Chapter 1: Introductions, and fiery tempers...

Some years before I was born, the pigs had repeated history. Obsessed with technology, they began to forget magic. While Zebulos did keep a watch on their neighbor, there was little harm thought of their pig neighbors. If necessary, the Rocket Knights could be ready in no time to face their army, and repeat history. But, unbeknownst to Zebulos, the pigs had learned from the past. While they did forsake magic once again, they knew we would be overconfident in our own abilities – after all, we had the Pig Star, and they had yet to regain the knowledge to build another. Plus, they learned how we operated, what and more specifically, who were our weak spots.

My story begins some thirty years ago. I was a mere five, as was my best friend, Axle Gear. We were both sons of farming families, and considered the Rocket Knights to be heroes to aspire to. We were quite a pair; always getting into trouble over the mischief that I would think up. Axle didn't mind going along with me, he enjoyed our boyish games as much as I did. He was a little more serious than I was, even at that age, but he did have a sense of humor.

It was little surprise to our families and neighbors that we both applied to the Rocket Knight academy at the tender age of twelve. Some eight years later, we graduated with flying colors with Axle receiving the swordsmanship award. He was quite the fighter when it came to the sword. I was better at the jet pack, but I could fight nonetheless.

Surprisingly, we were assigned to be partners. We were assigned to an area of the kingdom to both patrol and respond to calls as needed. The communications lines in the kingdom were rather excellent for the day; we had telegraphs to pass messages. For about one and a half years, we served the farming communities under our watch, and were well received by them.

It was near the end of the one and a half year period that I should have noticed a changed in Axle. While mischievous as a boy, he grew grim and serious as a Rocket Knight. He was the law, and treated his job with no comedy what so ever. Boring. I was more laid back, the one to stay and talk to the residents, identify with them and earn their trust. They appreciated my attitude, and I received many recommendations from them to my superiors, because I could be both friendly and warm, and a warrior when the situation called for it.

Axle was a warrior while on duty, and sometimes off. He and I shared a few laughs as always, but when it came to being a Knight; he was zealous in enforcing the laws, both large and small.

One such incident, that comes to my mind in particular, was when we were dispatched to answer a distress call over some shoplifters in one of the larger local villages. Axle and I were in the Barracks at the time, enjoying a friendly card game with some of the other Knights.

One of the telegraph operators came to fetch us, and Axle and I headed over to the armory and locker room to suit up. Granted, it was all one building, but bear with me on the names.

We ran into the locker room. I hustled up to my locker, and opened it. I was dressed in the usual sleeveless shirt and shorts, and I stumbled a bit as I changed into my armor's under suit – a gray long-sleeved shirt and pants. Axle was already in his from the card game, so he began to retrieve his armor, jet pack, and sword. Axle tossed me a power pack for my jet pack as I finished pulling my helmet on.

"Thanks." I said, while sheathing my sword.

"No prob, Sparky." Axle said.

We ran into the center courtyard. Scorch marks lined the grass all around, evidence from where other Knights had taken off. I reached over my shoulder and opened the left side engine of my jet pack. Sliding the cylinder-shaped power pack into its slot, I heard the engines roar to life.

Our jetpacks are wondrous pieces of technology. Using hydrogen from the water vapor in the air as fuel, we practically don't have to worry about running out of propellant power. But, with the limitations of the designs, the jets can only fire in controlled bursts without a power pack. Power packs consist of enough energy for sustained flight, which is exactly what we needed to reach the distress call.

I said to Axle as the attendants around us helping us for launch cleared the area, "You ready?"

"Let's go." He said, smiling back at me.

Another second later, the twin engines on my back fired as Axle and I launched straight into the air. I loved this part. I loved to fly, to feel the wind whip by me, to feel the air resistance against me. Focusing through my flight goggles, I watched the barracks and the nearby royal castle shrink beneath us as we climbed higher.

Axle signaled to me, and we turned ninety degrees and headed south. The village in question was a little far, nearly twenty minutes by rocket, two or three days by foot. When we sighted it, things did not appear well. A crowd had gathered in the main square, and seemed to be in a near riot stage.

Axle and I nodded to each other, and we descended. He would land near the center fountain, while I zoomed over the crowd, a mere three feet or so above their heads to draw their attention. We had done this maneuver plenty of times before, and it worked flawlessly.

The crowd cowered as I flew above them; scared by the rocket engines, and the wind I was generated while flying by. Axle shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, shut up!"

The crowd grew silent, and watched us with interest as I landed beside Axle. "Now, calmly and quietly as you can, tell us what's going on here." Axle said.

As predictable as it was, everyone started yelling and talking at once. I put my armored hand against my head in frustration. "QUIET!" I bellowed.

Again, the crowd fell silent. I pointed to the nearest adult to me, and said, "You there, can you tell me what this uproar is about?"

The old opossum nodded and told me the situation. A few of his statements rose the crowd's yelling, but Axle yelled again to shut them up. It seems that three young ones had been stealing from a local general store. The owner asked that they return what they stole, and the younger ones pleaded innocent to the crime. One thing led to another, and the crowd had gathered. The three twelve year olds were pushed to the front of the crowd, to face us.

"Tell me, boys. Is this charge of stealing true?" I asked.

"What difference does it make? You won't believe us, you're just like the old man." The closest one to me sneered back.

"Easy there junior, I haven't made any kind of judgment yet." I said, crossing my arms.

"Junior yourself, knight."

"You aren't helping your current situation, snob nose. If I were you, I'd show some respect." Axle retorted back.

"Who's going to make me, shrimp?" The twelve year old was tall for his age, coming to eye level with both of us. But, he had unwillingly hit a nerve in Axle. When we were kids, Axle was skinny, and small for his age. I was a bit taller and muscular then he was, and was always defending him from a local bully. Axle hated being called small.

In a flash, Axle's sword point was against the cheeky twelve year old's nose.

"What? What was that?" He said. Axle never drew his sword, except to fight, so I slowly reached for my own. I was shocked that he was going this far.

"Pah. If you didn't have that precious sword and armor, you'd be no match for me, tiny." The twelve year old continued.

I jabbed my sword horizontally to block Axle's blow. Had I not been there, the young one would have probably lost his ear that day.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" I shouted at him.

"Sparkster, get out of my way!" He said, resisting my parry, which held his sword in place.

"AXLE!" He looked at me once, and let his sword fall from his hand. He knew he had gone overboard. I pulled him aside, and asked, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I just let my anger get the better of me."

"Take a breather. I'll finish this, and then we'll get out of here."

"Right."

I turned back to the crowd, who was in much shock as I had been over Axle's reaction. The snob kid looked scared, with a thin puddle of urine close to where his pants ended. I motioned for silence then let the storeowner make his case. I listened intently, thought for a few moments and pronounced my judgment.

"Look kid, I know you aren't exactly the model citizen around here. And I know that this shopkeeper has a slight grudge against your family. Heck, I've talked to enough of these residents before to know who gets along and who doesn't. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm letting you and the shopkeeper off with a warning – I don't want to hear of either of you coming anywhere near speaking distance of each other ever again. You don't go into his store, and you sir, leave their family be. Where's the local constable?"

A middle-aged opossum came forward. He looked at me intently.

"If these two bother each other again, I want you to contact me personally, alright?"

"Can do, Sir Sparkster." He nodded and began to disperse the crowd.

The crowd left, and Axle sat on the edge of the fountain, eyeing his sword. He was pretty distraught about this.

"What was I thinking, Sparky?" He asked, not looking up.

"You're stressed, Axle. This is a tough job, and that kid did need to be knocked off his pedestal; he just didn't know the consequences of bringing old wounds of ours. You just got caught up in the moment."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess we better get back to explain ourselves."

"You let me take the rap for this, alright? You're in enough hot water about attitude as it is."

"Sure." He smiled.

We headed back, and sure enough, ahead of us came an angry message from the mother of the kid Axle nearly sliced. When we landed, there were no smiles to greet us. Instead, Major Aeron greeted our landing with, "Corporals Axle and Sparkster. You're to report to the colonel's office immediately. Don't even bother to stop off to get out of the armor."

"Yes sir." We said with one voice.

We entered Colonel Petrov's office in silence. He was facing his window, looking at the courtyard. Petrov was the officer in charge of the active Knights, with his cousin colonel Rock in charge of the academy. Above them was General Winter, at the castle and then the king himself. I could already tell this was not a happy meeting.

"At attention, gentlemen," he said. Axle and I stiffened up, standing up as straight as our armor would allow. We strained, to keep an emotionless face straight ahead. Col. Petrov walked over to my side, and I kept my face straight ahead.

"I got some interesting reports this morning about your performance. Care to explain yourself, corporal?"

"Sir! Axle and I attempted to break up the mob, and we learned that three young ones had been accused of stealing from a shop. We gave the chance for the boys to explain themselves, and the smart mouthed us back, calling Axle here 'shrimp' and 'tiny.' Axle drew his sword, and the ringleader smart mouthed again. I drew my own sword and moved between Axle and the boy, and after Axle backed down, I finished hearing everything out, and gave a judgment. Sir!"

"Is that so, corporal? From the report I got, it seems Axle tried to cut off the young boy's ear, and you drew your own sword to parry his strike. Did you just tell me a lie, caporal?"

"With all due respect sir, I'm trying to watch out for my friend."

"Really, corporal? We both know that your friend here is in hot water already for his rash judgments. Did you figure you could protect him from punishment?"

"Yes sir, I did."

"Well, if you're so keen on watching out for your friends maybe you'd like to share his punishment?"

"If necessary, yes sir."

Petrov moved over to Axle. "You want to tell me your side?"

"Sir! What Sparkster said was true; the boy did cheek off to me. However, I lost control when he called me those names and got caught up in the heat of the moment, sir!" Axle said, firmly.

"Lost control? I'm about to lose control over my armored foot as it collides with you ass, corporal! That kind of warrior attitude is fine when we're acting as part of an army, but not when you're acting as a peace keeper!"

He sat down at his desk, where a cigar had been burning in the tray. He put it back in his mouth, inhaled once, and said, "I think you both need time to cool your jets, so to speak. As of this moment, the both of you are suspended for a week. I want you two to get away from here and away from each other. After a week, I'll decide if I want to reassign you two."

I blinked in disbelief. Suspension and a possible reassignment? This was worse then I thought. I tried to say something in protest, but Petrov silence me with "Shut it, corporal. I don't care what happened out there, but this isn't the first time we've had complaints over the both of you. I'm suspending the both of you, and that's an order. Get the hell out of my office."

We left in silence, keeping our heads straight. Walking to the locker room, we got out of our armor, and hit the showers. We said nothing walking back, nor as the water ran through my fur. As we changed back into civilian clothes, Axle spoke.

"Nice defense you put up back there."

I could hardly believe my ears. Axle was mad at me?

"What?"

"Think you could have defended me a little better?"

"What the crap, Axle? I said all that I could say to defend you. You heard me back there, I was willing to put my butt on the line for you."

"All you did was reword the situation."

"What did you expect me to do? Make up a lie on the spot and pretend you didn't almost kill that kid? Hell, Petrov could've asked anyone in that village what happened and you would have been in deeper trouble then we are now."

I crossed my arms and looked at him. He stared defiantly for a second, and then dropped his head in shame. "Sorry. I really need to control my temper. Besides, it's really hard to argue with you when you're standing there in just a towel."

I smiled back, and said, "No biggie. Let's get one thing straight, okay?"

"What's that?"

"You're buying me a beer when I get back."

"Fair enough, Sparky. Where you headed, anyway?"

"Where else? Home."

"I think I'm actually going to head to that lake village. I hear it's pretty comfortable this time of year."

"Oh, come on. You're just going for swimming in the lake with girls."

"Yeah. Your point?"

I laughed, and said, "Taking your full armor?"

Axle walked off with his gear and said, "Might as well. I'm not the one to hike a couple of days, like you. Take it easy, bro."

"Yeah, I will."

Unlike Axle, I wasn't taking my full armor. I preferred the skies any day, but I did like to hike through some local hills every now and then. Retrieving my sword, I put my armor away in the glass case that held it. It hung there lifeless without me occupying it, looking rather forlorn. I glanced up at the metal nameplate above it that read "Corp. Sparkster."

I sighed. At this rate, I would never move on to sergeant. The ranks were neatly divided and ordered. At the academy students started at the rank of Cadet and halfway through the years moved to Private. Upon graduation, students either remained at Private, or if they had proven their worth, moved up to Corporal. From there was Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, and finally General. As I mentioned, there was only one general, and above him was the King of Zebulos.

I sighed, and slung my sword over my shoulder. Pulling the strap tight on my chest, the sword and scabbard rested on my back, and its strap went diagonally across my chest. Even if I wasn't taking my armor, I needed to at least take my sword.

I headed back to the dorms. Bunk style beds were everywhere, with small chests in between for personal items. By now, the whole of the base had heard what had happened. My second closest friend Graytone, walked up to me as I began to pack some clothes in a duffel bag.

"Hey, Sparky," he said. I nodded in response.

"We heard what when down out in the field and in Petrov's office."

"You and the rest of the base. He sure can yell," I jokingly said.

Graytone laughed and said, "Axle's already left. Did you want to tell me your side?"

I looked around. Three other knights were already waiting for me to talk. I turned to Graytone, "You sure he's gone?"

"Helped him take off myself."

"Look, if Axle finds out that I told you all my side, he could get pretty angry at me."

"Oh come on."

I sighed. "Axle's been my friend for years, and I don't want to hurt him. All I'm going to say is that yes, he did lose control out there and I had to stop him."

"We already know that."

"Look, they'll be making a report on it. You can get the details from that, or wait till Axle and I are both back. I won't betray his trust."

"You're no fun. Have a nice vacation then."

I packed a few days worth of clothes, and left the dorms. The base was quiet, it was lunchtime and the majority of knights were in the mess hall by this point. I was hungry myself, but I decided to have some lunch elsewhere.

Leaving via the main door, I came outside directly into the main square. The usual marketplace booths were set up everywhere, but the crowd was highly diminished because of it being so close to lunch. Most of the shops were empty or closed for lunch as well, so I headed into a small restaurant and bar that Axle, several others, and myself often frequented. Walking in the door, I could see that the place was busy, as usual. The bartender recognized me immediately, and shouted, "Hey Sparkster!"

I waved hello, and sat down at a barstool. He finished making a drink for an opossum three stools down from me, and then walked over. "You're in here awful early in the day. Something go down at the base," he asked.

"Yeah. I'm suspended for a week."

"Jeez, what happened? Here, on the house." He said, opening a beer bottle and handing it to me.

"Thanks. All I can say is that Axle lost control again, I had to stop him, and it got us both suspended." I said, sipping at the beer. The barkeeper knew Axle pretty well; he was old friends with Axle's father.

"That temper of his got him into trouble, eh?"

"Yeah."

"Always the hot-head. I'm just glad he isn't that big of a drinker, or we might really have trouble. So, are you going to hang around here?"

"No. I'm going to hike home, and spend a few days with the family."

"Well, Sparky, if it's any consolation, you're not the one to blame. Heck, you're the best knight I know, you're friends with the people you watch over. And you've acted as one heck of a bouncer around here."

During my later days at the academy, I worked part-time as a bouncer at the bar. It wasn't an easy job, even more so when I couldn't take my sword out of the base when I was a cadet.

"I know. What's your lunch special today, Drake?" Drake was the bartender.

"Salmon, fresh from the river. You hungry?"

"Yeah, I'll take a hot meal. It's bound to be better than the crap they feed us at headquarters."

Other than Drake, I really didn't talk much to those around me. Some recognized my sword, and steered clear of me – I was still the law to them. The food came, and it was good and filling. I didn't stay long, shook paws with Drake and headed back into the square.

I went by a few shops, and bought a few things on my way out; mostly a bag of sweets for my youngest siblings, and some other little gifts for my family. I did stop by the expensive liquor store in town as well. It took me a little to find a bottle of wine I wanted, and packed that in my duffel bag as well.

Heading out of town, I took a small path towards my home. Normally, I could hike back to my farming village in a little over a day's time, but I wanted to make a stop first. The traveling was easy, the day still wasn't all that hot, and I was mainly walking through wheat and grass fields.

I came upon a small set of hills. Granted, these were only hills, but they were still high. I hiked up the usual trail, and it was nearly six in the evening when I came across a small cottage.

One year ago, Axle and I had saved an elderly couple from a band of marauding foxes. While Axle never took them up on their hospitality offer, I had become friends with the couple, visiting them every couple of weeks. Usually, I'd arrive by jet, bringing small things from the town with me for them. In return, they'd give me a place to stay for the night and hot meals. I also did some small chores for them from time to time as well.

In all honesty, they weren't expecting me for another week or so; so both of them were adequately surprised when I came walking up their road. The old lady, Edna said my name after a moment, then ran up to me. Her husband Basil soon followed suit.

Hugs and handshakes were exchanged, and they invited me in. Before I was even in the door, they could tell something was wrong. They were used to seeing me arrive in my armor, and I know I appeared a little sadder than my usual smiling self.

Fetching some tea, they had me sit down at their small table and talk to them. Because I had nothing to fear about them telling Axle anything, I let them know the whole story, in addition to my own growing concerns over Axle's general performance.

Sipping at the strong tea they gave me, I listened as they gave their own take of the situation. When we finished talking, it was several hours later, and dinner had come and gone. I opened the bottle of wine as well, in addition to giving them news from the town.

Edna then ran a hot bath for me in the tub; I spent the better part of an hour resting in it. I put on some fresh clothes, and laid down in the hammock that was left set out for me. Stretching the fabric tight, I quickly fell asleep.

In the morning the old couple made breakfast for me, while I put my sword to use chopping wood in the back. The blade had been sealed with a spell long before it came into my hands – it could only be warped or damaged by a blacksmith's fire. That's not to say it could cut through anything, it left sparks on the things it couldn't cut.

After a few more hours of some chores and a nice lunch, I headed out for home. The old couple were sad to see me go, but knew I would be back for another hot meal on my way back.

Traveling through the hills took the majority of the rest of the day; it was nearly seven when I finished climbing the last one. It was still summer, so there was daylight still left, but I could see the glow of torches down at my village. There was a bit of a party going on, from what I could see. I knew it wasn't one of the yearly festivals that took place, so it was probably someone getting married.

I headed down the hill into the valley, into my home village of Tiberius. The residents were rather taken with the activities to even notice me coming – and usually I had a better entrance, by jet pack.

I was right it was a wedding party. As per custom, the couple had already been married earlier in the day, but the ceremonies extended far into the night. I merely walked through the central square, not saying anything before someone realized I was there. I heard my name be shouted, and all at once, people were around me. I was their hometown hero, as was Axle whenever he visited. Although others had been through the academy, we two were the first to go in two generations, so naturally we were revered and honored by our neighbors for becoming Knights.

My mother ran up to me and gave me a huge hug, squeezing me with all she could muster. My ten-year-old twin sisters were already tugging on my duffel bag, knowing that I had brought something for them. I laughed out loud, joyously. I was home.

I sat down at a table, and began handing out what I had bought in the town the day before. My youngest sisters giggled when I handed them their bags of candies, and my eighteen-year-old sister and mother gasped when they saw the bolt of royal blue cloth I had brought for them.

Feeling the quality of the cloth beneath their paws, my mother asked, "How did you afford this?"

"I didn't. Princess Sherry had it made for you."

"What? Why would she care about us?"

"Well, she asked me to take her to the castle town square last weekend, for some shopping. As reward for spending the day acting as her bodyguard and carrying her packages, she offered to buy me something. I knew you had been wanting new dresses, the both of you, so I asked her to get me some fine material."

"Remind me to send her a thank-you note." My eighteen-year-old sister, Elena, said.

My father handed me a mug of beer, and sat down next to me. Taking a big drink of his, he said, "You're timing is impeccable, Sparkster. It seems that you're not the only Rocket Knight in the family anymore."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I got accepted into the academy!" My twelve-year-old brother, Dover said, running up to me.

I smiled down at him. Dover had always looked up to me from the time he could barely walk, us being the only two brothers in the entire family. He had sincerely missed me when I was away, with only our four sisters around. In total, my mother had six children: four girls and two boys. I was the eldest, at twenty-two. The eldest girl, Sophia, was twenty, and then Elena at the age of eighteen below her. Next was Dover, then twelve, and then the twin girls Rachel and Muriel at ten. Of the entire family, I had the only non-traditional name.

The traditional dinner feast was just getting started as I had arrived. Dover took the seat next to me, and smiled up. I ruffled his ears, and about then the food started to be served.

Later, after we entered the farmhouse that I had grown up in. I put the already snoring Dover to bed, and then headed back to the kitchen to talk with my family. I never came home without giving them fair warning, and it was always on weekends. They older ones knew something was wrong.

I sat down, with my parents and eldest sister. I knew the question that was lagging on their minds, so I came out and said it: "Axle got us both suspended."

"What?"

I looked around, at them, especially at my mother. I said, "Can you all promise, that you'll say nothing of the details to the Gear family?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because, Axle and I are still friends. He would rather tell his family himself than find out that I had told them everything. He trusts me to keep his honor about it."

"Of course, Sparkster."

Then, I told them everything. What happened the day before, in the village, in Petrov's office, and my own concerns about Axle. While I should have seen much more of a change, I had noticed his anger building over the last several months, if only on the surface. My family looked stunned. To them, Axle was still the kid I had grown up with. They weren't surprised when I tried to protect him, but they were surprised with Col. Petrov's treatment towards the both of us.

I could feel tears spring to my eyes when I said, "Damn it! I'm one hell of a Rocket Knight, and all I ever get is punished for Axle's lack of control!"

My mother put her arm around me, attempting to console the anger I had been building against Axle. What I said was right, Axle had gotten the both of us in trouble before, and instead of me being recognized for the work I did for the community in addition to enforcing the laws. I was the one to be their friend; I was the one to identify with them.

After listening to my vent, my family offered up their condolences and advice, and I went to bed feeling much better. My bed was untouched since I had come back the last time, set up in mine and Dover's room. I collapsed on it, and let sleep overtake my already tired body.