Dr Heller shifted, regretful to have
brought up what was clearly a sensitive subject for the cadet. "I'm sorry Mr Weldon,
but this is important. Your mother Marion Weldon is a wolf, yes?" She said, careful
not to push him too much. "Yes, she's the doctor at Farpoint colony where I grew up,"
He replied. "I see. And your father?" At this Weldon shifted again. This was
definitely a sore spot for him.
"What does that have to do with anything? You know now that I'm a hybrid freak.
What does it matter who my father was?" He snapped. "It matters Mr Weldon because
I am the chief medical officer for this academy and there for I am responsible for the
well being of every cadet here, including you. If you keep pushing yourself the way
you have recently, then it's only a matter of time before you get seriously hurt. And
when that happens, this could be critical. That's why it matter's who you father was,
that's what it has to do with anything," She snapped back, but underneath she truly
regretted having to raise her voice to him, especially on such a sensitive matter.
"Then I'll just have to be careful not to get seriously hurt, won't I?" He said as he
stood up and grabbed his shirt and coat, pulling them on as he walked away. There
was a cold look in his eyes, their ice blue colour only adding to their coldness. "Wait,
Mr Weldon I'm sorry if I pried too far. Mr Weldon please…" The doctor called after
him. Edward just walked away without a word, not even looking back.
"He crushed you're hand? That is so cool!" Aiko said, chipper and blond as ever.
"Oh, I'm glad you find it entertaining. I had to explain to Dr Heller how I cracked all
the bones in my right hand in a way that doesn't make me look like a complete wuss,"
Fox replied, still cradling his bandaged hand and still feeling nauseous from the bone
setting drugs he'd been given.
"Well what did you expect Fox? He's three times stronger than you are. You try to
take him on in a fist fight and he'll wipe the deck with you," Fara chipped in. The
three of them were sat at a table in the commissary. Kat and Bill had yet to arrive so
they were just sat talking. "Okay, can we have a conversation where you don't bring
him into it? Not a day has gone by since he came that you haven't mentioned him in
a conversation. Usually I might add, to remind me of how much better he is compared
to me. Well so what if he's stronger than me, or smarter. I'm a better pilot; he had to
ambush me to beat me. He couldn't take me on in a strait dogfight, so he had to lay a
trap for me," Fox growled back, banging his good hand on the table.
"Of course he did. He knows that you're a better pilot, so he forced you to fight him
on his terms. That is why he's better than you Fox. He knows his own strengths and
how to exploit your weaknesses," Fara snapped back at him. Fox just stood up
abruptly and said, "I must have sat at the wrong table then, I must have missed the
sign saying 'Edward Weldon groupie table'. If you're so in love with this guy, then
marry him for all I care. BUT HE IS NOT BEATING ME!!!" Fox then stormed away,
an almost tangible aura of rage surrounding him.
"God, he can be so pig-headed sometimes," Fara said as she watched Fox leave. "But
he does have a point though," Aiko chipped in. "Its called knowing you're enemy
Aiko. There is definitely no way in hell he's going to be me as well," She replied.
"Not that, I mean about marrying him. Because you do talk about him a lot and he
really, really cute," Aiko added. "AIKO, I am not, I repeat NOT that obsessed with
him," Fara replied, slightly exasperated. "Oh, well then can I have him if you don't
want him," Aiko said, grinning madly.
To Be Continued…
Fox's fighter screamed through the gap between the asteroids as they clashed
together. The other three Arwings that comprised Alpha wing formed up, weapons
primed and pilots hepped up for action. "Stay frosty people, they're out here some
where," Fox said, he was far more confident this time. He was in the cockpit; his
battleground of choice and no one was going to beat him this time.
"Don't get too cocky Fox. The rocks are interfering with my active sensors. I can't
scan more than a couple of hundred metres in any direction with any degree of
certainty," Fara called over from Alpha two. "Then they won't be able to detect us
either; every body keep your eyes open and don't get separated. They'll try to pick off
stragglers," Fox returned.
Space was deathly quiet as the asteroids rolled. Occasionally two asteroids would
collide, breaking off chunks. Most were just small gravel chips that simply bounced
harmlessly off the Arwing's shield reinforced hull. Others were bigger than large cars;
the other pilots dodged these quickly. Fox on the other hand seemed to enjoy tempting
fate by playing chicken with them, not turning until the last possible second and then
dodging past on full burn. But even these added to the deafening silence as the rocks
collided noiselessly in the frozen vacuum.
"Alpha one, I have some thing here. Its an intermittent signal…I can't pin it down,"
Alpha four called. "What? Where is he? I don't see anything," Fox replied hurriedly.
"At last some action," He thought. "The signals all over the place…it might just be
asteroid interference…"
Alpha four was suddenly blown out of the stars as a fighter pounced out from a
crevice in one of the larger asteroids and blasted him. The attacker trailed flames for a
few seconds as he shot through Alpha four's fireball. "DAMMIT! YOU'RE MINE!"
Fox shouted as he hit full afterburner and chased after the fighter into the darkness.
"FOX, WAIT…" Fara shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the static from the
rocks.
The fighter wasn't a design Fox was familiar with, the basic hull layout was similar to
an Arwing with a tapering stiletto shaped fuselage, but the fuselage was longer and
the wings were forward swept with guns slung under the wingtips. The fighter was
more like a flying dagger in appearance. It was jinking and dodging in and out of the
asteroids, Fox was pushing his Arwing to the limit to keep up.
"C'mon, c'mon…" He growled as his targeting computer struggled to get a lock. The
red lock-on box swung wildly, trying to catch up with the darting fighter as it flew
behind another asteroid. Snarling, Fox dived through a hole in one of the asteroids and
shot out the other side. Catching the fighter in his crosshairs, the lock-on tone
sounded. He grinned and his finger tightened on the trigger. "Goodbye," He hissed.
Suddenly, an explosion tore off his port wing. His ship spun violently as its
gyroscopes and manoeuvring thrusters malfunctioned, throwing him around the
cockpit like a rag doll. Fox wrestled with the controls, bringing his Arwing under
control. His fighter came to face the ship that had ambushed him while he had been
focused on the decoy. Staring across at the fighter's cockpit as it hovered there, he
could just imagine those bright blue eyes and glinting white teeth, grinning back at
him. In the last few seconds he had left, Fox gave his opponent the finger as one last
gesture of defiance.
His opponent's cannons blazed and Fox's canopy flashed red. Everything went black
for a few moments before the canopy on the sim-unit lifted and the computer chimed
"Simulation over, please report for debriefing." Fox pounded the console in front of
him. Cadet Weldon strode away from his sim-unit quietly and confidently. He had lost
the limp he had when he had arrived at the academy a week ago, but he still had med-
patches on his muzzle from his fight with Fara. But he wasn't grinning as Fox had
expected, instead he was as quiet and impassive as ever.
It infuriated Fox even more that he could be so emotionless about beating him. It
couldn't be that easy…it just couldn't. "I'm the best damn pilot here. HOW DID HE
BEAT ME FOR CHRIST'S SAKE?" He shouted at himself, pounding the console
again. "Divide and conquer Fox…" A voice said from behind. Fox spun and saw Fara
stood next to his sim-unit, helmet in hand and an annoyed look on her face. "He got
you to chase after his wingman, then he and the rest of his wing jumped me and Alpha
three. Once he dealt with us, he came after you. Divide and conquer, one of the oldest
tricks in the book and you fell for it," She said and walked away quickly.
Fox jumped from the cockpit and ran after Weldon. Fox grabbed Weldon by sleeve of
his long black coat and swung him against a nearby wall. "WHAT THE HELL IS
YOUR PROBLEM?" He shouted, teeth bared and ears flattened against his skull.
"Excuse me? Don't you mean what is your problem Mr McCloud?" Weldon replied.
However threatening Fox was, Weldon was absolutely calm. "You think you're SO
great don't you. You come on down here with your shiny boots and 'I'm better than
you are' attitude, just to make me look stupid," Fox snarled. "No Mr McCloud, you're
doing that all by yourself," Weldon replied, his sharp white fangs showing ever so
slightly.
"WHY YOU…" Fox balled up a fist and lashed out at Weldon. The white furred
canine caught his fist and squeezed on a pressure point between Fox's knuckles.
There was a low cracking sound as a grinding pain shot through Fox's hand and up
his arm. He was forced down onto his knees as Weldon pushed him back in agony.
Weldon just stood over him with a vicious growl. "You're right Mr McCloud, I am
better than you are and there's a reason for that. When you've figured that reason out
we'll be equals, but for now your are still beneath my time." With that, Weldon
kicked Fox onto his back and walked away, the coat adding menace to his
movements. Fox just lay there for a moment or two, cradling his fist in pain. If he had
wanted to, Weldon could have just killed Fox right then and there. Fox didn't doubt
that, what Fox doubted was would Weldon have cared.
"This worries me Mr Weldon," Dr Heller said, as she checked over Edward's growing
collection of cuts and bruises. Weldon was sat on an examination table, stripped down
to the waist. Dr Heller was a coyote in her early thirties, with a kind and motherly
disposition.
"So long as there's nothing serious, I don't really see what the fuss is about," Weldon
replied as the doctor ran her hands over his torso to double check that nothing was
broken. In the short time he had been at the Cornerian military academy, he had been
sent to see her almost daily. "The fuss Mr Weldon, is that if you keep pushing
yourself like this, soon it may become something serious," She replied, deeply
concerned by Weldon's apparent lack of concern for his own safety. Weldon just sat
quietly for a moment.
Dr Heller then picked up a data-pad that had been sitting on the counter and said,
"There are a couple of things I need to discuss with you…and do remember, any thing
said here is in the strictest confidence." Edward had an apprehensive look on his face,
like something he had wanted to avoid had just come up. "On your bio, it says that
you are a wolf…but…I have noticed a number of discrepancies in your skeletal
structure and anatomy that would suggest otherwise…I'm going to be as frank as
possible here. Are you…are you a…"
"A hybrid? Yes, I am. Can I go now?" Edward snapped. It was obvious that the
subject of his heritage made him uncomfortable. Dr Heller shifted, regretful to have
brought up what was clearly a sensitive subject for the cadet. "I'm sorry Mr Weldon,
but this is important. Your mother Marion Weldon is a wolf, yes?" She said, careful
not to push him too much. "Yes, she's the doctor at Farpoint colony where I grew up,"
He replied. "I see. And your father?" At this Weldon shifted again. This was
definitely a sore spot for him.
"What does that have to do with anything? You know now that I'm a hybrid freak.
What does it matter who my father was?" He snapped. "It matters Mr Weldon because
I am the chief medical officer for this academy and there for I am responsible for the
well being of every cadet here, including you. If you keep pushing yourself the way
you have recently, then it's only a matter of time before you get seriously hurt. And
when that happens, this could be critical. That's why it matter's who you father was,
that's what it has to do with anything," She snapped back, but underneath she truly
regretted having to raise her voice to him, especially on such a sensitive matter.
"Then I'll just have to be careful not to get seriously hurt, won't I?" He said as he
stood up and grabbed his shirt and coat, pulling them on as he walked away. There
was a cold look in his eyes, their ice blue colour only adding to their coldness. "Wait,
Mr Weldon I'm sorry if I pried too far. Mr Weldon please…" The doctor called after
him. Edward just walked away without a word, not even looking back.
"He crushed you're hand? That is so cool!" Aiko said, chipper and blond as ever.
"Oh, I'm glad you find it entertaining. I had to explain to Dr Heller how I cracked all
the bones in my right hand in a way that doesn't make me look like a complete wuss,"
Fox replied, still cradling his bandaged hand and still feeling nauseous from the bone
setting drugs he'd been given.
"Well what did you expect Fox? He's three times stronger than you are. You try to
take him on in a fist fight and he'll wipe the deck with you," Fara chipped in. The
three of them were sat at a table in the commissary. Kat and Bill had yet to arrive so
they were just sat talking. "Okay, can we have a conversation where you don't bring
him into it? Not a day has gone by since he came that you haven't mentioned him in
a conversation. Usually I might add, to remind me of how much better he is compared
to me. Well so what if he's stronger than me, or smarter. I'm a better pilot; he had to
ambush me to beat me. He couldn't take me on in a strait dogfight, so he had to lay a
trap for me," Fox growled back, banging his good hand on the table.
"Of course he did. He knows that you're a better pilot, so he forced you to fight him
on his terms. That is why he's better than you Fox. He knows his own strengths and
how to exploit your weaknesses," Fara snapped back at him. Fox just stood up
abruptly and said, "I must have sat at the wrong table then, I must have missed the
sign saying 'Edward Weldon groupie table'. If you're so in love with this guy, then
marry him for all I care. BUT HE IS NOT BEATING ME!!!" Fox then stormed away,
an almost tangible aura of rage surrounding him.
"God, he can be so pig-headed sometimes," Fara said as she watched Fox leave. "But
he does have a point though," Aiko chipped in. "Its called knowing you're enemy
Aiko. There is definitely no way in hell he's going to be me as well," She replied.
"Not that, I mean about marrying him. Because you do talk about him a lot and he
really, really cute," Aiko added. "AIKO, I am not, I repeat NOT that obsessed with
him," Fara replied, slightly exasperated. "Oh, well then can I have him if you don't
want him," Aiko said, grinning madly.
To Be Continued…