The Hammer Falls
0530 Hours, Winter 28th, 1994 (Local Time) Corneria City, Lynx Family Neighborhood
Logan felt the cold air penetrate his lungs as he jogged with a quick tempo.
It had been two weeks since his release from the medical ward and the subsequent meeting the gang held regarding their action plan for the inevitable confrontation with Venom. Having thrown himself into correcting what muscle atrophy he might have experienced, Logan gained a lot of workout partners as the rest of their budding unit had also committed to sharpening up their fitness.
Like the Lynx jogging next to him along the suburban sidewalk.
The human teenager looked about at the distant white spires of Corneria City's downtown, and the amber glow of the early morning sky cresting the light cloud cover. The modest houses dotting the streets were lightly coated by some snow, highlighted here and there by the neon lights of other early risers. A landscape of white, slate blue and grey, dotted with color painted a brilliant picture of an early winter that had settled in the province. The sight put a smile on his face, having settled into a feeling of belonging on this alien world.
While there were indoor gyms that they could have run in, Logan argued that it was important to experience training in adverse conditions for the first hand experience; Double-timing it with a rifle while trying to gulp down freezing air for the first time carried it's own risks in a combat situation, so better to embrace the suck here and now.
While Star Fox was foremost a starfighter oriented mercenary group, there were many occasions when James and Peppy were forced to engage in a firefight. A suitable level of physical fitness was a must, not only for the possibility of close quarters battle, but for sprinting to a hanger, stacking sandbags, or even repelling boarders. Peppy was actually the most supportive of their initiative, citing the wisdom of being prepared.
"Circle back?"
Miyu nodded, her breath fogging in front of the hooded sweatshirt she wore to stay reasonably warm without sweating in the cold. The pair checked the street for oncoming vehicles, and turned to take the alternate sidewalk on their way back to the Lynx family home.
The group got together regularly to drill in firearms, flight simulation, and combat skills. While each of them was studiously coached in the fundamentals for marksmanship by Logan and in fighter pilot basics by Fox, they each pursued their own specialization within the group and trained together when practical.
Fox, Falco, Wolf and Bill dedicated a majority of their time to the flight simulator and the G-force module. Their focus was on air superiority, which involved not only dogfighting other single-man craft but also Close Air Support (CAS) and precision strikes on capital ship targets.
While both Miyu and Fay were drawn to the Interceptor role in avionics, Fay joined Slippy in pouring over engineering manuals and maintenance, combing through the prototype blueprints and schematics for the Arwing starfighters in preparation to service every aspect of their repair and upkeep. Miyu also joined Logan, Wolf and Fox in their hand to hand sparring and CQB drills.
Logan would vehemently deny that he let the feline pin him in grappling just because her thighs felt so good. Vehemently deny.
Falco almost exclusively stuck to the flight sim, but did enjoy the precision shooting they occasionally did even if he had to be coaxed into the fitness aspect. Katt saw to motivating him there. The pink feline stuck to her pistol training, and occasionally joining Fay and Slippy when they had round tables on e-warfare.
Bill and Fay had a bit of an argument. The bulldog was dedicated to following his family legacy in the CDF like his father before him, and Fay was put out that he wouldn't consider joining up with her in the future Star Fox team. While the others stayed out of it, it was simply a fact of life that not everything can go according to plan. Bill had his own dreams for the future, and Fay had hers. It took some doing, but their relationship survived and the cute couple were willing to accept the challenge of long distance that they might have to endure. Like many military couples, it was simply a reality.
Slippy was a trooper. The frog had a genius talent for machinery, and with the support of the group he flourished in his studies. While he still suffered the occasional lapse in concentration when flying, he none the less grew to be a reliable wingman in his own right.
Wolf was a powerhouse. Both he and Logan were vicious in the sim leagues they occasionally dabbled in (although the other CDSS students now actively avoided matches that had their tags in the lineup) and the lupine was the only one other than Falco to really put McCloud up against the ropes in dogfighting.
Fara had really begun to come into her own. The Space Dynamics heiress had always carried some frustration at her expected path in life, and being able to explore her own talents as a fighter pilot and a gunfighter put a new sparkle in the fennec's eyes. She had become an artist with submachine guns, and even Logan had to admit she had outpaced him in the plexi-polymer "kill house" they had built in a storage bay to practice their CQB training. Likewise, her first hand knowledge of the Arwing's intricacies made her indispensable to Slippy when discussing how far the prototypes could be pushed.
The leader of the group was the lynchpin that held them all together.
Fox had brought up the idea of training together, and worked with each of them to organize who would guide the others. He had a natural talent for plotting the group's skills and inefficiencies, shuffling them around to cover each other's weak spots. His starfighting acumen was unmatched, and having seen the vulpine flying in the simulator many times, Logan had distantly been reminded of war footage he'd seen of the Spartans in action; Unbelievably fast, fluid, and hyper-lethal. He was exceptional on the ground, favoring his blaster, although McCloud wasn't too proud to ever pass up the opportunity to learn something new or drill with a weapon he was unfamiliar with. Logan had even caught him once staff-fighting for fun, as the vulpine had a secret love of martial arts films.
They were well on their way to becoming a team.
Logan and Miyu arrived back at the Lynx family home breathing heavily. Changing out of their workout clothes, the human offered her the first shot at a shower, to which she teased him with an offer to share.
Red-faced, the human waited in his room as the saucy Lynx laughed. If his adoptive alien parents weren't right there he might have considered it.
When both were freshly showered, the pair had breakfast with the rest of their little family. Logan had introduced them to a human meal of waffles, having bartered for a waffle press at the spaceport some days ago with one of the science exchange attaché's that remained behind even after the withdrawl memo had been released by the UNSC. Pancakes might have been fairly universal among cultures, but Abby in particular thought the waffles were amazing and drew chuckles from around the table as she concentrated on pouring her persimmon syrup carefully into each of the divots herself. Afterwards they bundled up as Miyu's father agreed to clean up the dishes.
The garage opened to the blinding daytime of a snowy suburban landscape. The chill was warded off by the heavy coats Miyu and Logan wore, the latter having opted for a winter liner in his patched up Longsword pilot jacket. The growl of Miyu's awakening hover bike shook the garage, as the pair of teens settled into their usual spots. The lynx twisted her wrist in a practiced arc, and they tore out as the door slats lowered behind them.
Even as they had been making plans for their future team together, the parents of the kits in the group were adamant that they continue their studies at CDSS. James McCloud was particularly strict in this demand, stating that knowledge is something that can't be taken from you, and you'll never know what your future might bring. If things didn't work out with mercenary work, finding a career afterwards would be exceptionally harder without at least a High School diploma.
The thought crossed Logan's mind as he hugged Miyu close while they wove between traffic.
What would he do that didn't involve a gun?
It was unnerving. He'd spent most of his life caught up in war, and concerned with just surviving. He'd never really thought about anything he might do civvie side.
Logan admired the pattern of black and amber fur across Miyu's cheek.
Maybe... something with regular hours and lots of time for family.
He smiled to himself, and hugged his girl a smidgen tighter.
Miss Cunningham shuffled the hardcopy prints on her desk and called for the next student as she reached for a datapad.
The morning had begun with intermediate evaluation, a checkpoint of sorts that the Cornerian high school system used to discuss a student's progress and their plans for the future. Since CDSS was partially integrated with the CDF military academies, this was often to help students in their pursuit of a certain trade in the armed forces, although many still elected to graduate and pursue civilian employment as well. Thus, the teachers were expected to have a sit down and see how their students were doing and what plans they might have after graduating.
The chair across from her scraped across the floor, and the older wolfess glanced up to find her most unusual student.
"Hello Logan, I hope you're feeling well."
The boy nodded, his alien features softened into a polite grin.
"Yes ma'am, nothing but a scar now."
"I'm glad to hear that," she buried the topic. Never in the 9 years she'd been teaching had Whitney Cunningham thought she'd have a student hospitalized with a blaster wound. The sight of the poor boy sitting there so content after his ordeal made her want to hug him, but alas, professional conduct.
"Now then, this is a standard evaluation to gauge what your plans are for graduation, and how to meet them," she adjusted her glasses along the bridge of her muzzle, "Bear in mind that this is confidential, so speak freely."
Logan relaxed his shoulders a tad.
"Well, how are my grades so far Miss Cunningham?"
"Above average. You have no problems grasping most of the material, with the exception of Lylat History, but you've made strides in the last few months in that subject. Is there a subject you have particular interest in?"
The boy thought for a moment.
"Not exactly, but I did want to come up with something I could do other than being a soldier."
Cunningham crossed her legs and motioned for him to continue.
"I've grown pretty close with McCloud's group, and we're planning to join his father's mercenary company after graduation. I want to put down roots in Lylat, and part of that is my relationship with my girlfriend."
Whitney schooled her expression to contain the excitement she couldn't help but bolt through her; Gossip was a guilty pleasure of hers, and the staff room chatter about their student's love lives was often more engrossing than the soaps she watched at home.
Logan continued, "I want to have a home with her someday, and I'd also like to have another career planned for when we settle down and hang up our guns."
"What kind of career did you have in mind?" The wolfess inclined her head curiously.
"Something stable with regular hours and time for family. I never really thought about civilian jobs, the corps and navy was all I knew." He ran his furless hand through his short hair, "I guess all I picture in my mind is coming home to her, cooking dinner together, shoveling the driveway... being a husband I guess."
Miss Cunningham's smile warmed as she regarded the young man. She'd gotten all kinds of wild plans from students before, but hearing the alien boy's dream of being married to his feline girlfriend just made her heart melt.
"I think you'll make a very good husband, Logan."
He chuckled, face reddening a bit.
She looked over her datapad, and highlighted an option before turning it over to him.
"We often advise students to recognize their own unique talents when pursuing a career, and you have a unique circumstance that you can capitalize on in this case Mr. Jones."
His eyes scanned the pad, and then looked up eyebrows raised.
"A history teacher?"
Whitney smiled, and took a sip from her mug of insta caf.
"You did complete elementary school in human space, and with growing cooperation between our species there will be a need for educators to bridge the gap in understanding."
He stared back at the pad, brows furrowed.
"I never thought of it that way."
She tilted her head, "You have a very calm demeanor, and believe me when I say children respond well to that. Even among your group of friends you seem to take opportunities to help when you can. I know many kits dream of being fighter pilots and soldiers, but it's good to consider the difference you can make even in a quiet profession like this."
He looked up at her, thinking deeply.
"Can you send this to my terminal, and the academic requirements?"
The wolfess smiled, and tapped an icon on the pad.
"Done."
"Thanks. I think I like the sound of that."
"If you need a reference someday, I'd be proud to vouch for you Mr. Jones."
He smiled back at her, rising form the chair.
"Thank you Miss Cunningham."
The lupine teacher sighed as the human boy left to make room for the next student.
If I were ten years younger I would have screwed his brains out and kept him for myself.
She shook her head, fighting back a blush.
No, no. Bad Whitney. Be professional.
...
After school, Logan joined Fox and Falco as they headed over to the avian's pad.
The girls had decided to take the afternoon off together, and Wolf went out cruising while Slippy and Bill went their own separate ways. It was normal for anyone in the group to want time to themselves, so they didn't pry.
The student housing Falco lived in was alive with various windows lit up amongst the lightly falling snow, contemporary music drifting out from a couple of them. They kicked the snow off their boots and shuffled into his apartment, crashing into the couch.
"I don't got any beer left, you guys want some soda?" Lombardi called from the kitchen.
Two cans sailed through the air, the vulpine and human catching them with practiced ease.
"Hear from your dad?" Logan asked as he took a sip.
Fox shook his head.
"He's been out investigating strange activity near Titania with Peppy. Figure that means radio silence but I still worry, you know?"
The human nodded, "Yeah I hear you. My brother's out on the Myrmidon again, trying to counter Venom's advance."
Falco sauntered in and plopped into his recliner.
"Sooner we graduate and get our wings the better. Can't wait to take the fight to those scum."
Fox made as if to say something, but closed his muzzle.
"What's wrong man?" Falco was more perceptive than he let on.
"Nothing."
"Oh come on McCloud, you look like that time we skipped out on Fara to race."
The vulpine frowned, swishing his drink.
"It just feels like we're running out of time, you know?"
The boys were silent. It had been an undercurrent of worry for a while now. The war looked closer to Corneria's borders every day, and after all the time they spent together it felt like they were waiting for the trigger to go off.
"Yeah," Logan admit quietly, "It doesn't seem like things will be peaceful here much longer."
Falco exhaled roughly, pissed off.
"I hate waiting around, it's the worst. I'd rather get this over with, ya know?"
Fox's cell beeped in his pocket.
"I mean what'ya expect the war to wait on our account? Those stinking apes will be here by spring at the rate they're taking over the system!"
Falco groused loudly, halting only when he caught the look on Fox's face.
"Hey man, what gives?"
McCloud tapped the speaker button on his cell.
"-according to flight logs obtained from his wingman, his starfighter's IFF ceased transmitting at the time of the blast. Deep space spy drones captured some footage of the aftermath and the anomaly that matches the classification of a Type II black hole."
Fox was staring blankly ahead, eyes hard, tail wilted. Logan and Falco sat up, tension steeling their shoulders.
"Analysts at the CDF are still pouring over the available data, however at this time information on the experimental Venomian weapon is classified Top Secret under caveat 'Vermillion.' Evacuation proceedures are underway for the surviving science expedition on Titania, though the distance to the black hole's event horizon is significant enough to mitigate immediate risk to the planet. Speculation based on the rate of decay in the Schwarzschild radius holds that the anomalous black hole will collapse within one to two months, lending credence to the theory this is an intended result of a Venomian superweapon."
Logan's eyes widened. A weapon that could tear a black hole into space? That kind of advantage could cripple conventional naval combat as they knew it. If Andross had really managed to build a superweapon like that, the system might really be doomed.
"The Search and Rescue unit from Katina in cooperation with a UNSC clarion spy drone are still surveying the area, however at the present time we regret to inform you that your father James McCloud is listed as MIA."
The call end tone sounded, and Fox let the cell drop limply from his fingers.